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[CiSTM]

30. Land of the Dead B+

I love the hell out of this. It's not Day or Dawn, but I feel it has a lot going for it regardless.. Day is my favorite for the record.

I really liked the walled cities concept but I really lost it when some of the people started to have

Spoiler

symphaty towards the zombies. They saw mob of zombies kill regular people, not bad guys and they didn't kill them because they were just looking for home. That was some real bull shit.

 

[big ander]

Oh yeah I watched The Dream Child yesterday too. Was okay. The few scenes between Alice and her dad are great. In general I thought the kills got worse as the film went on, the motorcycle and feeding were fun and sick. Some of the sets were cool.

 

[CadetMahoney]

Predator was an instant classic and time has not diminished it at all

The soundtrack is so goddamn awesome too, probably on par with Aliens.

 

[ThirstyFly]

#27) An American Werewolf in London (1981) (Oct 27) (rewatch)

"That's right. A lovely stroll on the moors. Tra-la-la-la. Isn't this fun?"

I hadn't planned on rewatching this because I had too many rewatches this year as it is, but I've had my eye on the Blu-ray for a while and this marathon pushed me over the edge.

Back when I was really young, my father and older sister used to like to rent horror movies in the early VHS days and they'd let me watch them too. There's few I remember, but I do know there were some that scared the crap out of me. An American Werewolf in London is the one I have the most vivid memory of. I would have been around 4 when I had seen this and I remember the first werewolf attack on the moors made me flip the fuck out. I couldn't watch the rest of the movie.

I guess I kind of forgot about it because I didn't get around to seeing it again until I was in my 20s when I had wanted to see what scared me so much as a kid and to finally sit down and watch the rest of the movie. I enjoyed it then but I think I enjoy it even more now. I probably went into it then expecting something really scary because of my history with it (and that first attack is pretty brutal) so I don't think the humor of it worked as well on me then as it did now. Great movie and a true classic in the genre.

Now if I could just figure out what the other movie that scared my shitless back then was... all I remember was slugs or something coming out of a toilet and maybe dripping down for a wooden beam in a ceiling. Also someone being attacked in the back of an ambulance, but that's probably a different movie (and I suspect is me just misremembering C.H.U.D.).


Final Viewed List:

#01) The Cabin in the Woods (2012) (Oct 1)
#02) Piranha (1978) (Oct 2)
#03) Piranha DD (2012) (Oct 3)
#04) The Living Dead Girl (aka La morte vivante) (1982) (Oct 4)
#05) Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper (1980) (Oct 5)
#06) Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) (Oct 6) (rewatch)
#07) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) (Oct 7) (rewatch)
#08) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) (Oct 8) (rewatch)
#09) Motel Hell (1980) (Oct 9)
#10) Deranged (1974) (Oct 10)
#11) The Burning (1981) (Oct 11)
#12) Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) (Oct 12) (rewatch)
#13) The Fly (1958) (Oct 13)
#14) The Fly (1986) (Oct 14) (rewatch)
#15) The Fly II (1989) (Oct 15) (rewatch)
#16) Nazis at the Center of the Earth (2012) (Oct 16)
#17) Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies (2012) (Oct 17)
#18) Exit Humainity (2011) (Oct 19)
#19) Fright Night (1985) (Oct 20)
#20) Fright Night Part II (1988) (Oct 21)
#21) Fright Night (2011) (Oct 21)
#22) Insidious (2010) (Oct 22)
#23) Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992) (Oct 23)
#24) Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) (Oct 24)
#25) The Fog (1980) (Oct 25)
#26) In the Mouth of Madness (1994) (Oct 26)
#27) An American Werewolf in London (1981) (Oct 27) (rewatch)

 

[MattyH]

due to it being hell in a cell tonight i just watched The Exorcist III

 

[Divius]

#27 - Deliria (1987)
This felt like an Argento-ish by-the-book giallo slasher, and it did not surprise me director Soavi was the assistant director to a bunch of Argento movies. The characters all felt very empty and the dialogues were very bland (although I did enjoy the banter between the cops in the car), however; the setting was fun, there were some great kills and while it seemed silly at first, the giant owl mask is actually pretty scary. 6/10

 

[Divius]

#28 - Inferno (1980)
This semi-sequel to the brilliant Suspiria is a gorgeous mess. The cinematography with great camerawork and hallucinating pink/blue lighting really makes this a feast for the eyes. The story was incoherent and either I was too tired to make sense of it, or it really did not make sense a few times. A very fascinating movie, maybe a rewatch will make me appreciate this more. 6.5/10

 

[Divius]

With only a few days remaining; which of these should I watch?

#01 - Hellraiser
#02 - Scream*
#03 - Psycho*
#04 - Kaidan
#05 - Bride of Frankenstein
#06 - Blacula
#08 - The Dead Zone
#10 - Night of the Demon
#13 - Scanners
#15 - The Ninth Gate
#16 - Freaks
#17 - The Last Man on Earth
#20 - The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
#22 - Some Guy Who Kills People
#25 - Haute tension
#26 - Gojira
#29 - Society
#32 - Onibaba
#33 - Noroi
#34 - The Fog
#36 - Excision

 

[ThirstyFly]

With only a few days remaining; which of these should I watch?

Are all those first time viewings? Hellraiser and the Fog.

Edit: And Some Guy Who Kills People because I want to know if it's good.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Oh no I'm breaking the rules and watching more than 31! *gasp*

#32 Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)

- Hell yea John Saxon and cannibals! So in the late 70's and early 80's there was a boom of Italian zombie and cannibal flicks. Cannibal Apocalypse I think was one of the better cannibal films to come out of the era, and unlike most which stayed in their Philipino filmed jungle locations, this movie takes place mainly in a US city. Anyways the movie was decent, some obvious low budget elements to it and the sets, but it starts off great with a Vietnam battle where Saxon finds two American POW's who have apparently been turned into cannibals. Skip ahead and these POW's have been getting treatment at a mental hospital and finally getting released. Course things go bad and well apparently it's some form of mutated rabies that makes people crave flesh and an outbreak begins. The cannibals that are infected in this are kinda strange as they are completely normal acting people outside of wanting to eat flesh, they dont become brainless flesh eaters or anything. Lot of the movie kinda feels like an action flick too, theres lot of gun usage and decent amount of gore. The ending shot was great too.

#33 Resident Evil Damnation (2012)

- Kinda odd putting this here but it fits I suppose. Anyways expected the worse from this since I hated Degeneration, the previous RE CG movie. But Damnation was a far better paced film which focused mainly on keeping the action moving along and getting somewhere. Dialogue is bad, but it's on par with the writing of the RE video games. Plot really feels like a rejected game concept and these films would do nothing for a person whose not a fan of the games. Like the games and the live action films, the series continues down the road of heavy action cheese. The setting and action here though was actually pretty good, while the CG looked decent, the animation was still very awkward making it feel like one huge game cinematic.

 

[Astaereth]

With only a few days remaining; which of these should I watch?

#01 - Hellraiser
#02 - Scream*
#03 - Psycho*
#04 - Kaidan
#05 - Bride of Frankenstein
#06 - Blacula
#08 - The Dead Zone
#10 - Night of the Demon
#13 - Scanners
#15 - The Ninth Gate
#16 - Freaks
#17 - The Last Man on Earth
#20 - The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
#22 - Some Guy Who Kills People
#25 - Haute tension
#26 - Gojira
#29 - Society
#32 - Onibaba
#33 - Noroi
#34 - The Fog
#36 - Excision

Psycho, The Dead Zone, Hellraiser, and Freaks. The Ninth Gate is a horrible pile of shit, by the way, and not even in an interesting way.

 

[NekoFever]

#28 - Insidious

I'm in two minds about this because I like parts of it, but it's so obnoxious with the LOUD NOISES; I had to resort to watching it turned down with subtitles because I didn't want to wake the neighbours with someone hammering on a piano every time something happened. I actually like that you see the beings around the house, some of the designs are great, and the astral projection angle is cool. There's the potential for a really great horror movie based around this stuff. It's just a shame that it can't stop doing the cinematic equivalent of SHOUTING RIGHT IN YOUR FACE. It's cheap and it diminishes what Insidious does right.

Still, at least it's a modern mainstream horror movie that isn't based around found footage.

3/5

 

[Kard8p3]

I loved the stop motion stuff and the fridge, but the bulk of the kill takes place during the dinner table scene, and that didn't do it for me. I think part of it is the timing: the stuffed head starts to overstay its welcome, and I think a bit of build up to it would have done wonders for my appreciation of the scene.

I know I'm late to this but have you seen the extended version of that death. It makes it a bit more sick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaEd-5vMEy4

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

i'm watching the thing prequel (2011) and its pretty good so far but something about the lead actress really bothers me. she's annoying the shit out of me for some reason!

 

[Ridley327]

Oct. 28: Black Sunday/Twitch of the Death Nerve (Bay of Blood, about 30 other titles) (both, dir. Mario Bava)

Loved all of Black Sunday (good lord, that cinematography), and was ready to completely dismiss Twitch of the Death Nerve as a well-meaning misfire until its ending, which is pretty much the greatest thing ever. All told, it makes me want to see a lot more Bava in the future; perhaps an idea for next year's marathon!

Progress update: We are nearly at the end, with 37 films down. We must muster all of our strength, though....

Week 5 preview:...for we will be taking on three directors that can surely be called auteurs of the genre, and we will do that by taking in three films from each. David Cronenberg is one of my favorite directors of all time, thanks to his tremendous work in the 80s, but the only 70s film I've seen of his is Fast Company! So, after much procrastination, we will take in his three major works of the 70s: Shivers, Rabid, and The Brood.

 

[JAGII]

I've kept up on watching the movies, but fell way behind on posting. To avoid too much of an info dump, I'll keep my write-ups short.

Day 19 – Ghostbusters (1984; Dir, Ivan Reitman)

I watch Ghostbusters about once a year, and really, the only thing it has going for it any more is nostalgia. Yes, Bill Murray is great, and the effects are fun, but way too much is centered on Murray’s quips, to the point of distraction sometimes. Conversely, when not stopping for a Bill Murray joke, the rest of the plot rushes to conclusion way too fast, as if it’s really only interested in set-pieces and one-liners.

That said, I watched it with my son for the first time, who absolutely loved it and was scared at the parts that used to scare me. That made it worth it all over again.

GRADE: B

Day 20 – Slither (2006; Dir, James Gunn)

I absolutely adore Slither. It does nearly everything right: the gore is spectacular, Nathan Fillion’s one-liners are funny, and there is a surprising amount of pathos. Plus, it has a kicking alt-country soundtrack.

My one concern is that the movie drifts into Troma territory a bit too much: gawking at the yokels and is a bit too pleased with torturing characters like the mayor. That’s a minor, forgivable flaw in an otherwise fantastic movie.

GRADE: A

Day 21 – Gremlins (1984; Dir, Joe Dante)

Another re-watch with the kids, who were both delighted and scared at the proper times. For me, it was just great to sit back and enjoy the Joe Dante mayhem. I know that it was written by Chris Columbus, but Gremlins best captures the Joe Dante aesthetic, second only to Gremlins 2.

GRADE: B+

Day 22 – Slugs (1988; Dir, Juan Piquer Simon)

This movie is, without question, crazy bananas. But, I have to admit, Sleepaway Camp has really ruined all crazy movies for me. Yes, Slugs is weird – I mean, it is about killer slugs – but it isn’t quite Sleepaway Camp weird. I was a bit disappointed.

GRADE: B

Day 23 – Invisible Maniac (1990; Dir, Adam Rifkin)

Another one recommended by The Flop House. A guy gets killed by a sandwich and there’s lots of nudity. Outside of that, there’s absolutely nothing to recommend here. Bad acting, dumb plot, boring kills, and nothing bananas enough to make it worth watching.

GRADE: D+

Day 24 – [REC] 2 (2009; Dir, Juame Balaguero, Paco Plaza)

I absolutely adored the first [REC], but this one didn’t do it for me. The soldiers felt a bit too tough, the kids in the middle section were absolutely grating, and the big reveal in the third act did nothing for me. The one thing that did work was the face on the guy playing the priest. Look at that thing. It’s amazing.

GRADE: B

Day 25 – Halloween (1978; Dir, John Carpenter)

Not my favorite John Carpenter horror movie – naturally, I’d put it behind The Thing, but also They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, and The Prince of Darkness, but still way ahead of Vampires, Ghosts of Mars, or The Ward. The first half is perfection. The second half is good, but it’s hard to watch without thinking of all the crappy knockoffs and sequels it inspired.

GRADE: A-

Day 26 – A Tale of Two Sisters (2003; Dir, Jee-woon Kim)

Beautifully shot and effectively creepy in a few places, but the story relies way too much on the twist ending to be effective. It doesn’t hold up on a re-watch.

GRADE: B+

Day 27 – The Devil’s Bride (1968; Dir, Terence Fisher)

Very fun Hammer movie about a Satanic cult, with some great special effects. Unfortunately, it takes a pretty straightforward “us v. them” approach, which precludes the conspiracy angle used by superior occult movies, like The Wicker Man or Rosemary’s Baby.

GRADE: B

Day 28 – Dracula (1931; Dir, Tod Browning)

Gorgeous and genuinely creepy, none more so than the shot of Renfield coming up from steerage on the boat.

GRADE: A

 

[canoli2006]

#27 - Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Hope I don't get shit for this but I found this movie quite underwhelming. This movie didn't "Thrill me."

 

[An-Det]

Pulse

Ghosts stealing your soul via wifi. Essentially, a suicide epidemic starts as lots of people start killing themselves. The main character's romance does this, which inspires her to investigate. The characters are flat and the story is hit or miss at times, stuff like some of the kills (like

Spoiler

the guy melting into the wall

) and the atmosphere are spot on.

Spoiler

The shifting black stuff on the skin (which people get after infection) is fucking creepy. Also random brad dourif cameo as crazy conspiracy guy was great. And the downer ending was certainly welcome, even if it didn't make too much sense.

It's not perfect, but I got into it. I'm kinda curious to see how the japanese original Kairo compares. You could definitely tell the influence on Pulse.

 

[Plasticine]

#25 The Evil Dead (October 26)
“Why have you disturbed our sleep; awakened us from our ancient slumber? You will die! Like the others before you, one by one, we will take you.”
It's easy to forget The Evil Dead is a serious horror movie. Before the quips and wisecracks, Ash was just another guy—a pretty cowardly one at that. He largely sulks in the background until the final act, when he has to step up against the Deadites, and even then he's mostly running for his life. Inventive, intense and absolutely drenched with gore, The Evil Dead is still a pretty kick ass horror flick. Sure, the effects are a bit dodgy, and the acting is more than a little suspect, but at this point that's part of the charm. A bunch of twenty-year old kids went out into the woods, naively thinking they'd create the ultimate experience in grueling terror and they mostly succeeded.

#26 Re-Animator (October 27)
“Who's going to believe a talking head? Get a job in a sideshow.”
Fast paced, packed with insane effects, black humor and a real streak of perversity, Re-Animator neatly represents everything that was awesome about 80s horror. Stuart Gordon's direction is water tight. Jeffrey Combs brings an assured sense of superiority to the mad scientist Herbert West. David Gale plays every ridiculous moment he's handed straight, even when he's bringing new meaning to “giving head”. An absolute must for anyone interested in the horror genre.

#27 Day of the Dead (October 28)
“We don't have enough ammunition to shoot them all in the head. The time to have done that would have been in the beginning. No, we let them overrun us. We are in the minority now, something like 400,000 to one by my calculation.”
Misunderstood and reviled by horror fans when it was first released, Day of the Dead stood as George A. Romero's final word on the zombie genre for two decades. The tone is decidedly comic book and the performances very broad, even approaching camp. Joe Pilato chews up scenery as the endlessly quotable Captain Rhodes and Howard Sherman delivers a touching performance as the docile zombie Bub. To go along with the over the top tone, effects man Tom Savini created a host of spectacular zombie effects, including some signature gags that are quoted by other flicks to this day. It ain't quite Dawn of the Dead, but then what is?

 

[Astaereth]

October 28th - Movie #17 - Candyman

Next on the horror rotation was an old favorite, Candyman, which I was showing to a friend who'd never seen it before. Although the movie does have weaknesses (mainly an extremely passive protagonist), it's skillfully made, well-acted, and covers themes and concepts that are rarely tackled by the horror genre, tapping into racial issues as well as examining the power of myth and stories (in a way that reminds me of Gaiman's Sandman, actually, particularly the first act of the film, which is filled with stories within stories). It's a shame that (apparently) the two sequels don't build on any of that, preferring to restage the first movie rather than moving on.

EDIT:

October 28th - Movie #18 - Inside

Just finished Inside (or L'Interior, as it is all French and stuff). I liked it for most of the running time, and then the movie gets progressively worse, sadly. It's a great idea for a horror film--a tense cat and mouse game between an extremely pregnant woman and the mysterious stranger who wants to cut her baby out with a pair of scissors. Unfortunately the characterization is pretty thin (but not dealbreaker thin), the second act is repetitive (but not dealbreaker repetitive), and the third act is preposterous. Yeah, that's the dealbreaker. The last fifteen minutes is one ridiculous, contrived, or inexplicable event after another, which totally destroys the movie because it's one of those films that has nothing going for it but the overriding urge to see what happens next. The movie was entertaining to begin with because, after about ten minutes, it becomes a rigorous tactical game; once the rigor is thrown out the window, so too is the quality. Also, it really didn't know how to end--if any movie ever needed a "five years later" coda, this is it. So points for the premise, the no-holds-barred gore, and the reasonably iconic villain, but Inside fails to stick the landing. I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Divius]

Are all those first time viewings? Hellraiser and the Fog.

Edit: And Some Guy Who Kills People because I want to know if it's good.

Psycho, The Dead Zone, Hellraiser, and Freaks. The Ninth Gate is a horrible pile of shit, by the way, and not even in an interesting way.

I'm going to recommend you pick from these. I'm a little surprised you haven't seen Psycho yet - for a second there, I thought you might've been referring to the Van Sant remake. Society is a definite must, and I have to admit that I left The Last Man on Earth in there solely because it has Vincent Price in it.

Thanks for the replies! I'll figure something out.

The * on Psycho and Scream indicated that I've seen them before.

 

[DieNgamers]

Hey, not trying to be off-topic but I think people this thread might know what the following movie is called. I saw it on tv a few years ago., maybe you can help me. : )

From what I remember...
-it looked like an 80s old movie..not sure, though
-a few students woke up a demon in a small cave somewhere in the woods
-the demon looked like it was made of stone...it also tried to kill those who where in the cave
-it even slowly follows them into town

That's all I remember. I think there was an evil eyes/stare of death kinda thing going on but I'm just not sure.

 

[An-Det]

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

A remake of the 70's movie of the same name, it has a man, his girlfriend, and his daughter move into an old manor that isn't what it seems. It's quite obvious that Guillermo del Toro was involved with this, the monsters (basically evil tooth fairies) feel like his work.

It wasn't bad, though not great, with some decent scares and lots of nice and creepy moments, but the little girl is an idiot and the father is a dick. Katie Holmes wasn't bad.

 

[Aske]

I know I'm late to this but have you seen the extended version of that death. It makes it a bit more sick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaEd-5vMEy4

It's certainly better with "You are what you eat!", but it still leaves me cold. The fridge is awesome though.

#26 - Cabin Fever
Trailer

I expected a psychological horror movie about cabin fever. I got a movie about people who contract a mysterious illness while staying in a cabin, the origin of which is never explained. And to add insult to injury, it is an awful, awful movie. Avoid.

#27 - The Vanishing (1988)
Trailer

This was magnificent. One The Vanishing's many strengths is the ability to draw the viewer into empathizing with all it's major characters; often simultaneously. In fact, watching the film almost feels like reading a novel. It's a very human film; intensely dramatic, yet consistently restrained. The direction is masterful, the locations are a breath of fresh air, and the acting is generally excellent.

I can't in good conscience call it a horror film, and almost didn't count it as part of the challenge, but in the end I decided it was too good to omit.

 

[An-Det]

Leviathan (1989)

Peter Weller has a team underwater for a 90-day mission. After boarding a scuttled russian boat and retrieving some treasure, people start dying horribly.

Reminiscent of The Thing, this wasn't too bad. The physical effects for the monster and mutilated people were great, and Peter Weller is awesome as always. The freaky stuff worked well, and while it doesn't have the atmosphere of The Thing, it still works fine.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

"Say ahhhhh motherfucker!"

 

[NekoFever]

For anyone with access to the BBC, tomorrow night on BBC Four there's Horror Europa with Mark Gatiss, about European horror cinema. His History of Horror series from a couple of years ago was excellent, so this will probably be worth checking out.

Anyway...

#29 - The Vault of Horror

I'll always have a soft spot for British horror of this ilk, and this is a particularly good anthology. Five men find themselves trapped in a room and pass the time by telling each other their recurring nightmares about evil deeds coming back to haunt them, usually in ironic ways. I really enjoyed it. Great cast and some clever, bloody moments.

4/5

 

[Divius]

For anyone with access to the BBC, tomorrow night on BBC Four there's Horror Europa with Mark Gatiss, about European horror cinema. His History of Horror series from a couple of years ago was excellent, so this will probably be worth checking out.

Sounds good, gonna check tomorrow if I can access bbc4 (probably not).

 

[BattleMonkey]

Not stopping, must keep watching till the end!

#34 Eaten Alive (1977)

- Tobe Hooper's lesser remembered horror flick which came out a few years after Texas Chainsaw. While production values seemed to have increased, it's still obvious low budget fare but I really liked what they did with the sets and lighting, it almost looked like some kind of giallo grindhouse flick. The movie moves are a pretty brisk pace which is kind of a relief after so many slasher flicks that take up a slow build and suspense. Within the first couple mins, you got Buck whose ready to fuck, and then blood starts flowing. But it's all very simple movie, crazy hotel owner with a pet croc snaps and it just goes downhill from there with a sickle filled massacre and lots of croc feeding. The puppet croc at times also is pretty funny. Unlike Texas Chainsaw, they don't hide any gore and it's got tons of blood, and bunch of boobies prancing around. It's trashy and low budget without the merits of scare factor the original Texas Chainsaw had, but Eaten Alive makes up with a brisk and to the point gore/slasher flick. Nothing scary here as this film seems to have just went with trying to shock people at the time. I enjoyed it!

 

[Ravager61]

#26 - Cabin Fever
Trailer

I expected a psychological horror movie about cabin fever. I got a movie about people who contract a mysterious illness while staying in a cabin, the origin of which is never explained. And to add insult to injury, it is an awful, awful movie. Avoid.

I adore Cabin Fever. I feel like it's so misunderstood. It's more like a black comedy with a few horror elements. It's hilarious.

 

[Astaereth]

October 29th - Movie #19 - Lake Placid

Lake Placid was almost exactly what I expected, once I remembered it was the big dumb monster movie with the giant croc and not the big dumb monster movie with the superintelligent sharks. It differed slightly from my expectations in being a little more laid-back, a little less dumb, but also a little less ridiculous. Mostly it was enjoyable to see some silly CG and gore effects, a monster movie struggling to balance "let's kill this fucker" with environmentalism, and a handful of excellent character actors (Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt, and Brendan Gleeson*) riffing in very low-key. (Oh, and an amusing turn by Betty White as the crazy old lady who considers the giant croc to be her pet.)

The movie's strength and weakness is its lack of conviction, as metonymized in the moment where Oliver Platt is halfway through a cheesy monologue about the ancient power of the crocodile and then just says "Fuck it" and stops. It's so gentle and low-energy that I can barely be mustered to care about the movie at all, but that's also the source of its charm. Placid indeed.

 

[Aske]

I adore Cabin Fever. I feel like it's so misunderstood. It's more like a black comedy with a few horror elements. It's hilarious.

I finished it thinking the only way it could have worked would be as a horror comedy. But it's played so straight that any attempts at humor feel totally incongruous - especially the surreal rednecks who are mysteriously evil for no real reason. "My kid bit you, so you made him sick. Without knowing how serious it is, we all want to kill you now. And your friends." It was almost like the writer wanted it to be a comedy, but the director wanted it to play it straight, and only permitted the bizarre dialogue in the hopes that it would add Tarantino-style colour to the story. It works with the party cop and the crazy old store owner, but fails with the rednecks. So we're left confused by their motivations, and because the point of the experience isn't simply to laugh, I felt their actions (and the disease itself) needed to be explained in the context of the film's reality.

 

[canoli2006]

#28 - Vampyr (1932)

Spooky and claustrophobic atmosphere. Recommended for horror aficionados but it is really old and void of any real scare and gore.

 

[sketchsanchez]

31.FRIDAY THE 13TH (2009) B-

Since I tend to watch the entire series every year, I made the decision to include this reboot into the mix. I remember enjoying it at the time and considered it a worthy addition to the franchise and...that hasn't changed after watching it again for the first time in a long time. After psychic chicks, long boat rides, body hopping, space and fighting the nightmare on elm street it was nice to have a movie go back to basics here.n It's hard to consider this as good as the original movies for a lot of reasons, but as far as getting good old Jason action this movie certainly delivers. Honestly, I feel like the only thing this movie doesn't have over the others is that it wasn't made in the 80's. It's about as competently made as, say, Part 3 for instance and has some nice kills going for it. Derek Mears is a great Jason, the guy playing Trent gives like a clinic on playing the ultimate douchebag. The best part, for me, is how it all ends.

Spoiler

Jason wins

. It's how I've always wanted these movies to end, I just wish it went all the way with it.

It's also a crime there isn't a sequel. It's not hard, Jason kills unsuspecting idiots, fucking make it happen already. It's ridiculous that after the success of Freddy vs. Jason we've had one new movie respectively from each franchise. I liken the opportunity to having a woman in front of you, legs spread and instead of having fun you take a huge dump.


...sorry.

FINAL LIST:

1.V/H/S B+
2.The Last Exorcism.B-
3.Grave Encounters 2 A
4.Apartment 143 D
5.Noroi:The Curse B+
6.The Ring (jap) B-
7. The Tunnel B-
8. Evidence A-
9.The Lost Coast Tapes C+
10. Sleepaway Camp A
11. Sleepaway Camp 2 F
12. Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night B+
13.Alien A+
14. Occult B
15. Childs Play 2 C+
16. Shirome B-
17. The Haunted House Project C+
18. Subconscious C+
19. The Feed B-
20. Friday the 13th Part 2 B+
21. Friday the 13th Part 3D B
22. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter A-
23. Friday the 13th Part 6:JASON LIVES A
24. Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood C+
25. Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason (kinda) takes Manhatten D
26. Jason Goes To Hell B-
27. Halloween 4 B-
28. A Nightmare on Elm street 5 C+
29. Paranormal Activity 4 C+
30. Land of the Dead B+
31. Friday the 13th (2009) B-

 

[ThirstyFly]

#28) A Little Bit Zombie (2012) (Oct 28)

"Why? I mean aside form the brains and a lil numbness, I'm fine. Besides, when it comes down to it, it's really just a dietary restriction."

So after Shaun of the Dead there's been no shortage of horror comedies and it's probably safe to say most have been pretty forgettable. I thought the trailer for this one was pretty good and being a Canadian picture I decided to check it out as Canada has been on a pretty good run thanks to Hobo with a Shotgun and Father's Day.

Taking a trip to a cabin in the woods (get it?) with his bride-to-be, sister and best friend/brother-in-law, mild mannered everyman Steve soon gets infected with a zombie virus and must fight his urge to eat brains while trying to deal with his bridezilla finance.

While at first the humour felt kind of forced and I was a bit down on it at the start, it doesn't take long to find its legs and it actually turned out to be a pretty enjoyable ride. There's a few references to other horror movies, but they're pretty smart about it and don't beat you over the head with reference after reference and the rest of the humor comes off pretty naturally once things get going. They don't think they're more clever than they actually are like a lot of films in this genre do.

The actors really bring this one together. The lead actor, Kristopher Turner gives a energetic performance and obviously has a lot of fun with the role and it shows. His best friend played by Shawn Roberts (Wesker #2 in the Resident Evil films) basically reenacts Stifler from American Pie, but he's so good at it you can't help but enjoy the character. Stephen McHattie (Pontypool & Exit Humanity) also joins the cast as a very fun (and very crazy) zombie hunter. As for the female cast, Kristen Hager is great as Steve's sister, however Crystal Lowe (whom you may remember form the sizzling tanning both scene in Final Destination 3) and Emilie Ullerup as the zombie hunter's sidekick don't really stack up to the rest of the cast.

Overall, it's a pretty enjoyable flick. I definitely wouldn't put it up there with Shaun of the Dead, but I have no problem saying it's at least at the same level as other recent comedy successes like Severance, Night of the Living Dorks and Dead Snow.

#29) Stake Land (2010) (Oct 29)

"One day you'll learn not to dream at all. Get your shit."

I decided to check this out because of the favorable opinions in this thread (and it was on sale). I thought it was pretty decent, but I don't think it's a movie I'd go and recommend to people. The setting and mood were cool and I liked a lot of the ideas they had going, but I felt it never really reached its full potential.

I really liked the cult angle and would have have liked to see it play a bigger, more important role instead of just being a what felt like just a series of random encounters for our heroes.

Spoiler

The final confrontation with the cult leader also came off really cheesy considering the tone of the rest of the movie. I personally think it would have worked a little better if he had no dialogue at all.

There were also way too many pockets of survivors shown. It just didn't feel desperate enough with so many camps of people and it made no sense that a pregnant woman would join them on such a dangerous trip. It also felt way too long considering the movies pretty short runtime. It was almost like I was a character in the movie because by the end I just wanted some resolution.

I also wasn't too crazy about the zombie-like vampires. Their design was too bland and had no personality and were they barking at one point? Yeah, not a fan of how they were handled.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Yea I enjoyed F13th reboot. I missed Jason and they took that series as far as they could go, reboot was logical. Made no sense the sequel didn't happen, it made enough but I guess platinum dunes expected more since a sequel would have likely made less. Instead they made that horrible NOES remake.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

They had plans to make a sequel, but I guess nothing ever came of it. I definitely think the reboot is a decent Friday movie, unlike the Nightmare on Elm Street one which was shit.

 

[Frankenstrat]

i'm watching the thing prequel (2011) and its pretty good so far but something about the lead actress really bothers me. she's annoying the shit out of me for some reason!

Speak of the devil, am watching the original right now, and holy fuck is it still scary. Those special effects are still crazy as hell.

 

[ThirstyFly]

Yea I enjoyed F13th reboot. I missed Jason and they took that series as far as they could go, reboot was logical. Made no sense the sequel didn't happen, it made enough but I guess platinum dunes expected more since a sequel would have likely made less. Instead they made that horrible NOES remake.

I like how aside from Jason getting the mask in the reboot, it actually could fit in the original timeline around the 2nd and 3rd movies. Definitely one of my favorite reboots.

And good god, Julianna Guill.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

I like how aside from Jason getting the mask in the reboot, it actually could fit in the original timeline around the 2nd and 3rd movies. Definitely one of my favorite reboots.

And good god, Julianna Guill.

Stupendous.

 

[sketchsanchez]

I like how aside from Jason getting the mask in the reboot, it actually could fit in the original timeline around the 2nd and 3rd movies. Definitely one of my favorite reboots.

And good god, Julianna Guill.

Dude! That's a really great point that I meant to touch on in my write up. This movie works on a few levels and can fit anywhere in the series. It could fit somewhere between 2/3 like you said, but it can also be a contempary sequel post or pre freddy vs. jason because Jason X established he regenerates and was looking more human-like for that movie. I also think it can serve as an origin story for the New Line version of Jason. I mean there's an obvious disconnect there from when they took over the franchise, and there are people who refuse to consider the 3 films as "cannon"so I think it works in that respect. The Jason of this film can be the Jason who has a sister, regenerates flesh and is afraid of water.

 

[Ridley327]

Oct. 29: Shivers/Rabid/The Brood (all three, dir. David Cronenberg)

Whether you prefer to call him the Baron of Blood or the King of Venereal Horror (and who wouldn't want to be the king of that?), Cronenberg is a true visionary director, and veritably unique at that. Body horror begins and ends with him, as he brought forth nightmarish visions of rampaging medical maladies in a modern world (well, modern Canada, at least). He would go on to embark on a monumental run in the 80s, which saw his vision bring to the screen the dangers of telekinesis, the unknown horrors that await us with prolonged exposure to television, and plumbing the minds of identical twins, one of nature's most fascinating oddities (and I say that with the utmost respect of any twins reading this), while making an indelible mark on the mainstream with an understated adaptation of a Stephen King novel, and, perhaps most infamous of all, making people everywhere forget that there was even an original version of The Fly to begin with in his jaw-dropping and nausea-inducing new vision on the concept. Talent like this doesn't happen overnight, though, and his work in the 70s is a testament to how strong his vision has always been.

One wonders what the distributors of Shivers could have been thinking when they first saw the film; experimental in its plot progression (there really isn't a central protagonist to follow, nor does it pander to many character archetypes), unbelievably icky in its violence, shocking at the lengths it goes to instill the hopelessness of the situation that befalls the cast, and unwilling to commit to dumbing it down for the mainstream audience, Shivers is about as unsellable a film as you can get. And yet, even the people decrying the film for its violence and sexual content can't deny that it's a remarkably well made film by a very confident director. It constantly betrays its extremely low budget at every turn, which makes it even all the more remarkable that this was Cronenberg's first feature film. Even in our admittedly desensitized 2012, it still works incredibly well and burrows into your skin like, well, something out of this film.

If Rabid seems a little weaker in comparison, it's largely due to its similarities to its predecessor, as it's a remarkably similar concept, but on a much larger scale and a much larger budget. The star of the show is the famous porn actress Marilyn Chambers, and for her part, she does a rather admirable job at making you want to see her acting just as much as you want to see her without her clothes on. She makes you sympathize with her plight, as a radical skin graft surgery curses her with an insatiable blood-guzzling protrusion that lives in her armpit (yes, I just typed that), and although I don't think she quite nails the level of despair that her character requires at her lowest, she does make you care for what happens to her. The B-plot, as it were, feels like a prequel to 28 Days Later, as we see the victims of her appetite live on through a new form of rabies that threatens to overcome Montreal. Here is where I think Cronenberg taps into something rather interesting, as the disaster response is carried out with a great deal of efficiency, but can't escape a chilling undercurrent of detachment at what they're doing. They regard the victims of the rabies with the same regard as the garbage does with your trash, which is made quite obvious by the fact that they're using garbage trucks to deal with the corpses. As mentioned, the similarities to Shivers hurts, as it doesn't offer up a whole lot of new ideas beyond the one I mentioned, which is saved for the film's final act.

Compared to those two, The Brood seems a tad normal in comparison, but it boasts a wholly unique concept and is a surprisingly personal film for Cronenberg, who at the time of the film's production was dealing with his own child custody issues. Dr. Raglan (played by the ever reliable Oliver Reed) has founded a new method of psychiatry called psychoplasmics, in which the rage of a patient can physically manifest itself in unprecedented ways. His star patient, Nola, has been able to manifest her rage towards her family in a far more horrific way than others, with her husband being the only person that can do anything about it. Opting to tone down the more traditional elements of his previous horror films, the film focuses instead on the psychological impact of long-lasting trauma in our lives, both physically and mentally. That said, it certainly is a violent film when it wants to be, including a rather audacious sequence involving a character being murdered in front of a class of young children. Perhaps it's because it was released so close to his 80s run, but it really feels like it came out of that period, thanks to the increased focus on the psychological horror to go along the usual "what the fuck am I looking at" aspect that we've come to love. Some might find it a bit on the boring side, but I found myself riveted throughout.

Day 30 preview: How could we have seen the second part of Dario Argento's Animal Trilogy before seeing the other two parts? We rectify that by taking in The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Four Flies on Grey Velvet. To keep up with the three films requirement, I think that a rewatch of Suspiria would be a good way to conclude the evening.

 

[Ridley327]

Stupendous.

She really does have perfect nipple placement!

Also, the movie is technically in the same universe as Michael Bay's Transformers films.

 

[canoli2006]

#29 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Holy shit this movie is intense.

 

[Plasticine]

#28 Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (October 29)
“You have one choice, boy: sex or the saw. Sex is, well, nobody knows. But the saw, the saw is family.”
Knowing he couldn't top the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre's grimy and gritty feel, Tobe Hooper decided to go in a slightly different direction when the time came for him to helm a sequel. Opting for black satire, Hooper set his sights on Reagan-era politics and the big business horror had become. His clan of cannibals, the Sawyer (get it?) family, has become an institution in Texas, all too happy to make a buck peddling their gore-met to the unsuspecting masses. Making the subtext buried within scores of slasher flicks overt, Leatherface wants to get laid. He uses his god given chainsaw as an extension of his manhood, often delivering his terror with pelvic thrusts. Of course, the whole mess is threatened by a crazed right-winger, religious fruitcake. In a family full of kooks, Bill Moseley gets most of the best lines ("Leatherface, you bitch! Look what you did to my Sonny Bono wig!") and steals the show as the brain damaged Viet Nam vet, Chop Top. Genuinely deranged, and wickedly funny, there's absolutely nothing restrained or understated about this barbecue.

 

[sketchsanchez]

She really does have perfect nipple placement!

Also, the movie is technically in the same universe as Michael Bay's Transformers films.

BUH?

 

[Ridley327]

BUH?

Trent, the guy that boinks Julianna Guill, is the same actor and character that plays Trent, the alpha male jerk from Transformers 2.

So there exists a universe that has giant robots and undead serial killers running around.

 

[ThirstyFly]

BUH?

Shared character.

http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0081822/

Edit: Beaten like a Crystal Lake camp counselor.

 

[overcast]

I didn't follow formula completely, but I watched Funny Games for the first time today. It was really intense and quite terrifying actually. Lot of interesting ideas put to play throughout.

Spoiler

not sure how much I liked the rewinding part. It didn't seem overly 4th wall breaking to that point, and that was very drastic. I didn't like how the 2 murderers talk on the boat was pretty much the writers saying "hey do you get it? We're talking about the movie!"

pretty damn good up until that point I felt.

 

[strobogo]

I would even argue that the F13th remake was probably a better film than any of the actual series. F13th is a series that made sense to reboot or just continue on without following any of the backstory. Nightmare is a little more iffy, and its remake wasn't nearly as good.