|
What is there to really say about Dawn of the Dead other than it’s still loving phenomenal all these years later. Sure some of the zombie make up looks goofy, and the blood is hyper red looking, that doesn’t matter. Fantastic story that gives you everything you could ever want from a zombie movie. It does a great job at really shutting down every nerd going “but what if...” because they thought about everything when writing this thing. Like sure a helicopter is handy except you need fuel. Sure a character mentions going to an island and they are like “where the gently caress are you going to find an island?” I love this movie. 9/10. I am knocking one point off because they changed the ending. Dude should’ve shot himself, oh well. Because I have seen Dawn of the Dead I decided to watch a second film as well that I hadn’t seen. I watched I Walked With A Zombie in an effort to keep with a theme. Unfortunately this movie was garbage. It’s racist as gently caress and takes place on a Caribbean sugar plantation with slaves. The entire film is basically “black people are scary and crazy African religions are scary!” I don’t feel like I need to elaborate any further, I’m sure you can picture a film from the 1940s being racist as gently caress. That being said, there is one very cool scene where the slaves are practicing their voodoo religion in a religious ceremony and that was really cool. It was basically 5 uninterrupted minutes of black people getting to be genuine black people without any white characters on screen, and they were dancing and being extremely African. In the 1940s I’m sure this was done to strike fear into the hearts of their white audience, but today I see it as black actors getting to show off their skills without needing a white person on screen and that’s very cool. Ultimately the film is a romance story and the voodoo and zombies are almost an after thought. I Walked With A Zombie is essentially the first time a zombie was shown on film as a mindless walking dead. They are more Proto-Zombies than what we know as zombies today. The zombies in this film are more in line with voodoo and dark magic possessing (white) people. I see this more as a possession film than zombie film, as the people are not actually dead they only are temporarily dead while under the witch doctors influence, who turns out to be a white woman who is using voodoo to trick the native population into doing what she wants, which is taking her modern medicine (she’s a doctor) instead of the voodoo medicine. Really this film boils down to “black people are scary godless heathens who can’t even see the benefits of modern medicine and modern civilization” as its moral. I wouldn’t even bother watching this even if it is on some top classic horror lists. The only horrifying this about this are the racist turds who made it. A romance film sold as a horror film to fill the seats on top of it all. 1/5.
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 18:18
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 16:59 |
|
|
Windows 98 posted:I watched I Walked With A Zombie in an effort to keep with a theme. Unfortunately this movie was garbage. It’s racist as gently caress and takes place on a Caribbean sugar plantation with slaves. The entire film is basically “black people are scary and crazy African religions are scary!” I don’t feel like I need to elaborate any further, I’m sure you can picture a film from the 1940s being racist as gently caress. That being said, there is one very cool scene where the slaves are practicing their voodoo religion in a religious ceremony and that was really cool. It was basically 5 uninterrupted minutes of black people getting to be genuine black people without any white characters on screen, and they were dancing and being extremely African. In the 1940s I’m sure this was done to strike fear into the hearts of their white audience, but today I see it as black actors getting to show off their skills without needing a white person on screen and that’s very cool. Ultimately the film is a romance story and the voodoo and zombies are almost an after thought. I'm gonna politely disagree with your conclusion on the subtext. The film is indicting while colonialism of cultures and native populations of the West Indies. As you mentioned, a white woman is clearly manipulating and controlling the indigenous people for her selfish gain, and in turn she gets destroyed by it. Tourneur wasn't a racist, he was trying to point out that the white people are clearly creating the means of their own destruction while destroying the indigenous people as well. The way that point is explored may not have aged well 70+ years later, but it was a risque and progressive message for the time. I did a big write-up about the film in 2017's October challenge, and I think Basebf555 (or maybe several goons?) did one in last year's challenge thread as well, which went more in-depth about that stuff. Here's a cool essay about the portrayal of racism in early zombie films, which specifically compares White Zombie to I Walked With A Zombie. Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Jan 8, 2019 |
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 18:35
|
|
|
I've never seen I Walked With A Zombie, so it wasn't my write-up. I'd have included that in my list but I haven't seen it available on any of the streaming services I use.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 19:44
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:I've never seen I Walked With A Zombie, so it wasn't my write-up. I'd have included that in my list but I haven't seen it available on any of the streaming services I use. Maybe it was MacheteZombie, or Neo Rasa then. I just remember it was a good write-up from a good poster. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 19:52
|
|
|
Today's horror essential is a double feature. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkSbwiKP3mo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYD3-pIF9jQ Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein Both these films are timeless classics, and at only around 70 minutes each, there's no reason not to watch both. Frakenstein is a work that captivated readers when the book came out and defined both the Classic Romantic Anti-Hero and Gothic Horror. James Whales' film adaptation had just as profound an effect on viewers in 1931, as Karloff's creature haunted the nightmares of many. Though the film takes many liberties from the original work, it captures the tragic horror of Frankenstein's mad obsession and the blighted unlife of his creation. Bride of Frankenstein continues the saga of this unnatural family and showcases impressive special effects and unbridled creativity, while still remaining true to the spirit of Mary Shelley's work. These movies are nearly a century old, but they're still just as great today as they were in the 30s. Frankenstein is available for streaming on iTunes and the Playstation store Bride is available for streaming on iTunes, Youtube, Google Play and the Playstation store Lurdiak fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Jan 8, 2019 |
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 20:05
|
|
|
670 minutes? A breeze!
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 20:07
|
|
|
I want to watch Lurdiaks version if Frankenstein.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 20:09
|
|
|
It was a typo!
|
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 20:13
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:I'm gonna politely disagree with your conclusion on the subtext. The film is indicting while colonialism of cultures and native populations of the West Indies. As you mentioned, a white woman is clearly manipulating and controlling the indigenous people for her selfish gain, and in turn she gets destroyed by it. Tourneur wasn't a racist, he was trying to point out that the white people are clearly creating the means of their own destruction while destroying the indigenous people as well. The way that point is explored may not have aged well 70+ years later, but it was a risque and progressive message for the time. Tourneur is a fascinating director and yeah, I Walked with a Zombie is absolutely an indictment of colonialism, not an endorsement. Talking about the extended sequence where we see the Caribbean natives getting to just exist in their own culture (not African) is in itself part of the point, that they have this rich culture that while alien to us is nevertheless legitimate and being destroyed by the invasion of white settlers. The zombie mythos here is as much a metaphor for slavery and capitalism as anything else.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 20:17
|
|
|
TrixRabbi posted:Tourneur is a fascinating director and yeah, I Walked with a Zombie is absolutely an indictment of colonialism, not an endorsement. Talking about the extended sequence where we see the Caribbean natives getting to just exist in their own culture (not African) is in itself part of the point, that they have this rich culture that while alien to us is nevertheless legitimate and being destroyed by the invasion of white settlers. The zombie mythos here is as much a metaphor for slavery and capitalism as anything else. Not to nitpick but the Carribean slave labor were brought from Africa, and their religions are still African. It wasn't until much later in the slave trade, post 1808, where they made importing new slaves illegal. This was the birth of "paternalism" where slave masters started to convince the slaves they were a part of their family unit, and would often coax them with rewards in an effort to get them to work better. They also allowed them to participate in Sunday church masses on their own, but still required them to convert to Christianity. This was because it made life easier for the masters to claimed they owned the children the slaves gave birth to. While in 1940 it may have been an indictment of colonialism, in 2019 it doesn't translate that way for me. It seems like they are noting exploitation exists, but they themselves are using them to exploit movie goers into the seats. The average person in 1940 held racist beliefs and I can't see the audience picking up on those nuances, hell I barely did. I understand where you are coming from and don't want this to derail into a discussion about slavery. I just did not enjoy it. I may be sensitive do to the era I am from and the current political climate. It just does not feel like the director respects slave culture to any degree, especially because the slave characters are a hair away from being minstrel gimmicks in personality and dialogue in the film
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 21:10
|
|
|
Is there a post or a doc or anything that lists out what all of the films that have been assigned already were, so if people want to play catch-up they can quickly see where they left off? Or is this more of a free-form thing, not a "everyone watch this one movie today together" thing?
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:18
|
|
|
Class3KillStorm posted:Is there a post or a doc or anything that lists out what all of the films that have been assigned already were, so if people want to play catch-up they can quickly see where they left off? Or is this more of a free-form thing, not a "everyone watch this one movie today together" thing? You're definitely allowed to catch up and watch movies at your own pace throughout the month. So far we've had: The Exorcist The Birds Audition Sleepaway Camp Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer Let the Right One In Dawn of the Dead Frankenstein +Bride
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:20
|
|
|
Lurdiak posted:Frankenstein is available for streaming on iTunes and the Playstation store Both films are available on Starz if you have it. I've seen Frankenstein but I had Bride pegged for October when I finish off my years. I'm unsure about whether I want to watch films from that time period and risk making October harder, but leaning towards just gambling that I'll be able to find another 1935 movie without too much trouble. We'll see.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:20
|
|
|
STAC Goat posted:Both films are available on Starz if you have it. Any one of us could get hit by a bus crossing the street tomorrow. Watch Bride of Frankenstein.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:22
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:Any one of us could get hit by a bus crossing the street tomorrow. Watch Bride of Frankenstein. I mean, I was leaning towards "it could get pulled off the streaming service by October." But yeah, your version works too.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:23
|
|
|
STAC Goat posted:Both films are available on Starz if you have it. The Black Room is a good one from 1935 and it is streaming on Prime (for the moment at least).
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:25
|
|
|
Several other 1935 horror films: Werewolf of London The Raven Mark of the Vampire Mad Love
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:28
|
|
|
STAC Goat posted:I mean, I was leaning towards "it could get pulled off the streaming service by October." But yeah, your version works too. Bride of Frankenstein is worth whatever price you might need to pay to see it, but you can't pay any price if you're DEAD.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:28
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:Bride of Frankenstein is worth whatever price you might need to pay to see it, but you can't pay any price if you're DEAD. Joke's on you, Heaven is just an old movie theater showing Bride of Frankenstein forever for free.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:33
|
|
|
gey muckle mowser posted:The Black Room is a good one from 1935 and it is streaming on Prime (for the moment at least). Franchescanado posted:Several other 1935 horror films: Yeah, I'm sure there's tons of good options. I'm not actually nervous about it and its a problem for 10 months from now. I've not had a lot of trouble finding movies for the gimmick and I have no idea if stuff from the 30s will be easier because of copyright laws or harder because of just modern availability. We'll see. I'm definitely gonna watch Bride tonight or tomorrow. Basebf effectively put the fear of death in me.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2019 22:34
|
|
|
If you have Amazon prime you can sign up for Starz for a week for free watch them then unsubscribe.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2019 01:18
|
|
|
drat, the Frankenstein movies aren't actually available on my Starz because they're behind some mysterious extra pay window that it won't actually even tell me how to open. Its really weird.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2019 05:47
|
|
|
Frankenstein was still good even though I have seen it. I didn’t have time to watch a second New To Me films so I will have to do two today. I forgot how big of a bitch Dr Frankenstein is after the monster comes back to the castle, dude freaks out. Maybe don’t play god! I hadn’t watched it in a bit so it was nice to catch up on a lot of the dialogue I forgot about.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2019 17:53
|
|
|
Here is today's Horror Essential: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyRUijyrXr4&t=7s The Burbs Joe Dante's second salvo in his war on suburbia, The Burbs straddles the line between a typical 80s quirky comedy (the casting of Tom Hanks is no accident) and weird, subversive horror and social commentary. Though its premise is rather simple, the director's creativity is on full display here in this oft-overlooked masterpiece. Available to stream on Amazon, Hulu, Youtube, iTunes, Google Video, and Vudu
|
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2019 18:08
|
|
|
Yes! Looking forward to this one, I meant to watch it this past October.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2019 18:14
|
|
|
Class3KillStorm posted:Is there a post or a doc or anything that lists out what all of the films that have been assigned already were, so if people want to play catch-up they can quickly see where they left off? Or is this more of a free-form thing, not a "everyone watch this one movie today together" thing? FWIW, I've been tracking them in this list, I just made it public https://www.letterboxd.com/smitster/list/horror-thread-january-horror-essentials-2019/ I'll try and keep it up to date daily, but sometimes I may slip.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2019 19:23
|
|
|
Is Discord broken for anyone else? Tested on two devices and two different networks, and it won’t connect, and have confirmed that both devices have functioning internet connectivity
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2019 21:05
|
|
|
I can't connect right now from my work laptop, and I was on earlier in the day.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2019 21:14
|
|
|
I saw The Burbs during the last horror challenge and really wouldn't count it as a horror essential. It's a perfectly fine and enjoyable comedy with a charismatic cast and capable director but the horror is toothless and the satire severely undercut by the cowardly ending.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 01:59
|
|
|
married but discreet posted:I saw The Burbs during the last horror challenge and really wouldn't count it as a horror essential. It's a perfectly fine and enjoyable comedy with a charismatic cast and capable director but the horror is toothless and the satire severely undercut by the cowardly ending. Probably Lurdiak throwing me a bone because nothing from my list had been selected yet. But...  I really enjoyed The Burbs! True, it's more thriller than horror if you just read a plot synopsis, but I think Dante brings enough spooky atmosphere to the movie to tip it into horror territory. It's definitely a horror comedy though, and the cast is excellent for that. Hanks is predictably great(he's so perfect for roles like this), but I had a few pleasant surprises when I saw that Bruce Dern and Carrie Fisher were in the movie. The resolution is pretty predictable, I'll give you that, but I think as an overall package it was too funny and entertaining for me to care.  Watched: Night of the Demons, Angst, The Burbs
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 02:44
|
|
|
 The 'Burbs is a great film. It hits that weird sort of aesthetic of the late 80s to the early 90s of throwback 1950s suburbia that felt like it was all over the place at the time. Much of the movie was improvised due to the writers' strike preventing them from editing the script while filming, with Tom Hanks especially pulling off some incredible slapstick and one-liners as they go on. That being said, I'm hesitant to really put this movie in the "horror" category. The horror elements are very limited and almost exclusively played for comedy. The movie overall comes off as a straight black comedy,.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 05:10
|
|
|
chitoryu12 posted:That being said, I'm hesitant to really put this movie in the "horror" category. The horror elements are very limited and almost exclusively played for comedy. The movie overall comes off as a straight black comedy,. So it's a Joe Dante movie, then.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 13:29
|
|
|
The 'Burbs is the first of these films that I haven't seen before, so I watched it last night. I enjoyed it, the tone is bizarre but I expected that becauseFranchescanado posted:it's a Joe Dante movie  There are a lot of over the top funny moments like that where it feels really cartoonish, in a good way.I'd agree that it isn't quite a horror movie, but it's horror-adjacent and tonally is similar to Dante's actual horror films so that's close enough for me. It really made me want to watch Gremlins 2 again. Also I totally thought Henry Gibson was Udo Kier for at least 5 minutes. gey muckle mowser fucked around with this message at 16:47 on Jan 10, 2019 |
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 16:05
|
|
|
The zoom on the femur is definitely the highlight of the film. Yeah, don't know that I'd call it an "essential" but it's still a blast and worth watching. If I was choosing a Joe Dante pick though for this particular challenge I'd have gone with Gremlins 2 or maybe even The Howling.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 16:43
|
|
|
TrixRabbi posted:The zoom on the femur is definitely the highlight of the film. It reminds me of the 2017 IT movie where they find Ben's New Kids on the Block poster and it suddenly plays part of "Hangin' Tough" while rapidly cutting to the poster. It's just so out of left field.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 16:46
|
|
|
The Burbs was a fun time. This is an ideal role for Tom Hanks, and Bruce Dern was good as the weird ex-military guy with the Patton theme following him. Holds up a lot better than most 80’s comedies I’ve seen.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 17:14
|
|
|
The Burbs was good. I’m glad I finally saw it, it’s been on my list for quite some time because I like Tom Hanks. I feel like I did three double takes during this. Was that Carrie Fisher? Was that Corey Feldman? Was that the grandpa from Luck if the Irish? Of course it was them! I will concur that it’s more horror adjacent than outright horror. But if we start being nit picky like that soon we will be saying The Addams Family and Elvira are not horror either. The Stepford Wives I watched earlier in the month would’ve been perfect to double feature with this (or The Watch, which is not horror but would work). I liked the movie but I wasn’t in love with it. Really the best part of the film was that goofy zooming in, and Corey Feldman’s leather jacket. 3/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 17:45
|
|
|
I feel like Feldman was playing like some trickster god in this movie actually. He seemed like he always knew what was gonna happen in advance and was kinda just enjoying the proceedings in that way that old gods are often portrayed. Plus he gets the fourth wall breaking moment at the end.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 17:53
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:I feel like Feldman was playing like some trickster god in this movie actually. He seemed like he always knew what was gonna happen in advance and was kinda just enjoying the proceedings in that way that old gods are often portrayed. Plus he gets the fourth wall breaking moment at the end. It's like the whole street is a goofy sitcom and he and his friends are the audience.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 18:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 16:59 |
|
|
For those of you who enjoyed The Burbs, I'd say that Joe Dante's short-lived children's television series, Eerie Indiana, continues a lot of the themes from the film, just from the perspective of an alienated child instead of an overworked adult. Today's horror essential: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRVH3z_erjA An American Werewolf in London John Landis is a piece of poo poo who got children killed and fathered a date rapist. However, before that, he also directed one of the most important horror movies of all time, and possibly the absolute best werewolf film ever made. Merging truly horrifying practical effects, moody cinematography, and strangely fitting comic relief, an American Werewolf in London is the werewolf movie by which all others are judged. The famous transformation scene remains the single best werewolf transformation scenes ever filmed, but this movie is no one-trick pony, and remains engaging throughout. Watch this film and find out why Landis got the gig for the Thriller video.
|
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2019 19:50
|
|