It's day 302 of my One Movie a Day for 2023, and Day 29 of both my own 31 Days of Hallowe'en project, as well as the 31 Days of Horror Challenge being hosted by Nightmare on Film Street. Plus, I can not forget to mention the 100HorrorMoviesIn92Days challenge I joined this year.
And this is the part where I've been saying all month long, that normally for the last decade, I've been doing a 13 Days of Hallowe'en project on my old social medias that ran from October 19th-31st, where I would do movie reviews, recipes and comedy skits. But this year, I'm keeping it simple. Just doing my Hallowe'en stuff on this new site and my Letterboxd.
The theme for today's challenge for my own 31 Days of Hallowe'en project is Anthologies. I picked A Christmas Horror Story.
This follows 4 different stories that kind of interact. We have a radio dj who at the beginning of the movie, is talking to one of his employees. The employee then gets up in a huff and storms out. This overlaps with a family on their way to visit their aunt in the middle of nowhere. While they are at her house, one of the kids breaks a Krampus statue. As they leave for the night, they end up being hunted by Krampus. While this is happening, not too far away, a cop and his family are hunting for a Christmas tree. Their son gets lost, when they find him awhile later, he's just not himself. The cop had been involved with a murder investigation that ended up grabbing the attention of a group of teenagers, who decide to investigate the crime scene themselves. Their investigation leads them to a haunted location and one becomes possessed. From there, we see Santa having to battle zombie elves. Circling around to the dj again, we learn that his daughter and grandkids are the family attacked by Krampus, and the cop's son was kidnapped by a changeling. And Santa ends up not exactly being who he thinks he is either.
All in all, this was a really good movie. The stories are interesting and well made. There is enough gore to keep horror fans happy, and given it's a Canadian film, there is a little nod to some of the production crew being from the Ginger Snaps trilogy, as the story is set in the fictional town of Bailey Downs. Which actually makes me wonder if they are supposed to be set in the same universe? Bailey Downs has become to Canadian television and movies what Castle Rock has to Stephen King stories. It's the fictional catch all town, specially for horror.
The mini challenge for today for the 31 Days of Horror Challenge being hosted by Nightmare on Film Street, is Folk Horror. I picked Antrum.
This is a movie in a movie done like a found footage-mockumentary. We follow a story about a movie that was banned or lost in the early 1980's because everyone who watches it dies. The bulk of the movie is the supposed cursed movie, where a teenaged girl and her younger brother are camping in the woods for a few days, digging their way to hell to save their dead dog. The whole time, having to fight off cannibal hunters and hellhounds.
It's a really interesting blend of The Blair Witch Project and The Witch. You're never totally sure what's going on, if what they are experiencing is supposed to be happening or if they are hallucinating. The young boy, has visions at the beginning of their segment, before the core of their story actually kicks off. The two of them then proceed to do a form of occult ritual, before digging their way into hell. The odd experiences then start to happen mostly to the boy, and it hints at witchcraft. But, there is a scene where the circle they have dug up, is suddenly filled with large mushrooms. These mushrooms are also witnessed in a flash cut scene near the end of the movie in the hands of some random person.
I have to say, this wasn't what I was expecting it to be. I was expecting something more along the lines of Wicker Man. It is a bit confusing at times, but it does manage to keep you interested. The style of this is made to look like it was shot in the 1970's, and mostly succeeds, given they keep the bulk of the story to only four main actors. The two kids and the two hunters. The thing that takes you out of the supposed timeframe is small, but so jarring it's comical; and that's the grimoire and items the girl uses for their ritual. They are only on screen for about two minutes, but the icons she uses are very modern, as is the grimoire.
Come back tomorrow to see what other tricks and treats I have for you. Only a couple of days left for the 2023 Hallowe'en challenges.
Hozzászólások