|
4 and 5 are just 3 but dumber. 6 is Jason Goes To Hell meets Wes Craven telling the audience these movies are stupid and he's tired of making them.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 14:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 9, 2024 23:57 |
|
|
 Much like Chaney Jr. did to audiences during his career, he's kinda turning my opinion of him around gradually just because he's always there. I mean, what am I gonna do, not watch The Wolfman in October? His oafish, non-threatening presence was a turn-off at first, but as I continue to revisit The Wolfman over the years I find him more and more appropriate for the role. He's not as charismatic as the character seems to be on the page, but it works as a contradiction in his character. It's a sad role, Larry never really seems to accomplish anything other than getting himself killed without taking the woman he loves with him(and he almost fails at that). He knows what's happening to him fairly early on, but there's never really anything to be done about it and his fate is already decided. And obviously The Wolfman is a gorgeous film, I'm a sucker for foggy horror and I'm not sure they come any foggier than this.  Throw in a small role for Lugosi and I have to say that I enjoyed this watch a lot more than the last few. Interesting how some of these classic films can hit you in a different way if you give them the chance to win you over, although I get that most people don't want to waste their time watching a film 3 or 4 times just to see if their opinion changes. I probably wouldn't have in this case either if not for The Wolfman's iconic status and it's connection to the other Universal horror monsters, but I'm glad I did. Most of what I have left are the real heavy hitters, I did a good job saving them for the end this year. Gonna be a fun week! 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, 32.Critters, 33.Killer Klowns From Outer Space, 34.Horror of Dracula, 35.Brides of Dracula, 35.Dracula Has Risen From the Grave, 36.A Nightmare on Elm Street, 37.A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, 38.A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, 39.Horror Express, 40.Road Games, 41.13 Ghosts, 42.The Devil's Backbone, 43.Halloween(2007), 44.Halloween 2(2009), 45.The Wolfman
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 15:45
|
|
|
I may do a double feature of The Wolfman and The Curse of the Werewolf. The Wolfman used to be my favorite Universal monster film (mainly because I like Larry as a protagonist; he's a sad sack, but he's a charming sad sack!) until the Horror thread kept beating up on it. Hopefully I can reignite the spark, because I do love it, and there aren't many great werewolf movies. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 15:55
|
|
|
Curse of the Werewolf is lesser Terence Fisher, mainly because it's the rare film that Fisher did for Hammer that has no Lee OR Cushing. Still, Oliver Reed is a capable replacement and it's a solid werewolf flick, like you said there just aren't a ton of them. I think I might watch it with American Werewolf in London this week.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 15:58
|
|
|
23/31: The Howling: That werewolf transformation, though. The movie seems to lack a lot of the fun that Joe Dante would later be known for, but the effects are awesome, and the ending is great. 3/5 protruding snoots 24/31: Residue (the miniseries): This is a 3-episode miniseries rather than a film, but I'm counting it anyway. It's a disaster movie/conspiracy film/supernatural horror series, featuring Ramsay Bolton. It keeps most of the information away from the viewer, just leaving a menacing secret government agency and weird supernatural events, which works well here. 4/5 moldy spots
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 20:23
|
|
|
Fell behind on posting to the thread: 26. S&Man (2006) I found the actual documentary about the underground horror movie scene to be really interesting. Like, I have no real desire to seek out and watch August Underground, but hearing about the audience and the reasons for filming was interesting. The underlying "is this directory actually killing girls" plot didn't really work for me.  /527. Wish Upon (2017) So, this girl finds a Chinese music box that grants wishes, and like any teenage girl she throws those wishes away by wishing for dumb poo poo. But lo, the music box comes with a terrible curse, and every wish has a blood price. A lot of those 'blood price' kills felt very much like something out of Final Destination, only...not as creative or good. The main girl's wishes are terrible, and there was a depressing lack of twists on the wishes she makes. One twists, I guess, but most are pretty exactly what she wants. /528. Requiem for a Vampire (1971) Hell yeah, lesbians woo! So, these two girls wander into a castle, get molested a few times, and learn a valuable lesson about friendship. It was dreamlike, if you have those dreams where not a lot really happens and even when stuff does happen it's not very fulfilling. Several times it looks like they're getting or about to get raped, but judging by the importance of virginity established later in the film, those were just men helping them jiggle around on camera by dry humping them a bit. Even the bat that performs cunnilingus doesn't seem to be into it. I mean at some point one of these lesbiansploitation flicks has to be good, right? I can't give up hope! /529. The House that Dripped Blood (1971) No actual blood was dripped. Heck, a number of the stories only really involved the house tangentially, the town itselfdripped more blood. Not the best anthology, still a pretty enjoyable watch with a crowd. /530. The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) I just don't understand the thinking behind "remake classic episodes of the show" because they were already great. (Y'know what was missing from the TV version of the racism one? Actual slurs! We can fix that in a movie version!) The stories get sprinkled with some comic insanity. Lithgow on the plane was a highlight, but the Simpsons did it better. /531. Gremlins (1984) Holy poo poo, this was 31! Cool! I never saw this as a kid, and drat, I missed out. This was a fun movie! Some of the effects are remarkably gory for what is basically a kid's horror film. Still not sure why every other Mogwai is a dick. .5/532. Black Sabbath (1963) Man Italy has some beautiful people. Anyway here we have The Telephone, wherein a pretty lady receives menacing phone calls that both are and aren't what they seem, The Wurdulak featuring a somewhat gropey undead grandpa, and The Drop of Water, with a nurse who foolishly steals from the dead. Karloff adds a lot to the Wurdulak, and the wraparound. I think the first was my favorite, although wikipedia tells me that Rosy was a prostitute and Frank her pimp, which I did not get from the Scream Stream version at all. .5/533. Twice-Told Tales (1963) Ah, Vincent Price you are an entertaining and charismatic presence. The first two of these tales were great, though maybe a bit slow moving, with the poisonous plant/girl being my favorite. The final tale was dreadfully slow, and dragged the rest of the film down. .5/534. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) drat, man, I should've watched these movies before! Gremlins 2 does everything a sequel should and takes it up a notch. Here the Gremlins Take Manhattan, or at least one office building, and chaos ensues. It was zany, and gag-filled, and fun. /5
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 20:42
|
|
|
14. The Void 15. Prometheus 16. Alien: Covenant 17. Strip Nude for Your Killer 18. Society 19. The Devils 20. Kiss of the Vampire This is one of the lesser Hammer vampire films, not really worth bothering with. 21. Dellamorte Dellamore A.k.a. Cemetary Man. The second film by Michele Soavi I watched after The Church, and also great, if you have a taste for the absurd. 22. The Devil Rides Out Christopher Lee fights Satanists, directed by Terrence Fisher. I didn't like this one as much as Night of the Demon, but it's definitely solid. 23. The House by the Cemetary Lucio Fulci's third entry in the so-called Gates of Hell trilogy, but this is definitely the weakest of the bunch. I loved The Beyond, and City of the Living Dead was also decent, but I can't recommend this one.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 20:50
|
|
|
The father/Santa part in Gremlins is my favourite thing because it's the craziest loving story ever dropped into what is ostensibly a kids? movie. Also her casual "and that's why I don't like the holidays" or whatever is legit hilarious to me as an adult in a wtf way.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 21:03
|
|
|
14. Five Dollas for an August Moon This one as a lot of fun, even if it was all over the place at times. Edwige Fenech and Ely Galleani were fantastic in this, along with most of the cast. Bava cranked the style up to 11 in this one as well. I loved the constant abrupt cuts, music/sounds clashing and transitioning. The crime mystery itself is convoluted as hell, and the ending to it all had me laughing a lot. If you enjoy giallo, it's a must watch. 3.5/5 15. Phantasm: Ravager I wanted to like this one so much. As a huge fan of the series I was ready to forgive almost anything this one through at me, but I just couldn't do it. It rambles far too much, and while using dementia and older Reggie fits conceptually with the Phantasm series, the execution of it all is asinine. Almost insulting. I can forgive the technical shortcomings for most of the movie, but the movie just isn't interesting enough to make up for it's small budget. I'm glad Mike, Jodie, and Reggie finally got an ending, but that's probably the biggest praise I can give it. It ended. Well there's also some pretty shots when Reggie is wandering around in the woods. 2/5 16. Fall of the House of Usher Another solid Poe flick by Corman. Price crushes his role as the older brother, Roderick, who tries to shoo away a pesky suitor for his sister, Madeline. Beautiful sets, great acting by the whole cast, overall a great adaptation of the story. I really enjoyed the way the house was portrayed as "alive" and the visuals in the Usher Tomb were really cool. 4/5 17. Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key I originally gave this one 2.5 out 5 because it was painfully dull at times, but after thinking on it some more I decided to bump it up to a full 3. That's what happens when your movie looks good I guess, haha. Another movie where Edwige Fenech stands over her peers in the acting department. Everyone in this movie (except Brenda who I feel bad for) were big ol pieces of human garbage. I do think this was a pretty decent adaptation of the Black Cat by Poe. Just nothing special. I did realize this was the first Martino movie I've watched, so I should check out Torso, All The Colors of the Dark, Mrs. Wardh, and 2019. 3/5 18. Peeping Tom This is easily one of the best horror movies I've watched this month. Karlheinz Bohm was fantastic as Mark Lewis, a filming enthusiast with an eye for murder. The way the story unfolded was great, Helen and her mother were both well made characters and the actresses did fantastic jobs bringing them to life. The blind mother particularly stands out to me with her confrontation of Mark in his screening room as he watches one of his films. That scene was incredible. It's a shame this movie ruined Michael Powell's career because it's a legit masterpiece. 4.5/5 Watched: Motel Hell, The Burning, Carnival of Souls, Microwave Massacre, Cult of Chucky, Tomb of Ligeia, The Mutilator, Friday Part 4, Friday Part 6, Frankenstein (31), Dead & Buried, The Babysitter, Night of the Comet, Five Dollas for an August Moon, Phastasm: Ravager, Fall of the House of Usher, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, Peeping Tom
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 21:19
|
|
|
25/31, Hell House LLC: This one is a really effective found footage film about a haunted haunted house attraction. Lots of good scares throughout the film, and it builds nicely to the climax. This one is much better than the other haunted house found footage horror movie I've watched this month. 4/5 clown dolls
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 22:49
|
|
|
22. Tremors 3: Return to Perfection That's right, they made a third Tremors movie. Did they need to? gently caress no, but that's not a bad thing. Tremors 3 features Michael Gross back as Burt Gummer, and we're back in Perfection, which has become a little tourist trap. Graboids are hot poo poo, and one man is looking to capitalize on that. However, there is something around that Burt can't kill; an albino Graboid, protected by the government, due to its sterility. Not to mention, it seems that the Graboid has a third stage of life, one that they never saw coming... The third stage is called assblasters. and they fart fire to fly. They're still heat-seeking bastards, but now they're extremely mobile. This movie took itself as seriously as you could with a movie featuring flying fart monsters, and it works all the better for it. It's a little more comedy oriented than the previous two movies, but it works for it. There's still a couple of scenes that qualify as horror, but it's mostly comedy. However, if you're not a Tremors fan, I wouldn't bother. 3/5 Food Comas 23. Tremors 4 gently caress this lame-rear end movie. It's a prequel, and it sucks. If you have the choice of watching this movie or sitting on a porcupine, seriously look into the second option. 1/5 Burt's Ancestor
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2017 23:33
|
|
|
31: Night of the Living Dead (1968) Finishing off my 31 with a tribute to Romero. Watching it again I found myself sympathising more with Cooper than with Ben. He's an rear end in a top hat, but he's mostly an rear end in a top hat for the right reasons. Everyone rips on him for not helping out, but when he has a heel-face turn and decides he can't leave Ben to die Ben beats the poo poo out of him. And of course, he ends up being proven absolutely right about the cellar being the safest place. What does Ben manage to do apart from get everyone killed? I doubt I'll have time to watch any more as I'm abroad, so here's my final wall of fame:  Missing: BR2049 (cinema), In the Mouth of Madness (couldn't find my copy so had to resort to YouTube).
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 00:26
|
|
|
26/31, The Dark: This is the 1993 (probably DTV) Canadian film, starring Canada's Lance Henrikson, Stephen McHattie. A monster lives underground in a graveyard, and some people try to kill or make friends with it, and it goes rather poorly all told. The monster is a kind of werewolf with a rat's tail, not particularly scary, but points for trying. 2/5 missing headstones
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 00:35
|
|
Jedit posted:31: Night of the Living Dead (1968) Well yes, that is the ultimate point of the film. While Ben is relatable and seems the most reasonable, he has no idea what he's talking about and in the end is a selfish bully and coward.
|
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 00:42
|
|
|
9. Halloween Halloween eventually fell into that category of movie that I've seen discussed so many times that I honestly can't remember if I ever actually sat down to watch it. Now that I've definitely and for real seen it, I'm glad I made the time. It's probably the most over-analyzed horror film ever so I'll just say that the camerawork is superb and that the wide shots really create a sense of paranoia. While I was watching Halloween my eyes darted around the screen like I was watching a tennis match, and I can't think of any other film to accomplish that. Four pumpkins out of five, only because the characters are a little flat. 10. Halloween II  Jumped into this one right after watching the original because I was fuckin' pumped to see more Halloween. It's certainly not as good as the original, but Michael Myers does feel a little more dangerous and the movie benefits from the extra tension. Three pumpkins out of five, still a solid experience but not quite as memorable or impressive as the original.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 00:44
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp_d96GUyu0 October 23 - The Void  So there's some guys running out of a farmhouse chasing some people that they gun down and then burn, but one person gets away. And then there's a cop whose marriage is on the rocks with his nurse wife finding that guy bleeding by the side of the road so he takes him to the hospital that's open for the last night after a recent fire is making them shut down. Then there's a nurse who murders a patient and is killed by the cop, but she comes back soon as a gross monster thing. Then the cop is having hallucinations and a bunch of cultists show up to surround the hospital and prevent people from leaving. And then the two gunmen from the beginning burst into the hospital and start threatening everyone. And that's the first half hour. I almost feel like the Void is two different movies welded together. The first is a decent but not really exceptional "people trapped in remote location by bad things" movie. The other is a really good "holy poo poo have some hosed up insane gross poo poo!" movie. And the two of them don't come together particularly well. There were several points where the characters made some kind of statement or weird jump and I was going, "What are they even talking about?!" and that makes me think there was some cut material that might have helped bridge things better. For the most part the creature design was pretty cool in The Void, though the transformed Doctor didn't really work for me. Everything else is suitably slimy, tentacly, and gross. And all the monsters looked practical to me, though if someone said that they enhanced some things with CGI I would not be shocked. I read that this was Lovecraft inspired and you can definitely see that in certain aspects of things. The god the cult worships is definitely Nyarlathotep, for example (their symbol being a black triangle/pyramid). And the film definitely gets into a "what's the point of even going on" scenario as it progresses. Given how poorly Lovecraft inspired stuff often is, it's kind of nice to see it done pretty well. The Void is pretty solid, especially the second half when things go off the rails. In an odd way, I wish it was about fifteen or twenty minutes longer so that the scenario in the first half could be built up a bit more. Usually I'm wanting padded movies to hurry up and get on with it, this time I'm going, "Yeah, we could have used a bit more mundane threat early on to ramp things up."
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 01:24
|
|
|
19: Vampyr (1932, Carl Theodor Dreyer) One of the greatest vampire movies if just for its hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. The star, "Julian West" (actually aristocrat Nicholas de Gunzburg) serves as a surrogate for the audience. He doesn't quite affect anything, but he observes. Few films capture the feeling of a fever dream as successfully as this. In fact, like many "antique" films, it survives only in compromised shape - except that "sfumato" texture of heavy grain, blur, and scratches make it that much more separated from reality. While this is an early sound film, there's not much dialogue. Instead, there's a near-constant music score (by Wolfgang Zeller) and often muted voices in the background. Since there's not much dialogue, the camera is free to move around, with zero stiffness like many films of this period. Lots of brilliant tracking shots with shadows coming from nowhere or surprises on whose point of view we're actually seeing. Like Dreyer's earlier film The Passion of Joan of Arc, he's interested in faces to establish character. Most of the cast was made up of amateurs. My favorite face has to be of the doctor (Jan Hieronimko) with his emaciated body, large nose, and Einstein-like hair. 1a/b: The Creep Behind the Camera/The Creeping Terror | 2: Phantom of the Paradise | 3: The Phantom of the Opera (Hammer) | 4: I Walked with a Zombie | 5: The Evil Dead (1981) | 6: Evil Dead 2 | 7: Army of Darkness | 8: Phantasm | 9: Night of the Lepus | 10: The Touch of Satan (MST3K) | 11: Halloween (1978) | 12: House of Wax (1953 - in 3-D) | 13: Das cabinet des Dr. Caligari | 14: Gorgo (MST3K) | 15: M (1931 - British Version) | 16: Godzilla, King of the Monsters | 17: Drácula (1931) | 18: Noche de duendes [The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case]
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 02:12
|
|
|
17. Basket Case C Not great but I can't get enough scenes of people losing fights to puppets. Leaning against watching the sequels even though I loved Frankenhooker and Brain Damage. 18. Tales From The Darkside C Amazing cast but meh scripts. I need to re-watch Tales From The Hood to confirm it's the only 90s anthology I love. 19. Dead of Night C Scattershot anthology from the 40s. Frame story goes off the rails in the most amazing way. 20. Puppet Master D Watch Tourist Trap instead. This is bad. There are quality puppet fights and I am going to sit through 2+ awful sequels hoping one of the scripts turns out better. 21. The Invisible Man C Neat double exposure green screen tricks. Simple script like most Universal horror but it's not a dud. Claude Rains is fantastic. 22. Re-Animator B Fun and gory mad scientist movie. Lots of comedy and payoffs for little things mentioned along the way. I'm excited for more Stuart Gordon and probably Bride of Re-Animator. 23. 1922 D Really slow burn that doesn't pay off and has an inconsistent tone. Thomas Jane is great but this is not a 100 minute story. 23/31 Movies. 9 of last 31 years.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 02:34
|
|
|
Egbert Souse posted:19: Vampyr (1932, Carl Theodor Dreyer) IIRC, it was shot so that there would be a talkie and silent version of the film and the talkie version has been partially lost. So the "not much dialog" is due to the sound track not existing in its entirety.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 02:44
|
|
|
27/31, Found Footage 3D (2D Version): This hilariously-titled Shudder exclusive holds up better than I thought it would - it's a decent FF film, not quite Grave Encounters quality, but worth a watch. The death of the Fearnet critic is also hilarious. 3/5 failed marriages
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 02:48
|
|
|
20: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922, F.W. Murnau) The great-grandfather of vampire movies! What has made Murnau's film so endearing? I listened to part of the audio commentary (by horror historian David Kalat) and he explains what a miracle it is that we have this film today. As many know, Bram Stoker's estate forced Prana-Film to withdraw Nosferatu due to copyright infringement. Yet it survived. Even more impressive considering the pathetic survival rate of silent films. The fact it's been in the public domain for most of its existence has allowed it to end up everywhere. Though, I think the primary reason for it being popular is that Count Orlock is the best screen vampire. Often imitated, but never surpassed. Max Schreck's performance is fantastic and much owed to his impossible-looking body. Tall and thin with a long face. If you've seen pictures of him, he didn't exactly have Lon Chaney levels of makeup. Another great thing about the film is how it still stirs up some amazing scares like Orlock's visit in Hutter's chamber, yet it's punctuated by comedy (like Hutter pulling the covers over his head). drat if that shot of Orlock entering isn't one of the scariest shots in cinema history. There's also all these wonderful shots of shadows. There's a lot of innovation at play, too. To show the strength of Orlock, film is sped up to show a carriage riding at impossible speed or the vampire hauling coffins like they were made of paper. One shot is in negative to give an otherworldly appearance. Back to Schreck - I love how he's so rat-like, looking like the cursed undead rather than suave as in most other adaptations. There's some irony in the best adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel being an unauthorized one. Murnau maintains the "diary" form of the novel by using intertitles of Hutter's diary. Carl Dreyer would borrow this same idea for his vampire movie, Vampyr. I think what's impressive about Nosferatu is how well it plays. Even the best restorations are still a bit tattered (I watched the Masters of Cinema Blu-ray), but the antique look works in its favor. Also, the restoration I watched has a fantastic orchestral score based on the score composed for the film back in 1922. Presentation matters for silent films and it makes an already great film that much greater. 1a/b: The Creep Behind the Camera/The Creeping Terror | 2: Phantom of the Paradise | 3: The Phantom of the Opera (Hammer) | 4: I Walked with a Zombie | 5: The Evil Dead (1981) | 6: Evil Dead 2 | 7: Army of Darkness | 8: Phantasm | 9: Night of the Lepus | 10: The Touch of Satan (MST3K) | 11: Halloween (1978) | 12: House of Wax (1953 - in 3-D) | 13: Das cabinet des Dr. Caligari | 14: Gorgo (MST3K) | 15: M (1931 - British Version) | 16: Godzilla, King of the Monsters | 17: Drácula (1931) | 18: Noche de duendes [The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case] | 19: Vampyr
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 03:11
|
|
|
Random Stranger posted:IIRC, it was shot so that there would be a talkie and silent version of the film and the talkie version has been partially lost. So the "not much dialog" is due to the sound track not existing in its entirety. I'm not aware of any silent version, but it was definitely shot as a sound film, though without on-location recording. They'd shoot dialogue in multiple languages, then dub later. The negative was apparently built so that it could be assembled to fit whatever language needed prints. That's probably why it survives in poor condition since the negative would have gone through two recuts. And that's not including the weird 1934 cut released in the US, Castle of Doom. Though that version is in horrific condition on YouTube and Archive.org.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 03:27
|
|
|
16. Twice Told Tales I'd never heard of this one until I checked out a sister thread, and was left divided. It felt like a waste of Price's talent to me, he did his best to put the production on his back and it wasn't all bad but the tales dipped in quality, and Dr. Heidigger's Experiment was only mediocre imo. 2 Gya haa haa haa's out of 5
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 03:54
|
|
|
Inferno, 1980 This one has been brought up too many times in the thread for me to bother with an review. It's good. Check it out. Instead, check out dat rear end on this version of them movie poster. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 04:57
|
|
|
^drat baby got back. What a great poster, it definitely makes me want to check the movie out! 17. House on Haunted Hill (1959) This is more like it. Thoroughly enjoyable on every level and I'd somehow never had it spoiled so even the twist was nice. I only wish I could have experienced it with the in-theatre prop, I love the sound of Castle's wacky ideas. 4.5 flying skeletons out of 5 SilvergunSuperman fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Oct 24, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 05:31
|
|
|
24. Eyes Without A Face Didn’t care for this one but I could see why some though. There are some neat shots and the lead girl's mask is simple yet very effective. Overall though this was a long trip for not much story, and a whole lot of terrible decisions by every character in it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 05:45
|
|
|
18. Night of the Comet (1984) Oof. I remember people enjoying this one earlier in the thread but just wasn't my cup of tea, and the only ballsy move I liked in the whole movie was a big fat juuuuust kidding! This makes The Last Starfighter look like Citizen Kane, lol. 1 Robert Beltran playing dressup out of 5
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 06:22
|
|
|
Ok… lets keep going with the next episode of “What Is Going On In Don Coscarelli’s Head?” 35 (46). Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)  The Tall Man leaves Reggie alive for some reason to chase Old Mike through the badlands as he turns into a ball, reminisces about the Directors Cut of the first move, and time travels to other dimensions to make some sense of the storytelling in this series. Oh, and the kid from the 3rd movie is gone but at least he didn’t get dismissed as rudely as Elizabeth. Wait, did I just see one of the Sand People from Star Wars? What the gently caress? I don’t know what to think of this stuff at this stage. I think I’m definitely past the “I kind of like it” stuff and into sunken costs and completionist motivations for continuing on. The story just kind of gets more incoherrent as Coscarelli adds elements and the Tall Man has like 30x more dialogue in this one which takes away a lot of his creepiness even before the whole backstory revelation. Plus Angus Scrimm’s just getting real old. I’m planning to watch the last one in part just to see how he’s still standing. The whole Jessica stuff just feels tacky and garish. I legit don’t understand why there was a Civil War flashback. The excessive use of what I assume were abandoned scenes and storylines from the first movie may have felt like a cool edition to Coscarelli but just feel like the worst ever “Director’s Cut” that just makes the movie even more confusing (except now its making four movies more confusing). I’m just going to say it. I don’t like this movie, and i probably didn’t like the last two either. More and more I’m feeling like Coscarelli is a guy who had an interesting and very personal movie he made when he was inexperienced and then he never really developed as a director or writer past that and instead just kept trying to spin that one very personal and flawed but promising idea into some bigger patchwork narrative that is kind of a mess. But now i see he wrote and directed Bubba Ho-Tep and now I just feel bad and am confused. Seems like the right state of mind for this next movie. 36 (47). Audition (1999)  Takashi Miike’s seminal work of middle aged widow Aoyama who decides to find a new wife through a fake movie audition but his “trap” accidently catches a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I am largely unfamiliar with Miike’s work. That actually surprises me a little. I know the name and the reputation and I guess i kind of just assumed I’d seen movies of his somewhere along the line. But looking at his filmography I think the only thing I’ve seen is the banned Masters of Horror episode that I don’t even remember that well. I won’t go so far as to say I’ve avoided him and this movie but I think I probably passively did as I’m not a fan of the “torture gore” that he and this movie are often referenced as inspiring. So I was very surprised when for like the first hour and a half it wasn’t a gory piece at all. It was a much slower, psychological and emotional piece that I didn’t love but which I was appreciating even if it felt like it was going on a bit long before the horror started. And then BOOM. Holy poo poo. I physically, literally cringed and turned away and covered my eyes at multiple points of those final 15-20 minutes. I don’t think I’ll ever lose that image of the dog bowl. This may actually be the only movie of the month that I kind of regret watching because I think that might have actually scarred me. I don’t think I’ve ever physically reeled in horror like that with another movie. Like… gently caress. I mean, I want to critically review the 90 minutes that preceded that, some of which I liked, some of which I didn’t, but all of which I have more eloquent thoughts than “gently caress!” But I really just can’t. The whole thing just disappeared the moment I saw… I can’t even type it. The dog bowl thing. And then the torture. I’m once again changing up my plans because I need a serious palette cleanser. Oh God, I feel like I can smell it…
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 06:23
|
|
|
Wasn't feeling great last night, so just passed the time with the MST3K for The Giant Gila Monster, a movie about tow truck driving masquerading as a giant monster movie that generally has little interest in making it's titular monster look giant or monstrous. A lot of weird obsessions this movie has that are naturally wrung out for all the riffing potential they're worth, including the cast being routinely blocked to awkwardly put their knee up on something, the main character Chase arbitrarily breaking out into song, the Sheriff's repeated mentioning of skid marks, and the alarming regularity of drunk driving. Movies Watched (22): It, Werewolf (MST3K), Army of Darkness, Frankenweenie, Corpse Bride, Paranorman, Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Shining, Room 237, Teenagers from Outer Space (MST3K), Little Shop of Horrors, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Cannibal! The Musical, Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part II, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Psycho, Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, The Descent, The Giant Gila Monster (MST3K)
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 06:27
|
|
|
Hot Dog Day #89 posted:21. Demonic Toys, 1992 Responding really late to this but I'm kinda a Full Moon Geek. To answer your "shared universe" question, PMvDT was actually a movie where the character rights were leased to the SyFy network so Charles Band could you know, pay for his rent, as this was during the salad days of the 00s for the company. I've actually had him confirm on Twitter that that movie isn't "canon" to either series. But Demonic Toys DOES have a ton of connections in-universe. There've been 3 official Demonic Toys films. The second one is Dollman vs. Demonic Toys, and is also a sequel to Bad Channels as well as the other two. Also, Demonic Toys 2 ties in with Hideous! as one of the main characters is in both films. ALSO also, Band claims that the jack in the box character, Jack-Attack, is a parallel dimensional counterpart to the character Mister Mascara in Blood Dolls, which is supposed to be Head of the Family part 3, despite part 2 (to be titled Bride of the Head Of The Family) having still not been made yet, with the main character of Blood Dolls being the son and heir to the title characters of the other two films. I could also start talking about stuff like Subspecies and Evil Bong and how they use other characters but uh, I kinda don't want a nosebleed right now. Anyways, Been way behind this past weekend with #31DaysOfHalloween, but I'm close to breaking last year's record, with a whole week left! I'm continuing my trek through the Video Nasties I've not watched before to close out the challenge. #55. A Bay Of Blood (1971) A bay resort is up for inheritance, and several heirs gather there at once to scheme and start offing each other. It's uh, a hard plot to actually follow on first viewing. Like I said, it's hard to follow. I had to go onto wikipedia and read a summary which put all the events in chronological order instead, making me able to make sense of it all. I feel lame, but there's just too many people that look alike in this to keep straight. That said, the gore is some of Mario Bava's strongest, and many have said that Friday the 13th owes much to this film, which I can see. Also, it IS Bava, so you know it's going to be pretty as all get out. Despite the confusion, it's still pretty dang good. I give A Bay Of Blood  out of Five#56. The Beast In Heat (1977) Nazis in Italy are trying to hunt down rebel separatists. The local General recruits in a mad lady doctor working within the Reich to help, whose methods involve sadistic sexual torture, as well as her brainchild project: A maddened beast of a man, reduced to primal violent urges taken out on whatever or whomever is put in his cage. Eh. There's a few titles on the Nasties list that are only tangentially horror. This kind of Italian Nazisploitation is among them some. I don't have a whole lot to say about these types of movies. I mean, they're pretty one note, and exist just to show the sex and violence of the torture scenes, which are in extreme graphic display here. I mean, I guess the special effects are at least so so, and the sheer amount of rape scenes and genital tortures made me a little uncomfortable, which is saying a lot. I give The Beast In Heat out of Five#57. The Ghastly Ones aka Blood Rites(1968) A trio of sisters and their husbands in the 19th century are given the task of staying at their late estranged father's mansion on a private island in New York for a weekend before they get access to his will. Also on hand are the two sister housekeepers and their mentally challenged brother. Suddenly, someone starts singling out the heirs and offing them one by one... Well, this would be me finally popping my Andy Milligan cherry. I've heard bad things, and bad things did we get. Milligan is practically a precursor to the 80s "Camcorder Coppolas" trend in that he clearly takes his friends and puts them in costumes he owns and films most everything at his own house/backyard. There's often crew glimpses, shadows of equipment, and even a few times we hear Milligan shouting directions before a take ends. On top of that, the writing is just bad and the acting is as wooden as it gets. I will say this though, They did do a good job of hiding the identity of the killer until late in the film. Still, I'd keep away unless like me you go hunting for the worst stuff out there. I give The Ghastly Ones out of Five#58. Bloody Moon (1981) At a party at a resort, a disfigured man hides behind a mask and stalks and kills a woman. Five years later he's released into the care of his sister (whom he definitely has incestuous feelings for) who, along with her boyfriend, have gotten the owner of the resort to turn the place into a Spanish as a Second Language School for co-eds. There's a new student who arrives a week into the semester, and finds herself easily scared. This gets worse as other students slowly disappear...as they're being killed by a masked assailant! This one moves a little slow at first, and the acting and writing are no better than other Giallo films, but I'd say once the gore picks up it starts getting ridiculous and fun. Also, kudos for making the killer hard to spot in the film, as literally every male character becomes a suspect. The weirdest part of the film is how the contemporary music everyone listens to is the same song every time-one that sounds suspiciously like it's trying to ape Pink Floyd. You'll probably hear the song like, 16 or so times throughout the film. I give Bloody Moon out of Five#59. Cannibal Man (1973) Marcos is a regular blue collar joe working a job at a slaughterhouse. He does good work, and even gets a promotion, much to the jealousy of his coworkers. One night while out with his girlfriend, they start getting romantic in the backseat of a cab, and the driver gets irate, kicking them out and attacking both of them. Marcos hits the man in the head with a rock and the pair run away. The next day he reads in the paper that the man died. His girlfriend begs him to go to the police, but instead he ends up killing her and stashing her body in his bedroom...just in time for his brother to show up home early for his wedding in a few days! Also, amidst all this chain of unfortunate events, Marcos strikes up a friendship with a neighbor, Nestor, who seems interested in more than friendship with him to me... This movie is kind of a surprise. Its violence is graphic enough to explain why it's on the list, but it's not some gratuitous slasher or gut-muncher. With a different director, it'd probably even be a comedy, considering every time Marcos starts getting things under control, another person pops up into his life to make things difficult. You honestly start to feel for Marcos, as his decent into madness isn't some theatrical scenery chewing mess, but rather him slowly slipping deeper and deeper in over his head in a bad situation and trying to hide it himself. Also, though no overt romance happens between Marcos and Nestor, I'm positive that they go on "dates" in the movie, and that Nestor definitely wants things to be more than friends, which is surprising from a Spanish film of that era. I expected more Euro-sensationalism that so many of these films are, and instead got a solid little dark drama. I give Cannibal Man out of Five
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 06:36
|
|
|
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 16. Dracula (1931) 17. The Limehouse Golem 18. Frankenstein (1931) 19. The Mummy (1932) 20. The Invisible Man 21. The Bride of Frankenstein 22. The Wolf Man (1941)  A horror film is best defined by it's villain, and this film certainly presents one of the more interesting one. Same as Dracula and Frankenstein, this film has become the Ur-Werewolf story. But where Dracula and Frankenstein ended up providing the definitive mythology of those characters, The Wolf Man resulted as more of the template that Werewolf stories would take from. Where a humble and unassuming person wanders down the wrong path at night, is bitten by a wolf, and has to live with the guilt that they're unwillingly becoming a savage creature, threatening harm to those around them. And for that, Lon Chaney Jr. plays the three sides of his character admirably. There's the jovial, pre-attack version of his character, affable and fun loving. Where even the death of his brother won't bring his spirits down. Then there's his character after the transformation, sullen, remorseful, and at loss over what to do and how to act in the face of his curse. And then there's the Wolf Man, a distinctly inhuman creature that inhabits Larry, yet is completely independent from him. The makeup and design of the titular creature may not stand up completely today, but considering the context then it still works incredibly well. That said, Chaney is perhaps the best part of the film. The rest is... it's okay but not great. The story is kinda meandering, where it takes 40 minutes of an hour+ long film for the titular monster to appear. A lot of the film is spent setting up it's mythology, perhaps to excessive detail, and with characters talking a lot about the story without actually moving it forward. It's especially deficient in the shadow of The Invisible Man, whose superb story is both quite efficient and incredibly effective. It starts with the Doctor having already turned invisible, quickly sets up his plight and mental decline, and gets right to his rampage. As for this film, it's fairly slow getting to the point and will dwell on various plot points, leaving not a whole lot of action in the film. Hell, Larry for the most part has fairly little agency in his own fall from grace. And even then, a lot of the film is spent dwelling on the denial of werewolves, with the characters refusing to advance the plot. That said, I don't think the story is generally bad, it's just that whatever creative team behind the film believed the entirety of the plot was necessary. Perhaps with some editing or some exploration of the story it could have been quite a bit more interesting. That said, as much criticism as I may have on the film, it isn't a bad film. It's just fairly workman-like with the occasional bout of genuine talent. It just might be that I'm critical of it as I don't think it quite measures up to it's legacy. 23. The Phantom of the Opera (1943)  Included on my set of Universal Monster features, I had never heard known about this film prior to watching it. Hell, I haven't really been privy to any version of Phantom of the Opera. But aside from my ignorance, it's evident that this film pays more debt to Gone with the Wind than it does Dracula or Frankenstein. From the Technicolor production, the lavish sets, the grand scope, the large cast, the elaborate and more considerate cinematography, it's evident that this was a prestige production. And at it's centre is Claude Rains, putting in a wonderful performance as Erique Claudin, a sympathetic and well meaning man in a desperate position. A man whose misfortune gives way to a transformation into the titular Phantom, whose single minded devotion is pursued with intimidation and ruthlessness. Rains treats both of them as different characters, both given life and belief with strong performances, and with a hint that each of them are hidden within one another. The story itself is somewhat slow. But unlike Wolf Man where the story is drawn out, in this film it seems more deliberate. That there's so much more happening, with a number of other characters that surround yet feed into the central story, that it's much more digestible and interesting. I'm not sure if the average person would be able to stomach it, especially with a number of musical sequences, but the result feels a lot more modern than the other Universal films I've been watching (even if it's only a few years removed from most of them). It may have helped that it's story is adapted from Gaston Leroux's novel, but it's nice to watch a film pull off a decent story with absolute competency. Though admittedly not an ounce of this film reads as French. As for the look, it's so visually distinct from the rest of the Monster films that it's practically unrelated, and for the most part is. It's evident from moment one with it's Technicolor photography, and from there it's showcased with the vast, wide, and tall set of the Opera House. And it executes on so much more with it's photography, performing much more elaborate camera action with so much more intentionality. A personal favourite is the initial Opera scene, filming from either the stationary POV of the audience, or from the actors on stage. And for the rest of the sets, the film takes on the dichotomy between the visual look between the flamboyant Opera House, and the impressionistic and foreboding sets of the streets and the sewers. It's a film striving to reach a sophistication as a 'high class' release, but arguably it doesn't reach the visual style of films like Bride of Frankenstein The one thing I do have to criticise is the occasional bit of bad editing, causing weird continuity errors and weird disconnects from what's actually happening. Such as when the Phantom is present or is being discussed, the film will occasionally cut to a silhouette on a stone and mortar archway far away from wherever the scene is located. It comes across as unnecessary and confusing, especially when the arch seems to be away from wherever the scene is located, when in actuality the Phantom is speaking into a person's ear. All in all, this film is a pleasant surprise. But I do have to say is that it isn't a film that inspires enthusiasm, admiration maybe but not enthusiasm. It's missing something that makes it truly great, maybe it's that you can tell that it's merely a product of it's contemporaries rather than from any sort of spectacular vision. But as it is, I certainly recommend watching it if this film interests you. For me, it makes me curious to check out the 1925 silent original with Lon Chaney Sr.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 06:56
|
|
|
19. Homicidal (1961) I was checking out Castle's gimmicks on Wikipedia and ran across the description for this movie so I had to see it. quote:There was a "fright break" with a timer overlaid on the film's climax, as the heroine approaches a house harboring a sadistic killer. The audience had 45 seconds to leave and get a full refund if they were too frightened to see the remainder of the film. In an early showing, wily patrons simply sat through the movie a second time and left at the break to get their money back; to prevent this in future, Castle had different color tickets printed for each showing. I'm going to have to watch a biography on him or something, guy sounds awesome haha. Anyway this one wasn't quite up to snuff with House on Haunted Hill or even The Tingler imo. It's hard not to see it as a Psycho ripoff after the big twist (which I hilariously didn't see coming) which is fitting because Castle's prior success inspired Hitchcock to make Psycho...I'm sure this is news to upwards of 5% of you! I did quite enjoy the gimmick once again though, it adds a unique touch. 2.5 fright breaks out of 5 SilvergunSuperman fucked around with this message at 07:12 on Oct 24, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 07:09
|
|
|
20. Pet Sematary I haven't seen this one in years, and thought it held up drat well. I think it's my favourite Stephen King adaptation even though I still like the ending in the book better. Dale Midkiff always kind of reminds me of Ben Affleck and I forgot Denise Crosby is in it which was fun. 4 horrifically slashed achilles tendons out of 5 SilvergunSuperman fucked around with this message at 07:53 on Oct 24, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 07:51
|
|
|
#26 Dellamorte Dellamore / Cemetery Man (1994) Some real atmospheric graveyard shots and a unique vibe are enough to keep you interested as the plot becomes more dreamlike and falls apart bit by bit. It might stumble its way to the finish line, but it sure looked pretty doing so.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 08:01
|
|
|
I'm traveling now, so way behind on posting and not making fresh gifs this week. Of course, I wouldn't have bothered for most of this batch anyway... 41. The Exorcist - I mostly watched this because a local theater was showing it the night before I left, and the way people discuss the third in the series makes it sound like it might be worthwhile. I just cannot care about demonic possession movies. That said, I know lots of people love this one so I tried to give it a fair shot. It's actually not too bad. Karras maybe feels like a little bit of a cliche now, but that's probably mostly because he worked so well in this movie. A lot of the effects don't hold up particularly well but the tone is so consistently intense (after we leave Iraq and the movie actually starts) that it's not a major distraction and I'm sort of impressed they got away with as much as they did. Killer performance by Linda Blair, who based on an imdb skim had a completely inexplicable career after this point. I don't think it was particularly important to what the movie was going for and maybe not worth the extra runtime at the start, but I did personally appreciate that they gave us enough clues for a certain kind of nerd to pin down the demon's identity without 9as far as I can recall) anyone naming it. Regan's winged lion drawing and such. I also dug the interactions between Karras and Merrin, and the almost but not quite too blatant fixation on the steep stairs below Regan's window. In fact there was a bunch of good stuff that just didn't quite happen the way I expected, like the exhausted team of doctors being the ones to suggest exorcism in the first place. The way the exorcism resolved felt appropriate, but also not at all like how it would have worked out in...any demonic possession movie since. Which I guess sums up my overall feelings pretty well. This isn't going to worm its way into my top ten or anything, but it's a Good Movie and it makes all that followed in the subgenre look even more pathetic for their failure to match or even learn from all the things it did well. 42. The Amityville Horror (2005 version) - Not only did I see everything this movie has to offer in an episode of The Simpsons, it was better horror when The Simpsons did it. They were at least smart enough not to give us a montage of the evil house's tragic origin story. 43. The Darkness - Kid makes new imaginary friend at the grand canyon, new imaginary friend starts smearing black gunk all over the house and starting fires, parents spend a bunch of time googling "autism supernatural" and then forgetting what they saw for half an hour of runtime. Then doing it again. The second time they find a youtube video that lays out everything that's going on via perfect knowledge of how the Anasazi once beat up some demons. Luckily, husband's boss' family also went through a possessed kid phase or something so they've got a non-scammy faith healer's contact info. I realized after the fact that this is a Lifetime Original about dealing with your autistic child that is just sort of pretending to wear some of the trappings of a horror movie. Almost completely bloodless, it takes like five conversations that end with "your wife should stop by and talk to my wife to learn about this healer" instead of just handing over a phone number, the kid's unique special nature saves the day, etc. I can only hope this will by my low point for the month. 44. Halloween: Resurrection - Okay this one will be the actual low point. A fan film made by people who weren't actually fans of Halloween. 45. Halloween IV - I continue inflicting hotel cable horror movies on myself even though I'm typing this on a perfectly good Netflix-capable laptop, so we're just going stream of consciousness with the notes. Surely this will be better than Resurrection, at least? We are evidently straight-up forgetting Halloween 2 happened so that they don't have to do anything to explain how Michael still exists. Five minutes in and we've already got a kill that's better than the entirety of Resurrection, so that's a good sign. Now Michael drives and Loomis is trying to be an action hero, shooting at a truck and diving away from explosions. Best moment: kids loving with Loomis while he tries to hitchhike. Lots of shots of Michael's hands. Did he wear gloves in the first two? I feel like the hands are a new fixation. Loomis is still a great character, managing to simultaneously be correct and a complete fuckup. Everyone is constantly sick of his poo poo but they go along with it because they don't have any other ideas. This whole thing is sort of vaguely adequate, I guess. It has absolutely no new ideas and fails to match either of the first two movies in any way, but it's not a disaster like Resurrection. Bringing Michael back instead of continuing in the vein of III was a terrible idea and it feels like everyone involved in the movie knows it so they're just sort of going through the motions. Also feels way too long. The ending is hilarious and stupid and I predict the next movie is going to pretend it didn't happen. 46. Halloween V - I wish they'd stop playing these tonight I didn't really have a desire to ever see the entire series but I also have no self control. To my surprise we're not completely ignoring the end of IV, just rewinding a few minutes and adding psychic family powers or something. I guess this is the movie where they're going to go all stupid and explain Michael in great detail. Loomis has apparently spent the past year yelling at a little girl, which Donald Pleasence still sells reasonably well but I think the movies worked better when him being a terrible doctor was just sort of left in the background. Michael gives some random girl a ride without murdering her, then just drives away when the police show up. They have completely lost track of what made the first two movies work, everything about this is stupid and bad. I think this franchise died the instant they put Michael in a car. That was an astonishingly bad decision. Irony.or.Death fucked around with this message at 08:16 on Oct 24, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 08:13
|
|
|
Irony.or.Death posted:
So 10 minutes in?  I'm sorry.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 08:41
|
|
|
One more before bed to cleanse the palette. 37 (48). Pitch Black (2000)  A spaceship crash lands on a planet inhibited by killer nocturnal creatures and an impending eclipse forcing the surviving passengers and crew to team up with the infamous and dangerous criminal Riddick to survive. I was on the fence as to whether this was truly horror or not but after the last entry I decided I could do for some Vin Diesel action that only kinda qualifies as horror to wipe the slate clean. And I just couldn’t do Battle Royale or The Cell as my 2000 entry right now. Anyway, I think its horror just fine having seen it. If it weren’t Vin Diesel or an alien planet I think I wouldn’t even have a question. Anyway, forget Groot. I’m here for scream queen Radha Mitchell and Keith David. And the director wrote Critters 2, which is good enough for me. Its an ok film. Nothing spectacular. Really, more of an action than a horror but there’s enough horror elements there. Like I said, put it on earth and take away Vin Diesel and you more or less have Descent. The creatures are solid monsters even if the CGI is a tad dated. I really do like what they did with the use of the dark and the creatures emerging or existing in it. Riddick actually wasn’t quite as much of a caricature of Diesel as I was expecting. I mean, he is the character Diesel plays in everything but he’s not quite at 11 yet since this was his breakout. I’m a fan of Mitchell and I think she does a good job here in the more traditional horror role of the flawed and guilt ridden character who grows into the hero of the story. The fact that she is the hero and Riddick/Diesel is just kind of the heavy/bridge between her and the true villain helps it along quite a bit. In a sort of way Riddick and Radha’s Carolyn sort of combine to embody Ripley - since Alien is the most obvious movie comparison for the cross of horror and sci-fi. Carolyn’s never quite as action star as Ripley is but Riddick is never as heroic. Combined they do a solid job. And I could maybe argue that the ending of Carolyn dying to save Riddick is a fairly standard action movie ending but a bit of a subversion on the “final girl” trope if you view the film from a horror lens. I was certainly expecting it to go the other way around at some point… or would have if I didn’t know Diesel did a whole franchise of Riddick sequels. Ok movie, technically horror, cleared the palette, knocked off another year. 2002, 2001, 1997, 1996, 1993, 1991, and 1987. I’ve got one or two more pencilled in but I’m narrowing it down to the tough years. Gonna try and knock off another 3 tomorrow night, and hopefully get this done with enough time to have almost a week of whatever movie I feel like.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 08:46
|
|
|
SilvergunSuperman posted:So 10 minutes in? No that's fair. I think I might stand by it anyway. Even the original was probably the worst Carpenter I've seen. Halloween III was the only really great one.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 08:50
|
|
|
#25: The Howling I went in unrealistic expectations of living up to An American Werewolf in London....and it did pretty well! It was a surprisingly slow burn, but really paid off in the ending. The woods and campgrounds where they shot looked great, as did most of the werewolf effects. That first transformation was uh, something, though. Lots of bonus points for creativity though. The following transformation scenes were sick though and Edward and his melted face in the clinic were gruesome. Pleasantly surprised and I really liked it. 4/5
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 09:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 9, 2024 23:57 |
|
|
Irony.or.Death posted:No that's fair. I think I might stand by it anyway. Even the original was probably the worst Carpenter I've seen. A take so edgy, someone might slash you repeatedly with it. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2017 09:58
|
|