Theatrical Cut - Halloween (2018)

Hot off the heels of getting to see the original Halloween in theatres, it's now finally time for Cole and I to check out the latest in Michael Myers' saga, again titled Halloween.

Hope you enjoy,
R

Theatrical Cut - Halloween (1978)

Cole and I took in a screening of John Carpenter's Halloween for it's 40th anniversary. Here's the video!

Hope you enjoy,
R

VHyesterdayS - The Blair Witch Project

It's time, yet again, to dig into the VHS Vault and since we're in the month of October the spooky films keep coming!

Here are my thoughts on the VHS release of The Blair Witch Project. I've been wanting to check this out on VHS again for a long time!

Unfortunately, there are no Coming Attractions on this tape. It did come with an additional scene at the end, but I opted not to upload that as it's a special feature on many of the home releases.

I hope you enjoy,
R

VHyesterdayS - Child's Play

Here's the latest episode of VHyesterdayS where I talk about an old ex-rental copy of Child's Play that I've had around for a very long time!

Also, make sure to check out the teaser trailer from the tape for James Bond in Licence To Kill!

Hope you enjoy,
R

Resident Evil (1996) - Sony PlayStation

The original "long box" art

I first played Resident Evil not long after it had been released even though I had no idea what the game was about. My friend Cole (now contributor here on Retro-Def!) and I rented it back when he first got his PlayStation and I cannot recall for the life of me why we picked that game. If you have seen the cover art for it, it is infamously bad - something Capcom is known for - but we did and I'm so glad, because Resident Evil has become one of my favourite games and gaming franchises of all time.

It was developed by Capcom in Japan as Biohazard and directed by Shinji Mikami, who to this point had only done a handful of licensed titles, such as Goof Troop, Aladdin, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Mikami has said that in making Resident Evil he was attempting to make a game like Sweet Home, which was a Japanese only title released for the Famicom. As a horror movie buff, Mikami has also stated that he was dissatisfied with 1979's Zombie, directed by Lucio Fulci, and wanted to make a game with none of the failings of that film. Couple that with being heavily influenced by George A. Romero and his films, it is not shocking that he delivered a horror game featuring... the undead!

Resident Evil follows an elite specialized police force known as STARS (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) who are investigating some weird murders that have taken place in the small community of Raccoon City. When communication with the STARS Bravo Team is lost, the Alpha Team is sent into the Raccoon City countryside, where the ground team is chased into an old mansion by a pack of monstrous dogs, ultimately losing contact with their helicopter.

That is how the player finds them self in The Mansion, the main location for the rest of the game. You can play as two characters, Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, each of which has their own storyline and some minor changes in gameplay.

Barry and Jill taking on the undead!

The character models are all in isometric 3D and the player traverses The Mansion in what have become known as "tank controls". It can take a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it it is pretty easy to use. Essentially you aim the character in the direction you want them to go using the left and right directional buttons and then move them forward or backward by using up and down. At the time Sony had not yet released the DualShock controller, which featured analog controls, but after that controller became available the game was re-released as Resident Evil: Director's Cut, which featured and Arrange Mode and DualShock controls. Honestly, though, they change nothing and I find it easier to use the d-pad.

The main crux of the gameplay is surviving, which is why these games have become known as Survival Horror, along with Mikami being dubbed as the Godfather of the subgenre. You have very few items at your disposal and you can only carry a handful with you at any time. You slowly work your way around The Mansion, unlocking different rooms, searching for useful items, and fighting your way through zombies, giant spiders, and all sorts of crazy monsters. You can store items in special lock boxes that you will find strewn about The Mansion and you can save your progress on typewriters, as long as you've got some ink ribbons tucked away. You will find several different weapons, but remember that ammo is scarce and must be used sparingly!

It is this scarcity of ammo and healing items that drives the tension and scares of Resident Evil. You never know what you will face around the next bend, nor what items you should have on you. The game features beats not unlike the ones you would experience in a horror movie. The music will sometimes drop in a room to keep you off guard for the next scare or you will be clicking away in a room looking for an item and a zombie will jump out of nowhere and attack.

Barry and Jill in the Resident Evil REmake

Resident Evil is the very definition of a slow burn. You will find yourself running circles around The Mansion and additional areas trying to find that one door you didn't unlock yet or that item you forgot to grab. It is not an action title, like the series has become. To truly enjoy it you have to let yourself get immersed in the setting and the story and take your time. When you do hit an action sequence, it is less about how many bullets you can pump into your opponent as it is just trying to make it out alive.

The writing can be a little hokey and that is one thing that has always intrigued me about the game. The actual story itself is fantastic. It has grown to be something much, much larger than I'm sure Mikami and his team ever anticipated. The only person I know that can actually really wrap his head around the story in its entirety is Cole. That said, the writing and dialogue in this game is infamously silly at times. There are incredible lines like, "You were almost a Jill sandwich!" and "... you, the master of unlocking..."

I used to think this was just due to translation, but when you think about the influences of the game - campy horror films from the 60s and 70s - one starts to wonder if Mikami didn't do this on purpose to pay homage to directors like Fulci and Romero. The game even opens with a B-movie introduction that certainly hearkens back to horror films of that era.

The Resident Evil series has gone on to be one of the most influential video game franchises of all time and is closing in on its 20th anniversary next year. The original game was actually remade for the GameCube in 2002, which was itself re-released and remastered on a number of modern consoles. There has even been a successful film franchise based on the property which is seeing its sixth title in 2017.

Mikami's newest title, The Evil Within

I am not a huge fan of how the series has found itself in the action genre, but there are still compelling titles coming out under the Resident Evil umbrella (see what I did there?) and I am certain that there will still be great games to play in the future.

Shinji Mikami no longer has anything to do with the series. He has gone on to make new Survival Horror games, his most recent title being The Evil Within, which has garnered pretty high marks both critically and commercially. He is still out there trying to scare anyone that dares to boot up one of his titles.

It all started with this campy little horror title on Sony's newest little fledgling system back in 1996 and although there have been many remakes and sequels I still think the original Resident Evil is relevant and anyone who likes to play video games should give it at least one play through.

Happy Halloween!
R

Castlevania (1987) - Nintendo Entertainment System

Ouch, that kicked me right in the nostalgia!

Note: I intended this to be out for October and Halloween, but I got sidetracked by life and it's a few days late. Sorry for all the Halloween-y references!

I've had a tradition now for quite a few years. Every October I play through Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in its entirety. Last year I kind of overdid it playing multiple speed runs of the game, so I made the decision that I wouldn't play through SOTN for October 2014.

I wanted to play something in my spare time this October, though, and I made the decision to go with something from the NES-era. Now in a shocking turn of events, you won't believe what game I decided to play... Castlevania!

I couldn't help myself! Castlevania is like the epitome of Halloween. It's a video game set in Transylvania at the turn of the 18th Century, which features bosses based on Universal monsters! The bosses include The Mummy, Frankenstein's monster, a vampire bat, Medusa, the Grim Reaper, and Igor. And most importantly, The Count himself! These are the kinds of images I thought of as a kid whenever October rolled around and the cool winds of Autumn started rustling the leaves from the trees.

One thing I didn't remember in my sentimental reminiscence is how damn hard this game is. I've been getting my ass handed to me every step of the way! To be honest, although I did play Castlevania as a kid, I actually more often played its sequel, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest, made infamous by the Angry Video Game Nerd. As a result, I'm no damn good at Castlevania. That's half the fun, though!

This first boss is driving me... batty! Hey-ohhh!

It's kind of like I'm playing Castlevania for the first time. I remember a lot of things; the music, basically everything from the first stage, the basics of the gameplay, but by the time I made it to the third stage everything started getting hazy. I remember fighting the bosses, but it's like I've never seen some of these stages before.

One other thing I'm enjoying is seeing all the familiar enemies from later in the series, in their original 8-bit glory. I didn't even realize how many of them have carried forward in the series over the years.

With all this good does come some bad, though. For example, the controls leave a little to be desired. They are clunky, and jumping can be a downright nightmare. When you jump in either direction, you're basically committed to that jump. There's no way to control how far you go. It is a set arc, so once you go for the jump, you better hope everything works out.

I can't do much complaining about the game, though. And honestly, it's almost 30 years old and a pretty early NES release. Everything from the games aesthetic, gameplay, and that incredible soundtrack make it an absolute must-play for any and all gamers.

It's time to wrap this boss fight up! Hey-ohhh! (I kill me.)

Castlevania is one of my favourite video game franchises of all time, and I truly hold it near and dear to my heart. It makes me kind of sad to know that Konami has moved on with the remake of the series with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, released in 2010, and that the franchise will almost certainly never return to its original roots. The series, however, has spawned many sequels and must have one of the highest ratios of great games in any franchise history. There are a lot of amazing Castlevania games out there to play and this game started it all.

You can pick Castlevania up on the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii Virtual Console services and physical copies certainly aren't difficult to find on eBay. Make sure to check it out, whether it's for Halloween or not!

Hope you enjoy,
R

Fall Is In The Air!

It's that time of year again. The season is quickly changing (at least it is here in Atlantic Canada) and I start looking forward to the month of October or, as we Horror Hounds call it, the Halloween Season.

That's right, season. 

The whole month is typically a build-up to the day itself, in which I'll watch lots of scary movies, old Halloween specials, spooky cartoons, and even play some of my favourite horror-themed video games, like Resident Evil or Castlevania.

This year I'm trying to plan some of the movies I'd like to watch, so if I see them for cheap on Blu-ray I can snag them. I've come up with a couple of lists, but nothing is concrete just yet.

So far I have these categories:

• Horror Classics
• The Halloween Franchise
• Scream Factory Releases 

Last year around this time I noticed that a lot of the old black-and-white classics were finding their way to Blu-ray, like Dracula and Frankenstein. At the time I had already picked up a couple of movies for Halloween so I passed on them, but I think this year I'll pick a few up if the price is right.

Also, I've almost collected all of the Halloween franchise films. I never in a million years thought that there would ever be a box set for the Halloween films, considering the legal ownership mess they're in, but lo and behold I was wrong! As a result, I was slowly picking up all the films on Blu-ray for the last few years. The only ones I have left are Halloween 4 and Halloween 5. I believe the Divimax releases from a few years ago were put out on Blu-ray so I'll probably pick these up regardless of what I decide I'd like to watch this season, just to finish off the collection.

And no, that doesn't include Rob Zombie's Halloween or Halloween 2. Those movies just aren't for me!

The final category are for those wonderful Blu-ray releases that Scream Factory keeps kicking out! I've had my eye on a few for the last few months and now's the time to pick them up. Amazon has had some of them on sale the last few days, leading up to Halloween. I'm not sure which ones I want to get just yet, but here are my thoughts on a few of the Scream Factory releases I've picked up so far: Halloween 2 and Halloween 3: Season of the Witch!

As for what game I'll be playing this year, I'm not sure! I'm waiting to see what the Cartridge Club game for October will be. There's a poll in place for the October game, so if you want to vote and play along just sign up at the forums and vote! I'm hoping for Dead Space, but whatever the game is I'll probably only get to play it here and there. 

I haven't mentioned it on here yet, but my wife gave birth to our first child in August! It's been a whirlwind since he was born, but it's also been absolutely incredible. Life has been hectic and sleepless, but I'm starting to get a better grasp on everything. I'll hopefully be able to start joining back in at The Sausage Factory every week soon. I'll also try and get back to taking a look at my Marvel Cards as soon as I can reliably record a video without a screaming baby in the background!

I'm sure I'll have another post up before Halloween, so for now I'll just say talk to you soon!

Thanks for reading,

R