Horror Movies

[Tokage 5930]

Watched Sinister today. Maaaaan, what a way to ruin something that could have been beautiful at the very last moment.

I mean, I still enjoyed the film overall, but the buildup in the first hour or so is just GREAT... and then come the ''shhh'' ghost kids and Rejected Slipknot Guy and it sort of fucks up all of the cool atmosphere the first part of the film had. Proof again that showing less of the monster always works better lol

 

Seems they're making a sequel as well, but I think I'll skip that one..

[Bear 1817]

Watched Sinister today. Maaaaan, what a way to ruin something that could have been beautiful at the very last moment.

I mean, I still enjoyed the film overall, but the buildup in the first hour or so is just GREAT... and then come the ''shhh'' ghost kids and Rejected Slipknot Guy and it sort of fucks up all of the cool atmosphere the first part of the film had. Proof again that showing less of the monster always works better lol

 

Seems they're making a sequel as well, but I think I'll skip that one..

 

I agree with everything. As soon as it went supernatural is went to hell. A 5/10 for me, with a great first half and a poor second half. Very poor. The film deserves a re-writing and a remake. I am serious.

[Bear 1817]

Santo in the Wax Museum - Great  horror film from 63, and more or les son the same level as Santo vs. the Vampire Women. They use the same formula here; it's built the same way, and they've found their major influence in a couple of other films. This great film draws, as you probably understand by its title, heavily from House of Wax, but also from The Island of Doctor Moreau. It's cheesy and it's campy, but it's just really fun. I really liked this film, and the shots in the wax museum, both the shown and hidden side of it, are excellent. Great atmosphere, and some of these wax figures should be familiar to all fans of horror.

 

Also, fuckign Santo, man. Running around in his silver mask and tights with a cape on, running around beating bad guys and shit. Yet, right in the middle of everything, with people disappearing and shit, he says something like this "I can't now, I gotta go wrestle". He actually does this twice in the middle of everything. How funny is that?

 

Great film!

 

 

Santo vs. Blue Demon in Atlantis - Ah, this was disappointing. This time we jump from 1963 to 1970, and Santo stars in this film alongside another wrestler, Blue Demon, another wrestler who's considered one of the best wrestlers ever in Mexico. Santo and Blue Demon were never good friends in real life, and were rivals in the ring, but they starred in 9 films together, and this is the first I see with both of them in it.

 

It's very cool to see them both in the same film, but the film itself was a disappointment. Not because it sucks, but it just isn't as good as the others I've seen. And this isn't a horror film like the others either, this is a action-mystery spy-flick. The film actually starts with scenes from Invasion of Astro-Monster, the 6th Godzilla film, and probably some other films as well, which itself is incredibly cool, but from there on it goes down despite having neo-nazis with names taken from Greek mythology, Atlantis, conquest from space and god knows what.

 

The cheese and camp factor is again high, but just not as fun as in the previous films. Entertaining film, but not the Santo film I'd recommend first.

 

 

Zombeavers - A very nice and funny b-film about, well, the title says it all, doesn't it? It's as stupid as it sounds, but also very fun at the same time. However, this had every element needed to become a classic trash film, but somewhere along the road it loses focus. Stupid is good, but some of the choices taken by the writers an directors suck at time. It just gets too stupid, at least for me. But I was entertained. The animatronic (yes, not CGI but animatronic!!!) beavers looks amazing and there's some lovely special effects here as well. But at times the special effects looked like crap too, which is a shame. But that was just a few times.

 

Also, the three female leads impressed me. None of them great actors, but the chemestry was there and they seemed to really enjoy this. The thre male leads however, not so much. Wasn't impressed by them. They didn't seem to have a clue as to what they were doing.

 

Wish there was more nudity, though. It sounds stupid, but films like this and nudity goes hand in hand.

 

[Bear 1817]

 

Anyone seen this? Looks kinda cool, even though it looks really amateurish. The concept sure as fuck is cool! Before even seeing the film I want to remake it Ray Harryhausen-style with the classic look of the Universal Monsters and Hammer Horror creatures.

[Tokage 5930]

I haven't actually seen the movie itself, but I recall seeing it floating around in stores on DVD and thinking it looked fun.

 

Unrelated, but has anyone here ever seen a flick called Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer? It's a pretty fun, relatively recent comedy-horror with loads of practical special effects and creature suits. Also Robert Englund's in there.

[Bear 1817]

Unrelated, but has anyone here ever seen a flick called Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer? It's a pretty fun, relatively recent comedy-horror with loads of practical special effects and creature suits. Also Robert Englund's in there.

 

Nope! I have it on my watchlist and it's been there forever now, but I've been kinda pushed off a bit by the poster, which kinda implies its a CGI-wankfest. But I checked IMDB and notice its mentioned that no CGI was used. Suddenly I'm not pushed off it anymore. Will watch it soon!

[Tokage 5930]

Yeah, as far as I remember, it's a pure Evil Dead-style ''people in rubber monster suits''-style ride, it's not the best or most revolutionary thing ever but it certainly is a charming little film.

 

Now, I'm thinking about watching either A Tale of Two Sisters, Dark Water or Pulse tonight, feeling like some asian horror.. But I can't decide on which of the 3 I'd rather watch :v

[Bear 1817]

I am a bit late to the part as you've probably seen one already, but you can't go wrong with either. But I'd say A Tale of Two Sisters > Pulse > Dark Water. All are very good, but that's how I'd rate them quality-wise with A Tale... being superior to the others. Pulse is the most creepy out of them, though, and personally I put A Tale... and Pule on the same level. Equally good films.

[Tokage 5930]

I ended up watching Pulse/Kairo, nice film. The way the last quarter of the movie suddenly transitions to full-blown worldwide apocalypse scenario is a bit jarring and unexpected, though.

[Bear 1817]

Santo and the Blue Demon vs. the Monsters - Another film with both Santo and Blue Demon, and another disappointment. The film is a lot cooler than Santo vs. Blue Demon in Atlantis, with some proper horror elements and stuff, but it doesn't hold up, which is a shame because it' got all the elements to be a proper cheese-o-rama masterpiece. It starts with some amazing shots of Santo, Blue Demon and the monsters, introducing them to us views. Sure, the lightning in these shots are awful, but it's cool as fuck, and that's what counts.

 

But the story does't hold up. The mad, evil scientist isn't given enough meat on his body, and he's so uninteresting. Who exactly is he, and why is he doing whatever he is doing? Lots of fighting and shit, but it's baically the same fights over and over and over and over again. And Blue Demon gets the same treatment as in Santo vs. Blue Demon in Atlantis. Goes to the bad guys, gets caught and fights Santo and the goodies. Heh. I feel sorry for him.

 

And the lighting is really weird at times. A few scenes changes from day to night to day and to night again for no other reason than everything being really amateurish. Hilarious!

 

However, the monsters are cool as fuck. The make-up is shit, and they look really bad and their movements are very off and stuff, but it works because of the cheese and camp. The monsters here is Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolf-Man, The Mummy, a male and a sexy  female vampire, a cyclops and some zombies. Oh, and an evil dwarf who's beyond cool. Awful make-up as said, but the monsters are cool anyway. They save the film to be honest. Campy, cheesy as fuck and entertaining. However, this could and should habe been so much better.

 

 

 

 

The Wolf-Man:

 

Cyclops:

 

The Mummy:

 

Frankenstein's Monster:

 

The Vampire:

 

 

 

 

See what I mean?

[Tokage 5930]

That vampire looks amazing

 

Watched Ju-On (2000 version) yesterday, the very first non-short film installment in the franchise. Up 'til then my only taste of the franchise had been the first part of the American remake.. To be quite honest, I can't remember a single thing about that movie. But this Japanese one was entertaining. Felt a bit like a short story collection converted into a movie, but I actually rather appreciated the way the movie was split up into shorter segments. Some seriously, seriously HORRIBLE cgi at one point which pretty much ruined what was otherwise one of the coolest scenes in the movie.

It's not very long (I may be wrong, but IIRC it was either a straight-to-video release or made for TV), so if you're looking for a low-budget, bite-sized time killer it's definitely worth checking out.

[Bear 1817]

Haha, yeah. I really like Frankenstein's Monster. You probably noticed, but his facial hair is something... new for him?

[Bear 1817]

So October is slowly getting near and as October i my official horror month I have started to plan a bit ahead and am looking for some recommendations. This year I'll divide the month in 5-6 parts and will stay away from rewatching films except for Halloween.

 

1-4th October: Giallo

5-11th October: Splatter

12-18th October: Slasher

19-25th October: Haunted House/Old Dark House films

26-30th October: Random post-2005 horror films

31st October: Halloween

 

Or something like that.

 

Don't hesitate with the recommendations, guys. And I will most likely watch several horror films on several days so I will need more than 30 for sure.

[Bear 1817]

Santo vs. Frankenstein's Daughter - More Santo silly-cheese! While not as campy as some of the other Santo films I've seen, this is still more than campy enough and very silly in a good way. As with a couple of the other films, this isn't exactly horror, despite some of its elements sure as hell is horror. But it felt darker than most of the other that I've seen, and bloodier as well. That impaling of the Monster looked excellent. Magnificent scene!

 

Some really funny scenes as well. The way he talks to the Monster after its impaling is hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. Great stuff!

 

[Bear 1817]

More Tales From the Crypt, season 4:

 

Episode 5, Beauty Rest - Another episode directed by Stephen Hopkins who directed an earlier episode called Abra Cadaver, which was fantastic, and while this is far from as good as that one this is till a good one. Dark and funny, though a bit predictable, episode that'll entertain you if you like your humour black. Some great special effects towards the end as well. Looked fantastic! Solid! 8/10

 

Episode 6, What's Cookin' - Brilliant episode starring Christopher Reeve and Bess Armstrong, with guys like Meat Loaf and Art LaFleur in smaller roles. This episode was fantastic!  Probably among the best episodes till now. Really dark and morbid stuff. It's not really anything new, but they still manage to shock somehow. Brilliant special effects too. 10/10

 

Episode 7, The New Arrival - Great episode by Peter Medak (The Changeling), and probably the creepiest episode till now. This one was actually really fucking creepy. David Warner and Zelda Rubinstein were almost too good in this episode. Brilliant performance by both. 9/10

 

Episode 8, Showdown - A cool but very disappointing episode by Richard Donner (The Omen, Lethal Weapon, Superman, The Goonies). I expect a lot more by someone like him, and this didn't hold up all that well. It's alright and David Morse is cool as fuck, but it's not more than that. 6/10

 

Episode 9, King of the Road - A cool one by Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child's Play) with a fantastic Raymond J. Barry and a young and good Brad Pitt in the leading roles.  Both does great and the episode is really cool. Lots of badass attitude! 8/10

[Bear 1817]

Episode 9, Maniac at Large - A nice, original and creepy tale by John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, Ronin) with with an amazing performance by Blythe Danner. The overall feeling of the episode is a bit different than most others because there's no gore, no black, morbid humour or anything like this. It's more of a suspense tale, but it's well-made and works really well. Top, top episode! 9/10

 

A great little cameo by Irwin Keyes as well!

[Bear 1817]

Episode 11, Split Personality - A nice little gem by film producer Joel Silver in his only directorial atempt. His first and last film in the directors chair, and it's a shame he only tried to direct once because this is a great piece. The episode stars Joe Pesci who is as annoying and good as ever, and the overall feeling of the episode is great. It's black, it's fun and it's charming. I really liked this one! 8/10

[Bear 1817]

Episode 12, Strung Along - A very nice one directed by Kevin Yagher who had previously directed the Tales From the Crypt episode Lower Berth, but this is even better than that. This one is a proper gem with a fantastic Donald O'Connor in the lead. A bit predictable, but lotsa fun and a nice ending. Really nice! 9/10

 

Episode 13, Werewolf Concerto - A late 70's - early 80's werewolf worship episode with a great Timothy Dalton in the lead, and aloso a really cool Reginald VelJohnson and a fantastic Beverly D'Angelo in supporting roles. A bit more complex than most Tales From the Crypt episodes, but really good and the werewolf transformation scene was fantastic. It was done in a very dirt and raw, yet classic way. Great episode! 9/10

[Bear 1817]

Annabelle - I am one of those who loved The Conjuring. It's generic and offers nothing new, but James Wan knew all about its strenghts and weaknesses, and played heavy on its strenghts and it was a really effective film. But I could never understand why Annabelle would get its own film, and I've been sceptic since it was announced. And I was sceptic with good reason because this fucking sucks. This is nothing but a cheap cash-in. Where is the atmosphere? WHere's the susense? Where's the gore? A couple of cheap scares and lots of boring, uninteresting drama is what we're given here. Awful film!

 

John R. Leonetti is a boring director, and there's a really good reason why he's only directed three films since his debut in 97, two of them being awful sequels and this oen being an awful prequel/spin-off. He should just stop.

 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Goodnight Mommy (a.k.a. Ich seh, ich seh) - Not even sure if this is proper horror, but I'm gonna include it here cuz it creeped me out real good. One of the few movies where I'd actually recommend watching the trailer first, cuz the film itself completely goes in another direction than suggested, so you'll have tons of unexpected moments and developments, heh. I don't even wanna give away what other movies it reminded me of, cuz then you might be able to piece together the 'real' story way too soon. Anyway, it's a faraway house, two kids waiting for their mom to come, she's recovering from an accident, so her face is in bandages... and acting a bit weirdly... is it really mommy? Well, you'll find out, for better or worse. Totally recommended if you enjoy a dreamy, slowly creeping vibe.

 

[Cristate 249]

How did I even not know about this topic ffs ?
 

Annabelle - I am one of those who loved The Conjuring. It's generic and offers nothing new, but James Wan knew all about its strenghts and weaknesses, and played heavy on its strenghts and it was a really effective film. But I could never understand why Annabelle would get its own film, and I've been sceptic since it was announced. And I was sceptic with good reason because this fucking sucks. This is nothing but a cheap cash-in. Where is the atmosphere? WHere's the susense? Where's the gore? A couple of cheap scares and lots of boring, uninteresting drama is what we're given here. Awful film!

 

John R. Leonetti is a boring director, and there's a really good reason why he's only directed three films since his debut in 97, two of them being awful sequels and this oen being an awful prequel/spin-off. He should just stop.

 

Thank you.

Actually I've been a *fan* of James Wan since like Saw. I just love this guy and everything he does, because he just tries to scare himself with the movies he makes and that's best effect there could ever be in a Horror Movie. Top lad, best mofo out there.
And then there was Annabelle. I guess they just measured the impact of the creepy girly doll in Conjuring and wanted to get some more cash from exciting sup3rz amat0rz teenagers who like to creep themselves and yell like fucking whales at the movies.
So yeah. I mean even the construction was weird don't you think ? It was like alternative steps of "frightening moment" "boring moment" all along. And I could the see the jumpscares coming.
Huge disappointment. But I guess that's just because Wan wasn't that involved in the direction.

But if it made cash for a badass Conjuring 2 (which is like THE horror movie of the past 15 years imo), then I'm fine with it.

 

Anyway I'll try to list my favs as you guys have all done. If you have any recommandation in brainfucking disturbing movies, please.

[Bear 1817]

I'm quite a fan of James Wan meself, but there would've been a The Conjuring 2 with or without Annabelle. Even if they lost a shitload of money on the film there would've been a sequel because of the success The Conjuring had on its own. Looking forward to that one, though.

 

Have to say that The Conjuring is not among my personal favourites among newer horrors, though. I liked it alot, but there's been plenty better in my eyes. Anyway, it's great and I love its old school vibe a lot.

[Bear 1817]

Some recommendations for Lestat. A small list of horror films made from 2013-2015 that I think are worth watching, and I've included my personal score for them as well.

 

Zombeavers (7/10)

Honeymoon (8/10)

Creep (7/10)

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (9/10)

The Babadook (8/10)

It Follows (8/10)

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (8/10)

Stage Fright (8/10)

The Quiet Ones (7/10)

Frankenstein's Army (9/10)

The Sacrament (7/10)

A Field in England (8/10)

V/H/S & V/H/S 2 (8/10)

The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (8/10)

Insidious & Insidious: Chapter 2 (8/10)

Rigor Mortis (8/10)

Stoker (8/10)

The Conjuring (8/10)

Warm Bodies (7/10)

Evil Dead (8/10)

[Bear 1817]

A couple of us made a "favourite horror-comedy" list a page or two back, and I just wanted to add that I just watched Housebound and that it sure as fuck goes straight into my top 10 list. What a brilliant film! It's goes back and forth between being hilarious, creepy and suspenseful, and it simply does everything right! Jesus christ, WHAT A FILM, GUYS!

 

 

Will come back tomorrow. But guys, WHAT A FILM!!!

[Bear 1817]

So Wes Craven died. He's made a lot of shit over the years, but man, what a legend! The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, Swamp Thing, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Serpent and the Rainbow, The People Under the Stairs, Scream I & IV and Wes Craven's New Nightmare are top notch.