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Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #9: Hackers This is hard… huh… well… eliminating anything directed by Uwe Boll… making sure I don’t watch a 2 hour bad video game adaption… ok, this one is kind of short and I recognize a couple of people in the cast.  41 (53). Stay Alive (2006) Available on HBO Go. Hutch’s best friend dies bloody after playing a survivor horror game where he died in the same way, so he grieves the way any of us would, by playing the video game with all his friends who then start dying off one by one. This is a bad movie. Utterly lifeless and without anything to really feel for it or any acting worth anything. A lot of the movie is spent watching the video game, and honestly that’s when its at its most interesting. Video game characters pulled into real life aren’t very scary and don’t even make for effective jump scares. The movie doesn’t even follow its own plot rules. “You die in the game, you die in real life the same way.” Cool. Well that’s abandoned like half way in when people use start dying in real life and the game just turns itself on and fills in the blanks. And then when the characters star wising up and playing the game to figure poo poo out or fight back the game just starts affecting other poo poo and doing whatever it wants. It’s dumb. And boring. Or as Malcolm in the Middle says: “Bitch, that’s cheating!” The video game/movie’s villain is Elizabeth Bathory who I always am intrigued by, but the film does absolutely nothing with it and just basically sets her up as some kind of generic witch or something. I very nearly turned this off half way through and flipped to Our House but I decided that “machine that increases paranormal energy” wasn’t really the challenge specs even if I could squeeze it into “haunted technology.” Everyone’s name in this is so silly. Hutch. Phineus. October. Swink. Pierce’s character is Detective King so I bet the writer was trying to be cute and put in horror names or something. The writer/director team did The Boy and The Devil Inside. I’ve seen the former and it was dumb but dumb enough to be kind of fun. The latter was on my list but I’m taking it off. I’m sensing a pattern. There’s a better reviewed Director’s Cut with 15 extra minutes, a whole other subplot with new characters, and “more adult stuff” but I wouldn’t recommend watching 15 minutes more of this and I’m not watching the other 85 minutes again. Did I pad it out enough? This film is poo poo but not even poo poo enough to care about. But maybe it inspired me to finally play one of the horror survival games I’ve bought used. Two Samhain Challenges done today but no years. A quick rundown of my challenges left: 100 Years: 12 Movies Samhain: 4 Movies Halloween: 3 Movies 19 movies in a week is doable but way more of a crunch than I want. Plus there’s still a bunch of other movies I really want to watch but I’m probably not getting to most of them. The cool number is that even if I only do those 19 movies that will take me to 60 new and 72 total, which would beat last year’s best of 58/64. So if I just finish off my challenges I’ll get the last one done too. But I can’t sleep so let my try and burn out a short one.  42 (54). The Fall of the House of Usher (1950) Available on Amazon Prime Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of a man who visits his depressed friend and learns that he and his twin sister are sick, that they fear the family line is cursed and coming to an end, and that nothing he does seems to help as things get creepy. Since its a Poe story. Honestly, it was the only horror film from 1950 I could find. The weird thing about The Fall of the House of Usher is I know I’ve seen adaptions and/or read it but for some reason I can never retain the story. To be totally honest with you, I’ve never really been a huge Poe fan. Its not that I don’t enjoy him I just never was fully wowed by him. Still its weird I can never remember this story in particular. I just remember something about a brother and a sister who may or may not be uncomfortably close. For the most part I enjoyed this. It feels like a tv production with its pacing but I see no evidence of that. It was made on a low budget and you can see that in places like “the head”. I’m not sure that was actually part of Poe’s story and its a weird and not terribly good inclusion, but I suppose it was done to add some creepiness early into the story and flesh things out a bit. It felt like big commercial break reveals. Either way while its flawed it doesn’t really take away from the general moodiness and atmosphere of the piece and some of the campy feel of it is said to have maybe had in an influence on the Hammer age to soon come. I watched it late and am writing this review more than 12 hours after the fact so I don’t remember a lot of stuff to talk about . I didn’t love it. I wouldn’t say you have to seek it out. But I was dreading something bad, for no major reason. Its just that this is one of the few years I wasn’t watching a hugely heralded classic or some legends of horror. But it was a solid little piece that really helped get me back on track after that bad last entry.
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Oct 24, 2019 23:33
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Watch a horror movie you haven't seen about CYBERSPACE/computers/haunted technology/etc.
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27. Dead of Night (1945) Challenge #8: Happy Holidays (Christmas) This lulls you in by being a very gentle horror anthology at first, with that English "ghost story for Christmas" tone that's more spooky than scary, with the protagonists surviving every segment, and one story that's just out and out comedy. Then, *WHAM* an absolutely terrifying even by modern standards final segment leading into a frenetic, hallucinatory ending with a twist that still feels fresh even though it's been ripped off countless times. While I was enjoying it before, I didn't understand its reputation until I got to the last part. Devious little trick. 4/5  28. Razorback (1984) Challenge #10: Navel Gazing Jaws from Oz! Shockingly gorgeous and brutal movie about a giant killer pig, that makes room for Mad Max road chases, desert hallucinations, and a deadly showdown in a factory that makes pet food from kangaroos. For a film with such a straightforward premise, this movie feels genuinely surreal, keeping me guessing at where the hell this was going throughout. The final fight with the boar is both intense and oddly funny. Not every digression this goes down is as interesting as "giant killer pig, but I can't not enjoy any movie that constructs a giant pig puppet as lovingly as this one does. 3.5/5 
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Oct 24, 2019 23:36
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If someone wants to give me a wildcard starting with S that’d be great. I have netflix, shudder, and amazon (Canada).
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Oct 25, 2019 00:10
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Retro Futurist posted:If someone wants to give me a wildcard starting with S that’d be great. I have netflix, shudder, and amazon (Canada). The Stuff is available on Amazon Prime and everybody can't get enough of that wonderful stuff.
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Oct 25, 2019 00:13
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 26. THE JOKESMAN - in the goddamn theater! (I'm counting this for October horror in the same vein as similar thrillers) This is a tough film to review as its own thing because the hype, the drama, the discourse, ~SOciEtY~ and so on. I don't know how much is the film and how much outside context I brought in with me. There's a lot this film does well. Joaquin Phoenix gives an incredible performance, the camerawork and score are phenomenal, and there's this undercurrent of sleaze-soaked tension that reverberates through the film at all times. From scene to scene, I never quite felt sure of where the film would take me, in a way that mirrors Arthur Fleck's own experience of that feeling. Unfortunately, I don't think the writing holds up well at all, especially during the climax when the Jokester delivers a monologue to explain himself. It was so unsubtle, so clumsy, and so on-the-nose, it was hard to take seriously. This is made all the worse by the way I felt the film actually failed to close the deal on the themes. It's as if Todd Phillips kept watching the script turn into a savage takedown of capitalism and kept clipping its wings until it felt "apolitical" enough for him. You can see this in the way the right, left, and center all have opposing reads of the film. Elsewhere, this might be a triumph of subtlety, but with the Joke-em, it's a failure of vision. It's also too dang long. Phillips is clearly in love with watching Arthur dance his weird spooky dance, but that wore thin for me and I really started to feel the runtime. I think this film is made competently, elevated by an otherworldly performance from Phoenix, but weighed down by a clunky screenplay. However, it's a very interesting idea that poses interesting questions and I suspect it will be part of the discourse for awhile yet. I think it was just "pretty good" but it was an audacious enough idea to have my respect. 3 out of 5 hot takes
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Oct 25, 2019 00:50
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Random Stranger posted:The Stuff is available on Amazon Prime and everybody can't get enough of that wonderful stuff. Seen it ages ago unfortunately. Also not a big gorehound
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Oct 25, 2019 01:22
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 #144) The Crone (2013), a.k.a., Next Horror 1 The first in a three-director movie cycle, with parts two and three being Cult and Talk to the Dead, respectively. Like Cult, this movie features a three-idol team being sent with a video recording team to investigate a haunted location. In this case, that's an old, disused hospital. One of them wanders off on her own and encounters a fearsome spirit, and the rest of the film deals with the fallout from that meeting. Seeing the crone zoom by like The Flash weakened the punch a bit, but it only happened once or twice, and overall, I liked this. It felt more viscerally-focused than a lot of J-horror, with oozing sores, pus, swollen bone-breaks, infected wounds, peeling scabs, and more. More common touches, like choking on impossibly long hanks of hair, were there as well, but it felt like the director was putting in effort to up the grossness and injuries. Focusing on the mistreatment of seniors at care facilities is another uncommon touch, and the sort of thing I'd think would show up more often in J-horror, considering their aging population. Could have really used a more substantial ending, though, that almost brought down all the good will it had earned up to that point. rating: 7/10"Jump more!"
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Oct 25, 2019 01:43
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 SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #8: Happy Holidays!  26. P2 (2007) P2 has a really simple story. After working late on Christmas Eve, Angela gets trapped in her office building’s parking garage and is chased around by a dangerous creep who’s desperate to spend the holiday with her. I was in the mood for something straightforward when I put it on, but even so, this was maybe a little too basic. One problem was that the leads weren’t engaging enough to keep my mind off how many of the details didn’t add up. The bad guy clearly put some thought into planning all this, but he’d have had to kidnap Angela’s coworker before knowing for sure that he'd have a chance to isolate her. That was the biggest thing that stood out, but there were a few other “wait, really?” moments on the part of both main characters. Oh, and I also wasn’t in love with giving Angela an involuntary costume change that, hey, just so happens to show off her cleavage. Not that I have anything against cleavage, it just feels like a mismatch to scold the stalker for crossing boundaries when the movie takes advantage of that to sexy up the heroine for the rest of the runtime. I didn’t like how relatively helpless Angela was for the whole first hour, but when that changed, it led to an uncomfortable moment that I wasn’t ready for. Normally I’d try not to spoil something that happens so late in a movie, but since this is a sensitive area for a lot of folks: the dog dies violently. It’s such a nasty, senseless little scene that feels darker than the rest of the tone, and I’m saying that as a person who doesn’t typically have trouble with (simulated) animal death in horror. If P2 had added a little complexity instead of just trying to make me uncomfortable, it would have been an interesting change of pace from your typical holiday slasher. But this is not making it into my yearly Christmas horror rotation. Watched: 1. Burn, Witch, Burn (1962); 2. TerrorVision (1986); 3. Evilspeak (1981) - Challenge #1; 4. Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971); 5. The City of the Dead (1960); 6. The Witches (1966); 7. The Crimson Cult (1968); 8. A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987) - Challenge #2; 9. Next of Kin (1982); 10. The Ritual (2017); 11. Def by Temptation (1990) - Challenge #3; 12. Halloween III (1982); 13. House by the Cemetery (1981); 14. The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982); 15. Phenomena (1985); 16. Color Me Blood Red (1965) - Challenge #4; 17. Girls With Balls (2018); 18. Tarot (2009) - Challenge #5; 19. Jug Face (2013); 20. Wake Wood (2009); 21. Happy Death Day (2017); 22. Poltergeist II (1986) - Challenge #6; 23. Wolfman’s Got Nards (2018); 24. Spookies (1986); 25. The Midnight Hour (1985) - Challenge #7; 26. P2 (2007) Challenge #8
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Oct 25, 2019 01:51
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October 24 - Silent Night, Bloody Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-gpU5P__o drat, this is almost enough to make me wish I was overlapping Samhain challenges with my 31 movies/31 days challenges. But I'll be watching another holiday themed horror film this weekend. Twenty years ago, old man Butler returned to his crumbling ancestral manor for Christmas. The next time people saw him, he had run out of the house while on fire. His death was ruled an accident and now his son is attempting to sell the mansion that he wants nothing to do with. His lawyer arrives first and makes an offer, but the lawyer stays overnight at the mansion and there is someone else in the house with him. You know, the last thing I expected out of this proto-slasher was some really creative direction. There's lot of handheld POV shots which were pretty rare for 1970 as well as some clever use of lighting and framing. Someone thought they were making art with this movie and gave it their best shot. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work. The movie just looks murky in a lot of shots and some aspects narrative were clumsy; there's a fifteen minute long flashback to explain the plot of the movie right when it should be gearing up for the third act, for example. But I feel like this movie could have been Halloween almost a decade earlier if they had just made a few more steps in the right direction. I kind of liked the cast in this movie, too. Not the main characters who were boring generic people, but the townspeople who are about the least welcoming group of eccentrics that you'd meet. They play those roles right so you can feel like they deserve what they get. The plot is a bit herky-jerky bouncing from plot point to plot point without a lot of texture. And there's things like the way too long flashback that break the flow of the movie. The biggest problem with Silent Night, Bloody Night is that the script probably needed another pass or two. The writer/director was Theodore Gershuny who went on to do quite a few episodes of Tales from the Darkside, but did almost no other movies. So this was a case of a good effort by an inexperienced director who might have developed into something special if he could have stuck with it. It's also in the public domain (which is presumably how it got in my cheapy cult horror DVD set), so it's not hard to find if you want to check it out.
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Oct 25, 2019 01:57
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 #145) Talk to the Dead (2013), a.k.a., Next Horror 3 Youtube. Last of the Next Horror series. Rumors of a phone app that lets you talk to the dead are circulating, while our protagonist, Yuri, is stuck in prostitution to pay her bills and fighting guilt over her little brother's death. Surprisingly tender and compassionate story-telling, with a blue emphasis in the hues of Yuri's home (likely tying into the little brother's corpse being found next to an overflowing bathtub). It throws in the thoughtful angle of people becoming overly absorbed in talking to their dead relatives after discovering the app, which seemed like a natural consequence of that technology when I thought about it. Gotta admit, I was surprised this film didn't feature idols like the other two, but while the drama got a little overwrought at points, I came away impressed by the capability behind this film. Management of grief is a tough theme to handle well in horror, and for the most part, this film pulls it off. It could have had a more polished structure, the score could have been less sappy, and the secondary characters could have been more developed, but it all came together quite decently as it was. I wouldn't mind seeing this get a sequel, though it'd be hard for it to avoid treading the same ground. Could make for a double feature with Kairo, though it'd be a skewed showing. rating: 8/10"I want a dinosaur book." Poster for the cycle: 
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Oct 25, 2019 03:38
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Is there any chance we could get a posting extension to November 2nd or at least the evening of the 1st? I have a job thing on Friday that I have to concentrate on early, and it’ll get in the way of me writing reviews.
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Oct 25, 2019 03:39
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20: Resident Evil Vendetta ABCs: R Challenge 9: Hackers Chris and Leon team up to fight a bad guy who wants to unleash a virus. However that description makes you feel, that’s how you’ll feel at the end of this movie, there are no surprises to be had here. Leon does some crazy anime poo poo, Chris punches things, bad guy hams it up, zombies eat people, they fight a giant monster at the end, etc. I’m a fan of the games so I liked it well enough, but it’s nothing revolutionary. 21: One Cut of the Dead Challenge 10: Navel gazing I’d never even have heard of this if not for the thread, so good fit for the challenge here. I’ll echo what everyone else said, go in blind and give it a chance. the middle bit drags on a bit, but the last third won me back it’s just really fun and charming.
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Oct 25, 2019 03:43
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Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #9: Hackers 30.) Friend Request  2016, first watch, Netflix Friend Request returns us to the dreary land of haunted flash animations, screamer videos, visual artifacts, and spooky status updates. I trust that it is perhaps possible that one of these days someone will make a good "haunted internet" movie. It has not yet, to my knowledge, occurred. Every entry into this well-tread ground feels instantly dated and relies (ironically, despite the desire to be topical and grounded in the familiar) in exaggerated caricatures of modern life and connectivity to make its subject matter feel potent and threatening. It's entirely likely that the first horror movie to make good on "spooky social media" is going to be a retro feature a decade from now - that's the sort of distance you might need to really grasp the shape of a social phenomenon and jettison the parts which are weird blips. Like how nowadays we probably won't make a movie about anyone being murdered for their pog collection. This is a total miss, with the digital elements of the concept being basically extraneous, existing only to try and justify an uninteresting movie's existence. It also squanders some respectable beehive ghost design. Relying on evil magic to explain why the various measures of dealing with a compromised account aren't working is a particular blunder - if only Satan can make Facebook threatening, maybe social media isn't actually menacing enough to be the crux of your horror movie? You could evade the whole problem by just getting buy-in on your setting, as we manage in fiction all the time. Present to us a world in which deleting your social media profile is unimaginable, and we won't have to ask why Laura hasn't been able to do it, nor why it's such a big deal to have Beelzebub hack you. (Why do movie colleges act like high schools? Like surely at least some directors have been to college before. Then again movie high schools don't look anything like high schools either.) Unfriend that dead bitch! 31.) Nightbreed  1990, rewatch, Amazon Prime (Which has the 2-hour cut) This seemed the most apt way to close out the 31 and the Barker theme for this challenge. Nightbreed rocks. It's a mess that oscillates wildly between showing too much and too little, but it's earnest and passionate in ways a more deliberate and cautious movie just wouldn't be. Despite its spectacle, it opens in a relatively intimate place, as we deal with Boone's emotional and physical vulnerability before he finds himself as a resident of Midian. Subtlety isn't Nightbreed's strong suit, but we're talking about Barker here - spiritual exploration and discovery isn't some airy and numinous thing, it's done in and by very meaty and tangible bodies (Compare Boone and Lori's hunger and carnality to the stock chaste "true-love" kisses you see all the time in media, for example.) The physical and social transgressions that liberate Midian are on full display, without shame, but this safe space must itself be concealed - not out of guilt but because of the fury, projection (consider Decker), and inhumanity it provokes in others. And the moral of the story is timeless: be gay, fight cops. Everybody has a secret face Watched: 1.) Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [Classics], 2.) Occult [J- and K-horror], 3.) Son of Frankenstein [Threequels, Samhain Challenge #1], 4.) Game Over [India] 5.) Candyman [Clive Barker], 6.) Knife + Heart [New Releases], 7.) Butterfly Murders, 8.) The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [Classics], 9.) One Cut of the Dead [J- and K-Horror], 10.) Hatchet III [Threequels, Samhain Challenge #2], 11.) Neighbours: They Are Vampires [India], 12.) Midnight Meat Train [Clive Barker], 13.) Us [New Releases, Samhain Challenge #3], 14.) The Taking of Deborah Logan, 15.) People Under the Stairs, 16.) L'Inferno [Classics], 17.) The Host [J- and K-horror], 18.) Hell House LLC 3 [Threequels], 19.) Stree [India, Samhain Challenge #4], 20.) P [Samhain Challenge #5: Thailand], 21.) Lord of Illusiosn [Clive Barker], 22.) Child's Play [New Releases], 23.) Tigers Are Not Afraid, 24.) Creature from the Black Lagoon [Classics], 25.) Ju-on: The Grudge 2 [J- and K-Horror, Samhain Challenge #6], 26.) The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy [Threequels, Samhain Challenge #7], 27.) Rare Exports: A Christmas Story [Samhain Challenge #8], 28.) Unmatta [India] , 29.) Cast a Deadly Spell, 30.) Friend Request [Samhain Challenge #9] , 31.) Nightbreed [Clive Barker]
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Oct 25, 2019 03:56
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Super Samhain Challenge #9: Hackers 24. The Lawnmower Man (Director’s Cut) (1992): I knew I was onboard with this movie five minutes in when a chimp in a VR helmet steals a guard’s gun and shoots him. This seems to have directly inspired Luc Besson’s Lucy but with more of a Flowers for Algernon feel for a lot of it. Pierce Brosnan plays a scientist who is researching virtual reality as a means to educate and improve cognitive ability. He takes on his mentally disabled gardener, played by Jeff Fahey, as a research subject off the books and things get wild. The early 90’s cgi looks goofy and is reminiscent of The Mind’s Eye (https://youtu.be/VEWeP2YPKzo) but I think if it were more realistic the effect would be less unsettling. Some of the deaths in this are pretty wild. It has a bit of fat on it, as director’s cuts often do, but it’s pretty enjoyable.
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Oct 25, 2019 04:37
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FRANKENSTEIN NIGHT! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78TIuJS5fyY  43 (55). Son of Frankenstein (1939) Watched on DVD, available on Hoopla. Wolfgang von Frankenstein brings his family in Germany to reclaim his father’s castle and estate but is met only with hate and fear by those who still blame his father for creating a monster. The only welcoming face is his father’s original assistant Ygor who has survived all this time and reveals that the Monster is still alive. Wolfgang sets his mind to unlocking the secrets of his father’s miracle and reforming his name but Ygor has grown cunning and in great control of the Monster which leads another Dr. Frankenstein to tragedy. I went into this with pretty muted expectations. I’m watching because its Karloff’s last run as the monster and Bela Lugosi first as Ygor, but all the context of the movie tells me that this comes after the Universal golden age has died, with new owners who are capitalizing on the old classics with sequels. I’m expecting every crummy sequel to a franchise I’ve ever seen here, but I actually really enjoyed it. The film is self aware both on screen and in a meta sense. Wolfgang’s whole drive is about correcting the image of his father that he thinks is unfairly maligned because really, it was all because that bumbling assistant got the wrong brain. ‘Why nine out of ten people call that disfigured monster… FRANKENSTEIN!” The town remembers the past films. An explanation (sorta) is given why Ygor is alive. This may be a cash in sequel but at least its one that kind of knows what it is and addresses matters. When Whale made Bride he knew he couldn’t best the original so he made a crazy collection of ideas that became the pinnacle of Universal Horror. Son similarly knows it can’t just repeat those old ones so is making its own, clued in, movie. There’s some pacing issues and the movie feels a bit long but I think that ultimately ends up benefiting the main story of Wolfgang’s gradual breakdown. He starts a pretty reasonably guy. He’s not wrong about his dad. Henry wasn’t the mad scientist or monster he’s remembered for. He had a God complex and lost himself, but none of the harm was intentional and he tried to stop it when it went bad. Wolfgang’s got his dad’s arrogance but he wants to just clean up the name and make something of his father’s brilliance. But over the course of the movie he just slowly, painstakingly loses it and Basil Rathborne does a great job putting that on display. By the end of the film this reasonable, put together guy is a complete mess that no one can reason with. Its a total flip on his father who we only meet when he’s already half mad playing God and get to know as he sobers up and tries to fix things. But the inspector tells Wolfgang that he might be a worse fiend than his father and he’s probably right. Henry did everything he could to try and stop things once things went bad but Wolfgang keeps making the fatal mistake of horror protagonists of constantly trying to cover up his mess and making things worse. And yet, there’s a bitter irony to the fact that Henry created something amazing, lost control, and tried to do the right thing but will forever be remembered as a monster for it. Wolfgang just charged up his father’s work, risked his family and the village to avoid facing his actions, and ends up being celebrated by the village virtually unharmed. Fate is cruel. And I think the movie knows that. There’s a tongue in cheek aspect to this that works without feeling like a B film or that we’re laughing at things. Lugosi is a lot of fun as Ygor and its good to see him, and Karloff’s final run as the monster is bittersweet. Originally the plan was just to watch this one because of Karloff but it ended up being a very enjoyable watch and a surprisingly worthy sequel. Is it a classic like its two predecessors? No, of course not. But it doesn’t drag down the family name at all. Like I said, originally the plan was to stop there but then I realized (a) I wanted to watch the later sequels and (b) the one sequel I had no interest in was a year I needed. So why not just finish Frankenstein in 2019?  44 (56). The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) Watched on DVD. The Frankensteins are gone but the village has gotten used to blaming all their problems on them so they decide to blow up the castle to rid them of the curse of bad stuff happening. But Ygor is somehow still alive and the explosion frees The Monster from the walls... even though he fell into a sulfur pit... and the two decide to go on a road trip to find another Frankenstein to give the Monster a brain and Ygor a body that isn't all Rasputined up. The Monster may not know a lot, but he knows putting Ygor’s brain in his body is a bad idea. This is probably more along the lines of what I was expecting for Son, in a bad way. Its not terrible, mind you, but its not good either. There never really feels like much of a point or focus in this one. Like, a decent chunk of the film is devoted to the Monster just roaming around town, killing some people casually, and then being put on trial. It’s odd. This is the one that feels like “we need another Frankenstein movie to make money, just write up something for him to do.” The concept of Ygor-Frankenstein is the most intriguing part but it only happens at the end and doesn’t really amount to much. Which is a shame. Chaney is fine as the Monster. He isn’t quite as human as Karloff but a lot of that is in the script. His interactions with the little girl manage to maintain the same combination of innocence and terror he’s always had, and there’s something very appropriately monstrous-yet-innocent about him wanting her brain instead of Ygor’s without realizing that means killing her. Its sad that the Bride and Else Lancaster never got any time after the ultimate Universal horror but I guess its nice that they keep naming every Lady Frankenstein “Elsa.” At least I assume Ludwig’s daughter isn’t Wolfgang’s wife. That would be a different kind of movie. I really enjoyed Evelyn Ankers in The Wolf Man and was looking forward to her getting more roles like the men but she’s really not given a hell of a lot to do here. Which was a disappointment. Universal doesn’t exactly give strong roles to its women, but it being 1942 and all I’m guessing that’s not so much their issue. I don’t rally have a lot to say about this one. Its the one that starts to drag down the franchise, for sure, but thankfully its the last of the solo films so we’re not gonna fall far (at least not on our own). Also its only 68 minutes, which is a relief because a longer one could have bad. For as much as I planned out my month I screwed up in two major ways. I’ll go into the first one later but the second is this “Lon Chaney Jr played all four monsters” thing. I’ve now seen him play 2 and I really want to see the two others but I’m crunched for time and I have those years covered already. I should have planned better, found out about the Chaney thing, and set Son of Dracula aside as my ’43 entry. Alas, I doubt I get the time to watch it and The Mummy’s Tomb this month even though I like that closed circle. We’ll see. My board’s finally starting to fill out though, and I got my first BINGO! 
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Oct 25, 2019 04:44
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It's at this point in the challenge where I realize my watchlist has actually gotten bigger, not smaller, and I have to face the fact that I'm definitely not going to get through everything I have jotted down by the end of this month. Oh well! It's cool I still have so much out there to look forward to.SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #9: Hackers #23 Resident Evil (2002)  Not a great movie, but more enjoyable than I was expecting. For the most part this is pretty fun. The plot was the weakest point of it all for me. I haven't played the games much, so I hold zero attachment to the characters, world, or scenario, and I found myself sort of glazing over every time any plot details were revealed. I also didn't really care about the characters beyond watching them either kick rear end or get their own asses kicked. Things felt more complicated than they needed to be just because the movie had to make the requisite references and tie into an existing, very fleshed out world. The real reason this is a good time is because it's structured a bit like a video game. The characters basically move between action set pieces, and that's just fine. There are some fun little scenarios and locations, and although the movie isn't exactly non-stop action, there is a lot of it. I wasn't ever really bored, and getting to see Milla Jovovich spin-kick a dog out of the air was almost worth it by itself. The traps and enemies sort of do this thing where how threatening they are varies depending on what the plot requires at that exact moment, so it's hard to ever get an exact sense of the world's rules, but since it's in service of very specific story/scene beats it's hard to complain about it too much. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to anyone, but it's not a bad time for what it is. Watched (23/31): #1 Gozu (2003), #2 Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967), #3 Viy (1967), #4 Mondo Cane (1962), #5 Dark Water (2002), #6 Blood and Black Lace (1964), #7 Daughters of Darkness (1971), #8 Sliders of Ghost Town: Origins (2016), #9 One Cut of the Dead (2017), #10 Possum (2018), #11 EGG. (2005), #12 Adventures of Electric Rod Boy (1987), #13 House of 1000 Corpses (2003), #14 Ganja and Hess (1973), #15 Q (1982), #16 Hungry Stones (1960), #17 The Ruins (2008), #18 The Lighthouse (2019), #19 Pulgasari (1985), #20 Halloween (2018), #21 Freddy vs. Jason (2003), #22 The Phantom Carriage (1921), #23 Resident Evil (2002) Challenges (9/10): blood_dot_biz fucked around with this message at 07:21 on Oct 25, 2019 |
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Oct 25, 2019 05:04
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34. Oct 23, 2019 Frankenstein (1931, James Whale) Blu-ray When you're a movie buff, there's a point where some films are more important than great. While there's no question about how iconic the original '31 Frankenstein is, it's unfortunately a bit flat. Karloff is indeed fantastic in this and it's quite beautiful, but it pales in comparison to the rest of the 30s films. I'd even say Dracula has an edge. Not to say it's bad, but I was surprised how much less I enjoyed the film this time. 3.5/5 35. Oct 23, 2019  The Mummy (1932, Karl Freund) Blu-ray And this time, I'm surprised how much more fun I found this when it was a weaker one in the past. Great plot (even if sort of ripping off Dracula), amazing main role by Karloff, and some really gorgeous lighting and camera work. Also has a great flashback scene and score. 4/5 36. Oct 24, 2019  The Invisible Man (1933, James Whale) Blu-ray "'Eeh's all eaten away!" As with The Old Dark House, James Whale gets to go for a fun, campy tone. Claude Rains is magnificent (good god, that voice) and the effects still look amazing even after all these years. Can I also mention how much I adore Una O'Connor? One interesting reading of this is how the act of becoming invisible ultimately allows Dr. Griffin to become pure id, now his external self has dissolved. 4.5/5 37. Oct 24, 2019  The Bride of Frankenstein (1935, James Whale) Blu-ray THE MONSTER DEMANDS A MATE. This is such a fun follow-up and surpasses the original in every way. Ernest Thesiger steals this entire movie out from everyone else. And even with Young Frankenstein sending up so much, the blind man scene is actually really touching (even if I get the sense it's slightly mocking). Oh yeah, more Una O'Connor screaming! 4.5/5 Egbert Souse fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Oct 25, 2019 |
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Oct 25, 2019 05:29
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 27. Dan Curtis’s Dracula (1973) Tonight I was in the mood for something tame, and as a Dark Shadows fan, I’ve been meaning to get around to this one since spotting it on Shudder. And while I’m not sure this version will end up on my best-draculas list, it was enjoyable enough to recommend, partly because it takes an unusual angle on the story. We start out with Harker, the carriage, the foreboding European castle, etc. Jack Palance’s Dracula is quiet but forceful, and while he’s hardly a charmer, he doesn’t seem monstrous until he’s angry and even then there’s a bit of restraint. Right at the start he looks at one of Harker’s photos and Lucy catches his eye. Just after that scene we see him looking at an image of himself as Vlad the Impaler in a tapestry, and of course, the woman beside him in the tapestry looks just like Lucy. The rest of the story is a stripped down version that focuses on Arthur Holmwood, Van Helsing, and Dracula's past. I found a review that claims that this was the first movie to really associate Dracula with Vlad Tepes. I don’t have a deep enough knowledge of other adaptations to say if that’s true or not, but I did notice that In Search of Dracula, the book that popularized the idea that Stoker was directly inspired by Vlad Tepes (instead of just coming across the name Dracul in his research and deciding to use it) was published a year before this movie was made. I’m also curious about whether this is the first movie to use the idea of a modern woman as Dracula’s reincarnated love. Curtis apparently said in an interview that he lifted that idea from Dark Shadows, and while I don’t remember spotting it in any earlier Dracula movies, I’m hardly an expert. It’s interesting to note that Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 Dracula uses both Vlad Tepes and Drac’s reincarnated wife, and this movie had always been titled Bram Stoker’s Dracula until the early 90s when Coppola paid its rights-holders for that name. (I probably could have managed to watch another movie tonight if I hadn't wandered off into reading about Dracula on the internet, but whatever. I'm on pace, and geeking out about this poo poo is fun.) Overall, I liked this one. While I had some issues with its pacing, Richard Matheson’s script did a nice job of making something fresh out of the story. The movie also looks good, with pretty lighting and some interesting off-kilter shots. It’s definitely worth watching for Dracula fans who haven’t seen it yet. Watched: 1. Burn, Witch, Burn (1962); 2. TerrorVision (1986); 3. Evilspeak (1981) - Challenge #1; 4. Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971); 5. The City of the Dead (1960); 6. The Witches (1966); 7. The Crimson Cult (1968); 8. A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987) - Challenge #2; 9. Next of Kin (1982); 10. The Ritual (2017); 11. Def by Temptation (1990) - Challenge #3; 12. Halloween III (1982); 13. House by the Cemetery (1981); 14. The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982); 15. Phenomena (1985); 16. Color Me Blood Red (1965) - Challenge #4; 17. Girls With Balls (2018); 18. Tarot (2009) - Challenge #5; 19. Jug Face (2013); 20. Wake Wood (2009); 21. Happy Death Day (2017); 22. Poltergeist II (1986) - Challenge #6; 23. Wolfman’s Got Nards (2018); 24. Spookies (1986); 25. The Midnight Hour (1985) - Challenge #7; 26. P2 (2007) Challenge #8; 27. Dan Curtis’s Dracula (1973)
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Oct 25, 2019 05:34
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SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #6: SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK 27. Demons 2 Lamberto Bava's Demons involved people being possessed in a movie theater, so it kinda makes sense that the sequel is about the home viewing experience. A horror movie that seems to relate to the events of the original plays on TV one night, watched by several residents of a high tech apartment complex; one, a teenage girl, gets possessed by a creature that emerges from the TV (in an effect clearly borrowed from Videodrome), becomes a hideous ravening demon herself, and attacks everyone who came to her birthday party. Some of the blood spilled leaks down to the floors below, causing havoc, and eventually the party demons break out and lead a rampage. While the shift in premise kinda makes sense, I don't think the filmmakers really thought about it enough- while the original movie wasn't exactly tightly plotted, there was the idea that the theater lured everyone inside and trapped them, which was cool enough that it didn't need explanation. Here things just sorta start to go crazy for no reason, and the pacing is odd and disjointed as the movie jumps between various groups of survivors. Some parts of it are inventive- I do kinda like that one group is just a bunch of gym attendees still in their spandex (Bobby Rhodes, also in the first film, shows up as a trainer)- but it's all very badly put together, and you can tell they had trouble thinking of a good ending. Still, one thing worth noting- producer Dario Argento managed to land some pretty good music for the soundtrack, including The Smiths, The Cult, Art of Noise, Dead Can Dance, and Love and Rockets.
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Oct 25, 2019 05:35
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22. Bones I came into this movie with fairly high expectations actually, based on a lot of reviews from the last 2 challenges. Also, just by cast and crew it should be right up my alley. I was a little worried during the first act. About the only thing I got out of it was that 50+ year old Pam Grier was still bringing her fastball and one decent creepy rear end dream. From the moment that Snoop Bones is betrayed, until the very end, gave me exactly what I was looking for. There were incredibly cool visuals and practical effects, equally as poor effects in some spots but in the best way possible. From that point in the movie forward it’s pretty much non stop cool poo poo happening even if most of the actors weren’t the best and the story was mediocre. The last 45-60 minutes were everything anyone watching a horror movie lead by Snoop could want. 23. Godzilla: King of the Monsters Super Samhain Challenge 7 What a great cast for a Godzilla movie! At least 8 actors you can easily name and then an extra 6 “hey it’s that guy!”s. This would obviously seem like a good thing for most movies, but for a Giant Monster movie, only 2 roles matter. The monster and whatever it’s fighting. When King of the Monsters focuses on that, it’s excellent. The CGI Monsters all look and sound phenomenal. There was one scene with Ghidorah vaporizing a crowd of soldiers that really helped show why these movies can be counted for the challenge. Sadly, it’s most overwrought human drama. It gives way too much credence to its over-casted side roles (Bradley Whitford’s character for example is completely unnecessary and every one of his lines could have been used on more monster time. I really like Bradley Whitford!) and seems to really have no idea why it’s audience came to watch. Overall I’m glad I watched it because Godzilla loving rules and in the end that’s all that matters, but drat, how are they still screwing this dynamic up? I would watch these movies in another language with no subtitles if the monster to person ratio is right.
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Oct 25, 2019 05:56
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quote:#21: Gremlins 2 (SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #4) quote:#22: Scream 2 (SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #6) quote:#23: Invasion of the Body Snatchers Watched: 23/31 1. The Fog, 2. Evil Bong, 3. The Silence, 4. Death Ship, 5. Cannibal Women and the Avocado Jungle of Death, 6. Scream, 7. Who Can Kill a Child, 8. The Seventh Curse, 9. Killer Condom, 10. Zombie, 11. Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, 12. C.H.U.D., 13. Satan’s Slaves, 14. Scooby Doo and the Mask of the Blue Falcon, 15. Deep Red, 16. Cemetery of Terror, 17. End of the Wicked, 18. Scooby Doo: Camp Scare, 19. Carrie, 20. Mother!, 21. Gremlins 2: The New Batch, 22. Scream 2, 23. Invasion of the Body Snatchers Super Samhain Challenges: 1, 2, 3, Peacoffee fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Oct 25, 2019 |
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Oct 25, 2019 05:59
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blood_dot_biz posted:#23 Resident Evil (2002)
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Oct 25, 2019 07:02
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 15: The Purge: Anarchy Challenge 6 - I never seen any Purge movies, and heard this was the best of the bunch, so decided to go with it for the challenge. And turns out it's pretty decent. For some reason, a lot of the movie really felt like a 3rd person action videogame, just with all the urban combat situations and discrete groups of enemies and allies. I did like the variety of purgers - one a government run force of nature, biker gangs, crazy single individuals, wild masked hunters, or just one guy pulling out a six pack and sniping. The main crew did seem to have rather durable plot-armor, but the realism wasn't there for that really to matter. Kinda a bit of a message/symbolism in the setting, but it's never in-your-face or political about it. It's by no means a good movie but it's a very watchable scramble through hostile territory, definitely a solid pick for a more action-y October movie. Goals - 13/13 - 1: K-12 2: Gozu 3: The Wailing 4: Phantom of the Paradise 5: Viy (SC1) 6: One Cut of the Dead 7: Happiness of the Katakuris 8: Little Monsters 9: Shadow of the Vampire 10: Bone Tomahawk (SC2) 11: Ichi the Killer 12: The Witch 13: Hereditary 14: Tammy and the T-Rex (SC4) 15: The Purge: Anarchy (SC6) Rewatches - Event Horizon, In the Mouth of Madness, The Cell Lhet fucked around with this message at 08:07 on Oct 25, 2019 |
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Oct 25, 2019 08:04
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Five Eyes posted:30.) Friend Request Not a horror movie, but Searching actually does a lot with the “thriller shot entirely on the internet” conceit and kinda makes it work.
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Oct 25, 2019 08:08
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 The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975 What do I even say about this movie after seeing it every year for such a long time? Do point out its perfect blend of 50s rock 'n' roll with 70s glam rock? Its tributes to old sci-fi and horror? How prefect Tim Curry is as Dr. Frank-N-Furter - A Scientist? I've never watched Phantom of the Paradise from the year before. Maybe that's the perfect horror musical. But after so many years of watching this every year drunk. After watching so many times outside these marathons just as something to pass out drunk to, I'll always hold it up as the greatest horror musical. It's just perfect. Hot Dog Day #89 fucked around with this message at 11:31 on Oct 25, 2019 |
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Oct 25, 2019 11:28
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Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #9: Hackers 34)The Lawnmower Man 1992  This is not faithful to the original story at all! A scientist creates an intelligence potion that he tests on a neighbour with learning disabilities. For reasons unclear, the subject must be playing VR games for the potion to work. He then gains telepathic and cyber powers. It's Flowers for Algernon meets ReBoot. It's predictable but entertaining enough. The lead actor is decent. Really not a lot I can think to say about this one. It's OK. The dated CG is kind of charming. Total 1) Brain Damage 1988; 2) Onibaba 1964; 3) Slugs 1988; 4) The Tingler 1959; 5) Pieces 1982; 6) Canibal Ferox 1981; 7) Eyes without a Face 1960; 8) Train to Busan 2016; 9) Creepshow 2 1987; 10) Anaconda 1997; 11) Samhain#1 Son of Frankenstein 1939; 12) Happy Death Day 2017; 13) Species 1995; 14) Insidious 2010; 15) Chopping Mall 1986; 16) One Cut of the Dead 2017; 17) Samhain#2 House of 1000 Corpses 2003; 18) Samhain#3 Horror Noire 2019; 19) Shivers 1975; 20) Lair of the White Worm 1988; 21) Black Sunday 1960; 22) Monster House 2006; 23) Inseminoid 1981; 24) It Comes at Night 2017; 25) Samhain#4 The Fog 1980; 26) Jason X 2001; 27) Samhain#5 Troll Hunter 2010; 28) Samhain#6 Phantasm 3 1994; 29) Phantasm 4 1998; 30) Phantasm 5 2016; 31)The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 1970; 32) Samhain#7 Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein 1948; 33) Samhain#8 Krampus 2015; 34) Samhain#9 The Lawnmower Man 1992
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Oct 25, 2019 12:01
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SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #10: Navel Gazing (thanks CopywrightMMXI) 27)Pin youtube  Ok so I've read the novel, so I knew what I was getting into, but seeing it on screen is still super squicky. It's uncomfortable and psychosexual and full of waspy sexual repression and it's terrible consequences. It's really not surprising that the author of the novel, Andrew Niederman became V.C. Andrews ghostwriter after her death. I'm just really glad they cut out the grosser parts of the novel explicit incestual threesomes with the dummy, the brother's sexual assault On the one hand it's super uncomfortable and disturbing, on the other it's really effective, I love the rich 80s aesthetic. .5/5 Though can't say I want to watch it again. After that I went to go see: 28)The Lighthouse theatres  Move is gorgeous and claustrophobic and hypnotizing. Super atmospheric. Two absolutely fantastic performances. That monologue (you'll know the one) I can see people not liking this as much as the VVitch, because it's weirder and far less straightforward. While I liked the VVitch I didn't love it and thought it had some problems, but I was also super excited to see what Eggers did next. Did not disappoint. Him and Ari Aster are two directors I'll be at day one for everything. loved it .5/5
Ambitious Spider fucked around with this message at 13:17 on Oct 25, 2019 |
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Oct 25, 2019 13:02
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Lhet posted:
Anarchy is good but I think The First Purge (as in the 4th one in the series, what a confusing name) is a lot better.
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Oct 25, 2019 13:17
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 27. Knife+Heart - Shudder/Prime A masked killer with a bladed dildo stalks the Paris gay pornography scene. Tale as old as time... I think it's fair to call this a "neo-giallo" type of film. Lots of colors, lots of insistent musical cues, lots of unpleasant murders that are lurid and weird and stylish at times. The film takes place on porno film sets and features footage of gay pornography, but nothing X-rated, mainly just dudes smoochin' and grindin' and moanin' and caressin' which I think adds to the atmosphere. The story is kind of a loose whodunnit but the style of the film and the character moments take precedence over plot, y'know... like a giallo. There was a lot I liked looking at in this film and I found the plot engaging enough to undergird the great visuals and cool score. I enjoyed the performances as well; our main character Anne pines for editor Lois in a kind of messy, unhinged way that I found compelling. My problem(?) with the film is that, in depicting a sleaze-ball world that happens to feature queer characters, I wasn't always clear on whether the film finds queerness itself sleazy or inherently seedy. None of the queer characters has what I would call a happy relationship and at times the film felt as if it was saying "Look at these nasty bois and the nasty things that happen to them!". However, I think there's enough in the final act to make me feel that the film does hold a sincere sense of dignity for queer characters. I say all this because if homophobic violence is triggering for you, you might not enjoy this film, at least until the resolution. The opening kill (first five minutes) is very extreme leather-daddy-on-twink violence so caveat emptor if that's going to wreck your night. 4 out of 5 ominous grackles
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Oct 25, 2019 13:19
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#55: Legend of the Witches Real live nude British witches! I have my doubts. I suppose it's possible that there really was a coven exclusively of attractive fit young people, not a single old or fatty or uggo in sight, who were like, "Sure you can come film our secret nude religious rituals where we're totally nude and have our faces exposed for your witch documentary." But I suspect some kind of movie trickery. Aside from the live nude witches segments, the rest of this witch documentary is fairly standard documentary stuff, and surprisingly even handed. Lots of slow panning shots of museum exhibits or old paintings, with voice over. I know that probably makes it sound dull, but the good black and white cinematography, British voice over, music, and general 70s witch atmosphere make Legend of the Witches actually pretty entertaining. The final segment on the hypnotic elements of witch ceremonies is, well, hypnotic. And extremely 70s. The even handed treatment of the subject matter makes it less offensive to actual witches than you'd image a 70s witch documentary would be. Legend of the Witches is a fun spooky chill nude time. Would recommend.
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Oct 25, 2019 14:00
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 32 The Reflecting Skin (1990) [Idaho] As the home-life of an 8-year-old boy starts to fall apart, he becomes convinced his neighbor is a vampire. gently caress, this was absolutely brutal. Don’t expect a Fright Night-esq comedy, this is a haunting coming-of-age drama about the nature of death and the (in)ability of a young child to deal with that. It is a gorgeous looking movie, with beautiful shots of the vast prairies, fine performances, a great score and some seriously haunting moments. A beautiful, depressing movie that I don’t think I’ll ever want to see again.  33 The ‘Burbs (1989) [Iowa] I needed something light and fun after that, and this proved to be the perfect choice. Strangely enough, the central premise is quite similar with Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) becoming convinced his neighbor is a murderer. However, this is a straight-up comedy. The premise has been done before but making the characters adults (that nevertheless behave as children) was a great choice, and is supported by entertaining performances by Hanks, Bruce Dern and Rick Ducommun. There are lots of background gags, fun camera work and Dick Miller also shows up, so basically what you’d expected from a Joe Dante picture. Just a fun, lighthearted romp.  34 The Visitor (1979) [Georgia] IMDB gives the following plot description: “John Huston stars as an intergalactic warrior who joins a cosmic Christ figure in battle against a demonic 8-year-old girl, and her pet hawk, while the fate of the universe hangs in the balance.” If that doesn’t pique your attention maybe the bizarrely stacked cast which includes John Huston, Lance Henriksen, Glenn Ford, Shelley Winters and Sam Peckinpah does. How about several bird attacks, an ice-skate fight, trippy religious sci-fi visuals, a mirror hall scene, a very funky theme song or a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar cameo? Although set in Atlanta, this is an Italian production and it very much shows. This is a bizarre schizophrenic mish-mash of genres and ideas stolen from other movies that shouldn’t work but somehow it does.
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Oct 25, 2019 14:00
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 105) Jason X - 2002 - DVD Jason in Space. Well if the Leprechaun's made it out there, why not Jason. Overall, it's not bad. It's pretty standard for a Friday the 13th film set in the future, and we get uberZombie Jason. Pretty much the reason we got this film was Freddy vs Jason was still in development hell. The novelization of this one was okay enough.  106) Freddy vs. Jason - 2003 - DVD Technically this counts as both Friday the 13th pt XI and Nightmare on Elm Street pt 8. Considering there's no way the film could match the hype we'd all built up in our heads since seeing the end of Jason Goes to Hell, this was okay for what it was. Admittedly the ending was a bit of a let down since the filmmakers were too antsy to commit to a clear victor. I'm due for a reread on the novelization. Franchescanado posted:SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #10: Navel Gazing  107) The Phantom Carriage - 1921 - Youtube For how many people watched this one for the October Challenge, I'd already decided I'd eventually watch it. That this Fran Challenge would be watch something you discovered from the thread just sped that up. I have to agree with others, this is definitely gorgeously shot. I've been long fascinated by early film special effects and this was total eyecandy for me. I don't remember who said it that it plays like a morality tale, but it clearly draws from the old folklore of ghostly carriages on the road at New Year's Eve whether it's punishment by the Devil for trying to back out of selling one's soul or a version of Charon ferrying the dead to the afterlife. Overall, I really enjoyed this one.
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Oct 25, 2019 14:23
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30. Doctor Terror's House of Horrors (1965) Watched On: YouTube SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #7: Watch a horror film that you haven't seen that features two different monsters. This was an entirely adequate horror anthology. I feel like I shouldn't be too rough on it because it was made in the 60s and they were still figuring this stuff out, but it definitely feels quaint in a way that Dead of Night didn't. The segments have a couple of little twists at the end, but for the majority of their runtime, it's completely straightforward and competently executed horror. Christopher Lee's good in it and you get to see a Dirty Dozen-era Donald Sutherland do his thing. But it didn't really grab me. Not much else to say about it.
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Oct 25, 2019 14:55
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Lumbermouth posted:30. Doctor Terror's House of Horrors (1965) I think this is the only Amicus anthology I haven't seen. They definitely figured out the formula later on, Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror are both really good. Some of the others like Asylum and The House that Dripped Blood are decent too.
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Oct 25, 2019 14:58
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gey muckle mowser posted:I think this is the only Amicus anthology I haven't seen. They definitely figured out the formula later on, Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror are both really good. Some of the others like Asylum and The House that Dripped Blood are decent too. Like, it was totally fine! But the best part of the movie was definitely Christopher Lee being made fun of for praising the paintings of a chimpanzee.
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Oct 25, 2019 15:32
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It's important to remember Amicus wasn't trying to be Universal and messing up, they set out to make dirt cheap anthologies with some B-list stars that could turn a profit. They were a half step below Hammer. So a lot of that quaintness is just due to the rushed and cheap nature of the production as much as anything else.
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Oct 25, 2019 16:21
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SAMHAIN CHALLENGE: HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Santa's Slay It struck me while watching this that people now and in the future who see it might not know anything about Bill Goldberg. Like, the guy isn't Hulk Hogan or The Rock, there are a lot of people out there who might see this in 2019 and beyond without having any idea who Goldberg was. And in that scenario maybe this would actually be kinda terrifying? It's a completely ripped, muscled out dude who at one point is just straight-up stalking kids through a high school wearing a wife-beater as he attempts to murder them as gruesomely as possible. I mean, the movie is of course a comedy but there are certain points where Goldberg presents a pretty scary image if you take the context(this is WCW's Goldberg in a goddamn Santa outfit) out of it. Every scene where Goldberg kills people has solid gags in it, and of course this is not a movie where they were gonna risk overstaying their welcome. It's a brisk 78 minutes, which really works in it's favor and makes it a pretty fun little movie to throw on during the Christmas season. It would work really well as like a palate cleanser if you were doing say, a marathon with more serious stuff like Black Christmas or Christmas Evil. Watched: 1. Child's Play(1988) 2. Child's Play(2019) 3. VHS: Viral 4. Tales From the Crypt 5. (SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #1)Viy 6. House of Frankenstein 7. Van Helsing 8. The Shining 9. Salem's Lot 10. Poltergeist 2: The Other Side 11. Pumpkinhead 2: Blood Wings 12. The Ravenous 13. Alucarda 14. Horror of Dracula 15. Dracula: Prince of Darkness 16. Midsommar 17. Candyman 18. Hellraiser 19. An American Werewolf in London 20. Bad Moon 21. Prince of Darkness 22. The Fog 23. (SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #2)House of 1000 Corpses 24. The Devil's Rejects 25. 3 From Hell 26. (SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #4)Crawl 27. (SAMHAIN CHALLENGE# 3) Ganja & Hess 28. Aenigma 29. City of the Living Dead 30. Halloween 31. Halloween II 32. Halloween III 33. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers 34. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers 35. (SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #6)Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers(Producer's Cut) 36. Halloween: H2O 37. Halloween: Resurrection 38. Halloween(2007) 39. Halloween II(2009) 40. SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #8 Santa's Slay
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Oct 25, 2019 16:30
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Lurdiak posted:It's important to remember Amicus wasn't trying to be Universal and messing up, they set out to make dirt cheap anthologies with some B-list stars that could turn a profit. They were a half step below Hammer. So a lot of that quaintness is just due to the rushed and cheap nature of the production as much as anything else. Okay cool so I can now safely make fun of the GOOFY AS gently caress bat effects in this.
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Oct 25, 2019 17:04
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SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE #11: All Hail The King Thanks to CopywrightMMXI for designing this torture device   Watch a Stephen King adaptation that you haven't seen.or  Watch an H.P. Lovecraft adaptation you haven't seenor  Watch an Edgar Allen Poe adaptation you haven't seen
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Oct 25, 2019 17:12
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We're getting all challenges today right? I'm hoping to knock them all out this weekend
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Oct 25, 2019 17:25
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