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#10 / 31 - The Return of the Living Dead (1985) ★★★★★ I think this might be the best zombie movie ever made. It's absolutely in the top 5. I hadn't seen it since high school and my fiancee hadn't seen it period, so revisiting it and introducing her to it was fun as hell. The main thing that kind of stuck out to me is how... not gory it is. There's basically one big gore shot, where the one zombie gets through and eats Scuz, and the rest of the movie is actually remarkably bloodless; if it weren't for the cursing this might even be a PG-13, given the era. Also, the music in this movie loving rules. Not just the soundtrack cuts, but the score, too; I always love synth scores in horror and man if this isn't a fantastic one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo6eIriOgSg This is another one that's gonna go from "haven't watched in years" to "a regular Halloween watch" for me. watchlist with links
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Oct 11, 2018 04:48
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    #29. Splice, a.k.a., Chimera (2009) * First time revisiting this since seeing it in a theater. Among the pantheon of bad scientists in horror movies, the pair in this movie really put in some effort be exceptional gently caress-ups. Vincenzo Natali writing and directing, Guillermo del Toro producing, KNB on effects... this should be fantastic, but the script lets it down. Even allowing for it to be a big comedy about how terrible the scientists are at handling their experiment, there's just such a chain of compounded bad decisions that it's hard to take any of it seriously. The effects are great, with some really nice work on designing the growth of the creature, and when broken down to an extremely basic level, the storyline should work. But whenever the movie tries to be serious in a way that's not just luxuriating in the effects work, it falls flat. Hashing out relationship issues, handling science lab drama, or wringing their hands over their own sloppiness, the leads are maneuvered with all the gravity of a spoof, and it works against my ability to care for the characters as more than punchlines. Kudos for having the gumption to try that ending, though.  / 10   #30. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, a.k.a., A Nightmare on Elm Street 6: Freddy's Finale, a.k.a., A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Final Nightmare (1991) Yeesh, and I though Freddy was cartoonish in Part 5. A perfectly reasonable landing from the trajectory of the series, but still a stinker. Setting aside the fun of the opening dream, and the silliness running through the movie, the script is just painfully loose. We set a character somewhere, let them wander around, move them to another location to expand the group, let them wander around, move them somewhere else, let them wander, bring it back to the second location, wander to a finish. With a recent rewatch of the first ANoES, it's even more egregious. The clip show from Fred Kreuger's life was slightly interesting, but buried in the crap of the movie's remainder, it didn't come close to redeeming the whole affair. A waste of Yaphet Kotto is maybe the most unforgivable part. It'll be a while before I rewatch this one. / 10 #31. Psychos in Love (1987) * Another rewatch, this time of a video store discovery. Filmed (entirely?) on short ends, with a lot of scenes filmed in the writer/director's apartment, scored with a Casio cheez, with the director's (then-)fiancee as one of the leads, this movie was made on the cheap with a vengeance. Two psycho killers meet and fall in love, then continue psycho killing through the ups and downs of love. That's pretty much it, but the movie is made with such heart that I find it really endearing in spite of the many flaws. Debi Thibeault is adorable, Carmine Capobianco fully owns his schlubbiness. Gore (well, gallons of fake blood) is present in abundance, as are rants about how much the main characters hate grapes, with the verbatim repetition used as a joke multiple times, and not losing too much to the recycling. Some of the slickest fourth-wall breaking I can recall from a comedy. Definitely not to everyone's tastes, and I understand how this could be an extremely annoying experience for someone, but I have a huge soft spot for it. / 10
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Oct 11, 2018 04:49
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LORD OF BOOTY posted:#10 / 31 - The Return of the Living Dead (1985) ★★★★★ I don’t think they allowed not insignificant amounts of full frontal nudity in PG-13 movies ever, my dude.
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Oct 11, 2018 05:17
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Franchescanado posted:
6. Ghostwatch (1992, Shudder)  This was a BBC TV movie for Halloween night that presented itself as a live "ghost hunt" at a London home, complete with studio presenter chatting with a paranormal expert, a camera crew talking with the resident family of the haunted house, and a fake call-in number to report your own ghost stories. It caused a massive freakout when it aired as viewers thought it was real - like the (actually not as big as usually thought) hysteria over Orson Welles' infamous War of the Worlds radio drama - and the BBC got into trouble when doctors reported kids being traumatized by the show (and one autistic teenager killing himself after watching). It's pretty great, and other than the acting being pretty obviously acting, it does a pretty good job of simulating a live broadcast going horribly, supernaturally wrong.  /5
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Oct 11, 2018 05:29
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FRAN CHALLENGE #7: The World Is A Scary Place 
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Franchescanado posted:
 21. In the Mouth of Madness (1994) - Blu-ray Lovecraftian insanity set in a fictional, on two levels, Southeasten New Hampshire town. Movie owns. Thanks for making me see it, Fran. And, yes, I just double featured Sam Neill with poo poo all over his face. 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), 19. Horror Hotel (1960), 20. Event Horizon (1997)*, 21. In the Mouth of Madness (1994) Years Spanned: 95 (1922-2017) Tally by Decade: '20s (I), '30s (II), '40s (II), '50s (II), '60s (IV), '70s (II), '80s (III), '90s (II), 2000s (III), 2010s (I) B&W/Color: 11/11 Fran Challenges Complete: 1 2 * Rewatch Butch Cassidy fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Oct 11, 2018 |
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Oct 11, 2018 05:41
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12 (13). Black Swan (2010) Available on Amazon Prime but watched on a DVD because the audio on Prime loving sucks  Nina (Natalie Portman) is a dedicated, tightly wound ballerina who lands her dream role as the lead in Swan Lake, but the physical, emotional, and mental toll of trying to be perfect begins to break her down as she struggles to find the “Black Swan” to her “White Swan” and clashes with a new dancer Lily (Mila Kunis) who seems to embody everything she’s not. So I watched this with the intend of fulfilling Fran’s Queer Horror challenge but its like the 3rd film I tried to do that with and just didn’t think it qualified. Like, does one LGBTQ character or hook up really qualify? I’d like to find something with an actual theme or story or something. Anyway, I enjoyed the film. Its like the 3rd straight film that isn’t TOTALLY horror on the surface. There’s certainly enough psychological and body horror in play to make it fine for the countdown but it doesn’t totally feel like an horror to me. I suppose this might be a broader thing with me not really knowing if I consider Darren Aronofsky a “horror director”? Its a weird question I find myself asking. Black Swan is a “psychological horror” and Mother! is on my list for the month. So maybe its a new course he’s taking in his career? Or has he always kind of been a horror director in some ways? Is Requiem For a Dream a psychological horror? Its certainly horrific. If we say Aronofsky is horror then you can see that film from that perspective. In theory two directors could make the same film about a serial killer or a mental ill person or a giant shark and it might FEEL like a horror or not based on that director’s reputation or style. I have a weird kind of similar thing with Guillermo del Toro. Like, clearly he makes horror films but he also makes fantasy and action films that have horror elements. Are they horrors? For some reason I just can’t decide. Is Hellboy a horror film? Is Pacific Rising? I legit don’t know what I think. Am I just being kind of elitist and saying if you’re too good or artistic or mainstream you’re not horror or something? I digress. Portman does most of the work in the movie and does a great job. Kunis is in a much smaller role than I expected as she’s less of a foil for Portman as I thought and more of just kind of an occasional catalyst. I was kind of curious because I like Kunis well enough but I’ve never really seen her as a deep dramatic actress. I’m not sure this role went deep enough to change that. I’m not saying Kunis was poor in the role. She did well. It just really came down to Portman and how she reacted to Kunis and all the other characters in her life, most of whom were pressing her a lot harder than Kunis. I don’t have a ton to say about this one. Its a good story with well done horror elements. I’m glad I finally got around to seeing it but it didn’t blow me away. If honest while I think he's very good at what he does Aronofsky never really blows me away. Franchescanado posted:FRAN CHALLENGES It is WAY harder to find a horror movie that has gay themes/stories that aren’t just random hookups or characters than I expected it to be. Or an “erotic” vampire movie. And that I haven’t seen. I was gonna try Neon Demon but it seems so similar to Black Swan in put story and LGBQT “qualification” I don’t want to right after watching that. I eventually gave up and decided to go for gay director. Clive Barker was my first thought but it turns out he’s only directed 3 movies and I’ve seen them all. James Whale made sense next but I’m kind of saving his stuff in case I go back another 31 years next year. So Christopher Landon? Michael Landon’s kid is apparently not only gay but a proliphic horror writer having done all of the Paranormal Activity sequels amongst others and directing Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, which I actually remember kind of enjoying. So I guess that will work. I’m getting frustrated with this and I’m kind of riddled with anxiety with “analysis paralysis.” 13 (14). Happy Death Day (2017) Available on Max Go.  Tree wakes up on her birthday in a stranger’s room over and over because a masked slasher keeps killing her and for some completely unexplained supernatural reason she keeps having to relive it. So Tree has to figure out who the killer is and stop them and seeks the help of her new friend… mainly because every else she knows hates her. Seriously, she sucks. So you know, Groundhog Day, learn, become better. You get the picture. I thought it was ok but nothing terribly good. The premise is obviously basically old hat and they hit the broad notes of the “looping day” thing complete with goofy montage. It does kind of avoid hammering on some of the stuff like her growth and fixing stuff with people because its more focused on the slasher part. Part of me thinks that sort of makes her improvement feel a little half assed, but it was probably essential to keeping it a slasher. I guess Tucker could have been maybe a bit more of an ally but I actually kind of like the path he took and the path she took with him. Best gag is probably that she really does suck at the start of the film and they do a good job establishing why a lot of people might want to kill her. “Could have been that uber driver I spat on.” Again, maybe that makes her rehab a little less “earned”? But I guess dying a bunch is enough to make you re-evaluate poo poo on your own. Its got some tonal issues. It never seems to full embrace whether its a deadly slasher or a campy parody. When its funny its reasonably funny and when its slashing its reasonably… slashy? But it doesn’t excel at either and the two kind of flip back and forth without a ton of deft. The lead actress was the runner up for the New Mexico Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. I don’t know why but that makes me very interested. She lost to Jennifer Lawrence in Mother!. Best picture was Blade Runner 2049. I guess the New Mexico Film Critics Circle Awards are very genre favored. Still. Odd. Also, apparently she’s going to be back for a sequel titles Happy Death Day 2U. I’m reasonably sure I’m gonna watch that because even though I was fie with it going completely unexplained or questioned the one time if she starts time looping a second time I’m going to be mildly curious as to why. It was fine. I think I’m slightly more positive on it than most of the reviews I’ve seen. I thought Jessica Rothe was reasonably charming once she stopped being such an rear end in a top hat and it made me laugh a few times. And while some people seemed to have problems with the romance I don’t think it was terribly forced, prominent, or like desperate on the guy’s part or anything. He doesn’t even really try or go all goony about it. He just wants to give the drunk girl back her bracelet. Although I'm not sure Tree's plan to threaten to kill a cop and then gun down a prisoner in custody was the best way to deal with her problem. I did really like the couple of last minute fakeouts in the film. They were fun and well put together. Gonna get at least one more in tonight. Maybe two. Big horror day. 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) / Fran’s Challenge #1: 7. The Green Inferno (2013) / 8. Martin (1978) / 9. Malevolent (2018) / - (10). Dead and Breakfast (2004) / 10 (11). Night of the Comet (1984) / 11 (12). Jaws (1975) / 12 (13). Black Swan (2010) / Fran’s Challenge #2: 13 (14). Happy Death Day (2017) STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Oct 11, 2018 |
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Oct 11, 2018 05:44
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Fran Challenge 6 video nasties 27 - Island of Death I wasn’t super keen on this challenge as, as much as I’m a lifelong horror fan and do love slashers, I’m not a big gore hound. This one wasn’t too bad at least (well, it was bad, just not too gory). Shudder Canada is about as bad as every other streaming service for content, so they actually only had three nasties; this, Tenebrae, and Cannibal Ferox. Ferox isn’t my thing and I wasn’t in the mood for a giallo so Island won. A very strange couple goes to Mykonos and proceeds to gently caress and/or kill everyone, in a nutshell. It’s very poorly acted, and the story is paper thin, pretty much exactly what I just laid out without a lot of twists and turns (I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out it was an excuse to have some producer pay a few buddies to take a trip to Greece). None of the kills are terribly interesting, and nothing really happens, and then it’s over. I feel like this is one of those ones where if it weren’t on the Nasties list, it’d be forgotten and only available in some long lost video rental store in the middle of nowhere.
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Oct 11, 2018 05:46
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 14) Summer of 84 (2018) A young boy in suburban Oregon is convinced, convinced that his cop neighbor is actually a dastardly serial killer. No one really believes his theory but his friends are willing to humor him as they all burn away one of their last summers of youth. I've seen complaints of it trying too hard to cash in on the Stranger Things style of nostalgia and I suppose I can agree with that to an extent. Some of the references made, especially in dialogue, are a little too cute. One character in particular is a troubled one liner machine and he doesn't come across as natural. There are a few plot developments that seem like a bit of wish fulfillment but I think this point in particular settles down and makes a lot of sense by the end. The pacing of the film is probably what surprised me the most. At 105 minutes it's a bit longer than most movies of this general type but the time still slid by. There's a decent amount of humor and the tension worked well for me. Ultimately the film clicks for me as an experience. Franchescanado posted:
married but discreet posted:If there's one challenge I'd really like to see it's "Scroll down as far as you can on Prime/TubiTV and find a movie nobody has ever seen". There's just soooo much. Let's watch Mongolian horror movies! I used to live in Mongolia teaching English at the equivalent of junior high and high schools in the capital of Ulaanbaatar. Despite this I never saw a locally-produced movie during my time there nor have I seen any of their films since coming back stateside despite one or two of them in particular being rather well reviewed. To correct this oversight I'm using this challenge as an opportunity to familiarize myself not with any of those internationally acclaimed efforts but rather with one of the nation's modern ~*~award winning~*~ horror directors about whom I can find out virtually nothing: Baasandorj Tsogt-Erdene. Tsogt-Erdene, I would guess, is still developing his skills. I do not know how many films he has directed or been otherwise involved with beyond the three I've been able to track down online. There are issues present in all three of these films to varying degrees: basic pacing issues particularly regarding cut and scene length, general mismanagement of the score, two of films are ten to fifteen minutes too long and the third is a touch short while wasting too much time, occasional severe underacting from his talent in the face of horrifying duress, and an overreliance on certain styles of editing. On the other hand his films are actively striving for interesting shot compositions and sequences in a way I don't usually see from lower-budget filmmakers. He makes great use of the capital's environments to build a sense of place and purpose (although I don't know if that comes across to people unfamiliar with the city). His effects work fluctuates a bit as he uses different techniques and his use of blood is inconsistent but there are some legitimate highs in here I was surprised by. Anything substantive that happens is set up beforehand--even when the pace drags and the acting flags there are setups and payoffs and it still feels like an actual movie is happening. His films all share a basic, and very appropriately Mongolian, theme of "your bad decisions impact innocent people well beyond yourself/personal mistakes harm the community." It's a rather Soviet-style message that stems from the country's geopolitical history. Even if Tsogt-Erdene is too young to remember Soviet rule (and again I have no idea how old the man is) it's an edict that also has roots in Mongolia's nomadic and herding culture. Individuals excelling is great for everyone; individuals failing is disastrous for everyone. All three of the following films are currently available on Amazon Prime. The subtitles aren't the worst I've seen but they're rough. You can still parse most of the lines without a great amount of difficulty but knowledge of the Mongolian language sure does help.  15) Zoor (aka The Vault) (2015) - it's kind of a riff on Amityville Horror This one's rough. A man buys a house out in the tent districts on the north side of the capital. As he moves himself, his wife, and his daughter in an old woman admonishes them to leave immediately. But how could they? It's a dream house considering its condition and the part of town it's in. Yet as time goes on and the bizarre happenings and warnings start piling up they might start wishing they had listened. There's so much flab in this movie. It's 90 something minutes long and could stand to lose up to 15 minutes of it. You could almost certainly shave off a handful of minutes by trimming scenes that linger too long trying to build atmosphere that doesn't arrive on time. The lead's in-laws show up late to the proceedings out of nowhere and remain throughout when they could have very easily been introduced earlier to prevent an awkward introduction. There's a creepy kid whose outfit looks more hilarious than unsettling. The whole thing feels like they filmed the rough draft. Having said that there are details that work pretty well, although not all of them completely. The house, in for instance, is a mixed bag. Trust me when I say that a house in that condition with those furnishings in the part of town that it is an unbelievable steal. This is why I would compare the movie to Amityville; the family is obviously in a Horror Movie House but how could they give up such an amazing place to live? The downside for the viewer is that the walls and general interior of the house are really bland. Seriously though trust me on that house being real quality for the part of town it's in. The strongest aspect of the movie is showing a lower-class family landing higher up the ladder than they've ever been. Weak acting undermines the stress of the situation, though. Overall this movie is too long and too slow for what it's putting on screen. The ending's not bad, though, and it's the first real clincher of the broad theme of personal mistakes harming the community. Things get much better from here.  16) Huuhuldei (aka The Doll) (2015) - basically a Monkey's Paw story This one's actually pretty fun. Note: some sources like iMDB say this film is from 2017. This is incorrect and the source seems to be someone erroneously linking the year of its release to the year it had an apparent theatrical run in Cambodia, of all places. The credits state it was made in 2015 and it would have needed to have been released before June that year to be eligible for the local award it eventually won. A young office worker is getting crushed by her financial obligations. Her mother is in the hospital and requires expensive medical therapy; trying and recently failing to continually supply the funds needed has also pushed her behind on her rent to the point of threats of eviction. The job she desperately needs to maintain even a semblance of balance is constantly under threat by the needy sexual harassment of one of her directors, further fraying her state of mind. At this volatile crossroads, however, she happens upon an opportunity to acquire an object that just might help her out of her circumstances... Why, yes, the poster above is accurate: this film took home a ~*~highly prestigious~*~ award for best special effects from the 2015 Mongolian Academy Awards. Are the effects really that special? Eh. There's a dream sequence that's incredibly underwhelming and the blood can't decide if it's blood or red water for the length of the film but there are some practical effects that work pretty well. While there are still some editing and flab issues in this movie it is light years better than The Vault. The pacing, editing in general and for a few sequences in particular, shot selection, and acting (especially from our lead) are all a massive upgrade. There are some questionable choices where it comes to use of flashbacks and deciding to not explain details at certain times but I don't think these choices really harm what's going on. This movie of the three is the most overt with its use of the theme of harming the community with personal mistakes, even ones that seem like the only way out. I had a good time and if any reader were inclined to watch one of these films I'd suggest it be this one.  17) Oroolon (aka The Demon) (2016) - a haunted house story It's a step back but not a large one and there's still progress in some ways. In a resort house in the countryside north of the capital a man is trying to nurse his wife back to health. After a long battle, sadly, she succumbs and passes on. Soon after her spirit enters the home to reoccupy its space. Advised by a local monk that there is little to be done but move out and not sell the property to keep from passing off the ghost on someone else. The man leaves the house behind and moves south to the capital. Several years later the man's nephew, desperate for a cheap place to have a New Year's party with his friends, learns that his uncle still owns what has to be a nice place up in the resorts north of the city... This movie is the shortest of the three at 72 minutes but still manages to have pacing issues with imprecise cuts and overlong attempts at atmosphere building. The majority of those issues truthfully occur at the beginning of the film before any of the partying starts and once you clear the 20-ish minute mark the pacing improves. The acting is overall strong for most of the scenes involving the twenty-somethings; the uncle is meh and when people need to act scared it's a mixed bag but the bulk of the scenes are well done. The story and setup are weaker than The Doll's but there's so little story here that it's actually not a big detriment and some of the storytelling choices used here work better for this film than the previous. This is much closer to a prototypical stack-the-bodies style film and this is reflected in the reduced runtime and lack of depth-building scenes with all the partygoers. The effects work is a step down from The Doll. There's some awkward CG with a severed head and one of the jiggling kitchen knives has a very apparent string attached to it. The final scenes tie some things together but they're muddled by ham-handed subtitles. This movie is intentionally more slight than The Doll because it's working towards a different goal. I personally think it doesn't hit its intended mark as well as the previous movie hit its personal mark but The Demon isn't bad because of this. It's just not as effective. -- tl;dr: The Doll is fun, your mileage will absolutely vary with the other two, all three are on Prime
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Oct 11, 2018 05:59
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TheBizzness posted:I don’t think they allowed not insignificant amounts of full frontal nudity in PG-13 movies ever, my dude. Doc Hollywood, Critters 2 fuckin' Sixteen Candles is PG e: like, I honestly think our memories kind of overstate how much nudity is actually in RotLD. the infamous striptease is only a few seconds long, there's only a few other quick shots of Linnea Quigley naked, and it's not really full frontal because she's super obviously wearing flesh-colored underwear. WeedlordGoku69 fucked around with this message at 06:08 on Oct 11, 2018 |
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Oct 11, 2018 06:03
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#21 Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998) Small Man, your end approaches but it is not yet. Take great care how you play. This is the first Phantasm movie where it gets really self-reflective and self-reflexive. The Tall Man is an actual person, in real life, you see. However, Reggie is here doing the same Reggie poo poo he does in every movie, down to the basic plotlines of him riding in a car and trying to get with a chick who is secretly a zombie or something. Mike is psychic again and might be a Jedi. Jody is still the Tall Man's ball. The characters introduced in III are just not here. There is an interesting element where Coscarelli makes use of a lot of cutting room floor footage from the first movie and weaves it into the narrative to provide a more grounded story, which is kind of a neat way to make use of what was probably a shitload of cut material. Not a huge amount of anything happens in this movie though. This has literally 1/6th of the budget of Phantasm II ($650,000). For reference, Phantasm I was made for $3,000,000 in 1979 money, and adjusting for inflation this was made for 1/5th of that. Otherwise it's more of the normally disjointed, incoherent Phantasm style but now it's navel-gazing pretty hard. The Tall Man actually has real dialogue in this one, which was probably a delight for Angus Scrimm, who has always been described as an actor's actor when doing these movies.
Name Change fucked around with this message at 08:12 on Oct 11, 2018 |
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Oct 11, 2018 06:21
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Summer of 84 was in production before Stranger Things even had a trailer, although I'm sure once Stranger Things came out they went "Awwww gently caress."
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Oct 11, 2018 06:22
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#9: Shivers Man, David Cronenberg. The guy knew he what he was doing early on- his first full length feature, and it's about a parasite that turns people into sex maniacs. Nobody else could pull off this premise and get the tone right, with its detached blend of horror, eroticism, and black comedy. He does a good job sketching some of the characters who live in Starliner Towers, even as the carnage gets underway, and the film's profound ambivalence about what's happening is still meaningful. You could write a lot about how this ties into the era, when the Sexual Revolution was giving way to a sort of bored, bourgeois decadence. Is it an echo of that time, or a contrast? It's ambiguous without being indecisive. It's not Cronenberg's best looking movie, and the score's all stock, but it's a good, unsettling time.
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Oct 11, 2018 06:24
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Franchescanado posted:
#11 / 31 - John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001) ★★☆☆☆  This is so, so, so close to being a legitimately good movie. It's basically Carpenter doing a riff on Evil Dead or Demons, complete with POV shots from the mysterious possessing force and the protagonist fighting it off the way Ash does at the start of Evil Dead 2. It's got Ice Cube playing Most Definitely Not Snake Plissken and Jason Statham as a sex pest, the villains are all super cool with really unique and fun designs, and the gore is nifty. One big problem: the score sucks. The score to this movie might be the absolute worst thing Carpenter has ever put his name on. Every time something happens in the movie, it just kicks in with the absolute worst kind of CHUNKA CHUNKA CHUNKA early-2000s buttrock, and I'm just amazed that something made by John Carpenter, Steve Vai, Buckethead, Anthrax, and a member of NIN could have turned out this goddamned awful. Seriously, see for yourself. This is basically what kicks in every time something happens in the movie, and it's horrendous. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgogMO3s5l8 That said, though, I really don't hate this movie; it's just that it has a giant, glaring black mark on it. If it weren't for how awful the score is, this movie would legit own and would probably be a cult classic by now. watchlist with links
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Oct 11, 2018 07:42
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 #22 Phantasm V: RAVAGER (2016) "It's just me now. My name is Reggie." Over the course of a couple of years, Don Coscarelli filmed a series of vaguely-connected shorts in secret to form a final Phantasm film, and released it 18 years after Phantasm IV. Reggie's old as gently caress now and alternates between wandering the wasteland of the Tall Man's destroyed Middle America and sequences of sitting in a retirement home with dementia. The Tall Man is even older and basically does a couple of cameos, because Angus Scrimm was nearly 90 by the time this was finished and died shortly after. Frisbee Kid is now Frisbee Dwarf. The Tall Man has successfully triggered the apocalypse and the last of humanity battles zombies and balls in destroyed cityscapes. Time and space lose all meaning. There's a rap song to play the whole thing out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v27r_1thfN0 This isn't much of a movie, more of an easter egg for Phantasm fans, but it certainly must have been fun to do for everyone involved. They bring back all the old favorites--the militant black chick, the murderchick from the first movie, Frisbee Kid, Jody, the whole gang is here to play this one out. It's a beautiful piece of poo poo. Halloween would have loved to age so gracefully.
Name Change fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Oct 11, 2018 |
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Oct 11, 2018 08:02
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#47 Found Footage 3D (2017) A small film crew decides to make the first ever 3D Found Footage film, and they decide to document the process along the way, also in 3D. However, the old farmhouse they're filming in might have more than a fictional haunting... Well, I have to say this is kinda generic as a low budget Found Footage fest. It is at least having fun with its meta narrative so there is that. I have some red-blue anaglyph glasses so I watched it in the full 3D experience. I'd suggest not doing that, unless you want to get sick. Turns out it doesn't work well with shaky cameras. out of 5#48. Bedeviled (2018) After one of their friends dies, a group of teens get requests from her phone to download a new personal assistant app. However, this app is actually demonic, and preys on them using their own fears against them. woof. This one is really bad, grabbed off Netflix on a whim. It's about the most generic teen ensemble horror film out there, with lots of bad writing (including hand wavey "hacking"), it is completely devoid of any shown violence or gore, and the villain is completely ripping off Stephen King's It. It's real bad, and I only recommend watching it to laugh at it. out of 5Franchescanado posted:
#49. Diary of an Exorcist 0 (2017) A pair of filmmakers interview an aging Father Lucas Vidal, a man who has spent over thirty years as an exorcist for the Catholic church in Brazil, who tells his stories of how he first came into that field, and the cases he worked on. This is a pretty tame exorcism movie really. The most shocking moments probably happen when the priest's sister is possessed and she propositions him mid exorcism. But I'd say it's pretty inoffensive as a movie. I mostly decided to watch it so I could see something from Brazil not involving Coffin Joe, to see what other stuff is out there. I'd say this is a very Catholic film, which I mean, Brazil is a very Catholic country, so that's not a shock. out of 5
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Oct 11, 2018 10:10
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 The List1. Welcome to Willits (Fran Challenge 1: Love Something You Hate) 2. Multiple Maniacs (Fran Challenge 2: Queer Horror) 3. The Phantom of the Opera 1925 Featuring commentary by Andrew Lloyd Webber (as portrayed by Paul F. Tompkins) 4. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (Fran Challenge: Hometown Horror) 5. Dawn of the Dead (2004) (Fran Challenge: Best of the Worst) 6. Creep 2 7. I am the Pretty Thing That Lives In The House 8. Silent Hill (2006)  I remember catching parts of this on TV like 8 years ago, and kinda been meaning to go back and finish it up. I've always had an odd love affair with the game series, despite not having the nerve to actually play them. I own the soundtrack to the first game on vinyl, but the most that I've actually played of the series was 2 hours of the first game. And in that 2 hours, I went from beginning the game to getting to the house with the doghouse outside (which this speedrun managed to do in 6 minutes without any huge skips). Scary games just get to me in such a way that I just can't find them fun. But anyways, this is a soft- I Didn't Like It. There's stuff in this movie that's admirably ambitious, especially considering the wasteland that was 2000's horror. But there's a death by a thousand cuts happening here. The biggest and most severe flaw is right at the core of the film, it's kinda terrible script. Obviously the dialog can be atrociously unnatural, but more I would say is that the film's molds it's structure off of Video Game's format. The story is pretty much a globetrotting adventure, despite being set in a small town, going from setting to setting based on the flimsiest clues (that are always correct), and somehow taking the oddest detour into expensive-yet-thematically-meaningless set pieces. It even has lengthy exposition sequences where the audience is forced to listen to characters narrate too much backstory. It has a lot of plot going on, but it's a story with nothing to say. It's all creep and shock, no substance. You also have a terrible leading child actor, who is too creepy to be cute and too cute to be creepy. And the film forces her to carry the film on her shoulders at several moments, including the lengthiest of exposition scenes. Then there's smaller things, like the unnecessary subplot with Sean Bean, the overreliance on undercooked CG, the flat side characters who more recite archetypes than actually act, etc. That said, the film has a few things going for it. It's a film that is playing around with both it's visuals and with it's audio mixing more than you would expect from a low-mid budget horror film. You get some real neat looking shots (which apparently some are lifted straight up from the games), and interesting layering/subtraction in the audio (like a high pitched whine when the flashlights point towards the camera). And then there's the visual style and the music, both of which were lifted straight out of the games (literally in the later case). In a sense it almost works better as a virtual haunted house experience than as a true Silent Hill story. But yeah, still not a 100% enjoyable experience, but it's one I'm glad to have gotten out of my system.
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Oct 11, 2018 10:21
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SMP posted:That's his real face. Well now I feel like an rear end in a top hat.
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Oct 11, 2018 11:23
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21. Ghosts of MarsFranchescanado posted:
I saw The Ward upon release and didn't like it. I can't remember much except that it starred Amber Heard and that it was bad. I never saw Ghosts of Mars before, but a bunch of you picked it for this challenge and I saw John Carpenter perform last night, so I figured it would be worth a shot. Now, there is a lot in this movie that doesn't work. The flashbacks undermine the tension, they have flashbacks in flashbacks to make things more confusing, the acting is shaky, but my biggest issue was that this movie basically does Assault on Precinct 13 in space. It doesn't have the same atmosphere because the bad guys, Quake soundtrack and bad acting make it laughable instead of tense and yet......I don't think this is a terrible movie. Don't get me wrong, it isn't good, especially compared with Carpenter's other work, but it isn't worse than any other forgettable B-grade scifi-action romp. I think the biggest problem is that it was made 20 years too late. This came out together with Lord of the Rings, Blackhawk Down and it just feels old fashioned and stale in comparison. People weren't interested in some mid-budget just-okay action flick considering what else was on offer, but I think that if it was released right after Escape from New York it would be remembered more kindly.
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Oct 11, 2018 11:51
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BioTech posted:21. Ghosts of Mars Well, duh.
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Oct 11, 2018 12:11
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I also thought that dude face in Baskin was a mask of some sort as well.
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Oct 11, 2018 13:12
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Adlai Stevenson posted:You could almost certainly shave off a handful of minutes by trimming scenes that linger too long trying to build atmosphere that doesn't arrive on time. If there's one lesson filmmakers could take from watching 31 new horror films in 31 days, it's that long shots of scenery with nothing happening do not build atmosphere, they build boredom.
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Oct 11, 2018 13:27
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Franchescanado posted:
25. Tenebrae 1982 | dir. Dario Argento | Shudder The theme song is worth the price of admission.  My attention kept bouncing in and out of this one. That's on me. By the end of the film, I regretted not paying more attention, because it seriously kicks it into high gear in the last 30 minutes. This has some really unique gore for Argento. While it's not as fantastical as the deaths in Suspiria or Inferno, I feel like this is easily his goriest film. I wasn't expecting people running away with limbs hacked off. Argento loves slitting throats, as well. Once the film ends, it's easier to see how this is Argento's attempts as subverting himself. The Argento tone is present, but the non-linear structure itself feels unusual for him. It's also more sexual than I remember his other films. Characters also verbalize criticisms cast at Argento--how his films can be read as misogynistic, for instance, and how he enjoys sensationalizing violence. I read after that many consider this a film of Argento looking at himself. There are visual motifs about doubles, mirrors, reflections, and mistaken identity throughout. The soundtrack is one of the best I've heard in a while. I love the Tenebrae theme song. Still, the movie has it's flaws. There's an elaborate crane shot that pans all around the house in the middle of the film. It's interesting, but it mostly hovers around empty rooms. It's like everyone was told their positions and blocking, but they couldn't get the timing right, and had to make due with what they had. The sleaziness could be off-putting. The resolution is a little confusing. Overall, I enjoyed it. It deserves a rewatch when I can give it my full attention. Recommended. Movies Seen: Hell House, LLC | Dagon | The Bird With the Crystal Plumage | Critters 2 | Serial Mom | Monster Squad | The Neon Demon | Motel Hell | Vampyr | Possession | Under The Skin | Martyrs | The Curse of the Werewolf | The Old Dark House | Children of the Corn | Assassination Nation | The Leopard Man | Halloween 2 | Häxan | Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood | What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? | Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things | Near Dark | The Witches | Tenebrae Total: 25 Fran Challenges:
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Oct 11, 2018 13:57
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13. Phenomena 1985 A girl travels to attend school in an area where a serial killer is preying on young women. That synopsis really buries all of the crazy that is tucked into this movie. My number one complaint with this movie is that it is nearly 2 hours long and most of the interesting stuff happens in the last half hour. I was wondering if this came out after Friday the 13th Part 6 and went with a heavy metal soundtrack after hearing Alice Cooper in that movie, but this movie came out before Part 6. I'm still really curious about how this movie ended up full of 80's metal by Motorhead and Iron Maiden. The rockin music is really out of sync with the scenes they accompany. I'm having trouble coming up with a good summary of how I feel about this movie. I think the first half is pretty slow and dreary, then the end is sped up and full of crazy weirdness that is entertaining. This was my first Argento movie and I will definitely seek out more. There are a lot of interesting sets and visuals. A few of the dream sequences look like a first person view of a carnival fun house. I also really liked a shot in the film tying a gleaming silver exhaust on a car to several gleaming blades earlier in the movie. 2/5
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Oct 11, 2018 14:27
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I love that crane shot set to the insane score, that for me might be one of Argento's best scenes. 13. Lord of Illusion A cult tries to resurrect a demon and only a private detective and a wizard who uses his magic to become successful in Las Vegas can stop them. Without having read original short story, I can tell it's better than the movie. That's not meant as a zinger, but this story strikes me as something with many written passages that just can't be translated into film, and many lines that you just can't have people say out loud. "I wasn't born to teach the world the error of their ways...I was born to murder the world". Clive Barker has fun at the start and end of the movie, playing with camera zooms and tilts in a Raimi-esque way, but most of the movie just isn't that interesting, and a pretty pointless exercise overall. Previously: Creepshow II, Monster Squad, Mandy, Shock, Devil Fetus, Black Cat, Suspiria, Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, Vampire's Kiss, The Vampire Lovers, The Howling II, Deathwatch
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Oct 11, 2018 14:31
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Franchescanado posted:
  I've kept this one in mind since somebody wrote about it last year and it was all I ever wanted from a low budget Cat-III HK horror flick. The synopsis on imdb describes it as such: quote:A group of friends went on a hedonistic trip to Thailand. Accidentally, they rape and kill a sorcerer's sister. Now, upon arriving back home to Hong Kong, they find themselves cursed by the sorcerer. The movie opens with a wizard getting one of the friends to commit a gruesomely over the top murder-suicide with some voodoo poo poo and then goes one by one until he has his revenge on the three friends and their families. All the background stuff isn't actually explained until later on, when there's an extensive flashback to the trip. Eventually they figure out what's going on and get help from a girlfriend's Thai friend who happens to be a good wizard. It's all delightfully schlocky, violent and fun. Lots of boobies too, as well as uncomfortably long sex scenes, but it's all so excessive it's just funny. I thought it was overall very well paced, only around the end it kind of drags on a bit but maybe it was just me being tired that made it feel that way. As long as you're in the right mindset for a cheesy exploitation movie, I can confidently recommend this. .5 / 5E: Fran challenges: 1 2 3 4 mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 15:13 on Oct 11, 2018 |
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Oct 11, 2018 14:47
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 125- Beware! The Blob 1972 - DVD Oddly enough, I first saw this one last out of the Blob films. Caught it on either TBS or USA channel with Grandpa Al Lewis being the horror host. This one's definitely played more tounge in cheek rather than scares. Film starts fifteen years after the Blob's originally frozen and a sample's brought back from where the oil pipeline's being worked on. We know where this is going. There's some nods to the original and while it's not atrociously bad, it's more something a Blob film completionist would be into.  126- The Redeemer: Son of Satan 1978 - DVD This is a bit of an odd one, and I'd like to hear what others have to say about it. It starts with a boy walking out of a lake fully dressed who gets picked up by a bus and taken to a fire and brimstone service and then cuts to six people arriving for a class reunion at their old school which has been closed down. We all know nothing good comes from invites to reunions at closed down schools. The ending does tie in with the beginning with the boy from earlier walking back into the lake. I'm still on the fence about this one. It's more it's not a bad film, just..odd.
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Oct 11, 2018 14:56
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13/31 - Child’s Play So I definitely caught some of the sequels on HBO way back in the day but I had never seen the original. The only thing I remember about the series is Chucky being melted down and swirling into a bowl full of blood and melted plastic? Anyways. Ummmm.... this movie is really loving good? Like every single bit of it holds up. It might not be the best 80s movie I’ve seen for this challenge so far but it definitely holds up the best and is drat good in its own right. I really don’t know what else to say about it, if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out. Currently on Amazon Prime.
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Oct 11, 2018 15:00
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 22. Mandy (2018) (digital rental) This has been written up a bunch of times in this thread, so I won't rehash those posts. I just want to say that I thought this was fantastic, just absolutely surreal and stylish as hell, with Nicolas Cage at his Nicolas Cage-iest. The first act was a bit slower than I was expecting, but it made sense once I realized the director's previous film was Beyond the Black Rainbow. Basically a '70s prog-metal album cover come to life. This is sure to be one of my favorite films of the year. Also I didn't know this was set in 1983 until I started it - I would've used it for the "birth of horror" challenge. 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 | Mandy Total: 22 Fran challenges:
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Oct 11, 2018 15:11
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 Scream(1996) Impossible for me to do a run of 90's horror without Scream, because this movie instantly redefined the genre and sparked a whole new phase of American horror that lasted for at least 5 years if not more. Scream can be used as a very clear demarcation line where what came before was very different than what came after. It's the first movie where you watch it and you just immediately identify it as a 90's film, a film that could not possibly have been made in any other decade. Watching it today, it's a lot goofier than it seemed when I was a teenager. Several of the deaths are intentionally comedic, and Ghostface himself bumbles around like one of the Three Stooges. But then there are also moments where Craven's talent to unsettle and disturb show through. Lillard and Ulrich's characters are perfectly written, in that they come off as standard rear end in a top hat high school kids at first, and then when you know the whole story most of their early scenes take on a whole new atmosphere if creepiness. That's really fun to pay attention to on rewatch, just how much they talk about what their doing openly, kinda talking about it without talking about it. And it's been said many times before, but the finale after the house party is phenomenal. I think that whole sequence really makes the movie, along with the iconic opening. Those were the things people couldn't stop talking about when they left the theatre in 1996. Last night I knocked out two Fran challenges back to back so I'll write those up later. Total: 1. Frankenstein(1931) 2. The Old Dark House(1932) 3. The Bride of Frankenstein(1935) 4. The Mummy(1932) 5. The Invisible Man(1933) 6. The Wolfman(1941) 7. House of Frankenstein(1944) 8. House of Dracula(1945) 9. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein(1948) 10. The Boogeyman Will Get You(1942) 11. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms(1953) 12.Gojira(1954) 13. Creature From the Black Lagoon(1954) 14. The Night of the Hunter(1955) 15. The Curse of Frankenstein(1957) 16. Brides of Dracula(1960) 17. The Tomb of Ligeia(1964) 18. Blood and Black Lace(1964) 19. Frankenstein Created Woman(1967) 20. Quatermass and the Pit(1967) 21. Don't Look Now(1973)22. Dracula A.D. 1972 23. Phantom of the Paradise(1974) 24. The Wicker Man(1973) 25. Nosferatu The Vampyre(1979) 26. The Fog(1980) 27. An American Werewolf in London(1981) 28. Prince of Darkness(1987) 29. A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984) 30. C.H.U.D.(1984) 31. Candyman(1992) 32. Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh(1995) 33. Mimic(1997) 34. Scream(1996)
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Oct 11, 2018 16:11
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  22. Frankenstein (1931) - Blu-ray Perfect? No. But close enough. Daughter picked this for today's movie before school. Bride will come next which has me excited as none of us have ever seen it. 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), 19. Horror Hotel (1960), 20. Event Horizon (1997)*, 21. In the Mouth of Madness (1994), 22. Frankenstein (1931)* Years Spanned: 95 (1922-2017) Tally by Decade: '20s (I), '30s (III), '40s (II), '50s (II), '60s (IV), '70s (II), '80s (III), '90s (II), 2000s (III), 2010s (I) B&W/Color: 12/11 Rewatch/Total: 3/22 Fran Challenges Complete: 1 2 * Rewatch Butch Cassidy fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Oct 11, 2018 |
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Oct 11, 2018 16:34
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Butch Cassidy posted:22. Frankenstein (1931) - Blu-ray I expect that if you liked Frankenstein that much you'll love Bride even more. It's everything that was good about the original just with twice as much production value and more to do for Karloff.
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Oct 11, 2018 16:46
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Basebf555 posted:I expect that if you liked Frankenstein that much you'll love Bride even more. It's everything that was good about the original just with twice as much production value and more to do for Karloff. Yeah, everyone says how much better Bride is than the original even though the original is fantastic. They're not exaggerating.
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Oct 11, 2018 16:54
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I like Son of Frankenstein a lot too. It's not as good as the first two, but it's hard to live up to two of the greatest horror films ever made. It looks really great, plus it has Bela Lugosi and Basil Rathbone.
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Oct 11, 2018 17:03
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Daughters of Darkness (1971) Challenge: Queer horror  A pair of rich, dysfunctional newlyweds are torn apart by vampires. Then, they are torn apart by vampires. Delightful. What starts as elegant, hypnotic Euro-horror with incredible locations and costumes gradually devolves into lurid camp, with bisexual vampire love quadrangles, multiple body-burying trips to the same beach, murders involving elegant glass fruit bowls, and a quite literally explosive finale. Somehow, both tones work, thanks in large part to arthouse legend Delphine Seyrig as Countess Bathory (yes that Countess Bathory), giving a Marlene Dietrich-inspired performance that's somehow both underplayed and scene-stealing. She knows exactly how a seductive vampire countess should deliver lines like ascribing her beauty secrets to "plenty of sleep, and a very strict diet". While I knew about the film's queer content going in, I was surprised by how little of it was relegated to subtext, as well as how damning a portrait it paints of its central couple. It seems to suggest that the main difference between being the consort of an immortal vampire countess and the wife of a regular rich shithead is mainly that one has much nicer clothes. 4/5  sA Tale of Two Sisters (2003) Challenge: The World is a Scary Place  The reasons why this landed hard when it came out are probably the same ones why I couldn't get into it ten years later, everything from the narrative twists to the aesthetics just made me feel "okay, one of these, I get it", when this story really relies on an air of mystery to draw you in. The haunting scenes themselves are effective though, and Yeom Jeong-A is a joy to watch as the (varying degrees of) evil stepmother. 2.5/5  s
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Oct 11, 2018 17:25
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This actually loving rules  Let me guess, it's the best thing about the movie by several country miles
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Oct 11, 2018 17:28
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32. Army of Darkness - 5/5quote:Evil Dead II : OK Computer :: Army of Darkness : Kid A 33. Pyewacket - 3/5 quote:Not the most innovative of horror movies, but well executed. Strong performances and great atmosphere lock down what might otherwise be a bit forgettable. I'm a complete sucker for autumnal horror and the occult, so I was bound to like it. Props to the crew for making the titular spirit actually creepy.
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Oct 11, 2018 17:33
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  27. The Purge (2013, dir. James DeMonaco) Interesting but kind of clunky politically. I liked a good bit of what it was going for but actually watching it the movie just wasn't that good. A serious over-reliance on setting something up and then getting out of it by having someone get blasted by a character we haven't seen off-screen. Thinking a bit about it I'm not sure there's been a home invasion movie I've actually liked. 2/5  28. The Purge: Anarchy (2014, dir. James DeMonaco) All crime is legal but apparently the only crime is murder. The sequel gets out on the streets, has some more fun, and is even less subtle than the first. I'm enjoying the combination of silly action-horror and being openly political (though a bit muddled). 3/5  29. Satanico Pandemonium: La Sexorcista (1975, dir. Gilberto Martínez Solares) [dvd] A nun is tempted by Lucifer, eventually gives in. Odd pacing and it never feels cohesive. Some decent exploitation moments, plenty of murder, nudity, low-key blasphemy, a pretty tame orgy. Never gets to anything I'd call pandemonium though. Turns out it was just the dying dream of a nun with the plague. Which might explain why none of it really made any sense, but I just didn't think it was very good. 2/5  30. The Purge: Election Year (2016, dir. James DeMonaco) A step forward with the visuals and violence, but a much bigger step backwards on the story and themes. Some of the more interesting characters in the series so far, but it all ends up being in service of the least interesting of them. The Purge movies have been decently interesting (or at least not-awful) political genre film-making so far, but this one takes a massively lame hard turn towards the center with some serious white savior bullshit. I really like how each movie is less subtle than the last but in trying to make their most clear and focused political point here it undermines the whole thing. The white woman who is running for president convinces the black revolutionaries not to assassinate the current fascist president. They end up sacrificing themselves, she is elected on a no purge platform, and I guess everything is solved now. Seriously, gently caress off with that weak garbage. Also, between this and the first one I think DeMonaco has a kind of creepy thing for schoolgirls. Should have mad the whole movie about Betty Gabriel's purge medic. 2/5 Franchescanado posted:
 31. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986, dir. John McNaughton) [blu-ray] It wasn't quite as difficult as its reputation had led me to believe, but still pretty rough. Not a movie that leaves you feeling good. The quiet lack of action while still communicating all of the horror in that opening scene was the most disturbing for me. A few unexpected moments of dark humor that were very effectively unsettling. 4/5  32. The First Purge (2018, dir. Gerard McMurray) It's a testament to how fast things seem to be moving lately that to me the 'pussy grabbing motherfucker' line felt so strangely dated for a reference that only goes back two years. The transition from subtext to text is complete and everything is said out loud. These movies are best in the moments spent indulging in ridiculous violence while simultaneously shouting about things that are hosed in America and this is the one that delivers the most. There is a gunfight in smoke with some very stylized shooting that I just loved. And as great as Frank Grillo is, I'm so glad this movie went with a black director and dropped all the white hero stuff. 4/5  33. The Addiction (1995, dir. Abel Ferrara) [blu-ray] I'm having a hard time really knowing what to say about this one other than I'll definitely need to revisit it soon. Apparently a philosophical and talky vampire film from mid-90s Ferrara is exactly my poo poo. Visually impressive, and definitely horrifying. Christopher Walken only needs one scene to nearly steal a movie. The most obvious metaphor is in the title but it's not really about drugs. We are not evil because we do evil things, we do evil because that is what we are. 5/5 Total: 33. 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), Mandy (4/5), Shivers (4/5), The Purge (2/5), The Purge: Anarchy (3/5), Satanico Pandemonium (2/5), The Purge: Election Year (2/5), ~Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (4/5), The First Purge (4/5), The Addiction (5/5) *-rewatch (2) ~-fran challenge (4/7 completed)
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Oct 11, 2018 17:54
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FRAN CHALLENGE #6: Video Nasties It's the Driller Killer!  Driller Killer begins by telling you the movie should be played loud. Do not do this. It's a very loud movie already so you'll actually probably want to put the volume down a couple notches from where you usually have it There was a conversation earlier in the thread about what it must've been like to buy an illegal movie in 80s Britain. The illicit thrill of buying a movie the government said should never be seen. I think that would've made watching Driller Killer a very different experience. The casual violence, the constant punk music, the lesbian boobs, the whole aura of sleaze and filth that permeates the movie. It would've been a perfect totem of illicitness, of the kind of truthful foulness that the government desperately wants to keep from you. But I'm watching it now in 2018. I bought it at Half Price Books. And it wasn't even in the locked case where they keep the racy manga and first edition D&D modules, it was just out on the shelf somewhere between Doctor Doolittle and Dreamgirls. It was expensive, not because it had been smuggled in from overseas, but because it's an Arrow Films release and half of MSRP for those things is still 20 fuckin dollars. And it was boring. There's lots of footage of this crappy punk band practicing and playing, probably a minimum of ten minutes of the run time. The violence is mostly just a power drill shoved into somebody's jacket and then a bunch of blood comes out. The lesbian nudity was very brief. The filthy vision of New York City that drove America to vote in Ronald Reagan and doom the world has been done a lot better in many other movies. The lead character is completely unsympathetic even as he succumbs to schizophrenia, and the few scenes that try to make him seem like not a scum bag just come across as abuser-style manipulative. The two side characters, while interesting, don't get the focus they deserve. It's vaguely homophobic in the way that a lot of old movies are where just saying that a character is gay was enough to get the audience to think he's a bad guy but nowadays it's just "so what?" All in all, it's just boring and gross. It's a nice day outside so about an hour in to the movie I actually paused it and took my dog for a bonus walk just to get out of watching the movie all the way through in a single sitting. You should be prevented from watching Driller Killer only by your own good taste, not the British government.
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Oct 11, 2018 18:05
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FancyMike posted:30. The Purge: Election Year (2016, dir. James DeMonaco) It seems like a lot of people missed the thing at the very end about the violent nation-wide uprising in response to the woman's election. They specifically say that it hasn't been solved just by getting her elected.
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Oct 11, 2018 18:10
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| # ? Jun 4, 2024 21:26 |
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Guy Goodbody posted:It seems like a lot of people missed the thing at the very end about the violent nation-wide uprising in response to the woman's election. They specifically say that it hasn't been solved just by getting her elected. It still felt to me like the movie presented it positively and rejected a revolutionary option in favor of a reductive appeal to change from the inside get out and vote centrism. She presents no platform other than purge bad, no critique of systemic causes for it. Even if things are not really solved the movie still I think presents it on at least a better path, is fully on her side the whole way through, and believes it a much preferable outcome to a revolution led by the people. Which feels weak to me, why walk it back like that? It's already so indulgent lets imagine something better.
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Oct 11, 2018 18:24
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