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29. Creep Had this on my Netflix list from last October but never got around to seeing it, glad I did. This was a very pleasant surprise, something different. I always like seeing comedy actors in other roles, and Duplass really did great as an off balance weirdo. Going to try and track the sequel down but with 2 to go I’m hoping to find a really strong finale.
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Oct 28, 2017 20:48
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Irony.or.Death posted:47. Curse of the Demon - These are 3 of the best horror movies you could have ever watch imo. Val Lewton, producer (I think) of Curse of the Demon was known for his restrained style and showing the monster is very much not him, but I agree the effect of it appearing from the fog was really drat cool and fortunately turned out well. You might look into The Cat People if for more top tier Lewton
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Oct 28, 2017 20:57
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Hot Dog Day #89 posted:28. Snowbeast, 1977 I feel your pain on this one. I watched it last year when I did this and holy poo poo. I think it was made for TV which is why there aren't many on screen kills. Also, if I remember right, the Bigfoot just gets stabbed with a ski pole and just keels over.
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Oct 28, 2017 22:05
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1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) 2. TCM: The Beginning 3. Halloween (2007) 4. Friday the 13th (2009) 5. Hollywood Ghost Stories (1986) 6. Halloween 2 (2009) 7. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) 8. Scream 4 9. Texas Chainsaw 3D 10. Mother! 11. Never Sleep Again 12. Lurdiak's Scream Stream 10/06 13. Scream Stream 10/07 14. Scream Stream 10/08 15. Crystal Lake Memories 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) 23. The Phantom of the Opera (1943) 24. Creature From the Black Lagoon 25. It Came From Outer Space 26. Night of the Comet  This is a really pleasant surprise. The story is a somewhat typical Post-Apocalypse movie, cataclysm happens, most of the population is wiped out, the survivors have to mettle with the dangerous creatures (read: Zombies) and psychos that survived, and there's a government group that survived that may have secret motives. What makes this one somewhat different is that fact that this film is led by two Valley Girls who'd much rather be shopping and playing arcade games than work/survive the apocalypse. But what makes it great is the fact that there is no hate for these girls or the archetype. According to the conventions of the genre, they should be the damsels in distress or the ditzy fodder for the slaughter, but instead they're as capable as they are flawed. They might not be completely on the ball, but perhaps that refusal to look danger in the face and take it seriously is what makes them the most suitable to survive. That, and they can shoot guns and do high kicks. But most of all, the fact that despite roaming psychos and the lack of people these two still manage to find the lack of civilisation freeing and kinda fun. It's a kinda philosophy that sits at the centre of this movie, that even if the world sucks it doesn't mean you can't make it fun. 27. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)  Not exactly a conventional horror film. Honestly, it's an action thriller, but it's DNA is intertwined with both revisionist westerns and horror tropes. You can tell it's a cheaper production, but you would figure the finished product was allotted several times over it's $100,000 budget. It's an effective film, a result of both strong technical prowess and strong creative vision by Carpenter. The film is kinda touching in on a flashpoint in culture, reflecting a cultural transition taking place. There's a kinda mix of tropes that at the time were both new and old that makes it's way into the film. Like the lead Convict is a weird mix of Robert Mitchum, Clint Eastwood, and John Wayne. Then there's the father, who brings the siege to the station, who's a take on the Bronson-esq revenge fantasy. There's the prison escort who acts like he came from the set of Cool Hand Luke. And then there's the lead, a black cop who kinda defies simple archetypes and stereotypes. He's not the typical blacksploitation tough-as-nails badass mofo, nor is a subservient worker for the white man. He more fits the classic Good Sheriff who roles in to town, takes down the bad guys, and rides off into the sunset. He's independent, isn't afraid to get dirty, but above all else looks after his people. A traditional white role, pretty much. And considering that this is a little over 10 years after affirmative action, perhaps it is a progressive choice? I'll be frank, I'm not an expert on race relations in America, nor on the history of people of colour in media. And I don't think there's much of a particular statement on Old vs. New Media being made in the creative choices on this film. I figure more than anything it's just Carpenter taking the films he'd watch and refashioning them into the film he was making. Speaking of, there's a kinda weird politicking in this film. I know Carpenter is a fairly leftist guy, you only need to watch They Live for Thesis, Evidence, and Proof. But there's a kinda undercurrent which perhaps predicted Reagan's America. Namely, the depersonification of the lower class youth, especially those of colour. There's a suggestion that they are inclined to cause violence and crime not for any reason, but for the end of causing violence and crime. That there is a kind of savagery in poor, ethnically diverse neighbourhoods. I do think that Carpenter perhaps made some choices to soften that message, say by making the most inherently violent gang member white. By making the lead actor black, and by implicitly making him a former resident of the neighbourhood. But there's certain elements that make it hard to ignore, like calling the onslaught "Cholos", or by reducing their characterisation to wanting to destroy all that (white) society has built. And especially by having a scene where one of them shoots a child for no reason. A scene which, for me personally, crosses a line and is one that Carpenter himself says that he came to regret. And in the same way that I don't think he was making comment on the transitioning media climate, I don't think he was being very conscious of underlying messages it sends. I can imagine he was trying to avoid being overtly capital-R Racist, but wasn't aware of the more inadvertent implications. Like I said, I think Carpenter is a politically conscious dude, I just think the film is a product of a dude who didn't know better. But saying that, I do think it's still an excellent film. The opening is a tense interweaving of events that keeps your attention. It's almost Hitchcockian in the way that you're kept on edge up until the raid actually happens. And holds you for the entire set up, being the first 40 minutes into a 90 minute film. And once the bullets start flying, it doesn't exactly let up. It's a fairly nerve wracking experience as things get increasingly more desperate as bullets run out and people start dying. And as much as this film tells and doesn't show, it does a pretty drat good job telling you how dire things are getting. If I had a criticism, it's that the climax isn't so climatic. It comes off as a hopeless last stand, but it doesn't hit a satisfying emotional crescendo you'd expect. It ramps up, an explosion goes off, and it's unexpectedly over with police stepping over bodies. It's just an unfortunate misstep after such an excellently crafted movie But like I said, it is an excellently crafted movie that I highly recommend catching if you can. It's a promising start to an excellent career, which ended up producing the immortal Halloween almost immediately after.
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Oct 28, 2017 22:07
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Yeah, I didn't know how to take the political subtext of Assault on Precent 13. The thing that stood out to me wasn't so much that the Warlord who does the most heinous act is a white guy but rather that the Warlords are such a on the nose racially diverse gang to begin with. The first act of the film with the police gunning down gang members, the chief justifying any use of force to stop the "animals", and the four Warlord leaders sitting together in some kind of blood pact thing made me think the multiple racial gangs were uniting against police abuse. But the movie never explores that and then kind of makes it a non issue to the "they're hunting down the father" storyline. It felt like Carpenter probably had ideas in there at first and then sort of backed off them either to not make it too political or controversial or because he just wanted a simpler story. Its the sort of thing that made me wonder if he would have done it differently later in his career. I missed watching a horror movie for the first time all month yesterday because I was all focused on Stranger Things 2. I do not regret that. Its awesome.
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Oct 28, 2017 22:17
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October 28 - Snake Woman's Curse So here I am at the end of the Nobuo Nakagawa films that are available in English. Snake Woman's Curse is his second to last horror movie, made in 1967 and his final movie was made in 1982. Which is a bit of a gap, but Nakagawa was in his late sixties when he made this movie and went into a kind of semi-retirement of occasionally directing television. In the late 19th century, a landlord was cruelly driving the peasants to work themselves to death on his land. When one of his tenants dies, swearing to do anything to repay his debt, the landlord comes to the funeral where he informs the family that he's kicking them out of their house and tearing it down. But he has a special positions available for the women as indentured servants in his sweatshops. As the cruelty of the landlord and his family kill the women, they landlord is plagued by visions of ghosts and snakes. Like a lot of Nakagawa films, the first half of this movie is melodrama to set up why these awful characters need to die. Then the second half is them being spooked to death. This is another situation where he is adapting a traditional ghost story and he hews pretty close to the structure of those. Most of the film looks pretty good, especially in the manor where Nakagawa really plays with the camera this time out. He does work with the lighting and color as much as in his earlier movies, but there's some shots and scenes that are amazing. In particular, I'm thinking of a funeral that goes very badly that looks incredible on film. The worst aspect of the photography, though, is the snakes. They're just lazily draped in places and aren't menacing or wild, they just kind of poke back and forth a bit waiting for someone to give them a mouse. This isn't as amazing as Nakagawa's other films, but it is a solid ghost story that is presented well. Now that I've seen literally everything that you can see of Nakagawa's movies in English, I thought I might as well rate them: Top tier: Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan, Jigoku Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan is my favorite of his films and it's very much in his favorite style; people are assholes, kill some nice woman, her ghost comes back and haunts them to death. But Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan has got some incredible photography. Jigoku is the film that's commonly cited as Nakagawa's greatest film and it also looks amazing. These are decent: Black Cat Mansion, The Ghosts of Kasane Swamp, Snake Woman's Curse Of these, Black Cat Mansion is the best and I would have pushed it up a tier except the wrap around story isn't as good as the flashback. Snake Woman's Curse suffers a bit from being ground that's well worn by Nakagawa at that point even though it's well done. The Ghosts of Kasane Swamp just too rough. Don't bother: Vampire Woman, The Ceiling at Utsunomiya Castle Vampire Woman is more like a poverty row monster movie from the 60's than Nakagawa's later output. While that can be kind of interesting to check out, you're going to have to through a lot of effort see it. The Ceiling at Utsunomiya Castle is more of a weak samurai flick that happens to have a ghost in it than an interesting horror movie.
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Oct 28, 2017 22:24
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Playing catch up on the last couple of days 23)Collector 24)1922 25)What have you done to Solange?  solidly entertaining, but ultimately silly. It's not particularly good, and the main character isn't the brightest bulb. I did like the giant dumb obvious hint as to who the villain was. Sure are a lot of bugs in the beginning of this movie. Oh, it's because the villain is the exterminator who is too busy turning the house into a death trap and not killing bugs.  .5/5 Solid King adaptation, Thomas Jane carries it well /5 Can't say I didn't like it, but the casual attitude toward statutory rape is super skeezy /5
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Oct 28, 2017 23:35
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What Have They Done To Your Daughters? Is more police protocol than giallo, but it's a worthy follow up to 'Solange' if you liked that.
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Oct 28, 2017 23:41
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Biff Rockgroin posted:I feel your pain on this one. I watched it last year when I did this and holy poo poo. I think it was made for TV which is why there aren't many on screen kills. Also, if I remember right, the Bigfoot just gets stabbed with a ski pole and just keels over. To be fair, the Bigfoot got shot a bunch of times first, but that scene still makes no sense. The Bigfoot is taking bullets as it is charging against the guy, obviously running on pure adrenaline and not to concerned with pain, then roars in agony and falls over after getting poked with the ski pole. The tip of a ski pole wouldn't go that deep in to even come close to cause harm to a Bigfoot that can take a bunch of bullets. 29. Oasis of the Zombies, 1982 Another terrible one, but with desert sand instead of snow, but just as boring and dumb as the previous movie I saw. Some people died in a battle in an oasis in the Africa desert during World War II and somehow becomes zombies. The Nazis had a cargo of gold with them that the main characters wants to find, but we never get to see it. We are just told it's there. The whole movie looks like poo poo and is badly filmed. The only cool thing is that the zombies look rotten and nasty. There's a cool horror feel to the movie whenever they are on screen, but that's about it. The whole thing is too slow, too boring, looks so cheap and dull. There's tons of other zombie movies that way more worth watching than this turd.
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Oct 29, 2017 03:45
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30. Sadako vs Kayako I expected this to be just garbage, but it's actually really good. I've only seen the first of each so I don't know if I missed any lore stuff, but it was all pretty straightforward and covered. Basically a girl watches the cursed video and will get killed by Sadako in 2 days, and they wind up pitting her against Kayako to let them duke it out; It's ridiculous, but in an entertaining way. CGI is a little rough but other than that I had no real complaints. Also it has some laugh out loud funny moments, and Keizo is the best character. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plT_m4LU6Ss&t=789s
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Oct 29, 2017 06:08
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27. Night Train to Terror Night Train is another anthology horror with a fairly interesting wrap around story. God and the Devil are riding on a train, deciding the fates of a group a dorky rear end people who are dancing around like a bunch of idiots. While they're waiting for the train to crash, they decide to go over a few stories to decide the fate of the characters. The stories are as follows: A guy drugs and dismembers women to sell the body parts, A man falls in love with a woman and must participate in a "death club" to win her over, and a Nazi discovers the secret to eternal life. The stories are all okay, with none really standing out above any of them. The problem is, it's very obvious that all three short stories are full movies that were chopped down to fit. This means all the stories seemed rushed and are sometimes hard to follow. Despite all this, the movie IS entertaining, with some really fun ideas and some great claymation. Night Train to Terror isn't the best movie, but there's enough here to keep you entertained. 2.5/5 28. Body Melt Body Melt is an Australian gore film that draws heavily from the early works of Peter Jackson. However, unlike Peter Jackson's early works, Body Melt is missing likable characters, a genuine sense of humor, and a plot. In Body Melt, we see a group of people who are unknowingly being used as Guinea Pigs for an experimental drug. When taken, the drug causes hallucinations, over-active glands, and eventually...BODY MELLLLLLT! I'm not sure it's ever explained why this company is making these incredibly dangerous pills, but honestly, it doesn't matter. No one should watch Body Melt for the story. The gore is kind of impressive. Wounds split open, mucus drips out of every hole, and bodies bubble and melt away. In one particularly memorable scene, a pregnant woman "gives birth" to some kind of sentient placenta creature, which then crawls in to its father's mouth. Everything in this movie seems to happen because the director continually said, "You know what would look gross?" If you're a fan of gross out movies, and you can get over repellent characters and a plot that goes no where, check out Body Melt. 2/5 29. Rec Rec is an incredibly rare movie. It's a found footage film that manages to build tension slowly to an incredible level, and then use that same tension to deliver some genuinely frightening moments. Rec follows a young TV host as she tags along with firefighters for a night. The fire fighters are called out to a minor emergency in an apartment building, and when they get there, the get attacked by an elderly woman. The apartment is sealed shut, and things get worse from there. Rec is a wonderfully effective movie. For once, it makes sense that everything is being filmed, and as things get worse and worse, you stop caring about WHY the cameraman is still filming because you NEED to see more. Because the movie takes place in a sealed off apartment building, there's a great sense of dread and claustrophobia that builds to an almost unbearable crescendo. The situation gets increasingly dire until a breathless finale that legitimately creeped me out, which is a very hard thing to do. Rec is a gem of a horror movie, and if you like the found footage genre at all, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. 5/5
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Oct 29, 2017 06:53
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Retro Futurist posted:30. Sadako vs Kayako I too was pretty surprised by this one. I've seen two other Shiraishi films (Occult and Noroi, both rule) though so I had a better idea of what to expect. The CGI in all of his films completely avoids realism and goes for a batshit crazy painterly style, kind of like David Lynch's CGI. A few effects in Sadako vs Kayako had me howling with laughter and rewinding specifically when the guy gets headbutted during the first seance.
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Oct 29, 2017 07:22
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7. Re-Animator This is a masterpiece. Only the second time I've seen it, and been a long time, I dig it even more this time around. Just one of those movies that does it all well, it's unique, doesn't play out in a predictable or cliche way, is both interesting/compelling and funny/charming, hell of a film. Thumbs up
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Oct 29, 2017 10:25
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Catching up on lax logging. 43. Dead of Night: As all anthologies go, this has its strong and weak moments. Unlike most-all anthologies, however, it has an interstitial act that is absolutely amazing and the bits only serve to bolster it. Despite being made in 1945, it has also aged exquisitely with jokes still landing, the most horrific moments still getting a cringe, and even the more tame bits are just plain watchable. Anyone who like anthologies needs this on their list. 44. The Church: I loved Demons. Demons 2 was a hell of a lot of fun. This sucked. After two nights trying to get through, I fell asleep in both and am not going to finish it. The offbeat humor of the first films made the many, many faults easy to overlook was absent here. Instead, we were given an inept attempt at a slow-burn horror that never landed anything. Effects work were great but nothing around them justifies watching to find out. Biggest disappointment so far as I had such high hopes for a good time. And we're still cleaning up the house after dumping all the party stuff inside after last night's party. Skipped the strudel when my wife got a migraine and my mother brought spray whipped cream so I made none. Got an extra half-gallon of beer when the brewer I went to school with caught me filling a growler and threw in a helping of his personal project. Anyway, I'll focus more on guest reactions to our screenings. 45. Spaced Invaders: They all liked it save possibly my mother. For such a stupid movie, it is absolutely endearing and enjoyable. 46. Psycho: We did call an audible and go for Hitchcock. Conversation stopped while children and adults alike were glued to the screen. Not only does this film age well, it is an absolute masterpiece. One guest came for the original comedy billing on the invite as he doesn't do horror movies. Even he called it amazing while admitting that he wouldn't rewatch it for a good long time if ever as it would be sticking with him. I think he has the right idea as it's a great film to let a few years pass between viewings. Let some memories get lost to time, others fade, and new movies come and go to make revisits pack a proper punch. We also had the volume a bit higher on this than we should have considering how ranged soft to loud are in Hitchcock films. The bluray transfer is awesome, by the way. I was afraid they'd be tempted to crush the score with compression but they left perfection well enough alone. 47. Army of Darkness: One guest had never seen anything from the Evil Dead franchise but had heard quite a bit of chatter about I and II. Needless to say, her expectations were subverted. Another guy was going to tap out after Psycho but stayed for an old favorite movie. And my son was absolutely amped because, like me, AoD is one of his favorite movies ever made. Butch Cassidy fucked around with this message at 15:19 on Nov 1, 2017 |
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Oct 29, 2017 17:30
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I don't suppose season 2 of Stranger Things counts for the challenge? No? Okay, backup plan, then. October 29 - Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer  I would have loved to save this one for the 31st, but Tuesdays are horrible for me and there's no way I would have gotten to watch it then . I've wanted to see it for the last few horror challenges, but it had alway vanished from free streaming when I decided to pull it up. But here we are with a nice 30th anniversary restoration. Henry is a bit of a sadsack guy with a lovely life. He lives with a friend he spent time in prison with and that friend's sister. His friend is a small time drug dealer with nothing going for him as well. Henry does have one thing he's good at: killing people. And he shows his buddy how to do it right. So this is deservedly a classic and 90% of that is on Michael Rooker's performance. He's amazing as Henry which is good since he has to carry the film. He's got an air of barely restrained violence that sometimes dispassionately comes out and at the same time, you can occasionally feel some empathy for this man who has none. I kind of liked the way the opening of the film presented Henry's crimes, with long, lingering shots of the victim in the aftermath and audio of the killing playing over it. In a weird way, the film becomes more horrifying in its usual lack of graphic violence because then when it does occur on screen it has an even greater impact. We unconsciously know what Henry is capable of, and then we have that pulled to the forefront even if sometimes we're distanced from it by things like Henry and Otis watching their own crimes on videotape. One problem I have with Henry is that he's not much of a serial killer. Oh he kills a lot of people, but he does it on whims or because he decides he needs to. He explicitly doesn't have a pattern beyond just wanting to kill on occasion. His choice in victims is random, there's no urge or drive or method pushing him to it, it's just, "Hmm, I feel like killing someone today. I'll go for a drive and see who turns up." It's the kind of thing that works fine in a movie because movie serial killers are just people who murder whoever is incidental for the plot, but in a movie where it's supposed to be a realistic depiction of the life of a serial killer, it feels odd. Otis seems to have more of a drive toward serial killer behaviors, and Henry kills him for it. Not that this is enough to really derail the film. All in all, a really good movie about the kind of monster that might be living next door to you right now. It's based on a real life serial killer, though one that was much less effective than Henry was.
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Oct 29, 2017 18:07
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1. Masters of Horror: Cigarette Burns (2005) 2. Demons (1985) 3. Maniac Cop (1988) 4. Messiah of Evil (1973) 5. Shivers (1975) 6. Maniac Cop 2 (1990) 7. Demons 2 (1986) 8. Road Games (1981) 9. Maximum Overdrive (1986) 10. Cat People (1942) 11. The Lure (2015) 12. Death Spa (1989) 13. The Church (1989) 14. The Void (2016) 15. Prometheus (2012) 16. Alien: Covenant (2017) 17. Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975) 18. Society (1989) 19. The Devils (1971) 20. The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) 21. Dellamorte Dellamore aka Cemetery Man (1994) 22. The Devil Rides Out (1968) 23. The House by the Cemetery (1981) 24. The Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971) 25. The Invisible Man (1933) 26. Invaders from Mars (1986) 27. The Burning (1981) 28. As Above, So Below (2014) 29. Inferno (1980)  Dario Argento's follow-up to Suspira starts out extremely strong, but unfortunately, by the half-way point, all the sympathetic characters are dead and we're left with a protagonist who's as clueless as he's uncharismatic. But it's definitely worth seeing regardless. 30. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)  Hammer, Terrence Fisher, Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee. I caught the tail end of a Baskervilles film on TV when I was a kid, and the hound spooked me out a fair bit, but it turned out that wasn't actually the 1959 version. Still, this is a very effective adaption and Cushing is great as Holmes. 31. All the Colors of the Dark (1972)  Some gialli I have to watch for their titles alone. Edwige Fenech is suffering from nightmares about her mother's murder after a car crash, and appears to be stalked by the killer, so when a neighbor suggests she takes part in a satanic ritual to get rid of them, this naturally sounds like a great idea to her. Well. A giallo inspired by Rosemary's Baby. It's not particularily great, but Fenech is lovely as usual. 32. The Vampire Lovers (1970)  The first of Hammer's lesbian vampire films, starring Ingrid Pitt and Peter Cushing. It's far better than I expected it to be, and Pitt's fame for the role is well-deserved. She manages to be both sympathetic and unrepentant at the same time in her doomed struggle against the patriarchal orthodoxy. (If you want to read the film that way.) 33. Amer (2009)  An interesting giallo homage that doesn't care much for plot or dialogue and goes straight for the psycho-sexual imagery. A woman returns to her family's abandoned mansion on the French Mediterranean coast that has been the site of her formative experiences as a child and adolescent. A little too self-indulgent and drawn out for what it has to say. 35. The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (2013)  From the same directors as Amer, and in a much similar vein. A man returns from a business trip to find his wife missing from their chained and locked apartment. He investigates the other tenants in their art nouveau building. On a much grander scale than Amer, but both the appeal and criticism remain the same. A lot of different Lynchian giallo vignettes that don't necessarily add up to a comprehensive whole, unless maybe you want to invest in multiple rewatches. It's too deliberately incomprehensible for me to want to put up with that, but I don't regret having watched it. Also gets props for the fantastic poster. 36. Countess Dracula (1971)  After being impressed with The Vampire Lovers, I wanted to see what other horror films Ingrid Pitt was in, and I expected this film about Countess Bathory to be the usual Hammer vampire fare. Surprisingly, it's not. After the death of her husband, the Countess accidentally discovers that the blood of her young chambermaid has a rejuvenating effect on her, albeit only temporary. She decides the lives of a few peasant girls are well worth the chance to relive her youth again, and starts pretending to be her own daughter. Ingrid Pitt is great going from decrepit age to vigorous youth and back again, and the script is complex and thoughtful, but my biggest surprise in the film was Nigel Green as her steward Captain Dobi, who would have been readily willing to marry the widowed Countess in her old age to finally consummate his love for her, but becomes her accomplice only to get spurned for a younger man.
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Oct 29, 2017 18:32
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26) Found Footage 3D Watched in 3D with my shudder glasses, was better than I thought it would be. The 3d is pretty good, and the whole movie is pretty fun and meta, and easily walks the line avoiding being too self referential and obnoxious. Worth a watch in 3D if you can. .5/5
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Oct 29, 2017 20:24
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23. Aliens More of an action movie than the classic horror of the first it still manages the rare feat of a sequel, in that it's arguably the superior film. The actors all deliver excellent performances, and the story builds slowly until it explodes in mayhem. The visceral feeling of poo poo going wrong and the terror of the unknown comes through the tv to me in the first encounter (outside the director's cut newt's parents scenes which are great too) In fact definitely watch the DC if by chance you haven't, the extended scenes with the extra autoturrets shots are amazing. Seeing them tensely watch how fast the ammo is depleted as they prepare for a ground assault is actually unnerving. Great final climax, iconic line. I loving love this movie, it's easily in my top 5. 5 sweaty Paul Reisers out of 5. e: I'm struggling to recall a more badass moment for a woman from the 80s than when Ripley seizes control of the armored vehicle to rescue the team. SilvergunSuperman fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Oct 29, 2017 |
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Oct 29, 2017 20:52
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On the other hand, the SE/director's cut absolutely slaughters the movie's pacing by adding that huge chunk with Newt's parents.
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Oct 29, 2017 20:58
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Huh I didn't feel that way, and how long is it actually, like 5 mins? That's ok though I appreciate your different take!
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Oct 29, 2017 21:02
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It's less about how long it takes, and more about the nature of the scene screwing with what the movie tries to set up. I'll post in a little more detail later (gotta get back to work), but basically the theatrical cut does something really cool with the first act that makes it work on different levels depending on how familiar you are with the first movie, and the added scene pretty much negates that entirely and makes a bunch of previously good scenes feel like padding.
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Oct 29, 2017 21:13
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27) The Wolfman Love the universal flicks. They're great and atmospheric and spooky. /5
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Oct 29, 2017 21:36
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14. Wolfcop (2014) This was way too self-aware for me to enjoy. The special effects were great though.  /515. Demon Knight (1995) I liked this but I think I would have liked it more if was an hour episode rather than a movie. /516. Mimic (1997) Interesting creature effects. /517. Re-Animator (1985) /518. Pumpkinhead (1988) Nothing of this really stuck with me. /519. Brain Damage (1988) I had high expectations of this after enjoying Frankenhooker so much last year. Think that kind of ruined it for me. I enjoyed the alien monster but it was a bit too "trippy" for me. /520. The Seventh Curse (1986) This is just fun in how goofy it is. /521. Phantasm 2 (1988) This was a fun adventure, would have enjoyed this more if I was a kid. /522. Waxwork (1998) Once this gets going it pretty great, even if it just like someone special effects demo reel. Really enjoyed this one. /523. Waxwork 2: Lost in Time (1992) This one was bit of a let down after the first one. The logic of the universe really makes no sense, they claim its time travel (I guess they did the same in the first too) but they're just sliding between movies/stories. Segments go on for way too long and for the most part the horror elements have been dropped because there are only 2 main characters (so no one to really kill off). /524. Warlock (1989) I enjoyed this one, wasn't good but Julian Sands plays a great villain. /525. Opera (1987) /526. Chopping Mall (1986) Robots chase teens around a mall, how can I not enjoy this. /527. Train to Busan (2016) This is my new favorite from this year. Pretty by the numbers zombie movie, but it felt pretty competent. /5Now excuse me I have like 3 movies to watch today. Watched: 1. House 2 (4/5) 2. Little Evil (2.5/5) 3. Cult of Chucky (3/5), 4. Dr. Phibes Rises Again (3/5) 5. Fright Night 2 (3/5) 6. Nomads (2.5/5) 7. 976-EVIL (1.5/5) 8. Lifeforce (3/5) 9. REC 3 (3/5) 10. I Saw the Devil (3/5) 11. Halloween II 2009 (2/5) 12. The Zero Boys (1.5/5) 13. Critters (2.5/5) 14. Wolf Cop (2.5/5) 15. Demon Knight (3/5) 16. Mimic (3/5) 17. Re-Animator (3/5) 18. Pumkinhead (2/5) 19. Brain Damage (2.5/5) 20. The Seventh Curse (3/5) 21. Phantasm 2 (3.5/5) 22. Waxwork (3.5) 23. Waxwork 2 (1.5/5) 24. Warlock (3/5) 25. Opera (2.5/5) 26. Chopping Mall (3/5) 27. Train to Busan (4/5) Bonus: REC (4.5/5), REC 2 (4/5), Halloween 2007 (2/5)
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Oct 29, 2017 22:45
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Evil Vin posted:
 not sure I'm gonna make this haha.
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Oct 29, 2017 22:47
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LORD OF BOOTY posted:On the other hand, the SE/director's cut absolutely slaughters the movie's pacing by adding that huge chunk with Newt's parents. This is 100% true. The short scenes added once the marines are on the planet work fine and the short scene of Ripley dealing with life is good. The colony scenes are terrible for the film. SilvergunSuperman posted:Huh I didn't feel that way, and how long is it actually, like 5 mins? It's about ten to fifteen minutes at the beginning of the movie and I can promise you that the reason you didn't care is that you were already familiar with the movie. Here's the thing. The film opens with Ripley getting recovered and going on with life. Good. Then suddenly we jump over to the captain of the Red Dwarf proving that he should not command anything and we get almost fifteen minutes of colony life that shows us Newt's daily life, her parents getting facehuggered, and the colony fighting against the aliens and getting slaughtered. Then we go rejoin Ripley who gets pulled back in because something has happened to the colonists and nobody knows what's happening. Except we as the audience already do. Yes, the film's title is Aliens, not Bug Hunt that Doesn't Amount to Anything. But the next forty minutes of the film are presenting us with a mystery of what happened at the colony. We may know it's aliens but we don't know the details and that gives that build up segment of the film lots of atmosphere. We get to know Newt during this portion of the film, except in the director's cut we already know Newt so those scenes become redundant. You spend the next forty minutes going, "I've already seen this bit; get on with it!" And that's why the director's cut destroys the film's pacing. Really, all of Cameron's director's cuts have this problem. You get one or two scenes that might have been nice to include but for the most part you get material that was cut for a very good reason. I'm sure the director's cut of Piranha 2 would have a twenty minute sequence where we learn all about the daily progress at the killer fish research center (that is Piranha 2, right? Those movies kind of blend together for me).
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Oct 29, 2017 23:07
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The only Alien-related cut that I can think of as needing to be in the movie is the cocoon scene.
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Oct 29, 2017 23:13
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I guess I just don't agree, when you say things like "You spend the next forty minutes going, "I've already seen this bit; get on with it!" " I'm not personally doing that. According to this, the scene with Newt's family is ~5 minutes, not 15 http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=2558663 because you're also getting the behind the scenes stuff like the discussion about rights to the find, and extended boardroom stuff. I appreciate expanded background and don't think the film suffers for it; if you disagree, neat.
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Oct 29, 2017 23:43
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I mean, the SE of Aliens is still Aliens and still, by extension, a really drat good movie. It's just not as good. To expand on what I meant by the movie working differently based on whether you're familiar with the original or not: the first act is very careful, in the theatrical version, to not offer any solid proof that Ripley's in the right. If you've seen the first movie, you know she's not crazy or lying, and the scenes work okay as dramatic irony; but if you haven't, it's totally up for grabs what the gently caress is actually going on at the colony right up until they find the woman cocooned to the wall, and it makes it oddly tense for a first act where little actually happens. The SE, by adding the colony sequence, removes one of these layers entirely. It still works as dramatic irony, but the tension new viewers feel of "is she right or is something else going on?" is entirely gone. Half of Sigourney Weaver's performance is nigh-pointless in the SE because of this. Similarly, as mentioned, it introduces Newt to the movie a lot earlier, which ruins her introduction by making it into, essentially, repetitive exposition.
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Oct 29, 2017 23:52
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1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) 2. TCM: The Beginning 3. Halloween (2007) 4. Friday the 13th (2009) 5. Hollywood Ghost Stories (1986) 6. Halloween 2 (2009) 7. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) 8. Scream 4 9. Texas Chainsaw 3D 10. Mother! 11. Never Sleep Again 12. Lurdiak's Scream Stream 10/06 13. Scream Stream 10/07 14. Scream Stream 10/08 15. Crystal Lake Memories 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) 23. The Phantom of the Opera (1943) 24. Creature From the Black Lagoon 25. It Came From Outer Space 26. Night of the Comet 27. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) 28. Return of the Living Dead  Well that was phenomenal. Easily the best episode of It's Always Sunny that I've ever seen. Kidding aside, this was a great dire comedy about dumb assholes refusing to do the responsible thing and ending the world because of it. It's a fun mix of dumbassery along with actions that seem intelligent enough, all of which have catastrophic results. And it's wonderfully believable in how it all snowballs out of control. To put it in a weird sorta metaphor, it's kinda like being inside a dream and accepting everything that is happening, before that moment where you wake up and recognise it's absurdity. It's a really fun mix of Comedy and Horror, and it's great that it doesn't skimp out on the latter as well. It's tense, and on occasion it manages to pull off a surprising sorrow to it's story. The film carries a youthful anything-goes nihilism, and it captures that moment where that invincibility has to contend with reality and mortality. Like a really grim coming of age film. And it's all shown in the lens of both punk music and classic horror movies The aspect where they force a very strenuous tie to Night of the Living Dead was a little groan worthy, but the mileage they get out of it makes up for it. And special kudos for the special effects, namely Tar Man, who doesn't just look 'great for the time', he looks amazing. Period. 29. Phantom of the Paradise  I can imagine that a lot of people (myself included) had a specific idea of what this film was going to be, and what we got was fairly different from what we received. But I'm not sure if what any of the films people expected would have been better than what we got now. It's a weird, gonzo movie that only could have happened in the 1970's. A kinda take on the Rock Opera, with the only this it's missing is an authoritarian government that's banned music. And I'm hooked from moment one, showcasing it's weird style. It's part minimalist stage production, part Rocky Horror technicolor glamour (even though this came out a year earlier), part cinema verite mixed in with Benny Hill. Like I said, it could have only happened in the 1970's, where everything old didn't work so they tried everything new. And the result does fall into a kind of campiness. It's so wild and colourful that a lot of people probably couldn't take it seriously. It so set in a specific time and place, where Bowie and T. Rex gave rise to glam, neon signage became so common place that it was passe, where queerness was laughable and almost mainstream, where someone figured Paul Williams could star in a movie, where rockstars were the biggest celebrities, and where coke was just hitting the scene. It's so specific, I almost wonder if this film was too late to capture it. It was a failure at it's release, both critically and commercially. And without the context, I can only guess why. Maybe it was the fact that it was an incredibly queer movie that only a straight intellectual (on plenty of drugs) could make. Or that the musical trends it was aping off of were on their way out. But considering that, it's suspicious that this film didn't quite get the Rocky Horror style reassessment. This may be due to the less than flattering portrayal of Beef, a man who's hard rock persona is hiding the personality of (someone who's suggested to be) a 'poof'. Or the incredibly heteroerotic and dude focused plotline, or the overall focus on music and creative control as opposed to Rocky's kind of treatsie on living the facade, and doing it as loud and as proud as you can. Or maybe it's failure stems from the fact that this is a fairly low-brow attempt to bring high literature, like Faust and Phantom of the Opera, to the masses. Or simply, there aren't that many people who like rock operas enough to actually like this film. That said, I really do like it. Though it is a flawed film. For example, this film places less importance on characters as it does theme and story. And as such will force the characters forget their motivation or make them pivot on a dime in order to railroad the plot a certain way. There's also the latter half of the movie, where the film kinda runs out of steam, waiting to set up the climactic finale. Where it both kinda drags and is kinda rushing to get certain things out of the way. It kinda looses that style and pizzazz that the first half thrived on, and maybe if it hadn't the film could have maybe coasted by. Or maybe if the script was tightened up, it would have worked a lot better. As is, it's okay but not great. But like I said, I really do like it. It's weird, it's stylish, and it's music is catchy (though the lyrics are unfortunately a little wordy at times). This is the first Brian De Palma film I've ever seen. And I can imagine that he doesn't keep up the strong, absurdist vision he has here, but it makes me fascinated to check out what else he has going on. But that said, I think the soul of this film is Paul Williams. Pulling multiple duties as the villainous Swan, the Singing voice of the Phantom, and writing all of the music for the feature. As the years go by my appreciation for the man grows. And now, I get to enjoy The Hell of It.
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Oct 30, 2017 00:11
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SomeJazzyRat posted:29. Phantom of the Paradise Watch Carrie you fiend!
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Oct 30, 2017 00:16
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Random Stranger posted:Really, all of Cameron's director's cuts have this problem. You get one or two scenes that might have been nice to include but for the most part you get material that was cut for a very good reason. I'm sure the director's cut of Piranha 2 would have a twenty minute sequence where we learn all about the daily progress at the killer fish research center (that is Piranha 2, right? Those movies kind of blend together for me). I can't talk of every Cameron movie, but for both Aliens and Terminator 2, Cameron very definitely states that the Extended Cuts are not to be considered Director's Cuts in the sense that they're his favorite cuts; those scenes got taken out for a reason, and providing extended cuts is precisely something for fans who want more background material and don't care about pacing. Since the material has already been filmed, and is decent enough by itself, it doesn't cost much to make a cut with all that reintegrated back into the film rather than only making it available as separate scenes. It really is just extra fan service for the video/dv/blu-ray crowd.
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Oct 30, 2017 00:46
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21. Cure (1997) A detective investigates a series of murders where the victims have Xs cut on their upper chest but otherwise seem unconnected. Eventually we (but not the detective) discover that it's one man hypnotizing/brainwashing people into murder as he goes along and the detective catches up soon. I got Se7en-ish vibes from it even though it's not really similar beyond being a thriller, I guess it was also sometimes the atmosphere, serial murders and a kind-of "What's in the the box" scene. Definitely worth checking out. 22. Thesis (1996)  A student is writing her thesis on violence in media and via her (recently decided) adviser comes across some hosed up snuff videos. Turns out the tapes are coming from inside the university! And the victim is a former student! She gets involved with a dork obsessed with violent media and has fantasies about a hot jock. Could one or both of them be the murderer?? It feels like I wouldn't do it justice by describing it as a conventional thriller, but despite an interesting premise and plenty of effective twists, it doesn't really go into a more horror or exploitation direction. Which is fine as far as I'm concerned, because it works fantastically as-is. The ending is a bit predictable but everything up to then is very effective and keeps you entertained throughout the two-hour+ movie. I'm now actually up to 1990 so I'll have to write up 6 more movies and watch 4 films in two days.Tricky but should be doable! mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Oct 30, 2017 |
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Oct 30, 2017 00:57
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I've seen the director's cut a bunch of times, and only vaguely remember the colony, stuff, so it didn't make a huge impression on me one way or the other. anyway... 28)rocky horror picture show  So it might be a stretch to call this horror, but it does some really cool stuff recontextualizing old horror movies, in terms of outsiders and transgressors being in the LGBTQ community (similar to what's being done to Pennywise and Babadook currently). Some of it's not much of a stretch- think Whale's stuff, but I didn't really expect some of the deep cuts (Rocky initially looking very much like Christopher Lee's Frankenstein's Monster). Good times and a fun flick. Halloween appropriate even if not strictly a horror movie. /5
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Oct 30, 2017 01:21
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Whew, I have been WAY behind again writing up for #31DaysOfHalloween. Incoming mega post. Feeling too lazy to edit my post into fun smilie ratings, deal with it. #60. Happy Death Day (2017) Tree is a typical movie style sorority college girl. She's kinda stuck up, spends her days worrying about house politics, partying, and waking up in strange guys' bedrooms, the usual stuff you see. Today also is her birthday, which she's not fond of due to her strained family relations. Then, on her way to a party that night, a man in a mask of the college mascot, a baby, brutally kills her. And then she wakes up again at the beginning of her day as if it were all a dream. Now she has to figure out who is trying to kill her, and as she continually fails she restarts the day over with memories of the previous "day"...and much of the physical trauma. I didn't mind this one, though if you've seen the trailer, you know 100% what the movie will be like going in. And yes, it's basically "What if Groundhog Day was a slasher horror instead of an existential comedy?" But hey, that's a clever idea that hasn't really been done before, so it augments some fun over the general slasher plotline. I give Happy Death Day 3 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #61. Demon Hunter (1980) So there's this tribe of savages in some Caribbean island that sacrifice women to a "god" that's basically a big naked dude with bloodshot ping-pong balls for eyes, while dancing to a totem pole representing him (these dances mainly including naked THOT Squats). Meanwhile in nearby civilization, a supermodel gets kidnapped and held for ransom, and the guys holding her captive hide out on this very island. Gee, I can't imagine these two plots will intersect... Wow. You know, I'm a fan of Jess Franco for reasons that are hard to articulate, but even I can't recommend this one. It's awful in so many cheapjack ways. Just...just don't watch it. I only did because it's on the Video Nasty list. I give Demon Hunter 1 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #62. Don't Go In The Woods...Alone! (1981) Up in the hills of a mountain park lurks a grizzled crazy mountain man bedecked in furs that sets traps and hunts for the various campers and hikers that choose to explore his territory. This leads to a massive manhunt by the local law enforcement to try and stop this menace. This one was a decent woods style slasher, with creative kills that were fun to watch. Also, it's always refreshing to see slashers where the victims are primarily adults and not "teens" or college aged people. On the other hand, there's a rather uncomfortable and prolonged sequence of a "hiker" struggling due to being in a wheelchair that seems to be for comic relief, so I'm gonna dock a point for the ableism. I give Don't Go In The Woods 2 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #63. House on Straw Hill aka Trauma (1976) An author (Udo Kier!) secludes himself in a remote farmhouse to work on his next novel. He's a very nervous, xenophobic man, hiding huge veins of anger. He hires a typist to move in and work with him, as he prefers dictation to writing himself. She herself seems to have many dark secrets herself, including having in her suitcase photos of him, and an old, dead friend of his... This is one of the handful of "Nasties" that, while sitting on the horror shelf, wasn't probably banned for its horror elements, but feels more likely that it's strong (softcore) sexual content was the main influence. If this movie had been made like, 15, 20 years later, nobody would bat an eye, and it'd probably have been in heavy late night rotation on Cinemax, as it's on par with all of that sort of stuff, only there is some actual murder and gore on display. Eh, I don't really see anything either grabbing, or terrible about it, it's pretty middle of the road. I give House on Straw Hill 3 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #64. Fight For Your Life (1977) A trio of serial killers escape custody one day, and while on the run in upstate New York take shelter in the house of a black preacher and his family, and begin terrorizing them, until the family reach their limits and can no longer abide by the pacifist philosophies they practice. This film is one that nobody can deny was made to make people angry and tries to stir racial tension. The killers are white, asian, and latino, and seemingly everyone in the film is at least mildly racist if not full on foaming at the mouth levels. It's also a mean as hell film, full of troubling violence. It's one of those films that kinda sticks in notoriety despite not being that great itself. I give Fight For Your Life 2 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #65. Toxic Zombies (1981) After an FBI agent decides to secretly spray an experimental herbacide on the marijuana crops that a group of hippies are growing in the woods, these same hippies turn into violence crazed lunatics. Now it's up to the local ranger to try to figure out how to stop the rampage and prevent as much life loss as he can. Well, this was a very early backyard camcorder coppola film. As far as I'm aware, the filmmakers never made another film, and that's probably for the best. It's dull, poorly shot, and with terrible effects. I was very bored with this Nasty. I give Toxic Zombies 2 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #66. The Gestapo's Last Orgy (1977) After Nuremberg, a woman who was a prisoner at a love camp (ie forced prostitution) meets up with with one of her former captors, one who is obviously madly in love with her, at the ruins of the camp. There, they wander while remembering her trials, where the same man tortured her regularly until she did the one thing she could to survive: Seduce him into falling for her. Eh, once you've seen one or two Nazisploitation films, you've pretty much seen them all. They're either scientists doing mad torture experiments to get resistance information, or scientists doing mad torture experiments on girls forced into sex. That this one's plot is so reminiscent of The Night Porter from 3 years earlier (and probably the kick starter of the whole Nazi trend in Italian film) doesn't help it's case, nor does it's very slow and long run time. I give The Gestapo's Last Orgy 2 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #67. I Spit On Your Grave (1978) Jennifer is an aspiring writer, and goes away to a lakehouse in the country to work on her novel. There she attracts the attention of a gang of hicks who gang-rape her, repeatedly. After surviving the attacks, she then sets out to enact her bloody revenge. This is it, the notorious big movie that got the ball rolling on the rape-revenge genre. It's...not a pleasant film. But then, it's not supposed to be. It's an honestly rough film to watch because of how graphic and gross all the action seems. However, it does have it's place in cinematic history, so I can't exactly not respect it for that. It's a film whose reputation has made it far more of a "perverted" film than it really is, as the terrible things seen on screen are not in anyway meant to titillate as far as I can tell. I give I Spit On Your Grave 3 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #68. Island of Death (1976) I came in with a one sentence synopsis as my sole pre-knowledge: "A pair of serial killers torment a small Greek Island village." So when I saw the handsome British couple boating in at the beginning with the man narrating about how it was such an ideal, pure place, I thought they were going to be the heroes in a giallo style setting. BOY was I wrong! They ARE the killers, we quickly learn! He's a straight-laced religious wacko, while she's a hedonist of the most extreme. They hunt down people he considers moral deviants and then photograph their hunting and killing of these people for the thrills. Well this one sure surprised me. I actually really really liked it, it had a very unusual plot, reminding me of Natural Born Killers, where the "heroes" are actually the serial killers. Also there are huge amount of depravities on display that are pretty eyebrow raising. There is no shock at all that this got on the nasties list, but I was very happy with it. I give Island of Death 5 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #69. Madhouse (1981) Julia is an independent woman, working at a school for deaf children. One day her uncle, a priest, has her come see her long estranged twin sister in the hospital, whom has been badly disfigured from a virus and is in bad shape. As children, Julia's sister would abuse her, and seemingly had a preternatural command over a large threatening dog she would use in her games. Now, her sister escapes from the hospital, and starts stalking and offing those around her one by one with her dog as their birthday quickly approaches... This one was just okay. In better hands, like from someone like Argento, it probably could have been great. It has an interesting premise with a surprise third act, and has a huge meanstreak to it. But it's not super exciting or scary or anything. I give Madhouse 3 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #70. Mardi Gras Massacre (1978) A strange man begins stalking the sexwork circuit in New Orleans in February, hiring women for large amounts of money, taking them back to his place, and then sacrificing them to the Mayan Goddess of Evil. Meanwhile the homicide detective on the case, formerly of vice squad, finds himself falling for a working girl witness, who may be one of the killer's next targets... This feels almost like some lost Hershell Gordon Lewis film, or almost like it's a spiritual sequel to Blood Feast. Not only does it have a similar plot, but the production values and gore are pretty much on par with it. The acting is a little bit better, but only a little bit. If you like that kinda trashy schlock, then by all means, seek this one out. I give Mardi Gras Massacre 2 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses #71. Nightmares in a Damaged Brain (1981) A violent schizophrenic on experimental medication with violent nightmares has a mental break and begins driving cross country, leaving bodies in his wake, before eventually stopping in Cocoa Beach Florida, where we meet a family consisting of a single but dating mother, and her three children, two daughters, and the youngest being a son who is difficult to be around due to his macabre pranking obsession. As bodies start piling up in their immediate area, people get afraid that the boy might be taking his pranks too far, not suspecting the maniac in their midst, who is in fact targeting the family. This one was pretty good. I mean, by the end I noticed a lot of vague similarities to the plot of Halloween, but it was still not a bad stalk and slash as far as those go. I enjoyed myself more than I expected to, so there's that. I give Nightmares in a Damaged Brain 4 out of 5 Rotting Shambling Corpses.
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Oct 30, 2017 01:25
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Speaking of Rocky Horror, Shock Treatment, Phantom of the Paradise and whatnot, I just watched 8. Suspiria One of my top fav movies, my go to if I have to pick one horror movie. Dario and Goblin (who I'm seeing soon!) at the top of their game, and Jessica Harper is terrific in this as well. A comparison I think works is this is the Once Upon A Time In the West of Dario's horror/giallo films. Dario was a writer on that movie too. That movie had even less dialogue than the previous Leone movies if I recall correctly, and is more driven by music and letting visuals tell the story, a bit more atmospheric and about letting you get into it's vibe. Or something, anyways that's my favorite Leone Western. And Suspiria, especially the first time I saw it, really pulled me in, nothing else out there quite like it. It's a bit "less is more" in some ways, having less of the usual pulpy plot and dialogue, kind of giving it room to breathe and go for a unique atmosphere. Which it really pulls off to great effect. While of course being delightfully extravagant with the terrific visuals and sounds. Memorable movie, tough to top if you're into what it's going for, a fav for me, one of the greats. Thumbs up Heavy Metal fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Oct 30, 2017 |
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Oct 30, 2017 01:38
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31. Sleepaway Camp A quiet young girl whose family was killed in a boating accident years before spends her summer at a local camp, and the people who torment her there start getting injured and/or dying in cruel ways. I figured this would be a decent capper to the challenge given its notoriety; again, I'm not a huge fan of slasher films, so I never bothered to watch it until now. This was way more entertaining than I thought it would be, and even though I knew about the ending, it was still effective. Some pretty inventive kills too. As with the first movie I watched in the challenge (Hellraiser), I found the orchestral soundtrack gives it a sort of seriousness that it might otherwise lack. The acting is mostly terrible but it almost makes the whole thing feel more authentic. And that's it! The final list of everything I watched - everything was new to me: 1. Hellraiser 2. Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 3. Mad Ron's Prevues From Hell 4. The Void 5. Phantasm: Remastered 6. Phantasm 2 7. Messiah of Evil 8. I Drink Your Blood 9. Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape and Video Nasties: Draconian Days 10. You're So Cool Brewster: The Story of Fright Night 11. The Dead Next Door 12. Patchwork 13. The Visitor 14. Burial Ground 15. Undead 16. The Living Dead Girl 17. Beyond the Black Rainbow 18. Hell of the Living Dead 19. The Vault of Horror 20. ABCs of Death 2 21. Spirits of the Dead 22. Pieces 23. Dead of Night 24. Chillerama 25. IT 26. Mutant 27. Re-Animator 28. Black Sunday 29. Phenomena 30. Suspiria 31. Sleepaway Camp
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Oct 30, 2017 02:07
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The butt prank made me laugh really hard.
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Oct 30, 2017 02:13
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51. Suspiria ( The movie's always been beautiful, of course. Seeing it on a big screen is great and if you possibly can you should do it. The non-Goblin score gave everything a very different feel. Erin Jorgensen did a relatively minimalist synth + marimba thing that was much more sombre than the original, but still built up to the climax in a really cool way. I'd definitely check out more of her shows if I lived in the area. Not going to replace Goblin in anyone's book, obviously, but as a one-off special event thing it worked out really well. The film's audio was completely muted for this, which also contributed to the shift in atmosphere. Again not something I'd endorse for every future viewing of Suspiria in your life, but it actually works really well as a silent film. Watching them back to back, though, I surprised myself by preferring The Beyond. I'd always imagined myself as more of an Argento guy than a Fulci guy (Phenomena rules), and there are certainly more frame-worthy images in Suspiria, but I think The Beyond does a much better job maintaining atmosphere and exploring its central mysteries even though it's weaker on the technical side. Also the score is loving great. Please catch the Frizzi 2 Fulci tour you owe it to yourself. 52. The Devil's Dolls - More interesting than its Netflix description suggests, but not by much. A serial killer has some dolls on hand when police catch up with him, and through a really baffling display of incompetence in terms of both parenting and policework the detective's daughter ends up in possession of them. Then some copycat crimes start happening, with details of the serial killer's MO that were never made public and you know what I don't know why I'm bothering to be coy about the plot the movie sure doesn't. The dolls make people kill people and only the old voodoo lady can help the police contain their evil. You will know all of this approximately an hour before the characters do.
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Oct 30, 2017 02:28
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 31. JigsawYay I made it. This isn’t really the epic film I was hoping to end on but at least it’s new. It was fine, a good revamp that acknowledges the continuity of the previous films without getting tangled up by it. If you liked the first 2 you’ll like this one, but there was really nothing exciting or new here, not sure WHY they made it, but there isn’t a lot of competition this week so it’ll probably make a lot of money
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Oct 30, 2017 02:56
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Choco1980 posted:#67. I Spit On Your Grave (1978) I knew someone who went to this movie on a first date. Not intentionally, but he was a real poo poo head in general so that lady was lucky to get out then.
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Oct 30, 2017 03:18
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