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18. Beyond the Door A shameless Italian ripoff of The Exorcist, which sounds far better than it actually is. There are few redeeming elements in this movie - the actress playing the possessee is decent, and in a few scenes the funky soundtrack takes over completely and suprisingly approaches some degree of menace. I think it makes an interesting contrast to The Exorcist - almost all the elements are there and the same, but it's just sooo boring. One thing conspiciously absent from this demonic possession movie is any sort of religious or even spiritual theme - yes there is a malevolent entity inside that woman, but no church, no priest ever shows up, and no exorcism is performed. Not really recommended. 19. Bride of Frankenstein  The sequel is an improvement over the first one in almost every aspect! It's still charming as hell, does a great job of making the monster at once bad and pitiful, and I did not expect the plot to develop like it did at all - the bride is barely in the movie, but having her be Mary Shelley! was great. Unfortunately the movie is missing a lot of the gothic photography that made me like the original so much. With a few exceptions it takes place in brightly lit places and during the daytime, which is a shame. I think I liked the original more. Gay themes too subtle for me to pick up on, I guess it's a big sausagefest? Repulsion  Well, once more I broke down and watched a Polanski film. He is such a motherfucker. I don't know any rapists hopefully, but I somehow expect them to try and downplay or justify their crime. Yet here is a whole movie about how rape absolutely fucks up a person, made by someone who later became an unrepentant rapist himself. What kind of man makes a movie like that and then goes on to do what he did? God drat. Mind you I had these thoughts after the movie - the thing itself is a masterpiece and didn't leave me much time to ponder on real life issues while I was watching. As with Rosemarie's Baby and The Tenant, it's clearly been a huge influence on up-and-coming horror superstar Ari Aster. It's the most dire of the Apartment trilogy, which of course is all dire movies bookended by uproariously funny joke endings - this one has it too, but it's followed up by a harrowing final zoom in and definitely doesn't let you leave on a positive note. If you ever wondered what Midsommar would have been like if the main girl had not gone on her fun Swedish vacation, maybe that's the movie for you? Well, 20 movies in 30 days, could have been better, could have been worse. I'll write a quick retrospective as long as the thread is still open. It was fun! Watched: 1. Southbound, 2. Vampire Circus, 3. Verotika, 4. Next of Kin, 5. Frankenstein (1931), 6. Body Bags , 7. Hell House LLC, 8. Three Extremes, 9. Dracula (1931), 10. The Stuff, 11. Dracula (1973), 12. Ganja and Hess, 13. I See You, 14 Evil of Dracula, 15. Haunting on Hill House, 16. Burial Ground, 17. Noroi: The Curse, 18. Beyond the Door, 19. Bride of Frankenstein, 20. Repulsion [/quote]
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May 1, 2020 13:56
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married but discreet posted:Well, once more I broke down and watched a Polanski film. He is such a motherfucker. I don't know any rapists hopefully, but I somehow expect them to try and downplay or justify their crime. Yet here is a whole movie about how rape absolutely fucks up a person, made by someone who later became an unrepentant rapist himself. What kind of man makes a movie like that and then goes on to do what he did? God drat. I am in no way making excuses for what he did, but I imagine that having your 8 and a half month pregnant wife murdered by the Manson family would change a person
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May 1, 2020 14:04
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married but discreet posted:Well, once more I broke down and watched a Polanski film. He is such a motherfucker. I don't know any rapists hopefully, but I somehow expect them to try and downplay or justify their crime. Yet here is a whole movie about how rape absolutely fucks up a person, made by someone who later became an unrepentant rapist himself. What kind of man makes a movie like that and then goes on to do what he did? God drat. People are extremely good at compartmentalizing and self-justification. It's easy for a rapist to know that rape is bad but think that what they did was different, it wasn't really rape or there were mitigating circumstances or they just straight up don't care about their victim as a human being. They downplay their own crime in order to keep it out of the category of rape, which of course they disapprove of. Gripweed fucked around with this message at 14:26 on May 1, 2020 |
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May 1, 2020 14:22
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Yeah Polanski is a good enough director that it seems impossible not to assume he really does get these emotions and the moral weight of these things he makes films about. He just doesn’t hold himself personal accountable to those rules.
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May 1, 2020 14:26
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Not my best challenge but still, 17 new-to-me film is pretty good. Usually I have a hard time sticking with new stuff in favor of old favorites. The final tally: 1. Leprechaun 4: In Space 2. Leprechaun In The Hood 3. Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood 4. The Uncanny 5. Rockula 6. Come To Daddy 7. Cast A Deadly Spell 8. In The Tall Grass 9. Pet Sematary(2019) 10. Pet Sematary(1989) 11. The Wind 12. VFW 13. Piranha 14. Jaws 4: The Revenge 15. Deep Star Six 16. Underwater 17. Antrum 18. MosquitoMan 18. Prometheus 19. Alien: Covenant 20. Dark Waters Even watching just 20 films I really found some good stuff this year. Come to Daddy, VFW, Underwater all from the past year, and then I finally knocked off Piranha and Cast a Deadly Spell, which were both great. The only real disappointments were The Wind and Antrum. I watch regular blu rays and also UHDs, and I have a Shudder subscription so plenty of streaming as well. My horror collection has plenty of DVDs in it too so I watch a little bit of everything. My main limitation is that I'm not region free. Basebf555 fucked around with this message at 18:06 on May 2, 2020 |
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May 1, 2020 14:34
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I literally have a stack of unwatched discs here, but I just couldn't watch horror movies this month. My head isn't in the right place for it, what with one thing and another.
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May 1, 2020 14:41
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Jedit posted:I literally have a stack of unwatched discs here, but I just couldn't watch horror movies this month. My head isn't in the right place for it, what with one thing and another. Yea I suppose doing it this month came with pros and cons. I think most people were just looking for an extra thing to have as a "project" to fill their days, but I can certainly understand why some might not be in the right headspace to be watching horror right now.
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May 1, 2020 14:43
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Basebf555 posted:The only real disappointments were [...] Antrum. God I'm so angry just reading the title Antrum, it was SO BAD
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May 1, 2020 14:44
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Oh cool the challenge goes until noon EST today. Getting one more in under the wire! 63. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)  Fantastic movie. Takes the themes of the first movie and refines them into an incredibly watchable (for the period) film that stays engaging the entire time. Watched so far: 1. Zombie (1979) / 2. Frankenstein (1931) / 3. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) / 4. Basket Case (1982) / 5. Carrie (1976) / 6. Audition (1999) / 7. Creepshow (1982) / 8. Cannibal Holocaust (1980) / 9. Daniel Isn't Real (2020) / 10. Popcorn (1991) / 11. Matango (1963) / 12. Raw (2016) / 13. Men Behind The Sun (1988) / 14. Freaks (1932) / 15. Island of Lost Souls (1932) / 16. Hagazussa (2017) / 17. Guinea Pig 4: Mermaid in a Manhole (1988) / 18. The Mummy (1932) / 19. The Old Dark House (1932) / 20. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) / 21. American Mary (2012) / 22. The Invisible Man (1933) / 23. The New York Ripper (1982) / 24. The Head Hunter (2018) / 25. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) / 26. The Wailing (2016) / 27. Dude Bro Party Massacre III (2015) / 28. The Hunt (2020) / 29. Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992) / 30. Friday the 13th (2009) / 31. Amer (2009) / 32. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988) / 33. A Bucket of Blood (1959) / 34. Demons (1985) / 35. Creepshow 2 (1987) / 36. All the Colors of Giallo (2019) / 37. Human Lanterns (1982) / 38. Bay of Blood (1971) / 39. Tenebre (1982) / 40. Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) / 41. Opera (1987) / 42. Brain Damage (1988) / 43. Deathgasm (2015) / 44. The Lighthouse (2019) / 45. Maniac (1980) / 46. 3615 code Père Noël (1989) / 47. Antrum (2018) / 48. Murder Death Koreatown (2020) / 49. Overlord (2018) / 50. White Zombie (1932) / 51. House (1977) / 52. The Lodge (2019) / 53. Blood Quantum (2019) / 54. Luz (2018) / 55. Gore Whore (1994) / 56. August Underground (2001) / 57. Blood Feast (1963) / 58. The Wizard of Gore (1970) / 59. Chopping Mall (1986) / 60. Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) / 61. Gorotica (1993) / 62. Dracula (1931) / 63. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
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May 1, 2020 16:09
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No time today for any new movies so I'm just going to comment that I seem to write more about the movies that I don't like, than about the movies I do 
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May 1, 2020 16:12
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Iron Crowned posted:No time today for any new movies so I'm just going to comment that I seem to write more about the movies that I don't like, than about the movies I do I think that's probably normal. The closer a thing is to perfection the harder it is to really find much to say about it.
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May 1, 2020 16:21
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Basebf555 posted:Yea I suppose doing it this month came with pros and cons. I think most people were just looking for an extra thing to have as a "project" to fill their days, but I can certainly understand why some might not be in the right headspace to be watching horror right now. If you're curious, the rest of my planned viewing was: Dolan's Cadillac Christine (the only rewatch, and I haven't seen it in maybe 20 years) Overlord Annihilation Daybreakers Split The Guest Dressed to Kill Berlin Syndrome IT (both parts)
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May 1, 2020 16:32
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Jedit posted:I literally have a stack of unwatched discs here, but I just couldn't watch horror movies this month. My head isn't in the right place for it, what with one thing and another. Yeah, at the beginning of the month when isolation seemed still somewhat novel, watching a ton of horror movies seemed like a grand idea. But as the weeks went on I found myself being attracted to more escapist fare and watching light adventure and espoinage stuff. Still, I caught some good horror flicks. Will be looking forward to the next one if we're thinking about doing another before October.
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May 1, 2020 16:41
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feedmyleg posted:Still, I caught some good horror flicks. Will be looking forward to the next one if we're thinking about doing another before October. As long as the forums still exist we'll be doing an October marathon. Book it.
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May 1, 2020 16:44
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Basebf555 posted:I think that's probably normal. The closer a thing is to perfection the harder it is to really find much to say about it. Yeah, with stuff like the old Universal Monster movies my reviews were basically "yeah, it's a classic and I see why. I liked it."
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May 1, 2020 17:21
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Not doing rankings. Used this as an excuse to finally get through Friday the 13th and Final Destination, two series I've been meaning to watch for years. Bailed halfway through so I could catch up on stuff leaving Criterion. Most of the stuff I watched was either pretty decent or entertainingly bad. Best things I watched this month were Wake In Fright, The Hunger, and A Tale of Two Sisters. Worst thing was probably Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.
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May 1, 2020 17:47
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Friends Are Evil posted:Not doing rankings. Used this as an excuse to finally get through Friday the 13th and Final Destination, two series I've been meaning to watch for years. Bailed halfway through so I could catch up on stuff leaving Criterion. I really need to go back and rewatch A Tale of Two Sisters. I saw it a little after it came out, and I just remember repeatedly shouting "END ALREADY!" at the screen for a solid half hour.
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May 1, 2020 18:07
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COOL CORN posted:God I'm so angry just reading the title Antrum, it was SO BAD I watched Antrum the same night I sat through Fury of the Demon and I think the showing the cursed film in full was a mistake. Fury of the Demon went the route of going over the mythology/history with enough bits of Melies' films that your mind's able to cobble up something scary while with Antrum it was like 'that's it?'. I get where they were going with the subliminals and that does fit for the 70s era when people were getting aware of that sort of thing, but it just deflated the wraparound's build up.
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May 1, 2020 19:18
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Unfortunately, I live in a state where I never ended up actually being home from work like I thought I was headed towards. I was at 9 movies half -way through the month and just barely hit 13 yesterday. gently caress you Desantis. Anyways, I know I’m late but too bd! 10. Child’s Play 2 I know this is held as a great sequel, but I didn’t get that out of it. I watched the original last May challenge I believe and was surprised how much it held up and how well it had aged. I like part 2 but just didn’t think it was better than its predecessor. There are some truly wonderful kills, the teacher being stabbed with the ball pump for example was loving INSPIRED, but I felt they didn’t do as much as they could in terms of having Chucky gas light Andy. Chucky is basically in his face and threatening him immediately and I thought there was room for a slow play where Andy isn’t sure though he suspects Chucky is responsible and everyone around him thinks he’s crazy and possibly a murderer. Again, a fine film but I thought the bones of something better were there, but that’s absolutely just me projecting my expectations on the movie. 11. IT Chapter 2 I really enjoyed the first chapter other than all the shaky face which really stood out upon a rewatch. Unfortunately, Chapter 2 did not solve this problem. There were a lot of effective jump scares actually, more than the first, but it seems like they were more interested in making a giant block buster like Jurassic Park than a horror movie. The horror scenes were mostly very well done but that just made the tonal shift between Prince of Persia and IT that much more jarring. I’ve never read the novel so how true to the book it may be was lost on me, but I also wasn’t a huge fan of “every loser gets their own individual scare scene” like in the first film. Overall, it was ok but a disappointment. 12. Hatchet This is just some dudes who wanted to make a Friday the 13th movie but couldn’t get the rights, correct? The acting is dire as is the plot, Victor Crowley’s design is very meh and the ending is loving terrible. However, there were some pretty sick looking kills and they obviously spent their entire budget on them. I’m not surprised this got so many sequels but I am surprised it made it into the March Madness bracket. 13.Demons Now we’re talking! Good old-fashioned monster movie featuring some awesome practical effects on the Demon design and lots of gore for all to adore. The plot is even. A film like this may not do much to scare chiseled horror vets but I will tell you my 7-year-old daughter who came into and then refused to leave the room was spooked on a number of occasions. This is probably my favorite Italian horror that I’ve watched to date and I’m excited to take in Demons 2.
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May 1, 2020 20:00
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M_Sinistrari posted:I watched Antrum the same night I sat through Fury of the Demon and I think the showing the cursed film in full was a mistake. Fury of the Demon went the route of going over the mythology/history with enough bits of Melies' films that your mind's able to cobble up something scary while with Antrum it was like 'that's it?'. I get where they were going with the subliminals and that does fit for the 70s era when people were getting aware of that sort of thing, but it just deflated the wraparound's build up. That's kind of how I felt. The "pre-show" documentary style part was actually really good! And it got me really interested in watching what came next. If it had been a short abstract film a la The Ring's VHS tape, that would have been one thing, but it was just a shittily made film student short project, and that hurt it so much.
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May 1, 2020 20:08
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My final two that I watched last night and on Wednesday: 27. Blood Quantum (2019) Shudder When a virus that turns people into zombies breaks out, the Mi'kmaq people living on the Red Crow reservation discover that they are immune. They turn the reservation into a secure compound, but on top of the zombies they have to deal with the white survivors who are seeking help. Much of this plays out like a typical zombie film, but what really makes it stand out is that it's a horror film by and about indigenous people. The film uses the zombies as a metaphor for white colonialism, with the tribe being forced to balance protecting their land and helping the sick. There's a scene where a white survivor tries to bring in a blanket that's tainted with infected blood - I don't think it could be much clearer than that. If you're burnt out on zombie movies, this probably isn't going to rekindle your love for them - however, it's extremely solid and has more than enough going for it for me to give it a strong recommendation. The gore is really excellent, the acting is good, and there is some really nice cinematography and lighting throughout. 4 samurai grandpas out of 5  28. Cult of Chucky (2017) Netflix Nica, the survivor of Curse of Chucky who took the blame for the killings, is transferred from a maximum security asylum for the criminally insane to a medium security facility. After a few years of therapy, she now believes that she committed the murders herself... until her therapist introduces a new element to their sessions - a vintage Good Guy doll named Chucky. This carries over some of the more serious tone of the previous film, but also injects some of the goofy levity of Bride/Seed. It mostly strikes a good balance between the two, although sometimes the serious parts felt a little flat to me. Pretty much everything with Chuck and Tiffany is great though. Jennifer Tilly is wonderful I would've liked to see more of her. Fiona Dourif is great, and it's really fun watching her channel her father. As always, Brad Dourif brings his A-game as Chucky, and like I said Jennifer Tilly is great as well. Visually this sometimes feels a little dull, mostly because the asylum is all white/grey and it feels very cold and sterile. Chucky and Tiffany's bright colors really pop out in contrast, as does the copious amount of blood. The gore is good, and the kills manage to walk the line between scary and goofy. Definitely a worthy entry in the series. While I did enjoy last year's remake, I hope Don Mancini can continue making films in this continuity. 4 Chuckys out of 5 Watched: 28 - Horse Girl | Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II | Resident Evil: Extinction | Resident Evil: Afterlife | Phantasm II | Swallow | Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead | The Stendhal Syndrome | Deathgasm | Saturday the 14th | Human Lanterns | The Wailing | Beyond the Darkness | Xtro | Tremors | The Invitation | Tremors 2: Aftershocks | The Seventh Curse | When Animals Dream | Stuck | The Hunt | Phantom of the Paradise | Blood Diner | Paganini Horror | Curse of the Demon | Evil Dead II | Blood Quantum | Cult of Chucky gey muckle mowser fucked around with this message at 22:39 on May 2, 2020 |
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May 1, 2020 20:52
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Thanks you all of you for taking part in this, writing your great effort reviews, making many great recommendations of movies not on my radar that makes my list longer at the end of the month than at the start, and for tolerating my long winded posts. The horror community here is the best and I become more sure of that every time we do one of these things. Thank you for letting me be one of you and enjoy spook-a-doodles with you. I get why a lot of people couldn’t get into this as escapism from the world at the moment. For me I think it worked so well because my tastes lean to the supernatural stuff and all those trashy sequels and I largely avoided the temptation of "quarantine" films. I watched some sad and introspective films but they were the exceptions and largely just the big films I didn’t want to skip. But all those trashy sequels and gothic ghost stories and out there fantastic premises were pure escapism from me that helped keep me sane. “Sane” being a relative term because I set a disturbing new personal record of 100 new movies and 119 total. That’s scary. But I guess that’s what happens when not only do you get sent home from work and locked in your house alone for a month but there’s none of the sports you usually watch a ton of to distract you. I’m not gonna have any baseball in October from the looks of it so things could get scary again, but hopefully I’ll at least be working and leaving the house by then. And now for one more long winded post and big blocks of text. Lets start with Recommendations. The Classics Candyman (1992); Poltergeist (1982); The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974); The Exorcist (1973); Psycho (1960); The Omen (1976); Tremors (1990) No explanation necessary. You know them, they all live up to their reputations after many views and however many decades. The Big Sells The Lighthouse (2019); Color Out of Space (2020); Midsommar (2019) All recent much celebrated favorites, all lived up to the hype. My Modern Favorites That Held Up Hell House LLC (2015); The Descent (2005) Both films I’ve seen a bunch of times and think really hold up. “Classics”? I wouldn’t go that far at all but they’re modern films you might have skipped or seen in passing that I think are really good pieces that survive multiple viewings intact. The Ones I Took Way Too Long To Watch The Little Shop of Horrors (1960); The Crow (1994); The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971); Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) I realized my mistake with Phibes last year but watched it again and its sequel and loved them just as much as when I first saw it. Little Shop was an absolute delight that I watched at total random after barely gibing it a thought my whole life. And how I managed to come of age in the 90s without ever seeing the Crow is beyond me but it lived up to the wait. My Surprises Final Destination (2000); The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986); Prom Night (1980) I thought I hated Final Destination but the first film was really pretty good. The last one wasn’t bad either. Really that whole franchise did a 50/50 score at worst which compared to other franchises I binged might even make it like the second best return rate. I thought I hated TCM too but it turns out that only holds true for every TCM movie not directed be Tobe Hooper. TCM2 was a surprisingly good film that once again showcased Hooper’s ability to just do something completely different even for a sequel. And I generally hate dislike slashers but I actually really liked Prom Night. Prom Night II’s also rather insane. I wouldn’t call it a good movie, but its definitely one you have to see to believe. The Solid Recent Ones Greta (2019); Lights Out (2016); He Never Died (2015); It Comes at Night (2017); Unsane (2018); Pet (2016); Mayhem (2017); Climax (2018); One Cut of the Dead (2017); Patchwork (2015); After Midnight (2020) All good movies. None I’d call great but all I’d recommend. Greta, Pet, and Unsane are great stories and great performances that don’t quite reach the top tier, in part because of some questionable directorial choices. Lights Out is a solid haunted house flick. Mayhem is a ton of fun. He Never Died was a really interesting world I want to see more of. Watch One Cut of the Dead spoiler free and stick with it. It pays off. Patchwork is a more fitting Re-Animator sequel than Beyond Re-Animator. After Midnight and It Comes At Night were low on the horror but great emotional character stories. Watch For Your Edification Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019) Just a very good doc that touched on some stuff I did know but also opened my eyes up to a few things I was ignorant about and put a couple of people and movies on my radar. The King Adaptions It (2017); It Chapter Two (2019); Pet Sematary (2019) Its a trend these days and people don’t seem in love with it around these parts, but I’ve always been a big King fan and while I don’t think any of these are classics or anything I think they all worked for me in ways that felt different from the existing ones but still faithful to the King feel. They didn’t feel like wastes of time and I can see rewatching all of them just as I can see rewatching their originals. I Know Nothing About Italian Horror Black Sunday (1960); Kill, Baby, Kill (1966); Suspiria (1977); Inferno (1980); Demons (1985); Demons 2 (1986); The Church (1989) I was all “I know nothing about giallo” and then I watched a few of those ones where a dude kills pretty ladies in their underwear while everything is really colorful and just wasn’t that into it. Then I realized they also made supernatural stuff and it turns out I’m really into that. I think I love Mario Bava and I finally see Argento’s whole thing, I think. Once I realized there were like a dozen more “sequels” in the Demons franchise my goal to watch that “franchise” this month evolved into “watch a ton of Italian stuff in October.” Which I think will evolve into “Watch 31 Foreign Films.” But I have a few other ideas swirling around so we’ll see. But there’s definitely more Italian supernatural stuff on my list then there was at the start of the month. Here’s the final absurd total. And that number doesn’t even include the 25 movies I watched in the last 10 days or so of March. March “Madness” Pre-Gaming Watched - New (Total) 1) Gallowwalkers (2012); - (2). Re-Animator (1985); - (3). Candyman (1992); - (4). Bride of Re-Animator (1990); - (5) Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000); - (6). Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995); - (7). Poltergeist (1982); - (8). Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999); - (9). The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974); - (10). Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986); - (11). Wishmaster (1997); - (12). The Exorcist (1973); - (13). Hell House LLC (2015); 2 (14). The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977); - (15). Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel (2018); - (16). Final Destination (2000); - (17). The Prophecy (1995); - (18). Poltergeist III (1988); 3 (19). The Exorcist III (1990); - (20). Idle Hands (1999); - (21). Night of the Living Dead (1990); - (22). Psycho (1960); - (23). Demons (1985); (24). The Descent (2005); - (25) Monsters (2010) April “Spring Shut-In” Marathon Watched - New (Total) 1. Blood Punch (2014); 2. The Living Dead Girl (1982); 3. Prom Night (1980); 4. Rabid (1977); 5. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987); 6. Mayhem (2017); - (7). Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999); 7 (8). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986); 8 (9). Color Out of Space (2020); - (10). Critters (1986); 9 (11). The Prophecy II (1998); 10 (12). Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire (2019); 11 (13). Demons 2 (1986); 12 (14). Final Destination 2 (2003); 13 (15). Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001); 14 (16). Maniac Cop (1988); - (17). The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971); 15 (18). Zombieland: Double Tap (2019); 16 (19). Hatchet (2006); - (20). Suspiria (1977); 17 (21). Climax (2018); 18 (22). The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000); 19 (23). Shudder’s Cursed Films; Episode 1: The Exorcist (2020)/Exorcist: The Beginning (2004); 20 (24). Psycho II (1983); 21 (25). Freaks of Nature (2015); 22 (26). Dave Made A Maze (2017); 23 (27). You Might Be The Killer (2018); 24 (28). Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990); 25 (29). One Cut of the Dead (2017); - (30). YellowBrickRoad (2010); 26 (31). Final Destination 3 (2006); 27 (32). Beyond Re-Animator (2003); 28 (33). The Wind (2019); 29 (34). 3 from Hell (2019); 30 (35). Patchwork (2015); - (36). Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995); - (37). Shudder's Cursed Films: Episode 2: The Omen (2020)/The Omen (1976); - (38). Stake Land (2010); 31 (39). Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972); 32 (40). Hatchet II (2010); 33 (41). Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019); - (42). See No Evil (2006); - (43). Critters 2: The Main Course (1988); 34 (44). Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001); 35 (45). Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled (2002); 36 (46). The Prophecy: Uprising (2005); 37 (47). Hatchet III (2013); 38 (48). The Final Destination (2009); 39 (49). Shudder’s Cursed Films: Episode 3: Poltergeist (2020)/Poltergeist (2015); - (50). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003); 40 (51). Damien: Omen II (1978); 41 (52). Psycho III (1986); 42 (53). Piranha (1978); 43 (54). The Church (1989); 44 (55). Critters 3: You Are What They Eat (1991); 45 (56). Ruin Me (2017); 46 (57). I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016); 47 (58). Girl on the Third Floor (2019); - (59). It (2017); 48 (60). It Chapter Two (2019); 49 (61). The Prophecy: Forsaken (2005); 50 (62). Critters 4 (1992); - (63). Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990); 51 (64). Final Destination 5 (2011); 52 (65). Omen III: The Final Conflict (1983); 53 (66). Inferno (1980); - (67). Tremors (1990); 54 (68). Satanic Panic (2019); 55 (69). The Dead Don’t Die (2019); 56 (70). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006); - (71). Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996); 57 (72). Shudder’s Cursed Films: Episode 4: The Crow (2020)/The Crow (1994); 58 (73). He Never Died (2015); 59 (74). Predator (1987); 60 (75). Why Horror? (2014); 61 (76). Tremors 3: Back To Perfection (2001); - (77). Shudder’s Cursed Films: Episode 5: Twilight Zone: The Movie (2020)/Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983); 62 (78). The Crow: City of Angels (1996); 63 (79). Predator 2 (1990); 64 (80). The Bay (2012); - (81). Alien vs. Predator (2004); 65 (82). The Crow: Salvation (2000); 66 (83). Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004); 67 (84). Texas Chainsaw 3D (2003); 68 (85). Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2016); 69 (86). Lights Out (2016); 70 (87). Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007); 71 (88). A Little Bit of Zombie (2012); 72 (89). The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005); 73 (90). Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018); - (91). Predators (2010); 74 (92). Butterfly Kisses (2018); - (93). Pet (2016); 75 (94). Maniac Cop 2 (1990); 76 (95). The Nun (2018); 77 (96). Greta (2019); 78 (97). Upgrade (2018); 79 (98). Psycho (1998); 80 (99). Omen IV: The Awakening (1991); 81 (100). The Lighthouse (2019); 82 (101). The Curse of La Llorona (2019); 83 (102). The Predator (2018); 84 (103). The Omen (2006); 85 (104). Black Sunday (1960); 86 (105). The Little Shop of Horrors (1960); 87 (106). The Love Witch (2016); 88 (107). After Midnight (2020); 89 (108). Survival of the Dead (2009); 90 (109). Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005); 91 (110). It Comes at Night (2017); 92 (111). Silent Hill: Revelation (2012); 93 (112). Dagon (2001); 94 (113). Digging Up the Marrow (2014); 95 (114). Knife+Heart (2018); 96 (115). Kill, Baby, Kill (1966); 97 (116). Unsane (2018); 98 (117). Pet Sematary (2019); 99 (118). Witchfinder General (1968); 100 (119). Midsommar (2019) See you at Halloween. And if you’ve made it this far and want a laugh here’s a look at my extreme nerdiness and how I kept track of my list and “schedule” all month. Basically I’d move movies around from the days and the lists below it (each section being a different level of interest). There was also a long list of franchise sequels that I’d put the next one up on the schedule for the next few days as I finished one. It was really nerdy and obsessive and I don’t think I’m doing it justice. You had to be there.  
STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 22:09 on May 1, 2020 |
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May 1, 2020 22:07
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STAC Goat posted:See you at Halloween. Let me know if you get around to Alucarda! Oh and Neon Demon is on your list? Definitely check that out too, I loved it so much I saw it four times at the cinema on opening week
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May 1, 2020 22:35
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Quote is not edit
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May 1, 2020 22:35
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Yeah, Neon Demon's been bouncing on and off for years but I skipped it this month because it felt like it was more in the "bad head space" side of horror. Alucarda is definitely on my radar though thanks to you, as is Sister Hyde. I probably would have watched both but they were both on hoopla and I only get 3 rentals a month and I used them on Color Out of Space, After Midnight, and Survival of the Dead. Which I'm content with. STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 22:40 on May 1, 2020 |
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May 1, 2020 22:37
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STAC Goat posted:
Now I don't feel weird about keeping a txt list of every film I've reviewed for the Challenges since my first.
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May 1, 2020 23:44
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It basically started because I had all those franchises I was doing so I needed a way to keep track of when I was watching Final Destination 3, Critters 2, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 5, and Prophecy 4 in a way where I could space them out but still make sure I left time for them all. So the solution I came up with was to list them all out and then list the days and stop dropping them into scheduled slots. Then stuff would get added and moved around and more lists formed and it became a ridiculous, shameful, but weirdly soothing thing. By the end of the month I was actually having as much fun playing with that dumn txt file as I was watching movies and writing reviews. I am a nerd.
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May 2, 2020 00:23
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You all should use Letterboxd if you aren’t already. Lots of great write ups in this thread already, might as well log them and share so others will be able to see them later on!
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May 2, 2020 00:46
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gey muckle mowser posted:Lots of great write ups in this thread already, might as well log them and share so others will be able to see them later on! I've been contemplating digging up all my reviews and copy/pasting them over.
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May 2, 2020 01:15
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I started going back through the old marathon threads and doing that a couple of months ago and then got bored. I don't know why I didn't post my reviews this month. Laziness, I guess.
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May 2, 2020 01:28
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I've cross posted a couple of my reviews, but some of them don't make sense on Letterboxd and vice versa.
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May 2, 2020 02:49
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I am obsessive over letterboxd these days and I love seeing other horror goons post 
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May 2, 2020 03:00
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Final Thoughts Alright, it's been fun as always, thanks OP for making the thread! Some final thoughts on the movies I watched: Classical monsters: Finally got to watch the original two Frankensteins, which I loved! Dracula far less so, both static and rushed at the same time. African American Dracula is the smoothest (sorry Lugosi), Japanese Dracula the most adorable, 1973 Dracula is extremely unthreatening and I don't even remember Nightmare Circus Dracula. Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula (1931), Ganja and Hess, Evil of Dracula, Dracula (1973), Vampire Circus Anthologies: Southbound was by far the of the challenge, with the 911 call/hospital short perhaps the best complete piece of horror I've watched this month. Three Extremes is just 3 masterful shorts displaying completely different sensibilities and styles of horror/humour. The two creepiest shots of the challenge are in that one. John Carpenter is the best Cryptkeeper-type character and if it weren't for the two absolutely excellent anthologies mentioned before Body Bags would have stood out far more. Verotika starts out intensely idiotic and then takes a nosedive into absolutely, dreadfully boring. Shame about that. Southbound, Three Extremes, Body Bags, Verotika Eurovision movie contest Italy disappoints this year, with Beyond the Door adding absolutely nothing to the Exorcist formula (even Anna and the Devil is better), and Burial Ground getting the doubtful honor of making me yell out 'what the gently caress' the loudest. Repulsion saves the old continent with the best overall entry. Next of Kin is Australian so gets to participate as well, and was perhaps the discovery of the challenge, just an absolute delight of shifting genres throughout the movie. British entries are disqualified because they already participated in the classical monsters category but they'd have gotten trashed anyways. Beyond the Door, Burial Ground, Repulsion, Next of Kin Haunted Houses Only one of the entrants might actually be haunted but beggars can't be choosers in this category. Hell House is solid found footage but it can't beat the Blade Runner house and it's most gorgeous party host Carol Ohmart  . Whatever is happening in the I See You house is completely baffling and should probably be watched.Hell House LLC, House on Haunted Hill, I See You Leftovers The Stuff is much, MUCH better than Lowtax led me to believe, and Noroi: The Curse is exactly what I want my found footage to be. All of the above were watched via streaming. I hereby pledge my soul to The Raffle, and our Master Fran. married but discreet fucked around with this message at 16:38 on May 2, 2020 |
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May 2, 2020 15:06
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Congrats to everyone who completed their challenges! The guinea pigs that completed the experiment are going to receive a mark showing their vitality to abject horror. Hooray! (The process for getting marked is slow and painful; some may not survive.) Every guinea pig that completed the experiment is going to be put into a raffle, and one winner, randomly chosen, is going to get a special surprise! This will be posted on Sunday, so keep this thread bookmarked. For the above mentioned prize, please edit your Final Thoughts post with a note that details how you watch movies. For instance, DVD only? USA blu ray? Region Free blu ray player? 4k blu ray player that is also region free? Streaming only? etc. You do not need to worry about the country you live in, we will work those details out in DMs. If you do not want to participate in the raffle, you may opt out of it. Cheers!
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May 2, 2020 15:42
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M_Sinistrari posted:I'm going to call it at my last reviews. The Kindle books I picked up are calling me and from what I've read so far with Escape from Happydale, I'm hooked. Might as well add something more appropriately final thoughtsy. Considering throughout all the challenges I've participated in and sat through films from the silents day to modern, this time it was really glaring on the quantity vs quality ratio. Granted it was evident on the Band-o-palooza them I did last May that there were more than I expected that just weren't good, but this go with how many were within the past ten years that were genuinely sucky it not only made the good ones really pop but also had me thinking of what's going on in the heads of the directors/screenwriters on the sucky films. Do they watch other films going along the idea they're rolling with to see what's been done and how it was done to try to something different? Same for looking at the criticisms that come up to look on avoiding the pitfalls others have fallen to? Too many of what I sat through was interchangeable in it's mediocrity. There was no flair/style/character to the finished product which could make a difference even if the rest of the film was 'meh'. I'll still hold out hope for future films since the good films I sat through this time were good enough to prove to me there's still creativity ready to shine out there. And as far as my movie watching preferences go, I do it all, stream/DVD/Blu/4K/DVD-VHS Rip. I'd mainline too if it was possible.
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May 2, 2020 17:48
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Final thoughts: This month was mostly made up of three categories. Classics - I finally got around to watching some of the classic universal films that I had never seen (or maybe have seen but don't remember). The shocking thing about them is just how watchable they are for a modern audience. I still think I like the Hammer versions better, but those are certainly drier, and they have the slow stage style tellings. Universal's movies are much more engaging. Frankenstein stands head and shoulders above the others (pun intended) Gialli - I love giallo films, and the ones I watched this month only reinforce that. Now that I've seen a bunch of them, they kind of blend together, but I still love just getting lost in that world. Extreme horror - even though they didn't all count for the challenge, I watched all the guinea pig films, and one August Underground film, and a bunch of splatter classics (Maniac, Blood Feast, Wizard of Gore, etc). I need to do some meditation on why I love these so much. I think half of it is seeking that thrill I got watching horror as a kid, chasing some sort of horror high. But aside from that I love seeing the fx work. The early guinea pig films (1&2) are really fascinating from a technical point of view. I watched so many movies this month! More than I've ever watched in a month, and it was a resounding success. If anything, I came out of it with a longer watch list than I went in with. As far as how I watch, ideally it would be Blu-ray (US, though region free works). I stream most things, but that's just because I can't afford all the discs I want
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May 2, 2020 19:12
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Final thoughts: I barely made it to 13, which is disappointing - I don't know why I feel so much more pressed for time than I did when I was going in to the office. At least I made it, with: 1. Bliss 2. The Exorcist III 3. Next of Kin 4. The Slumber Party Massacre 5. Climax 6. What We Do in the Shadows 7. 0.0 MHz 8. City of the Living Dead 9. 36-15 Code Pere Noel AKA Dial Code Santa Claus AKA Deadly Games AKA Game Over 10. Voice from the Stone 11. Housewife 12. The Lodge 13. Come to Daddy Looking over the list it's not a terrible hit rate, but it felt pretty dire while I was in the thick of things. The only ones I could imagine watching again of my own volition are Exorcist III and Come to Daddy. I'd sit through Bliss/Climax/City of the Living Dead/Deadly Games/Housewife/The Lodge/What We Do in the Shadows if I was hanging out with someone who wanted to see them. That really only leaves Next of Kin/0.0 MHz/Voice from the Stone as unforgivably boring. And I'm still mad at Voice from the Stone for telling me the entire plot in the first five seconds and then not even giving me an interesting protagonist to fill the suspense-free runtime. It's not like it would have been a great movie without that opening, but at least it wouldn't have felt like a complete waste of time. Probably it's more that so many entries on that middle tier fell short of my hopes for them; I was either expecting or at least wishing for greatness from all of What We Do in the Shadows, City of the Living Dead, Climax, Housewife, and The Lodge; and while they were all pretty good I didn't love any of them. I might still revisit City of the Living Dead at some point, since I remember I wasn't completely sold on The Beyond the very first time I saw it either, but on second viewing and then especially after seeing it with Frizzi's live score I'd call it a masterpiece. Maybe I just need him to come hang out and accompany all the rest of my Fulci first watches. I'm really glad I went out on such a high note, though - Come to Daddy was an absolute joy and I'm still remembering scenes or snippets of dialogue and smiling. I don't know whether it will have the rewatchability of my all-time favorites like Ravenous or Re-Animator without the lure of the initial mystery, but I look forward to finding out. Viewing-wise I'm mostly streaming or downloadable digital at this point (bless archive.org), but I'll spring for UHD if it's something I really love. Pretty sure I'm US-locked for non-4k blu-ray but that could change if it needed to.
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May 2, 2020 20:37
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FINAL THOUGHTS: I set a modest goal of 13 new-to-me films, and ended up with 25 new ones and 3 rewatches. I thought about pushing to make the total an even 30, but I watched a couple of non-horror films this month too so I didn't really have the time. No real themes, just an assortment of films from across subgenres that had been on my watchlist and a couple that I found based on recommendations in this thread. Usually I try to watch films from different decades too, but this time I ended up with only 3 films from the '70s or earlier. Final list: Horse Girl | Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II | Resident Evil: Extinction | Resident Evil: Afterlife | Phantasm II | Swallow | Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead | The Stendhal Syndrome | Deathgasm | Saturday the 14th | Human Lanterns | The Wailing | Beyond the Darkness | Xtro | Tremors | The Invitation | Tremors 2: Aftershocks | The Seventh Curse | When Animals Dream | Stuck | The Hunt | Phantom of the Paradise | Blood Diner | Paganini Horror | Curse of the Demon | Evil Dead II | Blood Quantum | Cult of Chucky For the raffle: most things I watched via streaming/VOD but a few were from my blu-ray collection. Usually I watch more physical releases but I haven't been buying many lately due to being broke, No region free or UHD right now (PS4 Pro). Some highlights: The Wailing was a stellar South Korean horror/mystery film. It had been on my watchlist for a couple years but I kept putting it off because it's very long for a horror film (nearly 2.5 hours), but it didn't feel long at all while watching it. Curse of the Demon was possibly the best film I watched all month. Tourneur's Cat People is one of my favorite films and this is on the same level of quality. Deathgasm was the best horror/comedy, sort of a real life New Zealand version of Metalocalypse. Swallow wasn't perfect but it was a great blend of psychological thriller with a dash of body horror. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II was a blast, I love goofy '80s stuff and this was right up my alley. Lowlights: Saturday the 14th was nearly unwatchable. Blood Diner has some parts I loved but an absolutely vile misogynistic streak. Horse Girl had potential and started strong but got way too up it's own rear end in the final act. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker wasn't part of this challenge and of course isn't horror but I watched it this month and it loving sucked As always, thanks to Fran for running the thread! It's always a good time and I'm already looking forward to October's thread.
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May 2, 2020 22:35
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FINAL THOUGHTS My self set goal was to watch 13 horror movies I hadn't seen involving contagion, disease, medicine, disaster, or societal collapse. I did, and then went on to watch more movies for a total of 35 horror movies, including the complete Paranormal Activity franchise. Movies Watched One Cut of the Dead, The Crazies, Rabid, Contagion, Shin Kamen Rider, Twister, Crawl, Threads, Seoul Station, The Thaw, Splinter, City of the Living Dead, Daylight's End, Bloodwork, Color Out Of Space, The Island of Giant Insects, Sleepy Hollow, Dogora, Ghoulies, The Stuff, Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 2, Paranormal Activity 3, Paranormal Activity 4, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night, Encounter with the Unknown, Gehenna: Where Death Lives, Godzilla vs Biollante, The Commitment, The Unborn, Tales That Witness Madness, The Stone Tape, Prevenge ABSOLUTE BANGERS One Cut of the Dead - y'all know Rabid - really great combination zombie/vampire/outbreak movie. Crawl - Just a completely solid crowd-pleasing horror movie. Color out of Space - phantasmagoric descent in into alien madness Paranormal Activity The Ghost Dimension - I just really like a series where the first five movies all set up the sixth one, which then closess the whole thing wonderfully NOT QUITE A BANGER BUT STILL QUITE GOOD Shin Kamen Rider - fantastic monster effects. Plus I like Kamen Rider The Stuff - fun Paranormal Activity 3 - The Paranormal Activity series finally hits it's stride Godzilla vs Biollante - Biollante is one of the best kaiju designs. I love her. Tales That Witness Madness - I still think about that erotic log... Prevenge - comedy Babadook DUMPSTER OF SHAME Seoul Station - boring with an end that will piss you off The Thaw - a mediocre movie just ruined by trying to recut the entire plot around getting Val Kilmer for a day of shooting Daylight's End - a movie so dull I honestly started hoping it would get racist just because that would at least make it less boring. Overall, I gotta say, really strong month. Probably the best ratio of good to bad I've ever pulled off in one of these horror challenges. I didn't watch as many as I wanted to in the last few days because of real life obligations, though. I'll have to make up for it this October. For the raffle, I usually watch US region Blu Rays or super cheap combo DVDs. I did more streaming than usual this month but that was just because Half Price Books was closed so I couldn't go out looking for physical bargains.
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May 2, 2020 23:46
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Final Thoughts My goal was to watch 13 movies, with an emphasis on New to Me. I mostly accomplished this only rewatching Re-Animator which I’m not even certain I watched all the way though originally so still ended up being new to me. I was on a great pace for the first half of the month but fell off due to work being busier than normal in a red state during Covid (we are not an essential business). I did not get to watch any of the movies recommended to me but I will before October. I really only got one stinker in Hatchet and even that had its moments because it knew how stupid it was. The highlight was somehow watching 2 movies with cameos from Tony Todd and Robert Englund Movies watched: Child’s Play 2, IT: Chapter 2, Re-Animator, Bride of Re-Animator, Killing of a Sacred Deer, Captive State, Hatchet, Demons, Cube, From Beyond, Wishmaster, Candyman, Jacob’s Ladder The biggest surprise to me is how much I enjoyed Wishmaster and Cube. All movies were watched via various streaming platforms but only because my Xbox wouldn’t play the Blu-Ray of Hausu I got from Secret Santa and I didn’t feel like moving the PS4 from one room to the other.
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May 3, 2020 00:53
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