VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[wordsfromlee]

44 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

Maybe I'm just too cynical but I also don't buy that Terrifier is just some little indie that's done well on it's own, I feel like there's been some well funded push through social media and the like.

Isn't that just bog standard marketing and PR?

[WyattSheepMask]

46 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

Maybe I'm just too cynical but I also don't buy that Terrifier is just some little indie that's done well on it's own, I feel like there's been some well funded push through social media and the like.

From the reading I’ve done, the first one (the one I watched) is from 2016 and did seem to fly under the radar and was viewed by a few absolute horror diehards until it was eventually taken into the Film Festival circuit ahead of the release of Terrifier 2, but the character of Art the Clown apparently goes back even further to the Director’s previous work of around 2008.

It probably was made on a shoestring (the first had a budget of between $35k-$55k), but as you alluded to, it was probably seen by someone who has a bit of money and has invested to get it a wider release. 
This new one that’s just been released has a budget listed as being around $2million and according to Box Office Mojo it’s already grossed over $40million, so it’s probably going to be around for a while

Edited October 21, 2024 by WyattSheepMask

[Devon Malcolm]

I love a slasher film but even I'm not going to spend over two hours watching one, especially if it involves being dragged into the Jericho Vortex.

[Lorne Malvo]

The first one was an plodding, quite boring splatter film that somehow seemed to get some kind of cult following. The second one was utter shite, goes on forever and introduced a load of lore and backstory shit that you just don't need in a slasher film. I won't bother with the third. 

Art The Clown does have a great look though. I just wish it was in a better film.

[WyattSheepMask]

44 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

I love a slasher film but even I'm not going to spend over two hours watching one, especially if it involves being dragged into the Jericho Vortex.

As soon as I read it was 2hrs+ I was out. 75 to 90 at the most is the sweet spot for a Slasher, unless you’re Halloween 2018 which is a touch longer but still good.

I don’t know how much Jericho is in it, nor am I willing to find out. It’s from 2022 so he was in the middle of ‘Le Champion/Quickly blown up/Could drop dead at any moment’ phase, so he won’t have managed much

Edited October 21, 2024 by WyattSheepMask

[Chris B]

The popularity is a mixture of one of the murder/torture scenes in the second film going quite viral (almost in a 2 Girls 1 Cup way), mixed with a genuinely prettty great performance from the guy playing Art.

The second one gained some actual notoriety as a result, and also gained quite a lot of fans - add in some savvy marketing and the fun of it being a Christmas movie, and I'm not that surprised it's done well.

And, if I'm honest... it deserves to.

It feels like the guy behind them has been taking notes and criticism on board, and toning down what doesn't work, while toning up what does.

I watched the second one, and it was overlong, badly paced, and misogynstic in the way it focused on women suffering and being tortured and degraded. But it also introduced an overarching story, along with a likeable Final Girl who, to be fair, got a load of stuff to do. 

I didn't like it, but I almost did. It was a film that was being too edgelordy and getting in its own way - and it had NO business being as long as it was.

But individual scenes were pretty good, and Art is definitely a fun character.

I checked out a scene from an earlier film (the short in All Hallows Eve) and it was even more overtly misogynistic - with Art carving slurs into a woman's skin. So I didn't bother any further with the previous ones. But still, Damien Leone had clearly already moved a bit away from that, and did seem to be improving.

The new one, I actually liked. It was still a bit overblown, but it got the balance between the gore, the humour and the storyline better, it was a lot less misogynistic, and it lingered less on suffering. And it's surprisingly really well shot and filmed on 35mm, so looks great.

Yes, it's still a lot, but it's interesting seeing it improve as a series, and it got a lot less in its own way.

Basically, it's not going to convince anyone that didn't see promise in earlier ones, but part of the popularity is simple - Art is really popular, and the closest thing to a new Freddy Krueger.

 

Edit: Jericho has a cameo in the second which is longer than it should be. He turns up to be quickly murdered in the third.

If Art has done nothing else, he's escaped the vortex.

Edited October 21, 2024 by Chris B

[SuperBacon]

This is the first I've heard of any of these movies! Am I so out of touch etc

Someone find me a Xmas film with him in it please.

[wordsfromlee]

8 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

This is the first I've heard of any of these movies! Am I so out of touch etc

Someone find me a Xmas film with him in it please.

Terrifier 3

[SuperBacon]

9 minutes ago, wordsfromlee said:

Terrifier 3

Didnt realise it was, but not a chance. I meant one called something like You've Just Made The Naughty List or some bollocks.

[Chris B]

It is very Christmassy, to be fair.

[Weezenal]

Decided I’m gonna watch A Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time at Halloween.

[FLips]

10 hours ago, Weezenal said:

Decided I’m gonna watch A Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time at Halloween.

If I can manage it I’m sure anyone can!

[Weezenal]

4 hours ago, FLips said:

If I can manage it I’m sure anyone can!

If I piss my pants, I piss my pants. It’s what Halloween is all about. 

[FLips]

3 minutes ago, Weezenal said:

If I piss my pants, I piss my pants. It’s what Halloween is all about. 

I think our next films are Child’s Play and Killer Klowns from Outer Space. 

[Statto]

19 hours ago, Merzbow said:

Maybe I'm just too cynical but I also don't buy that Terrifier is just some little indie that's done well on it's own, I feel like there's been some well funded push through social media and the like.

If you listen to Chris Jericho('s podcast) it's all down to him, apparently. 

Discovered the first film while on tour with Fozzy, mentioned it on the podcast and suddenly the whole world was watching, such is his sphere of influence.