The Horror Thread - Part 3

[Heretic]

Clearly The Purge has to at some point address the concept that it is legal to kill anyone except the political leaders. I say you do part 2 as a wider concept...how society in general works that night...and then part 3 go after the new founding fathers or whatever they are called. Maybe have the woman who survived the first one fund a gang from the second one to try to overthrow the system.

 

[Piper Maru]

Have any of you guys seen the movie Flatliners, what are your thoughts on it?

 

[Teelie]

I've seen it at least twice. Once many years ago and again earlier in the year or maybe last year. It's not a bad movie. Not really horror per se, more of a thriller or mystery but it's alright. They weren't directly out with whether it was really happening or not as I recall.

 

[chamber-music]

I watched the Banshee Chapter which wasn't bad. The ending was very predictable and I saw the twists coming a mile a way but the film had some creepy moments.

A loose HP Lovecraft inspired film starring Crane's wife from Sleepy hollow and the gay preacher vampire from True Blood. I liked the Hunter S. Thompson type character.

I give the movie 5 awkward dance moves out of ten

 

[Heretic]

Watched Contracted (2013) a new Body Horror movie about a girl who gets ruffied and raped at a party and contracts the mother of all STDs.

This was something I was REALLY looking forward to. A few of my favorite films of 2013 have been Body Horror movies...so I was primed for another good one.

Keep in mind...I'm about to crap all over this movie...BUT...I still think people should watch it, just because it is a bit of a different take on a concept we've seen a thousand times.

I want to love this movie. In fact, I could be talked into loving it. The thing is, with this type of movie, you have to look for subtext...social commentary or whatever. This movie was wide open and ready for this sort of thing (being about STDs in vacuous Los Angeles, it could go a few ways) but it came off more as bad writing to me.

The positives:
As I mentioned, the concept and unique spin on an overdone concept.

The lead actress goes from sexy to downright horrifying over the course of the film. She even seemed to get skinnier to sell the wasting away aspect. I'd never heard of the actress before (Najarra Townsend) but she did well with what she had to work with. I want to see more from her.

The effects looked great. This girl got very sick and looked like absolute hell. I feel like some of the scenes could have been shot/paced better for added effect, but the movie looked good (meaning, she looked gross). If you want to watch a pretty girl's looks go to hell, this is a winner.

The negatives:

Minor quibble...the rapist guy was too overtly creepy for me. He only has a few lines total in the film, but to me he should have seemed like more of a normal guy as opposed to a sinister villain type.

The relationship with her mom (who is terrible in the role) is supposed to be strained...but it came off as phony to me. Is this intentional? Didnt seem so to me.

EVERYONE ELSE
The doctor lets her out after some tests the first time she sees him...but then lets her out again after the second time...and I mean...REALLY...there is NO WAY any doctor would let her go home in that shape. She was LITERALLY falling apart by then and even he acknowledged that she was a walking health hazard to anyone she came near. Also, despite CLEAR evidence that she needs to go to the hospital immediately she goes to work instead, and her boss seems to have little issue with someone who looks like a corpse waiting tables. Her friends were telling her that she looked horrible before the symptoms started showing...but then after she was close to freaking death and obviously very, very ill no one seemed to notice. Heck, she even manages to seduce two different people while looking absolutely HORRIFIC. Unfortunately, the nonsense like that added up to the point where it ruined the experience. The viewer is supposed to understand that this girl has had some very serious emotional & drug problems in the past that would cause people to just kind of expect this as normal...but it strained credibility too much for me. Near the end she is well aware that she is about to die and she's more concerned about going to some competition involving flowers that she was trying to get accepted to. The movie tried too hard to place her health as a secondary concern for EVERYONE.

This COULD have been a cool feature had they explored WHY everyone seemed so wrapped up in petty concerns and selfishness that they watched a girl waste away over 3 days without really noticing. If it was supposed to be some social commentary, then it should have been explored more. The guy who rapes her is called BJ...could that be of some symbolic importance (the girl and several other females are lesbians...so you know...BJs are bad). Even the rape aspect was brushed aside and it was talked about as a sex act the rest of the film (so she felt like she was cheating on her girlfriend). But that was never explored either. I want to think that the director was trying to say something, but failed at communicating it properly. As it stands, it appears to have just been lazy writing.

Anyway...you should still watch it.

 

[Ant-manic]

Watched Contracted (2013) a new Body Horror movie about a girl who gets ruffied and raped at a party and contracts the mother of all STDs.

This was something I was REALLY looking forward to. A few of my favorite films of 2013 have been Body Horror movies...so I was primed for another good one.

Keep in mind...I'm about to crap all over this movie...BUT...I still think people should watch it, just because it is a bit of a different take on a concept we've seen a thousand times.
Anyway...you should still watch it.

i think i might wait for Cabin Fever 3. thanks for the review.

 

[Heretic]

I do recommend Antiviral and (to a lesser extent) Errors of the Human Body.

Antiviral has social commentary, and the message is clear. In Contracted, I'm pretty sure any perceived commentary is likely just bad writing.

 

[Heretic]

Finally saw All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2013...but played festivals 7 freaking years ago)

I can imagine that when this played festivals, it was a pretty revolutionary movie. A few of the characters have a bit of natural depth to them (which I appreciate) and it has a few twists and turns that weren't old hat 7 years ago. Unfortunately, it got such praise that it likely inspired movies that we've all seen since...so it doesn't feel as fresh as it might have had it actually made it to DVD back then. Also, the hype created a legend, and that legend grew and grew to the point where there was no way that it could live up to the legend.

That all said...it is well done and is a solid slasher killer type Horror film. That genre pumps out mostly garbage, so it's always a good thing when one rises above the rest of the crap out there. Again, it doesn't live up to the legend, but that would have been practically impossible.

 

[Daywalker89]

Just rented Black christmas(1974) OMG what a film those phone calls straight up ****ed with my head so messed up. The amount of dread and atmosphere was amazing for a film of its time. Some real creepy moments and billy's eyeball scene (shivers) Surely this film laid the path for Halloween to spread its wings .It used POV scenes from the killers perspective and also the whole ' babysitter stalker ' echoes between the two films. I aint even gonna bother with the remake.

 

[chamber-music]

Watched Contracted (2013) a new Body Horror movie about a girl who gets ruffied and raped at a party and contracts the mother of all STDs.

The concept alone makes me want to a pass on that film.

 

[Ant-manic]

Just rented Black christmas(1974) OMG what a film those phone calls straight up ****ed with my head so messed up. The amount of dread and atmosphere was amazing for a film of its time. Some real creepy moments and billy's eyeball scene (shivers) Surely this film laid the path for Halloween to spread its wings .It used POV scenes from the killers perspective and also the whole ' babysitter stalker ' echoes between the two films. I aint even gonna bother with the remake.

i'm glad that you like it. it's always been one of my favorites. this movie was helped tremendously by it being the dead of winter on a close to vacated campus. i like how they got away with never fully revealing the killer. gave it a real urban legend feel.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

Well cool cats I'm bringing in the new year with New Year's Evil, one of the better of the early 80's slashers from the titans Golan-Globus.

 

[Ant-manic]

Well cool cats I'm bringing in the new year with New Year's Evil, one of the better of the early 80's slashers from the titans Golan-Globus.

i like the theme song.

 

[redhawk23]

A pretty good article looking at the economic themes in Child's Play. Unprompted but its worth a look.

http://www.destroythebrain.com/featured-articles/childs-play-smarter-movie-think

 

[Teelie]

Zombie Hunter is a movie I just finished on Netflix.

An ultra-low budget movie with Danny Trejo in it and a bunch of nobodies. He is a secondary character to the main guy, Hunter, who hunts zombies after a drug-enduced zombie apocalypse.

It's intentionally cheesy and absurd, with a Resident Evil style monster that recurs and attacks people. All throughout the movie is bad quality CG and cheap gore effects. There is voice over throughout it from Hunter and occasionally the female love interest.

This movie is unashamedly bad. But it's funny if you take it as intentionally so.

 

[Heretic]

Just half-watched Insidious 2

Felt like I've seen it a thousand times already. I'm so bored of this subgenre that I can barely stay interested enough to get through it.

 

[Thundarr]

Just rented Black christmas(1974) OMG what a film those phone calls straight up ****ed with my head so messed up. The amount of dread and atmosphere was amazing for a film of its time. Some real creepy moments and billy's eyeball scene (shivers) Surely this film laid the path for Halloween to spread its wings .It used POV scenes from the killers perspective and also the whole ' babysitter stalker ' echoes between the two films. I aint even gonna bother with the remake.

Never, ever watch the remake. I've seen it and it's absolute crap. Although I have also watched the special features, and thus cannot blame the writers or director for that (studio interference, they always seem to think they know better than the people who are actually making the movie).

And you're right, it was John Carpenter's inspiration for Halloween. It was also the inspiration for When A Stranger Calls.

The only part in the whole movie I did not like was how they left Jess alone in the house at the very end. I can understand why they never checked the attic (It actually is proper police procedure to leave that to the CSI team). But Jess was a pregnant woman who had just fought a life and death struggle against a homicidal maniac! She should've been taken to the damn hospital! Instead they take Claire's father to the hospital, and leave Jess all alone in a crime scene! I'm a security guard, so I know a little more about the law & police procedure than the average person. And while I'm far from an expert, one thing I do know is that the only people allowed inside a crime scene after a crime are the police and the CSI team. Civilians, even those who live there or own the property, cannot enter a crime scene until after the CSI team has cleared it, in order to prevent contaminating evidence (that was the procedure even back in '74, before DNA technology was discovered).

With all the pains they took to make the rest of the police work as realistic as possible, you'd think they'd at least get that right. And it would have been just as creepy if we saw the trap door to the attic open and heard Billy's voice if the house was empty. Maybe have him sing that lullaby he sang after killing Claire instead of saying "Hey Agnes. It's me, Billy."

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

I've been watching the Phantasm flicks. 1 & 3 are alright, but I freaky loved the second film. It was so much fun. The third film really fell flat in the second act. Seem like it didn't know what to do with itself. Watching the fourth installment later.

 

[66 Face]

I've been watching the Phantasm flicks. 1 & 3 are alright, but I freaky loved the second film. It was so much fun. The third film really fell flat in the second act. Seem like it didn't know what to do with itself. Watching the fourth installment later.

I love 1 and 2. Scream Factory really did a great job with 2. Loads of extras and the resto was awesome.

I really love the idea of Phantasm and think it would make a great TV series.

 

[Daywalker89]

Never, ever watch the remake. I've seen it and it's absolute crap. Although I have also watched the special features, and thus cannot blame the writers or director for that (studio interference, they always seem to think they know better than the people who are actually making the movie).

And you're right, it was John Carpenter's inspiration for Halloween. It was also the inspiration for When A Stranger Calls.

The only part in the whole movie I did not like was how they left Jess alone in the house at the very end. I can understand why they never checked the attic (It actually is proper police procedure to leave that to the CSI team). But Jess was a pregnant woman who had just fought a life and death struggle against a homicidal maniac! She should've been taken to the damn hospital! Instead they take Claire's father to the hospital, and leave Jess all alone in a crime scene! I'm a security guard, so I know a little more about the law & police procedure than the average person. And while I'm far from an expert, one thing I do know is that the only people allowed inside a crime scene after a crime are the police and the CSI team. Civilians, even those who live there or own the property, cannot enter a crime scene until after the CSI team has cleared it, in order to prevent contaminating evidence (that was the procedure even back in '74, before DNA technology was discovered).

With all the pains they took to make the rest of the police work as realistic as possible, you'd think they'd at least get that right. And it would have been just as creepy if we saw the trap door to the attic open and heard Billy's voice if the house was empty. Maybe have him sing that lullaby he sang after killing Claire instead of saying "Hey Agnes. It's me, Billy."

Yea i agree about leaving jess there in a crime scene . I did think WTF but that scene leading through to the end credits with the ring tone ringing in the background was some eerie stuff. I dont think it would have had the same impact if she was in a hospital but it makes logical sence lol One thing i found out about Billy's eyeball scene is that the makers don't know who's eye they actually used apparently it wasn't the same guy in the ' Crystal horse kill scene '

 

[Ant-manic]

Never, ever watch the remake. I've seen it and it's absolute crap. Although I have also watched the special features, and thus cannot blame the writers or director for that (studio interference, they always seem to think they know better than the people who are actually making the movie).

And you're right, it was John Carpenter's inspiration for Halloween. It was also the inspiration for When A Stranger Calls.

The only part in the whole movie I did not like was how they left Jess alone in the house at the very end. I can understand why they never checked the attic (It actually is proper police procedure to leave that to the CSI team). But Jess was a pregnant woman who had just fought a life and death struggle against a homicidal maniac! She should've been taken to the damn hospital! Instead they take Claire's father to the hospital, and leave Jess all alone in a crime scene! I'm a security guard, so I know a little more about the law & police procedure than the average person. And while I'm far from an expert, one thing I do know is that the only people allowed inside a crime scene after a crime are the police and the CSI team. Civilians, even those who live there or own the property, cannot enter a crime scene until after the CSI team has cleared it, in order to prevent contaminating evidence (that was the procedure even back in '74, before DNA technology was discovered).

With all the pains they took to make the rest of the police work as realistic as possible, you'd think they'd at least get that right. And it would have been just as creepy if we saw the trap door to the attic open and heard Billy's voice if the house was empty. Maybe have him sing that lullaby he sang after killing Claire instead of saying "Hey Agnes. It's me, Billy."

i remember you saying that before. but the ending never bothered me. and, for whatever reason, it never dawned on me that they had left Jess in the house. i was way too focused on the attic.

on the procedural side of things, it was weird that police vacated the area before CSI's arrival. there were other townsfolk patrolling the area.

anyways, the reason i liked the movie so much is because there was nothing calculated about the killer's actions. in a lof of the stalk and slash movies, the killer comes across as superhuman; in their ability to evade detection and isolate whomever they are preying upon. Black Christmas, by comparison, gave us a far more "realistic" take on things. Billy was just bats*** insane. he broke into that house and stayed up in the attic. the people that died, got too close to his hiding place(s).

 

[Ant-manic]

Just half-watched Insidious 2

Felt like I've seen it a thousand times already. I'm so bored of this subgenre that I can barely stay interested enough to get through it.

i hear that. i didn't think anything could bore me more than sparkling vampires.

 

[Thundarr]

i remember you saying that before. but the ending never bothered me. and, for whatever reason, it never dawned on me that they had left Jess in the house. i was way too focused on the attic.

on the procedural side of things, it was weird that police vacated the area before CSI's arrival. there were other townsfolk patrolling the area.

anyways, the reason i liked the movie so much is because there was nothing calculated about the killer's actions. in a lof of the stalk and slash movies, the killer comes across as superhuman; in their ability to evade detection and isolate whomever they are preying upon. Black Christmas, by comparison, gave us a far more "realistic" take on things. Billy was just bats*** insane. he broke into that house and stayed up in the attic. the people that died, got too close to his hiding place(s).

The ending never used to bother me. It was just after multiple viewings, and having learned a little more about proper police procedure, that I realized "Shouldn't they have taken Jess to the hospital too, not just Claire's dad?"

And they didn't totally abandon the house. The left a cop (Nash maybe?) behind to wait for the CSI guys. You can see him smoking a cigarette on the front porch at the very end, just before they roll credits.

And you're partially right about Billy being more realistic. He wasn't made to be supernaturally strong or unkillable like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees later were. However he didn't just wait for people to come too close to his hiding spot to kill them. He sought them out. He even came all the way downstairs after killing Barb, when Jess and Phil were talking to John Saxon's character on the phone (you see his silhouette in the background during that conversation, in case you missed it). And he went outside to slit the throat of the cop who was supposed to be protecting them.

Don't get me wrong, I love the movie. One of the greatest slasher films ever made (not to mention one of the greatest Canadian films ever made). It's just that last scene with everyone abandoning Jess in the house, a crime scene, alone with the killer, kinda bugs me.

 

[Thundarr]

Yea i agree about leaving jess there in a crime scene . I did think WTF but that scene leading through to the end credits with the ring tone ringing in the background was some eerie stuff. I dont think it would have had the same impact if she was in a hospital but it makes logical sence lol One thing i found out about Billy's eyeball scene is that the makers don't know who's eye they actually used apparently it wasn't the same guy in the ' Crystal horse kill scene '

I think the guy was an extra or a PA or something, but because it's been so long, and they never put his name in the credits, no one even remembers who it was.

 

[Daywalker89]

Just half-watched Insidious 2

Felt like I've seen it a thousand times already. I'm so bored of this subgenre that I can barely stay interested enough to get through it.

Yea true it is getting overplayed lol but i liked how it tied in with the first one . I also prefer it to the Conjuring