Shudder Day: Night of the Reaper (2025)

 A new Horror Film?  I guess I can make time for those between Films made when LAN Lines were still a thing.

Oh right- this is a Film SET when LAN Lines were still a thing.
Close enough!

In a Cold Open, we see a young Babysitter targeted by a strange person in a skull mask.

They really build up the fear (is this just Pennywise) before going in for them.

After the Credits, a moody young lady returns home from her first Year in College.

She has a Family that doesn't talk much, so she hangs out with her friend instead.

Meanwhile, the Sheriff- who looks like if the guy from Time Chasers played Wolverine- gets mysterious packages that put him back on that case from the Intro.

Is the killer planning to act again?!?

He finds more evidence, including a tape of a murder initially thought to be an accident.

Meanwhile, the danger may be closer to home...

...as our Heroine takes over babysitting his Son (from her friend who suddenly fell ill).

Strange things, noises and spooks start to happen.

Is she destined to be the next victim?

To find out, stream it now.  No SPOILERS.

A tense and atmospheric tale of terror in Suburbia.

I was worried at first about this one as they teased the '80s VHS aesthetic in the Credits.

Thankfully, that was just to show they could there and everything else looks normal and HD.

This one has a great Intro and they clearly know it- that's why they released it as a Teaser.

Is there more though?  Hell yes!

This one is very good at building tension, making you go 'Don't do that!' at the Screen as if they can hear you and just generally keeping you off-guard.

It's not the most original topic or setting, but it does some good tricks with it as the runtime goes on.  Still no actual SPOILERS.

This one lives up to the hype, even if I do hope that every skeleton man I see is either Skeletor or La Parka.

A Film that is, at worst, a well made version of a familiar Story.  At it best, however, subversion takes over happily.

Sleep Tight: Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)

 How did I never get around to this Meta Sequel?  Dunno.

This is Wes Craven's New Nightmare, the 1994 Film that attempted to revive the Franchise.  After 6 Films, was there anything left to do?

Well, the answer was to bring the original Director back.  Duh.

The Plot involves the Star of the Original (and third) Film playing a version of herself, alongside her fake Husband and fake Son. 
Freddy turns out to be real...sort of as Wes Craven (playing himself) writes a new Film.

Even if this didn't actually revive the Franchise, is it good?
To find out, read on...

In what is technically a Cold Open (as the Film doesn't feature proper Opening Credits), work has begun on a new Elm Street Film- this time using a remote control glove.

It attacks the three Special Effects guys, but...

It was all a dream!

Heather Langenkamp plays a fictional version of herself who doesn't want to be associated with the Films after a Stalker harasses her.

What she doesn't know is that her Husband- who was also an Effects guy IRL- is working on said Film and now has cuts on his hand like in the dream!

Her weird kid- every Horror Mom has one- says that Freddy is appearing at night and Rex, his dinosaur doll, is keeping guard.

She doesn't believe it...but then who sliced up the Dinosaur?!?

Weird things involving the kid and the phone calls make Langenkamp ask her Husband to come home early.

He does that, but starts to fall asleep along the way back and then the glove attacks him!

The Cops think that his massive stab wound is just from the accident.  Right...

The kid, meanwhile, is getting weirder and I'm getting The Ring flashbacks...but this came out years before Ringu.  It is even a year before The Ring- Kanzenban, the original TV Movie Adaptation.

So is this just based on the Book OR sheer coincidence?

The kid continues to freak out and he's clearly not sleeping.

Let's get Lin Shaye (before James Wan made her a Star again) to help him out.

Heather goes to see Wes and he explains that he's writing what he sees in his dreams.  Apparently he did that with the original...while also apparently basing it on strange cases in the U.S.

He's our Exposition Dump- well, he is the Writer- and he tells us that Freddy is just the latest form of some deep, immortal evil and only the Films being popular/relevant keep him in check.

'Who wrote this nonsense?  Oh...right.'

Like in Part 5, Freddy seems to want the kid (who is at least born this time).  Why?

Unclear.

He kills people to get to him and then keeps him alive via vague bs powers he now has.

The darker, angrier Freddy eventually gets the kid, so Heather goes into his dreams to save him.

It involves some dated special effects, a second case of Robert Englund and a killer tongue & burning the guy up in an oven...in the Dream World.

It's weird, but we're almost done!

Back in the real World, Heather than reads...the Script to her Son?!?

The End.

A Film that works on many levels- hopefully ones that you relate to.

This Film is all about Family, Motherhood and responsibility.

To be fair, Freddy has strong opinions on pregnancy- especially in teens.

In a way, this makes sense- this is the Franchise aging up with their Audience.  In the 10 years since the first Film, it is easy to imagine young people having a kid (or two).

As such, this one- based on Heather's real life- could hit close to home.

The Meta aspect of the Film is very weird and I don't know if it is for everyone.  There is also more teases of Horror than actual killings, so understand the slower pacing.

All of the things that make this Film feel so weird and interesting are the same things that make it a weird sell to many.

I'm a fan, but I see the issues.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to tell John Saxon that his Script for an Elm Street Sequel is never going to be made (and actually just sold on eBay) ...

For the sake of the joke, this was done sometime before 2020.

Next up, I turn my focus to Ghosts and their ilk.  Should I do a famous Comedy or a serious Drama?  Stay tuned...

Tubi Thursday: Fright House (1989)

 I only got half the Movie that I was promised...and I'm okay with that.

This was going to be a special Tubi Thursday in one regard...but now it is a different story.

To find out, read all about the...

A hairy guy with a mullet makes out with his girlfriend...now his fiancée.

They get right up to actually having sex.

We cut to this random guy- who looks like the Drummer in Any '80s Band- wandering around a building and eventually being killed by a demon hand...I think.

It is called a suicide.

Later, a nerdy guy talks about a fireplace in the middle of the woods being a portal to Hell...and die off-screen.

A jarring cut goes from hand appearing to the Funeral!

Our guy- who is a Cop- talks to the guy's Therapist...because he was his Brother!

The Cop guy sends a random Cop Lady undercover at the School- via the worst ADR in history- and talks to his Boss....played by Al Lewis.

Why have I seen two Al Lewis Films (that aren't The Munsters) in the past week?!?

After barely any setup, a bunch of random groups of people go into this Building.

We see Cultists.
We see Monsters outside.

People die.

The Cop is undercover in the group, which means he has bad KISS makeup on.

To the surprise of nobody, the leader of the Cult turns out to be Grandpa Munster.

Clearly being in Gremlins 2 is a major upgrade for playing off-brand Ernest Borgnine in The Devil's Rain.

In our big finale, our Hero keeps yelling off-camera for him to stop...but does nothing.

He throws a crystal from earlier and everything explodes.

The Cop and his Fiancee wake up and go off...but she's possessed...I think (more on that later).

At this point, FH is supposed to then cut to a condensed version of 1986/88's Vampires, with Duane Jones.

The Tubi Version doesn't.  Oh well.

********

This Film sure...exists.  I wish that I could say more fun things about it.

The Film is a bunch of random bits, little bits of setup and then a bunch of 'action' in the latter half.

They introduce about a dozen Characters.  They do little with any of them.

Literally one Scene just kills off 5 of them off-screen in a few seconds.
The hell?!?

I wasn't expecting lots from here...and I was right.

Fright House is lots of nothing, a few cliches, Al Lewis hamming it up and that's about it.
Oh and the HD Remaster ruins the final shot, apparently removing the evil eye effect (seen here in an SD copy on YT).

It's a Thriller, Thriller Cliche.

A Film that promised me two tales and only gave me one.  Given that I didn't like the missing section the first time, I'm good.

Bail Bond: Goldfinger (1964)

 One last Bond before October spirits take over!

This is Goldfinger, the 3rd and arguably the most famous of Sean Connery's Bond Films.

It has it all- a Shirley Bassey Theme, a great Intro, that one lady covered in that stuff, Pussy Galore and more.

Guy Hamilton takes over the Directing Duties for the first of FOUR Bond Films (with more planned, but I'll get to that later).  Does he make things even better?

The Plot involves Auric Goldfinger and his elaborate plan to get even wealthier via an atom bomb in Kentucky.  It will make sense- mostly- later.

Is this the new peak of Bond?
To find out, read on...

In our Cold Open, Bond makes his first transition from wetsuit to fancy suit as he takes out some drugs that were going to be smuggled.

Afterwards, he hits on a lady, fights some guys and kills a guy with a lamp.

After the iconic Opening, we get lovely shots of the Fontainbleau Hotel in Miami (still open btw) and...some less than convincing Rear Projection Shots of our Actors (since Connery and Gert Frobe were never in Miami!).

Bond is hired to observe Goldfinger, but makes him lose a game of cards AND sleeps with his Assistant instead.

The next morning, Bond is knocked out by a stealthy guy (which gets sillier when you realize who did it) and his new lady is smothered to death in gold paint.

Yes, Snopes- we all know that this didn't really happen and couldn't happen.

Enjoy the Austin Powers-style Nudity blocking though.

Back at Base, we get a double whammy of Bond Requirements.

Bond meets with Q in his lab, where we see many gadgets in the background.
We also see Bond's iconic Aston Martin for the first time, which is outfitted with spy gadgets.

Thanks for inspiring Spy Hunter.

Bond meets up with Goldfinger again when the Government learns that he's up to something evil.

It involves smuggling and then melting gold across the World.

Until then, Bond will force a fat, orange guy who is bad at Golf (and cheats) to lose.

Bedminster is nice these days, eh?

If I'm being honest, this whole Subplot involving the Sister of the lady killed via gold paint is pretty pointless- in the Film version.

She tries to kill Goldfinger twice, fails and then is killed unceremoniously by Oddjob before Act 2 ends.

Bond is captured and we get the famous Laser Scene, at least.

Bond negotiates his life by acting like he is too dangerous to kill, since 008 would have all of his intel.

So he's spared and meets Pussy Galore, whose name is given an even more 'on the nose' response in the Book.

She seems to resist his charms and keeps him under control (or so she thinks) while Goldfinger plans his big mission.

His plan involves getting lots of money for tech from some mobsters...and then killing them.

He uses that to gas the soldiers guarding Fort Knox, break in (with the laser) and then irradiate the gold, therefore increasing his own gold's value.

Bond is left to die with the bomb and fights Oddjob, going for what looks like a Jumping Tornado DDT from this still frame.

It's sadly not that cool.

He eventually defeats Oddjob (not easily though) and the bomb is defused with 3 seconds to go...I mean 7 seconds (changed in post-production for a fun 007 gag).

Oh and Galore didn't really kill the Soldiers, turned to good by the power of Bond's....manhood, I guess.

Of course, Bond Villains/Henchman get one last hurrah, so Goldfinger is killed on the Plane transporting Bond home by being sucked out the window.

The End.

A very enjoyable Bond Film that seems to hit all of the right notes.

This one fully consolidates the ideas and visuals into a 'true Bond' Film.  All of the pieces are finally in place.

We get fun action.  We get a globe-trotting Plot.  We get a famous Villain AND a more famous Henchman.

By the way, if you played Oddjob, you suck.  You know why!

Does the Plot make much sense?  Does it feature quite a few holes?  Yes...and?

This really is a classic Bond Film, with all of the fun stuff and all of the dated stuff.
Bond quipping after killing henchman- fun.  Bond forcing himself on women- not so much.

Goldfinger is as good, silly and fun as you remember it being.

Now...I just have to explain to Bond why I have to skip his next Film for a month or so...

He didn't take it well.

Next up, it is October and Horror takes focus.  Let me start with...oh right, there's an Elm Street Film I've missed.  Stay tuned...

Shudder Day: Mosquito (1994)

 I'm still on a '90s kick on Shudder and this is a subject near and dear to a Floridian.

I hate regular Mosquitos, so this is truly a nightmare!

An Alien Space Ship passes by Earth.

For no clear reason, it crashes instead of landing.

The outstretched arm of an alien is inviting for some Mosquitos...

...which causes them to grow super-sized!

They begin to attack the people nearby.

We follow a handful of Characters in this one.

A young Couple goes there on Vacation, the lady being into studying animals.
A lazy Park Ranger.
A Scientist who is here to find a meteor in the area.

A trio...oops, a pair of criminals who get stuck in the wrong place today.

The giant mosquitos attack people, going for blood.

I mean...they are mosquitos.

The group struggle to find the source of the mutation and to survive the night.

Our Scientist proves to be a strong leader and survivor.

That's good...

...because this just turns into Night of the Living Dead, just with giant Mosquitos.

Is this an improvement?
You decide.

This Film has no surprises per se, but I won't SPOIL it for you if you want to check it out.

The End.

A very enjoyable Film, as long as you are in the mood for something silly, strange and ridiculous.

The pitch- Alien Blood makes Giant Mosquitos that kill people in the middle of the Wilderness.

What were you expecting?

This comes from a Director named Gary Jones, whose super common name belies how many Films of his I've apparently watched.  Stuff like Planet Raptor, Axe Giant, Boogeyman 3, Escape from Death Block 13 to Ballistica- none of them exactly Classics. 

This one is fun, with stop motion effects and big rubber Mosquitos doing the heavy lifting.

The Plot is adequate, but don't watch it just for that.  You'll watch this if you want to watch big Mosquitos get blasted and folks get sucked.

It also works in a very 'subtle' reference to another Horror Film...

A fun Film if you're into '90s low-budget VFX (like stop motion).  Just know that there's lots of 'dumb' comedy in the build-up.

Streaming Standard: Space Monster Wangmawi (1967)

 A once lost Film from South Korea?
A giant Monster?
Just the silliest of silly effects?

I'm in!

Somewhere in Space, these Aliens are looking for a Planet to conquer.

Apparently, they made a monster that will grow in the right atmosphere and they looked around until they found one.

Are they the Neptune Men?

They found Earth and they do just that.

Sure enough, their normal sized monster (human height) grows (off-screen) as they drop it down to Earth.

It attacks South Korea, since I guess Japan was busy.

The appearance of a giant Monster interrupts a young lady's plan to get married tomorrow.

Life sure is hard!

She flees from the City with her Mother.

As bad luck would have it, the Monster grabs her...for some reason.

Someone wants to be King Kong!

The Monster stomps around, sometimes smashing buildings, but never making sparks come out of power lines.

Meanwhile, the Film follows a bunch of random people, like a pair of half-drunk guys and a Child Tramp.

Said Tramp jumps onto the creature as it nears the roof he is on.

He does the logical thing- he climbs into its ear, cuts through the ear drum and starts wreaking havoc.

This kid...is insane and badass.

He wounds the creature for a bit and crawls down the back of it, disabling the control pack that the Aliens are using on it.

He is finally grabbed by the creature, but the Fiancée manages to swing by on his parachute, getting them away before the Air Force blows up the creature.

They walk off into the Sunset...although it is Black and White, so who knows?  The End.

A pretty fun Film, but the focus sure is all over the map.

A giant Monster is on the rampage!  Aliens are attacking the Earth!

Cool- I want to follow these random morons around for a bit!
Does this Film need ADHD Medication?

They spend lots of time focusing on the Fiancée and Bride...and then nothing.  There are the Tramps...and they're gone.

This random, very violent kid sure takes the focus and the Film is better for it.

Space Monster is definitely a Comedy...most of the time.

A Film that can somehow feature a giant Monster, aliens, melodrama and also this guy pretending to take a s**t near a crowd sure is...something.

A Film that is enjoyable, but it also sure is strange!  If you're into a Film that is all over the place, this is your Movie!