Board 8 > ITT I Rate Every Horror Movie I Watch in October

(+) Yeah! (+)

Hey guys, it's that time again. Last year I had a fun time with watching and rating every horror movie I watched in October, and I plan to do it again this year! Got tons more to watch! I'm going to try to keep it at a scale of what I did last year, out of 10 with half numbers. I'm not going to double up on horror movies I watched last year, because I want to make a gigantic super list! I'll give the big ranking every 10 days and I'll leave it to you guys whether or not you want them added in with last year's list or wait until the very end to put them together. Looking forward to this! Check out last year's list below:

My Horror Movie Ratings For October 2020!:

The Best of the Best:
Aliens - 10/10
The Conjuring - 10/10
Halloween (1978) - 10/10
Psycho (1960) - 10/10
Sinister - 10/10
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - 10/10
The Wailing - 10/10

Must Watch:
Drag Me To Hell - 9.5/10
The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV Series) - 9.5/10
The Ring - 9.5/10
Alien - 9/10
Hellraiser - 9/10
Insidious - 9/10
Oculus - 9/10
Spiral - 9/10
Black Christmas (1974) - 8.5/10
Host - 8.5/10
The Lighthouse - 8.5/10
Lovecraft Country (TV Series) - 8.5/10
Mara - 8.5/10
The Mimic - 8.5/10
The Taking of Deborah Logan - 8.5/10

Great Movies:
The Babysitter: Killer Queen - 8/10
Beach House - 8/10
Come Play - 8/10
Crawl - 8/10
The Empty Man - 8/10
Insidious: Chapter 2 - 8/10
Ju-On: The Grudge - 8/10
Killer Klowns From Outer Space: 8/10
The Monster - 8/10
The Room - 8/10
Still/Born - 8/10
Terrified - 8/10
Child's Play (2019) - 7.5/10
Coherence - 7.5/10
Creep - 7.5/10
Creep 2 - 7.5/10
Fright Night (1985) - 7.5/10
He's Out There - 7.5/10
The Hitcher (1986) - 7.5/10
Nightbreed - 7.5/10
Paranormal Activity (5): The Marked Ones - 7.5/10
Sleepaway Camp - 7.5/10
The Void - 7.5/10
Absentia - 7/10
Bad Hair - 7/10
Devil's Gate - 7/10
Haunt - 7/10
Knock Knock - 7/10
Mama - 7/10
My Bloody Valentine - 7/10
Summer of '84 - 7/10
Trick 'r Treat - 7/10

Pretty Good:
Eyes Without a Face - 6.5/10
Friday the 13th (1980) - 6.5/10
Friday the 13th: Part II - 6.5/10
The Grudge - 6.5/10
Lore (TV Series) - 6.5/10
The Ruins - 6.5/10
Scanners - 6.5/10
Children of the Corn - 6/10
Lake Mungo - 6/10
The Neon Demon - 6/10
Prom Night - 6/10
Ringu - 6/10
As Above So Below - 5.5/10
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight - 5.5/10

Below Average:
Eraserhead - 5/10
The Gallows: Act II - 4.5/10
The Nun - 4/10
Thinner - 4/10
Behind You - 3.5/10
Paranormal Activity (6): Ghost Dimension - 3.5/10
Coyote Lake - 3/10
Paranormal Activity 4 - 3/10

Trash:
The Dinner Party - 2.5/10
The Gallows - 2.5/10
The Bye Bye Man - 2/10
Sinister 2 - 2/10
The Curse of Downer's Grove - 1.5/10
The House of the Witch - 1.5/10
The Sandman - 1.5/10
Slumber - 1.5/10
Deadcon - 1/10
Evil Eye - 1/10
Texas Chainsaw (3D) - 1/10
The Other Lamb - 0.5/10
When a Stranger Calls (2006) - 0.5/10
fear dot com - 0/10

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Tag

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0. Midnight Mass (TV Series)

So I'm a huge fan of Mike Flanagan. I'll watch pretty much anything from this man. He has a way with horror that I feel is just... elegant, in a way. He is a lot more artistic in his vision, I've always felt, and he really takes the horror of things and somehow finds a way to connect with you on a deeper level.

I watched Midnight Mass and binged it in a single day. I didn't exactly expect to, but I certainly wasn't waiting until October to see his new outing. I was a huge fan of his Haunting series, and I just had to see what he came up with for this series.

A beautiful nightmare, is the best I can describe it. I can't in good conscience spoil anything. All of these will be spoiler-free unless it's some kind of wretched movie that it doesn't matter if it gets spoiled, but this is a series that is brilliant if you go in with no spoilers. It takes religion and just gives it such a focus with so many horrifying elements thrown in. It takes that elegance I spoke of and peppers it throughout everything. From the visuals to the themes--everything feels profound despite this frame of complete terror and foreboding.

Essentially, it's about a small island town that has a new pastor show up to replace the old one. That's all I'll explain. That's all I need to explain. It's Mike Flanagan. Trust him. Trust the reviews that say it's incredible. Trust me! The thing with this story is that there are so many twists and turns and you legitimately have no idea what will happen. So many shocking moments. There's a part where it turns everything on its head and just completely rocks the entire plot and suddenly when you put everything together, it makes so much terrible sense.

And in the end, it ties everything up as perfectly as it needs to. Every storyline comes to a head. Everything makes sense. Every single character's conclusion is satisfying story-wise. It's so perfectly woven and so much love went into this script. And the acting is top notch. Couldn't be better.

Is it the scariest thing I've ever seen? Not even close. But it certainly becomes harrowing, chilling, and tense to such a degree that not many works could do to me.

Just watch Midnight Mass. You absolutely will not regret it. I give it a 10. It's how much I absolutely loved this show, top to bottom.

Rating: 10/10

I didn't expect to start off with a 10, but here we are!

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I can't wait to watch it.

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You havent seen the Haunting of Hill House yet? Considering you gave Bly Manor a 9.5 and Midnight Mass a 10, you might have to give Hill House an 11, lol.

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I have seen Hill House 3 times and I plan on re-watching it this month!

But for right now... Do you guys remember Candle Cove?

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Tag. I loved Candle Cove when I was young.

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that creepy children's show that we used to watch as kids?

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tag

will watch Midnight Mass about the same time I watch The Haunting of Hill House and Bly Manor. Which is to say, eventually.

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Candle Cove, that was some kids show about pirates wasn't it? On at a weird time?

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Preview for late this month: https://twitter.com/NigelBach/status/1443704371192246274?s=19

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PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

https://twitter.com/NigelBach/status/1443704371192246274?s=19

Fuck yeah

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We're close enough.

I am now watching Mandy, which I have somehow evaded for a few years now.

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Time for Cheddar Goblin.

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Snake5555555555 posted...

Time for Cheddar Goblin.

Time for VRRRRRUM-RMRMRMRMRMRMRMMMM

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Johnbobb posted...

Time for VRRRRRUM-RMRMRMRMRMRMRMMMM

That's accurate

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give Gonjiam a try, haunted mental asylum found footage movie

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I saw Gonjiam earlier this year! I probably won't watch it again this month, but my thoughts can be summed up as: boring found footage crap for 2/3 of the movie, then suddenly super competent payoffs and scares in the last 1/3 of the movie. My problem was that I just did not enjoy the first 2/3 of the movie. But man, when it gets rolling it's actually awesome.

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yea the setup was extremely boring

the lady with the flashlight and that guy in the locked room at the end still haunts me lol

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1. Mandy (Shudder)

Yo, what the fuck?

This movie was absolute insanity. Nicholas Cage just a god damned lunatic, acid trip lunacy, blood and gore all over the place. Just a fucking wild ride.

Mandy is about a man and his girlfriend, Mandy. A cult captures both of them. Eventually, there's a bloody, murderous revenge. Also, many drugs.

I mean, that covers it for the plot right? There's something oddly surreal about this whole experience--in a good way. I don't come across movies like this very often where it feels somehow grounded yet I'm a mile away from it, because it's that intense and insane. The color pallet and direction really makes this movie something unique, and the entire story is... I mean, it's what the story is. Who actually cares? It's not very important and it's just... bizarre, yet easy to get?

I don't think there's a way to sufficiently put together my thoughts on this film, just because it's wild. When it gets fucking wild, it's off the chain pull no punches wild and I love that it's so unabashed fucking crazy. It gets very artistic at times despite this.

I have literally only one drawback, and it's that I feel like this movie was a bit too long. It probably could have been cut down in some areas, and probably in the beginning. Other than that, it's such a satisfying ride.

If you want some kind of out of your mind horror experience that kicks up and never lets up until the end, I really recommend it. It's such a completely different experience that I don't know can be matched by a lot.

Rating: 8.5/10

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I feel like I saw Mandy once visually compared to something like prog metal album covers brought to life, which feels apt

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Well, apparently this is my last day to watch it.

I'm watching the Prom Night remake.

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2. Prom Night (2008) (Netflix)

This movie is pretty bad. Simple as that.

So last year, you may remember me feeling pretty good about the original Prom Night. I gave it a 6/10. It wasn't great by any means, but it was an above average horror that had a goofy idea, a mystery, and wanted to be more of a "WOW KIDS LOOK AT HOW COOL THE PROM IS!" kind of movie.

This movie is not any of that. This Prom Night has no mystery, mostly shows off the horrible stupid drama of prom, and takes itself entirely seriously. It doesn't even have that dumb Prom Night song! Missed opportunity! As such, it's just an inferior film in every way.

Basically, this movie is about a girl who has a teacher that is obsessed with her and kills her little brother, her mom, and her father, so they can be together...? And now she's living with her aunt and uncle. Now she's a senior going to the prom and he's escaped jail to take her away again!

Like the premise is just bad on its own. Killer who kills everyone in her family and those close to her to kidnap her. Yawn. Brittany Snow is the lead and she's usually fun to see act. Idris Elba of all people is the cop. And nobody here does a good job with anything. I'm going to spoil some shit, so if you for whatever reason don't want to be spoiled on the Prom Night remake, avert your eyes.

So they learn the killer has escaped, right? Well Idris Elba gets a report this teacher escaped from jail somehow? And then when he informs her aunt and uncle, they go "We can't go in and take her out of the prom! She's made so much progress overcoming her nightmares of when her family was brutally murdered!" Okay, if a psychopath whose literal only goal is to kill everyone and kidnap her escapes from jail, you just fucking take her and hide her where they can't get her. What the fuck? So instead they're doing this subtle man hunt to find this guy and letting these people do their prom.

And the prom drama, ooooooh god maybe if I were still a damn child I'd be into it, but as an adult this sucks. I doubt I'd be into it as a kid because who the hell had a prom this extravagant? I went to a really nice school but it wasn't even close. This stuff makes up so much of the story and GUESS WHAT? None of it matters because everyone involved dies!

Which brings me to another issue: Every friend this girl has is fucking dead now. So she lost her immediate family, all of her friends, her boyfriend, and Idris Elba is still the one who shoots him dead in the end. What the fuck this is the most downer ending ever. She's just a broken person sobbing at the end, broken more than before, and then they play some goofy dance song to play us out! This girl is scarred for life, please understand. Because ninja teacher managed to Assassin Creed everyone around, including trained officers.

The best I can offer this film is that parts are competent. There's a few clever things they do with this movie that I can almost appreciate for a genre of teen slasher that was vomited out around this time. But everything else sucks. It just does. It's not a good movie and nothing like the fun dumb time the original was. I just don't get why this film was made.

Rating: 3/10

Edit: Please enjoy the song from the original. It's glorious in how corny it is.

https://youtu.be/y3V5vbfTPsc

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Kinda miss the time when studios were crazy obsessed with remaking every 70s and 80s horror slasher they could. And by miss it I mean good riddance.

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Snake5555555555 posted...

Kinda miss the time when studios were crazy obsessed with remaking every 70s and 80s horror slasher they could. And by miss it I mean good riddance.

I actually liked Rob Zombie's Halloween! And that was it

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Johnbobb posted...

I actually liked Rob Zombie's Halloween! And that was it

I'll give you that one. And I do love the The Town That Dreaded Sundown meta-sequel-remake. But then they literally remade stuff like April Fool's Day and The Hitcher like people were really begging for it.

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I am now watching Held.

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3. Held (Hulu)

Held is a weird one, and not necessarily in a good way. Going to try my best here--fortunately not giving away spoilers will be good for not getting into detail!

This is a movie where a married couple is having major issues and they stay at some house, but then people come in at night and drug and put a chip in their neck. And now there's some crazy over the PA who is instructing them on how to fix their relationship and forcing them to be a good couple, or else they get zapped and hurt.

This movie is very monotonous and not tremendously interesting? Like... points for the idea, I guess, but I don't need to see a ton of scenes of a couple being forced into traditional marriage tropes. It's just not interesting. And that's really the biggest problem is that they have to fill up an hour and a half, and you could kind of cut a ton of this movie out and have it alright still.

There's a twist in here, and I'll give them credit because it's decent. But it makes the whole thing kind of more silly in the end. I dunno, it didn't hold my attention a ton, and it seems more like a really deep attempt at being more profound, but it all just falls really flat.

I don't necessarily recommend it or anything, but I saw a dude with a cool mask in the poster and that was pretty much the highlight of this film.

Rating: 3/10

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Never even heard of this one, but it doesn't seem promising.

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4. Channel Zero: Candle Cove (Shudder)

Do you guys remember Candle Cove?

So I started this yesterday and easily plowed through a bunch of episodes and finished it today. It was such an easy watch.

For those not in the know, Channel Zero is an anthology series where they expand upon a Creepypasta each season. The first season is Candle Cove, where a child psychiatrist comes back to his hometown after weird dreams, and he's reminded of a TV show that was on when they were kids, but their parents swear was nothing but static.

I'm a huge fan of Channel Zero, and I think this season is great. It tells a very interesting story that may seem like it gets a bit complicated at times, but it really keeps you wondering what's coming up next. There's a eerie, chilling feeling this season offers a lot of times, complete with a monster that's honestly horrible to witness. Absolutely fuck that thing it's a nightmare.

The acting isn't amazing, but it makes up for it with an interesting story, some very notable scenes, and a plot that is tied together really well. It's extremely memorable for a number of reasons, and I can't get the jingle out of my head now. Candle Cove is awesome, and I recommend folks give it a shot if you like these small, condensed, creepy supernatural anthology series. You really can't do better, and it's a satisfying, breezy watch.

Only drawback is that on Shudder, they removed those creepy fake episodes entirely from it. Those were great!

I plan on watching more Channel Zero seasons this month. So look out for that!

Rating: 8/10

Also, if I'm plugging anything else, this season has Fiona Shaw in it, who is a lead in Killing Eve. It's one of my favorite shows, so I recommend watching that as well!

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Welp, last day to watch this too.

I am now watching Midnight Meat Train.

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Man I miss Channel Zero, what an amazing horror show. There are better ones but I think it might've been my favorite. One of the few pieces of media to actually give respect and credit to Creepypasta.

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Snake5555555555 posted...

I'll give you that one. And I do love the The Town That Dreaded Sundown meta-sequel-remake. But then they literally remade stuff like April Fool's Day and The Hitcher like people were really begging for it.

Worst one was 2009's The Stepfather imo

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Johnbobb posted...

Worst one was 2009's The Stepfather imo

Ugh yes that's a doozy.

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Tag

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5. The Midnight Meat Train (Amazon Prime)

This is a movie that is only as good as it is because it had a truly different and visionary director to take one of Clive Barker's twisted short stories into something huge. Ryuhei Kitamura takes this film and makes it a stylistic, bloody affair.

The Midnight Meat Train is about a man, played by Vinnie Jones, who is butchering people on a late night subway train, and a photographer, played by Bradley Cooper, investigating exactly what it is he's doing and why.

This movie isn't perfect by any means, and I'll get to that later. But god damn is it ever fun. It's tense and offers a ton of style points for something that's as gruesome as it is. It never feels dull. I can't quite explain it, but this movie feels sleek, from the color pallet, to the action, to the unique presentation. It can't state enough about how well-done this movie is, just from a presentation standpoint. It's easily the best part.

Even the plot is interesting. It's simple. Just a man following a mute psychopath who is intent on murdering everyone on this train. He has a girlfriend who is begging him to stop and is rather reasonable throughout the movie until she does Dumb Horror Movie Things. Aside from that, it keeps you compelled through the whole thing.

I've watched this movie a few times, and every single time I watch this I keep trying to look for something new. Maybe something I missed in this movie to really make the ending feel it just doesn't come out of fucking nowhere. And every single time I watch this movie, I still come away saying "Where did all of this come from?" And further... why are we given such a tiny glimpse at it? Those who have seen it probably know what I'm talking about. A little foreshadowing would have done this movie a lot of good, I think. And it's such a distracting issue for me when I watch this movie because I just don't understand how they thrust all of that in front of us with barely anything else before that to explain it.

But here's the thing: despite that, it's such a good ass movie. I love watching it. I'm always entertained. I love watching it unfold. And if it had a little bit more to help make the ending better, I think I would've rated this higher than I did. But I cannot go any further than this. And it's by no means a bad score at all. Hell, it's probably higher than a lot of people might put it. But it just misses out on being a must watch from me.

Rating: 8/10

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Really great, underrated slasher, glad to see that score.

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same here! fucking love midnight meat train

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Watched Candyman (2021). I was a little underwhelmed but I still enjoyed it. I definitely liked how they re-contextualized the Candyman legend for the modern day. The subtext to it all feels even stronger than the '92 film. But, where it falters a bit is in actual screen presence, obviously no one is going to take up the screen quite like Tony Todd did but still I feel the actual presentation of the Candyman is sorely lacking.

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I am now watching A Nightmare on Elm Street

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6. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) (HBO Max)

I think this is the first actual classic I've watched so far. And let me tell you, it's a classic in every meaning of the word. This is Freddy Kreuger's original appearance, and man does it ever feel good.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a bunch of teenagers being taunted and murdered in their sleep by the twisted Freddy Kreuger, and their efforts to try to stop him and survive.

This movie feels so fresh, every single time I watch it. It's not your typical slasher movie. Sure, Freddy is up there in the pantheon of iconic slasher villains, but he stands out for multiple reasons. Wes Craven made a man burned alive, with a fedora, and a terrible sweater, and knife fingers. And it's fucking awesome, really. But what also makes him stand out is that in an era where slashers were all silent killers, Freddy toys with his victims and taunts them. He's got a personality that is dark, amusing, but in the flip of a switch just horrifying in this film.

But that's not the only reason this feels fresh: it's because we have a badass girl protagonist who actively goes through every single conceivable way to defeat Freddy, to the point she is willing to actually confront and fight him. This is awesome! You didn't see this often, especially with such a unique concept! She actually tries her damnedest, trying every single method to stay awake, then trying to get someone to watch her, then just trying to drag that bastard into our world. It's great. Nancy is such a great character, and you're really rooting for her throughout this film.

Everything put together makes A Nightmare on Elm Street such a delight to watch. It's easy, has depth, has fun, has gruesome scenes, and it's legitimately scary at points. Just the stuff you see in here was unheard of back then, and he killed his victims in such different ways than anyone was ever used to.

It's such a creative film, and I love it dearly. I honestly have not a single drawback to this film. I give it a 10/10, easy. Go out of your way to watch it if you haven't for some reason. It's just so much fun every time.

This movie also has the distinction of being the first movie to ever give me nightmares! For those who have seen this, you'll know when I slept on my floor for a week because I refused to sleep in my bed.

Rating: 10/10

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I am now watching Cat People.

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LOVE LOVE LOVE Nightmare on Elm Street. If I don't watch in October every year I would feel like something is just off. The cozy suburban setting just drives it in that much more. Totally agree with your fresh comment, I'm always in constant of how much of an insanely good idea the whole film is. It's also why the sequels are as creative and fun as they are too, cause you can do anything with dreams and nightmares.

Can't wait to see the Cat People review, another favorite of mine, but I'll see if you agree.

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7. Cat People (1982) (Peacock)

Alright, so this is a very sexually charged affair. It was pretty good though. Also, I didn't realize it was a remake before this.

Anyway, Cat People is about a woman who meets up with her brother after they were split up when they were orphaned, and after pursuing a relationship with a zookeeper, she comes across a leopard in the city that ends up being a lot stranger than just that.

I was pretty into this. I should just come out and say it's a story about werecats. I mean, I can't really talk about this without mentioning it. Even the description spoils that much. But it has a lot of lore based behind it, but it does get, uh, creepy at times. A product of it's time, certainly.

But the werecat stuff was interesting, the rules were interesting, and the story for the most part keeps you on your toes even if you can kind of predict some things. It's a sexy movie too, and it feels like an '80s sex fest kind of deal, if that makes any sense? So much of the plot revolves around sex, which is fine, but it's age does show a lot in this flick.

It was good for what it was. Kept me interested. No real big complaints about it. It was quite good at what it set out to do and accomplished it. Probably just wasn't my bag though, entirely.

Rating: 6/10

Btw those who have any interest in trying out Peacock, they have a really good selection of horror stuff this year. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much they had. Kudos on the improvements, Peacock!

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I'm planning to watch a scary movie every day this October. First was Nightmare on Elm Street 3, which is kind of a funny movie since Freddy hasn't gone full on silly ham yet, but you can see him getting there

Also I always forget a very young Laurence Fishburne is in this

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Oh whoops, I didn't realize you were watching the remake. Don't like it nearly as much as the original.

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The 1942 Cat People is pretty great

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I'm sorry for watching the wrong horror cat movie.

Let me fix it by watching the 2001 horror hit Valentine starring Bones from Bones.

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Nice poster at least

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Nancy Thompson is my favorite final girl. Two of my favorite pieces in my collection are both autographed by Heather Langenkamp. A signed NOES script and a signed Freddy glove.

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