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Post by theravenking on Oct 1, 2023 13:09:05 GMT
I watched 3 German horror movies in a row and I'm still alive.
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Post by moviemouth on Oct 1, 2023 13:42:21 GMT
I'd like to recommend an interesting independent horror movie from 1995 I watched the other day. Directed by, written by and starring Larry Fessenden, who some of you horror fans might recognize. Well-made horror/psychological drama about a man who is deteriorating mentally and physically. It is a unique take on the vampire genre and is carried by an emotionally compelling performance from Larry Fessenden. From the title of the movie you can probably guess what the underlying theme is. The movie is more drama than horror, but it definitely counts as a horror movie. Roger Ebert rated it 3/4 stars.
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Post by moviemouth on Oct 1, 2023 16:08:51 GMT
Black Water (2007) A surprisingly effective and resourceful man vs. animal Australian horror movie. It is essentially just three characters being stalked by a crocodile. Takes place largely during daytime, uses no cgi as far as I could tell and minimal use of the actual crocodile. It works as well as it does by imagining yourself in this situation and trying to think of how you would survive. Not a totally realistic movie as I don't think a croc would behave quite like the movie portrays, but the characters I was definitely rooting for. It uses a neat location for the setting as well. Very well-paced and the crocodile is quite scary. Some of it is probably stock footage of real crocodiles, but some stuff I have no idea how they got some of the shots they got. There is one specific moment in the middle of the movie that took me by surprise. This is the best crocodile/alligator themed horror movie imo.
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forca85
Sophomore
@forca85
Posts: 351
Likes: 256
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Post by forca85 on Oct 1, 2023 20:50:49 GMT
RV: 'Pearl' and 'X'...Been about a year since I watched them.
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Post by Marv on Oct 1, 2023 21:19:02 GMT
The Popes Exorcist...solid Russell Crowe flick. Nothing too new to see here but Crowe is solid as a somewhat lighthearted priest that specializes in exorcism. The wide mouth effect is pretty tired by now but I liked a lot of the visuals, especially the effects on the boys face as the movie goes on.
Warm Bodies...a pretty fun zombie flick. I like giving us a perspective of a zombie and his thought process early...before he start becoming alive again. Its a pretty fun version of Romeo and Juliet that i didn't pick up on until late into the movie. The main actress gave me Kristen Stewart vibes in a good way, I liked her.
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forca85
Sophomore
@forca85
Posts: 351
Likes: 256
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Post by forca85 on Oct 1, 2023 21:25:27 GMT
I watched 3 German horror movies in a row and I'm still alive. What were they? Vampire movies?
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forca85
Sophomore
@forca85
Posts: 351
Likes: 256
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Post by forca85 on Oct 1, 2023 21:39:01 GMT
Black Water (2007) A surprisingly effective and resourceful man vs. animal Australian horror movie. It is essentially just three characters being stalked by a crocodile. Takes place largely during daytime, uses no cgi as far as I could tell and minimal use of the actual crocodile. It works as well as it does by imagining yourself in this situation and trying to think of how you would survive. Not a totally realistic movie as I don't think a croc would behave quite like the movie portrays, but the characters I was definitely rooting for. It uses a neat location for the setting as well. Very well-paced and the crocodile is quite scary. Some of it is probably stock footage of real crocodiles, but some stuff I have no idea how they got some of the shots they got. There is one specific moment in the middle of the movie that took me by surprise. This is the best crocodile/alligator themed horror movie imo. I watched the sequel last year... It's about a group of Friends Cave Diving and well you can probably guess what next. I think it's on Tubi if you are interested.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Oct 1, 2023 21:59:14 GMT
forca85 it's good to see you participating in the Challenge. Have fun!
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Post by Captain Spencer on Oct 2, 2023 4:43:18 GMT
Started off the Challenge with some 1950s sci-fi horror.
The Thing From Another World (1951) This is actually my very first time watching this. It was my understanding that the alien was largely unseen, but that turned out to be not true at all. You do get a good look at the creature, although it looks like a second rate Frankenstein monster. Overall still fairly good on its own terms. The fire sequence was amazing. 6/10
The Black Scorpion (1957) A volcanic eruption near a Mexican village releases a horde of mutant arachnids. The usual stuff, but some of the stop-motions effects were quite good, done by the same guy who did the effects for King Kong 1933. And we get close-ups of the scorpions' fanged, drooling mouths and even a bit of gore. 6/10
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
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Post by soggy on Oct 2, 2023 4:49:05 GMT
House of Terrors (Hajime Satô, 1965) I’ve heard this said to be something like a Japanese version of The Haunting (1963) which is what caught my attention. I know it’s not a popular pick for many horror fans, but The Haunting is not only my favorite haunted house film, but is quite likely my favorite horror film. I can somewhat see the comparisons, as much of the early section is playing with the “is it or is it not haunted?” aspect. It also has beautiful black and white cinematography that really works for it. That said, this feels more like Vincent Price style gothic horror to me, just in Japanese form. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I feel some things went unexplained in a way that hurt it somewhat. Still, even with that, I quite enjoyed it. 7/10
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Oct 2, 2023 4:53:15 GMT
Looks like we got ourselves a Friday the 13th for this October. First time since the 2017 challenge. I guess it’s easy to watch/or throw on something from the Friday the 13th franchise, but is there any other films set on Friday the 13th if you want to change it up? Or possibly horror films which had release dates on Friday the 13th. Eg Evil Dead 2, Halloween 5, Happy Death Day, Cabin in the Woods, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Funhouse… etc. I'd recommend The Burning (1981) personally. It's a Friday the 13th clone, but I am of the view that it's actually a better film than most of the actual Friday the 13th films. Much creepier antagonist, beautiful cinematography and the characters are more fun to observe.
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Post by Marv on Oct 2, 2023 9:48:21 GMT
Turistas...this is one that for some unknown reason I never wanted to watch. Maybe I got sick of the torture porn style of horror in the 2000s, I don't know. But I haven't ever decided to watch this one until now. Glad i did, if only to check it off my list. It wasn't really a torture porn flick outside of one scene. A lot of the story tho came across as kind of boring too often. Good looking ladies tho, all wearing bikinis, some going topless. So it had that going for it.
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Post by theravenking on Oct 2, 2023 10:26:49 GMT
I watched 3 German horror movies in a row and I'm still alive. What were they? Vampire movies? No, two made for TV slashers, School's Out 1+2, and a creature feature with mutant wasps, Stung.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Oct 2, 2023 16:28:28 GMT
Looks like we got ourselves a Friday the 13th for this October. First time since the 2017 challenge. I guess it’s easy to watch/or throw on something from the Friday the 13th franchise, but is there any other films set on Friday the 13th if you want to change it up? Or possibly horror films which had release dates on Friday the 13th. Eg Evil Dead 2, Halloween 5, Happy Death Day, Cabin in the Woods, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Funhouse… etc. I'd recommend The Burning (1981) personally. It's a Friday the 13th clone, but I am of the view that it's actually a better film than most of the actual Friday the 13th films. Much creepier antagonist, beautiful cinematography and the characters are more fun to observe. Just watch one called Just Before Dawn that was being made at the same time. Not as good, but not bad, and if that's the type of tone and setting you're into it's a good, lesser known option. Available in 2 parts on Daily Motion.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Oct 2, 2023 19:50:12 GMT
The Final Terror (1983) A group of park rangers get together with their girlfriends for some backwoods fun, unaware they're being stalked by a maniac.
This is one I never bothered with when it was first released because by then I was sick of those formualic slashers after watching so many of them. But now I decided the time was ripe to give it a try for the Challenge. It certainly was of interest for early appearances by Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward and Joe Pantoliano, all of whom went on to bigger and better things. It was also an early directorial effort by Andrew Davis who also went on to much greener pastures (Code of Silence, Under Siege, The Fugitive, etc.). But I'm not sure why Ronald Shusett was involved with this, he was already a top screenwriter having co-written Alien with Dan O'Bannon.
Anyway, The Final Terror turned out to be the same old thing done the same old way. All the usual, tired slasher clichés abound. Davis directed with little enthusiasm, bringing nothing new or original to the table; good thing he decided to stick with action movies. Pantoliano is usually a decent actor, but here he just hams it up shamelessly.
So all-in-all, a painfully slow-moving bore. However, there is one particular bright spot involving the way the killer is trapped, with some creative camera work. But it's not worth sitting through the whole movie to get to that part.
3/10
Popcorn (1991) Film students and their professor put together an all-night film festival showing cheesy horror movies and staging all kinds of audience participation gimmickry. Meanwhile, a deformed killer has other plans for the event.
Another horror movie I never bothered with, but now I wish I did. Highly entertaining with tongue planted firmly in cheek. There is a nice sense of nostalgia, by paying tribute to the grand old style theater and having some references to classic films. And the faux movies shown in the theater are a lot of fun. Some clever directorial touches, and the whole thing just comes together beautifully with a knockout finale.
7/10
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Post by jcush on Oct 2, 2023 19:52:07 GMT
I'd recommend The Burning (1981) personally. It's a Friday the 13th clone, but I am of the view that it's actually a better film than most of the actual Friday the 13th films. Much creepier antagonist, beautiful cinematography and the characters are more fun to observe. Just watch one called Just Before Dawn that was being made at the same time. Not as good, but not bad, and if that's the type of tone and setting you're into it's a good, lesser known option. Available in 2 parts on Daily Motion. I was in the mood for a slasher, so I gave this one a shot. I actually thought it was pretty good. The main group of characters were actually decent, the woods setting was used pretty well, and it has a good score from Brad Fiedel (The Terminator). George Kennedy is always a welcome presence too. Thanks for making me aware of this one.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Oct 2, 2023 20:02:24 GMT
Just watch one called Just Before Dawn that was being made at the same time. Not as good, but not bad, and if that's the type of tone and setting you're into it's a good, lesser known option. Available in 2 parts on Daily Motion. I was in the mood for a slasher, so I gave this one a shot. I actually thought it was pretty good. The main group of characters were actually decent, the woods setting was used pretty well, and it has a good score from Brad Fiedel (The Terminator). George Kennedy is always a welcome presence too. Thanks for making me aware of this one. Yeah George Kennedy classed it up a bit. Apparently, director Jeff Lieberman was trying to do more of a Deliverance ripoff but Friday the 13th came out while they were shooting and the money people made him slasherize it a bit more, which I think was sorta the best possible outcome. Instead of being a low end thriller it's sort of a higher end early slasher. Glad you enjoyed it, happy to help!
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Oct 2, 2023 21:37:02 GMT
Ended my 22 year streak of avoiding Ghosts of Mars because it's the only JC movie I haven't seen. Not a miserable experience but still an absolute cheesefest and horribly acted/edited to boot. And I guess they didn't have metoo in this future, because goddamn @ Jason Statham.
Followed that up with a double feature of Invader From Mars and its Tobe Hooper remake. Like a lot of 80s updates of 50s sci fi (The Thing, The Fly, The Blob, etc), I preferred the remake for its stronger atmosphere and superior VFX, although both movies kinda lose me when the military shows up. I wish we could stick with the hilariously transparent alien parents for longer.
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Post by moviemouth on Oct 2, 2023 21:58:06 GMT
Just re-watched Bone Tomahawk. Liked it a better this time around. An impressive horror western with some very good performances. What starts out as a basic western leads to pure terror and one of the most gruesome death scenes of all time.
Strange seeing Sean Young pop up in a bit part.
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Post by moviemouth on Oct 2, 2023 22:00:55 GMT
Ended my 22 year streak of avoiding Ghosts of Mars because it's the only JC movie I haven't seen. Not a miserable experience but still an absolute cheesefest and horribly acted/edited to boot. And I guess they didn't have metoo in this future, because goddamn @ Jason Statham. Followed that up with a double feature of Invader From Mars and its Tobe Hooper remake. Like a lot of 80s updates of 50s sci fi (The Thing, The Fly, The Blob, etc), I preferred the remake for its stronger atmosphere and superior VFX, although both movies kinda lose me when the military shows up. I wish we could stick with the hilariously transparent alien parents for longer. Glad you enjoyed the remake, at least to some extent. I saw the remake long before the original and enjoyed it for what is is. The original I found quite dull. I agree about the military stuff.
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