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Debaser Film

Swallowed Souls: The Making of Evil Dead 2

I loved this documentary. It’s no secret that Evil Dead 2 (and to a lesser extent Army of Darkness) is one of my favorite movies, and so this made for a fun trip back to examine what made it such a classic. It includes interviews with pretty much everyone involved, except for Sam Raimi — plenty of Bruce Campbell definitely compensates for that omission though. If you’re a fan of the original movie, then you’ll surely have a great time watching this.

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Debaser Film

Overlord

This was something I’d been wanting to watch for ages — I tend to like stuff produced by Abrams — and this year’s October marathon felt like the right time. I’m not quite sure what to say though — I thought it was well made and it’s a neat idea (the Nazis are behind some crazy experiments during WW2), but I somehow didn’t find myself enjoying it that much. It took me a few watch sessions to get through it, and it’s not that long a movie — although come to think of it, it probably didn’t need to be two hours. I think there’s something to like here, but I can’t really recommend it that highly.

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Debaser Film

In the Tall Grass

When October hits, it’s always good to see a new Stephen King-based movie pop up on Netflix. This is in fact based on a short story by King and his son Joe Hill — whose comic work I’ve quite enjoyed (Locke & Key), and I’m now reading his short story collection which includes this very story. I thought the movie itself was pretty good — nothing that blew me away, but it has some interesting ideas, and I liked how it wrapped up in the end. I think it’s well worth your time, if you’re in the mood for something creepy and suspenseful.

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Debaser TV

Ash vs Evil Dead (Season 3)

Last year for my Halloween marathon I watched season 2, and this year I’m watching season 3 (which is sadly its final season). I’ve just watched the first few episodes, but so far so good, pretty much what I want and enjoy from the series. I’m sure I’ll be a bit sad when I’m done watching the season, but here’s hoping the character lives on in some other form (one more movie, please).

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Debaser Film

Assassination Nation

I knew pretty much nothing about this movie, but I came across it on Prime Video while looking for some Halloween-themed stuff to watch, and I’m glad I jumped in (I did so after watching the trailer). It’s not necessarily a horror movie, but it does get inspiration from stuff like Heathers and The Purge, as well as bunch of other non-horror movies, like Kids. It’s about the extremes that a town can go to after a hacker starts releasing personal info (text messages, browser histories, etc.) of people in that town, and centering on a group of four teenage girls who then take matters into their own hands (after being targeted). It’s raw, graphic, fun, weird, and a lot of other things, and I found myself highly entertained.

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Debaser TV

Marianne

This is a French horror series that was added to Netflix a few weeks ago, and my wife and I have both been enjoying it immensely. I still have the last two episodes to watch, but the series so far has been incredibly creepy, offering a neat storyline, with some really nice filmmaking (great shots of the town where most of the action takes place, etc.) Highly recommended.

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Debaser TV

The Purge (Season 2)

As I’ve written in the past (last year’s Halloween marathon included quite a bit of Purge releases), I quite like this series, and so I was excited at the prospect of a second season of the TV show. Only one episode has aired so far, but I already like the premise, which proposes that we spend the season looking at the year leading up to the next Purge (and the fallout from a Purge that has just ended). At least that’s what it looks like we’re going to get.

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Debaser Film

Midsommar

I loved Hereditary — it was part of my Halloween marathon last year — and this follow-up from director Ari Aster is just as interesting, if so incredibly different a kind of movie. It’s definitely not scary in the traditional sense, but features some incredibly shocking scenes. And it’s a very slow burn, but one I found myself completed sucked into. It’s definitely not for everyone, and I can see how someone could not really like it, but I quite enjoyed my time with it, and was mesmerized from pretty much start to finish.

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Debaser TV

Costume Quest

I really loved Double Fine’s two Costume Quest games, and when an animated series based on those games was announced, I was pretty excited to check it out. When the first season did come out, I remember checking on Prime Video here in Canada and not finding it, and then forgot to check again later. With the recent release of a second season, that prompted me to check again, and I found that both were now available. I’ve only watched the first episode, but it feels just like what I’d want from a Costume Quest animated series: fun characters, a great cartoony aesthetic, and nods to the game. During my Halloween marathon, it makes for a nice comedic break from all of the horror I’m watching.

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Debaser TV

Twilight Zone (2019)

I started watching the Jordan Peele-produced reboot of the series when it was airing earlier this year, but hadn’t gotten around to watching the last three episodes, which I finally did now — a good time to watch them, as part of my Halloween marathon. I quite liked this series, and I’m hoping they do more (it sounds like it was indeed renewed). As with any anthology series, I can’t say that I enjoyed every episode evenly, but overall I had a really good time watching it, and felt like there were way more hits than misses. I also enjoyed the super meta final episode of the season (even though the middle part dragged on a bit). So far, when it comes to horror and suspense, Jordan Peele can do no wrong for me.