Horror Movies

[returnofjakedog]

Since we haven't heard from meme-master @DJ here in a few weeks:

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Cracks me up every time

The added sparks, now that's production quality, 10/10!

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Went to see both Barbarian and Smile yesterday as a pre-birthday treat to myself. Thinking about making the drive again tonight Terrifier 2. Will do full reviews in the next few days.

Barbarian was pretty decent. Good build up of suspension, thrills, and some creepy moments. I can't for the life of me take Jake Long seriously anymore but I still appreciate his acting. Movie did a pretty good play on the 'who done it' thing.

Eh... I'd give it 7/10... didn't utilize too many jump scares IMO and when it did the tension was built up very appropriately (not just loud bangs 24/7 with nothing happening - drives me fucking nuts), which is always a plus. Like in Barbarian when there is a little jump scare, there's a meaty (lol) follow up to it. I hate the whole *LOUD BANG followed by nice innocent person showing up* "OH, it was just me! Why are you scared!?" FUCK YOU MOVIE. That didn't happen here.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Ok then! As mentioned previously, I went and saw several movies in thd theatre as a b-day treat to myself. So........

Barbarian (2022)-

This one has been very briefly discussed here by @michaeljordan_fan @DarthVedder (and just now @Sharkonabicycle brought it up).

A young lady goes to her airbnb in a rather desolate area of Detroit only to find that Bill Skarsgard is already staying there in an apparent double booking error. But it turns out that sharing a residence with the dude who played Pennywise is the least of her worries........

This is a very well-done and rather original story that certainly subverts expectations. It has some unexpected twists and turns that hold your interest.
That being said, it is hard to discuss the details of this one without giving too much away.

The good:
*Solid all around production. For a relatively low-budget flick ($4.5 million) it is an impressive product.
-It should be noted that this director Zack Cregger's first solo directing project and first delve into horror on any level. The "weird" part is that he is a comedy guy who was in The Whitest Kids U Know!

*The acting is good from the 3 leads that have 90% of the focus.
-Justin Long does a solid job as kinda likeable jackass in it, but I have to ask: Does he always play an idiot in every horror movie he is in (Jeepers Creepers, Tusk, Drag Me to Hell)?
-Georgina Campbell is a strong main character. I've only seen her in a Black Mirror episode before this one.

*While it was generally shot pretty straight forward, there are some cool shots in the dark, down hallways/tunnels, and such that raise the tension and paranoia a bit.

*The shots of the beautiful neighborhood from 40+ years ago juxtaposed with the modern hell-hole version are pretty impressive. I am curious which they filmed first (I assume the nice version, but you never know!)

*It flows fairly well. The story moves along at a decent pace.

The bad:
Not too much:
*Some stupid decision making by the characters, but this is typical of horror movies and can generally be excused here as the effect of stress and fear.

*Just the worst cops. Not the bumbling idiot type we often see in horror, but just dismissive assholes. But they only are in it for 1 scene.

All in all, a good and quite well done feature. From the lack of knowledge going in (the trailer does a good job of not giving much away) I had expected a deeper meaning type story from this one, and a small story from Smile, but that turns out to be reversed as this is a compact little tale (I'll get to Smile later).

I'll go 7.5 to 8 outta 10 range. A good, fun little romp into a nasty situation

It would be a good double feature with Don't Breathe just for the apocalyptic Detroit scenes.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Man so I was browsing through Amazon Prime and saw Jennifer's Body (yes the 2009 movie which marketing just basically advertised Megan Fox doing sexy things) and was like...

Ya know alright, fuck it... let's go.

And I GOTTA SAY... I mean NOT completely horrible. It kind of had a cool succubus vibe to it, some good effects... the pacing was decent, soundtrack was good... no stupid jump scares, the concept of how the succubus came to be was a little stupid IMO... but like... there was some good stuff here.

Recommend you guys to check it out if you never did. I remember rolling my eyes at it years ago because I figured it was just a cash grab on Megan Fox (which it is, don't mind that comment), but the plot and acting itself actually wasn't that bad. Decent horror film and gore, and again pretty good CGI. Eh I'd give it a 6/10 or so... maybe a tad less, but it was entertaining, I'll give it that.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Man so I was browsing through Amazon Prime and saw Jennifer's Body (yes the 2009 movie which marketing just basically advertised Megan Fox doing sexy things) and was like...

Ya know alright, fuck it... let's go.

And I GOTTA SAY... I mean NOT completely horrible. It kind of had a cool succubus vibe to it, some good effects... the pacing was decent, soundtrack was good... no stupid jump scares, the concept of how the succubus came to be was a little stupid IMO... but like... there was some good stuff here.

Recommend you guys to check it out if you never did. I remember rolling my eyes at it years ago because I figured it was just a cash grab on Megan Fox (which it is, don't mind that comment), but the plot and acting itself actually wasn't that bad. Decent horror film and gore, and again pretty good CGI. Eh I'd give it a 6/10 or so... maybe a tad less, but it was entertaining, I'll give it that.

I've always found it to be a bit underrated. It is a bit too made for the teens, but it is a well executed, dark tale, and worth a watch.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

I've always found it to be a bit underrated. It is a bit too made for the teens, but it is a well executed, dark tale, and worth a watch.

Yah... in hindsight now I think it was HORRIBLY marketed. I remember the trailers... oh yah.... did I rub one out? I'm not going to say I did, but I maintained an objective mind.

That all said, it was teen marketed but actually a bit more of an adult movie... but hey.. when ya got an early Fox and Seyfried.... if the cash is there, they do not care.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Movie #2 from my b-day theatre marathon:

Smile (2022)-

A hospital evaluation therapist interviews a patient who speaks of an entity that no one else can see that stalks her. The entity takes the form of, or actually posesses other persons, and appears with a big creepy smile and often make vague threats that only the intended victim can see/hear until it forces their suicide within a week.

Very well done across the board.

The good:
*The acting is generally good with 95% of the focus throughout on the lead Sosie Bacon. She does an excellent job displaying her fears and anxieties, and desperately trying to get folks to listen to her. The rest of the cast is good to decent with the likes of ex-boyfriend cop, and Kai Penn as her boss being strong supporting characters.
-An interesting note: I found out when reading about her after seeing the movie that Sosie is the daughter of Kyrie Sedgewick and Kevin Bacon! So she was born with acting chops!
-Another note on Sosie: Not to be offensive but she has 2 moles on her cheek and one of them is rather large. Not a big deal but I was constantly distracted thinking "She's a famous actress. Why doesn't she get that burned off?" But my issue to deal with. At least it isn't Lemmy-sized!

*Solid direction gives us some good storytelling. This one leads us along very nicely from plot point to plot point in a believable manner.
-This is an impressive directorial debut from Parker Finn. The new guy has some chops!

*Some spectacular shoots, particularly in transition shots where they tumble stuff at odd angles, often in big sweeping shots. These shots can almost take your breath away but can also be very disorienting and sometimes verging on nauseating. This really adds to the ambience!

*The score adds to the impending dread.

*Theme and execution:

Spoiler

This is 100% a mental health movie. Some folks have complained that it is an over used troupe in recent years but it really works here. The depictions of someone going insane because of harassment from the supernatural entity are excellently done and when listen to and watch the person desperately trying to explain the situation to others, they come off as very realistically and rather unnervingly nuts. It makes a GREAT statement on how mental health can breakdown and destroy people, and ruin their support relationships because of fear, confusion, and misunderstandings on both sides. Being my history with my ex-wife and what her issues did to our marriage and to my own mental health, it really spoke to me.

The bad:
Much like Barbarian, not a ton, but there are a few things:

*The trailer. Not bad persay but somewhat misleading. It gives the impression of a teen-oriented, PG-13 jump scare fest.
But the movie itself is a better version of the possible implied outcomes, so alls well that ends well. It also has jump scares but they don't overly abuse that aspect. (I add it here because they lean into this a bit in the trailer).

*Not a wholly original plot or feel but it is all handled well. Still, you do walk away noting some similarities to other films such as The Ring, It Follows, and the kinda shitty Truth or Dare

*Some mixed bag cgi here and there, particularly towards the end. Some of it can come off a bit odd but it largely still works.

*A few of the character interactions are a bit over the top (for example, the party scene).

Another good one! I think I liked just a tiny bit more than Barbarian but they are right in the same area. So another 7.5 to 8 outta 10 from me!

Have another good new one up next before reverting back to the mix of old, weird, and often questionable!

 

[returnofjakedog]

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Ok then! As mentioned previously, I went and saw several movies in thd theatre as a b-day treat to myself. So........

Barbarian (2022)-

This one has been very briefly discussed here by @michaeljordan_fan @DarthVedder (and just now @Sharkonabicycle brought it up).

A young lady goes to her airbnb in a rather desolate area of Detroit only to find that Bill Skarsgard is already staying there in an apparent double booking error. But it turns out that sharing a residence with the dude who played Pennywise is the least of her worries........

This is a very well-done and rather original story that certainly subverts expectations. It has some unexpected twists and turns that hold your interest.
That being said, it is hard to discuss the details of this one without giving too much away.

The good:
*Solid all around production. For a relatively low-budget flick ($4.5 million) it is an impressive product.
-It should be noted that this director Zack Cregger's first solo directing project and first delve into horror on any level. The "weird" part is that he is a comedy guy who was in The Whitest Kids U Know!

*The acting is good from the 3 leads that have 90% of the focus.
-Justin Long does a solid job as kinda likeable jackass in it, but I have to ask: Does he always play an idiot in every horror movie he is in (Jeepers Creepers, Tusk, Drag Me to Hell)?
-Georgina Campbell is a strong main character. I've only seen her in a Black Mirror episode before this one.

*While it was generally shot pretty straight forward, there are some cool shots in the dark, down hallways/tunnels, and such that raise the tension and paranoia a bit.

*The shots of the beautiful neighborhood from 40+ years ago juxtaposed with the modern hell-hole version are pretty impressive. I am curious which they filmed first (I assume the nice version, but you never know!)

*It flows fairly well. The story moves along at a decent pace.

The bad:
Not too much:
*Some stupid decision making by the characters, but this is typical of horror movies and can generally be excused here as the effect of stress and fear.

*Just the worst cops. Not the bumbling idiot type we often see in horror, but just dismissive assholes. But they only are in it for 1 scene.

All in all, a good and quite well done feature. From the lack of knowledge going in (the trailer does a good job of not giving much away) I had expected a deeper meaning type story from this one, and a small story from Smile, but that turns out to be reversed as this is a compact little tale (I'll get to Smile later).

I'll go 7.5 to 8 outta 10 range. A good, fun little romp into a nasty situation

It would be a good double feature with Don't Breathe just for the apocalyptic Detroit scenes.

A wild ride, really liked it (minus the reliance on the worst decision making ever by every single character).

 

[Nasty_Magician]

I have watched all of the pre Rob Zombie Halloween movies no less than 20 times each with the exception of Halloween 6 The Curse of Michael Myers which I just watched for the first time. My goodness what a steaming pile, I was not missing out.

 

[returnofjakedog]

I have watched all of the pre Rob Zombie Halloween movies no less than 20 times each with the exception of Halloween 6 The Curse of Michael Myers which I just watched for the first time. My goodness what a steaming pile, I was not missing out.

It is bad, but I think Ressurection might be even worse.

They both kinda suck!

Let's not talk about the Rob Zombie stuff.......

 

[Judge Fudge]

Saw Halloween Ends

8/10. Loved it but just have one issue with it.

Spoiler: My issue

Honestly. Why the Hour build of the main Character for 30 minutes of Killing?

 

[DJ Fieri]

 

[DJ Fieri]

 

[DJ Fieri]

 

[DJ Fieri]

 

[DJ Fieri]

 

[Fish]

@DJ, are you lost?

 

[R.J. MacReady]

Definitely going to check this one out

The series was good but there was just something missing in most of them. I find it hard to describe.
Very good production value (never felt cheap), top shelf casting but the end product was akin to a Tofu burger.
You are full but you are kinda not.

It was missing what Black Mirror has in a lot of it's episodes ....a riveting feeling is how I would describe it.

.