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 FRAN CHALLENGE #12: (Self-Described) Masters of Horror27. Return of the Living Dead (1985): This was a lot of fun. I appreciate that the zombies were intelligent. The scene with the zombie head and torso tied down explaining the pain of being dead was very good. The ending was cool. FRAN CHALLENGE #13: What We’ve All Been Waiting For28. Halloween (2018): I enjoyed this. It’s just a very solid slasher movie. Had some very good visual callbacks to other films in the genre, including of course the original Halloween. The comic relief bits were better than expected. I’m now craving a banh mi and some guacamole. The final sequence at Laurie’s fortress and the sequence with the babysitter stand out for me.
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Oct 27, 2018 05:22
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51. Scarab - 2/5 (Scream Stream)quote:The perfect collaboration of bad writing and inept editing. If you cut it down for a Best Moments compilation on YouTube you'd have a fantastic experience, but otherwise...yikes. Until the last like 20 minutes it's basically two entirely separate movies cut together: one about a man stalking a nun, and another about uh, "Egyptian" cultists. 52. Street Trash - 3.5/5 (Scream Stream) quote:Obscenely offensive to just about anyone with any point of view at all. It ticks all the loving boxes. If you can think of it, it's in there. This poo poo is straight up methodical about who it's trying to offend (except, of course, straight white dudes). Absolutely loving vile film, and anyone who hates it is completely justified. If any of this gives you even the slightest pause, please, just go with your gut and skip it.
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Oct 27, 2018 05:24
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Franchescanado posted:
This list might be useful if you've exhausted some of the obvious ones, although I did notice a couple exclusions like Hell House LLC and WFMU Halloween Special. Did not know that Blair Witch was apparently shot around October 31st.
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Oct 27, 2018 05:27
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42. Summer of 84 (2018) A fun 80s nostalgia throwback in the vein of Stranger Things or certain King works. A group of young teens are convinced one of their neighbors is a local serial killer being hunted by the police and set out to prove that he is. It doesn't break any new group and it has a lot of stumbles, but it's fun and charming enough that I enjoyed my time. If you subtract the kids swearing/sex jokes and that tonally jarring grisly ending it doesn't feel all too far removed from a kid's spooky movie.  .5/543. In The Mouth of Madness (1994) Rewatch  One of my all-time favorites. John Carpenter brings us John Trent, an insurance investigator sent to a small town to search for missing smash-hit author Sutter Cane. Carpenter smashes us over the head with Lovecraftian themes and a decent into madness with some of my favorite horror quotes of all time. Do you read Sutter Cane? /544. The Unborn (2009) Rewatch  I rewatched this because I recall kinda sorta liking it when it came out. I was wrong again. A young woman is fighting against a spirit slowly possessing her and stuff happens. Gary Oldman and Idris Elba show up and do stuff. It's pretty awful. I will give it the slightest bit of credit for having some cool looking visuals here and there. They'd probably be better suited for a horror video game or something, but there's some neat stuff there. 0.5 /545. Trick r Treat (2007) Rewatch  Another one of my yearly rewatches and one of my favorites. A strong contender for my favorite anthology movies, ahead of VHS and fighting Creepshow for the throne. Delightfully mean-spirited and well constructed. /5
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Oct 27, 2018 06:10
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Ok, no more dicking around. Time to run off some years… 42 (47). Devils of Darkness (1965) Available on Amazon Prime.  A vacation to a small town in France results in tragedy when all of Paul’s friends die in tragic and mysterious ways. Paul returns home to London unsettled about everything and determined to unlock the truth putting him at odds with Count Sinistre and his satanic vampire cult. We’re officially in the “just find a random film that fits a year I need” stage of my challenge. In this case “satanic vampire cult” caught my attention. Sadly the movie only really barely touches on them and then just jumps to London and has the Count and his bride go without his potentially interesting cult of worshippers who run the little village and cover up his murders and abductions. That’s the main problem with this movie. Not only do they ditch the interesting premise of the cult village but Count Sinistre himself is dull as poo poo and not threatening at all. He basically spends most of the movie trying to convince his bride of hundreds of years that he isn’t trying to replace her with a new model (he is). Its less a vampire cult story and more a story of a man having a midlife crisis after a few hundred years of marriage and cheating around while trying to maintain appearances with his weird swinger crowd. The cult does return late but by then they’re less a devoted village of cultists and more just a bunch of drunk assholes at a key party. The other problem I had was that the color and filming was weird in some way I can’t put my finger on. Like you know that setting on modern TVs called automotion or something? You know how it makes everything look that seems so unnatural and weird to me? Well that’s what this felt like. I really can’t explain it. It wasn’t all bad. I liked the main guy and he reminded me quite a bit of the lead in Night of the Demon. A skeptical suave leading man digging into the occult details of murders putting him in danger. And I liked his romantic interest Tracy Reed quite a bit - and she apparently was some British Hollywood socialite legacy with a ton of connections including being cousin to Oliver Reed. They were good and if they had a proper villain it could have worked. Also I kept feeling like I wanted to watch the movie in black and white. But ultimately I started watching this last night and fell asleep in the middle of it. So, you know. Also, the end was hilarious. Count Sinistre is ultimately defeated by… wandering out into the sunlight in a cememtary and running into a crucifix. I laughed for a good minute. 43 (48). I Drink Your Blood (1970) Available on Amazon Prime.  A Manson-esque group of satan worshipping hippies wanders into a dying ghost town and start messing with people, so a young buy gets revenge by spiking them all with the blood of a dog with rabies. And thus a rabies zombie infection of crazy people afraid of water is unleashed. Credited as the first ever film to get an X Rating for violence. That was boring. Ok, maybe not boring but not interesting. There’s really no story to speak of and its entirely built on being shocking. Like, there were a couple of scenes that were really gross and ugly but mostly it was just boring in that way that too much gore and mindless violence just becomes nothing. I imagine it was more shocking in the wake of the Manson killings and the whole Satanist panic of the era, plus whatever takes you had on drugs and hippies. The two main bad guys are pretty effectively bad but they never really get going as threats and then end up duking it out with each other. Like, the basic premise of this is “Oh god, that crazy guy is coming at us! Spray water at him!” An entire zombie horde is fought off by splashing water at them. The end scene plays out over a garden hose. I don’t know. Maybe this month has desensitized me. There were definitely a lot of gross things but very few of them gave me a reaction. More to the point I’m just not a fan of this grind house exploitation stuff. And even if I was this one just didn’t feel very good or well crafted. It was a ton of buildup and then a pretty unimpressive payoff. On the other hand… “Let it be known, sons and daughters, that Satan was an acid head. Drink from his cup, pledge yourselves, and together we’ll all freak out.” It so didn’t deliver from that start. Need more but baseball is being real, real stupid tonight.
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Oct 27, 2018 06:47
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#28- The Devil Rides Out aka The Devil's Bride Since the horrifying news that Filmstruck will be discontinued in late November dropped today, it was inevitable that I drifted there to find something. This is a neat little Hammer picture in which Christopher Lee gets to play a good guy for once. He and a friend discover that a relation of theirs has gotten into devil worship, and seek to rescue him and his intended "bride" from the cult leader, the sinister Mocata (Charles Gray, of "has no loving neck" fame). Car chases and punch-ups with occultists build up to a full-blown supernatural assault, and it actually gets tense at times, but even when it's not the occult weirdness makes up for it. The ending is kinda handwavey in a way that made me think they maybe changed something at studio insistence, but there's no evidence of that. Quite a fun little time. Catch it while you can.
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Oct 27, 2018 07:19
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Franchescanado posted:
 51. Village of the Damned (1960) - Blu-ray Carpenter's remake is both more healthily fleshed out and better paced. It also builds a more profound sense of dread. This original was a solid foundation, however. Despite the weaknesses addressed bu Carpenter, this was well acted, had very good effects, and is an easier watch. Absolutely loved the snarling dog. That and the Russians deciding to test a new piece of nuclear artillery to destroy a village and then rub it in the West's face, killing three birds with one stone, as a lovely Cold War touch compete for my favorite bit. The major's teary eyed but disciplined reaction to having just ordered a pilot to his death and squaddies using a caged canary onna stick tie for next favorite. While I can see where the common ambivalence toward the original and new versions comes from, I quite enjoy both. Carpenter's re-make being the better film and the original being more fun and watchable. As for the challenge, the director is obviously deceased. Looking at directorial credits to his name on Letterboxd has me curious to dig some up. His work is solid and I may be able to use some of them as a jumping point to further stretch my exploitation wings. 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)7, 19. Horror Hotel (1960), 20. Event Horizon (1997)*, 21. In the Mouth of Madness (1994)3, 22. Frankenstein (1931)*, 23. Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (1967), 24. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), 25. The Funhouse (1981)6, 26. Beetlejuice (1988)5, 27. Fright Night (1985)2, 28. Son of Frankenstein (1939), 29. The Terror, 30. A Cure for Wellness (2016), 31. Blood Diner (1987), 32. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), 33. The Killer Shrews (1959)9, 34. The Devil Bat (1940)9, 35. The Bat (1959), 36. Alien Apocalypse (2005)*, 37. Dave Made a Maze (2017)8, 38. Wrong Turn (2003), 39. Last Woman on Earth (1960)4, 40. Halloween (2018)10, 41. I Sell the Dead (2008), 42. Village of the Damned (1995), 43. Beast from 10,000 Fathoms (1953)*, 44. Gamera (1965), 45. Parents (1989), 46. Rigor Mortis (2013), 47. Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989), 48. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), 49. The Mist (2007)*ish 1, 50. The Slumber Party Massacre (1982), 51. Village of the Damned (1960)11 Years Spanned: 96 (1922-2018) Tally by Decade: '20s (I), '30s (V), '40s (III), '50s (V), '60s (IX), '70s (III), '80s (XI), '90s (III), 2000s (VII), 2010s (V) B&W/Color: 22/30 Rewatch/Total Counted: 6/51 Countries: 'Murika, Canada, Blighty, France, Germany, Estonia, China, South Korea, Japan Fran Challenges Complete: * Rewatch Butch Cassidy fucked around with this message at 08:36 on Oct 27, 2018 |
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Oct 27, 2018 08:32
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Maxwell Lord posted:Filmstruck will be discontinued in late November I hadn't heard about this. That loving sucks.  I guess I'll transition from October's Horror marathon directly into November FilmStruck marathon.
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Oct 27, 2018 08:41
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Fist Man (2018) Some people want to go to the moon but things don't go as planned! It's legitimately more tense and scary than many of the horror films I've seen this year, even though you know exactly what's going to happen. As usual, I think it's all the work the movie does to establish the characters that pays off, even though some people thought it didn't to enough. I didn't plan on seeing this now due to the challenge but some friends were going so I decided to go see it now as well. Obviously not counted towards the challenge, but definitely recommended if you can sacrifice watching 2 average horror movies because it's so long. 22. Wild Zero (1999)  Alien scum invades earth and causes some of the people to turn into zombies, so it's up to a rock band (played by themselves) and their roadie to save the day. I think I liked the idea slightly better than the result, but it's pretty fun nevertheless. It probably mostly suffers from some late-90s directing gimmicks and somewhat loose editing, but despite that it works as a cheesy zombie rock & roll fest. The CGI is serviceable at least on my lovely copy except the ridiculously crappy flying saucers with stock photos of cities in the background, but that had to be deliberate. /523. Summer of '84  A teenage  is convinced his nice cop neighbor is actually a local serial killer, and gets his friends to take part in a number of operations to investigate him. All the "evidence" is super sketchy though (like "bought a shovel") and doesn't convince their parents when they try to turn him in. It doesn't hit you over the head with the THE 80s too much and perhaps with the exception of the Bush '84 yard signs (would any contemporary movie show an Obama or Trump sign? Seems like a pretty lazy way to fix the timeframe) and faux-80s synth music, mostly feels like a teenage adventure from the era. Kids riding around on bicycles, walkie talkeies, etc. Up until the last 30 minutes or so though I was wishing that the killer turned out to be someone else because they had gently caress-all evidence to suggest it was the cop and it would be very coincidental and predictable. But the last 15 or so minutes went super dark and I thought were a nice change from the happy or at least "final girl" endings. There's some voiceover at the beginning and end which, as is often the case, I thought was unnecessary and it tries to say something about how the "suburbs are hosed up" but it's not particularly original, and it's not like there aren't serial killers in rural or urban areas. .5/524. The Babysitter  A young teen (or doesn't he say he's 12?) boy still has a babysitter for when his parents go away to gently caress in fancy hotels because he's a giant pussy and is afraid of everything. The babysitter is ridiculously hot and extremely friendly with the kid in an almost embarrassing wish-fulfillment fantasy way, but seems to genuinely care for him and protects him from some bullies and gives valuable life tips. One night when the parents go to stay at a Hyatt somewhere, he stays up to see if his babysitter is going to have a boyfriend over and have an orgy after he's asleep, and she does in fact invite some friends for a game of bottle, but things do get a bit worse from there. Who knew McG wasn't completely hopeless! Though he couldn't help himself and there are a few unnecessary gimmicks like on-screen labels for stuff and names, but it doesn't detract too much. I didn't want to spoil anything too much in the description, but knowing that the babysitter is part of a cult that does human sacrifices and things get very violent is kind of necessary to understand why it is so fun to watch. Because unlike some of the other cheesy b-movies I've seen, it knows that it needs to be ridiculously over the top with the kills and gore (looking at you, Chopping Mall) to work in that way. /5
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Oct 27, 2018 09:38
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 186- The Irrefutable Truth about Demons 2000 - PRIME An anthropologist who likes to debunk fake religions and cults ends up dealing with a cult that might actually have supernatural power. While it's not a bad film, it just feels like it has moments of trying to find its feet as far as the story goes. The sets and imagery are pretty good, it's just sometimes the story just hiccups. Franchescanado posted:
 187- Hell House LLC 2015 - SHUDDER One of the factors of will I like a movie is the 'Does this make sense?' point, essentially with the world logic introduced in the film, do the events fit?'. Found footage films tend to fumble on this with me because with all the poo poo happening, it makes no sense for someone to keep filming and usually whatever rambled off line to justify it is an insult to the intelligence. Hell House worked in the reason is they were documenting the haunted house set up, and had camera set up all over for that as well as security monitoring. Another complaint about found footage films is using shakycam to hide flaws in the film. What shakycam happens here fits such as at the beginning during opening night of the haunted house. The storyline is a haunted house crew is setting up in a shut down old hotel where multiple deaths/murders happened. Turns out as they're setting up, the place might actually be haunted. This is a very good one, which makes the sequel being so bad even worse since how could the same people who made a good first film, botch it so badly in the second.
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Oct 27, 2018 09:58
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Watch a staff pick!
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 28)Scarab (scream stream) Fran challenge:birth of horror from 83, I was born in 83 That was quite a wtf movie, and I'm still not sure what happened. Pretty fun though. 2.5/5  29) street trash (scream stream) Also wtf but not in a good way. It's got a lot of gross sexual assault, rape, racism, homophobia, and it's done in an obnoxious edgelord kind of way. "Aren't I so offensive? Don't I offend your good taste?" it asks. Well yea, congrats. You treat minorities exceptionally poorly and are especially mean spirited. Congrats? Like if you cut some of the more egregious beyond the pale stuff, it'd still be problematic for the time period, but at least a fun sleazy movie. As it is I can't really recommend it. It's made well, and the melty bits are neat and colorful, but not worth putting up with all the awful stuff. I almost gave it a one to be generous, but this movie doesn't deserve it. .5/5
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Oct 27, 2018 13:41
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FRAN CHALLENGE #12: (Self-Described) Masters of Horror Masters of Horror - Jennifer  I chose a Masters of Horror episode to watch by typing Masters of Horror into Youtube and clicking on the first one I could watch for free. Jenifer was what was selected for me by the algorithm. During the first scene I thought to myself, "Is this just going to be Tomie?". And it basically was. But while Tomie is problematic, Jenifer is PROBLEMATIC The titular Jenifer is a facially disfigured and, as the movie says multiple times, "retarded" young woman. She kills and eats people because she's retarded, but men fall in love with her because her body is smoking hot. Jenifer's depiction of a disabled and mentally disabled person, and the implication that she "seduces" men, is completely reprehensible. I don't even know what to say, the whole thing was just appalling. The makeup for Jenifer's disfigured face looks goofy. I feel weird complaining about the makeup in a movie this morally horrific, like criticizing Hitler for his transit policy or something. But it's bad and they show it in full daylight a lot. As I said, I chose this one at random, so I got curious to see who directed it. Dario Argento. I know that nobody's best movie is going to be an episode of Masters of Horror, but drat. This was my first Dario Argento movie, and it's gonna be a loving long time before I even consider a second. Masters of Horror - Jenifer is reprehensible.
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Oct 27, 2018 14:57
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 188- Frankenstein's Army 2013 - DVD Why couldn't this have been Worst Case Scenario?!  Now that I've gotten that out of my system, time to explain. Back around '04-'05, two trailers hit the various horror forums which had us all losing our drat minds for what they promised. We'd all seen Nazi zombies before, but these were positively unlike anything we'd ever seen before. Of course since we were all excited to the point of giddy, Worst Case Scenario ended up never finishing due to financial problems. So, years later we start hearing the guys behind Worst Case Scenario had completed a new film, interest was perked. Soon as we saw the trailer, this is probably the closest we'll come to Worst Case Scenario. It's nearing the end of World War II, and the Allied forces are starting to advance into Germany. A Soviet recon party receives a distress call from another unit. They lose contact with command so they head in to investigate and find out what the Nazis were willing to implement to win the war. A huge plus for this one is mostly using practical effects. I find it makes the zombie constructs even more unnerving. Seeing the lab and the various experiments is especially WTF??. I remember some complaining about the 'found footage' elements, but as one of the Soviets is a propaganda officer assigned to film the unit, it's there for a reason. While this one's not Worst Case Scenario, I'll take it for what it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYTYqaewAQ8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ-pQmQw7t8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMUQ2IMuz8o  189- Deathgasm 2015 - SHUDDER This was a wonderful throwback to the Heavy Metal is the Devil era of films from the 80s. Brodie is sent to live with his aunt and uncle after his father's death and mother's institutionalization. As lovely as this is, he knows it's going to be worse because his relatives are staunchly Christian. He does manage to befriend a few of the outcasts in town, a fellow metalhead becoming his best friend. They form a garage band and end up finding sheet music to The Black Hymn which is being looked for by a black magic cult for it's demon summoning properties. Guess who ends up playing the music and setting the ball rolling? I have much love for this film, after all where else are you going to see a demon dispatched by three dildos and a chainsaw. There is post credit scenes.
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Oct 27, 2018 15:09
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Guy Goodbody posted:FRAN CHALLENGE #12: (Self-Described) Masters of Horror I haven't seen Jennifer, but Suspiria and Phenomena (and to a lesser extent inferno and tenebre) are stone cold classics and not watching them is a disservice. Also made long before jennifer, but I don't know if that makes it better or worse.
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Oct 27, 2018 15:40
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Guy Goodbody posted:Masters of Horror - Jennifer Bad move. Imagine if you had never seen a John Carpenter movie and you watched Vampires and then wrote off Carpenter.
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Oct 27, 2018 16:18
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Guy Goodbody posted:As I said, I chose this one at random, so I got curious to see who directed it. Dario Argento. I know that nobody's best movie is going to be an episode of Masters of Horror, but drat. This was my first Dario Argento movie, and it's gonna be a loving long time before I even consider a second. Jenifer is the only Argento movie like that. It represents absolutely zero aspects of his filmography.
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Oct 27, 2018 16:27
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It's been a very black and white week to match the rainy weather here. Fran Challenge #10: Fear and Now 18. Venom (2018)  Tom Hardy stars in a body horror film involving an alien parasite that infects his body and demands to eat heads. Enjoyable movie, Tom Hardy is good at delivering the kind of humor needed, he's also the only reason to watch this movie. But still better than the poor reviews critics gave it. 19. The Mummy's Hand (1940)  White people go grave robbing in Egypt. They enter a cursed tomb, the mummy attacks, they killed it with fire. Standard mummy story but well acted and decent sets. 20. Nosferatu (1922)  The original Dracula knockoff. A vampire buys some property in another town so a man is set to arrange the paperwork. The vampire falls in love with the man's wife and takes over the man's mind. Not-Dracula goes to his new property and woman leaving a trail of death. She is so beautiful he forgets about the sunrise and dies when the sunrise falls on him. Seeing movies that end up referenced by so many other things are always a treat. Fran Challenge #7: The World is a Scary Place 21. Invasion of the Animal People Amazon aka Terror in the Midnight Sun (1959) Amazon  A strange meteorite crashes in Lapland. Sweden sends a scientific expedition to investigate in case it's an alien spacecraft. It turns out it is, and they have released a giant tusked Yeti on the locals. They muster and get revenge on the creature. The aliens decide to leave. Lots of nice shots of snowy vistas but not much of a plot. The American version includes an opening monologue from John Carradine explaining how once we evolve past the need for time, we'll be able to travel between galaxies. Carradine count: 4 Fran Challenge #11: Dead & Buried 22. Invasion of the Saucer-Men (1957) Amazon  Frank Gorshin witnesses an alien spacecraft landing. Deciding that this will make him rich, he gets really drunk and ends up getting attacked by the aliens. Some teens driving around in the woods at night with their headlamps off hit one of the aliens and run for help. The other aliens swap their dead friend with Frank's body to frame the kids. A cow attacks one of the aliens and turns into a hilarious stuffed puppet strapped to the cow. The hit & run kids escape from the police and get the other kids from make out point to turn on their headlamps to attack the aliens. Very silly and an enjoyable watch. 23. Häxan Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922) Amazon  A pseudo documentary about the history of witchcraft. Reenacts a medieval witch hunt to show how the church ruined villages. Then explains how that we now know witches are actually just hysterical women and need to be sent to the local asylum for treatment. Rereleased in 1968 with narration by William S Burroughs and a new jazz score. An interesting historical artifact but probably not worth watching nowadays. 24. The Mummy's Tomb (1942)  The mummy goes to America for revenge against the survivors of The Mummy's Hand. After successfully killing them, the local town sets it on fire because this time surely it will kill him. A ton of filler to cover up the lack of enough plot. Not that good. 25. The Mummy's Ghost (1944)  Fire once again did not kill the mummy. John Carradine is the new high priest and he awakens the mummy so it can join its beloved princess who just so happens to be in the local museum. When they arrive, the princess reincarnates into the living body of a local woman. The mummy kidnaps her and is chased into a swamp by the villagers. They all just walk away when the mummy and the woman go under the surface and stay there. Better than Tomb, but not by much. Carradine count: 5 26. The Mummy's Curse (1944)  The swamp the mummy went into is being drained. He comes out and starts looking for the princess he took into the swamp. She is still in there and is soon discovered by the villagers and a scientist who was looking for the mummy. The new high priest finds where she is, sends the mummy after her, and turns her into a mummy. His assistant betrays and murders him causing the mummy to rampage on him and tear down the monastery they were hiding out in. Dreadful and thankfully the last one. 27. Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) Amazon  The original horror movie. Caligari shows up at a fairground and wants to show off a sleeping person he has under hypnotic control. I guess fairs had lower standards back then. Caligari sends the man out to murder people he doesn't like. The narrator suspects something and while keeping an eye on Caligari, his future wife is kidnapped. Chase is given which results in the discovery that Caligari is the head of the local insane asylum. In a twist the writers objected to it is revealed the narrator is a resident of the insane asylum and was making up the whole story using his fellow inmates as the participants of the story. Still a good movie even after almost 100 years. 28. The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)  Left for dead while searching sub-sahara africa for a diamond field, the latest in the Griffin family comes back for revenge on those that left him. Luckily John Carradine lives nearby and has discovered how to turn creatures invisible. Now that he's invisible, Griffin heads to his friends house and, forces him to write a letter saying he left Griffin for dead and deserves all his money. He really loses focus and starts going crazy like most invisible men. A decent enough conclusion to the invisible man movies. Carradine count: 6 1. Suspiria (1977) 2. The Last Shark (1981) 3. Evils of the Night (1985) 4. Little Shop of Horrors (1986) 5. Death Spa (1989) 6. Belladonna of Sadness (1973) 7. Orca (1977) 8. Evil Toons (1992) 9. Dracula's Daughter (1936) 10. Invisible Woman (1940) 11. Slumber Party Massacre (1982) 12. Slumber Party Massacre II (1987) 13. Slumber Party Massacre III (1990) 14. House of Dracula (1945) 15. Invisible Agent (1942) 16. Sleepaway Camp (1983) 17. Sleepaway Camp II (1988)
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Oct 27, 2018 16:46
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Franchescanado posted:Jenifer is the only Argento movie like that. It represents absolutely zero aspects of his filmography. It doesn't even resemble is other Masters of Horror ep. #108. Blood Beach (1980) Our main character is Coast Guard agent in Venice Beach, finding himself slowly reconnecting with his ex-fiance. However, there's also some thing lurking beneath the sands that is pulling people below and eating them! This is a fun one. Despite being made ten years before Tremors, it's basically "What if a Graboid came to Venice Beach, California". The acting is alright for the time I guess, and we get a pointless musical interlude. I also loved the police characters, with John Saxon as a frustrated chief stymied by bureaucracy, and Burt Young as a goofy Chicago detective assigned the case. Also, we briefly see the monster only at the very end, but my Graboid comparison is even more apt then. out of 5#109. Caltiki the Undying Monster (1959). While studying Mayan ruins, a team of scientists accidentally unearth a primordial blob monster that grows stronger with radiation. Per a prophecy however, they're now in trouble when a star rarely approaches earth, emitting the very radiation the creature feeds and grows from! I mostly watched this because it's both Mario Bava's first film (which he only really did the monster footage for) and it's considered Italy's first real horror film. It very much is a 50s monster flick, with a sparse plot of scientists trying to dryly solve the mystery of the monster, only for a third act where it rampages and the military counterattacks to bombast. I honestly at this point get pretty bored with these movies because they're so rote and slim. I can see why someone else would like them though, and I do admit the blob effects are cool often. out of 5#110. Ganja and Hess (1973) Dr. Hess Green was once stabbed by a maniac with a magical dagger. This turned him into a sort of vampire, needing to drink blood, but only able to be killed by "the shadow of the cross over his heart". He's less a monster as an addict. (We're told this in narration by his part time manservant whose other job is as a minister). After an encounter with the mentally unstable Dr. Mada that turns violent, Hess winds up hosting his wife, Ganja, who he quickly falls in love with, leading to more violence and tragedy. This is a very strange movie. Most noteworthy for starring Duane Jones of Night of the Living Dead fame, I feel like the movie tried to be many things at once. It's an artsy movie, with many moments of the actors just going off on monologues, not always being important to the plot, and the camera has these long, interesting static takes as well. It tries to be very much a "Black Cinema" film of the time, showing erudite people of color going about their lives. Finally, it tries hard to be a horror film as well, and I do think it succeeds at that, being an interesting vampire film, with a thoughtful ending even. I liked it, but it felt very disjointed for its efforts to have its cake and eat it too. out of 5#111. Scarab (1983) A strange cult leader uses beetles to cause murders from long distance, while conducting magic to attempt to bring a woman back to life. A reporter randomly starts following this story, and connects with a woman that turns out to be the leader's daughter, and the pair go off on an adventure to try to thwart the cult's actions. This one is almost more action-adventure than it is horror. The time spent with the reporter almost is wacky comedy because he's such a loser, failing at everything, including half the time noticing a cult minion using magic to try to kill him. The cult scenes meanwhile are wild bacchanal goings on of costumes and dancing, and chaos that are fun to watch. Then random special effects happen to keep your attention. It's a weird movie with a meandering, hard to follow plot, but it was fun at least. out of 5
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Oct 27, 2018 16:50
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Franchescanado posted:Jenifer is the only Argento movie like that. It represents absolutely zero aspects of his filmography. Considering Jenifer was originally a story in Creepy magazine that he followed fairly closely, yeah, it shouldn't quite be counted among what to expect from his other films.
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Oct 27, 2018 17:17
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Franchescanado posted:
63.Final Exam - Set in North Carolina. I'm fascinated by how little focus Final Exam gives to the killer. He's an aberration. He's not normal. The story isn't about him. It's about everyone else. All the other characters exist in a prank-filled college romp in the vein of Animal House. The mere presence of a murderer is totally jarring, which gives the film its power. It certainly sticks with you. My take on it is the killer operates as something to force the characters to "grow up." He exists outside of what they could imagine. Even something like the practical jokes with faux terrorists are handled in a goofy way that's totally lacking in the murder sequences. There will be a time where the characters won't be able to act like adolescents – live their lives in arrested development – and he's here to bring it to them. (Side note, one of the characters has a fascination with the "modern phenomenon" of serial killers. Charles Whitman is name-checked as an example.) It's also worth noting how little attention is given to images of distress for the female characters. Their deaths are obfuscated or unseen. But the male characters get prolonged deaths seen in detail. Their corpses linger in pain even after being massacred. I'm not completely sure what to come of it, but it's very interesting for a subgenre that's commonly derided for misogyny. 64. The Mutilator - This was a load of fun. It's oddly heartfelt and seems like a real labor of love from everyone involved. The main title song is ridiculous in all the best ways. Franchescanado posted:
65. Madman - I didn't enjoy this one quite as much. I think it's actually one of the dullest slashers I've seen in quite some time. It plays every cliché to the absolute hilt, so it is somewhat interesting in that respect. I just don't think there's too much that makes it stand out from other slashers from the era. 66. Too Scared to Scream - Not great, but not bad either. I'm finding I don't enjoy the police procedural slashers quite as much as the dead teenager variety. The ones I've watched seem to place too much emphasis on things other than the victims. There's just something about how most slashers are about trauma and the effects of dealing with that directly that's absent in the ones focused on investigation. They feel oddly detached. This has some respectable performances. Ian McShane is pretty good as the doorman, but my favorite was Anne Archer as an undercover cop. She's very lively in a way the rest of the cast isn't. She has an odd scene where she dances to pop music off-rhythm. I think from a script standpoint this might have one twist too many, it ended on a "Wait, who?" note for me rather than the shock I think they were going for. (It also has the bad habit of regurgitating ideas from Psycho.) These two writers also scripted The Prowler, and I'd recommend that much more than this one. 67. My Bloody Valentine - I really wanted to love this movie, but something about it just didn't work for me. Maybe I'm just watching too many slashers too close together. I liked it okay enough, but again there wasn't a whole lot that I found unique in this one other than the mining town location. Even the holiday setting wasn't leaned into very much. The most interesting thing to me actually ended up being an element related to the restoration of it. Each kill scene had lower-quality footage inserted that was much more violent than the surrounding parts of the film. It gave those moments a grimy, forbidden feeling that I'm not sure it would have otherwise had. It made me question what I was watching and why in way the rest of the movie just didn't. 68. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan - This has certain things I admire, like just about every scene where Jason wanders about in New York, (standouts include his bewilderment at his own visage and running into street gangs), but I just can't get behind this one. The dominant location of the cruise ship is forgivable due to the budget cuts (although I can imagine the disappointment upon its initial release), and that setting is quite interesting for a slasher. But I don't this makes a very prominent use of it. The death scenes don't operate with ideas that could only be execute there. They even bring new things (a dance room complete with disco ball!) and then Jason just chokes the person. And that's it. The more inventive stuff is saved for when they actually get to New York in the last thirty minutes. But the racially-charged attempted rape scene just brings the whole thing down. It's so pointless and out-of-place. All it accomplishes is a display awkward anxiety about the inter-mingling of races in New York. 69. The House on Sorority Row - There's an essay by Kit Carson where he discusses Tobe Hooper's propensity for not letting the audience trust the movie. He breaks the rules by not allowing the audience a degree of of comfort, "the deal is simply this: no deal." The House on Sorority Row is similar. There's more than one moment where the movie takes extreme, shocking turns that there's no going back from. By the end, it devolves into a hallucinogenic nightmare. It's seriously great. 70. The Burning - I really hate being down on some of these movies because I actually do love slashers quite a bit. This one has several phenomenal sequences – the raft scene is remarkable – but I just find the constant rape attempts and nonconsensual sex too repulsive. That aspect probably didn't play too well before, but it comes across even worse now as the film begins with a "Created by Harvey Weinstein" title card. 71. The Town That Dreaded Sundown - Man, this was great. Has somewhat of a documentary style. The omniscient narrator certainly makes it feel that way, but it isn't afraid to break its matter-of-fact presentation during the more violent sequences. Which makes them more shocking. I'm not sure how to feel about the goofy comedy aspect of the film. There isn't very much of it, but the Keystone Cops-esque antics seem strange considering the other tones being juggled here. Some register as indignation about the absurd attempts by the police to apprehend the killer, and I think that's where they work the best, as it operates on more than one level. It is fascinating though, as the movie is assembled from four distinct films that appear to be fighting one another. There's a police procedural movie, there's a slasher, there's a docudrama, and there's a goofy comedy. The tension between each of these components is what gives the film its power. Also, this had to have been a huge influence on Fincher when he was making Zodiac. 72. Blood Harvest - A real oddball. I know I just complained about the sexual assault aspect in two other movies, but Blood Harvest seems to engage with the implications of it in a way that the two other films simply don't. While I found it genuinely uncomfortable in all three movies, this one understands that it is reprehensible. There is no attempt made to revel in it. Beyond that, easily the most fascinating aspect of it is the presence of singer/musician Tiny Tim. He plays a major supporting role as a clown, and man he gives the movie such as a strange atmosphere. He's both strangely sweet and utterly terrifying. One moment he's singing in his inscrutable falsetto, the next he's weeping in church. He's nearly impossible to read, which really works in the film's favor. The story is also strange for a slasher. A woman, Jill, comes back to her tiny hometown for the first time since college, only to find her parents missing and everyone angry at her father for forcing the townspeople to foreclose on their houses. The small city is almost empty. I don't think there's any extras in the movie, which helps give it another unsettling undercurrent. The few characters who do appear are mostly Jill's close friends, it's as if the world only exists around her. There's just so many unconventional and bizarre elements in Blood Harvest, I can't help but love it. I highly recommend it, but I'm also not sure if it will work quite as well for people who aren't already into Tiny Tim.
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Oct 27, 2018 18:28
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Spatulater bro! posted:Bad move. Imagine if you had never seen a John Carpenter movie and you watched Vampires and then wrote off Carpenter. I know I'm being unfair, but goddamn Jenifer was just so gross. Also, I haven't seen any Giallos, but aren't they all weird dream-like slashers about a European lady wandering around classical architecture under some colored lights?
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Oct 27, 2018 18:41
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Spatulater bro! posted:Bad move. Imagine if you had never seen a John Carpenter movie and you watched Vampires and then wrote off Carpenter. Yeah I mean it's probably not even Carpenter's tenth worst film E: That's unfair, there are like six movies in the conversation for worst Carpenter movie Name Change fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Oct 27, 2018 |
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Oct 27, 2018 18:50
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# 23 Haunting of Hill House (2018, TV Series) - Mike Flanagan is a talented director, no doubt about it, and I would venture to say he is one of the best active directors in the horror genre. What made this show work were the great performances by the leads - the character investment is on par with a show like Lost in my opinion - and Flanagan's steady direction. Emotional or scary moments could have easily been deflated by the wrong take or the wrong camera angle, but Flanagan knocked it out of park every time. The jump scares were relentless, excellently crafted and unpredictable. Dark, melancholic atmosphere pervades the series, and the horror of something gradually growing and taking over your life like a tumor is what defines this show - it is dreadful and even heartbreaking at times. Call me icy, but I was frustrated by the final 0.5% of the show. Way too sappy and corny. After all that, the arch of the family is: "Well, time to be a good person." It was akin to a Hallmark card or one of those Live. Laugh. Love. signs you see at Target. I have enough respect for Mike Flanagan to suspect the final 3 minutes was a Netflix boardroom decision, not his. All in all, this show is near perfect and the epilogue does not put enough of a dent in it. This is a slow burn family saga horror series, with perhaps a few too many emotional monologues, and it is drat fine entry in horror. And this is as someone who is not too fond of Netflix's content being churned out and falling by the wayside. 8/10
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Oct 27, 2018 19:19
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Guy Goodbody posted:I know I'm being unfair, but goddamn Jenifer was just so gross. Seems like you're picturing Suspiria which isn't really a giallo (but is freaking excellent). I wouldn't describe most gialli as dreamlike or especially colorful. They're basically slashers but with a focus on discovering the identity of the killer.
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Oct 27, 2018 19:26
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AMC is doing a horror movie marathon all weekend. Starting at 5PM, they're doing a marathon of Friday the 13th parts 1 - X and the reboot, and they've got more stuff before and after. Here's the Schedule If there are any other good movie marathons that you know about, please post them! I used to make a list of them for the OP but I wasn't sure if anyone used any of them.
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Oct 27, 2018 19:34
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The Exorcist (1973 / 2000 Extended Cut) [Blu-ray] Based on what one sees of the movie in popular culture, I didn't expect so much time spent with the priests and all the various people surrounding the possession at the center, but it was welcome and compelling. Was going to use this for the takes-place-on-Halloween watch because apparently it does, but gently caress if I could tell. https://i.imgur.com/WmIRVK0.gifv Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) [Netflix Blu-ray] Not great, but pretty fun. Disappointing to think back on the more grounded animals of the original and compare with the straight-up evil monster in this one, but it's where the series was going and works decently on its own terms. Better than Jurassic World, at least. https://i.imgur.com/lxZfx6u.gifv New (28): #1 The Terror (2018), #6 Mandy (2018), #7 Dead Alive (1992), #8 Would You Rather (2012), #9 1922 (2017), #10 Infinity Chamber (2017), #11 Venom (2018), #12 Dagon (2001), #13 Demonic Toys (1992), #14 Murder Party (2007), #16 Godzilla (1954), #17 The Vault (2017), #18 Cargo (2017), #19 Berlin Syndrome (2017), #22 Dawn of the Dead (1978), #26 Seven in Heaven (2018), #27 Happy Death Day (2017), #28 Into the Forest (2015), #29 Hardware (1990), #30 Prodigy (2018), #31 The Survivalist (2015), #32, Honeymoon (2014), #33 Child's Play (1988), #37 Halloween (2018), #38 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), #39 The Last House on the Left (1972), #40 The Exorcist (1973), #41 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) Rewatch (13): #2 The Cabin in the Woods (2011), #3 Gone Girl (2014), #4 Annihilation (2018), #5 Seven (1995), #15 A Quiet Place (2018), #20 Doom (2005), #21 Predator (1987), #23 Gremlins (1984), #24 The Andromeda Strain (1971), #25 Split (2016), #34 Dawn of the Dead (2004), #35 Alien vs Predator (2004), #36 Alien vs Predator: Requiem (2007) Personal Goal (5/13): Alien 3 (Assembly Cut), The Beyond, Beyond the Black Rainbow, The Brood, Fran Challenges (7/12): #7 [The World Is A Scary Place] Godzilla (1954), #3 [Hometown Horror] Dawn of the Dead (1978), #2 [Queer Horror] Into the Forest (2015), #8 [Once In A Lifetime] Dawn of the Dead (2004), #11 [Fear and Now] Halloween (2018), #12 [(Self-Described) Masters of Horror] Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), #6 [Video Nasties] The Last House on the Left (1972)
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Oct 27, 2018 19:39
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Day 27 - The Slit Mouthed Woman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZFTs8ujxrE There's a kind of recent urban legend in Japan where a woman wearing a surgical mask wanders the streets. She approaches children and asks "Am I pretty?" And if they say yes, she reveals her face where her mouth has been sliced apart extending it to her ears and cut the child's face to match. And like any creepy story that gets passed around, it's been turned into horror movies. This one is the 2007 film directed by Koji Shiraishi which was distributed in some regions as Carved. For this movie, the woman has appeared in a small town and is kidnapping a child a day. A teacher can hear her voice while no one else can, so he's tries to confront her before she can take the children. And of course, things get messy. The monster for this movie is pretty cool and one that's almost unheard of in US films (there is a Slit-Mouthed Woman in LA movie, though). The make up effects are well done, she's got a nasty streak where she attacks kids, and she's really creepy. I thought about posting a picture of the make up since they reveal it pretty early in the movie, but I decided to leave it off for those who might want to go in blind. I also liked that this movie moves fast. There's a lot of child abduction scenes that happens pretty quickly in the first half of the movie so there's no tip toeing around the monster. There is a real problem in the plot that it relies on some wordplay in Japanese that the US distributor didn't translate well. Without getting into technical details, the movie's premise is that people have misunderstood the question, "Am I pretty?" when it was actually the ghost telling people how she could be destroyed. The lines they wrote for the English translation, however, have absolutely no relation to each other so it's a major plot point that got eaten. Another problem with the plot is that it's pretty forgiving of child abuse. There's a lot of bad moms in this movie and unless they actually started taking knives to children the movie seems to play it off as no big deal. But setting that aside and just watching what is basically a Japanese slasher movie with less onscreen slashing (since they're not going to stab children for the camera), The Slit Mouthed Woman works pretty well.
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Oct 27, 2018 19:50
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17. Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil (2017) This was a fun surprise when it hit Netflix. A Basque folk tale with a badass blacksmith and a good old fashioned red devil with a pitchfork! 3/5 18. Apostle (2018) I saw a lot of mixed reviews for this, but I just thought this movie loving rules! It starts out pretty mysterious, but it gets pretty nuts. At first I kept forgetting that this was Gareth Evans, but there are some great sequences later on that use his style more. I loved the idea and imagery of the pagan goddess and Thomad becoming the new god 4.5/5 19. Tales of Halloween (2015) Nothing too interesting here, most of the segments are pretty forgettable. I think the story with the gang and the minotaur thing was my favorite. The real reason to watch this is because it's festive. Halloween is all over this movie. Would be good as background noise at a party or something though! 2.5/5 Next up: going through the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th movies!
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Oct 27, 2018 19:51
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42. Scarab 1983 | dir. Steven-Charles Jaffe | Scream Stream It's an overall incompetent production made worse by it being a boring slog. It has it's moments where it manages to entertain with it's weirdness--like a character casually walking by an explosion that could have killed the actor--but then it gets sleepy and needs to take a nap. Not Recommended 43. Street Trash 1987 | dir. James M. Muro | Scream Stream  Yeah, it's gross and offensive and polarizing, but I love this movie. It's insane, it's well shot, the acting is superb, the colors pop, and the aesthetic and setting are some of my favorites in film. Highly Recommended for fans of trash, Troma or John Waters. 44. A Page of Madness, aka 狂った一頁 1926 | dir. Teinosuke Kinugasa | FilmStruck  I can't think of a film from 1926 that looks better than this. I prefer my silent films to skip the dialogue, and this delivers a phantasmagorical barrage of images. It's a beautiful illustration of madness. Would pair well with Tetsuo The Iron Man, Vampyr and Eraserhead. Highly Recommended Movies Seen: Hell House, LLC | Dagon | The Bird With the Crystal Plumage | Critters 2 | Serial Mom | Monster Squad | The Neon Demon | Motel Hell | Vampyr | 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 | Return of the Living Dead | Masque of the Red Death | Cast a Deadly Spell | Clive Barker's Underworld | The 7th Victim | The Addiction | The Witchfinder General | Curse of Chucky | Puppetmaster | The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) | Alice Sweet Alice | Halloween ('18) | The Lords of Salem | The Changeling ('80) | Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('56) | Bruiser | Scarab | Street Trash | A Page of Madness Total: 44 Fran Challenges:
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Oct 27, 2018 20:00
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   #90. Grim (1996) This would be a pumpkin lower if not for the creature design. Fooling around with a Ouija board awakens a troll-looking creature in the catacombs under suburbia, spelunkers wind up in the caves, start to get killed off. There's some ill-defined magic at play, the script makes meager efforts at giving the characters something more than their faces to identify them, the sets are passable, and that's about the extent of what works. Possible stress-lines for interactions (e.g., marital tensions) don't amount to more than dressing, the creature doesn't kill anyone on-screen (that I can remember), and the story doesn't even manage an arc beyond 'the people get into a bad situation and eventually leave.' Oh, and the same guy who scored Night of the Demons scored this. / 10  #91. Poor Pretty Eddie, a.k.a., Heartbreak Motel, a.k.a., Redneck County, a.k.a., Massacre at Redneck County, a.k.a., Redneck County Rape, a.k.a., Black Vengeance (1975) This is probably going to end up being the top stand-out film from what I've watched this month. Deeply uncomfortable. The cast includes Ted Cassidy, Shelley Winters, Leslie Uggams, Slim Pickens, and Dub Taylor, plus Michael Christian (in his biggest role outside of Peyton Place). Uggams is a popular singer who passes through the wrong town on her vacation, with a broke-down car stranding her at the hotel of a has-been starlet (Winters), the caretaker (Cassidy), and the general-purpose worker (Christian, as the eponymous Eddie). As days go by with the car repair going unfinished, the hotel and surrounding town begin to suffocate Uggams' character. Despite the trashy titles, this was a surprisingly artful film. The acting is nuanced, with a lot of communication through the eyes from the main characters, and a significant sense of their backstory told just through the quirks of how they interact. Once the singer steals a car to try and get free, she comes into contact with the other townspeople, and things get really oppressive at that point. I'd love to see an essay by K. Waste examining everything that's going on in this film, and to have a restoration of it on BluRay. I don't think it would serve the movie well for me to try and pick through the events of the film as explanation of why I fond it so interesting, as it's one of those where the experience is much more than the sum of the individual occurrences. Also, that second poster (a DVD cover, presumably) has no resemblance to anything in the movie, which has that warm '70s look saturating its scenes. I can imagine Quentin Tarantino recommending this to unwary people when he was working in a video store. / 10   #92. The Brain that Wouldn't Die, a.k.a., The Head that Wouldn't Die (1962) Lived up to my expectations. A real sociopath of a main character, seeing people just as components for his experiments. I wish I'd had a copy of Frankenhooker around to do a double feature comparison. Kind of amusing to see the idea of organ and limb transplants treated as mad science. Shows some '50s horror structuring lingering on with how much of the film is driven by nothing more than conversation, but the dialogue and ideas are sharp enough to make that work for it. The conclusion was disappointing, especially after the strength of the second act, but it all averaged out to a clever film that rose above its low budget. / 10  #93. Horror House on Highway Five (1985) Low-budget and really weird. Involves the sons of a Nazi scientist, a killer in a Nixon mask, black magic, human sacrifice, model rockets as weapons, insects breeding in someone's brain, dancing as a means to escape imprisonment, and more. Weird and choppy editing and scene transitions don't keep the film from flowing along in wacked-out fashion. Trivia page on IMDb says this was filmed on weekends, which makes a lot of sense looking at the end result. Apparently Vinegar Syndrome put out a BluRay restoration, I might have to pick that up at some point. No idea what I can say to recommend this movie to people while referencing things that actually happen in it, but if skeezy low-budget horror with a sense of humor that goes beyond late-Troma 'haha, we don't have any money for this, so here's some tits' appeals to you, or you want to see a bonkers independent slasher with sub-local-theater acting, this will meet your criteria. / 10
Darthemed fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Oct 27, 2018 |
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Oct 27, 2018 20:06
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Fran Challenge #12 so called masters of horror 36- Wicker Man Seemed like a good opportunity to get around to seeing this one. The world’s most uptight policeman goes to pagan island to look into a disappearance. I knew the ending going into this, and I think that diminished some of my enjoyment, but Lee is of course great, and I appreciate that while there is some mystery there, the island is pretty up front about how loving weird it is right away. The extended musical numbers were an odd choice, but it works to show the “otherness” of the islanders and how different they are from the cop. I don’t know that it quite lived up to the hype for me, but worth a watch for sure
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Oct 27, 2018 20:09
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Franchescanado posted:
I was debating hard on this one. Originally I was gonna go with Deathdream, but I started thinking about Zombie Holocaust and remembered that 1, I own it on DVD and 2, I've only seen it once over a decade ago in a drunken late night stupor and I remember absolutely nothing about it. Perfect candidate for a rewatch. 34. Zombie Holocaust, aka Dr. Butcher M.D., aka Zombi Holocaust, aka Island of the Last Zombies, aka Medical Deviate, aka Zombie Inferno, aka Zombie Death Cult, aka Zombie 3, aka Zombies Cannibal Ferox (1980, Marino Girolami (credited as Frank Martin)) (rewatch) Source: DVD (owned) Phew.  First off, the title of this movie should NOT be Dr. Butcher, M.D. (which was one of its USA alternate titles), because the doctor being the antagonist is essentially a plot twist that occurs very late in the film. And truthfully Zombie Holocaust isn't a very fitting title either. The movie should be called Cannibals vs. Zombies since it's basically a cannibal movie with zombies thrown in for good measure. And they do at one point fight each other. It's a mishmash of Cannibal Holocaust and Fulci's Zombie, with a much stronger emphasis on the former. But bad titles aside, it's a pretty fun movie. It fits nicely alongside its Italian cannibal/zombie contemporaries. Although not as technically adept as some of those, it mostly hits all the right notes. The gore and makeup effects are hit and miss. Sometimes they look stellar, other times they look like the a-string makeup artists took the day off. The zombies themselves kinda look like they're wearing masks (and in one fiery scene the dude most definitely is wearing a mask). But when the gore works, it's deliciously gross. The shots of the cannibals tearing and munching are the standouts. The film's main drawbacks aren't necessarily anything it does poorly, but rather the stuff it fails to do. The music, for example, is completely unremarkable. And it's missing a great exciting set piece such as the zombies rising from the dead in Zombie. It's just a little bit forgettable, but nonetheless very watchable.   (3 autopsy saws out of 5) _____________________________________________ Total: 34 Watched: The Blob (4.5) | Mandy (5) | The Hands of Orloc (4) | Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (4.5) | Fright Night (3) | Black Magic Part II (4) | Body Melt (3.5) | Suspiria (5) | The Old Dark House (4.5) | The Nude Vampire (3.5) | The Thing From Another World (3) | Phantasm (4) | Basket Case 2 (3) | Murders in the Rue Morgue (2) | The Tenant (5) | The Howling (3) | Calvaire (3.5) | Hereditary (5) | Nothing Left to Fear (1) | The Black Cat (4) | The Killing of a Sacred Deer (4.5) | The Hills Have Eyes Part II (0.5) | Cannibal Holocaust (3) | Apostle (2) | Christine (3.5) | Winterbeast (4) | Terrified (3) | Halloween 2018 (4) | Revenge (1.5) | The Witch in the Window (3.5) | The Bloodstained Shadow (3) | Zombie (4.5) | The Gate (3.5) | Zombie Holocaust (3) Fran Challenges: Countries: USA (19) | Italy (6) | France (3) | Argentina (1) | Hong Kong (1) | Germany (1) | Belgium (1) | Australia (1) | Canada (1) Decades: 1920s (1) | 1930s (3) | 1950s (1) | 1970s (8) | 1980s (8) | 1990s (3) | 2000s (1) | 2010s (9)
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Oct 27, 2018 20:30
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Retro Futurist posted:Fran Challenge #12 so called masters of horror The musical numbers were traditional songs that took on a sinister air when you stopped to consider what tradition they came from. Which is one of the major themes of the movie, of course.
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Oct 27, 2018 20:40
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Franchescanado posted:We're gonna do this last one a little early, since this weekend might be everyone's Halloween celebration. Another challenge with so many strong contestants that I wish I could watch again for the first time. I was about to pick something obscure and go with Volumes Of Blood, but I went with another one I have been avoiding...  Clownhouse Let's get this out of the way, for those that don't know, this movie is infamous for being the film where, behind-the-scenes, the writer/ director Victor Salva (spoiler for crimes on children) filmed himself sexually molesting a 12-year old actor, leading to a raid which turned up the evidence as well as "commercial" (???) videos and photos of child pornography . Salva was convicted and sentenced to 3 years in prison, but got out after 15 months and went on to direct Powder for the Disney corporation , then on to make Jeepers Creepers and several other movies you have probably heard of. Yeah. Despite all this, I found a copy of this I could watch for free (because gently caress supporting this guy in any way), and intended to set all of that stuff to the side and watch this movie without any prejudice. And...... it's not bad. It's not groundbreaking, but it works very well as a time passer and feels a hell of a lot like a full length Are You Afraid Of The Dark? episode. In this movie, a young boy, would gets creeped out at just about anything, has a 'bad feeling' and nightmares about the circus and it's clowns coming to town. Things escalate and we end up with the boy, and his two older brothers (props to Sam Rockwell playing the oldest, mean, brother) being left home alone for the night as the clowns close in. Feeling like an episode of AYAotD had its negatives in that it felt like a good portion of the movie could have been trimmed from the middle and it probably would have improved it. I believe Salva thinks he's building suspense when it is really just kind of aggravating. There is no mystery that the boys are eventually going to encounter the clowns, so packing near-miss after near-miss is less than exciting. Some of the near-misses also get aggravating because the clowns are right there . Knowing what was happening behind the scenes also made watching the unnecessary shots of the boys in their underwear , or even bare-assed, quite revolting. Taken on it's own merit, this movie is not bad and working as a first film, would make something that the director could show investors and be confident that he would be heard. Probably best be enjoyed by a group of kids having a sleepover, where I imagine it could be creepy. / 5And with that my Fran Challenges are COMPLETE  #1: Love Something You Hate - Halloween 4 #2: Queer Horror - Fear No Evil #3: Hometown Horror - The Wednesday Children #4: Worst of the Best / Best of the Worst - Deadly Friend #5: Birth of Horror - Swamp Thing #6: Video Nasties - The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue #7: The World Is A Scary Place - Terrified #8: Once In A Lifetime - Magic #9: Stranger Danger - Mute Witness #10: Fear and Now - The Witch In The Window #11: Dead & Buried - The Penalty #12: (Self-Described) Masters of Horror - Tales Of Halloween #13 - Film That Takes Place During Halloween - Clownhouse These were all first time watches for me, and the one I most enjoyed was The Witch In The Window. Any other time I would have given it to Tales of Halloween, it I went into Witch blind and became engrossed by it. The loser of the list ; Terrified . There were movies made a lot worse, and just overall worse movies, but Terrified had this hype that came with it (thanks to Shudder mainly) that made it a disappointment when it was a total flop. I loved these challenges, they gave me the motivation to watch some movies that have been setting on my watchlist a long time. I hope we see a return next year, as I think you dig deeper for themes we might discover some gems. Thanks Fran
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Oct 27, 2018 22:33
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Friday night I hosted another movie night, these were all rewatches for me, so don’t count towards my challenge: Tales From The Crypt Presents: Demon Knight - still solid Mandy - A rewatch from last week, lost a touch of its shine but still bonkers Train To Busan - Still amazing.  Fran Challenge #12: Staff Pick 30. Cemetery Man (1994) What a bizarre film - it starts weird and gets weirder. It felt to me like they had two ideas for what they wanted to do with the setup, and couldn’t decide which two to go with - weird love interest, or man losing his mind. So they jammed them both into one movie. But you know what? It worked out just fine. Full of bizarre and funny set pieces, good amounts of gore (and gory make out sessions), and a memorable performance from Rupert Everett. Origami Dali said it was beautiful and absurd, and I can’t argue with that. I liked it and will definitely be seeing it again.  Fran Challenge #4: Best of the Worst/Worst of the Best 31. Sanctimony (2000) For this challenge, many took the route of taking Carpenter or Argento and watching their (arguably) worst movies. I went the other route, because I hate myself. I hopped on letterboxd, looked up movies directed by Uwe Boll, and watched the highest rated movie that was both horror and that I could get my hands on. Sanctimony clocked in at a 2.7 rating, and so, this was it. Some lucky sap no longer has this in their DVD collection. While I’m fairly certain it wasn’t meant to be, this worked well as a pitch black comedy spoof of both general serial killer procedurals like Seven, and the movie American Psycho. At least, that’s how I’m justifying an hour and a half of my life spent watching this garbage. And now my personal challenge is complete - 31 new-to-me movies have been watched! I'll still be doing the remaining Fran challenges, for sure. Watched List (31): Savageland, Ghostbusters (2016), Creep, Vampyr, Hereditary, Frontier(s), Butterfly Effect 3, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Tenant, The Screaming Skull, Hell House LLC, Ringu 0, Cat People, Banshee Chapter, Critters 2, The Endless, The Witch Who Came From The Sea, Behind the Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon, The Old Dark House, Cold Moon, Rec 2, Phenomena, Mandy, It (2017), Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, Nightmare City, The Ghost Of Frankenstein, The Phantom Of The Opera, The Hidden, Cemetery Man, Sanctimony Fran Challenges Fulfilled(11): #1 Love Something You Hate: Only Lovers Left Alive, #2 Queer Horror: The Old Dark House, #3 Hometown Horror: Butterfly Effect 3, #4 Best Of The Worst: Sanctimony (Uwe Boll), #5 Birth Of Horror: The Tenant, #6 Video Nasties: The Witch Who Came From The Sea, #7 The World Is A Scary Place: Ringu 0, #9 Stranger Danger: The Hidden, #10 Fear And Now: Mandy, #11 Dead And Buried: The Ghost Of Frankenstein, #12 Staff Pick: Cemetery Man
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Oct 27, 2018 22:47
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18/31 - Halloween 2 (2009) There are some parts of this I really dug. Pretty much every scene with young Michael and Michaels mom are cool as heck. Loomis openly being a complete piece of poo poo was a nice change. But I have to disagree with the people who think Michael being huge is scarier. Maybe he’s just too big? I think it’s perfect for what Rob Zombie is trying to accomplish as it fits with the sheer brutality but for my money I’ll take the average sized dude who hides behind sheets. 19/31 - Night of the Living Dead (1968) It’s incredible watching this right after Zombie’s H2. The entire movie is so eerie and creepy from the very first shot of the lonely road and I feel like it’s just as effective as H2 despite having none of the effects. I really love this movie and have since the first time I’d seen it. The ending shot is probably the greatest of all time in my opinion. TheBizzness fucked around with this message at 23:36 on Oct 27, 2018 |
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Oct 27, 2018 23:29
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 190- Cockneys vs Zombies 2012 - PRIME I knew I had to see this the moment I saw the trailer with the man with the walker being pursued by a shambling zombie in the slowest chase ever. Two brothers gather a crew to rob a bank so they can buy their granddad's retirement home and save it from being demolished. Robbery doesn't go as planned, naturally and as they escape, there's zombies in the streets. From the title you'd think this'd be average b-movie fare on par with entries like Bigfoot vs Zombies, but this film knocks it out of the park. The history major in me was positively giggly over the connections to the uncovered catacomb and the Great London Fire being a past method of dealing with the zombies before. It was wonderful seeing all the older actors still showing they're able to show how it's done. I've always liked Honor Blackman, if it's possible I like her even more after this movie. Lots of creativity in this film, like what do you do with a zombie you can't dispatch by a shot to the head? I can't recommend this movie enough for a watch or several watches. It's just that good. Franchescanado posted:
 191- WNUF Halloween Special 2013 - PRIME If ever there was a movie which made me so nostalgic for my younger days it's this one. Only missing my Jiffy Pop and a few slices of K-Mart's sausage pizza from the deli. Have to agree with Lurdiak on everything he said about this one. All it would take is including a commercial for Empire Carpets or Moo & Oink and if I missed the beginning station ID, it would take me a bit to catch on that this wasn't something taped off the TV that I somehow missed watching the first time around.
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Oct 28, 2018 00:24
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20/31 - Halloween (2018) I’m really kind of surprised by how positive the response to this has been. I found the first hour to be utterly boring and thought they gave away too much in the trailers. Stop reading now if you haven’t seen the movie. The scene in the bathroom, where Michael drops the teeth would have had so much more effect if I hadn’t seen it already. Same for Michael in the closet. I also thought Not Loomis’ heel turn was pretty choreographed. That said, I found the last half hour to be really good. Basically everything from the point where Laurie starts hunting Michael is loving awesome. All in all I would give this movie a B-. The last half hour gets an A+.
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Oct 28, 2018 00:40
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Franchescanado posted:
24.  Ginger Snaps UUUUUUUUGH... alright fine you fuckers, I watched it. I knew if I hung around CineD and specifically around the horror thread I'd be forced to watch this movie eventually. I put it off for so long because... well it's loving called "Ginger Snaps". Look at that poster. Every single promotional image for that movie looks like that. It just reeks of lovely direct-to-video horror, it looks like Twilight before Twilight existed. And it's really good. I mean it, I was surprised by how actually good it was after being told repeatedly that it was good. The two leads are fantastic, especially the one who plays Brigitte who coasts through the whole movie making one single face and it's perfect. There's even an early appearance by The Evil Preppy Guy from Tucker & Dale vs. Evil playing the exact same role over a decade earlier. The very obvious metaphor for puberty and menstruation in the form of lycanthropy is really cleverly done, and the creature effects are preeetty good. It finds a perfect balance of teen angst and genuine moments of horror, but sometimes leans heavier on the former. But that itself isn't bad, the relationship between Brigitte and Ginger is the focal point of the movie and it's handled with appropriate gravity as Brigitte watches her former best friend and sister turn into a total stranger and literal hormonal monster. I'd definitely recommend it if you like teen angsty drama with a touch of body horror and werewolves. Speaking of werewolves... 25. An American Werewolf in London I was planning on finally getting around to watching this tonight, which is why I tracked down Ginger Snaps to pair with it. Knock out a challenge and also see a classic movie I've been putting off. AWIL differs quite a bit from Ginger Snaps in how it treats lycanthropy. Here it's not a "disease", it's not a metaphor, it's just a nasty supernatural curse like the traditional myth. A pair of American backpackers cross by the wrong part of England and well, you can guess the rest. The movie's an interesting blend of humor and slow burn body horror. The affable David just refuses to believe his predicament until it's too late, costing the lives of a dozen Londoners along the way. The effects are really good, by now everybody's probably familiar with the first transformation sequence even if they haven't seen the movie. But even the werewolf puppet is decent in the late-movie rampage, and the gore effects are superb. My only complaint is that the movie leans maybe a little too heavily towards farce, like it gets silly in moments where I felt Landis should've kept it downbeat. Either that or he should've leaned into straight-up comedy for the entire thing and made it like, I don't know, Return of the Living Dead or something. It's caught somewhere in the middle though, and the humor is worth a smile or a chuckle but I think I'd have preferred a straight horror movie.
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Oct 28, 2018 00:48
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TheBizzness posted:18/31 - Halloween 2 (2009) We watched the first one the other day and at one point I did wonder aloud why the hell you'd let the unrepentant psychopath hit the gym equipment that damned much. Seems to fit the running Halloween theme of everyone making things much more difficult than they need to be. 37 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor I never got around to this, but it was on TV so figured we'd check it out and round off the trilogy. It's actually quite good! Still has a lot of the charm of the old movies, and I appreciate that they stayed entirely out of Egypt this time and did something new while still keeping the spirit. The design of the Emperor was really cool, and it features a sword fight between Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. Only real complaint here is that the CGI is still absolutely terrible, but unlike the the first two this one doesn't have the excuse of being made in the 90s. This came out the same year as Iron Man, no excuse for SyFy level work. Also they should have just written Evie out rather than recasting her, Maria Bello is a good actress but it was just very distracting
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Oct 28, 2018 00:56
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