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

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'd disagree that Saw and Hostel lack for meaningful content or motivation for their harder edges. How successfully they execute their premises is totally up for debate, but Saw has a keen interest in studying how much people can handle pain and punishment. It's a none-too-subtle indictment of how easily people live, and how that may weaken us. Hostel avoids the depiction of direct torture for much of its runtime - it's a film rooted in the xenophobia of its characters, how their diminishing of other cultures/countries loops back against them.

I think both films are smarter than many give them credit for, although I think Saw flounders with its over-cut heavy metal grunge aesthetic. Hostel is a film I straight-up admire. I think Eli Roth glides from eerie dislocation into hardcore suffering into revenge tale with success, and although he may not be a deeply intelligent filmmaker, his film is incidentally fascinating as a product of its time.

[MadMan]

I'd disagree that Saw and Hostel lack for meaningful content or motivation for their harder edges. How successfully they execute their premises is totally up for debate, but Saw has a keen interest in studying how much people can handle pain and punishment. It's a none-too-subtle indictment of how easily people live, and how that may weaken us. Hostel avoids the depiction of direct torture for much of its runtime - it's a film rooted in the xenophobia of its characters, how their diminishing of other cultures/countries loops back against them.

I think both films are smarter than many give them credit for, although I think Saw flounders with its over-cut heavy metal grunge aesthetic. Hostel is a film I straight-up admire. I think Eli Roth glides from eerie dislocation into hardcore suffering into revenge tale with success, and although he may not be a deeply intelligent filmmaker, his film is incidentally fascinating as a product of its time.I can't speak for Hostel, although I may view it during my Horrorfest-I haven't decided yet-but Saw's heavy metal grunge aesthetic was one of my favorite things about that film.


80/100 is a very high score.You don't know of my rating system, do you? :P

80=***/****

[Grouchy]

I'd disagree that Saw and Hostel lack for meaningful content or motivation for their harder edges. How successfully they execute their premises is totally up for debate, but Saw has a keen interest in studying how much people can handle pain and punishment. It's a none-too-subtle indictment of how easily people live, and how that may weaken us. Hostel avoids the depiction of direct torture for much of its runtime - it's a film rooted in the xenophobia of its characters, how their diminishing of other cultures/countries loops back against them.
I... agree. I only saw Saw (HAWR) and Hostel when they came out in cinemas, but I remember appreciating the latter one for that exact same reason. Your defense of Saw doesn't ring as true, if only because I think that's a subtext that pops up in nearly every Horror survival movie.

[Mr. Pink]

I... agree. I only saw Saw (HAWR) and Hostel when they came out in cinemas, but I remember appreciating the latter one for that exact same reason. Your defense of Saw doesn't ring as true, if only because I think that's a subtext that pops up in nearly every Horror survival movie.

Hmmm. . . Even if you tried pretty hard to play devil's advocate, I think you ultimately have to agree with Damu's point. Saw is about a guy with cancer punishing people he doesn't think are taking full advantage of life, which you can't just lump in with other survival horror movies like you can with just the pain and punishment aspect.

[MadMan]

That and the fact that Saw was the first instance I can think of that featured the concept of a slasher villain who kills people using elaborate traps. No other slasher, even Freddy, had that idea.

[Grouchy]

That and the fact that Saw was the first instance I can think of that featured the concept of a slasher villain who kills people using elaborate traps. No other slasher, even Freddy, had that idea.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh200/jimepatty/abominable_dr_phibes.jpg

Ok, I agree with DaMU. Both films were bad examples of what I was trying to say.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Ok, I agree with DaMU. Both films were bad examples of what I was trying to say.

To be fair, you're right that they cease to work without their disturbing content, and I think their sequels become increasingly vapid and exploitative.

I'm trying to think of a horror flick that's just level-one exploitation. Something like I Spit on Your Grave or Nail Gun Massacre or Gutterballs, maybe. I can't stand those rape-revenge movies that are about awful people being awful and getting awful things done to them.

[Grouchy]

I can't stand those rape-revenge movies that are about awful people being awful and getting awful things done to them.
Rape and revenge is a pretty reiterative genre, and I Spit On Your Grave is another example of a movie that's nothing without its shock value.

Incidentally, I watched Coffy and Foxy Brown last week-end. Foxy is cheesy fun, but Coffy... Damn. That's a genuinely incredible film, very well written and directed. Rocked my socks out.

[Spun Lepton]

Incidentally, I watched Coffy and Foxy Brown last week-end. Foxy is cheesy fun, but Coffy... Damn. That's a genuinely incredible film, very well written and directed. Rocked my socks out.

Bah. Anything with Pan Grier is watchable in my book, even the horrible women-in-prison movies she made with Corman. Pretty sure I watched Coffy a long time ago. Might be time for a re-watch.

[Raiders]

I can't stand those rape-revenge movies that are about awful people being awful and getting awful things done to them.

Ms. 45 is awesome, fool. Granted, I it is much more critical of its female character than the average one of these films and she is ultimately the villain of the film.

[Dukefrukem]

To be fair, you're right that they cease to work without their disturbing content, and I think their sequels become increasingly vapid and exploitative.

I'm trying to think of a horror flick that's just level-one exploitation. Something like I Spit on Your Grave or Nail Gun Massacre or Gutterballs, maybe. I can't stand those rape-revenge movies that are about awful people being awful and getting awful things done to them.

Last House on the Left does this too. the Strangers as well.

[Spun Lepton]

Well, I watched Hellraiser on Instant last night. I ... didn't remember it being so dull.

[Raiders]

Well, I watched Hellraiser on Instant last night. I ... didn't remember it being so dull.

I have been railing against this movie for years. It's not bad per se, but its status amongst horror fans has always baffled me. I get the iconicism of the cenobites and Pinhead was a specific answer to the mindless or sarcastic villains of many 80s horror, but as a horror film it always struck me as pretty dull and lacking much style.

[Spun Lepton]

Troma is releasing 150 films on YouTube.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120828/18264320201/b-movie-legends-troma-entertainment-releases-150-films-youtube.shtml

[MadMan]

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh200/jimepatty/abominable_dr_phibes.jpg

Ok, I agree with DaMU. Both films were bad examples of what I was trying to say.Eh I guess that film sort of did the trap thing, but aside from that and the revenge angle Saw have little in common.

Bummer I have Hellraiser on my Horrorfest list for the year. I'll still check it out, though.

[Rowland]

I haven't seen it in years, but I count myself as a pretty big Hellraiser fan.

[Grouchy]

I haven't seen it in years, but I count myself as a pretty big Hellraiser fan.
Same here.

[Spun Lepton]

I watched The Final Conflict on Instant last night. Essentially The Omen 3, with Sam Neil as Damien. It was ... not bad. The thing that irritated me most was the way God's Assassins (my title for them) were the biggest group of dumbasses to walk the planet. They attempted to kill Damien a few times, and it was always botched because of their own stupidity. I kept hoping their next attempt would show some kind of competency and lead to some kind of tension, but no. The whole group was made up of morons.

I kept thinking, "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb."

6/10

[Scar]

I'm in the Hellraiser is alright group.

A lot of people love the second one. I need to give it another try, because I was not impressed with it.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'm in the Hellraiser is alright group.

A lot of people love the second one. I need to give it another try, because I was not impressed with it.

Nor was I.

[EvilShoe]

I thought the sequel was passable, not as good as some people make it out to be.

I think it gets a decent rep, because everything that followed was completely horrendous.

[MadMan]

I watched The Final Conflict on Instant last night. Essentially The Omen 3, with Sam Neil as Damien. It was ... not bad. The thing that irritated me most was the way God's Assassins (my title for them) were the biggest group of dumbasses to walk the planet. They attempted to kill Damien a few times, and it was always botched because of their own stupidity. I kept hoping their next attempt would show some kind of competency and lead to some kind of tension, but no. The whole group was made up of morons.

I kept thinking, "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb."

6/10I want to watch The Omen sequels. I bet the second one is rather solid, but I'm not sure about the third one. I think I just want to see that one simply because its Sam Neil playing the Antichrist.
Also great Spaceballs reference :lol:

[MadMan]

Last night after viewing Pontypool (which I thought was really good, btw-review can be found in my blog) I was looking through pictures, and I found one that took me to Jen and Meg's horror movie thread they did a while back, which contained meg's review of the film. This makes me a sad a bit that they no longer post here. Anyways I agree with meg that Pontypool almost can't be considered a zombie film, although I labeled it as such just for classification purposes.

The Stuff (1985) is good, cheesy and campy fun. Write up pending soon, but hey according to that film the only things that can save us from being turned into mindless consuming zombies is a right wing militia leader, a PR woman with a guilty conscience, a badass corporate industrial spy, and a kid who if he's scared about what's in his fridge at home is probably terrified every time he enters a McDonalds. Fantastic.

[Dukefrukem]

Meg has been posting in the video game thread for the past couple of days. I too wish Jenn posted here more... Pontypool is great.

[Dukefrukem]

I watched A Serbian Film last night. Not sure what to grade it yet. It was really, really hard to watch (along the lines of Human Centipede). But in contrast to HC, there was also a coherent story behind all the shock torture porn.

What is everyone's thoughts on this?

[Russ]

Did you see the uncensored version?

[Dukefrukem]

Did you see the uncensored version?

Ummmm. I'm guessing yes?

[Russ]

I think it's a good film (not great) with some substantial flaws. The good: it's extremely well-crafted and technically polished; however, as some have noted, that can work against the grittiness of the material. The two leads (Srdjan Todorovic and Sergej Trifunovic) both deliver memorable performances. The not-so-good: Thematically, the film is a bit of a mess. There are political messages and thematic tangents, but none are fully developed and remain unfocused half-baked attempts at something more meaningful. Still, they are present and resourceful viewers can take from them what they wish. It's that lack of focus that prevents the film from being as powerful as its filmmakers perhaps intended it to be.

But, it's certainly not the type of film one can say they "enjoyed" or that they can even recommend to anyone.

[Bosco B Thug]

I watched A Serbian Film last night. Not sure what to grade it yet. It was really, really hard to watch (along the lines of Human Centipede). But in contrast to HC, there was also a coherent story behind all the shock torture porn.

What is everyone's thoughts on this?
Crass but complex, well-thought-out.

I wish

BIG SPOILER
the family didn't kill themselves in the end.

[Dukefrukem]

Crass but complex, well-thought-out.

I wish

BIG SPOILER
the family didn't kill themselves in the end.

Yeh well I wish

The newborn porn scene was never conceived....[/QUOTE]

[Bosco B Thug]

Yeh well I wish

The newborn porn scene was never conceived.... Your pun gives away your partiality. You twisted subversive!

[Dukefrukem]

It does doesn't it? Well believe me, that scene was probably the hardest scene I've ever had to watch.

[KK2.0]

just watched VHS - it doesn't live up to the hype, imo. As any anthology some episodes are weaker then others, there are a bunch of creative stuff in it but none was particularly amazing.

It's like if the filmmakers tryed to give the found-footage treatment to various horror genres, the one that striked me as more effective was exactly the less ambitious, with a couple that's stalked by a serial killer during a road trip, although the film is full of gory deaths, it's this episode that had the most disturbing and realistic death in the whole film to me. The Skype segment was my second favorite, the conclusion was surprising and freaky. Overall, I think it's worth watching if you bring down your expectations a notch.

oh, and if you felt sick by Cloverfield's shaky camera bring a barf bag, i'm not that sensitive to that but the first segment is like that 'smack my bitch up' music video, the camera moves so much i felt completely nauseous.

[MadMan]

I'll lower my expectations of V/H/S based on the mixed reactions I've been reading. Still want to see it, though.

Tonight I viewed Return To Horror High, and its one of the most fun slasher movies I've ever seen. Oh and Scream 3 ripped this movie off to a certain degree, and it manages to not be as good, although Scream 3 was the weakest entry in that particular series.

[Grouchy]

Saw It's Alive by Larry Cohen. Not a good movie, yet I think it's impossible to dislike. The premise is so out there and the creature effects so silly (Rick Baker worked on this? Seriously?) that it has instant cult classic all over it. What's funny is that, in what seems to me so far like a Cohen trademark, the interest on the movie is not on the formulaic genre plot or on the srock killings but on the surrounding characters - Cohen's writing concentrates mostly on the parental drama of having given birth to a monster.

The final scene makes it clear there are gonna be sequels a-plenty. In fact, this seems like a movie that might benefit from an expanded universe of stories.

[Spun Lepton]

Saw It's Alive by Larry Cohen. Not a good movie, yet I think it's impossible to dislike. The premise is so out there and the creature effects so silly (Rick Baker worked on this? Seriously?) that it has instant cult classic all over it. What's funny is that, in what seems to me so far like a Cohen trademark, the interest on the movie is not on the formulaic genre plot or on the srock killings but on the surrounding characters - Cohen's writing concentrates mostly on the parental drama of having given birth to a monster.

The final scene makes it clear there are gonna be sequels a-plenty. In fact, this seems like a movie that might benefit from an expanded universe of stories.

There were at least three It's Alive movies, not including the embarrassing remake.

[Bosco B Thug]

I kinda love the third one, and it's definitely the "not good"-est of them all. It stopped at three, though, for some reason.

Which I'm thankful for, since I guess I'm considered a fan of the trilogy. 2nd one's kind of boring, kind of a slightly more polished version of the first with a little bigger scope. 3rd one's the crazy one.

[MadMan]

I enjoyed Its Alive (1974) quite a bit. The film sports some rather brutal kills (chief among them being when the baby murders the milkman-or was that a postal worker? I can't remember) and is largely entertaining in a really cheesy way. Family Video has the remake, but I'm not sure I want to see it-I imagine they used all CGI and that it lacks the campy charm of the original.

[Morris Schæffer]

The only Cohen flick I've seen is The Ambulance. Not strictly horror, but certainly a bit sinister, creepy. Anyone seen that?

[Spun Lepton]

I enjoyed Its Alive (1974) quite a bit. The film sports some rather brutal kills (chief among them being when the baby murders the milkman-or was that a postal worker? I can't remember) and is largely entertaining in a really cheesy way. Family Video has the remake, but I'm not sure I want to see it-I imagine they used all CGI and that it lacks the campy charm of the original.

Yes, on both counts. They attempt to take the premise 100% seriously, and when the baby monsters-out, it is essentially CG. Saddle that with poor writing, dull storyline, and moronic characters, and you've got something extra special.

[Spun Lepton]

The only Cohen flick I've seen is The Ambulance. Not strictly horror, but certainly a bit sinister, creepy. Anyone seen that?

You haven't seen Q: The Winged Serpent? Get on that.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I've seen Q, The Stuff, God Told Me To, It's Alive, and his "Pick Me Up" episode of Masters of Horror.

There's something about his grungy low-rent aesthetic and social criticisms and wacky premises that I find appealing. The Stuff is a good example. It has an obvious message, a bizarre performance from Michael Moriarty, special effects that are cheerfully unconvincing...I couldn't in good conscience recommend the guy's films to casual movie-goers, but for genre fans interested in oddball voices, Cohen's a real original. He's also capable of satisfying traditional thrillerisms, as witnessed by Phone Booth and Cellular.

[Grouchy]

I've seen Q: The Winged Serpent before and, even with funny fx, I found that to be a great movie, well acted and with plenty of entertaining moments.

I'll probably watch The Stuff and God Told Me Too next.

[MadMan]

I watched and reviewed The Stuff for my on-going Horrorfest, which has sadly stalled due to too much work. Damn work, getting in the way of viewing horror movies.


Yes, on both counts. They attempt to take the premise 100% seriously, and when the baby monsters-out, it is essentially CG. Saddle that with poor writing, dull storyline, and moronic characters, and you've got something extra special.That's....depressing. I might see it only to compare the two, but otherwise I'll just avoid it for now.

[Mr. Pink]

He's also capable of satisfying traditional thrillerisms, as witnessed by Phone Booth and Cellular.

Not to mention his thoroughly enjoyable blacksploitation entries in Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem. Those easily rank right up there with the best the genre has to offer.

[Dead & Messed Up]

My God, The Langoliers is a terrible movie. It is only dull, and then it is terrible terrible terrible.

[Raiders]

My God, The Langoliers is a terrible movie. It is only dull, and then it is terrible terrible terrible.

I liked the premise and some of the ideas derived from the King novella, and found Pinchot's weirdly manic performance kind of captivating, but it is remarkably dull and lifeless, which I do not accept as being informed by the content but rather piss poor filmmaking.

[MadMan]

Not to mention his thoroughly enjoyable blacksploitation entries in Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem. Those easily rank right up there with the best the genre has to offer.I love both of those films. Black Caesar, especially. Brian DePalma ripped off the mansion shootout in Hell Up in Harlem for the famous finale of Scarface, only his was far more bloodier and featured way more bullets.


Eh I actually thought the The Langoliers was a decent film. I didn't find it dull, and some aspects of the film were entertaining and even a bit creepy. Still I agree that the premise deserved a much better film. That's one movie that is overdue for a remake, imo (yes I know often remakes end up being terrible, but this is one that has plenty of room for improvement).

[Dead & Messed Up]

I liked the premise and some of the ideas derived from the King novella, and found Pinchot's weirdly manic performance kind of captivating, but it is remarkably dull and lifeless, which I do not accept as being informed by the content but rather piss poor filmmaking.

It really is piss-poor, which is odd, because Tom Holland directed Fright Night and Child's Play, which are two films I admire in terms of style and construction. But the lighting is flat, the composition is unimaginative, the camerawork is static and relies on single medium shots pretty much the whole damn time, and those special effects...hideous.

I agree, Pinchot is the high point. Energetic and committed work.

[Rowland]

I've seen bits and pieces of The Langoliers while channel surfing over the years, and what I saw wasn't enough to keep me from changing the channel. All I remember is David Morse as the captain, some hilariously absurd special effects, and a painfully ugly made-for-television look to it. I didn't realize until now that it was directed by Tom Holland, so I agree with you DaMU about the stark contrast with Child's Play, a surprisingly well-made film given its reputation.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I've seen bits and pieces of The Langoliers while channel surfing over the years, and what I saw wasn't enough to keep me from changing the channel. All I remember is David Morse as the captain, some hilariously absurd special effects, and a painfully ugly made-for-television look to it. I didn't realize until now that it was directed by Tom Holland, so I agree with you DaMU about the stark contrast with Child's Play, a surprisingly well-made film given its reputation.

Feel free to take it off your Netflix Queue.

[MadMan]

More than likely Holland was limited by ABC's budget. I mean we are talking about TV movies in the 90s. Which I really miss, by the way-networks no longer do those. The mini-series is mostly dead, which is sad imo.

[EvilShoe]

Watched the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Did not expect to find Jackie Earle Haley to be the weakest element of the film...

He's pretty good in the flashbacks, but not threatening at all as Krueger the villain. I think it's the physique, just looks like an angry disfigured child.

(Which could work if the movie was actually going for that - and it seemed to be when we are led to believe Krueger's innocent - but it's not, so it's just... weird.)

[MadMan]

I viewed Lord of Illusions tonight, btw. Review will be posted at some point, but needless to say I dug it quite a bit. I still don't know why so many movies in the 90s had that "TV movie" look but I've grown to accept it when seeing certain films from that decade.

Also I'll still defend the ANOES remake, although I will admit I dug the remake partly because I think the original is slightly overrated.

[Rowland]

I viewed Lord of Illusions tonight, btw... needless to say I dug it quite a bit.Was it needless to be said? Honestly, some neat imagery notwithstanding, I thought it was pretty lousy.

[Dukefrukem]

Was it needless to be said? Honestly, some neat imagery notwithstanding, I thought it was pretty lousy.

It was definitely needless to say. Remember, MadMan only disliked 6 of the 142 movies he saw in 2011 (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=393278&postcount=466).

[Spun Lepton]

I thought The Langoliers was all right. Better than your average made-for-TV horror, anyway. Of course, I saw last saw it when it was on TV, so maybe my memory is hazy.

Duke, why do you have Irish's old av?

[Scar]

I thought The Langoliers was all right. Better than your average made-for-TV horror, anyway. Of course, I saw last saw it when it was on TV, so maybe my memory is hazy.

Duke, why do you have Irish's old av?

He swallowed his soul.

[MadMan]

He swallowed his soul.http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs17/f/2007/123/4/1/Evil_Dead_Animated_Gif_by_DrXt reme.gif


It was definitely needless to say. Remember, MadMan only disliked 6 of the 142 movies he saw in 2011 (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=393278&postcount=466).Yes, we all can't go out and watch endlessly shitty movies just to satisfy some people on the Internet who I've never even met :P

Or also wear avatars of posters with thin skins, who started shit every chance they could and then couldn't take the heat that came with it.


Was it needless to be said? Honestly, some neat imagery notwithstanding, I thought it was pretty lousy.Huh. I thought it would be something you enjoyed. Too bad.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I thought The Langoliers was all right. Better than your average made-for-TV horror, anyway. Of course, I saw last saw it when it was on TV, so maybe my memory is hazy.

Duke, why do you have Irish's old av?

Your memory is hazy.

[Grouchy]

I wish I'd seen The Crow back when I was a kid so it'd be like Highlander, where everyone tells me it sucks and I still think it's a badass motion picture.

As it is, eh. Killer fucking soundtrack, though.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Just saw The Possession, reviewed it for the blog, review in the spoiler text:

The horror genre's seen a glut of exorcism movies in the past few years, but this is the first one to use a dybbuk as its source of evil. Sure, the Jewish angle is little more than a fresh coat of paint on the usual devilry, but the Stars of David and Hasidic Jews and Hebrew whispers give The Possession a distinctive flavor. Instead of traveling to an imposing cathedral, Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) visits rabbis who gather in clutched, shadowed quarters and wave their arms dismissively at the ghostly box. One would think they'd be floored by such a profound discovery, which is nothing less than a total validation of their religious faith. But no one cares. No one ever cares.

To be fair, this is business as usual. With few exceptions (The Exorcist, The Rapture, Frailty), religion is plot machinery in horror/thrillers, and clerics are stewards of exposition rather than people of depth. Actor and musician Matisyahu adds some interest to the role of exorcist Tzadok by keeping his character youthful - he rocks out to his iPod and rebels against his elders. Again, superficial changes, given that, by the end, he's shouting a demon's name over and over. "Adisu! ADIIIIISUUUU!" he screams and wails, and if you think it takes more than name-repetition to ghostbust a dybbuk, you need to go back to temple.

Like most modern horror films, especially Hollywood output, The Possession is shrill in its climax, over-scored and over-designed. The music alternates between simmer and boil, and it builds to shrieks in the event that we aren't scared enough. Thankfully, it follows the tack of Insidious, in which there are no "false" scares with people clapping each other on the back or cats leaping off trash cans. Instead, director Ole Bornedal plays with relative honesty. I like how he punctuates many scenes with quiet fade-outs that lead to ominous shots that look down on houses from high above. Call it Hashem's-eye-view.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick bring a grounded reality to the parents, Clyde and Stephanie. The two are going through a divorce, but they avoid histrionic arguments. Clyde stays optimistic as Stephanie slowly pushes him out of her life like a splinter, and her new beau, Brett (Grant Show), isn't an enemy to Clyde so much as a quiet reminder that the divorce is real. In addition to starting the film with tension, the divorce allows a convenient reason for daughter Emily's strange behavior, even after Clyde sees her in her bedroom, swarmed by moths, gripping the dybbuk box like a life preserver. Actress Natasha Calis plays Emily to strong effect, so much that her routine switch from angel to harpy creates some real emotion.

The Possession was produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, and this film shares some of the same tricks as previous Ghost House production Drag Me to Hell. Sometimes with the overwrought score, even more with the bizarre oral fixation. In Drag Me to Hell, the heroine was constantly a victim of substances shoved into her mouth. Embalming fluid, blood, gore, a fly, an entire arm. This worked both as a nasty joke on her fear of over-eating, and as a way to keep the film's violence beneath an R-rating. Here, the implication is simpler. Dybbuks need food. In one of the film's best moments, Emily devours a diner breakfast and says, "Can I have some more?" Then whispers, "She's still hungry."

The Possession is hardly a great film. Like most of its genre, the film will be forever buried in the shade of Friedkin's The Exorcist. But it's about as good as a PG-13 version of The Exorcist can be, thanks to the strong family dynamics and efficient direction and Jewish angle. Also, in a small relief, the producers were able to pony up the cash to show the logos for Google and Vimeo on-screen. It's enough to off-set my sadness that the requisite scene of heroes intensely clicking from window to window has officially replaced the requisite scene of heroes intensely scanning through micro-fiche in library basements.

RATING: B

[Winston*]

Just saw The Possession, reviewed it for the blog, review in the spoiler text:

The horror genre's seen a glut of exorcism movies in the past few years, but this is the first one to use a dybbuk as its source of evil.


David S Goyer's atrocious The Unborn does this.

[Dead & Messed Up]

David S Goyer's atrocious The Unborn does this.

Do we have to count it?

That makes me sad that we have to count that.

[Winston*]

Do we have to count it?

That makes me sad that we have to count that.

"You must finish what was started in Auschwitz!"

One of the worst films I've ever seen .

[Russ]

I just got the blu ray of a great horror film, Tras el Cristal / In a Glass Cage (1987, AgustÃ* Villaronga). This is one of the best arthouse horror films you'll ever see, but mind you, the content is pretty disturbing. Four words: Nazi experiments, young boys. However, it's nowhere near the expoitation level of say, A Serbian Film. It's just a brilliantly directed, shot, and edited film. I encourage all serious horror fans to check it out.

BTW, the blu ray looks AMAZING.

BpfBKcBECEU

[Grouchy]

Didn't know about that film, downloading it now. If it's good, it might be awesome for a Nazi-themed month at Ramona Reyes.

[transmogrifier]

House (1977)

77/100

Not as bug-fuck crazy as I was lead to expect, this is actually pretty tonally and thematically consistent in its own unique way.....and what a way. Totally swoony-cartoony, I loved the breaking of the fourth wall (especially the painted backdrop for a medium shot proudly displayed in the establishing shot prior) and the sheer go-for-broke juvenalia of it all. Not a coincidence that all carnage centers around domestic objects (lightshades, bedding, clocks, old-fashioned wells, pianos), revenge of the stay-at-home melodramaticist.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Nice! I haven't seen that one yet, but I'm very excited to.

[MadMan]

Nice! I haven't seen that one yet, but I'm very excited to.If you are lucky, get your hands on the Criterion release of the film:

http://cinemaknifefight.files.wordpre ss.com/2011/10/hausu-original.jpg

I believe that one of the posters on this site (I can't remember who) has an avatar from the film. I viewed it last year, and loved the hell out of it-I imagine House is right up your alley, so to speak.

[Rowland]

House (1977)

77/100

Not as bug-fuck crazy as I was lead to expect, this is actually pretty tonally and thematically consistent in its own unique way.....and what a way. Totally swoony-cartoony, I loved the breaking of the fourth wall (especially the painted backdrop for a medium shot proudly displayed in the establishing shot prior) and the sheer go-for-broke juvenalia of it all. Not a coincidence that all carnage centers around domestic objects (lightshades, bedding, clocks, old-fashioned wells, pianos), revenge of the stay-at-home melodramaticist.Excellent. This was one of my favorite discoveries during my October Horrorfest a few years back, wrote a bit about it here (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=301493&postcount=151). Thanks for reminding me, I might pick this one up for a revisit on Blu-ray.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'm very excited, because I finally (finally (finally)) bought the Val Lewton DVD box set. Can't wait to go through all of these movies again.

[megladon8]

I'm very excited, because I finally (finally (finally)) bought the Val Lewton DVD box set. Can't wait to go through all of these movies again.


One of my favorite box sets in my whole collection. Your life just got better.

[Boner M]

Anthology is doing a series, Giallo Fever! (http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/series/39659), while I'm in NYC.

Any particularly recommendations from these ones I haven't seen?

Perversion Story and Don't Torture a Duckling (Fulci)
The Girl Who Knew Too Much (Bava)
A Quiet Place in the Country (Petri)
The House of the Laughing Windows (Avati)
The Strange Vice of Martha Ward (Martino)
What Have You Done to Solange? (Dallamano)

[Rowland]

Any particularly recommendations from these ones I haven't seen?

Perversion Story and Don't Torture a Duckling (Fulci)
The Girl Who Knew Too Much (Bava)
A Quiet Place in the Country (Petri)
The House of the Laughing Windows (Avati)
The Strange Vice of Martha Ward (Martino)
What Have You Done to Solange? (Dallamano)I'd recommend Don't Torture a Duckling and The Girl Who Knew Too Much.

I recall Perversion Story being very stylish and sexy, but otherwise kinda boring, though I suspect my expectations may have played a role in that and I'd be more receptive to it now. Ditto The Strange Vice of Martha Ward actually, though I do really enjoy some of Martino's other films. I'm pretty confident however about my meh-ish response to Solange, and I'm unfamiliar with the remaining two.

[Boner M]

I didn't like Fulci's A Lizard in Woman's Skin, which sounds very similar to PS, so I probably won't see it.

Are Giallo fans generally pretty undiscriminating? That's the impression I get when looking up the titles.

[Rowland]

Are Giallo fans generally pretty undiscriminating? That's the impression I get when looking up the titles.I don't know if I'd say undiscriminating, but many cult eurohorror aficionados probably do tend to be particularly willing to overlook any (debatable) drawbacks that stand between them and whatever appeals to them about any given film. But you can't lump all Giallo fans, or all Giallos for that matter, into one easily quantifiable group.

I didn't care for A Lizard in a Woman's Skin either, so I doubt you'd like Perversion Story much. Don't Torture a Duckling does strike me as being legitimately pretty great however, and easily one of Fulci's best.

[Grouchy]

The only one I've seen is The Girl Who Knew Too Much. I recommend.

[MadMan]

Don't Torture a Duckling (Fulci)
The Girl Who Knew Too Much (Bava)These two are rather decent/solid. I haven't seen the other ones you mentioned, though.

Tonight I have The Relic on tap. I figure I already viewed one 90s horror movie, so why not go for another? Plus both Siskel and Ebert liked it back then, and they actually had something of note to say, so there's always that.

[Grouchy]

I know I always criticize Ebert and name-call him, but one commendable thing he does in his reviews is that if the movie is not all that interesting he dispatches it and talks about something else instead.

I mostly hate him because he appeals to the more conformist type of "good" cinema. When something truly challenging comes his way, he almost always rejects it. Even worse, he only warms up to some filmmakers (Lynch, Almodóvar) once his peers are already praising them.

[Mr. Pink]

Anthology is doing a series, Giallo Fever! (http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/series/39659), while I'm in NYC.

Any particularly recommendations from these ones I haven't seen?

Perversion Story and Don't Torture a Duckling (Fulci)
The Girl Who Knew Too Much (Bava)
A Quiet Place in the Country (Petri)
The House of the Laughing Windows (Avati)
The Strange Vice of Martha Ward (Martino)
What Have You Done to Solange? (Dallamano)

Are you gonna skip the ones you've already seen? 'Cause I love The Girl Who Knew Too Much, but I wouldn't skip Blood and Black Lace in favor of it.

Don't Torture a Duckling would be great to see in a theater, too.

[Dukefrukem]

Got this for free (http://www.amazon.com/Horrorfest-Graves-Hidden-Zombies-Destruction/dp/B00344EAL4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348081039&sr=8-1&keywords=Horrorfest+4) (using $11 worth of Amazon points) and it will be my Halloween marathon this year.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WFicO63qL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[MadMan]

I know I always criticize Ebert and name-call him, but one commendable thing he does in his reviews is that if the movie is not all that interesting he dispatches it and talks about something else instead.This is true, and has lead to some of his funniest, most awesome reviews. I actually like him best when he hates a movie. Those are his most fun to read reviews.


I mostly hate him because he appeals to the more conformist type of "good" cinema. When something truly challenging comes his way, he almost always rejects it. Even worse, he only warms up to some filmmakers (Lynch, Almodóvar) once his peers are already praising them.You could make the argument that too many critics are like that, though, or that too many movie goers, even ones that like challenging material to an extent, are like that, too. Its the major problem with the American audience, but I think it almost extends to other countries as well. People are lazy, or they fear change, or they are scared of something that goes against their viewpoints.

Anyways I agree with Siskel and Ebert's liking of The Relic. Its a bit cheesy at times, but the movie is a solid monster movie that pulls no punches. I hear the book is even better, and I would like to read it at some point.

[D_Davis]

I really like The Relic.

[Dukefrukem]

I really like The Relic.

I like the movie and I love the book.

That book is what got me interested in Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The ending in the movie if awful- the book does a much better dramatic job and also includes a character completely omitted from the movie. (Pentergast).

I highly recommend every Pentergast book DP and LC have written.

[Scar]

I really like The Relic.

YES.

I remember watching this in the theater and was worried how the creature FX was going to look. Then I saw Stan Winston's name in the opening credits, and my fears disappeared.

[megladon8]

Two other mid-'90s monster movies I really like are Mimic and Deep Rising.

The latter is the best thing that director has ever done.

[Rowland]

I thought The Relic was kinda crap when I revisited it a few years ago, but even recalling all the murky images and senseless plotting, I don't feel as negatively about it now, so who knows, maybe I was just being overly critical. I like Mimic a lot as well (and to a lesser extent its DTV sequels, own them all in a Blu-ray set I found cheap), and I liked Deep Rising back in '99 when I watched it on late night HBO, not sure how that would hold up.

[transmogrifier]

I miss those solid, B-movie studio monster movies. In fact, the 90s were good at mid-budget B movies in general. These days its just horror movies and R-rated comedies based around the apparently hilarious disconnect of seeing regular type people in regular type jobs/situations act like frat boys.

[Scar]

I miss those solid, B-movie studio monster movies. In fact, the 90s were good at mid-budget B movies in general. These days its just horror movies and R-rated comedies based around the apparently hilarious disconnect of seeing regular type people in regular type jobs/situations act like frat boys.

How about a list of some of your faves? I'm a sucker for a decent monster flick.

[D_Davis]

I miss those solid, B-movie studio monster movies. In fact, the 90s were good at mid-budget B movies in general. These days its just horror movies and R-rated comedies based around the apparently hilarious disconnect of seeing regular type people in regular type jobs/situations act like frat boys.

Totally agree.

[transmogrifier]

I have a feeling that what I remember fondly, you have already seen.

Things like Species, Anaconda, the two movies mentioned above, From Dusk Till Dawn, Vampires, Arachnophobia, Tremors.....B-movies all, with a sense of pacing and (in some cases) just the right touch of camp.

But I was also thinking of the action movies and the thrillers:

Red Rock West
Trespass
Breakdown
The River Wild
The Edge
The Devil's Advocate
etc.

Stuff like that - pulpy, mid-budget, entertaining, adult studio fare. All of those are pretty much direct to DVD these days, because they aren't R-rated comedies or contain zombies/superheroes/a slasher. I realise they still MAKE these types of films (64% starring Jason Statham) but I think they are way blander and hackier than previously.

But I'm pretty sure I'm speaking with a healthy dose of nostalgia,

[D_Davis]

One thing is that I don't remember the B-grade genre movies of the 90s being as mean spirited as everything seems to be these days. I don't know. Maybe it's just because I'm older now, and don't tolerate mean-spirited stuff anymore, but Rated R films today tend to be more gruesome, explicit, and over all nastier in tone these days.

I mean, The Relic is no horror-comedy, but it's not mean spirited. It's simply a solid monster flick.

Zombieland was a good modern flick that has a similar '90s tone to it.

[D_Davis]

I have a feeling that what I remember fondly, you have already seen.

Things like Species, Anaconda, the two movies mentioned above, From Dusk Till Dawn, Vampires, Arachnophobia, Tremors.....B-movies all, with a sense of pacing and (in some cases) just the right touch of camp.



Demon Night
Bordello of Blood
Fright Night 1 and 2
House 1 and 2

(some of these mentioned are '80s....)


I think we might just be remembering with lots of nostalgia, and having the best filter of all - time - on our sides.

But more often than not, I'll start watching a new B-grade genre film on Netflix instant, and turn it off after about 30 minutes.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yeah, the genre shift to serious (and seriously monotonous) horror remakes has killed the mid-level goofy adult stuff. There've been a few gasps for the B-movie spirit of yore.

USA-wise, there's Eight Legged Freaks, The Cabin in the Woods, Slither, and Drag Me to Hell, which are films that I thought succeeded to varying degrees (don't hit me, D). Trick 'r Treat might not qualify, but it has the same overall tone - pulpy genre goodness delivered with a wink and a smile. Movies like I Sell the Dead, Piranha 3D and Van Helsing were disappointments, but their hearts were in the right place.

Overseas, movies like Dog Soldiers, Rogue, The Host, and Attack the Block fit loosely into that mold.

[D_Davis]

Yeah, the genre shift to serious (and seriously monotonous) horror remakes has killed the mid-level goofy adult stuff. There've been a few gasps for the B-movie spirit of yore.

USA-wise, there's Eight Legged Freaks, The Cabin in the Woods, Slither, and Drag Me to Hell, which are films that I thought succeeded to varying degrees (don't hit me, D). Trick 'r Treat might not qualify, but it has the same overall tone - pulpy genre goodness delivered with a wink and a smile. Movies like I Sell the Dead, Piranha 3D and Van Helsing were disappointments, but their hearts were in the right place.

Overseas, movies like Dog Soldiers, Rogue, The Host, and Attack the Block fit loosely into that mold.

I'd say most of those are pretty good examples - thus proving that the stuff still gets made today. And even though I can't stand Drag Me to Hell, you're right in that it fits that mode, which may be evidence that I'm getting old and my tastes are changing.

That's one of the reasons why I loved Attack the Block so much. It totally felt like a '90s flick to me.

And, speaking of not hitting, I like The Mummy movies for much of the same reasons. They're fun and entertaining. They've got good heart, and adventure.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'd say most of those are pretty good examples - thus proving that the stuff still gets made today. And even though I can't stand Drag Me to Hell, you're right in that it fits that mode, which may be evidence that I'm getting old and my tastes are changing.

That's one of the reasons why I loved Attack the Block so much. It totally felt like a '90s flick to me.

And, speaking of not hitting, I like The Mummy movies for much of the same reasons. They're fun and entertaining. They've got good heart, and adventure.

I enjoy the hell out of the first Mummy movie (the sequel got too big for its britches). I think it's one of the few big-budget action-adventures that captures some of the magic of Indiana Jones. Just scary enough, just funny enough, doesn't overstay its welcome.

[D_Davis]

I enjoy the hell out of the first Mummy movie (the sequel got too big for its britches). I think it's one of the few big-budget action-adventures that captures some of the magic of Indiana Jones. Just scary enough, just funny enough, doesn't overstay its welcome.

For sure, although I do like the sequel, even though it is bloated (the first big action sequence on the bus with the three mummies is totally cool). The third though, oof, so lame.

[Grouchy]

I saw Attack the Block the other day. It killed me. Hell of a film. You guys are right, that kind of B-spirit monster movie is completely absent from today's Hollywood. Horror is almost 100% marketed for teenagers.

[MadMan]

YES.

I remember watching this in the theater and was worried how the creature FX was going to look. Then I saw Stan Winston's name in the opening credits, and my fears disappeared.Heh yep the minute I saw his name in the credits I realized the monster would at least look good.

Also Deep Rising sucked. I'm willing to maybe give it another chance, but what I saw was awful. Poor Treat Williams and Kevin J. O'Connor deserved a better monster movie.

Mimic I have on my Instant Viewing queue. And yes I fully agree with you guys that the fun has been completely sucked from the horror genre, and even many Hollywood films. I blame blockbusters for this in addition to hack directors. The PG-13 rating has been really bad for decent, fun moviemaking: everything's aimed at stupid teenagers.

[KK2.0]

c'mon, Deep Rising was a blast, very entertaining and the fx were surprisingly great at the time. I remember being very impressed by the half-digested guy.


I've watched The Ruins a few days ago and really enjoyed it, i think it brings back some of that good old B-movie vibes. Plot is weird like an episode of Twilight zone or some Stephen King's best short stories, and DAT AMPUTATION ouch!

[Dukefrukem]

I have a love hate relationship with Deep Rising. I almost can see the enjoyment as I can see in the first Resident Evil movie, and the Mummy, but Deep Rising is much less clever. Still, when I had HBO, if it was on, I wouldn't change the channel. So that says something.

[megladon8]

I would say Deep Rising is much more clever than The Mummy.

I never got the appeal of the Mummy movies (or Van Helsing...or, hell, that guy's whole career other than Deep Rising).

He makes awful movies, and I've often wondered if it's an intentional choice to always have CGI that looks dated and awful.

[Dukefrukem]

What is clever about some water sea monster that pops up every once in a while for cheap scares? The Mummy is a pseudo-adventure comedy and Brendan Fraser pulls off the role very well; there's back and forth banter, a journey and decent action. He's very likable along side Rachel Weisz.

[megladon8]

What is clever about some water sea monster that pops up every once in a while for cheap scares? The Mummy is a pseudo-adventure comedy and Brendan Fraser pulls off the role very well; there's back and forth banter, a journey and decent action. He's very likable along side Rachel Weisz.


Deep Rising had actual pacing, and I found Treat Williams a much more interesting a likable hero than Fraser (who I've just never liked all that much).

Yes, The Mummy features Rachel Weisz at her hottest, but it's not enough for me to like the movie. And most of the comedy is pretty terrible - Kevin J. O'Connor's Egyptian dude was painful.

I appreciated the slow reveal of the sea monster much more than the "throw everything at you at once" Mummy character.

I also absolutely love the ending of Deep Rising. The Mummy doesn't have a single moment as awesome as that. The first time I saw it my blood curdled a bit.

[Dukefrukem]

I also absolutely love the ending of Deep Rising. The Mummy doesn't have a single moment as awesome as that. The first time I saw it my blood curdled a bit.

Don't they ride on a jet-ski out some long weird channel from inside the ship trying to escape fire? :lol: Wicked awesome. :rolleyes: Sorry, I know you like it but I don't see that as awesome at all. That's the old Hollywood move where they sit around and say: "How do we end this?"

[Dead & Messed Up]

Jesus. I'm gonna have to watch Deep Rising now. Damn it. Damn it Damn it Damn it.

[megladon8]

Don't they ride on a jet-ski out some long weird channel from inside the ship trying to escape fire? :lol: Wicked awesome. :rolleyes: Sorry, I know you like it but I don't see that as awesome at all. That's the old Hollywood move where they sit around and say: "How do we end this?"


No, that's not the end.

[Dukefrukem]

Pretty sure that scene occurs within the last 60 seconds of the movie. Therefor it's part of the ending.

[megladon8]

Ugh.

[megladon8]

So Jen and I are building our little Halloween marathon for this year. Not going to be nearly as extravagant as previous years (2009 we went a little nuts :)) but we've got some good ones so far:

Martyrs (for a night when we just want to feel really, really lousy :lol:)

The Boogens (she saw it back in the '80s, and I've never seen it, so it will be like a first viewing for both of us)

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (neither of us has seen it, sounds like fun)

Kuroneko (we both love love love Onibaba, so the chance to see another supernatural parable from the same director is one we have to jump at)

Zombie (another that Jen saw long ago but I've never seen - and it's one that we FINALLY saw at a decent price so we had to get it)


That's what we have so far (plus watching Halloween on Halloween night as we do every year). I'm sure we'll add another couple of flicks to the list.

[D_Davis]

I never got the appeal of the Mummy movies

They're fun, exciting, full of action and adventure, good spirited, and charming. Or, at least the first 2 are. Never really noticed the CGI, because I was having too much with the films. But I rarely notice bad special f/x, or, rather, never let them ruin a film for me. Thank god, too, because if I did it would be really hard for me to love all those old Shaw Brothers and other HK films as much as I do. To me, pointing out bad CGI is like pointing out that you can see the wires in a Shaw Bros film, or that stop motion animation looks stilted and fake. It just doesn't bother me, so long as I'm liking the movie.

[megladon8]

They're fun, exciting, full of action and adventure, good spirited, and charming. Or, at least the first 2 are. Never really noticed the CGI, because I was having too much with the films. But I rarely notice bad special f/x, or, rather, never let them ruin a film for me. Thank god, too, because if I did it would be really hard for me to love all those old Shaw Brothers and other HK films as much as I do. To me, pointing out bad CGI is like pointing out that you can see the wires in a Shaw Bros film, or that stop motion animation looks stilted and fake. It just doesn't bother me, so long as I'm liking the movie.


I agree (I like Deep Rising, after all :)). But I don't like The Mummy, so the bad CGI just becomes another annoyance.

Sommers has just had a weird track record with CGI, though, in that his films are always full of it, and it always seems to be a few years behind the quality of everything else that's out at the time.

Jen and I recently tried to watch Van Helsing and it was just...blech.

[KK2.0]

I like the first Mummy movie but Sommers went downhill after that, Mummy 2 was so so and Van Helsing was terrible, it felt like a Michael Bay movie, terrible pacing, overblown. I didn't bother watching GI Joe or whatever he did since that.


Pretty sure that scene occurs within the last 60 seconds of the movie. Therefor it's part of the ending.

oh please, they even used it for the craptastic poster, looks like B-movie perfection right here :)

http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/38/3898/J4PJF00Z/posters/deep-rising.jpg

[megladon8]

Speaking of The Mummy, Len Wiseman is in final talks to direct a reboot of the series!

Yay!

[Rowland]

I also absolutely love the ending of Deep Rising. The Mummy doesn't have a single moment as awesome as that. The first time I saw it my blood curdled a bit.I haven't seen the movie in a long time, so I can't recall what you're referring to, could you spoiler tag it for me? :)

[megladon8]

I haven't seen the movie in a long time, so I can't recall what you're referring to, could you spoiler tag it for me? :)


They float to the safety of an island shore, everything seems OK, and then they hear an enormous ROAR. The camera zooms out to show something enormous pummeling its way through the forests of the island to where they landed on shore.

I just thought it was a final moment that punctuated the movie really well.

With Sommers making over half of his career about trying to recreate the monster movies of the '30s-'50s that he grew up loving, I think Deep Rising is the closest he ever came, and it's the only one that isn't a direct remake/retelling of those old Universal flicks.

[Dukefrukem]

Speaking of The Mummy, Len Wiseman is in final talks to direct a reboot of the series!

Yay!

I approve of a Mummy reboot and I approve of Len Wiseman, the most underrated director today.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yay?

Nay, I say. Len Wiseman makes the most boring action pictures today. Granted, I have not seen Total Recall. Perhaps that is a quantum leap forward. But the Underworld movies bored me to tears, and Live Free or Die Hard worked for me because of Willis and Long, not because of the overcut action or gun-metal color balance.

I'll happily point to problems I have with Sommers, but the guy loves his monsters with an infectious energy.

[megladon8]

Yeah, my "yay" was sarcastic (was that not clear?).

And it's in part because Sommers has such energy and passion for the old-school monster movies that I find his own films so frustratingly terrible, because he misses the mark so terribly. I wanted to love Van Helsing so badly, but man, that movie is a stinker and a half.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yeah, my "yay" was sarcastic (was that not clear?).

And it's in part because Sommers has such energy and passion for the old-school monster movies that I find his own films so frustratingly terrible, because he misses the mark so terribly. I wanted to love Van Helsing so badly, but man, that movie is a stinker and a half.

Yeah, my post was more a reaction to Duke. And yes, Van Helsing is awful, but I feel like that movie could've been excellent without changing too much. Like...fewer distended jaws and less about amnesiac Wolverine.

[MadMan]

Speaking of monster movies, my craptastic write up for The Relic is up on my blog. I'm in the mood for a nasty horror movie tonight....Netflix will decide.

[Dukefrukem]

Yay?

Nay, I say. Len Wiseman makes the most boring action pictures today. Granted, I have not seen Total Recall. Perhaps that is a quantum leap forward. But the Underworld movies bored me to tears, and Live Free or Die Hard worked for me because of Willis and Long, not because of the overcut action or gun-metal color balance.

I'll happily point to problems I have with Sommers, but the guy loves his monsters with an infectious energy.

Well I disagree with your comments on Underworld. I thought the first two were very entertaining. And it wasn't Wiseman's fault for Total Recall and Die Hard. They were both terrible scripts. I think Wisemen gets a lot of blame but he has some great ideas and tracking shots in a lot of his movies. Give him a decent script and he can make something of it.

[Spun Lepton]

I've been underwhelmed by all of Wiseman's output, too. His films have occasional flashes of awesome, but overall they're just kinda ... bland.

[KK2.0]

They float to the safety of an island shore, everything seems OK, and then they hear an enormous ROAR. The camera zooms out to show something enormous pummeling its way through the forests of the island to where they landed on shore.

I just thought it was a final moment that punctuated the movie really well.

With Sommers making over half of his career about trying to recreate the monster movies of the '30s-'50s that he grew up loving, I think Deep Rising is the closest he ever came, and it's the only one that isn't a direct remake/retelling of those old Universal flicks.

Indeed, I think he's the kind of filmmaker that would've build a solid career of small budget genre flicks. Damn you hollywood! *shakes fist*

[MadMan]

Pet Sematary (1989) after a slow start really captures most of the book's creepy atmosphere, and doesn't pull any punches. Its a rather solid King adaption, and I think some of that can be attributed to the fact that King wrote the film's screenplay.

[Rowland]

Remember Fido? I recall a bunch of you digging it, never got around to it myself. In any case, the director is back after a five-year absence with Barricade, a horror movie produced by WWE studios starring Will from Will and Grace. The reactions on IMDb have been very negative so far, but this promo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx1aDGHTgmA&feature=player_embedded#!) of WWE wrestlers watching it would have you think it's the scariest fucking thing in existence.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn52/drowland811/barricade2.png

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn52/drowland811/barricade6.png

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn52/drowland811/barricade5.png

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn52/drowland811/barricade4.png

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn52/drowland811/barricade7.png

[Dukefrukem]

Fido is great and I will be checking this out too. Thanks for the heads up Rowland.

[Boner M]

Don't Torture a Duckling was far more sophisticated a film than I'd expected from a director who would a pit an underwater zombie against a shark in less than a decade later. Not to say it doesn't have its goofy grindhouse moments (lol the ending), but the black magic plot is fairly disciplined, and the social critique dimension of the film had me thinking Memories of Murder early on, w/ the automatic peasant arrest and whatnot.

The chain-beating scene is like something straight out of Tarantino, especially with its contrapuntal pop-music scoring.

[Rowland]

Don't Torture a Duckling was far more sophisticated a film than I'd expected from a director who would a pit an underwater zombie against a shark in less than a decade later. Not to say it doesn't have its goofy grindhouse moments (lol the ending), but the black magic plot is fairly disciplined, and the social critique dimension of the film had me thinking Memories of Murder early on, w/ the automatic peasant arrest and whatnot.

The chain-beating scene is like something straight out of Tarantino, especially with its contrapuntal pop-music scoring.Good man. It is without a doubt the most sophisticated and rigorous film I've seen by Fulci, and was in fact the moment that I began to second guess my rash dismissal of the filmmaker. Well, that and my discovery of Fernando F. Croce's comprehensive and illuminating appraisals (http://www.google.com/custom?domains=www.cinepassion .org&q=fulci&sitesearch=www.cinepassion.org&sa=Search&client=pub-9202465897540563&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1% 3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A6633 99%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFF F%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3A0000 FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000% 3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000F F%3BFORID%3A1%3B&hl=en) of Fulci's work. I'm glad my suggestion proved fruitful.

[Dead & Messed Up]

The Children of the Corn remake is hideously bad. Could be the worst thing I've seen all year. Wow.

[Rowland]

The Children of the Corn remake is hideously bad. Could be the worst thing I've seen all year. Wow.There was a remake? I'm thinking about watching the original for the first time this October, hope it isn't too bad.

[Dead & Messed Up]

There was a remake? I'm thinking about watching the original for the first time this October, hope it isn't too bad.

There was a remake, and I kinda hated the original, but I'll be damned if the remake doesn't make me pine for the original. Then again, I've never loved the story to begin with - King's original tale is this little Lord of the Flies bit of silliness that never resonated with me.

[Morris Schæffer]

I like the first Mummy movie but Sommers went downhill after that, Mummy 2 was so so and Van Helsing was terrible, it felt like a Michael Bay movie, terrible pacing, overblown. I didn't bother watching GI Joe or whatever he did since that.



oh please, they even used it for the craptastic poster, looks like B-movie perfection right here :)

http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/38/3898/J4PJF00Z/posters/deep-rising.jpgµ

That tagline ain't even correct, because I do recall some survivors. I think it was the oily Dr. Chilton from Silence of the Lambs who axed Djimoun Hounsou in the goddamn head. Fun movie, not really good, but it does get some mileage from having Treat Williams as the lead and the premise, ominous corridors, lenghty buildup gives it an intensity missing from The Mummy. And it's certainly genuinely disgusting:

zmgn96uootU

:)

Anaconda is damn good. Always been a fan. Jon Voight is memorable in it as are the snakes although they've sped up their attacks which I understand, but it looks kinda goofy. Also, it's shot by Bill "Jaws" Butler which is cool trivia.

6T_luyc7c7c

Here's the real ending to Deep Rising that Meg was talking about. Aber sie sprechen in Deutsch. Sorry about that.

Big fan of Wiseman's Live Free or Die Hard. Great action scenes. Inventive, massive, coherent, virtually entirely practical. It's the kinda stuff we should applaud in action flicks. I missed composer Michael Kamen oddly enough.

[MadMan]

Bah, the 1984 Children of the Corn is a good, semi-creepy movie with some good 80s cheese and a great score. OUTLANDER! Man was that red head evil.

Here's my Horrorfest 2011 review for it: http://madman731.blogspot.com/2012/04/down-dark-alley-horrorfest-80s-style.html (scroll down to the end)

[Morris Schæffer]

Fuck it. I'm gonna watch Leviathan. :)

edit: Change of plans. I deleted it accidentally. So I'm watching another Weller classic, Screamers. :)

[Rowland]

So I'm watching another Weller classic, Screamers. :)Sorry to see that didn't work out for you. It's deeply flawed, but I found it more pleasurable than not. I'd probably give it a C+/B- on my current scale. Review (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=297023&postcount=125)

[Spun Lepton]

Fuck it. I'm gonna watch Leviathan. :)


Blecch. Watched it on Instant a few weeks back. Did not like.

[MadMan]

Blecch. Watched it on Instant a few weeks back. Did not like.Aye, that movie sucks. Too bad since it has a really good cast.

[Dukefrukem]

I feel like watching it now since you guys are all mentioning it.

[Dukefrukem]

Fuck it. Watching it now.

Question: Is Leviathan one of those Hollywood moves where one studio puts out an underwater story so another has to do it (the Abyss). Like Dante's Peak and Volcano and Armageddon and Deep Impact?

[megladon8]

Has anyone seen Lovely Molly?

[Morris Schæffer]

Sorry to see that didn't work out for you. It's deeply flawed, but I found it more pleasurable than not. I'd probably give it a C+/B- on my current scale. Review (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=297023&postcount=125)

Wasn't really bad though. I like Weller and the movie had an endearingly grimy veneer as well as a bunch of cool surprises, especially with the kid they pick up. Still, by the end, it literally felt like everyone was a machine and the movie didn't do a good job mining some paranoia from that. It didn't do a good job with any kind of inspiration it borrowed from others and thus ended up feeling lazy. I did find out the score was composed by Norman Corbeil who did the music for PS3 game Heavy Rain.

[Morris Schæffer]

Fuck it. Watching it now.

Question: Is Leviathan one of those Hollywood moves where one studio puts out an underwater story so another has to do it (the Abyss). Like Dante's Peak and Volcano and Armageddon and Deep Impact?

In that same year, there was also Deepstar Six, directed by, Sean "Friday the 13th" Cunningham. It's a tradition that seems to be making a comeback with battling white house thrillers and possibly later, competing earthquake flicks. And why the heck not? :)

Since I, ahem, re-acquired Leviathan after having accidentally deleted it, I may watch it later today.

[EvilShoe]

It's amazing how Leviathan's final five minutes manages to push the movie from unassuming horror movie into positively horrible-territory.

[Grouchy]

All this "found footage" trend coming from supposedly A-list filmmakers, people who hang out and eat sandwiches with Steven Spielberg, and not one of them is half as thought-provoking as Cannibal Holocaust, the low budget exploitation flick that started it all. More than thirty years later people are making big dollars out of appealing to the lowest human urges, the same thing Deodato got convicted for back in 1980.

How depressing is that?

[Morris Schæffer]

It's amazing how Leviathan's final five minutes manages to push the movie from unassuming horror movie into positively horrible-territory.

Yeah, I remember Damu's piece on that, but forgot what thread it was. And you're right, excepting the last 5 minutes, this movie's sorta entertaining. I was surprised with the pedigree behind it. Ok, maybe not the director, but it was written by David "Blade Runner" Peoples, scored by Jerry "Alien" Goldsmith, lensed by Alex "Alien3" Thomson, and with creatures by Stan Winston, Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, production designed by Ron Cobb who worked on Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Abyss, Alien, Aliens, Total Recall, Firefly etc....

As a production, it's pretty decent, and the location automatically lends it some claustrophobic atmosphere. The cast is good, but boy does this unapologetically rip from others. From big things like the creatures to small ones like Richard Crenna looking at a grainy video of the innards of the Russian Vessel and seeing some sort of human skull, but bigger than a normal one. Oooh!

[MadMan]

Reviews are now up on teh blog for Pet Sematary and Ganja & Hess (1973). I just finished watching Dead and Breakfast, and found it amusing although the film could have been a lot funnier. I should have ignored the tag line on the cover where some dumb reviewer called it the American answer to Shaun of the Dead.

[EvilShoe]

Yeah, I remember Damu's piece on that, but forgot what thread it was. And you're right, excepting the last 5 minutes, this movie's sorta entertaining. I was surprised with the pedigree behind it. Ok, maybe not the director, but it was written by David "Blade Runner" Peoples, scored by Jerry "Alien" Goldsmith, lensed by Alex "Alien3" Thomson, and with creatures by Stan Winston, Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, production designed by Ron Cobb who worked on Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Abyss, Alien, Aliens, Total Recall, Firefly etc....

As a production, it's pretty decent, and the location automatically lends it some claustrophobic atmosphere. The cast is good, but boy does this unapologetically rip from others. From big things like the creatures to small ones like Richard Crenna looking at a grainy video of the innards of the Russian Vessel and seeing some sort of human skull, but bigger than a normal one. Oooh!
It's a shameless rip-off, but I think the cast manages to sell it for the most part. The movie starts going off the rails once we see more and more of the monster (I don't know what went wrong, probably should've kept it in the shadows more).

Now I'm in the mood for another Peter Weller starring vehicle, in fact. Might watch Of Unknown Origin this week.

[Morris Schæffer]

It's a shameless rip-off, but I think the cast manages to sell it for the most part. The movie starts going off the rails once we see more and more of the monster (I don't know what went wrong, probably should've kept it in the shadows more).

Now I'm in the mood for another Peter Weller starring vehicle, in fact. Might watch Of Unknown Origin this week.

Same director as Leviathan! :lol:

I forgot, but The Weller will appear in Star Trek Into Darkness. Cool actor.

[Dukefrukem]

All this "found footage" trend coming from supposedly A-list filmmakers, people who hang out and eat sandwiches with Steven Spielberg, and not one of them is half as thought-provoking as Cannibal Holocaust, the low budget exploitation flick that started it all. More than thirty years later people are making big dollars out of appealing to the lowest human urges, the same thing Deodato got convicted for back in 1980.

How depressing is that?

Very. Considering Cannibal Holocaust is one of my all time hated films ever.

[Dukefrukem]

Fuck it. Watching it now.

Question: Is Leviathan one of those Hollywood moves where one studio puts out an underwater story so another has to do it (the Abyss). Like Dante's Peak and Volcano and Armageddon and Deep Impact?

This wasn't as bad as you guys were making it out to be. Deepstar Six is much worse. Plus, Peter fucking Weller.

[Spun Lepton]

This wasn't as bad as you guys were making it out to be. Deepstar Six is much worse. Plus, Peter fucking Weller.

No, Leviathan is bad. Everybody phones it in, the story is unfocused, the monster effects seem lazy, especially for those involved. And, yeah, the last five minutes are pretty abysmal.

We do agree on Cannibal Holocaust, however. Garbage. One of the dumbest closing lines in history. "Maybe we are the cannibals." No. No, because we don't eat people.

[Dukefrukem]

I didn't think the effects were so bad. Reminded me of Carpenter's the Thing (early in the movie not later). Like I said, I'd rather watch this cheesy B movie than Deepstar Six. Loved seeing Weller carry around that flamethrower like it was made of cardboard.

[Grouchy]

Very. Considering Cannibal Holocaust is one of my all time hated films ever.
I like it. It's considerably ahead of its time in almost every way.

[Mr. Pink]

Now I'm in the mood for another Peter Weller starring vehicle, in fact. Might watch Of Unknown Origin this week.

Have you already seen that? If not, you're in for a treat.

[MadMan]

I don't think I've seen Deepstar Six, although I've heard of it. I can't imagine it being any better than Leviathan.

Cannibal Holocaust is one of those movies that I want to watch just because of how controversial it was. A movie banned by countries and panned by critics? Sign me up. I already suffered through/survived I Spit On Your Grave...

[Scar]

No, Leviathan is bad. Everybody phones it in, the story is unfocused, the monster effects seem lazy, especially for those involved. And, yeah, the last five minutes are pretty abysmal.

We do agree on Cannibal Holocaust, however. Garbage. One of the dumbest closing lines in history. "Maybe we are the cannibals." No. No, because we don't eat people.

Leviathan is a steaming pile of shit.

[Kiusagi]

Just saw The Loved Ones, which recently saw a DVD release here in the States. Very crazy and entertaining. Not just torture porn, though it is pretty brutal. Robin McLeavy as the psychotic Lola is scary as hell, yet I found myself enamored with her at the same time. My only complaint is the subplot with the friend at the dance. I know it was there to relieve the tension, but I was hoping it would have some integration with the main plot.

[megladon8]

Leviathan sucks, but I can't deny enjoying it.

[Dukefrukem]

Leviathan sucks, but I can't deny enjoying it.

Favorite vs Best argument at its finest. I support this post.

[megladon8]

I have tons of movies like that - stuff that's undeniably awful, but I love it. Often there's just some great energy or charm; a palpable feeling that they had a great time making the movie.

[D_Davis]

Earnestness goes a long way with me.

[Spun Lepton]

I have tons of movies like that - stuff that's undeniably awful, but I love it. Often there's just some great energy or charm; a palpable feeling that they had a great time making the movie.

I didn't get that impression. Like I said, to me they came off like they didn't give a crap.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I didn't get that impression. Like I said, to me they came off like they didn't give a crap.

This. I agree that some films survive (and even thrive) on the enthusiasm their creators clearly hold.

Leviathan does not strike me as one of those films. At all. Everything about it screams "tedious Alien/Thing knockoff."

[Spun Lepton]

Watched a Swedish horror/comedy on Instant called Evil Ed. I'd seen it when it first hit VHS and remembered it somewhat fondly. The filmmakers loved Evil Dead 2, and aped relentlessly. The ED2 poster is seen numerous times, one character is named Sam Campbell, they even do the trademark "demon cam" at one point. There were a few funny moments, but overall it was pretty dumb. Not really recommended. 4/10

[Morris Schæffer]

I have tons of movies like that - stuff that's undeniably awful, but I love it. Often there's just some great energy or charm; a palpable feeling that they had a great time making the movie.

Right, there has to be something and with such movies it's usually tangential, but there has to be something. Here, I guess it was some of the mystery surrounding it. The discovery of this Russian boat, the fact that there are no records of its sinking, Meg Foster's relentlessly terrifying laser eyes.

[MadMan]

Fiend Without a Face is good, campy 50s sci-fi/horror fun. Homicidal is a pale Psycho rip off that has only a few truly great moments. Now onto Strait-Jacket, followed by watching The Nesting and The Mist. I also have The Driller Killer, too, which I blind bought cheap at some pawn shop, and I have Mark of the Vampire on DVR. I'm currently at four horror viewings on the month, and if I somehow keep up this pace I'll at least finish my October list. I might go back and clean up the other two lists, but I'm not sure if I'll have time or not.

[megladon8]

I didn't get that impression. Like I said, to me they came off like they didn't give a crap.


I wasn't referencing that particular movie, just generalizing.

[Spun Lepton]

The Video Dead is ... okay. The acting is terrible, characters make a lot of dumb decisions, and there are numerous problems and plot holes. But, since it's a no-budget horror that appears to have been done by enthusiastic backyard amateurs, I'll give it some slack. Hey, the make-up wasn't bad.

Could they have used somebody else for the lead kid, though? His one-note delivery for almost every line started to get really grating after a while. He basically said every line like an exclamation! He accented the final word on almost everything! I really kinda wanted to punch him! In the mouth!

5/10

[Mr. Pink]

I haven't seen it recently enough to add too much, but I really liked The Video Dead. A lot of that did come from willing overlooking it's flaws due do obvious budget constraints, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Pretty underrated, I'd say.


On a side-note, I tried to win a poster for it on ebay a few years back, but quit bidding when two different copies hit the $60-$80 range (I quit bidding well before that, but they sold for those prices, if I remember correctly).

[Dead & Messed Up]

That's weird. I thought The Video Dead was one of the worst movies I've seen all year. Effing director couldn't even keep heads in frame. I had no reason to believe that any of the cast had chins.

[MadMan]

Strait-Jacket might be William Castle's best film, but I won't know for certain until I see more of his work (I've viewed four so far). Joan Crawford elevates material that is a bit silly, and the murders are depicted in properly gruesome fashion. Not a bad "Crazy person/people go on murder spree" type movie.

[Spun Lepton]

That's weird. I thought The Video Dead was one of the worst movies I've seen all year. Effing director couldn't even keep heads in frame. I had no reason to believe that any of the cast had chins.

I don't think anybody could hold this opinion against you. And if they did, they'd be delusional about the quality of The Video Dead.

[D_Davis]

I remember liking The Video Dead quite a bit back when I was all into zombie flicks. It's not good, but I liked it. Haven't seen it in years.

[ciaoelor]

Has anyone seen Lovely Molly?

I saw it a few days ago. One of the last images scared me so much that I didn't sleep until the break of dawn. The lead performance by the actress was stellar. The cinematography was beautiful. I'll hold off from seeing the other E. Sanchez film for a while, assuming it has anything as scary as the above-mentioned image.

[MadMan]

My local cable company screwed me over, as it was wrong about the TCM programming tonight. Thus I failed to DVR Road Games from the 1980s, which I was looking forward to. I'm pissed about this.

[EvilShoe]

I started watching Alien vs Predator: Requiem yesterday for the first time, fully aware of its reputation of a trainwreck.

What I wasn't prepared for is how underlit it is. I did not finish it (just ended up watching Game of Thrones instead), because even when cranking up the brightness I still couldn't make out half of what was going on.

I find it very hard to criticize this movie based on plot, because most of the time I was just going by soundbytes. It's like listening to the world's worst radio drama.

I remember the directors promising a sequel the audience had been wanting to see in the first place, but I don't remember anyone going "this franchise blows without a pizza delivery guy as the hero".

[MadMan]

AVP:R is utterly hilarious. I saw it in theaters (friends wanted to go, I was bored, etc) and couldn't believe what the hell I was watching. The gore and Rambo Predator are the only truly redeeming qualities about it.

[Dead & Messed Up]

AvP:R is anti-cinema. It's one of the worst films I've ever seen. Bar none.

[Scar]

AvP:R is anti-cinema. It's one of the worst films I've ever seen. Bar none.

My reaction to it is similar to Jason X. Loved it on the first viewing, and then my enjoyment per viewing was akin to exponential decay.

http://mcat-review.org/exponential-decay-graph.gif

[EvilShoe]

AvP:R is anti-cinema. It's one of the worst films I've ever seen. Bar none.
I finished it yesterday. It's one of the most incompetently made mainstream films I've seen in quite some time.

[Lasse]

I'm feeling like watching a few horror flicks, haven't watched one in ages. I'd greatly appriciate if you guys would suggest me a few good recent ones. I prefer slow, creepy films. Haven't got the stomach for horror like Saw, Hostel and the likes. Think Paranormal Activity or The Others, but not necessarily ghost stories.

Already got Lovely Molly, though I'm unsure whether it fits my above description.

[Winston*]

Rewatched Lucky McKee's May for the first time since I saw it 9 or 10 years ago. What an odd, sad film.

Going to watch The Woman later this week I think.

[MadMan]

I rewatched Freddy v. Jason on Encore tonight, and its still great fun and a really highly entertaining movie. Ronny Yu should have been allowed to make a sequel to that one, or at least direct new entries in both series. He completely understand both franchises completely.

[Winston*]

Going to watch The Woman later this week I think.

Well that was legitimately disturbing.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Well that was legitimately disturbing.

It's a rough film, and rough around the edges at times, but its roughness is a virtue. I think it's a very good movie.

[Winston*]

It's a rough film, and rough around the edges at times, but its roughness is a virtue. I think it's a very good movie.

I agree. It's a provocation, but not an empty one. Think the violence in this is much more defensible than the violence in Dredd, which I watched last night.

One complaint:
The introduction of the blinded feral woman in the dog cage felt confusing and unneccesary. Also it seems to colour earlier scenes in a way that I'm not sure makes sense.

Willing to be convinced otherwise though.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I agree. It's a provocation, but not an empty one. Think the violence in this is much more defensible than the violence in Dredd, which I watched last night.

One complaint:
The introduction of the blinded feral woman in the dog cage felt confusing and unneccesary. Also it seems to colour earlier scenes in a way that I'm not sure makes sense.

Willing to be convinced otherwise though.

Nope, I agree. I think the impact of what happens in the story is less impactful if it's happened before.

[Dukefrukem]

AvP:R is anti-cinema. It's one of the worst films I've ever seen. Bar none.

I just looked and it's in the bottom 5% of all movies I've ever seen.

Movies I'd rather watch over AvP:R


The Core
Alice in Wonderland
The Spirit
Virus
Candyman: Farewell to Flesh


I'd rather watch AvP:R over these movies


Mirrors
Legion
The Final Desintation 3D
House of the Dead
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
The Happening

[D_Davis]

I rewatched Freddy v. Jason on Encore tonight, and its still great fun and a really highly entertaining movie. Ronny Yu should have been allowed to make a sequel to that one, or at least direct new entries in both series. He completely understand both franchises completely.

Yep - it's also the best looking film in both franchises.

[MadMan]

Yep - it's also the best looking film in both franchises.Aye, it adds the awesome visual touch that was severally lacking in the F13th series. ANOES' series was better shot, sure, but I think that the sequels kind of lacked that overall.

Also I just watched The Nesting (1981). Avoid at all costs, unless you want to laugh your ass off at a movie that is supposed to be scary. This is the opposite of a good haunted house movie. Skip it and view Burnt Offerings (1976) and The Changeling (1980) instead.

[ciaoelor]

Already got Lovely Molly, though I'm unsure whether it fits my above description.

I think it does, though at times it's more of a psychological drama than a horror, but don't let that dissuade you.

[Lasse]

I think it does, though at times it's more of a psychological drama than a horror, but don't let that dissuade you.

Thanks. And psychological drama sounds oddly appealing. :)

[MadMan]

I'm almost finished with write ups for both Castle movies I saw, plus the write up for The Nesting which should be fun since it was so freakin bad.

PS: I forgot to mention I watched Fiend Without a Face, and it was enjoyable. Not as good as 50s sci-fi horror classics such as The Thing From Another World and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, though.

[megladon8]

Not sure if this is the appropriate thread for this title, but Jen and I watched I Saw the Devil the other night, and I was a little disappointed.

I feel like the crime drama/serial killer thriller genre has been spoiled by films like Se7en and Memories of Murder, which are just so superb in every regard that other films have almost no chance of competing - a film in this particular genre needs to be exemplary to be memorable at all.

I Saw the Devil was by no means a bad film, but I didn't feel it did much out of the ordinary, and its moral dilemma was not effectively examined. Something that bothered me in particular was...

...how the cab that the baddie kills the two dudes in (in that totally over-the-top camera spinning/blood flying/millions of stabbings shot) just happened to have been inhabited by bad dudes, thereby conveniently removing any guilt associated to the "good guy" in the audience's mind - hey, it was just bad guys getting killed, so who cares that it's the good guy's fault for letting him go.

The film kind of shoots itself in the foot in a few instances like this ,
rendering its moral quandary a moot point.

It's an interesting premise, but very poorly written.

It was also about 30-45 minutes too long.

[MadMan]

I've been meaning to see that film, meg. Its on Instant Viewing I believe.

Tonight TCM has been showing haunted house movies. I've already seen The Haunting and House on Haunted Hill, but viewing The Uninvited (1944) was a treat and now I'm watching Dead Of Night (1945), which is awesome so far. I don't feel like staying up for The Innocents at 2:30 CST so I'm DVR-ing it, and after that one is 13th Ghosts but that's at my local library (which has the William Castle collection, hence why I was able to view Homicidal and Strait-Jacket).

[Dukefrukem]

That scene in Meg's spoiler is not only the best scene in the movie, but one the best scenes in cinema in the 2010 decade.

[Rowland]

I didn't care for the film much either Meg.

[megladon8]

That scene in Meg's spoiler is not only the best scene in the movie, but one the best scenes in cinema in the 2010 decade.


I don't see how. From a technical standpoint it's kind of neat, but thematically it betrays everything the movie is trying to "say" about the main characters.

[Ezee E]

That scene in Meg's spoiler is not only the best scene in the movie, but one the best scenes in cinema in the 2010 decade.
Agreed.

[MadMan]

Dead of Night ruled (1945), btw, and reminded me that dummies creep me the fuck out.

[Irish]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A5AcSzOCEAAXUpx.jpg

[megladon8]

The Boogens was an interesting little monster movie from the early '80s that had some serious flaws keeping it from being a potentially great movie. I really enjoyed the fact that the film had the guts to pace itself, allowing tension to grow and the monster(s) to slowly be revealed.

However, the characters are just not very well written, making much of the down time, dialogue-heavy stuff to be a bit boring. Attempts at humor just aren't funny, and the one or two likably written characters are not likably acted.

Also, the creature effects needed some serious work. What they accomplished with an obviously low budget is to be commended, I guess, but a better definition of what the creatures really are certainly would have been a good starting point. Their little home cavern is suitably eerie, but the film's reveal of the things themselves shows so many different parts (limbs, claws, tentacles, snapping teeth) that it almost seemed like the creatures were some horrific, indescribable Lovecraftian monstrosity. But the full reveal shows...well...it was not what I was expecting, and was a little silly.

Flaws aside I enjoyed it quite a bit. Recommended for those who enjoy that particular "feel" of the early '80s creature feature.

[MadMan]

That Halloween poster is badass.

And meg, I think I've heard of the The Boogens, although I've never seen it.

[Pop Trash]

I'm still not convinced The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a good movie, despite it developing a sizable cult following over the years (caught a midnight screening where people were quoting lines and such). Tonally, it's just so over-the-top and excessive, not just with gore, but with the family's acting just going bonkers. Esp. the Vietnam vet guy, who needed someone to reign it in for him. It reminded me of Wild at Heart, which shares a similar obnoxious tone. I "get" a lot of the satire of Texas excess in the 80s, but it's not particularly funny when it's thrown at your face with actors screaming and flailing around for nearly two hours. Wasn't Tobe Hooper supposedly really coked out in the 80s? Hence Spielberg sorta co-directing Poltergeist? Cuz, this movie definitely reflects that.

It does have a couple of interesting scenes. One, which Carol Clover wrote about in Men, Women, & Chainsaws, involves Leatherface sexually touching Stretch with his giant chainsaw (read: penis) and seemingly having an orgasm (meanwhile never assaulting her otherwise and develops 'feelings' for her). The other is a totally bizarre scene where the other DJ Stretch works with gets his face cut off and put onto Stretch and the two have a tender moment involving literally exchanging a face.

[Rowland]

I agree Pop Trash, there's a lot about TCM2 that I like in theory, but actually watching the damn movie is an irritating chore.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yeah, I'd call the film interesting. At times. But not much else. It was too shrill for me.

[megladon8]

That Halloween poster is badass.

And meg, I think I've heard of the The Boogens, although I've never seen it.


Check it out for sure, and let me know when you do!

It's very flawed, but Jen and I had a fun time with it.

Let me know what you think of the monsters :lol:

[MadMan]

Check it out for sure, and let me know when you do!

It's very flawed, but Jen and I had a fun time with it.

Let me know what you think of the monsters :lol:I wish it was on Instant Viewing. And yes I will review it when I finally get to see it.

I tweeted my Horrofest lineup for the next couple of days. I'm mostly interested in Torso, as I've never even heard of it before. My public library has some random horror movies in their collection.

[bac0n]

Watching finally The Cabin in the Woods last night with Scar and Spun. Can't say enough how much fun that movie was to watch. I think it's gonna take several re-viewings to catch all the references to some of my favorite horrors that were packed in to that movie. A horror-nerd's dream come true, to be sure. Definitely going to be buying this one on blu-ray.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Excellent!

What'd you think of the

world-ending ending?

[Scar]

Watching finally The Cabin in the Woods last night with Scar and Spun. Can't say enough how much fun that movie was to watch. I think it's gonna take several re-viewings to catch all the references to some of my favorite horrors that were packed in to that movie. A horror-nerd's dream come true, to be sure. Definitely going to be buying this one on blu-ray.

Went to the EP Bestbuy on Sunday, and they had received all of ONE bluray of Cabin in the Woods.

:|

[Dukefrukem]

Is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 the one with Matthew McConaughey? Because that movie is terrible.

[Rowland]

Is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 the one with Matthew McConaughey? Because that movie is terrible.No, TCM2 stars Dennis Hopper and is directed by Tobe Hooper.

[bac0n]

The movie you're thinking about is something like TCM: The New Blood or something like that.

[Scar]

The movie you're thinking about is something like TCM: The New Blood or something like that.

Next Generation?

[bac0n]

Excellent!

What'd you think of the

world-ending ending?

I dug it! Though I am surprised (and in the end, pleased) that
they didn't go the Lovecraftian route and have a bunch of tentacles emerge from the ground.


Next Generation?
Yeah, that sounds about right.

[Spun Lepton]

Hey, boils and ghouls. I'm looking through Netflix Instant's horror list, and it seems they've secretly added (or re-added?) a bunch of titles, including a number of Mario Bava flicks. So far, I've located Black Sabbath (N. American cut, unfortunately), Lisa and the Devil (and the bastardized cut, House of Exorcism), A Bay of Blood, Kill Baby ... Kill, and Baron Blood.

A little disappointed that Hatchet for the Honeymoon isn't up, but hey. What they have is not a bad selection!

[Dead & Messed Up]

Thanks for the heads-up! I've seen a handful of his films, liked most of them, and more is good news.

[Kiusagi]

Hey folks, I'm planning on watching Lucky McKee's The Woman sometime this month and I just found out it's a sequel to another film called Offspring. Doesn't look like the plots have much in common so I'm sure it's not necessary to watch that one first, though I noticed the character of The Woman is in both films with the same actress. Anyway, I'm just wondering if there's any reason to watch Offspring. Can't find very many reviews and it has a pretty low score on IMDb, but will I appreciate The Woman more or something if I watch Offspring first?

[Dead & Messed Up]

I didn't see Offspring and had no trouble understanding The Woman.

[D_Davis]

I'm still not convinced The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a good movie, despite it developing a sizable cult following over the years (caught a midnight screening where people were quoting lines and such). Tonally, it's just so over-the-top and excessive, not just with gore, but with the family's acting just going bonkers. Esp. the Vietnam vet guy, who needed someone to reign it in for him. It reminded me of Wild at Heart, which shares a similar obnoxious tone. I "get" a lot of the satire of Texas excess in the 80s, but it's not particularly funny when it's thrown at your face with actors screaming and flailing around for nearly two hours. Wasn't Tobe Hooper supposedly really coked out in the 80s? Hence Spielberg sorta co-directing Poltergeist? Cuz, this movie definitely reflects that.


My favorite of the franchise. Love its goofy charm. I think its one of the best sequels ever made, because it doesn't try to recapture anything about the original, but instead does something completely different and just as good.

[Spun Lepton]

The Devil's Rock is on Instant; a title I'd considered renting a few times on Amazon. Woof. Really glad I didn't pay for it. It's a fairly tedious and extremely predictable flick, full of plot holes and cliches.

A couple of Kiwi soldiers infiltrate a Nazi bunker and discover the Nazis have been dabbling with the occult. (Surprise!) They've unleashed a female demon that has wiped out all but one of the Nazis stationed there. Your first thoughts about how it plays out are probably correct. Now, I can sometimes get behind rote, overplayed storylines if the characters pop or there's an interesting angle to it, but there's none of that. Characters make decisions that fly in the face of their motivation. They also make decisions that fly in the face of simple common sense. "Hey, there's a demon here and I can leave of my own free will. I think I'll actually pair up with the Nazi to banish the demon, instead!" HURR DURR!!!

All that said, the woman playing the demon is ridiculously hot. Too bad we only see a butt and a bit of side-boob.

Avoid.
3/10

[MadMan]

I actually thought The Hills Run Red was solid, and even a tad disturbing. I loved The Hunger, but it really isn't a Tony Scott film even though he directed it. Both have been reviewed, and next up is Bug. And yes I saw that they added more Bava, and I'll be checking the ones I haven't seen already out on Instant Viewing.

[Spun Lepton]

Tales from the Crypt Productions Presents: Ritual. Don't be fooled by the title, the only thing this has in common with TftC is some of the producers. Easily one of the dullest DTV horror crapfests I've seen in a while. 2/10

[Grouchy]

Heh I remember that. It's a remake of I Walked with a Zombie.

[Spun Lepton]

Heh I remember that. It's a remake of I Walked with a Zombie.

Yes. Also filmed on a soft matte. When I realized it I blurted, "Who was doing soft matte in 2001?!"

[MadMan]

Just if you guys were randomly curious, I came up with another list, some which will surprise you, others which are really awful and have few defenders.

Top 50 Worst Horror Movies (and yes the #1 spot=worst horror movie, ever.)

1. Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
2. I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
3. The Killer Shrews (1959)
4. Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
5. Faces of Death (1978)
6. The Wicker Man (2006)
7. Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid (2004)
8. Psycho (1998)
9. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
10. Deep Rising (1998)
11. Piranha Part II: The Spawning (1981)
12. The Food of the Gods (1976)
13. Leviathan (1989)
14. The Unearthly (1957)
15. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
16. Don't Look In The Basement! (1973)
17. Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
18. Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
19. Night of the Ghouls (1959)
20. The Creeping Terror (1964)
21. Bride of the Monster (1955)
22. Troll 2 (1990)
23. Tremors 3: Back To Perfection (2001)
24. The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)
25. Silver Bullet (1985)
26. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)
27. Jaws 3-D (1983)
28. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
29. Lady Frankenstein (1971)
30. Hocus Pocus (1993)
31. The Nesting (1981)
32. Scary Movie 2 (2001)
33. AVP: Aliens vs. Predator-Requiem (2007)
34. Queen of the Damned (2002)
35. A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
36. Spawn (1997)
37. Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
38. House II: The Second Story (1987)
39. The Seventh Victim (1943)
40. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
41. Not Of This Earth (1988)
42. The Beyond (1981)
43. The Stepford Wives (1975)
44. The Blob (1958)
45. Slumber Party Massacre III (1990)
46. Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
47. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
48. Maximum Overdrive (1986)
49. Atom Age Vampire (1960)
50. House on Haunted Hill (1959)

[Rowland]

will I appreciate The Woman more or something if I watch Offspring first?I just watched Offspring, and it's so, so bad. If it has any effect on your reaction to The Woman, it may just be to recognize how much better McKee handles similar material. Not that The Woman is all that good or anything, but it's a fucking masterpiece compared to Offspring.

[Grouchy]

Eh, The Woman is astoundingly good. That McKee makes some intelligent Horror films.

[Scar]

Giving TCM2 a whirl right now. I remember not liking it ten years ago, and right now, its barely registering an 'eh'.

We'll see how the rest of it goes. Leatherface just got a new face....

[Scar]

Oh my. That went from eh, to 'for fucks sake'.

Just ridiculous, and definitely not in a ridiculously awesome kind of way.

[Dukefrukem]

The gf and I are doing a revisit of Friday the 13th. It's been years since I've seen them and we're gonna try to watch em all.

Friday the 13th 1980 (3/5 stars = 60ish)- Good. Starts off the franchise slowly for a solid slow burn slasher, but its very unremarkable. However, it probably has the all-time best jump scare out of any horror movie.

Friday the 13th Part 2 1981 (3.5/5 stars = 65ish)- If you can get past the awkward 80s everything, Part 2 is probably better directed than the first; it's faster paced, better death scenes and some fantastic long shots. Part 2's kill count should be much higher than it ends up being. There are some great examples of sexual exploitation in slasher horror- the girl who skinny dips by herself, the girl doing things around the room in her underwear, pure eyesroll worth in today's cinema.

[Dead & Messed Up]

The gf and I are doing a revisit of Friday the 13th. It's been years since I've seen them and we're gonna try to watch em all.

Friday the 13th 1980 (3/5 stars = 60ish)- Good. Starts off the franchise slowly for a solid slow burn slasher, but its very unremarkable. However, it probably has the all-time best jump scare out of any horror movie.

It's in the running, but I'd give the edge to Carrie and Wait Until Dark.

[Pop Trash]

It's in the running, but I'd give the edge to Carrie and Wait Until Dark.

Exorcist III!

Also, pretty sure that jump scare in Friday the 13th was cribbed from Carrie.

[MadMan]

Exorcist III!

Also, pretty sure that jump scare in Friday the 13th was cribbed from Carrie.Thanks to the F13th box set that I purchased this year, I know that to be true. The creators admitted that the jump scare in the first F13th was inspired/a rip off of Carrie's jump scare ending. Which I'm not sure how I'll feel about when I finally watch the movie, considering that King's novel doesn't end with a jump scare moment. Nope, its ending is a bit more eerie and quiet. I liked that.

It! The Terror From Beyond Space is a well made and entertaining sci-fi horror film the 50s. It also was one of the inspirations for Alien (1979), which isn't a bad thing.

Bug was good. I'll do write ups for both tomorrow. I recently finished short reviews for both The Hills Run Red and The Hunger.

[Scar]

Exorcist III!

:pritch:

I think its about time I watch this one again. I do so enjoy it.

[EvilShoe]

What an ugly film Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 is.

Just annoying people being tortured by annoying people. It's not terrifying, it's not there, it's just an assault on the senses.

It also has one of the most illogical character survivals I've ever seen. No surprise that didn't happen in the original ending.

[Dukefrukem]

Thanks to the F13th box set that I purchased this year, I know that to be true. The creators admitted that the jump scare in the first F13th was inspired/a rip off of Carrie's jump scare ending. Which I'm not sure how I'll feel about when I finally watch the movie, considering that King's novel doesn't end with a jump scare moment. Nope, its ending is a bit more eerie and quiet. I liked that.

Which Box Set did you buy? On Blu-ray or DVD?

[MadMan]

Which Box Set did you buy? On Blu-ray or DVD?http://oldies.s3.amazonaws.com/i/boxart/simu/46/097361464343.jpg

This on DVD. Has only the first 8 films, but I'm fine with that. As far as I'm concerned Jason Goes To Hell and Jason X don't exist, and they just waited two decades to make Freddy vs. Jason and then the remake.

[Dukefrukem]

For $40 that's not a bad deal. Jason X doesn't exist in my eyes either.

[MadMan]

For $40 that's not a bad deal. Jason X doesn't exist in my eyes either.I only payed $25 (or was it 30? I can't remember exactly) since Best Buy had it on sale. I then spent the entire week going back through the entire series. Probably the best thing I've bought all year.

[D_Davis]

Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X are the best of the series. The only two I own and will watch.

[KK2.0]

Friday 13th Part 2,4 and 6 are my favorites, Jason X is fun as well.

i've finally whatched The Cabin In The Woods and looooooooved it, I'm glad that I didn't knew much prior to watching it, I had some serious nerdgasms.

[Dukefrukem]

So $30 million opening weekend (domestic) for Paranormal Activity 4 which has a $5 million budget is "disappointing" for the studio.

[Spun Lepton]

Paranormal Activity 3 is on Instant in case anybody cares. Saw it. Liked it, but not as much as the first 2. Numerous cheap cat-scares, and the one with the babysitter was the cheapest. Characters once again fly in the face of any kind of reasonable behavior. The ending is really weak. The formula is becoming apparent. This might've been a good place to stop, but I bet we'll get to at least 6 before they call it quits.

The moment with the ghost under the sheet was easily the best part. Very effective.

[MadMan]

Torso (1973) is a pretty great giallo, and I found it at my public library of all places. Now I'm viewing Kwaidan (1964) on Criterion, which I also got from the same library. They must have someone willing to donate these movies, or my local library is better funded than I thought.

[Irish]

Paranormal Activity 3 is on Instant in case anybody cares.

Just a heads up: All three movies are 99 cent rentals on iTunes this week, too.

[Dead & Messed Up]

So $30 million opening weekend (domestic) for Paranormal Activity 4 which has a $5 million budget is "disappointing" for the studio.

I can understand that. It's not a bad opening, but 3 made $52 million its opening weekend, and studios now that as brands depreciate, more depends on a successful opening weekend.