31-in-31: Twenty-Five(???) Down

As of October 25, the count stands at twenty-five. We’re officially back on pace, thanks to a lot of double features and a healthy dose of Japanese horror and some flexibility in our rules. It may not be technically accurate, but the spirit is there. We’ve consumed a lot of media amidst our busy schedule.

Those double features did most of the heavy lifting, because we’ve been slammed. We saw Starbomb one week, followed by Sonic the Hedgehog Live in Concert at The Factory, and then Rush in St. Louis, our second Rush show of the year, with a great setlist. We had friends in tow for both: LunarSketch came along for Sonic, and SuperHobbit joined us for both Sonic and Rush. (A full Rush recap is coming at the end of our run with them later this year.) Then we capped it off with a weekend in Kansas City for the Animal Crossing aquarium event. Not exactly a quiet October.

Buddy

Buddy, Casper Kelly’s take on a twisted ‘90s kids’ show, was good. Keegan-Michael Key was great as the lead voice and a natural fit for the pseudo-Barney character.

It did struggle to stick the landing, though. The ending gets a little lost in its own mythos and leaves some stray threads that feel like sequel bait. I think it would have been better served trimming those and standing on its own. Either way, as children of the ’90s, we totally loved the vibes.

J-horror nights

Ringu and Uzumaki went back to back.

Ringu is a classic, so it’s hard to argue with it. It also gave me one of those “I know him from somewhere” moments with the male lead. It turns out Hiroyuki Sanada went on to play Scorpion in the recent Mortal Kombat movies, including this year’s Mortal Kombat II.

Uzumaki, the 2000 live-action film, was rough. Trippy and surreal, but it just didn’t land for me, which is sad, because I do like Junji Ito.

Later on, we closed out this stretch with Noroi: The Curse, and it was probably the best of the group. It’s a slow burn, but it had the strongest tension of anything we’ve watched this month. Once the pieces started falling into place, it was an “oh @!#?@!” kind of moment, and the final scenes take the cake. I’m glad it stuck the landing.

Hotel room double features

Two of our double features happened from our hotel room during that Kansas City weekend.

Night one was Dario Argento’s original 1977 Suspiria and The Belko Experiment. I could definitely see Suspiria’s influence. It’s not my favorite, but the kills were grisly for 1977, and it’s one of those “every frame is a picture” movies. Very stark use of color and scene selection. Visually, it’s a very compelling film.

The Belko Experiment was good and shockingly gory. What caught me off guard was the cast: surprisingly well-built, with some decent names, plus James Gunn handling the writing.

Our one wish is that David Dastmalchian got a bigger role. Helen and I both love him. One of our friends once called him a modern-day Vincent Price, and it fits. He has a calm, haunting aura that’s hard to look away from. Late Night with the Devil is one of our favorite recent films, so seeing him in a smaller part here left us wanting more.

Night two was a cozier pairing. Monster House was a great revisit. It holds up quite well, and its tacky animation has reached its own kind of charm by now.

Then, late into the night, I saw What’s New, Scooby-Doo? was on and clicked over. Pure nostalgia. I love the Simple Plan theme song, and we’ve even seen them perform it live, complete with a full-suited Scooby mascot running around the stage with the lead singer. Fun fact: Simple Plan also guest-starred as themselves in an episode of the show.

Ghoul Grumps

Ghoul Grumps is always a comfort for me this time of year. The Maniac Mansion episodes are an annual rewatch, and this year I also threw in the one-off I Spy Spooky Mansion. Fitting, after seeing Starbomb live earlier this month.

Six to go

Six days left, and the Halloween trilogy is still waiting for the home stretch. We’re right where we need to be.