What was the last movie you watched? Part 2

[KaijuDude1992]

 

[Sculder]

Halloween (2018)
Books of Blood (2020)
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
Frankenstein's Daughter (1958)
V/H/S/Beyond (2024)

 

[Luigi]

In A Violent Nature

8/10

Oddity

7/10

 

[Frodo]

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL ( 2024)


THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW (1949)

 

[Morg]

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter is Dead

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Hunter Rider]

9/10

9/10

 

[Ash J. Williams]

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Count Dracula (AKA Bram Stoker's Count Dracula ~ 1970)

Directed by Jess Franco, this Spanish/West Germany/Italian/UK co-production (filmed in Spain and Italy) was the first attempt to film a truly faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. As such it attracted a good cast; Christopher Lee plays Dracula, Herbert Lom plays Van Helsing, and Klaus Kinski plays Renfield. Lee - who by this point had already played Dracula three times for Hammer - jumped at the chance to play a version of the character as Stoker wrote him; he sports a moustache throughout, and begins the film as an elderly man, only becoming more youthful as the film progresses and he feeds on more victims. He's also given the chance to speak more dialogue taken from the novel. It takes a bit of getting used to seeing Lee's Dracula like this (no cape really jars!), but he's clearly enjoying the opportunity and plays it well. Herbert Lom is a solid Van Helsing, albeit closer to Edward Van Sloan than Peter Cushing. Klaus Kinski makes for a good 'lunatic' (although for some reason he has no dialogue whatsoever). In the supporting cast Maria Rohm as Mina, and the ill-fated Soledad Miranda as Lucy (Miranda was killed in an automobile accident later that year, four months after Count Dracula premiered) are very good.

Franco is admirably restrained; there's zero nudity, and apart from Kinski the performances are kept pretty subtle (even Lee - although that's not to say he isn't menacing when he needs to be). The cinematography is beautiful, and the sets and locations look fantastic. Looking at interviews from Lee and Franco it's clear that intentions were good and hearts were in the right place.

Unfortunately - despite the diverse funding - budget became an issue. A lot of money went on Lee, and as long as he was on-set no expense was spared for the production. What no-one (including Lee) realised was that once he was done and had departed for England the money was slashed to a pittance, whole scenes were removed, first-takes were used, regardless of errors (such as crew/equipment being visible), and effects became pitiable. The runtime was also shortened (all this came from producer Harry Towers, not from Jess Franco). What's left is a shining example of 'what might have been'. It almost seems that for 'every good part there's an equal and opposite bad one' (apologies to Sir Isaac Newton). It's such a shame. Nevertheless, the film still manages to create a strong sense of atmosphere, and the scenes dispatching the vampirised Lucy and Dracula's brides - always essential set-pieces - don't disappoint. All in all I'll still give it 7/10

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Broseph44]

Silent Hill (2006)

 

[squeekness]

A quiet place : day one. 8/10

 

[ObiWanCon]

Heretic (2024)

 

[Black Narcissus]

 

[Luigi]

Midnight Mass

Goddamn.

10/10

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The House by the Cemetery (1981)

Supernatural slasher directed by Lucio Fulci, and starring Catriona MacColl, Paolo Malco, Ania Pieroni, and Dagmar Lassander. Norman and Lucy Boyle and their young son, Bob, move into a house in New Whitby, Massachusetts, where the previous occupant - a former colleague of Norman - murdered his mistress before committing suicide. Locals shun the house, referring to it as 'the Freudstein place' - although the real estate office have named it 'Oak Mansion' to make the property sound more attractive. The Boyles find the house in poor repair, with the cellar door locked and nailed shut. There's also a concealed tombstone embedded in the middle of the living room floor, and a local girl that only Bob can see. From their first night the family are disturbed by strange noises which leads Norman to unseal the cellar, and after a few more unsettling incidents he starts to dig into the background of the house and its former occupants. As he's conducting his investigation, people at the house start meeting grisly ends.

It starts off with a great double-kill that reminded me of the opening of Friday the 13th just the year before. The score gives some great atmosphere, and the house with the cemetery right next to it are visually very impressive (all exteriors were shot in New York and Massachusetts). The cast are very good. Story-wise though it's a bit 'first draft'. For example, a big thing is made of locals claiming that Norman and 'his daughter' have visited the house previously - something Norman strenuously denies, adding that he has no daughter, just a son; but this goes nowhere and is never mentioned again. And if I walked into on my babysitter mopping up a ridiculous amount of blood from the kitchen floor, and I asked 'What are you doing?', I'd want a bit more of a response than 'I made coffee'. Likewise, if I caught said babysitter trying to unseal my cellar with a crowbar in the middle of the night, I wouldn't just look at her and go back to bed without saying anything. There are others. But what you can't fault is the gore. Stabbings, slashings, rippings, tearings, hanging on hooks, blood and body parts strewn around... it's all here. 6.5/10

 

[KaijuDude1992]

 

[Frodo]

CORVETTE SUMMER (1978)


Corvettes, Leisure Suits, and Luke Skywalker in 1970s Las Vegas ?

I can dig it .

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Broseph44]

M. Night is always hit or miss, there’s really no in between with him. And this was a big swing and a miss for me. Also I kept waiting for the usual big M. Night twist and it never came. This was a waste of my time.

Trap (2024)

 

[Herofan]

Carrie, not great but at least solid and with parts quite impressive, especially combining the sympathetic/hopeful elements with the supernatural and horror and making the real disturbing parts at least believable enough.

 

[squeekness]

The Hateful Eight

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The First Omen

 

[ObiWanCon]

A Haunting in Venice (2023)