Horror Movies

[Tokage 5930]

Evilspeak - Seeing computer-related stuff from back in the early 80s always feels so surreal. Kinda makes me understand the whole obsession synthwave/vaporwave fans have with the aesthetic of that particular era. Anyway - the plot for this one's simple: bullied military academy student gets back at his tormentors using the power of SATANISM (channeled through a computer). I'll be real honest here - I kinda ended up not liking this one as much as I initially expected I would. Maybe it's just that the whole ''bullied nerd gets his revenge'' fantasy has been beaten to death at this point or maybe it's the fact that pretty much all of the characters were as flat as cardboard..  The occult-related bits were entertaining but I couldn't care less about all the other played out drama surrounding it. I'd personally say give this one a pass and just watch Clint Howard in Ice Cream Man instead as it's way more entertaining :^)

 

As a side-note: The whole angle with the demonically influenced man-eating pigs made me wonder if this movie might've at least partially influenced Clive Barker's short story Pig Blood Blues...

 

The Bloodstained Butterfly - A pretty okay giallo from the 70s. A young girl is found murdered and the father of the victim's best friend initially gets arrested for the crime. But are things really as they seem? What I liked about this one is that it seems to kind of emphasize the mystery and police procedural angle more than the sleaze and violence you might expect from other gialli. If you go into this one expecting the almost horror-oriented angle some of the entries in the genre tended to have then you'll end up sorely disappointed. Unfortunately the soundtrack for this one wasn't as much of a banger as usual for the genre.. I have to say that the photography was also a bit more lackluster than the usual giallo fare (though still serviceable). I'd say there are far better gialli to start with if you're new to the genre but if you're at the point where you've already seen all the big names and are still hungry for more then this'll do

 

The Fifth Cord - Now THAT'S more like it! Yet another giallo from roughly around the same timespan as the previous one, but I enjoyed this one a lot more. The plot is (vaguely) similar to The Bloodstained Butterfly to the extent that both are about men being accused of murders they may or may not have committed, but The Fifth Cord takes it into a different direction. This one's definitely a bit more in line with the more slasher-esque entries within the genre at times, and it features some absolutely gorgeous visuals (the entire final sequence especially stands out with lots of cool shadow play and blue colors).  Soundtrack for this one is nice as well. Would recommend.

[Tokage 5930]

Black Sabbath - FINALLY got around to watching this one. Took me long enough, goddamn. All I can say is that it definitely deserves its reputation, it's very good.  Would say that my personal ranking of the three segments follows the order they're in like 1:1, with the telephone one being my least favorite (though still good) and the one with that creepy fucking lady's ghost being my favorite. As with pretty much everything by Bava I've seen so far, this one's an absolute visual treat. The set design and the use of lighting in the 3rd segment especially stood out to me and really helped to create an eerie atmosphere. Good,  good shit.

[Bear 1817]

Doom: Annihilation - Mindless video game fun. This isn't a good movie by any means, but it's fun and does manage to give you a strong Doom feeling every now and then by including some nice dialogue and well known weapons and equipment. It's a much better Doom adaption than the movie with The Rock, but it's not any better. I like both.

 

Jeepers Creepers - I remembered this as pretty bad, but I was horribly mistaken. This is an awesome, early 2000's slasher with a damn cool villain and atmosphere. Some comedic elements without ever going over the top with it, and they didn't go for comedy over atmosphere or horror. Yeah, this surprised me. Really good.

 

Jeepers Creepers 2 - With the second movie they move away from the slasher genre to more of a straight up creature feature, and it's OK, but the Jeepers Creepers kinda lost its appeal as it's just a standard monster in this, flying around and killing. It's OK, but nowhere near as good as the first. The low-budget comes through a lot better to because the use of CGI is so more prominent with the beast flying around all the time. Shame really.

 

Jeepers Creepers 3 - A sequel to the first and prequel to the second, this is better than its IMDB and RT score, but still not more than just OK. It's not as straight up creature flick as the second, but is more of a mystery horror I guess. It's actually well-acted, the story isn't bad or anything, but the CGI is just awful and with the movie taking place during the day, in broad daylight, they don't manage to hide these flaws either, which is a huge problem. The bad effects just takes me out of the mood tbh. Worst in the series, and i don't feel like there's any need for a fourth one.

 

Lake Placid - Creature feature with a huge crocodile. It's a horror comedy and I think liking this depends on enjoying the comedic elements or not. If you can handle them you'll like it, but if you don't like it you probably won't like the movie either. I could handle them and liked this quite a lot.

 

Horror Movie: A Low Budget Nightmare - Documentary about the making of Red Christmas, a low-budget horror comedy from Australia starring Dee Wallace. This really hits the right spots as it's fun, charming, awkward, sad etc. Really well made, and it shows the potential trouble in making low-budget movies these days. Some truly hilarious scenes too, especially those including Gerard O'Dwyer, a fun and charming man with down syndrome.

 

Underwater - Claustrophobic aquatic horror in the vein of underwater Alien rip offs like Leviathan, The Rift, Deepstar Six etc., as well as Alien and its rip offs set in space such as Galaxy of Terror, Forbidden World, Creature etc. So this isn't an original movie by any means, but it's real fun and awesome. It is, however, sadly let down by its lead Kristen Stewart who isn't nearly good enough to carry the movie on her shoulders, and what a shame that is because this could, and should, have been a modern classic. And just by swapping Kristen Stewart with Natalie Portman or something you'd probably be there. So this movie is really good DESPITE Kristen Stewart, which says a lot about the movie itself. Also, H.P Lovecraft fans NEED to see this. Håhåhåhåh!!!

[Jigsaw9 6783]

5 hours ago, Tokage said:

Black Sabbath - FINALLY got around to watching this one. Took me long enough, goddamn. All I can say is that it definitely deserves its reputation, it's very good.

I can't praise this movie enough, total awesomeness!! I agree on your ranking fully btw. The creepy old lady hooo boy... :')

[Tokage 5930]

2 hours ago, Jigsaw9 said:

I can't praise this movie enough, total awesomeness!! I agree on your ranking fully btw. The creepy old lady hooo boy... :')

Honestly. Bava's sense of how to create a proper atmosphere is insane! Absolute legend.  Lamberto ain't too bad either but the OG is where it's at

[Bear 1817]

I don't think that just counts for Bava, but the entire old school Italian scene as a whole. Their 60's, 70's and to some degree 80's gothic horror movies are on a whole other level. And don't get me wrong, I like British and American gothic horror as much as the next one, but there's something truly magic and unique about the Italian ones from this period of time. Mario Bava, Antonio Margheriti, Sergio Corbucci, Riccardo Freda, Pupi Avati, Francesco Barilli and more. While a lot of these made different type of gothic horror movies, they all kinda carried a lot of the same elements, this unique, different Italian flavor of some sorts. It's exactly the same as with the spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci, Alberto Cardone, Gianfranco Parolini, Giuliano Carnimeo, or with the Italian crime/thrillers known as poliziotteschi by Enzo Castellari, Bruno Corbucci, Umberto Lenzi, Sergio Martino, Fernando Di Leo etc. They just got something very, very special about them that made them feel so very different from similar type movies from other countries.

 

All people should get more knowledge about Italian cinema from this era. Magic stuff!

[Tokage 5930]

Nobuhiko Obayashi (director of House) has unfortunately passed away as well at the age of 82  

 

(also I fully agree with what Bear wrote above me)

[Bear 1817]

82 is a respectable age, but having suffered from lung cancer shit must've been bad. A legend and a proper innovator. The shit he did with House, as his first film at the age of 34 or something, is insane and absolutely groundbreaking at the time. Not only as a director, but as special effects guy. Still some of the best and coolest special effects ever created.

 

We Summon the Darkness - This movie follows in the steps of The Babysitter, Summer of 84 etc. in that it's a very 80's movie, although it never feels quite as authentic as the mentioned movies. But We Summon the Darkness is a nice homage to the 80's and the subject of satanic panic. It's predictable and all, but it's really fucking entertaining throughout. Also, it features a Mercyful Fate song, which in itself is beyond awesome.

 

I also feel like it paint a really nice picture of pastors who takes a bit money here and there for themselves. Don't think that's unusual for pastors of christian belief. The amount of pastors walking around in $10k outfits nowadays is rather shocking. Preaching lies in $10k outfits? Ridiculous.

 

Camp Cold Brook - Decent ghost story movie that is fun, but lacks something to make it stand out. Decent fun, but that's it.

 

Sea Fever - Very cool horror/sci-fi movie that disappoints a bit, while still impressing a lot. It's fun, tense and suspenseful, but I wish it went a bit more over the top on the horror side of all. But it's fun.

[Bear 1817]

Uzumaki - Slow burning and weird Japanese horror based on Uzumaki by Junji Ito. It's weird as fuck, slow, and full of gorgeous details that'll keep you on the edge of your seat, despite not being scary, suspenseful or anything like that. It's just super atmospheric, weird and unique. Twisted, without being super violent or gross? Anyway, great movie with a really nice Lovecraftian atmosphere.

 

Karuto / Cult - One of Kôji Shiraishi's (Noroi: The Curse) many low-budget horror movies, and this too is a found footage type of horror, like many of his movies. It's interesting, contains some really cool ideas, and I like the CGI. It's obviously low-budget, but it's used in a way that makes sense. It's weird and fake, but it feels like it has a place here. This too has a Lovecraftian feeling to it, but around halfway in or so we're introduced to a character that feels super corny and out of place. His looks, the way he's played/acted, the way he's written. It feels really off, and he just doesn't fit the mood at all. As soon as he steps in it feels more like a parody, and it's a shame, because everything else is pretty damn good.

 

Ginger Snaps - Re-watched this. Superbly written and directed, fairly well acted as well. It's a really damn impressive film that's fun and all, but that isn't quite as good as people say. I thought it was way better 15 years ago. Now the flaws (such as the acting) comes through a bit too well. But it's good, and I really do understand why it's so highly rated, especially among proper feminists (aka the ones that fight for equality between the genres, and not just calm themseves feminists so that they can degrade all men "without feeling bad" aka sub-fuckin-humans). Just didn't work quite as well for me personally.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Bear

[Bear 1817]

Die Farbe - This is a German adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's The Color From Out of Space, and it's a damn fucking good one. I've been looking for this film since around 2013 or so, but I have been unable to find it. However, browsing through tubitv I just happened to come across it and just had to watch it. Like I said, this is an adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's The Color From Out of Space. It's black and white, for most part, and for most part it looks gorgeous as well. There's a couple of scene towards the end that should've been better, but we're talking small flaws that really doesn't cause any damage to the film as a whole. Fantastic atmosphere, beautiful cinematography and superbly acted. Very different from Richard Stanley's The Color From Out of Space btw, so it won't hurt anyone seeing both. Two very different type of movies. Both amazing tho.

 

Luz - Luz is a horror movie made as a thesis project by Tilman Singer who wrote, directed, edited and produced the movie. This is the type of movie that'll bore most people to death, but those who get it will be put into something similar to a trance. Clocking in at 70 minutes it's a pretty short film and it is more about atmosphere than plot. The overall visual style of the movie is gorgeous and it's hard to not think of European directors like Dario Argento, Mario Bava etc., but even more impressive is the sound design. The sound design is absolutely NUTS throughout. A real fucking pleasure to the ears. But it's made as a homage to european horror cinema of the 80's, and I think it manages that really well. It felt like I was watching an 80's horror movie. Gorgeous stuff!

[Tokage 5930]

The Guard From the Underground - Earlier one by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Seems to be his take on the slasher film genre, but it already has the iconic style of his most well-known works. As usual for a Kurosawa film, the visuals are gorgeous and atmospheric throughout, with tons of yellowish and sepia tints everywhere. The whole thing has a rather dreamlike, bizarre quality to it from start to finish. Even though the entire thing is for the most part set within the confines of an office building, the way the entire place is presented makes it feel alien, even strangely hellish in some places. The killer is very effectively menacing (dude is TALL) and there's a bunch of rather brutal kills in here. Definitely better than its IMDB rating suggests

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Just watched Gretel & Hansel, it was pretty cool! If you like slower-paced, beautifully shot, atmospheric horror this one's for you.

[Bear 1817]

8 hours ago, Jigsaw9 said:

Just watched Gretel & Hansel, it was pretty cool! If you like slower-paced, beautifully shot, atmospheric horror this one's for you.

 

Looking forward to this. Really liked his The Blackcoat's Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, which both were also super slow and atmospheric. Seems to be his thing, which is really sweet.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Yep, looks like it! The Blackcoat's Daughter was another one I really really enjoyed. I found "Pretty Thing" to be a bit lackluster in comparison to these other two movies tho, but still decent I guess.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

We Summon the Darkness - I had this movie for a long-ass time on my to-watch list so figured I'd better get to it. Well it wasn't great. I liked the premise and where they were going with it but it sort of turned really silly and dumb really quick. I admit I laughed a few times and enjoyed about half of it, the other half was just kinda boring and going through the motions. Mediocre movie, the very definition of "watch once and then forget".

 

Shoutout for the Mercyful Fate song tho, even if it was kind of weird/awkward in context.

Edited May 13, 2020 by Jigsaw9

[Tokage 5930]

Trauma - Yo, this is ass. I know calling Argento's post-80s output overwhelmingly mediocre ain't even remotely within the realm of hot takes anymore these days  but goddamn,  how did he lose it so suddenly (and so hard at that)? Was it really just stumbling his way into Hollywood that did him in? This pretty much felt like a giallo film filtered through at least two corporate boardrooms. Some aspects of it still maintain that relatively dreamlike quality a lot of classic gialli tend to have, but the way they're blended into the overall story ends up jarring (talking decapitated heads and such). The end result feels  like a standard hollywood thriller and a giallo film clumsily mashed together. Tom Savini was apparently on board for sfx but you wouldn't be able to tell, as he doesn't really seem to get a lot of chances to show off his skills. Also, what's up with Argento weirdly sexualizing his own daughter in most of his 90s films? It feels incredibly awkward.  

 

Wouldn't recommend this, Stendhal Syndrome was in the realm of the so-so but this one I REALLY couldn't get into.

[platy 3018]

Child's Play (2019) - I had a lot of fun watching this. It's hilarious and creepy, I mean this has to be the ugliest killer doll out there and the crew know it. But I like how they make you feel sorry for Chucky too despite his murderous intentions. Some scenes were nicely set up, like something straight out of the concept art stages. It's centered around the "technology can be evil" theme and some things are too far-fetched. But hey, if it doesn't take itself seriously, neither am I. I'll give it a 8/10.

[Tokage 5930]

I still haven't seen the Child's Play remake but from some of the shots I've seen that nu-Chucky somehow vaguely looks like Christopher Walken at some angles lmao

 

Definitely a contender for ugliest killer doll out there, I'd say this mad lad still wins though:

[Bear 1817]

Yeah, Child's Play was a surprisingly good remake. Not quite as good as the original, which is a classic, but still a really fun and cool movie that took me and many others by surprise.

 

We Summon the Darkness was also really cool. Shame on you, Jigsaw.

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

Hrmmm....maybe I'll give Child's Play remake a shot now.

 

Anyway, last night I watched Haunting Fear (1990) and it was mostly boring except for the final showdown which was really awesome and fun. Not a whole lot happens the first hour of the movie and the build up wasn't even that great, except for maybe that autopsy scene. I wanted to see more shots of the actress running around with the knife covered in blood going all psychotic because she did a really good job at it. That scene at the end is definitely very haunting.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Mega Crocodile - Chinese monster movie from last year, hilariously terrible. Lots of over- or under-acting, awkward dialogue and a ridiculous plot, but somehow the CG effects were better than what I expected, lol. Still pretty darn funny (the computer-generated croccos I mean). Anyway, avoid this movie if you can, unless you're watching it with friends and loads of alcohol, then it can be kinda amusing.

Edited June 20, 2020 by Jigsaw9

[Bear 1817]

Not a movie, but I watched Wolf Creek season 1 and enjoyed it quite a lot. It's not quite as good as the first movie, but I'd say it's on par with the second one for sure. John Jarratt is owning the series, just like he did with the movies. Such a terrific and scary actor. Looking forward to get into the next season, and I can't wait for the third film.

 

Recommended if you liked the movies. Good stuff.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Watched a bunch of stuff lately:

 

Relic: This was a pretty atmospheric movie, and very creepy at times. I liked how it could keep the tension and dread at all times without resorting to cheap jump scares. The ending went into a bit of "too far-out" territory, but looking back at it now I don't even mind it that much. Overall the film managed to suck me in to its eerie world.

 

Brahms: The Boy 2: I enjoyed The Boy, but this sequel was just plain bad. They tried so hard to somehow explain why this story even exists, and it fell completely flat on its face. After a couple of drinks me and my buds could at least laugh at it, so there's that. Shoutout to Ralph Ineson (The VVitch), he was at least a welcome highlight in this sea of crap.

 

Quicksilver Highway: Quirky '90s horror (sometimes crossing over to dark comedy) anthology-like flick based on one story each from Clive Barker and Stephen King, framed by a sort of meta-narrative. Barker's segment was funny, while King's one was very "King-like". Not bad all in all, it was entertaining to watch once. The wonderful Christopher Llyod stole the show easily, even though he was only present as a sort of narrative framing character.

 

edit: oh and I saw the new Netflix Ju-on mini-series adaptation, but couldn't really concentrate cuz me and my friends were drinking and joking around... so will definitely re-watch that one, haha. At first glance it seemed very good and a bit different from the usual Ju-on tropes tho (and also quite unexpectedly "heavy"/depressing).

Edited July 18, 2020 by Jigsaw9

[Bear 1817]

3 hours ago, Jigsaw9 said:

Watched a bunch of stuff lately:

 

edit: oh and I saw the new Netflix Ju-on mini-series adaptation, but couldn't really concentrate cuz me and my friends were drinking and joking around... so will definitely re-watch that one, haha. At first glance it seemed very good and a bit different from the usual Ju-on tropes tho (and also quite unexpectedly "heavy"/depressing).

 

I am very much looking forward to this myself. Ju-On has been very hit and miss. At its best it's just beyond amazing, but at its worst it's been nothing short of dreadful. But heard this was really good.

 

 

I'm currently watching Folklore, an HBO Asia production. Anthology series with six 1 hour long episodes focusing on Asian superstitions and national folkloric myths, with each episode directed by a different Asian director. The directors are Joko Anwar (Satan's Slaves, Gundala) from Indonesia, Takumi Saitoh from Japan, Eric Khoo from Singapore, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang from Thailand, Ho Yuhang from Malaysia and Lee Sang-woo from South-Korea.

[Bear 1817]

 

 

Oh hell yeah! The concept of this found footage movie isn't anything new, but the execution is just awesome. It's made during the corona pandemic and is kinda similar to both Unfriended, Unfriended: Dark Web and The Den in many ways, but the execution is just so much better. And one of the reasons for that is the lenght of the movie. It clocks in at 55 minutes and it's not a single dull moment tbh. The scares works really well, even the cheap ones, and the atmosphere is really nice. Thought this was fantastic.

 

@Jigsaw9