Finished off the month with three movies tonight that I'd seen before, so I'm just going to hit them all at once, and briefly. We'll be back to our standard weekly format for postings starting tomorrow.
The Black Cat
Edgar G. Ulmer, 1934
This was my movie club pick, and didn't go over all that well. I also think it wasn't as good as I remembered, but I still like it, primarily for the fun of watching Karloff and Lugosi chew the scenery at each other and for the fantastic set design. 6/10
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Scott Glosserman, 2007
One of the more clever horror movies I've seen in the past several years, even if not everything works as well as it could. The way they use the structural conceit, switching between documentary and horror movie, to influence the plot and characters is very impressive. Also, Nathan Baesel's performance as Leslie Vernon is fantastic. They do sledgehammer several points well beyond what would be reasonable, though, and the ending segment drags on a bit (not that it shouldn't end where it does, but some of the fat earlier in the segment could be trimmed). Still, very good. 7.5/10
Phantasm II
Don Coscarelli, 1988
I love the Phantasm series. They're ridiculous, cheap, poorly acted, and are largely incoherent from a storytelling standpoint, especially between films. But then there's that spark of creativity and fun that turns it into something special, completely unlike anything else out there. This may well be my favorite of the four; at the very least, it's the most rewatchable for me. 6.5/10
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