Horror Movies

[Sharkonabicycle]

It isn't a great flick, but it is fun nostalgic '80s cheese!

I mean if it is that movie, as a kid you think it's great, lol. And 80s cheese movies were always entertaining, and most of the times the effects were practical so it SOMEWHAT holds up or I can at least appreciate the film process back then instead of now where everything is shoved in front of a green screen.

 

[returnofjakedog]

One of Kurt Russel’s best roles under Carpenter IMO but I might have to give an edge to Jack Burton because “what the hell”.

The quote that had me dying in that movie was:

"God aren't you even going to kiss her goodbye!?"
".......... nope."

LMAO

I love some Big Trouble in Little China, and what was great about that movie was Kurt despite a few moments isn't just some Rambo/Schwarz stealing the show. There's various times where he does something stupid or is a bumbling fool and requires someone else to bail him out lol. The poster paints him as some absolute hero that's just going to mow through everything, but it's exactly the opposite.

Great movie and he was great in both films. Russell is one of my favorite actors. Even on celeb roast some person writes in: "Kurt Russell's face is like old worn leather." And what does Kurt reply with: "I couldn't agree more" and then starts genuinely laughing as opposed to being all sour grapes/upset.

Some actors that declined the McCready role: Nick Nolte, Christopher Walken, Jeff Bridges, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, plus a bunch of others. Fred Ward actively campaigned for the role.
Kurt Russell was the last actor cast for the film, and 2nd unit filming had already begun before he was hired.

All Russell roles in Carpenter movies are great. He intentionally channeled a couple of icons for EfNY and BTiLC
*Snake Pliskin: Post-apocalyptic Clint Eastwood
*Jack Burton: Clueless John Wayne

Of course, Elvis in Elvis but I don't think that counts!

Unlike those, I don't think that the R.J. McCready character was based on anyone specific.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Some actors that declined the McCready role: Nick Nolte, Christopher Walken, Jeff Bridges, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, plus a bunch of others. Fred Ward actively campaigned for the role.
Kurt Russell was the last actor cast for the film, and 2nd unit filming had already begun before he was hired.

All Russell roles in Carpenter movies are great. He intentionally channeled a couple of icons for EfNY and BTiLC
*Snake Pliskin: Post-apocalyptic Clint Eastwood
*Jack Burton: Clueless John Wayne

Of course, Elvis in Elvis but I don't think that counts!

Unlike those, I don't think that the R.J. McCready character was based on anyone specific.

Yah I remember that list. I watched the 2 hour (think it was that long anyway) documentary on The Thing and read up on it quite a bit.

Ford obviously went Blade Runner but that bombed as well at the box office and also like The Thing became a cult classic and got a sequel/prequel - I think he would've been fine in The Thing - as it was the same kind of serious role/sci-fi as Blade Runner... I want to say he probably would've helped the box office but he didn't help in Blade Runner that much. Fred Ward (RIP) and Nolte I think would've sold it well.

Slight spoilers to anyone that hasn't seen The Thing (82)
Walken would've been interesting because Walken has an appearance and acting ability that can REALLY make audiences feel uneasy, which is the whole tone/point of The Thing. Ford/Russell both have that very 'trusting' feel about them. With The Thing you just knew they couldn't be the alien! There's no way! And while the end is completely left up to the users own verdict... there's just no way!!!! With Walken? The whole movie I'd be convinced he was it LOL, making it all the more disturbing at the end.

I can't quite see Bridges or Eastwood in the role of MacReady although Eastwood would've been perfect for Garry. I can just picture him yelling to untie him from the fucking coach LOL.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Yah I remember that list. I watched the 2 hour (think it was that long anyway) documentary on The Thing and read up on it quite a bit.

Ford obviously went Blade Runner but that bombed as well at the box office and also like The Thing became a cult classic and got a sequel/prequel - I think he would've been fine in The Thing - as it was the same kind of serious role/sci-fi as Blade Runner... I want to say he probably would've helped the box office but he didn't help in Blade Runner that much. Fred Ward (RIP) and Nolte I think would've sold it well.

Slight spoilers to anyone that hasn't seen The Thing (82)
Walken would've been interesting because Walken has an appearance and acting ability that can REALLY make audiences feel uneasy, which is the whole tone/point of The Thing. Ford/Russell both have that very 'trusting' feel about them. With The Thing you just knew they couldn't be the alien! There's no way! And while the end is completely left up to the users own verdict... there's just no way!!!! With Walken? The whole movie I'd be convinced he was it LOL, making it all the more disturbing at the end.

I can't quite see Bridges or Eastwood in the role of MacReady although Eastwood would've been perfect for Garry. I can just picture him yelling to untie him from the fucking coach LOL.

I haven't seen the documentary on it. I'll need to check it out at some point.

As noted in the article @Sparhawk posted, it was muthaf'n ET that killed both The Thing and Bladerunner. I hated ET and it's uplifting message bullshit when I was a kid.

I think the domino effect is interesting. If Ford had taken the McCready role, then who would have taken the Rick Deckard role in Blade Runner? If Nolte would have taken it, then who would have been in 48 Hours? If Bridges took it, then who does Tron? The Dead Zone was '83, but it might have overlapped with The Thing's production and knocked him out of the role. Lots of weird alternate universe options!

Not fully related, but Dustin Hoffman was the first to be offered the Deckard role in Blade Runner. Ugh!

 

[returnofjakedog]

The Dead Zone was '83, but it might have overlapped with The Thing's production and knocked Walken out of the role.

Small correction

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

I haven't seen the documentary on it. I'll need to check it out at some point.

As noted in the article @Sparhawk posted, it was muthaf'n ET that killed both The Thing and Bladerunner. I hated ET and it's uplifting message bullshit when I was a kid.

I think the domino effect is interesting. If Ford had taken the McCready role, then who would have taken the Rick Deckard role in Blade Runner? If Nolte would have taken it, then who would have been in 48 Hours? If Bridges took it, then who does Tron? The Dead Zone was '83, but it might have overlapped with The Thing's production and knocked him out of the role. Lots of weird alternate universe options!

Not fully related, but Dustin Hoffman was the first to be offered the Deckard role in Blade Runner. Ugh!

lol interesting to see how everything might've worked out.

And you're right, fuckin' ET. I hated that dumbass movie as a kid and I hate it now. Giant penis shaped Alien who tries to groom kids and his magic power is fucking growing plants, healing cut fingers, and making a bike levitate... how about he reverses the guns those cops had and blows their heads off? Now that would've been entertainment! Hated that stupid ass penis alien.

 

[michaeljordan_fan]

Surprised no one has mentioned The Black Phone on here.

Very good entry from same director as Sinister.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Surprised no one has mentioned The Black Phone on here.

Very good entry from same director as Sinister.

It is getting good reviews. Apparently Hawke does a great job going against type in it.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Just some quick notes on some recent movies that are re-watchs for me and/or have already been reviewed here:

Deadheads (2011)-
I've mentioned this one here before several times. An entertaining zom-com with some good characters portrayed by decent actors, with a lot of fun gore!

Not as good as I remembered, but still better than average, particularly for a lower budget zombie movie.

Kinda surprisingly, the actors and directors haven't been overly active. The directors did do the decently reviewed The Wretched in '19, but other than that......

5.5 to 6 outta 10 area. Not Shaun of the Dead level, but worth it for fans of the sub-genre.

The Domestics (2018)-

Violent gangs clash in post-apocalyptic Wisconsin. Crazy violence, cool world building, and fun gangs! Essentially a mash up of The Road Warrior/Mad Max and The Warriors.

Watched and reviewed here a few years back. A lot of fun and holds up well on the rewatch.
Gotta go about a 7.5 outta 10. Everyone should watch!

Brightburn (2019)-

Very directly "What if Superman broke bad in his origin story?"
Frankly, I don't know why DC Comics didn't sue them!

My first watch, but it was reviewed and discussed here by a few folks already, and the consensus was average. I thought it was ok, slightly better than most here. The performances weren't great.

I'll go 5.5 to 6 outta 10 range. I would have liked to see the proposed sequel with the young super baddie continuing his path of destruction on a larger scale, but that seems unlikely to happen at this point.

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)-

My 3rd viewing, but probably first in 13-15 years.

Elvis switches places with an impersonator to get a break, but the records are destroyed in an explosion so everyone just thinks he is the said impersonator instead of The King! He falls into a coma, and wakes up rather infirm in an old rest home. He and another elderly resident battle an ancient Egyptian mummy-soul eater to save the other old folks.

A weird, fun romp carried by the performances, particularly Ozzie Davis as JFK (kind of), and of course my personal fav Bruce Campbell as the fat, falling apart Elvis.

Cheap fxs, and disjointed Don Coscarelli (Phantasm) direction kinda hold it back a little, but still worth a watch, particularly for the Ash fans!
6.5ish outta 10 area.

Phantasm 3: Lord of the Dead (1994)-

.....speaking of Don Coscarelli....
We discussed the flawed, but cult iconic Phantasm here some time ago. Newer viewers were not as impressed as the nostalgia folks, but it was an impressive accomplishment in bizarre, violent surrealism on a very low budget. I also remember enjoying Phantasm 2.

Well, part 3 still wallows in the weirdness of alternate dimensions, nightmare dream scapes, big block 'Cudas, and the greatness of Angus Scrimm's The Tall Man character. But has just as many negatives as positives, with mostly poor acting, annoying characters (particularly the kid), a nonsensical storyline (but that applies to all of the Phantasm movies).

Some great kills with the flying metal balls, and they use them a lot! So that is always great.

I'll go 5.5 outta 10 area. Worse than the original, and the 2nd (I need to re-watch that one to confirm), I recall the 4th entry was also about the same, with the 2016 Phantasm: Ravenger being the worst of the lot.

Ok, mostly caught up, but I do have a couple of good ones set aside for impending full review!

 

[michaeljordan_fan]

It is getting good reviews. Apparently Hawke does a great job going against type in it.

Hawke can play anything

 

[BeaReylo]

Surprised no one has mentioned The Black Phone on here.

Very good entry from same director as Sinister.

Coming out of cinema now and it is absolutely 100% BRILLIANT!!!!!!!! If anyone has any doubts about seeing this give it a go right now!

 

[returnofjakedog]

 

[returnofjakedog]

 

[returnofjakedog]

Here is a "fun" one!

Frankenhooker (1990)-

An medical school drop out/electrical worker's fiancee is chopped up (except for the head) by his remote control lawnmower invention, so he starts seeking out "perfect" body parts from prostitutes to rebuild her. Unfortunately for him, she retains only the basic, recent memories of the hookers, so she goes on a unintentional killing spree trying to turn tricks. He tries to contain her behavior while dealing with a vengeful pimp on their trail.......

Directed by Frank Hennenlotter who brought us the B-movie classic Basketcase, and the weird-assed and fun Braindamage (both reviewed in this thread), this one is pretty hilarious! It starts out a bit hit and miss with some funny and gruesome stuff mixed in with the bad and stupid for half of the run time, but things really solidify when the title character Frankenhooker awakens and starts twitching around the screen looking for Johns to ply her trade with.

Much like Hennenlotter's earlier works, this one is low budget explotation horror, and is maybe just a step or two above Lloyd Kaufman's Troma Studio stuff. It is a charmingly disgusting flick that is perfect for weirdos like me, but probably wouldn't be appreciated much by the general populace.

I would start listing the good and bad points, but they are all blended together so I'll just start going over stuff:

*Writing:
-The story itself is a hilarious concept, and generally well executed.
-The dialogue is hit and miss at best. But since this movie embraces the over-the-top cheese it has some good moments.

*Acting- Well, the acting is generally bad. Even the leads are questionable at best, but this movie really doesn't require good acting.
-For example, it was Hennenlotter's first movie made under SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) rules but he had a problem getting local NY SAG members to agree to the nudity so he eventually just went and got a bunch of local strippers and registered them with SAG! Now I have long been opposed to using strippers as actors in your movie (see my review of Glenn Danzig's abysmal Verotica in the thread) but it kinda works here because it doesn't at all take any of itself seriously.
-The main lead dude is ok. He is a bit up and down, but the best of a questionable lot.
-Patty Mullins, former Penthouse Playmate of the Year, plays slaughtered fiancee, and while she isn't a good actor persay, she absolutely owns it when she becomes the Frankenhooker. Her twitch-stumbling around in giant boots and scrunching up her face while only repeating dialogue that the other prostitutes used earlier in the movie works great and is a lot of fun. Kudos to her for embracing the role!
-A ton of nudity, but not all of it is appealing.

*Fxs- Lots of violence, and body parts but a somewhat limited amount of gore all things considered. The fxs are low budget, and can be very fun, but are also often very obviously quite cheap.

Not much else to say. All other aspects fall into the cheap but efficient catagory. Hennenlotter once again shows that he was quite capable of making weird and fun stuff on a very low budget.

Also, it does have an "interesting" twist ending.

As an actual movie, well, it is mostly bad and someone who doesn't have the perspective to appreciate it would probably bring it in at a 4 outta 10 area, BUT for fans of weird explotation horror-sex comedies it is probably more in the 7 to 7.5 range outta 10 range. Highly recommended if you can handle that subgenre. Also keep in mind that the first half, while having some moments, struggles by comparison to after the proverbial Frankenhooker hits the screen.



So do yourself a favor and watch Frankenhooker electrocute Johns while her fiancee and Zoro the killer pimp chase after her in the dirty streets of late 80's NYC!

Frankenhooker: A Tale of Sluts and Bolts

"If you see one movie this year, it should be Frankenhooker" -Bill Murray

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Here is a "fun" one!

Frankenhooker (1990)-

An medical school drop out/electrical worker's fiancee is chopped up (except for the head) by his remote control lawnmower invention, so he starts seeking out "perfect" body parts from prostitutes to rebuild her. Unfortunately for him, she retains only the basic, recent memories of the hookers, so she goes on a unintentional killing spree trying to turn tricks. He tries to contain her behavior while dealing with a vengeful pimp on their trail.......

Directed by Frank Hennenlotter who brought us the B-movie classic Basketcase, and the weird-assed and fun Braindamage (both reviewed in this thread), this one is pretty hilarious! It starts out a bit hit and miss with some funny and gruesome stuff mixed in with the bad and stupid for half of the run time, but things really solidify when the title character Frankenhooker awakens and starts twitching around the screen looking for Johns to ply her trade with.

Much like Hennenlotter's earlier works, this one is low budget explotation horror, and is maybe just a step or two above Lloyd Kaufman's Troma Studio stuff. It is a charmingly disgusting flick that is perfect for weirdos like me, but probably wouldn't be appreciated much by the general populace.

I would start listing the good and bad points, but they are all blended together so I'll just start going over stuff:

*Writing:
-The story itself is a hilarious concept, and generally well executed.
-The dialogue is hit and miss at best. But since this movie embraces the over-the-top cheese it has some good moments.

*Acting- Well, the acting is generally bad. Even the leads are questionable at best, but this movie really doesn't require good acting.
-For example, it was Hennenlotter's first movie made under SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) rules but he had a problem getting local NY SAG members to agree to the nudity so he eventually just went and got a bunch of local strippers and registered them with SAG! Now I have long been opposed to using strippers as actors in your movie (see my review of Glenn Danzig's abysmal Verotica in the thread) but it kinda works here because it doesn't at all take any of itself seriously.
-The main lead dude is ok. He is a bit up and down, but the best of a questionable lot.
-Patty Mullins, former Penthouse Playmate of the Year, plays slaughtered fiancee, and while she isn't a good actor persay, she absolutely owns it when she becomes the Frankenhooker. Her twitch-stumbling around in giant boots and scrunching up her face while only repeating dialogue that the other prostitutes used earlier in the movie works great and is a lot of fun. Kudos to her for embracing the role!
-A ton of nudity, but not all of it is appealing.

*Fxs- Lots of violence, and body parts but a somewhat limited amount of gore all things considered. The fxs are low budget, and can be very fun, but are also often very obviously quite cheap.

Not much else to say. All other aspects fall into the cheap but efficient catagory. Hennenlotter once again shows that he was quite capable of making weird and fun stuff on a very low budget.

Also, it does have an "interesting" twist ending.

As an actual movie, well, it is mostly bad and someone who doesn't have the perspective to appreciate it would probably bring it in at a 4 outta 10 area, BUT for fans of weird explotation horror-sex comedies it is probably more in the 7 to 7.5 range outta 10 range. Highly recommended if you can handle that subgenre. Also keep in mind that the first half, while having some moments, struggles by comparison to after the proverbial Frankenhooker hits the screen.


View attachment 300584
So do yourself a favor and watch Frankenhooker electrocute Johns while her fiancee and Zoro the killer pimp chase after her in the dirty streets of late 80's NYC!

Frankenhooker: A Tale of Sluts and Bolts

"If you see one movie this year, it should be Frankenhooker" -Bill Murray

This looks like one of those "Trash Classics" that you just can't help but end up loving!

Bill Murray has great taste!

 

[returnofjakedog]

This looks like one of those "Trash Classics" that you just can't help but end up loving!

Bill Murray has great taste!

Trashplotation is a good genre description of these types of films. I struggled calling them "So bad, it's good" since they never tried to be good to begin with, but "Trash Classic" is a more apt representation of the style.

So bad, it's good: Samurai Cop, The Room, Miami Connection

Trashplotation: The Toxic Avenger, Basketcase, Frankenhooker

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

View attachment 300509

That movie used to scare me a bit as a little kid (didn't help I watched it one night alone. My parents were pretty good about scary movies - they weren't all cupcake like a lot of today's parents). The cop scene always freaked me out for some reason. I remember seeing this poster and Graveyard Shift non-stop in the horror movie section (I always loved going in that section and looking at all the VHS box art).

Course now that movie is more funny than scary.

"They have weapons."
*shotgun blows away Critter friend*
"Fuck!"

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Might have already been posted but this one is not only great effects (body horror) but pretty funny too boot. The concept of what's happening though is pretty frightening.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Might have already been posted but this one is not only great effects (body horror) but pretty funny too boot. The concept of what's happening though is pretty frightening.

Nice! I'll see if I can find it, and check it out.