Horror Flicks?

In Fabric
I am still not 100% sure what I just watched, but it was visually and aurally hypnotic.
Best way I can describe it: imagine if Dario Argento teamed up with Monty Python and the end result was a film about the mundanity of consumerism and the vanity of fashion featuring a killer dress.
A fantastic score from Cavern of Anti-Matter (https://pitchfork.com/artists/33445-...f-anti-matter/) holds the whole thing together.
If you like your horror films teeming with lush imagery and infused with massive doses of weird, this is for you.
RIYL
Susperia; Beyond The Black Rainbow; The Colour of Your Bodies Tears

X
(Currently in theaters)
Writer/Director Ti West has been hit or miss with me. His "satanic panic" offering, The House of the Devil, was also a wonderful ode to late '60s/early '70s horror films. I was in the minority in that I dug his haunted hotel effort The Innkeepers. As for the rest of his work? What I have seen--The Roost, Cabin Fever 2, In A Valley of Violence--has left me nonplussed.
So it was with a bit of trepidation that I ventured to the Cineplex to see his latest effort, X. That it was waving the A24 banner was what got me motivated.
The film, much like HotD, is an homage/riff on '70s horror films; it wears its influences boldly on its sleeves.
Be warned, this is a film aimed squarely at horror film geeks, so if you aint a die-hard you may wanna steer clear.
West's predilection for making faux '70s films is on full display here and every time The shtick begins to wear thin he slaps the viewer with a jump scare, ironic snark, or just some leftfield WTFuckery. It also helps that the cast is top-notch and the pacing is brisk. Plus the score is subdued and creepy.
While the story mines a number of familiar horror tropes, it also pokes fun at them, spanking the likes of Southern Gothic, giant killer animals, the cabin-in-the-woods, found footage, as well as the porn industry.
Again, this film is aimed at the horror film geeks, so if you're one you'll no doubt dig its not so subtle tongue-in-cheek digs at the genre.

RIYL
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original); Wolf Creek; The Visit

Zombies from Down Under?
Um, yes, please!

MALIGNANT [rented via Redbox]
Whoa, is this film a hoot.
I actually shunned it when it was in the theaters because 1. I have been pretty underwhelmed by most of director James Wan's cinematic output and 2. The trailer made the film look like every other Blumhouse horror film on the market.
Man, was I misled.
The film is a glorious 1980s inspired romp that mashes up myriad genres from detective procedural to demonic possession to evil doctors in a creepy sanitorium to serial killers and haunted houses. It also has some seriously gonzo action and some nifty practical effects, not to mention some really cool camera shots and photographic trickery.
Wishing I had taken a chance and seen it in theaters...

RIYL
Darkman; I Madman

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Originally Posted by buttahflake

Just watched The Empty Man on HBO Max, it’s creepy as hell, really enjoyed it.

https://youtu.be/tk6u9X1bW30

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THE EMPTY MAN
I did the Skinemax 7-day free trial just so I could watch this film.
It’s a strange and interesting flick.
Definitely creepy, but also a weird genre mash. It also borrows bits and pieces from myriad other horror films, but tweaks things just enough to avoid complete groan inducing trope appropriation.
On the negative side, The Empty Man apparition FX were kinda weak and the “reveal” at the end was incredibly ambiguous (could have used just a bit more exposition).
But the cold open is nuts, the Bhutan shrine was cool (nods to H.R. Giger), and the neo-noir and cult aspects were kinda nifty.
On the whole it was like a really weird X-Files episode.

RIYL
The Sentinel (1977); Dead and Buried; Oculus; Dark City; Kill List; The Wicker Man (1973)

The Platform was aight.

Concept and production were steller, but storytelling was meh

https://youtu.be/bnGAgAgorC4


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We are all living in a horror movie/dystopian novel right now.

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Originally Posted by SB

We are all living in a horror movie/dystopian novel right now.

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I wonder who is main character that's supposed to save us??

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Saw Smile tonight. Not entirely original and kind of a weird ending, but pretty damn scary nonetheless. Had me more on edge than Barbarian for sure.

Watched The Black Phone on Peacock a couple weeks again. Solid flick. Definitely worth a watch.

If you’re looking for some scary films to get you in the mood for the upcoming holiday of All Hollow’s Eve, here’s a list for ya (like all lists it’s subjective and naturally contains a number of duds mixed in with the gems):

https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies...ampaign=221008

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Originally Posted by dookeyXXX

If you’re looking for some scary films to get you in the mood for the upcoming holiday of All Hollow’s Eve, here’s a list for ya (like all lists it’s subjective and naturally contains a number of duds mixed in with the gems):

https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies...ampaign=221008

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Predictable yet very appropriate #1 and #2. Cool list!

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Originally Posted by yeahman

Saw Smile tonight. Not entirely original and kind of a weird ending, but pretty damn scary nonetheless. Had me more on edge than Barbarian for sure.

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Just learned that Smile is based on a short film:



Guessing they pulled the short film due to the success of the feature and that most likely they will include it on the eventual DVD release…

If you’re looking for some scary movies to watch this coming weekend in preparation for Halloween, KANOPY has a plethora of—IMHO—fantastic horror films available for free:

It Comes At Night
Susperia
High Tension
Knife + Heart
Basket Case
In The Earth
Audition
Amulet
Midsommar
Berberian Sound Studio
In Fabric
Hereditary
Possessor
The Visitor
The Beyond
The Lighthouse
Triangle
Hagazussa
Long Weelend
The Innkeepers
Rabid
Society
Extra Ordinary
The Blackcoat’s Daughter
He Never Died
The Invitation
Re-Animator
Stakeland
The Signal
Let The Right One In
Don’t Look Now

Apparently this film was all the rage on the festival circuit (though today was the first I’d heard about it).
It just got picked up by IFC and Shudder, with a theatrical run planned in early 2023 before going to the streaming service.

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/s...rs-1235448994/

I just did a search; have I really not mentioned Uncle Peckerhead on this forum? I just did a rewatch, and I still like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jt9PyQz_WA

Struggling punk band, Duh, goes on tour, with a roadie who turns into a monster every night. Good (if somewhat silly) gore, plus some decent music scenes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmWqQdweRes

And it's full of oddball humor, from the bad-sex-with-bassist-from-Pissface scene, to the hilariously awful emo-punk(?) band that opens for them (in what looks like somebody's living room).

Ok, if you only watch highly regarded films with $eight-figure production values, this'll be a "bad movie" in your book. But, as garage projects go, Uncle Peck is kind of awesome.

Currently free with ads on Prime.

Given that zombies are all the rage again, thanks to HBOMax’s The Last of Us, I thought I would offer up the following recs:

7 ZOMBIE FILMS TO COMBAT YOUR UNDEAD CINEMATIC MALAISE

1. Wyrmwood - streaming on Shudder

2. Wyrmwood: Apocalypse - streaming on Tubi

3. One Cut of the Dead - streaming on Shudder

4. The Night Eats The World - streaming on Amazon Prime

5. Ravenous - streaming on Netflix

6. The Girl With All The Gifts - streaming on Kanopy

7. Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse

Self Imposed Evil Dead Marathon

So, last week, in preparation for the new Evil Dead Rise movie, I blitzed through 90% of the previous efforts in the franchise.

I didn’t watch the short film Within The Woods as I couldn’t find a decent copy on the Webz.
And I somehow missed Evil Dead: The Musical when it swung through Reno last fall.
Other than those two exceptions, I re-visited all 4 films and binged the Ash vs Evil Dead series.

Things I “learned”:
I forgot how “serious” the first film is. It’s virtually devoid of the Three Stooges slapstick that permeates the second and third films and the series.

I kinda hated the Evil Dead remake/reboot from 2013 when it came out. But watching it in succession with the other films, it really keeps the vibe of the original film intact; when it was released it came on the heels of Army of Darkness, so the “seriousness” and excessive gore felt out-of-place. It really is a spiritual successor to the original film.

The Starz series jumps back to the slapstick of Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, but takes the un-PC humor to the extreme and amps the gore to 11.

Hoping to see the new film within the next week and will be curious to see where it fits in.

When the first one came out, we immediately treated it as an audience interaction type flick And started our own commentary. But ya, probably because it was serious but in some way ridiculous and bad. I think that unintentional reaction by teens like us led Sam and Bruce to lean into it and make 2 more ridiculous and camp. IDK, but I l remember we almost walked out on it until we shifted gears and looked for comedy in the carnage

Reading interviews last week, I was sad to see Bruce saying he was done playing ash and wouldn’t do so again. Sucks getting old and losing your heroes

PS- ya gotta include Shawn of the Dead in a zombie list

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Originally Posted by mcski

PS- ya gotta include Shawn of the Dead in a zombie list

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:D

That Zombie film List I posted above wasn’t meant as a “Greatest” or “Top” list, merely a list of newer zombie films currently streaming that prove the genre hasn’t died.

SotD is all-time!

RE: Evil Dead

Another thing I realized is how much Evil Dead II changed the landscape of horror films.
You can clearly see the influence it had on Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive.

That said, however, both A Nightmare on Elm Street and House pre-dated EDII in terms of having comedy infused into the gory and scary horror…

So, I succumbed and watched a number of recently released and in some cases highly lauded horror movies.
Guess what?
For my tastes, they all sucked.
And if these films,—actually there is no “if” about it—represent the state of the modern horror film, then we’re screwed.

HALLOWEEN ENDS
I was pretty sure this final entry in the Halloween franchise was gonna be horrible based on the previous film. But I held out hope as a good buddy of mine was one of the credited screenwriters. I don’t know what he contributed to the film, but it’s a convoluted mess. For a trilogy that pretty much disavowed all the films after the original and attempted to re-canonize the legend of Michael Meyers, they sure borrowed a ton of plot elements from all the films between Halloween II and Halloween Resurrection, as well as the two Rob Zombie reboots.
This is just a horrible mess whose only redeeming factor is the John Carpenter score.

THE BLACK PHONE
Okay, so Ethan Hawke serves up an uber creepy performance.
That’s it for this film.
There are so many moments where logic is tossed out the windows in favor of the over-the-top Rube Goldberg ending that the film turns into a frustrating mess. To say any more would spoil the entire film for anybody thinking of watching it, though I would advise you finding better ways to waste 103,minutes of your time.

SMILE
The first 10-minute of this film are indeed promising, thanks to interesting camera work and an unnerving score.
Sadly, the rest of the film reeks of deja vu thanks to ideas culled from much better—and scarier—films like It Follows and Ringu. Derivative and uninspired seems to be the new modus operandi for horror films.


M3GAN
Yet another derivative endeavor, this one following the tried-and-true “technology gone bad” trope. Which wouldn’t have been all that bad had the screenwriters come up with some new and intriguing concepts, but they don’t. I was initially turned off by the trailers, all the hype, and the PG rating. But the main screenwriter, Akela Cooper, was responsible for the thoroughly bonkers Malignant, so I figured I’d give it a whirl. I sadly think she may be a one-trick pony as the other film of hers I’ve seen—Hell Fest—was also derivative and lackluster.

Other than being mediocre-to-bad, perhaps the worst thing about these films is that they are making money and as such are becoming a sort of blueprint for the modern horror movie. That, and in many cases, they are getting sequels greenlit, thus meaning more mediocre horror films are on the way.

WHEN EVIL LURKS - streaming on Shudder
Writer/director Demian Rugna’s latest effort ain’t perfect, but it’s light years ahead of the dreck drenched horror films Hollywood keeps churning out.
Laden with glorious practical effects and a story cobbled together from folk horror, possession, and contamination genres, it is a bleak endeavor that offers up some scares, some thrills, and several moments of gonzo wtfuckery. Rugna’s strengths lie in pacing and also tension; there are several scenes where you know the outcome, but he winds the audience’s anticipation up to 11 before delivering the death knell.

Oh yeah, if you haven’t seen his previous film, TERRIFIED, do yourself a favor and watch it, too.

Okay so just watched both Mia Goth movies. “X” and “Pearl”. Fantastic.

I watched them out of order and had no idea they went together so was a cool surprise for me.



https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18925334/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13560574/

2024: The Year of the Spider:

STING

https://wellgousa.com/films/sting






VERMINES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_RqT4LfudE

I went to college with the main actor in THE QUEUE…

iHorror Awards 2024: Explore the Nominees for Best Horror Short Film:

https://ihorror.com/ihorror-awards-2...or-short-film/

I wasn’t able to see this in the theater, but it’s got serious buzz.

Dropping on Shudder 4/12.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvt-mauboTc

Spring, ‘tis the season of horror?

https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3...-want-to-miss/

With October upon us, it’s that time of year to indulge in copious amounts of cinematic horror.

I stumbled upon this jammy last night:

RED IRON ROAD
(Available via Hoopla, Kanopy, Tubi)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bupm4r66s64

AZRAEL

This just popped up on Shudder.

Totally worth the minor hassle of doing the free 7-day trial just to see this.

Then watch Oddity and When Evil Lurks and you’ll get your money’s worth!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWtKsBGWsig

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Originally Posted by dookeyXXX

AZRAEL

This just popped up on Shudder.

Totally worth the minor hassle of doing the free 7-day trial just to see this.

Then watch Oddity and When Evil Lurks and you’ll get your money’s worth!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWtKsBGWsig

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Read your earlier review

Enjoyed it but thought your comparison 'The Descent' was better

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Originally Posted by Mike Pow

Read your earlier review

Enjoyed it but thought your comparison 'The Descent' was better

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:D
Funny enough, I am not all that fond of The Descent. :eek:

THE DAMNED
Tentatively dropping in January 2025

Buddy of mine stopped me on the street today and somehow we got to talking about horror films (we usually only talk about skiing, backcountry skiing, and sometimes rafting and backpacking).
He asked me if I liked horror films and if I’d heard of this flick, which a buddy of his worked on as a location scout.
He said he saw a rough cut and it’s one of the most unnervingly relentless slow burns he’s seen.

Keep in mind that I don’t know my buddy’s overall taste in films since we’ve only ever talked about outdoorsy stuff in the past, but the trailer has me intrigued.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oahmLWnvkKc

Too much spinach may lead to this…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGO32Zmh2YI

^ Fun with lapsed copyrights! I laughed out loud at the trailer, but I have a feeling the joke gets stale in the movie.

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Originally Posted by bobz

^ Fun with lapsed copyrights! I laughed out loud at the trailer, but I have a feeling the joke gets stale in the movie.

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Not to mention the lacking production values…:D

LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP [streaming on Kanopy and Tubi]
This is a disorientating, slow-burn, and immersive little film that mines the intersections of psychological, folk, and nature-vs-man horror

RIYL
Gaia; In The Earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AsNzcrDnYQ

The Omen 1