Category: Movie Discussions
-
CTH24: Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
When you watch one of the original slashers now, it’s hard to remember if it’s full of tropes that have accumulated over nearly 50 years, or it they were already tropes when the films were originally made. For example, in Friday the 13th Part 2, when Ginny’s (Amy Steel) car is “sick” and Paul (John…
-
CTH24: Unmasked Part 25 (1988)
Unmasked Part 25 (1988) opens as a typical 80s slasher film might and, based on the special effects, a pretty good one. A hockey-masked killer executes (pun intended) five kills: The movie then almost comes to a complete halt, just as the killer does when he’s about to stab a blind woman. She mistakes him for…
-
CTH24: 24 (2016)
The only Bollywood movie I’ve seen is a three-hour-and-44-minute-long historical drama/musical about the game of cricket that came on two videotapes. Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) was wonderful! Now, I’ve seen a second. You might call 24 (2016) “the Back to the Future of India.” It’s not as perfect as that, but It’s a funny, sweet, exciting, time…
-
CTH24: The Number 23 (2007)
The Number 23 (2007) is the dark underbelly of yesterday’s movie, 2:22. That one featured a character with an obsession for a specific time (2:22) and ended with a profound revelation. This one features a character with an obsession for a specific number (23) and ends with a grim resolution. 2:22 nourishes the soul. The Number 23 destroys it. However, both…
-
CTH24: 2:22 (2017)
2:22 (2017) is in a category of film I used to love and for which I seem to still have a soft spot. It’s all about destiny or fate and cosmic circumstances that bring two people together in ways they don’t understand until the emotional climax. This is the type of movie that won’t crack a…
-
CTH24: 21 Days (2014)
21 Days (2014) is a found footage movie about a supposedly haunted house that doesn’t cover any new ground seven years after Paranormal Activity and near the end of its sequels that were still being made. It’s competent enough and has some scares, but the only thing unique about it is a trio of despicable filmmakers that you…
-
CTH24: 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
What I always remember about 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) is the little boy, Pepe, played by Bart Bradley. He’s a shrewd, business-minded child always looking for an angle. He’s also annoying. He opens a canister washed up on the beach of an Italian fishing village after a rocket ship returns from a mission…
-
CTH24: Row 19 (2021)
Row 19 (2021) demonstrates the reason it’s important to stay seated with your seatbelt securely fastened on an airplane flight. If the plane makes a sudden drop and you’re standing in the aisle, you’ll be thrown to the ceiling, then slammed down on the floor, likely left unconscious. If such imagery disturbs you, or that…
-
CTH24: Hangar 18 (1980)
There are two 1980 science-fiction films I remember seeing at the Esquire Theater in my home town of Enid, Oklahoma, that I absolutely did not like. In fact, I haven’t seen either one since. One was The Final Countdown, one of only a couple moviegoing experiences during which I fell asleep. The other was Hangar…
-
CTH24: Number 17 (1932)
It was thrilling for me to learn that I could watch an Alfred Hitchcock film as one of the movies for this year’s #countdowntohalloween. Number 17 (1932) was his 21st film and the last one he made for British International Pictures. While it was a disappointment, there’s some comfort knowing that the master himself thought…
Classic Horrors Club 