One thing that's interesting is that these were, for the most part, movies that I hadn't heard of, even though they date from 1979 through 1987. Those were years that I was watching a lot of movies. Though I wasn't watching many horror movies -- that was never a genre I was really into -- I did watch a lot of TV and therefore saw a lot of ads. I may have heard of The Brood before, and I had heard of the Evil Dead series. Ethan says he would have enjoyed himself more if they showed movies that interested him. Except for Vampyres, these weren't up his alley.
I did learn an important lesson -- next year I'll bring a blanket and pillow. But we had a good time. And the movies?
The Hidden (1987)
This was definitely my favorite movie of the night. Of course, as Ethan pointed out, it played more like a 1980s action movie (and to that I'll add that it was a buddy action movie) than a horror film -- though it did have horror and science fiction elements. Director Jack Sholder did a good job with the humor to keep this from becoming overbearingly negative. I thought it was a pretty good, exciting romp.
The Brood (1979)
This was just a creepy creepy movie about little mutant kids terrorizing people. It had jump scares, which is something I'm really not into. But more importantly it was just relentlessly creepy and miserable.
The Company of Wolves (1984)
I slept through this, so I can't really comment authoritatively. Ethan said it was kind of an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood, and that it sucked. That's good enough for me.
Vampyres (1974)
I'm not sure how to describe this, but a poster on the Cinema Arts Center's website captures it pretty well: "Bisexual seductresses roam the English countryside with an insatiable lust for the bood of mortals as well as the succulent bodies of each other." For the most part this was a modernized adaptation of the vampire legends, though it had increased sexuality. It wasn't quite a softcore porn film, though at times it seemed like it was getting close to that territory. What's interesting is that it's not clear if the protagonists a re actually vampires or if they just think they are. My two main criticisms are that it was stretched too long and that it was edited poorly. On the first count, I think they could have judiciously pulled out fifteen minutes, and it would have worked better. On the second count, there were plot elements that didn't make any sense. The movie opens with a man shooting the two female vampires. But that story element is never referred to or followed up.
House by the Cemetery (1981)
A family moves to New England and finds themselves haunted by the house's former owner. The story is well-constructed and interesting, and this is done very well. But it relies on a lot of blood and guts and gross-out visuals as well as jump scares, and I'm not into that. If you are, then you may find this to be a really good movie.
Evil Dead II (1987)
By tradition, the Cinema Arts Center keeps the identity of the last movie a secret. You want to know what it is? You better stay. This year it was Evil Dead II. I guess I'm glad to have had a chance to see one of the Evil Dead movies; I'd heard of the series, but had never seen any of them. ED-2 seems to have a split personality -- it's trying to be a horror movie, and yet be a comedy at the same time. And it does that by presenting itself as a horror movie parody with a nudge and a wink. But it just doesn't work on any level. I wanted to take a shower when it was over.
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