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 17. October 9 - Tetsuo: The Iron Man Well this movie is just loving insane. It's a 70 minute nightmare of farcical body-horror, like Eraserhead, Videodrome and Begotten had a baby, with a soundtrack that's feels like getting beaten with a hammer. It's metal as gently caress (literally). One of four movies on IMDb listed under the "Giant Metal Phallus" tag
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Oct 10, 2018 03:48
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I loving god drat love Tetsuo: The Iron Man I seriously think I've seen that movie like 20 times by now
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Oct 10, 2018 03:51
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No frills, short on time update again! 25. Tomie (1999) Another J-Horror with an interesting concept. Spoilered for quick plot synopsis: Tomie is a highschool teen who's beauty apparently drives people mad and, eventually, homicidal. Each time she is killed by her jilted love, she regrows herself as a new Tomie and it all begins again. Tomie's various pieces can also regrow it's own Tomie, resulting in more than one. Unfortunately, I feel the concept is wasted on a movie that is the slowest of burns with very little payoff. As I understand, it's somewhat well regarded and apparently very faithful to the source comic though, so maybe it just wasn't for me.  /526. The Invisible Man (1933) Another from my list of shame crossed off! This movie was wonderful and it's a shame I slept on it for so long. Claude Rains is a delightfully maniacal antagonist. /527. The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) Yet another list of shame. Watching it immediately after The Invisible Man may have hurt it slightly, as I adored that movie, but this was one great and I understand why it's such a classic. The creature is fearsome and very human. And while I'm not sure if it was intentional or just how they did it, I enjoyed how much of a sense for how stout the creature himself was. He seems incredibly brutish when mauling his victims or trapping the boat in the lagoon with the log barricade and any damage he takes seems to barely hurt him. When he encounters humans underwater and gets shot with the spear gun, the spear barely penetrates him. Again, I'm not sure if this was intention at the time, but it gives a good sense that he's a powerful creature that should be feared by the human cast. /528. Pulse (2006) (Rewatch) I thought I recalled this being one of the better American adaptation of an Asian horror movie. I was wrong. /529. Await Further Instructions (2018) I'm just not sure if this movie works. I was enthralled by it, and genuinely on the edge of my seat during some of it's more tense moments, but stopping to thing about it for even a moment makes the whole thing kind of fall apart. A family (that mostly hates each other) wake up on Christmas morning to find that their house is wrapped in metallic wires and they can no longer leave or communicate with the outside. The only thing that compels them forward is the silent text reading, "Await Further Instructions," that flickers on their television screen. The characters are idiots and mostly unlikable, but it's still pretty drat tense and delves into some surprising Cronenbergian places that I appreciated. I hesitate to call it good, but I really enjoyed it. .5/530. Malevolent (2018) Some paranormal investigators who make a living by faking hauntings and conning grieving families out of money runs into some trouble when their newest job may actually be haunted. It's a by-the-numbers ghost flick that falls into disappointing torture porn poo poo by the end. /5
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Oct 10, 2018 04:52
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#8- FleshEater: Revenge of the Living Zombies (or something like that, the title's been changed a couple of times.) Ever wonder what the most generic low-budget zombie movie ever would look like? Well wonder no more! Bill Hinzman, who played the graveyard zombie in the original Night of the Living Dead, became the auteur here, producing, directing, and co-writing this picture as well as starring as a ghoul who bursts out of an unmarked grave and starts turning folks into zombies. This movie features some of the worst sound editing I've ever heard- everything just defaults to "top of the mix", from the opening long shot where all the characters in the distance are loud and clear, to a LOT of shuffling leaves and grass noises whenever people walk anywhere, to a DJ over the radio sounding like he's in the room right next to the camera. Everything in this movie pretty much happens exactly like you'd expect, and with no central driving narrative (there are two teens who are sort of the protagonists, maybe) it just runs through all the motions. They even steal the ending of the original Night of the Living Dead, only with way less impact, and the movie doesn't even end for like another 10 minutes. I will say that Hinzman did manage a few nice shots, and the autumn setting is always good for horror antics. There's the occasional good gore effect too, and at some point they burned down an actual barn, but the word that best sums up this film is "nondescript."
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Oct 10, 2018 05:58
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 13) The Beast Within - (1982) I tried, honestly I tried I feel like I'm willing to watch movies on what I think their own terms are as opposed to what I want them to be. Some movies make it difficult to ignore what could have been, some movies make it difficult to ignore the thing you're looking at that's limped onto the screen, and sometimes there's a movie that's both simultaneously. This movie has the sad distinction of being both simultaneously. A humanoid creature rapes a newlywed woman in the Mississippi swamp. 17 years later that woman's son starts to suffer from a debilitating medical condition that neither the woman nor her husband can explain. Now the couple needs to force themselves to confront that terrible night in the swamp to try and find the boy's biological father and understand what's happening to their son. There's a spine of a great idea in here and parts of it poke through from time to time. A basic theme of dealing with angry male puberty exists but it's heavily muddled by the other parts of the plot the movie wants to dance with. As a result the more coherent through line winds up being family and how they influence one another except it's pretty heavily weighted on nature over nurture except for when it's not. If both of these themes had been better assembled this would be a crazy strong movie. If one of these themes had been better assembled this would be a solid movie. As it is the movie exists in its current form and I can't change that so I'm almost completely disappointed in what I've watched. What the movie gives the audience is a tale of revenge via progeny. The progeny, however, becomes the parent after a 17-year incubation that mimics the cycle of the cicada. Still not a bad idea at all! My issue is that the influence of the progeny plot fundamentally changes the other themes that the movie wants to play around with. The blood father of the boy in question was imprisoned and tortured for years and the movie posits two different explanations for his ability to recreate himself in his eventual child. One of the explanations helps the plot and the other doesn't. Even if you ignore the explanation that doesn't help the plot it still greatly detracts from the issues of emerging anger and hunger that the boy has to deal with by framing it as his blood father literally taking over his body. The boy has no history with his bio dad and the movie seems much more interested in what the bio dad does instead of what the son has to go through. The son's suffering by the middle of the movie doesn't have anything to do with him anymore; it's all about setting up the rebirth of the bio dad. It's a weak move with a disappointing payoff. The cast is populated by a strong collection of character actors, the settings and locations chosen are all successfully mindful of the intended mood and environment, and the makeup and costuming is fine. Not great, not strong, but fine. There are statements on the internet that the movie's coherence and plot were heavily hurt by studio-mandated cuts and rearrangements. I don't know if it's true but it would absolutely explain some of the problems with the plot on its own terms. There's a backstory that gets dumped near the end but by the time it arrives it's too late and explains not quite enough for it to matter. A character undergoes a shift in personality that changes their dynamic and motivation without explanation or payoff. The ending plops on the ground without any of the resonance the story thinks it has been granted. Meshach Taylor doesn't have enough lines. I can't recommend this. I'm certainly not going to rewatch it. I'm moving on.
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Oct 10, 2018 06:40
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 I DID ITI have officially completed my challenge of 31 movies. Wow, I knew I could do it and I think I am going to keep going here. Seriously, I am beyond pumped that I set a goal and finished it and I thank everyone here, especially the ones organizing this, for motivating me to keep watching. Happy horror everyone, and good luck! 29. Microwave Massacre (1983)  This is such a trashy movie. The acting is bad and the dialogue is beyond cheesy. It's honestly only a little bit above a porno movie with a budget and a soundtrack. It's also really cringey 80s in terms of the number of sex jokes and "sexual situations" because it's flat-out sexual assault a lot of the times (something that really hurts any 80s sex comedy). It made for some hard watching early on to the point where I was considering picking another title for the challenge. But, I figured if I start I should just keep going and if it's poo poo then it's poo poo then. This is the kind of movies "bad movie nights" were made for. It's crap, it's cheesy, it's intentional and it's something you just witness instead of watch. It's about a guy who kills his wife, discovers he loves the taste of human flesh and the cannibalism that follows. It's a bad movie like I mentioned but the greatest crime here is the practical effects are garbage. It's mannequin parts with red paint most of the time and it's insulting because it's what you look forward to movies that are this bad. This just a sleazy movie that made me feel unclean watching it and I'm usually a fan of this kind of stuff if done right. /530. Venom (2018)  I saw this one was watched by others earlier in the challenge and nothing was said so I'll take that as it's valid. Plus, the film is pretty much horror at times with the symbiotes as nightmarish creatures. I actually liked this one. It is flawed because you can tell it got focus grouped, re-edited and re-shot to death (the story is a patchwork of scenes leading to the big showdown at the end) but if it wasn't for Tom Hardy it would be something I'd skip. Tom Hardy is quickly becoming one of those actors that's a real workhorse because every movie I've seen him in he is trying his damned hardest to play his role. It's not Daniel Day-Lewis intense but he invests himself harder than you'd think and here. Anyways, Venom is more of a wise-cracker in this film but in a morbid and mocking way which is how I pictured him in the comics. He does bite heads off and stab dudes and honestly it made me forget the terrible Topher Grace Venom. I'm kinda at a loss for words here because all I can think about is stuff that belongs in the superhero thread and I don't want to derail by talking MCU/Sony drama. So, in closing: better than I expected, Tom Hardy is great and if Sony figures things out I would like to see more. /531. Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)  I figured I was long overdue for another giant monsters smashing cities movie. I really liked the original Pacific Rim. It had the right amount of cheese, awesome action and Del Toro's classic creature feature direction was all on point. The sequel does require watching the original because it has a bunch of story threads that weave and develop in this one. It's clear this movie was made for the Chinese film market. It's a bit of a trend in Hollywood to make silly action movies that make little sense (China loves them) which is why we had two Dwayne Johnson action flicks in 2018 that fit the bill. So we have a bunch of dialogue in Mandarin and most of the action set in Asia. I didn't mind, to be honest, because this is a trend that is going to go away because these kind of films aren't making bank. Anyways, without spoiling anything the film is about a resurgence of the Kaiju and a new world that has rogue Jaeger operators trying to make sense ten years after Pacific Rim. The final battle of this movie felt appropriate for completion of this challenge. Just a big brawl in a city between multiple Jaegers and a super Kaiju that made me both smile and fistpump knowing I did it. 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), 17. Nightbreed (1990), 18. The Axe Murders of Villisca (2016), 19. Ghosts of Mars (2001), 20. Haunters: The Art of the Scare (2017), 21 Annabelle (2014), 22. The Stuff (1985), 23. Gremlins (1984), 24. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), 25. An American Werewolf in London (1981), 26. The Evil Dead (1981), 27. Escape from Tomorrow (2013), 28. Creepshow (1982), 29. Microwave Massacre (1983), 30. Venom (2018), 31. Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
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Oct 10, 2018 07:35
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Lester Shy posted:
You know you're just begging people to ask what the other three are.
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Oct 10, 2018 08:32
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Justin Godscock posted:29. Microwave Massacre (1983) Jesus, gently caress this movie. I'm also a person who's into watching camp/schlock with friends, and we couldn't even make it through this one not because the sex stuff squicked us out or w/e, but because it's just terribly boring for something as weird and wacky as it aspires to be.
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Oct 10, 2018 09:41
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19. Night of the CometFranchescanado posted:
A (mostly) family friendly doomsday movie with a weird focus on how hard it is to get a date when there are no boys around. There are zombies, evil scientists, the obligatory mall looting and other staples of the genre, but it really feels like a teen comedy and while that isn't my thing I have to admit I enjoyed its unique style. 20. Hell Comes to Frogtown Hollismason posted:The poster says it all I read your post while very tired and thought it was a joke. Half remembered it this morning and looked it up to discover it actually exists. I watched it and am still not sure if I ever really woke up. What a weird, weird, weird movie.
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Oct 10, 2018 10:49
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^^^^ Ha! Weird timing. My baseball team is dead. That is bad but good in that it opens up more time for this obsession. In fact there is no game at all until Friday so the next couple of days should be fully devoted to horror (you know, when I'm not working, living, or interacting with human people). So I do believe its time to do some catchup. 10 (11). Night of the Comet (1984) Available on Amazon Prime.  The same comet that wiped out the dinosaurs passes by Earth a second time and wipes out humanity, leaving behind only dust, a few slowly detoriating zombie mutant things, and even fewer survivors lucky enough to have been shielded from the effects of the comet. Two such survivors are Reggie and her teenage sister Sam who have to navigate this new world together, the affects of the comet, and the threats from fellow survivors. The tone of this film was weird. The premise really makes it sounds like a post apocalyptic zombie film and it kind of is not but it does not feel like one. The zombies get so little screen time they are only kind of relevant as a plot device and the whole thing has this odd light feel. Not like a campy or tongue in cheek horror. Like no one really fully has grasped that the world just ended and humanity has been wiped out? That feeling is never really there aside from a few quick moments when the characters reflect on it, get sad, and then soldier up. To make it even stranger the trailer I watched made it seem like a teen girl romp film, and sure enough there is a bit of that thrown in there. Before a shootout with crazy dudes. This movie is just all over the place. It makes sense and the plot is simple enough to follow, but tonally I never really knew what to make of it. That being said I did not dislike it. I never fully got into it but I liked Reg. Wikipedia says she inspired Joss Whedon to create Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I guess I can see that, although Reg does not really do a ton of slaying despite being presented as a kind of over the top bad rear end. The fact that Reg and her teenage sister happen to have top notch hand to hand fighting skills and weapons training from their green beret single dad is another one of those odd things. It made sense, it just felt odd. But I guess that was all part of the Buffy thing? The girls not only overly prepared for the post apocalyptic world but barely saw it as a post apocalyptic world and decided to go the mall? Odd, but I guess i see it. Oh and the DMK thing was just odd. Like, I do not get the point of it at all. This film just weirded me out. Not in being weird, just in me not quite getting what it was trying to make me feel. That being said it was really pretty. With what I take was a very limited budget the film never feels cheap or B to me. Beautiful full empty city streets covered in a red light/dust just really worked and created an eery atmosphere. The director went on to make... Captain Ron? Ok. I dunno know. I suppose I liked it. I am not totally sure why its such a cult favorite but that could just be that a lot of the novelty of a kick rear end female lead or the post apocalyptic city or a lighthearted adventure in a soul crushing setting are just more common than they were in 1984. I can not say. Although for some reason the big thing sticking with me is the random domestic abuse angle put in early in the film. I guess its just there to establish why the girls have no reason to miss their stepmom or grieve her passing. But again, tonally odd. And they still seemed to love their dad. I guess it is to be assumed since he was elsewhere and military he might be alive and hope springs eternal? I dunno. I do not quite get it. Typing without apostrophes/contractions is really awkward. September Tally - New (Total) 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) / 9 (11). A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) / - (12). Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) / 10 (13). Excision (2012) / 11 (14). Spring (2014) October Tally - New (Total) 1. Suspiria (1977) / 2. It (2017) / 3. The Beyond (1981) / 4. Trilogy of Terror (1979) / 5. House on Haunted Hill (1959) / 6. Demons (1985) / 7. The Green Inferno (2013) / 8. Martin (1978) / 9. Malevolent (2018) / - (10). Dead and Breakfast (2004) / 10 (11). Night of the Comet (1984)
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Oct 10, 2018 10:55
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Franchescanado posted:
Was already planning on watching a few of the Universal Classic Monster movies, having never actually watched any of them before, and James Whale applying for this challenge was just the push I needed to put them on fast track. The first one I watched was Frankenstein, which right off the bat I ended up liking more than I had anticipated. I kind of went into this one with the assuming that I already mostly knew how it was going to play out through cultural osmosis, but most of those preconceived notions really only ended up applying to the re-animation sequence and the climax, whe rest of the film surrounding those setpieces serving more as a character study on Dr. Henry Frankenstein and the negative impact of his obsessive research on himself and the people close to him. The script and pacing are both super tight, with very little wasted space, and visually, the film holds up remarkably well given its age. I followed up with Bride of Frankenstein where, unlike the original, I had no real preconceptions going in, aside from the titular Bride's iconic design (ie. basically nothing, given how little of the film she's actually present for). What I got was a natural continuation to the character arcs explored in the first film, with Henry being blackmailed into relapsing to further experimentation against his wishes, and the Monster struggling to find companionship in a world that wants nothing to do with him. Everything that worked well in the first does so here as well, and the transitioning of the Monster from his more animalistic form in the first movie to a more humanistic take is handled quite well. I also couldn't help but notice the increased production value over the original, between the full musical score and more elaborate special effects (Dr. Pretorius's miniature humans being the obvious example). Finally, I opted to switch things over to a different flavour of Universal Monsters and go with Dracula (specifically the English one). My preconceptions for this one didn't lead me quite as astray as they did Frankenstein, given how many of the rules at play here would become staples of the genre, though the setting itself was drastically different from the more rural, gothic one I was envisioning. That being said, this one didn't click with me quite as hard as either of the Frankenstein films did unfortunately. The pacing felt more longwinded to me despite their near-identical runtimes, and none of the character arcs felt as well realized as those of Henry or the Monster in Frankenstein or Bride respectively. The film visually seemed more dated as well, with a number of the more ambitious ideas being hidden behind camera cuts and character descriptions, to be left up to the viewer's imagination. There's certainly still a fair share to like here mind you; I thought the mirror sequence in particular was executed extremely well, Bela Lugosi as a whole gives a consistently strong performance as the titular character, and I certainly can't deny how influential this one was, even amongst the Universal Monsters oeuvre. Movies Watched (13): Mandy, Hobgoblins (MST3K), American Psycho, Mimic, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End, Carnosaur, Lake Mungo, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula Challenges Completed: #2 (Frankenstein), #3 (American Psycho), #4 (Mimic), #5 (Carnosaur) Trash Boat fucked around with this message at 11:23 on Oct 10, 2018 |
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Oct 10, 2018 11:09
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STAC Goat posted:A way better Night of the Comet review than my few random sentences. You worded exactly what I was thinking, but way better than I ever could. A lot of things just feel off, yet for some reason it still works. STAC Goat posted:...a lighthearted adventure in a soul crushing setting are just more common than they were in 1984. I have a really hard time coming up with examples for this, though. Even stuff like Zombieland and Turbo Kid which I consider "fun" aren't really that lighthearted and definitely show the darker side of the setting way more than Night of the Comet ever does. I mean, throwing shoes at guns with machine guns and getting chained to a post while someone monologues is just so cartoony, I can't think of anything that comes close.
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Oct 10, 2018 11:12
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5. Creepshow (1982) This film is 5 different stories based on a comic book I've never heard of, so it's a bit over the place but overall I thought it was fun. The first segment tries to be scary but doesn't really work for me, while the second one feels like something I've seen in a 50s B-movie (not necessary a bad thing). My favorite though is probably the one with the monster in a box, though seeing Leslie Nielsen in his "serious badass" was fun too. /56. Viy / Вий (1967)  I watched it for the Hometown Horror challenge but didn't read the rules close enough because it was filmed 100 miles from where I was born and lived, but don't currently live  This does make it much easier to find something else though.Not going to repeat the summary which's been posted, but I also liked this one. It's really a bit hammy and comes off as a regular soviet fairy tale at first, with some jokey dialog (with bonus points for fun russian/ukrainian dialect) and over-theatrical acting. It's also pretty tame until the last 15 minutes or so and I would've probably subtracted a pumpkin if it didn't step it up, but the ending was legitimately pretty creepy. The limited effects are pretty good for 60s  though some of the monsters do look a bit papier-m�ch� in closeups but that doesn't really detract too much./5E: So there's a 2014 movie Viy which, if not a remake, is based on the same Gogol story. It now has a sequel coming out in 2019:quote:The English traveler Jonathan Green receives from Peter the Great an order to map the Russian Far East. Once again he sets out for a long journey full of incredible adventures that will eventually lead him to China. The cartographer will unexpectedly face a lot of breathtaking discoveries, encounter bizarre creatures, meet with Chinese princesses, and confront deadly martial arts masters and even the king of all dragons - the Dragon King. What could be more dangerous than meeting eye to eye with Viy, except doing it again? What would be stronger this time - a staunch skepticism of the scientist or the old black magic that has seized power of Eastern lands?  Starring Jackie Chan  and Arnold Schwarzenegger https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6218010/?ref_=nv_sr_1 mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 12:40 on Oct 10, 2018 |
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Oct 10, 2018 11:13
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21) Tucker and Dale vs. Evil God what a great movie. THIS is how you do genre subversion, with the bonus of being incredibly clever and funny. I've seen this so many times and it never fails to impress me. 5/5 22) Coraline I hadn't seen this since it came out almost a decade ago, but I didn't remember it being as creepy as it was. I guess the only things that stood out in my mind were the button-eyed parents and friends and stuff, I didn't remember the witch and all the scary parts. Excellent movie though. 4/5 23) Children of the Corn I wasn't feeling well yesterday so I wanted something campy, and boy did I get it. It was so hard to take Isaac/Malachai seriously, but I'm sure 20 years ago it would have been a lot more creepy. Maybe? I'm not sure. I definitely didn't remember it ending in such a supernatural way. Maybe I blocked that out. It's definitely not a GOOD movie, but it was entertaining. 2/5 Watched (23): Puppet Master 4, Puppet Master 5, Terrifier, Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, Martyrs (2008), Mandy, Babadook, Ghost Stories, Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon, Curse of the Puppet Master, Devil's Candy, Curse of Frankenstein, Mummy, Shining, Horror of Dracula, Quatermass Xperiment, Plague of the Zombies, Revenge of Frankenstein, I Am The Pretty Thing..., Nail Gun Massacre, Tucker and Dale, Coraline, Children of the Corn Challenges completed: #1 (Babadook) Count Thrashula fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Oct 10, 2018 |
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Oct 10, 2018 13:44
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 21. The Night of a Thousand Cats (1972) (Amazon prime) Some jerk with a helicopter flies around and picks up random women and then takes them back to his castle for some romance (nothing turns a woman on like a complete stranger landing a helicopter in their front yard). Then he kills them, puts their heads in jars, and feeds the rest of them to his army of cats. It is unclear why he has so many cats. Actually, everything about this movie is unclear, because their is no story to speak of and barely any dialogue. The whole thing feels like someone said "hey let's make a movie about a guy who feeds people to his cats", but then didn't actually write a script before filming it. This was extremely awful. It's only little over an hour long, but probably 15 minutes of that is just shots of the helicopter flying around. Another 5-10 is just the main character sort of blankly staring at women - besides having very few lines, he also never even makes any facial expressions. There is barely a plot - he kills someone, and then does it again, and again, then finally the cats somehow get loose and kill him. It's dumb and boring. This might make a good episode of MST3K, but on its own it is nearly unwatchable. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales | Beyond the Gates | Cat People (1982) | Fright Night | The Vampire Lovers | The Vampire Doll | Frightmare | Honeybee | Murder Party | Child's Play 2 | The Beyond | The Night of a Thousand Cats Total: 21 Fran challenges:
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Oct 10, 2018 15:13
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 121- Frightmare 1974 - DVD I'm not quite sure about this one. Plot's good, a woman who's been a murderous cannibal is released from the institution she was committed to. As deaths start happening again, her step daughter's left trying to figure out if she's relapsed while trying to raise her wild stepsister. I don't regret the times I've watched this, but it just feels like there could've been more done with the idea.  122- Bloodsucking Freaks 1976 - DVD Fangoria lied to me on this one. The issue they featured this one in had different pictures presenting this as your standard group of maniacs on a killing spree. While technically the movie is that, when I first saw this I really hadn't been expecting it to be the gritty sleezy sex slavery torture-a-thon. If I'm in the mood for that sort of thing, I'll watch it, but the thing is I have to be in the mood for it. It's the standard over the top exploitation film fodder that by the time the expected ending happened I was thinking 'finally...now onto the next movie'. I'd only recommend watching it if you're into this sort of thing otherwise go read a synopsis.
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Oct 10, 2018 15:15
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Maxwell Lord posted:#8- FleshEater: Revenge of the Living Zombies (or something like that, the title's been changed a couple of times.) I could barely make it through this shitfest. It holds the coveted title of Worst Zombie Movie I've Seen. Quite an accomplishment.
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Oct 10, 2018 15:15
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Spatulater bro! posted:I could barely make it through this shitfest. It holds the coveted title of Worst Zombie Movie I've Seen. Quite an accomplishment. The worst zombie movie I've ever seen is Die You Zombie Bastards! That movie filled me with hatred for everyone involved.
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Oct 10, 2018 15:18
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Franchescanado posted:The worst zombie movie I've ever seen is Die You Zombie Bastards! That movie filled me with hatred for everyone involved. I bought that movie because I kinda liked the short movie the director previously made, called "Red's Breakfast 2: Dawn of the Red". It was the same character from DYZB, except it was just a day in the life of a serial killer or something. I don't remember much about it honestly, it was part of some Tromadance DVD of shorts from the Tromadance festival. The same DVD also had the early short film that was made by the Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter guys. And in that case too, the short was way better than the feature-length movie.
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Oct 10, 2018 15:41
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Spatulater bro! posted:I could barely make it through this shitfest. It holds the coveted title of Worst Zombie Movie I've Seen. Quite an accomplishment. Franchescanado posted:The worst zombie movie I've ever seen is Die You Zombie Bastards! That movie filled me with hatred for everyone involved. Worse than Pot Zombies?
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Oct 10, 2018 15:54
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21. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017, Yorgos Lanthimos) Source: Blu-ray (Netflix) First I want to say this: if you haven't seen this movie, stop reading now and don't read anything else about it and don't watch the trailer. You need to go into this as fresh as possible like I did. In fact I'm just going to spoiler tag my entire writeup. I went into this not entirely confident it should be considered horror. But after the credits rolled, the acute feeling of terror and the tightness in my chest left no doubt. It's the next morning now and the dismal feeling is still lingering with me a little. The first half is a total WTF-fest. The sterility of the dialogue and the characters' behavior is so odd. And the relationship between the man and boy is puzzling beyond words. Everything feels artificially precise and cold. I don't think I saw a single smile in this entire film. At this point in the film the boy Martin, played by Barry Keoghan, comes across as shy, strange and awkwardly polite. But then there's a key scene of dialogue between Colin Farrell and the boy, and everything changes. The bizarre politeness he's showing towards Martin starts to make sense, and Martin transforms into one of the scariest horror antagonists this side of Hannibal Lector. I'm not kidding, just the thought of this kid's blank stare and dead eyes gives me chills. At this point one of the strangest dilemmas in all of cinema emerges and the film becomes a completely different kind of WTF-fest. To me the scariest part of the film (and this is MAJOR SPOILER stuff here) is the actions of the family members in the last act. Their cold, tactical world becomes matched by their cold selfishness. They each act solely in their own best interest, and there's something indescribably chilling about that. Martin operates strictly through logic and a code of justice, and the family ends up meeting his amorality halfway with nothing but cold reason and self preservation. Martin represents the overwhelming indifference of nature to our feelings and desires. He's the Grim Reaper of karma. This film is equally wonderful and terrible. It's masterfully crafted in every way, but it's the opposite of entertaining. I'm reminded of Funny Games, a movie that I admire a lot (and have rewatched many times) but would recommend to almost nobody. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is intended for that special type of movie fan who revels in any film that's able to make them want to put a gun in their mouth.    (4.5 leather-strapped watches out of 5)
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Oct 10, 2018 16:14
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#41. Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (2007). In a Japanese city, the urban legend popular since the 70s comes to life and begins kidnapping children. It's up to a pair of grade school teachers to find out where she takes them, and try to stop her before anyone else can get hurt or worse. The Kuchisake-Onna is a strange piece of popular culture. First off, the woman has only been around since the 70s, and likely based on a real maniac, second is the strange ritualistic style of her-a woman wearing a trenchcoat and medical mask, she asks if you think she's pretty, and the answers don't really matter because she kills you regardless. This movie should be just a by-the-numbers J-Horror ghost film, but instead the filmmakers use her to talk all about child abuse, and the film is harrowingly unafraid to show children as victims of violence and murder. If you take issue with the subject, this film is very difficult indeed to watch. out of 5#42. Thoroughbreds (2017) (Commanded by Franchescanado) Lily is an upper class teenager who is constantly fighting with her stepfather. Through a tutoring session, she reconnects with her old friend Amanda, who is deeply emotionally disturbed and vacant. Together, the two of them decide to start planning the murder of Lily's stepdad. This film was really well done. Like, there are other movies I've seen that feel like they're trying for the same type of message or tone (such as Excision) that I just don't feel get there like this does. It's extremely dark and distubing, while still also being fully funny and without feeling like its rapid fire dialog and wit give it a sense of superiority. Also it's funny, this is the second film I've seen this month starring Anya Taylor-Joy, and I hadn't even heard of her before. She's quite the talented actress, and I'm sure she'll go far. out of 5#43. The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015) (Commanded by Gey Muckle Mowser) After two girls are forced to stay over break at a Catholic School, strange and disturbing events slowly unfold. This movie is a slow burn, from the same director as "I am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House", but is in my opinion, substantially better. There is more time spent on building up the dread and isolation, and more time on actually paying off that dread too. How strange that this one came first. out of 5#44. The Endless (2017) Aaron and Justin are brothers who have escaped from a cult of UFO worshipers who choose to return at Aaron's insistence after they get a video mailed to them alluding to the group's impending mass suicide. Once there, the pair start noticing stranger and stranger phenomenon that can't be ignored. Remember when I said last week that Resolution has a sort of sequel? This is it. Sort of. It's almost like a reverse-matryoshka doll, where the plot of the first movie is just a very small part of this movie's plot. Many questions are answered, but not nearly all of them. This film also isn't as funny as the first one, but out of deliberateness, as the few funny parts are still funny, and the cast still comes off extremely natural. So far, these two movies are my favorites of the challenge. out of 5#45. The Litch (2018) Vinnie is a small time hood and all around screw-up. After stealing an amulet from a crystal store in a robbery, an ancient evil known as The Litch is freed onto the mortal plane, and seeks to get the amulet back from Vinnie to allow for him to conquer all existence. Before that description gets you excited, be aware this is a no-budget indie film on par with the sorts of stuff that Troma distributes on the cheap. It has next to no special effects shown on screen, and very amateur acting, but I will say that it's got lots of funny jokes (especially from a character known as "Sven, the Selfie Hitman") and also some not half bad cartoon animation in places. It relies quite a bit on gross out type effects and is obviously filmed in people's apartments, but if you can dig that kind of thing, you could do a lot worse. out of 5#46. Xibalba (2017) After a discovery of Mayan records buried deep in the ground, an expert calls together a team of underwater cavers to help him discover and explore a temple he believes holds the lost secrets of the civilization. What they don't know however (and is told to us at the outset) is that the temple actually serves as a prison for an ancient alien race hellbent on conquering the earth. This Mexican film is kinda uneven to me. Like, the writing and the acting feel like they'd be very much in line with a straight to syfy disaster/embiggened animal movie. But at the same time, the production values are quite high. In fact, they even use practical effects for the rather decent monsters once they finally show up late in the film. Also, the film is filled to the brim with beautiful underwater cave footage that really kinda brings out fears in me I wouldn't normally have otherwise. My biggest complaint is just that the movie takes so long to really get rolling with the plot that there doesn't seem time to really get to much action. It almost feels like it's supposed to be a set up for a sequel. out of 5
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Oct 10, 2018 16:57
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BioTech posted:You worded exactly what I was thinking, but way better than I ever could. Yeah, there's definitely a "bubblegum" lightness that isn't there in more sardonic atuff like Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead or whatever. The girls feel like they just got left home alone for the weekend or something. I totally agree I can't think of anything that treats it quite as light as Night of the Comet, which is why it was just so weird. But I guess I was trying to figure out why it made such an impact and I just figured predating all that stuff probably made it more unique. But it's super light tone continues to make it unique 35 years later and that weirdness probably really appeals to some people or stands out as ballsy or different.
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Oct 10, 2018 17:12
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Hooray! A five spooky review of Thoroughbreds, which still sits comfortably in my top 5 films of the year. Everyone watch it.
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Oct 10, 2018 17:34
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Franchescanado posted:
 #20. Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (Hulu) -  /5I remember renting this one on VHS with a friend for a sleepover some fall evening several decades ago, and absolutely hating it at the time. Saw it was on Hulu, thought I'd try revisiting it. It's still bad. This just looks obviously cheaply made, looking like something that would have gone straight-to-video at the time. It's so weirdly shot, with so few shots with any amount of headroom - everyone's hair is getting cropped off at the top of the screen, and there feels like very few medium establishing shots to give you a sense of place or perspective. I imagine this was done to hide low production values, but a lot of the town exteriors and stuff feel fine, so I don't know why they made this choice. Everything is just shoddy in most every area it can be. The only thing that saves this from being utter basement-level dreck is that a couple of the kills were pretty cool. I really loved the shrill old woman getting crushed under her house like the Wicked Witch of the West, and the dude getting voodoo nosebled to death was pretty over the top too. (I wish I liked the "second old woman getting radio controlled into traffic" death, but the payoff gag is too fake looking to really sell it.) Plus, it has Evil Corn God Vision, so I guess it can't be all bad, right? Not recommended, though. There's better cheap direct-to-video schlock out there, and I think you can trade Corn Vision for better production values. 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), The Ritual, Blade II, The Beyond, Sleepaway Camp, Lord of Illusions, The Mummy's Ghost, Children of the Corn II
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Oct 10, 2018 18:10
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Does three hours of livestream of a cat 4 hurricane hitting an unprepared coastal city count as a horror movie?
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Oct 10, 2018 18:17
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Guy Goodbody posted:Does three hours of livestream of a cat 4 hurricane hitting an unprepared coastal city count as a horror movie? Not unless you live in North Florida like I do.
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Oct 10, 2018 18:21
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M_Sinistrari posted:
It's basically just a rip-off of Wizard of Gore, but I actually kind of liked Bloodsucking Freaks better just for taking HG Lewis's idea and running hogwild with it. But holy poo poo is it gross and sleazy and more than a little misogynist. I'd definitely, eh, just not mention you ever saw this to anybody unless you're absolutely sure they'll still talk to you afterwards.
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Oct 10, 2018 18:41
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Class3KillStorm posted:
The weird thing about Children of the Corn for me is just how many movies there are in the series. Even people who like horror are often, "That can't be right, I would have heard about them if there were that many." How many are there? Ten. They made ten of these movies. It's right next to Sometimes They Come Back for Stephen King short stories that they've turned into more movies than you'd imagine.
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Oct 10, 2018 19:38
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FRAN CHALLENGE #5: Birth of Horror This is a twofer, I get to knock out a Fran Challenge and sample another classic horror franchise, it's Child's Play!  Holy poo poo it's Brad Dourif! Holy poo poo it's the whale biologist from Star Wars! The puppetry/animatronics are great. I like how Chucky gets increasingly hosed up and evil looking as the movie goes. Those Annabelle people could learn from that, you can start with a completely normal looking doll and then make it evil later, you don't need to start out at evil. The detective character was a bit of a dud. He should've had a personality. The first half of the movie spends a little too much time on people not believing that the doll is alive, especially since the first scene of the movie is the magic voodoo spell that brought the doll to life. The audience knows the doll is alive, and imo the movie doesn't really get enough tension or horror out of the characters not knowing to warrant it going on that long. As I was watching it, I was surprised at the lack of domestic horror. That's what you expect from an evil doll story, dolls in a house/apartment, chasing people around with a knife, etc. But the bulk of the movie doesn't have much of that. But then the last third delivers on that in spades. The first two thirds are really just setup for a great evil doll rampage. overall, I'd say Child's Play is a fun little evil doll romp, helped a lot by Brad Dourif's fantastic performance
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Oct 10, 2018 19:51
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 35. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) The third film in this era of Godzilla films takes a turn from the dark, horror inspired elements in favor of a very campy sci-fi aesthetic. It's a huge tonal shift from the Retun and Biollante films. The plot revolves around UFO flying time travelers coming back to help Japan get rid of Godzilla in order to prevent their future destruction. This should sound somewhat familiar if you've watched Invasion of the Astro-Monster, and just like that film the benevolent helpers aren't so benevolent. The idea of time travel lets them do some interesting things throughout the film. They have an android helper that is the main focal point of quite a few goofy scenes. It's mainly the way the thing runs, either floating atop the ground or just sped up footage while bionic man sounds effects play. Another thing from the future are "bio-engineered pets" that just sort of look like cute Ghidorah head stuffed animals. Along with stuff from the future we get a glimpse into the past, specifically World War II, where we get to see a new origin for Godzilla. Time travel definitely brings some interesting elements but it also brings its fair share of problems. It makes the plot feel sort of disconnected and leaves the viewer thinking about plot holes far too often. To me it sort of came off like they wanted to just remake Invasion of the Astro-Monster but felt they had to change some things to "update" the plot, ultimately leaving us with a mixed bag of ideas. Overall there is a lot of good in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, it just doesn't feel near as strong as the previous two from this era.  36. Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) So far most of the Heisei era films have included human based plots that are genre films quite heavily inspired by American cinema. This one is no different. It starts like an Indiana Jones movie and features quite a few adventure film elements. Throughout the story we follow a sort of antihero protagonist on his journey of becoming a better person. Early on he is hired by a company that his ex-wife works for and they have to team up. This leads to some funny moments and some heartfelt moments. I thought their relationship was done quite well and I got pretty invested in the outcome. The relationship drama is weaved into an environmental tale staring Mothra and Battra. It's pretty openly anti-capitalist and paints corporations as destructive forces that are slowly murdering the Earth, who in this film is an entity that created the giant flying creatures to protect itself. All of this is explained by the new tiny stewards of Mothra, named the Cosmos. It kind of bummed me out that they aren't twins and aren't called Shobijin (little beauties) anymore but they still have cool songs. I haven't really mentioned Godzilla all that much because he actually isn't that central to the plot. He just kind of shows up to mess things up while the real conflict is between Mothra and Battra. This isn't really much of a problem because the scenes featuring all three monsters are really fun. Definitely check this one out if you like Godzilla, but if you like Mothra you should be racing to watch it.
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Oct 10, 2018 20:36
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FRAN CHALLENGE #7: The World Is A Scary Place  Watch a horror film made outside of the USA & Canada. If you live outside of the USA & Canada, you cannot choose a film made in your home country.
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Oct 10, 2018 20:44
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Franchescanado posted:
Haha, 31/36 of the films I have watched were made outside of the USA.
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Oct 10, 2018 20:51
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Well that's about the easiest challenge. A solid half of my list is non-US.
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Oct 10, 2018 21:05
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Ooh, okay then! I had a challenge that I wasn't going to use because I thought would be too hard. I'll post it on Friday. 
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Oct 10, 2018 21:08
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Me and my big mouth. 
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Oct 10, 2018 21:12
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Watch a horror film made outside of the USA & Canada & UK & Japan
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Oct 10, 2018 21:31
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Guy Goodbody posted:Watch a horror film made outside of the USA & Canada & UK & Japan Easy. But add Italy to that list and I'm boned.
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Oct 10, 2018 21:55
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Spatulater bro! posted:Easy. But add Italy to that list and I'm boned. & Italy & Korea
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Oct 10, 2018 22:05
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| # ? Jun 5, 2024 00:46 |
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Franchescanado posted:
 18. Thirst (2009) - DVD We are immediately introduced to one of the most genuinely kind hearted and service driven priests to ever grace the Catholic church. His largest inner conflict is his choice to enter the clergy rather than become a doctor. After a rash of deaths, he volunteers for a medical trial to combat a rather gnarly virus. Most volunteers die. So does he, in fact. But by shady design on the part of the clinical staff, unfortunate effect of the treatment, or poo poo luck in blood donor, he reanimated as a vampire. Que a drawn out, sad, occasionally funny, and thoroughly South Korean journey through his soul being torn between the good man that was and the ravenous beast that is. Good movie and worth putting some effort into tracking down. 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), 12. The Gorilla (1939), 13. The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), 14. November (2017), 15. Doghouse (2009), 16 Sssssss (1973), 17. Maniac (1934), 18. Thirst (2009) Years Spanned: 95 (1922-2017) Tally by Decade: '20s (I), '30s (II), '40s (II), '50s (II), '60s (III), '70s (II), '80s (III), '90s (0), 2000s (III), 2010s (I) B&W/Color: 10/9 Fran Challenges Complete: 1 2 3 4 5 6 * Rewatch
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Oct 10, 2018 22:14
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