New Blood

I don't know if this is the right thread for this but I got the first couple seasons of X-Files on DVD for Christmas. I haven't watched the series since it first aired. I binged watched the first season the last couple days since I was snowed in. It's a pretty good season with only one episode that I might consider slightly on the weak side. For the hell of it, I have a top 10 favorite episodes. Shows like this where a lot of the episodes are self contained and aren't a part of a major arch is easy to rank episodes. The top 2 I could put on a contenders list for best episodes once I get through the series. Even though Ice is a riff on John Carpenter's The Thing, it's still really great and I had a ton of fun watching it. The paranoia was palpable as well is in E.B.E. It's a great episode as part of the X-Files Alien mythology.

My favorite movie blog, Rupert Pupkin Speaks, asked for lists of people's favorite "bad" movies and over 76 people responded. Throughout the summer of 2012 he posted all of the lists with comments on why they loved those films. The most popular films were The Apple, Burial Ground: Nights of Terror, Dreamcatcher, Grease 2, No Retreat No Surrender, Strike Commando. http://rupertpupkinspeaks.blogspot.com/2012/08/bad-movies-we-love-wrap-up.html And I just realised, after 20 some pages, there is not one single mention of MOTHERFUCKIN' DOLEMITE!

Nothing beats SAMURAI COP! Nothing. I've always been partial to the Canon/Golan-Globus action films of the 80s. I don't know why but low budget action films were always more exciting then their big budget Hollywood counterparts [although there were good ones too]. I think part of it was that the action sequences seemed more insane or dangerous and the films were always a lot more pacier. I also love every run of the mill slasher of the 80s. I grew up walking around in video stores and those old big box VHS tapes were always so terrifying/alluring that even no matter how shitty the film was, I still loved it. Same goes for the sex comedies of the 80s as well. It's like pizza.

I listened to a decent amount of albums this year and several were quite good but only a few so far has really struck me as something I'd listen to over and over again. My recommendations as of now: Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork - This is my favorite album of the year so far and what an awesome one! It has everything people love about the band but it also has an added melancholy that wasn't there in previous albums. I've listened this about 4 times already and could listen to it 20 more times. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - I love the mix of their traditional style but also mixed with their past influences that painted a history of dance and electronic music. Awesome, awesome stuff. Savages - Silence Yourself - This all-woman band don't reinvent the wheel with indie rock but it's a great album that speeds by as I listen to it. Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals - Walk Through Exits Only - This takes several listens to really appreciate. Even as an Anselmo fan, I wasn't into it when I first heard it. It's definitely not the most accessible album. When he said he wanted to make an extreme album, he did. It's also one of the more interesting albums he's done. He deconstructs the normal song structure and vents about seemingly everything. From back surgery to the music industry to music critics, everything is a target for his anger. It keeps getting better with each listen for me. Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge - Twelve Reasons to Die - An awesome concept album about the rise and fall of an infamous Sicilian hit man, Tony Stark, in a fake script for a 70s Eurocrime film. Ghostface Killah weaves a great story through each track while Adrian Younge helps orchestrate the music that wouldn't be out of place on a Eurocrime or Giallo film from the great decade that was the 1970s. The album comes with a bonus cd with just the instrumentals. Milo - Things That Happen at Day/Things That Happen at Night - These two E.P.s were released on the web in January and both were excellent. Since I don't listen to a lot of hip hop, this came as a breath of fresh air from mainstream. The beats were quite different than what I'm used to listening and Milo raps about science, comics, movies, wrestling and the pressures and complications of life. The first E.P. has a lighter atmosphere and is a lot of fun while the second which is my favorite is darker in atmosphere and he really explores more of his psyche. Another high recommend.

I'm a big fan of little known 80s and early 90s action. I think Stone Cold with the Boz is awesome! Andy Sidaris films are always fun and Hard Ticket to Hawaii is the best of them. Indonesia has put out the most insane action films of the 80s and I think are candidates of the best action films as it speeds through the plot and just gives one death-defying (quite literally) stunt after another. Stabilizer and Lady Terminator are great ways to start.

Because of time constraints, I'm gonna skip putting a summary of the films because I think the majority of hardcore horror fans have seen these films. Edge of the Axe [1988] - This is a little seen, brilliant, late 80s slasher. While it's a Spanish production, it has a very Americana feel and I love horror films set in small towns. The premise is quite simple, a deranged knife yielding killer in an incredibly creepy mask goes on a killing spree. Unlike a lot of slashers, I thought that this had a lot of likable characters as well as some dispicable ones. I really enjoyed the twist at the end. Also instant chat from the late 80s!!!! Just so much fun watching this. Night of the Living Dead [1968] - This is a rewatch as it's mandatory to watch in October. Still holds up and is my favorite Romero zombie film. Martin is my favorite Romero film. From Beyond [1986] - I love H.P. Lovecraft adaptations so I can't believe I hadn't seen this before until yesterday. One of my favorite "goopy" films. Lots of great gore and ooze. There's also some great S&M undertones to this which I think would make a great double with Hellraiser. Tourist Trap [1979] - My favorite of the bunch and this is so up my alley that I really can't believe I haven't seen this before either. It relies so much on atmosphere and incredibly creepy imagery instead of a ton of gore. Mannequins creep me out so this really worked for me. Admittedly, this at times downright creeped me out. I also watched this in the complete dark in the middle of the night last night with only jack-o-laterns and glowing gimmick skulls to give ambient light. So, so good. This will rank right up there with my favorite horror films ever. I was originally thinking of coming up with a Top 100 Favorite Horror Films list but I'm not sure I'll do that but I will work on my Top 31 Favorite Underrated Horror films list. Also to avoid burnout, I'm gonna watch a bunch of different Halloween TV specials or episodes. Stuff like Tales from the Crypt, Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror, King of the Hill, etc. As well watch some wrestling such as Halloween Havoc PPVs and Undertaker matches.

Near Dark - Still can't believe I haven't seen this before. Not a big vampire fan but definitely one of absolute better ones. It helps that it's also a horror/western hybrid which both are my favorite genres. Not much to say about this other than I loved the desert setting, the atmosphere and all of the characters. Alligator - This was a lot of fun! Robert Forester was great in this. I surprisingly haven't seen many of the animal attacks/topical environmental horror films but this might be the favorite of the ones I've seen. This moves at a quick pace. Alligator is flushed down the toilet and becomes impossibly huge in the sewer and one day starts eating people and animals. It's up to Robert Forester to stop it. The alligator's name is Ramon. I was enjoying it as it was quite a standard fun horror but until....HENRY FUCKIN' SILVA! comes in as a Crocidile Dundee-wannabe with a bad Austrailian accent who is impressed with the amount of stool the gator left. To top it off, Ramon attacks a wedding where the wedding band had quite the perfect mullets. Pieces - One of the most ridiculous and over the top giallos I've ever seen and it's glorious! Now to warn people, you have to have a strong taste in sleazy and let's say, incompetent, filmmaking. Terrible writing, equally terrible acting but what this has is great nudity, ridiculous kills, a black gloved killer with a chainsaw and an awesome score! If you're into sleaze and trash, you'd have a great time with this! Some awful films like The Dorm That Dripped Blood, Trip with the Teacher, Death Laid an Egg. Death Walks on High Heels - Pretty standard giallo. Paint by numbers. Not much to see here.

I unfortunately didn't get to participate in this. I can easily do a Top 200 list. So much horror and exploitation that I'd pimp.

I'm so ready for Halloween! This weekend I'm shopping for more decorations for my place and I'm getting my viewing list ready for later this month and all October. I've seen a few things so far, all rewatches. The Fog - This is in my top 3 favorite John Carpenter films and I think after a couple more rewatches (this is my 3rd or 4th), I could make a case that this would be my favorite. The atmosphere is absolutely perfect in this and Tom Atkins is amazing as usual! Don't Go in the House - I thought I hadn't seen this before as I didn't recognize the title but I had about 3 years ago. A really, really sleazy ripoff of Psycho that I enjoyed more this time around. A disturbed man with pyromania goes off the deep end after his overbearing mother dies and invites unsuspecting women over to his creepy house and burns them alive. Grimy as all get out but absolutely perfect if you're in the mood for watching something that would play at a grindhouse. House of the Devil - I think I love this more each time I watch it and it's fast becoming one of the most rewatchable films in my movie collection. I loved the mood that Ti West set and the slow burn of it all. Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter - Today gave me a reason to rewatch this and this still is a lot of fun from the last two dozen times I've seen it. While Part 3 is my favorite, this is probably my second favorite of the series. Here is my working list of films I watch to watch for the first time from now until Halloween:

I'm actually going through a few of the major franchises that I haven't seen in years like Friday, Nightmare and Hellraiser. I'm up to Hellraiser IV and the fourth film is far superior to the third film which people used to say was the last good Hellraiser film which I disagree with. I think a franchise that's top to bottom really good is PHANTASM. There's no real terrible film in it and they're all alot of fun and incredibly atmospheric.

Got my ballot sent in!

People need to see Jim Jarmusch's GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI [1999]. It's expiring on Netflix tonight so check it out!