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Amber Sweet
Apr 30, 2009

Franchescanado posted:

Both series have documentaries about the cultural impact and the making of the movies. Crystal Lake Memories is good, but Never Sleep Again is fantastic. Don't be intimidated by the 4 hour length. It flies by and never drags.
I turned on Never Sleep Again a little while ago for some background noise while I worked on an art project, totally intending to watch it in pieces because no way was I gonna sit through 4 hours... a half hour in and my project ended up totally cast to the side and forgotten about and I was totally sucked in. I watched the whole thing in one go. Hands down one of the absolute best movie documentaries I've ever seen. It was fantastic. After I watched it I wanted to watch the entire series, but Netflix only has Part 2 so that's the only one I've watched so far.

Choco1980 posted:

Regarding Dark Water, this may sound crazy, but I would say it's the one case in the post-Ringu world where the US remake is better than the Asian original. It maintains the claustrophobic tone of the original, while handling the other "mundane" part of the story much better, to the point that you end up actually caring about it even more. It doesn't hurt that the cast knocks it out of the park though. I'd recommend it, but don't expect big scares.
That doesn't sound too crazy, I liked The Ring far, far more than Ringu. I do sort of always assume US remakes won't be as good, but since Dark Water has the same director as Ringu its not too much of a surprise that the US remake might be better. I'll have to check it out a bit later when Dark Water isn't so still fresh in my memory.

Speaking of, I might have to try to fit Ju-On in my binge somewhere. It's been while since I've seen it but I remember it being fantastic. I liked it so much I watched The Grudge almost immediately after, and while it was a solid effort I don't think it came close to Ju-On. It is one of the few Japanese horror movies I didn't find slow paced at all.

Any other Asian horror movie recs? They're usually full of ghosts so they always catch my interest, but the slow moving trait a lot of them seem to have turns me off.

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Lurdiak
Feb 26, 2006

I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do.


Choco1980 posted:

#5 Maniac Cop II (1990)

Robert Z'Dar returns as a sorta zombified evil cop, out to get revenge on those that wronged him, both in the system and out. His morals are getting more confused as he befriends a local serial killer and they go on a rampage together.

Despite the lean plot, this movie was all kinds of fun, placing it squarely in the realm of late 80's slashers. The film somehow improves on the lunacy of the first film, and has a plot where there seems to be zero thinking actually going on. The New York grime that both Larry Cohen and Bill Lustig bring to the table is definitely here, though in lesser amounts than their past bodies of work. It was a perfect palate cleanser for me. Thanks to Lurdiak for his stream last night aiding me in my attempt to meet the challenge!

:spooky::spooky::spooky::spooky:/5

Dr.Caligari posted:

I joined the fella's to watch this last night, and holy smokes is it bad. If you are, for some reason, nostalgic for the 90s, then this should fit the bill. An overload of 90s fashion, schtick and CGI , all wrapped up in a package with a plot and characters you won't care about. The goon chat made it fun however and I'm looking forward to joining the 'scream stream' again.


I'm glad you both had fun! I'm already making preparations for next friday's stream. You're both welcome to join again.

And yes, American Werewolf in Paris was nearly unwatchable. I don't screen these films ahead of time, so sometimes you get "pleasant" surprises like this.

Franchescanado posted:

I do have a sperg moment about FvJ, though. They make a big deal about Jason being afraid of water, it's his weakness. However, I believe there are several deaths throughout the Friday series that involves Jason swimming and killing someone in the water.

It's a contrived psychological weakness they invented for the film, but it actually makes perfect sense, and I'd have liked to see future films use it. Of course they went and rebooted the Friday series with that flop turd remake in 2009, so never mind.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Lurdiak posted:


It's a contrived psychological weakness they invented for the film, but it actually makes perfect sense, and I'd have liked to see future films use it. Of course they went and rebooted the Friday series with that flop turd remake in 2009, so never mind.

I suppose this isn't the thread to debate whether it was good or bad(personally I think it may be the best of the entire series), but the Friday remake wasn't a flop at all. It had a very successful opening weekend and ended up making a decent amount of money. Its getting a sequel so the studio obviously didn't see it as a flop.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer
Yeah, everybody, don't be afraid to discuss horror movies or ask for recommendations or anything. That's what this is all about. Just don't be an rear end in a top hat, and it's all good.

Lurdiak posted:

It's a contrived psychological weakness they invented for the film, but it actually makes perfect sense, and I'd have liked to see future films use it. Of course they went and rebooted the Friday series with that flop turd remake in 2009, so never mind.

I know it was invented for the movie. I was just mentioning that it definitely contradicts aspects of the earlier movies. A quick look at this list shows Samantha in Part IV dies in a raft. I was just sperging.

Basebf555 posted:

I suppose this isn't the thread to debate whether it was good or bad(personally I think it may be the best of the entire series), but the Friday remake wasn't a flop at all. It had a very successful opening weekend and ended up making a decent amount of money. Its getting a sequel so the studio obviously didn't see it as a flop.

I really liked the Friday the 13th remake, and I added it to the list of sequels Amber Sweet was asking about. It adds to the series without taking anything away, they went back to a cruel fast Jason like the original four movies, it didn't go through the remake bullshit like A Nightmare on Elm Street (which was terrible and boring), and you can tell everyone involved in the movie had a complete blast. It's easily better than Parts 8, 9 and Jason X. I saw it twice in theaters. Of all of the iconic slasher remakes, I thought it was the best one, with Rob Zombie's Halloween a close second.

Also, this chart is loving cool, but it's spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen the whole series, so...

Choco1980
Feb 22, 2013

I fell in love with a Video Nasty
Call me crazy, but I see absolutely ZERO evidence for why the "remake" of F13 is one at all, and not a sequel. At least, anything that at all sets it apart from so many of the other sequels in the series.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer
Agreed, "reboot" is more appropriate.

Random Stranger
Nov 27, 2009



Basebf555 posted:

I've watched a bunch of anthologies this week and I think I've decided that the magic number is 5. Each story gets 15-25 minutes and if you have one that is a little weak it doesn't have enough time to bring the rest down. I think because of this I have changed my mind and decided that I like Creepshow better than Creepshow 2.

I know people love "The Raft", but I feel that Creepshow is better overall than Creepshow 2.

Amber Sweet posted:

Any other Asian horror movie recs? They're usually full of ghosts so they always catch my interest, but the slow moving trait a lot of them seem to have turns me off.

Well, Kwaidan was mentioned earlier in the thread and it's a cinema classic for a reason. I liked Pulse but it's pretty weird.

I've actually got a small list of Asian films to watch this month since Hulu seems to have a good number of them available. The Coffin is on my list, though I don't know if I'd recommend it.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Random Stranger posted:

I know people love "The Raft", but I feel that Creepshow is better overall than Creepshow 2.


I absolutely LOVE The Raft, and for a while I thought its presence alone made Creepshow 2 better, but when I watched them again this week I changed my mind. The Raft is by far the best story in either one, but the original just flows much better and has a more consistent quality mainly because it has five stories in it, as I mentioned earlier in the thread.

If you edit The Raft into the first Creepshow you have a perfect anthology I guess. Oh well.

caligulamprey
Jan 23, 2007

It never stops.

THANK FOR THE RIDE, LADY.

That poo poo makes me cackle like an idiot.

Tlacuache
Jul 3, 2007
Cross my heart, smack me dead, stick a lobster on my head.


Amber Sweet posted:

Any other Asian horror movie recs? They're usually full of ghosts so they always catch my interest, but the slow moving trait a lot of them seem to have turns me off.

Two of my favorites are Shutter and A Tale of Two Sisters.

#3: Ju-on: The Grudge. I liked the American remake well enough, and I think I like this one better. The story flows really well from one person to the next and most of the scares still creep me the gently caress out.

#4: Never Sleep Again. Agreeing with everyone who said that it's fantastic. Also, I need to get really drunk and watch A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 at some point. It sounds hilarious.

#5: The Sacrament. Not terrible. It's pretty much Jonestown: The Movie, but it got under my skin enough that I had nightmares about it. Then again, Jonestown has always creeped me out.

#6: The Awakening. Exactly the kind of ghost story I love. The plot twist was kind of predictable but well done enough that I want to rewatch it and look for indications of what was going on.

K. Waste
Feb 27, 2014

MORAL:
To the vector belong the spoils.
1) Re-Animator (1985)
2) Isle of the Dead (1945)
3) Full Moon High (1981)
4) The Innkeepers (2011)
5) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

6) Galaxy of Terror (1981)

I was pushin' it with how much I ended up liking Full Moon High, but I can safely say that Galaxy of Terror is my first real stinker of the season. It's gracefully distracting enough, but, I don't know, I guess "worm rape" is something I'm gonna have to deal with from now on.

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD
Sep 14, 2007

everything is yours
What of TCM2? Always curious to get people's thoughts on that bad boy.

Jose Oquendo
Jun 20, 2004

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a boring movie

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:

What of TCM2? Always curious to get people's thoughts on that bad boy.

It's amazing. It has Dennis Hopper dual-wielding chainsaws. 'Nuff said.

K. Waste
Feb 27, 2014

MORAL:
To the vector belong the spoils.

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:

What of TCM2? Always curious to get people's thoughts on that bad boy.

I wrote it up back when I watched it, but it's to TCM what Evil Dead II is to The Evil Dead; it's not just a fitting sequel, it's in some ways superior to the original.

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD
Sep 14, 2007

everything is yours

K. Waste posted:

I wrote it up back when I watched it, but it's to TCM what Evil Dead II is to The Evil Dead; it's not just a fitting sequel, it's in some ways superior to the original.

The correct opinion. It just seems unfair since it's a much more irritating movie.

caligulamprey
Jan 23, 2007

It never stops.

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:

What of TCM2? Always curious to get people's thoughts on that bad boy.
Second best horror movie punk soundtrack after "Return of the Living Dead."

It's hilarious and really, really mean-spirited with a truly whacked out ending shot.

Five million crazystars.

CelticPredator
Oct 11, 2013
🍀👽🆚🪖🏋

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:

What of TCM2? Always curious to get people's thoughts on that bad boy.

It's one of my favorites of all time.

"DOG WILL HUNT!"

Random Stranger
Nov 27, 2009



Day 6 - I didn't realize what I was getting into with Ravenous. I was expecting something like a more brutal version of Alive with a psuedo-Donner Party backstory. It turned out to be completely different, and constantly shifting in tone and threat. I wound up liking it a lot.

The set up does sound a lot like a horror film version of the Donner party. A weak man stumbles into a tiny fort in the northern California mountains and tells a story of a doomed expedition that has been forced to cannibalism to survive. A rescue party sets out from the fort and things go wrong. And then they go wrong in other ways.

I almost feel like Ravenous approaches a vampire movie. The way that the consumption of flesh triggers a transformation into supernatural monsters that are devoured by their own hungers. And then they insinuate themselves into society in a position of authority/nobility to eat the enlisted/peasants.


Speaking of vampires, next film for me is going to be Cronos.

whatshesaid
May 6, 2007
:spooky:
I'm working like a crazy person, so I've got some catching up to do to reach my goal of 31+ movies for the month, but tonight I'm going to watch Grave Encounters and The Blair Witch Project. It's been a long time since I've seen either. Bonus that they're both on Netflix. So far I've watched The Sacrament, The Legend of Hell House, and Day of the Dead. But for the last two, I was so drunk I wasn't paying attention. I think I fell asleep in my computer chair.

Holy poo poo The Sacrament. I'd read reviews, I knew exactly what to expect. It is pretty much Jonestown set in modern day. I've listened to the original Jonestown audiotapes, but it's been a while. This movie made me nauseous. As a childhood Christian-turned-adult-atheist, there's nothing loving scarier than this poo poo. Ugh. Watch it if you're interested in the Jonestown massacre, or if you like feeling disturbed.

Speed Crazy
Nov 7, 2011
I don't know why, but for some reason I had it in my head that Candyman was going to be a goofy 90's slasher romp, so I was not expecting something so dark and serious. It was really, really good on all fronts though. And the gothic synth score was basically perfect. Then today I watched The Sacrament, and there was a lot that I loved about it, but on the whole I don't think I can say I liked the film. I'm honestly having a hard time untangling my feelings about it because of the overt references to Jonestown. It's not like I thought it cheapened the real tragedy or anything, but this was the first movie I've ever watched that I felt I really did not need to see. Yet I don't think I wish I hadn't seen it, if that makes sense.

So after watching those two brutal movies, for tomorrow I could really use something goofy as hell. I'm thinking Blood Diner, but does anyone have any good recommendations?

mikeycp
Nov 24, 2010

I've changed a lot since I started hanging with Sonic, but I can't depend on him forever. I know I can do this by myself! Okay, Eggman! Bring it on!

Speed Crazy posted:

So after watching those two brutal movies, for tomorrow I could really use something goofy as hell. I'm thinking Blood Diner, but does anyone have any good recommendations?

Dale & Tucker vs. Evil is my go-to for goofy horror. Ju-on: White Ghost may (unintentionally) scratch that itch as well.

---

As for my list thus far:
#1 - Fright Night (Original)
#2 - The Fly 2
I had never seen either of these before. I liked them a lot. I am really fond of the makeup and SFX in particular, as I found them top-notch and effective for their particular sub-genre.

#3 - Darkness Falls
This suuuuucked. It's not often that I wish to be able to take back my 90 minutes, but this one gets pretty close for me. Holy crap I did not like this movie in any capacity.

#4 - Leprechaun
The girlfriend had never seen this before, so we watched it. It's Leprechaun, and I don't have anything particularly interesting to say about it.

#5 - The Den
We didn't really know what we were going into with this one. This is a really uncomfortable loving movie. We had to watch something really upbeat after this because it really got to us.

CopywrightMMXI
Jun 1, 2011

One time a guy stole some downhill skis out of my jeep and I was so mad I punched a mailbox. I'm against crime, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Movie 6: Saw (2004)

It's hard to believe that this franchise was THE Halloween franchise just a few years ago. The box office is dominated by demons and found footage now, but the 2000s were dominated by torture porn, and the Saw franchise was the king.

I decided to revisit the first instalment of this series tonight. This movie is really reliant on it's twist during the initial viewings. Subsequent viewings of any movie like this rely on making sense of the twist. It's fun to look for foreshadowing and clues when you know the ending. In that sense, I feel that this movie fails. I really don't feel that the ending could have been solved in advance. The twist involves a character that we don't even really meet.

With that said, I still enjoy this movie. It's mostly told in flashbacks and the main story largely serves as a framing device. The set design is really well done, and the gore is not as frequent as this movies premise or reputation suggests. Director James Wan also knows how to use quick cuts and the score to amplify tension.

I don't plan on venturing further into this series this year. The quality drops significantly over time as they rushed these every year to be in theatres in time.

whatshesaid
May 6, 2007
:spooky:

CopywrightMMXI posted:

It's hard to believe that this franchise was THE Halloween franchise just a few years ago. The box office is dominated by demons and found footage now, but the 2000s were dominated by torture porn

And thank loving god for this. I abhor torture porn. It's not "horror." It's base and disgusting. Let's get back to the demons and ghost stories! :ghost:

Pigbog
Apr 28, 2005

Unless that is Spider-man if Spider-man were a backyard wrestler or Kurt Cobain, your costume looks shitty.
1. Mama
2. Goke: Body Snatcher from Hell
3. Dead and Buried
4. Satan's Princess

5. From Beyond.
I kind of enjoyed From Beyond, the effects were great and so were the performances (I had no idea that Ken Foree was in this movie, which was a pleasant surprise). I could have done without the crass sexual stuff though.

6. Night of the Creeps.
I really enjoyed this. Tons of fun effects, likable characters, and a really stylish quality that it's hard to put my finger on.

I'm considering watching The Black Cat tonight as well, but maybe I ought to pace myself.

weekly font
Dec 1, 2004


Everytime I try to fly I fall
Without my wings
I feel so small
Guess I need you baby...



whatshesaid posted:

And thank loving god for this. I abhor torture porn. It's not "horror." It's base and disgusting. Let's get back to the demons and ghost stories! :ghost:

Eh, much like what we're seeing with FF now there is a way to do it well and a way to be lazy and lovely.

Pigbog posted:


6. Night of the Creeps.
I really enjoyed this. Tons of fun effects, likable characters, and a really stylish quality that it's hard to put my finger on.

Thrill me.

Choco1980
Feb 22, 2013

I fell in love with a Video Nasty

CopywrightMMXI posted:

Movie 6: Saw (2004)

I don't plan on venturing further into this series this year. The quality drops significantly over time as they rushed these every year to be in theatres in time.

I dunno, I'd say the first three films are all pretty decent and completely different ideas from one another (with the back four all kinda being the same idea recycled again and again) and I'd never argue that these are great films, but there's an odd sort of cohesion with each film's retconning of the rest that came before it that just kind of works in this satisfying way that very few long franchises do. Like, there's this point to the puzzle where you're very deliberately unable to see things until you're given enough pieces, and this rings true both in the first film on its own, and with each subsequent film as it reveals more information to you about what happened prior. In most other cases I would think it was sloppy due to the lack of foreshadowing or obvious clues, but here they construct it so drat methodically that you can't help but admire the finished work once you've stepped away.

Anyways, on to my own game:

1. Half-Caste (2004)
2. Grim (1995)
3. The Host (2006)
4. Para-Norman (2012)
5. Maniac Cop II (1990)

6. The Vampire Journals (1997)

Zachary is a several hundred year old vampire, but he is a self-loathing one. Armed with a magically endowed sword, he hunts down all the vampires in his bloodline. The current target is Master Vampire Ash, who runs a small empire in Eastern Europe, and may be too strong for Zachary to handle. Caught between them is a young piano virtuoso that has both their hearts...

Despite being technically a spin-off, this is the fourth of Ted Nicolau's five Subspecies films (apparently Zachary appears in Subspecies IV, but I haven't watched it yet), and this film makes for a curious footnote to the prior three films. Many of the themes and events of the series get reflected in this film, either in repetition or in contrast. However, the film has a much whinier, emo tone to it, with Zachary's "oh woe is me" narration bloating the film, rather than the series' trademark bizarre set-pieces and high violence. I really can't in good faith recommend this film to anyone who's not a Full Moon Pictures or Subspecies completist.

:spooky:.5/5

Pigbog
Apr 28, 2005

Unless that is Spider-man if Spider-man were a backyard wrestler or Kurt Cobain, your costume looks shitty.

It's miller time. :c00lbert:

Franco Potente
Jul 9, 2010

Amber Sweet posted:

I turned on Never Sleep Again a little while ago for some background noise while I worked on an art project, totally intending to watch it in pieces because no way was I gonna sit through 4 hours... a half hour in and my project ended up totally cast to the side and forgotten about and I was totally sucked in. I watched the whole thing in one go. Hands down one of the absolute best movie documentaries I've ever seen. It was fantastic. After I watched it I wanted to watch the entire series, but Netflix only has Part 2 so that's the only one I've watched so far.

I had almost the exact same experience tonight. I put on Never Sleep Again to have something to turn my mind off while I ate dinner, and ended up watching all four hours straight through. A really well-done, fascinating documentary that really highlights how impressive and well-loved the series is. I will definitely have to do a rewatch soon.

Pigbog posted:

5. From Beyond.
I kind of enjoyed From Beyond, the effects were great and so were the performances (I had no idea that Ken Foree was in this movie, which was a pleasant surprise). I could have done without the crass sexual stuff though.

This was my pick for tonight and I agree with you entirely. I liked the effects and the cast (Jeffrey Combs and Ken Foree!) but the sex stuff seemed to be really awkwardly added in and kind of detracted from the middle of the movie. Not as good as Re-Animator, but fun enough.

MachineryNoise
Jan 13, 2008

So I shout "Set your life on fire!"
October 6th: Jonathan (1970)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065917/

A German vampire movie where the vamps are immune to sunlight and are also obvious Nazi stand-ins. The titular hero is sent on a mission to their castle to free prisoners and, hopefully, lead a small force to kill the bloodsuckers.
Allow me to describe some of the things that happen here. A woman sucks on a wound on Hitler-Dracula's chest while he stares at the camera and ill-fitting orchestral music swells in the background. Another woman randomly breaks into a short song. A group of evil little girls runs around doing ballet routines all over the place. A village's worth of people crowd into a room to watch a couple have bored sex. A rat is rather graphically stomped to death. If this sounds like the sort of weird poo poo you're interested in seeing, then this is the movie for you!

Darthemed
Oct 28, 2007

"A data unit?
For me?
"




College Slice


Well, this was terrible. A voodoo cult operating out of the basement of a doll-shop targets an unremarkable guy and pushes him away from his not-fiancée. After five minutes and a visit to watch them drop rubber swords on a lady, he signs up to worship their devil-god. Character relationships fluctuate as needed by the script, and the cult's plan seems to be to endanger themselves as often as possible; after they try one too many capers, everything goes up in flames... or does it? If any of the characters had notable traits lasting beyond a single scene, the answer might matter.

Untrustable
Mar 17, 2009





Tonight's movie was Fright Night (Remake). I'm a huge fan of the original so this movie was a bit of a downer for me. It was really very pretty to look at and the effects were well done, but it lacked the almost imposing atmosphere of the original, along with the imposing atmosphere of Chris Sarandon. Well a bit of Sarandon but not for very long.. Overall it would have been better if the vastly superior original didn't exist, so it gets middle of the road marks from me. I do wish Anton Yelchin got more work, he was the standout in this movie for sure. Also David Tenant trying his best to not be Doctor Who by cramming a "gently caress" into every other sentence.

Just so I can keep track:

1. Wishmaster
2. Event Horizon
3. House on Haunted Hill
4. Wishmaster 2
5. Rigor Mortis
6. Fright Night remake

Amber Sweet
Apr 30, 2009
For some reason last night I got it into my head to watch Dead Silence. Yeah... I dunno, I saw it on Netflix and noticed that its directed by David Wan of The Conjuring and written by the guys who did Saw, so I thought, eh why not? It only took about 5 minutes to realize this movie was gonna take itself far too seriously. It was pretty lovely.

In all though, I thought it had a pretty decent premise. The idea behind Mary Shaw is pretty creepy, a ventriloquist ghost that can steal peoples voices and the dolls added some great imagery (plus she looked pretty drat freaky herself). But it had such a piss poor execution that I ended up laughing through a lot of it, and the twist was dumb as gently caress.

It's too bad, I think if they took it in a totally other direction it could be a really interesting and scary horror movie, but the whole thing just ends up.. well, really poorly done in pretty much every single way possible. Waste of potential.

Green Crayons
Apr 2, 2009

Darthemed posted:



The Dunwich Horror (1970) is not a particularly good movie, but I have a soft spot for it. An occult soft-sexploitation flick from Roger Corman featuring Sandra Dee and Dean Stockwell, it plays fast and loose with the source material, like all filmed Lovecraft adaptations. Instead of appearing to be part crocodile with extra body parts, Wilbur is heavily tattooed, for example. My favorite parts are when the film tries to incorporate psychedelia (as with the near-strobing color saturation during a monster attack, or Dee's character's hill-altar hallucinations); it suffers when it tries to follow a coherent narrative. The resolution just sort of happens, without much preamble, and there's an entirely pointless loose thread left hanging for a possible sequel. The score isn't too bad, managing a memorable main theme with some druidic flavor, but it doesn't rise too far above the average level of an American International picture. Campy and enthusiastic enough to be kind of fun, aside from Wilbur's inclination towards rape.

Watched this a couple months ago. It was... okay, I guess. Perfectly adequately, really. Not a waste of time to watch, and enjoyable in parts.

That said, I thought the monster was really well done.

If someone's looking for a creepy, somewhat dated movie to watch for their challenge, this isn't a bad choice.

It's on Netflix.

axelblaze
Oct 18, 2006

Congratulations The One Concern!!!

You're addicted to Ivory!!

and...oh my...could you please...
oh my...

Grimey Drawer
It's Found Footage time!

7) The Conspiracy D+
While it was overall well made and I liked the last act, I just find something inherently reprehensible to making up a vast conspiracy and tying it to actual death and footage of said death. I guess it's hard to make a movie about conspiracy theorists without referencing 9/11 but every time it cut to footage of that it just struck me as really exploitative, awful and honestly in the grand scheme of the movie pretty unnecessary. I think the other problem is this movie is a little too held back. This movie is pretty much "what if every conspiracy theory was real?" which should lead to absurd craziness and it just doesn't. I admit I'm not the best audience for this because I sort of abhor these types of theories, but I think something interesting could have been done with it and this isn't it.


8) The Upper Footage D-
I'm not sure if this counts as a horror movie but whatever, it's found footage with grim elements so close enough. This was just dull as hell. It devotes most of it's effort into seemingly like a genuine tape which means long sections of not much happening and the camera being in places where you can't see anything, but the acting and the dialogue doesn't really carry it's part in this so all dullness is just dull and doesn't achieve anything. From what I can tell, this is a movie that really was thought of as more part of a viral marketing thing for the movie. Like there was alot of Blair Witch like prerelease hype to try to hype up the "mystery" of if this was real (and of course it's not) but the movie only really works as part of that rather than as something on it's own.

9) Undocumented C+
I think I mentioned this earlier, but I don't really like found footage movies that just sort of do it part way. For me alot of the limitations of found footage are why I like it and when you just make your movie where you stop being found footage on a whim, you're getting rid alot of the things that make the genre interesting. That being said this wasn't bad. A bit on the nose and a bit too miserable but still, it was a unique concept executed competently.

10) Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones B
This movie probably gained way too many points with me just for not being like every other entry in the series and for being a movie where stuff actually started happening before the last ten minutes. Still, I liked it. It was scary, had some cool imagery and a haunted Simon game. Sure it managed to not be a PA movie by liberally stealing from other FF movies but I'm not gonna hold that against it. The ending was also ridiculous and I'm not sure if I should count that as a good thing or a bad thing.

11) Devil's Pass D+
Just not really that well made. Like it was edited together really haphazardly in ways that didn't really make sense. It was kind of a dull movie overall, but the found footage aspect was just badly handled. In general it's a movie that follows the Blair Witch formula but does everything way, way worse. The movie does start getting sort of interesting towards the end but it's all for the sake of a dumb little twist that isn't really as good as it thinks it is. Also the creatures looked TERRIBLE.

Angryhead
Apr 4, 2009

Don't call my name
Don't call my name
Alejandro




I watched The Sacrament yesterday and Toad Road today.
Didn't much enjoy either of them, unfortunately. I tend to watch movies without watching any trailers or knowing anything about them, but for the first time in a long while, I feel like that might have worked against me with both of these. I didn't make the connection to the Jonestown Massacre for the former, nor did I know that about 70% of the movie was basically a documentary in the case of the latter one.

Finally got the Universal Monsters Collection and planning to watch something from that later tonight, so that should help with the relatively bummed feeling from the last two movies.

8 down.

Random Stranger
Nov 27, 2009



axleblaze posted:

11) Devil's Pass D+
Just not really that well made. Like it was edited together really haphazardly in ways that didn't really make sense. It was kind of a dull movie overall, but the found footage aspect was just badly handled. In general it's a movie that follows the Blair Witch formula but does everything way, way worse. The movie does start getting sort of interesting towards the end but it's all for the sake of a dumb little twist that isn't really as good as it thinks it is. Also the creatures looked TERRIBLE.

Directed by Renny Harlan and yet it lacks any of the flare he tends to bring to things. That was a huge disappointment for me.

Also, those people are the most incompetent crew of documentarians ever. Sure, let's go high into the mountains to a place best known for trapping experienced wilderness explorers, but I think we should wait for the dead of winter before leaving! Considering the footage found, their movie was going to be really lovely.

axelblaze
Oct 18, 2006

Congratulations The One Concern!!!

You're addicted to Ivory!!

and...oh my...could you please...
oh my...

Grimey Drawer

Random Stranger posted:

Directed by Renny Harlan and yet it lacks any of the flare he tends to bring to things. That was a huge disappointment for me.

Also, those people are the most incompetent crew of documentarians ever. Sure, let's go high into the mountains to a place best known for trapping experienced wilderness explorers, but I think we should wait for the dead of winter before leaving! Considering the footage found, their movie was going to be really lovely.

I try not to sperg about movies these days, but yeah pretty much. There's so much here that doesn't really logically make sense to me. Alot of that is the way the movie is put together. Like early one there's this part where thy play footage of the girl's professor talking about the background of the pass and it keeps cutting to the camera guy watching the footage and then pausing her and refuting what she's saying. It's like, what is the context of how you shot this? Were you planning on using this in your film or were you just casually filming yourself going over footage? There's also this moment where it shows the news and they cut to their Russian corespondent but then it's just a clip of Russian news that doesn't seem connected to the news that just went to it. It's just gets some very basic, non-essential stuff wrong and despite my effort to ignore it, I just found it very distracting.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe
I was randomly killing some time in a Barnes & Noble and ended up finding a 4-pack of Hammer Dracula films. Finally I will get to see Dracula AD! Anyway I watched two of these last night.

Horror of Dracula: This may be my favorite Hammer film of them all. What you don't realize until you start going through these movies is that Christopher Lee actually gets minimal screen time and not very many lines. So what makes Horror of Dracula stand above the rest for me is that when Lee isn't on-screen you have Peter Cushing completely carrying every other scene. That's why I'm really looking forward to Dracula AD, its the first time since this first film that Cushing and Lee both participated in a Dracula entry.

Anyway the sets and costumes in Horror Dracula are amazing. Some of the outfits Cushing wears are ridiculous, but I mean that in the best way possible. Lee bounds around like an animal, this most recent viewing I had a thought that Mads Mikkelsen's movements on Hannibal are very similar. Another thing that's really fun about Horror of Dracula is that it uses a lot of the characters from the Stoker novel, but changes their roles around. So if you know the book well it will keep you guessing and surprise you at a few points.

Dracula Has Risen From the Grave: I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, especially going directly from a Cushing Dracula to a non-Cushing Dracula. Christopher Lee doesn't really have much to do until the last 30 minutes or so, but it turns out the movie has a bunch of really fun characters that I ended up rooting for. The main couple(the Jonathan Harker and Mina Murray stand-ins I guess) are actually very good and I shockingly ended up giving a poo poo about their romance. Dracula's death scene was also really good, as it was in Horror of Dracula.

In this DVD set I still have The Blood of Dracula and of course Dracula AD, so I'll be working on those in the next day or so.

The List so far: Creepshow, Creepshow 2, Chillerama, Body Bags, Trick r Treat, Horror of Dracula, Dracula Has Risen From the Grave.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer
1st: Nightmare Factory
2nd: The Town That Dread Sundown
3rd: Shivers
4th: ABC's of Death
5th: Re-Animator

October 6th: Creepshow 2

Another new one for me. I'm a big fan of the original Creepshow. Someone mentioned (and then recanted) that they preferred this one over the original, so I decided it was time to check it out.

First, this movie isn't as scary as the original, but it's just as dark. There are no happy endings in this collection. I liked each of the stories.

The characters are ridiculous. The first story bad guys are losers that get in way over their head ("It took me nine years to grow this hair, man!"). The second story, The Raft, is the best in the collection, and even those characters are complete idiots (I feel like the actors, who are supposed to be high the whole time, were the straight-edge kids that have never smoked weed before and trying to pretend). The third story was kind of boring to me. It's just so much fun to watch everyone act so drat goofy.

My friends watched it with me, and a few of them thought it was creepy, so that's a plus.

Best parts: The special effects are great; Stephen King's cameo is the best acting he's done on film; The Raft is wonderful; a character obsessed with the fame his hair will gain him in Hollywood.

Overall, not a good movie, but a fun movie. I wish they made more anthology films in this vein rather than V/H/S.

:spooky::spooky::spooky:/5 for fun and special effects.

I'm glad to see Never Sleep Again is getting so much love. The other documentaries I mentioned in the movie list are very good too. You guys should give them a chance.


EDIT: I added MST3k movies on Netflix and horror movies on Hulu Plus to the movie list.

Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Oct 7, 2014

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Nemesis Of Moles
Jul 25, 2007

Last night was House on Haunted Hill.

Vincent Price knocks it out of the park again. One of the main strengths of the black and white/silent era was the ability it gave people to utilize full scores and music cues to the scares instead of just loud DUUUUUUN noises. Its pretty prevalent in all of these classic films and I think its something that plays really well with them. The whole cast in this one is just on point, and while it still feels like a filmed play (Honestly, a LOT of pre-1960s films do), its campy enough to be a blast while actually being pretty freaky here and there.

Also has a evil skeleton murderer. Always a plus.

Tonight will conclude the Classics Week with Nosferatu, the original version, though I was tempted to sub it for the Herzog version earlier this week, I think I'll stick to the theme.

Thursday will start Slasher Week I think!

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