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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 20, 2018 11:55:56 GMT
I’m planning on seeing the Black Xmas remake. Though it’s destined to suck, I still wanna see how it goes being a far-and-away different film than the original. It certainly is different, and it certainly does suck.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Dec 20, 2018 15:35:11 GMT
Santa Jaws (2018) is dumb, but not in the sense that it insults your intelligence, well, too much.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 14, 2023 12:48:43 GMT
Bumping this threat to bookmark and add.
Recently saw It's a Wonderful Knife which was barely ok, The Mean One which was kinda weak, There's Something in the Barn which was kinda fun, and Hannukah which was fucking terrible.
Obviously there are more that haven't been mentioned, but I intend on seeing Inside which people sat is actually good, Apology which I've never hears anyone discuss, and Sacrifice Game which is new this year.
One that I don't think was mentioned was Dial Code Santa Claus or Deadly Games, which is a French film from 1989 and feels like a the more intense prototype of Home Alone a year before that movie came out.
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Post by theravenking on Dec 14, 2023 14:54:25 GMT
One that I don't think was mentioned was Dial Code Santa Claus or Deadly Games, which is a French film from 1989 and feels like a the more intense prototype of Home Alone a year before that movie came out. I thought this was rather lame. It's surprisingly nasty
the cute family dog gets killed
but I found the kid protagonist really annoying and overall the movie is more grotesque than scary. It's like a weird Rambo / Home Alone hybrid and it didn't work for me.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 14, 2023 15:30:03 GMT
One that I don't think was mentioned was Dial Code Santa Claus or Deadly Games, which is a French film from 1989 and feels like a the more intense prototype of Home Alone a year before that movie came out. I thought this was rather lame. It's surprisingly nasty
the cute family dog gets killed
but I found the kid protagonist really annoying and overall the movie is more grotesque than scary. It's like a weird Rambo / Home Alone hybrid and it didn't work for me.
I don't particularly care for the detail in your spoiler either, but the nastiness was kind of refreshing to me. I don't think it's some amazing brilliant classic or anything, but it was a nice find. I'd never heard of it, and I found it to be a pretty well made and intense film when I sort of expected a cheap and amateurish production. It's also worth noting that it pre-dates Home Alone, so if anything it's quite possible that Home Alone was directly inspired by (or ripped off) this movie. It's weird for sure, but I thought the main kid was a believable spoiled jerk who turns out to be a little smarter, a little more resourceful, and a little more caring and considerate than we think he would be in the beginning. I also thought the house a terrific setting, and that the use of an actual house, sets, and models really sold this place is the big imposing labyrinth that it feels like. And the antagonist was interesting and fittingly imposing. I don't think it's really grotesque or scary. I imagine most would consider it a 'thriller' rather than a horror movie, but it worked as for me in that sense.
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Post by theravenking on Dec 15, 2023 12:03:06 GMT
I thought this was rather lame. It's surprisingly nasty
the cute family dog gets killed
but I found the kid protagonist really annoying and overall the movie is more grotesque than scary. It's like a weird Rambo / Home Alone hybrid and it didn't work for me.
I don't particularly care for the detail in your spoiler either, but the nastiness was kind of refreshing to me. I don't think it's some amazing brilliant classic or anything, but it was a nice find. I'd never heard of it, and I found it to be a pretty well made and intense film when I sort of expected a cheap and amateurish production. It's also worth noting that it pre-dates Home Alone, so if anything it's quite possible that Home Alone was directly inspired by (or ripped off) this movie. It's weird for sure, but I thought the main kid was a believable spoiled jerk who turns out to be a little smarter, a little more resourceful, and a little more caring and considerate than we think he would be in the beginning. I also thought the house a terrific setting, and that the use of an actual house, sets, and models really sold this place is the big imposing labyrinth that it feels like. And the antagonist was interesting and fittingly imposing. I don't think it's really grotesque or scary. I imagine most would consider it a 'thriller' rather than a horror movie, but it worked as for me in that sense. You actually managed to convince me to give this a second try. Now I just have to find my DVD which I blind-bought a few years ago.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Dec 15, 2023 12:22:25 GMT
The Sacrifice Game (2023) is another new Christmas horror I'd recommend. Available on AMC + in Canada and the US.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 15, 2023 14:17:56 GMT
I don't particularly care for the detail in your spoiler either, but the nastiness was kind of refreshing to me. I don't think it's some amazing brilliant classic or anything, but it was a nice find. I'd never heard of it, and I found it to be a pretty well made and intense film when I sort of expected a cheap and amateurish production. It's also worth noting that it pre-dates Home Alone, so if anything it's quite possible that Home Alone was directly inspired by (or ripped off) this movie. It's weird for sure, but I thought the main kid was a believable spoiled jerk who turns out to be a little smarter, a little more resourceful, and a little more caring and considerate than we think he would be in the beginning. I also thought the house a terrific setting, and that the use of an actual house, sets, and models really sold this place is the big imposing labyrinth that it feels like. And the antagonist was interesting and fittingly imposing. I don't think it's really grotesque or scary. I imagine most would consider it a 'thriller' rather than a horror movie, but it worked as for me in that sense. You actually managed to convince me to give this a second try. Now I just have to find my DVD which I blind-bought a few years ago. Cool. I'll look forward to your updated thoughts. I just might like it less if/when I see it again. Who knows? I saw it on Shudder last year. I think it's still available there.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 15, 2023 14:20:04 GMT
The Sacrifice Game (2023) is another new Christmas horror I'd recommend. Available on AMC + in Canada and the US. Yeah, I mentioned this earlier, but I don't really know anything about it. I just saw that it's in the 'Unhappy Holidays' section on Shudder.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Dec 15, 2023 21:53:56 GMT
I just got Die Hard 1/2 on bly ray and A Christmas Story in 4K and they're my usual roster. But speaking of horror, I suppose I've been waiting for the right time to watch Violent Night.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 15, 2023 22:26:15 GMT
I just got Die Hard 1/2 on bly ray and A Christmas Story in 4K and they're my usual roster. But speaking of horror, I suppose I've been waiting for the right time to watch Violent Night. Violent Night is a pretty good bit of fun, but it's an action comedy rather than horror.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Dec 15, 2023 22:31:44 GMT
I just got Die Hard 1/2 on bly ray and A Christmas Story in 4K and they're my usual roster. But speaking of horror, I suppose I've been waiting for the right time to watch Violent Night. Violent Night is a pretty good bit of fun, but it's an action comedy rather than horror. Damn marketing department.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 15, 2023 23:06:32 GMT
Violent Night is a pretty good bit of fun, but it's an action comedy rather than horror. Damn marketing department. I thought the trailer was pretty clear about that, but I was shocked that this title had never been used for a Santa slasher before. It seemed too obvious.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Dec 16, 2023 12:40:31 GMT
Damn marketing department. I thought the trailer was pretty clear about that, but I was shocked that this title had never been used for a Santa slasher before. It seemed too obvious. Damn me not paying attention then.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 16, 2023 20:08:25 GMT
A couple of other entries here, two that I watched last year and one I just recently watched;
Deatchcember, from 2019, is an anthology like ABCs of Death in that most of the shorts are very brief from different, otherwise unrelated, international filmmakers. It's meant to be like an Advent Calander with cheesy animation making that clear in between shorts, so there are 24 short films in total. I don't remember a whole lot about this, but much like all of those ABCs of Death movies I think it basically sucks. I enjoy anthologies and seasonal themes so I'd still recommend it if you're looking for this kinda thing.
Unlike that movie The Advent Calendar (2021) is a feature film that centers around an Advent Calender. It comes from France and it's about an ex-dancer now living as a paraplegic. A friend gifts her an old antique advent calendar, and each day's candy comes with a sort of warning, and a real life effect. You've seen this sort of thing before, it's basically a Monkey's Paw kind of story, but it's a fairly well done one, from what I remember.
The one I most recently watched is also a French movie, this one from the so called New French Extremity movement, in the early to mid 2000s. I know it's one that a lot of horror fans have seen but Inside from 2007 was new to me. It supposedly takes place at Christmas, but that's more or less inconsequential to the plot, and save for some scarves and hats in the wardrobe it doesn't really make an effort to evoke any kind of seasonal imagery. In fact, I'd say it looks like it was shot in the spring or summer. Anyway, the story concerns a woman, Sarah, on the verge of giving birth months after a car accident that killed her husband. Naturally, she's in a rather somber un-christmassy mood on the holiday when a strange woman comes to the house asking to come in and use the phone amidst riots and vandalism in her city. She's afraid at first for different reasons, but it becomes clear that this woman is not just any old threat, but that she's after Sarah's baby. There's A LOT of bloody attacking that ensues after that. Including a whole bunch of scissors and knitting needles causing quite a bit of bloodletting. In general, it's quite good well made, other than some unfortunate CGI, both of some mundane things, and of the fetus in-utero, which is used much to often. The effects are largely very good, the actors do a good job all around, it's fairly well directed for the most part, and the spare and simple script does not skimp on allowing the situation and the characters to feel natural and have personality. But it's VERY gruesome. And in the end when the final horrific images are shown and it ends in such a ghastly way, you're kind of left wondering what this was all it's service of in the first place.
I'd say you definitely know whether or not this is for you. I don't have any problem with the extreme, but I'm not sure if this story gains anything from being so vile. Having said that, I see that there is an American remake and the first review I saw questioned why you'd make a less extreme version of a movie whose whole reason for being is to be extreme in the first place.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 18, 2023 2:31:41 GMT
The Apology on Shudder is a pretty tense drama with some very dark and intense subject matter that takes place during an intense snow storm a few days before Christmas. Anna Gunn plays a character who is dealing with the 20th anniversary of her daughter's disappearance, 9 years of sobriety, and trying to prepare to host her family for Christmas. Then her ex-brother-in-law shows up and things get intense.
It's a single location, mostly 2 hander drama, and its mostly fairly well acted and written. I love a snowed-in or otherwise stormed-in drama with mounting dread and intensity, so even a lesser one like this works for me. It's no classic, but it's worth a watch. But it's one of those movies movies that most fans would say 'isn't really a horror movie.'
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 19, 2023 17:45:00 GMT
Just wrote about A Creature Was Stirring in its own thread.
There's an Anthology from a few years ago called All the Creatures were Stirring, which pretty much sucked.
I also don't think it was mentioned in this thread yet, but there's an episode of the Netflix animation anthology series Love, Death & Robots called All Through the House that's a brief 5 mins about a brother and sister staying up to see Santa.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 28, 2023 18:06:54 GMT
The Sacrifice Game (2023) is another new Christmas horror I'd recommend. Available on AMC + in Canada and the US. I thought this was ok, but nothing special. I don't know if I think Aladdin is a very good actor, and his 2023 haircut didn't make sense in this period aesthetic. The girls are good and the narrative did take a turn that I didn't really expect, but it also wasn't all that interesting once it got there, and there was one special effect that I found dumb and off putting. The writing is mediocre, if not bad, but it's mostly pretty well made and the atmosphere and location is pretty good. They can never really get snow right in these movies, much less an intense blizzard, but the feeling of being snowed in at this boarding school over Christmas is palpable (oddly this movie had a similar setup to this year's The Holdovers... minus the killer cult). There was one moment that made me laugh; one of the cult members is trying to find the basement and he's walking through the halls and looking in doorways and says something like 'hello, basement where are you.. oh look, great, more hallway' right as he clearly walks the door to the stairwell. My guess is the director didn't think we could see through that window in the door when it was on a long shot ... so yeah, not particularly well directed either. Still. Not bad.
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forca85
Sophomore
@forca85
Posts: 351
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Post by forca85 on Dec 28, 2023 19:05:08 GMT
A couple of other entries here, two that I watched last year and one I just recently watched; Deatchcember, from 2019, is an anthology like ABCs of Death in that most of the shorts are very brief from different, otherwise unrelated, international filmmakers. It's meant to be like an Advent Calander with cheesy animation making that clear in between shorts, so there are 24 short films in total. I don't remember a whole lot about this, but much like all of those ABCs of Death movies I think it basically sucks. I enjoy anthologies and seasonal themes so I'd still recommend it if you're looking for this kinda thing. Unlike that movie The Advent Calendar (2021) is a feature film that centers around an Advent Calender. It comes from France and it's about an ex-dancer now living as a paraplegic. A friend gifts her an old antique advent calendar, and each day's candy comes with a sort of warning, and a real life effect. You've seen this sort of thing before, it's basically a Monkey's Paw kind of story, but it's a fairly well done one, from what I remember. The one I most recently watched is also a French movie, this one from the so called New French Extremity movement, in the early to mid 2000s. I know it's one that a lot of horror fans have seen but Inside from 2007 was new to me. It supposedly takes place at Christmas, but that's more or less inconsequential to the plot, and save for some scarves and hats in the wardrobe it doesn't really make an effort to evoke any kind of seasonal imagery. In fact, I'd say it looks like it was shot in the spring or summer. Anyway, the story concerns a woman, Sarah, on the verge of giving birth months after a car accident that killed her husband. Naturally, she's in a rather somber un-christmassy mood on the holiday when a strange woman comes to the house asking to come in and use the phone amidst riots and vandalism in her city. She's afraid at first for different reasons, but it becomes clear that this woman is not just any old threat, but that she's after Sarah's baby. There's A LOT of bloody attacking that ensues after that. Including a whole bunch of scissors and knitting needles causing quite a bit of bloodletting. In general, it's quite good well made, other than some unfortunate CGI, both of some mundane things, and of the fetus in-utero, which is used much to often. The effects are largely very good, the actors do a good job all around, it's fairly well directed for the most part, and the spare and simple script does not skimp on allowing the situation and the characters to feel natural and have personality. But it's VERY gruesome. And in the end when the final horrific images are shown and it ends in such a ghastly way, you're kind of left wondering what this was all it's service of in the first place. I'd say you definitely know whether or not this is for you. I don't have any problem with the extreme, but I'm not sure if this story gains anything from being so vile. Having said that, I see that there is an American remake and the first review I saw questioned why you'd make a less extreme version of a movie whose whole reason for being is to be extreme in the first place. I've seen the original version and the American one. I've had no desire to watch the original again. It's so brutal. But it's interesting the American version the Pregnant woman is deaf from the Car accident that killed her boyfriend. One major change is the Ending. Which I won't spoil here. But I'm curious what others thought of the American version compared to the original.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 28, 2023 20:34:32 GMT
A couple of other entries here, two that I watched last year and one I just recently watched; Deatchcember, from 2019, is an anthology like ABCs of Death in that most of the shorts are very brief from different, otherwise unrelated, international filmmakers. It's meant to be like an Advent Calander with cheesy animation making that clear in between shorts, so there are 24 short films in total. I don't remember a whole lot about this, but much like all of those ABCs of Death movies I think it basically sucks. I enjoy anthologies and seasonal themes so I'd still recommend it if you're looking for this kinda thing. Unlike that movie The Advent Calendar (2021) is a feature film that centers around an Advent Calender. It comes from France and it's about an ex-dancer now living as a paraplegic. A friend gifts her an old antique advent calendar, and each day's candy comes with a sort of warning, and a real life effect. You've seen this sort of thing before, it's basically a Monkey's Paw kind of story, but it's a fairly well done one, from what I remember. The one I most recently watched is also a French movie, this one from the so called New French Extremity movement, in the early to mid 2000s. I know it's one that a lot of horror fans have seen but Inside from 2007 was new to me. It supposedly takes place at Christmas, but that's more or less inconsequential to the plot, and save for some scarves and hats in the wardrobe it doesn't really make an effort to evoke any kind of seasonal imagery. In fact, I'd say it looks like it was shot in the spring or summer. Anyway, the story concerns a woman, Sarah, on the verge of giving birth months after a car accident that killed her husband. Naturally, she's in a rather somber un-christmassy mood on the holiday when a strange woman comes to the house asking to come in and use the phone amidst riots and vandalism in her city. She's afraid at first for different reasons, but it becomes clear that this woman is not just any old threat, but that she's after Sarah's baby. There's A LOT of bloody attacking that ensues after that. Including a whole bunch of scissors and knitting needles causing quite a bit of bloodletting. In general, it's quite good well made, other than some unfortunate CGI, both of some mundane things, and of the fetus in-utero, which is used much to often. The effects are largely very good, the actors do a good job all around, it's fairly well directed for the most part, and the spare and simple script does not skimp on allowing the situation and the characters to feel natural and have personality. But it's VERY gruesome. And in the end when the final horrific images are shown and it ends in such a ghastly way, you're kind of left wondering what this was all it's service of in the first place. I'd say you definitely know whether or not this is for you. I don't have any problem with the extreme, but I'm not sure if this story gains anything from being so vile. Having said that, I see that there is an American remake and the first review I saw questioned why you'd make a less extreme version of a movie whose whole reason for being is to be extreme in the first place. I've seen the original version and the American one. I've had no desire to watch the original again. It's so brutal. But it's interesting the American version the Pregnant woman is deaf from the Car accident that killed her boyfriend. One major change is the Ending. Which I won't spoil here. But I'm curious what others thought of the American version compared to the original. The American remake seemed to have a troubled history, and very little love from viewers, but I'm curious to see it. The differences that I've heard before, and now from you, do intrigue me even if my expectations aren't high. Without spoiling it, is the difference in the ending a change in the pseudo 'twist?' Does the motivation of the antagonist change?
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