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

[jenniferofthejungle]

[REC] -- 8/10
Some of the characters' actions were beyond stupid, but overall I really enjoyed it. There was some very clever editing.

Which actions bugged you? I'm curious.

May was as good as I remembered. Not better, not worse. Exactly as good as I remembered.

A-

Still one of my favorites of the decade.

I will give this one another chance, Jim. I always meant to, but couldn't get a copy from anyone. The similarities to a few other bad horrors bugged me, as did Faris, but I am really willing to give it another try.

[Scar]

:lol: Did you like "Overkill"? That's probably Jen's all-time favorite game. She's become a zombie-blastin' mastah!

Its a pretty fun game.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I will give this one another chance, Jim. I always meant to, but couldn't get a copy from anyone. The similarities to a few other bad horrors bugged me, as did Faris, but I am really willing to give it another try.

70% of that grade comes from Bettis. I just feel for her as a character so much. I'm not gonna lie - I got a bit of a thing for mousy girls, and she's just incredibly sympathetic to me. And McKee films the murders in such a matter-of-fact way.

As for the similarities to other bad horrors...I will say that the film clearly owes something to the craptacular Pieces, but May takes that film's concept and legitimizes it, makes it resonant and affecting, gives it meaning.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Also, I just finished a re-view of Ginger Snaps, the first one since my original viewing, and I'll be damned - I don't remember it being so much fun. Isabelle's kind of annoying, but Emily Perkins does a slam-dunk with her role, and Mimi Rogers brings the funny. I dig how the movie's so blunt about its "subtext" (which is anything but), and the feminine perspective (the screenwriter's a woman) is awfully refreshing.

I have changed my mind - Dog Soldiers is the second-best werewolf flick of the decade.

[Spun Lepton]

Which actions bugged you? I'm curious.

[

Show Spoiler

The one guy who slowly approached the little girl after she'd turned. They should've at least given him a gun.

]

Wasn't such a big problem after I thought about it, and even when it was a problem, I still liked the movie quite a bit.

[Rowland]

The one action that really bugged me in REC was right at the end, [

Show Spoiler

when the attic door bursts open and the cameraman inexplicably sticks his head up there and slowly turns until he predictably sees the demon girl at the end of his 360 pan, which soured the otherwise first-rate climax for me a bit.

]

[Dead & Messed Up]

The one action that really bugged me in REC was right at the end, [

Show Spoiler

when the attic door bursts open and the cameraman inexplicably sticks his head up there and slowly turns until he predictably sees the demon girl at the end of his 360 spin, which soured the otherwise first-rate climax for me a bit.

]

It reminds me of that story where Tippi Hedren said, "Alfred, why the hell would I go up the stairs, after everything that's happened?" and Alfred said, "...because I tell you to."

[Rowland]

Don't go into it thinking that being the best entry in a fairly crappy series is going to make it good. It's the only After Dark movie that I didn't feel the need to turn off after 30 minutes. Overrall, it's only OK, and the guy who directed it approached the ghosts in entirely the wrong manner. He wanted to show them as much as possible, only problem is the make-up isn't all THAT great. Certainly not good enough to parade around in front of the camera under full lighting. The movie is not scary in the least, and the whole thing kind of comes crashing down in the CG-saturated ending.

I was disappointed to discover that all the ghosts had the same face, which was creepy at first but began to look rather silly by the time pyro-boy appeared. Still, I had a pretty good time with it, even if the ending does become flat-out laughable, which isn't helped at all by the lame coda revealing the source of the note. The premise carried this one a long way, some of the set pieces are executed with real flair, and the presence of Tchéky Karyo is always a good thing. It's no great shakes, but I'd recommend it as a rental to those who're interested.

[Rowland]

And while I'm at it, I hate to say this, but Carpenter's Cigarette Burns was a real disappointment. Some of the ideas are inspired, the milieu of cinephilia is immersive, and there are moments that work, but on the whole it's dull, poorly acted, and unconvincing. The footage glimpsed from La fin absolue du monde is pretty ridiculous as well, a very ill-advised creative decision on Carpenter's part.

[Rowland]

The Fair Haired Child readily outshines Carpenter's tepid entry, thanks in large part to William Malone's vivid execution of the material, which grows predictable after a marvelously disorientating beginning but retains immediacy through expressive visual technique, a chilly score, and the compellingly evinced tension of the scenario. Cool monster too, realized with the employment of high-speed photography that recalls Malone's own House on Haunted Hill remake.

[Bosco B Thug]

And while I'm at it, I hate to say this, but Carpenter's Cigarette Burns was a real disappointment. Some of the ideas are inspired, the milieu of cinephilia is immersive, and there are moments that work, but on the whole it's dull, poorly acted, and unconvincing. The footage glimpsed from La fin absolue du monde is pretty ridiculous as well, a very ill-advised creative decision on Carpenter's part.

Hmm, have to say I'm surprised. Cigarette Burns is hardly a masterwork in any profound sense - MoH strikes me pretty much essentially as directors slumming it on television, in blatant work-for-hire mode - and it gets really dumb in the same way all MoH episodes do, but I'm pretty convinced CB is the only MoH episode that holds any weight seen against the respective director's best work, or of being considered as anything more than "an MoH episode." With the possible exception of Miike's.

[Dead & Messed Up]

The Fair Haired Child readily outshines Carpenter's tepid entry, thanks in large part to William Malone's vivid execution of the material, which grows predictable after a marvelously disorientating beginning but retains immediacy through expressive visual technique, a chilly score, and the compellingly evinced tension of the scenario. Cool monster too, realized with the employment of high-speed photography that recalls Malone's own House on Haunted Hill remake.

This is one of my very favorite episodes. The understated "fairy tale" angle is well-realized, and there are welcome traces of Seance on a Wet Afternoon with the creepy hospital room. The monster's not terribly frightening, but the stuttering motion and gaping mouth make it memorable and imaginative. Also, I was genuinely surprised and affected when

[

Show Spoiler

the boy-monster tears the girl apart.

]

[Dead & Messed Up]

Hmm, have to say I'm surprised. Cigarette Burns is hardly a masterwork in any profound sense - MoH strikes me pretty much essentially as directors slumming it on television, in blatant work-for-hire mode - and it gets really dumb in the same way all MoH episodes do, but I'm pretty convinced CB is the only MoH episode that holds any weight seen against the respective director's best work, or of being considered as anything more than "an MoH episode." With the possible exception of Miike's.

I don't think they're all slumming it. John Landis puts in very fun work with his two entries, Joe Dante's two episodes are delightful screeds, Stuart Gordon's two are superior literary adaptations, and Mick Garris, while unloved by many, made arguably his best work (and certainly his most uncompromised) with his episodes.

[Rowland]

[

Show Spoiler

the boy-monster tears the girl apart.

]

[

Show Spoiler

I especially liked how Malone punctuated the tragedy with freeze frames, the first being the two kids hugging before he turns, which Malone lingers on before cutting directly to the midst of his violent attack upon her, a flurry of rapid cuts that ends with another freeze frame, this time of her bloody hand reaching into the air as if her last grasp at life.

]

[Rowland]

Joe Dante's two episodes are delightful screeds

I haven't seen Homecoming, but The Screwfly Solution is the worst episode I've seen so far, a neat concept butchered into incoherent incompetence.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I haven't seen Homecoming, but The Screwfly Solution is the worst episode I've seen so far, a neat concept butchered into incoherent incompetence.

Aw, say it ain't so! I was unsure of the episode on initial viewing, but I've since watched it five or six more times (it's great near-bedtime viewing), and it's now one of my favorites. It's hardly perfect, but I love its ambition and breadth, and Kerry Norton does a great job in the lead. And the misogyny angle works as subtle meta-commentary on the series as a whole, which takes a little too much delight in showcasing boobies.

[Bosco B Thug]

I don't think they're all slumming it. John Landis puts in very fun work with his two entries, Joe Dante's two episodes are delightful screeds, Stuart Gordon's two are superior literary adaptations, and Mick Garris, while unloved by many, made arguably his best work (and certainly his most uncompromised) with his episodes.

Yeah... I'm a big fan of the first season of Masters of Horror myself. But none really strive for being more than technically competent, fun, or obligatorily showy and slick. Which is fine, but is what I meant by "slumming."

I remember Carpenter having some nice, delicate touches in his episode that separate it as the series' quality "arthouse" episode. I'd compliment Hooper's yes-somewhat-crappy episode again right now, but I'll refrain...

I haven't commented on it: Landis' Family was very very good. Teleplay is average, and that's another problem with MoH - directors are very much tied down by the series format and material - but yes, Landis overcame the 2nd Season slump. I really need to see Gordon's.

[MadMan]

I've only seen The Screwfly Solution, which I found to be very solid. But then again I'm a huge fan of Dante's work.

The Blair Witch Project/ (Myrick & Sanchez, 1999) 93

Whoa, really? I think its a very good movie, but that score is a bit high. Blair Witch manages to be both well regarded by me, and yet also something I find overrated all at the same time.

[Rowland]

Whoa, really? I think its a very good movie, but that score is a bit high. Blair Witch manages to be both well regarded by me, and yet also something I find overrated all at the same time.

Congratulations, you've convinced me of the error in my ways. :P

[Raiders]

I gotta get back crackin' on my MOH thread as ya'll are stealing my thunder here.

:P

Oh, and yeah, seriously Rowland. I haven't seen you give that high of a score to anything, and honestly, I am a defender of the film, but that score seems more reactionary to the way it has over time fallen out of favor. I would think you would reserve a score that high for something profoundly moving and if that's the case here, I want to see some splainin'.

[megladon8]

I really found The Blair Witch Project terrifying.

If I were to make a list of the five horror films that have really scared me the most, it would look something like this (going in chronological order according to when I saw them)...

The Haunting (age 8)
Halloween (age 10)
The Exorcist (age 12)
The Blair Witch Project (age 13)
Session 9 (age 15)


EDIT: I remembered The Haunting scared the bejeesus out of me when I first saw it, so I removed [REC] from the end of my list, and placed that at the front.

I still find The Haunting a deeply unsettling film, and maintain that it's the best horror film of all time.

[Dukefrukem]

I really found The Blair Witch Project terrifying.

If I were to make a list of the five horror films that have really scared me the most, it would look something like this (going in chronological order according to when I saw them)...

The Haunting (age 8)
Halloween (age 10)
The Exorcist (age 12)
The Blair Witch Project (age 13)
Session 9 (age 15)


EDIT: I remembered The Haunting scared the bejeesus out of me when I first saw it, so I removed [REC] from the end of my list, and placed that at the front.

I still find The Haunting a deeply unsettling film, and maintain that it's the best horror film of all time.

That's a great list to make. For me the films I remember scaring me the most would be;

Gremlins (age 9)
Nightmare on Elm Street (age 10)
Return of the Living Dead (age 11)
John Capenter's the Thing (age 11)
Event Horizon(Saw in theater) (13)
Phantoms (14)
The Blair Witch Project (Saw in theater)(16)
Drag Me to Hell(Saw in theater) (age 25)

[The Mike]

Hmmmm....

My list would probably start with The Gate, which would be followed by Candyman, The Shining, Halloween, and Prince of Darkness.

[Bosco B Thug]

Has anyone seen Deranged, the oddball black comedy/mocku-journalistic 70s exploitation flick about Ed Gein? This one's mentioned pretty much never, but its got a mild cult following due to its game eccentricity.

To tie it into the current discussion, watched this one years ago at a young age, thought it was one of the most shocking, nastiest, luridly real things I'd ever seen. Now, it's an acceptably interesting curiosity that's in actualty very cartoonish and silly, but that successfully does work with the above three facets my young self sensed and channels them into a competent low-grade shocker.

And the ending just has to be an influence on a similar scene in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses. If it's not, I'll eat my shoe.

Evil Dead Trap is, coincidentally, another film I watched when I was young and thought was pretty cool. Now, it is pretty interesting and cool and stylish in the beginning, but it gets more boring and less interesting as it goes along. Hideki wasn't as cool an effect as I remember, *sigh*.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Scariest? Night of the Living Dead. No question for me. As for the horror films that truly scared me, I submit the following:

Night of the Living Dead (age 6)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (age 11?)
Carrie (age 11?)
The Haunting (age 12)
The Evil Dead (age 13)
The Eye (age 23)
The Descent (age 23)
The Mist (age 25)
Rec (age 26)