County Hospital

This is a 1932 short (18 minutes in length) from Laurel & Hardy: 

My plans changed & I actually did not see anything cinematic Halloween night; my burnout with horror/spooky entertainment at the moment (plus realizing that the last film in this year's list belonging to the Halloween franchise seemed fitting. That list will be made public tonight) made me want to watch something short this afternoon then all through November I expect to watch a wide variety of films. The few dozen or so that have followed me in the past 2 ½ months, you'll see that I check out many different genres.

This includes me checking out Laurel & Hardy once in awhile. Whether shorts or feature-length, silent or sound, I've been happy to see their work through the years. County Hospital is a popular effort I hadn't viewed before. This had the simple premise of “Laurel visits his pal Hardy at the titular hospital; the latter has a broken leg,” which leads to the expected tomfoolery. As Laurel had a mishap w/ a drinking fountain, you can imagine the insanity of him eating hard boiled eggs in Hardy's room, or what happened w/ Hardy's ethnic doctor.

As typical, the sight gags, absurdities, and wordplay delighted me to no end. Naturally, Laurel was the agent of destruction while poor Hardy was injured. Pants, a syringe, and action outside the hospital factor into the equation. On days like this, I was happy to have a swell time and deliver an easy review after viewing something less than 20 minutes in length. In terms of November, I'm also glad to catch up and tip my cap to the actors that have passed away in the past few weeks.

Halloween II, Revisited

I'm referring to the 1981 movie; the 2009 Rob Zombie film has never been seen... & likely never will be.

A movie only revisited because... yesterday afternoon a small BMW SUV cut me off in traffic (almost side-swiping me), then a minute later I pass by them & noticed that the driver was wearing a Michael Myers mask?!

I swear, this occurred. A similar bizarre moment occurred a few days ago but more on that at the conclusion of this review. Technically, I should have revisited the original or the 5th film in the franchise as both featured Myers driving, but the former's been reviewed more than once here & the latter is not a good motion picture. Halloween II is flawed yet is still one of the better movies in the franchise.

The idea to have II take place immediately after the first and feature action in Haddonfield's hospital (even if it's like most hospitals in cinema in that it's far less busy and has far less people than a medical facility IRL... although allegedly, director Rick Rosenthal claimed he was once in a hospital that deserted) was a nice one; the big plot twist in the final act can certainly be debated-The Shape having that motivation perhaps wasn't necessary as the motivation in the OG movie was arguably more bone-chilling. There is a valid complaint concerning how Sheriff Brackett disappears early on instead of following what seemed like an obvious plot thread.

Of course this isn't legendary like the original yet the dimly-lit hospital was at least a memorable setting-the contributions of DP Dean Cundey plus the direction were great assets in setting this specific mood-featuring characters that were fine. Incredibly horny paramedic BUDD & his amazingly vulgar version of Amazing Grace is still a highlight. This film did have John Carpenter himself get involved to include nudity/sex & violence over the director's head as this because du jour after the first movie was released. He later regretted doing that to Rosenthal; I think he also regretted writing the script to this film via drinking a six-pack of beer each night.

There are other things I do laugh about besides Budd; the fate of Ben Tramer and the increased insanity of Dr. Loomis throughout the franchise will always tickle me pink. Also deserving credit are the awesome score from Carpenter/Alan Howarth and the unforgettable opening credits. Thus, I was glad to have revisited this for a review to post on Halloween.

The aforementioned “bizarre moment” I mentioned which occurred a few days ago I thought would be the strangest sight on the road until viewing Michael Myers in a BMW: some dude in a ratty old Volkswagen Jetta had in his passenger seat... a human skeleton! Well, I presume a plastic version, rather than him pulling an Ed Gein, driving around w/ an actual skeleton.

The Cycle

The Cycle (2026)

Runtime: 111 minutes

Directed by: Jordan Downey

Starring: Deborah Ann Woll, Jeffrey Donovan, Gretchen Corbett, Jack Doolan, Will Hochman

From: Shudder

This film has been the Belle of the Ball since it debuted on Shudder; this is why I'm viewing this instead of a long-ago requested movie of a similar nature (I should get to that in December; plus, I just watched Cure) as Spooky Season will end after I post a review on Sunday—I am aching to view all sorts of different genres next month. Meanwhile, back to this film that some have been over the moon for.

People on Letterboxd and a Discord server I'm a member of have raved about The Cycle, making me curious. At least one person viewed it solely because it starred Deborah Ann Woll. This blends horror w/ police procedural; Woll is a great forensic anthropologist who is asked to examine the corpse of her father, who she has been long-estranged from as he left her life decades ago. Hopefully no one reading this is estranged from any family members...

The Cycle is one of those films where it's best to go in blind, not knowing what it's about; I was a little surprised at the big reveal about halfway through, although in hindsight I shouldn't have been given the clues it dropped along the way. The first half took its time as the plot slowly unfurled and you got to know the lead characters. It shifts gears & becomes more exciting as the villain unleashes its fury; many of us will enjoy that the effects were practical, usually looking good.

Woll and Jeffrey Donovan (the other known name in the cast) did a swell job w/ their roles. A nitpick or two could be made-as others have said, they did not 100% stick the landing w/ the ending-but overall I had a pretty good time with this film & the family-based story it told. Its version of a <redacted> story was a nice, refreshing twist. The dreary overcast Oregon setting is an example of the film's tone.

In fact, I was glad to view a modern horror movie that's gotten some buzz... and it's something I at least liked. In this case, I liked The Cycle quite a bit. In hindsight, I should have seen this like a week ago for the purpose of recommending this to others, but... better late than never.

Cure

Cure (1997)

Runtime: 112 mesmerizing minutes

Directed by: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Starring: Koji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa, Yukijiro Hotaru

From: Daiei 

Not only had I never seen Cure before... this is my first Kiyoshi Kurosawa film! Some will take great umbrage at this admission but at least a request was made a little earlier in the year to check this out; I was happy to have fixed this grave error & finally viewed this mesmerizing picture.

Beforehand, I only knew the premise... random people have no memories of brutally murdering someone then carving an X into their upper torso. After that, it was all fresh for me. “The Devil made them do it” is offered as an explanation by the partner of our police detective lead Kenichi Takabe. That does seem like the best explanation early on... I'll try to be vague the rest of the way so I don't ruin Cure for anyone that wishes for their initial viewing to be a fresh experience. I can say that Takabe's wife Fumie experiences what we'll likely call “mental health struggles” now.

The movie does take its time in presenting the story, yet my attention never wavered. The beginning is a police procedural where the duo attempt to rationalize what seemed inexplicable. The story itself was engrossing, alongside the film-making craft on display, the score, the performances, the sound design during certain moments, the editing (which was especially key in a psychological horror like Cure), the finale... the movie had an uneasy, unnerving feeling from the opening minutes but this increased in intensity until it's a real pressure-cooker by the final act. Cure's the sort of movie that gets under your skin, one whose vibes will never be forgotten by me.

While not everything I hoped (or even announced) I will end up seeing this Spooky Season, Cure is one of a few films that's been in my virtual queue for years until the trigger was finally pulled. For certain, while it may be months before my next Kiyoshi Kurosawa, I'm certainly down for eventually checking out motion pictures like Pulse.

 

Jeepers Creepers (No, Not That One!)

Rather, this is a 1939 Looney Tunes cartoon: 

Why not view a spooky Looney Tunes cartoon in late October? In Spooky Seasons past, I've watched various Halloween-related cartoons from the likes of Disney and even a Betty Boop one year. However, Looney Tunes is new in the time I've been on Letterboxd... almost FOURTEEN years now!

Porky Pig is a cop—I know, some will want to make the obvious joke... go ahead if you wish! To steal a line, in this universe apparently it's against the law to be a ghost in an abandoned old house. No kidding, Porky's called to deal with said ghost, who sounds quite a bit like Goofy. The expected shenanigans occur where the ghost trolls his swine foe.

Note that this short ends with... a BLACKFACE gag. That bore no impact on my rating. I don't even know what the ghost said once its covered in soot. One YouTube video has the audio muted and another video (the one I watched due to it being in 1080p) abruptly ends right before you see it's a blackface gag. That sort of humor is an unfortunate relic of its time but as a dumb white guy, that did not ruin Jeepers Creepers for me when I don't even know what was said by the ghost while covered in soot.

While this is no The Skeleton Dance (or its unofficial color remake Skeleton Frolic) or Lonesome Ghosts or Swing You Swingers-in terms of Halloween flavor and entertainment-this was still fun, featuring various iconography of late October, & chuckles throughout. This is a cartoon, so “putting frogs in shoes” is the best gag.

The Devils, Revisited

Yes, I'm referring to the 1971 film: 

As always, not everything I was hoping to see during a particular Spooky Season will have actually be watched. Thankfully, I was able to see the uncut version of The Devils; who would have thought in the past that this cut would receive an official release in mainstream American cinemas? I never would have thought this, or that two films from Ken Russell (no relation) would be seen at an AMC Cinema this year-the other was Tommy, back in March-or that I could use the chain's A-List app to view them both without paying extra for either.

I did view The Devils almost a decade (!) ago & reviewed it on Letterboxd; that was an edited version on Shudder. Seeing it in full now-along w/ a decade of having seen more movies & the theatrical experience perhaps influencing me also-makes me rate the film even higher than I did beforehand. Loosely based on actual events, this was a searing, unflinching look at actual events—the downfall of the charismatic priest Urbain Grandier in 1630's France.

It's a wild tale of how horny hunchbacked nun Vanessa Redgrave-what a phrase to type-was part of hysteria where Grandier was accused of witchcraft but according to this film, he had the wrong enemies in the church. There's plenty to love in what's not always an easy movie to watch due to its frank sexuality & violence; the frequent female nudity wasn't titillating in context. The direction, the music, the great sets that brought this world to life, the plot—it was all engrossing. The cast all did a swell job.

However, it was the performances of Redgrave and Oliver Reed that anchored the film. It was easy to despise her Sister Jeanne des Anges and not just for her destroying a priest's life because she sinfully lusted after him. Meanwhile, Reed was naturally full of charisma and was a fascinating, flawed character whose flaws didn't look so bad once the viewer saw the worst in humanity in those who conspired against him.... “this may be cinema's most damning indictment of humankind,” to steal a phrase from film critic Tim Lucas.

The film also showed the worst in Christianity, how it could be perverted by evil people to persecute and destroy innocent lives. There were Inquisitions in more than just Spain during the era, and there were witchcraft trials in many places other than Salem, Massachusetts, to list two of many examples. The full cut's most shocking moments are still outrageous 55 years later; IMO, they did serve some sort of purpose in presenting the hysteria-among other things-of certain characters. They weren't shock scenes in an attempt to elevate a mediocre or worse film... or to gain attention because otherwise the film doesn't have any noteworthy merits.

It's no small feat that this is the most controversial movie of '71... even more so than A Clockwork Orange or Straw Dogs. I'm glad this special release did so well that they added an additional week-that's why I saw it this past Sunday evening rather than earlier. It's a blessing that there's been more releases of older films in mainstream chains as of late; I wouldn't mind it happening even more often, especially if it's movies as challenging, transgressive and/or hard to track down like The Devils.

As mentioned in my review of Tommy, I should seek out more movies from my non-relative.

Wildwood

I watched the new Laika movie, their magnum opus... and I don't love it like most others do!

Why did Laika have to commit those modern movie-making sins?

Yes, it's the return of Hot Take Blair, when I had no idea this wouldn't be a film I love, given its strong reception (at least on Letterboxd) so far. I saw no films on Saturday but Sunday was a double-header at the cinema; the other flick will be reviewed the next day.

Elsewhere, there's been negative chatter due to the plot not being as sophisticated or complex like a Miyazaki picture... that wasn't even my beef, as it was still a rousing flick which was more than just a girl (named PRUE; I really hope it's short for Prudence) looking for her missing toddler brother after he's kidnapped by crows. For some reason, the alleged “demonization” of crows also made some upset! That wasn't my beef either, nor how this is bizarre version of Oregon where everything outside of Portland is a fantasy forest world full of talking animals—although that last detail WAS rather jarring at first. Is this what the people of Portland think the rest of Oregon is?

Rather, I am a little mad at myself as there should have been more concern for the director of Wildwood given that this year's Masters of the Universe was one of the worst movies ever seen at the cinema! That said, I've seen Kubo and the Two Strings before and didn't recall it having any aggravating moments, so why should I have thought this would have-especially for a project evidently in development for a decade and a half:

a) Too much “humor”/”humor” that isn't necessary & ruins a scene

b) Idiot characters being “funny” by babbling nonsense/acting stupid

c) A bumbling buffoon male protagonist sidekick to the leading female character. I REALLY did not like Curtis for much of the film, in other words

Of course I've never read the book this is based on but this didn't seem to take a dump on the source material like Masters did... where they CONSTANTLY crapped on the property and turned it into a pathetic joke. At least Wildwood didn't do that.

There's no shortage of modern movie-making sins, as I am discussed in length on a frequent basis. However, I am massively disappointed that this studio fell into such a trap. There's still no complaints about giving my money to support such a studio—as you've heard already, the stop-motion is stunning. As you might have heard, the score was nice and while the long finale was rather bombastic, it at least had some nice action beats.

It took a long while but I finally did get invested in the story somewhat and started to support Prudence. I'm glad most others love this movie far more than me, who “liked” rather than “loved” what is Laika's magnum opus. The movie is every bit its PG-13 rating considering all the death & destruction; at the same time, it's nice for the older kids to see such a rousing tale based on classical ideas as they probably don't get enough of those ideas in modern entertainment. It was nice to see something made for both adults & children, plus the minimal amount of crass humor was welcomed by me.

While Wildwood ultimately did disappoint, it's far from the biggest disappointment at the cinema in 2026, which has been the worst year of film I can recall in my lifetime. While the other Laika I've seen I'd rather revisit than this (including Kubo and Coraline), thank heavens Wildwood is not in the “bad” category, despite itself.