Movie Night - Halloween 2021

Halloween isn’t really celebrated here in The Netherlands, but I wished it was. Because I love it and everything about this holiday. Like las year, my brother and I had a Halloween movie night.
 
This year we again chose three films. All horror, but three very different films.
 
My brother Frank has seen some of the most obscure films in the genre and is an expert when it comes to scary films.
 

Videodrome (1983)
The first film we watched was “Videodrome”. I once gifted it to my brother after searching for it for a long time. I bought it from a guy for only a few euros. And I actually never saw this movie before. Max Renn is the boss of a soft-porn station and stumbles upon a repulsice collection of sex, torture and violence at pirate station Videodrom. Watching these images results in a brain tumor, after which Max starts to mic up fiction and reality. One of the weirdest horror films I have ever seen, but I understand the cult-status it has gained over the years. Check out my full review HERE
 

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
The second movie of the night was a film that I have in my collection, but my brother had never seen. This Iranian vampire film is a boldly rendered pop fantasy about an America that exists only in movies. Director Ana Lily Amirpour loves a backward America populated by misfits and outsiders. Elderly heroin junkies, dealers, prostitutes and an Iranian James Dean roam deserted streets, along with the one veiled vampire girl who wanders the streets of fiction ghost town Bad City at night. A different take on the vampire film. You can check out my full review HERE
 

Doghouse (2009)
The last film is a personal favorite of both of us. A fairly unknown British horror comedy, with no subtlety whatsoever. A group of friends from London decide to spend a weekend in the idyllic town Moodley, to cheer up their pall Vince who is going through a divorce. Their goal is to get drunk and party all night and it’s rumored Moodley has more women than man. But it turns out that the only ones left behind are indeed women, but they are thirsty for their flesh. Zombie flick with British humor. Love it. HERE is my full review. 
 
This year wasn’t as scary as last year, but it was a fun theme night.

Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched For My Challenge (August 2017)

I watched some pretty good ones this month. Here are my five favorite films that I watched for my challenge, for the month of August.

5. To the Bone
A Netflix movie that got a lot of criticism. I don’t think that critique is right, they found that this movie glamourized eating disorders. It really doesn’t. It’s a heartbreaking story and very well acted by Lily Collins.

4. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
A film that is best when you watch it without any information. Shot in black and white, great music, really stylish.

3. Sausage Party
Silly yet brilliant humor. It’s an animation, but for adults. And adults only, because it’s pretty raunchy.

2. Don’t Breathe
What a surprising and original horror thrill we got here. The film kept me on the edge of my seat at all times, it really is a film that takes your breath away.

1. War for the Planet of the Apes
The third movie in a trilogy is often the worst. In this case, the complete trilogy is solid and I simply can’t pick a favorite. “War for the Planet of the Apes” is a war movie, without all the epic explosions and clichés. And boy did I cry at the end!

They Almost Made the Top 5: -

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 94: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Romance
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marnò, Dominic Rains, Rome Shadanloo, Milad Eghbali, Reza Sixo Safai

Description: In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.

Review: Nowadays vampire movies are sappy fairytale-like love stories, with drooling teenagers and cringeworthy dialogues. “Let the Right One In” gave this an original twist. And with Ana Lilly Amirpour’s “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”, it looks like the genre is rising again. Horror, romance, Indie, western, all with a feminist touch.
“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” opens with Arash, looking like James Dean, lighting a cigarette. He picks up a cat and walks to twon with him. It looks like the American suburbs, until Arash passes a ditch with human bodies. Bad City sounds as terrible as it is.
At night Bad City turns into a hunting area for a vampire: a youngs woman with posters of American pop idols on her wall, listeing to hip music and wears red lipstick. Her black and white striped shirt disappears under a black chador. In a city where woman are ruled by men, she is the only female power. She seduces the men and then they become her victims.
Director Amirpour has a history as a visual artist, cartoonist and singer of an Indie band. And in her debut film (!) you can definitely feel these influences. Interesting wide shots, a fantastic soundtrack. The icy and artsy atmosphere dominate the film and keep it interesting. There isn’t a lot of dialogue, that makes it even more interesting.
When you see the mix of all the genres, you wouldn’t think it’s a directorial debut. What a great first film for Ana Lily Amirpour.

Rating: 4/ 5