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I thought Noroi was entertaining but I'd hesitate to call it "fantastic." It certainly failed at being scary. The Ring remake was much better done that the original. Hideo Nakata gets a lot of accolades but I think his movies are terrible, and he definitely helped ruin The Ring Two. Honestly I think Japanese horror is overrated. I don't find long haired ghost children scary, and I can appreciate a slow moving plot if the film has atmosphere, but Japanese horror films rarely build up anything interesting, and what atmosphere they may have gets thrown away the moment the inevitable long haired ghost child shows up. Hell, I hated the original Grudge movies so much, I haven't even taken a look at the remakes.
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Jul 15, 2010 06:33
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toxick posted:
I haven't seen the original Grudge film but the remake is hilariously awful, especially the effects at the end. Adding my two cents to The Ring vs Ringu I prefer Ringu a hell of a lot more. Sure Naomi Watts puts in a good performance but the mood from Ringu is replaced with bad effects and worse jump scares. The film also doesn't make any sense and the Sadako/Samara coming out of the TV thing was awfully done. I will say that I think Dark Water is probably Nakata's best film and he'll never top it.
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Jul 15, 2010 08:36
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I'm beginning to suspect that Ireland as a country turns it's nose to the horror genre.
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Jul 18, 2010 00:05
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toxick posted:I thought Noroi was entertaining but I'd hesitate to call it "fantastic." It certainly failed at being scary. It scared the absolute poo poo out of me. Maybe not like "OH gently caress!" scary at the time, but its been a year since I watched it and there are certain scenes that still haunt me now (the voice whispering "Kagutaba," the girl's sudden moan when the other woman is making food then the shot of her just standing in the room, the kid in the window with the faint sound of babies crying, the crazy guy screaming at the end when you see the kid's distorted face...) A lot of it really got under my skin for some reason. I'm biased because I love fake documentaries though Waterhaul posted:Adding my two cents to The Ring vs Ringu I prefer Ringu a hell of a lot more. Sure Naomi Watts puts in a good performance but the mood from Ringu is replaced with bad effects and worse jump scares. The film also doesn't make any sense and the Sadako/Samara coming out of the TV thing was awfully done. I will say that I think Dark Water is probably Nakata's best film and he'll never top it. Me too. There's a lot more scary stuff in the original to me than the remake. I'm a lot more unnerved by Sadako's hands being seen on the balcony, the murmuring coming from the bottom of the well and the shot of the TV with the husband reflected in it pointing at the bag with the towel over his head. I also thought the video was much creepier in the original than the remake. The remake was fine, but it was like it took the scary stuff and blew it up to much bigger proportions for American audiences. Changing the death expressions to make them look gross, Samara's sudden shift of position when she came out of the tv. Clearly seeing her face wrecked it for me, too. Its not a bad film and it does have its creepy moments. I like the blue/grey colour palette as well, although the film always feels very big and open, never claustrophic or really creepy. The horse/boat scene is still loving hilarious though and always will be.
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Jul 18, 2010 01:03
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Slasherfan posted:I'm beginning to suspect that Ireland as a country turns it's nose to the horror genre. Yeah, I can't think of too many Irish horror films off the top of my head, other than the much-hated Shrooms and the zombie movie Dead Meat. Oh, and Rawhead Rex. Which is pretty much the worst movie ever.
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Jul 18, 2010 03:45
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ITS WEEKEND DAD posted:Yeah, I can't think of too many Irish horror films off the top of my head, other than the much-hated Shrooms and the zombie movie Dead Meat. I don't really mean in the movies we make, I'm more talking about Irish peoples attitute towards the genre in general.
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Jul 18, 2010 04:12
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Nthing the recommendation of Dorothy Mills for those of you who think Ireland is incapable of putting out a good horror flick. It takes a similar theme as The Wicker Man and runs wild with it. I'm so thankful for this thread, for turning me on to films like that one. And Shrooms, even if none of you fuckers can acknowledge its goodness. Haters.
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Jul 18, 2010 09:39
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eckoelab posted:just saw the preview for Let Me In which is the American remake of Let The Right One In I really don't think they'll be able to match the original. I watched Let the Right One In with subtitles and even though I didn't know what the kids were saying, they really sold it. I was pretty drat impressed actually by how good they acted. These other kids just don't seem to have the heart. ITS WEEKEND DAD posted:Oh, and Rawhead Rex. Which is pretty much the worst movie ever. I will fight you!
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Jul 18, 2010 14:49
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ITS WEEKEND DAD posted:Yeah, I can't think of too many Irish horror films off the top of my head, other than the much-hated Shrooms and the zombie movie Dead Meat. I loving loved Rawhead Rex when I was a kid. Sure the movie sucked but I loved Clive Barker even then (I was a weird kid) and the makeup effects on that monster were pretty allright. It looked scary enough to 10 year old me.
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Jul 18, 2010 15:12
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I'm wondering of Paranormal Activity 2 will be as big a hit as the first one. Working in a video store I've had a lot of angry people returning it complaining about it. But I've also had people saying they couldn't sleep a wink after watching it.
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Jul 18, 2010 15:19
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I thought Paranormal Activity was terrible. I was pretty neutral for almost the whole movie, up until the last 5 minutes, which were so ridiculously cheesy and badly done, it left a terrible taste in my mouth. It was certainly no way to cap off the previous mediocre 80 minutes. I think I gave up hope after the ouija board burst into flames. I couldn't help but wonder who wouldn't be laughing at that point. Sometimes it seems like I'm the only person who didn't like PA 
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Jul 18, 2010 16:19
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And I don't get how people thought Blair Witch was scary, but whatever. I personally was creeped the gently caress out by most of PA, and scared shitless when she got dragged, but I definitely think the alternate ending where she opens her own throat would've been the best way to finish that off. Better than the police ending, better than the theatrical one.
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Jul 18, 2010 16:22
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Whoa, opens her own throat? What? Like some kind of weird supernatural gaping void in her neck thing, or a gory Mirrors-esque ripping it open? 
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Jul 18, 2010 16:44
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Whispering Machines posted:Whoa, opens her own throat? What? Like some kind of weird supernatural gaping void in her neck thing, or a gory Mirrors-esque ripping it open? No, she just stares into the camera and takes a knife to her throat.
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Jul 18, 2010 16:47
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Whispering Machines posted:Whoa, opens her own throat? What? Like some kind of weird supernatural gaping void in her neck thing, or a gory Mirrors-esque ripping it open? The entire last night was completely reshot for the theatrical ending. Lots of little differences, but she still goes downstairs, you hear the scream, Micah tear-asses downstairs, there's a scuffle, and then the footsteps on the stairs. This time though there's no jump scare. She walks in, shuts the door, walks in front of the camera, and takes the knife to her own throat and collapses. The tape rolls for a few more seconds before cutting to the credits, obviously without the "Police found blah blah" title card. It's incredibly effective and I think it's ultimately much scarier than the whole jump scare ending, even though it doesn't leave it open for a sequel.
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Jul 18, 2010 16:59
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Watched PA last night, it just failed to pull me in. Can't quite place my finger on why though, but I'm willing to bet that I have heard way to much hype for it and get huge expectations. Almost tempted to watch the Asylum knock-off Paranormal Entity to see if its any better.
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Jul 18, 2010 17:49
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toxick posted:I thought Paranormal Activity was terrible. I was pretty neutral for almost the whole movie, up until the last 5 minutes, which were so ridiculously cheesy and badly done, it left a terrible taste in my mouth. It was certainly no way to cap off the previous mediocre 80 minutes. You're not. And I really wanted to like it too. I like the story, I think some of the spooky stuff was well done enough even though I felt like I was being beaten over the head with explanations for what was going on throughout the film which I didn't need or want. But the two leads were so unlikeable. Right from the getgo I just couldn't stand the boyfriend and some of his behaviour and deliberate provocation made my head hurt. I had absolutely no sympathy for the either of them by the end and whole finale just fell flat for me. Dickeye posted:And I don't get how people thought Blair Witch was scary, but whatever. I personally was creeped the gently caress out by most of PA, and scared shitless when she got dragged, but I definitely think the alternate ending where she opens her own throat would've been the best way to finish that off. Better than the police ending, better than the theatrical one. Blair Witch Project is one of my favourite found-footage films, but a big part of it for me is the Curse of the Blair Witch companion piece. I found parts of PA interesting, but it never really scared me. I didn't understand where the "scariest movie of the year" hype came from at all. I agree with you about the alternate ending though, the jump scare theatrical one was just stupid.
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Jul 18, 2010 17:53
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Blair Witch as an idea and a marketing campaign is great, don't get me wrong. Everything that built up the found footage thing was brilliant. But the actual movie itself just collapsed
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Jul 18, 2010 18:05
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I think the problem with movies like Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch is you can watch them once and that's about it, I don't think they age well either, well, Blair Witch hasn't.
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Jul 18, 2010 18:23
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Dickeye posted:Blair Witch as an idea and a marketing campaign is great, don't get me wrong. Everything that built up the found footage thing was brilliant. It's all subjective of course but I thought the movie was the perfect campfire tale. It builds a mythos, gradually demonstrates the mythology, and then holds its hand out to the audience. When I saw it, it was the most amazing thing as the entire audience was intently listening for sounds in the woods and a tittering started to ripple through the crowd as they heard sounds of children and the like. Hell, the entire final scene only makes sense and is scary if you understand the context of the film. You rarely see that kind of audience outreach and necessary participation. Even Paranormal Activity relies on setups that you could see as a snippet on The Daily Show or Letterman and understand why it was scary. Much of the scary portions of TBW only work in context and if you lean forward and get into the experience, like a campfire tale. It's the kind of movie you'd have to sit down and take on in full rather than skip to the "scary parts".
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Jul 18, 2010 18:24
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I took BWP in in full on HBO and I still wanted my money back. The last scene, more specifcally the final shot, is still scary, but the rest of the movie didn't bother me and I was just bored. Paranormal Activity, to me anyway, did a much better job of building the tension with the little things, and then slowly ramping it up until she gets dragged down the hall. And not to keep singing the praises, but if you have a chance, rent it, and watch the whole movie with the alternate ending, because I honestly think that that works so much better than the jump scare we got.
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Jul 18, 2010 18:28
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Dickeye posted:watch the whole movie with the alternate ending, because I honestly think that that works so much better than the jump scare we got. The version I saw was the theatrical version, and the fact that Spielberg was responsible for the theatrical ending is mind boggling. The original ending sounds much better but still wouldn't make me feel like I didn't waste 85 minutes. I'd like to echo Crackerman's dislike of the characters. I felt the same way. The boyfriend was a goddamn douche.
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Jul 18, 2010 19:04
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The first time I watch PA, I saw it with the ending with the cops. I watched it a few weeks later with some other friends and caught the version with the jump scare and couldn't help but be all, "that was loving lame"
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Jul 18, 2010 19:23
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Crackerman posted:But the two leads were so unlikeable. Right from the getgo I just couldn't stand the boyfriend and some of his behaviour and deliberate provocation made my head hurt. I had absolutely no sympathy for the either of them by the end and whole finale just fell flat for me. I totally agree. Paranormal Activity had a really cool atmosphere but the two main characters were just so nasty and irritating that I didn't really care what happened to them. The movie itself didn't really live up to the hype but I liked it a hell of a lot more than the Blair Witch. I think Slasherfan pretty much nailed it when he said they were both only worth watching once.
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Jul 18, 2010 19:28
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toxick posted:The version I saw was the theatrical version, and the fact that Spielberg was responsible for the theatrical ending is mind boggling. The original ending sounds much better but still wouldn't make me feel like I didn't waste 85 minutes. Not the original ending, dammit. Alternate. The suicide one. It's head and shoulders above either the theatrical ending or the one with the police. Also, Micah's supposed to come off as a douche. He's reacting like a stereotypical dude: Something is in his house, loving with his girlfriend, and by god he doesn't need any help, he can fix this problem himself. I mean it's the tired old "why don't you call a plumber" bit, but with a demon.
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Jul 18, 2010 19:29
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Dickeye posted:Paranormal Activity, to me anyway, did a much better job of building the tension with the little things, and then slowly ramping it up until she gets dragged down the hall. See I thought the build up was ruined by the constant need to reinforce the small incidents with explanations and references to demons and things that happened in the past. With the Blair Witch Project you get the build up beforehand, but when the weird stuff starts happening no one is saying "MAYBE IT IS THE BLAIR WITCH?!" The characters are completely non-plussed and as clueless as the audience, possibly even moreso. Slasherfan posted:I think the problem with movies like Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch is you can watch them once and that's about it, I don't think they age well either, well, Blair Witch hasn't. I dunno, I've watched it a few times. In fact I've watched it twice in the last month or so, once with commentary. Plus the documentary. I think its aged fine, since it was already set nearly a decade before it was actually released. It doesn't feel of a particular era to me. I think I can understand why some people wouldn't be interested in seeing it again though. toxick posted:I'd like to echo Crackerman's dislike of the characters. I felt the same way. The boyfriend was a goddamn douche. The worst part is that the more of a dick he is, for no reason for the most part, the more of a whiny little girl she turns into. I know that it "feeds off negative energy" and there relationship deteriorating is meant to reflect that, but drat man find a loving balance. Make the characters actually likeable at all in the first place before turning them into a couple of loud, spiteful, overgrown children. Its one of the things that made the film feel really amateur to me. I thought the Blair Witch Project handled escalating conflict and tension much better, probably because of the way it was made. The only thing I still don't like is Mike kicking the map into the creek because its totally pointless. edit: Dickeye posted:Also, Micah's supposed to come off as a douche. He's reacting like a stereotypical dude: Something is in his house, loving with his girlfriend, and by god he doesn't need any help, he can fix this problem himself. I mean it's the tired old "why don't you call a plumber" bit, but with a demon. The problem is he's a dick right from the start, before anything even happens. I understand his behaviour to a point and what they were trying to do with the character, but it goes above and beyond human logic and becomes "I'M A PRICK BECAUSE THE STORY REQUIRES IT OF ME!" Crackerman fucked around with this message at 19:35 on Jul 18, 2010 |
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Jul 18, 2010 19:33
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Defleshed posted:Do they really think American horror fans are so dumb that we can't read subtitles and need an American English remake of every popular foreign horror film that comes out? But for the record, "they" think so because it happens to be 100% true. Americans in general-- whether horror fans or fans of any other genre-- really are literally that stupid. Really. Seriously. I'm not exaggerating. As much as you or I or anyone else on these forums may decry it, it's the absolute truth. We're in an infinitely small minority in this country. There's a reason the originals stay obscure and these remakes keep happening.   e: I'll still see it probably if only because it looks like that Chloe Moretz girl will be really good in it. As over-the-top-ridiculous as Kick-rear end is (the only thing I've seen her in, I believe), you can tell she's got real talent. I get a real Natalie Portman in The Profession kind of vibe from her. It's rare that you see young actors/actresses with raw talent like that. So I'm interested on that level at least. UncleMonkey fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Jul 18, 2010 |
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Jul 18, 2010 20:24
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UncleMonkey posted:I've been on this before in other threads about my personal experiences in this issue so I won't rehash those yet again here. Working in a video store I can tell you that people do not like subtitles. I couldn't tell you the amount of complaints we get from people pissed off about getting a subtitled movie. They can't even see the sticker on the front that says "Subtitled". If it where up to me I'd probably refused to exchange the movies since it's clearly labeled in the box.
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Jul 18, 2010 20:36
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Slasherfan posted:Working in a video store I can tell you that people do not like subtitles. I couldn't tell you the amount of complaints we get from people pissed off about getting a subtitled movie. They can't even see the sticker on the front that says "Subtitled". If it where up to me I'd probably refused to exchange the movies since it's clearly labeled in the box. I would think video stores (where they still exist) are easier with the advent of DVD. Now people have the option of turning off subtitles and turning on an English dub track. But who am I kidding? With that crowd, it probably doesn't make a difference.
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Jul 18, 2010 20:41
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UncleMonkey posted:Yep, my experiences come from video store jobs as well. Customers come in and get a video that their friends told them they had to see, ignore the stickers, and 30 minutes later they're back and fuming. I had video cassettes thrown at my head on several occasions. A lot of DVDs don't seem to have a dubbed track. At the moment we're having issues with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. You even get a lot of people asking for an English version of the movie.
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Jul 18, 2010 20:51
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id be interested to hear what the people who didnt find PA scary consider a 'scary' movie in their eyes. i saw both PA and BWP in the cinema (essential) and rank them both as some of the scariest movies i ever saw, and i've seen a fuckload of scary movies. my weedy boss at work always claims he is alpha male supreme because 'films dont scare him' yeah no poo poo it didnt scare you when youre sat watching it on a tiny macbook with the lights on in your front room.
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Jul 18, 2010 23:07
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Boring posted:id be interested to hear what the people who didnt find PA scary consider a 'scary' movie in their eyes. i saw both PA and BWP in the cinema (essential) and rank them both as some of the scariest movies i ever saw, and i've seen a fuckload of scary movies. I found BWP a lot scarier. I'm not sure what it was about PA that made it so ineffective for me, because Im a real sucker for exactly the sort of thing that was in it. Like I said earlier in the thread that Noroi film haunts me to this day, certain images from the original Ring creep me the gently caress out as well. But somehow nothing from PA stuck. I think maybe part of it was the repeated explanations for what was happening, like "its a demon, a demon did it, a demon is doing it. Things were demystified too early, both characters seemed to know pretty well what they were dealing with so it just became a matter of sitting around twiddling your thumbs waiting for the next thing to happen. With BWP you don't know what is coming next, and you don't know what's really behind it. The myth of the witch is built up a lot beforehand, but its never expressly said its her thats causing it. You've also got the whole scene in the house at the end which, the first time you watch it, comes a complete surprise. I find things that are inexplicable far scarier than things that are explained, even when the explanations are totally outlandish themselves. The not-knowing is the scariest part. Imagery is a big part of it for me as well. Apart from the shadow on the door, I can't think of anything visceral or visual that really grabbed me in PA, while Ring has the reflection-in-the-tv shot, or Noroi has the weird demon face. edit: Sorry to keep adding to the post, but there's a mythology, or a potential mythology to BWP that was missing from PA as well. So much goes unexplained that is only fed by the Curse of the Blair Witch that it makes room for endless explanation. PA just tells you. Crackerman fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Jul 19, 2010 |
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Jul 18, 2010 23:57
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Boring posted:id be interested to hear what the people who didnt find PA scary consider a 'scary' movie in their eyes. i saw both PA and BWP in the cinema (essential) and rank them both as some of the scariest movies i ever saw, and i've seen a fuckload of scary movies. The first Alien movie for me. I was 10, saw it with my family the night it hit HBO for the first time. At the beginning, everybody was all sprawled around the room on different chairs, thinking this was going to be along the lines of previous sci fi/horror like the old War of the Worlds, Incredible Melting Man, that kind of hokey stuff. By the last 10 minutes of Alien everybody was dead quiet and had gathered together all on the sofa for 'protection'. I'm 40 years old now and looking back at what was considered sci fi horror before Ridley Scott's work was indeed pretty cheesy and not scary. Still to this day as an adult, if I hear a bump in the night while in my apartment the first thing to pop into my head is not "Oh, its a burglar trying to get in!" it is instead "Oh, poo poo! Its a loving Alien!" even the horrible AVP movies have not shaken this embedded scared shitless 10 year old kid mindset from me. BWP was not very scary at all. It had some suspenseful moments, but I found it more annoying than anything else. It seems like a lot of so-called horror movies now instead of making a variety of characters will just settle for making them all annoying. (Open Water, Cloverfield, The Strangers and some others come to mind). Paranormal Activity (which I have not seen)just seems like more of the same flawed crap that BWP suffered from. Other movies that scared me from back then: The original Halloween, original Texas Chainsaw, Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Goldblum and Sutherland.
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Jul 19, 2010 00:03
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Boring posted:id be interested to hear what the people who didnt find PA scary consider a 'scary' movie in their eyes. i saw both PA and BWP in the cinema (essential) and rank them both as some of the scariest movies i ever saw, and i've seen a fuckload of scary movies. When I was 13 I watched Jaws for the first time and it kinda ruined beach trips that summer. More recently, I saw a midnight showing of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre at a drive-in during a downpour which was a pretty creepy atmosphere. I never did see Blair Witch in theaters, maybe if I had I would appreciate it more.
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Jul 19, 2010 00:31
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I guess not alot happens action wise in Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch Project so if you don't find them scary you'd be bored out of your mind. Quite a few horror movies tend to keep the action flowing so if you're not scared by them you might be entertained by the on screen mayhem.
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Jul 19, 2010 00:40
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Slasherfan posted:I'm wondering of Paranormal Activity 2 will be as big a hit as the first one. Working in a video store I've had a lot of angry people returning it complaining about it. But I've also had people saying they couldn't sleep a wink after watching it. I think it'll be about half as successful as the first one, which would actally still be pretty good considering I'm sure it's not a very expensive movie.
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Jul 19, 2010 00:47
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Dickeye posted:The entire last night was completely reshot for the theatrical ending. Lots of little differences, but she still goes downstairs, you hear the scream, Micah tear-asses downstairs, there's a scuffle, and then the footsteps on the stairs. I also prefer that one, because earlier in the film Micah mimes that exact motion with a butcher knife in the kitchen, saying that's what he's going to do to whatever's in their house. With that ending, it turns a fairly mundane "Micah's a dick" sequence into a nasty little bit of foreshadowing.
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Jul 19, 2010 01:10
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Bonk posted:I also prefer that one, because earlier in the film Micah mimes that exact motion with a butcher knife in the kitchen, saying that's what he's going to do to whatever's in their house. With that ending, it turns a fairly mundane "Micah's a dick" sequence into a nasty little bit of foreshadowing. It is better, but it still doesn't solve the fact that you think "oh god finally" when it actually happens.
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Jul 19, 2010 01:20
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I think the knife ending works better for DVD viewing and the jump ending works better for cinemas.
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Jul 19, 2010 01:22
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I would have liked to have seen it in the cinema to see the rest of the audience's reaction, although a lot of the time I'm completely confused by the way the crowd reacts. I remember when I went to see Drag Me To Hell, everyone was responding to scares and jokes, everyone was jumping or laughing or nervously muttering in all the right places. Then when everyone came out at the end I could just hear people talking about how poo poo the film was. 
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Jul 19, 2010 01:33
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