MattyH
Member
id love to see Suspiria on the big screen plus you are quite right about argentos later works Sleepless was ok and i kinda enjoyed the card player but after that
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
31 Days of Horror 3 |OT| The October Movie Marathon
- Thread starter ThirstyFly
- Start date
id love to see Suspiria on the big screen plus you are quite right about argentos later works Sleepless was ok and i kinda enjoyed the card player but after that
I think I watched that solely based on your recommendation 2 years back and I had so much fun with it. I highly recommend it as well.
ThirstyFly
Member
Did you get around to the sequels? I'm curious of what you thought of them.
They're... interesting.
canoli2006
Member
Hmm..I'll have to check out Feast. I'm intrigued now.
Nope, I avoided them on purpose
BattleMonkey
Member
Feast 2 was a trip. Feast 3 was a giant WTF
ThirstyFly
Member
Nope, I avoided them on purpose
Heh. That's probably for the best...
Gotta love that end song though!
avengers23
Banned
23. Bay of Blood (aka Twitch of the Death Nerve, Carnage, Blood Bath) (Netflix Instant)
Last year, I watched The Burning during my marathon. This year, I watched another "Video Nasty," Bay of Blood, which has the most alternate titles of any film I can remember. I first heard of it when someone referred to it as Twitch of the Death Nerve; Netflix lists it under Bay of Blood.
At one point, one of the characters tells another that if "you kill for killing's sake, you become a monster." What does that mean for viewers who watch characters kill each other for greed? Almost none of them kill for killing's sake; they're all driven by greed or revenge. There are three characters who seem to have killed for killing's sake: Simon, who killed the teenagers who broke into Ventura's cabin, and Albert and Renata's children, who kill their parents for no apparent reason. Simon is also killed by someone motivated by greed. The children are arguably the most evil monsters in the movie; they get away without punishment.
The kills in Bay of Blood still seem creative, even in 2013 after so many movies, including Friday the 13th, have ripped them off. The plot is serviceable, and it could be seen as a critique of development and capitalism.
MattyH
Member
24 - Inferno
Argento Moved into the 80s with this loose sequel of sorts to suspiria (The Three Mothers). I think in terms of the reception this film received on its release was pretty soft in terms of impact it wasnt until it saw VHS,DVD and eventually bluray that it has become truly appreciated
Argento Moved into the 80s with this loose sequel of sorts to suspiria (The Three Mothers). I think in terms of the reception this film received on its release was pretty soft in terms of impact it wasnt until it saw VHS,DVD and eventually bluray that it has become truly appreciated
#22 - The Signal
I couldn't figure out if this one was supposed to be a flashy tarantino-themed horror movie or just a really violent indie production about love in the heat of insanity. Parts of this were hilarious and other parts just made no sense but usually I was able to stick to what the movie was doing well: stylish editing and a sharp script. The middle of this movie is like some twilight zone murderous type shit but it worked. The ending? Not quite as much although it did take balls to end how they did.
This one wasn't my favorite of the month for sure and that's due to how random its direction seemed at times, but it was still alright. The violence was there through the whole movie and that's really what I think the production was going for: bloody mayhem across a city, with all the silliness of a campy b-movie.
I couldn't figure out if this one was supposed to be a flashy tarantino-themed horror movie or just a really violent indie production about love in the heat of insanity. Parts of this were hilarious and other parts just made no sense but usually I was able to stick to what the movie was doing well: stylish editing and a sharp script. The middle of this movie is like some twilight zone murderous type shit but it worked. The ending? Not quite as much although it did take balls to end how they did.
This one wasn't my favorite of the month for sure and that's due to how random its direction seemed at times, but it was still alright. The violence was there through the whole movie and that's really what I think the production was going for: bloody mayhem across a city, with all the silliness of a campy b-movie.
Oldschoolgamer
The physical form of blasphemy
No. From all of the tales I've heard of about people that saw it back in the day, it scared the shit out of everyone, regardless of race, gender, or religion. That's kinda like saying all possession movies would only be scary to the religious, when that's not the case.
edit: It being scary (or not) probably has more to do with how desensitized we've become to movies of it's nature.
rogueriffers
Neo Member
#22 - The Signal
I couldn't figure out if this one was supposed to be a flashy tarantino-themed horror movie or just a really violent indie production about love in the heat of insanity. Parts of this were hilarious and other parts just made no sense but usually I was able to stick to what the movie was doing well: stylish editing and a sharp script. The middle of this movie is like some twilight zone murderous type shit but it worked. The ending? Not quite as much although it did take balls to end how they did.
This one wasn't my favorite of the month for sure and that's due to how random its direction seemed at times, but it was still alright. The violence was there through the whole movie and that's really what I think the production was going for: bloody mayhem across a city, with all the silliness of a campy b-movie.
I like to think of it as more or less an anthology movie, wherein the individual parts are more related than normal. You know it was done by three different directors, right?
Blue Submarine No. 6
Member
31 Days of Horror Lycanthropy Edition
Oct. 23 - Blood and Chocolate (2007)
Blood and Chocolate (2007) - Kind of a bizarre "rethink" of the myth of the Loup Garou combined with a Harlequin Romance, Blood and Chocolate is set in modern day Romania, where the last of the world's true werewolves reside, secretly ruling the Bucharest underworld. Strict pack law has protected the last of their kind for generations, but when a girl from the pack falls for a human boy it all goes straight to hell... The human/wolf transformations are pretty, occuring when the werewolf is leaping through the air in a mist-like magical glow (much like the vampire to bat and werecat to panther transformations in Hammer's Vampire Circus), the locations are interesting, and pretty much everyone on screen is easy on the eyes, but there's not much to recommend this film other than that.
Bonus TV Episode
Rod Serling's Night Gallery "The Phantom Farmhouse" (1971) - This story from the fifth episode of season two features Davids McCallum and Carradine as a doctor and patient (respectively) in a country sanitorium that rests disturbingly close to the titular home of a family of werewolves. A few gruesome patient deaths raise the good Doctor's suspicions and he investigates a farmhouse the locals insist burned down many years before. Here the werewolves are ghosts or undead, and a familiar sorcerer marks their victims for them. Eventually they set to rest by reading the Prayer for the Dead over their graves. This isn't a particularly noteworthy entry in the series, but it fits my theme and helps wash away the movie's taste...
Oct. 23 - Blood and Chocolate (2007)
Blood and Chocolate (2007) - Kind of a bizarre "rethink" of the myth of the Loup Garou combined with a Harlequin Romance, Blood and Chocolate is set in modern day Romania, where the last of the world's true werewolves reside, secretly ruling the Bucharest underworld. Strict pack law has protected the last of their kind for generations, but when a girl from the pack falls for a human boy it all goes straight to hell... The human/wolf transformations are pretty, occuring when the werewolf is leaping through the air in a mist-like magical glow (much like the vampire to bat and werecat to panther transformations in Hammer's Vampire Circus), the locations are interesting, and pretty much everyone on screen is easy on the eyes, but there's not much to recommend this film other than that.
Bonus TV Episode
Rod Serling's Night Gallery "The Phantom Farmhouse" (1971) - This story from the fifth episode of season two features Davids McCallum and Carradine as a doctor and patient (respectively) in a country sanitorium that rests disturbingly close to the titular home of a family of werewolves. A few gruesome patient deaths raise the good Doctor's suspicions and he investigates a farmhouse the locals insist burned down many years before. Here the werewolves are ghosts or undead, and a familiar sorcerer marks their victims for them. Eventually they set to rest by reading the Prayer for the Dead over their graves. This isn't a particularly noteworthy entry in the series, but it fits my theme and helps wash away the movie's taste...
ThirstyFly
Member
Hellraiser - The Complete Franchise Mini-Marathon (Continued)
I started the Hellraiser series during the first year of the marathon and have been doing 2 films each year since. This is where the theatrical releases ended and the straight-to-video releases began. Both of these movies used preexisting scripts and were rewritten to include the Cenobites so they could be used as Hellraiser sequels.
23) Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) (Oct 23)
While taking an old script and tossing in Pinhead & friends to save a buck sounds pretty awful on paper, I'm not actually opposed to the idea. The Cenobites worked much better in the original Hellraiser when they were not the main antagonists so having a story that largely works on its own that just happens to have the Cenobites lurking in the shadows actually sounds kind of cool to me.
So since it wasn't originally a Hellraiser script, Inferno does not continue on with the lunacy and overuse of Pinhead introduced in Hellraiser 3 and 4. It scales everything back and is more of a mystery movie which just happens to have a few Cenobites thrown in.
For a STD movie, it's pretty good. The mystery kept me interested and as the line between reality and fantasy blurs it's all pretty interesting. I do have a few issues that really hurt my enjoyment of the movie.
Firstly, the lead character is completely unlikable. He comes off as more of an asshole version of Thomas Jane than a character you should feel sympathy for. Personally, I would have enjoyed it more if he was played more of a decent guy who gave into his temptations and became a slave to his vices. Whatever they were trying to do with this guy didn't work for me at all.
Secondly, the incredible score from the theatrical films is nowhere to be found. I believe it's related to Dimension not wanting to pay royalties and it hurts the film. The score featured in this one is very dull and unnoticeable. The only time it ever felt effective was during a sequence at the end.
Overall, I like the idea behind the movie, but the lead character just killed it for me. I could have used maybe a liittttle move of the Cenobites as well. I don't know why they bothered with the stupid-ass
instead of giving us more Cenobites. That scene was just ludicrous. Now the
, OH GOOD GOD! That was just... ick. That's what I want a Hellraiser movie.
24) Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002) (Oct 24)
Like Inferno, Hellseeker is another mystery movie with the Cenobites, but it also features Kirsty from the original two movies, so it works as a true sequel as well. Apparently there were more scenes to tie it into the original which were removed. The Blu-ray I have doesn't have any special features so I didn't get to see the deleted scenes.
I actually enjoyed this one more than Inferno. It puzzles me as to why people who like Inferno don't also like Hellseeker since they're so similar. I'm actually having trouble commenting on them because they're blending together in my head since I watched them only a day apart and they feel so much alike.
While I was interested to the end, that's not to say it's without its problems. The lead isn't as obnoxious as in Inferno, but he's pretty wooden and uninteresting. The supporting characters are good though, so they keep things going. I got a kick out of the detective character.
Pinhead gets a little more screen time in this one than he did in Inferno, but the gross out gore scenes you'd expect from this series don't really deliver in this one. I'm drawing a black here trying to think of any stand out moments like the scene I spoiler tagged in Inferno.
Overall, a decent sequel. I think I'll be revisiting them both down the road.
I started the Hellraiser series during the first year of the marathon and have been doing 2 films each year since. This is where the theatrical releases ended and the straight-to-video releases began. Both of these movies used preexisting scripts and were rewritten to include the Cenobites so they could be used as Hellraiser sequels.
23) Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) (Oct 23)
While taking an old script and tossing in Pinhead & friends to save a buck sounds pretty awful on paper, I'm not actually opposed to the idea. The Cenobites worked much better in the original Hellraiser when they were not the main antagonists so having a story that largely works on its own that just happens to have the Cenobites lurking in the shadows actually sounds kind of cool to me.
So since it wasn't originally a Hellraiser script, Inferno does not continue on with the lunacy and overuse of Pinhead introduced in Hellraiser 3 and 4. It scales everything back and is more of a mystery movie which just happens to have a few Cenobites thrown in.
For a STD movie, it's pretty good. The mystery kept me interested and as the line between reality and fantasy blurs it's all pretty interesting. I do have a few issues that really hurt my enjoyment of the movie.
Firstly, the lead character is completely unlikable. He comes off as more of an asshole version of Thomas Jane than a character you should feel sympathy for. Personally, I would have enjoyed it more if he was played more of a decent guy who gave into his temptations and became a slave to his vices. Whatever they were trying to do with this guy didn't work for me at all.
Secondly, the incredible score from the theatrical films is nowhere to be found. I believe it's related to Dimension not wanting to pay royalties and it hurts the film. The score featured in this one is very dull and unnoticeable. The only time it ever felt effective was during a sequence at the end.
Overall, I like the idea behind the movie, but the lead character just killed it for me. I could have used maybe a liittttle move of the Cenobites as well. I don't know why they bothered with the stupid-ass
martial arts cowboys
twin dominatrix Cenobites sticking their hands into the guys chest and wiggling them around
24) Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002) (Oct 24)
Like Inferno, Hellseeker is another mystery movie with the Cenobites, but it also features Kirsty from the original two movies, so it works as a true sequel as well. Apparently there were more scenes to tie it into the original which were removed. The Blu-ray I have doesn't have any special features so I didn't get to see the deleted scenes.
I actually enjoyed this one more than Inferno. It puzzles me as to why people who like Inferno don't also like Hellseeker since they're so similar. I'm actually having trouble commenting on them because they're blending together in my head since I watched them only a day apart and they feel so much alike.
While I was interested to the end, that's not to say it's without its problems. The lead isn't as obnoxious as in Inferno, but he's pretty wooden and uninteresting. The supporting characters are good though, so they keep things going. I got a kick out of the detective character.
Pinhead gets a little more screen time in this one than he did in Inferno, but the gross out gore scenes you'd expect from this series don't really deliver in this one. I'm drawing a black here trying to think of any stand out moments like the scene I spoiler tagged in Inferno.
Overall, a decent sequel. I think I'll be revisiting them both down the road.
WEEK FOUR - PAINFUL MEMORIES
October 24
Thoughts before the rewatch: Even if it is a shameless ripoff of a particular Dean Koontz novel (what, I was young and didn't know better!), High Tension had the makings of a very well-executed thriller all the same, thanks to a gorgeously murky aesthetic, brisk pacing, an effective low-key soundtrack, a compelling lead performance from star Cecile de France as a capable heroine who does apply a bit of ingenuity to escape detection and to defend herself, and for, well, being pretty darn tense. Sure, it was building towards an obvious twist by the end of it, but unless they were planning on making it fall apart with some kind of logical fallacy that couldn't be explained away by an unreliable narrator, and would constitute a plot hole so large that one could drive a motor vehicle through it. I mean, who would sabotage their own film like that?
Somehow, it got the courage to do just that, and whether it was because they didn't want to rip off Intensity too closely or the writers congratulated themselves a little too early in the process of writing the script to remember that they might have overlooked something, the fact remains that the plot twist is undone by a key detail in the sequence of events as portrayed making it rather physically impossible for it to have happened, rendering it nonsensical and wholly ineffective. More distressingly, though, is that there's still 10 minutes left in the film after the reveal, which drags the whole messy matter further out than it needed to be. The film seemed hellbent on erasing all of its goodwill away, and it's hard to argue against how good a job it did of doing it.
Years later: What I wasn't expecting was how much less effective the film would turn out to be the second time around. Sure, the writing is still as much of a problem as it was, but as it turns out, it's a far less essential film than I was giving it credit for. I had remembered enough of it to know the general thrust of things went down, and was expecting to focus my energies on everything else the film had to offer, but I discovered that there was none. The film really is all sizzle and no steak.
It's not to say the things that were good in the first place suddenly turned out rotten or anything like that, as Aja had a great eye for the 70s aesthetic that the film employs, the editing is sharp, the music is still smartly integrated into the film (although, one does question the need to play Muse's New Born twice), and Cecile de France still puts in a good performance for the first 80 minutes of the film. The problem is that it's more obvious now than it was before just how low-stakes the rest of the filmmaking is, making a film known for its graphic punctuations of violence feel a bit bloodless. One could make the argument that it's strength lies in how straightforward it is, but there's a fine line between being straightforward and following the manual too closely to be more than just workmanlike, and I feel like High Tension veers too far into the latter to really stay with me at any length. And that's a hell of a thing to say with a film that has some really brutal scenes of violence.
October 25 preview: I've endured real animal slaughter, brutal rapes of zombie girls, bloody acts of cunnilingus, acts of sexual violence against teenage boys, an entire congregation of nuns pleasuring themselves with a statue of Jesus to help them out, and I'm still not sure I'm mentally ready for the worst kind of horror of all: willingly wanting to watch films directed by Eli Roth, and in this case, Cabin Fever and Hostel. But lo and behold, a potential savior arises to rescue me from the depths of despair once all is said and done with the works of Eli Roth, one that promises not much in the way of actual horror, but certainly a hearty amount of laughs and entertainment, as a local restored theater begins a three-day horror screening event with Army of Darkness.
October 24
Thoughts before the rewatch: Even if it is a shameless ripoff of a particular Dean Koontz novel (what, I was young and didn't know better!), High Tension had the makings of a very well-executed thriller all the same, thanks to a gorgeously murky aesthetic, brisk pacing, an effective low-key soundtrack, a compelling lead performance from star Cecile de France as a capable heroine who does apply a bit of ingenuity to escape detection and to defend herself, and for, well, being pretty darn tense. Sure, it was building towards an obvious twist by the end of it, but unless they were planning on making it fall apart with some kind of logical fallacy that couldn't be explained away by an unreliable narrator, and would constitute a plot hole so large that one could drive a motor vehicle through it. I mean, who would sabotage their own film like that?
Somehow, it got the courage to do just that, and whether it was because they didn't want to rip off Intensity too closely or the writers congratulated themselves a little too early in the process of writing the script to remember that they might have overlooked something, the fact remains that the plot twist is undone by a key detail in the sequence of events as portrayed making it rather physically impossible for it to have happened, rendering it nonsensical and wholly ineffective. More distressingly, though, is that there's still 10 minutes left in the film after the reveal, which drags the whole messy matter further out than it needed to be. The film seemed hellbent on erasing all of its goodwill away, and it's hard to argue against how good a job it did of doing it.
Years later: What I wasn't expecting was how much less effective the film would turn out to be the second time around. Sure, the writing is still as much of a problem as it was, but as it turns out, it's a far less essential film than I was giving it credit for. I had remembered enough of it to know the general thrust of things went down, and was expecting to focus my energies on everything else the film had to offer, but I discovered that there was none. The film really is all sizzle and no steak.
It's not to say the things that were good in the first place suddenly turned out rotten or anything like that, as Aja had a great eye for the 70s aesthetic that the film employs, the editing is sharp, the music is still smartly integrated into the film (although, one does question the need to play Muse's New Born twice), and Cecile de France still puts in a good performance for the first 80 minutes of the film. The problem is that it's more obvious now than it was before just how low-stakes the rest of the filmmaking is, making a film known for its graphic punctuations of violence feel a bit bloodless. One could make the argument that it's strength lies in how straightforward it is, but there's a fine line between being straightforward and following the manual too closely to be more than just workmanlike, and I feel like High Tension veers too far into the latter to really stay with me at any length. And that's a hell of a thing to say with a film that has some really brutal scenes of violence.
October 25 preview: I've endured real animal slaughter, brutal rapes of zombie girls, bloody acts of cunnilingus, acts of sexual violence against teenage boys, an entire congregation of nuns pleasuring themselves with a statue of Jesus to help them out, and I'm still not sure I'm mentally ready for the worst kind of horror of all: willingly wanting to watch films directed by Eli Roth, and in this case, Cabin Fever and Hostel. But lo and behold, a potential savior arises to rescue me from the depths of despair once all is said and done with the works of Eli Roth, one that promises not much in the way of actual horror, but certainly a hearty amount of laughs and entertainment, as a local restored theater begins a three-day horror screening event with Army of Darkness.
That's really cool and I guess that makes sense, although the final act is way longer than the first two so that ninja-directorship kind of subverted my final thoughts on it all. Thanks for the information though, that's an interesting explanation to what was going on.
canoli2006
Member
24. Frankenstein (1931)
Another classic monster movie from Universal featuring the iconic Boris Karloff. Fantastic and looks great on BR.
9/10
25. The Evil Dead (1981)
Going to watch the remake soon but nothing beats the original. This one is always fun for me.
7/10
26. Beetlejuice (1988)
This is just simply one of my favorite movies of all time in general and to honor the news of a possible sequel..
10/10
Another classic monster movie from Universal featuring the iconic Boris Karloff. Fantastic and looks great on BR.
9/10
25. The Evil Dead (1981)
Going to watch the remake soon but nothing beats the original. This one is always fun for me.
7/10
26. Beetlejuice (1988)
This is just simply one of my favorite movies of all time in general and to honor the news of a possible sequel..
10/10
mariachi507
Member
More quick write-ups.
Day 17
White Zombie
Ever wonder what pre-Romero zombies were like? Well, here's your answer. The story, along with the visuals create the perfect atmosphere to get you in Halloween mode. Bela Lugosi stars in this, and as usual he is pretty awesome. The man could emote so much with his eyes that there was really no need for him to have dialogue, but his line delivery is fantastic. It's a good thing he does great work in this because the rest of the actors weren't that good at their profession. Thankfully, Lugosi and the great atmosphere outweigh a lot of the flaws in this one. Clocking in at a little over an hour, it's not a bad way to kill a little time.
7/10
P.S. I can't imagine Frankenstein without Karloff, but I do wonder what it would have been like with Lugosi in the starring role.
Day 18
Tales from the Darkside
I'm a sucker for a good anthology flick, and this kind of lived up to my expectations. My favorite kind of horror anthology is the kind that knows how to strike a balance between scares and fun. The first two segments gave me that, but the last segment seemed to drag and it was a bit predictable. The production values left me unimpressed as well, I know that Tales from the Darkside is rooted in television, but I was expecting the movie to look a little better than "made for tv". I still liked the film, and it was fun seeing so many actors that would go on to have a future in the industy, like Christian Slater.
It also reminded me that I need to buy the Tales from the Crypt dvds, I miss shows like that.
7/10
Day 19
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
I've seen this hailed as the best DTV horror sequel ever made, and it was released during a time when most horror had forgot how to have fun. It's obvious from the intro that this movie throws all seriousness out the window. With the first installment being nothing more than a Hills Have Eyes ripoff, the sequel decides to go over the top and as a result is an improvement. Henry Rollins leads an ensemble cast that encounters a family that is into hunting, cannibalism, and making mutant babies. I had fun watching this one.
7.5/10
Day 17
White Zombie
Ever wonder what pre-Romero zombies were like? Well, here's your answer. The story, along with the visuals create the perfect atmosphere to get you in Halloween mode. Bela Lugosi stars in this, and as usual he is pretty awesome. The man could emote so much with his eyes that there was really no need for him to have dialogue, but his line delivery is fantastic. It's a good thing he does great work in this because the rest of the actors weren't that good at their profession. Thankfully, Lugosi and the great atmosphere outweigh a lot of the flaws in this one. Clocking in at a little over an hour, it's not a bad way to kill a little time.
7/10
P.S. I can't imagine Frankenstein without Karloff, but I do wonder what it would have been like with Lugosi in the starring role.
Day 18
Tales from the Darkside
I'm a sucker for a good anthology flick, and this kind of lived up to my expectations. My favorite kind of horror anthology is the kind that knows how to strike a balance between scares and fun. The first two segments gave me that, but the last segment seemed to drag and it was a bit predictable. The production values left me unimpressed as well, I know that Tales from the Darkside is rooted in television, but I was expecting the movie to look a little better than "made for tv". I still liked the film, and it was fun seeing so many actors that would go on to have a future in the industy, like Christian Slater.
Really though, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, and James Remar were in this.
7/10
Day 19
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
I've seen this hailed as the best DTV horror sequel ever made, and it was released during a time when most horror had forgot how to have fun. It's obvious from the intro that this movie throws all seriousness out the window. With the first installment being nothing more than a Hills Have Eyes ripoff, the sequel decides to go over the top and as a result is an improvement. Henry Rollins leads an ensemble cast that encounters a family that is into hunting, cannibalism, and making mutant babies. I had fun watching this one.
7.5/10
pitcairn55
Member
October 23
Film number 44: Solstice
Tagline: You can't bury the truth
Opening thoughts: A Netflix ghost story recommendation. Doesnt look great, but well give it a go.
Verdict. Relentlessly mediocre, relentlessly dull. Even by generic teen horror movie standards this is awful. Wooden acting, unappealing characters, unconvincing dialogue and the vapid story (about a girl being haunted by her recently deceased twin) provides not one single scare. Literally the best thing about this movie is the title. Watching this kind of dross makes me regret the nothing made before 2000 / nothing youve watched before' rules I set myself at the start of this horrorthon. From the director of The Blair Witch Project too. Wished Id just rewatched that instead.
Score: 1 out of 10. Joint worst movie of the month so far.
Watched so far:
October 1 - Wreckage (1/10) Storage (6/10)
October 2 - Absentia (9/10) Uninhabited (3/10)
October 3 - The Fallow Field (7/10)
October 4 - Insidious (6/10) The Devil's Rock (8/10)
October 5 - Seconds Apart (6/10) The Awakening (8/10) When The Lights Went Out (8/10)
October 6 - Lake Mungo (6/10) Cherry Tree Lane (8/10) The Seasoning House (9/10)
October 7 - Bruiser (2/10) Devoured (9.5/10)
October 8 - The Devil's Business (4/10) Session 9 (4/10) Needle (6.5/10)
October 9 - V/H/S (8.5/10)
October 10 - The Lords Of Salem (9.9 out of 10)
October 11 - Below (5/10) Dead Girl (6.5/10)
October 12 Teeth (8/10) Little Deaths (10/10)
October 13 - Blood Night (5/10) Detention (7/10) American Mary (5/10)
October 14 - Citadel (8.5/10) Sawney: Flesh of Man (7.5/10)
October 15 - The Midnight Meat Train (6.5/10) Static (6/10)
October 16 - The Pact (8.5/10)
October 17 - Rites of Spring (3/10)
October 18 - Frankenstein's Army (7.5/10) War of the Dead (7/10)
October 19 - The Horseman (9/10) The Crazies (7/10)
October 20 - A Horrible Way To Die (5/10) Dark Skies (7/10)
October 21 - Black Rock (9/10) Sinister (8/10)
October 22 - Feast (8/10) Kill List (7/10)
Film number 44: Solstice
Tagline: You can't bury the truth
but they should have buried this movie
Opening thoughts: A Netflix ghost story recommendation. Doesnt look great, but well give it a go.
Verdict. Relentlessly mediocre, relentlessly dull. Even by generic teen horror movie standards this is awful. Wooden acting, unappealing characters, unconvincing dialogue and the vapid story (about a girl being haunted by her recently deceased twin) provides not one single scare. Literally the best thing about this movie is the title. Watching this kind of dross makes me regret the nothing made before 2000 / nothing youve watched before' rules I set myself at the start of this horrorthon. From the director of The Blair Witch Project too. Wished Id just rewatched that instead.
Score: 1 out of 10. Joint worst movie of the month so far.
Watched so far:
October 1 - Wreckage (1/10) Storage (6/10)
October 2 - Absentia (9/10) Uninhabited (3/10)
October 3 - The Fallow Field (7/10)
October 4 - Insidious (6/10) The Devil's Rock (8/10)
October 5 - Seconds Apart (6/10) The Awakening (8/10) When The Lights Went Out (8/10)
October 6 - Lake Mungo (6/10) Cherry Tree Lane (8/10) The Seasoning House (9/10)
October 7 - Bruiser (2/10) Devoured (9.5/10)
October 8 - The Devil's Business (4/10) Session 9 (4/10) Needle (6.5/10)
October 9 - V/H/S (8.5/10)
October 10 - The Lords Of Salem (9.9 out of 10)
October 11 - Below (5/10) Dead Girl (6.5/10)
October 12 Teeth (8/10) Little Deaths (10/10)
October 13 - Blood Night (5/10) Detention (7/10) American Mary (5/10)
October 14 - Citadel (8.5/10) Sawney: Flesh of Man (7.5/10)
October 15 - The Midnight Meat Train (6.5/10) Static (6/10)
October 16 - The Pact (8.5/10)
October 17 - Rites of Spring (3/10)
October 18 - Frankenstein's Army (7.5/10) War of the Dead (7/10)
October 19 - The Horseman (9/10) The Crazies (7/10)
October 20 - A Horrible Way To Die (5/10) Dark Skies (7/10)
October 21 - Black Rock (9/10) Sinister (8/10)
October 22 - Feast (8/10) Kill List (7/10)
kaiju
Member
Day 23: Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive (1986)
After a comet passes over Earth, all machines come to life and attack humans. I believe this is the only movie Stephen King has directed, and it unfortunately suffers as a result. This is a very campy movie, full of stupid and unbelievable deaths.
The craziest part of that being in the way King portrays dead people, such as the woman strangled by the cord of her hairdryer, or another woman choked by her car window. None of the dead people look dead at all...very strange coming from the King of Horror.
But I have to say the Happy Toyz truck is one of the more underrated "monsters" out there. Love seeing this thing maul anything and everything in it's way.
After a comet passes over Earth, all machines come to life and attack humans. I believe this is the only movie Stephen King has directed, and it unfortunately suffers as a result. This is a very campy movie, full of stupid and unbelievable deaths.
The craziest part of that being in the way King portrays dead people, such as the woman strangled by the cord of her hairdryer, or another woman choked by her car window. None of the dead people look dead at all...very strange coming from the King of Horror.
But I have to say the Happy Toyz truck is one of the more underrated "monsters" out there. Love seeing this thing maul anything and everything in it's way.
BattleMonkey
Member
lol pumpkin head 2 was so bad. "He was scared....... to death!"
afternoon delight
Member
#3 Night of the Creeps (1986)
* Director's Cut released in the last few years?
I knew I needed some fun, and since I hadn't seen this in two years or so but remembered it fondly, I decided to pick up the Blu because it was all of seven dollars. Oh god. It's way more perfect than I remember. I can see some people being turned off by the more comedic aspects, but if you're not trying to see some camp I'd avoid it altogether. ABSOLUTELY LOVE the tone and execution of this film, felt very much in line with the eighties Blob remake. There's just so much to laugh at and enjoy with this, every character and most scenes are love letters to the genre and its tropes. Fucking fantastic in so many ways. And was that a grafitti tag in the bathroom that read
Go Monster Squad!!!
Directors Cut ending: lolwut
Aw man, you're hurting me with those words. I've always found it incredibly disturbing, terrifying, awful, bizzare, etc. I think it's one of the more surreal and fucked up slashers out there, unique enough to stand completely on its own. Ah well. Can't win them all.
Edit:
Getting flashbacks of watching this some years ago, oh my god, thank you!
BattleMonkey
Member
I really didn't like High Tension at all either. The "twist" just ruined it
afternoon delight
Member
The twist doesn't ruin it, I love
too even though it's the same logic. And the twist is ten times better than the actual
Fight Club
red herring, I mean, random dude who doesn't like young girls or LESBIAN CRUSH HOMICIDAL URGE KILLER, I love its novelty.
Gameboy415
Member
1. The Relic (Blu-Ray)
2. Ghoulies (Netflix)
3. Nightmares (1983) (YouTube)
4. The Amityville Horror (2005) (DVD)
5. Battledogs (Netflix)
6. Scream 4 (Netflix)
7. Satan's Little Helper (Netflix)
8. Tales From the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight (Netflix)
9. Perfect Blue (DVD)
10. John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns (Blu-Ray)
11. Screamtime (Netflix)
12. Bread Crumbs (Netflix)
13. Ghoulies 2 (Netflix)
14. Tales From the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood (Netflix)
15. Hotel Transylvania 3D (Blu-Ray)
16. Hellraiser (Netflix)
17. Paranormal Activity (Blu-Ray)
18. Evil Dead (2013) (Blu-Ray)
19. Galaxy of Terror (Netflix)
20. House (Netflix)
21. House 2 (Netflix)
22. 30 Days of Night (Blu-Ray)
23. Creepshow (Blu-Ray)
24. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days (Blu-Ray)
-It wasn't as good as the original, but much better than I expected - especially for a direct-to-video release.
25. Paranormal Activity 2 (Blu-Ray)
-I enjoyed the ending quite a bit but the first hour or so was really slow and boring.
2. Ghoulies (Netflix)
3. Nightmares (1983) (YouTube)
4. The Amityville Horror (2005) (DVD)
5. Battledogs (Netflix)
6. Scream 4 (Netflix)
7. Satan's Little Helper (Netflix)
8. Tales From the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight (Netflix)
9. Perfect Blue (DVD)
10. John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns (Blu-Ray)
11. Screamtime (Netflix)
12. Bread Crumbs (Netflix)
13. Ghoulies 2 (Netflix)
14. Tales From the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood (Netflix)
15. Hotel Transylvania 3D (Blu-Ray)
16. Hellraiser (Netflix)
17. Paranormal Activity (Blu-Ray)
18. Evil Dead (2013) (Blu-Ray)
19. Galaxy of Terror (Netflix)
20. House (Netflix)
21. House 2 (Netflix)
22. 30 Days of Night (Blu-Ray)
23. Creepshow (Blu-Ray)
24. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days (Blu-Ray)
-It wasn't as good as the original, but much better than I expected - especially for a direct-to-video release.
25. Paranormal Activity 2 (Blu-Ray)
-I enjoyed the ending quite a bit but the first hour or so was really slow and boring.
Playing some catchup this last hectic week:
Oct 20: Tale of Two Sisters - They really pile it on towards the end, but I still enjoyed the atmosphere. I got a creepy 'What if Totoro took place in Korea?' vibe, this is a different but broken family. And Totoro was replaced with ... other stuff. 5/10
Oct 21: The Shrine - Oh boy, well, someone watched a lot of Resident Evil 4, I think. The writing was pretty bad, or I'm getting tired of watching horror movie setups Not much here, very short. 2/10
Oct 22: Mama - I thought it was really well done until the end, which kind of went off the horror tracks. Creepy throughout 7/10
Oct 23: Slither - This reminded me of Tremors so much, great tone and cast. It's a silly B movie, but very on purpose. 7/10
Oct 20: Tale of Two Sisters - They really pile it on towards the end, but I still enjoyed the atmosphere. I got a creepy 'What if Totoro took place in Korea?' vibe, this is a different but broken family. And Totoro was replaced with ... other stuff. 5/10
Oct 21: The Shrine - Oh boy, well, someone watched a lot of Resident Evil 4, I think. The writing was pretty bad, or I'm getting tired of watching horror movie setups
Not much here, very short. 2/10Oct 22: Mama - I thought it was really well done until the end, which kind of went off the horror tracks. Creepy throughout 7/10
Oct 23: Slither - This reminded me of Tremors so much, great tone and cast. It's a silly B movie, but very on purpose. 7/10
#23 - Basket Case (1982)
Why was this even on my list? I really don't know. Oh well. This was pretty damn bad in all aspects. An extreme B-movie that for some reason has the cult status it does. It's a lowbudget horror with cringeworthy acting, filmed in sleazy locations, relying on dumb scares with a rubber creature that is more cheap and silly looking than it is disturbing (the stopmotion scenes didn't help either). To top it all of I could not stand the face nor hairdo of the protagonist and the super-80s synth soundtrack was a pain to my ears. 3/10
BattleMonkey
Member
Basket Cast 2 was one of the few movies I never finished.
ThirstyFly
Member
Basket Case is the best! 3/10? MADNESS!
(I didn't think I'd get to use that gif this year!)
BattleMonkey
Member
Should have a whole montage of Hodder's trademark Jason tilt gifs
Care to explain why? I really don't see any redeeming factors.
AgentOtaku
Member
Oct 22nd - Maniac Cop 2
Per the wikipage, according to William Lustig, they were "firing on all cylinders" on this one.I could catch that when watching this. It's just a better film top to bottom than the first one.... problem is, it's still not really a good film.I remember catching this in bits and pieces when I was a kid so I was still disappointed when I remembered that
Bruce Campbell gets killed off early
.6/10
Oct 23rd - Badge of Silence: Maniac Cop 3
Couldn't even get 30 minutes into this one, so it's my first DNF for the month. I just didn't wanna watch it because right away it feels like it was REALLY forced to be made. Music is worse, it's boring, the reason for Matt's return yet again is lame, and everyone here just felt like they were going through motions. Felt like I could find better things to do that night so didn't wanna force myself to finish it as that's the quickest way to end your 31 Days of Horror.
DNF/10
I'm done with the series
Oct 24th - Night of the Creeps (Commentary Edition!)
First commentary of the month and I highly recommend anyone who doesn't wanna just merely rewatch something to try it.This one was with Fred Dekker, who actually went onto direct Monster Squad right after this. It's great commentary, though a bit overly technical at times as Dekker spends a bit too much time criticizing his mistakes (He's was only 26 years old when he made it).A producer sits in with his as well and they basically highlight was makes this film so damn special as well as point out details I never saw before. Details like that the alien in the beginning that's being chased is actually already a zombie (pay attention to it's eyes). It's a damn shame that Dekker didn't really got on to do much for a LONG ass time and even in the commentary you hear it in his tone at times. Listening to it though just made me that much more of a fan of his and REALLY hope to see more from him in the future.
8/10 (for the commentary. The film is easily a 10/10)
Oct. 1 The Evil Dead (1983) - Great
Oct. 2 V/H/S 2 - Good
Oct. 3 Blair Witch Project - Boring
Oct. 4 Sleepaway Camp - Great
Oct. 5 Drag Me To Hell- Boring
Oct. 6 The Possession - Great
Oct. 7 Session 9- Great
Oct. 8 Nightmare on Elm Street 2 - Boring
Oct. 9 [REC] - Great
Oct. 10 Evil Dead 2 - Fantastic
Oct. 11 Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil - Fantastic
Oct. 12 Ringu - Good
Oct. 13 V/H/S - Good
Oct. 14 Dawn of the Dead (2004) - Great
Oct. 15 The Cabin in the Woods - Great
Oct. 16 Maniac (2012) - Great
Oct. 17 Fright Night (1985) - Great
Oct. 18 [REC] 2 - Great
Oct. 19 The Mist - Great
Oct. 20 Pet Sematary - Good
Oct. 21 Magic Magic - What the fuck did I just watch?
Oct. 22 The Shrine - Great
Oct. 23 The Bay - Good
Oct. 24 Army of Darkness - Great
Army of Darkness -
Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. While it was not as good as Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness managed to keep in the cheesy lines from the original. I adored the use of practical effects in this film as well. Bruce Campbell is now one of my heroes. I don't have much else to say. If you enjoyed Evil Dead 2 then you'll enjoy this installment.
Oct. 2 V/H/S 2 - Good
Oct. 3 Blair Witch Project - Boring
Oct. 4 Sleepaway Camp - Great
Oct. 5 Drag Me To Hell- Boring
Oct. 6 The Possession - Great
Oct. 7 Session 9- Great
Oct. 8 Nightmare on Elm Street 2 - Boring
Oct. 9 [REC] - Great
Oct. 10 Evil Dead 2 - Fantastic
Oct. 11 Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil - Fantastic
Oct. 12 Ringu - Good
Oct. 13 V/H/S - Good
Oct. 14 Dawn of the Dead (2004) - Great
Oct. 15 The Cabin in the Woods - Great
Oct. 16 Maniac (2012) - Great
Oct. 17 Fright Night (1985) - Great
Oct. 18 [REC] 2 - Great
Oct. 19 The Mist - Great
Oct. 20 Pet Sematary - Good
Oct. 21 Magic Magic - What the fuck did I just watch?
Oct. 22 The Shrine - Great
Oct. 23 The Bay - Good
Oct. 24 Army of Darkness - Great
Army of Darkness -
Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. While it was not as good as Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness managed to keep in the cheesy lines from the original. I adored the use of practical effects in this film as well. Bruce Campbell is now one of my heroes. I don't have much else to say. If you enjoyed Evil Dead 2 then you'll enjoy this installment.
ThirstyFly
Member
It's one of my favorite so-bad-it's-good movies. A real trash classic. I love all the running gags ("Hey, what's in the basket?") and how it just gets crazier and crazier to the end. The bad monster effects from the obvious shots of an off-screen guy wearing monster gloves to the stop motion stuff just makes it that much better. I burst out laughing so many times during it. Belial's crazy-ass scream had me laughing for weeks.
Yes, it's bad, but it's also very fresh and surprising. I love the grimy New York too.
I watched it during the first year of the marathon and it's still one of my favorite new viewings. Belial is such an awesome monster.
As for the sequels... Basket Case 2 (my review) is pretty dry. It's a better all around made movie (better effects, better actors, etc) but it loses the fun Basket Case 1 had, and they ditched the UGHAAAAAAHHAAAAA scream.
Basket Case 3 (my review) is a huge improvement over 2. Belial is the star of the show again.
I guess it helps if you like Frank Henenlotter's certain type of weirdness. His movies are really out there. Have you seen Frankenhooker? That's probably his most solid movie. Basket Case is more fun though.
AgentOtaku
Member
Bro-five
ThirstyFly
Member
Well, it looks like the wireless on my stupid router is dead so I'll probably be slower to reply now since I can only get online from my wired PC. Thanks Linksys!
For me personally it was stuck on the it's-so-bad-it's bad level, and the things that made you laugh made me groan and roll my eyes. To each his own I suppose!
MattyH
Member
Now here is the full fan film Halloween One Good Scare
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGlObY0ZDwg&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGlObY0ZDwg&feature=youtu.be
John Dunbar
correct about everything
Watched Jacob's Ladder. Does this even count as a horror film? Started out like one, but I don't know. Kind of interesting, but some parts I felt dragged a bit. Could have used more of those visions, the demons on the train looked intriguing, as did the monster dance/rape scene.
did a re-watch of Toxic Avenger last night
I was scared that it might not be as good as I remembered it to be...man was I in for a surprise. This movie is truly great. Better than I remembered. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. I was going to post some gifs but most of them are so over the top I'm scared I'll get a ban or something. Anyways, everyone should watch this movie if you haven't yet.
I was scared that it might not be as good as I remembered it to be...man was I in for a surprise. This movie is truly great. Better than I remembered. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. I was going to post some gifs but most of them are so over the top I'm scared I'll get a ban or something. Anyways, everyone should watch this movie if you haven't yet.
avengers23
Banned
24. The Stuff (Netflix Instant)
I think I expected something cheesier; what I got was a strange combination of They Live, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Blob. The special effects for The Stuff reminded me of the special effects for the psychoreactive goo in Ghostbusters 2 and the eponymous creature in The Blob, even if it seemed more mindless than either.
The lead character, played by Michael Moriarty, is charismatic, but he gets overshadowed by Paul Sorvino's racist, anti-Communist Army colonel who is introduced about two-thirds into the movie to solve the problem for the characters whom we followed since the movie started. I believe that drama is enhanced when we have characters who have limitations they must overcome, but this felt like a cheat. And it pushed Moriarty's character to the background.
I'm trying to understand what the storytelling intent of such a move would be. If they cast Sorvino, who was big enough of an actor at the time, I can understand that they would want to use him for a pivotal role in the film's plot and would have to emphasize him over Moriarty. But why would they introduce him so late in the film? Why wouldn't they set up the relationship between Sorvino's Colonel Spears and Moriarty's "Mo" Rutherford earlier in the film?
There's the anti-consumerist, anti-corporate, anti-yuppie message from They Live, but unlike Carpenter's film, The Stuff is not told from the outsider's perspective of someone who is marginalized from larger society. Instead, Moriarty's Mo Rutherford is a well-paid industrial spy, and his associates are a middle class advertising executive and a white child who lives in the suburbs. In the end, Rutherford uses the same vigilante (terrorist?) tactics that Rowdy Roddy Piper's Nada in They Live would use, but it seems more legitimate because he's acting from a position within the mainstream. Not only does Rutherford
blow up the production plant for The Stuff
forces two executives to eat The Stuff until they're sure to die
The Stuff is also arguably an even more cynical film than They Live. Even though the public at large eventually rejected The Stuff,
the ice cream company executive (what a world we live in where executives of companies that produce ice cream and other treats have a cabal) joins forces with the executive that supplied The Stuff to create a hybrid ice cream/The Stuff dessert called The Taste so it can sell a product that's slightly addictive but doesn't completely dominate a person's mind and body like The Stuff did
get one radio broadcast that The Stuff is no good for you
The logic of the characters in the film is all over the place. If I found white goo bubbling from the ground in a mining facility, I probably wouldn't scoop it up and taste it with as little hesitation as the first person we see eat The Stuff did. It seems like the film's writers couldn't figure out how exactly The Stuff went from stuff that was bubbling from a small hole in the ground to a regional (and growing to be nationwide) foodstuff phenomenon that was on the verge of going global. So, it's shown in the film to be akin to the joke "1) Find goo in hole. 2) ???? 3) Profit!" And then there's the scene where a bunch of Army soldiers hire cabs to take them from an industrial facility to a radio station in a small city, and the following scene where their commanding officer orders them to tip the cab drivers 10% of their fares. I didn't realize that soldiers wearing their full camouflage gear and carrying automatic weapons would have their wallets on them too. And it's not clear how you should store The Stuff: we see it kept frozen, refrigerated, and at room temperature. And though a significant amount of time is spent on showing how the child protagonist's characters succumb to The Stuff's influence, that subplot is wrapped up in two lines of dialogue at the end of the film, where it's casually revealed
that they died because they ate too much Stuff
get infected with The Stuff
Adding to the feeling that The Stuff is a derivative of They Live (even though The Stuff came out in 1985, and They Live came out in 1988) is the street fight between Rutherford and a character played by Garrett Morris. But it's not the live or death struggle that Keith David and Rowdy Roddy Piper had. Instead, it's much goofier. In fact, the tone of the whole film is pretty goofy (see scene where a dog's owner tries to unsuccessfully placate his giant dog, which is hungry for more Stuff, by telling him that he will buy more Stuff), but it actually tries to address issues like drug addiction, consumerism, and corporate greed. It's a fascinating little film full of smart little gestures, like hiding The Stuff in the protagonists' mattress and pillow so The Stuff can quietly kill them in their sleep or the moment where the female protagonist seems to address the audience directly near the end of the film.
23. Apartment 143- I continue on my month of found footage, have knocked off a whole ton of em already, and I found this one on netflix so why not give it a shot. Wow what a lazy movie. Loaded with ridiculous plot points, terrible performances, and just about every horror cliche there is.
2/10
24. The People Under the Stairs- Saw this in the horror section on Netflix, and noticed it was directed by Wes Craven, so I figured, why not? It was worth the watch I guess. It has aged quite a bit, but at the same time, the whole tone of the movie is goofy/bizarre so it really didn't effect it too much. It's a decent campfest, and it's very unique, so I'd say it's worth a check.
6.5/10
1. The Prophecy- 5/10
2. Event Horizon- 6/10
3. The collection- 2.5/10
4. John Dies at the End- 5.5/10
5. Grave Encounters 2- 3/10
6. The Grey- 7/10
7. Pumpkinhead- 2/10
8. Hood of Horror- 1/5/10
9. Black Death- 7/10
10. Apollo 18- 1.5/10
11. Leviathan- 5.5/10
12. The Bay- 5.5/10
13. Attrocious- 2.5/10
14. The Loved Ones.- 7.5/10
15. Poughkeepsie Tapes- 6.0/10
16. Irreversible- 8/10
17. Maniac- 7/10
18. The Tall Man- 1.5/10
19. Dream Home- 6.5/10
20. Ju-on- The Grudge- 7/10
21. Long Pigs- 7.5/10
22. House on Haunted Hill(1959)- 9/10
2/10
24. The People Under the Stairs- Saw this in the horror section on Netflix, and noticed it was directed by Wes Craven, so I figured, why not? It was worth the watch I guess. It has aged quite a bit, but at the same time, the whole tone of the movie is goofy/bizarre so it really didn't effect it too much. It's a decent campfest, and it's very unique, so I'd say it's worth a check.
6.5/10
1. The Prophecy- 5/10
2. Event Horizon- 6/10
3. The collection- 2.5/10
4. John Dies at the End- 5.5/10
5. Grave Encounters 2- 3/10
6. The Grey- 7/10
7. Pumpkinhead- 2/10
8. Hood of Horror- 1/5/10
9. Black Death- 7/10
10. Apollo 18- 1.5/10
11. Leviathan- 5.5/10
12. The Bay- 5.5/10
13. Attrocious- 2.5/10
14. The Loved Ones.- 7.5/10
15. Poughkeepsie Tapes- 6.0/10
16. Irreversible- 8/10
17. Maniac- 7/10
18. The Tall Man- 1.5/10
19. Dream Home- 6.5/10
20. Ju-on- The Grudge- 7/10
21. Long Pigs- 7.5/10
22. House on Haunted Hill(1959)- 9/10
#23 - Troll Hunter
I can dig some unique foreign found footage when it comes with an exemplary cast. I didn't really think this was anything special having no background on the topic and thus less love for this quasi-fairytale, but it earned a 7/10 on my IMDB page so there's that. The pace is really good and the landscape was gorgeous so I never really felt bored even though the plot was somewhat formulaic. I think the special effect studio deserves a lot of props for making this stand out against the Sci-Fi brand of horror movies.
If you haven't seen this (and you don't mind shaky-cam) it's on Netflix Instant - it's probably best suited for when you're looking for something light following heavier fair.
#24 - House on Haunted Hill
%20Vincent%20Price%20DVD%20Review/poster2%20William%20Castle%20House%20on%20Haunted%20Hill%20(1959)%20Vincent%20Price%20DVD%20Review.jpg)
Sorry msdstc - I don't agree that this film is really worth much despite its "classic" moniker. I felt like it had such a bland twist even when it's clearly supposed to make the whole film turn on a dime and leave the viewer with a sense of dread. I mean plenty of the atmosphere was worth the relatively short run time but ultimately the scares are just lame in retrospect. Parts were still tense but in general no, there was too much oblique referential fear going on that I just didn't follow some 50 years down the road. I also really couldn't get behind letting some canned scream play for 20 seconds straight whenever an actress saw something that was supposed to be terrifying.
The performances are all pretty solid and like I mentioned the atmosphere is pretty good to this day, but unlike Psycho (which I also watched this week) the barriers to entry on viewing are too much to make me love what's there. I'm glad I can say I've seen what horror used to be but for the most part this film fell a bit flat with me. I can see how this movie is divisive because it is a "decent movie", but it's just not really a Good, Scary movie imo: 6/10 is the rating I'd give.
I can dig some unique foreign found footage when it comes with an exemplary cast. I didn't really think this was anything special having no background on the topic and thus less love for this quasi-fairytale, but it earned a 7/10 on my IMDB page so there's that. The pace is really good and the landscape was gorgeous so I never really felt bored even though the plot was somewhat formulaic. I think the special effect studio deserves a lot of props for making this stand out against the Sci-Fi brand of horror movies.
If you haven't seen this (and you don't mind shaky-cam) it's on Netflix Instant - it's probably best suited for when you're looking for something light following heavier fair.
#24 - House on Haunted Hill
Sorry msdstc - I don't agree that this film is really worth much despite its "classic" moniker. I felt like it had such a bland twist even when it's clearly supposed to make the whole film turn on a dime and leave the viewer with a sense of dread. I mean plenty of the atmosphere was worth the relatively short run time but ultimately the scares are just lame in retrospect. Parts were still tense but in general no, there was too much oblique referential fear going on that I just didn't follow some 50 years down the road. I also really couldn't get behind letting some canned scream play for 20 seconds straight whenever an actress saw something that was supposed to be terrifying.
The performances are all pretty solid and like I mentioned the atmosphere is pretty good to this day, but unlike Psycho (which I also watched this week) the barriers to entry on viewing are too much to make me love what's there. I'm glad I can say I've seen what horror used to be but for the most part this film fell a bit flat with me. I can see how this movie is divisive because it is a "decent movie", but it's just not really a Good, Scary movie imo: 6/10 is the rating I'd give.
#23 - Troll Hunter
I can dig some unique foreign found footage when it comes with an exemplary cast. I didn't really think this was anything special having no background on the topic and thus less love for this quasi-fairytale, but it earned a 7/10 on my IMDB page so there's that. The pace is really good and the landscape was gorgeous so I never really felt bored even though the plot was somewhat formulaic. I think the special effect studio deserves a lot of props for making this stand out against the Sci-Fi brand of horror movies.
If you haven't seen this (and you don't mind shaky-cam) it's on Netflix Instant - it's probably best suited for when you're looking for something light following heavier fair.
#24 - House on Haunted Hill
Sorry msdstc - I don't agree that this film is really worth much despite its "classic" moniker. I felt like it had such a bland twist even when it's clearly supposed to make the whole film turn on a dime and leave the viewer with a sense of dread. I mean plenty of the atmosphere was worth the relatively short run time but ultimately the scares are just lame in retrospect. Parts were still tense but in general no, there was too much oblique referential fear going on that I just didn't follow some 50 years down the road. I also really couldn't get behind letting some canned scream play for 20 seconds straight whenever an actress saw something that was supposed to be terrifying.
The performances are all pretty solid and like I mentioned the atmosphere is pretty good to this day, but unlike Psycho (which I also watched this week) the barriers to entry on viewing are too much to make me love what's there. I'm glad I can say I've seen what horror used to be but for the most part this film fell a bit flat with me. I can see how this movie is divisive because it is a "decent movie", but it's just not really a Good, Scary movie imo: 6/10 is the rating I'd give.
Agree to disagree then. I felt the canned screaming was intentional. It was straight campy, and vincent Price did an amazing job with that. The twist is dated sure, but what isn't by this point in time? Thought it was a ton of fun.
ThirstyFly
Member
Arg. Sat down to watch my Cockneys vs Zombies Blu-ray from Shout and I think I have a bad disc. It's too late to return it to Amazon too since I ordered when it came out and saved it for this
Does anyone have the disc and wouldn't mind checking something for me?
Does anyone have the disc and wouldn't mind checking something for me?