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Drunkboxer
Jun 30, 2007

Heavy Metal posted:

Demons is so drat cool and fun, one of the best. Oddly enough the 80s Cat People is on my list I was considering for this, lot of movie connections in here

There's a lot of problems with the 80s movie but I have to admit I like that Bowie song.

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Butch Cassidy
Jul 28, 2010

Butch Cassidy posted:

1. Hellraiser

2. The Eyes of My Mother

3. Train to Busan

4. Thinner

5 Stake Land

6. The Windmill

7. The Blair Witch Project

8. Late Phases

9. P

10. The Neon Demon

11. Starry Eyes

12. Alien

The Windmill:

My son enjoyed watching it with me and that may be its saving grace. It's a waste in the spring and a better fit as October binge filler. It was a good and solidly made/acted supernatural slasher with some unique personality. But nothing more. Save this one for background atmosphere in the fall and don't bother thinking about it.

Speaking of my son, he bought himself DVD set of the Alien movies so I guess the first will be added to my list. Probably time I finally see it.

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

At the rate everyone watches movie everyone will be done by like next weekend.

Irony.or.Death
Apr 1, 2009


I'm way behind because I keep watching episodes of Jordskott instead. Jordskott is really good you guys.

Lurdiak
Feb 26, 2006

I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do.


I'm behind because I'm game jammin'

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

Irony.or.Death posted:

I'm way behind because I keep watching episodes of Jordskott instead. Jordskott is really good you guys.

Yeah I gotta rewatch it. I keep trying to watch it when I'm drunk and that is a terrible idea. I really liked the first 3 episodes and really loving enjoyed the hell out of it.

I think it counts though if you watch it just like post a review.

Hollismason fucked around with this message at 03:55 on May 7, 2017

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

5. The Uninvited - Lewis Allen, 1944



A lighthearted and intriguing haunted house story. Its primary asset is its enveloping plot, full of mysteries and twists. The script is intricate without being convoluted. What I find most fascinating about this is how it wants to be scarier than it is, but the movie's own tone betrays that desire. Perhaps chalk it up to the sensibilities of the time (in 1944 you wouldn't want a movie to be too scary, after all), the playful dialogue and cheerful - almost whimsical - score both undermine the creepiness of the film's story and atmosphere. In other words, with a more serious script and score the film would have been significantly more unsettling given the effectiveness of many of its eerie visuals and set pieces. Regardless, it's a fun, technically proficient little movie that I thoroughly recommend.

/ 5

Leave
Feb 7, 2012

Taking the term "Koopaling" to a whole new level since 2016.
3. Blood Glacier

What a waste of time. It's like The Thing, but German and lovely. A group of global warming scientists are researching at some glaciers and find one with this mysterious red goo leaking out of it. As it turns out, this goo mutates the wildlife into monsters, which should be awesome, but it's the opposite of that.

It's boring. Which is the greatest sin a movie can commit. There's nothing you haven't seen before, from concept to the finish (where one of the researcher's girlfriend shows up with the goo still existing) and no real reason to watch this movie. It could have been a lot of fun, but it's more like stubbing your toe; a terrible thing that takes up more time than it's worth.

2/10.

Irony.or.Death
Apr 1, 2009


3. A Dark Song (2016) - This one popped up in the thread recently where it was described as 2/3rds of a good movie. I think I'd bump it up to like 5/6ths of a good movie but I'm definitely in agreement that it fumbled things a bit. A woman makes a deal with an occultist to perform a ritual that will get them both a wish. There's the mandatory bit where everything goes terribly wrong and you know bad things are coming. Then bad things come and it's maybe the most disappointing 5-10 minutes of movie I can recall. Then there's an ending I think I would have really liked if the movie hadn't just sabotaged itself so badly. I kind of want to endorse the movie as a whole anyway because it does a really great job with all of the buildup and has the best depiction of occult ritual I think I've ever seen, but ugh that finale. Also gets zero points for beautiful Irish countryside which I am always hoping for when I am sold Ireland.

Heavy Metal
Sep 1, 2014

America's $1 Funnyman

2. Maniac Cop (1988)

This is a watchable movie with some charm, I've seen it once before, also is covered already earlier in the thread. Watched it to refresh my memory, as I haven't seen part 2 yet. I popped the commentary on sometimes for the first half, especially the first 20 minutes before Bruce is introduced, some funny stuff at times. For me I think something "so bad it's good" like Samurai Cop is more memorable, or something genuinely very good like Friday the 13th IV etc. This right here is the happy middle ground, likable and watchable competent cheese. Which would be a good nickname. Does feel a bit slow at times, but I also may have had too much caffeine past couple days, attention span not 110%. Part 2 sounds fun.

I will totally do some movies that haven't been done yet, throw some curveballs in the mix, yessir.

alansmithee
Jan 25, 2007

Goodness no, now that wouldn't do at all!


1) The Asphyx

This is a movie I would've ignored if not for the horror thread. There's a surprising amount of things going on here if you look, even though a lot of stuff doesn't seem to get fleshed out. You have class issues, political upheaval, secret societies, occultism, and family drama that all appear as background elements. It does work to keep you somewhat guessing until the last third or so of the movie, where it resembles something that Poe or some similar horror author from that era would've written. For me though there were a couple of things in the plot that kinda detracted from it for whatever reason they chose to use the relatively messy guillotine to give the daughter immortality, rather than the electric chair or oxygen deprivation tank that were otherwise used, which of course caused a messy botch that led to everything else happening. also, the letter Giles leaves-if it's really the combination why the elaborate way to kill himself? and if it wasn't (as I assumed), why have Hugo burn it anyways?) . But otherwise, it was a pretty fun movie,

alansmithee fucked around with this message at 06:34 on May 7, 2017

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe
9. Wolf Creek 2

I watched this more out of a sense of obligation than anything else, I hate having a sequel hanging out there that I haven't seen. It has some entertaining moments but really starts to drag by the end. The original kept things moving a lot better, and I'm sorry but John Jarratt isn't Vincent Price, so please don't give me a 20 minute scene of nothing but John Jarratt sitting in a chair talking. Certainly don't put a scene like that right where the climax of the movie should be.

Gore hounds may like the movie because its incredibly gruesome and mean. Obviously there's a very black sense of humor to the whole thing but then sometimes it wants you to watch a guy tearfully beg to see his kids one last time, so it doesn't seem to really know what it wants to be. I wasn't blown away by the original, so it wasn't too much of a surprise that I didn't love this either.

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

I could watch Vincent Price read from the dictionary for two hours. With his back turned to the camera. And the sound off. And I'd stare in wide-eyed bliss.

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

You all should look up him reading The Raven

Tangents
Aug 23, 2008

TheKingslayer posted:

3. The Houses October Built

I think I've posted about this before, but it really felt like it was leading up to it all being just another haunted house. Like, they had some points with the documentary stuff about how you have to keep raising the ante, and there was one about how 'if a guy with a chainless chainsaw doesn't scare people, is the next step putting a chain on?' So the ultimate haunted house just completely oversteps the boundaries of safety and abducts them and they're honestly afraid for their lives, but at the end there's just a card saying 'thanks for coming, tell your friends.' But then...they just die, the end. I guess if it was all a prank all the stalking and evil clown stuff up to then wouldn't really make much sense, but it's still just a letdown to me.

TheKingslayer
Sep 3, 2008

Tangents posted:

I think I've posted about this before, but it really felt like it was leading up to it all being just another haunted house. Like, they had some points with the documentary stuff about how you have to keep raising the ante, and there was one about how 'if a guy with a chainless chainsaw doesn't scare people, is the next step putting a chain on?' So the ultimate haunted house just completely oversteps the boundaries of safety and abducts them and they're honestly afraid for their lives, but at the end there's just a card saying 'thanks for coming, tell your friends.' But then...they just die, the end. I guess if it was all a prank all the stalking and evil clown stuff up to then wouldn't really make much sense, but it's still just a letdown to me.

I can agree with that. The ending we got was boring and uncreative.

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

6. The Blob - Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., 1958



It's the prototype for every "meteor lands, hatches monster, monster starts killing everyone" sci-fi movie. Think Killer Klowns from Outer Space, which did a great job satirizing this movie and others like it. Interestingly, it's very much a slasher prototype too, as it hits many of the same beats. Steve McQueen carries this. It's one of his first major film roles, yet he displays all of the charisma, charm and conviction that would make him a star. He's just endlessly watchable.

My only real complaint with this movie is that it feels restrained in terms of how much screen time the blob actually gets. I'm sure budgetary concerns were an issue, but I also suspect that the filmmakers felt limited by the special effects and didn't want to produce any shots that felt overly phony. A shame. Watching the movie nearly sixty years after its release, I say: the more corny effects the better. Nevertheless, we don't get nearly as much of the blob as I would have liked.

But despite that relatively minor complaint, I enjoyed this a lot. For fun 50s sci-fi/horror, you could do a lot worse.

/ 5

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

9. Underworld : Blood Wars Okay so the series is my guilty pleasure. It's terribly acted , terrible plot, horrible dialogue, but I like them. Total schlock all around. Just really mindless visuals and action sequence. I am not sure which is worse this or Resident Evil. Despite all of that I still sort of enjoyed it although for ageless vampire Beckinsale age is starting to show in these films. Uh.. only watch this if you are like " Yes, I like terrible movies". Cause this is some Asylum level poo poo.


:spooky: :spooky: out of 5.

Irony.or.Death
Apr 1, 2009


4. The Red Queen Kills 7 Times (1972) - This one has been on my list forever, but I've always been worried that it wouldn't live up to the title. It turned out to be...kind of exactly what you'd expect, I guess. A perfectly serviceable giallo that isn't going to be anyone's favorite. There's a suggestion of the supernatural, there's goofy intra-family plotting, everyone in the movie is either police, a drug dealer, or works in fashion. And is rich. You've basically seen this movie half a dozen times already but if you feel like seeing it again (and you probably do), this will do the job. Bonus points for the goofiest spooky crypt setting I have ever seen. Someone was really proud of this bat.

Wilhelm Scream
Apr 1, 2008

5. Night of the Lepus (Turner Classic Movies) '70s giant killer rabbit movie, it's fun in the way those '70s killer animal movies can be. Surprisingly gory and has yet another example of a kid you want to see die almost instantly in a Horror movie. 7/10 (Rewatch)
6. World War Z (blu ray) I like it, it has problems but it does the mass panic/zombie stuff real well. Little less CGI would have been nice but whatever. 8/10 (Rewatch)
7. The Portal (Hulu) Odd Horror anthology that has no real wrap-around and the only thing each story has in common is that they're all about death. It's...just an odd little movie, not too bad though and most of the stories are at least decent but nothing really stood out. 7/10

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer
I saw Guardians twice this weekend, and I kept falling asleep during my horror movies because I drink too much. I'll probably watch one or two tonight, and then I'll be MIA until next week, unless I somehow manage to sneak in a horror movie while I'm out of town.


Spatulater bro! posted:

6. The Blob - Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., 1958



I still haven't seen the original, but the remake is one of the grossest films I had ever seen when I first saw it. It was nauseating. I was feverish and trying to eat pizza, and a famous scene involving a sink happened and I couldn't finish the pizza.

Butch Cassidy
Jul 28, 2010

Alien is a great movie but decades of seething fans have over-sold the movie so it just disappoints when freshly viewed. Rather than love it, I just appreciate it. Even when viewing it as a forty year old movie.

Any and all dubbed dialogue in this film sucks. Large erection bursting forth from a man and immediately becoming a giant foreskin menace is a stretch to say the least. Anyone who likes this movie but complains about flat characters, lack of character developments, or shallow character arcs in othe films can shut up. The creature design is great but the lower body is just silly. And people constantly babbling about how badass the xenomorph is in the pantheons of sci-fi and horror may have never actually watched the movie.

If I had gone in with real expectations or blind, I'd love this drat movie. The 2001-esque grandiose environment around characters as blase about it as modern people on a boat. The mechanics are greatly developed characters just through their costume design, acting, and some simple dialogue. Ripley is a great protagonist and I love her lack of arc that, if anything, shows her increasingly break down. The other dumb poo poo just freezing constantly. Why is the doctor sweating milk? Whats about to go sideways with him? HOLY poo poo his head popped off and he's a psycho robot!?!?!? Back to 2001, where that had highly stylized sets and was amazing for it, the sets here were every bit as amazing but from a grungy and realistic viewpoint. Jump scares weren't as abused at the time this was made so it gets a pass and some of them are genuinely good. Sigourney Weaver's face acting is excellent and I had forgotten how solid an actress she really is. The reveal about the company's mission statement was brutal. And the chestburst scene is excellent no matter how many times you see it.

But it's still too many leaky pipes and an absurd, squealing penis monster that can't be taken seriously while slowly and sensually going through foreplay with its victims before quickly and fiercely raping them to death.

Butch Cassidy fucked around with this message at 13:47 on May 8, 2017

gey muckle mowser
Aug 5, 2003

Do you know anything about...
witches?



Buglord
2. Maniac Cop (1988) - I had fairly low expectations going in to this one, and I ended up liking it quite a bit. It has some pacing issues, especially at the beginning, but once Bruce Campbell's character shows up the plot begins to move along at a good pace. The titular cop, played by the weird looking Robert Z'Dar, is appropriately menacing, and the rest of the cast is okay (Campbell) to pretty great (Tom Atkins). By total coincidence, both of the films I've watched so far have been written by Larry Cohen, who I was pretty much unfamiliar with before apart from The Stuff. This one is not directed by Cohen and has a totally different tone than something like Q, but there are touches of humor here and there that keep things on the lighter side. Not exactly a great film, but I had fun with it.

Drunkboxer
Jun 30, 2007
12. Society (1989) - Shudder
I don't think it's a good idea to eat the rich anymore, they seem gross. I had seen the butt head guy posted around the internet but never knew what it was from, now I do. What a great, weird, concept for a movie. :stare::stare::stare::stare::stare:/5



Spatulater bro! posted:

6. The Blob - Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., 1958





I loved monster movies when I was a kid and this was no exception. After the '88 version came out on video my parents rented it for me and needless to say I found it a bit more intense than the old McQueen movie.


Uh... the penismonster is good my dude.

Butch Cassidy
Jul 28, 2010

The chestburster, sure. The hugger sitting on his face and telling him it loves him, sure. The grown creature's head and tail, sure. The phoned-in body suit, no.

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

Irony.or.Death posted:

4. The Red Queen Kills 7 Times (1972) - This one has been on my list forever, but I've always been worried that it wouldn't live up to the title. It turned out to be...kind of exactly what you'd expect, I guess. A perfectly serviceable giallo that isn't going to be anyone's favorite. There's a suggestion of the supernatural, there's goofy intra-family plotting, everyone in the movie is either police, a drug dealer, or works in fashion. And is rich. You've basically seen this movie half a dozen times already but if you feel like seeing it again (and you probably do), this will do the job. Bonus points for the goofiest spooky crypt setting I have ever seen. Someone was really proud of this bat.



This looks great. I need to add it to my giallo watchlist.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe
10. The Oblong Box

I was itching for some Vincent Price after I mentioned him in my last entry, but I'm trying to focus as much as I can on first time viewings. The Oblong Box jumped right out at me because its been on my watchlist forever and it co-stars Christopher Lee. This film is not brought up very often when Price is discussed, and I can understand why. It's shot like made for t.v. movie, so although the costumes are nice the rest is pretty boring aesthetically. The story is not really all that interesting on its face, and the reveal of the masked man at the end is nowhere near as good as similar scenes in Price's other films(House of Wax comes to mind).

Still, The Oblong Box is a great example of the power guys like Price and Lee had to just be flat-out entertaining regardless of the circumstances. Price makes the most of his scenes as always, his little gestures and looks adding depth to what would otherwise be rote, utilitarian dialogue. The sad thing is that according to Wikipedia, this film was supposed to be directed by Michael Reeves, only a year after working with Price on Witchfinder General. Tragically he died of an overdose before he could film The Oblong Box. I imagine we missed out on a lot of great horror beyond just this film, Reeves almost certainly had a long and successful career ahead of him.

I think tonight I'm going to mix in a re-watch and do Witchfinder General in Reeves honor. Fits perfectly with a May Horror Challenge anyway, most of it (to disturbing effect)takes place in daylight.

Basebf555 fucked around with this message at 16:12 on May 8, 2017

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

10. Ms. 45 A low budget Abel Ferrara rape revenge film about a mute woman who goes on a killing spree. Honestly, despite the subject matter I would not say this is really a graphic film at all. It's not near as graphic as other films in this genre and the sexual violence is incredibly brief. The main character is a mute and has no dialogue in the film which is interesting because her motivations are pretty much just left to the interpretation of the viewer. Some people call this film misandric but it really isn't. Despite being made for only 60,000 dollars the film certainly looks really good. It's actually other than a few bad actors pretty well acted. The main actress does a lot with no dialogue. I am unsure why this got on the list of video nasties ( I think it was in fact one of them). New York is it's own character in this movie similar to how it was in previous films with all the dirt and grime of New York of the 80s and there are some honestly really great shots of New York in this. Things move at a pretty brisk pace in this with it being only around 80 minutes. It's also got some truly bizarre characters that you'd expect in a Ferrara film and there is one scene in particular that will make you go WTF. I think if you like Ferrara films you'll like this but if you're not familiar with him then maybe check out the better Driller Killer first.


:spooky: :spooky: :spooky: :spooky: out 5

Hollismason fucked around with this message at 18:33 on May 8, 2017

MacheteZombie
Feb 4, 2007
Watched a couple on my list and a bonus movie this weekend.

Street Trash - what a mean, offensive, and over the top film. The exploding effects for the people were fantastic. The movie is almost a post-apocalypse film about homeless people during the Reagan era. The homeless characters are all uniquely offputting in their own ways with only a few humanized in very real ways. The main villain, a PTSD rattled Vietnam Vet was pretty terrifying and reminiscent of Mad Max villains, the two main protagonists are orphaned brothers, one comes off as somewhat bi-polar (along with being a wino) who indulges in almost every selfish act his limited grasp can reach while his younger brother seems to be much more together and chooses to be homeless because he doesn't want to leave his brother.

If some of this stuff was explored more it'd be a far more interesting movie about being homeless and drinking liquor that causes you to explode. Instead there's an added subplot of the Vietnam vet killing a random person and a very angry cop who investigates the crime. The subplot goes pretty much no where, ends, then we get back to the main story. The script is also extremely offensive, there's maybe 2 people portrayed as good humans (the younger brother and an older woman who works at the junkyard which is the main place the homeless people live). There's something to be said for the movie trying to portray the homeless characters as broken and unlikable*, but the movie doesn't do enough to give the audience a better idea of what that means. Instead it just revels in the Street Trash for better or worse.


*In the sense that your average person tends to view homeless people as awful people getting their comeuppance when in reality they are often broken and left unable to fend for themselves causing them to lash out or take extreme measures to get things like food, money, shelter.

I gave it :spooky: :spooky: .5/5 and a "like".



Serial Mom - This was an absolute blast and another selection my wife adored. John Waters is a director I have not seen many movies by (Cry Baby being the only one prior to this). While I assume his other movies are not quite like this, it has motivated me to check out more of his catalogue (Pink Flamingos and Cecil B. Demented mostly) because he nails the americana true crime story in this. The bright idyllic town and family was a great backdrop for a crazed pie baking mom. I'm not sure why, but the use of time stamping almost everything particularly stood out with me as a great element in the movie. I'm not sure if it's because it added a sense of legitimacy to the "true story" aspect of the story or just because it added a sense of urgency to everything by emphasizing how close together most of the crimes were. Either way it worked great for me.

Kathleen Turner's performance was outstanding as she switched back and forth from Leave it Beaver Mom to Wendie Robbie's People Under the Stairs Mom. The rest of the cast is well rounded with Sam Waterston sticking out as the beweildered father, Matthew Lillard as the older brother and horror film fanatic, and Ricki Lake as the constantly in love daughter. The family sticking by their mom while trying to make head or tails of having a serial killer for a mom made for some great comedy with a lot of great payoff during the trial scenes.


My only issue is that this probably wasn't the best selection for a "horror" film challenge. The film hems much closer to a true crime comedy in the Fargo mold (though this was two years earlier than Fargo).
I left that complaint out of my grading since it's not important.


:spooky: :spooky: :spooky: .5/5 and a "like"


The bonus movie I watched was Demons 2, the sequel to Lamberto Bava's Demons. It's easy to see how much father taught son in this sequel. The lighting, the set dressing, and music are all reminiscent of Mario, but Lamberto goes in a much more outlandish direction than most of Mario's films. The Demon designs are all amazing and I loved the half mogwai gremlin half xenomorph esque creature that was created for this. The plot is pretty straight forward with tenants trapped in a hotel with demons closing in on them from all corners of the building, the movie almost never relents and remains a fun ride from start to finish.


:spooky: :spooky: :spooky: /5 and a "like"

MacheteZombie fucked around with this message at 23:25 on May 8, 2017

Grizzled Patriarch
Mar 27, 2014

These dentures won't stop me from tearing out jugulars in Thunderdome.



Little late to the party but this looks fun, in it for 13 as well.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

Grizzled Patriarch posted:

Little late to the party but this looks fun, in it for 13 as well.

Hell yeah, glad you could join!

Irony.or.Death
Apr 1, 2009


5. What Have You Done to Solange? (1972) - I guess I'm on a giallo kick again now, I don't know how this keeps happening. There are just so many of them I haven't seen and I love them so much. This was a really nice change of pace within the genre. The last several I've watched started off at least moderately crazy and had a relatively heavy dose of the implied-supernatural, while this starts off as an apparently straightforward story. I was even sort of worried it was going to turn out to be a relatively dull slasher at a few points, but no, it's still definitely giallo and it builds pretty nicely throughout the full duration. I have a few minor objections - flashbacks are almost universally a bad call and this one is especially baffling since the movie does such a great job with subtle storytelling in so many other places. It doesn't really have any of the interesting and beautiful sets or costumes I expect from the genre. And of course I can never watch a schoolgirl-centric italian movie again without spending the entire time thinking about how much I love Phenomena, but I try not to hold that against lesser films. This gets a definite endorsement despite not being Phenomena.

Heavy Metal
Sep 1, 2014

America's $1 Funnyman

Agreed on the Phenomena love, Solange sounds like a good one. If I may, what are a few of your fav Giallo movies by the way? Especially non-Dario ones, since I've seen all his. (he rocks)

Your Vice Is a Locked Room is the next giallo movie I have on the ol watch list.

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

7. 5 Dolls for an August Moon - Mario Bava, 1970



If you go into this expecting a traditional giallo you'll be disappointed. Absent are the stumped detectives, gruesome deaths, and gratuitous nudity. This is Bava doing something pretty unique. His style here echoes more of Antonioni than Fulci. His focus more on aesthetics than plot. His camera lingers on gorgeous women, on sensual conversations. There's an undercurrent of mistrust, jealousy and sexual desire running through every scene. Even as characters are being offed one by one, Bava would rather dwell on a beautiful half naked woman smoking a cigarette than on a bloody corpse. And most interestingly, there's a dark, subtle playfulness throughout. Each time someone dies and we cut to another hanging corpse in the freezer and the organ score swells, it's oddly humorous.

To me Bava stands out among all the Italian horror maestros of the 70s. His style is the most controlled and deliberate, his voice the most mature and self-assured. 5 Dolls for an August Moon is him at his most technically proficient and confidently eccentric.

/ 5

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe
11. Mountain of the Cannibal God

I've decided that Sergio Martino is not that great a director. Your Vice is A Locked Room and Only I Have the Key is good, but doesn't seem to really be representative of his overall work.

This film is of course schlocky trash, but for the most part its fun schlock. By far the most disturbing scenes of the movie are the graphic deaths of a monkey and a lizard, but if you can move past those then overall its an enjoyable jungle adventure with some ridiculous situations and over the top special effects. Ursula Andress actually looks kinda bizarre here, her hair is pulled all the way back and her face seems to always be way overlit to the point that she looks like an alien or something. It's as if Martino wanted her to look like an angel that descended into the jungle to live amongst the mere mortals. It was distracting.

One reason to check out this movie is Stacy Keach. There's only so many lead roles in this guy's career and this is one of them,although maybe not technically a lead considering his death is extremely unceremonious. This is also a version of Stacy Keach that wants us to think he still has hair, so the movie also features his very entertaining hair piece.

All in all I don't regret watching this, but you need to be in the right mood and be ready for some grossness and stupidity.

Irony.or.Death
Apr 1, 2009


Heavy Metal posted:

Agreed on the Phenomena love, Solange sounds like a good one. If I may, what are a few of your fav Giallo movies by the way? Especially non-Dario ones, since I've seen all his. (he rocks)

Your Vice Is a Locked Room is the next giallo movie I have on the ol watch list.

Everything Bava. The guy was obviously extremely influential but I've still never seen anyone match his work with light. Blood and Black Lace gets mentioned a lot for good reason. Also, while it's starting to move more into slasher territory, Soavi's Stage Fright (the 1987 one) rules and you should definitely watch it.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Irony.or.Death posted:

Everything Bava. The guy was obviously extremely influential but I've still never seen anyone match his work with light. Blood and Black Lace gets mentioned a lot for good reason. Also, while it's starting to move more into slasher territory, Soavi's Stage Fright (the 1987 one) rules and you should definitely watch it.

This is actually kinda relevant to my post on Martino, because I think Soavi's best trumps Martino easily. The trifecta of Stage Fright, The Church, and Cemetery Man blow Martino out of the water in my opinion, but for whatever reason Soavi isn't a name you hear brought up very often. I guess maybe because two of those three films I mentioned aren't really giallo, but still, his name should come up any time Italian horror is discussed beyond just Bava and Argento.

Irony.or.Death
Apr 1, 2009


Absolutely agreed. Soavi is really good and I wish we had more horror from him.

Heavy Metal
Sep 1, 2014

America's $1 Funnyman

Stage Fright is on my to watch list, that Owl head guy looks cool. I actually wasn't big on Cemetery Man myself though. Any other recommendations? Also, is there any giallo stuff people recommend from the late 70s and 80s, other than the couple Lamberto Bava ones? Other than Mario and Dario. Just wondering if I'm missing any really cool ones I don't know of. I watched Blood and Black Lace earlier in the topic, wasn't my thing.

Most of the ones I'm hearing about, Solange etc, seem just kind of depressing or dreary, seeming not as stylish and entertaining to me as Dario's giallo movies. Just to be honest, but everybody digs different things about these movies. I liked Nightmare Beach for example, fun stuff like that is up my alley more. Not that this is on Dario's level, but it's up my alley.

I can dig grim/dreary horror movies also, just I like that "hell yeah!" vibe from Dario's movies, or other fav horror movies like Hellraiser, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. Where I say hey, this is rad. Not that it needs to be cheesy or tongue in cheek, just whatever Dario was doing, nobody for me has done it nearly as well. Dario's movies are like a playground of horror ideas, they're just rad. This is my eloquent tribute to Dario, the most excellent one.

Heavy Metal fucked around with this message at 22:09 on May 9, 2017

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Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Heavy Metal posted:

Stage Fright is on my to watch list, that Owl head guy looks cool. I actually wasn't big on Cemetery Man myself though. Any other recommendations? Also, is there any giallo stuff people recommend from the late 70s and 80s, other than the couple Lamberto Bava ones? Other than Mario and Dario. Just wondering if I'm missing any really cool ones I don't know of. I watched Blood and Black Lace earlier in the topic, wasn't my thing.

Most of the ones I'm hearing about, Solange etc, seem just kind of depressing or dreary, seeming not as stylish and entertaining to me as Dario's giallo movies. Just to be honest, but everybody digs different things about these movies. I liked Nightmare Beach for example, fun stuff like that is up my alley more. Not that this is on Dario's level, but it's up my alley.

I can dig grim horror movies also, just I like that "hell yeah!" vibe from Dario's movies, or other fav horror movies like Hellraiser, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. Where I say hey, this is rad. Not that it needs to be cheesy or tongue in cheek, just whatever Dario was doing, nobody for me has done it nearly as well. Dario's movies are like a playground of horror ideas, they're just rad. This is my eloquent tribute to Dario, the most excellent one.

Have you seen Soavi's The Church? Its not really giallo, but its extremely stylish, and if you like stuff with a supernatural bent like Hellraiser and Nightmare on Elm Street, you'd probably enjoy it.

I'm the one that recommended Blood and Black Lace though so maybe our tastes just don't really match up.

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