Check out the full schedule for our horror movie marathon here.
Final Exam (1981) – 6/10 – Starting your film with a mass shooting fraternity prank doesn’t hold up very well in 2023. But I love 1981 horror, and this is a fun slasher. Unfortunately, it takes a good hour or so for the actual slashing. The music rips off Halloween a lot, but I’d rather you rip off Halloween than create something new that’s bad.
The Faculty (1998) – 7/10 – Haven’t seen this one in a long time, possibly since the theater. Being more of a horror fan than sci-fi, I always remembered thinking it was good for the genre, but I don’t remember ever revisiting it. I absolutely did not remember all of the talent that had been gathered for such a silly film that had no right to be good, but they pulled it off. It’s pretty fun. Is this considered the Scream of sci-fi? Cause it should be, right?
*The Passenger (2023) – 8/10 – Not exactly horror, but more of a slow, tense thriller that’s close enough. I was interested in this one as a Blumhouse indie film shot in New Orleans, and it’s pretty good. I’d like to take a minute here to update my stance on Kyle Gallner, who became something of a joke on our horror podcast like 10-12 years ago. I don’t even really remember what movies we didn’t like him in (maybe Red State and the Elm Street remake?), but he’s been good in everything I’ve seen him in since back then. And his sweater/jacket thing in this movie is pretty awesome.
*Children of the Corn (2023) – 3/10 – This is not a good movie; however, people who are saying it’s the worst of the sequels have obviously never watched any of the sequels. Cause honestly, it might actually be the best one. That’s how bad those films are, you guys. Part II with the dad and the son running around Gatlin like idiots? The Gathering with Naomi Watts? Revelation with Crystal Lowe? They’re everything that’s bad about ’90s and early aughts horror. This one is definitely stupid, and it has little to do with Stephen King’s masterpiece. Still, it’s at least watchable, and they do something different with He Who Walks Behind the Rows.
*The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, “L’âme Perdue” (2023) – 2/10 – This was screened during another bonus/surprise episode of The Last Drive-In (two weeks in a row!), thanks to AMC trying its best to capitalize on the coolest thing it controls (yet relegates to a streaming service that most people don’t know about). The special itself was fun, as always, but I couldn’t be any less interested in anything Walking Dead related these days. This episode had one good part, which can be summarized in two words: nun fight.
* = first watch
Snow in Southtown Christmas Podcast 