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I love Christine, and I will be very disappointed if/when Carpenter is dispatched. I voted for Alien because it is a masterpiece. That’s the interesting thing about the way this tournament is set up. If he had pulled They Live (among others obviously), I personally would have voted for that, even though it might not have faired nearly as well as Christine is.
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Sep 3, 2020 00:59
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| # ? May 15, 2024 12:21 |
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My votes are as follows: Onibaba Babadook Salem's Lot Christine I think this is perhaps the tightest round so far. The only film I think doesn't deserve to win is Dream Warriors, and not because I think it's terrible, I just have no love for it personally. As for the films I have voted for; Christine has been talked to death, but I'm voting for it based on its entertainment factor and personality alone. Onibaba and Babadook get my votes for roughly the same reason, they're both very striking, kinetic, and small movies, which ring every ounce of horror out of their limited brief. Salem's Lot, on the other hand, is the opposite, it basks in that free and lazy Sunday afternoon feel, but when it comes time to deliver those iconic scares, it does so so strikingly that even Yuzna struggles to top it. Also if whilst watching Salem's Lot, you felt like there was a severe deficit of boobs, nazi hunters, Larry Cohen, and Michael Moriarty, then definitely give A Return to Salem's Lot a watch! It also helps that the music is incredibly good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0UnP1FCetU
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Sep 3, 2020 06:00
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Ari Aster’s Hereditary vs. Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook vs. Jordan Peele’s Get Out aka “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? Do You Really Want To Make Me Cry?” I'm not watching Hereditary. I feel a little guilty but that's silly. I've seen it. I've had an emotional week and I really don't feel like crying myself to sleep. Its a great film with an amazing Oscar caliber performance from Toni Collette. Its a really amazing exploration of grief and guilt and the tests of love. I'm emotional just thinking of the plot. I do think it gets a little tonally odd at the end and I'm kind of tempted to just FF to the final 30 minutes to rewatch that part to process it better. But it didn't take away from me and its the high for some. Babadook is another great exploration of grief and guilt and love. I really, really like Babadook and there's two main reasons. 1) I love the creature design. The book. The sound. Everything. I think its one of the best horror creatures of the 21st century and I think the fact its popping up in memes is a good sign. I kind of hope we see a Babadook somewhere else in another film. 2) Its such an amazing and multi faceted story. There's so many ways you can interpret it. A metaphor for grief. A descent into mental illness. I've seen really strong cases for it being a drug addiction story. I think it works in all those ways and that's an amazingly dexterous story. There's universal truths in human struggles and Babadook taps into them in such an effective way you can drop it on a bunch of different things. I really really dig it. Get Out is yet another great exploration of important issues. I'm too tired to go into them and we've all see it. I think I'm more aware and open to its message now than I was 3 years ago. Not that I didn't like it 3 years ago or agree with everything it had to say, but I just think my own personal growth and the hell of our world has made it feel even more poignant and meaningful. It always was and I got it but I felt it a little more. I also saw the horror in it more this time. The last time I kind of just rpocessed it as a message movie, but this time I really did see the horror. And when you know the twist I think a lot of that stuff that plays as social commentary plays way more horror. Like Rose's actions of loving, protective girlfriend are just her toying with her prey. Or the party scenes of rich white people being awkwardly racist in their efforts to not be racist are actually slave owners sizing up the cattle. Its hosed up and very effective. I had the same kind of experience with Us and I do wonder if Peele has the right balance of message and horror in his pieces. But having to watch a movie this rewarding twice is not a bad thing. So its a tough vote because its three great films from 3 talented new directors. All of them will field repeats next round so that's out. I can nitpick little things in all of them. Get Out's balance, Hereditary's tonal shift, maybe Babadook's ending. B ut they're all nitpicks. I feel bad about not voting for all these films and feel like I could go back and forth on this all night. But I think I'm going Babadook. Ultimately I love that creature design and feel like that dexterous story is really impressive. But I feel like poo poo not voting for Get Out's message or Toni Collette's performance. Christine, Salem's Lot, Babadook, and The VVitch.
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Sep 3, 2020 06:25
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Christ I almost forgot to vote, and my posts this week have been mostly whining about the ratfucking of Alien, here's my decisions: Onibaba Hereditary Society Alien
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Sep 3, 2020 13:34
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I went with Onibaba Hereditary Society Christine. I even edited my vote from my original, which I won't say. Blood from a stone, this tournament.
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Sep 3, 2020 13:35
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I said gently caress it and went with Dream Warriors, Get Out, Society and Christine. Dream Warriors was a lark, opting for the fun movie in that matchup. I honestly went back and swapped my vote between Alien and Christine like half a dozen times. All y'all voting for Hereditary though are wild. That movie is counterfeit money. Especially when you've got films with actual ideas and characters right next to it.
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Sep 3, 2020 13:39
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What I found really interesting this round was that absolutely nobody complained about Onibaba not being horror. It's just a really good movie, and it looks like it's going to trash two all time greats.
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Sep 3, 2020 13:41
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TrixRabbi posted:I said gently caress it and went with Dream Warriors, Get Out, Society and Christine. The Babadook is abrasive in a way that makes revisiting it a bit of a pain for me (intentionally annoying child screaming constantly). Get Out is great, and was what I originally voted for, but I appreciate Hereditary's cinematography and absurdity a little more. Get Out is the tightest movie of the bunch, but I think it's too neat? The whole thing is tied up nice and neat at the end, and I appreciate that The Babadook and Hereditary still leave ambiguity and room for my imagination to participate. Y'all wanted triple threats; don't be surprised when movies get hosed because the choices are too difficult. married but discreet posted:What I found really interesting this round was that absolutely nobody complained about Onibaba not being horror. It's just a really good movie, and it looks like it's going to trash two all time greats. Murder. Rape. Ghosts. Demons. Curses. Fake ghosts/curse/demons are still horror. No one said House on Haunted Hill isn't a horror movie or haunted house movie even though it's all the plot-relevant ghostliness is revealed to be faked by the end. It's horror.
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Sep 3, 2020 13:48
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I'm still pretty sure Alien is gonna win, but we put up a good fight.
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Sep 3, 2020 13:52
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Basebf555 posted:I'm still pretty sure Alien is gonna win, but we put up a good fight. There's two types of people in this thread; those who voted for Christine, and those who are wrong. 
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Sep 3, 2020 13:55
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Basebf555 posted:I'm still pretty sure Alien is gonna win, but we put up a good fight. Very possible but I'm not so sure. It will come down to the voters who don't post, but with a few notable exceptions it feels like most people who post here are going Christine. Franchescanado posted:The Babadook is abrasive in a way that makes revisiting it a bit of a pain for me (intentionally annoying child screaming constantly). Get Out is great, and was what I originally voted for, but I appreciate Hereditary's cinematography and absurdity a little more. Get Out is the tightest movie of the bunch, but I think it's too neat? The whole thing is tied up nice and neat at the end, and I appreciate that The Babadook and Hereditary still leave ambiguity and room for my imagination to participate. I mean, I know there's a ton of Aster fans, Hereditary in particular, but I've consistently felt disappointed by the dude. He's good at prodding you with violent imagery but his characters always feel like toys to be moved around for shock value -- Hereditary is like the film version of setting your Sims on fire. I think it's the combination of the polished aesthetic and "prestige" atmosphere he's cultivated, because if the same scripts were done on microbudgets I'd probably adore them. The way you point out Get Out being "too neat" I feel that aesthetically Aster is too polished and as a result the films carry an undue air of importance (both Hereditary and Midsommar). Now, I like Hereditary more than Midsommar cause it does have forward momentum, but by the end of it I just didn't feel like he had anything to say. What was the message -- your family fucks you up? Same as Midsommar, we get it you were a lovely boyfriend, did we really need 2.5 hours of wafer thin characterization and leering gore shots to say that? It's all cult chic.
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Sep 3, 2020 13:57
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Franchescanado posted:There's two types of people in this thread; those who voted for Christine, and those who are wrong. 
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Sep 3, 2020 14:05
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We're gonna get a Carpenter/Scott tie aren't we
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Sep 3, 2020 14:06
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Aster characters feeling like toys prodded along by outside forces/the director is sort of the point isn't it? Hereditary is very obvious in that regard, with the whole dollhouse imagery and the way the mystery unravels. The way I see both of his movies (and I might be completely off) is that they're meant to provide extreme catharsis (ok all horror does this). You watch these traumatizing and relatable events but they're so over the top, and so absurdly funny, that you can't help but laugh, even as you're maybe crying.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:12
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TrixRabbi posted:Very possible but I'm not so sure. It will come down to the voters who don't post, but with a few notable exceptions it feels like most people who post here are going Christine. I wonder if my acceptance of Ari Aster's characters is just from my interest in post-modern storytelling, where characters are allowed to be presented in a way that you're describing. I don't think of them as chess pieces or Sims--shallow avatars to present the story. I think he just purposefully leaves their interactions and characterization in a detached manner. There's no "Save the Cat" moments in his movies. His camera lingers on them in silence. The family in Hereditary is wrecked and hosed before the movie even begins. It also feels very Kubrickian. Dave is not a easily defined, specific character, but 2001 (a film where the biggest personality is a robot) is still a masterpiece; but it's had half a century our culture to be defined by the audience. Paul Thomas Anderson can be very similar with his more recent works, which someone present characters in a detached way but also aren't plot heavy--The Master, Phantom Thread, There Will Be Blood, Punch-Drunk Love, etc. On the flip side, you have David Lynch, who a lot of people would argue is style over substance, but the majority of his movies are centered around character instead of plot or momentum. Blue Velvet has Jeffrey's Chicken Walk, his strained relationship with his father upon realizing his parents mortality, Frank's crying at hearing Dorothy sing, Sandy and Mike's shallow high school romance, Ben's hideout, Heineken vs PBR, etc. And I would like to see Aster do more of that, but with just two films, I don't hold it against him yet. It seems silly to say, but maybe what you're feeling is that Aster doesn't let the actors have more room for their characters? Which seems insane to say, given Toni Collete's performance is great, but is still kinda true. I dunno. These are just some thoughts.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:12
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That could be it. And to be clear I don’t necessarily have an issue with his approach in theory, it’s just that it doesn’t work for me in his case. Toni Collette probably should have gotten an Oscar nod because it’s such an Oscar performance — over the top screaming, expression for the sake of expression. But I didn’t care a lick about the character or get any sense for who she was as a person. She’s tortured and she screams. The son is a stoner, the daughter is creepy, the father is...there. Your point about Lynch is spot on though and what draws me in to his films. Through the fog of his surrealism he is at heart a humanist director and is most fascinated by behavior and personality. He’s moved by art and so are his characters, even the worst of them. They emote in odd ways at odd times because that’s what people do — sometimes you have to stop whatever you’re doing because you’re so overwhelmed by the beauty of something. edit: I wouldn't compare Aster to PTA's character work. PTA's characters are detached, yes, but they're always full of personality. From Barry in Punch Drunk Love to Freddie in The Master, these are dudes struggling with emotional connection and stability and can seem out of sync with the world around them, but they exude personality and internal anguish that is informed by their experiences (even the experiences that are only implied). PTA does this type of detachment perfectly. Aster just feels like he's working through his own shallow, personal hangups about his own relationships in ways that just leave me feeling like he made a movie when really what he wants is a psychoanalyst. TrixRabbi fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Sep 3, 2020 |
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Sep 3, 2020 14:19
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 UPSET ALERT! UPSET ALERTS EVERYWHERE!   Hereditary moves on! GET OUT, GOT OUT!  I don't really like the TCM franchise and I respect it but it isn't my favorite. Yuzna (eternally slept on) gets to face off against Scott! New Round in a bit!
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Sep 3, 2020 14:25
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lmao, that's all I have to say
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Sep 3, 2020 14:26
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lol. We all get to watch Hannibal now.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:28
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Well at least I'll get some more use out of my Hannibal UHD. ^^^lol This thing is just completely wide open at this point. I have absolutely no clue who's gonna win. I love that Yuzna somehow survived longer than Gordon, Craven, Carpenter and Hooper.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:30
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Stuart Gordon is still in this. There's a real chance they could face each other too.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:31
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He won with Pit and the Pendulum? I don't know why I thought he'd lost that one.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:33
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It was by a sliver but yeah he won and he's up against Miike next week.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:34
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Everything I voted for lost 
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Sep 3, 2020 14:35
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Debbie Does Dagon posted:Everything I voted for lost  jk you're the best poster here for organizing a way to watch these things
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Sep 3, 2020 14:36
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Carpenter falling this early is both a crime, but at the same time it makes everything way more interesting and impossible to predict. loving anyone could win at this rate.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:37
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TrixRabbi posted:That could be it. And to be clear I don’t necessarily have an issue with his approach in theory, it’s just that it doesn’t work for me. Toni Collette probably should have gotten an Oscar nod because it’s such an Oscar performance — over the top screaming, expression for the sake of expression. But I didn’t care a lick about the character or get any sense for who she was as a person. She’s tortured and she screams. The son is a stoner, the daughter is creepy, the father is...there. I mean, at the heart of it, this is the biggest difference between Ari Aster and Robert Eggers. Ari Aster's films--Hereditary and Midsommar--are parables/allegories. Broad characters that fulfill a trope to put into a story based around the meaning. Generational trauma can destroy a generation. Religious groups prey on broken people because they seem most appealing in a time of need. Eggers films--The VVitch and The Lighthouse--are stories filled with themes and symbols. The VVitch calls itself a folk-tale. (Def: a story originating in popular culture, typically passed on by word of mouth.) Eggers also is detached in many ways--showing instead of telling, like Aster--but his films are full of character moments. Thomasin ridicules her siblings with scary stories; her brother, entering puberty and removed from the greater society because of his family's choices, grows incestuous desires towards his sister; the mother, wracked with grief from losing her baby, removes herself from reality; the father, desiring any sort of control, chops his wood in anger, as penance, with painful work and exhaustion a sacrifice to God for pity. So much of the movie is the characters existing. The Lighthouse, a tale about class, about masculinity, about repression, tells all this through the characters interacting. Even in the silent moments, like running a thumb across the breasts of a carved mermaid, are latent with meaning for the characters. Aster's characters react to the plot, to their situation. They are reactionary. Dani and co. react to the Ättestupa. Dani and co. react to being on shrooms. They react to their surroundings. There are still moments for Dani to exist--her panic attack in the plane, her nightmares, her hallucinations, her expression of grief. Maybe it's because her character moments are so all-encompassed on her grief and anxiety that it feels limited? Christian (there's a symbol for you) is a shallow guy, and detached from Dani because their relationship is over. When I'm around people I feel awkward about--ex-lovers where things didn't end well, annoying people I dislike, people I don't trust--I retreat into myself, I'm quiet; so that how I read Christian. He can't let loose with his boys because he's selfishly retreating into himself because of the unspoken broken bonds between him and Dani. We see him without her once, getting pizza with his friends, and he's all energy there. But half of the movie he's drugged into quiet fear. Anyway, again...Just thoughts I have, and we're voting on both directors here.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:45
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Well, looks like we'll get to extend the Aster discussion for awhile longer, but I agree on you on that analysis and also why I really like Eggers' work (The Witch more than The Lighthouse, though I owe the latter a rewatch). The characters worlds are lived in, their personalities are explored, they are reacting just as much as they're actively affecting their own destinies. Aster, intended thematically, is all about predestination whereas I prefer the way Eggers gives his characters opportunities to correct course that their own naivety or arrogance causes them to miss. The Witch is ultimately about that choice -- Dost thou want to live deliciously? Thomasin has a choice in this that Aster's character never get. But again, that Aster is making movies about predestination, about reactionary characters, I don't take issue with those traits on their own. It's that I feel like his work always amounts to less than the sum of its parts and those themes that could be strengths become failings for me.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:52
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Shrecknet posted:
That's it, I'm closing this thread. Forget about it Jake, it's Horror Director Tournament.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:52
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TrixRabbi posted:Well, looks like we'll get to extend the Aster discussion for awhile longer, but I agree on you on that analysis and also why I really like Eggers' work (The Witch more than The Lighthouse, though I owe the latter a rewatch). The characters worlds are lived in, their personalities are explored, they are reacting just as much as they're actively affecting their own destinies. Aster, intended thematically, is all about predestination whereas I prefer the way Eggers gives his characters opportunities to correct course that their own naivety or arrogance causes them to miss. The Witch is ultimately about that choice -- Dost thou want to live deliciously? Thomasin has a choice in this that Aster's character never get. These posts have made me realize that Aster is the Christopher Nolan of horror movies, and Eggers is the PTA of horror movies.
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Sep 3, 2020 14:54
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3/4 this round, only got the Get Out/Hereditary/VVitich vote wrong. Get wrecked Christine apologists. Sadly whenever Hannibal comes up I will probably vote for its competition. It's butt. I'm very happy Nightmare 3 and Society won out. Keep going Yuzna, I'm rooting for ya!
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Sep 3, 2020 14:56
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Without getting into specific future matchups, I see no significant obstacles between Romero and the finals at this point. His entire side of the bracket has been cleaned out of any legitimate threats. That is, unless Honda draws Gojira
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Sep 3, 2020 14:59
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Franchescanado posted:These posts have made me realize that Aster is the Christopher Nolan of horror movies, and Eggers is the PTA of horror movies. Hahahaha. Co-signed.
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Sep 3, 2020 15:02
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Basebf555 posted:Without getting into specific future matchups, I see no significant obstacles between Romero and the finals at this point. His entire side of the bracket has been cleaned out of any legitimate threats. He's gotta win his triple threat, then he has to go against either Miike or Gordon, who have some very strong draws left. If he gets through that I don't think he'll struggle against the Duos division winner as these guys are burning out their best films but he's got two big challenges ahead of him. edit: Something of interest with how the triple threats have worked: The Witch and Onibaba seem to have split the vote for a dark, supernatural, slow burn horror film whereas Elm Street was the fun, showy slasher that held on. Hereditary seems to have benefitted from a Babadook/Get Out schism. How Romero vs. Bong vs. Honda shakes out is going to come down to the draws but like, a Godzilla vs. Night of the Living Dead scenario could give Bong an advantage, or a The Host/kaiju split might help Romero. Which films are more thematically similar might matter here. TrixRabbi fucked around with this message at 15:08 on Sep 3, 2020 |
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Sep 3, 2020 15:04
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oh henlo If you're better at gifs than me lmk and I'll send you the xcf.
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Sep 3, 2020 15:07
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The Final Destination is in sight!  Lynch's standalone prequel is on Criterion and HBO MAX; Raimi's ode to the 70s is on Starz and Direct TV  The Fly is on Starz and Direct TV; Rebecca is  DDD ALERT disc-only so join the discord and arrange a viewing. Bad Taste is on Prime and Tubi; Devil's Backbone is only available for rent.  The impossibly horny Lair of the White Worm is on Tubi and the "Tribeca Shortlist Streaming Service;" Special Effects is HBO  Watch some movies and then go vote! Then come back and tell everyone about what you think!
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Sep 3, 2020 15:29
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 Hitchcock. I love Rebecca, but it doesn't stand a chance against The Fly
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Sep 3, 2020 15:32
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Seeya later Hitchcock Raimi vs. Lynch is a really good matchup. The movies are so different but I love them both and have no idea which way I'll vote in the end.
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Sep 3, 2020 15:33
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Basebf555 posted:Seeya later Hitchcock Bye Hitchcock. Bye Raimi. Bye Peter Jackson. 
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Sep 3, 2020 15:36
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| # ? May 15, 2024 12:21 |
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Franchescanado posted:Bye Hitchcock. Bye Raimi. Bye Peter Jackson. There are definitely some people that don't like Drag Me to Hell but I have a feeling we're gonna get some that don't respond very well to Fire Walk With Me either. This will probably come down to who gets the more convincing effort posts.
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Sep 3, 2020 15:39
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