All Things Horror Thread

[WyattSheepMask]

Watched Halloween Kills tonight. If that’s how the franchise is going out, then it’s gone out on a total wet fart.

There’s a part early on where two people are watching The Thing. Do yourself a favour and just watch that instead, you’ll have a much better time with that than watching this shower of shite.

[cobra_gordo]

Feels like I'm repeating the same post as the last few in this thread but fuck me, Halloween Ends is garbage. The 2018 one is really good, Halloween Kills is crap but at least it's daft fun. This one though, zero redeeming qualities whatsoever. 

[Chris B]

I wasn't prepared for just how batshit weird Halloween Ends would be. Every 15 minutes, I was grinning inanely, going 'well... that's a choice they made'. However, I've ended up liking it much more than I expected. I'd rather weird choices than just more of the same, and this had weird choices. 

I fucking loathed Halloween Kills, but there wasn't going to be a 'bigger' Michael Myers story to be told. And we weren't really going to get anything new out of him stalking Laurie again, as the 2018 film had done that pretty well.

It's pretty clear that this is a trilogy that was never meant to be a trilogy, as it makes fuck-all sense from film to film, and it's tonally all over the place. It's like a game of consequences, where you complete part of the picture the last person started without being able to see everything... and this one hit a little more to my tastes.

It's not good, don't get me wrong. But I suspect it'll be better regarded over time, and seen more on its own terms.

[Hannibal Scorch]

41 minutes ago, Chris B said:

I wasn't prepared for just how batshit weird Halloween Ends would be. Every 15 minutes, I was grinning inanely, going 'well... that's a choice they made'. However, I've ended up liking it much more than I expected. I'd rather weird choices than just more of the same, and this had weird choices. 

I fucking loathed Halloween Kills, but there wasn't going to be a 'bigger' Michael Myers story to be told. And we weren't really going to get anything new out of him stalking Laurie again, as the 2018 film had done that pretty well.

It's pretty clear that this is a trilogy that was never meant to be a trilogy, as it makes fuck-all sense from film to film, and it's tonally all over the place. It's like a game of consequences, where you complete part of the picture the last person started without being able to see everything... and this one hit a little more to my tastes.

It's not good, don't get me wrong. But I suspect it'll be better regarded over time, and seen more on its own terms.

What I don’t get here is, they said from the outset that wanted to make 3 films. So it’s not like they were forced into it. Lot of hate for the last SW trilogy, which was hampered by 3 directors (eventually 2) who had different ideas and visions and seemed it was made up on a film by film basis. This had the same director and producers for each film so how did they fuck it up so badly?

[Vamp]

With these things I always half suspect it's because they "listened to the fans." 

You bring out a film, people react to it, you then react to those reactions and it ends up like a movie version of Chinese whispers where the person at the end speaks utter gibberish. 

I don't really think the problem with Star Wars was the different directors. They did a film that was well received, with the only criticism being that it was a safe film, they took a risk with the second film and the reaction was that it "wasn't Star Wars" so they tried to steer that into making the kind of film people wouldn't be upset with and ended up with total bollocks for the third.

[Chris B]

1 hour ago, Vamp said:

I don't really think the problem with Star Wars was the different directors. They did a film that was well received, with the only criticism being that it was a safe film, they took a risk with the second film and the reaction was that it "wasn't Star Wars" so they tried to steer that into making the kind of film people wouldn't be upset with and ended up with total bollocks for the third.

Let's not forget how poor-faith a lot of that response was. It was like the Snyder Cut.

[Devon Malcolm]

The Rise of Skywalker is the most cowardly movie ever made and the response it got was exactly what it deserved. This Halloween trilogy is one guy trying too many things after getting the first one surprisingly right and getting everything thereafter completely and totally wrong.

[Devon Malcolm]

The Grandmother (2021)

Spanish film from one of the guys who created [REC]. Much different though - a slow burn suspense that doesn't show its cards until late on, and sticks its ending superbly. Really liked this.

In Darkness we Fall

Another Spanish one, this time a found footage survival horror. Think the first half of The Descent before the monsters show up. Reasonably decent for what it is, the ending's stupid though.

Incantation (Netflix)

After the brilliant The Medium came out last year, I thought we might start seeing some more south-east Asian found footage films. So here's Taiwan's offering, and it's quite good, too. A bit too long and arses around too much with being non-linear but it's enjoyably bleak and creepy. The Medium is amazing though, seek that out. I believe it's on Shudder.

[Hannibal Scorch]

The Lost Boys - never seen it before so took a trip to Cineworld to see it. Absolute cheese fest but very enjoyable 

[Devon Malcolm]

Psycho II

Its reputation seems to grow with each passing year and while it's not *that* good it's still well made and well acted and a good, solid mystery.

Wild Beasts (YouTube)

Italian horror films were fucking wild. This one is about PCP leaking into the water supply at a New York zoo and the animals running wild as a result. Awful treatment of some of the animals in this but some amazing and dangerous looking stuff in it if you can stomach it.

Ghosthouse (YouTube)

Another bonkers Umberto Lenzi horror film that gets progressively more loony as it goes along. Makes almost no sense but the murders are great as is the music, of course.

[Devon Malcolm]

Eyes of a Stranger (YouTube)

Probably best known for being Jennifer Jason Leigh's debut, and true to the rest of her career she's great. But this overall a cracking little slasher - very grim and uncompromisingly so, with an excellent subplot regarding JJL's sister. One of the best things I've watched this month.

Silver Bullet

I don't know why this doesn't get talked about among the best werewolf films. The effects are excellent, the gore is plentiful, and the story's a pretty good one is fairly Stephen King standard. Love this, still.

Innocent Blood

If John Landis didn't have such a lob-on for Anne Parillaud then this could have been a lot better. A great idea, to do a vampire / Mafia crossover and the cast are awesome - Robert Loggia and Don Rickles are having a great time and UKFF fave Luis Guzman is also here. Just too long and too horny to work as well as it should.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Devon Malcolm

[Devon Malcolm]

Hellraiser (the new one)

Ehh, it was alright. Never cared about Hellraiser aside from the first one but David Bruckner's a boring director who never does much interesting with it. Looks great though and Jamie Clayton was ace as the new Pinhead.

Communion

Very odd alien abduction thing with Christopher Walken really hamming it up. Couldn't tell if it was a parody at times but I did rather enjoy it and there are some creepy scenes.

Another Evil

Low budget comedy-horror with On Cinema's very own Mark Proksch showing some great range. Rather enjoyed this and the turns of tone were well handled.

[Panhead]

It was my first time at For The Love Of Horror yesterday. I was surprised at just how smoothly it was run. Even the queues went down pretty quickly. Danielle Harris was so lovely. I had a chat with her about the episode of Eerie Indiana that she was in and how it really affected me when I was a kid. 

Some of the cosplays were absolutely amazing. I'll definitely go back next year. I'd say the only downsides were getting there, because it's pretty far out of the centre of Manchester, and there was a fair few stinky people there. All good other than that though. 

[Mr_Danger]

On 10/13/2022 at 11:11 AM, Devon Malcolm said:

Antlers

Another one that Disney threw on the shitheap. Am I right in thinking they haven't even bothered putting this on Disney Plus? Anyway, it's quite good, this. Takes a little while to get going and Jesse Plemons is slumming it a bit in this, but I enjoyed it.

Yeah not available to stream anywhere which is a shame because it’s decent. Evoked 90’s monster films like Mimic, Relic and Deep Rising for me but with an extra slice of real life depressing shit. I wasn’t ready for Kerri Russell to look, well, to look her age in it.

[wordsfromlee]

I watched X yesterday and thought it was OK, nothing more. You could have cut the first 50 minutes out and it wouldn't have hindered the storyline in anyway except for not being able to see some tits. I didn't feel any suspense or terror though and was never scared in the slightest. I did really like the death scenes and the practical effects looked great. It is well shot though and looks really nice with the whole 70s vibe to it, but without seeming like a piss take. I just found myself quite bored throughout up until the last 20 minutes or so.