Horror Movies

[returnofjakedog]

But here's the thing for me; Newt, much like Ripley's cat, represented the beacon of hope for the horrors that Ripley (and crew) were up against. Hicks represented that hope that Ripley could settle down with him and they'd live happily ever after. Lol, call me a romanticist!

You leave Aliens with an established kinda family dynamic: Ripley as mother, Hicks as father, Newt as child, and you can even throw in Bishop as an uncle/grandfather type. This is cannon.

The writers then decide they want to kill off this dynamic. They want Ripley to (again) hit rock bottom. Fine. It works as a path to take.

You then immediately kill off Newt and Hicks with no context and very little emotional impact.

It makes zero sense! They had plenty of options that would have still fit their narrative but they took the easy and lazy way out instead of showing an ounce of intelligence and foresight.

If you are going to kill them off, then do it right!

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Jakedog & I liked Covenant… Don’t recall our exact sentiments but I believe we wrote lengthy reviews on it in this thread if you were interested in reading those

I didn't mind that movie up until the end where Hollyweird clearly stepped in and was like, "GET AN ALIEN IN THERE!"

The concept of what the droid was doing was actually quite interesting and freaky... and Fassbender was brilliant in 'both roles'. And then... the Hollyweird execs stepped in and it went from interesting and thought invoking movie to generic *yawn factor*.

 

[Chef99]

@returnofjakedog, ever seen this? If you haven't, I wish you would, and review it.

The absolute stupidity of some 70s horror movies is so amazing you can't look away; you must watch.

 

[returnofjakedog]

@returnofjakedog, ever seen this? If you haven't, I wish you would, and review it.

The absolute stupidity of some 70s horror movies is so amazing you can't look away; you must watch.

View attachment 287920

I haven't seen it, but I'll see if I can find it.
Peak Fonda era (it was a very short era), and a young Loretta Swit could be fun!

Cool poster!

 

[Chef99]

I haven't seen it, but I'll see if I can find it.
Peak Fonda era (it was a very short era), and a young Loretta Swit could be fun!

Cool poster!

The real fun is watching to see how much more stupid the characters of Fonda and Warren Oates can be. After you get used to that, it makes the movie all the better. And yeah, cool to see a young Hot Lips.

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

The rise and fall of movie genres over time.

Horror/Thriller looks to be in a stride.

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

 

[returnofjakedog]

The rise and fall of movie genres over time.

Horror/Thriller looks to be in a stride.

View attachment 287948

The rise of horror, and documentries! Who woulda thought that back in the day?

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

Anyone watching All of Us Are Dead on Netflix? It's a South Korean zombie series. Not sure what to think of it right now.

 

[returnofjakedog]

@returnofjakedog, ever seen this? If you haven't, I wish you would, and review it.

The absolute stupidity of some 70s horror movies is so amazing you can't look away; you must watch.

View attachment 287920

Ok then! As per @Chef99 request, here is Race with the Devil (1975)-



Peter Fonda and Warren Oates are a couple of business partners who head across Texas with their ladies in a fancy (for '75) big motorhome. They camp in an isolated area next to river and flee in the middle of the night after mistakenly witnessing a satanic ritual in which a woman is killed. This leads to cross-country highway chases and general devil worshipper shenanigans.

Generally, a pretty fun car chase horror genre entry. There is both good and bad mixed in but overall a worthwhile watch.

The good-
*Lots of cross country car chases with constant demolition derby hits, wrecks, and explosions.
Now a lot of this stuff is typical ridiculous '70s style stunts with cars hitting ramps and flipping, driving off of bridges, exploding for no apparent reason, etc. but they are still fun! They are also fairly innovative in a few of the stunts mixed in.
*It isn't clear who they can or can't trust which leads to a constant state of paranoia and dread. Considering the meandering direction of the story, it is cool that they were able to implement this.
*The southern desert grittiness. Not at Texas Chainsaw Massacre levels but it does provide a sense of realism.
*Not much to it, but a fun little story.

The bad-
*The character's actions. The characters themseleves were fine (but kinda irrelevant in the larger scheme) however some of their choices make little to no sense, particularly at the end.
For example: If I am being constantly attacked by satanists, then I am not stopping until I am forced to. Sure, they use the broken headlights to explain it but I still wouldn't be stopping until I am forced to.
On the other side of the coin, the satanists have plently of simple opportunities to kill them but instead use diversions and convoluted plans. This allows for the whole point of the movie (protagonists in a road war with satanists) but it could have added to the tension by making the scenerios more realistic.
*The female characters are basically worthless and exist only to scream in terror. I was hoping to see Hot Lips Houlihan kick some ass!

Some notes:
*I was thinking that Warren Oates was completely devoid of charisma and only got the role because of his close friendship with Peter Fonda but I re-evaluated this when I saw he was in The Wild Bunch, In the Heat of the Night, Two-Lane Blacktop, and, most importantly Sgt. Hulka in Stripes!
*The director Jack Starrett started as an actor who did a bunch of biker explotation flicks like Hell's Angels on Wheels, and The Born Losers. This is persumably how he got hooked up with Peter Fonda for this flick. He also directed Cleopatra Jones.
.....but I mostly know him from 2 of his later acting roles: Gabby Johnson, the mumbling old west prospector in Blazing Saddles, and Art Galt, the asshole deputy from First Blood! (Note: I'll buy a beer for anyone who knew that was the same actor in those 2 parts! Crazy stuff!).

All in all, it is a fun little flick. It has flaws and is dated but it is worth a watch for '70s explotation fans.

6 to 6.5 outta 10 range for me. Not up to the level of Spielberg's Duel with Dennis Weaver (that has to be about an 8 outta 10) but still pretty good.

 

[Chef99]

Ok then! As per @Chef99 request, here is Race with the Devil (1975)-



Peter Fonda and Warren Oates are a couple of business partners who head across Texas with their ladies in a fancy (for '75) big motorhome. They camp in an isolated area next to river and flee in the middle of the night after mistakenly witnessing a satanic ritual in which a woman is killed. This leads to cross-country highway chases and general devil worshipper shenanigans.

Generally, a pretty fun car chase horror genre entry. There is both good and bad mixed in but overall a worthwhile watch.

The good-
*Lots of cross country car chases with constant demolition derby hits, wrecks, and explosions.
Now a lot of this stuff is typical ridiculous '70s style stunts with cars hitting ramps and flipping, driving off of bridges, exploding for no apparent reason, etc. but they are still fun! They are also fairly innovative in a few of the stunts mixed in.
*It isn't clear who they can or can't trust which leads to a constant state of paranoia and dread. Considering the meandering direction of the story, it is cool that they were able to implement this.
*The southern desert grittiness. Not at Texas Chainsaw Massacre levels but it does provide a sense of realism.
*Not much to it, but a fun little story.

The bad-
*The character's actions. The characters themseleves were fine (but kinda irrelevant in the larger scheme) however some of their choices make little to no sense, particularly at the end.
For example: If I am being constantly attacked by satanists, then I am not stopping until I am forced to. Sure, they use the broken headlights to explain it but I still wouldn't be stopping until I am forced to.
On the other side of the coin, the satanists have plently of simple opportunities to kill them but instead use diversions and convoluted plans. This allows for the whole point of the movie (protagonists in a road war with satanists) but it could have added to the tension by making the scenerios more realistic.
*The female characters are basically worthless and exist only to scream in terror. I was hoping to see Hot Lips Houlihan kick some ass!

Some notes:
*I was thinking that Warren Oates was completely devoid of charisma and only got the role because of his close friendship with Peter Fonda but I re-evaluated this when I saw he was in The Wild Bunch, In the Heat of the Night, Two-Lane Blacktop, and, most importantly Sgt. Hulka in Stripes!
*The director Jack Starrett started as an actor who did a bunch of biker explotation flicks like Hell's Angels on Wheels, and The Born Losers. This is persumably how he got hooked up with Peter Fonda for this flick. He also directed Cleopatra Jones.
.....but I mostly know him from 2 of his later acting roles: Gabby Johnson, the mumbling old west prospector in Blazing Saddles, and Art Galt, the asshole deputy from First Blood! (Note: I'll buy a beer for anyone who knew that was the same actor in those 2 parts! Crazy stuff!).

All in all, it is a fun little flick. It has flaws and is dated but it is worth a watch for '70s explotation fans.

6 to 6.5 outta 10 range for me. Not up to the level of Spielberg's Duel with Dennis Weaver (that has to be about an 8 outta 10) but still pretty good.

Well done, sir!

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Prophecy (1979)-


A doctor accepts a job from the EPA to do an environmental evaluation of deep woods Maine. The local native tribe opposes any lumber harvesting and are constantly clashing with the timber barrons. People start dying. The industry folks blame the natives despite it obviously being something else. Eventually they figure out it is a 15' mutant bear with no skin, covered in spaghetti sauce that is killing everyone, and that the industry has caused this via chemical poisoning of the area. Heads roll and people get batted about like cat toys.

I remember this one from late night HBO when I was a kid. However it isn't as good as my memory painted.
It has a decent story with questionable execution as some plot points are ridiculous. The acting is ok. The fxs are generally not great as the creature looks cheap and has unarticulated features. They try to cover this with quick shots and close ups but the best shot in the movie is a far away shot of the creature kicking the shit out of a guy. They should have done more of that. Some other stuff ranges from kinda disturbing to hilarious, like the killer raccoon attack.

They try to send a message but do it rather poorly. It comes off as a b-movie monster flick, which is fine but I would expect a bit better from director John Frankenheimer (the original Manchurian Candidate), and a solid supporting cast, including Talia Shire (Rocky), Robert Foxworth, and Armand Assante, who does a decent job but is an Italian playing a Native American amongst a cast that was filled with actual natives (I don't care too much, but it was an odd decision).

5 outta 10 rating for me. The movie has some well done moments, but it drags a bit and uses darkness and quick cuts too often to try to hide an often kinda ridiculous monster.

It did give us this though:


I think the Friday the 13th folks saw this!

That sleeping bag scene is quite possibly the greatest kill in cinematic history. Bitch slap, BOOOOF and POOOOOOOF with feathers everywhere. I rewound that probably 20 times when I first saw that movie and it still gets me laughing hard today if I haven't seen the clip in a while.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

I love horror movies but 2 things:

1) ENOUGH with the loud BOOOOM jump scares. It's not scary, it's just fuckin' annoying when you constantly throw them in 24/7. A couple sure, but use em' sparingly and when it makes sense. "Hey guys, how about the girl walks along in a COMPLETELY silent room... and then her boyfriend comes up behind her and grabs her shoulder and we play a LOUD BANG NOISE! OMG WOULDN'T THAT BE COOOL!"
2) ENOUGH with the paranormal shit. Ghosts aren't scary, they're not... and these dumbass paranormal movies just rely on "BOOM/BANG" noises 24/7. Like again, a couple here and there...

Seriously, go fuck yourself. I'd like to see more focus on creature features and ditch the stupid ghost shit which is generally always rated PG-13 for the stupid kiddies.

It was one thing I actually really like about the new RE: Remake (kind of one of the only things). No techno music or loud BOOM/jump scares, the movie just kind of kept an unsettling tone. It was a pleasant experience. One of my favorite horror films of all time (and IMO one of the best), Carpenters remake of The Thing. No loud BOOM/JUMP scare, great creature feature, practical effects, and the thought of what was actually happening was terifying.

But now the RING is scary? Bitch, if some chick comes crawling out of my TV, ruining the floor and TV in the process, she's taking it up the ass. I don't care if it's some well ghost chick or not... after I'm through with her we'll see how many more TVs she comes crawling through.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Anyone watching All of Us Are Dead on Netflix? It's a South Korean zombie series. Not sure what to think of it right now.

Not yet but it sounds up my alley! What are your views on it?

 

[returnofjakedog]

The Devil's Rain (1975)-


While trying to find the Race with the Devil stream, I stumbled across this one. I've heard of it before and knew some of the details but had never seen it.
The 2 movies interestingly share quite a bit in common: both were filmed in the SW (Texas, New Mexico, Mexico) in 1975. Both films not only deal thematically in satanism and the occult but also (supposedly) had satanists as advisors and possibly actors (Anton LeVoy is infamously attached to this one). They also both had big twist endings (for better or worse).
The Devil's Rain has an all-star cast with Ernst Borgnine, William Shatner, Tom Skerrit, and John Travolta in his first movie role (albeit a minor role), among others.

Anyways, Shatner's family is cursed by Borgnine's demon-satan because they stole a book containing the names of lost souls back in 1760 or so. Borgnine and his clan have now tracked them down and is torturing them. Shatner confronts them only to be captured.
Some weeks later, Shatner's brother, played by Tom Skerrit also confronts the satanists while investigating what happened to his family. This leads to a whole lot of chanting and confrontation before a kinda lame ending (it is only a bit lame because the tagline for the movie declared "Absolutely the most incredible ending of any motion picture!" It wasn't).

This one was critically lambasted but I didn't think it was all that bad. Some of the over-the-top performances and fxs are fun. The constant use of some pretty cool flesh melting fxs can be pretty awesome, if not a bit overused. The whole intro is kinda creepy and well done.
As noted, the plot makes little sense and the movie just kinda goes along without much flow or character development which can make it a bit of a drag.

Watch if you want to see Ernest Borgnine in full goat-demon make up, Shatner over acting (rather mildly by his standards), and a whole bunch of slimey flesh melting in the rain (I think they were influenced by Fulci on that aspect).

I'll go 5.5 to 6 outta 10 range. Can be a bit of a drag but there is some fun B-movie schlock in it.

 

[Chef99]

The Devil's Rain (1975)-


While trying to find the Race with the Devil stream, I stumbled across this one. I've heard of it before and knew some of the details but had never seen it.
The 2 movies interestingly share quite a bit in common: both were filmed in the SW (Texas, New Mexico, Mexico) in 1975. Both films not only deal thematically in satanism and the occult but also (supposedly) had satanists as advisors and possibly actors (Anton LeVoy is infamously attached to this one). They also both had big twist endings (for better or worse).
The Devil's Rain has an all-star cast with Ernst Borgnine, William Shatner, Tom Skerrit, and John Travolta in his first movie role (albeit a minor role), among others.

Anyways, Shatner's family is cursed by Borgnine's demon-satan because they stole a book containing the names of lost souls back in 1760 or so. Borgnine and his clan have now tracked them down and is torturing them. Shatner confronts them only to be captured.
Some weeks later, Shatner's brother, played by Tom Skerrit also confronts the satanists while investigating what happened to his family. This leads to a whole lot of chanting and confrontation before a kinda lame ending (it is only a bit lame because the tagline for the movie declared "Absolutely the most incredible ending of any motion picture!" It wasn't).

This one was critically lambasted but I didn't think it was all that bad. Some of the over-the-top performances and fxs are fun. The constant use of some pretty cool flesh melting fxs can be pretty awesome, if not a bit overused. The whole intro is kinda creepy and well done.
As noted, the plot makes little sense and the movie just kinda goes along without much flow or character development which can make it a bit of a drag.

Watch if you want to see Ernest Borgnine in full goat-demon make up, Shatner over acting (rather mildly by his standards), and a whole bunch of slimey flesh melting in the rain (I think they were influenced by Fulci on that aspect).

I'll go 5.5 to 6 outta 10 range. Can be a bit of a drag but there is some fun B-movie schlock in it.

Saw this. It ranks up there with one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Lol, I couldn't stop watching it. Did you catch Travolta's death scene? If you blinked, you missed it.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Saw this. It ranks up there with one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Lol, I couldn't stop watching it. Did you catch Travolta's death scene? If you blinked, you missed it.

I can't disagree that it is a relatively bad movie but it does have it's charms.
Without Borgnine in full goat-demon make up, and tons of face melting it is probably closer to a 4 in my book. But add these plus Shatner overacting and all the other stuff and it is interesting.

I don't specifically recall the Travolta death scene (I didn't even realize it was Travolta until reading about it afterwards) but I assume it involves him melting in the rain? Or do they just toss him in the pit?
I know his only lines were shouting "Blasphemer!" a couple times.