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Horror films

Started by dr_christian_troy, October 24, 2019, 11:05:02 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

purlieu

Watched The Ritual tonight. Mixed feelings: atmospherically it worked, the performances were decent, it looked absolutely beautiful, and
Spoiler alert
the design of the 'God' was genuinely brilliant
[close]
, but ultimately it just felt like typical 'creepy shit going in the woods' horror, just about every trope was there. It didn't feel at all cynical, just bereft of truly original ideas, and I sometimes wonder why people bother making these films. An acceptable 90 minutes, but nothing I'll return to.

purlieu

Outcast. 2010 Scottish horror set in a run down tower block estate on the outskirts of Edinburgh. What it has in gritty atmosphere it lacks in any sort of coherent plot or characterisation. Irish mother and son are hiding from some murderers, helped by magic. Meanwhile, a beast is on the prowl. Unsurprisingly,
Spoiler alert
the son turns out to be the beast
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. The climax of the film is so utterly predictably anticlimactic it's almost funny. A definite avoid.

TrenterPercenter

This might be an unpopular opinion; but I rewatched Poltergeist the other night and as I remembered it is pretty naff.  Never been a fan; it's not scary for one but also it's not particularly good in any other way either.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: purlieu on May 01, 2021, 11:03:00 PM
Watched The Ritual tonight. Mixed feelings: atmospherically it worked, the performances were decent, it looked absolutely beautiful, and
Spoiler alert
the design of the 'God' was genuinely brilliant
[close]
, but ultimately it just felt like typical 'creepy shit going in the woods' horror, just about every trope was there. It didn't feel at all cynical, just bereft of truly original ideas, and I sometimes wonder why people bother making these films. An acceptable 90 minutes, but nothing I'll return to.

I enjoyed it. Loved the dampness. Another of Nevill's books will be on Netflix, i think they'll tone it down and theyve moved the setting from Brum to the US, so dont hold up too much hope. The book is a top 10 horror read "no-one gets out of here alive"

Ooh yeah, you recommended that in the book forum and I loved it!
That'll be a fun watch, if only to see how badly they balls it up :D

Yeah, I remember the ritual being alright, no great shakes but good enough.
Saw that before I knew about the author, which I sort of regret since I imagine the book is a lot better.
I don't mind watching a film after reading the book but going the other way never seems to work.

greenman

Jame Lee Curtis in Terror Train from 1980, Halloween on a train with David Copperfield. Looks quite good with John Alcott involved and I spose playing against the typical asshole collage students clichés of the time but a bit mediocre in terms of actual scares.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: ImmaculateClump on May 08, 2021, 10:51:24 PM
Ooh yeah, you recommended that in the book forum and I loved it!
That'll be a fun watch, if only to see how badly they balls it up :D

Yeah, I remember the ritual being alright, no great shakes but good enough.
Saw that before I knew about the author, which I sort of regret since I imagine the book is a lot better.
I don't mind watching a film after reading the book but going the other way never seems to work.

the book is pretty different. helps if you have some distance between watching and reading as I did.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: TrenterPercenter on May 08, 2021, 09:10:40 PM
This might be an unpopular opinion; but I rewatched Poltergeist the other night and as I remembered it is pretty naff.  Never been a fan; it's not scary for one but also it's not particularly good in any other way either.

Harsh. It blew me away at the cinema in 1982 but I was sixteen. 

Brundle-Fly



Violation (2020) on Shudder.

I wouldn't classify this as a horror but a stylish looking grim psychological drama, Very well acted and certainly not what I was expecting. Worth a look but not a date movie. One scene made my eyebrows take out the overhead light in the living room.



SteveDave

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on May 10, 2021, 01:17:02 PM


Violation (2020) on Shudder.

I wouldn't classify this as a horror but a stylish looking grim psychological drama, Very well acted and certainly not what I was expecting. Worth a look but not a date movie. One scene made my eyebrows take out the overhead light in the living room.

Was it when
Spoiler alert
his old boy was to attention and bouncing about everywhere?
[close]

Brundle-Fly

Yep.
Spoiler alert
You can simulate love scenes but full a stonk on goes beyond method acting.  I always feel uncomfortable with genuine sex/ arousal in non-pornographic stuff. That film 9 Songs (2004) made me cringe as I've never cringed before. I only wanted to see the Super Furry Animals live footage
[close]
.

SteveDave

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on May 11, 2021, 10:22:07 AM
Yep.
Spoiler alert
You can simulate love scenes but full a stonk on goes beyond method acting.  I always feel uncomfortable with genuine sex/ arousal in non-pornographic stuff. That film 9 Songs (2004) made me cringe as I've never cringed before. I only wanted to see the Super Furry Animals live footage
[close]
.

Spoiler alert
I thought it was a stunt-cock until my wife pointed out that it was moving as an erection would.
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The throwing up later on was real too. She drank a pint of salt water right before the take.

Head Gardener


Greg Torso

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on May 10, 2021, 01:17:02 PM
One scene made my eyebrows take out the overhead light in the living room.

Ha, I watched this and Possessor on the same day, was not expecting
Spoiler alert
so many actual erect penises
[close]

Good film, not so much a
Spoiler alert
rape revenge
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as
Spoiler alert
the starting point of a serial killer
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and a really
Spoiler alert
brutally darkly funny ending
[close]
.

SteveDave

Quote from: Greg Torso on May 11, 2021, 12:42:18 PM
Good film, not so much a
Spoiler alert
rape revenge
[close]
as
Spoiler alert
the starting point of a serial killer
[close]
and a really
Spoiler alert
brutally darkly funny ending
[close]
.

Especially seeing as Shudder sent out
Spoiler alert
ice cream called Violation as a promo thing.
[close]

Thanks for the recommendation, Brundle-fly. That was really good fun!

Quote from: Greg Torso on May 11, 2021, 12:42:18 PMGood film, not so much a
Spoiler alert
rape revenge
[close]
as
Spoiler alert
the starting point of a serial killer
[close]
and a really
Spoiler alert
brutally darkly funny ending
[close]
.

Spoiler alert
Yeah, I liked how they went past the point of ending on an "I'm empowered now" silhouette.
[close]
Really good film, very interesting.

garbed_attic

#796
Quote from: ImmaculateClump on May 11, 2021, 11:02:39 PM
Thanks for the recommendation, Brundle-fly. That was really good fun!

Spoiler alert
Yeah, I liked how they went past the point of ending on an "I'm empowered now" silhouette.
[close]
Really good film, very interesting.

Agreed but
Spoiler alert
why have her rape (or attempt to rape) her husband as surely that undoes a lot of the morality of the film?

I thought the ending was a little silly considering the serious-mindedness of the rest of the film! Maybe I just find whippy icecream inherently silly.
[close]

EDIT: Addressed very well in an illumination conversation with the filmmakers here:
https://www.filmfreakcentral.net/ffc/2021/03/violation-2021-interview.html

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: gout_pony on May 14, 2021, 02:56:49 PM
Agreed but
Spoiler alert
why have her rape (or attempt to rape) her husband as surely that undoes a lot of the morality of the film?

[close]
Because humans are messy and complex?

Head Gardener


Chedney Honks

Really enjoyed Lake Mongo recently. Not really my kind of thing but it stuck with me. Aussie found footage ghost story kind of thing. Sounds shit but actually very good.

purlieu

Lake Mungo is bloody brilliant, and its (few but very vocal) dissenters are pillocks of the highest order.

Dusty Substance

Quote from: TrenterPercenter on May 08, 2021, 09:10:40 PM
This might be an unpopular opinion; but I rewatched Poltergeist the other night and as I remembered it is pretty naff.  Never been a fan; it's not scary for one but also it's not particularly good in any other way either.

Couldn't disagree more. In fact, I think it's a masterpiece. The Speilbergian scares in Poltergeist are more effective than in almost any other suburban haunted house film made since and it's way more subversive and satirical than most bigger budget/studio horrors.

Quote from: purlieu on May 14, 2021, 08:37:22 PM
Lake Mungo is bloody brilliant, and its (few but very vocal) dissenters are pillocks of the highest order.

I watched Lake Mungo about a year ago and, holy shit, I couldn't stop thinking about certain scenes and revelations for months afterwards. Even seeing it mentioned here, twelve months later, has sent a shiver down my spine as I remember some of the images.

Dusty Substance


Little White Lies have ranked all 72 of the notorious Video Nasties.

https://lwlies.com/articles/video-nasties-ranked-from-worst-to-best/

I've seen around 15 of them so can't really comment on the ranking, although The Burning, Dead & Buried and The Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue all seem too low down. Won't spoil it but I can't argue with their number one choice - A brilliant and disturbing film.



madhair60

Quote from: Dusty Substance on May 15, 2021, 02:47:04 PM
Little White Lies have ranked all 72 of the notorious Video Nasties.

https://lwlies.com/articles/video-nasties-ranked-from-worst-to-best/

I've seen around 15 of them so can't really comment on the ranking, although The Burning, Dead & Buried and The Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue all seem too low down. Won't spoil it but I can't argue with their number one choice - A brilliant and disturbing film.

There weren't 72 Video Nasties, only 39. Many of these were removed from the DPP list

I mean it doesn't matter, but also, crucially, it matters an enormous amount

Quote from: gout_pony on May 14, 2021, 02:56:49 PMAgreed but
Spoiler alert
why have her rape (or attempt to rape) her husband as surely that undoes a lot of the morality of the film?

I thought the ending was a little silly considering the serious-mindedness of the rest of the film! Maybe I just find whippy icecream inherently silly.
[close]

I think all that was what made it so interesting.
Spoiler alert
Instead of your usual black and white revenge shadow play, we got slightly more rounded characters with messy relationships.

I can fully believe that someone feeling violated and taken advantage of like that would go back to their relationship where the power dynamic was much more in their favour and try to reclaim their dignity in that way by sort of acting out the scenario again but with the roles reversed and there being like a sort of safety net of love.

I think this was just her way of trying to get close to someone in that moment, to feel comforted after doing something so bad, she wanted to cleanse herself through sex and to cleanse the idea of sex in her mind, to feel wanted and loved.
I think the character realised in that moment that she'd been pushing cold, unloving sex on her boyfriend in the past, even if her intentions were good and she was trying to save the relationship and give him something he craved.

So she got her nourishment-free revenge, the guilt of killing someone, then the guilt of feeling similar to her attacker and she kept spiralling.

It felt at one point like we were being invited to consider the possibility of an unreliable narrator, that we might just be witnessing past events as she'd convinced herself they happened.
I think that seed was very carefully planted and then torn back out of the dirt shortly after.
Felt like some of it was deliberately ambiguous, exploring the feelings of self blame, guilt and confusion an abuse victim might feel.

The darkly comic ending felt brave and trusting of the audience. Another point blank refusal to paint by numbers, and chucking another flavour in the stew.

Instead of a straight up rape revenge genre flick, it felt like it was playing with the conventions of that narrow subgenre, but also using those conventions to fashion a much better film than it's predecessors and it let itself be less serious when the job was down.

Sorry for leaving you hanging, I had an internet free weekend at a caravan park. Sorry if this was brain diarrhoea, I am absolutely shattered!
Really enjoyed the film!
[close]

phantom_power

Quote from: madhair60 on May 15, 2021, 06:10:28 PM
There weren't 72 Video Nasties, only 39. Many of these were removed from the DPP list

I mean it doesn't matter, but also, crucially, it matters an enormous amount

According to that article, there were 72 on the list but only 39 were prosecuted

Dr Rock

I saw Drag Me To Hell for the first time last night. Not Raimi's best is it. And the plot is the same as the rubbish Stephen King story/adaptation, Thinner. And both feature very dodgy portrayals of 'gypsies.'

Paaaaul

Quote from: Dr Rock on May 16, 2021, 10:35:43 PM
I saw Drag Me To Hell for the first time last night. Not Raimi's best is it. And the plot is the same as the rubbish Stephen King story/adaptation, Thinner. And both feature very dodgy portrayals of 'gypsies.'
Both stories owe a huge amount to M.R. James's  Casting Of The Runes, which was adapted into a film earlier, and better,, as Night Of The Demon

Dr Rock

Night Of The Demon is fantastic, and in that Drag Me To Hell has a more similar premise, it was obvious
Spoiler alert
that the button wasn't in the envelope any more at the end, and if you were carrying the envelope you'd keep checking with pressure that it was still there.
[close]