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RBA Starblade posted:God drat Dawn of the Dead is good so far. There's one movie I wish I was watching for the very first time.
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Oct 20, 2014 02:16
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:There's one movie I wish I was watching for the very first time. A trend I'm noticing among all these older movies is that nobody is an idiot. Everyone has a plan or strategy and acts on it, even though they're afraid. Like Peter and Roger don't just freak out when they need to reload, they just butt the zombies in the head. It's refreshing. Not to mention all the analogies. This is amazing and thank you so much for streaming this. And the stream just died.  e: Oh no it was Cox. gently caress Cox.
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Oct 20, 2014 02:32
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It's my favourite horror movie.
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Oct 20, 2014 02:33
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RBA Starblade posted:A trend I'm noticing among all these lder movies is that nobody is an idiot. Everyone has a plan or strategy and acts on it. It's refreshing. Weird. My ISP, TWC, went down at the same time.
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Oct 20, 2014 02:34
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Jose Oquendo posted:Weird. My ISP, TWC, went down at the same time. Ha, that's weird. Almost....spooky.  I love how they keep the tv reports from Night of the Living Dead.
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Oct 20, 2014 02:37
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10/16: Monster Squad Extremely entertaining. Despite James Deen outfit kid, this was much more accurate to how my friends and I talked to each other. Just reminds me how much I hate it when Stephen King writes his child characters. 10/17: Willow Creek Nothing really happens. This would be fine if there was any built up suspense but there isn't. 10/19: In My Skin Wow. Self mutilation is extremely tough to watch. Pretty drat good.
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Oct 20, 2014 02:43
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Night 19: I'm getting the bad taste out of my mouth from Big rear end Spider! with a double-feature of The Deadly Mantis and Mothra. I was gonna see if I could squeeze in Monster on the Campus, but I'll hold that off 'til tomorrow.
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Oct 20, 2014 02:48
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Day 19 - I am so glad that they put the text crawl in front of The Old Dark House letting me know that the mute big guy in it was played by the same Boris Karloff who played Frankenstein's monster. There was another person next to me who swore that it had to be a different Karloff and I was on the verge of asking him to step outside so we could settle it like gentlemen, but then there was that crawl and I got to be smug. The Old Dark House is almost the ur-horror movie. A bunch of people are caught by a storm and take shelter at a house on top of a mountain where a strange family lives. I seriously wasn't certain if that was a cliche by 1932 or not. I'm think it was, but then this is also partially a comedy. Karloff is wasted in this film since he doesn't get a lot to do, but Ernest Thesiger's Horace steals the show. When he eventually vanishes from the film I kept waiting for him to come back. His passive aggressive nastiness toward his family is so much fun. I found it fascinating how much they seemed to be manually shifting the camera in this movie. The film is almost wobbly. I've never seen a film from the 30's with this kind of camera work. I don't think it was effective, it was just too unstable and didn't seem to match up with the storm they way they wanted it to, but it was interesting to me. I'd put The Old Dark House at the bottom of the James Whale horror films, but it was still enjoyable to watch. Next time I'm going to make another stab (ha ha) at Italian horror with Bay of Blood.
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Oct 20, 2014 02:54
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CopywrightMMXI posted:It's my favourite horror movie. It's definitely my favorite and has been for a long, long time.
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Oct 20, 2014 03:09
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:It's definitely my favorite and has been for a long, long time. It's mine now too. One of my favorite games is Dead Rising, and while I knew they had a little note about Dawn of the Dead (and that they were sued by Romero afaik), I didn't realize just how much was taken from the movie. The maintenance tunnels, the vents, the general layout of the mall, even that little clock tower in one scene. This movie is amazing.
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Oct 20, 2014 03:45
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RBA Starblade posted:It's mine now too. One of my favorite games is Dead Rising, and while I knew they had a little note about Dawn of the Dead (and that they were sued by Romero afaik), I didn't realize just how much was taken from the movie. The maintenance tunnels, the vents, the general layout of the mall, even that little clock tower in one scene. This movie is amazing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uymff74kDu0
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Oct 20, 2014 03:46
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Random Stranger posted:Karloff is wasted in this film since he doesn't get a lot to do, but Ernest Thesiger's Horace steals the show. When he eventually vanishes from the film I kept waiting for him to come back. His passive aggressive nastiness toward his family is so much fun. Apparently, the movie bombed in the states mostly because the studios tried to sell it to audiences based on Karloff's fame alone (hence the text crawl). Then it got canned and shelved for years.
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Oct 20, 2014 04:18
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Xtro 2 is terrible, and I have to stay here to man the stream. I can't escape! How can this be the same director? It's got no relation to the original!
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Oct 20, 2014 04:30
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Lurdiak posted:Xtro 2 is terrible, and I have to stay here to man the stream. I can't escape! How can this be the same director? It's got no relation to the original! When I saw there was a sequel I was pretty shocked.
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Oct 20, 2014 04:34
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cthulusnewzulubbq posted:When I saw there was a sequel I was pretty shocked. There's two of them, and they're apparently both completely unimaginative ripoffs of better films. It's pretty shocking considering how out-there and visually interesting the original is.
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Oct 20, 2014 05:13
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The Devil's Carnival (2012) - 3 people die and go to Hell where they have to relive their sins in life through the Devil's Carnival. Well, I didn't know it was a musical going into it, so that was surprising. I've never been a fan of musicals, but something about this movie I really enjoyed. It was only about an hour long, but it seemed a proper length. The make up, outfits, and scenery were all well done, and I would have no problem believing they were in Hell. Decent story line, good characters. I'd recommend it, even if you don't like musicals. I'm glad I gave it a chance. /5
END OF AN ERROR fucked around with this message at 05:45 on Oct 20, 2014 |
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Oct 20, 2014 05:37
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Trip Daddy X posted:The Devil's Carnival (2012) - 3 people die and go to Hell where they have to relive their sins in life through the Devil's Carnival. Well, I didn't know it was a musical going into it, so that was surprising. I've never been a fan of musicals, but something about this movie I really enjoyed. It was only about an hour long, but it seemed a proper length. The make up, outfits, and scenery were all well done, and I would have no problem believing they were in Hell. Decent story line, good characters. I'd recommend it, even if you don't like musicals. I'm glad I gave it a chance. I thought it had pretty great casting, production design, ideas, everything but the actual music, which rarely approaches anything recognizable as a melody. With songs possessed of an identifiable tune it could've been great.
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Oct 20, 2014 05:52
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Pope Guilty posted:I thought it had pretty great casting, production design, ideas, everything but the actual music, which rarely approaches anything recognizable as a melody. With songs possessed of an identifiable tune it could've been great. Couldn't agree more. It seemed like they just sang normal lines, nothing planned to be a musical number at all.
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Oct 20, 2014 06:14
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The meter on the rules and hobo clown songs is done in an interesting way, though.
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Oct 20, 2014 06:31
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RBA Starblade posted:A trend I'm noticing among all these older movies is that nobody is an idiot. Except for the dude in a sombrero who goes out checking his heart with a sit-down blood pressure cuff. But it's strangely compelling.
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Oct 20, 2014 09:30
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cthulusnewzulubbq posted:Except for the dude in a sombrero who goes out checking his heart with a sit-down blood pressure cuff. But it's strangely compelling. Any one of us could have gone out the same way.
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Oct 20, 2014 11:27
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Lurdiak posted:Xtro 2 is terrible, and I have to stay here to man the stream. I can't escape! How can this be the same director? It's got no relation to the original! Agreed. Movie #22: Xtro 2: The Second Encounter (1990) In some deep underground base, scientists experiment with extra-dimensional travel, and end up bringing a non-human creature into their midst that goes on a killing spree. For backup, they bring in the man who, by playing by his own rules, survived a previous lab's similar encounter (note: Playing by your own rules includes blowing up the the facility and being the only survivor), as well as a paramilitary unit to hunt down the creature. This has nothing to do with the inter-species child custody battle of the first film (yes, that's really what it's about.) Let's get something straight: I love b-movies. And I'm one of those weirdos that doesn't love them because they're bad, and I want to make fun of them, and follow MST3K or anything; no, I'm one of those rare types that actively love this kind of movie on its own merits, and honestly enjoys them. In the b-movie world, there really is only one cardinal sin: Being boring. With a dull film, it's hard to watch because there's nothing keeping your attention. Worse, in group settings, if noone's watching, you didn't need to have it on in the first place. Xtro 2 is that sort of movie. To give you an idea, I watched the film in an internet stream, chatting with other viewers. The stream runner got so bored however, that he put up several streams of other entertainment, mostly cartoons. and nobody complained when they took up the lion's share of the screen. That's how dull the film is. Even the high action set-pieces of the xtro attacking folks who are shooting at it were dull. It's mind-boggling that this film shares a director with the first film, and ended up being a lifeless Aliens knock-off. The third film also by him apparently is on par, being an unrelated Predator knock-off. I'm morbidly curious, but I suspect it's just as unwatchable. Stick with the first film and nothing else. No spookies out of five. Previous films out of 31 for the month--all new to me: 1. Half-Caste (2004) 2. Grim (1995) 3. The Host (2006) 4. Para-Norman (2012) 5. Maniac Cop II (1995) 6. The Vampire Journals (1997) 7. Alien 2: Sulla Terra (1980) 8. The Stone Tape (1972) 9. Flesh Eating Mothers (1988) 10. Two Thousand Maniacs! (1967) 11. The Church (1989) 12. Subspecies IV: Bloodstorm (1998) 13. The House Where Evil Dwells (1982) 14. Don't Look Up (2009) 15. Giallo (2009) 16. Trick R Treat (2007) 17. Aberration (1997) 18. Clive Barker's A Book of Blood (2009) 19. Decadent Evil (2005) 20. The Mummy (1959) 21. Not of This Earth (1988)
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Oct 20, 2014 13:39
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Untrustable posted:So far... Gotta do a dump because I forgot this thread existed. The American Scream: a fantastic documentary about the culture of "home haunters", people that get way into making their houses spooky for Halloween. Its on Netflix 7/10. My Amityville Horror: A documentary focusing on the adult children of the Lutzes', the original amityville horror family. Makes the claim that the house was mad haunted and gave the family telekinetic powers and poo poo. 2/10 Room 237: A documentary about the hidden symbolism in The Shining. Mostly devolves into batshit conspiracy theorists doing what they do best. 4/10 The Town That Dreaded Sundown: A movie about proto Jason voorhees terrorizing a small town. I'm not sure if this was a comedy or not. 6/10 Needful Things: What if the devil opened a thrift store and sold really cool poo poo, but instead of money he only accepted malice? 9/10 Grave Encounters: A ghost hunting reality show crew has to contend with the real deal when they try to film an episode in an infamous hospital. 8/10 Grave Encounters 2: A film that tries to make you think the first film wasn't fiction, and sends another crew into the hospital to find out for sure. 6/10 Pontypool: A zombie movie that doesn't bother with silly things like more than one set, or, zombies. 9/10 American psycho: a study of the effects of excess on the standard american white male. 8/108$+$+#-$-#$feed me a stray cat Nightmares in Red White and Blue: a documentary exploring the rise of american horror movies through the years. 10/10 Never Sleep Again: A 4 hour documentary focusing on every single entry in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. 10/10 Devils Pass: "hey all these people died mysteriously at this place, we should go check this out!" It ends badly. 3/10 Frankensteins Army: Using the readily available HD camcorders of WW2 one man bravely documents some steampunk looking monsters. 6/10 Untrustable fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Oct 20, 2014 |
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Oct 20, 2014 13:41
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cthulusnewzulubbq posted:Except for the dude in a sombrero who goes out checking his heart with a sit-down blood pressure cuff. But it's strangely compelling. Ha, you're right but I was thinking main characters when I wrote that. They just seem less dumb in general to me.
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Oct 20, 2014 13:48
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As per request, I updated the OP movie list to include Cannibal Holocaust on Amazon Prime and The Conjuring on HBO GO. Both of them are really good movies, so check them out. Also, some movies were taken down from streaming, so if there's something missing that you think should be in the OP, or if there's something there that isn't streaming, feel free to post in the forum or PM me.
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Oct 20, 2014 14:20
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I had no power for half the weekend so I feel a little behind. On Sunday I decided to just jump right into the home stretch. Everything from here on out are my personal favorite Halloween movies, although I'm not planning on any particular order. The Howling: Possibly the best werewolf movie of all-time. Before CGI a full-sized werewolf had to be a man in a suit, and this is one case were I'd argue CGI is inherently worse because I like how the man-in-the-suit werewolf moves. For an example of how a CGI werewolf typically moves watch Van Helsing; the wolf is leaping thirty feet in the air and running at 50mph, etc. Before any of that was possible the main in the suit had to do it, and stuff like the famous office scene were the wolf takes the file from the woman's hand are better for it. Every movement of the werewolf takes on more meaning, every snarl is given more emphasis, and close-ups of the monster are held for a long time because the make-up is amazing. There is less of a focus on action because the suit wouldn't be able to handle any real action, but for me that restriction works in the films favor. I've always felt like The Howling has two main protagonists. I find myself rooting for the journalist just as much as the news anchor, and when one of them doesn't make it through the movie its very sad. When the journalists boyfriend shows up with the silver bullets and starts shooting, that's a real fist pumping moment because you want revenge for her death. The only other contender for best werewolf movie is American Werewolf in London, and I'll be watching that later this week. Evil Dead 2: Watching this again after a few years its fairly obvious what Raimi was trying to do. He shows you the necklace that Ash gave his girlfriend in Evil Dead as an indicator that this is the same Ash and the same girl, just slightly different circumstances. The movie rockets along at an insane pace, much moreso than the original. There's no arriving at the cabin and having a little fun before the poo poo hits the fan, the poo poo is hitting the fan pretty much the minute they step foot inside. This movie has a bigger budget than the first, but really the effects are just as dated so I think the goofier tone works and fits with those kind of effects better than the more serious original.
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Oct 20, 2014 14:44
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I've been doing a terrible job of keeping up with watching a movie every day this month. I did, however, finally check out my library's DVD collection and found out that they have a really, really good selection. I picked up Alice Sweet Alice, Excision, and Onibaba for the next few days. Has anyone seen Death Note, the live action version based on the manga, and can tell me whether it's worth picking up too? I'm pretty curious about how Gus Van Sant's version for Warner Bros is going to turn out.
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Oct 20, 2014 15:14
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Franchescanado posted:As per request, I updated the OP movie list to include Cannibal Holocaust on Amazon Prime But muh Hulu 
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Oct 20, 2014 17:30
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Choco1980 posted:Let's get something straight: I love b-movies. And I'm one of those weirdos that doesn't love them because they're bad, and I want to make fun of them, and follow MST3K or anything; no, I'm one of those rare types that actively love this kind of movie on its own merits, and honestly enjoys them. C'mon man. Lots of people unironically love b-movies.
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Oct 20, 2014 17:35
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usb teledildonics posted:But muh Hulu Check it again. 
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Oct 20, 2014 19:04
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Last night's theme chosen based on how I was feeling at the time (and still). Its loving Cold!  20) Devil's Pass (2013) I think this film failed the very first and most basic test of found footage films, namely that I just didn't believe it was found footage. The documentarians were obvious amateurs doing a terrible job and yet their footage was perfect and professional. There were times I wasn't even sure how footage was being shot while people were trudging throw snow or running away from poo poo while lugging around a giant camera (you got a grant, buy a GoPro). And exactly how did this film come together? A Wikileaks website? How did they get the footage? And why was it constructed the way it was? It just didn't make much sense to me which completely took me out of the movie, which is the exact opposite of what a found footage film is supposed to do. FF is supposed to feel so natural that you get sucked in and it feels real but bad FF makes you question why its even on camera. If you didn't want to keep to the rules of found footage you should have just made a straight film. And honestly, it was just kind of boring. I'm tempted to say that they should have gotten to the actual story and strangeness a little sooner than the third act but the truth is that stuff wasn't really much better. Its an hour of unlikable people trudging through the snow while occasionally encountering something strange and continuing to ignore all common sense that warns them they're going to die in the snow. And then some weird freaky story at the end that didn't make a ton of sense to me. And am I wrong or did that actually shine absolutely no light on the original mystery of the Dyatlov Pass Incident? I mean, I guess the Russian military killed them to hide the secret lab? That's it? And then the Russian military just kept on murdering people to protect the secret of time traveling/teleporting mutants locked in a bunker even though it seems more efficient to drop a nuke on it or something? I didn't buy it, I didn't enjoy it. The monsters were ok to look at and dying in the snow is just a terrifying thought, but the movie did very little with it. And why were there giant footprints in the snow? The mutants didn't have giant feet? Was the Russian military faking footprints and planting tongues to scare away the documentarians or what? This movie makes me ask too many questions I don't really care to know the answer to. Sloppy, mediocre film. 21) Blood Glacier (2013) Or Blutgletscher, Glazius, and The Station depending on your country/language, I guess. Better film but still not good. Kind of a shortage of snow for the theme but I guess I should have read the movie description better. The idea was a little interesting if a bit of a stretch for a layman, and I was a little disappointed by the monsters and relative lack of look at them. But I guess its a hard concept to picture in a clean or logical way. There was some decent horror clearly inspired or reminiscent of The Thing or Alien and I definitely find the idea of being impregnated with a hybrid mutant by a mosquito sting utterly horrifying. But it felt much more like a character piece than a horror, which I'm not necessarily against. I liked Janek and hated those stupid scientists. And the Minister was a bad rear end. But then the weird final act turn of Tanja and Janek choosing to keep the Janek/Dog hybrid baby was just super freaky and weird. I fear Tanja might have gone a little batty up on that glacier. I don't know. A better film but still not a good film. These weren't terrible films, but they weren't much better than mediocre either. The Tally Only first time films watched in October count to the challenge. Any repeat viewings are Ineligible (I). Pre-October Warm Up V/H/S (2012) / V/H/S 2 (2013) / Sinister (2012) / Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011) / State Of Emergency (2011) / We Are What We Are (2013) Week 1: Oct 1st to 7th 1) Insidious (2010) / 2) Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) / 3) Enter Nowhere (2011) / 4) The Nurse (2013) / 5) American Mary (2012) / (I) Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995) / 6) Re-Animator (1985) / 7) The Lords of Salem (2013) Week 2: Oct 8th to 14th 8) Paranormal Activity (2007) / 9) Trollhunter (2010) / 10) The Woman in Black (2012) / 11) 1408 (2007) /12) Dead Before Dawn (2012) / 13) ParaNorman (2012) / 14) Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) Week 3: Oct 15th to 21st 15) The Hole (2009) / 16) The Den (2013) / 17) Ravenous (1999) / 18) All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006) / 19) John Carpenter's The Ward (2011) / 20) The Devil's Pass (2013) / 21) Blood Glacier (2013) STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Oct 20, 2014 |
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Oct 20, 2014 23:41
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Day 20 - Bay of Blood didn't do a lot to make me go, "Yes, I now get Italian horror and I have to go seek out more." It's not for me, and that's fair enough. A developer wants to turn a bay from wilderness to a party resort and a lot of people kill a lot of other people over this. It winds up being a lot more complicated than that (did we really need multiple teams of killers?), but really it's just an excuse for a lot of stabbings. I've heard that this film was extremely influential on the slasher genre and I can see that. There's a pack of kids who don't have a lot to do with the rest of the film who just show up at One more thing, that ending was one of the most absurd, audacious things I think I've seen. It wasn't worth sitting through the rest of the movie for it from my perspective, but that was something that made me go, "Yeah, I could see how someone would talk that up." After getting away with murder including murdering a bunch of other murderers who were murdering for most of the same reasons, a couple is gunned down by their young children out of nowhere. The kids were referred to when these characters were introduced pretty late into the movie, had one line of dialog before that ending, and then suddenly a rifle appears in the shot and they kill their parents.
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Oct 21, 2014 01:04
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Day 20 - The Hole Ending the spooky house week with a movie by an actual, honest-to-god director instead of the amateur hour shenanigans I’ve been dealing with. The Hole is directed by Joe Dante, the same guy that gave us Gremlins, and it has that very distinct Joe Dante feel to it. He does a good job of making movies that can appeal to both adults and kids with scares that are genuinely creepy without having to go over-the-top with gore or anything like that. Also, in case anyone still hasn’t realized it yet, this movie is not The Gate, no matter how similar the plots may seem. Full review in the link and let me just say that I enjoyed this a whole lot but that might be because it was actually charming and fun coupled with the fact that I had just watched A Haunting in Salem yesterday and that made me want to punch everyone.
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Oct 21, 2014 03:08
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 I'm still in the single digits with the number of times I've seen Suspiria, so every time I rewatch it, it's still a novel experience to me. I'm happy about that, since the film takes on such a dream/nightmare-like quality at times, between the excellent score, gorgeous set design, and the pervasive feeling of conspiracy. I'll be a little sad when I get to the point at which the sense of surprise goes away, but I doubt it'll arrive any time soon. The stand-out moments for me at this point are the maggots from the ceiling and the pit of wire. The first because that sting and the visuals just come together so well, and the second because the painful struggling feels as though it captures the film's main atmosphere in just a minute or so, right before explicit violence comes into play. Then again, there's so many golden moments in this movie that I'll probably find a new favorite the next time I watch it. Probably set for my top five at the end of the month.
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Oct 21, 2014 03:16
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A Cat in The Brain - I see this talked about regularly, and as a fan of Fulci, I'm glad I finally got to see it. The movie itself has a grand idea, but doesn't pull it off so well. It has a plodding pace and is kind of goofy. A lot of scenes and music is regurgitated from past Fulci movies, which works with the plot, but it almost seems like too much. I had to laugh that they show the same child chainsaw beheading THREE TIMES, but decide not to show the rather important shooting of the psychiatrist. /5 Night of The Demons - This one owes a lot other movies,The Evil Dead first and foremost. The special effects and make-up are above par, and the humor is good, but not quite as good or quickly paced as RoTLD. I was caught off guard when the girl shoves the lipstick into her boob. That might be the most effective jolt I've had yet this month, I was not expecting it at all and it looked realistic even at today's standards. I also couldn't help but to think of Doctor Claw each time the lead demon talked. I've seen much worse, but not one I'm likely to re-watch again any time soon. /5
Dr.Caligari fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Oct 21, 2014 |
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Oct 21, 2014 03:28
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Movie 23 is a classic I have no excuse for: The Invisible Man (1933): A scientist wrapped in bandages checks into a small village inn for an extended stay while he works on an experiment. Three guesses as to why he's wearing the bandages. The chemicals that make him opaquely challenged also drive him mad. After he is found out at the inn, he rampages a little and makes his way to his colleagues, whom he attempts to force into working for him. When they sell him out to the police, he rampages a lot. While the subject matter has since become hokey comic material in many cases, this film really can't be overestimated. The special effects are of a sort that is smooth and easily believable, outshining most stuff for the next fifty years at least. No cheesy stop motion or poorly hid wires here. Also, Claude Rains is incredible in the lead role, often having to give an amazing performance without being seen, and when he is seen, he commands the screen, wheeling from cold, quiet menace to wild, gesticulating megalomania. He is a truly frightening monster. There's a famous anecdote where Bela Lugosi refused the lead role in director James Whale's previous film, Frankenstein, on the grounds that people wouldn't see enough of his face to recognize him. I wonder if maybe that inspired Whale to then explore a movie where the lead isn't seen at all, and all the disturbing trapping such a menace would bring? And speaking of the menace, it's distressingly obvious that this film was made a year before the Hays Code began being enforced--the violence perpetrated by the eponymous villain is surprisingly brutal and graphic, many times with little warning or motivation, the likes of which would be rare for another thirty years. If you haven't seen this film yet and are at all interested in horror, then I lump you in with me and say you have no good excuse. /5
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Oct 21, 2014 03:53
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I haven't posted the last couple days, but I've managed to keep on track with my horror viewings still: Saturday was Trick r Treat, a movie I saw a few years ago and didn't care much for. Coming back to it, I had a lot more fun. It's a very silly movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, but I enjoy the way the five stories interact with one another. Also, it's nice to see great actors like Brian Cox, Anna Paquin, and Dylan Baker cut loose and devour every ounce of scenery in sight. Looks like they had a blast making it. Sunday my friend managed to track down The Stone Tape, and I've got to give thanks to whoever recommended it in this thread. I've been a fan of Nigel Kneale ever since I watched his Beasts series last year, and this one might be his best work I've seen (still haven't gotten to any Quatermass stuff, though). The idea feels very Lovecraftian without seeming like a rip-off/adaptation, Kneale is always able to make the best out of having absolutely zero budget, and the acting is top-notch. I love the gleeful way Kneale dives into using science as a way of understanding the supernatural, and how it doesn't always work out. The film is pretty short, but it feels very full and keeps the intensity up throughout pretty much its entire run. Definitely the best hidden gem of the month so far. Tonight I decided to double down on obscure British horror and I selected one of my favourites, the 1945 Dead of Night. It's an anthology film done by Ealing Studios, and featuring some of their major directorial talent (two of the directors were Robert Hamer (Kind Hearts and Coronets) and Charles Crichton (The Ladykillers, A Fish Called Wanda)). The frame story is actually quite neat: a man comes to a cottage to do some architectural work, and becomes convinced that he has been there before in a dream, and that something horrible is just about to happen. The other guests at the cottage (including a psychologist) are more amused than anything by the man's story, and proceed to tell their own encounters with the supernatural. For such an old film, I'm surprised at how effectively creepy/scary some of it is. The first two stories aren't amazing, but the ones involving the mirror and the dummy are great (the latter helped by a performance by the always-great Michael Redgrave). There's also a ghost story about golfers that actually manages to be pretty charmingly funny. The frame story is told with lots of low-angle and deep shots which turn this cozy English cottage into an uncanny, scary place. The last ten or so minutes of the movie are totally loving bonkers, in the best possible way. It's a movie I always recommend to people, because I'm surprised how well it has aged and because it seems to have something for pretty much everyone into horror movies.
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Oct 21, 2014 03:59
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Were you the first guy who posted about BEASTS here?
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Oct 21, 2014 04:00
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Choco1980 posted:Movie 23 is a classic I have no excuse for: The Invisible Man is one of my favorite horror movies and favorite movies period. I think it's funny that you mention that the subject has since become a hokey joke, since the original film really is a pitch black comedy as much as anything else. This goes part and parcel with the film's pre-Code violence: it very much makes light of Rains' ability to evade capture by the incompetent police and to basically how being driven mad with power allows him to be a kind of absurd hero. There's also something that a lot of films with similar subjects neglect, which is the concept of an invisible foe representing our fears in the most abstract ways because you literally don't know if he's there but simply knowing that he exists allows you to feel his power and terror even when you're just imagining his presence.
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Oct 21, 2014 04:26
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Movie 21: Thinner Another Stephen King movie. I enjoyed this one much more than Firestarter, but I still wouldn't go so far to call it a great movie. It's a movie about a gypsy cursing a man (Halleck) after he accidentally runs over another gypsy while receiving roadhead, and it deals with institutional racism and corruption. These themes are really only touched on in the loosest sense though. We aren't ever really given a reason to feel sorry for the gypsies. They're portrayed as simple at best, and evil at worst. Even when the matriarch of one of their family dies she is treated as an afterthought and our attention is drawn towards the good old boy nature of the justice system. Halleck even refers to himself as a "white man from the town" to show how angry he is at the gypsies. The more I write about this movie the more I'm disliking it. The visual effects are really unambitious. This movie does not capture the emaciation of Halleck very well. He looks thin, but he really should have just been skin and bones by the end. Overall I can't recommend this one where better gypsy curse movies like Drag Me to Hell exists.
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Oct 21, 2014 04:54
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