31 Days of Halloween #14

So, I know I had intended to do 5 straight days of Five Nights at Freddy's, but once again, I am running low on material.  So, that being said, I will try to pop in the last few days of FNAF in a few days.  So, stay tuned for those later.  For now, however, I would like to return to our regularly scheduled Halloween posts.

I've featured JonTron in Ramblings posts in the past, but today, I would like to do another bit about him.  As a gamer, I love finding other people who also share an open and honest love of video games (not these pretenders who say they're into games for the attention, or those who are majorly pretentious jerks about it.  JonTron is one of the good ones.

I love watching videos that talk about classic games and hidden gems.  I know that I won't be able to play half of the games I watch videos about, but that's okay.  I'd probably suck at them anyway, and I have enough fun watching someone else play for me.  Monster Party is one that I would be willing to give a try.

Day 14: Monster Party

So, I'm not sure exactly what to say about this video.  My general rule of thumb with JonTron is to just sit back and enjoy the ride.  He's kind of all over the place at times, and he comes across as a big goof, but this guy really knows his stuff.  Even if you're not familiar with the game or the console, you can still have a lot of fun watching his stuff.  Jon is one of a kind!

If you like what you see, please let me know in the comments.  I have a couple more JonTron episodes that I would love to share if people were interested :)

And if video games aren't you cup of tea, never fear!  There was a Rankin-Bass movie that came out years ago with a similar title: Mad Monster Party?.  It's a kids' movie where Dr. Frankenstein announces his plans to retire, and gathers together some familiar faces so that he can appoint his successor.  I'm including the trailer for the film below.

 

Halloween 3 (2011)

Yes, yes, I am well aware that this is my third post this morning!  Don't worry; it will be the last!  For today's Halloween post, I wanted to give a list of the classic Universal Horror films.  I love these films very much, but since there are so many of them, it can be hard to keep track of them all.  So, I'll be listing them below :)  I'm only focusing on the werewolf (Laurence Talbot), Frankenstein, and Dracula sagas, so please don't be offended if I fail to mention, say, The Mummy's Hand, and that happens to be your favorite monster movie ever.  Also, I know there are other werewolf movies produced by Universal studios, but they are both stand-alone films, and I'm only focusing on the Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) films, so I won't be mentioning the other ones.  Maybe I'll do a post about those later?

I'll group each series in chronological order.  Anything that is marked with an asterisk (*) spans into at least one of the other sagas.  If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments!

Frankenstein

-Frankenstein (1931)

-Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

-Son of Frankenstein (1939)

-Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

-Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)*

-House of Frankenstein (1944)*

-House of Dracula (1945)*

-Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)*

Dracula

-Dracula (1931)
      -"Spanish" Dracula (1931)

-Dracula's Daughter (1936)

-Son of Dracula (1943)

-House of Frankenstein (1944)*

-House of Dracula (1945)*

-Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)*

The Wolf Man

-The Wolf Man (1941)

-Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)*

-House of Frankenstein (1944)*

-House of Dracula (1945)*

-Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)*

Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Wolf Man movies :)  These are some of my favorite films ever!  But, I hope you totally enjoy all of these movies!  The only thing I'd like to comment on is Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein, because while it comes out AFTER House of Dracula, the plot seems to come from earlier in the Wolf Man saga, like possibly between House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula.

One final note: "Spanish" Dracula is basically the same film as the 1931 Dracula, filmed on the same sets by the same studio.  However, there is a completely different cast, and--you guessed it--all the dialogue is in Spanish!  As much as I love the classic, English version, the Spanish production is a must-see, and considered by some to be the better of the two!

The Old Dark House

As promised, here is my review of The Old Dark House, starring Boris Karloff and Melvyn Douglas...

A quick review of the plot for those of you not familiar with this film: a group of travellers find themselves stranded in a storm in Wales and seek shelter in a dark and mysterious mansion. There, they are greeted by a frightening, scarred, mute butler Morgan (Karloff) and his masters Ms. Rebbecca Femm and her brother Horace. The group is soon joined by two more travellers, also caught in the storm. It's the classic stereotypical horror story.

I thought all-in-all, it was an interesting movie, although, of course, it was not as good as the other Karloff movies I have seen. I'd say that if you were interested in the genre (classic horror films) then I'd check this one out. If not, then I would say pass. As a fan of the genre, I found it to be a fun way to enjoy a stormy night, but the rest of the family didn't agree.

My Guilty Pleasure

Today, I decided to spoil myself by purchasing a new movie (well, not exactly...I used a gift card that I had won in a raffle last weekend, so I guess it wasn't spoiling myself, but...) It's actually one of my favorite movies: The Wolfman. This is the old, 1941 movie starring Lon Chaney Jr., rather than the new film that came out a few months back. Personally, I'm not sure if I want to see the remake; I think it would ruin it for me.

But, getting back to the topic of my guilty pleasure...I love horror movies! Well, not all horror movies, but I love the old ones from the 1930s and 40s with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney Jr. The classics like Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein (both of which I have to see :x), House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, Dracula, and The Ghost of Frankenstein (all of which I have seen and loved), and even the comedic classics Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Abbot and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

So, right now, I'm just taking a break in the middle of my current movie: The Old Dark House, starring Boris Karloff, which I will review on here in the next few days :)

I'm a bit of a movie freak :P And I love the classic horror films, because they scare you, but they don't gross you out. You'll never see Lon Chaney Jr. in a slasher film, and Boris Karloff movies never get too racy. I like these movies because they are good, clean fun. Just a nice little scare, but that's all.