Tarot (2024), Ghoulies (1985), and Countdown (2019)

Warning: this review has spoilers of Tarot in it.

The common denominator with all 3 of these movies: they're all "not-so bloody/gory" horror-comedies where a group of young adults dies off one-by-one. It's a cliche, but every now and then a new movie comes out with a new twist. 

The most recent is Tarot, which I went to see in the theater and liked. I don't know very much about Tarot cards in general, but I heard they can bring good luck and are not always "evil". In this movie, the cards are cursed and the curse gets placed on a group of young college friends away on a long weekend in an old secluded mansion. 

The opening scenes of the movies gave me vibes of Ghoulies from 1985 which I also went to see in the theater and subsequently watched and enjoyed again later on. (also it's a movie I've mentioned a few times here on the blog, too). In that 80s movie, there's also a dark mansion, a ritual, candles, witchcraft...but also very funny moments with puppet creatures attacking and popping out of the toilet. And it also has Mariska Hargitay in it too but no one knew who she was back then. 

Tarot also has several young actors I never heard of, making me feel a little out of touch because they have impressive credits. The standout in the group in my opinion is Jacob Batalon (Paxton) who really steals the film as the most down-to-earth and comical (if I had seen more Marvel films I would have remembered him from them). His character ends up surviving at the end, which is satisfying because he's so likeable, but also defies logic. The two lovers end up surviving at the end, which I wasn't sure would happen. Anytime a movie like this keeps me guessing and surprises me, I tend to think better of it overall. If the Paxton character ended up being the last one standing, however, that would have really made the film extra-memorable.

Another relatively recent movie that I was reminded me of was Countdown from 2019. Countdown has a really intriguing premise: a new smartphone app can tell you when you are going to die ---- and it actually works. It could even have been more dark and more sinister but like the others it's a PG-13 and also has comical moments. And there's an element of witchcraft, with an evil force attacking a group of friends until the curse of the app is broken. One of these sequences takes place in a hospital which reminded me that anytime a killer/demon/spirit is let loose in a hospital it's definitely a creepy-as-hell situation. But I liked the comical moments of the movie, too. My two favorite characters were the hacker who tries to dismantle the app and the hippie priest who thinks he knows how to break the curse. Those two were very funny, and worth the watch or rewatch.

Barbie (2023), Lars and The Real Girl (2007), and Megan (2023)

Barbie is the movie of 2023! No doubt about it. I went to see it and really liked it. It is funny on a way that satires our society and felt very much like the great movies that Mel Brooks made in the 1970s. Greta Gerwig's comedic touch is certainly in this and the only thing missing is her doing a supporting role somehow in some scene; I think she's really funny as noted before in other reviews here.  But Margot Robbie as Barbie is really good, and worth of some awards for her performance. 

Ryan Gosling is very good too, as "Ken". It reminded me that he was in another movie about a doll, Lars and the Real Girl, which is a really great and underrated gem. Ryan is so good in this film as a man who develops a serious attachment to his new plastic friend. It's a quirky movie but it's profound as well and is really worth seeing.

Barbie reviews by other bloggers:

• Out There In the Dark
• Critic After Dark
• Laura's Miscellaneous Movies
• Surrender to the Void

Another movie about a doll that came out earlier this year is Megan. I really loved this one! It's a horror-comedy about a killer doll, sort of like Child's Play/Chucky but not as violent/bloody. One of the new twists of this movie's doll is that it's programmed with an ability to attach with it's owner, and ultimately becomes possessive and needless to say, creepy. But very fun to watch, and ultimately satisfying. 

Deep Focus Lens review of Barbie and the film's dance sequences, choreography, and sets

Fright Night (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987)

Watched these movies for the first time recently; In the late 80s, I guess I just wasn't interested in vampires or vampire movies all that much. 

In Fright Night, a teen discovers that his suave new neighbor (Chris Sarandon - maybe his most famous role) is a vampire, but no one believes him. When the vampire starts to stalk the kid, he turns to a has-been horror actor and late-night horror TV host "Peter Vincent" (Roddy McDowell) to help him slay the vampire. The movie has alot of grisly makeup and visual effects which - at the time - were no doubt pretty impressive. 

I liked the story element where the old has-been actor gets involved, and that his name is an amalgamation of Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. Vincent has a funny line where he says (paraphrasing) "the only horror your generation is interested in has to do with a guy in a ski mask slaughtering virgins". I suppose it was kind of true at the time, but ironically, I think movies like Fright Night helped to revive the vampire movie.

The Lost Boys was something of a cult vampire hit but I was never interested in it.  Watching it in 2021, I can see how appealing it could have been, with a cast that includes Cory Haim, Cory Feldman, Keifer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, and Jason Patric, who plays the older brother in a family that just moved into town. 

The marketing buzz I remember about this movie showcased the vampires hanging out and flying about in the night with their new "recruit", and that was my impression of the movie for years.  However I didn't realize that there was more to this movie, including a few other rather entraining subplots that add to the suspense. The first one involves the two Coreys getting together to become vampire busters, and it's pretty interesting to see them get close to and eventually break into the vampire's lair. 

The other subplot involves the single-mom character (Diane Weist) who dates a mild-mannered gentleman in town played by Edward Hermann who steals the movie at the end in a twist I did not see coming. You have to see it to believe it. 

Munchies (1987)

I was just in grade school when Munchies came out; I never watched it when it came out, or rented it on video tape/dvd over the years. Probably it was because I may have grown tired of the tiny creature horror comedies that came out in the mid-late 1980s; most all of them seeming to capitalize over the success Gremlins (1984) the first of these types of movies and the most popular and best-remembered today. Full-disclosure: I've rewatched Gremlins and its sequel many times over the years; they are definitely "childhood favorites". I also remember watched Ghoulies (1985) which I didn't like. Then came Critters (1986) and its sequel Critters 2 (1988) and those were fun and I liked those.

But Munchies? Nope, never seen it. Until now.

Watching it for the first time in 2022, I now understand that the filmmakers were aiming for outrageous parody, no question about it. Had I watched the movie as a kid, no doubt most of the subtle satirical humor would have gone over my head. Examples of this are all the cops and townsfolk afraid of communists around every corner, common back then (and modern times!).  A sleazy entrepreneur / media mogul / real-estate developer (Harvey Korman) and his wife are totally reminiscent of disgraced televangelists and politicians of that era (and modern times!). 

It's notable to point out that Munchies director Tina Hirsch was the Film Editor on Gremlins, and co-star Nadine Van der Velde was one of the heroes in Critters. So we've got alot of little movie monster cred happening here. And of course Roger Corman was producer. Back in the 1980s when this movie came out, I had no idea who he was. 

It felt like the filmmakers and actors were all having fun making this movie, and when I can tell that is happening, then it makes me enjoy the film, too. And it seems like the writer (Lance Smith) really got creative in finding new ways the little creatures can attack us. 

For example:

• In Gremlins, we had creatures in a mailbox, a microwave, a movie theater, a bar, and in a department store.
• In Ghoulies, there were creatures in a toilet and in an old mansion
• In Critters, we had creatures in space and on a farm.

But Munchies raises the set-piece bar in new ways - now we have creatures driving a car, in a lake, in a mini-golf course, in a cave, in an ice cream store, in a fast-food restaurant, and finding ways to multiply in a factory warehouse. One of my favorite sequences involves a showdown in a video store, where the heroes shield themselves with a giant Clint Eastwood cardboard advertisement (for Pale Rider). A pretty neat scene, and a nostalgic one, too, as video stores are non-existant today.

When I watch older movies today, what often distracts me is seeing the old technology being used. I recently watched a thriller film where there were countless scenes of people talking on telephones, or people using a phone booth. But....I can't remember any telephones used in Munchies, even with all the mayhem and destruction that happens in the course of the film.  I'm not sure if that was intentional or not. To me, if there are no telephones use in a film, it makes the film appear "less dated" than some other movies of the same time. Funny how one character in the movie is obsessed with a vinyl record collection; a modern viewer (and vinyl collector) might really appreciate that since vinyl collecting is "in" again in 2022. One unappealing thing about this movie - like other movies like it - is how sexist those little creatures are made to be, and this can make a modern viewer cringe. It's satisfying, though, when they meet their eventual demise (no spoilers here, though). 

Then there are the special effects. Some people who are used to CGI don't like these types of movies where puppets are used. But in my opinion, when it comes to tiny alien creature horror-comedies, I'm ok with the use of actual puppets vs GCI, even if they are ridiculous-looking as they are in Munchies.  Recently, I watched a semi-newish horror comedy called Yoga Hosers (2015) starring Lily Rose Depp; in that movie, she battles little sausage creatures. The movie was OK, but the creatures were all CGI and I kept wishing the filmmakers just went "old-school" and just used puppets the old fashioned way. If you are going to make a ridiculous movie, why waste time with all the GCI and just go for ridiculous looking puppets?

This may seem like a small, insignificant, b-movie, but I have a feeling alot of directors have watched Munchies and been inspired by it for their own horror-creature-comedies. 

I'm sorry I passed up on it for so long and never watched it until now. But am so glad I have seen it, and I would recommend it to you if you have never seen it!  

This post is part of the Roger Corman Blogathon!

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