|
Imagine if there was a whole subgenre of horror movies that's just random people shooting up office buildings and schools, but there's a different gimmick each time. It's not all that laughable, really.
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 07:48 |
|
|
Parachute posted:It felt like a decent idea but with really lovely/predictable execution. It's one of my favorite meta horror movies.  Also, the guy who plays Leslie is charming as gently caress.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:04
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:The sad part is Betsy Palmer didn't even really seem to have a full understanding of what kind of film Friday the 13th was going to be. I mean sure, she knew it was a murder mystery and she'd be playing the surprise killer, but she only had to be there for the last day or so of shooting, and I think I remember her saying in an interview that she hadn't read the entire script. Haha, she actually did read the whole script beforehand (though I think it was after she'd already signed on) and that's my favorite anecdote of probably the whole series. She read it and (literally, her words) thought "What a piece of poo poo!" but then she was like, "Oh, well, no one's ever going to see this movie and I need a new car, let's roll." I agree that it's incredibly classy of her to embrace and show gratitude to the fandom and those that made the film despite not really taking it seriously. I'm not sure Kevin Bacon even acknowledged the movie's existence until like 20 years after its release.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:10
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:Well Gene Siskel was a dick, that much seems pretty clear in general. The point of his review was to spoil the ending (he flat out says he intends to ruin the film for any potential viewers at the start of his review) and encourage a letter writing campaign. You can read it here: http://www.fridaythe13thfranchise.com/2012/06/gene-siskels-original-friday-13th-mini.html Siskel and Ebert were real dickscrapes about horror in general (*) and were also directly involved in getting Silent Night Deadly Night pulled from theatres.  Saving us from horror. On a more personal note, I clearly remember seeing them poo poo their pants over the film Demonoid back in the day when they had their public access version of their review show. Being a kid, this of course caused me to immediately seek it out.  (*) in the continuing odd saga that was Ebert's life, a guy who collaborated with Russ Meyer sat upon a high horse declaring other films as misogynistic and exploitative toward women -- but their stance against horror in general softened later on
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:14
|
|
|
HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Imagine if there was a whole subgenre of horror movies that's just random people shooting up office buildings and schools, but there's a different gimmick each time. It's not all that laughable, really. I'm not sure why, but the idea of "like a slasher movie, but with guns" really does leap into distasteful territory for me and I have no idea why.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:20
|
|
|
HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Imagine if there was a whole subgenre of horror movies that's just random people shooting up office buildings and schools, but there's a different gimmick each time. It's not all that laughable, really. The popularity of the slasher film did in fact indicate certain things about where our culture was at the time, just not what the alarmists like Siskel would have had people believe. If somehow a subgenre of school shooting massacre movies became wildly popular, that would also be indicative of our society, but that doesn't mean its something to suppress or ignore.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:21
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:The popularity of the slasher film did in fact indicate certain things about where our culture was at the time, just not what the alarmists like Siskel would have had people believe. If somehow a subgenre of school shooting massacre movies became wildly popular, that would also be indicative of our society, but that doesn't mean its something to suppress or ignore. Right, but you could imagine an incredibly visceral reaction to the distastefulness of the whole enterprise. You have to remember at some point this stuff was contemporary and not a nostalgia trip.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:23
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:In fairly recent interviews Palmer is always gracious and complimentary towards the studio and what they did for her career(she's made plenty of money from it over the years), but she never tries to hide the fact that she really doesn't get slasher movies or understand their appeal. I once spoke to a veteran actor who has appeared in a few major horror films who casually dropped over coffee that he actually doesn't understand horror at all. Then he went to do a panel at a horror convention about one of the films he appeared in. It's a relatively lucrative type of film to appear in. Even though Palmer's work in Mister Roberts was much more "legit", there aren't 10+ conventions a year that would book her to appear and line-ups of people wanting to pay for her autograph because she made a John Ford film with James Cagney. Nope, everybody wanted a photo of her wearing a blue sweater holding a butcher knife instead. SIDE NOTE: Mister Roberts is really good.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:30
|
|
|
HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Imagine if there was a whole subgenre of horror movies that's just random people shooting up office buildings and schools, but there's a different gimmick each time. It's not all that laughable, really. Yeah, Die Hard got limp after the third movie.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:30
|
|
|
HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Right, but you could imagine an incredibly visceral reaction to the distastefulness of the whole enterprise. You have to remember at some point this stuff was contemporary and not a nostalgia trip. I suppose I understand the reaction but I'd hope professionals like Siskel and Ebert would be able to contain that reaction to their own show. Its not productive to go completely over-the-top and try to prevent people from seeing a movie or harass one of the actors at their private residence. That's the part that's laughable. Its understandable and predictable, but still something that we can look back on and laugh at.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:33
|
|
|
HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Right, but you could imagine an incredibly visceral reaction to the distastefulness of the whole enterprise. You have to remember at some point this stuff was contemporary and not a nostalgia trip. Strictly a personal anecdote, but having been a corruptible teenager in the 80s I remember that The Exorcist was this scary and taboo thing but something like My Bloody Valentine was just "ooh look a scary gas mask, why don't you rent that instead" kind of thing. Well, that and the fact that if I played my Ozzy Osbourne album backwards Lucifer would explain how to kill myself in graphic detail.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 20:36
|
|
|
Jedit posted:Yeah, Die Hard got limp after the third movie. Pretty much this. A lot of action movies are the shooting equivalent of slasher movies, just with a different tone.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 22:01
|
|
|
InfiniteZero posted:Strictly a personal anecdote, but having been a corruptible teenager in the 80s I remember that The Exorcist was this scary and taboo thing but something like My Bloody Valentine was just "ooh look a scary gas mask, why don't you rent that instead" kind of thing. To be fair, My Bloody Valentine's reputation for being really gory is kind of recent. It was only available chopped to bits for a long time.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 22:20
|
|
|
HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Imagine if there was a whole subgenre of horror movies that's just random people shooting up office buildings and schools, but there's a different gimmick each time. It's not all that laughable, really. I wouldn't call them horror films, but Uwe Boll does exactly this for like his last 4 or so movies. They're all just about some dude going on a mass shooting spree.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 00:08
|
|
|
Hollismason posted:I wouldn't call them horror films, but Uwe Boll does exactly this for like his last 4 or so movies. They're all just about some dude going on a mass shooting spree. If anybody took Boll seriously there'd be a bigger deal made of the Rampage movies but after 50 movies or whatever he's kind of worn out the concept of bad taste.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 00:14
|
|
|
Related to the Boll discussion, I watched assault on wall street the other day and while by no means a good movie it was somewhat competently made and entertaining. The inevitable massacre is really funny in a black way
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 00:26
|
|
|
"Somewhat competently made and entertaining" actually describes a decent chunk of Boll's output. You can usually instantly tell if a movie by him is gonna be garbage or if it'll be a reasonably okay way to kill 90 min.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 00:51
|
|
|
I'm fixing to watch The Phoenix Project, or Primary if it was Frankenstein. Hope it's good.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 00:57
|
|
|
lizardman posted:Something I've always wanted to ask you: are movies ever simply incompetent for you? A movie can't be incompetent; it can only be the product of incompetence - and then the question would be competence at what? Looking at what the film is, it's first and foremost a very accurate recreation of an exploitative 'True Crime' documentary - the kind that shows actual crime-scene photos, tape-recordings, the killer's actual videos with the 'graphic' parts carefully elided, etc. So the basic question, in this case, is: why fictionalize it? Why not save a lot of effort by just making a documentary about an actual killer? And that's a question that answers itself: there is no actual person like the character in Poughkeepsie Tapes. He's a fictional composite, the general concept of 'serial killer', divorced from any individual person - a singular mythic boogeyman invented by the media. He has no face, no coherent psychology, no motivation, etc. - because he's not actually real. The character only exists as the collection of tapes, and the tapes were invented for the film. So the film is pretty much inherently satirical. The diegetic documentarians are pushing an ideology, and it's one that explicitly fails to make sense of why bad things happen. In one SFX shot, a map of 'serial killers in America' is visualized as a bleeding body wrapped in bandages. Serial killers are fantasized as invaders from outside, who attack the organic unity of the nation. That's basically Starship Troopers. And since neither the killer nor the victims actually exist, the film goes beyond your usual documentary by showing everything. Iinstead of making it 'more scary', it eliminates any mystique the killer might have, and reveals the guy to be just a lame nerd.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 01:34
|
|
|
I actually take the opposite view and that the video in the film Poughkipsie Tapes is the supposed killers elaborate prank on the investigators. The investigators come off as just bumbling idiots through out the entire film. Like seriously the videos are so hilariously " this is what demented looks like" that the viewer and the police have bought into the killers mystique and the big joke is on the viewer and the investigators. It's basically a big gently caress you to the viewer and the investigators " Why does he do it, oh because he has a balloon fetish" is loving hilarious.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 02:22
|
|
|
I pretty much agree there, it seems edited specifically to make the investigators look like morons. Of course the killer also inadvertently makes himself look like a gigantic goon as well.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 02:31
|
|
|
Is that movie worth checking out? All the discussion makes it sound really interesting, but it's... not really in my wheelhouse as far as horror, being both found-footage (not my taste) and a supposedly intensely disturbing serial killer movie (generally too hard to watch unless it's rad enough to make it worth it, like Henry).
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 02:31
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:I suppose I understand the reaction but I'd hope professionals like Siskel and Ebert would be able to contain that reaction to their own show. Its not productive to go completely over-the-top and try to prevent people from seeing a movie or harass one of the actors at their private residence. That's the part that's laughable. Its understandable and predictable, but still something that we can look back on and laugh at. Believe me, I'm not condoning Siskel being a piece of poo poo in this situation, just so you know.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 02:32
|
|
|
"Somewhat competently made and entertaining" describes the bulk of movies, which is why the bulk of movies are poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 03:26
|
|
|
Uwe Boll is worthless as a filmmaker but the tax scam is kind of clever.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 03:28
|
|
|
HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Uwe Boll is worthless as a filmmaker but the tax scam is kind of clever. Was. They closed that poo poo years ago. I don't know how he is still making movies without it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 03:44
|
|
|
TheJoker138 posted:Was. They closed that poo poo years ago. I don't know how he is still making movies without it. That sounds about right, I mean he only got away with it for like 10 years.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 03:45
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP46CxNYMMM Weirdest goddamn thing the dude's ever done.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 03:53
|
|
|
TheJoker138 posted:Was. They closed that poo poo years ago. I don't know how he is still making movies without it. Honestly, that's probably why he's started putting effort into anything.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 03:53
|
|
|
TheJoker138 posted:Was. They closed that poo poo years ago. I don't know how he is still making movies without it. He's a name guy in a slice of the industry that doesn't have many name guys, and I'd bet he can bring in a movie on budget
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 03:55
|
|
|
morestuff posted:He's a name guy in a slice of the industry that doesn't have many name guys, and I'd bet he can bring in a movie on budget Lexi Alexander is German (or Austrian?) and she sure as hell knows how to squeeze a budget. She should get more work.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 03:57
|
|
|
Lexi Alexander is in hardcore movie jail for Punisher War Zone, though. The only things she's done since that are an awful-looking Christian movie and a Youtube short.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 04:02
|
|
|
The Phoenix Project is absolutely 100% not horror at all , the trailer gave that indication. It's basically slow burn drama but the acting is decent and story engaging.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 04:04
|
|
|
I'm glad Betsy Palmer outlived that bastard Gene Siskel
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 04:27
|
|
lizardman posted:^ Gene Siskel was a dick. Trying to bully people into not making things you don't like will never be justifiable.
|
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 05:32
|
|
|
LORD OF BUTT posted:Is that movie worth checking out? All the discussion makes it sound really interesting, but it's... not really in my wheelhouse as far as horror, being both found-footage (not my taste) and a supposedly intensely disturbing serial killer movie (generally too hard to watch unless it's rad enough to make it worth it, like Henry). Poughkeepsie Tapes is watchable, but don't expect much. There are a small handful of creepy scenes surrounding the killer, but it often falls on the side of cheesy and cliche. In my opinion the only genuinely unsettling scene is right near the end when they interview a survivor. She's just too far gone as a person, and it's really the only time you ever actually see the long-term effects of the killer. Megan is Missing on the other hand is not worth seeing at all, and not because it's shocking or horrific, but because it's a terribly made movie across the board. It's not even so-bad-it's-good. It's boring as hell and tries to be shocking for shock's sake. The tone comes off as the director having a jailbait fetish, and at several points it's very obvious that he really just wanted to make a sexual exploitation film about minors. Watch the Your Movie Sucks review of it instead, because that's at least entertaining.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 05:32
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:I suppose I understand the reaction but I'd hope professionals like Siskel and Ebert would be able to contain that reaction to their own show. Its not productive to go completely over-the-top and try to prevent people from seeing a movie or harass one of the actors at their private residence. That's the part that's laughable. Its understandable and predictable, but still something that we can look back on and laugh at. Well, they were hugely instrumental in getting Americans to see small, independent, and foreign movies by acting as their champions. They were passionate about turning people on to movies they thought were worth watching. So I guess it's not surprising they also felt that strongly about a movie they thought was atrocious. Remember, in 1980 there weren't the multitude of channels (theaters, cable, netflix, youtube) to get a film to an appreciative office. There were only so many slots available. The success of a Friday the 13th jeopardized the possibility that a My Dinner with Andre would ever get made. I think both did many more positive things for film and art in the US than negative. Please forgive Gene for hating Friday the 13th, or Roger for slagging videogames, dudes. That said, I'm biased. I've never liked slasher movies except Halloween, (though April Fools Day was fun) and look at murder-porn as proto-torture-porn. Sorry.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 05:36
|
|
|
Porn is pretty good
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 05:44
|
|
|
Skyscraper posted:Pretty much this. A lot of action movies are the shooting equivalent of slasher movies, just with a different tone. Sort of. I think vigilante movies like Death Wish are more comparable. Even then it's more than tone - in "action films" you're invited to sympathize with the protagonist and the victims are threatening in some way. In slasher films, if you believe the killer is the protagonist (and I'd argue the films aren't really structured that way), the killer is mostly a blank slate (for the viewer to project onto, I suppose) and the victims are generally never a threat to the killer and usually sympathetic.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 05:54
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 07:48 |
|
|
This started as a post asking for advice on how to enjoy Mario Bava, but instead I just kept watching his stuff on Netflix until it clicked. It took two viewings of Black Sunday, three attempts to get through Baron Blood, and Lisa and the Devil twice before I found the gear it's in. It's so very 70's, beautifully shot, with fun soundtracks and colors, but the stories are completely bananas on bananas on bananas. What I've seen has been preoccupied with ghosts and reincarnation, with a lot of screaming, fake blood, and unpredictable violence. And Telly Savalas. There's a dreamy quality to it, and some really uncomfortable stuff to remind you it's from a different era, but I feel like I'm starting to get a grip on this.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2015 06:10
|
|
