Movies: Horror Movie Discussion

[Satans Hockey]

It's Friday the 13th... in October!

I have absolutely nothing against Taylor Swift or her fans, I'm completely indifferent but it's so shit that there aren't any horror movies coming out today cause her concert is being shown today. The Exorcist jumped their date from today to last week because of it. I get it financially but in the spirit of the day it stinks lol

I'm definitely watching some horror movies later.

 

[OzzyFan]

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) (subtitles)
3.10 out of 4stars

“Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land as he divides a married couple from each other.”
A great vampire horror that is a slow, contemplative, and moody interpretation and homage to the 1922 silent film version. Far from your typical vampire film while having great results, at times having a dreamlike fashion. With excellent visual storytelling and imagery, the film is spellbinding as it tells a story that hits the viewer with a deeper sense of dismay. Kinski in the titular role is stellar with non-lengthy screen time, evoking sympathy and humanizing this cursed man that personifies and creates both death and suffering. Which is still scary in its own way, as multiple scenes come to mind that generate a successfully odd mixture of sorrow and trepidation. While one could say that Dracula here is an example of bleak nihilism, I see clear regard for the disdain of his own loneliness, suffering, instincts, and monotony attached to a longing for love, and a romantic connection. It is this underlying hope that exists in him that is the truest cause of his great suffering, creating an existence “worse than death” through the “absence of love”. Which is further confirmed by one of his definitive weaknesses. The Black Plague commentary and rodent messenger elements are handled with striking effectiveness on large and small scales too. Also, there is some symbolism and talk on christianity, and arguably science within as well in relation to its subject matter. Of note, Kinski’s makeup took 4 hour daily sessions to apply, of which he apparently sat tantrum free through.

Witching and Bitching (2013) (subtitles)
3.05 out of 4stars

“A ragtag gang of jewel thieves find safe haven in a secluded village crammed with witches--only to encounter the bizarre, the unexpected, and the occult. Can they save themselves, and the rest of the world from the next witch apocalypse?”
A great comedy horror that is a riotously hilarious and gleefully warped ride. I say this with sense of humor being taste specific, this material is over the top, tongue in cheek, a bit twisted, and rapidly delivered. There is a lot of on point battle-of-the-sexes/relationship commentary humor as well, much in the form of male bonding “sharing”. The horror elements don’t kick in until half way, and are clearly secondary to the humor, but deliver some good dark and mostly light hearted sequences. Some memorable images as well. Throw in a little action and you’ve got yourself a really fun jovial thrill-inducing wild film. Now seeing this after De La Iglesia’s “The Day of the Beast” last year, I can say he knows how to make very funny, bitingly unpolitically correct, chaotic, non-stop dark comedies.

The Case of the Blood Iris (1972)
2.85 out of 4starts

“Having recently escaped the clutches of a hippie sex cult, a beautiful model is pursued by a serial killer whose previous victims include former occupants of her new apartment.”
A great giallo horror that is a lot of fun and has a lot going on, as it is stuffed full of the subgenre elements. Ranked #27 in Pranzo’s gialli thread, I took all the negatives in your review as self-reflexivity positives here on the subgenre. I could be wrong, but I felt it too on the nose at times to be unintentionally done, especially given how much obvious humor is thrown in. Solidly satirical of the genre in itself, it balances the over the top with some serious undertones. Meta-wise, it flips the script on the romantic leading man, multi-angled mocks and exploits and sheds light on the issues of female sexuality, emasculates and disparages and perverts male characters, makes the police beyond clumsy, and brings up numerous self-successful and reliant female characters. I’d even go as far as saying that at least one of the murders was done in a metaphorical way (the “letting off steam” one matches too well). Women here have the power and the men are second fiddle and needful of women in one way or another. It all feels kind of slyly feminist. And it does all that while creating a fun and interesting murder mystery, showcasing a lot of skin, creating a bunch of possible suspects/red-herrings, creating some good suspenseful scenes, great camera style, and deploying some ironically funny dialogue/situations. While not prototypically tense and serious or even bloody, it works very well and gets its messages across in an oddly charming way.

High Tension (2003) (subtitles)
2.80 out of 4stars

“Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.”
A great slasher horror that potently applies its subgenre elements, but is undercut by an appallingly bad disappointing twist ending. Aja clearly knows how to masterfully deliver the terror-filled horror thrills here. Brutally shocks and disturbs in a near perfectly modest amount, with great levels of suspense and tension carried on throughout from the balance of danger and guarded hope. All the actors are good, but Nahon playing the psychopathic killer is superb, as are the all around choices of his implementation and use throughout which really sticks with the viewer. Not spoiling anything, but there is a 4 or 5 minute scene near the end involving a power tool that is nothing short of spectacular. Could have been a subgenre classic if it weren’t for the twist. Of note, the make-up effects within were created by the famed Gianetto De Rossi, who famously worked on some of Fulci’s cult films amongst others.

The Toxic Avenger (Unrated Director’s Cut) (1984)
2.80 out of 4stars

“Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.”
A great superhero spoof black comedy splatter horror that is silly, over the top, in bad taste, a bit sleazy, schlocky, but so bad that it’s good fun and frequently very funny. Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, and the first 15 to 20 minutes are roughly poor compared to the rest of the film to sit through imo (where the jocks mostly hold the screen), but after that it finds a rhythm. Lots of graphic gore, but done in a comedic fashion and furthermore not quite that gross/unsettling for the splatter/troma genre altogether, but arguably has a couple moments that are. Having it feel like music was playing throughout the whole film in the background definitely helped the vibe and flow. For all the poor taste it has, it actually does spoof the superhero film genre quite well with its aspectual writing. Seems to be brief surface commentary on crime and political corruption, which can be seen as superhero genre pokes as well. Fun and funny while earning its cult status.

Wer (2013)
2.60 out of 4stars

“In France, an American female attorney defends a suspect accused of brutally murdering 2 people in the woods. He has a brutish appearance, a retrained demeanor, and a deadly secret.”
A good found footage/faux-documentary werewolf horror that is a more grounded contemporary view, of which is half case investigation and half manhunt. The first half uses legal elements to bring an intriguing analysis and scientific approach to the material that works. The second half brings the creature action and thrills with bloody and occasionally graphic effect. It’s all quite clever and satisfying without ever delving too deep or stunning. While some may be turned off from the werewolf version of our werewolf mostly being just a hairy behemoth of a normal man, it works here. Only real knock is that the film tries to use way too many empty and ineffective jump scares for reasons I do not know. A high potential concept, that if it were polished and developed more could have been something truly great in an underutilized werewolf subgenre.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) (subtitles)
3.10 out of 4stars

“Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land as he divides a married couple from each other.”
A great vampire horror that is a slow, contemplative, and moody interpretation and homage to the 1922 silent film version. Far from your typical vampire film while having great results, at times having a dreamlike fashion. With excellent visual storytelling and imagery, the film is spellbinding as it tells a story that hits the viewer with a deeper sense of dismay. Kinski in the titular role is stellar with non-lengthy screen time, evoking sympathy and humanizing this cursed man that personifies and creates both death and suffering. Which is still scary in its own way, as multiple scenes come to mind that generate a successfully odd mixture of sorrow and trepidation. While one could say that Dracula here is an example of bleak nihilism, I see clear regard for the disdain of his own loneliness, suffering, instincts, and monotony attached to a longing for love, and a romantic connection. It is this underlying hope that exists in him that is the truest cause of his great suffering, creating an existence “worse than death” through the “absence of love”. Which is further confirmed by one of his definitive weaknesses. The Black Plague commentary and rodent messenger elements are handled with striking effectiveness on large and small scales too. Also, there is some symbolism and talk on christianity, and arguably science within as well in relation to its subject matter. Of note, Kinski’s makeup took 4 hour daily sessions to apply, of which he apparently sat tantrum free through.

Witching and Bitching (2013) (subtitles)
3.05 out of 4stars

“A ragtag gang of jewel thieves find safe haven in a secluded village crammed with witches--only to encounter the bizarre, the unexpected, and the occult. Can they save themselves, and the rest of the world from the next witch apocalypse?”
A great comedy horror that is a riotously hilarious and gleefully warped ride. I say this with sense of humor being taste specific, this material is over the top, tongue in cheek, a bit twisted, and rapidly delivered. There is a lot of on point battle-of-the-sexes/relationship commentary humor as well, much in the form of male bonding “sharing”. The horror elements don’t kick in until half way, and are clearly secondary to the humor, but deliver some good dark and mostly light hearted sequences. Some memorable images as well. Throw in a little action and you’ve got yourself a really fun jovial thrill-inducing wild film. Now seeing this after De La Iglesia’s “The Day of the Beast” last year, I can say he knows how to make very funny, bitingly unpolitically correct, chaotic, non-stop dark comedies.

The Case of the Blood Iris (1972)
2.85 out of 4starts

“Having recently escaped the clutches of a hippie sex cult, a beautiful model is pursued by a serial killer whose previous victims include former occupants of her new apartment.”
A great giallo horror that is a lot of fun and has a lot going on, as it is stuffed full of the subgenre elements. Ranked #27 in Pranzo’s gialli thread, I took all the negatives in your review as self-reflexivity positives here on the subgenre. I could be wrong, but I felt it too on the nose at times to be unintentionally done, especially given how much obvious humor is thrown in. Solidly satirical of the genre in itself, it balances the over the top with some serious undertones. Meta-wise, it flips the script on the romantic leading man, multi-angled mocks and exploits and sheds light on the issues of female sexuality, emasculates and disparages and perverts male characters, makes the police beyond clumsy, and brings up numerous self-successful and reliant female characters. I’d even go as far as saying that at least one of the murders was done in a metaphorical way (the “letting off steam” one matches too well). Women here have the power and the men are second fiddle and needful of women in one way or another. It all feels kind of slyly feminist. And it does all that while creating a fun and interesting murder mystery, showcasing a lot of skin, creating a bunch of possible suspects/red-herrings, creating some good suspenseful scenes, great camera style, and deploying some ironically funny dialogue/situations. While not prototypically tense and serious or even bloody, it works very well and gets its messages across in an oddly charming way.

High Tension (2003) (subtitles)
2.80 out of 4stars

“Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.”
A great slasher horror that potently applies its subgenre elements, but is undercut by an appallingly bad disappointing twist ending. Aja clearly knows how to masterfully deliver the terror-filled horror thrills here. Brutally shocks and disturbs in a near perfectly modest amount, with great levels of suspense and tension carried on throughout from the balance of danger and guarded hope. All the actors are good, but Nahon playing the psychopathic killer is superb, as are the all around choices of his implementation and use throughout which really sticks with the viewer. Not spoiling anything, but there is a 4 or 5 minute scene near the end involving a power tool that is nothing short of spectacular. Could have been a subgenre classic if it weren’t for the twist. Of note, the make-up effects within were created by the famed Gianetto De Rossi, who famously worked on some of Fulci’s cult films amongst others.

The Toxic Avenger (Unrated Director’s Cut) (1984)
2.80 out of 4stars

“Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.”
A great superhero spoof black comedy splatter horror that is silly, over the top, in bad taste, a bit sleazy, schlocky, but so bad that it’s good fun and frequently very funny. Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, and the first 15 to 20 minutes are roughly poor compared to the rest of the film to sit through imo (where the jocks mostly hold the screen), but after that it finds a rhythm. Lots of graphic gore, but done in a comedic fashion and furthermore not quite that gross/unsettling for the splatter/troma genre altogether, but arguably has a couple moments that are. Having it feel like music was playing throughout the whole film in the background definitely helped the vibe and flow. For all the poor taste it has, it actually does spoof the superhero film genre quite well with its aspectual writing. Seems to be brief surface commentary on crime and political corruption, which can be seen as superhero genre pokes as well. Fun and funny while earning its cult status.

Wer (2013)
2.60 out of 4stars

“In France, an American female attorney defends a suspect accused of brutally murdering 2 people in the woods. He has a brutish appearance, a retrained demeanor, and a deadly secret.”
A good found footage/faux-documentary werewolf horror that is a more grounded contemporary view, of which is half case investigation and half manhunt. The first half uses legal elements to bring an intriguing analysis and scientific approach to the material that works. The second half brings the creature action and thrills with bloody and occasionally graphic effect. It’s all quite clever and satisfying without ever delving too deep or stunning. While some may be turned off from the werewolf version of our werewolf mostly being just a hairy behemoth of a normal man, it works here. Only real knock is that the film tries to use way too many empty and ineffective jump scares for reasons I do not know. A high potential concept, that if it were polished and developed more could have been something truly great in an underutilized werewolf subgenre.

Love your comment on Nosferatu, but can't agree with you on Haute Tension, which - without being a masterpiece - is at least a lot better than the bloody case of the iris! Will you make me go back and have another look at that movie? Hmmm, hope not, but if I'm too weak to resist the urge, at least there's Fenech! You think it works as kind of a pastiche of the genre? I feel like you might be trying to justify some form of "so bad it's good" reaction to it. I'll give you that it's often a nice looking film, but I really don't think that its racism and sexism were part of a reflexive exercise. I might look into it.

 

[shadow1]

Resolution (2012) - 5/10

A man forces his drug addict friend into a one week detox, but strange occurrences keep disrupting them.

Peter Cilella stars as Michael, who receives an erratic video from his childhood friend Chris (Vinny Curran). Thinking this is his last chance to save the drug addict Chris, Michael handcuffs his friend to the wall of a dilapidated rural house in a forced detox. However, a series of strange occurrences begin taking place, making Michael believe someone is watching them...

Resolution was directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead, and was written by Benson. The two served nearly every role in the production, including cinematography, editing, and producing. That will come as little surprise when you lean this film has a microscopic budget of $20,000! How does this uber low budget movie fare?

It's an okay movie, better than it deserves to be based on its budget, but not without problems. Resolution has an intriguing mystery, with multiple unexplained occurrences happening that Michael spends the run time trying to get to the bottom of. Most of the occurrences are very small, which makes the audience question who or what is leaving these cryptic messages behind. The movie also sets up numerous red herrings and unusual characters to keep you guessing.

However, in my opinion, things unravel in the climax. Your milage may vary, but the movie goes in a very meta direction that did not resonate with me. To my knowledge, a lot of the film's unanswered questions are resolved in a future sequel called The Endless (2017), but as far as this standalone movie goes I didn't find the conclusion to be satisfying. Also, I hate to complain about this in a movie that cost less than a Big Mac to produce, but some of the acting was rough. I would've let it slide, but during the portion of the movie where the occurrences go from "sightly creepy" to "batshit crazy", one character seemed slightly inconvenienced when the normal reaction should've been hysterical panic (emote, dammit!).

Overall, Resolution is a movie that looks outstanding relative to its shoestring budget. Though I have mixed feelings about the content of the movie, at the very least it is intriguing to see something this good made for so little. It was good enough that I'm interested to see where the plot goes in the sequel, at least. I have to note that I am in the minority on this movie, as it currently has a 3.4/5 on Letterboxd, so take this review with a grain of salt.

As Above, So Below (2014) - 5/10

A group exploring the Catacombs of Paris discover dark secrets hidden below the city.

Perdita Weeks stars as Scarlett, an explorer who is searching for the Philosopher's stone, a legendary substance which is said to grant eternal life. Scarlett assembles a ragtag group of explorers, including her former lover George (Ben Feldman) and local guide Papillon (Francois Civil), to search for the ancient relic. However, as the group descends further underground, they come to realize why the relic has gone undiscovered for so long...

As Above, So Below was directed by John Erick Dowdle and written by he and Drew Dowdle. The movie was filmed on location in the real Catacombs of Paris, creating a claustrophobic, difficult shoot for the cast and crew. Were their efforts worth it?

Meh... kinda? As Above, So Below is a well made movie, but one that frustrates me on many levels because it could've been much better. It's a found footage film, but doesn't really feel like it because one of the group members is filming everything on a professional camera. The characters wear headlamps - which look identical to one I purchased earlier this year for $10 from Home Depot - that supposedly also have cameras built in, but these are seldom used. Regardless of which cameras we're looking through though, the movie does a good job with claustrophobia early on.

The film is very slow however, with the first hour of this 93 minute movie strictly focusing on the characters exploring, with few horror elements to be found. This still works because the location itself is creepy enough on its own, but the trade off is that the characters are a mixed bag. Scarlett is not a sympathetic character at all, as she is very headstrong and selfish, putting her needs above everyone else's. Many of the other characters are complete window dressing/body count fodder, and you can tell a lot of the dialogue was improvised with a general direction the conversation is supposed to go in.

The characterizations are a nitpick though; my real issue comes when the "horror" in this movie starts. Awful, awful CGI accompanied by bad shaky cam that wasn't present until the climax. It's really jarring because the first two acts are a slow burn, but then the movie becomes erratic in the worst way possible. The filmmakers really struggle with distinguishing between scaring the audience versus startling them, as there are a barrage of poorly done jump scares at the end of the movie. The film basically turns the events into a haunted house, throwing every piece of poorly rendered CGI crap they could at the camera. It's a shame too, because there were a few moments I found to be creepy.

(Also as a nitpick, before the characters make their descent, the movie makes a big deal about how they'll all die if they run out of batteries. When faced with that reality after losing their spare batteries, the group verbally agree that they need to conserve their headlamps. Not a single character turns their light off, they don't scavenge extra headlamps off of their fallen comrades, and no one's headlamp ever runs out of juice. I know this is a ticky-tacky complaint even from me, but c'mon!).

Overall, As Above, So Below is a well made movie that has a crash landing. What starts out and spends most of its time as a decent, maybe even above average, found footage film completely unravels thanks to a laughably bad ending. The film did poorly with critics, but fans do seem to like it and the movie performed well commercially, earning $42M against a $5M budget.

 

[Satans Hockey]

I saw as above, so below in the theaters and I remember walking out hating it but I think I was also completely over the found footage genre entirely at that point.

 

[OzzyFan]

Love your comment on Nosferatu, but can't agree with you on Haute Tension, which - without being a masterpiece - is at least a lot better than the bloody case of the iris! Will you make me go back and have another look at that movie? Hmmm, hope not, but if I'm too weak to resist the urge, at least there's Fenech! You think it works as kind of a pastiche of the genre? I feel like you might be trying to justify some form of "so bad it's good" reaction to it. I'll give you that it's often a nice looking film, but I really don't think that its racism and sexism were part of a reflexive exercise. I might look into it.

What do you think of High Tension differently than I did? I'm curious.

On The Case of the Bloody Iris, the racist stuff was poor attempts at humor/in poor taste. The sexism I think was spot on reflexivity. Satirical I'd say, in the realm of the female use within the genre and caricatures/odd reaction stuff. Fenech is great in it all around. Like I said, too much of it was too coincidental to not be on purpose imo.

Resolution (2012) - 5/10

A man forces his drug addict friend into a one week detox, but strange occurrences keep disrupting them.

Peter Cilella stars as Michael, who receives an erratic video from his childhood friend Chris (Vinny Curran). Thinking this is his last chance to save the drug addict Chris, Michael handcuffs his friend to the wall of a dilapidated rural house in a forced detox. However, a series of strange occurrences begin taking place, making Michael believe someone is watching them...

Resolution was directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead, and was written by Benson. The two served nearly every role in the production, including cinematography, editing, and producing. That will come as little surprise when you lean this film has a microscopic budget of $20,000! How does this uber low budget movie fare?

It's an okay movie, better than it deserves to be based on its budget, but not without problems. Resolution has an intriguing mystery, with multiple unexplained occurrences happening that Michael spends the run time trying to get to the bottom of. Most of the occurrences are very small, which makes the audience question who or what is leaving these cryptic messages behind. The movie also sets up numerous red herrings and unusual characters to keep you guessing.

However, in my opinion, things unravel in the climax. Your milage may vary, but the movie goes in a very meta direction that did not resonate with me. To my knowledge, a lot of the film's unanswered questions are resolved in a future sequel called The Endless (2017), but as far as this standalone movie goes I didn't find the conclusion to be satisfying. Also, I hate to complain about this in a movie that cost less than a Big Mac to produce, but some of the acting was rough. I would've let it slide, but during the portion of the movie where the occurrences go from "sightly creepy" to "batshit crazy", one character seemed slightly inconvenienced when the normal reaction should've been hysterical panic (emote, dammit!).

Overall, Resolution is a movie that looks outstanding relative to its shoestring budget. Though I have mixed feelings about the content of the movie, at the very least it is intriguing to see something this good made for so little. It was good enough that I'm interested to see where the plot goes in the sequel, at least. I have to note that I am in the minority on this movie, as it currently has a 3.4/5 on Letterboxd, so take this review with a grain of salt.

As Above, So Below (2014) - 5/10

A group exploring the Catacombs of Paris discover dark secrets hidden below the city.

Perdita Weeks stars as Scarlett, an explorer who is searching for the Philosopher's stone, a legendary substance which is said to grant eternal life. Scarlett assembles a ragtag group of explorers, including her former lover George (Ben Feldman) and local guide Papillon (Francois Civil), to search for the ancient relic. However, as the group descends further underground, they come to realize why the relic has gone undiscovered for so long...

As Above, So Below was directed by John Erick Dowdle and written by he and Drew Dowdle. The movie was filmed on location in the real Catacombs of Paris, creating a claustrophobic, difficult shoot for the cast and crew. Were their efforts worth it?

Meh... kinda? As Above, So Below is a well made movie, but one that frustrates me on many levels because it could've been much better. It's a found footage film, but doesn't really feel like it because one of the group members is filming everything on a professional camera. The characters wear headlamps - which look identical to one I purchased earlier this year for $10 from Home Depot - that supposedly also have cameras built in, but these are seldom used. Regardless of which cameras we're looking through though, the movie does a good job with claustrophobia early on.

The film is very slow however, with the first hour of this 93 minute movie strictly focusing on the characters exploring, with few horror elements to be found. This still works because the location itself is creepy enough on its own, but the trade off is that the characters are a mixed bag. Scarlett is not a sympathetic character at all, as she is very headstrong and selfish, putting her needs above everyone else's. Many of the other characters are complete window dressing/body count fodder, and you can tell a lot of the dialogue was improvised with a general direction the conversation is supposed to go in.

The characterizations are a nitpick though; my real issue comes when the "horror" in this movie starts. Awful, awful CGI accompanied by bad shaky cam that wasn't present until the climax. It's really jarring because the first two acts are a slow burn, but then the movie becomes erratic in the worst way possible. The filmmakers really struggle with distinguishing between scaring the audience versus startling them, as there are a barrage of poorly done jump scares at the end of the movie. The film basically turns the events into a haunted house, throwing every piece of poorly rendered CGI crap they could at the camera. It's a shame too, because there were a few moments I found to be creepy.

(Also as a nitpick, before the characters make their descent, the movie makes a big deal about how they'll all die if they run out of batteries. When faced with that reality after losing their spare batteries, the group verbally agree that they need to conserve their headlamps. Not a single character turns their light off, they don't scavenge extra headlamps off of their fallen comrades, and no one's headlamp ever runs out of juice. I know this is a ticky-tacky complaint even from me, but c'mon!).

Overall, As Above, So Below is a well made movie that has a crash landing. What starts out and spends most of its time as a decent, maybe even above average, found footage film completely unravels thanks to a laughably bad ending. The film did poorly with critics, but fans do seem to like it and the movie performed well commercially, earning $42M against a $5M budget.

Completely agree with you on Resolution, felt the same way, and I like Benson and Moorhead's other films, with the exception of Something in the Dirt being a miss.

 

[Osprey]

Totally Killer (2023) - 5/10

A teenage girl travels back to 1987 and tries to stop a serial killer from murdering three girls in the week leading up to Halloween. It's a comedy horror from Amazon that mixes Back to the Future with Halloween and Scream. Jamie experiences how different the 80s were, meets her parents as teenagers and tries to unmask a killer from among her parents' peers. It's very self aware and even directly references the movies that inspired it. For example, at one point, she asks two cops if they've seen "Back to the Future" and one says, "I hate time travel movies. They never make any sense." There's some fun to be had from the mixing of genres and observations of 80s culture. That said, the references and Jamie's judging of the 80s against today's standards wore a bit thin. The script relies too much on both for its attempts at humor and ended up feeling a little shallow. The lead actress, Kiernan Shipka, does a fairly good job and reminded me of Jessica Rothe in Happy Death Day. In fact, considering that that was Groundhog Day crossed with a slasher and this is Back to the Future crossed with one, they're somewhat similar movies, though Happy Death Day felt fresher to me. This one is still somewhat fun, though, and most reviews are more positive, so you might still check it out if you enjoy comedy horror. It's on Amazon Prime.

---

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023) - 5/10

In 1969, a young man and his childhood friends learn that, sometimes, dead is better. It's a prequel set in the same small town in Maine and based on a brief story that was told in the original. Jud, the old man in the original, is much younger and the lead character. The premise is good (not surprisingly, since it came from Stephen King), but not explained or explored as well as it could've been. Though it's easy to guess what happened, I think that it would've strengthened the story to show a flashback, played up the tragedy and made the character responsible sympathetic. There was a real missed opportunity there and a little too much focus on Jud, who doesn't have strong motivations. David Duchovky is largely wasted as one of the town's elders, as is Pam Grier in a very small role. The movie does have good visuals and competent direction. It looks like a Pet Sematary movie should. It has some creepiness, especially with the unsettling sound of cracking bones whenever the undead move a muscle, but is never actually "scary." Seeing a modern horror movie with a male lead was a bit different and refreshing. Overall, I feel that it fell well short of its potential, but was slightly more decent than I was expecting from reviews on IMDb (where it has a mediocre 4.7). It's flawed, but could've been worse. It's on Paramount+.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

What do you think of High Tension differently than I did? I'm curious.

On The Case of the Bloody Iris, the racist stuff was poor attempts at humor/in poor taste. The sexism I think was spot on reflexivity. Satirical I'd say, in the realm of the female use within the genre and caricatures/odd reaction stuff. Fenech is great in it all around. Like I said, too much of it was too coincidental to not be on purpose imo.

Oh nothing wrong with the comment (as usual!), just the grade that lands under the bloody iris! As for that one, too much of it felt too italian to me, and not much more. But at some point I'll go back to it with your comment in mind, for sure.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

It's Friday the 13th... in October!

I paid proper homage by watching Part VII.

I have long maintained the movie is entertaining and the Carrie vs. Jason gimmick was a fun turn for a repetitive series.

But I hadn't seen it since my teens.

Upon rewatch... I was wrong.

I am sorry to anyone I may have harmed.

 

[Satans Hockey]

I watched Totally Killer and No One Will Save You last night.

Totally Killer was a ton of fun, it's very self aware like @Osprey said. I really enjoyed it but I also might have enjoyed it more cause I watched it after a movie with no dialogue lol

No One Will Save You is an alien invasion movie that has no dialogue whatsoever. I thought it was just ok, felt like it was longer than it needed to be.

 

[OzzyFan]

No One Will Save You is an alien invasion movie that has no dialogue whatsoever. I thought it was just ok, felt like it was longer than it needed to be.

Yes. I thought No One Will Save You was a good gimmick, little thin story, with a great performance by Devers, just outstayed its welcome and had a bad ending.

 

[Osprey]

I happened to watch it last night, as well.

No One Will Save You (2023) - 7/10

Living alone in a small town, a young woman (Kaitlyn Dever) is visited and stalked by beings from another world. On the surface, it's a home invasion horror with a sci-fi twist. The first act is especially suspenseful. There's also a mystery surrounding her relationship with the rest of the town that, as it unfolds, develops the film's themes. Like some other horrors with psychological components, such as The Babadook, the external threat appears to be partly a metaphor for what the main character is already dealing with. What's unique is that it's done with almost no dialogue. Everything in the film is told visually, not through exposition, because there is none. I appreciated having to figure things out by watching, rather than listening to characters talking. Dever impressively carries the film with her non-verbal acting. Despite not speaking, it's never in doubt what her character is thinking and feeling. The last half of the film gets a bit weird and confusing and won't be for everyone. The lack of dialogue and the strange, unclear ending will likely put off a lot of viewers. I, too, was a bit confused at times and am not often a fan of films that seem to have gimmicks and try to be too artsy and ambiguous, but I find myself appreciating this one more as I think and read about it more. It doesn't hold your hand and tell you what it means. It encourages you to figure that out, and I'm still doing that the next day, so I have to give it high marks for that. It's on Hulu.

Spoiler

What I've pieced together so far, some thanks to other reviews that I read:

The aliens are a metaphor for how Brynn feels like an alien in her own hometown.

Like the townspeople, she can't accept and forgive herself for what she did, so she make believes that Maude is still alive by writing letters to her. She regularly visits her mom's grave, but not Maude's until it happens accidentally and it disturbs her to see it.

The way that she kills the first alien mirrors what she did to Maude and, in retrospect, adds more meaning to the shock that she appears to be in afterwards.

Her hobby is building a model town, which represents the community that she wishes that she lived in, where she's forgiven and accepted and everyone gets along.

The aliens put mind control parasites into the humans to trick them into being happy (seemingly to domesticate them, like pets), but Brynn rejects the fantasy offered to her (in which Maude is alive again) and simply wants her life back as it was, just with everyone else as happy and carefree as her. The aliens realize that she doesn't need to be tricked and send her back unaltered. She's like a pet that they don't need to put a collar on because she's happy to go along with everything and can be trusted.

In the end, the aliens accept her and her past, whereas her own kind wouldn't, and make the town like the one that she dreamed of and built.

 

[PK Cronin]

Yes. I thought No One Will Save You was a good gimmick, little thin story, with a great performance by Devers, just outstayed its welcome and had a bad ending.

It's on my list of things to watch and I'm glad Devers delivered. She was great in Justified and Unbelievable so it's nice to see her continue to gain traction.

 

[the squared circle]

RIP to Piper Laurie - famous actress in many roles including The Hustler, but to me she will always be Carrie’s mom who absolutely terrified me when I was little, and even now when I watch the movie, she is the scariest character. She is amazing in every scene she is in.
I have a list of horror films to watch in October but Carrie isn’t on it since I’ve seen it so many times. Reconsidering that now.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

The wife and I watched Hell House LLC last night and really liked it.

It's a found footage/mockumentary film about a tragedy at a small town Haunted House.

 

[PK Cronin]

The wife and I watched Hell House LLC last night and really liked it.

It's a found footage/mockumentary film about a tragedy at a small town Haunted House.

It's been mentioned a few times recently so I watched it. Thought it was an interesting concept but was a bit slow.

 

[BostonBob]

The wife and I watched Hell House LLC last night and really liked it.

It's a found footage/mockumentary film about a tragedy at a small town Haunted House.

It's on my Amazon Prime Canada watchlist. If you are interested they also made a Hell House LLC II and Hell House LLC III:

They also made a 4h installment titled Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor. It will be released on Shudder on October 30th.

 

[VelvetVortex]

My wife and I watched "The Pope's Exorcist" last night and enjoyed it, my wife had a bit of trouble sleeping afterward, especially because of the scene where the bed engulfs one of the characters. If Russell Crowe hadn't been in the movie, I think we would have watched a different horror movie instead.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

My wife and I watched "The Pope's Exorcist" last night and enjoyed it, my wife had a bit of trouble sleeping afterward, especially because of the scene where the bed engulfs one of the characters. If Russell Crowe hadn't been in the movie, I think we would have watched a different horror movie instead.

Crowe is one of my favorite actors but I had no desire to see him in an exorcism movie lol

I might reconsider now though

 

[OzzyFan]

My wife and I watched "The Pope's Exorcist" last night and enjoyed it, my wife had a bit of trouble sleeping afterward, especially because of the scene where the bed engulfs one of the characters. If Russell Crowe hadn't been in the movie, I think we would have watched a different horror movie instead.

 

[shadow1]

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) - 4/10

A schoolteacher looks to clear the name of her jailed brother, but discovers a dark family secret.

Kelly Rowan stars as Annie, a teacher working in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. After her brother Ethan (William O'Leary) confesses to murder, Annie works to clear his name, believing his confession to be a result of guilt following the suicide of their father. However, as Annie works to uncover the truth, she accidentally invokes the supernatural killer Candyman (Tony Todd)...

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh was directed by Bill Condon, and written by Mark Kruger and Rand Ravich. After the success of the first film, many concepts were considered for the sequel, including a merger of the Candyman lore with Clive Barker's short story "The Midnight Meat Train". However, the filmmakers instead went with an original story. How does it compare to the original?

Poorly. Candyman 2 functions almost as a remake of the original, with similar beats that are not as well done. This time around, we focus on new protagonists with a familial connection to Candyman, but there's not much to it. The revelations made by Annie about her family are predicable, and ultimately feel meaningless because they fly in the face of the original continuity. While it's true that the nuts and bolts of Candyman's backstory remain unchanged, it feels like this movie exists simply to move Candyman (famously from Chicago) to New Orleans. If there was a point to the movie being set during Mardi Gras, it was lost on me.

A good horror movie can still have a forgettable plot, but unfortunately Candyman 2 also drops the ball in the scares department. The film is unapologetically 90's, and features a lot of bogus jump scares with that "knife slashing" sound effect also found in Halloween 6 (1995). The gore is mediocre and scarce, and there's not much tension because almost every character aside from Annie is a throwaway. There are also some really rough performance in this one, specifically some of the police characters and also the guy who plays Tim Allen's brother on Home Improvement. Finally, to beat a dead horse with the plot, the way in which Annie summons Candyman is poorly written. Despite numerous connections to the character, the event happens by complete accident when Annie sets out to prove to a frightened student that the urban legend is false. D'oh!

Overall, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is a bore. The movie isn't offensively bad to sit through, but the plot falls apart under scrutiny and Candyman himself doesn't get a ton of screen time. This is definitely a movie where your mind will start to wander about things you could be doing instead... like watching the original Candyman. Candyman 2 had mediocre box office returns, earning $14M against a $6M budget, and was followed by a direct-to-video sequel in 1999.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Friday the 13th. In the last year now I've done an out-of-order revisiting of the first seven movies (4, 6, 5, 2, 3, 7, 1). That wasn't an intentional plan or order, just played out that way. Ending at the beginning really underlined how little of Jason's story is part of that movie. Seeded very briefly at the beginning and then Betsy Palmer shows up at the start of the third act exposition dump. It's so slapdash it almost feels like the prologue and last act were conceived and tacked on after the fact. Like, "Oh man we have to explain this." It's also not very thrilling. I can't think of a time where I DIDN'T know his mom is the killer, but if I came in blind, a random person popping up all of a sudden is a real flashing neon sign. So I think the movie is poorly made in many respects. It's also almost shockingly slow paced, which was more the style at the time. BUT, kills are good, the theme slaps and you can't argue with what it begat.

I've seen Jason Takes Manhattan a shocking amount of times relative to some of the others, including in the last five years or so so I don't feel real driven to revisit it.

But I think I'd rank those original 8 in tiers as such:
4, 2, 3, 6 (right down the line enjoyable)
8, 1 (occasional moments, but fatally flawed)
5, 7 (unambiguously bad)

I also don't have much motivation to go back to Jason Goes to Hell (barely remember), Jason X (I like!) or Freddy vs. Jason (didn't like). Definite pass on the reboot too.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Did anyone actually watch this? The concept could have some interesting ideas but it just looks so poorly made that I haven't watched it yet but this teacher sure made an oops lol...

Parents outraged after teacher accidentally shows ‘Winnie the Pooh’ slasher film to 4th graders in Miami Springs - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

MIAMI SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - A teacher at a Miami Springs school accidentally showed students a slasher film that featured Winnie the Pooh, angering several<a class="excerpt-read-more"...

wsvn.com

 

[shadow1]

Deadly Blessing (1981) - 5/10

After her husband is killed, a woman believes the local religious group may be responsible.

Maren Jensen stars as Martha, who lives on an isolated farm with her husband Jim (Douglas Barr). Jim is crushed to death one night by a tractor, and Martha believes the local religious group headed by Jim's father Isaiah (Ernest Borgnine) may be responsible. Martha's friends Lana (Sharon Stone) and Vicki (Susan Buckner) come to stay with her and try to convince her to return to LA with them. But Martha doesn't want to leave, and the body count in the small region begins rising...

Deadly Blessing was directed by Wes Craven, and written by Matthew Barr, Glenn M. Benest, and Craven. Craven's fourth credited directorial effort, the film came out in 1981, a massive year for slasher movies following the success of Friday the 13th (1980). Does Deadly Blessing bring anything unique to the table?

It absolutely does. Deadly Blessing is a horribly flawed movie, but no one can accuse it of not being memorable. The film, for the most part, plays out as a somewhat tame slasher movie. It almost feels like a made for TV movie at times, with limited kills and cheesy romance subplots. However, the film starts picking up towards the middle, with interesting dream sequences and a memorable bathtub scene which are clearly precursors to A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).

The climax of this movie is where the stuff really hits the fan. The film is a whodunit, and without spoiling it: the reveal is completely batshit crazy. The climax is a wild ride that is pure chaos, and just when you think the movie is over, more random insane things happen. Deadly Blessing goes out with a bang and rewards those who stick through the slower parts of the movie.

However, as fun as the ending is, most of it makes no sense. Part of that is because, similar to A Nightmare on Elm Street, producers insisted on a certain element being added despite Craven's protests. Additionally, the dream sequences earlier in the film experienced by Lana (Sharon Stone's first speaking role) never amount to anything worthwhile and feel like they belong in a different movie. Finally, the religious group gets too much screen time relative to their role in the movie. There are a lot of characters from this group (the Hitties), and most of their screen time is consumed by subplots that feel out of place and do nothing more than pad the run time.

Overall, Deadly Blessing is a mess, but a mess I liked. It's an interesting film to watch when reviewing Craven's filmography because you can see so many breadcrumbs leading up to A Nightmare on Elm Street. However, I don't think I can go any higher with my rating due to how uneven and nonsensical the film can be at times. Deadly Blessing earned $8.2M against a $2.5M budget.

 

[sdf]

Hammer house: two face of evil. Just remembered this one