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Post by moviemouth on Oct 28, 2023 3:55:37 GMT
Phobia (1980)
Considered to be John Huston's worst movie, while I like it a bit more than Annie, I understand why Phobia is considered his worst. Phobia is a psychological horror movie about a doctor doing experimental therapy on convicts who have specific phobias in an attempt to get them over their fears. Then they start to begin dying one by one. There is definitely an idea here that could make for a good horror movie, but this movie doesn't come anywhere near it. All the parts are there and it sort of adds up in the end, but it is all strung together very poorly. The directing is surprisingly amateurish too. You would never guess this was directed by one of the great directors in movie history. Yes I agree, it had an interesting idea that didn't go anywhere. A total misfire. I watched Haunt after reading your short review btw. One of the best horror movies I have watched so far this month.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Oct 28, 2023 4:08:57 GMT
Yes I agree, it had an interesting idea that didn't go anywhere. A total misfire. I watched Haunt after reading your short review btw. One of the best horror movies I have watched so far this month. Glad you enjoyed it.
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Post by moviemouth on Oct 28, 2023 5:54:22 GMT
The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
Believe me, I tried. I really did. This movie had my attention for half the movie, but the more it went on the more dramatically inert it became. By the end I was just irritated and the final scene pissed me off for reasons I will not spoil here. It is both the most legit emotional scene of the movie and the most manipulative. This movie wants it's cake and to eat it and it also wants it's ice cream on the side. I hesitate to say I prefer Exorcist II: The Heretic, but that movie at least had visual creativity and had more than a forced extended cameo connection to the original. Yeah, if you expect Ellen Burstyn to have a large supporting role in this movie, she doesn't. She has 5 short scenes that add up to maybe 10 minutes of screentime. Her character is essentially just shoehorned into the movie so it can cash in on being a direct sequel to the 1973 original. A big difference between Halloween (2018) and The Exorcist: Believer is the former isn't taking itself all that seriously and is almost just a fun homage to the franchise. The opening scene of Halloween (2018) is better than the entirety of The Exorcist: Believer.
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Post by moviemouth on Oct 28, 2023 12:11:19 GMT
Swallowed (2022)This might be the strangest love story I have ever seen. It is about 2 male friends who are sent on a drug errand in which everything goes bad and during the most horrific experience the 2 friends share their love. The movie is very intense and graphic, with memorable performances from the 4 main characters. Jena Malone turns in a terrific supporting performance. She commands the screen in every scene she is in.
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Post by moviemouth on Oct 28, 2023 13:22:00 GMT
Consecration (2023)I watched this before watching Swallowed. Jena Malone is again good here, though her accent is questionable. About an atheist woman with a traumatic past who goes to a convent in Scotland where her brother died and ends up on a path of discovery. The movie is interesting and well-made, but disjoined. Very critical of the Catholic Church, but with an ending that will surprise with one of the greatest scenes of 2023 so far. This one sequence is so brilliantly executed I would almost recommend the movie just for this one sequence. The editing, the cinematography, the music, the pain and quiet anger Jena Malone is able to portray without saying a word. Coincidentally watching this movie after watching The Exorcist: Believer, which has the ridiculous line from Ellen Burstyn about why she thinks she wasn't allowed to observe the exorcism in the original - "because of their damn patriarchy."
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Post by masterofallgoons on Oct 28, 2023 13:30:32 GMT
Eden Lake (2008)A young couple's romantic weekend at a remote lake is turned into a nightmare when they are terrorized by teenaged hooligans. It's an all-too-familiar premise that recalls movies like Death Weekend, Last House On The Left, and I Spit On Your Grave. Yet the story went in all sorts of different directions I wasn't expecting at all. It's refreshing when a horror movie like this brings new ideas to the table. Very shocking conclusion, might I add. I guess these type of movies can be best compared to eating spicy hot wings; unpleasant and yet enjoyable at the same time. 7/10 Is this the one with Michael Fassbender? I've gotten this one mixed up in my head with Lake Mungo for years even though I know they're not the same, but since I haven't seen either and they're both supposedly very unsettling movies with 'lake' in the title, I've had a tough time keeping them straight.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Oct 28, 2023 13:35:20 GMT
Eden Lake (2008)A young couple's romantic weekend at a remote lake is turned into a nightmare when they are terrorized by teenaged hooligans. It's an all-too-familiar premise that recalls movies like Death Weekend, Last House On The Left, and I Spit On Your Grave. Yet the story went in all sorts of different directions I wasn't expecting at all. It's refreshing when a horror movie like this brings new ideas to the table. Very shocking conclusion, might I add. I guess these type of movies can be best compared to eating spicy hot wings; unpleasant and yet enjoyable at the same time. 7/10 Is this the one with Michael Fassbender? I've gotten this one mixed up in my head with Lake Mungo for years even though I know they're not the same, but since I haven't seen either and they're both supposedly very unsettling movies with 'lake' in the title, I've had a tough time keeping them straight. Yep Fassbender is in it, as well as Kelly Reilly who plays the ruthless Beth in Yellowstone. And yes, this one is quite unsettling.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 730
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Post by soggy on Oct 28, 2023 13:48:58 GMT
Freaks (Tod Browning, 1932) This was great and truly deserves its status as a classic in my opinion. That said, I’m actually not sure if I consider it a horror film. It’s certainly a drama and a rather thoughtful one at that (it’s notable that we never see the “freaks” perform, but we do see a lot of humanizing scenes with them celebrating the birth of a child, having parties and performing everyday tasks) but in terms of horror there’s really only one scene and if I’m to be completely honest, if it was not sideshow performers, the scene would come off as a typical moment of revenge/justice served without the “scary” factor. While there is an element of exploitation to it, it’s rather a thoughtful look at a group that is so frequently mocked. All in all it’s a very good watch. 8/10
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Post by moviemouth on Oct 28, 2023 14:24:00 GMT
Lady in White (1988; Frank LaLoggia) So, I watched this too, (it was among a number of DVDs I had bought earlier this year), and let's just say I disagree with Variety's review who called it a superb supernatural horror film. Pauline Kael seems to have been charmed by it too. Well, I wasn't. Call me an old curmudgeon, but I found the whole thing rather annoying and lame. Lukas Haas' performance was also a bit one-dimensional. I know, not everybody can be Jean-Pierre Léaud or Christian Bale, but his turn lacked the type of (emotional) intelligence that would characterise a decent young thespian. The director tries to cram so many genres into his film: family drama, ghost story, comedy, sordid abuse tragedy, - even themes like racism and the source of literary inspiration are brought up, - that it ends up being an uneven hodgepodge of disparate parts. The somewhat similar Paper House had at least a more concise plot and better handmade effects, while this one relies too much on dated CGI. A weird curio which did very little for me. 4/10 Paper House I am a fan of, and I did in fact think of Paper House while watching Lady in White. The former is directed by Bernard Rose, who also directs Candyman (1992) and Immortal Beloved (1994) and has a cool adapted score from Hans Zimmer.
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Post by theravenking on Oct 28, 2023 15:53:34 GMT
Lady in White (1988; Frank LaLoggia) So, I watched this too, (it was among a number of DVDs I had bought earlier this year), and let's just say I disagree with Variety's review who called it a superb supernatural horror film. Pauline Kael seems to have been charmed by it too. Well, I wasn't. Call me an old curmudgeon, but I found the whole thing rather annoying and lame. Lukas Haas' performance was also a bit one-dimensional. I know, not everybody can be Jean-Pierre Léaud or Christian Bale, but his turn lacked the type of (emotional) intelligence that would characterise a decent young thespian. The director tries to cram so many genres into his film: family drama, ghost story, comedy, sordid abuse tragedy, - even themes like racism and the source of literary inspiration are brought up, - that it ends up being an uneven hodgepodge of disparate parts. The somewhat similar Paper House had at least a more concise plot and better handmade effects, while this one relies too much on dated CGI. A weird curio which did very little for me. 4/10 Paper House I am a fan of, and I did in fact think of Paper House while watching Lady in White. The former is directed by Bernard Rose, who also directs Candyman (1992) and Immortal Beloved (1994) and has a cool adapted score from Hans Zimmer. I'm a fan of Candyman and remember having high hopes for Paper House, but I ended up being underwhelmed by the film. It is sort of unique with its practical effects and very dark tone, but I just couldn't warm up to any of the characters. In fact I found the young actress playing the protagonist so morose, almost creepy-looking, that I thought she would've been better suited to play a mean bully rather than a heroine we were supposed to root for. I rewatched it last year, thinking it might improve on a second viewing, but unfortunately my feelings about it remain unchanged. I regard the film as a brave experiment that didn't quite work for me.
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Post by theravenking on Oct 28, 2023 16:06:39 GMT
Eden Lake (2008)A young couple's romantic weekend at a remote lake is turned into a nightmare when they are terrorized by teenaged hooligans. It's an all-too-familiar premise that recalls movies like Death Weekend, Last House On The Left, and I Spit On Your Grave. Yet the story went in all sorts of different directions I wasn't expecting at all. It's refreshing when a horror movie like this brings new ideas to the table. Very shocking conclusion, might I add. I guess these type of movies can be best compared to eating spicy hot wings; unpleasant and yet enjoyable at the same time. 7/10 Is this the one with Michael Fassbender? I've gotten this one mixed up in my head with Lake Mungo for years even though I know they're not the same, but since I haven't seen either and they're both supposedly very unsettling movies with 'lake' in the title, I've had a tough time keeping them straight. Lake Mungo is an Australian found footage movie, and if you haven't seen it yet, I would highly recommend it.
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Post by theravenking on Oct 28, 2023 16:30:37 GMT
The Lodgers (2017; Brian O'Malley) I'm not sure what it is with Irish horror movies, but more often than not they just tend to leave me cold. Shrooms, In Fear, The Hole in the Ground or The Canal are just a few I found mediocre at best. Sadly The Lodgers turned out to be another anemic and lifeless affair. The concept of children living alone in an old manor recalls Marrowbone, a film I didn't like much either, but found at least a bit more engaging. The Others might've been another obvious influence, but it's lightyears removed from the class of that film. With its dreary colour scheme and funeral pacing this would've been better suited as a sleeping pill than a terror flick. Using the country's most haunted house as location didn't pay out either. The producers would've been better off shooting a documentary feature at the same venue instead. 3.5/10
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forca85
Sophomore
@forca85
Posts: 354
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Post by forca85 on Oct 28, 2023 22:54:00 GMT
RV: Sugar Hill RV: The Bat (1959)
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Post by Captain Spencer on Oct 29, 2023 4:57:08 GMT
The Jester (2023) After the suicide of their father, two half-sisters are stalked by an entity dressed as a clown.
Move over, Art, there's a new evil clown in town! Granted, the jester doesn't wear makeup; he wears this creepy clown mask. He commits his killings with magic tricks, not with weapons. No background is given, but I suppose he can interpreted as a sort of grim reaper.
Newcomer writer/director Colin Krawchuk really gives the main characters much depth and humanization. They definitely aren't the usual horror movie caricatures. Themes that are explored here are the importance of family, making amends with the past, and self discovery. The horror aspect just seems to be merely a backdrop for the characters' drama and coming to terms with their feelings.
Have to be honest, I wasn't all that fond of the ambiguity with the jester; I wanted this evil character explained, but there wasn't even so much as a hint. Even so, I did enjoy this brand spanking new horror movie. It's engrossing, atmospheric, creepy, and thought-provoking.
I seem to be on a roll lately with first-time viewings.
7/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Oct 29, 2023 12:41:13 GMT
Had a Hark Tsui double, and both were very different types of films. Ended it with a Korean adaptation of a classic Brothers Grimm tale. ‘The Butterfly Murders 1979’ is an interesting hybrid. A wuxia murder mystery set in a mysterious castle which is occupied by poisonous butterflies and a black-leather-clad killer. Plays out like a giallo broken up by martial arts and a body count with gothic atmospherics due to its location. Doesn’t really come alive until the killer shows up, and that’s not until an hour in. Though the story is a confusing muddle. While ‘We’re Going to Eat You 1980’ is a non-stop action packed horror comedy, heavy on the slapstick and frenetic martial arts. And plenty of blood and guts. Since it involves an agent going after a thief, which leads him to a loony village full of crazy, inbred cannibals. Fun, though by the end it can become repetitive. The first hour of ‘The Piper 2015’ starts light-hearted, relying on the drama, and character interactions. But once it becomes noticeably macabre underneath and characters start showing their true colours. It doesn’t hold back. It becomes emotionally potent, when things take a turn for the worse. It’s not until the 75min mark, is when the real horror kicks in and the dark, fantastical edge takes shape. Actions become nasty, and scores go on to be settled… in bleak fashion. If you ever thought, The Pied Piper story, needed flesh eating cgi rats… look no further.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 730
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Post by soggy on Oct 29, 2023 14:51:48 GMT
The Addiction (Abel Ferrara, 1995) Credit where credit is due, this is a smart film. It is also unfortunately a film so full of itself that it comes off as a philosophy essay put to film, spouting off so many names and sources that you begin to question if you’ve lost track of what its saying or is it just saying more words to hear itself talk and pad the essay a bit. Despite that, or hell, maybe because of it, I found it a weirdly enjoyable watch. Using vampires as an analogy for addiction is kind of brilliant and the actual feeding scenes have an extra level of grotesqueness to them for it. Also, Christopher Walken shows up briefly and is great. 7/10
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TheSowIsMine
Junior Member
@thesowismine
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Post by TheSowIsMine on Oct 29, 2023 15:38:03 GMT
Skinamarink (2022) If you like your film consisting of shots of lego, furniture, ceilings and so much grain you cant see half of the film, than this is for you.
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forca85
Sophomore
@forca85
Posts: 354
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Post by forca85 on Oct 30, 2023 0:34:03 GMT
RV: Clown (2019) FV: Primal Rage (2018)
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Post by Marv on Oct 30, 2023 13:21:33 GMT
The Nun II....twas fine...but imo it suffers from the same problem the first Nun movie had which is that its really creepy at first when most of the frights are utilizing smoke and mirrors and shadows and more or less subtle but it becomes far less frightening with doglike demons running around and possessed gardners lumbering after schoolchildren with black goo bleeding from their eyes. Theres a fine line between showing too much and not enough and by the 3rd act this movie showed me too much to continue to be spooky. It is still entertaining though. Taissa Farmiga is solid and really has become Valaks nemesis in these two films. They do a real good job of showing how much that demon hates her here.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 730
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Post by soggy on Oct 30, 2023 19:21:12 GMT
Arnold (Georg Fenady, 1973) Pretty amusing little horror comedy about a man who dies and sets up a wedding for his funeral to marry a new woman. Yeah, you read that right. So, his will now states that his new wife will keep his fortune if she keeps him with her even as a corpse. He also devised a plan to kill all of his relatives who are after his fortune. It’s a silly little film, but worth a watch. 6/10
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