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Post by Captain Spencer on Jul 9, 2022 2:32:55 GMT
Meatcleaver Massacre (1976)Seeing the title you would automatically think it's a slasher, but it's more of a supernatural thriller. And the title is even more misleading because it has nothing to do with meatcleavers! Anyway, the story deals with a college professor (specializing in teaching the occult) whose family is slaughtered by a few of his jaded students; the professor himself is assaulted and left for dead. He survives, and uses his knowledge of the black arts to summon a powerful demon to carry out his revenge. This started off promising with the potential of being an above average horror movie, but eventually descends into mediocrity. The story lags and goes off track at times, the acting from a no-name cast is often poor, and the direction is uninspired. Not completely without good moments, though, in particular there's a nightmare sequence that was eerie and had some creepy imagery. Unfortunately, there's not enough good moments to save the entire movie.
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Post by Nalkarj on Jul 9, 2022 3:02:39 GMT
The Last of Sheila (1973) was on TV, so I watched it again, this time with my mother, who’d never seen it before. (She liked it.)
No secret that this is a favorite of mine, so I’ll try to be brief.
1. I wish someone other than Herbert Ross directed this. Ross was a friend of screenwriters Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, and that probably is one reason he was faithful to their complex and tricky mystery script, but still—Ross shoots this flick like a TV movie. That the movie is still so good and so entertaining is a tribute to the script and actors.
2. Every time I see the ending and the sleuth (whose identity is as much a surprise as the killer’s) figures things out, I remember why I like mysteries in the first place, I feel that dazzling flash of revelation, that concurrent “WOW!” and “OF COURSE!” Such a great moment.
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Post by telegonus on Jul 9, 2022 8:36:10 GMT
The Last of Sheila (1973) was on TV, so I watched it again, this time with my mother, who’d never seen it before. (She liked it.) No secret that this is a favorite of mine, so I’ll try to be brief. 1. I wish someone other than Herbert Ross directed this. Ross was a friend of screenwriters Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, and that probably is one reason the finished film is as complex (but still comprehensible) and tricky as it is, but still—Ross shoots this flick like a TV movie. That the movie is still so good and so entertaining is a tribute to the script and actors. 2. Every time I see the ending and the sleuth (whose identity is as much a surprise as the killer’s) figures things out, I remember why I like mysteries in the first place, I feel that dazzling flash of revelation, that concurrent “WOW!” and “OF COURSE!” Such a great moment. Great song at the end really gives The Last Of Sheila some punch.
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Post by theravenking on Jul 9, 2022 13:36:57 GMT
The Last of Sheila (1973) was on TV, so I watched it again, this time with my mother, who’d never seen it before. (She liked it.) No secret that this is a favorite of mine, so I’ll try to be brief. 1. I wish someone other than Herbert Ross directed this. Ross was a friend of screenwriters Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, and that probably is one reason the finished film is as complex (but still comprehensible) and tricky as it is, but still—Ross shoots this flick like a TV movie. That the movie is still so good and so entertaining is a tribute to the script and actors. 2. Every time I see the ending and the sleuth (whose identity is as much a surprise as the killer’s) figures things out, I remember why I like mysteries in the first place, I feel that dazzling flash of revelation, that concurrent “WOW!” and “OF COURSE!” Such a great moment. Great song at the end really gives The Last Of Sheila some punch. I did have some issues with the movie itself, but I really liked that song.
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Post by theravenking on Jul 9, 2022 15:01:35 GMT
Never Talk To Strangers (1995; Peter Hall) So, the other day I felt in the mood for a perfectly mediocre movie, and for some reason I ended up with this one remembering from my first watch many years ago, that it was a passable erotic thriller. If Brian de Palma is generally aknowledged as the number one Hitchcock epigone, than British stage director Peter Hall sets himself up as De Palma's most devoted follower with this middling thriller. The twisted story of trauma and morally murky, mentally damaged characters served with some soft erotic interludes is prime De Palma territory. Not only that, but none other than Pino Donaggio is on board to provide the score. The only thing missing would be De Palma's visual finesse. Rebecca De Mornay plays Sarah Taylor a criminal psychologist who has suffered a deep trauma as a child and as a result has problems regarding her sexual relationships. One day she meets the handsome photographer Tony (Antonio Banderas), initially appearing to her as the ideal man, who also seems to have a beneficial effect on Sarah's mental state. At the same time there seems to be someone stalking and threatening her. She keeps receiving strange gifts and when things begin to escalate, she decides to hire a detective to look into her new boyfriends affairs. Well, yeah, it seems, I was right: This is a a completely mediocre movie. It's mostly carried by a capable cast. De Mornay (who also produced this) and Banderas make for an appealing couple, and there is also a role for Harry Dean Stanton (sporting his usual dishevelled hobo look playing a sleazy rapist) as one of De Mornay's patients. The final twist is basically telegraphed in the first scene and the few erotic scenes are rather unremarkable for this type of movie. I guess it's better than the similarly minded films Sharon Stone did post-Basic Instinct, but I'm afraid, that's not saying much. 5.5/10
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jul 10, 2022 12:46:03 GMT
Have not posted here for quite a while, but hopefully will do something about it, and right now a few recently seen horror and thrillers: Vampires: Los Muertos (2002) by Tommy Lee Wallace Only picked up, due to the names of Carpenter, Lee Wallace and how I have a soft spot for the 1998 film, which I feel is one of John s lesser known releases of the 90s, but is surely worth a watch, mainly due to the great performance by James Woods, as the leader of the "pack", hunting down vampires through the desert. However, I guess someone felt they should follow on, an do the same as with the poor From Dusk Till Dawn straight-to-video "sequels", where I kind of enjoyed, slightly part two, because of Robert Patrick and a few other familiar names, but sadly Vampires 2 suffered early on, from having rock star Jon Bon Jovi, trying to stink up the place, as he just had absolutely none of the wit, charm nor the bad ass attitude of Woods, and felt like the weakest link of the new vampire hunter gang, and that is never a great sign. However, if one manages to ignore the horrible and lousy "special effects", where some of the fake CGI blood, looked like it was taken from an unfinished PS1 game, and well, at least the pace went rather well, so time did not stood still. Think they actually ended up handing out a third one as well, probably not with any of the gang from any of the first two films, but yeah, I doubt I will ever bother with that one, and just keep myself to the first one, with further views. 4/10
All-American Murder (1991) by Anson Williams "The only way to prove that I am not guilty, is to end up getting killed" Artie Logan (Charlie Schlatter) is a notorius teenage rebel, who always seems to have a habit of get himself into trouble with everyone and pretty much everywhere. As a final chance, his "beloved" father sends him to a strict and respectful school, in order to get his son to act a bit more responsable and adult for a change. However, what he ends up with, is falling deeply in love with the most beautiful and popular girl at the university, and well, pretty soon it all goes very wrong, when he is the prime suspect in a brutal murder case, and with only less than a day left on the clock, to try and clear his name, along with making sure that whoever is behind it, will not go free.Have been rather curious about this one, since earlier this year, when I saw it got posted in one of the DVD/Blu-ray shopping threads, and I think it has just not long ago, been handed a nice and upgraded Blu-ray edition. However, last week, I found a much cheaper Norwegian Big Box VHS copy, and had to bring it home with me, hoping that a hidden gem, could be soon revealed. Gotta admit, the first 15-20 minutes felt rather "goofy", like someone just edited in a lot of different cliches and scenes from teen sex comedies and all of a sudden, Christopher Walken arrives, and yeah, you kind of feel that something is about to happen, and thankfully it really did. The film grew on me, and I really enjoyed the whole crime mystery, along with a lot of slasher scenes, added into the mix. Maybe not a great film, but one I am glad I got a hold of, specially through VHS, as I loved the whole video tape experience, with lots of trailers before and after, and if one is a fan of Walken, well, this is far from being one of his "worst" entries into the early 90s and DTV genre. 6/10
Relentless (1989) by William Lustig "I called to see if you were home, I have to kill you tonight." Los Angeles city is struck with chaos and panic, with the arrival of a potential new serial killer (Judd Nelson), who seems to randomly pick out his unlucky victims, through the telephone catalog. Two highly different, but still driven Police Detectives (Loggia and Rossi) is soon onto the case, but realizes that there is more than just coincidences that is taking place, and where the truth of the killer, might lie far more closer to them, than they would like to know. Another title that I have been meaning of checking up some day, and well, when I got hold of it a while back (also when overdoing it a bit, during a few visits to different second hand shops), I found a very cheap DVD copy, and since I am a bit of a fan of William Lustig and his 80s and early 90s films, this was the one that had somehow yet to be seen, until last night. Okay, so Judd Nelson is not Joe Spinnell nor Robert Z'Dar (very few comes close), but I really enjoyed his creepy yet childlike vulnerable character, which was a long shot away of the sadly horrible and not very funny earlier or later (after Breakfast Club) films I have seen him in, and he sure added something very disturbing and dark into this part. That is actually why I felt the far more "happy" and comical chemistry between Robert Loggia and Leo Rossi, worked so damn well, as they really fitted so good together, with a witty, sharp and clever script, and while I do prefer the earlier and more grittier and sleazier New York 42nd Street style of Lustig, the more sunny and rich tone and atmosphere of L.A. did surely provide the film with somethin a bit different, and yeah, I really enjoyed this one. Might even climb a bit more during another round, but until then, I am more than happy with how it worked out. Also the lovely Meg Foster puts in a warm and charming role, as the wife of Rossi. 7,5/10
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jul 10, 2022 13:01:05 GMT
I dunno, have you ever seen The Langoliers? As nutty as that film is...I like it. Me too. I was actually thinking of re-watching it soon, as it comes with so many funny and memorable moments and characters, and yeah, something of the whole mystery/comedy and all, yeah, 3 hours (more or less), is surely a bit of a stretch, but it just has that feel good tone, that makes me come back for some more.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jul 10, 2022 13:07:27 GMT
Dark Night Of The Scarecrow (1981)In a small southern farming town, four intolerant bozos falsely accuse a mentally-challenged man of severly hurting a little girl and end up killing him vigilante style. After being acquitted in court with the claim of self-defense, each of the men start dying off in a series of "accidents." A suspenseful and creepy tale of vengeance from beyond the grave. Novelist Frank De Felitta does a fine job with the direction and provides some stylish camera work and a chilling atmosphere, plus a sense of ambiguity. This could very well be one of the best made-for-TV horror movies of all time, and can compete with any of the scariest theatrical horror movies. The ending will chill you to the bone. Glad you liked it, and yeah, a damn fine film, hell of way better (even if it is just a "TV movie") that most of the early 80s slasher films I have seen. Not sure how things went on with the recent (has anyone actually seen it yet?) Dark Night of the Scarecrow chapter, which I think also features some of the people involved with the original. Anyway, the teaser or trailer I saw a while back, looked so amateurish and bad, that yeah, I think I will just wait until someone uploads it on Youtube or somewhere free, rather than wasting money on an overpriced DVD or Blu-ray.
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Post by gspdude on Jul 10, 2022 14:32:42 GMT
Attack of the Unknown(2020), L.A. SWAT team holed up in a detention center during an alien invasion. Not always the most logical movie, but an interesting idea and plenty of action. 6/10.
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Post by gspdude on Jul 11, 2022 12:44:13 GMT
Darling(2015). A not too stable young woman gets a job as caretaker for an old, rumored to be haunted, house. Kind of slow moving and a bit arty at first, buts gets better, has some nice B&W cinematography, a decent kill scene, and by the end I was liking it. 6/10.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jul 11, 2022 14:25:05 GMT
Interview with the Vampire (1994).
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Post by Nalkarj on Jul 11, 2022 16:51:39 GMT
I’m going to put the real spoilers in spoiler tags, but still, I’m going to be dancing around spoilers in this review, so if you haven’t seen this movie, caveat lector.A Perfect Getaway, 2009, dir. David Twohy. Not sure what to make of this one. My first reaction was disappointment because it has a lot of good elements and doesn’t execute them well. The big problem is setup. The movie is a narrow experience based on a twist, which is fine, but good twist-based stories know the setup is perhaps even more important than the reveal (cf. The Prestige). Here the premise is that serial killers are roaming Hawaii, and they could be anyone our heroes, Steve Zahn and Milla Jorovich, meet on the trail. Cool. But we never get the sense that anyone, let alone the whole state of Hawaii, is racked with fear. In fact, we barely see anyone other than hero couple and the two other couples they meet. Roger Ebert wrote, in praise, that the film’s opening minutes led him to expect a comedy. Great, but there’s a way to do that and still suggest something underneath, some sense of fear striking the tropical paradise. The movie plays up the lightness so much early on that I never felt that. What else about the setup doesn’t work? Plot synopses say the movie centers on three couples; in reality, it only centers on two. Third couple Chris Hemsworth and Marley Shelton (underused as always) are pretty much irrelevant. I never once considered that they might be the killers because we spend so little time with them. Seriously—cut them out of this movie and what changes? You’d have to remove one scene in Act 3. That’s it. They don’t come back at the end; for all we know they’re rotting, wrongfully accused, in some Hawaiian prison. One problem with these setup flaws—and there are more, these are just two that came to mind—is that they make the twist, which should jolt the viewer, obvious, or at least underwhelming. They make the viewer suspect something, even if he can’t put his finger on what it is. Mess up the setup and the punchline won’t hit, and this punchline—which, again, should be a humdinger on par with The Sixth Sense’s twist—whimpers out. Something that didn’t help: I found Zahn and Jorovich so extremely unsympathetic, what with his faux-goofiness and her constant “babe, sweetie, darling, hon, babe, honey, sweetheart, babe” (oh dear God, spare me), that I not only saw the twist coming but also was actually relieved when the twist did come. They’re playing “very unpleasant people,” to quote Agatha Christie, dressed up in phony cheeriness. And something else: The screenwriter talk sucks. No other way to say it. It hurts the twist, and it seems contrived and fake and cheesy. I did like some things about the movie. The scene in which one character figures out the truth is just great—the perfect way to film that kind of scene. And this review gave me pause about entirely writing off A Perfect Getaway. I was particularly intrigued by this insight: That reviewer’s right: Cliff and Cydney, the Zahn and Jorovich characters, are unlikable, as I wrote above, and the switch to Nick and Gina (Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez) as protagonists is both neatly done and an interesting reworking of the Hitchcockian transfer-of-audience-identification gambit. Unfortunately, the plotting flaws do severe damage to those themes, and ultimately I do find the movie disappointing. If only Twohy, who wrote as well as directed, had given the script a few more drafts.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Jul 12, 2022 3:11:08 GMT
5/105th Hellraiser film ranks right in the middle for me. Its not the best nor the worst. Its a interesting story but the ending needed work. In a interview Doud Bradly called this the worst of the series.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Jul 12, 2022 3:13:29 GMT
5/10
6th Hellraiser film has the return of Kirsty from the original films but shes very much underused. Its just an OK entry. Watchable but not one of the best Hellraiser films.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Jul 12, 2022 3:20:14 GMT
3/10
7th film in the Camp Blood series. The poster parried IT which was coming out at the time. Its a clown mask slasher film. Not too exciting or entertaining.
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Post by theravenking on Jul 12, 2022 11:06:35 GMT
I’m going to put the real spoilers in spoiler tags, but still, I’m going to be dancing around spoilers in this review, so if you haven’t seen this movie, caveat lector.A Perfect Getaway, 2009, dir. David Twohy. Not sure what to make of this one. My first reaction was disappointment because it has a lot of good elements and doesn’t execute them well. The big problem is setup. The movie is a narrow experience based on a twist, which is fine, but good twist-based stories know the setup is perhaps even more important than the reveal (cf. The Prestige). Here the premise is that serial killers are roaming Hawaii, and they could be anyone our heroes, Steve Zahn and Milla Jorovich, meet on the trail. Cool. But we never get the sense that anyone, let alone the whole state of Hawaii, is racked with fear. In fact, we barely see anyone other than hero couple and the two other couples they meet. Roger Ebert wrote, in praise, that the film’s opening minutes led him to expect a comedy. Great, but there’s a way to do that and still suggest something underneath, some sense of fear striking the tropical paradise. The movie plays up the lightness so much early on that I never felt that. What else about the setup doesn’t work? Plot synopses say the movie centers on three couples; in reality, it only centers on two. Third couple Chris Hemsworth and Marley Shelton (underused as always) are pretty much irrelevant. I never once considered that they might be the killers because we spend so little time with them. Seriously—cut them out of this movie and what changes? You’d have to remove one scene in Act 3. That’s it. They don’t come back at the end; for all we know they’re rotting, wrongfully accused, in some Hawaiian prison. One problem with these setup flaws—and there are more, these are just two that came to mind—is that they make the twist, which should jolt the viewer, obvious, or at least underwhelming. They make the viewer suspect something, even if he can’t put his finger on what it is. Mess up the setup and the punchline won’t hit, and this punchline—which, again, should be a humdinger on par with The Sixth Sense’s twist—whimpers out. Something that didn’t help: I found Zahn and Jorovich so extremely unsympathetic, what with his faux-goofiness and her constant “babe, sweetie, darling, hon, babe, honey, sweetheart, babe” (oh dear God, spare me), that I not only saw the twist coming but also was actually relieved when the twist did come. They’re playing “very unpleasant people,” to quote Agatha Christie, dressed up in phony cheeriness. And something else: The screenwriter talk sucks. No other way to say it. It hurts the twist, and it seems contrived and fake and cheesy. I did like some things about the movie. The scene in which one character figures out the truth is just great—the perfect way to film that kind of scene. And this review gave me pause about entirely writing off A Perfect Getaway. I was particularly intrigued by this insight: That reviewer’s right: Cliff and Cydney, the Zahn and Jorovich characters, are unlikable, as I wrote above, and the switch to Nick and Gina (Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez) as protagonists is both neatly done and an interesting reworking of the Hitchcockian transfer-of-audience-identification gambit. Unfortunately, the plotting flaws do severe damage to those themes, and ultimately I do find the movie disappointing. If only Twohy, who wrote as well as directed, had given the script a few more drafts. This is was one of those movies where I wonder why it was made at all, since I found the twist so obvious, I can't believe anyone could've been fooled by it. But even if we leave aside the "surprise reveal" , there's just very little of interest here. Zahn and Jovovich were just annoying and the serial killer's m.o. wasn't anything particularly original either.
I'm thinking it was only made, so director and cast could have a nice holiday on Hawaii.
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Post by gspdude on Jul 12, 2022 12:11:21 GMT
I Am Lisa(2020). A Rape-Revenge Werewolf movie, with a good poster to boot, how could I not watch it. Didn't quite live up to expectations though. In an interesting twist, only 1 of the 5 antagonists was male, and he committed the implied rape, off camera. The 4 women just did some beating and a little torturing. There isn't a lot of werewolf action, even in the scene where the protagonist gets bitten. Most of the revenge action takes place in the new werewolf's human form, albeit with extra powers from her new condition. She doesn't go full werewolf til near the end, and then look more vampire than werewolf. Not a bad story, but needed more werewolf. 4.5/10.
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Post by Nalkarj on Jul 12, 2022 18:47:40 GMT
This is was one of those movies where I wonder why it was made at all, since I found the twist so obvious, I can't believe anyone could've been fooled by it. But even if we leave aside the "surprise reveal" , there's just very little of interest here. Zahn and Jovovich were just annoying and the serial killer's m.o. wasn't anything particularly original either. I'm thinking it was only made, so director and cast could have a nice holiday on Hawaii. I mean, it definitely fooled some people; Roger Ebert said, “I didn’t see revelations approaching, because I didn’t expect any.” And I think the twist could be shocking. But, yeah, because of those crippling flaws with the setup the twist becomes more and more obvious as the movie goes on.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Jul 14, 2022 2:10:35 GMT
The Black Phone (2022)
A young boy is kidnapped by The Grabber, a serial child killer. The boy tries to figure out a way to escape from the killer's dungeon with the help of some phone calls...from a disconnected phone. Based on a short story by Joe Hill whose father is none other than Stephen King, and the movie adaptation reportedly follows the story closely. If that's the case then Hill sure followed in daddy's footsteps with some major influences; an abusive alcoholic parent, a gang of bullies, a child with psychic abilitites, and so on. Even so, there is still some originality and the story keeps you constantly guessing as to what happens next. Lots of edge-of-your-seat excitement and extreme intensity. Director and cowriter Scott Derrickson keeps things in total dread, borrowing from the same kind of gritty atmosphere from such classic thrillers as The Silence Of The Lambs and Se7en, although there are a couple of cheap boo scares which I could have done without. Compelling performances all around by the young cast, particularly by Madeleine McGraw as the foul-mouthed sister.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jul 15, 2022 21:24:47 GMT
The Shining (1980).
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