It's Day 282 of my One Movie A Day for 2023, and Day 9 for both my own 31 Days of Hallowe'en project/challenge, 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.
Every day during this project I have started off mentioning how over the last decade on my various old social medias, I would do a 13 Days of Hallowe'en challenge where I did movie reviews, recipes and comedy skits. This year I'm keeping it a little more contained as I am just doing these horror movie challenges here and on my Letterboxd.
My mini challenge for my 31 Days of Hallowe'en is Vampires. This whole week is vampire themed. I decided to go with the family friendly Vampire Dog.
The plot follows a few hundred year old vampire dog, who has been taken care of by one family for generations. When the current family member dies, the dog ships himself off to the newest. Only, the family is unaware he even exists. When he shows up on the doorstep of a teenaged boy, the vampire dog becomes his only real friend. The pair find themselves battling a villain who is after the dog's DNA in order to create an anti-aging makeup line, and also fighting to save the local school from being torn down. All the while, having to make sure to keep the vampire dog fed with red jelly.
This deals with the topic of grief as well as being the new kid in town. Our hero has just moved to a new city after having just lost a parent. He's struggling to make new friends and suddenly is given this massive responsibility of a new pet. He then takes it upon himself to save his school. The surface of this seems like just a silly talking animal movie targeted for five year olds, but it's actually a lot deeper than that.
The mini challenge for the 31 Days of Horror Challenge being hosted by Nightmare on Film Street is Creepy Doll. I decided to go with the 1987 movie Dolls.
A young girl is spending the summer with her dad and new step mom, road tripping across country when they get caught in a freak storm. Having to pull over for the night, they find themselves at an old house. Breaking in, they quickly realize the owners are an old couple who happen to be toy makers. Before long, three more strangers arrive having also been caught in the rain. As the six guests are shown to their rooms, all feel the haunting eyes of the many dolls that litter the house. As the night progresses, four of the six guests are attacked for their sins; leaving only the young girl and an innocent man.
A little bit of 80's gore, a little bit of 80's witchcraft, and a lot of B-movie greatness. This hit's the right notes of horror and fantasy as we see each individual doll's personality. Done with practical effects of puppetry and stop motion, this outshines so many current horror movies. And it seems to pull from the stories of Hansel and Gretel as well as The Shoemaker and the Elves, proving just how scary those old fairy tales are.
Come back tomorrow to see what other tricks and treats I've got for you.
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