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I'm in too. I'll set a goal of 31, I may watch more but I'll be out of town for a few weekends in the next month so that will limit my watching time a bit.
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Sep 14, 2018 18:20
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that's a neat idea actually, quite a few of those remakes are very good too
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Sep 14, 2018 21:16
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I watched Tales from the Hood last year, it’s so drat good. I’ll definitely be watching the new one this year.
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Sep 14, 2018 22:24
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#1 - The Witching Season (2015-2017) Welp, starting off the challenge by unintentionally cheating a little - I didn't realize until after starting this that it was actually five separate shorts on the blu-ray instead of a true anthology film, but they are all from the same writer(s)/director(s), add up to feature length, and even reference each other a bit, so it doesn't seem like an important distinction to make, therefore I'm counting it anyway. Deal with it, nerds.  Anyway, this is a collection of five horror shorts, all set on Halloween. The segments vary in length, ranging from 30 minutes or so to less than 10. The shorter ones are little more than a simple creepy idea without much plot (an alien abduction, a creepy figure outside the window), but for what they are they work pretty well. The longest, "They Live Inside Us", is the most complex and even has some mini-segments within it. It is probably the best of the bunch in terms of quality, but I actually liked the first one the best, a short slasher called "Killer on the Loose" that is a simple idea executed really well. These are indie horror films without (I'm assuming) much in the way of budgets, but other than some occasionally mediocre acting it doesn't really show. The production values are high throughout, and I think that both directors, Ballif especially, could really do some great things with a feature film. I hope they get to work on one soon. The shorts are all available on the Witching Season Film's YouTube page, so if you're interested you can watch them there. If you are only going to watch one, I recommend "Killer on the Loose", but I think they are all worth your time. gey muckle mowser fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Sep 15, 2018 |
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Sep 15, 2018 19:53
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 2. Lifeforce (1985) I watched this Saturday night and am still not quite sure what to think of it. Ignoring the batshit insane story for a moment, it is mostly a pretty good looking film, and there are some great special effects (I particularly like the emaciated look of the "zombies" once they are drained of their life force). The design of the alien spaceship is pretty cool. It also has Patrick Stewart in it, and he gets possessed by an alien vampire and then all the blood in his body shoots out of his eyes and mouth, so there's that. I haven't quite made up my mind whether or not I think this is a good movie - it's certainly unique and I appreciate that it doesn't hold back its weirdness, but it also feels oddly paced and pretty disjointed at times. It seems like Steve Railsback was sort of shouting his lines in a weird monotone for most of the movie. At the very least, it is interesting and memorable, which is more than I can say for a lot of films. I'll have to give it a re-watch at some point.
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Sep 17, 2018 13:26
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 3. Terrifier (2017) Sorry for all the spoilers, but it's so recent that I'd rather be safe than sorry. I enjoyed this more than I thought I was going to. Much of it was pretty typical slasher material, but the gore was absurdly over the top (the most extreme moment being very reminiscent of that scene in Bone Tomahawk. You know the one). I did like that neither the film nor Art the Clown played by the typical rules of a slasher film - it pulls a Hostel/Psycho and kills off the main POV character fairly early and switches to someone else. The killer also uses a loving gun out of nowhere.. I also appreciated how the killer seems like a regular dude who can be hurt instead of an unstoppable machine, and he never seems supernaturally prescient. Like, he knows a character is hiding in a closet not because he just guessed or whatever, but because he sees a chain swinging on the door, making it obvious it was just opened a moment ago. I also agree with basically everything chitoryu said about it earlier in the thread, so I'm going to quote their post rather than rehash the same points: chitoryu12 posted:What seems at first like a cheap killer clown movie is a gorgeous throwback to 1980s slashers set in modern day, with a dark and surprisingly heavy synth soundtrack and utterly beautiful color choices. David Howard Thornton gives a performance as Art the Clown that would be legendary among horror aficionados had it occurred a few decades earlier. There's an apparently intentional graininess to the footage to replicate the film grain of old stock. Technically, the biggest fault is that the audio sometimes appears to have been recorded improperly and has a tinny tone. Overall I recommend it with the caveat that the gore is very extreme and there isn't much plot.
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Sep 17, 2018 13:44
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King Vidiot posted:Did... you miss the part where there's a power surge and then the guy gets up from being dead from a gunshot wound through the eye? well, yeah, that's why I said "seems" haha. Up until then there's no real indication there's anything supernatural happening
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Sep 17, 2018 14:32
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I should re-watch The Invisible Man, last time I saw it was about 6 years ago and it didn't do much for me at the time. If I were invisible I'd do cooler stuff than just knock stuff off tables and steal hats.
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Sep 17, 2018 21:14
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Spatulater bro! posted:They probably couldn't film women's locker rooms in the 1930s. 
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Sep 17, 2018 21:26
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I saw The Wicker Man back in college and was pretty lukewarm on it, but I've come a long way since then in terms of my taste in film so I should probably revisit it soon.
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Sep 18, 2018 14:14
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Basebf555 posted:The werewolf scenes in this film still hold up today, because they're just so drat atmospheric. Yeah it's a gorgeous movie, and the blu-ray looks stunning. Some of it is a little goofy though, like why is it that when Bela turns into a werewolf, he is an actual wolf, but when Larry turns, he becomes only half wolf? Why does a werewolf strangle his victims instead of biting or scratching them? (I realize they couldn't show someone getting mauled by a wolf, but it still strikes me as funny)
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Sep 18, 2018 15:04
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FancyMike posted:6. The Evil of Frankenstein (1964, dir. Freddie Francis) Cushing is the best, I love his Frankenstein, he's such an arrogant dick. I think "Evil" is the 4th one in the series though? He's also really great as Van Helsing in the Hammer Dracula films, and also great in basically everything he ever did.
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Sep 18, 2018 21:33
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 4. Unsane (2018) Sawyer has a stalker, and it has ruined her life. She moves away from her friends and family to a new city to escape, but she still never feels truly safe. After admitting to some suicidal thoughts while talking to a counselor, she is involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital, only to discover that her stalker is working there... or is she having a psychotic break? This is an excellent psychological horror/thriller that goes to some pretty dark places. Claire Foy puts in a really fantastic performance in the lead role, and Joshua Leonard is extremely creepy as her stalker (also I later learned that he is Josh from The Blair Witch Project). The most immediately noticeable and unique thing about this film, though, is that it was shot entirely on an iPhone. The effect is strange at first - the aspect ratio is a little unusual and I believe it is 30 FPS - but it looks surprisingly good and the fact that it looks a little "off" only adds to the general feeling of unease and paranoia that permeates the film. I certainly wouldn't want this to become the new standard, but it is an interesting experiment. I like how it works as a criticism of the awful US healthcare system, too, especially regarding mental health issues. The hospital basically churns through patients with zero regard for their well-being, just to squeeze as much money out until their insurance runs dry. Sawyer's attempt to get help just makes her situation and mental health dramatically worse. I definitely recommend this one, both for the interesting technical aspects of it and for being an excellent psychological horror/thriller in general.
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Sep 19, 2018 16:39
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 5. I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016) Lily, a hospice nurse, takes a new job as a live-in caretaker for Iris Blum, an elderly woman who is an author known for her horror novels. Iris, suffering from dementia, always calls Lily "Polly", which Lily dismisses as just a symptom of the disease until she discovers that Polly is a character in Iris's novel "The Lady in the Walls" - a character who was brutally murdered in a house much like the one she is currently living in, and she begins to question whether the book is actually fact or fiction. This is a pretty decent ghost story, with some excellent cinematography and atmosphere. It is an extremely slow burn, so if you are looking for action or a more standard haunted house movie (like say, The Conjuring) you will be disappointed. There are a couple of scares, but more often the film just builds a sense of dread without trying to make you jump. More than anything, I thought it captured the feeling of reading a scary novel alone in a dark house (even if that isn't strictly the point of the film). I liked the music, too - it is minimal but effectively unsettling. Perkins also directed The Blackcoat's Daughter, which was one of my favorite horror films of 2015. Stylistically this feels very similar, although I don't think it is as good. Still worth your time though if you like slow burn ghost stories. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House Total: 5
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Sep 20, 2018 14:30
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Hollismason posted:Elvis Perkins is Anthony Perkins son so kind of interesting his son grew up to make horror movies. didn't know that, that's pretty cool
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Sep 20, 2018 16:11
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Franchescanado posted:It's not gory or violent, but it's still somewhat unsettling. I know quite a few people who cite that as the origin of their clown fear. It's a goofy movie, but the tone is kinda played serious. I remember they suck someone's blood through a silly straw, but it's pretty tame despite that. I think a clown knocks a dude's head off at one point? Also the shadow puppet T-Rex freaked me out when I was kid
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Sep 20, 2018 18:47
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Friends Are Evil posted:7. Monkey Shines (1988). Directed by George Romero. I like how the tiny 8 pound monkey can overpower full grown adults
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Sep 21, 2018 00:04
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 6. From Beyond (1986) Dr. Pretorius and his assistant Crawford Tillinghast are working on a resonator that stimulates the pineal gland, which Pretorius believes will awaken a person's "third eye" and allow them to perceive a new level of reality. Amazingly, he is successful, however this new dimension has inhabitants that can see us back, and they are not friendly. This starts a chain of events that leads to, well... it's hard to really summarize the plot without giving away the surprises. I love this movie so much. You know you're in for a wild ride when Jeffrey Combs is bitten in the face by a flying eel from another dimension less than 2 minutes into the film. The practical special effects are wonderful, everything is just so drat gooey. I think Re-Animator is a bit better overall, but this is a more than worthy follow up and pushes the boundaries on the gore, creature designs, and weird sex stuff even more. I don't think I need to sell anyone in this thread on it, but if you somehow haven't seen it, you need to fix that immediately. One of my favorite horror films of the '80s.  7. 13 Ghosts (1960) When the Zorba family inherits an old mansion from an estranged uncle, they are elated, but become somewhat less enthusiastic when they learn that they have also inherited their weird uncle's collection of ghosts! The ghosts can only be seen through a special pair of goggles that serve no real purpose in the story but contribute to the film's gimmick, which I'll get to in a minute. After they move into the house, the usual spooky ghost stuff happens. This isn't a very good movie. In looks and tone it feels more like a '50s sitcom than a horror film, and it is just about as scary as one. The ghosts are just these floating images superimposed on the film that don't really interact with the characters, and despite all the warnings that the family receives, they don't seem much of a threat at all. The silliest ghost is a chef with a huge goofy fake mustache, and there is also a headless lion tamer along with the lion who killed him - those count as two separate ghosts I guess. The rest are very generic ghosts that do nothing other than hover and make the standard moaning noises. The only real reason this film is still remembered today is because the director, William Castle, was famous for the various gimmicks he created for his movies. His most famous film, House on Haunted Hill, had a gimmick called "Emergo", which was basically just a skeleton on a wire that flew out over the audience at a key point in the movie. Other gimmicks included vibrating seats to simulate the attack of a creature, and a film where the audience could vote on the villain's fate, and depending on the results one of two endings was shown (supposedly, no audience ever chose mercy). The gimmick that went along with 13 Ghosts was a "ghost viewer", which the audience could look through to either see the ghosts or hide them. At certain points (usually after a character puts on the goggles) the film is tinted blue, indicating that the audience should look through the viewer, and it returns to black and white once the ghost scene is over. Castle himself appears at the beginning of the movie to give instructions on how to use it. It is all very campy, but was probably fun at the time. Unfortunately, no viewer was included with the version I watched, although the blue/red tinted portions were left intact. I can't recommend this one. Other than the gimmick, it's pretty dull and forgettable. I like the poster, though. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts Total: 7
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Sep 24, 2018 23:43
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Choco1980 posted:So. There's one week left til the month starts, and I can actually begin my watching of stuff I've never seen. As I said earlier, I'd love if this year I would get some major goon input what to watch. This is difficult, because as you can see from My Letterboxd which is I'm sure by no means 100% accurate, (not to mention the site has a whole separate section for "thrillers" whatever that means) I've watched quite a few, so this marathon challenge of my personal rules gets harder each year. Anyways, I'm basically asking for your help. I'll let any goon command me in October to watch a horror movie I haven't. Only one title per person, so as not to make a mess of things. I'll do my best to include it in my lineup. There's no toxxing or anything here, it's just for fun, I just like the idea of you all making up my mind for me. To make things least error-filled, I guess you can go through that Letterboxd list linked above. If you name something I've already seen but is missing from the list, we both have a laugh, and you get to choose again. I don't care where you suggest the title to me; here, in the scream stream discord, in my pm inbox, whatever floats your boat. Thanks for the help! Choco1980 posted:21st Century made films, especially from this decade are the biggest gaps in my viewing. Noted. I'll suggest The Blackcoat's Daughter
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Sep 25, 2018 13:07
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I'm in NY so that's a pretty easy challenge for me, but there is a local production company in my city called SRS Cinema that makes low budget indie films, so I will try to watch one of theirs. I've seen a couple of their older DTV releases and they are really bad - with titles like SexSquatch or Return to Blood Fart Lake - but supposedly their newer ones from a different writer/director are actually half decent. At least, they were screened at some indie film festivals and got some good press from Fangoria/Rue Morgue. I'm not expecting much but I like supporting indie horror, plus I sort of know one of the lead actresses and the guy who runs the studio and has written and directed their newer stuff so I feel like I should at least give them a shot.
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Sep 26, 2018 14:01
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Basebf555 posted:Cushing is at the top of the top-tier of arrogant assholes in film history, and this is him in his prime. The best part about him in Frankenstein Created Woman is that he only has a few rare moments of outward hostility towards anyone, he gets what he wants though by being the smartest rear end in a top hat in the room. There is no one he won't talk poo poo to; officers of the court, dangerous gangs, townspeople literally threatening to burn down his home, he gives no fucks and is laser focused on his goals. Yeah he's great in this one, he's such an arrogant dick and it rules
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Sep 26, 2018 16:20
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 8. The Ritual (2017) I've seen quite a few people here and in the horror thread include this on their best horror of the year lists, and I am inclined to agree. I love how it starts off sort of Blair Witch-y but gets weirder and wilder as it goes on - I wasn't really expecting it to turn into a (minor non-specific spoiler) monster movie. The design of the creature is awesome. I found much of the film to be really tense and legit scary, and I loved the Norse mythology stuff. Highly recommended, especially if you like folk horror films like The Wicker Man or Kill List. If you have Netflix, definitely check it out.  9. Child's Play (1988) I haven't seen this in many years and was pleasantly surprised by how well it holds up. I love when Chucky reveals himself to Karen and goes from a standard creepy doll to a psychopathic little rear end in a top hat. Brad Dourif's voice really makes the character, and the effects are all pretty good. Overall it is less bloody than I remembered, but the voodoo doll scene is pretty gruesome. I've got the blu-ray set of the first 6 films in the series and was only planning on watching the first two, but I may try to fit them all in before Halloween. I've only seen this one and Bride of Chucky, so it should be fun. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play Total: 9
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Sep 27, 2018 15:01
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 10. Twice-Told Tales (1963) Vincent Price stars in this anthology of three shorts based on stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the first, a doctor discovers a liquid that may be the key to eternal youth. In the second segment, a young woman is poisoned by her father in order to save her life, but as a side effect she instantly kills anything she touches. Finally, in a segment based on Hawthorne's novel The House of the Seven Gables, a man returns to his family's cursed ancestral home to search for a hidden inheritance... I really liked the first story, mostly because Price and co-star Sebastian Cabot have a great rapport and much of the segment is just an extended conversation between them. I also like that Price is wearing makeup to make him appear older, and it is convincing enough that I questioned what year the film was from when I first saw it (Cabot's makeup is... less convincing). The other two stories were alright, I give the middle one credit for originality but without Price it would've been pretty boring - he has such presence that he can elevate basically anything he stars in. The last didn't do much for me though, it came across as sort of generic gothic stuff. As far as classic horror anthologies go, you could do worse, but this is not an essential watch. The similarly named Tales of Terror from 1962 is definitely the superior Vincent Price anthology. I love the poster though, especially "NO DEMONOPHOBIACS ADMITTED!" Spoiler: there are no demons in this movie. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales Total: 10
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Sep 28, 2018 15:27
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That's a good idea actually, although I watch most of mine on blu-ray so probably not super helpful for people looking to find them online. The Witching Season - blu-ray (also available on YouTube) Lifeforce - blu-ray Terrifier - Netflix Unsane - blu-ray I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House - Netflix From Beyond - blu-ray 13 Ghosts - blu-ray The Ritual - Netflix Child's Play - blu-ray Twice-Told Tales - blu-ray
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Sep 28, 2018 16:56
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Hmm, that's a good one. I'm thinking Wes Craven's My Soul to Take, I actually own it (got it as part of a lot of movies some dude was selling) and have never bothered to watch it.
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Sep 28, 2018 19:16
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Trash Boat posted:Can I just point out that M_Sinistrari is only a dozen movies away from hitting Choco's record of 78 movies from last year and we haven't even reached October yet? I’m assuming they are some kind of movie watching robot that doesn’t need to eat or sleep
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Sep 29, 2018 14:32
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 11. Beyond the Gates (2016) Seven months after their father goes missing, brothers Gordon and John start packing up the old video store he ran. Inside his locked office, they find an old school VHS board game called "Beyond the Gates" (basically a fictional version of "Nightmare", if you remember that), with the tape still in the VCR. They decide to play the game later that night, but it soon becomes clear that this is not a normal game, and are forced to finish in order to save their father's soul. In other words, this is the horror version of Jumanji. I love the concept of this film, but unfortunately it doesn't live up to its potential. It has some of the usual problems you'd expect from lower budget horror movies - weak acting, lame dialogue - but the biggest flaw is the pacing, it's just all over the place. They are in the middle of playing this possessed board game that kills people in real life, but keep taking breaks to cook dinner and pack up video tapes at the store. There is a scene where a friend's head literally explodes and then the next scene is them just casually chatting over a home-cooked meal. It felt like the director was trying to shoehorn in moments of character development, but it brought the film to a screeching halt every time it happened, which was pretty frequently. It isn't all bad - Barbara Crampton plays the host of the game, and she seems to be having fun with the role. Some of the special effects were quite good, too. This might've worked better as a much shorter film - but at 82 minutes, I can see why they would be reluctant to cut it down any further. Not really recommended, although it is on Netflix if you still want to check it out. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales | Beyond the Gates Total: 11
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Sep 29, 2018 19:27
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 12. Cat People (1982) (watched on blu-ray) Irena (Nastassja Kinski) travels to New Orleans to meet her brother Paul, who she hasn’t seen since they were both young children. Paul (Malcolm McDowell) is a total psycho creeper, who immediately makes sexual advances on his sister. Irena finds out before long that they are both members of an ancient race of cat people, who have the power to transform into leopards - or rather, they turn into leopards when they have sex with regular humans, and then must kill someone in order to change back (usually the unfortunate person they just had sex with). Paul tells her that their race is incestuous for this reason - they do not transform if they mate with each other. Gross. The original Cat People from 1942, directed by Jacques Tourneur, is one of my favorite horror films of all time. The goofy title implies a b-movie monster story, and that is basically what the studio was expecting, but Tourneur and producer Val Lewton instead produced a brilliant and thoughtful film about the consequences of repressed sexuality, as well as the fear of the “other”. It’s a masterpiece. This remake mostly drops the ball on everything the made the original such a good film - the ambiguity surrounding Irena’s curse is nowhere to be found, it leaves out the xenophobia aspect entirely (Irena is now from Canada instead of Serbia), and any subtlety regarding sex is thrown out the window in favor of what is basically softcore porn. Also I don’t really understand why the incest stuff was added - I don’t think it added anything to the story other than making it a little grosser. It’s a shame about the strange and slightly repulsive script, because on a technical level this is a really well-made film. The acting is good, especially from Kinski (Klaus Kinski’s daughter!) and McDowell. Some of the cinematography is really beautiful, especially the surreal dream sequences with the leopards in the red desert, but there are some excellent shots throughout the film. Most of the music is pretty good too, with a very ‘80s-sounding score that features David Bowie singing the main theme. There are even some surprisingly decent (and gross) special effects. The best scenes from the original film - Alice walking alone through the park, and later swimming in the pool - are replicated here, and they are both pretty well done. They come pretty late in the film though, way after it already lost me. There is no way I can recommend this, especially when the original is so superior. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales | Beyond the Gates | Cat People (1982) Total: 12 gey muckle mowser fucked around with this message at 11:35 on Oct 1, 2018 |
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Sep 30, 2018 21:16
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Trash Boat posted:For this one I opted to go with Guillermo del Toro's Mimic (probably interchangeable with Blade 2, Blade 2 rules actually, I mean it’s not on the same level as much of del Toro’s stuff but it’s great dumb fun and waaaay better then Mimic in my book
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Oct 1, 2018 11:34
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Franchescanado posted:Do you like listening to music while you decide which film to watch or when you write your reviews? Give Franchescanado's Halloween All Year playlist a try. It's made up of songs that are good all year long, but are perfect for the Halloween season. (Even though it's a spotify playlist, it should be free to listen to.) This rules, thanks! May I suggest some more songs that I have on my (much shorter) Halloween list? Call me the Wolfman - The Hi-Risers Batman, Wolfman, Frankstein or Dracula - The Diamonds He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask) - Alice Cooper Vampire Twist - Brave Combo I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement - Ramones
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Oct 1, 2018 13:35
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Alfred P. Pseudonym posted:3. Terror at Blood Fart Lake (2009) hahaha I have this on DVD and can confirm it is loving awful I was away for a few days so I’ve fallen behind a bit, but I have the day off work so I’m gonna see if I can knock out a couple of the challenges.
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Oct 4, 2018 16:45
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Franchescanado posted:
 13. Fright Night (1985) (watched on DVD) Charley, a high school kid who loves horror movies, witnesses a murder at his new neighbor's house. He becomes convinced that the man, the handsome and charming Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon), is a vampire. His suspicions are soon confirmed, but once Jerry realizes that Charley knows his secret, he attempts to kill him. Desperate, Charley seeks help from TV host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), an actor famous for playing vampire slayers in low-budget horror films, and together they set out to kill Dandrige before he can claim any more victims. I saw this for the first time maybe 8-10 years ago and was very lukewarm on it then, however I liked it quite a bit more this time. My biggest complaint is that the main character is awful - he's a stupid dweeb and the actor that plays him is completely awful. He's supposed to be a big fan of horror movies, but doesn't know that you can defeat vampires with crosses and garlic? Plus he's a total dick to his girlfriend for most of the film. The kid who plays his friend "Evil Ed" is even worse. Luckily, Chris Sarandon is perfect in his role - he strikes just the right balance between charming and predatory. McDowall is also great, and the film really picks up once he enters the story. There are also a lot of really great special effects throughout, and some excellent atmosphere. The inside of Dandrige's house is basically Dracula's castle, with a huge staircase covered in cobwebs. If it weren't for the horrible main character/actor, I think I'd be way more into this one, but I do still appreciate it for a being a pretty good vampire film and I can see why so many people really love it. Franchescanado posted:
 14. The Vampire Lovers (1970) (watched on blu-ray) Mircalla is young, beautiful, and mysterious, and it seems that wherever she goes, other young women fall ill... the plot of this film is actually pretty complicated and I'm having trouble summarizing it in a way that makes sense and isn't super long, so - it's a gothic horror film about lesbian vampires, and Peter Cushing is in it. Also, lots of boobs. Seriously though, this is a pretty excellent Hammer adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu's classic vampire novella "Carmilla". Hammer was used to pushing the boundaries of sex in their films, but fairly explicit scenes of lesbian vampires (for the time, anyway) were pretty daring even for them. Despite the exploitative nature of the nudity, this is a pretty faithful adaptation and the material is treated seriously. Peter Cushing is only in a few scenes, unfortunately, but the rest of the cast is excellent too. If you like Hammer films, this is a really good one and I highly recommend it. It just has a lot more boobs than most - whether that is a good or bad thing is up to you. As the poster says - "Caution: Not for the mentally immature!" Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales | Beyond the Gates | Cat People (1982) | Fright Night | The Vampire Lovers Total: 14 Fran challenges: gey muckle mowser fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Oct 5, 2018 |
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Oct 5, 2018 02:37
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FRAN CHALLENGE #1: Love Something You Hate 
Pick a film that you have seen before that you hated, did not like or just didn't get. Rewatch it, and re-evaluate.
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DukeDuke posted:I haven’t seen anything else by Peter Jackson pre-LotR (which I’ve never finished, I was too bored by Two Towers to bother to RotK) but how the heck does a guy go from directing this to bloated 3-hour Tolkien adaptions? Check out his slightly earlier film Bad Taste, especially if you enjoyed the grossness and craziness of Dead Alive. The Frighteners is good too, although much tamer.
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Oct 5, 2018 11:57
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Spatulater bro! posted:18. Hereditary (2018, Ari Aster) Source: Blu-ray (Netflix) same, same, same, and  especially the panic attack thing, I was freaked out and on edge for at least an hour afterwards, which never happens to me with movies. I went back with some friends and saw it again the next week and it still had a pretty profound effect on me, even knowing what was coming. There are lots of details that are easy to miss the first time around, too, it’s worth a repeat viewing for sure.
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Oct 6, 2018 23:04
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 15. The Vampire Doll (1970) (watched on blu-ray) Keiko is worried about her brother - after 6 months abroad, he went to a small village to visit his girlfriend Yuko, but hasn't been heard from since. Worried, Keiko heads to Yuko's house to try to find him, but learns that Yuko died a few weeks ago, and is told that her brother has already left... but when she finds one of his cufflinks covered in blood, she decides to stay and figure out what really happened. This is a pretty unique film, sort of a Japanese take on Hammer-style gothic horror, and very different from the other Japanese horror films I'm familiar with from this period (Kwaidan, Kuroneko, etc). Yuko's home is a large western-style house, and Yamamoto does a great job of replicating the look and atmosphere of a Hammer (or Corman/Poe) film. The score is also very different from what I'd expect from a Japanese film - it's mostly creepy harpsichord music, and I thought it worked really well. This isn't much of a vampire film though, it's really more of a ghost story. Yuko doesn't have fangs and doesn't drink blood, and as far as I can see the only reason they refer to her as a vampire at all is because the film is trying to capitalize on the success of Hammer vampire films. The title card even says "Legacy of Dracula", which is especially odd because there are definitely no connections to Dracula anywhere in the film. This is the first in a trilogy of vampire films, so maybe the more traditional stuff will show up in the sequels. I enjoyed this one quite a bit, so I'll be checking those out soon as well. Not exactly essential viewing, but I definitely recommend it if you like Japanese and/or gothic horror films. Franchescanado posted:
There were plenty of good horror films released in 1983, but I've seen most of them already, so I chose the first one I haven't seen that I could find on streaming. Bad call:  16. Frightmare (1983) (Amazon Prime) When legendary horror icon Conrad Radzoff dies, a group of horror-buff film students decide to honor him by doing the obvious - breaking into his mausoleum and stealing his corpse, of course! The logic behind this isn't obvious, but nothing in this movie seems to happen for any particular reason. They bring his body back to their house, where they have a party and take pictures with him. When his widow enlists the help of a psychic to find where he was taken, he is reanimated and starts getting revenge on the students. This is not a good movie. The plot is bad, and there are parts that make so little sense that it made me wonder if whole scenes were missing. Conrad is not a threatening villain at all - he just looks like an old man in a bad Dracula costume. The only interesting thing about this one is that it is one of Jeffrey Combs' first films. He isn't given much to work with, but at least he's better than the rest of the cast. I think this could've benefited quite a bit from taking a lighter tone - it's a silly premise but it tries to play it straight, and more or less completely fails. I did laugh out loud a couple of times, but it was at the film, not with it. Not worth anyone's time. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales | Beyond the Gates | Cat People (1982) | Fright Night | The Vampire Lovers | The Vampire Doll | Frightmare Total: 16 Fran challenges:
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Oct 7, 2018 01:16
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Franchescanado posted:
There are tons of movies set in NYC so this isn't much of a challenge for me, so I chose one that was filmed in upstate NY to make it even more local to me. Also my girlfriend went to high school with the director, a little over an hour away from where we live now.  17. Honeybee (2016) (Amazon Prime) A new family - a woman with five sons who make all the girls swoon - moves into the house across the street from 16-year-old Hillary. She falls for one of the boys, but when her father goes missing she begins to suspect that something strange is going on in that house... I'd expand on that summary, except I had no idea what the gently caress this movie was supposed to be about. This is a pretty low-budget indie film, and it shows. The story makes very little sense - it tries to play coy and leave things up to the viewer's imagination, but it takes that too far and never explains or even hints at what the hell is going on, so stuff just kind of happens and it feels like the director was making things up as she went. I'm not really going to pick apart the poor cinematography or terrible sound design or the bare ugly sets because it feels like making fun of the kids from the special ed class. The only nice thing I can say is that the two leads were pretty decent actors - especially compared to everyone else in the film. So... not good. We only watched it because my girlfriend went to high school with the director (and because it fit the challenge), and I would not recommend it to anyone else. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales | Beyond the Gates | Cat People (1982) | Fright Night | The Vampire Lovers | The Vampire Doll | Frightmare | Honeybee Total: 17 Fran challenges: gey muckle mowser fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Oct 7, 2018 |
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Oct 7, 2018 17:20
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chitoryu12 posted:At its core, Hereditary is a story of mental illness. After Annie Graham's mother passes away, she reveals to the rest of her family that all of the other members of her family went insane before dying. This strikes a rather personal aspect for me, as one of the owners at my workplace has a similar situation and is now showing definite symptoms. I haven’t seen it come up much, but I think you could read all the poo poo that Peter experiences as symptoms of a latent mental illness that was triggered by the trauma of his sister’s death. Also the hereditary mental illness explains why Annie and Peter believe everything while the father does not. Toni Collette gets a lot of credit for her performance (and rightly so), but I think Alex Wolff is phenomenal too. In that long close up shot of his face in the car, you can just see the shock and horror and trauma and everything running across his features and it’s heartbreaking. God I love that movie.
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Oct 7, 2018 18:02
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 18. Murder Party (2007) (Netflix) Unlike everyone else, I did not watch this during the Scream Stream - I will try to join that sometime soon though. I saw it back when it first came out, but all the talk in here made me want to see it again. It did not disappoint - I thought it was hilarious and a lot of fun. My girlfriend and several of my friends are artists, so I spend a lot of time with them and go to a lot of gallery openings and such, and a lot of the satire in this film is dead on. I especially loved the clip of the woman's video art that is just her laying in a bathtub while someone dumps hotdogs all over her - that isn't even particularly ridiculous compared to many real video art pieces. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales | Beyond the Gates | Cat People (1982) | Fright Night | The Vampire Lovers | The Vampire Doll | Frightmare | Honeybee | Murder Party Total: 18 Fran challenges:
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Oct 7, 2018 19:36
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 19. Child's Play 2 (1990) (blu-ray) After Chucky is destroyed at the end of the first film, Karen is committed to an insane asylum and Andy is sent into foster care. Meanwhile, the company that makes the Good Guy dolls gets ahold of Chucky's remains in order to... uh, prove he wasn't defective I guess? For some reason this involves completely restoring him, down to painting the freckles back onto his face. Of course, this goes terribly wrong, and he escapes and sets out after Andy. This is a pretty fun sequel. The first two acts contain a lot of "Chucky does something and Andy gets blamed for it", which gets a little tiresome, but there are still some pretty good moments in there. Once Andy's foster sister Kyle finally realizes that Chucky is real, things start getting really good, and the whole climax (set in a Good Guy toy factory) is pretty nuts and a lot of fun. One great thing about Chucky being a doll is that he can get absolutely wrecked in horrible ways that would feel excessively cruel and gruesome if he were a human. Well... some of the stuff is still pretty gruesome, but it feels cartoony instead of sadistic. Overall, a worthy follow up to the first. The puppetry and special effects are still great, and Brad Dourif still rules as Chucky. Recommended if you liked the first and want more. Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales | Beyond the Gates | Cat People (1982) | Fright Night | The Vampire Lovers | The Vampire Doll | Frightmare | Honeybee | Murder Party | Child's Play 2 Total: 19 Fran challenges:
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Oct 8, 2018 23:06
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 02:54 |
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LORD OF BOOTY posted:It's honestly hard for me to find it even remotely disturbing when Chucky gets mutilated, because Chucky is a loving rear end in a top hat. oh absolutely, he deserves it and it's great
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Oct 9, 2018 01:38
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and more "ha ha get wrecked you little hellfucker."