Eric J - Review
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The Godson (1967)
Le samouraï
★ 8.3 280 ratings
Jean-Pierre Melville actor: Alain Delon / 弗朗索瓦·佩里埃 …
other title: 独行杀手 / Le samouraï …
After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.
Watched
Oct. 28, 2026
This was my third watch, and I suppose I've seen this now just about once every 10 years (give or take), and it gets better every time; this watch boosted by seeing Melville's growth throughout his career this year.

I'm glad Alain Delon is Jef instead of Jean-Paul Belmondo (though he might've been a good detective?), Delon is perfect here.
Jesse 4K UHD
Oct. 28, 2026 Review A Review - a review of The Godson
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The Devonsville Terror (1983)
The Devonsville Terror WikiData IMDb TMDB Eggplant.place
Ulli Lommel actor: Suzanna Love / Robert Walker Jr. …
other title: Totentanz der Hexen / Terror en Devonsville …
Dr. Worley investigates a 300-year-old witch's curse in the New England town of Devonsville. Three liberated, assertive women move into town, which angers the bigoted, male-dominated town fathers. One of the women is a reincarnation of the witch, who proceeds to exact revenge on them.
Watched
Oct. 27, 2026
I love a good witch story and I enjoy Donald Pleasence and this is pretty alright.

I appreciate the strong feminist angle this takes. I like that almost all of the men are cartoon villains. I love the lore they try to build. I don't love how this is only 83 minutes long but I felt almost every one of them.

Perhaps a rewatch will make it all better?
Blu-Ray Owned Wife
Oct. 27, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of The Devonsville Terror
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Blood Tea and Red String (2006)
Blood Tea and Red String WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
★ 7.7 27 ratings
克里斯蒂安·塞加夫斯克 actor: Christiane Cegavske
other title: 血茶与红线 / 血茶与红绳 …
The aristocratic White Mice and the rustic Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak battle over the doll of their hearts' desire.
Watched
Oct. 26, 2026
The "folk" aspect of this folk-horror is the dreamy fairytale-like setting, the "horror" part is a fable about the commodification of art or self or beauty or womanhood or all of the above.

Beyond the movie: If there's a theme or takeaway to the disc (which also houses Litan) this is on in the All the Haunted Be Ours Vol. 2 box set, for me it would be that with a strong will or an idea and someone who believes in you, you can do or create anything, and I think that's a lovely thought.

To tie that idea into this title: It took Christiane Cegavske 13 years to make this beautiful, touching, heartbreaking - yet often fun - movie. I'm glad it exists.
Blu-Ray Owned Alone All The Haunts Be Ours 2
Oct. 26, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of Blood Tea and Red String
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Wicker (2025)
Wicker IMDb TMDB Douban
Alex Huston Fischer / Eleanor Wilson actor: 奥利维娅·科尔曼 / 戴夫·帕特尔
other title: The Wicker Husband / 柳枝 …
An outcast in a fishing village commissions a husband for herself made out of wicker from the local basketmaker, but her unexpected romance with the intricate creation sparks jealousy and threatens the village's social order.
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Litan (1982)
Litan WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
让-皮埃尔·莫基 actor: 玛丽-若斯·纳特 / 让-皮埃尔·莫基 …
other title: 莉坦 / 리탕 …
There is no movie like Litan This is probably the best movie from Mocky. There is his weird humor, a fantastic story. The images are also something you can't forget. I'm just waiting to find it on DVD, in a few hundred years.
Watched
Oct. 25, 2026
There's a lot of "what the...?!" happening in this movie, and when it ended I was very much in the a camp of "I have no idea what that was", but days later I'm still thinking about it, and I really appreciate that nothing is explained in any satisfactory sense and that the satisfaction one should get from the movie comes from making it make sense.

It's a trip and I'm glad to have taken it.
Blu-Ray Alone Owned All The Haunts Be Ours 2
Oct. 25, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of Litan
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The Last Voyage of Demeter (2023)
The Last Voyage of Demeter
★ 5.2 24 ratings
André Øvredal actor: David Dastmalchian / Aisling Franciosi …
other title: 得墨忒耳号的最后航程 / 得墨忒耳号的最后航行 …
2023 film directed by André Øvredal
Watched
Oct. 25, 2026
It's a little boring, and I immediately thought of a thousand different and better ways that it could've ended, and it probably could've been about 10 or so minutes shorter, BUT I thought it was beautifully shot and that the actors did their best with what they had.

Cool looking Count helps, just what a blah ending, though, gah!
Alone Peacock
Oct. 25, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of The Last Voyage of Demeter
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Dracula (1992)
Dracula
★ 7.3 548 ratings
Francis Ford Coppola actor: Gary Oldman / Winona Ryder …
other title: 惊情四百年 / 吸血僵尸惊情四百年(港) …
In the 19th century, Dracula travels to London and meets Mina, a young woman who appears as the reincarnation of his lost love.
Watched
Oct. 24, 2026
There are various levels of acting on display in this lush and incredibly horny version of Dracula, it's hard not to be distracted by it.

I was hovering around a 3 for most of its runtime, but the last 20 minutes in the snowy Carpathian mountainside are so beautiful, I was moved to 3.5.
Oct. 24, 2026 Review A Review - a review of Dracula
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Dracula (1979)
Dracula
约翰·班德汉姆 actor: 弗兰克·兰格拉 / 劳伦斯·奥利弗 …
other title: 드라큐라 / Drácula …
Romanticized adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 classic. Count Dracula is a subject of fatal attraction to more than one English maiden lady, as he seeks an immortal bride.
Watched
Oct. 22, 2026
Still working my way through my list of 13 Dracula/Nosferatu movies that I made, and after watching this I discovered a minor misordering on my part: This movie starts with the ship that Count Dracula was on running aground; I should've watched The Last Voyage of the Demeter> (2023) first.

At any rate, it's been a fun experience watching so many of these in such a short time and really being able to pick up on the differences and seeing what each writer and director wanted to focus on, as well as how each actor (in every role, really) wanted to play it.

I didn't think I would like Frank Langella's portrayal of the Count going into this, and it did take me a while to get used to how fluffy his hair is, but he actually turned out to be a really great Dracula. I also found him and Kate Nelligan's Lucy to have pretty palpable chemistry. A later scene between them takes a bit of a psychedelic turn I wasn't expecting, but it was so well done that I'd recommend watching this for that alone.

I feel like Willem Dafoe may have taken some of what Laurence Olivier did with Van Helsing here and injected his von Franz in Nosferatu (2024) with it. Not a bad thing!

No one will remember me bringing up Donald Pleasence's choice to eat in every scene in Nosferatu in Venice (1988), but interestingly it seems that he's done it here first (different character, but still).

I could probably be talked up to a 4.5! This was better than I expected it to be, to the point of me wondering why it seems as though this isn't as popular as others.
Alone Netflix
Oct. 22, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of Dracula
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The Devils (1971)
The Devils
★ 8.5 34 ratings
肯·罗素 actor: 瓦妮莎·雷德格雷夫 / 奥列佛·里德 …
other title: 卢丹的恶魔 / 鲁登的恶魔 …
In 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier seeks to protect the city of Loudun from the corrupt establishment of Cardinal Richelieu. Hysteria occurs within the city when he is accused of witchcraft by the sexually repressed Sister Jeanne.
Watched
Oct. 19, 2026
Nothing really to add to my original review - the circus of politics and theatrics of religious fervor never go out of style - so I'll just say two things:

1. So glad I got to catch this on the big screen. It looked the best it probably ever has, and the added/extended scenes were a delight.

2. What was I thinking only giving this a 4.5 the first time around? !

Go see it big and loud while you still can!
Movies Just Right Jesse
Oct. 19, 2026 Review Two Reviews - a review of The Devils
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Count Dracula (1970)
Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht
★ 6.0 5 ratings
赫苏斯·弗朗哥 actor: Christopher Lee / 赫伯特·罗姆 …
other title: 德拉库拉之夜 / Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht …
Jess Franco's version of the Bram Stoker classic has Count Dracula as an old man who grows younger whenever he dines on the blood of young maidens.
Watched
Oct. 19, 2026
I'm probably closer to a 3.75 really, but this has a great score that accompanies some decent visuals (almost-but-not-quite-as-good as (Horror of) Dracula's). Christopher Lee once again provides a decent Drac, but I found I didn't care so much for Van Helsing here (he's no Cushing, that's for sure) and Klaus Kinski felt wasted as Renfield.

Pretty good mostly faithful adaptation!
Alone Kanopy
Oct. 19, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of Count Dracula
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The Housemaid (2025)
The Housemaid
★ 5.7 127 ratings
保罗·费格 actor: 西德尼·斯维尼 / 阿曼达·塞弗里德 …
other title: 家弑服务 / 女佣 …
Millie is a struggling woman who is relieved to get a fresh start as a housemaid to Nina and Andrew, an upscale, wealthy couple. She soon learns that the family’s secrets are far more dangerous than her own.
Watched
Oct. 18, 2026
Not feeling well after getting flu/COVID shots, my wife wanted to watch something she didn't have to think about, and boy did she get it.

It's not great, but at least there's a lot of it (this is like 20 minutes too long).

One of these stars is for Amanda Seyfried alone, but if I think about this as more like the origin story for a comic book hero, then it almost sort of makes it a little bit better, so two stars.
Home Box Office Wife
Oct. 18, 2026 Review A Review - a review of The Housemaid
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Horror of Dracula (1958)
Horror of Dracula
★ 6.9 17 ratings
Terence Fisher actor: Peter Cushing / 彼得·库欣 …
other title: 恐怖德古拉 / 古堡怪客 …
After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle, the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker's fiancée. The only one who may be able to protect them is Dr. van Helsing, Harker's friend and fellow-student of vampires, who is determined to destroy Dracula, whatever the cost.
Watched
Oct. 18, 2026
This one's great(!), though enough liberties were taken with the basic Dracula story that I prefer the title on the movie's title card, Horror of Dracula.

The colorful visuals don't detract from the gothic setting, but instead give this a bit more of a fairy tale look that I really enjoyed. Everyone is great in their roles (shout-outs to Christopher Lee's Count, John Van Eyssen's Harker, and Peter Cushing's Van Helsing), and the visual effects (neck bites, bloodshot eyes, burning up into ash in the sun) were quite effective.

Worth watching if you can!
Got It From The Library Digital Versatile Disc Alone
Oct. 18, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of Horror of Dracula
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You Can See Everything (2026)
You Can See Everything
★ 8.9 54 ratings
Nathan Fielder / Lance Oppenheim actor: Nathan Fielder / Elizabeth Holmes
other title: 你能看到一切
Thirty-four days before she's sent to prison, notorious Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. What begins as an intimate portrait becomes a mind-bending three-year journey.
Watched
Oct. 17, 2026
Regarding Elizabeth Holmes: I read the book, listened to the podcasts, and watched the Hulu show. It was, at the time, a story I found fascinating, just the amount of deception happening. Confounding.

Regarding Nathan Fielder: I'm familiar with him in that I've seen clips of things, but I've not watched any of his shows in full. No particular reason as to why or why not, as he seems like a guy whose output I'd enjoy, I just haven't is all.

Regarding Billy Evans: There are worse people in this world that have more power than he ever will, but he's a pretty great amalgam of all of them. What an absolute fuckhead.

Regarding the doc itself: I'm honestly probably more like a 4 or 4.5 on the content - I would've liked to have heard more from Liz's dad, for instance - but there are so many layers to try and unpack here (can anyone truly know anyone? what is truth/belief/deception?), and then it goes in directions one really can't expect, so in the execution of it all it's hard not to give it the full 5.
AAA24 Wife American Multi-Cinema List
Oct. 17, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of You Can See Everything
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Renfield (2023)
Renfield
★ 6.1 82 ratings
克里斯·麦凯 actor: 尼古拉斯·霍尔特 / 尼古拉斯·凯奇 …
other title: 雷恩菲尔德 / 吸血鬼特助：雷菲爾 …
Having grown sick and tired of his centuries as Dracula's lackey, Renfield finds a new lease on life — and maybe even redemption — when he falls for feisty, perennially angry traffic cop Rebecca Quincy.
Watched
Oct. 15, 2026
I'm not usually a "voice over narration is lazy writing" type of guy, but I am here.

Having just watched Tod Browning's Dracula (1931), where Bela Lugosi is the Drac we all know and love, and which is Renfield's jumping-off point, I really dug the beginning where Nic and Nick recreate a couple of the scenes, but this device is quickly abandoned and the movie becomes a sort of crime action self-help comedy mish-mash that is only okay at all of those things.

I'm not mad that I watched it, but it could've been better (especially when Cage starts off with a pretty good Lugosi that devolves over the course of the movie to just a Cage being Cage-a-thon; I'm fine with that in short bursts, but it became a bit played out by the time things wrap up).
Peacock Alone
Oct. 15, 2026 Review A Review - a review of Renfield
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The Vampire (1932)
Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey
★ 7.1 63 ratings
卡尔·西奥多·德莱叶 actor: 朱利安·维斯特 / 莫里斯·舒茨 …
other title: 吸血鬼 / Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey …
A student of the occult encounters supernatural haunts and local evildoers in a village outside of Paris.
Watched
Oct. 15, 2026
A vampire movie mostly comprised of beautiful imagery and gothic vibes, the story is sort of an afterthought. A bit slow and sleepy, but not necessarily dull.
Alone Criterion Channel
Oct. 15, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of The Vampire
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Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma
★ 7.0 283 ratings
Pier Paolo Pasolini actor: 保罗·博纳切利 / 乔治·卡塔尔迪 …
other title: 索多玛120天 / Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma …
Four corrupted fascist libertines round up 9 teenage boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of sadistic physical, mental and sexual torture.
Watched
Oct. 14, 2026
Nothing about this film is easy. Watching it. Talking about it. Thinking about it. Writing about it. It's uncompromising. It's a struggle and that's the point.

How brave were all involved to bring such an unflinchingly atrociously powerful piece of political work to life? How harrowing it must've been and yet how horrible to know that things much worse have happened, are (terrible to think) happening, will (worse to consider) happen again.

Gut-punch cinema that feels like a necessity, but such a challenging one to endure.
Blu-Ray Jesse
Oct. 14, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom
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Dracula (1931)
Dracula
★ 7.1 44 ratings
托德·布朗宁 actor: 贝拉·卢戈西 / 尼古拉斯·贝洛 …
other title: 德古拉 / 吸血鬼 …
1931 film directed by Tod Browning
Watched
Oct. 11, 2026
There's a part of me that feels like this would've worked better as a silent movie, but then I think "Well then we wouldn't get to hear Renfield's utterly insane laughter or what would become the standard for how a Count of such renown should sound," and so I'm left feeling mixed.

Pretty to look at, though, and props to Lucy for being kinda into Drac's whole thing.
Peacock Alone
Oct. 11, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of Dracula
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Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
Shadow of the Vampire
E. Elias Merhige actor: 约翰·马尔科维奇 / 威廉·达福 …
other title: 뱀파이어의 그림자 / シャドウ・オブ・ヴァンパイア …
Director F.W. Murnau makes a Faustian pact with a vampire to get him to star in his 1922 film "Nosferatu."
Watched
Oct. 10, 2026
Everyone knows that Max Schreck played Count Orlok in F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu. What this movie presupposes is: Maybe he actually was Count Orlok?

I made a list of 13 Dracula/Nosferatu movies and put them in an order I thought would be fun to go through this month. I don't think I'll be able to get through all of them in the order I've prescribed for myself (I shared my idea with my wife who was quick to nope out), so I'm just watching what I can as I can instead.

Since, in the past two years, I've seen the main Nosferatus (Murnau, Herzog, Eggers), and the first two movies on my list were a rewatch of Murnau's Nossy and then a first-time watch of Shadow of the Vampire, I decided to skip the rewatch and go straight to this. I kinda loved it!

Shadow is a brisk and often funny 90 minutes that I absolutely think is worth someone's time if they think they'd be into such a thing. Seeing Murnau's Nosferatu first isn't necessarily a pre-requisite, but I think one's appreciation for Shadow would be greatly enhanced by going in that order.

Sure, Dafoe is incredible and Malkovich is good, but to me Suzy Eddie Izzard stole every scene they were in - what a joy! Udo Kier was also great.

I don't know, man...I just really clicked with it.
Alone Tubi
Oct. 10, 2026 Review Initial Review - a review of Shadow of the Vampire