The Horror Movie Appreciation Thread (1 Viewer)

[EricSchulz]

Death Of Me (Netflix)

A couple vacationing on a small island near Thailand wake up in their room not remembering much of the night before. They find a LONG video on the husband's phone that they watch to jog their memories. They find out what happened, but can't believe it: after getting drunk, the husband seems to kill his wife on camera! The movie follows them trying to figure out what really happened, especially because some hallucinogenic "island drink" was involved. What's reality? What's a dream? What really happened? I was afraid this would go in one of two directions: either give SOME resolution to what happened or it would just get so bizarre you'd just shake your head and wonder WTF did I just watch? Luckily, it did a pretty decent job of following through on its premise. A pretty decent and unsettling movie.

 

[Malcolm R]

After a mining accident reportedly costs the lives of more than 30 miners and the disappearance of dozens more, the town of Shookum Hills is seemingly wiped from the map. Decades later, a group of geological students arrives in the area to rediscover the lost town and find out the dark secret that really caused the tragedy in Shookum Hills.

Another wonderful streaming original (or perhaps that should be "steaming" original, as "wonderful" is used here as sarcasm). I should have learned by now that there's a reason most films go direct to streaming, especially in the horror genre.

A nonsensical mishmash of other better films (The Descent, Predator, Aliens, to name a few). Given the secret of the mine, it's completely unbelievable that no one has notified the federal government, who would have burned the entire place to a cinder and collapsed all the mines with explosives. Instead, we have a rag-tag band of locals led by the mine's owner trying to keep the secret contained and "protect the world" from what's in the mines. They try and rationalize this in the closing scene, but it still rings as ridiculous.

From the director of Chernobyl Diaries, which I saw a long time ago but recall I didn't like that one much, either.

 

[Jim517]

I thought this thread is for movies people liked

 

[Johnny Angell]

I thought this thread is for movies people liked

Thread title is “Horror Movie Appreciation Thread”. Appreciation, I think, can apply to praising a movie or pointing out it’s short comings.

 

[Malcolm R]

That would be a short list and an even shorter discussion, if we're limited to the handful of good, classic horror. There's no way to find more good films to appreciate without watching some. Should we not be posting warnings about the clunkers?

I thought this was going to be similar to the annual Halloween thread, where those of us who watch horror films regularly would discuss/review them here. But it doesn't seem like very many people are watching horror outside of October.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I did enjoy Ben Wheatley's In the Earth which was a great horror picture for our times. I would recommend it to horror fans. It is primarily straight horror but there are some funny bits as one of the characters provides some sort of hilarious moments. Wheatley, I think, does a great job delivering atmosphere in his pictures and Kill List and A Field in England I think are wonderful films.

 

[EricSchulz]

Trog (1970)

It’s hard to believe this is the same Joan Crawford that played Mildred Pierce. It’s a predictable “we found a living prehistoric creature” flick with some pretty atrocious dialogue and direction. Michael Gough chews up the scenery and spits it out so effortlessly! Then there’s the inexplicable prehistoric “dream sequence“ that Trog has after surgery to help him “talk”. It’s a good stop motion sequence lifted from another film, probably When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth. The makeup on Trog is really well done, definitely inspired by Planet of the Apes but with better mouth movements. You have to give Joan credit for not laughing her way through this, although it’s apparently from her drinking days so that may explain it.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Is that Joan in the poster? It doesn’t look like her.

 

[Jim517]

That's her

 

[TravisR]

Is that Joan in the poster? It doesn’t look like her.

She was probably hoping that more people didn't recognize her.

 

[EricSchulz]

Day of the Dead

To be fair, the original was, I thought, the weakest of the Romero Dead movies. I liked this remake even less. It's hyperkinetic. It's loud. It's noisy. The effects aren't terribly good or fun. And I don't know the exact name of the "style" of filming, but it often appears to be shot under a strobe light. Oh, and Mena Suvari was completely unbelievable.

 

[Malcolm R]

Link to an EW interview with Jason Blum about The Forever Purge, with additional discussion about the Purge franchise in general, and mentions of a few other projects in the works at Blumhouse (though mostly remakes/sequels).

https://ew.com/movies/the-forever-purge-jason-blum-interview/

 

[EricSchulz]

The Clovehitch Killer

Interesting take on the serial killer genre. Ten women are killed and subjected to S&M/bondage by a serial killer who leaves a clue at each victim: all are bound using the clovehitch knot. Then the killings stop. Flash to the present. A "perfect" family, church-going, highly religious, Dad's a church scout leader, son Tyler is in the scouts. On the outside is Kassi, a classmate of Tyler's who's obsessed with the killings and apparently from the "wrong" side of the tracks. When Tyler's date finds a picture of a bound woman in his dad's truck Tyler begins to suspect his dad. Without giving too much away, there are a lot of secrets in this small town and not everything that's discovered is as it seems. There are some unexpected twists and a really good ending. It's not violent or gory but there's a sense of dread from the first scene that never lets up. I really liked the cast and got hooked on the story at the start. Recommended.

 

[JasonRoer]

Hello! I've been away from the forum for a few years due to all sorts of obligations. However, I'm a huge horror and psychological thriller fan, and it's usually around mid-August that I begin digging heavily into the genre in film/TV/books.

I have a question for anyone here about The House That Jack Built. Background on me: I love art house and horror cinema, I'm a forensic psychologist and spend lots of time with murderers and serial killers, and I wrote my dissertation on psychopathy. Given all of that, I thought I would love The House That Jack Built. However, I've found it to be rather boring. I have about 30 minutes left, but I'm not sure I even want to continue. While I have more free time than I've had in the past 6 years, I don't have an over abundance, so I don't want to waste it on something that doesn't hold my interest. I've found a few creative moments scattered throughout the film, however, not enough to turn the film around for me. So - for anyone who has seen it - are the last 30 minutes worth watching? Is it more of the same? I heard that it becomes more disturbing as the film progresses, however, there hasn't been much in the way of disturbing material thus far, at least to me.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Malcolm R]

You're just jaded from your real life experiences. I imagine there's little they can put on film that would top what you may have experienced with your subjects in real life.

I haven't seen the film, BTW, but if you only have 30 minutes left, you may as well finish it then tell us all about it.

 

[JasonRoer]

Yes. I've often thought that while my career is fascinating, it has made it impossible to find anything disturbing in film. Heck, I've had sessions with one of the most notorious serial killers in history and nothing he said shocked me. People often ask me what my best story is. I ask them back, "Are you sure?" "Sure," they reply. I tell them. Then tell me they wish they hadn't asked.

I'll go ahead and watch the 30 minutes and report back.

 

[John Stell]

Well, I think I'll start the Scary Movie Challenge a month early and take advantage of Eric's thread to post mini-reviews.

Watched 9/1/2021; Rating - Out of a possible 4

1) Giant From the Unknown (1958)

1/2

After a bolt of lightning frees a 16th Century Spanish conquistador from suspended animation, he goes on killing spree instead of trying to make friends. A couple of scientists who, as luck would have it, happen to be in the nearby small town try to convince the dumbest sheriff ever what's going on. It takes a long time for the monster to show up, and when he finally does he's more laughable than frightening. He throws rocks pretty well though. Why he's basically impervious to gunfire is never explained. If you're a fan of the film the recent Blu Ray from The Film Detective is very nice.

2) Haunt (2019)

A group of old friends and new friends pick the wrong haunted house attraction to patronize late on Halloween night. Once they are far along enough in the attraction the clown-faced proprietors begin a campaign of terror and murder. Enjoyable, atmospheric thriller has likeable enough characters, creepy villains, and fast pace. Why the bad folks are doing what they're doing is never explained and that works in the film's favor. The final scene is very satisfying if not altogether convincing.

3) She Freak (1967) 1/2

Very bad re-working of the classic film Freaks (1932). A disagreeable waitress quits her job and joins a carnival, marries the rich owner, and begins an affair with brutish Ferris Wheel runner. She also doesn't like the freaks, who are pretty much unseen until the flat finale. Some of the acting is OK but the film is more like a dreadful travelogue for most of its running time, showing repeated shots of striptease shows and local scenery.

 

[JasonRoer]

The House That Jack Built (2018)

The final 30 minutes did nothing to change my impression of the film. Despite all the uproar about the disturbing nature of the film beginning at the time of the premiere (reportedly 100 people left the theater during the film), the most disturbing part of the film for me was how boring it was. As Malcolm pointed out, due to my career, I may be numbed to that which most people would find disturbing. I have never, in fact, been disturbed by anything. However, that does not change how sluggish the film was. As I noted in a previous post, I love art house cinema as well as horror/psychological thrillers, so it wasn’t the artistic touches/approach that von Trier attempted that derailed it for me. When reflecting on the film, it was the lack of any direction or story that bored me. I love ambiguity in films and I love artistic impression (David Lynch is one of my favorite filmmakers), but von Trier lacks (in my mind) the talent to pull it off.

Moreover, being a forensic psychologist (and I wrote my dissertation on psychopathy), the representation of a serial killer here is simply laughable. I read a review that posited this film was perhaps similar to a theory posed by some about American Psycho in the idea Bateman did not even commit the murders (though the filmmaker has always made clear that Bateman did kill). However, if this was the case, there was nothing in House that suggested Jack did not kill. Which brings me back to Jack is not close to an accurate representation of a serial killer.

Despite my overall lack of interest in the film, there were a few moments of creativity that I enjoyed. One in particular was the visuals and the voiceover explanation behind Jack expressing what happens to him before and after a kill. As for recommending the film? I would say that if someone is inclined to watch the film, give it an hour of its daunting 2.5hr runtime. If after an hour you are not enjoying it, nothing later is likely to change your opinion.

 

[John Stell]

Watched 9/2/2021; Rating Out of a possible 4

1) Host (2020)

First time viewing for this pandemic-made thriller. Six bored pals get involved in seance via Zoom; one violates protocol and a demonic force starts murdering them. At only 54 minutes long, this is rather blah for its first 2/3; the last 1/3 is pretty good but we've seen this kind of thing before (e.g. Unfriended). Those who like jump scares should be pleased.

2) The Collingswood Story (2002)

1/2

Low budget effort is one of the first (if not the first) to use computer screens to tell its story. College student who moved away from home town learns the house where she's living was the site of cult-like murders. An online psychic warns her and her boyfriend she should get out now. Told completely via webcam chats between various characters, this slow burn chiller builds tension rather well, leading to gruesome climax.

3) The Brotherhood of Satan (1971)

A widower, his daughter, and his girlfriend discover gruesome highway accident and try to get help from nearby town, only to find out something is very wrong with the town itself. Children are disappearing, their parents are being murdered, and no one can seem to leave, all of which is connected to satanic ritual. Creepy and offbeat, this shocker builds its terror and paranoia quite well, complete with bleak ending. Strother Martin plays the head of the cult very convincingly.

 

[Johnny Angell]

" ' I have never, in fact, been disturbed by anything.

What? You weren’t disturbed about a character named Dwan, no really, Dwan, becoming the main squeeze of the tall, dark, and…uh….er star of a major movie. -