31 Days of Halloween List For 2000 

And so it begins.....

1).  Final Exam.  I spent years looking for this movie, and what a waste of time it was.  It had a simple, decent story: a serial killer stalks a college campus. It even had a really cool and original death: the killer ties weights around a jock's head and lets them fall, snapping his neck. The worst thing about this movie is that the director and screenwriter didn't bother to tell us who the guy was or why he was killing people. Nothing of the plot was explained or justified. Also, the director decided to blatantly rip-off Halloween, the bastard. On the flip side, Kevin Williamson obviously borrowed elements of this movie for Scream 2. Bottom line: I told you about the cool death so skip this garbage.      Score: 3 Click Here. Can you guess what will happen?

2).  Bloody Murder.  A recent release from Artisan, camp counselors are picked off by a killer who may be Trevor Moorehouse, a local myth of a man who wears a hockey mask and carries a chainsaw. Hmm, perhaps they should have given him a glove with knives for fingers and had him stalk babysitters. Obviously this movie lacks originality. The name of the camp is Camp Placid, which is on a lake. Heard that one too. However, the movie had some decent acting and moved at a nice pace, so this one is worth a look.    Score: 6

3).  Komodo.  The director of Anaconda brings us a story of giant Komodo lizards that bite a human in a non-fatal way and their saliva puts out a scent that attracts other Komodos for a feast. A very cool concept, but it was slow and unfrightening. It would have made a great R-rated film, but I'll stick with Jurassic Park for PG-13.      Score: 5

4).  Candyman 3: Day of the Dead.  This direct-to-video sequel lacked all the elements that made its predecessors great and replaced them with bad acting, lots of nudity, and bimbos with large breasts. Once again Candyman stalks one of his descendants to "be his victim." Ho-hum.     Score: 4     Click here.  This makes 2 so far.

5).  Final Destination.  One of the best films to be released this year, this one is definitely worth the price of admission. Devon Sawa plays the lead character who is about to take a field trip to Paris when he has a premonition of the plane exploding. He and 6 others are kicked off the plane shortly before it does in fact explode. But you can't cheat death and one-by-one the survivors meet their demise. Very cool deaths and tons of excitement. Score: 10      Click here.

 6).  Don't Go In The Woods.  By far one of the worst pieces of trash I've ever seen. The only thing that kept this from getting a score of 1 was that I got a few chuckles from it and the killer looks like a fat Rob Zombie. This one's about for hikers/campers who get slaughtered in the woods.  Score: 2  Click here  

7).  John Carpenter's Vampires.  A modern tale of slayers-for-hire led by Jack Crow (James Woods was great here) who find themselves opposite the very first vampire who is in search of a religious relic that will allow vampires to survive in daylight. Not Interview or Lost Boys by and standards, but not too bad.  Score: 6

8).  Bloody Birthday.  This creepy 80's flick is about 3 kids born at the same moment under a solar eclipse who have homicidal tendencies.  Score: 8

9).  Don't Open the Door.  I wish they would have named this one "Don't Watch This Movie" and maybe I could have spared myself the torture.  I was pulling my hair out by the time this was over. This was about a girl with a haunted past that comes back to the town she grew up in to care for her dying grandmother, and mayhem begins.  Score: 1 Congratulations to the filmmakers for getting the first lowest score by me ever. Click here

10).  Silent Night, Deadly Night 2. An inferior and disappointing sequel about the killing spree of the brother of the killer in the first film.  Score: 4  Click here 

11).  Edge of the Axe.  An axe-wielding maniac stalks the women of a small town.  Score: 5

12).  Stir of Echoes.  A young boy and his father are haunted by a ghost that wants something from them, and they must figure out what before the ghost gets angry. This is a super cool movie with great performances and some truly frightening moments.  Score: 10  Click here 

13).  Elves.  This is a really bad movie, but entertaining all the same. It would have been a perfect MST3K movie. A Nazi experiment creates two-foot troll-like killing machines, and they come back 50 years later and wreak havoc for a girl and her friends on Christmas Eve.  Score: 5

14).  Leprechaun in the Hood. Three aspiring rap artists steal the Leprechaun's magic flute that has the power to make someone do anything for you. Meanwhile they are being chased by a pimp who also has stolen from the Leprechaun. This is the first one I've enjoyed since the original. This was absolutely a riot to watch.  Score: 6

15).  Fade to Black. A nerd who has seen one-too-many movies begins to mimic them and do away with his enemies. Average.  Score: 5

16).  The Forest. A hermit kills people in the woods in order to eat them. Pretty lame, but to keep it original, the screenwriter added the ghosts of the hermits children that warn the campers, hikers, etc of their demise if they don't leave the forest.  Score: 5

17).  Urban Legend. It isn't Scream, but it's one heck of a cool movie. A killer on a college campus goes on a killing spree, killing the victims via urban legends. Look for Danielle Harris from Halloween 4 and 5 as one of the victims. Great performances and pop culture references add to the fun.  Score: 8

18).  End of Days. Biblically incorrect, filled with nonsense (firing a rocket launcher at Satan????) and your typical down-on-his-luck-doesn't-care-if-he-lives-or-dies cop stereotypes make this tale of the Devil in search of a bride to mate with to bring about his reign on earth a piece of garbage.  Dave and I vowed to deny the existence of this movie and here I go and watch it again. Serves me right.  Score: 3   Click here

19).  Ghosthouse. This one's about a little girl ghost and her demented clown doll that torment and kill people who camp out at an old abandoned house. This was extremely creepy, but was lacking due to gaping plot holes and a disappointing ending.  Score: 5

20). Hellraiser: Inferno. The fifth in the series and the first to not get a theatrical release, and understandably so. A detective investigates grisly murders that may-or-may-not be the work of Pinhead. Complete crap.  Score: 3  Click here

21).  Last House on the Left. Wes Craven's first movie and utter garbage. Four criminals escape from prison and rape, torture, and kill two girls. Ironically, they end up as guests at the home of one of the girls, and the parents figure out that they are the killers and take revenge.  Score: 4   Click here

22).  Friday the 13'th. The original film in the series about a killer at Camp Crystal Lake. By far the best in the series.  Score: 8

23).  Friday the 13'th 2.  Five years after the original, more counselors return to the lake. A worthy sequel.  Score: 7

24).  Lost Souls.  A Christian woman learns that the devil is about to enter the soul of an author of crime books, and intervenes. Truly frightening in some moments, but with a seemingly rushed climax.  Score: 7

25).  The Lost Boys.  Two teenage brothers move to a California coastal town, where the older of the two is turned into a half-vampire by four other teenage vampires. To keep the older brother from becoming a vampire, they must find and kill the head vampire. Very witty and entertaining with outstanding performances. By far my favorite vampire film.  Score: 10  Click here

26).  Idle Hands.  I'm not sure if I should classify this as a horror film or a comedy, but this is the story of pothead who has a possessed had that murders people, including his two best friends, that become zombies. Sort of a Half-Baked mixed with Evil Dead 2. Score: 8

27).  The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen. This story about the demon possession of a 12 year-old girl is the scariest thing I have ever seen. The new footage and effects make it even more disturbing. It's a great film, I highly recommend it, but it's not for the squeamish or those who don't like long films. Speaking of which, the first half-hour of it is rather slow. Maybe they could have cut some of it down for the re-release.  Score: 9

28).  Halloween: H20.  Not quite as good as the original, but very close. Michael once again stalks Laurie Strode, now a headmistress at a prestigious school after faking her death. Great cast and performances.  Score: 9

29).  Spookies. A very cliché movie about a group of people whose car breaks down and they seek help at a nearby mansion. Crappy acting and a completely incoherent plot made this a stinker. However, some awesome creature effects (including farting zombies) made it watchable. Another great movie with MST3K potential.  Score: 5

30).  Sorority House Massacre.  No to be confused with Slumber Party Massacre, this one's about a killer that escapes from a mental hospital that stalks four girls and their boyfriends at a Sorority house, hence the title. Above average.  Score: 7

31).  The Night Flier.  A tabloid reporter investigates vampiristic killings at airports. Based on a story by Stephen King. Score: 5

32).  Evil Dead. The first and worst of Sam Raimi's otherwise awesome trilogy about the Necromonicon, a.k.a. the book of the dead. This one lacks the charm and wit of its two sequels.  Score: 5

33).  Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. Only the first 20 minutes of this film have anything to do with the Blair Witch, and were the best 20 minutes of the film. The rest of the movie was just a typical, in fact stereotypical horror film that made little sense and set you up for great scares and then didn't deliver.  Score: 6

34).  The Nest.  Basically identical in plot to Mimic - which, by the way is far superior - killer cockroaches become what they eat. Pretty average, rent Mimic instead.  Score: 5

35).  Scream (1982). Not to be confused with Wes Craven's modern classic, a group of about 12 hikers/rafters set up camp in a deserted ghost town and they get murdered one-by-one.  Awesome concept except none of the deaths are shown and you don't get to see or find out who the killer was and why he/she was killing. A complete waste of time.  Score: 2  Click here

36).  Sleepy Hollow. A true gothic masterpiece based on "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Beautifully filmed and well crafted by director Tim Burton.  Score 10  Click here

37).  The Blair Witch Project. The most amazing and creative horror film I've ever seen. This is the supposed film footage of three student filmmakers who disappeared making a documentary on witch folklore. I will always think twice before camping.  Score: 10          Click here

38).  From Dusk Til Dawn.  Quentin Tarantino (who also starred) wrote and Robert Rodriguez directed this tale of two bank robbers who flee to Mexico only to end up trapped at a bar run by vampires. Nothing but good to say about this one, so rent it if you haven't already seen it but leave its two sequels on the shelf.  Score: 10  Click here 

39).  Halloween 6. Don't even get me started. This movie had such great potential, but they blew it big time. It had some of the coolest deaths, I will give it that. I waited 6 years for this moment: the first Halloween movie that I got to see in a theater. I get there at Crossroads UA theater in Kalamazoo, and it's a packed movie. I heard plenty of complaints leaving the movie, especially regarding the terrible ending. Try to get a copy of the Producer's Cut. It's much better.  Score: 5

2000 Statistics

# of movies I hadn't seen before: 24   (goal met)

# of movies that get applause: 6

# of movies that get "sucks": 9   (goal met)

Average score: 5.82   (goal not met)

Best movie: The Lost Boys

Worst movie: Don't Open the Door     

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