7/31 Sisu (2023)

I’ve seen this movie referred to as a Nazi-killing WWII John Wick. That’s not too terribly far off the mark. Some pretty Tarantino-esque sequences which is fun. This is the same director who brought us the outrageously funny Rare Exports short films that led to an entertaining if not quite as clever movie. Some of the gore sequences are also side-splitters. I mean, who doesn’t wanna see a Nazi blow up when he gets a land mine thrown at him?

7/29 Evil Dead Rise (2023)

I’m surprised I didn’t get to this much sooner. It probably woulda been worth seeing in a theater, but see Asteroid City below. It wasn’t bad. Jorge and I will have a review of the whole franchise comin’ up right soon, and this holds up nicely in it. It’s gruesome. It’s splatterific. It has some fine nods to the first two. Certainly worth your time, even more so if you’re a fan.

7/27 Skinamarink (2022)

Another watch for Podferatu. We picked this specifically because it terrified Jorge’s wife, Sarah, bored Jorge to death, and irritated the crap outta me. Seemed like a good variety. I didn’t like this. I haven’t watched Heck, the short from whence this was spawned, but I’m willing to bet it’s wwwaaayyy more effective. I also have a personal beef with the term “experimental” being used as a shield to protect a movie from its own shortcomings, or like a bludgeon against people who don’t like it. “Oh, you just don’t get it. It’s experimennnnnnnnntaaaaallll.” At first I thought maybe I need to give it another watch, but the more I think about this movie, the more irritated I get, just like I do with The Lobster and the god-awful I’m Thinking Of Ending Things.

7/22 The Killer Is Still Among Us (1986)

This is an odd one from Camillo Teti. I guess it more or less qualifies as a giallo. A criminology student investigates a series of murders and begins to suspect her new boyfriend. It has an interesting little twist I won’t give away. Worth checking out if you’re a giallo fan.

7/22 The Unseen (1980)

First of all, Barbara Bach, so what’s not to love? A female TV crew (Bach and two others) trek out to Solvang to cover the annual Danish festival. Their reservation gets messed up, and they end up staying with the caretaker of a nearby museum, Ernest Keller (Sydney Lassick). Things predictably go wrong. Lassick, some of you may recall, played Cheswick in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest where he lost his shit before getting shock treatment. Fast forward to Carrie where he plays Mr. Fromm, the high school principal who gets, wait for it, electrocuted. I so wanted him to get zapped again in this one, and for a few minutes, it really looked like things were gonna go that way. Sadly, this was not to be. Still, it’s a weird, mean-spirited, nasty little flick.

7/21 Unwelcome (2023)

Ah the ol’ “leave stuff out for the faeries” tradition. That’s what Unwelcome plays on. Londoners Maya and Jamie are assaulted in their flat. They later take the opportunity to move to rural Ireland into the house Jamie inherits from his great-aunt Maeve. The house comes with one stipulation: there has to be a blood offering (by way of a little liver) left for the little people every night. Maya promises to uphold this. Complications arise. Not a bad watch. I wasn’t ecstatic about the ending. Your mileage may vary.

7/20 The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

I saw this some time ago and rewatched it just to kinda round things out and put a bow on the whole package. It’s fine. Not one of my all-time favorite films, but not unwatchable.

7/19 Slumber Party Massacre (2021)

This was super-entertaining with a good amount of humor and some nice nods to the original 3 movies. Also funny as hell were the gratuitous semi-clothed scenes involving the young men instead of the young women. And to quote Nicolas Cage from Mom And Dad, “It’s a Sawzall. That means it saws. All!” When you know, you’ll know.

7/19 Slumber Party Massacre III (1990)

Worst of the lot, and one of the dumbest movies I’ve ever seen. But if you’re a completist like me, ya gots ta sit through it.

7/18 Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)

So Jorge and I decided to review the entire Slumber Party Massacre franchise which meant I had to watch II, III, and the remake since I’d never seen any of them. Jorge absolutely loves this one. I originally disliked it, but after recording the episode, I gotta say I’m comin’ around just a little. It’s never gonna be a fave, and I doubt that I’ll ever rewatch it, but I can appreciate how hard Deborah Brock leaned into the camp and the silliness of it.

7/13 Infinity Pool (2023)

As far as I’m concerned, Mia Goth can do no wrong, and up to this point, this is my favorite role of hers after Pearl. Everything about her character, Gabi, is sinister, unhinged, or both. If you haven’t seen this one, go into it as blindly as you can. You won’t be disappointed. And boy oh boy I can’t wait for Maxine.

7/8 Donovan’s Brain (1953)

I’d been meaning to get to this one for years, and after seeing The Brain The Wouldn’t Die yet again, I thought it was indeed high time. It’s a fun one. Dr. Patrick Cory seeks to preserve brain life after the death of the body, and he’s presented with a unique opportunity to experiment on the brain of the uber-wealthy W.H. Donovan. Soon enough, the brain forms a psychic link with Cory and begins to take over his life, using Cory for his own ends. Oh, and the brain also grows to astonishing proportions in the tank of whatever solution Cory has concocted for it. Fun stuff!

7/5 Asteroid City

I don’t go to the cinema nearly as much as I used to. The afternoon I saw Del Toro’s Pinocchio turned into the evening I started having symptoms of Covid. By the middle of the night, I was the sickest I’d ever been in my life. So, yeah, I’m a little leery of enclosed spaces full of people. But Wes Anderson, I gotta see his movies on a big screen. And it was well worth it. Wes Anderson pretty much up his own arse as usual, but in all the best possible ways. I loved French Dispatch and felt it was the Wes Andersonest Wes Anderson movie of all time. Until now.

7/1 The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962)

So I know this woman who owns a brewery with her family and also listens to Podferatu. Well she wanted to start a free movie night once a month at said brewery and asked if I’d like to host it (basically introduce the movie, say a few things about it, that’s it). This was the first movie we chose. I watch this movie at least once a year, and every time I see it, I’ve forgotten from the previous time what a yuk tsunami this movie is. If you’ve never seen it, stop everything you’re doing right now and Treat. Yo. Self!