36, 37, and 38. The Black Cat, Behind the Mask, and Phantasm II

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

35. Mil gritos tiene la noche (Pieces)

Juan Piquer Simon, 1983

The first and last time I saw Pieces was long, long ago. It was my first Eurohorror, although I didn't realize it at the time since they go to great (well, moderate. Well, they sort of try) lengths to make it seem American. Mostly what I remembered was that there was an abundance of a) blood, b) naked girls, and c) bad dubbing. I'm pleased to report that my recollection was correct, and Pieces is primarily made up of those three elements.

Actually, that's not entirely true. There is a fourth element - sheer madness. How else to explain such wonderful/horrible moments as skateboarding through a mirror, the kung-fu professor, the chainsaw in the elevator, "BASTARD!", or the ending? These are not the fruits of a logical mind. I can't even really explain them in any way that you would believe - you just need to see them for yourself. It's kind of funny - the movie is so bizarrely wrong most of the time that the occasional beautiful and/or atmospheric shot (like the killer walking into the dance studio) is extremely jarring.

In a way, I kind of loved this movie. It's terrible. Horrible. Awful. But I still kind of loved it. Doesn't mean it gets a good rating, though.

3/10

34. And Soon the Darkness

Robert Fuest, 1970

A bit slow, but Fuest manages to build an tremendous amount of dread out of the idyllic French countryside and his love of deep composition keeps things visually interesting. Approximately half of the dialogue in the movie is unsubtitled French, which helps increase the feeling of alienation and was a very wise choice. The reveal of the killer at the end, while not a big surprise, was handled in a nicely creepy fashion - however, the final resolution left much to be desired. Still quite good on the whole, especially compared to a lot of what I've seen lately.

7.5/10

33. The Unseen

Danny Steinmann, 1980

Not especially bad, but completely forgettable. Which is actually kind of worse, in a way.

1.5/10

104 in 2009 Week 43: Yet More (late) Horror

Whoops, forgot to put this up on Sunday. Yet another week of dubious quality, although I did very much enjoy the ineligible Cloverfield.

The House with the Laughing Windows 6.5/10
Asylum 4/10
The Psychic 2/10

Progress: 112 (Par +26)

32. Creepshow

George Romero, 1982

This is kind of a sentimental favorite of mine, probably the first full-on (by that I mean R-rated and forbidden) horror movie I ever saw. So of course, I'll always love it. Fortunately, it's also a legitimately strong movie, so I don't have to be embarassed about it. The first two stories drag quite a bit, but after that you get three hits in a row. My favorite segment is the third one, with Leslie Nielsen and Ted Danson.

8.5/10

31. Sette Note in Nero (The Psychic)

Lucio Fulci, 1977

I'm at the point where the only Fulci movies I have left to see are lower-tier Fulci. Which makes me very sad, just like this movie does. The suspense is devoid of suspense, the characters are devoid of character, there's almost no gore to think of, the ending is even more abrupt than usual, and the plot is about the right size to fill a Twilight Zone episode, not a full-length movie.

2/10