Wicked Good Wednesday

The latest thrills. And chills.

The Babysitter (Netflix 2017) - Saw this on a whim after reading positive feedback and yeah, this is definitely worth a watch. Very entertaining with some laughs, some suspense, and some surprisingly heart-wrenching moments. Kinda the perfect popcorn movie. If you like "evil cult" movies like I do, and a good mix of bloody horror, humor, and heart, check this out. It's modern, but with an 80s heart.

My Stephen King marathon continues strong with two movies I'd never seen, The Dark Half and Silver Bullet.

I'm surprised I just got around to The Dark Half, as I read and enjoyed the book as a kid, but I'm glad I did. Good performances by Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris, and especially Timothy Hutton. I LOVED Julie Harris' character, and after seeing this and another movie I watched recently, I realized I love the "badass academic." Like badass in a librarian-y, I'm gonna defeat you with KNOWLEDGE way, not "I will suddenly throw off my glasses and kickbox you!" (Because that would be unrealistic, in this movie about an evil absorbed twin come to life. Anyway.) That was her character, and she was so great. They're always open-minded too, like they're the character who will listen to you when you start spouting crazy shit and research a possible answer like they're just writing a paper, no big deal. Also Timothy Hutton in the dual role was amazing, it actually took me a moment to realize it WAS him.

Silver Bullet - This is now my favourite werewolf movie, yup, beating out The Howling and The Wolf-Man. Granted I haven't seen American Werewolf in London yet, but I'll probably still stubbornly cling on to Silver Bullet. This is just one of those 80s movies, like Fright Night or Night of the Creeps, that's fun to watch and makes you feel good. It has an uncynical spirit of adventure, and great performances by Corey Haim and especially Gary Busey.

Haim's character is in a wheelchair and he's just a kid that happens to be in a wheelchair, there's no sappy crap and he's not special or anything, he's a regular kid. He's a jerk to his big sister sometimes. I love how he's played and the family dynamic, it all feels natural. Gary Busey is the raddest drunk, foul-mouthed uncle ever who builds him this sweet wheelchair, the Silver Bullet. And oh yeah, there's a werewolf in all this, and it's obvious who it is, but it's really the stuff with the family that makes this great.

And I kick off my three-movie Linda Blair-a-thon with Summer of Fear, AKA Stranger in Our House. This seems to be one of those movies that I, specifically, love. Witchy stuff? Check. Linda Blair? Check. 70s made for tv? Check! It probably also helps that I loved the book by Lois Duncan as a kid. Like The Dark Half, this also features my beloved Badass Academic™ trope, this time the local professor of occult studies or something (of course). And of course, he listens to poor Linda Blair about her witch problem when No One Else Will™. I am seriously gonna seek out every movie with that kind of character and watch it. It's just so comforting and makes me happy, idk.

I continued my three-film John Carpenter-a-thon with The Fog (the first was Christine). What can I say about The Fog, another stylish, classic 80s gem with one of the best casts you'll see in a horror movie. We've got Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook and Tom Atkins (from Halloween III and Night of the Creeps, he sure picked good movies), but of course Barbeau steals the hell out of this thing. The way she switches between her sultry radio persona and concerned single mother, damn girl, just one of my favourite performances. This is also right up there in the coveted "atmosphere" department. VENGEFUL FOG SPIRITS, people. It doesn't get much more atmospheric than that, the monsters are literally IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

Rifftrax: City of the Dead - The Rifftrax is fun, but this movie is super watchable on its own imo. On the surface this seems like a pretty standard witch movie, but something about it got under my skin. Maybe it's because I love these kind of movies, and the fog-shrouded, nearly-abandoned New England village was a perfect setting. Maybe it's because it felt like our lead actually travelled back in time when she visited the town, it seemed so out of step with modern times (well, 1960, but you know). The whole thing kind of felt like a dream, and it's actually really well done. What can I say, atmosphere can really make a movie.

Dead and Buried - this is a 1981 film that was New to Me, and just another great 80s watch. This one was really different, a take on "zombies" (of sorts) I've never seen before. I did guess the final twist, but it's still fun and suspenseful even if you do. Great concept, well-executed. It kind of seemed like a Stephen King story, mysterious goings-on in a small town, locals who aren't what they appear, spooky!

I still have lots more to watch, including my Halloween All Day and All of the Night Spooktacular, which I've tentatively scheduled as: The Conjuring 1 and 2, Trick r Treat, The Exorcist, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, and possibly the hilarious Hack O'Lantern if I have time. If I have even more time, Rifftrax Plan 9 is always fun to throw on. I might go to sleep to that one lol.