nikolino840
Member
Share b-movies blaxploitation sexploitation pulp splatter cringe freak movies
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The "midnight movies" thread
- Thread starter nikolino840
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quickwhips
Member
One of my favorite b movies. The taking of beverly hills is just fucking a cool fun movie that wouldn’t be made today. Rocky Horror is great also but its so famous I don’t count it as a b movie.
Really like Kuffs also. Slater is so damn amazing.
Really like Kuffs also. Slater is so damn amazing.
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Robot Carnival
Member
I mean, you pretty much posted the only 2 movies of this category that I know. I guess this counts too?
teezzy
Banned
I'm one of those dopes who went to film school as a kid, and have always viewed Pink Flamingos, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Eraserhead as the holy trinity of cinema.
With that said, add Godard's Breathless into the mix, and I swear you could learn everything you'd ever need to know about filmmaking.
Also make it an even five and add Gummo.
Suck my pretentious ass, GAF. <3
With that said, add Godard's Breathless into the mix, and I swear you could learn everything you'd ever need to know about filmmaking.
Also make it an even five and add Gummo.
Suck my pretentious ass, GAF. <3
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nikolino840
Member
What's the meaning of eraserhead? Have a sense? Lynch takes heavy drugs?
brap
Banned
teezzy
Banned
Yea, actually. It's really late and I tend to ramble but...
First and foremost, Eraserhead is Lynch at his best and Lynchiest. The basic story is an extremely dark comedy about a man confronting his fears of oncoming parenthood. That's really all there is to it. No matter what Lynch says. Dude always wants you to think hes deeper than he is. He hints at the subconscious but I don't think theres ever much of a point to any of his flicks. Kinda interpret your own or buzz off.
Then Lynch takes that basic concept a out parenthood, and applies his abstract symbolism per each story beat to express it. I.e. Henry's head popping off from stress or him falling into the unidentified liquid when having sex, baby turning out to be a monster, demon guy pulling the lever and shooting the baby into existance, Henry's mundane existence exasperated to the apex by wide shots of barren industrial landscapes, etc. Lynch utilizes his fascination with "dream logic" to explain away why it seems nonsensical, and his idea of movies performing as moving paintings carry narrative visually.
People dig way too deep into Eraserhead, and lynch loves that, pretending like theres some grander explanation. I have a HUGE hunch that there isn't. It's just layered abstract symbolism and absurdism.
Movie is so fucking funny though. That chicken scene or the part with him waiting for the elevator. I laugh way too damn hard.
I love David Lynch btw, I just see through his schtick. Hes awesome at what he does.
EDIT: I hope that makes some sense. Idk, I've seen Eraserhead so many times at this point it really is just a bunch of intentionally vague symbolism
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teezzy
Banned
I appreciate the cut of your jib. Last House on Dead End Street never gets enough love. Never even heard of Candy Snatchers or Headless Eyes!
Let me add a few lesser knowns as well:
brap
Banned
nikolino840
Member
W
Is like a dream yeah,i have a glimpse of my experiences with my dreams and i think lynch is a genius to recreate in movie what you "see" in dreams
The parenthood theme make sense
Well now i understand more ,i saw only one time becouse i found that movie pretty disturbing like the baby monster and when he kill him
Is like a dream yeah,i have a glimpse of my experiences with my dreams and i think lynch is a genius to recreate in movie what you "see" in dreams
The parenthood theme make sense
teezzy
Banned
W
Well now i understand more ,i saw only one time becouse i found that movie pretty disturbing like the baby monster and when he kill him
Is like a dream yeah,i have a glimpse of my experiences with my dreams and i think lynch is a genius to recreate in movie what you "see" in dreams
The parenthood theme make sense
I'm on my PC now and far more awake. Let me continue to drone out. Eraserhead might arguably be my favorite movie ever:
Yeah, I was about 14 years old and had picked it out the Eraserhead DVD from the horror section at Best Buy. I had no fuckin' idea what it was. If I recall correctly, it was priced higher than a lot of the other usual suspects that would haunt a Best Buy DVD horror section.
I took it home, popped it in, and not even so much confused... as I was just bored by it. I fucking hated Eraserhead when I first watched it at that age, and I nearly didn't even finish it. Kill Bill volume 1; this was not. I don't know what I was expecting but the DVD packaging for Eraserhead was so ominous and sinister. I'd discovered gems like Dead Alive already at this point, and may have been expecting Eraserhead to be a similar shock. Instead I got this droning nature of a flick that just refused to pander to my 14 year old attention span. Still, something drew me to it, and I watched over and over. Even got the opportunity to see it on the big screen at a local community theater.
Immediately after the movie starts, you're greeeted with this image of Henry's head being sideways and floating in space. You can take whatever interpretation here you'd like. Man's connection to the universe? A sign of his connection to the upcoming alien baby? Idk.
What I see: Henry is purposefully placed sideways to distort the viewer's sensibilities straight off the bat.
There's a very common tactic in filmmaking called a 'dutch angle'. It's where you just turn the camera ever so slightly. This gives the viewer a sense of unease. It's often so subtle and commonly used that we barely even recognize it, but it is always effective:
This opening shot in Eraserhead is likew a dutch angle x 1000. So disorienting - who is this man with the goofy hair? Why is he floating in space? Why is he sideways? Etc. Lynch is brilliant.
Jean luc Godard used a similar tactic in Vivre Sa Vie where he (iirc) introduces us to the characters by showing us the back of their heads. They're having a conversation but we only see the back of their heads. This not only catches the viewer off guard, but it literally makes you want to know more about the characters and their situation. We're so accustomed to seeing people's faces when they talk that you're practically begging for it. You don't know how to react. Godard was the most punk rock filmmaker of all time. Being a film critic first and foremost, he knew all the 'rules' and decided to break every single one of them. He didn't give a fuck about the viewer experience. He made the viewer his bitch. People find Godard insufferable for that very reason.
Like take this infamous scene from Godard's Week End. I don't even think it's the full thing.
Like not only does he want you to recognize "hey there's a traffic jam" he wants you to feel the traffic jam. The impatience of it all. You can see all the different types of characters handling the scenario differently. Normally, in any other movie, once you have recognized there's a traffic jam, the movie decides to proceed forward. Yes, traffic jam recognized - hit the next plot point. Godard says, "no, fuck that" Dude was brilliant.
NOW I WRAP UP MY RAMBLING ASS POST (I SWEAR, I HAVE A POINT HERE) BACK TO ERASERHEAD
You can feel the industrial environment of Henry's world which Lynch decides to beat you over the head with. The monotony of his life as homeboy is caught up in the elevator, and it moves slower than molasses. He just takes it patiently, as it clearly is part of his every day routine.
Lynch is commenting on the very absurdity of our existence. We don't know where we came from, none of any of this makes sense. I think that is ultimately the point of Eraserhead.
Here again, we have the pointlessness, and absurdity of Henry's baby mama's dad's story. The absurdity of them eating those little chickens. Watch as they wiggle and bleed. Why do humans eat birds? Why do humans do anything? I swear that's ultimately what Lynch was getting at. That's why the scene is hilarious. Just like the Sawyer family in Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Now if you'll excuse me. I'll fasten my tin foil hat. Thank you for letting me go on a tangent. Take from it what you will. Ultimately art is meant to be rough and unpleasant. It's supposed to expose things within our own lives and have us reflect on that. You can watch Eraserhead a million times over and take away something new. It's a difficult bastard of a film and all the better for it. The fact that I feel like a rambling loon just dissecting the first few minutes speaks volumes.
DragoonWalker
Member
Excellent thread. My favorite kind of movie.
The Godmother of revenge thrillers:
The greatest action movie you've never heard of:
The Japanese grindhouse classic:
They don't make 'em like this anymore:
The Godmother of revenge thrillers:
The greatest action movie you've never heard of:
The Japanese grindhouse classic:
They don't make 'em like this anymore:
The Bloody-Nine
Member
*NSFW*
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brap
Banned
DragoonWalker
Member
What beef do you have with Tokyo Gore Police? Find me a better/crazier splatterpunk action movie. Every subgenre has its classics.
brap
Banned
It's not grindhouse
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#Phonepunk#
Banned
DragoonWalker
Member
In the sense it's never been in a grindhouse theater. But those haven't existed for eons. If you're a purist in that sense then this genre is as good as dead. For the past few decades, late night TV movies, or any film that explores the genre conventions, are the torch bearers. How else would you categorize movies like Mandy and Hobo with a Shotgun?
But whatever man, have it your way:
Mistershine.
Banned
Nice thread. I just have to say that the dog scene at the end of pink flamingos is the only thing I have seen that has ever made me gag.
