Oh no, for the love of all that's holy PLEASE don't feel like you need to limit your posts! The more to discuss, the better!
Just gonna mention one more film for right now. I'd been on the fence about this one since I'd read both good and bad things about it, and didn't want to sit through another boring indy "slow-burn" that went nowhere, and went there really slowly. Which I'm happy to say it didn't. Go nowhere that is. It's called Spring and it's sort of a boy-meets-girl meets body-horror flick. It IS slow, but I didn't find it at all boring. The actors do a great job and they get to play likable characters, which is rare in horror these days. It's got a very sweet love story at the heart of it, which actually works in its favor. Also, it takes a very original approach to the "monster," completely eschewing any supernatural, or viral explanation. Glad I finally checked it out.
Spring was a decent little indie film. I thought it played up an cool idea, and was well done, but ultimately kind of left me wanting more at the end. I actually didn't find it a slow burn at all, but maybe that is because I am more used to indie stuff, and I also thought it was pretty telegraphed. I think too, people watching these movies expecting a 'standard horror/slasher' will undoubtedly give it a bad review. But all that said, I just felt like they kind of ran out of money/were forced to wrap it up at the end, as there wasn't really a great ending or resolution offered; which works too, but just had so much more to tell here I think. Anyways, second the recommendation for sure.
2 Only in the 70's movies are the Baby and What the peeper saw. WTF? The endings of both are quite crazy.
Some more for folks to consider: --Para Elisa: Super short movie, which is also super short on plot. This one could have worked if they'd fleshed it out a little. Spanish girl gets hired to "babysit" cuz she needs money for a trip. Of course, it's not a baby she's going to be sitting for. It's got some decent gore, but it's one of those films that has you screaming at the screen the whole time because of the lead's dumb decisions. --Mother's Day: The original. Enjoyed the main girls in this one. They're always pranking each other, and obviously don't know anything about appropriate camp clothing. And I swear to God, there's a girl at the beginning that looks exactly like Lady Gaga. Good old fashioned sleaze here. --Splinter: This is one that should have been played for laughs. Another short film, with not much to it. Jill Wagner is in it, and in a nice turn, she's the only smart one. The creature effects seemed decent, but it's hard to tell because every time it shows up the cameraman turns into an epileptic. Seriously off-putting shaky camera. --Absentia: Decent idea that goes nowhere. Couple scary moments, but the premise is fairly laughable. --It Lives Again: Overlong exposition really kills this one. Cohen tries to be too serious, when this could be a really great gore fest. --Going to Pieces: Doc about slasher films. Not bad, but not a very in depth exploration. Plus I hate a "clip" show that doesn't show which movie said clips are from.
Funny, Mother's Day (and a no doubt timely watch) just reminded me of my viewing of April Fools' Day in time for that occasion. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a 'classic' as such, but it is pretty typical 80s horror fare, that manages to play up a lot of the standard tropes. I wouldn't say it is an involved movie, but fairly entertaining in its cheesy way, down to the oddball ending. +1 Bonus points for the great jack-in-the-box that starts off the film. And an extra 0.5 bonus points for featuring Biff. Splinter! Hahaha, well hadn't thought about that in some time. One of those movies I always remember seeing 'on the shelf'/in lists, and you kind of forget you saw, until you start watching it. I find this with a few things, and I am sure I have sat through it a couple times for this realisation. For some reason I was thinking it was a really low-budget Canadian film, but now looking it up I see not at all. Anyway, I think it really needed to embrace the full cheese/comedy aspect of it to be worthwhile. Have not seen It Lives Again, but I did mention earlier in this thread guiltily enjoying the sequel. Definitely not played for a serious angle.
I do that quite often. I keep starting Rites of Spring thinking I haven't seen it before and then instantly remember why I've forgotten it. So bad! I think I mentioned April Fool's Day awhile back. I couldn't remember watching it back in the day, but I must have because I remembered certain things about it so vividly this time. I did forget the twist though. Going to Pieces brought it up as a movie that really pissed off horror fans because of the twist. That cast though! A who's-who of '80s teen stars!
Just saw Baskin. Turkish Silent Hill, with a lot less plot. Honestly don't know how I feel about this one because I just saw Mine Games Spoiler which was a causation loop movie, and this one ENDS with a causation loop but in a very "are you kidding me" manner. The costuming, lighting, all the production stuff was SO creepy and well-done. But the plot was so weak, things weren't explained enough for my tastes, so many things left disconnected.... I'm really sick of horror movies that leave me dissatisfied. Even worse, this was a $7 rental because cable sucks, and Turkish independent film, blah blah blah.
Holy shit! Just saw the VVitch last night. Perfect horror film. Instant classic. See it immediately if you are serious about your horror films.
Also can we all just agree to stop criticizing horror movies for "not being scary". I'm an adult and haven't been scared by a horror movie since seeing Silence of the Lambs in 6th grade and being traumatized by the Exorcist in the 3rd grade. I can be creeped out and still feel dread, but the things that scare me now in adulthood are not the same things that scared me as a child.
Haha, I thought that was a given, but sure. I don't think anyone here is probably going to use that as a complaint for criticism (well, not in any serious way), but I think it is more relevant to look at the calibre of horror movies if you are going to. I mean, being 'scared' but those two movies you referenced is on a whole different level than say, some tween going to see Paranormal Activity 17 / Unfriended / Eli Roth presents [blank] , but that is just me.
Haha, yeah, its definitely no one on here, it was just me reacting to reading too many idiotic self proclaimed internet critics trying to bash the VVitch and that being the only criticism they could come up with. I just had to get it off my chest.
Yes, of course. That was all tongue firmly in cheek. If you ever want to save yourself a whole lot of headache, and not get sucked into the abyss that is the terrible internet, don't go a-reading in imdb comment sections. It is a horrible black hole, from which you might not recover. Unfortunately, it also explains how a lot of movies in America get made, and why they are made the way that they are. Sigh. Getting back to films, I watched both The Forest and The Woods (bka The Hallow) recently. The former was formulaic boredom, unoriginal, unexciting, and just about exactly what you would probably expect from an American movie taking a Japanese theme, and putting a blonde, blue-eye girl as the protagonist in a Japanese setting. Which, I would presume, is also not much. But being of an open mind I nevertheless wanted to give it a shake. Also, I will just say that the whole aspect of her playing two characters (twins) is fully unnecessary, with maybe some justification for handwaving of the plot. Alas. Give it a go if you are really bored, but probably should be confined to the forgotten rentals bin. The latter was nearly equally unimpressive, despite have so much more promise to it. Honestly everything about this movie makes me want to love it, but the execution fell completely flat for me. It starts of well, and builds into it, but suddenly the films gets ramped up to 11 with seemingly no advancement, plot devices and characterisations are completely ignored, and you just fall in to a tropey, unexciting film. I think it commits the worst sin of all by taking an incredible portion of amazing looking practical effects and story, and squandering them on a boring film. To me, that makes it almost worse than just being a bad movie, because it could have actually been great with some proper writing. I really wanted so much more from this film, and it teased it constantly. I want the film that Hallow could have been. So watch this one to see some really cool looking 'stuff' done in practical f/x, and some nice Irish scenery, but feel free to skip it without also having missed anything. Some bonus points for having two GoT cast members in it, which I am now subtracting right back for horrible delivery.
The Hallow is sitting in My List on Netflix. Probably give it a whirl tomorrow. Just my 2 cents on the "not scary" complaints you two mentioned. It just reinforces in my own head that I HAVE GOT TO STOP reading IMDB posts. The Witch, It Follows, We Are Still Here (more on this one soon), all have the same complaints from these Torture Porn devotees (I'm making a generalization there). And I gotta agree that not much scares me anymore, but I can feel dread, tension, and sometimes even fear when watching a well-done movie. Hell, Black Sabbath was on the other night, and the scene with the ghost/dummy/whatever lady with the grimacing face actually spooked the crap out of me. Hairs on end and everything!
I think the whole fear thing is more a choice then anything else. Like a suspension of disbelief. Of course it's way easier to just watch a movie and mostly pay attention while judging the acting and setting and special effects then it is to actually try and put yourself in that moment and allow the possibility of being scared. I know I do both depending on what I'm watching. So occasionally when I get to watch something in the dead of night with every light turned off and no tablet or phone anywhere nearby stuff can still get to me which is always so much fun. Cheap scares are easy with monsters jumping out or the use of sudden massive sounds but the slow boil stuff that makes you question whether or not you're going to trek across the house in the dark for a glass of water is so much better. I have friends who are just so jaded I won't even watch anything with them anymore. Like if you refuse to enjoy something before I even hit play then why the fuck are you watching it with me? I watch this stuff to have fun. To see cool effects or neat monsters or laugh at stuff that's really poorly done or to be scared enough to make sure when I fall asleep at night I'm not facing the closet door because if it does open slowly and something with evil glowing eyes is watching me sleep I sure as fuck want to be looking in the other damn direction instead of into it's face. People forget the entire genre was created to be fun and scary and they refuse to have fun or be scared. So why are they wasting their time...? They Look Like People is on netflix now and it creeped me out pretty nicely. We Are Still Here is on there too and it's a perfectly done 70's era styled horror flick.
Waterbear, I think you recommended Last Shift awhile back, and I remember commenting after I watched it that if I had been home alone at night when I saw it it would have scared the poop out of me. A commercial for the The Conjuring 2 was on last night and I had to chuckle because one of the jump-scares they showed got my wife, and good! I guess at this point I kind of intellectualize the scares in movies. Like I KNOW when something's scary, even if it's not actually scaring me. It's sort of a bummer. I do love me some good effects, and monsters, too, and can enjoy horror movies for many different reasons. These days I really love it when something gives me the chills, though.
You know, after a lot of brooding over the movie, I think I appreciate Baskin a bit more now than immediately after seeing it. (And this does have some relevance to the whole "scary but not scared" sort of discussion going on here.) I have to give it props for being one of the first movies in a really long time to make me feel genuinely uncomfortable. Baskin is NOT for the faint of heart at all. Independent film, so it's unrated... And definitely wouldn't be given an R if it was, it was way too fucked up. I think it's worth a watch if you just want to see some incredible costuming, special effects, monster acting, lighting, everything minus good character and plot development. But you will be made uncomfortable, one way or another. It's bizarre, unnatural, gory, and creepy, and surprisingly depicts what one would describe as a hellish nightmare in a non-cliche way. Also, if you do watch it, ask yourself if the main "villain" is a product of CGI or prosthetic makeup. Then look it up. I think you will be very surprised.
Some more gory grist for the horror mill (now with italics!): --The Battery: Low budget Walking Dead/buddy movie. Decent flick, but talky with little action. If you like your zombie movies "realistic" this might be the one for you. P.s. The indie rock music blaring through the whole thing kinda bugged me. And guess what, Larry Fessenden's voice is in this one! --For some reason I watched both versions of The Hitcher. Love the original, forgot I'd already watched the remake. Which is barely passable. --The Guest: From the fellas who brought you You're Next, and a bunch of other mumble gore stuff. Not really horror, although it's structured as such. The girl from It Follows is in it, and does a nice job. I had ignored this one for a long time, because I thought Paul Walker was the lead. I enjoyed it. --Ms. 45: It's Abel Ferrera, what more do you need to know? --Kill, Baby Kill: Oozes atmosphere. Really cool camera work, and some super creepy images. Especially of the little girl. One of Bava's better flicks. --We Are Still Here: I've been wanting to see this for over a year, when I'd first read about it online. I kept holding out that it would show up on Netflix, but was just about to give up and go ahead and rent it on Amazon. Then I read last month it was coming out on the 14th, so I knew I could wait a little longer. Luckily, it showed up on Shudder a week earlier! Really, really liked it. Almost loved it, but there's some lapses in logic that bugged me. However, it gets the mood going early, keeps it going, and you don't have to wait very long for the ghosties to start appearing. It is a slow-burn, but the eerie mood is kept up the whole time till the shit hits the fan. Cool effects, great practical gore, and Holy Shit, Fessenden has a pretty meaty role in this one! I kept reading (yes, on IMDB) that the acting was bad, and I don't agree. Lisa Marie is pretty awful, but when isn't she? The rest of the cast was fine. Plus all the nods to Fulci movies, mainly The House by the Cemetery, were fun to catch. EDIT: I'll be watching this again tomorrow on Netflix!
Kinda amazed to see The Witch has only been mentioned in passing... Thought it was brilliant, sad and actually fucking terrifying.
Like I said earlier, best modern horror movie I've seen in a long time. This will end up being a classic. I bought the Blu-ray right after watching it. And I can't stop thinking about it. I'm already planning for another viewing as soon as possible.
Some of the best horror movies go under appreciated for quite awhile though. Its to be expected sometimes.
^^^ Well this movie went under my radar for sure because iv only recently been browsing this part of the forums more. Its good to see ppl are posting about interesting new releases when they do pop up though!
