Atomic Fangirl

“Why do all the weird ones have to fly at night?”

Story: Richard Dees, a tabloid “journalist” who seems out to be the poster boy for disgusting paparazzi, wants to get back on the front page of the rag he works for. Lucky for Dees, seems there’s been a string of gruesome murders at small airports. The victims were drained of blood, and the suspect is a pilot that goes by Dwight Renfield. Unlucky for Dees, his plan to meet this killer might succeed.

Scares: Not many, just standard nineties cable stuff.
Splat Factor:  heads almost “ripped clean off”, various people in various stages of dead-itude, lots of the red stuff.

Subgenre: Stephen King TV Adaptations
Year Released: 1997
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Based on the Stephen King story of the same name.

Trick or Treat?: I have no idea why Flier isn’t on more people’s Stephen King movie lists. Okay sure; HBO/MAX/whatever pulled it from their original programming lineup years ago, and it hasn’t been released on Blu-ray yet. But it’s one to check out, and not just for the King completists.

“The house tried to kill me. It almost succeeded.”

Story: In 1953, a group of scientists and psychics investigated the Belasco House. Called the “Mount Everest of haunted houses”, only one person in that group escaped “alive and sane.” So now of course, someone wants to gather a group together. A group of four. Y’all, why not fifty? Safety in numbers and all that. Well, too late now; they’re stuck there for the next four days. I’m sure they’ll be fine.

Scares: Lots of eerie Gothic visuals, and ghostly behavior.
Splat Factor: People get attacked and bleed. People get bloody and die. Or die and get bloody? Something like that.

Subgenre: Haunted House Modern-day Gothics
Year Released: 1973
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Based on the book Hell House, by Richard Matheson

Trick or Treat?: Wanna know a good way to make sure your movie adaptation hits all the right notes? Have the author write your screenplay. Okay fine, that doesn’t always work. But with House, it does. Like walking through a Halloween haunted attraction, Hell gives good fun, enjoyable frights, and plenty of creepy stuff to check out. It’s rather by-the-numbers, but it’s a spooky good time.

“Matt? Matt? Matt? Matt? Matt?…”

Story: A group of paranormal investigators are hoping to hit it big by filming an episode at the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital. These guys are fakes, but the ghosts here are real…you know the drill.

Scares: Some effectively suspenseful “what’s around the corner” chills that quickly peter out
Splat Factor:  Mostly ghostly, but a bit of blood here and there

Subgenre: Middling Mental Asylum Found Footage
Year Released: 2011
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original, though you’ll see it as a “homage” to other found footage flicks

Trick or Treat?: Found footage horror can be a blast, or boring AF. Encounters seems to want to walk the line between those extremes, giving viewers tantalizing ideas that pay off poorly.

“As a cop, I’ve always had a heavy hand.”

Story: NYC Cop Ralph Sarchie loves his job. So when he gets pulled into a case that feels like more than bargain basement bad guys? Local priest Mendoza tries to get Ralph to see that it’ll take more than handcuff to deal with this problem.

Scares: Creepy possession and “who’s next” vibes
Splat Factor:  Blood and bruises, war zones, dead bodies

Subgenre: Cops Meet True Evil™️
Year Released: 2014
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Loosely taken from the nonfiction book “Beware the Night” by Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Coo.

Trick or Treat?: Evil is definitely a “put your AV mode on Dynamic” kinda movie. It’s tough to see what’s going on during night scenes. The film does look good (y’know, once the brightness level is set.) You can see the budget onscreen. From gritty streets, to homes that feel lived in, to the well done practical FX.

“Wassa matter? You seen something bad?”

Story: Annie is a widow with three kids, bills to pay, and an inherited gift that sometimes lets her see visions of  the past, present, and future. When beautiful socialite Jessica is murdered, her gift can help solve the crime, but may also put Annie in danger.

Scares: Mysterious and suspenseful
Splat Factor: A dead body, and multiple bruises from characters getting beat up

Subgenre: Well Written Horror Mysteries
Year Released: 2000
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original

Trick or Treat?: I’ve never really given Gift much thought, mostly because it came and went in theaters, and hasn’t been widely discussed since. But thanks to a “horror movies you probably haven’t seen” list, I checked this one out. I’m glad it did.

“Men like Lombardi put hypnosis back 25 years.”  (Um, a lot further than that…)

Story: Creepy side-show psychic Carlo Lombardi uses the young Andrea Talbot (get it?) as his unwilling assistant, for the “delight” of paying customers. That is, when Lombardi isn’t predicting murders by a hideous “she-creature”. Dr. Erickson, “one of the leading exponents in psychic research”, thinks something’s fishy. Little does Erickson know, things are fishier than anyone could have supposed…

Scares: It’s a 1950s horror movie. So, only for the extremely faint of heart.
Splat Factor: A few dead bodies, but violence is tempered by the black-and-white visuals.

Subgenre: Classic Man-in-Suit Monster Mashes
Year Released: 1956
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: A Samuel Z. Arkoff original

Trick or Treat?: Creature is one of the best monster movies Sam Arkoff ever produced. It’s wonderfully campy, with over serious dialogue played 100% straight. It’s glorious. 

“You’re disgusting. I like that in a person.”

Story: The quiet town of Castle Rock (ahem) gets a new store; Needful Things, an antique store/curiosity shop run by an eccentric older gentleman named Leland Gaunt. Seems this place has everything, and the prices aren’t that bad. Just a small favor. A prank, really…

Scares: A few bits, but mostly suspense.
Splat Factor:  This was originally a TBS miniseries, so no, not much.

Subgenre: Miniseries That Are Slashed To Bits Into Multiplex Format
Year Released: 1993
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Based on the Stephen King book of the same name.

Trick or Treat?: “Needful Things” is one of those King stories that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough as it deserves. It’s “the last Castle Rock story”, and a fitting farewell (kinda) to the town we all got to know over the decades. But by turning the original miniseries adaptation into a feature film, director Fraser C. Heston (yes, Charlton Heston’s son) does a disservice to the story, and the miniseries itself.