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

[Dead & Messed Up]

Match Cut, you are so damn drunk right now.

[megladon8]

This place just went to crazy town.

[megladon8]

The idea of finding Zombie's Myers scary at all (let alone scarier than Carpenter's) is just so far up on the "does not compute" scale I can't even put it into words.

H2 was damn good, but the first one is horseshit. Myers as both a child and an adult was laughable. And Zombie's attempt to provide a background story for his insanity felt like he just watched a few serial killer TV shows and made a checklist. The only thing missing was some early childhood head trauma.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I didn't like H2 at all. It bugged the hell out of me. Pretty stuff sometimes.

[megladon8]

I didn't like H2 at all. It bugged the hell out of me. Pretty stuff sometimes.

I liked that it took a novel approach to the material instead of just remaking Halloween 2.

Zombie is a very accomplished visualist. It's kind of surprising how good he is at making a movie. He just can't write well at all, and needs to stop casting his wife who has been awful in everything she's done except The Devil's Rejects, wherein she was passably un-annoying.

[Rowland]

I like Zombie's Halloween duo a lot, I was among the first to defend them, but Carpenter's film is an all-time favorite, easily among my top ten horror. The best sequel in the original series is Season of the Witch, whereas the funniest is the fifth.

[MadMan]

I actually like Zombie's Halloween over H2. However the original Halloween is a classic and still my #1 horror film of all time. The original Friday the 13th and original A Nightmare On Elm Street aren't even the best films in their respective series imo.

[Skitch]

We should be talking about how underappreciated Carpenter's The Fog is.

[Dukefrukem]

We should be talking about how underappreciated Carpenter's The Fog is.

Ouch, no we shouldn't.

[Dukefrukem]

I like Zombie's Halloween duo a lot, I was among the first to defend them, but Carpenter's film is an all-time favorite, easily among my top ten horror. The best sequel in the original series is Season of the Witch, whereas the funniest is the fifth.

I find it funny that you can't even discuss H2 on Bloody Disgusting or you'll get insta- banned. If anyone has any free time, read the locked thread over there.

[Spun Lepton]

Zombie's Halloween is good, but it reduces Michael to a violent, angry child in a giant man's body. Carpenter's is easily superior.

[Rowland]

We should be talking about how underappreciated Carpenter's The Fog is.

I love it, but most of the people around here feel... well, the opposite of love.

[Dukefrukem]

Holy shit. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (first time watching)

I had no idea it had nothing to do with Mike Myers

[MadMan]

Hah on Bloody Disgusting I caught flack for bashing Friday the 13th Part III. Never mind its one of the worst in the series and I hate most of the characters. I love the series but when you run into goddamn asshole fanboys it almost sours your willingness to not only post on message boards in general, but to also discuss horror films. Fuck 'em.

Anyways Halloween III is one of those films that I don't think is great, but I love it anyways. Tom Atkins rules.

Carpenter's The Fog is a good, solid ghost story but it pales in comparison to the rest of his 80s output.

[Dukefrukem]

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers: The premise is fine it's the script that's the head scratcher. Why oh why do you put Michael Myers holding on to dear life from the bottom of a pickup truck only to reveal himself in the back (with 3 other people) and of course no one in the cab notices anything....?

[Spun Lepton]

Hah on Bloody Disgusting I caught flack for bashing Friday the 13th Part III. Never mind its one of the worst in the series and I hate most of the characters. I love the series but when you run into goddamn asshole fanboys it almost sours your willingness to not only post on message boards in general, but to also discuss horror films. Fuck 'em.

I'd be insta-banned for my opinions of the F13 series. 1 - Boring. 2 - A little less boring. 3 - All right, mainly for the gore. 4 - The best of the series, a perfect and cynical concentration of the slasher subgenre. 5 - Back to shit again. 6 - Wasted potential. 7 - Wasted potential. 8 - Wasted potential. 9 - I like the WTF factor, but it's a bad movie. 10 - LOL, no. FvsJ - 2nd best entry in both series. Remake -- Didn't bother.

[Dukefrukem]

The remake is bad.

[D_Davis]

Holy shit. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (first time watching)

I had no idea it had nothing to do with Mike Myers

Yep. They should have followed the origin plan of making it a yearly Anthology series. Season of the Witch is my favorite of the original Halloween movies.

[MadMan]

Bah Six is awesome. Bloody Disgusting is following me on Twitter so there is that. They have archived their forums but you can still post there. I have no reason to at this point although I found one of the Axis members there-pscion or something I can't remember his username.

[Skitch]

I recently changed my opinion on Season of the Witch. I HATED it the first time I watched it. Not because of no Myers, I just hadn't watched enough 80s horror movies to 'get' the different weirdness. I now like it, and am really pissed off they didn't stay with that concept of a new unrelated movie every year titled Halloween. They still could have spun off an sequels into their own series from that idea...but oh well.

[megladon8]

Can someone explain to me the hatred towards H2?

I know DaMU said it pissed him off, and from what Duke said it started quite a flame war on BD.

Jen and I watched both of Zombie's films today and it is so obviously the stronger of the two. Everything about it - story, characters, visual style, pacing - is a huge step above the first.

I don't get how one could hold the first in higher esteem.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Can someone explain to me the hatred towards H2?

I know DaMU said it pissed him off, and from what Duke said it started quite a flame war on BD.

Jen and I watched both of Zombie's films today and it is so obviously the stronger of the two. Everything about it - story, characters, visual style, pacing - is a huge step above the first.

I don't get how one could hold the first in higher esteem.

I'd have to rewatch H2, something I'm really not eager to do, but I remember the first film holding my interest in the first half showing Mikey's slow devolution from lost soul to soulless (the second half was a microwave-thawed version of the original). And the first 20 minutes of H2 being all a dream put me in a really bad mood. I was fucking livid. It made the rest of the view a real uphill battle. That white horse business felt trite. Compton annoyed me. I liked that bit where Weird Al upstaged McDowell.

[megladon8]

Compton is indeed annoying, but much more so in the first. Due largely to Zombie's inferior script.

He really can't write teenage girls.

[Dukefrukem]

I'm rewatching the whole Halloween series this Halloween.

I hadn't seen any of the movies except the original, the sequel and the first remake.

So far:

Halloween **½
Halloween 2 **
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch ***
Halloween 4: The return of Michael Myers. **½

I started watching the fifth last night but I turned off because I was falling asleep, and it was clear this was the worst of the series thus far.

[Skitch]

Can someone explain to me the hatred towards H2?

I don't get how one could hold the first in higher esteem.

I didn't watch it until about a month ago because of my feelings of the first remake (mediocre, perfunctory, whats the point?) and the scathing reviews. My buddy finally convinced me to give it a shot. I thought it was way better and more interesting on every conceivable level than the first one. Now I did watch the theatrical which I'm told is much better than the director's cut.

[Rowland]

Now I did watch the theatrical which I'm told is much better than the director's cut.Much better? I wonder why they'd say that. I prefer the director's cut.

[Skitch]

Much better? I wonder why they'd say that. I prefer the director's cut.

I heard there were annoying characters/elements in the DC that he spent way too much time with. *shrug*

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'm rewatching the whole Halloween series this Halloween.

I hadn't seen any of the movies except the original, the sequel and the first remake.

So far:

Halloween **½
Halloween 2 **
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch ***
Halloween 4: The return of Michael Myers. **½

I started watching the fifth last night but I turned off because I was falling asleep, and it was clear this was the worst of the series thus far.

Watch the Producer's Cut of the sixth if you can find it.

[megladon8]

Watch the Producer's Cut of the sixth if you can find it.

Oh hey you saw it too?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Oh hey you saw it too?

Yep. Still mediocre, but a definite improvement.

[Spun Lepton]

Going to see Polanski's Repulsion at a local "micro-cinema" in about an hour.

[Spun Lepton]

All right. Complaints about the micro-cinema's back-breaking seats aside, I would say that Repulsion is about as good as one can do with the concept of "personal descent into madness." Positives: A number of legitimately disturbing scenes. The scene between Deneuve and the landlord, uughh. Visually arresting, the entire apartment is dingy or in disarray. Walls cracking open in front of her provided nice kinetic moments. Negatives: Lacked any real payoff or punch at the end. It just kinda ended. Some of the early musical queues were jarring to the point of being comical, undermining the film's dire tone. Hands reaching through the walls was too much. 7/10

Next week the theater is playing Diabolique. Despite my complaints about the seating, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna check it out. This time I'm sitting in the back row.

[MadMan]

Blind bought Repulsion during one of the Criterion sales. Absolutely loved it. I believe I saw it back in 2011 or 2012.

For me the Halloween series goes like this (for now, anyways):

Halloween (1978)-10
Halloween II (1981)-8.0
Halloween III: The Season Of The Witch (1982)-8.5
Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers and the Search For More Money (1988)-6.5 or 6.0 depending on my mood
Halloween 5: Still Not Enough Dough and hey Michael Myers Gets His Revenge Or Whatever (1989)-Crap (rating doesn't matter)
Halloween 6: The Title Doesn't Matter (1995)-Yeech (the producer's cut can't be any worse but I haven't watched that)
Halloween H20 (1998)-8.0-They wisely ignored most of the sequels
Busta Rhymes Punches Myers in the face-I'm dreading watching this one
Halloween (2007)-7.5. Surprised at how much I enjoyed this remake, even though the last act falters under slasher movie cliches.
H2 (2009)-6.0-Need to see the DC, was disappointed with this although I wonder if a second viewing will be kinder.

So yeah the series is really disappointing, especially considering how brilliant the first film is. I like the Friday the 13th series because its more consistent and much more fun, and the A Nightmare On Elm Street series is mostly good/decent and therefore the best of the three.

[Kurosawa Fan]

All right. Complaints about the micro-cinema's back-breaking seats aside, I would say that Repulsion is about as good as one can do with the concept of "personal descent into madness." Positives: A number of legitimately disturbing scenes. The scene between Deneuve and the landlord, uughh. Visually arresting, the entire apartment is dingy or in disarray. Walls cracking open in front of her provided nice kinetic moments. Negatives: Lacked any real payoff or punch at the end. It just kinda ended. Some of the early musical queues were jarring to the point of being comical, undermining the film's dire tone. Hands reaching through the walls was too much. 7/10

Next week the theater is playing Diabolique. Despite my complaints about the seating, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna check it out. This time I'm sitting in the back row.

PLEASE see Diabolique. Soooo fucking good.

[Dukefrukem]

I'm rewatching the whole Halloween series this Halloween.

I hadn't seen any of the movies except the original, the sequel and the first remake.

So far:

Halloween **½
Halloween 2 **
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch ***
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. **½

I started watching the fifth last night but I turned off because I was falling asleep, and it was clear this was the worst of the series thus far.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. ½

Dreadful. It's unbelievable this script was green-lit. It makes little to no sense with the rest of the series (at least Season of the Witch made an attempt to capitalize on the fear of Michael Myers). This movie takes place a year after the events in Halloween IV, which means Myers escaped the explosion, the mine shaft, down a driver, and was (supposedly) taken in by a hermit in the woods and kept him alive for 365 days. That's right. The hermit lived with Michael for exactly one year. Michael just laid there on a table motionless until the following Halloween eve. How convenient. Then Michael suddenly awakens and decides it's time to go kill his sister's daughter (Jamie) again. [Speaking of which, why is Michael so hell bent on killing Jamie and not his sister? So because Laurie leaves town he decides she's not important anymore? Why doesn't Jamie just leave town?] Michael will probably resort to going after Jamie's 65th cousin or something. In this movie Michael is not only a stalker, but he's also a master of disguise when he kills his niece's stepmother's friend's boyfriend and replaces his white Captain Kirk mask with a different Halloween mask to take his niece's stepmother's friend (Tina) on a date- He also knows exactly where she lives to pick her up in her dead boyfriends car and even bothers to stop at a gas station when she asks for cigarettes. Speaking of which, why is Tina the star of this movie? Why are we supposed to care about her? Because I'm pretty sure no one does. It was just a matter of time before she met her demise- which would be the 4th time this lazy Haddonfield police force gets humiliated.

[MadMan]

I thought that Tina lived, but I don't remember because Halloween 5 sucks so bad. You also have Loomis being kind of an asshole, which popped up again in Zombie's H2.

Tonight I watched Nightmare City (1980) which is a rather inspired although cheesy/campy zombie film (although just like the 28 Days Later/Weeks films you can argue these aren't zombies-and there are a few shots that reminded me of said films, too.) Not to mention being inspired by Fulci and Romero, plus a scene where the heroes end up in an amusement park (hello Zombieland) and the film is rather apocalyptic, too. Then you have the fact that this is all a dream, only for the movie to start up all over again at the airport just like it happened at the beginning of the film. Now that's a twist M. Night saw and probably responded to by saying "Hell yeah." I actually prefer this over the other 1980 zombie movie I've seen, Fulci's City of the Living Dead, although City has better kills and way more gore.

PS: Tarentino stole/borrowed/paid homage to this movie by naming one of his Inglourious Basterds characters Hugo Stiglitz after the actor who played the main character in this movie, but you only needed Wikipedia to tell you that, which sucks the fun out of finding out for yourself by watching these types of movies. I found it out by watching the movie so hurray, I guess.

[Rowland]

Chuck Russell's remake of The Blob is available on Blu-ray (http://www1.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm/ID/28099/THE-BLOB-1988-LIMIT-3-COPIES-PER-CUSTOMER/) for a limited time, as only 5,000 units are being printed. The price is a bit steep, but I couldn't resist.

[Skitch]

Just watched James Wan's Dead Silence. Not bad! A good creepy mystery with a handful of effective jump scares.

[Dukefrukem]

Just watched James Wan's Dead Silence. Not bad! A good creepy mystery with a handful of effective jump scares.

I started than stopped watching that way back in the day- I should revisit based on Wan's success today.

[MadMan]

Chuck Russell's remake of The Blob is available on Blu-ray (http://www1.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm/ID/28099/THE-BLOB-1988-LIMIT-3-COPIES-PER-CUSTOMER/) for a limited time, as only 5,000 units are being printed. The price is a bit steep, but I couldn't resist.Too bad since I don't have the money for it, especially since its a really good remake and I enjoyed watching it last year.

Tonight I think I'll view Candyman (1992) finally, as that's one of the last major slasher films I haven't seen yet.

[Spun Lepton]

Tonight I think I'll view Candyman (1992) finally, as that's one of the last major slasher films I haven't seen yet.

I'm not saying it's bad, but I am saying lower your expectations.

[MadMan]

Tony Todd has to make it at least semi decent...right? I enjoyed Wishmaster btw.

[Spun Lepton]

Tony Todd has to make it at least semi decent...right? I enjoyed Wishmaster btw.

Oh, yeah, he nails it. It's head-and-shoulders above Wishmaster.

[Scar]

Candyman is a decent flick. Don't expect high art. But I tell ya, when you hear Tony Todd's sultry voice over those speakers...... Oh BABY!

[Raiders]

Candyman is one of the best slasher flicks of all-time and closer to "high art" than most of the others. So, ignore the sillies.

[MadMan]

Also this week I dive into the Child Play's series. Currently viewing the first and its got a nice creepy vibe. Fuckin' dolls, man...they freak me out.

[MadMan]

Candyman was pretty awesome. Loved the Vertigo reference, Tony Todd being the stuff of nightmares and poor Virgina Madsen losing her sanity. And that Philip Glass score rules.

[Dukefrukem]

The first Candyman is Ok. It sets up an errie universe; never watched any of the sequels.

[MadMan]

Humanoids from the Deep is hilariously bad. It could also be called Rape Monsters from the Deep.

[Dukefrukem]

Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers: Six years after the events of the last movie, Jamie is all grown up and about to give birth. Right out the gate we are foroced to accept the fact that Jamie was somehow knocked up, kidnapped and brought to the exact place Michael was living. We are at least explained who the mystery man in black was. And the significance of the tattoo on Micheal's hand. Halloween 6 could possibly be the most dated movie in the series- tie dye shirts, grunge boots, flannel and INTRODUCING PAUL RUDD! H6 does have some positives- some brutal death scenes including a drill to the torso, an electrified head explosion and an operator room massacre. Overall a pretty bad script and premise. The best they could do was having Jamie continue the blood line so Michael had motivation to kill more- or as the movie puts it- a "last sacrifice"? Maybe if they let them kill the baby Michael will stop killing everyone in the town. What was he doing for the last 6 years anyway? Nothing? Nudity was lacking in this one- a short topless after-sex scene.

**½

[Skitch]

Check this out...gonna watch it soon. The Taking of Deborah Logan.

http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70301341?trkid=13752289

[Dukefrukem]

Halloween 7 AKA H20: By far the best in the original franchise- in all categories except boobage. Best acting with a wicked young JGL, Josh Harnett and Michelle Williams plus of course JLC is back. L.L. Cool J doesn't even suck. The only real negative is that Michael isn't killed by water (I guess H20 is technically H-20 but we know what you were trying to do there Hollywood). Questionable writing catching up with what Laurie has been doing for the past 20 years though- why would she think Michael is dead because she watched him burn? Did she not pay attention to the three other Halloween massacres that surely would have made the national headlining news? Steve Miner actually does a decent job here with three iconic and memorable shots- The first time Michael and Laurie are reunited between the glass door, Michael performing a one handed pull up as he surprised Laurie, and then Michael knocking over tables as Laurie crawls beneath them. Then of course there's the most badass ending to a slasher movie.

***½

[Scar]

I think I just heard Spun spontaneously combust.

[Rowland]

I've been watching some horror stuff this month that I'll go over soon, but in the meantime, I just wanted to express how exciting it is to finally really get a highly acclaimed film. My first viewing of The Exorcist at least a decade ago was confused and indifferent, a more recent viewing probably half a decade ago was far more appreciative, but it still didn't resonate on some fundamental level. Watching it again tonight, I found it (in its original theatrical cut) existentially disquieting and really masterful in every respect. I was blind, but now I see. In any case, I'm going to use this revelatory viewing as a jumping-off point to watch the remainder of the Exorcist series that I've never previously felt compelled to explore, right down to the Schrader/Harlin prequel duology that already sounds like it will make for a fascinating back-to-back viewing experience.

[Scar]

Save yourself the pain, and just watch #3.

[MadMan]

I actually dug Dust Devil. It works as a twisted supernatural partner to The Hitcher.

Halloween 6 is beyond awful. However I did really enjoy H20. Despite the title being stupid. I still have Halloween: Busta Rhymes fights Michael left. Yikes.

[Spun Lepton]

I think I just heard Spun spontaneously combust.

I stopped, dropped, and rolled. I'm OK.

[MadMan]

Prom Night (1980) is a disco infused tense slasher film that I really enjoyed. I was a bit disappointed though that Leslie Nielsen wasn't the killer. That would have been cooler and more unexpected than it turning out to be the brother of Jamie Lee Curtis' character.

[Skitch]

Everyone should check out The Taking of Deborah Logan. Sheeeeeeeit.

[Dukefrukem]

Halloween 8 AKA Resurrection: Back to Suckage- I'm glad they finally wrote off Laurie character. I was getting tired of her even with only 3.25 appearances in 8 movies. It was a nice way to explain the beheading of Michael Myers. Though the opening of the movie takes place in ANOTHER hospital where there doesn't appear to be anyone working in it, the rest of the movie is filled with victims. We have a young Katee Sackhoff, Busta Rhymes (presumably at the height of his music career) and Tyra Banks fresh off the SI Swimsuit Edition and Coyote Ugly. Just by the latter two stars this movie already feels incredibly dated with tons of internet lingo, the help of some really bad product placement of an HP Palm Pilot and Yahoo. The premise of the movie tries to piggyback off the previous events in the franchise with the exception of ignoring the 6th movie; Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers where a family actually moved into the old house where Michael murdered his sister. In Resurrection it is presented as if the house has been unoccupied for 50 years. The death scenes are 90s-eye-rolling-worthy- In fact, aside from some F-Bombs by Bustra Rhymes and some boobs on a grainy lipstick camera, I'm wondering if this could pass for PG-13 today. As expected, not the best way to end a classic franchise; at the bottom of the barrel.

*

[MadMan]

I um, actually enjoyed Halloween: Resurrection. I'm not proud of this, nor can I really explain properly, just to say this: Trick or treat motherfucker. At any rate I'll eagerly defend it over Parts 5 and 6, both which are godawful.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I watched The Woman in Black last night. I wish I had watched something else. What a dull film. The first half has no flow, just choppy exposition mixed with scaredy townsfolk. I was hoping the second half would make up for it, but really the entire film consists of shadows, silhouettes, and reflections paired with loud spikes in music/sound effects to try to generate scares. It's cheap, and for the most part, completely ineffective. Eventually this escalates to what could have been a couple of genuine scares, but by then I was so disinterested it wasn't going to win me back. I did think the ending was going to earn a half of a bonus point for unexpectedness, but then it went and screwed that up entirely right before the fade to black.

Tonight I'm going with Night of the Creeps. At least I know I'll have fun.

[Dukefrukem]

Remember this?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utmvmr7cgcg

Well


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOgUsUFhphk

[Pop Trash]

Technically not a 'horror' film per se but the last half hour of Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple is about the most terrifying thing I've seen recently. So appropriate viewing for All Hallow's Eve.

[Ivan Drago]

I don't venture in this thread that often because I'm not the biggest horror fan, but I saw this trailer before Birdman today and wondered if you guys have heard about this. I'm getting a Lovecraft vibe from its contrast and creature design; it looks really cool!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mRhup5hLTM

[Skitch]

Yikes!

[Dukefrukem]

Wow. First I heard of it. Looks like a winner.

[Morris Schæffer]

http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1963

an interview with Howard Sherman, the actor who played Bub in day of the dead.

[Morris Schæffer]

Wow. First I heard of it. Looks like a winner.

With 96% on RT and an avg rating of 8/10, it looks like one indeed. Hope it'll play close to home.

[Dukefrukem]

Watched both the original and remake of: I Spit On Your Grave

The rape scene(s) in the original felt like it went on forever. Hard to watch.

[D_Davis]

Horns was pretty cool. I should get around to reading the book.

[MadMan]

Both Clown and Babadook look terrifying, heh. I'm not scared of clowns but that clown...yikes. The Babadook trailer is probably one of the scariest ones I've seen in some time.

Also I watched and loved both Event Horizon and You're Next on Halloween. Sadly I didn't get to any other horror films this weekend, but I think I'll watch a few more this week and call it good, although November is strangely appropriate for more horror viewing. And I still have at least four or five Hammer Studios movies left on my Netflix DVD queue.

[Spun Lepton]

I just updated my Movies First Seen in 2014, and apparently last night I watched two of the worst for the year.

The Visitor was first. What a confused mess this was. Lots of big names. Mel Ferrer. Glenn Ford. John Huston as Space Jesus. A young Lance Henrickson. Shelly Winters plays a black woman. (The part was written like a stereotypical black person. We concluded they'd intended to cast a black woman, but when Shelly Winters came on board they gave it to her and didn't change any of her dialogue. Because that would be racist.) The story is wacky nonsense; Space Satan did something to some woman on Earth so she'd start having evil babies. She had one evil little girl 8 years ago. And by evil we mean, she just does really horrible stuff to people because she's evil. She doesn't seek a goal, she just likes to hurt people. Because she's evil. EVIL! So, Space God, sorry, Commander Yahweh, (yup), sends Space Jesus to stop her and the evil-baby-making machine who is completely oblivious to the fact that she's making evil babies, even though her own child shot her in the back "by accident" and paralyzed her. For no reason.

Seemed they were trying to go for The Omen, But There Are Aliens This Time. The story was utter nonsense, on-par with a witchcraft story where the rules of the universe are loose and vague, replacing witchcraft-y words with space-y words. Scenes drag on and on, and only a few actually turn plot-points. There are a number of scenes where nothing is happening, but the music is BOOMING AND INTENSE! And even then, the plot points are meaningless in the long run because the whole story seems pointless. Space Jesus is ineffectual for the entire run until the end when he lets loose flocks of SPACE PIGEONS to attack Lance Henrickson and take the evil little girl into SPACE to be cured.

Dull dull dull stupid dull dull stupid. Avoid.

2/10

We then watched The Town that Dreaded Sundown. This is a film I've been meaning to see for a while. Its reputation precedes it.

This fucking movie pulls the same shit that Craven's Last House on the Left pulled. Horrible things happen to people and police are so ineffectual IT'S HILARIOUS! Oh oh oh, Deputy Exposition forgot the keys, a-hyuck-hyuck-hyuck. How does he even stay on the force? He's obviously completely unqualified to do ANYTHING, har-hardy-haw-haw. And now here's a very serious scene where a man beats and kills two people. LOOK AT THESE COPS' WACKY HIJINKS! Man shot in the head, woman is shot in the head twice and chased through town. POLICEMEN FUNNY!!!!!

Fuck you, movie. Go fuck yourself.

4/10 and I'm being generous.

[megladon8]

Bava's Planet of the Vampires was a colossal disappointment. It's one Jen and I have wanted to see for so very long, and we were both totally underwhelmed.

A case of "the cover art is better than the movie" (as well as being flat out misleading). Not only does the main front cover image show an actual conflict between the alien skeleton creatures and the astronauts, but two images on then back show this...and it never happens. The skeletons remain inanimate, and the people wander around spouting horrible sci fi lingo ("We're entering the atmosphere at 60 fractions of macron!" is an actual line from the movie).

Its vibrant colours and wacky set and costume design do not make up for it being a colossal bore.

Far from Bava's best.

[MadMan]

I find The Town That Dreaded Sundown and Planet of the Vampires to both be decent films.

[Grouchy]

I think meg is right here. My memories of Planet of the Vampires are hazy, but what I remember clearly is that nothing ever fucking happened. Boring movie.

[Spun Lepton]

Everybody's (yes, goddamn it, EVERYBODY'S!!), favorite cheese-gore horror flick The Beyond is coming ... to Blu-ray!!

Will I buy it?

HAHAHAHAHAHACOUGHCOUGHGAGCHOKE HAHAHAHA!

Do you need even ask such a questions?

The eyes! Eyes! *choke* Eyes!

http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/79459/grindhouse-releasing-brings-beyond-blu-ray/

[MadMan]

At some point it deserves a rewatch. Especially since I now like Fulci.

[Spun Lepton]

At some point it deserves a rewatch. Especially since I now like Fulci.

What changed your mind? His unabashed gusto for all things cheesy and base while simultaneously attempting to forward the idea he was aiming for high art? After all, The Beyond is meant only as a film of images, and each image is meant to be taken without reflection.

[MadMan]

Zombie. Also City of the Living Dead and Don't Torture A Duckling.

[Ivan Drago]

Since V/H/S: Viral looked so awesome, I thought I'd finally give the first V/H/S a chance, and to my surprise since I'm not big into horror movies, I loved it! How I rank the shorts:

1. 10/31/98
2. Amateur Night
3. Tape 56
4. The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger
5. Second Honeymoon
6. Tuesday The 17th

I'm SUPER excited to start V/H/S 2 soon.

[MadMan]

V/H/S/2 is much better. I like the series a lot and I want to view the third one.

The Blood From The Mummy's Tomb was mostly dull but I actually enjoyed Dracula A.D. 1972.

[Spun Lepton]

Nightbreed: The Director's Cut is about as dopey as the studio cut, just longer. 5/10

[Spun Lepton]

All right, now that I'm not tired as hell, I'll see if I can expand on my thoughts on Nightbreed. Let's start with the fact that I saw the initial release in the theater and thought it was a confusing mess. Given that they chopped 1/2-an-hour out of the initial release, that seems reasonable, right? Well, the Director's Cut does make a lot more sense. The story fits together now, but this version embodies a lot of what I disliked most about 90s horror: that stupid, sticky Anne-Rice romanticizing of monsters.

At once, Barker wants the monsters to be scary and sympathetic. Ain't happening. As a result, this thing plays like a clumsy "racism BAD!" game that jangles along without any real insight. Ooh, the black man hates the monsters, too!! It's everywhere, see?! Then there's moments of broad comedy that are jarring enough to rip you out of the film. Like the comically-psycho cop in charge of weaponry who fondles his weapons. It's also obvious that this was released when the "one-liner" mentality was starting to wear itself out. Boone has one- two- and even three-liners; a single zinger isn't enough, lets give him fifteen in a row!! The one-liners are also strained at times, almost as if Barker were writing them under duress.

And bless Cronenberg. I love the man's work dearly, but he should stay behind the camera.

Anyway. It's still kind of a mess. That said, it's less of a mess than the studio cut.

Studio cut: 3/10
Director's cut: 5/10

I'm still of the opinion that Lord of Illusions is Barker's best film. I may have to revisit it and see if it still holds together.

[Skitch]

My first viewing of Nightbreed was the DC, last week. It was okay, but I echo your negatives. Cronenberg was terrible.

[Dukefrukem]

Not a Nightbreed fan either.

[Ivan Drago]

V/H/S/2 is much better. I like the series a lot and I want to view the third one.

You're damn right it was. After these two movies and The Babadook, I think I'm finally back on the horror bandwagon. All the V/H/S shorts ranked, now with V/H/S/2:

1. Safe Haven (Woah.)
2. 10/31/98
3. Amateur Night
4. Phase I Clinical Trials
5. A Ride in the Park
6. Tape 49
7. Tape 56
8. Slumber Party Alien Abduction
9. The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger
10. Second Honeymoon
11. Tuesday The 17th

[Dead & Messed Up]

You're damn right it was. After these two movies and The Babadook, I think I'm finally back on the horror bandwagon. All the V/H/S shorts ranked, now with V/H/S/2:

1. Safe Haven (Woah.)
2. 10/31/98
3. Amateur Night

Exactly.

"Safe Haven" is such a good thing.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Don't watch Don't Blink.

I suffered so that you might live.

[Irish]

It wasn't that bad.

I found the premise & the setup fresh & interesting. I liked the way it took a little more time on some of the characters and some of the dialogue scenes.

But in the end the movie didn't take advantage of any of its strengths (the weird ass premise) and had too many other obvious weaknesses (the blocking, the cinematography, the acting...).

Ending it the way he did was a cardinal sin. You don't tease out a mystery for 90 minutes and then offer zero resolution. I was surprised the director got so many recognizable actors (small time, but still recognizable) to do the movie.

I'd never recommend Don't Blink to anyone, but if you stumbled across it on late night cable, it'd be hard to stop watching because the premise is so out there. That says, at least, something.

[Dead & Messed Up]

It wasn't that bad.

I found the premise & the setup fresh & interesting. I liked the way it took a little more time on some of the characters and some of the dialogue scenes.

But in the end the movie didn't take advantage of any of its strengths (the weird ass premise) and had too many other obvious weaknesses (the blocking, the cinematography, the acting...).

Ending it the way he did was a cardinal sin. You don't tease out a mystery for 90 minutes and then offer zero resolution. I was surprised the director got so many recognizable actors (small time, but still recognizable) to do the movie.

I'd never recommend Don't Blink to anyone, but if you stumbled across it on late night cable, it'd be hard to stop watching because the premise is so out there. That says, at least, something.

Not really. The premise is a direct take from the Spanish-language film Fin, itself a bastardized version of the arbitrary disappearances/"deaths" of Vanishing on 7th Street and Kairo.

[Irish]

I'm not sure if you can discount it completely based on a vague similarity in premise (one that you seem to be very loosely defining, from your examples, as "people disappear unexpectedly"). If you do that, eventually you'll have to throw away 99% of modern horror movies.

The thing I found interesting about Don't Blink is that the disappearances are based on lines of sight--- if someone breaks direct line of sight to another person, then they disappear. Your continued existence hinges on someone else literally seeing you. The idea could contain great drama and depth. Thematically, it's interesting. From that start, you can explore notions of identity, object permanence, even cognitive development (or regression).

The biggest problem with the movie is that it is inconsistent with how it presents the premise and doesn't take any advantage of those more interesting aspects.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'm not sure if you can discount it completely based on a vague similarity in premise (one that you seem to be very loosely defining, from your examples, as "people disappear unexpectedly"). If you do that, eventually you'll have to throw away 99% of modern horror movies.

Well, I didn't want to deal with spoilers, but

on similarity to Fin

Not only is there persistent inexplicable disappearance (involving people separating and simply never being seen again), but it ties into a fatalistic "life is attrition" perspective, where the film intends to double as a metaphor for how everyone around you eventually dies - to the point that it's verbalized and made the very point of the movie (as opposed to a slasher film, where that theme can be extracted but isn't necessarily intrinsic).

The line-of-sight thing is interesting but inconsistently deployed.

[Dukefrukem]

There's a lot of buzz around this and frankly I don't see it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqSKymETaZM

[megladon8]

Anyone see The Taking of Deborah Logan?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yeah, it was okay. Went on a little long for my taste, dull documentary crew, but the lead performance by the old lady makes it worth a watch. Suspense works, especially in the first half.

[Irish]

Anyone see The Taking of Deborah Logan?

Pretty sure a page or two back, Deborah Logan freaked out Skitch pretty badly.


There's a lot of buzz around this and frankly I don't see it.

I've heard the same buzz & I'm dying to It Follows. Also: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Seems like this has been a helluva good year for small indie horror.

[Irish]

And now... the US trailer for It Follows.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yztWmlvCJeU&feature=youtu.be

Releases Feb 27 (UK), Mar 27 (US)

[Spun Lepton]

Wasn't too impressed by the first trailer for It Follows, but the American one sold me on it. Thanks, Irish.

[Irish]

Sure thing.

I love the nasty "tag, you're it," round-robin nature of the premise as presented in the US trailer.

Can't wait until March, especially because some critics saw this early on the festival circuit and keep talking about it on twitter.

[MadMan]

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires was fun. I saw it as a coda to the overall Dracula series as its Peter Cushing battling the forces of darkness one last time.

[Dukefrukem]

Watched Cube over the weekend- Is this where the idea of Saw came from? I wish there was more people left alive for longer but the internal conflicts are the best parts of the movie.

[Skitch]

Cube is great. Cube 2: Hypercube is bad. Cube Zero was surprising.

[Morris Schæffer]

If ever a movie existed that needed to keep its villains faceless and nameless, it's surely You're Next. Still pretty engaging, but that twist halfway through was shit. I would have preferred it if the girl kept slaughtering every one of them while each family member looked on incredulously with an authentic "Whoa! Who the hell are you?!" look on their face.

[megladon8]

Anyone here seen this one with Vanessa Redgrave called "The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh"?

[Skitch]

I have. It was pretty creepy. I have a tendency to be more forgiving of films with low budgets that are used well. Some small buts of dodgy cgi, but overlook it and its pretty effective flick.

[megladon8]

I have. It was pretty creepy. I have a tendency to be more forgiving of films with low budgets that are used well. Some small buts of dodgy cgi, but overlook it and its pretty effective flick.

Cool thanks! It's one I've seen in a few "great recent horror" lists, but the sources are unreliable.

[Skitch]

Cool thanks! It's one I've seen in a few "great recent horror" lists, but the sources are unreliable.

I have to admit, I turned it off half way through because it was creeping me out hard and it was late. I have to watch non-horror before bed. I finished it the next day. Its a mixed bag, but totally worth a watch.

[Dead & Messed Up]

So I did my big fat end of year horror list on the bloggaroo. The real action is

HERE (http://horrorfilms101.blogspot.com/2014/12/list-best-horror-films-of-2014-and-few.html)

but if you don't wanna click, here's the spoilered abstract, from worst to best:

17. Ouija
16. I, Frankenstein
15. The Pyramid
14. Don't Blink
13. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
12. Odd Thomas
11. All Cheerleaders Die
10. Dracula Untold
9. A Field in England
8. Horns
7. Tusk
6. The Taking of Deborah Logan
5. The Sacrament
4. At the Devil's Door
3. Only Lovers Left Alive
2. Oculus
1. The Babadook

Meh year. I've learned that I'm quickly losing my patience for found footage.

[megladon8]

Great list and article DaMU!

I'm feeling the same way about found footage. Its been used in some very clever ways, particularly in this genre, but man...it's just too much now.

I'll have to check out Only Lovers Left Alive. I knew/know nothing about it. I didn't even know it was a horror until I saw it on your list here.

[Scar]

There is one more found footage film I'd like to see if it were ever made....

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10868120_10150494641384949_858 2034785460893569_n.jpg?oh=032f 3866c401d272afcaaf9b0b74940a&oe=5541E090&__gda__=1430373061_72d7fbf262d 0640d385019200f1ab4b8

Hopefully there's a person or two who gets it....

[Skitch]

If you don't like it, learn to love it.

[Dead & Messed Up]

If you don't like it, learn to love it.

If you don't have the horror you love, learn to love the horror you have.

[MadMan]

Rick Flair is one scary dude.

[MadMan]

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is a pretty enjoyable conclusion to what might be one of my favorite film horror series. There is a good amount of gore, the model for the insane asylum is really cool looking and I like how Peter Cushing always played Baron Frankenstein as a mix of class and evil lurking beneath his dignifed veneer.

[Irish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDnkmnx3cig

Israeli zombies!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNiKPCwPLEE

Latvian slashers!!!

[Spun Lepton]

So burnt out on zombies ...

[Irish]

Agreed. The Israeli thing didn't impress, but Man in the Orange Jacket interested me (& I'm pretty burnt on slashers, too).

[Skitch]

At The Devil's Door was well shot and scored, and had some genuinely frightening moments. Worth A watch.

[Irish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxbfshg2mcI

[Dukefrukem]

I just watched Jim Carrey's worst movie last night - The Number 23. Bad horror. Bad Jim Carrey.

[Spun Lepton]

Kiwi horror-comedy Housebound is on Netflix and it's worth a look. It should be noted that the Netflix description is incredibly misleading and may amount to some level of disappointment, as it did for me. That said, the twisty-turny nature of the story works well for its small budget and confined set, but it's much more concerned about being weird and funny than it is about being scary. So, you can expect a decent enough story, but don't expect to be scared by any of it. There is at least one very well done jump-scare that I won't ruin.

7/10

[Spun Lepton]

Cronenberg interivew at Gawker. His new (non-horror) movie Maps to the Stars sounds intriguing.

http://defamer.gawker.com/david-cronenberg-on-maps-to-the-stars-and-the-horrors-o-1688193509

[Peng]

It Follows is fantastic. Basically the horror edition of Where's Waldo? The slow-down pace, which crosses over into a hang-out vibe for its teenage characters at times, will frustrate some, but it opens an opportunity to develop our investment with the girl's group, and also allows the director to carefully stage some spectacular scenes (One has our main characters in a building while the camera rotates 360 degree, with each rotation letting the audience see "it" getting closer from outside the building), with more than a few expressionistic touches. Mitchell utilizes his widescreen fully, having the audience participate in scanning and seeking that one person who walks with a weird slowness among the crowd.

The best thing about this film though? The fantastic soundtrack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dwvCkaTBz0&feature=player_detailpage#t=60 ), which makes me understand the John Carpenter comparisons even further. It is the 2015 soundtrack to beat, much like Under the Skin last year for me.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Honeymoon was good. Compelling performances, good score, decent sound design, somewhat mediocre visual work (the overemphasis on handheld works initially as a subversive lure into mumblecore expectations but quickly loses its value), an admirable dedication to its central idea of love as a piecemeal assemblage of details - a video camera capturing individual memories at the opening gives way, eventually, to a hero who quizzes his wife about key events in their relationship and notes that she has the same toes and knees and... other body parts... as his wife.

But is she?

Bam-bam-bwaaa.

That idea is more interesting than the natal anxieties teased at the beginning and overpaid-off in the close.


The valiant efforts by the actors to subdue their accents (and their convincing befuddlement and horror) forgives how frequently those British accents bite into the edges of their shouts.

Not quite the home run I heard it was supposed to be, but a good horror flick, to be sure.

[Irish]

Honeymoon was good.

I hate to contradict you so abruptly-- but no. This has got to be the most overpraised horror of last year.

[Dead & Messed Up]

okay

[Skitch]

I want more of you to watch The Nun (2005) while drinking and agree with me that was a fun flick. Do it.

[Irish]

okay

glad you agree


I want more of you to watch The Nun (2005) while drinking and agree with me that was a fun flick. Do it.

I watched the trailer while sober. Does that count?

[MadMan]

Kiwi horror-comedy Housebound is on Netflix and it's worth a look. It should be noted that the Netflix description is incredibly misleading and may amount to some level of disappointment, as it did for me. That said, the twisty-turny nature of the story works well for its small budget and confined set, but it's much more concerned about being weird and funny than it is about being scary. So, you can expect a decent enough story, but don't expect to be scared by any of it. There is at least one very well done jump-scare that I won't ruin.

7/10

I might check that one out sometime. I love the poster for the film.

[Irish]

Reminder: It Follows is out in US theaters.

Next week: Spring, the "monster romance" from Drafthouse.

[transmogrifier]

I didn't like Housebound at all. And I'm from New Zealand! It's like disowning a child.

What We Do in the Shadows, on the other hand, is great.

[Winston*]

I didn't like Housebound at all. And I'm from New Zealand! It's like disowning a child.

What We Do in the Shadows, on the other hand, is great.

I liked it a lot. Traitor.

[Spun Lepton]

The critical consensus on It Follows is so overwhelmingly positive that I may abandon my hard-and-fast rules for seeing films and see it tonight. I mean ...


"From the opening moments, the one thing clear about It Follows is that it will not follow in everyone else's footsteps. "
-Bob Mondello


"It's an undeniable triumph of mood - perfect for anyone who wants to practice clenching their fists for nearly 100 straight minutes - as well as an ambitious effort at reinventing horror by eschewing the genre's common tricks."
-David Edelstein


""It Follows" pretty much earns its buzz as the scariest and best-engineered American horror movie of recent years, and that's all down to Mitchell's sophisticated understanding of technique and the trust and freedom he accords his youthful cast."
-Andrew O'Hehir


"Writer-director David Robert Mitchell has clearly studied up on John Carpenter. But Mitchell has his own twisted gift for letting atmosphere help define character. It Follows creeps you out big-time."
-Peter Travers

Currently 95% Fresh on RT. That's quite the feat for a horror movie.

[Skitch]

The trailer for that flick is sooo good.

[Spun Lepton]

Just found out that there's nowhere near me where It Follows is playing. I'm pretty bummed about that.

[transmogrifier]

I liked it a lot. Traitor.

I regret nothing. Except for forsaking Whittakers and L&P.

[Takoma1]

It's coming to DC next weekend. I'm a ways away, but I have a sibling who lives there so I'll be sure to arrange a visit in the next few weeks.

This is definitely the most excited I've been for a horror movie in quite some time.

[Ezee E]

It Follows isn't anywhere near Denver. :(

[Dead & Messed Up]

It's in town for me - I'll gun for a matinee and hype you all accordingly.

[Winston*]

I regret nothing. Except for forsaking Whittakers and L&P.

Went to see The Quiet Earth tonight presented by Geoff Murphy. / more NZ than you.

[MadMan]

Yeah It Follows isn't playing any where near me. But I bet I get that crappy looking online horror movie instead :-l

[Dukefrukem]

It's not showing around me either. Is there a site that has all the theaters?

[Takoma1]

http://itfollowsfilm.com/screenings

I know someone who has seen it and she said it was amazing.

[Dukefrukem]

Oh sweet. It's playing in Coolidge Corner. I know what I'm doing this weekend.

[MadMan]

I liked April Fool's Day. Maybe I should have watched it on April 1st. I'm not sure why it was remade though.

[megladon8]

Happy to report that even after a nearly 10 year gap since seeing it last, Versus is still fuckin awesome.

[Skitch]

Fuck yeah it is. I whip that out anytime some asks "favorite zombie movie?"

[MadMan]

Oh yeah Versus is good old fashioned entertainment.

[Spun Lepton]

V/H/S: Viral

The rumors are true. This is easily the worst of the bunch.

First story semi-abandons the "found footage" motif in favor of a mockumentary style which just seems out of sorts for this series. The story itself is a kinda goofy, centering on a piss-poor magician who finds a "real magic" cloak that brings him power and fame and, of course, EATS PEOPLE TO SURVIVE. The story is so mired in cliche that it's entirely too predictable. The best scene in the whole movie is in this one, when two people fight over the cloak itself. 5/10

Second story seems like it was slapped together at the last minute. It's about a guy who creates a kind of Einstein-Rosen bridge to mirror universe, so he trades places with his other self for fifteen minutes. In those fifteen minutes he realizes that he has literally entered a "demon universe," where daily life appears to be about blood sacrifices, prehensile naughty bits, and glowing faces. Oh, and there's a moment where the character runs outside and sees a blimp decorated with a giant neon upside-down cross flying over the house. 4/10

Third story is about a bunch of extremely irritating skaters who encounter some kind of sacrificial altar while searching for places to skate in Tijuana. And, really, that is the ENTIRE story. The first six minutes is them skating and being generally irritating. Then they go to Tijuana and be generally irritating for about another 3 to 5 minutes, and then they find someplace to skate with a giant pentagram in the middle. Then it's another 2 minutes of them skating and being irritating. And then they're attacked by fanatics, and then zombies, and then skeletons. And then the two least likable ones get away. Oohh, I was so angry at this one. 1/10

The wrap-around is utter nonsense, per usual. 2/10

3/10

[Dead & Messed Up]

Rewatched "Behind the Mask." Still fun, but the killer and the virgin should've had sex at the end. I know the slasher tropes are symbolic of this, but ditch the metaphor and knock boots. That'd be more subversive and bold.

[MadMan]

Rewatched "Behind the Mask." Still fun, but the killer and the virgin should've had sex at the end. I know the slasher tropes are symbolic of this, but ditch the metaphor and knock boots. That'd be more subversive and bold.But that wouldn't make sense considering her reaction to him being a killer. Also there was very little indication that he liked her. Twists out of left field are lazy screenwriting.

[Gittes]

Has anyone here seen Bugcrush? It a short film by Carter Smith (The Ruins). If not, I highly recommend seeking it out. Try going into it knowing as little as possible. It's really creepy.

[Spun Lepton]

I just watched The Devil's Rejects for the second and final time in my life. What a pile of fucking horseshit.

FUCK OFF/10

[Dukefrukem]

I just watched The Devil's Rejects for the second and final time in my life. What a pile of fucking horseshit.

FUCK OFF/10

http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/if-i-agreed-with-you-we-would-both-be-wrong-bill-nye.jpg

[Spun Lepton]

Hey, Duke, there's a video of Rob Zombie masturbating for 2 hours. Want me to link to it? Sounds like you'd enjoy it.

[dreamdead]

I ended up rewatching it over the weekend (Sarah hadn't seen it before). It's very much an acquired taste, as it's all but unrelenting in its grotesque and naked eagerness to offend. While it makes sense that the rejects would be as verbally one-note in their use of language, minus Captain Spalding, it makes for a monotonous listen on that front. And our ostensible hero is eliminated before the final act, and even he's fairly caught up in uniform vengeance and verbal abuse. It makes for nastiness without any reward to the innocents sacrificed.

The one reading I've seen about the film working as a post-9/11 parable, though, does redeem the nastiness inherent to the film. If it's a Bush/Al-Qaeda metaphor, with both sides committing unremitting brutality and amorality, then there's a layer of intelligence, however intended or not. That reading adds to the film, and it worked, despite Sarah's initial doubt. On that front, it's an interesting exercise in politics, and the realm of offensiveness adds to its agenda.

The thing I'll give Zombie here is that it's a surprisingly effective take on the visual style of the grindhouse films. The look is all there; it's more nihilistic than I prefer my films, but there is craft there.

[Spun Lepton]

The biggest offense with TDR is Zombie's intensely confused tone. At once, he wants the audience to distance themselves from the film, yet, be drawn in to the lowest aspects. The rape and torture scenes were cloying, we're supposed to feel sorry for the victims, but then we're also supposed to find the Firefly family "cool" throughout. Calling this a 9/11 parable is giving Zombie way (way way WAAAAYYY) too much credit, as this whole futile exercise plays like some 13-year-old boy's violent fantasies. I imagine Zombie sitting in the basement of his parents' house when he was a kid, thinking, "I'm going to make a movie where the Manson family are the heros."

Add into that a clunky story that ends on a Deus ex Machina with a clunky tacked on music video at the end. I mean, the Deus ex HAD to happen, otherwise Zombie wouldn't have been able to have the final shootout he undoubtedly wanted to have long before the story was even written.

[Skitch]

Zombie has yet to show me any real talent at story telling (outside of Halloween 2, of course).

[MadMan]

I'll defend Lords of Salem. I liked his Halloween remake-the second one was okay. I haven't viewed his first two films yet.

[Scar]

I have no interest in watching any of zombie's movies again, except for his two Halloween movies. I've re watched those two many times.

[Spun Lepton]

Witching and Bitching is all right, despite the awful title. It semi-successfully plays with sexual politics and it has a number of very funny moments. Right now, I'm hovering between 6/10 and 7/10. I'll have to digest it a little more.

[Dukefrukem]

Looks Grindhousey


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1taD8V54Jg

[MadMan]

I have zero interest in seeing those movies.

[Spun Lepton]

How good can it be if you had to sue your lead villain just to get him to appear in it?

Ah, who am I kidding? This is going to be dumb on the same level as the first two.

Netflix for sure.

[D_Davis]

I do like how each movie has a completely different look and tone.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Skipping it like I skipped the other two. Although I respect them using the word "annals."

[megladon8]

Never saw either of the others.

Not into torture porn at all.

[Scar]

Yeah, I've had no interest in those movies.

[Spun Lepton]

I wouldn't say any of them are good, and the suggestion that they're torture porn is giving them way more credit than they deserve. The Human Centepede movies wish they were torture porn, but they're so dumb and sloppy that every attempt to offend lands with a resounding splat, unlike, say, The Devil's Rejects which successfully makes its torture scenes unpleasant.

"YEESSSS!! FEEEEED HEEUUUURRR!! FEEEEEEEEED HEEEEUUURRRRR!!!"

[Gittes]

Skipping it like I skipped the other two. Although I respect them using the word "annals."

One of my English professors once told a story about a grad student, I think, who was presenting a paper which entailed the repeated use of this word. Unfortunately, he kept pronouncing it "anals."

[dreamdead]

The original version of The Wicker Man is way more out-there than my childhood remembrance could have ever unpacked. In many ways, it's lunacy done right, with oddball overdubbing, protected antagonism of Christians disabusing any earlier paganism, orgies and temptations across the board, creepy animal masks, and a final climax worthy of its allegory about martyrdom. It doesn't always work, thanks to Edward Woodward's insults to the native community feeling far beyond appropriate at times before he learns the truth -- a truth which doesn't justify his earlier critiques -- but some of the editing structure, especially when Woodward stumbles upon the orgy, are hauntingly done.

And a lot of the climax remains powerful. Surprisingly interesting.

[Skitch]

I would like to hear some reactions to Banshee Chapter (on Netflix). I thought it was quite decent with some effective scares and an intriguing story. I say about one in ten of the faux doc/found footage subgenre is worth a damn, and this is either the one or I'm just burned out from the last nine bad ones I've watched.

[Spun Lepton]

All right, I just watched the trailer for Human Centepede 3 and when I realized I would definitely watch it (on Netflix), I had to ask myself why. They're in no way good, but they are funny, but not in the way that Six intends them to be. I dunno. The second one worked a bit better than the first, only because the black and white favored more dramatic lighting. But, the return to color appears to also be the return to comedy lighting. And Six will obviously try way too hard to offend again. How will he attempt to top a scene where a woman in a car gives birth, the baby rolls under the pedals of the car, and she smooshes it by stepping on the gas? Two fetuses sewn together!!

Hostel / The Room = The Human Centepede

[Spun Lepton]

Took another bullet for you assholes.

Wolfcop
2/10

[MadMan]

But it's a Werewolf Cop!

Honestly I'm just waiting for A Girl Walks Home At Night to hit Netflix.

[Skitch]

Took another bullet for you assholes.

Wolfcop
2/10

I'm still gonna watch it.

[Spun Lepton]

The Babadook
8/10

It goes off the rails a bit near the end, and sometimes it's a bit heavy-handed, but overall, it's quite good. Creepy and atmospheric as hell. It sticks to its metaphor of mental illness all the way to the end, which makes the closing scenes oddly charming.

[Spun Lepton]

But it's a Werewolf Cop!

Honestly I'm just waiting for A Girl Walks Home At Night to hit Netflix.

All right, well, I guess I really didn't go much into this.

Wolfcop is all about potential. There is a potentially good idea in here, but it's lost on the filmmakers. The humor is clunky and weirdly sitcom-y at times. The hero is a thirteen-year-old's idea of what is cool, a hard-drinking I-don't-give-a-fucker who sucks at his job and who does not suddenly become likeable with the addition of hair and pointy teeth. The filmmakers would like you to believe that a hard drinking werewolf is cool, but it looked like he was having trouble pouring the liquor over his fake teeth. The story is far more complicated than it needs to be, involving eclipses, cults, and shape-shifters, as if the script had initially been three episodes of X-Files mashed together, ugh. The makeup is serviceable at best and embarrassing at worst.

[MadMan]

Well that's disappointing. It also reminded me that the werewolf subgenre is really full of misfires. Perhaps it's because a guy turning into a wolf just is not ripe for much of anything. Which also makes me realize that I really undervalue the Disney Beauty and the Beast and that I need to see the 1940s one.

[Dukefrukem]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfQnRjkuvaY

[megladon8]

Anyone here seen Late Phases yet?

[Skitch]

I have not, but I drew Renny Harlin's Devil's Pass in a Netflix roulette, so I'll report back on that soon.

[megladon8]

About to watch BioZombie for the first time.

[Irish]

Anyone here seen Late Phases yet?

Yes. I liked it quite a bit, although it's not terribly ambitious it's a good story. Picture a blind Charles Bronson in a retirement community battling werewolves. Sorta.

Tonally, it reminded me of low key indie (and Canadian?) horrors that don't do much to expand the genre or push any envelopes, but are solid entries nonetheless. Ginger Snaps. Fido. Dead and Breakfast. Like that. Not intense or scary but quirky and oddly satisfying.

[D_Davis]

About to watch BioZombie for the first time.

Love that movie, so much.

Has one of the best split-screen shots of all time.

[megladon8]

Completely agree on the split screen shot. Freaking brilliant and gave me such a laugh.

Wish there was a DVD with decent subs available. Felt like I was constantly deciphering what the intended meaning was.

Anytime someone said they had to go to the bathroom, the sub said "I have to stool"

[MadMan]

I love Ginger Snaps. Dead and Breakfast was decent.

Also instead of watching something new I just revisited Manhunter for the first time in a couple of years. That film has glorious style.

[D_Davis]

The Babadook is one of the stupidest pieces of shit to have ever been made. What a fucking joke. Can't believe so many people loved it.

[megladon8]

Bah.

[Skitch]

Dammit, thats two people now I really trust who hated it. Do I watch this thing or not??

[Dukefrukem]

Dammit, thats two people now I really trust who hated it. Do I watch this thing or not??

Didn't DD have the most contrarian POV on MC a few years back? I think that says it all.

[Scar]

Wouldn't surprise me after his apes comment.

[Irish]

Dammit, thats two people now I really trust who hated it. Do I watch this thing or not??

It's worth seeing if you're a fan of horrors like Exorcist, Changeling, Sinister, Conjuring, Insidious etc.

I thought bits of it were overplayed, but the family in it is one of the most genuine I've seen in years, in or out of the genre.

[D_Davis]

Every single one of those movies you mention is infinitely better than Babadook.

[Spun Lepton]

Dammit, thats two people now I really trust who hated it. Do I watch this thing or not??

Yes, watch it. It's excellent.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Davis is allowed to be wrong, The Babadook is worth checking out.

[Skitch]

I will keep it in the queue and return to settle this debate.

[Ezee E]

Babadook was one of my top movies from last year.

[megladon8]

The complexity of the mother/son relationship and the bravery in its coveying the very much frowned upon resentment a parent can have for their child was brilliant.

It's a brutally honest film about parenthood.

[Gittes]

It Follows is better, but The Babadook is quite good.

[transmogrifier]

The Babadook is one of the stupidest pieces of shit to have ever been made. What a fucking joke. Can't believe so many people loved it.

Has D's account been hacked?

[Skitch]

Has D's account been hacked?

My buddy IRL is a huge horror buff, ultra forgiving of so much of the genre, and he too hated it.

[transmogrifier]

My buddy IRL is a huge horror buff, ultra forgiving of so much of the genre, and he too hated it.

No, I mean D rarely uses language like that. He's the most even-tempered poster around, this side of Mara.

[Dukefrukem]

I watched it last night to be apart of the discussion. It liked it.

[Skitch]

No, I mean D rarely uses language like that. He's the most even-tempered poster around, this side of Mara.

I know! I meant that to back you up as I know another person who it was very uncharacteristic of to intensely dislike the flick.

[Scar]

No, I mean D rarely uses language like that. He's the most even-tempered poster around, this side of Mara.

I've noticed quite the uptick in this over the past few months...

[transmogrifier]

I know! I meant that to back you up as I know another person who it was very uncharacteristic of to intensely dislike the flick.

Ah, gotcha. The Babadook is a more powerful force than we were lead to believe.

[transmogrifier]

I've noticed quite the uptick in this over the past few months...

I wonder what's up. D, listen to some more Eno and watch one of the Apes flicks. Doctor's orders*.

* not a doctor

[D_Davis]

No, I mean D rarely uses language like that. He's the most even-tempered poster around, this side of Mara.

The movie seriously pissed me off - it's that stupid. I was angry that I chose to watch it, and that it wasted my time with its ineptitude. :)

[D_Davis]

I wonder what's up. D, listen to some more Eno and watch one of the Apes flicks. Doctor's orders*.

* not a doctor

I think it's best if I simply stay away from movies.

[transmogrifier]

Inept ones, at least.

[Skitch]

Inept ones, at least.

But....you watch sequels to movies you hate?

[transmogrifier]

I assume you will be watching The Force Awakens, no?

[Skitch]

I assume you will be watching The Force Awakens, no?

Why wouldn't I?

[Spun Lepton]

Anybody recall D's reaction to Drag Me to Hell? This is similar. Anybody remember my reaction to The Devil's Rejects ... ? I got no room to judge.

[D_Davis]

This is the worst horror film I've seen since Drag Me to Hell.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Match Cut.

[D_Davis]

#justmatchcutthings

[Irish]

Anybody recall D's reaction to Drag Me to Hell? This is similar. Anybody remember my reaction to The Devil's Rejects ... ? I got no room to judge.

I'm a fan of that film and a fan of zombie (although that gets harder every year). I thought your comments on Devil's Rejects were on the mark and fairly measured.

[Scar]

I :heart: Zombie's Halloween movies.

[Spun Lepton]

Somebody on Letterboxd compared A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night to a Jim Jarmusch film, and frankly, that hits it square on the nose. Imagine Dead Man mixed with Let the Right One In. 7/10

[megladon8]

You know what's a great load of fun?

Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight

[Dead & Messed Up]

That film gets my coveted Zane/10.

[Skitch]

Love Demon Knight.

[Dukefrukem]

You know what's a great load of fun?

Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight

Such a good movie.

[D_Davis]

You know what's a great load of fun?

Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight

Yep - super fun flick.

[D_Davis]

Holy shit guys. We're all agreeing on Demon Knight.

Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight: The Film to Unite Matchcut.

[Skitch]

Match Cut Movie Night Presents: Speed Racer and Demon Knight

[D_Davis]

Match Cut Movie Night Presents: Speed Racer and Demon Knight

We're a dedicated film discussion forum, with a great appreciated for cinema.

[Spun Lepton]

We're a dedicated film discussion forum, with a great appreciated for cinema.

D, the word is appreciatement.

[D_Davis]

I talk good.

[Spun Lepton]

Yes. Yes, you are.

[MadMan]

I want to watch Demon Knight again. William Saddler rules. As does Billy Zane.

[Irish]

Dead Zone, does it hold up? Yay or nay?

[Skitch]

Yay.

[Spun Lepton]

Dead Zone, does it hold up? Yay or nay?

Re-watched it a couple years ago and I'd go with Yay.

[megladon8]

Watched You're Next again last night.

Such a great movie. Some of the cleverest horror writing in years, and survivor girl kicks all kinds of ass. She's a blast to watch.

[Irish]

FYI: 500 theaters across the U.S. will show Jaws on June 21 to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary.

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/jaws-re-release-40th-anniversary-theaters-1201507492/

[Scar]

It'll probably be a dvd stream...

[Spun Lepton]

I watched Would You Rather on Netflix just for the crazy cast, including Jeffery Combs, John Heard, Robb Wells, and Sasha Grey. Story's pretty much Saw in another package. Rich misanthropist lures a group desperate people to his mansion to hold them hostage and make them play a deadly game where the winner gets a whole shit ton of cash and other prizes. The winner is the one who survives.

Let's see. There's an OK story here if you're able to get past the torture porn-y-ness. Obviously very low budget, the majority of the film takes place in one room. Combs plays the misanthropist and does his best to chew the scenery. Sasha Grey plays a talking plank of wood. There's a whole subplot involving an outsider breaking in and attempting a rescue, only to be gunned down at the first opportunity. The script plays out pretty much how you expect it to, but with an unexpected and nihilistic twist at the end.

5/10

[megladon8]

Watching Carpenter's Prince of Darkness last night, I thought how great it would be to have some horror themed boxing matches.

Space Jesus vs Satan in a Jar! Only on Pay Per View!

[Dead & Messed Up]

I watched Would You Rather on Netflix just for the crazy cast, including Jeffery Combs, John Heard, Robb Wells, and Sasha Grey. Story's pretty much Saw in another package. Rich misanthropist lures a group desperate people to his mansion to hold them hostage and make them play a deadly game where the winner gets a whole shit ton of cash and other prizes. The winner is the one who survives.

Let's see. There's an OK story here if you're able to get past the torture porn-y-ness. Obviously very low budget, the majority of the film takes place in one room. Combs plays the misanthropist and does his best to chew the scenery. Sasha Grey plays a talking plank of wood. There's a whole subplot involving an outsider breaking in and attempting a rescue, only to be gunned down at the first opportunity. The script plays out pretty much how you expect it to, but with an unexpected and nihilistic twist at the end.

5/10

Can you spoiler the twist? I watched half an hour of the film, and I tapped out around the time the canings started.

[D_Davis]

It was all a bad dream!

[Dead & Messed Up]

Love stopped the villain.

[Spun Lepton]

Can you spoiler the twist? I watched half an hour of the film, and I tapped out around the time the canings started.

Remember that the lead woman is roped into the "game" because she's looking for money and help for her brother who's dying of cancer. Near the end, after most of the cast is killed off and it's down to the lead woman and the handsome male character, she's given the option to set them both free sans her reward, or shoot him dead and claim her reward. She shoots him dead, (which is predictable, given that she started out pretty altruistic). The twist happens in the very last shot, when she comes home with a big bag of money, but it's revelaed that her brother has already committed suicide.

[Irish]

Be prepared to be scared: AMC Networks has begun an invite-only beta test of their horror-centric OTT video service Shudder. The service offers streaming access to full-length ad-free horror movies, and wants to eventually launch on a number of TV streaming devices. Its technology is being powered by and Softbank-owned online video platform Dramafever

http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/amc-beta-tests-streaming-service-for-horror-fans-exclusive-1201515550/

Wtf? AMC? Didn't see that coming.

Anyway: $5/mo or $50/yr

[MadMan]

I will try and go see Jaws. You're Next rules. So does The Dead Zone.

[Irish]

Has anyone seen this Joe Dante thing, Burying the Ex? It's looking right on the fence for me, between interesting and awful.

But it's also Dante which has my curiosity piqued.

[Dukefrukem]

I just read about it in my Rue Morgue.

I think it's coming to VOD soon?