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31 Days of Horror 6 |OT| The October Movie Marathon

F

Fancy Clown

Member
15) Deep Red - (Dario Argento, 1975)

"Maybe you've seen something so important you can't realize it."
titlescreen.jpg
Deep%20Red%20Blu-Ray%20(18).jpg
Deep-Red-knife.jpg
deepred.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow. So this was an improvement over Argento's Cat o' Nine Tails, to say the least. I'm tempted to just throw more gorgeous stills from the movie up here and the amazing Goblin soundtrack and just leave it at that, because this film is first and foremost a visual and aural experience, and in its best sequences the images and sound flow and mesh together like a grand opera of violence. Seriously, the first 15 minutes of this movie are flawless, from the enigmatic and creepy opening images, the first time the rocking Goblin score kicks in, and the brutal first kill. This film shares some of the same issues as other gialli I've seen, and there were a few awkward cuts in here that I imagine were because the American version I watched was 20 minutes shorter than the Italian cut. But even the weaker moments of this giallo (the non-suspense scenes) are better than most of the other gialli I've seen since the characters actually have character, the lead actor is quite good, and there's more humor and playfulness...plus the movie is so damn gorgeous it wouldn't really matter if the expository scenes were terrible (they're not). And the murder scenes themselves...whoo boy, they are something else. The brutality combined with the beauty of how they're shot, and the editing along with the soundtrack make them like grotesque ballets, and each one was a sadistic and macabre delight. And of course one film after I comment about how I'm figuring out who the killer is in all these movies pretty early on, I get to this one where I honestly did not see the reveal coming. I'd put this up with Blood and Black Lace as the best of the gialli I've seen, easily.
 
S

Steamlord

Member
Fancy Clown said:
15) Deep Red - (Dario Argento, 1975)

"Maybe you've seen something so important you can't realize it."


Wow. So this was an improvement over Argento's Cat o' Nine Tails, to say the least. I'm tempted to just throw more gorgeous stills from the movie up here and the amazing Goblin soundtrack and just leave it at that, because this film is first and foremost a visual and aural experience, and in its best sequences the images and sound flow and mesh together like a grand opera of violence. Seriously, the first 15 minutes of this movie are flawless, from the enigmatic and creepy opening images, the first time the rocking Goblin score kicks in, and the brutal first kill. This film shares some of the same issues as other gialli I've seen, and there were a few awkward cuts in here that I imagine were because the American version I watched was 20 minutes shorter than the Italian cut. But even the weaker moments of this giallo (the non-suspense scenes) are better than most of the other gialli I've seen since the characters actually have character, the lead actor is quite good, and there's more humor and playfulness...plus the movie is so damn gorgeous it wouldn't really matter if the expository scenes were terrible (they're not). And the murder scenes themselves...whoo boy, they are something else. The brutality combined with the beauty of how they're shot, and the editing along with the soundtrack make them like grotesque ballets, and each one was a sadistic and macabre delight. And of course one film after I comment about how I'm figuring out who the killer is in all these movies pretty early on, I get to this one where I honestly did not see the reveal coming. I'd put this up with Blood and Black Lace as the best of the gialli I've seen, easily.
Click to expand...

Make sure you get around to Tenebre at some point. It's one of the best gialli I've seen while also serving as an excellent deconstruction of the genre. While Suspiria is my favorite Argento film that I've seen (boring opinion, I know), Tenebre is my favorite giallo of his and probably my favorite giallo period, though Deep Red comes close.


Blader said:
You're Next is by the guys who did The Guest, right?
Click to expand...

Yeah, but for the record, I really didn't like The Guest and I loved You're Next. So YMMV.
 
P

Penguin

Member
Fancy Clown said:
Maniac (the remake with Elijah Wood)
You're Next
I Saw the Devil (calling this one a slasher per say might be a bit of stretch))
Click to expand...

BattleMonkey said:
"You're Next" probably is best. There hasn't been many slashers in the past decade really outside of countless direct to video crap fests.
Click to expand...

Blader said:
You're Next is by the guys who did The Guest, right?
Click to expand...

Yeah seems like the "best" slashers of the past 20 years or so have been the ones that study the tropes and turn them on their head like that, Tucker and Dale vs Evil and the Scream franchise.

Was looking at my list so far this year and realized how slasher lite it's been so wanted to see if missing any real gems.
 
L

lordxar

Member
Time to catch up:

Finally watched Southbound and I like it quite a bit. The stories all blended together really well and those floaty things with bony wings and tentacles were awesome creatures to see. Even though I enjoyed this I don't feel it was very strong. There's something I can't quite put my finger on but the pieces didn't totally add up to awesome but the were pretty cool pieces.

southbound.jpg


The Embalmer came along from some list or something. Not exactly sure where I saw it recommended but this was basically Scuba Steve getting revenge on hot chicks through diving. It actually wasn't too bad even though I almost quite right off the bat seeing the dude scuba diving around.

mv5bmti1nzg5ndm4n15bml5banbnxkftztcwmzq5mzyymq-_v1_sx640_sy720_.jpg


Two Thousand Maniacs. I am glad I heard of Herschell Gordon Lewis in time for my history of theme. Just like all the other cool stuff I've missed over the years but Shudder to the rescue! Now I loved Blood Feast. I thought it had an original story even if a bit b rated and campy. This surpassed Blood Feast in a lot of ways. So this whole town of Confederates decides to trap some Yankees for a centennial celebration and make them pay for some slaughter during the Civil War. This was completely batshit insane and reminded me a lot of the 70's Wicker Man with all the crazy shit going down. What I loved though was the kills. Barrel roll is something I never saw before and the tell us when this thing falls was great! The shit was straight up mean but hilarious at the same time.

two-thousand-maniacs-movie-poster-1964-1020491581.jpg


Last but not least is Plan 9 From Outer Space. You just don't get much more budget than UFO's on strings...well maybe burning UFO's on strings but the cardboard cemetary and the cardboard airplane cockpit were awesome. It was like a well made high school film. The only real reason it gets included in the horror aisle is the zombie/vampire things, which that vampire chick had a ridiculous waist size and in looking her up, she actually did shit to herself to have that waist. The movie was pretty fun and thankfully not very long. It was fun but not that much fun.

MV5BMzUzMzA0NDE3MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzg1Mjc1MDE@._V1_UX182_CR0,0,182,268_AL_.jpg
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
Steamlord said:
Make sure you get around to Tenebre at some point. It's one of the best gialli I've seen while also serving as an excellent deconstruction of the genre. While Suspiria is my favorite Argento film that I've seen (boring opinion, I know), Tenebre is my favorite giallo of his and probably my favorite giallo period, though Deep Red comes close.
Click to expand...

Yeah, people keep telling me Tenebre is one of his best. It's a bummer it's not streaming anywhere though. I'll have to wait till the bluray hits a nice price point.
 
T

ThirstyFly

Member
Sy2Ey76.jpg


09) The Neon Demon (2016) (Oct 9)

Taking a break from all the older movies I've been going though this month, I decided get The Neon Demon out of the way.

On the surface, The Neon Demon feels like another more style over substance effort from Nicolas Winding Refn. The film spends its 2-hour run time lavishing in its own beauty and composition, often drifting off in directions that seem pointless and unnecessary and I can see where it would lose a lot of viewers as the film crawls to its conclusion.

The conclusion, however... is where Refn's slow burn pays off. The plot's diversions reveal themselves to be skillful misdirection, the little hints begin to show and the pacing, making you feel unconformable for nearly 2 hours, comes screaming into your face. This is what it all led to, and it is amazing.

Rating:
6IMgFVz.png

out 5 "What's in the basket?"


oqxSX13.jpg


10) Tusk (2014) (Oct 10)

Since it's Canadian Thanksgiving, I figured I'd go with something maple flavoured. The beginning of Kevin Smith's Canada-based trilogy seemed like a good idea at the time.

I suppose there's the potential for a fun, over-the-top body horror movie in here somewhere, but this sure as hell isn't it. Constant and jarring shifts in tone ruin the few moments of genuine horror that Michael Parks' performance (the only redeeming quality) offer and the narrative jumps all over the place as the film rockets into self indulgent, cartoonish buffoonery. The very second the “surprise” cameo opens his mouth and begins that performance, the film has lost any chance of redeeming itself. And Smith's Canadian jokes are aboot as lazy as they come.

Well… I was warned about this one and didn't listen. I have no one to blame but myself. As for Canadian Thanksgiving, I'm thankful no one has ever turned me into a walrus.

Rating:
Pe5QECt.png

out 5 "What's in the basket?"
 
V

Violence Jack

Member
Fancy Clown said:
15) Deep Red - (Dario Argento, 1975)

"Maybe you've seen something so important you can't realize it."


Wow. So this was an improvement over Argento's Cat o' Nine Tails, to say the least. I'm tempted to just throw more gorgeous stills from the movie up here and the amazing Goblin soundtrack and just leave it at that, because this film is first and foremost a visual and aural experience, and in its best sequences the images and sound flow and mesh together like a grand opera of violence. Seriously, the first 15 minutes of this movie are flawless, from the enigmatic and creepy opening images, the first time the rocking Goblin score kicks in, and the brutal first kill. This film shares some of the same issues as other gialli I've seen, and there were a few awkward cuts in here that I imagine were because the American version I watched was 20 minutes shorter than the Italian cut. But even the weaker moments of this giallo (the non-suspense scenes) are better than most of the other gialli I've seen since the characters actually have character, the lead actor is quite good, and there's more humor and playfulness...plus the movie is so damn gorgeous it wouldn't really matter if the expository scenes were terrible (they're not). And the murder scenes themselves...whoo boy, they are something else. The brutality combined with the beauty of how they're shot, and the editing along with the soundtrack make them like grotesque ballets, and each one was a sadistic and macabre delight. And of course one film after I comment about how I'm figuring out who the killer is in all these movies pretty early on, I get to this one where I honestly did not see the reveal coming. I'd put this up with Blood and Black Lace as the best of the gialli I've seen, easily.
Click to expand...

Since someone already mentioned the GOAT Giallo with Tenebre, check out Argento's Sleepless as well if you can. Probably the best post-2000 Argento film.
 
E

EmpressInYellow

Banned
Today is World Mental Health Day, which means it's time for me to post my write-ups of the previous double feature: Mental Illness Interventions, with They Look Like People and Pod.

To be honest, Resolution probably would've been a better match for either film here - for They Look Like People because of the strong relationship between the two leads and Pod because of the focus on the intervention in an isolated cabin. Sadly, I'd already seen Resolution, so here we are.

They Look Like People

They_Look_Like_People_poster.jpg


Summary - Old friends Wyatt and Christian reunite in the city in the aftermath of Wyatt leaving his fiancee. Christian encourages Wyatt to stay with him for a while, and the two begin to reconnect.

Unfortunately, Wyatt is also seeing and hearing things. He's convinced that there's a conspiracy of human-like infiltrators preparing to launch an attack on the unsuspecting remnants of humanity. He begins to prepare for the coming war in secret as Christian struggles with more mundane concerns surrounding his career and love life. Eventually, all of these issues begin to converge as the time for Wyatt's war draws closer.

Thoughts - I don't really want to say too much about the plot of this movie for two reasons. First, I don't want to give anything away, but more importantly, because it's more about the characters than the plot. The film works largely on the strength of the relationship between Wyatt and Christian, which is why I said before that it reminds me a bit of Resolution. As horror movies go, it's pretty low key, relying more on tension and implication than jump scares and blood.

Its relationship to mental illness is...interesting. I can see multiple readings on the subject, actually - one slightly more pathologizing and the other more redemptive and sympathetic. I'm not 100% sure which side I come down on yet, but I will say that its treatment of the subject is, at least, substantially more nuanced than the vast majority of horror films. Anyway, it's solid. I'm glad I watched it, and it's an effective little low-budget indie psychological horror film, so long as you don't go in expecting tons of spectacle.

(Also, the guy who plays Wyatt, Macleod Andrews, is someone who I was previously familiar with from his narration work, so it was interesting actually seeing him on screen.)

Pod

Pod-featured-350x350.jpg


Summary - Siblings Ed and Lyla travel to their brother's isolated cabin to stage an intervention. Their brother, Martin, is an army veteran with serious problems with mental illness. At the start of the film, he encounters (or believes he encounters) something in the woods which kills his dog, leading him to fire wildly into the woods with his rifle.

When Ed and Lyla arrive, Martin is behaving erratically, talking about secret government experiments and an engineered killing machine he refers to as a "Pod". He claims one attacked him in the woods and that he ultimately managed to trap it in his basement.

Ed and Lyla, of course, are concerned that their brother has had a total break with reality and, worse, that he might actually have some innocent person trapped in his basement. They try to figure out how to talk him down as Martin becomes more insistent and frantic. Then, of course, things escalate.

Of course, the reveal is that there IS actually a creature in his basement, a fact that Ed and Lyla discover only after Martin has killed himself.

Thoughts - I could tell pretty early on that this wasn't going to be much like They Look Like People in terms of how it handled mental illness. Whereas that film's character, Wyatt, was sympathetic and low-key, almost wounded, Martin is manic and jumpy, feeling a bit like a more energetic version of Dennis Hopper's character from Apocalypse Now!

But what about the movie itself? Well...unfortunately, I wasn't terribly impressed. The characters are pretty thin and unsympathetic, which makes the focus on family drama for the first 2/3 of the film fall flat. Not only did I have very little investment in the outcome of their attempted intervention, but I was pretty sure I knew where it was going anyway (which made all the preamble kind of pointless). Martin, with his twitchy nervousness, is the strongest of the three - at least he's somewhat entertaining to watch. Lyla (played by Lauren Ashley Carter, who I last saw in The Mind's Eye and veteran of films like Jug Face and The Woman) is by far the worst. She's practically unwatchable, darting moment-to-moment between shrieking hysterics, childish petulance, and wide-eyed credulity. Her brother Ed is only marginally better - his personality seems permanently set to "paternalistic asshole".

The movie also takes a little too long to get to the payoff, and when it comes, it's not especially satisfying. Add to that some overly-cute directing choices (strobing lights, a freeze-frame zoom or two), and the whole thing feels...unsatisfying.
 
R

Ridley327

Member
October 10

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At its best, which is certainly for a huge chunk of its run time, The Hitcher presents itself as a truly sickening thriller centered around a killer who can almost be deemed truly supernatural. As portrayed in the way that only Rutger Hauer could, John Ryder is not given to shouting at anyone, bouts of mania and doesn't show a particular degree of satisfaction in any of the killing he does. What he does truly enjoy is finding any way he can to bring poor Jim Halsey down to his level, breaking him down more and more until he gets him right where he wants him to be. C. Thomas Howell has never been a particularly amazing actor, but Jim is a role well suited for his talents, with his slightly nervous energy making for an effective foil in this rather twisted relationship. I especially liked how well he wore the mounting psychological damage of the events, looking practically 10 years older by the end of the film. The concept certainly bears out a homerotic undertone on its own, but I really admired the film for going all the way with it in the way that they did, and at the risk of making it sound too crude, it was hard to miss just how often the nearly all-male cast were willing to whip their metaphorical dicks out in a show of dominance. Technically speaking, it's really hard to fault the film at all, with Robert Harmon opting for building terrific tension and hinting at the more graphic moments rather than turning the film into a full-on blood bath. And as aided by the ever-masterful John Seale as his DoP, the Texas countryside (well, at least the California countryside made to look like Texas) has scarcely looked ever as desolate and foreboding as it does in this film. It is such a restrained film that it felt very disappointing when the film sneaks in a rather large-scale car chase that feels entirely at odds with the rest of the film, opting for a overblown spectacle in a film that never needed it. But thankfully, the film course corrects in the best way imaginable, with a follow-up sequence that is one for the ages that also acts as great build-up for the film's tough climax, which closes out the story in a quietly satisfying way while finding a way to linger on in the mind. If it's disappointing that it's not the out-and-out masterpiece that it could have been, I feel that speaks highly of all the stuff it gets so damn right than anything else. It's an easy recommendation, but it's not the easiest film to stomach from a content standpoint, as it manages to feel far more graphic than it actually is. That's some power of suggestion.

Film for October 11: Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of duality receives perhaps its most unique adaptation yet in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne. Director Walerian Borowczyk has long been on my radar, and while it seems a bit dangerous to start with a director towards the end of their career, the kind words I've read about this film (and having Udo Kier doesn't hurt!) secured this a slot in my marathon in what's sure to be an adaptation unlike any other.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
#10 | Indigenous | via Netflix instant

Your basic movie about idiot college kids warned not to go into the jungle and they go into the jungle. It tries to do something original with the third act, and their video calling for help
going viral
, but that just sucks what little tension the film had right out of it.

I counted three times when our idiot heroes were running through the jungle and then fall down because they were required to. Including the most absurd right at the end, where the story had boxed itself into a corner: a group was going to escape, and the *only* way they could fail was if one falls down and stops the pack. Naturally, it's a woman, and she doesn't fall down, or twist her ankle, so manages to get a compound fracture from running on flat ground. It would be comical if they were not playing it straight.

I think I've officially scraped the bottom of the streaming Netflix barrel, here.

* tiny pumpkin out of five
 
M

mariachi507

Member
I feel that it's best to go into these two films knowing as little as possible, so I'm going to throw them both together and keep it brief.

vNGwbe3.jpg
Click to expand...

7. The Final Girls

Before watching, I had read how The Final Girls was more in the vein of The Scream/Tucker&Dale/Cabin in the Woods kind of horror. Even knowing that, I was very surprised by the direction the story went. It's fun, has some enjoyable performances, has good music, and was surprisingly emotional. I thought there were a few too many characters, but I guess they serve their purpose. Highly recommended for fans of the films I mentioned or slasher fans in general.

The killer in this movie was basically Jason Vorhees/Cropsey from the Burning. I kind of wish that I could see a version of this movie that is actually a Friday the 13th sequel. It doesn't really make a difference to how the quality of the film is, just a thought.

Verdict: 8/10

hnUyEBG.jpg
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8. The Invitation

From what I've read this is a very decisive movie with opinions all over the place. Many people thought it was too slow, had bad acting/writing, and that the payoff wasn't worth it. I'm the complete opposite, this movie really worked for me. The pace is slow, but it wasn't the kind of slow where I'm looking at my watch every five minutes. It's an interesting film that keeps you guessing throughout it's runtime.

Verdict: 8/10

Next: I'm finally going to start digging into some films that were put on my list during last years 31 days of horror. It's Cronenberg time!
 
S

Steamlord

Member
#14 - Train to Busan (Busanhaeng) [2016]

cczt4oFm.jpg


A nonstop action-packed thrill ride with a heart. It's not scary, but I don't really look to be scared by horror films these days anyway. There's just as much action here as there is horror. The pacing is excellent; things go to shit almost immediately and never let up, keeping you interested from start to finish. It's got a charming cast of characters (plus the mandatory villain) with plenty of heartfelt moments. There was one scene in particular where a character made a decision that was just completely stupid and not in character at all, but that was really the only major problem I had with the movie. That aside, it's one of the best zombie movies I've seen. If you're more into the slow, plodding, atmospheric type of zombie film, this might not be what you're looking for, but it's really enjoyable regardless.


#15 - The Wailing (Goksung) [2016]

H1yvMyfm.jpg


What a ride that was. I'm still trying to digest what I just watched; it's a lot to take in. It throws just about everything at you, but somehow it all mostly works and keeps you engaged for the entire two and a half hours. There were interesting themes of religion and xenophobia, and while I'm still not sure how much I liked the ending I know I really liked the movie as a whole (and the more I think about it, the more I like the ending as well). It's chock full of images that will forever be etched into my brain, memorable scene after memorable scene. Definitely something I'll be thinking about for a long time. The praise I've seen for this movie is about on par with that directed at The Witch, and while this doesn't measure up to The Witch for me (The Witch quickly became one of my favorite horror films ever), it's still a damn good movie.

Letterboxd list
 
W

walkmetothelake

Banned
Did a series wide rewatch of the Child's Play series over the past two days

---

OP

Film #17 - Child's Play (1988)

I've always had a soft spot for the Child's Play series as a whole. I was never a huge fan of the original at first but I eventually came around. Today I'd probably say this one and Bride hold up the best overall.

I think they did a decent job getting mileage out of the creepy good guy doll thing (in my opinion just about as much as they could to begin with) before moving more in a comedy direction later. This is missing some of the bigger set pieces or noteworthy moments that come with the sequels but it gets points for being the first in my book.

Film #18 - Child's Play 2 (1990)

I have a lot of nostalgia for this one as I used to rent it a lot from a local rental store near my childhood hometown. Seeing it now it definitely isn't the greatest but there's still some stuff to like here.

I'd say this is worth watching for the doll factory setting used near the end alone. I'm very much a fan of more unique settings such as that one when they show up in films. I also liked Kyle quite a bit as a character, it's too bad she wasn't used more in the series. I also want to give notice to the opening title sequence. Not sure what it is, but that has always stood out and been memorable to me. It's probably the closest the series as a whole has come to being creepy with all of the closeups of doll parts and such.

What really hurts this one for me is how close it feels to the original at times. There's definitely differences throughout but it's hard not to compare them (in which case the original is superior) when the general concepts are so similar. This might have also stood out more as I watched it directly after the original or maybe I'm impossible to please.

Film #19 - Child's Play 3 (1991)

This one was a lot better than I had recalled. It's by no means a great film but I like the unique setting (both the military school and carnival) and plot set-up. The war game thing was particularly interesting and surprising to see in the third film in a horror franchise. The film also continues to lean more heavily on the comedy which is a plus on my end.

Not sure why this one seems to be the black sheep of the series but I seem to have weird opinions with some of these horror franchises.

Film #20 - Bride of Chucky (1998)

There's so much for me to like with this one. Jennifer Tilly is absolutely amazing as Tiffany, the film looks great, and the comedy is taken even further this time around. I can see why some people were turned off but I don't know what they expected as this had been a gradual shift instead of some wild change. I'd go as far as to say that this is my ideal Child's Play film.

This gets better each time I rewatch it as I seem to catch or understand more references.

Film #21 - Seed of Chucky (2004)

Yet another one that I didn't give enough credit to. I remember thinking this was a fun yet incredibly messy follow-up to Bride. While this is still mostly true, I don't remember it being this good.

There was only so much that could've been done to follow Bride unless you get into rebooting the series but I'm glad they decided to continue where it left off. The general plotlines (Hollywood, Jennifer Tilly's career, Chucky's family relationships, etc.) are interesting and while they don't always turn out so great, there's definitely more hits than misses. Some of the more "meta" aspects of the story remind me of a better attempt at what Scream 3 was trying to get into at times.

I'm especially impressed while still blown away that a mainstream film released in 2004 (the fifth in a slasher series no less) tackled issues like gender fluidity and others. I'm not sure if the execution is the greatest but just the fact that it happened at all while not being malicious at any point wows me honestly.

I want to give this some time and later viewings but if it holds up for me I could see myself placing this with Bride as my series favorites.

Film #22 - Curse of Chucky (2013)

I have pretty mixed feelings on this one. I like what they were going for with this times, it feels like a decent middle ground between the original Child's Play and what came later with Bride/Seed. It actually does a pretty nice job of building up the atmosphere without even showing or having Chucky do much of anything for the first half or quarter of the film.

It's when things start to pick up that I begin to have more issues with this. I think it's really cool that they tried to connect this with the series and applaud them for doing so but to me it just ended up being overcooked. The latter half of this film drags on and on. During my original viewing I thought it was coming to an end twice before it actually did. This wouldn't have been a big deal if this was full of truly engaging content for me but it wasn't and sometimes less is more.

Even still, this is a really solid entry to the series. Especially so in the earlier bits. I liked the new cast of characters so it's sad to see that they've either been killed off or probably wasted/put away to not be used again. I'm really curious to see where the series chooses to go from here when it continues.
 
M

mariachi507

Member
Fancy Clown said:
15) Deep Red - (Dario Argento, 1975)

"Maybe you've seen something so important you can't realize it."


Wow. So this was an improvement over Argento's Cat o' Nine Tails, to say the least. I'm tempted to just throw more gorgeous stills from the movie up here and the amazing Goblin soundtrack and just leave it at that, because this film is first and foremost a visual and aural experience, and in its best sequences the images and sound flow and mesh together like a grand opera of violence. Seriously, the first 15 minutes of this movie are flawless, from the enigmatic and creepy opening images, the first time the rocking Goblin score kicks in, and the brutal first kill. This film shares some of the same issues as other gialli I've seen, and there were a few awkward cuts in here that I imagine were because the American version I watched was 20 minutes shorter than the Italian cut. But even the weaker moments of this giallo (the non-suspense scenes) are better than most of the other gialli I've seen since the characters actually have character, the lead actor is quite good, and there's more humor and playfulness...plus the movie is so damn gorgeous it wouldn't really matter if the expository scenes were terrible (they're not). And the murder scenes themselves...whoo boy, they are something else. The brutality combined with the beauty of how they're shot, and the editing along with the soundtrack make them like grotesque ballets, and each one was a sadistic and macabre delight. And of course one film after I comment about how I'm figuring out who the killer is in all these movies pretty early on, I get to this one where I honestly did not see the reveal coming. I'd put this up with Blood and Black Lace as the best of the gialli I've seen, easily.
Click to expand...

The reveal of the killer blew my mind when I first watched this a couple of years ago. I also found it creepy how it was shown early on but I still missed it.
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
mariachi507 said:
The reveal of the killer blew my mind when I first watched this a couple of years ago. I also found it creepy how it was shown early on but I still missed it.
Click to expand...

Yeah at the end I was like "no way they actually showed the killer that blatantly at the beginning of the movie, so I went back to the scene and watched again...and yup. There she is literally just staring at you. "Maybe you've seen something so important you can't realize it" indeed. Amazing.
 
V

Vincent Grayson

Member
hampig said:
The Green Room

I heard a lot of great things about this right when it came out, and have been excited to watch it ever since I watched Blue Ruin and looked up what the director was up to next. Even with my high expectations, it surprised and impressed.

I've seen most of the movies on any given "most shocking movies" list, but there are very few that gave me the feeling I got during the
arm scene
. Like any good horror, the impact doesn't come just from the act of violence itself, but from a combination of it and the situation around it. The lead up to when shit hits the fan was just really excellent, and I didn't expect for them to go as far as they did with it. The
box cutter
and the first
kill by the dog
specifically were pretty great. And the fact that the main characters were
dropping like flies
. It took its time building up but the shocks came fast and hard, I loved it.
Click to expand...

If you haven't watched his early movie, Murder Party, I highly recommend it. It's a lot harder to take seriously, and I'd almost call it a black comedy.
 
P

pitcairn55

Member
The Shudder beta is alive in the UK - got my email invite last night. Rather good timing. Well, assuming they've got some halfway decent films on there... If they do, I might be changing my list for the rest of the month.
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
pitcairn55 said:
The Shudder beta is alive in the UK - got my email invite last night. Rather good timing. Well, assuming they've got some halfway decent films on there... If they do, I might be changing my list for the rest of the month.
Click to expand...

95% of what I'm watching is through Shudder. It's great. I just wish they had a PS4 app.
 
B

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
Fancy Clown said:
95% of what I'm watching is through Shudder. It's great. I just wish they had a PS4 app.
Click to expand...

amazon app has shudder, fyi

watched GREEN INFERNO last night. you guys were right: just okay. i was a little disappointed at how little there was to the movie. for my money if you want racially fraught movies about "savages" BONE TOMAHAWK is so much better.
 
I

Ivan A Nguyen

Member
Round 1

Round 2


8) Ouiji
VX3zfaCl.png

That lady from Insidious has found her true calling and is really getting a lot of work in the horror community. She's a very small part of the movie but that really sold it for me. The second leading lady, Abuela, was awesome at dropping knowledge bombs on the forgettable teen actors. I don't want to spoil the story because that part isn't too predictable. It's a good movie over all. Just 3 planchets out of 5.

9) Poltriguist
4S41yHwl.jpg

I thought I was renting the original. I was wrong. This version of the movie is pretty good in my eyes, but that might be because I have nothing to compare it against. There are a few bits that never get resolved. One that really sticks out to me is the over spending done by the dad. It introduces key equipment that is used in the story, but the rational behind it is very weak. This might be my bias as a man who's spent years as a stay-at-home-dad, but you don't go and spend money you aren't making. The TV show host saves this movie. I will admit my experience was tainted by some skipping on the blu ray's end. If it had not done so to some of the scarier scenes I might have liked the family a little bit more. 3 finger prints I can't get off the freaking TV screen out of 5.

10) Black Water Wilderness
laus8ovl.jpg

This had to be someone's passion project. The movie works pretty well for the day light portion of the film but totally falls apart during the second night time portion. The silent killer does get major points for being inventive and having some kind of wifi service that doesn't show up on anyone's cell phone. In some ways, I saw him as a tired Wolverine. He was willing to kill over any little transgression and took his time doing so. This movie was another example of a forced love story where the girl involved was treated openly like a possession. The film is only worth 2 arrow heads out of 5.

11) The Final Girls
5mBpsFNl.jpg

I love Workaholics. The guy on the cover of the movie sold this for me. I also picked up Friday the 13th 1 and 2, so I kind of wished I had watched them first. This movie is a not so meta-commentary on campy slasher movies. The one part that seemed really out of place was the insistence on the second flash back. It did reveal some key information, but the reason behind instigating it was really weak. This is one of the few times I was happy that the sequel was baited at the end. 3.5 awkward strip teases out of 5.

12) Creep
URUeyUll.jpg

The mask is what really sells the movie for me. I went from, 'This might be a mildly scary found footage movie' to 'this is off the rails crazy' with just one wolf dance. There are some tricks played on the audience towards the end of the movie that make the story look like it'll end early, but I'm glad it for how it paid off in the end. I'm scoring this 4 friendship lockets out of 5.
 
L

lordxar

Member
A $35 Chromecast streams pretty much anything your phone can, Android and even Apple I believe. I refuse to stream off my ps4 or pc unless I'm feeling lazy or in a friend queue for gaming. High dollar boxes vs cheaply replaceable item...plus it helps a smart tv be smarter. Shudder works pretty well the only issue is that some of their content isn't wide or full screen. So I've watched a couple things that had giant black borders on 4 sides or some other weird screen size which probably looks better on either pc or native phone screen.
 
E

excelsiorlef

Member
Oct 10

12. Blood Rage aka Nightmare at Shadow Woods aka Slasher (1983/1987)

Some gnarly kills, some disappointing off screen ones. Horrific acting that actually grated on me, especially the Mother, the guy playing the twins is solid he differentiated pretty well between the fucked up psycho killer brother and the got locked up unjustly in a mental hospital brother, that's not a spoiler btw that's the premise....

It's a slasher that I swear had to be designed to be slightly making fun of them, the camera looms just too long sometimes and the acting is just so over the top that I have to imagine it is intentional...

It's bad but it's charming and the score is fantastic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOM2GY-WNXU


13. Bay of Blood aka A Bay of Blood aka Twitch of the Death Nerve aka Ecologia del delitto aka Reazione a catena aka Blood Bath aka Carnage (1971)

Fucking classic. Friday the 13th Part 2 basically almost shot for shot took two of it it's most iconic kills straight from this movie.

It's a proto slasher, it is a slasher with a plot. t's brilliant, it's gory, it has the most disposable youths you'll ever see in a movie, they exit literally to die. All the characters are terrible people and that makes it so fantastic, and a fantastic WTF ending.

The camera lingers on many of the kills much longer than you'd expect and it becomes unnerving, i;s not just blam they're dead, you watch them twitch and gasp and grasp to life, it's fucked up and awesome. It really makes Twitch of the Death Nerve a fitting title (It is my fav of the 700 titles this fucker has been given over the years)

My favorite movie I've watched thus far.
 
T

ThirstyFly

Member
Well, I just watched my trashiest film on the month yet, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave. Sorry A Bay of Blood and Delirium, you've been out sleazed.

Now let's see if I can top it.
 
B

Blader

Member
Blood and Black Lace
I think maybe gialli aren't really for me. I didn't like Deep Red or Suspiria (not giallo but basically that same style) all that much, and while I enjoyed this more, something about the vibe of this genre rubs me in the wrong way. I like other Italian exploitation movies and I like slashers (good ones, anyway; I don't have a thing against the genre itself) so I don't know what it is. In any event, I thought this movie was stylish as hell, great looking color palette and lighting, and I quite liked the soundtrack too. Aesthetically, it's on point. I wasn't all that into the story or characters, though to it's credit, I did actually find the killer reveal surprising, if only because I thought the movie was just being extremely obvious in telegraphing the killer's identity for most of the film, heh.
6/10

Steamlord said:
Yeah, but for the record, I really didn't like The Guest and I loved You're Next. So YMMV.
Click to expand...

Hmm. I really dug The Guest, but I'll still give it a shot. I need something to swap for Crimson Peak anyway, after a handful of you guys recommended against it. :lol
 
H

hampig

Member
Blader said:
Blood and Black Lace
I think maybe gialli aren't really for me. I didn't like Deep Red or Suspiria (not giallo but basically that same style) all that much, and while I enjoyed this more, something about the vibe of this genre rubs me in the wrong way. I like other Italian exploitation movies and I like slashers (good ones, anyway; I don't have a thing against the genre itself) so I don't know what it is. In any event, I thought this movie was stylish as hell, great looking color palette and lighting, and I quite liked the soundtrack too. Aesthetically, it's on point. I wasn't all that into the story or characters, though to it's credit, I did actually find the killer reveal surprising, if only because I thought the movie was just being extremely obvious in telegraphing the killer's identity for most of the film, heh.
6/10



Hmm. I really dug The Guest, but I'll still give it a shot. I need something to swap for Crimson Peak anyway, after a handful of you guys recommended against it. :lol
Click to expand...

I really adored You're Next. One of the best horrors of the past 5 years if you ask me. Although I'd say it's more thriller than anything. Has a great tone, some humor that actually hits, and a few likable characters. At least worth a shot.
 
R

Ridley327

Member
Thanks to T-Mobile Tuesday, I've got my first new-to-me addition to the marathon. At some point this month, I shall be seeing Pet Sematary for the first time.

Sometimes, free is bettah.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
#1 - P.O.V. - A Cursed Film (2012) - 3.5/5
#2 - Satanic (2016) - 0/5
#3 - The Shining (1980) - 5/5
#4 - The Awakening (2011) - 3/5
#5 - Teketeke (2009) - 2.5/5
#6 - Teketeke 2 (2009) - 3.5/5
#7 - The Conjuring 2 (2016) 5*/5
#8 - Southbound (2016) - 2/5
#9 - The Silenced (2015) - 3/5
#10 - Evil Dead (2013) - 3/5
#11 - One Missed Call 2 (2005) - 1/5

neon-demon-maind0uf6.jpg

#12 - The Neon Demon (2016)
Visually stunning, narratively quite boring, absolutely disturbing. I was mweh on this film until the final 20 minutes, which is when it takes a turn for the absolutely
WTF IS THIS OMG PLEASE DON'T PLEASE STOP IS SHE RETCHING UP...? OH GOD SHE IS RETCHING UP... NOOOO. DON'T. NOOOOOOOOO.

So yeah, that happened. 4 empty pools out of 5.
 
V

Violence Jack

Member
#13 - The Last Man on Earth (FTV) (1964) - I love Vincent Price. There will never be another like him. I found this to be infinitely better than I Am Legend. Good movie.

Rating: 8/10
Genre: Post-apocalypse
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
mariachi507 said:
I didn't do so hot on one of my exams today, but the present that was waiting on me when I got home made my day a little better.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. I got my Thing copy today as well and watched some of it and it blows the old Bluray out of the water. Looks so much better now, and it is one of the most stacked discs I have in terms of feauteres, which is great considering the old disc only had one commentary track on it and that's it.

I would have gotten Carrie as well, but Amazon's price for it didn't drop to the $20 range.
 
MattyH

MattyH

Member
#11 Night Of The Demons (Remake) i was hard torn between the original (which i love) or the remake they both have their merits but the remake just feels like a more fun less campy experience to watch
 
M

mariachi507

Member
excelsiorlef said:
Oct 10

12. Blood Rage aka Nightmare at Shadow Woods aka Slasher (1983/1987)

Horrific acting that actually grated on me, especially the Mother,
Click to expand...

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT GUN!"

Yeah, she was nuts. She also looks and sounds like my old racist boss, that kind of hurt my enjoyment a bit.


Fancy Clown said:
Good stuff. I got my Thing copy today as well and watched some of it and it blows the old Bluray out of the water. Looks so much better now, and it is one of the most stacked discs I have in terms of feauteres, which is great considering the old disc only had one commentary track on it and that's it.

I would have gotten Carrie as well, but Amazon's price for it didn't drop to the $20 range.
Click to expand...

I got lucky and preordered Carrie months ago when the price was lower. Speaking of, these blu-ray prices have really been blowing up around their release date lately. I guess that means they're selling alright though.
 
P

pitcairn55

Member
11/10/16
Film 14
Contracted

GEzS90N.png
Click to expand...

People, especially young ladies, are forever getting punished for having sex in horror movies. Contracted takes this idea, and runs with it. Opening with a morgue worker getting a spot of necrophiliac action with a biohazardous corpse, the film moves swiftly onto our heroine Samantha, who is having difficulties with her girlfriend. To cheer herself up, Sam goes to a party on her own, gets drunk and (having had her drink spiked), is then raped in the same van we saw the morgue worker driving in earlier. Soon it becomes clear that she has picked up a very nasty STD, the effects of which she becomes increasingly desperate to hide from her friends and family.

The central idea of the film -
a sexually transmitted zombie apocalypse
- is pretty cool, but the movie never really goes anywhere with it, instead being all too keen to keep humiliating Sam for being both a woman and lesbian. How dare she!, the movie bellows repeatedly.
Let’s stuff her vagina full of maggots! Let’s make her an insatiable murderous psychopath who bleeds from every hole!

Having said all that, I did enjoy this film, misogyny concerns aside. It makes the most of a meagre budget, and is generally very well acted. Navarra Townsend is particularly good as Samantha, as is horror movie stalwart Caroline Williams in the role of Sam’s fraught mother Nancy.

Not particularly interesting fact: This is the second flim I've seen this month where the heroine
peels one of her own fingernails off
. I have to say that though I’m not squeamish, that’s something I could do without ever seeing again!

Films I've watched so far
 
D

Dangerblade

Member
deadgirl2.png


Deadgirl [2008]

A huge "meh" on this one. A bunch of fucked up kids who I don't give a shit about continually attack and rape a woman (who is given zero character background or development). It's hard to get invested when you know nothing about the titular character and what you know about the kids is just that they're a bunch of deranged rapists. How they expected me to care about the subplot between Rickie and his love interest I have no idea. Oh yeah, and it's another movie that paints BDSM in the generic "people into it are fucked up and just want to cause pain" negative light.

Not that I think it's a good movie, but if you must watch something like this I'd go with The Woman (also from 2008) over this one.

[4]
 
CharminUltra

CharminUltra

Member
Aiii said:
neon-demon-maind0uf6.jpg

#12 - The Neon Demon (2016)
Visually stunning, narratively quite boring, absolutely disturbing. I was mweh on this film until the final 20 minutes, which is when it takes a turn for the absolutely
WTF IS THIS OMG PLEASE DON'T PLEASE STOP IS SHE RETCHING UP...? OH GOD SHE IS RETCHING UP... NOOOO. DON'T. NOOOOOOOOO.

So yeah, that happened. 4 empty pools out of 5.
Click to expand...
Are you
sex
or are you
food
?
 
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