beatsavior420

The WNUF Halloween Special is the horror-holiday hidden gem you've been looking for! Presented as a VHS recording, faux commercials included, of a televised Halloween broadcast from the 80s, this flick is a fun and refreshing take on the worn-out "found footage" genre. And it could have fooled me, as a real recording of a local news station attempting a live call-in séance/exorcism at the haunted location of a double homicide. Either shot as an honorable homage to the legendary BBC horror-mockumentary Ghostwatch (1992) or an outright ripoff, the WNUF Halloween Special still hits all the right notes, and seamlessly blends awkward reality-style comedy with spooks. Add it to the list, catch it if you can, it's a fun lil gem not to be missed by aficionados of the halloween horror movie exploratorium. And I believe it's currently streaming on Shudder. 7/10

Here's my first pick of the season, IDLE HANDS, the ultimate 90s stoner horror comedy slasher. Fun facts: The demonic hand is the same hand that plays "Thing" in the Addams Family movies. Idle Hands was filmed in the same neighborhood as Halloween (1978). And when it was released in 1999, Idle Hands was a box office bomb, but has since garnered a cult following (me). For a horror comedy, it is by no means boundary pushing or iconic in the likes of say Army of Darkness, Cabin in the Woods, or Midsommar. But its a favorite of mine. And I play the favorites. Idle Hands is a stylish mix of chuckles and gore, a loveable antithesis to your fashionable 90s era teen horrors like Scream, Final Destination, and I Know What You Did Last Summer. And I think that's why it stands the test of time. Plus, I give it hella nostalgia points, just takes me back. And the soundtrack is absolute fire, with The Offspring making a memorable appearing as the band playing at the Halloween dance. So do yourself a dang favor and catch this one while you can this Halloween season, it's a treat. 8/10

My god. The Thin Red Line. I have much to say about this film, but I'll keep it brief. This is my favorite war movie of all time. Without a doubt in my mind. Released in the shadow of Saving Private Ryan, 1998's highly adored, nazi-slaying, patriotic WWII action epic, The Thin Red Line is almost the complete opposite to that. Set in the Pacific Theater of WWII, specifically the Guadalcanal Campaign, Thin Red Line explores the abject violence of man, juxtaposed to the sublime beauty of nature. Philosophical, contemplative, and post-romanticized, this film is decidedly anti-war. The carnage of combat simply serves as a gateway to a battle as old a time, the battle for the soul. The Thin Red Line is a towering example of peak film-craft, wholeheartedly thanks to the goat himself, writer/director Terrence Malick, and his return to filmmaking after 20 years on hiatus, with a score composed by Hans Zimmer that is second to none, the exquisite cinematography of John Toll, and a call sheet of performances by many of the biggest names in acting, some even being blink-and-you-miss-them. The Thin Red Line is a film that I revisit ever few years, and it always guts me, most certainly leaving me a weeping mess. This film is pure poetry. A marriage of sound, vision, philosophy & spirituality, love & death, a film unlike anything else. A perfect movie. 10/10