Horror Movies

[Sparhawk]

Watched Ghosts of War, definitely worth a watch. It's a bit scattered and at times the budgetary limits of CGI can take you out of it but loved the setting, liked the cast and definitely did well with creepiness for the most part.

Watching Alice in Borderland now, first episode was solid. Has a Saw vibe to it.

Yeah, I've read a few article now on AiB that place it as a dark, dystopian future.
Please let me know what you think.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Yeah, I've read a few article now on AiB that place it as a dark, dystopian future.
Please let me know what you think.

2 episodes in and it's really good. I know it's based on a comic series so it's good to know there's source material. I know it has been renewed for a 2nd season.

 

[Sparhawk]

2 episodes in and it's really good. I know it's based on a comic series so it's good to know there's source material. I know it has been renewed for a 2nd season.

One review said it was too bleak/grim.
But, if the action is tight, I'll give it a shot.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Hope you guys in the Horror crew had a great Christmas or Happy Holiday......

DJ made out like a bandit this Christmas.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Yeah, I've read a few article now on AiB that place it as a dark, dystopian future.
Please let me know what you think.

I liked AIB, didn't think it was too gloom... My only complaint was that I was hoping that there was a way to win every game... the HEARTS games seem to be a very limited amount of winners possible, which I felt like there was no point...

 

[returnofjakedog]

I found this 41 minute "short" on Crypt TV's youtube channel. Apparently it is a compilation of a series of shorts called Stoneheart but works well as a complete story in this format.


I'll have to check out some more from them.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Watched The Platform, a 2019 Spanish psychological horror film that slides right into the genre alongside the likes of The Cube, Circle, and, to a slightly lesser extent, The Belko Experiment.


The concept is basically that there is a series of vertical rooms in which each level is a room containing 2 persons. There is a shaft running in the middle of the rooms in which a platform stacked with food descends level by level. The "problem" is that the higher levels gorge themselves which leaves nothing for the lower levels. Thus the lower levels have to use other methods to survive the 30 days before they are reassigned to a different level.

Our protagonist awakes in this scenerio on a level in the 40s. His cellmate expositions the situation. He moves up and down and suffers great hardships over the next few months while trying to help others survive the system until a conclusion to the story is (kinda) reached.

It is all a pretty obvious statement on human nature, and how it "works" within the confines of capitalist and socialist ideas. But they do an excellent job of executing the theme.

The good:
*The overall theme- the movie does a good job of making it's points, and does so in an entertaining way while moving the story forward.
*Acting and direction- while the experience was slightly tempered due to the dubbing (Spanish film), the characters were relatively well rounded and interesting.
*Lots of violence and gore, which is good as this is still a horror movie.
*Pacing- it drags a little bit initially as the situation becomes clear but generally moves forward at a brisk action pace without sacrificing story or character development.

The bad-
*Storyline- overall it suffers some from the same issues that the others from this genre often do. Much like the aforementioned The Cube, Circle, and The Belko Experiment, The Platform's situation makes little to no sense in reality. Why are these people put here? What are the "leaders" hoping to learn? Why don't more people try to escape by riding the platform (there is nothing to lose if you are on a 200 level, and the other option is cannibalism)? Why is are some held for crimes while others volunteer?
While the lack of clarity on these issues is a bit problematic, these points are largely irrelevant as the actual specific events in the story are not the point. The point is what the story and characters represent in the confines of society, not the actual "prison" setting.

*Dubbing vs closed captions: They actually did a decent dubbing on this but the closed captioning didn't match this dubbing. Generally they conveyed the same information/feelings/etc but it was a bit distracting and even a little confusing at times.

*The ending. I thought it was a bit muddled and didn't provide a clear conclusion. But I don't know how they could have done it differently.

Conclusion: a very well done psychological horror film. It leans towards The Cube but with more emphasis on the societal aspects of the character "relationships", unlike The Belko Experiment which focused more on the character reactions. The message can be a bit heavy handed, but I wholly agree with the portrayal of persons within the various strata of society. Note that while not everyone will appreciate the story due to the political climate, I tend to view it solely from the human nature aspect of selfishness and inability or unwillingness to empathize with those not immediately in your circle (and often not even then).

A good movie and one of the better in this smallish sub-genre. I'll give it a solid 8 to 8.5 out of 10.

My personal rant (not strictly movie related): Yep. The human race is fucked. Our food chain is dying right before our eyes with insect, avian, and water-dwelling creature's biomasses being greatly reduced during the industrial age (while human populations continue to boom), and now plastic particulates are found in the creatures in the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and in the frozen h20 on the top of Mt. Everest. So I fully expect the worst aspects of human nature as displayed in this film to become only more prominent unless something major (like a benevolent AI singularity event) can somehow pull a miracle save.

The scariest horror is reality.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Watched Wrong Turn 2....this guy was a beast until he tried to save other peoples' lives. He was beasting. I didn't think I saw this one at first, but everything started coming back to me. I don't think I saw the 3rd one though...so I'm ready for #3 lol

Dude!

Thats punk god Henry Rollins. He has been in a few decent horror flicks like Feast, Suck, and He Never Died.

Used to love seeing the Rollins Band back in the day. He'll always be the guy painted red and screaming "Liar!" over and over.

 

[Diamondeye]

I just saw Cannibal Holocaust for the first time. I do not really understand all the hype.

I suppose it was obscenely violent for its time, but as someone who grew up in rural America, even the authentic animal killing did not really disturb me that match, as I understand nature is not all sunshine and rainbows. Plus, there's probably worse nowadays on National Geographic.

Though the overall graphic and sexual violence was fairly extensive, based on what I've read, I was expecting some unholy combination of "Debbie Does Dallas" and "Saw." It just was not cringing, head turning stuff for me, and I've seen movies that have that effect on me.

Also, the characters kind of ruin the movie for me. The four people in the documentary are just so obnoxious and ignorant, spending days violently tormenting the native tribe for no reason.

They're so unlikable and deserving of what's coming that there's no suspense or emotional weight attached to their demise at the end.

It was fairly good for what it was, but even for its time, there were a lot of scarier and overall better horror films.

I think it's way overrated in terms of the standing it's generally given in horror.

 

[Diamondeye]

I also watched Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth.

It's the only one I've seen other than the first two.

The story is not as well written as the first two, which were basically two parts of the same movie.

It also does not have the same creepy atmosphere, but there's a lot more Pinhead in it.

The scenes with him trapped in the statue and him at the church are great.

Overall, though, it's not very good. It gets laughably bad toward the end with all the gimmicky demons and the lame way Pinhead is killed off, IMO.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Ian Ziering heading to Austin.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Tom Herman was axed and there is a SARKNADO on the Longhorns roster as HC now.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Watched Don't Listen (aka Voices) on Netflix. It was decent, definitely worth a watch. I felt like they almost had it but let their foot off the gas. Haunted house setting, kept moving so not many lulls. Questionable horror movie logic was leaned on heavily to move things along.

 

[returnofjakedog]

I just saw Cannibal Holocaust for the first time. I do not really understand all the hype.

I suppose it was obscenely violent for its time, but as someone who grew up in rural America, even the authentic animal killing did not really disturb me that match, as I understand nature is not all sunshine and rainbows. Plus, there's probably worse nowadays on National Geographic.

Though the overall graphic and sexual violence was fairly extensive, based on what I've read, I was expecting some unholy combination of "Debbie Does Dallas" and "Saw." It just was not cringing, head turning stuff for me, and I've seen movies that have that effect on me.

Also, the characters kind of ruin the movie for me. The four people in the documentary are just so obnoxious and ignorant, spending days violently tormenting the native tribe for no reason.

They're so unlikable and deserving of what's coming that there's no suspense or emotional weight attached to their demise at the end.

It was fairly good for what it was, but even for its time, there were a lot of scarier and overall better horror films.

I think it's way overrated in terms of the standing it's generally given in horror.

Yeah. It is a shock value for the times movie but I don't think I'd ever describe it as good. It only has become successful because of the rumors that it was an actual snuff film (it isn't) and it was banned in so many countries.

The interesting part of the story is that the director was at first arrested in Italy on obscenity charges, but upon further review they decided to charge him with murder(!) as on watching it they decided he had actually killed some of the actors! This was compounded by the fact that the actors had signed contracts to "stay hidden" (generally) for 1 year after the film's release to make the rumor appear true. The director had to get the actors out of hiding as well as demonstrate to the court how certain scenes like the impalement scene were done via special fxs just to get the charges dropped! An absolutely crazy scenerio.

Much like The Blair Witch Project, this hype all led to great financial success as it made over $200 million on a $100,000 budget.

Oh. They actually did kill some animals in it which is unnecessary and disgusting in my book. Personally I love horror but I use it as an escape and I don't need or want to see monkeys actually being killed.

Its been years since I've seen it but I seem to recall it was about a 3.5 to 4 out of 10 in my opinion.

 

[Diamondeye]

Oh. They actually did kill some animals in it which is unnecessary and disgusting in my book. Personally I love horror but I use it as an escape and I don't need or want to see monkeys actually being killed.

Its been years since I've seen it but I seem to recall it was about a 3.5 to 4 out of 10 in my opinion.

That's about the grade I'd give it. It revolves around shock value, and though it delivers in many respects, it wasn't the traumatizing, "leave the night light on for awhile" visuals I was expecting, given the hype.

Regarding the animal stuff, I can understand why many people in the civilized world don't want to see it, but it really wasn't premeditated in the traditional sense.

They were working with an actual indigenous tribe and basically were just filming what they do for food on a daily basis, especially the scene with the squirrel monkeys.

It's not pleasant, but the process that puts meat on our tables isn't either.

 

[returnofjakedog]

That's about the grade I'd give it. It revolves around shock value, and though it delivers in many respects, it wasn't the traumatizing, "leave the night light on for awhile" visuals I was expecting, given the hype.

Regarding the animal stuff, I can understand why many people in the civilized world don't want to see it, but it really wasn't premeditated in the traditional sense.

They were working with an actual indigenous tribe and basically were just filming what they do for food on a daily basis, especially the scene with the squirrel monkeys.

It's not pleasant, but the process that puts meat on our tables isn't either.

True. I don't recall specifics (it's probably been 25 years since I've seen it).

It certainly fits it into the faux documentary style they were trying for.

The murder charges against the director for what was specifically just fxs is the part that makes it memorable to me. I don't recall anything like that happening in cinematic history.

 

[returnofjakedog]

I also watched Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth.

It's the only one I've seen other than the first two.

The story is not as well written as the first two, which were basically two parts of the same movie.

It also does not have the same creepy atmosphere, but there's a lot more Pinhead in it.

The scenes with him trapped in the statue and him at the church are great.

Overall, though, it's not very good. It gets laughably bad toward the end with all the gimmicky demons and the lame way Pinhead is killed off, IMO.

Yeah. Hellraiser 3 is ok, but a clear step below the first 2. But compared to some of the later entries in the franchise it is a masterpiece. Seriously, some of the later episodes are quite bad.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Watched The Love Witch (2016), a kinda bizarre ode to 60's/early 70s British-ish films (think Hammer, kinda, sorta), and female empowerment.


Elaine is cruising down the coast and expostion monologing about her ex- husband who died and her attempt to reboot her life. Oh, and they beat you over the head lots of stuff about her being a wiccan/witch.
She gets an apartment in quaint little town where she hangs out with other witches (her coven I guess?), and makes lots of potions and performs rituals all with the goal of finding a man to love, and to love her.
She seduces various men but none of them seem to fit her vision of perfect love. She continues in this manner until she reaches a conclusion that satisfies her.
Overall it is an interesting but flawed film that that explores a lot of ground on fem-power themes. I did enjoy it on some levels but it wasn't a standard horror movie and it really wasn't scary in the strictest sense (except the really hot chick's craziness should scare anyone who has had to deal with bad relationship insanity).

The good:
*They really went full into using colors and ambience to create a specific atmosphere. I would compare it to Midsommer in that sense but it lacks the awesome cinematography of that movie. Not that the cinematography is bad here, just that the colors and sets are the priority.
*The story. It is an interesting and unique story.
*The dialog can also be unique and interesting but can also be forced and clunky. I am a bit split on this but I think that it is an overall positive.
*The conclusion. Again, it is a bit weak in some ways and confusing in others. But I liked it enough to be a positive.

The bad:
*Some of the acting is decent but there is a lot of rather poor acting also. I feel this is because the film does better than expected (due to budget) in other areas that it raised expectations that the actors generally were not able to meet.
*As noted, many aspects are a bit of a mixed bag. Thus things I listed as positives, like dialog and conclusion for example, can also be somewhat negative (if that makes any sense).
*The lead just kinda meanders around spouting exposition dialog for the whole movie. It works in the sense of her character development but it can be kind of a slog over the 2 hour run time.
*Though technically a horror movie, it was never scary to me with the exception of a little chill at the conclusion.

@Chef99 's nude-o-meter is also a mixed bag. Lots of nudity in this and not just boobies. But this is typically displayed in the Wicca ritual circle whose membership ranges from kinda, sorta hottish to kinda schlubby. Oh, and it is a fairly even split on female/male full frontal just to make things even more....well...
Sadly the smoking hot lead who goes around trying to seduce and screw all of these men (the entire point of the story) obviously had a no nudity clause in her contract. Only once in all of her (non)nude and sex scenes does a nipple kinda peak through her drapping hair. Additionally, the other hottest women in this also do not get naked even though they are often strippers, dancers, or even hanging with the other nude wiccan folk.
I know it seems like a weird complaint but to have so much nudity but blatantly leave out ALL of (both men and women) the most "visually appealing" people is just a strange decision, particularly in a movie where sexuality, and empowerment are the main themes. To attack these subjects in the manner they do but specifically leave out a bunch of people makes the split stand out in a bad way. If your gonna go this direction then go full on Matilda May in Lifeforce, or just don't do it at all.

Conclusion: I thought it was an interesting film that exceeded it's budget limitations in many ways. The sets, the use of color, the interesting approach to the themes, the conclusion, etc were all very good and I understand why the movie is critically acclaimed. But the divide in the good/bad acting, dialog, and even the nudity/non-nudity all brought it down a bit.

I'll go 5.5 to 6 out of 10 range. An interesting premise but a good yet flawed execution on many levels. The scariest part of the movie is the lead's life philosophies, and how she tries to achieve her goals. But it all moves a bit slow and it is more psychological horror I guess?? Certainly trying to be more thought provoking than shocking or scary.
It is one of those movies that is more appreciated by critics (96% Rotton Tomatoes, 82% metacritic on IMDB) than movie going public (6.2 out of 10 on IMDB) if that clarifies anything.

 

[Chef99]

Watched The Love Witch (2016), a kinda bizarre ode to 60's/early 70s British-ish films (think Hammer, kinda, sorta), and female empowerment.


Elaine is cruising down the coast and expostion monologing about her ex- husband who died and her attempt to reboot her life. Oh, and they beat you over the head lots of stuff about her being a wiccan/witch.
She gets an apartment in quaint little town where she hangs out with other witches (her coven I guess?), and makes lots of potions and performs rituals all with the goal of finding a man to love, and to love her.
She seduces various men but none of them seem to fit her vision of perfect love. She continues in this manner until she reaches a conclusion that satisfies her.
Overall it is an interesting but flawed film that that explores a lot of ground on fem-power themes. I did enjoy it on some levels but it wasn't a standard horror movie and it really wasn't scary in the strictest sense (except the really hot chick's craziness should scare anyone who has had to deal with bad relationship insanity).

The good:
*They really went full into using colors and ambience to create a specific atmosphere. I would compare it to Midsommer in that sense but it lacks the awesome cinematography of that movie. Not that the cinematography is bad here, just that the colors and sets are the priority.
*The story. It is an interesting and unique story.
*The dialog can also be unique and interesting but can also be forced and clunky. I am a bit split on this but I think that it is an overall positive.
*The conclusion. Again, it is a bit weak in some ways and confusing in others. But I liked it enough to be a positive.

The bad:
*Some of the acting is decent but there is a lot of rather poor acting also. I feel this is because the film does better than expected (due to budget) in other areas that it raised expectations that the actors generally were not able to meet.
*As noted, many aspects are a bit of a mixed bag. Thus things I listed as positives, like dialog and conclusion for example, can also be somewhat negative (if that makes any sense).
*The lead just kinda meanders around spouting exposition dialog for the whole movie. It works in the sense of her character development but it can be kind of a slog over the 2 hour run time.
*Though technically a horror movie, it was never scary to me with the exception of a little chill at the conclusion.

@Chef99 's nude-o-meter is also a mixed bag. Lots of nudity in this and not just boobies. But this is typically displayed in the Wicca ritual circle whose membership ranges from kinda, sorta hottish to kinda schlubby. Oh, and it is a fairly even split on female/male full frontal just to make things even more....well...
Sadly the smoking hot lead who goes around trying to seduce and screw all of these men (the entire point of the story) obviously had a no nudity clause in her contract. Only once in all of her (non)nude and sex scenes does a nipple kinda peak through her drapping hair. Additionally, the other hottest women in this also do not get naked even though they are often strippers, dancers, or even hanging with the other nude wiccan folk.
I know it seems like a weird complaint but to have so much nudity but blatantly leave out ALL of (both men and women) the most "visually appealing" people is just a strange decision, particularly in a movie where sexuality, and empowerment are the main themes. To attack these subjects in the manner they do but specifically leave out a bunch of people makes the split stand out in a bad way. If your gonna go this direction then go full on Matilda May in Lifeforce, or just don't do it at all.

Conclusion: I thought it was an interesting film that exceeded it's budget limitations in many ways. The sets, the use of color, the interesting approach to the themes, the conclusion, etc were all very good and I understand why the movie is critically acclaimed. But the divide in the good/bad acting, dialog, and even the nudity/non-nudity all brought it down a bit.

I'll go 5.5 to 6 out of 10 range. An interesting premise but a good yet flawed execution on many levels. The scariest part of the movie is the lead's life philosophies, and how she tries to achieve her goals. But it all moves a bit slow and it is more psychological horror I guess?? Certainly trying to be more thought provoking than shocking or scary.
It is one of those movies that is more appreciated by critics (96% Rotton Tomatoes, 82% metacritic on IMDB) than movie going public (6.2 out of 10 on IMDB) if that clarifies anything.

Waitaminnit, let's get this straight; it's the BoobMeter, not the Nude-O-Meter. Although I do think the latter shows promise.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Waitaminnit, let's get this straight; it's the BoobMeter, not the Nude-O-Meter. Although I do think the latter shows promise.

It was adjusted to account for the full frontal!