He's Just Dying To Start The Show!

It'll be a hybrid VHS Friday this week in combination with my Halloween festivities. Earlier this month, I attended my friend Yasmina's screening of Hauntedween, as per her regular series The Rewind Zone at the Paradise. This was a movie I had surprisingly never seen before, but boy was it a welcome addition to my life.

Twenty years after a murder at a haunted attraction, a fraternity reopens the site for a fundraiser, only to find someone else is waiting for them inside.

Like most of the stuff Yaz screens, Hauntedween is a delight. Filmed in Kentucky, a lot of the cast was filled in with students at the local University so that's why it has that... I'll be kind and say “semi” professional vibe. And even though the release date says 1991, this was clearly something that was shot in the 80s. That's definitely the only decade the “wall of hands” gag would've been acceptable. Though as I'm thinking about it, I guess it was pretty tame next to pranks in some of the other movies of this ilk.

 

The oligatory campfire story.

It's funny that I watched Blood Moon last week, because these two share the same vibe, in that a very large chunk is something else, this one is the standard let's-save-the-“blank”-with-a-fundraiser trope that many films of that decade had. Then eventually it circles around to the kills, where our masked evildoer Eddie Burber starts offing people in the haunted house, while onlookers cheer thinking it is part of the gag (strangely the plot of Scary Movie, also 1991). They also both have bands play the title track, to which our man Hanks would say “what a coinkidink!”

And let's talk about the best part of the movie, this gentleman named Hanks, played aptly by Brad Hanks. This guy is hilarious. He reminded me of Bill Paxton in Aliens, in that almost every line of his is quotable and only gets funnier every time you watch it. Seriously, this performance is one of the great comic relief slasher characters. In terms of slashers about fraternities, my favourite overall is still Killer Party, but Hanks has got Martin beat by a good margin.

Though Hauntedween takes a while to get going, the chaos of the third act is worth sticking around for. There are some fun kills and the ending goes out in a blaze of glory, in what I assume was a nod to Halloween II. The end of the credits heralded a sequel, but sadly we were never blessed. For as Hanks so eloquently said, it was “cooked like one of Mama's home cooked biscuits!”

October Horror Trivia Watchlist

To all those who came here from the event or the FB or Instagram page, welcome! I am Jay, one half of the horror trivia quizmasters and this is my humble blog. Here's a selected list of titles mentioned at the last event. Click on the titles to be redirected to their Imdb listing. Horror Trivia Night happens at Storm Crow Manor in Toronto. If you're in the area, come on down! Register here.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1996)

Nightbreed (1990)

Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

Bordello of Blood (1996)

A Cat in the Brain (1990)

Critters 3 (1991)

Brain Dead (1993)

Spiral (1998)

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Lifeforce (1985)

The Monster Squad (1987)

Frogs (1972)

The Company of Wolves (1984)

Creature (1985)

The Guardian (1990)

Dementia 13 (1963)

Dolls (1986)

Spellbinder (1988)

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

Session 9 (2001)

Ginger Snaps (2000)

House of the Devil (2009)

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

Television:

Fear Itself (2008-2009)

Storm Crow Trivia, Guess The Movie Round 2

Stay Outta Cooper's Bay!

With it being a full moon this weekend, it seemed appropriate to move this recently acquired tape up to the front of the queue, that one being Alec Mills' 1990 Ozploitation flick Blood Moon. I actually want to preface this by saying this is the first tape I can recall having a Drugs PSA in front of the feature. Trailers sure, but a PSA? Wild.

A new relationship between townie Kevin (Ian Williams) and Catholic schoolgirl Mary (Helen Thomson) is complicated by a rash of serial killings targeting young visitors to the nearby Lover's Lane.

I actually didn't know this was an Australian film until I saw a kangaroo in the woods during the opening credits. Or maybe it was a wallably, I dunno, it was dark. But it was certainly confirmed when the character's opened their mouths. I mean even Mary - who was supposed to be from Texas - was laying down some thick Oz drawl. Brian May (of Queen fame) did the score for this and when he wasn't ape-ing Manfredini's Friday the 13th, it was pretty decent. There's a glam metal band called Vice that was amusing - I always welcome a title song - but at the same time it seemed a little odd that a stuffy Catholic school would have this band play at their dance.

The Devil's Music!

Overall, Blood Moon is pretty pedestrian, mainly because there is a lot of dead space in the middle. The bulk of it is your average rich kids vs townies tale, to the point I almost forgot it was a slasher. It even  managed to prolong the slashing by having a couple make out in the woods, then get chased away by another couple who also then make out in the woods, whom the killer finally decides to off some time later. I don't how the censors worked in Australia, but for a killer whose weapon of choice was a barb wire garrote, I feel this should've been a lot bloodier than it was. Sure, a student gets their face bashed in with the corner of a desk, but for the most part it was pretty reserved.

That's a DP's shot right there...

I thought Blood Moon also revealed its killer too early. Once it was out in the open, you're kind of just waiting for the rest of the movie to catch up. It made the final few moments seem superfluous and abrupt at the same time. Oh well, it looked good anyway. Mills cut his teeth as a DP so at least he knew where to point the camera. I've seen a lot worse believe me, and at least it doesn't skimp on the T&A. It really is the little things...

The Perfect Husband.

In the few months I have taken off from this feature, the “pile” has increased to a size that I can no longer ignore. With it being spooky season, this seems like the perfect time to get back at it. Today's VHS is a recent acquisition in Douglas Hickox's 1985 teleplay Blackout.

A retired cop named Steiner (Richard Widmark) suspects a family man and former car wreck survivor amnesiac (Keith Carradine) is actually an uncaught serial killer. But can he prove it?

I knew nothing about this movie, other than the coverbox, which was pretty prominent back in the day. It took me a while to figure out that the title refers not to a power outage (as said coverbox would suggest) but the loss of memory. This movie has some decent pedigree as it was directed by Douglas Hickox (father of horror vet Anthony), lensed by Tak Fujimoto (The Silence of the Lambs & The Sixth Sense among others), make up artist Michael Westmore (a Star Trek mainstay for decades) as well as notable actors Widmark, Carradine and Kathleen Quinlan. What comes out of it is a serviceable TV movie for HBO.

I was conscious while watching that this was something likely done for the small screen. Apart from the brutality of the murders at the hop (of which we only see the aftermath) and the sweet prosthetics on Carradine post-accident, Blackout is pretty tame. There are enough red herrings to keep things interesting, but yeah, everything about this felt pretty workmanlike.

It almost felt like two movies. It started out like something that would have been more at home in the next decade - post SotL - although it would have been more salacious, with more attention given to the actual crimes for that - but then it shifts into more straightforward fare. It reminded me of that Channing Tatum/Rachel McAdams joint where he's got amnesia and they are “re-dating”? Then it would eventually cut back to Widmark and his wall of news clippings and I'd be like, 'oh right this is what we're watching'. I was beginning to think this was one of those titles where the coverbox is completely misleading, but no, an hour in, the gimp mask finally shows up on a guy running around raping women.

Kathleen Quinlan as Chris in Blackout.

Perhaps the most chilling thing about this movie is that apparently (according to Imdb anyway) there was a real life uxoricide (yes, I Googled it) where a dude used this movie for inspiration. No mask or anything, but he did crank his AC to keep the body of his wife undetected for as long as possible. Imagine him sitting in his family room with this other half watching HBO on a Saturday night, and a lightbulb goes off in his head, 'oh, that's a good idea, I'll have to remember that!"

So Blackout, nothing to write home about, just another in an ocean of crime thriller titles to keep video store shelves stocked.

Found Footage Fever

October seems as good a time as any to smash a bottle on a new segment here at The Horror Section. I, like many in the last decade or two, have really gotten into found footage horror. It has risen in the ranks to now be one of my favourite subgenres of horror. I was thinking about this the other day and had a realization that it has basically become the new “slasher”, or rather bread and butter, of the genre. Think of it like this - in the 80s, the slasher genre was paramount. It was an entry point into filmmaking, as they were super easy to make. The slasher genre birthed hundreds (perhaps thousands) of titles over the course of a few decades. Then, post 2000, we saw technology through a wrench into the machine. It became more difficult to isolate characters and script writers had to dedicate more and more time to explaining away easilly resolvable conflict. I won't go over the heavily tread origins of found footage, but post Blair Witch Project, as tech evolved, so did this genre whose very essence was steeped in technology. All you needed was a camera, a location, and a hook. Fast forward to 2026, and there are hundreds of them, available on every platform, which leads to me a recent discovery called Found TV. 

It's basically a Tubi for found footage movies, which is free with ads, and also has cheap plans as low as five bucks a month. So to christen (is christen the right word? What's the inverse, debaptize?) this feature, I thought I'd mention a trio of memorable titles I “found” on there.

BUM (2025) Dir: Anthony Leroy

I came across FoundTV, while trying to track down this short feature film. I had missed it at one of the 24-hour movie marathon my friend Justin organizes, but it just so happened this is where it lives online. This movie involving a wannabe news crew attempting to interview a deformed vagrant that apparently resides in their area is raw, chaotic and boasts some pretty gnarly effects. 

LIFE OF BELLE (2024) Dir: Shawn Robinson

This was the second title I watched on FoundTV and it made an impression. Framed as videos filmed by a young girl named Belle (Syrenne Robinson) for her YouTube channel, it serves as a casual witness to the mental breakdown of her mother (Sarah Mae Robinson). Like the Adams family (Hellbender, Where the Devil Roams), the foursome behind this piece are just a family that took a crack at filmmaking. I thought the performances of the two children were, for the most part, pretty naturalistic, especially considering what was asked of them. A solid piece of found footage imo.

SAVAGELAND (2015) Dir: Phil Guidry, Simon Hebert, David Whelan

This one is also available on YouTube. I love this movie, and it has a fantastic hook. All the people in a small desert town go missing, and the lone survivor ain't talking, but he had one roll of black & white film. Over the course of this faux documentary, each photo is revealed to tell a grisly story. Some of these photos are legit chilling. This movie is perfect “lights-off-watch-before-bed” viewing.

The last one I just wanted to mention that is currently playing the festival circuit, is Anthony Cousins' Frogman Returns. If you liked the first one, I think you'll like where this one goes. I love the world building of this, where cryptids are just kind of an accepted thing and the lore of their existence is really interesting. It starts out slow, but escalates ten-fold in the final act, much like its predecessor. If you live in the Toronto Area, it is playing Toronto After Dark this weekend.

Okay, that's it for the first post of this new feature. Hopefully, between this and VHS Fridays, I can keep them going at least bi-weekly, or at least that is the goal.

Anyone Else Playing?

I just happened to randomly come across this (I guess YouTube knows I'm into horror trivia) last week, a YT horror trivia game show called Better Luck Than Chuck.

It has surprisingly high production values and I guess the creators have enough reach to even have some genre names guest read questions on video (ala Jeopardy). It even has a final round that is right out something from 90s Nickelodeon.

Was I screaming at my screen that the knuckleheads competing for legitimately great prizes were biffing on the most basic questions? Of course I was. And sure, I'm not under pressure sitting on my couch, but I've also been to enough trivia nights to know that I'm not going to magically forget Michael Myers was incarcerated for 15 years. Having been writing questions for my own events for four years now, I do have to say they got the difficulty level just right. I may have batted somewhere around .900+, but I imagine a good many viewers found them challenging - the contestants sure seemed to...

Anyway, for a thing that just seemed to come out of nowhere, I welcome future episodes. I think they come out every Thursday. Maybe one of the them will actually challenge me.