Welcome to Mitzi's Movie Night Journal!

On this page I'm going to be trying to give simple reviews of scary movies for the month of October... I'm not good with horror, and I've never really done reviews before, but this seemed like a really fun idea I wanted to give a try! I can't say how many movies I'll watch, or how popular/obscure they'll be, but keep your eyes on this page to see!

If you've got any recs let me know!

MOVIE #1- Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)


I decided I'd go ahead and start with something that seemed a little more horror comedy, since I'm not so good with straight horror. And I have to say it was a bad move because I didn't like this movie at all. The initial tone of it was kind of grating, but I was willing to wait and try to get into the meat of it. There WERE some good chunks in the middle, I'll say, but by the last 30 minutes of the film the tone shifted from annoying to damn near unbearable. The ending especially felt like a very bad flop to a poorly executed climax. It very much felt like a "we're going to throw in a bunch of mental health terminology and then deride it as stupid twitter bullshit" kind of movie as well. 2/10 for the interesting parts being cool to watch + some nice lighting, rest was a bit shit :/

MOVIE #2- Friday the 13th (1980)


Please note this review won't be spoiler free. I know the movie is 42 years old, but I'd just like to clarify ^_^
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So, I've never seen any of the classic horror films, and I wanted to try one! I've always thought Jason looked kinda cool, so I picked this one- and obviously I was surprised he didn't show up in it! I had a slight dip of interest near the end before the actual climax of the movie, but it had a good upswing right after, so I can confidently say that I enjoyed watching it! And while it's obviously horror, I think I laughed more than I was frightened, or even cringed in surprise. Mrs. Voorhees getting straight up decapitated was a genuine shock, as the final girl whose name I can't remember had way more compunctions about killing someone who was coming for her life than I was anticipating. The few horror movies I have watched were more recent, so perhaps that skewed my view of things? I thiiiink I'd give this movie about a 7.5/10? I enjoyed it, but I don't see myself watching it again. Women love to kill!

MOVIE #3- Scream (1996)


This one is a movie I've been meaning to watch for a while now! However last time I tried during the summer, I got the title mixed up with "Scary Movie" and ended up watching that instead. And I have to say, this was a much more enjoyable experience! I REALLY liked this one a lot- the scares didn't feel too cheap or anything, there was a respectable amount of blood and gore, and I also had a lot of fun watching how in almost every scene Ghostface got beat the fuck up and tripped like a clown. I did have some spoilers for the movie going in, so I knew who was behind the mask, but the actual narrative playing out and the ending were new to me! This one gets a 10/10, and I could definitely see myself putting this one on to enjoy again another time :)

NOT A WATCH- Willy's Wonderland (2021)


I'm feeling a bit too tired to watch a movie tonight, so I figured I'd talk about a movie I've already seen- "Willy's Wonderland" ! A lot of people touted this as kind of a FNaF knockoff, but aside from having "haunted animatronics" that's as far as the comparisons go. The reasons they are haunted, and their behavior, are very different, and I actually do really like this movie! It's far more comedy than horror, but I've seen it twice and enjoyed it each time (I even got it on DVD for $4!) and I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for something that's more of a simple watch. It does have some odd choices to it, but overall it's a pretty alright movie. I wouldn't go so far as to call it good but it's a movie I enjoyed nonetheless! It makes me want to play pinball. 8/10 :)

MOVIE #4- Cabin in the Woods (2012)


I was hesitant to give this a try based on the description alone, but I had heard good things about it, so I decided I'd go for it. And I'm really glad I did! This movie was so fun to watch, a nice balance of gore, humor, and actual interesting lore that I was really happy with. It left me wondering often time "how is this going to turn out?" and I was never disappointed with the answer. Would definitely recommend, and while it wouldn't be soon, I could definitely watch this movie again for fun. 9/10, good movie, fun time, I liked the way it was presented and written out :)!

MOVIE #5- Scream (2022)


So I decided to give this one a shot based on how much I liked the original- I had a feeling it wouldn't be a good decision, but I'm trying a lot of new stuff this month in regards to watching horror, so I figured it really wouldn't hurt. I was wrong! I couldn't stand this movie! The premise was horrifically obnoxious, as was the vast majority of its execution. The constant self-congratulatory ouroboros of reference, the use of so much fandom jargon, and the majority of characters were unbearable to pay attention to, on top of it being almost 2 hours long? Made this movie a slog to deal with. The "emotional" scenes lead to an unnecessary amount of bloat in the runtime, as well as being kind of annoying overall. The only time I enjoyed watching this was when someone was dying. 2/10 for some of the good deaths/a bit of the humor, but I will never watch this again.

MOVIE #6- Ginger Snaps (2000)


Well this one.... hm. Overall I just found it kind of boring, honestly. The story felt... kind of haphazard I guess? There was clear progression, and character development, but in my opinion it felt a lot like this was the first draft of the movie and they just decided to go ahead and make it the full release, instead. It wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't good either. The farther I got into the movie the more often I would check how long was left in it to watch. I'd give this one a 3/10, the good parts were enjoyable, and the rest of the movie wasn't bad in comparison, but I didn't enjoy this very much and I'm not inclined to watch it again.

MOVIE #7- The Thing (1982)


This one's another weird one for me- this movie.... is good, but I don't like it. It's way too gory for my tastes, the body horror a bit too extreme for me to really stomach. I averted my eyes a lot in this film just because it was a bit over much. But! I still thought the movie was interesting, the pacing, the cinematography itself, all very impressive, along with an interesting story. I want to like this movie more than I do, and while I enjoyed the meat of the content, so to say, this movie was just too much for me on a larger scale. I will give it a 7/10, because it did what it set out to do, even if that wasn't to my tastes, but this one I won't be watching again in spite of that score.

MOVIE #8- Jennifer's Body (2009)


I've been eyeing this movie from afar for a decent while now, because I could tell by the poster alone it would have the exact character archetypes that annoy me to no end- I'm really not super big on high school mean girl crap, and this movie WAS chock full of it. And I have to say everyone in this movie was annoying as hell. But I enjoyed the second half FAR more than the first, once the reveal was actually dropped in-world. The explanation itself was interesting, and the story after it was good, but all leading up to it was kind of grating. I probably wouldn't be interested in watching this one again, but I'll give it a 6/10 for having a good second half, enough that it made me less agitated with the beginning once it was underway.

MOVIE #9- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)


In all honesty I didn't really like this one very much. The editing and pacing was weird, and the characters along with their actions were grating but in a different way than I might normally mean when I say that. I suppose it was in a very 1970s way. Why are you walking into someone's house you don't know? Stop That. I'm kinda glad they got killed honestly. Bubba was good though he seemed like a really nice guy he was just cookin. Go Bubba go! Ummmm 3/10 Bubba good movie not very good !

MOVIE #10- Peeping Tom (1960)


I saw this one on a list of horror movies and decided to give it a watch, but I really wouldn't call it a horror film? Perhaps by the standards of the '60s, but it was maybe more of a thriller... oops! Still, I thought it was a very interesting watch. Not fun but interesting. I might be inclined to watch it again in the right mood, I found the whole film very curious. But not horror! So this one doesn't get a rating! Try again next time 1960s films :P

MOVIE #11- Alien (1979)


I watched this one on my girlfriend's recommendation, and it was okay. It was definitely more sci-fi than horror, I think? But I liked it just fine. There was a lot of flashing in this one which made my stomach turn and my head hurt a bit, but the visual effects and set design were on point. Everyone in this movie made it their mission to make the absolute worst decisions they could in their current situation. While I probably wouldn't watch this again on my own, I'd likely watch it with my girlfriend if she ever wanted to. Solid 8/10, I think.

MOVIE #12- The Blair Witch Project (1999)


A movie from the year I was born! This one wasn't my favorite (it confirmed a suspicion of mine- I just don't like found footage) but I'd say the last... 30-40 minutes of the film were really solid! The inital part of the arguing and tension rising in the group was good set up for the end of the movie, but it was definitely a bit aggravating to sit through. I really liked that they never actually showed what was after them, I feel like a lot of horror movies these days rely too heavily on showing their monster or killer right away, especially in the case of monsters because they want to show off the CGI or something. But I feel like the suspense is a vital part of horror, and cutting it short too soon makes for an on the whole less enjoyable experience. I probably won't watch this one again, but I'll give it a solid 6.5/10

MOVIE #13- X (2022)


Trying another more modern movie today, and it was.... hm. It wasn't bad, I'll say- I really liked the premise and most of the execution. But it had the same issue a lot of the more recent horror movies that I've seen have- it leans way too heavily on the gore and jumpscares. They're both used almost in excess. Not even necessarily that older movies didn't have gore, but what I've seen of them they didn't linger nearly as long on it, either. This is probably also due to the higher film quality and the access to more realistic looking false viscera. But a close up of a cow's guts being run over by a car and its stomach cavity don't really add anything to the story, other than being there to be gory. Aside from that, though, I'd say I give this one a 5/10. Okay, good concept and story, I just didn't like the way it was presented. Wouldn't watch again. Also I think the title is kind of dumb.

MOVIE #14- Slice (2018)


Today you're getting a 2-for-1 special! Slice definitely leans waaaay further into the "comedy" aspect of horror comedy than anything that I've watched so far, but sometimes that's just what you need. I can't necessarily say this was a good movie, but I had a lot of fun watching it! It was funny, never felt like it dragged on too long, and while not every joke fully hits, it's entertaining enough. My main gripe would be that it wasn't as visually interesting as it deserved to be- they should have done more with the lighting, I think. But I could definitely see myself watching this again in the future! I think I'd give it a 7/10 overall :)

MOVIE #15- Ghostbusters Afterlife (2021)


I didn't really choose to watch this, and it's not a horror movie, but I saw it with my family as an event so I figured I'd go ahead and note it down here. This movie was really bad honestly. I remember seeing the trailer for it and thinking it sounded bad, but actually watching it was much different. It was an outdoor event, so even ignoring the speaker issues and the group of children going and blocking the projector at random intervals, the movie was weirdly paced, and had awful dialogue. The characters could barely be considered likeable at the best of times. This movie was a straight 1/10 but I can't deny I had a little fun watching it as a group

MOVIE #16- Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)


This one was another family movie night film and I have to say I honestly liked it a lot! It wasn't a horror movie (obviously) but it was really funny and while some of it felt off-tone the vast majority of it hit in a very entertaining way. I might watch this one again but I'd have to be in the very specific mood for it. I think I'd give it a 6/10 overall, not great but fun enough, tone felt right the majority of the time, which is more than I can say for a lot of nostalgia-bait sequels.

MOVIE #17- Halloween (1978)


And of course I had to finish this out by watching Halloween ON Halloween. Or at least part of it- family night ran long, after all lol. This one was a lot tamer than I was expecting honestly, and a lot of the times it came off as more funny even at the times it was eerie. Michael Meyers jumping ass first off a balcony after getting shot, for instance. I liked this one a lot, but considering the legacy a lot of the classic slasher types have, I was shocked by how little blood was in it. A solid movie, though, and one I could see myself watching maybe once a year, for fun! 8/10, and a fun way to end my movie month!

Well, That's A Wrap!


It's obviously safe to say that the original Scream movie was my favorite movie that I watched out of this whole month, and this was a lot of movies for me to watch! The amount I've watched this month alone probably is more than I have in the past few years combined, and it was a lot of fun! I was happy to try this out, I found a lot of movies I probably wouldn't have given a second thought that I ended up enjoying, and I'd really like to do this again some time. Thank you to anyone who reads this, and Happy Halloween!