2. I Survived a Zombie Holocaust (2014)
[or, Zombie Meta: The film]
This film is trying to take the 4th wall and go a little bit too far with the joke. It's a movie of a guy pitching a meta zombie movie while working on a zombie film set where a real zombie outbreak takes place. Oh, it's also his first day and he can't stop telling everyone how he is a writer. Main characters that are writers already get on my nerves, but in this he is also working another job so I kind of give it a pass. Often 'writer' is an excuse to give a character a lot of money, some fame, and no need to adhere to any work schedule. The cinematography is surprisingly good at parts. There are a few scenes that are worth watching, but if you got the basic idea of the movie then you can youtube the best parts. What this movie was really missing were 'Jim moments'. If you want to go that meta then commit and have people look at the camera and give the, 'did that just happen?' face.
Over all, I give it 2 pitched scripts left in a port-a-potty out of 5.
A great looking slasher that lacks gore and kills, the cinematography, setting and score are all excellent. This one tries to do it a bit different than your standard (everyone goes off into the woods and gets picked off one by one) film of this genre and has the gang actually fighting back which is refreshing, but after a long spell of not seeing much happening (show me more slashing!) it gets interesting and then ends even more abruptly than the first movie i watched (Hide and Go Shriek).
The Horde gets five severed heads for a score. Loved it. Only thing that detracted from it is the typical zombie thing of shooting them everywhere but the head. Overall very enjoyable even if I had to drunk read the subtitles.
Ended up doing another vampire flick and it turned out much better. It's visually much more appealing than the Vampire's Coffin although the casting is still sort of off. Palance seems extremely uncomfortable for the entire film and the sex appeal is pretty much not there. That said, there is some real emotion in his courting of Lucy with the scene on the bench being the highlight of the film. He comes off as more formidable monster than some of the other incarnations of Dracula. His powers are more grounded and watching him just toss people aside works very well. The ending is somewhat anti-climatic but as far as Dracula movies go it's pretty decent.
I'm putting up fuller reviews on my Tumblr, but I'll put short reviews here.
1. Creep (2015), dir. Patrick Brice, starring Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass
Netflix US
A fine, briskly paced thriller about the seduction of finding emotional truth that showcased Mark Duplass, Creep has a very chilling and simple climax. The few minutes after the climax gilds the lily a bit.
Horror movies across the different Netflix's. If a movie appears in one region, I won't list again for another region. I also left out any movie that had one/two stars.
If you Netflix, and don't have a DNS blocker, get one. You can switch between the different regions.
Sorry for the long post.
US:
12/12/12
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
A Haunted House 2
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
At the Devil’s Door
All Cheerleaders Die
American Mary
American Psycho 2
Archivo 253
Bad Milo
Black Death
Burying the Ex
Cabin Fever: Patient Zero
Children of the Corn
Cockneys vs Zombies
Contracted
Creep
Curse of Chucky
Dark Skies
Darkness Falls
Day of the Dead
Dead Silence
Dead Snow: 1, Red vs Dead
Devil
Exeter
From Dusk Till Dawn
Grave Encounters 2
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Resurrection
Hell
Hellraiser: I, Hell on Earth, Revelations, Bloodline, Inferno, Deader, Hellworld, Hellseeker, Hellraiser II,
Here Comes the Devil
High Lane
Housebound
Infini
Insidious Chapter 2
Intruders
Kidnapped
Let the Right One In
Maniac (‘12)
Monster Squad
Nightbreed: The Director's Cut
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
Oculus
Plus One
Pontypool
Re-Animator
REC 3
Saw 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Scary Movie 3
Scream 1, 2, 3
Shrooms
Sleepy Hollow
Stake Land
State of Emergency
Stonehearst Asylum
Tales From the Darkside: The Movie
Teeth
The ABC’s of Death 1-2
The Awakening
The Canal
The Crow: Wicked Prayer
The Den
The Fly ('58)
The Hole
The Horde
The House at the End of Time
The House of the Devil
The Houses October Built
The Human Centipede 1, 2
The Omen 1-2 ('76)
The Ouija Experiment
The Pact
The Shrine
The Vampire’s Coffin
The Ward
The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death
Torment
Tucker & Dale vs Evil
Vampire in Brooklyn
V/H/S: 1, 2, 3
Vile
We Are What We Are
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
Witching and Bitching
Wrymwood: Road of the Dead
Zombeavers
Canada:
1408
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
Absentia
Citadel
Evil Dead (‘13), 2
Death Proof
Detention
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
Final Destination 3
Leprechaun
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
Planet Terror
Red State
Rigor Mortis
Scary Movie 1, 2
Seconds Apart
Seed of Chucky
Session 9
Sinister
The Cabin in the Woods
The Collection
The Conjuring
The Possession
The Revenant
The Woman in the Black
Wolf Creek
Young Frankenstein
Mexico:
Carriers
Case 39
Chernobyl Diaries
Child’s Play 1, 2, 3
Dolls
Event Horizon
Friday the 13th (‘88, ‘09)
Grave Encounters
Gremlins
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (‘56)
Jeepers Creepers
Jennifer’s Body
Let Me In
Mama
Night of the Living Dead (‘90)
Orphan
Pandorum
Paranormal Activity 2, 3
Psycho
Quarantine 2: Terminal
REC
Tales of Terror
The Amityville Horror (‘79, ‘05)
The Brainiac
The Evil Dead (‘81)
The Descent
The Gate
The Messengers
The Mist
The Ring 1, 2
The Strangers
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (‘03)
The Uninvited
Turistas
Thirteen Ghosts
Wishmaster 2
Zombieland
UK:
An American Werewolf in London
Black Christmas (‘74)
Body Parts
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh
Daybreakers
Doghouse
Drag Me to Hell
Friday the 13: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Fright Night (‘11)
From Beyond
House of 1000 Corpses
Idle Hands
Insidious
Invaders From Mars
Leprechaun: Origins
My Bloody Valentine (‘91, ‘09)
Night of the Comet
Night of the Demons 2
Out of the Dark
Poltergeist 3
Spring
Stigmata
Texas Chainsaw (‘13)
The Blair Witch Project
The Crazies
The Devil’s Rejects
The Human Centipede 3
The Midnight Train
The Ninth Gate
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Thinner
Tremors
France:
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Land of the Dead
Halloween 2 (‘09)
Piranha
Mutants
Urban Legends: Final Cut
Germany:
30 Days of Night
Dreamcatcher
Halloween 4: The Curse of Michael Myers
Silent Hill
The Hills Have Eyes (‘06)
Sweden:
28 Days Later
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Annabelle
Dawn of the Dead (‘04)
Drag Me to Hell
Eight Legged Freaks
Halloween (‘07)
One Missed Call
Scream 4
Slither
The Caller
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The Grudge 1, 2
The Orphanage
You’re Next
Australia:
28 Weeks Later
Black Sheep
Final Destination 2, 3, 5
Gothika
Shaun of the Dead
The Collector
Thrist
Japan:
Final Destination
Friday the 13th (‘80)
Gremlins 2
Ju-on 1, 2, Black Ghost, White Ghost
Ringu 0, 1, 2
The Exorcist
The Shining
The Thing (‘11)
First I'll say that I enjoyed this so much more than Zombi 2. I pretty much liked everything about this movie. The locations were beautiful and distinct, and will leave a lasting impression. The characters were good without being too over-the-top cheesy. It's been a while since I've seen a movie that isn't afriad to
kill children
It seems like there's some kind of unspoken rule where your're not allowed to do that anymore. At least, not in mainstream horror from the US.
I also thought the priest looked a lot like Tom Welling from Smallville, so every scene he was in I just kept picturing Clark Kent.
Great movie overall. My only knock against it would maybe be a lack of gore. But that's only because I'm a fiend for that stuff.
Well that was...something. I enjoyed this movie - it's more of a psychological drama, but it damn well got under my skin at moments. Michael Shannon gives a trademark intense performance. The movie's shot really well, enhancing a pervading sense of claustrophobia and isolation. It's always difficult watching people descend into madness, and Bug depicted that quite effectively.
[Old man rambling on warning] So out of my circle of friends, I'm the one that's into the weird stuff. One of the reasons I enjoy doing this marathon so much is that I finally get to talk about these movies with people who actually follow talking about – instead of just a bunch of glazed over eyes. I'm comfortable throwing out names like Stuart Gordon because I know people in this thread know who that is. If I make a comment about how much Dan O'Bannon liked strippers*, I'm sure someone will get the reference.
That of course means I have to be a little creative with my selections from time to time because I'd like to keep things fresh and cover some movies everyone may have not seen. Since I watched The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari yesterday, this seemed like a good of time as any to watch the sequel**, 1989's Dr. Caligari.
Dr. Caligari is one of those movies that just seems like I should like it. As much as I dislike people using the term “It's Eraserhead meets...”, I can't think of a more apt way to describe it as Eraserhead meets Videodrome meets the intro from Saved by the Bell. Like Eraserhead though, I found myself mostly bored as the incoherent mass of oddities crawled their way to the end credits. Perhaps disliking it means I'm not as weird as I had thought.
The story itself is workable. A man seeks the help of Dr. Caligari (the granddaughter of the original Caligari) for his wife whose libido has spiraled out of control. Dr. Caligari has her own intentions as she performs bizarre experiments on her patients.
Much like The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari, the sets are twisted and stylized. This time in an extreme 80s New Wave style. The similarities end there as what follows is a mix of absurdist, sexual dream sequences and actors drolling on in lengthy spoken word-like monologues.
The dream sequences are easily the highlight of the film. They're both strange and disgusting enough to be interesting, however they're mostly restricted to the first half of the movie. If you ever wanted to see a woman make out with a wall of flesh as its giant tongue laps about her head, have I got the movie for you!
Sadly once the plot gets going things take a massive nosedive. The characters deliver their lines at a rapid fire pace while posing for the camera like animatronic puppets as if trying to recreate ever 80s album cover they've ever seen. The audio is so badly recorded at points it's almost indecipherable and it really becomes had to follow even though you could sum up the entire story in a few sentences.
So did I like Dr. Caligari as much as Dan O'Bannon liked strippers? No. This is one of those movies that could have been really something special in the cult scene, but it just falls short. Maybe if they had a little more money and went totally overboard with the strange deviancy of it and had some restraint when writing way too much spoken word performance art it could have been a real sleaze classic. Sadly that was not the case.
* He allegedly liked them quite a bit.
** It isn't really a sequel.
Rating:
out of 5 Michaels from Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror.
So we've ditched the found footage/handheld angle for a more traditionally shot movie. The original creative team (director Daniel Stamm, writers Huck Botko + Andrew Gurland) is gone, as is most of the main cast - save for Ashley Bell
and Louis Hurthum, who played her father
.
Following a brief recap of Part I, we pick up not long after that movie. How much longer? Not sure, but I'm assuming it's immediately after (a few days or a week, again I'm not sure). The premise sounds pretty good:
Nell is attempting to recover from the events of her possession - going as far as to convince herself that everything that happened wasn't real, including Abalam, the demon that possessed her. Of course, Abalam is very real, and he wants Nell back.
For some reason though, the movie feels - basic and flat. As I said, the premise works, but the execution is off. There are a bunch of weird questions (like how the fuck Nell + her dad escaped the ritual at the end of the first movie). There's very few feelings of unease or tension, everything's a lot more "by the book", which is disappointing.
A big problem this movie has (for me) is the lack of connection with any of the characters besides Nell. In Part I, we met our main character, spent time with him, got his motivations and went from there. We got to know the side characters - Nell, her dad Louis, her brother Caleb - and how recent events
Nell's mother has passed away
has shaped their family
Louis is distrustful of "modern" medicines/techniques after they fail to save his wife, he drinks more + becomes more religious
.
There's nothing like that here. Nell ends up at a home for girls and ends up making some friends (and even gets a boyfriend), but we don't really know these people well. The closest is her "main" friend Gwen (played by Julia Garner - s/o to The Americans-GAF). Everyone else gets next to nothing.
One girl at the house ends up dying, and while it's really unsettling, it might as well have been some random person because I'm not sure we ever hear/see her until she dies.
Once again, we get a bit of a twist ending - and it's actually kind of cool. Unfortunately, it's not enough to really help/elevate the movie. Ashley Bell does another good job (
especially at the end when she's embraced Abalam and is possessed again
), but it's not really enough. Give it a try if you were into Part I and wanna learn what happened with next - but don't expect anything huge.
We have a video game adaptation! So, if you've played Silent Hill, then the story is basically that of the first game - more or less. Child and parent are driving, end up in accident near Silent Hill. Parent wakes up, sees child is missing, heads into town to find said child, shit goes south.
Aesthetically, the movie is AMAZING. It's said that the director, Christophe Gans, played SH while on set and had the actors and cinematographers watch so they could get a feel for how they should perform.
Silent Hill looks and feels incredible - a perfect mix of unsettling and disgusting.
In the film, the town goes through two "phases": a "regular" phase in which the town is covered in a heavy fog and is generally abandoned, and an "otherworld" phase in which the town appears to rot away and terrifying creatures pop up to wreak havoc. In both instances, the town is in another dimension.
The monsters are all menacing, the terror sequences are crazy and creepy
and fucking gross - someone gets their skin ripped off their body. BY HAND. IN ONE PULL.
The town of Silent Hill absolutely had to be gotten right, and the movie does so.
Storywise...it's something. As I said above, it's essentially the first game (with the parental roles switched: you play as the father in the game, but the movie swaps him out for the mom). But then, it diverges from that. There's this stuff about the daughter being a
manifestation of a girl who was killed, who was then taken to an orphanage by another manifestation of that girl
. The town's switching from one phase to the other is due to
the murdered girl taking revenge against the cult that burned her as a witch in an attempt to purify her. She develops powers because of this...and holy shit
. The story from the game is nuts too, but this becomes sorts confusing.
A bad decision was to keep going back and forth between the mother in one dimension, and the father in another. No information we learn from his POV is no better than what we learn with the mother. In fact, we learn a lot more with her. It just sorta fucks with the flow of the movie. Then the ending is way way way too much. It looks cool, but it goes way overboard.
I recommend it, but mostly for the aesthetics. All of the shit that sticks with me is based around that.
I've been thinking... there have been threads for voting on GAF's favorite superhero movies, favorite action movies, and greatest films of all time. How about voting on horror movies? I might go ahead and start the thread next week. Would be really cool to see how GAF ranks the best of the genre.
I wasn't expecting much out of this one. It's a simple setup. Three people on a cold winter night go to an ATM booth and they get stalked. I'm kinda curious if anyone else here has seen it and what their thoughts are on it. It actually kinda surprised me despite how simple it was. Being too simple, I'm sure someone might find it boring, but how it ends was a bit pleasing even though I'm sure how it ends would annoy someone. It's simple, short, light, with an unexpected ending.
3. Rocky Horror Picture Show - Why do I keep subjecting myself to this movie? Once it gets past the Meatloaf scene, it becomes boring as hell. My fiancé chose this as our movie tonight since she'd never seen it. Her words after the movie were similar to mine after my first viewing: "I don't ever feel the need to watch this again". I still love Tim Curry and the more popular songs, but I'm putting myself on a RHPS ban. I've had to sit through it too many times within the last few years. 5.5/10.
I wasn't expecting much out of this one. It's a simple setup. Three people on a cold winter night go to an ATM booth and they get stalked. I'm kinda curious if anyone else here has seen it and what their thoughts are on it. It actually kinda surprised me despite how simple it was. Being too simple, I'm sure someone might find it boring, but how it ends was a bit pleasing even though I'm sure how it ends would annoy someone. It's simple, short, light, with an unexpected ending.
Well that was...something. I enjoyed this movie - it's more of a psychological drama, but it damn well got under my skin at moments. Michael Shannon gives a trademark intense performance. The movie's shot really well, enhancing a pervading sense of claustrophobia and isolation. It's always difficult watching people descend into madness, and Bug depicted that quite effectively.
It's dreary, low budget, and super 90s with an awful Goyer script to boot. Somehow, I enjoyed it anyway. The actors were strangely commited to the whole thing and I couldn't help but appreciate that. It probably would have made a munh better 80's movie with some color and crazy deaths but it is what it is.
I can't really recommend it but I've also seen much worse.
All the classic horror characters and monsters in one place. That's awesome. You got Dracula, Frankenstein('s monster), the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, a mummy, and their families, plus a bunch of hotel guests. There's a bunch of wacky fast animation that gives more freedom for character movement. I also like the monster-human fear dynamic.
The problem is the plot, a by-the-numbers "overprotective father" plot along with "I need to keep a secret from everyone, but they're eventually going to find out I've been lying the whole time" plot. It's cliche and drags down the movie a bit. I honestly don't have hopes for the sequel.
Blue Sunshine represents a potentially intriguing mix of social commentary surrounding what happened to the free love generation after they actually had to get jobs, as well as the then-unforeseen consequences of experimenting with drugs that no one was really sure as to where it came from and what was actually in it, but the film does disappoint by not being particularly interested in either facet beyond mere window dressing. It's also not particularly helpful that Zalman King, and yes, that Zalman King, makes for a rather bland lead. There is still a lot to admire, though. While not nearly as fulfilling as what was to come in Just Before Dawn, director Jeff Lieberman definitely had a knack for the unusual, as the film is littered with a lot of memorably strange moments and plot points that help spice things up, including a plot-crucial pet parrot and recurring instructions on how to use a pump-action pistol, as well as being pretty fearless with some pretty messed-up sequences that go just far enough to not be too beyond the pale for most viewers. The soundtrack from Charles Gross is also a nice bit of psychedelic atmosphere that works quite well for the proceedings. Liking as much of it as I do does make it sting more that it's not the knockout that it could have been, but it is certainly a unique bird all the same.
Films for October 3: Double feature Saturdays begin with a rather natural pairing. Not quite ready to cede the throne of horror movie maven to these upstarts with their relaxed censorship guidelines and their music, Vincent Price proved to still have quite a bit of gas left in the tank with his successful Dr. Phibes films, which gave him the opportunity to ham it up in grand fashion as a slighted madman from beyond the grave plotting against those that did him wrong. While I have already seen the more-or-less unofficial third film in Theater of Blood, it's high time I finally get around to seeing both The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Dr. Phibes Rises Again.
So the film is not as good as the 1st 3 films of the series, it is still infinitely better than 5 and 6. Danielle Harris is fantastic despite being so young. I'm not a fan of the final 10-15 minutes of the film with the rednecks but it's probably how I'd "kill" Michael Myers.
3/5
2. Willow Creek
Just decided to watch this film on a whim, and I'm glad I did. A found footage Bigfoot film, directed by Bobcat Goldthwait! Yes please. This movie has an incredibly tense scene about 15 minutes in length that has you on their edge of your seat. It leaves you wondering, which I enjoy in a horror film.
I'm not going to do this religiously, just going to try and watch as many horror films as I can.
Salem's Lot
So this is apparently a miniseries ala IT as opposed to a theatrical movie, but regardless I feel like they could've sprung for an editor. There was really no need for this to be three hours long. The movie itself is okay, pretty standard second (or third more likely) tier Stephen King flick. The wraparound/ending was pretty pointless.
The gist: Vampire comes to small town New England, begins to prey on unsuspecting townfolk.
Coolest part: The vampire is delivered to the house in a wooden box, Nosferatu style. When the vampire's servant comes in later, the box has literally exploded with shards of wood strewn about the room. Boy floating at the window a close second.
Verdict: Two and a half unemployed editors out of five.
Opera
Another attempt of mine to find out what exactly it is people like about giallo movies. I've watched Deep Red, Suspiria, Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Phenomena, The Psychic, and likely several more I've forgotten. With the exception of Phenomena, I've fairly disliked them all. Awful acting, nonsensical & convoluted plots, boring characters, copout endings, I really don't see what people love about them. Even the visuals and the music which are apparently supposed to be by far the best parts I find uninteresting and forgettable, respectively. This movie is no different. I'm going to watch maybe one or two more of the venerated ones and then most likely write off Italian horror as "not for me."
The gist: Leading lady in a production of Macbeth is stalked and taunted by a masked killer.
Coolest part: Woman peering through a peephole to be greeted with a gunshot, in slo-mo.
Verdict: One predictably unpredictable gloved killer out of five.
I was a bit disappointed with Jason Lei Howden's debut feature. VERY much in the vein of films like Scott Pilgrim crossed with the brutality and gore of Evil Dead 2. It's a very standard horror plot combined with the usual "only you and save the world and get the girl" business. Also pretty much every scene in this film that features a woman is embarrassingly bad and cringe-worthy. I actually remember seeing on Twitter someone who had just seen the film at a festival and was also criticizing the misogyny. The director saw the tweets and went OFF on the guy.....very strange. Enough with the bad, easily the best parts of this film are the kills and gore....the visual effects are very well done and reminiscent of Evil Dead 2. Expect axes, chainsaws, and dildos. Also, many nice tip 'o the caps to metal heads.
I give this film 3 bags of popcorn (out of 5)
#3. The Editor (2015)
Viewed On: Blu-Ray
Now this is what I'm talking about. The Editor from the geniuses of Astron-6 had been tearing up the film festival circuit for some time and then finally went straight to Blu/DVD on Scream Factory. This is a great homage to Italian giallo horror films, and hell, not just an homage, it stands on it's own. The lighting, the zooms, the music, the dubbing, the dialogue, the batshit crazy plot....all perfectly reminiscent of those old giallos. Highly recommend to anyone. It definitely helps to be a little familiar with the genre before hand though. HONEY I AM IN OUR HOME
Another attempt of mine to find out what exactly it is people like about giallo movies. I've watched Deep Red, Suspiria, Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Phenomena, The Psychic, and likely several more I've forgotten. With the exception of Phenomena, I've fairly disliked them all. Awful acting, nonsensical & convoluted plots, boring characters, copout endings, I really don't see what people love about them. Even the visuals and the music which are apparently supposed to be by far the best parts I find uninteresting and forgettable, respectively. This movie is no different. I'm going to watch maybe one or two more of the venerated ones and then most likely write off Italian horror as "not for me."
The gist: Leading lady in a production of Macbeth is stalked and taunted by a masked killer.
Coolest part: Woman peering through a peephole to be greeted with a gunshot, in slo-mo.
Verdict: One predictably unpredictable gloved killer out of five.
I don't think its particularly fair to criticize the acting especially if you see the English versions of these movies.
It honestly just sounds like Italian horror isn't for you. Italian horror is heavily carried by theme. Theme supersedes plot, acting and coherence. It just doesn't sound like you resonate with that style of movie and that's okay. Italian horror is always love it or hate it, though you can't deny its huge influence on the genre.
Yeah so Bill Maher was in this movie. So there's that, a caterpillar dog, and even pterodactyls. And while the original House featured the star power of Norm from Cheers, this time around you get some brief but pivotal screen time from Cliff Clavin. Is it a bad movie? You bet. But all in all, still a fine use of a Friday afternoon for the open-minded horror fan. In terms of a grade, I'd have to give it one bag of popcorn, one and a half cups of soda, and three pterodactyl eggs out of ten.
Opera http://i.imgur.com/x8sTlwx.jpg
Another attempt of mine to find out what exactly it is people like about giallo movies. I've watched Deep Red, Suspiria, Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Phenomena, The Psychic, and likely several more I've forgotten. With the exception of Phenomena, I've fairly disliked them all. Awful acting, nonsensical & convoluted plots, boring characters, copout endings, I really don't see what people love about them. Even the visuals and the music which are apparently supposed to be by far the best parts I find uninteresting and forgettable, respectively. This movie is no different. I'm going to watch maybe one or two more of the venerated ones and then most likely write off Italian horror as "not for me."
The gist: Leading lady in a production of Macbeth is stalked and taunted by a masked killer.
Coolest part: Woman peering through a peephole to be greeted with a gunshot, in slo-mo.
Verdict: One predictably unpredictable gloved killer out of five.
Well, to be fair Phenomena and Suspiria being gialli is debatable. Personally I don't consider either one to be, though some people do. And all but one of those movies are by Dario Argento. Perhaps it's just his style that's not for you?
Have you given more traditional Italian horror movies a shot? There's plenty of good zombie splatter flicks like Zombi 2 or if you want to try something giallo-lite without actually watching a giallo, there's the excellent slasher StageFright: Aquarius.
If you're looking for complex characters and quality acting, yeah, maybe it's time to move on as those tend to be the major shortcomings in Italian horror.
Now this is what I'm talking about. The Editor from the geniuses of Astron-6 had been tearing up the film festival circuit for some time and then finally went straight to Blu/DVD on Scream Factory. This is a great homage to Italian giallo horror films, and hell, not just an homage, it stands on it's own. The lighting, the zooms, the music, the dubbing, the dialogue, the batshit crazy plot....all perfectly reminiscent of those old giallos. Highly recommend to anyone. It definitely helps to be a little familiar with the genre before hand though. HONEY I AM IN OUR HOME
I love horror movies but my schedule doesn't allow me to do one a day exactly. So this may not be the exact day (some days I have time for two others I don't have time for any).
1. Christine
I haven't seen this one before. Classic Carpenter cinematography in his simplicity. Everything all around was solid. The only thing I wish was there was a bit more action. Some death scenes were described in great detail but the shots didn't seem to imply half of what was said. Overall enjoyed this.
2. Don't Torture A Duckling
Easily my favorite Fulci movie. The
torture scene still makes my eyes slightly water. The beautiful genious switch from rock to a more traditional Italian song fills me up with the feels.
Great cinematography, great Riz Ortolani music, and its not afraid to explore themes of xenophobia, mob mentality (which is still extremely relevant to this day), and puberty.
October 2:
The House of the Devil (2009) - Pretty good throwback to 80's, it reminded me of The Guest in that it doesn't breakaway from the films it's influenced by enough and become not much more than a good homage, which was probably the filmmakers intent. The film does look good, nice grainy 16mm cinematography, the lead was pretty good as well and Tom Noonan who commands a screen presence at all times, the dialogue is believable & not stilted.
You're Next (2011) - This wasn't what I was expecting out of it at all, I assumed it would be just a run of the mill home invasion film featuring a lone woman being terrorized by some masked dude, this turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It's more of black comedy of sorts than a straight up slasher film but it works well on that level too, it's smarter and aware of the stupidity that plagues similar films of it's kind, instead of a damsel in distress we get a prepared and focused lead character able to react to fucked up situations with a intelligence not screams. Outside the characters the narrative itself isn't perfect, like a lot of horror films the plot line is notched up to 11 to make it completely ludicrous and the twist at the end was a little too predictable, though the very last shot of the film was very funny.
I loved the first one, except the ending segment. I sort of liked the second one, which used the ending segment in an OKishly cool way. This one was just tiresome. If you thought Annabelle was made up of only jump scares, you've ain't seen nothing yet. Seriously. There was one jump scare that worked so I'll give it that, but the rest was just bland. The saving grace was the two ghost hunters (as always in this series...).
The Damned. Lets go four chopped off fingers and an index knuckle nub for a score. Started off with really annoying asshole characters but came together nicely I think. I see why it ended like it did but its a bit cliche.
4. Jeepers Creepers (2001): I liked the start pretty well and the brother-sister dynamic was pretty good, but the movie really loses steam towards the end. Around the time the Explainer shows up, it's pretty much just paint by the numbers horror. The best moment was when they drove by the monster dude dumping the bodies and it started staring at them. I did not care for the ending because it felt very hollow, really needed a better finish.
This was a good one to watch right after Don't Torture a Duckling. Father's Day was one of my favorites two years ago, so it's no surprise that The Editor was right up my alley. Just as a previous poster said about this movie, it's a giallo spoof, but it stands firm on its own. Kinda like Tenacious D or Dethklok. I'm far from a giallo aficionado, but I did enjoy the references to other movies thrown in throughout the film. I also liked the throwback to Father's Day in the church.
Everything was in place, the camera angles, the dialogue and dubbing, the lighting, music, gratuitous gore and nudity, as well as the nonsense. I wonder if watching this so early into the marathon will affect how I view the other gialli films on my list. Hopefully I'll still be able to enjoy them for what they are and no see them as too nonsensical.
To start this year's Halloween, let's go for the oldest movie I have on my list. I have heard much about this movie before watching and was a bit hesitant at first but thought I give it a shot. The film is about Dr. Caligari and his mysterious creation, a somnambulist, who's able to predict the future, and the mysterious crimes that's happening around the town. Much said less about it, the better.
A surprise to me was how this film had a lot of artistic quality, a great score and the setting is just amazing. Maybe not scary by today's standards but the chilling score with the set design makes this an entertaining watch. In terms of artistic quality, this film is pretty much pitch perfect. At only just over an hour long, well worth watching. 8/10
Day 2: The Visit (2015)
M. Night Shyamalan's latest film, his latest effort to win back favorable public opinion about him. The Visit is his first first 'found-footage' film, I am not a huge fan of that sub-horror genre so my expectation for this film was already a quite low. The film is about 2 kids who decide to go to their grandparent's for the week, and make a documentary of their week for their mother, however, the grandparents aren't as they act strangely throughout the film... which is where the expected Shyamalan 'twist' lies.
Tonally, the film is a bit out of place, with comedic moments, scenes which don't blend well, and the found footages are 'conveniently' placed at times. However, this is not a bad film, great acting with tense scenes. I got my time's worth with the the film.. there are some bad found footage tropes which I hated, there's quite a few fake scares and the film can be a bit preachy but it was entertaining, the twist left me guessing and i enjoyed the performances. 6.5/10
Typical shamammalan. Didn't know it was found footage so that coupled with the aforementioned shamammalan made this an experience to walk away from and go meh. Wasn't scary, wasn't good.
2. Last Days (?) On Mars.
Was ok I guess. Didn't feel like a wasted my time but I couldn't recommend it. Wasn't scary or creepy.
3. Babadook.
Oh boy. My wife read the description and uttered the words psychological horror, from there I knew it was gonna blow. I watched the whole thing but it was pretty damn boring.
Hey Sadie! What do you think the sex crime of the century was?
Its my first Wes Craven Saturday, and I cant believe Ive never got round to seeing this film before. Ive known all about it for ages though, because of its importance to the UK video nasties situation of the early eighties. I turned thirteen in 1981, and my friend group talked about this film (and others banned classics like Driller Killer and I Spit on Your Grave, that were also apparently corrupting us) in awed tones, even though none of us actually ever managed to see any of the bastards. Im pretty sure desperately wanting to see them contributed to my obsession with horror generally though.
Before watching it, I was surprised to find that the BBFC only granted a certificate for an uncut version of this movie in 2008, by which time it was already 36 years old. Having seen it, Im not quite so surprised, as its still pretty brutal even today. Its also an absolutely fantastic film, that I thoroughly enjoyed. Tense, disturbing and grim, with solid performances all round, particularly from Sandra Cassell as Mari, the unhappy birthday girl, and Cynthia Carr, the mother who
ends up biting off more than she can chew
. I also want to name check Gaylord St. James, simply because he has the single greatest name in 1970s film star history.
Despite how good the film is, there are a few off moments. The comedy cops are a horrible misstep, and the whole Ada and the chicken truck scene was just so cringe inducing I almost had to hide behind the sofa. Having a Baddies Theme song start to play in the middle of the movie was a bit weird too - especially one with lyrics referencing the action and that sounded like a Benny Hill outtake. Im also never going to be able to watch the Home Alone movies in the same light again, after that third act.
Verdict: Definitely recommended, and a much better movie than either Driller Killer or I Spit on Your Grave.
It would be hard to replicate the original film, but find the decisions here... strange.
I don't know what it is about remakes and thinking we wanna know what makes a person a monster/killer... but yeah the first 30 mins or so is examining Michael and his origin.
Then it kind of switches to original movie, but without any of the creepiness of those long shots of him just watching.
And seriously... Halloween night and the emptiest streets in town?
Love everything about this movie except for that hideous mask. The movie was fun and kept me entertained throughout it and in a way feels like a sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street (84). My only complaints outside of the mask would have to be not enough Freddy with fedora. 8.5/10
Day 1 - Day of the Dead (1985)
I'm going to try and only use new movies for this, so everything I write up is based on my first time viewing.
This was pretty good. I loved the look of the zombies in the opening scene. Top quality stuff. I haven't seen may of these older zombie movies, so I'm not sure where exactly certain ideas came from or which movies did them first. Interesting ideas were explored (
taming/training zombies
), and I appreciated a setting that wasn't purely about survival in the wilderness, but the archetypes portrayed are quite archaic when viewed today despite probably still being relatively fresh when the movie first released.
4/5
Day 2 - Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014)
The image of the girl in the poster I chose for this is what made me want to see this. It was very striking. The movie has some fun effects, but it definitely shows its narrow budget. Some scenes are a bit confusing, like many of the actions of the mad doctor who doesn't even speak the first few scenes he is in. I haven't seen many Australian horror films, but I was very glad to see the usage of Aboriginal Australian actors in the film and the supporting lead was a very fun character without resorting to stereotypes. Excellent. The zombies were uninspired and bland, unfortunately. I liked the novelty of the film (
She can control zombies! Fun!
) but overall the rest of it was just slightly above average.
3/5
Day 3 - Housebound (2014)
I figured I would like this but I didn't expect to LOVE it. Layers of mystery are peeled back and mounting tension mix well with comedic scenes. The mom is fantastic and the action is fast and fun. Thoroughly enjoyable. It's only my third movie for the month but this is definitely a front-runner for the best.
31 Days of Horror Pre-31 Days of Horror 1 - Behind the Mask Pre-31 Days of Horror 2 - Unfriended Day 1 - The Hills Have Eyes (2006) Day 2 - The Thing (1982)
The Thing (1982)
My second rewatch this year, The Thing stands out as one of Carpenters best works. The characters, setting, atmosphere, and just everything you can think of mesh so well together. Practical effects are top notch and are not for the squeamish. Carpenter does not disappoint in the soundtrack department either heck its one of his specialties if you are familiar with his work. I find horror movies to be best when they do not explain or subtly explain origin of the "bad guy/entity/alien". The Thing did just that. The opening shot was a spaceship flying towards Earth. Later on in the film they discovered the huge crater with the ship in it. Simple and straightforward -- no real explanation of what the entity is and where it came from, which adds tension and fear. You know what they say, people fear the unknown, but at the same time they do not leave you hanging. You understand that The Thing is not of this world.
Anyways, I do not like describing film stories and suggest people watch it instead.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula is an absolutely stunning film, the sets are beautiful, only outdone by the amazing lighting and camera positioning to give life to the beatiful fictional London from the near-1900s. The movie has some tremendous performances by the majority of the actors, but especially by Anthony Hopkins (as Dr. Van Helsing), Tom Waits (R. M. Renfield), and most of all Gary Oldman, who is absolutely outstanding in his performance of Count Dracula. The only performance that seems below par is that of Keanu Reeves as the young attorney Jonathan Harker, who does an adequate job, but is not able to match the performance of Dracula, which much of the first act of the movie relies upon. Though, in fairness, not many people could have matched up with Oldman’s performance in this movie.
That said, Coppola went all out on set-pieces and big (action) sequences, but seems to have forgotten to spend the same amount of effort on the narrative behind it, as we jump rather awkwardly from each big moment to the next, I found it hard to concentrate on the story itself, which deviates quite a bit from the book in my opinion. That fact in itself is somewhat strange, since the title of the movie is specifically “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” and I had expected something faithful to the book, rather than an interpretation of it. I found out later this was due to the name “Dracula” having its rights elsewhere and they weren’t allowed to call it that, I named the film Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula at the start of this small review, and that’s what it should have been released as.
All in all, though, the Dracula as created by Coppola and his team, along with Gary Oldman is a tremendous character. It’s a tragic character, whose motivations are clear and logical, despite him being the dangerous predator that he is. The redemption story that follows, with Winona Ryder as his love interest in the center is beautiful.
So while this movie could have been a bit more faithful to the source material, and the story lacks some cohesion, it is an absolutely great depiction of Dracula that’s well worth watching.
4.5 Fangs out of 5 for Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Great movie and a great sequel to the first of the series. This movie was more action sci-fi horror vs it's predecessor which was straight sci-fi horror. While the first movie had a lot of atmosphere this movie had suspense. I think I still prefer the first movie but Aliens takes no backseat to Alien in it's enjoyment factor. Ripley once again is boss.
Curse of Chucky (Netflix): I went in with low expectations, giving the nature of the past few films. I thought it was pretty bland. The ending is rushed to tie up the story with previous films (well, the first one) and it ends in a cliffhanger of sorts.
I have to say that Chucky's face is really weird in this (before he is revealed). The use of CGI is really distracting as well. Mostly since it is badly done.
I guess if you are a huge fan of the franchise check it out. Otherwise, I would skip it.
Movie is still amazing and holds up great as a satire of the genre considering how shit it still is to this day. The homage to Wes Craven movies are great especially the janitor Fred. Reminds me so much of a Nightmare on Elm Street but instead of people being afraid of falling asleep they're afraid of night coming. 8.5/10
