Horror Movies

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Anguish (2015)


On Netflix! This is quite the slowburner horror movie. Some may even consider this a drama movie instead. It does a decent job building subtle tension and suspense, which I like as opposed to the jump scare variety. This movie had a tendency to get a little exhausting at times by stretching out scenes a little too long & getting too dialogue-heavy which sort of diminishes the suspense. In other words, it gets boring for stretches of the movie. However the acting was surprisingly good. The director does a good job making this film more realistic rather than the usual outlandish flash-in-the-pan horror. The filming, score, etc were all well done. It's not a movie that will scare the crap out of you, or deliver a lot of excitement, but if you're in the mood for one of those slowburning creepy type movies, then give this a go.

Slow paced horror drama... 6/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Guest (2014)


On Netflix! This one is more of your mystery/thriller types with fair amounts of action. Brought to you by the same director & writer duo that made You're Next and a few segments from the VHS movies. The writing was amazing. It's dramatic, it's funny, it's intense, and it gets pretty frightening at times. Not too often do you find all of those elements mixed in such a perfect recipe. The actors do an amazing job of building suspense. Especially Dan Stevens. He does a flawless & fantastic job with his role. The creep factor was off the charts. As my wife put it, he makes your skin crawl. All the actors were perfectly cast for this movie. Maika Monroe wasn't featured as much as she was in It Follows, but she still put on a good performance. The movie leads you on a creepy thrill ride as you begin to unravel the mystery that is the main character, David. Once you finally figure out the truth, then its balls to wall action with a sprint to the finish line. It may seem a little farfetched during certain points, but it didn't bother me at all. The score was brilliant and the filming was fantastic. I really enjoyed this movie and would definitely recommend it!

Intense, creepy, and somewhat disturbing! 8/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

COMING SOON!

The Forest (2016)


In Theaters January 8th

Synopsis: A supernatural thriller set in the legendary Aokigahara Forest. A young American woman, Sara (Natalie Dormer of “Game of Thrones” and “The Hunger Games”), goes in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared. Despite everyone’s warnings to “stay on the path,” Sara enters the forest determined to discover the truth about her sister’s fate.

This will be the first movie that I have seen from Jason Zada. He was a writer for the movie The Houses That October Built, of which I was not impressed with. But there's always something of an allure for me with new writers & directors to see them make huge leaps in their career. They start off small with good chemistry & makeup in their work, then they take it one step further. Most fail, but when given the right material, they can vault themselves to the top of the game. The material for this movie looks awesome. Not exactly original, but the ideas, and writing look amazing. One of the writers in this movie, Nick Antosca, has done an amazing job as a TV show writer (Hannibal, The Player, Last Resort, etc). I'm excited to see what these two can do together.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

COMING SOON!

The Boy (2016)


In Theaters January 22nd

Synopsis: Greta is a young American woman who takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, only to discover that the family's 8-year-old is a life-sized doll that the parents care for just like a real boy, as a way to cope with the death of their actual son 20 years prior. After violating a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring Greta's worst nightmare to life, leading her to believe that the doll is actually alive.

Not going to lie, this looks kinda silly. But damn if the trailer didn't creep me the fuck out! lol. It looks like this movie is along the same lines as Annabelle (creepy possessed doll), but more elaborate. I have always been a fan of Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead), but this will be the first time I have seen her in a feature role, and a movie nonetheless. Pretty excited to see what she can do. Also I have really liked works from this director, William B. Bell. You may know some of his movies: Wer, The Devil Inside, & Stay Alive. All 3 of those were written & directed by WBB. One thing that I love about him is he isn't afraid to take on outlandish ideas. In a way, he is actually very original as a direct result. If this new movie is anything like his previous works, then expect to be entertained!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

COMING SOON!

Lights Out (2016)

In Theaters January 22nd (speculative)

Synopsis: A woman is haunted by a creature that only appears when the lights go out. A feature adaptation of the 2013 short film, "Lights Out" by David Sandberg.

No official trailer for the movie yet, but here is the horror short that the film is based on:

If that doesn't scare the shit out of you, then you need to check your pulse. The director, David F. Sandberg, is a very well known short film director. He gained a lot of popularity on youtube and still thrives as one of the best horror short film makers out there. This film, Lights Out, will be hist first ever full length production. I'm am highly anticipating this movie, and its a guarantee that I will be seeing it in theaters. I'm really excited about the cast. Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies), Emily Lind (Haunting In Connecticut), Rolando Boyce (The After), amongst others. All actors with great horror roots. I'll try to remember to post the official trailer & release date when it gets figured out. Currently the film is in "post-production".

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Lights Out and The Forest both look solid. I'm looking forward to both of them

 

[jakedog56]

Finally watched Crimson Peak. I enjoyed it more than most.

Many said it was not really horror, but I disagree. It is based more on classic horror. It harkens back to Poe-Shelly time period of story telling, which doesn't necessarily translate to a modern audience.

As always with Del Toro, the visual effects were spectacular. That was certainly the highlight.

I understand the criticisms. It is not Del Toro's best work. But I think it was slightly unfair in the overall reception. If it had been someone other than Del Toro directing it would have been praised.

Good budget for great effects. Solid direction. Acting was decent. Story was interesting. It is hard to pinpoint but somewhere along the line the the cohesion came up short. Still interesting if you like "classic" horror.

 

[jakedog56]

Also watched "Tales of Halloween". I always enjoy the short story compilations.

As is typical for these types, some of the stories were better than others but it is certainly worth a watch for the genre lovers.

It has a decent budget and a pretty high gallons of blood rating. The stories are all clocking in at about 10 minutes or less so the stories are not always well rounded. They have to move the whole storylines fairly fast.

Many of the stories are centered around kids since trick or treating is integral to the overall plot, but I thought it could be better if the focus wouldn't have been focused on this quite so much.

My personal fav was a Hansel and Gretal influenced story with a pretty cool split personality witch.

The weakest was the last one. It had a cool rampaging jack'o lantern, but the acting was horrible.

Gratuitous Adrienne Barbeau sighting as the night time DJ who narrates the tales.

 

[SonnyCID]

COMING SOON!

The Forest (2016)


In Theaters January 8th

Synopsis: A supernatural thriller set in the legendary Aokigahara Forest. A young American woman, Sara (Natalie Dormer of “Game of Thrones” and “The Hunger Games”), goes in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared. Despite everyone’s warnings to “stay on the path,” Sara enters the forest determined to discover the truth about her sister’s fate.

This will be the first movie that I have seen from Jason Zada. He was a writer for the movie The Houses That October Built, of which I was not impressed with. But there's always something of an allure for me with new writers & directors to see them make huge leaps in their career. They start off small with good chemistry & makeup in their work, then they take it one step further. Most fail, but when given the right material, they can vault themselves to the top of the game. The material for this movie looks awesome. Not exactly original, but the ideas, and writing look amazing. One of the writers in this movie, Nick Antosca, has done an amazing job as a TV show writer (Hannibal, The Player, Last Resort, etc). I'm excited to see what these two can do together.

Lady Margeary...

 

[johnson]

Watching American Horror Story season 2 and it's really good. Season 1 was eh and definitely way too long. Got two episodes to go in Season 2 and it's still working...

 

[SonnyCID]

COMING SOON!

The Boy (2016)


In Theaters January 22nd

Synopsis: Greta is a young American woman who takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, only to discover that the family's 8-year-old is a life-sized doll that the parents care for just like a real boy, as a way to cope with the death of their actual son 20 years prior. After violating a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring Greta's worst nightmare to life, leading her to believe that the doll is actually alive.

Not going to lie, this looks kinda silly. But damn if the trailer didn't creep me the fuck out! lol. It looks like this movie is along the same lines as Annabelle (creepy possessed doll), but more elaborate. I have always been a fan of Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead), but this will be the first time I have seen her in a feature role, and a movie nonetheless. Pretty excited to see what she can do. Also I have really liked works from this director, William B. Bell. You may know some of his movies: Wer, The Devil Inside, & Stay Alive. All 3 of those were written & directed by WBB. One thing that I love about him is he isn't afraid to take on outlandish ideas. In a way, he is actually very original as a direct result. If this new movie is anything like his previous works, then expect to be entertained!

That looks terrific. I have always had an irrational fear of life size dolls. When I was a kid I would go through the toy catalogs and when I got to the ventriloquist doll page I would slam it shut and throw that mfer across the room. Thsee kinds of movies still get a real visceral reaction from me.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Lights Out and The Forest both look solid. I'm looking forward to both of them

Whoa...whoa whoa... Hold the phone...

Is that JohnnyDollaz!!!??? Back from the dead? How the hell ya been buddy? It's been ages since I've seen you on!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Finally watched Crimson Peak. I enjoyed it more than most.

Many said it was not really horror, but I disagree. It is based more on classic horror. It harkens back to Poe-Shelly time period of story telling, which doesn't necessarily translate to a modern audience.

As always with Del Toro, the visual effects were spectacular. That was certainly the highlight.

I understand the criticisms. It is not Del Toro's best work. But I think it was slightly unfair in the overall reception. If it had been someone other than Del Toro directing it would have been praised.

Good budget for great effects. Solid direction. Acting was decent. Story was interesting. It is hard to pinpoint but somewhere along the line the the cohesion came up short. Still interesting if you like "classic" horror.

Interesting point of view! Thanks for sharing!

I am definitely in the "not his best work" boat on that one. He set the bar pretty high for himself and then came up with something completely different than his usual works. It was disappointing, but I'll admit that it was probably unfair for me to criticize when, like you said, I probably wouldn't have had much of a problem at all if it was another director.

Comments like these are why I really enjoy this thread. Its always refreshing to get another perspective on films. It sheds more light on biases, or singular points of view. In turn it helps me understand things better that I might have otherwise "written off".

 

[darken65]

COMING SOON!

The Forest (2016)


In Theaters January 8th

Synopsis: A supernatural thriller set in the legendary Aokigahara Forest. A young American woman, Sara (Natalie Dormer of “Game of Thrones” and “The Hunger Games”), goes in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared. Despite everyone’s warnings to “stay on the path,” Sara enters the forest determined to discover the truth about her sister’s fate.

This will be the first movie that I have seen from Jason Zada. He was a writer for the movie The Houses That October Built, of which I was not impressed with. But there's always something of an allure for me with new writers & directors to see them make huge leaps in their career. They start off small with good chemistry & makeup in their work, then they take it one step further. Most fail, but when given the right material, they can vault themselves to the top of the game. The material for this movie looks awesome. Not exactly original, but the ideas, and writing look amazing. One of the writers in this movie, Nick Antosca, has done an amazing job as a TV show writer (Hannibal, The Player, Last Resort, etc). I'm excited to see what these two can do together.

Is this movie a remake? I could swear I've seen this before.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Watching American Horror Story season 2 and it's really good. Season 1 was eh and definitely way too long. Got two episodes to go in Season 2 and it's still working...

Season 2 was my favorite. Got pretty ridiculous at times, but the setting & plot progression was masterful. Season 1 would be my next favorite. Season 3 (Coven) was ok, but season 4 was downright awful. I would recommend skipping season 4 (Freak Show).

I haven't started the new season, Hotel, but I've heard some decent things about it. Hard to tell what its going to be like yet, but I'm hopeful that it is at least entertaining as opposed to Freak Show.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Is this movie a remake? I could swear I've seen this before.

Nope. You may have seen movies with similar plotlines, but this is definitely not a remake.

The film has recently come under fire for claims of whitewashing & insensitivity. Whitewashing, in that they have taken a foreign, but factual, place and introduced an all-american cast. One would think that given the Japan location, you would see some sort of asian heritage in the main cast. Kind of weird they chose to go that route, but I'm not going to derail it because of it. The case for insensitivity is derived from the fact that this location, the suicide forest, is still a current reality. Many people have taken their lives within that area, and the locals are viewing this film as Americans finding entertainment from a very morbid curiosity. Simply put, disrespectful.

 

[darken65]

Nope. You may have seen movies with similar plotlines, but this is definitely not a remake.

The film has recently come under fire for claims of whitewashing & insensitivity. Whitewashing, in that they have taken a foreign, but factual, place and introduced an all-american cast. One would think that given the Japan location, you would see some sort of asian heritage in the main cast. Kind of weird they chose to go that route, but I'm not going to derail it because of it. The case for insensitivity is derived from the fact that this location, the suicide forest, is still a current reality. Many people have taken their lives within that area, and the locals are viewing this film as Americans finding entertainment from a very morbid curiosity. Simply put, disrespectful.

Yea.Different movie I was thinking about:
Grave Halloween (TV Movie 2013) - IMDb

 

[johnson]

Season 2 was my favorite. Got pretty ridiculous at times, but the setting & plot progression was masterful. Season 1 would be my next favorite. Season 3 (Coven) was ok, but season 4 was downright awful. I would recommend skipping season 4 (Freak Show).

I haven't started the new season, Hotel, but I've heard some decent things about it. Hard to tell what its going to be like yet, but I'm hopeful that it is at least entertaining as opposed to Freak Show.

That's pretty much the rundown most of my friends that have watched it gave me too. Thanks for not giving out spoilers! Going to finish it this weekend. Opening scene in S2E11...wow.

 

[jakedog56]

Watched "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse".

Positives:
*Good sized budget (for a zombie movie), which is relatively well used on fxs.
*In keeping with the last statement, the special effects are well done. Lot's of blood and guts and gore splattered around.
*Gratuitous Clores Leachman! The legandary actress (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Young Frankenstein, Bevis and Butthead, etc. etc. etc.) gets a couple of minutes of screentime as an old lady zombie with a crude joke built in (I won't give it away here.) I really had no idea that she was still alive but she is apparently still cranking out roles at 92 years old.
*David Koechner as a scout master/zombie who continually takes abuse through out the movie.

Both Positive and negative:
*Lots of over the top immature humor. Hit and miss. Some will love it, others not so much.

Negatives:
*Starts strong but eventually becomes too formulaic and redundant to the genre.

It is not in the class of Shaun of the Dead/Zombieland/Dead Alive. Recommended for fans of zombie and zomcom genres but if you are not a big fan of these types then it does not have to be at the top of any "must watch" list.

A guy hanging out of a window by a zombie penis while a group of zombies wait below for him to fall was pretty funny.

 

[Chef99]

Watched "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse".

Positives:
*Good sized budget (for a zombie movie), which is relatively well used on fxs.
*In keeping with the last statement, the special effects are well done. Lot's of blood and guts and gore splattered around.
*Gratuitous Clores Leachman! The legandary actress (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Young Frankenstein, Bevis and Butthead, etc. etc. etc.) gets a couple of minutes of screentime as an old lady zombie with a crude joke built in (I won't give it away here.) I really had no idea that she was still alive but she is apparently still cranking out roles at 92 years old.
*David Koechner as a scout master/zombie who continually takes abuse through out the movie.

Both Positive and negative:
*Lots of over the top immature humor. Hit and miss. Some will love it, others not so much.

Negatives:
*Starts strong but eventually becomes too formulaic and redundant to the genre.

It is not in the class of Shaun of the Dead/Zombieland/Dead Alive. Recommended for fans of zombie and zomcom genres but if you are not a big fan of these types then it does not have to be at the top of any "must watch" list.

A guy hanging out of a window by a zombie penis while a group of zombies wait below for him to fall was pretty funny.

And where does it rate on the BoobMeter?