Horror Movies

[jakedog56]

Watched Basket Case 2 and 3 as follow ups to Basket Case.

In Basket Case 2, the boys are rescued and brought to a home of freaks. They then go about offing reporters who are trying to find them. Slightly better budget but not as good of a film. Decent gore, poor acting as the original. Still has some decent horror parts. I would give it a 5 with a bonus point awarded if you were a fan of the original. Contains the sickest mutant sex scene in film history.

Basket Case 3 however is a bit of an abortion. The whole group of freaks pack up on a bus to go south so a doctor can help Belila's freak hook up can give birth to a litter of mutant monsters. Suffers from the same as the rest of the series with poor dialog, low budget, etc. but the issues are componded here as this is almost a full on comedy with limited horror scences. They even turn Belila into a robocop style freak for some stupid reason. I wouldn't go higher than a 2.5 on this one and that might be generous.

The worst aspect of both of these movies are the other freaks. They have shitty over the top costumes and act retarded all of the time. The director really missed the boat on this one by telling them all to run around like idiots. They could have made it truely terrifying by making them more realistic (like the legendary Todd Browning's freaks) and shown a reasonable intellect but instead we get ridiculous costumes and performances that would suck in a local haunted house show.

 

[jakedog56]

Watched Silent Retreat. Another case of 2 movies with same name and I thought I was getting a slasher about a group of corporate yuppies at a mountain lodge but instead I got a fairly low budget Canadian flick about a small female rehabilitation facility ran by an asshole where you are not allowed to speak. On top of that some creature is stalking the woods around the area.

Not a horrible movie but not a great one either. The concept of a freaky dude running an all female rehab facility with his two sons is unrealistic, especially when so many apparently go missing, but I digress. The whole thing is a bit creepy, and the creature is pretty cool when it finally appears but the movie misses it's mark overall with not building suspense well or setting up the storylines like they could have.

Couldn't find a trailer, but there is a youtube channel called "Death Scene" that had this:


I'll go 5.5 out of 10 on this one.

 

[jakedog56]

Also watched a British knock-off of The Crazies called Don't Grow Up about a group of annoying teens in an orphanage type facility on an island are left alone over a holiday weekend when their supervisor takes off on what they assume is a drunken bender. The teens go into town to rip off stuff only to find that all of the adults are turning into crazed killers and that the island is under lock down.
Some decent highlights with the violence and interactions but it ends up not really following through on it's promising premise. I think a bigger budget might have allowed them to amp up the action and make a real good film but instead we are left to explore the coming of age relationships a bit too much.


The good scenes are offset but generally dislikable teenagers whining a lot. Pretty good effects. Ending is pretty lame considering the possibilities.I would go in the 6 out of 10 range.

 

[jakedog56]

Fear, Inc. (2016)


I didn't have high expectations going into the movie, as I mostly don't with horror comedies. But to my surprise I have to admit it was actually really good and refreshing. Very different from most modern Horror movies. This film was The Game ('97 with Michael Douglas, remember that thriller?) meets Houses October Built (probably a bad reference since I didn't like that movie at all, so maybe April Fool's Day). You have a thrill seeker looking for scares, and a crazy scare company willing to provide the horror experience. What surprised me the most was how this movie creates a real horror film out of a horror comedy. Confusing, I know. But its hard to explain. Basically you have what appears to be a plain horror film, but with great comedy relief injected, and still ends up being a horror film. Too difficult to explain so you'll just have to experience it yourself! If you are a horror fan and watch a lot of movies, then you'll definitely get a kick out of all of the movie references. Good acting, cinematography, gore, progression, score, etc. The plot is full of twists which adds to the entertainment. However I think it would have been better with one less twist. Got a little fatigued with it and felt like a cop-out ending. Still an enjoyable film! Definitely recommend it.

You get what you pay for... 8/10

Just watched this one also. Good except the twists were a bit predictable at some point. A blending of Scream and The Game (both of which were referenced). I agree on the 8 rating.

One question: What was Joe's all time favorite death scene? I didn't catch that one.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Just watched this one also. Good except the twists were a bit predictable at some point. A blending of Scream and The Game (both of which were referenced). I agree on the 8 rating.

One question: What was Joe's all time favorite death scene? I didn't catch that one.

He said it sometime towards the beginning that it was "The Red Wedding" from GOT. Assuming that they gave him the death of Catelyn Stark.

 

[jakedog56]

Ah! Now I remember.

They were discussing the best death scenes in a horror movie and everyone ragged on him because GoT isn't a horror movie, but no one protested his girlfriend's utterly stupid choice of the Titanic.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Ah! Now I remember.

They were discussing the best death scenes in a horror movie and everyone ragged on him because GoT isn't a horror movie, but no one protested his girlfriend's utterly stupid choice of the Titanic.

I think it was supposed to be funny when she said Titanic... Because its too absurd a choice to be taken seriously.

 

[R.J. MacReady]

Happy 100th page to the Horror thread!

.

 

[jakedog56]

Watched XX recently, which has gotten a bit of press lately for being 4 short stories, each directed by an up and coming female director. Decent flick with 2 very good and 2 fairly average enteries. They are all tied together with some weird, kinda creepy stop motion, which is effective but a little amaturish.

The first chapter is about a family whose children pick up a curse that makes them lose their appetites. An interesting concept is not overly grabbing though, and a 15 or so minute piece could have been cut down to 10 and it might have improved it. The ending was decent though.

The second story is a weird story about a mom whose husband dies and she does everything she possibly can to hide the body to preserve her child's birthday party. Some decent black comedy. I got a few chuckles out of it.

The third story involves 4 friends who go illegally camping on a native heritage site that turns one of them into a vengeful demon (or something similar). This one was the best of the lot with great effects and some nice gratuitous blood and violence. The only thing that would have made it better was adding a bunch more friends and making it feature length.

The last story involves a mother who is trying to protect her son from his birthright as he becomes an adult. A well done story with some creepy characters. I enjoyed it.

Worth a watch. The stories are intentionally female-centric (thus the XX title) but it is irrelevant in the big scheme of things. I haven't researched the directors but they do a decent job overall. Acting, budget, fxs are all ok to good. Worth a look!

6.5 out of 10 in my book

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Happy 100th page to the Horror thread!

.

100 likes for the post... And another 10982390573948579273 likes for the Salma Hayek gif from From Dusk Til Dawn.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Watched XX recently, which has gotten a bit of press lately for being 4 short stories, each directed by an up and coming female director. Decent flick with 2 very good and 2 fairly average enteries. They are all tied together with some weird, kinda creepy stop motion, which is effective but a little amaturish.

The first chapter is about a family whose children pick up a curse that makes them lose their appetites. An interesting concept is not overly grabbing though, and a 15 or so minute piece could have been cut down to 10 and it might have improved it. The ending was decent though.

The second story is a weird story about a mom whose husband dies and she does everything she possibly can to hide the body to preserve her child's birthday party. Some decent black comedy. I got a few chuckles out of it.

The third story involves 4 friends who go illegally camping on a native heritage site that turns one of them into a vengeful demon (or something similar). This one was the best of the lot with great effects and some nice gratuitous blood and violence. The only thing that would have made it better was adding a bunch more friends and making it feature length.

The last story involves a mother who is trying to protect her son from his birthright as he becomes an adult. A well done story with some creepy characters. I enjoyed it.

Worth a watch. The stories are intentionally female-centric (thus the XX title) but it is irrelevant in the big scheme of things. I haven't researched the directors but they do a decent job overall. Acting, budget, fxs are all ok to good. Worth a look!

6.5 out of 10 in my book

Stumbled across this somewhere along the lines but never gave it a chance... I will now! Thanks for the review jakedog!

 

[jakedog56]

Went to see Alien : Covenant last night and went away a happy fanboy!

I have been a HUGE fan of the Alien series since my uncle took me to see the first one as a kid back in '79. I know some people would not consider the Alien movies as horror but Alien was first and foremost a classic of sci-fi horror. Aliens was more sci-fi action, while 4 and Prometheus were more sci-fi leaning but 3 was a horror flick.

Which brings us to Covenant. It starts out slow and is strictly sc-fi for the first half but it is most certainly a sci-fi horror flickfrom there on out.

Scott spends a lot of time delving into the mythology and filling out the story. As always his visuals are spectacular, and the fxs are top notch. The actors are ok and the important ones are fleshed out very well but the fringe folks remain only partly exposed to basically almost faceless fodder.

Some may disagree but I found the story intelligent (with the notable exception of the crew disembarking onto an alien planet without any protection from exposure to the atmosphere) and generally well done with some redundancy to previous movies.

The true stars of the movie are Fassbender in a dual role as William and Dave, and the various forms of the Geiger designed Xenomorph weapon creatures who are better than ever. To me, the Xenomorphs are truely the all time greatest and terrifying monsters in film history!

A dark, moody, and damp movie that fits nicely into the series.

I give it an admitably biased 8.5 out of 10. A must see for anyone who has enjoyed the Alien/Blade Runner (and I guess technically Predator) universe!

 

[Chef99]

Went to see Alien : Covenant last night and went away a happy fanboy!

I have been a HUGE fan of the Alien series since my uncle took me to see the first one as a kid back in '79. I know some people would not consider the Alien movies as horror but Alien was first and foremost a classic of sci-fi horror. Aliens was more sci-fi action, while 4 and Prometheus were more sci-fi leaning but 3 was a horror flick.

Which brings us to Covenant. It starts out slow and is strictly sc-fi for the first half but it is most certainly a sci-fi horror flickfrom there on out.

Scott spends a lot of time delving into the mythology and filling out the story. As always his visuals are spectacular, and the fxs are top notch. The actors are ok and the important ones are fleshed out very well but the fringe folks remain only partly exposed to basically almost faceless fodder.

Some may disagree but I found the story intelligent (with the notable exception of the crew disembarking onto an alien planet without any protection from exposure to the atmosphere) and generally well done with some redundancy to previous movies.

The true stars of the movie are Fassbender in a dual role as William and Dave, and the various forms of the Geiger designed Xenomorph weapon creatures who are better than ever. To me, the Xenomorphs are truely the all time greatest and terrifying monsters in film history!

A dark, moody, and damp movie that fits nicely into the series.

I give it an admitably biased 8.5 out of 10. A must see for anyone who has enjoyed the Alien/Blade Runner (and I guess technically Predator) universe!

I, too, am a HUGE Alien fan, and there is no doubt in my mind that they shouldn't be considered horror. All of them, even the bastard 'AVP' movies.

And seriously,
Prometheus may have been just a touch slower than the others, but damn, it was good.

In my humble opinion, of course.

Your review of Alien Covenant, biased or not, makes it a must-watch for me.

 

[jakedog56]

I, too, am a HUGE Alien fan, and there is no doubt in my mind that they shouldn't be considered horror. All of them, even the bastard 'AVP' movies.

And seriously,
Prometheus may have been just a touch slower than the others, but damn, it was good.

In my humble opinion, of course.

Your review of Alien Covenant, biased or not, makes it a must-watch for me.

Yes. Definately see it and let us know what you think.

Prometheus took a bit of a hammering in the press but I really liked it also.

Covenant is getting a lot of good reviews but also a lot of average reviews. Where it got hammered was the viewer reviews on IMDB where a lot of folks were giving it 1 ratings! I just don't get it though. Even if you didn't like where Scott took the story and thought that the action was redundant, it still had to rate much higher than a 1. F'n haters I guess.

Last note: I am assuming you meant the series should be considered horror? Your post says "shouldn't", so just to clarify.

 

[Chef99]

Yes. Definately see it and let us know what you think.

Prometheus took a bit of a hammering in the press but I really liked it also.

Covenant is getting a lot of good reviews but also a lot of average reviews. Where it got hammered was the viewer reviews on IMDB where a lot of folks were giving it 1 ratings! I just don't get it though. Even if you didn't like where Scott took the story and thought that the action was redundant, it still had to rate much higher than a 1. F'n haters I guess.

Last note: I am assuming you meant the series should be considered horror? Your post says "shouldn't", so just to clarify.

Whoops, yes. The series absolutely should be considered horror. Even more so than my usage of grammar.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Went to see Alien : Covenant last night and went away a happy fanboy!

I have been a HUGE fan of the Alien series since my uncle took me to see the first one as a kid back in '79. I know some people would not consider the Alien movies as horror but Alien was first and foremost a classic of sci-fi horror. Aliens was more sci-fi action, while 4 and Prometheus were more sci-fi leaning but 3 was a horror flick.

Which brings us to Covenant. It starts out slow and is strictly sc-fi for the first half but it is most certainly a sci-fi horror flickfrom there on out.

Scott spends a lot of time delving into the mythology and filling out the story. As always his visuals are spectacular, and the fxs are top notch. The actors are ok and the important ones are fleshed out very well but the fringe folks remain only partly exposed to basically almost faceless fodder.

Some may disagree but I found the story intelligent (with the notable exception of the crew disembarking onto an alien planet without any protection from exposure to the atmosphere) and generally well done with some redundancy to previous movies.

The true stars of the movie are Fassbender in a dual role as William and Dave, and the various forms of the Geiger designed Xenomorph weapon creatures who are better than ever. To me, the Xenomorphs are truely the all time greatest and terrifying monsters in film history!

A dark, moody, and damp movie that fits nicely into the series.

I give it an admitably biased 8.5 out of 10. A must see for anyone who has enjoyed the Alien/Blade Runner (and I guess technically Predator) universe!

I, too, am a HUGE Alien fan, and there is no doubt in my mind that they shouldn't be considered horror. All of them, even the bastard 'AVP' movies.

And seriously,
Prometheus may have been just a touch slower than the others, but damn, it was good.

In my humble opinion, of course.

Your review of Alien Covenant, biased or not, makes it a must-watch for me.

Glad to see we are all in the same boat here... The Alien series absolutely belongs in this thread!

Loved Prometheus! Been looking forward to A-Covenant.

 

[jakedog56]

Glad we all agree on that.
I am still a bit upset at so many horrible user reviews on IMDB for this movie. If AvP didn't ruin the series then I don't know why people would consider this one, which is far superior, a show stopper. It seems like it became an internet target even before it's release. Kind like what happened to the admitably rather dull Ghostbusters reboot on a lesser scale.

What some people don't seem to relate to is that, at least for me, this series is not about the characters. It even isn't about Ripley. It is an interconnected mythos about the Xenomorphs and in the recent two a tie in to the history of man. Using that perspective this movie certainly delivers.

 

[jakedog56]

Just watched another anthology film: Holiday (2016). A weird film which has 8 stories, each based on a holiday and shown in cronological order with the calendar.

It starts with Valentines Day which is a decent copy of Carrie with a slasher theme instead of telekinesis.
This is followed by the weird St Patrick's Day which I did not really connect with. About a lady who gets pregnant with a snake.
Easter gives us a weird twist on the Bunny which I almost found laughable.
Mother's Day features a fertility cult that kidnaps a girl who always gets pregnant when she has sex (she even tried birth control pillsand 3 condoms but was still knocked up!) and forces her to carry to term.
Father's Day is a creepy one in which a father leaves a message from the past to his daughter and she follows instructions to find him. This one probably has the best ambience of the lot but ends too abruptly to follow up on it.
Halloween is a gross out feature directed by hit and miss legend Kevin Smith about 3 girls working for a guy as webcam girls. He treats them like crap and they seek revenge in a "unique" way. Either you will like it or hate it. I actually enjoyed it (certainly better than Tusk!).
Christmas features Seth Green as a pathetic guy who gets some VR glasses for his kid but they are more than he bargained for. An interesting feature that could have followed through better.
In my opinion they saved the best for last in New Year's Eve when two love-lorn people meet via a dating service only to find out that they are probably too close of a match for each other.

Everything about the overall film is a bit too erratic and inconsistent to really pull it off. I was ready to call it a loss early on but I enjoyed it more towards the end, however I read an Imdb review that had an almost opposite view of every feature than I had. That being said, that Imdb review, the overall Imdb score, and myself all give it about the same rating: a 5 to 5.5 out of 10, with the worst of the tales in the 4 range and the best in the 7+ area.

 

[jakedog56]

The Void (2017)


The tale of 2 halves... Yin & Yang. The first half of this movie was incredible. It was a homerun. The setup, the progression, the suspense, great acting, an insane set of frightening events, crazy antagonists etc. I was f*ckin hooked! But then after the characters went into the basement of the hospital it took a Rob-Zombie-esque turn towards WTF-ville. Written & directed by one of the guys that did some of the newer Resident Evil movies, so it made sense. Great cinematography & production values. The setting & atmosphere were awesome. Even the details like the yellow tinted incandescent lighting added a cool element to some of the scenes. And the cgi/fx were outstanding. Lots of gore & creatures that were all sites to behold. From what I could tell the fx were primarily makeup & latex. So in that regard you have to assume that it took an absurd amount of time to produce the fx they achieved. Kudos to that department for some crazy final products. Overall I loved what this movie achieved in the first half as it was remarkable & a masterpiece, but could have done with some simplifications to the 2nd. Didn't care for the "other dimension" element as it felt a little over-the-top. If they had just let the 1st half play out as more of a survival thriller then this movie would have been a big time favorite of mine. I still recommend it. Felt very reminiscent of the 2006 Silent Hill movie. A lot of cool elements to this movie that every horror fan can enjoy.

Crazy movie... 8/10

Just watched The Void. Agree on most of the review but not 100%. Acting was only passable and no back story to set anything up (they just jump in full throttle) which might have added a bit of depth.

Still, a good flick. I actually liked when they went into the basement if only for the over the top gross monsters. To me it was as if John Carpenter and Clive Barker made a H.P. Lovecraft movie together. However, they threw a bit to much at the screen (weird cult, vengeful rednecks, undead doctor, shitload of crazy monsters, deserted hospital, antichrist pregnancy) and it is a bit convoluted.

I'll go 7.5-8 out of 10 range just for the massive gore and over the top slimy monsters alone. Good to see some old school retro horror!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Just watched another anthology film: Holiday (2016). A weird film which has 8 stories, each based on a holiday and shown in cronological order with the calendar.

It starts with Valentines Day which is a decent copy of Carrie with a slasher theme instead of telekinesis.
This is followed by the weird St Patrick's Day which I did not really connect with. About a lady who gets pregnant with a snake.
Easter gives us a weird twist on the Bunny which I almost found laughable.
Mother's Day features a fertility cult that kidnaps a girl who always gets pregnant when she has sex (she even tried birth control pillsand 3 condoms but was still knocked up!) and forces her to carry to term.
Father's Day is a creepy one in which a father leaves a message from the past to his daughter and she follows instructions to find him. This one probably has the best ambience of the lot but ends too abruptly to follow up on it.
Halloween is a gross out feature directed by hit and miss legend Kevin Smith about 3 girls working for a guy as webcam girls. He treats them like crap and they seek revenge in a "unique" way. Either you will like it or hate it. I actually enjoyed it (certainly better than Tusk!).
Christmas features Seth Green as a pathetic guy who gets some VR glasses for his kid but they are more than he bargained for. An interesting feature that could have followed through better.
In my opinion they saved the best for last in New Year's Eve when two love-lorn people meet via a dating service only to find out that they are probably too close of a match for each other.

Everything about the overall film is a bit too erratic and inconsistent to really pull it off. I was ready to call it a loss early on but I enjoyed it more towards the end, however I read an Imdb review that had an almost opposite view of every feature than I had. That being said, that Imdb review, the overall Imdb score, and myself all give it about the same rating: a 5 to 5.5 out of 10, with the worst of the tales in the 4 range and the best in the 7+ area.

Horror Movies

Sort of disappointed in that movie given the decent ensemble of directors.