Re-watched Sicario. It just ruined my mood of the day. Thank you.
Community Movies/Shows you have seen recently or looking forward to...
- Thread starter Schnitzelfee
- Start date
Villeneuve and Roger Deakins firing on all cylinders!
Foundation premiere tomorrow. Well, Saturday for us in the superior time zones anyway. 
Now, it will be a cold day in Gehenna before I would even think of subscribing to an Apple service, but hopefully, I can watch it through some other means.
Now, it will be a cold day in Gehenna before I would even think of subscribing to an Apple service, but hopefully, I can watch it through some other means.
Looks really high budget, and Bear McCreary soundtrack should be great. Love Asimov's work and his thoughts on philosophy. Hope they can pull it off.Foundation premiere tomorrow. Well, Saturday for us in the superior time zones anyway.
Now, it will be a cold day in Gehenna before I would even think of subscribing to an Apple service, but hopefully, I can watch it through some other means.
Now to see how badly they fuck it up. Still, i'll always have the original comics. i have an OG Death figure still boxed hanging on the wall above my monitor now. Have done for years. Have they shown Delerium yet? I kinda forgot to keep track of the news after the show's announcement years ago.
Don't have netflix anyway so it's a moot point, lol.
Don't have netflix anyway so it's a moot point, lol.
Can't wait!
and... ¯\(ツ)/¯:
looks alright.
WTF year is this? LOL
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We are brave new worlding again, boys !
One month ago, I wanted to watch some TV, and thought to myself, hey that's right, Seinfeld is on Disney !
Turns out they lost the rights and it was on a new small French streaming site. Fuck you.
One month pass, and lo' and behold, it arrives on Netflix on the first of October.
Jesus, are we gonna need to make an appointment to watch a show next ?
One month ago, I wanted to watch some TV, and thought to myself, hey that's right, Seinfeld is on Disney !
Turns out they lost the rights and it was on a new small French streaming site. Fuck you.
One month pass, and lo' and behold, it arrives on Netflix on the first of October.
Jesus, are we gonna need to make an appointment to watch a show next ?
- On a related note, I should really watch Hill House ep4, but while not bad, it's fucking slow.
- Are there good new things to watch ?
Watched a bunch of stuff yesterday. 'Tis a tale of WARMING UP to a show, of being MISERABLE, and of the greener pastures next door being WORSE.
So yeah, watched Hill House e04-05 and they were basically great. The show really takes 2 full episodes to become really good, as I had read, but now it's GOOD. That being said, while I can't fault Flanagan vision of an horror genre rooted in human drama, err... can we slow down ?
My mother complained that I make her watch depressing shit (repeated that before bedtime, to drive the point home ) and I wasn't feeling too jolly myself. This is in no way traumatizing or whatever some classic horror can be, it's just plain depressing.
But fuck, it's good.
Then I watched the first two episodes of Alice in Borderland by myself and, err, wait... what is this shit ? When you have minor quibbles with something and then follow up with something far worse. Ughh. It's adapted from a manga, I should have stayed clear knowing that. Not that I hate manga, but there are flaws and limitations more frequent in this sort of adaptations than others.
Characters and plot are paper thin. Acting is very meh. I got nothing out of it. Will I continue just because I can't stand never finishing a show these days ? I mean, other than that reason, I draw a blank.
So yeah, watched Hill House e04-05 and they were basically great. The show really takes 2 full episodes to become really good, as I had read, but now it's GOOD. That being said, while I can't fault Flanagan vision of an horror genre rooted in human drama, err... can we slow down ?
My mother complained that I make her watch depressing shit (repeated that before bedtime, to drive the point home
) and I wasn't feeling too jolly myself. This is in no way traumatizing or whatever some classic horror can be, it's just plain depressing.But fuck, it's good.
Then I watched the first two episodes of Alice in Borderland by myself and, err, wait... what is this shit ? When you have minor quibbles with something and then follow up with something far worse. Ughh. It's adapted from a manga, I should have stayed clear knowing that. Not that I hate manga, but there are flaws and limitations more frequent in this sort of adaptations than others.
Characters and plot are paper thin. Acting is very meh. I got nothing out of it. Will I continue just because I can't stand never finishing a show these days ? I mean, other than that reason, I draw a blank.
USA Meta might find this schedule from DailyDead showing all horror movies in October on broadcast and network cable in the US helpful.
Apparently it'll be updated with premium channels soon.
Apparently it'll be updated with premium channels soon.
Deleted member 113
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Deleted member 113
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Thank you, oh kind ghoul.
(It's my favourite time of the year, so I have to do my usual Halloween countdown movie marathon diary)
If anyone else is watching horror content this month, do post about what you watched, feedback, whatever (I'm looking at you, Stevey).
I did wonder if that list i posted would be seen by you, funktion!
Good to see ya this Spooktober, matey!
Good to see ya this Spooktober, matey!
Deleted member 113
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Thanks.
You mean the list from DailyDead?
Sadly, since I'm located outside of the US, most of those offerings are unavailable to me (although, to be fair, I have most of that stuff on Blu-Ray
).
yeah, me too. unfortunately I was just going to use it as a reference to see if there's any old tv classics i haven't watched for a while.Thanks.
You mean the list from DailyDead?
Sadly, since I'm located outside of the US, most of those offerings are unavailable to me (although, to be fair, I have most of that stuff on Blu-Ray
Thinking about it too, yeah, of course you'd have 99% of them already!
Deleted member 113
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Ah, Halloween/October movie marathon plans.
I envy those people who plan all month, and manage to watch exactly what they planned to. Me? I basically just watch whatever I feel like it on the day, and only really plan, more or less, what I'll watch on the 31st. Especially since whenever I make big plans to watch a decent number of films, things end up going south.
Case in point, day one. I had big plans for day one, but since I decided to finally upgrade to Windows 10 after years and years of using Windows 7, and only ended up finishing configuring things at 5:30am, it was a lousy night where I only watched a single film.
And so...
Night 1:
A decent horror-comedy, with plenty of style and some irreverence, while being tonally all over the place, and frequently riding that fine line between funny, and obnoxious.
The start of the film is quite funny, and it works rather well (especially if you don't see the trailer beforehand), it then loses steam plenty of times throughout the film, but the ending is quite decent.
I frequently struggle to connect with most modern horror films, but I found this one enjoyable enough.
---
Night 2:
I'm really not too fond of films that intentionally go for "cult" status (say, Grindhouse (Death Proof / Planet Terror)). It doesn't really work that way. When you try to do an intentionally crappy film, for a "it's so good it's bad" reception, or go for an imitation of well known cult classics, expecting it to result in a cult classic as well, it rarely ends up with positive results, because there's a big difference between doing that, and those older cult classics: the people making these new films are in on the joke now, while those behind 70's/80's cult classics were not, and just set out to do a film.
VFW tries too hard during the early moments to go for what I described above. Crappy dialogues, a John Carpenter-like synth soundtrack, and over the top gore. It really didn't impress me.
But fortunately, we then meet the main cast, and when you have Stephen Lang, Fred Williamson, William Sadler, Martin Kove, David Patrick Kelly, and George Wendt on the same film you know that, at least whenever they are on screen, interacting or disposing of people in various nasty ways, it can be quite fun.
So yeah, VFW is yet another film that goes for cult status, and falls short. Heavily inspired by Assault on Precinct 13, but it greatly amps up the gore, and has a cast with well liked genre veterans, who are just plain fun to watch whenever they are on the screen. The contrast between them, and the young actors that make up the rest of the cast is huge, to a point it is distracting, since the "old guard" has charisma to sell, and the new guys and gals are as amateurish as it can get.
It's a decent watch. Not particularly good, not particularly bad. The veteran cast is a blast to watch, though.
It had been a while since I last watched The Midnight Meat Train. The film is a rare example of a modern horror film that I quite enjoyed.
I'm a fan of Clive Barker's writings, and as most genre fans know, much of his work has suffered when adapted to the big screen. Yes, we had a few classics (usually when Clive Barker is either directing, like Hellraiser, or producing), but also a lot of crappy adaptations.
The Midnight Meat Train, based on one of Barker's short stories from Books of Blood, is directed by Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura, who a few years earlier had directed Versus (who gathered a decent reception), and even a Godzilla film (Godzilla: Final Wars). Clive Barker served as a producer, and his touch shows.
Besides some excessive use of CGI blood/gore effects (which really turned me off; I'm a practical effects guy all day, and heavily dislike CGI blood), the film manages to translate to the screen much of Barker's appeal, as a writer, and like I already mentioned I quite like it. It's a dark, violent, and melancholic journey, with an ending that fits like a glove (and leaves some people scratching their heads).
The cast includes Bradley Cooper in the leading role (before he hit big soon after; I'm not big on his later work, but here he does a great job with the material), veteran genre actor/producer Ted Raimi, and former footballer Vinnie Jones as a menacing, imposing character, who has more to it than it first appears.
For me, horror is more about "mood", than gore (although this one has both in spades), and for those who enjoy a slower paced genre film, I would say this one is well worth a look.
I envy those people who plan all month, and manage to watch exactly what they planned to. Me? I basically just watch whatever I feel like it on the day, and only really plan, more or less, what I'll watch on the 31st. Especially since whenever I make big plans to watch a decent number of films, things end up going south.
Case in point, day one. I had big plans for day one, but since I decided to finally upgrade to Windows 10 after years and years of using Windows 7, and only ended up finishing configuring things at 5:30am, it was a lousy night where I only watched a single film.
And so...
Night 1:
A decent horror-comedy, with plenty of style and some irreverence, while being tonally all over the place, and frequently riding that fine line between funny, and obnoxious.
The start of the film is quite funny, and it works rather well (especially if you don't see the trailer beforehand), it then loses steam plenty of times throughout the film, but the ending is quite decent.
I frequently struggle to connect with most modern horror films, but I found this one enjoyable enough.
---
Night 2:
I'm really not too fond of films that intentionally go for "cult" status (say, Grindhouse (Death Proof / Planet Terror)). It doesn't really work that way. When you try to do an intentionally crappy film, for a "it's so good it's bad" reception, or go for an imitation of well known cult classics, expecting it to result in a cult classic as well, it rarely ends up with positive results, because there's a big difference between doing that, and those older cult classics: the people making these new films are in on the joke now, while those behind 70's/80's cult classics were not, and just set out to do a film.
VFW tries too hard during the early moments to go for what I described above. Crappy dialogues, a John Carpenter-like synth soundtrack, and over the top gore. It really didn't impress me.
But fortunately, we then meet the main cast, and when you have Stephen Lang, Fred Williamson, William Sadler, Martin Kove, David Patrick Kelly, and George Wendt on the same film you know that, at least whenever they are on screen, interacting or disposing of people in various nasty ways, it can be quite fun.
So yeah, VFW is yet another film that goes for cult status, and falls short. Heavily inspired by Assault on Precinct 13, but it greatly amps up the gore, and has a cast with well liked genre veterans, who are just plain fun to watch whenever they are on the screen. The contrast between them, and the young actors that make up the rest of the cast is huge, to a point it is distracting, since the "old guard" has charisma to sell, and the new guys and gals are as amateurish as it can get.
It's a decent watch. Not particularly good, not particularly bad. The veteran cast is a blast to watch, though.
It had been a while since I last watched The Midnight Meat Train. The film is a rare example of a modern horror film that I quite enjoyed.
I'm a fan of Clive Barker's writings, and as most genre fans know, much of his work has suffered when adapted to the big screen. Yes, we had a few classics (usually when Clive Barker is either directing, like Hellraiser, or producing), but also a lot of crappy adaptations.
The Midnight Meat Train, based on one of Barker's short stories from Books of Blood, is directed by Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura, who a few years earlier had directed Versus (who gathered a decent reception), and even a Godzilla film (Godzilla: Final Wars). Clive Barker served as a producer, and his touch shows.
Besides some excessive use of CGI blood/gore effects (which really turned me off; I'm a practical effects guy all day, and heavily dislike CGI blood), the film manages to translate to the screen much of Barker's appeal, as a writer, and like I already mentioned I quite like it. It's a dark, violent, and melancholic journey, with an ending that fits like a glove (and leaves some people scratching their heads).
The cast includes Bradley Cooper in the leading role (before he hit big soon after; I'm not big on his later work, but here he does a great job with the material), veteran genre actor/producer Ted Raimi, and former footballer Vinnie Jones as a menacing, imposing character, who has more to it than it first appears.
For me, horror is more about "mood", than gore (although this one has both in spades), and for those who enjoy a slower paced genre film, I would say this one is well worth a look.
October 1st
A Nightmare On Elm Street
The first in the series and still the best IMO, some genuinely creepy bits and some stuff that hasnt aged well at all.
Classic
October 2nd
A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge
Definitely one of the series' weaker entries IMO. Moves away from "you have to be asleep for Freddy to hurt you" which was a mistake IMO.
October 3rd
A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Used to really like this back when I first saw it in the mid 90s, still a decent horror film today, a few cheesy bits but still holds up.
A Nightmare On Elm Street
The first in the series and still the best IMO, some genuinely creepy bits and some stuff that hasnt aged well at all.
Classic
October 2nd
A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge
Definitely one of the series' weaker entries IMO. Moves away from "you have to be asleep for Freddy to hurt you" which was a mistake IMO.
October 3rd
A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Used to really like this back when I first saw it in the mid 90s, still a decent horror film today, a few cheesy bits but still holds up.
Deleted member 113
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Stevey
I love the Nightmare on Elm Street series.
Of the big US franchises, it's easily my favourite. I have great love for all entries up to Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and it even includes the TV series Freddy's Nightmares (I really disliked both Freddy Vs Jason, and the reboot).
As for ANOES 2, the odd duck of the series, I always had a bit of a crush with Kim Myers from that film, so even that one has a soft spot with me.
Of the original series, the one I less enjoy is ANOES 5. It has some great visual touches, but like even the director admitted he didn't have much outside of storyboards and drawings, so he had visual ideas, but not really a script.
I love the Nightmare on Elm Street series.
Of the big US franchises, it's easily my favourite. I have great love for all entries up to Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and it even includes the TV series Freddy's Nightmares (I really disliked both Freddy Vs Jason, and the reboot).
As for ANOES 2, the odd duck of the series, I always had a bit of a crush with Kim Myers from that film, so even that one has a soft spot with me.
Of the original series, the one I less enjoy is ANOES 5. It has some great visual touches, but like even the director admitted he didn't have much outside of storyboards and drawings, so he had visual ideas, but not really a script.
Yeah, I remember enjoying New Nightmare, will probably add that and Freddy's Dead to this months list and remove 2 movies.
Deleted member 113
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Night 3:
Me and this film have a bit of a troubled history. I didn't catch it at the cinemas, but bought the Blu-Ray on October 2012 to watch as part of my film marathon for that year. On Halloween night, I opened the case, and the disc was in a miserable shape (full of scratches, fingerprints, ...; Amazon sent me a clearly used copy, sold to me as new). So, I sent it back, and didn't watch it that Halloween.
Then, on Halloween 2013 it was back on the menu, especially since my friends kept singing praises to the film, but one of them decided to tell me the "big reveal", and since I really dislike having films spoiled, I ended up skipping the film yet again.
And so, almost a decade later, I finally watched the film last night. And... I was rather indifferent to it.
Yeah, the idea, on paper, is clever and original, but I can't say I found the film particularly fun, or memorable in any way. Outside of that main concept, there's really not much going on with the film. I'm actually struggling to write anything about it. It's painfully short, the characters aren't developed, and barely anything actually happens (no suspense, no memorable kills, ...). I was truly underwhelmed by it. Would it have been different if I didn't know about the "big reveal"? Maybe, but considering how early that is introduced in the movie, I doubt it.
Me and this film have a bit of a troubled history. I didn't catch it at the cinemas, but bought the Blu-Ray on October 2012 to watch as part of my film marathon for that year. On Halloween night, I opened the case, and the disc was in a miserable shape (full of scratches, fingerprints, ...; Amazon sent me a clearly used copy, sold to me as new). So, I sent it back, and didn't watch it that Halloween.
Then, on Halloween 2013 it was back on the menu, especially since my friends kept singing praises to the film, but one of them decided to tell me the "big reveal", and since I really dislike having films spoiled, I ended up skipping the film yet again.
And so, almost a decade later, I finally watched the film last night. And... I was rather indifferent to it.
Yeah, the idea, on paper, is clever and original, but I can't say I found the film particularly fun, or memorable in any way. Outside of that main concept, there's really not much going on with the film. I'm actually struggling to write anything about it. It's painfully short, the characters aren't developed, and barely anything actually happens (no suspense, no memorable kills, ...). I was truly underwhelmed by it. Would it have been different if I didn't know about the "big reveal"? Maybe, but considering how early that is introduced in the movie, I doubt it.
October 4th
A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Another solid entry in the series, follows on from 3, even though they changed actress for one of the characters, which is confusing for a minute.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Another solid entry in the series, follows on from 3, even though they changed actress for one of the characters, which is confusing for a minute.
Deleted member 113
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Love it. Great fun!
The first time I watched ANOES 4, that "rewinding" (repeating) scene made me think something was wrong with my VHS tape...
FunktionJCB I watched Cabin in the Woods on release in the cinema without knowing anything that movie blew my mind! I think it is one of those "you had to be there" kind of movies. I haven't rewatched it since and not sure how well it holds up.
October 5th
A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: Dream Child
I dunno with this movie, on the one hand threre's some cool practical effects, but on the other it all feels a bit too slapstick for me.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: Dream Child
I dunno with this movie, on the one hand threre's some cool practical effects, but on the other it all feels a bit too slapstick for me.
Deleted member 113
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Like I mentioned before, it's the one film of the original series I enjoy less.
The director, like even he admitted, won the gig by showing some pretty storyboards and drawings, but he didn't have a script. So, the film is visually nice, and has a few cool gothic touches, but it's frequently aimless.
After the success of ANOES 3 and 4, this one was the nail in the coffin, and they decided to finish things off with ANOES 6.
Deleted member 113
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Night 4:
Just to show you how random my "31 days of Horror" marathon frequently gets, and how any plans I make quickly change, last night I was planning to watch a certain film on Blu-Ray, but since me and my wife worked until late, we took home some local "sandwiches" to eat, which are spicy, and very greasy, called "bifanas".
Here's an example:
Since these sandwiches leave your hands a bit greasy, even after washing them a couple of times, and I didn't want to leave my Blu-Ray full of fingerprints, I ended up deciding to watch a film from my DVR's horror section. I was planning to watch an 80's film, but then Anna and the Apocalypse popped up as an option, and I remembered seeing it was well received at some festivals, so I went for that.
I knew nothing about the film, outside of it featuring zombies, and having a couple of musical numbers.
Well... this one turned out to be a cross between a Disney Channel musical, and a zombie flick, with a decent amount of gore.
The first few minutes were a bit annoying, with a couple of full on Disney musical numbers. But then, things picked up, and it ended up being a decent zombie comedy, with musical numbers. It probably sounds more entertaining than it was, but it was alright.
One of the cool things about these marathons is that you frequently end up watching things a bit outside of your comfort zone, that you might not have watched otherwise.
This one wasn't particularly brilliant, but the cast was likeable, some musical numbers were funny (including a very innuendo filled Christmas song at a High School Christmas show), and there was a surprisingly good amount of zombie killing and gore effects, so it was a decent way to spend 90 minutes.
Just to show you how random my "31 days of Horror" marathon frequently gets, and how any plans I make quickly change, last night I was planning to watch a certain film on Blu-Ray, but since me and my wife worked until late, we took home some local "sandwiches" to eat, which are spicy, and very greasy, called "bifanas".
Here's an example:
Since these sandwiches leave your hands a bit greasy, even after washing them a couple of times, and I didn't want to leave my Blu-Ray full of fingerprints, I ended up deciding to watch a film from my DVR's horror section. I was planning to watch an 80's film, but then Anna and the Apocalypse popped up as an option, and I remembered seeing it was well received at some festivals, so I went for that.
I knew nothing about the film, outside of it featuring zombies, and having a couple of musical numbers.
Well... this one turned out to be a cross between a Disney Channel musical, and a zombie flick, with a decent amount of gore.
The first few minutes were a bit annoying, with a couple of full on Disney musical numbers. But then, things picked up, and it ended up being a decent zombie comedy, with musical numbers. It probably sounds more entertaining than it was, but it was alright.
One of the cool things about these marathons is that you frequently end up watching things a bit outside of your comfort zone, that you might not have watched otherwise.
This one wasn't particularly brilliant, but the cast was likeable, some musical numbers were funny (including a very innuendo filled Christmas song at a High School Christmas show), and there was a surprisingly good amount of zombie killing and gore effects, so it was a decent way to spend 90 minutes.
Deleted member 113
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Tuesday night. It was a national holiday here, and since I've been quite tired, I spent the day doing... nothing. I was feeling lazy, and didn't want to bother going through my collection for something to watch, so I went to the DVR again, to see what was there. Just how lazy I was? I ended up watching a film from the DVR that... I have on Blu-Ray.
And so...
Night 5:
I hadn't watched this one since the 90's. A VHS rental club staple, this late 80's flick plays out like a supernatural film, but replaces the spirits and ghosts with... electricity. Who knew a film could be so... shocking. (what a lame joke!)
But seriously, it's a decent film to watch on a lazy night. Slow paced, suspenseful, and barely any graphic violence.
And so...
Night 5:
I hadn't watched this one since the 90's. A VHS rental club staple, this late 80's flick plays out like a supernatural film, but replaces the spirits and ghosts with... electricity. Who knew a film could be so... shocking.
(what a lame joke!)But seriously, it's a decent film to watch on a lazy night. Slow paced, suspenseful, and barely any graphic violence.
The Race Problem in Film
****Contains spoilers for The Many Saints of Newark****
afropoptimism.substack.com
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Deleted member 113
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I have a good quantity of horror films, old and new, lined up to watch throughout the month for my marathon, but this week has been a bit of a disaster. For various reasons, I ended up resorting to watching whatever is on TV, or whatever shows up on my DVR, with very mixed results.
Yesterday, I had people doing some various small repairs in my house, and I only finished cleaning and putting things in place at almost midnight, so I ended up selecting another film from the DVR. And so...
Night 6:
I really, really, did not like The Strangers one bit. For me, it was a good example of everything I dislike in modern horror cinema. It was yet another film that took some big chapters out of Eli Roth's "torture porn" template: it was shallow, mean spirited, fetishizing violence for the sake of violence, and... just plain boring.
For a hack like Eli Roth, it's all about the violence, the gore. Let's place people strapped to a chair, and show them being tortured in long, pointless sequences, so we can see their suffering, and apparently get some enjoyment out of it. Script is not important. Ambience or mood are not important. Style is not important. Characters, motives, logic, humour, a sense of mystery, nothing is important. I can't relate to that.
To me, The Strangers was a humourless, pointless, and just plain boring film. It's 90 minutes of watching people getting tortured, physically or psychologically, shot on autopilot by a director without any sense of style.
I found some reviews for the film quite hilarious, since they frequently tried to place some higher meaning, and metaphors, to... a turd.
So, why in the hell did I watch a sequel to a film I so truly disliked? Good question! Truly, I was brain dead last night. I guess my film selecting methods are more horrifying than the actual films I've been watching.
And so, The Strangers: Prey at Night. How was it? More of the same. Equally pointless, boring, and mean spirited. Thankfully shorter (without credits, it's less than 80 minutes). Oh, and the director thought he was funny and clever, so he used 80's power ballads to soundtrack all the torture and mutilation. He shot a neon-lit scene, by a pool, soundtracked by Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. Pure genius. Truly, this man is a talent. Move over John Carpenter, Dario Argento, Mario Bava, David Cronenberg, and the likes. This guy truly knows how to shoot a scene.
You know what: if at least Nicolas Cage showed up at any point during the film, I might not feel like I wasted 80 something more minutes of my life watching a pile of crap.
Bring on better films.
Yesterday, I had people doing some various small repairs in my house, and I only finished cleaning and putting things in place at almost midnight, so I ended up selecting another film from the DVR. And so...
Night 6:
I really, really, did not like The Strangers one bit. For me, it was a good example of everything I dislike in modern horror cinema. It was yet another film that took some big chapters out of Eli Roth's "torture porn" template: it was shallow, mean spirited, fetishizing violence for the sake of violence, and... just plain boring.
For a hack like Eli Roth, it's all about the violence, the gore. Let's place people strapped to a chair, and show them being tortured in long, pointless sequences, so we can see their suffering, and apparently get some enjoyment out of it. Script is not important. Ambience or mood are not important. Style is not important. Characters, motives, logic, humour, a sense of mystery, nothing is important. I can't relate to that.
To me, The Strangers was a humourless, pointless, and just plain boring film. It's 90 minutes of watching people getting tortured, physically or psychologically, shot on autopilot by a director without any sense of style.
I found some reviews for the film quite hilarious, since they frequently tried to place some higher meaning, and metaphors, to... a turd.
So, why in the hell did I watch a sequel to a film I so truly disliked? Good question! Truly, I was brain dead last night. I guess my film selecting methods are more horrifying than the actual films I've been watching.
And so, The Strangers: Prey at Night. How was it? More of the same. Equally pointless, boring, and mean spirited. Thankfully shorter (without credits, it's less than 80 minutes). Oh, and the director thought he was funny and clever, so he used 80's power ballads to soundtrack all the torture and mutilation. He shot a neon-lit scene, by a pool, soundtracked by Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. Pure genius. Truly, this man is a talent. Move over John Carpenter, Dario Argento, Mario Bava, David Cronenberg, and the likes. This guy truly knows how to shoot a scene.
You know what: if at least Nicolas Cage showed up at any point during the film, I might not feel like I wasted 80 something more minutes of my life watching a pile of crap.
Bring on better films.
October 7th
Didn't watch anything last night, so today I watched Freddys Dead: The Final Nightmare and Wes Craven's New Nightmare.
Final Nightmare is OK, but for me it relies too much on special effects than actually being scary, although I guess they had to keep coming up with new stuff to make the films feel fresh.
New Nightmare is really good IMO, really like the plot and idea of the film, and Freddy is a lot less slapstick and more creepy.
All in all a classic horror film franchise that everyone should see at least once.
Didn't watch anything last night, so today I watched Freddys Dead: The Final Nightmare and Wes Craven's New Nightmare.
Final Nightmare is OK, but for me it relies too much on special effects than actually being scary, although I guess they had to keep coming up with new stuff to make the films feel fresh.
New Nightmare is really good IMO, really like the plot and idea of the film, and Freddy is a lot less slapstick and more creepy.
All in all a classic horror film franchise that everyone should see at least once.
Deleted member 113
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Night 7:
I read an interview with Brandon Cronenberg is which he said he's not interested in legacy, and downplayed the influence of his father's work on his films.
He even said that the use of the horror genre was a mere coincidence, it was just something that fit the material, and the horror genre allowed him the possibility to explore a great range of emotions.
Well... Brandon Cronenberg is full of shit!
Yeah, right, his work is "clearly" detached from his father's. It's not. The film clearly attempts to "mimic" some of David Cronenberg's early works, from his "body horror" phase, but updated to an age were technology is everywhere, and privacy is non-existent.
The good news is that, while he lacks his father's immense talent, he does know how to shoot some cool scenes, and construct moods.
So, yeah, I enjoyed this one. For once, it's nice to see a recent horror film well shot, with an actual sense of style (even if some of it is clearly inspired by his father's work).
I read an interview with Brandon Cronenberg is which he said he's not interested in legacy, and downplayed the influence of his father's work on his films.
He even said that the use of the horror genre was a mere coincidence, it was just something that fit the material, and the horror genre allowed him the possibility to explore a great range of emotions.
Well... Brandon Cronenberg is full of shit!
Yeah, right, his work is "clearly" detached from his father's. It's not. The film clearly attempts to "mimic" some of David Cronenberg's early works, from his "body horror" phase, but updated to an age were technology is everywhere, and privacy is non-existent.
The good news is that, while he lacks his father's immense talent, he does know how to shoot some cool scenes, and construct moods.
So, yeah, I enjoyed this one. For once, it's nice to see a recent horror film well shot, with an actual sense of style (even if some of it is clearly inspired by his father's work).
That's on my list for this month, not seen it yet.
Edit: Updated my list.
Edit: Updated my list.
1. Nightmare on Elm Street
2. Nightmare on Elm Street 2
3. Nightmare on Elm Street 3
4. Nightmare on Elm Street 4
5. Nightmare on Elm street 5
6. Freddy's Dead
7. Wes Craven's New Nightmare
8. Event Horizon
9. Colour Out Of Space
10. Apollo 18
11. Hereditary
12. Possessor
13. Halloween (2018)
14. Drag Me To Hell
15. Hellraiser
16. Evil Dead
17. Evil Dead 2
18. Evil Dead 3
19. Evil Dead Remake
20. Silent Hill
21. Luz: The Flower Of Evil
22. The Lighthouse
23. 30 Days Of Night
24. The Shining
25. Blair Witch Project
26. Curse Of Chucky
27. The Fourth Kind
28. It
29. It Chapter 2
30. Overlord
31. The Thing
2. Nightmare on Elm Street 2
3. Nightmare on Elm Street 3
4. Nightmare on Elm Street 4
5. Nightmare on Elm street 5
6. Freddy's Dead
7. Wes Craven's New Nightmare
8. Event Horizon
9. Colour Out Of Space
10. Apollo 18
11. Hereditary
12. Possessor
13. Halloween (2018)
14. Drag Me To Hell
15. Hellraiser
16. Evil Dead
17. Evil Dead 2
18. Evil Dead 3
19. Evil Dead Remake
20. Silent Hill
21. Luz: The Flower Of Evil
22. The Lighthouse
23. 30 Days Of Night
24. The Shining
25. Blair Witch Project
26. Curse Of Chucky
27. The Fourth Kind
28. It
29. It Chapter 2
30. Overlord
31. The Thing
Deleted member 113
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Let me know what you think of it when you do.
There's two versions of the film available, one of them censored. The ones that have "uncut" under the title (like the UK BD) are uncut.
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Nice list.
Like I mentioned before, I do a lot of improvising throughout the month, so I really don't have a "schedule".
But, there's a few films I have on hand that I'll likely watch, including:
-Prince of Darkness (John Carpenter)
-Willy's Wonderland
-Nightbreed
-Night of the Creeps
-Freaky
-Bio-Zombie
-Saint Maud
-Resurrection (1999)
-All-American Murder
-Auntie Lee's Meat Pies
-She Freak
+ a lot of Gialli and Italian horror
And hopefully, if they arrive on time, as part of my annual subscription of Vinegar Syndrome titles:
-Nothing Underneath
-Too Beautiful To Die
-Ticks
-Tragic Ceremony
(...)
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Deleted member 113
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And now, for something a bit different.
I frequently do a 31 days of Horror movie marathon during October, and I have been posting about the films I've watched, but frequently I have friends asking me for some recommendations on what to watch.
Since I love recommending films to people, I had the idea of posting a few random selections of films that I enjoy watching during this season. There's everything from old and new(er) films; "big" films and lower budget films; well known films that everyone knows about them, and more obscure stuff; American films, European films, and even selections from Asia and New Zealand; most are great fun with friends (Braindead, or Army of Darkness, for example), while some are slower paced (like Wolfen).
I could post dozens more, and I'm omitting some of my favourite films, since like I mentioned this is a bit of a random selection, and I would surely post something different if I did a new list 5 minutes later.
So, here's my (random) selections:
And one more, which I have to place separately, because most people (myself included) aren't able to read the title by its poster.
The Seventh Curse:
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EDIT: How could I forget about my favourite zombie film ever?!
Really, love this film! A must for Eurocult aficionados:
Also known as "The living dead at Manchester morgue", or by my favourite title "Let sleeping corpses lie".
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If anyone has any recommendations, please post them.
And if you watch any of the films I listed above for the first time, do let me know what you thought.
I frequently do a 31 days of Horror movie marathon during October, and I have been posting about the films I've watched, but frequently I have friends asking me for some recommendations on what to watch.
Since I love recommending films to people, I had the idea of posting a few random selections of films that I enjoy watching during this season. There's everything from old and new(er) films; "big" films and lower budget films; well known films that everyone knows about them, and more obscure stuff; American films, European films, and even selections from Asia and New Zealand; most are great fun with friends (Braindead, or Army of Darkness, for example), while some are slower paced (like Wolfen).
I could post dozens more, and I'm omitting some of my favourite films, since like I mentioned this is a bit of a random selection, and I would surely post something different if I did a new list 5 minutes later.
So, here's my (random) selections:
And one more, which I have to place separately, because most people (myself included) aren't able to read the title by its poster.
The Seventh Curse:
---
EDIT: How could I forget about my favourite zombie film ever?!
Really, love this film! A must for Eurocult aficionados:
Also known as "The living dead at Manchester morgue", or by my favourite title "Let sleeping corpses lie".
---
If anyone has any recommendations, please post them.
And if you watch any of the films I listed above for the first time, do let me know what you thought.
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Not seen Brain Dead for years, great film.
Wasn't it Peter Jackson? Along with Bad Taste.
October 8th
Event Horizon.
Lost count of the amount of times I've seen this film. Still holds up for me, save for a couple of SFX. Great mix of sci-fi and horror.
And the theory that it is an early attempt at warp drive is great.
Wasn't it Peter Jackson? Along with Bad Taste.
October 8th
Event Horizon.
Lost count of the amount of times I've seen this film. Still holds up for me, save for a couple of SFX. Great mix of sci-fi and horror.
And the theory that it is an early attempt at warp drive is great.
Deleted member 113
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Indeed it was.
Along with a 3rd, extremely crass, adult puppet film called Meet The Feebles.
Being familiar with his early work (I saw them all on the big screen; Braindead I've seen 6-7 times, since a local film festival kept showing it almost every year), my mind was blown when he started working in Hollywood.
Deleted member 113
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What a crappy night.
I was supposed to watch a couple of films I had lined up, but I arrived home late, and after finishing dinner it was almost midnight (and one of my personal "rules" for my monthly marathon is that I have to watch at least one short film or full length film a day, so time was running out), so I needed to start watching something fast. But then I noticed that I was about to lose at 1 am an episode of a series I regularly watch on TV (my cable provider's DVR only allows me to "rewind" and watch older programming up to exactly a week), so I couldn't watch the film I was planning, at least not right away.
I had to "cheat" a bit, and watch a short film before midnight, watch the episode of the TV series before it was lost, and then get back to my marathon, and watch a full length film.
And so, my horror marathon portion of the night was...
Night 8:
This short film is basically a "prototype" for Possessor, the film I watched the night before. It features concepts, and even a couple of visual "tricks" that ended up appearing on Possessor.
Here, the device that is used for killing in the film is mainly used for dream therapy. Having said that, the short film is still "creepy".
At around 10 minutes, the narrative of it is paper thin, and instead feels more like a combination of visual sketches. Well shot, lacking the violence from the feature film, but managing to keep the copious amount of nudity on display.
Several local cable channels are showing horror films throughout the month. My wife noticed one of them is showing all 5 films from the Final Destination series, one per week (they started last week). Since we only watched the first one (I think; I believe I watched the trailer for the second one, or may have caught a scene or two on TV before, but I'm almost certain I haven't watched the whole film), she suggested we watch them all throughout the month, starting last night with the first one.
I caught the first one at the cinema when it launched, due to having some people from the X-Files production team behind it (plus, it was New Line; up until Lord of the Rings, they were mostly a genre studio, "the house that Freddy built", and their stuff was usually entertaining), but I wasn't particularly impressed, and never bothered with the sequels.
It really wasn't want I had planned to watch, but considering I'm usually the one calling the shots on what we watch, it was only fair that, for once, I watched something suggested by my wife.
Anyway, I basically ended up having a similar reaction to the first time I watched film. I found it quite... mediocre. There's really not a lot to it. The concept is great, and the start of the film (the plane sequence) is enjoyable enough, but afterwards barely anything happens. There's not a lot of plot, no "mythology" to keep the viewer interested, and guessing what are the "rules" to what was happening.
I feel like this was clearly a film that was sold to the studio on the basis of that overall concept, and the initial scene that sets up things, but the writers never really managed to come up with interesting ideas for what comes after that.
Well, since I committed to watch the whole series, I'm hoping the next ones are a bit more entertaining.
I was supposed to watch a couple of films I had lined up, but I arrived home late, and after finishing dinner it was almost midnight (and one of my personal "rules" for my monthly marathon is that I have to watch at least one short film or full length film a day, so time was running out), so I needed to start watching something fast. But then I noticed that I was about to lose at 1 am an episode of a series I regularly watch on TV (my cable provider's DVR only allows me to "rewind" and watch older programming up to exactly a week), so I couldn't watch the film I was planning, at least not right away.
I had to "cheat" a bit, and watch a short film before midnight, watch the episode of the TV series before it was lost, and then get back to my marathon, and watch a full length film.
And so, my horror marathon portion of the night was...
Night 8:
This short film is basically a "prototype" for Possessor, the film I watched the night before. It features concepts, and even a couple of visual "tricks" that ended up appearing on Possessor.
Here, the device that is used for killing in the film is mainly used for dream therapy. Having said that, the short film is still "creepy".
At around 10 minutes, the narrative of it is paper thin, and instead feels more like a combination of visual sketches. Well shot, lacking the violence from the feature film, but managing to keep the copious amount of nudity on display.
Several local cable channels are showing horror films throughout the month. My wife noticed one of them is showing all 5 films from the Final Destination series, one per week (they started last week). Since we only watched the first one (I think; I believe I watched the trailer for the second one, or may have caught a scene or two on TV before, but I'm almost certain I haven't watched the whole film), she suggested we watch them all throughout the month, starting last night with the first one.
I caught the first one at the cinema when it launched, due to having some people from the X-Files production team behind it (plus, it was New Line; up until Lord of the Rings, they were mostly a genre studio, "the house that Freddy built", and their stuff was usually entertaining), but I wasn't particularly impressed, and never bothered with the sequels.
It really wasn't want I had planned to watch, but considering I'm usually the one calling the shots on what we watch, it was only fair that, for once, I watched something suggested by my wife.
Anyway, I basically ended up having a similar reaction to the first time I watched film. I found it quite... mediocre. There's really not a lot to it. The concept is great, and the start of the film (the plane sequence) is enjoyable enough, but afterwards barely anything happens. There's not a lot of plot, no "mythology" to keep the viewer interested, and guessing what are the "rules" to what was happening.
I feel like this was clearly a film that was sold to the studio on the basis of that overall concept, and the initial scene that sets up things, but the writers never really managed to come up with interesting ideas for what comes after that.
Well, since I committed to watch the whole series, I'm hoping the next ones are a bit more entertaining.
October 9th
Color Out Of Space Second time seeing this film, right up my street.
Cosmic horror, no real explanation, no happy ending, great stuff.
Only minus point is Nicolas Cage, don't really like him except for when he was in Wild at Heart
Color Out Of Space Second time seeing this film, right up my street.
Cosmic horror, no real explanation, no happy ending, great stuff.
Only minus point is Nicolas Cage, don't really like him except for when he was in Wild at Heart
Deleted member 113
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This one was filmed in Portugal, so for me it was a rare chance to see a decent, recent, genre effort shot here.
Hilariously enough, considering some of the production companies were Portuguese, it was direct to VOD here, so I didn't catch it on the big screen.
I actually ended up importing the German Blu-Ray, since it was released on BD before it had any sort of release here.
While not perfect, it's a visually interesting film. I'm usually a sucker for anything Lovecraft.
Plus, I always find Nicolas Cage entertaining to watch in pretty much anything. I mean...
I kid (about the negative reaction to your comment). I know Cage is a bit of a "love or hate" affair with people.
But indeed, more often than not, I end up watching a lot of crap because Nicolas Cage is in it. To me, he has become like one of those character actors that did a lot of genre efforts, and usually made even the biggest pile of crap somewhat tolerable (like, say, Jeffrey Combs, and many others).
Watched it with my family
We have watched all the Bond movies in the past 30 years and we are shocked that they killed him. James Bond is like the superman in spy movie... The ending feels very impactful and I love the movie but the villain this time really took a backseat. He is so uninteresting outside the starting scene.