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Snak posted:Is that a found footage film? I don't remember the trailer... If you enjoy found footage films on any level you MUST see As Above, So Below as soon as possible. Its the best use of that format I've ever seen for a bunch of different reasons. Its claustrophobic in a way that only found footage can be, it puts you in the shoes of a kick-rear end Indiana Jones type protagonist, and the premise even sets things up in a way that explains why nobody just drops the camera when poo poo goes south. It doesn't use the format as an excuse to keep the really interesting stuff just out of frame, and the acting is pretty drat solid, especially for the genre.
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Jun 17, 2015 16:24
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Basebf555 posted:If you enjoy found footage films on any level you MUST see As Above, So Below as soon as possible. Its the best use of that format I've ever seen for a bunch of different reasons. Its claustrophobic in a way that only found footage can be, it puts you in the shoes of a kick-rear end Indiana Jones type protagonist, and the premise even sets things up in a way that explains why nobody just drops the camera when poo poo goes south. It doesn't use the format as an excuse to keep the really interesting stuff just out of frame, and the acting is pretty drat solid, especially for the genre. Agreed in full. There were plenty of moments where a weaker film would have taken the common cop-out but As Above, So Below kept tight to its course. There was actually an atmosphere to the film, which is an artistic trait that found footage seems to often forego.
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Jun 17, 2015 16:28
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Skyscraper posted:Odd Thomas is aggressively terrible. I dislike Dean Koontz but I'm usually of the opinion that he can hit one or two decent horror notes per book, but Odd Thomas is utterly without merit. I have to imagine the book was better than that to actually get funding for a movie. I have to agree with this. I have no real opinion on Koontz but I couldn't make heads or tails of what this was even supposed to be. Lines that read as dripping with sarcasm are completely earnest, and it never settles long enough on a tone. Just horrible.
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Jun 17, 2015 16:31
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flashy_mcflash posted:I have to agree with this. I have no real opinion on Koontz but I couldn't make heads or tails of what this was even supposed to be. Lines that read as dripping with sarcasm are completely earnest, and it never settles long enough on a tone. Just horrible. I have read one of his books because a coworker saw that I read books and gave it to me. It had the exact same tone that I later recognized in the movie.
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Jun 17, 2015 16:36
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If you enjoy Leland Orser and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, give Faults a shot. It's a creepy take on cult behavior and psychology while also finding the time to be intermittently hilarious. It has elements of Martha Marcy May Marlene, Cabin Fever and The Killing Room. If nothing else it features a wonderfully spastic portrayal from Orser.
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Jun 17, 2015 22:09
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speshl guy posted:If you enjoy Leland Orser and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, give Faults a shot. It's a creepy take on cult behavior and psychology while also finding the time to be intermittently hilarious. It has elements of Martha Marcy May Marlene, Cabin Fever and The Killing Room. If nothing else it features a wonderfully spastic portrayal from Orser. Faults was a pleasant surprise. Really uncomfortable movie, yet still very funny at times. I couldn't shake the feeling of lingering doom and dread throughout, and I also felt horrible for the continuing indignities heaped on Orser's pathetic character. Poor guy desperately needed a win.
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Jun 18, 2015 03:31
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Faults sort of plays like Lynch directing a Coen script, only not half as good as that sounds (which is still a high compliment, I just don't want to hyperbolise). It's a weird mix of Job-ian farce and surreal dread that speaks well of Riley Stearns future as a filmmaker. Marrying Winstead wasn't enough, guy had to be talented too. If you want something completely different that's also a genre hybrid film about a cult deprogrammer try Holy Smoke. It's my least favourite Campion film, but it has some moments and is unlike anything out there. Plus it's on Netflix.
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Jun 20, 2015 04:19
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I got my wife to watch The Machinist last night, and it's a fantastic psychological thriller with a looming sense of dread and doom, for anyone who hasn't seen it. Christian Bale lost dangerous amounts of weight for it, to appear gaunt and haunted. Jennifer Jason Leigh is great too, as usual.
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Jun 20, 2015 04:21
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Faults sort of plays like Lynch directing a Coen script, only not half as good as that sounds (which is still a high compliment, I just don't want to hyperbolise). It's a weird mix of Job-ian farce and surreal dread that speaks well of Riley Stearns future as a filmmaker. Marrying Winstead wasn't enough, guy had to be talented too. If you want something completely different that's also a genre hybrid film about a cult deprogrammer try Holy Smoke. It's my least favourite Campion film, but it has some moments and is unlike anything out there. Plus it's on Netflix.
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Jun 20, 2015 04:30
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I was wondering if anyone had seen The Lazarus Effect? I recently watched this, and while it's obviously a low budget horror flick - including the expected cheap scares throughout the third act - I thought it had some great and subtle symbolism when it came to the characters. Looking at IMDB, it seems like everyone missed some pretty obvious things about the movie that I thought were great; a number of things that were not given direct exposition but seem perfectly obvious after one viewing. I also thought it had a cool atmosphere, very much akin to the second part of Resident Evil (The Game): Clean laboratory aesthetic combined with the feeling of uneasiness that comes with closed-door experiments on things both living and dead (and in between). But, yeah, has anyone seen it? I would like to know what some of you think, though RT and IMDB both rate it very low.
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Jun 23, 2015 22:33
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I thought it was good fun, I especially like Ray Wise showing up for literally one scene. I will single one thing out: that dog actor was exceptional.
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Jun 23, 2015 23:03
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:I thought it was good fun, I especially like Ray Wise showing up for literally one scene. I will single one thing out: that dog actor was exceptional. Rocky (the dog) was actually my favorite character. I think the movie deliberately tries to fool you into thinking he's evil, or some kind of Pet-Cemetary-esque "evil version" of the living Rocky. But the movie also gives you several reasons to think otherwise, right from the get-go. Rocky had gone blind (or was going blind) from cataracts, a condition often attributed to old age and disease, and he was euthanized. This wasn't a pit-bull that was put down for being aggressive, it was most likely a family dog who was in his latter years. When he wakes up, he's confused but not aggressive. Then he spends most of his time lethargic, quiet, and uninterested in human interaction. Towards the end of the first act, Olivia Wilde's character (Zoe) suggests that perhaps they pulled him right out of doggy heaven, and that's why he's acting the way he is. Clearly he's at very least indifferent about being alive again, had possibly lived a full life before, and now has no idea where he is or who any of these people are. He only acts "aggressive" a few times. The first time is when he stares at Zoe while she's sleeping, but later in the film we find out the "Lazarus serum" gives the recipients both telekinetic and telepathic abilities. He was watching her dream. The second instance is with Clay, who blows smoke in Rocky's face. Shortly after we hear a loud, "Boom!" and the cage is open along with the nearby cabinets and refrigerator. When Clay looks for Rocky, the dog growls at him. Once Clay gets close, Rocky barks and snarls at Clay, but doesn't hurt him. This is the behavior you might expect from any dog if you treat them poorly, they don't like you, and you try to approach them. Rocky became upset at being locked in a cage while being messed with and, whether by accident or not, created some kind of telekinetic explosion that blew open his kennel and wrecked everything in the immediate vicinity. Rocky probably had no idea what happened, and reacted like a dog would, retreating and hiding from an extremely loud noise. The only other time Rocky shows aggression is toward the protagonist-turned-antagonist Zoe, who he growls at. Remember, as Rocky and Zoe face each other, they can read each-other's thoughts. It's possible Rocky wanted to die (I didn't sign up for this, kill me, send me back), but also possible that he was able to see at least that Zoe had bad intentions, and reacted with a threat display. Then Zoe kills him, and he's back to "doggy heaven." If you look at Rocky as a normal dog, his behavior seems normal as well, telepathic/telekinetic abilities aside. And if Rocky wasn't evil, then what made Zoe go murder crazy?
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Jun 24, 2015 01:01
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Basebf555 posted:If you enjoy found footage films on any level you MUST see As Above, So Below as soon as possible. Its the best use of that format I've ever seen for a bunch of different reasons. Its claustrophobic in a way that only found footage can be, it puts you in the shoes of a kick-rear end Indiana Jones type protagonist, and the premise even sets things up in a way that explains why nobody just drops the camera when poo poo goes south. It doesn't use the format as an excuse to keep the really interesting stuff just out of frame, and the acting is pretty drat solid, especially for the genre. It's not a bad movie, but the beginning (after the opening Iran scene, which was neat) is kind of eye rollingly goofy and the unspooling of events didn't quite all fit together. For example why is are only some characters "sins" thrown back at them while other people are left alone (third wheel guy at the end) while other people are straight up murdered (spelunking chick & the documentary guy) while some people are actually killed by their haunting (main spelunker guy with the burning car). I did like that the stone ghouls could basically be pushed out of the way. I guess when you venture through the paranormal, bring a baseball bat  Another question: Why did her dad (I guess) appear hanged in the cave in Iran? We were told it was a suicide and presumably he didn't kill himself IN the excavation site where all the soldiers were going around who would have seen him? And there was no paranormal occurrence in that location or at that time, so not an apparition. There's several cool moments with a lot of eye rolling in between. I did like the ending though. Versus miscellaneous things I've watched also mentioned in this thread, marginally better than Time Lapse, not quite as tight as Coherence in terms of how it holds up after viewing.
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Jun 24, 2015 02:07
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Factor Mystic posted:It's not a bad movie, but the beginning (after the opening Iran scene, which was neat) is kind of eye rollingly goofy and the unspooling of events didn't quite all fit together. The version of hell presented in AASB isn't really supposed to be fully comprehensible to the point that you can just lay out a set of rules that will make sense of everything. For instance, at the beginning when she sees her father hanging, I interpret that as hell/her sins/her obsession reaching out; showing themselves despite the fact that she hadn't literally entered hell yet. Its almost as if hell is calling to her. But you don't have to necessarily interpret it that way, that's the point. I believe that scene is there so that we will have this exact conversation. We're meant to leave the theatre with those things on our mind, and it encourages and rewards re-watching the movie multiple times.
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Jun 25, 2015 14:04
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I just saw Come Back to Me on Neflix. It was a very suspenseful movie that had me guessing the entire time until the crazy reveal. Throughout 3/4ths of the movie I was still trying to figure out what was going on (in a good way) Thoughts on the ending: Even a day after, I'm still pretty angry that every character was basically dead on their feet within 10 minutes of the opening. But even then, having a Netflix horror movie actually stick in my head instead of being instantly forgotten is an achievement
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Jun 26, 2015 02:36
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Skyscraper posted:Odd Thomas is aggressively terrible. I dislike Dean Koontz but I'm usually of the opinion that he can hit one or two decent horror notes per book, but Odd Thomas is utterly without merit. I have to imagine the book was better than that to actually get funding for a movie. The idea behind Odd Thomas the book was kind of solid however, once you've read a few Koontz' books, you realize that they're all just fluff pre-written to be put onto a movie script. Although I thought Hideaway was a great book (when I was 14 or so) he movie was kind of a great example of what happens when Koontz gets (another) film treatment. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Jul 2, 2015 |
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Jul 2, 2015 03:01
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I remember reading the Watcher - about the GMO'd smart-dog and some dude named Travis and really liked it. Of course I read it when I was 13 or 14. Good times. If you could date a ghost I would imagine it would keep your dates pretty cheap. Everything but rent, once it got serious, I guess. Having two incomes is nice.
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Jul 2, 2015 04:59
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coyo7e posted:a lot more sad creepy epilogue where he spends a whole lot of time having sex with the ghost of his girlfriend  I'm fine with books pre-written to be turned into movies, but if he's going to do that I expect the movies that get squeezed out to be better than this. Like, he's had some hits, but looking at his filmography most of them are made-for-tv or direct-to-video. I made the mistake of reading 77 Shadow Street because it sounded like it would make for a decent horror movie, and it turned out to be a rant on the dangers of liberal thinking. I wish they'd make it into a movie, because I'd love to see real actors being mouthpieces for Koontz' terrible views.
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Jul 2, 2015 16:52
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coyo7e posted:The idea behind Odd Thomas the book was kind of solid however, once you've read a few Koontz' books, you realize that they're all just fluff pre-written to be put onto a movie script. Although I thought Hideaway was a great book (when I was 14 or so) he movie was kind of a great example of what happens when Koontz gets (another) film treatment. He's written so many books and a bunch of them have some really creative and interesting ideas so I'm actually surprised more of them haven't been made into films. Lightning for instance stands out to me as a novel that was just begging to be made into a movie but its never been adapted at all in any form.
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Jul 2, 2015 16:59
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For the love of christ the anointed one, don't watch Passengers, even if you're bored and it's on in the background. Me and the new gf only made it a third of the way through but decided to leave it on as an example of punch-pulling and awful execution of tension. I would call it something like a negative-thriller. It's everything people thought LOST would be, but makes even less sense. Who wrote this? No one. Who did Anne Hathaway owe so badly that she had to work on this?
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Jul 2, 2015 23:59
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Just watched Kid-Thing, it's on youtube. Probably not for everyone, but it's at times funny, sweet, surreal, and frightening. If you like off-beat, borderline horror I would suggest it.
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Jul 22, 2015 22:50
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I'm curious what everyone thought of Proxy. It got some rave reviews, and I really wanted to like it, but it pretty much just left me cold. The slow-mo scene was groan worthy and I really didn't buy any of the characters, except maybe the husband. I feel like the concept was there but the execution was lacking- every shot had this flat, soft lighting like a made for TV movie. It reminded me of the movie Passion, with the (possibly intentional?) stiff acting, except without any of the style. And I didn't even like Passion all that much.
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Jul 24, 2015 13:37
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Blisster posted:I'm curious what everyone thought of Proxy. It got some rave reviews, and I really wanted to like it, but it pretty much just left me cold. The slow-mo scene was groan worthy and I really didn't buy any of the characters, except maybe the husband. I feel like the concept was there but the execution was lacking- every shot had this flat, soft lighting like a made for TV movie. I actively hated Proxy and every single character with the possible exception of Joe Swanburg. It seemed incredibly trite and up its own rear end about a twist that isn't really that surprising, and the cartoon man-hating lesbian character put me right off. I left that screening pretty angry.
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Jul 24, 2015 14:14
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flashy_mcflash posted:I actively hated Proxy and every single character with the possible exception of Joe Swanburg. It seemed incredibly trite and up its own rear end about a twist that isn't really that surprising, and the cartoon man-hating lesbian character put me right off. I left that screening pretty angry. Thank god I'm not the only one, cause I was reading reviews and feeling like I was crazy. Like the one on Rogerebert.com: "Minor roles are filled out by performers who seem intentionally inexperienced, adding to the unease throughout the entire, admittedly long film. The amateurish aspects of the production don’t detract from it as much as give it an eerie, lived-in quality that makes it harder to shake..." Not really buying this.
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Jul 24, 2015 15:26
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Blisster posted:Thank god I'm not the only one, cause I was reading reviews and feeling like I was crazy. Like the one on Rogerebert.com: That seems like a pretty transparent way to sugarcoat "bad acting" and "bad production". If they're trying to say it feels like a documentary or at least realistic, you can't just handwave away the lesbian character who talks and acts like no human being ever would. I've been meaning to check out Parker's Scalene to see if it's equally bad, but I haven't gotten around to it.
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Jul 24, 2015 15:54
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Watched It Follows. It was a really weird experience, like someone else's nightmare. It just didn't work for me at all. Re-watched The Changeling (1980). Still the best haunted house movie I've seen. Tight script, great atmosphere and suspense and pretty good acting to boot. Big Bad Voodoo Lou posted:I got my wife to watch The Machinist last night, and it's a fantastic psychological thriller with a looming sense of dread and doom, for anyone who hasn't seen it. Christian Bale lost dangerous amounts of weight for it, to appear gaunt and haunted. Jennifer Jason Leigh is great too, as usual. Have you seen Session 9? I re-watch both of them sometimes (even when I mean to just watch one of them).
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Jul 24, 2015 19:09
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rvm posted:Watched It Follows. It was a really weird experience, like someone else's nightmare. It just didn't work for me at all. I really liked Session 9 at the time, especially for the setting and sense of ominous dread. The movie itself was just okay, but it looked and felt far better than it was, if that makes any sense. And I just finished It Follows, literally moments ago. My wife hated it, and I was disappointed that I didn't like it more, after all the hype and good reviews. Maika Monroe is definitely the new it girl/scream queen, though, after It Follows and The Guest.
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Jul 25, 2015 03:14
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cthulusnewzulubbq posted:Just watched Kid-Thing, it's on youtube. Probably not for everyone, but it's at times funny, sweet, surreal, and frightening. If you like off-beat, borderline horror I would suggest it. I just watched this one and I have some questions Was Esther real? No one else in the movie interacted with her and Annie only talked to her when no one else was around. And when Annie dropped supplies down to her there was no sound... And she said she'd been down in that hole for weeks without food or water, people can't survive that long without water at least
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Jul 25, 2015 09:37
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Planet Piss posted:I just watched this one and I have some questions The movie has a very intentional fable- like quality, and I would guess that's because the Zellners' style doesn't really lend itself to straight-faced social commentary. Also, as Annie is leafing through her sketchbook at breakfast, the story depicted in the drawings is that of warriors who go on a quest, fight monsters, and fall into a "time hole"- so interpret that as you will.
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Jul 31, 2015 19:20
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rvm posted:Re-watched The Changeling (1980). Still the best haunted house movie I've seen. Tight script, great atmosphere and suspense and pretty good acting to boot. I saw The Changeling just recently because I found it for $5 at Barnes & Noble, I couldn't pass up that price. Anyway it instantly earned a place in my yearly Halloween movie marathon, its great.
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Jul 31, 2015 19:27
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Basebf555 posted:I saw The Changeling just recently because I found it for $5 at Barnes & Noble, I couldn't pass up that price. Anyway it instantly earned a place in my yearly Halloween movie marathon, its great. It's worth pointing out that The Changeling is available for free on YouTube (though not on any official channel) for those who haven't seen it.
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Aug 1, 2015 01:21
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cthulusnewzulubbq posted:The movie has a very intentional fable- like quality, and I would guess that's because the Zellners' style doesn't really lend itself to straight-faced social commentary. Also, as Annie is leafing through her sketchbook at breakfast, the story depicted in the drawings is that of warriors who go on a quest, fight monsters, and fall into a "time hole"- so interpret that as you will. Is that implying that Esther is actually Annie?? Or have I been watching too much sci fi
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Aug 1, 2015 12:13
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Watched "it follows" based on this thread. Its the second film in a week I've seen with that main chick (the other was the guest). Both were unexpectedly better than I thought they'd be. Both had wicked sort of electronic soundtracks. Both were beautifully shot. Both were amazing. I really enjoyed the way this relatively simple story was told and shown.
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Aug 1, 2015 13:54
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Just watched It Follows last night. I knew the premise going in and expected the theme/metaphor to be really heavy handed. Well, it was, but it also worked really well. Great movie. edit: I was starting to roll my eyes at their plan to catch it in the pool, but since that fell apart spectacularly, I was very pleased Snak fucked around with this message at 17:42 on Aug 1, 2015 |
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Aug 1, 2015 17:39
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Planet Piss posted:Is that implying that Esther is actually Annie?? Or have I been watching too much sci fi I like to think that the movie ends on a deceptively hopeful note. The disembodied voice in the woods (Witch/Esther/Satan/Big Bad Wolf) is a fairy-tale force of change-Annie starts to question her own complacency and her future. She morally develops in fits and starts and when she drops down that hole you're left to wonder if she'll make it out in the world and come up with that answer yourself.
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Aug 1, 2015 20:39
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Kind of got burned by It Follows...I don't mind movies going for a slow burn to buildup tension, but this movie held almost zero suspense for me. Sadly, I went in excited that a horror could garner such high viewer ratings and bought it on iTunes. While it wasn't "bad" I wouldn't of paid money for it. Heck, I found the Babadook more suspenseful and even that was a but of a let down.
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Aug 4, 2015 16:17
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Uroboros posted:Kind of got burned by It Follows...I don't mind movies going for a slow burn to buildup tension, but this movie held almost zero suspense for me. Sadly, I went in excited that a horror could garner such high viewer ratings and bought it on iTunes. While it wasn't "bad" I wouldn't of paid money for it. Heck, I found the Babadook more suspenseful and even that was a but of a let down. Just curious, what are some of your favorite horror films from the past ten years or so?
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Aug 4, 2015 16:30
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Uroboros posted:Kind of got burned by It Follows...I don't mind movies going for a slow burn to buildup tension, but this movie held almost zero suspense for me. Sadly, I went in excited that a horror could garner such high viewer ratings and bought it on iTunes. While it wasn't "bad" I wouldn't of paid money for it. Heck, I found the Babadook more suspenseful and even that was a but of a let down. I found It Follows to be good because it had great cinematography, sountrack, and was a decently put together drama. I agree that if you are looking for a movie to keep you on the edge of your seat and scare you that it might not be a good fit. Babadook was a much "scarier" movie, I think. It Follows was more about existential horror.
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Aug 4, 2015 17:44
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Reading this I feel like the only person who sort of took the movie as there is a supernatural entity following a girl who lives in a world with no adults.
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Aug 4, 2015 19:40
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space-man posted:Reading this I feel like the only person who sort of took the movie as there is a supernatural entity following a girl who lives in a world with no adults. The no adults thing is pretty clever. The person I watched the movie with didn't even realize the whole thing was a metaphor for sex, and the physical and emotional dangers that are associated with it, until we talked about it the next day. The fact that the movie is about teenagers trying to allay their fears by having sex with each other even though they don't fully understand the rules or potential consequences, and they have no role models to turn to, is genius. edit: added spoiler tags because it's a mild spoiler for people going in blind.
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Aug 4, 2015 20:52
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