Pop Vault - Spooky Season (Part 2)
Celebrating Halloween Season
I’ll be providing updates on Spooky Season 2025, doing quick reviews of my movie watchalong, which may introduce some recommendations for films you may be interested in. I’ll also provide any gaming updates if anything feels like it fits the season.
Movie Watch
The Raven - 1935 - First Time
Rating: 4 / 5
This was an interesting film, focusing more on an obsessed man rather than your typical movie monster. It also has two horror icons meeting up, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, before they would again in Son of Frankenstein. It’s not really tied to the Edgar Allen Poe story, and more about a man obsessed with him. I do think some of the final act is a little goofy and unrealistic, but hey, it’s still a good time for classic horror movie watching.
M - 1931 - First Time
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve heard a lot about this movie over the years, so it was on my must-watch list of first-time watches for the year. I’ve heard of Fritz Lang’s work with Metropolis, an infamous silent movie that inspired one of my favorite games, Bioshock. What I didn’t expect was Peter Lorre. In fact, when I recognized him in the film, playing the serial killer, I was shocked to see his face and read up on his history fleeing Nazi Germany after the film, just as Lang would go on to do as well.
The movie follows a hunt for a child serial killer, whose pursuit by the cops and politicians annoys the local mob, as it's made life harder for their business. The film has a slow start, which is made even slower by the fact that I was reading subtitles, but the movie really gets going when a mark is made on the killer, which shifts the focus from an investigation to a long chase, and it absolutely works. The ending of the movie serves as a debate between capital punishment and institutional justice versus vigilante justice. It really is one of the best movies I’ve seen.
American Psycho - 2000 - First Time
Rating: 4 / 5
Yes, I have never seen this movie until now, just the memes and short videos on YouTube and social media. I’ll say this… the performance by Christian Bale is phenomenal, and the film does a great job portraying sociopathic and narcissistic disorders. The film’s violence does get a little over the top and unrealistic, and the final act completely lost me. I did read up on the meaning of the ending and the themes surrounding it, and while I understand what it was aiming for, it didn’t satisfy me enough to forgive it. That being said, everything leading up to the final act is so freaking good and the character performances are so well done, especially from Bale, that I felt bad giving this below four in my rating system.
The Old Dark House - 1932 - First Time
Rating: 4.5 / 5
What I found most interesting about this movie is that it feels like three genres are mixed together. It’s sold as a horror movie, but I would argue it’s more thriller or suspense. It also features comedy, drama, and romance, all mixed together. The film follows a group of friends and other visitors who come upon a mysterious house for shelter during a violent storm in the Welsh countryside. The family of the house is quickly found to be eccentric and a bit creepy, with their butler having a scary appearance and apparently being really dangerous when he gets drunk. As the movie progresses, I found myself liking it more and more as the cast evolves and more family secrets are revealed. The final act really ramps up the action and suspense, culminating in a crazy, yet well done finale.
Another interesting aspect of this movie is the rich history represented by its cast. The director, James Whale, is the same director for classics such as Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man. Actor Ernest Thesiger would go on to play Doctor Septimus Pretorius in Bride of Frankenstein, one of the most memorable human characters in the classic Universal films. Gloria Stuart, the lead actress, would go on to play the older Rose from 1997’s Titanic. Lastly, but more importantly, actor Melvyn Douglas’ wife would go on to become a congresswoman in the 1940s and challenge Richard Nixon in the 1950 Senate race. At the time, she was having a fairly intense love affair with future President Lyndon Johnson, who would go on to harbor a deep-seated hatred for Nixon for the rest of his life, as she left D.C. after the loss and never saw him again. Pretty crazy history wrapped up in this film.
Nosferatu - 1922 - Semi-Traditional
Rating: 4 / 5
It’s been a while, but I have seen this 1922 silent film classic many times before. Surprisingly, I found myself a little more critical of it this time around. I think the pacing didn’t work for me this time around, and I’m not the biggest fan of the ending. That being said, this is still a solid film, and the second oldest film, as of this article’s publication, that I have seen, behind 1902’s A Trip to the Moon. It’s funny to me that this film is a rip-off of Dracula (with some changes), and yet it is revered as one of the first great horror films.
Nosferatu - 2024 - First Time
Rating: 3.5 / 5
I was pretty hyped for this movie because it got high praise from so many people, and in the end, I actually found myself walking away disappointed. I think this is an excellent film in terms of filmmaking. The cinematography is incredible, the set design and world building are impressive, the acting is absolutely amazing, and there are moments in this film that I thoroughly enjoyed watching. The problem is, the use of sex and sexual tension didn’t work for me. The irony is, I definitely wouldn’t call myself a prude, and I tend to make jokes about Gen Z’s aversion to sex in movies. However, I do think if you’re going to do it, it can’t be over the top. I think this movie gets a little too obsessed with it and makes me feel like the director was holding on to some tension he should’ve let out before doing this film. Plus, the ending is not only still bad, but is made even worse with what I just felt was a disgusting scene, tied to an unnecessary backstory for the lead female character, Ellen. I like the craft that went into this, not so much the plot decisions.
Gaming
There isn't much to report on the gaming front regarding Halloween themes, outside of Silksong, which does have some areas that evoke a spooky atmosphere. I’m currently starting a Let’s Play watch of Silent Hill f, as due to financial constraints, I had to sacrifice not playing it. I might fire up Resident Evil 2 remake, as it’s on Game Pass, and I’m still holding out hope of a Luigi’s Mansion release on the Switch 2’s GameCube NSO service.