The October 8 of 13

From Hell was a detective/horror film starring Johnny Depp adapted from a classic graphic novel by Alan Moore.

The story of From Hell centers around the notorious Jack the Ripper killings that plagued Whitechapel in London,England in 1888. Five prostitutes were brutally murdered and butchered by a mysterious figure in the alleys of Whitechapel, which led to rampant speculation about the truth behind the killings. Countless theories have come forth about the real identity of the murderer. This film looks at one of the more controversial and conspiratorial theories of whom Jack the Ripper was.

I won’t go into specifics on this theory, but it is clearly fictionalized by Moore. The film does a good job of using the facts of the cases and fitting it all into the narrative it espouses.

Johnny Depp played Inspector Frederick Abberline, the detective assigned the Ripper case. Heather Graham played Mary Kelly, the fifth victim of the Ripper. Other actors in the film include Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Richardson, Jason Flemyng, and Samantha Spiro.

The film is very atmospheric and looks excellent. The period piece is moody and has a perfect tone for the time frame.

Depp gives a top notch performance in the role as the drug-addicted detective. They matched him up with Heather Graham’s character. I’m not sure that worked fully as the film seemed to push them together too quickly. Still, I did like each individual performance.

The story was complicated, but does work out at the end and does give a modicum of finality which is truly lacking in any real story involving Jack the Ripper.

I have always been a fan of the tale of the mysterious serial killer, having read several books on different theories so From Hell is right up my alley. It is currently available on Max.

The October 7 of 13

As I continued the October 13, this morning I went over to Prime and watched The Ring, an iconic horror movie from 2002.

There is a videotape filled with nightmarish imagery that, if you watch, seven days later, you die. Newspaper reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) started looking into the story after the death of a family member (Amber Tamblyn) and she discovered the dangers firsthand.

There are some plot holes in The Ring, but the atmosphere and mood of the film is outstandingly creepy and work to build tension as Naomi Watts desperately tried to find an answer to the mystery before the clock runs out on her. The film does a great job of being unnerving without being gory or exploitative.

Naomi Watts is the standout of the entire film. Her performance anchors the story together, raises her character which did not have too much depth, and keeps the attention on her. A less skilled actress could have fallen into the flaws of the story and drag the film down too. Watts, on the other hand, brought the perfect amount of gravitas to the film and gave everyone someone to root for.

The film does a solid job of creating an air of eeriness and keeps the audience on the edge. You are never quite sure what was happening and the film embraces that.

The back story of the videotape (as it were) was horrifying and painful. Your perceptions switch as the film moves along, which keeps the film off-balance.

The Ring was very successful. It was based on the Japanese movie Ring by Hideo Nakata from 1998.

The October 6 of 13

Monster House is a computer animated film from Relativity Media, their first animated film. This has become one of the October 13 here at EYG.

The house across the street from DJ (Mithell Musso) is alive. DJ has been watching the house because of the antics of the crabby old man Mr. Horace Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi) who would confiscate toys of kids that windup on his front lawn.

When Nebbercracker seemingly died when confronting DJ, the house became more dangerous…especially since it is almost Halloween.

There is a ton of creativity in this movie. The animation and character design is excellent and a lot of fun. The third act conflict worked big time in this film, which I think helped a slightly underwhelming second act.

The voice actors, along with Steve Buscemi is strong. They include Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kevin James, Nick Cannon, Jason Lee, Jon Heder, Catherine O’Hara, Fred Willard, and Kathleen Turner.

I will say that I was not a huge fan of a couple of the characters, especially Chowder, Zee and Skull. Still, I did like DJ and Jenny and the whole use of Nebbercracker was clever.

This was a solid Halloween animated film. The design of the house, in particular, was remarkably creative and imaginative.

The October 5 of 13

The fifth film of the October 13 was a film from the mid-90s starring one of those characters that I loved as a kid, even though I may have been more of a Hot Stuff kid. Casper the Friendly Ghost was one of the Harvey Comics iconic characters and the creation of a live-action Casper was exciting at the time.

Honestly, I remember really liking this movie when I first saw it in the 90s. After a re-watch today, I still think it was pretty decent, but the flaws in it were much more obvious.

According to IMDB, “Furious that her late father only willed her his gloomy-looking mansion rather than his millions, Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) is ready to burn it to the ground when she discovers a map to a treasure hidden in it. But when she enters it to seek her claim, she is frightened away by a wicked wave of ghosts. Determined to get her hands on this hidden fortune, she hires afterlife therapist Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman) to exorcise the ghosts from the mansion. James and his daughter, Kat (Christina Ricci), move in, and soon Kat meets Casper (Malachi Pearson), the ghost of a young boy who’s “the friendliest ghost you know”. But not so friendly are Casper’s uncles Stretch(Joe Nipote), Fatso (Bead Garrett), and Stinkie (Joe Alaskey), who are determined to drive all ‘fleshies’ away. Ultimately, it is up to James and Kat to help the ghosts cross over to the other side.“

This film was not very well balanced. At times, there were some real deep, potentially emotional ideas in the scripts, but then it went off on a slapstick, cartoonish direction that buried the ideas that were here.

The specifics between the characters and their back stories were really well done and could have been expanded to make this a better film. Casper’s past story, the relationship with Kat and her father, the absence of Kat’s mother, and Casper and Kat’s connection could have been more than enough to make this an enjoyable movie.

Unfortunately, just about everything with the film’s villain Carrigan Crittenden was over-the-top and did not feel as if it fit in with the part of this film that was the strongest. It was cool to see Eric Idle as her sidekick/flunky Dibs but he could not save any of this material.

Then the whole idea of the treasure hidden in the castle was so worn and wasted, it felt like a ghost story told by the Goonies. And not in the cool way.

I was also not a fan of the trio of Casper’s ghost uncles. The only voice I recognized was Brad Garrett but these characters were more annoying than they were interesting. I wondered what their unfinished business was and why they just stuck around to torment Casper.

Christina Ricci was charming, doing her best imitation of Wynona Rider in Beetlejuice. The special effects looked great, especially Casper. It was a nice little family film that has its share of flaws, but that has a good message and some strong actors in these roles. I think most of the problems are overcome by the positives.

The October 4 of 13

Stephen King has had adaptations of his writing that have worked and several that have not. The Mist is one of those adaptations that brings fear, tension and anxiety from the moment that the mysterious mist enveloped the little town in Maine.

A strong cast led by Thomas Jane as David Drayton are put through the wringer as a group of horrifying Lovecraftian monsters trapped them inside a supermarket. Unfortunately, the monsters on the outside of the store are just one of the tribulations that these people had to face.

Marcia Gay Harden is creepy as the religious zealot Mrs. Carmody, who had decided that this is Judgment Day and everything that is happening to them is God’s will. Her decent into extremity is one of the more frightening aspects of the film. Andre Braugher does a great job as Brent Norton, who is one of David’s neighbors who has had some conflicts with him. It made Norton distrustful of what was happening. Toby Jones played Ollie, an employee of the supermarket who comes through big time during the film.

Other cast members include Sam Witwer, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, William Sadler, Frances Sternhagen, Nathan Gamble, Robert Treveiler, David Jensen, Chris Owen, Alexa Davalos and The Walking Dead’s Carol, Melissa McBride. McBride’s character had no name listed but I absolutely wanted to stick with her because I know Carol is a survivor.

Of course, I cannot talk about The Mist without addressing the ending of the film. I want to try to address it with as few spoilers as possible. If you have seen The Mist, you know to what I am referring. As heartbreaking as it is, the irony and the absolute heart-wrenching that the scene makes it one of the most standout conclusions of a horror movie I have seen in many years. This is totally crushing and makes what was a strong and scary film into something more.

The Mist is a horror movie that works on several different levels and shows us that there is more to be afraid of than the unknown.

The October 3 of 13

The October 13 continued tonight with the Laika stop motion animated film Coraline, based on the book of the same name from Neil Gaiman.

Coraline is a beautifully animated movie with some amazing visuals and some of the most creative and creepy images that were truly scary, especially for the younger viewers.

According to IMDB, “When Coraline (Dakota Fanning) moves to an old house, she feels bored and neglected by her parents. She finds a hidden door with a bricked up passage. During the night, she crosses the passage and finds a parallel world where everybody has buttons instead of eyes, with caring parents and all her dreams coming true. When the Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) invites Coraline to stay in her world forever, the girl refuses and finds that the alternate reality where she is trapped is only a trick to lure her.“

This film is a classic and it really works well. It is very easy to relate to the young girl who is just looking for something that she is missing from her parents who are not engaging with their daughter. The curiosity of the mysterious dimension was too great to ignore. Coraline found something that filled the gap, although she did not realize that there was trouble with it.

There are some great voice talents involved here besides Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher. Others in the cast included Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., Keith David, Carolyn Crawford, and Ian McShane.

Coraline is an excellent film that creates a wonderfully creepy tone and it is highlighted perfectly with the character design and the imagery. Coraline is a great Halloween film for the whole family.

The October 2 of 13

I went to see Sleepy Hollow originally back in the Voy Theater when it was released in 1999. I remember coming out of that screening being very unhappy with the film and I have never revisited it since. That is, until tonight.

Johnny Depp starred in this film, a reimagining of the classic folk tale of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman. Depp played Ichabod Crane, a constable from New York sent to the small town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate the series of murders that had seen victims’ heads decapitated.

Once in Sleepy Hollow, Crane, not the bravest of souls, came across several notable gentlemen in the town involved in some mysterious discussions. Crane also met and fell for Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), the daughter of one of the men, Baltus (Michael Gambon).

It does not take long for Crane to realize that there was something supernatural going on with these murders.

This film turned out to be better than I remembered, but it was not a great one. There were some terrible choices for tone as it had some silly moments of humor that did not work well at all.

The action was decent, but there were also some ridiculousness, particularly with the stagecoach chase scene.

So basically, I started off thinking that this was better than I remembered, but as the film progressed, I liked it less and less. In the end, I did not hate watching this but I would not recommend it.

October 1 of 13

I went to Apple TV this morning to kick off the October 13 with the EYG Hall of Fame cartoon, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

This is such a classic with the Peanuts gang, created by EYG Hall of Famer Charles Schulz.

The idea that Linus was determined to wait up because the Great Pumpkin would rise from the pumpkin patch to deliver toys to kids across the world and he wanted to be front and center when it happened despite the condemnation by his sister Lucy and the others of the Peanuts gang.

Also in this show, we had the iconic football trick by Lucy on Charlie Brown and Snoopy flying his doghouse during World War I and being shot down by the Red Barron.

One of the things I noticed while watching this classic cartoon was how intelligent some of the dialogue and vocabulary was by these characters. This was absolutely not dumbed down in any way because kids are not smart enough to understand what is going on. That is a refreshing idea, that children’s animation can reach to elevate the material instead of bringing it down to a lower level.

There was also a great scene with Schroeder playing the piano and Snoopy dancing/reacting to the classical music he was playing. Again, it elevates the material.

There is a reason this is still played during the Halloween season, even after 57 years. This is an all-time classic that is funny, clever, intelligent and entertaining.