Horror Movies

[returnofjakedog]

lol

So I gave it some thought, if I look at it like an hr and a half long short, it is more fun because I am not expecting to understand character or plot motivations lol.

I am typing this as I am watching the ABC's of Death 2.5 lol. I wish I knew someone around here that could do gore, blood, effects and make up. I would love to try my hand at directing a short. Not saying I'd be any good, but I would like to try my hand at it.

Any of you guys listen to any horror podcasts/storytellings? A lot of time I will lay in bed for a while before I get tired, so I started listening to Campfire Radio on Spotify while I unwind in bed. It is a radio theater, I loved listening to radio theater as a kid, so this was an awesome find. Storytelling is one thing, but theater is much more fun even if it is only audible. None of the stories are terribly graphic or anything, but they are fun for what they are and it sounds really good, they even recommend listening with earbuds for the full experience. Anyway, fun times.

#1: ABCs of Death 2.5:
The original ABCs of Death both were a mixed bag. Apparently the 2.5 is the runners up that didn't make part 2 and IMDB gives it a 4.6.
How was it? Any highlights?

#2: Radio and/or horror podcasts:
Dad threw out the TV when my siblings and I were very young due to hours wasted. This actually spawned my love of horror through reading and going to lots of movie showings. Radio was also a huge part. We (my sisters and I) also listened to lots of radio theatre. The main one was CBS Mystery Theatre with E.G. Marshall.
Lately I watch/listen to all kinds of youtube stuff (we covered some channels in a recent discussion) and tge last few weeks have leaned into true crime stuff, which is often way more horrific than fiction. The Casual Criminalist is pretty good for relatively short looks (15 to 50 some minutes) at specific serial killers, but my favorite at the moment is Mr. Ballin, an ex-Navy Seal guy who goes through tons of videos/pictures, and also quite a bit of unsolved stuff (as the case may be).

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Wait........WTF?!?

I'm all for another movie but the blind guy is the good guy now?

I feel a little bad for the character considering what he went through before he started the kidnapping and turkey baster escapades but I am concerned for the orphaned girl in this one. I assume he will be portrayed in a good light in regards to that but I'm still worried about what happens to her when she starts dropping eggs.

Maybe it will be a prequel to why he became bad? Grasping for straws here.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Nailed it. It's a great movie for its time & the culture of the 70s. Nostalgic.

Phantasm was made during an era when logical plotlines weren't of importance and it was more about presentation..... & slashers/monsters! It plays a bit slower than most monster movies, but it is clever & very unique. Creepy atmosphere, memorable score, a fantastic villain, and a general lunacy surrounding everything has all the makings of a cult classic! One-eye Angus is about as iconic as it gets! When I think of some of the first movies that overly abused the jump scares I think of this one... But it was passable at the time because it was all around entertaining! Muscle cars & cemeteries! Used to have a poster of that Hemi 'Cuda... Badassery!

It's impossible for most people to really love that movie if they are watching it for the first time now. (That goes for tons of old movies I guess)

You have to remember, this came out 20 years before the "world wide web" even existed to the masses.
And back in the day ..it was really huge with just high schoolers & young adults. The plot was just so different and freaky than any other horror movie. We would talk about it endlessly when I was like 16.

Guys in school would love to draw that ball with spikes flying in the air .....they had a lot of free time since cell phones were still science fiction.


.

I've heard criticisms in the past that Phantasm was ripping off trends at the time.
One point was that it was rushed out to take advantage of the success of Halloween (kinda both true and untrue. Explanation in a moment). To support this point, everyone thought the mutant dwarves were a huge Star Wars Jawa ripoff as they were of approximately the same size, wore brown hooded robes, and were sent into a desert realm.
Here is the thing though: Don Coscarelli wrapped filming of Phantasm in mid 1977, BEFORE Star Wars and Halloween were released. However the success of Halloween did help it get picked up by the studio.

Some other trivia:
*The filming was done almost exclusively on weekends, and often they were 20 hour days. This was because Coscarelli could rent the cameras late on Friday, begin filming immediately, and barely stop until the wee hours of Monday morning and only be charged for one day since the rental place was closed on Sundays.
*The mausoleum interiors were one long set built from plywood and marble style contact paper. They just shifted things around to make it look like a huge building.
*For the flying sphere shots they used 2 methods. For the flying scenes it was attached to a fishing line and thrown by a local baseball pitcher. For the actual kills they attached it to the victim's head, pulled it off, and then used the film in reverse.

......and yes, the boys drew the flying ball on their pee-chees (that word alone is a time capsule!) right next to the Van Halen symbol!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

#1: ABCs of Death 2.5:
The original ABCs of Death both were a mixed bag. Apparently the 2.5 is the runners up that didn't make part 2 and IMDB gives it a 4.6.
How was it? Any highlights?

I actually haven't seen the first one... or two yet. I recently got Tubi and it had the 2.5 version, so I checked it out and that was a pretty cool concept. They are 1-3 minute shorts so there is no real context, but some of them were pretty funny, a couple I thought were somewhat wrong or gross. All in all, I think it is fun. A great way to get ideas by watching other peoples ideas enacted.

#2: Radio and/or horror podcasts:
Dad threw out the TV when my siblings and I were very young due to hours wasted. This actually spawned my love of horror through reading and going to lots of movie showings. Radio was also a huge part. We (my sisters and I) also listened to lots of radio theatre. The main one was CBS Mystery Theatre with E.G. Marshall.
Lately I watch/listen to all kinds of youtube stuff (we covered some channels in a recent discussion) and tge last few weeks have leaned into true crime stuff, which is often way more horrific than fiction. The Casual Criminalist is pretty good for relatively short looks (15 to 50 some minutes) at specific serial killers, but my favorite at the moment is Mr. Ballin, an ex-Navy Seal guy who goes through tons of videos/pictures, and also quite a bit of unsolved stuff (as the case may be).

Yeah I noticed CBS Mystery Theatre on Spotify. Might have to check some of these out, but I recommend checking out Camp Fire Theater.

 

[DJ]

 

[returnofjakedog]

Watched Cam (2018) the other day. An interestingly done tale about a camgirl and stolen identities.


So Alice runs a camgirl site on a large site of like-minded young ladies. She is struggling to move up in the money-making rankings, and supplements her income via private calls, and even the occasional meet-ups.

So, no, this doesn't turn into the expected slasher at this point. Instead she logs on one night to start her show only to find out that a doppelganger has taken over her account and locked her out. She goes to site IT and security, fellow camgirls, and police for help but to no avail. So eventually she has to rely on her own wits to try to solve the mystery of what is happening.

An interesting concept and execution. It delves into the lives of camgirls and their odd relationships with their clients, and society in general. It was written by a former camgirl who used her experiences as a template, such as police not addressing her concerns but instead asking inappropriate questions and such, and her friends and family not tolerating her career choice.

I won't go into spoiler territory on the main storyline as the viewing experience benefits from an unadulterated perspective. I will say that it kinda gave me a Neon Demon vibe without all of the ridiculous art film feel.

Of course it has quite a bit of nudity (but not as much as you probably expect given the subject matter) so the obligatory tagging of our resident female form adept @Chef99 for his consideration.

I'll go 6.5 out of 10. Worth a watch if you like psychological horror.

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

View attachment 270258

That was my first thought, but then I scrolled and saw it there.

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

Been done before, but this still looks like it could be fun.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Been done before, but this still looks like it could be fun.

Swear I saw this trailer first back in 2019... doesn’t even look that great so I’m not sure why they chose to wait so long to release it

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Watched Things Heard and Seen on Netflix, strange movie but I enjoyed it. I thought the ending didn't stick the landing I was hoping for. Also thought it was a bit schizophrenic, seemed like there were 2 different stories being told as one.

Definitely entertaining and kept me interested throughout. Definitely worth a watch.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Watched Things Heard and Seen on Netflix, strange movie but I enjoyed it. I thought the ending didn't stick the landing I was hoping for. Also thought it was a bit schizophrenic, seemed like there were 2 different stories being told as one.

Definitely entertaining and kept me interested throughout. Definitely worth a watch.

I'll have to check it out on that recommendation! I enjoy the weird horror stuff so it sounds right up my alley.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Started watching Paranormal Activity 3 the other day because I had spent 20+ minutes surfing for something to watch on Netflix & AP but couldn't bring myself to watch something new... Mainly because I was cooking at the time & didn't have the attention to spare. But that led my wife & I into having a Paranormal Activity marathon Friday night lol. The wine & whiskey was flowin so it was easy entertainment

Watched 3, 1 & 2... Always have to laugh at how nonchalant & dismissive everyone is during these movies. Like "oh my god something unseen just pulled me off my feet and/or dragged me down the hallway.... I'm in the worst sort of mortal fear right now... so I better just go back to bed in the same room like nothing ever happened..."

 

[returnofjakedog]

Re-watched one of my all time favs the other day, Cemetery Man (1994) aka Dellamorte Dellamore (loosely translated "Of the death of love")


This one is a trip. Think Terry Gilliam making an Evil Dead or Return of the Living Dead type movie, only a bit darker.

Dellamorte is a live onsite cemetery caretaker for a small Italian city with a mentally handicapped assistant Gnage. Strangely in this cemetery some of the dead rise within 7 days and Dellamorte considers it part of his job to re-kill and re-bury them.

Usually I would go into a lengthy synopsis but I don't want to give away what I consider to be masterful (albeit very, very weird) story telling so I won't go further into detail.

The good:
*Acting is generally very good. The 2 leads Rupert Everett as Dellamorte, and Italian opera singer and punk rock record producer François Hadji-Lazaro are both excellent.
*Direction is spectacular. Michele Soavi was a Argento protege who also worked as assistant director with the likes of Fulci and Bava. He worked with Gilliam on The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and the infuence is very obvious here (in a good way).
*Cinematography is very good. Some very beautiful and interesting shots throughout.
*Anna Falchi's 2 major talents are often on display (No, I am certainly not referring to her questionable acting ability).

The bad:
*Some acting leaves a bit to be desired. This is somewhat due to the old Italian philosophy of having actors from different countries just act in their own language, and then dubbing them over into english (or other language per release country).
There is a subtitled version out there but they actually do a good job with most of the over dubbing so I recommend watching the english version.
*The storyline is a bit convoluted and quite strange.

-Of note:
*Much of the movie was filmed in an actual abandoned cemetery. This incudes the ossuary scenes (a real ossuary was used!)
*This was the predecessor to the Dylan Dog comic series. The Dylan Dog character is based on Rupert Everett.
*Martin Scorsese has famously declared it his favorite movie from 1994.


@FaCe-LeE-uS @Blackshirts BLVD @DJ @R.J. MacReady @UVA_Guy81 @Sharkonabicycle @Chef99

Full english version of movie is currently on youtube uncut! Do yourself a favor and check it out, preferably after a few drinks abd/or puffs.


I could go on discussing the details of this for hours, so let me know what you folks think if you get a chance to watch it.
8.5 to 9 out of 10 in my biased view!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Do yourself a favor and check it out, preferably after a few drinks abd/or puffs.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Watched Things Heard and Seen on Netflix, strange movie but I enjoyed it. I thought the ending didn't stick the landing I was hoping for. Also thought it was a bit schizophrenic, seemed like there were 2 different stories being told as one.

Definitely entertaining and kept me interested throughout. Definitely worth a watch.

Watched Things Heard and Seen as per @Nasty_Magician recommendation.


A decent "horror-lite" (no gore and relatively little violence) movie made for mass appeal.

Basically Amanda Seyfried sets aside her career and moves to a rural area so her husband can teach at a small college. Their new house has a violent history and weird haunted activity starts happening. Then her relationship with her husband becomes strained as aspects of his character are revealed.

The good:
*Professionally done. Generally good quality film making.
*Acting is solid. F. Murray Abraham is in it, but is under used.
*Overall storyline works (but struggles with specifics).

The bad:
*Story meanders a bit and is highly schizophrenic at moments in that aspects deviate into areas that seem very odd considering the type of story.
*Characters don't always make realistic decisions, and some feel contrived. This hurts their believability. This wouldn't be a big deal in many horror movies but when they take themselves wholly seriously as this one does it can become an issue.

Overall not a bad watch. I'll give it a 5.5 to 6 out of 10.

This movie is quite similar to What Lies Beneath (Harrison Ford, Michelle Phifer) in story but it throws in some additional twists, and isn't quite as smoothly executed.

 

[DJ]

 

[returnofjakedog]

View attachment 270581

I wonder if he dreamed about Freddy during the nap!

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

Watched The Taking of Debra Logan the other night. First, it is a found-footage style film. A girl is paying a couple friends or people to help her film someone going through alzheimers and how they deteriorate and how it impacts the family as well. Well, soon enough they realize that something isn't right and it bridges off into debating is this a possession or part of the disease, etc... they answer that question fully in the movie, I'm just trying to not give it away.

I thought the acting was pretty good. I really like the idea of this movie and the way it was going.... however, about two thirds through it takes a slight change both in terms of the plot as well as the size and importance of the events. I felt that it threw the pacing off a bit and I feel like this movie would have benefitted from a plot that allowed the audience to think about whether it was the disease or a possession after the end, rather than slapping us in the face with the answer about 2/3rds through.

Typically, I like to have everything spelled out that the writers and directors are trying to convey, but I think that it is also dependent upon the plot, writing, subgenre, etc... so Idk if you guys have seen this or how you feel about what I am trying to say, but I think this is one of those movies where it would have been best to keep some mystery. Depending on the subgenre, I think keeping some of the mystery actually adds a lot to horror films.

Anyway, I felt this started strong, but fell off along the way for me. I am going to give it a 5/10. I flirted with a 5.5 or a 6, but the back side of the film really just kind of annoyed me. Lol, maybe I am in the minority here.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]