No Sleep Tonight, Then: Horror Movies

[Schweedie]

7 hours ago, littlewonder said:

It Follows is one of the best horror movies I've seen in years.  Not super scary but... unsettling.

Agreed. The big climax scene doesn't quite work for me (but then I feel that way about a lot of horror movies) but everything up to that is just immensely creepy and like you say, unsettling. It's the slow inevitability of the 'it' that creeps me out - it doesn't need to run after you, it's gonna catch up with you eventually anyway. It's patient.

Which reminds me - I looked back and saw I hadn't mentioned one of my other favourites that I saw relatively recently: Shutter. The original Thai version from 2004, not the American remake with Joshua Jackson. That was one of the very few horror movies where the ending doesn't let the movie down or take away from it for me. Really, really good. It does use the "crawling ghost with hair covering its face" trope, but hey, it became a trope for a reason - it's creepy.

[Zola]

Tonight I shall be watching "Ringu" (The Ring) again (this is the original Japanese version), followed by another Japanese horror classic "Audition"

Have seen them both before, and really enjoyed them. No ultra-violence here quite so much, but there's still a few disturbing scenes that play on the mind.

Might have to unplug all of my TVs and turn them around after watching Ringu, lol

Edited August 4, 2017 by Only Zola

[Schweedie]

2 minutes ago, Only Zola said:

Tonight I shall be watching "Ringu" (The Ring) again (this is the original Japanese version), followed by another Japanese horror classic "Audition"

Have seen them both before, and really enjoyed them. No ultra-violence here quite so much, but there's still a few disturbing scenes that play on the mind.

Might have to unplug all of my TVs and turn them around after watching Ringu, lol

If Audition is the one I think it is, I've actually never dared to watch it, heh! Is it the one where there's a -- bag on the floor?

[Zola]

4 minutes ago, Schweedie said:

If Audition is the one I think it is, I've actually never dared to watch it, heh! Is it the one where there's a -- bag on the floor?

Yes, that's the one! Plenty of needles and piano wire as well

It's a bit of a slow burner of a film, but by the final hour it really gets into gear and grips you by the throat and won't let go!

[HoboClayton]

I absolutely adore horror movies. Nightmare on Elm Street is my favorite franchise. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a masterpiece. As are the first two Hellraiser films. I didn't really like the first Sleepaway Camp, but part 2 is one hell of a hilarious ride and Pamela Springsteen is so adorable, you can't help but not like Angela just a little. I also cannot recommend Southbound enough. Find that movie, and watch it. Other must watch horror include-- Dead Alive, The Mist, Return of the Living Dead, Maximum Overdrive, The People Under the Stairs, Creepshow, An American Werewolf in London, May, Pet Sematary, Motel Hell, The Hitcher, Warlock, Poltergeist 2 is way better than 1 in my opinion, and 99.9 percent of it is because of Julian Beck. Carrie, and by far the scariest thing I have ever seen by far forever and lots.... Jesus Camp.  

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2017 at 2:07 AM, Zola said:

I watched "Alien" last night: still my favourite of the franchise purely because it was done on a low budget, an unknown director (Ridley Scott), and an unknown actress at the time, in Sigourney Weaver, standing up for herself and kicking some xenomorph's arse!

Many stand-out scenes (in particular the interior of the crash-landed alien ship, and the Space Jockey, were both beautifully rendered and incredibly eerie). But of course the creme de la creme, is always going to be the Chestbuster scene with John "Kane" Hurt!

You look at it today and it looks a little hokey purely because it's not CGI and therefore loses a little on shock value; but when I saw Alien first time round in 2010, and that particular scene, it scared the hell out of me (I think I was grabbing at my tummy at the time!)

A great film!

I study everyone's face in that scene, because legend has it that the actors were kept in the dark about little chestbuster.

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎7‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 11:25 AM, Zola said:

I am not a big fan of horror films, especially those that go overboard on the blood, guts and violence (usually against women). So mainstream films like The Descent, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hostel, Halloween, Friday 13th, Wrong Turn etc. I just tend to avoid.

That said, I have quite enjoyed The Thing (1982),  Saw (but not the awful sequels), Evil Dead 2,  Dawn of the Dead (1978). For the most part because these films either have a decent story, or the gore is so completely OTT that it comes across as campy rather than down right scary. 

However, I prefer my horror to be more psychological rather than visual - films like  The Shining, The Exorcist, The Others, The Haunting (1963), Repulsion, The Sixth Sense, Psycho, Ringu, Les Diabolique, Silence of the Lambs and Don't Look Now - will always get my vote, and make for great creepy TV late at night just before bedtime.

That's too bad about The Descent.  It's a great all-female cast.  The characters are intelligent, experienced cavers who put up a hell of a fight, and not a screaming bimbo in the bunch.  The film is actually a tense thriller, IMO, before the first monster even attacks.  The isolation and claustrophobic tone really work for me.  Also rare for horror - no female nudity.

[Zola]

9 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

That's too bad about The Descent.  It's a great all-female cast.  The characters are intelligent, experienced cavers who put up a hell of a fight, and not a screaming bimbo in the bunch.  The film is actually a tense thriller, IMO, before the first monster even attacks.  The isolation and claustrophobic tone really work for me.  Also rare for horror - no female nudity.

Thanks for the info on "The Descent". I've seen photos and trailers from the film and just assumed it was going to be another "slice 'n' dice" with women getting chopped up again. But with your more positive slant I might just give it a try. Thanks

[Zola]

10 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

I study everyone's face in that scene, because legend has it that the actors were kept in the dark about little chestbuster.

Yes, I read that too. New director, Ridley Scott, wanted to get some genuine scares from the cast, and so there were no rehearsals. And none of the cast other than John Hurt knew what was going to happen next.

 

The end result was perfectly executed!

[WritinMan]

On 12/10/2017 at 6:43 AM, Zola said:

Thanks for the info on "The Descent". I've seen photos and trailers from the film and just assumed it was going to be another "slice 'n' dice" with women getting chopped up again. But with your more positive slant I might just give it a try. Thanks

The Descent is a fantastic movie, but if you watch it, make sure you get the original cut, not the Americanized version that changes the ending (for the worst, in my opinion).

Edited January 12, 2018 by WritinMan

[WritinMan]

On 8/4/2017 at 4:05 AM, Zola said:

Tonight I shall be watching "Ringu" (The Ring) again (this is the original Japanese version), followed by another Japanese horror classic "Audition"

Have seen them both before, and really enjoyed them. No ultra-violence here quite so much, but there's still a few disturbing scenes that play on the mind.

Might have to unplug all of my TVs and turn them around after watching Ringu, lol

The first time I watch The Ring (the remake), when it ended the phone rang and scared the crap out of me!

I do prefer Ringu though. I also really liked Ringu 0. The story is weird, but I think the "pay-off" scene at the end is creepier than in Ringu and has actually stuck with me longer.

Edited January 14, 2018 by WritinMan
Typo

[Annber03]

7 hours ago, WritinMan said:

The first time I watch The Ring (the remake), when it ended the phone rang and scared the crap out of me!

Similar thing happened with my sister. She saw the movie while at a friend's sleepover, and right after a scene in the movie where one of the characters watched the film that led to the phone call, her friend's phone rang. She said everyone screamed and popcorn flew everywhere :p.

I'm just glad that movie didn't come out back when my grandma was alive-she had a well in her backyard, and I know I would've been side-eyeing the hell out of that thing every time I visited as a result :D. 

Edited January 12, 2018 by Annber03

[ZootSuitWyatt]

On 12/9/2017 at 8:46 PM, RedheadZombie said:

That's too bad about The Descent.  It's a great all-female cast.  The characters are intelligent, experienced cavers who put up a hell of a fight, and not a screaming bimbo in the bunch.  The film is actually a tense thriller, IMO, before the first monster even attacks.  The isolation and claustrophobic tone really work for me.  Also rare for horror - no female nudity.

Yeah, I was scared enough at the thought of being trapped in an unknown cave system even without the monsters.

[Zola]

On 10/12/2017 at 1:46 AM, RedheadZombie said:

That's too bad about The Descent.  It's a great all-female cast.  The characters are intelligent, experienced cavers who put up a hell of a fight, and not a screaming bimbo in the bunch.  The film is actually a tense thriller, IMO, before the first monster even attacks.  The isolation and claustrophobic tone really work for me.  Also rare for horror - no female nudity.

I still haven't got round to watching this. i guess I have a problem with women ending up as monster munch regardless of the intelligence of the script. 

[mamadrama]

I am a big horror movie fan. There aren't many that I haven't seen. My daughter and I both came down with the flu 2 weeks ago and we've spent he last couple of weeks in bed, watching one bad horror after another. On my FB page I've been doing little "recaps" (not really any spoilers) as part of the "Fluwatch." Thought you all might appreciate some of them. Here is our latest, Netflix's "The Open House."

 

Fluwatch 2018 Horror Movie #8: THE OPEN HOUSE?

Have you ever watched a movie that was so bad, that made you so mad, that you had to watch it a second time with someone else, just for the sake of validation?

Welcome to Netflix’s THE OPEN HOUSE.

THE OPEN HOUSE is about a mother/son duo who move to the northwest to regroup after the death of the patriarch. They live in a family member’s big, old isolated house (which also happens to be on the market) and horror hijinks ensue.

So here’s the deal…it’s not a *bad* movie. The acting is perfectly fine. The setting? It works. The basic storyline? Well, you’ve seen it before but there’s no need to reinvent the wheel in horror-it just needs to entertain. And, for the most part, THE OPEN HOUSE entertains.

I’ll admit, I jumped a few times. I got creeped out. I got into it. 
Therein lies the problem.

I got soooo into it that when there was no payoff, it absolutely pissed me off. I was invested, dammit. And…nothing.

You know how when you’re watching a movie and there’s a bunch of clues sprinkled throughout the film, somewhere near the end you can count on those clues coming together and bringing clarity to a bigger picture? Yeah. That doesn’t happen in this movie. All the red herrings, the clues, the little things that don’t really mean anything at the time but you’re certain that’s because they’ll have a bigger meaning at the end? They don’t. 
It isn’t even an ambiguous ending that we’re looking at here-it’s a complete failure to form a cohesive climax or resolution that is satisfying in any way.

Along the way, I wasted my time “guessing” at what *might* be going on in the film, figuring that there would be some kind of twist or revelation. There wasn’t. Turns out, the film in my head was much better than the one on the screen-more creative and more sensical.

?# of screams: 2/10 
?# of horror clichés: There’s something scary in the basement! I think I’ll wrap this towel around my naked body and go check it out! (Yeah, it’s that kind of film.) 
?# of characters I, personally, wanted to kill at some point: All of them. Twice. 
?# of times Sam and I screamed at the characters on the screen: Let’s just sat that I stopped counting AND ran out of expletives. 
?Time spent reading Reddit and horror movie blogs in an attempt to figure out what I had just watched: a solid hour because I really needed folks to commiserate with me.

(And just to prove that I occasionally find one I like...)

 

Fluwatch 2018 Horror Movie #6: WE ARE WHAT WE ARE

I was all set to settle back in with my kids and turn up the snark on this one. Man, did I misjudge the American Gothic Zombie poster...

If you're expecting a lot of ridicule in this review then you're going to be disappointed. It was really very good! Now, it's not going to be for everyone. My daughter thought it was about as exciting as watching paint dry but my son and I really dug it. It's a slow burn with a lot of symbolism going on but if you stick with it, it has a great payoff.

If you've ever read WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE (and you should) or you're into Gothic horror then you'll recognize the signs right away: weird family with weirder daughters who live apart from the rest of the "village" and do weird things. This family dresses and acts like they're from another century, and the Appalachian Mountain setting makes the film feel both timeless and charming.

You know something's off right from the start because the mother is dead and the rest of the family keeps referencing their "differences." You aren't quite sure what sets them apart from the rest of the world until the very end.

You know how the Shirley Jackson story THE LOTTERY isn't *really* about a lottery but is about how we continue to practice traditions even when they are no longer relevant and we don't even know how they started to begin with? This movie has a similar message, only it's more about heritage and even religion. The main storyline is configured around this family with a long and tortured past and how they continue to celebrate a type of tradition that's really no longer relevant (though to stop celebrating it would be like condemning their ancestors).

Lots of good stuff here. I mean it.

If you're looking for blood and gore and zombies and jump scares then you're not going to find it here. (Well, you'll kind of get some gore at the end, but it's not gratuitous.) If you're looking for a slow-burn horror that really makes you *think*, then you're in for a treat.

Like I said, it's not for everyone. It's by the same guy who did STAKE LAND and that film had a similar "old timey", depressing feel that I dug. If it wasn't your cup of tea, then this one may not be either. If you enjoyed STAKE LAND, though, then give this one a shot.

Ignore the poster. I mean it.

And don't read anything about it, including the summary. Go into this blindly.

And, again, if you haven't read WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE, you should-if for no other reason then you'll be prepared when Netflix releases it as a film this year.

# of screams: 8/10
# of horror clichés:none
# of characters I, personally, wanted to kill at some point: The patriarch kind of has it coming. 
# of times Sam and I screamed at the characters on the screen: Once, but it was more for effect. 
Time spent reading Reddit and horror movie blogs in an attempt to figure out what I had just watched: An hour before I watched it because I wanted to get spoiled. It's how I roll.

[Penguins71]

Hey mamadrama, sorry to hear about the flu hitting. :(

If you need yet another person to commiserate about The Open House, I'm your woman!  What a terrible movie this was.  Agreed, the setup and early creepy scenes were promising, and it just devolves into nothing...absolutely nothing.  If they were trying to go for the "this is scary because the evil person has no discernible motive" trope, they failed miserably.  

If any of you fellow posters are big horror fans like me and haven't seen it...STAY AWAY!  You'll be so disappointed. 

 

And thanks for the We Are What We Are review.  I've stayed away from it because of that poster, but good to hear there's a lot more to it. 

In general, my top favorites of all time are The (original) Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Ring, and Hellraiser.  Oh, and all but the last 5 minutes of Sinister. :)  

[VCRTracking]

Looking through library microfilm to learn the spooky history of something is such a great trope:

Edited August 9, 2018 by VCRTracking

[Epeolatrix]

Once I was doing some personal research on a former mortuary and I got to spend quality time looking at the original building plans via microfiche. It did feel like being in a movie and I look forward to coming up with another reason to dig into old media. Maybe I need to make a scrapbook filled with copies of morbid news clippings...

[mikerolland]

I’m a fan of horror movies because they are creepy, mysterious and thoughtful. 
Top 3 from me, all of them released in 2018!  

1. A Quiet Place (2018)
A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound. more
Totally enjoyed this one and I pray they make a sequel!

2. The Meg (2018)
After escaping an attack by what he claims was a 70-foot shark, Jonas Taylor must confront his fears to save those trapped in a sunken submersible. more
It is a good movie and the end is awesome. Worth the watch! 

3. Halloween (2018)
Laurie Strode confronts her long-time foe Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. more
Shlash. Run. Scream. Loved it. Jamie Lee Curtis is a complete badass!

Feel free to post your TOP3 Horror movies.

Edited February 14, 2019 by mikerolland
added more information on the topic

[krankydoodle]

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Shudder's Host. The premise sounds kind of gimmicky and goofy ("Six friends hire a medium to hold a seance via Zoom during lockdown, but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong."), but I thought it was really well-executed especially given the constraints of lockdown.

I really want to watch some of the classics that have been on my list like Roger Corman's Poe adaptations with Vincent Price and the Hammer Films with Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee, but am also looking forward to some newer titles like Synchronic. I don't think I've seen much discussion about The Craft sequel/remake/whatever it is and I'm not excited about it myself, but am mildly curious and at least it has David Duchovny(!) and Michelle Monaghan. 

[Ubiquit0us]

I guess this is as good as any place to ask, but I remember watching a midnight showing of what I think was Hammer Film about the son of a woman raped by Dracula,  or maybe he bit her and turned the baby into a vampire. There was this one scene I remember in which she had to slice her nipple to get him to breastfeed.  I want to say the title was "Son of Dracula", but that's not it. 

[krankydoodle]

On 10/12/2020 at 8:56 PM, Ubiquit0us said:

I guess this is as good as any place to ask, but I remember watching a midnight showing of what I think was Hammer Film about the son of a woman raped by Dracula,  or maybe he bit her and turned the baby into a vampire. There was this one scene I remember in which she had to slice her nipple to get him to breastfeed.

The closest thing I can think of is the Hammer film The Curse of the Werewolf where the werewolf is the son of a woman who was raped by a crazed prisoner but IIRC the mother dies during the birth. But that's probably not what you're remembering, sorry.

[Ubiquit0us]

On 10/14/2020 at 7:21 AM, krankydoodle said:

The closest thing I can think of is the Hammer film The Curse of the Werewolf where the werewolf is the son of a woman who was raped by a crazed prisoner but IIRC the mother dies during the birth. But that's probably not what you're remembering, sorry.

I found it!

 

[topanga]

On 2/13/2019 at 11:42 AM, mikerolland said:

3. Halloween (2018)
Laurie Strode confronts her long-time foe Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. more
Shlash. Run. Scream. Loved it. Jamie Lee Curtis is a complete badass!

I've been introducing my teenagers to classic horror films for Halloween. Last year they watched The Shining with me and loved it. 

I was thinking of one of the classic slashers for this year. In your opinions, which first movie is better (we probably won't watch the whole series): Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street?  Or maybe The Conjuring? I've never seen any of these, BTW.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, topanga said:

In your opinions, which first movie is better (we probably won't watch the whole series): Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street?  Or maybe The Conjuring? I've never seen any of these, BTW.

Halloween.  It's quite dated, yet timeless.  And that music!  (I've never seen The Conjuring, but I like the other two.  But if I could only pick one of those three, it would be Halloween.)

The sequels to Friday the 13th are ridiculous generic slasher films, and on paper so is the original, but I like the film for having a very different killer than most of the genre, and the cast of young NY theatre actors making poorly-developed characters feel like real people, so that you actually care when they get butchered.  But my second choice would be A Nightmare on Elm Street.  There's a refreshing lack of female nudity.

 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Bastet

[VCRTracking]

Jamie Lee Curtis and Neve Campbell talk about horror movies:

 

 

[kiddo82]

I watched Train to Busan for the first time last night.  The zombie stuff was fun, although it wasn't anything that reinvented the wheel.  What I was not prepared for, however, was how effing emotional the ending would make me. I haven't stopped thinking about the last 60 or so seconds all day.  That's the sign of something that rises above its peers.  It's free on Amazon Prime if anyone's interested.

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

Halloween.  It's quite dated, yet timeless.  And that music!  (I've never seen The Conjuring, but I like the other two.  But if I could only pick one of those three, it would be Halloween.)

I'll co-sign this pick. So simple in its creepiness. 

(At another site I frequent, someone had recently watched that movie for the first time and they were surprised at how little gore it had and how it wasn't nearly as "slasher-y" as other horror movies :p. I said that that's one of the big reasons I like it!!)

This past week BBC America showed The Exorcist and last night Ovation showed the original Night of the Living Dead. Two more classics. Night of the Living Dead especially gives me the willies. Zombies are so creepy to me. 

[Nordly Beaumont]

On 10/30/2020 at 11:07 AM, topanga said:

Or maybe The Conjuring?

My sister and I went to see The Conjuring in the theater, it wasn't something we particularly wanted to see. We just wanted to see a movie while I was visiting. There were only four other people in the theater. When it was over one of the guys stood up and looked at us with a big smile and said "That was actually good!" That was many years ago, so I don't really remember the movie, but I do remember I thought it was well done and creepy.

[Bastet]

Whatever slasher film is chosen, I'll be curious to hear how the kids react.  I sometimes wonder how I'd receive Halloween if I was watching it after years of consuming the genre, as compared to how I reacted when it was one of the first of its kind (and the first I'd seen other than if you want to count Psycho; I didn't watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Black Christmas until much later).

[Annber03]

Yeah, I wonder about that sort of thing sometimes, too. In my case, Halloween came out a number of years before I was born, and I didn't see it until I was a teenager in the early 2000s, and by then I'd already seen movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Yet it still scared me pretty good (course, I was already in prime freak out mode given my family had gone on a haunted hayride earlier that night that was pretty spooky, which probably helped. Plus, I just tend to scare easy in general :p). But compared to a lot of other slasher films, it's a much slower and more tame horror movie in many ways, so yeah, I can see where it might not connect as easily with some younger people. 

I saw Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre a number of years after I saw Halloween. Psycho was interesting in that I knew all about the infamous shower scene for years leading up to my finally seeing the movie, 'cause it's been referenced and talked about so much and everything. Yet when the bathroom door opened and the shadow appeared in the doorway, my stomach still dropped anyway. Seeing that scene in its proper context really brought home the horror of it all. 

As for Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I've only seen that one once, and I recall finding it pretty scary, but mainly, I just remember feeling like I really needed to take a shower after watching it. 

Edited November 1, 2020 by Annber03

[Ubiquit0us]

On 11/1/2020 at 3:44 PM, Bastet said:

Whatever slasher film is chosen, I'll be curious to hear how the kids react.  

Isn't there a YouTube series about that? Well, maybe not classic horror movies specifically, but about other old things from before their time...

[Ubiquit0us]

On 11/1/2020 at 3:44 PM, Bastet said:

Whatever slasher film is chosen, I'll be curious to hear how the kids react.  I sometimes wonder how I'd receive Halloween if I was watching it after years of consuming the genre, as compared to how I reacted when it was one of the first of its kind (and the first I'd seen other than if you want to count Psycho; I didn't watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Black Christmas until much later).

Comet TV has been playing Black Christmas this month. Unfortunately, it was edited for naughty stuff, so it doesn't make sense in parts. Fortunately. TCM Underground played it uncut, AFAIK, and it was much more effective a horror movie.

[krankydoodle]

The Empty Man popped up on HBO Max recently. I hadn't heard anything about it, but gave it a shot because of the cast: James Badge Dale, Marin Ireland, and Stephen Root. Ireland and Root have relatively small roles, though, and it's really Dale's movie. This mixes up a few different horror subgenres to interesting but maybe not entirely successful effect. It's 2+ hour runtime is too long and while I think James Badge Dale is an incredibly compelling actor, the opening act which don't include him is probably my favorite part. Anyway, I think it's worth watching.

[raven]

On 7/23/2021 at 8:32 PM, krankydoodle said:

The Empty Man popped up on HBO Max recently.

I had been debating about this one because of the 2+ hours run time.   It was too long - and I read somewhere that the director I think it was did want to edit it but couldn't for some reason - but overall I liked it.

The cold open is definitely the best part - scary, great visuals - I was invested right away.

I thought Dale did a good job carrying the movie.  The mix of genres was successful and as someone who's watched a lot of horror movies, I was surprised a couple of times (the under the bridge reveal especially was well done, I thought).  The camp scenes were good too.

I agree that it's worth watching.  If someone's on the fence thinking this is just a Candyman redux, well, there is some of that but there's other things too.

*adds "blowing into a bottle while thinking about The Empty Man as something else I will never do" *

[Gharlane]

Shout Factory TV has been playing Elvira's old show, Movie Macabre, and they played this one movie about a recovering alcoholic who has visions/hallucinations/flashbacks after she and her asshole husband move into a new house, unaware there was a unsolved bloody murder previously. Everything online claims it's Straight-Jacket but it is NOT the Joan Crawford movie! Does anyone know the real name?

[krankydoodle]

On 10/4/2021 at 1:53 PM, Gharlane said:

Does anyone know the real name?

The description reminds me of Let's Scare Jessica to Death, but the details don't match up. I also looked at the list of movies shown on Movie Macabre, but nothing's ringing a bell. Sorry.

[krankydoodle]

I missed seeing Escape Room: Tournament of Champions in the theaters, but got the Blu-Ray recently and was surprised to find that there's an extended cut that's very different from the theatrical version. A significant subplot and secondary characters are in one but not the other, and the endings are totally different. I preferred the extended cut. These aren't great movies, but they're fun and I hope they make another to close things out.

[raven]

I've been watching a few.  I LOVE creature features and will watch pretty much any dumb thing with a monster in it.  That said, I watched a couple of good ones:

Sweetheart on Netflix - short, to the point and entertaining.  The lead, played by Kiersey Clemons, is smart and someone you root for.  She easily carries the movie even though she is alone for much of the time.  I actually avoided this movie because of the title (yes I'm shallow) but am glad I watched it - it was good.  Yes, the creature looks silly but that's par for the course with a weak budget. 

Dark Was The Night - I think this was on Prime.   Very atmospheric and if you're a Kevin Durand fan, I would say it's a must watch - he gives a good performance, as does Lukas Haas.   They should not have showed as much of the creature as they did - it was more suspenseful otherwise - but that's really my only complaint.  I enjoyed it.

The Manor - stars Barbara Hershey.  Yeesh this was pretty bad, though it starts off with promise (is it real?  is it in her head? etc)   I wanted to root for Hershey's character but she does too many dumb things.  Well the movie was pretty dumb.  Too bad because the setting was good.

The Deep Ones - I can do camp - I can do dumb people and bad effects.  This had it all in spades but was just terrible.  Avoid at all costs.  Nothing redeeming about it and I FF through quite a bit.  It also has a rape scene and I would have avoided the movie had I known (maybe there was warning at the beginning that I missed).

[Gharlane]

On 10/5/2021 at 7:12 PM, krankydoodle said:

The description reminds me of Let's Scare Jessica to Death, but the details don't match up. I also looked at the list of movies shown on Movie Macabre, but nothing's ringing a bell. Sorry.

I had several hours to waste last night and found it. The movie title wasn't Straight-Jacket. It was Dark Sanity.  Here's a review: https://eofftvreview.wordpress.com/2019/09/28/dark-sanity-1982

 

[raven]

Watched a few more.  In no particular order since nothing was awesome:

House on Haunted Hill (1959)  - I've seen a lot of these older movies but somehow missed this one.   It was fun.  You can see the twists coming but the acting is good and the sets are good, though I'm always freaked about these old houses with draperies and tapestries and no windows!! I need air and sunshine in my old, gothic house, dammit.

The Beast Must Die (1974) - Oh my.  This was unintentionally hilarious.  Good werewolf movies (Dog Soldiers) are hard to find but bad ones, like this one, are a dime a dozen.   Our rich hunter protagonist brings a bunch of people to his home because he wants to hunt a werewolf and is sure one of them is a werewolf, which he tells them, lol.  This one is notable for the truly hilarious "wolf" - a GS type dog that looks like they stuck extra fur on it - and the "Werewolf Break" in the middle of the movie.  The movie actually pauses and an announcer tells you it's time to guess who the werewolf is!!  LOL. 

Paranormal Activity - Next of Kin (2021) - I watched this and remembered why I didn't watch any of the others - boring, not scary, people doing dumb things, too much screaming.  The sets look good - I like wintry locations.  That's all I've got.

Antlers (2021) - I had high hopes for this one (creature + Guillermo del Toro - I'm in!) and was disappointed.  It's not bad - there's actually a lot of good things - but it seemed like it was edited oddly.  Visually it's beautiful and the performances are really good.  It's only in theaters right now but if you want to see it and have a good TV at home (seriously, you want the scenery shots in all their glory) I say wait for streaming.  I have more thoughts on this one but may create a topic for it.  Side note: the short story is is based on - The Quiet Boy by Nick Antosca - is very, very good.

Oh, I also watched Day of the Animals (1977) and Night of the Comet (1984) but knew those would both be funny and campy (though DofA was supposed to be horror) and they both delivered in the fun/campy departments.

[millennium]

When I was a kid and this time of year rolled around, I religiously scoured the TV guide that came in the Sunday paper looking for all the scary movies that would be shown in the run-up to Halloween.   This was back in the 1970s when local network affiliates still ran The Late Movie and Afternoon Movies and all kinds of movies on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (before infomercials came along and bought up all the movie time slots). 

Most of the movies I liked were also made in the 1970s.   Some were theatrical releases, others were made for TV, but they were all great as far as I was concerned.   Nothing like the slasher or zombie garbage foisted on audiences today.  These were atmospheric movies about ghosts, haunted houses, witches, vampires and the devil.

They included:

Burnt Offerings

Let's Scare Jessica to Death

Crowhaven Farm

The Other

The Dark Secret of Harvest Home

Race With the Devil

Something Evil

House of Dark Shadows

Night of Dark Shadows

Trilogy of Terror

The Night Stalker (pilot)

Night Gallery (pilot)

The Hammer Dracula/horror films

The "Ghost Story for Christmas" series from the BBC

and others.

They're all good, solid horror movies.  Why are they so hard to find now?   I would think the streaming services would be competing with each other to get these titles for Halloween.   Yet they're not streaming on any of the main platforms at subscription rate.  Amazon has some of them, if you pay extra (which sticks in the craw of this one-time kid who used to watch them late into the night for free).

Even the classic black and white horror films of the 50s and 60s -- the stuff of countless Creature Features and Chiller Theatres --  are hard or impossible to find.   You would think that in an industry starving for content, the streaming services would be fighting over all these old titles.  

I just don't understand it. 

 

[proserpina65]

On 10/31/2021 at 8:13 AM, raven said:

Good werewolf movies (Dog Soldiers) are hard to find

I cannot recommend this one enough to people who want one of those rare good werewolf movies.  There are some very clever things in it and more than a few moments that still make me laugh out loud even after watching it multiple times.

Honestly, between this one and The Descent, I can't praise Neil Marshall enough.

[raven]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

There are some very clever things in it and more than a few moments that still make me laugh out loud even after watching it multiple times.

Yes, with some genuinely emotional moments for me - even though I've also seen it many times - and genuinely scary werewolf effects. 

I remember enjoying The Descent but haven't seen it in a long time.  Maybe I will watch that next.

[Epeolatrix]

On 10/31/2021 at 2:03 PM, millennium said:

They're all good, solid horror movies.  Why are they so hard to find now?

I hear it's because "the kids" don't want to watch old movies (anything before 2010), and the people who like old movies are old and don't stream (and are an undesirable marketing demographic). The main hopes for older films are the niche re-publishers like Arrow and Shout Factory.

On a related note, if you're in the US, check out Shout Factory TV (they specialize in the sort of titles you mentioned). I go to Shout Factory for their physical media, though, so I can't say a lot about their streaming service other than it exists and is inexpensive (or free with ads?).

Edited November 3, 2021 by Epeolatrix

[krankydoodle]

I think my expectations for Werewolves Within were too high because I found it a bit disappointing. Sam Richardson was delightful of course, but it just wasn't as funny as I had hoped. It's still worth watching, but is definitely not in the top tier of werewolf movies or horror comedies.

The Night House, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise. I knew it would at least be watchable given that Rebecca Hall is the lead, but it's been a while since I've seen a horror movie so compelling. It takes its time establishing the character and setting before things get going and then it does a great job doling out scares and reveals. It's a shame this came out during the pandemic because it didn't get the attention it deserved.

[Anela]

I'm watching Drag Me To Hell. I can't believe 

Spoiler

she killed her cat. :(

It also isn't a great movie. 

[krankydoodle]

I just got back from watching Barbarian and was really impressed. I had managed to avoid the trailer or hearing anything about it beyond the basic plot (woman's Airbnb experience goes terribly wrong), so had no idea what I was in for. This was intense and such a wild ride, but also managed to find moments of sadness and even humor. The quick cut from

Spoiler

Justin Long's character shocked to find the hidden kidnap/torture room in his basement to him back upstairs eagerly googling if the space can be added to the house listing

is the hardest I've laughed in a while. Justin Long was the standout, but the whole cast was excellent. I highly recommend it and don't want to say more about it for those who haven't had the chance to watch it yet.

I have seen the trailer for Smile, which is getting a big marketing push, and while it doesn't look that promising, I still want to see it if only because of Kal Penn, Kyle Gallner, and the Ring-like premise.

[krankydoodle]

I watched Smile and liked it but not as much as I expected to, though I think my expectations were too high. There were some effective jump scares, but similar to The Black Phone where IMO the most upsetting scene was a character being abused by her father, the most harrowing one in this movie was the birthday party when the main character was desperately trying to convince someone to believe her. Sosie Bacon is great in the lead role and her screaming at the end of that scene was so raw and heartbreaking. Also, if you worry about animals in horror movies, there's a cat in this one and

Spoiler

it's killed offscreen (unclear how) but we do see its dead body.

Edited October 7, 2022 by krankydoodle

[BlueSkies]

It isn’t for everyone but this is the best scary/horror movie ever made imo