HALLOWEEN HORROR: Color Out Of Space (2019)

Nathan Gardner (Nic Cage) and his wife, Theresa (Joely Richardson), have moved, with their three children, out of the big city to a secluded farm in the woods outside Arkham, Massachusetts, for a bit of peace and quiet.

Stockbroker Theresa is recovering from cancer and Nathan is trying his hand at becoming a self-sufficient farmer.

However their lives are disrupted when a strange meteorite crashes on their land, polluting the area with a paranormal alien radiation.

HP Lovecraft's original story of The Colour Out Of Space has been adapted many times, but, beyond a shadow of a doubt the latest iteration, from writer/director Richard Stanely, is the most Lovecraftian.

A gorgeous, mind-bending, blend of the cosmic with the body horror of The Thing and Society,  Color Out Of Space focuses on a trapped - and doomed - family, slowly worn down by an unknowable, extraterrestrial invader.

Certainly not for everyone, Color Out Of Space isn't a trashy teen slasher flick with obvious heroes and villains, but a terrifying encapsulation of the central theme of Lovecraft's oeuvre that "common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large".

There is never really any serious suggestion that the alien entity is even aware of the humans it is transforming by its simple presence.

My Copy - Not Used In Any Rituals!

The film bears obvious similarities with 2018's Annihilation, but Color Out Of Space is the stronger work of art by a country mile.

Across the board, the central performances are superb. Nic Cage channels Nic Cage as only he can, exhibiting the convincing levels of madness and sudden rage that he does so well, while The Magicians' Madeleine Arthur is impressive as teen daughter, Lavinia, whose rebellious nature expresses itself through dabbling in witchcraft.

Beyond the gooey body horror, there's some cringe-inducing - but thankfully brief - self-mutilation that might require some eye-covering by those of us with a particular aversion to such things.

As well as rooting the story squarely in Lovecraft country, Richard Stanley has sown his tale with Lovecraftian Easter Eggs, such as the Miskatonic University sweat shirt worn by visiting surveyor Ward (Elliot Knight, sadly no relation) and the tatty, cheap paperback copy - "by Simon" - of the Necronomicon (which we all own) that Lavina consults.

Quite possibly my favourite film of 2020, Color Out Of Space is breathtaking in the audacity of its vision, a modern rendition of a Lovecraft story that truly captures the horror of its set-up and the terror of those trapped within its incidental and inescapable prison.

HALLOWEEN HORROR: Archive 81 (2022)

A shy video-restoration expert, Dan Turner (Underwater's Mamoudou Athie) is offered a once-in-a-lifetime financial deal to work on a sensitive project for shady businessman Virgil Davenport (Martin Donovan).

The job involves relocating to an isolated compound, where Dan will be restoring and digitising a fragile collection of fire-damaged video tapes.

He soon learns that these tapes, dating from the mid-90s, were part of a doctoral thesis by student Melody Pendras (Altered Carbon's Dina Shihabi) who was compiling an oral history of the eccentric residents of a New York apartment building.

However, as he watches the tapes, not only does Dan discover a personal connection to the unfolding story but he also sees that Melody seemingly stumbled upon a cult operating in the building.

Told over eight, hour-long episodes, Archive 81 is the latest horror offering from Netflix and I have to say upfront it's as creepy as anything.

Based on a podcast (that I was previously unaware of), for my tastes, this is as close to perfection as anything I've seen in a very long time.

I was also quite surprised - going in spoiler-free - how many coincidences there were between elements of Archive 81 and The Last Ritual, an Arkham Horror story by S.A. Sidor, which I read at the end of 2021.

Both involve cults operating in artistic communities, and, as we go deeper down the rabbit hole the backstory of Archive 81 pays a visit to a very Lovecraftian 1920s. 

The whole cult throughline has incredible Lovecraftian overtones, which made me immensely happy as the series felt like a clever modernisation of the writings of this hugely important and influential horror story scribe.

With its inclusion of another of my favourite tropes - the hunt for mysterious or cursed films - I was also reminded of the comic book mini-series, The Lot (from defunct publisher Bad Idea) and, of course, John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns, and Deadwax.

Initially I'd only planned to watch the first episode (I'd offered to check the show for 'gore content' on behalf of an old friend) of Archive 81, but I was hooked from the get-go.

I binged the whole eight-hour show in a day - with some breaks for 'real life', naturally.

Focusing primarily on Dan's investigation, and then Melody's as a story-within-the-story, some might dismiss Archive 81 as a slow-burner, but it's simply being methodical, with the viewer's close attention being rewarded with subtle clues and foreshadowing.

Some clues are there up front, like the references to Dante's Inferno, with the inclusion of an old film serial called The Circle, and our protagonist, Dan T, being led on this descent into Hell by a gentleman called Virgil.

And I'm sure there were plenty of other references and allusions that I failed to pick up on. 

By the end you will come to realise that everything was important. Other properties may boast that "it's all connected" in their rambling franchises, but in Archive 81 it really is.

If I had a small nit to pick it would be the special effects of a certain creature manifestation, but this is a very small quibble and certainly doesn't detract from the incredible, unnerving nature of the show.

H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator (1985)

The mid-'80s were a Golden Age for schlock horror, with the boom in the home video market providing a hungry audience for low-budget thrills.

One of the many diamonds in a mostly rough field was Stuart Gordon's liberal re-imagining of one of H.P. Lovecraft's lesser works (Lovecraft is on record as saying he hated his stories of Herbert West as they were written for money; "drivel written for the masses").

Re-Animator updates Lovecraft's original to modern times (well, the 1980s) and turns a Frankenstein parody into a darkly, darkly funny Grand Guignol farce.

The simple plot follows the arrival of Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) at Miskatonic University in Arkham, after an "incident" in Switzerland, where he rooms with fellow student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott), who is dating the dean's daughter, Meg (Barbara Crampton).

Unbeknownst to all, Meg is also an object of lust for creepy neuroscientist Dr Hill (David Gale), who eventually discovers that West - with the reluctant help of Cain - has been experimenting with a revolutionary re-agent that can give a form of zombie-life to recently deceased bodies.

Events spiral out of control, as they always do, leading to a crazy, climatic, gory zombipalooza in the University hospital's morgue.

As well as a quality script that brings a surprising amount of character to a blood-soaked B-movie, the effects are very inventive - as are some of sicker elements of humour: no one will ever forget the reverse-necrophilia scene where a re-animated corpse tries to get down with blonde-bobbed Meg.

There's also, thanks to Meg, a lot more female flesh on display in this 86-minute film than I recall seeing in the sequels.

Of course, I can't really pass comment on this film without singing the praises of Jeffrey Combs.

This was the film that made him a B-movie star and while he may not have the same instant name recognition as Bruce Campbell I'd put them on very similar levels as comedy horror legends.

While Campbell has the square-jawed hero role down pat, Combs is the man to call if you want a single-minded, amoral, mad scientist.

Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

While waiting for his trial for the murders committed in Joker, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is being held in Arkham Asylum, where he meets Harleen 'Lee' Quinzel (Lady Gaga) in a music therapy group.

It's love at first sight and, when she gets out before him, Harley promises to be at Arthur's trial every day, as well as vocal campaigner for his freedom.

Arthur's lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener) seeks to build a defence on the idea that Arthur and Joker are two separate personalities, brought on by his abusive upbringing.

Meanwhile, the district attorney, Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) is seeking to dismantle this idea, and is calling for the death penalty for Arthur.

Eventually, Arthur - egged on by Harley - grows tired of his lawyer's approach and dramatically fires her in the middle of the case, opting to defend himself: in full Joker make-up.

I can totally get why people were disappointed with Joker: Folie à Deux. It wasn't the Joker film they were expecting. Not that writer/director Todd Phillips had made any promises about where the sequel would be going... it just wasn't the stylish and violent remix of The Dark Knight that I think people were hoping for.

Rather it turned out to be an arthouse courtroom drama - and character piece - infused with elements of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (the Arkham scenes) and Natural Born Killers (the delusions and the media's glorification of murderers).

In truth, Phoenix's Joker is nothing like the source material (80-plus years of comic book escapades), but more akin  to someone cosplaying as The Joker.

As I said in my review of 2019's Joker (earlier today), the character has always worked in the comics, and most other media, because he doesn't have a definitive origin story. He's an enigma and that makes him more frightening - he's the one mystery the world's greatest detective, Batman, can't solve.

But Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have made the character all too human, with a name, family and origin story, and - especially in this sequel when he is often depicted as - frail and wracked with self-doubt.

That makes for an interesting character... he's just not The Joker.

He is a straw man held up as a figurehead for a bubbling, anarchic revolution in rundown Gotham City, but - unlike the comic book iteration or even any of the live-action takes, right back to Cesar Romero in Batman '66 - he comes to the conclusion that he doesn't want that mantle.

Which, again, makes for an interesting revelation, but it just doesn't feel like something The Joker would do.

Providing strong support is Lady Gaga as a low-key, grounded Lee Quinzel, who gets under Arthur's skin and fuels his frequent delusions and dreams that frame themselves as musical numbers (one in the courtroom is very reminiscent of Sid Vicious' performance of My Way at the climax of The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle).

Both Lee and Fleck are complex characters, well developed and growing towards a surprising - yet wholly believable - twist in the final scenes, that pretty much guarantees there won't be a third film in this particular franchise.

Joker: Folie à Deux (a psychological term for a shared delusion) is as gritty as the first movie, presenting us with a beautifully decaying Gotham City, with a troubled element of the populace inspired by their own perceptions of the murderous Fleck.

However there's no getting away from the overwhelming feeling that this was originally a psychological study that has just been dressed up with a few affectations from the Bat'verse to sell tickets.

Which I gather it didn't.

It was a brave experiment. But, sadly, it failed.

I actually believe if this duology has been made with different - or even original - protagonists audiences (coming to the story without any expectations) would have liked it more, because they would have then felt very clever pointing out: "oh, that's a bit like The Joker and Harley Quinn from the Batman comics".

While Folie à Deux lacks the kick of the first film, I did actually enjoy it for what it was, but it was still a peculiar take on the characters that bore little or no resemblance to the general public's vision of the source material.