The Horror Thread - Part 3

[Teelie]

News bump for Jeepers Creepers 3 here. Nothing much to tell, except they are apparently doing it, even filmed a day but absolutely no details on the story.

 

[Figs]

I'm stunned and disappointed that SyFy can't get behind an update of one of the classic anthology series...and CW doesn't seem like a great fit for this sort of thing...but I'll give it a shot.

Why in the hell would you want a **** channel or network like SyFy to make this?

I'm all for a new version of Tales From the Darkside. I don't know why people are worried to be honest. Hell, I was just telling my wife a few weeks back that I wish HBO would bring back Tales From the Crypt(most likely never going to happen sadly), this is the next best thing in my eyes.

 

[Ant-manic]

Why in the hell would you want a **** channel or network like SyFy to make this?

I'm all for a new version of Tales From the Darkside. I don't know why people are worried to be honest. Hell, I was just telling my wife a few weeks back that I wish HBO would bring back Tales From the Crypt(most likely never going to happen sadly), this is the next best thing in my eyes.

i worry because i was a fan of both shows. the last news on a Tales from the Crypt "remake" had it eschewing the anthology format (planned as an ongoing story). but a different creative team are taking on Darkside. i wish them the best. i'm eager for something to watch.

 

[Rocketman]

Hey guys! As I mentioned a few days ago, me and a couple of buddies have started a podcast all about Horror movies, called ATMOM (At the Movies of Madness). We watch a Horror movie once a week, and then record our bantering about that movie, and other movies / the Horror genre in general.

Our first episode is officially uploaded! We watched Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Check it out!

[YT]Fh-KTXLFh4I[/YT]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh-KTXLFh4I

Episode 2 next week will be Suspiria!

 

[Thundarr]

Hey guys! As I mentioned a few days ago, me and a couple of buddies have started a podcast all about Horror movies, called ATMOM (At the Movies of Madness). We watch a Horror movie once a week, and then record our bantering about that movie, and other movies / the Horror genre in general.

Our first episode is officially uploaded! We watched Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Check it out!

[YT]Fh-KTXLFh4I[/YT]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh-KTXLFh4I

Episode 2 next week will be Suspiria!

I tried watching your podcast. It's just an hour and a half of your shows title, with soundbites of the movie you watched, followed by your guys' banter. I guess you're going for a "radio show style" of podcast? I'm sorry, but I just didn't find that all that interesting & turned it off shortly after the movie clips ended.

Just my opinion.

 

[Heretic]

Why in the hell would you want a **** channel or network like SyFy to make this?

I'm all for a new version of Tales From the Darkside. I don't know why people are worried to be honest. Hell, I was just telling my wife a few weeks back that I wish HBO would bring back Tales From the Crypt(most likely never going to happen sadly), this is the next best thing in my eyes.

Because I don't want Syfy to be a crappy channel. I want Syfy to be proud of the fact that it is a network for genre geeks, and truly invest in Horror, Sci-fi and fantasy shows. They likely weren't offered The Walking Dead, but if they had been, they would have passed on it.

 

[Rocketman]

I tried watching your podcast. It's just an hour and a half of your shows title, with soundbites of the movie you watched, followed by your guys' banter. I guess you're going for a "radio show style" of podcast? I'm sorry, but I just didn't find that all that interesting & turned it off shortly after the movie clips ended.

Just my opinion.

Thanks for the feedback!

Lots of podcasts aren't meant to be "watched" - you might be thinking of vodcasts, so it is audio only in a "radio show" style, yes. Usually big chunks of audio like this are for people who are a) extremely bored, b) folding laundry and washing dishes / cleaning, or c) are already fascinated by whatever the subject of that podcast is.

The only intention is for it to be unscripted, raw banter, usually involving us making fools of ourselves.

 

[Teelie]

Lately I've listened to podcasts kind of as background radio. The benefit being if I hear something interesting but didn't catch entirely I can re-hear it.

 

[Heretic]

Just watched Simon Killer (2013)

It's a Horror movie...um...not too much Horror...just kind of a creepy vibe suspense movie. Simon got dumped by his girlfriend so he went to France to clear his head. Not much killing going on...in fact...none is shown. It actually starts fairly normal...had the movie not been called Simon KILLER then it may have been a surprise to watch him acting more unstable. Not sure why they tell you he's a killer in the title and then spend half the movie treating him like a broken hearted dude looking for love.

It has a Fresh ranking on Rotten Tomatoes...but I don't think it's very good, thrilling or interesting. Not bad...just...the movie happened and now it's over. Simon is definitely a creepy guy, and there's a pretty cool mood created...it just didn't really move me at all.

 

[Heretic]

Just finished watching Alyce Kills, which played Horror fests in 2011 as just Alyce, but is a 2013 release on DVD.

A couple of points...
1. The movie kept reminding me of American Mary...even though they aren't similar in plot at all. They just feel similar.
2. The lead actress could play Danielle Harris' sister in a movie. She kind of reminded me a bit of her, facially.

Alyce has one female friend, and boy does she love her. Like, she's clearly in love...but her friend has a boyfriend. Well, not for long...the boyfriend cheats on her. It's during this early part where the friendship and dialogue feels really natural to me. The conversations are ones I can easily imagine hearing the girls I've known having. It really does a good job of developing that friendship and the obvious desire for more from Alyce. Then an accident happens, and her friend takes a header off the roof of Alyce's apartment building. Alyce doesn't call the cops, and when someone else does, she pretends to have no idea that her friend had fallen. This is where it begins to go off the rails, since Alyce admits that her friend was there and going to the roof, but claimed she went to sleep. Eh...not sure a cop would just buy that shaky story. Anyway, from there Alyce gets crazier and crazier...and the movie gets more absurd and loses the connection it had created with the good build-up. It ends up stringing together a bunch of scenes that serve only the purpose of "shocking" the audience. Alyce um...will this word get censored here???...lets say she touches herself...while watching war footage. Stuff like that, meant to say "look, she's nuts" without putting in any real effort. The end is one long "shock" scene that I guess would have affected me more if I wasn't wondering why she wasn't in jail yet (she had openly admitted to murders earlier to a crowd of people, and then later people who witnessed the confessions and some REALLY strange behavior just visited her as if nothing had happened. It's like they simply forgot that the scene was in the movie).

In short...believable build up and better than average characterization for a gory Horror film, but the more Alyce falls apart, so does the movie.

 

[66 Face]

I'm stunned and disappointed that SyFy can't get behind an update of one of the classic anthology series...and CW doesn't seem like a great fit for this sort of thing...but I'll give it a shot.

I was always hoping that horror icons would get behind fear.net or chiller and make it into horrors scyfy.

The only new horror coming on TV that sounds any good is Preacher... right material, right station...

Has anyone been watching Dracula? Its been brutal. That's what I would expect a CW Tales from the Darkside series to be like. Its like taking a paintbrush of blood and spritzing it on Pretty Little Liars.

 

[Ant-manic]

i've been watching Tom Holland's 'Twisted Tales' on Fearnet. i can't quite recommend them to anyone who might have something better to do (like surf the internet). the one titled 'Pizza Guy' was my favorite of the bunch. they're all short stories; tales from the crypt style but low budget (some really poor acting in some of these).

 

[BH/HHH]

Battle of the Horror Remakes (or reboots if you prefer)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) vs Halloween (2007) vs Friday the 13th (2009) vs A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Which one do you prefer and why? Also if you can be bothered rank them.

-------

My answer:

1) I like all 4 of these films but Friday the 13th is definitely my favourite. I really think they did a great update and making Jason smarter was such a good move for this era. I love the score and the atmosphere of this movie and I like all the characters too. It also in my opinion featured the best Jason in Derek Mears his performance was outstanding.

2) Halloween has really grown on me, I used to hate it but after seeing the theatrical cut I changed my mind. Tyler Mane was excellent as Myers, my favourite part of the film is the second half as its more a traditional Halloween film but grittier.

3) TCM was a big win for me, I never liked a Chainsaw Massacre film before this or after this. I think this is one of those rare instances (for me) where the remake is better than the original. I also preferred this intepretation of Leatherface better than before he was less ****** (not meaning that in an offensive way) and more brutal killer.

4)ANOES isn't a bad update, infact it does some interesting stuff but unfortunatly its bogged down by the horrible remake elements. They really should have just made a fresh new film and ignored redoing any scenes from the orginal. Jackie Earle Haley does a decent job but unfortunately unlike the 3 above he wasn't able to put his own stamp on the character. Seems to me this is one instance where having the character be able to speak hindered him whereas with Jason, Michael & Leatherface the actors were able to make changes using only body language.

 

[Figs]

Battle of the Horror Remakes (or reboots if you prefer)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) vs Halloween (2007) vs Friday the 13th (2009) vs A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Which one do you prefer and why? Also if you can be bothered rank them.

I really disliked Zombie's Halloween remake and hated the sequel. I think it was a dumb idea to show some reasons why Michael might have snapped and Rob's white trash obsession is getting old. It works for the Firefly family but he should stop writing any new characters in his future films like that.

Nightmare on Elm Street was alright. I think Haley did a pretty damn good job as Freddy and the more realistic burn wounds was a nice touch and change from the original but I still didn't like the overall film.

I was incredibly disappointed with the Texas remake. I was originall excited for it and event saw it in the theater but left knowing I would never watch it again. I love the original so much that I will admit I was a tad biased but still tried to keep an open mind. I just love what Hooper did in the first film with such a tiny budget. He made it fairly creepy and used some weird and unsettling sound effects and imagery when they first enter the family's house. I also loved the last act when the girl is starting to lose her sanity when they have her tied up in the chair at the dinner table.

Friday the 13th is one of the two horror remakes(along with The Hills Have Eyes)that I actually prefer over the original. Out of the big slasher films of the past, I could never get into the Friday franchise. I've seen them all but always preferred the Halloween and Nightmare films. My only real complaint about the remake was that Jason didn't kill Padalecki's sister in the beginning. I hated how he kept her chained up underground. I realize he spared her because she was wearing his mother's necklace but I still would have preferred her dying.

Rankings.

1. Friday the 13th
2. Nightmare on Elm Street
3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
4. Halloween

 

[BH/HHH]

Friday the 13th is one of the two horror remakes(along with The Hills Have Eyes)that I actually prefer over the original. Out of the big slasher films of the past, I could never get into the Friday franchise. I've seen them all but always preferred the Halloween and Nightmare films. My only real complaint about the remake was that Jason didn't kill Padalecki's sister in the beginning. I hated how he kept her chained up underground. I realize he spared her because she was wearing his mother's necklace but I still would have preferred her dying.

Its more than that though, as we saw from the picture in the locket she resembled Jason's Mother. I think he was confused as to why she looked like his mother and maybe even if she was his Mother. The confusion for him there us he saw her die and she looks younger.

 

[66 Face]

Battle of the Horror Remakes (or reboots if you prefer)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) vs Halloween (2007) vs Friday the 13th (2009) vs A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Which one do you prefer and why? Also if you can be bothered rank them.

For me its...

1) Halloween... I actually like this movie a lot even though I might not overly like it as a remake. I did not want to see the same story done a different way. At the same time I would have liked if things were kept a little more vague in terms of back story.

2) Friday the 13... Kind of simple and I think that's what I liked about it. I think it was a nice re-introduction to the character and the first 15 mins are actually some of the best Friday material since part 7 before falling flat.

3) TCM... Its OK but lacked the grit and grime of the original. The Evil Dead reminded of some of the same problems this had.

4) NOES... I liked Freddy and I think the character was handled well but I flat out hated everything else.

Maniac wins this hands down though.

 

[Figs]

Its more than that though, as we saw from the picture in the locket she resembled Jason's Mother. I think he was confused as to why she looked like his mother and maybe even if she was his Mother. The confusion for him there us he saw her die and she looks younger.

I have it on DVD but haven't watched it in quite some time. I completely forgot she also resembled his mom.

 

[jonathancrane]

Jason's confusion is part of one of the older cliches in the horror genre: the Monster of the Piece Mistaking the Female Protagonist For The Love of His Life (mother in this case, instead of Wife/lover.) Ignoring the Freudian reading, this cliche has been beaten to death, starting with Bram Stoker's Dracula and continuing to the present.

 

[BH/HHH]

I have it on DVD but haven't watched it in quite some time. I completely forgot she also resembled his mom.

Yeah its not really more than a passing moment anyway.

 

[GremlinZilla89]

Out of the big 4 I actually like three of them.

Halloween: I have no shame in admitting I dig it. I love H1, H2, and H20 as a trilogy of sorts but always found the other sequels (sans H3, which is awesome) to be bland and boring. I don't have the absolutely affinity for the franchise like many other horror fans do. Give me those 3 and I'm happy. So I was more open to the remake than the vast majority of horror fans. It's well shot, makes Michael threatening again and has some good performances. Some of the rednecky stuff is annoying but I never saw it as that is what caused him to be a killer, but something that just fed into it.

Friday the 13th: A film hated on out of sheer spite. I honestly don't see how true fans of the franchise can hate this film. I mean, it's one of the only films out of the whole "reboot" craze that can legit be called a reboot without everyone calling BS. The "remake" part is the opening credits. That's it. The rest of the film is more like a lost sequel than anything else. Aside from the use of modern technology and cars in the film it would fit snuggly between parts 3 and 4. It has everything a Friday film needs to have for fans to enjoy it and doesn't change the mythology what so ever. It's typical of the franchise to a fault. Fans make non -issues out of stuff like Jason having a lair that he lives in when that is what fans just assumed he did most of the time anyway-is live in the woods.
I also remember fanboys whining about Jason having hair, running, wearing a belt and yadda yadda yadda when all these "fans" have to do is watch the other films and see Jason with hair (part 2 & 9), run (Part 2-4), and wearing a belt (part 6) to see their complaints as utter nonsense. They also complain about the gore not being good enough when it was probably the most brutal next to 4, 9 and Jason X. Not to mention Derek Mears is my favorite Jason since part 3. Richard Brooker has always been my favorite Jason as he had a sort of humanistic, animal cunning to him others lacked. Ted White was aggressive, but Brookers Jason felt the most like a wild, crazy backwoods killer while most of the other Jasons (even White and Hodder) felt more like the typical unstoppable juggernaut. Not to dis those guys, but part 3's Jason creeps me out the most.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I LOVED this film when it came out in 03. I thought it was equal to the original. Since then it's lost some of it's luster for me but it's still rather strong. The characters is better than average, it;s glorious to look at in all it's hyper grimy splendor and it manages to capture some of the intensity of the original. It's just a well put together horror film that takes itself seriously and whats to go for the gut. I even like TCM: The Beginning.

A Nightmare On Elm Street is just bland, boring, lazy crap. Haley made a decent Freddy but absolutely nothing in the movie felt inspired or creative.

 

[Figs]

Friday the 13th: A film hated on out of sheer spite. I honestly don't see how true fans of the franchise can hate this film. I mean, it's one of the only films out of the whole "reboot" craze that can legit be called a reboot without everyone calling BS. The "remake" part is the opening credits. That's it. The rest of the film is more like a lost sequel than anything else. Aside from the use of modern technology and cars in the film it would fit snuggly between parts 3 and 4. It has everything a Friday film needs to have for fans to enjoy it and doesn't change the mythology what so ever. It's typical of the franchise to a fault. Fans make none issues out of stuff like Jason having a lair that he lives in when that is what fans just assumed he did most of the time anyway-is live in the woods.
I also remember fanboys whining about Jason having hair, running, wearing a belt and yadda yadda yadda when all these "fans" have to do is watch the other films and see Jason with hair (part 2 & 9), run (Part 2-4), and wearing a belt (part 6) to see their complaints as utter nonsense. They also complain about the gore not being good enough when it was probably the most brutal next to 4, 9 and Jason X. Not to mention Derek Mears is my favorite Jason since part 3. Richard Brooker has always been my favorite Jason as he had a sort of humanistic, animal cunning to him others lacked. Ted White was aggressive, but Brookers Jason felt the most like a wild, crazy backwoods killer while most of the other Jasons (even White and Hodder) felt more like the typical unstoppable juggernaut. Not to dis those guys, but part 3's Jason creeps me out the most.

I have to agree that a lot of fans hated it on sheer spite. Other than keeping that girl alive, the film had full on Jason action. To be honest, out of the big three, Nightmare, Halloween and Friday(the originals and their sequels of course), I really didn't like ANY of the Friday films. Sadly I love the character Jason, but felt he got the shaft being in movies that couldn't compare in my eyes to the best films in the other two series.

 

[BH/HHH]

See I never cared for Brooker I thought Ted White was the best of the early Jason's. He was the first Jason that was scary to me.

 

[GremlinZilla89]

See I never cared for Brooker I thought Ted White was the best of the early Jason's. He was the first Jason that was scary to me.

To me, Brookers Jason felt like one that likes killing the most. All the others were just a variations of an unstoppable machine.

Part 2 he was a vengeful killer.
Part 3 he was a crazed, deformed maniac.
Part 4 he felt more like a hunter on a job.
Parts 6-11 are him as basically the un-killable zombie brute.

 

[BH/HHH]

To me, Brookers Jason felt like one that likes killing the most. All the others were just a variations of an unstoppable machine.

Part 2 he was a vengeful killer.
Part 3 he was a crazed, deformed maniac.
Part 4 he felt more like a hunter on a job.
Parts 6-11 are him as basically the un-killable zombie brute.

Did you get that from his smile? I just thought Brookers Jason seemed far too relaxed and I don't get where the he enjoys killing thing comes from at all. To me it felt like he couldn't be bothered at times. Add to that its one of the most overrated of the series, its a horrible film with horrible actors and for me an average Jason

Ted White is for me easily the best of the early Jason's, he's vicious and he's fast, a damn site scarier than the previous 2.

 

[GremlinZilla89]

Did you get that from his smile? I just thought Brookers Jason seemed far too relaxed and I don't get where the he enjoys killing thing comes from at all. To me it felt like he couldn't be bothered at times. Add to that its one of the most overrated of the series, its a horrible film with horrible actors and for me an average Jason

Ted White is for me easily the best of the early Jason's, he's vicious and he's fast, a damn site scarier than the previous 2.

Fans see different things in the films than others.

See, I am as you on these two films. I'm in the minority, but I find The Final Chapter dull as a sack of bricks aside from the kills and Crispin Glover. The characters were more faceless than usual and the pace just kind of slags on and on. It's also visually bland. Zito has no sense of atmosphere or pacing. Part 1 may be slow at times, but Cunningham knew how to shoot the woods and make it creepy. For me, part 3 has some of the best kills, characters and atmosphere of the series. I also enjoy A New Beginning more than the 4th for it's slick pacing, sleazy tone, off the wall humor and back to back kills.