The Horror Thread - Part 4

[Goshdarn Batman]

Originally Posted by Radu Molasar
I'm working on my list of films for this Halloween's 31 days of Horror film fest. Anyone else do this?

I posted my list three pages ago, but since it's so awesome, I'll post it again. Don't drool too much:

Toy Story of Terror
Young Frankenstein
Ernest Scared Stupid
The Willies

Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari
The Phantom Carriage

Dracula (1958)
Brides of Dracula
Dracula, Prince of Darkness

Tales that Witness Madness
Tales of Terror
Twice-told Tales

City of the Dead

 

[NDX]

I don't know my list for the October yet, but I can't wait for it. Problem is I've fallen behind on my Sci-Fi-September. Hope I can catch up on that before I get to get behind.

Watched Don't Go In The House Sunday. Damn his movie, even had me uneasy at times. Wish my friend and I saved that for October. Would have been perfect.

 

[Loki882]

So did anyone see the trailer for the Town That Dreaded Sundown sequel/remake/whatever? What'd you think of it?

 

[StarLord]

I haven't seen the original, but the trailer for the 'sequel/remake/whatever' impressed me.

There are some nice shots that and it looks like it was really well made.

 

[Heretic]

Watched The Last Showing (2014) starring Robert Englund.

Englund is a disgruntled movie theater employee. He decides to film his own Horror movie, so late one night during a midnight movie he takes complete control over the theater and puts a couple (and his manager) through the paces of a Horror movie.

It's all a bit meta, as it keeps referring to Horror movie trends and cliches.

There's some stuff that is a bit off. Do theaters run with only two employees for midnight shows? And only 2 people came to the showing? And when the girl woke up from being poisoned, why did her boyfriend not tell her what was happening despite her asking several times (so, she was in no rush to leave the building at all)? Even when his girlfriend thinks that he was behind all of the Horror stuff, he still doesn't bother to explain anything to her. Even when the cops are there, he doesn't bother to tell them. The characters were written to be really, really, suicidally stupid.

The movie is shot well, and has some decent drama (once you get over that the drama is caused by people too stupid to think things through). The acting is better than I expected (the lovely lead actress reminded me of Emily Browning for no reason whatsoever as they look nothing alike). It's better than a lot of what's out there on the indie Horror scene...it's just a bit frustrating to get through.

 

[StarLord]

I saw a trailer for that a few weeks ago. Englund's accent sounded hilariously bad.

 

[Kane52630]

http://vintagegal.tumblr.com/post/64071312580/my-fav-universal-monsters-frankenstein-dracula

 

[gwynplaine]

I posted my list three pages ago, but since it's so awesome, I'll post it again. Don't drool too much:

Toy Story of Terror
Young Frankenstein
Ernest Scared Stupid
The Willies

Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari
The Phantom Carriage

Dracula (1958)
Brides of Dracula
Dracula, Prince of Darkness

Tales that Witness Madness
Tales of Terror
Twice-told Tales

City of the Dead

 

[Heretic]

I saw a trailer for that a few weeks ago. Englund's accent sounded hilariously bad.

I'll give him a pass because Englund is always bringing a devilish charm to what he does. But, yeah...it sounds a bit silly.

 

[Resistance61513]

So did anyone see the trailer for the Town That Dreaded Sundown sequel/remake/whatever? What'd you think of it?

I just watched that trailer after reading your post...I'm genuinely excited for it! It looks to be kind of different!

I never saw the original. I'm debating if I should or not before seeing this one.

 

[Golgo-13]

Invasion of The Body Snatchers was such a great film; too bad the remake with Daniel Craig sucked.

 

[Heretic]

Watched Honeymoon (2014)

It's been a pretty bad year for Horror. As a result, this might be my favorite Horror film of the year so far.

A newly married couple go on their honeymoon in a cabin in the woods and Horror things happen. Now...when I say "cabin in the woods"...there have been a hundred movies with that concept this year alone. But this is more of a slow descent into madness rather than an ax wielding maniac hunting them. If you watch Horror for the gore, you will be disappointed.

To my surprise, this is getting negative reviews in the Horror press. I've seen them complain about the "overly sweet" beginning...but its a movie about newlyweds, and newlyweds are annoyingly sweet on their honeymoons. I've read that its too slow, but I like the pace. I've read that its predictable because some of the foreshadowing is so on the nose...but so what? Directed by a female (first time director Leigh Janiak) there is a focus on the relationship rather than shocks and boobs. This is a WELCOME change for me. I'm so bored of the same Horror crap, and a fresh voice with a different point of view is a good thing. Ultimately, this movie isn't really about the Horror stuff. It's about a period in a relationship that we can all probably identify with...I certainly can anyway. I won't say what point in a relationship because that would be giving it away...but like many of my favorite Horror films, it uses Horror to examine real world issues.

Not a perfect film...but in a terrible year for Horror, this is one of the few who have swung for the fences. Whether or not it hit a home run is for each individual to decide.

 

[Goshdarn Batman]

Invasion of The Body Snatchers was such a great film; too bad the remake with Daniel Craig sucked.

Watched the 1978 version four years ago, and it disturbed me so much that I had trouble sleeping

 

[Heretic]

Watched Varsity Blood (2014)

Some high school cheerleaders and football players are planning a Halloween party, but the school mascot (a guy in a cheap "Indian warrior" mask) is killing people! They are all rude idiots, and I think/hope you're supposed to flat out hate most of them.

The acting is laughably bad. The thing is, I was actually kind of enjoying watching the cast stumble through their lines. The worse the movie and acting got, the more I giggled my way through these people getting killed.

There isn't nearly enough nudity for a movie like this (a dumb, silly slasher about cheerleaders). I guess the girls are cute enough, but a movie like this almost demands more cheesecake.

There's an attempt at a mystery, lots of potential killers are introduced...but this isn't exactly Scream-level here.

There's also a bunch of nonsense. Like, this guy has a son in a mental institution, but the people closest to him don't even know the son exists (despite it being less than a year since he was institutionalized). There are two people mentioned who died in alcohol related accidents and another who committed suicide. Two girls are virgins, which becomes a plot point for both. One girl hooks up with a guy her sister is in love with. All of this was trying to pretend that the plot had a lot going on, but really it was all just useless details.

Once the killer starts killing, the team creates the DUMBEST plan I've ever heard. They opt to go on foot because the only vehicle they have access to belongs to a guy who is knocked out, and they apparently don't want to drive his truck without permission...so...they run outside...and half the group literally stands mere feet from the killer having a discussion about whether they should change their plan. In fact, none of these people are in any hurry at all. They stand around A LOT. The good guys DO have weapons. One throws a large knife at the killer from pretty far away, while another charges the killer with a loaded gun (um...isn't that backwards?).

The killer even calls them "meddling kids" at one point, and I expected Shaggy and Scooby to show up.

Anyway...terrible movie that made me laugh several times when I don't think they intended to. None of the actual jokes were funny, aside from the delivery being so bad that I laughed.

 

[Grimworth]

Hi guys. I'm new here. I love the old Universal Monsters and I hear they're planning a new series/universe with them. Really hope they do it well. I liked The Mummy (99?) a lot and I also liked Van Helsing (I guess I'm the only one) and I also liked The Wolfman (with del Toro) so I guess I just love the classic monsters! Anyone else looking forward to the new Universal universe?

 

[Goshdarn Batman]

Hi guys. I'm new here. I love the old Universal Monsters and I hear they're planning a new series/universe with them. Really hope they do it well. I liked The Mummy (99?) a lot and I also liked Van Helsing (I guess I'm the only one) and I also liked The Wolfman (with del Toro) so I guess I just love the classic monsters! Anyone else looking forward to the new Universal universe?

Welcome! Yeah, I look forward to them, but I don't think they'll live up to the old ones.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Hi guys. I'm new here. I love the old Universal Monsters and I hear they're planning a new series/universe with them. Really hope they do it well. I liked The Mummy (99?) a lot and I also liked Van Helsing (I guess I'm the only one) and I also liked The Wolfman (with del Toro) so I guess I just love the classic monsters! Anyone else looking forward to the new Universal universe?

You're not alone. I'm looking forward to whatever Universal does with their monsters. You can't touch the classics, but The Mummy, Van Helsing and The Wolfman were a good time regardless. They're definitely guilty pleasures.

 

[Goshdarn Batman]

I didn't like the new Wolfman very much. From the trailers it looked pretty scary, but the movie ruined it with unnecessary gore.

Spoilers!!!

But you know what really pissed me off about it? The Sikh warrior. I looked forward to see a badass Indian guy kick some hairy butt...but (butt butt butt) it didn't happen!!!

 

[Matt Mortem]

The Sikh manservant was a very intriguing character, but they just didn't do anything with him. Such a shame.

 

[Hypestyle]

.. so what's coming up for mainstream theatrical releases for the Halloween season?

 

[Golgo-13]

Another Saw movie..maybe?

 

[Heretic]

Watched Dead Within (2014) because we need another zombie movie (so far this year I've also seen Antisocial, Chrysalis, Life After Beth and The Returned).

A couple have locked themselves in their house during the zombie apocalypse (so, the entire film takes place in the house). The husband leaves every day to look for food while the wife stays behind.

Almost every scare in the film is a jump scare from a nightmare or hallucination until the big (unsatisfying) ending comes. So, its basically 70 minutes of watching her being bored/going stir crazy in the house.

Whenever you watch a zombie movie, you should look for what the movie is REALLY telling you. In my opinion, if it isn't saying anything else, it pretty much isnt doing the genre justice. So, what is this movie trying to tell us? It seems to me that it's showing the frustration of a stay at home wife while the husband works. He sees this as his backbreaking duty to provide for his family, but she sees it as his freedom while she's in a prison cell. Is that still a thing in 2014?

Ultimately, I found it a bit boring, and the jump scares (really, the only scares) were kind of stupid. I always enjoy learning about the message being shared in these movies though, so props for trying.

I wouldn't say it's bad....just a bit on the boring side (despite it being under 80 minutes in length).

 

[Heretic]

Watched The Midnight Game (2014), which is apparently some creepypasta thing that people post stories about online (like Slenderman or whatever...I don't read that stuff).

A group of "high school" friends get together to drink and play The Midnight Game...although I can't imagine real teenagers playing that boring crap. Anyway, they of course screw up the game and get haunted/hunted by The Midnight Man or whatever, who exploits their greatest fears.

This is a small thing, but its annoying. It's a group of preppy types, with one goth friend. Lots of Horror movies will add in one subculture type, and it seems so fake to me. I went to high school, and these groups didnt mix.

Also...the one guy who knew all the details and was adamant about doing the game and all of the steps is the first one to stop caring about the rules. Then, they later do the game again to fix what went wrong, but don't bother to prepare for stuff to go wrong again.

Eh...anyway...the movie is only 74 minutes and change, so it's pretty short. It's kind of lame. The acting is what it needs to be and all...but its just a movie version of stories posted online by 13 year olds...it isn't exactly The Shining.

 

[StarLord]

Amazon UK have released the steelbook cover art for 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 40th Anniversary 2 Disc Edition' (Blu-ray) due out on November 17th.

I wish it was released next month for Halloween.

 

[NDX]

I still need to finally see that. Of all things I've seen, that isn't one of them.