The Horror Thread - Part 1

[Ant-manic]

Seen it...and own the soundtrack.

Unless you mean Trick 'r Treat (the anthology with Anna Paquin) in which case, I've still seen it, and loved it.

(given the context, your probably talking about the music related one...the link didn't work for me though).

However, there are plenty of classic (and modern) films that even I'm surprised that I haven't seen, despite being a huge Horror fan. I tend to usually focus on current movies (as in, released this year) so if something slipped past me even last year (like, The Loved Ones or The Innkeepers) then I end up not watching them. And I haven't seen ANY of the classic Universal or Hammer horrors.

i was talking about the Dee Snider version. glad to hear that you liked it. the Loved Ones was ok. it was a very simple story with a very simple payoff. i haven't seen the Inkeepers; think i read a bad review or something.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

So they aren't quite horror, but I picked up the 2000's Gamera Trilogy Blu Ray for 7.88 . Was originally looking at Lords of Salem, but reviews were abysmal and Redbox gets it next week, so ill wait and give it a shot then.

 

[66 Face]

So they aren't quite horror, but I picked up the 2000's Gamera Trilogy Blu Ray for 7.88 . Was originally looking at Lords of Salem, but reviews were abysmal and Redbox gets it next week, so ill wait and give it a shot then.

Its a strange flick but I didn't think it was as bad as the review make it out to be. Its without question a slow burn movie but other than that I thought it was OK. The imagery is really creepy and strange kind of in The Shining kind of a way.

It not as good as Ho1000C or The Devils Rejects but those bad reviews are way over the top IMO.

 

[redhawk23]

Lord's of Salem was different and interesting until the last 5 minutes when they just kind of said f**k it and it just kind of sputtered out in a disjointed montage. Ultimately, it was very disappointing.

 

[Heretic]

i was talking about the Dee Snider version. glad to hear that you liked it. the Loved Ones was ok. it was a very simple story with a very simple payoff. i haven't seen the Inkeepers; think i read a bad review or something.

Wait...Dee Snider is in that??? It's funny that Gene Simmons and Ozzy are both BARELY in it, yet they make the cover of the DVD.

Speaking of Dee Snider, Strangeland kind of sucked. Again, decent soundtrack if I recall.

One of these days I'd like for the band I'm with to be on a soundtrack. Most Horror movies either seem to have really extreme metal or just a score though (and my band is more mainstream heavy rock). Hell, I'd even do an 80's style cover of the Transformers theme that Lion did for the old cartoon (or hell...someone should do "Cold Slither" for GI Joe 3).

 

[bullets]

Lord's of Salem was different and interesting until the last 5 minutes when they just kind of said f**k it and it just kind of sputtered out in a disjointed montage. Ultimately, it was very disappointing.

I bought Lords of Salem because I'm a fan of Zombie's imagery and visiting Salem , MA used to be a tradition . I know what Zombie was going for , but wouldn't recommend the film to anyone that isn't a die hard fan. In the commentary he mentions time constraints. I wonder if that lead to the end being a music video.

I'm officially doing 31 Days of Halloween this year! First year ever. I can't wait!!!


October 15 - Psycho (Remake)

That's a solid list , but the Psycho remake is mostly shot for shot and not that interesting.

Child's Play 2 is pretty damn cool.

I just watched that on Netflix not too long ago. Some parts don't make sense , but overall I think it's a decent follow up. People always say Chucky isn't scary and for the most part I was never really frightened by the films. Some of the cursing is comical. However if a doll turned real it would probably give most of us a heart attack.

 

[66 Face]

I bought Lords of Salem because I'm a fan of Zombie's imagery and visiting Salem , MA used to be a tradition . I know what Zombie was going for , but wouldn't recommend the film to anyone that isn't a die hard fan. In the commentary he mentions time constraints. I wonder if that lead to the end being a music video.




That's a solid list , but the Psycho remake is mostly shot for shot and not that interesting.




I just watched that on Netflix not too long ago. Some parts don't make sense , but overall I think it's a decent follow up. People always say Chucky isn't scary and for the most part I was never really frightened by the films. Some of the cursing is comical. However if a doll turned real it would probably give most of us a heart attack.

I like Zombie but I can't stand that he's always *****ing and moaning about his movies not being what he wanted.

The ending just ruins the movie. There was a slow burn creep factor going on but it needs some pay off... like House of the Devil.

I've always heard that he was supposed to handle The Blob after Halloween 2. Has anyone heard what happened to that?

 

[Figs]

Just watched a film called American Mary last night on Netflix. Anyone else seen this one? I can't remember her name but the actress in the lead I think is the red head from Ginger Snaps.

 

[Heretic]

Just watched Rob Zombie's Monstrous Steaming Turd

Wait...no...it's called The Lords of Salem

WARNING...I MIGHT POST SOME GENERAL SPOILERS...BUT I WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING LIKE SAY "I CAN'T BELIEVE BRUCE WILLIS WAS DEAD THE ENTIRE TIME" OR ANYTHING THAT MAJOR.

Unlike earlier posters, I didn't get into this at all (though the end is certainly the worst part). The thing is...I send my band's music all over the country hoping that radio stations will play it (they rarely do). However, when The Lords sent their record out to the #1 radio show in the area, the dj assumes that they must be local, so he dubs them The Lords of Salem, despite that not being their actual name...and coincidentally, that is the exact new name he'd HAVE to give them for the story parts to fit together. Not to mention that the author who happened to be there past his interview time became obsessed with a mystery that really wasn't interesting enough to bother thinking about on the surface. I get the impression that he was constantly stalking people, chasing nonexistent mysteries. LOTS of bands name themselves after stuff they see in books, that doesn't mean you should stalk the djs who play them (and it is common practice to send the music to a specific dj that is most likely to play it).

The end is AWFUL. The "good guys" are literally about a foot away and she says "Bye" and they are never seen again, as we slowly walk to the finish line...and her friends (again, who were RIGHT THERE) never bother to do anything. Then it turns into a music video.

The women who were hypnotized by the song in the beginning then dropped out of the film and then the during-the-credits voice-over explained their brief presence in the film. To me, Rob Zombie's obsession with his own wife hurt the film. She had tattoos, dreads, Slayer stickers, Horror movie stuff and even what looked like some torture device thing (and a drug addiction). She seemed like the type who would be interested in this Satan stuff. I would have much rather have followed one of the regular women who got hypnotized, because they would have been thrown into a world that was unfamiliar and scary to them...whereas the lead character in this fit right in with the weirdness from the start, so I never got the impression that she was going down a dark path (though I get that they tried to show that a bit, it failed for me). The problem with Rob Zombie is that he is so in love with white trash alternative/Metal culture and horror movies that he has to insert that vibe into every scene and character, so weird horror scenes never seem abnormal for the characters when they happen.

But...um...Meg Foster was pretty good in her role.

 

[Ant-manic]

Wait...Dee Snider is in that??? It's funny that Gene Simmons and Ozzy are both BARELY in it, yet they make the cover of the DVD.

Speaking of Dee Snider, Strangeland kind of sucked. Again, decent soundtrack if I recall.

One of these days I'd like for the band I'm with to be on a soundtrack. Most Horror movies either seem to have really extreme metal or just a score though (and my band is more mainstream heavy rock). Hell, I'd even do an 80's style cover of the Transformers theme that Lion did for the old cartoon (or hell...someone should do "Cold Slither" for GI Joe 3).

lol! where was my mind at? no, Dee Snider wasn't in it; just Gene and (briefly) Ozzy. maybe i was thinking of Strangeland. didn't much care for that movie.

 

[Ant-manic]

The problem with Rob Zombie is that he is so in love with white trash alternative/Metal culture and horror movies that he has to insert that vibe into every scene and character, so weird horror scenes never seem abnormal for the characters when they happen.

^this. it's what kept me from enjoying the Halloween remake. there wasn't any contrast between the Shape and suburbanites; like in the original. everyone in his movie seemed like they might not care if the night was their last. they even had Laurie cursing in front of her parents.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

Guess what I decided to buy tonight with some extra cash I made helping some family today?

Spoiler

No Flash:

With Flash:

 

[Hotwire]

Wondering what others here thought about the Cube series of films? I, myself, really enjoyed the first two but, wasn't as happy with Hypercube. What about you guys?

 

[Heretic]

^this. it's what kept me from enjoying the Halloween remake. there wasn't any contrast between the Shape and suburbanites; like in the original. everyone in his movie seemed like they might not care if the night was their last. they even had Laurie cursing in front of her parents.

Right...cops...parents...teenagers...they are all pretty much despicable white trash, violent, drug using, usually surrounded by Metal t-shirts and horror movie junk. They are virtually impossible to tell apart from the killers, and you're right...not only do you want them to die, you get the feeling that they would like to die as well.

One thing fiction should do is introduce you to the status quo...and then shake that up. In Rob Zombie movies, violence, horror etc IS the status quo. So when the violence comes, I'm left wondering why these people even care.

In Lords of Salem, Zombie HAD to make the radio show an Extreme Metal show that had satanist guests screaming about killing Jesus etc. Then he actually wants us to believe that this is the number 1 radio show in the area. Yeah, I'm not buying that. Had it been a regular morning zoo type show, then it would have been an obvious "trash" when they played the song...but then people would have liked it...confusing the hosts. People liked it because it was hypnotizing them, of course (no worries...this subplot is brought up once and then not mentioned again until the post-credits voice-over...it is not something I consider a spoiler because the freaking credits are rolling before they realized that it should be mentioned a second time). You then follow a regular girl...it could be the dj if you wanted it to (or a listener)...and you get the same story, but it's more effective because you are taking someone from a peaceful, "ideal" life, and then you shake up their status quo with weirdness and Satanic horror. The lead character in this film comes off as possibly Satanist before the story even starts.

Not to rant again on the same crap...but come on Zombie...you should be able to do better than this.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

Wondering what others here thought about the Cube series of films? I, myself, really enjoyed the first two but, wasn't as happy with Hypercube. What about you guys?

Cube was fantastic. Loved the whole film. Cube Zero was an alright prequel, and had some good things going on. I never saw Hypercube, I heard it was terrible and saved myself the hour and a half. Its been a long time since I've seen either of them though.

 

[Figs]

Wondering what others here thought about the Cube series of films? I, myself, really enjoyed the first two but, wasn't as happy with Hypercube. What about you guys?

Same here. The first was great, but the second wasn't nearly as good. To be honest, I can't even remember what went on in the third film.

 

[Piper Maru]

Cube is a film I haven't seen for a long time.

 

[Hotwire]

The second film, Hypercube, took all of that gritty environment and replaced it with pristine, clean, sterile white. The traps went ultra high-tech. It does have a really cool shot in it, though. One of the people climbs up the ladder and opens the door on one wall. When he looks into the next room, he sees himself looking out the door on the opposite wall! Trippy!

Trailer for Hypercube. Actually the second film. I thought it was #3.

 

[Loki882]

Right...cops...parents...teenagers...they are all pretty much despicable white trash, violent, drug using, usually surrounded by Metal t-shirts and horror movie junk. They are virtually impossible to tell apart from the killers, and you're right...not only do you want them to die, you get the feeling that they would like to die as well.

One thing fiction should do is introduce you to the status quo...and then shake that up. In Rob Zombie movies, violence, horror etc IS the status quo. So when the violence comes, I'm left wondering why these people even care.

In Lords of Salem, Zombie HAD to make the radio show an Extreme Metal show that had satanist guests screaming about killing Jesus etc. Then he actually wants us to believe that this is the number 1 radio show in the area. Yeah, I'm not buying that. Had it been a regular morning zoo type show, then it would have been an obvious "trash" when they played the song...but then people would have liked it...confusing the hosts. People liked it because it was hypnotizing them, of course (no worries...this subplot is brought up once and then not mentioned again until the post-credits voice-over...it is not something I consider a spoiler because the freaking credits are rolling before they realized that it should be mentioned a second time). You then follow a regular girl...it could be the dj if you wanted it to (or a listener)...and you get the same story, but it's more effective because you are taking someone from a peaceful, "ideal" life, and then you shake up their status quo with weirdness and Satanic horror. The lead character in this film comes off as possibly Satanist before the story even starts.

Not to rant again on the same crap...but come on Zombie...you should be able to do better than this.

I liked the remake. I didn't find Laurie to be despicable, she was like quite a few teens that I knew in high school, I liked her character. Her parents were decent and I REALLY liked Brad Dourif's Brackett (in both movies). Also, I could easily tell the difference between Michael and the townspeople. The violence was extreme, but not too extreme imo. The second film, we'll I'll give Rob credit for at least TRYING to bring something new to the franchise, even if the results were "mixed."

 

[Figs]

The third film, Hypercube, took all of that gritty environment and replaced it with pristine, clean, sterile white. The traps went ultra high-tech. It does have a really cool shot in it, though. One of the people climbs up the ladder and opens the door on one wall. When he looks into the next room, he sees himself looking out the door on the opposite wall! Trippy!

Isn't it supposed to be a prequel?

If I remember correctly,

Spoiler

the one guy makes it out and the two guys overseeing everything ask him if he believes in god right? After he answers, they burn him.

 

[Hotwire]

Isn't it supposed to be a prequel?

If I remember correctly,

Spoiler

the one guy makes it out and the two guys overseeing everything ask him if he believes in god right? After he answers, they burn him.

I checked back into it and Cube Zero was the prequel.

Cube
Cube 2: Hypercube
Cube Zero

 

[Ant-manic]

I liked the remake. I didn't find Laurie to be despicable, she was like quite a few teens that I knew in high school, I liked her character. Her parents were decent and I REALLY liked Brad Dourif's Brackett (in both movies). Also, I could easily tell the difference between Michael and the townspeople. The violence was extreme, but not too extreme imo. The second film, we'll I'll give Rob credit for at least TRYING to bring something new to the franchise, even if the results were "mixed."

i'll give him credit for getting to the point where he was able to remake my favorite movie from childhood. but did he really bring anything different? same basic storyline. he just told it through a dirty lens; threw in imagery from his music videos. but i'll tell you that i never wanted or needed to know what Michael Myers homelife was like. talk about killing the mystery. the way it was portrayed, he just came from bad stock. and his victims were just too hard/rough-looking for me to worry about them. it's like when you read a news story about pretty blonde girl being murdered vs scores of homeless people getting killed. i'm not saying that it's right. but i think the original did it better.

 

[Loki882]

i'll give him credit for getting to the point where he was able to remake my favorite movie from childhood. but did he really bring anything different? same basic storyline. he just told it through a dirty lens; threw in imagery from his music videos. but i'll tell you that i never wanted or needed to know what Michael Myers homelife was like. talk about killing the mystery. the way it was portrayed, he just came from bad stock. and his victims were just too hard/rough-looking for me to worry about them. it's like when you read a news story about pretty blonde girl being murdered vs scores of homeless people getting killed. i'm not saying that it's right. but i think the original did it better.

Of course the original did it better, I'll NEVER dispute that. However, I found the remake enjoyable.

 

[jonathancrane]

Out of Zombie's films, the Halloween films remain my favorite, especially H2. They are not supposed to the standard slasher faire as the original series, but a true crime horror film imbued with elements of the slasher. The films are a terrific examination of the Manson Family slayings, the press's handling of it, the blood merchants (especially Vincent Bugliosi, who informed Loomis' character,) and the serial killer junkies (Chett from H2.) Both of his films are better than all of the sequels combined: the whole relative-purging subplot ruined the mystique of Michael Myers (and as Kim Newman said, said plotline was influenced by the original Star Wars trilogy. And let's not forget Carpenter wrote H2 drunk. He said so in an older interview.) Having said that, I like the films: but, if I was ranking the pre-Rob Zombie films, I'd have Halloween II (Carpenter's) as my second favorite, followed by H3, H20, 4, 5, 6...I refuse to acknowledge the presence of H:R. 6 is a hair above H:R, but that is not saying much. The producer's cut is atrocious, especially with the incest subplot.

 

[Heretic]

I liked his whole gimmick in House of 1000 Corpses and Devils Rejects. I felt like it fit well with the backwoods stuff. Then, as far as I'm concerned he did the same thing again in Halloween...the stepdad leering lustily at the daughter etc...and it just didn't feel right for the property. I also really hated the mommy issues of his versions. It seemed more like Jason with the wrong mask on. But when he filled his Halloween remakes with backwoods white trash types, I realized that Zombie was unwilling or unable to stretch beyond his gimmick, and that he would instead turn whatever he touched into another installment in Rob Zombie's Wacky World.