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Penguin · Oct 4, 2015

Movie 9 - The Strangers

Seems like home invasions is a mini-theme of my month of movies.

This one was pretty tense, but still trying to figure out if not really knowing the tormentors motivation makes or breaks this for me.

There's something about just playing with your food that has a weird, deranged notion in my head.

Also, and would have to happen anyhow, but gonna slow down my watching because I'm just noticing too many tropes that just make me laugh at these movies now.

Like seriously, how often do people actually trip while running?

ThirstyFly · Oct 4, 2015

matt360 said:
And Tom Atkins is in The Fog? I'm gonna have to give that a watch as well. I've seen the Tom Welling remake (weird, second time I've mentioned him in this thread), but never the original.

And yes for more Argento! I've still got Deep Red and Inferno on my list, and maaaaybe Phenomenon, along with more Fulci and Soavi, as was recommended by you and some others earlier in the thread. I'm eating it all up this year! Maybe I should've saved The Editor for the end of the month, but I feel like I know enough about the genre to really appreciate what it was doing.

As far as Lucio "Grandfather of Gore" Fulci goes, what are his goriest movies? I loved Don't Torture a Duckling, but there wasn't much gore there. A couple brutal scenes, but nothing crazy sfx-wise.

Yup, Atkins is in The Fog!

I'm still waiting of the Canadian release of the Editor. It's killllling me. Just a couple more days~

Fulci's gore period I believe started with Zombi 2 in '79 and continued on with the unofficial "Gates of Hell" trilogy, City of the Living Dead ('80), The Beyond ('81) and The House by the Cemetery ('81). City easily being the nastiest of the bunch. The Beyond had some good gore too, but I honestly can't remember much about House.

I can't remember if it has much on screen gore, but the New York Ripper is by far his trashiest, most brutal giallo. I can't imagine his gialli I haven't seen topping that in the sleaze factor.

I had A Cat In The Brain recommended to me earlier in the thread, but have not seen it myself yet. Sounds worth checking out since it's a meta-commentary on his gore period.

Around there is where his health started to decline and it impacted the quality of the movies. He only partially finished Zombi 3 and had to be replaced by Bruno Mattei due to his failing health. It's a pretty bad movie, but still a fun watch with some good gore. Mattei wasn't exactly shy when it came to red corn syrup either.

Plasticine · Oct 5, 2015

1. Horror of Dracula (October 1)

Since the death of Jonathan Harker Count Dracula the propagator of this unspeakable evil has disappeared. He must be found and destroyed!

Having enjoyed massive box office success with The Curse of Frankenstein, Hammer Studios was eager to give another Gothic Horror icon a similar technicolor makeover. Given Universal's success with the character, Bram Stoker's Dracula was the natural next choice. Director Terence Fisher brings an action packed and sexually charged sensibility to the material that couldn't be further from Tod Browning's moody and stagebound Dracula. Writer Jimmy Sangster cuts the source material to the bone, delivering a script that's an inventive and fast-paced romp through Stoker's novel. Here Jonathan Harker and Dr. Van Helsing are re-imagined as vampire hunters out for Dracula's head and vampirism is provided a contemporary frame of reference by comparing it to drug addiction. Given only thirteen lines of dialogue, Christopher Lee imbues the titular Count with a physically imposing presence that's savage and menacing. Peter Cushing brings a stoic sense of righteousness to his Dr. Van Helsing that's the polar opposite of Lee's brute force performance. They are good and evil personified. It all culminates in a rousing finale that rocks and rolls across two countries before exploding in a throwdown at Castle Dracula that sees Dr. Van Helsing race across tables, pull down curtains and concoct an improvised crucifix to face down the Count. Top shelf Gothic Horror that still packs a dynamite punch over half a century later.

2. Kill Baby... Kill (October 2)

Something in this town is supernatural. Tell me, why did they abandon the church? Im scared, I almost think the devils here.

Following two films away from the genre, Mario Bava returned to horror with Kill Baby... Kill. Shunning the overt violence and sexuality that marked his previous entries in the genre, Bava opted for something quieter, but still unsettling. A small Carpathian village has been plagued by mysterious murders where the victim is left with a gold coin in their heart. Dr. Eswai arrives in town to investigate and finds himself caught up in a tale of supernatural dread and misguided revenge. Bava relies more on mood more than the red stuff to generate chills. Exterior sets are gorgeously baroque and filled with dead trees and wasted landscapes. Bava's creeping camera movements evoke the killer ghost drifting through the world. It adds up to a morbid atmosphere that's a textbook example of subtle horror.

3. Madhouse (October 3)

Now I must play the final scene, the death of Dr Death!

After years locked away inside an insane asylum, Hollywood actor Paul Toombes returns to his signature role, Dr. Death. But when bodies pile up around the production, everyone suspects Tombs hasn't recovered his sanity, including Toombes himself. The central mystery is rather obvious, but that doesn't matter much in this proto slasher Vincent Price vehicle. The cast gets to carry the day here. Seeing Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Robert Quarry all together is blast. Price gets to ham it up in role that goes from soul searching to bug fuck insane. Toss in some post-modern touches such as the film transforming into the most fog covered Hammer Horror ever whenever you visit Peter Cushing's house. Cushing and Quarry showing up decked out as Count Dracula and Count Yorga. The film is peppered with clips of Price's AIP films being re-purposed as Dr. Death films. Top the whole thing off with ridiculous kills and you have a recipe for an easy Halloween crowd pleaser.

Titles in bold are first time viewings.

Akahige · Oct 5, 2015

That first person remake of Maniac I couldn't get into at all, stopped at the 30 minute mark. It wasn't really even first person either, the arms or hands always came from the side rather than the front. If someone has a very high opinion of it I may watch the rest later but that is doubtful.

Snake said:
#5: Wolves (2014)

About what you would expect from a low-budget werewolf movie directed by David Hayter. Not a great use of a late saturday night. Avoid.

Oh man my tolerance for shitty horror flicks is pretty low but that picture is telling me to watch this trash.

ElTopo · Oct 5, 2015

Divius said:
#03 - The Hunger (1983)
This movie opens with a bang; an incredibly awesome opening scene had me hooked immediately, although it never quite reaches that level again. Very atmospheric and stylistic vampire movie with an original angle. It is quite somber, dark and depressing. Never scary though. Impressive first full length feature from Tony Scott. Fun to see his style which would develop throughout his career later on. 6/10

One of my favorite vampire flicks. It's so stylish that it's like an American Italian Horror flick.

Plasticine · Oct 5, 2015

matt360 said:
And Tom Atkins is in The Fog? I'm gonna have to give that a watch as well. I've seen the Tom Welling remake (weird, second time I've mentioned him in this thread), but never the original.

And yes for more Argento! I've still got Deep Red and Inferno on my list, and maaaaybe Phenomenon, along with more Fulci and Soavi, as was recommended by you and some others earlier in the thread. I'm eating it all up this year! Maybe I should've saved The Editor for the end of the month, but I feel like I know enough about the genre to really appreciate what it was doing.

As far as Lucio "Grandfather of Gore" Fulci goes, what are his goriest movies? I loved Don't Torture a Duckling, but there wasn't much gore there. A couple brutal scenes, but nothing crazy sfx-wise.

Tom Atkins is not only in The Fog, he's the leading man. His character firmly establishes himself as the manliest man ever in horror within his first five minutes of screen time.

Phenomenon is one of my favorite Argento flicks but it's fucking nuts. Like, crazier than a usual Argento movie.

If you want a Fulci chunk blower, they don't come gorier than The Gates of Hell, aka City of the Living Dead. It has some absolute jaw dropping moments of gore-met action, most notably featuring every Italian director's favorite whipping boy Giovanni Lombardo Radice. The Beyond and Zombi also deliver the goods, but not quite as over the top as Gates of Hell.

Scully · Oct 5, 2015

#4. Basket Case (1982)

I watched Henenlotter's Frankenhooker a few years ago and absolutely loved it, so I decided to include his directorial debut Basket Case in this year's horror marathon. The main plot isn't that strong but the film was pretty funny and the special effects were endearing.

7/10

ThirstyFly · Oct 5, 2015

Scully said:
http://i.imgur.com/d4GBJ6d.jpg

#4. Basket Case (1982)

I watched Henenlotter's Frankenhooker a few years ago and absolutely loved it, so I decided to include his directorial debut Basket Case in this year's horror marathon. The main plot isn't that strong but the film was pretty funny and the special effects were endearing.

7/10

You've now watched the greatest movie ever made. May as well stop, it's all downhill from here.

Steamlord · Oct 5, 2015

matt360 said:
#4 - Tenebre

At the recommendation of posters here in the thread, I gave Tenebre a shot. It can definitely be said that this year's theme is Italian for me. I really enjoyed the premise of this one, and had fun with it from start to finish. Like I've said in earlier posts, I'm fairly new to the giallo genre, but so far everything is clicking with me. The music, the lighting, the shots, the dubbing, the gore. They are cheesy as hell, but from the ones I've seen, there is something haunting about them that sticks with you.

As for Tenebre in particular, I thought the mystery was fairly well done. It was great to see John Saxon in there, with his nice, new hat. Usually with these murder mystery movies, I don't really give a shit who the killer is, and just kinda go along for the ride. But I found the mystery here to be pretty effective. I haven't seen enough of the genre to know if everything was top form here, but I definitely liked it a lot.

Tenebre is probably tied with Blood and Black Lace for my favorite "pure" giallo. It probably has the best series of twists of any giallo I've seen, and it serves as a sort of meta-commentary on the genre while being an excellent thriller on its own merits as well. There are still plenty more gialli I need to see, though.

matt360 said:
And yes for more Argento! I've still got Deep Red and Inferno on my list, and maaaaybe Phenomenon, along with more Fulci and Soavi, as was recommended by you and some others earlier in the thread. I'm eating it all up this year! Maybe I should've saved The Editor for the end of the month, but I feel like I know enough about the genre to really appreciate what it was doing.

Phenomena is absolutely worth watching. It's a spiritual successor to Suspiria and Inferno in that it takes a supernatural approach, but it's absolutely fucking bonkers, far more than Suspiria and Inferno are. I can't really adequately describe how wonderfully ludicrous it is without spoiling stuff. It's also Jennifer Connelly's first film role, predating Labyrinth, so that's interesting as well.

Ridley327 · Oct 5, 2015

October 4

Opening with a haunting display of mummified remains as they all seem frozen in a mix of fear and awe, with Popol Vuh's profoundly haunting score playing, I knew I was going to be in for something special with Nosferatu the Vampyre. It did not disappoint, as the film is as reverential of its progenitor as it is willing to forge its own path, and even the shots that are most directly lifted from Murnau's immortal classic take on the slightest of differences that transform them into different beasts altogether. Werner Herzog makes the most of being able to have the capability to take the story in places it couldn't imagine in 1922, be it in the scope of the setting (this film has some unbelievable scenery shots), and also being able to lift more from Bram Stoker's original novel of Dracula that presented such a terrible legal situation for the original. I can forgive the film for some minor story quibbles as it quickly quashes them with yet another breathtaking composition or sequence that drives home the darkly tinged dreamscape that's being presented. While not jolting, there's such an air of deep-rooted terror and sadness that keeps you on edge throughout, making for a rather engaging experience that relies so very, very little on visible bloodshed and nudity, opting to show just enough to make its point very clear without detracting from the beauty of impending doom and ruin. A marvelous experience from beginning to end.

Film for October 5: Brian de Palma broke through to the mainstream with Sisters, a twisty tale of psychological horror and Hitchcockian tension. With myself finding a newfound appreciation for his talents, it's about time to give his first big break a shot.

inm8num2 · Oct 5, 2015

Steamlord said:
Phenomena is absolutely worth watching. It's a spiritual successor to Suspiria and Inferno in that it takes a supernatural approach, but it's absolutely fucking bonkers, far more than Suspiria and Inferno are. I can't really adequately describe how wonderfully ludicrous it is without spoiling stuff. It's also Jennifer Connelly's first film role, predating Labyrinth, so that's interesting as well.

And it has an AWESOME soundtrack.

Steamlord · Oct 5, 2015

Ridley327 said:
October 4

Opening with a haunting display of mummified remains as they all seem frozen in a mix of fear and awe, with Popol Vuh's profoundly haunting score playing, I knew I was going to be in for something special with Nosferatu the Vampyre. It did not disappoint, as the film is as reverential of its progenitor as it is willing to forge its own path, and even the shots that are most directly lifted from Murnau's immortal classic take on the slightest of differences that transform them into different beasts altogether. Werner Herzog makes the most of being able to have the capability to take the story in places it couldn't imagine in 1922, be it in the scope of the setting (this film has some unbelievable scenery shots), and also being able to lift more from Bram Stoker's original novel of Dracula that presented such a terrible legal situation for the original. I can forgive the film for some minor story quibbles as it quickly quashes them with yet another breathtaking composition or sequence that drives home the darkly tinged dreamscape that's being presented. While not jolting, there's such an air of deep-rooted terror and sadness that keeps you on edge throughout, making for a rather engaging experience that relies so very, very little on visible bloodshed and nudity, opting to show just enough to make its point very clear without detracting from the beauty of impending doom and ruin. A marvelous experience from beginning to end.

Film for October 5: Brian de Palma broke through to the mainstream with Sisters, a twisty tale of psychological horror and Hitchcockian tension. With myself finding a newfound appreciation for his talents, it's about time to give his first big break a shot.

Amazing movie and easily one of the best horror remakes out there. Fun fact: those mummified bodies at the beginning? They're real. And man, Isabelle Adjani is something else.

inm8num2 said:
And it has an AWESOME soundtrack.

Absolutely. Valley is simply gorgeous.

The inclusion of Iron Maiden, Motörhead, etc. I found questionable since I pretty much detest that sort of music, but...it works because the movie is so insane. So I can't complain too much.

kunonabi · Oct 5, 2015

Movie 4: Tree House
Hulu Plus

This was movie that never really came together. A horror film revolving around a tree house has a certain amount of promise but it ends up playing a very minor part in the plot. Instead it's a fairly standard story about being chased by rednecks that ends with a very messy climax and the violence is cheap and unsatisfying throughout. The dynamic between the two leads was the best part of the film and even that was hampered by the awful acting of they guy. She was the tough sort of country girl who knows her way around guns and he was the slow, inept, introvert that can't really stick up for himself. If they had spent more time on them instead of his backstory it would have been so much better. I would have liked the movie much more had the characters been younger and the threat more supernatural or if it had been made decades earlier when the violence wouldn't have been a bunch of cheap digital effects.

skip it

JigglesBunny · Oct 5, 2015

Curse of Chucky: The real Child's Play 4, a solid horror romp with some decent kills, but nothing to write home about or particularly scary, like at all.

It completely washed the taste of Bride and Seed of Chucky out of my mouth, though!

Ridley327 · Oct 5, 2015

Steamlord said:
Amazing movie and easily one of the best horror remakes out there. Fun fact: those mummified bodies at the beginning? They're real. And man, Isabelle Adjani is something else.

Yeah, those looked way too real to not be the genuine article.

I pretty much fell in love with her in The Tenant. Even with big thick glasses on (or because of them?), she is so damn beautiful. It's probably not too much of a surprise to say what my overlying theme will be for next year, but Possession is definitely going to be on that list.

Steamlord · Oct 5, 2015

Adjani's performance in Possession is pretty much all-time-great tier.

ThirstyFly · Oct 5, 2015

04) WolfCop (2014) (Oct 4)

So how do you follow up a Frankenstein movie? Why, with a werewolf movie of course!

WolfCop is a heavily An American Werewolf in London influenced horror comedy movie from Canada.

At only 79 minutes including the opening and end credits, it's a little light on the story so I won't bother with an outing the plot – the title explains what you need to know. Overall, it's not too bad with some fun humor and fantastic practical effects for the transformation sequences. I can honestly say this is the first time I've saw a werewolf transformation starting

dick

out.

The story and characters are pretty thin and they could have used a little more time to flesh things out though. The 3rd act in particular feels very rushed and includes some unfortunate CG effects, which is odd because until that point everything had been done practically.

It did win me over with the effects work (and super hot bartender). It was nice to see a modern horror comedy that didn't rely so much on winking at the camera and trying to convince the audience how clever it was. These guys knew what they were making and went with it. If they had just gone a little further with it, it could have been up there with modern Canadian greats like Hobo with a Shotgun and Father's Day.

Even with its flaws, it's hard to hate on a movie that uses a Gowan song for a

werewolf sex scene

! Now that's Canadian!

The end credits tease us with the promise of a WolfCop 2 for 2015, which has still yet to come to fruition. I hope they get on that, there's another hit Gowan song they need to include!

Rating:

out of 5 Michaels from Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror.

Ridley327 · Oct 5, 2015

October 4: Extra Credit

Even with how much more technically proficient filmmaking has gotten since its debut, there's really never been another film quite like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Sure, its visual scheme has been endlessly aped for nearly a hundred years, but it's hard to think of a film or filmmaker that's been able to pull off even half the level of panache that this film does, which often feels like peering into the mind of someone who stayed on the carousel too long, peering into the distorted visuals of what lay outside as they turn and turn and turn. It's never been a perfect film, and rewatching it again after so long does make it more obvious of the issues it has in relating its narrative visually, which is too complex for the haphazard way that they try to handle it in both the frequent intertitles that occur at strange moments as well as long stretches where they could have done some good, but it's such a mesmerizing and singular work that it almost doesn't matter too much. The near-hysterical performances and the endlessly fascinating set design all work together to ensure that even at nearly 100 years old, they really never made them like this ever again.

Steamlord · Oct 5, 2015

Again, Robert Wiene's Genuine is basically a sister film to Caligari. The story is indecipherable nonsense, but if you want more of that Caligari flair (same set designer and everything!) I highly recommend it.

rrc1594 · Oct 5, 2015

Movie # 4

Stay Alive(2006)

As someone who play video games a lot, it makes you think. Would I be able to play a video game were my life is at risk and beat it. I think I'm pretty great at most games, but imagine if you die in Dark Souls you die in real life

JigglesBunny · Oct 5, 2015

rrc1594 said:
Imagine if you die in Dark Souls you die in real life

I would have been dead roughly 730+ times, give or take a few hundred.

Rhomega Beta · Oct 5, 2015

4. Scream 3 "All I know is that in the third one, all bets are off."

So new Ghostface has a voice changer that can recreate any voice.
...
How does that even work? Especially for Sidney's mother's voice, who's been dead for years. The trilogy comes full circle as now Sidney is having hallucinations. The backdrop is about the production of Stab 3, which allows meta-talk about trilogies, but that makes me realize Stab 2 is a non-event, despite the murders occurring around 1 and 3. What even happens in Stab 2? Or is this a Zombi thing where there is no Stab 2? Regardless, it's still a good movie, and a good trilogy. I'm sure I'll watch Scre4m one of these days...in fact, now that I think about it, what is it with Netflix not including whole franchises? First 5 Rocky movies, but not Rocky Balboa. No Rambo. No Scre4m.

Also, 2>1>3, but that's not to say any of them are bad.

Full list

obin_gam · Oct 5, 2015

ThirstyFly said:
Drats. I'm going to have to watch that eventually because I'm a big fan of Sam Rockwell. I'm in no rush though.

Luckily Sam Rockwell is really good in it, so at least it's fun to look at him...

Cipher Peon · Oct 5, 2015

Two for today, to make up for the one I was missing!

Cipher Peon said:
I saw 2 horror movies today! Wooooooo!

Movie #1
The Taking of Deborah Logan

This film was frankly excellent. I love found footage movies, possession ones especially. The failings of the genre that break it for others are completely ignorable for me and I love myself a cheap thrill. And Deborah Logan might be the best found footage possession horror movie I've seen.

It's helped with genius pacing and surprising large scope. The setting shifts often and the world of the movie opens up and provides new angles and approaches to the scares. The film reminded me a lot of The Blair Witch Project with its genius use of nature horror and the unknown, with the standout scene being a chilling scene of a series of portraits involving a window. It was built up to perfectly and more horror films need to take note. Also the film's money shot was excellent. Creepy and memorable stuff.

The film took a few one too many breaks though, and let me catch my breath a bit too often. Also, there were scenes were I felt the budget was woefully under what they wanted to do, leading to some embarrassing night effects. Also, the film thinks contextless snakes are scary, which in the context of these film they really weren't. It reminded me of The Conjuring's fascination for nooses, and while I'm happy it has a distinct style and I'm sure someone would be terrified of it, that someone wasn't me. Found both to be pretty silly.

Anyway, as a huge fan of this schlock, I ate this up completely and have an appetite for more. It was an incredible film and it sits comfortably as my 8th favorite film of 2014.

8/10

Speaking of 2014, the second movie I saw was
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

The film is a gorgeously shot black and white Persian horror romance movie. And I hated it. The film has a very distinct and stylized aesthetic that did not appeal to me in the slightest. A work of art that I have no use for. Pretty but for someone else's eyes.

That's not too mention its horribly slow burn story, which didn't pay off in the slightest. It felt like nothing happened the entire film and when vampire shenanigans or romance shenanigans happened, I was so bored I felt it was impossible to care. It was like watching paint dry.

If there's one thing that I liked, it was the film's soundtrack. Some of its tracks worked really well with the style and gave the film an artsy music video look to it. Which I thought was alright.

The film was a waste of my time, frankly. It wasn't for me and I don't hold it against it. I'd rather never watch this movie again.

2/10

1 - Day of the Dead
2 - Curse of Chucky
3 - The Taking of Deborah Logan
4 - A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

mariachi507 · Oct 5, 2015

1. The Blob (1988)

"Ribbed."

We're kicking this thing off in a great way! I want to preface this by saying that I skipped out last year because of how busy I was with college. Needless to say, this did not make me happy. The lead-up to Halloween is my favorite time of the year and to skip out on 31 days of horror made the little horror nut inside die a little bit. I've determined that even though my duties at college have grown even more this year that I will persevere and I will get my horror on. That being said, something has to give somewhere, and I figure it will probably end up being the write-up department. I've been notoriously lazy in this department in the past as is, but this year some of my submissions might seem a little short on words. Blah blah blah, yeah yeah yeah, let's talk about The Blob.

My plan this year is to have about 75% first time views and 25% rewatches. My twist with the rewatches is that they're going to be films that I probably haven't seen in over 15 years. In many respects it will kind of be like seeing these films for the first time all over again. In the case of The Blob I only remembered two scenes, Kevin Dillon riding a motorcycle and the ending. This is a film I am grateful for barely remembering, because it is quite a ride. Kevin Dillon was even tolerable and I usually can't stand him. The creature effects absolutely blow away most modern films and even stand up to The Thing except for a few scenes. Maybe time split in the 80's and we're living in the bad timeline, where instead of films building upon the high quality of work put in place by The Thing and The Blob they simply got lazy and lost their imagination. One flaw that I can direct towards this film is that it deserved a better musical score. The opening scene's music set the mood pretty well, it was filled with an atmospheric space like drone that was very fitting with it's horror-like synth elements. The rest of film, it just seemed like it was filled with your typical 80's horror cues, and nothing stood out to me as memorable. I probably wouldn't have noticed this if I hadn't spoiled myself watching films like Deep Red, Halloween, and Phantasm before October. I've got to get started on my next watch so I'll leave with a few spoilerly observations/nitpicks.

-Look how cool Kevin Dillon is, damn shame he couldn't make that jump on his bike. I wonder if he will get another chance later on? Let's say, during a climatic action scene.
-What happened to the Doctor after he found the body that was half melted? The film went right into the death of the possible boyfriend.
-The woman from the Saw movies really isn't that good of an actress, I guess that doesn't really matter though.
-Why is everyone being so rude to the military? They will probably justify it with having the military be evil later on.
-Yep, they're evil.
-Made the jump this time! I always knew he had it in him.
-Holy shit! That kid just died an awful death. Then again, I don't believe the blob takes any of it's victims peacefully.
-Yep, there is a reason why that ending stuck with me, great final scene.

8.5/10

mechashiva · Oct 5, 2015

4. Monster Squad (Netflix) - never gets old, always gets better. Terrific dialogue, great Dracula presence, and scary German guy. I'm fully in the Monster Squad >Goonies camp. Watch it any and every chance you get.

Splatterpunk · Oct 5, 2015

ThirstyFly said:
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.

I was definitely generalizing, just meant that style of movie. And I've also seen a bunch more non Argento ones that didn't leave much of an impression, those were just the titles I remembered off the top of my head. One Italian movie I have seen that I liked was Demons, though that was def more American influenced.

I don't know, I guess I just don't get it. People I know who love them will freely admit they're not particularly scary, nor generally very good on any sort of technical level. Yet they're never considered to be so bad it's good either. So what does that leave? The kills/gore, which despite my username I'm not too much of a gorehound. The visuals & music, the vast majority of which didn't seem memorable or striking. Then there's the supposed surreal/hallucinogenic element; I love the idea of a surreal slasher with archetypes instead of characters, but in practice it only seems to be a way to handwave away reason/logic. Bad acting, flat characters etc I can easily forgive, but not coupled with these much more major shortcomings.

Anyhow, I actually have now seen Zombie, which I'll write-up soon, and I'm planning on watching The Beyond. Depending on how that goes, yeah I may just leave Italian horror behind.

JAGII said:
October 4th Resolution (2012, Dirs. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead)

Really great movie, went in blind and loved it. Gotta watch Spring.

matt360 · Oct 5, 2015

ThirstyFly said:
Yup, Atkins is in The Fog!

I'm still waiting of the Canadian release of the Editor. It's killllling me. Just a couple more days~

Fulci's gore period I believe started with Zombi 2 in '79 and continued on with the unofficial "Gates of Hell" trilogy, City of the Living Dead ('80), The Beyond ('81) and The House by the Cemetery ('81). City easily being the nastiest of the bunch. The Beyond had some good gore too, but I honestly can't remember much about House.

I can't remember if it has much on screen gore, but the New York Ripper is by far his trashiest, most brutal giallo. I can't imagine his gialli I haven't seen topping that in the sleaze factor.

I had A Cat In The Brain recommended to me earlier in the thread, but have not seen it myself yet. Sounds worth checking out since it's a meta-commentary on his gore period.

Around there is where his health started to decline and it impacted the quality of the movies. He only partially finished Zombi 3 and had to be replaced by Bruno Mattei due to his failing health. It's a pretty bad movie, but still a fun watch with some good gore. Mattei wasn't exactly shy when it came to red corn syrup either.

Plasticine said:
Tom Atkins is not only in The Fog, he's the leading man. His character firmly establishes himself as the manliest man ever in horror within his first five minutes of screen time.

Phenomenon is one of my favorite Argento flicks but it's fucking nuts. Like, crazier than a usual Argento movie.

If you want a Fulci chunk blower, they don't come gorier than The Gates of Hell, aka City of the Living Dead. It has some absolute jaw dropping moments of gore-met action, most notably featuring every Italian director's favorite whipping boy Giovanni Lombardo Radice. The Beyond and Zombi also deliver the goods, but not quite as over the top as Gates of Hell.

Seems like I'm gonna have to adjust my list a bit. I'm a real sucker for gore, but I prefer the older fx to the more modern and realistic stuff. There's something about the way these giallo movies portray their violence that is both haunting and fascinating to me. Like an animal playing with its prey before the kill, but in a surreal and dream like state. Like getting killed inside of a nightmare. I love it. But for me, the over-the-top nature of the gore keeps these kills rooted in the "awesome" category instead of the "disturbing" category. Not sure if that makes any sense though.

BioHazard · Oct 5, 2015

Did a revenge double feature:

#6. Bound to Vengeance (2015)

Viewed On: VOD

Meh, the typical rape/torture revenge setup except this films starts with the protagonist escaping right at the beginning and exacting her revenge and saving others for the rest of the film. Some interesting concepts and "twists", but ultimately it's unimpressive and pretty boring.

I give this film 2 bags of popcorn (out of 5)

#7. I Spit On Your Grave (2010)

Viewed On: Blu-Ray

I've never seen the infamous 1978 original. I've heard this 2010 remake get some praise (by those who can accept the nature of a rape/revenge film). This one's pretty brutal on both sides of the story. Not sure how to it holds up to the original. You don't really feel good after watching one of these, but I would say it's a solid exploitation flick if you can stomach it. I can't believe they made two sequels to this remake. Fish hooks, shotguns, and lye, oh my!

I give this film 3 bags of popcorn (out of 5)

My watched list so far

Linkhero1 · Oct 5, 2015

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)
Day 3 - The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari
Day 3 Double Feature - Dead Silence
Day 4 - Black Death

Black Death
The movie stars Sean Bean as Elric, a knight who is investigating cause of the black plague. He enlists the help of a young monk to search for a village that has not been consumed by the disease, a village in which Elric believes a necromancer is raising the dead. It stars Sean Bean so you can guess where it goes. It starts off a bit slow, but midway through the movie it grasped my attention. It was nice to see a few familiar faces too.

It didn't really feel like a horror film per say, but it was enjoyable. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a movie just on the edge of the genre.

Rating: Watch

Steamlord · Oct 5, 2015

#10 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

A fun, suspenseful paranoia flick that doesn't overstay its welcome. Some cool, grotesque effects for its time too. Carpenter's The Thing did it better, of course, but I haven't seen either The Thing from Another World or the Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake to compare. I'll at least be watching the Body Snatchers remake this month, if not the original Thing as well.

#11 - The Curse of the Cat People

The 1944 sequel to the 1942 Cat People, but it doesn't really have anything to do with cats. That's fine though. It also barely qualifies as horror. That's fine too. It's a beautiful rumination on childhood, parenthood, grief, and imagination that takes elements from the first film and takes them in a completely different and unexpected direction. Tourneur didn't have a hand in this one, but Lewton shows once again that he knows what he's doing.

Splatterpunk · Oct 5, 2015

Zombi(e), 1979

With my previous encounters with Italian horror being less than stellar I went into this with much lowered expectations.. and it actually ended up being alright. Not stellar or anything, but solid. Despite being only 90 minutes it has some pacing issues after they get to the island, especially with the emotional doctor guy but it does kinda pay off when they return to civilization to

hear that zombies are roaming NYC.

The gist: Voodoo zombies.
Coolest part: The look of the zombies. The zombies are dressed in rotting, torn rags with pretty cool decomposing flesh makeup rather than the painted blue/green look from Dawn of the Dead the year prior.
Verdict: 2 and a half zombie eating sharks out of five.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, 1986

Going into this I was kinda expecting some crass exploitative tripe ala Bundy, especially given that it's a low budget 80s movie. Couldn't have been more wrong. Where I was expecting gleeful indulgence, instead there's an artful understated-ness.The majority of the violence is offscreen, implied and/or after the fact. The whole movie has this real banality of evil vibe to it (not just from Henry either), which when combined with the dim lighting and flat shots akin to a documentary ups the creep factor considerably. In between killings, Henry seems nearly normal (and not infrequently he seems even less fucked up than his two housemates, at least overtly). He goes to work, drinks beer, plays cards. But he ain't normal. And that ending, damn. Def recommended.

The gist: A serial killer lodges with a dysfunctional brother & sister, and their lives begin to intertwine.
Coolest part: Michael Rooke oozing quiet menace anytime he's onscreen, basically. There's always the looming threat of violence in the air, even if only us in the audience are aware of it.
Verdict: 3 and a half disturbing VHS tapes out of five.

Fudgepuppy · Oct 5, 2015

So I started late, and with somewhat of a disaster.

I started watching Ravenous, and as soon as I realized what tone it was going for, I bailed. I'm all for black comedy, but I wanted to kick off October with something different.

So then I watched The Sound of My Voice, which was completely mislabeled as horror.

So then I watched Hellraiser and was pleasantly surprised.

I'm planning on watching Dead Zone or Honeymoon tonight, but does anyone have any good recommendations with horror based on suspense, like House of The Devil? I love horror movies that go on forever without actually showing anything, just suspense and tension.

Akahige · Oct 5, 2015

October 4:

House on Haunted Hill (1959) - The plot line to this is a little too familiar even by 1959 standards, stay in a house the entire night and get money or some other shit. Creatively it's dry and overused, the direction by the numbers, the acting is more than serviceable considering everything else, the film is at least short enough at 75 minutes not to wear out it's welcome.

The Haunting (1963) - The basic story in this isn't original like the last one 4 people spending time in a possible haunted house, but everything else about the film is so well done, from the progressive female characters to the score. The creativity in the cinematography is outstanding, the extreme wide angle shots, the camera moving from ceiling to floor, the film is full of unique camera techniques and combined with the editing & direction it makes for a fantastic piece of film making. Throughout the film the director is able to show every facet of the house where the film is set through careful and precise framing, everything is on show. This film is a standout, outside a few eyerolling narrative moments that are cheesy but fit with the era there not much bad to say about it, I wouldn't call it scary but it creates tension while never showing what makes you tense, there's this one really amazing special effect moment involving a door that combined with the camera work and editing makes for something I haven't seen before.

Actually didn't realize until looking up the films after that I had seen the 90's remakes of both, the House on Haunted Hill remake I remember enjoy at the time. Apparently Steven Spielberg and Stephen King were trying to do The Haunting for a number of years, which would have been fantastic, the direction by Robert Wise feels like a predecessor in some ways to Spielbergs'.

walkmetothelake · Oct 5, 2015

First rewatch of the month. This was gorier than I remembered even though I saw it for the first time two years ago tops. I'm still really impressed with the cenobite design and overall effects.

OP

BioHazard · Oct 5, 2015

#8. Beneath (2013)

Viewed On: Netflix

A solid little mining horror flick. Pretty standard, but definitely not as great as something like The Descent. Moves along at a nice pace, and I really like how it starts. Eventually though, things get a bit stupid as the film progresses and it loses some steam. Still worth a watch though.

I give this film 3 bags of popcorn (out of 5)

My watched list so far

Aiii · Oct 5, 2015

Movie #1: Chakushin ari a.k.a. One Missed Call (2003) - 3/5 Stars
Movie #2: Cropsey (2009) - 3.5/5 Stars
Movie #3: Bram Stokers Dracula (1992) - 4.5/5 Stars
Movie #4: Starry Eyes (2014) - 3.5/5 Stars
Movie #5: Ôdishon a.k.a. Audition (1999) - 4/5 Stars
Movie #6: Dont Be Afraid of the Dark (2010) - 2.5/5 Stars

Movie #7: Haunter (2013)

Abigail Breslin plays a young teenager forced to repeat the same day over and over again in this interesting take of the haunted house horror film, combining two familiar concepts in what I found to be a pretty good movie. The movie wastes no time on set-up and immediately explains to the viewer that Lisa (Breslin) is aware of the time loop and accustomed to it. What follows is a very interesting and eerie ride in which we follow Lisa as she slowely figures out what is causing the time loop and how to correct it. The movie wastes little time on cheap tricks, has only a few jump scares (which makes them more effective) and mostly creates a wonderfully eerie atmosphere through some splendid acting of the leads, composition and sound design.

A pleasant surprise was seeing David Hewlett (of Stargate Atlantis fame) pop up halfway through the movie, as its always a pleasure to see the guy.

All in all the concept was interesting, but some elements in the film could have had some more exposition and explanation. But then again, maybe sometimes horror films spend too much time on this and its more fun to just accept the supernatural and leave some stuff to the imagination. Either way, I enjoyed this.

4 repeated days and counting out of 5.

Anustart · Oct 5, 2015

Watched Curse of Chucky for my 4th film of the month. Couldn't complain much, movie kept me entertained enough. And it led to a funny conversation with my wife about a corky doll she had as a kid and how afraid of it she was after watching Childs Play.

I'd say the movie was better than the last 2 chucky movies, but it's been a while for me since I saw them.

TheSlySoul · Oct 5, 2015

TheSlySoul said:
So I am marathoning lots of horror movies...

ABCs of Death - An interesting idea plagued by too many bad short films. D is for Dogfight is what I wanted more of... 2/5

ABCs of Death 2 - Wow, a sequel that did everything better. Letters A, S, and Z still stand out in my mind. Will be rewatching come Halloween. 4/5

V/H/S/ - An interesting idea that never fully develops. Liked Tuesday the 17th the most. 2/5

V/H/S/ 2 - Another sequel that did I better. A Ride in the Park is easily top 10 short movies list. 3/5

V/H/S/ Viral - This film blows. Dante the Great is worth a point though. 1/5

Repost from another thread. The movies are in order.

Movie 6 - Dale and Tucker vs. Evil (Rewatch) [A fantastic play on the typical horror genre - 5/5]
Movie 7 - Shaun of the Dead (Rewatch) [Despite the slow start, it really is a good parody of the zombie genre - 4/5]

Will watch the two mandatory movies tonight. I totally suggest ABCs of Death 2 and V/H/S 2 if anyone is looking for something to fill the 31 movie slot.

Triggerhappytel · Oct 5, 2015

I won't manage to get to 31 films, but I'll get through as many as I can:

1) Prince of Darkness
A creepy, atmospheric film from John Carpenter's heyday about a group of students in a church investigating a strange vial in the basement, who soon realise that the substance within might hold the very key to the Antichrist. 8/10

2) In the Mouth of Madness
First time I've seen this film in probably a decade, and I think it's a really interesting mixture of psychological and visual horror. Great acting, just the right dose of weirdness and a really interesting premise. 7/10

3) Horns
This film is about a young man whose girlfriend is murdered, and he is the primary suspect. After being tormented by fellow townsfolk and the media, he wakes up one day with horns protruding from his forehead which compels everyone to tell him their deepest secrets, and he uses this to his advantage to find out who murdered her. 7/10

EDIT - forgot to add film #1!

Blader · Oct 5, 2015

Bride of Frankenstein
What set apart James Whale's original Frankestein from the other Universal monster movies (that I've seen at least) is how much livelier it feels: the movement of the camera, the pace of the editing, even the way the sets are used made it feel more dynamic and urgent, while Dracula and The Mummy by comparison felt very slow and stiff. Whale builds on that even more in this sequel, imbuing the film with even greater momentum and making it feel, appropriately enough, alive.

Karloff is given more to do as the monster here, and for the most part it really works. He and Whale are able to humanize the monster in a touching enough way, adding more to his character without undermining him or turning him into a joke. Colin Clive also returns as Dr. Frankenstein, and while he has way less to do here (this movie is definitely much more interested in the monster while the first was about the mad science), he's still reliably good. Dr. Pristorious also provides a great evil foil to Frankenstein's conflicted scientist.

There were some things that irked me about the film. Pristorious' miniature people experiments were bizarre and felt really out of place; the ending is a little too hokey (why does the castle have a self-destruct lever?); and Una O'Connor's shrieking over acting, while not as awful as it was in The Invisible Man, is still plenty annoying here. I also would've liked a little more Bride -- can you imagine marketing a movie today called "Bride of Frankenstein" with said Bride only showing up in the last four minutes?

Overall though I dug the movie and would probably rank it above the original as the best of the Universal lot thus far.

I had a few more of these movies on my list to go through, but I might push them off until later in the month. They're a little samey, and watching five back to back already is leading me to tune out a little bit even when it's good.

Fancy Clown · Oct 5, 2015

Well of course life has gotten in the way and I'm way behind schedule here. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up later in the month, but here are my first two watches. I don't have a set list, and am planning on watching whatever catches my fancy any given night.

1. The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. This is a rewatch for me. It's not my favorite silent german expressionist film due to some pacing issues and I the dual storyline I think ends up softening its blow, but the marvel of its sets and the off-kilter atmosphere it creates are still second to none. It really makes you feel like trapped in a fevered mind, and historically its a great starting point for my 31 days of horror watch list. I may jump back to the Silent era a little later to rewatch Nosferatu to compare.

2. The House on Haunted Hill. This was great fun. It's very campy and not scary, but it has that spooky charm and is very briskly paced at only 75 minutes. The setup (a millionaire invites several guests to a haunted mansion and will pay them $10,000 each to survive the night) is a lot of fun and leads to all sorts of shenanigans and ridiculous twists. And Vincent Price is great of course, and the rest of the cast is lovably over the top.

Violence Jack · Oct 5, 2015

4. Stage Fright Aquarius (1987) - This slasher flick was a lot better and much more intense than I expected. I read a Buzzfeed article not too long ago that mentioned the film as one of the top under-the-radar horror films of the last 30 years. The premise involves a psychopath that ends up sneaking into a stage production, and locks himself in with the cast and crew. You can only imagine how that turned out. It's quite brutal. It starts out rather slow introducing the characters, but it really gets going once the psycho kills his first victim. I highly recommend finding this somewhere on the internet as it deserves a watch. 8/10.

inm8num2 · Oct 5, 2015

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/10...n-edmiston-delivers-a-killer-halloween-poster

Awesome poster.

PadWarrior · Oct 5, 2015

What are some good found footage films? I'm a sucker for those. Last one I saw was the taking of Deborah long

FloatOn · Oct 5, 2015

PadWarrior said:
What are some good found footage films? I'm a sucker for those. Last one I saw was the taking of Deborah long

REC 1 + 2
Grave Encounters 1 + 2
Afflicted

Linkhero1 · Oct 5, 2015

PadWarrior said:
What are some good found footage films? I'm a sucker for those. Last one I saw was the taking of Deborah long

Found footage films I enjoyed:

[REC]
[REC] 2
Grave Encounters
V/H/S
V/H/S 2
Behind the Mask

Almost sure I'm missing a few other films, but those are the ones I could think of off the top of my head.

PadWarrior · Oct 5, 2015

RealityExists said:
REC 1 + 2
Grave Encounters 1 + 2
Afflicted

Linkhero1 said:
Found footage films I enjoyed:

[REC]

[REC] 2

Grave Encounters

V/H/S

V/H/S 2

Behind the Mask

Almost sure I'm missing a few other films, but those are the ones I could think of off the top of my head.

Thanks good starting point

Akahige · Oct 5, 2015

PadWarrior said:
What are some good found footage films? I'm a sucker for those. Last one I saw was the taking of Deborah long

[REC] is excellent, one of my all time favorites of the horror genre.

I heard good things about As Above, So Below but I haven't seen it myself.

*edit beaten on Rec, should have refreshed but still the people have spoken.

FloatOn · Oct 5, 2015

Akahige said:
[REC] is excellent, one of my all time favorites of the horror genre.

I heard good things about As Above, So Below but I haven't seen it myself.

*edit beaten on Rec, should have refreshed but still the people have spoken.

as above so below was pretty lame. so was the gallows.

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