All Things Horror Thread

[David]

7 minutes ago, Chris B said:

I rather believe that horror can be, y'know, good. The last Halloween was gory in places, but had plenty of suspense, ratcheting it up into something a bit more interesting. This one had shockingly little suspense, and even the jump scares weren't even jump scares. The group sequences were all weirdly like a murky Darth Maul fight scene. If your approach to horror is 'well, it's all shit, innit, so might as well enjoy knives in faces, because there's no point in expecting better', then... good for you? 

I mean, yes, obviously, I'll watch the next one. I'm not saying I dislike bad horror films - they can be enormous fun, and there are some fantastically bad films that contain something interesting like a specific scene that really works. I just wish this one had something I could latch onto as enjoyable other than a decent Easter Egg. As it is, this film didn't even have the best death of the nurse from the original film - the opening scene of Halloween H20 does the same thing so much better, where a character does everything they're supposed to and it doesn't make a blind bit of difference.

Did you read any of the media before watching the movie? It seemed as though it was pretty well explained that this was a chapter in the story that would change direction a little, and would be more about setting the scene for the big finale of the final movie. 

The gist I get from the chatter of those creating these movies is that there's a direction they're going in, and they have a wider plan in place for finally putting the whole thing to bed. This movie, rightly or wrongly, was more about opening the doors of the homes that surround the usual playground of the killer. If you look back at the previous movies in the original run you'd always see teenagers running from the scene screaming, and you'd see lights on in neighbouring houses and maybe wonder, as I have on occasion, "surely the neighbours must hear all of this? Aren't they affected by the string of violent murders going on in their street?"

This movie was less about Myers himself, and more about the effect he's had on the entire town. The jump scares of previous movies weren't as important, as the main thrust of the movie is that he's an almost supernatural being who's had a hold on the town and its inhabitants for decades. 

It was always going to be polarising to an extent, because it's a Halloween movie that isn't a typical Halloween movie, but the writers had to make the break somewhere along the line, didn't they? Otherwise it's just jump scares and the same old formula ad infinitum, which won't work if they really want to end the series properly.

Myers is no longer the sneaky, stalking serial killer of the first movie who needs to incorporate the jump scare approach, they've gone down the route of him being the embodiment of pure evil. He's literally become the boogeyman that they've always referred to him as. An unstoppable force of sorts.

Could it have been done better? Probably, but everyone will have their own ideas on how to go about such a series. As I said, it was always going to be polarising. 

Getting back to my take on it, I tend to go into these types of movies with the intention of enjoying them for what they are. Sure, there's plot holes aplenty, but it's a movie. There's plot holes in most movies if people look hard enough. I think sometimes we forget that we're supposed to be enjoying them for what they are. You see it with wrestling on here. There's that much micro-analysis that we forget the reason we watch in the first place.

This particular chapter had some absolutely excellent kills, and after everything that's happened to him it really left me wondering how the fuck they will ever be able to actually put him to bed for good. I want to see how they conclude the series, and I'm willing to spend money to do so. Which is the aim, isn't it?

No doubt next year will see more people complaining about the plot holes, and the way the series has concluded and so on. I'll just enjoy it for what it is, which is a few hours entertainment. 

[Chris B]

6 minutes ago, David said:

Did you read any of the media before watching the movie? It seemed as though it was pretty well explained that this was a chapter in the story that would change direction a little, and would be more about setting the scene for the big finale of the final movie. 

The gist I get from the chatter of those creating these movies is that there's a direction they're going in, and they have a wider plan in place for finally putting the whole thing to bed. This movie, rightly or wrongly, was more about opening the doors of the homes that surround the usual playground of the killer. If you look back at the previous movies in the original run you'd always see teenagers running from the scene screaming, and you'd see lights on in neighbouring houses and maybe wonder, as I have on occasion, "surely the neighbours must hear all of this? Aren't they affected by the string of violent murders going on in their street?"

This movie was less about Myers himself, and more about the effect he's had on the entire town. The jump scares of previous movies weren't as important, as the main thrust of the movie is that he's an almost supernatural being who's had a hold on the town and its inhabitants for decades. 

I tend not to read too much about something before I see it - I used to, but I realised it often hampered my enjoyment rather than added to it. Since then, I've read about how this was planned to be a two-parter, and got turned into a trilogy, which makes a lot of sense (and is why I said I thought the behind-the-scenes story about this will be really interesting one day). It comes across like they panicked a bit and came up with this 'erm... what if the town was twitter?' nonsense.

And I totally agree about the previous movies in the original run. It makes complete sense for the town to be traumatised and finally get to breaking point. However, almost all the previous movies didn't happen in this. That was a really big point. In fact, the last film was all about how that HADN'T happened, and how Laurie was this weirdo and the only person that saw this coming. Which is why it totally took me out of it to have everyone suddenly like 'EVIL DIES TONIGHT!' - they haven't had the decades of trauma and no reason for him to have a hold on the town and its inhabitants for decades. Myers is podcast territory and basically forgotten. So it makes the film feel extremely silly as a result.

[David]

8 minutes ago, Chris B said:

I tend not to read too much about something before I see it - I used to, but I realised it often hampered my enjoyment rather than added to it. Since then, I've read about how this was planned to be a two-parter, and got turned into a trilogy, which makes a lot of sense (and is why I said I thought the behind-the-scenes story about this will be really interesting one day). It comes across like they panicked a bit and came up with this 'erm... what if the town was twitter?' nonsense.

I won't argue that the approach seemed rather ham-fisted in many respects, and "by the numbers," but much of the pre-launch articles etc had mentioned this approach, which is why I wasn't all that surprised. 

I also appreciate that it must be really difficult to take a horror series that has followed a set formula for decades and make the decision to try something a little bit new. They were always going to catch some shit for that, which was exacerbated by the fact they didn't do a terrific job of it. If they had it would still be slammed by those who want a Halloween movie like the others they've seen, with jump scares and all the usual routine.

10 minutes ago, Chris B said:

And I totally agree about the previous movies in the original run. It makes complete sense for the town to be traumatised and finally get to breaking point. However, almost all the previous movies didn't happen in this. That was a really big point. In fact, the last film was all about how that HADN'T happened, and how Laurie was this weirdo and the only person that saw this coming. Which is why it totally took me out of it to have everyone suddenly like 'EVIL DIES TONIGHT!' - they haven't had the decades of trauma and no reason for him to have a hold on the town and its inhabitants for decades. Myers is podcast territory and basically forgotten. So it makes the film feel extremely silly as a result.

Personally, I think the last film was more about the broken connection between Laurie and her family. There wasn't much made of the effects Myers had on the rest of the local community, was there? I remember her daughter and family making out that she was a weirdo, and some of the teenagers, but not much else.

This movie was more about highlighting that what Myers did rippled out further than the individuals directly involved, which was an interesting take in my opinion. Before reading a bit about the movie I was fully expecting more of the same that we saw in previous movies. Basically, that he escapes the fire, chases down Laurie and her family for a few hours while finding a variety of interesting ways to kill anyone he encounters along the way before Laurie somehow "kills" him only for him to disappear into the dark yet again.

This approach was different enough to pique my interest, and as I said, it now leaves me genuinely wondering how they will finally put the whole thing to bed in the finale. 

[LaGoosh]

1 hour ago, David said:

Did you read any of the media before watching the movie? It seemed as though it was pretty well explained that this was a chapter in the story that would change direction a little, and would be more about setting the scene for the big finale of the final movie. 

Fuck that, you shouldn't have to read any media or have anything explained to you before seeing any movie. The movie should speak for itself. If you need to do pre-reading to manage expectations then the movie has already failed.

[David]

8 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Fuck that, you shouldn't have to read any media or have anything explained to you before seeing any movie. The movie should speak for itself. If you need to do pre-reading to manage expectations then the movie has already failed.

I don't need to do pre-reading, but I'm a subscriber to various movie and entertainment related magazines (I know, still reading magazines in 2021) and there's going to be coverage. 

I like reading interviews with cast and directors, and find that doing so helps get my hyped for the movies I'm looking forward to.

[Chris B]

Thinking more about Halloween Kills and why it didn't work for me, because the basic ideas aren't terrible - especially in the sense of 'we have to add a second movie, so we've got to do something a bit more self-contained as well as the (slowed-down) main story'. The mob forming through fear and trauma isn't terrible, but the execution didn't work at all.

One of two things, for me, would have helped quite a lot:

1 - The Silence of the Lambs thing I mentioned earlier. If it had been unclear where Myers was heading, then the revelation that it isn't him could have been something of a surprise. Maybe more of a copycat, maybe just deliberately not showing us. But as it was, they made pretty clear that he wasn't heading to the hospital (even just in terms of basic narrative - that much story time being spent on his old home meant it was going to be important). If it hadn't been clear what that location was, rather than spelling it out, it might have been something. Instead, the entire time the mob was around the hospital, we knew it wasn't Myers.

or

2 - The mob is after Laurie. Myers' target is the survival nut weirdo down the road, and she's now in the hospital, surrounded by the bodies of the people that were killed instead of her? And she's hurt? Fuck it - find her, leave her at the front door for Myers to find. That way, everyone else gets left alone. And it's led by the kid she saved when she was a teenager. At least that way, the story with Laurie's daughter would make more sense - she's desperately trying to keep her unconscious mom alive, while half feeling resentful about her own husband's death. Add in the fake-out with 'Myers' turning up, and at least that whole story have more weight and tension.

I think that kind of thing would have left me feeling a bit less like 'the fuck?' than it did. Could still have had the whole transcending thing if you really had to. I'd have also made the couple at the Myers' house the family of the granddaughter's boyfriend. Would have made for a better reason to have them involved and have her end up there at the end.

These aren't major tweaks, but it'd have annoyed me less.

[David]

I'm still standing by my enjoyment of the movie, but this I would certainly have bought into more...

On 10/23/2021 at 10:20 PM, Chris B said:

2 - The mob is after Laurie. Myers' target is the survival nut weirdo down the road, and she's now in the hospital, surrounded by the bodies of the people that were killed instead of her? And she's hurt? Fuck it - find her, leave her at the front door for Myers to find. That way, everyone else gets left alone. And it's led by the kid she saved when she was a teenager. At least that way, the story with Laurie's daughter would make more sense - she's desperately trying to keep her unconscious mom alive, while half feeling resentful about her own husband's death. Add in the fake-out with 'Myers' turning up, and at least that whole story have more weight and tension.

I think that kind of thing would have left me feeling a bit less like 'the fuck?' than it did. Could still have had the whole transcending thing if you really had to. I'd have also made the couple at the Myers' house the family of the granddaughter's boyfriend. Would have made for a better reason to have them involved and have her end up there at the end.

 

[BomberPat]

I watched the original Halloween last night - the other half had never seen it, and we wanted to watch it before watching the (quite dull) Movies That Made Us episode about it. 

What is there to say? Still brilliant, still holds up even though every single moment has been thoroughly ripped off for decades since. Myers' face slowly emerging in the darkness behind Laurie is still one of the greatest shots in all horror cinema, Pleasance is still a star, soundtrack still bangs. Not sure if we're going to commit to watching the rest of the series, but I think I'll at least encourage her to watch 2.

[cobra_gordo]

1 hour ago, BomberPat said:

Myers' face slowly emerging in the darkness behind Laurie is still one of the greatest shots in all horror cinema

I've seen Halloween a hundred times and that shot still gives me chills down to my stomach. I'd definitely encourage her to watch Halloween 2 and 4 is fantastic apart from Michael's crap mask. Maybe skip 3 though as it'll put her off watching 4.

[Devon Malcolm]

21 minutes ago, cobra_gordo said:

I've seen Halloween a hundred times and that shot still gives me chills down to my stomach. I'd definitely encourage her to watch Halloween 2 and 4 is fantastic apart from Michael's crap mask. Maybe skip 3 though as it'll put her off watching 4.

Halloween III is great!

[chokeout]

14 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Halloween III is great!

Watched it again the other week, its a top tier B Movie and the idea of the Halloween films being an anthology of different films is a missed opportunity and it's unfairly dismissed as 'the one without Michael' The plot makes zero sense (Stonehenge, witches, laser beams, robots) but that's part of it's charm, it's almost a throwback to the 50s

If they had stuck with the original ending, rather than the slightly more ambiguous one, I think it would still be talked about today for how dark it was

Spoiler

The book has him not stopping the broadcast in time and the screams of children dying horribly in the distance was the original closing.

 

[cobra_gordo]

I don't dislike Halloween 3 but I could definitely see it putting off someone who may need coercing to watch 2 from watching the rest of the series. If anything I'd say watch it after 4.

[David]

The Silver Shamrock ad theme will be forever burned into my brain. I can still hear it now if I tilt my head to the left and really concentrate.

[BomberPat]

yeah, my general feeling about Halloween 3 is that it's great, but there's absolutely no urgency to watch it when doing a series watch-through. Can go back to that one whenever.

[bAzTNM#1]

Anybody here old enough to remember watching "Ghostwatch" live on the BBC TV in 1992? Place full of young yins now? I must admit to nearly sharting myself but there you go. Looks really, really shit now. Still the odd bit gets me though (like where that strange voice starts appearing, or where you spot a random "Pipes the Ghost" sighting). Probably couldn't do it now. I'd love to see someone try it.