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#8: A Quiet Place (2018) Watched on Hulu Super fun popcorn horror! Great horror first-outing from Krasinski, he really plays to his strengths in front of and, assumably, behind the camera as well. The familial relationships really make a strong foundation for why this movie works as well as it does; the casting of Krasinski and irl wife Blunt is top notch and Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe are no slouches either. Great polish on the movie, and the sound design is well-crafted and impressive, great little moments in addition the the tense spooky ones. The creatures are a little too CG clean for me, but the main irritants come from what others in the thread have already mentioned: the whiteboard is monumentally stupid, and the discovered weakness of the creatures is so obvious that it's astounding that it's a shocking surprise 475 days into this.  /5Watched: 1. From Beyond 2. Evil Dead 3. Phantasm 4. Candyman 5. Phenomena 6. Boar 7. Mandy 8. A Quiet Place qwewq fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Oct 11, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 02:37
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Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #3: Horror Noire # 11 A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS (1987)  I dug this! I knew I was in for a treat when I saw familiar names in the opening credits (director Chuck Russell who did 1988’s The Blob, Frank Darabont and Wes Craven on a writer’s team, etc.). There is even some guy named Larry Fishburne who reminds me of a young Lawrence Fishburne, what an amazing coincidence with the names (I kid, I kid...) I only saw the first two in this franchise plus Freddy vs. Jason (2003). Perhaps due to FvJ, Freddy Krueger always struck me as comedic, but in NOES3 he is a true menace. His exploitation of the teens’ weaknesses was cold-blooded and disturbing, notably the recovering drug addict who was injected with heroin (hypodermic needles as Freddy’s fingers, wow!) and the “wizard” boy being taunted for his reliance on a wheelchair. Most of the kids had their asses handed to them, not what I expected! This did have some funny moments if you get past the dark subject matter. Krueger becoming the talk show host and saying to an actress “Who gives a gently caress what you think!!” got a laugh out of me. I did not particularly enjoy the parts with Nancy’s dad and the therapist guy teaming up. The plot with Krueger’s mother seemed crammed into the movie; IMO, the kids battling Krueger was plenty interesting and more could have been done there instead. The special effects are quite awesome other than a poorly superimposed stop-motion skeleton, which was done about as well 25 years before in Jason in the Argonauts (1963). In brief, this is a solid entry and gives “street” cred to NOES and overlong horror franchises in general – a reminder that there can be good entries stashed away amongst those of lower quality. SCORE: 7.0 / 10
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Oct 10, 2019 02:54
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 Super Samhain Challenge 2: Dead and Buried Sid Haig 10. House of 1000 Corpses (2003): This movie is a bit of a mess but, having not seen a Rob Zombie film before this, this feels exactly like how I would expect a Rob Zombie film to feel. I liked Captain Spaulding as a character and would have liked just a bit more of him and a bit less of the murder family. None of the murder family were particularly interesting except maybe Rob Zombie’s wife. The victims were also pretty boring. The gore was pretty good and I liked the idea of the cutaways but they didn’t always work. Probably a failure overall, but an interesting one. Alfred P. Pseudonym fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Oct 11, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 03:01
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 Maniac Cop, 1988 This was a nice movie. Nothing great, but still a worthwhile 80s slasher. It's about a cop killing innocent people. Hows that different from a regular cop you might ask. He kills white people. Either way, there's this big brutish looking cop lurking in the dark streets of New York city that stabs and strangles people. The kills aren't that creative or gory, so the main crux of this film is the mystery of who the killer cop is. Bruce Campbell plays a cop that gets suspected and he is very much underused, which is a pity as his name is featured as selling point to even watch Maniac Cop to begin with. Like I said, it's not a great movie, just nice. You get your 80s slasher fix and there's that magic feel you get from 80s movies, and that's all the reason you need to watch and enjoy something like this. Hot Dog Day #89 fucked around with this message at 10:36 on Oct 10, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 03:05
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9. Deathdream (1974) From the director of Black Christmas comes this reworking of the Monkey's Paw story about a family whose wish for their dead son to return from Vietnam to return goes inevitably wrong. This movie's greatest virtues are the willingness to stick to its guns on a powerful metaphor and the centering of some very strong performances. Richard Backus is compelling and genuinely frightening as the son, his face and voice drained of emotion but with a terrifying simmering rage underneath. His deeply conflicted and half in denial parents are played John Marley and Lynn Carlin, who had already played a married couple in John Cassavetes' legendary Faces. Their realistic pain and their conflict over what to do with their son remains engaging throughout. Unfortunately, I can't love this film as much as I would like to because the horror elements are relatively weak compared to the drama: I liked the film more when I thought that the killings stemmed from the main character's emotional damage from returning from the dead rather than a vampire-like first for blood, and the film ends just as the horror elements are starting to come to the fore. Quibbles aside, this is a bold and uncompromising movie, and another great example of the storied tradition of horror as a vehicle for social commentary. 4/5  <- wow how much did I luck out finding this one10. Blacula (1972) Challenge #3: Horror Noire Been putting this one off way too long as a fan of both horror and blacksploitation. This is at once lots of silly fun and at times surprisingly thoughtful. The team behind this one clearly put thought into how a vampire would interact with 70s African-American culture, from original flavor Dracula's condescending racism in the opener to the police response to the vampire being hampered by racism (one cop theorizes that the murderer draining people's blood through their necks might be a Black Panther). But of course the main attraction here is Shakespearean actor William Marshall's commanding performance as Mamuwalde, the cursed vampire prince from Africa. He's a regal, commanding, and even tragically romantic figure, while also throwing himself into the snarling and biting with gusto. My favorite scene in the movie basically plays like a vampire version of the diner scene from Heat with Blacula discussing the possible existence of the "black arts" with the detective tasked with hunting him. Glad I finally got to it. 3.5/5 
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Oct 10, 2019 03:10
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14. SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #2: Dead & Buried - Dead & Buried (1981)  https://imgur.com/SodKkrF - embed wasn't working, click to open the door This one was sort of obligatory for me, and I'm extremely glad I finally got around to it. Almost a masterpiece. Jack Albertson absolutely devours every scene he's in, as a coroner with a great deal of professional pride. The film's most notable weak point is that none of the other actors, James Farentino as our protagonist included, can keep up with him. A few of the bit parts seem to have been given no lines or direction other than to keep babbling for the entirety of their screen time. Outside of the few scenes where that really drags things down, though, we've got everything dripping with atmosphere at all times and some really fun bits of misdirection with regard to the central mystery, which is one or two mysteries down from what looks like it's going to be the central mystery at the outset. That one gets resolved pretty quickly. Highly recommended. Irony.or.Death fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Oct 10, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 03:25
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Bruteman posted:I think Carpenter has made technically better films (Halloween and The Thing to name two), but Prince of Darkness is easily my all-time favorite of his and one of my top-five horror films. It suffers because the characters aren't as strong as in his other films, it's a super slow burn, and the "bonkers concept" is a little too much for some (all the quantum science stuff is in there because Carpenter just thought it was cool), but as mentioned above, if you can get into it, the dread the film creates is second to none - it really nails the feeling of a "waking nightmare." I absolutely love it but yeah, its just a little weird and there's no stand out performance like there are in the rest of the Apocalypse Trilogy with Russell and Sam Neill. If you can get someone to sit down and watch it and really feel the mood I think its as good as either of them, but there's definitely a slightly harder hook there.
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Oct 10, 2019 03:27
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10. One Cut of the Dead I'm absolutely over zombie movies but the overwhelmingly positive reception here made me watch it. And ugh, it's an extremely generic movie with a tired gimmick and a nice final shot, thankfully it's quite short so I didn't have to waste a lot of time. I guess you can't win them all. The actual movie is really good and sweet, loved it! Fist-pumped at the human pyramid in the end, and the sweet picture of the director with his daughter on his shoulder  Watched: 1. Children of the Corn, 2. Night of the Comet, 3. The Ruins, 4. Butterfly Murders, 5. Boxer's Omen, 6. Corpse Mania, 7. Lair of the White Worm, 8. Gothic, 9. All The Colours of the Dark, 10. One Cut of the Dead
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Oct 10, 2019 03:36
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Super Samhain Challenge #3  #11 Get Out 2017 Amazon (paid rental) I managed to sleep on this one until tonight! I loved Us, and though I now understand the people that were disappointed in it as a follow-up to this picture- there’s a leanness of vision here that the freewheeling, dreamy Us can’t provide- I’m impressed by how very different these movies are. Not to mention that this was Peele’s directorial debut! I’m not going to write much about the plot, because I’m sure everyone and their mother has already written to death on it. Besides, it’s not a subtle film; it’s overt and bombastically direct in a way that horror manages to always seem to get away with. The script is gripping and arresting through the whole runtime, moving seamlessly in building a sense of dread from the cringe brought on by little off-color remarks to the point where you see this Steve Jobs looking motherfucker standing in a foyer with his failson and it sends a chill down your spine. The version that I watched featured an alternate ending, and it’s to consider the choices made in selecting the ending for the theatrical run. There’s a lot to like about the alternate ending. It feels more a piece of a whole with a film that is so overt with its social commentary, and besides that, any US citizen feels the potentially fatal presence of the police and the certain prison sentence lurking on the periphery of this film, so it feels true to experience and honest to its message that we see them as the common manifestation of the ghoulish incarnations depicted in the Armitage House. That being said, I also understand why it was the bolder choice to let the heroes win this one, and to reject the option of producing a work of defeatist black miserablism. This is a modern classic. It embodies so much of what is great about horror, and I’m so pleased to have finally seen it. 5/5
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Oct 10, 2019 03:41
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7. House of 1000 Corpses The first movie I have ever paid to watch during a challenge. First of all it seemed like a natural selection after watching TCM and TCM2 the previous two days. Also, I always loved this movie. I will add that I used to watch it most often during a time in my life where I was taking DXM regularly and always felt the movie was written directly for people who were robotripping (for better or worse). Ho1kC still owns. I probably didn’t love it as much as 15 years ago but I still found it highly enjoyable (and probably better on drugs). Although it is kind of a mess (especially at the end), it’s incredibly stylish, never boring, and pretty hilarious. I personally think it’s a drat impressive first offering from Mr. Zombie. 8. In The Tall Grass (Netflix) Personally, the thought of being trapped in an endless maze like the tall grass is maybe the most horrifying thing I can imagine. That’s not even considering being chased around by a crazy person! Patrick Wilson makes this whole movie worth it. There is a scene before we know Wilson is the antagonist where another character asks him how they know they can trust him (or something along those lines) and his simple facial expression lets the audience know that you absolutely can’t trust him and this question highly amuses him before explaining how they can trust him. He’s always a joy to watch but I found him especially good in this. The premise of the movie is interesting enough but often muddled and without much payoff. It’s pretty good looking though and along with Wilson, I would say it’s worth a watch.
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Oct 10, 2019 03:52
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Addendum to my Lady Terminator post: Upon doing some research, I realized that it's actually directed by the same guy who did Mystics in Bali, one of the craziest movies I've ever seen, under a pseudonym. Another heavy recommend, provided you want to seek out weird stuff.gey muckle mowser posted:That's a great challenge. Ganja & Hess is a really good one, and I have a soft spot for Def by Temptation too. Yeah, if I hadn't already seen it earlier this year, I'd watch Ganja and Hess again in a heartbeat. It's a legitimately great film. That or Candyman is my recommendation for anyone doing the challenge. Friends Are Evil fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Oct 10, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 03:53
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married but discreet posted:7. The Lair of the White Worm If you have Criterion Channel and are looking to continue sating your new-found Ken Russell fix, The Devils is a very heavy recommend from me. One of my favorite discoveries from last year's challenge and just an amazingly audacious film.
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Oct 10, 2019 04:09
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Catching back up on reviews. 23. Return of the Living Dead 2 (1988)  Like the first one, a barrel of zombie creating Tioxin is accidentally opened next to a cemetery. The zombies rise and attack the cul de sac of houses nearby and the teens living there have to fend them off. Essentially a PG13 zombie movie so it’s not bad in that context. In comparison to the first it’s way off the mark, none of the violence, sex or humor. 24. The Giant Claw (1957)  Pilots are reporting a UFO the size of a battleship. No one believes them until they discover that the sightings form a spiral. Suddenly then the UFO becomes an in focus giant bird puppet that has to be defeated. According to the IMDB tribune, the monster was supposed to be a Harryhausen creation until they saw the price tag and decided to go with a $50 puppet instead. Typical 50s monster movie with narration to cover the gaps between the footage shot in rooms and the stock government footage out the outdoors. But that puppet really makes it extra terrible.  25. One Cut of the Dead (Theater) (2017)  Pom! 26. Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)  The local military base is using Tioxin to make the perfect soldier, one that is already dead. After a general’s son accidentally kills his girlfriend, he sneaks onto base to bring her back to life. Things go downhill from there as the gas gets out. Some good zombie effects and related gore, very little anything else. 27. Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005)  A group of almost 30 year old high school students go to school in a redecorated office building. One of them slips his dirt bike on some dirt and goes to the hospital where his friends are told he died but their other friend tells them they saw him being taken to the company responsible for zombie cleanup. They decided to break into the company to retrieve their friend resulting in a very local zombie outbreak. I’m pretty sure every single kill by the zombies was a bite to the back of the head. Absolutely nothing worthwhile about this sequel. 28. Spider Baby (1967) THE SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #2  Lon Chaney Jr is responsible for some kids with violent developmental issues. A lawyer and two lost cousins show up to claim custody of the kids and the estate they live on. Neither Lon nor the kids like that idea at all. Really well done and acted. Lon and the kids are really convincing as an unhinged guardian and barely restrained maniacs. 1. Killer Workout (1987) 2. Ænigma (1987) 3. Killer Fish (1979) 4. Rear Window (Theater) (1954) 5. House on Haunted Hill (1959) 6. Nail Gun Massacre (1985) 7. Paranorman (2012) 8. Night of the Comet (1984) 9. Corpse Bride (2005) 10. 13 Ghosts (1960) 11. Vampyr (German) (1932) 12. Amuck (Italian) (1972) 13. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) 14. Fascination (French) (1979) 15. Lake of Dracula (Japanese) (1971) 16. Sorority House Massacre (1986) 17. Prophecy (1979) 18. Sorority Massacre 2 (1990) 19. Leviathan (1989) 20. Night of the Lepus (1972) 21. Puppet Master (1989) 22. Ice Cream Man (1995) 23. Return of the Living Dead 2 (1988) 24. The Giant Claw (1957) 25. One Cut of the Dead (Theater) (2017) 26. Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993) 27. Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005) 28. Spider Baby (1967)
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Oct 10, 2019 04:37
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duz posted:
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Oct 10, 2019 04:43
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STAC Goat posted:You actually skipped one. Bonus, it stars the exact same cast as Necropolis playing different roles, was filmed at the same time, and is just as bad. It's apparently after Necropolis so it's on tomorrow's schedule because I needed a break from zombies.
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Oct 10, 2019 04:47
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https://twitter.com/KennethJWaste2/status/1182143894382882816?s=20
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Oct 10, 2019 05:02
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 #62) Trick or Treats (1982), a.k.a., Don't Prank the Babysitter! Tubi again. Rolling the dice on the strength of the poster again. Opening scene had me thinking 'What the gently caress is happening?', but in a good way, so things were looking up. After a time jump forward from that scene, the body of the movie starts taking shape, with a young woman having to baby-sit a kid who's really into magic tricks, since his mother and step-father are going to a business Halloween party. Lucky bastard has a pinball machine in his room, too. He keeps pranking Linda, the baby-sitter, by guillotining himself, pretending to cut off his finger, dead man floating in the pool, etc. Linda sits him down and tells him the story of the boy who cried wolf early on, so you can guess where things are going when a certain someone escapes from a mental hospital and heads for home. You may be surprised to learn that a working title for this was Halloween. Oh, and the kid is played by the writer/director's son. Though there's definitely flaws, numerous ones, it was a relief after Sweet Sixteen to get a slasher that had half an idea what it was doing. Everyone feels like a fit for their roles, we get the whole movie to empathize with the final girl, the camera-work has purpose behind its movement, the shadows deepen as the night goes on, the kid is bratty but you can tell it's because his parents never challenge him, and the villain has established tragedy motivating him. With all of that going for it, I had little trouble forgiving the movie its occasional hokieness. Couldn't forgive the really dumb final twist, though. And nothing like what's on the poster ever shows up in the movie, of course, but them's the breaks. rating: 6/10"You stop it now, or I'll put you to bed!" "Now that's the best offer I've had all day."
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Oct 10, 2019 05:21
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SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #3: Horror Noire Watch a film directed by a black director that you haven't seen before 22. Us (2019)  One thing I always get a thrill out of in horror movies is when they explore folklore, urban legends or classic tales with a modern twist. One piece of folklore that really never gets explored is that of a doppelganger. You know, the beings that are exactly like us in every single way including thoughts and emotions? This film explores that idea with a very great execution and delivery. It explores what exactly would a doppelganger entail and that it is EXACTLY like us in every single way but explores our dark side. What would we do is someone looking like us were to suddenly knock on our door? But, more specifically...what would THEY do when THEY look at us and deal with OUR existence. Jordan Peele is a massive up-and-coming director who has nailed it out of the park with horror films because he gets them in simple ways. His usage of lighting and shadows goes back to German expressionism while the need to introduce ourselves to the characters first through simple and everyday scenes brings us to now. He is seriously one of the great directors today and please, please, PLEASE give this one a watch even if some have a bias against “blockbuster horror” as some snobs like to say. /5Total: 1. One Cut of the Dead (2017), 2. Chopping Mall (1986), 3. All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018), 4. Creepshow 2 (1987), 5. Black Christmas (1974), 6. Dracula (1931), 7. Frankenstein (1931), 8. The Monster Squad (1987), 9. All Hallow’s Eve (2013), 10. The Addams Family (1991), 11. Grizzly (1976), 12. The Mummy (1932), 13. See No Evil (2006), 14. The Invisible Man (1933), 15. Why Horror? (2014), 16. Bad Moon (1996), 17. Head Count (2018), 18. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), 19. House of 1000 Corpses, 20. The Wolfman (1941), 21. Body Bags (1993). 22. Us (2019) Super Samhain Challenges: Justin Godscock fucked around with this message at 06:45 on Oct 24, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 06:33
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Super Samhain Challenge #3: Horror Noire 10. Ganja & Hess An artsy, fairly obscure 1973 Afro-horror film that has more in common with experimental cinema of the time than any of the "Blaxploitation" movies coming out in the same period. Duane Jones- of Night of the Living Dead- stars as a professor who, when studying an ancient African civilization, was stabbed three times by an ancient dagger and has developed an addiction to blood. (All of this, and some of the mythology underlying it, is explained in title cards and a song.) Over time he meets Ganja (Marlene Clark), the widow of one of his victims, and a romance develops. Director Bill Gunn doesn't treat this like a conventional vampire story, though- it's deliberately slow-moving, with long spoken asides, ambient chants and half-heard songs, and lots of intimate close ups, even as the characters are sometimes cold and distant. It can be off-putting, but over time it's weirdly absorbing. There are parts of it I still don't quite "get", and while there are a lot of symbols and metaphors, it's hard to puzzle out what it's all saying. Jones is terrific- his soft voice and imposing presence are both ideal for the kind of character he's playing. Overall it's a film I'm glad I saw, as hard as it can be to connect to.
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Oct 10, 2019 07:28
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 19. In the Tall Grass (2019) Netflix Qife and kids watched this the other night. Wife called it "very weird" and thought I would like it. She also hoped that saying it was a King adaptation wouldn't spoil it. I've not read the story so nope. The kids, particularly my daughter, have kept asking if I've seen it yet. Also nope. But my wife thought I'd dig it and the kids really wanted me to. So now I've seen it. The movie was good with fewer lovely effects than many King pieces usually have. And it was a nice mindfuck of a ride. Letterboxd reviews are under-selling this one and it deserves better buzz. Nothing amazing but well done and a good time. 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) *Tied for Current Favorite*, 6. Halloween (1978), 7. One Cut of the Dead (2017), 8. Phamtasm II (1988), 9. Ramekin (2018), 10. Les Affamés (2017), 11. Braindead (1992), 12. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), 13. The Haunting (1963) *Tied for Current Favorite*, 14. House of Wax (1953), 15. Shock (1946), 16. Annihilation (2018), 17. Westworld (1973), 18. Kuroneko, 19. In the Tall Grass (2019) Decade - 1920s, 1930s, 1940s (II), 1950s (I), 1960s (III), 1970s (III), 1980s (I), 1990s (I), 2000s, 2010s (VIII) Black & White:Color - 5:14 By Country - Canada (II), Japan (II), 'Murica (XIII), New Zealand (I), Spain (I) New:Rewatch - 15:4 Super Samhain Challenge - 1. Westworld (1973), 2. N/A, 3. N/A
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Oct 10, 2019 08:14
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15. SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #3: Horror Noire - Bones Someone said it's cool, good enough for me. And they were right! This movie rules. Dense with ideas, subtle about very few of them, and someone clearly loved the maggot rain from Suspiria. There's a little ill-advised CG and not all of the humor lands, but that's more than balanced by solid performances across the board and some really cool sets. It comes apart a little in the latter half with some character beats that don't really fit with what we've seen up to that point and some setting stuff that could have used more fleshing out and less "because the psychic said so", but I can forgive that for any movie that wants to fit this much in.
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Oct 10, 2019 08:26
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Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #2: Dead & Buried #13: House of 1000 Corpses (2003)  I coincidentally watched one of Sid Haig's movies (Spider Baby) earlier in the challenge, so I decided to take this as an opportunity to see him in a role where he actually speaks. I'd never seen any of Rob Zombie's movies before, so I decided to start with the one I've heard mentioned the most. Aw, I really liked this movie. It's so gleeful. It's filled to the brim with ideas, little images, lines, effects, editing techniques... and I love how excited it is about showing every single one of them off. This movie sort of makes me feel like I do when I'm riffing on something with a group of friends. There's so many specific little moments that project this sort of dumb excitement, like whenever the same short clip would replay a few times tinted red, or the way Dr. Satan's helper gets continuously beaned by an excessive stream of boulders. And then amidst all the goofy stuff are a few legitimately arresting scenes like the uncomfortably slow execution of Walton Goggins's character, and some seriously disturbing gore. It's having a ton of fun with the format, but still takes the horror seriously. Oh and of course, Sid Haig was a blast to watch. I'm not sure I'd agree that he's specifically the best part of the movie, but he absolutely steals every scene he's in and I definitely wouldn't have minded getting to see some more of his character. Watched (13/31): #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), #8 Sliders of Ghost Town: Origins (2016), #9 One Cut of the Dead (2017), #10 Possum (2018), #11 EGG. (2005), #12 Adventures of Electric Rod Boy (1987), #13 House of 1000 Corpses (2003) Challenges (2/3):
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Oct 10, 2019 08:34
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#14. BonesChallenge #3. Horror Noire Most of this is by-the-numbers, but aside from some bad acting, that is not how anyone would react to their best friend being eaten by a dog, nothing drags this down. It distinguishes itself with some pretty cool effects, making it better than average as far as I'm concerned. I liked the skeleton regrowing its body and particularly the walls of fused bodies. The candle-lit room also felt endless, without (I think) the use of CGI, a neat trick. Above average and enjoyable, can't really say more than that.
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Oct 10, 2019 08:34
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Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #3: Horror Noire 18) Horror Noire 2019  A history of black horror As a non-American kid I was aware of tropes like 'the black guy dies first' but didn't know much about the history of American race relations, segregation and so on. What filtered to me through US media was that racism was a thing of the past and any exceptions were down to bad people, not institutional problems. Even as an adult in the internet age, I never fully appreciated just how lacking in representation movies have been and continue to be. There's mention of the 50s and 60s having even fewer black people on screen than the 30s, which is pretty mind blowing - there was less call for servant roles and more for scientists, who have to be white. The only exception I can think of was on an episode of Star Trek A lot of big horror names are in this and it was great to hear their perspective of the changing attitudes over the decades. It's an interesting and enlightening documentary. It's also given me a bunch of new movie suggestions to watch. 19) Shivers 1975  Cronenberg sex pervert movie. What if parasites could be made to take the place of faulty internal organs? What if something went wrong and they made you murderous and horny instead? A lot of sexual anxiety stuff in this along with Cronenberg's signature body horror. The bathtub scene was particularly uncomfortable. Themes of sexual liberation as well, especially the end scene. Interestingly the creator and first victim of the Shivers was a paedophile before the events of the film and it was common knowledge that he'd molested the young woman he kills at the start when she was 12. His medical partner shakes his head and tuts about that. There's a lot to unpack here. Interesting film certainly. bitterandtwisted fucked around with this message at 10:46 on Oct 10, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 10:42
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 Ghoulies II Fuckin' sick. This is my kind of movie. Ghoulies was fun, but Ghoulies II is downright fantastic. The best way to get me to like your creature feature is to set it at a carnival haunted house. The only way to get me even more on board is to chock it full of great comedy, lots of gross and adorable animatronics, and throw a villainous sleazy 80s businessman into the mix. While it doesn't reach the upper echelon of great films, is exactly what I want out of a fun horror movie. Rating: 9/10 Ghoulies II: 9/10, Hobo with a Shotgun: 9/10, Demons: 9/10, The Fog: 8/10, Critters 2: 8/10, Demons II: 7/10, Ghoulies: 6.5/10, The Changeling: 4/10, Critters: 2/10
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Oct 10, 2019 14:12
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9. The Ruins Before I typed this one up I wanted to re-read Fran's review and see if what influenced me to watch this and my opinions of it lined up. They certainly do. Looking at the cast on an IMDB page in 2008 you might come away thinking this movie is going to be pretty weak and mostly made for teens a la I Know What You Did Last Summer. This is not even close to the case. The acting is top notch, the movie is brutal as hell, and there are at least 2 scenes of gore that made me wince. The movie does not try to hide what the main threat is (killer kudzu), which had me wondering pretty early on how the hell they were going to be able to deliver on the premise and keep it interesting. The filmmakers played it perfectly. Rather than having this killer vine just physically assault people by strangling them, or pulling them into the brush, it takes a far more psychological approach. It slowly latches on to peoples wounds while they are sleeping to plant itself in their bodies, it uses its flowers which can mimic sound to either lure its victims or drive them nuts, and it basically only eats after its played its victims into killing themselves or one another. I was a little disappointed that the ending stinger was of more people approaching the ruin, rather than showing the fallout of what happens when someone actually escapes and has the spores of the plant all over their clothes. Overall this is a choice watch and I'm glad I followed through on checking it out. 10. Midsommar I honestly feel like I might not be intellectually equipped to really break this movie down. The first half hour as so emotionally authentic. A couple on the edge of break up and what both of them are discussing with friends, the one douche bag friend who talks poo poo about the girlfriend because all he cares about is having a single party bro back, and of course the scene and follow up to what drives the entire film. While I would have a tough time calling this movie scary, it was definitely super creepy and chilling at times. I got goosebumps every time they showed the sister including when they hid her, maybe especially when they hid her. Once they get to Sweden, Midsommar might be the most aesthetically pleasing horror movie of all time. There are so many incredible stand alone shots (the overhead shot of the group walking into the woods where the camera turns as they turn, the loop de loop as the car drives in to the commune) and so many gorgeous bright settings. The commune itself would seem to mirror whats actually going on in the movie, where everything is beautiful on a surface level but dark and sinister underneath (depending on your point of view). On the other hand, I can remember thinking that the scene of the 72 year olds leaping from the cliff was incredible beautiful, which is actually the exact thought process of the members of the commune although for different reasons. I would have been interested to see what the community does with an outsider who isn't a shithead (besides the May Queen) because everyone they ended up killing pretty much deserved it. If Josh doesn't take pictures of the holy scripture do they still just kill him when its time? To be totally honest, I don't even know how much I liked the movie, and I doubt I would ever re-watch it on my own accord (mostly due to the run time). But, Ari Aster is a master of his craft and the fact I'm still mentally dissecting this movie days later suggests that its is a must watch at least once type of film.
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Oct 10, 2019 14:17
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SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #2. Dead & Buried Sid Haig Maybe not the best choice for a film of his, as his character is mostly mute except for one really goofy line. Then again he does sever his own arm with a karate chop, so that probably makes up for the lack of dialogue.  15. Galaxy of Terror (1981) (blu-ray) (re-watch) A crew of explorers is sent on a mission to a distant planet to rescue the survivors of a spaceship crash. When they arrive, they find no survivors but instead a strange pyramid, where they encounter hallucinations of their deepest fears. This starts off as a partial rip-off of Alien, and was definitely trying to capitalize on the popularity of that film, but it does go its own way pretty quickly, for better or worse. It throws out basically any semblance of a plot by the end in favor of stringing together some pretty wild imagery and ideas. Among other things, it features killer tentacles, Robert Englund in a knife fight with his doppelganger, a psychic empath for some reason, and Sid Haig karate chopping his own arm off. Also an uncomfortable scene with a giant maggot that I'll get to in a moment. One of the more interesting things about this film is that James Cameron served as Production Designer, and aesthetically this has a lot in common with Aliens, which he won't direct for another 5 years. The alien planet has the same sort of H.R. Giger-esque design, and the same seemingly never-ending storms. The pilot of the rescue ship, here played by Grace Zabriskie, is the only survivor of a previous mission that ended in disaster, which is pretty darn close to the role Ripley fills in Aliens. Now, this film had a fraction of the budget that Cameron would later get and therefore doesn't look nearly as good, but it still has the same sort of vibe. I will say though, that the sets and costumes do look a lot better than you'd expect, even if upon scrutiny they reveal themselves to be made of styrofoam takeout containers. Back to the maggot thing - there is a pretty gross scene where a woman is raped by a giant maggot monster, and it's pretty explicit. The story is that the original version of the scene was a bit tamer, with nudity but no assualt, but the financial backers of the film required that it contain a sex scene so producer Roger Corman combined the two (and filmed it himself because director Bruce D. Clark refused). This sort of scene wasn't entirely unheard of in trashy exploitation films of the time - Humanoids from the Deep has something similar - but even so this one feels a bit worse than normal and it goes on for too long. So, fair warning. Aside from that, this is a pretty wild film that fans of shameless b-movie trash will enjoy. It comes in at a tight 81 minutes and move briskly the whole time, throwing tons of weird ideas at the wall to see what sticks. The plot is thin and dumb and nothing that happens makes much sense, but it looks cool. It's also fun to see a young Robert Englund playing a normal character instead of Freddy Krueger. Tentatively recommended if everything I've said doesn't bother you. 3.5/5 Total: 15 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 | Tower of London | In Fabric | Popcorn | Cube | Uninvited | Galaxy of Terror (Samhain Challenge #2)
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Oct 10, 2019 14:27
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gey muckle mowser posted:One of the more interesting things about this film is that James Cameron served as Production Designer, and aesthetically this has a lot in common with Aliens, which he won't direct for another 5 years. It's also where Cameron became friends with Bill Paxton who was helping out on the set. I always find it fun reading about now famous people who met on Corman productions back in the day.
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Oct 10, 2019 14:44
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12. Village of the Damned 1960 | dir. Wolf Rilla Edgar Wright's 100 Favorite Horror: #18  A paranoid film about spooky children. This film plays heavily on the fears of the Silent Generation. A mass phenomenom occurs in small towns through-out the world, where all the people fall asleep for a few hours, wake up feeling cold, and find out days later that many women are pregnant. The initial Event plays on fears of chemical warfare, or maybe Super Advanced Enemy Technology, before it evolves into a fear of an Unknown Other, which is impossible to recognize (which I found really refreshing, actually). The fallout--the pregnancies--play on fears of infidelity for many, for others it is a fear of being used by an unseen force, which takes away a person's individuality, their control of their body, control of their life and family. Then the spooky kids are born, playing on fears of a new generation born in bizarre conditions, and beginning a new evolution of humanity, or a mutation. It's hard not to compare this film to Carpenter's lackluster remake. It's simpler, it leaves more unanswered. There are some things Carpenter does better, like the actual damage caused by the populace falling asleep (man sleeping on burning grill, anyone?), as well as the people reeling from the immaculate conceptions. However, these kids are spookier. There's something much more unnerving about them. Anyway, it's a simple film. Sometimes it's visually striking. I enjoyed it, especially with it's very short run-time. Recommended Movies Watched: Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom | Annihilation | Evil Bong 2 | Overlord | Dead of Night | The Ruins | Under Wraps | Attack The Block | Don't Go In The Woods | Body Snatchers | Island of Lost Souls | Village of the Damned (1960) Rewatches: 2 Total: 12 Edgar Wright's 100 Favorite Horror: 4/20 (blaze it) Super Samhain Challenge: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Oct 10, 2019 14:50
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Franchescanado posted:
If you haven't already, I highly recommend the book it's based from, The Midwich Cuckoos. It's very good.
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Oct 10, 2019 15:06
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M_Sinistrari posted:If you haven't already, I highly recommend the book it's based from, The Midwich Cuckoos. It's very good. Thank you! I added it to my reading list.
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Oct 10, 2019 15:08
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 #63) Brain of Blood (1971), a.k.a., The Brain, a.k.a., The Oozing Skull, a.k.a., The Creature's Revenge, a.k.a., Brain Damage, a.k.a., The Undying Brain Maybe I'll have better luck picking based on title. In this, the benevolent ruler of a fictional country of white people with Middle-Eastern names needs his brain transplanted to a healthy body. Unfortunately, the dwarf medical assistant (Master from Mad Max 3) , who has a torture dungeon, fucks up and has his murderous pal grab the wrong body! This, of course, means that they need to use the killer's body, since they can't wait long enough to grab a suitable one. This is not a good movie, and not just because it's deeply stupid. There's what feels like dozens of scenes with people standing around in the medical room having slow, poorly-mic'ed conversations, there's a station wagon car chase (where they apparently sank their budget into blowing up a car), slow-moving and tension-free exploration of the catacombs beneath the medical room, and there's no significant twists on the results you'd expect from that set-up. There are a few good points. They switch from the usual bombastic budget orchestra to a cool lo-fi synth score at a couple of points, things pick up for three minutes when they argue over the nature of identity, and the secondary doctor (Grant Williams) does a good job of communicating with his eyes just how incredulous he is that at the medical practices of the main doctor (played by Kent Taylor). But the movie drags and drags, feeling about twenty minutes too long for what it's doing, and the only real objection the transplanted brain has to the new body is that it's ugly. One of the worse Frankenstein adaptations. rating: 4/10"How long has he been dead?" "Fourteen hours, twenty-five minutes." "We don't have much time to waste."
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Oct 10, 2019 15:17
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 Midsommar I was mostly looking forward to this because of all the vivid colors I saw in various screenshots and trailers. And it certainly delivered on that, it's hard to think of a more visually pleasing horror film from the past few years. It was also much less emotionally taxing than Hereditary was, which means I might actually rewatch this at some point. The lead performance is also very solid. Florence Pugh was not a name I was familiar with but I'll be interested to see what she does from here. That said, I do have some criticisms. The length on it's own isn't an issue for me, I love many films that are 2+ hours but here I felt like it did not serve the movie. But the real root of that issue is that the story just didn't go anywhere I wasn't expecting it to. The characters arrive at an idyllic, yet still off-putting commune and for any genre fan you kinda know right from the beginning where this is all going. The ending is precisely the expected one given how these stories typically go, and the path it takes to get there is also pretty straightforward. There are no real deviations along that path that maybe would've made for a more interesting journey. So as much as this is much more my thing than Hereditary was, Hereditary also kept me much more off-balance and threw a few major surprises at me. Midsommar not only wasn't able to do that, it also like 20 minutes longer. If the rumored 5 hour cut does become available at some point, I'd be willing to watch it(in multiple sittings) just to see if maybe there are a few interesting twists thrown in that didn't make the final cut. Watched: 1. Child's Play(1988) 2. Child's Play(2019) 3. VHS: Viral 4. Tales From the Crypt 5. (SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #1)Viy 6. House of Frankenstein 7. Van Helsing 8. The Shining 9. Salem's Lot 10. Poltergeist 2: The Other Side 11. Pumpkinhead 2: Blood Wings 12. The Ravenous 13. Alucarda 14. Horror of Dracula 15. Dracula: Prince of Darkness 16. Midsommar
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Oct 10, 2019 15:26
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Basebf555 posted:If the rumored 5 hour cut does become available at some point, I'd be willing to watch it(in multiple sittings) just to see if maybe there are a few interesting twists thrown in that didn't make the final cut. I don't think I've heard about this, do you have more info? I haven't seen the director's cut that's out now, but I think it's 2h50m, and I remember an interview a while ago where Aster said he originally had a 3h45m cut that he didn't like and didn't want anyone to see (i.e. it was the runtime before it was edited down into something he was happy with)
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Oct 10, 2019 15:31
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gey muckle mowser posted:I don't think I've heard about this, do you have more info? I haven't seen the director's cut that's out now, but I think it's 2h50m, and I remember an interview a while ago where Aster said he originally had a 3h45m cut that he didn't like and didn't want anyone to see (i.e. it was the runtime before it was edited down into something he was happy with) After some googling the 3h45min cut is the one I was talking about, it's referred to as a "4 hour cut" in some articles so I just was off by an hour I guess. I thought there were some discussions of it getting a release but maybe that wasn't serious.
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Oct 10, 2019 15:35
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Basebf555 posted:After some googling the 3h45min cut is the one I was talking about, it's referred to as a "4 hour cut" in some articles so I just was off by an hour I guess. I thought there were some discussions of it getting a release but maybe that wasn't serious. yeah, this is the interview I was thinking of, published before the release of the director's cut was announced: https://www.slashfilm.com/ari-aster-interview-midsommar/ quote:I would say my preferred cut would have been maybe 25 minutes longer, but I actually feel like this cut is the most accessible cut. There probably will exist a director’s cut, and I would not actually call the director’s cut necessarily better. I would say, ‘This is the cut with scenes that were very painful for me to cut that I might have not cut if I weren’t encouraged to keep pushing.’ But [the theatrical version] is definitely an approved cut. I had final cut on the film, and I’m very proud of what we arrived at. But yes, I would say, the three-hour and forty-five minute cut, I would never want anybody to watch. I would say there’s a two-hour and forty-five minute cut, without credits, that I would be interested in what people thought. I'd be down to check out a super long cut as a novelty though, or at least see what some of the cut material was.
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Oct 10, 2019 15:38
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Been a busy week so I'm falling behind a bit! 8. Ravenous 2017  Zombies in rural Canada. Beautifully shot, with a good amount of tension created by the frequently completely quiet soundtrack. Unfortunately, that mostly silent soundtrack and mostly silent protagonists leaves the movie feeling aimless, and a little boring. When not a lot is happening you start to grasp at the little things: I liked the character of Demers, for the energy he brought to the screen and the monotony he broke up. I liked the accordion, if only for the sheer 'why the hell is she keeping that accordion'. .5/5 (rewatch) Dead Snow  Jesus what a terrible dub. It's like the American distributors set out to ruin the movie. A group of mostly unlikable med students travel to a remote and secluded cabin on a snowy mountain for some sexy nonconsensual breathplay and drinking and outdoor sporting. Unfortunately the mountain they picked was a Nazi stronghold during the war, and said Nazis are now zombies who just kill for fun, I think. What more reason do you need? It's got some heavy-handed references to Evil Dead 2, but it's mostly just a goofy gory romp that's fun to watch with a crowd. /5 9. The Curse of La Llorona  With this I complete the Conjuring Universe, which is probably only a little above the Dark Universe in terms of success/wasted potential. Here we have a classic Mexican folk tale turned into a very mediocre jump scare film. La Llorona, or the weeping woman, is about a mother who drowns her children in a fit of despair, and now roams the world seeking children to replace the ones she lost. Linda Cardellini (who is the best and deserves better roles) plays a widowed social worker with two kids who end up targeted by the spirit. For some reason the kids spend a good fifteen minutes or so getting spooked and attacked and *not* telling their mom, which made no sense to me. The movie seems to be aiming to be a Babadook type emotional wringer, with jump scares. Jump scares, ok, but Babadook you are not. /5
graventy fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Oct 10, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 16:12
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 54) Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II - 1987 - TubiTV The only thing this film has in common with the first film is prom is involved. It was originally going to be released as its own film, The Haunting of Hamilton High. Once they looked at the box office take for Prom Night, the film was given the subtitle Prom Night II in the hopes of pulling some similar numbers. It did okay, but did way better on video release. It's not a bad film and I feel it could've stood well on its own. Plotwise, it's a standard ghost possesses person to get revenge. There's a shitload of horror references ranging from last names (Henlotter, O'Bannon, Craven) to homages to other horror films. It also has some funny moments such as a teen ghost from the late 50s having culture clash with late 80s teens. Overall, I liked it but then again, this sort of cheese is right up my alley.  55) Prom Night III: The Last Kiss - 1990 - Youtube A sequel to Hello Mary Lou, this one goes some odd places. It's not so much a horror film, but more a horror spoof variant which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Mary Lou escapes from Hell and after some revenging, she gets interested in a guy at Hamilton High. While helping him succeed, she's also killing off his rivals. Overall, it's not bad, and the ending brings Bloody New Year to mind. While I wouldn't readily recommend it, it is something I would throw on for background noise if nothing else caught my fancy.
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Oct 10, 2019 16:58
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  20. Sound of Horror (1966?) DVD Poorly written, acted, filmed, transferred, and the awful dub is somehow the appropriate quality for the whole project. This one is filler on a cheap multi-movie disk and fun even if it makes Killers from Space, also on the DVD, look like an arthouse film by comparison. 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) *Tied for Current Favorite*, 6. Halloween (1978), 7. One Cut of the Dead (2017), 8. Phamtasm II (1988), 9. Ramekin (2018), 10. Les Affamés (2017), 11. Braindead (1992), 12. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), 13. The Haunting (1963) *Tied for Current Favorite*, 14. House of Wax (1953), 15. Shock (1946), 16. Annihilation (2018), 17. Westworld (1973), 18. Kuroneko, 19. In the Tall Grass (2019), 20. Sound of Horror Decade - 1920s, 1930s, 1940s (II), 1950s (I), 1960s (IV), 1970s (III), 1980s (I), 1990s (I), 2000s, 2010s (VIII) Black & White:Color - 6:14 By Country - Canada (II), Japan (II), 'Murica (XIII), New Zealand (I), Spain (II) New:Rewatch - 16:4 Super Samhain Challenge - 1. Westworld (1973), 2. N/A, 3. N/A
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Oct 10, 2019 17:02
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Basebf555 posted:But the real root of that issue is that the story just didn't go anywhere I wasn't expecting it to. The characters arrive at an idyllic, yet still off-putting commune and for any genre fan you kinda know right from the beginning where this is all going. The ending is precisely the expected one given how these stories typically go, and the path it takes to get there is also pretty straightforward. There are no real deviations along that path that maybe would've made for a more interesting journey. This is actually what I loved about it. Where Hereditary plays a lot on the viewer not knowing what the hell is going on and the terror that instills, Midsommar broadcasts absolutely everything in advance, from all the prophetic art to characters just outright saying what's going to happen later. In an age of twists thrown into everything I really loved seeing something just wear it's heart on its sleeve like that and be so open about it.
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Oct 10, 2019 17:33
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