Films that just made you angry and sad

[madhair60]

Hateful films like Kingsman and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People which I saw mentioned in another thread. God Bless America, awful. Hated it. Mean, shitty, movies.

[Avril Lavigne]

Fist Fight from 2017 starring Charlie Day and Ice Cube.  It's just 90 minutes of Charlie's character being bullied and subjected to unfunny, mean-spirited incidents based around a barely-existing story, which then wraps up in a completely unsatisfying and unearned way.  Probably one of the worst comedies of the last decade.

[the ouch cube]

'Scum', which is actually a good film but I never want to see it ever again. Mr Sands is the worst cunt in the history of movie villains, he's worse than Noah Cross even, I actually wanted to do that outraged Mail reader thing of kicking the screen in (I didn't obv.)

[St_Eddie]

I once watched Epic Movie on TV, thinking that it might make for a fun and ironic hate watch but I was absolutely seething with pure hatred for the human race by the time the credits rolled; genuinely angry and full of despair.

[Egyptian Feast]

Every single Eli Roth film I've seen is mean-spirited tosh. He can't be bothered attempting to make any of his characters likeable or even relatable, so you're just waiting around for them to be killed off. The Hostel films were hugely overrated (though I admit to enjoying the last five minutes of the second film - that ending, the Thanksgiving trailer and the bit he shot for Inglorious Basterds are all pretty good, so he's at least produced about 11 minutes of cinema I've enjoyed in his career), Cabin Fever and The Green Inferno were garbage and though I haven't caught it (yet), his remake of Death Wish sounds like tiresome SJW-baiting nonsense. Fuck him and his subscription to Men's Health.

Speaking of Death Wish imitations, Harry Brown is a nasty, reactionary beer-fart of a film. Vigilante movies of the 70s and 80s, while mean-spirited and fascist as fuck, were at least usually a lot of fun.

My shitty post from earlier about the Pegg flick named in the OP:

I watched the last hour or so of How To Lose Friends And Alienate People last night. If I'd been unaware of it's subject, I would probably have found it passably entertaining, but I am sadly aware of the hideous, appalling sack of dog squits & maggots that is the real life Toby Young, so I could only perceive the movie as a misguided apologia for one of the biggest cunts on the planet.

It was interesting to read some of the trivia on imdb while watching. So the Broadway actor Pegg horrifies by bluntly asking if he's Jewish and gay was supposed to be Nathan Lane, who has said the interview (which is played for awkward laughs rather than intentional homophobia in the movie, just another wacky faux pas by our endearingly clumsy lead) was one of the most unpleasant experiences of his career and that Young was one of the nastiest people he had met.

The film tries so hard to make him likeable he gets a fictional romantic interest played by Kirsten Dunst and a happy ending. In reality, Young is such a massive tool he was kicked off the set of his own biopic for being an intolerable prick with no insight worth sharing about his own fucking life, then went on the news to commend his mate David Cameron for shoving his lad in a pig's head.

I hope they make a sequel opening with that scene, with a record scratch freeze-frame and him saying "I guess you're wondering how I got here?", then following the genetic catastrophe as he attends a bunch of eugenics conferences like a deluded cunt, questions the concept of friendship when nobody shows up to his stag do and gets owned on the internet on a daily basis for being worse than AIDS and ebola combined.

[St_Eddie]

I enjoy Cabin Fever and the Hostel films but you're absolutely spot on in highlighting Eli Roth's inability to write sympathetic characters, or sympathetic male characters at any rate.  I mostly just enjoy his films as B-movie schlock.  I'm certainly under no delusions that he's a great artist.

On that note, I don't think that I agree with you in regards to his films being overrated.  I don't think that there's many people claiming that they're masterpieces.  Heck, he even gets a lot of hate within the horror community itself, as a purveyor of cheap thrills and torture porn.  Which to be fair, he kind of is.

Having said all of that, The Green Inferno was one of the worst films that I've ever seen.

[fatguyranting]

The DVD copy of Hostel 2 I bought has FOUR separate directors commentaries on it. That's way too much Roth I'd argue, even for the small minority of horror buffs who don't seem to mind him.

[St_Eddie]

The DVD copy of Hostel 2 I bought has FOUR separate directors commentaries on it. That's way too much Roth I'd argue, even for the small minority of horror buffs who don't seem to mind him.

Aye, I only managed I make it through two of the commentaries myself and this was back in the days when I'd almost religiously watch any and all bonus features on a DVD - even the trailers and TV spots.

[Egyptian Feast]

On that note, I don't think that I agree with you in regards to his films being overrated.  I don't think that there's many people claiming that they're masterpieces.  Heck, he even gets a lot of hate within the horror community itself, as a purveyor of cheap thrills and torture porn.  Which to be fair, he kind of is.

I'm glad to hear that. I haven't been paying much attention to horror cinema (or any cinema, sadly) for the last decade or so. I suppose I assumed the Hostel films were regarded as classics now. How do horror fans regard the early Rob Zombie films now? I've only seen House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, but I reckon his oeuvre is perfect for this thread. I know the first film wasn't widely praised, but I know a lot of people who loved the second. I fucking hated every minute of it. I couldn't enjoy the antics of the Firefly family even taking the films in the spirit they were intended in. I have nothing against hugely unpleasant antiheroes, but I couldn't stand any of the Fireflys (Haig was watchable enough, I'll grant), so I just found the whole experience massively depressing. The slomo Bonnie and Clyde ending set to 'Freebird' can especially fuck right off.

[Kryton]

Yeah Devil's rejects was just horrible and seemed to serve no purpose.
At least House of a thousand corpses was visually fun and experimental and wacky.
Devils' rejects was just nasty and edgy and soulless. Especially that ending with the slow motion shoot out. Get to fuck Rob Zombie, you build up the film consisting of these murderous freaks, then you expect that slow motion shoot out to what? Make us feel sorry for them?

Then again maybe that's the point? Maybe it was a deliberate attempt to challenge the audience?

[Egyptian Feast]

I reckon if Rob Zombie loves serial killers so much he should marry a real one.

I haven't seen his Halloween films (though I am sort of intrigued by the second one). Does he try to make us sympathise with Michael? Is he just a misunderstood kid?

[Leo2112]

Can't remember too many details about it but Kick-Ass 2 left an awful impression.  Could see why Jim Carrey disavowed his part in it.

Edit: Having a read of the plot again - one of the antagonists of the film, who was played with some degree of sympathy/humour in the original, has his limbs and genitals bitten off by a shark in this one.  Littered with moments like this of such undeserved, unnecessary violence.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Date Movie is a fucking horrid piece of shit, and I have a fondness for bad parody movies on occasion. Here's a rant from a couple of years ago:

I mostly ignore the spoof Scary Movie genre of films, but I caught Date Movie on tv one night and thought I'd watch it to see how bad it was. Whilst I thought it'd be packed with lame gags and parodies of other romcoms, what I didn't expect was how tasteless and genuinely offensive it was in places (it's attitude to fat people truly is appalling), and why Alyson Hannigan signed up for it I'll never know, given she was fresh from success with Buffy at the time. A lot of the spoof movies seem to get very generously rated on imdb in my opinion, Scary Movie 3 gets a 5.7 for instance, but this only received a 2.7 and deservedly so.

Gasper Noe's Climax is one of the worst films I've ever seen, just 45 minutes of people being boring followed by 45 minutes of them being absolute cunts to each other, I felt genuinely angry with him for making such a pointless film after watching it.

[zomgmouse]

The film Peter Pan by Sir Walter Disney

The film Marmaduke starring Owen Wilson as the dog Marmaduke

[bgmnts]

Literally any film that have Hollywood nerds in them or convey social and mental disorders to be nothing more than severe, kooky quirks rather than debilitating illnesses.

[Egyptian Feast]

I caught the opening of a recent Paul Schrader film Dog Eat Dog while flicking around. I thought a drugged-out Willem Dafoe might provide some amusement, but a couple of minutes in there was a sequence of him graphically stabbing his girlfriend to death which seemed to go on forever. It seemed to be going for black humour, but just played as misjudged and mean-spirited. As the lady in question was of the larger persuasion, it seemed they thought her horrific, unpleasantly detailed murder would be a more palatable chuckle than if it was a more photogenic actress. He follows it up by murdering her pre-teen daughter while she's having a conversation with a classmate about a science project or something (this is supposed to be funny) and the movie cuts to the title card, at which point I went 'Ewww' and flicked over. It left an ugly impression on my mind though. I can recall that scene more vividly than anything I've watched in the months since.

[momatt]

The Invention of Lying.

A horrible, hateful, stupid film.
Plus it's got Gervais in it.

[lipsink]

Harry Brown is an awful, horrible and hateful Daily Mail movie.

Also, I always found Adam Sandler's films that he co-wrote, like The Waterboy and Little Nicky just so mean-spirited and coming from such a nasty, horrible place. Full of "hilarious" bits making fun of gays, disabled people and basically anyone who wasn't a dude like Adam Sandler.

What makes it even stranger is how good he is in things like Punch Drunk Love, Funny People,  The Meyerowitz Stories and even his recent Netflix special.

[St_Eddie]

How do horror fans regard the early Rob Zombie films now? I've only seen House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, but I reckon his oeuvre is perfect for this thread. I know the first film wasn't widely praised, but I know a lot of people who loved the second.

Rob Zombie's films are extremely divisive within the horror community.  Personally speaking, I greatly enjoy House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects (the third film in the trilogy, 3 From Hell, is coming out soon and I'm looking forward to it).  They're throwbacks to grindhouse cinema and in a lot of ways, they manage to capture the feel and tone of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre better than any other horror film has managed, although obviously that's not to say that they're nowhere near as masterful, nor artistically worthwhile, as that particular classic of the genre.

...you build up the film consisting of these murderous freaks, then you expect that slow motion shoot out to what? Make us feel sorry for them?

Then again maybe that's the point? Maybe it was a deliberate attempt to challenge the audience?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the point; by the end of the film, Rob Zombie has reversed the roles, so that the Firefly family are the protagonists and the cop chasing them down and torturing them has become the antagonist.  It's essentially a morality play.  As Friedrich Nietzsche once said; "beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you".  Of course, as to whether or not that theme works within the film itself, well... your mileage may vary, to say the least.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Happiness.

[chveik]

Caché

[Kryton]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the point; by the end of the film, Rob Zombie has reversed the roles, so that the Firefly family are the protagonists and the cop chasing them down and torturing them has become the antagonist.  It's essentially a morality play.  As Friedrich Nietzsche once said; "beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you".  Of course, as to whether or not that theme works within the film itself, well... your mileage may vary, to say the least.

But (for me) it didn't work. Even on the receiving end of the violence they didn't become protagonists. They just ended up as victims perhaps? But this is the point I was trying to get to, nobody could really root for them or pity them?

I get the Nietzsche thing of course with the Sheriff turned torturer, but I'm not sure what the slow motion death scene was supposed to evoke in the audience?

[St_Eddie]

But (for me) it didn't work. Even on the receiving end of the violence they didn't become protagonists. They just ended up as victims perhaps? But this is the point I was trying to get to, nobody could really root for them or pity them?

I get the Nietzsche thing of course with the Sheriff turned torturer, but I'm not sure what the slow motion death scene was supposed to evoke in the audience?

I think that Rob Zombie was hoping that by having the Fireflys' become victims of torture themselves, the audience might find themselves feeling sympathy for them and actually rooting for them to survive the shoot out at the end, only for that same audience to then suddenly realise who they're rooting for and question their own sense of morality.  At least, that's always the way that I've interpreted it.

[Kryton]

I think that Rob Zombie was hoping that by having the Fireflys' become victims of torture themselves, the audience might find themselves feeling sympathy for them and actually rooting for them to survive the shoot out at the end, only for that same audience to then suddenly realise who they're rooting for and question their own sense of morality.  At least, that's always the way that I've interpreted it.

Actually I suppose you're right. It still left a bad taste in my throat. But I'll stand by House of 1000 corpses being much more fun and experimental (and visually effective).

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Carrie.  Really got to me how the title character got treated, and her 'victory' at the end is purely pyrrhic.

[Piggyoioi]

Spoorloos

[lipsink]

I think Rob Zombie just had that final slo-mo shoot out in Devil's Rejects because he thought it would just be kinda cool. He seems just a horror fanboy who goes "Hur hur cool" at spurty blood, swearing and loud rock music. The best, most deranged horror movies are usually made by quiet, bookish weirdos like Wes Craven and David Lynch. Not men with silly tattoos the surnames 'Zombie'.

[Small Man Big Horse]

<inevitable>Wigan Fatty Fuck</inevitable>

[Solid Jim]

Caché

Suggested tagline: "Remember the first five minutes of Lost Highway? Imagine if that carried on for another two hours and that was the entire film."

[Schnapple]

What makes it even stranger is how good he is in things like Punch Drunk Love, Funny People,  The Meyerowitz Stories and even his recent Netflix special.

It's not so strange. He's a great actor, and the same 'weirdo' act that makes him fairly repulsive in his own productions works brilliantly when he's under the guidance of another director, who has a better understanding of or wants to recontextualise that odd energy of his.

As for that special, I think he is savvy enough to sense the tides are changing in culture and comedy, hence the gasp of sincerity and the more silly nature of it. It worked though, so that's cool. I understand he'll next be in the Safdie brothers' follow-up to the sleazy, uncomfortable 'Good Time'. If that's anything like their usual style, that is surely a perfect collaboration.