October 2016 In Review

All right - it's time for a month in review! Here's my thoughts from the the month that was:

October 2016

Best Movies

Peeping Tom
Deranged
The Neon Demon
Tombs of the Blind Dead

Pleasant Surprises

Bleed
The Neon Dead

Not "Good," but Entertaining

Boardinghouse
The Astro Zombies

Just Not Good

Para Elisa
They Saved Hitler's Brain
Apparition
31

So not too bad of a month. I would say that Peeping Tom and Tombs of the Blind Dead are both pretty damned great, and are the "must-sees" here. They're both kind of old though (1960 and 1973, respectively), so watch out if that's not your thing. The Neon Demon has proven to be wildly divisive, but I totally dug it. If you like art-house in your horror (or perhaps more accurately, horror in your art-house), check it out. And it just went up on Amazon Prime! And if you are looking for a sleeper - the Ed Gein-inspired Deranged is an unnerving, grim, and intentionally awkward film. It's rough around the edges, but if you can swing low fi grittiness and the limitations inherent in a low budget mid-70s film it's a good bet.

31 was probably the big disappointment of the month. I was certain it was no good after watching it, and having sat on it for a while, it seems even worse. I hope Zombie's next one is a lot better. Para Elisa just felt like a waste of time, and I guess a title like They Saved Hitler's Brain is actively warning you to stay away from it. Even if you think a Hitler head preserved in a jar could lead to cheesy fun - sometimes it doesn't. And as much as I try to review very indie flicks with a grain of salt (does that make sense?), sometimes they are just bad. Like Apparition.

But you take the good, you take the bad... you take them both, and That's Life!