So here’s the thing. I’m not a scary movie person but every year around Halloween time I like to watch horror films to mark the occasion. For me, this was the best horror movie session yet because I just so happened to watch six, yes seven! horror movies this week. Albeit most of them were vampire movies, which aren’t that scary at all, but still, I’m proud of myself. So, I’m sharing my experience with you. Enjoy!

Monday

I already shared a post I wrote detailing my experience watching these two films Monday night. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the ultra-romantic (and dramatic) Dracula film, treating the title character as a victim of love whose dark mission to find his long-lost true love is quite something. The thing I liked about it the most is the attention to his background story to fully understand why he was Dracula in the first place and learning that he can transform into so many different things which is pretty creepy.

4/5 stars

And then there was The Lost Boys which was just plain fun! It was hilarious, surprisingly riveting, and simply one of those old 80s’ movies that you end up loving out of nowhere.

4.5/5 stars

On Wednesday my sister and I watched The Thing for the first time together which, unlike Alien, wasn’t that scary but ultimately was just as riveting. It followed the same beats as Alien; an unaware team of men (no women were invited this time around) are out in the middle of nowhere having to deal with a terrifying extraterrestrial killing machine. However, it did manage to surprise me with its psychological twists and turns, leaving me gasping and unable to fully predict how the movie was going to end.

The Thing was really, really good and yet another John Carpenter masterpiece.

5/5 stars

And then on Friday I had my yearly dose of Halloween. Having seen it only once in my life which was last year, I forgot how scary the last thirty minutes of this film are. It had me sweating, literally, I was that nervous. Oh, and shrieking, and jumping, and doing a whole lot of “Oh my gosh-ing.”

Halloween is a masterfully made film that is the epitome of suspense and now I need to see Halloween II!

5/5 stars

And then yesterday, my sister and I watched these three horror movies in the order you see above, from left to right.

Because we had seen Bram Stoker’s Dracula, featuring Gary Oldman’s version of the character, we wanted to see why Christopher Lee was iconic as the blood-sucking vampire. In a nutshell, we had a blast.

Christopher Lee was like the Bond of vampires, appearing in ten movies over a course of fourteen years and constantly getting the poor ladies. It was riveting stuff.

In Horror of Dracula, it was super cool seeing Peter Cushing playing Van Helsing! I was like, “Oh yeah!” Christopher Lee was amazing! I mean, the only roles I’m used to seeing him play is when he’s old in the Star Wars prequels as Count Dooku and as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit movies. So imagine my surprise when I noticed how tall, dark-haired, and surprisingly handsome he was as Dracula.

(I know, it was 1958, a full 43 years before The Fellowship of the Ring but still…I wasn’t ready!)

It was definitely a wee bit of a shocker. Apparently, he was the first actor to make Dracula what he’s known as today; a hot dark-haired dude whose plan is to turn unfortunate ladies into his vampire brides…oh, but those unfortunate ladies are going to like it. Very interesting…

But beyond that, I found his performance rewarding on so many levels. He was actually quite terrifying, I loved his menacing presence, and there was something undeniably regal about him that made him feel even more threatening. I loved it!

4.5/5 stars

Then we watched Doctor Sleep which was a personal challenge for me. The Shining is one of the scariest movies ever made and it really bothers my psyche so I ended up watching the last thirty minutes of Doctor Sleep through the slits in my fingers and the help of my sister’s commentary because honestly, I couldn’t handle it.

Now, in terms of the movie’s quality, it wasn’t nearly as good (or scary) as it could’ve been. Yeah, it had its various creepy moments and the story did have me in a vice-like grip for about 75% of the film but it was that last 25% that became so predictable and reminiscent of other movies trying to revisit nostalgia of much better classics. When it ended, despite the fact that I was sweating bullets from anxiety, I was not that impressed with the overall film.

4/5 stars

And then last but definitely not least, we decided to watch Dracula Has Risen from the Grave which was hilarious and riveting at the same time. Yeah, we pretty much knew what was going to happen but it didn’t make the film any less fun to watch.

Dracula is the worst! Not only does he suck the poor girls until they’re undead vampire broads but he’s so mean to them. He’s not at all gentlemanly, he’s just…well, evil. Duh, right! *rolling my eyes*

4/5 stars

Of the seven movies I saw this week my favorite were undoubtedly the two Christopher Lee Dracula movies and The Thing. These films had me on the edge of my seat and I just couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen. I wonder what new horror films I’ll see next year. We’ll see…

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a beautiful day.