Quoting Rowland (view post)
Mulberry St. had a great first half hour, and characters that I found really likable and interesting.
Then it went down shit creek when the rat zombies came about. It really falls apart once the "horror" kicks in.
Mulberry St. had a great first half hour, and characters that I found really likable and interesting.
Then it went down shit creek when the rat zombies came about. It really falls apart once the "horror" kicks in.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Anybody see CerdÃ*'s other movies, one of them being Aftermath and the other Genesis, as I believe it is called? He might have one more, but I think these are all only this one DVD that's out. Anyways, they're supposed to be really artsy, but at the same time extremely morbid. I've been somewhat interested in seeing them, but since I've already seen Brakhage's The Act of Seeing With One's Own Eyes, I don't think I need to watch another movie that takes place in a morgue anytime soon.
The other night I watched Carpenter's Prince of Darkness for the second time. Originally, when I saw it a few years ago, I was underwhelmed. After this time around, however, my esteem for it has grown immensely. I think it features some of Carpenter's best horror imagery. I'm thinking specifically of stuff like the dream footage, the use of insects, and the mirror climax. I was also more interested this time around by his portrayal of evil as something tangible and even communicable, rather than as a spiritual force. I really miss horror movies like this that make use of trick photography (such as that used with the reverse flowing liquid, and the dimension within the mirror), instead of shoddy CGI.
I also watched Argento's Four Flies on Grey Velvet for the first time. I'd probably rank it well behind Deep Red, The Bird with Crystal Plumage, Tenebrae, and Suspiria. It was still quite a bit better than a lot of stuff Argento has done, especially the more recent film's of his I've seen.
Right on. It's a great flick. Tons of atmosphere. I really like this film's story, it's very interesting.
Props on your av as well.
Rat zombies??? And to think that you saw them in Mulberry Street!
"Modern weapons can defend freedom, civilization, and life only by annihilating them. Security in military language means the ability to do away with the Earth."
-Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society
Thanks. I'm in Carpenter state of mind at the moment. I really should check out the rest of his filmography. I still need to see The Fog, Starman, Village of the Damned, and Dark Star.Right on. It's a great flick. Tons of atmosphere. I really like this film's story, it's very interesting.
Props on your av as well.
Starman is probably the only one out of that list that merits the word "need."
And Davis, I didn't really get into Mothman. I thought the style was too flashy and the story uninteresting. It's not awful, but it didn't strike me as anything special.
To tell you the truth, I often wonder why I like that film so much, or, more precisely, as much as I do. It's not that I think it is some brilliant horror flick, but when I first watched it I was expecting total crap, and it really surprised me. A lot of my admiration for the film comes from the amazing score - I think the music adds a fantastic and atmospheric layer to the film.
tomandandy are geniuses. Their music for this, Mean Creak, and The Hills Have Eyes is second to none. It's amazing how overlooked they are, especially when people keep praising composers who continue to use the same old big, tired symphonic approach to film scores.
I, too, really like The Mothman Prophecies, D. Richard Gere's best performance for sure - the scene towards the end on the phone still gets to me.
I thought it was effectively creepy and had a great conclusion.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Saw this tonight. Don't think it really worked. I dug what it was going for (the werewolves as domestic terrorists angle, the use of Native American mythology, playing a werewolf story completely straight) but the execution is off, found the movie pretty flat dramatically and atmospherically. I think if say Carpenter had got a hold of this in the early 80s, there could've been a great film there. Edward James Olmos running naked on the beach is the best bit.
I was watching the Hammer horror film The Devil Rides Out last night.
Having seen a very good chunk of their filmography (I think I've seen about 2/3 of all their films) I must say this is a top-rung Hammer production.
Great movie.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Which other ones would you recommend, besides Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein, Devil, and Mummy?
I blind-bought Devil Rides Out years ago and was disappointed with it. I think my expectations were particularly high because I recall Buffaluffasaurus gushing over it.
Then again, I've always been under the opinion that the Brits are particularly bad at making a good scary movie. There are exceptions, of course, but the vast majority of them, to me, are dry and bland.
My YouTube Channel: Grim Street Grindhouse
My Top 100 Horror Movies OF ALL TIME.
Paranoiac is a great one. It stars Oliver Reed as the psychotic, spoiled alcoholic son of a rich family. It's a great psychological thriller/horror with a very creepy finale.
The Curse of the Werewolf is pretty good. Another with Oliver Reed. I wouldn't say it's top tier Hammer, but it's a good little werewolf movie.
Another good one is Rasputin: The Mad Monk with Christopher Lee. While it certainly has horror elements and that trademark Hammer "gothic horror" feel, it's also one of the few Hammer films to tackle real history.
The Gorgon is decent, mostly because of Terence Fisher's direction (he's easily my favorite Hammer director).
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Hammer fans - help me.
I've never really taken the time to get into the Hammer films. I've always kind of considered them the Shaw Brothers of the west, only they make horror films rather than kung fu films. So, I really to watch their films.
What are the 10-15 best?
I've seen a few, and the one I love the most is A Plague of Zombies.
These aren't in any particular order...
Horror of Dracula
The Curse of Frankenstein
The Devil Rides Out
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Mummy
Paranoiac
Rasputin: The Mad Monk
The Curse of the Werewolf
The Abominable Snowman
That should be a good start.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Which of the two Dracula titles is considered the better one?
My YouTube Channel: Grim Street Grindhouse
My Top 100 Horror Movies OF ALL TIME.
Horror of Dracula, for sure. It actually may be my favorite film adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel.
Dracula: Prince of Darkness would be - in my opinion - the next best Lee Dracula movie.
Many others would tell you that the very best Hammer Dracula film is Dracula A.D. 1972, but honestly, I don't get what the big deal is. I think it's kind of an ironic, "it's so hoaky it's awesome!" kind of love, and I just don't really buy into that kind of worship.
It's fun, but Horror of Dracula and Prince of Darkness are just genuinely awesome movies.
Fans of Bava should like them. They have a similar gothic aesthetic.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
I wouldn't dream of saying it's the very best Hammer Dracula film. That's just goofy. But yes, it's very hoaky and very fun. A similar "Dracula in modern times" film (also by Hammer) which has the hoakiness but not the hilarity is Satanic Rites of Dracula.
All the titles you recommended are top tier or either I just haven't seen them (Devil Rides Out is, indeed, an awe-inspiring movie), and I'd like to add Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll and an Amicus Film (the main competition) anthology film called From Beyond the Grave.
And The Wicker Man, of course.
The Wicker Man is awesome, Grouchy. I actually got a real Wicker Man type feeling watching Cthulhu.
And it pains me to say, but I actually haven't seen any Amicus films :sad:
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Well, that's the only one I've seen myself. They just aren't as famous or as prolific as Hammer.
A quick Wikipedia read tells me they're mostly notable for anthology films like the one I saw, which was pretty good stuff. Torture Garden and The House that Dripped Blood are the most famous films on this category.
Ah. I watched most of The House That Dripped Blood while in NYC, but it was the day I got really sick, and I think I ended up falling asleep.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
The Asphyx, I think, was from Amicus. I own that one, it's pretty good. A little silly at times, but overall nicely pulpy and entertaining.
My YouTube Channel: Grim Street Grindhouse
My Top 100 Horror Movies OF ALL TIME.
Woot. I got into a free early screening of Dread.
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