Horror RECOMMENDATION or WARNING thread. - Page 114

Oddly enough, the Evil Dead remake is at the top of my most anticipated list.  If you told me this time last year I'd be saying that, I would have laughed and laughed.

The Jungle too.  Because The Reef is that good.

I'm intrigued by Green Inferno, if for no other reason than I love the title.

Horror is interesting, in that I don't much care about how good or bad it's supposed to be. Unless it's getting great notices, timing is the crucial element to get me in the theater. It's why Texas Chainsaw has no shot, with all the oscar films still around, but Mama has an excellent chance. Quality barely enters into it.

FYI if you are subscribed to DirecTV, free pay channels this weekend! 

Recorded Dog Soldiers last night; The Reef,  The Innkeepers and a few others mentioned in this thread are showing as well. 

Excited for:

The Jungle
Green Inferno
You're Next
Stoker
Area 51
Mockingbird (Bryan Bertino)
Grim Night (movie could turn out to be shit... all I know is, that's a great concept)
The Last Voyage of Demeter

Curious if not exactly excited for:

Mama
7500
Evil Dead
Horns
The Conjuring
that VHS sequel
[Rec] 4 (there was a time a new Rec would have been at the very top of my must-sees, but after two shitty sequels I'm approaching with caution)
 

Also extremely excited for World War Z. Yes, I know the whole "tidal wave of zombies" thing looks silly, but I think we're losing sight of the bigger picture: we could get ANOTHER movie where Matthew Fox plays a cunning, wiry, and super intense serial killer!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doyle 

 

PARANORMAN might very well be my favourite 2012 film, so I think you're in for a treat. It's simply tremendous, heartfelt and oozing with love for the genre.  The scares are, of course, lightweight, but the film never pulls its punches, underestimating what a young audience can take - Joe Dante would be proud.

I enjoyed it, too. You summed up its Dante-esque charms well. It dooes ooze love for the genre.

Tremors IV is a pretty fun prequel. 

Why are people going to see Texas Chainsaw?  

Honestly I presented the choices of Gangster Squad, The Impossible, Jack Reacher and Texas Chainsaw to my GF heavily leaning toward the first or second and she opted for the shitty one : (

Well the GF sounds like she's into horror, so I'll allow it under those circumstances.

But seriously, why did Texas Chainsaw make so much money?  It's upsetting me. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzy dunlop 

Why are people going to see Texas Chainsaw?  

Long answer:

"What we gonna watch then? How about this thing with Ewan McGregor getting flooded in China?"

"Fuck that."

"What about the one with the gangsters in it?"

"Dude, I saw that Boardwalk Empire show and it was so boring."

"Tom Cruise?"

"His movies are always the same."

"There's this Chainsaw Massacre thing."

"Huh?"

"It's in 3D."

"3D?"

"Yeah."

"So the chainsaw will, like, totally come out of the screen at you?"

"Yeah!"

"Awesome!"

(90 minutes later)

"Do your thing, cuz!"

"That bit was the best!"

Short Answer:

People are fucking stupid.

Video store run got MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE and THE POSSESSION for tonite. Excited for two good movies.

The tension in MMMM is unreal.  For a movie that isn't strictly horror, its creepy as hell.  Hawkes, as always, is brilliant. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis 

Video store run got MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE and THE POSSESSION for tonite. Excited for two good movies.

I loved, loved, loved MMMM.   I haven't seen The Possession yet.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzy dunlop 

The tension in MMMM is unreal.  For a movie that isn't strictly horror, its creepy as hell.  Hawkes, as always, is brilliant. 

Olsen carries the movie though.  She great in this role.  

MMMM is terrific. Possession, I found fairly generic. You could do worse, but it's super PG-13ish, and feels like a nice family horror film.

The Possession was like drinking a glass of room temperature water that someone in another room would occasionally threaten to knock from your hand. You might have to think about that metaphor.

And, regarding the ending:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjen Rudd 

MMMM is terrific. Possession, I found fairly generic. You could do worse, but it's super PG-13ish, and feels like a nice family horror film.

Ohh for a moment I was actually going to look up a film cal mmmm like the sound a monster would make after it ate you.

I enjoyed The Possession.  In any other year it would have landed in the "eh, it was okay" pile.  Since 2012 was extremely low on good theatrical horror though, it stood out.  I'd easily rank Cabin In The Woods, The Woman In Black, and Sinister above it......but when it comes to wide theatrically released horror from 2012, you could do a WHOLE LOT fucking worse.

It definitely lacks bite, but it has a nice cast and is pretty solid overall.  Of the two releases from this past August, I was pleased to see that it easily trounced the awful The Apparition at the box office.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzy dunlop 

Why are people going to see Texas Chainsaw?  

Because we've only had one horror film since October (which nobody went to) and people are jonesing for a new one.  It also doesn't help that audiences haven't paid attention to any horror releases since Sinister, so a franchise property is easy pickings to satisfy that craving.

I watched the new Chainsaw movie this last weekend. The opening sequence was interesting, taking footage from the original and continuing it, matching the film quality and style. Loved seeing Bill Mosley again, playing the father this time. The fact that Jeb Sawyer (leatherface) actually sewed the flesh masks to his own face was a real creepy addition to the mythos. The rest of the film was quite a mess tho, and ultimately a waste of time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waaaaaaaalt 
Ohh for a moment I was actually going to look up a film cal mmmm like the sound a monster would make after it ate you.

I thought of the Crash Test Dummies song myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzy dunlop 
Why are people going to see Texas Chainsaw?  

Like already mentioned there wasn't much for horror the past few months and some people wanted to see bloody carnage. However, I do know that while it did surprisingly well the first weekend, it bottomed out real badly this past weekend, falling something like 76%. Not as bad as the Friday the 13th remake but still really bad; I'm talking about the dropoff and not the quality of the film; I haven't seen it myself but after hearing how stupid it is (the terribly bad line from the movie was already stated) and the timeline problems, it is a shame the idea of trying to be a "real" sequel to the classic original was so bungled.

Crossposting to this thread, because this most certainly does qualify as a horror film. 

Just watched Martha Marcy May Marlene.

Olsen was fantastic, I can't wait to see what she does in the future. John Hawkes was, well he's John Hawkes. The man can do no wrong.

The tension throughout the movie was insane. The sound (or lack thereof, I should say) really let the viewer feel Martha's isolation and that sense of being trapped in one's own head, as did Durkin's decision to use wide shots so often. That distant shot near the end of Martha floating in the water really stuck with me. 

Hell of a debut from Sean Durkin.   

Despite the cop out plot twist in the climax that Saxon mentioned, I liked THE POSSESSION a good deal. It's very PG-13, but in a Spielberg POLTERGEIST kind of way. It does build dread and tension, and i liked the glimpse of the Hasidic culture and use of a Jewish exorcist (Matisyahu is the star of the show) The scenes of the possession itself won't make you forget (or freak you out like) evil Linda Blair, but they were still effectively creepy. Verdict: One of the better Ghost House productions. Well worth a rental.

Hi all Chewers

A bit late to the party I know..

Just watched 'Absentia'  And I have to admit that i really enjoyed it.

Very low budget but enough creeps to make me not take my eyes off it.

Low key performances but actually quite intense.

Not to everyones taste I guess. I just thought it to be a little gem

Any thoughts?
 

Ted Post's THE BABY on TCM Underground tonite. Heard good things. Followed by the creepy classic THE BAD SEED.

What's the word on Atrocious? I seem to remember it getting mentioned here, but good or bad I can't recall. It's on Instant, and that's exactly the kind of nonsense I end up watching.

Gave you scoundrels a shout-out.

Great to see you keeping the Creature Corner fires burning, S.D.
 

Agreed. Good work, Bob!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjen Rudd 
What's the word on Atrocious? I seem to remember it getting mentioned here, but good or bad I can't recall. It's on Instant, and that's exactly the kind of nonsense I end up watching.

I know some people out there really enjoyed it; however, there are others (including me) who did not really like it at all. Below is what I wrote about it the night I saw it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Perfect Weapon 
Tonight I decided to finally try out the deal that AMC Theatres has with Bloody Disgusting where two times a week for I believe one week at midnight they show a lower-budget horror flick. The ones they picked so far didn't sound that interesting to me but I decided to roll the dice this time with a Spanish horror film with a rather unfortunate title... Atrocious. Yes, that's the title. [Rec] it is not in any way.

 

Basically, in this 75 minute film, a family goes to an old house they have out by the woods, which are allegedly haunted. As the two oldest siblings in that family are "urban legend fans" (hopefully not Urban Legend or especially its sequel) they took some video cameras and investigated that. As for what you see happen... well, you actually don't see a whole lot. Instead you see a lot of walking or running around in the woods (shakey-cam happens too often for my tastes, and it seemed like there was about a 5 minute stretch where you see nothing but a camera being shaken about and some heavy breathing). You don't see anything scary, that's for sure. Some moments are like Paranormal Activity but I'd say it's more like Blair Witch Project. You don't see much... but you don't even hear much either. There's really nothing at all aside from some creepy moments, but that doesn't a movie make.

 

Even if I would have seen the movie with an audience of non-Troglodytes, I have a feeling my opinion wouldn't change. I mean, for crying out loud, at the end they did a bit where they needlessly fast-forwarded to some exposition just so that they could rewind it back to that point and end the movie with what they thought would be a memorable moment. There's little sense of dread or fear. It was just amateur hour to me compared to the better found footage movies I have seen. It's not a movie so awful the title turned out to be prophetic; it's just something that I thought should have been better with some changes and I'd recommend skipping it.

So over recent days I have watched two flicks that are well worth a look...

Chained: Jennifer Lynch's film is a compelling and disturbing glimpse into the face of evil right up there with Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Snowtown. Vincent D'Onofrio excels as the serial killer taxi driver who keeps a child hostage and raises him in the hopes that he will follow in his footseps of rape and murder. This is a claustrophobic film which puts you right in the midst of an old run down house and Lynch makes sure you are aware of the geography of the place so you can play what would I do if I were there?. The film is bleak and doesnt have a winner at the end and left me exhausted and feeling depressed which y'know personally I think horror should make you feel something...

American Mary: The Soska Sisters second directorial effort has so much hype around it (especially if you follow them on Twitter) that is was inevitable it would disappoint. I've seen so many colleagues lose objectivity recently because they had an interview/photo shoot or got Twitter props from the Soska's, so I was ready to hate this. Whilst it didnt disappoint me as I liked it overall, its pretty far from the horror classic that some are proclaiming. The problem is it has a nice idea and Katherine Isabelle has grown into a very attractive girl/actress but once the body horror/noir/revenge tone is established it has pretty much nowhere to go. Personally the whole body modification sub culture really makes my skin crawl so this film made me hella uncomfortable, especially the Doll/prostitutes but then the film meanders with motivations, desires and plotlines becoming murkier and murkier and not really paying off the way they should. I preferred this to the recent and similar Excision but this is still good rather than great. I'm prepared to argue with a lot of people about this one.....

Lots of great buzz coming out of Sundance around S-VHS.  I think I am officially excited for this one. 

Yeah, I've now had two friends - whose opinions I trust - say that it is much better than VHS.

I'm looking forward to S-VHS.  Brad Miska is one of the producers, and I think he's the real deal and wants to make real horror. 

Meanwhile, did anyone see Mama? 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by yt 

 

Meanwhile, did anyone see Mama? 
 

I did. I enjoyed MAMA, more than some of Del Toro's recently produced "little girl(s) menaced by the supernatural" series. (Like DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, sorry Nick.) There are some jumbled plot elements in the second act and the movie really doesn't know what to do with Jamie Lannister, but overall I found it spooky, effective and fun. "Mama" herself is a CG character and that may prove problematic for some, but I dug her for the most part. Chastain is great and punk rock hot and the flick has a nice dark fairytale vibe. If you're not a stickler for ironclad plotting, there is much here to enjoy. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebastian OB 

 If you're not a stickler for ironclad plotting, there is much here to enjoy. 

It'd be tough to be a Horror fan then, I'm afraid.

Thanks for the Atrocious heads up. I'll probably skip it. Too many fish in the sea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd Dobler 

So over recent days I have watched two flicks that are well worth a look...

 

Chained: Jennifer Lynch's film is a compelling and disturbing glimpse into the face of evil right up there with Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Snowtown. Vincent D'Onofrio excels as the serial killer taxi driver who keeps a child hostage and raises him in the hopes that he will follow in his footseps of rape and murder. This is a claustrophobic film which puts you right in the midst of an old run down house and Lynch makes sure you are aware of the geography of the place so you can play what would I do if I were there?. The film is bleak and doesnt have a winner at the end and left me exhausted and feeling depressed which y'know personally I think horror should make you feel something...

 

You really liked CHAINED?   D'Onofrio is suitably creepy, but that ending was AWFUL.  People laughed when I saw it in a preview screening.

Minus the ending, Chained is great. Snip off the last five minutes and the movie had the potential to be a minor horror classic, in my opinion.