The Dead Don't Die (2019 film)

The Dead Don't Die movie poster.  Look at all those names!

"So the dead just don't want to die today, is that it?" - Zelda Winston

Hello, everyone, and welcome to 2019's Happy Horrorween celebration.  Now, I know every year I promise that I'll bring you a whole month's worth of reviews, and only one year was I ever able to do that (and just barely, at that!), so I'm not going to promise it at all this time.  Instead, I'm going to do as many posts as I can, with my offline work schedule, and see if I can't start posting up more than I have been.  Considering my last post was a year ago, about that year's Happy Horrorween, and then I didn't follow through, I think I'll be able to post a little bit more.

So, on to The Dead Don't Die!  I started seeing the ads for this one earlier in the year and was looking forward to seeing it.  When the time came for its release, we checked online to find out when it would be showing at our favorite theater... and it wasn't.  Neither was it at the second choice, or third.  Turned out, it was playing at a small independent theater nearby, so we never got a chance to go over and see it.  Fortunately, the movie just came out on DVD a couple weeks ago, so I got my hands on it and am happy to bring a review to you!

The movie starts off with some shots of a cemetery that I thought for sure was the same one that was in the original Night of the Living Dead (it looked VERY similar).  After the opening song (called "The Dead Don't Die", oddly enough), we meet our two main stars, Chief Cliff Robertson and Officer Ronnie Peterson, as they try to track down Hermit Bob in the woods.  It seems that Bob was accused of stealing one of local farmer Frank's chickens.  After encountering him, the two drive back into town and talk about how off the daylight seems to be, with it approaching 8 or 9 at night and the sun still shining.  Once the sun finally goes down, however, two figures approach the local diner from the cemetery and wreak havoc there.  It seems the town of Centerville has a little zombie problem.

I really enjoyed this movie.  At it's base, it's a pretty by-the-book zombie apocalypse, with an ever-dwindling cast of human characters, and some pretty good zombie make-up.  There are a few surprises along the way that I really enjoyed, plus a few fourth wall breaks that I laughed at.  The film is a horror comedy, so there are a ton of jokes, wordplay, references, all pretty cleverly done.

The cast was pretty well picked, with many well-known actors playing both big and small parts.  Bill Murray plays overwrought Chief Cliff here, who you know from Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters and a ton of other movies.  Adam Driver plays Officer Ronnie.  Mr. Driver, of course, played Kylo Ren in the recent Star Wars trilogy amongst a lot of other things.  Tilda Swinton plays Zelda Winston, the new owner of the town's funeral parlor.  She played the Ancient One in Doctor Strange (to a bit of controversy), as well as several roles in the recent Suspiria remake.  Other cast members include Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Iggy Pop, RZA, Carol Kane, Selena Gomez, Tom Waits and many, many more.

All in all, I got a laugh out of this one and give it a 4 out of 5.  I hope this is a great kick-off to Happy Horrorween, and will get back to you with another review soon.  Until then, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

Don't Open the Window (1974 film)

Don't Open the Window: Whatever's Out There Will Wait!

One of the many ideas I had last year that I never got around to for Happy Horrorween was Don't Week.  I got the idea from the Grindhouse films' fake trailer "Don't," which was, in turn, inspired by many British films that would have a different title when released in the US, often with trailers that didn't have any of the film's dialogue (the belief being that American audiences wouldn't intentionally go to see a film from another country with British-accented English).  As I was thinking about this, I noticed a lot of films with that word, Don't, in the title and thought it would make an excellent subject for a special week.  So, one year later, we're finally starting Don't Week!

Kicking the week off, we have Let Sleeping Corpses Lie!  Now, I know what your thinking, the article title says Don't Open the Window.  This film was released under numerous titles over the years, and in different markets... at least fifteen titles in all.  Don't Open the Window, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, Brunch with the Dead... all titles for the same movie!

The film starts with George, an art dealer, leaving his office in the city (filmed in Manchester) and heading for Windermere (complete with glimpses of people wearing masks, shots of pollution in the air, and even a woman streaker running through traffic at a stop light).  Along the way, he stops at a gas station and ends up getting his motorcycle creamed by the car ahead of him.  The wheel's shot on his bike, so he leaves it with the station mechanic and rides with the woman, Edna, who's driving the car and going close to George's destination.

After a brief argument over whose destination to go to first, George agrees to go to Edna's sister's place first.  Getting lost along the way, however, George goes to a nearby field to ask directions while Edna stays at the car.  George stumbles across a farmer and a pair of scientists experimenting with a device that emits "sonar radiation" to wipe out insects and parasites.  Meanwhile, Edna sees a figure walking from the direction of a nearby stream.  The figure stops and turns its blazing red eyes towards her and starts immediately advancing on her...

This film was pretty good.  It works on a lot of suspenseful buildup.  We don't get your typical "horde" of zombies, like you'd see in films nowadays, but there are a few.  Makeup is somewhat minimal, outside of a few wounds and zombie munchings.  Locations were excellent, including a beautiful waterfall Edna's brother-in-law was setting up a photoshoot for.

I first heard about this film from my mother.  She told me about how it was one of the scariest movies she'd ever seen, and about having to walk home alone, at night, after seeing it, past an empty barracks building (she was in the army then).  When we first got Netflix, I made sure this was one of the first films we received.

I give this movie a 5 out of 5.  It's an interesting movie, a fun ride, and I can't recommend it enough to fellow zombie fans.  Tune in next time for another entry in Don't Week.  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!

C.H.U.D. (1984 film)

What are you, kidding?  Your man has a camera.  Mine has a flamethrower. - Captain Bosch

My original plan coming into the month was to cover the two Dr. Phibes movies yesterday and today, and to cover C.H.U.D. on the 10th.  Well, coming into the month, I couldn't find my copy of C.H.U.D., so I put in the substitution of It's Alive.  As today grew closer, I started looking for my Phibes films.  I found the first one... and I found C.H.U.D. in a place that I could've easily found it if I'd looked hard enough.  However, Dr. Phibes Rises Again proved to be elusive to my search efforts, so I came up with the alternate plan of running a classic article yesterday and a new one today... and with C.H.U.D. found, I knew exactly what to use.

So, on to C.H.U.D.!  Before today, I've had very little contact with this film.  I saw bits and pieces of it once, several years ago, but nothing really stuck with me then.  I am, however, very familiar with the "sequel", C.H.U.D. 2: Bud the C.H.U.D., it's one of my favorite films from my childhood.  So, going into the movie, I didn't have any expectations other than the usual hope to enjoy myself.

The movie opens on a woman walking her dog down the middle of a deserted New York City street as the camera pans down to a manhole cover that starts moving mysteriously.  Once the woman walks within reach of said manhole cover, a green, scaly, clawed hand reaches out and grabs her leg, pulling her and her dog into the hole and leaving nothing but her shoe on the street.  Next, we meet George Cooper, a photographer whose contact, Derrick, keeps trying to contact him for shots of a specific homeless woman he's been following.  We find he used to be a fashion photographer, as his girlfriend, Lauren, tells him she set up a photo shoot the next day for her to model and him to photograph her.  Finally, we meet Bosch, a captain of the police force who's troubled by the recent disappearances in his precinct.  Investigating another missing person's report, he goes to pay a visit to A.J. Shepherd who runs the local soup kitchen.  A.J. tells him that twelve of his regulars have gone missing.  What connection do the twelve disappearances have with the homeless woman George knows, and what connection does Bosch's superiors have to it?

This film was an interesting viewing for me.  It had a lot of action to it, especially near the ending of the film.  The acting was well-done, the sense of danger was high, and there were a few surprises in it for me.  The make-up was good on the C.H.U.D.'s, with them all looking somewhat different, and what wasn't done well was semi-hidden with quick flash cuts of their faces.  The shots of their hands look a little bit fake, but who knows what mutated skin would look like in this kind of situation?

We got a nice assortment of actors in the film.  John Heard played George Cooper, the photographer whose connection to the city's underground homeless leads him into contact with the hidden menace.  A very prolific actor, he's been in a LOT of films and television shows, sometimes multiple in the same year as of late, but some of his most noted are Cat People, the first two Home Alone films and Awakenings.  Daniel Stern played A.J. Shepherd, aka The Reverend, the man running the soup kitchen and one of the first to realize the homeless are disappearing and the government's covering it up.  Mr. Stern was also in the Home Alone films, as well as Little Monsters, Leviathan and Otis.  Kim Greist played George's girlfriend, Lauren, his support system and someone who gets drawn unwittingly into the situation.  She was also in original Hannibal Lector film Manhunter, Throw Momma from the Train and Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th.  Also watch for John Goodman in an early film appearance (his fourth) as a policeman in a diner.  He's graced the original version of Happy Horror in Wolfgang Nibori's review of Fallen, and also been in Arachnophobia and Matinee.

A pretty fun movie, with some good acting and some good special effects to it.  I give it a 4 out of 5.  Tomorrow starts my coverage of the Big Three film franchises, with Nightmare on Elm Street.  Thanks to everyone who visited the site for my Haunted Airman coverage, you gave me the highest pageview count I've had yet.  Take care of yourselves, watch out for moving manhole covers, and this is Red Hawk signing out!