Horror Movie Challenge Day 1 to 3

Horror Movie Challenge DAY 1 - 3

(Where I am challenged to watch a horror movie 31 days in a row) 

I began my second annual horror movie challenge in Edmonton this year, which is a horror on its own. I was there for a work conference and in between all the traveling stress and anxiety, I would retreat to the hotel room at night to relax and watch my horror movies. I am now safely and happily back in Vancouver and ready for Day 4.

I created the list myself this year, completely catered to my tastes and preferences and basically filled with horror movies I've wanted to see but never gotten around to, a few random choices, and some of my personal favorites. So night one I ran a bath in my hotel room, got cozy and watched Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

DAY ONE:

Wes Craven's New Nightmare

I've never seen this before, and to be completely honest have only seen the first two Elm Street films and Freddy Vs. Jason (which I watched ten times last year in honor of it's tenth anniversary).  I've also watched the reboot which I just realized I actually own on blu ray for some reason? I don't even remember buying it? I am so completely in love with the original that I've never really felt the need to go much further. But boy was I wrong. New Nightmare was absolutely wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable. It was everything I expected and more. It's about the actress, Heather, who plays Nancy in the original film, and her husband and son. After awaking one night from a Freddy nightmare she finds herself in the middle of a very real earthquake and things only get worse from there. With some of the original cast returning and Wes playing himself, it's a great fan film. And the Freddy in this film is apparently much closer to the original Freddy that Wes himself created based on nightmares he had, articles he read about people dying in their sleep, and a terrifying experience with a strange man outside his apartment. Robert Englund plays himself in the film which is all you really need to know to watch this movie.
I wouldn't suggest it for someone who's never seen an Elm Street film but I'm sure anyone who's a fan of Freddy has already seen New Nightmare. I'll definitely be re-watching in the future.
8/10

 

DAY TWO:

The Ward

A John Carpenter film, aka a man who gave me two of my favorite horror films; Halloween and The Thing. The Ward feels like a dumbed down version of what John Carpenter is good at.
It revolves around Kristen who burns down a farm house and ends up in a psych ward with four other girls. As the other girls go missing and Kristen starts to see a terrifying ghostly woman she begins to delve deeper into the ward to figure out exactly what's going on there.
The scares themselves were enjoyable and silly, and the twist was not so much predictable as "done before". All the girls in the film were absolutely gorgeous and the setting was a perfect mix of creepy but dreamy. I found my mind wandering every now and then and this film felt more like something I would put on for background noise.
5/10

DAY THREE:

Silent House

I went into this film with no knowledge whatsoever except that it was filmed using "real time" footage and the appearance of one continuous shot. And I won't lie, the first half of the film I hated. I was bored, I rolled my eyes at the jumps, and I got annoyed at the darkness and slight confusion of what was even going on. And then the second half of the film began and slapped me in the face. I won't say anything about the ending whatsoever because I would hope most people will watch this film with no previous knowledge.
But this film went from meh to I NEED TO WATCH THAT AGAIN in about 5 minutes.
Just watch it. This will be one I aggressively recommend. 
9/10

Up Next:
Day 4:  - Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors (1987)
Day 5: - Hello Herman (2012)
Day 6: - All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)