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twernt
Mar 11, 2003

Whoa whoa wait, time out.


2. 1961. Curse of the Doll People

Somewhere in Mexico, a small group of fat cats and intellectuals has assembled. Their host regales them with tales of his visit to Haiti, where he witnessed forbidden rituals and then stole a stone idol. “It’s quite alright” he assures them, because he’s a collector and the priest in the temple didn’t want to sell him the idol.



Soon enough, creepy little doll people appear and start murdering the fat cats and intellectuals one by one. Is it Voudou? Bòkò? It’s up to the two doctors who keep calling each other “Darling” to get to the bottom of this mystery before time runs out!



Curse of the Doll People is entertaining but not great. The acting is awkward and the stilted dub doesn’t do it any favors. Some scenes drag on much longer than they need to, maybe because the director was trying to pad the run time. Also, the creepy little dolls appear to be played by actors wearing masks that they obviously can’t see out of.

I give it a 3 out of 5.

twernt fucked around with this message at 17:07 on May 1, 2021

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STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

The Devil Doll is a really fun weird rear end "evil tiny people" movie that felt to me like an off brand Bride of Frankenstein spinoff.

In a good way.

STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 02:22 on May 1, 2021

twernt
Mar 11, 2003

Whoa whoa wait, time out.
I’ll have to check that out! One of the reviews said that they were based on the same book.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

Yeah, that's what made me think of it. The premises sound a bit familiar.

Gripweed
Nov 8, 2018

ASK ME ABOUT MY
UNITED STATES MARINES
FUNKO POPS COLLECTION



In May I shall watch 13 horror movies I've never seen before. Specifically, these 13 horror movies I've never seen before

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe

The Leopard Man

Having seen Cat People, I knew to expect something a little more interesting than just a half-man half-leopard creature and I wasn't disappointed. The film presents you with a pretty classic mystery scenario and invites you to play along and try to solve it. While in the end it was fairly predictable, I appreciated the ride in getting there and the Tourneur/Lewton combo seems to always deliver something visually striking and spooky.

A black leopard is definitely loose in this movie though, so that's great, it's not like there's no leopard in the movie. But you find out pretty early on that there are other potential threats than just the leopard and that's where Tourneur puts an interesting thematic twist on the whole thing. The characters are sort of blah and some of the acting is bad so it's not perfect but still very solid and it's only about 70 mins.

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

#1

Witchfinder General
Michael Reeves, 1968



I've seen Vincent Price in dozens of movies yet he never fails to surprise me. Here he plays against his typical hamminess and delivers a serious, evil performance. This might be in contention for my favorite Price role ever. This is DARK poo poo for 1968. We've got murders and gore, hangings, stabbings, shootings, and burnings. We've got torture, rape and nudity. And we've got an overall morbidity and hopelessness that I've rarely seen in movies this old. I can't imagine what the reaction to this was back in the day.

But despite the darkness, it's a beautiful looking movie. Movies of this ilk tend to be shot on sound stages with matte paintings (there's absolutely nothing wrong with that), but here it's all real locations. The English landscapes burst with light and colors and energy and it's just awesome. I liked everything about this. The witchfinding stuff is brutal and frustrating just as it ought to be. I'm a sucker for films about the atrocities committed in the name of god, and this movie delivers in spades.

4.5/5



Films watched: 1. Witchfinder General (1968)

M_Sinistrari
Sep 5, 2008

Do you like scary movies?



As much as I usually end up going whole hog insane with a 50+ count on this, this go I'm just committing to somewhere around 15-20. The reason for this is my state hit whatever vaccination goals it had and we'll be opening up. My job's doing a staggered open to get all the bugs worked out so it's only a matter of waiting for the call for my location and see what happens from there.

TheKingslayer
Sep 3, 2008

I wanted to return to themes for this one since the past few challenges have been rather aimless for me. I was having a bit of a hard time with until it hit me.

School is about to be out for Summer here in the U.S. so I'm gonna take a look at horror films about students, academic institutions, etc. I'm hoping to find some new things that I maybe wouldn't normally watch by sticking to theme while also trying to cover as many sub-genres and different countries as possible.

So while the end is in sight, the term isn't quite over yet. Everyone find your seats, make sure you have a pencil, and let's all get excited for this challenge like a teacher just wheeled in the AV cart.

The curriculum is 13 movies on theme with additional reviews from any streams or other movies that catch my eye for the duration of the challenge.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.


1. Riding the Bullet (2004)
Directed by Mick Garris, Written by Mick Garris based on Riding the Bullet by Stephen King
Watched on hoopla, available on TubiTV, Plex, IMDBtv, Pluto, Roku, and Vudu.


King Spring: 1/13

Can’t start a King Spring without Mick Garris. For better or worse.

The epilogue of this film is told through narration by the main character and I think the real problem of this film is that the rest of the movie isn’t as well. I’ve never read the King novella this is based on but it seems clear the entire story is this one character’s journey through his own complicated emotion. Presumably told through narration that kind of story can be revealing and deep and engaging. In this movie there’s guy who doesn’t talk a lot but occasionally hallucinates another version of himself yelling at him. This seems to obviously be a replacement for a literary first person narrative but its a very poor replacement. It makes the entire narrative of the film confusing and borderline incoherent and I know almost nothing about the main character besides that he has some complicated feelings about his mom and he’s… depressed? Bored? I dunno. It was all really confusing and poorly explored.

Its weird enough that at times it bordered on funny but I dunno. Ultimately its just clear there's a deeper, more emotional character story in there and Garris just made the wrong choices in how to bring it out. All that gonzo comedy reads very much like King though and I'm actually really curious to read this to test my theory and see if his narration does a better job and this is just a poor adaption, or just a rough short story that had to be stretched out too much.




2. Cat’s Eye (1985)
Directed by Lewis Teague, Written by Stephen King, "Quitters, Inc." and "The Ledge" by Stephen King
Watched on hoopla.



King Spring 2/13

I am such a sucker for King's little self reference stuff so opening this movie up with our titular cat running from Cujo already started this thing off on the right page for me.

And really, it never stopped delighting me from there. The first story is just nuts and so sinisterly gleeful in its growing crazy that I didn't even mind James Woods' racist rear end in there, especially since the torture joke's on him. I was a little worried that starting off with such a crazy segment would lead to a fall off but then the second segment is just a great little classic Tales from the Crypt like tale of human evil turning back on em. But then the film still had to take it home and with two strong pieces so few anthologies every pull off the sweep and finishing on the worst piece could just dampen the whole experienc...

CAT VS TROLL! CAT VS TROLL! CAT VS TROLL!

Holy poo poo that was nuts! And awesome! And fun! And great! And not only did the anthology pull off a clean sweep of all good segments but I really dug the wrap around element of it it. Starting us with the cat in danger and then moving through him just ending up as witness to these crazy stories only for him to eventually become the hero of the entire tale. Its not as clever as a lot of modern anthologies try and be with this thing but its very effectively simple in a way you don't even really see coming. I mean, unless you look at the poster. But I was having so much fun that I forgot all about that.

AND it had a theme song! Theme songs are an automatic half star. Those are the rules. And I already loved this thing and was prepared to give it 4 stars. So guess this crazy, wacky, weird gem of an anthology I somehow missed my entire life is getting the near perfect score. Fitting for the anthology that pulled off the whole thing.


🌻🎈Spook-A-Doodle Half-Way-To-Halloween ’21: Return of the Fallen & King Spring🎈🌻
King Spring - 1/13
1. Riding the Bullet (2004); 2. Cat’s Eye (1985);

Return of the Fallen - 1/13

M_Sinistrari
Sep 5, 2008

Do you like scary movies?





1) The Dead Don't Die - Prime - 2019

I liked the trailer. It had me ready to go see this on the big screen, but it was rotated out by the time I had a chance to see it.

Well...I think I've come to a new film status descriptor.

To start, I think the premise has promise. I liked the cast. Tilda Swinson's on my list with Greta Garbo for 'I wish I looked a fraction as good as they do in a tux/suit.' The effects were good. I even liked the country song made for the movie. This film had a budget, yet somehow with all that said, drat this film felt like a low to no budget thing thrown together with a dash of pretentious on top.

Ah, where to begin... A fair chunk of the cast is wasted in what's barely cameos. All of Carol Kane's part is in the trailer. The zombies only speak what their obsession was in life such as coffee, wi-fi or fashion and they will make a beeline towards that obsession such as the coffee addicts charge after the coffee pots in the diner. This could've been an intriguing change for zombies, but no, they still also go after the living and eat flesh.

The plot isn't so much a plot but barely strung together vignettes. There's the three twentysomethings that come into town and have some screentime, but that goes nowhere and they die offscreen. Teens in a juvenile facility get some screentime, but that trails off and who knows what happens with them. Zelda the unusual undertaker who's the one you definitely want on your side with how good she is with a sword has the buildup that you think she's going to be a significant character, nope... Turns out she's an alien and just goes back to her home planet. And the final kick to the tetas is the bit with Cliff and Ronnie over Ronnie read the full script and Cliff only got the pages with his scenes. The Hermit Bob commentary didn't help either with his deploring humanity's drive to consume whether it's money, food, books or whatever.

If I'd seen this at the show, I would've been salty as gently caress.

As it was, I was annoyed enough to look up Jarmusch's filmography since I wanted to avoid any of his films with how much of a sour taste this one left me with. Apparently I did sit through Night on Earth but can't remember a thing about it other than the coverbox.

Unless you really like Jarmusch's work, I'd say avoid this. There's only so much time and that can be spent on watching better movies.



2) SLAXX - Shudder - 2020

Okay....Murder Pants.

I did not have high expectations going in on this one. I'm not only happy I was wrong, but I laughed so hard in parts I startled Herbert-cat.

For all my years working retail, I've pretty much worked with all the types in this film. I've also worked many an overnight prep for a big launch the next day. Higher ups come in and you have to fake the energy for the bullshit. This film hits all the points on that.

Pretty much if you've seen the trailer, you've got a good gist of the story. I was really pleasantly surprised to see the film bring up Greenwashing. For those not familiar with the term, it's when a company or product is pushed as eco-friendly, organic, or not-GMO when it's not. It plays on people's want to do good and be responsible for our planet (or to virtue signal such). There's a variety of reasons for this, to keep relevant to the film and not have me go off on a tangent on my particular social cause, we'll look at costs and demand.

We all know it's pricy to go the eco-friendly/organic route. Even for a honest company, it's hard to break even much less make a steady profit since yields are different. Throw in a huge demand and that makes it all the harder. In the film, the big 'eco-friendly, ethically made, organic materials, no GMOs' company is anything but. It turns out the Murder Pants happened when Keerat, a little girl picking the GMO cotton ends up falling into the cotton gin and her remains get mixed up with the cotton that becomes the new in demand jeans for the company and her spirit's out for revenge. As far as the company goes, it's a matter of jeans cost $5, but sell for $100+ and that's the way to roll. As far as the customer goes, they follow the hype and pay out. I'm of the stance if you're going to go the eco-friendly/organic route, own it, lace up that boot and strut while accepting you're not going to see particular profit margins unless you reevaluate things like those high executive salaries.

My only ehhh moment was at the end, when Libby's at the door with the Murder Pants and the shopping crowd's pounding on the door. Libby begs Keerat to have mercy on the shoppers, that it isn't justice. I beg to differ. This crowd is so in an afoudia over these clothes, they readily trample Libby to death. To me, I considered it justice when the Murder Pants attacked.

Overall, I really liked the movie and recommend it.

Shaman Tank Spec
Dec 26, 2003

*blep*



M_Sinistrari posted:



1) The Dead Don't Die - Prime - 2019

Yeah, I had super high hopes for this one. Weird zombie movie? Awesome! But the execution is just so bad. There are bits I like, the the first instances of fourth wall breaking, and the kicking tune. But the movie just doesn't work at all.

bitterandtwisted
Sep 4, 2006




1: Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)


An aspiring musician is stalked by a strange masked figure.
The movie has a rich variety of characters, all with their own quirks and distinct appearances. I was initially irritated when the movie introduced the stereotypically gay private detective, but his role turned out to be bigger than I expected and I'd have been fine with that character if he had a better VA. The dubbing is very hit and miss throughout.
I liked the music. There's a lot of jazzy and prog rocky stuff here. If you make your main character a musician it's good to put the effort into the music.

The actual mystery is a bit of a letdown. They make no real effort to hide the killer has a woman's voice, so that narrows it down to two suspects.
One suspect has hints here and there that there's something off with them, the other doesn't. But this is a giallo so I feared there's be an unsatisfying resolution.
me: look movie, it's ok to lay down hints that pay off. You don't need to do a stupid twist for the sake of having a twist
movie: Aha! I did the stupid twist! You didn't expect that did you?

Not a top-tier Argento, but I had a good time with it. It's got his signature style.

2: Gods and Monsters (1998)


Ian McKellen is retired horror director James Whale. His health is failing and he lives with his housekeeper and doesn't have much to do with his time until he befriends his handsome new gardener, Clayton.

McKellen's performance is what makes the film. He radiates dignity and respectability until suddenly he's being outrageous or stricken with despair. Lyn Redgrave also adds a lot to the film as Hanna. She brings a lot of humour in the way she is so disapproving but also so affectionate of "Mr Jimmy".

There's a scene I liked where Clayton persuades his bar friends to watch Bride of Frankenstein and they laugh at it. Whale asks if they laughed and Clayton denies it, to which Whale says "that's a pity. People are so serious nowadays"

An issue with biopics is they always have to take some creative licence to make a satisfying story. Well here, the core of the story - the relationship between Whale and Clayton - is pure fiction. Clayton never existed.
It's an engaging drama and I would give it a general recommendation.

Special guest star: the boom mic



Competed: 2
Four Flies on Grey Velevet; Gods and Monsters

bitterandtwisted fucked around with this message at 12:43 on May 1, 2021

E.G.G.S.
Apr 15, 2006

1. Edge of the Axe (1988)
Opens with a killer car wash scene in broad daylight that sets your expectations high for the rest of the movie - and the kills deliver, they don’t cut away from the axe thwacks but ... they take a total backseat to the wild amount of subplots and characters this throws at you.

There’s a guy married to a cougar who is having an affair with the daughter of the man who is maybe having an affair with his wife and who cares about that when some nerd gets a new talking computer. The best scene in the movie has the nerd bringing a girl into his room to show off his computer and has her ask the computer anything - she types in a question and it crashes. “I asked it if you were gay”

The movie’s finale is a wild jump to conclusions - always clear your search history.

:ghost::ghost::ghost:.5/5

2. Winterbeast (1992 lol)
The Black Lodge has nothing on the bullshit of the Wild Goose Lodge. An immensely frustrating watch - the more you explain it to someone, the dumber you come off. This movie is a great piece of nonsense.

:ghost::ghost::ghost::ghost:/5

E.G.G.S. fucked around with this message at 00:48 on May 2, 2021

The Berzerker
Feb 24, 2006

treat me like a dog



3. Edge of the Axe (José Ramón Larraz, 1988)
This has a great opening scene at a car wash but the rest of the kills in this confusing slasher are mostly a rubber axe bouncing off the actors as much as I bounced off trying to keep track of the red herrings this movie throws at you every ten minutes. While the kills and effects are mostly mediocre, there's one cool scene by the train tracks that I really liked, and the killer looks genuinely spooky with that mask. This movie also features the classic trope of "local sheriff doesn't want to investigate anything, just write down 'suicide' and get me a beer" which is always fun. And yes, a woman breaks a computer by asking it if the computer's owner is gay. I can't believe that happened.

:ghost: 3/5


4. Winterbeast (Christopher Thies, 1986 1989 1992)
Apparently this started as a claymation school project and eventually was turned into a full movie, which makes a lot of sense in hindsight. This is totally incoherent. Within the first two minutes we have a stop motion skeleton waving its wobbly worm arms around while a skull bursts out of a man's chest (well, jacket), no explanation given. There's a magic (?) haunted (?) totem pole that comes to life and chases a guy, a claymation Groot that pulls a topless woman out of a window and smashes her into the side of a house, and I'm pretty sure I saw a dinosaur bite off a guy's head, and a giant turkey chasing somebody. One human villain wears a Colonel Sanders tie and a clown mask, dancing around a bunch of dusty old corpses singing an old children's song (no idea who any of the corpses are), he gets asked to explain what the gently caress is going on and his head catches on fire and melts. That's about how I felt.

:ghost: 2/5

Challenge Count: 4/31

Chris James 2
Aug 9, 2012


1. The New York Ripper

Tubi, Shudder, Kanopy

Serial killer Donald Duck terrorizes the incompetent NYPD. A million different red herrings made it easier than usual to keep interest, the music's great, some of the kills are instantly memorable/feel iconic including the one in the bridge car, I really appreciated the restoration, and the Donald Duck voice over the phone gets even creepier each time you hear it

As is, I still love Zombie, Don't Torture A Duckling, and The Beyond more: Zombie and The Beyond are gorier, have less infuriatingly-abrupt endings and no extended-foot-rape scenes; Don't Torture A Duckling is still probably my fav Fulci film even above them though, I'll never forget my first time seeing that (which I think I saw in the first place because of it being recommended in the main horror thread!), and in comparison it also feels like a more complete story and a more effective/compelling mystery

I've only seen two other Fulci films I haven't mentioned yet: City of the Living Dead, but it's been a while so I don't know if it's quite fair to say I liked Ripper more than that. Might have to do a second-chance double feature of both later in the year. And Touch of Death, which was silly fun, but I would say I liked Ripper more

I usually grade stuff in star format and out of five stars, and I try not to give half stars in favor of a simpler approach: 0 stars I despised and would never watch again, * I hated and wouldn't watch again, ** I didn't like and probably wouldn't watch again, *** I liked and probably would watch again, **** I really liked and would watch again, ***** I loved and will watch again. Of the six Fulci films I've seen, this is the most unsure I've been of sticking to that format and not going halfway. There was little I didn't like, but with what I didn't like, especially the ending, I hated it and it actively brought down what I was feeling about the film before those points, so it feels like it'd affect a rewatch even more as I'd have lowered expectations going in than I did this time

That last paragraph was just put in as a way of my justifying saying I give this **** but it's a light four and could have easily been 3.5

2. Gwen (2018)

Shudder

Gwen takes the look of The Witch and adds the slow-paced atmospheric un-relentingness of Hagazussa, and avoids the easy way out of being a knockoff of either to instead tell a story of a poor family trying to preserve what it has left: for two daughters it's their mom (no matter how bad she's been abruptly treating them lately), and for their mom it's their farm and home (the last pieces of her husband she has to remember him after watching him off to fight a pointless war he wouldn't come back from). Preservation that's harder to come by when the richest man around, sensing a location opportunity now that there's no more head of the house, swoops in like a vulture with an offer that he won't let be refused

Giving in and selling would be easy short-term. They don't make enough to get the resources they need (and need increasingly more of as the mom starts having seizures and is unable to help as best she once could), they could start fresh elsewhere with the reward, and they might not have to deal with the rich again. But long-term, the memories of who you once were, how you once were, and who you once were with would inevitably fade with nothing else left to remember it all via. And is any amount of money worth that pain?

I loved this story, I loved how it was told (including the sub-90 minute runtime), I loved the depressing-on-the-surface ending (I say on the surface because there is some hope to be found in Gwen and her sister escaping and Gwen lying to her sister about hope in dad still being alive; it gives them purpose to continue living themselves, it gives them reason to walk on and away from the arson of their old home, and it gives them something new to focus on preserving: each other), and I Loved Eleanor Worthington-Cox's portrayal of Gwen throughout. "Scared" doesn't have to mean "not resilient". Always thoughtful, selfless, and determined, Gwen doesn't give up trying to make sure something better is possible for her and her family, even as the current size of her family shrinks before the end credits

This almost certainly benefited a Lot from me reading nothing about this film before clicking Play. And also from me loving atmospheric horror even more than I regularly love horror. And despite all this praise I have to give for a film I'd never heard of before I saw it on sale, I still didn't find it perfect: there were silly jump scares that just weren't needed at all, and an early tease at this being a possibly-supernatural film that not only went nowhere, I'd have been upset if it had went down that path. And it's certainly no The Witch or Hagazussa. But I found enough in this particular story to love and appreciate immediately enough, and that I hadn't seen often enough, that, while being the first time I've watched Gwen (2018), I don't intend on it being the last time

****

2/13 (The New York Ripper, Gwen)

Chris James 2 fucked around with this message at 03:42 on May 2, 2021

graventy
Jul 28, 2006

Fun Shoe
1. 3615 code Père Noël AKA Dial Code Santa Claus AKA Game Over

How did I watch this? – 4K Blu Ray
How long have I owned this? – According to my email I picked this up on Black Friday, so it’s been sitting on a table for about five months.
Why do I own this? – I’ve seen a ton of recommendations for it in previous challenge threads here and in the Horror Thread. Also look at that loving cover, it’s awesome.

The way I remember this movie pitched is that it’s Home Alone, but more badass and realistic. Which, honestly, is a pretty good encapsulation of the film. My mind conveniently either forgot or ignored any descriptions of the realism, because drat, it is dark.

Ten-year-old Thomas lives in a incredibly cool mansion with his working mother and grandfather. His mother runs a department store, and due to guilt over his father, or maybe it’s just a French thing, spoils the poo poo out of Thomas. He gets every toy, and is very smart, so as the movie opens he already has the house fully rigged with trap doors and cameras everywhere.

Thomas still believes in Santa Claus, though he is wavering, and wants to prove he exists this year. He connects to Santa through his computer, but unfortunately the man he’s talking to is instead a local maniac, who targets Thomas on Christmas. Soon enough it is Thomas and his half-blind grandpa fighting for their lives.

When the movie started, I honestly thought I was going to be in for something a little more comical and light, but under the cool exterior Thomas is, through it all, a very young scared boy. This is an incredibly traumatic experience for him, from the minute Santa comes down the chimney, to the incredible end.

It was pretty great.

4/5

Was it a good purchase? - Yup! I enjoyed the film and will rewatch it at perhaps more seasonally appropriate times. I have friends who would enjoy it though I think a number of them will get turned off by the trauma.

Class3KillStorm
Feb 17, 2011




#1. The Curse of the Cat People (Shudder)

The young, friendless daughter of the heroes from the previous movie becomes friends with a reclusive, aging actress... and possibly the ghost of the cat lady from the last movie, as well.

This is barely a horror movie, only noted as such by the tangential connections to an earlier, better film; change a few names around and you'd pretty much never know. (I mean, it has a ghost, but she doesn't do anything spooky, so I don't know if that really counts as a point, either.) That said, while this is more of a straightforward melodrama than a horror movie, it does continue some of the original Cat People's psychodrama themes - namely the tendency of "normal" polite society members to jump to designating anyone different as mentally ill and the "white man's burden" style of trying to civilize them out of it.

Here, the film tends to lean more heavily on the interpretation that the child is correct than the original did, which makes everything that the father does seem to border on gaslighting at times. It can be a bit harder to watch because of that then I was expecting, and my attention was flagging sporadically throughout. Not having Val Lewton behind the camera hurts as well - the film is more languidly paced than the original, and there's nothing like the pool scene, nothing that capitalizes on light and shadow and makes you afraid of what's not shown. As it is, this film looks fine but is shot very flatly and there's no real spark to it... and hell, I'll give half the credit for how it looks to the fact that they were borrowing sets from Orson Welles and The Magnificent Ambersons than anything Curse of the Cat People did on its own merits.

:ghost::ghost:/5


Watched so far: The Curse of the Cat People

twernt
Mar 11, 2003

Whoa whoa wait, time out.


3. 1962. The Burning Court

The Burning Court features Edith Scob (who you may remember as the titular Eyes Without a Face) as Marie D'Aubray Boissand, a descendant of Marie-Madeleine d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers, who is suspected of poisoning over 30 people in the late 1600s. She and her husband are visiting the estate of Mathias Desgrez, a descendant of Captain Godin de Sainte-Croix, who conspired with and denounced Madame de Brinvilliers.



Soon enough, The Burning Court becomes a supernatural murder mystery, with multiple possible suspects. Julien Duvivier takes full advantage of the setting, a nearly empty chateau decaying in the woods, to establish a wonderfully spooky atmosphere. For the most part, the performances are competent and convincing. The funeral is wonderfully surreal.



Unfortunately, the version of The Burning Court available on Amazon is in terrible shape. I think that if a decent restoration was possible, it would look fantastic. It really feels like a forgotten classic.

I'd say it's a 4 out of 5, but a low 4.

dorium
Nov 5, 2009

If it gets in your eyes
Just look into mine
Just look into dreams
and you'll be alright
I'll be alright





1. Insidious [2010] - Dir: James Wan

This was a lot of fun. It had been since the theatrical release that I saw this so most of it was all just a surprise (minus the iconic shots like the one above you see in all the "Best of the 2010's in Horror"). I really enjoyed the setup of the child being able to dream beyond our dimension and how the script treated that parallel dimension. The budget obviously reflects their choices in tinting the sets in blue and darkness to get across the "Further" and I super appreciated it. The lighting was often striking and lovely to watch and I could only imagine what HDR would do to the colors and visuals in a 4K release.



4 Skulls out of 5


2. Insidious: Chapter 2 [2013] - Dir: James Wan

So this was the one I was warned was a drop in quality from the first, but maybe it was like that when the movie first came out, but I think I liked it just as much as the first. It was an even deeper exploration into the Further, had some really fun storytelling bits that rope in the firsts setups real well and it did that thing I like in sequels which it didnt take its time ramping up the insanity. It just got right back into it and the reveals, the long play on the ghosts part to digging their claws deeper into the family and visuals were just as well done as the last. I'd feel comfortable saying this is one of those rare instances of a sequel standing just as tall as the first one and Barbara Hershey and Jocelin Donahue in a movie playing each others counterparts? be still my beating heart.



4 Skulls out of 5

now onto the next two Insidious pictures.

dorium fucked around with this message at 18:18 on May 1, 2021

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

I'll go ahead and take the May challenge of 13 movies.

twernt
Mar 11, 2003

Whoa whoa wait, time out.


4. 1963. X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes

X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes takes the trope of a doctor with a God complex and ratchets it up a few notches. Ray Millard plays James Xavier, a doctor investigating the possibility of seeing beyond the normally visible spectrum. He succeeds of course.



Millard is great as Xavier, the amiable and arrogant protagonist/villain. Along with Don Rickles, he even provides a few moments of genuine comedy.

X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes also looks fantastic. It has all of the wonderful, vibrant color of early 60s movies. There is even a recurring gimmick where we’re shown what Xavier is seeing. It’s done surprisingly well.



It’s an interesting concept and entertaining enough, but doesn’t seem to have much to say beyond being a warning against pride. That’s ridiculous because I’m too smart and capable to need a movie to tell me what to think.

I'd say it's a very solid 3.5 out of 5.

Debbie Does Dagon
Jul 8, 2005





1. Lyle (2014) Tubi(US)/Shudder(US)

Lyle presents an upwardly mobile lesbian couple, who move into a trendy Brooklyn apartment with their very young daughter. What follows, without giving too much away, is a twist on the Rosemary's Baby format, following the aftermath of their daughter's mysterious death. The film is a hair-raising exploration of grief, paranoia, isolation, and anxiety, creating a permeating unease, culminating in some fantastically stomach-churning moments.

The film's focus is Leah, played in a raw, unflinching and unglamorous way by the wonderful Gaby Hoffman, as she suspiciously stalks a small tenement building, throwing accusing glances at her landlady, and sharing her wild theories with the attractive neighbour downstairs. All whilst being subtly reminded of her pain by everything that crosses her path.

To say that I loved the film would be an understatement, but it's unfortunately hard to recommend. A minor problem is the extended cast, or more specifically Michael Che, whose lack of acting experience combined with his pivotal role drags the film down in a small but painfully apparent way. My biggest complaint, however, is with the length of the film. No, it's not too long, it's actually far too short at only 62 minutes, and brevity hurts it deeply as much of the third act seems to be missing. There is an ending of sorts, but it goes out with more of a whimper than a bang.

To touch on the queer representation for a moment, it's so good that it's barely worth commenting upon. The fact that the couple is gay has no bearing on the plot, no one comments on their sexuality, everyone treats them normally and respectfully. You could easily swap them with a heterosexual couple, and the film would be identical. In some ways, this is the holy grail of queer representation, but it's also a bit, I don't know, boring? I guess it's progress that we get to be boring now, but eh.

The production elements are straightforward and stripped back and clearly embrace an independent though bougie sensibility that works well, focusing on quieter character moments, mood, and psychological horror. It's fine. You won't regret watching it, but it's not worth rushing out for.

3.5/5



2. Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) - Tubi(US)/filmin.es(EU)

"He went into a psycho ward a couple of years ago, and while he was there, the doctors gave him a sex change, and our parents' taxes paid for it!"

Last May I watched the original Sleepaway Camp for the thread, and it was an absolute revelation. For as much as the deeply transphobic reveal marred the series, I still maintain that the original film, for the most part, is a sensitive and deep exploration of gender, sexuality, and childhood bullying. Felissa Rose' depiction of a shy girl dealing with gender dysphoria in an unfamiliar space is one that touched me deeply and reminded me of many of my childhood experiences. However, this isn't the original Sleepaway Camp, and the team here are clearly going for a different kind of film.

Initially, it's difficult to parse what SC2 is attempting. We open with a familiar campfire scene, with several camp counsellors regaling each other with urban legends and spooky tales. Then much of the film almost seems to follow a strict Friday the 13th formula of nudity, sex, cavorting, and then the bloody murder punishments. But whereas Friday has a large stoic, masculine presence in Jason, SC2 has teeny tiny adorable Pamela Springsteen portraying Angela, and the effect is still menacing, but it's more comedic and almost cute.



To delve into trans representation, other than a few moments of throwaway transphobic dialogue, this really didn't have to be a trans narrative, it's just not strongly dwelled upon within the text itself. At one point, Angela points out that her she's undergone electroconvulsive therapy, psychological examinations, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgery, to which she exclaims "I'm cured!" whilst surrounded by the corpses of her victims. It's a tricky needle to thread, as much of the SC story is missing because we don't hear Angela discuss her gender identity, beyond that small moment.

Does her dysphoria come from being AMAB, and therefore she hits out at a world that rejects her, or is her dysphoria from being forced to present female by her aunt/doctors? The latter makes slightly more sense in why the "cure" didn't hold. Angela is yet to express who they really are, and is caught up in this moralist Christian camp counsellor mentality of scaring the other counsellors "straight". Equally, however, there could be a reading that the "cure" didn't hold because the film itself is just transphobic and doesn't subscribe to gender-affirming treatments.

My personal reading is the more positive one. Angela really does come across with the fervour of a conversion therapy counsellor, and it doesn't seem to be an accident that she scolds the women in the camp for exposing themselves to other women. We see an Angela who has fully embodied the puritanical morals of cisheteronormative society. They act out the violence perpetrated against them by their aunt, the bullies, and an unsympathetic medical establishment. The series then, for me at least, says more about intersex people who undergo forced bottom-surgery as infants and then attempt to assert their gender later, than it actually does about trans people.

Have I actually said anything about the film yet? It's fine, it's cute, the kills aren't remarkable, but neither were the kills in the original. I think the film works best as a comedy, and as a love letter to the slasher genre, and all of the clumsy problematic bullshit that entails. It's alright.

4/5

Jedit
Dec 10, 2011

Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

I'm down for 13, and I already did one.

1) Stereo (1969)

David Cronenberg's debut feature about a group of young people being used in research on telepathy by a creepy scientist. Made on a negligible budget acquired by Cronenberg lying to the Canadian arts council, it's a fairly dull movie with no dialogue apart from a bit of infrequent narration - Cronenberg thankfully sparing us student attempts at acting by having his characters all have their vocal chords severed to improve their psychic abilities. It definitely doesn't show any of his later style, although you'd definitely recognise it as a Cronenberg movie because it's about psychosexuality and ESP. Also fans will recognise regular early collaborators Ron Mlodzik and Jack Messinger, who each appeared in several other Cronenberg features over the next 15 years.

On the whole, the best thing you can say about it is that it was a dry run for Scanners.

3/10

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

Yeah Stereo is a slog. Crimes of the Future is just as bad.

Chris James 2
Aug 9, 2012


3. Sleepless Beauty

Tubi, Prime Video

A Russian lite-Martyrs homage, Sleepless Beauty is about a terrorist organization determined to assassinate a diplomat via a method that still requires some testing: breaking down a person's mental capacity (over however many days it takes to do so) and cognition/sense of awareness of who's around them, by torturing them and keeping them awake nonstop through it all, and letting them loose on whoever comes near when they crack

To complete this testing and get a better estimate of how much time this will take, they abduct random teacher Mila on her way home from fish shopping. The psychological torture starts from almost the moment she wakes up in an undisclosed location, the main room of which looks reminiscent of the bathroom in the first Saw, to the sound of a woman's voice informing her she's been made welcome to Recreation and sleep is forbidden, and doesn't stop as a masked man physically and emotionally (but never verbally) abuses her for over a week

The aspect of introducing the dark web chatroom of users watching and commenting on the livefeed stream of the room, sporadically used throughout the film, was a bit distracting. And "How long can you endure torture before you change as a person?" is not the most unique premise in a post-Martyrs and -Saw world; while being a Russian effort makes Sleepless Beauty feel on the surface a nice change of pace, it's still no Martyrs or Saw and the homages just made me consider watching those instead

That said, there are a few nightmarish animated sequences that are legit impressive when they come, to the point I wish they'd been used more often. And though you have to wait for them the wait isn't long; at 79 minutes before end credits roll, this film thankfully doesn't waste a lot of time trying to tell its story. A big part of why I didn't hate Sleepless Beauty, I didn't have the time to feel like I was being bored by it. Even if some of what I was seeing was something I had seen already elsewhere and better

***

3/13 (The New York Ripper, Gwen, Sleepless Beauty)

I liked seeing Debbie Does Dagon's post include services with the logged films available, so I added US streaming service availability (which I found via JustWatch) and edited my prior post to include it too. Doesn't necessarily reflect how I viewed these films, at least for the three I've logged I have digital copies of all of them (Sleepless Beauty - Amazon, Gwen - Vudu, and New York Ripper - Google Play), but it's useful for people with streaming services if they're interested in any of what I watch and it's on something they might have. I know I wouldn't have seen half of Fulci's films I've seen so far if it weren't for the horror thread's recommendations and finding out they're more available than I expected

And also it's useful for people who have access to streaming services and may not even know it. Like if you have a library card, many libraries in the country have access to Kanopy which has a large stupidly-good catalog of films you can stream freely, including The New York Ripper, my first-viewed film for this challenge!

Chris James 2 fucked around with this message at 03:52 on May 2, 2021

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

#2

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Wallace Worsley, 1923



I very recently watched the 1939 version with Charles Laughton, so I couldn't help but compare the two throughout. Overall I like them about the same. This 1923 version benefits from a slightly less complex story (despite actually having more characters). It also presents a very different thematic focus, and one I happen to enjoy a little more. While the '39 version is about tradition vs modernity, this version is about the strife between classes. It's a theme that's inherently better at producing compelling drama, in my opinion. I haven't read the novel so I can't speak for which is more faithful to the source.

But the most interesting thing to compare between versions is the star of the show. Lon Chaney and Charles Laughton present two very different takes on the character of Quasimodo. I like them both about equally, just for different reasons. Laughton's is the more sympathetic of the two, while Chaney's is more mischievous and monster-like. Chaney gained much of his initial fame from this role and I can see why. His willingness to transform into unrecognizable creatures is laudable. And he does it so well. Here he possesses a physicality that's almost inhuman. His mannerisms and body language, combined with the ghastly makeup effects (which I believe he created himself), absolutely sell it.

3.5/5



Films watched: 1. Witchfinder General (1968), 2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

E.G.G.S.
Apr 15, 2006

3. Suspiria (1977)
Goblin and Tangerine Dream duking it out over who does the moodier soundtracks for cult 70s/80s hits. The lighting in this movie is gorgeous and my eyes are still bleeding from the colours, I am pretty confident I’m the first person to notice this. The story is dumb but who cares when it’s this slick. Suspiria is an experience.

The Synapse 4K disc melted my television.

:ghost::ghost::ghost::ghost:/5

E.G.G.S. fucked around with this message at 14:48 on May 12, 2021

dorium
Nov 5, 2009

If it gets in your eyes
Just look into mine
Just look into dreams
and you'll be alright
I'll be alright





3. Insidious: Chapter 3 [2015] - Dir: Leigh Whannell

Definitely a stinker. front to back. Just poor writing, poor acting, I actively wanted the ghost to gently caress up this family for the bulk of the movie. I also found it humorous that Lin Shaye is now the John Wick of ghost hunting horror flicks (or is she more of the Dream Warrior?) Seriously though, this was pretty bad and I couldn't wait till it was over. I took a break from Insidious after this and moved onto what was going to be my Sunday evening movie...



1 and a half Skulls out of five


4. The New York Ripper [1982] - Dir. Lucio Fulci

This rocked pretty hard. Even when I had no clue why things were happening on screen besides Italian Horniness, this movie kinda rocked on a procedural and in a good thriller chase film. It's real hard to also beat your set being 80's New York either grimy and hard or completely bombed out and desolate. Maybe right now my favorite Fulci picture so far. Entertaining as hell, solidly thrilling and shot well and interesting visually. I dug it and that stupid duck voice.



4 Skulls out of five

dorium fucked around with this message at 15:31 on May 2, 2021

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.


- (3). Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020)
Written and directed by Oz Rodriguez, co-written by Blaise Hemingway.
Watched on Netflix and Deb’s Bracketology Stream.


I love this film. First time I watched it was right after it was released and general opinions were pretty cold on it. I chalked it up to me just deeply connecting with the South Bronx setting and diverse cast of ethnicities that made me feel so homesick and true to the area. but I had this chance to share it with a bunch of people and to my excitement they all loved it even though most of them didn't know the setting the way I do. And I still really loved it.

The "homesick" thing is interesting because in a lot of ways this film on paper feels like part of a trend we shall call <b>Stranger Things</b>. A fad of "kid on bike" kind of stories that tap into the nostalgia of 80s films and that childlike sense of adventure and fear of the world, but the kid kind of fear that doesn't paralyze you or make you afraid to take chances like it does us adults. But while a lot of that stuff is basically recreating something we've seen before with those 80s kids and that Carpenter synth soundtrack this film is its own voice and energy entirely. Dominican, Puerto Rican, Haitian, Cuban, Black. Its a great blend of cultures and languages and voices that you never see in horror and is totally true to the city I love.

But what's also pretty unique is its urban setting. Its not kids riding their bikes around a cul de sac or going to the mall. Its not people driving through the Texas summer or on a camping trip. Its kids in the urban jungle dealing with their own set of obstacles and anxieties and threats. In college I made my first suburban friends and on occasion they'd talk about these dumb ghost stories from their hometowns or do something idiotic like visit an abandoned asylum. All classic kid scare stuff but stuff I didn't do as a kid. But all the other urban kids agreed, we had our own dark alleys, seedy overpasses, dark underground lots, and people you didn't mess with. We had no room for Women in White and Bloody Mary. So this is really a great and unique tap into that set of fears and anxieties that a community underserved by horror shares. And the film does a great job telling the classic gothic horror story in that urban setting.

Its not a classic or anything. Its plot and pacing and monster stuff could be nitpicked for sure. But its characters and energy elevate the film into something unique and special... at least to me. Also Method and Mero. I have a feeling this is gonna become one of my go to light October watches, the kind of Halloween favorite I can pop on any time and just have fun with.




- (4). The Thing (1982)
Directed by John Carpenter, Screenplay by Bill Lancaster, Based on “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr.
Watched on DVD and Deb’s Bracketology Stream.


I don't really know what I could say about this that everyone else hasn't already said. Its a classic and a masterpiece. One of my favorite films for sure. A near perfect construction of tension, build, action, characters, and affects. A wonderfully aged tribute to practical effects that in many parts looks better than anything made today with all the available technology.

A big strength are the characters but they work in a way unlike how we usually think. They don't overpower the piece and become iconic or anything, they're just the perfect collection of regular dumb guys in this hosed up impossible situation. There's guys just shell shocked and barely even holding it together. There's the doc freaking out but totally actually right about it. And of course there's Mac and Childs, who honestly are maybe a little TOO quick to adjust to things and start pointing guns at people. Seriously, good for the rest of the world that they might have stopped the alien apocalypse and all but... you do not want to be trapped in a dangerous situation with these guys. Mac's drunk, likes playing with dirty underwear, and can't even take losing computer chess without breaking something that probably had some kind of more important purpose. Don't you think? I mean its 1982. He didn't just get a computer for chess. I don't even think they had computer solitaire yet.

Everyone always focuses on the effects and with good reason but Carpenter's strength is really in tension building. Watching it this time I was struck that I didn't really remember how much setup there is to the film. When poo poo starts hitting the fan it REALLY hits the fan and you kind of forget all that earlier stuff. But all of that stuff is good and engaging and it all builds everything up into a fever pitch. Its Carpenter's bread and butter really and the film wouldn't be the same if was just all in on the crazy. Carpenter was a master of building his world and characters and making the entire situation increasingly worse and more dangerous. And he may not do it better any time than here.

I also love how utterly indecisive it is. Not just with the fates of Childs and Mac but in the path of who was infected and when. There's so many fates not really known or questions unanswered but none of them really matter. Its a perfect example of how that stuff doesn't have to be the driving part of a story and when its not it doesn't really matter that its not resolved. The sheer paranoid madness of it all was the point and somewhere John Carpenter's probably watching a Youtube video of some nerd trying to piece it together and laughing. I love John Carpenter.

Ok, I'm overtired and rambling. Its The Thing. Its a classic. Its a masterpiece. Its great. I love it. I've seen it countless times. I'll see it countless more.


🌻🎈Spook-A-Doodle Half-Way-To-Halloween ’21: Return of the Fallen & King Spring🎈🌻
King Spring: 2/13
Return of the Fallen: 0/13
Fran Challenges: ??/??

Watched - New (Total)
1. Riding the Bullet (2004); 2. Cat’s Eye (1985); - (3). Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020); - (4). The Thing (1982);

bitterandtwisted
Sep 4, 2006




3: Alice, Sweet Alice (1972)


Creepy kid film!
Little Brooke Shields gets murdered and suspicion grows on her bratty and awful older sister, Alice.
I love the killer's appearance with the raincoat and translucent mask.
It's heavy with catholic themes and imagery, which is interesting. The twist of it being the old lady punishing sinners honestly did surprise me. Alice was just lovely enough to be a believable red herring but also a realistic kid.
Paula Sheppard is good as the title character and I'm a little surprised to find she had no acting career after this.
It's an interesting, well crafted proto-slasher

Competed: 3
Four Flies on Grey Velevet; Gods and Monsters; Alice, Sweet Alice

Chris James 2
Aug 9, 2012


4. The Head Hunter

Shudder

A warrior who collects head trophies of the beasts he slays pursues the ultimate beast: the one who killed his daughter. A very low budget effort that occasionally works to its advantage, like choosing to show none of the kills or battles until just about time for the climactic fight (which then extinguishes the cathartic relief with a gut-punch ending I'm still shaking my head at). Mileage will vary, but it's only 68 minutes long before end credits roll; I've wasted a lot more time I regret this weekend than I did with The Head Hunter. A more interesting video game film than actual video games get from their film adaptations

***

4/13 (The New York Ripper, Gwen, Sleepless Beauty, The Head Hunter)

WeaponX
Jul 28, 2008



1. Bride or Re-Animator (1989)

”Weesssstttttt”

The original Re-Animator is one of my favorite horror movies of all time. It features some of my favorite things in horror, campy black comedy, over the top goopy gore effects, and a visionary director with a distinct style and a love for the genre. I love that movie to death.

Bride is a great sequel in that it gives you more of what was great about the first. It’s the continuing adventures of Dr. West and Dr. Cain playing god in make-ship labs in a spooky mortuary or even war-torn Peru (??). It captures the spirit of the first even if at times feels like a bit of a recycling of ideas.

But let’s just all pause and appreciate how great Jeffery Combs is in this role. Is there a more fully realized character in horror history? I’m not sure. Lines like “Dead cat, details later” or in this sequel “Make a note of it, Dan! Tissue rejection!!” are wonderfully crafted but would they work with another actor who didn’t commit like Combs? I don’t think so.

Everything he does in these movies is motivated by one thing, the pursuit of his life’s work- the Re-Agent. This movie was featured on Last Drive In and Joe Bob had Combs on for an interview and he said that West simply does not and cannot understand doing anything but continue his work. When he rolls his eyes at Cain for getting distracted by another beautiful woman it’s because he can’t imagine wasting valuable work time on things like personal relationships. I love when West has to, again and again, convince Cain to indulge his madness. Combs does this thing where he turns on the sincerity a bit, makes West feel more human as he begs Cain to stay the course. Like in this film when he presents Cain with the heart of his dead fiancé, enticing him to help him rebuild a human from scratch and reunite with his love with a saccharine speech. But it’s all bullshit, West doesn’t believe a word of what he is saying. To him it’s just a organ, a piece of the puzzle he needs to complete his work, there is nothing sacred about that heart. But he knows Cain is driven by his emotions and this will convince him to not abandon West. Good help is hard to find when you are pilfering body parts to create a Frankenstein. And Combs knows exactly how to show West manipulating Cain and exactly when to turn that off and become the stone-cold ego-maniacal genius with lines like - “I have taken refuse of your God’s failures and I have triumphed!” Combs is so loving good.

“I don’t consider science morbid”

The titular bride in this looks fantastic and she steals the scenes towards the end. There are a lot of fantastic special effects in this sequel and I only wish they had some more screen-time. Much like the original, things don’t get truly bonkers till the finale and I wished it had the budget to be even bigger. Also Bat-Hill whips so hard.

If you are a fan of the original and haven’t seen the sequel I would definitely recommend you check it out.

gey muckle mowser
Aug 5, 2003

Do you know anything about...
witches?



Buglord


1. White Zombie (1932)
dir. Victor Halperin
Shudder

Madeleine and Neil, a young American couple, reunite when Madeleine arrives in Haiti, and they are to be married immediately. They encounter the sinister voodoo master “Murder” Legendre (Bela Lugosi) who takes an interest in the young woman, and then meet with a wealthy plantation owner named Charles who is hosting their wedding. Charles is not-so-secretly in love with Madeleine and enlists Murder to turn her into a zombie so that she will be his forever, but things don’t work out as planned. It’s almost as if you shouldn’t trust someone named “Murder”!

Lugosi is definitely the highlight here, and his signature creepy stare is used to great effect. There are also some great atmospheric sets throughout, especially Murder’s castle at the end of the film. Also notable is the genuinely chilling screech of the vulture that appears periodically - pretty sure it’s just a person screaming really loud, but it’s effective anyway.

Unfortunately that’s about all this has going for it. It’s kind of dull and hokey anytime Lugosi isn’t on screen, and even at only 67 minutes it drags. I can’t say I’d recommend this - it might be worthwhile if you like pre-code horror but there are much better examples of this type of movie out there.

2.5 vultures out of 5



2. M (1931)
dir. Fritz Lang
HBO Max

In Fritz Lang’s first sound film, Peter Lorre plays a disturbed child murderer who becomes the focus of a city-wide manhunt in Berlin. All of the city’s citizens live in fear, and the police are unable to make any progress in solving the case. He leaves no clues behind and eyewitness accounts are entirely unhelpful. Eventually the leaders of the criminal underworld decide that they too will join in the hunt, but the mob wants a different kind of justice.

This is a tremendous film and absolutely deserves its classic status. It feels decades ahead of its time - apart from the clothing this could easily be mistaken for a film from the ‘50s. The camerawork and lighting are especially impressive. Lorre’s performance is fantastic and it’s easy to see why it launched his career.

This had been on my “to watch” list for years, and for whatever reason just never got around to it. I’m glad I finally did, because it’s a legit masterpiece.

5 strangers with candy out of 5

Edgar Wright's Top 100 Horror: 96/100
Slant Top 100 Horror: 95/100
TSZDT 2020: 666/1000 :devil:

twernt
Mar 11, 2003

Whoa whoa wait, time out.


5. 1964. The Long Hair of Death
Available on Amazon, Hoopla, Kanopy

If I’m being perfectly honest, part of the reason I wanted to watch this is to juice my Barbara Steele stats. This will be my first full year on Letterboxd and I love the stats features, so I’ve been obsessing over who will show up in my most-watched directors and actors lists

Anyway, I’m no expert, but I’d say that The Long Hair of Death is a pretty standard 60s Italian gothic horror revenge story. There are some really nice spooky elements though — the rats in the tomb, the lightning hitting the grave, the skull hair effigy.



This is one of those movies where a few performances are good enough that they make all of the rest seem that much worse. Barbara Steele didn’t really bring her “A” game, but she still set the curve. I would also call out Halina Zalewska who plays the younger daughter. Otherwise, the performances are pretty forgettable. Humboldt is not a very convincing villain. Kurt spends 90% of the movie looking irritated, constipated, or perhaps both. Von Klage could have been replaced with a cardboard cutout.



The Long Hair of Death has a lot of great pieces and the ending is very metal. Even so, it doesn’t really seem to come together quite right. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad. It’s just a bit disappointing.



I give it a :ghost::ghost::ghost:

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

#3

The Devil Rides Out
Terence Fisher, 1968



Christopher Lee takes on a cult of devil worshipers to save the soul of his friend from the clutches of evil. There's lots of juicy occult imagery and some fun set pieces, such as an attack by a giant spider, a car chase with some supernatural complications, people performing nefarious acts while under mind control, and an appearance from a horse-backed angel of death. All the actors deliver commendable performances, especially Lee who excels at playing this kind of shlock with a completely straight face. The plot gets a bit muddled in the last act, but overall it's a fun time and another solid outing from Hammer Studios.

3.5/5



Films watched: 1. Witchfinder General (1968), 2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), 3. The Devil Rides Out (1968)

TheBizzness
Oct 5, 2004

Reign on me.
1. Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies

I went into this knowing fully well what I was about to watch was not a good movie, not even close to as good as the first for which your miles may vary.

It didn’t matter. I was in from the moment the FBI asks why he froze a guy to death and Divoff says “He needed to chill out.” In fact, I learned that all I need to enjoy my time is a wise-cracking Andrew Divoff because that’s all Wishmaster 2 provides and it’s just fine. It’s also why I will not continue with the rest of the sequels.

I don’t know if it’s a bug or a feature that the movie was made in 1999 but looks and feels like it was made in 92.

2. The Neon Demon

My first viewing of Neon Demon was a Debbie rec to fulfill a Fran challenge. I love this movie so much this made the third time I’ve watched it since last October.

Whenever my wife works late on the weekend my teenage daughter and I do horror movie night and I thought this might be right up her alley as she is in to the fashion and makeup scene and it’s not exactly terrifying or anything. She ended up really enjoying it.

Upon this viewing I was finally able to piece together the reason Gigi can’t hold down her meal at the end ties back to Santos speech about her and all the work she’s had done. That she is false, fake, and can never be truly beautiful. Therefore she is unable to absorb Jesse’s essence the way Sarah does.

If you’ve been on the fence about Neon Demon the way I was for so long, I can not recommend it enough.

E.G.G.S.
Apr 15, 2006

I saw Neon Demon during an afternoon matinee , everyone but me and someone’s cool grandma walked out of it right before the necrophilia scene, the exit door slammed for the last walk outs and that part unfolded. Hooting. I need to revisit that movie.

gey muckle mowser
Aug 5, 2003

Do you know anything about...
witches?



Buglord
I think I’ll rewatch The Neon Demon this week, I remember not really feeling it even though it should’ve totally been my jam. I may have just been in the wrong mood at the time.

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twernt
Mar 11, 2003

Whoa whoa wait, time out.
Neon Demon is already on my list, but if I make it far enough I'll definitely watch it for the challenge.

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