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

[Spun Lepton]

Anybody gonna check out this new horror release on Netflix Instant called Lo? The summary seems kinda interesting, and Netflix thinks I'll like it.

Love presents many challenges to couples...but none so daunting as the one Justin faces with his girlfriend April. Kidnapped by demons, April's mystery begins to unfold when he finds an ancient book that she has left behind. Using the book, he contacts the demon Lo, ordering it to help him rescue his girl from the fiery pits. But Lo has other plans for his new master...dinner being one of them.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1047490/

[megladon8]

Sounds very cool, Spun. I'd like to check that one out.

I like the poster, too....

[bac0n]

Anybody gonna check out this new horror release on Netflix Instant called Lo? The summary seems kinda interesting, and Netflix appears to think I'll like it.



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1047490/

very curious about this one. I'll likely be checking it out soon.

On a different note: Let the Right One In... as good as I was expecting it to be, and much more emotionally effecting than I would have guessed. Oh, and leave it to the Swedes to set the movie in a town that makes mine look warm by comparison.

[Spun Lepton]

Here's a review of Lo that makes it sounds like a total bore. Apparently the majority of the movie is Lo and Justin, sitting around and having a long chat. Reviewer says that at 82 minutes, it still feels padded.

http://www.quietearth.us/articles/20...ravis-Betzs-LO

This has gone from "probably watch" to "maybe watch."

[megladon8]

On a different note: Let the Right One In... as good as I was expecting it to be, and much more emotionally effecting than I would have guessed. Oh, and leave it to the Swedes to set the movie in a town that makes mine look warm by comparison.

So glad you enjoyed this one.

Such a beautiful movie.

[The Mike]

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is definitely a step above the average slasher film, which is kind of a problem at times. I mean, it has so much going for it in a positive regard that it is a little bit of a disappointment when it veers into cliche with its kills and features such a dull killer.

But, the lead performance (or at least the good-lookingness) of Amber Heard is pretty fantastic, and the ending is a welcome one. I'm OK with this one, and don't get why it's not getting released in the States while the likes of the 8 Films to Die For keep happening.

Oh yeah, The Weinsteins suck at life. How could I forget that? :sad:

[hey it's ethan]

Meh, I'm still very much From Beyond >>> Re-Animator.

I want to see some more of Brian De Palma's horror output, but have no idea where to start. All I know is that Sisters is freaking sublime.

Sisters, The Phantom of the Paradise, Carrie, Dressed to Kill and Blow Out are all masterpieces.

[The Mike]

Oh, did anyone else see that MTV is now showing horror movies on Saturday nights through March? Starts this week with Land of the Dead, followed by The Hills Have Eyes, Slither, Deep Blue Sea, and The House of the Devil.

Of course, it's TV and I own those movies, so it doesn't help me, but I like the idea.

[The Mike]

Sisters, The Phantom of the Paradise, Carrie, Dressed to Kill and Blow Out are all masterpieces.

I agree with this post 100%. (Except maybe Carrie, but it's still awesome.)

[hey it's ethan]

I agree with this post 100%. (Except maybe Carrie, but it's still awesome.)

Interesting, because it's totally my favorite of the five.

[The Mike]

Interesting, because it's totally my favorite of the five.

Well then, I agree 99% with this post.

[Bosco B Thug]

I liked Henry back when, but I like to think my taste sucked back that long ago.

Perhaps my taste really sucked, because I'll throw in William Lustig's Maniac, which I watched during the same "gritty horror" kick, for bafflingly praised serial killer opuscules, which all of a sudden I'm seeing lauded by my choice online critics Fernando Croce and Ed Gonzalez (#3 of 1980???). That was an ugly movie, I felt.

[Spun Lepton]

Had a few beers in me last night when I fired up THE CHILDREN on Netflix Instant. It's a Troma release that I'd seen as a kid, about a busload of THE CHILDREN that drives through a cloud of TOXIC GAS!!!! and suddenly THE CHILDREN are able to burn people up by touching them. I remembered that the only way they could kill THE CHILDREN was by chopping off their hands.

I fell asleep 20 minutes in. :|

[Dead & Messed Up]

I was also troubled by the fact that Combs's character apparently wants to destroy the resonator, and has ample opportunity to do so, but NEVER DOES IT. He grabs an axe in one scene, hides in the room with the resonator until somebody else is in the room with him and THEN attacks it? Come on.

This is actually a funny point, since I just rewatched it. There's a preposterous moment where Foree convinces the two of them to leave the house...right after they all sleep.

"This place is dangerous, clearly, so we need to escape, but before we do, let's engage in that most vulnerable of all human states for an extended period of time."

[bac0n]

Had a few beers in me last night when I fired up THE CHILDREN on Netflix Instant. It's a Troma release that I'd seen as a kid, about a busload of THE CHILDREN that drives through a cloud of TOXIC GAS!!!! and suddenly THE CHILDREN are able to burn people up by touching them. I remembered that the only way they could kill THE CHILDREN was by chopping off their hands.

I fell asleep 20 minutes in. :|

HOLY CRAP THIS IS ON NETFLIX INSTANT?!?!? I HAVE TO SEE IT RIGH-

*snore*

[Mara]

Hey, my every-horror-film-watching amigos, have any of you ever seen the movie "Ghost Watcher"? (Occasionally called "Ghostwatcher"?)

Turns out I know a couple of people marginally involved with it, and I wondering if it's too painful to watch or not.

[Ivan Drago]

Shit.

I went back and edited the post to minimize any more fallout. I'm really sorry, Ivan. I honestly thought that whole thing was common knowledge by now.

Oh, I wasn't referring to you at all. The weekend after it came out, someone at school spoiled it for me DURING class. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: So, how was Zombieland?
[

Show Spoiler

1st Friend: Oh, it was awesome! Jesse Eisenberg freakin' shoots Bill Murray with a shotgun! You can't get any more awesome than that!
2nd Friend: Bill Murray's in it?
1st Friend: Yeah for a little bit.

]
Me (on the inside): YOU SON OF A MOTHERFUCKING BITCH!!! GAAAH!!!!
3rd Friend: Thank you for spoiling the cameo to everyone in here!

[Spun Lepton]

Zombieland was a blast. Calling it "the American Shaun of the Dead" seems appropriate. I may buy the Blu-ray. The only part that wasn't chocked-full-o-awesome?

[

Show Spoiler

Yup. Bill Murray's cameo. The tone of the movie dipped more into parody when he entered the picture. I couldn't help wonder if they had written the script with a vague celebrity in mind to play the Celebrity Zombie, they landed a jackpot with Murray, and then changed the sequence when he got to the set. Their reaction to killing him seemed completely out-of-character for all of them, even Harrelson, who had been gushing over him just a few moments prior. Personally, I would've LOVED to see a ravenous Bill Murray zombie.

Don't get me wrong, the Ghostbusters bit had me laughing my ass off, only 'cuz I was jealous of Tallahassee.

]

Regardless, I enjoyed it immensely.

[Spun Lepton]

Oh, I came home a little drunk on Friday night and figured I'd finish Bloodsucking Freaks. Like I said, I was a little wasted.

God, what a miserable pile of crap. They wanted so badly to shock the audience, to revolt them. I've never really gotten the whole "sleaze" movement that went on during the late 70s. This and Lustig's Maniac are cut from the same misogynistic cloth. But, where Maniac has disturbingly graphic gore, Bloodsucking Freaks has mannequin parts. As such, it's easy to not be nearly as disturbed as they'd like you to be. But, some of the shocking ideas are only shocking because of the purposely cultivated misogyny. There's one tasteless sequence where a "mad doctor" drills into the back of the head of a restrained woman, inserts a straw, and sucks up the titular blood. In the very next scene the good doctor is thrown into a case full of feral naked women, who proceed to tear him limb from limb.

I won't SPOILER the next bit in a bid to dissuade anybody from watching it. I don't think I'll have much problem.

The film ends with said feral naked women being released from their "cage" (which was nothing more than a flimsy set of bars set across one portion of a room), and killing the evil "Sardu" and his small-person (what's the PC term these days?), assistant. You're never treated to an extended death scene for any of them, of course. The final shot has one feral woman biting into a hotdog, and it's Sardu's dick. Well, gosh, that completely makes up for all the bullshit earlier. Fuck you, movie.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Updated my blog with an argument/history regarding horror remakes, and why they're not worth my time anymore.

Excerpt:

Most of these films can barely be called remakes, as they take the most basic of ideas from the original film and create a new narrative that plays to their directors' interests and attitudes. For example, The Thing came about for two key reasons. Firstly, co-producer Stuart Cohen dug up the original story, on a whim, and thought it would make a great film. Secondly, Carpenter was always a huge fan of the original (witness him name-checking it in Halloween). It was only after they crafted a screenplay and built a package that Universal took interest in the film.

Ooh! Also changed the site banner from From Beyond to The Haunting.

[MadMan]

On Saturday I finally saw Monster Squad. It reminded me that 80s horror movies are all about being fun and entertaining, which even though I prefer 70s horror is kind of refreshing. This decade lacks most of that when it comes to horror, but then the current climate really is rather bleak and nasty, and somewhat mirroring the 70s anyways. I liked the kids, who acted like real actual children, but I take issue with Frankenstein's monster being evil-he was just merely misunderstood.

[Spun Lepton]

On Saturday I finally saw Monster Squad.

UGH. Hate that stupid movie. I liked it OK when it was in the theater, and I was 15, but these days ... ugh, just terrible. It's like a Dollar-Store version of The Goonies, with Universal Monsters mixed in. Frankenstein's Monster was the most annoying of the bunch, spewing stupid 80s catchphrases left and right ... ugggh. Not to mention the kids were nothing more than irritating. UGH. Hate this movie.

No, I don't like The Goonies, either. Liked it better than this tripe, though.

[Spun Lepton]

Oh. Oh, yeah.

Don't ask me why, but I put in the final 30 minutes of Return of the Living Dead 2. Let's just say that I'm quite shocked I actually watched it an entire hour the first time before turning it off.

So, apparently, after the success of the original, the producers rushed out and hired the first jaggoff they could find with a zombie script, had him adapt his pile of shit to fit the Return mythology, and then let him direct it. What a mess. I don't even know how to begin to break down the badness on display.

Said jaggoff's experience at the point of ROTLD2 was ... Shock Waves (boring underwater Nazi zombies!), King Frat, and ... and ... Meatballs 2 ... :|

[megladon8]

I'm really liking Ti West, and I can't wait to see The House of the Devil in a couple of weeks.

Trigger Man is great, and an improvement over The Roost in many ways. The final quarter is tense, tense tense. You could cut that tension with a knife.

[Winston*]

[

Show Spoiler

I couldn't help wonder if they had written the script with a vague celebrity in mind to play the Celebrity Zombie,

]

[

Show Spoiler

It was originally supposed to be Patrick Swayze as an actual zombie, which would've been bad, but then cancer and stuff. When Bill Murray was cast he got them to change the character to one with lines I think.

]