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Irony.or.Death posted:21. Fermat's Room - It's a horror movie about mathematicians of course it's cool. You could fairly criticize it for being a little too straightforward, but I did not particularly mind while I was watching and I don't think I mind in retrospect either. Lots of good performances (Fermat in particular has a couple scenes that are perfect) and some A+ shots of night driving which was an unexpected bonus. The night driving shots are actually CGI. Anyway: glad you found a copy, and glad you didn't hate it.
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Oct 3, 2017 08:35
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#10 Patchwork (2015) Really enjoyed this one. It was funny, not afraid to ham it up and clearly enjoys taking the Re-Animator idea out for a spin. I did feel the last half hour wasn't as good as what came before, but even though it doesn't quite stick the landing there was plenty to keep me interested.
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Oct 3, 2017 08:44
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1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) 2. TCM: The Beginning 3. Halloween (2007) 4. Friday the 13th (2009) 5. Hollywood Ghost Stories (1986) 6. Halloween 2 (2009) 7. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) 8. Scream 4  So, the one thing Scream movies are known for is complete intentionality. That any creative decision is made with a purpose, and generally it's most known for using these choices to comment on horror movies. And this especially goes for the infamous openings. And this film, it's hard to really discern a reason or message that comes from it's own opening. It's kinda just saying 'Hey, Horror Movies have a lot of sequels', and not really going beyond that. It doesn't feel like a cutting criticism or even a loving homage, it feels like it's just stating a fact and not really going beyond that. It feels kinda lazy and not super insightful. It's left me wondering what the purpose or point to this film is, and I suspect that it's a running theme. As is, the main trio still works for me. They have a fun chemistry that you can still feel, and they are the thing that gives the film gravitas. A sense of importance that the film probably wouldn't have. As for the rest of the cast, I don't really feel it. While not interchangeable (which is a notable step up from some of the films I've watched), none of them really stand out as particularly interesting or likeable. It's hard to get a sense of the purpose of teens being in the movie. I could get it if there was a kinda vibe of the events being a 'remake' of the first. But aside from some lip service, the film's story and structure don't really point to that. And the incredibly strong presence of the original cast and the overt references to the previous films makes it just come across as a direct sequel. You can have the characters say it's a sequel as much as you like, but without creating those parallels, it just comes across as the film trying to force an idea on the audience. That said, the generation split in the cast just comes across as the Adults being forced to interact with these kids for arbitrary reasons. And like I said, no one is really that interesting or worth noting about. The one I can say the most about is Allison Brie's character, played the most broadly and comically. Unfortunate that she isn't allowed to survive for very long, and as a result her promise feels unfulfilled. As for the commentary, it does enough preaching about structure and expectation but it just results in the same film as the first 3. In fact it's fairly similar to 3, where it does a lot of preaching but not a lot acting. At least it does say something somewhat accurate to how horror has quote-unquote 'evolved', but it doesn't have the increased brutality, music video style, nothing other than the generally same events again without much comment. It tells a factual history about what's happened in Horror, but it's like the 3rd film in that it has a presumption about how the rules have changes. But they haven't really, it's just assuming things without having seriously analysed them. Maybe it's that Horror hadn't really 'died' like it had in the 90's, and thus have a concrete body of work to comment upon. It's always been kinda popular, and the films that have been popular have kinda changed about over the years. It's harder to make a comment when a decade of torture porn/deadly trap films was followed by Found Footage and movies about hauntings, both being paralleled by a number of slasher remakes and zombie films. There's not a great clear line to take from it. But as is, it's scattershot approach to saying 'something' doesn't make for a good film. As is, what probably could have worked instead is leaning into the unfocused direction horror has taken. Upon Sydney's return, several killers take the Ghostface identity. Each one taking a different approach to their killings based on their view of what Horror is. Each working independent from one another, each amassing a sizeable body count. One takes their victim to a closed location, forces them into games of death based on horror films, with the aim to only leave on alive (at best). One is trying to make it look like the ghosts of the previous film's killers are back from the grave. One is straight up redoing the first film's kills, bodies laid out in exact recreation of the original. With how diverse the kills are, the only thing guaranteed is that the main three won't die (but they won't remain unharmed), until it all comes together in Act 3. As is, this film remains exactly what I thought it would be, a film without point or purpose. In a weird way, it's pretty much exactly like the remakes I'm watching. Desperately trying to recapture what was great about it's excellent initial entry, and ends up failing when it both tries to update it for modern audiences and when it tries to be faithful to the series. It's bad, and I'd much rather watch the original (and the sequel) in it's place. Exactly alike the other films. 9. Texas Chainsaw 3D  Okay, what the gently caress is up with this opening. Where did this 'Family' come from. The film suggested that it's only ever been The Proprietor, The Hitchhiker, Grandpa, and Leatherface. Now there's Hillbilly cousin and woman with a baby and god knows how many. For what is supposed a direct sequel, following up in the hours after the first, it sure is playing fast and loose with the facts. As much promise as there is in the premise of the cops coming for the killer, a big ol' shootout with a bunch of hillpeople feels completely anticlimactic. Throw in a bunch of un-fun, un-likable assholes looting the place, and the film's already left with a sour taste. And speaking of being unfaithful, boy this film looks bad. It's way too digital, way too clean, and way too brightly lit. This may be the worst looking film I've seen, ever. Everything leading up to Texas is so weirdly antithetical to TCM that it's hard to take it seriously. And even when it's actually in Texas it feels off. It's too green, too gothic, too nice. I'm just wondering if the people behind the film have any sense of what made the original film any good. There might be the argument that it's a side effect of the fact that it was filmed in 3D, but I'm more likely to believe it's just that the people behind the camera didn't even try. And I do want to put a spotlight on it's violence. Namely, that it's so awfully fake looking that it ruins what could have been the only good part of the film. It's so plasticy and rubbery looking, and when limbs and such are being chopped off it just looks like action effects blood splatter. It's just embarrassing. As for story, it's even worse. The entire basis for the story is that this nice, well kept mansion belongs to a family whose two defining traits is poverty leading them to cannibalism, and an inability to clean up after themselves. And the other crux is that a stolen baby, who should have been impossible to find, is found without any explanation or answers to the dozens of questions. And once we get past that, it's just a bunch of hateful characters making dumb decisions that get them or someone killed. And when it isn't killing, it's a bunch of downtime that's a slog to get through. You get a bunch of scenes of people being dicks, doing things without purpose, or being driven by knowledge they shouldn't know, or just by spite. For example, the Mayor wanting to kill the protagonist because his carnival was ruined by a man running through it with a chainsaw (even though no one was killed). And let me say how disappointing it is that a film that promises 'Leatherface runs through a carnival, waving his chainsaw wildly' can't deliver that scene without a single death or even an ounce of blood. Speaking of the cast, they all universally defined as being really boring, really dumb, and just really awful people, and there's nothing else to really say about them. As for Leatherface, he just looks like a kinda shlubby dad. The mask may look gross, but his body looks like that Tiny Guy who yelled at that Trumpet Player. It's hard to take him seriously as someone with insane superhuman strength. The only time he has any imposing physicality is in one of the final shots when they stood him on an apple box next to the lead actress. And trying to make him into a sympathetic little puppy of a man just doesn't work when this film is supposed to be a direct sequel the original, a fill where he is unequivocally an indiscriminate and psychotic killer, or even the first hour when he mercilessly kills all of her friends. It's just bad decisions on top of bad decisions. Overall, it's really cheap movie and that's even worse than it's budget suggest. Any references to the original are surface level at best. The dead armadillo, the screeching whine, the photography flashes, the slamming door, the live human on a meathook, all of it is done done without the style and visceral craft that even the original remake captured. It tries to be something new, but there was a certain misguided blind faith in it's ideas would work on film. Instead, the entire thing comes across as immature, misguided, and lacking in any talent. It's fanfiction that's barely above the level of fan films. It's would have been the best if it stopped at the anti-climatic and completely bloodless carnival scene and not waste 40 minutes of everyone's time. As is, this might the worst out of all of the film's I've watch for this challenge, both this year and last. And I hate that I paid $4 to rent it (stupid russian sites don't even have an okay copy of this film). At least now I have caught up with these slasher films. I hope to catch Leatherface later this month, as long as it plays in any of the theatres around me. At the very least, it can't be worse than this one.
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Oct 3, 2017 09:03
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5. The Wicker Man (1973) Finally, I can combine my love of Christopher Lee with my love of pagan fertility rites and folk music about fuckin'! Four pumpkins out of five because it's a little slow to start and the plot feels a little obvious, but the great imagery and character keep it from ever being dull. 
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Oct 3, 2017 11:40
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1. Cigarette Burns I've been on a Carpenter binge a while back, and came to the conclusion that In the Mouth of Madness was his last great movie. However, the Horror Thread has mentioned this episode of Masters of Horror as a stand out for late Carpenter, so I gave it a watch, and I'm glad I did. It shares some similarity with ItMoM due to its noir structure, but what it most directly reminded me of was The Ninth Gate, with a few touches of 8MM. I would love for this to have been a full feature, as it's maybe a bit too ambitious for its budget and running time, but it's definitely great. 2. Demons Demons 2 has left a big impression on me as a kid for the whole TV sequence, which I saw in a trailer as a kid. So for that reason, I prefer the sequel, but I liked the first one well enough. The whole punk subplot seems a bit grafted on, but fun nevertheless. The vent sequence was very effective. 3. Maniac Cop I expected something completely different, but I knew I was in for something cool when I saw Larry Cohen in the credits. We have young Bruce Campbell, and another great performance by Tom Atkins. I'm looking forward to the sequel. 4. Messiah of Evil This has been on my to-watch list for ages thanks to the Horror thread, and I'm glad I finally gave it a shot. I love the somber narration and the nightmarish atmosphere. Definitely recommend.
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Oct 3, 2017 13:56
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Jedit posted:The night driving shots are actually CGI. All of them or just the overhead one near the end? I guess I was drunker than I thought, if the former.
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Oct 3, 2017 15:24
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Is anyone planning on watching The Lure for their challenge? They finally put the soundtrack on Spotify
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Oct 3, 2017 15:25
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3. The Wicker Man (Nicholas Cage bullshit one) I love my wife dearly. She's an amazing woman, an incredible mother, and my soulmate. However, despite all of that, we can still make recommendations to each other for movies that we think the other will like, and be totally off-base (I thought she'd love Cabin In The Woods), which is the case here. Don't watch this poo poo. If you feel compelled to, get the Rifftrax version. .5/5 Deaths By Bees 
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Oct 3, 2017 15:44
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9/31, Leviathan: This Alien knockoff (seriously, it looks like they even tried to build the same sets) is better than lots of others because the obvious budget - the Stan Winston creature effects are pretty great, Peter Weller and Ernie Hudson are pretty great, and the Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack, also pretty great. Peter Weller shouting "Say Aaah, motherfucker" before throwing some kind of mining explosive into the creatures mouth after a completely inexplicable shark scare is hilarious. 4/5 evil corporate 80s executive ladies a foolish pianist fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Oct 3, 2017 |
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Oct 3, 2017 16:07
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Maybe I'll watch Leviathan with Pumpkinhead for the Stan Winston connection. I've never seen it and barely remember Pumpkinhead either.
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Oct 3, 2017 16:09
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Franchescanado posted:Is anyone planning on watching The Lure for their challenge? They finally put the soundtrack on Spotify Me! Just waiting for the Blu Ray to become available through Netflix. Might be a week or two.
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Oct 3, 2017 16:25
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a foolish pianist posted:9/31, Leviathan: I hated Leviathan then and I hate it now, mostly because it's a slow-burning movie that doesn't seem to want to have any fun, especially compared to the Sean S Cunningham Deepstar 6 which came out the same summer and had not only a gorier, funner time killing people, but had the MUCH better movie poster: 
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Oct 3, 2017 16:28
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Hannibal Rex posted:2. Demons I'm really really happy to see these three flicks pop up on so many folks' lists.  Messiah of Evil especially, it's great to see folks talking about it online a little more.
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Oct 3, 2017 16:58
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Neo Rasa posted:I'm really really happy to see these three flicks pop up on so many folks' lists. Boogey gets big props for pimping Messiah of Evil in the horror thread
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Oct 3, 2017 17:06
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Irony.or.Death posted:All of them or just the overhead one near the end? I guess I was drunker than I thought, if the former. Just the overhead one. They might have back projected the others, though, it's amazing how often that still gets done.
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Oct 3, 2017 17:08
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I got a busy day and had a frustrating night. Just a short recap of my #31daysofhorror before bed last night since the last writeup #6 Beyond The Gates (2016) In 1992, Bob opened up a massive small town video store with his family. Cut to present day, and he's been missing seven months. His two sons, Gordon the straight-laced nerd that moved out of town, and John the hapless bum type who stayed, meet up after a long time estranged, assuming he's probably dead, and start boxing up the now closed store. They end up finding in their dad's office an old VHS board game, "Beyond The Gates" and later along with Margot, Gordon's girlfriend who came with him, they decide to play. Only the horror host on the screen (Barbara Crampton!) seems to be addressing them directly, and others can't see anything but static. She tells them that only by completing the game will they free their father's soul. Quickly into playing, the freaked out trio discover that the game seems to be affecting the reality around them... This movie, watched on a whim because I liked the box art, was a lot of fun for me. It feels almost like a throwback to the 80s in its style, like something like The Gate or something. Plus it has a simply fantastic soundtrack, very cannily aping 80s Italian Horror electro-prog. Gordon and John really feel like real brothers which I appreciated too. Also, unexpected over the top gore is fun as well. My only complaint is that the pacing is kinda off, but it's otherwise a movie that left me with a huge nostalgic grin. I give Beyond The Gates and a half out of Five (Also tangential to the thread bonus, at one point early on in the video store, John is watching Messiah of Evil while Gordon works away)#7 Scream Girls aka Hikiko-San (2008) There's this group of school girls who are kinda horror nerds, into all the big movies that they trade amongst themselves, and run a website about things like murders and stuff, especially the recent spree of someone taking small children and skinning them. The girls seem especially obsessed with the urban legend of "Hikiko-San" a real life spread story like our Bloody Mary in the west, about a teen girl who was so abused by her family and people at school that she accidentally died, and now the girl covered in deep cuts and bandages limps around kidnapping bullies everywhere. However, as these are young teen girls, they have their cruel, fickle natures, and suddenly decide to start excluding one of their own, Kaoru. They decide to no longer speak to her, and to no longer help her with the website. If that weren't enough, in her home life her father gets out his work stress by drinking and beating her. At school, her tormentors slowly start ramping up the torture, causing her real physical injury. Her only solace is a pen pal on the website who calls themselves Hikiko after the ghost story. The escalation in injury eventually leads to school counselor involvement, which only makes her father more mad, and he starts literally boarding her up in her room when not at school, breaking her cell phone (and internet connection) over her head, making her lose contact with Hikiko. Later at school, panicking, she borrows a phone to contact Hikiko, only to learn it was one of her bully former friends in disguise. The two fight, and Kaoru falls down a staircase, and is hurt so badly she can no longer attend school. Boarded up in her room, her mind cracks and all she can think about is Hikiko. Using a nail file, she starts cutting herself up like her. When her father lets her out she kills him and her mother, and limps out to avenge herself on her bullies, literally becoming a new Hikiko. Let me start by saying I began looking into this DTV series because I found out that my Ringu/Ju-On completionism from last year's challenge was missing some rarities not mentioned in a lot of places. Kyako was not the first Asian franchise Sadako had crossed over with. Apparently eventually she meets Hikiko in a direct to video film, as well as another where she tackles a Chinese franchised ghost. Great. To make matters worse, despite there being like, six Hikiko films (half of them are vs films too) there's EXTREMELY little information about them in the Western world. Gods what a headache. I can barely find anything at all about the second film, "Shin Hikiko-San", which is especially trying as a lot of English sources erroneously label this first movie by that similar title. Anyways, about this one. For a DTV horror, it's not that bad. Most of it seems to focus on the way that violence and bullying is met with turned away faces in Japan, and how bad it gets in the classroom, especially with the "Mean Girls" phenomenon that is in every school. Not only that, but how domestic violence is just not talked about. I've seen enough Japanese films to give me the impression that there's this huge victim-blaming culture there, and it's kinda horrifying. This film spends most of its running time on all of this, and very little on spookiness. It feels much more like an "origin story" than anything else. Regardless, it's not terrible. I give Scream Girls out of Five
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Oct 3, 2017 17:09
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Dr. Angela Ziegler posted:I hated Leviathan then and I hate it now, mostly because it's a slow-burning movie that doesn't seem to want to have any fun, especially compared to the Sean S Cunningham Deepstar 6 which came out the same summer and had not only a gorier, funner time killing people, but had the MUCH better movie poster: Deepstar 6 is definitely the crazier film, but the production doesn't hold up as well as Leviathan's, I don't think. I haven't watched it in a couple of years, though, so maybe I'll put it on the list for this month and see if I need to revise my opinion. That said, 10/31, From Beyond: There's nothing I can say about this film that hasn't been gone over again and again in the horror thread, especially by Basebf555, the forums' resident superfan, so I'll just call this a solid 5/5 pokie pineal glands. I've got a nasty cold, so I'm staying home from work and racking up the film viewings.
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Oct 3, 2017 18:13
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 #14 Planet of the Vampires - The atmosphere and the set and costume design are all fantastic. The rest of it was fine, but just doesn't quite give me enough to care about. 3/5 Total: 14 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], Vampyr [4/5], Scanners [4/5], The Manitou [3/5], Crimson Peak [4/5], Planet of the Vampires [3/5] Letterboxd list
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Oct 3, 2017 18:23
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Two more first time viewings. 4. Maniac Cop: I'd love it regardless of anything if just for Bruce Campbell but it was actually a solid enough slasher. 5. Scars of Dracula: A terrible movie and a whole lot of fun. I love Hammer's sets, models, painted mattes, abuse of red, and tits-a-poppin' everywhere for no reason than appeal to undersexed Englishmen. Also a general appreciation for actors wrestling with foam creatures. And an eternal love for props on fishing line. The muttonchops on cowardly cop #2 stole an entire scene 
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Oct 3, 2017 18:58
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October 3 - Black Sabbath (Note: this poster contains more headless horsemen than appear in the film.) So I've bounced of Italian horror hard in the past. In my experience it tends to lean hard into aspects of the genre that I don't care for. But for a variety of reasons this year, I'm probably going to be watching quite of a bit of Italian horror so maybe I'll learn to appreciate it. Or at least find some films there that I like. And what better choice for me to start down this road than Bava's Black Sabbath. I kind of like horror anthologies in general, especially ones like Black Sabbath where there's a variety to the stories. More than most genres, horror benefits from getting in quick, hitting you with the horror and getting out; I'm positive I'm going to complain plenty of times this month about clunky pacing. There's no time for that kind of cruft in an anthology. The first of the three stories features a woman alone in her apartment being menaced by phone calls from a former lover who seems to be watching her every move. The timing and knowledge of the caller in this short strains credibility (so she was peeping through the windows, then running back to her own apartment to make the phone call, then running back? And they live close enough that this is possible and never see each other anymore?) but it's fine. The twist was nice (the first one I mean, the second one was the obvious conclusion from the first). The short is a bit slight since the premise pretty much all there is to it and I feel that the actress didn't really go with it. In the second segment, a traveling nobleman stumbles into a remote manor house where the patriarch has left to hunt down a wurdulak, a kind of vampire that especially enjoys the blood of its former loved ones. His family has been told that if he does not come home in five days, then they should kill him if he returns and it's now the evening of the fifth day. Just after the clocks strike midnight, the patriarch (played by Boris Karloff) arrives at the door making them wonder if he is a vampire or not. I loved the locations used in this segment. The manor house and its exterior were just okay, but pretty much everything else looked terrific and Bava gave this segment some real style. It's hard to judge performances but I really liked what Karloff did with his role even if I'm sure he was dubbed; he's just got a look that he's using in his scenes and it's great. The final segment has a nurse called out in the middle of the night to the decrepit house of a crazy cat woman and spiritualist who has died. She's to prepare the body and notices a nice ring that the corpse has on so decides to do a bit of grave robbing to get more payment. But the housekeeper says that the woman died of ghosts and when the nurse gets home things start happening. The thing that stood out to me most in this segment was the lighting. Bava really uses it to enhance the mood in this segment. So overall, I liked the movie. I have finally seen an Italian horror movie that I enjoyed. Hopefully the first of many.
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Oct 3, 2017 19:42
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What are some good recs for a 5 year old? Preferably stuff on Netflix or Amazon Video. After Army of Darkness was a success I'd like to involve him more.
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Oct 3, 2017 19:44
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Retro Futurist posted:What are some good recs for a 5 year old? Preferably stuff on Netflix or Amazon Video. After Army of Darkness was a success I'd like to involve him more. Ernest Scared Stupid And all of the original Universal monster movies Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Oct 3, 2017 |
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Oct 3, 2017 19:53
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I feel like there's such a large gap between my own idea of "horror for five year olds" and "Army of Darkness" that I don't know where to actually go with recommendations. Not that I'm surprised a five year old loves Army of Darkness, of course.
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Oct 3, 2017 19:55
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STAC Goat posted:I feel like there's such a large gap between my own idea of "horror for five year olds" and "Army of Darkness" that I don't know where to actually go with recommendations. It's just because it's not our kid, I'm always very conservative with recommendations when it comes to other people's kids. But when it's your kid you know them really well and you know if they'll be able to handle something like Army of Darkness. Not really horror(although it scared the poo poo out of me as a kid), but if a 5 year old liked Army of Darkness they'd probably love Willow. Lots of dark fantasy stuff in there but still perfectly appropriate for kids.
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Oct 3, 2017 20:00
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Basebf555 posted:It's just because it's not our kid, I'm always very conservative with recommendations when it comes to other people's kids. But when it's your kid you know them really well and you know if they'll be able to handle something like Army of Darkness. Like Return of the Living Dead is a movie I kind of would associate in tone with Army of Darkness and I remember loving it as a kid. But I don't know how retro feels about nudity or if the tar zombie or some other stuff would be worse than Army of Darkness' deadites. And I distinctly remember sneaking watching it when my dad was watching it and him yelling at me when he caught me, and being right since I had nightmares.
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Oct 3, 2017 20:09
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4. Cryptz A z grade movie about gang members fighting vampires. I expected something that would be at least amusing and got very little in the way of satisfaction. The only lines I can remember from the movie are as follows: "When we're done here, you wanna go to the diner and get some chocolate pie?" "I ain't got time for that bullshit!" .5/5 Chocolate Pies
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Oct 3, 2017 20:14
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11/31, Don't Kill It: Dolph Lundgren plays a tired old demon hunter in this horror comedy that netflix recommended me today. I'm not sure when the movie appeared on netflix, but if it's in the last few days, the timing could hardly be worse - it's basically a series of mass shootings, the film. It's got some decent comic elements, though, and the story holds in the thin way it needed to to keep my attention for a sickday afternoon, so 3/5 inappropriately-timed random multiple shootings for this one.
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Oct 3, 2017 20:18
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Retro Futurist posted:What are some good recs for a 5 year old? Preferably stuff on Netflix or Amazon Video. After Army of Darkness was a success I'd like to involve him more. Show her/him Gremlins 2. Not necessarily the first one, since it's a bit too scary, I'd think, but the second one has lots of Army of Darkness-style wackiness, plus bright colors and songs and all sorts of things kids love.
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Oct 3, 2017 20:19
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Seriously, why the hell is Army of Darkness rated R? By modern standards it is absolutely a PG-13, and not a particularly hard one, either (I'd even go as far as PG if they removed the blood fountain and toned down the swearing a touch).
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Oct 3, 2017 20:26
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LORD OF BOOTY posted:Seriously, why the hell is Army of Darkness rated R? By modern standards it is absolutely a PG-13, and not a particularly hard one, either (I'd even go as far as PG if they removed the blood fountain and toned down the swearing a touch). It came out in the early 90s, right? The MPAA had a bit of a puritanical streak in the late 80s and early 90s that wrecked a lot of movies. It's super noticeable when you watch sequels to movies that were PG in the 80s and suddenly they're either rated R or have all the violence scrubbed out so they could keep the rating. Lurdiak fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Oct 3, 2017 |
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Oct 3, 2017 20:28
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LORD OF BOOTY posted:Seriously, why the hell is Army of Darkness rated R? By modern standards it is absolutely a PG-13, and not a particularly hard one, either (I'd even go as far as PG if they removed the blood fountain and toned down the swearing a touch). I imagine it's connection to the previous movies had a lot to do with it. It's not like there's some specific formula that the ratings board uses, they're basically flying by the seat of their pants when they give a rating.
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Oct 3, 2017 20:29
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Yeah, I had an immediate reaction to the idea of Army of Darkness being shown to a kid but then as I thought about it I realized most of my objection comes to the stuff in the Evil Dead movies (and after in the Ash vs Evil Dead show) than actual Army of Darkness that is a lot more cartoonish.
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Oct 3, 2017 20:32
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STAC Goat posted:Yeah, I had an immediate reaction to the idea of Army of Darkness being shown to a kid but then as I thought about it I realized most of my objection comes to the stuff in the Evil Dead movies (and after in the Ash vs Evil Dead show) than actual Army of Darkness that is a lot more cartoonish. I mentioned it in my review but yeah I debated it for a few days and kept a good side eye on him. Only time he got freaked out was in the graveyard with all the dutch angle close ups of Evil Ash. That was my thinking as well, AoD is really campy and cartoony, whereas Evil Dead 2 was totally out of the question. If it were a standalone movie I probably wouldn't have thought twice. Definitely too young for Return of the Living Dead. He likes Zombies as an idea but hell Tar Man's scary to me as a grown man. a foolish pianist posted:Show her/him Gremlins 2. Not necessarily the first one, since it's a bit too scary, I'd think, but the second one has lots of Army of Darkness-style wackiness, plus bright colors and songs and all sorts of things kids love. Hell yes good call. Opopanax fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Oct 3, 2017 |
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Oct 3, 2017 20:54
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Now that we're into October for real I can start mixing in some more of my go-to favorites, so last night was: This poster is bizarre, I guess that's supposed to be Frank? Anyway, Hellraiser never gets old for me, I love how gothic it feels. The score is a huge part of that, and it starts right from the opening credits. The grandeur of the orchestra really sells that you're about to see something dark, but epic in scale. And the film itself is very much NOT epic in scale, which is kind of my point. The score really elevates everything and takes the intensity to a level it wouldn't reach otherwise. Of course the main draw here aside from the Cenobites are the excellent practical effects that in my opinion still look extremely impressive today.  This shot is really just a very small taste, but the film features a character who goes through many different....lets just say "phases" of his existence. One of the other reasons why Hellraiser is endlessly rewatchable is Clare Higgins' Julia. The more you watch it the more she stands side by side with Pinhead as far as what she brings to the party, and I guess the studio/producers agreed because they decided to put a lot more of the focus on her in the sequel,  Julia's back!  And she's pretty drat happy about it too! Hellbound is everything I love in a proper sequel, it refuses to fall back on what worked before and forges ahead with the balls to push past audience expectations. This film has just as many memorable moments as the original(arguably more), and the realm accessed using the Lament Configuration is fully fleshed out and explored, but not overly explained to the point where it becomes boring. We find out lots of little interesting tidbits, but only enough so that we're left wanting to know more. The only criticism I've seen that I tend to agree with is that the ending where Pinhead turns against Leviathan feels a bit forced and was not really earned. A minor quibble considering everything that's in this movie though. Completed:The Wicker Man, Deadly Blessing, Night Creatures, Shock Waves, Slugs, Venom, Maximum Overdrive, Christine, The Tingler, The Masque of the Red Death, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Funhouse, Poltergeist, Lifeforce, Invaders From Mars, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The Seventh Curse, The Mummy, Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II
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Oct 3, 2017 21:13
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12/31 The Houses October Built: A lot of people in this thread have been mentioning it, I guess because it's on netflix now. This film is a slow burn that really relies on its audience being scared of dudes in clown masks for any of that slow burning to be effective. Tedious hand-held shots of clowns for what feels like 40 years, then a few minutes of hand-held Hostel. The beginning feels a bit like Adam Green's Digging Up the Marrow, but it falls rather short of that film (not that that's a super high bar, but I kinda enjoyed Digging up the Marrow, just for its industry cameos and costume work). 1/5 dumb clown masks.
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Oct 3, 2017 21:29
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5. Constantine This was next on the They Shoot Zombies list, and I give it a resounding "meh." The most entertaining parts of it are the various little gimmicks that Constantine uses against the demons, like a screeching beetle that they don't like the sound of, or holding onto a cat because it's a conduit between worlds or some nonsense. Incredibly stupid parts, but they give the film some direly needed levity. This movie really seems to suffer from a serious cynicism of its source material, and Keanu's lifeless delivery of his lines becomes incredibly grating. The whole thing reminds me of that guy in high school we all knew who refused to smile for photos because that would be "too fake." This movie refuses to smile at any point, other than a pretty fun climax with Peter Stormare. 6. Mute Witness Another from They Shoot Zombies, and this was even worst. Imagine a comedy horror movie they would play on Comedy Central in the late 90s. Can you hear the tinny and uninspired soundtrack? Can you see the terrible acting and jokes such as "this character can't cook?" Can you feel the secondhand creepiness of this a few entirely unnecessary boob shots in a movie that would basically never air in someone's home unless a cable network executive signed off on it? Bleh. The one nice part of this movie is the lead actress, who does a good job at being charming and doing some great physical acting. They Shoot Zombies Don't They is almost burning me out on horror. Here's hoping the next one is better.
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Oct 3, 2017 22:58
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Dracula's Daughter (1936) This is a strong entry in the Universal monster canon. All I really knew about going into this was that it is one of the first films with strong lesbian undertones. I was surprised at how closely related it was to Browning’s Dracula. The film picks up right where dracula left offf. I definitely liked this one more than Dracula. I'll be watching Son of Dracula next, so we'll see if that's another good sequel. Rewatches (4): Maniac Cop, Friday the 13th 3, Friday the 13th 4, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 First time watches (12): Mortuary, Little Evil, Eloise, Mother!, The Roommate, The Chaos Experiment, Resident Evil 6, Vacancy, Rings, The Stepfather, Train to Busan, Dracula's Daughter
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Oct 3, 2017 23:23
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I really want to love Constantine because there's a lot of cool stuff in it but I also kind of wished Constantine himself would disappear so we could see stories about all of these other way cooler characters and entities around him.
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Oct 3, 2017 23:35
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fr0id posted:5. Constantine  
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Oct 3, 2017 23:58
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Retro Futurist posted:What are some good recs for a 5 year old? Preferably stuff on Netflix or Amazon Video. After Army of Darkness was a success I'd like to involve him more. The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline are both on Netflix, and I think Paranorman tends to come and go. Now, admittedly, these are movies that I would show a child twice his age, but none of them are as intense as Army of Darkness.
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Oct 4, 2017 00:00
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