Bob Turnbull
Supporting Actor
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2001
- Messages
- 840
Man, I just haven't been able to spend as much time this year with the horror films...But I've got a huge backlog to watch and in my zip.ca queue, so I think I'm just gonna keep ploughing through them in November.
10/23/07 - Alone (2007) - As much as I liked Shutter (see below), this follow-up by the same filmmakers is far superior in every way. It's the story of a woman returning home to visit her ill mother and who starts to experience ghostly hauntings from what appears to be her dead twin sister. Not only twin sister, but previously conjoined. As teenagers they had an operation to separate them and one of them passed away. The scares are setup extremely well as evidenced by all the nervous laughter from the audience when a new scene began (not to mention all the tension release laughter afterwards). It's been getting great reviews so expect to see it in the not too distant future.
10/24/07 - Simon Says (2006) - Also to likely be wider released soon, this Crispin Glover vehicle is nowhere near as good. It doesn't really try to be, but aside from Glover (who plays disturbed twins) there isn't much to enjoy here. A couple of inventive ideas (one of the annoying young people gets a pick ax to the back and then dragged through the woods), it just doesn't really build up any tension or deliver any solid jolts (well, except for the terrible fate that befalls the fluffy dog).
10/24/07 - Nightmare Detective (2006) - Shinya Tsukamoto's own take on the J-Horror genre has moments of solid terror. Not only in the way we experience the nightmares of the victims, but also in what we see in the real world. These nightmares are being caused by another man who can enter people's dreams and then essentially manipulate them into killing themselves. Those deaths are also very unsettling as we see a number of the victims repeatedly stabbing themselves. It didn't completely envelop me, but enough so that I want to see it again.
10/25/07 - Murder Party (2007) - Terrific low budget tale of a rather lonely guy who finds an invitation on the street to attend a Halloween eve "Murder Party" and ends up being the target of an "art" project that will use his death. It's a sharp satire, funny and well-paced. I think it's already on DVD in the U.S., but it's also supposed to be touring the country with "Blood Car" as a double feature. I'd really recommend the both of them if they happen to show near you.
10/26/07 - Shutter (2004) - I've seen some recent reviews that said this wasn't anywhere near as good as the hype, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. "Alone" is the stronger film by this Thai duo, but there are some effective scenes.
10/27/07 - The Heirloom (2005) - The concept behind the film is scarier than any of the scenes in it - a family with designs on retaining great power and wealth keep the ghosts of dead babys in a special section of their house. That power is used against them by another member of the family and a mass hanging occurs. It's slow and not perfectly realized, but when you see floating feet (from a hanging body) start showing up it can still throw you off a bit...
10/30/07 - The Changeling (1980) - One of the best ghost stories ever filmed.
2007 Scary Movie Challenge:
1. 10/01/07 - Suspiria (1977 - Dario Argento)
2. 10/01/07 - Tales Of Terror (1962 - Roger Corman)
3. 10/02/07 - All The Colors Of The Dark (1972 - Sergio Martino)
4. 10/03/07 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 - Tobe Hooper)
5. 10/03/07 - Trilogy Of Terror (1974 - Dan Curtis)
6. 10/04/07 - Witchfinder General (1968 - Michael Reeves)
7. 10/05/07 - Kill, Baby...Kill (1966 - Mario Bava)
8. 10/07/07 - Bangkok Haunted (2001 - Oxide Pang Chun, Pisut Praesangeam)
9. 10/07/07 - Shivers (1975 - David Cronenberg)
10. 10/08/07 - Creepshow (1982 - George A. Romero)
11. 10/09/07 - Hellraiser (1987 - Clive Barker)
12. 10/10/07 - The Maid (2005 - Kelvin Tong)
13. 10/11/07 - The Legend Of Hell House (1973 - John Hough)
14. 10/13/07 - Slither (2006 - James Gunn)
15. 10/13/07 - A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985 - Jack Sholder)
16. 10/14/07 - Anatomy (2000 - Stefan Ruzowitzky)
17. 10/14/07 - Jeepers Creepers (2001 - Victor Salva)
18. 10/15/07 - Lizard In A Woman's Skin (1971 - Lucio Fulci)
19. 10/16/07 - At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (1964 - Jose Mojica Marins)
20. 10/17/07 - Circus Of Horrors (1960 - Sidney Hayers)
21. 10/18/07 - Return Of The Living Dead (1985 - Dan O'Bannon)
22. 10/19/07 - Pulse (2001 - Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
23. 10/19/07 - Torso (1973 - Sergio Martino)
24. 10/20/07 - Blood Car (2007 - Alex Orr)
25. 10/21/07 - Automaton Transfusion (2007 - Steven C. Miller)
26. 10/21/07 - Poultrygeist: Night Of The Chicken Dead (2006 - Lloyd Kaufman)
27. 10/22/07 - The Tripper (2007 - David Arquette)
28. 10/23/07 - Alone (2007 - Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom)
29. 10/24/07 - Simon Says (2006 - Bill Dear)
30. 10/24/07 - Nightmare Detective (2006 - Shinya Tsukamoto)
31. 10/25/07 - Murder Party (2007 - Jeremy Saulnier)
32. 10/26/07 - Shutter (2004 - Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom)
33. 10/27/07 - The Heirloom (2005 - Leste Chen)
34. 10/30/07 - The Changeling (1980 - Peter Medak)
10/23/07 - Alone (2007) - As much as I liked Shutter (see below), this follow-up by the same filmmakers is far superior in every way. It's the story of a woman returning home to visit her ill mother and who starts to experience ghostly hauntings from what appears to be her dead twin sister. Not only twin sister, but previously conjoined. As teenagers they had an operation to separate them and one of them passed away. The scares are setup extremely well as evidenced by all the nervous laughter from the audience when a new scene began (not to mention all the tension release laughter afterwards). It's been getting great reviews so expect to see it in the not too distant future.
10/24/07 - Simon Says (2006) - Also to likely be wider released soon, this Crispin Glover vehicle is nowhere near as good. It doesn't really try to be, but aside from Glover (who plays disturbed twins) there isn't much to enjoy here. A couple of inventive ideas (one of the annoying young people gets a pick ax to the back and then dragged through the woods), it just doesn't really build up any tension or deliver any solid jolts (well, except for the terrible fate that befalls the fluffy dog).
10/24/07 - Nightmare Detective (2006) - Shinya Tsukamoto's own take on the J-Horror genre has moments of solid terror. Not only in the way we experience the nightmares of the victims, but also in what we see in the real world. These nightmares are being caused by another man who can enter people's dreams and then essentially manipulate them into killing themselves. Those deaths are also very unsettling as we see a number of the victims repeatedly stabbing themselves. It didn't completely envelop me, but enough so that I want to see it again.
10/25/07 - Murder Party (2007) - Terrific low budget tale of a rather lonely guy who finds an invitation on the street to attend a Halloween eve "Murder Party" and ends up being the target of an "art" project that will use his death. It's a sharp satire, funny and well-paced. I think it's already on DVD in the U.S., but it's also supposed to be touring the country with "Blood Car" as a double feature. I'd really recommend the both of them if they happen to show near you.
10/26/07 - Shutter (2004) - I've seen some recent reviews that said this wasn't anywhere near as good as the hype, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. "Alone" is the stronger film by this Thai duo, but there are some effective scenes.
10/27/07 - The Heirloom (2005) - The concept behind the film is scarier than any of the scenes in it - a family with designs on retaining great power and wealth keep the ghosts of dead babys in a special section of their house. That power is used against them by another member of the family and a mass hanging occurs. It's slow and not perfectly realized, but when you see floating feet (from a hanging body) start showing up it can still throw you off a bit...
10/30/07 - The Changeling (1980) - One of the best ghost stories ever filmed.
2007 Scary Movie Challenge:
1. 10/01/07 - Suspiria (1977 - Dario Argento)
2. 10/01/07 - Tales Of Terror (1962 - Roger Corman)
3. 10/02/07 - All The Colors Of The Dark (1972 - Sergio Martino)
4. 10/03/07 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 - Tobe Hooper)
5. 10/03/07 - Trilogy Of Terror (1974 - Dan Curtis)
6. 10/04/07 - Witchfinder General (1968 - Michael Reeves)
7. 10/05/07 - Kill, Baby...Kill (1966 - Mario Bava)
8. 10/07/07 - Bangkok Haunted (2001 - Oxide Pang Chun, Pisut Praesangeam)
9. 10/07/07 - Shivers (1975 - David Cronenberg)
10. 10/08/07 - Creepshow (1982 - George A. Romero)
11. 10/09/07 - Hellraiser (1987 - Clive Barker)
12. 10/10/07 - The Maid (2005 - Kelvin Tong)
13. 10/11/07 - The Legend Of Hell House (1973 - John Hough)
14. 10/13/07 - Slither (2006 - James Gunn)
15. 10/13/07 - A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985 - Jack Sholder)
16. 10/14/07 - Anatomy (2000 - Stefan Ruzowitzky)
17. 10/14/07 - Jeepers Creepers (2001 - Victor Salva)
18. 10/15/07 - Lizard In A Woman's Skin (1971 - Lucio Fulci)
19. 10/16/07 - At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (1964 - Jose Mojica Marins)
20. 10/17/07 - Circus Of Horrors (1960 - Sidney Hayers)
21. 10/18/07 - Return Of The Living Dead (1985 - Dan O'Bannon)
22. 10/19/07 - Pulse (2001 - Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
23. 10/19/07 - Torso (1973 - Sergio Martino)
24. 10/20/07 - Blood Car (2007 - Alex Orr)
25. 10/21/07 - Automaton Transfusion (2007 - Steven C. Miller)
26. 10/21/07 - Poultrygeist: Night Of The Chicken Dead (2006 - Lloyd Kaufman)
27. 10/22/07 - The Tripper (2007 - David Arquette)
28. 10/23/07 - Alone (2007 - Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom)
29. 10/24/07 - Simon Says (2006 - Bill Dear)
30. 10/24/07 - Nightmare Detective (2006 - Shinya Tsukamoto)
31. 10/25/07 - Murder Party (2007 - Jeremy Saulnier)
32. 10/26/07 - Shutter (2004 - Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom)
33. 10/27/07 - The Heirloom (2005 - Leste Chen)
34. 10/30/07 - The Changeling (1980 - Peter Medak)