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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated
1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going
to review every single movie I see. I’m
going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the
rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future). You can always ask me why I gave the ratings
for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses
under the ‘About Me’ section).
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Chapelwaite OK
Ten-episode series available on Epix based on a short story contained
in Night Shift by Stephen King entitled “Jerusalem’s Lot.” [I did read that short story years ago and
remember liking it, but couldn’t recall a single thing even when watching. Therefore, I went into this series blind
which could be better in order to avoid comparisons; I do prefer reading the
book before watching the movie as opposed to vice versa. I’ll re-read the short story which is a
little over 30 pages soon]. Surely you
must have heard of Mr. King’s novel, Salem’s Lot, and the movie
adaptations (another one supposedly coming next year)? It’s a sequel to the short story and it
involves vampires, therefore this series must deal with vampires, no? Absolutely, and the v-word wasn’t widely used
during the mid-19th century when this predominantly takes place (the
few other times are flashbacks). It involves
a man (played by Adrien Brody) returning from the sea with his three children
after his wife/their mother passes to a home left to him by his cousin. Chapelwaite is the name of the home, located
in Maine (Stephen King? Where else? Although it was filmed in Canada), not far
from the town of Jerusalem’s Lot wherein a vampire resides with other vamps and
wants something contained in the titular house.
Being this is a Stephen King adaptation and that there are vampires, it
should go without saying that not too much good results from all this. It does drag at times, no surprise given all
ten episodes are roughly around the 50-minute mark, but they generally go by
quicker than you think. Stephen King
completists will likely watch it no matter what anyone says, and I’m not
deterring anyone from doing so either (I’m one of those completists); it is a
decent gothic yarn undoubtedly with atmosphere, but as a horror story, and as a
series in general, it’s really nothing too special. 11/4/2021
Night at the Eagle Inn OK/G
A brother and sister (twins) from Philadelphia travel to the
titular hotel in Vermont since that is where their mother died giving birth to
them and their father disappeared right after.
This is one of those you’ll have to wait until it’s over to truly know
your opinion, because it starts off as a typical haunted hotel film, bringing
to mind The Innkeepers the most (and
there are references to Psycho and The Shining). In other words, the ending makes it a better
movie. While there was enough contained
in the story to feel somewhat complete, it still felt a bit underdeveloped and
that could be due to its barely even 70-minute length (there’s a lot they
could’ve done with this story). It did
probably look better on paper and would work better as a short story/novella,
but it’s a decent indie flick when all is said and done that won’t take up too
much of your time. 11/7/2021
Bonus reviews:
The Deep House OK/G
I can’t say I ever saw a haunted house movie that took place
underwater before this. In it, an
American straight couple are traveling in France (only some parts are
subtitled) and visit abandoned sites. They
come across a man that offers to take them to a secluded lake containing a
house at the very bottom. Movies 101,
especially if it’s a horror movie, would usually tell you that’s not such a
good idea. Of course there wouldn’t be movies
though if characters didn’t make unsensible choices. They go to this lake with this man, gear up,
and travel to the bottom where this totally preserved house stands. I mean, household items including photographs
appear to be intact! Something is
clearly not right, as Movies 101 would indicate. Now, if this was a haunted house film that
occurred above water like any other, it’s hard to tell how distinctive it
would’ve been. There are clichés, but it
does actually manage to be chilling at times, and I’m not sure if it taking
place underwater had something to do with it (I suggest the filmmakers, which
are the duo behind the great French film, Inside,
make the same movie aboveground to test my theory). I’m going to mildly recommend this underwater
haunted house feature for being better than I thought it would be. Plus, there is no happy ending which is
something I actually yearn for in horror flicks these days, so points for
that. 11/6/2021
Eli Roth’s History of
Horror (Season 3)
If you want a synopsis for the documentary series, just
check out my reviews for season one (https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2018/12/mooby-reviews-12218.html)
and season two (https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2020/11/growing-up-with-i-spit-on-your.html). In a nutshell, Eli Roth is the host, specific
horror subgenres are discussed each episode, certain films are discussed within
those subgenres, and various celebrities give their two cents. There are six episodes this season and they
cover Sequels That Don’t Suck, Infections, Psychics, Apocalyptic Horror,
Holiday Horror, and Mad Scientists. If
you’ve watched the other two seasons and like all, or most, that horror has to
offer, you should know whether you’ll want to tune in or not (the layout hasn’t
changed). These episodes were worth
watching, although I didn’t really care for the last one, “Mad Scientists,”
because I’m not really a fan of any of the films covered, save for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and I
don’t know why that was included since it’s a sci-fi musical, but
whatever. My personal favorite was
“Holiday Horror” since some of my favorite films are in that subgenre (I never
considered Terror Train a holiday
film either, even though it does take place on New Year’s). And why wasn’t Child’s Play 2 included on the “Sequels That Don’t Suck”
segment?!!! As much as I love Bride of Chucky (which was discussed), Child’s Play 2 is definitely the better
sequel and my favorite film in the franchise (oh well, I didn’t create the
show). Well, 19 episodes have been made
so far, meaning there are at least 19 subgenres in horror, and season 4 hasn’t
been announced yet. I can think of at
least three subgenres that haven’t been exclusively covered yet---dolls, clowns
(Eli even produced Clown), and sharks,
or natural horror in general, but sharks could have their own episode, and
that’s surprising given Eli has been on Shark Week and made that documentary, Fin.
Obviously I’ll keep watching until it’s cancelled. 11/7/2021
Other movies and TV show(s) I’ve seen and their ratings (see above):
American Rust
(Season One) >>>OK
(Showtime;
9 episodes)
Black Bear >>>EH
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions >>>OK
Nine Days >>>OK
Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman >>>EH/OK
---Sean O.11/8/2021
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