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https://letterboxd.com/dorium/list/april-horror-movie-challenge/ I'll be posting here and tracking on letterboxd as well. 1. The Thing (1982) - John Carpenter Don't know what else to say about how legendary this movie is. Perhaps my favorite of Carpenters and one that defines so much of his style and dexterity in film making. It's almost a shame he didnt score this film, but I think giving those reigns to Morricone was the smarter move overall. It oozes a flair for tension and this isolation that most films only attempt at replicating and does it by letting the camera lackadaisically sit in the room with the stranded men like the viewer is one of them. Just long enough that it leaves traces of doubt in each scene of who is really in the room or what the intentions are of each person (or thing) there. I can rewatch this move dozens of times and always feel entertained, awstruck and marvel at the technical skill being given to us not only by Carpenter and Morricone, but also Cinematographer Dean Cundley. Dont even get me started on the cast either. Top to bottom no one is not buying into this production at 100% capacity. How they manage to feel like each one is cracking within their own personality and how that splinters into feeding into each others breakdowns is always a treat to watch. Finally, Kurt Russells beard and mane. How glorious they are and the 4K Shout Factory restoration disc exemplifies why it's the best hair ever to grace the silver screen. 2. Candyman (1992) - Bernard Rose To not give the original Candyman the credit that it is due for its accomplishments in storytelling of a woman being driven insane by a malevolent (perhaps rightfully so) spirit is not only a crime to cinema, but a crime to the arts in general. What a ride this movie is. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid and my memory of the movie is extremely vivid and wild, so thankfully upon my return to this movie all of my wildest memories live up to the absolutely craziness of this film. In this era of heightened racial and political awareness this movie rings on so many modern levels of truth that it almost doesnt even need to be remade (I'm not gunna shake a stick at a new Peele production tho), but thankfully no one is going to be coming to my apartment to rip my copy out of my hands. It's an absolute treat to watch Virginia Madsen lose her mind and Tony Todd speak in these other worldly sentences and with declarations of pain and pleasure that would make Pinhead wince just a bit. I'm glad this movie is around and I can't wait to watch it again. 3. The Hunt (2020) - Craig Zobel This was a piece of poo poo. Alright, I'll probably be back around later. I may end up watching The Crazies tonight and something out of the Edgar Wright list. I dont have to get up for work till 9 so I'll be up late.
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Apr 2, 2020 01:39
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dorium posted:
I had no idea Coach Z directed this movie.
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Apr 2, 2020 01:57
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Lumbermouth posted:I had no idea Coach Z directed this movie. a Coach Z appearance would've been welcome. Happily welcomed.
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Apr 2, 2020 02:19
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The CineD Z-Fest Stream is LIVE!!!! (For testing purposes) Here is the GitHub link to tap into the Z-Fest stream on CyTube Here is the CineD Discord, where you can find the Z-Fest channel for live chat Please try the link and make sure that you are able to stream without issue. We wouldn't want you to try and massage your occipital lobe with z-grade transmissions and miss out on the fun because technology fails you. If you have issues, try restarting your computer, trying a different browser, or reading the help section on the website.  Please post any issues you have in the thread or on discord. And while the Z-Fest is not exclusively horror, there will be qualifying films shown.
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Apr 2, 2020 02:52
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So my plan for the month is to watch 13 movies on 13 different streaming services. I started out tonight with Hulu, which is absolutely the dregs of the barrel as far as horror selection goes. 1. Overlord (2018) Watched On: Hulu This is a movie that I wanted to see in theaters but upon actually watching it, I'm glad that I skipped it. It's a movie that tries to ride the line between grindhouse camp and emotional horror and really doesn't pull off either. The performances and action are entirely adequate, it's just... there should be more of it. There are like three or four horror moments peppering a third generation Band of Brothers photocopy. And for a supposed Nazi zombie supersoldier movie, give me more than two of them! gently caress! But Bokeem Woodbine was in the beginning and that made me happy. Don't watch this movie.
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Apr 2, 2020 03:06
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3. The Writer's Ghost - Prime What I thought I was getting: Haunted house movie made on a $500 budget. What I got: Haunted house movie made on a $500 budget, where after the typical setup for this sort of thing (spooky lights and sounds, interviewing the nice old octogenarian couple who used to live next door), the ghost possesses the protagonist's boyfriend, chains her up in the basement, and tortures and rapes her for the majority of the runtime. 0/5. 4. Dark Exorcism - Prime It's exactly what was expected given the second word in the title, but rather nicely done. A true believer and a skeptic team up to investigate a case of demonic possession and you know exactly how it goes from there. The acting from all four leads is excellent, the plot is well paced, and the visual effects, while sparse and usually makeup, are convincing. Before they're all brought together, the film establishes itself quite nicely by weaving back and forth between scenes with the skeptical grad student and true believer professor discussing the theoretical timeline of possession with scenes of the mother and possessed daughter going through it. Once into the heart of the matter, it's an interesting take on the standard "We are Legion" bit by giving the demon a little more specific motivation - essentially, recording their side of things. Also, holy poo poo, the ending. 5/5
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Apr 2, 2020 03:44
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Ok, I passed out last night because I haven’t been sleeping and have spent the last couple of days feeling exhausted in a way I rarely ever have (I’m a little worried I’m getting depressed or something). But the result is not only didn’t I get to kick off my April with the big movie I had planned but I didn’t get to Suspiria and The Abominable Dr. Phibes either. But I absolutely want to watch Inferno and Dr. Phibes Rises in April so I’ll just add those two originals to the long schedule. Meanwhile I borrowed a few random movies from Kanopy after the Criterion classics I had planned disappeared so I gotta watch them before the March rentals run out. Challenge wise I guess I’m doing 13 movies new to me, but come on. If I don’t do that by week’s end I’ll be embarrassed. I could do like 13 franchises or 13 countries or 13 whatever but I have a huge schedule of movies planned and rather not limit myself to rules after the last few years of stringent rule following. My October challenge was actually like really kind of tough (but rewarding) and I ended up not watching a lot of stuff I wanted to and I basically want to watch that stuff now. I don’t know. For the pretense of an actual “challenge” iets say 31 films. Lets get started.  1. Blood Punch (2014) Watched on Kanopy, also available on hoopla, Tubi, and Screambox. Milton gets seduced by Skylar into a meth cooking scheme with her psychotic boyfriend that ends in a bloody nightmare, but the thing is it doesn’t end. Miilton’s trapped in the bloodiest Ground Hog Day and has to find his way out while falling for the sociopath who got him into it. I had no idea about anything about this film coming in. I just did a search on JustWatchUs for films that were on Kanopy but no other streaming service I had to try and make the best use of my limited monthly rentals before the March ones ran out. And this caught my interest in part because I couldn’t figure out what the hell it was about. Even now having seen it I don’t really know how to categorize it. Its not quite a horror film. I mean it could have been. There’s a cut of this film in some reality that is 100% a horror film. Its all about tone and the direction the filmmakers go with it this reality is as some kind of dark comedy, film noir, I don’t know what. There’s horror elements in there. I’m half tempted to call it “sci fi” but there’s no science so why would it be that? But horror? I don’t know. Which is not to say I didn’t like it. Matter of fact I liked it quite a bit. And I’m not even considering discounting it as “not horror” because there’s something there and its just April. The basic story is one we’ve seen a million times now and I’m sure anyone can guess at some of the twists and turns it takes immediately as I did. But that doesn’t make the ride any less fun and I think its probably a part of the reason they decided to approach from a sardonic, detached black comedy route rather than a super serious horror tone. And that was probably the right call and largely it worked. I enjoyed the performances and I enjoyed the twists, even if I saw most of them coming. But like, that doesn’t really bother me and I’m not someone who looks for the twist or tries to solve the mystery before the detective. I just want to enjoy the path it takes and the story it tells and I did largely here. Although sadly the wikipedia plot synopsis was not accurate. quote:Milton realizes his past life as a green power ranger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Rangers_RPM). Milton then recruits all the other power rangers to defeat the psychotic boyfriend and consecrate the bloody Native American battleground. They go out for pizza in their power ranger suits. The End? That’s the odd element production wise I noticed. Apparently the entire cast as well as the writer and director all come from Power Rangers RPM. Now Power Rangers were never really in my time frame and RPM sounds like one of those millions of spinoffs that probably came much later. But if at some point in 2010 you had the random rear end thought that you wanted to see Doctor K get into a freaky murder and sex triangle with Ziggy the Green Power Ranger and Flynn the Blue Ranger have I got the movie for you.  2. La Morte Vivanta aka The Living Dead Girl (1982) Watched on Kanopy, A young french woman is risen from the grave by reasons with a hunger for blood (and disregard for clothes) and her childhood best friend attempts to protect her and bring her back to the world of the living. Another film I knew absolutely nothing about except that for some reason it was on my Kanopy watchlist so figured I’d give it a look with one of my dying March rentals. I do vaguely recall the name Jean Rollins as a dude with a rep for making horny films and this certainly lives up to that. I was kind of thoroughly unimpressed and fighting boredom most of the way. The story is so thin as to be nearly translucent and no characters or performances are compelling enough to carry the film. The appeal here is obviously naked ladies, gore, and vaguely implied lesbian eroticism and like I know there’s an audience for all of that but its not really me. And to be honest none of that is even done A lot. I mean I’m sure some of it was shocking for 1982 but most of this film is people walking around well lit, unspooky places and sometimes throwing tantrums. I mean what even was that story of the random petulant American in a bad relationship obsessed with the girl? The most compelling aspect is the story of Helene becoming the monster herself even as Catherine comes to hate what she is and want to be put down. That could have been a really good story in better hands or with better players but here it was just a thing that kind of meandered into place and while i don’t think Marina Pierro does a bad job with it I don’t think she does a good enough job to carry the film. If there’s a brilliance or noteworthy element to this film I’m missing it. I assume its just "this is shocking and titillating" by a different era's standard.
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Apr 2, 2020 03:46
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1. Southbound Anthology horror very much in the vein of Stephen King short stories. I was very pleasantly surprised by this, going in with no expectations at all. The stories flow nicely into each other and cover a wide variety of genres, theyr're spooky, funny and mean in the best sense, there's gore, there's a very good jump scare, there's surprisingly good CGI and a John Carpenter inspired soundtrack at a breeze 90 minute runtime. Highly recommended!
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Apr 2, 2020 04:04
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married but discreet posted:1. Southbound Ugggggh I’m upset that I didn’t go with this on Hulu now. I think I might have mistaken it for Starry Eyes which I know people had mixed feelings on.
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Apr 2, 2020 04:23
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Its also on Prime, Kanopy, and the Amazon Shudder channel if you're really committed to the different streaming thing but want to sneak it in.
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Apr 2, 2020 04:28
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 6. Baba Yaga (Prime) I think the best review I could possibly leave for this film is simply "70s French Italian co-production", need I say more? It's a heavily stylistic fever dream of startling imagery, that's simultaneously being wrestled and pulled in several competing directions. First it's the story of a hip, liberated, bougie photographer, who seems to spend all of her time shooting the tamest softcore erotica guised as a fashion. These scenes are accompanied by her male love interest, who feels like he just fell off the set of Putney Swope. Second it's a gothic horror, full of lesbian witches in old dark houses, creepy dolls, BDSM, pits that vanish into hell, and possessed murderous cameras. I think the more the film leans on this second side the stronger it becomes, but it's the themes of liberation from the first side which knit the film together. I have absolutely no idea if I enjoyed watching it or not. It definitely made an impact, and by the end I was invested, if not completely satisfied.  7. Anna and the Apocalypse (Now TV) High School Musical meets Shaun of the Dead, and it's actually pretty great? It hits the cute, goofy, charming notes of a musical aimed at young adults, whilst also having some pretty effective gore, action, and horror beats. The young cast also did a great job. The closing emotional song before the end credits had me ugly snot sobbing, and that's pretty much the highest praise I can give.
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Apr 2, 2020 04:37
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I feel like Anna and the Apocalypse played it a little too straight. Like beyond the music there's just a pretty straight up zombie movie with all the usual horrible loss and traumatizing acts. And I was expecting the music to kind of parody that or play it like a shocked reaction or something but they're just straight musical numbers. Its just a sincere zombie musical. But yeah, I guess it was just playing to an audience that is clearly there and that I'm just not part of.
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Apr 2, 2020 04:41
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1. Blood and Black Lace - Prime Great start for me. I love Bava as a stylist, the half-dozen or so movies I’ve seen by him were a joy to watch — and the high-fashion setting gives him a lot to work with. Obvious influence on so many movies that followed, but the classic polish makes the violence come off as that much more brutal. Reminds me of Peeping Tom from a few years earlier, where you get a weird cognitive dissonance from something so formal in style and raw in content. Probably going to keep following Bava for the next few and see where that takes me. Recommendations welcome
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Apr 2, 2020 05:03
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Yeah it's probably one for the musical theatre weirdos more than the horror weirdos, but I'm all for a bit of weirdo intermingling. I'm just super excited to show it to my nieces once Christmas rolls around
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Apr 2, 2020 05:09
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morestuff posted:Probably going to keep following Bava for the next few and see where that takes me. Recommendations welcome Kill, Baby, Kill!, Five Dolls for An August Moon, Hatchet for the Honeymoon, The Girl Who Knew Too Much and Lisa and the Devil are the more underrated Bava films in my opinion. But if you haven't seen Black Sunday or Black Sabbath, definitely check those out ASAP.
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Apr 2, 2020 05:18
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Debbie Does Dagon posted:Yeah it's probably one for the musical theatre weirdos more than the horror weirdos, but I'm all for a bit of weirdo intermingling. I'm just super excited to show it to my nieces once Christmas rolls around Yeah, the genre's big enough for all kinds of movies and if there's like a way for a movie to sell horror to fans through a new door you'd never expect, hey, more power to it.
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Apr 2, 2020 05:27
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Basebf555 posted:Kill, Baby, Kill!, Five Dolls for An August Moon, Hatchet for the Honeymoon, The Girl Who Knew Too Much and Lisa and the Devil are the more underrated Bava films in my opinion. But if you haven't seen Black Sunday or Black Sabbath, definitely check those out ASAP. Thanks. I’ve seen Black Sunday, Planet of the Vampires, Danger: Diabolik. Probably checking out Sabbath and Bay of Blood next but I’m hoping to get to most of these
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Apr 2, 2020 05:51
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2. The Hunger (1983) Dir: Tony Scott  I think the internet might have permanently broken my brain, because the whole time, I kept thinking about THE HUNGER, which is still one of the funniest music videos ever made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bINYgVtRVjU Anyway, I enjoyed this! It kinda coasts on the loving awesome opening ten minutes, which is iconic goth cinema. It's one of the most gorgeous looking movies of the era, living in sickly blues and deep dark shadows. Didn't expect it to go so openly queer, but that's welcome! It might have also been unintentional, given how much male gaze is in the film. I need to let this linger with me. Feels like a film that I would fall in love with next time I come back to it.
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Apr 2, 2020 06:13
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Ok, time for one I actually have a little build up for. 3. Prom Night (1980) Watched on Shudder, also available on hoopla and Vudu. Six years after 10-year-old Robin dies as a result of a tragic accident when a group of older kids scare her playing a mean game and then leave her for dead those same kids become the targets of a masked killer on their prom night. See, that “Killers Are Coming” game is the exact sort of sadistic poo poo suburban kids always get up to. Suburban kids are the worst. I wouldn’t say I was hyped to watch this, but its up near the top of a shrinking list of “essentials” from the era that I’ve never gotten around to seeing because I didn’t think they appealed to me. And with the Prom Night franchise in the Bracket it felt right to get it in while it could still affect my vote. And really, its a film I’m kind of embarrassed to say I’ve never seen if just to complete that trifecta of Jamie Lee Curtis Scream Queen originals. Did you know I never knew until tonight that Jamie Lee Curtis is the daughter of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis? Or that she’s married to Christopher Guest? That’s a hell of a talented family. Also Guest is apparently a Baron and JLC is a Baroness? And she’s Jake Gyllenhaal’s godmother? Ok, enough of the wikipedia dive. I was not expecting a pivotal disco dance floor scene in the middle of the film. Clearly I never knew the full range of JLC’s skills until now. All in all I was surprised to really like this. Storywise you can obviously see its influence on movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream. I’d guess Prom Night is trailblazer in a lot of ways to the slasher subgenera but it not being a genre I’ve ever followed that closely its not stuff I’ll identify or pick up so quickly. But its better than a lot of the slashers I’ve disliked in large part because it doesn’t rush into killings for the sake of killings. It gives us time to get to know the characters and the story and everything that’s going on. I liked one character so even though it was obvious from the get go she was gonna get got I really felt it when her time came. I don’t like another character but she puts up a hell of a fight and I find myself rooting for her because a death sentence is a hell of a punishment for being an rear end in a top hat. All the time and story also sets up a ton of suspects for who’s doing the killing. There’s red herrings and a few likely suspects leaving real questions you’re waiting to see answered and story elements missing from a lot of other films. I can’t think of too many slashers that actually work like a “Whodunit?” but Prom Night low key does and has a genuinely satisfying and effecting conclusion. And it doesn’t really sacrifice anything for “kills” when got an exploding van off a cliff. So yeah, I’m not a slasher guy and I didn’t love that, but I did really like it. Definitely one of the better slashers I’ve seen and deserving of his essential position. And Jamie Lee Curtis is great as always.
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Apr 2, 2020 06:48
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 10) Johnny Gruesome - 2018 - Prime What is it with book adaptations that they're so hit or miss with the adapting? You end up with either an improvement on the story or something that only just shares titles. In this case, it's more okay in parts and fumbles in others. The book was good, I recommend picking it up if you find it on the cheap. With the movie, I don't know if a better budget or more skilled cast and crew would've made enough of a difference, but this was just 'meh' on the scale of things.  11) One Night in October - 2019 - Prime This one's an anthology in the vein of Trick r Treat, in that there's no distinct wrap around. Overall, it's okay. My only nitpicks are minor things like tweaking editing. This one would be an okay addition to an anthology marathon.  12) Hollow - 2013 - Prime Found Footage is probably the most mixed bag of subgenres. It seems like for every good one, there's an easy half dozen or more clunkers. Then you have this one where you wonder 'why the hell is this a found footage?'. The core story's got potential. Group finds itself near a creepy looking tree that's the center of a legend where young couples have committed suicide over the centuries and weird poo poo ends up happening. I feel this could've been good if the director hadn't gone the found footage route. On top of the usual found footage flaws like 'why the hell are you still recording?', we're never clear on what's actually going on. Is it ghosts, is it some possession thing, is it all in their heads or is it Keebler Elves gone bad? It brings to mind what a friend said about found footage films being a bandaid for new/unskilled directors and crappy scripts. This is one I wouldn't mind seeing remade as anything other than a found footage film.  13) Book of Monsters - 2019 - Prime On the scale of things, this was a pretty basic teen has a special bloodline entry. It has the expected flaws in editing and dialog, but what really pushes the film to the top is it's got a lot of Heart. You can tell everyone involved was having a good time and was into it and that really pushes it into a comfortable fun popcorn flick category. I still can't get over Sophie's dad being played by the same actor who was the original Chatterer from Hellraiser. This one's a fine entry for a creature features style marathon.
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Apr 2, 2020 07:03
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 2: Contagion Even more topical than I thought it would be. Terms like social distancing, repeated mentions of face-touching, an internet conspiracy theorist/quack medicine grifter and a scene where one person buys up all the hand sanitiser in a shop. Definitely a thriller, but not a horror. It's realistic scientifically but also narratively - there's not a lot of conventional arcs and its free of the cliches I was expecting. The only bit that felt overly movie-ish was where Hextall injects herself with the experimental vaccine. Jude Law being all smug when his dumbass followers bail him out was really frustrating but it was to the film's advantage, despite how satisfying it would have been to see him die in some nasty and ironic way.
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Apr 2, 2020 10:59
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 14) Antisocial - 2014 - Prime As I watched this, I kept thinking about how badly it was going to age since it centers so much on the point of social media. This is expected for films that feature a tech fad of the day since for people who weren't around then, it's just not going to click as well it will for those who were. Even with that said, there was a good opportunity here to do a social media satire or critism over it's use, but instead they went with a standard apocalypse scenario. One could remove the social media aspect and put in any other apocalypse reason and it really wouldn't change things. There was a good angle with the reason being subliminal programs installed into the social media to encourage usage ends up becoming a virus which drives people violently insane, but even that gets ruined with it turning out that all the infected who were killed are now animating into zombies. At this point I'm thinking a film that doesn't live up to it's potential's probably worse than a film that's just bad.  15) Don't Look in the Attic - 1982 - TubiTV HOLY poo poo THIS IS THAT FILM THAT WAS SO CRAPPY MY BRAIN BLOCKED MOST OF IT OUT! For some backstory to those new to this, many years back I used to work for Blockbuster Video so naturally I would end up eventually renting anything and everything in the Horror section. This film was so lousy, I actually asked my boss if it was possible to get a credit for a free rental because this film was that crappy (No, it wasn't). It wasn't until I was posting over on the Fango boards years later that I wanted to submit it to the Worst Film You've Ever Seen thread but I couldn't remember the title other than maybe it mentioned Attic, looked like it was from the late 70s, was foreign-possibly French, was murky as gently caress for the most part, and it opened with a murder and ended with an old woman musing in a chair. No one had a clue what the film was. Over the years I'd ask on the various horror forums if anyone had an idea and they didn't. Even here where someone can post an image from a movie and get a dozen or more able to post paragraphs about the movie it's from, no one had a clue. I start watching and it's deja vu so hard it's slapped me upside the head. I skip to the end and it's The Film. Now I had to sit through it to see if there's any improvement in watching, and no, no improvement. Still pretty murky with plenty of drawn out talking scenes with no meaty action beyond the beginning and the expected fight at the end. Plot's essentially two brothers and a cousin inherit a house on the condition they live there and never sell it. Turns out it's full of murderous ghosts. I'm still mystified at how anyone can turn a haunted house film into something that sucks so hard it blows. However this is probably the first time I've been happy at watching a crappy film since it solved a personal mystery.
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Apr 2, 2020 11:53
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I never actually mentioned a goal - I'm going for at least 13 "new to me" films and then probably some others that may or may not be rewatches. 1. Horse Girl (2020) Netflix Alison Brie stars as a socially awkward young woman who sleepwalks and suffers from strange dreams. When she begins losing time, she is convinced there is something sinister going on - but no one believes her. On the surface this is a psychological thriller, but where a typical thriller would normally leave the audience guessing as to the reality of the situation, it's clear very early on that she is actually just mentally ill and the film becomes more of a character study about her descent into paranoia and delusions. I like Alison Brie and I think she does a good job here, and for the first half of the film I was totally on board. When it's just about a troubled woman going through her life I liked it a lot, but it goes completely off the rails in the last act though and it lost me. I appreciate it not holding back with the weirdness, but it felt weird in a way that didn't really work. There is an extended sequence where she runs around through different dreams/hallucinations dressed in what appears to be a ninja outfit made from curtains, while also witnessing aliens experimenting on humans. There are some neat visuals in there I guess but it felt a lot more dull than it should have. It also feels like the film is trying to be more clever than it is. I enjoyed parts of this but overall it's disappointing. 2.5 curtain ninjas out of 5
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Apr 2, 2020 14:07
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M_Sinistrari posted:
I don't think a movie called The House of poo poo Anime could be completely irredeemable.
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Apr 2, 2020 14:24
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 The Uncanny(Prime) Nothing like Peter Cushing and a bunch of cats at 1am. I wasn't really focused on watching the opening credits to this one so I kinda assumed it was an Amicus anthology. Turns out it was produced by a different company, but the wiki page does mention that it could easily fool you into thinking it's an Amicus so I guess I wasn't the only one. It's probably one of the more specific anthologies out there. Every story is basically a different way of demonstrating that cats are our overlords and we exist because they allow it.. I wasn't so hot on the first segment, but I really enjoyed the other two. The last segment stars Donald Pleasence playing a murdering rear end in a top hat, which is great. I'd say the big flaw here is that Cushing isn't given much to do, he gets like two lines per wrap-around segment and the whole thing really doesn't go anywhere. Anyway, the best cat in The Uncanny is Wellington. This is Wellington.  1. Leprechaun 4: In Space 2. Leprechaun In The Hood 3. Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood 4. The Uncanny
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Apr 2, 2020 14:40
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Let's see, where am I at on the "They Shoot Zombies" list... ALL RIGHT WELL. Looks like this month's challenge will put a tiny dent in it. Continuing on. 4. Basket Case (1982)  I'm still laughing about the fact that apparently some parents named their two children "Duane" and "Belial". Basket Case oozes with low budget charm and sleaze. I was lucky enough to see Frank Henenlotter and Patty Mullen (Frankenhooker) do a Q&A last year, and it was interesting to see Frank talk about how he had this vision about how Basket Case was supposed to be, and regrets how uncomfortable the shooting process was, but is proud of what came out of it. Apparently the cast and crew just hated him throughout the filming process. You can definitely see a lot of that in the film. It's a blast, though, and definitely a fun flick. 4/5 Watched so far: 1. Zombie (1979) / 2. Frankenstein (1931) / 3. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) / 4. Basket Case (1982) Count Thrashula fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Apr 2, 2020 |
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Apr 2, 2020 15:28
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Getting this thing started on a mediocre foot. #1.April Fool's Day (1986) (Starz) Nine college students staying at a friend's remote island mansion begin to fall victim to an unseen murderer over the April Fool's Day weekend. I liked the setup and the cast just fine; it's nice seeing Tom "Biff Tannen" Wilson and Amy Steel pop up in things. This was a fairly dull movie for long stretches, though, and the bloodless violence didn't help to raise the stakes or interest all that much. I also wasn't a fan of the fake-out The Game-style ending, which felt mildly appropriate but not well earned. Also, there was a little too much exposition dumping going on there for me, which is always a strike against a movie. Not awful as far as seasonally appropriate curiosities go, but I don't see much reason to revisit this next April.  /5Watched so far: April Fool's Day (1986)
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Apr 2, 2020 17:02
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 1. The Platform, 2019 Every day, a platform descends, containing enough food for every floor. Those at the top gorge themselves. Those at the bottom starve. DO YOU GET IT? It’s not a particularly subtle movie, to be sure, but it is a gross, tense look at human nature. Spoilers: humans suck, we’re the worst. 3.5/5  2. The Invisible Man, 2020 Either there's an invisible man or this lady is crazy. But I think you saw what the title of the film was. It is buoyed largely by Elisabeth Moss’s performance, but I really enjoyed it. The first half is a lot of tense “is someone there” scenes, and the second half is mostly action that relies maybe a bit too much on loud stinger music. The turn is incredible, though. 4/5  3. Whispering Corridors 3: The Wishing Stairs, 2003 There is a set of stairs that has 28 steps. Sometimes it has 29. Wishes you make on that step come true. I don’t think these movies are connected in the slightest, except they all feature teen girls in school? I think the premise is great, and could be fun. Unfortunately it plays out as a slow, mediocre Wishmaster movie. 2/5
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Apr 2, 2020 17:48
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Lumbermouth posted:1. Overlord (2018) I agree it should've gone a lot further with the horror stuff but I still really liked what we got. Some really fun hammy performances. I really like Iain De Caestecker and I wish he got more roles. Basebf555 posted:The Uncanny(Prime) I love when it zooms in to a cat dramatically like it's supposed to be scary but it's almost always just cute. Except the one on the bed, that was a mean looking cat. married but discreet posted:1. Southbound I just watched this recently and agree, it's better than I expected. The segment about the accident was fantastic. Debbie Does Dagon posted:5. When Animals Dream (Amazon Prime) This sounds great, adding it to my list!
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Apr 2, 2020 18:19
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5. Carrie I don't know why I put off watching this for so long. Now that I've seen it, I think I can safely call it the quintessential emotional abuse/gaslighting horror movie. Sissy Spacek puts in an incredible performance, and you feel such a catharsis when the "Carrie moment" finally happens later in the film. Wonderful. Lives up to its reputation and more. 5/5 Watched so far: 1. Zombie (1979) / 2. Frankenstein (1931) / 3. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) / 4. Basket Case (1982) / 5. Carrie (1976)
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Apr 2, 2020 18:26
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4. The Crazies (1973) - George Romero George is never one to really mince the realities of our American responses to pandemics (I dont know if he would be chuckling at our current predicament or sobbing uncontrollably), but this movie has a great pace in the first half of a small town being taken over by an infectious disease and that's something George has always been great at is showing how people react, both just townies living life and the higher up government/military deal in extraordinary conditions and this is just another exemplary example of that. I do think it gets a bit slow in the the middle to end, but when it does end it ends on a good note. A movie that holds up in his catalog of films and one I'm glad I rewatched. 5. The Battery (2012) - Jeremy Gardner This is actually my first time seeing this one. I kept putting it off for the longest time, but I'm glad I finally got to it. What a crazy little film. I think the acting from the two leads in the first half wasnt as great as it gets later in the film (maybe they picked up some better techniques along filming), but it's a terrific example of what you can do with a modest budget and simple, but well shot locations. The last 40 minutes tho are what you're really here for and they're taut, riveting and well done. An exceptional zombie flick with a terrific ending.
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Apr 2, 2020 18:42
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STAC Goat posted:Its also on Prime, Kanopy, and the Amazon Shudder channel if you're really committed to the different streaming thing but want to sneak it in. It’s more that Hulu’s selection was so minimal. Prime and Kanopy both have a lot of bangers that I’ve been wanting to see.
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Apr 2, 2020 19:03
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 16) Halloween at Aunt Ethel's - 2019- TubiTV If there was ever proof needed that despite how bad one wants to make a horror-comedy, sometimes it's just better to pick one and roll with it, it's this one. Jokes feel forced and often have bad delivery. The rhyme warning of Aunt Ethel's turning children into candy's pretty much proven early on instead of leaving some mystique. There's even an Aunt Ethel themed rap song which gives the feel they were pushing for this to start a franchise. There's the sense that they were aiming for 80s era horror as far as content goes and they just drop the ball with that too. Had they picked going the comedy or horror route, this would've made for a much better film.  17) Scarecrow - 2013 - TubiTV Other than some moments where the killer scarecrow looks decent, this film is as bland as dry toast. Even for a SyFy release, this one's just bland as can be. Standard killer scarecrow with revenge motive plotline, though we never find out why the scarecrow's out for revenge. I can't even recommend this film as something to put on for background noise, it's just that dull. One would be better off sitting through any of the other killer scarecrow films out there.
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Apr 2, 2020 20:45
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6. Audition (オーディション) (1999) I know I saw this back in the early 2000s, when J-horror was first becoming a "thing", but I don't remember anything about it. It's definitely one of the first Japanese horror movies that I'd heard of. It's the classic tale - boy meets girl, girl jilts boy, and then boy... goes into a hallucinogen induced dream state while getting tortured by the girl. It's a weirdly paced movie, and I think it drags a bit, but I still like it. 3.5/5 Watched so far: 1. Zombie (1979) / 2. Frankenstein (1931) / 3. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) / 4. Basket Case (1982) / 5. Carrie (1976) / 6. Audition (1999)
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Apr 2, 2020 20:52
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5. The Ninth Configuration - Prime I'm not sure that I knew this existed until someone mentioned it in the bracket thread regarding the Exorcist. And then Amazon immediately recommended it to me... It's too Catholic for me. Blatty is clearly underpining some niche theological arguments under things like Shakespeare for dogs, and while I can recognize that those currents exist, exactly what's going on here is lost on me. As a movie, it's well done. Someone at the Vatican has probably written a 500-page treatise on why this is either the best or the worst film ever. 3/5. 6. The Exorcist III - Prime I've seen it before, but it's been quite a while. So long that I'd forgotten that some of my formative horror movie memories (the severed head conversation) came from here. Like the Ninth Configuration, it's well executed. Unlike the Ninth Configuration, I don't feel like I'm missing something. 5/5 Exorcist I is still the only good Exorcist film because Blatty wanted to title this Legion. 7. Prophecy - Prime Christopher Walken is a glorious sociopath. Also, I watched this movie. Another film that I haven't seen in quite a while, but had to vote for in the bracket because its competition was a franchise whose highest moment was a throwaway mention in an Eminem song. Walken and Viggo Mortensen's performances absolutely carry this. Outside of that, it's a bunch of nonsense, but at least it's fun nonsense. 3/5 And I'm glad that Amazon's recommendation engine has pointed me in a positive direct... Amazon: Watch The Writer's Ghost again. Goddammit. Watched so far: 1. The Unwelcoming House (Prime) - 3/5 2. The Unwelcoming House 2 (Prime) - 2/5 3. The Writer's Ghost (Prime) - 0/5 4. Dark Exorcism (Prime) - 5/5 5. The Ninth Configuration (Prime) - 3/5 6. The Exorcist III (Prime) - 5/5 7. The Prophecy (Prime) - 3/5
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Apr 2, 2020 21:16
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I've never seen this poster before and I loving love it. Audition is an all-time favorite of mine.
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Apr 2, 2020 21:19
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Since I do get to work from home half the time now, I'm going to shoot for at least 13. 1. Society (1989) It's surprising considering some of the crap Vinegar Syndrome has tossed me over the years, but I had a hard time getting into this one. This just oozed low budget made for TV movie with the bright flat coloring and soundtrack from a Casio keyboard. I was starting to get tired of it when it tilted and went full Cronenberg. The end sequence definitely pulled it out of the fire for me. I have to say that I would have liked it more if it had more budget to make most of the movie look less cheap, but the end is nearly perfect, and I know that's where it all went. 3.5/5 stars
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Apr 2, 2020 21:33
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 8. Bear Creek (Prime) As a film, it feels like a few friends with $500 burning a hole in their pocket went out into the woods and goofed about for a weekend. It's not great. If we're judging on a sliding scale though, it's pretty good. The cast are obviously not actors, but they have nice chemistry. There's a few cute moments, and it's not boring. The killer skipping joyfully around with the axe made me giggle. Should it be on Amazon Prime? Probably not, but I admire the grift.  9. The Toxic Avenger (Prime) Adam West's Batman, meets Frankenstein, meets Revenge of the Nerds, meets Riki-Oh, meets ...Gamera? Tasteless, trashy, gorey, funny in a dated way, and extremely '80s. I've seen later Troma films that tend to either be either a lot tamer, or a lot more boring, so this was a really nice surprise, and some of the kills are a lot more brutal than I was expecting. A+ midnight movie
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Apr 2, 2020 22:37
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2. The Crazies 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7w9uWFIMBs It's neigh impossible to replicated Romero's timeless classics without the product sounding like a hollow echo, but this film finds it's own voice and it sings beautifully. I usually find jump scares amateurish and cheap, but when incorporated into the soundtrack I have to admit they aren't entirely offensive. The cast elevates this from being a mediocre remake into something special I'd personally like to see a sequel to.
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Apr 2, 2020 22:52
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8. The Ghost (1963) - Youtube After giving up on Amazon, I googled something along the lines of "youtube full horror movies." First on a playlist of older films was The Ghost. Featuring Barbara Steele and a guy who sounds a lot like Vincent Price, it's a bit of a repeat for me. Director Riccardo Freda, aka Robert Hampton, was discussed in a recent issue of Darkside Magazine as a questionable grandfather of giallo - that is, did he do the work or did he let Bava do it for him? It reminds me a lot of one of my Hammer favorites, Taste of Fear, although the climax proceeds in the exact opposite direction regarding the "dead" character being dead or not. 4/5 Watched so far: 1. The Unwelcoming House (Prime) - 3/5 2. The Unwelcoming House 2 (Prime) - 2/5 3. The Writer's Ghost (Prime) - 0/5 4. Dark Exorcism (Prime) - 5/5 5. The Ninth Configuration (Prime) - 3/5 6. The Exorcist III (Prime) - 5/5 7. The Prophecy (Prime) - 3/5 8. The Ghost (1963) (Youtube) - 4/5
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Apr 2, 2020 23:26
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