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Basebf555 posted:Yea I think you're definitely meant to lose track of which twin is which as the movie goes on, just as they themselves are losing their own individual identities and sort of merging into one. I looked it up and I was surprised too! His performance is amazing and the whole movie really depends on it.
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May 13, 2021 18:53
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Movie #10: Friday the 13th Part II  Fran Challenge #3: Camp Blood  I told the others, they didn't believe me. You're all doomed. You're all doomed. Still no hockey mask, but at least this time Jason's the killer! That's not just me nitpicking about horror movie trivia either, this change brings along a bunch of other changes that make Part II feel like what I expected a Friday the 13th movie to feel like. Jason has much more of a presence than the killer in the first movie, who was largely an unseen force and we mostly only got to see the end product. This time Jason stalks his victims on camera, has physical confrontations with them. I also have to say that while the classic hockey mask is awesome, sack head Jason is also cool and extremely menacing. There's also been a big change in the kills, as they are a lot more brutal and graphic than first time around. I think my "favourite" was Mark, who takes a machete to the head, then rolls his wheelchair off the porch stairs... and keeps rolling right down a hill's worth of extra stairs. It's not funny as such, but it's inventive, which is one of the things I'd always heard about Friday the 13th movies. All in all Part II feels like a much better and tighter movie than the first one. The pacing is miles better and the actors are like from another plant compared to the first one. I also really liked how Ginny got to use her oft-mentioned child psychology studies (well, at least a Hollywood version of them) on Jason during the climax. That's some good Chekhov's Education! I still didn't love the movie but it was a marked improvement over the first one and actually made me want to watch more of the series. The very ending had me scratching my head though. Jason leaps in through the window on Ginny... and then... he's hosed off with Paul somewhere, leaving her to be rescued by the cops in the morning? Jason, buddy, want to run that by me again?  ,5 / 5My earlier movies: 1. Evil Dead II, 2. The Legend of Hell House, 3. Hausu, 4. The Haunting, 5. The Innkeepers, 6. Sleepaway Camp, 7. It Follows, 8. From Beyond, 9. Tremors
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May 13, 2021 18:57
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graventy posted:Yeah, I feel like my only real options for fresh movies here are Madman or Cheerleader Camp, and neither is too exciting. I'm gonna do a rewatch for the videogame challenge(Fran isn't requiring first time watches for a lot of the challenges this time around), because yea with video game tie-ins we're talking about mostly mainstream series/franchises that I've already seen. I did find one that has a video game that I didn't know existed, and that I'm due for a rewatch, Nightbreed.
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May 13, 2021 19:08
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Shaman Tank Spec posted:Movie #10: Friday the 13th Part II Friday Part 2 has, for my money, the scariest moment in the entire series when Ginny notices that there's someone else(spoiler alert:it's Jason!) in the room with her and Paul. Ahh, meant for that to be an edit to the previous post, sorry for the double post
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May 13, 2021 19:13
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13. Dawn of the Dead (2004) A great remake, it doesn’t get bogged down with just redoing stuff with the original but goes where it wants. If this kept the pacing of the opening ten minutes it would easily be superior. Running zombie apocalypse? Just end me now. /5
E.G.G.S. fucked around with this message at 04:21 on May 17, 2021 |
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May 13, 2021 19:23
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Basebf555 posted:Friday Part 2 has, for my money, the scariest moment in the entire series when Ginny notices that there's someone else(spoiler alert:it's Jason!) in the room with her and Paul Yeah that was extremely cool and escalated in a very fun way 
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May 13, 2021 19:55
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17. Interview with a Vampire  The 90ist of 90s horror movies with Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise , as totally not gay vampires ( they gay ) , Antonio Banderas is also there as a totally not gay vampire as well. Honestly, the film is weird because its so queer but tries its best to obfuscate that fact . I dunno I really like this movie a lot I think its a great vampire story. Brad Pitt is at the height of his 90ish fame and Tom Cruise is excellent in at as well. Its just that good. Anyway I really wanted to watch something from the 90s that I remember really enjoying.
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May 13, 2021 23:43
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14. Oxygen (2021) Netflix Alexandre Aja made a new scifi/thriller for Netflix! It's not as good as Crawl, but I liked it more than High Tension and the dumb twists in this one don't cripple my interest in rewatching it like that one did! A woman (Melanie Laurent, who you'll remember from Enemy if you saw Enemy; if you haven't, Watch Enemy!) wakes up in a cryogenic chamber. She has no clue who she is, or how she got there, or who put her there, or why. Really all she knows, from the helpful AI robot voice the chamber provides named MILO, is that her oxygen level is rapidly deteriorating Pretty basic plot, Buried but maybe not underground and not starring Ryan Reynolds. And like I said, there's some twists along the way, and some of them are dumb! Also there's one jump scare that I hate to say got me >:[ very rude, even Crawl didn't pull that off But Laurent does a great job for what's essentially a one-person show. The twists actually do an effective job of not making you feel the full hundred minutes of runtime; it would have been easy to get bored with a tale like this, but enough is provided to keep interest. Constant maze references and imagery were slickly done. And there's some surprisingly beautiful camera sequences: the big one that immediately comes to mind being when Laurent makes a call, and from the moment the call is accepted to a few seconds after the signal's lost, the camera inch-by-inch steps back. What you saw at the beginning never changes basically, it's Laurent in the chamber, but the further back we go the smaller that becomes on the screen, a pretty good claustrophobic feeling building up in you even right before MILO informs the oxygen level has again decreased For better or worse Aja's been on horror viewers' minds since High Tension. I still don't really know what to think of him? Oxygen is definitely a step down from Crawl, but might be my second- or third-fav film of his that I've seen (I need to give Horns a rewatch eventually to determine whether it should be that high or low). My big takeaway is being interested in what Laurent does next 14/13 (The New York Ripper, Gwen, Sleepless Beauty, The Head Hunter, 13: Game of Death, Deerskin, Curve, The Incredible Melting Man, Starry Eyes, Eyes Without a Face, In the Earth, Macabre 1958, Macabre 1980, Oxygen 2021)
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May 14, 2021 00:32
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Fran Challenge 5. Cinco Belzebuth (2017) Directed by Emilio Portes Available on Shudder Belzebuth is not screwing around. Almost as soon as we’re introduced to the protagonist, Emmanuel Ritter, he suffers a horrible tragedy. When tragedy strikes again five years later, a team of American investigators shows up to lend a hand. The lead investigator, Ivan Franco, is a lapsed priest who immediately recognizes something sinister and supernatural at work. Ritter is skeptical at first, but soon enough he has to recognize what is happening. As Ritter tells Franco, in Mexico, even atheists are believers.  I’m really into this super Catholic horror stuff because at some point there’s always a dude who says something like “I’m about to show you the real blood and salt Old Testament magic you’re not supposed to know about” and then everything goes completely bonkers.  Belzebuth has some legit scares and tense moments, along with a twist that I honestly did not see coming. There are strong performances all around, especially Joaquin Cosio as Ritter  I really enjoyed this one so it’s an easy 1/2 for me.Time Travel Challenge: 28/31 Fran Challenges: 5/13 Bracketology: 7/? Watched: Time Travel Challenge: 1. Jigoku (1960), 2. The Curse of the Doll People (1961), 3. The Burning Court (1962), 4. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963), 5. The Long Hair of Death (1964), 6. Planet of the Vampires (1965), 7. Daimajin (1966), 8. Viy (1967), 9. A Quiet Place in the Country (1968), 10. The Cremator (1969), 11. Equinox (1970), 12. Lake of Dracula (1971), 13. The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972), 14. The Crazies (1973), 15. Deathdream aka Dead of Night (1974), 16. Race with the Devil (1975), 17. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), 18. The Incredible Melting Man (1977), 19. The Grapes of Death (1978), 20. Tourist Trap (1979), 21. The Changeling (1980), 22. My Bloody Valentine (1981), 23. Human Lanterns (1982), 24. Christine (1983), 25. Night of the Comet (1984), 26. Demons (1985), 27. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), 28. Wolf’s Hole (1987) Bracketology: 1. Vampires vs. the Bronx, 2. The Roost, 3. Varan, 4. On the Silver Globe, 5. The Phantom of the Opera, 6. Mark of the Vampire, 7. Tigers Are Not Afraid Fran Challenges: 1. Un Chien Andalou / The Big Shave / Kitchen Sink / Foxes / Portal to Hell!!!, 2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 3. The Burning, 4. Dead Ringers, 5. Belzebuth
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May 14, 2021 01:59
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2. Final Exam (1980) Watched On: Tubi TV A nameless killer stalks a group of college students still on campus just before Summer break. I really didn't expect Final Exam to be any good but to my surprise it had way more going on than a lot of exploitation films I've seen. It's trying to be a mix of Halloween/Animal House with a focus on the characters before the killing starts and it kinda works. At times it's almost a downright wholesome movie. The characters have relationships and interactions with each other that feel genuine and you could forget your're watching a slasher movie. One scene though stands out as particularly jarring through modern eyes and it was a bit surreal to take in. There's certainly an atmosphere that I like in my... I guess what I would describe as a comfort food slasher. It's like the Kraft blue box mac and cheese to Halloween's homemade meal. I'll say I could have used a little more creativity and blood in the kills. Lots of plain ol stabbings that aren't very imaginative much like the killer in question. I can't say I would suggest this movie to every horror fan, but if you have any interest in Halloween copycats then Final Exam is better than many. 
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May 14, 2021 03:20
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7. Rawhead Rex A campy little monster film, Rawhead Rex features an ancient pagan god rampaging through rural Ireland. It’s based on a Clive Barker short story and screenplay but he famously disowned the final product. On one hand it’s not hard to see why. It’s incredibly cheap. The titular monster looks like a combination of a gorilla and a professional wrestler with laser pointer eyes and a Gumby mouth. They are so proud of this design that they make no attempt to hide its flaws, I especially love how it just pops up in broad daylight less than 5 minutes into the film in all its cheap rubber glory. The bare-bones plot and bad dialogue leave a lot to be desired...  Butttt there is some undeniable charm in Rawhead Rex. As bad has he looks, I kinda love that goofy looking monster. I like how blunt and relentlessly cruel the film can be, Rawhead Rex just pops up place to place and fucks poo poo up every time. Limbs and heads just flying around and tons of burn suits. It’s often crude, featuring an infamous scene where Rex baptizes his new follower with a stream of monster piss The Irish countryside setting is unique and really nice to look at, a couple of the scenes in the forest including the caravan attack are great. Ronan Wilmont who plays the priest turned Rawhead-acolyte gives a must-see over the top shouting performance. It’s really something else. “He was here before Christ, before civilization. He was king here! Rawhead, that’s what they called him...RRAAWWWHHEEAADD!!”  If you like B-grade monster films with cheap gore, cheesy dialogue, and lots of latex, Rawhead Rex could be up for you. Watchlist ranked Best to Worst 1. Bride of Re-Animator* 2. Ginger Snaps 3. Frankenhooker* 4. House on Haunted Hill ‘99 5. Rawhead Rex 6. Victor Crowley 7. Jason Goes to Hell *=rewatch WeaponX fucked around with this message at 03:29 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 03:23
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18. Bram Stokers Dracula Francis Ford Coppola I think personally best films. Forget all that other poo poo. Give me broody Dracula love story. The Gothic horror film of the 90s . There's so much to love about this film. Anthony Hopkins as the crazed Van Helsing. What you really should look at though are the special effects. Its literally been 25 years and they still hold up perfectly. The majority of the special effects were all done in camera and are all practical. Its a gorgeous film and its a really adult Dracula story. Also Keanu Reeves accent. Love it!
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May 14, 2021 03:32
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Franchescanado posted:
 14) I Spit on Your Grave - Prime - 2010 I've seen the original multiple times, even own the anniversary edition with the good commentaries. I knew this remake came out but I was perfectly fine not seeing it since I'd seen the original. Having sat through it, I still would've been fine not watching it. The version on Prime's the unrated one. I think the people behind this one just considered the original as 'that old rape/revenge movie people still talk about' and figured let's ramp that poo poo up. In the original, Jennifer's brutally raped by the gas station guys, then just as brutally gets her revenge. Here, OH GOD the camera just liiiiiingers on her abuse and rape completely unlike the original. Then if it wasn't enough she was raped by the gas station guys, here she also gets raped by the police when she reports the earlier attacks. After Jennifer falls off the bridge into the river, the film shifts to showing the rapists having humanizing moments like feeling guilt and family time while now getting stalked like in a standard slasher film. Jennifer in the original soulsearched before going on her revenge with the planning mostly being certain of having a weapon on hand. Here, it's as if a switch was flipped and Jennifer's now a plotting slasher to the point she even visits the family of one of her rapists. Each of her revenge kills are elaborate affairs which again, the camera just liiiiiiingers on. I think of all the negative that was said about the original and I feel the remake is far more guilty. While the original is skeezy and grimy, the remake's professional sheen makes the content feel more 'I need to take a long hot shower to feel clean'. Definitely skip this one in favor of the original.
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May 14, 2021 03:42
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Fran Challenge #12 - Cavalcade of Creepiness #16 The House That Dripped Blood Peter Duffell, 1971  Amicus has yet to let me down. The studio is the king of horror anthologies and The House that Dripped Blood further solidifies that. Of the four stories there isn't a dud in the bunch. Each one is fun, original, full of spooky atmosphere and relatively unpredictable. If I had to pick a favorite it's probably the one with Christopher Lee. What a terrifically macabre ending. The Peter Cushing one is my second favorite. I like how all the stories are based around a common setting, including the framing story. All in all this is an excellent film that I had a lot of fun with. 4/5 Films watched: 1. Witchfinder General (1968), 2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), 3. The Devil Rides Out (1968), 4. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), 5. Who Can Kill a Child? (1976), 6. The Raven (1935), 7. A Bucket of Blood (1959), 8. The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), 9. Hunter Hunter (2020), 10. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971), 11. Prince of Darkness (1987), 12. What We Do in the Shadows (2014), 13. The Devil's Advocate, 14. Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), 15. Madman (1981), 16. The House That Dripped Blood (1971) 6/13 Fran Challenges completed: 2. Sometimes They Come Back, 3. Camp BLOOD, 7. Mother's Day, 8. Dead & Buried, 10. Behind the Mask, 12. Cavalcade of Creepiness
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May 14, 2021 04:20
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3. After Midnight (1989) Fran Challenge 12: Cavalcade of Creepiness  Watched On: TubiTV Coeds swap scary stories with a professor teaching a course in the psychology of fear. Well there's certainly a reason I've never seen this anthology before. I feel like I sat through four very boring Tales from the Crypt episodes or maybe four bad episodes of The Hitchhiker because nothing really supernatural happens at all. And I'm not even going to be shy about spoiling the ending because it's the most cheap ending in storytelling. IT WAS ALL A DREAM. And all the stories feel ripped off from better anthologies which makes it even worse. Avoid this one even if it's free, I can't even imagine it would be a good time to make fun of.
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May 14, 2021 05:16
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 23 (27). Summer Camp (2015) Written and directed by Alberto Marini, co-written by Danielle Schleif Watched on Plex, available on Tubi and Vudu. Fran Challenges 3/13 Franchescanado posted:3. Camp BLOOD Ha! Found a summer camp horror that isn't a slasher! Suck it, challenge! I don't like slashers and I do like Joceline Donahue (The House of the Devil) so as much as I figured this was probably gonna suck I figured it was a better choice for my tastes than the other obvious options. I hate slashers and like zombies. Boy do my tastes differ from many here. It payed off here though although hilariously this almost felt a bit like a hybrid of zombie and slasher in some ways. Essentially they change up the typical zombie dynamic by putting a clock on infection. The "zombie" infection lasts only 20 minutes after which you turn back human essentially creating a kind of hot potato slasher game of who's infected and who's not. Our crew are sometimes fighting for their lives and sometimes the monsters themselves and the ball shifts back and forth throughout the film keeping things interesting. I was a bit distracted and tired and I'm not sure I gave it the attention it really deserved. I really was expecting something much more generic but this was very unique and involved enough to warrant full attention. I thought the performances were all pretty solid and the tone had a real kind of nastiness to it that kept the film with an edge but without feeling overly mean or reveling in it, I'd say. Like the film knows this poo poo's hosed up but it still does it without laughing it off. I liked it and I think I might have loved it if I had been more engaged. I regret the choice to watch it so late and out of it and I definitely feel like giving it another watch down the line. If you hate zombie stuff this probably won't change your mind but if you just are tired of the same zombie stuff this one's definitely pretty different and well executed.  24 (28). Man Made Monster (1941) Directed by George Waggner, Screenplay by Joseph West, Story by H.J. Essex, Len Golos, and Sid Schwartz Watched on Svengoolie, available on Dailymotion. Svengoolie Episodes: 3/13 Like pretty much every Lon Chaney Jr movie I've seen this film's strength is Chaney's incredibly affable loveable loser charm. I honest found myself a little distracted in the scenes he wasn't in and lost a little track of who everyone was and what they were doing, so I had to rewind. But when Chaney was there I was all aboard. And he gets a lot of time here, although not always verbally, to express the misery he's stuck in here. I kinda just wanna see Lon be happy in a movie. The story itself is fine, perfectly serviceable if uninspired B movie fare. The effects are... charming. They're really less about the cheesy glowing effect adn more about how weathered Chaney got through the film. It combined with Chaney's acting was very effective for me. And really, the sad puppy ending just elevated the entire thing for me and brought the morose story home.  Its a pretty standard B 40s thing, but its apparently the role that landed Chaney Larry Talbot and he brings all the same sad humanity to the role. And its only 60 minutes. And there's a puppy. 🌻🎈Spook-A-Doodle Half-Way-To-Halloween ’21: Return of the Fallen & King Spring🎈🌻 King Spring: 5/13🎈Return of the Fallen: 5/13👻Fran Challenges: 3/13🐺Svengoolie Episodes: 3/13 Watched - New (Total) 1. Riding the Bullet (2004); 2. Cat’s Eye (1985); - (3). Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020); - (4). The Thing (1982); 3 (5). Sleep Tight (2011); - (6). Dark Shadows (2012); 4 (7). The Wicker Man (1973); 5 (8). Varan (1958); 6 (9). The Roost (2005); 7 (10). The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007); 8 (11). The Leech Woman (1960); 9 (12). Sometimes They Come Back (1991); 10 (13). Varan the Unbelievable (1962); 11 (14). 1922 (2017); 12 (15). What Keeps You Alive (2018); 13 (16). On the Silver Globe (1988); 14 (17). The Phantom of the Opera (1998); 15 (18). Nina Forever (2015); 16 (19). Area 51 (2015); 17 (20). Carrie (2002); 18 (21). The Stylist (2016)/Stucco (2019)/He Took His Skin Off for Me (2014)/Zygote (2017); 19 (22). Mark of the Vampire (1935); 20 (23). Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017); 21 (23). Death Walks on High Heels (1971); 22 (24). Maniac (1980); - (25). The Beast with Five Fingers (1946); - (26). Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954); 23 (27). Summer Camp (2015); 24 (28). Man Made Monster (1941); STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 05:25 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 05:23
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WeaponX posted:7. Rawhead Rex I mean, in the original screenplay / short story I guess Rawhead Rex was supposed to be a literal dick monster (which also explains the name in a "sensitive head Rex" type of pun) who then goes around violating women and puritans. Or at least that's what Red Letter Media claimed. Would've been interesting to see the original vision, instead of the watered down one where you can kind of still see remnants of Rex being a literal dick monster.
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May 14, 2021 11:11
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4. The Faculty (1998) Watched On: Pluto TV When Casey Connor, Herrington High School's newspaper photographer, witnesses the murder of a nurse and sees her alive again, he decides to investigate the bizarre happenings. This is one of those movies I was just the right age for in the 90s. It tickles that same nostalgia part of my brain as things like Scream. For better or for worse The Faculty could have been called, 1998: The Movie. That being said though there's a film with some depth here and subtext you can sink your teeth into if you're so inclined, themes of teenage isolation, authority, conforming to norms, finding out who you are, and sexuality. This is all brought together by a great cast. Even Josh Hartnett is enjoyable even if his character is eyerollingly way cooler than everyone else and there isn't nearly enough Robert Patrick to go around. I've heard criticism that The Faculty copies a lot of other science fiction but I would say it's more of a homage to those influences and brings it's own new wrinkles to the party, like how in The Thing the characters are isolated by the environment and here they're isolated by the new alien social structure taking over their school. The biggest thing holding The Faculty back in my eyes is a lack of practical effects. Some of this CGI is just dated as hell and may have been for the time too and that may be one of the things holding The Faculty back from being a true horror classic. I say go out of your way to track this one down because it's just a treat. 
TheKingslayer fucked around with this message at 11:46 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 11:12
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13: Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015) FC10. Behind the Mask  I love Savini's work (who doesn't after all?). I was hoping for an in depth look at how he made his creations, but that's a minor part of this doc, which focuses on his personal life story. He's lived a pretty full life: youngest of 6 much older siblings; combat photographer in Vietnam; multiple failed marriages. There are interviews from the likes of Romero, Sid Haig and Danny Trejo as well as his family members. It was interesting enough but I don't have much to say about it. Competed: 13 Four Flies on Grey Velevet; Gods and Monsters FC9; Alice, Sweet Alice, Witchfinder General; Street Trash; Cannibal Holocaust; C.H.U.D; Raw Force; In Search of Darkness 2; The Crazies (2010)FC2; Tigers are not Afraid FC5; Trilogy of Terror FC12; Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savin FC10 13 new-to-me movies completed!  I'll endeavour to complete the remaining Fran Challenges as well
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May 14, 2021 11:37
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I won't be doing Fran Challenges except by coincidence this time. I have a specific set of movies to watch, and if it ain't on it it ain't going on it. However: 3) Most Beautiful Island (2017) Spanish is kinda like the original where Mexican is the cover version, right? It's odd to find a movie that is all three of good, short, and too long, but this is it. Ana Asensio (who wrote, directed and starred) spends just a bit too much of her film's 80-minute runtime setting up the end. But it's a great end, absolutely dripping with suspense, and worth taking an extra trip round the block to reach. And there I'll leave it, because if you choose to watch it you're best off going in as blind as possible. Jedit fucked around with this message at 16:30 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 12:14
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15. The Djinn (2021) A mute kid finds a book in his new home that tells the tale of the djinn and how your greatest desire can be made manifest via wish, With A Price To Pay. The kid being a kid, he sees only what he wants to see and not the full details. When his dad leaves for the night, the kid wishes for a voice, feeling like being mute stopped him from preventing his mom's suicide. The djinn is summoned. And the nightmare begins A 76-minute cat-and-mouse tale without much dialogue, but benefiting from tension and good camerawork and occasional longshots during the suspenseful waiting for the djinn's appearance post-summoning. Ezra Dewey put in a very good performance as the kid, who puts up a hell of a fight throughout the night. The music ruled. But the ending was a bit of a predictable letdown, and ultimately aside from the mute kid protagonist, The Djinn didn't offer anything else I'd say you couldn't find available, and better, in the Wishmaster franchise *** 15/13 (The New York Ripper, Gwen, Sleepless Beauty, The Head Hunter, 13: Game of Death, Deerskin, Curve, The Incredible Melting Man, Starry Eyes, Eyes Without a Face, In the Earth, Macabre 1958, Macabre 1980, Oxygen 2021, The Djinn 2021)
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May 14, 2021 14:45
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 #13. Possessor (Hulu) In the future, assassins can take over the bodies of people and use them to complete their mission and dispose of people. Tasya Vos is a veteran of this practice, but on her latest mission, she finds herself losing control of the host body, and threatening to lose her family and her self identity in the process. Wow. I knew that the Horror Thread had gone crazy for this film last year when it came out, but I didn't get a chance to catch up to it until now. And what a treat this was. Dare I say, director Brandon Cronenberg's film may actually be able stand toe-to-toe with the best films of his father David? I think I dare. The film is a wonderful treatise on identity and self-control and loss and self-denial and yet it never feels unengaging or lecturing or like it's monologuing. It deftly moves and interweaves through its themes with a level of self-confidence you don't normally expect from someone's sophomore effort at feature films. Oh, and it can still be thrilling and shockingly violent and haunting. This one is going to stay with me for a while. /5Watched so far: The Curse of the Cat People, Freaky, Vampires vs the Bronx, Rawhead Rex, Tarantula, In Search of Darkness, Ginger Snaps (rewatch), In Search of Darkness Part II (FC #10), Mother's Day (2010) (FC #7), Scream, Queen! (FC #9), House of Wax (1953) (FC #2), Vampire in Venice (FC #8), Possessor Oh, hey, I reached my original goal. But I still have so many Fran Challenges (or - you guessed it - "Frallenges") left to complete, and so much more month left as well. Guess I'll just have to keep going...
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May 14, 2021 15:54
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Fran Challenge 6. Playing With Power Fright Night (1985) Directed by Tom Holland Available to rent on the usual services Yes! There is, or was, a Fright Night video game. Released in 1988 for the Amiga, this game has you playing as vampire Jerry Dandrige whose neighbors just won’t leave him alone.  In Fright Night (the movie), Charley Brewster suspects that his new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige, is a vampire. Of course, he’s right, and he has to convince his friends as more and more dead bodies appear around town. Once his friends are on board, it’s a relatively straight path to a confrontation with Dandrige.  Fright Night is fun and decent enough. I think that because I didn’t see it until so long after its release, the some of its impact is lost. It’s definitely influential, as far as horror comedy goes. I just wish I was able to go back in time to see it closer to its release. It's kind of like seeing Die Hard after all of the movies the riffed off of Die Hard.  Chris Sarandon is great as Jerry Dandridge. He has more than enough charisma to portray a charming serial killer. Roddy McDowell is also perfectly cast the washed-up actor hosting a local TV show. The practical effects do their best to keep Fright Night from looking too dated. For me, it's a 1/2Time Travel Challenge: 28/31 Fran Challenges: 6/13 Bracketology: 7/? Watched: Time Travel Challenge: 1. Jigoku (1960), 2. The Curse of the Doll People (1961), 3. The Burning Court (1962), 4. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963), 5. The Long Hair of Death (1964), 6. Planet of the Vampires (1965), 7. Daimajin (1966), 8. Viy (1967), 9. A Quiet Place in the Country (1968), 10. The Cremator (1969), 11. Equinox (1970), 12. Lake of Dracula (1971), 13. The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972), 14. The Crazies (1973), 15. Deathdream aka Dead of Night (1974), 16. Race with the Devil (1975), 17. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), 18. The Incredible Melting Man (1977), 19. The Grapes of Death (1978), 20. Tourist Trap (1979), 21. The Changeling (1980), 22. My Bloody Valentine (1981), 23. Human Lanterns (1982), 24. Christine (1983), 25. Night of the Comet (1984), 26. Demons (1985), 27. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), 28. Wolf’s Hole (1987) Bracketology: 1. Vampires vs. the Bronx, 2. The Roost, 3. Varan, 4. On the Silver Globe, 5. The Phantom of the Opera, 6. Mark of the Vampire, 7. Tigers Are Not Afraid Fran Challenges: 1. Un Chien Andalou / The Big Shave / Kitchen Sink / Foxes / Portal to Hell!!!, 2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 3. The Burning, 4. Dead Ringers, 5. Belzebuth, 6. Fright Night
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May 14, 2021 17:06
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Movie #11: Under the Shadow Fran Challenge: #7: Mother's Day  His eyes were fixed on something behind me I couldn't see. Something terrifying... Under the Shadow is the first Iranian movie I've ever seen, but if more of them are anything like this, it won't be the last! The film is set in 1984, smack dab in the middle of the Iran - Iraq war, during a period of great turmoil within Iran. The Iranian Revolution is still quite recent, and the war has been raging ever since. Shideh is a young mother who had to call off her medical studies as the 1979 revolution started kicking off, and put off returning to her studies to take care for her daughter. After her mum passed away very recently she decided to go back to finish her studies, but is told that because she participated in anti-government activities during the revolution, she can go pound sand. To make matters worse, her husband is called up to serve in the war and the two separate under tense relations after a big fight. Left alone to take care of her young daughter, Shideh is beset by dangers from all sides. She and her husband are obviously quite liberal, because while she's forced to wear the burqa outside her apartment, inside it she exercises to Jane Fonda tapes and lets her daughter watch Boy George music videos. Iraq are stepping up their terror campaign and launching increasing amounts of missiles at Iranian cities, prompting many to abandon Tehran for safer territories, but Shideh stubbornly insists on remaining in her own home. But what if the home turns out to be full of evil spirits? Under the Shadow is one of those horror movies where it doesn't show its cards, and instead dangles the audience along. Are Shideh and her daughter under attack from djinns, evil wind spirits from Iranian mythology, or are they both just cracking under the pressure? With bombs falling everywhere and Shideh obviously going through a quarter-life crisis after the death of her mother, all the while struggling with feelings of inadequacy as a mother herself, it would be understandable if she was going a bit crazy. But what if she isn't? Which option would even be worse? The movie is pretty drat good, in my opinion. The comparisons to Babadook, a movie I also really like, are fairly obvious. A single mother stuggles to care for a difficult child. Is something supernatural bothering them, or is the child having some real problems? Or is the mother? Or are they both? It's well written, well paced, well acted (well, it seems to me at least, but I don't speak Persian) and ratchets up the tension nicely. It's also culturally very interesting due to the period it is set in, as well as simply because it's fun to watch the folklore and mythology of non-European cultures get some screen time as well. / 5My previous movies: 1. Evil Dead II, 2. The Legend of Hell House, 3. Hausu, 4. The Haunting, 5. The Innkeepers, 6. Sleepaway Camp, 7. It Follows, 8. Tremors, 9. From Beyond, 10. Friday the 13th Part II Shaman Tank Spec fucked around with this message at 20:22 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 19:53
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Shaman Tank Spec posted:
This is your first time running through these, so it's not a huge deal, but Fran Challenges are all basically one-offs, and no doubling up is (normally) allowed. Also, I think the spirit of Challenge #11 is to go for something uniquely mythological, like a movie about dragons or wyverns or things like that, or about known famous cryptids, like Bigfoot or the Jersey Devil or Mothman or the like. Ghosts are probably straddling the line for "mythological", but I don't think they'd count. Unless there is something unique about Persian ghost myths that I'm unaware of that wasn't mentioned in your review.
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May 14, 2021 20:13
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Class3KillStorm posted:Ghosts are probably straddling the line for "mythological", but I don't think they'd count. Unless there is something unique about Persian ghost myths that I'm unaware of that wasn't mentioned in your review. Points taken and I dropped down to just one Fran challenge, but I would argue that djinns are not ghosts. As far as I understand, they are mythological creatures from Persian folklore, and basically are traditionally wind spirits with their whole own deal, not the spirits of departed people. I'm not going to try to lecture anyone about the specifics of djinns, though, because I'm not an expert! Shaman Tank Spec fucked around with this message at 20:23 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 20:18
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 29. 1988. The Vanishing Directed by George Sluizer Available on Criterion The Vanishing is actually a very simple story. What makes it great is how George Sluizer tells it. It doesn’t even matter that every short description gives away the basic plot. Rex Hofman and Saskia Wagter are a young couple on a vacation. When they stop at a service station, Saskia disappears. Then the story fast forwards three years.  The rest of the movie is spent unwinding what happened in those three years, telling the story via flashbacks. It’s fascinating to try to reconstruct that time and try to figure out what actually happened before the story catches back up to itself. Though the second act drags a bit, the pacing is fantastic in the first and third acts. The camera work is not especially fancy but it doesn’t need to be. The Vanishing is character-driven and all of the performances do the job.  I really want to call The Vanishing the art-house Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, but I don’t think it’s quite right. Both explore how mundane and matter-of-fact a monster can be. This one has subtitles I suppose. For me, this is easily a high Time Travel Challenge: 29/31 Fran Challenges: 6/13 Bracketology: 7/? Watched: Time Travel Challenge: 1. Jigoku (1960), 2. The Curse of the Doll People (1961), 3. The Burning Court (1962), 4. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963), 5. The Long Hair of Death (1964), 6. Planet of the Vampires (1965), 7. Daimajin (1966), 8. Viy (1967), 9. A Quiet Place in the Country (1968), 10. The Cremator (1969), 11. Equinox (1970), 12. Lake of Dracula (1971), 13. The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972), 14. The Crazies (1973), 15. Deathdream aka Dead of Night (1974), 16. Race with the Devil (1975), 17. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), 18. The Incredible Melting Man (1977), 19. The Grapes of Death (1978), 20. Tourist Trap (1979), 21. The Changeling (1980), 22. My Bloody Valentine (1981), 23. Human Lanterns (1982), 24. Christine (1983), 25. Night of the Comet (1984), 26. Demons (1985), 27. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), 28. Wolf’s Hole (1987), 29. The Vanishing (1988) Bracketology: 1. Vampires vs. the Bronx, 2. The Roost, 3. Varan, 4. On the Silver Globe, 5. The Phantom of the Opera, 6. Mark of the Vampire, 7. Tigers Are Not Afraid Fran Challenges: 1. Un Chien Andalou / The Big Shave / Kitchen Sink / Foxes / Portal to Hell!!!, 2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 3. The Burning, 4. Dead Ringers, 5. Belzebuth, 6. Fright Night twernt fucked around with this message at 20:41 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 20:19
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Shaman Tank Spec posted:Points taken and I dropped down to just one Fran challenge, but I would argue that djinns are not ghosts. As far as I understand, they are mythological creatures from Persian folklore, and basically are traditionally wind spirits with their whole own deal, not the spirits of departed people. You're right, but I'm also unaware of this film and I managed to miss the one line that refers to djinns specifically. I think I just saw the line before it about "evil spirits" and defaulted to "ghosts" in my head, and that colored the rest of my scan through read. Also, I am not an expert on djinns in any way either - my familiarity with them starts and ends with Wishmaster. Which, if you haven't seen it, could stand to be added to your list purely as a schlock fun option.
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May 14, 2021 20:30
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Class3KillStorm posted:Also, I am not an expert on djinns in any way either - my familiarity with them starts and ends with Wishmaster. Which, if you haven't seen it, could stand to be added to your list purely as a schlock fun option. Oh dang, that looks like a lot of fun!
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May 14, 2021 20:46
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Wishmaster and Wishmaster 2 both loving own, the third one is loving terrible though.
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May 14, 2021 21:14
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Good news. There's a fourth.
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May 14, 2021 21:16
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STAC Goat posted:Good news. There's a fourth. Never seen the fourth one but the third one is loving dire. I imagine its not much better.
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May 14, 2021 21:36
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Whoa hey let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is their first horror challenge! They shouldn't attempt a marathon of a complete series until at least the second. Build that horror spirit a little before you crush it under, say, Hellraiser 7.
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May 14, 2021 22:13
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I will advocate for watching the Hellraiser films starting with the last one and going in reverse order. That way the films just get better not worse.
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May 14, 2021 22:23
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 22. April Fool's Day (Fred Walton, 1986) Fran Challenge 13: Horrible Holidays It didn't occur to me until after this was over that I don't know if April Fool's Day counts as a holiday, but it probably does, right? Anyway, a group of college students (including Julie from Valley Girl, Ginny from F13 Part II, and Biff from BTTF - so totally 80s) head up to one of their cousin's remote mansion on a lake for spring break. Sound familiar? Yeah, it's basically the same set up as a million other slashers, and plays out mostly as expected. There are some good gags and fun surprises, until it all comes to a head at the end and we learn that nobody died, it's all a big prank fest, and Muffy explains that she's hoping to start a business that sounds like "what if a B&B was also a slasher movie" and we all celebrate listening to Three Dog Night and popping bottles. Uh, sure. I had a good time! 3/5 23. Tales of Halloween (Darren Lynn Bousman, Lucky McKee, Neil Marshall, Ryan Schifrin, John Skipp, Dave Parker, Mike Mendez, Adam Gierasch, Andrew Kasch, Paul Solet, and Axelle Carolyn, 2015) Fran Challenge 12: Cavalcade of Creepiness This comes out swinging as Adrienne Barbeau radio DJs over the opening fog, but my enthusiasm waned when I realized there were ten -- ten! -- stories in this 90 minute anthology. As a result, none of the stories have a lot of room to breathe, but there are some standout moments and the stories overall have a silly fun Halloweeny feel, with most of them happening around the same town and characters in the background of one story showing up as players in another. Strangely, this is the second thing I've watched this week with Jose Pablo Cantillo, and the second thing I've watched this week with James Duval. On the stories: Ding Dong, Lucky McKee's entry, was just 'fine' but was elevated by a campy, delightful performance from Pollyanna McIntosh, and Friday the 31st was a very charming riff on F13 tropes. My favorite of the bunch was the last story, Bad Seed, where a pumpkin starts chompin' down on folks. As with most anthologies, it's definitely a mixed bag, but you can play 'spot the cameo' - lots of horror legends are hidden throughout in brief roles - and overall it's definitely worth watching at least once. 3.5/5Challenge Count: 23/31 Fran Challenges:
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May 14, 2021 22:37
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9. Saint Maud Fran Challenge #9: Scream, Queen!  How did I watch this? – Plex, but now available from multiple streaming services. Maud is a hospice nurse, assigned to be the caretaker of Amanda, a former dancer in the last stages of a battle with cancer. Maud’s deep religious beliefs begin to convince her that she needs to save Amanda’s soul, and that mission quickly becomes an obsession. Is Maud crazy or is God actually working through her? I have always found born-again Christians to be insufferable in their religion. Maud is Catholic, which, I guess, doesn't really uses that terminology, but it seems to be pretty much the same level of zealotry and drive to convert others. I thought the movie was pretty ok, mostly quiet moments punctuating by something shocking. It didn’t grab me but it was well-constructed. 3/5 10. In Search of Darkness 2 Fran Challenge #10: Behind the Mask  How did I watch this? – Plex, but available on Shudder It’s four more hours of the same thing that was the first movie, so if you enjoyed that you’ll enjoy this: brief overviews of 80s films, in year order, punctuated by occasional forays into Oscar-like montages of genre staples, like ‘kids in film’ or ‘Savini effects’. The overviews are all narrated with interviews by a few horror hall of famers, and a bunch of random online horror writers and Chris Jericho for some reason. They used up the cream of the crop in the first film, so here we have a whole bunch of second-tier horror. Which is totally fine, I’m interested in deep cuts, but there are a few that are included only because they have a star or two present to comment on it, and frequently, those comments are just “oof, yeah, that movie”. It's nice that they included Tetsuo, and a bunch of Italian horror, but, were there no other foreign films they could consider before some of the crap they did include? I’m not really a spoiler person, generally speaking it doesn’t bother me to learn that the butler did it ahead of time. That said, this one really spoils a number of the best scenes from these movies, and, weirdly enough, a good amount of the nudity. I think part of why I find Halloween III so great is the sheer unexpected malice of the ending, and part of why I enjoy Night of the Demons is the crazy unexpected special effects shots. I don’t really recall that being a problem with the first documentary. 2/5
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May 14, 2021 22:41
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edit: Nevermind I found them. Forgot to recheck the 2nd post.
Hollismason fucked around with this message at 22:50 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 22:44
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 25 (29). Earth vs. the Spider (1958) Directed by Bert I. Gordon, Written by László Görög and George Worthing Yates Watched on Svengoolie, available on Youtube Svengoolie Episodes: 4/13 That was awesome! Very tonally odd for the first half. Special effects were pretty sketchy and the spider seemed to change size from shot to shot. Its kind of tonally bizarre film. Like its going for the whole 50s picturesque Ozzie and Harriet thing but it holds onto that even when a giant spider starts eating people. So we get these bizarre scenes where like the young girl who's father was eaten by a spider is grief stricken and blaming herself and her mom seems entirely unaffected and tells her to do her homework. Also a teen rock band just throws an impromptu party next to a giant spider corpse that probably smells bad. Also for some reason they have a composer.  But gradually it became clear that film really just had a very dry wit to it and once the spider gets loose, magically triples in size (i mean, he was just in the high school gym and now he's bigger than the school), and starts wrecking havoc poo poo gets awesome!     The weirdest/coolest thing about this movie? The kids discover a giant spider and dead bodies. No one believes them because... I mean, giant spider. Of course it sounds crazy. But they still call the cops and say they should check it out and look for the missing person. The cops think its crazy. Kids and pranks. A reasonable assumption. But they still go out to check. Scientist man tells him that guns won't really be effective against a spider so they should call an exterminator and get some DDT. Cops do it. Everyone draws the logical horror conclusion that this insane thing can't be true, but they all still do all the prudent thing and follow up. Even the mocking cops. And they stay competent the whole film! What the hell am I watching?! This is way too far to suspend my disbelief! Its a B horror monster movie from the 50s and comes with everything you expect, but it moves very briskly and has a great little dark humor to it that might take a little while for you to get the rhythm of but once it starts clicking it really starts clicking. It might run out of steam a little towards the end but it all moves quickly enough and has enough silly humor that it never wears out its welcome. In the end I'd absolutely, emphatically, demonstratively recommend this very fun 50s B monster romp.  26 (30). Vampyr (1932) Written and directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, co-written by Christen Jul, Based on the 1872 story In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu Watched on HBOMax. Fran Challenges 4/13 Franchescanado posted:4. Movie of the Month I been quasi interested in this, quasi avoiding it? No real big reasons either way. Its one of the standout notable films of the era I haven’t seen yet so I was interested, but I also haven’t been that into the german films of the era and heard it described as very dreamy and abstract and that’s not my thing. but like its short and I don’t hate that stuff so I don’t really know why I kept bumping it off lists. Anyone finally watched it and was really pretty pleased. The story is a tad thin but its all pretty straight forward and clear and the short run time doesn’t give it enough time to drag or anything. The appeal is obviously the incredible visual storytelling and mood of the film. Dreyer’s unique use of shadows... and not shadows in like dark spaces but rather actual silhouettes and shapes... is something I'm not sure I've ever seen done quite as effectively or creepily. Which is crazy considering this film is like 90 years old and everyone steals everything in film. I've seen it played in gags but even that is mostly like in cartoons. And there’s just a lot of great little things like that which are all over the film but never really over used. Traditional good shadow and light use, striking visuals, a really cool skeleton hand thingie. Truthfully I’m not even sure I always knew where the creepy visuals were coming from and definitely some of it was of that dreamlike nature, but none of it ever really got too weird to lose me and really I was just cool and vibing with its mood. Part of the film’s uniqueness but effectiveness is that its a sound film but it still uses the structure of the silent films with dialogue cards and book pages adding exposition. That apparently came down to them just trying to make the film easily accessible in different languages but I think it creates a really effective grimm fairy tale and storybook aspect to the tale. Basically a story about a curious stranger who gets swept up into this dark fantasy world that really does come across well in the structure of the film and I think makes it really not just stand out as a film worth seeing but also age really wonderfully where is period drawbacks are really strengths of the movie’s tone and structure. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but it was a very enjoyable and easy watch and the sort of thing perfect for a spooky mood setter. Strong recommendation if you don’t mind reading, and even if you really don’t want to read anything you could probably just get through the film anyway since its all the basic vampire story we all know well. 🌻🎈Spook-A-Doodle Half-Way-To-Halloween ’21: Return of the Fallen & King Spring🎈🌻 King Spring: 5/13🎈Return of the Fallen: 5/13👻Fran Challenges: 3/13🐺Svengoolie: 4/13 Watched - New (Total) 1. Riding the Bullet (2004); 2. Cat’s Eye (1985); - (3). Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020); - (4). The Thing (1982); 3 (5). Sleep Tight (2011); - (6). Dark Shadows (2012); 4 (7). The Wicker Man (1973); 5 (8). Varan (1958); 6 (9). The Roost (2005); 7 (10). The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007); 8 (11). The Leech Woman (1960); 9 (12). Sometimes They Come Back (1991); 10 (13). Varan the Unbelievable (1962); 11 (14). 1922 (2017); 12 (15). What Keeps You Alive (2018); 13 (16). On the Silver Globe (1988); 14 (17). The Phantom of the Opera (1998); 15 (18). Nina Forever (2015); 16 (19). Area 51 (2015); 17 (20). Carrie (2002); 18 (21). The Stylist (2016)/Stucco (2019)/He Took His Skin Off for Me (2014)/Zygote (2017); 19 (22). Mark of the Vampire (1935); 20 (23). Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017); 21 (23). Death Walks on High Heels (1971); 22 (24). Maniac (1980); - (25). The Beast with Five Fingers (1946); - (26). Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954); 23 (27). Summer Camp (2015); 24 (28). Man Made Monster (1941); 25 (29). Earth vs. the Spider (1958); 26 (30). Vampyr (1932);
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May 14, 2021 23:17
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Fran Challenge 7. Mother's Day The Brood (1979) Directed by David Cronenberg Available on Criterion, HBO Max If you’ve seen any other David Cronenberg movies, you know the broad strokes of what’s going to happen here. A bunch of people who are off-putting in a way you can’t really describe will be killed by human-adjacent creatures or by weird fleshy protuberances.  The Brood is the story of a couple locked in a custody struggle while the mother is undergoing unconventional and controversial therapy at a secluded retreat. The therapy involves physically manifesting emotions and trauma through something called psycho-plasmics.  If you like Cronenberg, The Brood should go on your list. I think it’s probably the best of his pre-Videodrome movies. The characters are relatively flat, but you’re not here for complex character development. You’re here to see some weird bloody body horror stuff and The Brood really delivers. Above all, you need to witness Oliver Reed roleplaying a little girl in a therapy session. It’s the creepiest thing that happens in the entire movie.  It’s a solid for me.Time Travel Challenge: 29/31 Fran Challenges: 7/13 Bracketology: 7/? Watched: Time Travel Challenge: 1. Jigoku (1960), 2. The Curse of the Doll People (1961), 3. The Burning Court (1962), 4. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963), 5. The Long Hair of Death (1964), 6. Planet of the Vampires (1965), 7. Daimajin (1966), 8. Viy (1967), 9. A Quiet Place in the Country (1968), 10. The Cremator (1969), 11. Equinox (1970), 12. Lake of Dracula (1971), 13. The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972), 14. The Crazies (1973), 15. Deathdream aka Dead of Night (1974), 16. Race with the Devil (1975), 17. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), 18. The Incredible Melting Man (1977), 19. The Grapes of Death (1978), 20. Tourist Trap (1979), 21. The Changeling (1980), 22. My Bloody Valentine (1981), 23. Human Lanterns (1982), 24. Christine (1983), 25. Night of the Comet (1984), 26. Demons (1985), 27. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), 28. Wolf’s Hole (1987), 29. The Vanishing (1988) Bracketology: 1. Vampires vs. the Bronx, 2. The Roost, 3. Varan, 4. On the Silver Globe, 5. The Phantom of the Opera, 6. Mark of the Vampire, 7. Tigers Are Not Afraid Fran Challenges: 1. Un Chien Andalou / The Big Shave / Kitchen Sink / Foxes / Portal to Hell!!!, 2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 3. The Burning, 4. Dead Ringers, 5. Belzebuth, 6. Fright Night, 7. The Brood
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May 15, 2021 01:04
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4) Tales of Terror (1962) Fran Challenge: Cavalcade of Creepiness I was able to snag a box set of Corman's six Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price for a very reasonable sum. They're going to comprise most of my viewing in May, although I intend to space them out so I don't burn out on 1960s AIP. Tales of Terror is the only one of the six that is an anthology, although unlike many such there's no frame story, just a narrator and a couple of interstitials. The first segment, Morella, is a very loose adaptation of the original story. It cranks the Gothic up to 13 and draws a great deal from Fall of the House of Usher (some sets from which were re-used). It's the weakest of the three segments by a long shot, but then so was the story. Next up is The Black Cat, which is much better. The story is neatly interwoven with the plot of The Cask of Amontillado, allowing Price to play off the great Peter Lorre, seen here at his comedic finest. It's also thankfully stripped of the extreme animal cruelty that marred Poe's tale. The final segment is a fairly straight adaptation of The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, in which a man agrees to be hypnotised at the moment of his death with (naturally) horrifying results. As with Morella a strong Gothic element is added, although in this case it is to make up for the brevity and clinical detachment of the text. Basil Rathbone - Sherlock Holmes himself - plays the hypnotist Carmichael, and has good support from Debra Paget and Frank Markham. (Curiously, Paget and Markham are the only two surviving cast members.) The whole is suitably creepy and overall it's the best of the three. Overall, this isn't bad. The lack of budget is only evident in the small number of sets, but it was spent well enough on those that you don't notice. Without the three cinema legends it probably wouldn't hold up, though.
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May 15, 2021 01:32
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