Horror films

[holyzombiejesus]

.

[purlieu]

That's easy for you to say.

[The Giggling Bean]

I watched Creepshow (the film) for the first time and it was bloody good fun. Looking forward to watching the second one but apparently the third one ain't great at all. Is the show any good?

The original Creepshow is fantastic, it really captures the essence of the EC comics (Tales from the Crypt etc) and is quite restrained in terms of bloodletting. Part 2 trades in the feel of the comics for swearing and books...however it is a decent 80s horror, albeit brief with only 3 stories. There is a part 3 but it has nothing to do with the original 2 and no endorsement from them. I watched it years ago and thought it was awful.

Tom Savini and I think Romero claimed that the "Tales from the Darkside" film should be considered Creepshow 3. Its certainly much better than the film put out under that name.

The series has split opinion. Some people like it others didn't. I really liked it, I felt it had the same feel as the original...Albeit more graphic. There was an animated Halloween special which appeared on Shudder last week, I enjoyed that. As with any series some episodes hit and some miss but its worth watching for the Easter eggs peppered throughout.

[zomgmouse]

I watched Creepshow last month and I honestly just did not get it

[Brundle-Fly]

I watched Creepshow last month and I honestly just did not get it

What's not to get?

[A Hat Like That]

Exorcist III - nope, no idea what I just watched

[iamcoop]

Exorcist III - nope, no idea what I just watched

Really? Apart from the tacked on ending (which isn't what William Blatty intended) it's fantastic.

[zomgmouse]

What's not to get?

It felt bland and overdrawn. I loved the comic book visuals peppered throughout but it overall just didn't have an oomph or an excitement. Interesting ideas but executed rather flatly.

[A Hat Like That]

Really? Apart from the tacked on ending (which isn't what William Blatty intended) it's fantastic.

There's a lot to like - mostly George C. Scott - , and some great images, but I had no idea how it all fitted together.

Spoiler alert

The lady crawling on the ceiling?

[close]

TBF, I have recorded it and will rewatch another time.

[TrenterPercenter]

The Dark and The Wicked is worth a watch. I really liked it. There are a few forgivable missteps, I don't think they spoil anything.
The pace is nice and relaxing so when they roll out some of the old horror tropes like wolves howling and stuff, it feels cosy, they give you feelings of familiar comfort rather than inducing eye rolls and tutting. It's good fun.

Just got through this.  Great reccomendation.  Nasty and sinister as this kind of thing should be.  Should be a hit with many people here I reckon. 

[zomgmouse]

Went to the drive-in for the first time in my life (which also happened to be the first time going to the cinema in almost a year due to covid lockdown) and watched Freaky, the latest film by Christopher Landon of Happy Death Day fame. As the title suggests the central gimmick is a body-swap, but here a high school student swaps bodies with a serial killer on the loose. Heaps of fun, much of it coming from the absolute relish with which Vince Vaughn embraces playing a teenage girl. It's kind of inconsequential but an absolute blast.

[zomgmouse]

The Dark and The Wicked is worth a watch. I really liked it. There are a few forgivable missteps, I don't think they spoil anything.
The pace is nice and relaxing so when they roll out some of the old horror tropes like wolves howling and stuff, it feels cosy, they give you feelings of familiar comfort rather than inducing eye rolls and tutting. It's good fun.

Just got through this.  Great reccomendation.  Nasty and sinister as this kind of thing should be.  Should be a hit with many people here I reckon.

Have to disagree here, just watched this and it's pretty much the same "slow trauma" fare as we've been seeing coming out the past few years. Definitely in eye-roll territory and besides a couple of sort-of-interesting individual moments and attempts to go a bit farther than some of these others in the same grouping it doesn't really seem to do anything new or unusual with the premise and themes.

But I guess if you're into stuff like Hereditary, The Witch, Relic, The Void, etc, then you'll probably like it. I find all of this stuff a bit tedious and one-note.

[TrenterPercenter]

Just got through this.  Great reccomendation.  Nasty and sinister as this kind of thing should be.  Should be a hit with many people here I reckon.


Have to disagree here, just watched this and it's pretty much the same "slow trauma" fare as we've been seeing coming out the past few years. Definitely in eye-roll territory and besides a couple of sort-of-interesting individual moments and attempts to go a bit farther than some of these others in the same grouping it doesn't really seem to do anything new or unusual with the premise and themes.

But I guess if you're into stuff like Hereditary, The Witch, Relic, The Void, etc, then you'll probably like it. I find all of this stuff a bit tedious and one-note.

Fair enough, I think if you don't like the slow building sense of dread then it isn't for you but i quite like this stuff as it kindof mixes in the psychological horror with the occulty kind of mythological horror quite well.  Very different from the Void, Witch and Relic though imo.

[Brundle-Fly]

Watched this new'un on Shudder the other night. The gay Get Out (2017)? 

Not bad, but still chockablock with the new horror movie tropes. In the pre-credits opener, it had my bugbear entry to 'Film Cliches That Should F**k Off' thread. Really? This hoary old jumpscare AGAIN?

Worth a look though for the strong message about the tedious homophobia in the world that is still endured today.

[TrenterPercenter]

Just watched His House.  Incredible film thanks to the reccomender!  Really changes up the horror genre with brilliant results.  Does everything well but if you are just into your typical horror films and don't want to consider the metaphorical side of things then probs not your bag.

[Annie Labuntur]

Anyone seen Nobody Sleeps in the Woods on Netflix?

I just have. It's clichéd and formulaic to the point where it could almost pass as a compilation of clips from other horror films but just about gets away with it.

A couple of effective moments, but far too many boring bits [nb]I can spell longueurs actually[/nb], and the gore was laughably unrealistic and OTT. I know it was going for horror-comedy, judging by the reference to American Werewolf, but it didn't pull it off. And the nerdy kid was terrible at acting scared.

I thought the evil vicar was going to take the film into a more interesting direction, but no,

Spoiler alert

he be chops

[close]

. The lead girl was good, which just about saved it at the end.

[holyzombiejesus]

Just watched His House.  Incredible film thanks to the reccomender!  Really changes up the horror genre with brilliant results.  Does everything well but if you are just into your typical horror films and don't want to consider the metaphorical side of things then probs not your bag.

Film has it's own thread here...

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,83506.0.html

[holyzombiejesus]

I genuinely think I've had it with horror films. It was my favourite genre but every fucking film just bores me with it's tedious overworked cliche ridden hackery. Tried to watch a couple last night. Spiral that someone mentioned upthread and some (Spanish?) thing on Netflix called Don't listen To It or something similar. Both shit, neither with a single original idea and neither scared me in the slightest.

[zomgmouse]

I genuinely think I've had it with horror films. It was my favourite genre but every fucking film just bores me with it's tedious overworked cliche ridden hackery. Tried to watch a couple last night. Spiral that someone mentioned upthread and some (Spanish?) thing on Netflix called Don't listen To It or something similar. Both shit, neither with a single original idea and neither scared me in the slightest.

I think the issue is similar to films in general; if you're watching "classic" films then you only really get to what's survived the years. But watching every single (horror) film that comes out now, there's going to be a lot of real shit stuff you encounter. Just like if you start digging around in the vaults, there's also going to be some absolute toss.

[Noodle Lizard]

I do think mainstream horror's experiencing an especially poor spell at the moment though, and the swathe of by-the-numbers Netflix and Shudder pickups don't do much to help. That said, it's surely far more difficult for a horror film to actually be scary now that we're so desensitized to the genre and all its tricks within the medium, and with the way movies are disseminated and reported on now there's very little chance of something coming out of the blue to capture the public's imagination quite the same way many of the "classics" did. The internet, games and, presumably, VR are where the new Exorcists or Blair Witches will be, I reckon (arguably P.T. is a decent example of this).

So you're stuck making a horror movie you know isn't likely to actually properly scare many people anymore, so you have two choices: either bog it down with other things modern audiences like ("messages", "issues" etc.) so you have a chance of selling it, or just try and make it a really good film regardless of its genre. Or, if you're working for Blumhouse, just take the money and run from your unpaid cast and crew.

[TrenterPercenter]

I genuinely think I've had it with horror films. It was my favourite genre but every fucking film just bores me with it's tedious overworked cliche ridden hackery. Tried to watch a couple last night. Spiral that someone mentioned upthread and some (Spanish?) thing on Netflix called Don't listen To It or something similar. Both shit, neither with a single original idea and neither scared me in the slightest.

Horror is probably the worst genre of film for absolute stinkers (possibly joint worst with comedies), it even has whole sub genres of intentional terrible films.  This is largely because it is a genre that is massively appealing to base instincts.  People like to be scared as it is a stimulating visceral interaction with what they are seeing (i suspect this is what you are after) it is also a way of handling uncomfortable fears by making them tangible in the form of monsters/demons etc and putting them on a screen.  That base appeal means there is a big market place of rubbish films to exist with the occasion well crafted one bobbing to the top.

There is absolutely no point watching every new horror film and absolutely every point in rewatching good horror films and seeking out themes that appeal to you.

Also i would disagree I think there horror has recently had a bit of a renaissance, sure they're hasn't been the classic of yesteryear but there have been more decent titles in the last few years than there has for a long time.

[The Giggling Bean]

I've been watching a few on Shudder recently.

There was a podcast/audio drama called Video Palace which kept me interested enough to complete the series. It was 10 episodes long and good to have on in the background or just before I went to sleep.

The Changeling, I was interested in this after watching the In Search of Darkness documentary...plus it had been recommended to me by various people over the years. I thought it was a pretty good haunted house film.

Summer of 84, I loved Turbo Kid and only found out the other day that this was by the same director. I quite enjoyed it but it felt like a mash up of The Goonies and Fright Night. The end of it shocked me (but I should have expected it). Overall it held my attention and made me laugh a few times.

The Witch in the House, I "watched" that on Netflix over Halloween. I say watched but ended up dozing off numerous times throughout as it was late. I'll have to try it again but from what I saw it felt a bit generic.

I'm looking forward to getting part 2 of In Search of Darkness. I hope it arrives before Christmas so I can spend a night watching it. The only reservation I have is that it's covering Faces of Death and that's something I've never had any intentions of watching so I'll either close my eyes or skip over that section.

[holyzombiejesus]

I do think mainstream horror's experiencing an especially poor spell at the moment though, and the swathe of by-the-numbers Netflix and Shudder pickups don't do much to help. That said, it's surely far more difficult for a horror film to actually be scary now that we're so desensitized to the genre and all its tricks within the medium, and with the way movies are disseminated and reported on now there's very little chance of something coming out of the blue to capture the public's imagination quite the same way many of the "classics" did. The internet, games and, presumably, VR are where the new Exorcists or Blair Witches will be, I reckon (arguably P.T. is a decent example of this).

So you're stuck making a horror movie you know isn't likely to actually properly scare many people anymore, so you have two choices: either bog it down with other things modern audiences like ("messages", "issues" etc.) so you have a chance of selling it, or just try and make it a really good film regardless of its genre. Or, if you're working for Blumhouse, just take the money and run from your unpaid cast and crew.

I agree with most of that but think you're being too generous to the talentless and lazy hacks out there. There's us being desensitised to the tricks of the medium and then there's film-makers practically using several of the same shots in every single film they make. I think there's plenty of room for more imaginative film makers to try and do something vaguely original or at least rehashes of old films in a fresh way but they don't seem to be arsed or capable. I liked Midsommar which probably falls in the latter category and, thinking back, The Witch in the Window at least made me feel I was seeing something slightly original. I think I was so disappointed with His House because it had everything there to make for a really thought-provoking inventive horror and then just chucked it away in favour of the same old.

What's P.T. by the way?

[AsparagusTrevor]

What's P.T. by the way?

P.T. was a PS4 demo which mysteriously appeared on the store years ago, but it's not available any more unfortunately. It was a weird first person thing where you walked down an endlessly looping corridor, but things changing each time, either at random or depending on what you do - sometimes you would be stalked by a ghostly figure and sometimes there would be a talking mutant foetus in the bathroom sink. There was no combat but you could interact with objects in the environment. The story was conveyed only by the environment, props and some audio cues.

When you completed it by solving cryptic, enigmatic puzzles you were rewarded with a trailer which revealed the game was a Playable Teaser for an upcoming Silent Hill game, a collaboration between Hideo Kojima, Guillermo Del Toro and starring Norman Reedus, which sadly fell through (hence why it's no longer available for download). Eventually the bare bones of it morphed into the 2019 game Death Stranding.

[Rev+]

Horror is probably the worst genre of film for absolute stinkers (possibly joint worst with comedies), it even has whole sub genres of intentional terrible films.  This is largely because it is a genre that is massively appealing to base instincts.

It's also because it's the cheapest genre outside of a flatly-filmed play - you can get away with a tiny cast and one location, or not much more than that.  Horror has always attracted people who aren't really interested in it, because it's something to get them off the blocks early in their career, before they're in a position to make something with a decent budget.  There's just a hell of a lot more of this stuff floating about now, as there are so many new methods of distribution.  'Straight-to-Video' is now sort of mid-tier.

[Rev+]

Really? Apart from the tacked on ending (which isn't what William Blatty intended) it's fantastic.

Well it's not just the ending is it, the film was mauled by the studio at every stage and is nothing like the novel because they wanted some kind of Exorcist 3 rather than Legion.  It's very weird as a sequel because it isn't supposed to be one, so it's a bit jarring.  It's alright, and does contain that legendary SHITBRIX sequence, but fantastic?  Never heard anyone that enthusiastic about it before, so enthuse away if you feel like it.

[zomgmouse]

Bad Hair, film from this year by Justin Simien, who also made the excellent Dear White People. Does a great job in channelling the aesthetics/form of the era it's set in. Manages to get in a lot of social commentary with a light but meaningful touch, some funny moments and some inspired imagery.

[Artie Fufkin]

There was a podcast/audio drama called Video Palace which kept me interested enough to complete the series. It was 10 episodes long and good to have on in the background or just before I went to sleep.

I loved this! Really cool.
Seek out one called 'Pen Pals', which is as creepy as fuck in places.

[Rev+]

New Zealand effort Killer Sofa was a bit of a surprise, in a good way.  I was expecting a Charles Band level production, but it's a decently-made film that happens to have a very silly premise.  There's a possessed reclining chair knocking about doing people in (no, it's not even a sofa, and it can walk around when it wants to).  It works because there's more than a little bit of effort put into the story, meaning it has one rather than it just being a chair waggling about, but also because for a horror-comedy it is amazingly straight.  It's not humourless but it takes its daft idea and treats it seriously.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

New Zealand effort Killer Sofa

So close to having a ready made theme tune.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7c3bQQmwVE