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Movie #6: Black Christmas (1974) Pretty good. I don't normally enjoy the slasher side of horror, I just don't particularly worry about knife-wielding maniacs, but the relatability of the sorority sisters really carried this. Margot Kidder is a lot of fun, and the way the killings brought out the main woman's fears about her boyfriend was compelling. Movie #7: Black Christmas (2006) Really awful. Just a lot of blood and screaming. I'd heard bad things, was curious because I'd just seen the original, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead can be good, but she seemed totally checked out. Nothing about the original suggested it would be a good idea to dig into the killer's identity and backstory and, sure enough, it went nowhere interesting.
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Sep 24, 2017 09:45
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Movie #14: Magic I've never really seen anyone talk about Magic. Which is strange because it ranks in my personal top 5 Anthony Hopkins performances now. Hopkins stars as Corky Withers, a struggling magician who finds fame when he switches to ventriloquism. Problem is, he's starting to find out he may not be the one controlling his dummy. A crazy good performance from Hopkins and some really tense moments lead to a fantastic movie about the frailty of the human mind and the cost of stardom. I'm surpised I never heard about it before. The movie did a great job of making you think that the dummy might be legit alive. It did it in a very clever way that I could appreciate.
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Sep 24, 2017 10:12
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7. The Masque of the Red Death Really fantastic movie. Beautifully shot in vivid colors. Vincent Price gives a fantastic performance as the evil lord ruling over a satanic fortress of torture and debauchery trying to stave off the inevitable attack of the red death. It was really compelling all the way through. I absolutely loved this one, my favorite I've seen so far alongside The Witch. 5/5
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Sep 24, 2017 11:41
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Untrustable posted:Movie #14: Magic Magic is awesome. Hopkins is great like you said, but the supporting cast is pretty good too. I really like Burgess Meredith in it. On a related note Shudder has one episode of a TV documentary series called Primal Screen that's supposed to be about movies that terrified you as a kid, and the one episode that exists is about Magic. Specifically the TV advertisement for it. It's a good idea for a show, sucks that it died on the vine I guess.
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Sep 24, 2017 12:31
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I actually watched Primal Screen and that's what led me to Magic on Shudder. I wish there was more Primal Screen.
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Sep 24, 2017 12:48
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tweet my meat posted:7. The Masque of the Red Death Glad you liked it! I actually rewatched it myself after you brought up the topic in the other thread. Definitely keep going with Price/Corman for more of the same.
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Sep 24, 2017 14:32
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Next on the list is Tomb of Ligeia, so I'm definitely sticking with it for a bit.
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Sep 24, 2017 15:18
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So after two attempts, I apparently can't watch The Dark Half without falling asleep.
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Sep 24, 2017 15:42
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I suppose I did somewhat of a thematic double feature yesterday, with both films dealing with personal space and the people you live with. One was good, and one wasn't. Read below for more, or move on to the next post! Mother! (2017) This ones been on mind since I watched it yesterday. Aronofsky has definitely created a work of art with this film. I can see why people may have hated this based on what we got vs what the trailer advertised, but I am still satisfied with what we got. There's a lot of symbolism in this movie and while it's very obvious what the main allegory is, some of the symbolism is still hard to unravel. I'm still not sure what the man coughing or the yellow pills are supposed to represent. I'm also still not entirely sure what the overall message of the film was intended to be, but it is open enough that it can mean different things to different people. I found Bardens performance to be a highlight in this film. He is so detached and aloof, but he comes off more as ineffective than malevolent. Lawrence also does a great job in this. Another element that really works in this film is the atmosphere of dread and panic. The narrative is quite surreal, and every scene seems to have something that's just a little bit off, or a character that has inconsistent traits from scene to scene (like Pfeiffer's smoking for example) so an uncomfortable atmosphere is created. There's a certain level of anxiety, and when Lawrence has panic attacks the audiences anxiety is amped up. The final thing I'd like to commend is the excellent sound design. The sound effects, score, and cues all help elevate the film. If you're on the edge about going to this, I'd recommend going as soon as you can, especially since this likely won't be in theatres much longer. It's definitely an art house film, but it's very accessible and does not come off as pretentious. The Roommate (2011) This is really nothing special. It's about a girl who goes off to college, and she comes to find that her new roommate is a little too clingy. It's a competent story, but it's not particularly tense, or thrilling, and Leighton Meester is not convincing in her role. Rewatches (3): Maniac Cop, Friday the 13th 3, Friday the 13th 4 First time watches (5)Mortuary, Little Evil, Eloise, Mother!, The Roommate
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Sep 24, 2017 15:51
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Franchescanado posted:So after two attempts, I apparently can't watch The Dark Half without falling asleep. The "dark half" is the half of the movie you watch with your eyes closed. X-Ray Pecs posted:Counterpoint: the one thing I miss most from Phantasm to its sequels is how gorgeous the first one is. The lighting's just on a whole different level, and it's a shame Coscarelli never DP'd any of the others. The remaster really makes the lighting pop, and I think it adds so much when you can see how much care Don put into his nonsensical low-budget horror movie. Yeah I noticed that! The lighting is stunning, a few times throughout I was like "man, this looks better than most modern movies".
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Sep 24, 2017 16:05
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Magic Hate Ball posted:The "dark half" is the half of the movie you watch with your eyes closed. Seriously, though. It's not bad, but it's not great. If I can't get through it in two attempts, it's off my list. I'll finish it some other day. So, to ensure that I get through the next movie, I'm watching The Return of the Living Dead 
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Sep 24, 2017 16:10
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1/31, Monster Squad: I miss that late 80s film genre where there's a bespoke rap song over the credits, and this scratched that itch nicely.  4/5 rad 80s kids
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Sep 24, 2017 17:22
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2. Don't Breathe (2016) gently caress it I'm doing the year countdown thing, there's no way I'd get even close to 1 per day starting on the 1st. So Don't Breathe is great. A group of young robbers decide to hit a house of a blind Desert Storm vet, and of course it doesn't go according to plan. That's basically it, things get progressively more hosed up at a couple of points but it's very straightforward movie. I'll repeat the RLM's description if it being a well made sleazy exploitation flick that is tense and disturbing throughout. On the downside I'd say there a few times where the movie makes it looks like somebody's dead but then they get better and similar chliches, but it's not too bad and doesn't distract from the experience. Easily recommended for any genre fan.
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Sep 24, 2017 17:38
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#7. The Invisible Man (1933) (rewatch) Really cool old fashioned special effects. I can't imagine people weren't totally blown away by them in the 30s, I can't think of anything else from the era that compares to it outside of elaborate stop motion stuff like King Kong. It might rely on the effects a little too much sometimes, playing it for a bunch of sight gags and all, but I don't mind. The humor sprinkled through out the movie only adds to its charm. I guess one criticism I have is that the Invisible Man doesn't really have any clear motivation other than "He's gone mad!" It's also got this guy saying "Wots all this then??" so that's pretty great:  9/10
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Sep 24, 2017 17:56
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I'm kinda still blown away by the effects in The Invisible Man, they're so simple now but they do a great job of blending them all in and the physicality is really charming.mobby_6kl posted:2. Don't Breathe (2016) Don't Breathe owns kinda hard. It slipped under the radar last year a little bit but it's excellently focused and I love the way it spirals into a truly grotesque situation.
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Sep 24, 2017 18:05
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Magic Hate Ball posted:Yeah I noticed that! The lighting is stunning, a few times throughout I was like "man, this looks better than most modern movies". Like that shot of the overturned hearse with the smoke and fog behind it is incredible. The end of Phantasm IV uses deleted footage from the original with a really great shot of road, the inky blackness of his streets feel like everything outside of what you can see doesn't exist, it's just a void. I'd recommend watching the sequels, they take the franchise to some weird places, but keep a lot of the goofball charm of the first. Drunkboxer posted:#7. The Invisible Man (1933) (rewatch) The Invisible Man can basically get away with any crime, if society have shown us anything, it's that people will take full advantage of their power to commit crimes and not be punished.
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Sep 24, 2017 20:02
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2/31, A Dark Song: This indie Irish horror film was a lot better than I was expecting. The film managed to make ritual magic seem serious, real, and scary, and the two leads were exceptional. 5/5 isolated Welsh cottages
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Sep 24, 2017 21:19
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#10: The House of the Devil One of the creepiest I've seen in a long time. A slow-burn of the highest caliber, it plays very methoidcally but intentioned. It feels like every moment, every lingering shot, all the little things build tension. It never drags, the mystery is always enigmatic that it keeps your attention, even if you know what's going to happen. It's incredibly effective, by the finale my stomach was in knots. The aesthetic is also great, it feels like an 80's period piece and not a neon-drenched, idealized version of the 80's. The colors are muted, but Ti West manages to create interesting palates with them, especially with the wonderful command of light and shadow he displays here. The acting is also great, with a delightful turn from Tom Noonan, who can't help but be a little off. An excellent, chilling film that really gets under your skin. It's my favorite new watch of the marathon so far. Completed: Beyond the Black Rainbow, Rabid, The Driller Killer, Phantasm*, Phantasm II, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, Phantasm IV: Oblivion, Phantasm V: Ravager, The Prowler, The House of the Devil *denotes rewatches
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Sep 24, 2017 23:03
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X-Ray Pecs posted:#10: The House of the Devil This is my favorite horror film of the past few years and it always warms my heart to see folks discovering it for the first time. I'll be competing in the challenge, but due to real world bullshit I'm going to aim low and commit to just fifteen movies.
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Sep 24, 2017 23:57
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12. Shocker - Holy poo poo this is perfect. I feel like I have to rewatch all of Wes' stuff now. I went in close to blind and would strongly recommend that - I knew there was going to be an electric chair execution and had always just assumed it was going to lead to electricity-themed powers and then continue in relatively typical slasher fashion, but with themed kills. Instead we start with dream premonitions experienced by both sides and what felt like an unusually effective sense of menace built up around a human killer. Then there's Evil Mouth (as credited) and Pinker's body falls over and catches fire and the doctor speaks up, and it's like okay we're going with body-hopping electricity demon now, that's different but not completely out of left field. Then we get a showdown on top of the broadcasting tower and I'm thinking we're going to reorient the dish and beam Pinker out into space which is sort of a hollow victory and seems consistent with the way he's been built up and all the bleakness built into the abusive birth father taking over the foster father. Then the movie just keeps going farther and we've got ghosts and we're all in on the dreams and it's all just perfect, so many little bits of familiar structure that let you see part of what's coming but not quite the way it's going to swerve. I can't remember the last time a movie showed me something as good as that last chase through television, with fuckin' Timothy Leary as a televangelist demanding more money for Jesus. It all feels ludicrously cheesy and completely sincere and surprisingly mean for that sincerity which ends up coming across as more honest. Okay that's enough probably-incoherent stream of consciousness gushing. I love this movie.
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Sep 24, 2017 23:57
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8: π (1998) Darren Aronofsky's debut and the reason I've at least attempted to watch everything he's released since. (Except Noah, gently caress Noah.) Following neurotic mathematical savant Max Cohen, the whole movie is built to represent his deteriorating mind in a way even David Lynch could only dream of. Shot in grainy, overexposed black and white, it's as close to a migraine hallucination as you'll ever find committed to film. The framing of Max's apartment where he literally lives inside a jerry-rigged computer is done in such a way that while totally consistent, you cannot readily construct an image of the layout in your mind. Script-wise, Cohen narrates personal information and mathematical concepts with the same obsessive dedication to forcing understanding on the audience. It is a work of art.
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Sep 25, 2017 00:59
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Drunkboxer posted:#7. The Invisible Man (1933) (rewatch) To be fair, the motivation is pretty much spot on with the book, where the whole point is that invisibility leaves the central character with a feeling of being devoid of culpability and responsibility for his actions, which leaves him with mad delusions of power. It's an incredibly dark book, especially for its time.
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Sep 25, 2017 01:23
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1)Ghostwatch 2)Willow Creek 3)Mother! 4:Q  5)Vampyros Lesbos I liked a lot of what it does, but that soundtrack sure is obnoxious, and it's not the most tasteful exploration of the gender/lgbtq politics of Dracula. Thought it's take on Renfield was pretty fantastic. It's definitely worth a watch and might be Franco's best.  /5 dracsand drat cool looking vampire. loved the long red scarf. Reminded me of that PS2 Shinobi game.
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Sep 25, 2017 01:39
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3. The Braniac-1962: 7/10 (Netflix) Cheesy Mexican remake of Black Sunday but instead of Barbara Steele we get some guy who comes back wearing a throbbing monster mask and sucking the brains out of people, it's only about 75 minutes so it just flies by. I guess it's being taken off Netflix tonight so if anyone wants a quick and fairly entertaining watch, check it out.
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Sep 25, 2017 02:21
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The Chaos Experiment (2009) This is aka The Steam Experiment. I was searching for horror movies at a pawn shop last weekend, and came across this one. It didn't look that good, but it was dirt cheap. And who knows, sometimes you can find hidden gems. Looks we're not deceiving in this case. This is not a good movie. Val Kilmer is the star of this one. The dude was once Batman, but now he's in DTV movies. In this one he plays a scientist who is holding a group of people (sexy strangers, as the DVD case describes them) hostage in a Turkish steam bath. He is increasing the heat to deadly levels. His demand is that the newspaper print his article on global warming, and the purpose of his taking people hostage is to see how humans will react to hotter temperatures. The way this movie plays out is borderline incomprehensible. We keep flipping between Kilmer being interrogated, and the sexy strangers. We have no clue if the stories are concurrent or not, and I'm not sure if the editor of the film could even tell half the time. The sections with the strangers are baffling on their own. The second they realize that they are trapped one of the guys goes completely crazy and starts attacking the others. It's also kind of funny because to show how warm it is a red filter is used in their scenes. Unfortunately, when the actors' hair is dry that kind of ruins the effect. I'm 0/2 on my DVD buys from last weekend (mortuary was the other one I watched) but I have 3 more to go. Hopefully something makes the trip worthwhile. Rewatches (3): Maniac Cop, Friday the 13th 3, Friday the 13th 4 First time watches (6): Mortuary, Little Evil, Eloise, Mother!, The Roommate, The Chaos Experiment
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Sep 25, 2017 03:06
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HORROR CHALLENGE THREAD DO NOT READ THIS Basebf555... hello #11: From Beyond Part two of Stuart Gordon, Barbara Crampton, Jeffrey Combs, and Dennis Paoli's Lovecraft trilogy, this one had a lot to live up to when put up against Re-Animator. But, thankfully, it easily succeeded. Filled with goopy special effects, colored lighting, and outstanding performances, this one's a really weird and wild ride. Gordon doesn't seem to care about making movies with flashy cinematography and editing, he goes with pretty standard stuff, but it really works well for his material. The way the story evolves is amazing, especially given that there's no prologue, it throws you right into extradimensional murder, but it still manages to both raise expectations and weirdness while it never feels like it's coming out of left field. As mentioned before, the performances are all great, especially the main trio of Jeff Combs, Barbara Crampton, and Ken Foree. Their flips between reality and heightened beings are really fun to watch and make the movie that much creepier. This is a really weird and fun one, like the funhouse mirror version of Cronenberg's The Fly. Completed: Beyond the Black Rainbow, Rabid, The Driller Killer, Phantasm*, Phantasm II, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, Phantasm IV: Oblivion, Phantasm V: Ravager, The Prowler, The House of the Devil, From Beyond *denotes rewatches
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Sep 25, 2017 03:49
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 1. They Look Like People (2015) Tense and paranoid. The script does an excellent job of endearing you to the cast and then making you absolutely terrified of what they might do. It only gets four pumpkins out of five because I feel like its message might be a little naive, but otherwise it's a strong recommendation. 
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Sep 25, 2017 04:26
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Ambitious Spider posted:1)Ghostwatch Yeah, you're looking for Jean Rollins when you wanna go with kind of classy ( not all the time in fact not even mot of the time) lesbian vampire flicks. I will say the only film I really like of Jess Francos is Female Vampire like his films are interesting from a " This guy had no budget and it looks decent" but also " it looks like he has no budget". I mean they're basically soft core porn. Actuall some aren't even soft core.
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Sep 25, 2017 06:17
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I might get going on this in the next few days. I'm going to try and do 31 including the following from a pass over my Letterboxd watch list/various notes to self: - The Exorcist - Woman in the Dunes - The Hidden - Society - The Love Witch - April Fool's Day - Child's Play (not that one, the Sidney Lumet/James Mason 1972 one) - Phantasm - Phenomena - The Lure - Faust - Vampyr - Christine - Cujo - The Eyes of My Mother - The Blackcoat's Daughter - Funny Games - The Sentinel - Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors - Constantine - I Walked with a Zombie - What We Do In The Shadows
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Sep 25, 2017 06:50
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Hollismason posted:Yeah, you're looking for Jean Rollins when you wanna go with kind of classy ( not all the time in fact not even mot of the time) lesbian vampire flicks. yea, I love Rollins.He's definitely an arthouse soul trapped in an exploitation body. Not vampires, but doesn't get much better than Iron Rose for me.
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Sep 25, 2017 11:03
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Ambitious Spider posted:yea, I love Rollins.He's definitely an arthouse soul trapped in an exploitation body. Not vampires, but doesn't get much better than Iron Rose for me. I'm a fan of Demoniacs best myself. It's like he's trying to make a Bertolt Brecht play.
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Sep 25, 2017 11:40
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8. I Drink Your Blood This is one of the notorious early '70s exploitation/horror movies I saw in the trailers for "Mad Ron's Prevues From Hell" that I decided to check out; it's on Shudder if you're interested. Satanist hippies in a Manson-like cult rape a small town girl and force her grandfather to take LSD; in revenge, the girl's little brother feeds the hippies rabies-infected food, turning them into murderous maniacs who are afraid of water because, you know, rabies (hydrophobia, which is used here in the film as the "monster weakness"). This was famously paired with another film that was retitled to "I Eat Your Skin" as a double feature, and from what I read this was also the first film rated X for violence (limbs are hacked off, there's a decapitation, etc.) - wild for the time but it feels pretty tame for the most part by today's standards (the animals in the flick though have it rough - chicken has its neck snapped, dead rats are roasted, etc.). I thought that, compared to other films from this period, it's actually pretty well shot for the budget they had with some creative use of lighting, but it is at heart still kind of sleazy - the movie ups the numbers of maniacs by having one of the women cultists sleep with an entire nearby construction crew and infecting them and the whole thing is sort of cringe-inducing. The cult members are, for the most part, more memorable than our nominal protagonists, mainly because the leader and one or two others are pretty charismatic and funny actors; it's striking and feels a little ahead of the time because the group is multicultural and there's a pretty even mix of men and women in the group, but you know it's like that because it's the early '70s and hippies are evil. I also love a movie that ends with the kid who started the whole thing by deliberately poisoning people happily wandering around in a field a mere minute after we see people gunned down and hacked to bits.
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Sep 25, 2017 14:06
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3/31, Deathgasm: A great New Zealand horror comedy that takes a lot of inspiration from Evil Dead 2. The zombie-ish demons, especially, are reminiscent of the deadites. Good gore effects, cheery metal atmosphere, it's light fair, but enjoyable. 4/5 drill guitars
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Sep 25, 2017 14:32
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X-Ray Pecs posted:Basebf555... hello Well hello there. My pineal is tingling... Speaking of, I did a Vincent Price double feature on Saturday and for the first time I watched:  The Tingler This was a pleasant surprise, I expected it to be a lot schlockier than it was, it's actually a very well made film. I suppose I'd always known it as that Price movie with the gimmick, and I'd seen this video that plays before it starts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FQm30eQn7I The Tingler is in the great Frankenstein tradition of mad scientists pursuing the secret knowledge of the universe in their basement(or attic depending on how far....beyond the knowledge is)labs. In this case, the secret of fear is what our protagonist is interested in. The true nature of The Tingler is revealed, and yes it is ridiculous, but also drat creepy. As with any good story of this type, the movie lays out the rules and the audience is well aware of them. We know how The Tingler kills and how to avoid it, and if you're sitting in your seat in the theatre and the base of your spine began to vibrate...  Price gives his usual strong performance and that, combined with the unique premise and some very nice black and white cinematography made it a thoroughly enjoyable watch. Definitely recommended. Then, inspired by a discussion in the horror thread I rewatched:  The Masque of the Red Death For me this is far and above almost all of Corman's other films on a visual level. The use of color is just fantastic, there are very few shots in the film that don't feature some kind of vivid, colorful costumes or sets.  Price seems to change costumes in every scene, each one as ridiculous as the last.     All of the Corman/Poe adaptations that star Vincent Price are worth checking out, I'm resisting the temptation to watch them all this year, but you can't really go wrong with any of them. Next up, I'm starting a run of Tobe Hooper that will take me up to October 1st! CompletedThe Wicker Man, Deadly Blessing, Night Creatures, Shock Waves, Slugs, Venom, Maximum Overdrive, Christine, The Tingler, The Masque of the Red Death
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Sep 25, 2017 14:45
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Basebf555 posted:Well hello there. My pineal is tingling... It's funny how some of the films in my completely random seat-of-my-pants lineup fit together, because that weirdness feels totally in line visually and what it makes the characters do with the armpit vagina-penis worm thing from Rabid.
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Sep 25, 2017 14:55
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Moving went great, so I managed to get an early start and will probably finish more movies than the 31 initially expected. #1 Evolution (2015) Well shot, heavy on atmosphere, but it failed to keep me interested. There is a lot going on thematically, but it just wasn't engaging and even at less than 90 minutes I just didn't care anymore towards the end. I felt this was quite similar to Beyond the Black Rainbow, which I also didn't care much for. Plenty of people here seem to like that movie so perhaps you'll enjoy Evolution too. #2 Tremors (1990) This was a solid, enjoyable flick. It doesn't do anything too original, but it does all of it well and with an interesting monster without ever getting dull. #3 Wrong Turn (2003) Pretty average movie, though the parts in the tower and the trees were memorable. I read the sequel is a lot better so I might give that one a try, but will definitely skip parts 3 till 6 #4 The Hitcher (1986) It has some pacing issues and feels inconsistent in what it wants to show and what not, but it also hits the right tone about being in over your head with no way out and how terrifying that can be. Four movies before October even started. Nothing that blew me away so far, but nothing truly dire either.
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Sep 25, 2017 15:02
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X-Ray Pecs posted:It's funny how some of the films in my completely random seat-of-my-pants lineup fit together, because that weirdness feels totally in line visually and what it makes the characters do with the armpit vagina-penis worm thing from Rabid. I remember back in May during that challenge I ended up doing a triple feature of Chris Sarandon movies but it was 100% by accident. I had intended to do Child's Play/Fright Night(completely forgetting that he was even in Child's Play) because they're both directed by Tom Holland, but then I also just coincidentally watched The Resurrected right after that and oh poo poo look who showed up again, it's Chris Sarandon.
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Sep 25, 2017 15:05
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Basebf555 posted:I remember back in May during that challenge I ended up doing a triple feature of Chris Sarandon movies but it was 100% by accident. I had intended to do Child's Play/Fright Night because they're both directed by Tom Holland, but then I also just coincidentally watched The Resurrected right after that and oh poo poo look who showed up again, it's Chris Sarandon. Rabid also followed well from Beyond the Black Rainbow, because they're both about women in weird medical institutions for their own safety.
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Sep 25, 2017 15:07
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#8 In the Mouth of Madness - So Sutter Cane is basically Stephen King but better and New Hampshire instead of Maine. Plus a large dose of Lovecraft and Carpenter directing. I didn't know anything about it going in and it was great. "Reality is not what it used to be". 4/5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--wAw7gBQxU #9 Inland Empire - What the gently caress? I was expecting something a little more in line with Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive, where the film makes sense once its over but I feel like I missed something here. The run-time was fine, and it was engaging the whole way through and certainly horrifying. And I don't think Lynch is just having a laugh at the expense of the audience here, but this didn't quite hit for me and I feel pretty lost and mixed on it overall. Some of the imagery was really effective though and Laura Dern is great.  /5Total: 9 Butterly Murders [4/5], Candyman: Day of the Dead [1/5], The Fog [4/5], Demons [5/5], Demons 2 [4/5], Prom Night [2/5], The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [5/5], In the Mouth of Madness [4/5], Inland Empire [3/5] Letterboxd list
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Sep 25, 2017 16:35
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The Return of the Living Dead 1985, dir. Dan O'Bannon | Rental "And now you made me hurt myself again! You made me break my hand completely off this time Tina! But I don't care Darlin', because I love you, and you've got to let me EAT YOUR BRAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIINS!"  Basebf555's Staff Pick It's been a few years since I've seen this movie, and it deserves this declaration: Holy poo poo, I Love This Movie. A punk rock zombie horror comedy from the mid-80's with only physical effects, written and directed by Dan O'Bannon. That's pretty much every one of my favorite adjectives for a film, besides maybe "Lynchian" and "surreal". Several things define this film: The characters are awesome. We get a group of punk rock weirdos, several bumbling medical supply distributor workers, and a mortician. They all have a chemistry that works very well, especially Don Calfa as the mortician (I didn't pick up on the Nazi details again this time), but there's an unpredictability with who's going to die when. They all seem to be hosed at all times. The only black character survives, he's the most likeable of the punks, and he's not a walking stereotype (well, he does play the same character in Friday the 13th Part 5...). Linnea Quigley stands out (of course) for her nudity, her bizarre sexual characterization, and a disturbing flesh-colored codpiece which is more horrific than pubic hair or actual genitalia. She also has the most ironic death in the film (somewhat tragic), but is rewarded by becoming a kick-rear end albino(?) zombie with extending mouth.  Smart Zombies! These zombies can walk and talk, they can plan, but they never break from being "zombies". It's a weird tight-rope that the film nails, and it leads to some of the most memorable moments and biggest jokes. My favorite zombie films use the tape-worm rule: if a zombie loses a limb, it still has sentience and the limbs are still "alive". It also uses the classic "Braaaains" chant, which originates with this movie(?; tell me if I'm wrong). The melty zombie at the beginning is one of my all-time favorites. His movement and facial animations are perfect. And there are great amputee moments, which leads to one of my other favorite scenes in this movie.  The films aesthetic is also grimey and punk rock. I love the Suicide Car, all the graffiti, the graveyard. Making the rainy night acid rain is brilliant and adds a new level of anxiety and terror to the entire film. The green cloud scene is also perfect.  / 5I rented this online (It's no longer on Shudder or Amazon Primse  ), but I saw that Wal-Mart has a blu-ray with a cover designed by (some artist who's name I can't find anywhere now), and it looks cool: As far as I know, it's got the same special features as the other blu-ray editions, and it's $10, so I may as well buy it. So, to rank my favorite zombie movies, as of now: 1. Dead Alive 2. Return of the Living Dead 3. Shaun of the Dead 4. Dawn of the Dead (original) 5. Cemetary Man I count the Evil Dead films as demon movies, but they're also zombie movies and would change that list up. I've seen Return of the Living Dead Part 3, and I remember enjoying it for how mean, nasty and bat-poo poo insane it was (it embraces an ugly punk aesthetic, but it's not as charming or funny), and I don't think I've seen Part 2, so I'll probably check them out in the near future. Thematic Links: After avoiding them for years, I've mostly been watching zombie movies! Thanks a lot, Random Generator! Movies Watched NEW: I Walked With A Zombie, Dead & Buried, The Mummy ('59), The Resurrected, Critters, Cemetery Man. The Return of the Living Dead REWATCH: SHORT FILMS (not counted in goal): Junk Head 1; TOTAL: 7
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Sep 25, 2017 18:55
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