Movies: Horror Movie Discussion

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

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

This belongs in the Last Movie You Remembered thread.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Especially in fast talking movies or subtitles with "faster" talking foreign languages. Great point.

I once thought that the reason Spanish seemed so fast to me was because I wasn't fluent in the language (though I could write and read the language almost fluently at one point; I could never speak it well.)

I've asked numerous fluent Spanish speakers about this, and every single one of them told me that it's not just you, that we really do speak at a relentless pace and to not feel bad if you can't understand it.

 

[sdf]

This belongs in the Last Movie You Remembered thread.

I have tons of strange movies in my head, foreign and Russian, that I watched somewhere about 30 years ago and have no idea what it was and what it's called. For example, this stuff is totally creepy surreal shit masquerading as cyberpunk. This is about religion that arose as a result of the upgrade of the human brain with the help of computer chips, which led to the slow transformation of criminal gangs, heads of corporations and the whole of humanity into something different and strange. I watched this movie once in the first half of the 90s, but now I can't find it anywhere. There is only this video with its name and some shots from there

 

[Satans Hockey]

I have tons of strange movies in my head, foreign and Russian, that I watched somewhere about 30 years ago and have no idea what it was and what it's called. For example, this stuff is totally creepy surreal shit masquerading as cyberpunk. This is about religion that arose as a result of the upgrade of the human brain with the help of computer chips, which led to the slow transformation of criminal gangs, heads of corporations and the whole of humanity into something different and strange. I watched this movie once in the first half of the 90s, but now I can't find it anywhere. There is only this video with its name and some shots from there

Apparently it's a fake movie, which is a shame cause I'd watch this lol...



There's more pictures here...

 

[Osprey]

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

Unfortunately, yes. Here's my generous 3/10 review from March: Movies: - Last Movie You Watched and Rate it | {Insert Appropriate Seasonal Greeting Here}

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Never Hike Alone (DiSanti, 2017) and Never Hike Alone 2 (DiSanti, 2023) - As part 2 got out last week on Friday the 13th, I thought I'd give these fan films a go. I knew they had pretty good reputation, but I really didn't expect to actually like them. Part 1 is probably the most interesting one, as it's more of an atmospheric piece, with slower pace and pretty good tension, but Part 2 really feels like a F13 movie. Tommy Jarvis and Deputy (now Sheriff) Rick Cologne are back from F13 Part VI: Jason Lives, and are the weakest part of the cast (especially Guastaferro, who really can't act no more). There's also - as you'd expect - a few glitch in editing and mise en scène, especially when there's a little more action to the scenes. Part 1 being a slower one-character story, it suffers a lot less from these very minor weaknesses. The result is still highly impressive, and if for some reason you're missing the big boy and the remake didn't do the trick, these will certainly scratch the itch (it's a Jason closer to the C.J. Graham one too). They're not worth the rating as "real movies", but considering what they are, I'd have a hard time going under 5/10.

edit: I skipped Never Hike in the Snow, for some reason, but should get to it at some point.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Talk to me - 3.5/5

One of the better horror flicks I seen in awhile. Didnt see a trailer so went into it fresh. Kinda wish it went a step further. Wanted to see more ghosts. I dunno.

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.

Randomly found the full movie on YouTube and watched it. I also really liked it.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The Fall of the House of Usher. The last big Netflix miniseries from Mike Flanagan as he ventures on to his adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower. Flanagan does a couple of things really well. He's great with actors and has a particular knack for family drama within a horror context. Failed parents. Struggling siblings. He's also exceptional with structure in the TV format. Here, as he did in The Haunting of Hill House, he takes the Lost of approach of giving each character the main spotlight for an episode. And each episode has a similar structure with mirrored beats. There's something satisfying and comforting in that execution. This isn't "an 8-hour movie" as some snobs like to label mini-series. This is very much a TV show/mini-series and he uses that structure expertly.

This series takes elements of at least nine Edgar Allan Poe stories (plus many other references to poems, characters, etc.) and weaves that all together fairly impressively into a single Succession-like tale of a corporate dynasty on the verge of a fall. It's a little obvious, but clever still.

When Flanagan is at his best, like in The Haunting of Hill House or Midnight Mass he has a real emotional punch thanks to some solid character work and an always committed stable of actors. He doesn't quite reach that here, but that's only because these characters are almost all unlikable shits ... but the flipside is that it's entertaining to watch each one get their karmic comeuppance. While some of his past work plays as tragedy, this one feels more like cathartic justice. Some good jumps and some real nastiness too.

Downsides are a flashback story that is meant to provide some of that emotional punch but just never clicked for me. And Flanagan LOVES to give characters big speeches. You can understand why his people love working for him. He gives them juicy stuff to do. But there are a lot of speeches and with the business backdrop, some take on a faux-David Mamet tough guy pose that played kinda corny to me.

Excellent acting across the board.

 

[tacogeoff]

Talk to me - 3.5/5

One of the better horror flicks I seen in awhile. Didnt see a trailer so went into it fresh. Kinda wish it went a step further. Wanted to see more ghosts. I dunno.

I also went into this movie knowing nothing about it. I thought it was pretty well done and a fun ride that kept me interested the whole time. Some of it was a bit predictable but otherwise i rather enjoyed it 4/5

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Some days I dream that my bed will just eat me.

That's probably not healthy but w/e

 

[shadow1]

Galaxy of Terror (1981) - 5/10

A rescue team respond to a distress beacon from a crashed spaceship, and learn of its horrifying fate.

This ensemble cast includes Edward Albert, Robert Englund, Sig Haig, Erin Moran, and Grace Zabriskie as the crew of The Quest. The group is instructed by their mysterious leader "The Planet Master" to investigate the planet of Morganthus, where a crashed spaceship is in need of assistance. When the crew arrive, they find the fallen ship to be a charnel house, and discover a mysterious pyramid preventing The Quest from leaving...

Galaxy of Terror was directed by Bruce D. Clark, and written by Clark and Marc Siegler. Produced by Roger Corman, the film is an obvious attempt to cash in on the massive success of Alien (1979). How does this mockbuster fare?

It's cheesy fun, with a lot of problems. Galaxy of Terror has really good atmosphere, in large part due to the sets by Production Designer James Cameron (with some help from Set Decorator Bill Paxton). Considering its budget the movie looks great, especially the interior of the spaceships which are reminiscent of the walkways in Hadley's Hope from Aliens (1986). The film also has a healthy amount of effective gore, including an infamous rape scene involving a giant worm.

Unfortunately, a lot of that goodness is offset but rough performances and a nonsensical plot. The set up to the movie is fine and has similarities to Alien. But once the characters arrive to the planet, they aimlessly walk around and get picked off while spouting brutal, on the nose dialogue. When the movie does try to have a plot, it comes off like a cheesy version of Event Horizon (1997), with its lame storyline involving the true identity of "The Planet Master".

There are logic flaws too, like in a moment where Robert Englund's character is knocked out by another character, but doesn't even seem to realize who did it upon regarding consciousness...despite everyone else being off ship. On the technical side of things, I did have trouble hearing what the characters were saying a few times. I think it's an audio mixing issue but I'm not sure, all I know is I needed to rewind a few times.

Overall, Galaxy of Terror is so bad it's good. Despite a long list of issues, this is a movie I plan to watch again because of how fun it is. There are conflicting reports over how much money this movie made, but it seemed to at least double its estimated $700K budget. I recommend it to fans of cheesy cinema.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Some days I dream that my bed will just eat me.

That's probably not healthy but w/e

We have a movie for that!

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977) ⭐ 4.3 | Horror

1h 18m | Not Rated

www.imdb.com

 

[Fripp]

The Fall of the House of Usher. The last big Netflix miniseries from Mike Flanagan as he ventures on to his adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower. Flanagan does a couple of things really well. He's great with actors and has a particular knack for family drama within a horror context. Failed parents. Struggling siblings. He's also exceptional with structure in the TV format. Here, as he did in The Haunting of Hill House, he takes the Lost of approach of giving each character the main spotlight for an episode. And each episode has a similar structure with mirrored beats. There's something satisfying and comforting in that execution. This isn't "an 8-hour movie" as some snobs like to label mini-series. This is very much a TV show/mini-series and he uses that structure expertly.

This series takes elements of at least nine Edgar Allan Poe stories (plus many other references to poems, characters, etc.) and weaves that all together fairly impressively into a single Succession-like tale of a corporate dynasty on the verge of a fall. It's a little obvious, but clever still.

When Flanagan is at his best, like in The Haunting of Hill House or Midnight Mass he has a real emotional punch thanks to some solid character work and an always committed stable of actors. He doesn't quite reach that here, but that's only because these characters are almost all unlikable shits ... but the flipside is that it's entertaining to watch each one get their karmic comeuppance. While some of his past work plays as tragedy, this one feels more like cathartic justice. Some good jumps and some real nastiness too.

Downsides are a flashback story that is meant to provide some of that emotional punch but just never clicked for me. And Flanagan LOVES to give characters big speeches. You can understand why his people love working for him. He gives them juicy stuff to do. But there are a lot of speeches and with the business backdrop, some take on a faux-David Mamet tough guy pose that played kinda corny to me.

Excellent acting across the board.

Good review. Agreed that there's not much depth here, but damn it's fun watching the train of consequences bear down on these f***s (I simultaneously feel terrible about liking it, but the tone here is much much lighter than Flannagan's previous Netflix series, and it's easy to see them as characatures with exaggerated personalities). Fun and easy way to pass the time during the Halloween season, but because of that lack of emotional connection, and the lack of stakes, there's no chance I'll ever come back to it, like Hill House or Midnight Mass.

 

[VelvetVortex]

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

Crowe looked kinda funny when he opened his mouth wide while he was possessed in the movie.

 

[VelvetVortex]

Yeah, something similar to that, but with a little more terror , shouting, and a female victim instead.

 

[Osprey]

Wrong Turn (2003) - 4/10

College students are chased by deformed, backwoods cannibals after taking a... you guessed it. I imagine that the pitch for this went something like "Let's combine Deliverance with The Hills Have Eyes because today's young people probably haven't seen either." Despite being unoriginal, this still could've been fun, but it was just too predictable for me. I couldn't really enjoy it when I could tell very early on which characters would make it to the end and also what would happen moments before it did on several occasions. Along the same lines, what's with horror movies from the 2000s giving away the nature of the antagonists via a montage of images in the opening credit sequence? It might've been an interesting reveal halfway through to learn that they're deformed cannibals, but nope, let's just give that away before the movie even starts. At least the students were easy on the eyes and not too annoying and I enjoyed that they got lost because this was back when you had to use paper maps and ask toothless gas station owners for directions... which is a weird thing to be nostalgic for because I never want to be without GPS again.

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007) - 3/10

Contestants shooting a reality TV nature survival show are eaten alive by their real competition, a whole new family of deformed, backwoods cannibals. This movie brought back bad memories of Halloween: Resurrection. Did the people behind this really think that a reality TV theme was a good idea after it almost killed off the Halloween franchise 5 years earlier? Most of the characters are your stereotypical, narcissistic reality TV show contestants and are pretty insufferable. The movie annoyingly combines shaky cam with shots that are framed too close, which really makes it look like the straight-to-video movie that it is. At least the story plays out less predictably than the original and the gore is cranked up and looks pretty good, so it has those things going for it. I could've done without the deformed cannibal incestuous sex scene, though. There's a Wrong Turn 3, 4 & 5, but with them all being straight-to-video and reviews saying that they're worse than this (which they actually call one of the two "good" ones, believe it or not), I have no interest in continuing.

Madman (1981) - 3/10

An axe-wielding maniac stalks camp counselors in the woods because one of them dared to say his name out loud. Seriously, you can set up camp and laugh and sing near this maniac's house and he'll leave you alone... unless he hears you say his name, in which case he flies into a rage and murders everyone. That's the whole story here. It makes the plots of Friday the 13th and The Burning (a much better F13 copycat than this) look rather good in comparison. It also has bad dialogue, bad acting, unattractive characters, rather fake-looking gore, a ridiculously cheesy love scene that looks like something from a 70s porno and awful songs (imagine if F13 opened with someone singing a song about Jason around the campfire). A lot of the characters die because they wander off alone into the woods and some of the kills are more amusing than shocking, like the girl who leans over the engine of a car and somehow has her head cleanly taken off when the maniac jumps on the hood. There's also a girl who actually hides from him in a fridge. I'm not that hard to please when it comes to 80s slashers, but this felt pretty mediocre in every way.

Hell Night (1981) - 6/10

As part of their initiation, four university pledges must spend the night in an abandoned mansion where a man once murdered his family and went missing. After the last movie, it was nice to watch a horror from the same year that actually has some semblance of story, atmosphere and suspense. The characters even act somewhat intelligently and are never really fooled by the other students pulling pranks to try to scare them... until both the pledges and the pranksters start dying. One even gets away and goes straight to the police. The acting is better than in Madman, though it stars Linda Blair, who isn't exactly known for her acting talents. She's the only recognizable name, but doesn't contribute much besides her horror cred and cleavage, and it was hard to buy that the hunk that they cast opposite her would have any interest in her. She's really my only criticism. The kills are decent (rather tame, but not too silly) and there are some actually really good jump scares and creepy shots. It also has a solid Halloween season atmosphere and a better ending than I was expecting. Overall, I found it to be surprisingly decent, though a lot of that may have to do with the bar being set low by the rest of what I watched this week and my relief in finally watching a horror that seemed competently made.

 

[shadow1]

The Deadly Bees (1966) - 3/10

A singer is sent to recuperate on a secluded island, but deadly bees attack.

Suzanna Leigh stars as Vicki, a rock group singer who collapses on live TV from exhaustion. Vicki's agent sends her to Seagull Island to recover, where she stays with beekeeper Ralph Hargrove (Guy Doleman) and his wife Mary (Catherine Finn). Ralph and Mary are very unpleasant, so Vicki strikes up a friendship with another beekeeper on the island, H.W. Manfred (Frank Finlay). When multiple bee attacks happen, Vicki believes they may not be accidental and teams up with Manfred to investigate Ralph...

The Deadly Bees was directed by Freddie Francis, and was written by Robert Bloch and Anthony Marriott. An Amicus production, the film is a loose adaptation of H.F. Heard's 1941 Novel, "A Taste of Honey". With the power of Francis (1972's Tales from the Crypt) and Bloch (1959's novel Psycho) working on the production, how did The Deadly Bees turn out?

...I need to start picking better movies to watch this Halloween. The Deadly Bees is bad; painfully boring when it's not being unintentionally hilarious. Even at a meager 83 minutes (including the first 10 minutes being a long opening credit sequence followed by a concert scene), there is not nearly enough plot for a feature length film. Vicki wanders around the island clumsily investigating Ralph, the film reveals the most predictable twist in the history of cinema, the end. According to Bloch, his script was butchered so badly during rewrites by Marriott that he didn't bother to watch the movie (lucky him).

Even for the time, the bee effects are awful. The scene with the dog (pictured above) had me in stitches, as Fido barks in the direction of the screen with fake bees overlayed. Adding to the crap factor, the movie reuses the same 5-second insert of gloved hands handling bees probably a dozen times, likely trying to distract us from the fact we never see Guy Doleman work with them. None of the performances come close to saving the movie, and the poorly aged up make up on Academy Award Nominee Frank Finlay is distracting. Apparently, Amicus pushed hard to get Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff for the two male lead roles - can you imagine!?

Overall, The Deadly Bees is a miss by Amicus Productions. The concept sounds bad, but the novel for which the film is based actually had minor acclaim as a Sherlock Holmes-esque mystery, something this film doesn't even attempt to be. Only check this one out if you're looking to complete the entire catalog of the studio which made classics like The House that Dripped Blood (1971). Otherwise, stay far away.

 

[OzzyFan]

Il Demonio/The Demon (1963) (subtitles)
3.10 out of 4stars

“In southern Italy, a lonely, sexually uninhibited, young female peasant outcast casts a curse/spell on a man who rejects her advances and faces retribution for that and her other outlandish actions.”
A great psychological “folk” horror drama that is much more than a “possession” movie. Supposedly the first horror film to show a person doing a spider walk, with a strong performance from Lavi in the lead (of which I think her eyes speak volumes). First, the parallels between southern Italy's unorthodox/adapted christian superstition practices and witchcraft is scarily scathingly on point. While maybe a bit radical/aged, these strong/strict faith based rituals and practices feel just like their illicit counterparts. Clear hypocrisy, arguably even a form of religious persecution in clear mob power/mentality. Second, the treatment towards and of Lavi in the film is all around twisted. Even without getting into the debate if she is possessed or mentally ill, the townsfolk abuse, use, demean, and assault her before and after she widely claims her ties to witchcraft and satan. The vast majority don’t even seem to care for her well being at all when interacting with or “treating her”, a definitively sick individual. The whole thing feels like a declarative atrocity on religious treatments toward the mentally ill from the not too distant past, and since probably the beginning of time. There’s also a couple scenes that make you question if Lavi is a catalyst or product of her internal-situation. She’s clearly a friendless, unsupported, and deeply tormented, town and family pariah. Even her motives for the initial witchcraft, while obsessive, feel out of desperation. While I’d suggest she is clearly suffering from severe mental illness, as are arguably her persecutors in some different form, there’s enough coincidental and ‘belief-based’ happenings to give slight pause. Feels like there are feminine/feminist undertones here as well. This movie feels like it has some notable influence on The Exorcist released 10years afterward, yet I can’t find anything confirming that.

The Halloween Tree (1993)
3.10 out of 4stars

“On Halloween night, four children learn the origins of Halloween customs while trying to save the life of their friend.”
A great animated fantasy adventure drama that is a wonderfully illustrated and informative fun ride for both children and adults. A made for TV movie written and narrated by Ray Bradbury, the film is a constantly entertaining, educational, wondrous delight as it takes its characters from location to location throughout history. All the characters are voiced with contagious enthusiasm and joy. I’d say the film is in PG territory for those curious of what age group their kids would be safe seeing it, there is some spooky material and the concept of a child’s spirit/life being in jeopardy within the premise(albeit not too drilled into reality), but this is lighter than ParaNorman/Coraline and on par with Frankenweenie/Spirited Away I’d suggest, maybe even lighter than them. In a way, it’s sort of a Halloween themed Polar Express but looser and a bit darker. Of note, the film won an Emmy award and Leonard Nemoy voices one of the characters.

The Woman in Black (1989)
2.90 out of 4stars

“In 1925 England, a lawyer travels to a small seaside town to settle the estate of a recently deceased woman, but soon becomes ensnared in something much more sinister.”
A great gothic supernatural mystery horror that tells an old-fashioned haunted house ghost story with aplomb. Based on the famous same-named book, thrives on a slow and progressively consuming creepy and chilling atmosphere as it unfolds a full fledged mystery tale. Pulls no punches when delivering its dark subject matter, which is quite surprising for a made for TV film. Some forbidding townsfolk and settings, an emphatic score, and impacting implementations are utilized within. Not to mention a well-formulated ‘sound montage’ that plays with the imagination in all the right ways. The film doesn’t contain multiple jump scares, but contains a singular strong example of one. Was remade in 2012 with Daniel Radcliffe, but if you choose to see one initially or only one, definitely choose this version.

Them (2006) (subtitles)
2.85 out of 4stars

“Lucas and Clementine live peacefully in their isolated country house in Romania, but one night they wake up to strange noise... they're not alone... and a group of hooded assailants begin to terrorize them throughout the night.”
A great horror thriller that is purely an excellent exercise in prolonged heightened tension with many jolts. Aside from 15minutes of scene setting early on in the film, it’s non-stop “the walls are closing in”/claustrophobic torment. It’s incredibly successful, and executed well while playing with noises, darkness, lighting, space, camera shots, and the film’s settings. The fear of the unknown is centrally at play here. All that said, there is no plot or story whatsoever, and I can sum it up for you in totality: Clementine is a French teacher and Lucas a writer and they recently moved there. That’s it with exception to 1 or 2 twists. A very effective minimalist 77minute film.

The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail (1971)
2.70 out of 4stars

“An insurance investigator is called upon to sniff out any irregularities in the policy of a heiress' dead husband.”
A great giallo horror that stylishly exhibits all the classic traits, but feels slightly hollow. Ranked #22 in Pranzo’s gialli thread, of which I agree that the film does not feel the sum of its parts. The bad: the film kills off too many prime suspects in rapid fashion, the plot holes/loose-ends are far out…even for this subgenre, and as Pranzo has stated…the characters are not likable. It’s as if the film is too eager on its convoluted and murderous concepts that it goes overboard. That said, it has an involving mystery, good bloody murder scenes, great unusual camera shots, appealing setting/human visuals, and is stuffed full of red herrings. Enjoyable and exciting, thrilling and sexy fun, just not a peak Sergio Martino giallo imo.

Tarantula (1955)
2.70 out of 4stars

“A spider escapes from an isolated Arizona desert laboratory experimenting in gigantism and nutrition, growing to tremendous size as it wreaks havoc on the local inhabitants.”
A great sci-fi giant monster horror that is one of the best big bug movies from the 1950’s. The special effects are great for their time and work in a non-laughably manner at present day, leading to some good old school kaiju action. The use of an actual tarantula for the vast majority of the footage probably helps that. Of which, there are ample giant tarantula action thrills, not too much and not too little. The script is lean and interesting enough, the film well paced, well directed/shot, has good acting, and even includes a little bit of makeup effects. Theme seems to be the double edged sword of science experimentation, it can greatly aid us or greatly hurt us depending on how we use it altogether. There is even a cameo of a young Clint Eastwood in one of his first films, although you don’t get to see his full face.

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)
2.60 out of 4stars

“In 19th century europe, former soldier and master swordsman Captain Kronos and his hunchbacked assistant who both hunt vampires, encounter a village where vampires have been stealing the vitality of young women, leaving them elderly and decrepit, are now tasked at solving this macabre mystery.”
A good action adventure horror that is an unusual twist on the vampire genre with mixed results. Sort of an amalgamation of lots of genres as it tells its story: horror, adventure, mystery, action, romance, and even a splash of spaghetti western. I feel this is a movie one is going to love just based on all the oddities around its ideas and set-ups even with its shortcomings, or see it for what it is. Essentially, it’s mild fun that tries to do too much. Its biggest weakness may be the lead protagonist being handsome but very bland and reserved, arguably underwritten. Beyond its mashup of ideas, there is some good dialogue, vampire mythos addition, and the film has a strong last half hour.

 

[sdf]

Some days I dream that my bed will just eat me.

That's probably not healthy but w/e

Why

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Willy's Wonderland. Man, I knew Nic Cage has been slumming for a long time (while still working in some professional stuff like Pig or Prisoners of the Ghostland or even The Color Out of Space). I had no idea it got this low. Genuinely fun idea — people are stuck in a Chuck E. Cheese-like kids place that is haunted — but the acting and production values on this are shitty local-made movie quality. i have a really low tolerance for this specific sort of digital look. It's flat and generic. Again, low budget local. I was pretty much out from the title sequence, which adds a Birdemic sheen to the whole thing.

But at least it was a smidge better than H.P. Lovecraft's The Deep Ones, which has a porno-quality visual aesthetic and acting, but without any of the fun.

After those poor decisions, I owed myself. I threw on The Sentinel which is a perfectly cromulent 70s haunting flick that will probably remind you of a better movie with its high class NYC real estate and cast of tenants who may or may not be driving our heroine crazy for reasons to be revealed in the final act. One interesting thing is it has a fascinating cast. One of those horror flick where it's front-loaded with a lot of old timers (Ava Gardner, Eli Wallach, Burgess Meredith, John Carradine) but also manages to have a slew of recognizable before-the-were-famous folk in small roles (Christopher Walken, Jerry Orbach, Tom Berringer, Beverly D'Angelo, Jeff Goldblum). I suppose that's the New York acting scene of it all. Worth it alone for the wild mustache that Orbach sports.

And finally Body Parts, a gnarly little 90s flick about a man who after a car accident gets the arm of a serial killer grafted onto his body. You'll never guess what happens next! Sturdily made. Well enough acted (most movies benefit from about a 20 minute injection of Brad Dourif who shockingly ISN'T playing the crazy person here). A memorable and well done car chase (this was seared in my brain even today from the trailer). Just a good hit-it-and-quit-it, checks the boxes bit of filmmaking. Written and directed by Eric Red who most famously wrote Near Dark and The Hitcher.

 

[Osprey]

kihei and I both gave Willy's Wonderland 3/10s.
https://forums.hfboards.com/threads...it-spring-2021-edition.2804513/post-177574264
https://forums.hfboards.com/threads...d-of-the-world-edition.2840401/post-179977255

I remember Body Parts well. At the time, it seemed like the most awesome premise for a movie... to a teenage boy.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

kihei and I both gave Willy's Wonderland 3/10s.
https://forums.hfboards.com/threads...it-spring-2021-edition.2804513/post-177574264
https://forums.hfboards.com/threads...d-of-the-world-edition.2840401/post-179977255

I remember Body Parts well. At the time, it seemed like the most awesome premise for a movie... to a teenage boy.

I don't say this too often because I feel like I'm generally a softie but you both are TOO KIND to that movie.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Willys Wonderland was basically them trying to do a five night at Freddy's movie and doing it extremely poorly. Cage had 0 lines in that I believe lol

 

[Osprey]

Dark Harvest (2023) - 6/10

Every Halloween, a possessed scarecrow called Sawtooth Jack emerges from the cornfields to rampage through a small midwestern town while high school boys compete to be the one to kill it. This year, that includes Richie, the younger brother of last year's winner. It's like Pumpkinhead crossed with something like The Hunger Games, but set in rural Illinois in the early 1960s. The setting was the most appealing thing for me, since it's unique to see modern horror films set in the 50s and 60s. We get so many set in the 1980s at Halloween, but not decades earlier. How characters look and talk all seemed fairly authentic for the period. The cinematography is a real highlight. I also appreciated that there's a lot of focus on the characters. It's as much of a drama about a boy trying to follow his brother and rebelling against the status quo as it is a horror. There's certainly killing and gore, but there's more to the story than that and I found myself engaged even when the horror elements weren't present. Unfortunately, it was a challenge to make sense of a lot of it. Many things aren't explained well and were confusing. For example, if the creature will destroy the town if not stopped, why are only 17-year-old boys allowed to try to stop it? Also, why do they initially talk about it as though it's a myth if it kills a bunch of their schoolmates every year? Those are just a couple of the many questions that puzzled me and that I had to eventually give up trying to figure out. If it were an original story, I'd think that it just wasn't thought through very well, but it's based on a novel, which I imagine does a better job of giving answers, so it may be that the book just wasn't translated to screen as well as it might've been. It's too bad that it's held back by plot holes and unanswered questions, but it has enough going for it that I still found it worth the watch, especially near Halloween.

 

[shadow1]

The Sentinel (1977) - 6/10

A woman moves into an brownstone apartment building with strange neighbors and begins experiencing unexplainable phenomena.

Christina Raines stars as Allison, a New York fashion model with a history of mental health issues. Her lawyer boyfriend Michael (Chris Sarandon) asks her to marry him, but Allison wants to maintain her independence and get past her challenges first. Allison moves into a brownstone apartment with a surprisingly affordable price, but the building houses a few unusual neighbors, including a reclusive blind priest. Allison soon begins hearing noises coming from the empty apartment above her, and while investigating makes a horrible discovery...

The Sentinel was directed by Michael Winner, and written by Jeffrey Konvitz and Winner. The film is based on Konvitz's book of the same name, and was released on the heels of religious horror smash hits like the Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976). How does The Sentinel hold up against those movies?

Like stated in @KallioWeHardlyKnewYe's review, this movie feels like a watered down version of Rosemary's Baby (1968), while also reminding me a little of Eyes of Laura Mars (1978). There's some interesting genre blending going on here, with the movie feeling like a drama for the first act. When the horror does eventually kick in, the movie shifts again to feel more like a straight up mystery until returning to horror for the climax. This never felt too jarring though, and I thought some of the revelations made during the mystery portion were interesting. As far as horror goes, the movie does a decent job with a mild dose of creepiness.

However, there were some clunky plot elements that held the film back for me. Allison is too flaky at times, and in one moment quickly accepts that she must've "imagined" a significant event and several weeks worth of other incidents. Later, when other characters realize Allison is in danger and must stay away from her apartment building at a very specific time, they all miraculously manage to lose track of her at a party, at which point she stupidly goes to the one place she shouldn't be...but hey, the climax has to start somehow, right?

Overall, The Sentinel is a pretty decent movie. While it pales in comparison to other films in the same sub genre, it's still worth checking out. Unfortunately, the movie was a huge bomb at the box office, earning only $4M against a $3.5M budget.

The Hills Have Eyes (1977) - 6/10

A vacationing family is attacked by a group of cannibals.

This ensemble cast includes Russ Grieve, Martin Speer, and Dee Wallace as part of a large family on a roadtrip to California. Their car breaks down in the Nevada desert, and one of their dogs runs off. As they split up to hitchhike for help and locate their missing dog, the group is attacked by a group of savage cannibals (including Michael Berryman and James Whitworth)...

The Hills Have Eyes was written and directed by Wes Craven. Coming out five years after Craven's first directorial effort (1972's The Last House of the Left), the horror maestro was looking to break away from the genre, but was unable to secure funding for non-horror projects. Craven then began to develop this movie, an exploitation film inspired by a 16th Century cannibal legend he had read about. How does the movie fare?

It's a cult classic, but a flawed one. The Hills Have Eyes has a simple premise that is executed well, with a healthy amount of shocking violence. The film is also somewhat unique within the genre as the majority of the events happen in broad daylight, which is a pro considering the movie maintains tension without relying on darkness or the unknown. The film is extremely low budget however, which comes across in some of the performances and effects, but it doesn't hurt the film too much though (I might even say it helps it in some areas).

However, the plot has a major flaw in my opinion. Early in the film, one character makes a disturbing discovery, but neglects to tell the rest of the family. This is the linchpin of the story; the family is unaware of the danger, which allows the cannibals to be successful in their attack. If the character does the obvious thing and tell someone about what's happened, the movie's over. I couldn't help but thinking about that over and over while watching The Hills Have Eyes, as the film drags in the middle as the aforementioned character stupidly agonizes over not telling their family of the impending danger.

Overall, The Hills Have Eyes is an early marquee effort in Wes Craven's filmography. I laughably had never seen this movie before (despite seeing the remake in theaters), and it was an interesting watch to see how Craven's style has changed over time. The Hills Have Eyes was a box office success, earning $25M against its popsicle stick budget of $230K.