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3. The Silence of the Lambs This is such a weirdly edited movie. It has phenomenal performances from Foster and Hopkins and Scott Glenn and O HEY poo poo IT'S BULLDOG, but the pacing for the first hour or so is so odd, then it goes to warp speed for the remainder.
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Oct 4, 2018 11:52
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So today I did two more films from my horror collection and broke into the Universal Monster Cannon. 4 The Werewolf Vs the Vampire Woman - 1970 This is the 5th film in a series of Spanish werewolf films called the Hombre Lobo series. The wolfman is living with his sister in a remote Spanish village when two college students come seeking the tomb of a vampire countess for their thesis project. They find the tomb, accidentally resurrect the vampire, and the wolfman must do battle with her. The film was commercially successful, and is even credited with beginning the Spanish horror boom of the 70’s. For me the most noteworthy thing about it is Paul Naschy’s performance as the Wolfman, which is fantastically animalistic and brutal. Apparently the wolfman was a favorite character from his childhood, and it shows in his performance. I’m definitely gonna try and seek out more of his films. I do wish the final battle between the wolfman and the vampire was longer though. 5 The Thirsty Dead - 1974 This is an American Phillipino co-production about a cult of not-vampires who drain the life from young people by drinking their blood. Look, I’m gonna level with you and say that even though I watched this earlier today, that memory has been almost completely subsumed by the Universal Phantom of the Opera. This movie was pretty forgettable to begin with, but after Lon Chaney, it stands no chance. There is a cult that can use leaves to absorb blood and heal wounds, and the people drained visibly age, but that’s about it. The main thing that stuck with me was a few gorgeous exterior shots, but I don’t know if that’s the result of the dp knowing where to place the camera, or if it’s simply the natural beauty of the Philippines. Feel free to skip this one. 6 The Phantom of the Opera - 1925 I’m breaking into the Universal Monster cannon with a film whose iconic monster design has been burned into my head since I was a kid. All I can say is Wow. Just wow. From the opening shot of the Paris Opera House I knew I was in for something good. The set design is amazing, beginning with normal looking sets at the top level of the opera house and getting more and more expressionistic as we go deeper, with stranger architecture and deeper shadows. Some of the basement levels could have come from any German Expressionist film of the time period. I have been seeing stills and gifs of the Phantom reveal for as long as I have been aware of movies, but I’m telling you, the scene itself is even more amazing. The Phantom takes Christine down to his lair, and while he is playing the organ, she removes his mask in a scene that is truly scary, even now. Lon Chaney plays it perfectly, from the shock in his eyes to his deranged reaction. I read he did the makeup himself, and it is fantastic. The version I saw wasn’t totally black and white, the Bal Masque had been redone in technicolor and there was bright, vivid red amongst the gray tones. Most shots are expertly done, and special recognition must be given to the end chase, with The Phantom kidnapping Christine and cackling maniacally as he spirits her away in a carraige. Lon Chaney’s Phantom is so intimidating that the final scene has him, confronted by the angry townspeople, holding his hand up as if to say “I have this grenade in my hand which will kill you all!” only to reveal he has nothing at all, and laughing as the townspeople descend on him. Today I learned that I'm a fan of Paul Naschy and I saw a Universal Monster film that will stick with me for quite some time to come. Overall, today was a great day for movies.
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Oct 4, 2018 12:17
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Adoomsdaygap posted:6 The Phantom of the Opera - 1925 That wasn't "redone", the color in that scene is original to the 1925 release.
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Oct 4, 2018 12:25
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Guy Goodbody posted:Amazon has the first 9 Puppet Master movies on DVD for $8.04. They also have the first 9 Puppet Master movies and the first three Killjoy movies on DVD for $7.99.  Please note before buying: These are bootleg copies, and some of the movies are near-unwatchable quality (the video I mean, not the plot and acting), and people have reported that some of the movies don't even have audio tracks - don't buy this!
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Oct 4, 2018 12:44
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COOL CORN posted:
drat, I guess 9 puppet Master movies for eight dollars and four cents was too good to be true
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Oct 4, 2018 13:38
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Timby posted:3. The Silence of the Lambs The deliberate pace is part of what makes it so great in my opinion. It's all so sterile and clinical, it gives the film a feeling of reality that very few of the imitators have been able to match. It's a great example of how not every movie needs to be made by an "auteur", sometimes what you want is a professional who knows exactly what's needed to make the film work and can make changes to his own style to match it.
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Oct 4, 2018 13:51
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Demme also just seems to enjoy kicking up the pacing for the 2nd half of most of his movies. Hell, Something Wild becomes a thriller and then a horror movie for the last act.
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Oct 4, 2018 14:25
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 96- House that Dripped Blood 1971 - TUBI TV This anthology is one where the framing story really helps bring out the individual stories. On thier own the stories are okay-ish, but the framing story which is solid enough to be considered an anthology story on it's own interconnects it all into a pretty good anthology. If there's a weak story it's probably the wax museum one with Peter Cushing since compared to the others, it doesn't take place much in the house from the title. Overall, a fine entry to an anthology marathon.  97- Equinox 1970 - DVD For years I'd see the monster pictures from this one in Famous Monsters and wanted to see it so bad. So, naturally when I finally caught it on cable, I was ready. The monsters didn't disappoint. The story's pretty much a proto-Evil Dead with demon monsters rather than undead demons. Overall, it's good. Granted it's a bit hokey in sections but it didn't detract at all for me. I do highly recommend going the Criterion route if you look into buying this one since the extras such as the original short film with all the commentary is very worth it.
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Oct 4, 2018 15:18
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I spent so much time coding last night I forgot to watch a movie. I’m going to have to watch two movies tonight. Whoops! Pretend like I did watch Spider Baby last night
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Oct 4, 2018 15:20
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2. The Exorcist II (1977) God this movie is dumb. Four years later after the possession, Regan is a mostly well-adjusted 16 year old living with her caretaker, also from the first movie. She goes to a therapy provided by Nurse Ratched, who is working on a revolutionary technique called synchronized hypnotism. Father Lamont comes to do some more investigating in the results of the first film. Lots of dumb stuff happens, and once again sequels provide faaar too much backstory for villains. We also spend time with a vaguely African tribe, with James Earl Jones as a child mystic turned locust scientist. See, Pazuzu the demon apparently targets humans with extrasensory powers. Meh  /53. Slice (2018)  Someone is killing pizza delivery boys. Is it the ghosts? Is it a werewolf? A bunch of people investigate. I was going to call this the worst A24 movie I've seen, but then I looked and they produced Tusk! Oof. Anyway this is meant to be a horror comedy, but it's just not very funny, Chance the Rapper is fine, Zazie Beetz is criminally wasted. It was just a very light film, that I will probably entirely forget I watched. It's slight. Nothing particularly offensive about it, nothing particularly great either. /54. The Exorcist III (1990)  Fifteen years after The Exorcist, a serial killer who seems to have ties to the Regan possession is on the loose, and Detective Kinderman investigates. Until the reveal of the killer and his motivations, I was really into this movie. Even then it's still pretty fun. I like how it takes familiar characters and themes from the first movie without being a literal rehash of the film. It does a good job of creating a creepy and increasing sense of dread. I'm going to have to seek out the restored director's cut, or whatever they're calling it, that has as close to the original intended ending, without the exorcism. For the first few minutes I had such deja vu thought I might have seen the movie before, until I realized that Blatty was quoting himself from the first book. Sneaky bastard. /5Yes I realize I'm scoring this higher than the original. I think the original is a better movie and far more groundbreaking, but if you want to sit down and watch one of the Exorcist films? Watch 3.
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Oct 4, 2018 15:24
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6. Frontier(s) While often mentioned in the same breath as new extreme classics like Martyrs or Inside, this movie just doesn't hold a candle to those. It checks off the extreme violence and gore boxes, but misses the originality, well-written characters, and interesting plot boxes, instead offering what felt like a gory derivative mashup of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Hostel. It clearly wants to say something about the experience of an immigrant in France and is critical of right-wing governments, but it feels like the message gets lost in the generic mess of clichés. List (6): Savageland, Ghostbusters (2016), Creep, Vampyr, Hereditary, Frontier(s)
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Oct 4, 2018 15:46
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17. Calvaire aka The Ordeal (2004, Fabrice Du Welz) Source: DVD (Netflix) So it turns out this New French Extremity film is actually from Belgium. And I see that. Not that I'm familiar enough with Belgian cinema to have recognized it, but that the film has a different tone to it than other NFE I've seen. Where most of those tend to focus on the graphic details of the torture, Calvaire takes the Texas Chainsaw Massacre approach and shows us relatively little gore but presents it in an ultra disturbing package. But similar to its French contemporaries, it's a devastatingly bleak film. The cold rural landscapes are the perfect setting for the film's cold nihilism. The dreariness sets in from the start and rises to a fever pitch as it combines with some utterly bizarre plot elements. This film's greatest strength is its unpredictability. This isn't your run-of-the-mill torture porn where the plot is merely a setup for the gruesome set pieces. This is more nuanced and strange. Sure it takes cues from other movies, but it obscures them in the veil of the film's own unique voice. I never knew what was coming, and there are a couple moments that surprised and shocked me. And at the end of that day isn't that horror's ultimate purpose? I've seen a LOT of horror movies in my life, so any one that can still unsettle me must be doing something right. This isn't an enjoyable film, but it's an incredibly interesting one.    (3.5 old school cell phones out of 5)
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Oct 4, 2018 15:50
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Alfred P. Pseudonym posted:3. Terror at Blood Fart Lake (2009) hahaha I have this on DVD and can confirm it is loving awful I was away for a few days so I’ve fallen behind a bit, but I have the day off work so I’m gonna see if I can knock out a couple of the challenges.
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Oct 4, 2018 16:45
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 #13. Dracula (1931) (DVD) -  /5Needed something quick last night, picked this one out of a 4-pack of Universal Monster movies. I know this is a movie with a long pop-culture impact, but as a standalone film on its own merits, it's kinda weak. It's very talky, the special effects are basically non-existent except for some bounce lights and a rubber bat on a string, and the story skips around a bit, glossing over some important details from the book. That said, you're watching it for one reason only, and that's Bela Lugosi, and in that regard the film works like crazy. There's a reason everyone thinks of him first when they think of Dracula, and it's because of Lugosi's natural screen magnetism. Yes, he's not leading man magnetic, but he definitely draws you in whenever the camera focuses its full attention on Lugosi himself. You can also see where he gets better at speaking English as the film goes along, since in his introduction in Transylvania and again into London society he's almost speaking phonetically, but by film's end he sounds much more natural. This actually becomes a strength for the film in a way, though, since the earlier parts become more reliant on that magnetic stare, and you can see it as Dracula gaining in confidence as he gets further and further entrenched into power and English society. (Also, shout-outs to Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing and especially Dwight Frye as Renfield; they basically make the movie whenever Lugosi isn't on screen, Frye especially.) I don't know if I can give this movie a super strong recommendation, but it's one of those formative blocks of the horror canon for Lugosi alone. You should see it to see him, if nothing else. Watched so far: Cat People, Halloween 5, Mom and Dad, Hell House LLC, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), Beetlejuice, The Horror of Party Beach, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, The Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Murder Party, Anaconda, Dracula (1931)
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Oct 4, 2018 17:54
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 22. Manhunter (1986, dir. Michael Mann) [shudder] Cox > Hopkins don't at me 4/5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qShOkrgdJy8  23. Revenge (2017, dir. Coralie Fargeat) [shudder] S Craig Zahler can gently caress right off this is how you do a modern exploitation film. Straightforward and no real surprises, but it's so well put together and delivers on everything it sets out to do. The tone is perfect, always intense and a bit uncomfortable, flirting with but never going full on indulgent fantasy. Not subtle at all, but the three men being the attacker, the complicit one who sees it and does nothing, and the one who tries to silence her is good. Some of the best genre thrills of recent memory and really doesn't hold back with the blood and gore. A couple of the effects aren't perfect, but they're still very effective and I love the commitment to buckets of real fake blood rather than the digital cgi bullshit. 5/5 Total: 23. 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), Carrie (4/5), The Beyond (4/5), ~The Ward (1/5), Village of the Damned['95] (2/5), Amer (4/5), Halloween 4 (2/5), Halloween 5 (2/5), Manhunter (4/5), Revenge (5/5) *-rewatch ~-fran challenge FancyMike fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Oct 4, 2018 |
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Oct 4, 2018 17:56
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10. House on Haunted Hill (1959) - DVD Still awesome and forever a favorite. It's fun with some great scare design and ace acting all around but particularly the lead couple. First rewatch of the month. 11. Lifeforce (1985) - Blu-ray AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, how have I never seen this before? Some real awful effects early on giving way to wonderful ones which propel a bonkers and out of control train of nonsense. My favorite surprise so far. Tally: N/A Psycho (1960)*, 1. Halloween (1978), 2. Halloween II (1981), 3. Carnival of Souls (1962), 4. The Blob (1988), 5. I Bury the Living (1958), 6. Dead Men Walk (1943), 7. Nosferatu (1922), 8. Les Revenants (2002), 9. The Mummy's Hand (1940), 10. House on Haunted Hill (1959)*, 11. Lifeforce (1985) Years Spanned: 82 (1922-2004) Tally by Decade: '20s (I), '30s (0), '40s (II), '50s (II), '60s (II), '70s (I), '80s (III), '90s (0), 2000s (I) * Rewatch
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Oct 4, 2018 18:12
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Dead Alive (1992) [Netflix Blu-ray] So much fun. So much gore. Love it when a movie just goes for it. https://i.imgur.com/rove1av.gifv So Far: #1 The Terror (2018), #2 The Cabin in the Woods (2011), #3 Gone Girl (2014), #4 Annihilation (2018), #5 Seven (1995), #6 Mandy (2018), #7 Dead Alive (1992)
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Oct 4, 2018 18:23
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Sodomy Hussein posted:
Dom Nero at Esquire published a piece on this the same day I watched it: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a23570109/bram-stokers-dracula-review-francis-ford-coppolla/
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Oct 4, 2018 18:47
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Trash Boat posted:Did a rewatch of the full Three Flavours Cornetto/Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy over the last couple of nights (Shaun of the Dead being my most recent previous viewing two Halloweens ago, and Hot Fuzz and The World's End not for about 4-5 years). I remember watching Shaun of the Dead at 19 and anyone who does so in the 18-25 age range will have an existential crisis after watching it. While it is very much a horror-comedy the themes of interpersonal relationships, responsibilities and growing up are so very powerful in the trilogy that I still remember the impact they had on me over a decade later. If you saw this movie recently after seeing it earlier like I did and sympathize with Pete more than you are doing well in life. I mean, Shaun and Ed did come home drunk from the bar at 4AM and blasted loud music with a sleeping roommate in the house. To Pete's credit, when he finds out the reason (the break-up) he calms down and tells them to keep it down. I might have to rewatch this film now. Anyways, the trilogy even took different perspectives of the issue. Hot Fuzz is a tale about not growing up TOO much and learning to have fun in a personal life. Nicholas Angel cannot switch off, it hurts his relationships and after watching dumb cop movies with Danny does he learn how to relax a little. It makes him a better cop as well by developing interpersonal communications. The World's End has less fun and goes into some depressing dramatic territory by showing a deadbeat 40-year old that peaked in high school and whom his very successful friends cannot relate to and despise. Though it flips the tables by having Simon Pegg being the man-child and Nick Frost being the responsible one. THAT right there made me realize I was going to see a different and more depressing kind of movie. gently caress, the trilogy is being watched soon.
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Oct 4, 2018 19:20
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Yea I would say you're definitely supposed to see Shaun and Ed as immature assholes in that scene with Pete. Shaun is going nowhere in life but at like 30 something years of age he's still ok with just pushing it all to the back of his mind and blasting some techno music. Getting fired didn't cause him to shift into another gear, losing his girlfriend probably wasn't gonna do it either, it took a literal zombie apocalypse for him to grow up. Anyway, that's how I reacted when I saw the movie because I was confident 14 years ago that I wasn't going to end up like Shaun. Now, not so much....
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Oct 4, 2018 19:27
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4. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) I'd never seen the original Frankenstein or the sequel until this week. I loved the development of the monster and found a lot of this movie very touching. The entire sequence with the blind man had me a little verklempt. The movie had a good mixture of comedy and tragedy and I enjoyed it a lot more than the original. The ending was so tragic. I don't know exactly what I expected from the follow-up to Frankenstein, but it wasn't this and what is here is so much more interesting. 5/5 5. Blood Freak (1972) Hahahaha. I did not expect a movie called Blood Freak to be about how one's body is a temple and through Jesus there is redemption. I have taken the mini-lectures throughout this movie to heart and will never even consider damaging my body and my mind with the harmful drug marijuana. This movie might have the worst acting I've ever seen. There are numerous takes in this movie where someone flubs a line and just powers on through and that take is used in the final cut of the movie. I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that they just shot one take of everything and used that. The dad who runs the turkey farm and his scientists are especially bad. Their delivery of each line sounds as though they're reading them for the first time without any context known beforehand at all. I laughed at a lot of this movie, so while it was terrible, it wasn't devoid of entertainment. 1/5
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Oct 4, 2018 19:56
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My personal goal for this year is to watch 15 movies I've never seen before, though if I get through more that'd be great! I'd like to try and take on the challenges as well. #1: As Above, So Below (2014) This was really fun! I didn't know anything about it going in other than that it was set in the Paris catacombs. I didn't expect the ancient hidden mystery plot but I always like that stuff so it was a nice surprise and kept me engaged the whole way through, especially in the beginning before stuff got creepy. I don't have the distaste for found footage movies that a lot of people seem to, but it isn't usually a selling point for me either. The conceit felt pretty natural here, lending to the setting's claustrophobic nature and even working itself directly into the plot. My main complaint was that the supernatural stuff didn't always hit for me. The catacombs are creepy enough on their own, and I think it's pretty hard to come up with things that can successfully one-up that setting. To that end, the stuff that worked the best for me was the stuff that was more subdued. Anything too over the top felt like it was competing unnecessarily with the catacombs themselves. The decent into hell worked great, the chanting cult not so much. I loved the twisty passages, tiny doors, and out of place objects. I didn't love the hooded demon. Still, the things that worked, really worked. There's a lot of good stuff here and I had a great time regardless of my complaints. The fact that most of it was literally filmed inside the catacombs adds another layer of creepiness to it all on top of it just generally being impressive. Enjoyed and recommended! blood_dot_biz fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Oct 4, 2018 |
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Oct 4, 2018 20:22
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 20. Martin (1978). Directed by George Romero. Watched via Youtube rip This would be a killer double feature with Dawn of The Dead. Both of them feature Romero exploring the hell of suburbia, albeit from differing perspectives. While the mall of Dawn is depicted as a hermetic sanctum of desire sealed from "the other", the Pittsburgh town Martin is sent to is a place of arduous ritual and regiment, ever tightening it's grip on its inhabitants. One of Romero's best. Not counting this towards the challenge list because I've already seen it, but I'm rewatching Phantasm at the AFI tonight with Don Coscarelli showing up to introduce it.
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Oct 4, 2018 20:37
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Franchescanado posted:
 Abby (1974) I live in Louisville, KY, so the obvious choice for this was going to be Return of the Living Dead but that just seemed way too easy. The I found out this was filmed and set in Louisville. I had never even heard of this (considering Warner Brother litigated this into almost non-existence because it was A LOT like The Exorcist, that’s no surprise), and then I found a scratchy version on Youtube, so I thought, why not. This is basically ‘Black Exorcist’, and I am not saying that as a slander. It’s basically the same plot as The Exorcist with an all-black cast, and there is a Nigerian sex demon named Eshu. There’s really not much more to say about the plot really. The most interesting part is watching a church-going young lady turn into the host of a sex demon and not have it be all perverted of exploitive. There’s barley any make-up or effort into making the main star look possessed until the very end, and then the make-up either barely there or…not good. This does have that low-budget, can-do feel to it, though, so the film has that going for it. If you like blaxploitation films, you’ll probably get a little more of a kick out of this. The sound design was actually pretty good, as the howls and screams were that awesome 70’s quality, even though the Eshu voice sounds way too much like Burgess Meredith. Oh, and the film confrontation takes place in a nightclub, because why not. / 5Youtube link just in case anyone is curious like I was about this film seemingly forgotten in time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqYluHpvifA Total: 1. Hereditary (2018) | 2. 1922 (2017) | 3. Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (2018) | 4. Pumpkinhead 2: BloodWings (1993) | 5. House on Haunted Hill | 6. Abby (1974) (1958) enigmahfc fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Oct 4, 2018 |
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Oct 4, 2018 20:52
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Friends Are Evil posted:
I'm thinking of doing Martin for my birth year challenge as I have never seen it. Heard some great things.
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Oct 4, 2018 20:53
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Franchescanado posted:
19. Spontaneous Combustion (1990) on Prime  I’ve read that this is considered something of a turning point in Hooper’s filmography. He had two hugely impactful movies (TCM, Poltergeist) and a bunch of genre favorites (Lifeforce, TCM2, etc.) and then it kind of falls off a cliff with this exploding people film. It’s not like I don’t get how Spontaneous Combustion could be called a bad movie based on its absurd premise. The government wants to test a radiation vaccine so it drops a hydrogen bomb on a young married couple, but what the government doesn’t know is that the head scientist in fact wanted to trick the couple into having a child with the power to burn people with his mind. Tale as old as time. But what we end up with is a Tobe Hooper body horror movie starring Brad Dourif, and nobody plays a sweaty weirdo better than Dourif. Surprisingly entertaining movie, honestly. 3.5/5 Movies seen: 1. Terrifier | 2. A Nightmare on Elm Street | 3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge | 4. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | 5. Scream | 6. Mandy | 7. November | 8. Salem's Lot | 9. The Resurrected | 10. Demon House | 11. Pumpkinhead | 12. Prom Night | 13. Tales from the Crypt | 14. Carnival of Souls | 15. The Fly II | 16. Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker | 17. Resolution | 18. The Endless | 19. Spontaneous Combustion
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Oct 4, 2018 20:54
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Would You Rather (2012) [Netflix Streaming] A rich rear end in a top hat (the delightful Jeffrey Combs) hosts a dinner where he tortures people via a game. It's carried with some clever pieces of design for the game itself and Combs's reptilian charm. Would be improved by removing the last ten seconds. So Far: #1 The Terror (2018), #2 The Cabin in the Woods (2011), #3 Gone Girl (2014), #4 Annihilation (2018), #5 Seven (1995), #6 Mandy (2018), #7 Dead Alive (1992), #8 Would You Rather (2012)
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Oct 4, 2018 20:56
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I generally like 70s and 80s gore, especially when you can laugh at it either by design or because it looks that hokey. I do not like hyper-realistic gore and usually pass on movies that seem like they are created just for this reason Excision was one of those until I read a glowing review earlier in this thread and thought I should maybe give it a try, and I’m glad I did. The movie is gory and definitely has some depraved moments, but they are essential to the plot and really give us a feel for the main character. I liked how the movie made us feel about Pauline as the movie progresses. I think most of us have known someone that kind of fits the characterization she portrays to others, which might be why I felt this movie had such character depth. I didn’t see the end as a ‘twist’ really, you knew something was coming. It was more like a low simmer slowly working its way to boil, but keeping the viewer unsure for the majority of the time A really good movie and a lot to think about /5
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Oct 4, 2018 21:34
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enigmahfc posted:Youtube link just in case anyone is curious like I was about this film seemingly forgotten in time. I am a sucker for watching older obscure stuff on YT. It harkens back to the days of tuning in late to an unknown late night movie on TV. With the exception that YT movies seem like they are one deletion away from never being seen again (my hometown horror watch, The Wednesday Children seemed like this) I highly recommend searching for ‘full <decade> horror’ or just ‘full horror movies’ and going in blind to one that sounds interesting. Never know, you might find a gem
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Oct 4, 2018 21:45
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I'm falling behind already because of baseball but I got one in last night and hopefully will get 1 or 2 in tonight. And find some time for reviews.Dr.Caligari posted:I didn’t see the end as a ‘twist’ really, you knew something was coming. It was more like a low simmer slowly working its way to boil, but keeping the viewer unsure for the majority of the time Yeah, I don't think its a "twist" either which is why I opted not to throw it all behind spoiler tags. We know SOMETHING is going to happen. Not just because its a horror film but because its obvious that there's something wrong with Pauline and its building. But the film does a great job of giving us reasons to empathize with Pauline to the point where I think we start making excuses and rationalize why we shouldn't be taking the situation more seriously than we are and doing something to stop this when we could.
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Oct 4, 2018 21:51
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Franchescanado posted:
Just finished reading The Hellbound Heart so some Barker was in order. Decided to watch one I hadn't seen before though, so instead of yet another watch of Hellraiser it's:  24. Nightbreed (1990, dir. Clive Barker) [shudder] Director's cut. The makeup, costumes, and monsters are all so good and Cronenberg is a fun villain. Everything else, not so great. The pacing is rough and I just never got drawn in it's one I really wish was better. 3/5 Total: 24. 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), Carrie (4/5), The Beyond (4/5), ~The Ward (1/5), Village of the Damned['95] (2/5), Amer (4/5), Halloween 4 (2/5), Halloween 5 (2/5), Manhunter (4/5), Revenge (5/5), ~Nightbreed (3/5) *-rewatch ~-fran challenge
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Oct 4, 2018 22:06
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Time to bang out some challenges #1: Love Something You Hate 18- Halloween (#1 for October so I’ll try to do 49 overall) Sacrilege, I know, but the first time I saw this one it really didn’t stick with me. I appreciated as a cultural milestone and Donald Pleasance is fantastic, but I just didn’t care for it. The new one looks good though, so I thought I’d use this for the challenge, plus it’s just a good way to start October. That would have been at least 5 years ago though, and on a rewatch I found it a lot more enjoyable. One thing that I didn’t really pay attention to the first time is just how well shot this movie is. The performances are also all quite good, and the score is of course amazing. When I saw this the first time, I was right in the middle of a Carpenter phase and it’s definitely a lot more restrained than his other stuff, and I also saw it on amc which was edited, so I think I lost some context. I’m glad this was a challenge though because it brought me back around #4: Worst of the Best / Best of the Worst 19-Event Horizon This may be controversial here, as I know people do like the Resident Evil movies, but I’m pretty comfortable calling them out as garbage; The first one is decent but the sequels have all been beyond bad. Paul WS Anderson is a bad director (I will give him Mortal Kombat, but that’s not Horror), but Event Horizon is one of my favourites. I love the concept, I love the depiction of hell, and I love the melodrama that cast brings to it. Aside from some really awful cgi there’s just nothing I don’t like about this movie, and if you haven’t seen it yet I strongly recommend it. It’s one of best Lovecraft-like movies out there as well, and those can be hard to find. #3: Hometown Horror 20-Lake Placid This was already on my list to share with my son, as we watched Jaws not too long ago and he loved that, and turns out a lot of it was filmed on Vancouver Island where I live. I had very fond memories of this movie, but I don’t think I’ve seen it since it came out and I would have been about 14. On a rewatch it is...not good. The effects are actually quite good, especially for the 90s, and it’s a really great cast, but they are working some truly terrible dialogue in a boilerplate story that just sort of ends abruptly. This one I should have left in the past. #5: Birth of Horror 21-Ghostbuster 1984 Oh is it time to watch Ghostbusters again? This has been my favourite movie since I was 4 years old, I’ve seen it well over 100 times, and I’m well on the way to brainwashing my son into following my footsteps. It’s just a perfect movie, and I love how weird it is. You couldn’t make something like this now (as evidenced by the 2016 version which I wanted to love, and definitely don’t hate, but it just doesn’t stick the landing). I know every line and joke by heart and they still make me laugh. If the challenge was just to watch Ghostbusters 31 times I’d still do it every year.
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Oct 4, 2018 22:07
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Joining late. I tried to do the challenge in May, but real life got in the way. I'm setting my goal for 13. I'll shoot for 31, but I dunno if that's doable. Just signed up for Shudder, so I should have no shortage of good movies. I'll have better reviews after this initial dump. Here's what I've seen so far: 1. 9/30 - Hell House LLC I have a soft spot for found footage, but this didn't grab me. I think The Houses October Built covered similar ground in a much creepier way. I just can't get exited about a clown costume that moves occasionally. 2. 10/1 - Channel Zero: Candle Cove - Enjoyed this, and I like the concept overall. Scary internet stories have always been a guilty pleasure. It's nothing amazing, but it's nice and low-key while still being weird as hell. Probably could have been three or four episodes instead of six though. 3. 10/2 - Grave Encounters - Pretty standard fare, but the parts about the facility's architecture changing and the sun never coming up creeped me out. Even though it's the oldest trick in the book, any scene with a monster with crazy eyes and a big hosed up mouth coming straight at the camera always scares the poo poo out of me. 4. 10/4 - Channel Zero: No-End House - Started off really strong. I was completely sucked in by the otherworldliness of the house. It felt like we were going to spend six episodes in the Black Lodge. Unfortunately, the plot kind of peters out towards the end and there was a lot of buildup for Jules' story that never really delivered.
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Oct 4, 2018 22:08
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Justin Godscock posted:The World's End has less fun and goes into some depressing dramatic territory by showing a deadbeat 40-year old that peaked in high school and whom his very successful friends cannot relate to and despise. Though it flips the tables by having Simon Pegg being the man-child and Nick Frost being the responsible one. THAT right there made me realize I was going to see a different and more depressing kind of movie. I really need to re-watch it, but the most interesting thing to me about World's End to me is that it's slowly revealed over the course of the movie that none of them advanced past high school. Everybody kind of stayed the same way. Paddy Considine has had a crush on a girl for 20 years and Eddie Marsan spends his life hiding from his family the same way he did from bullies. I can't remember what Nick Frost and Martin Freeman's flaws were right now, but it's fascinating that Simon Pegg is the only one who's honest about who he is, even if he isn't a particularly great person. And then the world changes around them to accommodate their arrested development rather than any of them changing. It's great.
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Oct 4, 2018 22:58
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Motel Hell (1980) This is basically Texas Chainsaw 2 a few years early. One of those horror comedies that's probably more charmingly goofy than funny, but has some solid performances and memorable images. Recommended for fans of genial character acting and chainsaw fights, which should be everyone reading this. Last year someone in my neighborhood set up Motel Hell themed decorations in their yard & eventually got so tired of explaining it that they wrote "1980 movie google it" under the homemade Motel Hell sign and I think about that sometimes. 3/5  sDr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1931)  Has all the fun you want from 30s horror: fogbound sets, incredible makeup and transformation effects, some shockingly De Palma-esque camera work (including split screens and POV shots), and a monster guy who jumps over banisters and growls. makes it all the more shocking in the scenes where Hyde comes across more like a homicidaly jealous man than a Universal monster. Miriam Hopkins is particularly great here as the "fallen woman" who falls in love with Jekyll only to be terrorized by Hyde. 4/5  sThe Fog (1980)  Absolutely nails that "Jaws"-style portrait of a sleepy community that's just that little bit too set in its ways to recognize that even a town that's mostly trinket shops can be subject to existential threats. Unlike the mayor from Spielberg's film, Janet Leigh's councilwoman wants to go ahead with the festivities not out of greed, but as a last grasp for normalcy, keeping "missing" from turning into "dead" for a few more hours. Barbeau is the MVP as the first person to realize what's going on, but who's powerless to do anything but warn others. The scene where she apologizes to her son over the radio for not being able to come get him is wrenching. Shouts out to the vaguely grimy truck driver who immediately jumps into bed with an attractive hitchhiker and somehow makes it out of a horror movie alive anyway, living the dream. 3.5/5  sNightbreed (Director's Cut) (1990) Challenge: Birth of Horror  Clive Barker's passion project about a man who joins an underground monster subculture after being framed by a serial killer played by David Cronenberg. Feels like kind of a misbegotten hybrid between the cantina scene, Plan 9 from Outer Space, and RENT. It's all incredibly dorky with unbelievably bland romantic leads and a thin plot, but I was still moved by Barker's obvious joy at getting to play with these (very fun) special effects and put as many monsters on the screen as possible. I'm also very into Cronenberg as an actor here, the contrast between his psychotic actions and his cool, analytical demeanor being particularly effective and well, Cronenbergian. 2.5/5  s
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Oct 4, 2018 23:04
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8/31 - Return of the Living Dead I am crossing some real classics off my list this year and I have to say I think this one is my favorite. Everything about this movie rules. As soon as the smoke went up from the crematorium I knew I was in for a treat. I really loved that the zombies had actual agency and the explanation for why they ate brains. The zombie dressed as a policeman cracked me up. Frank and Freddy slowly turning was incredibly well done as were almost all the effects from Tarman (need more Tarman in my life) to Freddy’s acid burned face really hit the spot. My only complaint would be that with how fast it spread, I don’t see how there could possibly be more than one. Sequel but I’m excited to find out!
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Oct 4, 2018 23:26
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    #9. The Driller Killer (1979) Opening screen: "THIS FILM SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD". I like it already. And then it gets better. An artist going insane trying to create something that both satisfies him and will earn money, NYC being a filthy city driving him insane, lovely living conditions, punk music playing at 3 a.m., a loosening grip on reality, trying to find connection with street bums, and commercials for big batteries. Abel Ferrara pulled all that together and made it work, while keeping the psychedelic touches restrained. Flaws are present, and obvious, but they're also forgivable. Ferrara himself (under a pseudonym) does a fine job as the main character, all-denim outfit aside, sliding around on his breakdown while maintaining relatable humanity, and the supporting characters have a similar sense of complexity, which I wasn't really expecting from a video nasty with the name The Driller Killer. And while the drill part is a fairly small part of the movie (outweighed by music practice and music performances), the attack scenes are done very well on such a limited budget. I'm going to be mentally chewing on this one for a while, and I might revisit it after a while, which is more than I can say for either of the other movies I watched the same day. / 10 #10. Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (2005) And back to disappointment. Don Coscarelli directing an adaptation of a Joe Lansdale story, with Angus Scrimm in a supporting role? Should be gold. But the flashbacks kept leaving the contemporary scenes in the dust in terms of interesting content (Ethan Embry playing a deteriorating rear end in a top hat certainly helping throw the balance in favor of his scenes), and the mountain road monster was way too bland for a Coscarelli production. Heck, his basement heavy machinery set-up was more interesting than he was, and had more character to it. The attempt at making a proactive Final Girl was laudable, but it came off kind of ham-handed, particularly with the stiff dialogue. Scrimm went just a little too far over the top, but with the lines he was given, it was understandable. I dunno, if it turns out that this was a rushed shoot, all the flaws would make a lot more sense. It's pulling an extra pumpkin entirely thanks to Embry's performance, but without that, this would be a really dull entry. I feel like I'm being harsher on its by-the-numbers technique because it's just so sad to see that coming from Coscarelli. / 10 #11. Metamorphosis, a.k.a., Regenerator, a.k.a., Reanimator 2 (1990) Directed by George Eastman!(!!) I wish that he'd gone a little wilder with this movie, which ends up being a slight variation on Cronenberg's remake of The Fly, with a bit of Re-Animator spliced in for a collegiate setting. A Cinemax-style softcore scene played much tamer than you'd expect from the veteran of so many nutty Italian films, but it also had the leads seeming more natural and comfortable than they did in any of their other scenes, so go figure. The college bureaucracy scenes were more tense and entertaining than practically any of the actual 'horror' scenes, and the big reveal came off as just goofy, with the last scene compounding its silliness. Also, a kid character who's amazingly obnoxious despite having no lines for most of his scenes. There's a lot in this movie that could have been improved, and it might even have turned out memorable if those improvements had been made (starting with the score, please, which was always painfully at odds with the tone of whatever was happening on-screen). As it is, there's only a few images to really catch in memory, while the plot is a near-complete wash. / 10
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Oct 4, 2018 23:34
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2. Creep 2 (2017) This is a sequel to the original found-footage film from about four years ago. The setup is very simple, an actual serial killer posts a craigslist ad for someone to film a documentary for a day for a thousand bucks (neglecting to mention the murderer part). A struggling author of a webseries about interviewing lonely people responds, seeking to take the series further. It goes about as you'd expect from this description. Almost the entire movie is filmed first-person on her camera. It seems like this film flew under the radar but the few reviews that exist seem to be very positive and even prefer it to the original. Personally I thought the first one was more effective, perhaps because it felt more original at the time. From what I remember, this one takes it closer and more personal and I didn't think the acting really allowed them to pull it off that well, especially since the first 2/3 of the movie is them two just talking and there isn't much tension. Things do get a bit more interesting in the last act though. Everything seems to be filmed on location, handheld on a camcorder so it doesn't look very good. /5
mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Oct 7, 2018 |
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Oct 5, 2018 00:26
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13) The Slayer (1981) Billed as doing Nightmare on Elm Street years before NOES did it, so I was interested. It follows Kay, a woman plagued with recurring nightmares who goes for a rest vacation on an island with her brother and their spouses. Horrible things ensue as Kay dreams about them, but you never see who does them. Is it Kay, or the monster she dreams of? This ambiguity persists even when the creature is finally revealed; if you look closely, it's reminiscent of a rotted version of Kay herself. You can easily believe that she has done it all and imagined a monster that is herself. In many ways it's more like Candyman than NOES. Unfortunately the movie ends by playing the "it was all a dream" card, which spoiled it for me - the ambiguity being left unresolved I could accept, but turning it into the nightmare Kay has had all her life is a copout.
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Oct 5, 2018 01:05
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9. Vampire's Kiss Holy poo poo. Nicholas Cage becomes convinced he has turned into a vampire and descends into stark raving madness. A dark comedy without jokes, but laugh out loud funny thanks to Cage's off the hook performance. He switches from doing a perfect Max von Schreck impression to a gibbering Renfield to arrogant 80s businessman just like that. In contrast to that, his increasingly erratic actions have real consequences, and it's seriously hard to watch his abusiveness towards his secretary (laughed off, by the way, by his bosses) and the effect it has on her. Tonally shifting all over almost like a Korean movie, and when it gets dark it gets dark, and is not played for laughs. I've turned into the kind of poser film snob who says the director is much more important for a movie's quality than the actors, but once in a while a movie comes along to make a fool of me. Cage blows it out of the park, but the real emotional core comes from Maria Alonso, who plays his secretary. I'd call it a better American Psycho, which I like a lot. Best movie I've seen for this challenge so far. Previously: Creepshow II, Monster Squad, Mandy, Shock, Devil Fetus, Black Cat, Suspiria, Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires
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Oct 5, 2018 01:08
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