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In for 13, might get to 31 but not being certain on that. For once, release delays work in my favour, since it means I can go see Beau Is Afraid and count it. After seeing Evil Dead Rise, I've got a real hankering for some possession movies, so I'm gonna be leaning especially (but not exclusively, due to challenges0 toward them.
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Apr 29, 2023 02:15
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 09:09 |
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1. The Borderlands/Final Prayer (US title) (2013) British found-footage following a team investigating a report of a miracle in a rural village church. Surprisingly great! Some genuinely pretty creepy stuff, and the dynamic between the main three characters is really well-written and natural. Almost a sitcom vibe between them, in a good way. It's the kind of movie that benefits from a low budget, because a lot of the scares are done using fairly mundane stuff, it almost feels like a student film with a lot of polishing. A loving fantastic ending too, which is rare for found footage. 4 out of 5! Watched so far: The Borderlands Total: 1/13 Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Apr 29, 2023 |
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Apr 29, 2023 15:46
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A True Jar Jar Fan posted:Perfect opportunity to watch a whole bunch of Universal Monsters classics After I put off watching it for so long, I'm evangelical about people watching The Invisible Man (1933) which might be a perfect movie.
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Apr 29, 2023 17:41
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Yeah, that's a really cool set of challenges. Already got a few in mind to check off starting tomorrow!
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May 2, 2023 01:33
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2. Nosferatu (1922) Finally, a massive blindspot for me filled in, thank you challenges. Anyway, it's as fantastic as its reputation suggests! I can only imagine how frightening it'd have been in 1922, because plenty of it is still pretty eerie now. Max Schreck's Count Orlok is iconic for a reason, there's no way a look and a performance that good could be anything but. I watched the BFI version, which also includes a genuinely beautiful score. I'm always surprised by movies this old being paced as quick as they are, there's zero filler, all straight to the point. I'm glad I finally got around to watching this just because it's obviously so influential, I feel like I've missed hundreds of callbacks and allusions to this in other movies. Counts for challenge #5: Shooting Zombies and meta-challenge History Lesson (1920s) Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies) Total: 2/13 Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 15:20 on May 2, 2023 |
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May 2, 2023 14:45
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For the sake of the "Tales from the Cryptids" challenge, do aliens count as cryptids?
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May 2, 2023 17:04
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3. Shed of the Dead (2019) Gave it a shot just to fill in the challenge, and because the cast looked weirdly stacked (Kane Hodder! Michael Berryman! Bill Moseley! Brian Blessed!). And all I can honestly say for it is someone really, really liked Shaun of the Dead. Because this is basically a fan film of it, just a little bit worse in every respect. Also I should have seen it coming, but everyone in the cast I'd heard of get maybe 20 seconds of screentime each. It's not egregiously bad, just really derivative and kinda annoying about how much it desperately wants to be a movie that already exists. Counts for challenge #9: Challenge of the Dead and meta-challenges History Lesson (2010s) and Geography Lession (Europe) Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead) Total: 3/13
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May 2, 2023 18:48
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4. Djinn (2013) It's wild how much just doing an unusual setting or an unusual monster can make old tropes feel fresh again. This is basically just the Ancient Indian Burial Ground haunted house story, but because it's not just ghosts in America, it feels a bit different. This was another pick just to scratch off some challenges, but I ended up pretty into it! Some very good spooks, wasn't too overdone with exposition to explain what djinn actually are, like I was worried it might. A few of the performances are kinda wooden, but I'm happy to overlook that, given most of the cast are delivering lines in a language that isn't their native one. It took me all the way until the credits rolled for me to realize that, oh poo poo, this was Tobe Hooper's last movie, and I was even more shocked to discover it was pretty roundly panned at the time. Maybe I was kinder to it because I didn't realize the pedigree that made it. Counts for challenge #3: Holy Terror (Islam) and meta-challenge Geography Lession (Middle East, United Arab Emirates) Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror) Total: 4/13 Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 00:18 on May 3, 2023 |
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May 2, 2023 22:05
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5. Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (2008) It's exactly what you expect when you read "A Sci-Fi made-for-TV movie about the yeti where the biggest star is Dom Deluise's son". It's campy, it looks like it was filmed on a camcorder, the yeti costume itself looks it was built out of shag carpeting samples glued onto a Spirit Halloween gorilla suit, but the whole movie takes itself so deathly seriously that it's charming. It also helps that every character is so unlikeable that you are absolutely cheering for the yeti to eat the lot of them by the end. I'll even give it credit for not doing the usual trick of "hide the cheap monster costume in darkness", that yeti is right out there in broad daylight, struggling to run in ankle-deep snow in a very midwestern-looking Himalayas then getting shot with a flaregun. Counts for challenge #3: Tales from the Cryptids (Yeti) and meta-challenge History Lesson (00s) Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids) Total: 5/13 Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 17:58 on May 3, 2023 |
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May 3, 2023 17:33
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6. Dolly Dearest (1991) American toy company opens a sweatshop in Mexico on top of a Ancient Mayan Burial Ground, when a vengeful spirit possesses a doll and eventually the boss' daughter. I kinda liked this, honestly! It's that exact level of camp charm a movie like this should have, a very Tales from the Crypt vibe to the whole thing. A very visibly hungover Rip Torn trying his best to do a Mexican accent that lasts as long as the first line of any scene he's in before cutting back to his regular speaking voice is a treasure too. A bunch of really fun puppet-work like you'd expect from a movie like this, including lots of doll POV shots with its wee little arms. It's obviously a quick cash-in on the Child's Play craze, but there's much less entertaining entries in that fad than this. Counts for challenge #10: Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things and meta-challenge History Lesson (1990s) Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things) Total: 6/13
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May 4, 2023 15:54
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I have no idea what Courteney Cox did to piss her hairdresser off before Scream 3, but it must have been something loving horrible.
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May 5, 2023 22:21
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7. A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971) Giallo is probably my biggest total blindspot for horror, beyond the obvious big hitters like Suspiria and Bird with the Crystal Plumage. But after seeing this, I totally want to remedy that, because this loving ruled. Weird in a really compelling way, lots of really strange shots and production choices, but it totally comes together, like the handheld shakycam whenever filming from Carol's point of view. I also totally understand why people were so worried Rambaldi had just killed a bunch of dogs and had to prove in court that it was fake, cuz that whole scene was god-drat horrible. Great soundtrack too, especially the first and possibly only case of diagetic church organ chase music. Could have done without the crash cuts from psychadelic nudity straight to Leo Genn's face looking stern though, felt like the movie was punishing me. Counts for challenge #11: It's-a Me! and meta-challenge History Lesson (1970s), thus completing History Lesson meta-challenge! Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!) Total: 7/13 Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 15:41 on May 6, 2023 |
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May 6, 2023 14:18
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8. The Addams Family (2019) Well, that was just a drat delight. Fun animation, great character designs, a bunch of genuinely funny gags (the running gag of Fester being carelessly injured by everyone else to no reaction got a laugh every single time) and a lot of callbacks and references to previous Addams Family adaptations and to other horror franchises. The plot basically follows every other adaptation, the family vs the regular world (in this case, a reality show building new town literally named Assimilation), but that whole concept just works. Especially in animation, since they can really go wild. Just a sweet, fun little movie. Counts for challenge #6: Drawn and Quartered Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered) Total: 8/13
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May 6, 2023 17:02
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9. White Dog (1982) An actress accidentally runs over then adopts a dog, to later discover it has been trained to attack and kill black people. It plays out much like most other animal attack movies, but the whole racial subtext of whether racism is innate or learned gives it a bit of extra depth. I'm not sure if it ever quite lives up to the idea, and a few moments lean more toward the exploitation aspects a little too hard, but when it's trying (like most of the scenes with Paul Winfield playing the trainer attempting to tame the dog, and the heartbreaking ending), it actually does come across as a bit thoughtful. Fantastic Ennio Morricone score too. Counts for challenge #7: Woke in Fright Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered), White Dog (Woke in Fright) Total: 9/13 Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 19:54 on May 6, 2023 |
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May 6, 2023 19:35
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10. Scream 3 I was racking my brain to work out which movie to watch for this challenge, since I'm pretty positive on most of the real classics, so I've gone instead for the entry in one of my favourite franchises that's more or less universally agreed upon being the worst entry. And, after rewatching it...it still is, sadly. After all the hurried post-Columbine hard cuts, it just feels so toothless and bland compared to the rest, and especially sucks given the whole spiel in the movie about hysteria regarding violence in movies. The voice changer gimmick is such a lazy cop-out too, a real "we've run out of ideas to set up kills" move. At least it nails its colours to the mast of "we're scraping the barrel now" early with the Jay and Silent Bob cameo. I can tolerate comedy and silliness, but this movie leans on it far too hard at the expense of everything else. Counts for challenge #8: Second Chance Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered), White Dog (Woke in Fright), Scream 3 (Second Chance) Total: 10/13
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May 7, 2023 13:51
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11. There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023) A family vacation turns bad when the kids find a big hole in an abandoned building in the woods and return different. The word I'd use for this movie is "competent". It's a totally fine movie, but every choice it makes is Route One, obvious stuff. If you asked a screenwriter who had never watched much horror to write a movie with that rough outline, you'd get this movie. A store-brand horror movie, it does the job and nothing else. Doing a needledrop in your opening scene of Sister of Mercy's "More" earns some bonus points, though, as does a big ol' Evil Dead Shot, and a solid showing for Chekov's Machete. Counts for challenge #4: Fresh Hell Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered), White Dog (Woke in Fright), Scream 3 (Second Chance), There's Something Wrong with the Children (Fresh Hell) Total: 11/13 Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 16:11 on May 8, 2023 |
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May 8, 2023 16:08
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12. Bliss (2019) An aspiring artist struggles with creative block, and turns to super-powerful research chemicals as she spirals into hallucinogenic sex and violence as she starts craving blood. I really didn't enjoy this at all! It's slow, it's repetitive, every single character is incredibly loving annoying in a very true-to-life "the way someone on coke talks AT you" way, the movie itself is even hard to look at since every single scene is lit with neon light gels and nothing else while the camera whips around at weird angles and shots cut faster than any given Hollywood action movie seemingly to obscure you actually seeing anything. It wants so badly to be deep and insightful, but instead it feels like a particularly edgy student film in a bad way. At least it's goopy as gently caress. Counts for challenge #1: Horror High Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered), White Dog (Woke in Fright), Scream 3 (Second Chance), There's Something Wrong with the Children (Fresh Hell), Bliss (Horror High) Total: 12/13
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May 9, 2023 15:38
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13. History of the Occult (2020) I honestly don't wanna say too much about this movie because I went in blind and holy poo poo. Rough outline is it follows a group of journalists investigating Argentinian politicians being implicated in a ritual murder committed by a disappearing man, with the whole movie framed by a current affairs show delivering the results of the investigation. The best description is I can pitch is "imagine David Lynch made A Few Good Men", massive Twin Peaks vibes. I feel like I have to rewatch it immediately just to really piece it all together, because there's so much going on constantly. Counts for meta-challenge Geography Lesson (South America via Argentina) Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered), White Dog (Woke in Fright), Scream 3 (Second Chance), There's Something Wrong with the Children (Fresh Hell), Bliss (Horror High), History of the Occult Total: 13/13 Hell yeah, 13/13, and only one more movie left to finish Geography Lesson to finish the challenges. 
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May 9, 2023 19:29
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14. Coming Home in the Dark (2021) A family vacation is hijacked by two homeless men seeking revenge for something the father of the family did in his past. It's a really tight movie, super tense through the whole thing, no wasted scenes at all, the sort of movie you're exhausted after because you've been clenched up the whole time. Special credit to Daniel Gillies, who just projects sinister menace the whole time, while being weirdly affable and chatty. Counts for meta-challenge Geography Lesson (Oceania via New Zealand) Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered), White Dog (Woke in Fright), Scream 3 (Second Chance), There's Something Wrong with the Children (Fresh Hell), Bliss (Horror High), History of the Occult, Coming Home in the Dark Total: 14/13 And that's every challenge complete! CHALLENGES: 1. Horror High - Bliss (2019) 2. Tales from the Cryptids - Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (2008) 3. Holy Terror - Djinn (2013) 4. Fresh Hell - There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023) 5. Shooting Zombies - Nosferatu (1922) 6. Drawn and Quartered - The Addams Family (2019) 7. Woke in Fright - White Dog (1982) 8. Second Chance - Scream 3 (2000) 9. Challenge of the Dead - Shed of the Dead (2019) 10. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things - Dolly Dearest (1991) 11. It's-a Me! - A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971) 12. History Lesson (5/5 completed) - Nosferatu (1920s), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1970s), Dolly Dearest (1990s), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (2000s), Shed of the Dead (2010s) 13. Geography Lesson (5/5 completed) - Nosferatu (Europe, via Germany), Djinn (Middle East, via UAE), Scream 3 (North America, via USA), History of the Occult (South America, via Argentina), Coming Home in the Dark (Oceania, via New Zealand)
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May 9, 2023 22:05
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15. Braindead (1992) It's disgusting, it's hilarious, it's basically a live-action cartoon, it's still a perfect movie. I can't even think of much to say given how many of us have seen it and love it, but if you've somehow avoided seeing it, track it down immediately, and tell us all which was the scene that made you have to pause for a while for some fresh air. Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered), White Dog (Woke in Fright), Scream 3 (Second Chance), There's Something Wrong with the Children (Fresh Hell), Bliss (Horror High), History of the Occult, Coming Home in the Dark, Braindead Total: 15/13 Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 19:10 on May 13, 2023 |
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May 13, 2023 19:04
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16. Beau is Afraid (2023) Well that was loving intense. My first reaction (and I feel like I'm gonna need a long time to chew this one over) is "It's The Odyssey as written by Kafka". But holy poo poo, that was a loving ride. I've never seen an audience in genuine stunned silence like at that ending. Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered), White Dog (Woke in Fright), Scream 3 (Second Chance), There's Something Wrong with the Children (Fresh Hell), Bliss (Horror High), History of the Occult, Coming Home in the Dark, Braindead, Beau is Afraid Total: 16/13
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May 19, 2023 18:30
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17. Razzennest (2022) Finally got around to watching this after the horror thread talked it up a few weeks ago. And I'm glad I did! A sorta found footage setup, told through the director's commentary of a pretentious art film. The writing is absolutely brilliant, Manus the mad South African director especially is hilarious. The format does mean a few parts feel a bit contrived and feel like everyone has to think out loud since it's basically an audio drama, but it's forgiveable because when it works it really does come together. A novel concept done really well! And there's a coffee machine full of boiling piss. Watched so far: The Borderlands, Nosferatu (Shooting Zombies), Shed of the Dead (Challenge of the Dead), Djinn (Holy Terror), Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon (Tales from the Cryptids), Dolly Dearest (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (It's-a Me!), The Addams Family (Drawn and Quartered), White Dog (Woke in Fright), Scream 3 (Second Chance), There's Something Wrong with the Children (Fresh Hell), Bliss (Horror High), History of the Occult, Coming Home in the Dark, Braindead, Beau is Afraid, Razzennest Total: 17/13 Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 13:37 on May 21, 2023 |
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May 21, 2023 13:21
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Fall's brilliant, I don't even have much problem with heights and even I was white knuckling through a bunch of scenes.
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May 24, 2023 10:55
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I'll do my summary post too, since I probably won't get around to watching anymore. I think I made out pretty good in this series! I'm absolutely evangelical about both History of the Occult and Coming Home in the Dark, both are brilliant and more people should totally watch them. The only ones I watched this time around that I really didn't gel with at all are Shed of the Dead, which is absolute bargain basement Shaun of the Dead rip-off, and Bliss, which is the movie equivalent of being talked at by someone on coke, which I guess is the vibe it was going for? At least I did finish all the challenges, and got 17/13 watched. The Borderlands 2010s, UK Nosferatu Shooting Zombies 1920s, Germany Shed of the Dead Challenge of the Dead 2010s, UK Djinn Holy Terror 2010s, United Arab Emirates Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon Tales from the Cryptids 2000s, USA Dolly Dearest Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things 1990s, USA A Lizard in a Woman's Skin It's-a Me! 1970s, Italy The Addams Family Drawn and Quartered 2010s, USA White Dog Woke in Fright 1980s, USA Scream 3 Second Chance 1990s, USA There's Something Wrong with the Children Fresh Hell USA, 2020s Bliss Horror High 2010s, USA History of the Occult 2020s, Argentina Coming Home in the Dark 2020s, New Zealand Braindead 1990s, New Zealand Beau is Afraid 2020s, USA Razzennest 2020s, Austria Metachallenges: History Lesson 5/5: 2020s, 2010s, 1990s, 1980s, 1970s Geography Lesson 5/5: Europe (Germany), North America (USA), South America (Argentina), Oceania (New Zealand), Middle East (UAE) Gyro Zeppeli fucked around with this message at 19:27 on May 30, 2023 |
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May 30, 2023 19:23
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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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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 09:09 |
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Yeah, I'm also big into the idea of more challenges that allow rewatches, especially for the October challenges, since October should be more about watching the classics. As for when the challenges should go up, prior is fine, the 1st is fine too, either works really. And thank you to gay muckle mowser for setting this whole thing up for us!
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Jun 1, 2023 20:52
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