Horror Movies

[Chef99]

i mean, for one that prepared for decades for what she thought was inevitable, she really dropped the ball on the execution preparation.

I think it was pretty much a paycheck for Jamie at that point. I actually kinda liked her surrounding cast, even though the entire movie was pretty generic. Be prepared, I've heard a sequel is in the works, if you hadn't already guessed that from the ending.

 

[Taddy Mason]

I think it was pretty much a paycheck for Jamie at that point. I actually kinda liked her surrounding cast, even though the entire movie was pretty generic. Be prepared, I've heard a sequel is in the works, if you hadn't already guessed that from the ending.

Halloween II: The Curse of Michelle Myers

 

[DJ Fieri]

Coming in June....I want to see this.....

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

Anyone seen the remake of Halloween?
Nothing special, but it was ok, although I hated seeing Jamie Lee Curtis as an old nutjob...even though it did fit the story.

I am no horror aficionado, but I liked it. I thought it was a really well executed modern version. There was some stuff that I didn't understand, but maybe I just don't remember the original very well, IDK.

 

[Taddy Mason]

I am no horror aficionado, but I liked it. I thought it was a really well executed modern version. There was some stuff that I didn't understand, but maybe I just don't remember the original very well, IDK.

been a while since i've seen it, think i talked about it a bit before with someone in this thread. end of the day it had no where to go but up after that rob zombie halloween ii.

 

[Taddy Mason]

a few from the past couple of weeks

West of Zanzibar (1928) - (had some voodoo, superstitious elements), but if you've seen oldboy, it was similar to that to me, where when i first saw oldboy not too many years ago, i was thinking that's fucked up, but guess it's a tale as old as time. definitely a pre-code movie. I doubt anyone here is interested in watching a non-talkie, though.

Shock Waves (1977) - feel like it had the weirdest score throughout the entire movie, it just kind of was, and then it ended. think i fell asleep for a portion of it.

The Haunting of Julia (aka Full Circle) (1977) - Yeah, I was buzzed enough where i wasn't following this at all/plot was moving slowly perhaps, meh, might be worth another go round.

Us - Certainly has a creepy vibe about it that works well overall. As with most horror movies, once you try and think about the implications of the plot, here there be holes. I'm sure there was a social message I missed (I feel I heard a piece of what it was supposed to be, but didn't feel realized for what it was to me)

The Silence - Newer netlix joint, which while it sounds like it's a spinoff/ripoff of a quiet place is apparently based off of a 2015 book. That said, it's not very good. Nothing more need be said about it.

In My Skin (Dans ma peau) (2002) - Reminded me of Raw, where it's not really horror in my eyes as much as, well, if you've seen Raw I think you'd get the vibe.

Anatomy (Anatomie) (2000) - With everything I've said of the above movies, this isn't the same, but going to the Raw medical/veterinary school, I enjoyed what they did with it. Only now saw there was at least one sequel to it, don't know if i care to see that.

The Curse of La Llorona - Decent enough to watch, enjoyed the cast, Lindsay from freaks and geeks, Marta from Arrested Development, Tuco from Breaking Bad. evil spirit movie, it is what it is.

probably watched another half dozen the past 2 weeks, did a bit of a horror in May theme.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Conjuring 3 in the works.


Saw a couple of horror related things recently:

The Hole In the Ground (Amazon Prime): Pretty decent, it's your traditional changeling movie, has it's creepy moments, small/solid cast. Worth a background noise watch.

The Perfection (Netflix): Wasn't thrilled with it. Had potential to start but went off the rails and went over the top relatively quickly.

Slasher Season 3 (Netflix): Campy, ridiculous, great stupid television. If you enjoyed the first 2 seasons you'll enjoy this one.

 

[Taddy Mason]

Conjuring 3 in the works.


Saw a couple of horror related things recently:

The Hole In the Ground (Amazon Prime): Pretty decent, it's your traditional changeling movie, has it's creepy moments, small/solid cast. Worth a background noise watch.

The Perfection (Netflix): Wasn't thrilled with it. Had potential to start but went off the rails and went over the top relatively quickly.

Slasher Season 3 (Netflix): Campy, ridiculous, great stupid television. If you enjoyed the first 2 seasons you'll enjoy this one.

didn't know the perfection was horror, thought about checking it out the other day.

I watched The Hole in the Ground at the same time as The Prodigy and both movies kind of blended together in my mind.

 

[Taddy Mason]

Coming in June....I want to see this.....

june, i just saw a bootleg verion for it was already released and it may have came out in theaters early than that. with that said, i see it's a jim jarmusch joint, impressive cast, but i've seen a lot of his movies and they can vary wildly and most aren't meant for everyone.

 

[Chef99]

I also was going to watch The Perfection but got sidetracked. The preview I saw looked pretty dang cool.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

NOS4A2 starts this weekend, looking forward to this one.

 

[Diamondeye]

I also was going to watch The Perfection but got sidetracked. The preview I saw looked pretty dang cool.

It's good.

There are a lot of detours and misdirection with the plot, though.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Just saw Us. Loved it.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Just saw Us. Loved it.

Still want to see this badly!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Anyone seen the remake of Halloween?
Nothing special, but it was ok, although I hated seeing Jamie Lee Curtis as an old nutjob...even though it did fit the story.

Bro... you know I’ve already reviewed this!

Movie crushed me.

 

[Chef99]

Bro... you know I’ve already reviewed this!

Movie crushed me.

Gimme a page number willya? Been so long since you've been on here, I forgot!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Gimme a page number willya? Been so long since you've been on here, I forgot!

I believe you know how to use the search function, like the rest of us....

 

[Chef99]

Halloween (2018)


Ugh. This movie is troublesome so bear with me. Full disclosure before I get started. Many of you know that the original Halloween film released back in 1978 was my Holy Grail of horror films. It started it all for me. I had been anticipating this film since it was announced. Jamie Lee back in action with none other than John Carpenter onboard as producer/scorer... I was all-in. So beware, this will be lengthy!

Like I said in the post above, there was a lot of nostalgia to love about this movie. The setting, the original synth scores, the cinematography, the plot, the stalking, the characters... they all recaptured the original movie very well. Some would call it a blatant ripoff, but I call it paying homage to the film that started it all. Some of the scenes were obvious recaptures from the original (bus escape, window reveal, JLC falling from the roof & disappearing act, etc), so you know they are paying respects and not trying to reinvent the wheel.

What hurts this movie the most was writing. Apart form it being a convoluted mess, it simply doesn't grasp the previous films in regards to conceptualizing the plot. What I mean by that is that this film produces GLARING holes just to fit its end-game. Everything felt forced & contrived. I found myself constantly asking why people were being so stupid. Michael being conveniently transferred on Halloween night, the police officer conveniently forgetting the past nor putting the town on notice (rather playing janitor while people are being slaughtered), JLC built up to be uber-prepared yet conveniently leaves the lights off for Michael when he arrives and decorated the house with mannequins, etc etc.... Those are just a taste of the lengthy list that I could produce.

The first half of the movie was awesome. From the beginning to when Michael arrives in Haddonfield was solid. It could have been the nostalgia covering up any issues but I loved it. However, slowly but surely the subpar writing began to reveal itself creating nothing but frustration for me. I think it sort of had an identity crisis from the dreaded "over-writing". It goes from being a psychoanalysis backstory to build tension & background (done on purpose to recalibrate this franchise for newer viewers), to then trying to build character development with character relationships & trauma, then it becomes a stalk & slash film much like its predecessors, to an oddly placed teenager relationship drama sequence, to then becoming a full-fledged action-packed revenge film. Lots of scenes & tones that transitioned without much coherency, almost as if they were trying to force several film genres into one movie. That is amateur writing. Some of the subplots were just too far out-of-left-field sotospeak. They spring up & go absolutely nowhere. Shoddy writing at its finest.

Now lets talk about Michael. The man, the myth, the legend. They knocked his character out of the park. Simply brilliant. I've seen writers & directors fail too many times with his character, so it was refreshing to see them recapture his menace. The kills in this movie were akin to the Rob Zombie entries in terms of explicit violence, but they were more slasher-styled than the brute-force type, and more tastefully displayed. Which is exactly what it should be. I hated when they built him up to be some supernatural force of nature. One of my only gripes about his character was his usage. In the originals he made the movies. His presence was never absent for longer than 5 minutes, whereas in this reboot there are scenes as long as 20-25mins where you don't know where or what the hell he's up to. I long for the extended cut of this film because I am hopeful for extended stalking sequences and hopefully better production editing. Also gotta admit that I was very happy that they never showed Michael's face. The anticipation of the mask-off scenes added a pretty cool suspense element that I wasn't prepared for. I would have been upset had they put a face to the mask and then let that new actor take on the role of Michael, rather than letting the mask be the villain, if you catch my drift.

The film elements... The overall suspense is somewhat lackluster, due in large part to the writing clusterfuck. But it does produce several hair-raising moments of suspense that any horror fan would love, especially when it plays to its root strengths of being a slasher film. I can't help but think of how much better this film would have been had these elements been prioritized throughout the film. The acting was decent. JLC relives her horror glory days with a strong performance. Most of the newer cast members hold their own, but the writing ultimately failed them. The cinematography was good, but inconsistent. The tones ranged between indie to big-production horror. The mixture worked pretty well though. The climax was contrived in regards to how it played out, but I was satisfied with the ending.

There is lots to love about this film, but the writing shoots itself in the foot too many times and produces an overall mishmash mess of a film. I had higher hopes and can't help but feel deprived of a much more glorious reboot. But I'm probably overcritical of this film given my fandom of the originals. So take this review with a grain of salt.

Beautifully derived, but feeling contrived, and ultimately deprived! 6/10

Ok, now I remember, and this was a great review.

Now let's get ready for Halloween 2, 'cuz you know it's comin'!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Ok, now I remember, and this was a great review.

Now let's get ready for Halloween 2, 'cuz you know it's comin'!

If it’s anything like the reboot last year... no thanks. Even the director’s cut was awful. Even more of a mess if you can believe it.

I tried to like it, I really did

 

[DJ Fieri]

New movie tonight at 9pm PST on Sy FY!!!!!