Saturday Documentary Roundup

Last Saturday I posted about all the horror films I watched throughout the week, all of which were available through Netflix streaming.  THIS week I went in a little bit different of a direction---I focused on documentaries and non-fiction series.

1. Mystery Files: Hitler---I began with a short, 24 minute documentary by the Smithsonian Channel (available on Netflix streaming) about Adolph Hitler's earlier years.  This film focuses on the changes Hitler went through during WWI that turned him from an unambitious slacker to the anti-Semitic politician hell-bent on world domination we now know him as.  I didn't really know a lot about Hitler's involvement in WWI so this was definitely interesting and educational...but with most of these Mystery Files, there was still no real sense of...closure...maybe?  Only speculation and theories were presented in regards to the mystery of why Hitler became the most evil man in history.

2. Killer Legends---If you enjoyed the Cropsey documentary, you'll really enjoy this one as well.  It's put out by the same people, and has a similar theme.  Instead of focusing on ONE urban legend, however, in this film they tackle four popular urban myths and find REAL crimes that formed the basis of the tales.  I thought this was really well done and its probably my favorite documentary of the week. Interviews with the people who lived through the tales, plenty of newspaper accounts, and actual visits to the site were enhanced by statements made by historians, researchers, and folklore/urban legend experts, making this not only entertaining, but pretty educational as well. It was also pretty creepy...

3. Myth Hunters: The Nazis and the Book of Power---This one wasn't a documentary, per se, but part of a television series.  I chose to watch this particular episode because I've always had a fascination with the Nazi obsession with the occult.  The Book of Power in question is the Germania...a book Himmler read and based much of his ideas on genetic purity and the perfect German race on.  I was absolutely fascinated by how a stubborn Italian Count went to great lengths to make sure the Nazis didn't get what they wanted.

4. The Truth Behind: UFOS---Pretty standard UFO documentary, complete with a trip to Area 51 and much discussion on Roswell.  However, this was still pretty interesting as it delved a lot into the recent work of Moller and his UFO-like flying vehicles.

5. Mystery Files: Abraham Lincoln---Abraham Lincoln was a pretty complex guy.  This short film focuses on his early life and how it shaped his political agenda.  Lincoln's earliest years as a politician were of a stark contrast to his later years and I never realized that he sat out of politics for five years.

6. Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue---A look at the cultural history of horror movies in the United States.  Most of the American greats in horror film make an appearance in this documentary.  Probably my SECOND favorite pick of the week!

7. The Search for the Holy Grail---This was an excellent documentary as well.  Most grail documentaries focus on the Dan Brown interpretation of what the grail is.  While those theories are certainly discussed, this film tends to explore all possibilities and examines how art, literature and pop culture through the ages worked to shape the grail story...and vice versa.

Theresa's Movie Challenge Week 1

I'm one week into my annual challenge of seeing how many horror movies I can cram into the month of October...just one way I personally stretch out the Halloween holiday for all its worth! I have plans of seeing some awesome new films coming out in the theater, like Paranormal Activity 4 and Sinister, but until then, I'm making do with what I can find on Netflix. Unfortunately, I'm not doing that great, lol.  Here's the list of all THREE horror films that I managed to shove into my schedule:

1. My first film selection was 11:11:11 The Prophecy.  I'm a sucker for a good end of days flick, and I thought this one would live up to my expectations, especially with its combined strong biblical references AND pop culture phenomena of the 11:11 theory.  I became acquainted with the "eleveners" several years ago through my association with the different paranormal message boards I frequent.  The movie was loosely based on this, taking the symbolism much further in order to create the story line...which was awesome until the last 20 minutes or so.  What was a serious movie quickly turned into a carnival as these 11:11 beings emerged for their various cinematic close-ups.  It was silly and sophomoric, and had a not-so-suprising twist at the end.  Still, I'd give it 2.5 outta 5 stars.

2. The second film I watched was actually MEANT to be silly...I Sell The Dead.  This movie chronicles the life and times of a body snatcher, who, after an interesting experience one evening, finds himself and his partner is a very specialized line of work.  Being the macabre person I am, I always did enjoy the tales of body snatching, and sometimes murder, that was common practice in order to provide fresh cadavers for Victorian medical research...and the paranormal twists were delightfully absurd.  While I enjoyed this movie, I have absolutely no idea who the intended audience was...it was too gruesome for the younger crowd, yet too silly for the usual horror buff.

3. My latest film was The Inn Keepers.  I liked this one a lot because it was about history and haunts...my two favorite things.  Two employees are spending their last weekend at a haunted hotel before it closes, and are taking advantage of the opportunity in order to obtain evidence of its resident ghost, a scorned bride who killed herself on her wedding day.  Things end badly, and the ending just seemed unfinished, and tried too hard to be poingnant and thought-provoking, lol.  Also, the plot really didn't come together, and there were a lot of unanswered questions and confusion as to just what the heck was going on.  When a movie provides a cool backstory, I expect that backstory to come together in a neat, tidy little package, but this one fell short.

Well, there you have it.  You have my selections for Week 1 of my challenge.  I want to hear from YOU, though!  What scary movies do you recommend I see, and what have you been watching recently?  I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to cinematic entertainment, but I do prefer my horror to be in the supernatural/ghost genre, and contain little to no gore.  So give me suggestions, please!  Oh, and its a total plus if these suggestions can be found on Netflix, lol!

Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments section, or on Theresa's Haunted History FaceBook!