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4. Happy Death Day (2017): I had a lot of fun watching this. You’d expect a Groundhog Day-style movie to be stale at this point, and it does indulge in a few of the cliches of the genre, but it felt fresh. Loses points for having a character mention Groundhog Day towards the end.
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Oct 4, 2019 04:16
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Bruteman posted:I just wanted to let you know that I watched Keep My Grave Open aka The House Where Hell Froze Over as part of my challenge log (will write it up later) - per IMDB S.F. Brownrigg directed that four years after Don't Look in the Basement (which is on my list to watch in two weeks or so) and if what I saw was any indication, uh, he didn't improve. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt so much... STAC Goat posted:Oujia: Origin of Evil. Its a Mike Flanagan film so like, it depends on if you dig his style or not. But I hated the first one and avoided the second one for a long time but its a pretty decent ghost story. That one's on my list for later this month and I was thinking of burning it in an early slot because I was sure it was going to be total garbage. Nice to know that it might be interesting. Random Stranger fucked around with this message at 04:38 on Oct 4, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 04:29
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 Mandy, 2018 Everyone was all about this movie last year. I can see why. This is some serious tripped up stuff. The visuals are fantastic and the plot beyond deranged. This is more of a straight up fantasy than anything horror, yet there's no doubt this belongs in the horror genre. Nicolas Cage is known as this actor that takes any role in any poo poo movie to pay for his massive debts and tax gently caress ups, and often his performance is crap. Not in this movie. It's amazing. I haven't even touched on the plot, and I don't need to. It's just one of those movies you should watch drunk or drugged up, and just have a trip that goes from weird to loving crazy. Hot Dog Day #89 fucked around with this message at 08:15 on Oct 4, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 04:32
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6. Joker (2019) - I'm not sure how I feel about counting thrillers, and even less sure about comic book movies, but I wouldn't give someone poo poo for claiming Spawn and this is both less comic booky and more likely to actually scare someone so whatever. If like me you have managed to avoid any trailers or conversation about this movie, the short version is that it's sort of an origin story for The Joker. Which is kind of funny right off the bat since one of his defining traits is that he has like fifty different origins, they're all fake, and nobody cares. This becomes an even better joke since so much of the movie is concerned with both individual people and society collectively ignoring the poor and the mentally ill. So it's bleak, it works pretty well as a character study (Joaquin Phoenix is a ton of fun to watch here), and most importantly for a horror movie it's really really funny in ways that most people probably won't appreciate. Went in with no expectations and it vastly exceeded all of them.
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Oct 4, 2019 04:56
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 #31) Camp Blood 2 (2000), a.k.a., Camp Blood 2 - The Revenge Watched the first one in this series last month. This one is slightly better, just by virtue of having a plot more complicated than 'Teens go in woods and get killed.' In this one, released the same year as the first, a low-budget film-maker wants to make a movie about the events of the first film, and gets the final girl from it released from mental care in order to serve as advisor. But then people start getting killed again, and even though we're shown very clearly early on that it's not the survivor doing the killing, the attempt at tension is built around the possibility that it is. poo poo like this gives SOV horror a bad name. Compared to something like Tales from the Quadead Zone, Naked Fear, or Redneck Zombies, it really suffers. I have no doubt that (some of) the actors were putting in real effort, but the script is painfully predictable, there's very little creativity to be had, and the villain sucks. It's just someone in a Wal-Mart-grade clown mask, without even bothering to do make-up for them. The make-up on the gore is poor, and they reuse the 'blood flowing downstream from the victim' shot from the opening of the first. I'd also estimate that there's at least ten minutes which are footage replayed from the first movie, and some scenes get replayed multiple times. There's seven more sequels after this one, and that may be the scariest part of this.  rating: 3/10
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Oct 4, 2019 05:25
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#7: Daughters of Darkness (1971) A moody little lesbian vampire love story revolving around the worst husband in the world, his brand new wife, and an immortal Hungarian Countess and her protege. This film is very nice to look at, and the entire thing has an eerie, dreamlike quality to it. It's also a very slowly paced movie. As someone who isn't particularly interested in vampires, the pacing did wear on me a bit, but I think in this case that's more my problem than the movie's problem. There are a lot of great shots of people's faces, and a huge amount of the storytelling is done visually rather than through dialogue. The story itself is very neat, the characters all have interesting dynamics with each other, and in general I just really loved the progression of the newlyweds' involvement with the Countess. I don't have a lot to write about this one but I'd recommend it if you're in the mood for some melancholy vampire seduction. Watched (7/31): #1 Gozu (2003), #2 Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967), #3 Viy (1967), #4 Mondo Cane (1962), #5 Dark Water (2002), #6 Blood and Black Lace (1964), #7 Daughters of Darkness (1971) Challenges (1/1):
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Oct 4, 2019 05:47
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4 of 31: 28 Days Later Just imagine a Pepsi in the bag. I couldn't find my Big Ben keychain. Purchased: I didn't buy this movie. My wife owned it when she moved in with me 10 years ago. Status: Another of my wife's favorites that I've not seen. Well-loved condition. 28 Days Later is essentially UK Dawn/Day of the Dead. A lot of lingering, still shots. A heavy focus on the characters rather than the zombies (before everything goes to poo poo). I remember the marketing for this movie saying it revolutionized the zombie genre and other than making the zombies fast it really is just a continuation of the early Romero formula. That being said I enjoyed the gently caress out of it. It really conveys a sense of emptiness that I can appreciate. Big alone mood. 4 "My wife won't stop talking about Cillian Murphy's dong" out of 5 Untrustable fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Oct 4, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 05:51
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3. Return of the Living Dead A classic blend of horror and pitch-black comedy. It's got such a wonderfully bizarre structure- there are familiar horror movie elements everywhere but the movie just chops them up into a whirlwind of people running and screaming. After a time it abandons any real notion of plot progression, things are just getting more and more hosed up and nothing will stop any of it. Watching this again I noticed how they specifically set up scenes to establish the film's zombies as breaking established conventions- they're smart, they're fast, they're basically indestructible- even clarifying for the sake of horror fans that they don't eat people, they eat brains! The real star of this is the soundtrack, a brilliant mix of hard rock, punk, even surf music/rockabilly, all of which adds to the feel that this is just a ghoulish party, enjoy the death and destruction. (And the main orchestral/synth theme is also pretty drat good.) Both unbelievably dark and a fun romp. RIP James Karen. "It's not a bad question, Bert!"
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Oct 4, 2019 05:52
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Irony.or.Death posted:6. Joker (2019) - I'm not sure how I feel about counting thrillers, and even less sure about comic book movies, but I wouldn't give someone poo poo for claiming Spawn and this is both less comic booky and more likely to actually scare someone so whatever. If like me you have managed to avoid any trailers or conversation about this movie, the short version is that it's sort of an origin story for The Joker. Which is kind of funny right off the bat since one of his defining traits is that he has like fifty different origins, they're all fake, and nobody cares. This becomes an even better joke since so much of the movie is concerned with both individual people and society collectively ignoring the poor and the mentally ill. I can't wait to see this. From your first take and what I've heard elsewhere, it's going to be something that I will very much enjoy. Which is funny because when they first announced it I thought it was a horrible idea, then they cast Joaquin Phoenix. Anyway, on to the next title in my first-watch marathon... #7: Demon Knight (1995)  This. Movie. Rocks. First off, I didn't even know this was a Tales from the Crypt joint. I probably did on some level (I've heard it referenced before and watched the poo poo out of TFTC when I was way too young to do so) but the two things never clicked for me. So when I was greeted by the Crypt Keeper in the opening complete with an amazingly meta "on set" introduction I knew I was in for a treat. The cast in this thing is STACKED, Jesus Christ. It has everything; humor, horror, gore, great performances, interesting lore, hilarious amounts of gratuitous nudity, and amazing creature effects. Billy Zane is basically the best on-screen version of Randall Flagg from "The Stand" that has yet to be seen on screen (until Alexander Skarsgarde takes a crack at it next year, for which I'm pumped) and Jada Pinkett (not a Smith yet) delivers what is easily my favorite performance I've ever seen from her. Basically it's a chase story where Brayker (played by the always excellent William Sadler of "Shawshank Redemption" fame) is trying to keep an ornate relic key filled with the blood of Jesus and other holy men tasked with its protection away from the demonic and charismatic Billy Zane. They end up at a weird "off the books" motel in the middle of nowhere, filled with a crazy cast of characters that includes Thomas Haden Church, CCH Pounder and hilarious character actor Dick Miller, and demonic shenanigans ensue as they try to survive the night. I loving loved this movie, and I'm so glad I finally gave it a watch. 4.5/5 Watched: Midsommar; One Cut of the Dead; Apostle; Wolf Creek; Lake Mungo; Viy (Challenge #1); Demon Knight Total: 7 T3hRen3gade fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Oct 4, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 06:15
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T3hRen3gade posted:Billy Zane is basically the best on-screen version of Randall Flagg from "The Stand" that has yet to be seen on screen (until Alexander Skarsgarde takes a crack at it next year, for which I'm pumped)
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Oct 4, 2019 07:18
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5 of 31: 28 Weeks Later Purchased: At a Blockbuster going out of business sale in 2011. Status: Blockbuster closeout $3.99 pre-viewed. Probably seen a lot of rentals in it's time. 28 Weeks Later kinda gave me a Jurassic World feel. "Well 2 "EXPLOSIONS" out of 5
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Oct 4, 2019 07:35
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3. Body Melt (1994) This was an absolute blast. I could have possibly been not paying enough attention, but it did feel a little disjointed and hard to follow exactly. But that doesn't matter whatsoever. The sheer amount of goop and body horror imagery is enough of a reason to watch this. It's just shy of Dead Alive levels of goop. I really enjoyed the small homages to The Thing as well. All the practical effects were amazing. The acting was pretty spot on as well. I recommend anyone who loves Cronenberg like films to check this out. It will be an A+ in your book. I am really glad I put this on my list. Nothing about is particularly "scary", but it sure is disgusting. 4/5 Watched: 1. Antropophagus | 2. Shogun's Sadism | 3. Body Melt
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Oct 4, 2019 08:10
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T3hRen3gade posted:I can't wait to see this. From your first take and what I've heard elsewhere, it's going to be something that I will very much enjoy. Which is funny because when they first announced it I thought it was a horrible idea, then they cast Joaquin Phoenix. Yeah, if you've got any interest at all I suspect you'll love it. 7. Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil (2017) - I normally prefer less humanising of my devils, but if you're in the mood for a red guy with a pitchfork this is 100% the movie to watch. Delivers way more than I was hoping for on many fronts, although at the same time my primary criticism is that it was often too restrained. There's one pivotal scene in particular where it looks like things are about to get wild in six different ways at the same time, but instead events get resolved sequentially - certainly easier to film the way it went down, but I still wish they'd swung for the fences. The movie made it up to me like 30 seconds later with some great devil action, though. Absolutely worth your time.
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Oct 4, 2019 08:11
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22. The Field Guide To Evil (2018) Watched On: Hulu  An anthology seemed like the perfect thing to pass time at the office. The stories are each based on folklore from around the world so I'm sure at the very least I might learn something new. I was a bit surprised how gruesome the movie was. Blood drinking, flesh eating, heads being crushed by rocks and as a warning, an animal death that's fairly brutal. Not all the effects are winners though, some of the costumes are almost hilarious. Most of the stories though do a good job of building tension and dread. I was pleasantly surprised over all. 23. Body Bags (1993) Watched On: Shudder  Yeah I couldn't help myself but to go for this one after some of the other movies I'd planned to watch just disappeared from streaming today. WIthout a doubt one of my favorite anthologies and I really do love the wraparound story. I find all the stories to be pretty drat good, I think I'm especially a fan of The Eye this go around. I'm also a sucker for the all the cameos, Wes Craven is only good creep. 24. House On Haunted Hill (1959) Watched On: TubiTV  Tubi had the colorized version which I'd yet to see before. This is quite the fun haunted house flick but I think it probably wouldn't have the acclaim it does without Vincent Price kicking rear end all over the place.
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Oct 4, 2019 09:21
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Its weird. Its only October 3rd/4th and yet for some reason I feel anxious that I’m falling behind. I think its because I’m not doing 31 years, I’m doing 36 so I instinctively know that “as long as I have 1 every day” isn’t actually good enough. Or it could just be that I haven’t been sleeping well and have been kind of stressed and anxious anyway. My internal clock is all hosed up amongst other things and it feels like way more than 4 days that I’ve been doing this. That’s not burnout or anything, I just really need a long sleep crash and reset. Ah well, enough of my problems, lets get to the movies…  6. House of Wax (1953) Watched on DVD Vincent Price is a pleasant if eccentric wax sculpture until his business partner burns down his workshop for the insurance money, with him in it. Though he survives the fire he comes out changed, unable to use his scarred and burnt hands, and with the aide of assistants attempting to build a new House of Horror Wax museum in more ways than one. I wish the poster looked better. This was apparently the first color 3D film (or something like that), which surprised me since I didn’t know 3D was around that long. Obviously I didn’t watch it in 3D but its always funny catching the scenes and shots that are in there just to show off the tech. Like a really extended scene with a dude with paddle balls all so he can keep paddling at the screen and break the 4th wall. 3D was just an odd thing. I had a lot of expectations built up for this one and they fell flat a bit. Its not a bad film or anything, actually I enjoyed it. But like its a cult classic, its credited for revitalizing Price’s career, its in the Library of Congress. I suppose that last part may have some to do with the 3D stuff but still, I was expecting a bit more. It’s perfectly fine. Its always fun watching Price play a mad man and skulk around, even if he spends a bit too much of this film as the nicer alter ego. But that was different to see. But its not one of his more memorable characters or performances. I imagine this is one of those things that was maybe a bit more horrifying or shocking in a time with softer sensibilities or fewer comparisons. I feel like I’ve seen most of the big scenes and plays done plenty of times, although most certainly in films that came later. House of Wax feels a bit derivative but considering it was made nearly 70 years ago that’s gotta be mostly a backwards effect. Then again some of the reviews I see call it derivative too, so I guess it wasn’t exactly a trailblazer. Although, check out this pre-internet snark. quote:John McCarten of The New Yorker also hated the film, writing that he thought it had "set the movies back about forty-nine years. It could have set them back further if there had been anything earlier to set them back to," concluding that "when Mr. Price started clumping around and choking ladies with knots that wouldn't pass muster at a Cub Scout meeting, I took off my glasses once and for all, put on my hat, and left.” Its good to know there’s always been people watching movies and complains about real dumb things like “those knots looked bad” and making big huffs. Needless to say, I don’t think it set film back to the stone age or anything. Its a solid little movie with Price doing his thing and some moody, creepy wax statue scenes. I only started to get antsy right towards the end right before the final sequence kicked off. So no regrets. Just less than I was hoping for. Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #1: The Best Month A weird case. Half the horror films to choose from I’ve seen, half of them are on my 100 Years of Horror list. Normally I’d defer to one of the older, more classic films but since I’ll be doing that all month I’m tempted to instead go for one of the more modern films I probably wouldn’t have got around to this month. On the other hand some of those old movies are on my list with other films of the year and I’ve been debating whether to do 2 or 3 films in a year if they all seemed worth it even though that would make the month harder. This would be an excuse to get another one in. Oh, screw it. It’s the first challenge. Lets make this easy. Besides, I don’t really feel like doing old right now. Oh wait, “from the writer/director of Trollhunter”? Well that makes this decision easy.  7. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) Available on Netflix. Father and son coroners are left alone overnight performing an autopsy on an unidentified woman found under mysterious circumstances. But the more they “dig in” the less anything about her or how she died makes sense and things get spooky. As if cutting into bodies in a mortuary is ever NOT spooky. Ok. Now we’re talking. That’s officially my first “I’m turning on all the lights and writing this review because… I know there’s nothing in the dark… I know there’s nothing in the dark…” movie of the countdown. Incredibly tense, deeply unnerving. It loses a little bit of that in the final action when everything kicks off just because all hell breaking loose is in some ways more comforting than the dread and tension of all hell breaking loose. Every closeup on Jane Doe had me on edge just waiting for the smallest sign or twitch or anything. So once poo poo kicks off its kind of a release of pressure. Sure, you might have a bigger problem and mess than before, but at least you got some relief and all that waiting is over. I JUST HEARD A STRANGE NOISE!!!! Pro-Tip: Potato chip crunching is louder than random house creaking noises in the middle of the night. I enjoyed both actors who really had to carry much of the film. Well that’s not fair at all. Its incredibly well directed and so much of the tension was in that. But Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox are two fine actors who do a great job. And I like their characters. There’s just a regular father and son. They have some stuff to work through but dad’s not some abusive authoritarian and son’s not feeling trapped and desperate to get free. I think it was cute the way they teased that a little with the girlfriend and “I don’t want to be a mortuary worker” scene but made it clear to us that he actually likes this. And I briefly thought the girlfriend was Katherine Isabelle and was like “man, when will she catch a break in one of these?” Also father and son completely passed my big haunted house (which is basically what this was) test.  Seriously, what is that creaking? I mean its raining and we went from 90s to 50s so there could be pressure changes or something… but… Has that been happening all night? The explanation was a little unnecessary but I give it a pass on the ground that they don’t really know, they were just trying to work it out. I mean, I buy the witch thing but I don’t buy the ”everything they did turned her into what they feared” thing. That’s lame. I’m going with ”Salem caught one actual witch. They were still dicks..” Also how can a song most recognizable from the Flintstones be that unsettling? I loved Trollhunter. I loved this. I’m now officially hyped for Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark. I’m glad I chose that instead of an old one. I needed that recharge. A more punchy modern film to buffer the simpler older ones. Tomorrow maybe I can do 2 old ones and get ahead of the pace. September Pre-Game Tally - New (Total) 1. NOS4A2 (2019); - (2). Splice (2009); - (3). Drive Angry (2011); 2 (4). The Twilight Zone (2019); - (5). Event Horizon (1997); - (6). BrainDead (2016); 3 (7). The Dark Tower (2017); 4 (8). The Collector (2009); 5 (9). The Bad Batch (2016); - (10). Rose Red (2002); - (11). Salem’s Lot (1979) October Tally - New (Total) 1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920); 2. Nightmare Cinema (2018); 3. Dead of Night (1945); The Queen of Spades (1949); 5. Tragedy Girls (2017); 6. House of Wax (1953); SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #1: 7. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 09:48 on Oct 4, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 09:43
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Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #1: The Best Month 11) Son of Frankenstein 1939  25 years after the events of Bride, Henry's son, Wolf Frankenstein, returns to the family castle. I was surprised to find the monster's role is so minor in this one. He's now just a tool of Ygor, doing his bidding. It was disappointing that all that character development he got in Bride was undone, leaving him mute and largely mindless. Ygor, played to perfection by Lugosi, is the villain of the movie. He claims to have worked for Wolf's father and he's basically the same character as Fritz but now his awkward posture is caused by a neck injury instead of a hunchback. It's an odd decision to create a new character when everyone else in the franchise can survive apparent deaths in previous films, especially as Wolf makes a point of blaming Fritz's mistake for the original events that made the villagers hate his family. It's like it's setting up for a confrontation with Ygor over what happened. The most interesting dynamic is between Wolf and the wooden armed police inspector, who acts as mediator between Wolf and the villagers who fear and hate him. The sets are gorgeous, with weird off-kilter angles very reminiscent of the likes of Caligari Wolf's curly haired son is about the same age as Gene Wilder and I like to think he's the same character in Young Frankenstein.
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Oct 4, 2019 10:50
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 9. The Craft (1996) (digital) A group of female students at a Catholic high school who are into witchcraft gain actual powers when a new student with innate magical ability joins up with them. They do the sort of things you'd expect teenage witches would do, like cast love spells and get revenge on bullies. Inevitably, things start to get a little out of control and some bad witchy antics ensue. I'm a sucker for horror movies about witches and/or the occult, but this one fell very flat for me. Despite being the target demographic for this when it came out, I never saw it back in high school. I may have enjoyed it more if I had some nostalgia for it, but I'm watching it for the first time in 2019 and it just feels extremely dated. The dialogue is terrible (both in the writing and in the mumbly awkward way the lines are delivered), the characters are shallow, and the effects have aged incredibly poorly. It's a film about goth high school girls but all the music is lame jangly '90s pop/rock - shouldn't it be Nick Cave or Nine Inch Nails? I also just couldn't take Fairuza Balk seriously at all. My partner pointed out that her makeup makes her look like Dr. Frank N. Furter and that's all I could think of. It does have some fun moments, especially in the final ~20 minutes where it goes a little bonkers, but overall I didn't care for it. Even ignoring the dated parts, the execution of basically everything is very poor. I'd like to see a remake, because I feel like there are plenty of interesting stories that could be told using the basic premise (the teenage angst of feeling like an outsider, being ashamed of one's family, suicide, etc). This film sort of touches on these themes but ultimately fails to do anything interesting with them. 2/5 Total: 9 Watched: Dead of Night | Child's Play (2019) | Escape Room | Hell Night | The Wind | Evil Dead (2013) | Cure (Samhain Challenge #1) | Tigers Are Not Afraid | The Craft
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Oct 4, 2019 14:24
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5: Demons ABCs: D Little late on this one but finally got around to seeing it. I'd say it's a mixed bag; I like the moodiness, the makeup and effects are cool, the movie within a movie is a neat conceit and it's just fun to see a zombie movie with a bit of a twist. Also that leader/pimp guy loving rules. It does go on a bit long though, could probably have trimmed off 20 minutes or so to make it a lot more fun. I didn't love it but I'm still interested in checking out part 2 this month.
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Oct 4, 2019 14:51
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4. Ok this movie rocks, it's bonkers, and screw you if you say it's not horror (imbd says it's Action, Horror, Mystery). Ok so the plot:  Going to the castle, a Martial Arts journalist and his entourage do find out that indeed, "a disaster of the killer butterflies had occured "[sic], but it also involves a lot of Martial Arts. Straight up, this movie, at least on Prime, is in terrible condition. The film looks like total rear end - see the screenshot above, it’s full of tears and discolorations and it’s blurry as hell. Both the subtitles and the dubs (chinese to chinese?) are horrendous and often don't make a lick of sense. On the other hand, the fight choreography is great, some sets are gorgeous, the story is nuts in a good way (helped along quite well by the subtitles), and the camerawork is neat as well. This makes for a rare and amazing mix between genuinely enjoyable and unintentionally hilarious. There were two scenes where I was howling out loud and had to stop the movie because I was crying from laughing so hard. Absolutely recommended. 5. Boxer’s Omen This one did not do anything for me. It’s almost two hours of people doing rituals and spells, basically folk horror (fight me). There’s a lot of love put into the adorable special effects, and they’re really quite inventive, but it’s barely a movie. This is probably great to put in the background during a Halloween Party, but actually sitting there watching a dude meticulously prepare a magic potion from scratch, no matter how weird the ingredients are, I pass. There are two thai boxing matches and some very nice nudity if you allow me to be thirsty for a second, but overall I would not rewatch it. Watched: 1. Children of the Corn, 2. Night of the Comet, 3. The Ruins, 4. Butterfly Murders, 5. Boxer's Omen married but discreet fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Oct 6, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 14:58
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One Cut of the Dead- Went in blind and was annoyed and bored until the second half. Its great. 4.5/5
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Oct 4, 2019 15:04
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 7. One Cut of the Dead (2017) Shudder Whoah. Did not expect that. Go in dead blind and give it a chance.  8. Phantasm II (1988) DVD Going to revisit a few previously logged movies during which I had nodded off for a bit. Seems I hadn't missed anything but a filler scene in this. Gave me an excuse to re-watch the awesome insanity and prepare for the next couple tirles in the series, though! Watched - 1. Get My Gun (2017), 2. The Last Man on Earth (1964), 3. It Stains the Sands Red (2016), 4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), 5. Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil (2017) *Current Favorite*, 6. Halloween (1978), 7. One Cut of the Dead (2017), 8. Phamtasm II (1988) Decade - 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s (I), 1970s (II), 1980s (I), 1990s, 2000s, 2010s (IV) Black & White:Color - 1:7 By Country - Japan (I), 'Murica (VI), Spain (I) New:Rewatch - 5:3
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Oct 4, 2019 16:08
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 #7. Army of Darkness (Starz) I'm torn on this one - it's fun, yeah, and there's a ton of inventiveness being deployed in its creation. You can tell that the creative team was having a ton of fun coming up with new and creative ways to destroy plastic skeletons from Spirit Halloween all throughout the climactic battle scene. And the whole thing delights in using Bruce Campbell as a living "Looney Tunes" cartoon, something to mug in crazy, inhuman ways and just abuse with an overload of old "Three Stooges" bits. On the other hand, all of that crazy inventive carnage is hiding a lack of any real substance to the whole thing. The middle section of the film feels curiously lacking, when Ash's grand quest is "ride your horse down the road a ways, dither around with some tiny monsters and stuff in a conspicuous Frankenstein windmill, and pick up the book from a cemetery where it's just, y'know, laying around and stuff." That, and there's a repetitive nature to all of the camera tricks being used; I can only stand so many super fast snap zooms before I start getting bored. Plus, since Ash is basically a Ye Olden Tymes Superhero in this one, there's no real sense of danger to anything, so there's no suspense and no horror to be seen. So, yeah... fun but empty. For my money, Evil Dead 2 is the way to go for this kind of comedy-horror; it strikes a better balance and ends up being something that actually sticks with you for some time. Army of Darkness just comes and goes without any real impact. But ED2 doesn't have a skellington army, so I guess AOD has that going for it.  /5Watched so far: The Curse of Frankenstein, Villains, Horror of Dracula, You're Next, House on Haunted Hill (1959), Halloween 4, Army of Darkness
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Oct 4, 2019 16:17
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#3: Phantasm (1979) Watched on Prime Watched for the challenge last year... then I promptly went and watched the rest in the series. I'm not totally sure how I had missed this my entire life, but between rental stores as a kid and no replays on TV, this had slipped my awareness. Phantasm is phantastically phun and is loaded with goofy charm, and Angus Scrimm's Tall Man and his silver spheres are immediately iconic and worthy of the franchise that follows. Scrimm carries the hell out of this movie, far and away the best element of it, but the protag trio of Mike, Jody, and Reggie are surprisingly likeable and endearing. There's a few bits of wooden acting on the peripheries, some makeup/effects that look a bit dated by now, but those are far and away the exception rather than the norm. If you haven't checked this out yet, please do, I hope you'll be pleasantly surprised! .5 /5Watched: 1. From Beyond 2. Evil Dead 3. Phantasm
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Oct 4, 2019 16:30
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The Shining Many thousands of words have been written about this film so it's hard to add anything new. I will say though that the new UHD release is absolutely fantastic. The blood/elevator scene features probably the deepest red I've ever seen on film, and I've watched that scene probably 10+ times over the years. It never looked this good before. Same goes for the Gold Room and the various carpet patterns that are so iconic. Close-ups have a new immediacy to them that almost literally jumps out at you, and it gives the film an intensity that I hadn't felt since I first saw it in my college movie theater at a Halloween midnight showing. I certainly wouldn't call UHD a consistent format but this is one that I feel is 1000% worth the upgrade. So really the new format was able to breathe new life into the film for me, because naturally it's hard to feel that same dread and tension after seeing it so many times. And that's something that I'm forever chasing, that first WOW experience. I guess what I'm saying is, when I will be getting that UHD of From Beyond?!?!  Salem's Lot(1979) I tried to watch the full 3 hour miniseries and I think that was probably a mistake. I'm told there's a 90 minute theatrical version that I imagine is much better just because there's a lot of boring filler here. King of course spends a lot of time allowing you to get to know the whole town, and there's an attempt to do that here but I found myself not very interested in any of the characters. A lot of that was definitely due to the actors, who mostly were third rate and not up to the material. There were a few exceptions but all in all the whole thing felt pretty rote and uninteresting. Barlow himself was a highlight but there isn't nearly enough of him to justify 3 hours. I feel bad for Tobe Hooper that he ended up working on this because I can't imagine he had much creative freedom. I dunno, maybe I'm way off and Tobe Hooper's dream project was to adapt a King novel but I wasn't feeling the same love here that I do when I watch most of Hooper's other work. So this is my first disappointment of the 2019 Horror Challenge. Watched: 1. Child's Play(1988) 2. Child's Play(2019) 3. VHS: Viral 4. Tales From the Crypt 5. Viy 6. House of Frankenstein 7. Van Helsing 8. The Shining 9. Salem's Lot
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Oct 4, 2019 16:37
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Anyone know where I can score a copy of or watch Rubber's Lover (1996)?
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Oct 4, 2019 16:40
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 3. Tales of the Crypt (1972) [UK] youtube Solid Amicus anthology, following the familiar approach where in each segment a bad person gets their comeuppance. The first two are fine, nothing special but they don't overstay their welcome. In the third segment Peter Cushing plays a very nice old man who gets bullied by his rich rear end in a top hat neighbour and it's a very touching performance. The ending is great too, my favourite of the bunch. The fourth segment is a fun monkey paw´s variation with a particularly gruesome ending. The final segment about the ex-military officer getting in charge of home for the blind was the worst of the bunch, it dragged on too long and the ending is was predictable although with a nasty but rather overcomplicated twist.  4. I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1958) [setting unclear] youtube Pretty straight-forward Americanized Frankenstein adaptation, meaning no gothic castle but a sterile lab with lots of blinking lights and a crocodile pit and Frankenstein's monster is hot now. Whit Bissell is a pretty good Doctor Frankenstein who gets lucky when the most conveniently timed car crash provides the perfect subject for his experiments. There's lots of questionable scientific dialogue ("Well the head's crushed in, possible brain injury"), the monsters horrible face on the perfect hunky body looks kinda ridiculous and the finale comes rather abrupt. Only after I finished the movie I found out that the version on youtube is the censored British cut but I doubt the uncut version would've been a great improvement.  5. Carnival of Souls (1962) [Utah] youtube A woman who miraculously survives a car crash decides to move to a different city to start over, however mysterious apparitions start to haunt her. Now that's more like it, this was great, very eerie! The different ways our main character is being haunted and slowly seems to lose grip on reality is done well and quite frightening. The movie also looks absolutely fantastic lots of gorgeous shots and the music, or lack thereof, is haunting. The Utah-setting really is optimally used, the abandoned amusement park in the middle of a salt flat feels very otherworldly and provides for some amazing visuals. Highly recommended! As an aside, strangely enough, all 5 movies I've seen so far feature (multiple) car crashes.
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Oct 4, 2019 16:51
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Butch Cassidy posted:Anyone know where I can score a copy of or watch Rubber's Lover (1996)? Disregard, it's on Youtube. Probably watch it after work.
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Oct 4, 2019 17:15
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#1 - Doom: Annihilation (2019) poster incoming This one was... about a million times better than I expected. In a lot of ways, it feels like the upper tier of SyFy Originals; it's clearly budget as all hell, and some of the CGI just looks downright janky, but there's a lot of genuine love put into this, and it manages to be a pretty well-made movie that's also almost bizarrely faithful to the original games. The cast is pretty much a bunch of nobodies, and they do okay. Dominic Mafham, who plays Dr. Bertruger, is probably the highlight; he tries to use some of his apparent Shakespearean chops to lend some gravitas to the picture, but in practice the result is he's just loving devouring scenery every time he's on screen. I wanna see this guy play more over-the-top villains. There's also some genuinely nice choreography in the action sequences, although the style of it feels a bit more Matrix than John Wick, and the gore is relatively mild but what's there is pretty gnarly (dat throat-rip  ).Also, as an amusing note, this movie rips off Aliens harder than any other movie I can think of not named Shocking Dark. Everything that the Doom games can't fill in with the plot, is instead filled in with Aliens plot beats and characters. It's genuinely kind of hilarious, I didn't think movies had the balls to do this anymore and certainly not American ones. .5 / 5#2 - Curse of Chucky (2013) poster incoming This one's a rewatch, and I already knew it was good poo poo. It's still good, but I don't really like it quite as much as the first time through. Honestly, the basic concept of this one makes it kind of hard to say anything insightful about; it's an attempt at making a stripped-down slasher like the early Child's Play movies and bringing Chucky back to being "scary." Unfortunately, being lower-budget than any other movie in the franchise prior means they can't really do any wild poo poo like the toy factory ending of CP2, so in effect it's actually an even more stripped-down slasher than those. There's aspects I like about this, but at the end of the day, it just makes it a less interesting movie than its predecessors. I will say that Fiona Dourif is great and this movie has some serious balls regarding the issue of disability (in a good way), but on the whole, this is just too much mean and not enough fun for a Chucky movie; there's something to be said for a back-to-basics approach, but this was a series where the cruft and weirdness was what made it fun and discarding the lessons from Bride and Seed makes it noticeably weaker. Also, the redesigned "cleaned-up" Chucky doll looks weird as hell. / 5(It's kind of funny that I ended up doing a Universal 1440 double feature last night without realizing.)
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Oct 4, 2019 17:36
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Anonymous Robot posted:Big Legend Big Legend was on my list of movies to roll the dice on but as someone who didn't have fun with Cry Wilderness this is a really stinging rebuke. --  4) The Culling (2015) [Tubi] A group of college-ish kids are on a roadtrip to SXSW when they encounter a lost child evidently abandoned at a roadside diner. A fit of compassion overtakes a voting majority of the travelers and they agree to see her safely back to her nearby home. It won't take long before they start to wish they had taken a different course of action... Virtually nothing happens during the first 40 minutes of this 82 minute movie. The remainder of the run time has things of a sort occur but while simultaneously taking its sweet time and also not bothering to set up the finale. The one real positive of the first half of the movie is that it teases out a few intriguing possibilities for the movie to take. This is squandered in the second half when it chooses to out-zig all the zags for an ending that, sure, is new and unexpected but makes the preceding content feel like an even bigger waste of time. The frustrating part is that there are one or two of the red herring plot possibilities that actually seemed pretty neat. We were a heartbeat and a minor rewrite away from a movie about demon-worshipping swingers who use their kid as bait to lure in victims, or it could have been desperate parents luring strangers off the road to feed their demon child, or even just a basic ghost story with scared parents bolting as they see another haunting cycle kick off, but instead we get a guy with an apparent succession of wives murdering travelers to provide a demon child army to the entity that saved his daughter from a house fire. And the real ending isn't entirely without merit in its concept but the execution is completely absent. I didn't dream up all those not-plots I spoiler'ed in the previous paragraph; they were all teased at least a little bit. The real ending on the other hand, exists almost entirely as an exposition dump at the end of the movie. That by itself isn't a mortal sin but if you're gonna just drop something like that on the heads of the audience at the end of the movie you need to give it more pizzazz. Make it crazy! Make it wacky! Make it weird! But it's very pedestrian and blandly stated instead. Can't recommend for any reason. It's not offensive or aggravating. It's simply disappointing. It could've been a contender/10
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Oct 4, 2019 17:37
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Adlai Stevenson posted:Big Legend was on my list of movies to roll the dice on but as someone who didn't have fun with Cry Wilderness this is a really stinging rebuke. Let me save you some time. Big Legend ends by finally giving us a lingering glimpse of the sasquatch, cutting to the protagonist in a hospital bed being approached by some mysterious old man, and a hard cut to a title card that reads *these two stupid characters* WILL RETURN IN BIG LEGEND 2: BIGGER LEGEND
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Oct 4, 2019 17:43
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8)Mantango/Attack of the mushroom people Tubi  "Everything seems pretty weird" Pleasantly surprised. Didn't know much going in, but it's based on William Hope Hodgon story (sort of pre-cursor to lovecraft if you didn't know). The set up is some wealthy yachters get lost in a storm, and end up on this island. Nothing is there save an abandoned research vessel covered in a weird fungus. But since the island is near constantly rainy, they use it for shelter, as their supplies dwindle and they try to repair the yacht. The film is dripping with atmosphere, everything just looks and feels very damp. It's definitely more of a thriller the mushroom people don't show up until like the last ten minutes But it's a pretty good one. I reccomend it.  /5
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Oct 4, 2019 17:48
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 28) Night Of The Demons 3 - 1997 - Youtube Compared to the first two films, this one was sadly a disappointment. The first two films encapsulated their respective decades. The only way this one reflects on it's era is the bad for its time CGI. Nothing really stands out with this one, and it's more 'meh' than bad.  29) Night Of The Demons - 2010 - Prime While the remake does follow the basics of the original, it does change a few things. The demons have a specific motivation, and the location's been moved to the Broussard mansion in New Orleans which is known for when the psychic Evangeline Broussard hung herself at a party where the guests disappeared back in the 20s. Of course Angela decides to host an illegal party at the mansion, hoping she gets enough in door fees to pay her rent. Naturally the police come to break up the party, so Angela and friends end up going back in the mansion to find where one of them hid his drug stash. They find the baggie in a hidden room in the basement with the remains of Evangeline's party guests. Angela gets 'bit' when she tries to pry a gold tooth out of one of the skulls, and we know where it's going to go from here. I liked the designs of the demons. I found nothing particularly scary unless you count how much of a sorry shape Edward Furlong's in. I'm also not too sure the ending works considering some of the things established earlier on. Overall, it's not a bad film. Not as good as the original, but still entertaining. Final Thoughts: I feel there's still life in the franchise, though we'll see what happens. There was supposed to be a Night of the Demons 4, but from what gossip I've heard, they couldn't get any of the actors of the previous films and the house used for Hull House had been demolished. There is a documentary in the works by the same guys who did the Hellraiser one, Leviathan and the Fright Night one "You're so Cool Brewster". The Party’s Just Begun: The Legacy of Night of the Demons according to the IndieGoGo and Facebook pages is slated for a Fall 2019 release, but last progress report I've been able to find is they were starting on the Phase 2 stage with more interviews.
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Oct 4, 2019 17:53
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Do the first four Aliens count as horror for the purposes of this thread? Or just the first one?
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Oct 4, 2019 17:57
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I'd say Alien is totally horror, Aliens is tangentially close enough and basically a monster action flick, 3 is iffy but I guess is kind body horrorish, Prometheus is probably horror although I've only seen it once, and I haven't seen Covenant or AVP 2. AVP is the only one I don't feel is horror at all. But again, only saw it once. But like, I'd say the majority of the series has footing in horror so its all fair game. I've been debating doing the series for the marathon to give the modern ones another look (or first in the case of Covenant) for awhile but I also want to do the Predator films with it since I've only seen Predators and AvP. So it just becomes a big thing and more iffy "horror."
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Oct 4, 2019 18:04
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 8. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) Dir: Tom McLoughlin (DVD) I've never been big on Friday the 13th, and I still don't think I am, but this is probably the best one I've seen after Jason X. I think Jason works better as a weird cartoon character than he does as a monster you're supposed to take seriously. He's become a kind of short hand. The Platonic ideal of a Friday movie. 1.Candyman 2. The Wailing 3. Spookies 4. One Cut of the Dead 5.Viy 6. Driller Killer 7. Tammy and the T-Rex 8. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
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Oct 4, 2019 18:05
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STAC Goat posted:and I haven't seen Covenant or AVP 2. I can't speak for AvP2 but I'd 100% say Covenant is horror enough for this thread Anonymous Robot posted:Let me save you some time. Big Legend ends by finally giving us a lingering glimpse of the sasquatch, cutting to the protagonist in a hospital bed being approached by some mysterious old man, and a hard cut to a title card that reads *these two stupid characters* WILL RETURN IN BIG LEGEND 2: BIGGER LEGEND *Marge Simpson concerned grumble* Yeah no. Thanks for the heads up~ Adlai Stevenson fucked around with this message at 18:28 on Oct 4, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 18:26
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 5. The Ranger (2018): This movie shows some promise at the start, but descends into pretty generic slasher territory. All the characters suck rear end and the villain’s gimmick of quoting park regulations is too goofy to be scary, which isn’t inherently a bad thing, but didn’t really seem to fit this movie. If you want punk rock themed horror, go for Green Room or Return of the Living Dead instead.
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Oct 4, 2019 18:51
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#8: Witchfinder General (1968) This one has been on my radar for a while now, and I was glad to use the challenge as a reason to finally watch it. Set during the English Civil War, it follows the horrendous exploits of the titular Witchfinder (played to pompous perfection by the legendary Vincent Price) who travels from town to town interrogating and subsequently executing accused "witches." I can see why this one is considered a folk horror classic. It's fairly dense and old school British cinema to the core, and the performances, while very melodramatic, are powerful. The main protagonist is a British soldier who marries a woman who is constantly harassed by Vincent Price and his henchman, and decides to go rogue to pursue the Witchfinder in order to exact his own kind of justice. The sheer amount of violence against women throughout the entire film is a little hard to watch, so be prepared for that. It isn't gory, it's more just an uncomfortable experience that almost dares you to keep watching. I found it interesting to discover that this movie was the source of the spoof scene in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" where they have the whole conversation about witches and things that float, which makes me appreciate it even more. 4/5 Watched: Midsommar; One Cut of the Dead; Apostle; Wolf Creek; Lake Mungo; Viy (Challenge #1); Demon Knight; Witchfinder General Total: 8 T3hRen3gade fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Oct 4, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 19:16
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(rewatch) The Shining I had probably forgotten more of this movie than I remembered, but it was delightful to return to it on the big screen. My only real complaint is that Nicholson seems unhinged from minute one, so there’s no real build-up there, just the feeling that he could go off at any point. Well, and Shelley Duvall is great but I wish she hadn’t been treated so poorly to “enhance” the performance. /5 7. Viy Super Samhain Challenge #1: The Best Month (PS Fran you should link the challenges in the OP so people can find'm easily.)  This had a lot more humor than I was expecting, as a bunch of lanky miscreant monks head towards summer break, and one of them encounters a witch. Monks: basically just rear end in a top hat frat boys. It's fun, and seems to be pretty heavily skewering religion, except for a little while at least his methods work. /5Also, two additions I'm going to post in the MOTM thread: Here's the original short story, though I can't speak to how accurate the translation is. The movie is *very* faithful. Check out this sweet rear end wikipedia image (spoilers!) from an illustrated version from 1901.
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Oct 4, 2019 19:28
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| # ? Jun 9, 2024 22:44 |
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I thought I wasn't gonna do a big franchise watch-through this year. Until I found this at Half Price Books That's right, all nine Puppet Master movies for four dollars. How could you go wrong? I'm gonna need to find a free weekend this month and blast through the whole series in a couple days
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Oct 4, 2019 19:30
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