Tuesday, October 15, 2013

A MummyVision Guide To Hallowe'en On Roku - Day #15 WHILE WITCHES CACKLE... THE MOVIES CRACKLE !!!





Welcome back, Boils & Ghouls !!



There's now just 16 days remaining in the Countdown To Hallowe'en 2013 which must mean that we have now reached day fifteen of "A MummyVision Guide To Hallowe'en On Roku", my month-long blogathon, which culminates on 31st October 2013. In case you missed the previous instalments, this series of posts began with details of a Hallowe'en ScreamSaver, complete with spooky soundtrack, followed by a Roku channel dedicated to Vintage Horror Classics, then some Hallowe'en "How-To" videos, a Roku channel for fans of the paranormal and then another for devotees of independent horror. After that came a channel dedicated to the open discussion of UFO's and UFO-related activities plus a further selection of Cult Films, Sci-Fi Classics & Vintage Horror. Since then, we've provided details of a Roku channel brimming with creepy cocktail suggestions, another with more classic Hallowe'en movie choices, and then details of a Roku channel that mixes paranormal reality tv shows with powerful documentaries, mysteries, conspiracy theories, UFO's and plenty else besides. The next two instalments saw yet more Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy movies on one channel plus some Hallowe'en / Horror-themed music, courtesy of a Roku radio channel, on another. We then brought you details of a live-streaming horror channel, to add yet another dynamic to the Hallowe'en entertainment on your Roku players plus some close encounters of the third kind, courtesy of a Roku channel dedicated to the subject of aliens and UFO's. Now we continue with a fresh selection of Sci-Fi & Horror Movies, to increase your Hallowe'en / Horror-related viewing choices, ahead of Oct 31st !!







It probably comes as no surprise to you, that this On-Demand TV Series & Hollywood Movie-based Roku channel can be found in the "Film & TV" genre (i.e. category) of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store (or, "Movies & TV", for those of you in the USA). Generally speaking, the 'Crackle' channel on Roku provides an assortment of full-length, uncut and unedited Hollywood Movies and TV Series in the genres you care about most. With categories ranging from things like Action to Comedy, Horror to Sci-Fi, Crime to Thriller plus Television, Music, Anime & Original programming, you'll never be hard-pushed to find something that suits your taste. As such, you can expect to see anything from the vintage comedy of "The Three Stooges" (1934), to the cop caper "Loose Cannons" (1990) starring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd, to the Japanese animated series"Astroboy" (2004), or the spy thriller "Our Man In Havana" (1960) with Alec Guiness. Then again, you might prefer to watch the music documentary "Songwriter" (1984) starring those infamous country outlaws, Willie Nelson & Kris Kristofferson, or (perhaps) enjoy the original series of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" with Jerry Seinfeld. Either way, these movies are ALL FREE-TO-WATCH and, although that does mean seeing them on an ad-supported basis, it's better to sit through a few commercials, and save your money for some popcorn to eat, then watch any or all of these films for FREE !!



Obviously, having multiple genres to choose from in the main menu of the 'Crackle' channel means that not all of the included content is relevant to this post. As I mentioned before, there are other loosely relevant genres included (such as Thriller and Crime, or perhaps even Action or Comedy) in which you might find a "Hollywood Movie" or "TV Series" that grabs you BUT, sticking to the general theme of Hallowe'en, the (current) selections to be found in the "Horror" and "Sci-Fi" categories of the 'Crackle' channel on UK Roku player (incl. IMDB links) are as follows:-



Horror Movies - 40 Titles





      Sci-Fi Movies - 15 Titles





      Given that there are only fifteen titles available in the "Sci-Fi Movies" genre, it's a shame that more than one third of those are also listed among the forty titles from the "Horror Movies" genre. That said, you still have close to fifty titles to choose from across the two genres and, once you've accessed the main menu of the 'Crackle' channel on Roku, you'll doubtless find a few others that interest you from the hundreds of included titles in the remaining genres that are available. 



      Looking firstly at the "Horror Movies", my own PICK OF THE BUNCH, if a bit obvious to all of the true horror fans out there, WOULD HAVE TO BE... "An American Werewolf In London" (1981) directed by John Landis, closely followed by William Castle's "Homicidal" (1961) and "The Revenge Of Frankenstein" (1958), directed by Terence Fisher. Other than that, I'd also recommend Lucio Fulci's "The Beyond" (1983), plus two more of William Castle's films: "Strait-Jacket" from 1964, and; another classic "The Tingler", from 1959. On the other end of the scale, ONE'S TO AVOID ARE... most certainly the likes of Philip Adrian Booth's "Death Tunnel" (2006) and "Vampires: The Turning" (2005) directed by Marty Weiss, as well as the 1999 film "Bats" by Louis Morineau. Other howlers that could probably do with a miss are "Leprechaun Back 2 Tha Hood" (2003) by Steven Ayromlooi, and Max Mokowski's "Taboo" from 2002. If you'd like other recommendations from this list, just leave a comment and I'll suggest a few more for you to watch, or to avoid (if you prefer).



      Moving on to the "Sci-Fi Movies", and ignoring those titles that I've already mentioned which are also listed under "Horror Movies", my PICK OF THE BUNCH here WOULD BE a toss-up between the vintage horror classic, "These Are The Damned" (1965) by Joseph Losey, and the documentary film, "Trek Nation" (2011) by Scott Colthorp, in which the son of the creator of "Star Trek" explores his father's work and how it has effected people. After that, would definitely be "Ink" (2009), directed by Jamin Winans. Also worthy of a mention is the Fred F. Sears classic, "Earth vs. The Flying Saucers" from 1956. On the flip side of the coin, THE ONE'S TO AVOID ARE... the likes of "Sol"(2012) by Benjamin Carland and Norberto Barba's "Solo" from 1996. Still, love them or loathe them, this mix of Sci-Fi & Horror Movies will ensure that you have plenty of ways to pass the time between my daily doses of Roku-related Hallowe'en horror in "A MummyVision Guide To Hallowe'en On Roku" and, at the same time, satisfy your appetite for Sci-Fi & Horror content in the build-up to Hallowe'en !!



      It may further interest you to know that, according to the channel description for the 'Crackle' channel, taken from the Official Roku Website, the channel's content providers are also responsible for the development of the 'Crackle' channel on Roku. So, obviously, their talents don't just end with providing FREE movies On-Demand: made up of uncut and unedited TV Series & Hollywood Movies to fulfil your television & movie-watching needs. Meanwhile, if you'd like to discover more about the 'Crackle' channel on Roku, you can visit their Official Website VIA THIS LINK. You can also connect with 'Crackle' via their Twitter Feed: @CrackleDotCom or else, if you prefer, you can easily get social with the the good folks at 'Crackle' through: Crackle (Facebook)



      Those of you who might wish to add this channel to the Hallowe'en-themed entertainment on your Roku player(s) are going to have to do so by navigating to the "Film & TV" genre  (i.e. category) of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store on your streaming media player (or, "Movies & TV", for those of you in the USA). The reason for this is that the ACCESS / VANITY / INVITATION CODE for this channel REMAINS UNKNOWN, having yet to be made public via any of the usual sources. Sadly this means that, if you are unable to access the Channel Store on your device at this precise moment, you will not be able to add the channel by simply LOGGING-IN to your Online Roku Account, scrolling down to the 'Manage Account' section, and using the "Add a Private Channel" option to take care of things using an ACCESS / VANITY / INVITATION CODE. Sorry about that !!



      Anyway, that's pretty much all there is to it, except to point out that the 'Crackle' channel has been given an average score of "3.5 out of 5" from 33, 039 ratings (so far) in the channel store description from the Official Roku Website. That statistic alone should be reason enough to give this a try, never mind that ALL FILMS ARE FREE TO WATCH too (even if they are ad-supported) !!



      Having said that, if this particular Hallowe'en / Horror themed Roku channel was not to your liking then FEAR NOT because there will be another one featured in tomorrow's post, continuing the month-long blogathon that is: "A MummyVision Guide To Hallowe'en On Roku"which will bring you more devilish delights EACH AND EVERY DAY from now UNTIL HALLOWE'EN and when you're done with this blog, don't forget to visit the other contributors to the 2013 Countdown To Hallowe'en and see what Hallowe'en treats they have in store for you between now and 31st October !!



      Fangs again, for stopping by !!




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