Sunday, October 28, 2018

Halloween Watch: Frankenstein (1931)


Watched:  10/28/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  Unknown.  well into double digits
Decade:  1930's

I'm a Frankenstein fan.  Maybe not as much as other people, and I got a late start.  I didn't watch the movie until 1997 when I rented it during a blitz into Universal's horror offerings that, if you know me a little, you know had a deep impact that resonates to this day.

Growing up in the wake of the 70's monster-craze, the Frankenstein monster's image was everywhere, from kid's cartoons (including the Flintstones for some reason), but I don't remember ever seeing Frankenstein offered on TV, nor do I remember tapes available at the local video store.  Austin and Houston didn't have latenight monster movie hosts, so...  the availability was pretty low.

So, yeah, I rented it from the I Love Video near my apartment and gave the 1930's movie a spin, genuinely concerned that after all the hype, I might not like it (I'd seen Dracula in high school at a local cinema, but that's a different story).  While the movie only borrowed from the book, the movie was so much it's own thing, and so weird and creepy and heart breaking, what wouldn't I like about it?

I've written plenty on this movie, and every time I watch it, I'm stunned by the storytelling, the design of sets, creature and sound.  It "transports" me, and I genuinely find the movie electric, so to speak.  There's so much to love in Whale's picture.

I won't belabor it all here - this is a checkmark on my 2018 Halloween movie watching, and I'm on to The Bride of

Halloween Watch: The Mummy's Tomb (1942)


Watched:  10/28/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940's

Halloween Watch: Countess Dracula (1971)


Watched:  10/28/2018
Format:  Amazon Prime Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970's

Halloween Watch: The Witch (2015)


Watched:  10/27/2018
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing: First
Decade:  2010's

Happy Birthday, Elsa


Today would have been Elsa Lanchester's 116th birthday. 

Never the bridesmaid - always THE BRIDE


Halloween Watch: The Devil's Bride/ The Devil Rides Out (1968)


Watched:  10/27/2018
Format:  Filmstruck (sob)
Viewing: First
Decade:  1960's

Friday, October 26, 2018

PODCAST! HALLOWEEN WATCH 2018 FINALE! "The Thing" (1982) w/ Jamie and Ryan



Watched:  09/30/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  Unknown.  Eighth?
Decade:  1980's

After 20 years of avoiding watching The Thing (1982) Jamie decides it's time to watch the movie and then get in front of a microphone. We discuss a modern horror classic, and what it's like to finally see a movie you've heard so much about (and maybe built up a bit in your imagination).



Music:

Bride of Frankenstein Theme - Franz Waxman
The Thing Main Titles - Ennio Morricone
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft - The Carpenters
Swan Lake - Act 2: No. 10 Scene - Tchaikovsky


Playlists:

Featured:  Signal Watch Halloween 2018




Get your audio episodes at:

Halloween Hammer Watch: The Mummy (1959)


Watched:  10/25/2018
Format:  TCM/ DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1950's

I thought I'd seen this movie before, but I had not.  But, boy howdy, did I like it - weird British Imperialistic dismissal of other cultures and all.  The movie is The Mummy (1959), part of Hammer's slate of Universal Horror remakes from their 50's and 60's boom era.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

LIVE WATCH WITH THE SIGNAL WATCH! NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD!!! FRIDAY - 9:00ish Central!




Night of the Living Dead (1968) is a movie everyone should have in their collection and/ or have access to.  It's got all sorts of copyright failures that mean everyone owns it and no one owns it.

This year is the 50th Anniversary, plus it's Halloween-time, so let's watch the movie that launched a 1000 imitators and a whole culture around re-killing dead people.

I was going to try to do a videoconferencing thing, but I've realized that everyone's TV's playing the movie out of synch is just going to be a nightmare, so until we sort out how to watch the movie together, we're still LIVE TWEETING.

  • Movie:  Night of the Living Dead
  • Time:  9:00 Central, Friday October 26th
  • hashtag:  #getbarb
  • to find me:  @melbotis

Where to watch:

We'll talk:

  1. unpredictable effects of cosmic phenomena
  2. why none of us care if Barbara gets it
  3. how it's kinda nice all the zombies are dressed nice from their funerals
  4. the complexities of what it means for a bunch of dead people to come back as proposed in this film versus other films
  5. casting a Black lead in 1968
  6. why one should always keep a good shovel around
  7. brains: yes, delicious, but - also nutritious?
  8. why Dawn of the Dead is also pretty spiffy
  9. what is the most depressing element of this movie?
  10. why I'd become a dictatorial monster inside of five minutes of a zombie apocalypse
  11. what to do when you awkwardly run into a zombie who is someone you used to know

Cocktails:

Well, I'll be drinking, you can count on that.  But I'm not making any recommendations.  Both the Corpse Reviver and Zombie cocktails are delicious and require too many ingredients I don't have.  So, people, just do what you know.