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New talent in horror.

Started by astrozombie, May 04, 2012, 11:51:11 AM

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astrozombie

I know a common complaint these days amongst horror fans is that in this slew of remakes. shite decade-late sequels with a mordern take, spooky found footage and "Saw" inspired torture porn is that the genre has lost it's way.

I myself am sick of sitting in the cinema and seeing a trailer for "PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 8" followed by the remake of the remake of Tobe Hooper's remake of "THE TOOLBOX MURDERS" then "SAW 17: THE FINAL FINAL FINAL CHAPTER" with critic quotes such as "MOST VIOLENT FILM EVER!", "THIS SAW FILM REVISITS THE CLASSIC, SAW 11-14, ERA".

However in creeks, tucked away in indie land, there have been some great horror directors within the last few years. In particular I'd like to focus on Ti West. After two small release indie films ("The Roost" and "Trigger Man") he brought forward his first mainstream outing, the critically bashed "Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever", despite it's scaving response and the fact the director has disowned the film, I found it to be a very good comedy horror, it was much better than Eli Roth's predecessor. Around this time he released "The House of the Devil" a very creepy movie about a girl who takes a babysitting job at a dubious household. I won't give too much of the plot away but I will say it was the first film in a long time to really get under my skin and have me completely on the edge of my seat. His latest film, "The Innkeepers" which came out last year is also terrific. It too genuinely spooked me out.

Sean Byrne too has had a promising start, his film "The Loved Ones", about a teenage boy abducted by a psychotic teenage girl who has a crush on him along with her Father with whom she shares an incestious relationship with was a great one.

Does anyone else here know of any up and coming horror auteurs?

Noodle Lizard

Yep, I was going to mention Ti West, although I've gone off him a bit since following him on Twitter where he tries to make out as if he's the Louis C.K. of horror or something.  And "The Innkeepers" wasn't very good.  But I think he definitely has the potential to make good, nostalgic horror.

Aside from that, though, I really haven't seen a straight-up horror film that's impressed me for a long time, even from Asia or Spain who were doing very well a few years ago.  I thought the French film "Inside" was fun to watch, though not a horror masterpiece by a long shot.

astrozombie

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on May 04, 2012, 12:34:54 PM
And "The Innkeepers" wasn't very good.  But I think he definitely has the potential to make good, nostalgic horror.

"The Innkeepers" wasn't as good as "The House of the Devil" however I enjoyed it thoroughly, I thought the build-up was very skillfully handled and the key scenes were really suspenseful.

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on May 04, 2012, 12:34:54 PM
although I've gone off him a bit since following him on Twitter where he tries to make out as if he's the Louis C.K. of horror or something.

I don't use twitter, but I watched an interview or two with him on youtube, one where he was with Sara Paxton and he come off as a bit condescending and "I am the best thing that has ever happened to cinema overall." Maybe he's lovely in person but in interviews there's a twat-ish vibe.

P.S
Who is Louis C.K? I keep seeing his name crop up here yet have no clue to who he is. (Hopefully this won't de-rail the thread too much)


Jemble Fred

I'm afraid to say I was disappointed in House of the Devil, just mindless style over substance IMO. Although The Innkeepers was a bit better – pretty hokey, nothing really notable about it ultimately, but a nice approach, good mix of attempted realism and daft jumps.

The only horror film of the last ten years or so I would spend any time recommending would be Black Death.

astrozombie

Quote from: Jemble Fred on May 04, 2012, 12:52:25 PM
The only horror film of the last ten years or so I would spend any time recommending would be Black Death.

I haven't seen that one yet, to tell the truth I'm not too keen on Christopher Smith. I saw "Creep" and "Severance" and was completely bored by them. "Severance" being the worst of the two and it's not because Danny Dyer was in it, I agree with him being a massive tit but I don't think he's THAT bad of an actor, I liked him in "Human Traffic" and I didn't mind the film "The Football Factory", it's just a guilty pleasure kind of film. Some of his more awful films do border on hilarious, "The Business" and let us not forget the film he has probably walked away from in order to uphold his tough guy status, "The Borstal Boy" which see's him intentionally dropping the soap on numerous occasions to put it lightly. Basically with "Severance" it was a case of shit script / shit direction / unoriginal boring ideas / instead of feeling like 90 minutes it felt like 4 hours etc.

I will give "Black Death" a look at however based on your opinion. I'm always up for a bit of boil poppingly fun 14th century hoo-hah.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: Jemble Fred on May 04, 2012, 12:52:25 PMThe only horror film of the last ten years or so I would spend any time recommending would be Black Death.

Have you watched: 

The Others, The Orphanage, The Machinist (I count it as horror), REC, A Tale Of Two Sisters, Shutter (Thai version), The Mist, Session 9?  Actually, I'll throw in Antichrist as well.

Famous Mortimer

I'll throw my weight behind Christopher Smith, who I think is a brilliant director. I even liked "Creep" the second time through...and "Triangle" and "Black Death" are among my favourite films of the last ten years.

billtheburger

I was going to suggest Ti West and Christopher Smith.

I had hopes for Neil Marshall with Dog Soldiers and The Descent, but then he's drifted away from the genre.

I've got some hope for the guy who did Los ojos de Julia, too - Guillem Morales.

Jemble Fred

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on May 04, 2012, 03:41:53 PM
Have you watched: 

The Others, The Orphanage, The Machinist (I count it as horror), REC, A Tale Of Two Sisters, Shutter (Thai version), The Mist, Session 9?  Actually, I'll throw in Antichrist as well.

Yes, yes, fuck Christian Bale, yes, never heard of it, nope, yes, nope. And bollocks to the fox film too. I've seen it, thought it risible personally.

Might give Session 9 a go though, cheers.

I'm surprised The Others is within the last ten years[nb]EDIT: It's not.[/nb], it feels like an old 90s movie to me. Maybe partly due to the number of time it's been copied ever since.

The Awakening wasn't bad, mind. Again, hokey, but good hokey, brilliantly performed, and with apologies to the OP, I felt that it pulled off the trick of recycling the obvious better than Ti West's two latest films.

El Unicornio, mang

If you don't like Christian Bale then The Machinist is a good film to watch, as you can see him suffering as a walking skeleton (among other things). It's a great film too, and a suspense/thriller/horror in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock.

REC (the Spanish original) and A Tale of Two Sisters are worth seeing. And Session 9 is pretty good but be prepared for some hilarious overacting from David Caruso.

I recommend delving into South Korean and Japanese horror as much as possible, they've been doing lots of good stuff over the past 15 years or so.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: billtheburger on May 04, 2012, 04:13:20 PM
I had hopes for Neil Marshall with Dog Soldiers and The Descent, but then he's drifted away from the genre.
Same here. I love Dog Soldiers (although it's arguably as much of an action comedy film as a horror) and The Descent is something of a classic in my estimation. Doomsday was entertaining, but not as good as his first two, and I've not yet seen Centurion.

billtheburger

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on May 04, 2012, 04:27:55 PM
Same here. I love Dog Soldiers (although it's arguably as much of an action comedy film as a horror) and The Descent is something of a classic in my estimation. Doomsday was entertaining, but not as good as his first two, and I've not yet seen Centurion.
Centurion's the same - pretty entertaining chase movie, fun for the once, but it just doesn't have the same rewatchability of The descent or Dog soldiers.

Another good recent British horror is The children
The French A l'interier is a shocking and effective little bastard, too.

Noodle Lizard

Jemble Fred:  I don't think we'll see eye to eye on much, then.  I thought The Awakening was really appalling and had one of the worst and most cynical endings I've ever seen.  Sorry to mention an 11-year-old film instead of a 10-year-old film though with The Others, I wasn't aware the rules were so strict, but that's more or less a remake of The Innocents in itself.  I recommend that if you haven't seen it already.

I wouldn't really count Black Death as a horror film, personally.  It was alrightish, but I think The Thirteenth Warrior and Brotherhood Of The Wolf did a similar thing better.

Dark Sky

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on May 04, 2012, 03:56:51 PM
I'll throw my weight behind Christopher Smith, who I think is a brilliant director. I even liked "Creep" the second time through...and "Triangle" and "Black Death" are among my favourite films of the last ten years.

Creep is stunning, and I rather like Severance as well, but despite claiming I'm a fan I haven't seen any of his more recent films AND I SHOULD!

(Oh, and boo to the OP's ridiculous "Paranormal Activity 8" and "Saw 17" comments.  There's four PA films and 7 Saw films, and only the last Saw film pretended to be the final one.)

Noodle Lizard

Actually, I'll throw Kill List in there as well.  I don't love it, but I admire its boldness.  And it does have a good sense of the ol' dread about it.

And Joe Dante's The Hole has a nice sense of nostalgic horror about it, even if it does feel like watching an extended episode of Goosebumps or Are You Afraid Of The Dark, with some truly questionable acting.

Famous Mortimer

Quote from: Dark Sky on May 04, 2012, 04:50:29 PM
Creep is stunning, and I rather like Severance as well, but despite claiming I'm a fan I haven't seen any of his more recent films AND I SHOULD!
I don't want to say too much about "Triangle", but I really hope you like it. From my limited research, it looks like his next film is going to see some kid-lit franchise[nb]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHERUB - orphan secret agents![/nb], which will hopefully make him a household name so he can go off and make more of these films.

lipsink

I'll recommend Lucky McKee who's directed two pretty great films: May (2002) and The Woman (2011).

I though the French film Inside was a masterpiece when I first saw it 2 years ago. I watched it again recently and was slightly disappointed. Perhaps I'd hyped it up too much or maybe it's a film whose impact rests on how much it takes you aback on first viewing. I really hadn't seen anything quite like it before.

El Unicornio, mang

Inside was good, but I found it incredibly grisly. Ditto Martyrs.

Noodle Lizard

Inside felt quite similar to Haute Tension (or Switchblade Romance in the UK).

I thought Martyrs was interesting, but nowhere near the masterpiece some make it out to be.

lipsink

Funnily enough I watched Switchblade Romance again recently too and I was also slightly let down after how much I'd built it up from my first viewing. When I first saw it, it felt like the real deal after countless bland slasher horror movies.

I feel Martyrs maybe stands up better to repeated viewings. As does Sheitan, which I highly recommend.

Obel

I find Inside to be one of the finest horror movies for a long time. It's just so tight and well paced, plus the music is fantastic and acting is great too. Just nice to see someone taking horror seriously, which I think is rare at the moment with all the campy horror films ruling the mainstream.

Thanks for reading my opinions, enjoy your stay.

Paaaaul

I have enjoyed all of Christopher Smith's other films, especially Triangle which I really love, but Black Death is massively garbage. It's like an unfunny version of Monty Python And The Holy Grail. The plot is all over the place. The dialogue feels like it's made up on the spot. So much of it is shot really tightly, ruining the scale of the ambition, because it's blatantly filmed about 2 metres away from the edge of a forest car park.
Co-incidentally I re-watched House Of The Dead just last night and, if anything, enjoyed it even more the second time. It's such a beautifully constructed world, and the direction and editing are brilliantly dark and unsettling, and put me on the edge of my seat by the time the finale came around despite the fact
Spoiler alert
that very little happens plotwise for at least 30 minutes in the middle.
[close]

Quote from: billtheburger on May 04, 2012, 04:32:24 PM
Another good recent British horror is The children
I watched this recently too and was surprised by how bleak and nasty it was, a bit like Eden Lake which really surprised me with its utter nihilism. Both are worth a watch though.

I would also [rec]commend Rec and Rec 2, which both manage to be fresh and creative takes in the tired zombie sub-genre, with Rec 2 going a bit batshit
Spoiler alert
and turning into Suspiria near the end.
[close]
I'm really looking to the next two instalments.

The two worst horror films of the last decade that I've seen are Spirit Trap and Knife Edge. Both British horrors from the last 5 years - Knife Edge is almost funny because it is so inconsistent and stupid, but Spirit Trap is just a rotten, rotten, badly written, awfully acted piece of bullshit that defies belief on any level.

Mini

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on May 04, 2012, 04:53:29 PM
Actually, I'll throw Kill List in there as well.  I don't love it, but I admire its boldness.  And it does have a good sense of the ol' dread about it.

I do love it, and I'll also echo the praise for Neil Marshall. The stale state of horror at the moment was brought home again when I saw Silent House today.

Junglist

Adam Mason is a name to watch. His films haven't hit normal, or critical acclaim yet, but The Devil's Chair, despite being boring for the first hour or so (I nearly switched it off), leads to a twist I found surprising and clever.

Broken is your typical gore fest, but done pretty well, and I truly adore Blood River, which comes at the genre in a different way. His masterpiece so far (Ignore the typically stupid imdb ratings).

His primary lead, Andrew Howard, always turns in a good performance. All of his films are low, low budget.

Blood River imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1137999/

Lucky McKee's "The Woman" is a masterpiece and was the best film I saw last year.

astrozombie

Quote from: Ghost of Troubled Joe on May 04, 2012, 09:00:31 PM
Lucky McKee's "The Woman" is a masterpiece and was the best film I saw last year.

I've heard a lot of good things on Lucky McKee. I have only seen his "Masters of Horror" episode but I did enjoy it. As a fan of Anna Farris I have always been interested in checking out "May" and was looking at "The Woman" with some intrigue in a shop the other day, didn't know he'd directed it.

Will be checking out some of his stuff then.

--------------

Rob Zombie is also quite interesting. "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Reject's" were both great horror films. His remake of "Halloween" was interesting, the first half was I thought a well-written, entertaining journey into Myers' psyche, then they tried to cram the entire first film into 40 minutes, which was a dodgy. His "Halloween 2" is just bizarre and pretty self-indulgent however has an amazing take on Dr. Loomis, Malcolm McDowell is hilarious as the media hungry Loomis. I am looking forward to his upcoming "The Lords of Salem" very much, glad to see him making an original film again.

I think Alexandre Aja is showing some promise, hoping he get's out of the remake cycle. "Switchblade Romance" was a great ride. I enjoyed "P2" very much, he co-wrote but didn't direct. "Mirrors" was pretty stupid. He's doing alot of 're-imaginings' now, I did however thoroughly enjoy his version of "The Hills Have Eyes".

It would be nice to see some new horror directors come from the UK. James Watkins' "Eden Lake" was okay it was ruined by it's annoying tofty main characters. I have to be honest, their "Oh darling look at that, one of those rapscallions is wearing one of those famous baseball caps" attitude towards life. Oliver Blackburn's "Donkey Punch" despite getting a thrashing by the critics, I thought was amazing, people always disagree with me on this but I found it to be a tense and original piece of work with a really interesting approach to the characters.

Hank Venture

Just watched Kill List. Good movie let down by a poor ending.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: Hank Venture on May 06, 2012, 10:37:00 PM
Just watched Kill List. Good movie let down by a poor ending.

The ending's odd, but I sort of like it in its "WTFness".  Whether they work or not, those kinds of risks aren't taken enough in films of late, especially horror.

I still haven't decided whether the ending is
Spoiler alert
lifted from A Serbian Film
[close]
, and it didn't have very much of an impact on me, but I don't hate it either.

Hank Venture

Yeah, I agree. I like the audacity of it, but I don't think it paid off very well. They should have stayed within the confinements of the plot, imo.