Chorus.fm's Horror Flick of the Week • Page 6

Okay, sharing my LB review now lol:

It's no secret this is Cronenberg's divorce movie, and that bit of behind-the-scenes knowledge paints this masterpiece with a slightly problematic stroke, not entirely unlike the way it feels to watch Kubrick tamper with an actual married couple in Eyes Wide Shut. I'm the first person to understand that giving some folks pause, but boy does it make for a personal and engrossing piece of work. In anyone else's hands, animalistic childlike clones with an elderly appearance would absolutely be a cause for laughs, but it is uniquely terrifying here - especially during one iconic moment where one of them leaves behind bloody handprints on the bars of a white stairwell. If you can take a step back and observe the film's themes more broadly, it does manage to approach parenting, mental illness, and marriage in a way that gives the film more grounding in relaiity and warmth than the bulk of Cronenberg's catalog; this, paired with the Canadian Winter and lots of 70s wood paneling also make it one of his coziest films, a descriptor the director is definitely not synonymous with. The Brood delivers the fantastical, near-futuristic body horror you've come to expect in a package that makes it an unforgettable outlier in the Cronenberg's filmography.

 

I do love that stairwell moment and the body horror!

 

Trying to catch up and like halfway through Extra Ordinary and really enjoying it!

 

Oh shoot it's back to me right?!

 

Indeed

 

Alright folks, I'm dialing it back to the late 70's for a haunted house flick. Burnt Offerings is my choice. I watched it last year and really enjoyed it (still plan on finding a copy of the book and reading it). Karen Black is the lead - you may recognize her from playing Mother Firefly in Zombie's stuff. It's a well crafted haunted house movie with a truly bonkers finale. Enjoy!

Burnt Offerings is a 1976 American supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, and Lee H. Montgomery, with Eileen Heckart, Burgess Meredith and Anthony James in supporting roles. It is based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Robert Marasco.[4] The plot follows a family who begins to interpersonally dissolve under supernatural forces in a large estate they have rented for the summer.

Looks like it's free on Tubi!

 

Sounds good! Haven't seen a haunted house film in a while

 

It also serves as a great summer horror watch!

 

Finally went back and finished Extra Ordinary (Tubi was killing me cause I hadn’t logged in and couldn’t pick up where I initially left off) and it was a lot of fun. Great rec!

 

Just realized we have 2 movies in a row with Oliver Reed in it

 

That was pure coincidence on my part haha

 

Rewatching The Brood now (it’s been a few years) and wow yeah it’s Oliver Reed right from the jump haha.

 

70s horror king

 

Burnt Offerings was cool. A great cozy Sunday morning watch. Like a summer The Shining meets The Changeling. Definitely a slowly paced film, but I didn't mind that. The guy driving the hearst was creepy and the ending was pretty shocking considering how tame the rest of it was.

 

Just finished. It's a pretty great film. I jokingly thought to myself that it's the original Night Swim. Agree with Daniel about the comparisons and that the ending was surprising.

 

Very curious to see if the novel is as good as this

 

Also thought of this while watching Night Swim

 

Finally all caught up!! Watched Bad Ronald earlier today and I love that it was an ABC movie of the week haha. A really effectively creepy premise and RIP Dabney Coleman.

 

Alright, if we're still doing this I have a pick.



Poltergeist III (1988) directed by Gary Sherman who also did Dead & Buried which rules as well. This is a movie I saw a bunch of times on USA as kid and it always stuck with me. It holds up pretty well. I think it's legit scary and has amazing effects. Like in Gremlins 2, the '80s modern high rise is a perfect setting. Buildings like this still creep me out, especially with long hallways and tons of mirrors. I always avoid puddles in parking garages. Tom Skerritt is a good replacement for Craig T Nelson and it's always great to see Lara Flynn Boyle. The first is an all-time classic, the second is boring, and I think this one is super underrated and I always try to get people to watch it.

 

Hell yeah, i’m in on that pick

 

Do I need to watch the second one before going into III?

 

No, not really, it's pretty much a rehash of the first one. All you need to know is that they introduce Reverend Kane as the main baddie. He's an insane preacher ghost that's after Carol Anne and that follows through to III. But he's hardly even a character and just there to be scary.

 

I'm just gonna do the sequel first because I'll feel weird if I go out of order lol

 

Man, I really gotta catch up on this thread. May was pretty much a wash for me due to personal stressors

 

The purist in me is leaning the same way. Honestly, I should probably rewatch the first one too