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Lurdiak posted: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. The first one was terrible, but I enjoyed the second one quite a bit. It is hard to believe they are part of the same series. #15 Roadgames (1981) Decent thriller and a nice change of pace from my regular supernatural horror stuff. Dug the abandoned telegraph station, crashing the boat and the ending. I'll still return to supernatural stuff for the rest of my challenge, but no regrets here.
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Oct 10, 2017 08:39
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BioTech posted:The first one was terrible, but I enjoyed the second one quite a bit. I still don't get that boat guy's endgame. What did he think was going to happen? #14: The House of the Devil (2009) (rewatch)  It's weird, the older this movie gets the less points the retro style and period work it gets from me. Maybe I'm used to it? It's still definitely able to capture that early 80s feel better than later attempts. Random thoughts: 1) Tom Noonan is great in this 2) It's kind of a bummer the friend character gets killed so early, she's fun. 3) The build up out shines the climax. 8.5/10 Drunkboxer fucked around with this message at 15:02 on Oct 10, 2017 |
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Oct 10, 2017 13:19
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Noonan is what makes that movie work, 100%. Without him the entire first hour would be a complete snoozer.
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Oct 10, 2017 14:10
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Every Noonan fan should see Synecdoche, New York. In a film with many great performances, he steals a lot of scenes
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Oct 10, 2017 14:33
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Venom 1981, dir.  It's a strange, but nonetheless compelling movie that blends suspense film about a hostage situation with a creature feature about a venomous black mamba. Klaus Kinski puts in a surprisingly subdued not-entirely-evil bad guy, and Oliver Reed takes the reins of the intimidating bad guy who's cracking under pressure. The pacing starts slow but ramps up after all the pieces of the first act come together. It's a very good film that plays the premise straight-faced and keeps it grounded. Lots of creepy snake moments (they used a real black mamba!). The stand-out of the film is Sterling Hayden as the coolest grandpa I've seen in a movie. I also enjoyed the anxiety of being bitten by a highly venomous snake but everyone assuming it's harmless and the person's just having an anxiety attack when, no, they are indeed dying. Terrifying concept. Piers Haggard posted:I took over that at very short notice. Tobe Hooper had been directing it and they had stopped for whatever reason. It hadn’t been working. I did see some of his stuff and it didn’t look particularly good plus he also had some sort of nervous breakdown or something. So anyway they stopped shooting and offered it to me. Unfortunately I had commitments, I had some commercials to shoot. But anyway I took it over with barely ten days of preparation - which shows. It doesn’t become my picture, it’s a bit inbetween... [Oliver Reed was] scary at first because he was always testing you all the time. Difficult but not as difficult as Klaus Kinski. Because Oliver actually had a sense of humour. I was rather find [sic] of him; he could be tricky but he was quite warm really. He just played games and was rather macho and so on. Klaus Kinski was very cold. The main problem with the film was that the two didn’t get on and they fought like cats. Kinski of course is a fabulous film actor and he’s good in the part, the part suits him very well. They were both well cast but it was a very unhappy film. I think Klaus was the problem but then Oliver spent half the movie just trying to rub him up, pulling his leg all the way. There were shouting matches because Oliver just wouldn’t let up. None of this is about art. All the things that you’re trying to concentrate on tend to slip. So it was not a happy period.  / 5Movies Watched NEW: I Walked With A Zombie, Dead & Buried, The Mummy ('59), The Resurrected, Critters, Cemetery Man, Roadgames ('81), mother!, Christine, Willow Creek, Castle Freak, Wait Until Dark, Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Shroud, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb, The Uncanny, Venom REWATCH: The Return of the Living Dead, Pumpkinhead, Night of the Creeps, Demons, Demon Knight SHORT FILMS (not counted in goal): Junk Head 1; TOTAL: 22
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Oct 10, 2017 14:47
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Lurdiak posted: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. The first one is a LOT more uneven in quality and tone to the second one. There's a lot more instances where there's less story involved. I think a lot of filmmakers in 2 saw the first one and learned a lot of dos and don'ts from it. That said, it's worth it for the good and the bonkers class letters, even if the bad ones are real bad. And as I said in chat, ABCs of Death 2.5 might be found more interesting, as it's a compilation of the 26 best "M" submissions for part 2, which for that letter was a contest rather than assigned, so there's actually a quality metric at play. Though I still didn't like a few of them.
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Oct 10, 2017 15:26
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 The Devil's Candy Aside from Cult of Chucky, this is the most recent horror movie I've watched so far for the challenge. I was very impressed by this film, I went and looked up the director and it turns out he also made The Loved Ones, which I've not seen but now I intend to. The Devil's Candy is a very confident film, it has a very clear style that really works and creates a pretty oppressive atmosphere once things get going. Just on a plot level, the movie was not really what I was expecting at all, but that's a good thing because I think what I was expecting is not as good as what it actually is. It's story that's told on a fairly small scale, it's simple yet extremely intense. The intensity comes mainly from the performances, which are excellent from top to bottom. Great casting decisions with Ethan Embry and Pruitt Taylor Vince, they both drive their side of the story really well. The effectiveness of the climax is totally the result of the excellent character development throughout the film, the family unit of Embry, his wife, and daughter is very genuine and I was buying into it very early on. Especially the relationship between Embry and his daughter; I'm struggling to think of a better father/daughter dynamic in film, it's that good. It's so important to the movie, because when the poo poo really hits the fan towards the end, I was rooting hard for them all to somehow make it. There's also a little reveal at the end that was I suppose predictable but a pretty good bookend to this kind of genre film. So I'd definitely recommend this one, it's not a "fun" watch like some of the B-movie shlock that I love this time of year, but it's a really solid all-around horror flick. Check it out on Netflix. Also, the movie rocks, literally:  Completed:1.The Wicker Man, 2. Deadly Blessing, 3. Night Creatures, 4.Shock Waves, 5.Slugs, 6.Venom, 7.Maximum Overdrive, 8.Christine, 9.The Tingler, 10.The Masque of the Red Death, 11.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 12.The Funhouse, 13.Poltergeist, 14.Lifeforce, 15.Invaders From Mars, 16.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, 17.The Seventh Curse, 18.The Mummy, 19.Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, 20.Hellraiser, 21.Hellbound: Hellraiser II, 22.Child's Play, 23.Cult of Chucky, 24.Leviathan, 25.Pumpkinhead, 26.Phantasm, 27.Murders in the Rue Morgue, 28.The Abominable Dr. Phibes, 29.The Devil's Candy
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Oct 10, 2017 15:59
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#19 Poltergeist - I liked the way it kept turning up the crazy all the way to the end. But come on, there's no way that giant house has only three bedrooms. And a 300-acre cemetery? That's ridiculous. 4/5 Watched as a double feature with:  #20 The 'Burbs - First re-watch of the month. I've loved this movie since I was a kid and it still cracks me up every time. Some classic comedic performances from Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, and Rick Ducommun. Corey Feldman as a spaced out teen who's really excited for the pizza dude. Ultimately I'm not sure there's a coherent argument about suburban paranoia here as it's sort of undermined by the suspicions about the Klopeks being completely correct. But that's also kind of what makes it work so well as a movie. There's just the right amount of horror in there. 5/5  Total: 20 Re-watches(1): The 'Burbs [5/5] First time(19): 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], Poltergeist [4/5], Letterboxd list
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Oct 10, 2017 17:14
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I forgot to mention Michael Kamen did the music to Venom, and it was fantastic.
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Oct 10, 2017 17:31
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15. Demons 2: Not as good as the first yet more batshit on the whole. Well worth a watch but lacks a truly gonzo moment like the dirtbike katana slaughter in the first film. Also, I'm totally sold on The 'Burbs and plan to watch it tonight. Butch Cassidy fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Oct 16, 2017 |
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Oct 10, 2017 18:57
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Franchescanado posted:I forgot to mention Michael Kamen did the music to Venom, and it was fantastic. I've never heard of it before but you had me at Oliver Reed and klaus Kinski 15. Pet Sematary I really love the look of this movie, the make up (which totally deserves all the praise it gets in every review) and the set dressing, and the story is a very cool, small scale one. I love the book already (Gage's death is one of King's best sequences imo), and had been meaning to get around to the film. Beyond looks and the basic plot though, you have the acting. Fred Gwynne is great and elevates the whole thing, but everyone else is just weirdly wooden. It kind of works for Louis as a man just completely hollowed out by grief, except he was pretty much like that before the tradegy. Worth watching just to see how it looks but I'll probably never watch it again.
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Oct 10, 2017 19:11
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Looks like I wasn't the only person to watch this yesterday... or feel about the same way about it. 10 (17). The House of the Devil (2009)  A young woman is hired for a babysitting job by a desperate and lying old man who lives in a big old house in the middle of nowhere who doesn’t have a kid. What could go wrong? I’ve been meaning to watch this one for awhile. I really enjoyed Inn Keepers and think Ti West has a skill at building tension and dread with just atmosphere and anticipation. That’s a skill that doesn’t show up enough in horror these days. From what I remember about Inn Keepers (its been a few years) is that the ending ended up a little underwhelming. I think that may be the same problem here. West does a good job building up the tension and sense of danger, although I can see many saying that it moves a little too slow and not enough happens, but when it comes time to deliver I just don’t think the final act delivers ENOUGH to justify the build. Its a bit like the last movie Society that spend longer than I would have liked building up to the spectacular ending but when Society’s ending happens, boy oh boy is it a memorable one. House of the Devil’s ending is kind of a muted cliche which ends up making everything feel a little unfinished after such a long, and generally well done build. I should admit that I sadly fell asleep in the middle of the film. That’s not the movie’s fault. It was after 3 AM and I was exhausted from a crazy day and was just trying to squeeze a horror in while I waited for laundry. I didn’t get the laundry done either. I dozed off right as stuff started to happen and tension started to pick up so it was a bad time to break up the movie’s flow. But within 10 minutes of picking it back up this morning the movie made me jump with a simple doorbell so I think that’s a testament to its effective atmosphere. Still, I could have done for something a little more inspired for the ending. But its enough to make me consider re-watching Inn Keepers or checking out Sacrament. Its a shame West hasn’t seemed to make a horror in awhile. Tonight I hope to get 2 or 3 in and really make a dent. Right now I’m behind on “31 Years” at 8 and just even on “31 New Movies” at 10. Want to pick up on that. October Tally - New (Total) - (1). V/H/S (2012) / - (2). V/H/S/2 (2013) / 1 (3). Let Us Prey (2014) / - (4). The Crazies (2010) / 2 (5). The Boy (2016) / 3 (6). Beyond the Gates (2016) / - (7). Child’s Play (1988) / - (8). Jennifer’s Body (2009) / 4 (9). Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) / - (10). Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) / 5 (11). The Void (2016) / 6 (12). Nightbreed: The Director’s Cut (1990) / - (13). Grave Encounters (2011) / 7 (14). Grabbers (2012) / 8 (15). Get Out (2017) / 9 (16). Society (1992) / 10 (17). The House of the Devil (2009) / Basebf555 posted:
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Oct 10, 2017 20:57
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12. Scare Campaign (2016) Enjoyable but very very predictable. Scare Campaign is a behind-the-scenes look at a horror prank reality TV show. Only this time it goes TOO FAR. /5(rewatch)Trick 'r' Treat (2007) TrT is just the best. A horror anthology that weaves all of the tales together, with a backdrop of a small town that seems to be really into Halloween. /513. The Uncanny (1977) Like cats? Want to see cats enact revenge for the terrible things humans do to them? This was mostly pretty boring and not scary because, like, they're housecats! You've got to give it some credit for sticking with the outline though. /514. Better watch Out (2016) The tale of a babysitter who is unexpectedly forced to deal with a home invasion. It's probably going into my Christmas movie rotation. The movie is a lot like a much darker Home Alone, though not in the way you might think. /515. Dance of the Dead (2005) (Or, another episode of The Masters of Horror) Meh. Tobe Hooper directs this episode, which is just kind of a boring story of a sheltered girl who rebels against her protective mom. Oh, and it's a post-apocalypse and the local bartender (Robert Englund, having a lot of fun) makes the dead dance. /5
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Oct 10, 2017 23:47
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Movie #13: Patchwork Never as funny as I wanted it to be, and not at all scary. Not really much to recommend it. I would've been tempted to bail, but I got close enough to the end I decided to push through, which meant I got to see the cat-owl just fly away, which isn't a new joke, but is at least a joke.
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Oct 11, 2017 01:12
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7. Venom (1981) This is the first one I've not enjoyed so far. I found it quite slow, and it just didn't capture my interest despite some good acting. There were some enjoyable parts it just dragged for the most part. 2 mambas out of 5 SilvergunSuperman fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Oct 11, 2017 |
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Oct 11, 2017 01:39
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 13. Scream (1996) Another rewatch (did it for the 2014 challenge too), part of a double feature to fill in some notable unseens for my partner. She really enjoyed it, and surprised me, given how delighted she was by Gail Weathers' lime suit, by saying that Dewey was her favorite character, with Tatum trailing. I tried to keep quiet and not point out all the cute little script touches, but that Goddamn industrial-strength garage door broke me, I had to call it out. And I think I noticed a new little joke somewhere, but now that I'm sitting down to write this, I can't remember what it was. Maybe some of the looks Skeet gives Lillard when he's getting too hyped about the murders? I hate giving in to the 'everybody's already said everything about this movie' cop-out, but since I already covered this one a couple of years ago, I'm gonna go ahead and do just that. 4/5 called-out clichés  14. Fright Night, a.k.a., Night of Horror (1985) The other rewatch of last night, because I wanted to pair Scream with another self-aware horror movie, and this had more going for it in that department than Return of the Living Dead. Goddamn, Chris Sarandon is so good in this, just so smugly self-assured and sinister. And Brad Fiedel's score is wonderful, even dove-tailing into those pop songs in the club; I hope Waxwork or Mondo or some label like that will give it a proper wide release sometime soon. Stephen Geoffreys is a hoot (with some real sadness to his wordless last scene), William Ragsdale does such a good job playing the dork who's out of his depth but determined to make good, Roddy McDowall gives his sad little actor such nuance, and while Amy does feel a little flat in comparison to the other characters, I think that's more due to the script than Amanda Bearse's performance. It was also fun revisiting this one after having seen The Fearless Vampire Killers, and catching how much the two have in common; can't really say one's drawing directly from the other, since they're both pulling from vampire lore and movies at large, but there were some fun link-ups between them, especially with the dancing in front of a mirror wall. I do kind of wish that we'd gotten the alien movie spin-off teased at the end, but there's enough fun to the sequel we did get (mostly thanks to Jon Gries, for my mileage) that I'm not too disappointed. I love this movie. 4/5 exploding bat skeletons
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Oct 11, 2017 03:14
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Movie #14: Little Evil A lightly comic take on the horror movie staple of Satan's child. It's never all that funny, but the cast is charming and it's a perfectly pleasant time.
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Oct 11, 2017 03:40
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October 10 - Blair Witch I ran into not so much as a time crunch today as a "time slamming your hand in a car door". So after a fourteen hour day where I had no opportunity to watch anything (and I'm going to have similar problems tomorrow), I got home and immediately put on the first thing I could find in order to have a chance of finishing it before falling asleep. And that was the Blair Witch... reboot? Sequel? Whatever? And perhaps it's the exhaustion to the point of utter collapse talking, but it was kinda decent? What the hell? Wasn't this supposed to be a lovely cash in? So obviously this movie doesn't just follow the same path as the original cultural phenomenon. It really can't since the original was built on getting some actors in the woods with some recording equipment and trying to scare the gently caress out of them for a few days. It spawned a billion terrible imitators with low budget horror film makers. This one is actually slickly produced, more carefully structured, and it's even better shot and edited than most found footage movies. About twenty years after the Blair Witch Project, the brother of one of the student filmmakers who died thinks he's found a video online that points to his sister still being alive somewhere. He gathers some friends, the people who found the video that was posted to youtube, and together they go into the foods trying to find the house. And then things go wrong. I remember people complaining about how time and space was messed up in The Blair Witch Project back when that movie was originally released. That never bothered me since it was clearly intended as an indication that something supernatural was dicking with them. This movie cranks that warping of nature way up and makes it explicit that it's part of the weird happenings. And in a strange way, being more explicit about this aspect of the film, let the filmmakers escalate things more. The universe has turned against the hikers in this movie and its getting worse throughout the film. It gives the scares something to hook on and I really think it works. Of course the big controversy with this reboot was them actually showing the Witch. I'm kind of divided on this. I didn't need to see the witch, but at the same time this is a more direct movie than the original and it doesn't actually harm the film (or any kind of precious mythos) to have a ghost witch appear on screen as the final escalation. So it's not a perfect movie, the time loop footage doesn't make sense even in the context of the film since it was found on video tape but shot on digital to an SD card, but it is way better than I was expecting. I could have done without so much people screaming in the darkness at things I can't see, but overall a solid horror film.
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Oct 11, 2017 03:57
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#22: The Devil's Candy Driller Killer is no longer the only movie on my list about a painter being driven mad by tough times, and Pieces is no longer the only movie on my list backfilled to justify a single image. Though it doesn't have a lot of original ideas of its own, this one's pretty cool and fun. As much as I love metal, this movie's at its weakest in its first half, where it really feels like it's pushing to be a Cult Movie. It's trying a bit to hard to force itself into a niche, and comes off as clumsy. When the film settles down and stops trying to Be Metal, though, it finds a really neat groove. The cinematography's cool, it's reaching for the high-key Carpenter look and easily succeeds. The performances are also good, especially the creepy man and the teenaged girl, they both play their parts very well. As the film goes on, it starts blending a variety of horrors (home invasion, possession, serial killer) into a stew that never quite finds its own voice, but it's pretty darn well executed, and the climax is intense, if a bit ridiculous. This one's plenty of fun, even if you're not into trve kvlt metal. 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, The Devil's Candy *denotes rewatches
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Oct 11, 2017 04:34
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nm
Neo Rasa fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Oct 11, 2017 |
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Oct 11, 2017 05:01
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#6 - Detention (2011, dir. Joseph Kahn) Well, uh. Hoo boy. Can I just not review this one? Because I've seen this movie twice now (admittedly years apart) and I'm still not entirely sure what the gently caress I just watched. It seems like it can't decide whether it wants to be a high school comedy, a slasher movie, or a gonzo sci-fi time travel movie, and it ends up trying to split the difference between all three. This movie is the absolute definition of "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks," and for my money, a surprising amount does. I honestly wish I could write more, but... I don't know what the gently caress to make of this movie, honestly. It's fun as gently caress and everyone should watch it (especially if you like Rick and Morty- it really feels like a live-action stylistic predecessor to that show in places), but I'm not sure that I would call it a good movie for the simple fact that it never really coheres. It's a rollercoaster ride of bonkers poo poo and meta jokes, basically, and that's... kind of the most I can say about it; if that's your bag, you'll love Detention, and if that's not, you'll probably hate it. RATING: 4.5/5 #7 - Hobo with a Shotgun (2011, dir. Jason Eisener)  I loving love Rutger Hauer. Rutger Hauer is possibly one of the greatest actors of all time, and there is a goddamn close to uncountable number of movies that are pretty much singlehandedly carried on his back. Even Blade Runner would be pretty much jack poo poo without his performance as Batty. And yet, for some reason, it just never really feels like he's gotten his due; he had a brief action-star run in the 80s, but since then it's been all bit roles and character parts, and nothing that really gives him a chance to flex his dramatic muscles. Never, in my entire loving life, did I expect that he'd finally get his shot again in a Troma-like called Hobo with a Shotgun. I've seen this movie before, and I absolutely loving love it, but this is the first time I've really watched it and picked it apart, and... to be honest, that just made me love this movie even more, because it revealed to me that everything about this movie loving owns. It's fractally amazing. Even when something doesn't entirely work (I don't think the female lead is a particularly good actress...), it just makes the movie better (...but the sheer gap in acting ability between her and Hauer makes their scenes genuinely hilarious). And, just as with The Blood of Heroes or The Hitcher or Blind Fury: Hauer loving carries the goddamn movie on his back. Even with everything else as on-point as it is, Hauer's performance as The Hobo is transcendent. He brings a real sense of power and gravitas to the dramatic scenes that I don't think any other actor could have pulled off, and when it's time for him to get badass, he plays it just as well as he always has. If you haven't seen this movie, and anything about this sounds good to you, go watch this movie right the gently caress now. It's a solid contender for "best horror film of the 2010s," and I could even be convinced it's the best of the millennium so far. RATING: 6/5
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Oct 11, 2017 06:04
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Made a double feature last night out of a rewatch of The Shining followed by Room 237. Honestly, what is there to say about The Shining that hasn't been said already? One of the best psychological horror films of all time, about struggling writer Jack Torrence being tasked with tending to the desolate Overlook Hotel for the Winter with his wife and son, and being driven to insanity/murder via the spirits inhabiting the Overlook and his own personal failings. Room 237 on the other hand, is a completely unfiltered and mostly uncontested (outside of a small handful of captions providing corrections and clarifications) portrayal of a selection of viewer interpretations of The Shining, largely ranging from outlandish to straight up conspiracy theories, with only a few small nuggets of vaguely plausible ideas strewn throughout. While I can't claim to ascribe to much of anything purported by the interviewees, at the same time I found it oddly captivating to see where they draw their arguments from and how far they'll look to connect the dots, and in a roundabout way, found the film to serve as a testament to Kubrick's penchant for imagery, cinematography and metaphor. Movies Watched (10): It, Werewolf (MST3K), Army of Darkness, Frankenweenie, Corpse Bride, Paranorman, Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Shining, Room 237
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Oct 11, 2017 07:02
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Shudder is starting to annoy me. Amazon tells me The Crazies is available through Shudder but not when I paid for it directly and not as an Amazon channel? Lake Mungo is in my available library but can’t be played in my area? I like the idea of a horror streaming service but man are there a lot of issues I have with this interface and makeup. I feel a little bad nitpicking it since most of my new movies have come from it and I'm getting plenty out of my money, but it just sort of bugs me to see a movie on the service, click on it, and then be told its not actually there. Its a tease. Also I'm just sort of annoyed because its developed this annoying habit of buffering in the third act of movies. Ah well. No baseball today meant more time for horror! 11 (18). Hell Baby (2013)  The State presents Rosemary’s Baby. Yet another installment in this month’s “that didn’t really do a lot for me but it had its moments and didn’t bore me. Well, except maybe for the end sequence which seemed like they had like a list of gags they wanted to do and instead of picking one just did all of them. For the most part the jokes just didn’t land for me and I find the comedy from this crew to be kind of hit and miss. Oddly what I enjoyed most was Garant and Lennon’s priest characters and it sort of made me wonder if they started from there and wrote the rest of the movie around them. Corddrey and Key really didn’t have a ton to do in the big picture and were sort of the straight men of the film, which seems like a waste. But there’s enough comedy talent across the board to carry things and keep it from ever really falling apart. Just wish there had been some new jokes or something really unique or inspired in there. And Leslie Bibb has somehow not aged a day in 20 years. I’m really just trying to pad this out so its bigger than the poster. 12 (19). Ghostwatch (1992)  A BBC crew spends Halloween night at a haunted house to see what they can find, and unleash a terrible evil… 2 decades of ghost hunting shows! Right out of the gates, I entirely misunderstood what this movie was about. I saw people describing it as a “fun mockumentary” and was expecting a comedy. You know, that classic British wry humor and wit. Within minutes I realized I was wrong and what people meant was that this was aired on TV as a fake documentary ala War of the Worlds. To that end I think my main criticism of it as a movie is probably what made it work so well as a tv special. The movie spends a long time early on selling itself as a boring news investigation with all the pre-packaged ghost stories and interviews and milling around. I of course never bought in watching it in the context I did, but if it had been airing “live” on TV I can certainly see why that was done and why it worked to freak people out. So to that end my criticism is really a strength of the special, and when they turn things on it really, really gets good. I was actually surprised how well it had been built up and turned on. I was all set in my head to say “another movie that spent too long setting up a conclusion that didn’t have enough to deliver.” Then within a minute or two of the conclusion starting I was on the edge of my seat and fully immersed. It was a thrilling play to see the house go into panic and chaos, the studio get cut off and be concerned and confused, the brief moments of eery “calm” when they saw the video they thought meant everything was fine, and then the realization that it was really, really not. And ”we’ve created a national seance” was a great little line/twist that I very nearly missed in the chaos. All in all I really liked the investigator’s performance as she goes from smug scientist, to defensive and embarrassed believer, to horrified observer about what she’s done. It was a subdued take on a pretty classic horror character of the arrogant doctor/psychic/priest/whatever who gets in over their head and gets what they wanted in a very bad way. And the way the main host really played the whole thing with an air of skepticism that said "Its my job to sell this to you as real but we know all its nonsense" again really went a long way to selling the "realness" of it had I seen it in its original context. Pro-watch. Thankful for all the recommendations and I’m looking even more hyped to watching the Stone Tape. Which I thought was after Ghostwatch but apparently was 20 years before. Is it just me or does 90’s BBC look like the 70s or 80s? 13 (20). Let Me In (2010)  American remake of the brilliant Swedish film Let The Right One in sees a lonely and bullied little boy befriend a child vampire who is much more of a monster in many ways than she appears at first glance. A couple of years ago Let The Right One In was the highlight and finale of my only successful 31 marathon and ever since then I’ve been curious to check out the remake. Unlike many fans I don’t mind remakes. They don’t take away from the original to me and I like to see what other artists can add or change to a good story. Let Me In is a different kind of remake in that it seems like a pretty faithful adaption of the original, both in story and tone. It doesn’t really do much different that I can recall besides a few small things here or there. But I don’t think that makes it without merit. Its just as unnerving and creepy as the original and Chloe Grace Moretz is horrifying in a way probably more than Lina Leandersson was. Which isn’t to take away from her either. I’d compare this to seeing a play performed by two different casts. You may prefer one over the other but both are doing great jobs with the same basic story but with their skills at work. Its fun to see the same play acted by different casts and see what stays the same and what is different. The one thing that did seem to be different is that from what I recall the stuff about Eli and Hakan and their relationship were kept kind of vague in the original and I had only inferred that Eli may have been much older than him and have seduced him the same way she does Oskar. Let Me In seems to imply that directly with the photo of Abby and a young Thomas, and their relationship seemed to be shown as more intimate than I remember the Eli/Hakan relationship shown (but I may just be misremembering that). That’s an interesting touch but one of those small, almost insignificant but simply stylistic differences I mean in the “two different casts, same play” idea. I’m not sure its necessarily worth seeing if you’ve seen the original. If you haven’t seen either I’m not sure you lose anything if you watch this instead of the original because of language differences. Someone will prefer the CGI and monster effects in Let Me In and some will find it a detriment from the original. I think they’re really too close to be anything but a subjective call. A good viewing that sort of makes me want to go back and rewatch the original to compare it more directly. But maybe later in the month. I got years to knock off. 20 movies total, 13 new, and 12 years. That gives me a little breathing room but I’m going to stick to the new movies/new years diet for a few more days and try and put some distance between us. I can already see what period of years is going to cause me the most trouble but I think I have a secret weapon there.  October Tally - New (Total) - (1). V/H/S (2012) / - (2). V/H/S/2 (2013) / 1 (3). Let Us Prey (2014) / - (4). The Crazies (2010) / 2 (5). The Boy (2016) / 3 (6). Beyond the Gates (2016) / - (7). Child’s Play (1988) / - (8). Jennifer’s Body (2009) / 4 (9). Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) / - (10). Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) / 5 (11). The Void (2016) / 6 (12). Nightbreed: The Director’s Cut (1990) / - (13). Grave Encounters (2011) / 7 (14). Grabbers (2012) / 8 (15). Get Out (2017) / 9 (16). Society (1989) / 10 (17). The House of the Devil (2009) / 11 (18). Hell Baby (2013) / 12 (19). Ghostwatch (1992) / 13 (20). Let Me In (2010) STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 08:35 on Oct 11, 2017 |
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Oct 11, 2017 08:32
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30. Blade Runner 2049 - I'm going to back Jedit on this qualifying, although I didn't like it as much. It's a beautiful, deliberately paced, incredibly atmospheric film with some sound design that's absolutely brilliant (when it's not doing the ten billionth eye roll-inducing dramatic blare over vast landscapes). If I could get a version with all the dialogue excised I'd put it up there with Refn's better work. Unfortunately the version I watched had dialogue and that made it impossible to ignore how stupid it is. This is a movie that opens with a screen full of establishing text, and then feels the need to have multiple characters explain their worldview and motivation via monologue in the first half hour. Extremely vague, but better to err on the safe side: It attempts misdirection and then, after the reveal, does that horrid thing of running back over snippets of the relevant scenes and playing bits of dialogue again. There's one line you'll hear at least 3-4 times before the movie is finished. There aren't very many things in modern cinema I hate more than that. There's a non-trivial amount of dialogue that seems to exist not to communicate anything or for the sake of characterization, but just because it had been a while since anyone said anything and the movie was starting to feel anxious. If you can overlook all that crap and just approach it like you would something from Refn, there's a lot to love. The movie just makes it much harder to do that than it should be. I could imagine a really great director's cut, maybe, since so much of what's wrong with it feels like attempts to avoid alienating a mainstream audience. Or maybe it was just a really bad script with a lot of very talented people on board. Still, it is beautiful. If you're at all interested and you're a patient enough person to sit through a three hour movie, you should catch this while it's in theaters.
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Oct 11, 2017 09:19
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Irony.or.Death posted:30. Blade Runner 2049 - I'm going to back Jedit on this qualifying, although I didn't like it as much. It's a beautiful, deliberately paced, incredibly atmospheric film with some sound design that's absolutely brilliant (when it's not doing the ten billionth eye roll-inducing dramatic blare over vast landscapes). If I could get a version with all the dialogue excised I'd put it up there with Refn's better work. Unfortunately the version I watched had dialogue and that made it impossible to ignore how stupid it is. This is a movie that opens with a screen full of establishing text, and then feels the need to have multiple characters explain their worldview and motivation via monologue in the first half hour. Extremely vague, but better to err on the safe side: It attempts misdirection and then, after the reveal, does that horrid thing of running back over snippets of the relevant scenes and playing bits of dialogue again. There's one line you'll hear at least 3-4 times before the movie is finished. There aren't very many things in modern cinema I hate more than that. There's a non-trivial amount of dialogue that seems to exist not to communicate anything or for the sake of characterization, but just because it had been a while since anyone said anything and the movie was starting to feel anxious. i'm not sure you should be looking to ridley scott for a good directors cut of blade runner.
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Oct 11, 2017 11:21
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16. The 'Burbs: A completely asinine plot that was so well acted in every role. Particular props to Carrie Fisher for her underrated performance as a fed up spouse trying to handle bad habits with kids gloves and applying just enough cheese to match the rest of the movie. And to cocaine for well preserving her physique. I had recently-ish talked to my wife wondering if Fisher's sex appeal and acting chops were exaggerated through nostalgia goggles for a sci-fi classic. Any doubt was erased. Shame her addictions stalled the career of a genuine talent. She acted with her eyes so much better than most, by the way. Not in this particular movie but in general. Contrasted with Bruce Dern. He completely owns every one of the many roles he's ever taken yet hardly anyone knows his name. Almost always a supporting actor who can keep up with and in most casses out-act any lead he's attached to. Such a sharp, intense, and commanding presence underneath the trappings of a suburbanite retiree of former minor glory. Speaking of physiques, guy's in great shape through his whole career but costuming and his own acting manage to minimize any notice of the fact and prevent distraction from the leads. I love the corny '80s comedy but hate it for the romanticism for HOAs. At least Ray still realizes the neighborhood is full of assholes and it's just a matter of scale. If the script had just a bit more meat this would be an easy regular favorite but will have to settle for just being pretty fun. Though maybe so much talent having such free reign to do their thing with no plot whatsoever to distract is why this works. Butch Cassidy fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Oct 16, 2017 |
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Oct 11, 2017 14:28
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Ramadu posted:i'm not sure you should be looking to ridley scott for a good directors cut of blade runner. he didn't direct this one there's still hope okay edit: or maybe we could just get, like, a cinematographer's cut with no dialogue you don't want to just mute it because everything else about the audio is really great in a bunch of scenes
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Oct 11, 2017 15:57
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The Visitor This is one of those movies that has a bunch of different wacky posters and I couldn't decide which one to post.    Yahweh and Zateen(Satan) are actually aliens from a distant planet of people who shave their head and hang out with Space Jesus. Zateen escaped to Earth to avoid punishment for his evil, and that's where the movie drops us into the proceedings. It's a bizarre film, mish-mash of all kinds of different ideas that come together in a not always completely coherent way. But every few minutes something strange is happening, something new to decipher, so it's entertaining for that reason. It's a kitchen-sink film along the lines of Lifeforce, just not as well made technically. The cast is odd too, but in a good way. Somehow they managed to get both John Huston AND Sam Peckinpah, and not in minor roles either. Huston is one of the leads, and he's really good alongside a child actress who does a great job as well. It's one of those rare times when a child actually pulls off a solid performance that adds to the movie, most of the time the best you can hope for is for the movie to be good in spite of having to rely on child actors. She's playing the prototypical bad seed, but really to perfection, you will hate this kid by the end but for all the right reasons. I'd recommend this to some people, but mostly to those who enjoy ridiculousness it's own sake(or John Huston fans). As a film I can't say it holds together well enough to be a legitimately good sci fi story. Also one of the rare forgettable roles for Lance Henricksen, he has a fairly boring role that doesn't give him much room to make it his own or inject his personality into it. Anyway I chose The Visitor because it's plot was similar to my 31st movie of the challenge:  I wonder how many people have probably walked by this cover at the video store(when they existed) a hundred times and never realized that it's Alice Cooper's face? This is a film I discovered only three or four years ago, but it's been a staple of my Halloween season every year since. It's pure Carpenter; the score, the cast, the cinematography, the production design, it all feels like it fits right in with the rest of Carpenter's more widely accepted classics. The plot could be considered one of the several Rio Bravo remakes that Carpenter has made over the years, and so most of the action takes place in and around a single building. But in the basement of the building is maybe my favorite Carpenter set of all time:  The whole thing just oozes atmosphere and combined with the Carpenter score it really puts me in that Halloween mood. It's also pretty drat unsettling, most people talk about the dream transmissions from the future but the image that has always stuck with me was the ending. One of the characters has to make a sacrifice, and as a result ends up in a situation that is just pure nightmare fuel. The final shot of the character as they are desperately fighting to avoid their fate is terrifying to me, I've never been able to completely get it out of my head. A minor masterpiece by Carpenter that unfortunately will never get the recognition it deserves. Completed:1.The Wicker Man, 2. Deadly Blessing, 3. Night Creatures, 4.Shock Waves, 5.Slugs, 6.Venom, 7.Maximum Overdrive, 8.Christine, 9.The Tingler, 10.The Masque of the Red Death, 11.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 12.The Funhouse, 13.Poltergeist, 14.Lifeforce, 15.Invaders From Mars, 16.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, 17.The Seventh Curse, 18.The Mummy, 19.Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, 20.Hellraiser, 21.Hellbound: Hellraiser II, 22.Child's Play, 23.Cult of Chucky, 24.Leviathan, 25.Pumpkinhead, 26.Phantasm, 27.Murders in the Rue Morgue, 28.The Abominable Dr. Phibes, 29.The Devil's Candy, 30.The Visitor, 31.Prince of Darkness Basebf555 fucked around with this message at 16:04 on Oct 11, 2017 |
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Oct 11, 2017 16:02
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Ramadu posted:i'm not sure you should be looking to ridley scott for a good directors cut of blade runner. Why not? His cut of the first is great
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Oct 11, 2017 16:57
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 #21 Re-Animator - This was a lot of fun. The acting was totally on point with just the right amount of camp and the gore effects were really good. Need to check out the sequels because I could watch a lot more Jeffrey Combs in this role. 4/5 Total: 21 Re-watches(1): The 'Burbs [5/5] First time(20): 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], Poltergeist [4/5], Re-Animator [4/5] Letterboxd list
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Oct 11, 2017 17:20
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Definitely check out Bride of Re-Animator, it's definitely a worthy sequel. Beyond Re-Animator is just ok, but of course Combs is still Combs so it's worth a watch.
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Oct 11, 2017 17:22
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#32 Cult of Chucky (2017) Last time in the Child's Play franchise, the main character of that film, Nica, was found guilty of the murders the evil doll had committed. Now she's in an asylum, trying to come to grips with things, while her not-very-good doctor decides to bring a Good Guys doll into group therapy, which predictably makes things go very very bad, as Chucky has indeed returned, now with the ability to bring to life other Chucky dolls as duplicates of himself. Also, Andy, the boy from the first three movies all grown up begins setting in motion plans to finally enact his revenge on the killer for good. You know, the Child's Play series is such a strange one. Over the past 30 or so years there's been now seven films in the series, and yet each film seems to build on the rest of the series and bring something new to the table, whether it's part 2's bizarre doll factory third act, or the way Bride of Chucky lampoons much of the rest of the slasher genre. This one is no exception, moving the action to the claustrophically sterile asylum halls, and spending very little time on the "is he alive or not" coy game, not to mention there being easter eggs and inside jokes referencing each of the previous films. I never would have thought that of all the 80s horror franchises to have staying power the longest would be this one. I give Cult of Chucky  out of Five#33. The Thing On the Doorstep (2014) Daniel Upton begins the story by telling us he shot his best friend, Edward Derby, killing him, but he is not Edward's murderer. Then we go into flashback, learning how Daniel and Edward were such good friends, until Edward met one Asenaith Waite, a woman with occult background, and immediately fell in love, promptly marrying her, leading to him becoming more reclusive and strange, until Daniel makes disturbing revelations about the nature of their relationship... Eh, I wanted to like this one, I really did. Besides being modern day, and fleshing out the lives of the characters, it really is a fairly accurate adaptation of Lovecraft's story. That said, it's a slow story on its own, and not super interesting as a film. Add to that the cast all being yuppie intelligentsia that only come across as even more pretentious when lines are spoken verbatim from the story, and it just becomes a drag. I give The Thing On The Doorstep #34. The Mind's Eye (2015) Set in the winter of 1990-1991, Zack and Rachel are two powerful psychokinetics, taken in by a doctor to his private research facility, where he holds them prisoner and drugs them while trying to make a synthetic compound to give himself PK abilities. Eventually the pair break out and go on the run, having to fight of the doctor and his goon squad in mental warfare. I totally picked this one by random and now am so glad I did. It is incredibly obvious that David Cronenberg's early work, Scanners in particular, was a major influence on this film, with its body horror, mental gymnastics, snowy landscape, etc. It's a style that almost nobody seems to try to grasp onto these days but it's a fantastic one. The acting isn't terrible either. I give The Mind's Eye out of Five#35. Freaks of Nature (2015) In a world where humans, vampires, and zombies all try to coexist, being a teen can be tough, what with romantic woes, school pressure, grief from parents, etc. Then the aliens show up. Naturally, all three factions think the other two have something to do with it and war breaks out. Now the only chance the town of Dillford, Ohio has is in three teens-Dag, the hapless human, Petra, the recently turned (and promptly dumped) vampire, and Ned, the guy who recently went zombie to stop caring about everything. Yeah, we're all screwed. I'm really surprised I had not heard of this in advance. It's a pretty darn funny movie that has a huge set of names in its supporting cast, like Bill Odenkirk, Keegan Michael Key, and Selena Gomez. Not to mention the film doesn't shy away from the gore either. Definitely so far the best horror comedy I watched this year. I give Freaks of Nature out of FiveNew To Me List: 1. We Are The Flesh (2016) 2. The Void (2016) 3. Gerald's Game (2017) 4. A Cure For Wellness (2016) 5. Armynel (2012) 6. Beyond The Gates (2016) 7. Scream Girls (2008) 8. Residue (2017) 9. Sound (2016) 10. The Psychic (1977) 11. We go on 2016) 12. The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007) 13. A Dark Song (2016) 14. The Monster Project (2017) 15. Critters 3 16. The Mist (2007) 17, Reel Nightmare (2017) 18. The Burrowers 19. The ABCs of Death 2.5 (2016) 20. Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988) 21. Inside Scarlett (2015) 22. Vault of Horror (1973) 23. Sinister (2012) 24. Spirits of the Dead (1968) 25. Campfire Tales (1997) 26. Noroi: The Curse (2005) 27. Voodoo (2015) 28. Another (2014) 29. The Uncanny (1977) 30. Koala Executive (2005) 31. Burial Ground (1981) 32. Cult of Chucky (2017) 33. The Thing on the Doorstep (2014) 34. The Mind's Eye (2015) 35. Freaks of Nature (2015)
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Oct 11, 2017 19:24
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I have a large backlog of reviews to get through so here goes: 2. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1979, Tobe Hooper, Theater Getting to see classic movies for the first time on the big screen is always awesome and this was no exception. The 4k restoration really showed the macabre filthyness of the setting as well as the characters themselves. Apparantly the budget was so low that Gunnar Hanson had to wear the same mask and outfit for the entire shoot with temperatures regularly reaching of 40°C and it shows. Right from the hitch hiker scene there is a tension that things can go wrong at any moment, further illustrated by the first appearance of Leatherface, no lenghty introduction, he just shows up and you are dead before you can even scream. Going into this movie I didn´t realize how much the family of leatherface would play a part, and the final diner table scene with grandpa was gleefully morbid. I also liked how respect for the grandfather both got Sally into this mess in the first place as well as out of it in the end. 3. Hush 2016, Mike Flanagan, (Dutch) Netflix Prior to watching this I watched the short Dawn of the Deaf. It shows several deaf people dealing with various issues prior to the occurence of "the pulse", the effect of which shouldn't be to hard to guess based on the title-pun. I really liked this, the soundesign was excellent but there was one standout moment where two deaf characters facing each other were talking in sign language while the camera was, de Palma-style, spinning around them. However the subtitles were placed in between the characters so parts of them were constantly obscured. You can still follow most of the conversation but you had to put in some actual effort piercing fragments together, which was a really cool visualization of deafness. I read that the makers want to turn this into a feature film, and the short does feel like a first act creating an interesting premise. Definately keeping an eye out for that. As for Hush, I'm a fan of home invasion movies and this was a real solid one getting the most out of its limited setting and having only characters. The deaf aspect was used well, with some effective scenes even though the finale was pretty obvious. However, there were some moments were I had to remind myself that the main character was deaf, I largely blame the sound editing for that which just wasn't as effective and creating an atmosphere of deafness as Dawn of the Deaf. 4. Children of the Corn 1984, Fritz Kiersch, Youtube One day the children of a small Nebraskan town murder all adults and create a secluded religious community when suddenly a couple travelling cross-country stumble upon them. I quite liked this up until the end when things went of the rails with the introduction of all the supernatural elements. 5. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 2012, Timur Bekmambetov, TV Better than I expected. For such a silly premise I was surprised how much it still felt like a historical epic, a clash of tones that didn't always work. The CGI was a bit overwhelming at times with the horses scene the absurd peak. 6. The Slumber Party Massacre 1982, Amy Holden Jones, YouTube With a title like this there is no mistaking in what you're going to get: pretty girls getting naked (don't think a female director stops this from having plenty of gratuitous nudity) and being brutally murdered. Luckily, there are enough other characters (spying boys, a worried teacher, nosy neigbours) to keep things from ever getting boring. Most of the characters are pretty thin, but the girl next door and her sisters get some surprisingly decent characterization. The kills are ok, but can get a little samey, and the killer himself isn't that interesting which is a shame since he gets a lot of screentime. I later read that originally the movie was written as a parody before being retooled in an actual slasher, which explains all the cliches. However, they did keep some fun moments (pizza anyone?). If you're not into slashers this movie isn't going to change your mind, but if you are it's well worth a watch. 7. mother! 2017, Darren Aronofsky, Theater Whoa, that was great. I must admit I didn't get most of the religous stuff until very late but nevertheless the feeling of complete loss of control and total helplessness this portrayed was very harrowing, and that third act, jesus literally. I kinda want to see this again to pick up on all the things that I missed, but also I kind of don't? 8. Evilspeak 1981, Eric Weston, YouTube The first movie not off my list, I was tired and wanted something dumb and that's exactly what I got! This is essentially a Carrie remake only with Clint Howard in the Sissy Spacek so yeah... Stanley Coopersmith, a student at a military academy is teased by the other cadets (I have no idea how old everyone is supposed to be but they all act like they are 13), until one day while cleaning the chapel's cellar he finds a hidden crypt and promply decides to get back at his tormentors by performing a satanic ritual to summon the spirit of a satanic leader buried in the crypt. He does this by bringing a computer down to the crypt through which the dead satanist tells him how to perform the ritual, somehow, including some state of the art 1981-computer graphics. This is not a good movie, there are quite a few stretches that are downright boring and while there are some interesting ideas they don't really go anywhere. The finale is decent but too little too late and it makes the baffling decision that the final kill of Stanley's main tormentor is done by a minor character killed earlier coming back to life as a zombie while our main protagonist isn't even in the same room.. Bonus points for multiple satanic pigs attacks though.
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Oct 11, 2017 19:30
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9. Let the Right One In (2008) It took me forever to see this one and I regret it because it is beautiful. I loved the setting of a dark and cold Scandinavian winter because it really highlights the lonely and depressing nature of the relationship between the characters. As a Canadian it reminds me of the feeling we get when Halloween comes along because it only reminds us that winter is coming thus a dark/cold setting goes hand-in-hand with the spookiest time of the year. But, back to the film, it's hauntingly beautiful and I appreciate that they captured the tone of an adolescent relationship and emotion very well and the two main actors sell it so well. You start to feel their mutual understanding of isolation and loneliness which is bittersweet because while they have someone to talk to you wonder if anything will come of it. . 5 /5
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Oct 11, 2017 21:46
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8. Gerald's Game Based on the Stephen King book (which I've not read to compare). I thought the acting was pretty good in this, and the premise I found pretty scary. I do think a lot of the story elements kinda fell flat though, and the reveal at the end seemed to serve little to no purpose. Not sure how much of that is source material or what, but either way I think it kinda wasted some pretty intense acting by the two leads. I'm kinda starting to sour on Mike Flanagan as a director as well-he's not bad by any means, but it seems I've liked each of his movies less and less. Absentia is still his high water mark as far as I'm concerned. Total: 8 2 Jennifer [1.5/5] Gifts From Strangers [3.5/5] The Alchemist's Cookbook [4/5] Roadgames [3/5] The Gateway [3.5/5] The Thing [10/5] Phantasm II [3.5/5] Gerald's Game [2.5/5]
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Oct 11, 2017 22:24
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10. Phoenix Forgotten (2016) A painfully paint-by-numbers found footage film complete with a protagonist trying to figure out "what happened" with interviews and the entire final part being "the footage". I'm usually a fan of sci-fi alien stuff like this but the film did nothing for me. I will say I appreciated the late 90s nostalgia that was sprinkled around the film but aside from that there is nothing special at all about this film. / 5
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Oct 11, 2017 22:54
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Had some time to kill last night so threw on the MST3K episode for Teenagers From Outer Space, which strikes just the perfect balance of being dumb and goofy but not outright incompetent on every level (the closest it comes being some hilarious giant lobster effects) that makes for ideal MST3K fodder. Just a fun, hokey sci-fi invasion film with some one note characters (TORTURE), hammy acting (even outside of the intended cases), and a lot of spooky skeletons. Movies Watched (11): It, Werewolf (MST3K), Army of Darkness, Frankenweenie, Corpse Bride, Paranorman, Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Shining, Room 237, Teenagers from Outer Space (MST3K)
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Oct 12, 2017 00:00
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Purno posted:
I'm so mad you scooped me on this one
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Oct 12, 2017 00:30
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The Fog (1980) I'm glad I finally got around to this movie. John Carpenter is such a legendary director, and although this film isn't quite as well-known it is still very good. It's about a coastal town that is haunted by it's past, and strange things happen when the fog roles in. It's a somewhat low-key movie, but it's extremely atmospheric and spooky. We don't get a good look at the creatures in the fog, but I felt that helped add to the atmosphere. It's a little slow at times, but I liked how it played out overall, and it really felt like an old EC Comics tale. A Nightmare on Elm Street IV (1988) I really liked part 3, but this one was a pretty big step back. The plot if fine, and the effects are great, but it just doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table. It doesn't help that they weren't able to retain most of the cast from the previous movie. Freddy's a little more wise-cracking this time around, and that really deflates a lot of the horror that can be drawn from the character. I do like some scenes, but it's clear that they were just pumping these out as quickly as possible at this point. I was planning on watching part 5 this year but I don't think I'll bother. Sssssss! (1973) This was part of a 4-pack I recently bought and turned out to be a pleasant surprise! I was expecting a 70s style killer creature flick, but instead I got a body-horror and transformation picture. It's closer to The Fly than The Bees. This has a great use of special effects - and not so special effects as well; they used real, poisonous snakes for this movie! There is some really solid cinematography in this as well. Rewatches (7): Maniac Cop, Friday the 13th 3, Friday the 13th 4, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 , The Lost Boys, Land of the Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 First time watches (18): 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, The Fog, Sssssss!
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Oct 12, 2017 00:35
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Justin Godscock posted:9. Let the Right One In (2008) There's a sequel story called Let The Old Dreams Die which answers that question. Eli turns Oskar and they spend decades at least together as friends. Now go read everything John Ajvide Lindqvist has ever written because you're slacking, then pray someone gives a copy of Little Star to Aronofsky and a copy of Harbour to Casey Affleck because they'd loving nail them.
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Oct 12, 2017 00:37
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