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In with two down so far. Will do some small write ups later.
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Apr 29, 2023 00:08
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 14:44 |
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https://boxd.it/mx3DU Only have added what I’ve watched today. Will probably spend some time combing through my last few lists for these and put what I didn’t end up watching on here. Really aiming for more new to me stuff than rewatches, but I already know The Thing is gunna happen, at least 1 Romero dead movie, probably some Carpenter and Cronenberg (well more) and some 4K upgrades happening in May.
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Apr 29, 2023 05:49
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Lol I scraped all my previous lists for movies I didnt watch and compiled them into this new one... https://letterboxd.com/dorium/list/halfway-to-spookums/ 263 This will at least make it easier to just clone the list in October, remove what I've watched and just continue where I'll leave off at the end of May in October.
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Apr 29, 2023 20:08
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 1. The Last Broadcast [1998] FW This was a real struggle to push through. I loathed the narrators voice so there's like 70% of the entire movie right there. Then the story felt so cobbled together and unfocused I kept wanting something to hold onto, but it never came and never got anymore interesting than "oh yeah I guess this came out before The Blair Witch Project" but there's a reason why it gets passed over in discussion usually about found footage films. It's boring as hell and worth forgetting. One and a Half  's 2. Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge [2022] FW Looking back at my previous rating for the first one last year I only gave it 1 and a half ghosts. This one has Harry from Mad Men and like a couple more chuckles than the lame duck first one so I gave this one two guillotines this time. Still just as tedious and unfunny as the first, but occasionally there was something there. Everyone's a comedian, but not everyone is funny. This is proof of that. Should've been a 30 minute Youtube short. Two 's 3. Naked Lunch [1991] FW I got the go ahead that this does indeed count as a spookums, so I watched Naked Lunch. What a picture! I had no idea what was going on sometimes, but I was enthralled. It definitely has this sub-surface level of dread and palpable mania that is crawling under your skin scratching at your muscle and bone. What should've been unfilmable still largely is, but when you adapt something like this Cronenberg made the right call in bringing in these other elements of profound real life moments that create this foundation for some hard fantasy / drug induced mania, but all the while reminding you that inside of this is the need to create and find your voice in the murkiness of your life. It's a fever dream you need to let sweep you away. Four 's 4. Sorority House Massacre [1986] RW One I've wanted to add to my physical media collection for awhile and I'm glad I finally did. I really love this movie. It's a Corman production so so many things could be fleshed out both in the script and in the general production, but it does so much with so little that's available and does it with panache! The psionic-twin aspect is a lot of fun, the shallow but interesting play in trauma and facing your demons is worth a lot in this movie and helps build a solid foundation that brings up its quality quite a bit. Just a very interesting little time capsule and a good buddy to Slumber Party Massacre / House on Sorority Row. A real trifecta of co-ed slashers. Three and a Half 's 5. Knife + Heart [2018] FW What a rad little movie. Glad I ended up blind-buying it back during the last VS sale because i would've kicked myself if I didnt now. Just exceptionally well made and structured. Looks crazy good, has great atmosphere and a razor sharp tension to it that you absolutely need in a giallo experience that if it isnt there you're left with a flaccid mess of a movie. Great picture! Four 's 6. Evil Dead Rise [2023] FW This really ended up being a lot of fun and mean. The right amount of those two in an Evil Dead movie is tough to get right and even if I were to have minor quibbles with it here and there (not enough time with the family, lack of cool catch phrases, let me see that hallway scene outside of a peep hole please) it still hit all the right creepy notes, but also that acidicly dark humor was just pitch perfect. Looking forward to revisiting this one in the future in a big marathon of the ED movies. Four 's 7. Shaun of the Dead [2004] RW It's a classic and it had been a minute since I put it on, but its always nice catching up with the chum's from the Winchester. Still such great big beats of excitement, creepiness and drama. It's a real perfect example of how the zombie genre has now lost its way. There's a real nice through line of filmmakers and show runners missing so many big beats on what makes and could make a zombie picture hit more than just maudlin drama or gore-fests. there is a balance and flow in combining these elements in very human ways that have been sorely lacking in all the zombie content to come since 2004. We're left to float in the morass of the terrible Walking Dead's or The Last of Us' when we could be doing so much better than that. So much better. Five 's
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Apr 30, 2023 16:39
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Gunna need a master list for the "of the dead" "living dead" challenge because knowing me I did that a personal challenge already, but I'll recognize by name!
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May 2, 2023 03:55
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 8. Pulse [2001] FW [SHOOTING ZOMBIES] I had initially mistaken this one for the american one for some reason. Glad I went ahead and grabbed the blu-ray when it was $10 because what a flick. A bit too long here and there, easily could've been 90 minutes, maybe 100 minutes total, but overall its got the right vibes and the right imagery of an early internet where people still dont know what is going on with this new tech and the allure of where you can go with it. I mean now we still dont know anything about this new tech, we entrusted it far too much and now its completely destroying more lives than a bunch of ghosts would. Honestly I'd take the ghosts and being occasionally lonely than all of the nazi's. Three and a Half  's 9. Altered [2006] FW [HISTORY LESSON 1] This one really tested my patience a bit. The characters all kinda sucked, I didnt really get what their motives were or why this lone alien seemingly let itself get caught and then it kinda escalated in the most flat way possible. It felt like an optical illusion where you think you're about the start climbing the tracks in a roller coaster, but you're actually still just going in a straight flat line, its just a delusion of exhaustion hitting you and the heat of the sun baking your brain. I liked the gore in this at least so that was neat and I really liked the alien design in this one. Those were the high points for me, but otherwise it needed better actors (tho the surprise James Gammon appearance was appreciated), screenplay and score. Two and a Half 's 10. Cyst [2020] FW [HISTORY LESSON 2] What a fun little goopy movie that I think overall worked really really well. You could feel the low budge but that's alright its just so charming and effectively done that it works in spite of that and was just a lot of fun. at a little over 60 minutes its very recommended. Three 's 11. Ferat Vampire [1982] FW [GEOGRAPHY LESSON 1] One I had never heard of, but it was on my list so I checked it out. It's a bit of a head scratcher on motivations, but the lurid and murky ambitions of the antagonists is so interesting and alluring. I liked the idea of a car that harvest blood from its drivers and drives them into mania, but there was some fleshing out on the side of the protagonists that was needed. I think it was my first flick from Yugoslavia too so it was interesting seeing how they interpret the lore of a vampire and it felt very future focused especially when you look at shows like Blood Drive. Three 's 12. Hellraiser: Inferno [2000] FW This was a slog and a half, but what I ultimately thinks save it is that everyone in the movie kinda deserves what they get even though the editing really let this movie down totally and thoroughly and I know they're going for this fever dream effect with the detective and I can see pieces of that Scott Derrickson directorial trademarks here and there its just a really flat experience overall unfortunately. the gore is fun here and there and its thankfully only a merciful 90+ minutes so it wasnt a complete killer of time, but these Hellraiser sequels are dire. Two 's 13. Renfield [2023] FW [FRESH HELL] This was surprisingly solid. Awkwafina wasnt annoying as gently caress like she is in basically everything else shes done, Nicholas Hoult was entertaining and Cage was obviously loving every minute of it. Even a surprise Shohreh Aghdashloo appearance! The script was flat, the comedy didnt hit as well as I think they wanted it to, but otherwise the gore, the cast and the pace felt right. I really liked the set design for this too, everything felt very sumptuous and interesting to look at. An enjoyable time. Three 's 14. My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To [2020] FW Now this one took me by surprise. I know this one sorta blew up in the main thread when it first dropped but then I just didnt check it out for 3 year, but now I did and now I love it. It's a very hard family drama with underpinnings of horror built into it and I think it largely works as this slice of life sort of story and its very depressing and sad. It's also incredibly effective at the story its telling, conservative in its runtime and in its screenplay and very visceral in its emotions. one of the first high points of the month. Four 's 15. Hellraiser: Hellseeker [2002] FW Dennis Duffy meets Kirsty from the first two movies and he Dennis's his way into hell.  Terrible. Good gore shots here and there. One 's 16. Inseminoid [1981] FW [HISTORY LESSON 3] I was ready for this one to be a decent Alien rip-off, but what we got instead was a bad Alien rip-off with a bit of Basket Case, some desperately need to be used as porno sets and some really bad characterization. I really wanted this one to work, but then it just farted out an alien and some stupid rear end characters. You know who woulda done this one right and did sorta do it right with Creepazoids? David DeCoteau, at least we woulda got some hot men and women sorta rubbing on each other before they melt into aliens or get eviscerated by a dumb alien puppet. This was just boring. One and a Half 's 17. Night of the Demons 2 [1994] FW [HISTORY LESSON 4] Pretty decent overall, but not as good as the first. It's a clear step down even though we get a very early Christine Taylor which is a lot of fun seeing her play the type she usually plays in a horror movie, but otherwise it was maybe in need of a bit of a cut down. I think this would've been much more better if it were snappier and got to the goods (tho even those are sorta wanting for more goopy-ness) otherwise a decent time. It's hard to live up to the original. Three 's 18. The Thing [1982] It's The Thing. It rocks. I watched it with the commentary this time and its like watching it with your two friends who actually worked on the movie. Just a solid dudes rockin' time. Highly recommended. Five 's
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May 4, 2023 19:29
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 19. Monkey Shines [1988] FW I think George has something in this one, but just the overall length of the film really does bring it down for me quite a bit. We're living too much in these scenes that should draw frustration and tie us in with our lead some more, but its more like I'm bored trying to figure out why we're still here. The tedium I imagine was the point, but it works against the film constantly and all I kept imagining was a slightly shorter and tightened up story that got to the meat a lot more succinctly than it does currently. It's got some solid monkey camera magic and a fairly honest way of portraying the paralyzed and how they deal with a multitude of life issues, but picking up the pace might've helped just to get to the shinning a lot more sooner. Two and a Half 's 20. Unfriended [2014] RW Had a weird hankering to return to these two and they still largely hold up even if the actors in this first one are not that great and the ghost in the machine story feeling extra hokey compared to the real world horrors that exist already on the internet, but its still incredibly effective at generating these large bursts of emotion and fright, but then we're kinda stuck with these very unlikable characters which works for the story. Still pretty good, not great or even solid, but I think the next one really brings it up to where it should be. Two and a Half 's 21. Unfriended: Dark Web [2018] RW A lot more structured and interesting than the first one with at least a handful of characters that you care about and the underpinnings of something far more nefarious going on that you leave feeling intrigued and a bit frightened at the thought of how it would take much organization to keep this game going. You can draw all sorts of parallels from different cases about Swatting, revenge porn, gang-stalking, serial killer groups and good ol' fashioned online cyber bullying. The movie just works really well out of the box. Three 's 22. There Are Monsters [2013] FW I forget why I watched this one, but man just a bit of a snoozer. Some neat ideas here and there and some effective camera work ever so often, but otherwise you really feel both the budget and the talent on screen trying to shoot past where they're at, but it just doesnt work most of the time. It's not even a long movie, but I had to keep checking my watch at the time I was waiting to just move on. Interesting ideas that I think could be fleshed out some more, but that's about it. Two 's 23. The Cat [1992] FW Now this was a left field choice, but I'm glad I did because what a weird loving movie. There's tons of goop, big monsters, weird fights, gangsters being turned into silly putty and a heroic dog that's going to come up against its most powerful enemy, The Cat! less said the better for this one. Just a real weird time worth checking out if you can find it. Three 's 24. The Changeling [1980] FW [Geography Lesson] First time watching this one and its a classic! George C. Scott has never been better. the twists and turns this one takes and the full commitment to making this an honest to god ghost story really ratchets things up in meaningful and purposeful ways that just enhances everything going forward. Super good and adding this one to my media collection very soon. Five 's 25. Darkroom [1989] FW A bit too dry for my tastes and the low budget is definitely felt, but there's some funny little performances in here with a pretty good setup though the rest of the cast you're following is kinda not great. It's a slasher that should have more going for it, but is really held back by the overall production. Two 's 26. The Pope's Exorcist [2023] FW *This review is done in the accent Russell Crowe is doing* Much like a pizza, the way this movie comes together is in multiple layers that shouldnt work as well as they do, but then at the end all of a sudden you havea delicious pizza pie! Three and a Half 's 27. What The Peeper Saw [1971] FW [Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things] [History Lesson] I thought this was an evil kids movie and it sorta is, but the lady who is looking into the evil kid is also sorta turned on by him? and the kid fondles the step-mother and the step-mother strips down naked for the kid hoping to get the information she wants out of him. Then it has the greatest ending ever put to film. One and a Half 's 28. Prince of Darkness [1987] FW A stone cold classic that is like pulling out a group of friends who are doomed, but ya gotta watch the journey every time. I ended up watching this with Commentary on just for fun and it was! Five 's 29. Get The Hell Out [2020] FW [Get The Hell Out] I expected better, but it wasnt bad. It felt very very very style over substance, but that style even feels about a decade too late. I half expected a ninja, pirate and big foot to come out and help the day with nyan-cat making an appearance and some wacky character to acknowledge how crazy this all is. Again, not bad but not great but sorta good? I dunno. I wish there was more characterization and foundation to everything besides "what sounds cool right now?" which sometimes works and i think the third act is strong even if the ending is a bit of a wet fart. It was fine. Two and a Half 's 30. World War Z [2013] RW It's still amazing this thing exists. its purely out of this being the pinnacle of the zombie genre basically overshooting by a mile with a budget that didnt need to be this big, a scope that is unwieldy and effects that are kinda cool. It's not an adaptation at all which now a decade later is fine. we were only going to get a proper adaptation if someone wanted to pony up the cash for a 10 part Ken Burns style mini-series based directly on the book. this is just someone hot potato-ing this IP for too long until it was ready to pop but then what came out was a well enough put together movie, that is definitely too long, but filled with some of the dumbest poo poo possible that I barely feel the runtime. I'm either dumbstruck or awe-struck. no in between. Three 's 31. The Mothman Prophecies [2002] FW [Tales from the Cryptids] Boring is a strong word, but jesus christ i was checking my watch every 5 minutes thinking 20 had passed. there's some good vibes in here that a shorter runtime would've really befitted from, Gere is kinda cool being this unwieldy but he should've went even further with it. I was just grasping at anything though hoping something would happen and then we get to the third act and something finally does and its like OK. The movie is OK. Two and a Half 's 32. Blood Games [1990] FW I actually ended up liking this one kind of a lot and will probably go ahead and grab the physical sometime soon. The SA stuff was a bit much, but it plays into the genre at the time and it is what it is. The women do get their big payback and the dudes all get eviscerated so its at least got that going for it. Those dudes all deserved what they got and the movie doesnt mind making sure you know that for certain. Three and a Half 's
dorium fucked around with this message at 21:44 on May 16, 2023 |
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May 16, 2023 06:37
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 14:44 |
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 33. Nightmare Sisters [1988] RW It's a David deCoteau CLASSIC! It's real hard to be horny demon babes, bumbling nerds, sorority jocks getting their comeuppance and that ultra dirty low budget 80's feel. Listened to the commentary this time and it was David and Linnea just having a good time shooting the poo poo about the production and talking about people that arent really around anymore. Four  34. Kill Her Goats [2023] FW Lotta tits. Whole lotta tits. Not much movie, but a whole lot of tits. One and a half  35. The Manitou [1978] FW This one is definitely a weird one. I kinda just chose it at random and didnt know what I was getting myself into, but it was a San Francisco treat to have a surprise SF movie and then it had weird demons from native origins and then a kinda cool third act with all the special effects and stuff. Not bad, but a bit stilted and too long, but that third act really pulls it together in weird ways. Two and a half  36. Kids vs Aliens [2022] FW Not bad. That boxart is pretty dire, but once the movie started cooking it turned out to be a real throwback to some 80's kid horror adventure pics. They even got kid death which rules! Three  37. The Lost Episode [2011] FW Michael Rooker apparently directed this. I hope he thinks it was worth it. Half a  38. Video Violence [1987] FW I was ready for this one not to do anything for me, but dammit if it didnt win me over completely at the end with it's ending and the reasoning behind it all. One of the better SOV films I've seen. Three  39. Targets [1968] RW A classic paranoia thriller, too poignant and very very well done picture from Bogdonavich. Five  40. Berserker [1987] FW I was on board on paper and some parts worked fairly well for me, but otherwise it was super flat and by the books. I did enjoy the bear fight though and like I said there was some good stuff in here that worked well, but otherwise it was flat. Could've been the acting, could've been the script, the direction or the awkward tone going on that never found its footing. It just didnt have that thing to really make it spin. Two and a half  41. She Dies Tomorrow [2020] FW Really loved this one. I kept waiting for that leap in logic, but the logic of this movie is extremely existential and combative with your perception of the world and of yourself. Sometimes it might have felt like it was about to trip over itself and become absurd, but I was right there with the characters lock-step and wanted to continue this journey. A very interesting movie. Four  42. Man's Best Friend [1993] FW Cheesy, weird, dumb and kinda entertaining. It moved at a steady pace so I was never truly upset with the movie and it did go to some fun places with the tree gag and the unfortunate demise of a mail man. I thought it worked! Two and a half  43. WNUF Halloween Special [2013] RW I really disliked this one initially, but I've come around to it. So much so that I bought it on blu-ray so that definitely must be a sign im fully on board with the pastiche of the 80's/90's its invoking and doing a good job with it. Three  44. Hellraiser: Deader [2005] FW Not as bad as the last one, but this one was also dog poo poo. One  45. Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout [1990] FW I love Linnea, I love exercise and I love horror, but I didnt fully love what this was going for. I did really enjoy the clip show of her career thing she went with and it works for the most part, but it starts to fall apart here and there at the seams. It's a bit shabby, but I bet it would work a lot better with a crowd. Two and a half  46. Malum [2023] FW I didnt even know this was a remake of the directors first feature, but so it was. I like this one a fair amount. Some excellent build up and tension, with a bit of a soft ending that I didnt think they knew where they were going with it overall. The lead was great and so was the first half of the movie. There was just something a bit more visceral I guess that I needed from this cult/ghost/monster movie. Dunno, I might give this one another go in the future because its a great premise. Three I'll be back to fill things in. dorium fucked around with this message at 23:58 on Jun 2, 2023 |
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Jun 1, 2023 16:59
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