What’s Been Haunting You Lately?

We are ten days out from Halloween and are overdue for a check-in. So, what’s been haunting you lately?

This past week I have fallen behind a bit on the challenges for October. I am currently sitting at 139/150 for the #150DaysOfHorror challenge and have watched 16 of the 31 movies for October’s scavenger hunt in the T&BA challenge. So, before I dive in to try and get all caught up this weekend, I thought I’d share some quick thoughts on four of my recent watches.

Let’s kick things off with one that has created quite the stir among horror fans…

If the question is, what’s been haunting you lately? The only answer Laurie Strode has been able to give for 40 years is “Michael Myers”. That doesn’t change here with Halloween Ends. However, what does change is the way the story is told. It doesn’t cater to fans and doesn’t give you the cookie cutter versions of the previous installments. All while (successfully, in my opinion) attempting to take the franchise in a fresh direction. Was it a bold move to try this in the final installment of a trilogy? You bet. If you haven’t seen this one yet, it is still in theaters and streaming on Peacock.

Next up, let’s take a look at some French zombies with 2018’s The Night Eats the World

I had no prior knowledge of this movie going into it. The scavenger hunt for October called for a zombie movie and I scrolled through online lists until one I hadn’t seen jumped out at me. Much like with most movies, this one is best experienced knowing as little as possible about it. However, I will say that these zombies are distinctly different from most. As a result, they are somehow infinitely more terrifying than your usual movie zombie. The Night Eats the World is currently streaming on Freevee (as well as Tubi, Pluto, and Peacock) and I recommend checking it out.

If you were to ask me, “What’s been haunting you lately?”, my response would be “Sitting through a movie featuring one of my favorite bands”. And that brings us to Studio 666…

Look, I love the Foo Fighters and I love Dave Grohl. But this was awful. It’s only “good” in the “this is fun to make fun of” sort of way and even that gets old after a while. The premise could be fun but what makes it a struggle to get through is the Foo Fighters themselves. They’re all charismatic and entertaining in their own ways but instead of being themselves they try to play themselves. If you feel like checking this one out, it is currently streaming on Starz.

And that brings us to the final thing that has been haunting me lately, James Woods asking another man if he got hard. That’s right, I am talking about John Carpenter’s Vampires from 1998.

A vampire western could be a lot of fun if it is done right. However, if only half of it is done right, Vampires is what you get. Both the script and the acting are laughably bad. Not only are we not given enough to invest in any particular character, but the cast also isn’t capable of making you want to care. James Woods, Daniel Baldwin (no, not that Baldwin brother. Nope, he wasn’t the one in BioDome either.), and Sheryl Lee do a fantastic job in making you want to see them fail. Thomas Ian Griffith as Jan Valek is the lone bright spot from an acting standpoint. But, for all the things it gets wrong, Vampires has a ton of great gore, kills, and practical effects. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to make up for the script and acting. If you’re so inclined, this is currently streaming on Netflix.

That’s it for me, but how about you? What have you been watching lately? Have you seen anything you loved? What recent watch left you feeling underwhelmed? Let me know in the comments below or by telling me all about it on social media!

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