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

[Dukefrukem]

All short films. It's hard to find all these movies nowadays. Most of these were from Netflix DVD but their selection is much smaller now. You might find many on Streaming but you'll probably have to subscribe to half a dozen streaming services.

A lot of them are free on youtube.

[Morris Schæffer]

Probably gonna settle for:

- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The 40th anniversary restoration which I got (steelbook) is supposed to be fantastic.
- Night of the Living Dead (Criterion bluray, amazing transfer too according to reviews)
- The Babadook

First 2 are rewatches, though I never saw these editions. Babadook I have never seen before.

I remember not being a great lover of Romero's movie. Admiration was certainly there, but I didn't find it particularly tense. Felt like a movie which did not fully transcend its low budget origins, but I still bought the Criterion so make of that what you will. So curious to see if I still feel like that.

[Dukefrukem]

Guys, can you think of any 'Kids talk to Ghosts Trope' in horror films? Or maybe parents find a drawing that their kids did and they are holding the hand of a ghost?

(outside of Sixth Sense and Poltergesit)

[Peng]

Mama (2013) fits as story, but I forgot if the film has specifically those scenes you mentioned.

[Dukefrukem]

I've confirmed yes thats one.

[Morris Schæffer]

The Devil's Backbone?

[Skitch]

The Frightners (perhaps not kids tho?), The Others, The Shining, Dark Water?, Stir of Echoes?, Amityville Horror?, The Messengers?

[Dukefrukem]

Confirmed Amityville Horror.

Not Frightners, The OThers,

Sorta: The Shining

The rest I need to look at.

[Skitch]

Confirmed Amityville Horror.

Not Frightners, The OThers,

Sorta: The Shining

The rest I need to look at.

Cool. I felt strongly about The Others but I haven't seen in many years. Wasn't there a scene where Nicole Kidman walks in room and kid is sitting there talking to old woman/assumed maid that then turned ghostly jump scare? I was thinking there was kid drawings in that one as well. I could totally be wrong.

[Morris Schæffer]

Was thinking of Others too. Boy that movie was An unexpected uppercut! Devastating.

[Dukefrukem]

Cool. I felt strongly about The Others but I haven't seen in many years. Wasn't there a scene where Nicole Kidman walks in room and kid is sitting there talking to old woman/assumed maid that then turned ghostly jump scare? I was thinking there was kid drawings in that one as well. I could totally be wrong.

She was just humming to herself playing near a candle. But I went back and looked, you're right. There's a scene early in the film where she draws people with a number, and that's how many times she's seen them.

[Skitch]

She was just humming to herself playing near a candle. But I went back and looked, you're right. There's a scene early in the film where she draws people with a number, and that's how many times she's seen them.

Ohhhh yes I remember now. I'm thinking of some movie that did a parody of the scene with Michael Jackson. Probably Scary Movie 14.

[megladon8]

Rewatched The Others earlier this year and...it does not hold up well at all.

Kidman gives a wonderfully frigid performance, but the movie is riddled with clichés and predictable as heck now.

[DFA1979]

I really liked The Others. More British ghost movies, please.

[Dukefrukem]

I was going to turn this into a Duke's List for Halloween, but as I'm wrapping up the TCM franchise, I'm pretty confident in my all-time slasher film rankings.

Thoughts and comments and omissions please.

https://letterboxd.com/dukefrukem/list/slasher-movies-ranked/

[Skitch]

- Glad The Burning made top ten.
- Final Destination 5, eh? I need to check that out.
- I recently watched all the Purge sequels. I never bothered because I didn't much like the first one. Turns out, all the sequels are better.
- I was surprised by Fantasy Island. Much more enjoyable that I expected. I wish they had gone off the rails R though.
- I need to watch more of them Leprechaun movies. First one was my first R rated movie I saw in theaters.

[megladon8]

Echo Skitch saying it's nice to see The Burning so high up.

But man, I will never understand your distaste for the original Halloween. That hurts me.

[Dukefrukem]

And likewise I will never understand that movie's praise. Excellent Carpenter score sure, but boy... the whole film is average at best. Zombie did it better.

[megladon8]

Rewatched Zombie's film last week and I couldn't possibly disagree more.

That movie is dumb, ugly, overlong, terrible in just about every way a movie can be.

Zombie's worst that I've seen.

[Skitch]

Zombie's take is blech. Carpenter's is meh.

H3 > both

[DFA1979]

You all are crazy. Carpenter's Halloween rules. I liked Zombie's take but his second movie was more interesting. H3 is a blast.

[Skitch]

You all are crazy. Carpenter's Halloween rules. I liked Zombie's take but his second movie was more interesting. H3 is a blast.
Zombie's H2 is money. Original H2 is sweet too. I've never really fell in love of that series. I respect Carpenter's original...because that was a time and place issue. Italians had the slasher market, it was one of the groundbreakers bringing it to America.

Similarly, Enter the Dragon and Akira for their respective genres.

[DFA1979]

So far I am planning to go through my horror Criterions for Halloween weekend. They are:

The Phantom Carriage (first viewing)
Carnival of Souls (love it)
Night of the Living Dead (favorite!)
Sisters (been a while, awesome)
Dressed To Kill (wahoo!)

At least that I can remember.

[Scar]

I respect the original Halloween, but its not something I'd put in rotation, or upgrade in my movie collection.

I thoroughly enjoy Zombie's Halloween, and have only seen the director's cut. I disliked Zombie's H2 the first go around, but it has seriously grown on me.

[megladon8]

I respect the original Halloween, but its not something I'd put in rotation, or upgrade in my movie collection.

I thoroughly enjoy Zombie's Halloween, and have only seen the director's cut. I disliked Zombie's H2 the first go around, but it has seriously grown on me.

H2 > H1

I've always found Michael Hulk Myers to be really silly. Instead of making him more intimidating, it makes him unintentionally funny. Seeing him lumber down the hallways in the psych ward with one of his stupid cardboard masks on, like 8 feet tall and solid muscle despite the fact that he's in solitary confinement and has no access to any exercise equipment or even a mirror.

And having his back story be every serial killer cliché thrown into a blender and delivered with such. Awful. Dialogue. Good lord the movie sounds like it was written by a 13 year old who just watched Kill Bill.

Acting is awful across the board, the movie is ugly to look at, goes on 30 minutes longer than its welcome...

I cannot see why so many here prefer it to the original.

It's "the prequels are better than the OT" level of craziness.

[Skitch]

H2 > H1

I've always found Michael Hulk Myers to be really silly. Instead of making him more intimidating, it makes him unintentionally funny. Seeing him lumber down the hallways in the psych ward with one of his stupid cardboard masks on, like 8 feet tall and solid muscle despite the fact that he's in solitary confinement and has no access to any exercise equipment or even a mirror.

And having his back story be every serial killer cliché thrown into a blender and delivered with such. Awful. Dialogue. Good lord the movie sounds like it was written by a 13 year old who just watched Kill Bill.

Acting is awful across the board, the movie is ugly to look at, goes on 30 minutes longer than its welcome...

I cannot see why so many here prefer it to the original.


It's "the prequels are better than the OT" level of craziness.

If I prefer it to the original, its barely, and not nearly familiar enough with either to back that opinion up.

Edit: I am presuming we're talking about Carpenter's.

[megladon8]

Yep. Carpenter's original Halloween is still the definitive slasher. Still hasn't been bested.

[Dukefrukem]

H2 received so much controversy about the reception that BloodyDisgusting banned discussion about it on their forums.

It's very clear Zombie was uninspired for the sequel and only did it because he was contractually obligated.

[megladon8]

H2 received so much controversy about the reception that BloodyDisgusting banned discussion about it on their forums.

It's very clear Zombie was uninspired for the sequel and only did it because he was contractually obligated.

See, I've read that and even heard him say it himself, but I thought 2 was much more original than the first. Not always successful, but at least it tried to do something different.

And what happened on BD about it? I don't remember that.

[Dukefrukem]

I just remember an announcement on their old BD forums. That forum got deleted I think.

[transmogrifier]

Best slashers (loose definition):

1. Texas Chain Saw Massacre
2. Final Destination 2
3. Black Christmas
4. It Follows
5. Bedevilled
6. Sleepaway Camp
7. Halloween (1978)
8. You're Next
9. Tenebre
10. The Slumber Party Massacre

[Dukefrukem]

Best slashers (loose definition):

1. Texas Chain Saw Massacre
2. Final Destination 2
3. Black Christmas
4. It Follows
5. Bedevilled
6. Sleepaway Camp
7. Halloween (1978)
8. You're Next
9. Tenebre
10. The Slumber Party Massacre

Good choices but your #1 confuses me based on your LB review.

[transmogrifier]

I don't know if they are in exact order based on my rating at the time - I made the list roughly based on my recollection of them now while looking at your list (I didn't have time to look them all up in my movie log). The screaming has faded away but the craft remains.

[Dukefrukem]

The screaming has faded away but the craft remains.

This is what annoys me most about it. You are spot on in your review.

Mediocre horror franchise anyway, though the Matthew McConaughey one needs to be seen to believe.

https://letterboxd.com/dukefrukem/list/texas-chainsaw-massacre-franchise-ranked/detail/

[megladon8]

Watched the 2010 Nightmare on Elm Street movie last night.

Freaking garbage. Not one redeeming quality. Just trash.

It did have a Dracula 2000-level cool addition to the lore which really could have made it something worth noting. But then it undoes that only idea it had that was worth anything, and goes back to being uninspired and boring.

Rubbish.

[Dukefrukem]

MY LB review:

Way better than the Friday the 13th reboot (not saying much). Sure the actors a bit old for high schoolers, but it works. Acting isn't too bad like most cheaply produced horror movies. Biggest complaint is the reuse of deaths from the first movies (or at least glimpses of scares) If you get a chance to put your spin a franchise, why not go hog wild with it? They could have put Haley in more scenes too. There's some nice misdirection with the characters early.

The opening scene was very poorly setup, they could have thought of a better way to introduce Freddy. It's hard to pretend like you don't know what's going on in reboots. The movie portrayed Freddy as the scariest of the three slashers. (Jason, Michael, Freddy) I liked the idea that he was so elusive and played with his victims before he decided it was time for them to die. Myers and Jason just appeared and killed...and I always thought that was kinda campy.

Out of the three classic horrors remade by Bay's production company, Nightmare on Elm St is the most well rounded, I liked the imagery too; some of the effects from the real world to the dream world was nicely done. The lack of nudity in Nightmare kinda classes it up a bit (for a horror movie). Friday the 13th was the worst, the screenplay and acting is F level bad. TCM also being bad, but the build up in the first half is worthy of viewing.

[megladon8]

I actually thought F13 was the only one of the Bay horror reboots that was worth a damn.

Made Jason scary again.

[Dukefrukem]

My Friday the 13th Review:

Not a good remake. They fly through the Mrs. Voorhees setup, so they can avoid her through 95% of the movie. I don't like how they tried to implement Jason as a living person, by peering into how he lives in the woods, or how he still worships his mother... I understand they were digging deeper at the references in Friday the 13th Part 2, but it's all nonsense in the grand scheme of slasher movies. It didn't add "character depth" to how we see Jason today; He was never very intelligent to begin with so why do they bother making death scenes that actually take some thought from a killer aspect? (killing from below the floor?, shooting an arrow at a moving boat? luring people outside with a victim?) We know the story, we know who Jason is, just give us a movie with a ton of people dying. At least they get that part right.

Great set of tits in the sex scene though.

[megladon8]

I liked how vicious Jason was. Several of the kills are freaking brutal, but it never became torture porn which I appreciated.

Loved how he was so fast. Like a train coming after you, just this unstoppable murder machine barreling towards you.

I just wish the main douchebag guy had gotten a worse death. The movie spends so much effort making you despise him, but his death is relatively tame compared to the rest of them.

[DFA1979]

I saw and liked all of the ANOES/F13th/Halloween remakes on the big screen. Glad I went and saw F13th in 2009 since legal problems killed the franchise.

Also does I Married a Witch count as a horror flick? I know it's more of a comedy and I own that one on Criterion but haven't seen it yet. I own Rosemary's Baby but I watched my copy of that one via Criterion back when I bought it. Seen it enough times. Fantastic flick.

[DFA1979]

I liked how vicious Jason was. Several of the kills are freaking brutal, but it never became torture porn which I appreciated.

Loved how he was so fast. Like a train coming after you, just this unstoppable murder machine barreling towards you.

I just wish the main douchebag guy had gotten a worse death. The movie spends so much effort making you despise him, but his death is relatively tame compared to the rest of them.

His death was hilarious. I laughed when he asked the gun where it went.

[DFA1979]

Best slashers (loose definition):

1. Texas Chain Saw Massacre
2. Final Destination 2
3. Black Christmas
4. It Follows
5. Bedevilled
6. Sleepaway Camp
7. Halloween (1978)
8. You're Next
9. Tenebre
10. The Slumber Party Massacre

Good list and I've seen all of those save for Bedevilled. I feel like I am running out of slasher movies to watch.

[Skitch]

The general rule I go by is if you can find one website source that lists it as a horror movie. Letterboxd is pretty generous. Happy hunting!

[Skitch]

Sidenote: the F13 remake exists in the Transformers universe.

[Scar]

What’s the consensus on Bram Stoker’s Dracula? Outside of Keanu’s performance, that is.

I think I love the soundtrack / sound mix of the movie more than the movie itself, but it’s definitely a Halloween favorite.

[megladon8]

What’s the consensus on Bram Stoker’s Dracula? Outside of Keanu’s performance, that is.

I think I love the soundtrack / sound mix of the movie more than the movie itself, but it’s definitely a Halloween favorite.

Watched this the other night, there's actually a discussion about it in thr last page or two of the 28 Films thread.

It may have slipped into my top 10/20 of all time. It's wonderful.

For all the flack Keanu gets, I think Ryder is worse.

Oldman is just. Freaking. Divine.

"I have crossed oceans of time to find you..." *sploosh*

[Skitch]

Love it.

[Scar]

I had to have noticed it before, but maybe it’s the sleep deprivation or the alcohol talking, but I just laughed my ass off at the transition from decapitation to rare roast beef.

[megladon8]

I had to have noticed it before, but maybe it’s the sleep deprivation or the alcohol talking, but I just laughed my ass off at the transition from decapitation to rare roast beef.

Have you seen the 2013 Evil Dead flick?

I love - I mean, LOVE - me some roast beef, but it has a similar transition and it's nauseating.

[Scar]

I was indifferent towards it on first viewing, but have come to grow to love it. Tonight was a toss up between watching Dracula or Evil Dead. I’ll watch it soon and pay particular attention for that.

[Skitch]

That ED remake is hardcore.

[Dukefrukem]

Not sure I've ever seen it all the way through.

[Peng]

https://filmblitz.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/never-take-sweets-e1587250586676-678x381.jpg


Man, Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960) might be the realest Hammer Films entry ever. First two-thirds are an uneasy but potent mix of social issue film and courtroom drama, and the way it addresses pedophilia, victim-blaming mentality, and how men in powerful position can have a system that enables and protects them feel truly ahead of its time, all the more disquieting as the targets here are young children. Then the final act takes all those real-world elements, and channels them mercilessly into Hammer's monster horror territory, becoming one of the creepiest, most horrifying stretches I've seen in quite some time.

[megladon8]

That ED remake is hardcore.

It's not a remake, dag-nabbit!!!

[Skitch]

It's not a remake, dag-nabbit!!!

Wha?? There are two remakes of Evil Dead imo

[megladon8]

Wha?? There are two remakes of Evil Dead imo

It's a sequel.

Fede Alvarez (writer/director) said it was always supposed to be a sequel. The events with Ash happened there 30 years earlier.

[Skitch]

It's a sequel.

Fede Alvarez (writer/director) said it was always supposed to be a sequel. The events with Ash happened there 30 years earlier.

Interesting.

[transmogrifier]

I hate Evil Dead (the original). My unpopular opinion.

[megladon8]

I hate Evil Dead (the original). My unpopular opinion.

Yeah, that's objectively dumb.

[Irish]

Alvarez's movie is a sequel in name only. (That line of his sounds as if it were written by a studio publicist.)

If they had called it "Blood Acres" or "Camp Demonwood" or whatever, I doubt would have made a difference to the audience, except it would have made the movie harder to advertise.

[megladon8]

Alvarez's movie is a sequel in name only. (That line of his sounds as if it were written by a studio publicist.)

If they had called it "Blood Acres" or "Camp Demonwood" or whatever, I doubt would have made a difference to the audience, except it would have made the movie harder to advertise.

Camp Demonwood sounds like something that starts with a BangBros logo.

[transmogrifier]

Yeah, that's objectively dumb.

I struggled to finish it.

From my Letterboxd:

39/100


No. Poor direction (I hate, hate, hate cheap POV shots in horror, and this is crammed full of them), the acting is terrible, the characters do dumb things (you are in a cabin with four other people, but sure, go investigate the woods yourself in your bathrobe) and the story cheats for suspense (terrified character screaming and smashing on the front door of the tiny cabin, and conveniently none of the others are concerned enough to actually see what is happening....until the last minute!).


With Crimewave, one of the very worst films I have ever seen (and makes this look like The Wild Bunch), me and early Raimi are not simpatico.

[Dukefrukem]

I struggled to finish it.

From my Letterboxd:

39/100


No. Poor direction (I hate, hate, hate cheap POV shots in horror, and this is crammed full of them),

Awee booo. So much charm there.

[megladon8]

Alvarez's movie is a sequel in name only. (That line of his sounds as if it were written by a studio publicist.)

If they had called it "Blood Acres" or "Camp Demonwood" or whatever, I doubt would have made a difference to the audience, except it would have made the movie harder to advertise.

Also this logic doesn't make sense.

[Dukefrukem]

Yes it does. Irish's point is there is nothing in the film that directly ties it to the original characters other than the name. He's right.

It's a bad remake anyway.

[megladon8]

Ash's car is still there from the original, and the door is still broken from Ash and his friends.

Also when did we collectively decide that we can say that a director's own words about a movie can be thrown aside?

"Nah, that's not what he meant"

[megladon8]

https://i.postimg.cc/1RcRZqkp/Screenshot-20201018-193941-Chrome.jpg

[transmogrifier]

Awee booo. So much charm there.

The only charm it has is that it eventually ends and I don't have to suffer it anymore :)

[DFA1979]

I love all the Evil Dead movies and the show. Also Crimewave is goofy fun.

[megladon8]

Anyone who likes early Raimi owes it to themselves to seek out Intruder.

[DFA1979]

Anyone who likes early Raimi owes it to themselves to seek out Intruder.

Saw it for my Horrorfest this year, and liked it. Review is in blog.

[Ivan Drago]

I love all the Evil Dead movies save Army of Darkness. That's one's not even a horror film compared to the first two.

In other news, I fucking loved The Lost Boys, guys. It was The Warriors with vampires, an 80s music video, an EC horror comic book story, an allegory for burgeoning homosexuality, and cheesy 80s fun all wrapped up in one package. Add awesome stylized visuals and creative editing to its killer premise, and you have one of the best films from the eighties. I had an absolute blast watching this for the first time, and look forward to revisiting it again and again. If I saw that when I was a kid, it'd be my favorite movie of all time until the end of time.

[Scar]

I adore Army of Darkness, but not a fan of the original. I’ll have to try it again. I think I saw them in reverse order, so that’s probably why.

Currently watching the slapstick / splatter masterpiece that is Evil Dead II.

[megladon8]

I adore Army of Darkness, but not a fan of the original. I’ll have to try it again. I think I saw them in reverse order, so that’s probably why.

Currently watching the slapstick / splatter masterpiece that is Evil Dead II.

I've also heard it the other way around.

Jen saw and loved the original at release, and felt utterly betrayed by number 2 going slapstick.

[Irish]

In other news, I fucking loved The Lost Boys, guys. It was The Warriors with vampires, an 80s music video, an EC horror comic book story, an allegory for burgeoning homosexuality, and cheesy 80s fun all wrapped up in one package. Add awesome stylized visuals and creative editing to its killer premise, and you have one of the best films from the eighties. I had an absolute blast watching this for the first time, and look forward to revisiting it again and again. If I saw that when I was a kid, it'd be my favorite movie of all time until the end of time.

This is great.

Fun movie. Very quotable. I like how hard it plays to a teen crowd, flattering the audience: The cool kids are actually vampires but it's alright because they think you're cool, too.

The only thing I don't like about it is the same thing I don't like about a lot of 80s productions --- big action climaxes on movies that weren't action pictures. (See also: "Ghostbusters" and "Witches of Eastwick," both of which becomes less interesting in their final 30 minutes.)


I adore Army of Darkness, but not a fan of the original. I’ll have to try it again. I think I saw them in reverse order, so that’s probably why.

Currently watching the slapstick / splatter masterpiece that is Evil Dead II.

I'll take the first half of "Army of Darkness" and leave the rest. "Evil Dead 2" still reigns. I almost think watching the first one is a pre-requisite because it makes the second one more fun.

Btw, for anyone who hasn't seen it, all 3 seasons of "Ash vs Evil Dead" are on Netflix now. https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/ash-vs-evil-dead

[Scar]

I saw AoD when I was 14/15, cementing how I viewed Ash. The Ash in the first one is not the Ash I watched numerous times before seeing number one and two. Does that make #1 a ‘bad’ movie? No. The order I watched them in almost ruined the first one for me. That, and the tree rape caught me off guard.

I’ll give her another go now that a lot of time has passed.

[Skitch]

Evil Dead was one of the first horror movies I ever saw, when I as about 18. I love all the series.

[DFA1979]

I saw Evil Dead, then Army of Darkness, then Evil Dead II. I'm almost done with the show, which also rocks.

The Lost Boys is one of the best vampire movies of the 1980s.

[Dukefrukem]

I adore Army of Darkness, but not a fan of the original. I’ll have to try it again. I think I saw them in reverse order, so that’s probably why.



I absolutely saw them in reverse order which made me appreciate the first two more. How can one not love the "ahhhh" Ash's dead girlfriend does at 1:39 as she leaps into the darkness????


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loUr94q2VRA&ab_channel=ClawWing

[megladon8]

I always forget that The Hitcher remake is a Platinum Dunes movie.

[Morris Schæffer]

The Texas chainsaw massacre 1974 really remains a hugely unsettling and nasty piece of work, despite featuring almost no gore. Second sight's 40th anniversary restoration blu-ray yields a pretty fantastic picture in spite of the 16mm film stock used to film the movie. Grainy as hell but it feels filmic and untampered with, and thus nicely detailed.

[Morris Schæffer]

Criterion's 50th anniversary restoration of Night of the Living Dead looks outrageously good. As for the movie itself? I liked it quite a bit more than my first viewing of it although I find some of it a bit crummy. Judith O Shea (Barbra) isn't very convincing, for being a movie about a siege so to speak, the tension isn't permanent although it picks up once the people in the basement show themselves. Rules established aren't always followed. Why does the ghoul girl in the basement stab her mother to death when news reports (and actual imagery) clearly indicate the dead feast on the flesh of the living? A bridge too far for Romero? Doesn't matter heaps, it's still a shocking scene, one can only imagine how that played out in 1968. Finally, the corpse at the top of the stairs is shown to have a completely mangled face, but 30 minutes later, when Ben drags it away, we clearly see that its face is pretty much intact.

[DFA1979]

I loved Firestarter. That movie has a great cast and that Tangerine Dream score is unreal.

[Morris Schæffer]

I loved Firestarter. That movie has a great cast and that Tangerine Dream score is unreal.

Read something about a remake coming.

[DFA1979]

Read something about a remake coming.

Blumhouse wants to do one. Maybe Stephen King will like their adaptation more. I did feel that the George C. Scott character was probably more fleshed out in the book, which I didn't read.

[Ivan Drago]

Has anyone else here seen the original Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)? I finally watched it today after years of putting it off and was massively let down by it. Usually I love Japanese horror, but I mostly just found it slow, repetitive and boring. The sound design and the imagery are cool, but other than that, it didn't really do too much for me. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mindset at the time, because the rest of the movies I watched today after that were pretty great.

[Skitch]

Own it. Scared the absolute shit out of me when I blind bought it way back in the day. I prefer part 2 because feels like it makes more sense. Neither of them make much sense, but if you crank the sound up they are terrifying collection of creepy ass nightmare fuel.

[Morris Schæffer]

Has anyone else here seen the original Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)? I finally watched it today after years of putting it off and was massively let down by it. Usually I love Japanese horror, but I mostly just found it slow, repetitive and boring. The sound design and the imagery are cool, but other than that, it didn't really do too much for me. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mindset at the time, because the rest of the movies I watched today after that were pretty great.

May have seen it. I believe I found it more grotesque than scary. Same with Ringu.

[megladon8]

I feel like the Asian horror wave of the late 90s / early 2000s has largely not aged very well.

Mostly due to it all having been so overdone. Not only were there a million of them in a small span of time, but almost every one that received any kind of attention from western audiences was then remade in America, also within that short time span.

Add on to that unending spoofs and parodies, and it's all just very stale now.

[Dukefrukem]

Has anyone else here seen the original Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)? I finally watched it today after years of putting it off and was massively let down by it. Usually I love Japanese horror, but I mostly just found it slow, repetitive and boring. The sound design and the imagery are cool, but other than that, it didn't really do too much for me. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mindset at the time, because the rest of the movies I watched today after that were pretty great.

I watched it right before the remake came out- and was blown away how mediocrely average of a median midpoint it was (outside of the opening scene). Same with Pulse.

[megladon8]

Pulse is one of the few Asian horrors from the time that holds up marvelously well. Most of Kurosawa's films do.

Though I find now that Pulse is more horrific in how desperately sad it is, than how outright scary it is.

[Skitch]

Pulse is one of the few Asian horrors from the time that holds up marvelously well. Most of Kurosawa's films do.

Though I find now that Pulse is more horrific in how desperately sad it is, than how outright scary it is.

I agree with this. I love Pulse but theres still that one panning shot where the shadow of the camera is blatant that drives me up the wall lol

[megladon8]

I agree with this. I love Pulse but theres still that one panning shot where the shadow of the camera is blatant that drives me up the wall lol

The woman coming out from behind the couch still sends shivers down my spine.

Creepy AF.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Enjoyed some great horror during the past week, including The Babadook and Blood and Black Lace. But I mainly came in here to say that Society is the grossest, most vile, disgusting movie I've ever watched. Screaming Mad George steals the show with outrageous practical effects. Like the South Park disclaimer says, this "should not be viewed by anyone."

[megladon8]

Please tell me you liked it, though?!?

Adore Society. What a gonzo freakshow.

[DFA1979]

I've liked all of the Asian horror I've seen so far ranging from Ring to Dark Water. Ju-On was near great. I have little desire to watch the American remakes though although I heard the American The Ring is good. Pulse was the best of the bunch.

Also here's all of my rankings and ratings from three months of watching horror flicks. I saw most of them in October: Horrorfest 2020 (https://letterboxd.com/madman/list/horrorfest-2020/detail/)

[Skitch]

The American Ring is the only good remake. It's quite good. The rest are trash.

[Dukefrukem]

The American Ring is the only good remake. It's quite good. The rest are trash.

Wonder what you like so much about it?

[Skitch]

Wonder what you like so much about it?

Oh its not that I love it, I prefer the original, but I think its effective in what its trying to do. The other remakes are down right terrible.

[Ezee E]

Definitely remember liking the first Ring

[DFA1979]

I'm amused that both Ring and Ju-Oh have multiple sequels and their American remakes also have sequels. Nice to know even Asian horror couldn't resist making franchises, either.

[megladon8]

I'd never seen Trilogy of Terror before, and I kind of loved it.

Very TV movie in its aesthetics, but Karen Black kills it. Really owns all 3 stories.

The ending is chilling. I'm surprised I hadn't had that image spoiled for me, in all my years on horror forums and such.

[StuSmallz]

I watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the first time recently, for my one token Horror watch for October (after the month had already ended, heh), and besides the film's tone-deaf attempts at squeezing humor out of Franklin's disability, it was a solid, early Slasher; the way the camera roamed, moved and zoomed in and out all over the place made it some of the most impressive cinematography I've seen in any independent film, with lots of atmosphere and great environmental storytelling to boot, with the endless freaks of taxidermy on display everywhere, which didn't just immerse, but submersed me in a world of all-encompassing grime, and even with the relatively small amount of blood, it's beyond me how Tobe ever expected to get this a PG rating. I doubt it'll ever become a favorite of mine due to the unrelenting sadism of its second half (then again, I'm not a big Horror guy in the first place), but it's all still stylish ​sadism at least, so it's still a good movie despite of all of that.

[Dukefrukem]

neil marshall is back?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R--rCENtOAQ&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=UHM-UpcomingHorrorMovies

[DFA1979]

Giallo Fest brought to you by Shudder. Viewed so far:

1. What Have You Done to Solange? (1972, Dallamano)-91, Shudder
2. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971, Miraglia)-75, Shudder
3. Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971, Lado)-83, Shudder
4. The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972, Carnimeo)-85, Shudder
5. The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973, Bardem)-85, Shudder
6. The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1975, Miraglia)-87, Shudder
7. The Fifth Cord (1971, Bazzoni)-90, Shudder

[Scar]

First blizzard of the year means it’s time to watch The Shining. Then perhaps The Thing.

Something I mentioned to bac0n earlier today: They should’ve known something was up with that husky. Fucker was perfectly behaved and didn’t bark.

[Yxklyx]

I'd never seen Trilogy of Terror before, and I kind of loved it.

Very TV movie in its aesthetics, but Karen Black kills it. Really owns all 3 stories.

The ending is chilling. I'm surprised I hadn't had that image spoiled for me, in all my years on horror forums and such.

Is Karen Black in all three stories? I just remember her in the last one. I think this was her peak year being in Nashville and Day of the Locusts as well.

[megladon8]

Is Karen Black in all three stories? I just remember her in the last one. I think this was her peak year being in Nashville and Day of the Locusts as well.

Yes she was. And so good in all three.

[Spun Lepton]

I saw Trilogy of Terror at a young enough age that I don't really remember anything except being absolutely terrified by that fucking doll. I should fire it up again. I recently re-watched The Amityville Horror (original), after having likewise only seen it as a young child and being absolutely horrified by it. As an adult it held no power at all. It honestly kind of astonishes me it became such a blockbuster.

[transmogrifier]

I strongly recommend Hunter Hunter. However, don't read too much about it before going into it. All you need to know is that it is about a family of three trying to get by in the woods.

[megladon8]

I strongly recommend Hunter Hunter. However, don't read too much about it before going into it. All you need to know is that it is about a family of three trying to get by in the woods.

Let me guess. Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time?

[transmogrifier]

Let me guess. Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time?

Well, you’ve gone and ruined it now.

[DFA1979]

The Whip and The Body is a mess. Lee kind of saves the movie and I did like the visuals and the ending.

Blood Beat is hilariously bad. Think Hack-O-Lantern but without the goofy charm.

Rewatches-

Black Sunday jumped 10 points after a long overdue second viewing. Steele is fantastic, I love how Gothic the whole movie is and it gets away with a surprisingly amount of violence for an early 1960s movie.

Kill Baby...Kill also improves although I still don't love it as much as others do. It is a good fall movie but I did not care for the ending. Runs out of steam yet it is still well made.

[megladon8]

Little Monsters was a freaking delight.

I never knew how badly I needed to see Lupita Nyong'o leading a conga line of 5 year old through hordes of zombies, with one of the kids wearing a Darth Vader costume and trying to use the force.

[Peng]

Yeah Lupita was great in that and the biggest reason to see it. Not the least because she got to do this to Josh Gad:

https://66.media.tumblr.com/0017fb53d5465c55daae6e1d02dd58 cd/tumblr_pze1t4LNLV1vwfmjpo2_r1_ 500.gifv

[megladon8]

He was great at playing someone you very badly want to die.

[Spun Lepton]

I wish this would hurry up and get released.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDEQyK5ZH-E&feature=emb_title

[Skitch]

Little Monsters was a freaking delight.


I sincerely thought you were talking about the Fred Savage/Howie Mandel movie.

[Spun Lepton]

Hammer film set featuring 20 titles on sale for $15. Usually runs for over $100. (Did they overestimate the market for it?)

https://www.deepdiscount.com/fb/683904894618?fbclid=IwAR3JAP8o BBc5sTS91smidqoHfVxe2oNdmlqFEt VQYS_ERovoWs-LDhUCFZo

Edit: Looks like it must've been a mistake, because it's at $72 now.

[megladon8]

Hammer film set featuring 20 titles on sale for $15. Usually runs for over $100. (Did they overestimate the market for it?)

https://www.deepdiscount.com/fb/683904894618?fbclid=IwAR3JAP8o BBc5sTS91smidqoHfVxe2oNdmlqFEt VQYS_ERovoWs-LDhUCFZo

Edit: Looks like it must've been a mistake, because it's at $72 now.

That set is OOP if I remember correctly, so that's actually a pretty good deal.

[Spun Lepton]

Scare Package -- 6/10

There's so many jokes, some of them are bound to land. Some of the segments are funnier than others. Three of the seven segments flat-out did not work for me. I'll give it a mild thumbs-up, though, because when the humor worked, it really did work. Plus there's a ridiculous amount of splatstick in it. Watched on Shudder.

[DFA1979]

Scare Package is solid. I gave it an 8/10. I liked the leads, felt some of the movie was a tad slow, and I'm not sure if I liked the ending or not. The stories were good though.

[Spun Lepton]

Hunted on Shudder is a total waste of time. It's about a 7/10 for the first hour+, but then in the last 10-15 minutes it loses focus badly enough to destroy any sense of enjoyment you might be having. It becomes so inexplicably stupid and starts leaning on bad comedy so heavily that if you had left the room and come back, you might be confused about whether you're watching the same fucking movie. Frankly, I feel a touch offended that the film makers thought they could pull that ending off and get away with it. If you do choose to watch it, turn it off when the paintballers enter the movie. It's just a quick downhill slide from that point on. Any ending you come up with on your own will probably be better than what the film makers gave us.

A very generous 4/10.

[Spun Lepton]

Gretel and Hansel has an amazing soundtrack, and that's about the only amazing thing about it. It has a very nice visual style and set design. The story is relatively predictable with no real twists or turns. It's unclear to me whether Gretel is supposed to have an accent, but Hansel and her mother do, so I'm pretty she she's supposed to. It doesn't sound much like Lillis tries to do an accent and leaves me wondering if she was only cast due to the success of IT. She's decent in the part, otherwise. Alice Kridge is sufficiently creepy as the old witch.

7/10

[Spun Lepton]

Holy shit, did I enjoy The Queen of Black Magic on Shudder. A couple moments made me laugh out loud (but not for comedy), and one moment made me legitimately squirm. 8/10

[megladon8]

What a misstep It Chapter 2 was.

Horrid CGI, bland visual design (disappointing after the first film was so visually rich), very bad schmaltz. Completely botched the ending, while also managing to miss the mark on 99% of the thematics that made the book so magical.

And holy God was that random "Richie is secretly gay" subplot mishandled to the point of being almost offensive. It MAYBE would have worked if the film took place in the time that the book did (ie, 30+ years ago), but having such a tone deaf gay subplot in a 2019 film taking place on 2019 was pretty bad.

[DFA1979]

I liked It Chapter 2 but I'm wondering if that is because it saw it on the big screen. I was disappointed that Chapter 2 had little to no scary parts, where as the first chapter managed to scare me quite a bit. I still think that they should have gone with the mini series route like the 1990 version, which has it's own faults but is still good.

[megladon8]

It felt similar to I Am Legend, in how it was an adaptation of the book in a superficial, name-only way.

It completely missed the mark in adapting the strongest and deepest themes of the book - friendship, nostalgia, unconditional love between childhood friends.

And the Richie subplot encapsulates everything they got wrong.

The entire point of the Losers Club was how they all loved each other, and had a connection deeper than even they could understand. That absolutely nothing could come between them, and they would all love each other forever, no matter how much time or distance separates them.

And yet, "oh no, I can't let them know I'm gay! They will all hate me forever!"

Garbage.

[Spun Lepton]

Blood Vessel on Shudder is pretty bland. You might think you could do something fun and unexpected with the idea of people finding vampires on-board an abandoned Nazi warship, but you'd be wrong in this case. There's no surprises at all, save for the black guy being the first to die once they're on board. Every story decision feels very safe and lazy. No cliche is too cliche. Every character does what you expect them to do and then dies when you expect them to die. The Big Bad vampire looks like a human-sized bipedal bat, while his wife is a sexy lady vampire with a weird nose. The Russian character drives the "I've been through worse," joke into the ground by the end. It does look very good. Good sound. Acting is solid for what he actors were given. Special effects are solid. A generous 5/10.

[Spun Lepton]

What a misstep It Chapter 2 was.

Horrid CGI, bland visual design (disappointing after the first film was so visually rich), very bad schmaltz. Completely botched the ending, while also managing to miss the mark on 99% of the thematics that made the book so magical.

And holy God was that random "Richie is secretly gay" subplot mishandled to the point of being almost offensive. It MAYBE would have worked if the film took place in the time that the book did (ie, 30+ years ago), but having such a tone deaf gay subplot in a 2019 film taking place on 2019 was pretty bad.

God, I fucking hate Chapter 2 with a burning passion. I was very excited for it, because I adored the first one. I dragged C and a couple friends to it and about half-way through I was whispering my apologies to all of them. I was done with the movie when Juice Newton's "Angel of the Morning" hit the soundtrack. It's such an epic misfire, it leads me to wonder how it could have possibly been done by the same creative team. Something happened. Somebody interfered somewhere.

[megladon8]

God, I fucking hate Chapter 2 with a burning passion. I was very excited for it, because I adored the first one. I dragged C and a couple friends to it and about half-way through I was whispering my apologies to all of them. I was done with the movie when Juice Newton's "Angel of the Morning" hit the soundtrack. It's such an epic misfire, it leads me to wonder how it could have possibly been done by the same creative team. Something happened. Somebody interfered somewhere.

First off I think it has a different cinematographer.

If I remember correctly, the movie (both parts) was originally supposed to be done by Cary Fukunaga. When he left the production, most of the original team stayed for part 1 and more or less carried out his vision with a different director in the chair. I think he still even has a credit in the first film.

But part 2 was all new production people.

[Dukefrukem]

Yeh Chapter 2 definitely missed the mark.

[Skitch]

It Chapter 2: The Movie Remake suffered from everything the first movie suffered from, and everything the book suffered from. Several thing in that story are just broken.

[megladon8]

I thought the book was perfect.

[Spun Lepton]

I spent a Summer reading IT in high school and I absolutely adored it. Ranks up there with The Shining as one of my favorite King books.

[Spun Lepton]

https://twitter.com/FANGORIA/status/1356271469119070210/photo/1https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtJxtqbWMAMOMMF?format=png&name=4096x4096

[Spun Lepton]

Looking forward to the Whispering Corridors trilogy, 1981 version of The Queen of Black Magic, and The Dark and the Wicked.

[megladon8]

Dredd was always one of my favorite horror movies. Same with Blade Runner.

[Skitch]

Momento Mori and The Ninth Configuration are fucking A class good movies.

[Skitch]

I spent a Summer reading IT in high school and I absolutely adored it. Ranks up there with The Shining as one of my favorite King books.

I read in high school too. I love it. I just don't think the second half is quite as good as first. Not saying its trash or anything, just not quite as strong.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Oooh, Possessor on Hulu.

[Spun Lepton]

Psycho Goreman - Silly from front to back. Struggles a bit with its climax. But, lots of good laughs. 8/10

[Spun Lepton]

Priest (2011) -- Nothing mind-blowing, but a fun, if forgettable ... sci-fi-horror-western-action movie. You could do worse if you're just looking to watch something that doesn't require a lot of attention. 7/10

[Dukefrukem]

Fun? Oh boy. One of the worst studio releases I've ever seen. Much worse than Legion.

[megladon8]

I remember finding it so weird that there was this random push to make Paul Bettany a bankable action star.

[Dukefrukem]

I remember finding it so weird that there was this random push to make Paul Bettany a bankable action star.

Me too. The stretch of movies almost killed his career. He talks about it too before Whedon approached him to become Vision, he was basically out of work.

https://www.insider.com/avengers-paul-bettany-casting-as-vision-2018-4

[Spun Lepton]

Fun? Oh boy. One of the worst studio releases I've ever seen. Much worse than Legion.

I had zero expectations going into it. What's so terrible about it? I admit, it's a silly movie, but it kept my attention and had a few fun action scenes.

Edit: The wire-fu seemed a bit of an odd choice, but given how many other genres are jammed into it ...

[Skitch]

I felt like Duke did the first round, but I recently rewatched it because it was playing on plutoTV and I didn't mind it. Some interesting ideas.

Mostly I kept thinking about how interviews I've seen with Bettany where he seems like a stuffy uptight theater actor, yet he did a bunch of stuff like this lol.

[DFA1979]

Rawhead Rex would be a good choice for a remake. I didn't hate it but it was definitely craptastic and often not in a good way. The main characters were likable which helped. I was surprised at how non gory a lot of it was. Even Nightbreed was more nasty than this flick.

[Wryan]

Wrong Turn remake. With Matthew Modine.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VFFFpDwfco

For reasons unaccountable.

[Spun Lepton]

Anything for Jackson -- A very pleasant surprise. The concept didn't wow me upon reading it, but all the positive buzz convinced me to press Play. This movie is a breath of fresh air! This in an 8/10 that may get a repeat viewing from me to see if my score might go up. It's really that good. There's no question that the demonic/satanic forces are at work. Every lead experiences it and knows it's real. It has such a grounded and (I know I've used this already to describe it), refreshing sense of humor about it. These people are in way over their heads, and some of their reactions are very human and very funny. The final scene is also so perfectly understated and ominous. I really didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Strongly recommended!

[Idioteque Stalker]

Anything for Jackson -- A very pleasant surprise. The concept didn't wow me upon reading it, but all the positive buzz convinced me to press Play. This movie is a breath of fresh air! This in an 8/10 that may get a repeat viewing from me to see if my score might go up. It's really that good. There's no question that the demonic/satanic forces are at work. Every lead experiences it and knows it's real. It has such a grounded and (I know I've used this already to describe it), refreshing sense of humor about it. These people are in way over their heads, and some of their reactions are very human and very funny. The final scene is also so perfectly understated and ominous. I really didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Strongly recommended!

This sounds good. Plot synopsis has me hoping for a satanic screwball comedy. Looking at the director's filmography... quite the left turn for him.

[megladon8]

Wow, I am super intrigued by that one.

Don't seem to have access to it anywhere yet. I hope it gets a physical release.

Thanks for the recc, Spun!

[megladon8]

Anyone here seen the 2019 flick Sea Fever?

[Skitch]

My notes say I have. I think I liked it?

[Spun Lepton]

The Soultangler -- Viewed for Grim Street Grindhouse. Wow. I mean ... I'm kind of speechless on this one. I know it was made for $8000 in the mid-80s, which would be about $20,000 today, which would also be more than the amount that was spent on Paranormal Activity, given inflation adjustments and all that. (Paranormal Activity would have been about $18,000 today.) I don't know where to even begin with this one. I would say about 75% of it is filler. There's about 10 minutes near the end where it becomes enjoyably silly and gory, but outside of that, it's a real fuckin' drag. This movie redefines the word amateurish. I understand they may not have had access to film school and all that, but there HAD to be some books available somewhere! They MUST have had the opportunity to, you know, read screenwriting books at the very least. I'll refrain from slapping a score on it until I've got my video done, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be very low. The boredom alone knocks it down quite a bit.

A bunch of the horror fans on Letterboxd are giving this 6/10 to 8/10 scores and I'm like ... whaaaa?? Did we even watch the same damn movie?

[Spun Lepton]

After Midnight -- It's a well-produced film. Looks and sounds good, strong performances. But, MAN, that story is a real shitter. A romance with no real point to it, and there's also a monster that pops up here and there for ten minutes of the movie, total. I mean, I don't even think the monster is a metaphor for anything, it's just kind of there. I don't know, maybe I'm mistaken about that. Either way, it's a slow burn until the last 20 minutes, where it becomes even slower. Then it ends with a monster battle. I did not like it, no sir. 4/10

[Skitch]

After Midnight -- It's a well-produced film. Looks and sounds good, strong performances. But, MAN, that story is a real shitter. A romance with no real point to it, and there's also a monster that pops up here and there for ten minutes of the movie, total. I mean, I don't even think the monster is a metaphor for anything, it's just kind of there. I don't know, maybe I'm mistaken about that. Either way, it's a slow burn until the last 20 minutes, where it becomes even slower. Then it ends with a monster battle. I did not like it, no sir. 4/10

I...hated that movie.

[DFA1979]

I had a zombie movie idea that was going to use that title. Maybe it's for the best since Eric Clapton turned out be a POS.

[DFA1979]

I'm not sure The Flesh and the Fiends is a horror movie, but I liked it despite the film taking a bit too long to get moving. Then the last act felt rushed oddly enough. Good cast and some of the murders were creepy. What a pair of ghouls, Blake and Hare.

[megladon8]

Anyone caught Saint Maud yet?

[StuSmallz]

Anyone caught Saint Maud yet?Not yet, but I've heard mixed things about it from some of my friends that have: https://letterboxd.com/catelyn/film/saint-maud/

[Yxklyx]

I'm not sure The Flesh and the Fiends is a horror movie, but I liked it despite the film taking a bit too long to get moving. Then the last act felt rushed oddly enough. Good cast and some of the murders were creepy. What a pair of ghouls, Blake and Hare.

I really like this. Where did you get to see it - I'd love a rewatch.

[megladon8]

Freaky had moments that are the best stuff Landon has ever done, but also had some of the weakest. He is best when giving subversive looks at horror. His reverence of the genre (especially 80s slashers) is palpable and his energetic love of even the cheesiest moments from that era give the CGI-less kills and vulgar post-Porky's humor an infectious nostalgia.

The weakest parts happen when it comes to a screeching halt for earnest attempts to make you tear up, which just don't jive with the rest of it. We saw glimpses of this tendency in Happy Death Day (with the schmaltzy but still poignant ending) but a few scenes here stop the forward momentum of the story which up to that point was uninterrupted.

Vaughn kills it, and I never got tired of his run.

Some of the best kills since Hatchet.

Very flawed, but the highs are high enough that we will definitely be watching it again.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Ravenous. Couldn't figure out the tone at first, then warmed up to it before thoroughly enjoying the conclusion. Now I'm looking back and kinda love it? Probably going to watch again.

[Skitch]

Ravenous. Couldn't figure out the tone at first, then warmed up to it before thoroughly enjoying the conclusion. Now I'm looking back and kinda love it? Probably going to watch again.

I'll never forget seeing that in the theater. We knew nothing about it, and it rocked our socks off. Then it was out of the theater about 8 days after release. Major bomb as I recall.

[megladon8]

Yeah, Ravenous is the bees knees.

I wish I had jumped on the Screm Factory BluRay before it went OOP. My barbebones DVD isn't even anamorphic.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Great casting all around. The wendigo legend works really well as a metaphor. Still, I'm not surprised it bombed. It's pretty ugly, and horror-comedy doesn't usually appeal to a massive demographic.

[Skitch]

Great casting all around. The wendigo legend works really well as a metaphor. Still, I'm not surprised it bombed. It's pretty ugly, and horror-comedy doesn't usually appeal to a massive demographic.

Yeah but I recall it REALLY bombed. Like less than a million first week. And I recall they sold it as a straight up horror, it should've made more than that on accident.

[DFA1979]

I really like this. Where did you get to see it - I'd love a rewatch.

Check it out on Shudder. They put up at least three or four Peter Cushing flicks this month.

[DFA1979]

Ravenous is awesome and a lot of fun. It works best as a dark comedy with horror and western elements.

Oh hey I found my review: https://madman731.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/horrorfest-2014-presents-ravenous-1999-antonia-bird/

[Yxklyx]

Check it out on Shudder. They put up at least three or four Peter Cushing flicks this month.

Does Shudder have an ever increasing number of available films or a fixed number that they rotate?

[Spun Lepton]

Pretty sure they rotate their non-exclusives.

[DFA1979]

Does Shudder have an ever increasing number of available films or a fixed number that they rotate?

It's limited in what they can keep non exclusive wise but they have been known to put back on movies that they have to remove due to rights issues. Tubi has more horror stuff but the quality is more hit and miss.

[DFA1979]

Speaking of Tubi I watched Shock Waves and Twice Dead last night. Despite needing more gore I thought Shock Waves was a decent Nazi zombies flick that had Peter Cushing and John Carradine. Also the island scenery is gorgeous and I liked how the zombies looked. It trails off in the final act and I'm not sure why the zombies didn't try to eat the people. I wonder if Fulci saw this and decided to offer his own, better and more nastier take.

Twice Dead has some good kills in the final act yet I was left wondering why a movie with an evil ghost spent most of it's time focusing on a street gang. This is not even a so bad it's good movie-nope it is just bad, period. Oh well.

[Dukefrukem]

So I know there were a few fans but Ti West is returning to horror

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/brittany-snow-joins-kid-cudi-jenna-ortega-in-ti-west-horror-thriller-x-exclusive

as is Neil Marshall

https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-reckoning-review-1234895175/

It's like 'they're' getting the band back together.

[megladon8]

I'm convinced Marshall is a really crappy director who had two lucky breaks at the beginning of his career.

[Ezee E]

I'm sure it was spooky at the time, but the 1931 Dracula w/Bela Lugosi has some of the hammiest acting I've ever seen in a movie.

[DFA1979]

I'm sure it was spooky at the time, but the 1931 Dracula w/Bela Lugosi has some of the hammiest acting I've ever seen in a movie.

It's decent. Bela carries the movie.

[Spun Lepton]

Takashi Miike's One Missed Call landed on Shudder and I didn't hesitate to turn it on. For most of its runtime it's a competent clone of Ringu, but the moment the leads get to the abandoned hospital it feels like they lost the script and just started improvising. And not in the best way, either. Lots of hollow scares. Moments where I was left asking, "What does this have to do with anything?" Some of the twists and turns were pretty predictable. Attempts to be art-house-y at the very end just land with a dull thud. 5/10

[megladon8]

Watched Host last night (the pandemic horror movie from last year).

At a very lean 65 minutes it never overstays its welcome, and is tense as hell. There were two points Jen and I had to pause for a moment because we were near cardiac arrest.

One moment made me gasp loudly and gave me a nightmare last night.

There's nothing new here. It's Paranormal Activity: Zoom. But there is some very clever stuff done within the constraints of the pandemic (not to mention the entire film taking place over a zoom call).

[Spun Lepton]

Agreed. Host is nothing groundbreaking, but it's a very entertaining watch. I still hesitate to call it a "movie," but ... semantics.

[megladon8]

Agreed. Host is nothing groundbreaking, but it's a very entertaining watch. I still hesitate to call it a "movie," but ... semantics.

Yeah well I hesitate to call you a movie, too!

[megladon8]

More like a rich, engrossing mini series with strong character development and an impeccably written plot

[Spun Lepton]

Yeah well I hesitate to call you a movie, too!

https://media.giphy.com/media/lKWlXRBGltz2g/giphy.gif

[Idioteque Stalker]

More like a rich, engrossing mini series with strong character development and an impeccably written plot

... And a twist ending!

Spun: "wait what"

[DFA1979]

Takashi Miike's One Missed Call landed on Shudder and I didn't hesitate to turn it on. For most of its runtime it's a competent clone of Ringu, but the moment the leads get to the abandoned hospital it feels like they lost the script and just started improvising. And not in the best way, either. Lots of hollow scares. Moments where I was left asking, "What does this have to do with anything?" Some of the twists and turns were pretty predictable. Attempts to be art-house-y at the very end just land with a dull thud. 5/10

Well that sounds like a bummer. I might still watch it just for J-Horror purposes.

[Lasse]

I just bought The Others (the Nicole Kidman movie) on blu-ray for something like $3.

I remember it being absolutely fantastic. Will report back.

[DFA1979]

The Others is really quite good. I should watch it again some time. Nichole Kidman is great in that flick.

[Spun Lepton]

May the Devil Take You -- This appears to be inspired by The Evil Dead. And like The Evil Dead, the film makers are mostly interested in a steady barrage of horrific moments, so the story twists and bends to whatever madcap idea they have next, without much thought to internal logic or character motivation. It really feels like they're flying by the seat of their pants at times. Not everything works; I found myself pretty annoyed that the leads let the little girl sleep in a room by herself only so they could have a scene where she's attacked by the demon. There are moments where the cast splits up when it makes no sense to do so. But, these moments are easy to forgive when the movie rarely slows down long enough for the audience to take a breath. Fun stuff. 7/10 Found it on Netflix.

[Spun Lepton]

The Dark and the Wicked -- I was pretty psyched up to watch this. There's a pretty good buzz behind it. Gotta say, though, that I feel a little mislead by that buzz. This movie feels like it's building up to some kind of big revelation at or near the end, but nope. It just ends. "Sometimes bad forces are bad to people." There's your theme. This feels like a whole row of missed opportunities. Initially gave it a 7/10, but after some thought, especially about how lacking the ending is, this is a 5/10.

[Scar]

If you want to watch Saint Maud without doing nefarious activities, you can sign up for two months of EPIX at 99 cents a month. I watched Saint Maud, checked their catalog, and promptly canceled my account. 99 cents.

[megladon8]

Banshee Chapter is slowly becoming not only one of my favorite horrors of the 2010's, but one of my favorite Lovecraft films ever.

It's just so good.

[Ezee E]

There's a bar literally called "Horror Bar" opening a few blocks away from me.

Opening night they are showing off Creepshow.

[DFA1979]

There's a bar literally called "Horror Bar" opening a few blocks away from me.

Opening night they are showing off Creepshow.

I would love to go to one of those.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Seems like a strange place to pick up a date. Therefore I say it's gone in 18 months.

[Spun Lepton]

I just want my Alamo Drafthouse back, damn it.

[Idioteque Stalker]

The one time I went to the Brooklyn Alamo Drafthouse it was to see The Killing of a Sacred Deer on Halloween. In the bar area there was a large display of fake deformed babies. Suffice to say, I did not get lucky that night.

[Ezee E]

Seems like a strange place to pick up a date. Therefore I say it's gone in 18 months.

Yeah. We'll see. There's a building film community here. If they can capitalize on film screenings and such, I can see it thrive. It's not near other bars, so it'll be tough. Best of luck to them.

[megladon8]

I think that's awesome. Wish them success.

Some of those small niche pubs / restaurants can really take off.

There's a place in Ottawa called House of Targ, opened about 10 years ago. A pub that specializes in fresh made pierogies, and has hundreds of pinball machines and classic arcades.

They're still open and doing well.

[Spun Lepton]

I think that's awesome. Wish them success.

Some of those small niche pubs / restaurants can really take off.

There's a place in Ottawa called House of Targ, opened about 10 years ago. A pub that specializes in fresh made pierogies, and has hundreds of pinball machines and classic arcades.

They're still open and doing well.

Yes, Minneapolis has a couple of barcades and I love them. I hope they survive the pandemic. Love me some pinball.

[Spun Lepton]

The Devils, directed by Ken Russell has landed on Shudder once again. It apparently has a reputation and I've gone back on forth over whether to watch it. The few films I've seen by Russell I have absolutely loathed, so for that reason I'm wary. Lair of the White Worm is on my list of most hated movies. So, I guess I'm asking if anybody else here has seen it and if so, what are your thoughts on it?

[DFA1979]

Heh I rather liked Lair of the White Worm.

[Spun Lepton]

Heh I rather liked Lair of the White Worm.

If I could punch a movie, I would punch Lair of the White Worm.

[megladon8]

Uhhhh anyone else watched the Netflix show Marianne?

Holy crap.

[Yxklyx]

The Devils, directed by Ken Russell has landed on Shudder once again. It apparently has a reputation and I've gone back on forth over whether to watch it. The few films I've seen by Russell I have absolutely loathed, so for that reason I'm wary. Lair of the White Worm is on my list of most hated movies. So, I guess I'm asking if anybody else here has seen it and if so, what are your thoughts on it?

The Devils is a masterpiece - it's got a lot of Russell in it if you've seen his other films, but it's a lot more sure of itself. It feels a lot like an early Gilliam film (the Monty Python crew were big fans). Easily my favorite by this director - it's an anomaly in his repertoire. So watch it! I saw it for the first time in a film class with the theme of "hysterical women" - others included The Haunting (original), The Beguiled, The Innocents, ... I recall the instructor saying something like, "I know some of you may have seen some of Ken Russel's films but I ask you to consider this one in a different light...".

Splendor in the Grass and Black Narcissus may have been part of the class as well - fairly sure.

Ken Russel rated:

Women in Love 7
The Devils 10
Tommy 5
Altered States 8
The Lair of the White Worm 7

[megladon8]

Last night we watched The Dark and the Wicked. 'Tis by the same writer/director as The Strangers, and it came highly recommended by a close friend.

It was...ehhh...

Super slow burn which I appreciate, but what it built to was a bit of a bust.

Some very clunky writing, and felt thematically a little hollow. It could have done a lot more with the story of estranged children returning to their childhood home with both their parents ill, but that felt like window dressing for some fairly routine fake outs and jump scares.

It all just amounts to a message of "your parents are going to die someday, and it's gonna suck".

In a post-Hereditary world, I want a lot more from my familial horror films.


Hoping to watch Saint Maud tonight.

[Idioteque Stalker]

I saw it for the first time in a film class with the theme of "hysterical women" - others included The Haunting (original), The Beguiled, The Innocents, ... I recall the instructor saying something like, "I know some of you may have seen some of Ken Russel's films but I ask you to consider this one in a different light...".

Splendor in the Grass and Black Narcissus may have been part of the class as well - fairly sure.

That class sounds dope.

[Spun Lepton]

Last night we watched The Dark and the Wicked. 'Tis by the same writer/director as The Strangers, and it came highly recommended by a close friend.

It was...ehhh...

Super slow burn which I appreciate, but what it built to was a bit of a bust.

Some very clunky writing, and felt thematically a little hollow. It could have done a lot more with the story of estranged children returning to their childhood home with both their parents ill, but that felt like window dressing for some fairly routine fake outs and jump scares.

It all just amounts to a message of "your parents are going to die someday, and it's gonna suck".

In a post-Hereditary world, I want a lot more from my familial horror films.


Hoping to watch Saint Maud tonight.

Yup. Mediocre at best.

Me:

The Dark and the Wicked -- I was pretty psyched up to watch this. There's a pretty good buzz behind it. Gotta say, though, that I feel a little mislead by that buzz. This movie feels like it's building up to some kind of big revelation at or near the end, but nope. It just ends. "Sometimes bad forces are bad to people." There's your theme. This feels like a whole row of missed opportunities. Initially gave it a 7/10, but after some thought, especially about how lacking the ending is, this is a 5/10.

[megladon8]

Completely agree about feeling like it was building to something, I dunno, "bigger"?

The most chilling image in the whole thing wasn't a jump scare or a fake out, which made it annoying how often those were used for the rest of the movie.

I didn't understand what the presence's motive or goal was. We can see that it is able to physically harm people in its ethereal form, so why doesn't it just take what it wants?

[Spun Lepton]

I was expecting the ending to be something like, the woman realizes the demon/devil thing is "attached" to the father, so she murders her father to get rid of it. I mean, it seemed like it was keeping the father alive for some reason. But, nope. No meaning whatsoever to the visits to the father in the middle of the night. The moment the nurse killed herself I started to suspect there was no underlying theme and the whole movie was a waste of time, but I still wanted to give it the benefit of a doubt.

[DFA1979]

Warlock (1989)

Richard E. Grant has to hunt down Julian Sands in the 20th century with Lori Singer in tow after she gets turned into an old lady. Sands horribly murders just about everyone he comes across so that adds to the film's gore factor. Apparently kid's fat can make a warlock fly, and there is some comedy factor in Grant not being able to drive. The airport scenes are unintentionally funny and the finale is pretty solid enough. Decent enough fun to be had here but I have no idea why this became a franchise. Viewed on Tubi.

The ending did make me grin and there's a fist fight in a graveyard if you enjoy that kind of thing, which I oddly did.

[Spun Lepton]

Stay Out of the Attic (2021) -- It was a 6/10 at best until the scene where two of the protagonists end up strapped to medical tables in the basement, then it's just a quick slide into idiocy. Total cop-out ending, too. 3/10

[megladon8]

Is this all Shudder stuff you're watching, Spun?

It kind of sounds like the majority of their stuff is garbage. Is the service even worth getting?

[Spun Lepton]

Shudder is worth the $7 a month, in my opinion. They have a lot of garbage, but there's a lot of garbage horror out there. They do have a number of excellent movies, and some of their originals are quite good. Anything for Jackson, The Queen of Black Magic, Host, and Terrified are all quite good. Mind you, two of those are imports. They are still exclusives to the service.

That's Terrified and not Terrifier, please note. The former is a fun little ghostly jaunt, and the latter is a total garbage movie.

[Spun Lepton]

My Letterboxd review for Stay Out of the Attic:

Merely mediocre movie turns into a major eye-roller when the villain goes from "dangerous genius," to "gullible idiot" in the final 20 minutes of the movie. From there, it just quickly slides downhill as characters do every dumb thing they can to extend the movie out to 80 minutes. The ending is a cop-out.

[megladon8]

Shudder is worth the $7 a month, in my opinion. They have a lot of garbage, but there's a lot of garbage horror out there. They do have a number of excellent movies, and some of their originals are quite good. Anything for Jackson, The Queen of Black Magic, Host, and Terrified are all quite good. Mind you, two of those are imports. They are still exclusives to the service.

That's Terrified and not Terrifier, please note. The former is a fun little ghostly jaunt, and the latter is a total garbage movie.

...
...
...

Jen and I really liked Terrifier...

[Spun Lepton]

Sorry, man. Ugh. I hated that one.

[Skitch]

I liked Terrifier!

[Spun Lepton]

Felt a touch misogynistic to me that all the men were just murdered, while the women were sexually mangled before being killed. Sawing one in-half from crotch to head. Another woman getting her breasts chopped off. I also thought the revelation about the character at the end would have served the movie much better had it happened in the middle, when it felt like the film makers were just padding things out for time.

[Skitch]

You're not wrong, but isn't that most horror in general?

[Spun Lepton]

You're not wrong, but isn't that most horror in general?

If it were, would that excuse it? The line between the film makers coming off as misogynistic and the characters coming off as misogynistic is actually pretty clear. I mean, had Terrifier chopped off a cock or two during the movie, then I might've been a little more OK with the movie. Equal opportunity sexual mutilation, you know.

[Skitch]

If it were, would that excuse it?
Nope. I concur.

[Spun Lepton]

I will come back around to say that I was mostly disappointed that such an interesting killer felt wasted to me. I know there's a 2nd one on the way, but I hesitate to say whether I'll see it.

[Skitch]

I don't know if I'll ever watch it again. Its not pleasant.

[megladon8]

Any of you seen Laid to Rest?

Similar indie horror vibe to Terrifier. Has one of the best kills in all horror.

[Spun Lepton]

Any of you seen Laid to Rest?

Similar indie horror vibe to Terrifier. Has one of the best kills in all horror.

I have. The gore was pretty impressive in that. I recall feeling underwhelmed about it overall, though. I think the second one is available on streaming right now ...

[Spun Lepton]

I don't know if I'll ever watch it again. Its not pleasant.

No judgement if you did, m'man.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Equal opportunity sexual mutilation

#feminism

[megladon8]

#feminism

There's probably someone on Tumblr fighting for this right now.

[DFA1979]

There's probably someone on Tumblr fighting for this right now.

Most folks left Tumblr.

Shudder is pretty good overall although partly the reason I keep using it is for The Last Drive In.

[megladon8]

Sea Fever starts out flipping GREAT, then fizzles out at about the halfway mark, finally landing with a big old thud.

The story of a young woman assigned to an Irish fishing boat to study environmental damage is immediately gripping with an interesting team of characters reminiscent of Alien or The Thing (working class Joe's, tight dialogue, a real sense of camaraderie). The underwater photography is mesmerizing and vibrant - jellyfish and pods of whales evoke feelings of an alien world under the surface.

When the inciting incident occurs, I was ready ready some top notch sci fi horror. Touted as "The Abyss meets The Thing", I expected the horrific tentacles reaching from the bottom of the ocean to incite some majorly gross body horror.

But...it just kinda...plods along. Suddenly there's a parasite/ virus, and this giant creature reminiscent of Lovecraft is all but forgotten.

It devolves into dime a dozen horror clichés, and by the end I'd all but forgotten why we were here in the first place.

What a disappointment.

Side note - I don't think I have ever seen a movie with as many studio logos shown at the beginning before the credits roll. There had to have been upwards of 20.

[Spun Lepton]

Warlock (1989) -- Par-for-the-course horror from the late 80s, made after the MPAA jammed a seven-foot broomstick up their collective ass. Light and breezy, aware of how silly its premise is, and allowing things to be a little comical. Mary Woronov's performance as a possessed spirit channel was easily my favorite moment. She just eats up all the scenery. One big downside is how flat everything looks. Most of the movie takes place during the day, but even the nighttime scenes are brightly lit like a comedy. 7/10. Watched it on Prime.

[DFA1979]

I saw Warlock this month on Tubi. Julian Sands is actually pretty creepy in that flick. Solid movie.

[Skitch]

That might be the most accurate Amish portrayal in cinema.

[Spun Lepton]

Looks like Hunter Hunter just landed on Hulu. I think it was trans who was recommending that.

[Spun Lepton]

Hunter Hunter -- Disappointing. Begins strong enough, but it's a major misstep to leave Sawa's entire experience with the killer off-screen. I feel like that works against the movie's own best interests. Showing us that information could have made the final scenes at the cabin all that more suspenseful. It's not like it wasn't already obvious what was going on, anyway. As it wraps up, it seems like being bleak overshadows any desire for a unifying theme, and as a result, the ending held no weight for me. I was chuckling at the final scene. 5/10

[megladon8]

The IMDb synopsis for Hunter Hunter is confusing.

"Joseph and his family live in the remote wilderness as fur trappers, but their tranquility is threatened when they think they are being hunted by the return of a rogue wolf, and Joseph leaves them behind to track it."

*looks at cast list*

There is no one named Joseph.

[transmogrifier]

Hunter Hunter -- Disappointing. Begins strong enough, but it's a major misstep to leave Sawa's entire experience with the killer off-screen. I feel like that works against the movie's own best interests. Showing us that information could have made the final scenes at the cabin all that more suspenseful. It's not like it wasn't already obvious what was going on, anyway. As it wraps up, it seems like being bleak overshadows any desire for a unifying theme, and as a result, the ending held no weight for me. I was chuckling at the final scene. 5/10

Boo-urns! The next vote is the tie-breaker!

(Actually, your spoiler is one of the things I loved about it. The story is completely about Anne, in particular how she allows her disquiet with their circumstances to be quashed by her husband's misanthropy, and the end is her manic howl of frustration at not being strong enough to make the decisions she needed to for her daughter. Her husband, for all his talk and independence, was as much at the mercy of an unforgiving world as anyone else)

[transmogrifier]

The IMDb synopsis for Hunter Hunter is confusing.

"Joseph and his family live in the remote wilderness as fur trappers, but their tranquility is threatened when they think they are being hunted by the return of a rogue wolf, and Joseph leaves them behind to track it."

*looks at cast list*

There is no one named Joseph.

Dewon Sawa's character is named Joseph Mersault

[Spun Lepton]

Boo-urns! The next vote is the tie-breaker!

(Actually, your spoiler is one of the things I loved about it. The story is completely about Anne, in particular how she allows her disquiet with their circumstances to be quashed by her husband's misanthropy, and the end is her manic howl of frustration at not being strong enough to make the decisions she needed to for her daughter. Her husband, for all his talk and independence, was as much at the mercy of an unforgiving world as anyone else)

Fair point. I'm half-awake right now, so maybe I'll have more thoughts later. Stupid waking-up-early-for-work crap. Grrr.

[Skitch]

IMDB synopsis' are usually shit tho.

[Spun Lepton]

Slaxx (2020) -- Silly with a satirical edge, taking very pointed jabs as corporate culture and consumerism. Never really laugh out loud funny, but briskly paced, never boring, and bloody as hell. Some of the humor doesn't quite work for me, but overall pretty enjoyable. Probably not for everyone. 7/10 Viewed on Shudder.

[megladon8]

Ash dodging cum shots to Take On Me.

Ash vs Evil Dead is glorious.

[Spun Lepton]

The Empty Man -- A bit silly and out there, but I think it sticks the landing well enough to give it a thumbs-up. Some of its ideas don't fully coalesce, but the core idea is strong enough to hold it together. Fantastic soundtrack. 7/10

[DFA1979]

Ash dodging cum shots to Take On Me.

Ash vs Evil Dead is glorious.

Great show. I'll finish S3 at some point although I'm in no rush since it got unfairly canceled.

[megladon8]

Picked up a copy of Santo in The Treasure of Dracula (the Sexy Vampire Version).

This should be fun for a drunken Good Friday viewing.

[Spun Lepton]

Come Play (2020) -- Gimmicky, melodramatic, and full of jump-scares that don't work. Cast with characters who don't appear to have a functional "fight or flight" response. There's so much to be disappointed by, here. 3/10 for the cool looking monster.

[DFA1979]

The Baby is just weird and doesn't really work as a movie. It's a geek show. I didn't hate it but I'm not sure I really liked it. Eh.

White Zombie is cool if pretty dated. A double bill of that flick and I Walked With a Zombie would be nice.

[Spun Lepton]

Looks like Shudder is putting up a bunch of Val Lewton movies very soon. Maybe I'll finally get off my butt and watch Cat People.