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STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

And my thoughts on The Woman. Its an imperfect film. Clumsy at times and weird musical choices. And I don't blame people if they find the premise or finale over the top. But I think that's kind of getting at what I find interesting about the film. I watched its prequel The Offspring before hand so it gave me this greater context. That's a much more generic horror film. A typical exploitation film of the inbred violent cannibal tribe killing people. But it gives me this context of The Woman that's kind of missing from the second movie. That's she's this typical horror monster who has done all these horrible things. And horror fans will be quick to accept that because its familiar to the genre. But she's taken prisoner by this atypical horror monster. This domestic, normal abuser, serial killer, and rapist. And we know people like that exist in society. You can see it on the news. And the finale of the movie isn't any crazier than tons of horror. But there's this block that makes it more unrealistic even if its the most realistic monster.

And I think that's kind of the movie's point? To highlight the mundaneness of the domestic abuser and how that basically hides him. And the juxtaposition of this more typical horror monster in The Woman becoming the victim of this domestic monster. Like if you were just telling the story of him abusing his family a bunch of people would say "this isn't a horror, its a thriller/drama." But you put The Woman in there and its not only a horror but some viewers feel like something is out of place. And that all felt intentional to me. I think it was purposely shifting our focus. Like hey... Who got the teen daughter pregnant? She doesn't have a boyfriend. The only men she interacts in the movie are her dad and brother. I think the film is specifically coy about that because its part of that hidden, domestic horror. Or at least makes you question it.

And then the film has that kind of weird ending where The Woman goes off with her new tribe. But that too feels like it gains context with The Offspring because it all kind of comes full circle. The Woman lost her inbred tribe when she attacked civilization and she gained a new one when civilization attacked her. Its a quirky full circle thing that seems very deliberate.

I haven't watched Shallow Grave yet and that could win me over and get my vote. I dunno. Everyone speaks well of it but British dark comedy and I don't always mix. But I feel comfortable giving the Woman a vote on its interesting merits and Shallow Grave will have to beat it.

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Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe
I tend to want to vote for classic Universal stuff by default, but Son of Dracula isn't quite good enough for me to feel secure in that until I watch Shallow Grave. While the presence of Chaney Jr. is a plus, I don't think he did a whole lot with this (son of)Dracula portrayal and like others are noting the plot is just very weird and also more boring than it had to be because if often focuses on the wrong things. Nobody gives a poo poo about Kay's idiot boyfriend, but he has to get a ton of screentime I guess because every take on Dracula has to have it's Johnathan Harker.

The positives almost go without saying, it's a 40's Dracula flick with Lon Chaney Jr., so you know it's gonna have some good moments with the charming effects and the solid visuals. But Shallow Grave has been on my radar for years and I've always heard good things about it so it's totally possible I may end up voting for it in the end(I saw The Woman a few years ago and for me it's not in the running here).

twernt
Mar 11, 2003

Whoa whoa wait, time out.
Gen X/Hammer 15 Seed: (Goat’s Lucky McKee and Friends) Lucky McKee’s The Woman vs. (Servoret’s Top Forties) Robert Siodmak’s Son of Dracula vs. Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave

The Woman (2011)


From its description, I expected The Woman (the movie) to be a Martyrs kind of situation. It wasn't, but it's still pretty unpleasant. The father and son are like toxic masculinity elementals and the more you learn about them (especially the father) the worse they get.

At first I thought that The Woman (the character) was a sort of agent of feminist vengeance, but the more I think about it, the more that idea falls apart. I haven't seen the previous entry, but I now know that she is very clearly the villain there. Her choices at the end are also really pragmatic. If you look at who she kills and who goes with her, it's more about who is a threat or who is potentially useful.

Son of Dracula (1943)


This one really didn't grab me at all, apart from some of the nice visuals. I just don't buy Lon Chaney, Jr. as Count Dracula. I suppose he's a handsome enough fellow, but he didn't really project any charm or charisma. To top it off, it's a story in which he's kind of a dupe, so it really feels like fan fiction with a budget.

Shallow Grave (1994)


I hadn't seen this forever and I think it really holds up. The three leads all do a great job. The only issue I have with it is how Juliet manipulates both David and Alex. Is it a stereotype or is it Juliet using what she sees as the most expedient tool she has to get what she wants?


I thought that The Woman was good, but Shallow Grave is just better, so that's how I'm voting.

Servoret
Nov 8, 2009



Franchescanado posted:

Son of Dracula is positing that women are conniving but ultimately foolish and will lie and manipulate men for immortality, even if it destroys everyone else. "Interesting" also is problematic here.

I don’t know how interesting that is because “women are conniving but ultimately foolish” is a pretty typical trope in old-timey media. Isn’t that the story of every I Love Lucy episode ever? I swear every other film on my team is better than that. Sigh.

TrixRabbi
Aug 20, 2010

Time for a little robot chauvinism!

Play ins and early rounds are always the most interesting to me because you get such a weird scattering of oddities, many of them terrible, but it's the wild west part of the tournament and I appreciate it for that.

The Berzerker
Feb 24, 2006

treat me like a dog


TrixRabbi posted:

Play ins and early rounds are always the most interesting to me because you get such a weird scattering of oddities, many of them terrible, but it's the wild west part of the tournament and I appreciate it for that.

Me too but it's also a lot of movies and a lot of them sound like they suck, so sometimes I just vote based on the reviews if there's a match-up I'm not particularly interested in.

Shallow Grave sounds great, going to try and make time for it this week.

twernt
Mar 11, 2003

Whoa whoa wait, time out.
Gen X/Giallo 16 Seed: (mbd’s Satan Satan Satan Satan Good Satan, Great Satan) Sara Lohman’s Good Satan vs. (twernt’s Buggin' Out) Jason Wulfsohn’s The Bone Snatcher vs. (Darth’s Team Vulgarity / Relationships Are Hard) David Worth and Richard Robinson’s Poor Pretty Eddie

Good Satan (2012)


It had a bunch of potential, but overall it was mostly annoying. Good Satan follows the pattern of a bad SNL skit, where it's just a premise. That's it. What if... Satan (who is kind of a jerk) goes to a party in heaven? That's the movie.

The Bone Snatcher (2003)


I know I nominated this one, but it's really boring. The creature design is interesting and the setting is really pretty. Otherwise, there are two standout bits — the part with Magda's face and when Titus puts his hand into the sleeping bag. This rest is just not memorable at all. It's not terrible. It's just there.

Poor Pretty Eddie (1975)


Poor Pretty Eddie is exploitative and creepy. I didn't enjoy this at all, but at least I had an emotional reaction to it and I can recognize that it was effective at provoking that reaction.


I'll be voting Poor Pretty Eddie because it successfully creeped me out.

MacheteZombie
Feb 4, 2007
Watching bone snatcher now and this is definitely in line with what I expect for low budget flicks on tubi lol

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

TrixRabbi posted:

Play ins and early rounds are always the most interesting to me because you get such a weird scattering of oddities, many of them terrible, but it's the wild west part of the tournament and I appreciate it for that.

That's the secret of tournaments. They always get more boring as a champion approaches and only their fans care.

That and if you wanna win just piss me off.

STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Jan 18, 2022

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe
I think I'm gonna vote for The Bone Snatcher? I dunno I just didn't particularly enjoy any of the three selections in this matchup. At least Bone Snatcher has a cool monster.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

Its late but its still Thursday! I guess another advantage of this schedule is it gives me a little more leeway for those late days. Anyway if you're like me and have had a slow, long week and still have a movie or two to watch you still have about 39 hours to do so. Voting stays open until 12 noon EST Jan 22nd (or when I get to the computer). So plenty of time for you to choose between rough rape and racism movies, rough sitcom pilots, and rough bug films.

Scumfuck Princess
Jun 15, 2021

I've switched to voting for rape and racism. Of all the films this week, it has the most to say and says it in a way that's powerful and impactful. I think the main tipping point for me is the fact that the camera doesn't pretend to be neutral, in fact it demonstrates very clearly the shifting perspectives. The gloriously subjective camerawork reminded me Altman's Images, which is always a welcome connection in my book.

Kangra
May 7, 2012

I'm sort of split between Poor Pretty Eddie and The Bone Snatcher. Good Satan was just too unfunny. About the only thing I thought was good is that the actors all had the right energy for their parts.

I appreciate Poor Pretty Eddie more than I like it. At times I can see what it's going for and I do like how everything on screen is working to that end, but it also makes some missteps that make me wonder if it really understands the end result. Liz is mostly portrayed as the victim and doesn't perform any meaningful actions in the end; that's fine if the focus is on the rapist, but then we also end up sometimes with her viewpoint and even voice over narration, and the net effect is seemingly to marginalize her even more. Even the commentary on racism is really only from a white point of view, which is somewhat understandable for its time period but nevertheless feels like a failure.

On the other hand , The Bone Snatcher is dull and mediocre, with a terrible and hackneyed script. It may be true that great artists steal, but stealing does not make one great. That said, the rare moments when it does do something a little more original — as in the creature design — it does quite well. I also have to give credit to the D.P., as a lot of the shots are really nicely set up and lit.


As for the other side, I found that Shallow Grave really does hold up. It's a remarkably strong first effort. I was actually sort of worried when I nominated it that it was somehow more of a comedy than I recall, but it actually has a lot more of horror in it, and the humor is dark and subtle. Son of Dracula I actually liked quite a lot and would have voted for it in a lot of other match-ups. The Woman just did not connect with me. I felt Lucky McKee's ability to bring out the pathos contrasted poorly with the cartoonish horror villains. It was like putting Ron Burgundy in a serious drama about a marriage falling apart.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer
Agreed about the cinematography for The Bone Snatcher. It’s not unique or impressive, but every shot is well-framed and properly lit. I wish they had better film stock or cameras to make it pop more, but I was surprised that, outside of the lovely creature POV shots, it was always well shot.

Edit: also, there’s only one scene where bones get snatched. The movie should have been called The Skin Snatcher.

Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Jan 21, 2022

MacheteZombie
Feb 4, 2007
Work and a covid issue prevented me from watching all but Bone Snatcher this week so I will not be voting.

Scumfuck Princess
Jun 15, 2021

:spooky: Streaming this Weekend! :spooky:

Saturday 7pm EST

Deb’s Team Iron Curtain
vs.
Goat’s Team YA
vs.
M. Night Shyamalan

Sunday 7pm EST

Basebf’s Steve's Monster Blockbusters
vs.
Twernt’s Dracula.co.jp
vs.
Rob Zombie

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

I snuck Shallow Grave in under the wire. Its a well made film. Boyle's talent is on full display and its a tremendous cast, especially Eccleston. It just didn't click for me at all. The story and setup is very familiar. It was common in the 90s but its a lot older than that. People call it "Hitchcockian" and certainly that speaks to the familiarity of the setup but I don't think the story is really that clever. And while the cast are good we're not actually given any reason to like them or care about them or even think they're actually friends. There's an angle I might have really liked there. That they're not friends, they're just assholes living together and their only bonding element is being assholes. So then they push the least rear end in a top hat of the bunch too far and he becomes a dangerous rear end in a top hat. But it felt like it went too broad for that to work for me. Like if Eccleston had been gradually being a bigger rear end and reckless and scaring them instead of leaping around the attic like Quasimodo I think I would have been more engaged. But the film didn't really ever have me. Although I was more engaged in the end, which I think tends to be the opposite of how I feel about Boyle films (although I haven't seen many).

So Shallow Grave is objectively a better film than The Woman but the Woman just worked more for me and had more stuff for me to think about. Son of Dracula is a totally fine lazy watch but isn't in the conversation. I'm gonna throw my guy at least one vote.



3 hours left to vote.

married but discreet
May 7, 2005


Taco Defender
Good Satan
I barely made it halfway through before having to stop. The first half of the movie in particular is just dire, a wannabe What We Do In The Shadows, really just going through the motions of imitating things without understanding why they’re funny. For example, why is there a camera team? I pretty much forgot about the premise a couple minutes into the movie, and so did the movie. The second half surprisingly picks up, there is an actual plot, there’s some jokes that work, and it is overall quite wholesome. If this had all been cut to last maybe 30 minutes it could have been at least adequate. Ah well, RIP my team.

The Bone Snatcher
Boring throughout, but the setting makes it almost impossible for the movie to not look good in the outdoor scenes. The monster is an absolute highlight and deserves to be in a much better movie. Everything else is completely forgettable. Why are they showing all these condoms twice if they never get used at all? Shameful.

Poor Pretty Eddy
I admittedly did not watch this cause it sounded like something I'd really not enjoy

Abstaining from this.

Shallow Grave. Immediately obvious that this is a Danny Boyle movie – energetic, humorous, british, dark. Loving the set design, monochromatic objects, a joy to look at. Everyone is charming and acting their assess off. The story itself, sadly, didn’t really grip me. I didn’t like anyone (not that it’s a necessity) and didn’t care about what happened to them. It’s entertaining, but I sort of wish it had been a different movie.

Son Of Dracula
If you want to convince someone that Universal Horror movies are still watchable today, you definitely shouldn’t choose this one. I could barely make myself pay attention to anything that was going on. Terrible Dracula, terrible waste of setting, I’m sorry 40’s horror but your stats are going to look even worse now.

The Woman
I love horror with incredibly blunt and obvious messages, and The Woman delivers that in spades. It takes a while to get going, long enough to make me wish that the movie would spend much more time with the sad daughter, but then things GET GOING. Immensely satisfying ending, could not have asked for more, then there’s an after credits short film that gives me more! Lovely. Also, weirdly horny for the teacher character, which seems very out of place overall.

Voting Woman.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.


In a tight and arguably surprising result Bone Snatcher EKES out a victory over Poor Pretty Eddie 6-5. The bug movie wasn’t exactly winning a lot of fans and Eddie definitely had the more vocal supporters. And this easily could have gone the other way if just one or two of those votes had gone to Good Satan. But strategic voting might have won out swiping a win away from Eddie. Of course on the other hand if Eddie could only barely hang with Bone Snatcher its possible he would have been crushed by stronger competition. However it happened the result is the same. Darth’s Team Vulgarity goes to the showers along with mbd’s Satan team and twernt’s Buggin out team heads into the Field of 64 for a match up against Dario Argento.


On the other side of the conference Danny Boyle cruises to an easy victory nearly doubling up the total of both other competitors. We got a 40s movie in really early this year after having none last year but Son of Dracula just sends Serv’s Top Forties team home in the end. Lucky McKee makes a mark though as he joins Mike Flanagan on Team Winner going 0-3 across our 3 tournaments. I am the king of losers. McKee and his friends will have to go at it again next year as Boyle wins his Bracketology debut and heads into a matchup with fellow Brit Terrence Fisher.


Time to finalize our Field of 64 with the last of our Play In matchups!


Millennial/Slasher 16 Seed: (Deb’s Team Iron Curtain) Andrzej Żuławski’s Cosmos vs. (Goat’s Team YA) Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight vs. M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady In The Water


This is a hell of a matchup. Zulawski actually played his way in last year and he’s gonna have to do it a second time. His weird and mind bending stuff can be polarizing but has been a hit in the past with the Bracketology crowd so its tempting to call him a favorite here. Especially since he’s going up against two of the more lauded mainstream films in recent memory. When people mock Shyamalan they usually bring up this film that he goes so far as to star in, basically as himself. And Night’s also trying to play in for the second year in a row having failed with his other big bomb The Happening last year. Will he have any better luck with this one? Meanwhile does anyone need to be told about Twilight? A genuine cultural sensation - for better or worse - if you haven’t seen Twilight by now that was probably a choice you made. Funnily I didn’t even intend to include it on this team. My dumb joke team was meant to be dumb joke deep cuts, but everyone asked why Twilight wasn’t on the team and I couldn’t really explain why. So of course it gets drawn and that’s probably for the best. But now I’m gonna rewatch Twilight, Lady in the Water, and some spacey polish film back to back. And that’s a weird feeling for sure. So does Zulawski play in for the second year in a row or will one of these two critical bombs be one of those films Bracketology finds real art in?


Cosmos is available on Kanopy
Twilight is available on Netflix, Fubo, Direct TV, and Spectrum.
Lady In The Water is available on HBO Max, Direct TV, Max Go, and Spectrum.




Millennial/Splatter 15 Seed: (Basebf’s Steve's Monster Blockbusters) Steven Spielberg’s Something Evil vs. (twernt’s Dracula.co.jp) Toyoo Ashida’s Vampire Hunter D vs. Rob Zombie’s 31


Spielberg is the third director this week making a repeat Play In appearance having failed to make the Field of 64 last year with War of the Worlds. The draw doesn’t look too much better for him this year as he not only pulls one of his deep cut early tv movies but not the well regarded one. Meanwhile Zombie’s making his 3rd tournament appearance but like Flanagan and McKee he’s risking going one and out for the third straight year. 31 is a polarizing film, either the distilled Zombie style at its core or a pedestrian retread of half formulated ideas depending on who you ask. Meanwhile its Ashida’s first Bracketology appearance but Vampire Hunter D’s second. The VHD sequel was actually one of our first Bracketology films but fell to heavyweight Takeshi Miike in 2020. Anime had a better run last year and this feels like an open round so can leather wearing Japanese cowboy vampires make a come back here? Or are one of the two big names in Zombie and Spielberg pick up their first Bracketology win to make the Field of 64?


Something Evil is on Youtube
Vampire Hunter D is available on HIDIVE and is on Youtube
31 is available on Vudu, Tubitv, Pluto, and Plex



Looks like a wide open week to me. I’m not sure there’s a lot of great films in this bunch but it sure is a lot of interesting ones. Love or hate is a tough thing to call with this crowd. Hits fall and bombs rise in Bracketology. That’s part of the fun and excitement. So who are gonna be our last two members of the Field of 64?

Vote or change your vote until 12 noon EST Jan 29th (or when I get to the computer)


Next Week!
3. Spooky Swinging Sixties vs. 14. Mario Bava
5. Family Friendly 2: poo poo Just Got Friendlier vs. 12. Ishiro Honda

Spreadsheet
Letterboxd List

STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 18:06 on Jan 22, 2022

Scumfuck Princess
Jun 15, 2021

Let's go Twilight!

married but discreet
May 7, 2005


Taco Defender
lol I love this thread, what a combination of movies

rip good satan, you were too bad for this world

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe
I haven't seen Something Evil so if nothing else at least this will get me to check off that box. There's a good chance I end up voting for it too because 31 is mediocre imo, but the descriptions of Vampire Hunter D do make it seem like something I'd like so we will see.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

married but discreet posted:

lol I love this thread, what a combination of movies
What other possible reason could you ever have to watch Twilight, Lady in the Water, and 31 in the same week? Huh?

The Berzerker
Feb 24, 2006

treat me like a dog


I didn't really like Lady in the Water, though I haven't seen it in a long time. Not a big Twilight fan, I actually went through most of those with my partner last year, it is pretty funny though. Looking forward to checking out Cosmos - if it's even decent, which I expect it will be, it will have my vote.

I haven't seen anything from the other match-up, but what a combination of movies - made for TV Spielberg, anime vampires, and Rob Zombie doing what I understand to be the Robbiest Zombiest. Battle of who could care less :v:

married but discreet
May 7, 2005


Taco Defender
No joke I liked Twilight. This matchup is wiiiide open for me now!

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

I doubt I'll like any of Twilight, Lady in the Water, and Cosmos and I'm genuinely curious which one manages to win my vote. Quite possibly an abstention for me.

Honestly same for the other one. Spielberg might win it just because mediocre spooky probably beats 31 and anime for me. But big meh for my tastes.

Still a wild week.

Servoret
Nov 8, 2009



Something Evil wasn’t terrible, but there’s a pointless subplot with Darren McGavin that exists just to give him screen time I guess, plus the ending comes out of nowhere, except that it reveals that the film’s a rip-off of what it was already kind of obviously ripping off.

TrixRabbi
Aug 20, 2010

Time for a little robot chauvinism!

Oof I need to watch Cosmos but I've read the novel and it is a wild time. But putting it up against Twilight is going to make this a legit difficult vote for me (unless Cosmos sucks).

Hardwicke's Twilight is legit an excellent film made with flourish and style showcasing two of our generation's greatest actors being weird as poo poo for two hours. The sequels are almost insufferably boring, but Hardwicke is an actual director and the first film really sings with some strong stylistic choices that make it fun, frequently funny and really engaging. I mean, goddamn vampire baseball set to Muse? "Spider monkey"? Can unironically vote for Twilight and the only thing that might stop me is my love for Eastern European cinema.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

I don’t remotely understand the Twilight love but I said it in the writeups. This crowd never surprises me with what it surprises me with.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

Servoret posted:

Something Evil wasn’t terrible, but there’s a pointless subplot with Darren McGavin that exists just to give him screen time I guess, plus the ending comes out of nowhere, except that it reveals that the film’s a rip-off of what it was already kind of obviously ripping off.

What's it ripping off?

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe
It blows that I was all excited about finally getting my man Stephen Sommers into the tournament and now I have to vote against the team because Spielberg decided to poo poo out a turd three years before he did Jaws.

Servoret
Nov 8, 2009



Franchescanado posted:

What's it ripping off?

Rosemary’s Baby. Maybe “rip-off” is too strong a term, but I think it’s part of the same cycle.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

Basebf555 posted:

It blows that I was all excited about finally getting my man Stephen Sommers into the tournament and now I have to vote against the team because Spielberg decided to poo poo out a turd three years before he did Jaws.

It's not that bad. I have compliments across the board. There's some really clever camera framing and set-ups. The house and location are interesting. Sandy Dennis kills it in the role, and convincingly sells the character's manic "Is this real?" without being too over-the-top or annoying. Jeff Corey is also pretty successfully creepy as the old caretaker. I got genuinely unnerved and spooked by more than one of the crying child sequences.

It falls perfectly into that valley of "It's not really bad" and "It's not really good". A perfectly balanced 2.5 on the scale of 5.

It loses points because of the limitations, and because it's clear Spielberg has more growing to do as a filmmaker, and that the script isn't very dynamic. But it gains points because it's the same year as Altman's Images (which it wouldn't be ripping off because that was a flop), and it's years before the Amityville Horror murders even took place, or The Omen, so it's weirdly ahead of it's time.

It might not win, unless somehow Vampire Hunter D is inferior to it's sequel or 31 is as abysmal due to limitations as everyone says it is, but I am genuinely happy I gave it a chance. You can see Spielberg experimenting with the camera to tell the story and using inventive framing, his clever use of editing to keep things moving, and his ability to build suspense out of things you can't actually see. I feel like I would like it even more if it got a restoration and was released as an extra on one of his movies (like Criterion does with De Palma and others).


Servoret posted:

Rosemary’s Baby. Maybe “rip-off” is too strong a term, but I think it’s part of the same cycle.

Oh, I didn't make that connection at all. I kept thinking of movies I mentioned above and then realizing "Oh, that was after this? Weird!".

married but discreet
May 7, 2005


Taco Defender

Franchescanado posted:


It might not win, unless somehow Vampire Hunter D is inferior to it's sequel or 31 is as abysmal due to limitations as everyone says it is,

Spielberg win confirmed then

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe

Franchescanado posted:

It's not that bad. I have compliments across the board. There's some really clever camera framing and set-ups. The house and location are interesting. Sandy Dennis kills it in the role, and convincingly sells the character's manic "Is this real?" without being too over-the-top or annoying. Jeff Corey is also pretty successfully creepy as the old caretaker. I got genuinely unnerved and spooked by more than one of the crying child sequences.

It falls perfectly into that valley of "It's not really bad" and "It's not really good". A perfectly balanced 2.5 on the scale of 5.

It loses points because of the limitations, and because it's clear Spielberg has more growing to do as a filmmaker, and that the script isn't very dynamic. But it gains points because it's the same year as Altman's Images (which it wouldn't be ripping off because that was a flop), and it's years before the Amityville Horror murders even took place, or The Omen, so it's weirdly ahead of it's time.

I wish I agreed, and we agree on most things but I just didn't find much to like in the movie. The house felt flat and boring to me, I was not a fan of Sandy Dennis' performance, and I just didn't respond to the spooks like you did. I didn't get unnerved or spooked in any way. Maybe it was a movie that ended up suffering from the group watch format, maybe I would've been more creeped out if I was watching on my own.

I do agree though that it's ahead of it's time when you look at the year it was made and the various famous films that came after. So yea it does get points for that.

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer

Basebf555 posted:

I wish I agreed, and we agree on most things but I just didn't find much to like in the movie. The house felt flat and boring to me, I was not a fan of Sandy Dennis' performance, and I just didn't respond to the spooks like you did. I didn't get unnerved or spooked in any way. Maybe it was a movie that ended up suffering from the group watch format, maybe I would've been more creeped out if I was watching on my own.

I do agree though that it's ahead of it's time when you look at the year it was made and the various famous films that came after. So yea it does get points for that.

Oh, if I watched it in a group setting, I probably would have disliked it way more. Or not given it as much of a chance.

I'm currently going through this "side project" where I'm studying and filling in blind spots of the Movie Brats. Obviously Spielberg is the biggest hitter in that group of big hitters, when considering how his name and style is the one that shaped American cinema to this day (you can give Lucas credit for Star Wars, of course, for the cultural phenomenon that is, but Spielberg never stopped directing and still makes good movies). So I really sat and watched this movie in the context of a guy who's yet to become a household name, who's working with a Robert Clouse script for a network. I don't think he had a lot of lee-way with the script. He's working, he's experimenting, but it's ultimately a paycheck and a director's credit, and he clearly hasn't workshopped this with Lucas, Milius, De Palma, Scorsese, Coppola or Schrader, which was how Spielberg worked at the time. They were an incredibly collaborative bunch on each others films, and that had a positive effect on stuff on Duel and Jaws (I haven't seen Savage or Sugarland Express yet to see how they fit into this theory), and you can feel the absence in this movie.

And, I like Sandy Dennis. I love her as Honey in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, because she's playing a mousey naïve willfully-innocent person. Seeing her fill this role with a manic vulnerability where she's questioning her own sanity, really works for me. She's so pitiful and anemic, but has this big smile and wide eyes, that her expressions come off as so extreme. I wish there were more movies with her.

The script just isn't very dynamic, story-wise and character-wise, so I totally get it being lame as a group watch.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

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

Fun Shoe
This is maybe an odd distinction to make, but I agree that her facial expressions were quite good, I just didn't like her actual line readings. But I'm guessing that may have been more of a script issue and a budget issue(probably very few takes) than a Sandy Dennis issue.

MacheteZombie
Feb 4, 2007
I'm 45 minutes into twilight and this is surprisingly cute

Franchescanado
Feb 23, 2013

If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment

Grimey Drawer
This is the last week where there'll be six films per week, yeah? And we will then switch to 4 films a week? Or do I have that wrong?

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TrixRabbi
Aug 20, 2010

Time for a little robot chauvinism!

MacheteZombie posted:

I'm 45 minutes into twilight and this is surprisingly cute

Yeah, I understand dreading the hyperviolent poo poo but y'all gotta go into this one with an open mind. Fully admit the sequels (at least the first two) are poo poo, but the first Twilight movie has real style to it and once you get past the high school "hurr shiny vampires" thing it's a good time.

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