Games: Other Games : OT: The Horror Thread

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

About 20 years ago, I read the novel The Keep by F. Paul Wilson , a very good book, couldn't put it down, finished it in days. I then found out it had been made into a movie, directed by Michael Mann no less, with a cast that included Ian McKellen, Gabriel Mann and Jurgen Prochnow.

Well, needless to say I went looking for this gem, only to find out that it was no longer available,it had been "deleted". I didn't have a pc back then, but I did read a lot of movie magazines, which included adverts of companies where you could find rare movies etc. I ended up paying a fortune for a copy of this movie via one of these adverts, an old VHS tape. I don't think I have EVER been so disappointed in my all life. How could they get it so gloriously wrong, the writers/actors , the director.

It's no coincidence that the film remains, to this day, unavailable on DVD/Blueray. It was available briefly on Laserdisc though,in its original widescreen format. I watched the movie for a second time in this format, perhaps hoping in vain that somehow miracles happen....but unfortunately the end result was the same, maybe even worse, because now the quality of the picture was so good it made the movie more unbearable.

Scott Glenn possibly gets my vote for the worst performance in the history of cinema. The special effects are so bad, you'll wonder if they were produced by a bunch of acne ridden teenagers in the school audio/visual club. But the piece de resistance, the crowning turd in the waterpipe...the soundtrack! I'm not sure how much Tangerine Dream got paid for it, but if it was $1, then it's still $1 too much.

It goes without saying that the author, F. Paul Wilson hates this movie with a passion!

"Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?"

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Very interesting insight! I didn't want to insult the movie too bad because there is a good story there somewhere, but those effects looked straight out of something a Full Moon movie would have. I guess there won't ever be a director's cut, but I wasn't aware a widescreen version was out there. I'll have to look for it sometime.

I think A_Supreme is #Dantastic ~ Alaina

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

I read an article a while back, which stated that when Michael Mann finished the movie, it was 3 hours long. The studio chopped it down to 90 minutes or something like that. Mann states that he doesn't even think the lost footage even exists anymore. Even if it did, they would have issues regarding the rights for the Tangerine Dream soundtrack. What I don't understand is that the film, over the years, has gathered an almost cult-like status.

I'm currently on the lookout for this movie Shock Waves (1977). I saw it as a kid in the early 80s, and would love to see it again. I'm guessing it might be one of those horror films that, as a child, held a certain amount of fascination, but as an adult, will make you recoil in embarrassment that you ever even liked it!

"Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?"

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I love Shock Waves. I have a copy of that one on my shelf. I don't even look at it as a guilty pleasure at all, lol. I liked the different spin on zombies that showed up in a lot of those 70s movies. They behaved, moved, and were just downright different from the "infected" zombies today's culture has become overly obsessed with.

I think A_Supreme is #Dantastic ~ Alaina

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

I found it ;)
gonna watch it tonight after the football

"Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?"

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Shock Waves <3

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I think I know why I liked it when I was 12, it features Brooke Adams in a bikini for larger portions of the film lmao. As for the movie, I'm afraid to say that my opinion has changed now. Brooke Adams still looks great in that bikini, but the movie sucks the big one lol

"Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?"

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

If you think Shock Waves is bad, try watching Horror of the Zombies (1974). It's a Spanish movie with a somewhat similar premise and it reeks of moldy cheese, with surprisingly a few good bits here and there. It'll make Shock Waves look like a masterpiece by comparison.

Though I do have to admit that it was amusing it how Shock Waves spoiled its final girl/last survivor in the first few minutes of the movie. Brooke Adams <3

I think A_Supreme is #Dantastic ~ Alaina

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Sis, I loved Baby Blues. I gave it an 8! That mom what a huge MESS. It truly disturbed me and had a lot of balls I thought. But I might need to rewatch it.

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It's really funny that you mention that movie because I just added it to my watch list a couple days ago, but it's neither offered on Amazon Video nor Netflix (streaming or DVD). Where did you find it at? I think I might have to buy it if I wanna see it.

Movin' to FUNKYTOWN!

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Yay you watched Slashers <3 Such a random hilariously amazing movie

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Haha I loved how the killers kept ripping her top off because they knew that she'd be the virtuous final girl.

Movin' to FUNKYTOWN!

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Dan, what are your thoughts about The Strangers?

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**Not sure if everyone has seen The Strangers, but if you haven't, stop reading right now** Overall, I really liked it. I believe I had given it a 7/10 which is above average by my scale. It started off kind of slow but had that icky dread to it that I always like to see in horror films. I remember the first time watching it, I was almost falling asleep until she opens the blinds and the hooded man was standing RIGHT there. That jerked me awake and I didn't get tired again for the rest of the movie. lol. I liked that they kept the killers ambiguous and the doomed couple insolated in their little, back-in-the-boonies cottage. The best aspect is that they kept everything completely believable... sadly, it's very easy to believe that three bored psychopaths would torment and kill a privileged couple for *beep* and giggles.

I also give this one credit because it didn't go off the rails the way the French film Ils (2006) (aka Them) did, though I won't delve too much into detail there in case you haven't seen that one. I'm not even sure if 'Strangers' was influenced by that one much, but if it was, I think they did a better job with the concept of home invasion though I doubt many would share my opinion. The Strangers surpassed my expectations, while Them underwhelmed me despite its promising start.

Movin' to FUNKYTOWN!

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Thanks for recommending Hush, guys! So good!!!

Daniel, I own Baby Blues on DVD. It's on a 3 pack thing that I got in the $5 bin.

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The Funhouse Massacre is officially online on primewire.ag. The film looks like a lot of fun and I recommend everyone to view the trailer. Also, so is February, featuring Emma Roberts (American Horror Story 3-5, Scream Queens, Scream 4).

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Both look promising, though Funhouse Massacre has probably the smelliest, cheesiest title ever. lol

I think A_Supreme is #Dantastic ~ Alaina

Re: OT: The Horror Thread


Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) - Three scouts, on the eve of their last camp-out, discover the true meaning of friendship when they attempt to save their town from a zombie outbreak.

It seems like it's been a trend to make horror cute lately. First, we had The Final Girls making a slasher film touching with its mother/daughter reunion. Then, there was "Freaks of Nature" putting humans, zombies, vampires, and werewolves in the same society and seeing a group of freaks do battle with aliens. This time, we see a bunch of boy scouts along with a hot stripper ("cocktail waitress", or so she claims) warding off zombies. If you liked either of the previous two movies mentioned, then there's really no reason for you to not enjoy this as well. You pretty much just have to have fun with this one and not think too hard, because some elements of the plot require serious suspension of disbelief, but I probably loved this one the most of the three movies mentioned here. 8/10

In Fear (2013) - Driving to a music festival in Ireland, a new couple become lost and are then set upon by a tormentor with an unknown motive.

A little bit of late spring cleaning, I admit. I put this one off for the longest time because its synopsis just seemed a bit too familiar for even my tastes. When I first started the movie, I had to admit that I was kind of hooked when our young buck and his female companion got lost. Spare in mind that these two are not really a couple... the boy clearly wants the girl, but the girl seems to just be going with him because she's bored with life and there's probably a lack of other viable date options available. Still, when they got lost, the atmosphere was potent and there was considerable dread but you had no idea what trouble these would get into. You knew that something was going to happen to them, but the movie doesn't reveal what exactly right away until they get lost. At first it was almost seemed like a "Dead End" deal: These two find themselves trapped in some backroad maze, try to follow the signs to their hotel, but the signs just take them back to the same creepy cabin that has a "KEEP OUT" posted on the front gate. When they introduce the tormentor (as stated in the synopsis), the movie starts to kind of fall apart. By the end, the movie just falls completely flat, which was my fear from the start so I wasn't too disappointed. Still, ominous atmosphere to start out with prevents me from being too harsh on the movie, but this was nothing more than a one-time watch for me. 5/10

Dead & Buried (1981) - A suspense horror film set in a small coastal town where, after a series of gory murders commited by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses begin to come back to life.

This was an interesting movie, to say the least. For perhaps the first half hour, I was so confused about what was even going on as we follow our protagonist as he lives his life as a sheriff of a quiet town. You'd almost border on calling it boring until the opening victim (a photographer who was burned alive by townsfolk) shows up out of a blue as a new gas-station attendant. It's at that point that you realize that something incredibly weird - possibly supernatural? - was going down in this quaint little community. You see a few more stalking scenes of poor innocent passerbys' getting slaughtered only to show up as new citizens of the town. I really can't ruin the mystery for you guys, but I think the slower-pace of this movie is worth it in the end. A last-minute twist sort of throws things out of whack for me; I didn't see it coming really, but part of me wonders if it was just tacked on as a closing shock to the audience. Future rewatches will probably answer that question. It's got that early 80s charm though, but there's probably a reason why this one doesn't get talked much as other gems from the time. 6/10

Stake Land (2010) - Martin was a normal teenage boy before the country collapsed in an empty pit of economic and political disaster. A vampire epidemic has swept across what is left of the nation's abandoned towns and cities, and it's up to Mister, a death dealing, rogue vampire hunter, to get Martin safely north to Canada, the continent's New Eden.

Alas, I didn't get "Near Dark" in the mail yet so I had to satiate my mood for a vampire flick with this movie, which was a really great movie in terms of characters. It's available on Netflix and I would probably say it's one of the better movies that the service provides. The movie places America in dystopia after a plague that turns people into vampires sweeps tha nature. I kind of compare it a lot to 30 Days of Nights, in that the vampires seem more monstrous. Unfortunately for this movie, the vampires act as mere zombies in a lot of ways so it felt like I was watching a typical zombie apocalypse type of movie. The true villain of the film, however, is the "Brotherhood" - a group of monk-like religious wackjobs who get off on taking over territory, murdering their rivals, raping the defenseless, and actually using vampires as weapons of destruction on whatever communities manage to thrive in an otherwise sucky society. The movie does a fine job of developing its characters and giving the picture a sense of heart, but the double-edge to that is that it puts you in a mood whenever a character you care about is killed off. While a lot of this movie is gorgeous to look at, a lot of this is a slow-moving affair as well. It was nice to see Danielle Harris in a serious role again and she didn't fail to impress, though her role wasn't all that huge. I have no problems recommending this movie, but just expect a slower pace and a somewhat moody ending that neither satisfies nor dissatisfies which is one of my least favorite types of endings to film. 8/10

Camino (2015) - In the jungles of Colombia, a photojournalist captures the truth behind a group of missionaries who may not be what they seem.

Okay, so this is a Zoë Bell movie so you can best believe that some ass is going to be kicked here. She along with the rest of her friends DESTROYED Kurt Russell in "Death Proof" and she beat up the toughest of women in "Raze", but how does she fair in a jungle with a group of armed missionary soldiers after her? Well, first things first, I liked that this movie sort of made her more of an regular woman, if that makes any sense. She's not warrior Zoë, but rather an average Jane who hates her job and suffered the loss of an estranged husband whose ghost visits her frequently so she's not entirely sane either. She gets sent on a mission trip to the torrential Colombian jungle with a group of soldiers, where she witnesses a murder of a young child that pits her in a battle of wits and brawn again these soldiers and drug dealers when they think she did it. I don't the plot is anything amazing, but if you like seeing a woman overcoming odds (which you know that I do), then this is the movie for you. She doesn't immediately come across as a sheer badass she's known for being in movies; she's just a horny, lonely middle-aged woman when we first meet her and she gets her own ass kicked considerably to start out with, but she comes to her own of course when pushed to brink and all she can do is fight to survive. The movie is a little bloody in places, but this is more of a survival thriller so don't watch this as a horror movie. Still, not bad for a Netflix find, but please don't ask me to explain the title because that sh!t was confusing as hell to me. 7/10


Quick Reviews:
• The Rig (2010) - I kind of groan about this one. I don't mind shameless ripoffs, and if you are ripping off a horror classic, at least retain its more interesting plot elements. The movie felt clunky and the characters and their interactions with each other felt forced and disingenuous. The monster killing off the rig crew was an imposing creature and the location was the best part of this (shot on a real rig, apparently), but it was missing too much heart to be a good movie. 5/10
• Children of the Corn: The Gathering (1996) - Naomi Watts <3 Karen Black <33 Again like the previous sequels, this is neither progressive nor offensive in delivering a bit more of the same but I liked that the setting returned to the country after the third took place in the city. 6/10
• Swimming Pool - Der Tod feiert mit (2001) - I find it sad that I absolutely could not find this movie anywhere. I know when I looked for it on YouTube, it wasn't there and Amazon & Netflix were of no use either. So, I got it from eBay. The movie does the good job at delivering the goods, but it's kind of stuck in Generic Land even for being a mindless slasher. The movie kills off its one likeable character first and we're left with a blah final girl we're supposed to emphasize with, but some of these idiots win you over by the end so it's not a huge loss overall. The water slide death tho <3
• Hellbent (2004) - A gay slasher <3 Garrett recommended this to me MOONS ago, but I never checked it out until the other night. It's played a bit more straight than I was expecting, but some moments were downright hilarious, particularly when that gay couple discovered the headless body in the stall and they flip tits when it twitches. Gold. Came across the "Chaz's sexuality" thread on the message board and laughed to see you all picking on Tyler.
• Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) - After three sequels that were so similar that it's almost impossible to tell them apart, I was looking forward to a more "slasher" CotC movie just to have something different. Unfortunately, there were a lot of boring sequences in this movie and the characters behaved so unbelievably stupid, even more stupid than the usual slasher victims. Any movie where someone friendzones Greg Vaughan so coldly loses me, as well... granted, if I was half as hot as Eva Mendes, perhaps I'd be pickier too but still. Not cool. 5/10
• The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) - Blast from the past <3 Always loved this one growing up, but I never owned it. I went to buy it a few years ago and it shocked me that it was out-of-print and going for like a huge price on Amazon so I decided against it. In searching for 90s gems, I found it available for a more reasonable price so I purchased it and it's just as good seeing it now as it was when I first saw it. Underrated sequel. 8/10
• The Cold Equations (1996) - A man discovers a woman stowed away on a mission ship en route to a distant mining planet to drop off valuable cargo and he is ordered by the company to dump her otherwise the ship will burn up in the atmosphere due to the additional weight. The movie is a bit dumb on a basic level and it's mostly an hour long of unresolved sexual tension between the two leads, but still it's kind of enjoyable for a TV movie. It helps that I'm something of a helpless romantic too. lol 6/10

I think A_Supreme is #Dantastic ~ Alaina

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Yay you watched Hellbent! I'm glad you liked it

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HellBent <3

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It's been a long time, my friends. I'm in the process of switching jobs/stores again and I've been making more of a point to use free time outside/with people, so that cuts down on my online time. My reviewing has paid the price, but I'll try to post a few longer ones along with some mini-reviews soon.

REVIEWS:


Fairlane Road (2016) - A troubled young man falls prey to sinister forces after he arrives in the desert to care for his dying uncle, while becoming ensnared in a decades old mystery. - Netflix

I decided to give this one a go since it was sitting on Netflix. While it was obviously made on the cheap, some of the desert shots were downright breathtaking. I like a lot of movies that take place in the desert just because of how harsh and unforgiving the desert is and how fitting it is for a horror movie to take place there. The creepy girl on the poster was perhaps the best part of this film, just because she was so creepy as she walked through the desert sand with her limp. Apparently, once she sees you, you're screwed so it's best to keep on driving by and try not to get her attention. I'm not sure, though... this movie was a hawt mess otherwise. Some of the interaction between our main dude and his uncle seemed relatively believable, but my god was his shrill mother (whom we only ever heard on the phone) one annoying piece of work. If I was her son, I would've hung up on her bitchy ass and gone to the wedding with my girlfriend, but I guess there wouldn't have been a movie if that had happened. There's a mystery to be uncovered here, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out and the end twist wasn't really mind-blowing either. While I appreciated the way that this was shot, the movie on the whole is weak and I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone. 4/10

Some Kind of Hate (2015) - A bullied teenager is sent to a reform school where he accidentally summons the spirit of a girl, herself a victim of bullying, who takes vengeance on his tormentors. - Netflix

I mean, it was okay for the most part. I couldn't really buy into the fact that our hunky lead was the bullied victim, but I suspended my disbelief because he was pretty nice to look at throughout. Ronen Rubinstein is the star of this movie, btw... not Spencer Breslin as first-billing would have you believe. Anyway, our main guy sticks a fork in some jerkhole jock's face at the start and gets shipped off to a character-building camp, where a group of dumbasses decide to provoke the utinsel-grabber again for God knows what reason. Why do bullies ever bully? Unfortunately for this group of bullies, a ghost haunts the camp grounds with a vengeance and a score to settle, and she teams up with our main guy to exact cold, bloody revenge on all of them bastards (and then some). The vengeful ghost has an interesting M.O. - she inflicts harm on herself, and it affects her victim directly. So, she can slit her wrists and her victim will bleed out from slashed wrists. She's also kind of creepy, as well... though I wished that she was a tad bit more angry and a lot less "POOR POOR PITIFUL ME" in her method of torment. I mean, there's a line between being bitterly angry about being bullied and being damn whiny about it, and she crossed it big time. The movie had a decent idea for the most part, but it misses several beats. It's not quite a slasher though I loved the final girl in this one (who is a former bully but seemed genuinely remorseful of her past behavior... played very well by Grace Phipps), nor is it an effective supernatural/ghost movie since our entity shows up far too often and seems too human at times. It's just a gory mish-mash of a horror movie that doesn't really belong in any real subgenre. Still, there's far worse on Netflix... and I really did love Grace Phipps's character. 6/10

Absentia (2011) - A woman and her sister begin to link a mysterious tunnel to a series of disappearances, including that of her own husband. - Amazon Prime

I never try to blow smoke up people's asses when it comes to how effective some films are. I usually just try convey my feelings; you can either take them or leave them. I do like a lot of horror films, but that doesn't mean that I find any of them particularly scary. Even after the plenty that I have seen, credit must always be given to the occasional one that manages to leave me with even the tiniest bit of unease and makes me think long after the fact. While this one was frustrating in a few respects, the mystery underlying it was really quite an interesting one. Basically, a woman's husband goes missing for 7 years and she gets him declared legally dead (in absentia), only for him to return with a heavy dose of post-traumatic stress. It doesn't help that she's seeing a new guy and is pregnant with his child, and her sister (conveniently a recovering drug addict) is the only one willing to accept non-rational reasonings behind the disasppearance/reapparance. Basically, the creepy tunnel near the house is the focal point to the whole movie and you just know that nothing good comes from it. There's really good things about this and really poor things. One hand, the film has the creepy factor going for it and the underlying mystery is intriguing. On the other hand, it leaves you a bit wanting and you can be left rather frustrated by the end due to unanswered questions. To give you an idea... this has the same director as Oculus so you can expect the ending to not completely deliver despite an intriguing movie up to that point. Yet, even I didn't care much for Oculus but found that this one has stuck with me due to my intrigue in the story and just how different it seemed compared to most other films I've seen. It's a slow movie that doesn't spoonfeed you much of anything, but it may just be a creepy watch late at night and for those individuals who like figuring things out for themselves. Frustrating, but highly recommended for any horror fan to see and judge for themselves. 6/10

Arachnophobia (1990) - A species of South American killer spider hitches a lift to the U.S. in a coffin and starts to breed and kill. - DVD

Reviewing this for Neil! As mentioned previously, I saw this for dirt cheap at the store one time and bought it, but it sat on my shelf literally for like 2 years until I watched it. Though my dad has been bit twice by a brown recluse which one would think would make me as his son extra cautious/scared of spiders (he was in the hospital for like weeks after his first bite), I just am not arachnophobic myself though my former roomate in college was terribly frightened so I know arachnophobia is very much real. I suspect the fear people have for spiders is similar to my irrational fear of bats, and some of you have heard my horrific experiences with a pesky bat on Skype. The movie develops its invasive-species backstory extremely well, showing the South American expedition where these deadly spiders were first discovered before moving the action to a quiet town in the USofA. Most movies would make these spiders the byproduct of nuclear waste dumping or alien activity, but this movie makes it clear that this is simply an aggressive species that simply found its way to small-town USA and it breeds with a normal spider which creates a lethal batch of soldier spiders. If these spiders aren't stopped, environmental catastophre will result. The film dabbles with a substory where a new doctor's patients are dropping dead from mysterious causes and the small-town's close-mindedness has them refusing to do full autopsies, instead relying on sketchy patient medical history to determine causes of death. This ignorance of science and the natural aversion to strangers leads to the good doctor being briefly called "Doctor Death" but alas, they didn't explore this intriguing side story that much when it became clear that spiders have been killing people. The special effects in this movie were phenomenally done, and none of the spiders even looked remotely fake. Add in a few gross sequences and a good family in peril, you have a pretty solid movie overall. While I wouldn't call the movie the most amazing thing that I've ever seen, I do appreciate a well-made effort that keeps me engaged from start to finish. I have no problems giving this one an 8/10.

The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a malicious spirit. - In Theaters

My co-worker has been talking about going to see this movie with me for like two or three months now. I absolutely adored the first 'Conjuring' movie and upon seeing its trailer, it was no doubt my most anticipated movie of 2013. However, when it comes to sequels, I just never get excited to see them since they rarely ever live up to the original. For the most part, it's true with 'Conjuring 2'. All the key characters are made likeable and there are some fine performances in this (particularly from Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga - both are absolutely wonderful in these roles). The story isn't anything original, but they do avert some of the more normal (frustrating) cliches that affect most supernatural horrors. The mother was only allowed to tell her tormented daughter that she was dreaming once before she saw a dresser fly across the room, and there was no father present to staunchly proclaim that there is no such thing as ghosts. There was a skeptic woman (whom my friend hilariously referred to as a "bag") that tried to act like the family was making it all up for publicity, but at least the family was unifed in its fear which is what both 'Conjuring' films achieve very well as opposed to other supernatural horrors. A creepy nun is the centerpiece and some of the sequences involving her were pretty well done. I jerked at a few jump scares, but maybe my seeing it in theaters helped get me more into the movie.

My main gripe with this one is that it was about a half-hour longer than it had any right being, clocking in at about two hours and 14 minutes when the first one made its point in less than 2 hours. At the risk of sounding like a negative Drew, this sequel honestly felt like the first 'Conjuring' with a whole lotta excess fat. I know sequences involving Patrick Wilson singing Elvis to the tormented children is supposed to show that Ed is a good guy and give the movie heart, but we already know that Ed is a good guy from the first one so was it necessary really? It's just stuff like that that sort of bogs down a movie for me... some like seeing good-hearted stuff like that intermixed with their horrors. Others, like myself, just like to-the-point horror movies that leave the good-hearted, feel-good stuff to Hallmark. I may need to rewatch the original as well, but it seems like the first one really worked better with its utilizing a less-is-more approach - sure, we didn't see the apparitions as much, but when we did, we were terrified beyond belief. And that worked very well because there were a few scenes without seeing ghosts that were downright creepy/scary. In this sequel though, it relished in showing its ghosts left and right and I think that's the problem when a series achieves a larger budget. But, yeah, maybe I'm just being overly critical on a movie that's being given crticial acclaim, but I would still rewatch the first one before this one any day. Still a great sequel, though. Check it out in theaters, if you haven't already. 8/10
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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Quick Reviews:

- Anguish (2015): Apparently based on a true story, but that always needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The story was pretty heart-warming, truth be told. Definitely not as malicious as most other haunting tales. 6/10

- The Morgue (2008): I only checked this out because Heather Donahue of Blair Witch was in it and I had never seen her in anything else but that one role. The movie was a huge mess and many others told the same story more effectively. 4/10

- The Loved Ones (2009): Very interesting torture movie. What impressed me was how sympathetic the tortured was and how unsympathetic the torturess was... most movies would make the guy a jerk, jock type and the girl a sympathetic, book nerd to somehow mindscrew the audience into being on the girl's side and expose us all as evil bastards for daring side with someone who would inflict harm on another human being. None of that business was found here... love Lola if you dare (you know I won't judge), but she was an evil little bitch and had no shame about it. "HAPPY!"...lol... 7/10

- Slashers (2001): Garrett recommended this to me. <3 Obviously low-budget, but the script was almost novelty in that it was like nothing I had ever seen before in a horror film. The acting of the lead girl ranged from atrociously bad to hilariously bad, which got a few chuckles, but these are the kind of movies that really need to be made. Outlandish as hell, but in a good way. 5/10, though I think this one will be amazing after a few rewatches.

- Scar (2007): Angela Bettis was the only reason that I watched this one and though she did elevate the movie slightly, it just wasn't anything to get excited over. 4/10

- The People Under the Stairs (1991): Like Arachnophobia, I'm not sure why this one languished on my shelf for as long as it did. I was going to watch it around the time Wes Craven passed away, but I never did. It was a really good movie with a very different lead (a young black boy nicknamed Fool) and the villains were entertainingly and outrageously crazy. I was surprised just how unsupernatural this movie was - I went in expecting a ghost movie but got something different. Pleasant surprise. 7/10

- Secuestrados (2010) (aka Kidnapped): Remember my review of Angst? Well, this one also takes something of a similar tone though at least the family fought back against the intruders a bit here so it wasn't a total waste. Gruesome, shocking, tough to sit through... definitely a depiction of violence that I don't think I would recommend to many people since I wouldn't want it recommended to me. 6/10

- Rebound (2014): I think the movie worked best when I was ears deep in dread, wondering what horrific situation our doomed heroine would cross as she made a cross-country trip home after a bad break-up with her boyfriend. Finding out wasn't the best part of the movie, unfortunately. 6/10

- Near Dark (1987): Almost no one talks about this 80's vampire flick, and I'm not entirely sure why since it's one of the best ones I've seen. Maybe it just hit all the right beats the night I watched it. 9 out of 10!

- Ratter (2015): A girl is stalked through the use of her electronic devices. Ashley Benson (from Days of Our Lives) does a great job. Some parts startled me, but there were equally boring parts as well. 6/10

That's it for now.

Movin' to FUNKYTOWN!

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Has anyone watched that Sleep Paralysis documentary on Netflix? I watched it last night before bed and it gave me the creeps, legit chills. Started off kind of slow but the visual effects and some of the stories were really disturbing. I've had sleep paralysis before but nothing as vivid as what these people described.

Melissa: Is there an F5?
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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Is that the "Sleepwalkers Who Kill" one on there? I've seen it posted, but I haven't checked it out. I mostly watch documentaries on Netflix to fall asleep to - I'm in the middle of one right now about Carl Panzram, but maybe I'll check that one out next when I finish it up.

Killer Legends and Cropsey were both interesting, btw.

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

It's called "The Nightmare"

Melissa: Is there an F5?
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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Slashers 2001 is such a random goddess. That director has other good movies, too, Daniel.

omg guys, I thought 10 Cloverfield Lane was great. 8/10.

MEW is a horror icon. I love that she's becoming a modern day Signey Weaver.

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

More Quick reviews... sorry for none that are longer but less ramblings I suppose:

* Godsend (2004): This movie had the premise of a very interesting thriller at the palm of its hands: A grieving couple agrees to clone their son, but when Cloned Son turns the same age as when the Original Son dies, things start to get weird and he starts to get the inkling that he at one time experienced death. How would mommy and daddy explain that one? Alas, it takes one stupid twist to completely make a huge trainwreck of a movie. Not recommended at all. 4/10.

* The Sentinel (1977): The movie is by no means bad, but it's just not as memorable amongst some of the more twisted of 70s selections to me. 6/10

* No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker (2008): It's a sequel to the 2005 film 'Reeker', and I never knew that until I got the DVD it from Netflix. Sadly, this one recycles the same "twist" as seen in its original and it's kind of painful seeing the movie working up to the ending, almost like some poor guy telling a joke to which you already know the punchline but they're so into telling it that you awkwardly decide to play along since you like the guy otherwise. So, yeah, I actually wouldn't mind backing this one as a guilty pleasure of sorts because it was way more entertaining than the first, but I wish that I had seen this one before the first one. 5/10

* The Brood (1979): I had heard stuff about this one, and given that it's David Cronenberg, I knew that whatever would transpire would be sick as all hell. It didn't disappoint. 7/10

* Silent Night (2012): It's been a while since a death in a horror movie has really disturbed me, but the wood chipper death in this one was very brutal and sadistic. It's more of a homage, in my opinion - it gives little nods here and there to the original films and seemed every bit as exploitive as those films were back in the day. I also never knew that Jaime King was such a Scream Queen of remakes... Mother's Day, My Bloody Valentine 3D, and now Silent Night. What else was she in that I need to know about? lol 6/10

* Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) (aka Cemetery Man): It's a really good, surreal-like zombie film that is far different than any that I had ever seen. Fairly confusing, but I know that whatever I watched, I liked it. I plan to rewatch this one really soon because its ending surprised me a good deal, but I have a theory on it that I want to test against seeing it again to see if it holds up. 7/10

* The Number 23 (2007): Ehh, I wanted to like it more, but it got tiring seeing Jim Carrey obsessing over 23. Cool DVD cover, though. 6/10

* The Entity (1982): There was a sick and disturbing element to this that should shock everyone, regardless of gender. There's a lot of movies out there about ghosts haunting a family, but so far, I just know of one out there about a ghost that rapes a woman repeatedly. Yep, it's this one. 8/10

* Los inocentes (2013) (aka Bloody April Fools) - It's a Spanish slasher movie that clocks in at like an hour and 8 minutes. Not bad, just kind of pointless though passable if you like seeing a bit more of the same. 5/10

* Death Factory (2014) (aka The Butchers) - You know, despite being a movie with such a heinously low IMDb rating, I loved this one a great deal. A busload of passengers get stuck in a desert museum and resurrect the ghosts of six real-life serial killers who proceed to kill them off one by one and rather brutally. The ghosts of the serial killers aren't even remotely believable to how they seemed in real life (we're talking Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmner, John Wayne Gacy, ect) but it's the type of movie you kind of just shut off the brain to enjoy just because it knows it's goofy. Don't let the cheap-as-hell looking opening scare you off either, btw... the cinematography gets much better once the opening kill is over and done with. 7/10

Movin' to FUNKYTOWN!

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

That review surpassed expectations :)

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

I do try.

In other news, exciting day for 'Blair Witch Project' fans!
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/business/media/in-a-gleeful-twist-at-a-horror-film-screening-blair-witch-is-revived.html?_r=0

I knew something was off about that movie... the trailer was just a bunch of sh!t hitting the fan with no real indication of the plot, other than what was assumed (that a bunch of dumb kids awaken some evil force in the woods - who hasn't seen this movie played out before?). I think it was clever that they did a marketing ploy in much the same way they did in the first one by having everyone assume it was real. With Adam Wingard involved, I actually have hopes that this could be a good movie since I've liked most of his other stuff. We shall see.

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

I love the Blair Witch Project but I *beep* hated this trailer for the new movie. Too noisy and annoying. Would have worked better if it was slow and creepy and none of that obnoxious loud music and all the yelling and screaming.

I'm still gonna go watch it but yea, hated the trailer.

Oh it's like slang. From...England

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

I wonder if MARY'S GATE will make an appearance?

Super excited for another Blair Witch but I'm worried it won't be good.

Melissa: Is there an F5?
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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

It's funny you say that Henry because the reasons you hated the trailer are the exact reason I found it interesting. It reminded me very much of the Alien (1979) trailer - you can tell sh!t hits the fan and it gives you glimpses of hell breaking loose, but nothing is revealed about the plot. I had no idea what evil in the woods these kids would disrupt to cause so much chaos.

The thing was, the trailer went so far against the usual trailers of nowadays (the one for "Don't Breath" basically gives away the plot, let's be real) that we should've seen that something was off with this movie.

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

A bit unrelated since it's not really horror, but Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is one of the best comedies that I've seen in quite some time. Just needed to be said. 9/10

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Loved it ^^^^^^^^ WHATS A PUSH POP?!

🇨🇦

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

ITS A SEXUAL TERM I JUST MADE UP!

Mini-reviews coming up soon, if I don't get bored at the prospect of writing them between now and then. lol

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

I just watched Humongous and Carla reminded me of Nicole Franzel ewww. Really good movie though. Not quite as good as Paul Lynch's other early 80's masterpiece Prom Night, but still great.

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

I can see it, lol. Humongous was good once it gets going. I recall that it takes like 40 minutes for the bodycount to get stranded, but once the killing/suspense starts the movie is excellent. The island setting was perfect. I also liked similar the final girl chase was to the 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' one, in terms of Sandy having to work thru some deep brush to escape the madman trailing her close behind. I admit that it's not the best of the early 80s crop, but it got a 8/10 from me which is a pretty high mark for me to give a simple slasher movie. I also think it deserves higher than its 4.3 IMDb rating so I might have given it a little higher to help boost it a bit.

I just watched a lesser-known one from 1981 called Hospital Massacre (aka X-Ray). The movie was kind of slow at times and it was weird how the hospital went from being fully staffed to having no staff (even factoring in the killer's bodycount), but there was a decent enough serial killer vs. final girl showdown at the end. Oh, and Barbi Benton looks very good naked in it as well and the movie spends at least 10 minutes having a doctor character rub her body up and down as he 'examines' her. lol

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

X Ray (Hospital Massacre) has such a surreal and weird tone throughout that almost makes it kinda creepy. Like it's almost one big nightmare of every fear someone might have when going to the hospital.

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Yeah, I'm still a bit unsure if I want to buy that movie on Blu-ray or not, just to see if watching it in high definition would make me like it more. I watched it in shoddy VHS quality on Amazon Prime which no-doubt probably made the movie seem more boring since it was a lot of gray/black sequences (which probably helped with the tone you speak of). I'll have to do some digging online to see if someone uploaded the high-def movie on YouTube or something. Otherwise, I might buy it in a combo pack with another called Schizoid (1980) which I have never seen.

Another 80's movie that I plan to watch very soon is Slaughterhouse (1987). I was very impressed with 1988's American Gothic btw.

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread


Otherwise, I might buy it in a combo pack with another called Schizoid (1980) which I have never seen.


I have that combo pack Dan and X Ray looks fantastic. Well worth a buy for it alone. Schizoid I thought was kinda meh. However the price for two films on Blu was really good, and Schizoid would have probably taken forever to get a Blu release alone, so I'm glad they released them together.


Another 80's movie that I plan to watch very soon is Slaughterhouse (1987). I was very impressed with 1988's American Gothic btw.


Believe it or not I haven't seen either of these! Let me know how Slaughterhouse is. American Gothic is one I have been meaning to see for YEARS. I remember seeing both of these films in video stores back when video stores were actually a thing :p (oh how I miss them).

Btw Dan I also saw Bloody Birthday and The Initiation earlier this week. Have you seen either of those yet? The Initiation started off kinda slow (but not in a bad way), but the last 40 minutes or so were amazing. Bloody Birthday was like Village of the Damned meets Halloween, and was also pretty good. I recommend both if you haven't watched them yet, and they are also on Youtube in good quality.

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Yeah, I own The Initiation and I'd agree with your assessment. I checked that out pretty early on because I happen to be a fan of Daphne Zuniga, whom I knew from Melrose Place and Spaceballs (a favorite growing up). It's a good time-waster movie I guess, but the movie on the whole wasn't very memorable compared to most others of its kind. Bloody Birthday, on the other hand, was excellent. The main girl in that is probably one of my favorite heroines from those early 80s movies, in fact. She's another one of those final girls from that crop that never gets credit, granted she was up against evil children rather than a machete-wielding maniac. Still, those kids were pure evil and there were three of them, so she had her hands full.

American Gothic was all kinds of awesome, even if a bit cheesy in certain respects. I had to buy the DVD for it and sadly I think only a full-screen version is available, but the picture quality is very good and the movie has the polish of April Fools Day without the ridiculous end-twist. It's got that 80's charm though and a good-looking cast to boot. I especially loved seeing Fiona Hutchison (whom I knew from her soap opera days) play the bitchy bitch character just as good as Eileen Davidson (another soap diva) did in The House on Sorority Row. So many soap starlets got their start in these 80s horror movies. lol

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Who is your favorite Melrose character?

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Heather Locklear's, though the actual character name escapes me (I'm bad with character names tbh). I liked her character along with Daphne's, though I admit that it's been a long time since I watched the show which ran in the 90s when I was still in elementary school. I remember loosely catching episodes on SoapNet from time to time in the years that followed. Same with 90210 and Dallas. That channel was actually a pretty good one for syndicated TV dramas, but sadly it doesn't exist anymore.

How about your's? What other shows do you watch?

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

I love Sydney she's my favorite
I used to watch soap net too I like all of the shows you mentioned.

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Heather played Amanda :). Melrose Place was one of those shows that was on in the background at my house all the time growing up since my mom loved it. I don't really remember many episodes, but I did years ago get the first season on DVD and didn't love it. It stinks because the first season is known to be the absolute worst and S2 on becomes a rollercoaster ride of drama, and I just can't finish the first. Maybe I'll just skip to the second season one of these times cause I want to see people fighting in the pool and cheating on their spouses . Season 1 is about twenty something's trying to get by and it's just a bit blah.

Re: OT: The Horror Thread


Bloody Birthday, on the other hand, was excellent. The main girl in that is probably one of my favorite heroines from those early 80s movies, in fact. She's another one of those final girls from that crop that never gets credit, granted she was up against evil children rather than a machete-wielding maniac. Still, those kids were pure evil and there were three of them, so she had her hands full.


I'm not sure if I liked it quite as much as you (I would say it was more good than excellent), but Lori Lethin (and the rest of the cast) were very good. I didn't even recognize Julie Brown at first, but it was interesting that she was in it as well. I think the film could have been a bit less blatant of ripping off Halloween though (not that I mind, but this actually almost lifted scenes). Overall it might rank on my lower half of slashers from the golden age, but it was still really solid.

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

lol did you see Offerings from 1989? After seeing that, nothing will seem like a true Halloween ripoff ever again. It even makes He Knows You're Alone (maybe the second closest ripoff to Halloween) look like true, original cinema.

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Re: OT: The Horror Thread

I actually own Offerings. I'm not a huge fan of it either (Intruder, Cutting Class, Hell High and even Return of the Family Man are SO much better when it came to slashers of 1989) but I've honestly just kinda forgot about it more than anything . I haven't probably watched in almost 10 years. Maybe I'd like it more with another watch. I love He Knows You're Alone <3. The scenes I'm talking about in Bloody Birthday are when the lead is walking down the suburban neighborhood clutching her school books while her best friend who's just like Annie walks along with her. Then her friends (who's obviously Annie) father pulls up in his cop car. Annie's father in Halloween was a cop too. Then there's a scene where a blue van pulls up with a horny couple that looks just like the one Lynda and Bob pulled up in, and it happens probably around the same minute mark Lynda and Bob show up. Then the lead has her brother run out of the house at the end to alert the neighbors like Tommy and Lindsey did in Halloween at the end. Again, I don't mind, but I just really noticed it in this one that's all.

Re: OT: The Horror Thread

Intruder <3 soooo good.

Miss you guys!
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