Horror Movies

[michaeljordan_fan]

That's too bad that y'all didn't like The Black Phone. I thought it was a great thriller with a chilling performance by Ethan Hawke.


Saw Nope last weekend, and while it leans a bit more into sci-fi than horror, still pretty enjoyable.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

That's too bad that y'all didn't like The Black Phone. I thought it was a great thriller with a chilling performance by Ethan Hawke.


Saw Nope last weekend, and while it leans a bit more into sci-fi than horror, still pretty enjoyable.

I always tell people not to be discouraged by reviews in here & to formulate their own opinions. Sometimes the best discussions in here come from opposing viewpoints.

I can only speak for myself and say that I do believe I set too high of an expectation on it. Like I said, I got enamored with the Grabber's appearances in the trailer. Felt like we were going to get more of a slasher flick.

 

[DJ Fieri]

 

[DJ Fieri]

 

[sonnyblack65]

She's back!!

 

[DJ Fieri]

 

[DarthVedder]

Incantation

Taiwanese movie on Netflix. I watched it dubbed in English, which is not ideal but I feel like reading subtitles makes me miss too much. Movie was very good, a bit slow but I really like watching paranormal / religious themes from different cultures. Really worth watching.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

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[returnofjakedog]

 

[UVA_Guy81]

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[returnofjakedog]

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We all know the answer on "Would you?" in regards to Salma, bit the real question is would you do Santanico Pandemonium?

 

[UVA_Guy81]

We all know the answer on "Would you?" in regards to Salma, bit the real question is would you do Santanico Pandemonium?
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Maybe with a paper bag over the head and a few drinks… maybe.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Hammer House of Horror (1980)-

Another horror anthology series, this one from the famed Hammer Films at the end of their first "run". Their last film was in '79, until the '08 reboot, but apparently they did another series in '84 that I'll need to see.

Only a single season, with 13 episodes in total. They run 52 minutes each, but might have benefitted from 10 minutes less.

These are all very story driven tales, and that is where the strength lies. I don't recognize any of the writer's names, but they generally did a solid job. Mostly supernatural stuff, like ghosts, voodoo, cults, and even creepy werewolf kids but they throw in the occasional more realistic stuff.

Also professionally shot, with decent production for the time and settings (UK). Some weird editing, but low key, and mostly just trickery to hide budget constraints.

Acting is mostly decent but some not so great in there also. The likes of Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliot, and an early Pierce Bronson show up.

For me the two biggest issues are a lack of gore/blood, and violence, and the dated British feel.

The fxs issues are budgetary but also the made-for-TV in early 80s UK. Rather sparse in appearance, and not used often.
The dated feel is just the time period and location. The dank locations combined with largely the use of only natural light combined with a bunch of average looking Brits makes for a very realistic feel but also detracts from the feel. It just doesn't have the Hammer Films feel of cheesy dread, violence, and sexuality.

Still, worth a watch for the horror anthology fans. I'll go about a 6.5 outta 10, with the individual episodes ranging from about 5.0 to 8.0. IMDB has it at a 7.5 overall but it wasn't quite at that level in my opinion.

The best episodes are probably the Peter Cushing as a retired Nazi scientist, one with a family that is dealing with a doppelganger issue, and a guy that has very realistic dreams, but opinions may vary.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Willard (1971)-

Willard is an awkward young man who lives in a starting to fall into disrepair old manor with his sick, nutty, overbearing mother. His mother's old, weird friends are always hanging around and meddling. At work he is constantly berated and abused by his overbearing boss (Ernest Borgnine), who stole the company from Willard's family.
Willard is also a bit unstable, and starts training and breeding the rats on the house's grounds, with the white Socrates being his favorite, and the big Ben as a rebellious sidekick. Willard speaks and communicates with the now hundreds of rats directly and they basically are his entire life.
Things come to a peak when Willard's mom dies, and bills start coming due on the house, which causes a bit of a breakdown and revenge spree.

An interesting flick. Well done for what it is, but it is a bit light on story and horror.

The good:
*The characters.
-Willard is a weirdo that goes off the deep end but he is sympathetic. You want to root for him.
-Ernest Borgnine (sadly not in full goat-demon make up this time) does well as the obnoxious, abusive boss.
-The mother and her strange friends are not well developed but fill their purpose nicely. They kinda feel like the mother and friends from Dead Alive, still comic but significantly toned down.
*The rats. They do a great job with the rat direction. Kudos to whomever the trainer-handler was.
*A fun, compact story is pretty fun.
*Well directed and shot for the budget and time period.

The bad:
*It isn't really a horror movie until the last 30 minutes. Before that they do a good job of a progressive build up but not much really happens.
*Sondra Locke as the supposed love interest isn't given much to do and is superfluous. Removing her character would probably given more of a sense of isolation and improved the feel.
*The rat attack scenes are generally ok, as they shoot around the lack of ferocity and focus on the people. But a couple of the BIG attack scenes look ridiculous with offscreen folks just throwing rats at people! I actually felt bad for the rats.

Overall, they did a good job with what they had but it is a bit sparse in budget, fxs, and story. Also, you can feel the Psycho influence. I'll go 5.5 to 6 outta 10.

There was a sequel, Ben, that came out the next year, which I haven't seen but it gets decent reviews. However I did see the remake in 2003 starring Crispin Glover in full on weirdo mode. I recall it being pretty good, but might need to rewatch it for comparison.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Santanico Pandemonium

Maybe with a paper bag over the head and a few drinks… maybe.

Well duh... And I'd use holy water as lube

 

[R.J. MacReady]

Willard (1971)-

Willard is an awkward young man who lives in a starting to fall into disrepair old manor with his sick, nutty, overbearing mother. His mother's old, weird friends are always hanging around and meddling. At work he is constantly berated and abused by his overbearing boss (Ernest Borgnine), who stole the company from Willard's family.
Willard is also a bit unstable, and starts training and breeding the rats on the house's grounds, with the white Socrates being his favorite, and the big Ben as a rebellious sidekick. Willard speaks and communicates with the now hundreds of rats directly and they basically are his entire life.
Things come to a peak when Willard's mom dies, and bills start coming due on the house, which causes a bit of a breakdown and revenge spree.

An interesting flick. Well done for what it is, but it is a bit light on story and horror.

The good:
*The characters.
-Willard is a weirdo that goes off the deep end but he is sympathetic. You want to root for him.
-Ernest Borgnine (sadly not in full goat-demon make up this time) does well as the obnoxious, abusive boss.
-The mother and her strange friends are not well developed but fill their purpose nicely. They kinda feel like the mother and friends from Dead Alive, still comic but significantly toned down.
*The rats. They do a great job with the rat direction. Kudos to whomever the trainer-handler was.
*A fun, compact story is pretty fun.
*Well directed and shot for the budget and time period.

The bad:
*It isn't really a horror movie until the last 30 minutes. Before that they do a good job of a progressive build up but not much really happens.
*Sondra Locke as the supposed love interest isn't given much to do and is superfluous. Removing her character would probably given more of a sense of isolation and improved the feel.
*The rat attack scenes are generally ok, as they shoot around the lack of ferocity and focus on the people. But a couple of the BIG attack scenes look ridiculous with offscreen folks just throwing rats at people! I actually felt bad for the rats.

Overall, they did a good job with what they had but it is a bit sparse in budget, fxs, and story. Also, you can feel the Psycho influence. I'll go 5.5 to 6 outta 10.

There was a sequel, Ben, that came out the next year, which I haven't seen but it gets decent reviews. However I did see the remake in 2003 starring Crispin Glover in full on weirdo mode. I recall it being pretty good, but might need to rewatch it for comparison.

I remember the rumor back in the day was that they put Peanut Butter on the other side of the door to get the rats to start chewing the door.


.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Well duh... And I'd use holy water as lube

I was thinking the ol' face down in the pillow method!

 

[returnofjakedog]

I remember the rumor back in the day was that they put Peanut Butter on the other side of the door to get the rats to start chewing the door.

That makes sense.

I was impressed with how they got the rats to perform, other than when they just toss dozens of them at people. The flying rats seemed pretty confused by this!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I was thinking the ol' face down in the pillow method!

Run a strip of duct tape across the back of her head to keep the pillow attached for when you want to flip her over...

cancel that... Make it velcro. Ya know, cotton en sech.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Run a strip of duct tape across the back of her head to keep the pillow attached for when you want to flip her over...

cancel that... Make it velcro. Ya know, cotton en sech.

Lol!

I'd negotiate:

Santanico Pandemonium: I'm not gonna drain you completely. You're gonna turn for me. You'll be my slave. You'll live for me. You'll eat bugs because I order it. Why? Because I don't think you're worthy of human blood. You'll feed on the blood of stray dogs. You'll be my foot stool. And at my command, you'll lick the dog shit from my boot heel. Since you'll be my dog, your new name will be "Spot". Welcome to slavery.

Me: Sounds good to me as long as I get 90 minutes a week with you in Salma form! Deal??

Santanico Pandemonium: Ummmmmm.......what?!?

Me: Can we get a notary in here? Let's close this thing!

Santanico Pandemonium: You're not supposed to want this! What is wrong with you?

Me (shoving a pen into her hand): SIGN Dammit!!