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21. Lord of Illusions (1995) Watched On: Blu Ray I think this is still my favorite Barker film. The acting isn't great, it has a bit of a Skinemax quality to its plotting and there's some ill-advised early CGI in it for seemingly no reason. But what it does have is imagery. Shots and sets and ideas by the goddamned bucket. The opening scene of this movie, with Swann and the rest of the reformed cultists driving out to the compound to rescue Dorothea from Nix, is one of my favorite opening scenes of any movie. It sets the stakes, it shows off the insane production design of the cultist's house and lets you know how far gone these folks are. Even if the rest of what follows doesn't hold up narratively, the locations definitely do. Framing what follows as a detective story is an easy way into my heart. I love a good mystery and though this isn't a great one, it's a great device to go from one amazing image to another, all tied together with a creepy and subtle mythology that never quiiiite lets you in on the secret. I've never watched the original theatrical cut, solely because it takes out my favorite scene in the whole movie (the eerie montage of Nix's cultists being reactivated) so if you want to watch this, seek out the fantastic Director's Cut Blu Ray that Shout Factory put out.
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Oct 13, 2019 21:10
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 #13.Dead Pit (1989) (First watch) Twenty years after a manical doctor is shot after being discovered to be performing unnecessary procedures on patients and hidden in the walls of the psychiatric hostpial he works in, a woman with amnesia arrives. The doctor is released after an earthquake and continues his experiments. Someone who made this really liked Fulci and Re-Animator. This is a lot of people acting crazy in an institution, the lead screaming a lot, needles through eye sockets, gore, and melting bodies. It was fun. Not suprsing, the most horrific aspects were the way people in the institution were treated. But most of the perpetrators got their comeuppance. Good times.
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Oct 13, 2019 21:14
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I like Lord of Illusions but I've always really wished to see the movie that happens in that opening scene. The fact that Barker had this whole other story in the prologue that sets up this story is a testament to its setup, but I just really wanted to see that one too.
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Oct 13, 2019 21:14
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Sir Kodiak posted: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. I mean apart from the publicity value of being able to advertise "Suspiria remake" instead of "movie with a similar concept", it's the sort of thing you don't want to chance- even if it's legal you might get threatened anyway and best to save the trouble.
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Oct 13, 2019 21:26
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 19. The Wax Mask (1997) (original title M.D.C. - Maschera di cera) (blu-ray) This is basically a remake of House of Wax, set in Paris in the early 20th century. A young girl is a witness to a horrifying murder, in which the victim's heart was literally ripped out of his chest by a man with a metal hand. 12 years later, she gets a job designing costumes in a new wax museum, where an eccentric artist creates wax models that are incredibly lifelike and arranges them in violent tableaux. People start disappearing, and you can probably guess why. This film was produced by Dario Argento, who also wrote the story along with Lucio Fulci and the considerably less famous Daniele Stroppa. This was the final film that Fulci worked on - he was set to direct but died a few weeks before filming began, so special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti took over the role instead. Stylistically, this feels a bit like an Argento film crossed with a Hammer period piece, with the occasional Fulci-style extreme gore thrown in. Despite being from the late '90s, a lot of it feels very much like an Italian horror film from the '70s, featuring things like horrible ADR and poorly written female characters who do little but faint and whimper. It does generally look really nice though, and the special effects are mostly great (except for some bad computerized bits). The story isn't too original, but it does get weird enough towards the end to be a lot of fun. If you're into Italian horror I think there is a lot to like here. It's probably better than anything else Argento has been involved with since the early '90s, although I know that's faint praise. It's not an amazing film, but it's trashy and gory and weird, and I kind of loved it. 3.5/5 Also I'm not sure whether the English or Italian audio is the original version, but I watched it in Italian. The Severin blu-ray has the English as the default, but I switched pretty quickly because of how awful the English dub is. Total: 19 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 | The Wax Mask
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Oct 13, 2019 21:32
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 #84) Zombie Transfusion (2006 [festival]/2008 [home video]), a.k.a., Automaton Transfusion, a.k.a., Run for Blood That pull quote is bullshit. This movie is crap. Unbelievably stupid attempts at edgy 'teen' dialogue delivered by people who look like they're edging into their 30s, lovely Hot Topic pop screamo, "Aaahhhh! Ahhhh! Ahhh! Ahhhh! Ahhhh!" reaction to having a hole ripped in the neck, characters as compelling as a moldy croissant, and a flat story arc. This genuinely feels as though it was written by an idiot high-schooler. Oh, and it's the same director that did the Silent Night remake. What does it have going for it? Well, there are no egregious visual or audio gently caress-ups, a chainsaw gets fired up for a scene, and the gore is okay. That's about it. But then it ends with a "TO BE CONTINUED" screen. Big surprise, there's no sequel. gently caress this movie.  rating: 3/10"What are you doing with this grungy-rear end stoner?" "He's not a stoner, okay?"
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Oct 13, 2019 21:32
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#14) Phantom of the Paradise (1974)  Somehow I had gone 34 years of my life as a horror movie fan, a classical literature fan, and a rock 'n' roll fan, WITHOUT seeing Phantom of the Paradise. Honestly, I barely even knew anything about it. Here, let me pitch it to you: what if you mixed Phantom of the Opera, Faust, and the Picture of Dorian Gray, THEN you made it into a psychedelic 70s rock opera a la Rocky Horror Picture Show, THEN got Brian de Palma (Scarface, Carrie) to direct it, THEN got Jessica Harper (one of my favorite genre actors) to star in it? You'd get a movie that instantly just rocketed to being one of my favorite movies of all time. It's kitschy, it's fun, it's a wild ride. I can't say enough good things about this movie. Can I just watch this over and over again for the rest of my October challenge? 6/5 (not a typo)
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Oct 13, 2019 21:37
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#16: Road Games (1981) "Just because I drive a truck does not make me a 'truck driver'." I had never even heard of this movie until some of you recommended it to me a few weeks ago. I wanted some solid Australian horror/thrillers to add to my watchlist, and holy poo poo they were some great ones. This one is no exception. Knowing nothing about it and having no expectations going in, I was pleasantly surprised to find both Jamie Lee Curtis' and Brian May's names in the opening credits (May composed the music). So I just sat back and enjoyed the (in this case literal) ride. Stacy Keach plays Quid, a semi truck driver who constantly monologues to himself and his dingo companion while driving across the outback. He keeps running into a man in a green van, who based on police reports on the radio he believes to be a serial killer. Various hitchhikers have gone missing, and Quid is pretty sure the guy in the van is responsible. He runs into some interesting characters along the road in some cases I think a bit too coincidentally, my only real complaint about the movie including Jamie Lee Curtis, a hitchhiker that he affectionately refers to as "Hitch." She is also convinced this man in the van is a serial killer, and the two of them try to get to the bottom of it despite the police being suspicious that Quid is actually the man responsible for the murders. Jamie Lee is pretty good in this, especially considering that this movie came out right after her string of slashers that made her the Scream Queen. But Stacy Keach is the real show here, and he is incredible. I love how the movie keeps giving you hints that he might actually be crazy, and wonder if he is in fact the killer. There were times I kept asking myself if the man and his green van was even real, or just a delusion of his. The cinematography is gorgeous too, with a lot of wonderful wide shots of landscapes that are really fun to to look at. Top to bottom a well made film, and I really enjoyed it. 4.5/5 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; Road Games Total: 16
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Oct 13, 2019 21:42
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Maxwell Lord posted:I mean apart from the publicity value of being able to advertise "Suspiria remake" instead of "movie with a similar concept", it's the sort of thing you don't want to chance- even if it's legal you might get threatened anyway and best to save the trouble. Yes, I should clarify that there's not "no reason," there's just only reasons that I think are unfortunate.
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Oct 13, 2019 21:49
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 21. Thinner (1996) Dir: Tom Holland (Amazon VOD) Sometimes Stephen King adaptations add profound new ideas to the language of cinema and sometimes they're just shitposts. This movie has powerful shitposting energy. Feels more like a middling Tales From The Crypt episode/EC comic than I thought, complete with casual sexism and racism that's aged like dirt. Yeah, it's absolute trash and a film I should probably hate, but this has the potential to be a new guilty pleasure for me. The effects work is genuinely pretty outstanding and everyone kind of plays up the cartoony vibes. Joe Mantegna showing up as Billy's idiot friend who's also a crime boss is a particular highlight. Stephen King even shows up as a guy named Mister Bangor, because of course he does. 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 21. Thinner
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Oct 13, 2019 22:57
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Beetlejuice Rewatch A perfect movie. Fantastic script, production design, casting, special-effects, atmosphere, tone, humor. It's hard for me to say much about this because it would just be me listing everything about the movie and going "So good, right??" Though this time around, I did get to wondering what the movie would be if Goldblum had been cast as Adam. Even though Baldwin is incredible in the role, I bet Goldblum would've knocked it out of the park, too. Either way, Adam and Barbara are my #1 on-screen couple of all time. Rating: 10/10 Sleepy Hollow Rewatch I loved this movie as an early 20-something, so revisiting it after I'd actually seen a good amount of Hammer has been a goddamn delight. It's the schlockiest Hammer love-letter possible. So perfectly self-indulgent for Burton, but it really works. The dialogue is just absolute perfection—stylized, over-the-top, efficient, and fun. The editing is razor-sharp, with an easy, quick rhythm. The atmosphere and visuals are top-notch. The Hessian himself is so great in this. The fact that he has real motivations, is a wildly sympathetic supernatural creature, and wins in the end? Rad. Though I could have done without those two moments where ghouls eyes pop out of their heads like a cartoon and a couple goofy sound effects. They just never fit with the rest of it. Wish that Cushing would've lived long enough to get a cameo or major role, here. Would've killed to see what he did with that tone. Rating: 10/10 In both of these, Burton celebrates horror in such incredible ways. They both really nail why I love the genre and in what way. Beetlejuice: 10/10, Sleepy Hollow: 10/10, 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 feedmyleg fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Oct 13, 2019 |
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Oct 13, 2019 23:00
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COOL CORN posted:#14) Phantom of the Paradise (1974) I'm in a similar boat. I watched it twice this October (never saw beforehand) and liked it even better the second time. It's good on a technical filmmaking level but I really, really adore it as a campy ride. It might rank up there with Creepshow as a horror flick that warms my heart.
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Oct 13, 2019 23:08
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Darthemed posted:
I'm shocked that an out of context line from "bloodydisgusting.com" turned out to be an inaccurate recommendation for a movie. I've seen pull quotes from them on quite a few posters and boxes. Weird that it's never on the posters or boxes for good movies. 
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Oct 13, 2019 23:16
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16)Haunted Palace daily motion  Vincent Price and Lon Chaney giving Lovecraft the Corman/Poe treatment? Hell yes. Movie is pretty great, but there's some needless and icky sexual assault, but like all the corman poe flicks, it is stuffed to the gills with atmosphere, and the sets are all fantastic. .5/5
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Oct 13, 2019 23:19
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Tune in tomorrow for my review of Kwaidan! Because it turns out that movie is three loving hours long and I do not have the attention span to go through all four stories in one sitting.
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Oct 13, 2019 23:29
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:I'm in a similar boat. I watched it twice this October (never saw beforehand) and liked it even better the second time. It's good on a technical filmmaking level but I really, really adore it as a campy ride. It might rank up there with Creepshow as a horror flick that warms my heart. Phantom is my favorite DePalma movie and I'd honestly rank it up alongside the great movie musicals, up there with Singin' in the Rain and so on. It's so purely cinematic, and Paul Williams' songs add just the right amount of soul.
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Oct 13, 2019 23:59
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 #85) Hybrid (2007) Up on Youtube. Dude loses his eyesight, gets picked up by a clinic experimenting in inter-species transplants, they give him the eyes of a wolf, and he gets wolfish. Military authorities wanna keep it covered up, and hunt him when he escapes the facility, along with the woman who brought the donor wolf in for care. Eh, it was okay. IMDb says it's a TV movie, but it felt more like one of those movies that a group of friends puts together, especially when there's scenes requiring extras. Kickstarter-quality hip-hop soundtrack, the fights wolf-boy gets into are mainly of the pushing persuasion, and the horror is more of the 'what will unthinking scientists do next?!' type than 'He just ripped that man apart!'. Justine Bateman is in this as one of the scientists, but doesn't make much of an impression, and the movie wobbles back and forth between the drama and horror wolf-boy's situation, without committing enough to either to build something interesting. The ham-fisted Native American threads (aside from the score, which gets pretty nice at times) are the most embarrassing part, just rubbing vague mysticism on the science and calling it a day. It's still a dull film at the end of it all, but with enough quirks and little touches that it squeaks on by. rating: 4/10"I feel like ripping something apart." "Maybe I can help you with that."
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Oct 14, 2019 00:22
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Kept up with watching horror movies, but I haven't had too much time to write up about them, so this might run a bit long: 5. Retribution (1987) - Okay, everybody needs to see this. How it isn't a huge cult movie is beyond me. Truly nuts in a way that most movies can only dream of. Has such a strange energy, combined with how textured everything feels. And it deals with some heavy subject matter (suicide, mental illness) with such a disarming sweetness – amid wild psychic murder sequences. Lots of great neon lighting too. And hey, there's a character who is a prostitute but that doesn't define who she is and the movie never looks down on her or degrades her so that's pretty cool! 6. The Addiction - Beautiful black and white and some really good performances (particularly Gish, but Walken is surprisingly affective given how little screentime he has), although I think all the attempts at philosophical discussion turn this into mush and end up saying much less than if this material had been done straight. Ferrara's direction is far ahead of the script – the way the first attack scene is handled is nothing short of remarkable. 7. Scanners - Really a thriller sandwiched between two jaw-dropping horror sequences, but I'm counting it anyway. Stephen Lack might be a bit stiff as a lead, although I think that works with portraying somebody who is both totally normal and a complete weirdo. 8. Ginger Snaps - Reminds me a lot of recent "prestige" horror in how blatant the central metaphor is, but this doesn't fall back on a simplistic metaphor. There is genuine horror here, both in human form and monstrous. 9. The Fan - Baffling in structure and execution, this spends as much time on a screen actress navigating her way through a comeback on a broadway musical as it does on a deranged psychopath obsessed with her. The constant time spent on musical rehearsal (with full musical numbers!) made me think that some producer has spent money on the songs ahead of time and demanded they be included. The slasher half of this isn't too special (and it's more than a little homophobic), and I could really only recommend if you wanted to see Lauren Bacall as a final girl. But even that makes it sound way better than it is. 10. When a Stranger Calls The middle hour does lag a bit, but this is the real deal. A bona fide great movie, which has empathy for every character, including the victim and the killer. Much of what is done here might be predictable, although the filmmaking is so refined that it hardly matters. One particular moment in the movie is handled in such a way that you can the air escape out of the room. (A note: I do consider this movie a slasher, but it was before much of what is called a "slasher" was codified. Certain aspects of it might seem subversive now – there is no on-screen murder – but they were done without the narrow view of the subgenre we have now.) 11. The Stepfather - Reagan-era satire on Reagan-era "family values." Incredibly well-put-together, and bolstered by an incredible performance by Terry O'Quinn. Similarly to When a Stranger Calls, this has an absolutely breathtaking moment in which a character's world shatters. 12. Cat People - To me this is the best of Lewton's movies, but it's also the one I've seen the most times. Toes a fascinating line of abstraction and concrete reality. Can't get enough of that pool scene. 13. I Walked With a Zombie - Hey, this is just Jane Eyre with zombies! And that's good! 14. The Haunted Palace - Got to go to the HP Lovecraft film festival in Portland where this was showing. It's the only Corman/Price collaborations I'd never seen before, so it was especially great to watch it in a theater on 35mm. This was followed by a Q&A with Roger Corman and the lady sitting next to me said “wow” every time he mentioned that a famous actor or director worked for him. 15. The Tingler - Movies today are not allowed to have dialog as good as this movie. Saw this in Percepto! Unfortunately I did not have a seat with a buzzer, but everybody did scream on cue so that was fun. 16. Color Out of Space - In all honesty, this is one of the best, if not the best, horror movie I've seen from this decade. Something about the dysfunctional family dynamic really clicked with me that doesn't with something like Hereditary. And it's scary as hell. The Q&A with Richard Stanley after the film was worth the price of admission alone. 17. Visiting Hours - I get the central idea of this – it takes the misogyny the genre is often accused of and attempts to utilize it as an organizing principle. The villain is a murderer because of his misogyny. If women have power (his girlfriend, a nurse interested in women's rights, and a feminist newscaster) he is compelled to turn them into victims. But not much is done with this concept. He's just a misogynist who is constantly attempting to turn women into victims. Sometimes he fails and then tries again. I guess it's realistic, but there's barely anything to latch onto thematically or cinematically. 18. Highway to Hell - The premise for this is absolutely incredible – a couple on their way to elope get pulled over by a cop, who turns out to be a cop from hell, who kidnaps the bride-to-be, so that she may be betrothed to Satan. The script itself and the filmmaking never quite rise to the level of that set-up, but it's enjoyable enough way to spend an hour and a half. Richard Farnsworth has a brief appearance near the beginning as someone who had the same scenario happen to him in his youth, and man that guy put everything he had into every role. 19. Halloween III: Season of the Witch - This is third time I've seen this and the movie is still finding new way to surprise me. Like, why does the robot light himself on fire and blow up his car? Why didn't he just run away? Won't somebody be able to tell that the remains come from a robot? (Which is what happens.) What's the point? 20. The Leopard Man - I think the only Lewton movie I hadn't seen before. You get some hints of it in the previous Lewton/Tourneur collaborations, but the most interesting thing is how much care and attention is given to those who are underprivileged in society. 21. The Seventh Victim - Wow, maybe I hadn't seen this one either. Not much rings a bell, except Jean Brooks and her haircut. Maybe the subtlest Lewton movie? Definitely the most nihilistic. Has some very interesting gay subtext regarding the character of Jacqueline and Frances.
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Oct 14, 2019 00:46
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Weekend catch up time. #15. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (Vudu) A group of clown-like aliens land outside a small town, and begin capturing people with various circus-like weapons so they can eat them later. Only a ragtag group of weirdos and screw-ups can save the day. I can't be objective here; I've loved this film since I was a child. It's dumb and goofy, and exuberantly so, but I always appreciate a film that knows what it is and leans into it. This film is a family affair, and you can tell the love for the craft and the idea bursting out of every frame. This is incredible fun, and you won't be disappointed. Highly recommended.  /5 #16. Halloween II (1981) (Vudu) After Michael Myers' Halloween night rampage, Laurie Strode is taken to the local hospital, but Michael, still alive, follows her there and begins killing everyone else there to get to her. Only Dr. Loomis can save the day, but he believes that Myers was killed in a car accident instead. A disappointing follow up, this listless and lifeless sequel ups the body count and drops the tension and quality. There's a few stand out sequences - the beginning is great, and possibly the series' best; the ending is pithy but effective; and the whole thing looks amazing, at least, since Dean Cundey is a great cinematographer. However, this is a bland and easily forgettable film, and I kept finding my attention drifting away. There are better Halloween sequels out there, and while the series still has some worse entries than this, you also don't need to settle for this one. /5 #17. The Addams Family (2019) (Theatrical) 13 years after moving in, the Addams Family comes into unwitting conflict with a crazed home makeover host, who intends to prevent them from embarrassing her during a live televised roll out of a newly redesigned neighborhood. This new version of the Addams Family is fine, though ultimately toothless and obvious. There's a couple of different plot lines that all dovetail in the ending well enough, but until the last 20 minutes or so none of them feel connected. They do save most of the obvious moralizing and thematic signposting for the big finale, at least. The weird thing here is that while it follows the typical kids' movie trope of the random song pulls, none of them are recent or particularly popular, and mostly relegated to Lurch doing baseball-organ style covers of them. Also, while they use character designs more in line with the Charles Addams New Yorker illustrations, the whole aesthetic and sensibility is lifted wholesale from the 1960s tv show adaptation, which doesn't make for a satisfying marriage. I think this would be fine enough for young children, though some of the ones in my screening still ended up bored and restless enough to continue making noise anyway. If you're older, if you've seen a movie before, this is gonna be in one ear and out the other by the time you hit the theater door. If you're gonna go for an Addams Family adaptation, you'd be better off watching the two 90s films - they're odd adaptations in their own right, but at least they're unique and will stick with you. /5Watched so far: The Curse of Frankenstein, Villains, Horror of Dracula, You're Next, House on Haunted Hill (1959), Halloween 4, Army of Darkness, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Fly (1986), Joker, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Beyond the Gates, The First Purge, Rodan, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Halloween II (1981), The Addams Family (2019)
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Oct 14, 2019 00:52
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Almost Blue posted:10. When a Stranger Calls The middle hour does lag a bit, but this is the real deal. A bona fide great movie, which has empathy for every character, including the victim and the killer. Much of what is done here might be predictable, although the filmmaking is so refined that it hardly matters. One particular moment in the movie is handled in such a way that you can the air escape out of the room. If you haven't, check out the sequel "When a Stranger Calls Back". It's arguably even better.
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Oct 14, 2019 00:55
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12) King Cohen (2018) Eking some mileage out of my Shudder trial before I cancel it. I'm surprised by how little they seem to have, goons seem to be talking about it like it's the Ark of the Covenant. Anyway: someone says in this documentary that you've seen a lot of Larry Cohen stuff even if you don't realise it, and it's true. I knew about Q and The Stuff, of course, but I didn't remember that he did Maniac Cop even though I own the first two movies and I certainly didn't realise he was behind The Invaders or that he'd written Phone Booth. That last was a particular surprise; I could have seen him writing and directing Liberty Stands Still, the other "sniper calls someone up to keep them in one place" movie that came out around the same time, but Phone Booth was a real movie - if you'll pardon the conceit - with an actual big name lead. It does seem like a lot of the runtime is taken up with the same people providing the same anecdotes over and over, but I guess that's just the way Cohen was and he never changed. It says a lot, too, that the same people were happy to work with him over and over, even for decades. RIP.
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Oct 14, 2019 00:58
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17.) The Host 2006, first watch, Tubi I've well behind the times on this one, and the praise it's received is deserved. This isn't particularly a monster movie - sure, there's a perfectly respectable monster design, but no time is spent dwelling on its capacities or dreading its ramifications. The monster is just one of a number of problems that the authorities are incapable of or disinterested in solving. Host gets by on its quirky characters and the absolute morass of interference and apathy they receive from the very forces which are supposedly dealing with the issue. It's fairly cynical, and there's no satisfying conclusion or poetic comeuppance in store. Are you even aware of how complicated that is? 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], 17.) The Host [J- and K-horror]
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Oct 14, 2019 01:01
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17)The 1st Summoning/aka The Millbrook Summoning Netflix  A group of film makers go to make a documentary about a warehouse is haunted by an occult ritual. Our fam decided of course to perform the ritual there. Om the way they have relationship drama and things start going wrong. It's all pretty typical found footage fare. The final act is pretty fun, and it's solid if unremarkable. The final scene is pretty spooky. My biggest complaint is that it cheats as a found footage movie. As a found footage apologist I can take a little bit of silliness (obviously they need to keep filming or there wouldn't be a movie) when they switch to an abandoned warehouse's security camera to get a better shot, it's like why bother being found footage in the first place? I had more problems with Apollo 18 as a movie, but lost moon footage was at least creative. I dunno, I'm sounding more negative than I am about a film I enjoyed for the most part. /5
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Oct 14, 2019 01:02
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I loving love this poster. Like, someone out there looked at "director of lawnmower man and virtuosity" and decided yes this is a good thing and advertising it will make people want to give us money. What kind of hosed up weirdo would go for that? Oh, right, it's me. 18. Deadtectives (2018)  The bad jokes outnumber the good ones, but not by a huge margin and it all moves at a nice brisk pace. There's enough good stuff here to justify a watch. It's a shame that the best characters are sort of peripheral and there's not much mystery to be had, but the premise (ghost hunter TV show crew encounters actual haunted place) hasn't been mined out yet and most of the cast does a good job with the material they've got even when it's on the weak side. 19. Polednice/The Noonday Witch (2016)  Excellent atmosphere all the way through; the cinematography, score, and performances all carry this well. Not exactly subtle, but neither is a heat wave. There aren't very many horror films that even try to sell oppressive heat and drought as a really horrifying thing; here, we've got trying to clean up after a party producing more tension than most get out of their entire run time. The witch herself is a bit of a disappointment and I think would have worked better without the screaming, but given her role in the story there's probably an argument for it from a perspective that can engage a little more with the central fear than I'm able to. Highly recommended if you're in the mood for slow and subdued.
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Oct 14, 2019 01:03
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22. The Exorcist III (1990) Watched On: Tubi Whoo man, this movie. It is definitely a film that you can tell was written by a novelist. It almost feels closer to a filmed play than a traditional screenplay. However, it makes you focus that much more on the dialogue and that dialogue is what disturbed the hell out of me. This is a relatively gore-less film, but the description of crimes lay heavy over the characters. The clinical police report stylings of horrific murders and the muted reactions by the characters around them only enhance that horror. When there are supernatural moments in the film, they're sudden and jarring, as 95% of the whole movie is visually mundane. But I don't think the movie would work without the performances. George C Scott is barely holding his rage and fear together as a police lieutenant brought face to face with the nemesis he thought was dead and Brad Dourif... man, Brad Dourif is an incredible loving actor. He holds the entire movie together with sheer mocking venom and it's incredible. The only thing I didn't like about it was apparently something that William Blatty shared, which was the tacked-on supernatural showdown at the end of the movie. I would definitely like to see his original ending on the screen.
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Oct 14, 2019 01:05
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# 14 CULT OF CHUCKY (2017) Hmmmmm. I’m torn on this one. I enjoy the Child’s Play franchise, especially since director and writer Don Mancini has given it love and continuity that is rare in a long-running series. I fell behind in the series after being disappointed by Seed of Chucky (2004) and much later I heard this entry was decent. I think “decent”, for the caliber expected from a Child’s Play movie, is fair enough. The concept of multiple Good Guy dolls being possessed is neat, but little time is allotted for its full execution. Oh, and while I appreciate the movie for being different, I was taken aback by the abrupt, cliffhanger ending – I thought Andy was going to kick some rear end, but he just gets… locked inside a room? I was hoping for a war! Much of the movie left me scratching my head and I was confused by what was going on, frankly. It is hard for me to articulate why I felt this way. It may have been a combination of the direction, script, and illogical motivations of people in a mental asylum. Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (1987), also a movie in the loony bin, did not have this problem though. Props to Fiona Dourif for her performance. She stood-out (literally!) once taken over by Charles Lee Ray. That was cool and I liked the red scarves on her attire, that was a nice touch. In an industry of remakes and reboots, I’m more than happy to see these characters alive and well. SCORE: 5.8 / 10 *** # 15 CANDYMAN (1992)  This movie reminds me of Drive (2013) in its strange and ethereal presentation of familiar subject matter (action-thriller in Drive; slasher film in Candyman). Arguably, if you look past the chorus-filled, dramatic Philip Glass score and other weird choices in presentation – yes, this movie is bizarre and it caught me off guard – you’re not going to get much out of it other than a slasher film. There are some racial and social issues mentioned in passing, such as highway layouts being used to segregate people. Candyman’s history in the days of slavery and lynching is also inherent to the character’s story. What you get out of it intellectually is a little unclear. Just how high, exactly, are the movie’s aims in this department? Regardless, I appreciate unusual styles and I am fine with style over substance if the style is exceptionally good. For that reason I totally enjoyed this. I found it haunting. I’m keen on folkore and urban legends and this movie was a great way to explore the subject matter, albeit lightly. There are plenty of shocking moments. I was not prepared for the decapitated head of the dog or Candyman’s brutal method of opening people up vertically. Yes, Tony Todd is haunting much like the rest of the movie. The god-like effects on his voice are also a wonderful touch. Virginia Madsen is also good; I couldn’t help but laugh that she was attracted to an older, bald schmuck just as she was in Sideways (2003). If you are going to make a slasher, why not make it unique. SCORE: 7.4 / 10 *** Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #1: The Best Month # 16 VIY (1967)  It is always cool to experience a ghost story from the perspective of a different culture. This movie is gorgeously shot and effective at establishing a time and a place. Indeed, you get lost in the rural, religious community of “common folk” somewhere in Russia. There is humble, folksy humor thrown into the mix as well. The lead character, seeking a place to sleep, is OK with the floor in a barn, declaring “I’m not a prince!” He is not a saint, either. Or sober, usually. And he gets into one hell of a bad situation after defending himself against a witch’s mischief. The story is, well, simple. Very, very simple. It is debatable whether or not this is a mark against the movie. As a full length feature my attention span did drift a bit. Not much new information is given to the viewer throughout the runtime. Personally I think it would be a perfect addition to an anthology of other tales rather than a standalone – make it the length of, say, “The Crate” in Creepshow (1982). Viy does have a big pay-off at the end, which involves an eruption of Satanic beings that do not resemble anything I’ve seen before. The closest thing I would compare these entities to, if I had to pick, are those of Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) many years later. SCORE: 6.9 / 10
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Oct 14, 2019 01:07
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12. House of 1000 Corpses (2003) - SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #2: Dead and Buried I liked this a bunch, the sets were great and everything had a great roughness to it. Sid Haig is great as Captain Spaulding. Pretty much just Rob Zombie's version of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 3.5/5 13. The Devil's Rejects (2005) - A lot more Captain Spaulding in this one, but sadly I didn't like this as much; I'm not sure if it was because that I watched the other one the night before or was watching the unrated edition or something. The fireflys annoyed me for the most part, and it feels a hell of a lot more mean. Like yeah, the previous one no comedy but the goofiness and almost dreamlike quality of the first one shook up that the fireflys were just crazy murderers; this got a bit too real for me. 2.5/5 14. The People Under The Stairs (1991) - SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #3. Horror Noire This was pretty fantastic, I feel like I never hear people talk about this one. I read an IMDB review that mentioned it was like a modern fairy tale and I think that explains it perfectly. Every part of the movie is great that maze-like house, the people under the stairs costumes, the crazy husband and wife. 4/5 Watched: 1. Halloween 2 (1981) 3/5 2. Belladonna of Sadness (1973) 3/5 3. Boar (2018) 3.5/5 4. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Part 2 (1986)2/5 5. Dead Snow(2009) 3/5 6. Ghost Stories (2018)3/5 7. SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #1: The Best Month:Evilspeak (1981) 1/5 8. One Cut of the Dead (2017)4/5 9. The Grudge (2004) 3.5/5 10. Joker (2019) 3.5/5 11. Annabelle: Creation (2017) 3/5 BONUS: Halloween (1978)
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Oct 14, 2019 01:10
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 13. Blood Harvest - Shudder (Joe Bob Briggs) Tiny Tim is appropriately creepy in this strange little yarn, but the film is a little loosey goosey and uneven. I liked the premise of the child of a cop coming back to a hometown where the cop has betrayed the community, but the film meanders aimlessly and I had a tough time staying hooked on it. I watched this via The Last Drive In with Joe Bob Briggs and his framing segments saved the film for me. Catch it on Shudder if you're interested, there's a lot of Tiny Tim history in it. 3 out of 5 depressed clowns 14. Dude Bro Party Massacre 3 - Shudder Not sure how to rate this. It's a satire of 80s slasher horror films complete with fake 80s commercials and such. The jokes come so fast that the ones that don't land are quickly swept aside by ones that do. The film is at its best with absurdist humor and stupid dad puns but it retreats into "hehe VAGINAS" humor a little too much. It's like half juvenile nonsense, half Tim n Eric brilliance. It's too long by 20 minutes and it swings a little too hard at pitches it shouldn't, but I laughed a lot and had a fun time. If you like tons of dick jokes in a row, you'll enjoy your time here. 3 out of 5 dog dick jokes
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Oct 14, 2019 01:16
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 12. Halloween III (1982) I love this movie so much. I watch Halloween III every October, and since it was showing at a local horror film festival this year, I got to see it on the big screen. As someone who remembers when you'd mostly hear it described as a boring waste of time by fans of the rest of the franchise, I love that this one’s gotten more appreciation in recent years. It’s a grim little story that hooks into the fear that harmless fun might be somehow turned against us. The threat is ridiculous but entertaining, and I’ve always liked that the movie’s fantasy elements feel grounded by its mundane settings and sleazoid hero. Tom Atkins’ jerk character holds our attention better than a more traditional horror hero would have, and Dan O'Herlihy is also memorable as the cheerful villain. And while sitting in the back of the theater on Friday night, it was a treat to see how many horror nerds were quietly bopping back and forth in their seat every time the Silver Shamrock song came on.  13. House by the Cemetery (1981) After spending more than fifteen years avoiding scary movies and only being up for the occasional horror comedy, my husband watched some slashers with me, sat in on a few other kinds of movies, and then decided he was a Fulci fan. That felt a bit like jumping into the deep end of the pool, but it’s holding so far so now we always go to any local Fulci screenings. House by the Cemetery is a Lovecraft-style story about a professor who travels to a small town to take over the research of the recently deceased colleague that he’d been collaborating with. He's joined by his wife and their young son, Bob, who keeps coming across a strange little girl that warns him away from the old house they’ll be staying in. Despite a few intriguing hints about the research and running into locals who contradict the professor's claim that he’s never visited their town before, the plot turns into a fairly standard monster in the basement kind of thing. As always, Fulci delivers on creepy atmosphere and solid gore (if maybe a little less of that than usual). The story’s too straightforward for my taste though, and they hired an adult woman to do a notoriously bad kiddie voice-over for Bob on the english dub. Overall it’s still an entertaining movie, but I’d recommend it mostly for folks who already know that Fulci can do better than this or for someone looking for a spooky house story. Watched: 1. Burn, Witch, Burn (1962); 2. TerrorVision (1986); 3. Evilspeak (1981) - Challenge #1; 4. Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971); 5. The City of the Dead (1960); 6. The Witches (1966); 7. The Crimson Cult (1968); 8. A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987) - Challenge #2; 9. Next of Kin (1982); 10. The Ritual (2017); 11. Def by Temptation (1990) - Challenge #3; 12. Halloween III (1982); 13. House by the Cemetery (1981)
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Oct 14, 2019 01:21
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:# 14 CULT OF CHUCKY (2017)
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Oct 14, 2019 01:23
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STAC Goat posted:It sounds like you might have skipped a movie? Curse of Chucky comes between Seed and Cult and not only introduces Fiona Douriff's character and explains why she's in the place she is for Cult but sets up a lot of the insane poo poo that happens in Cult. Its also just IMO a really good film that handles Chuck in a completely different way in a gothic haunted house setting. Yeah I sort of rolled the dice and hoped I would not need to know much about Curse before seeing Cult (saw only the latter available on Netflix). I will definitely check out Curse.
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Oct 14, 2019 01:29
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For how completely batshit the Chucky series is and how dramatically the movies change tone more than once its surprisingly consistent on continuity mattering from movie to movie. I guess that's what happens when the same guy writes the entire series and doesn't do much else.
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Oct 14, 2019 01:35
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 #86) Evil Bong (2006) Wow, that list of special appearances. Phil Fondacaro, Tim Thomerson, Bill Moseley, and Tommy Chong! I've had this one sitting in my movie box for years, but I'd like to dead-icate this viewing to Kvlt!, whose boundless enthusiasm for the series is a thing of beauty. That's all the Cryptkeeper jokes I've got in me right now, sorry. This is stupid, but in a cute way. Doesn't capture the horror of being a non-smoker having to live with smokers, though. Guys mail-order a bong, it turns out to be a soul-stealing bong or something, way too much of the movie is spent on bad sitcom poo poo, and then it's over. On the way, there's a pocket dimension strip club. Why is this called Evil Bong and not Evil Hookah? You don't use hoses to smoke out of a bong. I guess the Full Moon prop department didn't have enough money to build something that could hold up to being pressed against a face. They also didn't bother to give the puppet a face that could move, so it's just lightly wobbling back and forth (sometimes) while madly cackling. Another John Carl Buechler cameo, and the tedium is almost worth it for the end shot of Chong playing with Hot Wheels. Side note, if my name were Aleister, I'd be insisting people use the full form of it too. Other Full Moon properties get sprinkled in to pad things out (since they don't get enough padding from the 420 screensaver interstitials, I guess), with Trancers, Demonic Toys, and Gingerdead Man getting pop-ins. Just makes those series look good in comparison, though. If this was as cheap to make as it looks, though, I can totally understand why Full Moon's cranked out six sequels and a cross-over. The stoner dollar is an easy one. rating: 4/"What if something's wrong with the marijuana?" Darthemed fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Oct 30, 2019 |
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Oct 14, 2019 02:20
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 15. THE HOLE IN THE GROUND - Amazon Video In the deep dark woods of Ireland(?), a stressed out mom begins to suspect that her son has been replaced by some sort of changeling after straying too close to a giant sinkhole. As a new father and a claustrophobe, this film was essentially a bespoke nightmare for me. The performances were great (the child actor was really amazing), the cinematography was very impactful, the sound design was REALLY unsettling, and there were a ton of extremely creepy scenes. This film reminded me of THE BABADOOK and THE VVITCH somewhat, although my one criticism is that this one is a little too tidy. Still, as parent paranoia goes, this is a really great watch. 4 out of 5 creepy sons That Dang Dad fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Oct 14, 2019 |
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Oct 14, 2019 02:43
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#27: Kwaidan This is some old school fairy tale poo poo, completely unDisnified, the rawpoo poo. You know what that means; weird stuff happens and it doesn't make sense. What makes Kwaidan absolutely magnificent is the sets. The sets are astounding. The whole thing is filmed on a soundstage, and they way they do the blizzard mountain is amazing. The sky is done with matte paintings, and there's swirls in the clouds that look like malicious eyes, and it's framed so you seem them in between the trees, and it's so good. The naval battle in part 3 is loving outstanding. There's a samurai leaping from boat to boat, and it's all done in what I have to assume is a pretty small pool on a soundstage, and it's just epic as hell. The amazing sets combined with the weird fairy tales makes the whole thing, like, transcendent or something. It's like, this is how those weird stories from before the invention of narrative structure are meant to be told. Any amateur film makers out there, you want a ghost in your movie? Flaming rock on a string. It looks so good, and real with the smoke and the actors being able to react to it. Don't gently caress with CGI, don't do a composite shot, you aren't going to be able to beat flaming rock on a string. But, as I said earlier, Kwaidan is literally three hours long. It's amazing enough that I can totally understand people being like, "those three hours flew by!" but I needed a break. Luckily the movie is four completely unrelated stories so you can just pause when one's over and get up for a bit. Kwaidan is a loving amazing piece of film making, just astounding, watch it. If you're up for a slow moving three hour long series of ancient ghost stories.
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Oct 14, 2019 03:00
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 The Fog, 1980 You can't go wrong with classic John Carpenter. This one being from 1980, it might be a bit tame on the violence, but it sure as gently caress makes up for it when it comes to everything else. On the 100th anniversary of a ship sinking outside a small town, it's revealed that the townsfolk sank it to steal its gold. A 100 years later, the ghostly fog shows up avenge the dead. The dark undead shadows in the fog are great movie monsters in their simplicity, both in motivation and design. Silent and you never get a good look at them. The Fog is a movie that focuses on atmosphere and it's gorgeous setting over jump scares or gore. It got that distinct late 70s to early 80s look that I've often associate with proper horror. I'm glad to finally watched it. Not my favorite John Carpenter movie in terms of being entertaining, but it gets a big thumbs up from me in terms of being well made horror with an eerie feel.
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Oct 14, 2019 03:17
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 #15 IT 2 2019 Theatrical Release The IT series has a generational trauma conceit that is fairly unique and engaging. IT 2 is at its strongest when dealing most directly with this, but it also falters most obviously when it fails to do so in a way that feels emotionally true to the characters. In particular, the ending is a whimper when it ought to be a triumphant conquest for the Losers. While IT 2 had the potential to elevate its first chapter and really make something special, I find myself wondering if the first chapter isn’t stronger as a standalone work. IT 2 is a pretty messy script that’s commendably ambitious but ultimately disappoints. Regardless, there’s plenty to like here. Pennywise steals the show with his performance (though it feels like they really did him dirty in the finale; he’s shown himself to be meaner and more resilient than that,) and all of the creature designs are great. IT combines cartoony visuals with almost nostalgic, Rite Aid Halloween costume scares. The juxtaposition of menace and fun is appropriately Halloween. The decision to animate the new flashback scenes as CG instead of getting the original cast together to shoot new scenes is simply baffling, by the way. 3/5
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Oct 14, 2019 03:48
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15) Why Horror? (2019)  Not a lot to say about this one other than that it's a very competently done documentary about horror in all different times and cultures. They interview directors, philosophers, writers, scientists, academics. It's a lot better than most horror meta documentaries I've seen since it steps a bit outside the bubble of the genre elites and the standard crop of the same 10 directors being interviewed. There was nothing I could watch after Phantom of the Paradise that was going to top it, so a documentary seemed safe, and it was. 3/5
Count Thrashula fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Oct 14, 2019 |
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Oct 14, 2019 03:51
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 #87) Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006) Alright, that was a pretty nice opening credits sequence, I'm feeling hopeful. We're dealing with the classic monster squad of ghost pirates, so that's another good sign. And while there's still instances of characters freezing in place when they're not talking, the animation has a bit more life to it than in the last couple of movies. Visiting Fred's parents, the gang ends up on a "mystery cruise," but an actual mystery crops up, and the whole crowd on-ship gets mixed up in it. Add in a nattily-dressed magician named Mr. Mysterio (voiced by Dan Castellaneta), and away we go! With all the costumes and momentary monsters, the design team really stepped up and delivered. The monsters were on-screen for more time than in the last few movies, too, which allowed for some development of their characters. Well, the lead pirate's character, at least. No idea why we're getting more imitation Dropkick Murphys music in this, I guess they had some left over from Loch Ness Monster, or they thought it was close enough to pirate music (it's not). I'm so relieved to be hitting some good in the Scooby movie train, I was starting to get worried that things were going to stay in a nose-dive. There's some monster mashing, with 'aliens' showing up partway through, and time travel being a plot point, and hypnosis, and a guy named Skunkbeard, and that sort of flexing is what I wanna see in these 21st-century Scoobs. Had no idea where they were going with the big reveal, either, which was even more of a welcome change. This doesn't reach the heights of Zombie Island, but I'd put it up there with The Witch's Ghost and Alien Invaders. Ghost pirates, hell yeah and thank you. rating: 7/10"I just wanted to let you know that we're about to enter... The Bermuda Triangle." Darthemed fucked around with this message at 05:48 on Oct 30, 2019 |
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Oct 14, 2019 03:57
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| # ? Jun 2, 2024 05:47 |
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https://twitter.com/KennethJWaste2/status/1183578976276701184?s=20
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Oct 14, 2019 04:05
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