relentless 254 Posted October 20, 2014 Over the past few days I've been binging on Carpenter's Halloween, though I intended on watching The Conjuring soon as I've heard that was pretty good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ghost 2687 Posted October 20, 2014 Shutters a good one! It was a little different than your typical white ghost with black long hair offing people flick. I thought the Conjuring was pretty good. It doesn't really do anything original but it does what other movies have done pretty well. I will admit, thinking back to it now I can't say it was really memorable. It doesn't try to grab you with shock factor or a gruesome scene but rather focuses more on its characters and story (which is appreciated in a genre where story and character development is rarely the main focus). 1 relentless reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 20, 2014 Yeah, The Conjuring is great. As nagaram says it doesn't try to to anything new, it's just the same old, same old. It's a film that does whatever it can to imitate the horror films of the 70's, and it does it really well. However, there's not a single touch of originality to be found anywhere in the film, so if you want something fresh then The Conjuring is the wrong place to search. It's done before, but it's still so well-made it's hard not to dig it. Atmospheric and moody. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beni 2149 Posted October 20, 2014 I remember having watched Shaun on the Dead when I was younger and I was terrified of it even though it's the classic parody/comedy take on an actual horror movie haha. Ever since that, I've tried to not scare myself with watching many jump scare horror movies, even though I'm preparing my future self to sit though as many Asian films as I can. I love a thriller and mystery one though, like, Psycho (classic, thanks Film course) and The Shining (gotta admit, I laughed through most of the film because of the good and bad acting haha). Even though I'm a right scaredy cat, I love anything horror, especially gore. I just need to put any audio on mute so I don't have a heart attack. xD I'll usually just check out a trailer and not try to watch a proper horror film because I'm easy to fright with sound (not playing or watching anyone play 'The Maze' game again, holy cabbage) Oh yeah, and a rather new/modern one I've managed to watch with the company of sis to help me through it was Sinister. Rather interesting, apart from that ONE jumpscare she decided it'd be funny to see me jump damn it. And I really enjoyed The Strangers, even though it's made me fear even more of answering the door. D: And on the topic of recent films, that Horns movie with Radcliffe starring in it is already making me laugh. I can't unsee Harry Potter, I'm sorry Rad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokage 5930 Posted October 20, 2014 Scoped Noroi: The Curse today.. After reading many, many reviews wherein people hype this up to be one of the greatest horror films ever, I must say I ended up being a tad disappointed. Set my expectations too high, I guess. Still a damn good movie though. (Also one of the reveals at the end made me go 'oh fuck' lmao) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokage 5930 Posted October 20, 2014 Scoped Noroi: The Curse today.. After reading many, many reviews wherein people hype this up to be one of the greatest horror films ever, I must say I ended up being a tad disappointed. Set my expectations too high, I guess. Still a damn good movie though. (Also one of the reveals at the end made me go 'oh fuck' lmao) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 20, 2014 Ended up giving Noroi: The Curse 7/10 myself. Very good film, but not amazing or anything. It just lacks something. Some of the same as The Blair Witch Project lacks. I can't really put it into words. Both are good, but there's something missing. I haven't seen either in many, many years though, so might think different about them today if I rewatch 'em. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 20, 2014 V/H/S/2 - Well, the concept for this is exactly the same as V/H/S but with a lot less emphasis on atmosphere and more on gore and actual scares, and there's a lot more effort into special effects here. There's lots of them. I wouldn't call this any better than the first, but it's not worse either. I'd say they're equal. Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett returns, but this time Barret does more than just writing, he directs as well, and he does very well. Tape 49/frame narrative is diected by Simon Barret, and he does extremely well in his short. The short does well in linking everything together, and it's a very atmospheric film with some chilling moments. But it isn't as good as the frame narrative in the first one. Not even close. Phase I Clinical Trials is dircted by Adam Wingard, and as always he delivers the goods. At times very chilling, but it could've been done a lot better. But it was very good nonetheless. A Ride in the Park is directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale, be known for The Blair Witch Profect. Another good one, and this time we get some insane special effects. The whole thing reeks of mid-70's-early 80's Italian horror films. You'll know what I mean when you see it. Good film, and the fun one out of them. Probably my least favourite of the lot, though. Safe Haven is directed by Gareth Huw Evans, best known for his insane martial arts-action film The Raid: Redemption, and this is by far my favourite here. This one is batshit crazy, to put it right there. Insane film with some great atmosphere and lots of creepy moments. This segment alone is worth your time. Jesus, one of the most insane films I have ever seen. Crazy. Weird. Creepy. Fucked up. Freakin' awesome! Slumber Party Alien Abduction is directed by Jason Eisener, best known for Hobo with a Shotgun. The second best of the bunch, delivering both humour and chills. So there you've got it. As a whole it's not as good as the first one, but its got the best segment of them all which takes it up to the level of the first one. Geat film! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ghost 2687 Posted October 21, 2014 I just finished watching V/H/S. And..... I thought it was alright. For it's genre, I thought it was very well done. A lot of the shorts had good atmosphere and I liked the way all the videos were connected through one main story. I liked the variety of topics the different directors tackled and there were some pretty good effects. With that said though, the movie was pretty forgettable with no real scares and lacked an impact that shakes the heart. With most of the shorts, you knew how it was going to end and, as with other films of the shaky cam style, there's too much filler for my liking. For example, with Second Honeymoon, the only real tense or interesting parts constituted about like 5 minutes of the entire short (at least it only felt like 5). Some of the audio was difficult to hear and, as a result, I missed crucial parts of the stories (ex. The sick thing...Emily..) Probably isn't a complaint for most people, but there was way too much (senseless) nudity or sex related writing in the shorts for me. In Tuesday the 17th, the main girl's dialogue *before a certain event*, was really awkward and didn't add to the situation. I know guys like boobs, but almost every guy behind the camera focuses on cleavage or legs. Yes, I suppose it gives it more of a natural feel to the footage, but not every guy is a perverted sex fiend who'll do anything to get a quick peak at some boobehs. Now, I do give them credit for the final product considering they had a lot less time than a full length film to execute their ideas. That in itself is pretty impressive. But, I guess that's where some of my disappointment comes from; I'd like to see a lot of ideas fleshed out more and given the time they need to develop and build a solid story and atmosphere. Overall, it was entertaining and definitely didn't feel like a waste of time. It just didn't have that extra something to really make a lasting impression and become something historically great. This first entry, in what appears to be a trilogy so far, has definitely wetted my appetite and gets me curious enough to follow the series to experience more creepy shaky cam horrors. What would really make this authentic is viewing the movie on an actual VHS. 1 Bear reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted October 21, 2014 Somehow I couldn't really get into the 1st V/H/S at all but the Safe Haven segment in the 2nd movie...yeah, that alone was worth watching the whole thing. 1 Bear reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 21, 2014 Yeah, I think the nudity has a bit to do with authenticity, as it does feel a bit more real that way. At least to me. And this wasn't exactly grown up, respectable men we saw in these videos. It's kinda normal for a lot of men to focus on tits and ass when filming videos like that. I also have to add that I have always appreciated nudity in most horror genres. When it comes ot ghost stories and haunted house films, I can do without, even though it doesn't bother me there either. I like nude girls after all. But I think nudity adds a lot to the fun in slashers, cannibal films and splatters as an example. A huge part of the fun. 1 ghost reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted October 21, 2014 Just watched Nosferatu the Vampyre... actually I meant to check out Shadow of the Vampire (the one that tells the story of the making of the original Nosferatu) but didn't remember the title so I thought this must be it, haha. Anyway, it was an interesting remake, at times extremely faithful to the original. Klaus Kinski looked pretty badass as the wicked and sick-looking Count, and also managed to inject a kind of weird humor into some of his scenes. Sometimes it felt like they wanted to poke fun at, or at least make an homage to, the old silent movie characteristics (lighting, makeup, gestures etc). Anyway, it was a cool flick with some killer visuals and music, made me wanna re-watch the original again (maybe I'll get through it without falling asleep this time, lol). And of course, I'll still seek out Shadow of the Vampire. xD 1 Bear reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 21, 2014 Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht is fantastic, though not quite on par with Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens. But it's amongst the best vampire films ever made anyway. However, it's not an actual remake of Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, though. It's more like a different adaption of the novel that pays homage to Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, rather than a remake. The soundtrack by Popol Vuh is amazing too. Deserves a mention for sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted October 21, 2014 ^ Ah I see. And yeah, I noticed the character names were changed too (to coincide with the novel I guess). Also, yep, the soundtrack was pretty cool, I see the band has it as a separate release too, so might, ehm, 'acquire' that one later. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 22, 2014 F. W. Murnau and the studio didn't get the rights for the novel when making Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, so both names and certain events had to be changed. In fact, the Stoker family sued and won and a court ordered all copies of the film destroyed. Thankfully one or more survived. When Herzog made Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht Dracula had entered public domain, which meant he could do as he wanted with it. But he was obviously very inspired by Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens when he made it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 22, 2014 Witching & Bitching - The english title of this film is so bad the original title is Las brujas de Zugarramurdi which translates to The Witches of Zugarramurdi, a way better title than Witching & Bitching. Anyway, Witching & Bithing is a horror comedy by spanish cult director Alex de la Iglesia, and he's got his name written all over the film. While it's fun, exciting, surreal and bizarre, it does lack a bit for my taste. The special effects are at times awful, well, most CGI through the film is embarrassingly bad and it's way too long. I'd cut 15-20 minutes from this if I was in charge. I think there's just a bit too much going on at the same time throughout this film. Should've left a few ideas behind. This film is basically Scooby Doo for grown ups. No kidding. Carolina Bang is awfully sexy, though. Damn! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ghost 2687 Posted October 22, 2014 I started watching 'abcs of death' and ohhohoho! I only could watch about 5 minutes at the time, but that alone has convinced me to invest the 2+ hours this movie runs. Wasn't scary but super entertaining. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 23, 2014 Yeah, The ABCs of Death was very hit and miss, but when it hit I thought it hit very, very hard. B, D, L, N, O, Q, R and T were good. Especially B, O and Q made the film great for me. Outstanding shorts. The Legend of Hell House - I'e always been a huge fan of haunted house films, and this one rocked. As with most of the classic films in the genre this is also based on a novel, this one's called Hell House. Fans of the novel tends to complaina bout the lack of blood, gore and sexuality, but I've never read the novel and don't care about that. This film is very similar to other haunted house films of the 60's and 70's, and while not original, it's very atmospheric and quite effective at what it does. The special effects are outstanding, the acting are great (especially by the girls Pamela Franklin and Gayle Hunnicutt) and it's well-directed with nice, moody cinematography. The weakest point here are the screenplay, but I've got no problems with it whatsoever. I think it's great. The whole film is. Also, the haunted house genre are among the scariest that exists. Simply because it's often so simple, yet so scary and creepy. Magic! Also, the film posters are crazy good, like: That's so awesome. Could have both hanging up on my wall. Beauties. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 24, 2014 The Woman in Black - The one from 1989. I'll start with a fun story. Ten years back or so, my brother ordered a DVD of this off ebay. We knew it wasn't released on DVD, but from what the seller said it was a great bootleg with quality as good as it gets, a great package and whatnot. When he recived the DVD it was on a cheap CDr, and the cover was a regular CD cover where the guy had just prined out a poor, poor version of the film poster. Heh. What a bitch! Anyway, fantastic film, and I think this is even better than the remake/new version of the film. The new version sends a lot more time in the dark with way more quick cuts and whatnot to scare you, while this sends most time in daylight trying to build and build and build on the atmoshere and creeps. To me, it succeeds on doing that. Yes, this was a TV production with a very low budget, so the acting is at times way bellow par, the direction ain't the best and it looks a bit cheap here and there. But they took what they had and made something fantastic out of it. There's not too many scares or anything, but the few they've got are outstanding and will sends chills down your spine. So, while it was a way cheaper film than the remake/new version, it still comes of as a more expensive film because they don't take the easy route to scare no-one. They take the hard one all the way, and it really pays off. Happy to see the quality of the rip too. Not amazing, but more than good enough for my taste. Deserves a DVD release. It really does. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 25, 2014 Grave Encounters - The Blair Witch Project meets Paranormal Activity. This film is doomed to become a cultfilm just like The Blair Witch Project. It's got everything to take that status. I thought it was an enjoyable film, but not a masterpiee or anything. Great atmoshere, but never scary or anything to me, but my girlfriend jumped a couple of times, though. The thing I really liked is the amount of humour it's got, much because of how real the character feel. And it's not the type of funny moments that are just thrown in, it's funny moments because of the reactions by the characters, and if you've ever been scared at night when walking over/past a graveyard or visiting an old, abandoned house, you'll know what I talk about. They come off as really genuine, and that adds to how real everything feels. So yea, I really liked this film. 2 Elazmus and kyoselflove reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokage 5930 Posted October 25, 2014 The Banshee Chapter: Rather boring, cliche horror movie which doesn't seem to be able to decide whether it wants to be a found footage film or not. Didn't really enjoy this at all until the point in the movie where they introduced the most obvious Hunter S. Thompson stand-in ever to appear on screen. After that it became more tolerable, but still not as a genuine horror. Also, I was somewhat half-amused by how the movie makers had the gall to reference Lovecraft of all people in this jump scare-riddled flick of theirs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted October 25, 2014 Had a kind of all-day horror marathon with some friends today (Halloween approaching and whatnot). Lots of pizza and beer and weird candy have been had by all ... and of course some classic horror movies! We went in chronological order and started off with The Omen which I hadn't seen before, interestingly enough. It was nice and all, maybe not the most suitable film for a booze-filled day with lots of laughs tho. xD Next up was Re-Animator awww yeahhh, still as great as ever. I wanna marry Jeffrey Combs' character in the non-gayest way imaginable. Then came The Fly (the Cronenberg remake obviously), an excellent exercise in body horror. And to top it all off, Hellraiser. Not much to say, other than it's still one of my top fave horror flicks. All in all, a cool Saturday! 1 Bear reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 25, 2014 Sounds awesome. Great films only. I love The Omen, as long as it's the original one. Fantastic film. Tenebre - One of Dario Argento's best films, which says a lot. I think I prefer both Suspiria and Profondo Rosso over this, but those two are more or less perfect, so that doesn't mean this ain't great. Because it is. It's a truely great film. It's a very standard giallo, stylish as fuck and suspenseful, but it does have a bit of complexity that you don't see too often in these films. The story is damn good, the characters and actors are great, it's visually stunning as always and it's topped off with one of the best soundtracks ever made, a soundtrack that might be Goblin's best ever album, which says a lot considering this is one of the best bands ever. Rarely have murder been as fantastic and stylish as in this film. Great violence. By the way, am I the only one who gets a sci-fi feeling from this film? I can't quite put my finger on it, but I get a very futuristic feel from it. I also gets massive film noir-vibes from it. Also, on the 30th I'll watch a horror film, or most likely two, at the cinema. I can't wait! I've been waiting for this my whole life. 1 Tokage reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 25, 2014 By the way, does someone have an invite to Cinemageddon? Keen on joining as it seems like they've got "everything" as far as horror goes. Would love to check it out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted October 26, 2014 White Zombie - I thought it was about time I watched something proper old, and I ended up rewatching White Zombie, the film often regarded as the firt ever zombie film. Back in the begining of the zombie films, in the 30's and 40's, zombies weren't flesheating, braindead monsters looking for delicious human flesh and brains. Back in the early days of zombies, the zombies had a master, and it was all about black magic/voodoo. It wasn't any virus or anything. So if you want flesheating monsters or viruses, then this obviously ain't for you. White Zombie is all about the atmosphere and Bela Lugosi. Bela Lugosi does well in his role as the evil master of the zombies, and Victor Halperin does extremely well in creating a bleak, dark and occult atmosphere that goes hand in hand with the story of the film. It's a bit of a slow burner, despite only being around 65 minutes long, but it's well worth sitting though IMO, because the atmosphere is magnificent. And redit to the zombies in the film. I think they're absolutely awesome. They feel threatning and dangerous, and some of them look evil as fuck as well. Great film, this! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites