31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 19: Blood and Chocolate (2007)

Day 19 - Blood and Chocolate (2007) 

Platform:

Borrowed from Hoopla.

Quote:

“I had the taste of blood and chocolate in my mouth. The one as hateful as the other. Remember that? Steppenwolf. We are lost souls, Vivien. But at least we’re lost together.”

Synopsis:

The next in line to join the alpha of a werewolf pack as his mate must choose between her pack and this guy she just met a couple days ago.

Review:

Ok, maybe I tipped my hand on this one with that synopsis, but this is a pretty standard trope. In fact, it’s pretty much just the gender-flipped version of The Howling Reborn. I will say, that the overall storytelling and production of this film is head and shoulders above The Howling Reborn, but it’s still hard to sit through. I actually ran out of time on my loan for this film and had to borrow it three different times to finally get through it. I just couldn’t stay engaged. It’s very slow-paced. There’s action and intrigue, sure, but there’s also just a lot of plodding when they are taking the time to explain their universe’s werewolf lore, in the romantic build-up scenes between the two leads, and unfortunately, most of the action is just werewolf parkour. The werewolf transformations are horrible, too. This is like Twilight before Twilight. Whenever one of the pack, or as happens several times the entire pack, is about to shift, they leap into the air. Now odd as it might sound, that part actually looks pretty good. It’s what happens after that gets dumb. They GLOW WITH AN INNER LIGHT and then there’s just a wolf where the person was. It’s terrible. At least the wolf designs look good because they just USED ACTUAL WOLVES. This is a technique that could have been cool if the glow-transformation hadn’t made it look ridiculous. For studio production, this looks a lot like a CW show. 

What works well for this film though, is the werewolf society. I love when they introduce this concept to the werewolf mythology because it reminds me of the World of Darkness TTRPG. The political intrigue here is pretty good with the next Alpha in line being jealous that the current Alpha is more interested in grooming his new mate than recognizing his second-in-command. The love triangle plays well also with the human stumbling into the werewolf mythology and finding himself way over his head. The leading lady also delivers a pretty good performance in being torn about being selected as the next mate. 

Unfortunately, unlike yesterday’s entry, the good here just isn’t good enough, and the bad is more than I could really deal with. I have to say this is a mild negative recommendation.

Movie Count:

New = 14

Total = 19

Hoopla Breakdown: Hoopla is a digital borrowing service that many Ohio Libraries offer that allows patrons to borrow digital books, audiobooks, graphic novels, single issues of comic books, movies, and episodes of TV shows. You are provided with a set number of borrows each month. The amount varies by the library system. There are some limits on how many borrows that branch allows across its patrons each day, so it's better to try to get your borrows in early the morning of than it is the night before you plan to use them. This can also be an issue if you are looking to check out a TV Series because you have to borrow each episode individually. However, unlike other services, the items are always available. There is no hold system, waiting for other patrons to return their material before you get the title, or waiting for it to be delivered to your local branch for pick up. If you can find it, you can borrow it. Other benefits to this program are that you can stream directly over your data connection or wi-fi, or if you are concerned about saving data, you can download the material for offline access. The Hoopla app also has a casting feature so you can stream the title from your device to a larger screen using devices like Chromecast.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 18: Monsters (2014)

Day 18 - Monsters (2014) 

Platform:

Borrowed from OverDrive.

Quote:

“Excuse me, have you seen anyone else?

Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack! Ruff!”

Synopsis:

In a near future, giant alien lifeforms have created a dystopian, if not post-apocalyptic, world. A photojournalist, hoping to get some award-winning shots of the creatures, is hired to help get his editor’s daughter back home safely.

Review:

This was an interesting Kai-ju style film. It follows the traditional formula of focusing on humans trying to survive in a world of giant monsters. Our main characters traveling through quarantine areas in an attempt to get back to the safety of well-structured civilizations uncover human drama seeing how people live in the shadow of the monsters, and also come to learn more about the creatures than anyone else. The element that makes this one a little different than your standard Godzilla or Pacific Rim film is that the monsters are really background threats for the most part. They appear occasionally, and while you can tell what the creatures are like pretty easily, they don’t get much focus until the very end. 

The film is fairly entertaining if not much of a horror film, though there is plenty of foreboding throughout as the main couple dodge both the creatures and the military forces attempting to drive the creatures away. There’s plenty of good action sequences, but the octopi/cthuluesque creatures don’t have quite the impact that I had hoped. They aren’t so large that they could rampage through a city like Godzilla. It puts me more in the mind of the giant bugs from Starship Troopers. 

The good elements in this are good enough, and the bad elements aren’t damning, and it’s a different kind of monster movie. That’s enough for me to give this a mild recommendation.

Movie Count:

New = 13

Total = 18

OverDrive Breakdown: OverDrive is a digital platform that you can use to borrow ebooks, audiobooks, comics, graphic novels, and movies. Unlike Hoopla, you can't download videos. They must be streamed. Also, you don't have the casting option. But both Hoopla and OverDrive can be accessed via web browser so you can watch on your computers. Another drawback is that you don't have unlimited access to videos, so if someone else has it borrowed, you do have to place a hold and wait for them to either return the material or for their loan to time out. Plus sides are the ease of borrowing. You have a set number of titles of any format (book, audio, video, etc.) that you can borrow from at any point in time (my library is set at ten), but once you return a title, you get that borrow back. So, unlike Hoopla, you don't have to wait for the next month to start borrowing again. Also, even if you have to place a hold, the longest loan period on a video is seven days, and then most videos expire 48 hours after you start watching, so the turnaround time is very quick. OverDrive will also email you notifications when your hold is ready.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 17: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

Day 17 - Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) 

Platform:

Borrowed disc from the Clermont County Public Library.

Quote:

“Stories can hurt. Stories can heal. And the more you tell them, they become real.”

Synopsis:

The legend of the Bellows’ house has haunted Mill Valley for generations. Children who cross the threshold on Halloween and hear a story from Sarah Bellows are never seen again. But this year, the stories escape the mansion, and a group of teens is going to have to face their worst fears or become another of Sarah’s victims.

Review:

Guillermo Del Toro produced this adaptation of the collection of childhood favorites. I remember reading this when I was in school, and now my kids have gotten into reading them as well. You’ll recognize some of the most popular of these stories such as “The Toe” and “Me Ty Doughty Walker”. Del Toro may only be a producer on this film, but you can feel his influence in the otherworldly creature designs (even if all the eyes are in the right place). The story is set in 1968 America with the draft on, and I can only imagine that this was also a Del Toro influence, as other than one character who is avoiding the draft (which really doesn’t have much to do with the plot really), there really isn’t much cause for why this movie would have been set at that time. Choosing to set the story in a different decade feels like a Del Toro movie.

The film is also pretty tame when it comes to gory violence. There’s really no blood to speak of in the film at all, and it relies on the creepy factor to deliver the scares. Because of this, it’s a pretty good entry-level scary movie for the preteen crowd looking to move beyond Hocus Pocus level films. Veteran fans of horror will also likely appreciate this thanks to Del Toro’s contributions and that Scare Stories to Tell in the Dark is probably one of the seminal texts that lead to their love of horror (ranking right up there with Goosebumps, for me at least). The visual effects and acting are also pretty solid so that there isn’t anything to draw unintentional laughs or groans of exasperation. This is a solid recommend for a modern take on some classic scary stories.

Movie Count:

New: 12

Total: 17

DVD/Blu-Ray Borrow Breakdown: I'm sure this feature is not new to anyone really, but I'll still point out some of the benefits and drawbacks. Let's start with the benefits. Most of the digital titles you find on the Hoopla and OverDrive platforms are going to be a few years old or going to be fairly obscure titles. New release, major motion pictures are going to take a while before they relinquish streaming rights to general public services like these. But the library regularly purchases physical copies of new releases for patrons to borrow. Libraries also offer hold services so that even if your library's copies have all been checked out, you can go ahead and put in a request to be put on a waiting list so that you hold your place in line to borrow that title when it's ready for you. Interlibrary loans also allow you to check out books and movies even if your local library branch doesn't carry the title, so your options are pretty much limitless as long as you have the patience to wait for delivery. The drawbacks to this service are that you do have to pay close attention to due dates. Videos usually have a higher late fee than books, and you have them for a shorter loan period (usually 7 days). One big leg up on borrowing physical copies that the digital platforms have, is that you don't have to worry about late fees because the titles automatically return when your loan period expires. However, if you know that the movie you want is very popular, and you want a little more time with it, you could always shell out the extra $1 to keep it another day. Another drawback is that you are using shared materials. That means that you are at the mercy of the treatment that other patrons apply to the material. Sometimes you get a DVD or Blu-ray that could be scratched (I know that Blu-ray's are supposed to be nearly unscratchable, but it seems that some people have taken that as a personal challenge), or dirty to the point that it skips, or is even unwatchable.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 16: Vampire Diary (2007)

Day 16 - Vampire Diary (2007) 

Plaform:

Borrowed from Hoopla. 

Quote:

“Look, whoever’s seeing this: Mum, Dad, what happened -- none of this had anything to do with me.”

Synopsis:

Holly is a documentarian making a film about London’s gothic neo-vampire club scene. This group of people wears fake fangs and heavy goth style as they party it up “living” like vampires in the nightclubs of the city. When Holly meets Vicky, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the mysterious beauty, and her documentary takes a bizarre and twisted turn. Suddenly Holly’s friends and documentary subjects are turning up dead, drained of blood. Could Vicky be a real vampire?

Review:

Let’s start with the style of this movie. They film the entire production as a found footage piece through a combination of the documentary footage that Holly is filming, Vicki’s own camcorder footage (why she is filming is never explained unless it’s just so that Holly will connect with her), and news reports about the murder/suicides. Now, there are some out there who hate on found footage as a general rule of life. And there are some who have this as one of their favorite genres of film. I don’t have strong feelings one way or another, but I will say that when it’s good, it can be incredibly effective. Some good examples would be Paranormal Activity, Hell House, LLC; and the one that really started it all, The Blair Witch Project. Those who hate found footage will still point to these as terrible, but I argue that whether you like the style or not, these films made good use of the concept and told the stories in this format well, even if they don’t hold up on multiple watching because they lose that appeal. However, when found footage is bad, it’s REALLY bad. Clover Field is an example of bad found footage. It could have been very cool, but the camera is so shaky that it’s impossible to take in the scene to experience what it might be like from that POV, which I would argue is the best thing that found footage has going for it. Unfortunately, Vampire Diary falls into the bad found footage category. It starts strong with the documentary aspect, but once they get into the vampire antics it gets ridiculous. Cameras are shooting from angles and at things that make no sense. At one point Holly goes to watch a tape that Vicky gave her of one of Vicky’s victims. So we have in that scene, Vicky’s tape being played, Holly filming the tape being played, and for some reason that makes no sense, Holly has set up a camera to record her reaction to watching Vicky’s tape! When it comes to using this found footage concept, Halloween: Resurrection is a better example than this movie is.

Now as for the story telling, they have a cool concept. Someone researching pretend vampires stumbles across a real vampire could be a lot of fun. But they don’t really pace the mystery very well. I won’t spoil how it turns out incase lesbian vampire found footage film is someone’s thing and they really want to check this out (because if that’s your thing, there’s probably not much out there in your niche). However, I will say that the twist at the end is kind of dumb and would have been better if they kept Holly guessing the whole movie rather than 15 minutes in being dead sure of the truth. 

This film was not nearly as cool or fun as it had the potential to be. I have to give it a don’t watch recommendation.

Movie Count:

New = 11

Total = 16

Hoopla Breakdown: Hoopla is a digital borrowing service that many Ohio Libraries offer that allows patrons to borrow digital books, audiobooks, graphic novels, single issues of comic books, movies, and episodes of TV shows. You are provided with a set number of borrows each month. The amount varies by the library system. There are some limits on how many borrows that branch allows across its patrons each day, so it's better to try to get your borrows in early the morning of than it is the night before you plan to use them. This can also be an issue if you are looking to check out a TV Series because you have to borrow each episode individually. However, unlike other services, the items are always available. There is no hold system, waiting for other patrons to return their material before you get the title, or waiting for it to be delivered to your local branch for pick up. If you can find it, you can borrow it. Other benefits to this program are that you can stream directly over your data connection or wi-fi, or if you are concerned about saving data, you can download the material for offline access. The Hoopla app also has a casting feature so you can stream the title from your device to a larger screen using devices like Chromecast.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 15: The House of the Devil (2009)

 

Day 15 - The House of the Devil (2009) 

Plaform:

Borrowed from Hoopla. 

Quote:

“Are you the babysitter?”

Synopsis:

On the night of the eclipse of the full moon, college student Samantha, desperate for cash so she can move out of her dorm room and get away from her less than stellar roommate, takes a babysitting job with the wrong family. 

Review:

This 80’s period piece directed by Ti West, who later go on to direct The Innkeepers (which I just recently reviewed, check it out here) and V/H/S, really shows West’s beginnings. There’s some great atmosphere in this one starting with the first act as they establish Samantha, her friend Megan, and her less than a useless roommate, Heather. This part of the film sets the stage for this being set in the ’80s, which really just helps with establishing the lack of technology and the isolation that Samantha will be in once she arrives at the titular House of the Devil. The introduction to our characters is well put together. Samantha is a financially struggling college student who can’t take living with her roommate, Heather who just spends the day sleeping with her boyfriend and sleeping until the early evening/night. Megan is Samantha’s best friend who goes above and beyond to help Samantha out. And then we have the wonderful Tom Noonan portraying the bizarre Mr. Ullman who hires Samantha for a babysitting job. Great stuff so far. Nothing spooky, or atmospheric just yet, but I’m enjoying the characters.

In act two though, things start to drag. Once Samantha arrives at the house for a job, this is where West starts to build the atmosphere. The house is old and creepy, and he fills in the moments of Samantha basically just waiting around with some really disturbing moments. These all happen with Samantha having no idea the situation she is in, which really gives the audience a sense of foreboding as we watch the dramatic irony play out before us. These are the moments when people might be tempted to start yelling at their screens for her to “GET OUT OF THE HOUSE GIRL! YOU ARE IN DANGER!” Unfortunately, there’s just not quite enough of this sort of action and we spend loooooooooooong stretch of just watching Samantha wander around the house, turn on the TV, turn off the TV, order pizza, dance to her walkman (while listening to some great 80’s music), break a vase, clean it up, explore the house some more, eat pizza, and then finally start exploring some weird sounds that ultimately lead her to the real threat and mystery of the movie as the eclipse begins.

FINALLY, in act three we really get into the horror full throttle, and I mean that. Things ramp up in the last half-hour of the movie and they don’t slow down till credits start rolling (in wonderful old school style, I might add). So where does this leave me?

As much as I wanted to like this one, and there’s plenty here to enjoy for sure, there’s just such a drag in the middle of the film. They tried to keep that part interesting by letting the audience see the things that Samantha is unaware of, but it just takes too long, and there’s not enough going on behind the closed doors to keep it interesting. But, you can really see where Ti West is going in his career with this. Having watched his later films before getting to this one, I can see how his style developed from what he did here. So, if you’re a Ti West fan and really want to see one of his early works, go ahead and watch it, but otherwise, I would say don’t bother. Go watch The Innkeepers which does a better job of pacing out the acts so that it doesn’t get too bogged down, or if you want more gore, go check out V/H/S/.

Movie Count:

New = 10

Total = 15

Hoopla Breakdown: Hoopla is a digital borrowing service that many Ohio Libraries offer that allows patrons to borrow digital books, audiobooks, graphic novels, single issues of comic books, movies, and episodes of TV shows. You are provided with a set number of borrows each month. The amount varies by the library system. There are some limits on how many borrows that branch allows across its patrons each day, so it's better to try to get your borrows in early the morning of than it is the night before you plan to use them. This can also be an issue if you are looking to check out a TV Series because you have to borrow each episode individually. However, unlike other services, the items are always available. There is no hold system, waiting for other patrons to return their material before you get the title, or waiting for it to be delivered to your local branch for pick up. If you can find it, you can borrow it. Other benefits to this program are that you can stream directly over your data connection or wi-fi, or if you are concerned about saving data, you can download the material for offline access. The Hoopla app also has a casting feature so you can stream the title from your device to a larger screen using devices like Chromecast.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 14: The Devil's Rain (1975)

Day 14 - Devil’s Rain (1975) 

Platform:

Borrowed from OverDrive. 

Quote:

“Think ye to destroy something stronger than life by ending life?”

Synopsis:

The Preston family has guarded a secret book of immense power for generations. Now Corbis, a priest of a satanic cult, has returned to claim the book as his own and unleash the Devil’s Rain. It’s up to Mark and his brother, Tom to keep the book from Corbis and prevent him from unleashing Hell on earth.

Review:

……..*long sigh*...... Ok. This movie, folks. This is a special one. Now, you would think with a premise like what I provided above: an ancient secret kept by a family to save the world from a satanic cult looking to unleash the Devil’s Rain, with a cast like this film has: John Travolta, Ernest Borgneine, Tom Skerrit, and WILLIAM SHATNER!!! You would think that at the very least, this film would be a ham fest that is campy and over-the-top melodrama. What you actually have is a film that is virtually unheard of, though today it is gaining a foothold as one that many cult-classic horror fans (defined in this instance as “those who have a special fondness for obscure films that didn’t get their due credit when first released”) have begun to recognize and spread around. Unfortunately, the movie is largely nonsensical and ridiculous.

I’ll start with the positives of this film, but there aren’t many. First, the effects are probably the best part of the film. The Devil’s Rain melts the people who are caught out in it, and the melting effect is pretty decent for the time period. It still holds up pretty well even in HD (which has been the death of many older special effects work). The same can’t really be said of the eyeless Satanists. When someone has fallen to the cult, they become these eyeless ghouls that follow Corbis’s bidding. This was a pretty cool concept and the look was actually fairly effective. However, HD rendering does make the prosthetics really stand out. 

This leads me to a Moment in Horror History (imagine that was done with a cool reverb echo). Minor Spoilers here. William Shatner is one of the victims of Corbis and becomes a soulless, eyeless husk. The face mold they did to create his prosthetics is the same one used to create the infamous Captain Kirk mask that would become The Shape in John Carpenter’s Halloween! That’s right, the franchise that just won’t die (unlike Nightmare and Friday apparently), Halloween got its face, literally, thanks to this film! With Halloween Kills coming out tomorrow, it’s kinda serendipity that I would have this film cued up and see the origin of The Shape. And you can really see it here, too. When Shatner is revealed in his eyeless glory, it really did look like Michael Meyers up on the screen.

Other positives from this are the campy performances. Shatner is fantastic in his trademark deliveries. We even get a precursor to the infamous “Kaaaaaahhhhhhnnnn!!!” from Star Trek 2, as after finding out that his mother has been kidnapped, Mark Preston (Shatner) cries out “Cooooorbiiis!” It doesn’t echo through space, but you can feel that he’s warming up for it. Then, you also have Ernest Borgneine who is just chewing the scenery like nobody’s business. Even with the melodrama that Shatner brings, Borgneine seems like he’s in a completely different film from anyone else. When he emerges as the emissary of the devil in the 3rd act, it gets even better. 

Unfortunately, the movie is largely incomprehensible. Nothing makes sense. We know that Corbis wants this book that has the names of all the people who signed their souls over to the devil. But then, he’s wanting this bottle of Devil’s Rain that he can unleash on the world. Supposedly the bottle is the souls of those that signed in the book. So, I’m assuming, Cobis wants the book so he can go and collect on the souls to make more Devil’s Rain? It’s not very clear. Then there’s the whole flashback to the puritan settlers who uncover Corbis as a satanist, and apparently, Shatner’s family was part of Corbis’s cult, but they were called Fine? And now their Preston? Which is never acknowledged or explained, other than leaving the audience to perhaps conclude that the family changed their name to hide from Corbis? But Corbis was burned at the stake? And to make it even more confusing, you have Corbis played in the past and the present by Ernest Borgneine, but then you have Shatner playing Mark Preston in the present, and Martin Fine in the past. So, are these the same people moving through time unaged? Or are these the descendants? They certainly seem to know who Corbis is, even recognizing him when they meet. Nothing ever gets explained. Ever.

I feel like this is one that is worth looking into if you’re a horror fan, and you really want to see some fun, over-the-top performances from some well-known stars, and see the origins of the Michael Meyers mask. But in the end, this one just isn’t fun enough to give a so-bad-it’s-good status. I have so, I don’t recommend this one. It’s just too disjointed to even follow for a good time. There’s a reason that despite having some big names, no one has heard of this.

Movie Count:

New = 9

Total = 14

OverDrive Breakdown: OverDrive is a digital platform that you can use to borrow ebooks, audiobooks, comics, graphic novels, and movies. Unlike Hoopla, you can't download videos. They must be streamed. Also, you don't have the casting option. But both Hoopla and OverDrive can be accessed via web browser so you can watch on your computers. Another drawback is that you don't have unlimited access to videos, so if someone else has it borrowed, you do have to place a hold and wait for them to either return the material or for their loan to time out. Plus sides are the ease of borrowing. You have a set number of titles of any format (book, audio, video, etc.) that you can borrow from at any point in time (my library is set at ten), but once you return a title, you get that borrow back. So, unlike Hoopla, you don't have to wait for the next month to start borrowing again. Also, even if you have to place a hold, the longest loan period on a video is seven days, and then most videos expire 48 hours after you start watching, so the turnaround time is very quick. OverDrive will also email you notifications when your hold is ready.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 13: Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

Day 13 - Killer Clowns from Outer Space (1988) 

Platform:

Borrowed disc from the Clermont County Public Library.

Quote:

“Don’t worry Dave. All we want to do is kill ya.”

Synopsis:

A spaceship in the shape of a big-top circus tent arrives in a small rural town, and its crew, band of absurdly proportioned, red-nosed, grease-paint-faced clowns, begin harvesting the locals using a wide arsenal of circus-related gimmicks. It’s up to a few local heroes to put an end to the mayhem, close out the show, and bring down the house.

Review:

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is pure ‘80’s camp at its finest. From the wacky and bizarre look of the alien creatures to the over-the-top weapons, everything about this delivers a good time. For me, what makes this whole absurd idea work is commitment. The popcorn gun that seems absolutely stupid even pays off later when you get to see what the popcorn actually does. 

Now, these clowns are no Pennywise. They are strange and unusual looking, but they don’t exactly project menace. Many times when you have clowns in a film to cash on that fear that many seem to have, the clowns are designed and portrayed to look and feel like they are a threat. The creatures in this one though don’t exhibit that same quality until you see them in action. They look like silly toys that are up and walking. But that actually makes them a bit more disturbing when you then see the carnage they reap while still looking like an innocent cartoon character. 

I will say that this film is not really scary in the least, but it does evoke a fun disturbing quality as you watch the alien klowns run rampant on the town. This movie is just a camp fest that is pure fun from beginning to end. It makes for a great party film and can be a fun introduction to a higher level of scary movie for older kids entering their early teens.

Movie Count:

New = 8

Total = 13

DVD/Blu-Ray Borrow Breakdown: I'm sure this feature is not new to anyone really, but I'll still point out some of the benefits and drawbacks. Let's start with the benefits. Most of the digital titles you find on the Hoopla and OverDrive platforms are going to be a few years old or going to be fairly obscure titles. New release, major motion pictures are going to take a while before they relinquish streaming rights to general public services like these. But the library regularly purchases physical copies of new releases for patrons to borrow. Libraries also offer hold services so that even if your library's copies have all been checked out, you can go ahead and put in a request to be put on a waiting list so that you hold your place in line to borrow that title when it's ready for you. Interlibrary loans also allow you to check out books and movies even if your local library branch doesn't carry the title, so your options are pretty much limitless as long as you have the patience to wait for delivery. The drawbacks to this service are that you do have to pay close attention to due dates. Videos usually have a higher late fee than books, and you have them for a shorter loan period (usually 7 days). One big leg up on borrowing physical copies that the digital platforms have, is that you don't have to worry about late fees because the titles automatically return when your loan period expires. However, if you know that the movie you want is very popular, and you want a little more time with it, you could always shell out the extra $1 to keep it another day. Another drawback is that you are using shared materials. That means that you are at the mercy of the treatment that other patrons apply to the material. Sometimes you get a DVD or Blu-ray that could be scratched (I know that Blu-ray's are supposed to be nearly unscratchable, but it seems that some people have taken that as a personal challenge), or dirty to the point that it skips, or is even unwatchable.