Pop Ninja 31 Days of Horror

Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #12: October 12, 2021 'The Little Shop of Horrors' (1960) For Day 12 I chose to watch the original Roger Corman classic 'The Little Shop of Horrors' starring Johnathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, and Jack Nicholson. It's a super low budget, cheesy movie. The kind Roger Corman has built an empire on as the king of "B" movies. It's ok, but I must admit I liked the '80s musical with Rick Moranis better. - Patrick

  Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #11: October 11, 2021 'The Hills Have Eyes' (1977) I watched this early Wes Craven film about a family that breaks down in a restricted bomb test area in the desert on their way to California. They are stalked, captured, and tortured by some caveman type people who live in the desert.  There are some pretty intense torture scenes. Very gruesome film.  Stars Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, and John Steadman. That Michael Berryman that plays one of the killers is one of the weirdest looking people on the planet! Lol. I've seen him in many movies. - Patrick

Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #10: October 10, 2021 'Day of the Triffids' (1962) For day 10 I watched the British film 'Day of the Triffids' about a meteor shower that brings deadly spores to Earth that are plant creatures that can walk on their roots and kill people with a whip-like stinger. The brightness of the meteor shower left most people blind.  The effects weren't all that great in this film, but the story was very intriguing and well written. Stars Howard Keel, Nicole Maurey, and Janette Scott. I would love to see a big budget remake with today's special F/X technology. - Patrick

   Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #9: October 9, 20211979) 'Alien' (1979) "In Space, No one hears you scream..." What a great tagline for a great film. 'Alien' is one of the best Sci-fi/Horror films of all time. Made in a time in the late '70s when special effects and creature costumes were really starting to excel in film. One of my favorite films of all time. If you have never seen it, you are really missing out on a masterpiece. It stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. Directed by the awesome Ridley Scott. In the future, the commercial spaceship Nostromo receives a distress call from somewhere on a nearby moon. They investigate and all hell breaks loose when they discover alien eggs. One of them hatches and attaches itself to the face of a crewman. What happens next makes this one of the most terrifying sci-fi horror films of all time. Check it out! - Patrick

   Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #8: October 8, 2021 'Creature From The Black Lagoon' (1954) For day 8 I watched my favorite Universal Monsters film... I have always been fascinated by this film.  It stars Richard Carlson and the lovely Julie Adams. If you've never seen it, give it a try. It's a fun movie to watch. The underwater scenes of the creature swimming below as Julie Adams swims above is spectacular. For the '50s, this film has super visuals. The story is about a group of scientists in the Amazon trying to capture creature that lives in the water and bring it back for study. Cool beans. - Patrick

  Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #7: October 7, 2021 ‘One Dark Night’ (AKA ‘Mausoleum’ (1982) This early 80s horror film is about a sorority who makes a new pledge spend the night in a mausoleum for her initiation. Stars Meg Tilly, Melissa Newman, and Robin Evans. The movie was just ok for the most part, but the last 20 minutes had outstanding horror makeup and visual effects. The end was worth watching the film. Check it out. - Patrick

  Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #6: October 6, 2021 'The Town that Dreaded Sundown' (1976) For my 6th day of the 31 Days of Horror challenge I watched a film that I've always seen the poster for and was intrigued by, but never got around to. I had no idea that it was based on a true story and I was delighted to see actress Dawn Wells from Gilligan's Island in it. It was directed by Charles B. Pierce, who directed the Boggy Creek movies. It starred Ben Johnson who I've seen in countless films, Andrew Prine who I was familiar with from "V" and Dawn Wells. The movie was ok, the cinematography didn't stand out or anything, but the story was very captivating. This was based on a true story of a masked serial killer who terrorized the town on Texarkana Arkansas in the late '40s.  He wore a pillow case to hide his identity, which reminded me of 'Friday the 13th.' The killer would target young couples who were parked and making out at night...

  Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #5: October 5, 2021 'The Asphyx' (1972) For the 5th day of the 31 Days of Horror challenge, I watched the very strange '70s horror film 'The Asphyx'. It stars Robert Powell, Robert Stephens, and Jane Lapotaire. The film kept my interest and had some ok effects for the early 70s. It's about a scientist who discovers an Asphyx in a photograph of someone dying.  An Asphyx is an ancient Egyptian spirit that comes for you when you die, or something like that. This scientist discovers it and spends the rest of the movie obsessed with catching it. He thinks that if he can catch it he will become immortal. Bizarre, but well written story. - Patrick

    Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #4: October 4, 2021 'Orlok the Vampire' (2009) For Day 4 of the 31 Days of Horror, I watched a restored, re-edited version of the 99 year old film  'Nosferatu' (1822) now retitled 'Orlok the Vampire.' The footage has been cleaned up and it has a brand new soundtrack. Somehow they were able to add back in some never before seen footage lost from the original cut of the film. What a creepy movie!! Max Schreck, the actor who plays Nosferatu/Orlock is such a weird and creepy looking guy. This is a silent film and moves quite slowly, but when Max is on the screen it completely captures your attention. I love seeing the old ships and old footage from nearly 100 years ago. I was completely fascinated by it. This is my second time to see it. I highly recommend giving it a view. - Patrick

  Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #3: October 23, 2021 'The Beast Walks Among Us' (2020) Today's film that I watched for the 31 Days of Horror is writer/director Christopher R. Mihm's 'The Beast Walks  Among us' starring a bunch of kids, a few who are the director's own children. I've been a fan of the Mihmiverse films for about a decade now. This one is about the Phantom Lake Kids who are a group of kids that hang out together like the Goonies or the Little Rascals or even the old Bowery Boys.  When a local man is suspected of having been transformed into a hideous monster, it's up to a scrappy gang of local kids to uncover the truth and save Phantom Lake County- and everyone in it-  from certain doom. This film, like director Mihm's other films, is a tribute to the old classic sci-fi and monster movies of the 1950s. It's a fun, cheesy, low-budget film to watch. I absolutely loved the monster costume in this one. - Patrick

Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #2: October 2, 2021 "Pumpkyn" (2020) For my 2nd day of the 31 Days of Horror, I watched "Pumpkyn" which was written and directed by Brooke Edler Hebert. It stars Amanda Caldwell, JC Domangue, and Amy Wickenheiser. It's about an odd, shy girl who meets up with two preppy bitches at their old high school on Halloween night. The bitches are trying to trick and embarrass the girl, but she turns the tables on them in a horrific way. Great job for a small budget.  I've watched a few of this director's films and she has a natural talent for making horror movies. You can tell she has a love for the genre. - Patrick

 Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror Day #1: October 1, 2021 'Magic' (1978) For day one I of the 31 Days of Horror I chose an old classic that I really enjoy watching each year. It's the   Anthony Hopkins film 'Magic' about a ventriloquist who has killer dummy, or is it really the ventriloquist who is the killer? Directed by Richard Attenborough (the guy who plays Dr. Hammond on the Jurassic Park movies) and stars Anthony Hopkins, Ann Margret, and Burgess Meredith. Hopkin's acting was so amazing in this one and the dummy was so scary. This was an awesome thriller. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it. - Patrick