Tank’s Tricks ‘r Treats: 31 Scary Movies in 31 Days – Cabin in the Woods, Detention, Tremors, Chopping Mall

Hello Creeps! Time for another installment of Tank’s Tricks ‘r Treats.

After the previous installment’s 3 Treats it’s now time to unleash a Trick:

Movie #6 – Detention

A handful of high school students struggle to make it through senior year without dying in this manic satire of slasher flicks.

Riley is a clever but cynical social outcast at Grizzly Lake High School, and she’s the unrequited love object of Sander (Aaron David Johnson), who is even less popular and more sexually frustrated than she is. Meanwhile, ironically named hipster Clapton (Josh Hutcherson) is head over heels for Ione, a beautiful but self-obsessed cheerleader.

All four are waiting out their final year of high school, but it’s anyone’s guess if they’ll see graduation, as a serial killer known as CinderHella is on the loose and preying on Grizzly Lake’s student body. The principal (Dane Cook) is certain CinderHella is a disgruntled student and figures he can keep the prom from turning into a bloodbath by putting the likely suspects in all-day detention on the day of the big dance, but obviously that doesn’t go as he planned.

The premise only touches the surface of this head scratching anomaly. Writer Joseph Kahn is a visually interesting director who made his name in the music video world, when music videos meant something. He should stick to directing because his script here is just all over the place. Detention is trying to be a hipster douche bag Juno meets Scott Pilgrim vs. The World meets Scream hybrid and it fails at every turn.

There are some great visuals, and even though the slasher film stuff here is CGI infused, it is still effective. That being said this movie tries to do too much and whatever it tries is annoying. This is one of my least favorite movies from 2012 and probably of this project. A huge Trick.

Movie #7 – Chopping Mall 

Eight mall employees get together for a late night party in one of the stores. When the state of the art mall goes on lock down before they can get out, the robot security system activates after a malfunction from a lightning storm and goes on a killing spree.

One by one the robots try to rid the mall of the “Intruders”. The only weapons the kids can use are their wits and the supplies in the stores. They have to either destroy the three robots or just live long enough to survive until the mall opens back up at 6am.

I wouldn’t call this an 80’s classic, but I wouldn’t say this was a bad film either. It’s an 80 minute decent horror film that doesn’t disappoint. It doesn’t take its self too seriously but does just enough to not be too campy or ridiculous. I remember seeing this one as a kid and I liked it then (blood and boobs) and I still dug it today (still blood and boobs). A neat little Treat.

Movie #8 – Tremors

Two country handymen, Earl Basset and Valentine McKee, discover that their desolate town of Perfection, Nevada is infested with gigantic man-eating wormlike creatures that live below ground.

The slightest vibration caused by movement attract the creatures to attack without warning, exploding out of the ground with jaws opened to swallow with deadly precision. The race is on to overcome the slimy subterranean as the two unlikely heroes team up with a couple of zany characters, Burt and Heather Gummer, along with a shapely seismology student.

This is one of my personal favorites. It is infused with horror and laughs. A fun homage to the 50s giant monster films. The fantastic chemistry of the cast is also a major highlight. Followed by many sequels and a TV show, Tremors is one of those underrated gems that flies under the horror radar. One big Treat!

Movie # 9 – Cabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard team up for this bloody horror satire that offers an inventive twist on the familiar stranded-in-the-woods sub-genre.

As five friends pile into an RV bound for a secluded cabin far from civilization, the operators of a mysterious, high-tech control room monitor their every move while preparing an arcane ritual that dates back to the beginning of time. I want to leave the synopsis at that, because I don’t want to give too much away.

We recently took a poll of all-time favorite horror films, and this film made its way on to a couple of people’s lists. It came out earlier this year. Too soon?

I think not, after revisiting for the third time, I can safely say this is one of my favorites. It’s a love letter to the genre and the kick ass ending alone is worth the price of admission. Love or hate, I guarantee you have never seen a movie like this before. Especially the very end, a big divisive WTF ending. Another Treat.

Chris Tanski (@P0LISHPHEN0M) (the Os are zeroes) lives in Rochester, NY & manages a movie theater. Being a child of the 80s, nothing gets him going more than a daily dose of movies from his childhood. They are his muse & inspire him to be a better human.