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

[Irish]

Yeah it's out either this week or next on VOD. Pretty sure it had some kind of theatrical/ festival run, though. Not sure.

[megladon8]

Oh shit!!

Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood are both getting collectors edition BluRays from Scream Factory!

These guys knock it out of the park consistently. Can't wait.

10/20 anticipated release date.

[transmogrifier]

I've experienced some pretty shitty or meh horror indie horror movies recently:

Triangle
Proxy
Backcountry
Housebound
Tusk
Honeymoon

Quick, someone recommend me modern indie horror along the lines of Resolution, You're Next, Coherence (well, it's kinda horror)....for the start of the vacation. So far, my list is (1) It Follows, (2).....

[megladon8]

We're going to check out "What We Do in the Shadows" tonight. Expecting it to be a good one.

[Dukefrukem]

I've experienced some pretty shitty or meh horror indie horror movies recently:

Triangle
Proxy
Backcountry
Housebound
Tusk
Honeymoon

Quick, someone recommend me modern indie horror along the lines of Resolution, You're Next, Coherence (well, it's kinda horror)....for the start of the vacation. So far, my list is (1) It Follows, (2).....

Babadook.

[transmogrifier]

We're going to check out "What We Do in the Shadows" tonight. Expecting it to be a good one.

Loved that.

[transmogrifier]

Babadook.

Seen that, alas.

[Dukefrukem]

Seen that, alas.

Avenged.

[Skitch]

Late Phases!

[megladon8]

What We Do in the Shadows was so charming. Great fun. While it's not often howlingly funny, I had a smirk on my face for the entire duration.

The entire cast nails it.

[Spun Lepton]

Yeah, I got nothing.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'm surprised you took to You're Next and didn't care for Triangle. I found the former fun in concept / repetitive in execution, and I thought the latter was an almost unbearably sad thriller by the end. Not that they're in direct competition or anything.

Haven't seen anything new recently. I assume you've given Lake Mungo a try.

[transmogrifier]

Cheers.
So far it's Avenged, Late Phases, and Lake Mungo.

[Dukefrukem]

Cheers.
So far it's Avenged, Late Phases, and Lake Mungo.

If you're looking for a fun time, I'd also recommend checking out both Iron Sky movies. They're on netflix. Check your brain at the door.

[Irish]

http://i.imgur.com/PNpeAB6.jpg

Trailer: https://youtu.be/typEhbREaPI

This looks quite fucked up.

Theaters/VOD July 17th.

[Irish]

Spun Lepton, this is an official request for a review. I need you to see this thing & write it up.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9lZ_Er-Wjg

(be sure to watch the trailer all the way to the end)

[Spun Lepton]

I'll have to watch it when I get home. Will do.

[Irish]

Btw-- you all are probably already aware,
But in case not: Today is the 40th anniversary of Jaws

[Spun Lepton]

Hmm, I guess I was expecting it to look like a shitfest. It looks pretty derivative, but not terrible.

[Dukefrukem]

Oh. My. God.

http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/human_centipede_three_ver3_xlg-691x1024.jpg

[Spun Lepton]

THAT SPOILER IS NSFW

[Dukefrukem]

THAT SPOILER IS NSFW

If the title was left off the poster would it still be NSFW?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Finally, a poster with the courage to tell us it is literally crap.

[Russ]

THAT SPOILER IS NSFW


If the title was left off the poster would it still be NSFW?
Uhh, the person posting it should have been your first clue.

[megladon8]

If the title was left off the poster would it still be NSFW?


Yes.

Looks like some really fucked up porno.

[Dukefrukem]

No it doesn't. ANd no it wouldn't be.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I mean, at first I'd be like, God, another cave movie, but then I'd see the cave is all moist and veiny and organic, and there are only so many organic holes to choose from, so yeah, I figure a poster set in what deductively must be an anus is not safe for work.

And a porno about a woman screaming directly into an anus, if not really disgusting, is certainly an uncommon fetish most will not vibe to, excepting certain Korean pop stars.

[Peng]

I agree with megladon8. Wouldn't want to open that pic in a public place.

[megladon8]

Yeah it's not something I'd want to look at with others around.

[Russ]

so yeah, I figure a poster set in what deductively must be an anus is not safe for work.


I agree with megladon8. Wouldn't want to open that pic in a public place.


Yeah it's not something I'd want to look at with others around.



http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff324/astrojester/not-listening1_zpsdekydxre.jpg

...

[MadMan]

I have no desire to see any of those movies. They all seem like they are trying too hard.

[Dukefrukem]

Whoa.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2tA1e8UAZ4

[Skitch]

Everything looks great except the letter that came together to form "LUCKY MCGEE".

[Skitch]

This looks like something.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IokJt_05co

[Irish]

Everything looks great except the letter that came together to form "LUCKY MCGEE".

I feel the same.

There's another group of letters in there that seemed to formed the phrase "MICK GARRIS."

[Spun Lepton]

Skitch, please hide video that behind a spoiler.

[Spun Lepton]

I feel the same.

There's another group of letters in there that seemed to formed the phrase "MICK GARRIS."

What? He's still working? Interest lost. Not even gonna bother with the trailer.

[Dukefrukem]

Everything looks great except the letter that came together to form "LUCKY MCGEE".

I now need to watch The Woods.

[Grouchy]

I get being wary of Mick Garris, but we don't like Lucky McKee now? What?

[Grouchy]

By the way, that Nina Forever trailer is the third I see in less than a year with exactly the same premise.

[D_Davis]

Jesus Christ! That song at the end of that trailer is one of the worst things I've ever heard. Why is is so damn loud? And terrible?

[Skitch]

Skitch, please hide video that behind a spoiler.

Sorry about that, I didnt know that was the pic when posted, youtube was on autoplay.

[Skitch]

What? He's still working? Interest lost. Not even gonna bother with the trailer.

But that leaves 8 other stories with potential! (Agree about Mick Garris)

[Skitch]

I get being wary of Mick Garris, but we don't like Lucky McKee now? What?

Who here likes Lucky McGee?

[Spun Lepton]

Who here likes Lucky McGee?

I enjoyed May and The Woman. I'm OK with him.

[Irish]

Who here likes Lucky McGee?

I thought May was interesting and showed lots of promise. McGee has never lived up to that promise.

All Cheerleaders Die was nearly unwatchable for a movie with a little bit of a budget, and from a "name" horror director.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Mick Garris isn't directing, he just has a small cameo - other horror directors stopping by on-screen include Dante, Landis, Gordon, and Adam Green.

And I'm a big fan of horror directed by McKee and Marshall.

[Dukefrukem]

Sooooooooo I guess there's a Tremors 5 in the works.

http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/tremors5photo2.jpg

[Grouchy]

Both May and The Woman are excellent. Red and The Woods aren't bad either.

[Skitch]

Wow, I loathed The Woman.

[Winston*]

I think The Woman is an interesting film. I wrote about as part of a university essay. Got an A I think, so case closed.

[Irish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJzVP_4HYT8

New from Kirkman.

More info: http://www.craveonline.com/tv/previews/877381-comic-con-2015-robert-kirkmans-outcast-trailer-premieres-san-diego

[MadMan]

Trying to finalize what could be my last Horrorfest ever. So far I have 20 films, all on Netflix.

[D_Davis]

Trying to finalize what could be my last Horrorfest ever.

Why is that?

[MadMan]

Partly myself working more but also because its not as fun as it used to be. Perhaps I'll just cut out the review writing and scale things back a little.

[Skitch]

Boooooo :D

[MadMan]

Well I haven't even finished reviews for last year's Horrorfest lol.

[Irish]

Signed up for Shudder.com. Five bucks a month. They don't have a great selection yet, but it's a free 14 day trial.

[Irish]

Although I dig these "collections" they got going:

http://i.imgur.com/hPa84QP.jpg

[Spun Lepton]

This is quite funny and well worth your time. I loved how they made the movie is a second-generation video tape recorded off of television, including partially recorded commercials for random goofery.

This video is fairly NSFW.


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

[Spun Lepton]

Here's the gory Red Band Trailer:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nh788U9o4k

[Dukefrukem]

That feels like my kind of movie.

[MadMan]

That was awesome Spun.

Also I just kept adding movies to my Horrorfest list and of course I called my blog entry about it The Final Chapter. I ended up with over 30 after starting with 20.

[Skitch]

My buddy informed me that a lot of Shout Factory releases are apparently available to stream legally for free. Wow!

http://www.shoutfactorytv.com/

[Irish]

Waaaaaaaaa? Fuck off no way *clicks*

[Dukefrukem]

Q The Winged Serpent.... awesome.

[Skitch]

Currently into Carpenters Body Bags...aka cameo city.

[MadMan]

Currently into Carpenters Body Bags...aka cameo city.

I liked that one quite a bit. Also thanks for the heads up Skitch.

For my pre Horrorfest at the end of this month I have Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Night of the Demons 2 and Phantom of the Paradise. Wahoo.

[Spun Lepton]

I watched The Taking of Deborah Logan last night. It certainly had some unnerving moments, the best being a long, quiet shot of Deborah plonking away at a piano while looking at the camera in a menacing manner. At times the story just spun its wheels without much progression. The big moment near the end with Deborah and the child was undermined by some monster-ness that felt old and a bit cliche. Overall, however, the performances and story are strong enough to keep it interesting to the end. 6/10

[Irish]

Cronenberg VR?!!

https://twitter.com/_ryanturek/status/624978532054269952

[megladon8]

Ghost Town tonight.

First viewing for both of us - blind buy from Scream Factory.

Anyone here seen it? Thoughts?

[Spun Lepton]

Finally saw It Follows. After all I'd heard, there were still plenty of completely unexpected moments. Not everything worked, as far as I was concerned, but so much of it worked so well that it was easy to overlook the flaws. The film, for all it's slow tracking shots and its long, quiet moments, just flew by. It did not seem nearly as long as it was, which is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the best indications of a well-made film. I was blindsided by the very ending.

No closure. That's fucking ballsy. And it works so well!!

8/10

[MadMan]

I really love It Follows. More channeling of Carpenter/Craven 80s style please.

[D_Davis]

Some cool foreign posters for horror films.

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/glorious_gory_sometimes_goofy_ foreign_film_posters

[TGM]

Cross-posting this here, in case anyone might be interested. So here's my latest short film, Breathe. It's my first foray into horror, and also features the return of Match-Cut's very own Fezzik in a starring role. So, if you all kindly would, please check it out. :)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COgGwKYJ_k4

[Scar]

The 'clap' scene in The Conjuring still gives me goose bumps after multiple viewings.

[megladon8]

Yes.

[MadMan]

Yes The Conjuring was nice and freaky.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Okay, been hitting Shriekfest LA when I can, here's the skinny on three flicks I've watched that may be coming to VOD soon.

1) 6:15 - The World's First One-Take POV Zombie Film! But that one-take pov results in a metric ton of herky-jerky camera, and watching it on the big-screen gave me motion sickness to the point where I left half an hour in. Up to that point, the film deserved some credit for its chutzpah, but it was going through the motions of pretty much all basic zombie movies. There's an interesting bit at the beginning where the lead hero is trying to get off prescription pills for his... anxiety, I think. Which I think is meant less to suggest this might all be in his head and more a means of prolonging people sticking around by not believing him, similar to the new Evil Dead film. Not bad, but I doubt I'll give it a second shot.

2) The Answer - More a sci-fi picture with hints of The Terminator than a horror flick. Guy gets a gift from his mom long after she dies that reveals he might be more special than he thought. Then he's on the run with a fetching blonde while leather-ensconced villains give chase! This was okay up until I realized it's basically everything I hate in contemporary screenwriting. (a) Humdrum dorky guy who's secretly awesome and only needs to realize his awesomeness. (b) Woman who exists to facilitate his awesome and comment on how awesome he is. (c) And maybe get preggers with his awesome boy. (d) Magic blood. Competent but increasingly disappointing.

3) The Divine Tragedies - Saw this mostly because it features roles for Ken Foree and Barbara Crampton - good gets. Surprised because, despite some lapses into predictable imagery (big-boobed ghost, butterfly imagery), it's an engaging story about two sadistic brothers who want to kill. The two leads hold their own against the veterans, and there are some satisfying tweaks on what's essentially a glossier Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. This is one that you should consider if it pops up on Amazon Prime or Netflix.

Of the shorts, there's a fun one called Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse that's 40 minutes long but feels shorter than many of the 15-minute ones.

[Spun Lepton]

I watched Tremors 5.

2/10

Netflix has some serious studio shills rating and reviewing this pile of garbage. It's the only reason I can think of why Netflix believed I would give it a 4/5 score. My review from Letterboxd:


It's been umpteen years since the events of the original Tremors and Burt Gummer is still on the hunt. This time we see him take the hunt to South Africa, where the grabboids have evolved differently or something. It's a point that's brought up and immediately ignored, just like most of the good ideas in the film. Mind you, I haven't seen Tremors 4. I have, unfortunately, seen Tremors 2 and 3. The law of diminishing returns is in full-swing in this series, and Tremors 5 continues the tradition. Actually, I can't say that with 100% confidence. Maybe part 5 is better than part 4 in the same way a boil is better than an infected ingrown hair. I don't know.

The acting is passable, even if our two leads kinda sleepwalk through the film as if they're only collecting a paycheck. Many of the technical aspects are also passable. Framing, lighting, sound, all perfectly presentable, if uninspired. CG is about as realistic as one could expect from a low-budget production. The strongest aspect is the monster design, but they did little more than tweak already established designs.

The story is, to put it bluntly, painful as hell. The characters make motions toward connecting with other characters, but it all seems shallow, as if the filmmakers didn't know what actually constituted human bonding. Ideas are picked up and then abandoned two scenes later. Rules that have been set in motion are thrown away in the hopes, I guess, of making the story more exciting, but then those new rules are again thrown away to play homage to series tropes. The best example: One person is running from a grabboid, Burt screams at the guy to get on top of a rock, but then the grabboid literally launches itself from the dirt and flies through the air to gobble him up. "Oh, my, God! The rocks don't help any more! Ooh-wee! The stakes are raised!" Now, we're talking, right?? Wrong. A few scenes later we return to "GET ON THE ROCKS!" Come on, can we please just define some clear rules here? Fuckin' a.

The story slogs along until Burt figures out the grabboids and their kin have motivation beyond "eat anything that moves," which was a perfectly simple and believable motivation for the grabboids in the first film. The new motivation is a good idea at its core, but is executed in the sloppiest and laziest ways possible, so, now the grabboids behave less like ANIMALS and more like overtly contrived plot elements.

There's also an entire scene where Burt Gummer flails around in a cage, drinking and dousing himself in his own piss. An idea that MIGHT'VE been funny had it not dragged on and on and fucking on. Romantic story lines are created and then abandoned in favor of stupid surprise plot points in the final twenty minutes. Plot points, I might add, that could've brought some real fucking life to these characters had they been introduced, I dunno, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FUCKING MOVIE.

Unless you're some kind of hardcore fan of this series I strongly recommend finding something else to watch.

[Dukefrukem]

Yeh I see the 4/5 star rating too. They need to change that or have two different rating systems.

[Dukefrukem]

I watched Tremors 5.

2/10

Netflix has some serious studio shills rating and reviewing this pile of garbage. It's the only reason I can think of why Netflix believed I would give it a 4/5 score. My review from Letterboxd:

Netflix really wants me to watch this and even this review, I'm finding it hard to resist....

[MadMan]

Recent recommended films I've seen include The Final Terror and A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.

[Dukefrukem]

Tremors and Tremors 2 were on TV last night... I watched them both.

[megladon8]

We've watched a bunch of new (see: we haven't seen them before) stuff over the last week:

It Follows - phenomenal stuff. While I agree with much of what Tarantino had to say about mythological inconsistencies, it's a creepy-as-hell chiller that embraces modern sexual and gender sensibilities while also harkening back to the low-on-effects, high-on-atmosphere tropes of 70s and 80s horror. Honestly if it weren't for the friend's clamshell e-reader, I would've thought the movie took place in one of those decades.

Really chilling stuff, and I can't wait for a revisit.


We Are Still Here - a hit and a miss simultaneously. The atmosphere and low key scares are great early on, effectively penetrating its bubble of low budget cinematography. But about 2/3 through a kind of "possession" takes place that is quite silly, and the movie remains on the silly side for the rest of its duration. Has some great gore, though.


The Convent - this is one that I was recommended by MASSIVEminiature back in the RT days and never got around to. 12 odd years later and I came across a cheap copy. It's good, silly fun. Much of it plays almost like a remake of Night of the Demons, with a self aware "this is low budget crap, but we know it!" wink. It's really quite bad, but we had fun with its goofy ass.


Gravy - watched this one this evening. Reminded me a bit of Murder Party in its unique, socially awkward sense of humour. This one is written and directed by James Roday of "Psych" fame, and he plays a bit part. It has some very inspired bits (such as fantastic use of the Tears for Fears tune "Sowing the Seeds of Love", and an introductory scene with Sarah Silverman that really sets the tone for the film's weird, off key humour). But it occasionally goes off the rails with jokes that don't hit home, or musical cues that just plain don't work. That being said, it's got enough (very sick) laughs and a few great performances that make it worth recommending to horror comedy fans looking for something a bit out there.

[Scar]

I think Doug Jones has a crush on me.....

[MadMan]

Starry Eyes is good. I also liked Nightbreed the DC.

[D_Davis]

Anyone seen Bone Tomahawk yet?

Heard it's a proper horror/western, something that Lansdale might have written.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Anyone seen Bone Tomahawk yet?

Heard it's a proper horror/western, something that Lansdale might have written.

Someone at work just recommended it to me. Curiosity rising.

[Skitch]

The trailer rocked.

[Stay Puft]

I saw an amusing Canadian curio the other day: a film called The Mask (Eyes of Hell). It was billed as the first horror feature produced in Canada, the first 3D film produced in Canada, and the first Canadian film to be widely distributed in the United States (picked up by Warner Bros.). It was recently restored by the Toronto International Film Festival Group.

http://i.imgur.com/E6ICBY6.jpg

It's only really noteworthy for those historical reasons, but as I said it was still an amusing viewing experience. There's a quaint charm to those old "interactive" horror experiences. The first scene in the movie is a mask collector speaking directly to the audience about the story they are about to watch, and introducing the Tibetan death mask that will be the main subject. Before you enter the theatre you're given a pair of novelty 3D glasses which is your "mask" that you are instructed to put on whenever the main character in the story, a psychologist, puts on the death mask. The death mask has the power to hypnotize its user, so it's funny because whenever you're supposed to put on the 3D glasses the mask in the film starts chanting "PUT THE MASK ON NOW" as it hypnotizes the psychologist and compels him to put it on.

I'll admit, the first time you put on the mask is sort of amazing. The conceptualization of the "third dimension" is beyond what I was anticipating from the mediocre film I had been watching up until that point. Unfortunately, the novelty doesn't last. These scenes, while often compelling in and of themselves, don't end up going anywhere, so by the third time you enter that dimension it's kinda eh whatever and the movie is largely repeating itself. And the story doesn't really go anywhere or have a point, it just ends abruptly. It's a surprisingly compelling concept in search of something more than a marketing gimmick, but alas that's all it is. But I'm still glad I saw it, if that makes sense.

[Spun Lepton]

Bone Tomahawk -- 6/10
Decent enough story, looks and sounds good. My biggest complaint was the dialogue. It's like they were trying to mimic Deadwood or a Coen Bros. film and it wasn't working, because it wasn't the dialogue of well-read old-timey people, it was just the writer going through the thesaurus and replacing the words at the ends of sentences with Big Words. So, instead of saying, "Shut up," or "Shut your mouth," it was, "Shut your aperture." There were at least a dozen lines like this that just yanked me right out of the movie. The Old Man character had little to no screen presence, poorly cast. Matthew Fox also seemed terribly miscast.

Tales of Halloween -- 4/10
Pretty disappointing stuff. Some of the more humorous segments work. There's a segment that's essentially "Jason vs. The Evil Dead" that had me laughing, but outside of that, there's really not much here to recommend.

[dreamdead]

Rewatched Audition over Halloween since Sarah hadn't ever seen it before. It remains interestingly freaky in spots, especially in the feeding of the bagged victim. It wasn't quite as resonant this go-through, though. Some of the perverseness, such as the ballet-torturer, for example, is so sadistic that it doesn't quite have the ring of reality, which is a bit unfortunate.

But the finale is still effective in ratcheting up each level. And while the shifts in chronology during that sequence don't make much narrative sense, Miike's use of color in the latter half of the film is stellar stuff. All told, less than amazing now, but still good.

[MadMan]

My Halloween weekend was full of crappy Internet, booze and moving so no horror movies were viewed. Oh well.

[Irish]

Starz is streaming the first episode of Ash vs Evil Dead for free:

http://www.starz.com/originals/ashvsevildead/video/0481357cab164e38a5ca162c3a340a 67

[megladon8]

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead was bloody great.

Anyone looking for a return to the likes of early Raimi and Jackson should take note.

[D_Davis]

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead was bloody great.

Anyone looking for a return to the likes of early Raimi and Jackson should take note.

Good to hear. Been eyeing that for some time.

You know what wasn't great? It Follows. Woof! Man, what a bore. Absolutely nothing to it. I heard/read of some complaints about how it didn't follow through with its mythology, and I was like, WHAT mythology? There's nothing to it - nothing developed or explored at all.

[megladon8]

It Follows creeped the hell out of me.

[Skitch]

It Follows was a great two act movie. Just needed a third. Wyrmwood was awesome. When I heard "Road Warrior meets Dawn of the Dead" I thought there was no way it could live up to that, but it did.

[Scar]

Wyrmwood, is that one on Netflix? May have to crack a few and watch that one when I'm back home and take a break from Fallout.....

[D_Davis]

It Follows was a great two act movie. Just needed a third. Wyrmwood was awesome. When I heard "Road Warrior meets Dawn of the Dead" I thought there was no way it could live up to that, but it did.

I'll concede that it was a great one-act movie. Needed a second and third act.

[megladon8]

Wyrmwood, is that one on Netflix? May have to crack a few and watch that one when I'm back home and take a break from Fallout.....


Don't know, sorry. We saw it for $11 and bought it.

[Skitch]

Wyrmwood, is that one on Netflix? May have to crack a few and watch that one when I'm back home and take a break from Fallout.....

It is.

[megladon8]

"A Girl Walls Home Alone at Night" was phenomenal. A pop culture shotgun blast - horror, western, film noir, religion from all parts of the world, all tied together in a story of feminism and humanism. An incredible soundtrack, striking visuals and beautiful performances.

Outstanding stuff.

[MadMan]

"A Girl Walls Home Alone at Night" was phenomenal. A pop culture shotgun blast - horror, western, film noir, religion from all parts of the world, all tied together in a story of feminism and humanism. An incredible soundtrack, striking visuals and beautiful performances.

Outstanding stuff.One of the best films I watched for my Horrorfest. Outstanding and surprisingly creepy, too. I want a double bill of it and Only Lovers Left Alive.

[Grouchy]

Yeah? Really? I saw it as a competent quasi-student film and nothing else.

[Irish]

Can I get some ratings, ranking, and lists around the Friday the 13th films?

A certain loudmouth critic burned a thousand words recently praising the franchise's "consistency." He called Part VI: Jason Lives "the best on the series" and a "legitimately great film."

Pretty sure that's wrong.

[Scar]

Can I get some ratings, ranking, and lists around the Friday the 13th films?

A certain loudmouth critic burned a thousand words recently praising the franchise's "consistency." He called Part VI: Jason Lives "the best on the series" and a "legitimately great film."

Pretty sure that's wrong.

I find VI to be pretty hilarious, but that one and VII were neutered by the MPAA.
X has some inventive kills, and the remake ain't half bad.
But overall, they're all rather sub par films.

[Scar]

If I had to watch a Friday the 13th movie, I'd go with:
VI for hilarity, its somewhat tongue in cheek
VII for Kane Hodder as Jason, bringing more physicallity to the roll
X for some of the kills
II for nostalgia
IV for Corey Feldman, and Crispin Glover Dancing
Freddy vs Jason for decent entertainment
The remake for a barely decent slasher movie with one helluva gratuitous sex scene

[Scar]

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/11006407_10153705367766703_905 6710329578618779_n.jpg?oh=7e20 190552ceeb45cc8fd5f41d7f7e2e&oe=56F9B6DA

[D_Davis]

Jason X and Freddy vs Jason are the only ones that I watch anymore.

[D_Davis]

That's a great pic, Scar.

[Irish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtE3pS6LtTY

Anguish. Releases December 18.

This trailer freaked me out.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Wish I enjoyed "Wyrmwood" as much as you guys, but I couldn't get into it. Flick wasn't a disaster or anything, but I was bored of its Raimi/Jackson karaoke by the end.

Goddamnit, when you have a character who can mind control zombies, it is your duty to not end your story with a protracted fistfight between two other people.

Also, just finished "Last Shift." Not bad, until the tropes take over in the back half. Might be worth it on a rainy day.

[Dukefrukem]

I keep hearing good things about Last Shift. I need to watch it before it leaves Netflix.

[Ezee E]

Hmm... Enjoyable horror of the year is probably It Follows, but what's truly the best horror movie of the year? Goodnight Mommy. Whoa.

[MadMan]

Yeah? Really? I saw it as a competent quasi-student film and nothing else.Well it was one hell of a student film then.

Jason series:
FVJ-The bomb yo
6-Awesome
4-pretty sweet
2-Creepy
1-Jump scares rock
7-Carrie fights Jason
5-Trashy good time
Remake-Stupid yet I was entertained
3-Mixed bag
8-Awful but watchable
9-Bad execution
10-I didn't laugh

[TGM]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL-MRrVm3xQ&feature=youtu.be&a

[MadMan]

Good video aside from the guy dismissing the first two F13th films and not giving Part 4 really any love or mention. Also Jason X is awful.

[Irish]

Last night I stayed up way too late watching The Green Inferno, which sucked. (I mean, it's Eli Roth so I don't know what I was expecting there).

Woke up in a bad mood. What's the very first thing I see when I get online today?

Brian Fucking Collins, Badass Digest: "WHY I APPRECIATE THE GREEN INFERNO (http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/01/05/collins-crypt-why-i-appreciate-the-green-inferno)."

[megladon8]

Jen and I have been marathoning Asian horrors. Man, the J-horrors of the early 2000s do not hold up at all. Even the best of them are trite and predictable now.

I attribute this almost entirely to how over saturated the film scene became by halfway through the decade. Even the titles that were innovative and frightening now seem played out.

Very disappointing to see some old favorites just fizzle out now.

[Dukefrukem]

Like the Ju ons and Dark Waters? Yeh I can get behind that.

[D_Davis]

Jen and I have been marathoning Asian horrors. Man, the J-horrors of the early 2000s do not hold up at all. Even the best of them are trite and predictable now.

I attribute this almost entirely to how over saturated the film scene became by halfway through the decade. Even the titles that were innovative and frightening now seem played out.

Very disappointing to see some old favorites just fizzle out now.

I could entertain and/or make the argument that, like the giallos, most (I'm talking 99%) of the J/A-Horror stuff wasn't very good at all, but at the time it was something new and different and so it was appealing.

[megladon8]

Yeah but I would then argue that many of the giallos have lasting appeal due in large part to their incredible stylistics. Many giallos and Italian horror are in Jen and i's "regular rotation" of movies. They're still great fun to watch.

The J-horrors are, however, completely devoid of style for the most part. Ugly to look at, poorly written, and now devoid of scares. Not much to make me want to keep coming back.

The only exception(s) we've encountered have been Kurosawa's films.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yeah but I would then argue that many of the giallos have lasting appeal due in large part to their incredible stylistics. Many giallos and Italian horror are in Jen and i's "regular rotation" of movies. They're still great fun to watch.

The J-horrors are, however, completely devoid of style for the most part. Ugly to look at, poorly written, and now devoid of scares. Not much to make me want to keep coming back.

The only exception(s) we've encountered have been Kurosawa's films.

Hah, I was going to float Kurosawa in response to your initial post, but you beat me to it.

Still, there's not much pulling me back to Ringu, Ju-On, The Eye, Dark Water, etc. There's style to a degree, but they all seem like a sort of samey pulpy blob of wet yurei and pensive close-ups and shadowed corridors.

[Skitch]

Only a few stand above. A Tale of Two Sisters, Pulse/Kairo, Marebito...

[megladon8]

We're going to watch A Tale of two Sisters this weekend. The first viewing of that was one of the most frightening movie experiences of my life. I hope it holds up.

[D_Davis]

I think they have a very Japanese style, for the most part.

The Kurosawa films are mostly great, and there is the weird stuff like Evil Dead Trap, Organ, Stacy, Meatball Machine, Tokyo Gore Police. I'm sure there are at least a couple dozen J-horror films that I could still watch and like.

[Dukefrukem]

We're going to watch A Tale of two Sisters this weekend. The first viewing of that was one of the most frightening movie experiences of my life. I hope it holds up.

Agreed. I think RT Axis recommended that to me. May have been Jenn.

[Skitch]

Agreed. I think RT Axis recommended that to me. May have been Jenn.

Or me. I'm a massive pusher of that flick.

[Dukefrukem]

Uh oh. The title of this thread has "tits" it.

[Russ]

I Am a Ghost (H.P. Mendoza, 2012) ***/****

Boy, this was a real pleasant surprise. Anna Ishida puts on practically a one-person show as the titular ghost in this ultra-low budget (only 10K!) indie suspense/horror film. She lives out a string of memories, unaware of her existence as a spirit, until she is contacted by a medium who has been hired to reach out to her and ultimately guide her in passing over to "the next place".

This is such a unique film, and an unexpectedly scary one due to a revelatory twist uncovered by the psychic. It is, at the beginning, slow and repetitive, but it's also engaging and intelligent. It's the Jeanne Dielman of ghost stories.

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff324/astrojester/596323d8-d6ac-4974-8504-fa6472f333fc_zpsljvwg0kn.jpg

You should add this one to your watch list. Check out this spoiler-free trailer:


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

[MadMan]

I'm close to finishing my review backlogs. So close. I also watched and liked Hellraiser II last night.

[megladon8]

So we watched a few new horrors over the last days:

The Long Hair of Death - this is "lost" / under seen Italian gothic horror from the 60s. It's no Black Sunday, but it's certainly a good film. It doesn't full deliver on the promise of its initial set up, and it features one of the most stupidly convoluted murder plots I've ever seen. But it does feature some great Bava-estus imagery, and an unsettling ending. Also some surprisingly frank depictions of sex and rape.

The Hallow - this Irish horror from last year is wonderfully paced and beautifully photographed, but is just missing some intangible "something" to keep it from greatness. Perhaps it's the muddled and vague logic of the monsters (which look fantastic and are quite creepy). Perhaps it's the frustratingly cliched "dumb horror movie choices" that characters occasionally make. I don't know. It's good and well worth a watch for monster movie fans. Don't except the second coming and you should enjoy it.

The Final Girls - this one had some schmaltzy emotional stuff in it that was a tad distracting, but otherwise was a really good, fun, and very funny deconstruction of 80s slashers. Malin Ackerman is a little hard to believe as a mom pushing 50, and again, the schmaltzy heart strong tugging moments get a little much towards the end, but damn is the movie funny. Also love it's absolute refusal to have pointless nudity.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Hush, on Netflix, from Mike Flanagan, director of Absentia and Oculus.

...eh. I'm not a fan of home invasion flicks in general, so I'm not the best audience, but ehhhh. Competent, for sure, but the film could've toyed with the core idea of her being deaf/mute a lot more (it always comes back to your standard cat/mouse shenanigans), and it didn't feel like there was a story here. The villain's just a person-hunting shithead, and the heroine's experiences don't seem to press against who she is prior to the terror. Apart from the most basic "development" from fearful mouse to warrior woman. One very clever scene offers us insight into her exploring her options. Another one relies on the simple tension of walking along a roof.

I mean, Stephen King tweeted that this was in the same league as Wait Until Dark, and no way, it's unformed Wait Until Dark, before someone double-checked the recipe, added the missing ingredients, and popped it in the oven.

[megladon8]

Jen wants to check that one out, and I'm sure we will. We really liked both Absentia and Oculus.

[Dukefrukem]

Oculus is great. Need to check out both of those.

[Skitch]

Stephen King loves Mick Garris directed versions of Stephen King books, so I dont put much weight on his film opinions. :D

[megladon8]

So Paul Naschy has somewhat of a legendary status among horror hounds. He has dozens of films from the 70s and 80s that have huge cult followings, and I have always been curious to see what all the fuss was about.

Yesterday we watched Curse of the Devil, which is widely considered one of his best.

And...man, that was awful.

It wasn't the poor dubbing or pink paint blood (I'm a big Italian horror fan so that wouldn't bug me anyways). What bothered me the most was how incoherent it was. Characters jumped around between scenes and settings with no rhyme or reason. I have no idea what kind of timeline the story took place across, settings and time of day would change between shots but it was apparently the same scene/conversation.

It was truly awful stuff that left me confused, not only about what the hell happened in the movie, but also why so many hold this in such high regard.

[Dukefrukem]

Finally.


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

[Irish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsf6ZAnPpUE&feature=youtu.be

Pretty much everything you could want from Ash.

[Morris Schæffer]

Lights Out is getting some really strong reviews. It seemed run of the mill going by the trailer.

[Dukefrukem]

WTF is this shit????

752926117191757824

[dreamdead]

So, Candyman. Not as much Tony Todd as I was expecting. Better acting than I expected--really cool commentary on Chicagoland issues of race and class, especially once I realize that this wasn't Barker's original location. Awesome Philip Glass score. Way more casual smoking and misogyny, leering, and sexual assault threats than initially anticipated. It felt appropriate in its handling, even if it didn't always do more than record the existence of these issues. Cool use of the wrong man archetype to get at issues. This was, in short, really pretty good, even if some editing and budget issues keep it all from being exemplary.

Are either of the sequels any good or was this a once-off in terms of quality?

[megladon8]

I've actually not seen any of the sequels, but I haven't heard much kindness directed towards them.

Candyman is one I wish I could have seen in the theatre. Apparently the sound of his voice was just nutso insane.

[transmogrifier]

The last three horror movies I have seen (in the last four days, so it sticks out) have ALL featured the protagonist getting the upper-hand on the bad guy by knocking them out. But then they just leave them there to dilly-dally around doing some convenient plotty shit with their back turned so that the said bad guy can wake up and "surprise" everyone by gaining back the advantage.

I thought this cliche would have died at the hands of Scream, but it's still here, as corny and telegraphed as ever. It needs to die.

[Dead & Messed Up]

The last three horror movies I have seen (in the last four days, so it sticks out) have ALL featured the protagonist getting the upper-hand on the bad guy by knocking them out. But then they just leave them there to dilly-dally around doing some convenient plotty shit with their back turned so that the said bad guy can wake up and "surprise" everyone by gaining back the advantage.

I thought this cliche would have died at the hands of Scream, but it's still here, as corny and telegraphed as ever. It needs to die.

Seriously. I remember that when I saw that in Wolf Creek, I got up and ejected the disc and went on with my life.

[MadMan]

Horrorfest 2016: A New Beginning (https://madman731.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/horrorfest-2016-a-new-beginning/)

[Skitch]

I'm on track for the month. Will release the list on when its over.

[MadMan]

Nice. I fell behind yet I'll still view some this week.

[transmogrifier]

I'm surprised you took to You're Next and didn't care for Triangle. I found the former fun in concept / repetitive in execution, and I thought the latter was an almost unbearably sad thriller by the end. Not that they're in direct competition or anything.

Haven't seen anything new recently. I assume you've given Lake Mungo a try.

A year and a half later, I finally watched Lake Mungo.

And it was awesome. Most unsettling movie I have seen in a while - it nails the feeling of grief and ties it to the incomprehensibility of death, and yet does not really have any scare scenes bar one, and even that is minor. Brilliantly realised.

[Dead & Messed Up]

A year and a half later, I finally watched Lake Mungo.

And it was awesome. Most unsettling movie I have seen in a while - it nails the feeling of grief and ties it to the incomprehensibility of death, and yet does not really have any scare scenes bar one, and even that is minor. Brilliantly realised.

Hey, all right! Glad you enjoyed it. It's one of my favorites of recent years.

[megladon8]

Yeah that movie is creepy as hell, while also being deeply sad.

[Ezee E]

Has there been any discussion of Eyes of My Mother yet?

[megladon8]

The Autopsy of Jane Doe was very good.

Highly recommended.

[Scar]

The Autopsy of Jane Doe was very good.

Highly recommended.

I certainly agree.

I strongly recommend going into it as blind as possible.

[megladon8]

Yes completely agree there.

I haven't even seen the trailers. I can imagine they would give away too much.

[transmogrifier]

Rammbock: Berlin Undead is terrible. Dull characters, no world-building, no set pieces, no coherent sense of atmosphere building - just a complete bore.

[Russ]

Please forgive if this has already been brought up, but has anyone heard about this 15 years-in-the-making film from Andrew Getty (grandson of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty)? Apparently, Andrew was a disturbed individual and he passed away (at age 47 from a hemorrhaging ulcer related to a history of recreational crystal meth use) just before his first, and only, film was released.

His story was written up in The Guardian (https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/14/the-evil-within-horror-movie-andrew-getty-millionaire-meth)

I'll be seeing The Evil Within soon. Looks demented as hell.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Ii4AaiBKI

[Scar]

Hell House LLC was alright, especially for a found footage flick.

[megladon8]

We watched The Wailing last night. Not sure how I feel about it.

Technically superb. Very unsettling and creepy moments.

But I thought it jumped back and forth on motivations a few too many times, and showed some things earlier on that seemed to contradict the finale.

[megladon8]

Updated my signature for the first time in almost a year. Have seen some decent horror flicks lately (all first time viewings)...

Wishmaster - can't believe I hadn't seen this one til now. I think I always (wrongly) thought it was one of the tame PG-13 post-Scream crap fests that came out in the late 90s. I mean, for all intents and purposes it's a bad movie. Acting, script, everything is cheap and bad. The sets look like they were meant for a grade school play. But the practical effects and inventive kills make it a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Andrew Divoff's incredibly weird performance is also strangely mesmerizing. Bad but fun.

Wishmaster 2 - a significant step down. Still a few fun, inventive kills and some good effects, and the idea of having the Djinn go to prison then a casino was inspired. But the lead actress is awful (even worse than be first's), and the budget constraints of DTV certainly begin to show as we get much less of the great gore and monster effects. What we do get is still well done, and Divoff is weird as ever, but yeah, a definite decline.

The Shallows - very tense. A little too male-gazey at times (do we need to constantly have these Michael Bay-esque slow-mo spinning shots of Blake Lively's ass and cleavage?), but the overall look of the film is very sharp and it builds genuine, earned tension. Some bad CGI takes away from the ending landing 100% successfully, and it at times can't seem to decide if this is a realistic shark attack or a heightened Deep Blue Sea shark scenario (jumping onto the rocks made me eyes roll), but Lively carries it all well. And like I said, tense!

Wishmaster 3 - awful. A waste of time.

Hush - another super tense one. Loved how it never pushed the boundaries of reality - she never becomes super woman, and he (the attacker) isn't inhumanly strong or everywhere at once. A lean, effective home invasion flick. Also appreciated that it showed his cruelty and menace without going overboard and making me uncomfortable (ala The Strangers). A bit contrived towards the end, but it maintains tension from start to finish, and both leads played their roles very well.

[megladon8]

So this Netflix horror flick The Windmill has been getting some positive buzz.

We watched it last night. Not good.

Derivative, boring.

Interesting concept and slasher killer idea. Terrible, rote execution.

[Skitch]

From horror sites? I don't trust horror sites at all. I've been burned way too many times.

[Dukefrukem]

The only horror anything I trust is Rue Morgue. Which I'm surprised you don't follow Meg considering their Canadian roots.

[Scar]

I shut Rings off after five minutes.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Updated my signature for the first time in almost a year. Have seen some decent horror flicks lately (all first time viewings)...

Wishmaster - can't believe I hadn't seen this one til now. I think I always (wrongly) thought it was one of the tame PG-13 post-Scream crap fests that came out in the late 90s.

Quick thing: there actually weren't any tame PG-13 post-Scream horror films, with the possible exception of The Skulls. That's a weirdly persistent meme that feels true because the lead actors were so frequently from youth-targeted TV soaps like Party of Five, Dawson's Creek, My So-Called Life, and Buffy, but nope, nearly all of them, R and frequently hard-R to match the gore of Scream.

Anyway, good thoughts on the Wishmasters, I haven't seen them but should give the first one a try now!

[megladon8]

Hey that's something else - thanks for pointing that out, DaMU!

Interesting that that's apparently a common misconception. I would have sworn that titles like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend were PG-13. Must be a combination of what you mentioned about the actors, and the fact that I saw all these flicks when I was like 12.

[Dukefrukem]

Quick thing: there actually weren't any tame PG-13 post-Scream horror films, with the possible exception of The Skulls. That's a weirdly persistent meme that feels true because the lead actors were so frequently from youth-targeted TV soaps like Party of Five, Dawson's Creek, My So-Called Life, and Buffy, but nope, nearly all of them, R and frequently hard-R to match the gore of Scream.

Anyway, good thoughts on the Wishmasters, I haven't seen them but should give the first one a try now!

Wow. I never realized that marketing idea until now.

[megladon8]

So we marathoned all 7 Saw movies over the last couple of days. We are Horror hounds who simply MUST own all the series' we can, and when this came up at $12 on BluRay we had to pull the trigger.

I was never particularly taken with the first. I think my biggest point of contention was when Whannell (maybe in order to push the marketing of the mystery, who knows) claimed that he was genuinely shocked when filming the big twist/reveal at the end. Being that he was the writer, I found that hard to believe.

Anyways, the series can't keep its timeline intact to save its life. By the second entry it had already shit itself, and by the third I was halfway to trying to convince myself to take each film as a stand-alone story, because all of the connections to films prior and coming just get dumber and dumber.

By the fifth, I've given up trying to make sense of anything and at this point I am just soaking it all in, feeling my IQ drop (it doesn't have far to go to begin with, so this is concerning), and lusting after Betsy Russell.

But then Saw 7 / Saw 3D / Saw The (Not So Final as of This Year) Chapter rolls around, and it pulls a Simple Jack and goes full retard.

Never, EVER go full retard.

[Ivan Drago]

You know a franchise is terrible when its collection of seven movies only costs $12.

[Dukefrukem]

Now I want to rewatch all of the Saw movies. Thanks guys

[Morris Schæffer]

You know a franchise is terrible when its collection of seven movies only costs $12.

Ain't that the truth.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/Lightstorm/police.png

[Morris Schæffer]

Ok, this is unexpected. The second Conjuring spin-off based on creepy doll Annabelle is of to a rollicking start critics-wise.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/annabelle_creation

[Ivan Drago]

Sleepaway Camp is glorious 80's camp. 'Nuff said.

[Ezee E]

Ok, this is unexpected. The second Conjuring spin-off based on creepy doll Annabelle is of to a rollicking start critics-wise.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/annabelle_creation

Looked cliche, but fun.

[Grouchy]

Sleepaway Camp is glorious 80's camp. 'Nuff said.
Agreed. One of the most bizarre twist endings ever as well.

I've always wanted to see the sequel just because it's called Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers. The subtitle is hilarious to me for some reason.

[Skitch]

Agreed. One of the most bizarre twist endings ever as well.

I've always wanted to see the sequel just because it's called Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers. The subtitle is hilarious to me for some reason.

I watched two sequels. They were awful and lacked the insanity of the first.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Ok, this is unexpected. The second Conjuring spin-off based on creepy doll Annabelle is of to a rollicking start critics-wise.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/annabelle_creation

Wow, this is like when Flanagan took the reigns for the Ouija prequel and shocked everyone with a decent horror film. We'll see if the good ratings last, but Annabelle: Before the Doll director David Sandberg did a solid base hit with Lights Out, so it's possible.

[megladon8]

Blair Witch wasn't lame.

Even more disappointing is that it was directed by Adam Wingard, who had batted 2 for 2 up to this point.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say it could just be a case of a completely unnecessary sequel to a movie that had very little to offer but a (at the time, admittedly effective) gimmick.

Still excited for Wingard's Godzilla.

[megladon8]

Really enjoyed this indie Canadian flick called Man Vs.

Best to go into it knowing as little as possible, so I'll leave it at this - a dude has a Survivorman type show and goes out into the Canadian wilderness to film a new episode, and crazy weird stuff starts happening.

It took old ideas and did new things with them, staying fresh and intriguing right to the end.

Only major gripe was some shoddy CGI towards the end, definitely due to a low-as-heck budget.

But the lead carries it very well (which says a lot, as it's 90% a one man show), and it has some great tension.

Dug it a lot.

[Peng]

The Mummy (1932)

One of the world-record fastest romances ever drags down the film hard in its unconvincing attempt to counterbalance Karloff's force of "evil". That evil is so hauntingly acted and reasonably nuanced in its considered history that the romance really isn't needed. Nevertheless, some fluid camerawork and great make-up add to Karloff's performance and the film's superb atmosphere wonderfully. And that prologue is next-level in its absolute silence of dread. 6.5/10

Also, the non-Mummy male lead kinda reminds me of Jon Hamm often in certain angles.

[D_Davis]

Anyone see Beyond the Gates (2016)?

[Skitch]

I did .I thought it was a fun little low budget romp.

[D_Davis]

I did .I thought it was a fun little low budget romp.

Cool. Captures that 90s vibe? Looks fun.

Barbara Crampton grabbed my interest.

[megladon8]

They Look Like People was something else.

Very good movie. Great performances, and hot damn is it creepy.

[Skitch]

Cool. Captures that 90s vibe? Looks fun.

Barbara Crampton grabbed my interest.

Yep. Mostly set in a defunct VHS store as two brothers break it up for sale after their father disappears. They find a key to his back office and discover one of those VHS board games. Crampton is the woman on the tv game. Some good creepy moments, some good funny gory bits, doesn't overstay its welcome. You might not like it (and I'd understand) but if felt good to me for a low budget rando.

[D_Davis]

Death Note (2017 - Netflix) - yuk.

I have no special feelings towards the original anime, and don't mind so much that they chose to set the film in America, with a largely American cast. However, the film is just not good. It's a total mess. Also, the actor who plays 'L' is one of the worst actors I've ever seen.

[Dukefrukem]

[I] the actor who plays 'L' is one of the worst actors I've ever seen.

Yeh I thought he was pretty terrible too. My notes from Letterboxd.

Death Note
★★½ Watched 26 Aug, 2017
I wouldn't be bringing up the lack of realism about a movie with a demon that kills people when you write a name in a book- but would a principal really be that dense to ignore the fact that a student was on the ground unconscious? Or a teacher overlooking this observation to rummage around the student's things that are sprawled out onto the floor? Anyway- Pacing is off here. There's no sense of time. Acting of Lakeith Stanfield is questionable. Mia's motives are way off at times. The whole unknown name subplot was dumb. Overall- this was just OK. Willem Dafoe's voice is perfect for Ryuk.

[D_Davis]

There's no sense of time.

This was a huge problem. At one point, it felt like months or years should have passed in the film, and yet it appears that only a few days passed.

[megladon8]

Everyone here must check out They Look Like People.

Incredible stuff. Very unnerving, nightmarish.

[Skitch]

Nearly loved Wingards Death Note. 8.5/10. Seems to be a disconnect between fans of the anime and people that haven't seen anime. I'm surprised how much hate I've seen online.

[D_Davis]

The first death scene was pretty cool.

[transmogrifier]

Nearly loved Wingards Death Note. 8.5/10. Seems to be a disconnect between fans of the anime and people that haven't seen anime. I'm surprised how much hate I've seen online.

As a Death Note neophyte, I thought it was crap.

[megladon8]

Have never seen the anime.

Thought it had some neat ideas but very mixed execution, and the lead was unlikeable and uncharismatic.

L was cool.

Ryuk was super nifty but annoyingly absent.

Enjoyed the eclectic music choices.

Where did you guys get that it took place over just a few days? Did I miss something there? I got the feeling this was a weeks-to-months ordeal.

[D_Davis]

Where did you guys get that it took place over just a few days? Did I miss something there? I got the feeling this was a weeks-to-months ordeal.

That's one of my main issues with the film. The sense of time and place is almost completely absent. While months or maybe years should have passed in the film, it only feels like a few days worth of time.

[megladon8]

Yep, I'm with Irish.

A failed experiment, maybe, but with ambition and pizzazz that made it charming and interesting through to the end.

I wanted to know more, which was frustrating but also a compliment to Wingard and co. for still getting something halfway decent when several aspects fell short.

[Skitch]

When I first heard the premise, I thought it was kinda silly. Dumb. But the movie builds so many interesting details around it -- like the cult of Kira, the backstory around L -- that I wish Wingard had more time to explore it all. Shit, they could have done 40 minutes just on all the "rules" listed in the book, and I would have loved that.

It IS silly and dumb. That's why this adaptation was so fun because it was executed so over-the-top and playful.

I've only seen the two live-action Japanese movies, they have plenty more to mine.

Edit: I assumed it was weeks/months as well. That's what the montage of Kira's worldwide rise felt like. But, it could've just as easily been a week. Mass murders/suicides all spouting one name all across the globe...that news story would spread very quickly.

[megladon8]

Gotta say I disagree with the timeline problems others have aired.

At no point felt confused about how much time had passed.

[Skitch]

Me either. I never even thought about it.

[D_Davis]

Time and place are two things I pay a lot of attention to in movies. I like when there is an attention to detail that cements of film in a place, and also shows a passage of time, no matter how long or brief.

[Dukefrukem]

Anyone see this by any chance?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=64&v=YQEya0txuhI

[megladon8]

Looks intriguing, but "Science Fiction Volume One"? Huh?

[TGM]

Gotta say I disagree with the timeline problems others have aired.

At no point felt confused about how much time had passed.

Same.

[TGM]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm2lRt5uz6c

[Devlin]

Watched Bram Stoker's Dracula (aka Dan Curtis' Dracula), a 1974 television film with Jack Palance as the Count. Surprisingly effective, with Palance delivering a somewhat subdued performance. Of course several liberties have been taken with the source material, and in fact it is a very streamlined production focusing mostly on Dr. Van Helsing and Arthur Holmwood's attempts to track down and destroy the vampire following the death of Arthur's fiancé, Lucy. The book's basic structure is there, but many elements have been eliminated (including Renfield and Dr. Seward's mental hospital). for a 70's TV movie it is also surprisingly theatrical looking thanks to the cinematography of Oswald Morris. If you like the Hammer style of gothic horror, then this is an easy recommendation.

[megladon8]

Very cool, thanks Devlin. It's always been in my radar but now I'll make a point of seeing it.

It and the Frank Langella version are two visions of the Count that I have yet to check out.

[Devlin]

The Frank Langella version is one of my favorite adaptations. Very stylish, with a great cast. It also has a terrific score by John Williams (very underrated, and rarely mentioned when his body of work is discussed in the media).

[megladon8]

I shall have to see that one too!

[megladon8]

How about the version with Louis Jordan? Anyone seen that one?

I've heard it referred to as the most faithful to the source material.

[megladon8]

How about the version with Louis Jordan? Anyone seen that one?

I've heard it referred to as the most faithful to the source material.

[Peng]

908760094657019904

This is maybe a franchise with the most disregard for continuity I have ever seen ("OK we'll just ignore that entry, also that, and that one too"). I only count them a trilogy in my mind though: Halloween, Halloween II and H20.

[Dukefrukem]

I just re-watched the franchise a few months ago; Here were my ratings

1. Halloween (2007) ★★★★
2. Halloween: H20 ★★★½
3. Halloween III: Season of the Witch ★★★
4. Halloween ★★½
5. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers ★★½
6. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers ★★½
7. Halloween II ★★
8. Halloween: Resurrection ★
9 Halloween II (2009) ★
10. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers ½

Here were my notes for #4

A direct sequel from Carpenter's- and although they build on the Michael Myers legend, and showcase his pure evil power, the script is super weak and boring. Halloween 2 does however, showcase THE BEST SET OF BREASTS EVER TO GRACE THE SILVER SCREEN, and the gore is a step up from its predecessor, but I've never heard of a hospital with a staff of 2 and a patient of 3. I also find it hilarious at the end of the movie, they put her into another ambulance, presumably to take her to another hospital that actually has doctors.

Gore-5/10
Acting-5/10
Nudity-10/10 (hot tub scene)
Story-6/10
Cheese-2/10
Overall Score=5
-----------------------------
So Bad It's Amazing Factor(0/10)

[megladon8]

Your rating for Carpenter's original makes baby Jesus cry.

[Dukefrukem]

Not a fan and I don't see it as good as most people make it out to be.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Hey, as long as you're not one of those weirdos who thinks Zombie's Halloween 2 is worth a damn.

;)

[D_Davis]

Not a fan and I don't see it as good as most people make it out to be.

Same here.

Zombie's Halloween is the best of the franchise.

[Skitch]

Hey, as long as you're not one of those weirdos who thinks Zombie's Halloween 2 is worth a damn.

;)

Heeeeey....

[Dukefrukem]

Letterboxd is really helpful in reminding me why I rated movies the way I did. Here's my review of Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

lol

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 to the next Halloween. 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. Also, 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.

Gore-3/10
Acting-5/10
Nudity-2/10 (1 sex scene, no nudity, 1 translucent shower curtain)
Story-0/10
Cheese-1/10
Overall Score=0
-----------------------------
So Bad It's Amazing Factor(0/10)

[Devlin]

How about the version with Louis Jordan? Anyone seen that one?

I've heard it referred to as the most faithful to the source material.

I've seen that one too, but it's been a long time. I remember it being very faithful to the novel. The main drawback is the production values. This was a BBC production from the 70's and has that tv video quality. Still, I remember enjoying it and would like to see it again.

[Devlin]

Your rating for Carpenter's original makes baby Jesus cry.

I agree.
I'm a huge fan of Carpenter's original (one of my all time favorite movies), but have no love for any of the sequels or remakes (and I've seen them all). Starting with Halloween II the filmmakers seemed to lose sight of what made the first film so special. The suspense was terribly minimized in favor of ramping up the gore factor to compete with such inferior products like Friday the 13th, and the addition of the "sister" subplot resulted in Michael Myers' mystique and level of fear for the audience being reduced. Unfortunately, the entire series after that used the "sister" plot as their lynchpin.
As for the Rob Zombie films, the less said the better. I just find them completely unwatchable.
With Carpenter and Curtis involved in the new film my interest is peaked, but I will approach this project with low, low expectations. Maybe I'll be surprised, but I'm not expecting much.

[megladon8]

I think H2 is better than Zombie's first.

But that's not saying a heck of a lot.

[Scar]

Put me in the camp of enjoying Zombie's Halloween flicks. I did not enjoy the second one initially, but it grew on my substantially. I never saw the theatrical version of the first, and have only seen the directors cut.


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[D_Davis]

The Zombie films are the only Halloween films in which Meyers is actually a terrifying presence. So good. Some of the only slasher films to actually scare me because of how brutal and powerful the antagonist is.

[Skitch]

Put me in the camp of enjoying Zombie's Halloween flicks. I did not enjoy the second one initially, but it grew on my substantially. I never saw the theatrical version of the first, and have only seen the directors cut.


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From my reports, H2 DC is utter shit. Theatrical is good. It needed edited.

[Grouchy]

The Zombie films are the only Halloween films in which Meyers is actually a terrifying presence. So good. Some of the only slasher films to actually scare me because of how brutal and powerful the antagonist is.
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/131/866/1307559619452.jpg

I'm with meg - H2 tried something interesting, but it was too little too late.

[Dukefrukem]

We are really splitting hairs here. None of the Halloween films are all that good to begin with.

[Skitch]

Yeah, the original is pretty overrated. I appreciate it for its time and all that, but ehh.

[Grouchy]

I disagree. I think the problem is that its influence is so vast that you only get to watch it after you already know the imitations by heart. And that's like watching The Shining after the Simpsons parody.

But it's a brilliant movie.

[Dukefrukem]

In the sense that it started the slasher phenomenon. Sure. It's a brilliant movie in the same vein that A Trip to the Moon is a brilliant movie.

[Grouchy]

Nah, it's also an example of masterful direction and cinematography. And the score is iconic.

Not that A Trip to the Moon isn't also very good, but a lot of water has gone under the bridge since 1902.

[Devlin]

I can see how a 40 year old movie can have a lesser impact in today's cinematic climate, especially one that has been imitated as much as Halloween (and to be fair, Halloween borrowed from other sources and just presented them in an original way). However, most films are a time capsule that represent the era in which they were made. Certainly films like Bonnie and Clyde and Jaws have had their concepts expanded upon, mainly due to technological advances, but they represent a tonal shift in cinematic ideals and style. Halloween is also one of these films that changed the way movies were made. Much of the reason for that is the craftsmanship involved in its creation. 1931's Frankenstein is like that too. It is doubtful that anyone today would be scared by it, but viewing it with the understanding of the sensibilities of the time it was made brings a true appreciation for what it accomplished.

[Peng]

Still feels like it still stands out so well even after all its influence (Friday the 13th is just almost as influential, but still dated can be surpassed by many with its template). Whereas most slashers consisted of several jump scares, Halloween to me feels as if it's one long, building, continuous jump scare that is so elegant in its execution and use of widescreen composition, which makes it really unlike those that followed.

[Dead & Messed Up]

This lack of love for the original Halloween is excuse my French a bunch of goshdamn nonsense.

[D_Davis]

I can respect it without wanting to spend the time to watch it again.

On any given day, I'd prefer to watch Halloween III over any film in the franchise.

[Grouchy]

Halloween III is a lot of fun.

The Zombie movies, however... I can see what he was trying to do by providing Mike Myers with backstory. I just don't think it worked.

[Skitch]

Grouchy I don't disagree with anything you've said...but I still don't feel the need to watch it more than once every ten years maybe.

[Grouchy]

Hahah ok it's not like I watch it every month or every year. I was just trying to defend it against the "overrated" charge.

I have to admit the two movies I've watched the most in my life are probably Die Hard and The Big Lebowski. When I was a kid it was Batman Returns and The Untouchables.

[Skitch]

Hahah ok it's not like I watch it every month or every year. I was just trying to defend it against the "overrated" charge.

I have to admit the two movies I've watched the most in my life are probably Die Hard and The Big Lebowski. When I was a kid it was Batman Returns and The Untouchables.

Fair enough. I'm not sure on timeline, but wasn't Italy already pumping out slashers like crazy by the time Halloween came out?

[Dukefrukem]

Die Hard is up there for most rewatches for me too. So would be Back to the Future and Army of Darkness. Ghostbusters too.

[Grouchy]

Fair enough. I'm not sure on timeline, but wasn't Italy already pumping out slashers like crazy by the time Halloween came out?
Yeah, Carpenter was definitively watching giallo films when he conceived of Halloween. But the two genres aren't exactly the same - for one thing, unmasking the killer (who is usually one amongst a group of suspects) is an unavoidable part of giallo plots. Most slashers don't make a big mystery of the killer's identity - the killer just represents an evil, almost supernatural force which is something that appears in Donald Pleasance's dialogue in Halloween.

Wikipedia says the first giallo film is The Girl Who Knew Too Much from 1963. I watched it years ago but I remember it being pretty great.

[Dead & Messed Up]

That's part of what makes Halloween Halloween. It's part giallo, part Psycho, part golem film.

[megladon8]

I found the original's Everyman version of Myers much more frightening than Zombie's Incredible-Hulk-with-a-mask.

That was goofy.

[Dukefrukem]

I found the original's Everyman version of Myers much more frightening than Zombie's Incredible-Hulk-with-a-mask.

That was goofy.


Please... In the original, he picked someone up by his throat and stapled him to the wall with a butcher knife.

Oh and then after doing that, he dresses up and pretends to be a ghost... now THAT is goofy.

[megladon8]

Nah, both of those moments were pretty chilling.

[Dukefrukem]

Your definition of goofy is goofy.

[megladon8]

"No! Mikey! I was good to you! I was good to you Mikey! Mikey!"

THAT was goofy.

[Devlin]

My issue with the Zombie films is not really his interpretation of the Michael Myers character, but with the total execution of story and style. It just doesn't work for me, and just seems to be an exercise in grim, distasteful excess. I'm not a fan of Zombie's directing style at all. The only movie of his that I've seen which I have any admiration for is The Devil's Rejects, and even then I can't say I liked the movie, only that I recognized that there was some thought and ingenuity involved. I think Zombie is capable of making a really good film. I just haven't seen it yet.
As for the idea that Carpenter's Myers is less threatening than Zombie's, I am in total disagreement. Zombie presented Myers as a hulking brute who announced himself with loud, aggressive overtures. Carpenter presents Myers a phantom (further indicated by him being listed in the credits as "The Shape") who is able to make himself practically invisible and only presents himself quickly and silently when he attacks. He also has a dark sense of humor. His stealing of his sister's tombstone and positioning it as he does. Dressing in the sheet as part of his terror tactic. In the original film Myers seems just as intent to invoke fear and terror as he is to kill. Zombie's Myers is more interested in the kill and how brutal he can be.
I will say I've only seen Zombie's version once, when it first came out, so I may only be remembering it the way I interpreted it then. But I have no interest in revisiting it.

[Grouchy]

Totally agreed, specially with your assessment of Zombie. He really should have explored further the moral ambiguity of Devil's Rejects instead of the messy style of 1000 Corpses.

[megladon8]

Great analysis of the two interpretations, Devlin.

Put into words beautifully why I find Carpenter's version of Myers so much more frightening.

Zombie's is like Michael Myers as seen through the mid-2000's torture porn lens - no thought put into making it frightening, simply an exercise in brutality and making the audience squirm.

I get that that type of thing has its audience. I'm just not a part of it.