Bear

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - I did not like the original Borat movie when it was released 15 years ago, but considering the current political climate in the USA I just had to watch this and it's a homerun for sure. Holy shit, this was incredibly funny, and, even more relevant. All around hilarious, and at times just pure genius. Sacha Baron Cohen is, as always, very good and Maria Bakalova is even better. That performance is INSANE. Can't believe she kept her face straight through some of these scenes. Incredible!

New track from Scour, the side project of Philip H. Anselmo, John Jarvis, Derek Engemann, Adam Jarvis and Mark Kloeppel. Check out the track and ask yourself "whois the guest vocalist on this track? hmmm. who can it be?". Trust me, you'll never figure it out without seeing/reading it.

I watched a Russian sci-fi horror movie called Sputnik today and it was really good. Something like a mix of Deus Ex Machina, without being so heavy on the themes and complexity, and Life, but without being so much of a horror movie as Life was. I thought it was really good with great set designs, a superb cast, an interesting monster design and lovely atmosphere. Really enjoyed it. 8/10

Day 28 Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight - A polish slasher that was a lot of fun, if you like your slashers brainless, dumb and stupid. And I just happen to do that. It's a backwoods horror movie that surely is inspired by the brilliant Hatchet series, as well as carrying on the meta element from Scream and, obviously, 80's slashers. Fun as hell. 7/10 Day 29 The Devil's Rain - This is sort of a cult movie, and it's weird as hell. It's fun, it's wild, it's unique, and it's damn fun. It's also hilarious that a young John Travolta was introduced to Scientology on the set of this movie. It feels odd, as this has cults and shit in it. Weird film, but if you like weird this might be for you. 7/10 Day 30 Ghost Story of Yotsuya - This is often said to be the best adaptation of Yotsuya Kaidan, and it's kinda hard to disagree. The first 40 minutes or so are pretty slow, but it takes its time to really build up the characters, plot, the world and so on. The last 2/3 of the movie is pretty damn dark and twisted, and especially for a movie this old. This was surely ahead of its time as far as gore, darkness and such goes. Beautiful film! 9/10 Day 31 Halloween - Watching horror movies throughout October is the only tradition I keep, and it's so worth it, especially when ending with this masterpiece. John Carpenter's Halloween was, and is, the ultimate slasher film. It's just perfectly executed, and it's so obvious that John Carpenter was a master of cinema already here. He got an eye for details, knows exactly how you build atmosphere and so on. Slasher perfection! 10/10

Day 27 Edge of the Axe - A late 80's Spanish-American slasher film that I have not seen, and it's pretty damn fun. It's straight-forward, but it feels very much like a slasher from 83 and that's very nice. Fun, little gem this. 7/10

Day 25 Evil of Dracula - The third and last movie in Michio Yamamoto's Bloodthirsty trilogy, and it's a very fine way to end the series. Gothic, Hammar Horror-esque vampire movie with a good, creepy atmosphere, beautiful settings, amazing camera work and superbly acted. It's a really good, and on par with Lake of Dracula. 8/10 Day 26: Mark of the Devil - 1970's folk horror that was made to cash in on the success of Witchfinder General, and this is, in many, many ways, just a much grimmer and more exploitative version of said movie. The movie is grim and dark, it's brutal and really nice and atmospheric. It looks gorgeous, being filmed in Austria and utilizing an actual castle where witchfinding interrogations has taken place, as well as using authentic torture tools and such. Is it as good as Witchfinder General? I would say no, but it's a bit different too. Witchfinder General has a bit more omph and camp over it, especially because of the legend that is Vincent Price, but this is more darker and grimmer, and Reggie Nalder (know for his role as the super grim and trrifying Kurt Barlow in Salem's Lot) as Albino is the standout. He's absolutely terrifying. Perfect performance. 9/10

Day 24 Lake of Dracula - The second film in Yamamoto Michio's Bloodthirsty trilogy, and it's another very good piece of Japanese gothic horror. This is, despite being the second part of a trilogy, not a continuation of the first movie. They got nothing to do with eachother, and is only shares common themes. It does have a lot in common, and again it feels like a 1970's Japanese Hammer Horror movie, and it's excellent. It's perhaps a bit more Hammer Horror-esque and less Japanese folklore-esque than The Vampire Doll, but it still feels both fresh and unique. Not quite as good as The Vampire Doll, tho. 8/10

Satan's Fall - Final Day Satan's Fall have been impressed massively with their Mercyful Fate and NWOBHM inspired material, and personally I just can't wait for this. If this is anywhere near the quality of the earlier stuff it's gonna be immense. Bròn - Pred dverima noći Bron is a weird one. Started out as an absolutely magnificent atmospheric black metal band, before starting to release some ambient/downtempo stuff of varying quality. It's not bad, just not all that. But whenever Bron release some black metal I'm super excited, because the quality is top notch. This will consist of three tracks and I hope they're black metal. This is interesting.

Day 23 The Vampire Doll - The first in a trilogy of Japanese vampire movies from the 70's directed by Yamamoto Michio, and a trilogy I've been wanting to watch for years now, but I could never find one of the movies so I never got going. But the entire Bloodthirsty trilogy popped up on tubi.tv the other day and I could not be happier about it. The Vampire Doll is the first one and it's a classic 60's and 70's Japanese horror mixed with Hammer Horror, and it's absolutely amazing. Think something like The Ghost of Yotsuya and The Snow Woman meets gothic Hammer Horror vampire movies. Or just imagine a Hammer Horror vampire movies set in a more modern Japan with a Japanese twist and a hint of Jean Rollin, and you're there. Anyway, this is superbly written, acted, scored and photographed, with gorgeous visuals and a really well-written story and characters. It's fast-paced, but it never forgets its characters or plot. Absolutely brilliant! 9/10 I was also told this was by far the worst in the trilogy, so I am kinda looking forward to the two others. Holy shit, that just can't be true.

Two short movies clocking in at 41 and 32 minutes today, both adaptations of Lovecraft. Day 21 Rough Magik - H.P. Lovecraft adaptation and a part of the H.P. Lovecraft Collection (alongside phenomenal movies like Cool Air, Out of Mind and Pickmans Model (not seen the others)) starring none other than Paul Darrow, who is really good here. The movie itself is not quite as good as Cool Air, Out of Mind and Pickmans Model, but it's certainly a really good adaptation nonetheless. 8/10 Day 22 Pickman's Model - This one's even better than Rough Magik. It's from 1981, but looks and feels like it was made in the 50's or something. Like a rough, worn out movie from the 50's. It feels like it looks, with lovely cinematography, thick and gorgeous atmosphere and is overall really good. 8/10

Day 20 Sound from the Deep - A finnish short movie clocking in at 30 minutes about a team looking for oil, but who ends up finding something very different. It's inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and it's very Lovecraftian. It's not perfect, but I liked the atmosphere a lot and thought it was very good despite its faults. 7/10

Fuck no. Simple as that.

Day 19 Herschell Gordon Lewis' BloodMania - I consider myself a huge fan of Herschell Gordon Lewis, and love plenty of his movie. But dear god, this anthology of four movies, two which were directed by HGL, was so disappointing. The first one, a horror comedy, is nice and gory, and fun. But the others however was just bad. This was HGL's last movie before death, and an awful way to end a career. Sad but true. 4/10

Day 17 The Murder Mansion - A spanish-italian co-production that feels like a giallo meets a murder mystery. It's fine, but not all that too be honest. It just feels a bit lackluster on both the giallo and mystery side of things. 6/10 Day 18 Satan's School for Girls - Satan's School for Girls is something as rare as a 70's TV-movie that is absolutely brilliant. The atmosphere is on point, the actors do really well, it looks nice and the plot is awesome. Also, this movie MUST have been a HUGE inspiration on Dari Argento for Suspiria. Not that they are the same movies, as Suspiria is way more arty, viscerial and complex, but there's so many huge similarities that it just can't have been anything else than Dario been super inspired by it. 9/10

I cannot get enough of Megahammer, and this album, Raw Licks, Sleazy Flicks is by far his best. Holy mother of god, does this album fucking rule. This is the solo project of Vechi Vrăjitor of dungeon synth/black metal project Old Sorcery and black metal band Warmoon Lord. Supreme stuff!

D-beat black metallers Paranoid er out raising hell, and they are doing it in such a fucking fantastic way. Everything they release are just beyond fucking great, and this album is no exception. What a fantastic band. Darkthrone meets Discharge meets Iron Maiden and The Casualties or something.

Day 15 The Bat - A horror mystery from 1959 with Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Gavin Gordon, John Sutton and Lenita Lane among others. Like more or less all Vincent Price movies it has some excellent camp elements to it, and as usual Vincent Price just steals the show. He's most brilliant, the movie is fun and atmospheric and all around really good. 8/10 Day 16 Mortuary - Slightly campy, early 80's slasher film. I had never seen this, and I do not know how I've missed it. It's pretty fun and enjoyable, with some fun death scenes and a superb Bill Paxton. 7/10

Day 14 Vampires - I've always disliked John Carpenter's Vampires a lot, despite being a huge, huge fan of John Carpenter. So big of a fan that I consider him one of the greats, but this never did much for me. But having popped up on Netflix I just decided to give it a new chance and I am glad I did, because this was really one. It's a neo-western horror flick, and I am a sucker for all these types of movies (western horrors like Tremors, Ravenous, Bone Tomahawk, Near Dark etc.). Great atmosphere, awesome setting and well-directed and acted. This was a huge surprise. 7/10

Day 13 The Wolf of Snow Hollow - Young Jim Cummings have crafted a movie that feels like a mix of Coen Brothers' Fargo and John Carpenter's The Thing or something, with clear influences from other movies as he more or less wears them on his sleeve. There's obvious homages to Scream, Universal Monster movies or Hammer Horror movies. It's a horror comedy that's neither too funny or scary, but it's just lies somewhere between. It's weirdly acted, but in a beautiful and unique way, it looks gorgeous and feels very different. Totally taken by surprise by this film. Thought it was outright brilliant. 9/10

Day 11: Destroyer - Destroyer is a low-budget slasher set to a prison, starring Deborah Foreman, Clayton Rohner, Lyle Alzado and Anthony Perkins, whoa re all phenomenal. They deliver the kind of acting you don't expect in this type of a cheap slasher. But this was pretty fun. Full of cheese, bad dialogue and all that. Just the way I like it. 7/10 Day 12: Reptilicus - Early 60's giant monster flick, and not one of the better one. This is a Danish-American film with Danish actors, and apparently it was made in both English and Danish with the same cast. I watched it in English. It's standard, and far from the best type of these late 50's-early 60's sci-fi horror flicks with giant monsters. But it was fun nonetheless. I am after all a sucker for this kind of shit. 6/10

https://yothiria.bandcamp.com/releases Jim Mutilator (who played on classic Rotting Christ and Varathron albums like Passage to Arcturo, Thy Mighty Contract, Non Serviam and His Majesty at the Swamp) and Magus Wampyr Daoloth (Necromantia, as well as having played on Thy Mighty Contract and Non Serviam) have joined forces and created a brilliant piece of epic, Greek black metal in the vein of Triarchy of the Lost Lovers. Yeah, I did say Triarchy of the Lost Lovers and not Thy Mighty Contract, Passage to Arcturo or His Majesty at the Swamp. Under His Sway sounds like Rotting Christ anno 95-96, and if someone had told me that this was recorded around that time I would've been fooled simply because it sounds like it was written in the same time period as Triarchy of the Lost Lovers. Brilliant EP!

I think their Death Metal Demo, Helloween EP, Walls of Jericho and Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I & II are absolutely brilliant, but nothing after Keeper Part II have managed to grab my attention. I do prefer their Death Metal Demo, Helloween EP and Walls of Jericho to Keeper Part I & II tho. More speed than power metal, and both rougher and rawer. But both Keeper albums are superb as well.

Day 8 Tremors: Shrieker Island - Tremors: Shrieker Island is the seventh in the series, and possibly the last? I don't know, but it is, like the vast majority of the series, loads and loads of fun. Michael Gross is, as always, brilliant, and Richard Brake (31, Mandy, 3 from Hell) isn't too far behind either. He did superbly, as usual. Very fun film, and if it's the last in the series then it was a proper good ending like. 7/10 Day 9 Hubie Halloween - Steven Brill's fourth collaboration with Adam Sandler in the 2000's, and by far, his best one. That isn't to say this is amazing however, because it isn't. But it was fun enough, but its tone is so changing throughout the movie. At times it plays like a children's "horror" comedy, and other time it's much darker and more vulgar, being something way different than a children's "horror" comedy. But it's ok for what it is, and Adam Sandler is pretty good here. But the real stars are easily Kevin James, who has impressed me hella lot lately (didn't even realize it was him until I saw the credits), Steve Buscemi and Ben Stiller. They were all hilarious. 6/10 Day 10 Brain Damage - While not Frank Henenlotter's best film, it's still absolutely fantastic. Fun, innovative, nice and gory. Loads and loads of fun. 8/10 Brain Damage is so good that even Ghetto Ghouls made a song based off of it:

Day 7 Gretel & Hansel - Director Oz Perkins has become known for making slow-burning horror movies with focus on atmosphere and visceral/cinematic elements above everything else, and Gretel & Hansel is no different. It's based on Hansel and Gretel, it's faithful and probably the one of the best adaptations so far. It's visually perfect with its use of colours, long shots and sets, it's superbly acted and, to me at least, perfectly paced. Incredible film! 9/10

Day 5 Christine - Re-watched this John Carpenter classic, and it's as good today as it was 20 years ago. Great atmosphere, visually stunning, well-acted and superbly scored. Great film! 8/10 Day 6 #Alive - South-Korean zombie flick, and yet again a very good one. It's nice and bleak, with some really good atmosphere and intense moments. 7/10