XX
When I was looking for horror anthology movies, I wanted to watch something more recent and then this movie drifted into my radar. It is a horror anthology movie specifically made to only have female writers and directors hired because women do not get work in Hollywood. Only the first story in the movie is written by a man and only because it is adapted from a short story. The entire movie is full of four horror stories told from a female perspective. The protagonist in each story is a woman and we see the story from their point of view. This was fantastic. There was so much variety that there was something for everybody to like. The first story, which put a knot in my stomach that took a long time to loosen, was psychological horror. The second story was a dark comedy. The third was a straight up monster story. The final story went a little back to psychological horror. The only director I had ever heard of was St. Vincent but I am looking forward to work from all four of them now. The animation during the interstitial scenes was fascinating and creepy and was a great palate cleanser while keeping the right tone going. I definitely recommend it.
Tales from the Hood
I used to watch Tales from the Crypt when I was younger in the same way that I watched Twilight Zone and Outer Limits episodes. I was not of the appropriate age to read the old Tales from the Crypt comic books or any of the other horror comics that helped make Entertaining Comics big in the industry. However, I always saw the appeal. This movie is modeled after all of the old Tales from the Crypt stuff which was revived for the TV show. All of the stories are told from the black perspective and most of the stories are set in the city (the titular hood). The first story makes clear that from the start that those who disregard human life by killing black people will be punished. However, many of the stories also point out that those who stand by and do nothing will also be punished. Both racists and bullies will be punished as well. There are four stories and all of them are great in their own way, each making a point along the central theme. The wraparound story really drives home the theme of punishment for the guilty, whoever they are. I definitely have to shout out David Allen Grier in a distinctly non-comic villainous role. I also want to give a shout out to Clarence Williams III for being great as the eccentric mortician who tells each story. I definitely recommend this one too.
The Monster Club
For the final movie this week, I wanted something older so that I could sample anthology movies from three different decades and three different perspectives. This movie had jumped out at me early as a good contender. It is definitely a tribute to old Hammer horror movies as it happily cast horror greats John Carradine and Vincent Price in the wraparound scenes in the titular Monster Club. The movie is based on the works of British horror author R. Chetwynd-Hayes who I had never heard of before. The three stories are easy-going, middle of the road horror stories that are very charming but definitely still creepy. Price’s character explains how the different monsters all relate to each other and two out of three stories are about hybrid monsters. The scenes between Price and Carradine and the second story are charmingly funny. In between the Price/Carradine scenes and the three short stories, there are bands playing awesome music. While this was not a home run, the movie was definitely enjoyable. I recommend it.
Music of the Week:
Jex Thoth – Nothing Left to Die
The Deadly Grind – The Rage Within
KISS – Creatures of the Night
HUNTRESS – Spell Eater
Gravediggaz – From the Darkside
Weekly Update:
– I watched more Blindspot Season 1
– I watched more Blacklist Season 3
– I started House of Cards Season 3
– I watched more Van Helsing Season 1
– I watched more Glitter Force Season 1
– I watched more Santa Clarita Diet Season 1
– I watched more Little Witch Academia Season 1
– I watched Patton Oswalt: Annihilation
– Halloween Day is Coming! Only five movie reviews left!
Tags: David Alan Grier, David Carradine, Halloween, Halloween 2017, Media Update, St. Vincent, Tales from the Hood, The Monster Club, Vincent Price, XX
Wolf of Words 
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