Happy Halloween, you wild and crazy ghouls! Our day has finally arrived! Okay, I know I live this day as a daily lifestyle, but let’s allow other people to live in our world for a day. I’ve been in my occasional horror flick catch-up mode. Hot Takes will be my way of giving you wonderful ghostly friends some quick thoughts on horror movies, books, and anything in the genre.

Halloween Hot Take #1- Tarot

I caught Tarot on the plane returning from a trip last week and was pleasantly surprised. The film focuses on friends who have rented a house in the woods and come across an old, rather scary-looking tarot card deck. One of the friends had learned the art of reading the cards, and she goes about reading everyone’s fortunes. Well, the cards are cursed, and everyone begins dying according to the cards pulled during their reading.

In typical horror flick fashion, the remaining friends must find out how to destroy the cursed cards before the Astrologer comes for them, too. The movie is a fun throwback to the horror films that came out in the ’90s when I was a teen. Tarot tries to be funny at times with some good kills and creepy moments. It felt like it shares DNA with movies like Urban Legend. The Astrologer is a cool antagonist, and she has a well-defined and tragic backstory. There isn’t a lot of blood and no nudity, so it can be viewed by a wide age range.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, feeling it was better than it had any right to be. I give it a solid 3.5 out 5 Tombstones.

Halloween Hot Take #2- In a Violent Nature

Now, for the other movie, I viewed it yesterday. I’ve heard many good things about In a Violent Nature, and I agree with most of them. The film is a love letter to the ’80s slasher films, especially Friday the 13th. The movie begins with a group of friends in the woods (notice a pattern, lol) who take a locket from the remains of a fire tower. The theft raises Johnny back from the dead, and he cuts an extremely violent and gory path of destruction through the friends as he attempts to get the locket back.

The movie is set up almost entirely from Johnny’s POV. Imagine the camera following Jason around Camp Crystal Lake or being on his shoulder as he listens to the kids and their conversations before killing them. Johnny has that kind of vibe. This style makes the movie quiet and peaceful. The overhead shots of Johnny walking through the woods and making a couple of kills are very well done. The camera work puts you in the thick of the horror and violence.

In a Violent Nature is violent—the name doesn’t lie. I watch a ton of horror flicks, and some of the kills in this film even made me squirm. Don’t get me wrong; I still enjoyed them. The kills were creative and also some of the best I’ve witnessed in the genre for a while. What Johnny does to the poor person doing some yoga on a cliff is nightmare fuel. Kudos to the practical make-up effects crew; they did a fantastic job.

This movie isn’t for the faint of heart, but it is still a hell of a fun ride. I give this movie 4.25 out of 5 Tombstones.

Well, I must celebrate the rest of the holiday before Mariah rises from her crypt of Christmas cheer at midnight. Be careful out there, and be sure to vote. It’s our sacred duty, and each vote matters more and more.

Happy Halloween from me down in the office,

Brent