The Cathode Ray Mission: October 2019

It's back again! Like the rotting corpse of a zombie, newly risen from the grave. It shambles across the countryside. Getting closer and closer. Yes! The time is here once more. Time for a heaping helping of Halloween. And with All Hollows Eve on the horizon, it's also time for my annual picks for some Halloween fun.

10) Blood Massacre (1991)

Massacre is a strange mix of Last House on The Left and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It features a slick scene towards the beginning with a video store robbery. Our ne'er-do-well thieves make a hasty escape and end up at farm house. A farm house hiding some deadly secrets. Blood Massacre is very different then the other Don Dohler flicks I've seen so far. No aliens! It's also way more stylish and polished then his other films I've sampled. There's a couple twists that keep things interesting. One you'll see a mile out and one that is just bizarre and awesome.

9) The Mummy Lives (1993)

Originally set to star Anthony Perkins, who died before filming started. Then Christopher Lee, who turned down the lead at the last moment. So producer Harry Alan Towers went with Tony Curtis. Curtis is insanely miscast here. He fluctuates between giving no fucks to hamming it up. The story is the usual reincarnated lover back from the dead. This Mummy is a bit slow at times and there's not enough of the decent looking mummy on screen. Most of the gore comes from Omen style kills. But there's a certain charm to the film. And every Halloween needs a mummy or two. So if you've seen all the other mummy flicks, give The Mummy Lives a try. Besides does any of the others feature a mummy cat coming back to life?

8) We Are Still Here (2015)

House of The Devil mixed with House by the Cemetery. With a little The Fog thrown in. We Are Still Here has a great retro setting. There's even a J&B sighting. Burnt pissed off ghosts are not to be messed with. Great little haunted house flick with a touch of a Italian horror vibe.

7) The Mysterious Monsters (1975)

Documentaries from the '70's about UFO's, ghosts and Bigfoot are like potato chips for me. I just can't get enough of them. They can be equal parts creepy and ridiculous. This one does both very nicely. The reenactments have a good creepy vibe. A lot of the evidence is questionable. The experts are overbearing and the witnesses are sincere. Peter Graves is the host for this excursion into the paranormal. Throughout, all I could think of was his role in Airplane. I was hoping he'd get to ask Bigfoot if he'd seen any gladiator films.

6) The Flesh Eaters (1964)

A down on his luck charter pilot, a alcoholic actress and her assistant make an emergency landing on a small island after getting caught in a tropical storm.The island's only inhabitants are a shady marine biologist and a horde of flesh eating sea creatures.
Written and story-boarded by one of the creators of the Doom Patrol. This '60's creature feature is a blast from start to finish. With a band of quirky characters. A unique monster, some early graphic gore effects and one very groovey beatnik make for a fun B-movie.

5) Exorcismo (1975)

Paul Naschy’s answer to a little horror film that came out in 1973. While it doesn’t have the deeper themes of the Exorcist, it’s a pretty wild ride. With plenty of 70’s Satanic action. There was a giallo vibe to parts of Exorcismo that I dug. With a masked killer running around offing a few folks during the goings on. I also really enjoyed possessed Leila. Her crazy antics are great fun and her makeup is well done and creepy. Naschy’s Father Adrian, is one of his cooler non-monster roles. Hippies, possession, bad clothes, facial hair aplenty. Everything I crave in a 70’s horror flick.

4) The Walking Dead (Comic Book)

Having only seen the first season of the show and a handful of scattered episodes from later seasons, I can't judge the overall quality of the show versus the comic. That said, I do greatly prefer the comic. While the comic can sometimes fall back on "Let's have a sex scene." I like how the characters react to the world of zombies and the day to day of surviving in such a world. The world feels way more brutal as well. Where the show can only get away with so much. Rick of the comic feels very human while still being a total badass. Lori though, she's still annoying.

3) Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness (1995)

Last year I watched the Eko Eko Azarak set from Tokyo Shock. Having only seen Wizard of Darkness before. I highly recommended this and it's follow up: Eko Eko Azarak 2: Birth of the Wizard to anyone who enjoys Japanese horror films or horror based super heroes. There's a good amount of gore and a creepy atmosphere to both films. The third film in the series, which features a different actress and director then the first two is okay.

2) Out-Of-Body Experience By Dante Tomaselli

Wouldn't be right if I didn't include something from friend of the blog and cool dude Dante Tomaselli on the list.Whereas his previous CD albums felt like descents into madness or journeys through hellish landscapes. His new album is like experiencing on of those '70's paranormal documentaries. It envelopes you in it's creepy synth goodness and transports you to another plain.

1) The Living Skeleton (1968)

I'm conviced John Carpnter saw this film. Living Skeleton feels more then a little like a precursuer to Carpnter’s The Fog. Both feature maritime ghostly vengeance. So much creepy atmosphere in this baby. There's a ton amazing shots. The use of shadow here is perfect. And the music is moody and memorable. Living Skeleton is what would happen if Mario Bava made Black Sunday in Japan. A Gothic, haunting film that’ll imprint it’s images on your mind’s eye.