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Surprised myself this Memorial Day weekend by working in a couple more spooky movies amidst the moving and cleaning craziness. So I guess I had a couple more reviews in me after all, lol. #23. Deep Rising (1998) (Hoopla) A group of high-tech pirates breaks onto the world's most luxurious pleasure cruise ship on its maiden voyage looking to score big... only to find that all of the passengers have been consumed by giant sea creatures that have attacked the boat. This fits nicely into director Stephen Sommers' ongoing body of "enjoyable schlock" - films that are quite content with being B-grade action-heavy creature features, thank you. When he finds the right mix of star, material and spectacle, he can create low-key magic (The Mummy 1999); usually, he doesn't (The Mummy Returns). This film falls right into that sweet spot in the center: I get that Treat Williams is having fun, but he's not really strong enough to pull off either the cold-blooded mercenary side of the character, or the badass competent action man. In the end, he's just kinda floundering around from scene-to-scene, trying to mug his way through. I usually like Famke Janssen, but she's really not given anything to do here, and you can tell that she was rebelling against the "stand around in fancy clothes and look sexy" roles that were being thrown her way post-GoldenEye. But on the other hand, it looks like Sommers had way more affection for the pre-T.J. Miller character than I did; I rolled my eyes super-hard when he managed to make it to the end credits, unfortunately. As for material and spectacle, the super-fancy cruise ship is an okay setting, but I don't know that it really adds too much to the film one way or another. Especially since it spends most of the runtime with the ship depopulated or running around in the bowels of the engine rooms and the like; it feels as much like any other Aliens rip-off set in space proper. The monsters are supposed to be some kind of deep-sea worm blown up to giganto size, but the CGI makes them look more like squid tentacles with toothy Predator maws. Or the tip of Shin Godzilla's tale. And that's all before a big ole' Kraken gets brought up at the big climax to sit around and holler, CGI-ishly. Felt like a cool idea that wasn't explained or properly explored before we blow everything up for the big finale. In the end, it was fine, it was competent, it wasn't aiming that high but I guess it hit the mark that it was aiming for. Lowered expectations. I dunno if aiming higher would have done the film any favors, but I think I would have liked to have seen it try.  /5 #24. Horror Express (1972) (iTunes purchase) After bringing a strange humanoid ape-like creature onto the Trans-Siberian Express, an archaeologist and his rival discover that the ape monster has thawed out and has begun killing the passengers. Oh, and it turns out the ape monster is actually the host for a parasitic psychic alien life force. I'd heard this film was weird, but I don't know if I was properly expecting how weird it was gonna get. Though, to be fair, I think a lot of that stems from the fact that poo poo just keeps getting thrown out there; I was expecting a straightforward story about an unthawed Yeti on a train, but then it's like "oh, the ape is a psychic vampire." "Oh, it's because the ape is a host to a psychic vampire alien." "Oh, turns out the alien keeps all of its memories in its eyeball? For some reason?" "Oh, turns out the alien can jump bodies so now it's not in the ape anymore." "Oh, it turns out the alien can create zombies out of everyone that it had psychically eaten." I feel like, in the end, like half of those elements get any kind of fair explanation or time to breathe, and its focus was always on the wrong things to spend a lot of time on. (I don't care to spend a lot of time tracking the history of the Earth through the aqueous solution from the back of the Missing Link's eyeball, film - that's just taking time away from an alien ape man making people stand around and put in white-out contacts to death.) Fortunately, you have Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (and, all too briefly, Telly Savalas) on hand to paper over those cracks. The film rides on their charisma, even if I feel like both of them are coasting in this project; I know that there was behind-the-scenes personal biz on Cushing's side, and Lee was helping him work through it, and this is not the kind of film that either needs to put a ton of focus on to still end up being the best element. But still, never a bad thing to have actors of their caliber on hand. It helps make the idea that you're spending your time watching a film about an alien ape monster go down a little easier. /5Watched so far: The Seed, Witchboard, The Visitor, Mad God, Eyes Without a Face, A Field in England, Dolly Dearest, Black Sabbath, The Boxer's Omen, Survival of the Dead, Deep Red, Road Games, Abominable, The Omen, Lyle, His House, The Mutilator, The Last Matinee, Infinity Pool, Witchfinder General, Ready or Not, Prince of Darkness, Deep Rising, Horror Express
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May 30, 2023 20:41
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#19: Dawn of the Dead Shooting Zombies  I was specifically challenged to aim higher on the Shooting Zombies list than my previous entry, Happy Birthday to Me at number 900. So here it is, the actual highest movie on the list I hadn't seen before. It's kinda wild that I hadn't seen the original Dawn of the Dead before. I got into horror stuff around the time of the remake coming out, I watched NotLD and Day of the Dead, and I really wanted to watch Dawn of the Dead but at the time I think there was some kind of licensing weirdness going on with it so I could never find it on DVD. Eventually it passed out of my mind and I absorbed so much about it from cultural osmosis I just never made it a priority. I don't want to blow anyone's minds here. but the original Dawn of the Dead is very good. Starting right in the middle of everything is suck a fantastic choice, it makes the whole thing sweaty and tense from the jump. I love how society collapses because of the choices people make. That's so much better than how all other zombie stuff does it, where the arrival of a zombie just magically turns off society. I also really like how long it takes them to fortify the mall. When they finally have their little shopping spree it feels like a well earned party after all the hard work. Only to them immediately segue into a realization that this isn't going to work. They immediately start going crazy living in this preserved slice of the dead world. It's funny how much the remake spawned the whole "What's your awesome zombie apocalypse plan to have a cool party pad where you can do whatever you want?" thing when the original is so opposed to that whole concept. You can't have an awesome party pad after you've killed the world. [sub][sub]Challenges in progress 13. Geography Lesson: North America (The Relic) Canada (Shivers) Europe (An Angel for Satan) Asia (Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya) Challenges complete 1: Horror High: Naked Lunch 2: Tales from the Cryptids: Mothman Prophecies (because of mothman) 3. Holy Terror: Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya (because of Shinto) 4. Fresh Hell: M3gan 5. Shooting Zombies: Dawn of the Dead 6. Drawn and Quartered: The Spine of Night 8. Second Chance: As Above So Below 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things: Beware! Children at Play 11. It's-a Me!: An Angel for Satan 12. History lesson: 1960s (An Angel for Satan) 1970s (Shivers)1980s (Beware! Children at Play)1990s (The Relic) 2000s (The Mothman Prophecies) 2010s (Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya) 2020s (Scream)
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May 30, 2023 22:23
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I'll cash in since I'm about to go down a Preston Sturges rabbit hole and I seriously doubt any of them are going to qualify as horror. 42. Mystics in Bali (1981) - Checking off my Southeast Asia spot. This was on my watchlist because of some discussion or another in the main thread. I don't recall what it was, but hopefully it was "This movie is really, really bad." "Yes, it is" because this is godawful where 90% of the screentime is taken up by the antagonist talking about how evil she is and cackling. 1.5/5 43. Next of Kin (1982) - Watched for Australia. A little bit giallo, a lot bit 80s. 2.5/5 44. Dead End Drive-In (1986) - Also watched for Australia because I couldn't decide. 80s overload dystopia with a variety of punks caged in a drive-in theater. Visually wonderful, the plot meanders. 2/5 -. The Mysterious Retort (1906; short) - I believe I've seen this before, mistitled as Hallucinated Alchemist, which is apparently lost. (Plenty of others seem to have done the same.) Pretty typical effects showcase from Melies. 3/5 - The Haunted Castle (1896; short) - Same problem. I thought I was watching the 1987 American remake, which is apparently lost. Turns out it was a rewatch of the Melies version, which is great. 4/5 45. The Phantom Honeymoon (1919) - So I thought I had discovered unsung greatness from the silent era. A professor goes to debunk a haunting that supposedly kills everyone who stays the night, and the film does a great job of using flashback (and flashback within flashback) to explain how the manor came to be haunted, with a dispute between two men after the same girl leading to an unconventional duel (sit at a table with a deadly snake on it until someone gets bit). Then it completely goes to poo poo at the climax. 1.The protagonist agrees to the duel to prevent the antagonist's plan of... falsely accusing him of being the son of a "Negress." 2. After the antagonist covers up the death of fiance and fiancee by rolling a car over a cliff, the three ghosts (THERE IS ALSO A GHOST OF THE CAR) go on an eternal honeymoon where they can teleport to any destination they'd like, return at dawn, and are ecstatically happy with this. Absolutely no sign that they're killing everyone who sets foot in the house. 3.5/5 -. The Doll's Revenge (1907; short) - Hilarious horror short about a boy destroying his sister's doll and the doll returning and coming to life to get revenge. I suppose that's obvious from the title. Some great gags. 5/5 -. The Grip (1909; short) - A silent film of people talking with few title cards. The matte of the basement is nice. 1.5/5 46. The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920) - Some great expressionist visuals, somewhat ruined by the golem obviously being a dude in a wig, but rather slow moving for most of it, although the ending pulls together nicely. 2.5/5 47. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) - Whoops. I meant to watch the 1931 one and was somewhat wondering why a silent came out this late. And why Hyde didn't look anything like the poster. And why people on Letterboxd keep mentioning dialogue. Three wrong movies watched over the weekend. Decent enough silent adaptation. Like The Golem, rather staid and slow moving. 3/5 I guess I have one more to go.
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May 31, 2023 01:36
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gey muckle mowser posted:I just watched Gaia, which is a South African film with strong environmental themes. It's only an OK movie but it would qualify for Woke in Fright Thanks! #20: Gaia 7. Woke in Fright 13. Geography Lesson Seth Efrika This movie straight up, unashamedly, 100% steals the mushroom people design from The Last of Us. They don't even change the color or the placement of the mushroom parts or even that they're sound-activated. These aren't mushroom people like The Last of Us, they just are the mushroom people from The Last of Us. Which I'm actually fine with, that's a fantastic monster design and I'm happy to see it being used outside the most mid video game ever made. Unfortunately, Gaia isn't very good. It has the cool mushroom people, but they aren't the focus. It's about this lady who goes into some super out of the way forest with her black friend (dies instantly) and ends up meeting this Dutch primitivist freak who sets up traps for the mushroom people after she steps on one of the traps. The dutch freak reluctantly nurses her back to health and she falls in love with his simple-minded son. That's what the movie's actually about, this lady getting Stockhom Syndromed by a terrible Dutch father-son duo. There are some neat visuals at first but they've got a small bag of tricks so by the second half you aren't seeing anything you haven't before. And holy loving poo poo does this movie love the fakeout dream. Something scary happens to someone and then they wake up gasping happens, genuinely, like half a dozen times. Once is too many! Gey muckle mowser is a kinder soul than I when they call this movie "OK" [sub]Challenges in progress 13. Geography Lesson: North America (The Relic) Canada (Shivers) Europe (An Angel for Satan) Asia (Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya) Africa (Gaia) Challenges complete 1: Horror High: Naked Lunch 2: Tales from the Cryptids: Mothman Prophecies (because of mothman) 3. Holy Terror: Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya (because of Shinto) 4. Fresh Hell: M3gan 5. Shooting Zombies: Dawn of the Dead 6. Drawn and Quartered: The Spine of Night 7. Woke in Fright: Gaia 8. Second Chance: As Above So Below 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things: Beware! Children at Play 11. It's-a Me!: An Angel for Satan 12. History lesson: 1960s (An Angel for Satan) 1970s (Shivers)1980s (Beware! Children at Play)1990s (The Relic) 2000s (The Mothman Prophecies) 2010s (Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya) 2020s (Scream)
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May 31, 2023 01:43
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I'm calling it at a nice 15 for the month. Here are my last two, with a "Challenge Summary at the end. 14. The Stepfather (1987) A man promises he will have the all-American family - no matter what. The Good By late ‘80s-early ‘90s horror/thriller standards, this isn’t terrible. Maybe not Fatal Attraction or Cape Fear level, but the pace is brisk, there are some good jokes, and it’s creepy in all the right spots. The Bad This is such a white person movie even for 1987. And the white dudes all look the same. Like, which is the stepfather? Wait, he’s a realtor, not the psychologist? Okay, then, who are these guys? Stepfathers? Did this guy buy a house? Isn’t he the brother? I thought that was Stephanie’s (boy)friend? [Note: The first, and only, person of color appears 36m into the movie and he’s onscreen for less than 5m.] The Ugly People who tuck fabric shower curtains in in the tub during a shower are wrong. 15. We Need to do Something (2021) The bottom falls out on a strained family when they get trapped in their bathroom during an unnatural storm. The Good Much of the action takes place in the bathroom, which makes for a great, claustrophobic set piece. Also, the acting is on point, especially from young John James Cronin. He has a tough part for a kid his age and he does a great job. The Bad One of the best scares is a line delivery by [NAME REDACTED]. But that’s all that person does. drat it. The viewer wants more because that moment is such a tease. The Ugly “Snakes are just bats that can’t fly,” “Dicks are for peeing, not eating, dad” - this movie has some of the best, worst lines I’ve heard in a while. Challenge Summary Tales from the Cryptids: Big Legend Holy Terror: The Offering Fresh Hell: Knock at the Cabin Shooting Zombies: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Woke in Fright: Siege (aka Self Defense) Second Chance and Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things: The Ring History Lesson 1920 – The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1949 – The Queen of Spades 1968 – Hebi musume to hakuhatsuma (The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch) 1973 – Season of the Witch 1984 – The Company of Wolves 2022 – The Offering Naked Man Punch fucked around with this message at 02:39 on May 31, 2023 |
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May 31, 2023 02:35
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48. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931, for real this time) - Perfect. A great merger of expressionistic silent-style cinematography with compellingly acted dialogue, and few things (POV shots) that are ahead of their time. 5/5 Wrapping up for real this time: 48 movies (41 new) and 10 shorts watched. Best of the month: Attachment (2022) Awakening of the Beast (1970) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) Eyes Without a Face (1960) Screaming in High Heels: The Rise & Fall of the Scream Queen Era (2011) Best Shorts: Eternity (2020) The Doll’s Revenge (1907) The Feet (2021) The Feet Part II (????) Challenges1. Horror High - Awakening of the Beast (1970) 2. Tales from the Cryptids - The Abominable Snowman (1957) 3. Holy Terror - Attachment (2022) 4. Fresh Hell - Knock at the Cabin (2023) 5. Shooting Zombies - Eyes Without a Face (1960) 6. Drawn and Quartered - Evil Toons (1992) 7. Woke in Fright - M.F.A. (2017) 8. Second Chance - Eraserhead (1977) 9. Challenge of the Dead - Zombie rear end: Toilet of the Dead (2011) 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things - Poison for the Fairies (1986) 11. It's-a Me! - The Fourth Victim (1971) 12. History lesson The Haunted Castle (1896; short) The Doll's Revenge (1907; short) The Phantom Honeymoon (1919) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) The Spiral Staircase (1946) The Abominable Snowman (1957) Eyes Without a Face (1960) Night Watch (1973) House (1985) Evil Toons (1992) Dry Season (2006) The Skin (2011) Knock at the Cabin (2023) 13. Geography Lesson North America - House (1985) (USA) Europe - Death Line (1972) (UK) Central/South America - The Skin (2011) (Antigua and Barbuda) Middle East/Africa - Dry Season (2006) (Chad) Australia/Oceania - Next of Kin (1982) (Australia) Asia - Zombie rear end: Toilet of the Dead (2011) (Japan) Southeast Asia - Mystics in Bali (1981) (Indonesia) World Tour Added Antigua and Barbuda, Andorra, Turkmenistan, Nicaragua, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Bhutan, Grenada, French Guiana, Macedonia, Mozambique, and Oman. I'm reasonably sure that some research could turn up things that are not on Letterboxd (and that I could add to TMDB to fix that), but as things are, this seems to be the furthest I can go: 
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May 31, 2023 04:09
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 14. The Last Man on Earth (1964) A lifeless adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend," which had Matheson himself on the screenplay, but he disassociated himself from the final product under the pseudonym Logan Swanson because he was disappointed by it. Vincent Price does his best and really sells a man in the depths of post-apocalyptic depression, all the way through to the uncaring slouch in his gait. The direction just doesn't have any magic to it, and The Last Man on Earth needed some magic to get past its threadbare budget and inherently undramatic content (the first third of the film is following Price go about his daily chores). In particular the little "action" is just laughable, "stuntwork" so weak it knocks you out of taking the horror seriously. There's technically a story reason for why the vampires battering nightly at Price's home are so physically inept, but the visible lack of danger saps any attempt at building dread from the picture. And there's no such diegetic excuse for why the brief shots of Price staking vampires look like he's trying to pat them gently with a hammer.  / 5 15. Brain Damage (1988) An anti-drug PSA fused with a grotesque horror comedy sensibility, something like if Evil Dead 2 was a parable trying to rap with you about stranger danger. The perils and pleasures of hard drugs are embodied here allegorically in a brain-eating slug named Elmer, who offers his hosts mind-blowing highs if they're willing to look past him sucking some people's brains out. Elmer completely loving rules, a practical construction that looks simultaneously evocative and dirt cheap, with stupid li'l cartoon eyes and a charming voice that sounds a bit like Jeffrey Combs at his most affable (actually voiced by John Zacherle). Not that his friendly demeanor stops him from getting some memorably pornographic kills. The combo of sleazy exploitation with after-school special sermonizing tone is a real weird one that didn't quite gel for me but it's undeniably a fun ride hanging on and seeing just how bad the turbo-charged addiction spiral is going to get. Or how weird. Some of the best scenes are left field comedy sucker punches, like Theo Barnes abruptly reciting the entire history of Elmer dating back to the crusades.  .5 / 5For challenges, Brain Damage is squarely about addiction, crossing off Horror High. And with that I have all the challenges complete, and over 13 new-to-me films watched, a successful run! The Recap: The films: Psycho (1960) ***.5 Friday the 13th (1980) *** Under the Shadow (2016) *** Dawn of the Dead (2004) **.5 M3GAN (2022) **** Creature from Black Lake (1976) *.5 Blood Vessel (2019) * The Menu (2022) **** Knock at the Cabin (2023) ** Jennifer's Body (2009) ****.5 Black Sunday (1960) **** Vampire Hunter D (1985) **.5 The Wolf House (2018) **** The Last Man on Earth (1964) ** Brain Damage (1988) ***.5 The challenges: 1. Horror High: Brain Damage 2. Tales from the Cryptids: Creature from Black Lake 3. Holy Terror: Under the Shadow 4. Fresh Hell: Knock at the Cabin 5. Shooting Zombies: Psycho 6. Drawn and Quartered: The Wolf House 7. Woke in Fright: Jennifer's Body 8. Second Chance: Vampire Hunter D 9. Challenge of the Dead: Dawn of the Dead 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things: M3GAN 11. It's-a Me!: Black Sunday 12. History Lesson: -1960s: Psycho -1970s: Creature from Black Lake -1980s: Friday the 13th -2000s: Dawn of the Dead -2010s: Under the Shadow -2020s: M3GAN 13. Geography Lesson: -North America: a bunch produced in the USA, let's say Psycho -South America: The Wolf House, produced in Chile -Europe: Black Sunday, produced in Italy -Middle East: Under the Shadow, produced in Jordan -Asia: Vampire Hunter D, produced in Japan Favorite of the Month: Jennifer's Body rules. I also recommend M3GAN and The Menu for fun, The Wolf House for a creepy cerebral burn.
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May 31, 2023 04:55
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Gripweed posted:I don't suppose any one has recommendations for movies that qualify for Woke in Fright or Challenge of the Dead that were made in Central/South America, Middle East/Africa. Australia/Oceania, or Southeast Asia? One Cut of the Dead is Japanese zombies, should cover both * of the Dead and SE Asia challenges. e: Motel Hell: A Modest Proposal (1980)  -- Oh man this red's too heavy. We better find a place to crash. *crashes* Broke: Dueling banjos Woke: Dueling chainsaws Country siblings run a rural hotel with a smoked meats business on the side. The meats are the best in the land but they contain a hOrRiBlE sEcReT ingredient that you'll just never guess... Mostly a pretty slow build up as we follow a girl who's just been adopted into the family. A reverse zombie attack at the end and the aforementioned chainsaw duel are fun. Still not sure what was up with the whole 'planting' thing, unless that was just the easiest way to secretly store them until they were ready to  Pretty light on the goop for a movie about an abattoir, but the gurgling noises were actually disgusting. ⚞💀Progress Tracker💀⚟ 01. 👐Idle Hands👐 🎃History Lesson 1990s🎃 🎃Horror High🎃 02. 🚓Maniac Cop🚓 🎃History Lesson 1980s🎃 03. 📼Skinamarink📺 🎃History Lesson 2020s🎃 🎃Fresh Hell (released in North America in January)🎃 04. 🐺Ginger Snaps🐺 🎃History Lesson 2000s🎃 05. 🌃The Night Eats the World🌃 🎃History Lesson 2010s🎃 06. 🤡Terrifier🤡 07. 🐊Alligator🐊 🎃Tales from the Cryptids🎃 08. 😈Evil Dead II☠ 09. 🩸Blood Quantum🩸 🎃Woke in Fright🎃 10. 🩸Blood and Black Lace🩸 🎃It's-a Me!🎃 11. 🦇The Bat Whispers🦇 12. 🐷Motel Hell🔥 Takes No Damage fucked around with this message at 05:53 on May 31, 2023 |
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May 31, 2023 05:30
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Gripweed posted:I don't suppose any one has recommendations for movies that qualify for Woke in Fright or Challenge of the Dead that were made in Central/South America, Middle East/Africa. Australia/Oceania, or Southeast Asia? Juan of the Dead from Cuba. The World of the Dead from Mexico (Santo).
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May 31, 2023 05:53
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Feeling pretty burnt out but still trying to fit stuff in and knock it off the list for a big finish. 79 (108). Monster Island (2004) Directed by Jack Perez; Written by Jack Perez & Adam Glass Watched on Amazon Prime Carmen Electra gonna hook up with a 17 year old because he listens to Queens of the Stone Age and the Ramones. No wonder she bails from the movie like 10 minutes in. This was bad. I more or less knew that going in. I mean its a MTV movie starring Carmen Electra. Obviously this is gonna be B schlock at best. I wanted something light and dumb though and was really feeling more Mary Elizabeth Winstead. But it definitely wasn't worth it. This film is really just playing it TOO straight for how especially bad it is. I mean it knows its a B film and its telling jokes, but they're bad jokes. Like just really lame. There's a vague charm to the terrible effects and monsters and the at least film history acknowledgment of naming Adam West's doctor Harryhausen. And there's Adam West for a couple of scenes. So like clearly we know what we are. But again, its just bad. Like knowing you gotta have fun and be silly doesn't mean you don't still have to write something decent. The cast is competent. Its not their fault their lines all suck. MEW plays a socially conscious high schooler who is the reincarnation of an island warrior goddess or something. Its weird. And dumb. and not in a fun way. I mean I guess if I had watched this in college drunk with my friends I would have had a good laugh at it. But watching it in the middle of the night in 2023 because I can't sleep? Just kind of sad. But hey, at least my defining character trait isn't that I pretend to be a monkey.  - (109). Cloverfield (2008) Directed by Matt Reeves; Written by Drew Goddard Watched on Amazon Prime Still a really great and enthralling ride. Cloverfield hits a bunch of squares of stuff I love. Found footage, big monster movies, and the heart and soul of New York City. It also really capture that moment in time of 9/11. I wasn't there that day but I was there in the days after. I wasn't far away that day. And I've been in the city during blackouts and incidents. The way everyone comes alive, is in shock and awe, helps and talks to strangers, and fight to be resourceful. Its New York. And 22 years later its still difficult to watch some of those scenes of devastation that evoke that fateful day where so many lost their lives, so many were forever changed, and the city I love was forever scarred. Sure there was no monster or statue of liberty head but there were the streets of the city covered in ash and debris, people hurt and emergency services, soldiers with guns, and New Yorkers persevering and moving forward. All that aside, its also just a very tight and well moving film. The effects still look great and the movie uses the found footage style to minimize what it shows but also show so much in small doses. And the dual approach of a party video taped over an important moment works well to do the narrative work to introduce our characters to us and give them enough weight to invest in. Its not the deepest character study or anything but it doesn't have to be. We just need to care if these characters live or die. And sure, sure... TJ Miller is hurting the curve but still. Its funny even though I love this movie and love found footage i rarely think of this as found footage. I also weirdly don't think of it in the context of the Godzillas and monster movies. That's all rather strange and I think maybe speaks to how well this manages to work the different elements together to be its own thing. Or maybe its that I get distracted by the NYC/9/11 thing and that moment in time and cast and all. I don't know. But its probably a Top 10 found footage for me, maybe a top 10 monster movie for me, and definitely on my !♥️NY list. I almost didn't rewatch this for Bracketology since I saw it last year and am pressed for time but I'm glad I did because it once again was a hit for me.  80 (110). Hush (2008) Written and directed by Mark Tonderai This one just didn't work for me. It wasn't "UK Duel" as I had kind of thought going in, which is a good thing since I was worried I'd be judging it against that. But I'm not really sure what it is. This film feels like its trying to do a bit too much and none of it felt especially satisfying or complete to me. The road stuff gives way to like a conspiracy thing which gives way to an early 2000s extremity/torture thing which gives way to an almost slasher ending. It feels unsettled and a bit of a mess to me. There's characters who just kind of exist to complicate things or be twists. The security guard plot amounts to nothing and it feels like the entire conspiracy/cult aspect of this just has no real payoff. You could have just done a story about one crazed guy and I think that stuff that worked would have worked just fine. All that extra stuff feels unnecessary and poorly developed or meaningful. It doesn't help that the main guy is so unlikable. He's just kind of an rear end in a top hat and its a curious choice to specifically have him refuse to help the stranger he sees in trouble because it will pull it away from his incredibly important job of changing bathroom posters. Like that's such a contemptible choice that defines the character so early and his girlfriend (who he treats like poo poo) calls it out for what it is. The turn for him to become invested when she gets taken just falls so flat for me. Its a purely selfish action and I'm really not sure why you'd want the protagonist to go that way. There's no real redemption or anything. He never grows or chooses to help someone just because its the right thing even at his own expense. He's just an rear end in a top hat who the film has made a point to tell us wouldn't be helping anyone if the bad guys hadn't given him a personal investment. Its not enough that this killer cult feels unnecessary, they also feel incompetent. They're being beat by THIS guy? He changes bathroom posters for a living. How does one even come up with that as a job for your movie protagonist? I gotta think the writer was doing the job and thought of a movie idea during a long drive. I dunno. Its just too loose, too nasty, too unlikable for me. I'm sure all of that speaks to others. It feels of the period of Hostel or Wolf Creek and movies like that. But that stuff wasn't my thing back then and is even less so now. So the whole thing just didn't work for me.
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May 31, 2023 07:41
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 Pearl I hadn't really planned for this to be my last movie of the challenge but I'm glad it was because it's gotta be the best horror of 2022. Especially if you're into the whole aesthetic, which I was, Pearl feels like it might be Ti West's first real masterpiece. I say it "feels like" that because I can never be sure about those things on first viewing, but man the movie was just excellent in a bunch of areas. Like I mentioned the look of the film is something we've never seen from West up to this point, and then the performances are great, obviously with Goth being the centerpiece of the whole thing. It's crazy to think that this movie could easily not even exist if not for the production delays on X. It feels very much in alignment with X thematically and with Goth's presence both on screen and in the writing, we could be looking at one of the all-time great trilogies here depending on how the next one shakes out. I'd love to see a UHD release at some point. So that's my final tally. I watched some Bigfoot movies but not too many, and cleaned up some of the biggest missing pieces from the genre this past year. My goals didn't really line up with doing the extra challenges this time but I did finish the basic 13 movie challenge: 1. American Bigfoot 2. Terror on Bigfoot Pond 3. Scream 6 4. Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch 5. M3GAN 6. Exists 7. Terrifier 2 8. Primal Rage 9. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 10. Signs 11. Dawn of the Beast 12. Interviewing Monsters and Bigfoot 13. Bigfoot: The Conspiracy 14. Pearl
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May 31, 2023 14:57
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Pearl proved all the mid 2000s hype that Ti West could be an incredible talent.
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May 31, 2023 15:36
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I was someone who didn't think he had it in him. I really enjoyed House of the Devil, but Innkeepers underwhelmed me and then I didn't like The Sacrament at all. X made me sit up and take notice but it didn't change my overall opinion of West. Pearl is the best his writing has ever been so I can only assume that Mia Goth gets a ton of the credit there, but Pearl is also great visually and I didn't really think of West as that kind of director.
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May 31, 2023 16:17
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Takes No Damage posted:Still not sure what was up with the whole 'planting' thing, unless that was just the easiest way to secretly store them until they were ready to As far as the planting thing went, part was easy to secretly store, but the other part was for ensuring tender meat. Kinda like how veal gets raised.
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May 31, 2023 18:50
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One more for the road, since I doubt I'm going to get to anything today/tonight and I know I won't be able to do a write-up tomorrow morning. #25. Orphan: First Kill (2022) (Amazon Prime) After escaping from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Esther - the diminutive psycho killer from the first movie - travels to America by impersonating the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy family. I wasn't a huge fan of the original Orphan, thinking that it was a fairly middling movie and the big twist about Esther's identity didn't do anything for me. This new prequel fixes that problem by leaning into that explanation heavy in the beginning, giving the game away by playing her as a Hannibal Lecter type up through her escape and integration into the new (old) family unit for this film. It even dances around the Freudian psycho-sexual stuff of this 30-year-old integrating herself into the world as a prepubescent child by making it look like she really will avoid violence and any of her previous crimes by going straight to plain old robbery, but decides to stay out of some misguided sense of... pity? desire? both?... for the grieving father. And then the film goes and tops the ridiculous twist of the first film - I guess it can't be an Orphan film without a random shocking twist - by revealing that the real Esther is definitely dead, by the hands of the older brother, and the mom knows all about the cover-up. And that she seems more committed to murder than even her possible psychopath son is. So the film, rather cannily, ends up redefining our relationship with the antagonist - we normally come into these kind of semi-slasher films rooting for the villain anyway, just because they're more fun than the heroes usually, but now First Kill goes for the Devil's Rejects trick of humanizing the villain by introducing an even bigger monster, re-making them into a semi-sympathetic lead. And, for the most part, it works here too. It's ridiculous, but it also has a couple of very firm hands leading it, mainly through Isabelle Fuhrman's canny performance as Esther and Julia Stiles as mom Tricia. It helps to have a couple of pros to navigate such absurd waters, and end up leading you to a pretty satisfying conclusion. And the gore and stalking scenes are also really well put together, on top of that, so it just becomes a really slick, well-put together little thriller film. An easy recommend for me, which I'm grateful for here at the end, considering how mediocre and bad this challenge started out for me. Oh, and on that twist... the film takes place in Darien, Connecticut, mainly centered in the giant mansion house of these rich artistic rear end in a top hat types. And as someone moving out of neighboring city Stamford... yeah, I can totally buy that these kinds of assholes are also (not-so) secretly giant psychopathic murderous freaks on top of that. I can't deny that they may have helped me get a little bit of extra charge out of the proceedings, but what are you gonna do? /5Watched so far: The Seed, Witchboard, The Visitor, Mad God, Eyes Without a Face, A Field in England, Dolly Dearest, Black Sabbath, The Boxer's Omen, Survival of the Dead, Deep Red, Road Games, Abominable, The Omen, Lyle, His House, The Mutilator, The Last Matinee, Infinity Pool, Witchfinder General, Ready or Not, Prince of Darkness, Deep Rising, Horror Express, Orphan: First Kill
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May 31, 2023 18:58
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13. The Collingswood Story (2002) This sort of feels like a film adaptation of a creepypasta I haven’t read (a vibe of which I wholeheartedly approve), and I’m not sure the last two decades have been kind to it, but I actually think it’s pretty good! An excellent job setting the tone makes up for acting and a script that aren’t always all that great. I also love this era of Internet, because it’s 1) when I first got access and 2) when it was the Wild West as far as advertisers were concerned, so I’m sure that plays a role in my enjoyment here, but I liked it! It’s not important to watch or whatever but if you’re shotgunning horror movies anyway throw it in the pile. And that’s the 13 I promised myself! Thanks guys 😘
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May 31, 2023 19:46
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9. Pearl (2022, dir. Ti West) USA The year is 1918. The Great War is coming to a close in Europe and the world is ravaged by a global pandemic. In rural Texas a young woman called Pearl dreams of being a star and she is willing to kill anyone who stands in her way. A prequel to X (2022) and if I understand correctly Pearl was shot as soon as X wrapped and was largely written while in quarantine right before shooting on X began. Making it reminiscent of those Roger Corman movies where he'd shoot 2-3 films on the same set back to back to get a proper return on the investment on having it built or rented out. This makes Pearl sound like some sort of afterthought but despite this it is somehow more polished and fleshed out than X. I liked X a lot but riffing on 70s exploitation is a bit old hat now and it didn't go quite far enough on the sleaze to be truly believable as 70s inspired schlock. Pearl has the advantage of being set in a time period that you don't really see that many films from, the 1910s, and that it borrows more from Golden Age Hollywood with a horror twist instead of borrowing from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with a less horrific twist like X. Its working with similar themes but does so better. The actual silent porno from around the same era the projectionist shows her a short clip from gives the film just the right dash of sleaze to have the edge over X despite there not being any other nudity in the rest of the film. All of the sexual stuff in the film feels uncomfortable especially the scene where Pearl gets so horny she dry humps a scarecrow. . I sorta wish I had seen this before I saw X because I suspect going in totally blind now knowing what happens to Pearl decades later might make it even better. Though I suppose it might undercut some of the fatalism and building dread. Mia Goth absolutely kills it as Pearl. I didn't quite understand why she played both parts in X but the existence of this film makes it feel like a more logical choice. She manages to make Pearl just the right amount of naive and utterly sociopath to make her both sympathetic and creepy. It's extra impressive considering that her natural accent is that of a malnourished Victorian street urchin. I've generally liked, but been slightly underwhelmed, by most of the Ti West films I've seen. House of the Devil had a good build-up but fizzled out without a proper climax, The Innkeepers was eerie but didn't stick the landing. etc. etc. but with Pearl it feels like West has finally created a film that is not just good but actually great. I'm excited for MaXXXine . Complete sidenote: I find it interesting that they made Pearl's parents Texas Germans because it gave the WW1 setting a bit more nuance. Texas Germans are a somewhat sizable ethnic group in Texas that even have their own dialect of German but haven't been very prominent after the World Wars. 10. Mystics in Bali (1981, dir. H. Tjut Djalil) Indonesia Cathy, an American writer visiting Bali, becomes involved black magic when researching a book on local witchcraft. Set on the Indonesian island of Bali (obviously) where, as I'm sure you know, the majority of people practice a mix of Hinduism and their own native religious practices. This has lead so some fairly unique religious practices and folklore some of which are shown in the film. One thing that isn't unique but is very cool is the idea of witches/vampires flying around at night as disembodied heads with their entrails in tail some variation of this creature exists throughout SE-Asia known by many different names including but limited to Krasue, Penanggal(an), Krasue, Manananggal, Kyuang, Arp, and Aswang to name a few. The nature and methods of the creature varying from place to place with some detaching the entire upper torso rather just the head and some being winged and some being ghosts, others being demons, and yet others being witches but there seems to be a general archtype of "vampiric creature that detaches part of its body and flies around to prey on the living" as a type of monster in the region. This is in like two scenes of this film in one of which our American Hero eats a baby out of a pregnant lady's belly as it is being born. Both of the scenes are by far the highlight of the film and usually the one (1) thing most people who have seen this film seem to remember. One thing that detracts from the film is the bad dub which sometimes feels like the dub actors are just reading the dialogue instead of acting it, almost like with the flat emotionless narration that is used instead of dubs in some Eastern European countries. The voice actor who does the Léak Queen is just putting on a very typical witch voice but at least there is some emotion and gusto behind it. I'm not sure the dialogue is any better in the original language but I doubt it since so much of it is plain exposition and characters repeating things we have already been told or shown. It does make the film a lot more humorous how casual, and even bored, everyone sound even in the face of astonishing supernatural events. It creates the impression this is sort of stuff happens every other week in Bali. This is enforced by the fact that at no point does anyone really doubt the existence of witches or monsters, everyone just accepts that those things are a part of life. There are some cool monster effects and it's always fun to see a horror film based on folklore/religion that is totally foreign to you but aside from the baby eating scene halfway through and the final magical battle this doesn't go quite crazy enough to make up for the shortcomings. 11. Dante's Inferno (1911, dir. Giuseppe de Liguoro) Italy (duh) Dante goes to hell. You know this one. Guy called Dante goes to hell, explores the different circles of hell (each of which has a Theme), sees a lot of historical figures on the way (along with his own political and personal enemies). I can't imagine how big of a deal this must have been at the time. The Divine Comedy is a pretty big deal in Italy. So much so that when Italy was unified in the 19th century the new Standard Italian was based on Tuscan because that's what Dante wrote in (it had also been the Lingua Franca of the upper classes throughout the Italian states for a long time before that. Partly because of how influential Dante's work was). It's a bit too heavy on the inter-titles, but I guess that's a byproduct of being an adaption of a literary classic, but I think you'd get the gist of the story even without them. I am a yokel and philistine who has never actually read The Divine Comedy and only know the general gist of it through cultural osmosis like everyone else but I think I had a decent grasp of what was going on for most of the film even if I had inter-titles in Italian, a language I can not read. The special effects are amazing, especially for the era, and the film is well worth watching for those alone. I have two more films lined up for tonight I'll post about them tomorrow. I think I might actually make it this time. FreudianSlippers fucked around with this message at 23:19 on May 31, 2023 |
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May 31, 2023 23:09
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12) Spoonful of Sugar (2022) Challenge: Horror High I already wasted 90 minutes watching it, I'm not going to waste 90 seconds talking about it. Summary: 11/11 specific challenges completed. History Lesson complete: 60s, 70s, 80s, 2010s, 2020s. Didn't have the energy to fill out Geography, unfortunately. My eyes simply weren't up to any more watching than I did, and I lacked the energy to go hunting far for movies from the global south.
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Jun 1, 2023 00:38
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Jedit posted:12) Spoonful of Sugar (2022) I can fix her
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Jun 1, 2023 00:48
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 Death Laid an Egg (1968) ; Giulio Questi The movie opens with a bunch of stock footage of the inside of eggs, then it smash cuts to close ups of brightly colored art deco advertising while a dude unpacks knives and pair of black leather gloves. CAN'T STOP HERE, IT'S GIALLO COUNTRY You've got 60's scientific poultry farming and a love triangle and a possible serial killer and blackmail. It's everything and it's fun and it's above all else campy. I'd show this to anyone and think they could have a good time, so long as they can deal with how male-gazey the camera is. This was a great little digestif at the end of the challenge, so thanks again to MZ for the suggestion. It's-a Me DONE! All challenges DONE! A wrap up and probably one last movie coming up before tomorrow.
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Jun 1, 2023 00:49
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Glad u liked it! It's one of the more whacked out gialli so it's fun to rec it
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Jun 1, 2023 01:00
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Hello here's a recap. My goal was to watch at least 13 movies that were new to me and complete multiple horror collections. I ended up completing the challenges with 38 total movies which is pretty good! The five best movies I watched this month were all from gey muckle mowser's challenges. Thanks again, gey muckle mowser! Spring Cleaning Goal 1. Basket Case 2 2. Basket Case 3: The Progeny 3. 3 from Hell 4. Attack of the Blind Dead 5. The Ghost Galleon 6. Night of the Seagulls 7. Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning 8. Saw III 9. Saw IV 10. Saw V 11. Saw VI 12. Saw VII 3D: The Final Chapter 13. Jigsaw 14. Phantasm IV: Oblivion 15. Phantasm: Ravager 16. The Mother of Tears Completed Collections * The Basket Case Trilogy * The Firefly Collection * The Blind Dead Collection * The Ginger Snaps Collection * The Saw Collection * The Phantasm Collection * The Three Mothers Collection GMM Challenges 1. Horror High - Bliss 💀 2. Tales from the Cryptids - Mongolian Death Worm 3. Holy Terror - Incantation 💀 4. Fresh Hell - The Pope's Exorcist 5. Shooting Zombies - The Fall of the House of Usher 💀 6. Drawn and Quartered - Violence Voyager 7. Woke in Fright - Tales from the Hood 💀 8. Second Chance - The Fly 💀 9. Challenge of the Dead - Survival of the Dead 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things - The Pit 11. It's-a Me! - Baron Blood 12. History Lesson * Alice, Sweet Alice (1970s) * Evil Ed (1990s) * Do You Like Hitchcock? (2000s) * Blood Moon (2010s) * Hellraiser (2020s) 13. Geography Lesson * Slash/Back (North America) * Baskin (Middle East/Africa) * Wolf Creek (Australia/Oceania) * Even the Wind Is Afraid (Central/South America) * Detention (Asia) 💀 Highlights twernt fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Jun 1, 2023 |
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Jun 1, 2023 01:59
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Gotta get reviews in! 81 (111). Petey Wheatstraw (1977) Written and directed by Cliff Roquemore A wild ride for sure. Never seen Rudy Ray Moore before but he's entertaining. I'm not sure he's a great actor but he holds his own and he's just pretty solidly funny in that way seasoned stand up comedians are less in clearly overt jokes and more in just perfect time and razor sharp wit. And that transfers well to this film because in truth a lot of it kind of just feels like Rudy riffing and having a good time. Its actually a really well put together film for how loose and weird the script and production really seem to be. Like this could have fallen apart and been unwatcheable but while I thought maybe it lagged a little in the middle it held together into an entertainingly weird and irreverent film experience. Its probably all a bit too loose for me. Plus the juvenile humor isn't really my thing. I was amused by lots of stuff and I was never offended or anything. Like a lot of blaxploitation classics the film manages to play with the stereotypes and tropes that black people were stuck in but the black creators making the film give it a certain air of dignity and self respect. An especially impressive feat in a film like this but Petey is actually a pretty stand up dude all things considered and the world of friends and family he has around him are a pretty tight good crew. The Fast and Furious family never took on the devil. Yet. Its good and I really enjoyed the ending which probably pulled up the rating for me a bit as I was kind of drifting off at points. But all in all I don't think it fully hit with me. Budget stuff, sensibility stuff, a lack of finesse on the script maybe. Nothing really major or bad and I can see why other people do click more and love this. I just fell a bit short. Still a movie that's definitely worth a watch at least once.  82 (112). Repulsion (1965) Directed by Roman Polanski; Written by Roman Polanski, Gérard Brach, and David Stone Earlier this month I watched Vampire's Kiss and concluded that Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman owed a lot to Nicolas Cage. Now I feel like Cage owes a ton to Catherine Deneuve. Lets get the important thing out of the way. gently caress Roman Polanski. This is the last of the Apartment trilogy for me to see. I used to love Rosemary's Baby but haven't watched it in a decade because of the foul taste Polanski leaves. I did see The Tenant a couple of years ago but bounced off it hard. Maybe just for Polanski especially since it starred him but I don't even really remember it and my review says I was just bored. Its a shame too because I love apartments as a horror setting. Still I have been resisting watching this. But at least it doesn't star the rapist. It just has a lot of them. Deneuve is excellent as the traumatized woman suffering a breakdown. The plot obviously leaves it ambiguous but I got the distinct impression through the film that she had been assaulted by the sister's boyfriend. Hence her repulsion to him, his treatment of her, and ultimately the final shot of him carrying her away with what looks like it may actually be a hint of guilt. Then again the last last shot is of her looking distraught in the family photo suggesting trauma much earlier. And then again we're talking about Polanski so giving him too much credit on this topic seems silly and it seems like his inspiration was about a woman who was mentally ill, maybe suggesting none of this? I don't know. Its difficult for me to separate art from artist here for obvious reasons even though I know humans don't work like that. But I dunno. Begrudging credit where its due. Polanski is a good director. He uses the apartment setting very well to create the claustrophobic and manic state of Deneuve in the film. And there's a ton of stuff in here that clearly influenced many future films. That whole cracks in the wall and hands reaching out thing is rather common in horror now but this definitely feels like a "that's where it came from" moment. And Polanski uses it well not as a simple jump scare but as a further extension of Deneuve's state. Its a good film for sure. I fall a bit short of loving it or praising it. Perhaps because of the Polanski of it all. Perhaps a sincere reaction absent of his influence. I don't know. Part of me is definitely fighting myself about my rating. Deneuve's performance, the themes and tricks on display, and the quality directing as much as I don't want to say it all make for a film that probably earns its reputation. I probably just don't want to give the bastard the credit but I also probably am just sincerely held back from appreciating it because of the shadow. It is what it is. The film itself is obviously very good if not great. Art artist and all. Take it how you will.  83 (113). Bacurau (2019) Written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles Watched on Showtime I have absolutely not idea what this movie was about and I absolutely loved it. Its funny because normally I'd be bothered not understanding... well a lot. What this world they're living in is. Who the bad guys were. Who the good guys were. Were they good guys? What was Pacote's deal? Why was the doctor so mad at the dead lady? What was special about the dead lady? Why were they all taking drugs? Why did Michael do what he did? I was so, so confused. I don't know if the sleep deprivation has finally made me a complete idiot or if I just don't know enough about Brazilian history and politics to get this or what. I read like a dozen other reviews and no one else seemed confused. So what happened to me? I get some vague themes about colonialism or racism or I guess modern culture? I dunno. I super didn't get this. Like at all. I spent hours tossing in bed trying to make sense of it. And yet I loved it. Normally a film like that would frustrate the hell out of me but I just vibed with this one so easy. The look, the setting, the cast performances, the building mysterious tension and story. I didn't even notice the run time. It just flew by as I was fully engrossed and having a great time. Was I hoping I'd get clearer answers by the end of the movie? Yeah, for sure. Was I mad that I didn't? No, not at all. Because I really did just feel this movie through and through. I dunno if I've just stumbled into an art house film that finally clicked with me or if I'm a complete idiot missing the obvious themes and answers. Its been almost two weeks since i got a good night's sleep so maybe my brain is just mush. But this entertained the hell out of that mush. I just wish I had any idea what the gently caress happened.
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Jun 1, 2023 03:05
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#21: Juan of the Dead 9. Challenge of the Dead 13. Geography Lesson Cuba ALL CHALLENGES COMPLETE  Just under the line I bring it home and complete all challenges! The first half of Juan of the Dead is pretty strong. Classic zombie stuff with a dose of comedy, segueing into a zombie Ghostbusters. Moves at a good clip, the zombie stuff is good zombie stuff, the humor mostly lands, it's a good time. It lost me in the second half. They kill the best character, the pacing goes to poo poo, the Ghostbusters angle is dropped, there's a bunch of dodgy CGI, and it goes from just having a funny gay character to being actively homophobic. Also, 123movies.net started stuttering in the second half. So overall I can't call it terrible, but rating the whole movie I can't go higher than Ehh. All Challenges complete 1: Horror High: Naked Lunch 2: Tales from the Cryptids: Mothman Prophecies (because of mothman) 3. Holy Terror: Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya (because of Shinto) 4. Fresh Hell: M3gan 5. Shooting Zombies: Dawn of the Dead 6. Drawn and Quartered: The Spine of Night 7. Woke in Fright: Gaia 8. Second Chance: As Above So Below 9. Challenge of the Dead: Juan of the Dead 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things: Beware! Children at Play 11. It's-a Me!: An Angel for Satan 12. History lesson: 1960s (An Angel for Satan) 1970s (Shivers)1980s (Beware! Children at Play)1990s (The Relic) 2000s (The Mothman Prophecies) 2010s (Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya) 2020s (Scream) 13. Geography Lesson: North America (The Relic) Canada (Shivers) Europe (An Angel for Satan) Asia (Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya) Africa (Gaia) Latin America (Juan of the Dead) Gripweed fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Jun 1, 2023 |
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Jun 1, 2023 03:48
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12. Zombies of Mora Tau (1957, dir. Edward L. Cahn) USA Treasure hunters seek a chest of diamonds that sank off the coast of a small African island quickly discover the treasure is protected by the living dead. The film starts very strong. A young woman takes a car ride to her great-grandmas house. The driver hits a man on the road but drives on insisting that it wasn't a man but one of Them. Soon after she arrives a crew of American treasure hunters show up and Grandma takes them on a tour of the graves of previous treasure hunters who all fell to the zombies over many decades. She even has graves for the newcomers pre-dug so burying them will go faster. It never really reaches those heights again but manages to stay interesting through the tensions both within the crew and between them and Grandma, who they think is lying about the curse to get at the diamonds herself. Strangely there isn't a single Black cast member in this Africa set film. Though considering the era that might be a blessing in disguise. There isn't really anything in the film that specifically requires an African setting. The house that Grandma lives in might as well be in Maine or Ireland or Haiti and it could still work. I suspect they just wanted to be able to connect the curse to some vague notion of "Voodoo". And on that note: in typical 50s fashion there is a dose of domestic violence when the expediton leader slaps his wife to keep her in line but unlike in a lot of these old pictures she doesn't 'snap out of it' but runs away in terror right into the cold dead hands of the undead. Which makes it all the more unpleasant. Zombies of Mora Tau is mostly notable for being the ur-example of contagious zombification. The people killed by the zombies also rise from the dead. In previous zombie flicks zombies are created by a master, radiation, or even a curse but they themselves can't pass on their conditon. I would need to consult the books but I'm even fairly certain this might be the only pre-Romero film where that is the case. It also has some pretty cool faux-underwater scenes and a heap of eerie shots of the living dead rising from the water that may have influenced similar shots in Carnival of Souls. Also:  A decent film if you have the stomach for 50sness. The main problem is that the titular revenants are never really very threatening or scary. 13. A Cold Night's Death (1973, dir. Jerrold Altman) USA, TV After their colleague dies mysteriously in an isolated research base two scientists who are sent in to salvage his work are quick to discover that they may not be as alone as they thought. A tight little TV movie with heaps of snowy atmosphere. Eli Wallach and Robert Culp both give great performances as a pair of scientists who are forced into living in extreme isolation in a snowed in lab studying primates. Almost feels like a proto-type for Carpenter's The Thing*. Not only in the setting but also in the paranoid atmosphere where the scientists are just as much at each other's throats as any external threat. The soundtrack is as lonely and minimal as the rest of the film. When there is any music at all, and there often isn't, it is sparse synth groans with lingering spaces between to leave room for the howling winds and/or screeching monkeys sometimes morphing into echo-y electronic wails. All in all giving the film a very oppressive soundscape. *I know that one is already a remake but despite the lack of a shapeshifting alien monster this feels very similar in tone, aesthetics, and character dynamics. CHALLENGE COMPLETED Will post wrap-up tomorrow.
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Jun 1, 2023 04:03
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Gonna go ahead and post a recap now, since I didn't watch anything spooky tonight and I'm going to be driving down the East Coast tomorrow morning. Below is the list of everything I watched during the Challenge - anything that is underlined was a rewatch, and everything else is a new watch for me. Also, anything with a star beside it was attributed to the Geography Lesson challenge. 01) The Seed (2021) 02) Witchboard (1986) 03) The Visitor (2022) 04) Mad God (2022) (CT: Drawn and Quartered)* 05) Eyes Without a Face (1960) (CT: Shooting Zombies)* 06) A Field in England (2013) (CT: Horror High) 07) Dolly Dearest (1992) (CT: Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things) 08) Black Sabbath (1963) (CT: It's-a Me!) 09) The Boxer's Omen (1983) (CT: Holy Terror)* 10) Survival of the Dead (2009) (CT: Challenge of the Dead) 11) Deep Red (1975) (CT: Second Chance) 12) Road Games (1981)* 13) Abominable (2006) (CT: Tales from the Cryptids) 14) The Omen (1976) 15) Lyle (2014) 16) His House (2020) (CT: Woke in Fright) 17) The Mutilator (1984) 18) The Last Matinee (2020)* 19) Infinity Pool (2023) (CT: Fresh Hell) 20) Witchfinder General (1968) 21) Ready or Not (2019) 22) Prince of Darkness (1987) 23) Deep Rising (1998) 24) Horror Express (1972) 25) Orphan: First Kill (2022) And the breakdown of the scores was as such: - 2 - 6 - 10 - 6 - 1Thanks for putting this together GMM. You helped make this crazy hectic month a little more enjoyable.
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Jun 1, 2023 04:25
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Cemetery Man (1994) -- 🎶Never should have gone out on the Boy Scout Picnic🎶 Fake Italian Hot Toipc afficionados vamp around a Stephen King's Pet Sematary (but for people). If Evil Dead II was a Giallo it would be this movie. I can also safely say this contains the most intense dick amputation / injection procedure I've ever seen  And a final wrap up for the month's viewing: ⚞💀Progress Tracker💀⚟ 01. 👐Idle Hands👐 🎃History Lesson 1990s🎃 🎃Horror High🎃 02. 🚓Maniac Cop🚓 🎃History Lesson 1980s🎃 03. 📼Skinamarink📺 🎃History Lesson 2020s🎃 🎃Fresh Hell (released in North America in January)🎃 04. 🐺Ginger Snaps🐺 🎃History Lesson 2000s🎃 05. 🌃The Night Eats the World🌃 🎃History Lesson 2010s🎃 06. 🤡Terrifier🤡 07. 🐊Alligator🐊 🎃Tales from the Cryptids🎃 08. 😈Evil Dead II☠ 09. 🩸Blood Quantum🩸 🎃Woke in Fright🎃 10. 🩸Blood and Black Lace🩸 🎃It's-a Me!🎃 11. 🦇The Bat Whispers🦇 12. 🐷Motel Hell🔥 13.  Cemetery Man
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Jun 1, 2023 08:08
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Gotta squeeze movies in under the wire! - (114). The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) Directed by Julius Onah; Screenplay by Oren Uziel; Story by Oren Uziel and Doug Jung Watched on Netflix Figured I'd finish off the Cloverfield "trilogy" since I enjoyed the first two films so much and haven't seen this one since that Super Bowl night they effectively sold it to spontaneous viewers after the game. But it ain't very good. Its not the worst thing or anything but it never felt like it came together. Some of that's probably just that I disdain quantum mechanics and theoretical physics and all this sci fi mumbo jumbo. It just makes no sense and then not making sense is the point? The cat is dead if you put poison in the box, Sheldon. And of course this is a silly retcon of a link to the franchise but that's not really important since its just shoved in there from a random movie. It was gonna be this movie anyway. There's some decent horrific moments and solid performances. And everything's basically fine. Its all basically fine. But the plot just feels so loose and silly that I never cared. Its also pretty derivative. Like this basically feels like a dumber Event Horizon. Which is saying something because Event Horizon is fairly dumb. But it also isn't trying to be more. Its famous scene is literally explaining a complicated theoretical physics concept with a grade school visual aid. And that's kind of the end of the science mumbo jumbo and they just go "opened a door to HELL!" And weirdly Paradox basically does that in an early forgettable cameo from Donal Logue and then just kind of drags through it anyway. So this is a dumber Event Horizon that thinks its smarter. And that always annoys me. When a movie really seems to think its being clever and its just not working. Look maybe that's my own disdain for sci fi or these concepts. But I love Event Horizon. Still this is much more sci fi than that or the other Cloverfields and maybe that's the problem. Or maybe its just not a very good movie. Its not like I'm calling out a cult classic here so I don't know why I'm being defensive about not really liking it. I guess I'm just imagining Sheldon Cooper getting mad at me. Its an entirely watcheable film but not much more.  - (115). The Thing (2011) Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.; Written by Eric Heisserer Watched on Netflix Wanted more Mary Elizabeth Winstead and at least this is better than Monster Island. I'd also only seen it once and I dunno, I was in the mood. And like its not terrible or anything. A lot of it is fine. There's too many characters who kind of just step over each other. And the film oddly sidelines some of the more recognizable characters for some time. Winstead is solid enough in the lead role but she's not really given the space to be an action lead or anything. For much of the film its basically dudes talking down to her and dismissing her. A smarter script probably could have done something with that but that's not what we're watching. Winstead works with what she's got, which isn't a ton and is completely humorless and charmless which is weird since she's a pretty charming and funny actor. And again, I don't think that's on her its just the film. And like you can be serious and dark and still kind of funny. Kurt Russel's character was. They just don't let Winstead be anything here except what the plot needs her to be as the protagonist. I think that's probably the biggest problem here. Its just not a very good script and it doesn't make the most of its characters and actors. But of course there's the CGI. And I'm not a CGI hater generally but it looks bad here. Maybe that's in part because you're grading it against the effects in the Carpenter film but hey, no one made them make a remake/requel/soft reboot/whatever. And the CGI just looks weird. Some of it just looks wonky and aged but also like there's just this weird way that the thing moves as a bipedal creature that just looks cartoonish or something. Its weird and not menacing. And then there's that weird matrix thing in the spaceship. That looked like the aliens were playing Asteroid. Its not the worst film or remake or reboot or anything. But its poorly worked. A better script, more practical effects, a tighter and more charming cast of characters. This could have been a lot better. It just isn't. But hey, the tease at the end of the film trying to link it directly to Carpenter's film made Mama Goat want to watch that. And any excuse to rewatch one of my favorite films of all time. So that's something.  84 (116). Venicephrenia (2021) Directed by Álex de la Iglesia; Written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría and Álex de la Iglesia A curious film. Not quite a giallo. Maybe a "neo giallo"? Its obviously got giallo sensibility. Set in Italy, slashing murders, police investigation not going anywhere, complicated plot motivation. Very complicated plot motivation. It goes off in a direction I wasn't expecting at all in a sort of political/social commentary way and resolves in a way that I'm not entirely sure what to make of. Also as far as giallo goes it lacks the sexual component. I mean there's incredibly beautiful women and then look good and the wear sexy outfits but its clearly not in the giallo sense. Its also very much in their ballpark. The women are the protagonists of the story, they're the driving forces of their group, and there's one scene in particular where they flat out spell out how men fear a strong or beautiful woman. In many ways it feels like its very subtly calling out the giallo treatment of women in this neo giallo format by not including that sex stuff but also kind of playing against it in a way. It looks gorgeous and I largely like the cast. The characters aren't the most likable people in the world but they're not that bad. They're idiot 20 something tourists. Loud, obnoxious, self absorbed. But they also seem decent enough and actually sort of give a crap about each other? I mean except the guys. Javi and the fiance are total assholes. But again maybe that's intentional? The women are very much our protagonists and the men are pretty useless. In a lot fo ways this echos Hostel especially in the first half of the films focusing on the element of losing your friend on a vacation in a foreign country and not knowing what to do as you can find no trace of him. But it differs very much in its energy since we don't have that early 2000s edgelord alpha douchebag Eli Roth vibe. Except for Javi. Shut the gently caress up, Javi. Your friend is missing. rear end in a top hat. To be honest what was even really the point of that "worst fiance in the world" plot? That was kind of weird and amounted to very little. I thought it was at least driving towards a story where they were heavily hinting Isa and Susana were in love. But that didn't go anywhere. Just the fiance being a dick. I dunno. Its an odd film. Very good looking and fairly intriguing mystery plot. A fair bit of gore and violence. Fuckers get beheaded in this. Its maybe a bit long and as I said I'm not entirely sure what to do with the ending. Giallo enthusiasts may love it or hate it. I'm not sure. I'm not sure what I think. I'd say I enjoyed it. I was engaged the whole way and I have no complaints. I guess I just need to be a bit more familiar with Venician tourism politics.  85 (117). Infinity Pool (2023) Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg If there's one thing 2020s horror has taught me its that if Mia Goth smiles at you you should run the other way no matter how much you might not want to. Its another great performance from Goth. Probably her most deranged one to date. And domineering. She so completely sells how much this diminutive young woman is in charge. In a foreign country, surrounded by rich and influential people twice her age. Gabi is clearly the center of the room and this group of hedonistic assholes who think they can do anything probably dare not do anything she wouldn't want them to do. Mia Goth will gently caress up your day. I don't know that Brandon Cronenberg is really my think, although I think I get him more than his dad. Both seem to have a kind of alienation from humanity pattern to their stuff? But while Daddy David seems to take that out on humanity itself with stories about horrific changes and brutalization of everyone Brandon seems to keep it pretty localized to some bad folks who lose their sense of self as a way to hide from their own guilt and sins. That seems like the common thread between this and Possessor? A murderer who has an out of body experience that forces her to worry about how her actions will come back on her family and in this case a privileged selfish rear end in a top hat who is given a fantastical and horrific way to escape responsibility for his terrible actions and gets all torn up when that doesn't turn out to be as clean and simple as it sounds. I guess that's probably my block from fully enjoying this stuff. At its core its about assholes struggling with their inability to get away scot free with murder... literally. Hard to empathize with or connect with. Skarsgard is good in the role but like gently caress that dude, right? I know not every needs to connect with a story or character like I do or need some kind of guiding principle or moral or something. Or just more driving narrative goal or something. This is about the weirdness and hedonism and shock and all that. Which is others thing which is cool. Cronenberg's clearly got a deeper theme going here but like I said its presented as privileged murderers wrestling with existential crisis of their existence or identity or sense of self or whatever. And like.... jerking off hand motion I guess. But its a pretty good film and Goth continues to be great. And Cronenberg is clearly a talented dude. And while I do think I'm enjoying him more than his dad I don't think I'm gonna really actively seek out his stuff. I actually mostly intended to skip this until I got on a Mia Goth kick. Which I guess means she's someone I'll check out a movie I might otherwise skip for. I was gonna end this month with a double feature of X and Pearl even but moved that up in case I ran out of time. But still a nice enough way to end this with another great Mia performance. Definitely taking over horror. And she's gonna be in Blade. If that ever gets made. That’s it. May’s over. I’m finally done. I feel so free! I went crazy but I had fun but its over now. Burn out here is your relief! 🌼💀Spook-a-Doodle Half-Way-to-Halloween ’23: Spring Cleaning💀🌼 Watched - New (Total) - (1). Scream (1996); 1 (2). The Invisible Man’s Revenge (1944); 2 (3). Viral (2016); - (4). Scream 2 (1997); 3 (5). Mostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House (2016); 4 (6). Man-Thing (2005); - (7). Vampires (1998); - (8). Vampires: Los Muertos (2002); 5 (9). Vampires: The Turning (2005); 6 (10). Evil Ed (1995); - (11). Scream 3 (2000); 7 (12). Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005); 8 (13). Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2017); - (14). Scream 4 (2011); - (15). Scream (2022); 9 (16). This Island Earth (1955); 10 (17). A Field in England (2013); 11 (18). Scream: The Inside Story (2011); 12 (19). Scream VI (2023); 13 (20). My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2022); - (21). Fright Night (2011); - (22). Brain Damage (1988); 14 (23). Fright Night Part 2 (1988); 15 (24)Children of the Corn (2020); 16 (25). The Signal (2014); 17 (26). The Mole People (1956); 18 (27). Mom and Dad (2017); 19 (28). Big Legend (2018); 20 (29). Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966); - (30). Extraterrestrial (2014); 21 (31). Blood Moon (2014); 22 (32). Son of Godzilla (1967); 23 (33). We Have a Ghost (2023); 24 (34). American Carnage (2022); 25 (35). The Rental (2020); 26 (36). Destroy All Monsters (1968); - (37). Hellraiser (2022); 27 (38). Oxygen (2021); 28 (39). The House (2022); - (40). Blacula (1972); 29 (41). Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2011); 30 (42). Night Teeth (2021); 31 (43). The Howling: Reborn (2011); - (44). Let Me In (2010); - (45). The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966); - (46). Hatchet (2006); 32 (47). Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008); 33 (48). Hatchet II (2010); - (49). Signs (2002); 34 (50). Evil Dead Rise (2023); 35 (51). Alice, Sweet Alice (1976); 36 (52). Incantation (2022); 37 (53). All Monsters Attack (1969); 38 (54). Critters Attack! (2019); 39 (55). Kids vs. Aliens (2022); 40 (56). Siren (2016); - (57). Duel (1971); - (58). Hatchet III (2013); 41 (59). Victor Crowley (2017); 42 (60). Mirrors (2008); 43 (61). Bloodrayne: The Third Reich (2010); 44 (62). Run Sweetheart Run (2020); 45 (63). Renfield (2023); 46 (64). Vampire's Kiss (1988); 47 (65). The Attic (2007); - (66). Monkey Shines (1988); - Crooked House (2008); - (67). I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997); - (68). Annihilation (2018); 48 (69). Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971); 49 (70). The Thing with Two Heads (1972); - (71). Night of the Creeps (1986); 50 (72). Slumber Party Massacre (2021); - (73). I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998); 51 (74). The Driller Killer (1979); 52 (75). Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972); - (76). Last Night in Soho (2021); 53 (77). The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre (2021); 54 (78). Santo vs. the Vampire Women (1962); 55 (79). I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006); 56 (80). Fall (2022); 57 (81). Invasion aka Infection (2005); 58 (82). Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973); - (83). The People Under The Stairs (1991); 59 (84). The Banana Splits Movie (2019); 60 (85). Sick (2022); 61 (86). The Whip and the Body (1963); 62 (87). Sun Don’t Shine (2012); 63 (88). Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974); 64 (89). The 9th Life of Louis Drax (2016); 65 (90). Bed Rest (2022); 66 (91). Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975); 67 (92). The Hunt (2020); 68 (93). Spree (2020); 69 (94). Ghosts of the Ozarks (2021); 70 (95). Something in the Dirt (2022); 71 (96). Under the Shadow (2016); 72 (97). Marrowbone (2017); 73 (98). The Pope’s Exorcist (2023); 74 (99). Three (2002); 75 (100). Men (2022); 76 (101). The Lair (2022); 77 (102). Doomsday (2008); - (103). X (2022); 78 (104). Pearl (2022); - (105). Deep Rising (1998); - (106). 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016); 78 (107). M (1931); 79 (108). Monster Island (2004); - (109). Cloverfield (2008); 80 (110). Hush (2008); 81 (111). Petey Wheatstraw (1977); 82 (112). Repulsion (1965); 83 (113). Bacurau (2019); - (114). The Cloverfield Paradox (2018); - (115). The Thing (2011); 84 (116). Venicephrenia (2021); 85 (117). Infinity Pool (2023) Return of the Fallen: 13/13 - Viral; Day of the Dead: Bloodline; My Best Friend’s Exorcism; The Signal; We Have a Ghost; Oxygen; Mega Python vs. Gatoroid; Mirrors; The Attic; Crooked House; Sun Don’t Shine; The 9th Life of Louis Drax; Something in the Dirt Completed Collections: 13/13 - The Invisible Man; Mostly Ghostly; John Carpenter’s Vampires; Scream; Children of the Corn; The Howling; Sleepaway Camp; Critters; Hatchet; Bloodrayne; I Know What You Did Last Summer; Godzilla (Showa Era); Three Extremes GMM Challenges: 13/13 - Day of the Dead: Bloodline (Challenge of the Dead); A Field in England (Horror High); Scream VI (Fresh Hell); Brain Damage (Second Chance); Children of the Corn ’20 (Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things); Big Legend (Tales from the Cryptids); American Carnage (Woke in Fright); The House (Drawn and Quartered); Incantation (Holy Terror); The Whip and the Body (It’s-a Me!); M or Repulsion (Shooting Zombies) Meta Challenges: History Lesson: 10/5 - M (1930s); The Invisible Man's Revenge (1940s); This Island Earth (1950s); Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1960s); Alice, Sweet Alice (1970s); Fright Night Part 2 (1980s); Evil Ed (1990s); Man Thing (2000s); Viral (2010s); Scream VI (2020s); Meta Challenges: Geography Lesson: 7/5 - The Invisible Man's Revenge (North America); Evil Ed (Europe); Man Thing (Australia/Oceania); Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (Asia); Under the Shadow (Middle East/Africa); Three (Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, etc); Bacurau (Central/South America)
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Jun 1, 2023 10:28
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Actually made it this year despite spendimg about a week on the road and/or abroad away from my usual means of watching movies. I think I managed a decently broad selection despite only watching the bare mininum. Might update this post with titlecard gifs if I have the time this weekend. 1. Fiend Without a Face (1958 dir. Arthur Crabtree) UK [GEOGRAPHY LESSON: EUROPE] 2. Occult (2009, dir. Koji Shirashi) Japan [HOLY TERROR] [GEOGRAPHY LESSON: ASIA [HISTORY LESSON: 2000s] 3. Boxer's Omen (1983, dir.Kuei Chih-Hung ) Hong-Kong [HISTORY LESSON: 1980s ] 4. Tourist Trap (1978, dir.David Schmoeller ) USA [GEOGRAPHY LESSON: NORTH AMERICA] 5. The New York Ripper (1982, dir. Lucio Fulci) Italy 6. Dream Demon (1988, dir. Harley Cokeliss) UK 7. Enys Men (2023, dir. Mark Jenkin) UK [FRESH HELL] 8. Santo vs. the Evil Brain (1961, dir.Joselito Rodríguez) Mexico/Cuba [GEOGRAPHY LESSON: CENTRAL/SOUTH-AMERICA] [HISTORY LESSON: 1960s ] 9. Pearl (2022, dir. Ti West) USA 10. Mystics in Bali (1981, dir. H. Tjut Djalil) Indonesia [GEOGRAPHY LESSON: SOUTHEAST ASIA] 11. Dante's Inferno (1911, dir. Giuseppe de Liguoro) Italy [HISTORY LESSON: 1910s ] 12. Zombies of Mora Tau (1957, dir. Edward L. Cahn) USA [HISTORY LESSON: 1950s ] 13. A Cold Night's Death (1973, dir. Jerrold Altman) USA, TV [HISTORY LESSON: 1970s ] FreudianSlippers fucked around with this message at 10:52 on Jun 1, 2023 |
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Jun 1, 2023 10:47
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STAC Goat posted:
The CGI looks bad because it is bad. The original plan was to go practical effects like the Carpenter original. If you google around, you can find some of the footage and it looks great. From what I've heard, one of the studio people decided practical effects was old and dated and insisted on putting in CGI to the degree that they had to CGI over the practical effects. I keep hoping that someday there will be a removed CGI cut released, but I have the sinking feeling that'll never happen.
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Jun 1, 2023 11:22
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#28 The Abominable Snowman (1957), first watch Peter Cushing and some other guys hike off into the Himalayas in search of the yeti. A bit of a miss for me; I guess I just wasn't in the right mood for it. I really enjoyed the snappy dialogue, everyone's just so forceful and direct. There's no bullshit; either they're moving things along, or you're learning something about the characters. The final turn, towards the revelation that Friend is in it for the money and willing to let the others die, is a bit predictable, but it's well-executed. The decision not to show the yeti they shoot like halfway through was baffling, but the final encounter, and the effect it has on Cushing, was memorable. Lacks the fun of his Hammer movies, but it's got some interesting pieces. This is my movie for Tales from the Cryptids2/5 #29 Sissy (2022), first watch No pic, watched through Shudder. An influencer, Cecilia, is invited along to a weekend at the house of the girl she disfigured many years before. Pretty good - a lot of fun, and mean as hell. It's got this interesting dynamic to it, that they also briefly touched on in that movie Bodies Bodies Bodies, where C is totally disconnected from her own ability to act upon the world, and is just going down the path of least resistance. And once she kills the first person, the path of least resistance becomes killing everyone. You're not watching a predator carefully plan things out, she just sort of improvises and half-asses her way through the whole thing, and it somehow works out. The hard part is the decision to act, and once that's done, the execution (heh) is easy. Which I found weirdly relatable. Kind of played-out as an allegory, but it works pretty well as a horror movie, which is the goal here after all. 3/5 #30 The Whip and the Body (1963), first watch  A wicked young nobleman is murdered, and everyone has a motive. More a mood piece than a plot movie. The house is a great set, dark and blue and dingey. The overall character dynamic has this fun reverse paranoia thing to it, where everyone is trying to be open and understanding and not put any pressure on the murderer, since they all basically agree Kurt had to die. All the tension comes from within. Speaking of Kurt, did they dub over Christopher Lee? He sounds different to every other performance of his I've seen, but it's also his youngest movie for me.  This movie is directed by Richard M. Old; the M stands for Mariobava, and so this is my submission for It's-a Me!3/5 #31 Infinity Pool (2023), first watch No pic, sorry. A troubled writer on holiday falls in with a set of wealthy freaks. Caught this at the movies! I was completely alone in the theatre somehow. Anyway, the movie ruled. It's part of a string of eat-the-rich horror (and horror-adjacent) movies in the last couple years. Some of them are funny and some are disgusted and some are dismissive; this one has, at its core, white-hot rage. The central sci-fi flourish, creating full-memory clones to be executed in your stead, is kind of brilliant. After all, if a person can treat strangers like cattle, and their own family as disposable, then why not do the same thing to someone who is essentially the same person as yourself? For a while, James is able to convince himself he's one of them; he's a guest at the resort too, after all. But it's a big club and he ain't in it - ultimately he's just as much prey as the locals are - maybe even moreso, since Gabi & co. take such an interest in him; a white Westerner is a special treat for them, I guess. Has a really unique look to it; the days are all kind of blinding and sunstruck. Everything is subdued while the sun is up. 4/5 SUMMARY 1. Horror High: Bliss (2019) 2. Tales from the Cryptids: The Abominable Snowman (1957) 3. Holy Terror: Clearcut (1991) 4. Fresh Hell: Evil Dead Rise (2023) 5. Shooting Zombies: Nosferatu (1922) 6. Drawn and Quartered: MAD GOD (2021) 7. Woke in Fright: Knife+Heart (2018) 8. Second Chance: The Fog (1980) 9. Challenge of the Dead: Land of the Dead (2005) 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things: Kill, Baby, Kill! (1966) 11. It's-a Me!: The Whip and the Body (1963) 12. History Lesson: (first one only)
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Jun 1, 2023 11:23
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Class3KillStorm posted:#25. Orphan: First Kill (2022) (Amazon Prime) God, this movie is ridiculous and I love it. It also has one of my all-time favourite needledrops in Michael Sembello's Maniac when Esther steals the car. Absolutely nails the tone. And Isabelle Fuhrman has said she's totally down to make as many more of those movies as they'll let her, which is only gonna make the entire conceit funnier over time. Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 12:57 on Jun 1, 2023 |
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Jun 1, 2023 12:51
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W-W-W-W-Wrap up! I pledged to watch 13 movies, I did and then I watched 8 more. All Challenges complete 1: Horror High: Naked Lunch 2: Tales from the Cryptids: Mothman Prophecies (because of mothman) 3. Holy Terror: Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya (because of Shinto) 4. Fresh Hell: M3gan 5. Shooting Zombies: Dawn of the Dead 6. Drawn and Quartered: The Spine of Night 7. Woke in Fright: Gaia 8. Second Chance: As Above So Below 9. Challenge of the Dead: Juan of the Dead 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things: Beware! Children at Play 11. It's-a Me!: An Angel for Satan 12. History lesson: 1960s (An Angel for Satan) 1970s (Shivers)1980s (Beware! Children at Play)1990s (The Relic) 2000s (The Mothman Prophecies) 2010s (Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya) 2020s (Scream) 13. Geography Lesson: North America (The Relic) Canada (Shivers) Europe (An Angel for Satan) Asia (Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 05: Preface True Story Of The Ghost Of Yotsuya) Africa (Gaia) Latin America (Juan of the Dead) Best new watches: M3gan, Beware Children at Play, Dawn of the Dead Worst new watches: House at the End of the Street, Gaia Biggest surprises: Beware Children at Play actually being fun outside of the infamous massacre scene, finding out RLM got their BGM from Dawn of the Dead 
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Jun 1, 2023 14:08
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Surprised myself with how my month was going, and then surprised myself again right at the end. Thought I wouldn't be able to get my personal goal of 13 done, and it'll be debated if I did, but gently caress it, I only do the numbers part of the challenge aspect traditionally anyway, so I say I did  12. Critters: A New Binge  Dailymotion First, finding this at all was a nightmare, so props to the person who put this on Dailymotion a few months ago. gently caress streaming services, gently caress Zaslav and advocates for this era and the era of deleting history for Content, yall are dead for life to me. Also Trakt and Letterboxd both list this as a movie in its full presentation, so so will I, at around 70 minutes total. Same as my thirteenth listing pre-credits Onto the actual product now. Critters: A New Binge is an update to the Critters franchise where the Crites try to find one of their own; a small-town family of 2 and the kid's friends get caught in the crossfires for the most insane of reasons. I didn't see the twist coming until like minutes before (binging was my downfall here because I really don't remember if it was the same episode as the reveal or a different "episode") and brushed it off as "nah there's no way". It hit. It ruled This isn't great. But it's funny and dumb and it's entertaining during the times when those aspects collide. I have a blind spot with the franchise, the only film I've seen was Attack! a few months after this premiered on Shudder, so I obviously need to go through it all at some point, but I had essentially the same experience. It didn't work often, but there's a charm present when it did that makes me get why this franchise hasn't fully disappeared (despite streaming exec/robber baron/scumbag's best efforts to do that to history under the guise of it being "just content"). I don't think I'll ever manage to appreciate Critters the way I love Tremors, which I feel does those aspects better and with more heart, but I get it 13. The Barn Part 2  Screambox I haven't seen the first one (yet) but a quick recap is done via campfire story plus flashbacks at the beginning, so I felt caught up to speed enough I didn't completely regret just diving into this one. In the aftermath of a devastation to a small town community caused by a group of kids awakening evil in an abandoned barn, a survivor and a sorority try to pick up the pieces years later, keep the spirit of Halloween alive and hold a haunted house party in the victims' honor. The trouble is they're not the only ones returning... Cheesy, bloody and super silly, all aspects that can do a lot to win me over. The final third is where things kinda fall apart in the not-good way that doesn't do enough to sink it for me completely, but still has me recommending something like The Third Saturday in October films over it. Maybe someday I'll double feature both The Barns and come out with a better opinion of it though! 13/13 (Beau is Afraid, From Black, Enys Men, Fear 2023, Renfield, Malum, The Devil's Doorway, Outpost 2023, Creepypasta, Influencer 2023, Employee of the Month 2023, Critters: A New Binge, The Barn Part 2) I'll be back in October and as much as work or life may try to make me struggle two horror challenges in a row, I'm going to make time to get another 13 (minimum) done then too. Already have plans for at least 3 in theaters: new Exorcist, new Saw, and Five Nights at Freddy's
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Jun 1, 2023 14:14
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 15. Influencer (2022) (dir. Kurtis David Harder) Shudder Fresh Hell - (listed as 2022 but didn't actually get released until this year)I've been really busy this week (watched this on Monday actually) and haven't had time for a proper write up, so I'll just say this was a really solid thriller with some spot on commentary about social media and influencers. 4 followers out of 5 Total: 15 Watched: Lokis, a Manuscript of Professor Wittembach | The Manitou (Challenge #3) | Spoonful of Sugar (Challenge #1) | Faust (Challenge #5) | The Medium | Ringu (Challenge #8) | The Boxer's Omen | Magic (Challenge #10) | Clearcut (Challenge #7) | The Meg (Challenge #2) | The Suspicious Death of a Minor (Challenge #11) | Birth of the Living Dead (Challenge #9) | Angel's Egg (Challenge #6) | Gaia | Influencer (Challenge #4) Challenges: History Lesson: 6/5 - 1920s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2010s, 2020s Geography Lesson: 5/5 - Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, Asia, Africa
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Jun 1, 2023 15:05
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Got a couple of bonus flicks in before the deadline. Getting my reviews in now, recap post forthcoming. 17. Triangle (2009) (first viewing) (watched via AMC+/Shudder)  Our protagonist is Jess (Melissa George), a frazzled single mother who's snuck away for a day trip on a yacht with some friends. She shows up with a palpable sense of dread and, indeed, when they hit the open sea a sudden, massive storm capsizes the boat and strands them. They're adrift until an ocean liner happens by, but the ship is abandoned, and Jess starts having awful feelings of deja vu. This one is pretty hard to discuss without going into spoilers, so before I get into specifics I'll just say this was an enjoyable ride in terms of figuring out the mystery and the mechanics of what was going on, although it's not as tightly plotted as it could have been. I would be curious to rewatch it sometime going in with foreknowledge of what's happening to see how it holds up logistically as well as thematically. OK, into spoilers. What we have here is a good old-fashioned time loop. Jess's friends are being picked off one by one by a masked a killer, who is eventually revealed as... the Jess from another timeline. Future Jess warns herself that the only way to break the cycle is to kill everyone onboard the ocean liner, and soon the Jess we've been following finds herself repeating the events she's seen later in the time loop. The complications build as it becomes unclear how much agency Jess really has here, and the movie ends with a final layer--this series of events leads with the death of her son, and she deliberately re-enters the time loop in an attempt to correct the timeline. Who knows how many times she's repeated this? The ending of the movie retroactively adds some extra oomph and emotional stakes, which would inform a rewatch. On its own, the time loop gimmick leads to some pretty cool images--there's a wonderful sequence where a character who is bleeding out stumbles off to find a place to die, only to come across piles of her own corpse from other timelines--but this approach isn't consistent. Nitpicking isn't the point, except to say that when it comes to having a super-tight grasp on temporal mechanics, this ain't Primer. But I'll probably come back to this one sometime just to watch it through a more informed lens. 18. It Follows (2014) (rewatch) (watched on Blu-ray)  Ending this month's challenge with an old favorite. The front of my Blu-ray proudly proclaims "The best horror movie in over a decade." Well, we just inventoried the best horror movies of the century over in the main horror thread, and I definitely agree that It Follows is my favorite thing that came along in at least a decade. I saw it three times in the theater and keep coming back. I'll assume you've seen it--correct this if you haven't--and dispense with any plot summary. On this rewatch, I really enjoyed keeping track of all the anachronisms that make the film feel strangely displaced from time. The victim in the opening segment uses a cell phone, and of course one of the characters has the infamous clamshell smartphone, yet they're watching '50s sci-fi movies on a rabbit-eared, wood-panel TV set (that's on top of a bigger TV set). The film score is straight '80s synth stuff, yet the characters go see an Audrey Hepburn movie at an old-fashioned theater that still has an organist. One character struts around in a jean jacket smoking pot like a '70s high school burnout. I think keeping the movie unstuck from time is an interesting aspect of the universal themes regarding the loss of innocence and moving into adulthood. My Blu-ray is from the time of release, so it's sadly a bit skimpy on features. The only commentary track is from a critic, which is always hit or miss, although I'd be curious to see what they have to say about these observations. Still one of my favorite films of the past ten years. --- CHALLENGES: 1. Horror High--A Field in England (2013) 2. Tales from the Cryptids--Suburban Sasquatch (2004) 3. Holy Terror--Satan's Slaves (2017) 4. Fresh Hell--Evil Dead Rise (2023) 5. Shooting Zombies--Ringu (1998) 6. Drawn and Quartered--Mad God (2021) 7. Woke in Fright--Knife+Heart (2018) 8. Second Chance--Don't Look Now (1973) 9. Challenge of the Dead--City of the Living Dead (1980) 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things--Dolls (1987) 11. It's-a Me!--Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) 12. History Lesson (6/5 completed)--The Shout (1978) ('70s); Dolls (1987) ('80s); The Fear (1995) ('90s); Suburban Sasquatch (2004) ('00s); A Field in England (2013) (2010s); Pearl (2022) (2020s) 13. Geography Lesson (5/5 completed)--The Fear (1995) (North America via USA); The Shout (1978) (Europe via UK); Ringu (1998) (Asia via Japan); Satan's Slaves (2017) (Southeast Asia via Indonesia); The Last Matinee (2020) (South America via Uruguay/Argentina)
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Jun 1, 2023 15:12
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I watched 1. Leprechaun returns 2. People under the stairs
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Jun 1, 2023 15:18
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MAY CHALLENGE 2023 RECAP A hearty thank you to gey muckle mowser for organizing this heading this up. This was a pretty fun batch of challenges, too. The "Woke in Fright" title is inspired, still smiling at that one. And thanks to everyone who posted in this thread, whether you went in hard and watched dozens or movies or just added a little chatter, it's always a blast seeing people react to the reviews and bounce off of each other. I was able to complete all 13 challenges, and add in a few extra movies on top of that. Highlights: I was very glad to finally get caught up with Pearl, which is probably my second favorite Ti West second only to House of the Devil (and, hell, who knows if it gains steam with rewatches). The Fear and Suburban Sasquatch are excellent entries into my schlock/b-movie canon. And I never make enough time to revisit favorites during these challenges, but I'm glad I carved out time for It Follows. Lowlights: You know, I certainly had criticisms of some of the films I watched, but this time around I can say I honestly didn't watch anything that was a total slog or made me angry. I'm letting this batch off without any demerits on the record. CHALLENGES: 1. Horror High--A Field in England (2013) 2. Tales from the Cryptids--Suburban Sasquatch (2004) 3. Holy Terror--Satan's Slaves (2017) 4. Fresh Hell--Evil Dead Rise (2023) 5. Shooting Zombies--Ringu (1998) 6. Drawn and Quartered--Mad God (2021) 7. Woke in Fright--Knife+Heart (2018) 8. Second Chance--Don't Look Now (1973) 9. Challenge of the Dead--City of the Living Dead (1980) 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things--Dolls (1987) 11. It's-a Me!--Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) 12. History Lesson (6/5 completed)--The Shout (1978) ('70s); Dolls (1987) ('80s); The Fear (1995) ('90s); Suburban Sasquatch (2004) ('00s); A Field in England (2013) (2010s); Pearl (2022) (2020s) 13. Geography Lesson (5/5 completed)--The Fear (1995) (North America via USA); The Shout (1978) (Europe via UK); Ringu (1998) (Asia via Japan); Satan's Slaves (2017) (Southeast Asia via Indonesia); The Last Matinee (2020) (South America via Uruguay/Argentina) Movies Watched (18 total): The Fear (1995); Pearl (2022); The Shout (1978); Ringu (1998); Dolls (1987); City of the Living Dead (1980); A Field in England (2013); Satan's Slaves (2017); Evil Dead Rise (2023); Suburban Sasquatch (2004); Knife+Heart (2018); Don't Look Now (1973); Mad God (2021); Death's Roulette (2023); The Last Matinee (2020); Don't Torture a Duckling (1972); Triangle (2009); It Follows (2014)
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Jun 1, 2023 15:28
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Crescent Wrench posted:17. Triangle (2009) (first viewing) Feel free to give it a rewatch before reading this to see if you can piece it together, but Triangle is one of my GOATs because (massive ending+rewatch spoilers) "time loop" is just what it wants you to think until the end, where it turns out that Jess and her kid are loving dead. The beginning of the movie at the house actually happened, as did the car sequence+crash at the end, and they died. The part where Jess abuses her kid also happened, but the movie hides this from you until the end because it wants her to be a sympathetic character on a first watch. But in death Jess refuses to accept responsibility for her actions and let go, so she keeps trying to cheat Death to get her son back. Hence the story of Sisyphus. The cab driver at the end is literally Charon. When she says "that wasn't Mommy" in the car, that's not because the version of her that hit her kid was an evil clone or anything, it's because she refuses to accept that that WAS her and this is all her fault. So back into the loop she goes.
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Jun 1, 2023 15:35
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Crescent Wrench posted:A hearty thank you to gey muckle mowser for organizing this heading this up. This was a pretty fun batch of challenges, too. The "Woke in Fright" title is inspired, still smiling at that one. Yeah I was proud of that one, haha. I'm glad people seemed to like the challenges in general, I put some effort in to avoid overlap with the challenges Fran tends to use in October. Which is hard when Spooky Bingo has 36 of them.
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Jun 1, 2023 15:36
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