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

[Peng]

I prefer the Dawn remake too, but I need to give the original a rewatch. I liked its themes and story, but the execution feels weird and scare-free.

Night is among my favorite movies.

[Raiders]

I will continue to believe that Romero gets waaaaaaay to much credit as a filmmaker. Night and Dawn feel like flukes compared to the rest of his stuff.

Have you seen Martin? Easily bests any of the Dead films. Actually really like Knightriders too. Overlooked gem, that one.

Then again, I love both Day and Land of the Dead as well. I think he's a very smart filmmaker who sometimes likes the wrong idea way too much.

[Spun Lepton]

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[Irish]

Have you seen Martin? Easily bests any of the Dead films. Actually really like Knightriders too. Overlooked gem, that one.

I haven't, but I will check Martin out. Agree on Knights. While it's not overlooked, I also love Creepshow.

I'm not the fan of Land that you are. My beef with Romero is that he tends to toss out a great ideas and then do almost nothing with them (eg: Bub in Day). Land felt that way in spades. Lots going on, but the action felt limp and the picture flat. Unlike his other zombi pics, he really shoved the social comment in the audiences' face. It was like a Carpenter movie without the wit or inventiveness or subversive humor.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I prefer the Dawn remake too, but I need to give the original a rewatch. I liked its themes and story, but the execution feels weird and scare-free.

Night is among my favorite movies.

Oh hey.

[MadMan]

Match-cut is getting some new blood lately. Awesome.

Oh and Night is slightly better than Day.

[Dukefrukem]

[Peng]

Oh hey.

hey.

[Irish]

Sam Raimi announced the creation of an Evil Dead tv show today, starring Bruce Campbell:

http://rue-morgue.com/2014/07/sdcc-b...-evil-dead-tv/

[Dukefrukem]

WTF?

[Irish]

That was my reaction too.

I dunno how they're gonna do it week over week. Ash seems like the kinda character where a little goes a long way.

[Dukefrukem]

Why wait so long too? Bruce isn't exactly that young anymore.

[D_Davis]

I can't even remember the last time I cared about a new Sam Raimi project.

[D_Davis]

Can we all agree that Land of the Dead is one of the worst films ever made?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Can we all agree that Land of the Dead is one of the worst films ever made?

No.

[Irish]

Can we all agree that Land of the Dead is one of the worst films ever made?

"Aye"
"Seconded"
"The ayes have it. Land of the Dead is now officially the worst film ever made, according to Match Cut."

Smack the gavel, D, and make it official.

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Kinda want to hear back from Raiders so he can tell us what he found so compelling about it

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[Spun Lepton]

I think I've repeated my opinions on Romero enough in my life. I'm starting to get tired of it.

Dawn of the Dead was the movie that got me interested in horror. Therefore, I love it better than the others in the series. Night, Dawn, and Day are all worthwhile and I've seen each two-dozen times. Creepshow also holds a special place just because it's so unique, fun, funny, and inventive. Land is a lesser entry in the series, but it's watchable and it has some fun moments.

Much of Romero's work is, sadly, sub-par. Bruiser springs to mind. And those last two Dead movies, Diary and Survival are awful. Or so I've heard about Diary. I haven't seen it. Survival was awful.

I've been thinking about revisiting his late-80s stuff. I remember Monkey Shines being all right, but it's been too long to say for sure. I remember being unimpressed by The Dark Half. Romero's half of Two Evil Eyes is the better half, too.

And I still have yet to finish Martin. It seems events continue to conspire against me seeing it. I've rented it a few times w/o success. One day ... maybe.

[MadMan]

I liked Diary but Survival was decent at best.

[Dukefrukem]

Diary was tolerable but borderline miserable. Survival is his worst by far. Land I can watch because I like the journey. I also like Simon Baker- he makes it worth watching. The zombies doing human things I ignore mostly. It's really a human film with zombies in the background.

So let the MC ranking system work.

Night > Dawn >>> Day > Land >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Diary>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Survival.

So yes, each film he makes gets progressively worse and worse. Diary would probably have got more attention if it didn't come out after Cloverfield even though (I believe) production of Diary started before production of Cloverfield.

[Skitch]

Land is an interesting anomaly, but I quite Romero Dead films after that.

[Peng]

Night >>> Day>> Dawn >= Land

Never get the praise for Martin. Unless the extremely amateurish quality of everything (except the ok script) is the point?

[Raiders]

Never get the praise for Martin. Unless the extremely amateurish quality of everything (except the ok script) is the point?

Um, no? In what way is it more amateurish than say, Night of the Living Dead?

I will say that compared to pretty much all of Romero's other films, it isn't really much of a horror film. More of a sad, awkward drama with some clumsy and macabre vampirism. Martin is more of a confused, tortured serial rapist who conflates his own situation with the "romanticized" black-and-white classic vampire lore.

[MadMan]

My old review of Martin, which at one point cracked my Top 20 Horror Films List on Jumpscare/The Axis:



Really this film is vastly underrated, and is overshadowed by Romero's more well know, although better, first three "Dead" films. I also think this movie contains many notable themes and is perhaps the most unique vampire movie ever. We don't get a conventional vampire tale here, not only because its Romero at the helm but also due to the fact that Martin really isn't a vampire. He sure acts like one, drinking blood (using a razor to retrieve his precious liquid), and wandering through life aimlessly. If anything Martin really is just a confused and alienated teen, separated from a world that doesn't understand him and pretty much detached from reality.

So its his misfortunate to fall into the clutches of his religious fanatic cousin, a man who has no knowledge of psychology and who is instantly hateful and distrustful of Martin, refusing to offer him help. Amongst the crumbling ruins of Pittsburgh a strange tale unfolds, as Romero uses the city's urban decay to reflect the mental and moral decay that dwells within the film's title character, resulting in someone who should really be in a mental institute instead of being allowed to roam the city's streets.

Despite the fact that I could see the film's tragic ending coming a mile away, I was fascinated deeply by this film. Especially since at the time I was just a sophomore in college, about to transfer to a four year school and uncertain about my future. I still really am, and thus "Martin" sort of speaks to me-I can sort of emphasize with his search for meaning in life, even if (of course) I don't share his blood thirst. Also I really dig the film's surreal black and white flashbacks, which only feed into the theme of Martin's fragile grasp on truth, and what is false and tangibly real.

[Rowland]

Survival wasn't very conventionally good, but I found it charming, whereas Diary was just lousy... or at least so I thought at the time. Who knows, a revisit might change my mind, people change.

Of the Romero films I haven't seen, I'm most interested in Monkey Shines, Knightriders, and The Crazies. Season of the Witch/Jack's Wife/Hungry Wives is his most undervalued.

Romero's half of Two Evil Eyes is the better half, too.

[MadMan]

Look Romero's The Crazies is solid/good, but the remake is better in many ways.