The Official Movie Thread

[rms]

Ok, maybe. I was just saying I can't really handle a CGI set movies, always surprised that isn't more of a critique.

 

[no country for old wainds]

i love artifice and old-school fake sets, what i hate is stuff with no texture that looks like a screensaver.

 

[rms]

Went with a double feature for ol Friday the 13th, Exorcist and Exorcist 3.

Been decades since I've watched the original and it coincided with my interest in rewatching alot of Friedkin. Not much to add, but great. Probably the most I've enjoyed it.

Onto Exorcist 3, been reading some hype behind it and I just don't follow. Some nice horror scenes, but not enough to justify the 100 minute runtime..is it a watchable sequel to a major franchise? Sure..but why anyone is talking about it is beyond me. Big thumbs down on the over chatty and overtly thoughtful demon....dud.

 

[TageRyche]

I watched V for Vendetta last night. I've seen it a number of times since it was released but man I just love it anew each time I put the movie on.

 

[RadicalThrasher]

Been watching some stuff for the season......

Spoiler

End of the Line (2007)

Karen, a young nurse who works in a psychiatric ward, boards the last subway train of the night only to have it stop suddenly in the middle of the tunnel. As those around her are brutally murdered, Karen and a handful of survivors must face supernatural forces, homicidal religious cult members, as well as their own fears and suspicions of Armageddon, in order to survive.

Low budget, good gore, and a pretty good story. Claustrophobic underground subway setting. Never saw this before, liked it a lot.




Haunt (2019)

On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an "extreme" haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are real.

Liked it, was pretty awesome. The less you know going in, the better




Girlfriend from Hell (1989)

The inventor of the condom-- now God's bounty hunter- is tasked with tracking down and capturing the Devil, who has possessed the body of a high school wallflower in order to feed on human souls via sex.

comedy, dumb fun




My Demon Lover (1987)

A homeless street musician becomes a demon when sexually aroused.

Another comedy, even dumber fun




Pumpkinhead (1988)

A storekeeper leverages a local witch's ability to call upon the mythical beast Pumpkinhead to exact revenge upon the death of his son.

Classic here. Stan winston directed, special fx/monster showcase. Revenge movie that plays out like a dark fairytale. The great Lance Henriksen steals the show in a lead role.



that's all i got for now

 

[CiG]

@Vegard Pompey has me interested to watch Saw IV now.

 

[rms]

I just saw Pumpkin head has a real nice 4K reissue going around

 

[RadicalThrasher]

Round 2

Spoiler

Near Dark (1987)

A young cowboy is seduced by a new girl in town only to find out he has been kissed by a
vampire. Slowly turning into a creature of the night, he is persuaded to join up with the girl and
a roaming band of ghouls. But when his own father and sister become targets in the vampires'
endless search for 'food,' he is forced to choose between loyalty to the vampires, or loyalty his
own family. 'Near Dark' is a stylish and brutal mixture of horror, western, and action
conventions from director Kathryn Bigelow

different take on vampires, great ensemble cast....Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein ( all from Aliens), Tim Thomerson. Pretty awesome, @CiG vampire horror worth checking out if you haven't already seen it. Seems to have found a following in more recent times, an old vhs favorite.

The Blob (1988)

Remake of the 1958 horror sci-fi about a deadly blob—which is the spawn of a secret government germ warfare project—that consumes everyone in its path. Teenagers try in vain to warn the townsfolk, who refuse to take them seriously, while government agents try to cover up the evidence and confine the creature...

classic, awesome remake

The Monster Squad (1987)

A small town is disrupted with the arrival of Dracula to retrieve an amulet controlling the
balance between good and evil.

Timeless classic




The Curse (1987)

Nathan Crane is a religious man trying to hold onto his farm and keep his family in line. A real estate developer is trying to buy most of the farm property in the area, including Mr. Crane's family farm, in the hope that the Tennesse Valley Authority will choose the town for the site of a new dam and recreational area. The night of a terrible storm, an unidentified, glowing object crashes on the Crane farm and with it comes a horrible curse for the Crane family and the members of the community

H.P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space. Gets pretty batshit crazy




Man's Best Friend (1993)

Max, a genetically mutated dog endowed with intelligence and other special abilities is accidentally released from the lab of Dr. Jarret by news reporter/animal rights advocate Lori Tanner. Max is lovable at first, but also proves to be a ferocious, unstoppable killer.

Subconsciously have a Lance Henriksen theme going on i guess
Horror/scifi/action 90's schlock.......love it




And that's all i got for now. Trying to keep up with the 31 horror movies for Halloween, we'll see if it happens.

 

[CiG]

Oh yeah I love Near Dark. Also, that Blob remake is fucking awesome.

 

[RadicalThrasher]

Oh yeah I love Near Dark. Also, that Blob remake is fucking awesome.

Fuck yes....both awesome flicks. You doing this 31 horror movie Halloween thing or what?

 

[CiG]

You doing this 31 horror movie Halloween thing or what?

Yeah man I'm 16 movies deep so far.
Just been keeping track on the RYM forum instead, here's my list so far and some notes:

1. Bride of Re-Animator
Way better than I remembered it being. A funny, dark and creative sequel on the level of Return of the Living Dead III (Brian Yuzna directed both). God I miss practical effects like these movies had.

2. Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead and 3. Wyrmwood: Apocalypse
Cool, fun, post-apocalyptic action/splatter films that are very Australian. Both are rewatches.

4. The Woman
This ruled. I had no idea it was part of a trilogy though, so now I'm kinda annoyed I accidentally started in the middle lol. Some great satire here, and it's also quite brutal, even though it doesn't really have a horror movie atmosphere.

5. Monster Man
The comedy in this makes American Pie seem intellectual. Fun though, and the old school effects/crazy monster truck they built is what saves this movie for me.

6. Offspring
First film in that Woman trilogy. Definitely an interesting one. On one hand the plot, script and acting all feels like a made-for-television movie (but in a good way) but then on the other hand it's ultra-violent and pretty sadistic, which makes for a strangely appealing mixture. Not as good as The Woman was, but still good.

7. Wrong Turn
About as mid-tier as I remember it being. I was hoping after a decade or so since the last time I saw it, it would've aged better in retrospect, but nope. The effects and kills are still cool, but the plot and characters feel even worse at this point. How fucking "huwhite" is it that they trespass into the house of the mutants to find a phone, and the one woman uses their bathroom? The first thing she does is check herself in the mirror. It'd be one thing if this was satire...

8. Darlin'
Third film of that Woman trilogy. Definitely the least overtly horror, genre-wise, and much heavier on the social commentary stuff. Directed by the actress who plays 'the woman' in the previous films, with more of a supporting cast role this time. I definitely recommend the whole trilogy. One of my favourite discoveries in Shocktober this year (so far).

9. The Empty Man
Super fucking mid-tier mystery/cosmic horror. Poor pacing and overly long. Decent acting saved it from being "bad" but only barely.


10. Night of Fear
50ish minute short film(?) that was intended to be a pilot for a series called "Fright." Aussie hixploitation with no dialogue that is mostly famous for being similar to Texas Chainsaw Massacre but came out 2 years before it.


11. Altered
Eduardo Sánchez's first solo project after The Blair Witch Project and it's really cool. Has that 00's indie horror charm, with tons of crazy practical effects, and the plot throws you right into the middle of things with no explanation. A real commitment to mystery.

12. The Cave
I loved the first half, the exploration of the cave systems, the mystery etc, but I feel it jumps the shark once the explicit horror elements start coming in, with some pretty crap CGI at times, and the ending was fucking corny.

13. Skyline
A mid-budget alien invasion war movie with a body horror side element. I respect its vision and what it was trying to do, but the casting is pretty crummy and the CGI hasn't aged very well since 2010. I mostly watched it because I want to see the sequels.

14. Les affamés (aka Ravenous)
This was awesome, a French-Canadian zombie/virus outbreak drama I found on Netflix. Lots of beautiful, haunting rural scenery and bloody violence. Pretty bleak.

15. Paranormal Activity
Still about as mid as I remember it being all those years ago. However, this time around I really clued into the (possibly unintentional) patriarchal critique, with how Katie is in a tug-o-war between a demonic entity that wants to possess her and her boyfriend who, as per toxic masculinity, refuses to seek out help and wants to handle everything himself. All while regularly violating Katie's boundaries (much like the demonic entity). Might be a clever film if it weren't so stupid and gimmicky. Also Micah is one of the most hateable characters ever created.

16. Saw
An excellent film exists in there, but it's utterly held back by the stilted acting and crappy script. Really badly wants to be a 90's Fincher film. Fantastic editing and cinematography though, which is where its strengths are.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

@Vegard Pompey has me interested to watch Saw IV now.

Haha, I've always had a soft spot for the series so I'm probably giving it a pass for a lot of flaws. I binged all of them in the past couple weeks (including the new one, and excluding Spiral because fuck that one) and I liked most of them but IV might be my favorite. I love how incredibly convoluted and twisty the stories get around III-VI.

The new one is completely different and really cool. I think even some haters of the franchise would like it. It's a languidly paced horror-drama told almost entirely from the perspective of John Kramer. I walked out when the movie ended, like an idiot, and missed a post-credits scene setting up a sequel centered on my favorite character who isn't played by Tobin Bell.

 

[Einherjar86]

9. The Empty Man
Super fucking mid-tier mystery/cosmic horror. Poor pacing and overly long. Decent acting saved it from being "bad" but only barely.

I found this movie endearing, although I hear you about length. For whatever reason, the run time didn't bother me. I enjoyed the opening frame narrative (which I thought was compelling on its own) and all the metaphysical, paranoid cult stuff. I also really liked the scene when the protagonist visits the old cult site or whatever it was, and the bonfire sequence. Thought that was really well-filmed.

Anyway, just my two cents, I wouldn't defend it to the death. But I've rewatched it and still enjoyed it.

 

[CiG]

Haha, I've always had a soft spot for the series so I'm probably giving it a pass for a lot of flaws. I binged all of them in the past couple weeks (including the new one, and excluding Spiral because fuck that one) and I liked most of them but IV might be my favorite. I love how incredibly convoluted and twisty the stories get around III-VI.

The new one is completely different and really cool. I think even some haters of the franchise would like it. It's a languidly paced horror-drama told almost entirely from the perspective of John Kramer. I walked out when the movie ended, like an idiot, and missed a post-credits scene setting up a sequel centered on my favorite character who isn't played by Tobin Bell.

The new one is what's fueling any desire to get through them all. I've heard pretty good things. Why do you not plan to see Spiral btw?

I found this movie endearing, although I hear you about length. For whatever reason, the run time didn't bother me. I enjoyed the opening frame narrative (which I thought was compelling on its own) and all the metaphysical, paranoid cult stuff. I also really liked the scene when the protagonist visits the old cult site or whatever it was, and the bonfire sequence. Thought that was really well-filmed.

Anyway, just my two cents, I wouldn't defend it to the death. But I've rewatched it and still enjoyed it.

Yeah I'm not surprised to read you like that one a lot. You're the cosmic horror guy. I can't help but feel like I wasn't in the right mood when I watched it.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

The new one is what's fueling any desire to get through them all. I've heard pretty good things. Why do you not plan to see Spiral btw?

Because I've seen it once and it's total garbage, even by the standards of this series.

 

[Einherjar86]

The new one is what's fueling any desire to get through them all. I've heard pretty good things. Why do you not plan to see Spiral btw?


Yeah I'm not surprised to read you like that one a lot. You're the cosmic horror guy. I can't help but feel like I wasn't in the right mood when I watched it.

I should change my handle to "Cosmic Horror Guy."

 

[RadicalThrasher]

Some more Halloween viewing....

Spoiler

The Mangler (1995)

Detective John Hunton is investigating an iron folding machine that has found a taste for eating people. While he tries to solve the mystery, Bill Gartley, the owner, wants to find new victims for his machine.

Movie about a killer laundry press machine Over the top performance from freddy krueger, actually a pretty cool setting/atmosphere, and some wild gore. Hadn't seen it forever, pretty fun revisit.




Graveyard Shift (1990)

In a very old textile mill, with a serious rat infestation, the workers discover a horrifying secret deep in the basement.

Awesome monster flick. Great setting. Stephen Macht as the ultimate asshole boss and Brad Douriff as a crazy exterminator. Always happy to revisit this one





Silver Bullet (1985)

The small town of Tarker's Mill was a place that was very peaceful, where nothing ever happened. Until one night, murders begin. The town people believe its some maniac killer on the loose and intend to hunt the man down. Marty, a young handicapped boy, believes that the killer is no man at all, but a werewolf.

sticking with Stephen King. Cool werewolf flick, Gary Busey seems to be playing himself as the drunk uncle




Night of the Living Dead (1990)

Seven people are trapped in an isolated farmhouse and living an unspeakable nightmare. Cannibalistic zombies have been awakened from the dead and are on a relentless killing and eating binge.

Awesome remake from Tom Savini




Bad Moon (1996)

Ted, a photojournalist, has a terrible secret: He's a werewolf. With nowhere else to go, Ted turns up at the home of his sister and her son. To them, Ted seems fine. But the family dog, Thor, senses something terribly wrong.

......and another cool werewolf movie

 

[rms]

Wild how many of those King adaptations are just solid movies.

 

[rms]

Went in relatively blind to Killers of the Flower Moon and I'm sitting around a 6/6.5 right now. Anyone else checking it out this weekend?

 

[Bloopy]