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Random Stranger posted:Was the play Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan? I watched a lot of versions of it a few years ago during the challenge and I might want to check this film out sometime if it uses it. Yep, that's the one. I'd be curious the hear the opinion of someone familiar with the play. It's a good movie, just very specific to this cultural touchstone.
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Oct 8, 2021 12:31
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10: Crash (1996) Psychological thriller. A film producer is involved in a fatal car crash and falls in with a cult-like group who are are sexually aroused by car crashes. Vaughan, the group leader, is an interesting character, played charismatically by Elias Koteas. Standout scene was the performance art recreation of James Dean's fatal crash. It was, I was unsurprised to read, a little controversial on release and the UK tabloids tried to get it banned. I liked this film. I respect it. The mix of violence and sexuality is disturbing and both are played seriously, it's not a trashy spectacle. It's erotic but in a strangely dispassionate way. I think it accomplishes everything it set out to do. Not one to watch with family. Total: 10 Q the Winged Serpent; Zombieland Double Tap; Saint Maud; A Chinese Ghost Story; Halloween 4; Halloween 5; Gamera VS Viras; Saw 3; Boar; Crash (1996) bitterandtwisted fucked around with this message at 13:49 on Oct 8, 2021 |
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Oct 8, 2021 12:43
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 32) No Place to Hide - 1981 - Youtube Another TV Movie of the Week. This is a psychological thriller that I was kinda expecting some thrills which didn't quite happen. Story follows an art student who's being followed by a mysterious stranger that no one else seems to see.  33) Madhouse - 1981 - TubiTV Um...yeah, um.. Premise is a young schoolteacher who's birthday is coming up goes to visit her twin who's in a mental institution and has a skin disease. Visit doesn't go well since the sister in the institution's sadistic and abusive. Things get worse from there. Film seems to crib a lot from Happy Birthday To Me which is possible since both came out the same year but not sure who came first. It's kinda okay. When looking for poster images, a fair amount of reviews called it a giallo but it's more like giallo's second cousin twice removed. One would be better off sitting through Happy Birthday To Me than this one.  34) Zombie Island Massacre - 1984 - Prime If anyone knows who I complain to about the distinct lack of zombies in a film with zombie in the title, let me know. This film is a complete dud, and me of all people saying that about a Troma film says a lot. It's more an action film with drug running with a dusted coating of horror, and even then it's a dud. Skip this one.
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Oct 8, 2021 14:06
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#9 Antropophagus Joe D’Amato, 1980  I went into this with rock-bottom expectations. Always a good way to increase the chances that I'll walk away satisfied. And that's exactly what happened here. I'm well aware that many (most?) Video Nasties fail to live up to their intriguingly vile reputation, but Anthropophagus for the most part delivers. Sure it takes its sweet time to get there, but the payoff is satisfyingly depraved. The gore effects are convincingly gnarly. And I appreciate the uniqueness of the premise. It looks and feels like a zombie movie but plays out like a slasher. Throw in some cannibalism and we've got something relatively novel in the midst of all the rehashed 70s/80s Italian trash (I use the term endearingly). 3.5/5 9 Films watched: 1. Titane (2021), 2. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), 3. The Lair of the White Worm (1988), 4. Maniac (1980), 5. Maniac (2012), 6. Possum (2018), 7. We Are the Flesh (2016), 8. V/H/S/94 (2021), 9. Antropophagus (1980)
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Oct 8, 2021 15:28
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 #8. Maniac Cop (Shudder) A disfigured (and possibly undead?) former police officer begins killing random civilians in grimy NYC and only Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell can stop him. On paper, Maniac Cop should be a home run. You've got notable grime-loving directors Larry Cohen and William Lustig working together on the script and production; you've got Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell as your headliners, plus Richard Roundtree for a small bit part; the premise is a solid hook for a tense thriller, plus it could be an easy thing to slap some satirical elements onto, or some easy gags if you want to go that route. There's a lot of possibility in the production. In practice, this ends up being more of a solid base hit from your home run hitter - good enough, an acceptable result, but you kinda were expecting more, too. Part of the problem is that the script feels a bit scattershot and lists from point to point. I don't know if that's a budget problem that they were trying to cover, or if they just realized they had a great premise and rushed out the door to get it made before nailing down the actual meat-and-potatoes story. It just feels slower and talkier than it should, and there's no real sense of palpable menace or paranoia driving the city (outside of one great scene where a woman in a stalled car listening to the radio works herself up into a frenzy and shoots a normal cop in an act of incorrectly assumed self-defense). All of which feels like a let down from Cohen and Lustig, who are normally better at capturing the late 70s/early 80s "last days of grime" feeling of New York City. Another big issue is that the central conceit - and, by extension, the characterization of Matt Cordell, the titular Maniac Cop - doesn't feel sketched out enough. Is he a zombie or not? Does he have a plan or not? Is he seeking out specific people or not? Is there a reason to try and frame Bruce Campbell for the murders beyond the irony of him kinda sorta looking like Robert Z'dar if you squint and it's dark out? None of these have solid answers, since it feels like the movie contradicts itself every other scene, almost. The cumulative effect is watching the script sputter and refuse to start, like a car with a bad alternator in the winter. Ultimately, the biggest problem is the seeming lack of interest from every one involved. Lustig ends up not putting in a ton of effort outside of the finale car chase scene (and the previously mentioned "self-defense" scene), staging a lot of the rest of it very flatly, even in kill scenes. A lot of those scenes don't even have the benefit of good gore effects to pique your interest when they appear periodically. Robert Atkins is sleepwalking through the picture; Bruce Campbell injects some energy when the ending asks him to throw himself around like a human ragdoll, as a sort of warm up for Evil Dead II, but is still learning how to be an actor for most of the film; Laurene Landon as the female lead is just terrible and wooden. I don't know how anyone involved could seemingly be in such a rush to get out there and get this thing shot, if they got this far without a coherent script, and have none of that come across on camera. In the end, the first Maniac Cop doesn't really work on its own terms, or anyone else's. It got a DTV sequel made somehow, despite apparently losing money, which I don't really get. That one ends up being much better, though, since it leans into the action elements that this one only flits around with at the ending, and has better kill scenes and Robert Davi not being as disinterested as most parties here. If you need to see some kind of "evil killer zombie police officer" movie this Halloween season, you're better off skipping past the setup and going right for the punchline. I kinda wish I had.  /5Watched so far: The Hunt, The Fog (1980), The Howling, Venom 2, Curse of the Demon, The Mummy's Tomb, The Stepfather (1987), Maniac Cop
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Oct 8, 2021 15:33
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That’s a shame you didn’t dig it, but you miiiiight not hate Maniac Cop 2. Maybe don’t rush to see it, though.
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Oct 8, 2021 15:37
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Maniac Cop 2 at least has some incredible stunt work going for it
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Oct 8, 2021 16:23
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EL BROMANCE posted:That’s a shame you didn’t dig it, but you miiiiight not hate Maniac Cop 2. Maybe don’t rush to see it, though. Sorry, to clarify, I have seen the whole Maniac Cop trilogy before. I just hadn't watched the original in probably a decade or more, remembered next to nothing about it that wasn't mixing it up with part 2, and was struck by how fitful and slow the original was last night on rewatch. (MC 2 was on the Shudder live channels for a while, and I'd keep coming in right at the start, which is a recap of the ending of part 1, the best part of part 1. That left me with a mistaken impression that the original was going to be more energetic and more in line with part 2 than it was.) MC 2 is the best one of these by far. 3 should have been fun but the behind-the-scenes issues made it a mess, overall. MacheteZombie posted:Maniac Cop 2 at least has some incredible stunt work going for it Quote for truth.
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Oct 8, 2021 16:32
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Ah doh, I have no idea how I didn't see you talking about the 2nd one for a paragraph! My bad.
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Oct 8, 2021 16:46
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10) Terror Train, 1980, Shudder 1980 was a busy year for Jamie Lee Curtis, and this was the only of the three (the other two being The Fog and Prom Night) that I hadn't seen before. A group of med students are on a train for some reason, and a killer is picking them off one by one, and David Copperfield is there for some reason. This one is an oddball because it feels like it was entirely half-baked, which isn't always bad for a slasher. I think the biggest failing is that it doesn't give you enough "who-dun-it" time, because everyone is in costume, and you don't really have any clues as to who it is out of costume until the end. I did enjoy it, although I felt it dragged a bit at spots. /5Faces of Death, 1979, Tubi The infamous classic that I had know about, but somehow never seen until now. Unfortunately I feel like a lot is lost watching it on a 65" 4k TV, as opposed to an 18" Standard def on a 4th generation VHS dub you got from your friend's uncle. This is a weird one because it's difficult for me to quantify it, it's meant to be a documentary, but isn't quite, and it has a point to it that is lost due to it's infamy. The first portion is pretty uncomfortable with actual animal deaths, a beheaded chicken, and then slaughterhouses, to the clubbing and skinning of seals. While uncomfortable, they are still realities of life in the modern world 2021 (except maybe mass seal clubbing, but IDK). After that is when this movie shines, and becomes a masterclass in faux documentary style. It sets up various vinaigrettes about death, and makes you believe it's on film with a simple style. Shots of real wreckage, intercut with fake bodies, quick cuts to audience reactions, and the use of various film stocks blend together to create the experience. To be honest, I'm not saying it's a film I'd watch again, at least for a while, and probably skip if you are squeamish, for what it is, I'd actually say it's a good movie. /5
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Oct 8, 2021 16:50
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Vinaigrettes of death? Is being dead not bad enough without being covered in salad dressing?
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Oct 8, 2021 17:06
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I'd eat way more salad if vinaigrettes became more metal.
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Oct 8, 2021 17:25
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GOG (1954, Prime)quote:For ten minutes this looks like a fun atomic robo 50's sci-fi horror. Then it comes to a screeching halt to run a literal hour-long reel of America's top scientific advancements (but made incredibly dumbed-down for 50s audiences) before the mystery killer pops back up and we remember this isn't a sci-fi travelogue but a murder mystery. Shrecknet fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Oct 8, 2021 |
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Oct 8, 2021 17:42
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8) Lake Mungo (2009) - Semi-obscure Australian mockumentary/found-footage movie that is apparently well-liked? I didn't care for it much. There's a ghost! No there isn't! Yes there is! No it's a pedo! Stupid jump-scare!. Bleh. The mix was really bad also. Voices were drowned out by the constant swelling music. 9) Demons (1985) - An American in Berlin gets a pass to a movie premier from a strange man in a metal mask. Her friend goes with her. In the lobby a hooker puts on a mask that cuts her cheek. She turns into a demon and then the goop starts. Meanwhile, 4 punks are doing coke out of a coke can and then break into the theater. More goop. Motorcycle beheadings! Berlin is overrun by demons. Goopy ending. Yeah, this one is a fun party movie. Rocking soundtrack too. 10) Halloween (2007) - Wife hadn't seen this. It's a Rob Zombie movie. IMO it isn't as effective as the original because this version focuses on Michael Myers as opposed to the og which is about Laurie. You don't really get to know here as an actual character. She's just Michael's target. I forgot how different Loomis is in this compared to the sequel. Not sure why the dramatic character shift happened. It's just OK. 11) The Funhouse (1981) - TCSM is my favorite horror movie. It's a real shame that Tobe Hooper was never able to really hit that mark again. This is a very basic story about some friends deciding to spend the night in a funhouse at a traveling fair and then witnessing a murder by the hideously deformed son of the fair owner. The lead is played by Mozart's wife's boobs. There's also a pointless subplot about her brother who may or may not have gotten sexually assaulted by one of the carnies. Not recommended.
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Oct 8, 2021 17:55
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18. The House at the End of Time (2013) La casa del fin de los tiempos Directed by Alejandro Hidalgo 🇻🇪 Venezuela Watched on Tubi  Depending on who you ask, this is apparently Venezuela’s first horror film.  The House at the End of Time is the story of a 30-year-old murder mystery. It’s a decently tense and entertaining movie, much of it told through flashbacks. A woman named Dulce and her family live in a creepy old house full of secrets. Someone, or something, in the house kills her family. Because the Venezuelan justice system does not have an official position on ghosts, Dulce is convicted of murder and sent to prison for 30 years. When she is released and returns home to the creepy old house, creepy old things start happening again.  I didn’t get much of an anti-imperialist propaganda vibe from The House at the End of Time, except for the fact that everything is apparently the fault of an English Mason. Also, it has a reveal that I should have seen coming, but I didn’t. Should I be delighted that a movie actually surprised me or disappointed that I didn’t figure out what was happening? Por que no los dos! 💀💀💀1/2 Spooky Travelogue 18/31 1. At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul 🇧🇷, 2. Pontypool 🇨🇦, 3. Inferno 🇮🇹, 4. The Queen of Black Magic 🇮🇩, 5. The Forest of Lost Souls 🇵🇹, 6. Tumbbad 🇮🇳, 7. The Silent House 🇺🇾, 8. The Phantom Carriage 🇸🇪, 9. Housebound 🇳🇿, 10. I Saw the Devil 🇰🇷, 11. Witchfinder General 🇬🇧, 12. Kuroneko 🇯🇵, 13. The Untold Story 🇭🇰, 14. Brotherhood of the Wolf 🇫🇷, 15. Şeytan 🇹🇷, 16. Rift 🇮🇸, 17. Alison’s Birthday 🇦🇺, 18. The House at the End of Time 🇻🇪
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Oct 8, 2021 18:07
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 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein The whole dynamic of the Universal Monster films as they evolved in the 40s due in part to World War II and audience tastes changing is really interesting. A crossover movie like this one is hard to imagine happening today, it seems like horror comedies never actually get the real horror icons to sign up, the idea that you have two of the biggest comedy draws of the time on-screen together with Lugosi and Lon Chaney is just a very unique thing. I think my favorite bit in the movie is when the Wolfman is chasing after Costello through the woods, but he keeps tripping over branches and Costello is too dumb to even realize he's in danger. It's a legitimately funny movie, but the reason it works is because the classic spooky aesthetic is still there, so it really does feel like Abbott and Costello just happen to have stumbled into a Universal Monster film. It's a great combination that you may not expect to work as well as it does until you actually watch it.    1. Phantasm 2. Malignant 3. The Thing 4. The Mummy(1999) 5. The Curse of Frankenstein 6. Child's Play 7. The Fog 8. Hellraiser 9. Beetlejuice 10. Elvira Mistress of The Dark 11. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
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Oct 8, 2021 18:38
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4. Black Sunday (1960, shudder) beautiful visuals, story by now is nothing amazing, but it's clear this is a super influential movie. 4/5.
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Oct 8, 2021 18:39
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Iron Crowned posted:10) Terror Train, 1980, Shudder change this mf's name to vinaigrettes of death
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Oct 8, 2021 18:55
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 #27) The Gorgon (1964; Blu-ray) Lively horror with one of cinema's most underused monsters. Nice as it is to have Hammer tackling a story involving a gorgon, and for Cushing and Lee to be involved as well, I'm not sure this is really the setting for it. It's interesting to have the gorgon so far out of its usual element, but the story does feel like a revised werewolf script. Something surrounded by legends is killing at night (with plenty of shots of the full moon), and a relative of one of these victims is determined to get to the bottom of things, despite the antipathy of the locals. When things go poorly, it's time for someone of a more scholarly bent to step in and handle things. The set decoration is wonderful, as per usual for Hammer, particularly in the 'haunted' castle. And Lee yelling at a cop is certainly a treat. But for me, the movie didn't seem to find its footing, never quite bringing the menace of the solitary monster to full volume, despite the lingering on its victims. The finale is a disappointment as well, going for a violent answer instead of the lateral thinking such an unusual picture in Hammer's horror catalog might have taken. Still, it does get points for going after a monster unused by Universal, even if it feels like the studio just slotted it into their usual mold. “I am agonized by pains in my chest. I am turning to stone.” Rating: 6/10
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Oct 8, 2021 18:56
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Watched all three Fear Street film in one sitting. Going to throw up a write-up when I have time this weekend.
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Oct 8, 2021 18:56
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New #3: The Empty Man (2020) [HBO Max] http://i.imgur.com/iiaq5E1.gifv When I got into this, I mistakenly believed the whole thing would be set in Bhutan, but it turns out that's just the first fifteen minutes. Instead it soon turns into one of those movies where American teengers played by twenty-somethings learn an urban legend has some truth to it and when you do whatever then this thing walks towards you in the dark in spooky ways before eventually killing you, which is a sub-genre I don't much care for. However, this backs that with some cult stuff that I did find compellingly creepy, which increasingly takes over the movie. So once I got over the disappointment of learning what the movie actually was, this started and ended strongly enough that I did enjoy it. New #4: Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) http://i.imgur.com/PSSoh78.gifv The first one had enough promise that I hoped ditching the guy from Zombieland and Gangster Squad would produce an actually-good sequel, but, sadly, no. Tom Hardy continues to be fun as the Venom voice and I hope Michelle Williams bought something nice with the paycheck from this movie, but this franchise feels like a strong central performance in search of a story that anyone involved has any interest in telling. New #5: Psycho Goreman (2020) [Shudder] http://i.imgur.com/fFKIzGM.gifv A lot of elaborate practical effects work in service of a star vehicle for a grade schooler. Entertaining enough, but a movie I was frequently more impressed than entertained by, never quote as funny as I wanted it to be. Seems to have gotten a lot of buzz, though, so hopefully we get a Tube Man spin-off or something. Rewatch #1: Zodiac (2007) http://i.imgur.com/kip9py5.gifv Still great. The ending, where it tries to pretend it's solved who the Zodiac killer is, is a bit silly, but as an examination of irrational obsession and conspiracy theorizing it kicks rear end. New #6: The Stepfather (1987) [Shudder] Terry O'Quinn puts on a hell of a show here and the movie is worth seeing if just for that. Most of the cast is able to step-up their game when they get to act across from him—Shelley Hack as his new wife kills it in the crucial scene where she sees who her husband really is—but is unfortunately let down by the daughter, a sixteen year old character played as if she's twelve by someone who is obviously a twenty-something (presumably because they decided to include a fairly gratuitous nude scene with her). A compelling central character and performance let down by a lot of what surrounds it, unfortunately. New #7: The Guilty (2021) [Netflix] One of those movies made during the pandemic because it could be filmed mostly in isolation. It's Jake Gyllenhaal as a cop pulled from patrol work following an incident that the movie plays coy with despite being exactly what you think it is, working at a 911 call center. He gets a call that requires him to track a crime over the course of the movie and so most of the movie is just watching Gyllenhaal talk. He's a charismatic performer, but I struggled to give much of a poo poo about his cop-with-anger-issues and the various twists of the story are telegraphed far enough in advance that I didn't much engage with that either. It does create a very of-the-moment sense of all our various systems failing to operate and those failures rebounding on each other, but that ends up undercut by an absurdly happy ending, so I can't recommend this one.
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Oct 8, 2021 19:27
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Sir Kodiak posted:Still great. The ending, where it tries to pretend it's solved who the Zodiac killer is, is a bit silly, but as an examination of irrational obsession and conspiracy theorizing it kicks rear end. I dunno I feel like there are three independent facts that are just too much to chalk up to coincidence, to the point that I'm pretty confident in saying Allen was the Zodiac. The first being that he was seen in the area and interviewed as a person of interest in the Lake Berryessa stabbings(in which he claimed he was there to scuba dive or something like that), the second is a co-worker who totally out of the blue went to police two years after the Lake Berryessa incident and reported all the suspicious stuff Allen had been saying that was Zodiac related. Then third is the fact that Allen lived only a few blocks away from one of the earlier victims, the girl who's murdered in the first scene of the movie. There's other circumstantial evidence that points to Allen as well but I just find it hard to believe that all three of those things could've happened if Allen was innocent. What are the odds that a guy witnesses saw at one crime scene would then also turn out to have lived within blocks of an earlier victim AND was independently reported by a co-worker for saying creepy Zodiac-like things? It just doesn't make any sense unless he's guilty.
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Oct 8, 2021 19:42
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Sorry, I won't risk my marriage to Chloë Sevigny going down this rabbit hole with you.
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Oct 8, 2021 19:49
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Thank you for your restraint, it would be a stupid derail anyway. I'm just incapable of not doing Zodiac talk if the movie comes up.
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Oct 8, 2021 19:49
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 6. Motel Hell (1980) (dir. Kevin Connor) re-watch Shudder “It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent’s fritters!” That line sums up this movie pretty well, because it’s fun and sounds cool but doesn’t really make sense when given any thought. At no other point in the film does he make or talk about making “fritters” - he only makes smoked meats. It seems more like a poster tagline but the writers decided it was too good to leave out. The title of the film is the same way - at no point do you see anything resembling a motel or motel rooms, just the “Motel Hello” sign with the broken “O”. The characters occasionally mention it being a motel, but that has no bearing on the plot and they’re clearly on a farm the whole time. I can guarantee someone thought of the title well before the script was written. But hey, no one is watching a movie called Motel Hell for tight scripting or consistent logic. The movie is about Farmer Vincent (Rory Calhoun) and his sister Ida who cause car accidents, kidnap the victims, and “plant” them in their farm by burying them up to their necks and cutting their vocal chords (the victims’ gurgles as they try to scream is actually really horrific). They feed them slop (through what are basically snorkels) and eventually “harvest” them to make smoked meats. It’s unclear how long they stay buried for, or what purpose the whole process serves - seems like killing them immediately would be just as effective. I guess you can only process so much smoked meat at once? Vincent saves one of the crash victims, a young woman named Terry, I guess because she’s pretty. For some reason she stays and lives with them instead of just going back home. Vincent falls in love with her, and in the most unbelievable turn of events in this whole insane movie, she also falls for him. He’s like 50 years older than her and calls her his “little girl”… ew. Anyway, Terry eventually finds out Vincent’s secret, yadda yadda yadda, the end. I’ve been making fun of it, but I do like this movie. It’s got a lot of crazy ideas and most of them work, even if they don’t always work together. Rory Calhoun is really fun as Farmer Vincent. Because the plot doesn’t make a ton of sense, the characters’ motivations don’t really make sense either, and I found myself not sympathizing with anyone or caring what happened to them. There are enough fun moments to keep the film interesting until the end at least. Even though I don’t love it, I still think this is a must-see for fans of ‘80s horror just because of how nuts it is. 3.5 karmic implications out of 5 Total: 6 Watched: Hellraiser | Hellbound: Hellraiser II | Jennifer's Body | The Lords of Salem | The Bride of Frankenstein | Motel Hell
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Oct 8, 2021 20:12
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Basebf555 posted:Thank you for your restraint, it would be a stupid derail anyway. I'm just incapable of not doing Zodiac talk if the movie comes up. I like Richard Gaikowski as the Zodiac. There's a lot of compelling stuff that points to him.
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Oct 8, 2021 20:16
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my first non-rewatch of the challenge! 7. V/H/S/94 (2021) (dir. various) Shudder I've always liked the V/H/S series of found footage horror anthologies, even if some/all of the previous entries have had weak segments. A bad full length film can be painful, but a bad 15-20 minute segment at least ends quickly before it moves on to something different. Fortunately I thought all of the segments in this were good to great - I'm not sure if it's the best V/H/S movie to date, but I'd say it's the most consistent. The framing story is by far the weakest part, but it's mostly serviceable enough as a way to connect the segments. Set in 1994, a SWAT team conducts a raid on what is supposedly a drug operation, but it turns out to be a VHS cult where a bunch of people died after watching cursed videos. There's some nice imagery, but the acting and writing is not good and the ending is especially painful. It was directed by Jennifer Reeder, who am decidedly not a fan of (see my review of Knives and Skin), and to me this is further evidence that she should try a genre other than horror. I didn't love the fake tracking lines and noise that are added to most of the film. The final segment, about a militia planning to use a supernatural weapon on a federal building, replicated the look of VHS the best, and the first one does a serviceable job of looking like an early '90s new broadcast, but the others probably would've been better off dropping the gimmick entirely. It doesn't ruin anything, but it's sometimes distracting. If you like horror anthologies and/or found footage, this is a very solid film and I recommend it. 4 raatmas out of 5 Total: 7 Watched: Hellraiser | Hellbound: Hellraiser II | Jennifer's Body | The Lords of Salem | The Bride of Frankenstein | Motel Hell | V/H/S/94
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Oct 8, 2021 20:19
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5. Basket Case When I went to Letterbox to log this I was surprised at the reviews other poster gave it because they were mostly 3 stars or below and I LOVED this. It’s everything I want from a strange 80s horror. Bad acting, terrible wigs, one random kinda bad stop motion scene. But mostly it was hilarious, hokey, and strange. I loved the weird little puppet and the main characters hair which was its own character. I could have done without the weirdest rape scene ever, but otherwise I thought it was a blast. 6. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers We all know this is kind of a stinker. The mask is TERRIBLE, but oddly kind of looks like Zuckerberg? The psychic connection bit is lame as hell and I feel really bad for Danielle Harris but she pulled it off as well as anyone her age could have. But let’s talk about some other things. Michael is loving WEIRD in this movie. It’s the worst job of stalking he’s ever done. There are a couple scenes where he’s just pacing around the back ground clear as day. He pulls over at a gas station so one of his victims can get a pack of smokes? He has a long conversation with Doctor Loomis towards the end? Just strange behavior from The Shape all the way around. Also, just kind of a random, extended, in depth sex scene that’s really out of place? Like it might fit in a Friday the 13th movie but does not fit Halloween’s tone. Did we need to see him pull out his condom, put it on, and then insert? Weird as hell, man.
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Oct 8, 2021 20:20
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gey muckle mowser posted:I’ve been making fun of it, but I do like this movie. It’s got a lot of crazy ideas and most of them work, even if they don’t always work together. Rory Calhoun is really fun as Farmer Vincent. Because the plot doesn’t make a ton of sense, the characters’ motivations don’t really make sense either, and I found myself not sympathizing with anyone or caring what happened to them. There are enough fun moments to keep the film interesting until the end at least. Definitely agree with you on this. I wish it had leaned fully into high volume camp, instead of this weird camp/morality play hybrid. Not to mention how goddamned confusing it gets with the sheriff brother. Did he know about the murdering and the sausage making? The movie doesn't seem to know itself.
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Oct 8, 2021 20:21
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(6/31) The Gorgon (1964) 5.1/10 First time viewing. It’s Hammer time! A Terence Fisher directed movie starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. What can go wrong? Well, the plot is very thin and the acting of the other cast are questionable at best. The music is nothing special and the effects did not age well. As with most Hammer movies the color scheme is very nice to look at though. The biggest problem is that Lee and Cushing get way too little time in this movie. In the first part of the movie Cushing plays very subdued, and Lee does not come in until after the first half is over. Lee does play a fantastic role; a bit of an rear end in a top hat with a shaggy moustache and hair. If you are a Hammer aficionado you will love this but wish for more Lee and Cushing. If you want to check out Hammer movies and/or the Lee/Cushing combo, I would highly recommend (Horror of) Dracula, released in 1958. (7/31) Jennifer's Body (2009) 5.6/10 First time viewing. This one was weird to review. Going in I did not expect much of this. A shlock movie with Megan Fox. Sigh. Ah well, And then it started very strong. And Fox actually did precisely what was asked of her. And Amanda Seyfried was good. And it had some really great shots. It was sarcastic, it touched upon a lot more things than shock and nudity like the complicated relationship women can have with each other and the (ab)use of sexuality and revenge. And then it still fell flat. I think this mainly has to do with not finding the exact right tone. It was too cheery and light for my taste at the wrong time; I think director Karyn Kusuma and writer Diablo Cody could and should have given it more gravitas. Hints of the deeper themes were shown, but it could have surfaced more. And I think Fox would be able to handle that too. Having said that, I am curious how I feel after a rewatch. And I think that does speak for the movie. If you want to have an ok time watching the movie just for kills and the flesh, then I think it’s average. If you also want to pay attention to the underlying stuff, then maybe could grow on you. I for one am going to see this again next year. (7/31) Prince of Darkness 5.4/10 Rewatch. The one that got away. So much potential in this movie. A weird story about science and religion coming together. Fun actors. Music by John Carpenter himself (that gives this movie a whole point extra). The ending is good. But it falls apart at the characters. Almost all of the male ones are misogynists and/or racists and just plain annoying. The women in this movie do not get anything to do. There is a whole section of the movies that two women just stand there. And yes, that is a cheap shot because that has a bit of a function; but it also really indicative of the movie. Director John Carpenter fails to instill any feeling for his characters, so we don’t feel any either. A real shame, because it had some really nice elements to it. Of course, if you like John Carpenter you will watch this. This is not his worst movie; but it also isn’t one of his better ones. Only the interesting ideas and the atmosphere created by music save it a little bit. Go watch The Thing for the horror/suspense, or Big Trouble In Little China for comedy. Or go with They Live for social commentary or even The Fog for a good old pirate ghost story. Next: Possession (1981) Watched (31): 1.And then there were none (1945) 5.5/10 || 2.Titane (2021) 9.1 /10 || 3.Candyman (1992) 5.6/10 || 4.Army of Darkness (1993) 7.1/10 || 5.A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) 4.5/10 || 6.The Gorgon (1964) 5.1/10 || 7.Jennifer's Body (2009) 5.6/10 || 8.Prince of Darkness 5.4/10
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Oct 8, 2021 20:23
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Lumbermouth posted:Definitely agree with you on this. I wish it had leaned fully into high volume camp, instead of this weird camp/morality play hybrid. Not to mention how goddamned confusing it gets with the sheriff brother. Did he know about the murdering and the sausage making? The movie doesn't seem to know itself. Yeah it's weird, I thought from the start that's he's definitely in on it, and him being aware of the story about smoking and eating a dog reinforced that, but then seems he's just as shocked as Terry when he finds out.  Mizu posted:(7/31) Prince of Darkness 5.4/10 I think it's not just that the characters are unlikable, but there are also way too many of them and there isn't enough time to get to know them, much less care about them. I re-watched it recently and by the end I couldn't even have told you half of their names. But it has Alice Cooper stabbing a guy with a bike, so I can't really dislike it
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Oct 8, 2021 20:33
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12) The Funhouse 1981, Peacock Yeah, like someone said earlier, this one isn't very good. The first half of the movie is just kids hanging out at a traveling carnival, which I've weirdly been into lately so I enjoyed that part. The second part the kids run afoul of some of the carnival people, one is an alright looking monster. .5/513) The Hills Have Eyes 1977, Shudder, Rewatch Again with a rewatch that I haven't seen in over a decade. A family heading from Ohio to California take a road through a desolate area and run afoul of a family of cannibals. This one is definitely a classic and doesn't get as much attention as it should. It's not without it's flaws but over all, it is tense, and once the ball starts rolling it doesn't stop until the movie is over. /5
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Oct 8, 2021 20:47
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Basebf555 posted:There's other circumstantial evidence that points to Allen as well but I just find it hard to believe that all three of those things could've happened if Allen was innocent. What are the odds that a guy witnesses saw at one crime scene would then also turn out to have lived within blocks of an earlier victim AND was independently reported by a co-worker for saying creepy Zodiac-like things? It just doesn't make any sense unless he's guilty. Oldstench posted:I like Richard Gaikowski as the Zodiac. There's a lot of compelling stuff that points to him. So I guess the odds are sufficient that this stuff is true of at least two guys
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Oct 8, 2021 20:52
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DeimosRising posted:So I guess the odds are sufficient that this stuff is true of at least two guys
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Oct 8, 2021 20:53
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7) Candyman (2021) Overall I think that this film had a lot of good ideas, and for the most part I think it came together really well. The end felt a little unfocused, and I think the original is still the better film, but this is definitely a good one. 4/5 8) Children of the Corn (1984) This movie seemed a lot creepier to me when I was younger. Something about kids being murderous religious zealots is really creepy. But... it's so cheesily done that it doesn't totally hold up nowadays. 3/5 9) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) There are some legitimately good and tense scenes in the movie. However, the entire last third of the movie really falls apart into generic screaming chase scene. 3.5/5 V/H/S/94 (2021) This was far better than I expected. The first was great, the second had its moments, but Viral just fell off a cliff. 94 was well paced, had some awesome visuals, and was really fun. 4/5 The Mutilator (1984) What a terrible and stupid movie. It's fun, but boy howdy don't let any brain cells get in the way. 2/5 Total: 12 The Shining (1980) / The Devil's Rejects (2005) / Raw (2016) / Disturbing Behavior (1998) / Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988) / Pumpkinhead (1988) / Videodrome (1983) / Candyman (2021) / Children of the Corn (1984) / The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) / V/H/S/94 (2021) / The Mutilator (1984) Count Thrashula fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Oct 8, 2021 |
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Oct 8, 2021 21:06
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If you guys want to take the Zodiac chat to PYF Unnerving Story, because someone just claimed to have identified Zodiac.
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Oct 8, 2021 21:09
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gey muckle mowser posted:I think it's not just that the characters are unlikable, but there are also way too many of them and there isn't enough time to get to know them, much less care about them. I re-watched it recently and by the end I couldn't even have told you half of their names. Haha, I don't know what you're talking about. I mean, take that girl...what's her name? Radiologist. Glasses. hmm.
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Oct 8, 2021 21:19
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 (R) 13. Chopping Mall (1986) "I guess I'm just not used to being chased around a mall in the middle of the night by killer robots." Haven't watched this in at least 15 years, so did a rewatch last night. More like Pinching Mall. Grossest thing in this movie is when one girl goes walking around the mall in her bare feet. I like when Barbara Crampton gets turned on by being told she smells like pepperoni, and when a head exploded. So dumb.  2.5/5 14. Man Bites Dog (1992) "Usually, I start the month with a postman." When I heard that this was about a documentary crew following a serial killer around, I was thinking I would get something like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, but Benoît Poelvoorde plays Ben as so charming and funny (in the scenes where he isn't committing horrible crimes) that I was knocked a bit sideways. There's also a complication halfway through that changes things up and kept it from becoming too repetitive. I doubt I'd ever watch this again, but it accomplishes exactly what it set out to do. 4/5Total Watched: 14 // 'New to Me' Total: 12/40 Years Complete: 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2018, 2021 Fran Challenges Complete: --/-- The Berzerker fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Oct 21, 2021 |
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Oct 8, 2021 21:29
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Darthemed posted:
I was watch a bunch of Hammer films including The Gorgon for the challenge two years ago and the castle was really obviously a redressed set from The Evil of Frankenstein.
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Oct 8, 2021 21:29
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| # ? Jun 10, 2024 02:12 |
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Did we have an idea of when the first of the Fran Challenges was gonna be posted? They're always one of the highlights of this whole challenge.
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Oct 8, 2021 21:33
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