Bonus number 1...hell I have only watched one so far and I'm already adding bonus films to the list...
Kill Baby Kill. I'm trying to blast through as much Bava as I can in case Shudder drops his films soon so this one is up. Pretty cool ghost flick. The copy Shudder has is a bit grainy and somewhat shitty looking but I actually liked that it wasn't crisp and clean because it helped with the atmosphere. Maybe it was made that way but either way was cool.
My luck lol. I got burned by Netflix last year. They dumped half my list on Oct 1. I haven't been on Shudder long enough to know how they add or drop stuff so I'm just trying to get those out of the way in case they like to deprecate quickly.
My luck lol. I got burned by Netflix last year. They dumped half my list on Oct 1. I haven't been on Shudder long enough to know how they add or drop stuff so I'm just trying to get those out of the way in case they like to deprecate quickly.
Lol that sucks. Well your luck better not ruin this for me because I've got like 5 or 6 more Bava on shudder I wanna watch this marathon. At least the majority of them I was planning on sort of frontloading anyway though.
Lol that sucks. Well your luck better not ruin this for me because I've got like 5 or 6 more Bava on shudder I wanna watch this marathon. At least the majority of them I was planning on sort of frontloading anyway though.
Regardless of all the other things I'll say about the film, The Beast Within certainly wins originality points for its monster. At the risk of giving too much away, it's not quite a werewolf in a scientific manner, though it does capably hit all the hallmarks that you expect in a werewolf story. The coming-of-age aspect is a good way to update the story, though I would assume it would have been more novel back when this originally came out than seeing it after other films had their own take on the concept, and of largely more success than what's offered here. Not having the full grasp of its own potential would have been one thing to ding the film on, but the film's problems are more simple than that. To put it simply, it's an ineptly made film for most of its duration, with all kinds of technical issues and bad filmmaking. Director Phillipe Mora has long been considered one of the more schlocky directors in the genre, and this film does little to improve his reputation, filling this film with things like a scene in which a woman puts on her bra twice (only for it to be missing a little bit later on, hmm...) and staging every dialogue scene like a bad second unit. Mora manages to waste a cast of character actor heavyweights with largely flat performances and can't get decent ones out of the younger stars. It'd be easy to blame the script for why he had such a hard time wringing anything salvageable out of this, and indeed, the script is hellbent on repeatedly kicking the limits of the suspension of disbelief in the teeth multiple times with the tremendous stretches it makes, but it's even easier to believe that a good director would have at least made it more competently from a technical perspective than what we got here. Worst of all, the film isn't even the ridiculously entertaining kind of trash that Mora would deliver a couple of years later with Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf, and that film had Reb Brown as the hero! I will say this, though: this really does seem like the perfect film to remake, as there is a good premise in here that already had some better routes to take than what the film wound up on, and the idea of setting it in a small town in the middle of the boggier parts of the south could have and should have been easy to get some effective atmosphere to help enhance the horror aspects.
1. The Exorcist
It had the shock value going for it, releasing the day after christmas in 1973, and featuring a blasphemous foul mouth possessed child--no real build up or reason behind the possession was really given--with some grotesque make up and head spinning special effect, but overall the film felt like a disjointed narrative that was missing major scenes. Major plot points are never shown and the viewer is only told about them later in passing, leading to some confusion about the events that took place. For example, in one scene, a priest is talking to his mother in a psychiatric ward, in the next someone says she's been dead for two weeks, a jarring time skip that is only given away by brief dialogue. The film starts in Iraq for some unbeknownst reason following an older archaeologist, and while the archaeologist makes an appearance in the final half hour of the movie, why Iraq was an important set piece is never explained.
I enjoyed the first and was happy to see that there was a sequel on Netflix. This one was more actiony than cabin fever esque, but still kind of enjoyable with its off-beat style.
This movie has competent film making, but I don't really have much else to say about it. Felt like it was a standard house haunting movie with a little exorcism added. It also reminded me that I don't really like the look of modern horror films. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson were pretty great through.
I just watched The Witch as my first movie. Honestly, I think it's a bad movie - just a bunch of random shit happens and the characters don't seem to put any thought into their actions. The plot is also as bland as it gets. Granted I couldn't understand half the dialogue due to how hushed it was, so there's that.
Edit:
I'll start my tally here I suppose
(1) The Witch
I truly don't know how this turned out so well still to this day. I'm not saying it's without flaws or anything but this just did a lot right in my book. Aesthetically it was on point from start to finish and while reused, the score was fantastic. Laurie Holden as Cybil was also great casting imo.
Q the Winged Serpent. Ahh that's the sound of October and horror movie screams. Tis the season. I picked this because I've seen it mentioned here and there but little did I know just how good this really was. Yeah the monster effects are more Harryhausen but that's a good thing.
I watched Q last year and yes, it is so delifghtfully good! I love both the city dwellers depicted in it and the general acting, plot, etc. So fun in every aspect.
01/10/16
I was a little concerned by a few negative reviews earlier in the thread, because I’ve been saving this film all year, and I’m a big GDT fan. I needn’t have worried though, this was just my cup of tea.
1. Night of the Creeps (1986)
Definite rewatch to start the season and get in the mood. A classic in the genre that reaches emotional highs few of its kind do. So many bad horror movies revolve around the college experience but this is beyond better than most. A blend of horror and comedy that actually works as a fantastic zombie film. The director's cut does not improve the sequence but it's no deal breaker.
2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Another rewatch, this time in HD for the first time. Absolute classic in its subgenre as well, Sutherland is charming as hell and everything is so grimly lit and shot. Bleak from start to finish with great effects and incredible atmosphere.
3. Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go To College (1991)
Around the bottom worst movies I've probably ever decided to watch all the way to the end. Slightly redeeming in the main character's small wit but most of the time you wonder what you're doing with your life it's that bad. Oof. Little to no redeeming quality.
Haven't made a list yet, but I watched The Witch again last night.
It's a weird thing-- by that I mean it's a movie that I mostly respect and appreciate more than I actually like. I get that I'm not supposed to "enjoy" it, it's not that kind of thing and I can see why some would feel that's what makes it a great horror movie, but for me, I dunno. I recognize it as a great movie with themes and depth and on that level it's interesting and worth discussion, but I don't think I'd ever watch it again.
But like I said, I still think highly of it and it's very well made. I'm happy it was made and got out there and that I saw it, but I'll probably leave it at that.
This just came on Netflix, so I decided to add another movie to the list. It's a better story than the first. I find it digs a bit much as the "kids these days" what with Dracula trying to learn smartphoens and the neutered summer camp. Blobby is the best monster here, and I love Mel Brooks at Vlad. There's even some racial allegory here. I do feel the biggest problem is that John hasn't really changed at all since the ending of the first movie, considering he has a kid now and he's still a goofball. I like this over the original.
1. Night of the Creeps (1986)
Definite rewatch to start the season and get in the mood. A classic in the genre that reaches emotional highs few of its kind do. So many bad horror movies revolve around the college experience but this is beyond better than most. A blend of horror and comedy that actually works as a fantastic zombie film. The director's cut does not improve the sequence but it's no deal breaker.
I've seen this movie positively mentioned so many times over the years, so I knew it would be on my list for sure. I intentionally went into it blind, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I liked the dynamic timeline, and I think it kept things fresh.
I feel like this would have been a lot of fun to watch on Halloween, and I might do that for a re-watch next year.
For anyone watching on Blu-ray, there is a pretty cool retro-style animated short that is worth checking out.
This was my first Vincent Price movie, and probably the oldest "Horror" movie in general that I've watched. I was immediately intrigued by it -not surprising, as I absolutely love post apocalyptic as a genre-. We meet Robert immediately, almost three-years into his life as "the last man on earth". I really felt his anger and frustration in these early moments, as he takes us through his monotonous day-to-day.
Honestly, for a movie with such a dark theme, I thought it was a little hokey. However, this may have been standard for a product of its time? The Vampires lumber around like zombies, yet they're self-conscious and intelligent enough to know who people are. For instance, taunting Morgan by name every night.
Another standout for me was
the revelation that many people were still alive -albeit infected-, and Robert had been murdering them without knowing this fact. I thought that this was an incredibly heavy plot point, yet he seemed relatively unfazed by it. I did quite enjoy the ironic twist ending, though, when Robert becomes the hunted, and the infected unknowingly kill the one person who can cure them
Overall, I did enjoy experiencing this genre of movie, from this time-period. It made me think a lot about the themes in the movie, and even made me consider watching more from this time period, in the future.
I thought this was a beautifully shot movie with phenomenal acting. Every character was strong, especially Anya Taylor-Joy (Thomasin), and Ralph Ineson (William).
Everyone who said this was a slow burn was absolutely on point!
and what a payoff in that last ~20 minutes when everything comes to a head. So good.
I'll have to re-watch this one. So many beautiful scenes; this long shot is my favourite:
Funny, intriguing, clever and visually sumptuous to the point that not even a fairly lousy DVD can mar the visuals to any debilitating degree, it seems suffice it to say that The Company of Wolves did the trick for me. It doesn't get much easier to describe the film than to say that it's Neil Jordan being allowed to do whatever the hell he wanted with the Little Red Riding Hood tale, and I found it to be just as swell as that sounds. I wouldn't call it a scary film, despite the presence of some effectively alarming imagery, but it's such a feverishly dreamy slice of dark fantasy that its most striking imagery is bound to burrow deep into your mind and take up residence for a while. This is aided by the unusual Russian nesting doll structure of the film that Jordan and author/co-writer Angela Carter, which manages to sustain the near hyperreality of each story within a story as they mingle and eventually converge by the film's conclusion. I could keep going on and on about how much I loved this, but I'll leave it at this simple plead: please, for the love of god, let someone restore this film and release it on the gorgeous Blu-ray it so richly deserves.
Films for October 2: What better way to follow up such class than with some Bad Taste and some Street Trash? Joined in unholy matrimony by their complete disregard for all things prim and proper and unabashed love of splatter, as well as being sleazy horror films released in 1987, these debut films for epic fantasy expert Peter Jackson and noted camera operation expert James M. Muro (seriously, look up his credits!) are sure to be a hoot and a half.
I'm just here for the recommendations, but I'll try to post whenever I watch something. Last year I just ended the month feeling really gross with how much horror media I'd consumed, so I'm going to spread it out this year.
I've seen it several times in the past, but even now, blown away by the sound design in the film. When there is a score, it's unsettling and mechanical, evoking the slaughter houses mentioned throughout the film. It's when the film just lets noise take over that it really works best though. Sally screaming, Leatherface squealing, the metal door slamming shut after Kirk is attacked, or of course, the buzz of the chainsaw. Nothing tops it.
Also some really inventive camera work, again, even by today's standards is still really good.
I mean, I don't find it scary at this point, but I can appreciate it's cinema verite approach and really like it on a technical level.
Girlfriend had seem it before, but it didn't hold her attention long this time around. Off to a good one for me, her less so.
The first kill in TCSM always gets me. There's such a raw, unexpected immediacy to the violence in that movie that even though there's actually very little onscreen violence and gore, it'll make you remember it as being ten times worse. It's so powerful and implicit that it does even need to be shown for you to feel it. I think it's unquestionably the most viscerally effective of the slasher-esque films I've seen.
Sorry, but it feels like The Exorcist is a disjointed movie. There's no explanation for the prologue. There's no explanation for the possession. There's rarely any explanation about how much time has passed between scenes. And there are many instances when major events and how those events unfolded are only told through quick conversation, like Burke's death. It was somewhat confusing.
The first kill in TCSM always gets me. There's such a raw, unexpected immediacy to the violence in that movie that even though there's actually very little onscreen violence and gore, it'll make you remember it as being ten times worse. It's so powerful and implicit that it does even need to be shown for you to feel it. I think it's unquestionably the most viscerally effective of the slasher-esque films I've seen.
Not to mention his death is accompanied by the sound of squealing pigs, reducing him to the status of mere livestock for Leatherface and company. Beautifully executed (pun kind of intended).
The first kill in TCSM always gets me. There's such a raw, unexpected immediacy to the violence in that movie that even though there's actually very little onscreen violence and gore, it'll make you remember it as being ten times worse. It's so powerful and implicit that it does even need to be shown for you to feel it. I think it's unquestionably the most viscerally effective of the slasher-esque films I've seen.
Thought I'd start with this one because of all the praise it has gotten this year. I really liked it and it was a good start to this event. It's a slow burn, with no real jump scares or anything like that, but I feel like most of the horror comes from seeing the reactions of the already bat-shit crazy family. I loved the setting, not just the time period, but the actual setting of where the farm was. It looked like a really beautiful piece of land and that tree on the mound was genuinely unsettling. I'm not sure how well this movie will hold up on repeat viewings, but it was unquestionably well made and well acted.
Giant mutant wasps - golf ball size - sting people at a snobby dinner garden party who mutate into giant man-sized wasps, and besiege the catering crew in the isolated mansion in the woods. Lots of very icky practical effects sit uncomfortably alongside just OK (and toward the end, poor) CG, but the ick factor is quite high with this one.
People uniformly act like idiots, but are dispatched quickly enough that my frustration with them was quickly sated. What we're left with is a very old Lance Hendrickson hamming it up as the town mayor, muttering lines like, "If I get out of here, I'm getting re-elected because I have a lot to say." Also lines like, "Shit. Fuck."
The whole thing is schlocky and weird and not really good, but still icky and fun anyways. The third act is the most straight forward recreation of the climax to Aliens I've seen put to film, sans budget and scale. It goes to some unexpectedly weird places.
This was not a good movie. But it was still a fun movie; but then I tend to go easy on creature features.
1. The Exorcist
It had the shock value going for it, releasing the day after christmas in 1973, and featuring a blasphemous foul mouth possessed child--no real build up or reason behind the possession was really given--with some grotesque make up and head spinning special effect, but overall the film felt like a disjointed narrative that was missing major scenes. Major plot points are never shown and the viewer is only told about them later in passing, leading to some confusion about the events that took place. For example, in one scene, a priest is talking to his mother in a psychiatric ward, in the next someone says she's been dead for two weeks, a jarring time skip that is only given away by brief dialogue. The film starts in Iraq for some unbeknownst reason following an older archaeologist, and while the archaeologist makes an appearance in the final half hour of the movie, why Iraq was an important set piece is never explained.
The Iraq actually foretold the events of the rest of the film. It set up Merrin and demon Pazuzu as adversaries and it's also when Merrin realizes that the demon has been released with the intention of revenge.
Film is subjective of course, and everybody has their own opinion. That being said, I really love the pacing in the Exorcist. Scenes sometimes seem like they end a bit soon which is jarring and I believe the intention. I really enjoy the flow of time while jumping form character to character, it works really well for me. The editing in The Exorcist is one of my favorites in all of cinema, and one of its greatest strengths IMO.
It sucks that the film didn't work better for you though.
I just watched The Witch as my first movie. Honestly, I think it's a bad movie - just a bunch of random shit happens and the characters don't seem to put any thought into their actions. The plot is also as bland as it gets. Granted I couldn't understand half the dialogue due to how hushed it was, so there's that.
Edit:
I'll start my tally here I suppose
(1) The Witch
I'm just here for the recommendations, but I'll try to post whenever I watch something. Last year I just ended the month feeling really gross with how much horror media I'd consumed, so I'm going to spread it out this year.
1 Parnormal Activity The Ghost Dimension Last of the movies, supposedly closes the story. And you know? It kind of does, but in a sloppy way. The ending makes it veeeeery clear they've been making these up as they go along. To its credit though, I've always thought this series has always done Found Footage well in the sense they put some effort into their effects and little gimmicks. This one is no exception.
2 American Werewolf in London Love this! I've always seen it about, but never watched it and I am so glad I went into this mostly raw. Good mix of humor and pretty fun practical effects(god how I miss those so!) I was not expecting this to be so funny though. It really brought to mind questions of "is this a comedy? Or is this a horror film?" And it really begs the question "What really makes something 'horror?'" Atleast, it did for me because I've been dwelling on it quite a bit lately.
I am doing this!! Probably not going to get to 31 days straight, last year I got 19! Have to beat it.
I started a bit early with:
1. Krampus - surprisingly enjoyable and the aesthetics blew me away. It really has a look and a feel and maintains it. It was a bit disappointing it wasnt R, some of the slapstick detracts.
4/5
(Wife score 5/5)
2. Exorcist - actually my first time ever seeing this! I was blown away by its depth, I always assumed it was very minimal and was just a one location type of film. I really enjoyed it although I was highly confused. It wasn't that "scary" but I cannot imagine watching that in the 70's! Cinematography was gorgeous as well.
5/5
(Wife score 4/5)
1. Hush
It was a very decent film. I don't really care for slashers much but this was different enough to still be fun. Didn't blow my mind or anything but certainly kept me interested throughout despite being predictable.
1. The Witch, the slowest burn I've seen in a movie, but worth it. Absolutely gorgeous cinematography and both the father and the female lead are very well acted. Definitely not for everyone. Can't say I loved it but I am glad I saw it and glad things like that are getting made.
If you've seen it and want to read more this article really increased my appreciation of the film in retrospect.
Not as great as the first but not that bad either. It was pretty interesting to see Norman Bates after the "rehabilitation". Visually, it had great moments as for sound department, it kinda sucked. As for the twist, I thought it was pretty stupid.
I'm still updating my list, I have 15 more in my pool. Anyway, Letterboxd is great for this kind of activity.
At first, I resented Eli Roth's name attached being attached to this film. Now, I think it almost kind of fits, even if he isn't the director (though he does apparently play Frowny the Clown). There are parts of it that remind me a bit of his sense of humor, only better-executed and without the sense of the director sneering from behind the scenes.
Summary - Kent, a mild-mannered real estate agent, dresses in a clown costume he found in one of the properties he's handling to perform at his son's birthday party. Unfortunately, he's then unable to get the costume off, and it begins to gradually...change him in unnerving and increasingly threatening ways. The first half of the movie or so is "clown body horror"; the second half is, uh, something else entirely.
Thoughts - I think I can sum up this film's sense of humor with a single image. CW: suicide (sort of)
First things first, a warning: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE if you have a thing about kids in danger or bad things happening to kids. Seriously, don't. I'm telling you right now.
This movie is an odd duck. In some ways, it kind of feels like two different movies stuck together. The first half and second half feel very different both in terms of tone and focus. It's got a bit of a nasty edge to it, but it's mostly just really, really dark humor. It also gets pretty graphically violent, so, y'know, be aware of that if that kind of thing gets to you.
I...think I like it, more or less? The ending is kind of weak, but it does include a few things I've honestly never seen in a movie before, such as:
-The aforementioned clown body horror
-A climactic showdown in a Chuck E Cheese, complete with an actual monster pulling kids into a ball pit and a chase through those crawling tunnel things
-Neil Sadaka's "King of Clowns" being used during an attempted suicide
Peter Stormare puts in an amusing appearance that I will forever think of as "the Dr. Loomis of clowns".
Some of the incidental details are kind of funny. For instance, one of the obnoxious bully kids is seen playing Halo, and his screenname (which is never commented on or focused on by the camera) is "B1CHK1LRZ", which seems about right.
It goes to some pretty dark places. Not, like, "New French Extremity" dark or anything, but a couple of the character beats near the end are pretty bleak.
Pretty solid but one of my lesser favorite Universal horror films. I found myself wishing I was watching Nosferatu or any other Universal horror instead.
Not as great as the first but not that bad either. It was pretty interesting to see Norman Bates after the "rehabilitation". Visually, it had great moments as for sound department, it kinda sucked. As for the twist, I thought it was pretty stupid.
I'm still updating my list, I have 15 more in my pool. Anyway, Letterboxd is great for this kind of activity.
I found that my least favorite moments of Psycho 2 is when the film remembered that it's a slasher flick made in the 1980's and the kill scenes that were a result of that. I felt that those scenes lacked tension and weren't interesting in the visual or creativity department. The pace screeched to a halt during those moments and left me wanting more of the actual narrative.
I agree with you on the twist as being rubbish and the plot gets a bit convoluted during the third act. That being said, there's quite a bit in the film that really works. The story is interesting enough, and you really feel sympathy for Norman. That couldn't have been an easy feat, but it helps when you have Anthony Perkins giving 110% and Tom Holland's script really succeeded in giving him an appropriate arc.
Bernard Hermann's Psycho score is among the most iconic in cinema, and the filmmakers had the impossible task of finding someone who was up to the task of doing justice to it. They could have just phoned it in and reused all of Hermann's cues, but they did the smart thing and got Jerry Goldsmith. The results, for me, are just gold.
Psycho 2 is an interesting film. It has some massive flaws that hold it back, but as it stands it's much better than it has any right to be. I just bought it on Blu-ray today actually, and I'm looking forward to revisiting it.
Giant mutant wasps - golf ball size - sting people at a snobby dinner garden party who mutate into giant man-sized wasps, and besiege the catering crew in the isolated mansion in the woods. Lots of very icky practical effects sit uncomfortably alongside just OK (and toward the end, poor) CG, but the ick factor is quite high with this one.
People uniformly act like idiots, but are dispatched quickly enough that my frustration with them was quickly sated. What we're left with is a very old Lance Hendrickson hamming it up as the town mayor, muttering lines like, "If I get out of here, I'm getting re-elected because I have a lot to say." Also lines like, "Shit. Fuck."
The whole thing is schlocky and weird and not really good, but still icky and fun anyways. The third act is the most straight forward recreation of the climax to Aliens I've seen put to film, sans budget and scale. It goes to some unexpectedly weird places.
This was not a good movie. But it was still a fun movie; but then I tend to go easy on creature features.
Yeah, I'm right with you on this film. I will say I did kinda like how they handled the "will they/won't they" aspect of the main characters that made them easy to root for.
I got a real kick of how quickly they started to hump each other at the end with all of those people around them, since they deserved the hell out of that moment of intimacy.
I really didn't know anything about this movie going in, and since I'm trying to fit in a few home invasion films in my list this year, I thought I'd give You're Next a try. I liked that it wasn't a typical home invasion thriller, but some of the comedy with the family dynamic didn't really work for me. I realize that it was intentionally over the top both with the family interaction and some of the kills, but all of that juxtaposed to the way they portrayed the protagonist felt a little weird. I'd probably rate it a 6/10.
1- Most Likely To Die (Oct 1)
Film was boring and the kills were not memorable. The cast was pretty terrible if you ask me and the reasons behind the killer were absurdly stupid.
2- Feast (Oct 2)
Good Campy fun with decent traditional effects. The acting is aware of its camp value and it plays it up greatly for the whole movie and the deaths are nice. I also happen to like the monster design and setting so its an enjoyable one.
After last night's wonderful Christmas Evil I was brought crashing back to earth this afternoon by this leaden, tiresome effort. I know that in some quarters this film is a bit of a cult classic, but it really didn't work for me.
On paper, it sounds good. Lust, murder, self-immolation, incest, psychiatric patients escaping from an asylum, all sorts. Unfortunately, the film does not live up to its promise, and is badly hampered by some horrifically bad acting. Normally thats not an issue for me, but some of the performances here are truly bloody awful. Probably the most interesting thing about the film is its status as a proto-Slasher. Having been released in 1972, it is apparently one of the first films to use a number of techniques that became hallmarks of the Slasher genre. I can certainly vouch for the fact that many other movies since have done what this film attempts, and almost all of them have done it to much better effect.
Now Im going to watch the 2013 remake. My hopes are not high for that either, I must confess.
#01 - A Blade in the Dark (1983)
Kicking things of with a fun but typical giallo. The story lends itself well to the ingredients I've come to love and expect in these murder mysteries. There's great suspenseful buildup to gruesome kills for which director Bava really takes his sweet time, creating the definite highlights of the movie, along with some nifty camerawork. The stuff in between is quite by the book and pretty decent. Unfortunately there's some technical issues that irked me: The dubbing is often terrible (moreso than usually is the case with gialli) and on a few occasions the music (which is great) sometimes cuts of at the weirdest times. All in all this was basically what I was expecting going into the movie. 6.5/10
