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

[Dead & Messed Up]

Perhaps, but Cameron is far too serious about that particular narrative to have pushed for that type of performance, and Cameron is such a controlling director, I'm not sure how much credit Zane should be given.

I'd like to give him all the credit. I'd also like to give him credit for the miniature work and craft service. Zane's awesome.

[Dukefrukem]

Demon Knight is hysterical. Billy Zane has never been better. Admittedly, that isn't saying much. But still, he was great.

This. Fucking love that movie. It also has a huge nostalgia value for me since I remember I had to beg my parents to let me rent it at Blockbuster... on VHS. :lol:

[Dukefrukem]

Thank you, Spun. Jason Goes To Hell is one of the worst in the series. If it wasn't for Jason X, it would be the worst. Part 3 also sucks. This is why I'm fine with only owning the first 8 films on DVD-they should have just shelved the series until Freddy vs. Jason.

When was the last time you saw Jason X?

[Spun Lepton]

Out of morbid curiosity, I attempted to watch Hostel III on Netflix. Just terrible. Overlit, hammy acting, dumb story. Did not finish. 2/10

[transmogrifier]

Saw Rob Zombie's Halloween remake. I don't think making it an origin story worked, because the second half, which should have been terrifying and relentless, was undermined by the fact that Myers had been portrayed as your average, run-of-the-mill movie psychopath. It was never boring, but never really took off. Plus, it was interesting that the violence is relatively tame, but Zombie ramps up the casual nudity at the same time.

Anyway, the real reason I'm posting is that I have the sequel as well, and though I know it was poorly received critically, I vaguely remember some people on here flipping for it (at least, relatively speaking). Rowland? Scar? Those are the two names that come to mind first. Anyway, basically, what I want to know is whether the sequel has any difference in tone or focus to the first one? I'm somewhat excited to see it, but I don't know why.

[megladon8]

I thought H2 was very exciting, and a huge improvement over the first in how it completely abandons any attempt to remake any of the original films, instead showing Zombie's own horror creation in this hulking, bearded Michael Myers.

Similar to any of Zombie's other films the writing is at times painfully bad, but it oozes with style and some genuine shocks.

I really dug it.

[Scar]

Zombie's Halloween movies have grown on me significantly. I really like both of them now, even though I gave the first one a lukewarm reception and didn't care for the sequel on my first viewings of each film.

The second one is rather brutal at times, and Mikey's sister's screaming can grate on you at times. I think my main issue on my first viewing was simply that Mikey wasn't wearing the mask at times. In hind sight, that was rather lame on my part.

Give it a shot and let us know what you think.

[MadMan]

When was the last time you saw Jason X?Horrorfest 2009, I believe. My memory on it is pretty good, and I doubt a rewatch would change anything. Really I bet it would just make me hate the movie more.

For now I prefer Zombie's Halloween remake over his own sequel, although the sequel had some really cool moments and the White House material was the best aspect of the entire film. I'm willing to give it another chance, and I do agree with trans that the second half of Zombie's Halloween (2007) really doesn't work as well as the first half. I went in expecting to hate the origin stuff and instead finding it to be the strongest part of the film, where as when the movie started falling into bad slasher movie cliches I got somewhat bored. I'm reminded that I should get around to seeing more of Zombie's work-my local video store has both House of a 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects.

[Scar]

For now I prefer Zombie's Halloween remake over his own sequel, although the sequel had some really cool moments and the White Horse material was the best aspect of the entire film.

Fixed.

[Rowland]

Saw Rob Zombie's Halloween remake. I don't think making it an origin story worked, because the second half, which should have been terrifying and relentless, was undermined by the fact that Myers had been portrayed as your average, run-of-the-mill movie psychopath. It was never boring, but never really took off. Plus, it was interesting that the violence is relatively tame, but Zombie ramps up the casual nudity at the same time.

Anyway, the real reason I'm posting is that I have the sequel as well, and though I know it was poorly received critically, I vaguely remember some people on here flipping for it (at least, relatively speaking). Rowland? Scar? Those are the two names that come to mind first. Anyway, basically, what I want to know is whether the sequel has any difference in tone or focus to the first one? I'm somewhat excited to see it, but I don't know why.I'm the one who really flipped for the sequel, specifically the director's cut, which then caused me to revisit the first one in its director's cut form, retroactively improving my appreciation for that film as well. The focus and tone of the sequel is similar, but they are recalibrated in key areas that clarify Zombie's aesthetic/humanist vision.

[Mr. Pink]

Alright, you guys have convinced me to see Zombie's second Halloween. I was too annoyed by the first one, but I guess it can't hurt to give the second one a shot.

[Boner M]

Shock Waves - not much to recommend aside from the grungy/accidentally-hypnogogic visual sense, the always surreal sight of aqua-Nazi-zombies traversing across horizon lines, the evocative marshland setting, and the perennial hotness of Brooke Adams, who then went on to consecutively star in Days of Heaven and Kaufman's Body Snatchers (probably the best career move ever in my books). So plenty to recommend, I guess.

[Ivan Drago]

Horrorfest 2009, I believe. My memory on it is pretty good, and I doubt a rewatch would change anything. Really I bet it would just make me hate the movie more.

Jason X is up there on the list of the worst movies I've ever seen.

[Rowland]

Shock Waves - not much to recommend aside from the grungy/accidentally-hypnogogic visual sense, the always surreal sight of aqua-Nazi-zombies traversing across horizon lines, the evocative marshland setting, and the perennial hotness of Brooke Adams, who then went on to consecutively star in Days of Heaven and Kaufman's Body Snatchers (probably the best career move ever in my books). So plenty to recommend, I guess.I discovered this one during my horror marathon back in October of 2010, wrote a bit (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=294164&postcount=59) about it. Maybe I'll try doing another of those this year, it was fun.

[Boner M]

I discovered this one during my horror marathon back in October of 2010, wrote a bit (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=294164&postcount=59) about it. Maybe I'll try doing another of those this year, it was fun.
That's where I heard the film was good! I'd had it gathering dust on my shelf beforehand.

So yeah, do another round.

[megladon8]

Jason X is great.

[MadMan]

Jason X is up there on the list of the worst movies I've ever seen.I wouldn't go that far, but its bad, yes.


Fixed.Heh....one letter change :lol:

Shock Waves is a film that I should have viewed when it was still on Netflix Instant Viewing. It looks pretty craptastic.


Jason X is great.Look I understand what they were aiming for, but Jason X failed to be particularly funny or interesting. And the characters in that movie were awful. I liked the sleeping bag homage, and some of the kills were good, but that's about it.

[Scar]

Jason X is great.

I had an awesome time with it in theaters. Subsequent viewings were not kind. My reaction to the film is very similar to an exponential decay graph.

[Mr. Pink]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7262/7461862232_fc2e6803b4_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/81468188@N06/7461862232/)

[Scar]

:pritch:

[Dukefrukem]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7262/7461862232_fc2e6803b4_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/81468188@N06/7461862232/)

:lol:

My enjoyment goes into the negative region (turns to hatred) when Shredder shows up.

[Spun Lepton]

Shredder?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Shredder?

Super-Jason.

[Spun Lepton]

Super-Jason.

Ah. You know, I always thought it was nice of the nanobots to reconstruct his mask, too.

[Dukefrukem]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S-uD9s83UuU/TyiHYE4RyrI/AAAAAAAAAWs/XOadHcPQcHU/s1600/super%2Bshredder.png
http://thewolfmancometh.files.wordpre ss.com/2011/02/jason-x-uber-jason-voorhees-super-jason.jpg

[Rowland]

Oh yeah, Body Bags is worth watching for Carpenter's two very solid segments, and watching him perform the Crypt Creeper role of introducing each segment is amusing in a lame sort of way. The Tobe Hooper segment that concludes the anthology is really weak though, and that it's followed by a cameo that hilariously dates the film (think shortly lived trendy comedians of the early '90s) really ends it on a sour note. Still, it's worth seeking out for Carpenter fans (ahem (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho6EXXj1fog&feature=related)).

[Dead & Messed Up]

Wrote a piece about Dante's "Homecoming" for my blog. Text below:

It's one thing to make a horror movie about undead zombies who want to vote. It's something else entirely to make those undead soldiers embittered Iraqi War veterans who want to vote out George W. Bush...and to film the movie in 2005, two years after Operation Iraqi Freedom kicked into gear. Filmed as part of Showtime's Masters of Horror anthology series, what makes "Homecoming" so smart - and what gives it longevity - is the respect afforded the dead. Most of the brave young ex-men we see (curiously, there are no female soldiers) have poise, compassion, and a sense of honor. The main cast of Washington insiders observe these resurrected souls for a moment or two, and then they figure out how to spin the supernatural disruption into a victory for their team. When that fails, they intern the undead, Guantanamo style. Forget the zombies - these guys are the real ghouls.

The satire in "Homecoming" barely qualifies as such, given that the "heroes" are essentially real-life politicos with different names. Bald bespectacled presidential advisor Karl Rove is now bald, bespectacled presidential advisor Kurt Rand (Robert Picardo). Blustery blonde conservative Ann Coulter, author of Treason, is now blustery blonde conservative June Cleaver (Thea Gill), author of Subversion. Smaller bits are similarly cut whole-cloth from reality. Hero David Murch (Jon Tenney) complains about being called a dick on live TV (a reference to Jon Stewart's infamous appearance on Crossfire). A Cindy Sheehan lookalike is rudely cut off, O'Reilly style, by a busy commentator. There's a fun time capsule quality to the film - what's here is an accurate picture of the social landscape in 2005. Indeed, "Homecoming" might be an entry in Masters of Horror, but it feels like a morbid op-ed from the Onion.

The film's premise comes from Dale Bailey's "Death and Suffrage," a disquieting short story about dead people rising in response to gun control laws. Scriptwriter Sam Hamm keeps a few of the same beats and reworks the rest into an attack on the presumed duplicity of the Bush Administration. Despite some token attempts at parity, most notably with a quivering liberal candidate with no history of military service, the film is nakedly anti-Bush. There's a temptation to write this one-sided material off as tasteless, the exploitation and politicization of dead soldiers, but given that soldiers represent the foreign policy of the USA, isn't their politicization impossible to avoid? Don't they inherently say something about military policy, merely by their presence? Or even their absence? Reflect on how the former ban on photographing soldiers' coffins is itself a political statement. Even if intended to be respectful, it's the government literally hiding a cost of war.

Back in 2005, a film like "Homecoming" was rare, but not without peer. It broadcast a year after the release of American Idiot, Team America: World Police, and Land of the Dead. However, those ostensible screeds lacked the focus of Dante's film. American Idiot's rock opera story offered only two anti-Bush songs (the title track and "Holiday") before shifting from attacks on a "redneck agenda" into a broader tale of doomed romance and disillusionment. Team America tweaked empty rah-rah American exceptionalism ("America, fuck yeah!"), but Stone and Parker were willing to switch their full attention to an excessive critique of priggish liberal actors...or drop all pretense of satire for puppet intercourse. Probably the closest analogue is George Romero's Land of the Dead, but despite that film's use of a corporate high-rise as an symbolic target, Romero's chief interest was class warfare instead of the military kind. Viewed today, that film is prescient. Its disenfranchised zombie uprising prefigures the emergence of Occupy Wall Street.

Re-watching "Homecoming" years later, I'm struck not only by how passionately felt it is, but by the range of the satire, which veers from the incisive to the oppressively blunt. There's a scene where John Tenney's David Murch offers a quiet summation of George W. Bush's persona. "He's not stupid - he has a gift for making stupid people think they're as smart as he is." Marty Clark (Terry David Mulligan) is a convincing composite of cable news reporters, with his inability to challenge pundits and his oddly mannered cadence (echoes of Wolf Blitzer). One of my favorite bits involves a corpulent priest invoking the zombie resurrection as proof of Christianity. After the zombies start voting against Bush, he dismisses them as Hell spawn. Elsewhere, Jane Cleaver levels a shotgun and screeches at "maggot-infested zombie dissidents!"

I'm also struck by the relative tightness of the story. The film juggles its main premise alongside intriguing arcs for David Murch and Jane Cleaver. As his blase attitude gives way to compassion, she self-improves (if "improves" is the right word) from a vulgar loudmouth into a sly usurper, stealing Murch's job from right under him. Concurrently, the viewer gets progressively larger hints that something tragic lurks in David's past. I admit, the needless voice-over narration frustrates. It exists mostly to justify the opening action stolen from the film's final reel. This is a common device used to start a slow-burn story with a "bang" ("Chocolate" from Masters of Horror similarly starts at the violent end and rewinds the tape), but I don't think it's necessary. It's an acquiescence to screenplay how-to's and juvenile audience members.

After the critical success of "Homecoming," Masters of Horror doubled down on satire in its second season, covering controversial subjects like revisionist history ("The Washingtonians"), abortion clinics ("Pro-Life"), and the Terri Schiavo case ("Right to Die"). Even Hamm and Dante dipped back into politics, albeit gender politics, with an unsettling adaptation of "The Screwfly Solution," a story about a plague that turns men into misogynist psychopaths. None of these episodes, however, offer the firecracker energy of "Homecoming." There's genuine fun in watching Beltway sleazeballs getting theirs, complete with broken necks and shattered skulls as punishment for their sins. The closing images are gloriously cheesy, with the government in seclusion, Washington overrun with "reinforcements," and a zombiefied "Spirit of '76" that would be facepalm-inducing if it wasn't so damned cheerful.

However, for all these outsized attacks lobbed by the filmmakers, it's the reserved approach to the soldiers that I value most. They're quiet. They're deeply sad. They're in pain. A soldier explains that they don't communicate because it hurts to speak. One sequence stands on its own, outside the drama. The government's locking up zombie soldiers, and a wayward refugee takes cover in a restaurant. The restaurant owner and his wife take pity on him - they have a son like him in the war. They cover him in a blanket, offer him coffee. Everyone else treats him like a pawn, but they learn his name. They see him as he is. A young man named Michael. There's no traditional horror in "Homecoming." The horror comes from watching soldiers sacrificed to a bunch of conniving middle managers in a global game of "friend or foe."

[Spun Lepton]

Attempted to watch Autopsy on Instant last night, one of the 9 Films to Bore You or whatever it's called. Wow, what a stinker. I mean, yeah. Wow. Poor Robert Patrick for getting mixed up in this mess. Directionless story, boring characters. Lots of time is spent with scared people wandering empty hospital hallways. The gore is pretty fake looking.

Couldn't finish it.

2/10

[Dead & Messed Up]

Finally watched Ringu for the first time. Good, chilly flick. Wish its elements weren't so thoroughly part of pop culture. I can only imagine how creepy Sadako would've been otherwise.

Kind of hilarious how the whole misadventure on the island is kind of a red herring.

[Rowland]

I was distracted by reality about halfway through, but so far, The Pact is kinda really fucking creepy. Anybody hear of it? I'm going to finish it now.

[Bosco B Thug]

I was distracted by reality about halfway through, but so far, The Pact is kinda really fucking creepy. Anybody hear of it? I'm going to finish it now. Heard of it. It's on Rotten Tomatoes. Getting fairly mixed reviews. Agnes Bruckner is in it, I've always wanted to see her again in something good.

Piranha '10 is bad. I thought it might turn out okay when Elisabeth Shue shows up being somewhat badass, and the film lets its not-vacuous teen girl protagonist take the body shot off the porn star, but then the film gets judgmental and unpleasant and then boring. I should've trusted my gut from the beginning when the film thinks we want to see Matt Hooper get feasted on ingloriously.

Also noted: Adam Scott could not be trying any less.

[Rowland]

Piranha (Aja 10) - DTHANK YOU.

I was absolutely baffled by the overly positive reception this movie received upon its release, because I kinda hated it. While I'd always been sympathetic to accusations of misanthropy in Aja's previous films, this was the first one in which it really struck a nerve with me, so barefaced is his contempt. And even beyond that, it's almost completely lacking in the way of wit, craft, invention, pathos, or even basic genre competence.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yeah, the misanthropy thing bugged me on initial viewing, but I do think that the film is kinda interesting in how it tries to somehow fuse the light-hearted creature feature style with Aja's joy in the portrayal of suffering. It's like Eight Legged Freaks as directed by Pascal Laugier.

[Rowland]

The thing is, I don't believe Laugier takes joy in his portrayal of suffering, nor does he expect such a response from his audience. Aja is shamelessly pandering, and moreover, when he finally lets loose with his admittedly impressive array of Nicotero-engineered splatter effects in the final act, it suggested to me a joyless meting out of money shots indicative in its debasing spirit of a porn compilation. And even ignoring all this, most of the film is just fucking boring, Jerry O'Connell's sleazy mugging notwithstanding.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Agreement on Laugier. I was just trying to think a vivid way to illustrate the sheer discordance of the whole package (a Hollywood creature flick supervised by an author of the so-called New French Extremity). As for Aja, I've only seen his High Tension and Piranha, so I haven't really formed an overall idea of his interests other than the aforementioned joy of cruelty.

Glad you liked O'Connell. Thought he was the high point of the whole thing.

[MadMan]

Currently I'm watching Slumber Party Massacre II, which for now is really hilarious and super cheesy (I expected this). SPM III is probably really awful, but I'll watch it anyways. There's something oddly feminist about this series, even though its also about women's fear of being murdered by a crazed psychopath armed with a drill (which is of course just another way of showcasing rape without showing rape). The second one btw has the main actress from Wings in the starring role, which just goes to show that starring in trashy horror movies can possibly get you somewhere.

[MadMan]

The 2010 Piranha remake had the same cruel, funny and gory spirit of the 1978 original, which is why I liked it so much. Its mean spirited camp, sure, but I gave in and liked it. Maybe I have a nasty streak in me where I can sit back and enjoy watching dumb ass drunk spring break party goers getting devoured by super fast killer fish.

Oh and Slumber Party Massacre II might be the earliest example of the horror comedy musical, or at least the earliest I've viewed. Some of the film felt rather intentional, but other parts seemed to be completely earnest. Its a fairly decent installment in the series, one that is largely self-parody and has some pretty good musical numbers, too. That drill guitar is classic.

However Slumber Party Massacre III just kind of sucked, or was at least a mediocre mess. Despite some good kills I was rather disappointed with the fact that the movie tries too hard to be nasty and either fails, or sadly achieves such an effort. I'll admit that I'm sounding like critics of the slasher genre, but this film was largely too cruel even for me, and felt out of place when compared to the other two films, both which are much better. I'll admit that slasher films are largely disturbing since they feature plenty of murder, but at least the halfway watchable ones are kind of fun. This movie was the death of fun.

I'm sure at some point I'll cover the entire series in terms of its feminist implications on my blog, although I also viewed the entire trilogy this year in preparation for my fall Horrorfest special on slasher movies (say that three times fast :P) which will probably be featured on a couple of sites I post at. I'm fully prepared for haters, or for low readership, but that's never stopped me before.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Also, I looked into that whole "Asian Wave" horror movement at the turn of the century. Seems like Japan friggin' dominated. Cure, Perfect Blue, and Bio-Zombie technically kick-started the thing in 1998, and they just steamrolled. By the time countries like Thailand and South Korea got their heads in the game, Japan pretty much won. What did they win? I don't know, but they earned every bit of it.

[transmogrifier]

Halloween 2 (Zombie version) was slightly better than the original, mainly because it is more beserk and less shackeled to the psycho-origin story, but it never takes off. Mainly because the "Michael runs into a bunch of strangers and kills them viciously" scene gets put on repeat way too often, and the dread starts seeping out of the film, and boredom sets in. The scenes don't add anything, and they don't counter-point the experience of his sister...they are there to fill in time and satiate gorehounds. But it gets old quick.

[Dukefrukem]

Halloween 2 (Zombie version) was slightly better than the original.

Hehe, you're in the 0.00000000001% of the minority there. Dont ever bring that up on BD.

[megladon8]

That's pretty sad since the minority is right on this one :)

[Rowland]

Hehe, you're in the 0.00000000001% of the minority there. Dont ever bring that up on BD.There is actually a rather sizable cult following for Zombie's H2, it's just not evidently comprised of BD posters. I love H2, though I can completely understand both relative indifference and hate.

[MadMan]

Halloween 2 (Zombie version) was slightly better than the original, mainly because it is more beserk and less shackeled to the psycho-origin story, but it never takes off. Mainly because the "Michael runs into a bunch of strangers and kills them viciously" scene gets put on repeat way too often, and the dread starts seeping out of the film, and boredom sets in. The scenes don't add anything, and they don't counter-point the experience of his sister...they are there to fill in time and satiate gorehounds. But it gets old quick.Your review actually is full of points that I agree with, and ones that illustrate why in the end I was pretty disappointed with Halloween 2.

Still I'd take Zombie's films over most of the original series. The Halloween franchise as a whole was pretty disappointing.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Just double-checked for you all, and don't worry: Wise's The Haunting is still awesomesauce.

Something I never noticed before.

SPOILERS for a movie that really shouldn't need 'em.

According to Markway's backstory, Hugh Crane arbitrarily dies somewhere else, and Markway only offers a passing nod to his drowning. But Eleanor puts so much value in the idea of his ghost being there, and I'd always been of the opinion that his ghost was there, as a sort of horrible final suitor after her failed romantic opportunities with Markway and Theo ("journeys end in lovers' meeting" and all), especially with her confiding to his "statue" late in the game. But now that I reflect on it, would his ghost be there?

The nursery, which Markway calls the "beating heart" of the house's spiritual power, was host to the invalid that parallels Eleanor's mother, which suggests that the invalid's spirit is the real core of the haunting. Could it be that Eleanor escaped her own maternal prison to be drawn into another one? An eternal one? If so, that's worse than the tragic danse macabre I always pictured. Nell's narration at the end says that "we who walk here walk alone." I don't know which is worse - solitude or an eternal repetition of the one thing you hated most.

Maybe the "eternity" factor averages it all out in the end.

It's a blast teasing out these ambiguities, because the answers aren't necessary to the story as told, but they're also essential to the spirit of the film. No pun intended of course.

[Mr. Pink]

Not sure if the detractors saw it in theaters, but the underwater 3-D stuff in Piranha was pretty damned good.


Tried to watch the remake of The Crazies, but shut it off after 30 minutes. Couldn't stand the phony Hollywood conventions so much that I didn't have any interest in seeing how it played out. There must have been a reason it got respectable reviews, but I didn't see it.

As soon as the sheriff decided to coincidentally go back to save his wife once the military guys took off (even though he didn't know they left and it would have been retarded of him to even try), I gave up. If he didn't give that corny jab at the guy who wasn't willing to try and save his own wife, I might've stuck with it, but it was just too much.

[Raiders]

Tried to watch the remake of The Crazies, but shut it off after 30 minutes. Couldn't stand the phony Hollywood conventions so much that I didn't have any interest in seeing how it played out. There must have been a reason it got respectable reviews, but I didn't see it.

Not sure about the Hollywood convention. It's a pretty straight-forward, no-excess kind of film which is why I liked it quite a lot (and I think most who did like it were for similar reasons). It is nothing spectacular, but it is very effective and efficiently handled. I admired its craft a lot, quite a bit more than Romero's original actually.


As soon as the sheriff decided to coincidentally go back to save his wife once the military guys took off (even though he didn't know they left and it would have been retarded of him to even try), I gave up. If he didn't give that corny jab at the guy who wasn't willing to try and save his own wife, I might've stuck with it, but it was just too much.

Not sure what you mean. My memory was that they were taking all the infected to quarantine at the high school and when he escaped, he went to get his wife from there. Don't think a man trying to save his wife is much focused on plausibility of his attempt. Maybe I am misremembering the amount of info given though, but it seemed logical to me when watching.

[Dukefrukem]

I also liked the Crazies. I don't understand how people shut movies off. I've never done this before. I've always watched things in their entirety.

[transmogrifier]

Hehe, you're in the 0.00000000001% of the minority there. Dont ever bring that up on BD.

What's BD?

[Dukefrukem]

What's BD?

Bloody Disgusting. You get banned over there if you even bring up the discussion of which version is better.

[Grouchy]

Hehe, you're in the 0.00000000001% of the minority there. Dont ever bring that up on BD.
I don't understand if he means it's better than Zombie's Halloween or if it's better than Halloween 2, the hospital one.

I think he's wrong either way.

[Dukefrukem]

I think he's wrong either way.

I agree with you which is why your questioning is moot and why I didn't bother to ask.

[Mr. Pink]

Not sure about the Hollywood convention. It's a pretty straight-forward, no-excess kind of film which is why I liked it quite a lot (and I think most who did like it were for similar reasons). It is nothing spectacular, but it is very effective and efficiently handled. I admired its craft a lot, quite a bit more than Romero's original actually.

Yeah, I'm not big on the original, so I was hoping this could pull it off a bit better. Just from the way things were playing out, I was convinced they wouldn't kill off the wife and kid in the beginning (they were burned to death in the house) but when they did I was relieved. Man, that sounds bad.




Not sure what you mean. My memory was that they were taking all the infected to quarantine at the high school and when he escaped, he went to get his wife from there. Don't think a man trying to save his wife is much focused on plausibility of his attempt. Maybe I am misremembering the amount of info given though, but it seemed logical to me when watching.

That's what I'm talking about. I might be remembering it wrong also, so there could have been a throwaway line of exposition that said the army guys already gave up and left. But even still. The sheriff saw firsthand the effects of this new virus/disease, but still goes to go save his quarantined wife, and also rags on someone else for not trying.

So he's upset at someone for something there is basically - as far as he knows - nothing you could do even if you wanted to. The army raids the town, quarantines the infected people, and he's mad at the guy for being realistic. They wouldn't quarantine someone for no reason, and even if she didn't actually have the virus, he's assuming he can rescue her from the military quarantine, even though he already got beat down once.

I could have easily went with it, but his hero line of dialogue about "don't ask me why I'm not willing to let my wife die, and I won't ask you why you are" really killed it for me. They're both basically in a hopeless situation, but it just happens to work out for him because it's a movie.

So instead of thinking he was a noble hero, which is what was intended, I just thought he was being a douchebag. Maybe I gave up too early, but it really kills my faith in the rest of the movie seeing things like that. Take out that one line, and I probably would have been okay with it.

[Mr. Pink]

I also liked the Crazies. I don't understand how people shut movies off. I've never done this before. I've always watched things in their entirety.

Yeah, I usually stick it out, too, but I've been burned too many times before. Once my tolerance level exceeds my interest in seeing how it all plays out, I just call it off.

[Raiders]

Yeah, I'm not big on the original, so I was hoping this could pull it off a bit better. Just from the way things were playing out, I was convinced they wouldn't kill off the wife and kid in the beginning (they were burned to death in the house) but when they did I was relieved. Man, that sounds bad.




That's what I'm talking about. I might be remembering it wrong also, so there could have been a throwaway line of exposition that said the army guys already gave up and left. But even still. The sheriff saw firsthand the effects of this new virus/disease, but still goes to go save his quarantined wife, and also rags on someone else for not trying.

So he's upset at someone for something there is basically - as far as he knows - nothing you could do even if you wanted to. The army raids the town, quarantines the infected people, and he's mad at the guy for being realistic. They wouldn't quarantine someone for no reason, and even if she didn't actually have the virus, he's assuming he can rescue her from the military quarantine, even though he already got beat down once.

I could have easily went with it, but his hero line of dialogue about "don't ask me why I'm not willing to let my wife die, and I won't ask you why you are" really killed it for me. They're both basically in a hopeless situation, but it just happens to work out for him because it's a movie.

So instead of thinking he was a noble hero, which is what was intended, I just thought he was being a douchebag. Maybe I gave up too early, but it really kills my faith in the rest of the movie seeing things like that. Take out that one line, and I probably would have been okay with it.

Not sure about the throwaway line (perhaps he and that character had a bad moment... can't recall), but for his own sake, his wife's fever was due to her pregnancy, as she tried to explain. He was certain she was not in fact infected.

[Pop Trash]

Zombie's Halloween movies are the best since the third one or so. I rewatched the fourth one recently (that I remembered liking back in the day) and it kinda sucked. That era (late 80s-early 90s) was bad for horror/slasher flicks.

[Mr. Pink]

Not sure about the throwaway line (perhaps he and that character had a bad moment... can't recall), but for his own sake, his wife's fever was due to her pregnancy, as she tried to explain. He was certain she was not in fact infected.

That definitely makes more sense, but I'm assuming the military would/could have figured out she wasn't infected, and would have let her go eventually. In that case, he didn't need to be a hero, and definitely didn't need to make the other guy feel bad for not doing anything to save his own wife.

Either way it annoyed me because, just by chance, he happens to choose to be a hero at the exact time the military pulled out. Otherwise it would have been a retarded choice, but worked out because it was a movie.

Mostly though, that line he said basically made me hate him and I didn't want to stick around to see him probably save the day. I'd already accepted at that point this country bumpkin sheriff figuring out how the infection spread almost immediately by guessing it was going through the water. Reminded me too much of The Happening.

I could've gone with it, but that one freegin' line really spoiled it for me.

[Scar]

I rather enjoyed watching The Crazies remake. Its been awhile, so I can't offer much except for the 'ol Scar style review: I liked it.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I rather enjoyed watching The Crazies remake. Its been awhile, so I can't offer much except for the 'ol Scar style review: I liked it.

I remember the supporting actor who played the slowly-goin-nuts guy was pretty awesome, and the rest was alright, as far as brainless remakes go.

[transmogrifier]

I don't understand if he means it's better than Zombie's Halloween or if it's better than Halloween 2, the hospital one.

I think he's wrong either way.

Better than Zombie's Halloween. "Original" was the wrong choice of word on my part. I haven't seen the first Halloween 2.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Re-watched The Innocents today. I don't know that I've seen it since my initial viewing years ago. It's better in ways and worse in ways. I feel awful for the maid who's in every alternate scene to lay out more exposition - it's a dreadfully thankless role, especially against Deborah Kerr, whose performance stands out even more. Her controlled hysterics are awfully intimidating, and I don't know that the "ghosts are real" possibility is even an option, so towering is her paranoia and endless conviction.

Wiki-ing around after watching, I learned that some Victorian readers might've interpreted the children's reactions to Giddens past-dredgery as evidence that Quint and Jessel molested them. I never suspected that, but given Flora's disturbed screaming, it's not a bad reading at all.

Funny thing about watching The Haunting and The Innocents in quick sequence - their sexual angles are both a lot more intriguing and daring than I remember. What with Theo constantly trying to pull Nell away from Markway for some alone time, and with the implied religious repression foisted upon Giddens (which manifests in two mouth-to-mouth kisses with a child), and how that parallels the ravenous sexuality of Quint and Jessel, who were banging all over the place.

[MadMan]

Great thoughts about The Haunting, DaMU. I want to revisit the film and try and remember why I only gave the movie a 90/100 (and what I docked the film points for-I haven't seen it since 2008).

Oh and The Crazies remake was much better than Romero's original. I thought it was a bleak, creepy and well made remake, one that surprised me at how good it actually was. The car wash scene managed to freak me out a great deal, and was well executed.

Oh and I am probably one of the handful of people who actually digs Halloween II (1981). I thought the hospital setting was freaky, and despite it not being as good as the first flick it was a rather solid follow up with some good kills. I don't really care about Myers ending up being Laurie's brother, since I like to play Devil's Advocate and argue that was somewhat implied in the first film anyways.

Anyways Halloween (1978) is great, H2 (1981) is solid, Halloween 3 is decent/hilariously entertaining, H4 is okay, H5 and H6 suck, and H20 is solid. I have not viewed Halloween 8: Busta Rhymes Fights Michael because that movie is probably really godawful. Zombie's Halloween remake is decent, and H2 (2007) is okay/mediocre.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Review of Ringu from blog:

I wish I could rewind to before Bong Joon-Ho made his river monster. Before Kim Ji-Woon told a tale of two sisters. Before Kurosawa produced stories about doppelgangers and end-times. Before that seriously misguided audition and before the town full of sickly spirals. Because before all of that, there was Ringu. Watching it fourteen years after its attack on horror convention is a bit like watching Halloween after enduring the slasher craze of the eighties. The skill is easy to see. The originality? The freshness? Irretrievable. The concept lost to the years of knockoffs and sequels and remakes, the details roaming free in the public consciousness. I can only imagine the joy American fans felt upon release. Getting hold of the movie must've felt like they were finding the ring video itself.

What remains after all these years? Something familiar to fans of "Asian Wave" horror: Ringu is a preposterous plot wrapped in craft so strong that what would be critical flaws in other horror films feel like nitpicks. For example, the shocking speed with which the heroine Reiko (Nanako Matsushima) views a video tape that may hold a death-curse. And how quickly she gets her ex-husband Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada) to watch the death-curse tape. Why are these people so casual about death-curses? Also, think of how a late-film trip to the tape's source ends up having no significant impact on the story - oh, it fleshes out the history, but a later twist reveals it as an over-inflated red herring. Reiko and Ryuji learn the hard way that sometimes the answer is right in front of you, on a bright white sticker.

The premise is infamous. Watch a cursed video tape and die seven days later...unless. Unless what? Unless you can figure out a way to avoid the curse. Despite Ringu's status as a ghost story, most of the film functions as a procedural, with Reiko studying the tape and seeking out its origins, one video clue at a time. The tape itself is more ominous than frightening (the American redux offers a gruesome Quay Brothers variation), but the meting out of the answers is logical and satisfying, with each shot in the tape corresponding to an element in the tragic life and death of one Sadako Yamamura. When the heroes arrive at Sadako's home, the opportunity arises for an easy infodump, but director Hideo Nakata and scripter Hiroshi Takahashi keep things vivid by packaging most of the backstory into a grainy flashback scene.

Nakata's staging of suspense works in the classical way, with silence building the dread and quiet wide-eyed characters looking off-screen at horrible things the audience clearly cannot handle. One of his trickier techniques is how he will suddenly cut to a wide shot with a character standing right in the center. Filmmakers usually like to "match on action," which means they smooth over the abruptness of a cut by joining two shots with a continuous motion. But instead of the actor walking into the shot, or the camera panning to the actor, Nakata has them simply be there. It's a striking way to keep the viewers off-balance. The emphasis on ocean waves and noisome well water also adds to the film's visual identity.

If you're able to see past the basement-damp atmosphere of the picture, weird hints of misogyny emerge. The heroine is frequently given to hysterics: she interrupts a calm dinner scene with sudden shrieks, and a late film moment involves the hero slapping some sense into her. While Reiko lacks a sense of dimension beyond her Nancy Drew sleuthing, Ryuji offers a tragic side with the burden of his psychic abilities. Given Nakata's more proactive and heroic mother in similar ghost-fest Dark Water (a film about equal to this one), these choices are likely incidental. They may even be holdovers from the original Ringu novel, and they clearly exist inside the boundaries of possibility...but they distract nonetheless.

On an initial viewing, Ringu's influence on the horror genre appears to be wide-reaching. The Pang Brothers' The Eye brazenly copies the story structure, complete with a retreat to rustic settings and the double-twist tragedy, and later films also try to tie ghosts to modern technology - look at Pulse, Shutter and Phone (guess what that one's about). Ringu also influenced Hollywood, which is to say, Hollywood bought the rights and remade the film. However, there is one advantage the remake has over this film: the crazy idea to have a horse lose its mind and run around on a boat before diving into the ocean. Sadly, The Ring made the mistake of sucking the horse into the propeller and chopping it up, when the rest of the movie should've been about the horse. He was the only person smart enough to stay the hell away from death-curses.

RATING: B+

[Raiders]

Nice review. It's a shame though that this film, and not the year-earlier Cure, seems to have been the big J-Horror and Hollywood influencer of the last decade-plus. Kurosawa's film is just so much more elegant.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Nice review. It's a shame though that this film, and not the year-earlier Cure, seems to have been the big J-Horror and Hollywood influencer of the last decade-plus. Kurosawa's film is just so much more elegant.

Yeah, I agree with this. I think the difference is that Kurosawa's films are so reserved that they don't offer as visceral an excitement. Ringu has a sexier premise, more immediate thrills, and a more iconic antagonism in Sadako.

[Rowland]

Ringu is good, though it didn't help the film that I'd already seen The Ring, which I still prefer. I'm also partial to Dark Water, and possibly even Nakata's mega-underrated sequel, Ringu 2 (not to be mistaken with his dreadful American sequel, The Ring 2). There's a prequel as well, Ringu 0, which has a solid reputation but I found pretty lousy. And as far as the post-Ringu boom of knockoffs is concerned, the best I've seen is Miike's One Missed Call. Unless we're counting Kurosawa's Pulse, but that doesn't strike me as a knockoff, even if it was intended by its producers as such.

Cure is better than all these, of course.

[Pop Trash]

Oh and I am probably one of the handful of people who actually digs Halloween II (1981). I thought the hospital setting was freaky, and despite it not being as good as the first flick it was a rather solid follow up with some good kills. I don't really care about Myers ending up being Laurie's brother, since I like to play Devil's Advocate and argue that was somewhat implied in the first film anyways.


I watched it a few years ago and dug it as well. Carpenter didn't direct it, but it's the same cinematographer (Dean Cundey, who went on to lens Jurrasic Park, among other things*) as the first one, and is shot really well. There's one long take with a stedicam that is particularly memorable where they follow multiple people on the street (Slacker style) until landing on Michael Myers. The "twist" didn't bother me that much either, since as you said, they were hinting at it all along.

It's not as great as the first one (understandable) but it's still a solid 7/10 movie for me, and my second fave in the entire series.

*although looking on IMDB his career has really crapped out. He recently lensed Jack & Jill and Garfield. Oh lawdy.

[Raiders]

I also prefer Verbinski's remake, as well as Shimizu's first few films in the wake of Nakata's film, notably Ju-on: The Curse and Dark Water.

[Rowland]

I also prefer Verbinski's remake, as well as Shimizu's first few films in the wake of Nakata's film, notably Ju-on: The Curse and Dark Water.Dark Water is Nakata, not Shimizu. And by Ju-on: The Curse, you're referring to his original made-for-television movie? If so, I agree that, a few spotty effects aside, it's creepy as fuck, though my favorite of those is Ju-on: The Grudge 2.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I remember Verbinski's flick for the horse frappe and the monochromatic blue world and little else. As far as the new glut of horror remakes goes, I guess it's one of the less offensive.

[Rowland]

I remember Verbinski's flick for the horse frappe and the monochromatic blue world and little else. As far as the new glut of horror remakes goes, I guess it's one of the less offensive.I think it far out-classes most of the remakes that followed in its wake. Walter Salles' remake of Dark Water is unfairly maligned as well.

[Raiders]

Dark Water is Nakata, not Shimizu. And by Ju-on: The Curse, you're referring to his original made-for-television movie? If so, I agree that, a few spotty effects aside, it's creepy as fuck, though my favorite of those is Ju-on: The Grudge 2.

Oh yeah, well then I prefer Nakata's Dark Water. I was speaking of the direct-to-video original yes. I have only seen it, its sequel (which is a dull half-movie) and Shimizu's Ju-on: The Grudge 1.

[Irish]

I remember Verbinski's flick for the horse frappe and the monochromatic blue world and little else. As far as the new glut of horror remakes goes, I guess it's one of the less offensive.

While the original is seriously disturbing and effective, that scene on the ferry in the remake is remarkable.

Like you, I remember little else about the movie, but that, I think, is one of the best scenes in any genre film from the last ten years.

[Rowland]

Oh yeah, well then I prefer Nakata's Dark Water. I was speaking of the direct-to-video original yes. I have only seen it, its sequel (which is a dull half-movie) and Shimizu's Ju-on: The Grudge 1.The direct-to-video sequel is pretty lousy, though I rather enjoy this insane segment (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Gvyw8jthE&t=2m18s). And yeah, it seems that most people tune out before giving Ju-on: The Grudge 2 a shot, but it's quite good. It's a shame that the R1 dvd release has a terribly shoddy video presentation.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I think it far out-classes most of the remakes that followed in its wake. Walter Salles' remake of Dark Water is unfairly maligned as well.

True. That one was not too shabby. I thought the cast was uniformly strong, and the atmosphere at times matched the original.

[Boner M]

Who Can Kill a Child? (1976) **½
[whatever the opposite of :pritch: is]

[Raiders]

That's actually a pretty good score considering the awfulness, both in its ham-fisted presentation as well as smug theme-wrangling, of those first 8 to 10 minutes. The remainder of the film works to alleviate that poor taste and succeeds pretty well. There's quite a bit of amateurish work in the scripting and acting, but I'm not generally one to hold that against a film (particularly fringe horror films) and the locations and pacing of the film work pretty well to create a palpable and tense environment. I think time has not been too kind, especially in the film's reliance on stupid character horror conventions and making poor decisions and being behind on the curve.

[Boner M]

I kinda liked the prologue, mainly for the balls-out audacity. Not a film I'd argue for, beyond efficiently fulfilling genre parameters, granted.

[MadMan]

In honor of the day of Friday the 13th, a ranking of the series:

1. Freddy v. Jason (2003)
2. Jason Lives (1986)
3. The Final Chapter (1984)
4. Part 2 (1981)
5. Friday the 13th (1980)
6. The New Blood (1988)
7. A New Beginning (1985)
8. Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
9. Friday the 13th (2009)
10. Part 3 (1982)
11. Jason Goes To Hell (1993)
12. Jason X (2002)

PS: The Jason v. Ash v. Freddy comic series is pretty epic, btw.

[transmogrifier]

A recommendation:

Bedeviled (2010)

Don't want to give much away, but this Korean film is a slow burn for the first half, with a consistent tone of unsettling insularism that eventually finds a release valve that is at once cathartic and repellant.

Basic plot is that a young woman from Seoul who finds herself isolated and stressed in Seoul returns to a small offshore island where she spent vacations as a child, and finds that the 9 people left on the island are less than hospitable.....

Not really a horror per se, but certainly a member of Asian extreme cinema. I really liked it.

[Mr. Pink]

That's actually a pretty good score considering the awfulness, both in its ham-fisted presentation as well as smug theme-wrangling, of those first 8 to 10 minutes.

Yeah, that's easily the worst part about it. That's essentially the reason I couldn't enjoy The Crazies, except they did it through the characters, trying to manipulate who I was supposed to care about. But at least you stuck with it.

If you look past the first 5 minutes or so (and I think they reiterate it in the last few), Who Can Kill a Child? is pretty effective.

[Pop Trash]

In honor of the day of Friday the 13th, a ranking of the series...
Somewhat sadly, I too can play this game:

1. The Final Chapter
2. Friday the 13th (org.)
3. Freddy v. Jason
4. Part 2
5. Part 3
6. Friday the 13th (remake)
7. A New Beginning
8. Jason Goes to Hell
9. Jason Takes Manhattan
10. Jason X (didn't even finish this one, yuck, so bad)

Been too long:
Jason Lives
A New Blood

The Final Chapter is the only one I'm that into, but 1-3 are watchable as early 80s slasher time capsules. Freddy v. Jason was more entertaining than it had any right to be. The rest are in descending order of crappiness, but the remake was something of a guilty pleasure for me (despite being, ya know, not good).

[MadMan]

The Final Chapter is the only one I'm that into, but 1-3 are watchable as early 80s slasher time capsules. Freddy v. Jason was more entertaining than it had any right to be. The rest are in descending order of crappiness, but the remake was something of a guilty pleasure for me (despite being, ya know, not good).The fact that I love the series as a whole should disturb me a little (I've never been a gorehound, so the fact that I've embraced slasher movies as much as I have worries me a little).

Oh and right now I'm viewing Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter with the Joe Zito and co. director's commentary. Zito actually did a good job with his installment, but I imagine he didn't want to do another film in the series, which is a shame.

[D_Davis]

Not sure about the Hollywood convention. It's a pretty straight-forward, no-excess kind of film which is why I liked it quite a lot (and I think most who did like it were for similar reasons). It is nothing spectacular, but it is very effective and efficiently handled. I admired its craft a lot, quite a bit more than Romero's original actually.


I agree. It's an excellent film, and classically crafted. One of the better modern horror films, and far superior to the original.

[D_Davis]

1. Freddy v.s Jason - Ronny Yu nailed it. The best looking of all the American franchise horror films, and one of the most entertaining. One of my favorite films.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
2. Jason Goes to Hell
3. Jason X
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.
.
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.
.
.
.
.
.
4. the rest

[MadMan]

The Final Chapter is great fun, and Jason Lives actually plays around with the conventions of not only the series, but the slasher genre as well. The first two films have a fairly solid and creepy atmosphere, and work well as low budget horror movies. Any others I defend are pretty much guilty pleasures, although I never understood the hate that A New Beginning received.

[Pop Trash]

The Final Chapter is great fun, and Jason Lives actually plays around with the conventions of not only the series, but the slasher genre as well. The first two films have a fairly solid and creepy atmosphere, and work well as low budget horror movies. Any others I defend are pretty much guilty pleasures, although I never understood the hate that A New Beginning received.

A New Beginning just felt like a cashgrab to revive the series. It's not even the real Jason Vorhees right? Aside from that, I remember it being lame in other ways too, but it's been far too long to remember specifics.

The Final Chapter should have been just that: the final chapter. It has lots of imaginative kills, nudity, creepy kid Corey Feldman shaving his head and acting all weird, creepy/awesome teenage Crispin Glover dancing around and being his bad self, pot smoking...weren't there hot twins in that one too? It's like they tried to cram every ounce of cool shit they could into that movie.

[Spun Lepton]

Part 4
Freddy vs. Jason
Part 3
Part 2
Part 6
Part 7
Original
Jason X
Part 5
Part 8
Jason Goes to Hell

Haven't seen the remake. No plans.

[Scar]

Haven't seen the remake. No plans.

Its worth it for a glorious set of boobies.

[Mr. Pink]

Haven't seen the remake. No plans.


You should consider it. It's easily better than half of the original series, and I'd even rank it somewhere near the top.

[Scar]

You should consider it. It's easily better than half of the original series, and I'd even rank it somewhere near the top.

I'll get him drunk on whiskey and get him to watch it.

[Mr. Pink]

I'll get him drunk on whiskey and get him to watch it.

Ha. In that case, he'll enjoy the hell out of it.

Not that I expected much, but I was really surprised I was almost instantly forced to consider it one of the best the series has to offer.

[Raiders]

The original Friday the 13th was so awful I never have even bothered with any of them. I do think I should see Freddy v. Jason at some point, but it'll probably be a while.

[Pop Trash]

The original Friday the 13th was so awful I never have even bothered with any of them. I do think I should see Freddy v. Jason at some point, but it'll probably be a while.

Every party has a pooper that's why we invited you party pooper.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Every party has a pooper that's why we invited you party pooper.

He's right. The first movie sucks.

[MadMan]

A New Beginning just felt like a cashgrab to revive the series. It's not even the real Jason Vorhees right? Aside from that, I remember it being lame in other ways too, but it's been far too long to remember specifics.The whole series is a cash grab. I enjoyed that entry because of some good kills, plus the fact that those in charge of the series tried to go in a slightly different direction. Had Tommy Jarvis become the new Jason, that would have been amazing. But alas, that did not happen.


The Final Chapter should have been just that: the final chapter. It has lots of imaginative kills, nudity, creepy kid Corey Feldman shaving his head and acting all weird, creepy/awesome teenage Crispin Glover dancing around and being his bad self, pot smoking...weren't there hot twins in that one too? It's like they tried to cram every ounce of cool shit they could into that movie.As much as I love The Final Chapter, I still slightly prefer Jason Lives. And of course the series should have ended, but it made money so they kept on pumping them out.

The Friday the 13th remake only really works if you regard it as a "Greatest Hits" collection of moments from the first four films, and maybe even a few others. I only saw it because I wanted to finally view a Friday the 13th film in theaters, and while yes there are nice tits and some good humor it kind of falls flat a bit.

Having revisited the original Friday the 13th, I can say that it in fact does not suck. I can't shake the feeling that people are unfairly comparing it to the obviously better first films in the Halloween and ANOES series.


I'll get him drunk on whiskey and get him to watch it.Another reason why Scar rules :lol:

[Spun Lepton]

He's right. The first movie sucks.

It does suck, I'm sorry to say it. It's boring as hell.

[Spun Lepton]

I'll get him drunk on whiskey and get him to watch it.

I've already YouTube'd all the death scenes. What else could I possibly be missing? I hear Jason takes a hostage in it. Jason doesn't fucking take hostages. He's a force of nature, goddamn it. He just kills.

[Spun Lepton]

So, I watched about an hour of Galaxy of Terror on Netflix. Roger Corman, Robert England, Erin Moran, Sig Haig, and -- get this -- Ray Walston. Apparently this is the first film James Cameron ever worked on.

Zero character development, and I mean ZERO. We actually learn nothing about Haig's character until almost 40 minutes in, and then he dies. Cheap sets, cheesy effects. Obviously made to ride the coat tails of Alien. Lots of scenes where characters walk from one cheesy set to another and then back again. There's also a scene where a woman is molested and smothered to death by a giant worm. Pretty nasty way to go, if you ask me.

That said, I'll probably finish it, just to see if my prediction for the ending is true. I've only got 30 minutes left on it. (I turned it off because I was falling asleep.)

[Scar]

I've already YouTube'd all the death scenes. What else could I possibly be missing? I hear Jason takes a hostage in it. Jason doesn't fucking take hostages. He's a force of nature, goddamn it. He just kills.

Boobies.

[Mr. Pink]

I've already YouTube'd all the death scenes. What else could I possibly be missing? I hear Jason takes a hostage in it. Jason doesn't fucking take hostages. He's a force of nature, goddamn it. He just kills.

Aw, that's no fun. There's a few homages/payoffs that I enjoyed quite a bit, in case that helps any.

I don't remember the hostage, but I don't remember being annoyed by it, either -- at least not as annoyed as I was in Freddy Vs. Jason when Jason attacks everyone at the rave at the same time without even switching his weapon.

Not that it's hard to do, but it really is one of the better movies in the series.

[Russ]

I turned it off because I was falling asleep.
How exactly does that work? I mean, was it..

"I'm turning this sucker off because I'm falling asleep."

or was it...

"I'm turning this sucker off because I'm falling asleeeeeeeepppppppppp.....zzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

[Scar]

I've already YouTube'd all the death scenes. What else could I possibly be missing? I hear Jason takes a hostage in it. Jason doesn't fucking take hostages. He's a force of nature, goddamn it. He just kills.

In regards to the 'hostage':

Early in the film, they find Jason's Mom's locket. Her boyfriend says to his girlfriend that she looks kind of like the picture in the locket, ie, she kind of looks like Jason's mommy....

[Spun Lepton]

How exactly does that work? I mean, was it..

"I'm turning this sucker off because I'm falling asleep."

or was it...

"I'm turning this sucker off because I'm falling asleeeeeeeepppppppppp.....zzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

Nodding in and out of consciousness, realizing I wasn't going to be able to stay awake, etc.

[MadMan]

Rewatching The Bad Seed (1956) makes me realize its one of the more underrated horror/dramas in the old school sense. I wish I could have seen the stage play back when it was held, especially since most of the key players were also in the film adaption. Without this movie there is no The Omen, The Exorcist, Children of The Corn, or any other movies with evil children or just an evil kid. I'm surprised that this film hasn't been remade yet, or maybe it already has and I just have never realized that it was.

Oh and just to be nice I gave Jason Goes To Hell one more chance last night. Gore and boobies do not make this a good movie, and the body swapping is so awful it ruins what could have been a halfway decent entry in the series. Sometimes I wonder if maybe people should stop remaking good movies and just tackle the crappy ones-Jason Goes To Manhattan deserves to be a big budget affair where Jason completely and properly goes crazy in The Big Apple.

[Beau]

There's a grammatical error in the title. There's no comma before the "y" conjunction at the end of a list.

:: gets slashed to death ::

[Irish]

There's a grammatical error in the title. There's no comma before the "y" conjunction at the end of a list.

:: gets slashed to death ::

If you translate the title literally ("Blood, Knives, and Boobs") then the comma before the "y" is an Oxford comma and not grammatically incorrect.

[Beau]

If you translate the title literally ("Blood, Knives, and Boobs") then the comma before the "y" is an Oxford comma and not grammatically incorrect.

I'm not sure I understand. I'm aware of the Oxford comma in English and I always use it, but it's not correct in Spanish. At least, not in this case.

I was being an ass for shits and giggles, though. I'm not really anal about this stuff.

[Scar]

I was being an ass for shits and giggles, though. I'm not really anal about this stuff.

<insert juvenile comment here>

[Beau]

Must be that anal fixation of mine.

[MadMan]

Must be that anal fixation of mine.:lol:

Oh and I forgot to note that the Bad Seed has an ending that I'm not sure I like: its almost a deus ex machina: God striking down the wicked child, who after getting away with murder and driving her mother to almost kill herself decides to grab the one truly incriminating piece of evidence left. Something that also happens to be why she killed a poor boy in the first place. Nah, I'm a bigger fan of that final clip after the entire cast takes a bow where the mother just spanks her. Its funny, more shocking, and also results in Rhonda not paying for her crimes directly. Of course it being the 1950s that was not the actual ending...

[Irish]

I'm not sure I understand. I'm aware of the Oxford comma in English and I always use it, but it's not correct in Spanish. At least, not in this case.

Just out of curiosity, how is it incorrect in Spanish? Is there no Oxford comma in that language at all?

[Beau]

Just out of curiosity, how is it incorrect in Spanish? Is there no Oxford comma in that language at all?

No, at the end of a list, there is no comma before the "y" conjunction.

A comma can go before the conjunction, but in other cases. For instance: "He put on his pants, his jacket, and his hat, and he walked outside." Which in Spanish would be: "Se puso sus pantalones, su campera y su sombrero, y caminó hacia afuera". That's because, in this case, the bit about walking outside is not part of the previous list.

[Irish]

No, at the end of a list, there is not comma before the "y" conjunction.

A comma can go before the conjunction, but in other cases. For instance: "He put on his pants, his jacket, and his hat, and he walked outside." Which in Spanish would be: "Se puso sus pantalones, su campera y su sombrero, y caminó hacia afuera". That's because, in this case, the bit about walking outside is not part of the previous list.

Now that is cool -- thanks for the heads up.

[Bosco B Thug]

The Shock Labyrinth - D+ I watched the first five minutes of this and predicted major boredom.

[Rowland]

I watched the first five minutes of this and predicted major boredom.It gets better after the seriously incompetent first act, once the characters enter the Shock Labyrinth (essentially a haunted funhouse) and Shimizu lets his surrealist, time-shifting freak flag fly. That said, it continues to look and feel cheap, the narrative is simultaneously over-convoluted and threadbare, the acting transcends the language barrier in its lousiness, any attempts at emotional resonance ring hollow, and the scares are generally more laughable than creepy. There are a few solid setpieces towards the end though, I liked some of the production design and lighting within the funhouse, and the sheer WTF-ness of the film once all the weird shit starts going down keeps it consistently watchable, but on the whole, it's just really not good at all.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Oof. I put that on my queue last night. I think I may take it off now.

I will rec the following, though: The Eclipse. Spooky, well-wrought ghost story with some striking performances from Ciaran Hinds, Aidan Quinn, and Iben Hjejle. Mature, eerie, thoughtful. Not a great picture - its ghostly visitors feel a little too comic book for the depressed tone. But very good. Deserves some comparison to fright flicks like The Devil's Backbone and The Orphanage.

[Rowland]

I will rec the following, though: The Eclipse. Spooky, well-wrought ghost story with some striking performances from Ciaran Hinds, Aidan Quinn, and Iben Hjejle. Mature, eerie, thoughtful. Not a great picture - its ghostly visitors feel a little too comic book for the depressed tone. But very good. Deserves some comparison to fright flicks like The Devil's Backbone and The Orphanage.Most of the critics I follow were down on this, but I really liked it too, thought it was one of the more overlooked films of 2010, with only a handful of our regulars ever seeing it. I have to admit it kinda scared the shit outta me too, and Hinds was as great as usual.

[Mr. Pink]

Watched Friday the 13th part 7 due to all the recent discussion. Kind of annoying they let a special fx wiz direct it and then cut away at basically every death scene, but I'm sure it was heavily edited to please the MPAA. An uncut version would be nice, though.

The psychic angle makes for a great Jason battle, but it still sticks out a little too much from the other entries for me, even more than part 5 (which I do love). This one did have some great boobs in it though. So that's something.

But the mostly phony psychic stuff and heavy edits keeps it near the middle/lower end of the series for me, but I did enjoy it more than I used to.

[MadMan]

Watched Friday the 13th part 7 due to all the recent discussion. Kind of annoying they let a special fx wiz direct it and then cut away at basically every death scene, but I'm sure it was heavily edited to please the MPAA. An uncut version would be nice, though.The Special Edition has all of the scenes that got cut, and had the MPAA not fucked with the movie it would have been on of the longest Jason films in the series. It would have also been really brutal, at least, but the MPAA clearly ruined that.


The psychic angle makes for a great Jason battle, but it still sticks out a little too much from the other entries for me, even more than part 5 (which I do love). This one did have some great boobs in it though. So that's something.

But the mostly phony psychic stuff and heavy edits keeps it near the middle/lower end of the series for me, but I did enjoy it more than I used to.I still like it, but a third viewing made me kind of wonder why I liked it so much in the first place. Its decent, but clearly represented the beginning of the end for the series in terms of it being good. I'd love another Freddy vs. Jason, or at least the guy who made that film to direct the next Jason movie. For now, I think that series is dead, although I'm convinced they'll make another ANOES.

[Spun Lepton]

The Special Edition has all of the scenes that got cut, and had the MPAA not fucked with the movie it would have been on of the longest Jason films in the series. It would have also been really brutal, at least, but the MPAA clearly ruined that.

Are the scenes edited into the movie itself or are they extras on the disc? I've seen footage of the cut scenes on YouTube.

[MadMan]

Are the scenes edited into the movie itself or are they extras on the disc? I've seen footage of the cut scenes on YouTube.They're extras, and yes its really just footage of the cut scenes that are available on YouTube. I just like that the SE of Part 7 actually featured those scenes as extras, especially since you never know if they'll pull the YouTube video or not.

The coolest SE I've bought in recent memory, Jason films aside, was My Bloody Valentine (1981) which gave you the option of watching the film as it was originally intended, scenes cut by the MPAA included. That's great.

[Mr. Pink]

I looked up the youtube clips, and it's pretty frustrating to see how badly they cut part 7. It's not like the Friday movies have much going for them, so to cut out basically the only thing people came to see is pretty annoying. With those scenes put back in, it really might have been the best one.

I've been meaning to watch the unedited My Bloody Valentine, because I hated the initial version, mostly due to the obvious edits.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I was hanging out at a friend's backyard shindig last night, and I ended up getting into a BIG discussion / genial fight with a few parties about the horror genre. Mostly because one guy had the temerity to say that Alien isn't a horror movie. Powder keg, meet match. The guys all knew their shit, so it was actually a lot of fun. And then this girl was talking about how much she liked David Cronenberg and Miike Takashi, so I got her number.

Horror!

[Beau]

Kudos on getting the girl's number.

What's your working definition of the horror genre?

[Beau]

Noted.

Yeah, I "noted" Dead & Messed Up's suggestion to watch the Val Lewton-Jacques Tourneur movies in 2009, and still haven't fulfilled the motion. Nor have I seen Samurai Cop yet, probably a worse offense.

I love running into old posts where I assure people I will do stuff I clearly had no intention of ever doing.

[MadMan]

I love running into old posts where I assure people I will do stuff I clearly had no intention of ever doing.This is half of my posting history here :lol: :shifty:


And then this girl was talking about how much she liked David Cronenberg and Miike Takashi, so I got her number.Awesome :cool:

Alien may be sci-fi/horror, but its still a horror film. Its one of the most terrifying films I've ever viewed.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Kudos on getting the girl's number.

What's your working definition of the horror genre?

The closest I can grant would be something like "any film with either a sufficient emphasis on dread or a sufficient number of tropes consistent with the horror genre." "Sufficient" being determined by me, I guess.

I just don't like when someone tries to be exclusionary with a movie that's clearly blurring genre boundaries (like saying Alien isn't a horror movie). It's okay if the blend of genres is murky. Not everything can be separated, rubber-stamped, and packed into a separate box.

[Beau]

The closest I can grant would be something like "any film with either a sufficient emphasis on dread or a sufficient number of tropes consistent with the horror genre." "Sufficient" being determined by me, I guess.

I just don't like when someone tries to be exclusionary with a movie that's clearly blurring genre boundaries (like saying Alien isn't a horror movie). It's okay if the blend of genres is murky. Not everything can be separated, rubber-stamped, and packed into a separate box.

Right. I can fly with that. I like your "fuck purity" take on genre definitions. I'm never one for purity.

[Irish]

Mostly because one guy had the temerity to say that Alien isn't a horror movie.

How odd. It's more horror than it is science fiction. What did he say it was?

[Spun Lepton]

I got into a really stupid argument with an ex-roommate over whether Videodrome was horror. Needless to say, we're not friends any more.

[Dukefrukem]

The Special Edition has all of the scenes that got cut, and had the MPAA not fucked with the movie it would have been on of the longest Jason films in the series. It would have also been really brutal, at least, but the MPAA clearly ruined that.

I still like it, but a third viewing made me kind of wonder why I liked it so much in the first place. Its decent, but clearly represented the beginning of the end for the series in terms of it being good. I'd love another Freddy vs. Jason, or at least the guy who made that film to direct the next Jason movie. For now, I think that series is dead, although I'm convinced they'll make another ANOES.

Is that the telekinesis powers one? That's one of my favorites too.

[Dukefrukem]

I was hanging out at a friend's backyard shindig last night, and I ended up getting into a BIG discussion / genial fight with a few parties about the horror genre. Mostly because one guy had the temerity to say that Alien isn't a horror movie. Powder keg, meet match. The guys all knew their shit, so it was actually a lot of fun. And then this girl was talking about how much she liked David Cronenberg and Miike Takashi, so I got her number.

Horror!

What is the argument that suggests Alien isn't horror? The fact that it takes place in space? Because Irish and I know where to go with that.

[Dead & Messed Up]

How odd. It's more horror than it is science fiction. What did he say it was?


What is the argument that suggests Alien isn't horror? The fact that it takes place in space? Because Irish and I know where to go with that.

He didn't get much of a chance to defend himself - me and another guy pounced on that pretty quickly. But he tried to say that it doesn't get horrific until the halfway mark, so I think the implication was that it was sci-fi and maybe a thriller. Or something. The point is, I am better at horror than he is.

[Dukefrukem]

By his logic, From Dusk Till Dawn isn't horror either.

[MadMan]

Is that the telekinesis powers one? That's one of my favorites too.Yes. I would love to see Tina fight Jason again someday. If they make another Jason movie they might as well just do what they did with the remake and have it cover 5-8 since the remake featured references to films 1-4.


I got into a really stupid argument with an ex-roommate over whether Videodrome was horror. Needless to say, we're not friends any more.That person is entitled to their opinion, but they are wrong or misguided. Look I'll admit that even I sometimes argue that certain films are not horror (I've lumped Se7n and Silence Of The Lambs together as crime drama/thrillers, although the argument for them being horror films can be made) and I sure remember the endless debates about Jaws being a horror film. Not to mention the fact that some of my Top 50 Horror Films may not really be horror, or I might be stretching the genre definition a bit thin.

Two years ago I viewed From Dusk Till Dawn and considered it horror, mainly because of vampires but also because its got some decently creepy moments. Vampires=horror genre, everytime.

Oh and here's a list I drew up last night:

August 2012 Horrorfest Viewings:

1. The Masque of the Red Death (1964), Instant Viewing, Satanic
2. Santa Sangre (1989), Instant Viewing, Revenge
3. Pontypool (2008), Instant Viewing, Zombies
4. The Last Exorcism (2010), Instant Viewing, Satanic
5. Red State (2011), Instant Viewing, Rednecks
6. The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971), Instant Viewing, Giallo
7. Don't Torture a Duckling (1972), Instant Viewing, Giallo
8. Saw (2003), Family Video, Slasher
9. Rogue (2006), Family Video, Killer Animal
10. Wolf Creek (2005), Family Video, Slasher

All first time viewings. Finally I'll see what all the fuss is about Wolf Creek, find out why people were mixed on #4 and #5, and see a Saw movie so I can then avoid watching the rest of the series since its probably mostly awful.

[Grouchy]

The Masque of the Red Death is so badass.

[Dead & Messed Up]

The Masque of the Red Death is so badass.

Damn straight. One of the best Corman pics, easily. Nicolas Roeg on camera, Matheson collabster Charles Beaumont on script, and a deliciously evil perf from Vincent Price.

[Rowland]

I wasn't that impressed by the Masque of the Red Death, but who knows, perhaps I just wasn't in the right mindset or something.

1. The Masque of the Red Death (1964) [C+]
2. Santa Sangre (1989) I need to see this, hear great things.
3. Pontypool (2008) I should see this, heard generally good things.
4. The Last Exorcism (2010) [B] Better than expected.
5. Red State (2011) [C] Has its moments.
6. The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) [B+] Underrated early Argento.
7. Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) [B+] Fulci's best?
8. Saw (2003) [C] Improved in its director's cut form, still not good, but amusing.
9. Rogue (2006) [B] Downgraded from what would have been a B+, perhaps doesn't leave enough of a lasting impression? Still confident it's quite good.
10. Wolf Creek (2005) [B] I guess? Don't trust my opinions so much from this time, needs reevaluation.

[MadMan]

8. Saw (2003) [C] Improved in its director's cut form, still not good, but amusing.There's a director's cut? Huh, I didn't know that.

[Morris Schæffer]

Tremors was a lot of fun. Nothing more, nothing less. Ward and Bacon are two hilariously dumb idiots, the overacting is just the right side of engaging, the FX are good enough, the locations are very western-y. A good homage with tongue definitely in cheek, but it never overpowers proceedings like in eight legged freaks.

[Dukefrukem]

I wasn't that impressed by the Masque of the Red Death, but who knows, perhaps I just wasn't in the right mindset or something.

1. The Masque of the Red Death (1964) [C+]
2. Santa Sangre (1989) I need to see this, hear great things.
3. Pontypool (2008) I should see this, heard generally good things.
4. The Last Exorcism (2010) [B] Better than expected.
5. Red State (2011) [C] Has its moments.
6. The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) [B+] Underrated early Argento.
7. Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) [B+] Fulci's best?
8. Saw (2003) [C] Improved in its director's cut form, still not good, but amusing.
9. Rogue (2006) [B] Downgraded from what would have been a B+, perhaps doesn't leave enough of a lasting impression? Still confident it's quite good.
10. Wolf Creek (2005) [B] I guess? Don't trust my opinions so much from this time, needs reevaluation.

I don't dislike any of those.

And I love Tremors & Tremors 2.

[Rowland]

There's a director's cut? Huh, I didn't know that.Difference is slight, with just a bit more in the way of gore, and more importantly, a bunch of generic heavy metal songs are replaced by the original score, which improves the atmosphere.

[Raiders]

1. The Masque of the Red Death (1964) - [***½] One of Corman's best. The highlight may be Roeg's exquisite cinematography. Great metaphysical Poe tale. Ignore Rowland.
2. Santa Sangre (1989) - [****] Jodorowsky at his finest. That should tell you what you're getting.
9. Rogue (2006) - [***] Gorgeous location photography and a nice dichotomy of the beauty and horror of nature...
10. Wolf Creek (2005) - [***½] ... which is McLean's theme through his first two films. This one is a more effective and brutal film and deftly presents its horror as an inhuman force derived directly from the uncivilized interiors of Australia.

[Beau]

Yeah, Tremors is sweet. I was really adamant about watching it when I was a kid after seeing the trailer - "Underground monsters? Awesome!" - so my parents were forced to rent it, expecting the worst movie ever. Turns out we all loved it. A great family afternoon watching a funny film about underground monsters.

[Pop Trash]

Yeah, Tremors is sweet. I was really adamant about watching it when I was a kid after seeing the trailer - "Underground monsters? Awesome!" - so my parents were forced to rent it, expecting the worst movie ever. Turns out we all loved it. A great family afternoon watching a funny film about underground monsters.

My parents took me to this in the theater back in '90(?). We all liked it. The Blob remake was a similar experience.

[Spun Lepton]

I attempted to watch Creature on Instant last night. Not the Alien ripoff from the 1980s, this was made in 2011. It's about a half-man/half-gator. It was so bad, I couldn't get through 30 minutes. Skipped to the end and learned that I made the right decision.

When your first scene is a woman skinny dipping in a fucking bayou and she gets her legs bitten off by a fucking gator (duh! WTF would she expect?!) you know you're in for total horseshit.

AAAFC.

[MadMan]

Thanks for the thoughts on the first 10 films of Horrorfest, guys. I'm actually ashamed that I haven't seen Masque of The Red Death or Wolf Creek, yet.


Difference is slight, with just a bit more in the way of gore, and more importantly, a bunch of generic heavy metal songs are replaced by the original score, which improves the atmosphere.Ah. Well I'll try and get my hands on that one, then.

Tremors and Tremors 2 are both really awesome, funny, gory and entertaining monster movies. Too bad the rest of the series is quite awful.

[Beau]

I stopped at Tremors 2, I think. Evidently the right decision.

Another interesting horror experience with my parents. My dad got obsessed with the Phantasm movies because he fondly recalled the first one, rented it, and then learned it was a whole franchise, so he rented those, too. He loved all of them. I mentioned this at the opening of this thread, I think, but nobody remembers that, nor do I (and am too lazy to check).

[MadMan]

I watched the first Phantasm two years ago, and liked it a lot. massive back on RT/The Axis was a huge fan of the sequels. I wonder what happened to him, as he was good people.

[Spun Lepton]

He went through a divorce, I believe, and lost his shit.

[Dukefrukem]

Double Axis throw back today. First Moose now Massive. Lets talk about Rebort now.

Massive was also a huge fan of Return of the Living Dead. I can't believe I remember this stuff.

[Dead & Messed Up]

He went through a divorce, I believe, and lost his shit.

He also had a heart attack a year or two back, if I remember right. He said something about how it made him re-prioritize, and he's stayed off RT for the most part since.

[D_Davis]

I got into a really stupid argument with an ex-roommate over whether Videodrome was horror. Needless to say, we're not friends any more.

I'd probably entertain the argument that Videodrome is more science fiction than Alien is, and that Alien is more horror than Videodrome is.

[Raiders]

Double Axis throw back today. First Moose now Massive. Lets talk about Rebort now.

Massive was also a huge fan of Return of the Living Dead. I can't believe I remember this stuff.

I think my favorite poster who vanished is Robert Paulson. Such good discussions with him. Shame he vanished after the split. I still remember discussing horror and non-horror with him.

[Spun Lepton]

Lets talk about Rebort now.

Let's not, instead.

[Spun Lepton]

He also had a heart attack a year or two back, if I remember right. He said something about how it made him re-prioritize, and he's stayed off RT for the most part since.

Huh, I missed that.

[Pop Trash]

I watched the first Phantasm two years ago, and liked it a lot.

I watched it a few years ago too, and remember thinking it was borderline incoherent. It seems like one of those Zardoz-esque movies that only makes sense after smoking some high grade.

[MadMan]

I watched it a few years ago too, and remember thinking it was borderline incoherent. It seems like one of those Zardoz-esque movie that only makes sense after smoking some high grade.I watched it sober and I enjoyed how at times it was really bizarre/crazy, but viewing it high would be something else.


Let's not, instead.Glad to see I'm not the only one who feels that way.


I think my favorite poster who vanished is Robert Paulson. Such good discussions with him. Shame he vanished after the split. I still remember discussing horror and non-horror with him.Oh yeah, he was pretty awesome. I think he's still posting on RT, but in OT and only about sports.


He also had a heart attack a year or two back, if I remember right. He said something about how it made him re-prioritize, and he's stayed off RT for the most part since.Ah. Bummer.


Double Axis throw back today. First Moose now Massive. Lets talk about Rebort now.Let's not talk about Rebort. Moose I vaguely remember.


Massive was also a huge fan of Return of the Living Dead. I can't believe I remember this stuff.Last time I saw him on RT he still had a ROTLD avatar that he was always sporting.


He went through a divorce, I believe, and lost his shit.That's sad to hear.

[Dukefrukem]

I must have missed the Rebort hate train.

[Spun Lepton]

I must have missed the Rebort hate train.

Bort up and disappeared on the day he said he was going to pass the old Axis site over to me. Never returned my phone calls, nothing. I withheld judgement, thinking maybe he got hurt or died, but later discovered that he just cut all ties. His timing made it a total dick move on his part. So, Bort can go fuck himself.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Bort up and disappeared on the day he said he was going to pass the old Axis site over to me. Never returned my phone calls, nothing. I withheld judgement, thinking maybe he got hurt or died, but later discovered that he just cut all ties the day I was set to take over. Total dick move on his part.

Yeah. Even a brief explanation would've gone a long way toward reconciling his departure.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Because I wanted badly to draw this, Ash on a triceratops:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qfCrwsxcxoQ/UBQx73r3KfI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/_MI5jDBuPNs/s1600/Ash+Trike+Final.jpg

[Dukefrukem]

Bort up and disappeared on the day he said he was going to pass the old Axis site over to me. Never returned my phone calls, nothing. I withheld judgement, thinking maybe he got hurt or died, but later discovered that he just cut all ties. His timing made it a total dick move on his part. So, Bort can go fuck himself.

News to me. But yeh that blows. Do you know why he wanted to cut all ties?

[Spun Lepton]

News to me. But yeh that blows. Do you know why he wanted to cut all ties?

No.

[MadMan]

Because I wanted badly to draw this, Ash on a triceratops:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qfCrwsxcxoQ/UBQx73r3KfI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/_MI5jDBuPNs/s1600/Ash+Trike+Final.jpgThat's amazing.

Oh and I think Rebort just screwed us all over because he's a fucking asshole. That's my last word on the matter. Well unless he shows up and actually gives an apology and an explanation. That would be nice, but I'm not expecting it.

[Dukefrukem]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/The_Tortured.jpg

Anyway I watched a Comcast On-Demand movie last night called The Tortured. It's about a wife and husband who lose their son to a demented psychopath. The trial doesn't get them what they wanted (death penalty) so they hatch a plan to kidnap the psychopath and torture him until they are mentally satisfied. Forget Hostel, this was one of the hardest movies to watch because it's a clear definition of torture-porn. There's no real drama other than what you're seeing on screen at that particular moment. I will say however, the onscreen torment is well justified for a relatively interesting twist that pretty much writes out in crayon, this husband and wife are no better than the psychopath who killed their son.

[MadMan]

Last night I started my annual Horrorfest for the year, in which I viewed and then made a write up for Don't Torture A Duckling. Which I liked more than The Beyond, so maybe I'll dive into more Fulci in the near future.

And now I'm veering away from my set course and viewing CHUD. And you know what? I like it, damnit. The film has John Heard and Daniel Stern, and while its cheesy there's something to be admired in a horror movie that actually utilizes its monsters properly. Of course I would be that guy who defends an arguably quintessential 80s cult flick, one that I believe caused plenty of debate on the old Axis site. After this the only divisive horror film I have left to see is Cabin Fever, and I've put that movie off since I fear it will be a case of Funny Games (1997) where I wonder what the fuss was all about.

[Spun Lepton]

Graveyard Shift popped up on Instant, and having fond memories of it from childhood, I fired it up. The problems are numerous. The lead is stiff plywood. The romantic interest (if you can call her that) does not go beyond serviceable The human antagonist was way over-the-top. Brad Dourif was the best part, unfortunate that he doesn't get more screen-time.

The movie probably would've been quite a bit better under a different director. I looked up the guy's profile on IMDb and the only thing he followed this with were a couple episodes of Cagney and Lacey. The person who was in charge of continuity should've gotten a kick in the ass. There were so many glaring continuity errors between shots it became a game to spot them all.

From what I could tell, the script was probably pretty good. Dialogue seemed like it would've been quite a bit of fun under stronger actors. (For example, Brad Dourif really understood how to make his readings work.) The story progression is surprisingly strong and there are even one or two unexpected turns.

5/10

[D_Davis]

Horror films that begin with a person/couple/family moving into a new place:

1. Pet Sematary

[Dukefrukem]

Horror films that begin with a person/couple/family moving into a new place:

1. Pet Sematary

Is this an interactive list?

2. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

[D_Davis]

Yes.

[Bosco B Thug]

Yes.
This seems inexhaustible. Of course it's not, but since it seems so, I'm gonna give two:

3. The Amityville Horror (take your pick)
4. Something Evil (Spielberg TV horror film)

[Dukefrukem]

5. The Shining

[D_Davis]

Why do ya'll think this is such a common trope in horror stories? Is it simply a ubiquitous way to show the fear of the unknown?

[Bosco B Thug]

Why do ya'll think this is such a common trope in horror stories? Is it simply a ubiquitous way to show the fear of the unknown?
That's a nice thought and it's true, though of course one can go more blase routes: 1) Haunted houses are a horror staple, and the victims need to be unfamiliar with its history in order to be thrown into fright and action; 2) an "exotic" or interesting environment is needed, and that's easy to capture and find with "transplantation" stories; 3) there needs to be a change-up in someone's life before abnormal things can start happening... etc.

---

6. 13 Ghosts
7. The Amityville Horror 4





Secret: I haven't seen Amityville Horror 4!

[Dead & Messed Up]

Moving in allows an emotional high at the start, given the optimism of the situation, which makes for a strong dynamic as the story spirals into chaos, and being new to the environment makes it easy for the protags to gain sympathy, since they're discovering the situation as we do.

[MadMan]

Graveyard Shift popped up on Instant, and having fond memories of it from childhood, I fired it up. The problems are numerous. The lead is stiff plywood. The romantic interest (if you can call her that) does not go beyond serviceable The human antagonist was way over-the-top. Brad Dourif was the best part, unfortunate that he doesn't get more screen-time.

The movie probably would've been quite a bit better under a different director. I looked up the guy's profile on IMDb and the only thing he followed this with were a couple episodes of Cagney and Lacey. The person who was in charge of continuity should've gotten a kick in the ass. There were so many glaring continuity errors between shots it became a game to spot them all.

From what I could tell, the script was probably pretty good. Dialogue seemed like it would've been quite a bit of fun under stronger actors. (For example, Brad Dourif really understood how to make his readings work.) The story progression is surprisingly strong and there are even one or two unexpected turns.

5/10Isn't this an adaption of the short story from Stephen King's Night Shift anthology? Because if it is, I'll try and read the story first and then check out the actual film adaption. I believe that AMC showed it last year during their Fearfest, but I didn't tune in because I wanted to read it first so I could compare and contrast.

Oh and I hate to be a complete and utter whore, but the first two Horrorfest reviews are up for Don't Torture a Duckling and C.H.U.D in my blog (link in my sig). Which will be followed by a write up of Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) when I get around to doing so.

The fun thing about families moving into haunted houses is that you get films that are at times really about a new environment driving people completely batshit insane. That's usually entertaining.

8. Burnt Offerings (1976). Highly underrated and really creepy film starring Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis, and Burgess Meredith.

[Dukefrukem]

Why do ya'll think this is such a common trope in horror stories? Is it simply a ubiquitous way to show the fear of the unknown?

Yes. Just like having everyone's cell phone receive no signal when they try to use it. It's the most logical thing ANYONE would do. So what would happen if you COULDNT call anyone?

[Dukefrukem]

9. Hide and Seek

[Raiders]

10. Beetlejuice

[Dukefrukem]

11. The Skeleton Key

[Dukefrukem]

Horror films that begin with a person/couple/family moving into a new place:


Does moving into a vacation area count?

[Raiders]

Caught part of this the other day on TV... looked awful, but it fits:

12. The Messengers

[Dukefrukem]

13. Insidious

[D_Davis]

Does moving into a vacation area count?

I don't think so - I think that's kind of an opposite theme. Vacationing can be seen as an escape from the normal, with the possibility of something adventurous or new, while moving into a house signifies a return to the normal, or the idea of stability.

[Dukefrukem]

I don't think so - I think that's kind of an opposite theme. Vacationing can be seen as an escape from the normal, with the possibility of something adventurous or new, while moving into a house signifies a return to the normal, or the idea of stability.

Gotcha. Then;

14. House of the Devil
15. The Grudge

[Kurosawa Fan]

14. House of the Devil


This one doesn't work. She was only housesitting for the night, not moving in.

[Dukefrukem]

This one doesn't work. She was only housesitting for the night, not moving in.

By that logic the Shining doesn't work either then. OR the Grudge.

[Kurosawa Fan]

By that logic the Shining doesn't work either then. OR the Grudge.

Well The Shining would work because they actually moved into the hotel for a months-long stay. I'd at least say that's far more appropriate, since they would be living there. The girl in House of the Devil was only housesitting for the weekend or something, if I remember correctly.

[Raiders]

Well The Shining would work because they actually moved into the hotel for a months-long stay. I'd at least say that's far more appropriate, since they would be living there. The girl in House of the Devil was only housesitting for the weekend or something, if I remember correctly.

Just one night actually and she is more "mother sitting" than housesitting while the owner's went to watch the lunar eclipse. She had no residence in the house at all.

[D_Davis]

Yes - I think The Shining would work because it's an extended stay. The hotel is going to become their home for an entire season.

[MadMan]

The only reason I posted Burnt Offerings is because someone listed The Shining. Since Offerings is about a family that rents a house for the summer to live in. But mostly because more people need to see that flick, as its rather underrated when it comes to haunted house films.

[Mr. Pink]

16. Twice Dead


XXTaGWLH4JU

[Dukefrukem]

16. The Strangers (since we are taking off House of the Devil)

[MadMan]

BTW, I tried to watch Sleepaway Camp on YouTube two nights ago. I gave up 31 minutes in when I realized that nothing of interest was happening, and that it was really goddamn boring. Plus I already know the so called shocking twist ending anyways. 1983 has better horror films than Sleepaway Camp anyways. Just looking at Criticker I note that I've viewed Thriller (hey it counts it as a short movie, heh), Videodrome, Cujo, The Dead Zone, and Christine. However I also viewed Jaws 3 in 3D that year, so its not all good-that one is actually worse than Sleepaway Camp.

[Spun Lepton]

I attempted to watch Absentia on Instant last night. Man, what a bore. Meandering plot and character development. Muddy character motivation. One plot point is hammered on relentlessly, over and over again, until the first major plot change 40 (!) minutes in. I turned it off after 45 minutes when I realized their 2nd plot point was following the same pattern.

The lead (?) character had been pining over her husband's disappearance for seven years. Yet, she's also seven months pregnant at the beginning of the story. They either flippantly explain away her pregnancy and somehow I missed it, or they don't even address it. Either way, it should show that she moved on months ago, but, no.

I may finish it, I dunno. People giving this awards need a kick in the ass.

[Spun Lepton]

Oh, that's another problem I had with that bore. There's no clear lead character. Is it the woman whose husband disappeared? If so, why are we spending so much time with the sister? Why is so much of the "development" happening to the sister? Ugh.

[MadMan]

Poor Spun. You are in need of a decent horror movie, stat.

And actually after reading the Wiki entries for the rest of the Sleepaway Camp franchise I have a feeling that I'll enjoy Part 2. Part 3 sounds dumb, and I can't believe they made one more after that, but Part 2 has the potential to be as hilarious as Slumber Party Massacre 2 was.

[Spun Lepton]

Poor Spun. You are in need of a decent horror movie, stat.

And actually after reading the Wiki entries for the rest of the Sleepaway Camp franchise I have a feeling that I'll enjoy Part 2. Part 3 sounds dumb, and I can't believe they made one more after that, but Part 2 has the potential to be as hilarious as Slumber Party Massacre 2 was.

The Sleepaway Camp movies are all pretty much crap, MadMan. Just fair warning. If you thought the first was dull, you probably won't enjoy the sequels.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Rob Zombie's Halloween 2. Some beautiful moments, some facepalm moments, some moments that elevate his aesthetic and push it towards a Universal Monster revisionism, and some moments that are frankly inept and frustrating, not least of which is an opening twenty-four minutes that have nothing to do with anything. I agree that it's an improvement over the first film, but slightly so. Zombie's particular virtues still seem too uncomfortable a fit to traditional slasher concerns, and sequences like a triple-murder in a strip club feel deadly dull when stacked up against the more fantastical dream sequences. If you wanna ride...the white horse...

C+

[MadMan]

The Sleepaway Camp movies are all pretty much crap, MadMan. Just fair warning. If you thought the first was dull, you probably won't enjoy the sequels.Well then I won't even bother, I guess. Considering that many of the slasher films I have seen from the 80s have been ones I've enjoyed, I guess it was only a matter of time until I started running into truly awful ones.

That said, a good early 90s one that had the feel of an 80s slasher film that I viewed last horrorfest is Popcorn (1991), which I liked a lot and which was available on Netflix Instant Viewing. My writeup for it is here: http://madman731.blogspot.com/2011/08/1950s-are-alive-with-sound-of-screaming.html
Which reminds me that my lazy write up for Cat o' Nine Tails is up. I found that movie tricky to review since its merely a very good Argento, and since much of it is actually tame by his standards.

As for H2, well: http://madman731.blogspot.com/2012/07/down-dark-alley-journey-ends.html

So I kind of agree with DaMU, especially in terms of some of the murders in the film.

[Bosco B Thug]

When I rewatch Halloween 2, it's gonna have to be the Theatrical Version (which, incidentally and miraculously, I just located a copy of at an accessible rental depot). I had to stop the Director's Cut ~30 minutes in when I realized Zombie just added all the clunkier dialogue back into the picture.

Not to mention the pit of bodies in the hospital dream sequence is dumb and gives it away that it's a dream sequence.

[Scar]

V/H/S was alright. The first story 'on tape' is more gory than anything, but somewhat entertaining.

The second got downright creepy during the night sequence. Damn creepy.

The third one is the weakest, felt kind of lame.

The fourth one is creepy and a touch disturbing at times. The ending was unexpected, and rather welcome.

The fifth one is predictable, yet intense, which is fine by me.

You will hate the characters who quest for the tape, but thats the point. If you empathise with them, well....

[Dead & Messed Up]

The Gate was very fun. Kind of a low-rent Poltergeist, with some Evil Dead and Equinox shadings, but kept buoyant thanks to its proactive, likable kid characters and its emphasis on ghoulies instead of gruesomeness. The creature effects impress, especially the little fairy guys that scuttle around the house (done with oversized sets and sped-up motion). Better than you'd expect.

[Raiders]

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is a film remarkably in tune with the kind of hazy, druggy and vignette-laced atmosphere of a lot of late teen get togethers. It is also a super-smart film in its construction, Levine's camera ever gracing Mandy Lane's curves and floppy hair that masks her face keeps her so much of an enigma. The film's lust after her, mirrored by the way she enraptures everyone in the film, may seem cheesy, but once you get to the ending, you see what makes her such a special character and careful creation. The grooves of the film and the expert camerawork, often casting a dreamy vibe to the film, are pretty impeccable. There's actually a warmth and calmness to a lot of the shots in the film and Levine clearly in inspired by 70s-era horror films and the music is typically sunny though rarely used in an ironic manner, it more accompanies the film's styling which Levine almost seems to want to rail against the horror and not for it.

Honestly, it's just a genre film really well done. Very smart and exceedingly well crafted.

[MadMan]

The Gate is available on Netflix Instant Viewing, but All The Boys Love Mandy Lane sadly is not.

Oh and I rented Saw and The Tenant from my local library, and I'm looking forward to viewing both. Especially The Tenant, seeing as its was considered the final installment in Polanski's loose "Apartment trilogy" which also featured Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby.

[Raiders]

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane sadly is not.

It's not even legitimately available in the US at all. Very strange that it has suffered such a fate. I watched it off a bootleg. I highly recommend seeking it out by whatever means necessary, though it won't appeal to everyone so I can't recommend spending any real money for it. But it's easily one of my favorite horror films of the last decade or so.

[MadMan]

It's not even legitimately available in the US at all. Very strange that it has suffered such a fate. I watched it off a bootleg. I highly recommend seeking it out by whatever means necessary, though it won't appeal to everyone so I can't recommend spending any real money for it. But it's easily one of my favorite horror films of the last decade or so.I bet that some of the posters over the Corrie saw it due to torrent sites, or something. Its a shame when certain horror movies are hard to find, while meanwhile its easy to get your hands on say, Saw 6 1/2: People Are Still Paying to See This Shit.

[Winston*]

Watched this film The Unborn for an essay I'm writing. Not sure I'm using hyperbole if I say this is the worst film I've seen in years.

[Spun Lepton]

Silver Bullet surprised me. Produced by Dino De Laurentis, screenplay by Stephen King himself, starring Gary Busey (before his head injury), Corey Haim, Everett McGill, Terry O'Quinn, and a small appearance by none other than Lawrence Tierney. Solid, but not perfect. It features irritating voice-over narration, the werewolf looks a little cheap, and the finale could have been a bit longer. But, it never takes itself too seriously, has some golden dialogue, solid acting, maintains a good pace, and remains entertaining throughout. Definitely worth a watch on Netflix Instant.

7/10

[Mr. Pink]

I will probably give that a re-watch soon. It never made much of an impression on me when I was younger, despite Corey Haim being in it, but I haven't seen it in so long it will basically be a first-time viewing.

All I really remember is a rocket powered wheelchair, and even that I'm not even sure of.

[Spun Lepton]

I will probably give that a re-watch soon. It never made much of an impression on me when I was younger, despite Corey Haim being in it, but I haven't seen it in so long it will basically be a first-time viewing.

All I really remember is a rocket powered wheelchair, and even that I'm not even sure of.

Wheelchair with a motorcycle engine.

[Irish]

Gary Busey (before his head injury)

:lol: I love that you specified this detail.

[Rowland]

My ritual for falling asleep lately has been to watch whatever schlocky looking stuff I can find on Netflix Instant. It's always something I don't plan on ever actually watching, with the slightest hope that I'll discover something actually worthwhile, but my initial impression is usually justified and I typically fall asleep quick. So far, Silver Bullet is the only movie I've happened across that made me sit up and think it may actually be worth my full attention, so I intend on eventually giving it a genuine shot.

[MadMan]

When I was younger I saw Silver Bullet on TBS, and I thought it was kind of terrible. But hey I'm willing to give it another chance, especially since most of the 80s King adaptions are pretty good.

[Boner M]

Saw 35mm prints of Jeff Lieberman's Blue Sunshine and Just Before Dawn last night with Lieberman himself in attendance. The former is fun stuff with a clever zeitgesty premise - settled-down hippies feel the side effects of acid that causes hair loss and homicidal urges - alas it's let down by wayward plotting and a hilariously bad (albeit committed) lead performance from Zalman King(!) as the man determined to et to the bottom of the conspiracy.

JBD, though, is pretty special; way more beautiful - with its magic-hour cinematography and oddly celestial synth score - than any camping-teens-vs.-hillbillies slasher has any right to be. Even 'slasher' is probably underselling it, considering the de-emphasis on gore and a narrative that surprisingly escews the ideologically-driven laws of survival of most films of its ilk, culminating in a truly gawp-inducing final scene.

Lieberman's Squirm! also played the previous night and I kinda regret missing it based on its rep being well below the other two. He's got his own thang.

[Raiders]

Saw 35mm prints of Jeff Lieberman's Blue Sunshine and Just Before Dawn last night with Lieberman himself in attendance. The former is fun stuff with a clever zeitgesty premise - settled-down hippies feel the side effects of acid that causes hair loss and homicidal urges - alas it's let down by wayward plotting and a hilariously bad (albeit committed) lead performance from Zalman King(!) as the man determined to et to the bottom of the conspiracy.

JBD, though, is pretty special; way more beautiful - with its magic-hour cinematography and oddly celestial synth score - than any camping-teens-vs.-hillbillies slasher has any right to be. Even 'slasher' is probably underselling it, considering the de-emphasis on gore and a narrative that surprisingly escews the ideologically-driven laws of survival of most films of its ilk, culminating in a truly gawp-inducing final scene.

Lieberman's Squirm! also played the previous night and I kinda regret missing it based on its rep being well below the other two. He's got his own thang.

Looked Lieberman up and... hey, that's the Satan's Little Helper guy! I caught most of that a while ago (on the Chiller network I think) and always meant to bring it up in this thread. It's also a very unique film, campy and groan-worthy in many spots but also with some vicious morbidity and effective slasher thrills. It was also a damn fine-looking film for what I had anticipated being a 10pm dull, silly horror film.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Lake Mungo is a eerie, satisfying horror flick. There were a few moments where my gooseflesh was severe, and I relished that. A nice twist on the whole fake-footage horror, too, as it's presented more as an extended "Unexplained" segment from Unsolved Mysteries than a "lost footage" approach. So you get talking heads and re-creations and mixed media. Some of the best suspense comes from simply searching the frame.

[Dukefrukem]

Lake Mungo is a eerie, satisfying horror flick. There were a few moments where my gooseflesh was severe, and I relished that. A nice twist on the whole fake-footage horror, too, as it's presented more as an extended "Unexplained" segment from Unsolved Mysteries than a "lost footage" approach. So you get talking heads and re-creations and mixed media. Some of the best suspense comes from simply searching the frame.

adding to queue.

[MadMan]

So I finally viewed Saw (2004) and I was actually impressed. Despite the really silly and hilarious car chase scene, the rest of the film is tense, at times disturbing, and actually pretty well made. I basically recognized early on that the Saw series is just like any other horror film franchise starts out great or good, and then goes to shit later on. I might just view the first three and leave it at that. I'll come up with a write up for it later on, after I finish viewing The Burrowers. I also rented I Sell The Dead, Monsters, and Session 9 from my local video store.

[MadMan]

The Burrowers borrows equal parts from Alien, Dog Soldiers and maybe a couple other movies that I can't think of at the moment. Its also a decently creepy, workmanlike horror western that despite some merely okay creature effects has a good touch of bleakness to it. If anything, this film and Raw Meat almost have something in common in terms of the authorities proceeding to cover up what happens

Not to mention the ending, where the US military proceeds to hunt down and kill the very people capable of destroying the Burrowers. Its rather bitter irony, and I actually appreciated the political commentary there. Even thought the film suffered from not going far enough in that regard, although I can see that some of its better horror elements would have been sacrificed instead.

And yes Clancy Brown is in this, and I have to say that I like him better in this film playing a tough badass cowboy than him playing a preacher in Cowboys and Aliens. Of course this film is better than the stupid aliens movie, so go figure.

[Bosco B Thug]

Despite the really silly and hilarious car chase scene I'm glad to hear ten years later those car chases are still silly and hilarious.

Coincidentally, I just caught The Burrowers too, Madman. I liked its bleakness. I liked the ending. The film's very dodgy, though. I'm a fan of the director, J.T. Petty, but I think it's clear he needs a lot of work in carrying a conventional narrative. I was bored a lot throughout the first half. The film was pretty sloppy at times, too, which I attribute to Petty having a hard time melding his weird sensibility to the material.

[MadMan]

I'm glad to hear ten years later those car chases are still silly and hilarious.Well its more like 8 years....


Coincidentally, I just caught The Burrowers too, Madman. I liked its bleakness. I liked the ending. The film's very dodgy, though. I'm a fan of the director, J.T. Petty, but I think it's clear he needs a lot of work in carrying a conventional narrative. I was bored a lot throughout the first half. The film was pretty sloppy at times, too, which I attribute to Petty having a hard time melding his weird sensibility to the material.I think my rating for it might be a bit high, but I still dug the film quite a bit. Also I viewed I Sell The Dead tonight, and write ups for that flick, Saw, and The Burrowers are up on my blog. I think that none of them really deserved something really lengthy save for maybe Saw, and I believe I've run out of things to say about horror movies already. Still I press on regardless.

[Spun Lepton]

Attempted to watch Wreckage on Instant last night. Aaron Paul is in it, so I figured I'd give it a shot. What a boring waste of time. Did not finish.

[Spun Lepton]

Looked Lieberman up and... hey, that's the Satan's Little Helper guy! I caught most of that a while ago (on the Chiller network I think) and always meant to bring it up in this thread. It's also a very unique film, campy and groan-worthy in many spots but also with some vicious morbidity and effective slasher thrills. It was also a damn fine-looking film for what I had anticipated being a 10pm dull, silly horror film.

Well, I watched this based upon your comments and based upon Moose's (remember him?) endless praise. It keeps an okay momentum, watchable throughout, but having the stupidest child alive as the person keeping the story going really started to wear thin. This kid never catches on. Ever!! He just continues to make stupid fucking decisions, learning nothing -- nothing!!! -- over the course of the story. It becomes kind of tiresome near the end. Fairly predictable, too. 5/10

[MadMan]

Write up for Monsters (2010) (http://madman731.blogspot.com/2012/08/trying-to-determine-where-monster.html) is currently up. I'll admit that maybe my rating is a bit high, but I was heavily impressed and I think it lacks some of the flaws that plagued other near great monster movies made during the 2000s such as Cloverfield and The Host.

Spun I hate it when characters become way too stupid in a movie to the point where its beyond annoying. I let it slide in slasher movies, but in other films its really obvious and hurts the movie overall.

[Spun Lepton]

I'm considering writing a Slenderman script, but I'm concerned about the legal end. It appears to be a myth that was created through Internet collaboration, but I'm not 100% sure on that. I'm not sure anybody owns any rights to the story. Essentially I don't want to waste my time if studios would pass it over due to muddy rights issues. There was a YouTube series, but I have not watched it.

Anybody seen the trailer for The Tall Man? It appears to be a riff off Slenderman, but a much, much more boring version.

http://theslenderman.wikia.com/wiki/Slender_Man

[Dukefrukem]

Yeh I saw it last week. It looks terrible and is that Jessica Biel's first leading role?

[KK2.0]

Looks like an extended cut of 'Nightbreed', closer to the original vision, was being shown on festivals recently. The authors are trying to acquire the original negatives to make a proper DVD/blu-Ray transfer (the version shown is slapped together from VHS tapes). I have to say that, even the crappy original still captured my imagination back then, I'm pretty ecstatic to watch this new version.

http://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/latest-reviews-of-movies/3293-movie-review-nightbreed-the-cabal-cut

[Rowland]

I'm looking forward to The Tall Man because it's the latest by Martyrs director Pascal Laugier, and word has it from fans of that film that this one puts a similarly interesting meta-spin on the genre, albeit in an entirely different manner. While it hasn't been receiving the polarizing love-hate responses as Martyrs, the press has generally been pretty strong, so I'm hopeful.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'm considering writing a Slenderman script, but I'm concerned about the legal end. It appears to be a myth that was created through Internet collaboration, but I'm not 100% sure on that. I'm not sure anybody owns any rights to the story. Essentially I don't want to waste my time if studios would pass it over due to muddy rights issues. There was a YouTube series, but I have not watched it.

Anybody seen the trailer for The Tall Man? It appears to be a riff off Slenderman, but a much, much more boring version.

http://theslenderman.wikia.com/wiki/Slender_Man

Go figure, I once wrote a blog post that sums it up (http://horrorfilms101.blogspot.com/2010/07/essay-parsing-slender-man.html). Slender Man was started by a user named Victor Surge on Ebaumsworld back in '09, but it quickly grew into a vast collaborative legend. I would guess that there aren't any legal ramifications for using something like that, although you may want to contact Mr. Surge out of due diligence.

The Youtube channel (Marble Hornets) is an image-only "Slender Man" derivative. They call their villain the Operator. Maybe if you did something similar, like renaming it or shifting a few key traits while retaining the look of the character, you'd be in good shape.

[Spun Lepton]

Go figure, I once wrote a blog post that sums it up (http://horrorfilms101.blogspot.com/2010/07/essay-parsing-slender-man.html). Slender Man was started by a user named Victor Surge on Ebaumsworld back in '09, but it quickly grew into a vast collaborative legend. I would guess that there aren't any legal ramifications for using something like that, although you may want to contact Mr. Surge out of due diligence.

The Youtube channel (Marble Hornets) is an image-only "Slender Man" derivative. They call their villain the Operator. Maybe if you did something similar, like renaming it or shifting a few key traits while retaining the look of the character, you'd be in good shape.

Oh, yeah! I'd forgotten about that. Our local newspaper actually referenced your post in a Halloween-themed article.

I could change some things about, but I'd prefer not to. Then again, contacting anybody on Ebaumsworld ... ugh. Hate that site. Some sites I've found have credit Yahtzee Croshaw (or Zero Punctuation fame) as the originator.

The potential for the character is ridiculous.

[Mr. Pink]

Got around to re-watching Silver Bullet. Spun pretty much nailed it. The narration, unless I just wasn't paying good enough attention, seemed to come out of nowhere, and most likely wasn't needed at all. Otherwise there's not a whole lot to complain about, except other minor things that could have been done better, but overall it was pretty enjoyable.

There's a scene similar to Creepshow with a redneck slob watching wrestling that was pretty great, too.

[Dukefrukem]

Whoa. Funny Games was pretty great. I wasn't expecting that. Creepy little thriller.

[MadMan]

Whoa. Funny Games was pretty great. I wasn't expecting that. Creepy little thriller.Your talking about the original, right? I saw it this year and wasn't impressed, but I thought it was a solid film. I imagine I would have viewed it differently had I seen it the year it was released.

[Dukefrukem]

Your talking about the original, right? I saw it this year and wasn't impressed, but I thought it was a solid film. I imagine I would have viewed it differently had I seen it the year it was released.

I didn't even know there was a remake.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I posted more thoughts on Lake Mungo on my blog. No actual spoilers - don't worry. Just trying to avoid stretching the page.

The Palmers, once a family of four, are now only three. Daughter Alice (Talia Zucker) drowned in a river. They suffer, they grieve, and they try to move on. Then they notice odd things in photographs taken after her death. Director Joel Anderson's camera holds firmly on the pictures, allowing the viewer to search the frame for anything out of place. Something distant? In the shadows? Then slow zooms reveal the aberrations, moving so close that the images near abstraction. There's something unsettling about seeing a tiny pallid face in a corner, but imagine that image getting larger and larger, until the resolution's so low that the pixels holding the ghostly face shift and weave and threaten to pull apart.

That's when the gooseflesh arrives in Lake Mungo. Director Joel Anderson presents the story in a documentary format, but don't take the film as another "found footage" feature in the vein of Cloverfield and Rec. Instead, Lake Mungo presents its fictional story in traditional documentary clothing. The presentation evokes classic TV show Unsolved Mysteries, where participants readily took part in re-enactments of their supernal experiences. To that reliable approach (augmented with lovely, steady transition shots of the Australian environment), Anderson adds a mixed-media emphasis, with creepy clues found in video surveillance, photographs, "talking head" testimonials, VHS tapes, and a bonus cell phone recording that offers the best scare of its kind since Sadako crawled out of the well in Ringu.

This style suggests that, the more evidence we gather, the more complex the truth becomes. The initial "ghost story" simplicity of the film complicates with the arrival of new footage from previously-unseen witnesses, who have reason to be suspicious of the Palmers' conclusions. What they've seen leads to a new revision of the story, but one that doesn't fit perfectly. Inconsistencies remain. The family goes to a psychic (Steve Jobrell) for guidance, but they don't know that he's met Alice before. Naturally, he has a tape of his own to share, and his evidence shifts the film in yet another direction. As the story turns, what actually happened becomes more and more difficult to pin down, the truth as elusive as the ghost of Alice.

Despite these complications, the movie never loses focus, because we're always learning more about Alice. From her family, from her friends, from the images she left behind. Some of them hint at a depression prior to her drowning. Others hint at a scandalous relationship. Talia Zucker creates a full performance in her limited screen-time, varying from youthful cheer to melancholy to horror. As we learn about Alice, we learn about her family. Her brother Matthew (Martin Sharpe) responds to her death by retreating into open-ended art projects. Parents June (Rosie Traynor) and Russell (David Pledger) offer the casual mutual support that strong marriages require. This family dynamic, subtle and genuine, gives this film the a core of emotion lacking in a film like Paranormal Activity.

The lake in the title doesn't arrive until the movie's nearly over, and when the Palmers visit, there's no surprise in learning that Lake Mungo is a dry lake. Appropriate that a movie about ghosts hinges on a location that's literally a specter of its former self. The stark sand and rock call up unavoidable associations with Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Joel Anderson is bold to create a film that shares so many similarities with Peter Weir's esteemed mood-piece. However, Lake Mungo stands on its own, especially in its final minutes, as we learn what might be the solution to Alice, her death, and her possible resurrection. It's a solution that does not disappoint. There's a grace to the answers, and a grace to the entire film, which gives even its blurriest footage a curious beauty and mystery. This is a creepy, poignant, and memorable horror movie.

RATING: A-

[MadMan]

I didn't even know there was a remake.Yep. Michael Haneke remade his own film, probably doing so to prevent someone else from making a really shitty remake. I think its practically a shot for shot remake, too. The only difference being that its an American cast: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808279/

[Dukefrukem]

Yep. Michael Haneke remade his own film, probably doing so to prevent someone else from making a really shitty remake. I think its practically a shot for shot remake, too. The only difference being that its an American cast: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808279/

With Naomi Watts. hmmm. I'm intrigued now.

[Raiders]

It is told that he remade the film because American audiences were the ones he was most criticizing and critiquing with the original film and they weren't going to see his Austrian original, so he remade it as an American film. I haven't bothered because it is smugness on top of existing smugness and I would rather not.

[Spun Lepton]

It is told that he remade the film because American audiences were the ones he was most criticizing and critiquing with the original film and they weren't going to see his Austrian original, so he remade it as an American film. I haven't bothered because it is smugness on top of existing smugness and I would rather not.

Yeah, the pretentiousness is practically unbearable. Wish the film wasn't so well-made and compelling.

[Grouchy]

I never thought of Funny Games as a "neat little thriller".

[Dukefrukem]

I never thought of Funny Games as a "neat little thriller".

Are you going to tell us what you thought of it. The suspense is killing me.

[Raiders]

The suspense is killing me.

But would describe Grouchy's post as a "neat little thriller?"

[Rowland]

I preferred the remake. The enhanced production values not only result in a superior film, but those combined with seemingly minor but cumulatively crucial tweaks in both the writing and tone serve to both strengthen and clarify Haneke's thesis.

[Grouchy]

Are you going to tell us what you thought of it. The suspense is killing me.
I just meant that a "neat little thriller" would be a movie that I consider enjoyable, a good ride, entertaining. Out of Sight is a neat little thriller. If you wanna go a little edgier, The Descent or Transsiberian are neat little thrillers.

But Funny Games is a movie specially designed to be uncomfortable and disruptive to the viewer. I share your admiration to an extent, I just thought it was a weird choice of words.

[Dukefrukem]

Understood. It was a difficult movie to become immersed in- therefor I did not feel uncomfortable during the viewing. Although you bring up a good point- movies like Eden Lake The Skin I Live In and Creep were more effective in that regard. And movies like Human Centipede, Hostel and Martyrs would definitely make me feel uncomfortable with their gratuitousness.

[Grouchy]

I think there's a difference between exploitation and a movie with edgy content, though.

For example, I've seen The Human Centipede and I think it's a movie that serves only one purpose: to out-gross most other movies by putting a concept on screen that's too disgusting to even talk about. Same goes for Hostel and the Saw franchise. If you cut out the disturbing content, there is no movie left.

On the other hand, movies like The Skin I Live In and Martyrs do have content. They happen to tell a story that has disturbing elements, but they have a point. The disturbing elements are there, sure, but they are not everything. The same themes could be explored with less disturbing imagery, only it's the director's choice to use shock tactics.

Most Horror movies (Eden Lake, Creep, etc.) exist somewhere in the middle, though.

[MadMan]

But the first Saw was great partly because the disturbing content served the purpose of the overall story.

As for Funny Games, my rating of 80 just describes me being disappointed a bit and wondering what all of the fuss over it was about. I don't get people who call it a masterpiece, and I don't understand those who hate the movie so much. I'm hoping that Haneke has better films out there.

[Dukefrukem]

But the first Saw was great partly because the disturbing content served the purpose of the overall story.

As for Funny Games, my rating of 80 just describes me being disappointed a bit and wondering what all of the fuss over it was about. I don't get people who call it a masterpiece, and I don't understand those who hate the movie so much. I'm hoping that Haneke has better films out there.

80/100 is a very high score.