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Well I think I can do 13, I'll just watch all the Bracketology stuff as usual 
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Apr 30, 2022 23:10
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 17:52 |
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1. The Berlin Bride A 16mm 80’s throwback whimsical magical realism doll fetish horror movie. Stale genre for sure, but this one’s real fun, just pure visual storytelling, gorgeous to look at and listen to. Also really nice to see someone remember the 80s through something other than the Stranger Things nostalgia lens. 2. Frankenstein Created Woman He sure did! Peter Cushing is a delight as usual, but as much as I’d like to really enjoy Hammer horror movies, they just never really do it for me. I’m always left unsatisfied and wanting more. They’re never lurid, gruesome or wholesome enough to really be enjoyable, a cheap intermediate between Universal horror and giallo. A watch for Bracketology, which y'all should consider for insipiration if you don't know what movies to do. 3. No One Gets Out Alive This one’s a Netflix horror so you know exactly how it’ll look like, and it’s algorithmically determined to be a mixture between some other successful movies you liked. It does have some neat visuals, a likeable protagonist and some interesting ideas, but they’re mostly left unexplored and don’t really fit together in a meaningful way. There’s worse ways to spend <90 minutes though. 4. Hellbender A coming of age gone bad movie, some Lords of Salem, some Raw, lots of witchy goodness. The visuals are a bit uneven, with some scenes looking far better than others, but it does a whole lot with it’s low budget, and is just very charming to boot.
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May 1, 2022 22:37
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Well, am much behind with my writeups. Many movies are from Bracketology, and I'm not counting rewatches. 5. The Changeover is a really good coming of age horror struggling with a terrible YA source material, and ultimately losing to it. The cinematography is amazing, there’s a fantastic dreamlike atmosphere throughout, with some scenes that made me wish I was in the theatre to see them on the big screen. Timothy Spall is a great villain, and the movie has some of the most genuinely creepy scenes in this years bracketology tournament. Overall, everyone involved is doing a fantastic job, and utterly failing against the trappings of the genre. As it is, the movie just regularly grinds to a terrible halt to cover tiresome YA tropes. The movie is short, and too much time is wasted on scenes/dialogue from the book that nobody can deliver properly and that don’t add up to anything, and so we go from “youre a Sensitive™, you can become a witch” to her almost immediately becoming a witch, or the entirety of character development delivered in a voiceover at the end of the movie. If they’d cut out the entire with coven absolutely nothing would have been lost, it would have given the movie more space for actually worthwhile directions. What a shame. 6. Morgiana is a gothic drama with magnificent costumes, a fun story and a cute cat. It’s not an outstanding homerun of a movie for me, but it’s basically what I’d want from a Hammer movie and never really get. Not sure why the movie is named after the cat, it’s not really a central character (sadly). 7. It Came from Outer Space gives you pretty much exactly what you’d expect from the title. It’s a quite good looking movie with fun effects and a nice message, but it’s also not exactly exciting or anything. Not my cup of tea, but quite good. 8. Koko-di Koko-da A scandinavian, Lynchian (overused term but here it is) groundhog-day horror movie about a couple experiencing marital problems and murderous intrusions during a camping trip. Darkly funny, mean, and quite frankly too short. The sub-genre lends itself to the “here’s what I would have done” armchair victim spiel, but generally the movie just skips over most iterations that and ends a bit too quickly. Normally I’d not complain about a short movie, but some things need to breathe, and this one did. Also features shadow puppetry that to me looks like it was done in CGI, which I sort of hate. Warning: It features a bad dog that dies multiple times, and most of the violence is weirdly focused on the woman. Still, I’m nitpicking. It was very good, eerie, original and interesting, plus the drat children’s song was stuck in my head for a long time. 9. World of KanakoNow here’s a movie that goes hard, immediately and thoroughly, in a way that people like Takashi Miike or Sion Sono do at their best, and worst. A deliberately unlikeable protagonist stumbles, abuses, fights and rapes his way through the case of his missing daughter, only to find that her life was not what he believed it to be. Extremely energetic and gorgeous, switching between the visuals of different genres and even dipping into animation occasionally, just a joy to look at from start to finish. If you can look past the depictions of rape, ah Japan. 10. Phantasm 2 I barely remembered anything from the first movie, and the recap at the start of this one made me even more confused as to what was going on. But wow, talk about a perfect depiction of somebody’s night spent waking up between disjointed nightmares and trying to put a coherent narrative to them in the morning. Plus, good goop. Always appreciate that. Way better than expected. 11. Phantasm III is a step down from Phantasm II, which actually stuff going for it. Instead of the weird dream energy of its predecessor it’s cribbing from Evil Dead, which can be good but Reggie is no Ash, and deadites don’t fit into the movie. It’s still reasonably well made, again the goop is good (needs more though) so overall it’s ok, I guess? Enough Phantasm for me. 12. Vampire Doll is probably not a movie I’d have enjoyed much if it was any longer. But it’s short and sweet, with the titular Vampire Doll getting some genuinely creepy moments, and a very satisfying ending. Watched earlier: 1.The Berlin Bride, 2. Frankenstein Created Woman, 3. No One Gets Out Alive, 4. Hellbender
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May 22, 2022 23:23
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13. A Cure For Wellness An epic length gothic-ish horror movie, gorgeous to look at but ultimately there’s not that much to it. The initial American Psycho-esqueness is replaced by a relatively generic weird science in asylum plot, but not that much weirdness happens for a movie that’s clearly someone’s pet project. 14. The Found Footage Phenomenon, a documentary about foot foundage. Takes the generic approach of filmmakers and thinkers talking about the history of the thing, but this one is notable in that they got almost everyone, from Eduardo Sanchez and Lance Weiler to Koji Shiraishi and frigging Ruggero Deodato (who by far had the most interesting stuff to say). It does show some scenes of real life executions and deaths such as the infamous Vietnam headshot so be VERY AWARE OF THAT. Didn’t mention Trash Humpers ONCE. Still provides a nice list of movies and directors to look into. 15. Final Prayer Inspired by the FF documentary, and a reminder that I’m a huge wuss when it comes to jump scares. It was ok overall but didn’t have anything special to it. Watched earlier: 1.The Berlin Bride, 2. Frankenstein Created Woman, 3. No One Gets Out Alive, 4. Hellbender, 5. The Changeover, 6. Morgiana, 7. It Came from Outer Space, 8. Koko-di Koko-da, 9. World of Kanako, 10. Phantasm 2, 11. Phantasm III, 12. Vampire Doll married but discreet fucked around with this message at 01:28 on May 23, 2022 |
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May 23, 2022 01:26
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oh god how did this get there i am not good with post/edits
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May 23, 2022 01:27
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RobbZombae posted:Brilliant film. Dang, what words do you use to describe a 4/5 movie?
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May 27, 2022 16:52
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17. Kwaidan Bracketology peer pressure FINALLY made me sit through this long rear end anthology. Of course, “made me” isn’t quite the word, more like I got to experience this masterpiece. Just absolutely gorgeous Japanese folk tales on insane sets. But, it is long, to the point where I was sort of checked out by the end. The first stories go by really fast, in no small part due to the fantastic set design, especially in the second story. Those painted skylines, with ominous eyes in the stars and clouds, are just a sight to behold. I’d say it’s my favourite, not only because of how breathtaking it looks, but also with how bittersweetly human the ending is. The third story drags on a lot and quite frankly could have been much shorter without sacrificing the really really good parts. By the time we reached the last one, which is short and sweet and sort of Borges-ian in it's metaness, I was quite exhausted. Still ended with a great shocker to wake me up. Overall, probably best watched in two parts, or with each story individually even. As long as you watch it, because it’s a must see. 18. Les Diaboliques To conclude the challenge, a classic, and an example of how horny twitter people can turn anything into a queer romance. A cruel boarding school headmaster’s wife and his mistress, decide to kill the jerk, with (un?)forseeable consequences. No sexual chemistry between the leads but whatever. I honestly wasn’t too into it – the mystery is intriguing but ultimately the outcome predictable (which isn’t necessary bad), it’s well acted and executed overall, but I don’t really see how it’s a classic comparable to Hitchcock’s best. And that’s it folks! I'll get some final thoughts on all of these in later, plus checking how many challenges I accidentally fulfilled. LATE EDIT: I totally forgot that I watched this for a hot second: 19. Return to Oz with what would later become everyone’s favourite goth crush, Fairuza Balk! I’m counting this as horror because there’s some truly scary stuff in there for kids – the wheelers could be from a Silent Hill game, the rock faces are spooky, the destroyed Emerald City, the gallery of heads – I was cackling with glee at a lot of the scenes. The effects are an absolute joy, top notch puppetry, stop motion, costuming. It’s not quite up there with the absolute classics of the dark children’s fantasy genre because ultimately the whole thing isn’t too engaging, but still, quite the treat! Watched total: 1.The Berlin Bride, 2. Frankenstein Created Woman, 3. No One Gets Out Alive, 4. Hellbender, 5. The Changeover, 6. Morgiana, 7. It Came from Outer Space, 8. Koko-di Koko-da, 9. World of Kanako, 10. Phantasm 2, 11. Phantasm III, 12. Vampire Doll, 13. A Cure for Wellness, 14. The Found Footage Phenomenon, 15. Final Prayer, 16. Leptirica, 17. Kwaidan, 18. Les Diaboliques, 19. Return to Oz married but discreet fucked around with this message at 18:03 on May 31, 2022 |
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May 31, 2022 15:45
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Purno posted:
Io non ho paura is a pretty good horror adjacent at the very least. But yeah, dire overall. Very interested in that movie, thanks for pointing it out.
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May 31, 2022 19:27
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Well, 19 movies, 7 challenges randomly met, ashamed that I didn’t watch a single giallo this year. Not one movie that really hated, so I think it was time well spent! Best Movie: World of Kanako: So much energy, but more horror adjacent. Great: The Berlin Bride (Scream, Queen!): Weird and good! Koko-di Koko-da: Scandinavian groundhog day, of course it’s depressing. Leptirica (A Perfect Getaway): Dear lord this freaked me out on a 5$ budget Kwaidan (Music of the Night): Sooo pretty, soo long, very chill. Hellbender Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: Made with love, pleasantly surprised The Changeover: So good, but also so bad. Like the growing pains of a young adult. Good: Morgiana: Ah. love me some gothic costume drama Vampire Doll: Spooky vampire, short movie. Nice. A Cure for Wellness: Boring vampire, long movie, but gorgeous. Nice The Found Footage Phenomenon Behind the Screams: Covers most of the genre, not bad. Les Diaboliques Hidden Gems: Dunno, not much of a gem for me. Return to Oz Rated PG: Puppets! Phantasm 2: Perfect nightmare logic Not so good: Frankenstein Created Woman: It’s a Hammer movie alright No One Gets Out Alive: Muddled, generic, skippable It Came from Outer Space: Ok I guess? Phantasm III: You can’t just badly copy Evil Dead! Final Prayer: Eh
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Jun 3, 2022 01:13
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 17:52 |
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Congrats VROOM VROOM, and to gmb for organizing this so well once more. Would be fun to think of some new challenges for Halloween at some point.
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Jun 8, 2022 14:36
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