A Ghost Story for Christmas: A Warning to the Curious

A Warning to the Curious (Amazon Prime) is a 1972 supernatural drama produced by the BBC as the second instalment of its A Ghost Story for Christmas strand and was first broadcast on Christmas Eve. It is based on "A Warning to the Curious", a ghost story by British writer M. R. James. The story has nothing to do with Christmas but is part of a long-standing tradition of enjoying ghost stories during this season.

*******

Some of our decorations predate me, having been Mother's and even my grandparents'.

Mars One

Mars One (Netflix) is a 2022 Brazilian family drama film.

from Wikipedia:

It tells the story of Deivinho (Cícero Lucas), a Black Brazilian youth who dreams of becoming an astrophysicist and joining a mission to the planet Mars. Deivinho's parents and sister are hard-working and support each other but live precariously on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte. The film dramatizes the social upheaval amongst Brazil's poor that greeted the election of populist Jair Bolsonaro

Silly me, I thought it would be science fiction, though I have no idea where I got that idea unless I just made wrong-headed assumptions from a quick glance at the title... It's great as a family drama, just not what I expected.

trailer:

*******

The Legacy of the Bones (2019)

The Legacy of the Bones (Netflix) is a 2019 Spanish supernatural crime-thriller film, the second in the Baztán Trilogy. I'll not watch the third. This one has all of what I liked least from the first film. I'm cutting my losses.

trailer:

*******

God and Country

God and Country (free on Tubi at this link, FreeVee on Amazon Prime, Plex, and others) is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Dan Partland and produced by Rob Reiner. The film discusses the emergence of Christian nationalism and its close relationship with far-right politics in the United States, exploring its perceived threat to democracy and the politicization of Christianity. This is important information, especially for Christians like myself who don't recognize our faith tradition in the Christian nationalists supporting Trump.

I'm begging you to watch this. I'm counting it as a horror film for October.

trailer:

There are links to more information on Chritian Nationalism at another of my blog posts at this link.

#Unfit

#Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump (free on Tubi) is a 2020 documentary focusing on mental health professionals and medical doctors discussing the behavior, psyche, and stability of President Donald Trump, as well as his effect on American culture.

I usually devote October to horror movies, but since Trump is an actual horror and election day is coming up I'm posting this movie as a reminder of just how dangerous he is. We've known for years, of course, but a reminder is not a bad thing.

free via YouTube:

*******

VOTE BLUE

*******

Infinity Pool

(I came home from my vacation visit with my grandbaby with a cold, and I'm still not back up to 100%. I'm watching horror movies, playing on Facebook, and watching the patio birds but still not back to the blog.)

*****

Infinity Pool (Hulu) is a 2023 science fiction horror film written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, and starring Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth, and Cleopatra Coleman. The film follows a struggling writer and his wife on vacation who, after an accident, discover the country's dark culture and the reason they had been warned not to leave the resort compound. I find it engrossing. It gets good reviews. The concept is different from what I usually find, and that's always a plus for me.

trailer:

Alien: Covenant

Alien: Covenant (Hulu) is a 2017 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott. It is a sequel to Prometheus, which is considered a prequel to the original Alien movie. It is the sixth installment in the Alien series but eighth if you count the Predator crossover films. It gets generally positive reviews. This is a film where if you like the franchise as a whole you'll like this. I admit I found the original film deeply disturbing when I saw it in the theater when it was first released, but I didn't watch horror movies back then and was expecting a science fiction film. Many years have passed, and I now watch horror movies and appreciate this franchise. It's been a live-and-learn process for me, broadening my horizons.

trailer:

Son of Dracula (1974)

Son of Dracula is a 1974 British musical film starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. It was produced by Starr. It is also the title of a soundtrack released in conjunction with the film. I had never heard of it and came across it by random happenstance. What fun!

via YouTube:

The Witches (1966)

The Witches (Internet Archive) (aka The Devil's Own) is a 1966 British Hammer horror film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Joan Fontaine, Alec McCowen, Kay Walsh, Ann Bell, Ingrid Boulting and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies. It was adapted by Nigel Kneale from a 1960 novel. It's one of the lesser-known of the Hammer films. It's more suspense/thriller than what you might call horror, downright tame if you're looking to dip a toe in the waters. The movie gets mostly positive reviews and makes for a nice addition to an October film fest.

via Internet Archive:



*******

Grim Prairie Tales

Grim Prairie Tales is a 1990 horror Western film starring James Earl Jones, Brad Dourif, Will Hare, Marc McClure, William Atherton, and Lisa Eichhorn. It is a four-part anthology film with the stories told by two strangers sharing a prairie campfire. Morrison (Jones) is a grizzled bounty hunter carrying a body, while Farley Deeds (Dourif) is a clerk on the way to a romantic reunion with his wife. I had seen this one before, but it had been so long I thought it deserved a re-watch.

via YouTube:

*******