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

[Rowland]

Now I did watch the theatrical which I'm told is much better than the director's cut.

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

[Skitch]

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

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

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'm rewatching the whole Halloween series this Halloween.

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

So far:

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

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

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

[megladon8]

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

Oh hey you saw it too?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Oh hey you saw it too?

Yep. Still mediocre, but a definite improvement.

[Spun Lepton]

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

[Spun Lepton]

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

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

[MadMan]

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

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

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

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

[Kurosawa Fan]

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

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

PLEASE see Diabolique. Soooo fucking good.

[Dukefrukem]

I'm rewatching the whole Halloween series this Halloween.

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

So far:

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

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

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. ½

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

[MadMan]

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

Tonight I watched Nightmare City (1980) which is a rather inspired although cheesy/campy zombie film (although just like the 28 Days Later/Weeks films you can argue these aren't zombies-and there are a few shots that reminded me of said films, too.) Not to mention being inspired by Fulci and Romero, plus a scene where the heroes end up in an amusement park (hello Zombieland) and the film is rather apocalyptic, too. [

Show Spoiler

Then you have the fact that this is all a dream, only for the movie to start up all over again at the airport just like it happened at the beginning of the film. Now that's a twist M. Night saw and probably responded to by saying "Hell yeah."

] I actually prefer this over the other 1980 zombie movie I've seen, Fulci's City of the Living Dead, although City has better kills and way more gore.

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

[Rowland]

Chuck Russell's remake of The Blob is available on Blu-ray for a limited time, as only 5,000 units are being printed. The price is a bit steep, but I couldn't resist.

[Skitch]

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

[Dukefrukem]

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

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

[MadMan]

Chuck Russell's remake of The Blob is available on Blu-ray for a limited time, as only 5,000 units are being printed. The price is a bit steep, but I couldn't resist.

Too bad since I don't have the money for it, especially since its a really good remake and I enjoyed watching it last year.

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

[Spun Lepton]

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

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

[MadMan]

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

[Spun Lepton]

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

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

[Scar]

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

[Raiders]

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

[MadMan]

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

[MadMan]

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

[Dukefrukem]

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

[MadMan]

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

[Dukefrukem]

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

**½