Horror Movies

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Watched The Vast of Night... Pretty unique film. Definitely more about the experience that the film presents than the plot itself. A submersible film. Really cool filming styles, score, & atmosphere. Some of the lengthy dialogues felt like listening to scary campfire stories that were really well written.

I don’t think this will be everyone’s cup of tea because of how slow moving it is, but if you’re patient with it & just submerge yourself in the experience then the payoff is worth the wait. Gave me that Close Encounters of the Third Kind sort of vibes!

Thanks for the rec @Nasty_Magician !

 

[returnofjakedog]

I rewatched Gremlins 2: The New Batch for the first time in 20+ years the other day.


Even moreso than the first Gremlins movie, this one stretchs the definition of being a horror-comedy as it is way more comedy than horror. But it is generally a well done sequel.

Synopsis:
After his "owner" dies, Gizmo the mogwai is captured by a NY billionaire real estate mogul (no, not that one) and subjected to experiments in a genetics lab which happens to be in the worlds most modern, fully automated building.
As luck would have it, Gizmo's former owner Billy and his girlfriend work in said building. Billy frees Gizmo, but stupidly leaves him alone before he can smuggle him outside. Gizmo gets drenched in water and "births" some more mogwai. Chaos ensues as the newbies birth more of their kind and then turn into Gremlin form by eating after midnight.
All in all a pretty simplistic plot, but it generally is ok.

The good:
*The majority of the original cast is back and do a decent job with it.
*Lots and lots of Gremlins! This is great but also a little bit of a negative. I will speak on that below.
*Almost all effects are practical and fun. This is a direct carry over from the feel of the first movie and is what makes these movies successful.
*The stuff that works is pretty damn funny. For example: the Microwave with Marge is hilarious!

The bad:
*A bit too redundant and obvious. Still a fun watch but there are no real twists or unexpected directions in the plot.
*Generally all of the gremlins are stereotypes played for humor. This is fresh in the first movie but can feel a bit repetitive and overwhelming here as there are just so many!
*The acting is intentionally one dimensional. This is ok considering what movie it is, but it kinda wastes some good actors.

Notes:
*The great Christopher Lee plays a "mad scientist" named Dr. Katheter (lol!) who runs the genetics lab, and Tony Randell voices the genius gremlin. There are also a bunch of other secondary actors and cameos of note.
*So many references and easter eggs! Literally almost everything is a reference or homage. For example: Christopher Lee uses lines from his old Dracula movies, automatic door sound effects lifted from Star Trek, shot by shot reimaging of Phantom of the Opera organ scene, Grandpa Fred as homage to Grandpa Munster, use of music or lines from other movies as direct references to specific scenes (for example: use of music from Tarantula for the spider gremlin scenes), etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. This list could go on and on.
*One part of the original movie that has become famous (or infamous?) is Phoebe Cates' "dead Santa dad in the chimney" monolog, which I found hilarious. Here she starts a similar dramatic speech but about Lincoln's Birthday but is cut off by Billy saying "We don't have time for this now"!
*Leonard Maltin cameos by re-reading his negative Gremlins review on his tv show, but is cut short by a bunch of gremlins attacking him!

Anyways, a solid sequel overall. You could probably do pages and pages on all of the cameos, references, and easter eggs but I'll leave it at that.

I'd give the original Gremlins a 7.5 to 8 out of 10 rating range. Gremlins 2 is slightly lesser and suffers a bit from all of the goofiness so I'd clock it at about a 6.5 to 7 out of 10 range. Worth a watch if you enjoyed the original but certainly not a gritty or scary movie. It certainly plays more for the laughs than the horror.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Anybody watch this yet?

Just watched this one. Starts out as a strong horror movie and about 2/3 of the way in they switch gears and it becomes a different type of movie. Definitely solid and worth a watch.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Also watched Cadaver on Netflix, I enjoyed it (have to be ok with subtitles). Predictable but thought it was pretty well done.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Anybody watch this yet?

As previously noted, I watched His House with my sis, bro-in-law, nephew, and dad last night. I see that NastyM did a brief review already but I'll expand on it a bit with my thoughts.

Brief synopsis (no real spoilers): Married couple Bol and Nial, and the young Nyagak flee war torn Sudan and cross the Mediterranean in a tiny boat stuffed with people. At some point the boat flips and many perish, including Nyagak.
Fast forward and Bol and Nial are now seeking asylum in Britain. They are given a probationary period, and a larger house than most to live in until the can move forward with the immigration process.
Almost immediately things take a turn for the worst as spirits of the deceased Nyagak and others from the boat start appearing in the walls, and around the house. Bol tries his best to assimilate to the UK culture but Nial is unsupportive (and kinda a bitch about it).
Things escalate, ghosts start appearing quite often, and an apeth, or "night witch" seems to be the cause of their curse. The couple struggle on multiple fronts to move forward (or backward in some ways) while trying to deal with the hauntings, and their past.
A compact and interesting psychological horror movie. Certainly better done than many of the genre.

The good:
*Well acted, well directed, well executed storyline. The actor who plays Bol did an exceptional job imo.
*Tackles issues without being overly preachy- which can be an issue these days. They address many issues but never let these plot points overwhelm the main story or characters.
*Moves at a good pace. It certainly isn't a slasher going for a kill count type pace but it gives you important story points and development in generally every scene. There is little (if any) wasted time.
*Special fxs are pretty damn good! And there are more than I expected. Some very cool artistic aspects in some of the shots.

The bad:
Not a lot here, so I'm mostly nitpicking.
*The Nial character pissed me off some. Her character arc and her past issues account for her behavior (this is very well shown/explained on the screen) so it is an intentional and necessary part of the story but her lack of support for her husband hit a personal note for me, so yeah....!
*Some of the cgi wasn't perfect (it rarely is) but they generally keep the shots quick in these instances.
*The first spirit interactions involved jump scares, and I thought "Uh oh, this could be a problem" but this leveled out and any further were generally earned (imo).

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. It reminded me of The Grudge, only better executed, and with much more depth to the characters and story.

I'll go 7.5 to 8 out of 10 and highly recommend. Some people might not get the actual Sudanese vs England culture points (but they are very well laid out), and it is a "thinking man's horror movie" so if you want to turn off the brain for a couple hours and watch heads fly, then this ain't what you are looking for. But if you want to see an intelligent and interesting psychological horror movie then it is a fine example of the genre and you could certainly do much worse.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Watched these over the weekend:

Nobody Sleeps In the Woods Tonight (2020)... English-dubbed slasher film. Pretty typical slasher makeup with Wrong Turn vibes. Lots of character stupidity & idiotic moments but a fairly easy throwaway watch for mindless entertainment. They had a decent character arc for the protagonist, but it was underdeveloped & the rest of the mindless plot just overwhelms that dramatic aspect. The entire cast is written in as a shitshow so don't expect much. And yes, there is a sex scene with frontal nudity for those that want that added motivation to watch it lol.

Solo (2013)... Surprised with this low-budget film. Very simple plot but well crafted. Some stupid moments, handful of plot holes & a fairly weak cast but its well worth the watch. Some decent creepy moments.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Just got recommended this ~15min short film...

Ghost Train (2013) - Short Film By Lee Cronin

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[returnofjakedog]

Just got recommended this ~15min short film...

Ghost Train (2013) - Short Film By Lee Cronin

I've seen that before somewhere. I don't remember where. A "fun" little short.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[UVA_Guy81]

Been rewatching Ash vs the Evil Dead. I’m enjoying it as much now as I did when it was on. Sucks that the third season tanked and we never got a 4th season.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Today is my wife's Bday... She's a pretty big fan of Jason Vorhees too.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Today is my wife's Bday... She's a pretty big fan of Jason Vorhees too.

My Mom's B-day is also today! Sadly, she passed two years ago but we still celebrate it.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

My Mom's B-day is also today! Sadly, she passed two years ago but we still celebrate it.

Condolences my man! But glad to hear you still celebrate it! Keeping memories alive is an important thing!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Open 24 Hours (2020)... Straight forward slasher flick. Cast was meh, but the movie was a decent watch. They really played up the PTSD element to add some mystery to it, but it was sorta unnecessary. Still worth the watch.

Sea Fever (2020)... Pretty cool viral/parasite type movie. They went for a more realistic approach so theres not a lot of shock factor but it was pretty terrifying in the "what would I do" sense. Great attention to detail and the acting was on the money.

Triggered (2020)... Great idea, but execution was shoddy at best. Cast was lacking, and the character motives were lackluster, but it was an easy throwaway watch.

Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)... This one surprised me a little. I was expecting it to be a lot cheesier than it was. Still had plenty of awesome awfulness if you know what I mean. Some characters were just shameless plugs. Took me a minute to recognize Jon Heder lol. If your a fan of the franchise then its worth the watch, but you should know what to expect after watching the previous installments.

Greenland (2020)... Not horror, but one of those natural disaster (end of the world) type of movies like Armageddon (1998), Deep Impact (1998), Day After Tomorrow (2004), or Geostorm (2017 - also featuring Gerard Butler). Much of the same of what you'd expect with survivalist storyline trying to reach a bunker for salvation, but this one's writing was little lacking. Felt lazy at times. Still a good watch though.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Going to be difficult as good monster films are a tough draw as far as creature features go... Especially if we're talking "good" lol as most of what I'll come up with are flawed films that have some sort of redeeming quality. Are you open to Animals/Nature (crocs, bears, wolves, sharks, snakes, aliens, werewolves, bigfoot) or just lookin for Neo-Monsters/Monsters? What about supernatural monsters?

Here's a list I came up with for the "better than average" & under the radar (some are more high profile than others) neo-Monster & Monster films... But keep in mind these are all flawed films...

After Midnight (2019)
Animal Among Us (2019)
The Barrens (2012)
Black Water Vampire (2014)
Child Eater (2017)
Devil In the Dark (2017)
Digging Up the Marrow (2015)
Feast (2005)
The Hallow (2015)
Indigenous (2014)
It's In the Blood (2012)
Monsters (2010)
Nailbiter (2013)
Neverknock (2017)
Outlander (2008)
Prey (2019)
Primal Rage: Legend of Konga (2018)
The Pyramid (2014)
Rites of Spring (2011)
The Ritual (2017)
Scarecrow (2013)
Silent Retreat (2013)
Sweetheart (2019)... pretty sure we already discussed this one between us
Under the Bed (2012)
The Void (2016)

Let me know if you want more and I'll keep digging

We just going to pretend like I didn't drop you this list @Sharkonabicycle ??? Or were you too disappointed in me to respond?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

@returnofjakedog - Have you seen The Night Eats the World (2018) yet? It's a European Z flick. Just came across it on Amazon and it looks decent.