Twilight Zone: The Movie is on Netflix (Mexico). I think I will add it to my short list. I haven't watched it in ages. And I agree, the Lithgow short freaked me out.
I've only recently decided to pick up cable TV so this may sound like a stupid question but...are rated R horror movies on SyFy totally uncensored? or are they not the same as watching the movie on DVD or whatever?
The Undying Monster (1942) - I did watch this one as part of last years 31 Days of Horror marathon, but there aren't that many decent werewolf movies out there, and I knew I'd have to revisit many favorites to pull of a full month of werewolves and only werewolves... After the runaway success of Universal's The Wolfman the previous year, 20th Century Fox decided to get in on the easy monster money with this lycanthropic thriller. I waited to see this film for many years as a boy; I had read about it in Everson's Classics of the Horror Film - the Bible to Monster Kids in the late '60s and early '70s - and it was one of many "hard to see" titles I kept my eyes peeled for while flipping through the TV Guide week after week in search of late night sci-fi and horror films. When I finally did see it one Saturday evening on PBS, I wasn't disappointed, but neither was I particularly enamoured, and it is a somewhat disjointed effort. The gothic atmosphere is well set with great indoor and outdoor sets very reminiscent of '30s Universal classics, and the Werewolf is very effective - it's a much more athletic, viscous and active creature than Chaney's laconic monster, climbing up and down cliffs and mansion walls with a victim slung over one shoulder, growling and howling ferociously in the slaughter of innocent girls and dogs. But the script seems to stumble between horror and murder mystery, and the finale's "explanation" of apparently supernatural events as the result of a "twist in the brain" rings about as convincingly as the ending of Mark of the Vampire. Still, there are a few chilling moments and some terrific atmosphere, and nostalgia forgives many foibles.
I've only recently decided to pick up cable TV so this may sound like a stupid question but...are rated R horror movies on SyFy totally uncensored? or are they not the same as watching the movie on DVD or whatever?
Curse of Chucky
-A bit predictable (Except for the final awesome 3-5 seconds of the post-credits scene) and I was a tad confused at how Chucky
transferred his soul but was still in the dolls body at the end? Perhaps I'm not sure how it works entirely...
but all in all, a well made and entertaining straight to DVD release. Not on the level of the first two but far better than the 3 before it. So happy that it strayed away from the campfest and blended horror and comedy in its place.
I've only recently decided to pick up cable TV so this may sound like a stupid question but...are rated R horror movies on SyFy totally uncensored? or are they not the same as watching the movie on DVD or whatever?
Things are edited, especially language and nudity. More gory stuff is usually trimmed. Sometimes the cable versions have stuff that DVD/theatrical versions don't. "God damn" was muted in the brief bit of ANOES2 I saw on SYFY yesterday.
2. Retribution: I'm pretty reluctant to call this a horror movie, but it has some amazing gore in it and some supernatural stuff. It's more like that Mark Hamill short in Body Bags where he gets a killer eye transplant and starts seeing murders and maybe committing them. Anyway, it's bright, colorful, imaginitive, and has likable characters, which is nice. Worth a watch.
3 and 4.Demons I and Demons II: I've brought these up here before, so it's time to write a super brief review. If you haven't seen these, then you haven't experienced the best of 80s era italo-horror in my opinion. They are bright, stylish, have amazing soundtracks, and have that italian surrealism that works to create a sense of unease and fantasy. Great gore, lots of beautiful Italian women, and genuinely scary at times. This is the sweet spot where art house horror and straight horror meet, and they don't get weighed down by any grim philosophy. There's a scene where a guy rides a dirt bike and kills creatures with a katana, and somehow it's not played for bombast -- it's played completely straight, so you don't have to restrict yourself to liking it ironically. You can just like it and enjoy. What more could you want?
5 Shivers Next to Dead Ringers, my favorite Cronenberg film of all time. This is a mix of sex and horror and confinement that has to be experienced. Feels very italian for some reason. It's about a high rise apartment that traps people who succumb to a virus that makes people sex maniacs, which is of course how it spreads. Much better sex horror than Dead Girl, no offense to fans of that movie. That movie made me wonder if there could ever be joy in the world again.
Hey guys I need help remember one or two horror movies (aren't sure if they are the same one or two different films). Pretty sure they were 80s horror flicks.
1. the movie was a slasher where the serial killer used a knife that looked a lot like this:
it was a knife with a brass knuckles handle that had spikes on the knuckles. I think he might have also been involved in a gang of psycho serial killers, he might have had a bunch of serial killer friends that tried to go after the victims at the end.
2. the serial killer used an ambulance to get around and kill people. I think in some scene the ambulance used was hidden at night club or something. and maybe the victim saw it there and freaked out.
okay I know these clues are pretty much worthless but I appreciate any help. once again, not sure if they are the same film or 2 different films.
Jezebeth: This is stunning. It was made in 2011, I'm pretty sure filmed entire on iPhones, and it might have actually been a student film. All of two people in the movie have any credits before or after this. The first six and a half minutes is a music video of a girl walking around a cemetery. Slowly. It's a metal song that explains the plot of the movie, which is supposed to be something about a woman who gave birth to a demon in the 19th century, who has no inhabited this girl because she found a diary and read it. Or something. She also spins around on a spray painted pentagram and summons the demon with a blistering metal solo while standing in her underwear.
That's an actual scene from the movie. In fact, nearly 70% of the movie is comprised of "music videos", which are just long scenes of no dialog and I assume the director's shitty metal music. I have no idea why or how a movie like this is made available on streaming services. It looks like something you would do with your buddies as a goof. I watched most of the movie with my eyes and mouth wide open, not being able to understand cuts/scenes/dialog/music cues. There aren't any god damn actors in this. It shows. It's...fuck me. I sent it to RLM as a suggestion for Best of the Worst.
Interesting premise, high tension, but few real scares and a comic relief character really drags it down. I also felt like the explanation was kind of dumb, but it gets points for inventiveness and making the movie
a zombie movies without any zombies.
10. The Conjuring
Fantastic movie. The scares were a bit by the numbers but it's still an excellent example of a haunted house movie. James Wan (who also directed Insidious) really knows his stuff. I'm also really happy that the film didn't use the cliche "frightened mom and kids, skeptical dad" trope -- really has gotten on my nerves these past few years.
11. Let Me In
Great movie, although I'm not sure it's a horror film... more of a thriller, with a horror aspect (
vampires
.) Great acting from everyone, regardless of age, and
Abby's ferocity
was always a sight to behold. I know the film/book was trying to make a statement, but I haven't been able to figure out what. "Loneliness is bad" maybe? Also, making us
sympathize with Abby
was a tall order which the film mostly succeeds at, but there's still the fact that
she's killing innocents (mostly) in order to live. It's for survival, so you can argue it's better than say, a serial killer, but at the end of the day you still have a bodycount and bloody hands.
12. Paranormal Activity (yearly rewatch)
I feel sort of embarrassed saying I like this movie because of how hard it's been milked. (I think most fans of the series will say that the first and third were excellent, the second was derivative, and the fourth/Tokyo Night were straight milkage.) If this film was just an indie one-off I'd feel less guilty saying how much I like this movie. I've been a mega-fan of found footage horror films since Blair Witch, which I re-watched and reviewed earlier in the thread, but the genre was sort of asleep at the wheel until this movie came out ([REC] of course hit around the same time.) If for nothing else, I like the movie for reminding audiences and film creators alike how effective the format can be.
Otherwise, the film is probably just OK. It's better if you can turn your brain off and imagine it's actually real, but even if you can't, there's still some haunting and disturbing moments. Unfortunately, on each rewatch, I become more and more annoyed with Micah. I found his bravado charmingly stupid and a breath of fresh air for a horror protagonist, but his misplaced sense of courage does not hold up at all on rewatches. While in prior years I would have given this film two thumbs up, I think I'm going to demote it to just one this year.
13. Silent Hill: Revelation
I actually liked this movie. I had few expectations going in other than knowledge of the single digit Rotten Tomato score, and came out above-mildly entertained. I also liked the first movie, but unfortunately all of the subtlety has been stripped out in this sequel. However, possibly because of that, Revelations' pace is much better. Things are always moving forward and there's no real period of meandering annoyingness. What most hurts the movie, I feel, is definitely the need to over-explain and insert exposition everywhere. It's also not very scary, but there are some tense parts, and that's really all I expected based on the action-heavy commercials.
The movie also gets some points from me for retaining Sean Bean and Radha Mitchell (Rose.) One final movie exploring those two finding each other, with a director that has a subtler and more psychological hand, would not be missed by me. Final note: I had a stupid grin on my face during the final showdown
between Pyramid Head and whats-her-face, with Pyramid Head as the good guy
, just because I knew it would rustle the jimmies of all the SH fans who take this stuff way too seriously. (It was also a pretty cool sequence in general.)
Oh! And the music was amazing. It got me really pumped up during that sequence, and also when
Alessa and Heather merged on the merry-go-ground.
There were also many other subtler pieces that I liked too. Of course, Yamaoka *did* return for this movie (but not Downpour), so I shouldn't be surprised.
I doubt I will ever fully understand this film. There's clearly a lot of cultural references specific to Japan that I can't pretend to be an expert on. There's also a lot of moments in the film that I'm not even sure would make any sense to the Japanese. There's so much to process, and yet there's very little to help decode it, to make any real sense of it all. But you know what? I'm going to go with my gut here and profess my love of it anyway. It has a true sense of uncanny like very few films are able to capture, and it's so strongly directed, so fiercely committed to its design, whatever in the hell it is, that you just get lost in it after a while. I can't really put words to it at all, and I'm not sure I ever want to.
10)House at the End of the Street (Netflix US): The movie can be slow. For the first half of the movie, nothing really happens. The action and scares pick up drastically towards the end. Luckily for the film, the second half is good. Lots of suspense and twists. This is more of a thriller than a horror movie though. Still might be worth the watch.
Highlight of the marathon so far. Everything is outstanding - actors' work (just check those brows!), camera, script (lines like: "I don't know what made them stop... Actually I DO know what made them stop"). And it has the first film compressed and retold with faster pace which I've wanted so badly while watching the first film. They missed just one scene from the first one - crazy grandpa one. So if you are interested you can just watch this scene on youtube and skip first film unless you would like to see a bit more detailed scenes of violence.
And this film is great in concluding with death of the real antagonist.
Edit: Forgot to mention that this movie probably was a predecessor to that famous laughing FFXIV gif.
A well crafted, spooky film with a great atmosphere and score, and a frustrating lead character. In most horror films there's a tipping point where I either start rooting for the hero(es), or start hoping they meet an untimely demise by the end. Our three pack of protagonists had one of each, plus one sidekick that straddles the line.
The lead makes numerous decisions that had me turning against her early on. Warnings - and warning signs - are ignored. Things seen and heard are not passed on to others. Stupidity reigns.
Sample decision: "That's the last thing he wrote about in his journal. Let's go check it out." Or, hey these hostile people chased us away. Let's go back.
That, and a scene of torture and gore that I really did not enjoy (it's not the kind of horror I enjoy, at all), are the only knocks I had against it.
The soundtrack is excellent for knowing when to be still, and let long spans of silence or ambiance create a feeling foreboding. Strongly and unflinchingly filmed, it maintains its tension and spookiness right through the ending credits. The writers hit the right balance of answering questions while retaining the mystery that drove the story.
In the end (this is a very real spoiler),
the side kick was so, so clearly disposable that it was easy to predict her demise, but I was very glad the one person to have a lick of sense was spared
yeah man this film definitely warrants a re-watch. I only vaguely remember it but from what I remember it was great. It's definitely stood out in my mind all these years, which is why I felt compelled to ask about it. Trailer got me all sorts of pumped up to re-watch it.
Synopsis via IMDB: 12-year-old Sean Crenshaw and his best friend Patrick are die hard monster fanatics. Along with their friend Horace (nicknamed Fat Kid),junior high tough guy Rudy, Sean's kid sister Phoebe, and little Eugene they come together and talk monsters. But when Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Gill Man, and The Mummy come to their small town to get an amulet to control the world, Sean leads his friends into action to protect their town from the forces of evil.
This is my first rewatch of the year. I have an intense love for this movie, part of it is probably drenched in nostalgia, the other part is just because it's fucking awesome. What would you get if you mixed The Goonies with the Universal Monsters? Your answer is Monster Squad. The monsters, by the way, look incredible. The designs blow Van Helsing's out of the water, and are the best interpretations of these characters since the golden days. Duncan Regehr's performance of Dracula is in my top three performances of the role along with Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee. Regehr takes the role seriously and has a lot of good lines in the film, both badass and creepy. As for the other monsters, the Wolfman is great and Frankenstein is essentially the heart of the film. There isn't too much for the Mummy and Gillman to do, but since they are so well designed it doesn't matter much. I also really like the kids in the movie, they remind me of myself when I was younger and much of their dialogue is more adult oriented. Actually, the film is full of content that you wouldn't expect from a kids movie. It kind of reminds me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in this regard. Had the movie had been a bigger hit, I couldn't imagine what the outcry from parents would have been. If you're a fan of the Universal classics, good 80's cheese, or are just looking for a fun film for your October watch. Then check it out.
Trivia: This was written by Shane Black.
P.S. Has anybody noticed how the vortex in this movie look just like Evil Dead 2's?
9/10
Day 9 Maniac (1981)
I didn't care for it all, and I'll talk about my issues with it in my next review, which is the 2012 remake.
1)The Blair Witch Project (Netflix, Mexico)
2)Halloween (remake, Netflix Canada)
3)The Crazies (Netflix, Canada)
4)The Collector (Netflix Canada)
5)Halloween 2 (remake, Netflix Canada)
6)Slugs (Netflix US)
7)The Collection (Netflix US):
8)Pumpkinhead (Netflix US)
9)Freddy vs Jason (Netflix Canada)
10)House at the End of the Street (Netflix US)
11)Would You Rather (Netflix Canada): Total blind choice. Picked it because of the cover poster and Brittany Snow. Interesting concept. I would describe it as Rat Race with a horror twist. Or maybe Saw with a rich guy. Light spoilers on describing the plot:
Rich guy gathers a bunch of people who need money and asks the question Would you rather? Except each answer would harm themselves or another player.
Brittany Snow was bad in this. Jeffrey Combs was top notch. Really liked his character even though
#10 - Black Sabbath (1963)
After Blood and Black Lace I could not wait for my next film from director Bava, so I was really excited to check this out. I went in blind and expected some similar to his Giallo-like BaBL, but got something totally different as Black Sabbath is a trilogy of short stories wrapped into a single feature film. The three stories were all pretty great, and while they were different in setting they were thematically bonded and the stories were quite smart and witty with some interesting stuff to say. The overarching themes worked really well and gave the film more depth than you might expect. Boris Karloff was fun to watch as always, and I loved his opening bit, but it was too bad the starred in the least entertaining short, which also happened to be the longest of the three which is understanding due to the material of the story compared to other shorts, but it was very sad and slow, so it might have benefited if it were spiced up a bit. My favorite must be the last one, which was equally thrilling as disturbing. Overall incredibly entertaining. 8/10
It was decent if unremarkable. Didnt find it scary at all, the special effects were far, far too low budget. The CGI bees were pretty funny. It was a decent story tho so i guess it wasnt a total waste of time. 6/10
#11 - Freaks (1932)
Thematically very strong about society and how it treats people that don't meet 'regular standards' (or however you want to call it) in the broadest sense which is still applicable today, but unfortunately the story is told rather boringly with a bunch of terrible 'actors' who do worse line reading than I did in back in my school play when I was 12. It is understandable though since they are not actors but actual circus performers, but it still was distracting at times and I feel the film really suffers from it, especially when the two little people who are the protagonists need to deliver some important dialogue. Luckily it doesn't take away from the powerful story and it poignant themes. Seeing actual 'Freaks' star in the film was a pretty bold decision, and I enjoyed reading up on the film and the impact and aftermath it produced. A good and an, even more so, important film that aged really nicely, but I don't see it as the classic many people do. 6.5/10
Hey guys, I picked up this magazine yesterday because, hey, zombies!
I know who they all are except the dog-faced thing sitting on the chair in the middle (how is that a zombie?), and the severed head at the bottom right. Any ideas? It's really bothering me.
#12 - Escape from Tomorrow (2013)
This was originally not on my list, but since I had the chance to see it and was falling behind already I decided to count it. With most of it illegally filmed guerrilla style in Disney World in Florida, Escape from Tomorrow kicked up some dust and was met with mixed reviews when it was first shown. The film definitely is a mixed bag, because while it succeeds in some areas, it definitely falls short in others; the narrative feels random and incoherent, and the film making is pretty amateurish at times, while it boasts some wonderful ideas and plays with themes really nicely. Director Randy Moore does not try to hide his influences, because the surrealistic, nightmarish sequences almost scream Lynch, but it is those scenes that carry the film as it explores the line between reality and fantasy, as well as dreams and nightmares. It might not be great, but it's an interesting watch nonetheless. 6.5/10
Rewatch
1. Nightmare on Elm Street 4-6/10
2. Paranormal Activity 3-7/10
3. Bad Moon-4/10
4. Body Snatchers-6/10
5. Cabin Fever-7.5/10
New
1. WWZ-9/10
2. Bug-8/10
3. V/H/S 2-8/10
4. The Caller-6.5/10
5. Sleepwalkers-5/10
6. Drive-Thru-4.5/10
7. Human Centipede 2-7.5/10
8. Lords of Salem-8/10
9. Exit Humanity-5/10
10. Splinter-8/10
11. This is the End-9/10
12. Red State-6/10
13. The Purge-8.5/10
14. Slither-7.5/10
15. The Covenant-6/10
The Purge
I thought this one was really good....very thought provoking. 8.5/10
Slither
This one was alright 7.5/10
The Covenant
Twilight but instead of vamps its male witches 6/10
- Gorgeous and atmospheric Mario Bava classic. It's got great style and visually a fun watch, not really my style though so it was a bit boring, but have to appreciate the atmosphere of it all.
#16 The Deadly Spawn (1983)
- Awesome cheesy monsters from space movie. Tons of gore, puppets everywhere, and tupper party gone wrong. Movie looks awful and extremely cheap, but when the monsters appear and the gore gets flowing, it looks great.
#17 Student Bodies (1981)
- Switching gears a bit, went with this parody horror film. The post Friday the 13th slasher boom was at it's height at the time of this movies release and it does a decent job of picking those movies apart. Now it's an extremely corny movie and it kinda gets long in the tooth, but I do have to say it got a few chuckles out of me.
#18 Curse of Chucky (2013)
- So the supposed reboot of the franchise goes DTV with this installment, with a few surprises. Reactions to this film seem to be mixed but I liked it. The one thing didn't care for was the use of CG, but they do use a mix of practical effects too at least. Now the surprise ends up being
that this isn't a remake/reboot at all, but just another sequel.
. I think the surprise was neat but they went too far with it and made things a bit convoluted. The after credits scene was a nice touch though.
#19 Sleepless (2001)
- Ugh, I've always been hit or miss with Argento, but his later films have mostly been awful. This one like many of his films are in severe need of editing, and this one especially is a mess of multiple plot threads that seem completely unrelated and lots of fluff not needed. At 2 hours long I'm halfway in and thinking what the fuck is going on since it seems like there is multiple movies going on. It slightly all ties in together but there was so much crap tossed in that could have been cut out of this film. The kills are brutal and some good gore. One of the kills is incredible in this, but the movie is a giant slow turd.
#20 Prom Night 2: Hello Mary Lou (1987)
- Sequel to the "classic" slasher film starring Jamie Lee Curtis, this movie decides to have nothing to do with the original outside the name of the high school. Stayed away from the sequels for this film since I hated the original and the covers of the releases on VHS were very silly looking. Now this actually kind of surprised me as being decent. The film has a bit of a Nightmare on Elm Street feel to it with all the special effects and nightmare like visions. It's actually a serious film and some cool moments, though a bit slow to start. Once it gets going this a good time. Now I understand that part 3 goes and tries to be a comedy, and 4 is just bad.... so not sure if I will bother with the rest of the series this time.....
Halloween 4
This is where the series starts to go down hill and fall apart, with that said, I still find all of the Halloween movies enjoyable for what they are. This is where Jamie is introduced and annoys is all, but that's ok because we get to see her full grown and showing off her ta tas in Rob Zombies remake. The movie doesn't really offer any scary scenes and you can tell the mask design has changed a bit. Still worth a watch to see Myers butcher cops and teens
Oct. 1 The Evil Dead (1983) - Great
Oct. 2 V/H/S 2 - Good
Oct. 3 Blair Witch Project - Boring
Oct. 4 Sleepaway Camp - Great
Oct. 5 Drag Me To Hell- Boring
Oct. 6 The Possession - Great
Oct. 7 Session 9- Great
Oct. 8 Nightmare on Elm Street 2 - Boring
Oct. 9 [REC] - Great
Oct. 10 Evil Dead 2 - Fantastic
Oct. 11 Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil - Fantastic
Oct. 12 Ringu - Good
Oct. 13 V/H/S - Good
V/H/S -
This one was a bit longer than the second film because it had an additional story. I think it could have done without the first two stories, but that's just my opinion. They were the weakest of the bunch. The 1998 story was the best. The effects used in the 1998 story were superb. I'm glad I decided not to pass up on this anthology. I know it has it's issue like the second film but it's still fun to watch and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror anthologies.
I disagree. The first one was top notch. Easily tied with the haunted house one as the best stories. I don't remember which was the 1998 story. Was it the one in the woods? Because that alongside the second story were horrible.
I disagree. The first one was top notch. Easily tied with the haunted house one as the best stories. I don't remember which was the 1998 story. Was it the one in the woods? Because that alongside the second story were horrible.
It was the possessed girl one. I think the woods story was the third one. I thought the woods one was okay because it was creepy as fuck. The actors were meh but I was genuinely curious about the back story.
The Bay has the honor of the being the first film this marathon to keep me up at night after viewing. It's another found footage film, and I think the framing device ends up creating more problems for the film than it helps, but the footage and the scenario are horrifying because of how plausible they both are. The film incorporates a number of footage sources, such as CCTV, FaceTime, Skype, television on scene footage, candid television in-studio footage, and digital camcorder to cobble together the story of what supposedly happened in Claridge, Maryland, in 2009.
I wish the film didn't have the framing device of the narrator viewing the footage and remembering the events from 2009. Periodically coming out of the footage to see the narrator talk to an off-screen voice felt clumsy. If the film had been structured like ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary June 17th, 1994, which also combined footage from multiple sources to tell the story of one eventful day in 1994, it would have felt more focused and more tense.
At least the framing device helps the film answer one of the obstacles found footage films face: explaining how the footage was found and why we, the viewers, are watching it now. By couching the film as a WikiLeaks-like expose of the cover-up of the events in Claridge, it makes enough sense that it maintains plausible suspension of disbelief. Unfortunately, some of the stylish editing choices, such as looping dialogue and repeating snippets from previously seen scenes, cracks the mood and the suspension of disbelief.
The mundanity of the film grounds the film and enhances the biological horror that is unleashed, which is a little far-fetched but not so far it completely enters the realms of the supernatural or science fiction. The film also focuses on a man, a woman, and their child to create dramatic irony and create a tense mood that drives the film. Roger Ebert dismissed the film as a "faux eco-documentary" that "seems more interested in spreading a green message than terrifying viewers," but it terrified me.
Is Shutter worth watching? I noticed that it has 7% on RT. I was looking for some horror films that are actually scary and this one came up on a few lists.
My review for Cannibal Holocaust isn't going to be ready until after work tonight, and I think it will be for good reason. It's not an easy film to digest at all, not only because of the graphic content in it, but there's definitely a lot of elements in play in the film that oppose each other in terms of the overall effectiveness of the whole. It doesn't help that it feels like it's two distinct films rather than one connected experience, so that throws an even bigger wrench in the works.
I will say I liked it, insomuch as a film like this can be liked, and I'm definitely feeling like its positives outweigh its negatives to see the merit of (most) of its most controversial decisions. Deodato certainly picked a hell of a film to be immortalized for, that's for sure.
the Lithgow short gave me nightmares as a kid
