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Friends Are Evil
Oct 25, 2010

cats cats cats



Question about the third Fran Challenge. If you live in the DMV/DC metro area, are you limited to films from whichever side of the metro you’re on or do you get to tap into DC films too? I technically live on the VA side, but DC’s in this ambiguous middle ground between states.

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Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

Spatulater bro! posted:

10. The Nude Vampire (1970, Jean Rollin)

Real talk: what did you think about the music?

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Friends Are Evil posted:

Question about the third Fran Challenge. If you live in the DMV/DC metro area, are you limited to films from whichever side of the metro you’re on or do you get to tap into DC films too? I technically live on the VA side, but DC’s in this ambiguous middle ground between states.

I feel like we may be taking these challenges a bit too seriously. I don't want to speak for Fran but uh, yea go ahead and watch a movie from D.C. I don't think anyone will complain.

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

Franchescanado posted:

Real talk: what did you think about the music?

Loved it. Quite an unusual choice but it worked great.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

Basebf555 posted:

I feel like we may be taking these challenges a bit too seriously. I don't want to speak for Fran but uh, yea go ahead and watch a movie from D.C. I don't think anyone will complain.

Yeah, pretty much this. If you did your homework and found a movie that counts, I'm not going to be pedantic.

Spatulater bro! posted:

Loved it. Quite an unusual choice but it worked great.

I thought so too, but then found it very grating after a while. I need to revisit it, because ot really is his best movie for many reasons.

Count Thrashula
Jun 1, 2003

Death is nothing compared to vindication.
Buglord

Friends Are Evil posted:

Question about the third Fran Challenge. If you live in the DMV/DC metro area, are you limited to films from whichever side of the metro you’re on or do you get to tap into DC films too? I technically live on the VA side, but DC’s in this ambiguous middle ground between states.

Look, if you wanna watch The Exorcist just go for it

MacheteZombie
Feb 4, 2007

Basebf555 posted:

I watched this in May and really enjoyed it a lot, much moreso than I was expecting. Now that I think about it, I should've chosen it as my staff pick. More people need to discover it because imo Perkins is every bit as good in this as he was in the original, and obviously that's really saying something.

The way he expresses his struggle to remain sane is great.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

MacheteZombie posted:

The way he expresses his struggle to remain sane is great.

It's actually a much better examination of mental illness than the original(which obviously wasn't even going for that). Specifically the experiences people have when they're hospitalized for a mental illness and the people in their community know about it and go out of their way to make the person's recovery even harder than it already was by being prejudiced assholes.

I worked with outpatient schizophrenia patients for a few years and the struggles they had to exist as a normal person in society really mirrored Psycho II very well. Employers in particular think they can exploit and take advantage of the mentally ill.

MacheteZombie
Feb 4, 2007

Basebf555 posted:

It's actually a much better examination of mental illness than the original(which obviously wasn't even going for that). Specifically the experiences people have when they're hospitalized for a mental illness and the people in their community know about it and go out of their way to make the person's recovery even harder than it already was by being prejudiced assholes.

I actually said something similar in my review of it in letterboxd. The line from Bates's Dr about not having a counselor due to budget cuts is definitely a jab at Reagan. The movie came out two years after he signed OBRA

Friends Are Evil
Oct 25, 2010

cats cats cats



COOL CORN posted:

Look, if you wanna watch The Exorcist just go for it


It's tempting, but I'm keeping it to first time watches to make things interesting. Hollow Man it is!

Friends Are Evil fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Sep 26, 2018

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Friends Are Evil posted:

It's tempting, but I'm still keeping it to first time watches to make things interesting. Hollow Man it is!

Don't kneecap yourself with overly stringent rules I say. Look at what's doing to you, you're about to watch Hollow Man instead of The Exorcist.

Allow yourself a few exceptions.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

I'm definitely taking the Fran challenges too seriously. I've been paralyzed for a week over whether I really "hate" this movie or that franchise and if any of them qualify. And I've watched like two films from the LGBTQ lists and said "nah, I don't think that should count." Its weird. I'm weird.

At least the NY one should be easy but I'll find a way to complicate that too by trying to find one filmed near my house or something.

FancyMike
May 7, 2007


14. Ravenous (1999, dir. Antonia Bird)
“Bon appétit.” Cannibalism as blatant metaphor for manifest destiny, Carlyle even mentions it by name. It's kind of a weird movie, not at all subtle and tonally all over the place and I love it for that. Really a lot of fun and I didn't know that going in it was a nice time. The score is uneven and at times the worst part of the movie, but there are some really great pieces, specifically when they first get to the cave and then the ending. Robert Carlyle is fantastic, much better than he was in 28 Weeks Later. 4/5

Total: 14. The Untold Story (3/5), The Sleep Curse (4/5), The Faculty (3/5), Demon Knight (4/5), Return of the Living Dead (4/5), The Evil of Frankenstein (3/5), Hellraiser: Judgment (1/5), Vampyres (3/5), We're Going to Eat You (3/5), The Slumber Party Massacre (4/5), The Eternal Evil of Asia (3/5), 28 Weeks Later (3/5), Phantasm II (4/5), Ravenous (4/5)

Justin Godscock
Oct 12, 2004

Listen here, funnyman!
Hopefully this one isn't too much of a reach. I also plan to do the third challenge but living in Alberta it's going to be a little tight. Not a lot of movies purely film here with the Edmonton skyline in the background of every shot so I'm going to reach a little and pick a film that had some of it filmed here. It's also not going to be pretty either because every drat movie I've researched thus far are wilderness-heavy films like The Revenant and Open Range (not horror) so it's going to be near-basement horror.

Franchescanado posted:

:siren: FRAN CHALLENGE #2: Queer Horror :siren:

16. Seed of Chucky (2004)



I'm submitting this one for the challenge because of the gender confusion subplot in the film regarding the child of Chucky and Tiffany.

I really do not like this film because by now they decided to go full-on with the black comedy and self-awareness and the horror badly suffers from it. It's just a plain weird film to boot because it cannot seem to decide if it wants to be a slasher movie (there are slasher kills) or some strange drama between Chucky and Tiffany with their kid in the middle. I also don't really get the story because it cannot seem to decide if it wants to be the sequel to Bride of Chucky or some fourth-wall breaking film like New Nightmare. It all just doesn't work out, Chucky's charisma and wise-cracking cannot make up for it. I'm likely going to move onto the DTV Chucky movies for the rest of the challenge because they went back to pure horror and I really need some of that.

:spooky:/5

Total: 1. The Conjuring 2 (2016), 2. Terrifier (2016), 3. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), 4. Split (2017), 5. The First Purge (2018), 6. Trick 'R Treat (2009), 7. Wolf Creek (2005), 8. King Kong (1976), 9. Halloween II (2009), 10. Pumpkinhead (1988), 11. House on Haunted Hill (1959), 12. House on Haunted Hill (1999), 13. What We Do in the Shadows (2014), 14. Ghostbusters (2016), 15. Bride of Chucky (1998), 16. Seed of Chucky (2004)

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

Justin Godscock posted:

Hopefully this one isn't too much of a reach. I also plan to do the third challenge but living in Alberta it's going to be a little tight. Not a lot of movies purely film here with the Edmonton skyline in the background of every shot so I'm going to reach a little and pick a film that had some of it filmed here.

This is completely okay.

The ruling logic is this: the Adam Sandler film The Waterboy used aerial views of my city's football stadium as the shot of the football stadium in the film. The rest of the film was made outside of my state. That's enough to qualify for the challenge.

Hint for those having difficulty imdb has it where you can search movies specifically by film location

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007
An alright dude.

married but discreet posted:

5. Devil Fetus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0qPwrxLULQ
Wizardry fail, but movie success. It's just as dumb as you would expect from the clip, it's crazy, it's sincere, I love it. Thanks for whoever found this gem, it's on youtube so go see it.

Previously watched:
Creepshow II
Monster Squad
Mandy
Shock


Thanks that would be me. If you liked that check out The Seventh Curse , Boxers Omen , Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires

Seventh Curse has Chow Yun Fat , Boxers Omen is kind of just as insane as Devil Fetus.

Finally you have Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires which is like required horror fan viewing. Not only is it the last time Saint Peter (Cushing ) plays Van Helsing it's the only Shaw Brothers and Hammer joint production. Like it's legit fantastic.

married but discreet
May 7, 2005


Taco Defender

Hollismason posted:

Thanks that would be me. If you liked that check out The Seventh Curse , Boxers Omen , Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires

Seventh Curse has Chow Yun Fat , Boxers Omen is kind of just as insane as Devil Fetus.

Finally you have Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires which is like required horror fan viewing. Not only is it the last time Saint Peter (Cushing ) plays Van Helsing it's the only Shaw Brothers and Hammer joint production. Like it's legit fantastic.

You rock! Seen Curse, will watch Boxers Omen too. I've never seen a Hammer horror movie (I know, shameful), is Vampires a good place to start?

Jedit
Dec 10, 2011

Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

7) Spider Baby (1964)



It's quite hard to describe this movie. It strikes a weird balance between tame and corrupt. Is it exploitation? Is it comedy? The cast don't seem to be taking it entirely seriously, for sure, but is that bad acting or what was intended? Still, it's a solid late-career performance from Lon Chaney - who also performed the theme song - and a fascinating turn from 18-year-old Jill Banner, who sadly never attained great success and died in a car accident aged just 35.

Fun fact: Quinn Redeker, who played the smarmy Peter, is best known as the Oscar-nominated writer of The Deer Hunter.

Friends Are Evil
Oct 25, 2010

cats cats cats



Basebf555 posted:

Don't kneecap yourself with overly stringent rules I say. Look at what's doing to you, you're about to watch Hollow Man instead of The Exorcist.

Allow yourself a few exceptions.

Honestly, my big goal with this is to keep exposing myself to new horror (even if it's poo poo). I may relent on some of the rules I set for myself next year, but I'm all about schooling myself this time of year.

Speaking of which:



11. Lifeforce (1985). Directed by Tobe Hooper.

This is maybe the most wildly ambitious thing Tobe Hooper's ever made, though not anywhere near his best. I love the lo-fi space goth aesthetic it tries to pull off, and the amount of crazy poo poo going on at once while still feeling cohesive is downright respectable. Wonder how much crazier this could have gotten if it didn't suffer from the disease of being a Golan-Globus film. The effects work is a mixed bag, as can be expected. Probably the best-shot movie Hooper's ever done?



12. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014). Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour.

I think there's some definite pacing problems, but I still love the concept. The idea of a skateboarding Iranian vampire killing terrible men is pretty much right up my alley. The punk vibes are great and it has really gorgeous black and white photography. Got a shocking amount of Jarmusch vibes from it. Curious to know what the rest of the Iranian ex-pat horror scene is like. Under The Shadow's also on my to-do list, but still.

Is The Bad Batch good?

Friends Are Evil fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Sep 27, 2018

paradoxGentleman
Dec 10, 2013

wheres the jester, I could do with some pointless nonsense right about now

Franchescanado posted:

:siren: FRAN CHALLENGE #3: Hometown Horror :siren:

This is gonna be a harder one, but there's plenty of time to find one that applies.




:ghost: Watch a film that takes place in the state* you currently live in

or

:ghost: Watch a film that was filmed in the state you currently live in.


Bonus points if you can find a film that takes place in the city you live in, but don't feel pressured to get specific with sharing your personal details if that makes you uncomfortable.


Deadline on this is also November 1st.

*province for non-USA goons

I'm Italian. Hm. There probably ARE some horror movies set in Italy...this will require some research.

married but discreet
May 7, 2005


Taco Defender
Current place of residence is barely a challenge, can we do our birthplaces?

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

married but discreet posted:

Current place of residence is barely a challenge, can we do our birthplaces?

Sure.

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007
An alright dude.

married but discreet posted:

You rock! Seen Curse, will watch Boxers Omen too. I've never seen a Hammer horror movie (I know, shameful), is Vampires a good place to start?

Yeah it doesn't require any prior knowledge of the previous films. Its a good jumping off point but it is very very different than a normal Hammer Horror.

Choco1980
Feb 22, 2013

I fell in love with a Video Nasty

Jedit posted:

7) Spider Baby (1964)



It's quite hard to describe this movie. It strikes a weird balance between tame and corrupt. Is it exploitation? Is it comedy? The cast don't seem to be taking it entirely seriously, for sure, but is that bad acting or what was intended? Still, it's a solid late-career performance from Lon Chaney - who also performed the theme song - and a fascinating turn from 18-year-old Jill Banner, who sadly never attained great success and died in a car accident aged just 35.

Fun fact: Quinn Redeker, who played the smarmy Peter, is best known as the Oscar-nominated writer of The Deer Hunter.

Not to mention it has one of the last performances of Mantan Moreland in the beginning. And a young Sid Haig. The movie has an impressive cast for being such an out there weird thing.

SMP
May 5, 2009

11. The Hills Have Eyes (OG) - 1/5

quote:

Not for me. These hill people are so god drat boring.

Was hoping to get on a hillbilly horror kick after loving House of 1000 Corpses/Devil's Rejects so much, but this was a big swing and a miss for me. I need a bit more personality in my killers.

Random Stranger
Nov 27, 2009



Franchescanado posted:

Bonus points if you can find a film that takes place in the city you live in, but don't feel pressured to get specific with sharing your personal details if that makes you uncomfortable.

There is exactly one film that takes place in this city (and was partially shot here).

It was featured on MST3K.

Money Bags
Jun 27, 2013

8. Final Exam (1981)


Fully enjoyable slasher flick. Instead of high schoolers we have college kids straight out of Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds and they're dying one by one. I liked pretty much all of the characters especially Wildman and Radish, Wildman because he's a complete effing psycho-jock and Radish because he's the most likable and has the interesting quirk of being obsessed with death and violence - I was sad to see him go. I also liked the final girl. The coach and the sheriff were great as well.
4/5 - All in all quite good.

9. Pieces (1982)


I came for the slasher and stayed for the Giallo.
4/5 - A very gnarly movie that's good

10. The Gate (1987)


This is another movie that I wasn't expecting to enjoy as much as I did. I feel like my childhood is lacking now because this movie wasn't in it. The characters felt real, the threat felt real, the monsters were scary, the effects were good, the plot was there, lots of therefore this happened rather than and then this happened which I liked. Everything is set up and pays off. Very much a family film (despite the satanic aspects) and I would like to sit down and watch it with family. I don't have any children of my own so I'll have to be that uncle and scar my sister's kids in a few years when they're old enough to watch it. Can't wait.
4.5/5 - Very good family film about hailing Satan and immediately regretting the decision

11. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)


Another great 1950s horror movie rife with paranoia. IOTBS is one of those films where you've gleaned the plot via osmosis before you have a chance to see it, but I'm glad I didn't look up anything specific because I found it plenty engrossing. I'm becoming a big fan of going into older movies as cold as possible as well as of the 50s sci-fi/horror genre.
4/5 - Very good

Random Stranger
Nov 27, 2009



Day -5 - The Relic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFbvUDpRBuo

I'll be honest, I had this movie mixed up with Mimic in my mind. I ran into some real viewing problems today so rather than go for the longer movie I had slotted up, I looked for something simple on streaming and spotted The Relic. And I though, "Oh, that was that kind of popular horror film Del Toro directed with the killer cockroach man! I didn't like it when it came out, by why not give it another chance?" Turns out that this is the other 1997 monster movie throwback that was kind of popular but I didn't like. I was pouring myself a drink as the credits were going so I missed that this was actually directed by Peter Hyams. So for the first hour before I realized my mistake I was going, "Man, Del Toro was really phoning this one in."

I still don't know what people see in this movie. Is it the script? It feels like the script is a bit more freewheeling than most monster movies, but at the same time that made me wish for an editor to clean it up a bit. I didn't need thirty micro-character arcs packed into this movie.

But past that oddly scattered script, the rest of The Relic just feels so generic to me. I have so little to say about it because it's so bland. It's the oatmeal of monster movies: passionless, thoughtless, and with nothing to say. It's not good but not really horrible either. Just beige.

I'm trying to think of how I would want this movie improved and I think a large part would be replacing the director. Shockingly, the director of A Sound of Thunder is not very skilled at directing. Things are shot in ways that as just plain boring. Even in his chase scene, he cuts away to people at other locations not really doing anything.

I remember The Relic having a fair number of boosters and I just do not get it at all. This is a nothing movie that after watching it I fully understood why I didn't remember anything about it.

M_Sinistrari
Sep 5, 2008

Do you like scary movies?




53- Whatever Happened to Baby Jane 1962

I love this one for a variety of reasons. It invokes the messed up nature of Old Hollywood, gives a glimpse into the legendary rivalry between Bette and Joan, and is an all around well put together psychological horror film. Someday I really need to pick up the book this is based on.

As I've admitted that I'm a total sucker for Hollywood history, this one consistently hits the mark invoking the lives of stars who've faded to obscurity and desperately clinging to anything of their glory days even when it bites them in the rear end. I do feel that the rivalry between Bette and Joan really contributed to the movie. No matter how skilled an actor/actress is, there's no way they could replicate that degree of simmering seething hate.

In the book, Bette & Joan: The Divine Feud, it devotes a good segment to everything that went on behind the scenes and if you watch carefully when Jane's dragging Blanche's limp body, you can see the outline and cloth pull of the rocks Joan put in her robe for Bette to throw her back out.

While this one might seem a bit on the slow and draggy side for some, it is very much worth a watch.



54- The Blancheville Monster 1963

Here's another first time watch for me and, well, while I don't regret sitting through it, I have to admit I was really expecting something better for an Italy/Spain collaboration.

About the only thing standout in this one is some of the sets and scenery. I'm pretty sure the ruined abbey ended up making an appearance in the Tombs of the Blind Dead films. So I consider this one skippable unless you really like some nice scenery.

BioTech
Feb 5, 2007
...drinking myself to sleep again...


Friends Are Evil posted:

Is The Bad Batch good?

I didn't care for it at all. The beginning is great, after that it just falls apart.
There are some fun ideas in there, like Keanu Reeves as a cult leader, but they never amount to more than snippets in a movie that is too long and doesn't go anywhere.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

Finished my Hoopla limit on the month so hitting my Kanopy…

8 (10). Coherence (2013)


A dinner party between old friends is interrupted by the passing of a comet that ends up having strange affects that brew paranoia and have everyone asking, is the cat dead or alive? I don’t know how to say more without spoiling some fun stuff.

I really, really enjoyed this. Not your typical horror, but one that does small tension and uneasy questions extremely well to create an atmosphere all in a tight little package. I don’t even know how to discuss it without spoilers. There’s some very strong performances, especially from the lead. A lot of really clever, complicated, and impossible to follow (but in a good way) twists and questions that keep the movie moving in a way you want to see resolve but know can’t be. Its director James Ward Byrkit’s first directorial piece and second written movie (Rango). From the Wiki entry it looks like he got a whole bunch of awards for this and I can’t disagree. This is my second film in a row by a director I’d like to see again who hasn’t done another film. That’s weird and disappointing. But Rango apparently also won awards including an Oscar so I gotta remember this guy’s name, maybe check out that cartoon about a cowboy lizard (?), and hope he makes something else soon. He “produced” The Forest which I’ve actually seen and found pretty generic, but there’s a ton of other names on that one so I’m gonna dismiss it.

Ok, black boxes. The reveals of the wrong people being in the wrong houses was really incredibly well done. The first moment of Hugh and Amir feels so simple and obvious and easy to fix and then as they realize there’s more than 2 options and Emily confronts her wrong husband, ends up in the wrong house, and slowly realizes she can never really know how to get back to her real one was just so well down softly and quietly by the directing and acting by lead Emily Baldoni, who also doesn’t seem to have any other significant credits to speak of.

There’s also a really cute little gag early on with Nicholas Brendan playing a washed up actor who starred in a CW show awhile back, but the wrong one and the implications that poo poo might have been getting mixed up from the start with Lauri not recognizing him from the show and him not really remembering her, and further with Emily’s phone breaking in her car on the way to the house. Maybe Emily Prime never even got to her house, boyfriend, and friends. Its just really cute and more to think of as you walk away from the film.

I’d definitely recommend this one. Its very simple, nothing flashy, but very well done and trippy.



September Tally - New (Total)
1 (1). A Cure For Wellness (2016) / - (2). Slither (2006) / 2 (3). Castle Rock (2018) / - (4). The Forsaken (2001) / 3 (5). The Night Eats the World (2018) / 4 (6). The Girl With All The Gifts (2016) / 5 (7). The Voices (2014) / 6 (8). Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010) / 7 (9). Jug Face (2013) / 8 (10). Coherence (2013) /

Jedit
Dec 10, 2011

Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

Random Stranger posted:

There is exactly one film that takes place in this city (and was partially shot here).

It was featured on MST3K.

Lucky you. There's also exactly one horror feature that takes place in my city, and MST3K would reject it for being so bad. I may watch it anyway, it being on YT, but if I don't get halfway through I'm still counting it.

BioTech
Feb 5, 2007
...drinking myself to sleep again...


10. Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

The first half of the movie really drags, but after that you get some excellent Thriller-style zombies.
You can tell there was no budget, but it still manages to do a lot of things right.
Didn't care much for the main zombie, especially considering how good some of the others look, but it was still an okay movie.

Ambitious Spider
Feb 13, 2012



Lipstick Apathy


12)A Dark Song

A woman hires a man to help her conduct a months long occult ritual for reasons. He's not a great person, and they need to try and get along locked in a house for months. It's a slow burn, with a pretty good pay off. It's also one of the few horror movies I've seen that ends on a hopeful note. Which is kind of nice once in a while

3.5/5

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

Friends Are Evil posted:

Is The Bad Batch good?

It was one of my favorites from 2016. It's a slow burn with amazing visuals. Imagine Mad Max: Road Warrior filmed like Lawrence of Arabia but with The Hateful 8's pacing.

It's a polarizing experience, but I love the weird world it portrays.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer
9. Vampyr
1932 | dir. Carl Th. Dreyer




I first tried to watch this movie when I was drowsy with fever. It was the perfect state to enjoy this movie, except for falling asleep half-way through.

It very much is like a fever dream. A demonologist (or ghost hunter or student of the occult) finds an inn to stay for the night. It feels as if he's entered a foreign realm of reality without knowing it. I like the idea of vampires giving off supernatural energy like it's radiation and causing those around it to grow increasingly ill in their mind until there is no more reality. This movie manages to accomplish that level of artistry while also incorporating the old German folktales of vampyrs, instead of the traditional (or should I say American) vampires that stem from Universal's Dracula.

What's most impressive is how technically brilliant this film is. Much of it would be difficult to make even now. Take this shot, for example (rapidly sped up to fit in a GIF):



Already a difficult shot to make with modern technology, but this was made with some of the earliest sound equipment used for film, which was experimental and cumbersome and considered a novelty at the time. But this movie still looks great. The only thing that ages it is the beautiful film grain.

You can watch a nice quality free version of the film on YouTube. I chose to watch it on FilmStruck, which was a slight upgrade in quality. It also has a couple of cool extra features (which is why FilmStruck is the best streaming service), but I'll have to watch them on a day I'm off from work:



Highly Recommended.

Movies Seen: Hell House, LLC | Dagon | The Bird With the Crystal Plumage | Critters 2 | Serial Mom | Monster Squad | The Neon Demon | Motel Hell | Vampyr
Total: 9

BrendianaJones
Aug 2, 2011

Goodness no, now that wouldn't do at all!
Village of the Damned (Carpenter version)

I thought this one was pretty dull. It starts out intriguing with a whole town falling unconscious for hours and mysterious pregnancies, but then it doesn't flesh out any characters enough for them to be really interesting and the evil kids are pretty bland as far as villains go.

2/5

SMP
May 5, 2009

Friends Are Evil posted:

12. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014). Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour.

I think there's some definite pacing problems, but I still love the concept. The idea of a skateboarding Iranian vampire killing terrible men is pretty much right up my alley. The punk vibes are great and it has really gorgeous black and white photography. Got a shocking amount of Jarmusch vibes from it. Curious to know what the rest of the Iranian ex-pat horror scene is like. Under The Shadow's also on my to-do list, but still.

Is The Bad Batch good?

As someone who loved A Girl Walks Home Alone, I really didn't like The Bad Batch. It's a bit too meandering and not much really happens. The great cast doesn't save it because they're conceptually way cooler than anything they actually do.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

SMP posted:

As someone who loved A Girl Walks Home Alone, I really didn't like The Bad Batch. It's a bit too meandering and not much really happens. The great cast doesn't save it because they're conceptually way cooler than anything they actually do.

In defense of the meandering tone, the film is about "criminal" rejects who are dropped off in a desert wasteland prison with really nothing else. The only path is what they choose to do, and when you're told you're worthless to society and ostracized, what is there to do other than party, do drugs, eat people, or replicate a normal life as best you can.

edit: Also, when you find out that they did all the amputee stuff on the main character with physical effects and camera tricks and not CGI, it gives me a whole new level of appreciation.

Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 13:38 on Sep 27, 2018

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Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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Random Stranger posted:

I remember The Relic having a fair number of boosters and I just do not get it at all. This is a nothing movie that after watching it I fully understood why I didn't remember anything about it.

Part of it is that in 1997, a creature feature that's actually rated-R with kills and gore and all that stuff was a rare treat. I don't think many people would argue it's a legit good movie though.

Personally, I have nostalgia for The Relic because it's based on an excellent novel that I read when I was like 12 and it's always been one of my favorites.

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