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A couple of rewatches for while I was relaxing at home last night 10 Cloverfield Lane: In hindsight, I probably should have held off just one more movie to make this my tenth movie. Anyway, this movie rules, and manages to do so much with such a small number of moving pieces. As I think Red Letter Media pointed out in their video around the time of release, what makes John Goodman's performance as Howard work so well as a villain here, in addition to just how unhinged and unpredictable he is, is that he's a villain who is utterly convinced that he's the hero, and will stop at nothing to assert that over those around him. If I have one complaint, it's that I would have chosen to excise the last 5-10 minute action sequence completely, really only serving to distract from the ultra tense, self-contained character study that came before it. The Thing (1982): It's Thing, I'm sure nobody here needs me to tell them that this is a horror masterpiece. What makes the titular thing work so well as a horror monster (in addition to the still excellent practical effects work) is the way in which it feels expertly designed and written to play into very real, human fears even moreso than fear of the creature itself, be they distrust, isolation or outbreak, all coming together to create something both completely alien and instantly relatable. And then my friend and I went through the first half of his Godzilla beginner's selection today. Godzilla (1954): This still totally holds up on a first watch 65 years later. Godzilla is a lot more subdued here than I'm sure he'll become in later entries, serving through much of the film as a dormant but lingering threat capable of mass devastation. This is of course in line with the film's allegory of nuclear war in the wake of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, compounded further by Dr. Serizawa's fear of seeing his research weaponized. The effects work what Godzilla is present still holds up too, thanks to a strong combination of suit and miniature design. Godzilla vs. Biollante: Comparatively, this one is more of a straight up action monster movie spectacle, but a real fun one thanks to strong practical effects work on both monsters (plus Biollante's pre-monster and evolved forms), and the giant plant angle being both an interesting take on the giant monster formula, while also serving as a nice contrast to Godzilla's animalistic nature. Up next tomorrow: Godzilla 2000 and Shin Godzilla Movies Watched (12): Stereo, Crimes of the Future, Perfect Blue (Challenge # 1), Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Event Horizon, Ernest Scared Stupid, The Invisible Man, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Thing (1982), Godzilla (1954), Godzilla vs. Biollante Samhain Challenges Completed: 1/3
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Oct 13, 2019 05:01
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 #81) Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy? (2005) We're back out of the States again. And yes, Papyrus is used in the opening credits. Hope you're ready for some Egypt characterization that's barely been updated since the '60s if you choose to watch this. Can't get enough of those mirage jokes! Guest voices this time include Ron Perlman, Christine Baranski, Wynton Marsalis, and Virginia Madsen (as Cleopatra). Their presence, the length, and a fair improvement of the animation quality are what elevates this, but things don't get too engaging. A few supernatural occurrences are the only curveballs. Well, that and Scooby being worshiped as a returned pharaoh (with Shaggy as "his lanky man-servant."). There's a near-pointless sub-plot with a globe-trotting TV show host, plus some rival explorers/treasure hounds, but everything's too straight-forward, and those B-lines get no traction going. The highlight, though, is at one point, Frank Welker does Fred imitating Scooby (he's the voice for both these days), and it's kinda magical if you're a VA geek. But that's like five seconds of goodness out of a whole lot of average filler.  rating: 5/10"They don't look like they've moved since the day they were buried."
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Oct 13, 2019 05:10
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Random Stranger posted:Slugs is probably my second favorite "animals go crazy and start attacking people" movie. What is your first favorite?
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Oct 13, 2019 05:14
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27.  The Last Man on Earth (1964, Ubaldo Ragona/Sidney Salkow) Scream Factory Blu-ray [part of The Vincent Price Collection II] While it's been a while since I've seen The Omega Man and haven't bothered with I Am Legend, this is a decent 60s horror film. It sort of anticipates Night of the Living Dead while also having its roots in stuff like Black Sunday (it was an Italian co-production anyways). Vincent Price is interesting because he's not exactly heroic, which makes the ending that much better. 3/5
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Oct 13, 2019 05:23
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I never put up last night’s review. I just wrote it up and forgot about it on my document until tonight when I opened it back up to go over my list/schedule. Because I was THAT unaffected by it. 16 (19). The Seventh Victim (1943) Recorded off TCM, available on the Criterion Channel and Fubo. A young woman leaves her boarding school when she learns her older sister has gone missing in New York and starts down a path of secrets, murder, and a conspiracy of Satanists. Ever since some people talked about it last week I’ve been watching these movies with my laptop cloud but a legal pad by my side that I’d jot note down on for the review. I’ve been tearing through the pad with a page for every film since. Sadly this movie’s page is completely blank, which kind of sums up my feelings. The film apparently went through a massive rewrite completely changing the entire story, and then the director ended up making a number of rewrites/cuts himself that the second writer felt ruined the film. All this meddling and “too many cooks” kind of shows because the movie’s just sort of all over. There’s a ton of characters who don’t seem to serve a ton of purpose and the conspiracy turn and twists lead to dead ends and in circles. The appeal to the film seems to be its dealing with depression and a lesbian relationship, which I imagine was rare fo 1943. There’s not a lot there about the “homoerotic” theme, I think, although it can certainly tie into the depression angle and secrets. The depression angle certainly has legs though but it feels poorly explored from a first person perspective and largely only addressed through men explaining what they think is wrong with the woman… or reciting poetry. Which I guess is a statement all on its own. Maybe there's more there that I can't just see because of my privilege or the 75 years that have dealt with the same material since? I don't know. Ben Mankiewicz introduced the film’s producer Val Lewton as being good at “efficient, atmospheric” films, which is probably the most generous praise I can give this one. I’ve already padded this thing out as far as I think I can manage. Oh, apparently the film includes a cheap tie in with Lewton’s Cat People to try and capitalize off its success. Ok, now I really have filled out my book report as much as I can without expanding the spacing. 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); 8. In the Tall Grass (2019); 9. The Night of the Hunter (1955); 10. The Thing (1951); - (11). The Thing (1982); 11 (12). The Thing (2011); - (13). Halloween (1978); 12 (14). Dracula (1931); SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #2: 13 (15). Q (1982); 14 (16). The Black Cat (1934); 15 (17). The Unknown (1927); ]- (18). Halloween II (1981); 16 (19). The Seventh Victim (1943);
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Oct 13, 2019 05:34
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Behind Maslow posted:What is your first favorite? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_horror_films The peaks are actually pretty high with this one. I still haven't seen Day of the Animals a.k.a. the only other film besides Creepshow I know where Leslie Nielsen plays a sick, deranged gently caress
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Oct 13, 2019 05:35
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[Frank Drebin joke]
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Oct 13, 2019 05:47
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13. Alligator (1980)Challenge #2: Dead & Buried Alligator! Robert Forster and the world's sexiest herpetologist hunt an alligator that has grown to supermassive size from eating dead dogs injected with mad science hormones after being flushed down a New York City toilet. You know, that old plot. This is a very, very silly movie that's kept aloft in between scenes by a perfectly pitched performance from Forster. He knows exactly what kind of movie he's in, never taking things too seriously or overplaying the schtick, just exuding the same low-key cool he brought to Jackie Brown or the Twin Peaks revival. The gator itself is pure B-movie, crashing through sidewalks and chomping on people who are very obviously holding themselves in the puppet's jaws, as God and Ed Wood intended. I had a pretty good time with this. RIP Robert Forster: sometimes being a great actor means playing Tarantino's most soulfully written role to the hilt, and sometimes it means being a fun goof in a big ol' alligator movie. 3/5 
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Oct 13, 2019 05:55
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#15: Killer Condom (1996) Okay. I have no idea what I just watched. Seriously, this is awful and awesome in equal amounts, and I don't think I can recommend it to anyone. But at the same time I want everyone to see this crazy piece of German cinema that takes place in America (I have never seen it done this way before) which means everyone is speaking German, but it's supposed to be an American story set in NYC, and the culture clash that happens is just... weird. Really loving weird. But it's worth it. Holy poo poo is this movie worth it. The main character is named (Detective) "Louigi Mackeroni". He's an Italian-born American detective written by German people, which is just part of why this movies is hilarious. It also features wonderfully animated condoms biting people's dicks (or balls) off. But at it's heart, it really does try to comment on LBGT culture that I wasn't expecting. It isn't high art by any means (I mean, it's a horror movie about condoms with literal teeth) but it also isn't nearly as "bad" as your brain thinks it is when you read the title for the first time. This movie is awesome. I'm not giving this a rating. I genuinely can't compare it to anything in a way that would quantify some kind of number. It's also hard to judge because I watched this along with the Scream Stream and it's subtitled, so I'm sure I missed various lines trying to keep up with the movie and the chat. That said, I regret nothing. This movie is loving awesome. Watched: Midsommar; One Cut of the Dead; Apostle; Wolf Creek; Lake Mungo; Viy (Challenge #1); Demon Knight; Witchfinder General; Razorback; Joker; A Quiet Place; Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told (Challenge #2); Hereditary; The First Purge (Challenge #3); Killer Condom Total: 15 T3hRen3gade fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Oct 13, 2019 |
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Oct 13, 2019 06:04
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15.) People Under the Stairs 1991, rewatch, Amazon Rental Had the good fortune to watch this with friends who had not seen it before, and it went over great. The People Under the Stairs touches on some heavy themes while being light and fun the whole time - even the most grisly of the violence isn't particularly graphic. The wonderful villainous duo are perfectly despicable avatars of very real scumbags, and my guests cheered every brick and ballshot. I'm fond of the way the film isn't interested in judging Fool for participating in the attempted theft - it works, and Booker, a wise moral anchor in the community, declares it appropriate and acceptable to strike back against the people extorting you, no matter how "legal" their methods. Thought he was white before? You should see that sucker now! 16.) L'Inferno  1911, first watch, Youtube A pick from my partner, this is an ancient Italian interpretation of the Divine Comedy. There's several versions floating around - we ended up with this one. Visually striking and beautiful in ways that eclipse many more recent, technologically-advanced productions, this is the very definition of "an oldie but a goodie." Some great backdrops, incredibly inventive visual tricks (you've likely seen clips, perhaps without knowing it), and huge amounts of extras and interpretive recreations of artistic depictions of the Inferno. The craft of silent acting is strong here, with great gestures and mannerisms. It's a little over an hour and freely available, so definitely worth a look. All hope abandon ye who enter here. Watched: 1.) Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [Classics], 2.) Occult [J- and K-horror], 3.) Son of Frankenstein [Threequels, Samhain Challenge #1], 4.) Game Over [India] 5.) Candyman [Clive Barker], 6.) Knife + Heart [New Releases], 7.) Butterfly Murders, 8.) The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [Classics], 9.) One Cut of the Dead [J- and K-Horror], 10.) Hatchet III [Threequels, Samhain Challenge #2], 11.) Neighbours: They Are Vampires [India], 12.) Midnight Meat Train [Clive Barker], 13.) Us [New Releases, Samhain Challenge #3], 14.) The Taking of Deborah Logan, 15.) People Under the Stairs, 16.) L'Inferno [Classics]
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Oct 13, 2019 06:08
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13. The Black Sleep Made in 1956, this feels like it was a deliberate callback to the horror films of the 40s. Basil Rathbone is a scientist who, having saved a fellow surgeon from the gallows by faking his death with the titular sleep drug, enlists his aid in mapping the brain, in hopes of finding a cure for his comatose wife. However, his experiments on various persons tend to leave them in very unpleasant states. This was Bela Lugosi's last full film (not counting Plan 9 which was pieced together using footage of him), and sadly he's pretty much wasted as a mute butler. Lon Chaney doesn't get a lot to do either, while John Carradine's role is... interesting. Tor Johnson's in this too as one of the doctor's rejects. It's kind of respectably reserved, but lacking in tension for a while. The finale's amusingly crazy though, and of course Rathbone is excellent throughout. A cute little flick on the balance.
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Oct 13, 2019 07:59
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 Franchise: Silent Night, Deadly Night Considering how there's now a pretty settled 'Deadly Santa' subgenre, the outrage when the first film of the franchise just feels almost quaint. I remember the news covering the outcry. I was helping my Mom do the bills at the kitchen table and looked at some pearl clutcher being horrified, then looked to my Mom who said "Find a theater showing it and we'll go."  61) Silent Night, Deadly Night - 1984 - DVD If it hadn't been for the outrage on the news and from film critics, this would've been just another slasher among the glut of slasher films getting released. Gene Siskel actually read the names of the production crew on his show saying "Shame on you" and insisted the money being made off the film was blood money. Leonard Maltin wondered what was next, a killer Easter Bunny (those would be later). It's interesting that this film caught flack while the earlier Christmas Evil which also had a killer Santa was looked over. Plotwise, it's the basic child with untreated trauma from seeing his parents killed ends up snapping years later. Since he believes Santa punishes the naughty, he targets the usual suspects in his rampage while the police have trouble tracking him down since there's so many others dressed as Santa on Christmas. The film ends with the hint that the killer's little brother's likely going to follow in his brother's footsteps. Overall, it's a solid slasher of the era.  62) Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 - 1987 - DVD This is the one that brought us the memorable clip of "It's garbage day!". Apparently they were given so little funds to make the film, they were expected to re-cut the first and call it a sequel. I'm happy the director insisted a new film get shot even if it was at the cost of about a quarter of the film being flashbacks. As expected, the killer from the last film's little brother ends up with his own untreated trauma from their parents murders and seeing his older brother shot down by police. Despite being adopted out and a normal upbringing, he's still got issues and ends up snapping. The film leans more towards a black comedy than horror, but it's still entertaining in it's own way.  63) Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! - 1989 - Vudu This one got a bit weird. Our killer from the last film's been given a clear plastidome with his brain visible and been comatose after being shot by police. A doctor decides to conduct an experiment to reach him with using a blind clairvoyant. Once he awakes from Santa induced trauma, we know where this is going to go. This is the last of the franchise to have a connection with the original film. It's okay, I might have it on for background noise.
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Oct 13, 2019 08:04
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6) Viy (Challenge #1 - movie of the month) Great colors and sets. There's a charming weirdness to this folktale horror. You can see how Jack Frost (1964) came from a similar tradition. I love the comedy of the ghouls running away at dawn. It's nowhere near as crazy but it reminds me of Hausu at times. ⛪⛪⛪⛪ 7) Alucarda Blood soaked and crazy. Lots of effort behind the weird costumes in this one. Sets are good and spooky. The story is mostly horny and comedic. One of the doors has the greatest creak in film history and there's an amazing pratfall down a set of stairs. 🔥🔥🔥🔥 8) Who Can Kill a Child? (Challenge #2 - director died June 2019) The pacing is unfortunate but a well edited, breezy cut of this movie could be pretty great. The mobs of kids are suitably creepy and the action scenes are all pretty great. Overall Dagon is the superior barren coast town horror movie. The long news reel of war crime footage at the start is awful and does not add nearly as much as the director thinks. 🎣🎣 9) The Seventh Curse Delightful goopy romp. Puppets fighting humans. Puppets fighting humans in rubber suits. Crazy action and a great time all around. 💀💀💀💀 10) White Zombie A fun little spooky story. Lugosi is entertaining but plays it a bit too evil when I think he's best at being a hypnotic manipulator. The rest are very 1932 studio film performances. Some of the sets are dodgy mattes and paint jobs pretending to be 3D elements but they are more charming than flawed. Nothing feels completely realized but you can trace a line from this to countless Gothic horrors and Hammer stuff. 🧟🧟🧟 11) The Uninvited Everyone talks like they are in a 1940s movie and I cannot deal. The rapid tone shifts between scenes are not a great choice but some of the comedic scenes are fun. The comedy sailing scene masking a family history infodump was very clever. 🕯️🕯️ 12) Haxan Not very spooky but it's a really interesting film. The coin vignette has a bunch of neat shots and stop motion animation. I am a sucker for double exposure ghosts in old movies. The TCM version's score is overpowering and bad. Dial the volume way back. 😈😈😈
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Oct 13, 2019 08:13
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Random Stranger posted:Slugs is probably my second favorite "animals go crazy and start attacking people" movie. It's weird that something so specific has enough movies to be a horror subgenre. It's especially weird that there's so many species of small animals that can be driven to start attacking people. Slugs exists because Shaun Hutson was inspired to write his first novel after reading The Rats by James Herbert and thought "OK, what can I use that's even more disgusting than rats?"
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Oct 13, 2019 08:52
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 17 (20). The Beast With Five Fingers (1946) Recorded off Movies! In Renaissance Italy a cast of characters are under the oppressive hand of the tyrannical owner of a mansion, but when he dies under strange circumstances and leaves his entire fortune to the nurse he loves it sets off a chain of events of attacks, secrets, and murder between the nurse, her lover, the eccentric secretary, gold digging relatives, a deceitful lawyer, and the local law. But are they all the actions of someone conspiring for a fortune, or the spirit of the deceased come for his revenge? This was a lot of fun. Structurally its more of a murder mystery story with a bunch of eccentric characters and lots of red herrings and clues along the way, just with a supernatural spin. But it does a great job of keeping you guessing as to what it is or who is to blame. I for one guessed wrong a couple of times and the story just kind of spins you around thinking you have it or you don’t. All while giving you the traditional haunted house atmosphere and tension. A lot of the film is carried by two performances, the first being Robert Alda who plays an impossibly charming conman who is so good that I’m not even sure how much of him was full of poo poo and how much wasn’t. There’s a tremendous scene right at the start of the film of him grifting a couple of stereotypical American tourists and then having some friendly banter with the cop who only seems tangentially interested in stopping him from such a heinous act. He has a fun dance with most characters in the film and adds to the biting sense of humor that’s throughout the entire piece. The other standout is Peter Lorre and he’s just being the same guy I’ve ever seen Peter Lorre be. He plays such a delightfully creepy and barely hinged guy that it makes me wonder what he must have been like in real life. I have a hard time imagining him talking to his wife and kids without just coming off sinister and evil. And that goes a long way here because you’re never quite sure if he’s up to something or if he’s just kind of a mess. I guess I don’t really have a lot to say about this but I don’t want to seem like a bad thing. I thought it was a delightful little piece that walked the line between not taking itself too seriously but still keeping the mood and atmosphere intact to be counted on my list. I wouldn’t call it a must watch or anything but you could do a lot worse.  18 (21). The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) Watched on Prime, available on Hulu, Kanopy, Epix, the Internet Archive, Youtube, and probably everywhere else because its public domain. The beautiful and kind Esmeralda is the daughter of Clopin the “peasant king” and the object of desire of many including the aristocratic knight Phoebus, the nefarious brother of the Arch-Deacon Jehan, and the hated and embittered hunchback who lives in the Cathedral of Notre Dame Quasimodo. This cast of characters and the iconic Cathedral become the setting of a violent battle of the classes and display of the injustice of the King’s Justice in 19th century France. For much of the film I was wondering why exactly this was horror. I mean, everyone lists it as horror and its credited as basically being responsible for Lon Chaney’s superstardom and was the start of Universal’s whole standard of horror I’m exploring so its counting. But most of the film I was like “I’m kind of watching a rom com or a 1920s Hollywood blockbuster, aren’t I? Are we just calling it “horror” because the dude looks different? That sucks. But things definitely get horror towards the end. The sheer scope of the film is something to behold. Massive sets constructed to represent Paris of the time and the Cathedral, hundreds of extras in period dress and action scenes. Its not just a huge spectacle but its an engaging and well constructed film even with a pretty long 100+ min run time for a silent film. Once again my (irrational?) fear of the silent films that has held me back during this challenge prove unfounded as it really loses nothing or fails to hold my attention or interest. And Chaney is a hell of a physical actor. We tend to associate that with comedy these days but its not just a powerful skill in silent films but in these heavily costumed roles Chaney took. Quasimodo obviously looks like someone else entirely but a lot of it is beyond the makeup and to Chaney’s performance. Whether its the way he’d play with his tongue and move his eyes, or how he made himself look so small hunched and with bent knees. And the scenes of Quasimodo dancing on the terraces of the Cathedral or the opening scene of him climbing and swinging from the carvings are a whole show in and of themselves. I don’t know what I expected from Chaney. I’ve known his name forever but never seen him, and I didn’t know if I was going to get some sort of truly gifted actor or just some guy who did a solid job in some important roles. But Chaney obviously brought a ton to the table as an actor. I’ve got at least one more film of his in this challenge but beyond that I think I’m going to be seeking out some of his work beyond the horror genre because I find myself really curious. Also I just learned a new insult/curse. “Jackanape.” And as best I can tell it’s not even racist or anything. That’s 12 years out of 36, which still puts me behind the pace I need to pull off my biggest challenge yet. My team being good slows me down but I need to keep doubling up and get ahead so I can comfortably watch some of the other stuff I want this month with worrying about "wasting" a night.  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); 8. In the Tall Grass (2019); 9. The Night of the Hunter (1955); 10. The Thing (1951); - (11). The Thing (1982); 11 (12). The Thing (2011); - (13). Halloween (1978); 12 (14). Dracula (1931); SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #2: 13 (15). Q (1982); 14 (16). The Black Cat (1934); 15 (17). The Unknown (1927); ]- (18). Halloween II (1981); 16 (19). The Seventh Victim (1943); 17 (20). The Beast With Five Fingers (1946); 18 (21). The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
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Oct 13, 2019 10:56
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4. In The Tall Grass 2.5/5 Netflix adapts the Stephen King and Joe Hill novella of the same name. Funny enough, I didn't know that when I turned the movie on. Even as a King fan, I'd managed to never even hear of the original novella. The concept is spooky and intriguing enough. A pregnant woman and her brother stop on the side of the road and hear a young boy crying for help from an overgrown grass field and proceed to get lost while trying to help the kid. It's tense, it's unsettling and conveys a good sense of exhaustion and hopelessness from the characters. However, like any good King story, it overstays it's welcome by just a tad and the ending goes off the rails. I feel like this movie could have done with about 20 minutes cut out and we'd have a really good spooky story with a simple concept. 5. The Hitcher (1986) 4/5 A young man on a road trip is hounded by a crazed hitchhiker along a lonely stretch of highway. I realized I'd somehow managed to never see the original Hitcher film, despite having seen the Sean Bean remake more than once. While Sean Bean shoots down helicopters backed by Nine Inch Nails, the original films is somehow the exact same thing but feels less ludicrous. Rutger Hauer is infinitely more sinister than Bean, feeling far more like an unstoppable force of nature than your typical horror film antagonist. The way he is able to menace C. Thomas Howell throughout the movie feels simultaneously brilliant and supernatural, making him feel like he's one step away from being another immortal, unexplained slasher like Voorhees or Myers, but with a sense of crazed intellect and knowing not too far off from Hannibal Lecter. This movie was a tense blast and I'm glad I realized I somehow managed to miss it all these years. 6. House of 1,000 Corpses 3.5/5 A group of friends on a road trip to document weird roadside attracts stop at Captain Spaulding's Museum of Monsters & Mayhem, as well as having an unexpected run-in with the insane Firefly family. I wanted to return to this one as I hadn't seen it since it first came out on DVD when I was a young teenager. I was a metal fan, a Rob Zombie fan, and regularly trying to find the weirdest, most hosed up horror movies for Netflix to mail me. I wanted to return and see if it held up without my fanboy-tinted goggles of the time. And you know what? Kind of. I can give Rob Zombie credit for one thing - he makes the films he wanted to make, warts and all. House of 1,000 Corpses is an old ratty pulp comic book of weirdness, violence and freaks, and it wears all it's inspiration on it's sleeve. It's an homage to a dozen other different movies, concepts and timeframes with only the barest sense of continuity and plot, and I kind of love that about it. From a technical standpoint, it's probably not a very good movie, but that bit of fanboy still lives inside me after all and I still had a great time. And don't forget: Tiny hosed a stump.
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Oct 13, 2019 13:24
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Behind Maslow posted:What is your first favorite? The Birds, of course. Keep in mind, animals go crazy movies are different from animal attack movies, so I don't count Jaws in the subgenre. It's like the difference between a zombie movie and a slasher movie; if you don't have hoards of previously docile animals overrunning people then it's not an animals go crazy movie.
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Oct 13, 2019 14:07
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12. Body Bags A horror anthology that is probably the closest to the original Creepshow that I’ve found to date. It has the same blend of humor, horror and wonderfully cheesy aesthetic. Any time I get to see Mark Hamill act in something that isn’t Star Wars or animated is a blessing. The segment he stars in is probably the worst of the three but I still had a blast. The goofy wrap around featuring John Carpenter is also a hoot. 13. The Haunting in Connecticut It is unbelievable to me that this not only got a theatrical release but that it actually made money. Everything about it is Made For TV quality. All attempts at being spooky were cliché and poorly done. The effects and spooks in The Changeling were significantly more effective despite being 30 years older. This is bad in a way that isn’t even remotely fun like Unsullied. I can honestly say this is a bottom 3 movie I’ve ever watched during a challenge.
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Oct 13, 2019 15:02
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20. Phantasm Watched On: Shudder I haven't watched any of these movies since I was about 18, pulling them off of a DirectConnect server in college. This is a testament to Coscarelli's ability to make a pretty decent movie with limited resources. It has a very "let's put on a show" mentality to it: someone had a sweet 'Cuda so it goes in the movie, Reggie and Jody can both play the guitar so it goes in the movie, we can use exteriors of this amazing-looking funeral home so it becomes the central location. The whole movie is a pretty slow burn, as are most 70s horror movies, but there are still some real standout moments once the action gets going. The first sphere attack is really gnarly, both visual and audio-wise and I love the glowing white room where the finale of the film takes place. The soundtrack is also very creepy in that 70s Italosynth style and my girlfriend caught me grooving on some of the drum work being laid down on more than one occasion. The acting is serviceable save for Angus Scrimm, whose physicality as The Tall Man is still creepy as hell. You can see how he made an entire career off of this performance. I wish there was an easier way to watch Phantasm 2 because that's the one I remember liking the most, so I might just keep this challenge to one Phantasm movie
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Oct 13, 2019 15:06
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11. A Blade In The Dark The new tenant of an Italian villa has rear end his lady friends murdered by a psychotic killer who also lives in that house somehow. Maybe I was expecting too much from Lamberto Bava, but this didn't work for me at all. All the elements of a good giallo are in place, but it somehow does not have the right giallo feel, I can't really explain it. Maybe I was just too tired watching it, but this was just kind of bland and boring. There is one good murder scene and the sounds that the killer makes are interesting, but that's it. The final explanation of what the killer's deal was has also sort of not aged too well I suppose. 12. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie Anthology horror, to delay being roasted in a suburban witch's oven, a child reads three spooky stories to his captor. The first story has a stacked cast, a gorgeous Julianne Moore looking more like Gillian Anderson than ever, Christian Slater and Steve Buscemi looking way too old for an ivy-league collegeboy. Steve orders an egyptian sarcophagus + mummy by mail, intending to sell it for profit (because, as he says "he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth"), but of course the mummy starts murdering people. Mostly low on gore and devoid of suspense, this one sort of seems targeted at children or teenagers. Second story is straight out of Stephen King's coke addled brain, a hitman is tasked with killing a satanic cat that haunts a scumbag pharmaceutical CEO. Some nice chiaroscuro cinematography but overall not very good either - how do you mess up a killer cat? Saved by an excellently disturbing ending, maybe not for kids? Last story, an artist down on his luck witnesses a gargoyle murdering his friend and has to swear secrecy for the rest of his life, lest the beast come for him too. Shortly afterwards he meets a woman who turns his life around, they have kids etc. and live happily ever after, almost. Now this one is good, from the interesting premise to the wonderful creature transformation effects, definitely not for kids at this point. As far as anthology movies go, a mixed bag. The quality of the segments varies wildly, there's no coherent tone or message, really feels like 3 random TV episodes slapped together. Eh. 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, 11. A Blade in the Dark, 12. Tales from the Darkside
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Oct 13, 2019 15:11
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 #12. Witchboard (1986) (Rewatch) A woman invokes a malevolent spirit that wishes to possess her after using a ouija board alone. A fun slab of 80's goodness. Far superior to the 2014 film Oujia, this movie doesn't seem to be a giant advertisement for the mass produced board. We get video vixens, hatches to the face, Kathleen Wilhoite, knives with ketchup dripping on them, a sundial impailment, different oujia boards, and a plethora of 80's fashion. Far from perfect, but a fun ride worth getting in a convertable for.
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Oct 13, 2019 15:46
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Idle Hands (1999, CTV app) Idle Hands is certainly a movie released in 1999. The soundtrack, the clothing, the actors are really of that specific late 90s/early 2000s era. Devon Sawa stars as Anton, a teen stoner who’s hand becomes possessed and starts acting out on its own. This leads to a lot of murder and violence. It’s a horror comedy that leans way more into the comedy aspect than anything else. It really feels like a schlocky old B-movie updated for the 90s. It’s got pretty good gore and special effects but nothing comes off as too horrific. It’s certainly a decent enough movie to watch at this time of year, and bonus points for being set at Halloween as well. On a side note, the CTV app on the Apple TV is horrible. I paused the movie midway through and it reset it to the beginning and wouldn’t fast forward. I ended up finishing my watch on the phone Samhain Challenge 3: Horror noire Horror Noire (2019, Shudder This is a very good documentary, covering the role of African Americans in horror from the early days of cinema to the present. It offers very good perspectives on films and there were some things I had never really thought of before and I hope it allows me to be more mindful of things I see in films going forward. For example, it goes in to how black characters often have little agency of their own and often just serve the purpose of allowing the white, main characters to express how they feel. Aside from being educational, the documentary is very entertaining and well made, using archive footage and movie clips to demonstrate the talking points. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 (1987, Amazon Prime Canada It’s a possession/slasher flick that really doesn’t have anything to do with the first one. It starts off strong with a confessional scene but it really kind of tapers off for a while after. The actual prom night itself is pretty good. The film really wears its influences on its sleeve, especially Nightmare on elm street and Carrie. This leads to some tonal inconsistencies and may explain why o just wasn’t getting in to it. Doom Asylum (1987, iTunes This is a schlocky, low budget 80s movie about a doctor that is driven insane after barely surviving a car accident and kills anyone who intrudes on the abandoned asylum he inhabits. This is a decent satire of its contemporary slashers. The group of college kids are all over the top on their bad acting, and the dialogue is hilarious (“Please! No! I voted for Reagan”). The villains costuming and look is really good too. This was filmed at an actual abandoned asylum so it looks really authentic and gritty as a result. There are some B&W segments from another film that keep getting inserted in because they draw thematic similarities but I found those to be more distracting than beneficial. Also, like many other 80s movies the black characters only serve comedic purposes. Overall though this was a pretty fun to watch movie and it’s only 77 minutes long so it doesn’t drag at all. Arrow video does cheap digital releases on iTunes throughout October so it’s worth the $4 price tag if you see it there. Eaten Alive (1976, Amazon Prime Canada This movie was pretty drat good. It’s Tobe Hooper’s follow up to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This movie really doesn’t have much of a plot. A hotel owner in rural Louisiana pretty much kills and feeds anyone who pisses him off to his giant crocodile. It’s a pretty drat sleazy movie and some of the content is genuinely disturbing, especially a scene involving a young girl and her dog. It’s a really atmospheric movie with all sorts of fog and neon lights and a really good set piece. This is probably not for everyone but it’s definitely worth a watch if you liked TCM. Watched (18): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire
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Oct 13, 2019 16:19
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Random Stranger posted:The Birds, of course. I prefer “animals rebel” movies. Let’s be real, those birds have a point.
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Oct 13, 2019 17:12
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 SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #3Horror NoireBones  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z8Srxaoi48 Okay, so I approached this challenge really wanting to do a movie by a black director rather than just pick a movie from the films mentioned in Horror Noire. The condition that it had to be a movie that I hadn't seen before was a huge hurdle, even the next movie on my list which was shot in South Africa had a white director (a white director during apartheid making a horror movie set in a remote SA village; I've got a real bad feeling about that one). I wound up trying to pick through lists of movies for free streaming for Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu and trying to determine the race of the director. Then I finally remembered tubitv exists. Bones was top of my list of films I wanted to see and it was front and center, but tubi also had a whole category for African American films where you could dig through it to find horror movies. So if anyone is looking for a movie for this challenge, I definitely recommend going there. Twenty years ago Bones was some kind of disco godfather, doing crimes but still loved by the people of his neighborhood. After he is murdered, the neighborhood declines, leaving his decrepit townhouse standing alone and abandoned. Meanwhile his ghost haunts the neighborhood, leaving the remaining residents in fear. Twenty years later some young people from outside the neighborhood come in and try to convert his old house into a nightclub and spooky shenanigans commence. This is another movie that wears its themes on its sleeve, but unlike The Purge which I watched early, Bones doesn't just touch on them and then run away before actually engaging with them or contradicting them. Bones reminds me a lot of Candyman which leaned into very similar themes, though I think Candyman does a better job with them. Bones is wonderfully shot. Ernest Dickerson has a great eye for horror visuals and it's a shame he didn't do more scary movies; it's this and Demon Knight for his horror filmography. He's been Spike Lee's cinematographer so it's not a surprise he's good at using that frame. There is some dodgy early 2000's CGI, but overall, it's really effective. This movie does have a bit of a problem with it's monster. Snoop Dogg plays Bones and he's fine, but Bones as a supernatural villain is a mess. He's got too many things going on. There's no rules here, it feels more like they decided "Oh yeah, that would be cool" and did it. So Bones has a ghost dog, shadows, flies, maggots, causes things to bleed, does Evil Dead zoom shots, ghosts of victims, is trapped, isn't trapped, needs a flesh resurrection, is still a ghost after being resurrected, torments some people after their death, and on and on. There's no hook here to build on; because there are so many things. So Bones the monster makes Bones the movie a bit disjointed, but there's still a lot to enjoy here. The movie looks cool, cool horror things happen, and it's a wild, if bumpy, ride. I'm glad I finally got around to this one. K. Waste posted:I prefer “animals rebel” movies. Let’s be real, those birds have a point. That's a good term, too. I think I'm going to stick by "go crazy" just because that's the kind of thing that would be in the TV guide description of these movies. Maybe it should be "animals get hysterical" to really hit on that point. 
Random Stranger fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Oct 13, 2019 |
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Oct 13, 2019 17:18
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Random Stranger posted:Ernest Dickerson has a great eye for horror visuals and it's a shame he didn't do more scary movies; it's this and Demon Knight for his horror filmography. Check out Def by Temptation, which is the movie I posted about for this challenge. Dickerson is listed as the cinematographer, and when I was reading up on the movie after seeing it, I learned that the DVD apparently includes a conversation between Dickerson and Lloyd Kaufman where Dickerson says that the directing duties were more of a joint effort between him and the credited director, James Bond III, with Bond mostly focused on the actors and Dickerson handling the movie's look and style. That movie really looks great, especially for something so low budget, so it might satisfy that urge for more of Dickerson's take on horror visuals.
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Oct 13, 2019 17:54
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#26: Chernobyl Diaries For some reason going into this I assumed it was found footage. And the weird thing is, it really feels like a found footage movie. The whole thing is shot entirely handheld style, and also entirely from around eye level. There's almost no background music. When the group splits up the movie sticks with one subgroup all the way until they meet up again. No flashbacks or anything like that. It's like they were planning on making a found footage movie and then at the last second they realized they'd forgot to include a cameraman character and just said gently caress it.. Honestly I think it would've worked better as a found footage movie. I do like the early parts where the problem is just wild animals. Feral dogs and a bear, maybe slightly off from radiation. Great. I am on board for that. But then it turns out there's people too and it becomes a lot more generic. The whole idea that the Chernobyl didn't kill people it just turned them into Hills Have Eyes mutants and the government has been covering that up is pretty neat. That could've been the basis for a whole movie, if had been explored at all. But here they just show up for the last half hour and the whole backstory is given just before the movie ends in a bit of unnatural dialogue, and if that's all you're gonna do with it just stick with the feral dogs and a bear, imo Also the ending is a little mean-spirited for me. Chernobyl Diaries doesn't do anything really that wrong, but it also doesn't do anything all that right either. If it was found footage I'd be more forgiving, but as it is I'm calling Chernobyl Diaries a big fat forgettable eh.
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Oct 13, 2019 18:00
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 #14 One Cut of the Dead 2017 Shudder I’ll honor the goon embargo with spoilers on this one. I went into this one blind, as suggested, but I wasn’t as dazzled by it as others were. I wonder if those who were surprised and delighted by this one have seen much other contemporary Japanese cinema, as this sort of Brechtian postmodern construction is pretty dime-a-dozen there. Even in the diagetic film at the start, the ironic, campy style distances the audience from the “picture in picture” film. So, on their own merits, these sorts of clever lemniscate tricks don’t earn any points from me. However, I’m pleased to say that unlike many films that select this methodology, there’s nothing arch or pretentious about it in this movie. Instead, One Cut of the Dead uses this format, and its opening long-take, to build a charming gag-driven comedy that radiates affection for its craft and genre. As an aside, it’s interesting to note that this was one of the most profitable films of all time, having been shot on a budget of only $25k. 4/5
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Oct 13, 2019 18:27
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 Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #2: Dead & Buried    24. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) Blu-ray Watched this with my wife and kids after packing for tonight's full moon hike. Not much to say other than that it's a beautifully shot marvel of technical filming and intense choreography. Swimming at neutral buoyancy while keeping manual focus on not one but two moving subjects is plain nuts. Beyond that, I'd just be gushing over the wonderful costume design as so many others have done. Well, one thing. Given the opportunity to pack a lever-action carbine, briar pipe, and bathing suit to a lush tropical lagoon to fill my days with digging and swimming while contemplatively puffing away a scheduled night watch on deck, I'd sign up so fast, the contract would be smoking. Keeping in the spirit of our deceased heroine, Julie Adams was great. She had a very nice playful tone to her character though I do mostly remember her from a few old Westerns. Speaking of memories, counting this one as a new watch. Mostly caught the whole as a composite from bits caught during old Monsterfests at my kids' age. So far removed and never having seen start-to-finish, it might as well be new at this point. 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 (1966), 21. Rubber's Lover (1996), 22. Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), 23. The Similars (2015), 24. Creatur from the Black Lagoon (1954) Decade - 1920s, 1930s, 1940s (II), 1950s (II), 1960s (IV), 1970s (III), 1980s (I), 1990s (II), 2000s (I), 2010s (IX) Black & White:Color:Hybrid - 8:15:1 By Country - Canada (II), Japan (III), Mexico (I), 'Murica (XV), New Zealand (I), Spain (II) New:Rewatch - 20:4 Super Samhain Challenge - 1. Westworld (1973), 2. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), 3. N/A
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Oct 13, 2019 18:32
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Watch a horror film featuring an actor who has passed away since last October.
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12. The Exorcist dir. William Friedkin 1973 (Rewatch) I've had four years of introducing my wife to the world of horror, and this is kind of a big one. It's been awhile for me and the movie doesn't only hold up, but it really felt like a fresh watching. Right away, you sort of feel that transition from old school Hollywood to 70s Hollywood. The opening scene in Northern Iraq is so indulgent: Shot on location in Mosul with this big sweeping extra heavy scenes. Even in the age of prestige horror, I can't imagine Jordan Peel flying half way across the world for a scene that can so easily be scrapped. I think that realization carried itself throughout the movie. In a lot of ways, you can see these hints at Old Hollywood fading away with Chris caught between these worlds. But on a wider scale, there are just a lot of moments where antiquity and modernity butt heads. Priests who live with one foot in modern life (working as doctors, partying with priests, having meetings about exorcisms where they sound like boring businessmen) while maintaining the pomp of their positions, Damien's mother living in a shrine to her past as the city falls apart outside of her building, and just the small things like the Fascist Pigs graffiti. I think a lot of the carries through with Regan's experience. The movie does a lot to invoke sexual trauma throughout, and the medical scenes do a lot with that. They're uncomfortably invasive which stands in contrast to Merrin who actually holds Regan's hand during the exorcism or how Damien takes on her pain. Modern Medicine and the Catholic Church might not be the perfect vessels to tell the story, but I think that the film is making a good point about the modern world being a dehumanizing force. 5/5
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Oct 13, 2019 18:35
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Predictably, life is starting to get in the way a bit and I've gone a few days without watching anything, but I'm still on track due to the early buffer I built up and I'm hoping to get one or two more in today as well. Still doing better than last year at least!Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #3: Horror Noire #14: Ganja and Hess (1973)  This was good, and not something I think I would've been aware of if not for this challenge. I also want to check out the documentary at some point, though I'm not sure if I'll get to it this month specifically. Maybe I'm way off here, it's been a while since I last saw it, but this movie actually reminded me a fair bit of The Long Goodbye. It turns out they came out the same year, so maybe it's mostly that, but specifically the way the dialogue was delivered is what made me think of it. Everything is so conversational and low key. You feel like you're listening to real conversations (I'm assuming there was a lot of improvisation at work here). Characters stumble over words, mutter, and pause to consider their phrasing. It really works with the tone of the movie. You feel like you're watching the characters stumble through their messy lives. They're really hanging out with each other, they're really making mistakes, and they're really getting caught up in the moment to moment. The sound design in general was really cool, there are some very striking shots, and I'm starting to think I just have to stop saying I don't like vampires because here I am once again talking about a vampire movie I do actually like. This movie is very good and I think deserves to be more well known than it is (maybe it is well known, but I'd never heard it mentioned before and it has a pretty low number of ratings on imdb). Go check this out! Watched (14/31): #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), #14 Ganja and Hess (1973) Challenges (3/3):
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Oct 13, 2019 18:37
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 #82) Return of the Evil Dead (1973), a.k.a., Mark of the Devil V, a.k.a., Return of the Blind Dead, a.k.a., Attack of the Blind Dead, a.k.a., Mark of the Devil 5: Return of the Blind Dead, a.k.a., Mark of the Devil Part V: Night of the Blind Terror Released just one year after the original Tombs of the Blind Dead, this sequel loses some power in comparison to that one (to me), due to moving out of the old temple ruins and into a village for the entirety of the film. The blind dead look just as good, costume-wise, though I could have done with more slow-motion horse-riding. As beat as it was to see the Templars rampaging through a festival crowd, it kind of had the Alien-to-Aliens shift feel, due to so many people fighting back against them. Could have done with less of the village politicking, too. For all that, it does build up a good atmosphere, and there are numerous points which feel like they heavily influenced aspects of the Resident Evil games, especially RE4. rating: 6/10"Are you joking with me? You think I'm going to buy that Templar story?"
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Oct 13, 2019 18:43
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 18. The Tingler (1959) (blu-ray) Vincent Price plays a scientist who is researching the effects of fear. He discovers a creature that grows on people's spines when they are afraid, and names it the "Tingler" after the tingling sensation it creates. If allowed to grow to full size it can kill the person, but fortunately there is a way to release your fear - by screaming as loud as you can! This dubious science exists only to serve the film's gimmick, in which buzzers placed on random seats in the theater would go off to scare moviegoers during key scenes in the film. I imagine this was fun back in the '50s, but without the gimmick this film doesn't have a lot going for it. Price is fun, as he always is, but he's working with a lame script and stupid story. The ending is especially bad - there are a couple of scenes where the "lights" go off (the screen goes black) and Price warns the audience about the Tingler, and then the story just sort of peters out. There is a side plot involving the theater owner and his deaf/mute wife, but that ends in a nonsensical way too. Director William Castle was known for this sort of gimmick, and while this one is fun to read about it doesn't make for a very interesting home viewing experience. This may be worth watching for fans of classic horror films, but more for the novelty than because it is any good. I know a lot of people really like it, but it did very little for me. 2/5 Total: 18 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) | Brightburn | Body Bags | The Tingler
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Oct 13, 2019 18:44
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 20. The Phantom Carriage (1923) Dir: Victor Sjöström Always nice when a film I watch for this challenge comes with a real sense of history and influence, from Stanley Kubrick borrowing a shot for The Shining to Ingmar Bergman listing this as the film that inspired him to make films in the first place. Watching this, you definitely understand why so many great filmmakers take influence from it. Atmospheric as all hell, this one's not really scary per se, but it carries with it a powerful melancholy. The film plays more like a morality tale, following a dying drunkard seeing his life choices relayed to him by his ghostly friend who helped lead him down his path. Definitely recommend, if you can deal with silent films. Watched: 1. Candyman 2. The Wailing 3. Spookies 4. One Cut of the Dead 5. Viy 6. The Driller Killer 7. Tammy and the T-Rex 8. Friday the 13th Pt VI: Jason Lives 9. Scary Movie 10. Ice Cream Man 11. Freaks 12.The Hills Have Eyes 13. Spider Baby 14. Lady Terminator 15. All The Colors of the Dark 16.Tales From The Hood 17. Man Bites Dog 18. Prime Evil 19. Bride of Re-Animator 20. The Phantom Carriage
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Oct 13, 2019 19:32
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 64) Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation - 1990 - Vudu Brian Yuzna directing and Screaming Mad George on effects, we know we're in for some trippy poo poo. This film's centered around a cult of Lilith and a reporter who gets caught up with them. There's ample mutated bugs, goopy larvae, and fusing flesh. Not sure why this film was put in the franchise, but here it is.  65) Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker - 1991 - Vudu At least this one's more of a better fit to the franchise than the last one was. It is a warped version of Pinocchio. Plenty of killer toys and there is a puppet rape. It's an odd one in the franchise.  66) Silent Night - 2012 - Prime Another of the 'let's remake a horror film from the late 70s/early 80s but it ends up mostly in name only' entries. A killer Santa's on the loose killing the naughty with the reason from childhood tacked on. It's skippable like many of these types of remakes. Final Thoughts: With the franchise, there's only so far you can go with a killer Santa. Making it into a 'messed up poo poo happening at Christmas' isn't as simple as it sounds because you end up with some films having viewers wonder why the film's in the franchise. This one would've been better served just with the first three films and calling it there. Not sure if we would've ended up with the toys like we did but who knows.
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Oct 13, 2019 19:48
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#15 Chronicle (2012) Rewatch. Was partially curious to compare this to Brightburn as evil-Superman story. The character work for the kid / teen is much better in this, but it jumps so fast from the buildup to the screaming-incoherently-and-making-everything-explode stage of things that there's not much time spent on him abusing his powers, which is where there's more opportunity for the straight-up horror that Brightburn delivers on. https://i.imgur.com/nQH1dtb.mp4 #16 In the Shadow of the Moon (2019) [Netflix] A movie you always feel a step ahead of and that path doesn't lead to anything particularly interesting. The early segments are the strongest, when things are more mysterious and there's more Michael C. Hall and Bokeem Woodbine, whereas the latter segments rely almost entirely on Boyd Holbrook and reveal enough of the sci-fi premise that we can see its logic completely fall apart. I love sci-fi mystery / thrillers, so this was a real disappointment.  #17 Fractured (2019) [Netflix] As someone who has defended Sam Worthington's performance in one role (he's legitimately good in Sabotage), I decided to give this a shot, and it's real bad. The reveal at the end, while super predictable, has a couple creepy moments, but the trip there is nowhere near worth it.  #18 Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) Rewatch. Was curious if I'd like this one any more in the theaters with my expectations recalibrated down from Godzilla (2014). If anything I like it less. Now, instead of being surprised that they completely flipped the premise—from humanity being insects that only through extraordinary effort can gain the attention of the monsters to we're now "alpha predators" on their level—I'm irritated how little they do with it. And, man, Kyle Chandler has been good with good material, but his flailing and mugging to make this character work just make things worse. A real letdown after the last two Legendary movies, even if there are some lovely monster moments. Hopefully Adam Wingard can right the ship. https://i.imgur.com/VUeSxTS.mp4 #19 Suspiria (1977) Absolutely beautiful, which is good because the actual plot is nothing much of anything, which makes me wonder why someone apparently bothered to remake it. A very simple idea executed on perfectly. Great score, sound design, wonderfully shot and dressed. Really enjoyed this one. https://i.imgur.com/y02G1Px.mp4 New (14): #1 The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016), #3 Escape Room (2019), #4 Aniara (2018), #6 Overlord (2018), #7 Replicas (2018), #8 Antiviral (2012), #9 Higher Power (2018), #10 A Simple Favor (2018), #11 What Still Remains (2018), #12 Joker (2019), #13 Bad Samaritan (2018), #16 In the Shadow of the Moon (2019), #17 Fractured (2019), #19 Suspiria (1977) Rewatches (5): #2 Brightburn (2019), #5 Cloverfield (2008), #14 Constantine (2005), #15 Chronicle (2012), #18 Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) Sir Kodiak fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Oct 13, 2019 |
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Oct 13, 2019 19:50
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28.  Innocent Blood (1992, John Landis) Warner Archive Blu-ray [unrated cut] One of my favorite directors is John Landis. It's kind of amusing how he made one of my all-time favorite comedies, The Blues Brothers, as well as one of my favorite horror films, An American Werewolf in London. In this film, he's blending both without skimping on either aspect. Robert Loggia is magnificent in this, as a sadistic mob boss bitten by a vampire, played by Anne Parillaud. She has this sort of ethereal thing around her character, between her thick accent and perfect body. Anthony LaPaglia doesn't get as much to work with (given he's pretty much the only "straight man" character in the film). Also some great parts with Chazz Palmenteri, Angela Bassett, Luis Guzman, plus bit parts for Frank Oz and Sam Raimi (and quick cameos from Dario Argento, Forrest J. Ackerman, and a few surprises). Oh yeah, Don Rickles gets what's probably the best vampire death ever. While I think it could have been tightened a bit, this is a fun movie. The version Warner Archive released on Blu-ray is apparently the international cut with extra gore and nudity (it's definitely on the level of The Evil Dead). 4/5
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Oct 13, 2019 20:00
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 #83) The Bloodstained Lawn (1973), a.k.a., Red Stained Lawn Weirdos pick up travelers and bring them to a mini-mansion, where things get weird and eventually deadly. In addition to the strange hosts, there are some unsettling things about the property (like the hall of mirrors they just happen to have), and the medical experiments by one of the residents lead to some bizarre results. Kind of felt like an Italian horror spoof, since so much of it is just out there, even when it's played straight, like the drunk alternating between going to town on an ice cream cone and taking glugs from the wine bottle he's clutching in his other hand. Some nice cinematography, some sweet prog rock, and Italians being creepy, but there's nothing to measure up to that poster. The story might be saying something about class interactions, or the rich exploiting the poor for entertainment, or feeding on them to sustain themselves, but whatever it might be escapes me. This was the last film directed by Riccardo Ghione (I haven't seen any of his others), but he went on writing films until 2001. People say it a lot about Italian horror, but this really was cool visuals and a nonsensical plot, at least to me. I don't get what they were going for, beyond a rough hook on their comedy, and don't know if I'd really be interested in watching it again to clue in further. rating: 6/10"You could make a lot of spaghetti with all these tomatoes!"
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Oct 13, 2019 20:10
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Sir Kodiak posted:#19 Suspiria (1977) Have you seen the remake? It's quite good and wisely takes the same basic premise (dance school that's actually a coven of witches) but runs in totally different directions with it. Worth it for Tilda Swinton alone. It's got issues, like being way too long, but as a huge fan of the original (<-- see avatar) I enjoyed the remake a lot and would suggest checking it out.
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Oct 13, 2019 20:38
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gey muckle mowser posted:Have you seen the remake? It's quite good and wisely takes the same basic premise (dance school that's actually a coven of witches) but runs in totally different directions with it. Worth it for Tilda Swinton alone. It's got issues, like being way too long, but as a huge fan of the original (<-- see avatar) I enjoyed the remake a lot and would suggest checking it out. I haven't seen it. Seems like if you run with it in a totally different direction there's no reason to call it remake, considering it's legal to reuse such a basic premise as witches-at-a-dance-school, but I guess I won't get hung up on that and check it out. I, like all good people, do like Tilda Swinton.
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Oct 13, 2019 20:48
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October 13 - The Demon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aZYcpCWmnM Okay, playtime's over. It's back to my personal box of evil with the title "Cult Horror Collection". This movie is about as obscure as it comes. The box claims a 1976 release, IMDB says 1979, and there might have been a US home video release in 1985. My money is on the '79 date because this movie rips off Halloween hard except without any of the talent behind that movie. There's a creepy man in shadows who is stalking and attacking women. The parents of one of his victims hire a psychic investigator to find their daughter. Meanwhile there's lots of shots of the shadowy figure watching women from a distance. The killer smothers people with plastic wrap despite having gloves with razor fingers. Eventually, very eventually, the mysterious figure dons a white face mask invades the house of the victim. So you know who isn't in this movie made in South Africa? Africans. I'm really wondering how so many no budget movies got Cameron Mitchell in them to provide "star" "power". He must have been incredibly easy to reach out to. In this movie Mitchell plays the psychic detective and his scenes have nothing to do with the rest of the movie. I mean so little to do with the movie that I strongly suspect the filmmakers decided they needed another twenty minutes in their movie and tacked on some scenes. It's so stand alone that I'm going to share the entirety of his plot line. Ready? Mitchell shows up and walks around the victim's bedroom. He comes back to the same how with some psychically derived sketches that lead the father to go to confront the killer. After the father is killed, Mitchell goes to the same house to offer condolences to the mother and she shoots him dead for ambiguous reasons. The end, at slightly after the halfway mark of the movie. You know who you should call in the event of being attacked by a masked killer? Police? No. Next door neighbor who offered to shoot any weirdos who are stalking you if they show up on your property again? No. Your boyfriend who you've known for less than a week and who lives in a condo twenty minutes away? That's the one! So despite one of the stupidest decisions a character has ever made in a slasher movie (which is a really high bar to clear), the best part of the movie is the home invasion that takes up about the last fifteen minutes of the movie. Of course, this is because many of the good bits are taken directly (and I do mean directly) from Halloween. I'm 90% certain that in some shots they didn't have the white face mask so they just put white make up on the actor's face, too... The Demon is a lower rung slasher. It's a long haul to get to the interesting scenes in this film and a lot of it doesn't go anywhere or make any sense. There's not even gore for those looking for that. deety posted:Check out Def by Temptation, which is the movie I posted about for this challenge. I noticed Tubi had that movie as well. I probably won't get around to it this month since my 31 days challenge is booked solid and my intent is to do rewatches for the challenges except when it isn't allowed, but maybe there will be another challenge requiring a new to me movie that it'll fit for. Random Stranger fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Oct 13, 2019 |
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Oct 13, 2019 21:01
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