Horror Movies

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[returnofjakedog]

I've never heard of it, but it looks pretty good!

So watched The Night Eats the World and I was incorrect as I have heard of it before. It quickly becomes obvious that this is the english language version from the same story that was used as the basis for the Korean movie #Alive.

So Sam goes to get his music tapes from his self-centered and critical ex- but shes throwing a big party with her new boyfriend (who is a bit of an ass). Since she can't be bothered to take 2 minutes of her time to help him despite him asking several times, he goes and finds the tapes him but passes out in a chair. He groggily awakes to the distant sounds of screaming and violence. Upon exploration he starts finding lots of blood sprayed around and eventually hordes of flesh eating zombies. He locks himself in the flat, then eventually takes over the entire building.
This movie deals with the themes of isolation and seperation and does a better job on those points than #Alive imo. It also digs deeper into the mental health and personal loss stuff. It is a well done and extremely compact (perhaps a bit too compact).

The good:
*Generally well acted and directed.
*The zombies are very well done. Good fxs in general.
*Addresses the themes and follows through with them within the confines of the storyline.
*Does a realistic depiction of Sam's descent into isolation induced madness. This leads to him doing seemingly stupid shit like doing a big drum solo with the windows open as zombies come running from everywhere but the fact that he is losing it and no longer cares accounts for this self-destructive behavior.
*Sam's relationship with the zombie Alfred in the building is interesting and a bit like Bub from Day of the Dead-like. I think it is meant to represent Sam's inability to let the dead or past traumas, etc go, but it worked better on a slightly more direct level of just dealing with loneliness

The bad:
*It doesn't show the initial chaos. Obvously due to budget, they have Sam sleep through the initial outbreak. It would have been great to show what happened instead of just waking up to the situation. But $$$.
*The Sarah character comes off as a bit unnecessary and her exit from the movie is kinda stupid. It is meant to make a point about Sam's life and his unwillingness to take chances or commit to anyone but it could have been displayed in a more realistic manner. This directly leads to the ending........
*The ending. #Alive had a weak ending with a rather anticlimactic rescue scene. In this movie they try to imbue a deeper meaning as Sam decides to "live his life instead of always hiding" but it is very abrupt and is a bit too open ended.

Overall, a decent little zombie flick. They obviously lacked budget so they put their money into the zombies, the scrubbing of the backgrounds to make the city seem deserted, etc. Basically, they used the money wisely considering the limitations. There are only 5 characters in the whole movie and only Sam is really fleshed out. Even Alfred the zombie gets more character than the other humans.
As far as a direct comparison goes, it is a slightly lesser movie than it's Korean cousin #Alive imo despite The Night Eats the World delving deeper into important themes and points. It causes the movie to move a bit slower and it mostly has a little bit less tension and dread than #Alive, which was less heavy but flowed better.
I'll go 6 - 6.5 out of 10 range. A bit slow along the way but worth a watch, particularly if you are a zombie fan.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

I rewatched Gremlins 2: The New Batch for the first time in 20+ years the other day.


Even moreso than the first Gremlins movie, this one stretchs the definition of being a horror-comedy as it is way more comedy than horror. But it is generally a well done sequel.

Synopsis:
After his "owner" dies, Gizmo the mogwai is captured by a NY billionaire real estate mogul (no, not that one) and subjected to experiments in a genetics lab which happens to be in the worlds most modern, fully automated building.
As luck would have it, Gizmo's former owner Billy and his girlfriend work in said building. Billy frees Gizmo, but stupidly leaves him alone before he can smuggle him outside. Gizmo gets drenched in water and "births" some more mogwai. Chaos ensues as the newbies birth more of their kind and then turn into Gremlin form by eating after midnight.
All in all a pretty simplistic plot, but it generally is ok.

The good:
*The majority of the original cast is back and do a decent job with it.
*Lots and lots of Gremlins! This is great but also a little bit of a negative. I will speak on that below.
*Almost all effects are practical and fun. This is a direct carry over from the feel of the first movie and is what makes these movies successful.
*The stuff that works is pretty damn funny. For example: the Microwave with Marge is hilarious!

The bad:
*A bit too redundant and obvious. Still a fun watch but there are no real twists or unexpected directions in the plot.
*Generally all of the gremlins are stereotypes played for humor. This is fresh in the first movie but can feel a bit repetitive and overwhelming here as there are just so many!
*The acting is intentionally one dimensional. This is ok considering what movie it is, but it kinda wastes some good actors.

Notes:
*The great Christopher Lee plays a "mad scientist" named Dr. Katheter (lol!) who runs the genetics lab, and Tony Randell voices the genius gremlin. There are also a bunch of other secondary actors and cameos of note.
*So many references and easter eggs! Literally almost everything is a reference or homage. For example: Christopher Lee uses lines from his old Dracula movies, automatic door sound effects lifted from Star Trek, shot by shot reimaging of Phantom of the Opera organ scene, Grandpa Fred as homage to Grandpa Munster, use of music or lines from other movies as direct references to specific scenes (for example: use of music from Tarantula for the spider gremlin scenes), etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. This list could go on and on.
*One part of the original movie that has become famous (or infamous?) is Phoebe Cates' "dead Santa dad in the chimney" monolog, which I found hilarious. Here she starts a similar dramatic speech but about Lincoln's Birthday but is cut off by Billy saying "We don't have time for this now"!
*Leonard Maltin cameos by re-reading his negative Gremlins review on his tv show, but is cut short by a bunch of gremlins attacking him!

Anyways, a solid sequel overall. You could probably do pages and pages on all of the cameos, references, and easter eggs but I'll leave it at that.

I'd give the original Gremlins a 7.5 to 8 out of 10 rating range. Gremlins 2 is slightly lesser and suffers a bit from all of the goofiness so I'd clock it at about a 6.5 to 7 out of 10 range. Worth a watch if you enjoyed the original but certainly not a gritty or scary movie. It certainly plays more for the laughs than the horror.

lol I love that movie. All the Gremlins turning into variations was really cool and the CEO Clamp was hilarious. "I LIKE THAT, GOOD!" lolol. All the tech in the building that hardly works or is super glitchy was definitely foreshadowing where we've kind of gotten to today and the spider scene was really well done.

Christopher Lee and the twins from Terminator 2 were funny as well. And the brain Gremlin was too good. *shoots Gremlin friend* "Now was that civilized? No clearly not... FUN, but in no sense civilized!" LOL

I can pop that fucker in any day and be entertained for a couple hours.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Open 24 Hours (2020)... Straight forward slasher flick. Cast was meh, but the movie was a decent watch. They really played up the PTSD element to add some mystery to it, but it was sorta unnecessary. Still worth the watch.

Sea Fever (2020)... Pretty cool viral/parasite type movie. They went for a more realistic approach so theres not a lot of shock factor but it was pretty terrifying in the "what would I do" sense. Great attention to detail and the acting was on the money.

Triggered (2020)... Great idea, but execution was shoddy at best. Cast was lacking, and the character motives were lackluster, but it was an easy throwaway watch.

Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)... This one surprised me a little. I was expecting it to be a lot cheesier than it was. Still had plenty of awesome awfulness if you know what I mean. Some characters were just shameless plugs. Took me a minute to recognize Jon Heder lol. If your a fan of the franchise then its worth the watch, but you should know what to expect after watching the previous installments.

Greenland (2020)... Not horror, but one of those natural disaster (end of the world) type of movies like Armageddon (1998), Deep Impact (1998), Day After Tomorrow (2004), or Geostorm (2017 - also featuring Gerard Butler). Much of the same of what you'd expect with survivalist storyline trying to reach a bunker for salvation, but this one's writing was little lacking. Felt lazy at times. Still a good watch though.

I'll have to give Greenland a watch. Looks like some fun effects. All these movies are somewhat lazy although Day After Tomorrow was cheeseball fun (running from the FREEZE LOL). Most of these disaster movies put me to sleep though, 2012 FX was amazing but God I hated that movie and the stupid ass kids. I was rooting for the whole family to die which I knew wasn't going to happen. Least with San Andreas we got the tremendous Alex Daddario to look at.

As for Sea Fever, pretty good and I'm a huge Hermoine Corfield fan who looked great in that gray shirt and tight jeans YOWZA! She was really good in Rust Creek which is kind of a horror movie (more of a thriller) so I'd recommend you guys check that out.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Anus *snickers*
*Alien snarls at Shark*
Jesus calm down, sorry, okay!? It was a joke...
*Alien walks off mumbling*

 

[returnofjakedog]

Anus *snickers*
*Alien snarls at Shark*
Jesus calm down, sorry, okay!? It was a joke...
*Alien jumps on ya, impales you with tail while eating your face with the secondary jaw extension.*

Fify!
You approached it like Busta Rhymes in Halloween Resurrection but we all know that movie was just a fever sweat dream and that in "reality" Michael would have ripped open his guts post haste instead of being verbally abused, then getting his ass handed to him twice because.....karate?!?

Xenomorphs are f'n terrifying! I'm running away as fast as possible and desperately hoping that he is delayed long enough eating your face thay I can escape.........but instead there are either more xenomorphs the direction I am running, or I fall and get hurt, or there is nowhere to run. Next thing you know I'm cocooned up in a dark corner with an alien eating me alive from the inside until my chest bursts open in a bloody visceral mess of sloppy innards. For if we've learned anything from the Alien movies it's that your only slim chance of survival is being a final girl (and even that success is only temporary).

Fuck. Now I'm depressed. It's like trying to outrun Jason!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Going to be difficult as good monster films are a tough draw as far as creature features go... Especially if we're talking "good" lol as most of what I'll come up with are flawed films that have some sort of redeeming quality. Are you open to Animals/Nature (crocs, bears, wolves, sharks, snakes, aliens, werewolves, bigfoot) or just lookin for Neo-Monsters/Monsters? What about supernatural monsters?

Here's a list I came up with for the "better than average" & under the radar (some are more high profile than others) neo-Monster & Monster films... But keep in mind these are all flawed films...

After Midnight (2019)
Animal Among Us (2019)
The Barrens (2012)
Black Water Vampire (2014)
Child Eater (2017)
Devil In the Dark (2017)
Digging Up the Marrow (2015)
Feast (2005)
The Hallow (2015)
Indigenous (2014)
It's In the Blood (2012)
Monsters (2010)
Nailbiter (2013)
Neverknock (2017)
Outlander (2008)
Prey (2019)
Primal Rage: Legend of Konga (2018)
The Pyramid (2014)
Rites of Spring (2011)
The Ritual (2017)
Scarecrow (2013)
Silent Retreat (2013)
Sweetheart (2019)... pretty sure we already discussed this one between us
Under the Bed (2012)
The Void (2016)

Let me know if you want more and I'll keep digging

So did you find anything on this list @Sharkonabicycle that you hadn't watched yet?

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

So did you find anything on this list @Sharkonabicycle that you hadn't watched yet?

Oh yes my backlog has filled up. You always list stuff I haven't seen, I was just being lazy and wanted to annoy you the night I specifically asked. I am gonna check out that Butler film (Greenland) the next few days though. Looked kind of cool (the FX anyway). IMDB ratings weren't atrocious.

I've seen several of the films on your list but not all. Ritual was really good, Feast was fuckin' hilarious (saw it a long time ago). I'll never forget THAT scene of the chick with the huge titties... pretty unforgettable LOL

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Shin Godzilla (2016)... I'm disappointed in myself for not having watched this sooner... It was like Cloverfield on steroids. But it has so much more nostalgic look & feel to it... The CGI was glorious. Superb!

@Chef99 - did you ever watch this?

 

[UVA_Guy81]

Shin Godzilla (2016)... I'm disappointed in myself for not having watched this sooner... It was like Cloverfield on steroids. But it has so much more nostalgic look & feel to it... The CGI was glorious. Superb!

@Chef99 - did you ever watch this?

I’ve heard good things but never got around to watching it.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

@returnofjakedog @Sharkonabicycle - just came across this foreign neo-monster film.. Looks pretty wild

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[DJ]

Watching Doom on Sy Fy.

 

[DJ]

That's fucking awesome.

 

[Sparhawk]

Pretty spot on...

These Days, the Best Zombie Content Is Made in Korea

If you love the genre, but have tired of ‘The Walking Dead’ universe, ‘Train to Busan,’ ‘Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula,’ and ‘Kingdom’ will hit the spot

www.theringer.com

 

[returnofjakedog]

Pretty spot on...

These Days, the Best Zombie Content Is Made in Korea

If you love the genre, but have tired of ‘The Walking Dead’ universe, ‘Train to Busan,’ ‘Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula,’ and ‘Kingdom’ will hit the spot

www.theringer.com

Yep. Good article. Strange that it didn't mention #Alive though as that is the most recent K-zom flick of note.

Weirdly, I reviewed The Night Eats the World recently and said that I had heard of it before as it is based on the same story as #Alive. But it turns out that I hadn't heard of it before as the other version of the story that I have heard of is Alone, which has gratuitous Donald Sutherland in it.

So apparently there is a Korean version, #Alive, and Euro version, The Night Eats the World, and a USA version called Alone which I haven't seen yet.

I've seen movies based on the same story relased at similar times before, and I've certainly seen many alternate language/country versions of the same movie (but those typically don't come out at the same time). However I don't recall 3 versions of the same story being made in different countries but released at essentially the same time. Kinda strange.

 

[Chef99]

Shin Godzilla (2016)... I'm disappointed in myself for not having watched this sooner... It was like Cloverfield on steroids. But it has so much more nostalgic look & feel to it... The CGI was glorious. Superb!

@Chef99 - did you ever watch this?

Nope, but I will now!