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7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) I was not expecting this one to be as dreary, bleak and overwhelming as it became as it went on. You just get this sense of "it's all over" because the protagonists were just simply...people, nothing special realizing pod people are replacing everyone and all they can do is what they can do. I also appreciated the usage of Leonard Nimoy being revealed as an emotionless pod person all along because he was known for playing the emotionless Spock. I guess it would have been clever back then. Now it makes sense why he was at-the-time clarifying his Star Trek character.  / 58. The Visit (2015) This was M Night Shyamalan's big comeback movie after a decade of pure shite. The best I can describe it is, yes, it's another suspenseful movie from him with another twist at the end but that decade of humbling seems to have helped him out. He made a smaller film that feels tighter and more focused on being scary and it works. The twist isn't idiotic either because the movie makes it clear something isn't right and it fits right in. / 5
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Oct 9, 2017 19:45
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Yeah, the Visit works because you go the entire movie expecting a trademarked really ridiculous M. Night twist to ruin a successfully suspenseful movie and then when the twist comes it actually surprises you by making sense and being muted. Night's always been able to tell a good little story and he just loses control when he tries to make it something bigger. He resists that urge in Visit. Devil was ok too. I'm mildly curious to watch Split and see if M. Night has found his groove as a mid level horror director.
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Oct 9, 2017 20:16
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Irony.or.Death posted:28. The Vineyard - First of the late-entry, unofficial staff picks....Definitely gets my seal of approval.  7. Inferno (1980) As a sequel to Suspiria, this was disappointing, but still pretty cool in its own standing. Gorgeous, especially with the lighting, and the score was a lot of fun. More muddled in the story-telling than Suspiria, and none of the sting images really hit the same heights either. But it worked the tone firmly enough that when the climactic transformation into Death happened, I was right on board with what was happening. Was I missing something, or was there no point to the brother's field of study being musicology? Seemed like that was going somewhere when he starting sketching out rough bar measures on a picture of a mansion. Actually, there were quite a few things that seemed like they were going somewhere, but then didn't pick up, like the collection of copies of the same book, or the directions for where to find keys (that one might have just wrapped up much faster than I expected). I've heard that Mother of Tears is straight-up disappointing, which is a shame, since the potential for a bad-rear end trilogy is so strong. At least it's not as bad as Argento's later stuff. 4/5  8. Little Evil (2017) Cute and amusing, and some good Clancy Brown. But it never felt like the script broke past surface gags, and what felt like it might push past that into some new territory (the Antichrist using his powers to defend his step-dad) practically gets kicked out of the movie by a character within ten seconds of it starting to happen. A suitable consistency of acting across the board, with CB being the shining outlier, and some nice moments from the kid. I'd say the best parts came whenever the script put a group of characters together to just shoot funny dialogue at each other, but that's not really helping the story along much. Fun, but insubstantial; I'd recommend Hell Baby over this one for similar but more over-the-top territory coverage. 3/5  9. Night of the Bloody Apes, a.k.a., Gomar: The Human Gorilla, a.k.a., Horror and Sex, a.k.a., Sex Monsters (1969) Semi-ruffled scientist transplants an ape heart into his son to fight the boy's cancer, which naturally causes the son's head to turn into that of an ape, driving him to maraud about town, satisfying his carnal desires without acquiring consent from his partners. This is apparently a Mexican remake of another film, which kind of explains the plot thread about a masked woman wrestler (girlfriend of the main police detective) trying to get out of fighting. And somehow, with all that, it's still a boring movie. There's a few nice shots (like the super-scaled-down King Kong climax recreation), but these are definitely the exceptions to this film's standard. The dubbing does lead to some funny lines ("A dead man. A dead man! A dead man! A dead man!"... "There's a man around that corner. He's dead." and "This man's been murdered. Call an ambulance."), and the awkwardly-staged cheesecake and doorway from regular late-'60s living room to mad scientist lair are good for some laughs, but really, it doesn't amount to much more than some fodder for something like Cinematic Titanic. 2/5  10. Night School, a.k.a., Terror Eyes (1981) This was a step up from the preceding film, but not by all that much. Fairly interesting premise (anthropology specialist re-enacting head-hunting rites in the city), but it takes at least half an hour to even introduce the reasons for what's happening, and then doesn't build on them too much. Clumsy dialogue and characters without much distinction, but a neat design for the killer, and a slow-motion motorcycle jump towards the climax. Outside of a few scenes (especially one with a stew-pot), nothing too memorable. 2/5  11. Kill, Granny, Kill! (2014) Pretty stock DTV-grade movie about a murderous granny, and while there's some cannibalism thrown in, that doesn't really affect anything. Logistically confusing ending, but no surprises in between it and the start of the movie. Some decent gore effects, a pun-kill or two, and a severed penis that stays erect. Kind of funny, but not especially so. The best thing about it was the nine or so trailers on the DVD, which included Lizard Man, Call Girl of Cthulhu, and My Fair Zombie. Other than that, I can't recommend this even for a mock-watch session. Dull, but competent enough, with the set dressing probably coming off strongest in the film-making aspects. 2/5  12. Jack-O, a.k.a., Jack O'Lantern (1995) Grabbed this one at a local video rental place because I thought I remembered seeing the cover at my childhood video store. Well, also because it had Linnea Quigley and Fred Olen Ray's names on the back of the box. It was a lot more fun than I was expecting, and it really shone as the second half of a double feature with Kill, Granny, Kill! (and not just because of Quigley doing her usual displays). Shot better, lit better, more interesting and creative story, way better effects (practical ones, too), and an organic feel to the way the characters' paths kept crossing as they ran around the town independently. It did sort of feel like someone watched Pumpkinhead, went 'Wait, why isn't his head a pumpkin?', and made this film to fix that. Back-story is that a wizard summons a demon (the "Pumpkin Man") in olden times, and a man goes off to slay the demon, leaving his wife and son to live on without him. Decades later, some of those drat rock-lovin' '80s teens cause the Pumpkin Man to return (on Halloween, naturally) and start killing off the town's inhabitants, and only the young descendant of the demon's original slayer has a chance at stopping it. I did get worried when Cameron Mitchell's name popped up in the credits, but he ended up just being a cameo, along with Dawn Wildsmith, John Carradine, and (in a somewhat bigger role) Brinke Stevens. Apparently the DVD commentary with director Steve Latshaw (whose son played the main kid) and Fred Olen Ray is worth checking out as they irritate each other, and ends with them screaming "gently caress YOU!" at each other, so I've still got that to check out on a slow night. Biggest laughs came from the crazy eyes of the mother (played by Maddisen Krown under the name Rebecca Wicks), which led to more goosebumps than anything else in the movie. Hearty endorsement of this for anyone looking for some good '80s horror rental fun. 3/5
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Oct 9, 2017 20:22
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Yea The Sixth Sense was kind of a shame in the sense that right out of the gate Shyamalan was like this prestige director who had to make scary, yet serious and sophisticated films. Which never seemed to be his ambition really, ever since then he's been trying(with varying degrees of success) to get back to his real roots which are a lot more simple and fun. I think it was very telling that he tried so hard to get that Tales from the Crypt reboot off the ground, he seemed very personally invested in that.
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Oct 9, 2017 20:24
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Yeah, it seems theoretically like he just got too invested in the hype and expectations of Sixth Sense and felt like every movie needed some mind blowing twist that he just couldn't deliver. If he's far enough removed from the hype and expectations then hopefully that frees him up to just tell the stories he wants at the pace he wants without feeling he NEEDS to do anything. I was really interested in the Tales From the Crypt revival from him and disappointed that it fizzled out. I could definitely see him doing well with that since he obviously has lots of story ideas and a light hearted anthology like that gives you a great outlet to try a lot out. If it sucks or is too crazy it was just a short production and there's a new story a week away. Although from what I could tell the whole hold up on it seemed to be legal rights which really made me wonder why he doesn't just come up with a new name and host character and do everything else the same. He should go talk to SyFy about Julian Slink. STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Oct 9, 2017 |
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Oct 9, 2017 20:31
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STAC Goat posted:I'm mildly curious to watch Split and see if M. Night has found his groove as a mid level horror director. Split is, if anything, better than The Visit. Definitely worth checking out.
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Oct 9, 2017 20:35
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STAC Goat posted:Although from what I could tell the whole hold up on it seemed to be legal rights which really made me wonder why he doesn't just come up with a new name and host character and do everything else the same. He should go talk to SyFy about Julian Slink. I think it's funny to imagine that the network refused to do it without that rear end in a top hat the Crypt Keeper, but then that rear end in a top hat the Crypt Keeper asked for like 6 figures an episode or something so the whole thing collapsed. I just made that up but it easily could have gone down that way.
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Oct 9, 2017 20:43
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Sir Kodiak posted:Split is, if anything, better than The Visit. Definitely worth checking out. Yes but did Split have a poopy diaper reveal? I think not. 
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Oct 9, 2017 20:50
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Drunkboxer posted:Yes but did Split have a poopy diaper reveal? I think not. No, but it had a young woman pissing herself, which'll do in a pinch.
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Oct 9, 2017 20:58
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6. The Void: A police officer drops a junkie off at a hospital that ends up being ground zero for a big cultist ritual. Had a cool Silent Hill vibe, but lots of questionable choices by the characters, and aside from the cultists (who mostly just stood around ominously) it just didn't really stand out. 7. In the Mouth of Madness: This was awesome. Sam Neill was excellent as the skeptical insurance investigator thrust into the crazy world of a horror writer's novels. Really just kinda refreshing to see such a solid, well-done movie with a wild premise like that.
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Oct 9, 2017 21:34
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#27. Voodoo (2017) Dani, a kinda wild girl from New Orleans visits her equally wild cousin in LA for a month, deciding to video document it all. One of the reasons she decided to take her vacation was relationship drama where she unknowingly became the "other woman" to a man married to a voodoo practicioner. However, soon enough the lady catches up to Dani, and puts her through literal hell for her transgressions. Well this was a weird one. Like, the first half is mostly her and her cousin getting drunk and partying and stuff with only a couple creepy moments. Then the film takes a HARD left when first Dani's place turns into almost a haunted house attraction suddenly, and then Dani herself goes to literal Hell to be tortured (how and why exactly is this still being filmed?!). It's so abrupt, and so LONG of a second half that it almost brings to mind when similar happenings would occur in the old Coffin Joe films, only not nearly as well done or interesting. I'd give this movie a complete dud, but it's just so strange and jarring. I give Voodoo  out of Five#28. Another aka Mark of the Witch (2014) Jordyn was born into a witch cult, but as a baby spirited away by her aunt Ruth. Now having turned 18, her aunt can no longer protect her from the cult, and her villainous mother who seeks to transfer her essence into the girl's body as a short term bid for immortality. Eh, I appreciate what this movie was trying to do, it was a cool story, and I liked the ending as well as the film's dream-like atmosphere. However, it plods along too slowly, and regularly has extremely pointless flashbacks every like, 10 minutes to things we've already seen, that pulls me right out. On the other hand, it IS nice to see the often overlooked witch sub-genre pop up this year. I give Another out of Five#29. The Uncanny (1977) Do you hate cats? Good news! So does our narrator, Wilbur (Peter Cushing!) He's trying to get a non-fiction book published revealing the secret murderous conspiracy all cats share against humanity, much to his exasperated (and cat-owning) publisher (Ray Milland!). So he tells three different tales of cat violence. First he tells of an occurrence in London, 1912 where a crazy cat lady's maid and nephew scheme to steal her will wherein she bequeathed everything to her feline loves. Second is a story in Quebec, 1975, about an orphaned girl and her cat who move in with her mean aunt and uncle, and spoiled cousin, and who harbors a dark secret. Finally, we go to Hollywood, 1936, where an actress is accidentally killed on a horror set, and her co-star and husband (Donald Pleasance!) gets her stunt double and his mistress (Samantha Eggar!) to fill in, all while being tormented by his late wife's cat at home and on the set. I've watched a lot of British Horror Anthologies in my time, but this has to be high on the list for most ludicrous premise. It's just so silly. Not to mention how absolutely non-threatening the cats look when they aren't being actively thrown at actors. That said, everybody hams it up as hard as they can, and you definitely won't be bored watching this rarity. I know I wasn't. I give The Uncanny out of Five
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Oct 9, 2017 23:17
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 #18 Nosferatu - I wanted to like this more than I did. I enjoyed what it was doing but had a hard time staying focused. This one will need a re-watch when I'm in the right mood for it. Total: 18 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 [4/5], Crimson Peak [4/5], Planet of the Vampires [3/5], Raw [5/5], Friday the 13th Part 3 [2/5], Entity (2012) [1/5], Nosferatu [3/5] Letterboxd list
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Oct 9, 2017 23:43
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9. The Fly (1986) Jesus Christ, this movie is goddamned scary. It's a Cronenberg flick about a man transforming into a horrific fly hybrid, so that's to be expected, but this movie still gives me the heebie-jeebies, like it did when I first saw it. Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) is a scientist working on a teleportation device, his Telepods, and looking to change the world with it. One night, he unknowingly brings a reporter, Veronica (Geena Davis), back to his place and is showing it off and alla that, and then learns she's a reporter. Initially, he's angry, but he decides that she can tell the story to the world; they begin a relationship and she starts documenting experiments and learning about Seth. Her editor, Stathis, is not only a dick, but an ex-boyfriend of hers. Seriously, he's a jerkoff, and tries to exploit the story. Veronica discovers this when she sees a package sent to Seth from Stathis, with Seth smack on the front of their magazine. She goes off to confront him, leaving Seth to believe that she's leaving him, which drives Seth into a bottle. The bottle then drives Seth into the Telepod, for the first human transportation. Unknown to him, a fly has also entered the Telepod... Since I'm not sure where else I'll be able to squeeze this nugget of information in here, Mel Brooks helped produce this movie; yes, that Mel Brooks, he who made the funny parody movies. He kept his involvement quiet and I once heard a story at the premiere, when some people thought this was a comedy, he was handing out little antennae hats and laughing at them. Anywho, The Fly is masterful. In terms of body horror, watching Seth's transformation into Brundlefly is unnerving and occasionally a little stomach turning. Cronenberg had told the makeup artists to think of his transformation as a sort of cancer, and if there is a way to visually represent cancer, they loving found it. Seth's transformation is slow, but we notice the changes all the same; he becomes incredibly strong, agile, able to crawl on walls. As he changes, his fingernails fall out, his teeth become useless (he has to vomit digestive fluid on his food to eat it, and we get to see the vomiting), he loses his hair, and his body becomes this...Reddish mass of lumpy flesh. Geena Davis is there for him, though. She acts as a compassionate friend, wanting to help Seth. However, Seth's mind is changing as the fly DNA fuses with his own. As he changes, he becomes impulsive, prone to anger, acting in this flitty, flighty sort of way. He wants to document his changes, Veronica wants to help him, and Stathis is trying to keep her safe, especially when he finds out that Veronica is pregnant with Seth's baby. A big part of the horror is also the thought of her being pregnant with the baby of the Brundlefly. The nightmare sequence where she gives birth to a bloody maggot gave me flashbacks of when my daughter was born; there were no complications to it, thank God, but it came to me all the same. In a weird way, this isn't just a horror movie. It's a lot more than that, really. It's also this weird kind of drama, about a man steadily losing his mind and body and the woman wanting to help him; it's science-fiction about how the mind of an insect would operate within the mind and intelligence of a man. I didn't explain it very well, I don't think, but The Fly is loving awesome. It's entirely worth watching, especially for the performance of Goldblum. The score is really goddamn good, too, the visuals are fantastic, and Cronenberg once again proves why he's the master of body horror. 5/5 Inside-Out Baboons 10. Terror From The Year 5000 (MST3k Style) This is one of my favorite episodes of MST3k. Without it, I could have never gotten through this movie. I like the premise well enough; I find that some of my favorite episodes of the show are those where the movies have good concepts and ideas, but the execution is botched horribly. For this movie, a scientist (Dr. Erling) and his partner (Victor) have invented a machine that can transport items to and fro in time. But only to and from the year 5,000, I guess. I'm not fully clear on that, and y'know what, I'm not sure if anyone else is. Either way, after a few close calls, the scientist shuts the project down, fearing for their safety. A curator (Bob) at a New York museum receives an odd object in the mail one day. He performs the carbon-dating on it, discovering that instead of being incredibly old, it's actually incredibly new; it won't be made for another 3,000 years! He has the statue sent to a lab to run more tests, where they discover it's highly radioactive. So radioactive, in fact, that it instantly boils a bucket of water they put it in to cool it down. The curator decides to go where the package came from, where he is followed by Claire Erling, who sent the package. They go back to her father's home, where we learn that Victor has been continuing the experiments in secret, trying to bring forth a visitor... This movie isn't completely terrible. It's not good, don't think I'm saying that. I mean, it's a perfect MST3k episode, perfect fodder for Mike and the 'bots. If you have to watch this movie, let them make fun of it for you. There's not a shortage of material to do it with yourself, though. The Movie Itself: 2/5 Time Machines The Episode: 4.5/5 Angelos
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Oct 10, 2017 00:06
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October 9 - The Ghosts of Kasane Swamp Things I've learned from Nakagawa films: people really shouldn't start stabbing when they see a dead person appear right where one of their family members was a moment ago. Soetsu is the only blind masseuse in feudal Japan who isn't a master swordsman. One evening he leaves his family to go collect money he's owed by his customers. The first one he goes to is a samurai who doesn't like a peasant saying he owes him money and so he chops up Soetsu. The body is dumped in a swamp with a sickle left behind to help him fend off the spirits. Shockingly, he rises from The murder scene is goddamned brutal in this film with the samurai gleefully cutting down the stumbling, blind masseuse. It's a film from the mid-50's so there aren't giant blood splatters going everywhere, but it's still a viscous attack. Sadly, the same cannot be said about other attacks in the movie; a woman takes an axe head to the face, though the consequences of that one are pretty drat grusome. Ghosts of Kansane Swamp leans toward the violent melodrama of Jigoku where violence escalates out of control with especially cruel consequences. Nakagawa is starting to get a feeling for how to use lighting in this movie and that leads to a lot more dramatic, moody shots, though it's still not completely there yet. Still, it's one of his better early efforts at horror and you can tell that it wouldn't take much longer before he worked out the formula. Only one more Nobuo Nakagawa film to go for me. However, time crunches limit my options for viewing until Saturday, so it'll be a few days before I get to it.
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Oct 10, 2017 00:11
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The thing I always think about with the Fly is how Jeff Goldblum somehow managed to capture exactly what I imagine a fly's personality is like. Or did Jeff Goldblum just form my opinion of flies?
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Oct 10, 2017 00:14
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19: Faust (1926) Sweet trampolining Jesus, this is a good movie. Great silent acting, particularly from Emil Jannings as a wonderfully oily Mephisto, and some special effects that stand up against movies made even 30 years later. It's arguable if Murnau would have been able to successfully make the transition from silent to speaking movies, but it's not arguable that he was an amazing silent director and Faust is the peak of his career. Sadly, the film led to tragedy for both director and star: on the strength of Faust Murnau was hired into the American system but was sadly killed in a road accident five years later aged just 42, while star Gosta Ekman developed a cocaine addiction during the production which led to a decline in his health and death in 1938.
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Oct 10, 2017 00:16
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STAC Goat posted:The thing I always think about with the Fly is how Jeff Goldblum somehow managed to capture exactly what I imagine a fly's personality is like. I read somewhere that, if they considered horror movies in the running for Oscars and stuff, he would have been nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor. Or there was someone lobbying for that. I don't remember, exactly, but Goldblum did a great loving job.
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Oct 10, 2017 00:23
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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 9. Texas Chainsaw 3D 10. Mother! 11. Never Sleep Again 12. Lurdiak's Scream Stream 10/06 13. Scream Stream 10/07 14. Scream Stream 10/08   So, I've heard about Trick R' Treat for years. I remember catching commercials for what was supposed to be it's wide release, surprised to see it hadn't been released years later, eventually hearing that it was a good movie, even hearing that it was one of the best of the decade. And I haven't seen it yet, even though I bought a copy from a rental store that was shutting down. So when Lurdiak announced this was one of their films, I was pretty pumped. And now having watched it, the film for the most part lives up to the hype. The stories might not hold many surprises, but the way they're shot and the way their paced reels you in. It's fluff that's given gravity through it's style and direction, and perhaps elevated by a lack of restrictions it puts on itself. For example, after the opening it's first bit of horror is a kid being poached by his predatory principal. And it smartly keeps the tone light by A) turning this kid into a real rear end in a top hat, and B) putting plenty of light-ish humor in the actual kill. And as well, a really groovy, Rami and Jackson-esq style that only amps up from there. I wouldn't say it's among my favourite, but I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to just about anyone looking for a decent October movie. As for The Uncanny (presumably a typo of it's actual title The Un-cat-y), it's adequate movie but an odd duck of a horror film. It's a movie about the horrors of cat ownership, with an undercurrent of being a revenge. Now, I missed all but the very end of the first segment, and was half paying attention to the rest film. But as far as I can tell, they're all generally the same story with different content. Something bad happens, a cat enters the picture, the antagonist mistreat the cat, and ironic punishment befalls them. Meanwhile, there's a wraparound segment where Peter Cushing tries to relate these stories to his theory that cats are our evil overlords (which is factually true). But the evidence doesn't fit the thesis, and so he more comes across as paranoid rambling, when presumably all he needed to do in order to survive was just not be a dick to a cat. As is, it comes across as okay but not great. As is, the most disturbing feature of the night was an episode of the X-Files, "F. Emasculata". A disturbing story of contagion that actually ends up being an insect incubating under the skin, that features a lot of implication about it making it's way into the public at large. If there's one thing I would hope people would walk away and watch, it's this one.
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Oct 10, 2017 00:26
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#20: Trollhunter Found footage, whoo! I seem to have better luck with the genre than some, I've liked more found footage than I've disliked, including this one, warts and all. It is uneven, and it takes some time to find its footing. The straight horror that opens the movie sort of comes off as an also-ran of The Blair Witch Project, but once Hans opens up, then it hits its groove, and becomes a lot of fun. Hans, the titular troll hunter, is an interesting character, and him explaining the troll biology, his job, the secret tricks the Norwegian government pulls to keep trolls hidden from the public, is the best part of the movie. It drops its attempts at horror, and really shows a lot of creativity with troll lore and what it would actually be like if horrifying creatures of myth existed today. I also really liked that everyone in the movie looked and acted like they were just doing their job, whether or not they actually wanted to; the story progresses because Hans is fed up because of his working conditions, the G-man in charge of covering up troll attacks just wants to keep them covered up, etc. The horror beats don't land as well as they should, and the film makes a baffling narrative decision at the end of the second act, but this one's definitely worth a look-see. #21: As Above, So Below More found footage, yay! The Blair Witch Project meets Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade meets the David St. Hubbins line about "whatever bits of... philosophy [come] floating through the transom." It's a potent mix, and this film delivers a lot. The exploration team is well-handled, although roughly have of their characters are underdeveloped, but what character work is there is used to great effect in the tunnels. Starting slow with some simple creepy imagery, the film starts ramping it up with one extremely claustrophobic sequence, after which even the easy frights have a lot more tension. The found-footage element is well-used, and adds to the cramped feeling of the caves and the movie, and I was tensed up because of it. The mish-mash of Christian apocrypha, alchemy, and other mythologies is a hoot, and crafts a fun lore for the maguffin. Chekov's guns are set up for some characters, but once again, about half don't get any. Overall, though, I really liked this one, and any misgivings about narrative structure are more than balanced out by the visceral horror it delivers. 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, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Apt Pupil, Wait Until Dark, Gerald's Game, Hell House LLC, Black Swan*, Happy Birthday To Me, Pieces, Trollhunter, As Above So Below *denotes rewatches
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Oct 10, 2017 00:36
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I have an extra bluray of the 1970s Body Snatchers sitting on my shelf. First to post gets it if they meet the following conditions: 1. They not have seen it before and live in the contiguous 48 so I can reasonably mail the disc in time. I could maybe be guilted into shipping to a Canadian. 2. In exchange, they watch the original Little Shop of Horrors (1960) and review it here. Preferably in black and white but the color restoration on Amazon will do. 3. If at all possible, they also watch Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies. Optional, yes, but strongly suggested to see if they find it just bad or trashily enjoyable.
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Oct 10, 2017 01:11
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9. Bloody Birthday You've got to respect any movie that involves a bunch of kids murdering people. The child actors for this all do a pretty decent job at being creepy and dead-eyed. There's also some sleaze with a little girl charging boys a quarter to watch her big sister undress through a peephole. Did these kinds of things ever happen, or has it always just been stuff that old perverts made up. Like making up stories about this kind of thing was what people did before catfishing was invented. 10. The Vault of Horror I watched this one for the Scream Stream with my buddy. He doesn't like a lot of horror movies, but we both legitimately enjoyed this one. There's a lot of humor in it, and it moves quickly. Generally, if I can have at least one out loud "Eugghhhhh!" moment during a horror movie, it will have my blessing. This movie managed it a couple times. 11. ABCs of Death 2 There is no way I'm going to write 26 separate reviews for this. M was mine and my friend's absolute favorite. Super over the top and dumb, but whatever. The Z segment was awful, and compares to the one from the original, which featured a re-enactment of 9/11 on a woman's breasts. 12. Spirits of the Dead Another British movie, and another good time. The Jane Fonda segment is completely awful, and seems to forcibly make you pay attention to something else. The Wilson story is totally great and overdramatic. And Toby Dammit is absolutely wonderful and incredibly funny. Even got a eugh! from me for the ending. 12.5 Campfire Tales I basically passed out in the middle of this, but not before seeing the grossly creepy first segment with the sexualized child. Yay. 13. Trick R Treat Now this is a movie! I maintain that for a Halloween specific movie, this is one of the greatest ever made. You could play this with most any group and everyone would leave happy. There's humor, gore, sex, and a pretty clever plot for everything. Total classic. 14. The Uncanny A cat-themed horror anthology starring Peter Cushing? Uh, yes please. This may have actually made it's way into my top 10 horror movies, just for how utterly ridiculous the concept is, and how much the toxoplasmosis has made me love cats. Or at least my cat. Fun fact about my cat, he got very into watching Castle Freak when he heard the actual cat meowing during it. He, uh, later lost interest.
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Oct 10, 2017 01:21
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6. The Abominable Snowman (1957)  I enjoyed my first exposition to Hammer and this didnt let me down either. Well-acted with a pretty nicely paced plot, I liked it. I appreciated the restraint in showing the creature (it was probably because it didn't look great, but it works.) In fact you see so little of him it may be more of an action/adventure but there's still an appreciable feeling of dread as things go awry. Also there's just something about the way actors in the 50s delivered lines that I can't put my finger on but really is great. 3.5 yetis out of 5 SilvergunSuperman fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Oct 10, 2017 |
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Oct 10, 2017 02:01
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Butch Cassidy posted:I have an extra bluray of the 1970s Body Snatchers sitting on my shelf. First to post gets it if they meet the following conditions: I haven't seen it and I'm in the lower 48, as for item three, I'll consider it, at least if it's available on streaming somewhere
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Oct 10, 2017 02:25
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I'd put it in my top 3 favourite endings, and the movie itself is excellent.
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Oct 10, 2017 02:27
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Definitely would have loved to snag that blu ray but I've seen the movie like three times. It's great though. Nice role for Goldblum in there too, sometimes he gets left out when people mention it.
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Oct 10, 2017 02:34
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I love reading people's reactions to ABCs of death 2, especially because everyone seems to have a different favorite, but I'll be damned if don't have to have the Wikipedia list of shorts open every time even after seeing it twice and talking about it again and again
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Oct 10, 2017 02:44
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drrockso20 posted:I haven't seen it and I'm in the lower 48, as for item three, I'll consider it, at least if it's available on streaming somewhere Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies is available as a $5 rental on Amazon. I don't suggest watching it while sober. Anyway, PM me an address and I'll make a post office run this week.
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Oct 10, 2017 03:07
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Butch Cassidy posted:Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies is available as a $5 rental on Amazon. I don't suggest watching it while sober. Done
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Oct 10, 2017 03:16
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#30. Executive Koala (2005) Tamura is your average junior executive, working for a company that makes pickles, and working on a major merger with a Korean Kim-Chi company. He was once married, but his wife disappeared one day and he suffers from memory loss from around that time. He does have a new girl in his life however. Oh, and one more thing--he's a man-sized anthropomorphic koala. Nobody seems to mind this. Then, one day his girlfriend is murdered. He becomes the prime-and only-suspect. The police also suspect he killed his wife. Tamura simply has no idea. He sees a psychiatrist regularly, but still nothing. However, his work life at least is going well. The president of the company (an anthropomorphic rabbit) puts him in charge of the merger, and he shows the Korean CEO around town. At one point the CEO demands he spar with him to show off Korean martial arts (shown with a dazzling backdrop of Korean food) and it goes about how you'd expect until something clicks in Tamura's head; his eyes glow, he loses his coherency, and he attacks with new fervor. But this only lasts a moment. The merger is made. However later, the CEO speaks privately and personally with him. Apparently he used to date Tamura's ex-wife, and claims she sent evidence that Tamura was beating her shortly before she disappeared. He's horrified and doesn't remember, but starts having nightmares about going on killing sprees with an axe. What could be the truth behind all of this?? Man, the problem with me doing write-ups of the more gonzo breed of Japanese comedy and horror is that they end up so long. I'm not even halfway into the movie up there. This movie is crazy, even for Japan, with elements of the Salaryman genre, horror, kung fu, and even musicals. Though I suppose I should have expected nothing less from the maker of "The Calamari Wrestler". Definitely my cup of tea here. I give Executive Koala out of Five #31. Burial Ground aka The Nights of Terror (1981)We open on an anthropologist examining some ancient Italian crypts outside a mansion he's staying at. His meddling wakes up the dead, who then proceed to munch on him. Cue the owners of the mansion, their "small child" (more on that later) and two other couples coming to vacation at the lavish place. They start having their fun (most of which seems to involve boning), but eventually the incredibly slow moving undead catch up and start munching on them too. Well, this was a steaming mess of a film. The zombies are pretty much just guys in dirty robes with halloween masks covered in dirt and maggots. Much of the camera work consists of zooms on their faces, then zooms on the bug-eyed living staring in fear. Over and over again. The writing is vapid as hell with lines like "maybe they just want something in the house, and if we let them in, they'll leave us alone!" said after several people are eaten outside first. And then there's the kid. As someone else has said in a different review, if the zombies aren't the most creepy thing in your zombie movie, you messed up. Small (as in size) actor Peter Bark plays the "child" despite being 26 when the movie came out, and looking every bit of it in the face. Also, his character has an absurdly strong Oedipus Complex that is just icky. If it wasn't for his character, I'm sure the film would be forgotten today. I give Burial Ground out of Five
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Oct 10, 2017 03:43
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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 9. Texas Chainsaw 3D 10. Mother! 11. Never Sleep Again 12. Lurdiak's Scream Stream 10/06 13. Scream Stream 10/07 14. Scream Stream 10/08 15. Crystal Lake Memories  From the people who made Never Sleep Again: Second verse, same as the first. Pretty much everything I could say about Never Sleep Again, I can say about this film. Except more so, nearly reaching 7 hours as it covers 12 movies and a tv series. With the enxtended runtime, it is more incredibly comprehensive going into a lot of details, and with a lot more on set stories. The main difference, aside from content, being the presentation. Where Never Sleep Again used surprisingly high quality claymation to both open the film and transition between segments, this one use cheaper graphics that homage each film. But, considering the series, it's perhaps more appropriate that they went cheaper to do so. As for their subjects, the three 'highlights' are Kane Hodor, who comes across as a decent enough dude who happens to have a ICP necklace, Derek Mears, the reboot's Jason, whose twice the cool dude that Hodor seems, and Monica Keena, the Final Girl of Freddy vs. Jason, who talks about her character and the events like they're real. And she's talking about the film with so much emotional investment, and taking so much offence at the things that happen to her, that it comes across as really ditzy and airheaded rather than cute. But yeah, like Never Sleep Again, this one is a necessity for any fans of the series.
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Oct 10, 2017 04:02
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Darthemed posted:This was one of my two suggestions, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Here's hoping you dig Remote Control, too. On that note... 29. Remote Control - Last (unofficial) staff pick that I have not seen. Six minutes in and I knew exactly what I had to gif, although there was some solid competition later. Added bonus: has Jennifer Tilly, whose name I know now thanks to catching up on Chucky movies. Anyway, content - this is the goofiest thing I have seen in ages. There's a movie within the movie sort of thing going on, which all the main characters just sort of take at face value and decide the root cause of everything must be as it was in the movie they're watching. Which, taken seriously, gets funnier and funnier the more time you spend considering it. There's also a bunch of really bizarre characterization that leaves me wondering whether the script was just bad or whether it's trying to suggest that the movie's influence is much broader than is made explicit - like, did Victor see a really early copy of the film, or is he a secret non-brainwashed alien agent, or is he just actually really into mass murder and this was a happy coincidence for him? And why was the gun being out of bullets the turning point at which Belinda forgot she had been kidnapped and decided she dearly loves our loser heroes? That would just look like shoddy writing, except that when she runs into Victor again later and he points out that he thought she'd been kidnapped (which she had) she breaks down and he has her trust back instantly. And why are all the people walking around in the background of that scene so mellow about her waving a gun around? And do the Polaris Video costumes look as much like Terror of Mechagodzilla as I want to believe they do, or was it a more generic aesthetic? In my heart these are the same aliens. That is a lot of pointless words to write about this thing, but the movie is just barely interesting enough even on the surface that I could see the weirdness being accidental or intentional. Most of the movie's plentiful other weirdness was definitely intentional, though, and it's great. 
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Oct 10, 2017 04:18
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The Return of Dracula (1958) This movie peaks during the opening credits when we get a cool shot of Draculas eyes. After that, it just never seems to find its identity. The plot involves Dracula stealing an identity and ending up in sunny California. It takes place in the 50s too, so it's not a direct sequel to any dracula movie I've seen. The premise is ripe for comedy, but the film doesn't really go in that direction. It isn't very scary either, so it doesn't really work as a straight horror movie either. The scariest thing is probably draculas perm. It looks ridiculous. There was a lot of potential in this movie, but ultimately it doesn't seem concerned with capturing any sort of tone and we just get a plain-jane, low budget horror. Land of the Dead (2005) This is a rewatch, but I haven't seen it since it's original theatrical run so I don't remember a ton about it. George Romero's fourth entry into the dead series is his last one worth watching, but still a far cry from his previous films. Like the previous Dead films, there is a lot of thinly-veiled social commentary in this as he uses the war on zombies as a metaphor for class war. We also expand on the themes of Day of the Dead, as the zombies are not only expanding their use of tools but they are now building a society and community. Thematically, this is an excellent film. Unfortunately, the execution of these ideals isn't very engaging. The human characters aren't very compelling, and I'm some cases are quite annoying. The lighting is too dark as well. The movie also lacks tension, and when zombies attack it just seems like everyone's going through the motions. What I found most disappointing was the nu-metal score attached to every action scene. It did not help build atmosphere and it distracted from the film overall. I really want to like this movie more than I do, but I just feel it should have been a lot better. Rewatches (6): Maniac Cop, Friday the 13th 3, Friday the 13th 4, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 , The Lost Boys, Land of the Dead First time watches (16): Mortuary, Little Evil, Eloise, Mother!, The Roommate, The Chaos Experiment, Resident Evil 6, Vacancy, Rings, The Stepfather, Train to Busan, Dracula's Daughter, Son of Dracula, Cult of Chucky, The Return of Dracula
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Oct 10, 2017 04:48
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Basebf555 posted:Definitely would have loved to snag that blu ray but I've seen the movie like three times. It's great though. Nice role for Goldblum in there too, sometimes he gets left out when people mention it. It took me by surprise when I saw his name in the credits because everyone knows of Donald Sutherland and Leonard Nimoy but Goldblum's role was just so drat good it needs more mentioning.
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Oct 10, 2017 05:08
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Is ABCs of Death 2 actually good? I tried to watch the first one 2 or 3 times and could never get half way through the alphabet. Even if it didn't seem to be largely not my taste at all and just seemingly crass for the sakes of shock value but the idea of 27 5 minute horror stories seemed kind of like the worst idea in the world even for a huge fan of horror anthologies.
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Oct 10, 2017 05:17
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6. Nomads (1986) I feel like this is barely a horror movie. A nurse is attacked at the hospital by a barely coherent Pierce Brosnan. He dies and slowly she starts getting his memories. He was an anthropologist whos bored in the suburbs and starts investigating some punks. But they're not punks they're GHOSTSSS!!!!! That's about it.  /57. 976-EVIL (1988) In this horror movie directed by Robert Englund, greaser Spike lives with his super religious and spergy cousin Hex. This one's kind of hard to explain, character kind of show up and aren't explained and crazy stuff just kind of happens. The rules of the phone number also don't feel quite solid. Anyways there's a pay phone number that gives your horoscope, but its more like it tells you to do stuff. And sometimes it's magical I guess. This movie has a pretty anti-climactic ending too, it's just a giant mess. /5Watched: 1. House 2 (4/5) 2. Little Evil (2.5/5) 3. Cult of Chucky (3/5), 4. Dr. Phibes Rises Again (3/5) 5. Fright Night 2 (3/5) 6. Nomads (2.5/5). 976-EVIL (1.5/5) Bonus: REC (4.5/5), REC 2 (4/5), Halloween 2007 (2/5)
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Oct 10, 2017 05:48
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STAC Goat posted:Is ABCs of Death 2 actually good? I tried to watch the first one 2 or 3 times and could never get half way through the alphabet. Even if it didn't seem to be largely not my taste at all and just seemingly crass for the sakes of shock value but the idea of 27 5 minute horror stories seemed kind of like the worst idea in the world even for a huge fan of horror anthologies. I definitely give 2 a thumbs up. It's uneven but has a nice sense of fun and/or dread for most of the entries. It has a short by the guy who made The Cat With Hands, if nothing else. If the format really isn't to your taste, you could always space out your viewings of the shorts and judge them as separate shorts.
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Oct 10, 2017 06:39
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Yeah, that's a fair suggestion. I guess my bigger problem was that what I saw of the first one didn't really seem to be have real point besides shock value. It was like Robot Chicken's Faces of Death. Are there actual stories that I just never got to?
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Oct 10, 2017 06:43
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Movie #12: The Mothman Prophecies I watched this one because they filmed part of it on the street where I grew up, while my parents were still living there, but I'd never gotten around to seeing it. But I think this is worth watching even if you don't have that connection. There's an initial part where the protagonist befalls a tragedy, which makes it seem like it might be a not-very-good monster movie. But then it turns into a creepier movie about this otherworldly maybe-omniscient entity that predicts tragedies. It's never amazing, but it's got some decent frights and builds a nice atmosphere.
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Oct 10, 2017 06:47
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STAC Goat posted:Yeah, that's a fair suggestion. I guess my bigger problem was that what I saw of the first one didn't really seem to be have real point besides shock value. It was like Robot Chicken's Faces of Death. Are there actual stories that I just never got to? I've never seen the first one, but 2 seems to be universally better reviewed. Considering there's no curation at all in either of them (they just gave the letters to film-makers and told them to go hog wild), it's not unthinkable that you could like one but not the other.
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Oct 10, 2017 07:03
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14. Gerald's Game: Subplot hit far too close to home, professionaly and personally at points in my life, to say I enjoyed this one. Technically great with excellent acting, though. Now I'm off to bed while seething with anger. One plot criticism: I would have preferred the moonlight apparition been left ambiguous or supernatural.
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Oct 10, 2017 07:34
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