Horror Movies

[Bear 1817]

Xtro - Panned when it first came in 1982, but over the years it's gotten a cult status for the sole reason of how fucking weird it is. It's all over the place, it's fucking surreal and bizarre. Maybe not as good as I remembered, but a fun film nonetheless.

 

Xtro II: The Second Encounter - A very different film than the first, and a film that has nothing to do with the first one. Poorly written, poorly acted, poorly directed and all that, but it's a lot of fun and by far my favourite of the Xtro flicks. It's half n half Alien and Aliens, and brings nothing new, original or even good to the table. But I really like this film. Very much recommended, despite all the hate it receives.

 

Xtro 3: Watch the Skies - A pretty fun film, but a let down after the second one. The thing that bothers me the most is the look of the alien. It's so bad and ugly, and not in a good way. But it's a fun film.

 

They Live - This ain't close to being John Carpenter's best film, but you just can't dislike this. It's really good and it's really fun, and it has a lot of depth to it. Lots of social commentary that's as relevant today as back in the late 80's. Roddy Piper is cooler than fucking ice!

[Bear 1817]

The Howling - I realized I hadn't watched every Howling film yet so I decided it was time to do so. Started with the first one, a complete and utter masterpiece by Joe Dante. The Howling is, alongside An American Werewolf in London, the best werewolf film ever. There's nothing that isn't brilliant in this.

 

Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf - The first sequel came four years later and features Christopher Lee, Reb Brown, Marsha Hunt and Sybil Danning. This film is universally hated and Christopher Lee even apologized to Joe Dante some years later for being in it, but to tell you the truth I quite like it. It's not good, but has more than enough charm for me to enjoy it, and Christopher Lee is fantastic of course. Sybil Danning helps too. Was a real natural beauty back then, and showing her nude doesn't exactly make a film worse. That's for sure.

 

And while not directly connected or anything, it feels like it is actually a sequel to the first one. Unlike the next ones.

 

Howling III - Because this is so different that it feels like something completely different. The werewolves are seen very different, and they're basically the good guys here and provides a sympathetic view of the werewolves. This film is just crap. Nothing good here at all.

 

Howling IV: The Original Nightmare - Apparently this is based on the same book as The Howling, and in that way is more of a reboot than a sequel. And from what I've read, this is actually a more faithful adaption of the book. But that doesn't really help at all, because it's for most part a boring drama. I will admit that the last 20-25 minutes or so when the action and special effects broke loose that I did enjoy the hell out of it, but the first hour just drags and drags and drags. Could've been really good if done right. Shame.

 

Corbin Nash - Can't wrap my head around this. I was entertained, but I'm not sure if I did or not. It's a bit all over the place, seems unfocused and lazy, but at the same time it's visually stunning and interesting. But the characters and the plot is a bit meh. But I can see this go on a become quite a cult favourite with time, and I gotta admit that it has something to it.

[Bear 1817]

Evil Dead Trap - Rewatched this sleazy masterpiece yesterday and this is still one of the best Japanese films ever. Evil Dead Trap is a dark, gritty, bloody, brutal and sleazy slasher with a proper Japanese twist to it. The plot itself isn't very original and it takes influences from other films, but the set pieces, imaginative death scenes and complete weirdness of it all makes it into a really unique film.

 

There's also certain nods to classic films like Evil Dead, Alien, Un chien andalou and most notable Suspiria, the latter mostly in form of the soundtrack which is absolutely brilliant. But there's also a few visual nods towards Suspiria and Dario Argento.

 

I wonder if I can get the soundtrack on vinyl, because Kira Tomohiko did such a good job here. With influences from Goblin and John Carpenter he creates something nice, mystic and mezmerizing. Need this shit!

 

[Bear 1817]

Maniac Cop 2 - Released in 1990, two years after the first one, Maniac Cop 2 is something as surprising as a late 80's/early 90's slasher sequel that is at least as good as the original, if not better. It's really awesome, and both Robert Davi and Robert Z'Dar are cool as fuck. Bruce Campbell only has a small role in the film, but he is of course total fucking badass. He doesn't like this film tho, as far as I know at least. Don't know why because it's heavy on atmosphere, horror, crime and action. It's a very pleasing film. Really liked it!

 

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence - Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence sees the series move away from the crime and atmospheric elements of the first film and rely more on action. And while it is the worst film of the three, it's still very fun and there's no way you won't be entertained. Really love Robert Davi and Robert Z'Dar! The car chase, albeit a bit too long, is really awesome. Must have taken so much time to shoot the scene considering how long it is, and how it plays out. Cool stuff!

 

 

Gotta hand it down to the creators of the series that it's really cool that they went all in for all three films in a time where "every" slasher sequel would move more towards comedy (Sorority House Massacre II, Slumber Party Massacre II, Sleepaway Camp II and so on). So that's very cool!

[Bear 1817]

Frankenhooker - This is classic Frank Henenlotter, which means absurdities all over the fucking place. It's a hilarious, twisted, fun and over the top horror-comedy. It's trashy, it's slezy, it's wild and it's sexy with a ton of nudity, much of it of girls who's either been in Penthouse or Playboy. So you can't exactly complain about the nudity here. It's all sleazy fun for your entire family.

 

It's not art, but it's damn fucking entertaining. A 90's horror classic for sure.

Edited May 19, 2018 by Bear

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

how does one even download from myduckisdead? i was happy to see that they had films i've been looking for not on rarelust (which was my only main source of old horror and gothic films up until now) but lawd i can't download a single thing from it. doesn't help that the files are like 4gb+ and split into parts either. 😕

 

anyway, some stuff i watched:

Brain Damage - watching this was like being on lsd. i didn't expect it to have some comedy elements but it was a fun watch. gore was pretty good too.

 

Happy Death Day - this film was better than i expected. films where the main character relives the same day over again are always fun and this was no exception. what i liked about this one was that it had a different twist; finding out who your killer was. according to wikipedia this film has been described as 'groundhog' meets 'scream' and i find that pretty accurate.

 

Gerald's Game - i watched this on netflix. it's based on one of stephen king's novels which i haven't read but it was quite interesting. being cuffed to your bed in an isolated home, stuck with your darkest fears can be truly scary. usually i can handle gore but i got all squeamish during one scene, i couldn't sit still for a while. maybe it's cuz i felt a lot of sympathy for the character but damn, the pain felt too real. it wasn't a in-your-face kind of gore either, but one that kind of built up? everything just felt very visceral to me.

 

A Quiet Place - i watched this in theaters and it was quite an experience. for a film with so much potential i thought it ended too fast though. i feel like it could have been extended an extra 30 minutes for more back story and a better wrap up, but it was still a great film~

 

Kill Baby, Kill - amazing gothic atmosphere, a creepy little girl, and a little witchcraft; i'm so addicted to these gothic horror films right now. this is my first time watching mario bava's films and i'll be watching more of his later.

Edited May 18, 2018 by plastic_rainbow

[Bear 1817]

10 hours ago, plastic_rainbow said:

how does one even download from myduckisdead? i was happy to see that they had films i've been looking for not on rarelust (which was my only main source of old horror and gothic films up until now) but lawd i can't download a single thing from it. doesn't help that the files are like 4gb+ and split into parts either. 😕

 

Kill Baby, Kill - amazing gothic atmosphere, a creepy little girl, and a little witchcraft; i'm so addicted to these gothic horror films right now. this is my first time watching mario bava's films and i'll be watching more of his later.

 

You go to the posted nitroflate links. Slow download > free download > wait a minute and a half > enter the captcha > click here to download. The you wait an eternity for the first part to be finished, then you do the same for the other three parts. Four months later and your download is finished.

 

 

Mario Bava was a master of both gothic horror and giallo, so you've got a lot to look forward to. But he's got some fun films within other genres as well, such as adventure, sword-and-sandal, western and fantasy films. But it's the horror films that really put in on the map as one of the best directors ever. 

 

Black Sunday, Black Sabbath, The Whip and the Body, Kill, Baby, Kill and Baron Blood are exceptional examples of gothic horror.

 

The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Blood and Black Lace, Five Dolls for an August Moon, Hatchet for the Honeymoon and A Bay of Blood are all exceptional giallo films.

 

On top of that he also has other good-to-amazing horror films like Lisa and the Devil, Planet of the Vampires, Shock and Caltiki – The Immortal Monster.

 

And if you want something other than horror I will gladly recommend Danger: Diabolik, Rabid Dogs, Erik the Conqueror and Hercules in the Haunted World.

 

And even those of these that are lacking in certain parts are very good because of Mario Bava's eye for unique touches and his visual style.

 

His son, Lamberto Bava, also has a lot of fun films to his name. Not nearly as talented as his father, but he knew how to make entertaining films. That's for sure.

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

well i guess i just have to download everything four months in advance then.....

 

cool, thanks for breaking down his filmography. i'm thinking of watching black sunday next~

[Bear 1817]

Black Sunday is one the finest gothic horror films ever, and it features the breakthrough role of Barbara Steele, a woman who would go on to become one of the biggest icons within the realm of horror ever. And this is one of the finest performances. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.

 

 

Wrong Turn - Very good backwood horror with a familiar plot, even more familiar characters and nice gory deaths. And the latter is what makes this real fun. The special effects are good, the deaths are fun and it's all good. It's not original, it's not clever, it's not special in any way, shape or form. But fans of throwback slashers with lots of violence and blood should enjoy it. 7/10

 

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End - A slasher sequel that's better than the original? Yeah, that's what we've got here. Of all the films in the franchise, this is by far the best one. The characters, the plot, the deaths and ultimately that it's got Henry fucking Rollin in one of the biggest roles in the film. What a man he is! So good. But the entire film, with the exception of one small CGI arrow, is really good. Great shit! 8/10

 

Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead - The first film in the franchise for director Declan O'Brien, and by far his worst one. Which makes me wonder if he was thrown in towards the end of pre-production or if he played a role from the beginning, because there are elements here that you won't find in the two others he directed. And that main difference is the use of CGI, because there's a lot of CGI gore here and it all fucking sucks. Like...it looks like bad CGI from 2001. It's so bad. But the entire film is pretty bad tbh, even though there are a few entertaining deaths. 3/10

 

Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings - The second entry by Declan O'Brien and the first prequel, and frankly this is a huge step up. Not as good as the two first films, but pretty entertaining nonetheless. The massive opening deaths scene is a really fucking pleasure to the eye, and one of the main reasons I wonder if he didn't get to decide as much as he wanted with Wrong Turn 3. Reminds me hella lot of one of the Fritt Vilt movies, just miles better. Some truly great death scenes! 6/10

 

Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines - Not a good film by any means, but it's very entertaining nonetheless. The third film by Declan O'Brien and the second prequel. Some truly amazing and gory death scenes that really captured my attention. 6/10

 

If you want stupid, brainless slasher films with lots of gore, you can't really go wrong with these unless you got a problem with stupid characters, corny dialogue and weak plots.

 

 

Don't Go in the Woods - One of the many infamous video nasties of the 70's. It's got some blood and gore, but by todays standards it's not all that. But if you, like me, can appreciate poor directing, godawful acting, even worse dialogue and a truly fucking awful score, then you might enjoy this. An early backwood horror movie. It's awful, but I really like it. Cool film!

 

Mardi Gras Massacre - Another of the many infamous video nasties of the 70's. Mardi Gras Massacre is a loose remake of the classic Herschell Gordon Lewis movie Blood Feast, and it's a fun one. Not nearly as good, but it's entertaining enough for sure. Corny as fuck, but that's what I like.

[Tokage 5930]

This is basically stuff I've seen within the last... month or so

 

Popcorn: Film students organize an all-night horror movie marathon, and of course a deranged killer's running around the theater offing people. I thought the killer's face stealing gimmick was cool. There were one or two aspects didn't make much sense to me (the killer seems to exhibit kind of supernatural ability at one point, but afterwards seems to be just an ordinary person), but overall this is just one of those casual Friday night entertainment-type movies. The movies the characters choose to screen within the film itself as part of their marathon are absolutely perfect spoofs of your typical b-movies. You can tell there was a lot of heart behind this one.

 

Death Spa: Slick, hypermodern spa starts to malfunction, causing a trail of deaths and near-deaths. Could it be the work of a hacker or is it something else? The alternative title for the movie already kind of spoils what I ASSUME should have come as a surprise. This one is 100% in the 'so bad it becomes entertaining' camp. It's '80s all over, there's gratuitous nudity a plenty, some ridiculous deaths, questionable acting, and a plot that makes absolutely no fucking sense. That spa should've been shut down after the second person got seriously injured, but apparently laws work different within the film's universe.

 

Bloodstained Shadow: Yet another one of those gialli wherein the main character travels to a somewhat secluded community with a dark past. Even though that might sound rather typical, it's definitely not a bad film by any stretch, and the plot presents an interesting mystery with the concurrent storylines of the main protagonist and his brother. There's lots of nice shots, as well as a couple of interesting kills, but casual fans of the giallo genre may end up feeling disappointed due to the fact that the movie isn't as trashy as some of the others of its kind.

 

Cure:  Yet another melancholic and eerie horror film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Between this one and Kairo, I feel like I may actually like this one more. It's yet another case where a movie that at first seems to be mostly realistic suddenly ends up having some minor events that appear to be supernatural by nature, but it's never really explicitly addressed in the film. Doesn't really matter too much, but it's just weird. The antagonist is really one of those "characters you love to hate" types.

 

The Exorcist III: I've still never actually watched the original Exorcist, but maaaan... This is one of those rare cases where a horror sequel actually ends up being worthwhile. I watched the original version, not the director's cut, so I got the version with the studio-mandated exorcism scene forced in, but even despite the fact it's not exactly the director's 'true vision', this was good stuff. VERY atmospheric, and really excellent in terms of cinematography. There's just a lot of beautiful shots in here.

 

The Serpent and the Rainbow:  A fresh take on the zombie genre, at least at the time of its release. I know the whole voodoo zombie thing is essentially how zombie films started wayyy back in the day, but the voodoo-based zombies had mostly been shoved aside for the Romero-influenced shambling corpse variety by the late '80s. It delivers some creepy imagery here and there, and an engaging story too. The finale kind of almost goes a bit TOO over the top in contrast to the rest of the movie, but the practical effects are great, so I can't really be too mad about it

 

Dressed to Kill: This is pretty much just a giallo film that wasn't made in Italy. It hits a lot of the same marks a typical Italian giallo would: high on sleaze, great cinematography, bullshit plot twists, attractive women, gruesome murder... If you're into giallo films at all, you kind of owe it to yourself to check this one out.

 

Dead Ringers: It's '80s Cronenberg, so you already know it's good. Just a pair of twins doing goofy shit in the name of love.

 

[Bear 1817]

Party Bus to Hell - I didn't have very high expectations to this, but even with the low expectations this was a sad affair. Really cheap horror with elements of comedy that features a shitload of nudity and blood, but everything about it was godawful. Simple as that.

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

The Wailing was a great watch but it was one of the most confusing movies ever. I immediately read on some theories right after and damn, you really have to watch this movie more than once in order to connect everything together. Kinda helps to know about some biblical meanings too. But the terror and grisly atmosphere in this movie was great.

[Bear 1817]

The Strangers: Prey at Night - I'm a big fan of the original The Strangers from 2008, but this sequel lacks everything that made the original so good. Where is did the suspense, mystery and atmosphere go? They've gone from home invasion that makes sense to a slasher that makes no sense. It asks so many questions throughout the film, but it answers close to none of them. But the main problem is that the tension is all gone. It has some decent kills and a fabulous soundtrack, but the good ends there. Mediocre at best. Shame, and a huge letdown. 

 

Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort - A mess of a film. It's not godawful as it's got a few fun kills, but the attempt at telling a story is really fucking awful. It feels like they've written a story and then just gone on a made it without thinking it through. Such a disappointing end to the series.

 

Also, some of the make-up is awful!

Edited June 10, 2018 by Bear

[Bear 1817]

The Toxic Avenger: The Musical - The Broadway musical is filmed and released on DVD in 2018, and since it was released on a torrent site yesterday I just had to check it out as I fucking love The Toxic Avenger and its sequels. I like musicals, but I've never been into this type of stage productions before. But this convinced me that there's surely something for me here because this was pretty awesome. It's got a shitload of good, catchy and fun songs, it's well-acted and got cool props and costumes. Nice dialogue, nice performances and such too. Yeah, very cool.

 

There's also one moment which seemed really damn improvised. Like it went wrong and they just improvised for a couple of minutes before they got back in character, but I don't know if it was staged or improvised. I hope it was improvised because it was the best part of the film.

[Bear 1817]

The Purge: Election Year - The third entry to the Purge franchise is to my big surprise also the best. That doesn't say much as the first one was mediocre at best, the second one decent at best and this, well, decent+. I like the concept, but something about the execution on these films are a bit off-putting. Should and could have been so much better, with just a few changes. I'd love to see more brutal violence and a lot more nudity, simply because it would fit as all the psychos, rapists and whatnot are out doing their thing. I guess we can't have everything.

 

What I do like tho is how the films has evolved from taking place in one house, to the streets and then to all over the place, in the government and stuff. It's also cool how they have told the stories from the side of the poor, rich and now the political side. It's a cool way to do things.

 

Decent entertainment, but not more than that. Will however watch the prequel, and probably the TV-series as well.

[Bear 1817]

Another WolfCop - The first Wolfcop film was fun, and this is a slight step up. Silly, weird and over the top homage to the great 80's midnight cinema. Trashy and fun with bad jokes, lots of blood, some nudity and weird shit. Thumbs up for a badass poster too.

 

Snow White: A Tale of Terror - Proper fairy-tale horror. A dark and twisted Snow White which comes a bit closer to the original story, than the Disney film does. This come very close to being a proper masterpiece tbh. Made for TV with Sigourney Weaver and Sam Neill. Similar in tone to Tale of Tales, The Company of Wolves  and Panna a netvor. Fantastic!

[Bear 1817]

Tokyo Gore Police - In 2008 special effects wizard Yoshihiro Nishimura went on to make the weirdest, goriest, craziest, most fucked up, insane and over the top splatter film ever made, and he came pretty close, unless he actually did it. TGP are filled to the extreme with blood, weird shit and even weirder shit, and just when you think it's reached the top of craziness, it gets even more crazy. I ain't gonna lie, this is easily the best film out of all the new wave of Japanese splatter films, and that is by a long shot. I'm a huge fan of this "wave" of films, and I like close to all of them, but this is just head and shoulders above the rest. It's shot and finished in just two weeks, and sure this isn't a smart film made to make you think and understand the world, universe and whatnot. But two weeks, with all the shit going on, is pretty impressive. Absolute brilliance from a man who's nothing short of a wizard.

 

Gothic & Lolita Psycho - Another new wave of Japanese splatter film, but not nearly as good as TGP or the second or third best films of the kind. It's over the top and nutty, and the martial arts scenes are actually really well made. But it's not crazy enough and it simply lacks blood and gore. More blood and gore would've been a huge improvement. But it's fun. Very fun!

 

 

And over to a few new films I've been looking forward to:

 

Dead Shack - I saw the poster of this film ages ago and I was immediately draw towards it and since then I have looked for it several times weekly. Anyway, this film takes a familiar concept and makes something unique and original from it. It's not deep and well-scripted, but it's insanely fun and filled with blood, gore, cheap dick jokes and what not. And it works! An absolute masterpiece within the realm of horror-comedies. Constantly funny, but never over the top or "light". It remains dark and atmospheric throughout. Highly fucking recommend! I need the poster on my wall.

 

Terrifier - Released in 2017 and most likely made to cash in on the success of the new It. But guess what, this is just light years ahead of It. In Terrifier we meet Art the Clown, the sickest, scariest and most fucked up clown I've ever seen. It's dark and violent throughout, and it's incredibly atmospheric. It doesn't have any deep ad important themes like It does, but it's a billion times more fun.

Terrifier > It

Art the Clown > Pennywise

 

Tragedy Girls - Another film I've been looking forward to for ages, simply because the poster caught my interest. And the film does live up to its poster. I'll actually go as far as to call this a rather intelligent and relevant take on the slasher genre. Flawed? Sure, but it's rather original for a slasher in 2018 and it really does the job. I really liked it!

 

Mom and Dad - Mom and Dad, a new film starring Nicolas Cage. Nicolas Cage is the God over over-acting, often so much that it becomes hilarious. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of his despite all the shit he's been in. But he has some charisma surrounding him that makes me like him. But in Mom and Dad, which he said was his favourite from the last 10 years of his career, his incredible overacting actually helps him. It works really well. He's over the top, but he manages to keep it just on line because it could easily have been a bit too much. But yeah, fun film. Crazy shit. I liked it.

[Bear 1817]

Meatball Machine - Meatball Machine is one of those sick Japanese splatter films, and unlike most other in this scene this actually deals with a lot of underlying themes mostly about love and shit. It's very much inspired by Tetsuo, but it's not quite a rip off of anything. One of the better in the genre.

 

Really looking forward to seeing the sequel which came last year. Looks neat!

 

Beyond the Black Rainbow - Nice and extremely slow-burning sci-fi horror that really takes its time. But the atmosphere is great and the film pay clear homage to other films such as Begotten and 2001: A Space Odessy. For most people this film won't make sense or anything but it's more of a film you really have to buy into to get. Or rather enjoy. You need to get the atmosphere, and if you don't you most likely won't be able to enjoy it.

 

The Shallows - Surprisingly good and suspenseful survival horror/thriller about a girl who needs to survive the night. It's not fantastic, but I really enjoyed it and Blake Lively are fucking superb throughout. She carries the film on her back, and she does it well.

 

The Lost Boys - After having fallen in love again, with Gunship's new song Dark All Day which pay homage to this in most ways, I kinda felt like watching this again. I expected it to be really disappointing after all these years, but this was much better than I remembered. At the time of its release it was a very different take on the vampire-genre and it still feels fresh and fine. Actually, I'll go as far as to say that this is one of the best vampire flicks ever. A god damned masterpiece!

[Bear 1817]

Dead Night - Semi-original horror flick with a new look at a familiar subject. It's got nice atmosphere, is slightly campy and looks really nice, but the story has a few small elements that puts me a bit off. Things that could've been handled better. But despite the silly rating of 4,7 on IMDB, there's nothing wrong with it. It's a good film and I can see it go on to become a proper cult film with the years. And I am pretty sure I'll enjoy it even more with several viewings.

 

Ghost Stories - Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson co-wrote a stage play called Ghost Stories, with Andy Nyman also starring. This time they've adapted the play for screen and directed the film themselves, with Andy Nyman also starring in the lead, just like in the stage play. On the team they've gotten Martin Freeman, Alex Lawther and Paul Whitehouse among others. The film is heavily inspired by Amicus's portmanteau films from the 60's, namely Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, Torture Garden, The House That Dripped Blood, Tales from the Crypt, Asylum, Vault of Horror and From Beyond the Grave. So in that way it's not very original, but it's still a fairly fresh and cool film. Great atmosphere throughout, cool story and it looks really good. Very much recommended!

[Bear 1817]

Aragami - Let me just start with a quote, because this was an interesting project.

 

Quote

Yukihiko Tsutsumi and Ryûhei Kitamura each finished their contributions to the short film anthology Jam Films (2002) in record time. As a result producer Shin'ya Kawai gave the two directors a proposal to each create a feature length movie with only two actors, battling in one setting and filmed entirely in one week. The undertaking was called the Duel Project. This was Ryuhei Kitamura's result and Yukihiko Tsutsumi's 2LDK (2003).

 

That is such a cool way to do things. The film is a blend of fantasy, action and horror and is quite dialogue-driven throughout as our two main characters spend a lot of time just sitting and talking. But the dialogue is fantastic, the acting is superb and the setting is real cool. It's also beautifully directed and shot, as expected from Ryûhei Kitamura (Versus, Azumi, The Midnight Meat Train, Godzilla: FInal Wars). The quote above says two actors, but that is not quite right. There's actually five actors, but for the majority of the film we're only following two of them, quite often with a girl on-screen as well. But she's not a major character or anything.

 

Not sure what more I can say. Thought this was super awesome and really fucking cool.

[Bear 1817]

Primal - Decent enough horror film, but I was let down but certain things. The stereotypical slasher characters doesn't fit the plot and seriousness of the film, and there is some decisions by the director I just don't understand no matter how I look at it. Should've been better. A lot better than its IMDB score of 4,7 tho.

 

The Rezort - After a zombie outbreak and humanity's war and win over the zombies, a company finds out that they should keep some zombies alive so that humans can come and hunt for them. From the moment I realized they were going to an island I also understood what this would be like. It does deal with a few really deep themes, but at the end of the day this isn't much more than a cheap, zombied up version of Jurassic Park. Ok for what it is, but nothing more. Just watch the three first Jurassic Park movies instead.

 

Doom Asylum - Low-budget horror-comedy from 1987. The acting is bad, the cinematography is poor, the special effects is cheap but fun. Yeah, as you might get this film was right up my alley. It's just some real cheesy, old fun. Highly recommended!

[Bear 1817]

The Gate - Creepy, creative and very fun and charming "kids horror" film from 1987. And with kids horror, I basically mean horror that's perfect for 12-15 year olds. Think Ghostbusters, Gremilins, Arachnophobia and so on. The entire film feels incredibly nostalgic to me, despite not having seen it when I was young. Superb atmosphere, beautiful cinematography, brilliant child actors and superb effects. Masterpiece!

[Bear 1817]

Upgrade - I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to post this in this thread, or the regular film thread. But I ended up here because at its core this is pure body horror, even though it's not quite as horror-esque as body horror tends to be. Upgrade is Leigh Whannell's second film as a director, and his thousand movie as a writer. His first attempt at directing was the very, very disappointing Insidious: Chapter 3. This however is on a whole new level than that. Not only is it a lot better than Insidious: Chapter 3, it's the film of the year so far. 

 

Upgrade is a low-budget genre film, a pulpy revenge flick. Part sci-fi, part action, part camp and fully body horror. Part Robocop, part The Crow, part Death Wish and part Hardware. It is something as rare as a high-tech grindhouse film. Upgrade tells a familiar story of revenge, but the way it is done is just top notch. The visual style is cool as fuck, the campy dialogue is really nice and the actors are all amazing. Logan Marshall-Green truly shines here. Delivers the superbly choreographed action scenes as well as he delivers the off-beat comedy, and he really shines throughout. So does Harrison Gilbertson as a genius tech-bro and millionaire with one of the most empty-looking eyes I've ever seen. He is truly creepy.

 

Highly recommended.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Bear

[Bear 1817]

Summer of 84 - The trio François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell, also known as KRSS impressed me hellalot with their nostalgic 80's homage film Turbo Kid, a low-budget post-apocalyptic action/sci-fi/horror-comedy that captured everything that was magical about 80's low-budget films. Superb soundtrack by Le Matos as well. They've got several short films that are well worth your time too.

 

Summer of 84 really isn't much different. Or, it's a way different film, but like with Turbo Kid it's 80's through and through. It's obviously inspired by films such as The Goonies, The Monster Squad, Adventures in Babysitting, Stand by Me and so on, just like Stranger Things, and it's close to Stranger Things in tone. Maybe a bit darker and gorier. So I'm sure a lot of people will throw this off as a poor man's Stranger Things, but it really isn't. Yeah, it's about a small group of teenagers and the characters are the same old, same old. The good guy, the bad guy, the nerd and the clumsy/fat one. We've seen it before. We've seen the story before as well. But this film, like Turbo Kid, captures everything that's good about 80's horror and teen films, although this is a bit too dark for the youngest teens. A bit slow-burning in a good way, great characters, superb cast, magnificent soundtrack and impressively directed. This is everything you could be looking for in a film like this. 

 

Massive spoiler:

 

Holy fuck, that ending was dark, twisted, surprising and fucking amazing! Did not see that coming at all. Really depressing actually.

 

Upgrade was fantastic but did not last long as film of the year. Summer of 84 is BY FAR the best film of the year. Holy cow!

 

Film of the year!!!

 

The Funhouse Massacre - Silly, over the top, gory and fun slasher in the vein of the 80's. Brings nothing new to the table, but if you like over the top slashers you'll like this one. Loads of fun!

[Jigsaw9 6783]

25 minutes ago, Bear said:

Summer of 84

This sounds pretty cool, I think I might check it out tonight!

 

My last watch was Dario Argento's Profondo Rosso. Great suspenseful and atmospheric flick, and the music is especially rad.

And I just might have a bit of a crush on Daria Nicolodi~

Edited August 26, 2018 by Jigsaw9