By LANA CARBON & JOHN LILIES
NOVEMBER 6TH, 2017
That time of year has come and gone again.
As October approached this year, we thought about what we were going to do for our tradition of watching 31 movies throughout the month, commemorating one of our favourite holidays... Hallowe’en. Instead of just picking random movies, this year we wanted to have a theme for our selections but what would it be? It came to us quickly by way of a big, hyped theatrical release; the remake of Stephen King's It hit theatres with critical acclaim and a huge opening weekend. We had already wanted to see the movie but now it inspired our entire month-long project... watching original movies that had been remade at least once and those remakes that were spawned from them. The hardest part was waiting until October before we finally went to the theatre to watch our first movie.
1. Stephen King’s It (2017)
[John] I wasn't too sure if I would enjoy this one, being a remake. The original was so cheesy and creepy that I couldn't imagine another version being anything remotely worth watching. I was so skeptical of a Pennywise being as good as or better than Tim Curry's that I did not have high expectations at all. I went into this one trying to see it as being entirely separate from and different than the original instead of seeing it as a remake. I'm glad I approached it this way but I was also pleasantly surprised. Pennywise was significantly different from the original (thankfully) and creepy enough to be successful. There were interesting changes from the first version and I did miss the really serious stutter that Bill has in the original, but I did enjoy this new version and I am curious to see how Chapter 2 is done.
[Lana] I was also worried about seeing this movie. Tim Curry's Pennywise is such an iconic part of my youth, I really didn't want to see anyone else in the role. When I heard they cast Bill Skarsgärd, I knew he could do creepy well after seeing him in Hemlock Grove but as Pennywise? As it turns out, this is one of the few remakes (not only on this list but in all of moviedom) that I actually enjoyed. It makes me so happy that there will be a second chapter. Now I can only hope they pull off the nearly impossible and make a sequel worthy of the first movie as well.
2. Stephen King’s It (1990)
[John] No matter how good the remake might be, nothing will ever beat the original for me. With all of its cheesy effects, this cast has a special place in my heart and Tim Curry will always and forever be my preferred Pennywise. The creep factor in the original Pennywise comes for me from the fact that he looks like a fun and innocent clown who turns out to be not so fantastic. This will never cease to be my favourite version.
[Lana] I agree. You still cannot beat Tim Curry's Pennywise. Add the fact that you have such a great cast of TV stars of the time cast as the adult versions of the Losers Club, and it is cheesy horror at its best. The fact we can look back at the special effects now and giggle makes the movie even better in my opinion...yes even the weird spider creature works for me.
3. Children of the Corn (2009)
[John] No. No. No. No. No. I will never watch this again and regret ever agreeing to it. Seriously... what is up with the "Fertilization" scene? So wrong. So very very wrong. I have no more words for this wretched remake.
[Lana] Wait... there is the... I mean you have got the... Well what about... Yeah. I've got nothing!
4. Children of the Corn (1984)
[John] I am quite happy we watched this after the awful remake so we could redeem our experience with one of my favourite movies. This was a breath of fresh air after the horrible time having to sit through the remake.
[Lana] To be honest, outside of the music and Malachai, I'm not even a big fan of the original but after watching the remake, it was a treat.
5. The Fog (1980)
[John] This was my first time watching the original and I loved it. It held everything that I love watching in a horror movie and I was not at all disappointed.
[Lana] John Carpenter is a master of horror and it shows in this movie. It is also great to see Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis in a movie together.
6. The Fog (2005)
[John] Definitely not as good as the original but it was enjoyable for me as it felt like a really cheesy TV movie, and I have fun watching bad TV movies. This makes for a great rainy afternoon at home, wrapped in a blanket with a good cup of hot chocolate.
[Lana] Tom Welling was no Superman in this movie, that's for sure. It wasn't horrible and the effects were much better than the original but the story took this weird twist that made no sense and just really bothered me.
7. House of Wax (1953)
[John] Wonderful Vincent Price... nothing more needs to be said.
[Lana] Horror movies need to go back to this style somehow.
8. House of Wax (2005)
[John] Why? Why did I agree to remakes this year? I suppose this one is teen horror at its best.
[Lana] I still can't believe Paris Hilton's character outlasts Jared Padelecki's. I can't believe I watched a movie with Paris Hilton in it. I feel so ashamed.
9. John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)
[John] I first watched this a number of years ago with Sister Lilies and loved it. This second time around was no less entertaining. I still wonder what people find scary about this one... I've met a number of people who find it terrifying and I just can't understand that myself though I really do love this movie.
[Lana] I was so surprised that John had seen this and I hadn't. It was a nice change. I always have trouble classifying sci-fi movies as horror although I know a lot of people do (and that is why we included this on the list this year) but I just wasn't processing it as horror. I enjoyed it. I had a hard time not laughing at the special effects but it was a fun time.
10. The Thing (2011)
[John] So... this ended up being a prequel and not the remake we had thought we would be watching. Not bad, and it included lines and scene remakes from the original but still... Our 'oops' for this round.
[Lana] That being said, it was one of the best of the newer movies we watched as it did tie in very well to the original while still remaining unique to itself.
11. The Blob (1958)
[John] Best. Effects. Ever. Fantastically cheesy. Loved this.
[Lana] So terrible are these effects, they have become great. This film made us so happy.
12. The Blob (1988)
[John] We thought they might make the special effects in this one even better than the original but we were wrong. This was hilarious. Every moment was entertaining.
[Lana] Picture the most terrible CGI in the most hilarious way possible and you have this movie. Still not as good as the original but darn funny.
13. The Omen (2006)
[John] I had high hopes for this one considering the big cast. It wasn't a bad movie, but it didn't do too much for me either. It definitely did not live up to my expectations.
[Lana] It does have a great cast. They don't hide anything with Damien though making him a little monster right from the get go.
14. The Omen (1976)
[John] Like with the original version of It and Pennywise, what I enjoy in the original The Omen is that the kid looks innocent and cute until he isn't. This always makes it more fun to watch.
[Lana] This is a much better angle to play from with Damien. Everything that goes wrong looks "accidental" or at the very least, much more innocent than in the remake.
15. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
[John] Fantastic. Gross but fantastic.
[Lana] Ahh... back in the day when zombies were slow and apparently blue. I too find zombie movies a little gross for my liking but this one wasn't too terribly bad... comparably.
16. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
[John] I do enjoy Sarah Polley quite a bit but she doesn't quite fit my idea of a horror movie role. This version was fun but also gross.
[Lana] No! The zombies were too fast in this one. You need them to be the lumbering eating machines that you can still run away from. I love the cameos from the first movie and wish more remakes would do the same.
17. The Haunting (1999)
[John] This was... well... not great. It was funny and entertaining though, so I suppose all was not lost. I do enjoy Lily Taylor however, and this role suited her well.
[Lana] The house was gorgeous. The cast had the potential to make this an amazing movie. Unfortunately something happened along the way and it managed to squeak out an average in my book. Maybe if they had stuck closer to the original and not focused so much on the children in this version things could have been different.
18. The Haunting (1963)
[John] I am a fan of Russ Tamblyn and it was fun to see him in this role. I certainly did not find this scary but it was much better than the remake.
[Lana] Times have changed a lot since the '60s. While this movie may not seem that scary to us now, I can see it being quite frightening back in those days and love the use of the inner monologue. I found this far superior to its contemporary.
19. Fright Night (1985)
[John] Hilarious 80s at its best. Plain and simple.
[Lana] This is one of my favourite movies from my youth. Evil is an awesome character. Peter Vincent is masterfully played by Roddy McDowall and Chris Sarandon is perfect as the vampire Jerry. In case you couldn't tell, I loved it.
20. Fright Night (2011)
[John] Of course not as good as the original but still funny... and... um... Colin Farrell??
[Lana] This would have been better if they hadn't made it a remake of Fright Night. Anton Yelchin didn't have that same nerd vibe, Christopher Mintz-Plasse definitely didn't fill Evil's shoes and Colin Farrell was a different kind of vampire all together. The only comparable cast member was David Tennant in the role of Peter Vincent and even it went all Criss Angel instead of classic vampire hunter. It was an okay movie but not a Fright Night.
21. The Crazies (1973)
[John] I am definitely not a fan of the title and I wish this word didn't exist in the usually casual context it tends to be used, however, given the time this movie was done, I can let it go. It was an interesting movie and I liked the zombie aspect without the gross zombies. I'm tired of gross zombies.
[Lana] I quite enjoyed this. I thought the fear of contamination aspect and therefore the government, was a fairly unique twist for Romero to take. It is always more terrifying when the threat is something that could come to pass.
22. The Crazies (2009)
[John] With the remake, again I wished the title were different but understanding this is a remake of an original with this title, I can't be upset about it not changing. Obviously, I certainly preferred the original version but this one wasn't horrible.
[Lana] I may have liked this one just as much as the original... not better mind you but equally as good.
23. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (2016)
[John] Okay... truth be told, I did not want to watch this at all and I soon knew I was correct to feel this way. This one was just painful for me. It felt like they were all trying too hard to be quirky like in the original version and it was not successful. I know I'm partial to originals and also fairly loyal to Tim Curry but really... this one was a serious chore to get through. I know some people who liked this version and I feel happy for them because it should be enjoyed... perhaps just not by me.
[Lana] I also agree with John on this one. The only person I even partially enjoyed throughout the entire production was Reeve Carney (Riff Raff).
24. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
[John] Great fun as per usual and I was happy to watch this one after the remake, but I think I have perhaps seen this just a few too many times now and need a few years off before watching it again.
[Lana] It is very difficult to capture the original magic of a movie, whether it be a remake or even a sequel. Some movies should not be remade... ever. This was one of them.
25. The Hitcher (1986)
[John] This one I found to be a great thriller with a really creepy atmosphere. It held my attention, which is hard to do with TV and movies, and I did enjoy it.
[Lana] Rutger Hauer is an amazing actor and plays evil extremely well. This movie literally kept us on the edge of our seats wondering how and when he was going to find his prey next. Possibly the best movie on this list for me this year.
26. The Hitcher (2007)
[John] This version was much more intense than the original and it pushed my anxiety up quite high. The violence was a bit more than I could comfortably handle and the gore was more than I had counted on. I don't handle violence and gore very well so this was a bit much for me. The ending though... the ending was just bad. Really, really bad.
[Lana] I wondered who they would get to fill the role Rutger Hauer had played so well in the original and was not disappointed in Sean Bean's performance. He was every bit as creepy as John Ryder. Yes, the ending did leave us scratching our heads and asking why they would do what they did.
27. Nosferatu (1922)
[John] My initial reaction... Hilariously fantasique!!!
[Lana] Classic silent movie. To this day, Max Schreck has still played the scariest vampire ever.
28. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
[John] Artsy... a bit too artsy for me. I genuinely could not handle the minutes-long scene of nothing but the sky. This was a bit beyond me.
[Lana] I literally thought my computer had frozen on that scene and checked to make sure the time stamp was still moving, that is how long it is. This basically transforms Count Orlok from the original into Count Dracula since the original couldn't get the rights from Bram Stoker to use his characters.
29. Frankenstein (1931)
[John] Loved the castle in this one... interesting.
[Lana] Funny how the "monsters" from early Hollywood were actually beings to be pitied as well as feared. Oh wait... is that just good story telling and depth of character?
30. Frankenstein (2004)
[John] Seeing Donald Sutherland in this intrigued me but generally speaking, my only words for it are "long" and "interesting".
[Lana] Having read the book, I found this adaptation the most interesting of all. It was by far the closest to its literary counterpart. It had a good cast with William Hurt, Donald Sutherland and (I was very impressed by) Luke Goss as the Creature. For fans of the original book, I highly recommend giving this a chance.
31. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)
[John] Well... the cast intrigued me and seeing De Niro as the monster was interesting but as I said to Lana when it ended, "It got wonky."
[Lana] This was a middle ground between the original movie and the adaptation that was book-accurate. It felt like Kenneth Branagh wanted to do the literary version but then got caught up in making an action piece. It has its moments but they are few and far between.
[John] As I seem to say each year, I don't know how we accomplished this yet again. 31 movies in 31 days is not a light task for someone like me who can hardly sit still long enough to watch a TV show without multitasking. I likely only enjoy this challenge because I can spend the time with my guy and because he loves movies so much. Though, I did enjoy seeing all of the originals this year and we have already chosen an exciting theme for next year. Hopefully we can organize our time just as well next year so we can successfully get through our 31 yet again. Hoping you will join us for another 31 challenge again next year!!
Thanks for joining us this year!!
