The Horror Thread [ARCHIVED] Movie • Page 124

Also I was going to watch Creepshow last night but then oops Scream 1& 2 and now this afternoon 3.

 

So my roommates and I (way too many of my posts start this way) have been watching horror/Halloweeny stuff all month, but we're on fall break now and not all in the house. So all that's left to watch when we get back on the 30 is the Charlie Brown special, and then on the 31, we're baking those Pillsbury ghost cookies (I had to get them mailed to me) and I'm showing them Trick r Treat. I have no idea how I'm going to manage in November without a holiday to give me guidance

 

I actually just picked that up on Blu Ray today with The Lost Boys and Green Room

 

yeah we usually play it safe with spoilers. but, coming up on fifteen years means i gotta be among the last to just now have watched it. still:

she is, especially at the start. I'm mostly frustrated that the third act conflict is basically "soldiers want to rape the women, who are (understandably given all the guns) helpless until cillian murphy inexplicably can become full rambo and save them. the closest we get to them even acting autonomously is taking drugs to prepare for the sexual assault that will follow. it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth; the sexual assault conflict makes sense thematically, but i would have liked something more to how the women responded to that conflict rather than just making them the object for cillian murphy to save. this is especially the case because the film had been condemning - or at least lamenting - human rage in violence, but doesn't say anything too interesting about how masculinity might interface with that (a la Straw Dogs) despite the fact that nearly all violence in that sequence committed is by men if my memory serves (excluding the girl herbie fully loaded-ing christopher eccleston into the imprisoned zombie while high on valium.

 

Oh that makes a ton of sense. God, it's stuff like that that I don't think about nearly enough.

I shouldn't laugh at your last sentence but I did.

 

haha, applying feminist theory to media is one of my favorite things. you start seeing similar issues everywhere, but sometimes it can really lead to some interesting conclusions and a broader appreciation of thoughtful writing.

yeah, i had fun stringing it together.

 

Ghoulies 2 >

 

Apparently Vudu had a new ad-supported free viewing selection. I looked through it and saw a bunch of older stuff I've been wanting to see (Poltergeist 2 & 3, Sleepaway Camp, the Ghoulies series, Nosfreatu the Vampyre)

They also have a pretty big horror sale going on

 

Just watched Hush. Haven't felt that tense or uncomfortable in a movie in a while. Would recommend.

 

Ouija was pretty good! Didn't blow me away but was very enjoyable.

Don't think he will ever top Oculus/Hush though

 

I just turned on Phantom of the Paradise. Think I'm gonna love this one.

 

Not sure why so many people are surprised that Ouija 2 isn't awful. I thought it was pretty obvious from the trailer that the movie would be nothing like the first one

 

Wasn't surprised, trailer and Flanagan score votes of confidence but he also just came off of Before I Wake which is godawful

This was much better but far from the highs of his prior films

 

rec me some good horror movies from the past two years

 

obscure or have you not watched the heavy hitters (babadook, it follows, etc)

 

Gerald's Game might. I think he's got a great career ahead of him

 

Drats, I was really in the mood to watch Banshee Chapter and it's not on netflix anymore

 

Lots of buzz on this one

IFC's been taking a realistic cadaver to horror fests and letting people reach in, etc, it's crazy haha

 

obscure, please.

 

Watched the first Saw movie for the first time last night. Sad I waited until now to watch them, good thing I bought the whole collection to watch.

My friend picked up It Follows and Clown last night and is gonna let me borrow them at some point. I've heard nothing but good things about It Follows, but has anyone seen Clown and that can vouch for it? From the trailer it looks cheesy but interesting no less.

 

Watched a bunch of stuff this weekend. Trying to really get as many in as possible before Halloween, but I'm happy to watch horror all year round when it really comes down to it.

For quick blurbs on what I watched...

V/H/S - People always recommend this one to me and while it had its moments and I thought there were some cool twists in certain segments, it fell victim to the modern horror trope of selling movies by putting more random boobs in. I'm not easily offended or anything, it just felt kinda gratuitous and a lot of the oversexualization did nothing for the plots.

The Exorcist (Director's Cut blu-ray) - Still holds up. Found myself reluctantly chuckling at some of the earlier possession scenes, but what a fantastic film (and it looks great on blu-ray!)

Hellraiser - A fun, kinda ridiculous watch. The Cenobites have cool designs, would have liked to see more of them.

The Taking of Deborah Logan - I actually really loved this. One of the best found footage horror movies I've seen in awhile. Really tense and terrifying.

You're Next - This lived up to expectations and recommendations - one of the best slasher/home invasion movies I've seen in some time and the main character made it more enjoyable.

Evil Dead / 2 / Army of Darkness - I guess I don't have to say much about these, but I really loved watching them back to back. It's funny to see Ash pogress as a character simply because it really feels like Sam Raimi was like "well, we're making sequels, I guess he's a badass now." All so completely over-the-top and hysterical. Gotta love all the cooky skeletons in Army of Darkness.

Plenty more on the list, trying to balance modern/older stuff and saving some of the ones I'm really excited for (Suspiria, Possession, The Thing) for nighttime watching.

 

Clown was a ton of fun.

 

i haven't been keeping up on new horror as much as catching up on old horror, but some that i've liked or heard are good:

a girl walks home alone at night
the girl with all the gifts
the eyes of my mother
antibirth
the autopsy of jane doe
we are still here
green room (not too obscure but i have to mention it)
the invitation (ditto)
baskin
the devil's candy
starry eyes
housebound
honeymoon
hellions

hopefully those count as obscure, obscure horror just ain't what it used to be. those are some of the ones i've heard are quality here and elsewhere, hope you find something you like!

 

I have seen the invitation and a girl walks home alone at night, the former was pretty good and the latter is a favorite of mine. I'll check these out too. haven't heard of a lot of them. thank you

 

what's the take on goodnight mommy?

i felt the twist was real predictable - maybe i'm just too deep into horror but i don't know if the "x character is actually just a figment of imagination" can be done anymore, it's just one of the first things i think of in a thriller/horror film these days. that said, i liked how it inverted the initial conflict of the film (there is a double of the mother).

that said, the first and second half of the film felt like two different movies altogether. each was fairly terrifying in their own right, but i much preferred the dread and "realistic fear" of the first half. i feel like the second half lost a good amount of tension and the interesting themes - the threat of abuse and the sense of helplessness in the first half were way more appealing and scarier to watch over the relatively typical second half (the second half is really actually the same sort of themes but it felt much less tangible and real). i would have preferred a harsh, pessimistic look at the hopelessness of kids in that situation.

cinematically, it was very pretty and fairly unique. kind of arthouse light. reminded me a lot of dogtooth and funny games with its imagery and setting.