Sangre, cuchillos, y tetas --- Horror Film Discussion

[Dukefrukem]

Well I liked Stakeland and loved High Tension.

Oh well.

[Kurosawa Fan]

That [High Tension] is one of the 25 worst films of the aughts. Maybe bottom 5.

Agreed.


Yep. That movie [The Orphanage] was absolutely crap. Crap, crap, crap. Not scary, just utterly stupid. I would like to punch that movie in the junk.

Also agreed, minus the punching in the junk.

[Spun Lepton]

I don't get the hate for The Orphanage, I thought it was serviceable. Also, High Tension was silly fun.

[Ezee E]

Well I liked Stakeland and loved High Tension.

Oh well.
You literally are the ONLY one.

On Match Cut

[MadMan]

22. Suicide Club-Haven't seen this in a long time, don't remember if I liked it or not
20. A History of Violence-99, great movie, not a horror film
14. Let the Right One In-90
8. Antichrist-97
6. Halloween II-58, but I'm willing to give it another chance
1. Pulse-90

I'm a bit behind when it comes to 2000s horrors, but that's because I often spend most Horrorfests trying to catch up on older movies I haven't seen yet. Also War of the Worlds is not a horror movie, either.

[Russ]

You literally are the ONLY one.

On Match Cut

I liked it well enough. Didn't care much for the twist, but enjoyed it on its technical merits (awesome sound design) and for its 70-80's slasher homage.

[Rowland]

I liked it well enough. Didn't care much for the twist, but enjoyed it on its technical merits (awesome sound design) and for its 70-80's slasher homage.Ditto. Don't really get the hate, but as someone who severely disliked Aja's Piranha just when it seemingly became kinda cool to embrace the dude's nihilism, I suppose I empathize.

[Russ]

My list of best horrors of the aughts would have included A Serbian Film, which finally got a legitimate DVD release in the states this week. The distributor, Invincible Pictures, carefully excised about 30 seconds (as opposed to the 4 minute hatchet-job by the UK) to tiptoe around the possibility of legal action by aggressive local DA's. In short, they removed all images (fake or otherwise) of minors from scenes of sexual carnage, leaving only horrified reaction shots.

Not the same film. It's censorship. I saw no reason for that footage to be removed. I haven't seen the domestic Invincible release, but it sounds like a case of neutering. From a liability standpoint, I can't say that I blame them, tho, what with arrests being made in other countries.

Still banned in Spain, Norway, Brazil, and Australia.

[MadMan]

Looking through the past couple of years, I realize that my buddy and I, both who share similar film tastes and are huge movie buffs, have sought out really controversial films that have also been banned in many countries. Now most of the time this is not a wise decision (Calligula and I Spit On Your Grave from the 70s come to mind, as does the utterly wretched Faces of Death from 1978), but I still find it a worthwhile exercise considering that many classic horror movies have at one time or another been banned from other countries. So I'm quite interested in A Serbian Film, of course, and I'm reminded that my buddy has recently purchased Fulci's Zombie on Blu Ray, or at least he's thinking about it.

[Mr. Pink]

I was disappointed with Zombie's versions of Meyers, since it seemed like he cut-and-pasted the backstory of other human serial killers. Cruelty to animals? Check. Bed wetting past a certain age? Check. Shitty home life? Check. Well, that must equal a serial killer, then.

I thought humanizing him was a bad choice since he went that route and could have just as easily made Meyers a humanized monster without the serial killer cliches. I almost tuned out completely after that just on principle, but I stuck around to see what gaps he filled in from the original.

[MadMan]

I rather liked the Halloween remake, and I thought that the first half was the strongest part of the movie. When the second half descended into lame slasher cliches I started to get bored, but it finished strong and its a fairly solid/decent movie.

[megladon8]

I quite liked the '63 Corman film The Haunted Palace starring the legendary Vincent Price.

While watching I kept thinking "this is a lot more Lovecraft than Poe" (as the story writing credits cite them both).

Looked it up afterwards and found that the distributors were very pleased with Corman's track record of Poe adaptations and didn't want to break that track record, while Corman himself really wanted to do a Lovecraft adaptation. So they met in the middle, Corman making a Lovecraft film, and the company just throwing Poe's name and one of his story titles on it :lol:

Anyways, it was a pretty decent little Lovecraft film. A few sightings of the Necronomicon, as well as a few mentions of Cthulhu and the Elder Gods. Some mutated fish people, and what I think was a glimpse of (a more human-sized) Dagon at the end.

I dug it.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Speaking of black-and-white Lovecrafty Gothic potboilers...

The Maze was an appreciably atmospheric slow-burner for most of its runtime, and the climax with people lost in the eponymous labyrinth afforded some tension, but when the big reveal involving the "secret" of the ruinous castle was revealed, much lulz were had.

Guy in a frog suit what?

Lovecraft comparisons to the film are a bit gracious, but it's not poorly made. I've now seen three films by William Cameron Menzies: this, Invaders From Mars, and Things to Come, and the latter remains my favorite with ease.

[Spun Lepton]

I just watched Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman and I'm so angry I could punch a puppy. Talk about a sad, pathetic, moronic, assinine, fucking dumbass waste of a great premise. GAAAHH!!!

[Spun Lepton]

I'm curious why people hate High Tension so much. After all of the hate, I avoided it for a while, but when I saw it I thought it was pretty fun.

[Scar]

I'm curious why people hate High Tension so much. After all of the hate, I avoided it for a while, but when I saw it I thought it was pretty fun.

I can understand people being... irritated at the reveal, but I don't mind it on subsequent viewings. Quite enjoy that flick.

Plan on doing a horror-thon the next few days. Definitely going to watch Zombie's Halloweens, and not sure what else from the collection.

[megladon8]

My biggest problem with Haute Tension was that the reveal contradicted what came before.

In an attempt to provide a shocking twist, it instead made the movie really stupid.

[Spun Lepton]

My biggest problem with Haute Tension was that the reveal contradicted what came before.

Help me with specifics. I must've been drinking when I watched it, because I don't remember what it could have contradicted.

[megladon8]

Help me with specifics. I must've been drinking when I watched it, because I don't remember what it could have contradicted.


There are scenes where...

...the main killer girl and her friend are clearly interacting with/being chased by/fighting a third party. That it then turns around and says she is the killer makes no sense.

From what I understand (I haven't seen it, but Jen has told me about it) the film Rest Stop suffers from similar logic problems.

[Dukefrukem]

There are scenes where...

...the main killer girl and her friend are clearly interacting with/being chased by/fighting a third party. That it then turns around and says she is the killer makes no sense.

From what I understand (I haven't seen it, but Jen has told me about it) the film Rest Stop suffers from similar logic problems.

nah

You're referring to the portion of the movie where the killer is driving the truck while the girl is in the back with her friend in the cage. That's not that big of a contradiction.

[MadMan]

I rented High Tension from my local video store, but returned it because I didn't have time to watch it. Thought about DVR-ing it on IFC, but they only had the dubbed version. Weak. Guess I'll have to check it out to see what all of the fuss is about.

Oh and Ginger Snaps is not only a really disturbing and great feminist take on werewolves, and horror movies, too, but its got lots of blood. Lives up to its reputation, and then some. Also after I review Snaps and The Changeling I'll be all caught up on horror reviews for the month. I actually love the blog format because it makes it easier for me to write.

[Spun Lepton]

Oh and Ginger Snaps is not only a really disturbing and great feminist take on werewolves, and horror movies, too, but its got lots of blood. Lives up to its reputation, and then some. Also after I review Snaps and The Changeling I'll be all caught up on horror reviews for the month. I actually love the blog format because it makes it easier for me to write.

Part II is a worthy follow-up, dare I say I liked it a little more than the first. The third is only OK.

[Mr. Pink]

A theater 30-40 minutes away plays retro movies (got to see a ton of cool shit), but they hadn't been doing any in the past six months or so. On a whim I checked their website to see if they brought it back, and they did.

An Evil Dead 1 & 2 double feature. . .last week. DAMN IT!

[megladon8]

I really dig Ginger Snaps. Some pretty iconic moments and shots, and I thought the two leads did a very nice job selling their diminishing friendship.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Trick 'r Treat is just so much damned fun. This has gotta become a holiday perennial. This was my second time watching it, and my face actually hurt afterwards, because I was smiling throughout the whole movie.

[Mr. Pink]

Sweet. I'm forcing someone to watch Trick 'r Treat with me tonight. Also a second viewing.

[Rowland]

Bah, burned by another over-hyped indie horror, this one titled Skew. It has a few solid ideas, but it doesn't do nearly enough with them, and besides that the writing is lousy, it isn't scary (and a few of its attempts at being so are kinda pathetic), and what I presume is supposed to be an ambiguous ending is just incoherent and anticlimactic.

[Yxklyx]

Have been watching a few films I haven't seen yet:

Birdemic: Shock and Terror - this was awful - it didn't get to the laugh-at funny level that I was hoping for.
Slither - very cool film - I liked this one a lot. Reminded me of Planet Terror which I consider a masterpiece.
The Woods - Lucky gets a lot right but a lot of meh as well. Looks and sounds great though. I much preferred May. I thought Lucky was a woman based on the subject matter of these two films.
Pitfall - Excellent japanese ghost story film from the 60s.
Session 9 - Started watching this but became famished and have to make some dinner. So far up to Tuesday this looks great. Amazing atmosphere and isn't Danver's asylum out of a Lovecraft mythos story?

Will be watching The Orphanage and Martyrs today and tomorrow as well. I knew hardly anything about all these films before watching them.

[Bosco B Thug]

The Woods - Lucky gets a lot right but a lot of meh as well.

I thought Lucky was a woman based on the subject matter of these two films. I know, it's so close sometimes!

Re: comment #2, yeah, and that won't change when you see his Masters of Horror episode or his new film. He's definitely a woman guy.


Burn, Witch, Burn - Solid, even exemplary 60s horror film. Some actual suspense and cool scares, and a compelling acting job by lead Peter Wyngarde. If you liked Night of the Demon, you will like this a little bit less.

Soft for Digging - Odd to use this word considering the eventual direction the film heads, but Petty makes a lovely little movie. It's oddly compelling and actually endearing, and thankfully that is what it contents itself to be most of the time. Too bad when the film turns into a horror-mystery, it veers senselessly into bad-indie-horror territory, with its disorienting scare scenes that these filmmakers never seem to realize can go on too long, and confuse and bore us more than anything else.

The twist The Ring ending is weakly communicated, but the cat coda gives it the needed punch. Clever, even if it certainly isn't as affecting a final act as the delightful first two acts deserved.

[Yxklyx]

Session 9 is the best Horror movie I've seen in a long time.

[Rowland]

Soft for Digging - Odd to use this word considering the eventual direction the film heads, but Petty makes a lovely little movie. It's oddly compelling and actually endearing, and thankfully that is what it contents itself to be most of the time. Too bad when the film turns into a horror-mystery, it veers senselessly into bad-indie-horror territory, with its disorienting scare scenes that these filmmakers never seem to realize can go on too long, and confuse and bore us more than anything else.

The twist The Ring ending is weakly communicated, but the cat coda gives it the needed punch. Clever, even if it certainly isn't as affecting a final act as the delightful first two acts deserved.Awesome, I'm glad you dug it. I agree that the last act isn't as successful as the first two, but I admired its low-key ingenuity all the same. The two other Petty films I've seen, Mimic 3 and (to a lesser extent) The Burrowers, are both worthy as well, especially within the realm of indie horror.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Inferno.

It's kinda cool for a while, then it's kinda lame. Looks great throughout.

Dammit, Argento!

[Raiders]

Y'all may want to check out TCM's lineup all day tomorrow.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Y'all may want to check out TCM's lineup all day tomorrow.

I saw that. Looks fantastic. I've seen most of those movies, but they also have an hourlong special retrospective on horror from Stephen King that starts at 11:15 EST, 8:15 PST.

[Raiders]

I saw that. Looks fantastic. I've seen most of those movies, but they also have an hourlong special retrospective on horror from Stephen King that starts at 11:15 EST, 8:15 PST.

Recs for which two or three I should record?

[Rowland]

I'm taking the opportunity to finally watch the original Village of the Damned. I might record one of those Hammer pictures as well, not sure which one however.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Recs for which two or three I should record?

If you can only record three max, then I would nominate the last three of the evening. The Innocents, The Haunting, and Repulsion. Curse of Frankenstein and Village of the Damned can be runners-up.

[Raiders]

If you can only record three max, then I would nominate the last three of the evening. The Innocents, The Haunting, and Repulsion.

Oh, I've seen those three. Love them all. I meant the daytime stuff. My max is three 'cuz that's all I'm likely to ever get to.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Oh, I've seen those three. Love them all. I meant the daytime stuff. My max is three 'cuz that's all I'm likely to ever get to.

Oh boy. Then the other two I mentioned, and beyond that, you're on your own. I wasn't crazy for Hammer's remake of The Mummy, and I haven't seen the rest.

[Rowland]

Inferno.

It's kinda cool for a while, then it's kinda lame. Looks great throughout.

Dammit, Argento!Second-tier Argento for me, which, given my fanboy status for the dude, is still pretty damn good. I understand the apathy though, it wasn't until my second or third viewing that it really clicked for me.

[Rowland]

I wasn't crazy for Hammer's remake of The Mummy, and I haven't seen the rest.How does it compare to the Freund/Karloff original, which I didn't care for too much but I'd like to revisit someday.

[Dead & Messed Up]

How does it compare to the Freund/Karloff original, which I didn't care for too much but I'd like to revisit someday.

I don't remember the Karloff original terribly well, but Hammer's production feels a little more gaudy and absurd, even if it presumes to be as serious. I don't know. The story underneath does little for me, since it's essentially Dracula Goes to Egypt. Honestly, I don't have a strong desire to revisit either version.

Perversely, I liked Sommers's take on the tale best, as an excuse for goofy serial adventuring.

[MadMan]

I'm putting The Gorgon on DVR, and I plan to tune in for Village of the Damned. I plan to watch tons of Hammer Studios movies next October, so I'll skip the ones they're showing tomorrow that I haven't seen (already viewed Curse of Frankenstein and their remake of The Mummy).

Also I blind bought Repulsion on Criterion-I'll have to watch that one. But for now I think of it as a thriller rather than a horror movie. TCM's got a really awesome lineup tomorrow, but they usually do every October. I really wish that I had DVR last year so I could have recorded all of the Hammer Studios movies I missed out on because I always went out Friday nights.


I really dig Ginger Snaps. Some pretty iconic moments and shots, and I thought the two leads did a very nice job selling their diminishing friendship.Oh yeah the two leads were excellent. I decided tonight to compile my Top 20 Horrors for the 2000s, and its not a bad list but I'm still woefully behind when it comes to the decade.

As for Inferno, I liked it a lot, but its merely very good/solid at best.

[Grouchy]

Just finished watching Lucky McKee's latest, The Woman.

I love this guy. It's not that his films are perfect or even a lot less, and it's not like he has done anything yet that surpasses the glory that is May. But damn, he's a Horror director who actually makes films about themes, is clearly an auteur who expands that thematic universe with each new creation, and he also doesn't forget to make things fun. He deserves a lot more recognition than he gets.

What's The Woman like? It's good, at times very good. I found the soundtrack a bit overbearing but that's something that often happens to me. It came as no surprise that it's adapted from a novel (co-written by McKee) since some aspects of the situation of the characters are so enigmatic that you're forced to infer a long backstory that explains it.

[Robby P]

Caught House of the Devil on Netflix. Terrific movie, although the 80's nostalgia gets to be a bit much after awhile.

Hard to believe this was made by the same guy that did Cabin Fever 2.

[Raiders]

Caught House of the Devil on Netflix. Terrific movie, although the 80's nostalgia gets to be a bit much after awhile.

Hard to believe this was made by the same guy that did Cabin Fever 2.

Actually, it's the other way around. Hard to believe the same guy made Cabin Fever 2 as made House of the Devil, The Roost and Trigger Man (also presumably, The Innkeepers). There is a long tale of woe between West's vision for CF2 and the final result which was created by the producers without his input. I haven't even bothered to watch it myself.

[Robby P]

Interesting, I haven't seen (nor heard of) The Roost or Triggerman, although their imdb scores don't seem too favorable.

There's no question the guy is a very talented artist (the scene with the walkman was beautifully choreographed), I was just shocked to discover that his previous directing credit was a straight-to-video quality sequel.

[Raiders]

Interesting, I haven't seen (nor heard of) The Roost or Triggerman, although their imdb scores don't seem too favorable.

People are dumb.

[Ezee E]

Hoping the Innkeepers gets an actual release. It looks good.

[MadMan]

I'll have to get to House of the Devil at some point, as well as Trigger Man which I believe is on Netflix.

Today I watched Dementia 13 off of my DVR (it was aired on TCM a while back). Pretty solid/good movie, considering that Francis Ford Coppola was just a young director at the time and he was working for Roger Corman (who arguably is the godfather of modern cinema as well know it based on how many directors have worked for him over the years.) The main theme music is wonderfully creepy, and its a fairly effective slasher film/mystery thriller that does suffer from some weak acting and the limitations of its budget. Too bad his Dracula remake aside Coppola has never made a horror movie since.

[Rowland]

Rewatched Orphan tonight, bumped my original grade up by half a star, as it really is a delightfully nasty bit of schlocky, straight-faced camp, made with more consummate technical prowess than it probably deserves (almost to its detriment in fact), but there are still far too many missteps for it to even come within reaching distance of its potential at being genuinely upsetting.

[MadMan]

Le Frisson des Vampires; Strange Things Happen at Night (The Shiver of the Vampires) is a movie with an awesome title that only manages to be merely decent at best. Still I enjoyed it, with the movie engaging in outrageous camp, tons of nudity, and a great ending that probably should have been featured in a better movie. Still Jean Rollin has a visual style that makes me want to seek out his other movies, and I loved the rock 'n' roll soundtrack.

The Gorgon (1964) was disappointing, considering that it has a good cast and is directed by Terrance Fisher. Still I liked it for what it was, even if too much of the movie is a bore-at least the ending was really entertaining.

[Mr. Pink]

I watched A Nightmare on Elm Street today, and I realized Nancy acts pretty cunty.

She's annoyed and sleep deprived the majority of the movie, so it's understandable, but in the beginning Johnny Depp is pressing her for some action and she leaves him hanging.

Her reason? "We're here for Tina, not ourselves."

What? Tina's boyfriend is upstairs destroying Tina's vag, and Nancy makes poor old johnny sleep on the couch by himself.

What a shitty girlfriend.

[Rowland]

My mom and sister watched Herzog's Nosferatu tonight, I walked in at a few points and watched a bit, decided I most likely underrated it.

[MadMan]

I actually liked Nancy as lot more in ANOES 3: The Dream Warriors. As a teen I agree she was kind of annoying.

[Robby P]

Oh, cool, Trigger Man is on Netflix Instant. I know what I'll be watching later.

[Raiders]

Oh, cool, Trigger Man is on Netflix Instant. I know what I'll be watching later.

You a Kelly Reichardt fan? It is essentially Old Joy with hidden rifle killers.

EDIT: I also just saw that The Innkeepers is getting a December 30th VOD release and a February limited theatrical release.

[megladon8]

Anyone seen Laid to Rest?

Amazing kills and make-up effects, but also one of the very worst movies I have ever seen.

[megladon8]

My mom and sister watched Herzog's Nosferatu tonight, I walked in at a few points and watched a bit, decided I most likely underrated it.


I actually prefer it to the original silent.

[Rowland]

Anyone seen Laid to Rest?

Amazing kills and make-up effects, but also one of the very worst movies I have ever seen.I think I may have watched the first two minutes or so of this when it first appeared on Netflix Instant and had some buzz, which was enough for me to decide I'd seen enough.


I actually prefer it to the original silent.Yeah, I remember that being a popular opinion around these parts, and while I still don't think I'd go that far, a revisit of the Herzog might bump the score up half a star.

[dreamdead]

I think Herzog's use of Wagner (which was also sampled for The New World) is wonderful, but there's something about the aura of Murnau's original that cannot be duplicated. I like the rat business, as well as the ending, but otherwise I feel the simplicity of Murnau's slow, stately framing is much more powerful.

[D_Davis]

Speaking of black-and-white Lovecrafty Gothic potboilers...

The Maze was an appreciably atmospheric slow-burner for most of its runtime, and the climax with people lost in the eponymous labyrinth afforded some tension, but when the big reveal involving the "secret" of the ruinous castle was revealed, much lulz were had.

Guy in a frog suit what?

Lovecraft comparisons to the film are a bit gracious, but it's not poorly made. I've now seen three films by William Cameron Menzies: this, Invaders From Mars, and Things to Come, and the latter remains my favorite with ease.

I've had this in my queueueue for some time. Need to check it out.

[Spun Lepton]

Klaus Kinski > All

[MadMan]

I'd say that Herzog and Murneau's versions are both about equal. I almost wish that some other awesome director would make a third remake, but maybe its for the best that there are only two. Although Shadow of the Vampire was about the making of the movie with having the lead actually being a vampire...

[Rowland]

Klaus Kinski > AllHe's one of my least favorite parts about it, truth be told. When I look at him, I just see Kinski; Schreck is so much more indelible.

[Spun Lepton]

I haven't actually seen it, though I really want to. I just find Kinski an extremely interesting personality. I wish they'd put it on Netflix.

[Yxklyx]

I'd say that Herzog and Murneau's versions are both about equal. I almost wish that some other awesome director would make a third remake, but maybe its for the best that there are only two. Although Shadow of the Vampire was about the making of the movie with having the lead actually being a vampire...

I prefer Guy Maddin's version to both so there! I.E. A third one has already been made.

[Rowland]

I prefer Guy Maddin's version to both so there! I.E. A third one has already been made.That isn't specifically Nosferatu however, just another Dracula iteration, of which there are obviously more than just three.

[MadMan]

He's one of my least favorite parts about it, truth be told. When I look at him, I just see Kinski; Schreck is so much more indelible.When I look at both of them all I see is a really creepy vampire who is straight out of an unholy nightmare.

[megladon8]

Laid to Rest was truly awful stuff.

It's sad when a good chunk of the film is the director teasing his wife's tits to the audience. "Aren't they big? Look at her cleavage, it's nuts! Oh man, I bet you guys are crazy-jelly!"

It has a few impressively executed kills. That's all the the film has of worth. It's horrid.

[D_Davis]

Trick 'r Treat is just so much damned fun. This has gotta become a holiday perennial. This was my second time watching it, and my face actually hurt afterwards, because I was smiling throughout the whole movie.

Yep. It's amazing. Wonderfully shot, too.

[Spun Lepton]

Yep. It's mediocre.

FTFY

[MadMan]

Having finally finished writing commentary for the Top 31/50 elsewhere, I feel the need to finally post my Top 50 Horror Movies list here. In spoilers, since its long.

1. Halloween (1978)-100, slasher
2. Night of the Living Dead (1968)-100, zombie
3. Nosferatu (1922)/Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)-100/100, vampire
4. Jaws (1975)-100, creature feature
5. The Thing (1982)-100, creature feature
6. Rosemary's Baby (1968)-100, demonic
7. Alien (1979)-100, creature feature
8. The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen (2000)-100, demonic
9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)-100, slasher
10. Dawn of the Dead (1978)-100, zombie
11. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)-100, creature feature
12. The Omen (1976)-98, demonic
13. Peeping Tom (1960)-98, slasher
14. Dead Alive (1992)-98, zombie
15. Antichrist (2009)-97, body mutilation
16. Videodrome (1983)-95, body mutilation
17. Re-Animator (1985)-95, zombie
18. 28 Days Later (2002)-95, zombie
19. Frankenstein (1931)-95, creature feature
20. Night of the Creeps (1986)-95, creature feature

21. Shaun of the Dead (2004)-95, zombie
22. Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn (1987)-95, demonic
23. In The Mouth of Madness (1995)-95, apocalyptic
24. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)-93, creature feature
25. Black Christmas (1974)-92, slasher
26. From Beyond (1986)-92, creature feature
27. Rabid (1977)-92, zombie
28. Psycho (1960)-91, slasher
29. An American Werewolf in London (1981)-91, werewolf
30. Cujo (1983)-91, creature feature

31. The Shining (1980)-91, ghost
32. Zombieland (2009)-91, zombie
33. Dog Soldiers (2002)-91, werewolf
34. The Evil Dead (1981)-90, demonic
35. Eyes WIthout a Face (1960)-90, body mutilation
36. Suspiria (1977)-90, witches
37. Blood and Black Lace (1964)-90, slasher
38. Day of the Dead (1985)-90, zombie
39. The Adominable Dr. Phibes (1971)-90, creature feature
40. The Haunting (1963)-90, ghost

42. Martin (1977)-90, vampire
42. Gremlins (1984)-90, creature feature
43. Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2007)-90, slasher
44. The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970)-90, slasher
45. Arachnophobia (1990)-90, creature feature
46. The Call of Cthulhu (2005)-90, creature feature
47. Cloverfield (2008)-90, creature feature
48. The Host (2006)-90, creature feature
49. The Legend of Hell House (1973)-90, ghost
50. Let the Right One In (2008)-90, vampire

Subject to change, too. There are at least 5, maybe more, horror movies out of the 23 I watched this season that could crack the list.

[Spun Lepton]

Okay, horror-hounds, let's chat.

We all know that horror tends to work best when exploiting the fears and horrors of modern society. So, what do you think are some current societal fears ripe for exploitation?

Fear of losing your job and becoming homeless?
Fear of terrorism? (That might be on the way out.)
Fear of ... ??

Let's hear some opinions. I will admit, I am looking for subject matter for a script. :D

[Dukefrukem]

That's too good of a question. I'm afraid of a lot of things. Losing my job is not one of them, BUT there are certain chains of evens I do fear.

Fear the economy gets SO bad that massive unemployment strikes, political anarchy, the collapse of the U.S. government, war on U.S. soil ?… very improbable but still scary to think of.

[MadMan]

I'm afraid of Americans :P

[Scar]

Technology taking over our lives and what not, which has been done quite bit.

People. That's not a fear, more of an.... annoyance.

[MadMan]

Maybe there will finally be a sequel to Kairo (Pulse, if there wasn't one already) where Twitter ends up destroying the rest of mankind. Or something like that.

[Ezee E]

Fear of LOSING technology. Becoming a 3rd world country.

[Dukefrukem]

Fear of LOSING technology. Becoming a 3rd world country.

Escape from L.A. style?

[Spun Lepton]

Many of these suggestions could make for a nice zombie story, but zombie films are so common right now that I have no interest. :sad:

[Rowland]

In case some who read this thread don't follow the new release database, and because any potential discussion regarding the films probably doesn't belong there, here are some thoughts on the horror stuff I've watched lately:

Red State - The first half of this was absolutely dire, but it unexpectedly got a fair bit more intriguing and competent in its second half. Not enough so to be good exactly, but at least I didn't hate it by the end, which is something. Everyone praises Parks, but how about Goodman? He takes a sketchily written role and imbues it with real character ... while the second half does repeatedly throw a monkey wrench into audience expectations with a reckless, gleeful abandon that I appreciated, thinking about the film more in retrospect, it does make a number of dishonest cop-outs, the worst one being that those kids really should have been gay. And man, I think I get what Smith was going for with the sermon scene, and again I theoretically appreciate the audacity, but it doesn't work at all, and goes on for-fucking-ever.

Kidnapped - Impressive enough as a filmmaking stunt (the whole thing is composed of a dozen or so meticulously orchestrated long takes), this latest entry in the home invasion horror subgenre counterintuitively grows less potent as it amps up the increasingly predictable nihilism, so that by the time it arrives at its bullshit ending, I was just left numbly indifferent to the carnage and more than a little peeved by its empty posturing.

Atrocious - Better than some of the horrible found-footage indie horror I've watched lately, thanks to comparatively naturalistic performances and justifiable reasons for the cameras to be used, an evocative setting (country house with a hedge maze for a backyard), and a willingness to leave its horrors implied for the majority of its duration. Still pretty lame though, especially once its extended climax consists of the kids running through the hedge maze in night vision screaming for an eternity followed by a clumsy twist ending.

Also, I didn't write anything about it, but I liked Lucky McKee's The Woman just fine, and it's growing on me a bit more in retrospect as well.

[Spun Lepton]

I thought Red State was one of Smith's most thoughful and accomplished films. I don't get how the leads not being gay is a cop-out, however I did think the ending was a bit of one. I admired its relentless nihilism and Smith's willingness to completely undermine the viewer's expectations. How was Goodman's character sketchily written? As much as I bash some of Smith's films, he's always managed to create solid and believable characters.

The ending was at once clever and frustrating, silmultaneously pulling off and mocking Deus Ex Machina.

[MadMan]

Do you guys consider Repulsion (1965) to be a horror movie? Because I finally watched it this week, and found it to be disturbing, tense, and really great. Some of it feels more "thriller" than "horror," yet the strong psychological elements and how Polanski expertly conveys paranoia was quite chilling to watch. Even though I know the money probably went to a guy who's accused of a terrible crime (and who did it), it was a good blind buy on Criterion.

[Dead & Messed Up]

It blurs the line. I'd call it both horror and thriller. And drama. Maybe a black, black comedy too. Good stuffs, anyway.

[MadMan]

Not sure about the dark comedy, but the rest is pretty spot on. After watching it, I also realized that its where Romero got the idea for the hands coming out of the wall in Day of the Dead. So he borrowed from Repulsion and Carnival of Souls. Cool.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Trollhunter kind of sucked. It wasn't terribly exciting or scary. It took a tired format (found footage), did nothing interesting with it, went through the motions, and ended in the most predictable way. It was the definition of "paint-by-numbers."

[Spun Lepton]

Trollhunter kind of sucked. It wasn't terribly exciting or scary. It took a tired format (found footage), did nothing interesting with it, went through the motions, and ended in the most predictable way. It was the definition of "paint-by-numbers."

This makes me so sad. It may not be groundbreaking, but it has so much fun with its unique premise, I couldn't help but love it.

[Kurosawa Fan]

This makes me so sad. It may not be groundbreaking, but it has so much fun with its unique premise, I couldn't help but love it.

I thought so after the first troll encounter, but after that, the fun dissipated as the repetition kicked in, and the predictability hit ridiculous highs. I mean, did anything surprise you after that first encounter?

[Scar]

I thought so after the first troll encounter, but after that, the fun dissipated as the repetition kicked in, and the predictability hit ridiculous highs. I mean, did anything surprise you after that first encounter?

The first time I watched it, I wasn't impressed. When I watched it again, I picked up on a lot of humor from the actual hunter.

The ending was definitely 'meh', it would've been better if it would've ended involving the big guy at the end.

[Bosco B Thug]

Mimic: Sentinel, aka Mimic 3, is very low-budg and inadequate, with a script that hardly comes together (very little narrative pay-offs in the end), spurts of questionable performing, and some disappointing fumbled build-up, but ultimately, this J.T. Petty guy is a marvelous filmmaker. The first half of the film is fantastic, it's only when the horror sets in that he and the film begin missing marks.

[Russ]

Just watched Trollhunter and I loved it. High marks for the whole troll lore/mythology, the fabulous location shooting, and especially Jespersen's endearing performance as the titular pursuer. Granted, it didn't necessarily need the "found footage" treatment, but given that's the route the filmmakers went, I'd still take this one ANY DAY over doc-teases like Cloverfield and Blair Witch. I also liked the fact that none of the "documenters" were particularly annoying (to me, anyway). I'm ready for a rewatch!

small gripe: Is there some entertainment law that states that there must there be an American remake for every original idea from overseas? (ie, Troll Hunter (2014) on IMDb)

[MadMan]

Equinox (1970) is a really bizarre movie, but some of its elements reminded me of The Evil Dead. Apparently Sam Rami never saw this, so maybe great minds think alike, or something? This film really defines being rated, but I loved how it combines creepiness with camp, resulting in a truly weird journey into madness and insanity. Plus those stop motion monsters were really cool. So long as you ignore the hilariously bad acting and just roll with what's going on, this movie doesn't come off as something that managed to avoid being on MSTK while getting a Criterion release.

The Devil Rides Out (1968) is a pretty solid movie, and I really enjoyed it. What's good about this one is how despite some really odd, even outlandish, events happening the movie never veers into the realm of unbelievable. Christopher Lee delivers another great performance, and I loved Charles Gray as the sneering and menacing villain. Not as good as Fisher's two best films (so far), Horror of Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein, but still a fine horror entry. Too bad after this was made Hammer Studios started their slow and sad decline.

[Mr. Pink]

The Devil Rides Out (1968) is a pretty solid movie, and I really enjoyed it. What's good about this one is how despite some really odd, even outlandish, events happening the movie never veers into the realm of unbelievable. Christopher Lee delivers another great performance, and I loved Charles Gray as the sneering and menacing villain. Not as good as Fisher's two best films (so far), Horror of Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein, but still a fine horror entry. Too bad after this was made Hammer Studios started their slow and sad decline.

I'm kinda bummed Buff isn't still around, since he used to pimp this movie constantly. I saw it a few years ago and gave it my highest rating. The plot kicks in instantly and never really lets up. Loved the finale too. Great movie.

[MadMan]

I'm kinda bummed Buff isn't still around, since he used to pimp this movie constantly. I saw it a few years ago and gave it my highest rating. The plot kicks in instantly and never really lets up. Loved the finale too. Great movie.Buff is why I watched that movie, really. DaMU too, I think. Buff actually was responsible for me checking out also Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and Severance, also.

And yeah The Devil Rides Out is pretty entertaining as well. Judging from Daniel Radcliff's latest movie, which is going to be a gothic 60s style horror movie, I'm hoping that particular brand of horror pops up again. Horror has been somewhat co-opting 70s and 80s style, although I don't really mind that either. Somewhere down the road I imagine we'll even get horror movies that reflect the 90s style, although I'm not so sure-that was a pretty down decade for the genre.

[Spun Lepton]

Hatchet II furthers my belief that Adam Green is a bit of a misogynist. Once again, one of the female characters gets a particularly nasty death. The general mean-spirited-ness of the movie also puts me off a bit. The setup for the situation is poorly thought-out. The whole movie's angle is to sell the audience on the gore, but even that doesn't match the first.

Not recommended.

3/10

[Grouchy]

Has anyone seen Black Death? It's really not what I expected. I don't even think it should be marketed as a Horror film, but hell, it has, huh, Necromancers in it. Right? I watched it almost back to back with Season of the Witch which deals with the same era and the differences in quality between the two movies are fucking abysmal. Of course the script for this aims much higher and deeper than the Nicolas Cage flick.

Anyway, it's really recommended. Most unexpected epilogue to any film I've seen in a long time. Christopher Smith is really someone to watch closely - he'll deliver something of a masterpiece some day.

[Dead & Messed Up]

The Ward felt like a Steve Miner movie. Poor John Carpenter.

[MadMan]

Speaking of Carpenter, I enjoyed the JC double bill TCM showed last night as part of their "Underground" film series. They Live is still glorious, and The Fog is good as well-I still think those ghosts were pirates, btw :P

I remember certain folks on the Axis arguing that point quite a bit, heh.

[Spun Lepton]

Man, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake is so ... bland! Terrible dialogue, no sense of escalation or urgency to the story, it finds its one note after about a half-hour and proceeds to bang on it over and over again. It's just a rote, by-the-numbers parade of uninspired scenes filled with cheesy jump scares.

Soon-to-be-dead chick: "Oh, my God, you look like you --"
Soon-to-be-dead dude: "Haven't slept in three days?"

Really?

Most of the undeveloped leads die in the first half-hour, so we're left with almost 45 minutes of the two remaining undeveloped leads running around, trying to stay awake, failing, and then being jump-scared awake by Freddy. Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat. I was ready to turn it off after an hour.

Poor Jack Earle Hayley probably could've delivered a much better performance, had the dialogue not been so, so awful and he hadn't been buried under so much make-up.

Nothing fun or interesting here, folks, move along.

2/10

[Dillard]

Just watched Bava's Lisa and the Devil and found it to be wonderfully evocative of the dread and absurdity of nightmares. I find it interesting that the acting can be so bad and yet not detract significantly from Bava's atmospherics. This and the "A Drop of Water" segment from Black Sabbath may spur on a Bava phase for me.

[Spun Lepton]

Just watched Bava's Lisa and the Devil and found it to be wonderfully evocative of the dread and absurdity of nightmares. I find it interesting that the acting can be so bad and yet not detract significantly from Bava's atmospherics. This and the "A Drop of Water" segment from Black Sabbath may spur on a Bava phase for me.

I recommend Black Sunday and Hatchet for the Honeymoon.

[MadMan]

Now I want to see the ANOES remake simply to try and further justify me liking it. But then again I find the original to be a tad overrated-its good, but the third entry in the series is just about as good, and I think I like that one more.

[Dukefrukem]

http://blastr.com/assets_c/2011/12/ImageCharacters120511-thumb-460x4867-78217.jpg

[MadMan]

Radical, man.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Broke down a scene from Insidious for my blog. Link below.

[Dillard]

I recommend Black Sunday and Hatchet for the Honeymoon.
Thanks for the recommendations.

[Dukefrukem]

Broke down a scene from Insidious for my blog. Link below.

Hesitant to read it since I want to be completely surprised (good or bad)

[Rowland]

Kill Baby Kill is one of Bava's best that's also a fine showcase for that sort of nightmare logic.

[Grouchy]

Do you guys recognize every character from the make up / actor photo? I'm lacking the third and fifth Warwick Davies and the one after Mike Myers.

The singer from The Fifth Element took me a while but I knew I'd seen her somewhere.

[Mr. Pink]

Decided to watch Hostel 3 yesterday like an idiot, knowing it was a DTV release. That should be all you need to know to guess it sucked, even if you liked the first two. Gave it a shot because I like Scott Speigel, but I have to change that now and just say I like his first movie, Intruder. Between this and his From Dusk 'Til Dawn sequel, I'm guessing he either really sucks as a director, or doesn't do well with other people's material.

Because, yeah, Hostel 3 just plain sucked. Unexpected plot-twists don't make up for all the shitty/inconsistent plot turns that that came before it. 3/10.

[Spun Lepton]

Decided to watch Hostel 3 yesterday like an idiot, knowing it was a DTV release. That should be all you need to know to guess it sucked, even if you liked the first two. Gave it a shot because I like Scott Speigel, but I have to change that now and just say I like his first movie, Intruder. Between this and his From Dusk 'Til Dawn sequel, I'm guessing he either really sucks as a director, or doesn't do well with other people's material.

Because, yeah, Hostel 3 just plain sucked. Unexpected plot-twists don't make up for all the shitty/inconsistent plot turns that that came before it. 3/10.

Dude. Intruder was garbage. I've seen his Dusk 'Til Dawn sequel, too. Guy sucks as a director.

[Ezee E]

There was a Hostel 3?

[Mr. Pink]

Dude. Intruder was garbage. I've seen his Dusk 'Til Dawn sequel, too. Guy sucks as a director.

Yeah, I'm not gonna argue against that, but I still think Intruder is pretty awesome.




There was a Hostel 3?

Yeah. . . sadly.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Wrote a big-ass essay about Stuart Gordon and the use of sex in his movies and put it on my blog (http://horrorfilms101.blogspot.com/2011/12/feature-orgasmic-theater-stuart-gordon.html). I'll spoiler it below, but if you guys want to check out the article, be warned that the pictures, while not traditionally not-safe-for-work (there are no naughty bits), may raise the eyebrows of passers-by.

And add a few converts to the Church of Crampton.

A decapitated head lunges eagerly between the legs of a co-ed, and, for better or for worse, history is made. This image, culled from the climax of the taboo-busting Re-Animator, may stand as the defining image of Stuart Gordon’s career. Stuart Gordon brings a unique perspective on sex in horror films, one that tries to find organic ways of including it the genre. Despite the insistence of Leslie Vernon, horror isn't terribly effective at wedding sex to scary stories - it's often used as a simple way to guarantee horny teenagers in the seats. Not that this is awful...but sex can be more. And in Gordon's films, it always is.

Take Re-Animator. In Gordon's debut film, there are two key sex scenes. The first one takes place between Dan (Bruce Abbott) and Megan (Barbara Crampton), boyfriend and girlfriend. There is no coercion on the part of Dan, no unwillingness from Megan. They love each other, and they want to make each other happy, and we only catch the end of the act, so the emphasis is on their mutual pleasure, and her screams of "Yes!"



At the same time, Megan catches the eye of the loathsome Dr. Hill (David Gale), and, later in the film's climax, his resurrected body (carrying his head around in a pan) attacks her, ties her up, and sexually assaults her. Although there's certainly an exploitative element to the state of his body (unbodied as it is), the real horror of the situation comes from how Hill views Megan, versus how Dan views her. Dan's love was shared, but Hill acts on his lust with greed. He ties her down, which makes her not only helpless, but also inactive - she literally becomes an object to him. After physically assaulting her, he tries to perform cunnilingus on her, a symbolic consumption of the woman he fetishizes, sex as a devouring mouth.

Gordon's subsequent film, From Beyond, goes one step further, tying the effects of the central "Resonator" machine to characters' sex drives. As the Resonator stimulates the brain's dormant pineal gland, so the pineal gland stimulates sexual appetite. Gordon bases this on medical apocrypha surrounding the organ (the pineal gland actually inhibits sexual development), but by establishing the link, Gordon writes himself a license to explore sexual sensation and pleasures continually throughout the film. As an unexpected side-effect, he also portrays sex in a consistently negative light, since no sexual elements in this story exist free of the destructive Resonator's influence.



Only one brief scene suggests the sexual benefits of the Resonator, as main characters Crawford (Jeffrey Combs) and Katharine (again, Barbara Crampton) embrace in the machine's purple glow. However, nobody in the film ever consummates their desires physically, and the film repeatedly treats sex as a destructive weapon. Not only in how the villainous Doctor Pretorious (Ted Sorel) returns from beyond to assault Katharine, but in how Katharine, under the spell of the Resonator, climbs upon a sleeping Crawford and then tries to seduce Bubba (Ken Foree). Pretorious and Katharine are both sexually attacking, and for specific reasons. Pretorious's impotence (revealed late in the film) is the impetus for his sado-masochistic desires, violence supplanting what he cannot achieve otherwise. Katharine's underlying motivation is never quite stated, but her development visually and behaviorally - from an inhibited bookworm into a lascivious, leather-clad bombshell - suggests an unleashing of pent-up sexual angst. When Bubba brusquely turns her toward a mirror, she bursts into Puritan tears.

Sex in Gordon's later film Dagon returns to the bifurcated approach of Re-Animator, with hero Walter Gilman given two potential mates. On the one hand, he can rescue his girlfriend Barbara (Raquel Merono) from the slimy clutches of the Imbocan villagers. On the other hand, he can give in to the appeal of a village woman named Uxia (Macarena Gomez). Barbara's sex appeal is simple and giving. But Uxia's sex is surreal and exotic. Walter's seen Uxia in his dreams, and when he pulls aside her bedsheets, he's shocked to find tentacles in place of legs. In addition to their subtle labial connotation, the tentacles suggest a more obvious alien quality. Certainly they're unsettling enough to make Walter race away from her bedside.



Uxia's mixture of sexual desire and deformity puts her in the same category as Pretorious and Gale, as a perverse, destructive force motivated by the most basic of urges. Uxia demonstrates her destructive side when she stabs Barbara and sacrifices her to an octopus-god. During the sacrifice, Uxia plunges a knife into the naked Barbara, whose once-attractive body has been destroyed by the mad harpy. Only one attractive woman in Imboca is allowed, it seems. Although the sexual politics get complicated on a few points (Walter and Uxia are siblings, and Ezra Godden is homosexual), the dominant image of sex in this movie is of a succubus, an image of beauty that hides frightening secrets and unknown depths.

Although the idea of marrying sexual desire and mortal danger has carried from film to film, Dagon pushes this idea in a more feminine direction, and Gordon's episode of the Masters of Horror series, "Dreams in the Witch-House" takes this to its only possible conclusion. His idea of the fatal seductress ends here with a naked woman shrouded in a black hood that evokes images of the Grim Reaper. The situation feels borrowed from Kubrick's The Shining, which also featured an old witch taking the form of an alluring young woman, but there's no cheating here. Gordon gives the sex an important story function, as the witch lures the hero to bed so she can tear a pentagram into his back with her nails, which renders him a slave to her will.



While not all of his films present sexual situations, Stuart Gordon does carry the issue with him into his urban thriller films, which are really just horror films disguised by their real-world environment. In King of the Ants, the slightly stupid hero (Chris McKenna) is hired to kill a man, and he becomes so enraptured with his target's wife that, after the murder, he seduces the wife in the very home he cased earlier in the film. Their sex is treated as mutually pleasurable, but the undercurrents keep the viewer from engaging. The circumstance is deeply wrong, and the underlying deceptions make the sex selfish, since an iota of honesty would tear their relationship apart, and, naturally, their relationship ends when the wife learns the truth, and the hero kills her.



Gordon's 2007 ripped-from-the-headlines shocker Stuck has a brief scene in which Brandi (Mena Suvari) tries to ignore the man stuck in her car windshield (!) long enough to have sex with her boyfriend Rashid (Russel Hornsby). But she can't get the images of the car accident out of her head, and while she screams in fright during intercourse, Rashid idiotically interprets her screams as throes of pleasure. Her expression of fear affects the act itself, which now feels invasive and assaultive, a source of pain. While Rashid is oblivious, concentrating too much on himself to bother looking at her face, Brandi shrieks in terror. This film features sex more as an aside than as a dominant part of any character's desire, but, all the same, here is again someone for whom sex has been perverted by its association with death.



That's the main thread. In most of Gordon's films, sex isn't a placeholder situation, or a forbidden act that invariably results in death, as with slasher films. Instead, sex ties into the dangerous indulgences of villains and anti-heroes, a passion twisted by the surrounding macabre situation into something that must stop if order can be restored. However, Gordon does offer one twisted text that actively seeks a positive solution. Edmond, based on the play by David Mamet, functions as a nightmare odyssey in which anti-hero Edmond (William H. Macy) bounces from woman to woman throughout a single night. Each is a potential lover, each is just out of reach - sometimes literally, as is the case with the peep show vixen (Bai Ling). Even when he successfully goes to bed with Glenna (Julia Stiles), their mutual attraction shifts abruptly into an eruption of misanthropy from Edmond, one that builds with him trying to diminish her ("You're a waitress, not an actress") and climaxes with him murdering her after she rebukes his vicious emotional outpouring.



Later convicted of Glenna's murder, Edmond goes to jail, where he's sized up and raped by his cellmate (Bokeem Woodbine). After seventy-odd minutes of watching Edmond objectifying, demeaning, and assaulting women, the exact same thing happens to Edmond. This plays out as a sick form of poetic justice, but, in what's the most perverse shift of the film, Edmond comes to accept the rape as routine, to the point that he and the other inmate treat each other as partners. In the final scene of the film, they wax philosophical about God and death and life and the possibility of salvation, and when the lights go out, they climb into bed together and spoon. They even kiss each other goodnight.

It's tragic and haunting and horrible, seeing two murderers clinging to each other when there's nothing else in life they can grasp. Ironically, though, it's the only time in any of Stuart Gordon's films where a sexual relationship is fruitful and lasting. I don't know if this is deeply cynical or ever-so-slightly optimistic, but it shows that Gordon's not beholden to just one perspective on sex. However, he mostly remains focused on connecting the act to the sins and vices of his characters. And because these are horror movies, this also ties sex irretrievably to death. On a superficial level, sex in these films function as an exploitable element (one that can offer investors peace of mind), but, on another level, one that I believe is very intentional, Gordon presents sex as fundamentally destructive. Which gives his films a newfound sense of melancholy. There's almost no real pleasure in this universe from lovemaking. There's only the little death and the big death, both of them dangerous, walking hand in hand between the bedroom and the grave.

[Mr. Pink]

Some Guy Who Kills People is easily one of the more interesting horror movies I've seen recently, even if I didn't think it was entirely successful (and even though I haven't watched many horror movies recently). Still, it's unique enough that I think many will enjoy it.

It's more of a character based drama than anything, and focuses on a guy recently released from a mental institute who reconnects with a long-lost daughter. But the tone is all comedy, with some seriousness mixed in (along with some gore). It's not bad, and features a respectable cast of D-listers that I like, with Kevin Corrigan as the star (the wacky brother from Grounded For Life, Trees Lounge, etc.). Also has Casper from Kids, Karen Black, and Barry Bostwick.

dP9rU5LvFeg

Not the greatest, but worth a watch for anyone with time to kill.

[Spun Lepton]

Man! There is a lot of hatred for The Ruins. I don't get it.

7/10

[MadMan]

Mr. Pink "Some Guy That Kills People" looks both creepy and funny. I'll have to check that one out. In a way it reminds me of "Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon," which is one of the best slasher movies released in, I'd say, the last 10-15 years at least.

Spun I thought The Ruins looked dumb when I first saw the trailer. But you and I believe Rowland are convincing me to see it.

[Mr. Pink]

Mr. Pink "Some Guy That Kills People" looks both creepy and funny. I'll have to check that one out. In a way it reminds me of "Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon," which is one of the best slasher movies released in, I'd say, the last 10-15 years at least.

Spun I thought The Ruins looked dumb when I first saw the trailer. But you and I believe Rowland are convincing me to see it.

I fucking loved Behind the Mask, but I thought this was just okay, and even got a little bored towards the end. I'd definitely say to check it out, though, cause it seems like a movie other people might really like.

You know, I considered seeing The Ruins in the theater 'cause I thought it looked cool, but never followed up on it due to bad reviews. I think it might be time to give it a shot.

[Grouchy]

Yeah, The Ruins is not bad at all.

[Scar]

Yeah, The Ruins is not bad at all.

I remember watching it, and aside from a scratch in the Netflix bluray, I was entertained.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Man! There is a lot of hatred for The Ruins. I don't get it.

7/10

I kinda dug it. I thought the first half was better than the second half, since it was more about insinuations and secrets and less about I'mma-cut-this-plant-outta-me gruesomeness and suffering. It's an interesting premise, and the movie's often lovely.

[Ezee E]

All the hate is for the second half's torture-horror.

[Rowland]

I wouldn't call it torture horror so much as an invasive body horror, unless anything in that vein is going to be idiotically lumped in with the passé torture porn label.

[Pop Trash]

So umm...best horror film of 2011? I think the only one I watched was Insidious which was OK-ish.

[Dead & Messed Up]

So umm...best horror film of 2011? I think the only one I watched was Insidious which was OK-ish.

The top one might not qualify, but hey, genre definition. It's wacky.

Red State > Insidious > The Ward

I'm very eager to watch Attack the Block and Scream 4.

[Grouchy]

The Woman.

[EyesWideOpen]

I don't consider Attack the Block a horror film.

[Spun Lepton]

All the hate is for the second half's torture-horror.

Despite the fact that torture is a perfectly reasonable subject for the genre to take on, calling The Ruins "torture horror" is disingenuous. It insinuates the perpetrators enjoy the suffering they're causing. These characters are doing what they're doing in order to survive, and the people being "tortured" give permission.

My problems with the movie ...

If the plants are able to move so swiftly, there's not much reason to let the characters live for as long as they did. At first they seemed attracted to blood, which would've worked, but then they just go down the German guy's throat.

Also, why didn't the mayans who lived near it just keep a camp or three setup near the ruin in order to keep outsiders away?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Despite the fact that torture is a perfectly reasonable subject for the genre to take on, calling The Ruins "torture horror" is disingenuous. It insinuates the perpetrators enjoy the suffering they're causing. These characters are doing what they're doing in order to survive, and the people being "tortured" give permission.

My problems with the movie ...

If the plants are able to move so swiftly, there's not much reason to let the characters live for as long as they did. At first they seemed attracted the blood, which would've worked, but then they just go down the German guy's throat.

Also, why didn't the mayans who lived near it just keep a camp or three setup near the ruin in order to keep outsiders away?

Huh? They're being held their against their will. How is that giving permission?

Also, I think what you describe in your spoiler is the best case for it being "torture-horror." It isn't logical for

the plants to draw out the death of the group. They should have been consumed immediately. The plants toy with the group with fake cellphone noises and such. They clearly seem to have a vindictive and morbid personality, as much as a plant can have a personality. I think it's disingenuous to say it's not "torture-horror" just because they're plants and therefore can't torture victims. The filmmakers set the rules, and based on the behavior of the plants, I'd say they are definitely capable of torture, and aren't just acting on survival instincts.

[Rowland]

My favorite, and the only one that may make an appearance on my year-end runner-ups list, is Fright Night, and if Christopher Smith's Black Death is classified as horror, that'd be second, followed by Insidious and then The Woman.

Three other horror movies I've seen this year that are pretty good and deserve more exposure are Julia's Eyes, Husk, and The Silent House. The rest that I've seen is meh or worse, so it's fair to say on the whole that this has been a pretty lousy year for horror.

Here's a full list for those interested (everything with same rating is alphabetized):

Fright Night 3D (Gillespie) B+
Black Death (Smith) B
Insidious (Wan) B
The Woman (McKee) B-/B
Husk (Simmons) B-
Julia's Eyes (Morales) B-
The Silent House (Hernández) B-
Vanishing on 7th Street (Anderson) C+/B-
Rubber (Dupieux) C/C+
Red State (Smith) C
A Serbian Film (Spasojevic) C
The Reef (Traucki) C-/C
Dream Home (Pang) C-
Kidnapped (Vivas) C-
Atrocious (Luna) D+/C-
Wake Wood (Keating) D+/C-
The Ward (Carpenter) D+/C-
Quarantine 2: Terminal (Pogue) D+
Stake Land (Mickle) D+
Megan is Missing (Goi) D-
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (Lambert) D-
Skew (Schelenz) D-

[Rowland]

Huh? They're being held their against their will. How is that giving permission?I believe he's referring to when they begin committing surgery on each other.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I believe he's referring to when they begin committing surgery on each other.

Oooooh. That makes more sense.

[Spun Lepton]

Huh? They're being held their against their will. How is that giving permission?

They're giving permission to the med student to do what he thinks he needs to do to keep them alive.


Also, I think what you describe in your spoiler is the best case for it being "torture-horror." It isn't logical for

the plants to draw out the death of the group. They should have been consumed immediately. The plants toy with the group with fake cellphone noises and such. They clearly seem to have a vindictive and morbid personality, as much as a plant can have a personality. I think it's disingenuous to say it's not "torture-horror" just because they're plants and therefore can't torture victims. The filmmakers set the rules, and based on the behavior of the plants, I'd say they are definitely capable of torture, and aren't just acting on survival instincts.

The plants drawing out the death of the group would've made more sense if they were simply drawn to blood. Which is how it seemed for the majority of the movie. It was the scene where they suffocate the German guy that's the problem.

Just because the plants would parrot noises and voices, doesn't mean they understood them. If they hadn't attacked German Guy the way they did there wouldn't be much reason to think they were thinking.

[Kurosawa Fan]

They're giving permission to the med student to do what he thinks he needs to do to keep them alive.


Yeah, Rowland clarified. I wasn't thinking about the medical procedures, only the behavior of the plants. My mistake.


The plants drawing out the death of the group would've made more sense if they were simply drawn to blood. Which is how it seemed for the majority of the movie. It was the scene where they suffocate the German guy that's the problem.

Just because the plants would parrot noises and voices, doesn't mean they understood them. If they hadn't attacked German Guy the way they did there wouldn't be much reason to think they were thinking.

Right, but since they weren't simply drawn to blood, it doesn't make sense, and it establishes the plants as a sentient being with machinations of its own that, in retrospect, views torture as a worthwhile engagement. It isn't just about survival for the plants.

[Grouchy]

Black Death was great but it's 2010. Julia's Eyes and some others Rowland mentioned are on my "to see" list.

Of course, I'll never watch the remake of Fright Night. I've already seen that movie.

[Spun Lepton]

Right, but since they weren't simply drawn to blood, it doesn't make sense, and it establishes the plants as a sentient being with machinations of its own that, in retrospect, views torture as a worthwhile engagement. It isn't just about survival for the plants.

I took it like bad decision-making on the filmmakers' parts. As if they were looking for "wow scenes" and inadvertently suggested more story-wise than they intended. Whether this is true ... ??

And even if it were intent, sadistic creatures in horror are commonplace.

"Torture horror" is imbued with humans torturing humans, like Hostel or Saw.

And again, torture is a perfectly acceptable subject for the horror genre.

[Rowland]

Black Death was great but it's 2010. Julia's Eyes and some others Rowland mentioned are on my "to see" list.I'm going by US release dates.


Of course, I'll never watch the remake of Fright Night. I've already seen that movie.It's much better than, and hugely dissimilar to, the original.

[Mr. Pink]

Saw The Ruins last night (perfect timing). I was confused about the logic behind what the plants were doing also.

At first it seemed like they were just drawn to blood, but, yeah, killing the German guy messed that up. I started telling myself that maybe death/someone being near death worked also, but that's just me making excuses.

Still, not bad for a killer plant movie.

[MadMan]

I'm interested in the following that you've seen Rowland:


Fright Night 3D (Gillespie)
Black Death (Smith)
Insidious (Wan)
The Woman (McKee
Husk (Simmons)
Julia's Eyes (Morales)
The Silent House (Hernández)
Vanishing on 7th Street (Anderson)
Red State (Smith)
A Serbian Film (Spasojevic)
The Reef (Traucki)
Kidnapped (Vivas)
Atrocious (Luna)
Wake Wood (Keating)
The Ward (Carpenter)
Stake Land (Mickle)

And I've already seen and liked Rubber (Dupieux), which gets a B from me if we are doing letter grad ratings.

Tonight I blind bought the original My Bloody Valentine (1981), and I really enjoyed it. By slasher movie standards (especially ones from the 80s) its fairly solid and well made, and I loved all of the scenes in the mine, which were properly creepy. The copy I got was the more recently released SE, too, which has plenty of bonus material. A write up is pending, but I would say this is better than The Burning, which came out the same year and is also a rather entertaining 80s slasher movie. I'm now curious to check out the remake, too.

Man that ending gave me a bit of a chill. "Sarah...be my bloody valentine..." I'm surprised there wasn't a sequel, considering that Axel ends up getting away.

[D_Davis]

Man! There is a lot of hatred for The Ruins. I don't get it.

7/10

The movie is infinitely better than the book, which is about 250 pages too long.

[D_Davis]

Was A Serbian Film, 2011? If so, then that's the best horror film of 2011. Probably the best horror film of the decade. I still think about that film; I don't think I'll ever be the same after having watched it.

[Dukefrukem]

Was A Serbian Film, 2011? If so, then that's the best horror film of 2011. Probably the best horror film of the decade. I still think about that film; I don't think I'll ever be the same after having watched it.

You're right, it is the best horror film of the decade. Since the decade has only been 1 year running. ;)

[Spun Lepton]

I felt like I needed a shower or ten after watching A Serbian Film. I will never watch it again.

[D_Davis]

You're right, it is the best horror film of the decade. Since the decade has only been 1 year running. ;)

Woops! :)

Meant of all the '00s.

[D_Davis]

I felt like I needed a shower or ten after watching A Serbian Film. I will never watch it again.

I, too, will never watch it again.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I took it like bad decision-making on the filmmakers' parts. As if they were looking for "wow scenes" and inadvertently suggested more story-wise than they intended. Whether this is true ... ??

And even if it were intent, sadistic creatures in horror are commonplace.

"Torture horror" is imbued with humans torturing humans, like Hostel or Saw.

And again, torture is a perfectly acceptable subject for the horror genre.

I guess what I meant by "torture horror," and perhaps this is my inexperience with the genre and I'm mislabeling, was the setup that the characters were brought together, and as viewers we were only there to watch them suffer great pains until they were all dead.

[Russ]

Was A Serbian Film, 2011? If so, then that's the best horror film of 2011. Probably the best horror film of the decade. I still think about that film; I don't think I'll ever be the same after having watched it.
Nah, it's 2010, according to IMDb.

I've watched it maybe 3 times. It's a good, extremely well-made, albeit deeply, deeply fucked up film.

[Dukefrukem]

Nah, it's 2010, according to IMDb.

I've watched it maybe 3 times. It's a good, extremely well-made, albeit deeply, deeply fucked up film.

According to Imdb it's a 2011 US release.

[Russ]

My best horror films of the decade:

1. Pulse
2. Let the Right One in
3. Audition
4. A Serbian Film
5. The Ordeal
6. The Host
7. Trollhunter
8. Wolf Creek
9. The Strangers
10. The Devil's Rejects

HM: Slither, Hotel, Inland Empire, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Descent, Cloverfield, High Tension, Jeepers Creepers

Want to see: Martyrs, Inside, House of the Devil

Wish I hadn't seen, 'cause it really sucked: Drag Me to Hell, The Human Centipede, Hollow Man

[Russ]

According to Imdb it's a 2011 US release.

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff324/astrojester/serbianimdb.jpg

[Rowland]

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff324/astrojester/serbianimdb.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6437/serbian.png

[Russ]

* sigh *

It had festival runs in the US in 2010 (Austin, Chicago, Phoenix). The point is, I think most sensible people go by the date that IMDb posts next to the film's title when compiling their yearly lists.

But whatever. Not really worth arguing over.

[Rowland]

* sigh *

It had festival runs in the US in 2010 (Austin, Chicago, Phoenix). The point is, I think most sensible people go by the date that IMDb posts next to the film's title when compiling their yearly lists.

But whatever. Not really worth arguing over.I wasn't arguing, just pointing out that your image was apparently refuting something for which he was technically correct. Also, virtually the entire internet community of critics based in the US go by US release dates, as do we in our yearly Match-Cut awards, just sayin' is all.

[Dukefrukem]

* sigh *

It had festival runs in the US in 2010 (Austin, Chicago, Phoenix). The point is, I think most sensible people go by the date that IMDb posts next to the film's title when compiling their yearly lists.

But whatever. Not really worth arguing over.

If that were the case there would be 30 movies in the New Release Database Thread that shouldn't qualify for 2011. Rowland made my point though. Not worth arguing over.

[Ezee E]

I guess what I meant by "torture horror," and perhaps this is my inexperience with the genre and I'm mislabeling, was the setup that the characters were brought together, and as viewers we were only there to watch them suffer great pains until they were all dead.
This is how I see it.

Shoot, I forgot why the plants were even defensive in the first place. I remember reading half the book and stopping there too.

The director has promise though.

[Bosco B Thug]

Has anyone seen the notoriously not-good yet all-star 70s killer animal feature Tentacles?

It's 1/3 inept/occasionally risible (the movie has hilariously negative-trajectory moral sense), 1/3 kinda delightful/woah-surprise-graceful-camera-work, and then 1/3 pretty cool creature scenes. Which I guess makes it two-thirds "I am charmed." over one-third "This is mind-numbing and moronic".

Despite its reputation of simply being a turd, and with the occasional permission to check out of the film when it's being tedious, I'm solidly cataloging this in my "So bad it's good" file.

[Spun Lepton]

Attempted to watch Chillerama on Netflix last night.

It was garbage from the get-go, I didn't last 15 minutes. Painful dialogue.

[Scar]

I've got something called The Reef (2010) sitting on my hard drive.

7PhR_3A7RiQ

[Scar]

Well, its better then Jaws 3, but not as good as Deep Blue Sea.

If you do watch it, expect to see this shot waaaay too many times:


http://images.mukki.org/11-01/24/movies/The.Reef.2010.DVDRiP.XviD-UNVEiL/The.Reef.2010.DVDRiP.XviD-UNVEiL_screenshot_3.jpg

[MadMan]

I think Rowland first mentioned that movie. I'll maybe give it a shot on Instant Viewing.

Also I've decided that American Psycho does fit into the horror genre, which means it'll be featured on my Top 50 list next year. I was a little reluctant to classify it as such since I did not want the list to have another 2000s entry when it already had too many, but I guess my list is already 60s/70s and modern horror top heavy anyways.

PS: But the amount of 80s and 90s horror is spot on. 50s horror there isn't a great deal of, and I haven't seen any great 40s horror movies yet.

[Dead & Messed Up]

PS: But the amount of 80s and 90s horror is spot on. 50s horror there isn't a great deal of, and I haven't seen any great 40s horror movies yet.

You need to start watching Val Lewton frigging yesterday.

[MadMan]

You need to start watching Val Lewton frigging yesterday.I have. Seen the following:

*Cat People
*The Seventh Victim
*I Walked With a Zombie
*The Leopard Man
*Isle of the Dead
*The Body Snatcher

Off the top of my head, anyways.

Only Cat People is close to near great, and it barely misses my list. I like all of those movies save for The Seventh Victim, but I don't find any of them to be great. I admire Lewton and the directors he worked with for operating within their obvious limits, but that doesn't mean I'm going to grade them higher because of that.

[Raiders]

I like all of those movies save for The Seventh Victim

Hm, this is the best one.


I admire Lewton and the directors he worked with for operating within their obvious limits, but that doesn't mean I'm going to grade them higher because of that.Neither am I, but that they created genuinely creepy, atmospheric and efficient horror films does earn them high marks. Seriously though dude, these are some friggin' well-made movies. Goofy creature/cult films imbued with a serious artistic touches and early film-noir sensibilities. Lewton's four year run established a poetry and even a humaneness in horror cinema that certainly hadn't been there in America as of yet.

[MadMan]

Hm, this is the best one.

Neither am I, but that they created genuinely creepy, atmospheric and efficient horror films does earn them high marks. Seriously though dude, these are some friggin' well-made movies. Goofy creature/cult films imbued with a serious artistic touches and early film-noir sensibilities. Lewton's four year run established a poetry and even a humaneness in horror cinema that certainly hadn't been there in America as of yet.Well yes they all get fairly good or solid ratings. I'll admit that I hold Romero's zombie movies in rather high esteem, but that's because his ideas are incredibly strong and Dawn and Day both have pretty good production values. I'm willing to revisit Lewton's work again, but my opinion still stands that his limitations and the limits of his directors are as obvious as the fact that they are rather high level B-movie horror films that helped change the genre and inspire future directors. For ratings for each one from me I point towards consensus threads, although I really at some point should see Ghost Ship and Bedlam so I can finally do proper write ups for every one.

Also even though it was not produced by Val Lewton I'm a rather big fan of Night/Curse of The Demon from 1957, which is fairly/good and rather entertaining. The creature in that one is a favorite movie monster of mine, actually.

Oh and yesterday I watched the recently released copy of MSTK's skewering of Manos: The Hands of Fate. Which is the worst movie I've ever seen. Pretty hilarious commentary by the trio, as usual, and at some point I'll probably get drunk and watch the movie without any commentary again. Yes I've seen it twice-there's something about a movie that is so astoundingly awful and terrible that I can't help but stare in both awe and disgust.

[megladon8]

Bah, some of the Lewton films are pretty masterful.

I particularly love The Body Snatcher, The Seventh Victim, and the two Cat People films.

[Mr. Pink]

uoGIyAtCJ-k&feature=g-vrec&context=G24239f2RVAAAAAAAABw

Anyone see this yet? I remember watching it once years ago, but I'm watching it again and posting it 'cause it's pretty awesome stuff. Roundtable with Landis, Carpenter, Cronenberg and Mick Garris as host (1982).

[Dead & Messed Up]

This is the main reason I find it so hard to hate on Garris. I don't think he's much of a filmmaker, but he's such a genuine lover of genre cinema. I mean, he got started directing special features for these kinds of films when nobody else was doing so, and he's still doing these kinds of interviews today (check out FearNet). He always treats the genre as something capable of maturity and meaningful effect.

And as spotty as Masters of Horror was (and...hoo boy), I still think it was an honorable project with admirable ambitions.

[Mr. Pink]

This is the main reason I find it so hard to hate on Garris. I don't think he's much of a filmmaker, but he's such a genuine lover of genre cinema. I mean, he got started directing special features for these kinds of films when nobody else was doing so, and he's still doing these kinds of interviews today (check out FearNet). He always treats the genre as something capable of maturity and meaningful effect.

And as spotty as Masters of Horror was (and...hoo boy), I still think it was an honorable project with admirable ambitions.

Fully agree. It's especially evident when you see he was doing this sort of thing in 1982. I'm not even sure I paid much attention to his name before Masters of Horror, but just that alone gains him my everlasting respect.

[Mr. Pink]

Wow. I am very impressed with the Fright Night remake. Really enjoyed it. I was never a big fan of vampire movies, but that's mostly because they usually don't do them the way I'd like to see vampires. Fright Night is the sort of vampire movie that reminds me how much I actually like vampire movies, and also reminds me how many vampire movies get it wrong.

Maintains an exciting pace, looks beautiful, and has a very cool that's-never-been-done-before-in-a-vampire-movie moment. I liked it much more than the original.

[Dukefrukem]

Wow. I am very impressed with the Fright Night remake. Really enjoyed it. I was never a big fan of vampire movies, but that's mostly because they usually don't do them the way I'd like to see vampires. Fright Night is the sort of vampire movie that reminds me how much I actually like vampire movies, and also reminds me how many vampires get it wrong.

Maintains an exciting pace, looks beautiful, and has a very cool that's-never-been-done-before-in-a-vampire-movie moment. I liked it much more than the original.

What I really like about it is the change in environment. Yes there was a club scene in the original movie too, but you didn't get a sense that they actually had to go into a large city like Vegas to get there. It kept the momentum moving and the audience guessing.

[Dukefrukem]

Creepshow (1982) was a great blind buy, as all of the stories save for Jordy's with Stephen King were creepy/really freaky. And even the Lonely Death of Jordy Verill was really good, a mixture of the eeire, tragedy, and humor. The first segment had one hell of an ending, and this movie has everything for everyone. Ed Harris disco dancing, Hal Halbroke plotting to kill his wife, Leslie Nielson engineering a diabolical demise for Ted Danson and so on. Not really sure if the sequels are worth checking out, but I have read a small amount of Creepshow graphic novels, so yes the movie captured the nasty spirit of the comics really quite well.

One more recent Creepshow segment I would love to see adapted is a story about what happens to a suicide bomber. Its deliciously ironic, and would fit in well with the current political climate and the threat of terrorism to a degree.

I'm wondering what other consensus we have on MC with this. I could not get into the stories as easy as you have. The second one especially with the farmer/hick totally removed me. The humor and campiness engrosses the creepiness it wants to portray.

[Spun Lepton]

Creepshow is one of my all-time favorites. I rank it up there with Night and Dawn of the Dead as one of Romero's best. He captures the tone of the Tales from the Crypt comics better than the Tales from the Crypt TV show did.

Creepshow II never gets beyond OK.

Didn't bother with Creepshow III.

[jenniferofthejungle]

I'm wondering what other consensus we have on MC with this. I could not get into the stories as easy as you have. The second one especially with the farmer/hick totally removed me. The humor and campiness engrosses the creepiness it wants to portray.


It's one of my horror favorites.

I just watched it about two weeks ago, and smiled through most of it.

I'm pretty sure I was oblivious to all of the intentional camp when I first saw it, and I used to detest that story, Duke. It seemed to stop the movie, and I would often hit FF until it was done or just skip ahead, but I honestly enjoy it now, especially the ending.

I think my extensive collection of EC Comics made me appreciate it all the more.

[megladon8]

It's one of my horror favorites.

I just watched it about two weeks ago, and smiled through most of it.

I'm pretty sure I was oblivious to all of the intentional camp when I first saw it, and I used to detest that story, Duke. It seemed to stop the movie, and I would often hit FF until it was done or just skip ahead, but I honestly enjoy it now, especially the ending.

I think my extensive collection of EC Comics made me appreciate it all the more.


Watching that one was pretty fun :)

I think we could work that one into our regular, go-to rotation.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Creepshow is great fun, and that's that.

[Rowland]

Creepshow is a mixed bag ranging from great fun to why the fuck is Stephen King in this acting like an asshole.

[Grouchy]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OuC7AtJmM8o/S-qDUnErXeI/AAAAAAAAB4w/Wjeqp9vQAF0/s1600/exorcist_II+02.jpg

Exorcist II: The Heretic - Wow. Where do I even start. This one's reputation as a strange film is completely earned. John Boorman went absolutely nuts on this fucker. Visually, it's fucking fascinating. It's also a more ambitious and demanding film than the Friedkin original, although not nearly as good and a lot more ridiculous. I'm not scared by The Exorcist, never been, even though I admire it. But this sequel inspires laughter and awe in equal measures.

I think what Boorman should have done is made his own film to explore this themes that wasn't a sequel. Because, as a sequel, it's a complete failure. And one of the more obvious reasons for this is that it doesn't even have a starting point. As an audience we're simply asked to assume that Regan is still possessed, which renders much of the events of the first film kind of meaningless. Richard Burton's priest character is kind of funny. He's like a Catholic superhero who travels the world, climbs mountains and simply punchs Pazuzu in the face instead of performing an exorcism.

I also laughed really hard at this exchange.

Female Psychologist: Don't you ever want a woman, Father?
Father Burton (deadly serious): Yes.

[Dukefrukem]

It's one of my horror favorites.

I just watched it about two weeks ago, and smiled through most of it.

I'm pretty sure I was oblivious to all of the intentional camp when I first saw it, and I used to detest that story, Duke. It seemed to stop the movie, and I would often hit FF until it was done or just skip ahead, but I honestly enjoy it now, especially the ending.

I think my extensive collection of EC Comics made me appreciate it all the more.

Ok. I admit it. I stopped watching after the farm one. The rest of the stories are AWESOME. Loved the Leslie Nielsen episode.

[Dukefrukem]

Creepshow is a mixed bag ranging from great fun to why the fuck is Stephen King in this acting like an asshole.

oh my god. It IS him!!!!!! :lol::lol::lol: I love this even more now.

[Spun Lepton]

Man, I was so ready to claim Hostel Part II Eli Roth's first great film, but then he had to go and fuck it up in the last 20 minutes. He managed to make me feel particularly bad for these women, especially Heather Matarazzo's character. The writing and direction were better than the first. The overall story was much more interesting. Seemed like a slam dunk!

But, then ...

Roth pulled a really lame switcheroo with the male leads. The meek and timid one became vicious, and the douchebag guy who was all gung-ho about murdering people meeked-out at the first sight of blood. None of it was foreshadowed, not even in the slightest!

God damn it, Eli. Give us a HINT. It doesn't have to be much, just a HINT that these two aren't what they appear to be. You can't build up these characters' personalities for 70 minutes and then swap them at the last minute. That's cheap fucking bullshit.

And I was enjoying it so much until then. God damn it.

6/10

[Dead & Messed Up]

The first forty-odd minutes of Pontypool were absorbing. The remainder was muddled, contrived, and dispiriting.

[megladon8]

The first forty-odd minutes of Pontypool were absorbing. The remainder was muddled, contrived, and dispiriting.


I do think the concept was not very well communicated in the final third and could be seen as "dumb" (though I'm an admitted big fan of the film, and just think the execution wasn't entirely effective).

But man, the movie is downright frightening for the first half.

The phonecalls from the reporter in the field were terrifying. Very unsettling stuff.

I also really dig Stephen McHattie.

[Pop Trash]

Exorcist II is horrible, but I totally dig Exorcist III.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I do think the concept was not very well communicated in the final third and could be seen as "dumb" (though I'm an admitted big fan of the film, and just think the execution wasn't entirely effective).

But man, the movie is downright frightening for the first half.

The phonecalls from the reporter in the field were terrifying. Very unsettling stuff.

I also really dig Stephen McHattie.

Yeah, it's a potentially interesting idea...maybe. I turned skeptical almost instantly, and it was impossible for me to regain my enthusiasm. Maybe if the explanation would've been meted out a little more, or if there was a stronger emphasis on relating

the nonsense words to some sort of brain function. I mean, my understanding is that people shouldn't use "terms of endearment" in the film because those are common types of nonsense - nonsense that the brain accepts. And when McHattie says "Kill is kiss," he's attempting to reboot her brain by using an incongruity the brain wouldn't accept.

Or something.

You're right about the first half, though. Claustrophobic as hell. I briefly wondered if I was going to get a great zombie film in which I never once see a zombie. I thought those calls from the helicopter pilot were terrifically eerie, especially when he put the phone to the guy who...

was supposedly only a torso and was speaking like a two-year-old. That sounds preposterous typed out, but boy did it work.

And McHattie did a fine job.

[megladon8]

Yeah, the moments like the one you mentioned, and the description of the riots and horrors taking place really got to me. I was genuinely disturbed for a while after the first time I watched it.

I do agree that the concept was a little obtuse, and the movie seemed, itself, confused in trying to communicate it. I just kind of went with it, I guess.

It's far from perfect, but I thought it was, say, one of the more interesting failures in the horror genre from the last decade. And I say that affectionately.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yeah, the moments like the one you mentioned, and the description of the riots and horrors taking place really got to me. I was genuinely disturbed for a while after the first time I watched it.

I do agree that the concept was a little obtuse, and the movie seemed, itself, confused in trying to communicate it. I just kind of went with it, I guess.

It's far from perfect, but I thought it was, say, one of the more interesting failures in the horror genre from the last decade. And I say that affectionately.

I don't think it's a failure. It was kinda like watching a baseball player hit what looks like a home-run...but then the ball falls inside the field, and the opposite team stops him between first and second base, and he dodges just in time to slide back into first base.

Or something. I don't like sports.

[Spun Lepton]

Are there any respectable horror-fan websites on the Internet? 'Cuz I've been pretty disappointed by what I've found so far.

[MadMan]

Are there any respectable horror-fan websites on the Internet? 'Cuz I've been pretty disappointed by what I've found so far.The only one I've encountered has been Bloody Disgusting, which I post at under a name that I only realized too late was a reference to a sci-fi film really and not a horror movie, but it works.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I post a little at Bloody-Disgusting, but I'm not really a fan of the style and writing approach for sites like that (ShockTillYouDrop and DreadCentral are other examples). It's all a little too cheesy and tacky for me, with the blood spatters and scary fonts and and studio-press-release-as-news stuff.

(He said with his Walking Dead scary font avatar.)

[MadMan]

No I agree about the style of Bloody Disgusting. Also some of the users though can get quite angry if you challenge any of their thinking-I hardly bother posting in the Halloween thread since so many of them in there hated the Halloween remake; from my understanding, they hated it before it even existed, so they never gave it a fair shake imo. Still its not a bad site, and I think I'll try posting there more since no one knows me there.


(He said with his Walking Dead scary font avatar.) :lol: :pritch:

[Mr. Pink]

Saw The Innkeepers last night. It was good. A few things kept me from completely loving it (subject matter and undressed plot points, mostly), but it was still a solid movie. It basically has the exact same structure of House of the Devil, where it builds slowly and releases a shitstorm of chaos in the remaining minutes, which I enjoy quite a bit. Ti West is pretty good with that structure, so ultimately the movie works, but it wasn't particularly scary, save a few moments at the end. Still a solid 7/10 though.

Re-watched Puppet Master after, and I still enjoy that one. It's a little scattered and some of the movie's logic seems inconsistent, but otherwise it's enjoyable fare. I might watch the sequel tonight. Probably a 6/10.

[D_Davis]

Exorcist II is horrible, but I totally dig Exorcist III.

Exorcist III > The Exorcist

I'd love to see Blatty's final cut of III, but apparently it's been completely lost.

There is a great new book coming out soon:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4128ZvIH8BL._SL500_AA300_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/Exorcist-Studies-Horror-Film/dp/1933618965/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325555885&sr=1-8)

Also, the new 40th Anniversary edition of the novel is amazing. It was my third time reading the novel, and this new version is the one to read. I can't exactly pinpoint what was changed, but it does read better. It's not as much as a redux as King's Unabridged Stand, or the updated Gunslinger, but it is definitely an improved version.

Blatty is just the best.

[megladon8]

Got Arachnophobia for $5 and Red State for $7 at Wal Mart today.

[D_Davis]

Watched the Fright Night remake last night - very good. Loved the part where he lets them escape. Wicked cool.

[Rowland]

Watched the Fright Night remake last night - very good. Loved the part where he lets them escape. Wicked cool.Yes, this is one of last year's most unfairly neglected films, just an all-around, to borrow your apt phrasing, wicked cool genre film, and a vast improvement over the mediocre original.

[MadMan]

Considering that I really dug the original (my rating might be a bit high-85-since I'll admit it is sort of dated and cheesy) based on the buzz surrounding the Fright Night remake I can't help but imagine I'll like it. I think the reason I passed on it in theaters was due to no one else wanting to go with me. Yes I know that you can't talk during the movie, but its nice to have someone else with you after the credits to discuss the film with.

[D_Davis]

Yes, this is one of last year's most unfairly neglected films, just an all-around, to borrow your apt phrasing, wicked cool genre film, and a vast improvement over the mediocre original.

And casting Collin Farrel as the vamp was really genius.

I only wish that they would have introduced the Peter Vincent character sooner. It seemed a little tacked on, or rushed; I felt that they had a hard time meshing the two settings - Vegas and the Suburbs. Seems like they could have done more.

But over all it was just really cool.

[Dukefrukem]

And casting Collin Farrel as the vamp was really genius.


Agreed. That role and his role in Horrible Bosses might be his two best roles he's even taken.

I can't wait to see him in Total Recall.

[Spun Lepton]

Exorcist III > The Exorcist

Hahahahano.

[D_Davis]

Hahahahano.

It's true for both the movies and the books.

I'd rate the book/movie Trilogy of Faith as follows:

The Ninth Configuration > Exorcist III/Legion > The Exorcist

However, seeing as how The Exorcist is a 5-star film and book, we're really just splitting hairs here.

[Spun Lepton]

The Ninth Configuration > Exorcist III/Legion > The Exorcist

However, seeing as how The Exorcist is a 5-star film and book, we're really just splitting hairs here.

I would hesitate to call Exorcist III a 5-star film. It's good, don't get me wrong, but I'd rate it closer to 3.5, maybe 4. The craftmanship of the original is impeccable. Father Karras's character arch is a thing of subtle beauty. I can't say the same for III.

I haven't read the books.

[MadMan]

I've only seen The Exorcist and The Ninth Configuration, both which are great movies although I think The Exorcist is better.

[Pop Trash]

Exorcist III > The Exorcist


Considering The Exorcist is in my top twenty films of all time, there's not a chance in hell I would agree with this.

[D_Davis]

Considering The Exorcist is in my top twenty films of all time, there's not a chance in hell I would agree with this.

Well, The Ninth Configuration is in my top 10, so...

;)

[Spun Lepton]

The Ninth Configuration

I'm surprised I'd never heard of this until now. I looked it up on IMDb. Hope it makes it to Netflix or something. Really curious.

[D_Davis]

I'm surprised I'd never heard of this until now. I looked it up on IMDb. Hope it makes it to Netflix or something. Really curious.

Absolutely brilliant movie, and shows what an amazing writer of comedy Blatty is (before the Exorcist, he was mainly known for his comedy and satire, and the New York Times once said that nobody writes funnier lines than William Peter Blatty). I'm pretty sure Netflix has it on DVD. I highly recommend the book as well, one of the best I've ever read (and I do prefer the reworked version as opposed to the original, Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane).

Blatty is just an all-around amazing author, and far too few people read his stuff.

[Mr. Pink]

I'm surprised I'd never heard of this until now. I looked it up on IMDb. Hope it makes it to Netflix or something. Really curious.

So am I. I didn't even know it existed. Lucky for us:


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And Stacy Keach is in it. Awesome. I'm watching this tonight.

Thanks for the heads up, D_Davis.

[D_Davis]

It's funny to hear some of the old radio spots for the film as the studio desperately tried to portray the film as horror; even though it was Blatty's direct follow-up to The Exorcist, it is a sequel in theme only. I can only imagine the original audience's shock to find that the film from, and directed by, the author of The Exorcist was, in fact, more of a theological comedy/thriller.

He has since revisited the themes in Dimiter (although not nearly as successful here) and in Crazy (one of the best books I read last year). I get a lot out of these because Blatty and I have a lot in common regarding faith and religious beliefs; I consider Blatty a kindred spirit.

The commentary track on the DVD of The Ninth Configuration, featuring film critic and Blatty scholar Mark Kermode w/ William Peter Blatty, is fantastic.

[D_Davis]

There is also an interesting connection between the books of The Exorcist and The Ninth Configuration. There is a dinner scene in The Exorcist in which one of the characters is an astronaut. This takes place right at the beginning of Rag's possession, right before the astronaut is supposed to head into space for a mission. Rag's tells him that he's going to die in space, alone. This is again reflected in The Ninth Configuration's main character - an astronaut who is afraid to go to space because he is afraid to die there, because if there is no God then dieing alone in space would be to die utterly alone.

[D_Davis]

Cool little featurette:

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[D_Davis]

Kermode on Legion et al.

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[MadMan]

I got lucky and found a DVD copy of The Ninth Configuration at my local public library. I've only seen it once, though, and I believe that was back in 2008 or 2009.

[Dukefrukem]

Just added Exorcist 2 and 3 to the top of my netflix queue. Never bothered with theses.

[D_Davis]

Just added Exorcist 2 and 3 to the top of my netflix queue. Never bothered with theses.

Don't even bother with 2. One of the worst films I've ever seen.

[Dukefrukem]

Can't be worse than Cabin Fever.

[D_Davis]

Can't be worse than Cabin Fever.

Way worse than Cabin Fever.

[Scar]

Don't even bother with 2. One of the worst films I've ever seen.

I can't back this statement.

Only because I only made it about ten minutes in.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I have alcohol. I also have Tucker and Dale. We'll see how this goes.

[megladon8]

The Shrine, a low-budget Canadian horror flick (actually filmed not far from here, and by people from my town) has a couple of neat ideas but the execution is way off.

What begins as a Lovecraftian crazy-cult-town film turns into a possession film, and while the base concepts and little switcheroo it pulls on the audience are cool on paper, like I said above the execution is just too amateur to be effectively frightening or to be enjoyed as a quality film.

The cinematography lends the film a made-for-TV feel which does it no favors, particularly when the film's effects are so poorly rendered. I've not seen a more unconvincing fog in my life.

It's hard for me to completely dislike it when I thought it showed real promise at times, but the end result was the feeling of a wasted opportunity and half-wrought ideas.

[Boner M]

The Leopard Man is such a black, misanthropic film. 65 minutes of contempt for humanity. I like it.

[Rowland]

The Leopard Man is such a black, misanthropic film. 65 minutes of contempt for humanity. I like it.This movie is awesome, and probably the earliest antecedent to the slasher film. It's crazy to imagine how this, I Walked With a Zombie (which I recall you're not a big fan of), The Seventh Victim, and the underrated Ghost Ship were all produced within the same year.

[megladon8]

Let Me In was good, but there's really no comparison - the original is by far the superior film.

I was surprised how much the film simultaneously distanced itself from and embraced the original film's story and scenes. Overall the American film has a nearly identical base, which made it hard for Reeves' attempts at originality to ring true. It felt at times like he couldn't decide whether to do a Van Sant's Psycho type of exact remake, or to do his own thing with the material.

I was also not at all surprised that the...

...shot of the "girl's" mutilated genitals...

...was removed from the American film.

[Dead & Messed Up]

The Leopard Man is such a black, misanthropic film. 65 minutes of contempt for humanity. I like it.

Woot. This might be my favorite Lewton-produced picture. Haunting and immersive, like all of the Lewton-Tourneur works, lovingly melancholic.

[Ezee E]

Let Me In was good, but there's really no comparison - the original is by far the superior film.

I was surprised how much the film simultaneously distanced itself from and embraced the original film's story and scenes. Overall the American film has a nearly identical base, which made it hard for Reeves' attempts at originality to ring true. It felt at times like he couldn't decide whether to do a Van Sant's Psycho type of exact remake, or to do his own thing with the material.

I was also not at all surprised that the...

...shot of the "girl's" mutilated genitals...

...was removed from the American film.
I found the American one to be much more visceral and violent then the Swedish one. Love them both.

[Boner M]

This movie is awesome, and probably the earliest antecedent to the slasher film. It's crazy to imagine how this, I Walked With a Zombie (which I recall you're not a big fan of), The Seventh Victim, and the underrated Ghost Ship were all produced within the same year.
I've had a strange relationship with IWWaZ; loved it as a teenager, but saw it a couple of times since and found it equally dull on each viewing aside from the ceremony section. Dunno what happened in the intravening years, seems like the kind of film I should love more with time.

Big fan of The Seventh Victim, though. One of the most casually nightmarish films I can remember. Gonna watch The Ghost Ship this week (borrowed a few discs of the Lewton set from a friend, including Kent Jones' fine doco on him).

[MadMan]

The Seventh Victim seems to be the one Lewton movie I need to revisit. At some point I would like to finally view Ghost Ship, Bedlam, and Curse of the Cat People, and then revisit all of the Val Lewton movies.

The Leopard Man is one of my favorites from the collection, and I do agree that it is one of the earliest examples of the slasher genre. BTW, when Scream 4 featured a scene where one of the characters had to name famous early slasher movies, I almost yelled in the theater "Say The Leopard Man!" But she said Peeping Tom, instead.

[megladon8]

I found the American one to be much more visceral and violent then the Swedish one. Love them both.


This is true, but neither of those descriptors equals "better" for me.

I found the original more touching and visually interesting.

[Dukefrukem]

This is true, but neither of those descriptors equals "better" for me.

I found the original more touching and visually interesting.

This may have swayed me. I've rated both of these movies the same because I couldn’t pinpoint which movie did a more effective job of storytelling, but I do remember feeling a little bit more sincerity coming from the Sweedish version.

Also, I watched Them! last night. Fantastic.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Reviewed Dead Ringers on the blog. Review also below. Slightly less effusive than my original reaction.

There are great movies, and there are movies that contain greatness. Dead Ringers contains a dual performance by Jeremy Irons that's so riveting, so sympathetic, and so expertly handled by David Cronenberg that the film becomes unforgettable. He portrays identical twins Beverly and Elliott Mantle, Canadian gynecologists who work in the same practice, dress in the same clothes and have sex with the same women. Elliott takes them first, and he gives the leftovers to anxious Beverly; the women mistake him for Elliott, and they can hardly be blamed.

Although his two personalities are bifurcated in a basic way, with one as smug id, the other as effete superego, Irons keeps the twins low-key. They speak in similar cadence, at similar volume, both keeping stronger emotions buried. Rather than being hit over the head with a binary archetype, viewers continually search for hints of difference. There are many scenes where it's difficult to remember who is who, and that's a good thing. In fact, that's the most important thing. We aren't meant to see these men as two people, but as two sides of a coin. The film is about watching that coin spin and fall.

Iron's stunning performance (with aid from Cronenberg's control) explains why Dead Ringers can get a couple of key things wrong and still feel overwhelmingly successful. For example, the film introduces actress Claire Niveau (Geneviève Bujold) as a feminine wedge between the two men. No joke - the men fall in love with her cervix. Bujold plays her role as constantly exhausted, which makes sense - actresses in the movie business have a limited lifespan, and every gig matters. However, her increasing absence in the main story suggest that her character's less of a person and more of a plot motivator. They eventually push her out, like a graft that doesn't match the host.

Another example. There's a scene later in the film when a drug-addled Beverly seeks out a metallurgist to make him some new gynecological tools - they look like something H. R. Giger might use to chop salad. The implements point back to earlier Cronenberg "body-horror" images, like the gun-hand of Videodrome and organic breakdown of The Fly, but those images felt more essential to their respective films. These tools offer an hint of the lurking grotesquerie inside Beverly, but they're the only image of their particular style in the film, and they don't contribute anything beyond their essential weirdness. Which makes them feel like a needless addition, a stylistic red herring.

Mostly, that detour frustrates because it diverts the story from its true focus: the mutually-assured destruction of Beverly and Elliott, who are as inseparable as Chang and Eng. Whenever Cronenberg focuses on them, either with careful editing or elegant in-camera , the film mesmerizes. The film doesn't have the more gratifying thrills of a film like Black Swan, which uses its twinning premise to create an emotional flurry of shame and desperation and violence. This film trudges to a marked grave. There's a moment in the film when the degenerating Beverly forces Elliott to choose whether to leave his brother behind or descend to his level in the hopes of pulling him out. This being a horror film by David Cronenberg, there's no surprise as to what Elliott will choose, but God help me, there's so much dread.

Unrelated:

Which horror films from last year did you guys like the most?

[Dukefrukem]

Which horror films from last year did you guys like the most?

In order:

1. Fright Night
2. Rubber (does this count?)
3. Troll Hunter
4. Insidious
5. Stake Land
6. Seconds Apart
7. The Thing
8. The Resident
9. Vanishing on 7th Street
10. Hobo with a Shotgun

----

11. the Ward

[megladon8]

Why do you qualify Hobo With a Shotgun as horror, Duke?


I think Insidious is probably the best horror film I saw from 2011, but it seemed to be a pretty weal year overall for the genre. I'm hoping that Fright Night will bump it out of the "top spot" when I see it. Really looking forward to that one.

[Rowland]

I think Insidious is probably the best horror film I saw from 2011, but it seemed to be a pretty weal year overall for the genre. I'm hoping that Fright Night will bump it out of the "top spot" when I see it. Really looking forward to that one.Black Death, Kill List, and The Innkeepers are quite good, the former a US 2011 release and the latter two technically considered by IMDB as 2011 releases. Also, I don't think many around here have seen it yet, but Final Destination 5 was surprisingly well-made; as someone who has now seen FD's 2, 3, and 5, I'd say the latest is the best. Some other worthwhile horror films I saw last year amidst all the crap were The Woman, Husk, Julia's Eyes, The Silent House, Vanishing on 7th Street, and while I didn't quite like it as a whole, Rubber is probably a must-see.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I know Attack the Block is a genre hybrid, but I would say that's the best horror-related release I saw from last year, with Black Death a close second. Really want to see The Innkeepers.

I saw more, but I'm not really at a mental place where I can rank or discuss them. Too tired. Maybe tomorrow. Don't wait for me! / Hooper

[megladon8]

I know Attack the Block is a genre hybrid, but I would say that's the best horror-related release I saw from last year, with Black Death a close second. Really want to see The Innkeepers.

I saw more, but I'm not really at a mental place where I can rank or discuss them. Too tired. Maybe tomorrow. Don't wait for me! / Hooper


Black Death is one I'm totally interested in, but I can't seem to get a good grasp of what, exactly, it is.

Is it more The Wicker Man or more Kingdom of Heaven? More horror or more period action piece?

[Rowland]

I know Attack the Block is a genre hybrid, but I would say that's the best horror-related release I saw from last yearIf we're going to include that as horror, then it's my favorite as well.

[Dukefrukem]

Why do you qualify Hobo With a Shotgun as horror, Duke?


Well I realize it's supposed to imply some sense of hyperbole but what would you classify it as? Drama?

[Dukefrukem]

I know Attack the Block is a genre hybrid, but I would say that's the best horror-related release I saw from last year, with Black Death a close second. Really want to see The Innkeepers.

I saw more, but I'm not really at a mental place where I can rank or discuss them. Too tired. Maybe tomorrow. Don't wait for me! / Hooper

I didn't include it on my list because of the hybrid aspect that you pointed out. It would be above Fight Night on my list.

[Spun Lepton]

Well I realize it's supposed to imply some sense of hyperbole but what would you classify it as? Drama?

Comedy.

Nothing stands out for me. At all. 2011 was a poor year for film in general.

As for Rubber, I would rank it among the bottom-worst.

[Rowland]

2011 was a poor year for film in generalMaybe mainstream Hollywood cinema, but it has been the best year for me in many years.

[Spun Lepton]

I really want to see Attack the Block.

[Spun Lepton]

Oh, I know what I'd probably call the best horror -- even though it's a horror/comedy -- of the year. Hopefully it was a 2011 release (hehe).

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.

[Rowland]

Oh, I know what I'd probably call the best horror -- even though it's a horror/comedy -- of the year. Hopefully it was a 2011 release (hehe).

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.I liked this for its first half, but felt it grew increasingly stale as it began repeating the same jokes and managing to be both too cutesy in the tone of its humor and taking its lame arcs too seriously. I wouldn't go out of my way to discourage anyone from watching it though, wasn't outright bad or anything.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I liked this for its first half, but felt it grew increasingly stale as it began repeating the same jokes and managing to be both too cutesy in the tone of its humor and taking its lame arcs too seriously. I wouldn't go out of my way to discourage anyone from watching it though, wasn't outright bad or anything.

Tyler Labine was fantastic, and the central conceit was very clever (that idiot teenagers don't need any help dying in the woods), but I agree with this. It got real repetitive for me as the film went on. I liked it, but just barely, and mostly for the first thirty or forty minutes.

[megladon8]

Well I realize it's supposed to imply some sense of hyperbole but what would you classify it as? Drama?


Comedy. Maybe action-comedy.

I don't think the movie was ever tryingto scare the audience, which is (for me) a big qualifier for the horror genre.


You know what movie I've got a real itch to watch again soon? Marebito. Oh, and Pulse (the Japanese one...duh).

[Dead & Messed Up]

You know what movie I've got a real itch to watch again soon? Marebito. Oh, and Pulse (the Japanese one...duh).

That's the only Pulse there is. I'm also thinking it's high time I bought Uzumaki. Maybe Kwaidan too.

[Spun Lepton]

Uzumaki.

Dude, if you like the movie, check out the manga. It's the only manga I've ever purchased and it was well worth it. SOOOoooo much better than the movie, and I even like the movie.

[MadMan]

The best horror movies I saw last year are:

1. Repulsion (1965)
2. The Fly (1986)
3. Black Swan (2010)
4. The Changeling (1979)
5. Ginger Snaps (2001)
6. Creepshow (1982)
7. Slither (2006)
8. Cronos (1993)
9. Deep Red (1975)
10. Kairo aka Pulse (2001)

The rest of the list:


Rest of the Top 20:

11. House (1977)
12. Cat People (1982)
13. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
14. Attack The Block (2011)
15. Christine (1983)
16. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)
17. The Hitcher (1986)
18. Equinox (1970)
19. Rubber (2010)
20. Shivers (1975)

Muddled Middle:

21. The Devil Rides Out (1968)
22. I Love Sarah Jane (2008)
23. My Bloody Valentine (1981)
24. Scream 4 (2011)
25. Strange Behavior (1981)
26. Raw Meat (1972)
27. Dead Buried (1981)
28. Innocent Blood (1992)
29. The Dunwich Horror (1970)
30. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
31. Dementia 13 (1964)
32. Halloween H20 (1998)
33. Piranha (2010)
34. Popcorn (1991)
35. A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
36. The Langoliers (1994)
37. Le Frisson des Vampires; Strange Things Happen at Night (The Shiver of the Vampires)(1971
38. Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)
39. The Gorgon (1964)

Mediocre/Crap:

40. I Spit On Your Grave (2010)
41. Undead (2003)
42. Die Monster, Die! (1963)
43. Lady Frankenstein (1971)
44. Night of the Ghouls (1959)
45. Don't Look In The Basement (1973)

I loved Attack the Block, though, even though its just as much sci-fi/action as it is horror. I wasn't sure if Lost Highway really qualifies as a horror movie, otherwise that would be the best one I saw from last year. After some thought, I realized that Black Swan can be considered body horror. 45 isn't bad for me last year, although I will admit that August-October inflated the total a bit. Yet that's been true for every year of viewing since 2008.

[MadMan]

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) could have been better, but it was still a decent and semi-engaging film that embellishes certain aspects of the famous Texas murders that took place in 1946. The actual killer wore a hood, and was responsible for murdering at least 5-7 people, I think. Having Ben Johnson in this film as a Texas Ranger is kind of an amusing and good bit of casting, and some of the attack scenes are creepy and well executed. Clearly this movie suffered from a low budget, but it in a small way inspired Friday the 13th Part 2 (Bag Headed Jason), and really its documentary style feel was kind of ahead of its time. I'm glad that TCM airs Grindhouse films like this one, since many of these types of films do not get good DVD releases.

[Dukefrukem]

That's a good list, but if you were posting that in response to D&MU's post, I think he just wanted to know what movies were great from 2011.