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I'll be trying for 31 over the course of the month, with some "themes" to help guide my watchlist and keep things fresh. The first "theme" is Classics, starting with Caligari and probably including Nosferatu, Phantom of the Opera, and something Universal as we get into the month. 1.) Cabinet of Dr. Caligari  1920, first watch, Kino restoration This is a beautiful film, and I was spoiled for choice for stills to grab. The distorted sets and anachronistic costuming create an otherworldly, dreamlike quality, a space in which the exaggerated shadow of the creeping somnambulist seems entirely natural. As I understand it, the frame narrative is believed to be a later addition, though you could imagine the version in which the sets are restored to naturalism when we step out of the delusion - though considering the context of the frame, perhaps it's better if the supposed real world of authority is as alien and distorted as the supposed fantasies of a madman. I had the good fortune to watch this with a friend who works in theater, and she was having a great time with the acting. On the whole, we felt that Caligari could fruitfully be more "wordless" - you don't actually need the dialogue cards, as the actors are perfectly sufficient. Du musst Caligari werden Watched: 1.) Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [Classics]
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Sep 29, 2019 19:19
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CULT CLASSIC BATTLE ROYALE: The Phantom of the Paradise versus An American Werewolf in London Which movie is better (in this random Internet stranger’s opinion)? *** # 2 THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974)  Wow! An obstacle in the way of classifying The Phantom of the Paradise (1974) as a “midnight movie” is that it is actually well-made. Count me among the surprised that Brian de Palma, who I guess could be described as a traditional filmmaker, made a movie this unique. While the movie is a few catchy songs short of being a hit to mainstream audiences, the director’s steady hand keeps the musical sequences mesmerizing. During certain songs, instrumental music is nearly absent or drowned out - perhaps it was impossible to balance out the screaming crowds, singing, musicians, the surreal, colorful visuals, fantastic set design, and the phantom lurking above the stage. Regardless, there are times you are so enveloped in the music and the surrealism that you forget how silly it all is. And other times, it is a sensory overload. I can only go back to Brian de Palma for making this craziness functional most of the time. The allusions to Dorian Gray, Faust, and the Phantom of the Opera are bit a muddled and the thematic content is hard to follow closely. But most appealing is setting these familiar stories behind a futuristic music industry, which brings to mind dystopian elements of A Clockwork Orange (1971). While there is dark material, such as the record producer asking for sexual favors in exchange for career advancements, the movie maintains a fairytale quality – by all accounts, “orgies” merely consist of participants laying together fully clothed in a bed and petting each other. Even a stint in prison is portrayed comically. Dark antics of characters are expressed with slapstick performances rather than serious ones. The sequence in which the phantom is deformed is particularly kinetic – the camera aggressively follows the action and shakes. Slow moments are rare. There is always something to absorb on the screen. There are so many things with this movie that are quite simply, special. Campiness is sometimes used to fill a void where technical filmmaking skill is lacking. In this case, the camp is just the icing. SCORE: 7.6 / 10 *** #3 AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)  It goes without saying that Rick Baker’s work is outstanding in this movie and is undoubtedly a pinnacle of 1980s creature and gore effects, not to mention an example that strengthens the case against modern CGI. The werewolf transformation sequence is loving awesome! Also impressive is the mutilated corpse of a college-aged kid who is further along in the decomposition process each time he appears. He has a series of chats with his buddy, played by David Laughton, who, unlike him, survived an attack by a werewolf in the moors of Europe. In the hospital, while recovering, David’s character is plagued by disturbing dreams of running in the forest and feasting on the flesh of deer. You can see where the story goes from here… The set up is totally fine, but already the movie’s tonal issues become increasingly irritating. The opening sequence of the two kids backpacking under the full moon is atmospheric and eerie, but this is juxtaposed by misogynist jokes that bring to mind John Landis’ other movie, Animal House. Call me a buzz kill, but I am not feeling it. Scary moments and tension keep getting undercut by jokes; the switch between horror and comedy is more akin to [insert two foods that do not go well together] rather than [two foods that go well together]. Even those who like the movie often complain about the ending. Basically, David, now fully transformed into a werewolf wreaks havoc in London by devouring poor souls and causing car collisions in a downtown square (but… wait, why are those cars driving so fast? Even that doesn’t feel right), gets cornered and gunned down in an alleyway, but not before his lover pleads with him to come back to his senses. Was this supposed to be a touching moment? I wouldn’t be able to tell you, because before I can absorb it, the movie cuts to an upbeat closing credits song. This, to me, summarizes the problem with An American Werewolf of London – rather than the lone blemish fans make it out to be, the final scene is a microcosm of the whole movie! Despite this, the movie has plenty of strengths. The cinematography is nice. Nothing wrong with the performances - Jenny Agutter stands out. Last year I said “wow!” about Adrienne Barbeau in The Fog (1980), this year it is gonna be Jenny Agutter. Again, there are good practical special effects. I guess the collection of songs with “moon” contained in the lyrics is sort of clever. These life raft rings cannot save the tone, sadly. SCORE: 6.5 / 10 CULT CLASSIC WINNER: THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE
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Sep 29, 2019 19:27
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#4) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) More like "my interest in this series must be destroyed". Hammer's Frankenstein movies are really just becoming the same thing over and over again, with minor twists in between. I was mostly bored, until maybe 20 minutes before the end when they managed to throw a sort of interesting plot in. In general it's the same plot of 1) Frankenstein is introduced, 2) he bribes someone into helping him bring someone back from the dead, 3) things go wrong. Hammer managed to nail it SO RIGHT in the first movie, to the point where all the rest seem like shoddy ripoffs of the original. The "monster" design wasn't even a sliver as good as the original movie either - I swear I could see the actor's hair under his bald cap. Only one more movie left in this series, and then I can move on to other things.  1/5
Count Thrashula fucked around with this message at 18:06 on Oct 27, 2019 |
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Sep 29, 2019 19:33
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 #14) Urban Menace (1999) It's a Pyun! And a disappointment. With a cast that holds Snoop Dogg, Big Pun, Ice-T, Fat Joe, TJ Storm, and Ernie Hudson... Jr., this just doesn't come anywhere close to its potential. Snoop plays a preacher who was killed when his church was burned down, but has returned to claim vengeance on his city's crime syndicate, by killing them off. The credits are shot better than the actual movie, and even Ice-T running around in a Jheri curl isn't enough to liven up the dullness. It's definitely a lower-tier Pyun, and feels like it was maybe just a dry run for The Wrecking Crew, which was released the following year and shared all the cast members I named except for Big Pun and Fat Joe. The dialogue sounds like a boomer's idea of rap music (I think I counted three variations of 'gently caress' in a six-word sentence), it felt like first takes made up most of the scenes, the action was unconvincing and shot poorly, and Snoop didn't change up his usual late-'90s appearance at all to play the part of a preacher, either in his live or undead scenes. About the only enjoyable part of it, aside from Jheri-curled Ice-T and a slow-motion shot of Fat Joe cracking up laughing, was the soundtrack, which felt like each of the stars had gotten to pick some small-timers to either collaborate with or just include for a leg up. There was also a cool shot towards the end of Snoop's character sprouting bat wings, but it was done in silhouette in a dark room, so it might not have even been him. According to IMDb, the rappers shot their scenes in NYC, while the other actors filmed in Eastern Europe. There's also a few parts where it cuts away from whatever's going on so a seated Ice-T (with his usual hair) can wax didactic about how corrupt urban renewal is. All together, it's a muddled mess, and completely fails to scare. Maybe if it had Andrew Dice Clay... rating: 4/10e: Further investigation reveals that Pyun allegedly shot this, The Wrecking Crew, and Corrupt in the space of eighteen days. The three feature films were originally supposed to be segments of an anthology film. Pyun, you crazy bastard. This was also his first digitally-shot film, which explains a whole lot. Darthemed fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Sep 29, 2019 |
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Sep 29, 2019 20:12
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Gonna go for a goal of just 13 this year. I might upgrade to a full 31 later on depending on how much I've watched. This weekend so far: 1. Prophecy (1979) - Has its heart in the right place, but totally ridiculous. I enjoyed most of the first hour (particularly sights such as a preservationist fighting a lumberjack in a chainsaw vs. axe fight), but it got a bit monotonous after the monster actually showed up and started wreaking havoc. Too bad. 2. The Woman in Black (2012) - Not exactly a bad movie, but not a good one either. The group of people I watched this with wren't particularly into, and I think I'd have gotten a bit more out of it if I'd seen it in a different state of mind when I was less tired. I will say that the music choices sink much of what is accomplished within the filmmaking though. But if you want to watch Daniel Radcliffe walk around in a empty houses wearing a suit, then boy have I got a movie for you. 3. Spookies - Features a multitude of separate storylines in which there's zero crossover in terms of characters and some vague interaction in regard to location. Supposedly the scattershot narrative here is the result of dueling directors, writers, and producers, but I'm not confident this would have come together into something that made much sense even without the extensive re-shoots which added three-or-four new plots. I'm actually a bit enamored by how little sense this makes. The movie ultimately ends up being a collection of bizarre moments (complete with farting mud-monsters and spider-women) and shocking scenarios – it trades coherency for more monsters a minute. It reminded me that a movie can just be collection of things and everybody has to accept it for what it is. That's a beautiful thing. 4. The Monster of Piedras Blancas - Brutal in a way 50s monster movies usually aren't. The story doesn't amount to much, but that's okay because there's multiple decapitations. Which you see. Pretty cool!
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Sep 29, 2019 20:33
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deety posted:Just in case anyone wants a different Spider Baby earworm, a band from my area wrote a song about that movie. This is much better than what I'd been humming.  Challenge #1: The Best Month #3: Viy (1967)  Hell yeah, this movie's great! A young priest is forced to preside over the deceased body of a witch for 3 nights, where he's forced to try and survive her attempts to curse his soul. The premise itself isn't really what's interesting about this movie. The entire thing is overflowing with charm, and it all boils over in the last 10 minutes where you're left to bask in a cacophony of wonderfully clever techniques and spooky effects. Most of the horror elements are in the second half of the film, but it's funny and engaging all the way through and punctuated with cool camerawork, beautiful locations, and a surprising number of little animal gags. I really love movies like this where there are just a constant stream of neat details. When I describe my favorite movies to people, I usually end up just talking about little moments, effects, shots, or whatever else stood out to me and I'm willing to overlook a lot of bad if a movie does things I find cool. It'd be hard to do that here without just describing the whole thing, and although I made more gifs and took more screenshots, I'm gonna hold off from posting them because part of the fun is seeing them all for the first time. It's super good and I highly recommend it. Watched (3/31): #1 Gozu (2003), #2 Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967), #3 Viy (1967) Challenges (1/1): blood_dot_biz fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Oct 1, 2019 |
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Sep 29, 2019 21:00
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 1. Burn, Witch, Burn (1962) I put this one on my watch list based entirely on the strength of that title, so I didn’t realize until sitting down with it that it’s one of the movies based on Fritz Leiber’s Conjure Wife. From what I remember of the novel, this adaptation follows its premise fairly well. The first few minutes, in which an invisible narrator reads us a protective incantation, are a great intro to the story. The main character is Norman, a popular college professor who, when he learns that his wife Tansy has been secretly working magic to protect him and support his career, demands that she burn all her witchy poo poo. When she reluctantly agrees, everything starts going wrong. He faces false accusations at work, an attack from a surly student, and some kind of ghostly door knocker that Tansy dispels by unplugging the phone. After she tries to redirect the curse onto herself, Norman has a close call with a giant eagle and realizes that maybe he doesn’t know everything after all. I liked Janet Blair as Tansy, and the few effects scenes were decent for the era, too. I also liked that they played it straight instead of leaning in on the potential humor. The movie did get a little too caught up in Norman running around calling for Tansy or running through campus in the second half though. I wish they’d have spent that time either developing the secondary characters or giving us more insight on the magical elements of the setting. My only real beef other than that was the ending. Having the antagonist accidentally hex herself was fine, but I wish Norman or Tansy had a little more of a hand in that instead of “whoops, I hit the wrong button on the evil lecture tape.” I also seem to remember the book presenting witchcraft as something that was a quiet but fairly common practice among women, but since the movie says Tansy picked it up after seeing voodoo on their travels, having another witchy faculty wife makes that ending a bit more random. Watching this made me pretty interested in seeing a more current take on the story. Watched: 1. Burn, Witch, Burn (1962)
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Sep 29, 2019 21:15
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Almost Blue posted:3. Spookies - Features a multitude of separate storylines in which there's zero crossover in terms of characters and some vague interaction in regard to location. Supposedly the scattershot narrative here is the result of dueling directors, writers, and producers, but I'm not confident this would have come together into something that made much sense even without the extensive re-shoots which added three-or-four new plots. Spookies is like the best demo reel someone ever put together. I love it.
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Sep 29, 2019 21:23
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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986, Amazon Prime Canada Ooh portrait, sounds classy. ... .... Okay, this is a seriously hosed up movie. It’s loosely based on real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. There’s not much plot but that really doesn’t matter in this. It’s a total character study but we don’t see any character growth. We’re invited in to see slices of life of Henry and his roommate Otis and his little sister Becky. What’s scary about this film is how remorseless and confident Henry is. He goes out, he kills and there isn’t anything new can do about. There’s no hotshot detective piecing the clues together to track him down. Henry just does what he wants and there’s no one who can stop him. The cinematography is really great on this and the apartment where they spend most of their time is a really great set piece. It feels very claustrophobic and bleak. It feels like we’re caged in their with Henry. It’s a relief whenever we get out of there but when ever we do it’s only a matter of time before Henry does something terrible. It’s interesting in what is shown and what we hear as well. His early murders we only hear the audio of and see the aftermath. As the film goes on we see the murders. By the end of the movie we don’t need to see or hear anything - we know what exactly Henry is capable of and our minds can do the heavy lifting for us. Michael Rooker does a great job as Henry. His gruff delivery and hardened looks really help Henry seem dangerous. Tracey Arnold’s Becky is also a great performance and she really puts in a sympathetic performance. This is not a fun movie by any means. It’s bleak and hopeless. It’s definitely not for everyone but it is a great film. Watched (4): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
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Sep 29, 2019 21:44
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Geez, going from Pet Sematary 2 to Henry is some serious tonal whiplash.
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Sep 29, 2019 21:52
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Okay, here we go! 1. Deep Red (1975) - Rewatch #1  This was a rewatch for me. This movie is still tremendous. It manages a very particular kind of claustrophobic feel and has Argento's usual flairs with lighting and colors. 2. Dolls (1987) - New To Me #1  This movie ruled. A girl and her dad and stepmother need to stop over on a stormy night at a nearby mansion for shelter. Turns out the dad and stepmom are kinda jerks to the kid. The people who live at the mansion turn out to be a toymaker and his wife. Before things can get too weird another trio show up to get out of the storm, a poor man's Sean Astin and two Cyndi Lauper types who were hitchhiking. Now the hijinx begin as the dolls are not surprisingly more than they seem and come alive. The movie ends up with a heavy moral of "Find the child within you and don't grow out of it." Also, "Don't steal from us." This was very enjoyable. The dolls looked good, the set was wonderful, and everyone played their part perfectly, though, as in all good moralizing fairy tales, every character was essentially a stereotype. 3. Borderlands aka Final Prayer (2013) - New To Me #2  A priest in a newly reconsecrated old English country-side church claims miraculous events have occurred, so the Vatican sends a team consisting of a by-the-books modern priest, a drunk who has seen some poo poo, and an unbeliever technical assistant to go and verify, or rather, debunk the claim. Imagine the surprise when it turns out there's something actually going on. This was very cool - this was on my list because of a book of folk horror I'm watching, and it definitely sits well with the other movies in that book, from older made-for-TV horror like The Stone Tapes to more recent things. I liked that for most of the movie no one believes anything is happening - they all believe the proof offered by the priest at this church was stuff the priest made happen to draw in a larger flock. The way the characters relationships developed seemed natural. One of the three debunkers looks and sounds like Jon Oliver, so that either helps or hurts depending on how you look at it - I just took it to be Jon Oliver and thought it helped! It also has a strange ending that involves one of my personal phobias, tight squeezes underground, so from the stock beginning to the creepy development of "is this a cultish village community or not" to the wild ending, I was thoroughly entertained. Movies So Far: Rewatches: 1 - Deep Red New To Me: 2 - Dolls, Borderlands Finally Watching Owned Movies: 0
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Sep 29, 2019 22:04
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  SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #15. Viy (1967) Dir: Konstantin Yershov, Georgi Kropachyov (Shudder) I had a blast watching this. It's such an interesting film from it's background story (one of the only out-and-out horror films to come from the USSR) to the wild makeup effects that take on a flair of expressionist weirdness. A little simplistic because of its attempts to be more of a folk tale, but still great. There are several moments that are funny because of how seriously the film takes itself, but also some genuinely stunning imagery. The whole movie's weird and fun in its own right but the last ten minutes alone absolutely make it worth the watch. Watched: Candyman, The Wailing, Spookies, One Cut Of The Dead, Viy (5/31) Friends Are Evil fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Oct 1, 2019 |
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Sep 29, 2019 22:08
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Darthemed posted:Geez, going from Pet Sematary 2 to Henry is some serious tonal whiplash. After Henry I ended up watching TCM2 just for something a bit more light-hearted. That ones a rewatch though so I’m not counting it for this challenge.
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Sep 29, 2019 22:11
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 #15) The Vineyard (1989) It's been about seven years since I first saw this movie, and I was quite sad to find that I didn't like it as much as I remembered. Back then, I was comparing it to the second Evil Dead, and while it has some of that energy, it's much more subdued, and the pacing isn't nearly as strong. There's still a lot of fun stuff going on, with co-writer/co-director/star James Hong just dominating the film (not that he has any real competition among the other actors). If I ever own a private island, I want it to be like this one. Kung fu-trained servants, gigantic wine cellars, dance parties to music that sounds like it was discarded from the Breakin' soundtrack, zombies, and mystical ceremonies. Could do without the dipshit guests coming in and screwing up the decades-old magic immortality wine scheme that's going on, though. I think a big part of my problem with it this time was that I was watching the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray restoration, and seeing it so clean and crisp just felt wrong for the nature of the film. Or maybe I should have poured myself a stout glass of wine. Very happy that it's getting wider exposure, though, and a second viewing without that shock of the new would probably be more favorable. Sad that there's no commentary, since James Hong is still working, and I'd have loved to hear a full-length set of his recollections; there's an interview with him on the disc, but it's not the same. I also feel like the new art for the reissue (pictured below, left) is a flop compared to the original; the slipcover (below, right) ain't so bad, but still doesn't measure up, IMO. rating: 6/10 
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Sep 29, 2019 22:15
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8. Sept. 28, 2019   ZOTZ! (1962, William Castle) The Candy Web [aka 13 Frightened Girls] (1963, William Castle) Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007, Jeffrey Schwarz) Indicator Blu-ray I'm counting all three as one because ZOTZ! is really more comedy sci-fi and 13 Frightened Girls/The Candy Web (I watched the UK cut) is a straight espionage thriller, but I think Spine Tingler! definitely counts since it's a documentary on a horror movie icon. I'll go ahead and say that the two films are actually a lot of fun. ZOTZ! has Tom Posten as an eccentric professor who discovers a magic coin from the Aztecs that gives him superpowers. The Candy Web is also a lot of fun, being a Cold War thriller with an international cast. Spine Tingler! is an excellent feature-length overview of William Castle's life and career, with lots of great interviews (especially John Waters). The UK cut of 13 Frightened Girls apparently came out before the US version and just has the different title and an extra scene before and after the film with Mr. Castle. ZOTZ! - 3.5/5 The Candy Web - 3.5/5 Spine Tingler! - 4/5 The next two Castle films will definitely count - The Old Dark House (a co-production with Hammer) and Strait-Jacket (VIVIDLY DEPICTS AXE MURDERS!)
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Sep 29, 2019 22:25
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Friends Are Evil posted:
It looks like Mosfilm put this on their Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amh3uudVMBo&t=1151s No subtitles so you'll have to use a YT downloader to add them manually but hey, free movie  4. Class of 1999 (1990) Aka The School Terminator. A ton of fun, the last ~15 minutes are fantastic. Pam Grier feels a bit wasted. 3/5
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Sep 29, 2019 22:39
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Popelmon posted:It looks like Mosfilm put this on their Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amh3uudVMBo&t=1151s
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Sep 29, 2019 22:46
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 #16) King of the Zombies (1941) Uuuuuuuuuuuggghhhh, there's that '40s racism. This film is just dripping with it. A couple of white guys and their black "man-servant" (played by Mantan Moreland, who had roles in both Spider Baby and Watermelon Man) land on an island where someone they knew had recently crashed their plane and died. They find a mansion, lorded over by a man played by Henry Victor (Freaks), who has several visibly cowed servants of his own, and a zombie workforce to boot. I'd estimate that 40 to 50% of the movie was spent on the stereotype performance by Moreland, with his dialogue shaped around lots of "I is"s, "I cain't"s, and so on. He's there to panic and allow the white protagonists to show how heroic they are, and it's depressingly persistent through the film. If not for that, it'd be an OK stock pulp story. Emergency landing on an island, find out about the zombie process exploiting the dead, investigate until it can be overthrown, and escape. There is a bit of wartime espionage dropped in, the general atmosphere of the mansion is good for low-grade dread, the mansion's servants have some personality beyond servility, and the assorted sets are put together well, but it's just not enough to salvage things from the weight of the caricatures. If it didn't include Bloody Pit of Horror and Bride of the Gorilla, this would likely be the low point of my The Dead Walk DVD box set. rating: 4/10
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Sep 29, 2019 23:13
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Doing A tonight and my choices are Anguish or All Cheerleaders Die, which one is less bad?
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Sep 29, 2019 23:25
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I liked All Cheerleaders Die. Its flawed but fun. I'm sad the sequel never happened.
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Sep 29, 2019 23:27
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Anguish from '87 or 2015?
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Sep 29, 2019 23:48
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Popelmon posted:4. Class of 1999 (1990) If you liked this, check out Hardware.
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Sep 30, 2019 00:01
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 16) Leprechaun in the Hood - 2000 - DVD I consider this one a refreshing change of pace in not going the gold's stolen/missing route, but the item of interest is leprechaun magic tech. The idea of a music producer using the magic of the leprechaun's flute to build his empire a plausible one, and Ice T handles the role quite well. It does leave me the question of how did he learn about the flute since that's the only thing he's interested in when him and his friend find the leprechaun's lair of gold. I also thought they took an interesting angle in the ending compared to the other films. I consider this one definitely worth a watch.  17) Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood - 2003 - DVD This one was pretty standard to form. Leprechaun's gold gets stolen and he goes on a rampage getting it back. The beginning was interesting in giving a backstory of sorts to the leprechaun, but other than that, this entry's kinda mediocre.
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Sep 30, 2019 00:05
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 #17) Revolt of the Zombies (1936), a.k.a., Revolt of the Demons This was neat in a couple of ways. Same director as White Zombie, set in Cambodia, and beginning in World War I. It also lifts the image of Lugosi's eyes from White Zombie, just dropping it in whenever it's time to zombie-hypnotize someone, and there's some nice on-location Cambodian scenery to be had, along with an ancient tomb set that I felt was underused. On the downside, way too much of the film is spent on a wooden and unbelievable romance thread, along with bored exchanges of flat dialogue between actors standing in place before a motionless camera. I was surprised to run into something as novel as the idea of an entire army built out of (living) zombies this early in the genre. Aside from the titular revolt, though, very little was done with it. The ending was abrupt, with someone laying down a well-worn quote before a fade to black. Good visuals, drab performances, okay script. More tolerable than King of the Zombies, but not as competent at proceeding through the telling of a story. Moral of the movie: Don't relinquish control over your zombie army in an attempt to impress your love interest. rating: 4/10
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Sep 30, 2019 00:33
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#4: Mondo Cane (1962) Of all the movies I have queued up for this challenge, this is the one I'd been looking forward to checking out the least. Because of that, I figured I'd better watch it now before my motivation started to dwindle, and honestly, it was about what I expected. Mondo Cane is an important movie for the reason that it spawned an entire genre of exploitation documentaries, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. The entire movie is a loosely connected series of narrated clips from all over the world chronicling the various shocking and perverse acts going on every day. It was also apparently filmed in the exquisite corpse style by three separate directors, which I do think is one legitimately interesting thing about it. My issues with the movie started almost immediately. It opens with some footage of a dog on leash, barking and straining to get free. The narrator lets us know that everything in the movie is real and filmed as it naturally occurred and then the dog is released. All in all, a pretty clever little way to start things off, except that immediately following the dog's release is some obviously added in sound effects of yelping, as if to suggest the other dogs nearby are attacking the newly freed pup. Maybe that's what's actually going on, but it doesn't really look like it, and my trust in the narrator was off to shaky start. Fast forward a few minutes and we're treated to another very obviously staged scene with a bunch of ladies swarming a movie star and ripping off his shirt. From this point on I couldn't actually believe anything I saw. There's a lot of interesting footage but most of the more interesting or "shocking" stuff loses its impact if you don't trust that it's in any way accurate, especially combined with the narration. There's one particularly brutal scene of a dying, beached sea turtle, and while I know turtles do die this way I couldn't help but wonder if the filmmakers had maybe just turned this one on its back for the shot. And speaking of the narration, my god. A lot of stuff that would have been interesting by itself became extremely racist when coupled with the narration (and in other cases, the music and added sfx alone was enough to change the context). And for a movie that was supposed to be chronicling the darker aspects of humanity, it's a bit impressive how many voyeuristic shots of women they managed to fit in. There's a statement to be made there but I can almost guarantee you it wasn't what they intended. It's also worth noting that most of the legitimately disturbing stuff involved animal cruelty. That's sort of understandable, but also made it feel like they were taking the easier, less "political" way out, because there certainly is a lot of human on human horribleness out there as well. On top of all this, it's also kind of a slog to sit through. Many of the segments go on for way too long, and they're not usually the more interesting ones. Some of these were probably for shock value (we don't really need to see 5 different sharks being tortured to death, but it certainly is more disturbing than just seeing one), but other times it wasn't even particularly interesting or notable footage that stuck around. In the end, it's pretty hard to recommend this. Watch it if you're interested in the history behind it or if you really love Mondo cinema, but otherwise it's probably not worth your time. Watched (4/31): #1 Gozu (2003), #2 Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967), #3 Viy (1967), #4 Mondo Cane (1962)
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Sep 30, 2019 00:37
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 1. Knife + Heart (2018): This movie has some serious vibes. Aesthetically very clearly inspired by Argento, this is the story of a serial killer who preys on gay porn actors in 1979 Paris. The movie starts out very strong and has a killer soundtrack by M83, but it’s very oddly paced and drags in parts. There’s a very cool mid-credits sequence as well. 3.5/5
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Sep 30, 2019 00:59
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Darthemed posted:Anguish from '87 or 2015? Must be 15, it looked recent
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Sep 30, 2019 01:00
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4)Poltergeist III Source:Tubi  I enjoyed this way more than I expected, the 80s vibe, the special effects, the cinematography and visuals. The haunted hi tech skyscraper... It's not exactly the same, but all kind of gives me a ghosthouse/witchery vibe instead of a poltergeist one. I can see why that might not have played well for it at the time, but it works for me. There's also a melancholy throughout knowing what happened to Heather O'Rourke. There are some dumb bits (the psychiatrist) but overall not a bad cap to the trilogy, even if Heather O'Rourke's death is super depressing.  .5/5
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Sep 30, 2019 01:23
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2) Halloween (2018) This one should need no introduction, so I won't. It's that rarest of beasts, a sequel to a horror classic that can be measured against the original. It could have been a mediocre retread; it certainly hits the homage trail often enough. But it works because the makers did the most important thing - they understood Michael Myers. The original sequel makers tried to create a pattern for his actions, and in doing so they reduced him by making him just another stalker. Rob Zombie tried to explain where Michael came from, but his past is meaningless because he's purely focused on the future. What McBride and Green understand is that Michael cannot be understood, and that's what makes him scary.
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Sep 30, 2019 01:28
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 5. The Wind (2019) (digital) Set somewhere in the American West during the 19th century, this film centers around Lizzy, a pioneer woman who lives in a very remote cabin with her husband Isaac. They are surrounded by nothing but open plains and an unusually high number of graves. Lizzy struggles to cope with the isolation, but after she miscarries a son she starts to believe that there is an evil presence lurking nearby. This starts off at a very deliberate pace, and I was anticipating it to be a slow burn horror film like The Witch, but it does pick up a bit in the second half. The story is told out of order, moving between the present and the past with almost every other scene. I found it a little confusing - at first I didn't even realize that I was being shown flashbacks, and it's used so often that it takes what is a pretty straightforward plot and makes it unnecessarily complicated. Otherwise this was pretty good. It's always great to see horror films made by women that tell stories about women. This one isn't a masterpiece, but it's a strong debut, and I look forward to seeing what director Emma Tammi does next. There also aren't a lot of horror films set in the Old West (there's The Burrowers and, uh... Bone Tomahawk is kind of horror I guess?), so that helps this one stand out a bit. Recommended if you like slower-paced supernatural horror films. 3.5/5 Total: 5 Watched: Dead of Night | Child's Play | Escape Room | Hell Night | The Wind
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Sep 30, 2019 02:10
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Jedit posted:1) Dead Mountaineers Hotel (1979) I kind of wish my month wasn't so cramped. There so few horror movies made under Soviet rule (exactly two made in the USSR itself as far as I can determine) , that I like seeing them. There's so few that sovietmoviesonline.com doesn't even have a horror category. If I get a wildcard slot open I might put this one in. For what it's worth, one of the two Soviet horror movies is blood_dot_biz posted:#3: Viy (1967) which is legit great. Kind of stagy but in a way that works with the film's structure and a spectacular final act. The other is Den Gneva which each year in these threads I mention wanting to see it but still have been unable to track down. Bruteman posted:I had no idea about the Amityville Horror phenomenon of the late '70s until I found a copy of the book in my dad's office in the late '80s. At the time, I was into anything that involved the supernatural (ghosts, cryptids, etc.) and I devoured every book I could find on that stuff. Even though the events have long since been dismissed as a hoax, 12-year-old me was fascinated by the book, with its descriptions of green slime emanating from the basement walls, the red room and, of course, the glowing eyes of Jodie the demonic pig (and its footprints in the snow). That stuff really stuck with me for a long time. I'd never watched the movies (of which there are approximately a billion now), but we gotta start somewhere! Amityville Horror for some reason was the first novel I ever read (probably a ten cent copy from a garage sale or something like that). I was in first grade at the time and I remember it took me weeks to get through. I also know that as a child I didn't pick up on anything about the book's themes.
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Sep 30, 2019 02:19
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# 4 CREEPOZOIDS (1987) Toxic levels of schlock ahead Anyone who decides to watch a movie with this title deserves what’s coming. Side effects of watching Creepozoids may include: feelings of sleaziness, yawning, and thinking about life decisions that led you to this point. But no worries – before viewers can get deep into self-pity, they will begin to pity the actors instead, who are stuck in a Los Angeles warehouse holding up motionless, stuffed animal rat props to their necks to simulate being attacked by them. Oh, and also holding up a mutant baby, which has about one possible animatronic motion, to their necks to simulate being attacked by it. When you are in the schlock stratum of the horror genre, crossover to the porn industry can also be seen at times. Yes, there is a shower sex scene with embarrassing porno-like music playing. OK, so the plot. In the future (1998), humanity is dealing with the aftermath of nuclear apocalypse. Our leads – three men and two women who deserted the military – wander the empty industrial wastelands to a very 80s soundtrack and take shelter from acid rain in a creepy abandoned building. Inside, there is a bunch of sciency stuff like a lab and test tubes. Also, apparently, plenty of food – fresh fruit is seen on a table! After settling in, they learn that a monster - an eight-foot tall humanoid warthog that spits black goo – inhabits the building and they must use their military gusto to defeat it. It doesn’t go well for them. These guys are the biggest dopes ever. Imagine Bill Paxton’s character in Aliens times five. “Game over, man!” A clumsy climatic battle with the beast involves a guy incessantly being thrown into cardboard boxes. I had an interest in seeing this for a long time because I used to own these “Cult Video” VHS tapes released by Full Moon when I was a kid. Creepozoids, which I did not own, was in the series along with others like Laserblast and The Day Time Ended. The trailer showed a science lady opening a door to the monster. I found this chilling, and the R-Rating made it feel like forbidden fruit. I must admit my 11-year-old self would have been freaked out by the gore in this movie. In one scene, a guy’s face becomes bloated to twice its regular size until it becomes a pulp of black goo. Another scene involves an Evil Dead-esque possession (technically an infection - Creepozoids rips off both Alien and The Evil Dead). In my adult eyes, however, this is all a joke, and the $150,000.00 budget is in plain sight. SCORE: 3.7 / 10
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Sep 30, 2019 02:36
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So I needed a palate cleanser after watching "Midsommar" twice, and I want to watch entirely new-to-me films, so based on recommendations in the main Horror thread I decided to go with... #2: One Cut of the Dead (2017)  Action! This movie was not what I expected it to be, at all. I went in knowing nothing (as people here have said you should do) and I can't recommend that enough. Do not google this movie. Go in knowing just this simple premise: it's about a cast of people making a zombie movie, and then real zombies start showing up. That's it. That's all you need to know. Enjoy every cheesy moment in the first 30 minutes, and then buckle up. This is the horror comedy equivalent of a Russian nesting doll, and it just keeps giving. Hilarious! I seriously spent the first 30 minutes taking mental notes of weird little moments, like when the actors took awkward breaks in the dialogue and the way the zombie in the shed just stood there when it made no sense at all that it wouldn't attack the woman. But I began to chalk it up to possible cultural differences, and how that might affect comedic timing, and had no idea what I was in store for. When the reveal happens that this ISN'T a zombie movie at all, and that they showed us the final product in its "intended" form right up front... I was hooked. The rest of the movie is a beautiful behind-the-scenes recreation of what actually went into making those first 30 minutes, and it nails every single thing I initially took for a weird mistake in what I thought was a cheesy comedic B-level zombie movie. This is anything but, it's something very special and original, and it should be seen by everyone. 4/5 Total: 2 "Midsommar" (2019), "One Cut of the Dead" (2017)
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Sep 30, 2019 04:07
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 #2 Creep (2014) Netflix Creep begins with a videographer being hired by a dying cancer patient to film a video diary for the man’s unborn child. As the day wears on, it becomes clear that not all is right with the man, and the videographer is drawn into his off-kilter world. This is a pretty good movie, despite a lackluster ending. Creep manages to entertain and arrest one’s attention for the whole of its lean runtime primarily by subverting the viewer’s expectations with dashes of humor, and by ratcheting up the tension in the two character’s relationship. This really works because everyone knows someone like Joshua- someone whose open-hearted and caring persona is tinged with something manipulative, who just never feels quite right to talk to, with whom one can never really have an even dealing. This movie is best when it’s in that zone, and it does a good job at staying its hand and letting the viewer twist and cringe from the second-hand awkwardness and creeping dread. Unfortunately, when Creep goes full throttle, it gets a little generic. It kept me questioning if it was playing with genre conventions and was going to delight me by going some other way at the last second, but then it doesn’t. Still, it’s a solid and entertaining film throughout. 4/5 Anonymous Robot fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Sep 30, 2019 |
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Sep 30, 2019 04:08
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Definitely check out Creep 2.
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Sep 30, 2019 04:10
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STAC Goat posted:Definitely check out Creep 2. Thanks for the heads up, I will!
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Sep 30, 2019 04:12
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2.) Occult 2009, first watch, Youtube I'm a big fan of Noroi - when I covered it for the May thread I think it was my third watch - but I've never got around to this one. Occult has the same documentary style as Noroi, but much less intercut footage from "secondary sources", which is a shame - it would be interesting to see a longer section of spotting the various interviewees in the background of one another's footage, for instance. Eno's financial situation and detachment from the "normal world" add a sense of loneliness to the character - who was looking for meaning *before* he got mixed up in the eldritch events of the film - and tie into the odd camaraderie he and Shiraishi eventually form. The mundanity of much of what is filmed (especially once the clock is ticking) makes Eno's mission seem even more alien, and even with all that happens it's as if the audience is waiting with Shiraishi for final confirmation over what, if anything, is happening. The occult occurrences around Eno are creepy but oddly intangible, as withdrawn from the world as he is, so the visions and voices aren't any more "real" than if they were absent. Eno's a lonely, angry person, and no amount of poltergeist activity changes that. Being an unpaid understudy for a temp position is likely to be the scariest thing I see this month. 6 hours and 30 minutes before the ceremony. Watched: 1.) Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [Classics], 2.) Occult
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Sep 30, 2019 04:16
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4) Knife + Heart Wow. Wowowowow. I gotta say I came into this knowing nothing but still extremely skeptical because it's me, the guy who doesn't like most giallos. In fact, Suspiria (OG) is on my challenge list because I haven't seen it in probably a decade and want to give it one more chance to grab me. Knife + Heart worked because it had a clear story and didn't fall back on what I honestly think in many of these films is lazy dream logic to cover up the fact there's not much substance to the style. This balances both extremely well while still edging on some of those surreal supernatural moments that are so at home in giallo. What comes out the gate brutal and grimy ends in a surprisingly tender way before the mid-credits scene stops to remind you that what was to come for the gay population of the late 70s was far worse than any killer with a dick knife. 4/5 1) One Cut of the Dead 2) Castle Freak 3) The Void 4) Knife + Heart
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Sep 30, 2019 04:33
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Oh cool. I had a lot of fun with this challenge last year, so I'm in to try again this year. I'm in for 31, at least, by the end of October, with no real theme or idea behind anything. So let's get started with: #1. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) (Turner Classic Movies via YouTube TV) The wealthy and intelligent Baron Frankenstein dabbles in experiments to bring the dead back to life, then sets out to make a man of his own out of dead tissue. It's "Frankenstein," you know how this goes. I didn't grow up with the Hammer films, so I don't have a ton of nostalgia for them, compared to (some of) the 1930s Universal takes on the same material. I have seen a couple of the other films in the Hammer "Frankenstein" series, but never this first installment. I must say, it's a decent starting point, but not without some notable flaws. The filmmaking is pretty flat, and while Peter Cushing is always a treat, the film never makes much use of Christopher Lee as the Monster, and none of Cushing's other costars really seem to be rising to his level. There's a decent sense of style for this version of the tale, one that breaks away from the Universal iconography. However, it adds some new content to the story - notably a pair of love triangles between Frankenstein, his assistant Paul and fiancee Elizabeth, and between Frankenstein, Elizabeth and the maid. All of this pulls attention away from the main storyline, which means that Lee's version of the Monster never has much to do in the story proper. It also doesn't have a great sense of design for that monster, alternating between looking like the Mummy or the somnambulist from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. All in all, it's a fine enough film, but not one that really feels like complete. It feels like it could benefit from some of the dry humor from the Universal take, some more of the striking iconography, and some more focus on the core story elements. /5 #2. Villains (2019) (Theatrical viewing) A pair of idiot criminals on the run have their car break down on the road. They attempt to steal a car from a secluded house nearby, only to find a little girl chained up in the basement. And when the homeowners return, the two are drawn into a dangerous game with the sadistic couple. This was a surprising little film, with a great sense of style and pacing. The secret weapon is the cast, which is pretty uniformly excellent throughout. Bill Skarsgard gets a lot of the best line deliveries, showing a wonderful sense of comic timing and delivery that wasn't really utilized in either of the It films; Maika Monroe is fantastic, and Jeffrey Donovan is obviously having fun hamming it up as a psychopathic Southern Dandy stereotype. It's a shame that Kyra Sedgwick isn't really given anything to do - she gets a fairly affecting monologue during one scene, and is otherwise reduced to "old people can't be sexy" jokes or a weird, obvious "crazy person" tic of trailing off and staring into the distance, which never really goes anywhere or leads to anything. I know she's a better actress than this, so it feels like a half-baked character that the script never really had a use for, or much desire to create one. That aside, it's a clever, well-paced thriller with some good tension moments and some decent comedy beats. I don't know if I'd say you need to rush out and see it, but it would be a great under-the-radar discovery if it pops up on Shudder or some other streaming service. /5Watched so far: The Curse of Frankenstein, Villains
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Sep 30, 2019 05:14
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3. All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018) Christmas Horror is a really rare subgenre I found. I mean you can name the obvious titles like Black Christmas, Krampus, The Nightmare Before Christmas (more Halloween kids movie but still) and Gremlins but once you start searching for more it gets challenging to find more (worth watching). It’s a shame because mixing Christmas with horror is something I kind of enjoyed and wanted to explore it more. So on Shudder during my night shifts I decided to watch this one as a blind watch. This one is an anthology horror film and a pretty shoestring budget film at that (nothing wrong with that, it works with what it has). It also isn’t...very good. It suffers from having too many shorts in too short of a timeframe. Thus, a lot of the stories they tell kind of just...end. I get that anthology horror series are known for their ambiguous endings with no answers that are supposed to stimulate our thoughts. But every single one does not do that just kind of making me go “that’s it?” after a lackluster story. It’s a shame. /5Total: 1. One Cut of the Dead (2017), 2. Chopping Mall (1986), All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018)
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Sep 30, 2019 06:16
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