Pumpkinhead

"Pumpkinhead" is a 1988 horror. It was based on a poem by Ed Justin. The film was directed by Stan Winston. Stars include Lance Henriksen, Jess East and John D'Aquino. 

A demon once threatened a small isolated community on an eerie night. Many years later, a boy tragically dies because of a motorbike accident. His grieving father visits a witch in the hope that she could revive him. However, there is a price to pay. This means getting revenge on the teens by waking up a horrible demon that was buried in soil of a pumpkin patch. 

One of the other stars of the film includes a dog named Mushroom who also appeared in the film  "Gremlins." Two of several children belonging to the Wallace family of farmers are the director's own kids. The Wallace family appear as side characters who offer advice to those that need it. One of the cabins used in this film also appears in "Friday the 13th: the Final Chapter." This film was so popular that it went onto make sequels and a reboot. Comics and toys were based on this Pumpkinhead monster for a short while. Today it's considered a classic 80's horror masterpiece fit for Halloween viewing.  

This is a pumpkin treat and gets a rating of 8./10.

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The Living Ghost

This is a 1942 mystery film called "The Living Ghost" and also later named "Lend Me Your Ear". It was directed by William Baudine and stars includes James Dunn, Joan Woodbury and Paul McVey. 

A former detective Nick Trayne now works as a "sympathetic ear" listening to people's issues. He's hired to investigate a missing banker, who vanished mysteriously from his mansion. He discovers some people have become like living zombies, while the lady of the house has bizarre psychic visions. A ruined house in the middle of a wood is possibly a clue to unlocking the strange events. 

There are funny moments because of Dunn's silliness, taking away all focus on the dark spookiness of the film. A frightening storm and a killer gave some horror atmosphere as it was quite fun to watch. On another later rerelease of the film it was given a third title called "A Walking Nightmare." I give this film a wet stormy night 4/10.

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House of the Dragon (season one)

"House of the Dragon" is a 2022 fantasy TV series, prequel to "Game of Thrones" and is based on the book Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin. The HBO series was co-created by Ryan J. Condal. It was directed by a group including Clare Kilner and Miguel. The stars include Matt Smith, Paddy Considine and Olivia D'Arcy. 

172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, saw the story of "House of the Dragon". It's based on an event in Westerosi history called Dance of the Dragons, a time of great civil war and bloodshed. Season One is set at the beginning before the infamous war. The princess Rhaenyra is the eldest child of king Viserys Taragryen, and was made heir to the Iron Throne. The king is sad by the loss of his wife, and then chooses to remarry but he chooses Alicent Hightower, a childhood friend of the princess. Issues arise when Alicent gives the king sons and it makes Rhaenyra less likely to be queen anymore 

The rest of the story unfolds and time passes by, and we see more characters, dragons and places. Plenty of tensions going on, with a lot of violence and death all the way through. There's 10 episodes in the first season. Experience some time jumps and expect to see characters age. The CGI is amazing for television, and mostly it gives the sense of actually being there. The costumes, sets, castles and dragons are impressive. It's got plenty of gore, magic and monsters for anyone who likes both fantasy and horror genres. 

This is a masterpiece so I rate 10/10 gold dragons. 

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The Ghost Beyond

This is a 2018 supernatural thriller directed by R. Michal Givens and stars Trevor Donovan and Vail Bloom. The title of this film also is "Carrion Doll." 

A family move into a new house with a creepy closet filled with musty old dolls. The place is haunted by an angry spirit demon girl who likes to eat dolls.... 

There wasn't anything dark, atmospheric or fresh in this flick so it's got a massive "O" rating from me. Now let's feed it to the crows. 

I give this nothing but a ZERO rating.

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The Old Dark House

This is a gothic horror film made in 1932, directed by James Whale and stars Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart and Melvyn Douglas. It's based on the novel Benighted by J.B. Priestley. 

A vicious storm creates floods and landslides, forcing a group of friends to seek shelter in a lonely manor house. But inside there, they meet a strange family and an even sinister looking butler who frightens women. They're given nice food to eat and then later the electricity fails in the thunderstorm, so they have to rely on candles. While this is going on, something else is lurking in a room upstairs.

A remake with the same title as the original film was made in 1963. This caused issues with copyright and so the 1932 film wasn't ever shown on TV until 1991. So the 1932 film was shelved for decades and forgotten about, then rediscovered. The house looks spooky with creepy faces on the chairs adding to the film weirdness. Notice the shiny earrings worn by character Margaret that keeps disappearing. Perhaps an invisible ghost liked them! And the same ghost might've been responsible for other things.

I rate this a wet night of 6/10.

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The Mutations

This is a 1974 horror sci-fi starring Donald Pleasance and Tom Baker. It was directed by Jack Cardiff, and written by Robert D. Weinbach and Edward Mann. "The Mutations" was also originally called "The Freakmaker". 

It's a weird mad scientist film about a strange Dr. Nolter who gives lectures at a university on mutant species, but also has a secret lab working on plant/human hybrids. A group of friends find one of them has disappeared when she's chased into the woods. A circus at an amusement park has bizarre goings on, so that even people working at a freak show asked questions but connected to Dr. Nolter's experiments!

A dark film with nudity and violence. It's such a horrible story that it's good in a bad way. One of the actors, Michael Dunn, passed away during the making of this film at the age of 39. The location of the film was at Battersea Funfair but it closed the same year of the film's release after a tragic accident. 

I give this a gruesome 6/10.

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The Devil's Pond

 The Devil's Pond is a 2003 film directed by Joel Viertel, and the main cast includes Kip Pardue, Tara Reid and Meredith Baxter. It could be a horror/thriller. Or it's a psychological drama. Still it was scary enough to add. 

A newlywed couple embark on their secret destiny honeymoon, all planned by Mitch who wanted to surprise his loving bride Julianne. However, much to her disappointment, their honeymoon is at a rundown shack on a tiny island in the middle of a lake. There's no reception for phones and no way of keeping in contact with anyone. It's a remote place surrounded by the lake and deep forests with a grave. The trip was meant to be for two weeks but Julianne realises that Mitch is not who he seems.

This film was originally called Heaven's Pond! A forest fire happened on the set of Devil's Pond while filming. It was located at Horseshoe Lake near Libby, Montana. Famous actress Meredith Baxter appears in the beginning at the wedding and she plays the mother of Julianne. There's a great sense of feeling isolated watching this. 

I have to give this a 8/10 for both tension and beautiful scenery.  

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Monster Island (2019)

This is a science fiction fantasy film by The Asylum, directed by Mark Atkins. The stars include Eric Roberts, Adrian Bouchet and Toshi Toda. 

A deep sea exploring team of scientists discover that there's a giant starfish creature that destroyed a submarine. It's enormous size prevents them from escaping it, and they become stranded on one of the tentacles of the massive flower-shaped monster. It soon became known that its a Tengu, a creature once thought to be from myth and legends. The special effects are amazing, and there are more monsters to come. 

I was hooked and enjoyed every moment of this fantastic adventure. The characters call the first sea beast a "Kaiju" which is Japanese for "strange beast". Others monsters that appear later in the film just make the Tengu pale in comparison! It must be mentioned that Tengu is a a type of yokai (spirit) from Japanese folklore. Watching this film makes you feel how vulnerable humanity is!

I rate this a monstrous 9/10

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