But while Horrorfest is over for now, you can never truly kill it. It always comes back. Specifically next October with Horrorfest VI.
It never ceases to amaze me how every October I plan out 26 film reviews, 4 TV reviews, and one post on my personal thoughts; yet what I start off with never matches up with the end result.
So let’s go over what this Horrorfest V was all about.
So I started planning my Horrorfest with lots of ’40s films, but it ended up being all about the ’80s. What can I say? You know I love it.
I LOVE the ’80s
We had Ghostbusters, Thriller, Cat’s Eye, Once Bitten, Teen Wolf, and Clue
And you all remember how I said I wanted to do something different this year? Well I did. This was the most I have ever reviewed Horror-Comedies.
It is horrorfying and funny at the same time!
We had Ghostbusters, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Once Bitten, Clue, and Teen Wolf.
My free post, on whatever horror thing I wished to write about, was 31 tips on How to Survive a Horror Film. I got the idea last year, but couldn’t put it into play until this year. I hope it was helpful. 🙂
So Alfred Hitchcock,
we only covered one of his films, and it was one of the oldest ones he created. I strayed from what had become a tradition of three as I felt I didn’t want to use his works too quickly. Which film will I review next year? I’m not sure. I was toying with maybe doing one of his last films like Frenzy or Family Plot. Then again, The Birds have been on my list from the beginning and I still haven’t reviewed it. I guess we will see what happens next year.
So we reviewed a TV episode every Friday in October. This year we had a serial killer Wallace & Gromit episode, a cannibalistic killer in Bones, a murderer in Death Comes to Pemberley, and a teenage boy with incredible powers in Star Trek.
We also had our Turtle Saturdays
Starting with the 2014 version, to 2007, and then going over the original 1990 version and its sequel in 1991. It might not be what most consider horror, but I think it works as each film involves mutation, two have monsters, and one a whole lot of scientific experiments.
So we saw a group of monsters I haven’t really spent a whole lot of posts reviewing, and that is:
Zombies!
We started with the Corpse Bride; then went on to the first zombie film, White Zombie; and ended on Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I had thought about doing Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, but as I haven’t reviewed the book I decided to wait on the film.
Then we had our usual Stephen King film, with Cat’s Eye. Not one I’d planned on reviewing, but happened to see and add to the lineup.
Who knew?
I finally got around to taking on a Tim Burton film, and actually reviewed two, not one. We had the Corpse Bride and Sleepy Hollow. Still haven’t done Edward Scissorhands. Maybe next year.
We also did a lot of teen monster films. There was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with teen turtles; Thriller with teen zombies; Once Bitten with teen vampires; and a teen werewolf in Teen Wolf.
We also had vampires and Dracula coming back with Once Bitten, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and Dracula 2000.
This Horrorfest was very different than the ones prior as I reviewed a lot of films and TV shows I had never seen before such as: Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death, When a Stranger Calls (1979), Jeepers Creepers, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter, Cat’s Eye, Death Comes to Pemberley, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Backfire, Dial 1119, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Corpse Bride, The Cheerleader Murders, & The Girl on the Train; along with films and TV shows I hadn’t seen in years, such as: Fantasia: Night on Bald Mountain and Sleepy Hollow. That was about half the reviews!
AMAZING!
This also was the first time I could really include Jane Austen in my Horrorfest, not with a made up post but actually review an Austen item.
I was planning on reviewing Pride & Prejudice & Zombies along with Death Comes to Pemberley, but as I said before, I decided to push it back.
And then there is Vincent Price
I reviewed two films with him: Thriller and the film I have been talking about reviewing since the first Horrorfest, House on Haunted Hill.
So if you missed a day, or are interested in every item I covered; here is the complete list:
So I was originally going to post this yesterday, but when I saw that the film was rereleased in theaters on October 17, 1980. Even though that isn’t the anniversary of the original day of its release, October 26th, I thought that since it was an anniversary of one of its release and just a day later: I just couldn’t help but post it today. Happy 36th!
So of course growing up in the 2000s, my first interaction with the film When a Stranger Calls was the remake. I have never seen the original film, and since I needed a choice from the ’70s, I thought why not finally check this one out.
So the film starts off with creepy music and just a blank screen with nondescript text. I don’t know about others but when films do this, it actually kind of hypes up the horror/creepiness because you have no real clue what will be coming next.
We have a teenage girl walking down a dark street with her books. She arrives at the house she is to baby-sit that evening and everything seems fine. The parents are ready to go out, possibly staying out a bit later if they decide to go to a movie. The children are asleep upstairs
Now what is interesting is so far the plot of the remake actually mimics this one. I mean they begin a little different with giving her a reason as to no cell phone (as the remake is modern), but the way the parents act and the dialogue is exact.
Good job screenwriters.
With the kids sick, Jill has the house to herself to do whatever she wants. Wow, what a pretty sweet gig.
Alright!
Or is it?
Little does she know what the night will hold.
So Jill is relaxing, sitting on the couch and talking to her friend about Bobby, a guy they both are crazy about. It is weird seeing Carol Kane play a teenager she has such an adult voice. Her friend too. They sound as if they are in their twenties.
She is defintely close to 30
So the phone rings and there is no one on the line.
Phone rings again but this time Jill hears a voice
“Mysterious Stranger: Have you checked the children?”
Jill thinks it is just a prank and doesn’t even bother to look upstairs at the kids. In fact, she hasn’t looked at the kids at all since she came. I know she wasn’t supposed to disturb them as they are sick, but shouldn’t she check to see if they are alright?
The call comes again
“Mysterious Stranger: Have you checked the children?”.
Then she hears a sound in the other room. Creepy music rising.
Jill is a little freaked, and heads down the hall to look around. The kitchen light is off, and nothing is there. She hears something:
Just the ice machine. Whew. And don’t say that it was lame because some ice machines are weird. My old fridge sounded like an alien spaceship landing.
So the phone rings again
“Mysterious Stranger: Have you checked the children?”
This is super creepy to hear again and again. If it were me I would have gone upstairs. Actually truthfully, I never would have been in a situation like this. It was because of films like these my parents always had to have the kids come to our house when I would watch them.
But instead of checking on the kids, Jill goes to pour herself a drink. Bad baby-sitter bad. Bad idea.
Phone rings again….is it him?
She slowly reaches for phone, and the music starts. No one is on the line this time too. Even creepier.
Jill calls the parents to see if it was maybe them, but they aren’t at the restaurant, they left 40 mins ago.
So she calls the police and gets a Sergeant Sacker. Jill tells him about the phone calls that she’s been receiving every 15 mins; but because there are no threats or obscene language the police don’t think it a big deal, just a friend or random weirdo.
So we get great shots of the house and around Jill. The camera is always in the front or behind but never exactly her height, and mostly far away, as if we are the man watching her.
Creepy…
The phone rings again.
“Mysterious Stranger: Why haven’t you checked the children.”
Jill looks out the window
But outside there is only pitch black darkness. Now I have never liked my windows open or blinds up. I just don’t like the idea/feeling someone could be watching me. After films like this and real life events of people watching and attacking others, I feel even more that it makes a lot of sense to just keep them closed.
After watching that scene I just creeped myself out, and had to check all my doors and make sure my phone was beside me.
I’m ready for anything
Jill also freaks out and tries to secure the house.
I can’t believe she had the door unlocked the whole time. Then again it is the ’70s.
So she’s finally going upstairs to check on the children, but then gets another call. WHAT’S UPSTAIRS???? DID HE KILL THE KIDS??? WILL HE KILL HER TOOO??????
She lets the phone just ring and ring this time. Although she does grab a cane, good job. You should carry something just in in case. Kudos for you!!!
But she never checks on the children.
…I just thought of something. What if they are the dead kids and babysitter from the beginning of the remake? Would they do that? Reveal the end of the old in the new? Well I guess it isn’t really a reveal as you should have watched it before the new one.
But still, this is driving me crazy!!!
What happened to the kids!!! Are they alive!!!
Jill calls the police again. She tells him tht he is watching her, but the police don’t really believe her as she didn’t see him and the house is locked up. The police tell her that if he calls again they will try and trace the call. But the problem is that she will have to keep him on the phone for 1 min.
Jill sits waiting, a fireplace poker now in her hands and vigilant. BUT SHE NEVER CHECKED THE CHILDREN!!! They are dead I just know it….!!!!!!
The phone rings…
Nothing and then it is him!
“Jill Johnson: Can you see me.
Mysterious Stranger: Yes.
Jill Johnson: I turned the lights down, I can turn them up if you like.
Mysterious Stranger: No, don’t.
Jill Johnson: You really scared me, if that’s what you wanted. Is that what you wanted?
Mysterious Stranger: No.
Jill Johnson: What do you want?
Mysterious Stranger: Your blood all over me.
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I SHOULD HAVE WTCHED THIS DURING THE DAY WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!
This film is super creepy. I need a weapon near me too. In fact this guy is super creepier than the new one because he is calm the whole time as he talks to her.
Phone rings again, but it is the sergeant. They traced the call coming from inside the house. She needs to get out. But where is he? They show scenes of every part of the house she has been in and he isn’t thereeree!!!
Jill starts to open the front door, the door upstairs opens and we see a shadow as he is coming after her!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We then zoom in on a face!!!!!!!!!!! IS IT HIM??????????????? AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It turns out that it is the police detective. This was what the beginning of the remake is based on. So the children are dead, and we see them carried out in black bags. The damage was so horrendous that the coroner was surprised the weapon was the killer’s bare hands. They caught him in time, so the babysitter is fine, but how fine?
But we are only at the 22 min mark?!! What else is coming? So far I think this is the scariest film I have reviewed this year just based on that opening scene alone!
So now it is seven years later, and I have no clue what is coming next? Is he going to track her down and try to kill her? Try to finish the job? Hmmmm…..
So the police detective has quit the force and become a private investigator. He has been asked by the father of the murdered children to hunt down Curt, the killer, as he has recently escaped from the insane asylum he was in.
“Dr. Mandrakis: Man murders two children in cold blood. Jury declares him insane. He is sent to a state institutional facility where the security isn’t perfect and escapes.”
The detective is on the case to hunt dow Curt no matter what. He heads to the institution and goes to speak to his doctor to find more info. Interesting how in a lot of ways this and Halloweenare extremely similar.
We are now in a bar and see a man, is he Curt? Man tries to give a light to a lady but she ain’t having it. He’s British, so he must be Curt, and is trying to pick her up but she is not interested at all.
After that first part of the film which was so intense and chilling, this section is really boring.
Why should I care. Its like they made the adrenaline pump so much and now we have this bleh stuff, it just feels bad and boring.
We see a ’70s party, with the PI there. He speaks to a police officer from the force who agrees to help him.
Now you all know how much I don’t like remakes, but I have to admit the 2004 version, while their killer wasn’t as creepy as this guy, really knew how to give you what you wanted. They kept it focused on what was scary and played it up even more having the girl isolated with the house so far away and no car.
So Curt follows the lady from the bar, to right outside her door. The phone rings and she answers. He gets inside and she is not as freaked out as she should be that the guy she refused followed her home, marched into her apartment, and will not leave. Eventually she kicks him out end scene.
Truth be told I don’t
The PI is still investigating. You know I would find this a lot more interesting if they had flipped the film, had the babysitter attack at the end and the search at the beginning. I guess that’s why they did it that way in the remake.
So the PI tracks Curt down to the lady’ house and wants to talk to her. She doesn’t want to talk to him, but he barges his way in.
Seriously!
He shows her a pic of man blah blah not interested skip, skip skip
The lady is worried, as she thinks Curt might be following her, and the PI waits outside. But Curt is already indoors. It turns out he was hiding in her closet. She is making tea and when she goes to the closet Curt is not there.
Okay, this is getting creepy agin. He’s not hiding behind the closet door either. Curt doesn’t kill her though, as he wants her to be his friend. She screams, he flees, the PI chases him but doesn’t catch him. Bleh Skip. Curt goes to bathroom, naked and looks at himself and cries. Whatever. SKIP. Now at the YMCA and the cop is looking for him, Fast forward The two chase, run fight, chase, run, PI lost him again. Curt gives a long soliloquy, boring.
Next scene we are in a nice neighborhood, with cute kids running about. It turns out they are Jill’s kids. The phone rings….is it Curt?
No just her husband Steve on the phone. He’s going to take her out to dinner so Jill needs to get ready and find a baby-sitter. Two kids; one boy and girl just like the ones she lost when sitting.
Jill puts them to sleep and a teenager, Sharon, comes to baby sit. They recreate the scene from the beginning; mom and dad are heading out and the sitter staying. So similar, I mean even the house looks similar just reversed. All say good-bye.
You know I’m surprised the PI never went here. I mean doesn’t he think the guy might go after her again?
So Jill and Steve’s dinner are interrupted by a phone call. Jill goes to answer. OMG it is HIM!!!
“Mysterious Stranger: Have you checked the children?”
He’s back, he’s on the phone. He’s after her kids!!!
The husband calls the baby-sitter and they ask her to check on the kids. The police have been called and they tell them the story. They call the baby-sitter again, but the LINE IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!
They drive home with the police and everything is fine. But is it really? Or is he hiding in the house?
OMG what is going to happen next??? Is he going to kill them???
Steve pulls out gun to protect them while they sleep. Now I would not go to sleep or stay there. They are crazy! I would check into a motel asap.
Back at the police station they are talking about the call. Was it him or just a copycat. The police friend calls the PI to check it out, and makes sure there is a stakeout.
Jill can’t sleep and goes downstairs to the kitchen, the lights go out.
Never a good sign.
IT IS HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The PI keeps calling, but just gets the busy signal. Jill checks on the kids again. She sees her son with an ice cream in hand, not even melted. Where did you get it?!!!!!! It wasn’t there earlier. In fact it is the same one SHE had that night. OMG HE WAS IN THE ROOM WITH THE CHILDREN! OMG IS HER HUSBAND DEAD!!!!!!??????
Is he in the closet??? She approaches it! NOOOOOO Don’t open without a weapon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!
Nothing is there but clothes. The PI only gets dial tone. Hurry the line was CUT!!!
huHURRYRRRRRRRYRYRYRYRRY OVERER THERE AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!
Where is he??? Where???
Jill decides to settle in bed, but can’t go to sleep. She picks up the phone but discovers that it is DEAD just like she will be!!!!!!!!!
Take the gun!!!! Grab it!!!
She hears Curt the killer’s voice, but where is he? Or is it just in her head??? She tries to wake Steven in bed, but its not her husband! It’s Curt!!!!!
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He attacks her, but is shot. Who shot him???
The PI. OH No Where is Steven? Is he dead???? No just knocked out in the closet.
OH MY GOSH!!! That was way scarier than I thought it would be. That end image of his eyes over the house, always watching ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
This was amazingly creepy film. I mean just skip the middle and this is phenomenal. It lingered in my mind and continued to scare me when it was over.
So after the film I checked that question about Carol Kane’s age. She was 27. I thought so, her voice was waaaaay tooo deep.
So it turned out that this director made the short film The Sitter, which was pretty much the first 20 mins of this film. After Halloween came out in 1978, the director decided to make a full length film based on what The Sitter was about.. So I was right. That middle section was so close to Halloween, because of Halloween.
One of the scariest things that can happen is when you hear strange noises and are home alone.
So this past weekend I was home alone with my three pets. I was just chilling, watching TV when all of a sudden I heard “Bump, bump, bump.”Almost as if someone was knocking on the windows.
I looked around but couldn’t find anything.
Strange.
So I decided to ignore it.
So I continued watching TV and I heard the banging again.
I’m scared!
So I decided it must be one of the dogs, maybe he got stuck in one of the rooms. I called him, but it turned out he was hiding in the top cushions of the couch next to me.
Okay I’m not going to lie, one of the scariest things is when you are home alone and you hear strange noises. I started to worry that it might be somebody trying to get into the house.
Oh Crap!
So I looked around the house and outside, but I couldn’t find anything.
And the bang, bang, bang continued…
So I’m not going to lie, being a fan of Supernatural, my mind did go there.
I decided that it was time to look around outside and see what was the cause of this noise.
Yes I know horror films, I know that usually meet disaster, but I decided I needed some proof before I called for help. So I armed myself and headed out.
I don’t actually own a gun so I brought out a bat instead.
And was ready to meet anything out there.
That’s right, you don’t want to mess with me.
Don’t mess with me!
I went out and found…………………………………………………………..
*GASP*
IT WAS A…..
Ahhh!
Bird.
Yes a little bird had flown in the open door that lead to our indoor pool. It had gotten stuck and was trying to find a way out. Every now and then it would stop and rest on the wooden beams, which was the same color and hid it from view. That’s why I couldn’t find it when it stopped banging on the windows in its attempts to get out.
It took about an hour, but I managed to free it from the room and release it back into the wild. Yep, mission accomplished.
So I found this film on Amazon Instant Watch. It was an old film with not much of synopsis, but I thought I would take a gamble and try it out. If it sucked, I could just stop and watch something else; if it rocked, then I would have a new great movie to add to my list. A win-win situation.
And as 13 plays a huge role in this film, I decided to post it on October 13 at 13:13pm (1:13 civilian time). 🙂
So the film starts out with a type of dun, dun, dun music across the credits making it dramatic and bringing out shivers.
How come they don’t do that anymore? Today they do a voiceover, narration, or pop song to sell the soundtrack. *Sigh* The world we live in. I miss the dramatic flair we used to have.
So a girl (Helen Parrish) is coming to a house after it being closed up for thirteen years. Not only that, but she decides to go at like 12:00 am, why not wait until daylight?
She asks the cab to wait for her while she goes in the house. I wouldn’t want to, but he’s nice enough to.
She uses a flashlight to check out the rooms, when she notices a phone. A phone?
Weird. Why would there be a phone in a house that’s been closed for thirteen years? And who would do it?
Sounds suspicious
Unfortunately, the phone switchboard operator can’t give out that information. As the girl continues to walk around the house, she decides to try the lights and guess what? They work too.
Someone has been in the house. Someone has opened it up. But who? Who would do that? And why?!
The girl doesn’t really think on it, as she has other things on her mind. She remembers the last dinner that was held here, thirteen years ago. In it she was given an envelope and asked to wait until her 21st birthday to open. That’s why she is here at 12:00am.
As she goes into the room she looks at the table and remembers where everyone was sitting.
Grandpa was at the center, with her next to him, then Mr. Barksdale, Uncle Adam, Aunt Lucille, Uncle John, Harold, Aunt Martha, Tom, Marjory, Uncle Wayne, Aunt Joan, and the 13th guest…. The thirteen chair was empty.
hmmm…I wonder why?
Grandpa is sick and dying. He knows it is his last party and that most of the people at the table want him dead. He gives an envelope to Marie, the girl who is remembering, telling her not to open it until her 21st birthday, forcing everyone to wait until then.
Kind of harsh grandpa, but it is his money so he can do whatever he wants with it. In fact no one knows what is in the envelope, not even the lawyer. And now the time has finally come. She can open it.
So she opens it and the paper says:
13-13-13
What’s this supposed to be? A safety deposit box number? Code to a safe? Thanks a lot grandpa.
As she is looking at the note, there is some creaking in the house. There is someone inside!!!!
Marie goes to make a phone call, leaving the room. Then we hear a gunshot and a scream!
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The taxi driver is freaked out and takes off. He goes to the nearest phone and calls the cops. They head over, with Lead Detective Lt. Burke and his constantly asleep partner “Speed” Dugan. And seriously, he is always falling asleep.
He doesn’t seem to be a good detective at all. He should try another profession.
Meanwhile, whilst all that is going on, Uncle Adam has decided that the opening of the will, will bring out the worst in the family. He’s afraid that one of the remaining seven possible inheritors will try something, maybe even hurt Marie as she holds some kind of clue with that envelope.
Them in this case
He asks Private Investigator Johnny Smith (Dick Purcell) to get on the case and protect Marie.
Instantly I think, it will be one of those mysteries.
It’s going to be one of those mysteries where the P.I. and girl will meet and he will fall for her and try to protect her. She’ll be as tough as nails, while still a damsel in distress.
But in the end he will help her and she will fall for him. 🙂
In the next scene the police detectives have come on the scene and discover Marie’s dead body.
Yes, dead body.
NO, no, no, no, no, no, no ,no, no. She can’t be dead. She’s not dead, they must be mistaken. She has to end up with the P.I.
The P.I. comes in and explains he was hired to protect the girl, and the detective tells him too bad, you are too late. She’s dead.
You can’t do that! You can’t go around switching things!!!! There’s a formula to this!!!!!!!!
Sorry, back on track. Well…I guess…I guess they did kill her off. Weird, it’s like they pulled a Psycho before Psycho even came out. Weird. I thought Alfred Hitchcock was the first to do something like that.
Childhood broken.
So it’s odd that she is in the chair instead if by the phone, were we, the viewer, last saw her. That means only one thing, this killer, whoever they are, purposely moved her to the table to send a message by placing her at the table. But what message?
So 13 has a lot of fears surrounding it. There is the superstition of “13 at Dinner”, the first to get up will die. Friday the 13th is supposed to be full of bad luck, and there is no 13th floor on most hotels and office buildings. A coven of witches was made of 13 people. There were 13 steps to the gallows.
So the doctor examines the body and is unsure how she died. His best guess, until he can really examine her, is that she died of electrocution.
The detectives haven’t figured out how they did it, but know there must be a conductor around here somewhere.
When the phone rings the detective goes to answer, but they are hung up on. While the phone company is tracing the call, one of the detectives reports that the lightbulbs in the room are all burned out, reaffirming that electrocution was what killed the girl and what is causing these issues.
You know what that means. Bad things.
It turns out that the phone call was from the Lowry Hotel. Lt. Burke sends out his lazy or narcoleptic detective. But he can’t leave. Why? Someone stole their squad car.
Why would you steal a squad car? Do you want to go to jsil?
So they put out an APB on the car and also grab the rest of the Morgan family.
They question Marie’s cousin Tom, and her brother Harold, [aka Bud]. They discover that Marie’s 21st birthday was the day before, and that’s why she opened up the house so late. They ask about where everyone was laid out, and the police find out that not only was there a missing guest, but that the killer placed Marie in the exact spot where she had been sitting on the night if the last dinner.
They ask them for a diagram to be better understand where everyone was sitting.
By now, they have figured out the caller was John Barksdale, the lawyer. He also was the one who had the phone plugged in and the lights turned on. He left the hotel at 1:00am and hasn’t been seen since.
Back at the mansion, Speed is on duty and has, you guessed it, fallen asleep.
This makes it easy for John Barksdale to sneak into the house.
Somewhere in the house a shadow looms.
Barksdale heads straight to the library, and starts moving books around.
As he does this, we see in a secret room the shadow turns out to be a masked man.
He makes the phone ring and when Barskdale touches the phone,
Electrocuted!
Who is this masked person? Is it Uncle Wayne, Uncle Adam, Tom, or Harold?
When Speed hears the noise in the house he takes off. The detectives return to the mansion where they find Barksdale dead, and seated in his place at the table.
Johnny Smith is the only smart detective in this film, and he figures out that the killer is killing them off in the order they were seated at the table. That means that it has to be one of the original guests as how could anyone else know where they were.
But which one?
But that’s not the biggest surprise of the day, Marie is alive!!!
YES! Marie is ALIVE. And guess who had it all figured out? Johnny Smith. He noticed scarring on the dead girl’s face, and suspected that she wasn’t really Marie but made to look like her. But who is behind it? And where has Marie been the whole time?
It turns out that Marie heard the scream and gunshot, and hid upstairs. When she thought it was safe she came out and saw herself, dead!
Noooooooooo!!!!!!!
She freaked out, stole the police car, and has been hiding out, afraid for her life. Lt. Burke finds it fishy, Johnny Smith however, believes her wholeheartedly, and is also extremely attracted to her.
They put her in a room as they discuss what this all means. She decides to sneak out to the library to call her brother.
NOOOO! Don’t do it Marie, it’s the DEATH PHONE!!!!
Noooooooooo!!!!!!!
The music starts building!!!!!
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But luckily, Johnny steps in and stops her. Good thing as the man in the mask was watching her and was going to kill her.
They round everyone up and put them in a room together. They talk about who the killer might be, with Marie saying she thinks it is Uncle Adam. I don’t know if she is serious or not, but that is way harsh.
Johnny warns Adam that the murderer is killing people in the order they sat at the table, so Adam better watch out as he is next.
So all of Marie’s relatives suck. None of them care about her, espechially Marjorie. The only one who seems happy to see her is her brother Harold.
They are pretty horrible: bitter, brash, barbs flying all over, etc. Johnny Smith has had enough, and has them all arrested.
How can he do that? He’s not a cop? Whatever!
Johnny and the cops head back to the mansion where they find another dead body.
It turns out to be Uncle Wayne. He showed up late as he came from California. It looks like the killer left the phone electrocution device on. They still haven’t found the machinery, so it must be in a secret room. That clinches it, it must be one of the orginal party people. But which one?
They decide to release them all, and tail them.
Johnny Smith calls Marie and warns her not to share what was in the note, as someone is trying to kill for that information. And what does she do right after? Tell Harold and Tom that it was 13-13-13.
Come on, didn’t you just listen to what he said!
Marjory spots her tail right away as Speed is no good at all. He ends up failing asleep in a cab heading to Atlantic City.
The plastic surgeon hears of the story in the news, and comes down. They ask him if the man matches Barksdale’s appearance, but it turns out to not be him. They all head over to see Marie, but it turns out she isn’t there. She had received a message to go to the mansion to meet Johnny Smith. But Johnny Smith didn’t write any message.
This tends to happen in mysteries/thrillers/horror film/books a lot. I guess moral is to always double check that you are supposed to meet with that person.
As they are heading out to the mansion, the plastic surgeon sees a photo of Tom, and recognizes him as the man who brought the woman in.
They all hurry to save Marie! They meet up with Tom at the mansion and it turns out he and Barksdale were in it together, in order to steal the fortune away. But, he claims to not be the killer. Hmm…
While Marie is trying to figure out where Johnny is, the masked man attacks her from behind, trying to bring her down the cellar in the second room.
Luckily, Johnny and the police make it in time. They tear the library wall apart, and follow the masked man, taking him out and saving Marie.
And the masked man is……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Uncle Adam
Yep, his kindly all I want to help my niece was a lie. He wanted her dead, and everyone else, so he could have all the money.
And it turned out Marie knew it all along and so did Johnny Smith.
It turns out that the Grandpa left all his money to Marie. He thought the best way to protect Marie was to make everyone wait 13 years. His thinking was that everyone would die or not care about who got the money after all that time. Oh the irony, as by doing that and making them wait, he did that he built up so much resentment that he almost caused her to be murdered.
And in the end Johnny and Marie get together. I KNEW IT!!!!!! Faith restored.
So you might have noticed, they don’t solve the mystery of the 13th guest. This film is actually a remake of a 1930s film, which is based on a book. I’ll have to get a copy of those to see if they answer it.
The best of my knowledge the 13th guest is A) left empty because of the superstition that the first of 13 to rise will die within a year; B) the 13th guest is the devious side of Uncle Adam, or C) the 13th guest is a red herring.
Whether they solve the “mystery of the 13th guest” or not, this was a good film.
So this year’s Horrorfest was very, very different. After last year’s issues, I started writing this in May. This was the first time I have ever fully planned out a Horrorfest, as I had all the films picked and almost all finished by September.
So for the past two years, you have heard me say how I haven’t been able to complete all of Universal’s Classic Monster Films. Well I finally did it. Wooot!!!
Once I wrote that post, I was so excited. You see, I felt I really couldn’t do a post on any werewolf films until I had covered the first one. I thought it was only right to start with the original. With that done, I could move onto any other werewolf film I desired. And I did. I decided to end Horrorfest with The Wolfman (2010). But then I decided to take it one step further. About every five episodes has a werewolf in it. It was a howling good time.
I also decided to do When a Stranger Calls, because of the phone harassment I had experienced. I took this one step further by doing all four of the Scream films, along with the Alfred Hitchcock film Dial “M” for Murder.
Speaking of Alfred Hitchcock, after hearing me complain for two years about trying to review one of his films, I have reviewed not one, not two, but three Alfred Hitchcock films. I was only planning on doing Under Capricorn, because I was planning on talking about Samson Flunky for St. Patrick’s Day 2015. I ended up doing Shadow of a Doubt as it just entered my mind and Dial “M” for Murder. Still haven’t gotten around to Psycho. Well, there’s always next year.
So every year I mention wanting to do Vincent Price films; like House on Haunted Hill. The Tomb of Ligeia, The Pit and the Pendulum, etc. I didn’t get around to any of those famous Vincent Price films, but I did do a film with him in it. I went over Laura (1944), which is when he is really young.
So I hope you all enjoyed it! I did. But then everyday to me is October.
So I usually put in a poll to see what you all you like, but I decided that I don’t care. I liked them all. Instead I’m just going to list them below for some of you who might have missed them.
