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Post by Anonymous Andy on Apr 23, 2021 14:15:08 GMT
A mixed bag to be sure, but this film doesn't get nearly enough love. Wes was clearly undermined by the studio and the film feels muddled as a result, but there's some good character stuff in there and it has its share of offbeat humor as well. And there's also a basketball to the face, of course. (Rewatch) 6/10
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 25, 2021 11:09:48 GMT
A mixed bag to be sure, but this film doesn't get nearly enough love. Wes was clearly undermined by the studio and the film feels muddled as a result, but there's some good character stuff in there and it has its share of offbeat humor as well. And there's also a basketball to the face, of course. (Rewatch) 6/10 I think I re-watched it, during last years October Challenge, and yeah, a mixed bag is probably the right way of putting it. It was a bit of sci-fi/teenage fantasy/romance, then it headed into much further and surely darker territory, but it felt like never digging deep enough, and only scratched the surface, at most. Still a little late night sci-fi/horror favorite, but one that could have been a lot better, or creepier, without the comedy/feel-good tone.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 25, 2021 11:27:22 GMT
The Psychic (1977) by Lucio Fulci Had not seen this one, since around 2008-09, and thankfully, this were a much more pleasant re-watch, than a lot of the other 70s films of Fulci. An incredible beautiful shot film, visually it was probably among his finest hour, and the story and pace moved very well. The music is also quite good, and for me, this just might be my favorite, at least of those more 70s giallo themed films of his, and where The Woman In a Lizard Skin earlier this winter, ended up more as a too slow moving and kind of forgettable ride, The Psychic left me with wanting to keep a hold of it, and maybe it will go further up, on the rating scale, with another re-visit. Also, the awesome looking movie poster and DVD artwork, makes it seems like a combination of the legendary H.G. Giger work to ELP and Brain Salad Surgery album cover, along with the Dario Argento film, Inferno. As of now, it lies around a: 6,5/10
Hard Rock Zombies (1985) By Krishna Shah Another one, of these mid-late 80s on cashing in on the rock and metal craze, along with horror and the VHS format, and I guess by picking the zombie genre, it would most likely be a more cheaper way of doing things, than the more supernatural stuff, like so many others headed for. Beside Trick or Treat (1986), most of these releases, have been either dull or just plain bad, but Hard Rock Zombies actually kind of stood out, not that far off Rock 'N Roll Nightmare (1987), in that the absolute cheese and comedy and all the over the top silliness, makes up for what it lacks in characters and story. The music and songs written for the film, is not all that bad either. In fact, the rock ballad, is damn catchy and sweet. Anyway, we got zombies, rock music, Hitler, nazis, midgets, groupies, werewolves and a whole bunch of other weirdos and creeps, so it never gets boring, that's for sure. Still, I was kind of amazed, or surprise to the see the Cannon logo, early in. The film however, feels like almost a homemade release at times, but somehow, it just adds to the b-movie charm. But one of those, for specially intererested, or of those that just have to watch every rock/metal horror film, made during the 80s. Still, I kind of were amused a few times, and the music were surely the best thing about the film, so I end up with a very kind: 5/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Apr 25, 2021 14:48:26 GMT
The Psychic (1977) by Lucio Fulci Had not seen this one, since around 2008-09, and thankfully, this were a much more pleasant re-watch, than a lot of the other 70s films of Fulci. An incredible beautiful shot film, visually it was probably among his finest hour, and the story and pace moved very well. The music is also quite good, and for me, this just might be my favorite, at least of those more 70s giallo themed films of his, and where The Woman In a Lizard Skin earlier this winter, ended up more as a too slow moving and kind of forgettable ride, The Psychic left me with wanting to keep a hold of it, and maybe it will go further up, on the rating scale, with another re-visit. Also, the awesome looking movie poster and DVD artwork, makes it seems like a combination of the legendary H.G. Giger work to ELP and Brain Salad Surgery album cover, along with the Dario Argento film, Inferno. As of now, it lies around a: 6,5/10
The Psychic is one I haven't seen yet, but I'll likely check it out if I come across it. Have to admit I'm not exactly a big fan of Lucio Fulci, but I am curious about this one. Plus it has the lovely Jennifer O'Neill which is a good thing. You're right about the poster art being similar to Argento's Inferno.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 26, 2021 6:52:54 GMT
The Psychic is one I haven't seen yet, but I'll likely check it out if I come across it. Have to admit I'm not exactly a big fan of Lucio Fulci, but I am curious about this one. Plus it has the lovely Jennifer O'Neill which is a good thing. You're right about the poster art being similar to Argento's Inferno. Have not seen her in too many films, but damn, when I looked her up at wikipedia, supposedly been married 9 times. Yeah, I guess I will never quite become a big fan or admirer of most of the work by Fulci, but he sure has left us with quite some unforgettable films, either through being visually stunning, or of those that were just down right nasty as hell. The Psychic is one that belongs in the top tier, along with The Beyond, as one of his most visually impressive films, but the latter also included way more of the gruesome and nasty stuff, where as The Psychic probably held back a bit, even if there were some brutal scenes in that one as well.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Apr 26, 2021 22:10:51 GMT
ALIEN PREY 1977 -- Norman J Warren is a genius. This is really well-made piece of exploitation sleaze that somehow also works as highbrow arthouse science fiction or existential character study of a murderous lesbian and her captive girlfriend. I am so impressed that he could squeeze out more cerebral qualities from this plot. This is what you don't see anymore. The characterization is so well done and the acting--considering that the three leads are shown naked in explicit moments and yet their performances are so--treating the subject matter as if its Titus Andronicus. I can't wait to check out--Terror was it? Mentioned here. I think it’s the best of his work from what I’ve seen. Sort of a unique balance of where he started (sexploitation) to where he eventually headed (horror). ‘Terror’ was a lot of fun too. Some funny moments, nice visual strokes and a crazy last half-hour.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Apr 26, 2021 22:23:07 GMT
Caught this on Netflix a couple years ago. I liked the novel approach the screenplay took on familiar devil/possession tropes. Also great to see "Alice, Sweet Alice" get a little plug on the TV.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Apr 28, 2021 3:02:05 GMT
Waxwork (1988) College kids are invited to view wax museum displays in a mansion, with each of the exhibits containing a portal to another dimension. When some of the teens enter the portals, they get involved in fatal misadventures with classic movie monsters. Fun, entertaining, tongue-in-cheek horror cheese. First-time director Anthony Hickox demonstrated a keen sense of visual style and a good eye for detail, as well as knowing homages to classic horror. An innovative story, however it ends up deteriorating into a formulaic show-down type finale, plus that cliched "the horror may not be over" final shot. But for the most part, a dandy little horror gem. For a young director making his debut, it was really quite impressive that he was able to round up an impressive cast that includes David Warner, Patrick Macnee, and John Rhys-Davies. And I could have sworn the dwarf servant was played by Harry Earles, who was Hans in the 1932 horror classic Freaks, but as it turns out it was another diminutive actor.
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Post by gspdude on Apr 29, 2021 11:26:08 GMT
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) A priest goes on trial for the death of a young woman who died during an exorcism. I don't often care for courtroom drama, and this was about half courtroom drama and about half supernatural flashback. But this was so well done and acted that it kept me totally interested, and at times engrossed, until the end. 8/10.
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
Posts: 2,052
Likes: 3,304
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Post by mgmarshall on Apr 29, 2021 18:11:52 GMT
Two Evil EyesIt's been quite a while since I revisited this one. I was on quite an Argento kick years and years ago in the tail end of high school. This one came at the end of that, and I had pretty mixed feelings about it. On a re-watch, I still do. Something about it just never quite gels. I know it was supposedly planned to be an Edgar Allan Poe-based anthology series, and that's really what it feels like, two otherwise unrelated episodes of an anthology. I can only really address it as such. Romero's episode, "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar," is pretty far from his strongest work. It has solid make-up effects by Tom Savini, but despite the presence of Adrienne Barbeau, E.G. Marshall, and Tom Atkins (who I swear must exist in some kind of 40's-50's noir cop bubble, between his appearances in this, Night of the Creeps, Bruiser, and Drive Angry. It's all anybody seemingly asks of him.), it never manages to reach the sublime heights of Creepshow. Maybe it's just that the story doesn't quite fill its near-hour-long runtime. Maybe it's that it deviates too far from the source material- Romero's additions feel much more Lovecraft than Poe. Still, there's some okay stuff here. As mentioned, the effects are impressive and the performances are strong; and Romero's commentary on capitalism and greed, while about as subtle as a brick to the face, is still relatively effective. Argento's episode, "The Black Cat", is really where the movie shines. I admit, I haven't seen much of his post-80's work beyond this movie, the Masters of Horror episodes, Mother of Tears, and Dracula 3-D; but from what I've seen this is one of the last flourishes of the true Argento- wild camerawork, expressionistic lighting, and gruesome, near-impossible gore effects. I also like how Argento adapts Poe in basically the same way Roger Corman does, throwing elements from multiple stories in there. Plus, I'll never turn down a batshit Harvey Keitel performance. Still, the segment's a touch longer than it really needs to be, and it does start to drag a bit. Overall, the movie's not too bad, but if you want a Romero/Argento collaboration, I'd stick with Dawn of the Dead.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Apr 29, 2021 20:08:19 GMT
Two Evil EyesIt's been quite a while since I revisited this one. I was on quite an Argento kick years and years ago in the tail end of high school. This one came at the end of that, and I had pretty mixed feelings about it. On a re-watch, I still do. Something about it just never quite gels. I know it was supposedly planned to be an Edgar Allan Poe-based anthology series, and that's really what it feels like, two otherwise unrelated episodes of an anthology. I sible can only really address it as such. Romero's episode, "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar," is pretty far from his strongest work. It has solid make-up effects by Tom Savini, but despite the presence of Adrienne Barbeau, E.G. Marshall, and Tom Atkins (who I swear must exist in some kind of 40's-50's noir cop bubble, between his appearances in this, Night of the Creeps, Bruiser, and Drive Angry. It's all anybody seemingly asks of him.), it never manages to reach the sublime heights of Creepshow. Maybe it's just that the story doesn't quite fill its near-hour-long runtime. Maybe it's that it deviates too far from the source material- Romero's additions feel much more Lovecraft than Poe. Still, there's some okay stuff here. As mentioned, the effects are impressive and the performances are strong; and Romero's commentary on capitalism and greed, while about as subtle as a brick to the face, is still relatively effective. Argento's episode, "The Black Cat", is really where the movie shines. I admit, I haven't seen much of his post-80's work beyond this movie, the Masters of Horror episodes, Mother of Tears, and Dracula 3-D; but from what I've seen this is one of the last flourishes of the true Argento- wild camerawork, expressionistic lighting, and gruesome, near-impossible gore effects. I also like how Argento adapts Poe in basically the same way Roger Corman does, throwing elements from multiple stories in there. Plus, I'll never turn down a batshit Harvey Keitel performance. Still, the segment's a touch longer than it really needs to be, and it does start to drag a bit. Overall, the movie's not too bad, but if you want a Romero/Argento collaboration, I'd stick with Dawn of the Dead. It's been a long time since I've seen Two Evil Eyes, but I remember not thinking too highly of it. Still, I should see it again as well, for some possible re-evaluation.
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Post by gspdude on May 1, 2021 13:13:56 GMT
Underwater(2020) An underwater deep sea drilling complex has been destroyed, perhaps by an earthquake(we're not quite sure) and the survivors are being stalked by a new species. The story shifts back and forth from under water to areas of the complex still habitable as the survivors try to make their escape. Vincent Cassel and Kristen Stewart were believable, but the darkness of the underwater scenes often kept me in the dark as to what was going on, and I've never been a fan of the shaky camera thing, which is used a lot. 4.5/10.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on May 2, 2021 9:28:09 GMT
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on May 2, 2021 9:29:28 GMT
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on May 2, 2021 9:31:24 GMT
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
Posts: 2,052
Likes: 3,304
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Post by mgmarshall on May 3, 2021 8:00:25 GMT
The Monster ClubAn utter mediocrity. Incredibly talented cast saddled with half-baked, corny stories and embarrassingly cheap effects and production values. Meh, Vincent Price and John Carradine seem like they're having fun; the vampire segment with Donald Pleasance and Richard Johnson isn't too awful; and Patrick Magee manages to imbue his thankless role with some genuine creep factor. That man truly never lets me down. Still, despite the cast's best efforts, this is totally lacking any of the charm or atmosphere of Milton Subotsky's earlier, Amicus-produced anthologies. If this movie's any indication, R. Chetwynd-Hayes was no Robert Bloch...
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Post by lostinlimbo on May 3, 2021 12:48:18 GMT
A surprisingly decent follow-up to the original with a ever reliable Vincent Price under the bandages.
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Post by Anonymous Andy on May 4, 2021 12:46:34 GMT
The Monster ClubAn utter mediocrity. Incredibly talented cast saddled with half-baked, corny stories and embarrassingly cheap effects and production values. Meh, Vincent Price and John Carradine seem like they're having fun; the vampire segment with Donald Pleasance and Richard Johnson isn't too awful; and Patrick Magee manages to imbue his thankless role with some genuine creep factor. That man truly never lets me down. Still, despite the cast's best efforts, this is totally lacking any of the charm or atmosphere of Milton Subotsky's earlier, Amicus-produced anthologies. If this movie's any indication, R. Chetwynd-Hayes was no Robert Bloch... I hear your grievances but... man, this movie just hit my sweet spot. I discovered it a few years back during an Amicus deep dive and while, yes, none of the segments are great, the whole thing is incredibly enjoyable and cheesy in the best possible way. I've watched it a few times since. And those new wave songs performed in between segments are still stuck in my head.
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Post by Anonymous Andy on May 4, 2021 12:48:51 GMT
Not just "good for a TV-movie" but legitimately good. Characters you love to hate, autumn atmosphere up the wazoo and Larry Drake. What's not to love? 8/10
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Post by Anonymous Andy on May 4, 2021 12:52:25 GMT
Maybe I'm getting softer as I age, but time has been incredibly kind to some of the Amityville sequels. It's not a great film by any means (the acting is hacky and the whole thing is overly lit), but there are more than enough haunted house tropes and hijinks to keep things moving along. The garbage disposal scene and the guy under the crawlspace drowning in muck still get me every time. The presence of Patty Duke definitely helps make this better than it has any right to be. 5/10
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