Be a part of the community.
It's free, join today!
Let me know about this guy. I've actually contemplated getting into Edward Lee's stuff, even though I've heard it's pretty rough.
Lee is like the Death Metal sub genre of Horror. He aims to appaul rather than say grab you by his literary skills. His (sick) ideas are impressive, but his execution leaves something to be desired.
His protege, Wrath James White can be twisted fun. The guy once wrote a story of a Cannibal who worked at an abortion clinic, which is a genius idea.
Green Slime !!!! Yeah. Fucking love the shit out of this movie. I remember being a kid and watching and was like holy shit there is a lot of shooting going on. The opening of Star Wars gave me a flash back with all the random laser blasts.
One note on zombie stories, if you haven't read the Book of the Dead anthologies already, prepare to have your mind blown. These were edited by Skipp & Spector, published in '89 & '92, so good. There was a horror anthology craze in the late '80s, early '90s and a lot of the collections were terrible, but some of them were really well done and these two were among the best. I also liked Dark Forces, The Dark Descent, Prime Evil, and one more that I'll have to find in my book case at home.
Earlier in the year I tried via Amazon a new Zombie anthology called 'The Undead' published by Permuted Press (permutedpress.com & undeadanthology.com )
Real fun read---It's 23 short stories, all have very clever and unique angles ( like being blind and pursued by walkers)
I remember being disappointed by only one story.
Really deserved a better cover.
The Stephen King zombie short story featured in the first Skipp & Spector zombie collection blew my mind back in the day. I think it's been reprinted in more recent collections.
I watched Lucky McKee's The Woman the other day and it was pretty great. If you're in the mood for fighting against misogyny and faces being eaten I would highly recommend it. May didn't do much for me but I'll be really interested to see what McKee does in the future.
Here's an heir to King I'd never heard of:
http://sonofdansemacabre.blogspot.com/2012/04/modern-horror-novel-part-9-harbor.html
So I received and for the first time watched, Forbidden World a.k.a. Mutant (1982). Holy hell, what a shameless and wonderfully shabby mess of a sci-fi / horror cheapie. What I love is that in the commentary (which is only available on the second disc which contains the director's cut) director Allan Holzman concedes that Corman ordered him to deliver an Alien rip-off, but seems to somehow believe that the sexual elements are all his invention, when really, he just lifted them wholesale from Alien and left any sense of ambiguity on the floor (June Chadwick's death scene sticking out most in my mind, as it both mirrors and grossly expands upon Veronica Cartwright's scene in Alien)
The editing, staging, and blocking are all over the place, and holy shit, Dawn Dunlap is TERRIBLE. Like Cate Blanchett on the entire opposite end of the spectrum, Dunlap does wonders to remind a viewer that acting is indeed a skill, and not everyone can or should do it. I will say she's much better than Blanchett at getting naked, so there's that. All that said, I really liked everyone else, especially Jesse Vint as the redneck cocksman cum space cowboy hero. It's pretty great.
Forbidden World is sci-fi sleaze greatness.
Thanks for the response on Edward Lee, guys. I'll be checking out some of his stuff.
Read the first 2 short stories in the Night Shift collection. "Jerusalem's Lot" is entirely composed of letters between colleagues, and is a great nod to Lovecraft. Whole thing reads like something he would have written. "Graveyard Shift" was really short, but it was a cool read, and as is typical for most of King's short stories, it's got a hell of a downbeat ending.
Looking forward to reading the sequel to 'Salem's Lot that comes towards the end of the book, since Jerusalem's Lot was the prequel.
I know there used to be a thread for this, but I'll ask the regulars here: is Brian Keene worth reading? I'm looking for good new Horror as an alternative to re-reading the usual Stephen King classics.
I think you'll like Dark Hollow and Darkness on the Edge of Town (his best) if you like King.
I really liked his zombie novels, indeed his 1st novel The Rising kinda started the whole zombie literature thing...
Here's an heir to King I'd never heard of:
http://sonofdansemacabre.blogspot.com/2012/04/modern-horror-novel-part-9-harbor.html
I've always personally preferred the horror short story to the horror novel, and I'd say both Hill and King excel at the form.
So I received and for the first time watched, Forbidden World a.k.a. Mutant (1982). Holy hell, what a shameless and wonderfully shabby mess of a sci-fi / horror cheapie. What I love is that in the commentary (which is only available on the second disc which contains the director's cut) director Allan Holzman concedes that Corman ordered him to deliver an Alien rip-off, but seems to somehow believe that the sexual elements are all his invention, when really, he just lifted them wholesale from Alien and left any sense of ambiguity on the floor (June Chadwick's death scene sticking out most in my mind, as it both mirrors and grossly expands upon Veronica Cartwright's scene in Alien)
The editing, staging, and blocking are all over the place, and holy shit, Dawn Dunlap is TERRIBLE. Like Cate Blanchett on the entire opposite end of the spectrum, Dunlap does wonders to remind a viewer that acting is indeed a skill, and not everyone can or should do it. I will say she's much better than Blanchett at getting naked, so there's that. All that said, I really liked everyone else, especially Jesse Vint as the redneck cocksman cum space cowboy hero. It's pretty great.
Watch GALAXY OF TERROR. You'll notice that FORBIDDEN WORLD lifts a bunch of stock footage from the other Corman flick (all the outer-space stuff IIRC).
Much like how LETHAL TARGET reuses all of XTRO 2's monster footage.
Yes, I know, as Galaxy of Terror lifts stock from Battle Beyond the Stars and so forth and so on.
Beats me. I'd like to see the movie in full rather than the brief clips I saw in Not Quite Hollywood. I'm amused that the director later on directed Highlander (but also Highlander 2 unfortunately), Ricochet, and The Shadow.
It was John D. Hancock, i.e. the guy who gave us Let's Scare Jessica To Death and Bang The Drum Slowly.
That almost makes me want to take it as a dare to see this movie.
That movie sounds rather sleazy. I mean, it was allegedly filmed for only 800 bucks and the 3000 or so was spent by the director on drugs. Everyone used a stage name which gave some people the idea it was an actual snuff film. The director filmed it in the early 70's then it got such a limited release a few years later that it took some time for the director to find out it was released. It does sound like torture porn long before that trend started, so that was interesting.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes>
You've actually seen that? Wow. I'll always remember seeing the poster for it in a movie theatre way back in 2008. I have no idea why the release got cancelled and then it got banished never to see the light of day on DVD, but if it's that bad then maybe that is for the best.
I haven't seen the film but I heard about it. It just sounds like a wacky idea that does not work. For the record, it does not take place at a regular ATM machine like what you'd see outside a 7/11. Rather, it's in a big booth that looked to be about 20 X 20 and has a few ATM machines in it. At least that's what I saw when I watched the film's trailer.
Well-played, well-played.
Earlier in the month I finally saw Frozen. As I've mentioned before I really did not care for the first Hatchet besides the gore. The second was better but the most memorable aspect was that I was one of the few who saw it on the big screen and me and 23 other people got to experience Kane Hodder there and before AND after the film he did a Q&A, which was really interesting.
This movie, though, is more to my tastes. While I did not always have a lot of sympathy for the three leads (as they acted like douches at times and they mainly brought upon themselves the bad situation they ended up in) it otherwise was an entertaining and engrossing movie where there's a lot of dialogue and talking but much of what was said was interesting and thus I never got bored; plus, the acting was fine and the few grossout moments you got worked due to what they were and how well they were done. I mean, they made me cringe.
I also greatly appreciate how it was actually filmed outdoors and the shots you got were from Green himself and another guy in a cherry picker high up in the air. That made things authentic and not fake.
Checked out GRAVE ENCOUNTERS after the chatter here. Very nicely done little film. I'd say I respected it more than I overtly liked it, but that's mostly due to my lukewarm feelings on these PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES-esque ghost stories. But I enjoyed/appreciated that the story escalated past just spooky noises and invisible hands opening and closing doors. And the acting was unusual good for this level of film too.
As I understand it, Poughkeepsie tapes had that legendary Butt Numbathon showing that pretty much sealed it's fate. I'm sure its a bad movie, but it doesn't seem like the fairest test for a low budget horror flick. Thrown up in front of a bunch of dudes hoping to see Iron Man 2 or whatever. If it's a super harsh film, the crowd could have turned on it simply because it was so dark. But yeah, odds are it's just not any good and no one wants to spend the money to release it.
Checked out GRAVE ENCOUNTERS after the chatter here. Very nicely done little film. I'd say I respected it more than I overtly liked it, but that's mostly due to my lukewarm feelings on these PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES-esque ghost stories. But I enjoyed/appreciated that the story escalated past just spooky noises and invisible hands opening and closing doors. And the acting was unusual good for this level of film too.
I really liked it too. A lot better then I thought it was going to be with good scares.
Innkeepers and the house of the devil. Both are good movies! Ti West really know how to build suspense with restraint. Very refreshing.
I watched Lucky McKee's The Woman the other day and it was pretty great. If you're in the mood for fighting against misogyny and faces being eaten I would highly recommend it. May didn't do much for me but I'll be really interested to see what McKee does in the future.
I loved both May and The Woman.
As I understand it, Poughkeepsie tapes had that legendary Butt Numbathon showing that pretty much sealed it's fate. I'm sure its a bad movie, but it doesn't seem like the fairest test for a low budget horror flick. Thrown up in front of a bunch of dudes hoping to see Iron Man 2 or whatever. If it's a super harsh film, the crowd could have turned on it simply because it was so dark. But yeah, odds are it's just not any good and no one wants to spend the money to release it.
It is a bad movie, with a few great ideas. The best of those ideas gets dropped into the middle and just left there, when it should have been the centrepiece of the film. It is indeed pretty harsh, with a few moments of seriously deviant behaviour that leave a bad taste. On the whole, though, it's just another badly shot, badly edited and almost completely derivative 'found footage' piece 'o crap. It just made me want to watch Leslie Vernon again. Which I did.
As I understand it, Poughkeepsie tapes had that legendary Butt Numbathon showing that pretty much sealed it's fate. I'm sure its a bad movie, but it doesn't seem like the fairest test for a low budget horror flick. Thrown up in front of a bunch of dudes hoping to see Iron Man 2 or whatever. If it's a super harsh film, the crowd could have turned on it simply because it was so dark. But yeah, odds are it's just not any good and no one wants to spend the money to release it.
Finally watched The Manitou. I was on board with it until the ending. Wow.
Looking online, I noticed that YouTube isn't the only service which has the movie up; hey I don't want to mention it, but when it appears in the middle of the first page when you search for the movie on Google... if the movie's not that good then maybe it's for the best it's not on DVD, let alone almost got a theatrical release. There's a detailed recap on Wikipedia and yeah, some parts just sound really unpleasant and I doubt I would have much of a good time watching something putting out such depraved ideas.
And yeah, I haven't seen The Manitou but I know all about its plot, including the "must have been thought up while high on massive quantities of drugs" ending. And there being some famous names in a film like that just makes me laugh.
I watched the 2009 thriller HUSH tonite. Very suspenseful. It's kind of a British BREAKDOWN. Plot: On the expressway late one rainy night, a couple thinks they see a naked imprisoned woman in the back of a truck that passes them. After arguing about how to respond, they stop at a rest stop, and soon the girl herself disappears, kidnapped by the same mysterious trucker. A cat and mouse game unfolds with the boyfriend desperately chasing after, but like in THE HITCHER it homages, he has been set up for murder, and the police are pursuing him. Verdict: A well done entry in the psycho trucker/ road terror subgenres, as tightly wound a fever pitch show as JOYRIDE.
Not available on Netflix, if interested, look for future showings on IFC.
I caught up with The Divide last night, and I kinda dug it. It throws some curveballs early and toys with some interesting and weird possibilities, but they're never really expanded on and by the second act, Xavier Gens is all settled in to 'people-being-horrible-to-each-other' mode. Torture, rape, and general awfulness follow. Its relentlessly grim and the cast is mostly decent, with Biehn being the big standout. I'm an easy mark for any post-apocalyptic sci-fi / horror, so I found The Divide to be pretty satisfying. For what its worth, I think its Gens' best film by far.
Finally watched The Manitou. I was on board with it until the ending. Wow.
The WTF ending is the cherry on top. Or should I say... shaman-midget-neck-boil on top?
It's been five years since I've seen The Poughkeepsie Tapes, so maybe I'll react differently today. But that movie really bothered me. It's not explicit, but it's intense and upsetting, and some of the creepier stuff really got under my skin. I had nightmares for weeks because of the ending.
The talking heads interviews were pretty badly acted, however. I had heard that when MGM bought the film, they had some of those reshot, which is a good idea, though I don't know if those will ever be finished. Those dudes seem to be doing well for themselves, though, given that they've made Quarantine and Devil since then.
Any guidance from ya'll on Trouble Every Day? It was recommended to me by a friend whose taste is, let's say, suspect. Disturbing is not a problem for me, artsy either... but Vincent Gallo? Um, yeah, no, is my first reaction. Thoughts?
Any fans of Don Dohler? I heard NIGHTBEAST is kind of awesome.
There's a double disc of his first two flicks THE ALIEN FACTOR/FIEND available on Netflix that I'm thinking of bumping up.
Any guidance from ya'll on Trouble Every Day? It was recommended to me by a friend whose taste is, let's say, suspect. Disturbing is not a problem for me, artsy either... but Vincent Gallo? Um, yeah, no, is my first reaction. Thoughts?
It's from Claire Denis, who I would say is one of the world's greatest and most sensual directors working today. I would recommend all her films, but this seems to be her only foray into genre stuff. It skirts the line between being about vampirism (there's said to be a virus consuming people) and cannibalism (they devour everyone). It very much explores the sensual side of vampirism/cannibalism, without judgment or glamour, making it both sexier and I think much scarier. Beatrice Dalle, who was the madwoman at the center of "Inside," plays the most carnivorous creature in this film, and she's super hot in it.
It's very deliberate and artsy, but it's one of my all-time favorite movies and I can't recommend it enough. Also, fantastic score by the Tindersticks.
It's from Claire Denis, who I would say is one of the world's greatest and most sensual directors working today. I would recommend all her films, but this seems to be her only foray into genre stuff. It skirts the line between being about vampirism (there's said to be a virus consuming people) and cannibalism (they devour everyone). It very much explores the sensual side of vampirism/cannibalism, without judgment or glamour, making it both sexier and I think much scarier. Beatrice Dalle, who was the madwoman at the center of "Inside," plays the most carnivorous creature in this film, and she's super hot in it.
It's very deliberate and artsy, but it's one of my all-time favorite movies and I can't recommend it enough. Also, fantastic score by the Tindersticks.
Sold. I'll let you know what I think. I Love the way the French are making horror/genre films these days, as evidenced by Inside, Martyrs, Frontier(s) etc. Aside from the last five minutes of Haute Tension, no one's doing it better right now.
funny story on Trouble Every Day: The UK premeire was going to be held at popular horror film festival, Frightfest back in '03. The director hears this and flips her lid, decrying that her film isn't anything as low as a horror film and prevents the festival from showing it.
still we got to see Ginger Snaps instead so all wasn't lost
Available on Netflix Instant: THE BAT PEOPLE
http://mmmmmovies.blogspot.com/2011/10/bat-people-1974-or-echolocation-nation.html
I caught up with The Divide last night, and I kinda dug it. It throws some curveballs early and toys with some interesting and weird possibilities, but they're never really expanded on and by the second act, Xavier Gens is all settled in to 'people-being-horrible-to-each-other' mode. Torture, rape, and general awfulness follow. Its relentlessly grim and the cast is mostly decent, with Biehn being the big standout. I'm an easy mark for any post-apocalyptic sci-fi / horror, so I found The Divide to be pretty satisfying. For what its worth, I think its Gens' best film by far.
I had no idea about this film until Michael Biehn mentioned it to me when I met him at the Austin Comic Con last year. Made a blind buy out of it, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I loved Gens' film Frontiere(s) as well. Biehn really is the stand out. Great score too.
Man, I must be in the minority then concerning the French horror scene the past 5 or 10 years. As I've mentioned in the past, Martyrs started off fine but I didn't like where the story ended up, Haute Tension turned me off even before the twist happened about 75 minutes in (let alone the twist that happens right before the end credits; it's a shame as there are several moments I really liked), and Frontier(s) I hated rather quickly as the lead protagonists were SO loathsome and detestable that I was really turned off. Maybe it's just me, though.
However, I do have Inside in my collection and one of these days I'll watch it; knowing that there are some extreme moments have been one reason why I haven't watched it yet. Plus, the action/horror film The Horde sounds like something I could enjoy, so I'll be shocked if I end up not caring for ALL recent French horror.
Yeah, INSIDE does so many things right. It's brilliant. I'd put it at the very top of the new French wave of Horror.
Man, I must be in the minority then concerning the French horror scene the past 5 or 10 years. As I've mentioned in the past, Martyrs started off fine but I didn't like where the story ended up, Haute Tension turned me off even before the twist happened about 75 minutes in (let alone the twist that happens right before the end credits; it's a shame as there are several moments I really liked), and Frontier(s) I hated rather quickly as the lead protagonists were SO loathsome and detestable that I was really turned off. Maybe it's just me, though.
Its not just you. With the exception of Inside, which I enjoyed quite a bit, I've found most of these recent French horror flicks to be unremarkable. I think High Tension works as an Aja highlight reel - the man can do gore - but I don't see much value in it beyond the brutal kills. Martyrs and Frontier(s) didn't do much for me either and The Horde was just a mess.
Any opinions of Cabin Fever 2? I immediately brushed this off as direct to video cash in cow on a dead solo effort non franchise horror film, but I just witness the light that Ti West directed it. I have a review of Innkeepers going up today, and when looking back on his other stuff I noticed this. I honestly was under the impression his career started with The House of the Devil.
Yeah, INSIDE does so many things right. It's brilliant. I'd put it at the very top of the new French wave of Horror.
I think this is one of the best 'pure' horror films in recent memory; no meta pretensions, no stunt casting, no objective other than to ratchet up tension and horror to the inevitable conclusion. Yes, it's hard to watch, but unlike shit like 'I Spit on Your Grave or the remake of 'Straw Dogs" I suffered through the uncomfortableness because the central conceit was so compelling and basic: an outside force is threatening, and is resisted. The directors push every button, refuse to flinch from the logical end of their plot. To me this is pure horror, with none of the equivocation of crap like Hostel or its ilk. Martyrs too, even if you dislike where it ended up, is a film with the courage of its own convictions: it posits a belief system and follows it to its logical end, as loony and unpleasant as that may be. And understood in the current political context of modern France, Frontier(s) becomes a hysterical but historically understandable reaction to the world as we experience it.
There are very few North American directors of horror with this kind of courage; Lucky McKee springs to mind, and early Cronenberg.
I guess my thing is that (as much as I loved Cabin in the Woods) I'm sick of post-modern horror films. Cronenberg and McKee understand that the genre doesn't need to apologize for itself, it just needs to explore the delineated lines of genre and exploit them to the fullest.
Any opinions of Cabin Fever 2? I immediately brushed this off as direct to video cash in cow on a dead solo effort non franchise horror film, but I just witness the light that Ti West directed it. I have a review of Innkeepers going up today, and when looking back on his other stuff I noticed this. I honestly was under the impression his career started with The House of the Devil.
Terrible.
Big fan of Ti West, but aside from some brief sequences, his fingerprints are not on this film. It's barely a movie, running about seventy minutes or so, including an animated bookend that's just cheap and stupid.
Decent soundtrack, though.
Speaking of barely a movie, I just saw a super short upcoming 3D horror sequel that was a real disappointment. Can't hold a candle to the last one, not at all, mostly because it's barely seventy minutes. I did not see it in 3D, but it does look like it delivers some of the gore, boobies and severed penises you may crave. But the characters and humor are a significant step down. Can't say what it is, but you can probably guess.
I have Inside, and the only time I saw it, it just struck me as an FX reel for the make up guys.
Cabin Fever 2, however I enjoyed quite a bit. Nice slice of 80's-esque horror.
Speaking of barely a movie, I just saw a super short upcoming 3D horror sequel that was a real disappointment. Can't hold a candle to the last one, not at all, mostly because it's barely seventy minutes. I did not see it in 3D, but it does look like it delivers some of the gore, boobies and severed penises you may crave. But the characters and humor are a significant step down. Can't say what it is, but you can probably guess.
I was out when they dropped the shue.
Considering my Avengers ticket cost nineteen dollars, I think I'll have an easy time sitting out this dick chomping sequel, especially in 3D.
Cabin Fever 2, however I enjoyed quite a bit. Nice slice of 80's-esque horror.
Agree. Cabin Fever 2 is just crazy enough to work..maybe not necessarily as a horror movie, but as a piece of fun, trashy cinema.
The Katt-tastic 80's HOUSE is available on Instant. Respect Steve Miner.
The Katt-tastic 80's HOUSE is available on Instant. Respect Steve Miner.
Respect. I used to have the Lucite skull from House 2 but gave it away, a decision I still regret.
As someone who came up on Greatest American Hero, House was a fave back in the day. Also got love for Fred Dekker and Steve Miner. Except for Lake Placid, which sucks dog farts.
