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 43) Malevolent - 2018 - Netflix For some reason I had this one mixed up with Malignant in my head. Strange since Malignant is the better film. This one involves a brother/sister paranormal investigation team that's really more of a con artist thing, end up coming across the real deal. Well, I've definitely sat through worse. At best this was just pretty generic. Actors were okay, though Florence Pugh's done better work elsewhere. Pretty much this was a very by the numbers level of generic. I was so bored, I ended up checking what I had for dinner fixings in the kitchen. Overall, not worth watching unless you're a Florence Pugh completionist.  44) Day Shift - 2022 - Netflix The trailer had me at Snoop Dogg-Vampire Hunter. Plot follows a down on his luck vampire hunter who's trying to pay the bills and stay in his daughter's life. He stumbles on something bigger than many vampire hunters have encountered. This was great fun. Everyone did a great job here. I was completely pulled into this world and was left wanting to see more. The vampire kills were good, the pacing well done. If there's anything that I can find as a flaw, it's the film needed more Snoop Dogg. If you want a fun vampire romp, I recommend this one.
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Oct 11, 2022 05:32
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16: Woman in Black HausuI feel bad for Radcliffe. He's actually a really good actor and by all accounts a very solid dude, but he'll always be Harry Potter to pretty much everyone. I don't like Harry Potter, I never read the books and only saw the first movie, but that's still what's cemented in my head when I see him. That aside, this was really good. Very creepy atmosphere, good cast, and looked very nice throughout. The ending was a bit abrupt, but I'm not too sure how I feel about it.
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Oct 11, 2022 05:53
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Franchescanado posted:
 22 (28). Last Night in Soho (2021) Written and directed by Edgar Wright; co-written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns Watched on HBOMax I was feeling sick and down and I almost put on a King adaption because that’s my comfort place. But I ended up here to a film I’ve been meaning to get to for awhile, and I gotta say I felt a lot King vibes to it. Everyone says its a play on giallo and I see that too but think about it. Thomasin McKenzie basically has the shining like so many in King’s stories. She’s a young woman coming of age dealing with supernatural complications while obsessed with the 60s. That’s King all over. Its also definitely got a lot of giallo in it with the abuse of women, sexual elements, murder investigation, etc. Its very stylish although it would be stupid to say that giallo has a monopoly on that especially since its not aping the 70s style of giallo but the 60s style of stuff like Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I think all of this is to say that Edgar Wright feels like he’s inspired by a lot here and puts together into a pretty unique and hard to label film that I really did enjoy. I think it might have had some pacing and tension issues in the middle of the film. It did feel like it was starting to lag a bit. Although pretty much as soon as I started to feel that I think it turned itself up with the supernatural elements and into the finale. And there again I think it felt very Kingish. Maybe a little bit of a clumsy ending but one that throws a lot together as it resolves its elements. McKenzie is excellent and while Anya Taylor Joy is always great I did wish we got more of her. Matt Walsh also plays a creep extremely well as he always does. And it would be a shame not to mention Michael Ajao who I thought was this nice beacon of light during the whole thing. If there’s one thing that definitely doesn’t make this a giallo its that. The film actually had some very likable characters and someone who genuinely just wanted to help. Its an odd film and one really kind of all its own, but one that had me most of the way and was so filled with style, ideas, good performances, and great looks that its hard not to enjoy it. Its a film I definitely would like to revisit down the line. Not as heavy as I thought it would be. I suppose I was avoiding it because of the giallo comparisons but they’re really more like a vague influence and all the really nasty poo poo I hate about it isn’t there. Or if it is its handled much more respectfully and decently. Similarly I don’t actually know if there’s any direct King influence here but given Wright’s homaged Romero before I gotta assume he’s well versed in the classics. And its shows. This might not be a home run but its a real nice film that definitely fits as horror but manages to bridge the gap into mainstream and other genres. And building a very eclectic filmography that doesn’t feel like Wright’s repeating himself at all but does feel like there’s a bit of style and signature there. Did I mention the music? Because of course there’s the music. That feels like Wright’s staple as much as anything and this is probably even more detailed and well done in using music to drive the film and become part of it than just a soundtrack. Definitely makes me curious to see what Wright does next. Franchescanado posted:
 23 (29). The Invitation (2022) Directed by Jessica M. Thompson; Written by Blair Butler I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I think it looks great and I really liked Nathalie Emmanuel as the lead. And there’s a clever and smart script here but… its too smart. Or its too coy. There’s so many references and themes buried in this film. You’ve probably heard that there’s a twist and you’ve probably figured out that twist or at least part of it. Its weird because I can’t even really talk about it without it being a spoiler because I don’t know how much you do or don’t get because the movie never actually puts anything upfront. I ended up turning the movie into a game after awhile. I started just writing down every clue I saw and my conclusions. And I probably read a little too into a few theories like who Victoria and her family might be. Or who Evie’s family might be. And I have theories but they’re all like layers deep in little things in the film with absolutely no confirmation or hint from the narrative. Unless I missed it they never actually say the one name that you know this movie is about if you’ve ever seen a version of this story and recognized the dozen clues to it. But they never actually say it. And its not JUST the main twist. There’s a whole Biblical thing going on here too. And its complicated. Like there’s deep references and themes here if you go looking for them. And again, I can’t get into them without spoilers… and I don’t know if its really worth pulling at these threads. Because the thing is when you have THIS many references and threads and so little direct followup or detail it kind of rubs me wrong. It feels at best too clever by half and at worst kind of pretentious. Like its a script written to be purposely esoteric so that viewers who “get it” can feel smug or so that people can spend a lot of time talking about it, unraveling the clues, and drawing their own conclusions. And I think there’s some filmmakers and writers that do that. Who load their stuff up with references and the start of conversations. Like cocktail knowledge. Just a little bit about a lot so you sound very smart… and maybe you are… but since you never follow any of the conversations through you’re not really giving us anything to work about or take away. And some people LOVE that. Some people love nothing more than rewatching the same film over and over and analyzing it to death and drawing a million conclusions. But I dunno. I’m ok with ambiguity and subtext and depth. I like it. But here it feels too deliberate and like there’s not enough straight up text. I didn’t dislike the film. Its gorgeous and well acted and if nothing else I admit I am a nerd and I did enjoy unraveling the clues as they were coming. And like I said, there’s some really clever stuff in there that has to be deliberate. Stuff way beyond just the twist you all know already. But I dunno. i feel like when you play it as vague as this movie did you’re just failing to fulfill your end of the bargain. In the end this movie felt like the good pilot for a TV series I’d be interested in to see how all of these threads pay out. Or like a novel adaption that’s been condensed down with so much detail being forced to be discarded. I honestly would have loved if this film had an extra 20 or 30 minutes to just dive into some of this stuff, but the way it approached everything I think it really just did think it was being a lot more clever than it was by never saying anything out loud. And I dunno. I’m not a fan. 
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Oct 11, 2022 05:55
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10. Plan 9 From Outer Space Today was Ed Wood's birthday and I decided to relax with an old favorite. Aliens land at a graveyard near Hollywood and start reanimating the recently deceased as part of a plan to conquer the Earth. First they raise a hot goth girl (Vampira), then her elderly husband (sometimes played by Bela Lugosi, later by Dr. Tom Mason), and then a police inspector (Tor Johnson.) An airline pilot (Gregory Walcott) who saw one of the flying saucers ends up teaming up with a colonel (Tom Keene) and a police detective (Duke Moore) to investigate the strange goings-on at the cemetery. An early favorite of the "bad movie" cultists who sprung up in the 70s and 80s, Plan 9 isn't near its "Worst Movie of All Time" reputation but you see why the untrained would make such an observation. Nothing in the film is convincing or realistic, from the cheap sets and herky-jerky editing to the often clunky dialogue and stiff acting. Ed Wood just never learned a lot of the craft of filmmaking; he was never in a position where he could afford to think too much about that sort of thing. However, he's always gonna tell you a story, and Plan 9 is a cracker, crazy and manic and full of goofy psuedoscience and a stronger-than-usual anti-nuclear message. (Indeed in its goofiness it becomes downright subversive- the human characters completely fail to reflect on the aliens' revelation that Earth is on the verge of developing a weapon that could destroy the entire universe and instead resort to violence at the first opportunity.) A normal filmmaker working on a low budget might choose to show less of the shiny flying saucers (actual models were built but kept snapping the fishing wire, hence the use of hubcaps) or the alien base that's literally just a desk in front of a giant curtain, and that's why so many micro-budget sci-fi movies end up as dull, talky affairs which never deliver on the lurid sensationalism their posters and ads promise. Plan 9, if nothing else, delivers. You will see flying saucers battle the military (by which we mean hover in place while lots of stock footage of army maneuvers plays around them), you will see the late great Bela Lugosi stalk the screen in a vampire cape one last time (only to be frequently replaced by a much younger guy holding a cape over his face), etc. There's a certain charm to all this, and I find myself using my imagination to fill in the blanks. It helps that William C. Thompson, the cinematographer, was pretty drat good and the visuals are all very sharp and contrasty and have an iconic quality to them. From the flying saucers to the phony cemetery everything looks like you think a 1950s sci-fi thriller should, and the scene of Tor Johnson rising from the grave is surreal kitsch at its best. Just a guaranteed good time every time. Take any fire, any earthquake, any major disaster. Then wonder. Flying saucers, captain, are still a rumor... officially.
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Oct 11, 2022 06:07
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Random Stranger posted:Since I know someone is going to ask, Polanski does not appear in the movie, they don't address that he drugged and raped a child a few months before the start of the movie, and Sharon just says that she thinks he's having an affair which is something that fills her with as much emotion as asking someone what toppings they want on their pizza. Not to defend Polanski in any way shape or form but what you're talking about happened in the 70s, after Tate's murder.
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Oct 11, 2022 06:09
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 22. Hunter Hunter (2020) A perplexing film to evaluate. I suspect that Hunter Hunter is a love-it-or-hate-it flick, which will impress some people with its unpredictability and gasp-worthy ending and will piss off others as a bait-and-switch. It's bleak in a way that tempted me to throw up my hands and say "What the gently caress was the point of all that then??" but I can't deny the power of an outrageously gory capstone image that twists this one from wilderness survival thriller into revenge exploitation. The first act sets up a family living as subsistence trappers in a forest, coming into town only to sell furs and buy essentials. Dad Devon Sawa is philosophically committed to the survivalist lifestyle and is teaching daughter Summer Howell useful skills for teenaged girls like animal skinning and how to identify critters by their scat. Mom Camille Sullivan is more ambivalent, frustrated with their furs selling for less as costs go up, conscious that her daughter didn't freely choose to opt out of school and society the way her parents did. The pressures of their marginal living increase when a fearless lone wolf is attracted to easy meat caught in the family's traps and starts stalking the territory. Sawa goes hunting to put the predator down, but stumbles across a foreboding scene in the wilderness and doesn't make it back home that night... Hunter Hunter is attractive, doing a good job staging the wilds as a foreboding place (backed up by a solid score packed with ominous resonant tones). But it's conspicuous how closely writer-director Shawn Linden plays his cards close to his chest, to the point of distraction. Is this a slow burn or withholding the main points of interest? With all the room I was given to pick at the details I briefly thought the movie was going to reveal a twist that the daughter was actually being raised by her kidnappers, based on Sullivan lying to a local official about the kid's gender while in frame with a billboard of "MISSING" posters. Some of my "something's not right here" suspicion was also because I didn't find the writing credible of characters who should be experienced outdoorsmen. A wolf in your space is scary poo poo to my city rear end, but for people who've spent over a decade living in bear country and killing animals to survive? An armed Howell huddling behind a log and hyperventilating at the sound of a wolf howl seems like an odd overreaction in that context, something that would maybe track for a 12-year-old but not Howell's 16. Combined with her squeamishness over eating meat from a baby deer and the way she's shut up in her room whenever the adults have a serious conversation, it suggests a dynamic of her being sheltered that doesn't jibe well with the values of rugged independence that her dad espouses. Which could make for an interesting character study but Hunter Hunter simply isn't that movie, it moves instead in some brutal directions that don't even suggest "nature is a harsh mistress" so much as "your life can be torn apart at any moment." The ending rocks and it tracks with the mood of the piece even if it's not at all where I expected man vs. wolf to go. I guess now I'm the one being hella coy, but trust me that when one character has lost everything, they get their revenge in a big hideous gently caress you to the acts of predation that preceded it.  / 5 For Spooky Bingo, Hunter Hunter ticks off Goodnight Mommy for its focus on a mother trying to keep her family safe in a hostile world. Actually because mom becomes scary as all gently caress and avenges her family by skinning their murderer alive. 
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Oct 11, 2022 06:12
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 #52.) The Devil's Machine (2019; Blu-ray; also available on Tubi) An antique specialist and his (step)daughter go on a trip to Scotland to examine what is believed to be a 300-year-old automaton commissioned as a duplicate of a princess. However, there's a curse attached to the princess, said to spread to anyone who cares for it. With the automaton intended to serve as the replacement of the princess in the wake of her death, there's implicit themes of rebellion against the natural order, female subjugation, and human impermanence. Tensions between the father and daughter grow as their isolation with the automaton continues, with the lines between research, possession, and desires becoming blurred. There's some very nice stylization put to use in the presentation, looking almost like a pastel Argento at times. Very nice use of lights and shadows. The film takes some strong influence from classic Gothic horror, with something akin to a cinematic interpretation of epistolary narrative as the details of the automaton's workings are drawn from old records. As the specialist delves deeper into the records, ghostly influences start to emerge, ensnaring him and his daughter. The ending gets a bit confused (though that may just be me needing to watch the film again with better understanding), but on the whole, it's a very impressive assemblage on a moderate budget. “Surely it's actions, and not motivations, that count?” Rating: 8/10
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Oct 11, 2022 06:16
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 8.) Hereditary 2018 | Ari Aster | Blu-ray Had a movie night with some friends and they put this on and I, having not seen it, really enjoyed it. It went to places I didn’t expect it to, like I didn’t think the daughter would get killed off so quickly. There are some absolutely fantastic performances and the film creates an absolutely creepy atmosphere. I don’t necessarily know if I completely got everything, but this is definitely a film worth rewatching. Rating: ½  9.) Psycho Goreman 2020 | Steven Kostanski | Blu-ray rewatch This was my contribution to our aforementioned movie night. This remains an absolute blast and I’m really glad I turned my friends on to this film. This a fun as hell movie, and a great tokusatsu flick. (I swear to God, the abandoned shoe factory feels like an homage to the abandoned warehouse that’s a setting for a lot of fights in the Kamen Rider franchise.) Overall, just a fun as hell movie. Rating: Franchescanado posted:
 10.) Cat People 1942 | Jacques Tourneur | HBO Max This was a really interesting film that manages to create a creepy atmosphere using so very little. Simone Simon gives a terrific performance as a woman with a horrible and tragic curse. The movie didn’t quite leave as big of an impression on me as other reviews I’ve seen, but this is still a well-made film. Rating: ½ Total: 10/13 New: 8 Rewatches: 2 My Letterboxd list (in progress) Bingo card: 
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Oct 11, 2022 06:54
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11. Deadstream (2022) A cancelled YouTuber / livestreamer does the ultimate stunt to redeem himself, stay at a haunted house. Deadstream is great, it's got the right amount of scares to laughs. I was both screaming from laughter and jump scares. Super recommend. Available on shudder. Found footage so I'll put this one under VHS 
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Oct 11, 2022 08:22
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 45) Maggie - 2015 - Prime I know this one got a bad rap by many when it came out. Understandable considering how much has been done with zombies and where the expectations tend to be. But this was at least an attempt at something new which I can respect. Here we have a father dealing with his daughter being infected during the zombie outbreak. Usually this is something handled in 5-10 minutes tops in the standard zombie offering. Having it play out in full, especially with Schwarzenegger as the father struggling with the inevitable was compelling. So, if you're looking for the usual zombie fare, this will come across slow and boooooring. But if you're looking for something different that's not been touched much, this one is worth a watch.  46) Hellraiser - 2022 - Hulu For disclosure's sake, I have found something to enjoy in every Hellraiser film except for Revelations, and I did not like the last two people who played Pinhead. I also used to be a mod over on the Hellbound Web forums (THAT was a doozy of a learning experience). Even borrowed Scarlet Gospels from the library (I would've been salty spending money on that). With that said, now onto Hellraiser 11. In short, when it's good it's very good. When it's bad, it's an eyeroll. From the moment the word came out that this was going to be a thing, I have heard every possible opinion, hope, and rant-snort. For someone like me who read the stories, seen all the movies up to that point, read a shitload of the comics and graphic novels, I was on the 'yeah, well, we'll see' side of the fence. To start with the good. I liked the new look to the cenobites. It's a good step towards the story aesthetic. I was originally iffy on the new look for the puzzlebox, but seeing how it all played out, it worked. I liked the configuration-esque mansion. The new Pinhead was fine, considering what little she had to work with. Goran Višnjić did an excellent job even thought he didn't appear much. It was interesting in the cenobites now offering more than just higher sensation even if it still ended up not being what someone expected. For the bad...why was this two hours long when it didn't need to be. They could've shaved off a good 20-30 minutes and not missed a plot point. As much as I did say I liked the new cenobite look, they did have a plasticy sameness. At some point we all poked fun at the leather cassock look of the previous movie cenobites, but at least there we did get more variety with cenobites like Chatterbeast. These are beings that have been mutilated and reconfigured to such an extreme there's little to nothing left of the humanity they had. I particularly didn't like the change to the cenobite motivations, and here we got variations of an anatomy textbook. The puzzleboxes were an upgrade from the old spells, allowing for more accessibility and still needing the component of desire. Here, it really went to hands and blood, and it's desire or choosing to become a cenobite. This wasn't bad by any stretch, they would've had to put effort into being as bad as Revelations. But it had the potential to be so much more than the flailing we got.  47) The Invitation - 2022 - Theater At my theater, this could have the tagline "Watched by those who couldn't get in to see Barbarian/Pearl/Smile/Bullet Train". When I saw this, I wouldn't've been surprised if I got the stink eye from some 15 yr olds sitting in the auditorium I refused to sell Smile tickets to. No regrets considering how much they still act up in the theater and get asked to leave. With the rating, I didn't have high expectations going in. I was already guessing 'generic evil occult society' as what was going on. I was pleasantly proved wrong to some degree. I wasn't expecting this is a world where the events of Dracula happened and he won. While the film looks gorgeous and the actors were fine, I found this a bit on the tame side. That's only expected with the sheer volume of horror films I watch. I still enjoyed it.
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Oct 11, 2022 09:24
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17: Goosebumps (2015) Children of the Damned I went through a YA horror book phase as a kid and binged the Point Horror series, of which R. L. Stine was my favorite author. I also read a few goosebumps books - my sister was really into those. Jack Black stars here as both Stine and the voice of Slappy the Dummy. The kids are likable and Jack Black's fine. It's action packed, fun, and the effects are serviceable, it's light on anything too scary so it's fine for general family viewing. Total: 17 Scream 4; Scream 5; Burke & Hare; Pet Semetary (1989); Lake Mungo; Season of the Witch; Childsplay 3; Boris Karloff: the Man Behind the Monster; Piranha (2010); Dead and Buried; Black Sabbath; The Curse of the Cat People; The Company of Wolves; Halloween Specials; The Cremator; Hack-O-Lantern; Goosebumps 
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Oct 11, 2022 10:21
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 Old People 2022, Andy Fetscher, Netflix This one snuck up on us when we were going through Netflix. I don't see a lot of buzz online about it either, probably owing to it being a German language film. A unique concept: As apparent revenge for their mistreatment, especially in elder abuse situations, the elderly across the world stage a violent and spooky rebellion, forming a near-silent cult of homicidal maniacs with ghost-like qualities. Evokes a lot of Night of the Living Dead, and plays up the sinister aspects that aging can give the character of the human face--we get a lot of long, drawn-out shots of now-villainous old people. The old people are in turns both zombie-like and slasher antagonists not out of place in a Halloween movie, so you get a mix of horror themes depending on what would work best for a scene. While inspiring a lot of pathos and revulsion from its monsters, the themes of avenging decades of elder abuse and what effect this abuse has on family dynamics are also well-explored. I enjoyed it a lot, as it's gory, effective storytelling, and visually interesting. It's probably the best thing I've watched this month. The Amityville Horror (1979) Alligator (1980) The Entity (1982) Tremors (1990) Frailty (2001) Candyman (2021) Mad God (2021) Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) Morbius (2022) Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022) The Munsters (2022)
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Oct 11, 2022 12:42
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Sir Kodiak posted:
If we had to watch Bloodlines, you need to watch Bloodlines. We have such sights to show you. Maxwell Lord posted:Not to defend Polanski in any way shape or form but what you're talking about happened in the 70s, after Tate's murder. Thanks. I got my timeline scrambled.
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Oct 11, 2022 13:14
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8. Sleeping With The Enemy 1991 | dir. Joseph Ruben HBO Max SPOOKY BINGO: Origin of Evil I'm continuing with journey into Yuppie Horror films with an entry about a woman trapped in a marraige to a man who became abusive after their honeymoon. It's a good movie that feels exceptional for it's two lead performances. Julia Roberts is charming, beautiful and has amazing amazing hair. Patrick Bergin inhibits the psychopathic husband with a quiet intensity. The reveal of his abuse, and Laura's (Julia Roberts) facade as the faithful and subservient wife and abuse victim, while never as dark and grounded as to feel tortuous (this is a popcorn flick, y'know), is harrowing and frightening.   The actual meat and bones of a thriller is the structure. The trail of clues, the pursuit, and--what I love about Yuppie Nightmares--the signals that the bad guy is just off-screen but they've made their presence known to intimidate their victim, are all well done. I always ask "Has this person really studied Hitchcock?" I don't expect a filmmaker to make a film as tight as Psycho or Vertigo, but I do expect them to do their homework. This film keeps the threads simple and clean, and even though some contrivances are a bit silly, Bergin's performance as an obsessive is just so good. I wasn't the biggest fan of Kevin Anderson in this film. And the title makes no sense. Recommended. 9. Cat People 1982 | dir. Paul Schrader Criterion Channel SPOOKY BINGO: Wild Beasts  Universal's 2nd film in an attempt to reboot the Universa Horror brand in the 1980s, following An American Werewolf In London (a hit, but actually a PolyGram Filmed Entertainment film, only distributed by Universal), released two months before John Carpenter's The Thing. Cat People and The Thing, both remakes an RKO productions, were bombs. A film hated by fans of the original Cat People (1942, J. Tourneur, an excellent film), disappointing to 80's horror fans, too schlocky for more high brow audiences. Critics were mixed, although Ebert loved it. Kinski's performance was universally hailed. Yet "grisly" and "lurid" and "psychosexual" did not entice viewers. Even now, while it has a majority of positive views on Letterboxd, it has less than 24k views. IMDB has a higher average rating than Letterboxd, but even fewer have reviewed it there. I'm curious if the new 4k UHD from Shout (and being available to stream on Criterion Channel, which has a small but dedicated userbase) will give it a boost in popularity, now that the film is 40 years old. "...when the opportunity came in 1979 to do Cat People, which was not a script I had written, I decided to do it in order not to do a personal film. One of the reasons ‘Born in the USA’ [eventually retitled to Light of Day] was running into difficulties was that it was just too personal, so I said, ‘OK, I’m going to do a genre film, a horror film, a special-effects film that will not be about me, and that will be a very salutary exercise.’ Well, in truth, when I look back on it, I see Cat People as being almost the most personal film I’ve done." "Previously, I've made films about daydreams - this is my first film about nightmares . . . It's about what goes on when the lights go out - the unconscious world inhabited by erotic fantasies, and what Cocteau [Jean Cocteau] calls the 'sacred monsters' . . . When you're dealing with the fantastic, you need a place where people would accept it (the myth) . . . New Orleans [where this film is set] is one of those towns where you think almost anything can happen - and probably has!" Schrader has also said that this movie "contains more skin than blood" "That transformation from a genre piece to a personal film come about mainly in the way we evolved the character of the zookeeper played by John Heard as a sort of pursuer of a Beatrice figure. He’s a man who lives with animals because he doesn’t like humans very much. And then his Beatrice appears and his greatest fantasy has come true, because Beatrice is an animal. Well, as we developed the character he evolved more and more along the lines of myself, and then during the actual shooting of the film I became involved with Nastassia Kinski and became obsessed with her. So the story of the film started to become very personal, so much so that I wasn’t really aware of how perverse it was getting." "Well, when you shoot any film there are always a couple of tapes you lug along with you and you play them in your office continually with the sound off. [...] And on Cat People the tapes I took along were Beauty and the Beast and Orpheus, which are obviously nonpareil landmarks in the history of movies. There will never be another Cocteau." There will also never be another Paul Schrader. Always a controversial figure with his fair share of addictions and demons, but also intelligent, candid and sincere with his works. Recommended, although some of the big cat footage may stress you the gently caress out. I haven't found anything about animals being harmed in the making of this film. Re-Watches: An American Werewolf In London | City of the Living Dead New To Me: Practical Magic | Pacific Heights | The Lift | The Others | The Keep | Sleeping With The Enemy | Cat People Total: 9 
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Oct 11, 2022 14:13
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26. Hell Fest It's weirdly refreshing to see a slasher movie made as recently as 2018 that plays the genre and every single trope and convention attached to it 100% straight. Other than the very blatant lack of nudity, if you needed a completely standard, zero-deviation slasher movie, Hell Fest would fit. And because how hard it commits to "we are doing The Slasher Movie", I was actually pretty into it! It tries nothing out of the ordinary, but it nails the fundamentals, and sometimes that's all you need from a movie. Plus I want the fair it's set in to actually exist (without the murdering, of course), it looks fun as gently caress. And really, is there any better sign of "at least one thing is gonna be good here" than seeing a title card in the opening credits bearing "And Tony Todd"? 3 out of 5! 26/31, watched: Scary Movie, Final Destination 4, Happy Death Day, Final Destination, No One Gets Out Alive, Smile, Freaky, Body Bags, Alien Psychosis, The Invisible Man, The Last Exorcism, Final Destination 2, Werewolves of the Third Reich, Unfriended, Final Destination 3, Hellraiser (2022), Deadstream, Final Destination 5, Village of the Damned, Piranha 3D, The Awakening, The Ruins, Sissy, Happy Death Day 2 U, Crush The Skull, Hell Fest 
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Oct 11, 2022 14:54
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 10. The Black Phone (2022) (dir. Scott Derrickson) Amazon rental SPOOKY BINGO: Paperbacks from Hell Finney, a 13-year-old boy who lives in suburbia with his younger sister Gwen and their alcoholic father, is abducted by a serial killer known as the "Grabber" and locked in a soundproof basement. The killer toys with him and escape seems impossible, until a broken and out of service black phone in the basement begins ringing, and Finney finds he can talk to the spirits of the Grabber's previous victims. Meanwhile, his sister has prophetic dreams that may help the police find her brother - but time is running out. This is based on Joe Hill's short story of the same name from his excellent 2004 collection "20th Century Ghosts". I know I read the story over a decade ago, but I can't remember the details so I can't say how faithful this is. If I had to guess I'd bet the psychic sister stuff was added for the film, as there is a lot of plot here for just a short story. That might be my main criticism of the film - everything that happens with the Grabber and the phone is really good and interesting, but the psychic stuff didn't so as much for me. It's not bad, but I think the film could've been shorter and more focused without it. I did like this a lot though. The premise is creative and original and Ethan Hawke is genuinely scary in his role (the devil mask really helps, but he's just good at playing creeps in general). It's an appropriate level of dark without being too much, and thankfully leaves out the obvious terrible things an abductee might do to a young boy - the mind games and threat of brutal murder is enough. A very solid horror movie and I recommend it. 4 black balloons out of 5  11. Hellraiser (2022) (dir. David Bruckner) Hulu SPOOKY BINGO: They Always Come Back Riley and her boyfriend Trevor, both recovering addicts, devise a plan to steal from a seemingly long abandoned warehouse once owned by a billionaire. They break in and are disappointed to find only one item left - a mysterious puzzle box. Riley inadvertently begins to solve it, summoning otherworldly beings called Cenobytes with the ability to grant ultimate pleasures... or ultimate pain. After nearly 35 years, the long-running Hellraiser franchise finally gets another worthy sequel. This is easily the best one since Hellraiser II (an admittedly very low bar), and the first in a long time to actually feel like a Hellraiser film. The new Cenobytes look great and it's EXTREMELY gory, more than I expected, and it just generally nails the tone and the visual style. I don't think the themes of addiction quite fit into the plot as well as they could've, but basic idea is solid and makes a decent parallel for the use of the puzzle box. I enjoyed the focus on solving the box and what the different configurations represent - it adds some interesting lore without taking away from the mystery and horror of the Cenobytes. The mansion where most of the third act takes place is also super cool, with its secret contraptions and design that evokes the puzzle box itself. I also liked the score. The orchestral main theme from the first Hellraiser is used here to great effect. It's not perfect - it's longer than it needs to be and the script isn't super tight - but just in terms of pure aesthetics I loved it. 4 configurations out of 5 Total: 11 Watched: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane | Extraordinary Tales | You Won't Be Alone | Eyes of Fire | The Munsters | The Snake Girl and the SIlver-Haired Witch | TV Specials | Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! File 01 - Operation Capture the Slit-Mouthed Woman | Deadstream | The Black Phone | Hellraiser (2022) 
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Oct 11, 2022 15:59
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#12: Cat People (1942)Golden Years A man marries a Serbian girl and discovers why it's probably a good idea to move in together first. I appreciated this one for the artistry involved more than the storyline, which was pretty thin. It all comes down to no one being able to talk about their feelings until it's too late to avoid serious consequences. Cheers for almost having a positive message about mental health in 1942, jeers for throwing it all away by making the psychiatrist into an antagonist. Is this the first "elevated horror" movie?  out of 5#13: Mortuary (1983) A young woman and her boyfriend become convinced her father's death was connected to strange goings-on at the local mortuary. There's only one reason to see this movie, and it's baby Bill Paxton. You can see in every scene he's in how different his energy is compared to the rest of the cast. That just makes it all the more unfortunate that the movie reduces him to little more than a mute slasher for much of the proceedings. This doesn't count as a spoiler because the movie doesn't make much of an effort to hide the fact he's the killer. It's only at the end that he gets to really kick it up a notch as a psycho. out of 51. Dracula (Spanish)(1931) 2. Trick r Treat (2007) 3. Ghost Ship (2002) H20 4. The Devil Within Her (1975) Goodnight, Mommy 5. Ghost Story (1981) Paperbacks From Hell 6. Nomads (1986) Punk Vacation 7. Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969) Thrilla in Manila 8. Skeleton Man (2004) Osteology 9. Muppets Haunted Mansion/Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXXI Halloween is Special 10. Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985) 11. Werewolf of London (1935) 12. Cat People (1942) Golden Years 13. Mortuary (1983) 
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Oct 11, 2022 16:20
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Franchescanado posted:
 #15. The Innocents (1961) (YouTube TV via FXM) The new governess of a pair of spirited youngsters becomes convinced their country home is haunted. I'm not normally a haunted house or a ghost movie kind of guy - I don't believe in them, so I find them kind of dull, especially when there's so much time devoted to stillness or patient waiting for something of spooky interest to happen. Therefore, I was surprised by how much I ended up liking this movie, since it ends up being so devoted to stillness and expectations for something of spooky interest just waiting to happen. Credit mostly to Deborah Kerr for carrying so much of the film on her back, and director Jack Clayton for being able to trust his actors to carry a story where so little ends up happening, for the most part. That said, while I was enjoyed the movie for much of its runtime, I must admit that I didn't really understand the ending - I don't know if there's some Olde English idea that speaking a spirit's name banishes it or protects you from it, so I don't get why just saying the name of Peter Quint, the ghost haunting the house, and I guess also possessing little boy Miles sometimes, ends up getting rid of the ghost. Or why banishing the spirit also causes young Miles to die, short of narrative convenience and an attempt at an extra spooky ending. Is that something I need to read "The Turn of the Screw" to understand more fully? Either way, it's a very good movie, but I feel like the weak ending holds it back from true greatness. /5 Watched so far: The Empty Man, Hocus Pocus 2, Smile (2022), It Came From Outer Space, Watcher, The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Bats, Choose or Die, The Curse of the Werewolf, "Werewolf By Night"/various Halloween episodes, The Thing From Another World, Hellraiser (2022), Knife + Heart, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5, The Innocents (1961)
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Oct 11, 2022 16:24
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17. Beast  Where to watch? It's streaming for premium members on Peacock This is just a fantastic animal attacks movie, starring Idris Elba and Sharlito Copley. Really beautiful film about a doctor who goes to Africa with his two daughters because that was where their deceased mother is from. The special effects in this are fantastic, and its a really grounded good film. Full of high tension moments and oh poo poo moments. It's just really well directed and fantastic performances. I can't say again how beautiful this film is its absolutely gorgeous. The CGI lion is fantastic and its got some gruesome attacks by the lion. Its also a tight 90ish minute film. Things get going and it doesn't stop. Anyway its a excellent film and well worth checking out.
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Oct 11, 2022 16:41
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7. Waxwork A warlock lures some local college students into his wax museum so that the evil displays can kill them as part of an evil ritual. This movie is stupid, at times very stupid, but it's also a fun love letter to horror movies using the variety of living wax figures to cram in as many references to movie monsters as possible from zombies to mummies to Dracula. The dialogue is at times downright bizarre and a lot of the attempts at comedy don't really land but the monsters are cool and David Warner is wonderful (as always). The ending is totally off the wall but I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Spooky Bingo - Dead & BuriedRIP to the GOAT David Warner. 
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Oct 11, 2022 17:01
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25. Fried Barry 2020, South Africa. Dir. Ryan Kruger Spaced Invaders The heartwarming story of Barry, a burnout junky who gets abducted by aliens and then piloted through the seedy underbelly of Johannesburg as he gets into one wacky misadventure after another. I'm surprised that a movie I dug out of the Shudder bin purely to fill a bingo slot would turn out to be so drat entertaining. The thumping electronic music score, neon lighting, and scummy atmosphere automatically reminded me of Mandy. Very stylish, and by necessity fairly aimless, but in a good way. Surprisingly decent alien effects for how cheap this movie must have been to make. All in all a bizarrely good time, and a hell of a ride. Strong recommend. 7/10. Stray thoughts: When was the last time you saw anything reference jenkum? Seriously. 
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Oct 11, 2022 17:06
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27. Diary of the Dead Romero gives the found-footage format a shot and...it just doesn't really come together, sadly. Romero's talent has always been how good he is at diagetic worldbuilding, stuff just incidentally happening in the background that gives you a little more insight into what's going on. The problem is found footage really doesn't lend itself very well to that, so it ends up with scenes of pointing a camera at a TV that explains what's going on, or people just expositing straight down the barrel of the camera, then also add a narrator on top to make sure everything's all recapped too. It definitely feels like an experiment into something new, it just doesn't play to Romero's strengths at all. On the other hand, I would fight and die for Samuel The Friendly Amish Man. 1 out of 5! 27/31, watched: Scary Movie, Final Destination 4, Happy Death Day, Final Destination, No One Gets Out Alive, Smile, Freaky, Body Bags, Alien Psychosis, The Invisible Man, The Last Exorcism, Final Destination 2, Werewolves of the Third Reich, Unfriended, Final Destination 3, Hellraiser (2022), Deadstream, Final Destination 5, Village of the Damned, Piranha 3D, The Awakening, The Ruins, Sissy, Happy Death Day 2 U, Crush The Skull, Hell Fest, Diary of the Dead 
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Oct 11, 2022 17:14
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MrGreenShirt posted:25. Fried Barry Hell yeah, loved this one and I don’t see it talked about much. Super fun
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Oct 11, 2022 18:04
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Gyro Zeppeli posted:27. Diary of the Dead loving American hero : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1SmgB37NAk
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Oct 11, 2022 18:17
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Would Deadstream fit for either glitches or terrorvision? Would like to watch it but I’m having trouble slotting it in anywhere I still have open
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Oct 11, 2022 18:32
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I'd absolutely say it should qualify for Glitches. Not for Terrorvision though.
Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Oct 11, 2022 |
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Oct 11, 2022 18:34
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Opopanax posted:Would Deadstream fit for either glitches or terrorvision? Would like to watch it but I’m having trouble slotting it in anywhere I still have open it’s About influencers so it’s good for Glitches; if you’re looking for Terrorvision you could literally just watch Terrorvision. or The Video Dead
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Oct 11, 2022 18:44
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Bad Channels is pretty entertaining, I dug that more than TerrorVision myself. Original music by Blue Oyster Cult no less.
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Oct 11, 2022 19:06
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 48) The 8th Night- 2021 - Netflix Plot surrounds a former monk and a young monk who have to stop two demon eyes from reuniting or it will bring a Hell on Earth. Has a couple draggy moments, but overall this was pretty good. Effects were a bit sparse compared to other similar films, but still everything worked well. There was a twist near the end that I hadn't quite expected but really worked well. It's a recommend from me.  49) A Classic Horror Story - 2021 - Netflix A carpooling group has an accident on the road in Southern Italy and things only get worse from there. Having sat through this...Whelp, it's a thing. It started off pretty good. Everything was working well with they stumbled into a rural pagan cult. I liked the cult's look, and the entities look. The mention of the three knights and the names, Osso, Mastrosso, and Carcagnosso sounded really familiar to me like something I heard decades ago. Had to text a cousin about it because it was driving me nuts, , got teased for forgetting a story I was half listening to as a kid. The short short version is they were three honorable brothers who avenged their sister's rape, had to flee afterwords, ended up near Sicily and ended up founding the branches of the Cosa Nostra. So, for me at least that was foreshadowing. But then we get to the reveal, and yeah, it's really all an elaborate snuff film set run by the mafia. I don't know, maybe it's a me thing but the reveal felt like a disappointment. In Italian-Sicilian culture we are near drowning in folklore, old spirits and the like and it just kinda felt a bit of a cop out with they went with the mafia when they could've gone with so much more. Overall, this wasn't so much as bad, just a bit disappointing.
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Oct 11, 2022 19:19
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 20) The Invisible Man (1933) Trailer Seen on: Internet Archive Paperbacks From Hell -Watch a film adaptation of a novel or short story Based on the H.G. Wells novel, the movie involves a scientist who meddles in things man must leave alone and ends up turning himself invisible. Unfortunately, his further experiments aren't able to turn him back, and one of the ingredients he used for the concoction has driven him insane. As his colleagues and the countryside fear for their lives, the police and his closest friends try to figure out how to stop him, but how do you stop a man you can't see coming? For all of the Universal monster movies I did see as a kid, this one did not number among them; I wasn't too interested in the whole invisibility thing and was more into the supernatural and outright monsterish side of things. After reading several other people's reviews here though, I decided to give it a go, and it's really good (as to be expected; it's directed by James Whale, whose Bride of Frankenstein I really enjoyed watching for the first time a few years ago as well). While I don't think it's quite as good as Bride of Frankenstein, there are two things that I think really make this movie: the outstanding special effects, especially for the time it was made, and for Claude Rains' commanding performance as the titular character, Jack Griffin. His incandescent glee at being an utter bastard is something to behold, as he eagerly terrorizes anyone who gets in his way, no matter if they're friend or foe. Glad I finally got around to watching this one.  21) Equinox (1970) Trailer Seen on: HBO Max Highbrow Horror -watch a film featured in the Criterion Collection, on Criterion Channel or on Mubi - featured here Two couples head into the woods in California to keep an appointment with a researcher at a lone cabin. When they arrive, they find the cabin demolished, the doctor crazed, and a strange, sinister forest ranger taking an interest in them after they pick up an old book that talks about good and evil. Things go downhill for all involved from there. Basebf555 reviewed this one earlier, and it piqued my interest so I checked it out. It was indicated that Dennis Muren worked on this, but when I saw in the credits that Dave Allen AND Jim Danforth were also involved, I knew there was going to be some stop-motion shenanigans involved (Ed Begley Jr. also did camerawork?!). Sadly, most of that stuff only comes in dribs and drabs, and there's no real monstery stuff until the last third of the film. The whole story is told in flashback by the sole survivor of the ordeal. As Basebf555 stated in their review, this really has a proto-Evil Dead feel to it, at least in the setting, the book and some of the menace, although here it's essentially the devil (the ranger is named Asmodeus, you know how everyone used to name their kids that). It's a very low budget, very ambitious film that has a few moments of eerieness and some fun when the stop-motion monsters show up, but it's also very dull and talky for most of it, and we don't really learn enough about the characters to really give a poo poo about them; they're just the vehicle to get us into the woods and the spookiness. Still, it's an interesting watch and I can see why it's in the collection. 
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Oct 11, 2022 19:50
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I dunno if its intentional or not but the weirdo nerd in me loves you going around the edges.
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Oct 11, 2022 20:15
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If you're intentionally avoiding getting a bingo for as long as possible, that's a great move.
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Oct 11, 2022 20:22
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Yeah. I appreciate that kind of careful madness.
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Oct 11, 2022 20:26
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Bruteman is gonna watch a Chuck Band joint on Mischief Night and instantly score like four bingos
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Oct 11, 2022 20:32
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Gyro Zeppeli posted:If you're intentionally avoiding getting a bingo for as long as possible, that's a great move. I wanted the card to be 5x5 just so I could finish two bingos with the center square, lol.
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Oct 11, 2022 20:40
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Splint Chesthair posted:I wanted the card to be 5x5 just so I could finish two bingos with the center square, lol. Then it would be SCARY Bingo, not SPOOKY.  I did consider changing it, but I think the challenge is more challenging with an even 6 films instead of 5.
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Oct 11, 2022 20:45
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I was actually thinking the other night, if we did allow multiple squares for single movies, which movie would take out the most squares at once. Probably an anthology of some kind.
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Oct 11, 2022 20:46
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16. Halloween with the Addams Family (1977) Directed by Dennis Steinmetz 🎃 Halloween Is Special 🎃  It's The Addams Family in color, with a laugh track, which is horrifying. If you liked this show, it's the same sort of gags over and over, with a plot about some criminals trying to steal the Addams Family fortune. What they don't know is that the real riches are all of the good times we enjoyed along the way. Overall, it's mostly harmless but there is some mild racism and a gay panic joke -- Oh no! What I thought was a pretty lady is actually a man, in a wig! 👻👻.5/5 October Challenge 4/31 1. Blood Feast (1963), 2. Sunshine (2007), 3. Relic (2020), 4. Mortuary (2005) Spooky Bingo 12/36 1. Rodan (1956), 2. Carrie (2013), 3. Gargoyles (1972), 4. Ticks (1993), 5. Penda’s Fen (1974), 6. Crimson Peak (2015), 7. A Field in England (2013), 8. The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959), 9. Carnival of Sinners (1943), 10. Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970), 11. The Purge (2013), 12. Halloween with the Addams Family (1977)  Total 16/?
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Oct 11, 2022 21:00
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Another weekend came and went which meant another…  - (30). It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) Directed by Edward L. Cahn; Written by Jerome Bixby Watched on Svengoolie I saw this earlier in the year so I considered skipping it but I’ve had a rough past few days and just spending a night with Svengoolie sounded like what I needed. And I had just watched that bad Event Horizon fan edit and had a conversation about how Event Horizon takes from Alien so it felt very timely that Svengoolie was showing the movie that Alien took from. There’s a super clear line between the three films and you can see how they all influenced each other. And its oddly a sort of horror film that has never been turned into its own sub genre. There’s a few knockoffs out there and some people might really enjoy them like Leviathan but the idea of a space ship with a ghost/monster on it is such a simple and fun idea that for whatever reason only a handful of people have taken a shot at. It! was presumably first and you can clearly see how Ridley Scott’s classic takes liberally from it. Its not just the general idea but even specific elements like the use of air ducts. Like I said you can draw a pretty clear line from here to Alien to Event Horizon. And I love those other two films so I do sorta love this one too. Its obviously limited in budget and effects capabilities but its really pretty solid if you’re not bothered by monsters in ill fitting rubber suits. The film is short and brisk so it maintains a good pace. The characters are all a little generic. I’m not really sure I can tell the dudes apart from each other. The love triangle is a tad odd but it does help flesh out the characters a little. And they do feel real to me. I crack up when they have to distract the alien with noise so they all fire up cigarettes and start gabbing. In fact cigarettes play a hilarious big role in this. Its great seeing the key monster reveal come when a dude is taking a smoke break. Its all very 50s in that way that if the Mad Men did it you’d think it was too on the nose. Its fun. And its quick. Its impossible for this movie to wear out its welcome and it keeps moving with the action… limited though it may be… and wastes no time. Its an acquired taste. You gotta be able to enjoy these 50s sci fi movies but I have become a fan over the last couple of years. And this night with it and Svengoolie really did a great job picking up my mood and helping put me more into the Halloween spirit.  24 (31). The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962) Directed by Joseph Green; Written by Rex Carlton and Joseph Green Watched on Youtube and Sventoonie I didn’t actually realize this was my 31st film but its fitting since this is such a… classic? I generally avoid these sort of “famous for being bad” ones because I’m not that into the mocking thing. I mean… I guess unless a puppet is doing it. I guess I have my kink. And matter of fact when I was watching Sventoonie make fun fo the film after this he was making a lot fo the same jokes I had written in my head for this review. I’ll spare you them but it was an eye opening moment when it turned out I’m just right on the same wavelength as the corny puppet. I mean, it wasn’t a surprise. And it made me smile. But still. I’m a puppet. Weird. The movie isn’t good, obviously. I can however see why its stands out a little. The stuff with the head is actually kind of decent and weirdly somber. Its on its surface a clear Frankenstein knockoff but you can actually really see how this probably influenced Re-Animator. Like there’s a LOT of similarities here from the severed head to the girlfriend who doesn’t want to be saved like this to the freakish monster created in experiments. Well the latter is much more Frankenstein but you can definitely see how Stuart Gordon’s classic probably took a fair bit from here as he did from Lovecraft. Or I guess maybe Joseph Green was stealing al little from Lovecraft too? I dunno. But its the most interesting part of this movie. But the movie doesn’t do enough with it and it spends a bizarre amount of time just following the mad scientist stalk women. Its weird. And weirdly horny. And like the film goes so far out of its way to push Dr. NotFrankenstein as a ladies man that I started wondering if he was the director or someone. There’s a weird Mary Sue thing here with women just melting for him and his fiancé getting weirdly horny in front of his dad and his dad being into it. Its all very weird. And like half of the runtime is just watching him stalk women to find his fiancé a body. And while its mildly funny to watch him repeatedly fail (usually because some other woman throws herself at him becoming a witness) its definitely not worth the run time and drags the actual horror movie to a halt. There’s just not enough here. Its on paper a decent enough play on Frankenstein but then its also a weird sex comedy and… yeah. But the fish puppet was fun as always. And at least now I can say I’ve seen this one. I’ll be back soon with more Sven fun all month long! 
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Oct 11, 2022 21:10
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I got behind on my reviews over the weekend. 19. Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) This is a mystery set in Los Angeles, 1948, except in this reality, magic use is everywhere. Cops light their cigarettes by snapping their fingers to conjure a flame, it rains blood from the sky sometimes, and private eye Harry Phillip Lovecraft (who won't use magic) is hired to track down the theft of the Necronomicon. Julianne Moore is basically a live action Jessica Rabbit lounge singer (Lovecraft is her ex, Clancy Brown plays her new villainous boyfriend), and there are werewolves and gargoyles and all kinds of eldritch fun. All of that said, the movie has issues - all of the Black people are mindless zombies used as slave labor (except for one witch), the lead is very homophobic and a trans-coded character mostly exists to be laughed at and killed, and the day is saved by an idiot cop who had sex with a 16 year old girl, preventing her from being a suitable virgin sacrifice. Yikes! 3/5 -- Bingo Square: Dead & Buried (Both leads qualify here - Fred Ward passed in May, and David Warner passed in July) 20. Watcher (2022) Maika Monroe (It Follows) stars as Julia, a woman who moves to Romania with her boyfriend Francis for his job - she doesn't speak the language and has little to occupy her time while Francis works long hours. Julia keeps seeing a man in a window in an apartment across the street, and thinks she's being followed. There is also a serial killer on the loose, cutting off the heads of women in Bucharest. The story is familiar, but the performances and score elevate the tension - the film does a great job in providing possible non-scary justifications for things, hiding expressions in the shadows, never wanting to tell you whether Julia is right, or paranoid. But as coincidences start to pile up, it's almost like you're being asked how much it will take for you to believe a terrified woman. I don't want to say anything about the third act, but it's a satisfying conclusion to the story. First full-length feature from Chloe Okuno! Hail Raatma. 4/5 21. Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981) (Rewatch) Billy has lived with his Aunt Cheryl ever since his parents died in a Final Destination-esque car accident. Aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell) is a total freak - she is horny for Billy, and horny for murder, too. Scared that Billy will leave for college, Cheryl kills a TV repairman and claims he tried to rape her, getting Billy tied up in the mess. There are two cops investigating - Sgt. Cook, who is on the right track, digging into Cheryl's past, and Bo Svenson - infuriating as the cartoonishly homophobic Detective Carlson. Carlson learns that the TV repairman was gay, and that he had a relationship with Billy's basketball coach, and so Billy must also be gay, and the murderer, as part of some sort of murderous gay love triangle. Susan Tyrrell carries the whole thing with a maniacal descent into madness, including a scene where she licks milk off a teenager's neck. Truly unhinged, great performance, great movie. 4/5 22. It's Alive (1974) Frank and Lenore Davis are expecting their second child... but they're not expecting it to be a murderous little goblin! After the baby chews through the umbilical cord and kills half a dozen doctors, it escapes, and goes on a little rampage while the cops, scientists, and Frank try to track it down. We learn that a birth control pill Lenore took for years before this pregnancy is the culprit of the goblinification, so add doctors into the mix trying to stop this story and cover things up. The baby looks great (Rick Baker on effects) and the kills are silly while still being scary. The ending is very expected, but a perfect set-up for a sequel. 3.5/5 -- Bingo Square: Goodnight Mommy (If it isn't obvious why this qualifies from my review, there's also a key plot point involving Lenore hiding the murderbaby in their basement to protect it, because it is her son even if it is a bit goblin-y, while Frank refuses to acknowledge it as anything but a monster to be destroyed)Total Watched: 22 // First Time: 19 I've managed to fill in more than half the bingo card without achieving a single bingo yet. 
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Oct 11, 2022 21:17
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