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Brakhage and the Thinking Image.

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A list of every film mentioned, as they're mentioned, in Pier Maria Bocchi's "So cosa hai fatto. Scenari, pratiche e sentimenti dell'horror moderno" (Lindau, 2024).

• Night of the Living Dead
• Psycho
• What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
• Dead Ringer
• Lady in a Cage
• She
• One Million Years B.C.
• Nightmare
• Fanatic
• Dr. Terror's House of Horrors

...plus 524 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Cosmic pessimism, metaphysical disillusion and bitterness, cynicism and hopeless anger. The world is not a good place and nothing can change that.

1. Funny Games
2. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
3. Goodbye, Dragon Inn
4. The Thing
5. The Tenant
6. Night of the Living Dead
7. La Grande Bouffe
8. Wake in Fright
9. Au Hasard Balthazar
10. A Short Film About Killing

...plus 33 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every film made by Universal involving their classic monsters, from the classic wave proper during the 20s through the 50s, and then the following remakes/reboots up to the recent Dark Universe project. I follow Wikipedia categorisation, so apart from the traditional monsters such as Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Wolf Man and so on, there are a few sections that do not feature monsters per se, such as the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, the so-called Inner Sanctum Mysteries and a miscellany category (early silent films; horror/mystery from the 30s and 40s; horror/sci-fi from the 50s). I excluded two lost films, The Cat Creeps and La Voluntad del muerto. Some comments in the note section.

• The Hunchback of Notre Dame

  An immortal classic and a great performance from Lon Chaney as Quasimodo. Sumptuous and spectacular, forget about B-movies and enjoy the ride.

• The Phantom of the Opera

  Near-masterpiece featuring an astonishing Lon Chaney; the attraction and repulsion of the monstrous. High budget spectacle.

• The Cat and the Canary

  Comedic mystery with some spooks, nice cinematography but shaky plot. Leni knows how to use those shadows though.

• The Man Who Laughs

  The novel is one of my favourite books of all time and no one will ever be able to portray Gwynplaine better than Conrad Veidt.

• The Last Warning

  Spooky comedy by Paul Leni: effective chiaroscuro and witty plot.

• The Last Performance

  Everything revolves around Veidt, and this is not a criticism.

• Dracula

  An immortal icon in a not-so-iconic film, although Browning would prove his genius elsewhere. Still hugely influential. Another dark star is born: Bela Lugosi.

• Drácula

  Spanish adaptation of Browning's Dracula. Re-discovered in recent years and regarded as superior to the original: better visual narrative, but there's no Lugosi around.

• Frankenstein

  The right place to start and one of the most influential films ever made. But I guess you already know that. A dark star is born: Boris Karloff.

• Murders in the Rue Morgue

...plus 85 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Top 10 feature films of 2024 (Italy theatrical&VOD release).

1. Dune: Part Two
2. The Zone of Interest
3. Grand Tour
4. The Boy and the Heron
5. The Beast
6. Anatomy of a Fall
7. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
8. The Substance
9. Perfect Days
10. Trap

In a nutshell: new configurations of the flesh.

Films that can be subsumed under the concept (not genre) of ‘body horror’. That is, films that deal with the horrific/disgusting representation of the human body, specifically focusing on its mutation, degeneration and/or destruction.

The concept of body horror is fluctuating and variable, and it can take on different aesthetic forms: its most known and accepted one is that of the gruesome mutation (by means of diseases, supernatural forces, alien organisms etc.). To this respect, The Invasion of the Body Snatcher and acolytes are left out because of their specifically ‘vegetable’ nature (also because of the total absence of gore of the first one).

Sheer violence can also be part of the body horror world. In fact, virtually every torture porn can be seen as a body horror film, for the body is usually ‘transformed’ (physically and morally) by torture and pain. Key here is also the foregrounding of the organic/fleshy dimension of the body.

The zombie film is peculiar. Although the focus is undoubtedly on flesh and bodies, it usually lacks individuality: zombies and victims are masses, not groups of individuals.

Please feel free to suggest new ‘currents’ or titles, maybe explaining why that is a body horror film for you. Thanks!

The films are in chronological order.

• Freaks
• Island of Lost Souls
• Horrors of Malformed Men
• Shivers
• The Incredible Melting Man
• Alien

  Minor elements

• The Brood
• Scanners
• Possession
• The Evil Dead

...plus 88 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Ranked list of all the gialli I've watched so far. I tend to be as strict as possible in my definition of what a giallo is, most of the time following Wikipedia categorisation, so, generally speaking, a film revolving around a murder(s) mystery/crime, featuring stylish cinematography and aestheticised violence, as well as one or more of the following:
- a psycho killer
- black leather gloves
- different planes of reality
- trippy soundtrack
- a false ending
- a blade shining in the dark
- a puppet/dummy
- childhood trauma
- identity crisis
- tits
- more tits
- another false ending
- misleading memories
- voyeurism
- ESP
- hyper-sexualisation
- splashes of bright colours
- fake voices

1. Deep Red
2. Blood and Black Lace
3. Don't Look Now
4. Black Christmas
5. The House with Laughing Windows
6. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
7. Don't Torture a Duckling
8. Phenomena
9. What Have You Done to Solange?
10. Tenebre

...plus 43 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Hooptober challenger since 2020 here, so here's my 5th Hooptober list!

As always, I only picked films I haven't seen, so some of them may not entirely fit the criteria under which they are listed ('cause, you know, I haven't seen them).

Usual disclaimer: I won't probably be able to do one film every day in October so I will start ASAP and/or watch more than one film in certain days.
You can find the original list (and all the participants) here

There must be 31 horror films
6 countries
8 decades
ALL of the films from a horror franchise with at least 4 entries (if there is a hard reboot, you can choose whichever has 4+ that you prefer)
1 film by Wes Craven
1 film caused by/worsened by weather
1 film starring a Black woman
1 Donald Sutherland film
3 films from New World Pictures.
2 Indian films.
4 Italian films
2 Horror comedies
2 films made primarily or entirely in Texas
1 film that exists in at least 2 available cuts (you just have to watch one. Bonus if you watch them all.)
1 Robert Wiene film
1 Michele Soavi film
1 film from 2011
1 film from 1984

And 1 Tobe Hooper Film (There must ALWAYS be a Hooper film)

Once again, no extra work for me this year 😢

You can see the criteria used to pick a certain film in the notes, except countries (USA, Italy, India, , , Japan, Spain, Yugoslavia, Hong Kong) and decades (1910s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s)

Happy Hooptober to everyone!

• Warning from Space

  misc: 1950s

• Men Behind the Sun

  misc: hong kong

• Rope Cosmetology
• Species

  franchise/1

• Species II

  franchise/2

• Species III

  franchise/3

• Species: The Awakening

  franchise/4

• The Fireworks Woman

  wes craven

• Home for the Holidays

  weather

• Queen of the Damned

  black woman

...plus 21 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Top 10 feature films of 2023 (Italy theatrical&VOD, Festivals included).

1. Evil Does Not Exist
2. Decision to Leave
3. Oppenheimer
4. Poor Things
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
6. The Beasts
7. Godzilla Minus One
8. Killers of the Flower Moon
9. Trenque Lauquen
10. Master Gardener

Here I am with my 4th Hooptober challenge! I keep forgetting that this actually starts mid-September, so I'm already late to the party.

I always assumed that every film in the challenge had to be horror movies, but I'm not so sure anymore. I mean, Hitchcock directed, according to Letterboxd, only three horrors: is everyone who wants to pick him as a criteria supposed to choose between those three movies? Go figure. Also, who cares, right? Anyway, that's my second self-imposed (?) rule, the first being picking only films I haven't seen, so some of them may not entirely fit the criteria under which they are listed ('cause, you know, I haven't seen them).

Usual disclaimer: I won't probably be able to do one film every day in October so I will start ASAP and/or watch more than one film in certain days.
You can find the original list (and all the participants) here

6 countries
USA, UK, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, , Indonesia
8 decades
40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s
2 post apocalyptic or natural disaster related films
Dead & Buried, The Terror Within + Sharknado
1 film with Robert Englund
The Phantom of the Opera (also Dead & Buried)
1 something is underground film
Tremors
3 Satan/Devil centered films
Satan's Slave, Exorcist II + III, Angel Heart
1 Amicus film
Torture Garden
The worst Dracula film (by Letterboxd rating) that you haven't seen and can access.
Dracula 3000
1 LGBTQ+ connected film
What Keeps You Alive
5 Films from De Palma, Wes Craven, Ken Russell, Hitchcock and/or Moorhead & Benson.
Phantom of the Paradise, Swamp Thing, Gothic, Frenzy, Synchronic
2 Peter Cushing films
The Mummy, The Hound of the Baskervilles (also Torture Garden)
1 film based on a work of or invoking the name Bram Stoker
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
1 film based on a Clive Barker story
Night Breed
1 film that was released the year that you turned 10
May (2002)
1 Mario Bava film.
The Venus of Ille EDIT: I had already seen The Venus of Ille, switching with Four Times That Night (not a horror, but I've seen all Bava horror films)
1 film with an 'x' in the title
Baxter

And 1 Tobe Hooper Film (There must ALWAYS be a Hooper film)
Invaders From Mars

No extra work for me this year 😢

Happy Hooptober to everyone!

• Africa Addio
• This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse
• The Bat Woman
• Demons
• Successive Slidings of Pleasure
• Corridor of Mirrors
• Dead & Buried
• The Terror Within
• Sharknado
• The Phantom of the Opera

...plus 21 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Non-lost horror films (according to Letterboxd and/or IMDb) I still haven't seen in my History of Horror project, wether because I couldn't find them or because I just skipped them for whatever reason. If you know where I can find any of this you're very welcome to leave a comment.

I'm currently going through the 50s. List will be constantly updated.

• Balaoo the Demon Baboon
• Fear
• Sacrifice
• Eerie Tales
• One Exciting Night
• The Stone Rider
• Warning Shadows
• The Bear's Wedding
• Wolf Blood
• The ion of a Woman Teacher

...plus 77 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Top 10 feature films of 2022.

Licorice Pizza has been released in March 2022 in Italy so there's that.

1. The Last Days of Humanity
2. Triangle of Sadness
3. Nope
4. Licorice Pizza
5. Crimes of the Future
6. Pacifiction
7. EO
8. The Fabelmans
9. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
10. New Religion

Another year, another Hooptober challenge. To be honest, I can't think of many better ways to spend my October than watching horror movies, and if those movies follow Cinemonster's criteria, even better.

Once again, I will only pick films I haven't seen, so some of them may not entirely fit the criteria under which they are listed. This year, I had a problem with one of the criteria because I already watched all horror films starring Lon Chaney, and the ones left are considered lost, so I picked the 2002 reconstruction of London After Midnight.

Usual disclaimer: I won't probably be able to do one film every day in October so I will start a bit earlier or watch more than one film in certain days.
You can find the original list (and all the participants) here.

6 countries
USA, UK, , Poland, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Argentina,
8 decades
20s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s
2 insect centered films
Empire of the Ants, Antfarm Dickhole
1 horror film set in space or the future (relative to when it was released)
Forbidden World
2 animated films
Kill It and Leave This Town, The House
1 bloodthirsty old person/people film
House of the Long Shadows
2 1970s regional US films (Thanks Sean Young)
I Drink Your Blood, The Crazies
The worst horror sequel from the 1990s that you haven't seen and can access. (I realize that this will take a little work)
Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace
1 German Silent
Warning Shadows
5 Films from David Cronenberg, Ti West, Bill Rebane, Charles B. Pierce, William Grefe and/or Joy N. Houck Jr.
The Sacrament, Blood Harvest, The Legend of Bobby Creek, Sting of Death, The Creature from Black Lake
2 Christopher Lee films
The City of The Dead, Taste of Fear + House of the Long Shadows
1 film with a musician or band in it (A real life musician or band)
The Hunger
1 Stephen King adaptation that is not the first go around.
1 Lon Chaney film. (NOT JR)
London After Midnight (2002)

And 1 Tobe Hooper Film (There must ALWAYS be a Hooper film)
The Funhouse

***FOR THOSE THAT LIKE TO DO EXTRA WORK: WATCH The Last Circus and Silent Madness. Like last year, there is a third film: Pennywise: The Story of It.

UPDATE: I couldn't find Pennywise: The Story of It so I changed it with It (1990).

• Demons
• Haze
• At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
• Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf
• The Rape of the Vampire
• Empire of the Ants
• Antfarm Dickhole
• Forbidden World
• Kill It and Leave This Town
• The House

...plus 24 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. Avengers: Endgame
3. Avengers: Infinity War
4. The Avengers
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
6. Thor: Ragnarok
7. Captain America: Civil War
8. WandaVision
9. Spider-Man: No Way Home
10. Loki

...plus 24 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Girlhood
• Tomboy
• Taming the Garden
• The Cats
• Voyage of Time: Life's Journey
• Language of Love
• As Tears Go By
• Chungking Express
• Maelström
• Cosmos

...plus 64 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• The Power of the Dog
• Dune
• Belfast
• West Side Story
• King Richard
• Don't Look Up
• Drive My Car
• Nightmare Alley
• Being the Ricardos
• CODA

...plus 43 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Favourite feature films of 2021.

1. Drive My Car
2. Titane
3. Memoria
4. Dune
5. Il Buco
6. Parallel Mothers
7. Spencer
8. The Card Counter
9. Happening
10. The Power of the Dog

• Aalavandhan
• The ABCs of Death
• ABCs of Death 2
• Abnormis
• The Abomination
• Mutant Action
• The Acid Eaters
• The Acid House
• Across the Universe
• Action

...plus 2281 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films that I need to, want to or should watch again, for whatever reason.

• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
• The Golem: How He Came Into the World
• Nosferatu
• The Mummy
• Vampyr
• Citizen Kane
• Touch of Evil
• Hiroshima Mon Amour
• Ivan's Childhood
• The Haunting

...plus 29 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Here comes my second Hooptober Challenge; last year was so much fun (the reviewing as well!) and I find myself cherishing the moment when I'll start watching the films I gathered following Cinemonster's rules.

Once again, I will only pick films I haven't seen, so some of them may not entirely fit the criteria under which they are listed.
I won't probably be able to do 1 film every day in October so I will start a bit earlier or watch more than one film in certain days.
You can find the original list (and all the participants) here.

6 countries
USA, UK, USSR, Italy, , Spain, , Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Norway
8 decades
50s, 60s, 70s, 80, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s
2 folk horror
Viy, Dark Waters
4 films from 1981
Deadly Blessing, The Burning, Ms .45, Galaxy of Terror
2 films from your birth year (1992)
Death Becomes Her, Midori
2 haunted house films
House on Haunted Hill, Let's Scare Jessica to Death + The Entity
The worst Part 2 that you haven't seen and can access
Birdemic 2: The Resurrection
1 film set in the woods
Sleepaway Camp + Lake of the Dead
1 Kaiju or Kong film (not the new K v. G)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
2 Hammer films
The Quatermass Xperiment, X: The Unknown
3 films with a person of color as director or lead
Tales From the Hood, Ganja & Hess, Def by Temptation
3 Asian horror films
The Doll Master, Thirst, Inhuman Kiss + Jigoku
And 1 Tobe Hooper Films (There must ALWAYS be a Hooper film)
Eaten Alive

***FOR THOSE THAT LIKE TO DO EXTRA WORK: WATCH JD's Revenge, The Skull and The Scooby Doo Project

1. The Red House
2. Spirits of the Dead
3. The Devil's Female
4. Alice, Sweet Alice
5. Censor
6. Viy
7. Dark Waters
8. Deadly Blessing
9. The Burning
10. Ms .45

...plus 24 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A collection of all the XConfessions volumes you can find on Letterboxd.

Each volume is itself a collection of short films you can individually find on the site.

• XConfessions
• XConfessions 2
• XConfessions 3
• XConfessions 4
• XConfessions 5
• XConfessions 6
• XConfessions 7
• XConfessions 8
• XConfessions 9
• XConfessions 10

...plus 16 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A list of all the films available on Wanted Zone, VOD platform of Wanted distribution.

• #UNFIT: The Psychology of Donald Trump
• About Endlessness
• Banksy Does New York
• Big Time
• Blue My Mind
• Border
• The Breadwinner
• The Cat Rescuers
• China's Van Goghs
• Citizen Jane: Battle for the City

...plus 39 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A list of all the films available on the Far East Film Festival VOD service, FAREASTREAM.

• 13 Assassins
• 3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy
• After the Storm
• Aftershock
• Ashes of Time
• An Autumn Afternoon
• Badges of Fury
• Beast Stalker
• Beasts Clawing at Straws
• A Bittersweet Life

...plus 96 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A list of what's currently showing on MUBI: Italy, following MUBI's order, from newest to oldest.

EDIT: I stopped updating the list because MUBI's way of displaying the titles of its library has been radically re-imagined, so that the "Now Showing" section is now just on of many, making a list like this almost pointless. I will keep it because of reasons.

1. Barbs, Wastelands
2. My Body is Political
3. Tokyo Sonata
4. Le Navire Night
5. Bérénice
6. Tripping with Nils Frahm
7. The 400 Blows
8. Antonio One Two Three
9. Terrorizers
10. Winter Nomads

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Ranked list of my favourite feature films of 2020 which I managed to watch during the year. Weird year, somewhat weird list.

Obviously missing many notable films, some are not yet available in Italy, some I simply skipped.

1. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
2. Soul
3. Possessor
4. Memory House
5. Sisters with Transistors
6. Host
7. Tenet
8. Hidden Away
9. Genus Pan
10. His House

After at least three years of me forgetting to do this until like the second week of October, here is my first Hooptober challenge.
I will only pick films I haven't seen, so I apologise if a few don't really fit the criteria.
I won't probably be able to do 1 film each day in October so I will start a bit earlier or watch more than one film in certain days.
Cinemonster's original list is here.

RULES:

6 countries
USA, UK, Italy, Japan, , Canada, Australia, Spain
6 decades
50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s
7 2nd films of franchises
Predator 2, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, The Toxic Avenger Part II, Damien: Omen II, The Hills Have Eyes: Part II, Critters 2, Paranormal Activity 2 + Cube 2: Hypercube
4 body horror films
The Incredible Melting Man, Xtro, Jacob's Ladder, Tusk, From Beyond
2 films from this year
Relic, Host
3 disease based films
Warning Sign, Contracted, The Thaw
The highest rated horror film from the 50s that you haven't seen and can access
Godzilla
1 film that is set entirely inside one location
Panic Room
1 Invisible Person film
The Amazing Transparent Man
1 Non Dracula Hammer Film
Twin of Evil
2 films with a black director or predominantly black cast or lead
Blacula, Kuso
1 film with a movie theater in it
Anguish

And 1 Tobe Hooper Films (There must ALWAYS be a Hooper film)
Lifeforce

***FOR THOSE THAT LIKE TO DO EXTRA WORK: WATCH The Witch Who Came From the Sea and Cube 2: Hypercube

1. Web of the Spider
2. Killer Nun
3. Damien - Omen II
4. The Hills Have Eyes Part 2
5. Critters
6. Critters 2
7. The Toxic Avenger Part II
8. Predator 2
9. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
10. Paranormal Activity 2

...plus 22 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

All the titles available in the new MUBI section, MUBI Library. The selection differs depending on the country you're in, like the Now Showing section; this list refers to MUBI: Italy (here you can see the Now Showing list). The films may or may not be available for rent, I'm just listing those which are included in the subscription.

Missing on Letterboxd:
The Fifth Horseman (Enrique Viciano, Rosana Pastor, 2014)

If I'm missing something or there's something that shouldn't be here please let me know in the comments.

UPDATE: added a bunch of Indian films from the Spotlight on India section.

• (Be)Longing
• 100 Years of Adolf Hitler – The Last Hour in the Führerbunker
• 12 Years a Slave
• The 120 Days of Bottrop
• 1428
• 2 + 2 = 22 [The Alphabet]
• 24 City
• 27 Down
• The 400 Blows
• [sic]

...plus 490 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A list of cinematic adaptations of the work of H. P. Lovecraft; not merely Lovecraftian films but more or less explicit adaptations, based on or inspired by a specific story or group of stories, however adapted and re-imagined.

When necessary, you'll find in the notes the short story/stories the film is based on.

In chronological order except for direct sequels (or films d as such), if any. Suggestions welcomed.

• The Haunted Palace

  The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Dunwich Horror (loosely)

• Die, Monster, Die!

  The Colour Out of Space

• The Dunwich Horror
• Re-Animator
• Bride of Re-Animator
• Beyond Re-Animator
• Pulse Pounders

  The Evil Clergyman (anthology film: third and final part)

• From Beyond
• The Curse

  The Colour Out of Space

• The Unnamable

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Ranked list of my favourite 2019 films.

Not watched yet:
Uncut Gems
Invisible Life
Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
Bacurau
Toy Story 4
The Farewell

1. Parasite
2. The Lighthouse
3. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
4. The Irishman
5. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
6. Midsommar
7. Joker
8. An Officer and a Spy
9. Martin Eden
10. Avengers: Endgame

• Twin Peaks: The Return
• Parasite
• The Handmaiden
• Mommy
• The Lighthouse
• Coco
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Irishman
• Roma
• Wolf Children

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Carrie
• Salem's Lot
• The Shining
• Creepshow
• Cujo
• The Dead Zone
• Christine
• Children of the Corn
• Firestarter
• Cat's Eye

...plus 53 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Boro in the Box
• Lunar Almanac
• Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon
• Li'l Quinquin
• The Exquisite Corpus
• Cat Sick Blues
• November
• The Image You Missed
• Fortuna
• The Wolf House

1. Child's Play
2. Seed of Chucky
3. Curse of Chucky
4. Child's Play 2
5. Bride of Chucky
6. Child's Play 3

• Metropolis
• Bride of Frankenstein
• Sunset Boulevard
• Seven Samurai
• The Seventh Seal
• Psycho
• La Notte
• Harakiri
• Night of the Living Dead
• Eraserhead

Ranked list of my favourite 2017 films.

1. Twin Peaks: The Return
2. Coco
3. The Wild Boys
4. November
5. Phantom Thread
6. Call Me by Your Name
7. Get Out
8. One Cut of the Dead
9. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
10. A Ghost Story

• Dragon Inn
• A Touch of Zen
• The Matrix
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1
• Kung Fu Hustle
• House of Flying Daggers
• Ip Man
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
• The Raid
• John Wick

• Freaks
• Psycho
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Don't Look Now
• The House with Laughing Windows
• Once Upon a Time in America
• Se7en
• Beau Travail
• No Country for Old Men
• Twin Peaks: The Return

A ranked list of my favourite horror films from the 20s. Only feature films.

1. Freaks
2. Bride of Frankenstein
3. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
4. Mad Love
5. Vampyr
6. Frankenstein
7. Island of Lost Souls
8. The Devil-Doll
9. King Kong
10. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

A ranked list of my favourite horror films from the 20s. Only feature films.

1. The Unknown
2. The Fall of the House of Usher
3. Nosferatu
4. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
5. The Phantom Carriage
6. Faust
7. A Page of Madness
8. The Phantom of the Opera
9. The Man Who Laughs
10. Häxan

List of my favourite movie sequels/follow-ups in chronological order.

• Bride of Frankenstein
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Halloween II
• Aliens
• Evil Dead II
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• The Dark Knight
• Blade Runner 2049

Ranked list of my favourite 2018 films.

1. Shoplifters
2. Roma
3. The Favourite
4. The Wolf House
5. Hereditary
6. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
7. Sharp Objects
8. Dogman
9. Mandy
10. Killing

Halloween films ranked.

Thoughts/reviews in the notes.

1. Halloween
2. Halloween II

   Halloween II is a slow and atmospheric horror that takes its time to evolve and does not rush into anything, ed by the regular and measured pacing of Michael Myers. This is a direct sequel that resumes exactly when the first had left off, thus actually concluding the halloween night of the first chapter. The plot is linear and unpretentious, the story unfolds itself almost naturally, and the whole film bears a clear Carpenterian mark, although he's not behind the camera anymore (he writes and produces though): the silence and stillness of many shots, the splendid soundtrack, the geometrical and sharp cinematography - all of this concurs to create a quite yet menacing atmosphere, and Myers is here almost the embodiment of destiny itself: careless and relentless.

   Where the film really shines, however, is in the synergy between the main location and the usage of music. The empty and silent hospital's corridors and halls and rooms are exploited wisely and nicely, both in of pure spaces and camera angles. Likewise, the music kicks in with perfect timing, giving rhythm to the film or creating suspense when it's needed; the role of music, anyway, is not spent merely in its presence, for the film does a really good job using its absence as well.

   I wasn't expecting that much from this second chapter: a pleasant surprise.

3. Halloween

   I actually forgot how it felt to watch a satisfying Halloween movie, and this is probably my third favourite in the franchise (maybe ex-aequo with The Return of MM). In perfect balance between the sequel and the remake/reboot, Halloween (2018) is respectful towards its origins without being obsequious, it plays a bit and upgrade itself to the new era, both aesthetically and culturally.

   I had the strong feeling that the people behind this actually thought about what they were doing before starting to do it, which is more than one can say about the majority of the slasher sequels out there: the are aware of the myth surrounding Michael and Laurie, the meaning of the Mask (and the Shape) and its nemesis (or is it the other way around?).

   Probably the most interesting intuition was that of presenting not a final girl but a trans-generational final family, but also the relationship between the leading couple (M&L) is formally elaborated like never before - Laurie cinematically becomes Michael in more than one occasion. Sure, Good and Bad are not subverted, but they both are necessary (in a strong, metaphysical way) and retain a nice disrupting value, though in two very different ways.

4. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

   The familiar dimension of the horrific tale of Halloween starts becoming central and more explicit in this fourth chapter. Michael is irresistibly attracted by his relatives (his sister in H2, his niece in this one) by a delirious and murderous drive; their destinies are indissolubly bound together. Family stops being a place for love and solidarity, turning instead into the perfect crucible for trauma and oppression. The origin of violence is almost mythical, and violence leads to trauma which leads to more violence which leads to more trauma, and Michael's killing spree is the desperate and hopeless attempt to interrupt such a vicious cycle. Hopeless indeed, for violence and trauma only propagate more and more, up to the spine-chilling and surprising ending.

5. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

   H20 ignores everything happened between H2 and The Curse of Michael Myers, and the choice ends up being rather rewarding. The film wisely avoids dealing with the mess of the previous chapter and tries to create a direct link with its origins, calling back Jamie Lee-Curtis for the occasion, and I would call the attempt successful after all. The plot, accepting the premises, is more linear and solid, and the focus on the relationship between Laure and his son, John (introducing Josh Hartnett!), fits well the spirit of a franchise which has always made familiar bonds one of its key aspects. Surprisingly, H20 also takes a strong stand on the future of the franchise - which I'm sure will completely go to waste with the next chapter - opting for a liberating and rather definitive ending.

6. Halloween

   Firm change of direction for this prequel/remake of Carpenter's Halloween, and that's probably the film's greatest merit. Zombie attempts an explanation - an understanding, even - of evil, and gives Michael a proper past and a definite psychology. This positivistic (and socio-scientistic) conception of his nature, though, progressively mingles with the figure of a blind and purely horrific boogeyman, an idea more than a person, with a mask instead of a face. The boundaries between mental disease and the Malign itself become unclear, and Michael is, in Zombie's re-imagining, an essentially ambiguous figure, poised between earth and hell.

   What is clear, however, is that the true and only protagonist of this new Halloween is Michael Myers himself, and in fact the main character of the original film, namely Laurie Strode, is now rather marginal and without the charisma or the scenic presence that Jamie Lee Curtis had. Scout Taylor-Compton is just a regular teenager girl who (understandably) screams a lot and lives her live with little to no clue of what's going on. Might also be miscasting, but I believe that Zombie wanted to de-potentiate her importance in order to align the audience with Myers more than with Laurie.

   Finally, Zombie basically overturns the biggest assumption of the entire franchise, namely Michael's relationship with the of his family and consequently his whole driving purpose, adding a sparkle of humanity to his personality but also more ambiguity and secludedness.

7. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

   Virtually everything good or worth mentioning in H5 revolves around the little Jamie's convincing performance and fascinating presence. She's the centre of the few nice sequences of the film, and she ends up stealing the show from the icon of the franchise, Michael Myers.

   Unfortunately, the general feeling is that of a confusingly written and incongruous film: pointless scenes (way too many), inconsequent shots, bad characters management (i.e., who the fuck is the guy in black boots, and why nobody gives a shit about Jamie's stepsister?), supposedly comical gags involving a couple of idiotic cops and the doctor who basically lost it long time ago but here is on a whole new level of having-lost-it-ness.

   I'm all the more disappointed because the couple Michael/Jamie and their bond had potential, and might have been very fascinating if properly handled.

8. Halloween II

   Much more Zombie, much less Halloween. All in all, bad movie.

9. Halloween: Resurrection

   "Cameras are so phallic"
   "Is that good or bad?"
   "Depends who's watching"

   As expected, nobody gave a shit about the ending of H20 and with an illogical and cheap narrative trick, Michael is back in action. The whole film, to be sure, is laughable and ridiculous (for different reasons in different moments, but laughable and ridiculous nonetheless), and the prologue, where in no more than ten minutes Laurie is killed off for good, is pointless and unbelievably far-fetched. Also, the people behind this must have been realised, all of a sudden, that we were in a new millennium, and got carried away with this thing of new technological frontiers (oh look at that, portable cameras with horrible resolution!!!), giving rise to the most meta-halloween of the series.

   Yet, the middle section is actually more complex and stratified than is might appear, in a constant questioning of the role of entertainment, effect on audience and power of gaze. Generally speaking, the shift between diegetic fiction and diegetic reality leads to an interesting double identification of the two audiences involved, namely the spectators of the reality show and the spectator of the film itself. What is worth noticing is the fundamental flattening between "fake" reality show and "real" reality show: in both cases the audience goes with it, and in fact it helps the mechanisms of fiction more than trying to save the characters who are about to get slaughtered ("where is he?" "in the house!" thank you very much, but maybe a more specific answer would've helped). Same discourse goes, albeit from a safer and more self-aware position, for the real audience (us), but here the thing is trite and already seen dozens of times (there is also a blatant reference, which I don't wanna call homage, to Peeping Tom).

   One thing that puzzled me is that despite the film is involved, on a formal level, with the dialectic of meta-cinema and touches (well, it tries) challenging questions on the nature of cinema itself, it proceeds, on the level of content, in a programmatic process of self-mockery, as if it did not believe in the possibility of actually saying something interesting or of value about it. This form-content friction didn't seem a critique nor a satire either, so it felt like an act of self-sabotage. If only such an act had occurred during pre-production.

10. Halloween III: Season of the Witch

    Great, now I've got that jingle in my head. I suppose I'll decompose and lots of little insects and snakes will come out my mouth tonight when I'm asleep.

    I honestly don't understand how anyone could allow this film to be titled Halloween III. I guess they've seen Lucio Fulci's Zombie 2 and thought it would be a good idea to put a number beside a title that has nothing to do with what your film is about. Anyway, in the case of Season of the Witch we are beyond the misconception of the word 'sequel': this is just a horror movie set in the last week of October. That's it. No Michael, no slasher, no nothing. The only reference to the previous movies are a few shots from the first Halloween in a few tv screens.

    Besides the continuity madness, the film is incoherent and weak on its own sake, and can be hardly defined a horror, if we exclude a couple of gory deaths. The plot is more or less predictable and the grand evil plan that the villan wants to execute is ridiculous to say the least. At some point the protagonist asks him a pretty considerate question: why? The response: why not? He's just a jolly old fellow who loves to joke around, building financial empires and spending billions and billions of dollars advertising his three masks (seriously, three masks? He really doesn't know how capitalism and consumerism work). Hahaha. Oh, wait, there's another reason he's done it, much more profound and evil: he wants to reenact an ancient Celtic ritual in which lots of animals and children were sacrificed. Fuck off dude.

    Maybe as a film per se one and a half star is a bit harsh but, hey, it's called Halloween III, isn't it?

...plus 1 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
• The Hills Have Eyes
• Halloween
• The Driller Killer
• Halloween II
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
• Scream
• Scream 2
• The Cabin in the Woods

• Beauty and the Beast
• Alice in Wonderland
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• Spirited Away
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Avatar
• Coraline
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Coco

A list of every film mentioned, as they're mentioned, in Teo Mora's Storia del cinema dell'orrore, in three volumes. Films considered lost excluded; list in progress.

• Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession
• Solaris
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Aelita: Queen of Mars
• The Death Ray
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
• Waxworks
• Warning Shadows
• Nosferatu
• Freaks

...plus 97 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Cat People
• Night of the Living Dead
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
• Eraserhead
• Halloween
• The Evil Dead
• Possession
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• Saw
• Paranormal Activity

Films I've watched in cinemas or in any sort of public venues, listed in chronological order (newer first; re-watchings included if the first time was not in a cinema).

• Loro 1
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Ready Player One
• A Quiet Place
• Black Panther
• Ghost Stories
• Phantom Thread
• The Shape of Water
• Call Me by Your Name
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

...plus 121 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Psycho
• Rosemary's Baby
• Carrie
• The Brood
• Friday the 13th
• Possession
• Aliens
• Coraline
• The Babadook
• Goodnight Mommy

• Harakiri
• Women in Love
• A Touch of Zen
• Barry Lyndon
• Return of the Jedi
• Aliens
• Face/Off
• The Matrix
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
• Warrior

Films I've watched on MUBI for the first time.

• Wasteland No. 1: Ardent Verdant
• Antiporno
• Wet Woman in the Wind
• Pussy
• Kazarken: As We Dig
• The Exquisite Corpus
• The Club
• Our Lady of Hormones
• Dead Slow Ahead
• Any Virgin Left Alive?

...plus 93 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
• Akira
• Ichi the Killer
• Oldboy
• Spider-Man 2
• The Dark Knight
• Kick-Ass
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
• Blue Is the Warmest Color
• X-Men: Days of Future Past