1974 - Best Year for Horror (so far)

 Well, we just finished 1974. Easily it had some of the best horror films we've seen so far. It's like people suddenly realized how to make fucking amazing horror films, and it became popular to do so! So, I'm hella excited to share what we watched this time around as well as our favorites.

Young Frankenstein: My first time seeing the movie as an adult made a difference. I enjoyed the humor a lot more. I think when I first saw it, I assumed it was "another b&w film of the far-off past," not realizing the homage/parody aspects of it. But yeah, great film. Especially if you've seen the musical, too!

Abby: The Blaxploitation version of The Exorcist. Was MUCH better than Exorcist though lol. The possessed person was an adult, and it made it actually a lot creepier. The violence felt more real, and the threat felt more menacing. I do recommend it!

Demoniacs: This was a French film. Rape and revenge style. But it was so surrealist, so it really just felt like another Jean Rollin film. Not really worth the watch.

Sugar Hill: The Blaxploitation of Night of the Living Dead. Way better than Romero's version! The zombie effects were super cool. It had some fun slasher elements, and I enjoyed the return to the voodoo past of the zombie narrative.

Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Easily the most anxious film we've seen so far. It had some comedic elements....like the wrench throwing at the end. It had some confusing elements...like what happened to the Black character at the end? But I overall enjoyed it. It was crazy seeing a classic like Leatherface and realizing he wasn't the most threatening villain in the film. Was pretty good.

Phantom of the Paradise: Most underrated film ever lol. Plot is a mix of Phantom, Faust, and Dorian. But it has music styled like the Carpenters (the writer for them wrote the music for this movie AND plays the main devil character). For me, as blasphemous as it might sound, it was a funner horror musical comedy than Rocky Horror. Sue me.

Nude for Satan: Another surrealist erotic horror film. This one was a little more enjoyable than Rollin's stuff, but it still lost major points for bad special effects. Like....just google "nude for satan spider." You'll see what I mean.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla: Was an okay film in the series. I just enjoyed seeing them go heavy tech with this. Was fun to see people get confused that there might be two Godzillas.

Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell: This was the last Hammer Frankenstein film, and probably one of the better ones. We had a great leading young actor, and I liked the really optimistic ending. So rare for a Frankenstein film to end with such balls to say, "He fucked up, but he'll try again, and it will be better this time."

The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires: A...martial arts...Hammer Dracula film. Um...it was an experience. Worth watching? Sure. Why not.

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter: I enjoyed the adventure angle for this. Very swashbuckling in feel. But you can tell Hammer was starting to die off and they were trying anything. I think this could have been a good series on its own though. It had really good actors!

Vampyres: This might be my personal favorite vampire film so far. I just really enjoyed how creepy and unsettling the plot elements were here. Very, very erotic, and very, very gruesome. Can feel a bit claustrophic and can feel very psychological. Do recommend!

Blood for Dracula / Andy Warhol's Dracula: Y'know...despite the bad acting for the Count, I actually really enjoyed the STD discourse throughout the film. It's problematic, but it's one of the first times I've seen it treated so complexly in a horror film this early. It's interesting seeing Dracula as a metaphor for the clap. Has some over-the-top violence to achieve comedic effect. Pretty fun film, I'd say.

Chosen Survivors: A sci fi post-apocalypse horror film. Ten (roughly) people chosen to survive the nuclear apocalypse in an underground bunker until the surface is safe. Typical dystopia tropes....plus an army of bats breaking in trying to kill them. Very fun film and very haunting!

It's Alive: Uh...it was our first Larry Cohen film I believe. I hated how misogynistic and sexist it was. It's like...as socialist and anti-cop as The Blob was, It's Alive tries to be the conservative opposite. Basically mutant baby film. Had the same special directs director as The Exorcist. Don't recommend. But if you want a laugh, check out the trailer for the film online!

Saló: Based on the infamous book by Marquis de Sade, this is easily the most fucked up film we'd seen. Lots of nonconsensual scat play, brutal S&M style torture, and rape. I see why this film has caused so much controversy over decades across the world. If you're into films like Human Centipede or Saw, this probably won't make you flinch too much. But it's probably going to feel a bit more boring, too ^^;

Phase IV: A fun sci fi ant horror film. Made Sin hella uncomfortable...especially when ants start crawling out of a hole in someone's hand! I loved just that they filmed actual ants for this film and did a good job of making them threatening without needing a lot of special effects.

Evil of Dracula: The last of the Bloodthirsty Trilogy. Might have been the worst though. Except for occasionally artistic scenes, the film felt like a slog for the most part. It's definitely a series that got worse with each film.

Black Christmas: Another fun slasher film. I liked this is as a holiday film more than Silent Night, Deadly Night, for sure. I liked just the ambiguity of the ending, too. Was fun! I still liked the Tales from the Crypt holiday story the most so far though. Just because...this film could have worked just as well in the middle of summer? Like...Christmas feels like just a backdrop. But I still enjoyed it!

Favorites!

For me, my faves were definitely Phase IV, Phantom of the Paradise, Chosen Survivors, and Sugar Hill. They were the ones I just enjoyed the most!

For Sin: "Mine's pretty long for this year. My favorites were Young Frankenstein, Abby, Sugar Hill, Texas Chain Saw, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Dracula and the Seven Golden Vampires, Chosen Survivors, and Black Christmas." "So...just about all of them?" "Well what did you choose?" "-reads list-" "Well, I had a lot of good ones, so..."

Comment question of the day! Everyone always talks about a favorite first film of a series. What about last film of a series? :D