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Here's my list too - https://letterboxd.com/jayx/list/october-horror-film-pool-and-hooptober-attempt/ - I'm trying to do Hooptober amongst it, and I've done a bunch of relevant movies in the build up but I'm separating them out as they won't count for this. Aiming to mainly do films I've not seen before, but I'll probably slice some rewatches in that I haven't seen in 20+ years (like Hellraiser) as Hooptober has a 7x '2nd movie' criteria and there's a ton of franchises I only ever watched the first of, but don't necessarily remember much of.
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Sep 25, 2020 19:51
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1. Chopping Mall (The Last Drive-In version) I'm a big fan of proposing solutions to problems that don't necessarily exist. While a break in is certainly a possibility at a mall, I'm not sure why the natural jump to conclusions is to install military grade killing robots rather than just telling the overnight janitors to call for the police. But hey... you gotta spend that budget, or you lose it right? Chopping Mall hits all the criteria to be a fun 80s horror for me... short run times that don't drag, nonsensical dialogue and decision making, and just plenty of times where you look at the screen in disbelief. One of those films I wish I'd seen on cable as a kid, although I might have been more disappointed by the lack of aforementioned 'chopping' back then. *** 2. Blood Sucking Freaks (The Last Drive-In version)  I fear I might have made two mistakes with this choice - 1. watching it late at night while already too deep in the rum, and 2. possibly watching it at all. I do recall taking an instant dislike from the word go, but the core concept of running a theatrical show that disguises real acts of brutality as effects is at least an interesting one. Also I can't deny that Sardu and Ralphus aren't... characters for sure. Playing the whole thing as somewhat poor taste comedians does something to alleviate from everything else you see on screen, but possibly just makes everything so much worse. With more sober eyes I didn't hate it quite so much, but yet still finding little to recommend or enjoy. A movie that undoubtedly deserves its reputation, I'll give it that. Also I do like a happy ending, and that lady sure seemed happy with her sandwich. Good for her. *˝ EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 23:01 on Sep 29, 2020 |
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Sep 29, 2020 19:43
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Class3KillStorm posted:The movie was originally made and released as Killbots, and the rename happened because audiences were confusing it for a kids' movie (somehow?) and Roger Corman thought a goofy horror pun would be an easier sell. Ha, I knew about the rename (and glad because Chopping Mall is a great name regardless of how appropriate it is) but didn't know it was because of confusing it for a kids film. Kids would've loved it for sure though, it's got everything!
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Sep 29, 2020 20:14
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3. Maniac (The Last Drive-In version) This made for a nice companion to my recently watched New York Ripper, which mainly concentrated itself on following the police tracking the unknown killer. Here it's the opposite, taking the always interesting approach of showing the killer from early on, taking out the element of surprise. Sadly, it doesn't do much with the given opportunity to add an interesting narrative in its place, but the performance by Spindell is constantly engaging and the sfx are top notch. The end is a mess, but it gave a great excuse for the final 'kill scene' so I guess I'll forgive it. I appreciate that the relationship between Frank and Anna existed purely for financial reasons, which explains why it makes absolutely zero sense on screen. I kinda respect that utter disregard for quality in the chase for funding! ***
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Oct 2, 2020 18:36
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4. Tourist Trap (The Last Drive-In version) Fun enough supernatural slasher that forgoes the gore to score a PG rating. Appreciated the creepiness of the dolls and had some good twists and turns, but ultimately the pace towards the end kind of killed it. There's a lot of questions you have about what exactly is happening, and the film has plenty of time to answer them but chooses not to. Which is fine, but essentially comes across as the filmmaker just throwing ideas out there without any real thought as to the reason behind them. I enjoyed the final shot and Chuck Connors was pretty great throughout though. **˝ 5. The Loved Ones  Nicely paced kidnap jape that gleefully shows off traditional Australian courtship to the world, 'The Loved Ones' came with a bunch of hype and I mostly get it. Robin McLeavy stood out amongst the cast who were mostly otherwise forgettable, although the stereotypical creepy father played by John Brumpton is worth mentioning too. Felt like some characters and plot elements were added to ensure a full length running time as they didn't really add anything to the movie as a whole, and were barely related to the main arc outside of some 'oh, I see' revelations. But the horror aspects are decent, there's some genuine air punching moments at times, the comic stylings amongst the cruelty work well, and the ending worked well for me. Overall, a satisfying watch. ***˝ (agreed with the poster some pages ago that there's just *something* that doesn't quite vibe but I can't put my finger on it, glad to see it's not just me. I still enjoyed though.)
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Oct 6, 2020 23:38
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6. Brain Damage (The Last Drive-In version) The opening sequence had me absolutely hooked - an older gentleman brings home his wife a bag of brains, who seems delighted by the prospect until she goes to the bathroom to find whatever was in the tub has disappeared. Cue hysterical screaming from someone not necessarily a top tier acting ability and all hell breaks loose. All filmed in just the most enticing way, who wouldn't be in? The movie twists more metaphorical then, moving between comedy and more harrowing experiences as it sees fit. For the most part it's a pretty fun ride, but does suffer a drop in the middle that it struggles to fight out of. The creature design is pretty great with a sort of Horror-equivalent to Paul Reubens in Flight of the Navigator approach to the voice acting behind it. I'd have preferred it stick to crazy and silly throughout as it suited the story better, but overall still enjoyable and makes me want to make some time for Basket Case as well. ***
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Oct 7, 2020 20:52
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Debbie Does Dagon posted:Basket Case is an absolute treat. The entire trilogy is worth a watch imho, though it does lull a little in the second film. It's only taken me since... maybe 1988 or so? After seeing it in the rental store and wanting to see it since then ha. It's finally time!
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Oct 7, 2020 21:17
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Orchestrated Mess posted:10. Quarantine (John Erick Dowdle, 2008) [Netflix-UK, 1st viewing] Hey, thanks for doing this! I'm also a huge [Rec] fan after catching it in the cinema and being blown away by it, then eye-rolled the remake. Then heard the remake isn't actually that bad, so got curious. I appreciate the order you watched them in for the reasons you did too, not having the original so fresh in your mind but then able to revisit it for a final comparison at the end. I have it on my watchlist, will see if I get to it this season or not.
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Oct 9, 2020 16:51
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7. Sleepaway Camp (The Last Drive-In version) For most of the film I thought my main takeaways would be the overall mean spirited nature of the movie, the weird acceptance of the pedo chef, the weird acceptance of the pedo owner, the overall blasé reaction to the deaths of many people, the cruelty of taking someone back to the scene of the brutal death of their father and sibling, the relentless bullying of someone just because they were shy, and many other 'off' aspects that made this feel like an easy Friday 13th clone. Then the movie ended and none of these things seemed to matter anymore. ***˝
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Oct 9, 2020 17:28
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8. Rabid (The Last Drive-In version) Interesting to see an early Cronenberg, before he mastered his craft. Plenty to see here that separates him from the crowd, from writing Rose, who tries to justify her feeds by choosing the worst people in society, to the lighting and film stock. Some of the dialog made me laugh, which I'm not convinced it was supposed to, and I liked how the scale grew exponentially from a small circle of people to the city essentially being on lockdown. Definitely suffers from some 70s pacing at times, but overall a good watch and Marilyn Chambers was surprisingly good, and an interesting pick for the role. *** 9. Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (Rewatch) A must watch for anyone who lived through the 80s panic over 'video nasties' implemented by the UK government, and the fallout from it. Probably just as fascinating for non-Brits who will be scratching their heads over the lunacy. A really solid lineup of talking heads to discuss things, and the fact they got representation of the police and government who were involved while everyone rips them to shreds is the icing on the cake. If anything this film always rubs in just how few of the DPP listed movies I've actually seen (about 10), although as is often pointed out I don't think I'm missing out on much as the cover art tended to be the best part. I hope Mary Whitehouse is spinning in her grave over the stuff that's been made since. **** 10. Black Metal Veins (Does this count? Will remove if not!) Lucifer Valentine's first "serious" movie is him basically finding himself amongst crack and heroin addicts, and decides to exploit them for easy notoriety. An editing technique that I'm sure is supposed to replicate the feeling of addiction, and no real point to the whole thing. The most interesting part is seeing Raven getting deeper and deeper into her addiction and looking worse by the scene, while the other main person of interest only ever seems to wear one T-shirt and somehow manages to keep it in pretty good shape. Remarkable stuff. But the film is nothing new, it's not amazingly shocking and there's better examples of this kind of thing from people like Louis Theroux. Ignore the hype. ** 11. ReGOREgitated Sacrifice Probably for the best that just as I was starting to watch, the beers from the night had well and truly kicked in so I don't have much in the way of lasting memories for this. Overall takeaways were that it was more professionally made than I was expecting (the cover art probably influenced that mental image) and that it wasn't as extreme as I expected either. Don't recall any actual plot, but I do remember the vomiting seeming more comical than anything. Not sure if disappointed or not to be honest, despite the score being exactly what I was expecting it to be. *
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Oct 10, 2020 21:13
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Skipping the art, as I did a bunch of stuff on Saturday (and a few on Monday) and I didn't have my laptop on me to write them up. D'oh! 12. The Babysitter This one completely passed me by, and luckily I didn't pay any attention to the description allowing me to watch it completely unaware of what was to unravel. Sometimes these types of wild, OTT silly things work for me and sometimes they don't... I'm really glad this one did. A ton of fun, with absurd characters and a frantic pace that doesn't let up much. The final kill is bonkers and seemed pretty unnecessary, which made me appreciate it that much more. Samara Weaving was awesome, and despite being absent in the sequel I'm definitely down for round 2. ***˝ 13. Halloween (1978) (Rewatch) (The Last Drive-In version) Halloween was one of the first real horror movies I remember watching, and while I wasn't anticipating to be full of fear like I was with Nightmare on Elm St (something brought on by hype more than anything), I do remember being entranced by the silent and emotionless killing by Michael Myers. Other than the fashions, the film has aged gracefully and while the pacing leading up to the final 1/3 is a little slow as expected, it still works as a fantastic example of the genre even if you've watched 100 slashers since. The score is iconic, Jamie Lee Curtis is a great final girl, and the ambiguous ending all make it very memorable and enjoyable still. **** 14. Halloween II (1981) I can't believe I never got around to watching this when younger, I just don't think I ever caught it in a TV listing when the first was still fresh to me, and then the urge to watch just faded with time I guess. Which is a shame, as despite the switch in director the follow-up really does a good job with following directly on from where things ended previously and emulating Carpenter's style well. Plot-wise, it's not as entertaining as the previous entry and feels like the middle film of a trilogy. I appreciate that there's some small tie-ins to the first movie in the appearance of Ben, and the rollout of the murder of Annie. Otherwise, I liked the reveal of the connection between Laurie and Michael (and it was one I always presumed was established in the original) and the final sequences when Loomis gets to the hospital amp up the fun. A worthwhile exercise and doesn't feel so much like an overt cash-in, I enjoyed it. *** 15. Halloween 4 (The Last Drive-In version) And this is where things start to take a slip in the original Myers/Loomis pathway. Overall, Halloween 4 feels like a perfect point to create it's own timeline as its vibe just doesn't fit in so much with the original 2 movies. It's understandable, given this is filmed a whole 10 years later and not starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Rachel is definitely a competent stand in however, and you definitely want to root for her when everything starts going down. Something also amuses me how everyone is always shocked that Michael survived yet again, while Dr. Loomis turns up yet again without much ailment. They truly are the yin and yang in this particular path of the franchise, and I dig it. The ending is fun, albeit a little predictable, but sends an overwise fairly average slasher home on a good note. **˝ 16. Halloween 5 (The Last Drive-In version) Sadly 5 isn't the uptick the series kind of deserves and needed to survive, but it's not really to much surprise. The ending of 4 feels totally squandered, and the events seem tamed for no real consequence other than to put Jamie in a better light. Rachel is still likeable for the brief time she hangs around, but then a new cast of characters are brought in who don't offer any real redeeming qualities - which is fine as they're only there to be wasted by Michael anyway. Speaking of, Michael now doesn't act like he has for the last 3 movies instead deciding to dedicating his time to doing weird stuff with cars instead. But saving the movie from not being worth watching, Donald Pleasance uses this as an excuse to go hog wild with Loomis and I'm totally there for it. It's an aspect that could, and should, have been taken further and the rest of the plot just pushed aside. He's gone beyond the point of reason, and after 10 years who can blame him. His work alongside Jamie is easily the best part of the movie, despite her being lumbered with such a crap plot. ** 17. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (Rewatch) I caught this on cable back in the 90s when it was still fresh, Paul Rudd wasn't a name, and I'd only seen the original Halloween. Outside of the opening sequence, I remembered nothing about it (and this being the producers cut with a big chunk of the ending changed, not a surprise) but on rewatch I can kind of see why. The sad thing, is like Halloween 5 there is some good sprinkled throughout that isn't given the airtime it deserves, instead a ludicrous cult plot is used to 'explain' Michael. There's no doubt that this is what killed this path of the movies, as Michael should always be kept as a figure that seems unstoppable and doesn't have any reason. Given the combination of events of the first two movies, followed by the 10th/11th anniversary killings covered in 4 and 5, 'Curse of' really should be about how the town is thoroughly over Michael and its hatred of the holiday. It's something that does come up, finally - as people over the previous movies seem pretty unaffected by the bodycount laid up over the previous decade - but it's not done in a particularly worthwhile way and doesn't seem to exist other than to fill time. I'm gladly believe this is the better of the two versions, but the problems weren't just in the end anyway - the whole movie is just badly thought out and could never be saved. *˝ 18. The Prowler (The Last Drive-In version) The beginning of the movie had me intrigued - what appeared to be a post World War 2 slasher filmed in the early 80s... a different bit of scenery at last! Alas it was not to be, and this remained nothing more than an intriguing opening sequence in a movie that doesn't really leave much of a lasting impression. The Savini designed kills are of course solid, and I particularly liked the juxtaposition of someone being stabbed with the shot of a cake being cut while the scream lingered, but the reveal was nothing exciting and there is just zero depth. It's not that it's bad - it's competant for the most part - it's just there's just so many movies that do this, I'll probably have forgotten which one this was in a years time. ** 19. Friday the 13th (1980) (Rewatch) (The Last Drive-In version) Ah, more nostalgia! Having seen Sleepaway Camp for the first time recently, I wanted to have that fresh in my head as a comparison to the original Friday 13th, as I hadn't seen it in a good amount of time. I always felt that if you watched F13th when it came out you had zero idea who the revealed killer would be, but if you watched it after the sequels were already in the wild you presume you already know. A fun twist of expectations for sure. The majority of movie still holds up, I forgot how few people were actually at the camp site and they don't spend too much time in reducing that number further. Less impressive is the final girl sequence, it goes on too long and you're just grateful it's over - at least the kill is great and makes it worthwhile. Alice is fun to watch up until this point, but it could do with trimming out maybe just one of the locations. However, the surprise end sequence is so memorable, I totally forgot it's not actually the absolute final scene of the film. Camp films sure know how to end on a good note. ***˝
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Oct 13, 2020 17:45
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Spatulater bro! posted:And if a horror movie doesn't scare you, there's still likely a lot to love about it. But if a comedy doesn't make you laugh, it has totally failed. This is why I hate a huge chunk of horror, because a lot of it really has nothing else going for it other than attempts to make you scared via jumpscares or other cheap methods. I can think of the amount of films that actually scared me at all on one hand, and a lot of those are due to circumstance, so those type of films pretty much all go into the garbage for me. I don't recall as an adult ever getting scared by a slasher, but at least I can "enjoy" an awesome killscene or something with those. Agreed about a comedy that doesn't make you laugh for the same reason, anything that's one dimensional really has to land if it's going that direction.
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Oct 13, 2020 22:45
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TheBizzness posted:All this talk of movies for Challenge 3 and no mention of Brainscan. I practically wore my copy of this out as a kid, dunno what it was but I just loved it.
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Oct 14, 2020 00:34
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20. One Cut of the Dead (The Last Drive-In version) I think by now, everyone knows there's more than meets the eye with this one but it's still worth going in as fresh as possible to get the maximum impact. The film is split into 3 acts - the first is frantic, the second is worldbuilding, the third is just flat out hilarious and brings everything to a wonderful close. The moment any of the acts feels like they've run their course, the filmmakers know it's time to change things up and keep things interesting, and they do it in a perfect way each time. Fantastic fun, especially given the budget, and watching the making of scenes in the end credits was a perfect way to wrap it up. **** (FWIW, I loved the outro that Joe Bob did for The Last Drive-In for this one, used the movie to make the perfect framing device to talk about filmmaking and I loved it. If you've seen the movie before, it's worth skipping through to watch this part). 21. Vampyr  Decided to go way out of my wheelhouse for this one, and as kind of expected it's a film I can appreciate rather than say I enjoyed watching. A good chunk of Vampyr is definitely cool and still works in a modern viewpoint, the use of shadows was easily the best part of the film for me and it's a shame they were mostly restricted to a single scene. For the rest of the runtime there's too much reliance on having to hold up pages from a book the main character is given to explain what is going on, and while the slow leak of information is suits the plot, these points drag everything to a screeching halt every single time. I'm sure this is just due to limited methods of filmmaking - while there is dialogue it's very minimal, and I'm sure if made later this would be done via narration. The lead resembles the statues on Easter Island, and has a personality to match as he just glides around the movie and observes more than anything. I'm not entirely convinced the outcome would be any different if he wasn't involved, to be honest. Essentially it's interesting watching a much older horror film and how they depict vampires - a subject that naturally evolves over time and always remains popular - but absent a filmmaking frame of reference as to why things were done in certain ways and what restrictions they were working with, it's not an era I'm eager to return to. No rating as I don't have anything to compare it to. e: ha, I only just spotted the new challenge and am now annoyed I didn't find something that fit. This has so little dialogue in it anyway it might's well have been silent, but rules is rules. EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Oct 14, 2020 |
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Oct 14, 2020 17:21
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22. The Invisible Man (2020) This one was a bit frustrating, as it's very much a film of two halves - and I would've enjoyed it more if they either made the second half closer in tone to the (frankly, superior) more metaphorical first half, or revealed more in the first 45 minutes which wouldn't have set up my expectations for the remainder of the film which, frankly, gets a little silly. Moss carries it almost entirely, and the absolute dread her character feels during the opening sequence in particular is translated to the screen perfectly. Music is used sparingly, adding even more to the effect. It's worth a watch, and for me I regret not knowing more about it going in - a rare feeling - as I would've set my expectations appropriately then, and probably enjoyed the last hour more. ***˝ (adjusted score after discussion, there's only one sequence I really didn't care for but it negatively affected the movie as a whole for me). 23. Friday the 13th Part 2  It's been 5 years since the Pamela Voorhees murders at Camp Bl.. I mean, Camp Crystal Lake... and boy has Jason grown! From a retrospective viewpoint, where everyone knows that Friday the 13th as a franchise revolves around the hockey masked entity that is Jason, Part 2 is simply a better film than the original. Following a similar path as the first, you could essentially skip the original and rely on the flashback sequence and folktales told by the characters to know what came before. The increased budget is clearly visible on screen, the expanded cast works better, the introduction of Jason as the killer and a better (albeit not perfect) final sequence just make it a more enjoyable watch than the original. The kills for the most part aren't particularly wild, not having Savini at the helm probably accounting for this, but it doesn't matter too much. A fun ride for sure, and we're one step closer to getting the Jason the world knows and loves. ***˝ EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 18:50 on Oct 15, 2020 |
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Oct 15, 2020 17:53
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gey muckle mowser posted:hahaha yeah we went to it immediately when the address showed up in the movie, I love it. I'm getting a certificate error, so it's possibly that that's causing the block.
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Oct 15, 2020 18:56
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24. Possessor The lack of reviews with spoilers in them makes me think that very few people are willing to go on the record and state they're 100% sure they know what went on here. Even wikipedia is lacking anything other than a basic outline, and that's fine. Possessor is a trip for sure, with a 90s feeling plotline and the ambition, but luckily not the incompetence, of Beyond the Black Rainbow rolled in for good measure. Christopher Abbot really manages to sell the concept of two people fighting for control of his body, to the degree you forget you've not seen Andrea Riseborough for a good period of time. It's being marketed as being extreme, and in comparison to mainstream cinema sure that's true, but the violence wouldn't really be enough if there wasn't a compelling reason to watch around it and luckily there is. Bonus points for having the scene on the poster actually be really cool when in motion, I think I'll be giving this one a rewatch in the future. I'm itching to give this another half star. ***˝ 25. Wishmaster  The first thing that struck me right in the opening scene is how much gorier this was than I was expecting going in. Awesome! There's not much to this late 90s slasher in terms of plot, but it's saved by some great practical FX (outside of the Power Rangers-esque body suit for the djinn's true form), an abundance of big horror names in small roles, and a bunch of dialogue that made me laugh. Kane Hodder and Tony Todd both get great scenes, and now I need more Johnny Valentine. Naturally I can't overlook Andrew Divoff in the titular role, who just looked to be having so much fun. I don't expect much from the sequels, especially knowing Divoff is only in one more, but I definitely want to see more wishes with good intent go horribly, horribly wrong for people. I love that Wes Craven put his name on this while riding high on the Scream train, hopefully convincing some totally unprepared people to give it a go based on that recognition alone. ***
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Oct 16, 2020 18:04
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Hollismason posted:54. Wishmaster (1997) High five fellow Wishmaster watching bud. I'm still laughing at Kane Hodder's line of "Well I just want you to leave" followed by Wishmaster compelled to walk in the other direction going "no no no no". Killed me.
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Oct 16, 2020 21:24
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married but discreet posted:My hot take is that Opera is Argento's most enjoyable movie, and it's the one I suggest to first time giallo viewers. I was a bit disappointed in it, maybe I just wasn't in the mood. Tenebrae remains my favorite straightforward giallo of his that I've seen thus far. The eye spikes in Opera look cool as hell but I still can't figure out how they're actually supposed to work, ha.
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Oct 19, 2020 16:55
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Debbie Does Dagon posted:I really need to stop trying to write all of these reviews all at once, because it is exhausting Oof, agreed. 26. Dude Bro Party Massacre III This kinda feels more dated being made 5 years ago than it does being set in the 80s, sadly. I think I appreciated the snippets of fake commercials more than the actual movie itself, I'm sure if they had been full length it would've taken away from their charm so they did a great job with those. Otherwise for most of it, it's just a parody of a genre that already doesn't take itself particularly seriously and most of the jokes are just serviceable rather than funny. It has it's moments, but it's full of padding and runs out of steam pretty quickly. **˝ 27. Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (The Last Drive-In version) First of all: if I was rating movies just based on the title alone, this would be an easy 5 stars. How could the actual film possibly live up? I'll give it it's dues though, it at least tries. When you think of movies that are of their time, SBITSBOR (an abbreviation that still takes too long to type) is definitely on the list. Lingering pointless nude shots*, and a character with racial sensibilities that would make Jar Jar Binks blush are just two factors. But for the most part it's slily fun, Linnea Quigley and the other scream queens are great, and spending far too long trying to explain the plot to a half deaf caretaker who knew everything that was going on and just hadn't done anything about it somehow feels appropriate. Always love a film where characters get to walk into the sunset without a care in the world, and no sense of followup when the police find a bowling alley full of dead bodies. *I will give director David DeCoteau credit in 'equal opportunities' stakes in that looking through his movie history it appears that a good chunk of his output revolves around half naked guys, if the covers are anything to go by. ** 28. Friday the 13th Part III After the improvement of Part 2 to the original, I was keen to see if the trend continued and Part 3 was better again. Well, no. But ugh it so could have been. The opening showed promise, a van full of people who don't appear close enough friends to be going on this trip together think they're being pulled over by the cops and have to eat their whole stash... but no, the cops pass by! An actual laugh from me, but a shame there was no fallout from the scene with a bunch of ridiculously high kids for the rest of the day. Shelly as a character exists purely to torture the audience, pulling off weak horror gags that we know will eventually get mixed in with real kills. But he provides the mask that becomes synonymous with Jason, so thanks I guess? Beyond the cheap gags, he constantly pulls the 'nobody would like me if I didn't do this dumb poo poo everyone hates' card and it's good to see the rest of the campers get tired o him as fast as the viewer. The addition of the biker gang could have been the standout feature, introducing a group of regular humans as separate foes to the kids - but they're barely on screen for a matter of minutes and barely interact with anyone. This felt like the big difference the film needed to separate it's "teens at a camp get picked off one by one" storyline from the first two films, and it just doesn't utilize them at all. Nonetheless, it's competent enough for the genre and the 3D shot portions stick out so badly (in more ways than one) they're funny, and an end that just goes for tribute over originality means it doesn't do any real damage. The true joy is finally seeing Jason's character come to be, even if his portrayal here is pretty lackluster. **˝ 29. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter Previously on Friday the 13th... (mostly scenes from Part 2, with the bare minimum from 1 and 3) This is more like it! Who saw the 4th film of a franchise somehow being the best one (so far?). I'm guessing the studio weren't impressed by the constrained clothed actions of the previous cast, so from the word go everyone strips off to go to the lake, aided by twins Tina and Terri - who primarily seem to exist to take things up a notch. Trish gets a bonus point for having a defenestration stunt that kicks rear end, although it could be argued that both have a fondness for flying through windows in spectacular ways. But the highlights of the cast are obviously Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover, who was allowed to bring his personal brand of weirdness with him. The plot is still based around the same aspects as the previous movies, but at least we're closer to society now with Jason having been briefly aprehended, and having non-vacationing people as targets too. It's a start, right? While Part 3 paid tribute to the ending of the first movie, we get the bizarrest tribute to Part 2 here before easily the best 'final kill' of the four movies. A great way to close things out, and confirmation to me that Parts 2 and 4 both stand above Parts 1 and 3 with ease. And so The Final Chapter closes the Friday the 13th franchise off, because of course this was the absolute last movie they ever produced. What's that? They did 8 more?! In the words of a better man - "Jesus Christmas! Holy Jesus goddamn! Holy Jesus jumping Christmas poo poo!" ***˝ 30. Phantasm Fran Challenge #6 - Blind Spots This is one I knew I'd end up kicking myself not watching sooner, mainly as when I was a kid I was all about people of my age being the centerpiece on movies and I rarely feel the same way anymore outside of coming of age movies. But I digress, as far as younger teens in movies go, Mike is pretty capable and seeing that he's part of the cast that come back to each Phantasm film I will look forward to seeing him grow up as the series does. The main selling point of Phantasm was just how bizarre and weird it was, and to be honest I was expecting a lot more in the way of otherdimensional oddities. Sure, it gets ramped up towards the end and I do enjoy the pure fun of seeing characters seemingly come back to life with little explanation. Scrimm does the legend of the Tall Man well, and I think I'm going to dig future entries in the series as his story progresses. The end of the movie is of course a big punch to the gut (but one I was fine with, I wasn't massively invested afterall), but there's no real feeling that watching it again would really reveal anything new. I get the feeling that Don Coscarelli is fine with that though, he just wanted to make his weird little film, and it's nice to see it still holds up. *** 31. Knife+Heart First off: the pure translation of the original title, 'A Knife in the Heart', is so much better. Why is it called Knife+Heart outside of France? Is it just a weird marketing thing, or did I miss something? Messing with things for the sake of it, blah. Not the films fault, of course. With that out of the way, the second I saw her trademark tooth gap it was glorious to see Vanessa Paradis show up and take firm control here. K+H takes a deep dive into the giallo world, putting it in a setting I've not personally seen before, making it something fresh and new as opposed to just mimicking movies of the past. Everything you want from this kind of film is present - shocking scenes, great music, and style up the yazoo. I don't even miss the poor dubbing I'm used to. It's great to finally get around to a film that's been hyped for some time when it doesn't let you down. **** (Can't actually believe I hit 31 already, I still have some gaps to cover for Hooptober and feeling a little burned out on horror as expected, so I'll probably slow down some now).
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Oct 19, 2020 18:35
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Franchescanado posted:Once you realize David DeCoteau is gay, it makes the nude scenes in his films make a lot more sense. He has a very strange male gaze when filming nude scenes of women, definitely prefers filming asses more than anything else, and casts according to that. I definitely have a few more of his on my watchlist, I'll keep an eye out for all those aspects!
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Oct 19, 2020 19:08
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Franchescanado posted:Fran Challenge #12: Ourorboros I watched ReGOREgitated Sacrifice and now someone else will have to.
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Oct 20, 2020 21:17
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Ask a fellow goon participating in this challenge for a wild card.
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Another list so no posters to scroll through! 32. Daughters of Darkness (The Last Drive-In Version) Joe Bob says every review of this film is full of phrases like 'magical' and 'dreamlike', and it really is hard to describe without using such terminology. I do enjoy the Euro films that invoke this feel, and it's fun to watch one without the dubbing I've come to know and love. The first half of the film, as is often case, worked for me more as they set the stage whereas the second half stuck to a single location for the majority which slowed things down somewhat, despite that being when things start moving more. It's a conundrum for sure. The end is one that's bound to divide audiences, but as I wasn't massively invested in the story itself I can't say I disliked it in particular. Great casting all round, nobody I knew from elsewhere but I'll definitely be hunting more out by the actresses as they all nailed their parts perfectly. In a season where I've watched too many slashers, this was a nice change of pace for sure. *** 33. Poltergeist (Rewatch) I remember this being one of the first horror films I watched as a kid, and was pleased (but not surprised) to see that rewatching it 20 years later and it still holds up. Regardless of who was in full creative control, you can definitely feel the Spielberg influence especially in the first half. I love the pointless TV war with the neighbor, and adore Tangina Barrons despite my real life hatred of mediums. Without doubt she's the star of the show. The effects for the most part still hold up, and it's a great PG horror that should spook the kids nicely. **** 34. Hellraiser (Rewatch) (The Last Drive-In Version) Another rewatch from 20+ years ago, I remember Hellraiser looked brutal on my 19" fullscreen bedroom TV playing it back from a TV taping on my VCR, and love that none of that is lost on a recent high definition remaster on a large screen in my lounge. As a kid, there was a slight disappointment that Pinhead wasn't the front and foremost character you assume based on the box art, but knowing this as an adult you get to appreciate the movie for other reasons. Watching Julia's personality turn on a dial whether she's with her husband, her lover, or the doomed souls she brings back to the house is fantastic. The effects for the most part look great given the shoestring budget, and shows what could be crafted by this point in the decade. Like many good horror films it leaves a lot of mystery in the air, and I'm hoping when I get to the sequels they don't ruin this element too much. **** 35. Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (Rewatch) Sadly, I knew nothing about the Cryptkeeper when I was a kid in the UK growing up and stumbling upon this one when it hit cable TV, but I always remember this being an enjoyable tale. Now I can appreciate the charisma that Billy Zane just oozes in every scene, and it makes so much sense that people don't even question him and follow his every request as he tries to obtain the key that'll end humanity, or something similar. William Sadler is of course excellent as well, and the remaining cast is well rounded and manages to hit all the tropes you were hoping it would. A simple story that's executed well enough to entertain, I remember as a kid the Uncle Willy scene was always a particular favorite, and definitely the one that stuck with me the longest. They knew their audience, for sure. *** 36. Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh Let's be fair, any positive score for the movie is going to Tony Todd for being an awesome villain, and the setting of New Orleans is just perfect. Beyond that, there's not much to take home. The fleshed out story of the Candyman is surprisingly decent for a sequel, but doesn't seem to leave the intended impact on the characters as you would hope. The whole time you know there's something good within the script, it just doesn't quite find it on the screen. The best part of the original was that, despite essentially being lifted from Beetlejuice, it gave kids a dare to recreate the iconic name repetition in the mirror scene for themselves. Farewell to the Flesh can't hope to replicate that, and will always remain pretty forgettable. **˝ I have 3 short evenings to fill out my Hooptober requirements, and I'm pretty sure that means watching Guinea Pig 2 (which is short enough to not count here). So yay for that. EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 18:29 on Oct 27, 2020 |
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Oct 27, 2020 18:25
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37. Diabolique It's hard not to make comparisons to Hitchcock, as this story being told is completely up his alley. Murder! Suspense! Twists! The aspect I'm most interested in is if our attitude towards the characters has changed over time. Were audiences in the late 50s as accepting of the murder of the cruel principal in the way people watching it in the modern era are likely to be? It never felt like we should be rooting against Nicole and Christina, but I'm sure a lot of people felt the husband did not deserve his fate. But that is only the setup, and the film is really about the fallout. I liked the ending, and picked up hints (albeit not in full realization) along the way which always makes for a natural conclusion, even if the result is unexpected. While films of this era often feel out of my wheelhouse, Diabolique held up nicely for me all in all. ***˝ 38. 28 Weeks Later First and foremost - the opening scene is just fantastic. Doing everything a good sequel does, it throws us almost instantaneously into the middle of the action and takes it one step further by throwing a massive moral quandary at us that looks to shape the rest of the film. From then on, we see London being rebuilt and repopulated following the events of the first film. The budget and scale are both evident, with the Americans running the show, and then before we know it the actions of the opening sequence are suddenly on the table and need to be dealt with. Sadly, they aren't. While I'm sure 99% of the people who went to see this in the theater got exactly what they wanted - a second outbreak dominating the storyline - what we got before that was a lot more interesting really but it felt cut short in order to keep the pace going. A shame, but I can only imagine the audience feedback if a zombie film didn't have any zombies in it. I can't deny what they did with the helicopter wasn't glorious, though. ***˝
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Oct 28, 2020 17:47
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39. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) I went into this one with mixed expectations - I've never been particularly interested in Sherlock Holmes as a character, however I am a big fan of hounds. Obviously the main draw of this one is Cushing and Lee, who are both entertaining to watch. I had seen a chunk of the previous 1939 version of this story, and far prefer the portrayal of Holmes who just didn't seem quite as up his own rear end as much. Not that he isn't still an abrasive knowitall, but Cushing wins you over regardless. The plot is a pretty standard mystery, I like the mood and the filmstock and techniques used in this era, but overall not one I'm rushing to see again any time soon. *** 40. Slumber Party Massacre II Went into this blind, as I hadn't seen the original but was assured this isn't an issue. For the first half, my main interest was in the band themselves... a half attempt at trying to mime the songs provided by Wednesday Week that is totally my thing. But that's not why we're here, we're here for Atanas Illich as The Driller-Killer (original name, huh). With zero attempt to clarify any of the rules, Driller-Killer is just the most wonderfully insane murderer ever. Is he real? Why does he kill? What's with the singing? None of these are answered, and he's all the better for it. With his killing tool of choice being a guitar that Prince would be proud to yield with a massive drill tip coming out of the headstock, he has a knack for just turning up wherever needed and killing in the only way he knows how. Balls to the wall insanity for the last 30 minutes, and completely redeems what is otherwise pretty forgettable stuff. *** 41. Zombieland: Double Tap I remember liking the original Zombieland, but I'd be hard pushed to recall anything that happened beyond the infamous cameo. I'm not sure if that'll be the same with this sequel if out of nowhere I'm forced to recall the details in a few years time, but for what its worth I enjoyed the blend of comedy and action, which doesn't really ever dip. Zoey Deutch is just wonderful, and I'm sure she splits audiences right down the middle (whereas if Berkeley was given a more prominent role, I would've likely deducted a half-star. Kudos for knowing not to overuse that abrasive character.) Cast is stacked, zombies are a plenty, and I was entertained throughout. There's not an awful lot to it, but it manages to do exactly what I would expect from this kind of sequel so I can't complain. ***
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Oct 30, 2020 15:32
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Last review, seen on Friday. Couldn't convince anyone to keep watching WNUF after the first minute (boo) so went with one of my friends favorites, and seemingly impossible to find movie these days as it's well out of print and no streaming services carry it. 42. The Hollow (2004) Wikipedia claims that Nick Carter didn't do any acting for quite some years following the release of The Hollow because the Backstreet Boys became active again, however I'm thinking his performance in this movie speaks for itself as to why we didn't see him on the screen again until 2010. R-Rated DVD version watched, but the film always seemed geared for TV and is restrained because of that, and there might be a few seconds of additional footage that wasn't aired and that's about it. Stacy Keach as Claus van Ripper is the highlight, and it's nice to see Judge Reinhold pop up but otherwise it's an entirely forgettable headless horseman flick. ** --- Genuinely surprised I managed to get through both the Hooptober challenges and the 31 in 31 (even with rewatches deducted I got more than that) as I'm pretty good at giving up on stuff. Moved all the stuff from my pool to pick from to next year so I don't forget any, and will probably hit up a bunch more before then due to Last Drive In stuff I want to watch and the need to finish off the Halloween and Friday 13th films I've not seen. A fun times were had, Knife+Heart was as expected probably the best film, and ReGOREgitated Sacrifice was undoubtedly the worst. I'll have to go even lower next year, or what's the point eh?
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Nov 2, 2020 18:15
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