ThirstyFly
Member
I read he only shot for a week before being fired, is there enough Cameron still in there to make it worth while? I'll probably check it out eventually, but I don't know if I'll be able to get to it this month.
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31 Days of Horror 2 |OT| The October Movie Marathon
- Thread starter ThirstyFly
- Start date
I read he only shot for a week before being fired, is there enough Cameron still in there to make it worth while? I'll probably check it out eventually, but I don't know if I'll be able to get to it this month.
BuddyJoeHooker
Member
Well the only reason I saw it was because Cameron's name was on it. If you got a mild interest I would say check it out.
Secret Fawful
Member
#2. Xtro
Instead of just a review, I'm going to do commentary as it runs and post commentary with timecodes. Dunno if anyone will read this, but I thought it would be a neat idea. And if it's freaking terrible I will never do it again ever.
:42 - (laughs) Yeah! Holy shit, that title screen is amazing. It's Xtro-dinary.
1:07 - And apparently the movie is only starring five people.
1:54 - Wait, a screenplay BASED ON a screenplay?
2:15 - I'm really digging this theme music too.
2:25 - Harry Bromley Davenport - Director, Writer, and Musician, but still no Tommy Wiseau.
3:00 - I count three actors so far, and they all suck. Either I'm in for a long haul or the credits lied to me.
3:29 - Huh that dog is giving me the heebiejeeb- HOLY SHIT! WHOA! What the ever-loving shit.
4:23 - It's just like that Ecco the Dolphin.
4:53 - You got me, kid. I don't know what the hell just happened.
4:56 - Pfffft. The kid graduated from the Macaulay Culkin school of acting.
5:12 - "Daddy was looking at me." There's a really uncomfortable metaphor there.
5:56 - "Mom's talking to the floor again!"
6:53 - Did the title logo just fly over the movie?
7:50 - All this panting and wheezing and slowly moving along the ground...it's like an alien Orson Welles.
8:00 - I can see the zipper.
8:15 - AH! Pfft....geesh that scared the hell out of me. I'm such a baby.
8:30 - Steve Valentine?
8:52 - Pfff...you'd better listen to him. He's using good common sense. Now excuse him while he walks off alone into the forest.
9:55 - How did that kill him?
10:26 - Ben drowned.
10:45 - [bursts into laughter] What the hell? How the hell did she get like that? [more laughter] That's so bad!
10:51 - [takes drink] [spits out drink]
11:06 - No wonder the kid has nightmares, you friggin moron. Don't lock your door or anything.
11:43 - Wishbone! Yeah, Wishbone's the best!
12:55 - Finally, a horror movie character to have the presence of mind to lock her doors...
13:00 - To the creepiest house in existence.
13:33 - [bursts into laughter again] Be vewy vewy quiet....
13:50 - Whoa! Too close to the camera, pal.
13:56 - What the hell is THAT? I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going.
14:04 - [just rolls on the floor] Why didn't he go for the other girl? Why is he raping a random girl in a random house somewhere completely unrelated?
14:08 - Oh....nice one, movie. Classy.
14:42 - Oh, geez. Boys don't do that, movie. (And I was just talking about being classy)
14:55 - Joe doesn't give a damn.
15:21 - Doctor: "Something sticky?" Kid: "No thanks, I'm not hungry."
16:01 - Stop putting Joe off-screen!
16:20 - Oh, yeah I'm sure he imagined it you stupid shitbag.
16:25 - On second thought, keep Joe off-screen for the rest of the movie.
18:25 - Oh sick. He gave her a mustache.
19:38 - Taco Bell is a harsh mistress.
19:50 - That's some Videodrome shit.
20:19 - Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
21:21 - Nice "The Day The Earth Stood Still" costume, guy.
23:05 - [Aussie accent] But she's such a beaut, mom! Look at the stripes on hah!
23:47 - Tony speaks Parseltongue? (I'm such a freaking nerd)
24:07 - [fits of laughter] Tony: "Screw you, you old bag!"
25:20 - [more laughter]
25:34 - Yeah, nice one, white Carl Winslow.
26:05 - Have I stumbled into some kind of Russ Meyer movie?
26:41 - Ohhh yeah, man ass. I asked for that.
27:41 - I'd love to think of a foot in Joe's face.
27:50 - Paula: "I need my sandwich! I'm just so friggin hungry from starving myself and puking in buckets ALL DAY." What the hell was that?
28:42 - Ahaha! And she just walks away!
29:01 - Did the soundtrack just slip into Sonic the Hedgehog?
31:02 - Love the movie post- how does an alien know what Scotch is?
31:08 - I think the alien has a thing for that snake.
33:35 - Oh shut up, you asshole.
35:01 - Well, Sam, guess you'll have to kill him.
36:17 - Yes, I am Sam. I do eat green eggs and ham.
37:45 - Oh shit, the snake is out for VENGEANCE.
39:38 - Don't do it kid!
......
That's quite the hickey.
41:37 - [laughs] Keep screaming. It'll show everyone how sane you are.
41:47 - Oh shit! He stared him down! Screw you, Joe!
42:31 - "You'll know when the time comes. You'll feel it." You'll know when you're older and we've discussed the finer aspects of Pam Grier.
43:04 - Ceiling cat. Meet ceiling snake.
43:43 - Dayum. She put the hammer DOWN.
44:09 - Rofl.
45:34 - "Great. She's out of the room. Time to raid the fridge."
48:15 - And now...guest directing. David Lynch!
49:09 - Squeak.
49:54 - Oh, now the kid's just toying with her. The package on that soldier should have come with a hazard warning for anyone over the age of seventy.
50:28 - This might be a good time to mention this is the greatest movie I've ever seen.
Oh, thanks for the uncanny valley shot there right in my face, movie.
51:13 - You're toyminated.
53:35 - I really don't know how this movie can top a toy soldier coming to life.
54:50 - Ohhhh, Joe's pissed. Maybe because you're going with your ex to a secluded cabin by yourselfs to have disgusting alien sex.
55:55 - "Bye." AHAHAHA.
56:40 - "You're always lying down." Ohhhh snap. The kid nailed her.
57:57 - Pfff...tone down the whimsy on the soundtrack just a bit. This isn't Banjo-Kazooie.
58:47 - Oh geez that's creepy.
59:17 - Gah! Stop putting the scariest faces so close to the camera!
1:00:03 - ....
1:03:00 - That's quite the skin condition. Looks like she's been using Brand X.
1:03:17 - [laughs] Yeah, you did it. Great job.
1:03:26 - Why a panther? Couldn't Tony have just wished himself a new snake...or the same snake?
1:03:49 - Yeuck.
1:05:36 - Despite being advanced enough to wish for anything, apparently aliens have never been smart enough to wish for the end of male pattern baldness.
1:07:12 - ROFL. A little needlessly antagonistic there, fella.
1:07:35 - Why.
1:09:18 - "Nobody but us birdies!"
1:09:30 - That death was pretty ridiculous. I'm not sure it could be topped.
1:10:29 - [monotone voice] Oh man oh god oh man oh god.
1:11:29 - Gee, it sure would be bad if Job and Tony came in right now.
1:11:55 - A scenario right out of Coast to Coast. "So I'm calling because
my husband is an alien...."
1:12:17 - Oh screw you movie. Did I just see a kid watching his alien Dad do his mother telepathically while smiling the creepiest smile of all time. I feel like this is a weird time to be indignant. This movie has the creepiest shit.
1:12:23 - He's about to Hulk out!
1:13:22 - Darkman shot!
1:14:02 - My hero. G.I. Joe to the rescue.
1:15:24 - Tony: "Dad. You look like shit."
1:16:09 - AHAHAHAHA. I like the plastic fangs, Sam.
1:16:36 - Danny Brainin. Danny Brainout. Goodbye, Joe. You used your head for once. You will not be missed, or remembered.
1:17:40 - Oh geez, it's the newborn from Alien: Resurrection. Hype killed.
1:19:00 - What? He left her? WHY? And she just walks away.
1:20:44 - Aw, how swee- OH SHIT!
And then her babies kill her? Why.
Man, what a shitty husband.
And that's it. What a weird movie. I enjoyed it. Loved the special effects, and it was a pretty cool monster with some neat parts.
No horror movie for me tonight - I was living a parents horror movie. Long day at work ended with me taking my seven year old daughter to the ER with road rash, a smashed finger and (we now know) a broken finger, after a wipe out on her bike. Alas.
I'll try to make up for it this weekend.
Sorry to hear that! Hope your daughter's feeling better now she's all fixed up. Your post made me think about good horror movies to watch with kids. After some reflection, I concluded that the pick of the litter has got to be Gremlins 2. Perfect kids horror movie. It's got cute stuff, funny stuff, sufficient gore to satiate their youthful bloodlust; but nothing traumatic (like Large Marge or Judge Doom or the librarian from Ghostbusters). Also, it introduces them to important concepts like the value of following arbitrary rules, gene splicing, gender reassignment, and Hulk Hogan. It also taught me the word 'avuncular'. So it's profoundly educational. Really an all-round winner by any standard.
miller_time22
Neo Member
Movie #2 John Carpenter's The Ward
I'm a big John Carpenter fan and I finally had a chance to see this, his latest film. While far from perfect, I did enjoy it, mainly for the performance of Amber Heard, the camera work and the locale. It had some fairly creepy moments, but was never overly intense and the ending of the film turns out to be exactly what you think it is from the beginning. But, even a so-so John Carpenter film is better than most.
I'm a big John Carpenter fan and I finally had a chance to see this, his latest film. While far from perfect, I did enjoy it, mainly for the performance of Amber Heard, the camera work and the locale. It had some fairly creepy moments, but was never overly intense and the ending of the film turns out to be exactly what you think it is from the beginning. But, even a so-so John Carpenter film is better than most.
I don't get why horror movies are always so awful.
I don't know of any horror I would consider a true masterpiece. At least not in the past decade (although I haven't seen much before then).
Everything is cheesy or stupid. You have your torture porn, cheesy teen slasher and crappy ghost scares.
I don't know of any horror I would consider a true masterpiece. At least not in the past decade (although I haven't seen much before then).
Everything is cheesy or stupid. You have your torture porn, cheesy teen slasher and crappy ghost scares.
1# V/H/S this film is so uneven, but holy shit when it's good it's GOOD. The first segment "amateur night" is nothing short of genius, and the second short is pretty excellent as well. It's a shame it loses traction towards the end, but as an overall package big thumbs up from me. Most original found-footage film since [REC]
2# Megan is Missing WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH. The first hour is like a badly acted government awareness film from the 90's, then the last 20 minutes come out of nowhere. That final segment is so horrendous I can't even put it into words, I still feel dirty now even thinking about what I've witnessed.
3# The Cabin in the Woods It relies on its concept far too much, which in itself isn't that clever. A bit pretentious and up its own ass for my liking, and not remotely scary - though the corridor scene towards the end (you know the one) was awesome.
2# Megan is Missing WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH. The first hour is like a badly acted government awareness film from the 90's, then the last 20 minutes come out of nowhere. That final segment is so horrendous I can't even put it into words, I still feel dirty now even thinking about what I've witnessed.
3# The Cabin in the Woods It relies on its concept far too much, which in itself isn't that clever. A bit pretentious and up its own ass for my liking, and not remotely scary - though the corridor scene towards the end (you know the one) was awesome.
#2. Meatball Machine - A race of alien parasites that has discovered the secret of transforming human flesh into biomechanical weaponry stages a grotesque invasion of planet Earth, only to discover just how mighty the power of love truly is in directors Yudai Yamaguchi and Junichi Yamamoto's unhinged, experimental sci-fi horror hybrid.
I've been meaning to watch these sort of movies, excessive over the top stylized gore, ala The Iron Man or Robot Geisha. While not so scary it definitely has a weird horror charm.
miller_time22
Neo Member
Therein lies the problem.
That's why horror movies the past decade have been awful?
It's probably one of the worst genres right now. No more ideas I'm guessing.
BattleMonkey
Member
Ok after Terror Train which was more mainstream and semi known film, I went back to the pile of obscure stuff, this time hitting up a "classic" British Slasher!
#5 Don't Open Till Christmas (1984)
- UK set 80's holiday slasher where someone is an evil scrooge who hates the season. Anyone wearing a Santa outfit? You're dead! Well that's basically the jist of the film, someone is going around offing anyone wearing a Santa outfit. Nothing really suspensful here but it does have some fun kills, lots of blood, decently paced, ok body count, and competent gore. Movie tries to have a bit of a detective/who dunnit story line going which really goes nowhere and the film kinda just blows it all in the end (literally) with reveal and ending. Not as well known as other Christmas slasher flicks, but was worth it if you like sleezy 80's slashers.
Bunch of good modern recommendations have been posted, but I doubt you will like any of them. Genre is not for you probably.
#5 Don't Open Till Christmas (1984)
- UK set 80's holiday slasher where someone is an evil scrooge who hates the season. Anyone wearing a Santa outfit? You're dead! Well that's basically the jist of the film, someone is going around offing anyone wearing a Santa outfit. Nothing really suspensful here but it does have some fun kills, lots of blood, decently paced, ok body count, and competent gore. Movie tries to have a bit of a detective/who dunnit story line going which really goes nowhere and the film kinda just blows it all in the end (literally) with reveal and ending. Not as well known as other Christmas slasher flicks, but was worth it if you like sleezy 80's slashers.
Bunch of good modern recommendations have been posted, but I doubt you will like any of them. Genre is not for you probably.
miller_time22
Neo Member
No offense intended. I was reading it that you didn't like horror movies as a genre much at all but hadn't seen much beyond what was recent. I agree with you that the state of horror has been well below par for a long time, with notable exceptions from time to time. I'm not quite sure why that is. Hollywood as a whole has been pretty stagnant for a while and with horror films cheap to produce and typically easy to turn a profit on, I don't think that much thought goes into many of the films. Horror seems to have been relegated to second class status.
But, if you haven't seen some of the older classics like Alien, Psycho, The Thing, The Exorcist, I'd go for it. It will help make up for some of the current doldrums in the genre.
BattleMonkey
Member
I really don't agree, horror has always been packed with awful stuff. The only change really has been content delivery has become quicker and easier for shitty no budget offerings to distribute. Since the 60's and onward, the genre has been PACKED with awful awful films that people just often ignored since they got little to no publicity, you had to go to a drive in or eventually go straight to rental. The output of horror has always been less about quality by a large margin. Highlight films like Halloween, Psycho, etc became huge, but there were hundreds of other films in the genre around these films that no one noticed or wrote off. In the 80's much of what was big is not considered good film even. Hollywood's quality has not really changed a ton in past decades, its always followed tropes and been mostly trashier spectrum.
But now with streaming and quicker turn arounds, we have all these really bad films just tossed in our face. Every week some new puked up generic horror flick appears in your netflix ticker. At rental it's gotten easier to make shitty movies get wider distribution, when in the past lot of bad movies rarely got very far and many became rare films no one saw. Now any piece of shit can get tossed on a highly visible streaming site and seen by tons of people.
And also lot of the old "classics" people love, were considered trash in their day as well.
Course lot of genre fans love the tropes and awfulness.
[Clark Gable]
Banned
Holy shit, this was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The budget was literally $500. Worst piece of shit of 2011. Shame because Qurantine 1 was decent (not as good as REC, but good enough)
miller_time22
Neo Member
I agee with a lot of what you are saying. But, where are the higher profile directors working within the genre recently? Sure, John Carpenter wasn't "John Carpenter" when he made Halloween. But, no doubt Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick were among the best directors in the world at the time they made their classic films. Now, it seems far to often that horror films are seen as something actors and directors due as a stepping stone until they can move on to more "substantial" work. Outside of Sam Raimi doing Drag Me to Hell using his Spidey cred, I'm trying to think of another major Hollywood director that has done a legitimate horror film in recent years. My memory may be failing me though.
Rockandrollclown
lookwhatyou'vedone
To add on to the last decade or so being awful (I'd extend it to the past 20 years), one thing that can't be overlooked in horror is the tendency for major horror flicks to have a PG-13 rating. Also I'd break horror into 2 subsets of fans, group 1 likes creepy, genuinely scary movies. The past 20 years or so doesn't seem as bleak for them as you can do creepy on a PG-13 scale. Group 2 enjoys a more "entertaining" (couldn't think of a better descriptor) horror flick. I'm definitely a group 2 guy and its hard coming up with anything genuinely good. Cabin in the Woods and Dawn of the Dead remake are the main two movies I can think of that scratched that itch for me, at least in terms of bigger releases. I find that for group 2 you have to go after more straight to video/low budget fare (Behind the Mask, Hills Run Red, etc.).
BattleMonkey
Member
Hitchcock's stuff was always considered to be more mainstream and often called "thrillers" and not labeled with the dreaded tag of being "horror films". Horror was always looked down even back in the day of the great classics of Universal. Hollywood usually was leery of any horror project and never gave it proper care or budgeting. Movies like Alien were considered a sci fi film for example so often when genres blended the studios were more accepting. But even then stuff like the Shining and such were rare and far between. Jaws would have never been given any exposure by the studio if Spielberg hadn't been involved. Course nowadays we see lot of exposure for horror films with Micheal Bay's name slapped on them.... which kinda is sad as a whole.
John Carpenter was never given his due in Hollywood though or gotten very high regard from the public. Hes always been relegated to cult status sadly.
We also don't really have any big names attached to the genre like we did with Carpenter, we get folks like Eli Roth and such who have hard ons for really just copying and playing homage loosely to movies of old. Now you get movies with stuff like "from the creators of Hatchet!"..... really?
pseudomyxoma
Member
1 - Innkeepers - This movie was a slow burn. I generally enjoyed the movie, even though most of the scares were jump scares. If your needing some more movies to add to your list for October I would say this one is decent enough. I'm excited to see House of the Devil which was the director Ti West's first movie and see if it is a creepier Haunted House movie, the trailers seem like it might be.
2 - V/H/S - There was so much hype for this movie and I honestly don't understand why. It was pretty good but I feel like the hype wasn't justified. I did find enjoyable parts and some of the stories were fun the watch, some much more than others, but I never felt like this movie was actually scary. As far as the found footage genre goes The Poughkeepsie Tapes and The Curse (ノロイ Noroi) are still the kings. Both of them left me creeped out long after the movie was over and I would recommend them over V/H/S any day (but maybe I just over-hyped V/H/S).
2 - V/H/S - There was so much hype for this movie and I honestly don't understand why. It was pretty good but I feel like the hype wasn't justified. I did find enjoyable parts and some of the stories were fun the watch, some much more than others, but I never felt like this movie was actually scary. As far as the found footage genre goes The Poughkeepsie Tapes and The Curse (ノロイ Noroi) are still the kings. Both of them left me creeped out long after the movie was over and I would recommend them over V/H/S any day (but maybe I just over-hyped V/H/S).
miller_time22
Neo Member
Yeah, Michael Bay's production credit is probably as high profile as it gets anymore sadly. Although, odd timing, but Joss Whedon's involvement in Cabin in the Woods (and subsequent smash with Avengers) hopefully helps legitimize the genre a bit more in today's age.
BattleMonkey
Member
If a big profile guy wants to make a horror flick, he could do it, but few bother. Money is obviously a factor, but if Nolan wanted to make a horror film I'm sure no one would stand in his way. But when you got billion dollar blockbusters coming your way.....
I enjoy horror movies and slashers are my guilty pleasure but I have a hard time put any of them in my top lists. I prefer other genres though.
I'll give the older films a shot. I've seen the first two Alien movies and they were pretty good but overrated for me. I'll check out your other 3 suggestions though.
J-Roderton
Member
2. Don't Be Afraid of The Dark
I liked it. Pretty creepy moments. Only thing is that once you see the creatures a few times, their creepy factor wears off quick. Loved the end, though.
I liked it. Pretty creepy moments. Only thing is that once you see the creatures a few times, their creepy factor wears off quick. Loved the end, though.
BlueSummers
Member
#3. The Andromeda Strain: I thought this was geared toward more horror but it really was more of a science movie about a virus with some small thrills throughout. Not REALLY a horror movie but if your in the mood for something different then this is okay if not a a little boring at times. Got to give this two ratings. One as a horror movie and one just taken on the films merits alone. Horror 2/10, as a movie 7/10.
#4. Stranded. It was another Netflix movie. I need another convient way to watch horror movies because again I went in expecting more horror and just got slight suspense. The plot is basically a team gets stranded on Mars and how they deal with this. It could have gone in "horror" directions many times but it stayed very tame. Didn't really like it as a horror or sci fi movie really. 4/10
#4. Stranded. It was another Netflix movie. I need another convient way to watch horror movies because again I went in expecting more horror and just got slight suspense. The plot is basically a team gets stranded on Mars and how they deal with this. It could have gone in "horror" directions many times but it stayed very tame. Didn't really like it as a horror or sci fi movie really. 4/10
Bboy AJ
My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Day #1 Ernest Scared Stupid
Great movie. I loved it when I was a kid. I still laughed at a bunch of parts this year.
Day #2 was a bye day. I added more HDDs to my NAS and thus, it was shut down.
Day #3 Scream
About to watch it now. I have great memories of it.
Great movie. I loved it when I was a kid. I still laughed at a bunch of parts this year.
Day #2 was a bye day. I added more HDDs to my NAS and thus, it was shut down.
Day #3 Scream
About to watch it now. I have great memories of it.
Marty Chinn
Member
#4 - Shark Night 3D
Oh god was this bad. There's so much that doesn't make sense and when you get down to the reason things are happening, it's even worse. You wonder how a group of people who are off on a cabin getaway are going to get killed from a shark after the first person gets killed and they realize there's something wrong. Somehow they did it and it's stupid how things are forced. The only redeeming factor is Sara Paxton in a bikini most of the movie, and Katherine McPhee in a bikini for a fair amount and a bit of side boob. If you're going to watch it, watch it in a group with the idea you're going to heckle it the whole time.
Noted, and added to the queue. I don't think she's a great actress or anything after seeing Shark Night; I just enjoyed her quirky portrayal in The Innkeepers, but I'll check that one out.
Oh god was this bad. There's so much that doesn't make sense and when you get down to the reason things are happening, it's even worse. You wonder how a group of people who are off on a cabin getaway are going to get killed from a shark after the first person gets killed and they realize there's something wrong. Somehow they did it and it's stupid how things are forced. The only redeeming factor is Sara Paxton in a bikini most of the movie, and Katherine McPhee in a bikini for a fair amount and a bit of side boob. If you're going to watch it, watch it in a group with the idea you're going to heckle it the whole time.
Noted, and added to the queue. I don't think she's a great actress or anything after seeing Shark Night; I just enjoyed her quirky portrayal in The Innkeepers, but I'll check that one out.
GrayFoxPL
Member
Thanks!
BattleMonkey
Member
I don't know how Shark Night got a theatrical release. It was direct to video bad and almost syfy levels of bad cg work.
mariachi507
Member
#1 Freaks (Oct. 1)
"One of us, one of us. Gooble gobble, Gooble gobble. We accept her, we accept her. One of us, one of us"
A circus acrobat named Cleopatra schemes to marry a dwarf, kill him and take his fortune. The dwarf is part of a group filled with sideshow performers known in this film as the "freaks". When the "freaks" catch wind of this scheme, they decide to even the score.
What an interesting film, it's only a little over an hour long and the horror elements aren't even prominent until the end. This movie came from a different time though, back then I suppose that seeing the "freaks" on the big screen was a general shock to audiences. The pacing is odd mostly due to the studio cutting a good third of the film which is now lost. Majority of the film is spent showing off the cast with their conditions which is sort of a mixed bag due to some bad acting (well I guess most of them weren't actors to being with) and not really having any point at all in regards to the plot. Most of the film comes across as filler, but things do finally pick up in the last third where the film lives up to its reputation.
6/10
"One of us, one of us. Gooble gobble, Gooble gobble. We accept her, we accept her. One of us, one of us"
A circus acrobat named Cleopatra schemes to marry a dwarf, kill him and take his fortune. The dwarf is part of a group filled with sideshow performers known in this film as the "freaks". When the "freaks" catch wind of this scheme, they decide to even the score.
What an interesting film, it's only a little over an hour long and the horror elements aren't even prominent until the end. This movie came from a different time though, back then I suppose that seeing the "freaks" on the big screen was a general shock to audiences. The pacing is odd mostly due to the studio cutting a good third of the film which is now lost. Majority of the film is spent showing off the cast with their conditions which is sort of a mixed bag due to some bad acting (well I guess most of them weren't actors to being with) and not really having any point at all in regards to the plot. Most of the film comes across as filler, but things do finally pick up in the last third where the film lives up to its reputation.
6/10
#4 Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
Way way too much exposition and scene setting before anything really happens and when stuff finally does happen it's all over. Not nearly eventful enough for the type of fun film it wants to be. Should have gone whole hog on the fun action comedy.
** out of *****
Way way too much exposition and scene setting before anything really happens and when stuff finally does happen it's all over. Not nearly eventful enough for the type of fun film it wants to be. Should have gone whole hog on the fun action comedy.
** out of *****
Marty Chinn
Member
Ya, if it wasn't for the fact that it said 3D on it, I would have assumed it was direct to video. Can't believe this made it to the theaters.
This is something I have been meaning to watch for some time, and fortunately, Netflix seemed to have added it a few days ago.
Movie #18 - Warlock, directed by Steve Miner (1989)
While the is film is certainly much more Action Adventure and Fantasy than horror, I felt there were enough horror elements scattered through out for it to count towards my Horror viewings. Similar to films like Highliander, Warlock is basically a complete knockoff of The Terminator formula, ie. an eternal feud between foes for the balance of the world. And while it's certainly unoriginal in that aspect, I personally found the film to be quite enjoyable.
The film is about a Warlock who escapes captivity in the 17th Century by traveling forward through time to the 20th Century, in search of a book with the power to undo all that God has created. The Warlock's arch nemesis, a witch hunter from the same time, is accidentally thrust into the future alongside him, and so too is there eternal battle between good and evil.
First of all, this film is fairly low budget, and with that comes some fairly dated and admittedly cheesy effects. Fortunately, these effects are far and few between, and while they're by no means respectable, they're not horrid enough to detract from what an otherwise entertaining film. The only effects that were truly horrid were the scenes involving the Warlock taking flight; otherwise, stuff regarding flame effects, telepathy, etc were conveyed decently given the budget.
The film is well acted, particularly Julian Sands as the Warlock and Richard Grant as the witch hunter. The former embodied a performance that balanced between cold and menacing, as well as charming and witty in a twisted way. The latter was noble and heroic, and between the two characters, there was a decent representation of good and evil that the filmmakers were obviously trying to go for. Lori Singer's character was probably the weakest of the three, and while she was fairly annoying within the first act, by film's end, she was tolerable and her character's modernity contrasted with the 17th Century conservative nature of the witch hunter allowed for some decent laughs and chemistry to be formed.
One difference between this film, and its inspiration Terminator, is the fact that the Warlock, while obviously more powerful than a human and his arch nemesis, is not portrayed as some completely diabolical force which allows for some interesting battles between him and the film's heroes.
Warlock is a ton of fun. It's narrative and story, while certainly unoriginal, is extremely fluid and entertaining. The acting while top loaded, is fairly competent through out. And while there was obviously some romantic chemistry between the Richard Grant and Lori Singer's character, I respect the filmmaker's discipline in not allowing a romantic subplot to hamper the film. It's just an extremely fun ride, and I highly recommend it.
Rating: *** out of ****
#3 House (1986)
In an attempt to catch up on some of the more notorious horror movies or ones with cult followings, I decided to watch house to add to Sleepaway camp. I leave again dissapointed. I guess I should've known the tone of the film given the fact Steve Miner was behind the camera, but it just seemed so played out. It's clearly going for an evil dead, goofy slapstick sort of movie, which I guess it achieves. You got gore, big nasty monsters, a protagonist with a shotgun. It wasn't so much the performances or the tone that was the problem with the movie though, it was more the content. There were only a handful of monsters, and they simply weren't believable. There was never any real tension, and honestly it never once felt like I was watching a horror movie. Either way it's worth watching for it's rep alone I suppose, and there are a handful of good moments.
6/10
My list started off on fire last year then quickly fizzled out... hopefuly this years picks up.
In an attempt to catch up on some of the more notorious horror movies or ones with cult followings, I decided to watch house to add to Sleepaway camp. I leave again dissapointed. I guess I should've known the tone of the film given the fact Steve Miner was behind the camera, but it just seemed so played out. It's clearly going for an evil dead, goofy slapstick sort of movie, which I guess it achieves. You got gore, big nasty monsters, a protagonist with a shotgun. It wasn't so much the performances or the tone that was the problem with the movie though, it was more the content. There were only a handful of monsters, and they simply weren't believable. There was never any real tension, and honestly it never once felt like I was watching a horror movie. Either way it's worth watching for it's rep alone I suppose, and there are a handful of good moments.
6/10
My list started off on fire last year then quickly fizzled out... hopefuly this years picks up.
ThirstyFly
Member
#3) Piranha DD (2012) (Oct 3)
"Welcome to rock bottom."
Part 2 of my Seafood Double Feature. Boy, you know you watched a stinker when the best footage is outtakes and bloopers during the end credits. I really enjoyed Aja's Piranha remake and I LOVE Feast, so adding those guys to the mix sounded like a perfect idea to me.
Sadly, the movie just didn't go as far as I had hoped it would. Piranha DD delivers on what it promises (piranha carnage and boobs) but it doesn't get nearly as over the top as it should and the piranha attack sequences just don't come close to living up to the previous movie. The plot also does nothing new, it's your usual lead character knows there's something in the water and greedy businessmen don't believe them. Considering how insane Feast 2 and 3 got, I really wanted them to do something other than yet another Jaws movie. The setup for the sequel (yeah, wishful thinking guys...) should have been the direction this one took.
There's still fun to be had though. All returning characters scenes are very fun and the stunt casting of Gary Busey and David Hasselhoff turns out surprisingly well. There's way more of the Hoff than I had expected and I really enjoyed his stuff. Danielle Panabaker also turns in a solid performance for such a low brow movie and I'll never complain about the presence of Katrina Bowden.
Blue Submarine No. 6
Member
#3 Sleepaway Camp (1983) (Oct. 3) - I picked this up last year for my 2011 31 Days of Horror movie marathon, but never quite got around to it. Finally settled in to watch it today (for the first time, I might add), and enjoyed it thoroughly. Very much a classic slasher, with some imaginative kills and a great twist ending. It won't replace Halloween or Friday 13th in my prefered rotation, but I'm glad I finally got around to seeing it, and no doubt will watch it again in a couple years...
canoli2006
Member
#3 - Halloween (1978)
What can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said? I've only seen it about three times now and I can see why it's such a classic in the genre.
What can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said? I've only seen it about three times now and I can see why it's such a classic in the genre.
NekoFever
Member
#3 Child's Play 3 (Oct 3)
The only one of the old run of these movies that I'd never seen.
This movie was crappy, cheaply made and cheesy as hell, but I still totally enjoyed it. This is exactly the kind of movie that got me into horror. Although it felt a bit tonally confused -
- it's a perfectly enjoyable 80s (I know it came out in 1991, but whatever) franchise horror film. It's been years since I've seen the other movies, but going on memory I'd say this was one of the better ones.
3/5, mainly for seeing Big Mike from Chuck turn up as a cop with one line at the end.
The only one of the old run of these movies that I'd never seen.
This movie was crappy, cheaply made and cheesy as hell, but I still totally enjoyed it. This is exactly the kind of movie that got me into horror. Although it felt a bit tonally confused -
the geeky kid throwing himself on a grenade felt completely out of place here, where they play most kills for laughs
3/5, mainly for seeing Big Mike from Chuck turn up as a cop with one line at the end.
afternoon delight
Member
flipping_heck
Member
3. Evil Ed (1995)
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9NKlKuSemw
A quirky Swedish film about a mild-mannered guy working as an editor for a snuff film company but becomes mentally unstable after so much exposure to the violence. This is a fun little film, dark in comedy with hammy acting, with some hilarious lines and many nods towards other horror films. This is a somewhat charming film which overly stays it's welcome near the second half of the film but this is an entertaining watch. 6/10
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9NKlKuSemw
A quirky Swedish film about a mild-mannered guy working as an editor for a snuff film company but becomes mentally unstable after so much exposure to the violence. This is a fun little film, dark in comedy with hammy acting, with some hilarious lines and many nods towards other horror films. This is a somewhat charming film which overly stays it's welcome near the second half of the film but this is an entertaining watch. 6/10
SillyEskimo
Member
4. Sleepaway Camp - 10/3
5. Sleepaway Camp 2 - 10/3
6. Sleepaway Camp 3 - 10/3
7. The Burning - 10/3
I had the day off yesterday, so no movies for me. However, I came back with a vengence today with a Sleepaway marathon topped off by The Burning. The Sleepaway franchise went off the tracks a bit, becoming a parody of itself by the end. The budgets also must have gotten smaller and smaller. They sure didn't take the opportunity to flesh out the character who is the killer, that's for sure. Still, there were some good kills and I was glad I watched them. I may revisist part 2 again someday, but part 3 had too few redeaming qualities for me to ever bother again.
The Burning was the real gem. I really enjoyed that one a lot! The kills were all really good. The practical effects hold up surprisingly well.
Summer camp slashers are a fun little sub genre.
5. Sleepaway Camp 2 - 10/3
6. Sleepaway Camp 3 - 10/3
7. The Burning - 10/3
I had the day off yesterday, so no movies for me. However, I came back with a vengence today with a Sleepaway marathon topped off by The Burning. The Sleepaway franchise went off the tracks a bit, becoming a parody of itself by the end. The budgets also must have gotten smaller and smaller. They sure didn't take the opportunity to flesh out the character who is the killer, that's for sure. Still, there were some good kills and I was glad I watched them. I may revisist part 2 again someday, but part 3 had too few redeaming qualities for me to ever bother again.
The Burning was the real gem. I really enjoyed that one a lot! The kills were all really good. The practical effects hold up surprisingly well.
Summer camp slashers are a fun little sub genre.
8BitsAtATime
Member
5. White Noise
The ending sucks so much...The dudes wife's ghost leads him on wild goose chase..such a waste of time,
6. Pulse
This movie...lol wifi enabled ghosts.
7. House of 1000 Corpses
I know this movie gets a lot of hate but I love it. This was what Grindhouse should have been like.
The ending sucks so much...The dudes wife's ghost leads him on wild goose chase..such a waste of time,
6. Pulse
This movie...lol wifi enabled ghosts.
7. House of 1000 Corpses
I know this movie gets a lot of hate but I love it. This was what Grindhouse should have been like.
Movie #19 - Tetsuo: the Iron Man, dir. Shin'ya Tsukamoto (1989)
This movie has everything one could want from a film. Drill dicks, metal tentacle probings and... come again?
I'm typically not a fan of such experimental films, so I've been putting this one off despite the near constant praise I've heard over the years. Having now watched it, I have to say, the near endless praise is well deserved. The film is obviously extremely low budget, the plot and characterization is paper thin, the cinematography and camera work are completely unconventional, and yet complete package is one of the most entertaining and kinetic experiences I've ever had with a film.
As previously stated, the plot is nothing to write home about. A metal fetishist embeds metal objects within his body, and this same man is later run down by a car. The metal fetishist begins to undergo an odd transformation, and so too does the driver of the car who ran him down. After that? Bizarre imagery, jarring camera work and a high octane battle between the two before mentioned characters. Surprisingly, there is a theme buried under all this metal and mayhem, which seems to be a fear of technology and its increasing prevalence within our lives. While the story itself is simple, it's some confusing due to the frantic pace of the film, giving the viewer very little chance to keep up with what's going on screen. This, and the fact that this is very much a visual experience, considering dialog is far and few between, means that you'll likely have to watch this twice, as I personally had to, to come away with any form of understanding of what the hell you just watched.
The star of the show is definitely the cinematography, camera work and editing. The film utilizes a lot of unconventional camera work, seemingly throwing the rule book out of the window in the process, constant quick cuts, stop motion and fast forwarding that work perfectly together to create a incredibly kinetic and fast paced feel towards the film as a whole. And the industrial, fast paced soundtrack is a perfect compliment to this visual flare, and a big part of the reason why everything within the film works together so nicely. A testament to how important these two elements are to each other is to imagine either one absent the other element (watching the film absent the soundtrack, and the soundtrack minus the visuals) and realizing that they'd likely be pretty horrific individually.
The acting is incredibly overstated, consisting of jarring movements and constant screams, and while I wouldn't single out these performances as particularly meaningful in the grand scheme of things, they work perfectly for what the filmmaker was trying to achieve.
I actually wasn't terribly fond of the costume design. It's basically a bunch of metal rods, wire cables, etc wrapped around a human torso with a human head protruding from its jumbled mess. It certainly gets the job done, but I feel like the filmmaker could have been a bit more creative within that department, although it's certainly understandable given the budget and the fact that this film is basically a one man show.
Basically, watch this film. Even if you're not a fan of experimental films and surrealism, like myself, put aside your tastes and give this film a whirl.
Rating: *** out of ****
Should I bother with Tetsuo II: Body Hammer or Tetsuo: The Bullet Man?
8BitsAtATime
Member
I kind of feel the same way. After i finished watching it for the first time the thing that popped into my head was this was pretty much 13 Ghosts on a bigger scale. The commentary is by far the worst.....they dont talk about the film at all they are pretty much giving each other a handjob for the movie the whole time...
BattleMonkey
Member
Yea few are sticking to any real rules and just watching 31 films during the month
8BitsAtATime
Member
Yeah the only rule I have is that I watch atleast one horror flick a day. My goal is 100 in 31 one days.
I enjoyed it overall, but didn't care for the bait-n-switch or the direction the story took.
If it had been a more traditional evil-town-cult flick it could have been special.
I consider when I wake up in the morning the start of a day, and when I go to bed at night(which is generally around 1) the end of the day.
But really my goal is 31 movies in 31 days, if I double up on a day so be it.
Oh, I agree. I also would've enjoyed an ending that didn't feel quite so flat.
I've seen a lot of people who took its title and plot and decided it was an adaptation of the slender man for the big screen, so at least I didn't have to deal with that trouble.