Horror films

[zomgmouse]

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.

The Burning sucks though so fair play.

Pretty much entirely agree with the ranking of the ones I've seen. Definitely agree with #1. Also chuffed for the placing of Late Night Trains, something that doesn't often get mentioned at all. Essentially a reworking of The Last House on the Left but it's heaps better.

[St_Eddie]

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]

Spoiler alert

The envelope with the button got mixed up with her boyfriend's envelope containing his antique quarter, so she would have still felt an object resembling the button when applying pressure to the envelope.  Contrived?  Sure, but worth pointing out all the same.

[close]

[Dr Rock]

Oh right, I missed anything about an antique quarter. Still as a viewer it seemed clear she probably didn't have the cursed button, as we hadn't seen it for ages. Also 'cursed button' in the first place, uh.

[garbed_attic]

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!

Not at all! That was absolutely terrific and nourishing to read. The more I think about the film (and it has got rather stuck in my head) the more I appreciarte/admire it.

I think Teeth and The Skin I Live In are the only other rape revenge films I've seen that I would go to bat for, though I've read that Ms. 45, American Mary and Revenge are all really strong too.

[ImmaculateClump]

Thank you! I was worried I was just babbling there. Yeah, it's stayed with me as well.

Revenge

Oh yeah, I've seen that one! It's not mind blowing, and it's a lot more formulaic than violation and sticks to the script, but it does what it sets out to do really well.

Very satisfying visually, I remember, lots of beautiful symmetrical shots and gorgeous colours and it has that nice extra helping of blood that the French seem to go for.

I remember there being some really leering shots of the lead character at the beginning that make it look like some soft-core playboy video.
It's over the top but not enough to be so obviously satirical.
You can just about believe that there's some fat sweaty, pasty old mess behind the camera telling her to gyrate a little slower, so you're not sure which direction the whole thing is going, but when it shows it's hand, it really delivers!

I like the look of that "The Skin I Live In", I'll have to give that a go!

[Dusty Substance]

The Burning sucks though so fair play.

Pretty much entirely agree with the ranking of the ones I've seen. Definitely agree with #1. Also chuffed for the placing of Late Night Trains, something that doesn't often get mentioned at all. Essentially a reworking of The Last House on the Left but it's heaps better.

I'll forever have a soft spot for The Burning as I watched a third generation VHS copy at just the right age[nb]28 years old I was about 13[/nb] and it fucking terrified me. There are a couple of decent garden shears kills, most notably the boat scene and the make up on Cropsy was pretty good. Probably only worth watching these days to see the young George Costanza.

Agreed about Late Night Trains. It's a really brutal and nasty film. Way better than TLHOTL, mostly because it doesn't have any of those shitty comedy sequences. Good Morricone score, too.

[chveik]

I think Teeth and The Skin I Live In are the only other rape revenge films I've seen that I would go to bat for, though I've read that Ms. 45, American Mary and Revenge are all really strong too.

Ms. 45 is ace. so is The Virgin Spring

[zomgmouse]

Seconding Ms. 45. I'd say it's definitely a thriller rather than a horror but it's an absolute classic. Would also recommend Ferrara's The Driller Killer which was a video nasty based on the title and poster, actually it's nothing of the sort (again more psychological than anything).

I'll forever have a soft spot for The Burning as I watched a third generation VHS copy at just the right age[nb]28 years old I was about 13[/nb] and it fucking terrified me. There are a couple of decent garden shears kills, most notably the boat scene and the make up on Cropsy was pretty good. Probably only worth watching these days to see the young George Costanza.

Agreed about Late Night Trains. It's a really brutal and nasty film. Way better than TLHOTL, mostly because it doesn't have any of those shitty comedy sequences. Good Morricone score, too.

I think I only watched it for the Rick Wakeman score! Which was good.

Re Late Night Trains aka Last Stop on the Night Train aka Night Train Murders aka Night Train Murder aka Don't Ride on Late Night Trains aka Xmas Massacre aka New House on the Left aka Second House on the Left - good stuff. I think it adds a thrilling element that Last House substitutes with being nasty.

[purlieu]

The Skin I Live In is excellent, although the plot runs so close to some

Spoiler alert

forced feminisation porn that I actually found it strangely amusing

[close]

.

[Dusty Substance]

Re Late Night Trains aka Last Stop on the Night Train aka Night Train Murders aka Night Train Murder aka Don't Ride on Late Night Trains aka Xmas Massacre aka New House on the Left aka Second House on the Left - good stuff. I think it adds a thrilling element that Last House substitutes with being nasty.

Ha! I'd quite forgotten it's a Christmas film - Will have to remember that in December when the inevitable Die Hard vs. It's A Wonderful Life tweets do their thing.

That's the problem with so many of those video nasties and horrors from the same era - TOO MANY ALTERNATIVE TITLES! Spent years in the 90s trying to work out which Italian zombie films I'd seen and which I hadn't.

Just remembered a truly terrifying thing about The Burning - It was written and produced by a late 20s Harvey Weinstein. Christ knows what went on behind the scenes of that set with all those young women wearing next to nothing.

[Brundle-Fly]

Watched I Trapped The Devil (2019) last night on Shudder. Arty psychological drama, loosely based on a Twilight Zone episode and maybe should've had the running time of a TW ep too. It's a reeeeeeeally slow burn and with prolonged pauses that make you think Harold Pinter had risen from the dead to get involved in the screenplay. Or Beckett.  It's a shame really because it is very atmospheric, some chilling moments and captures the 'living in a nightmare vibe exceptionally well. There's almost an Under The Skin (2013)feeling of dread about it. Again, well-acted with a wonderfully unhinged performance by the lead (although occasionally it felt like you were watching Mark Corrigan having a meltdown) If say, the pace of Solaris (1972) doesn't faze you, definitely give it a go; others might be making that winding gesture with your hand, muttering 'FFS, come on' under your breath about halfway through.

[zomgmouse]

Ha! I'd quite forgotten it's a Christmas film - Will have to remember that in December when the inevitable Die Hard vs. It's A Wonderful Life tweets do their thing.

That's the problem with so many of those video nasties and horrors from the same era - TOO MANY ALTERNATIVE TITLES! Spent years in the 90s trying to work out which Italian zombie films I'd seen and which I hadn't.

Yeah I initially found it when I was doing a little binge of Christmas horror films! I keep thinking about it.

I love the alternative title blitz.

[Goldentony]

meant to reply here and thought I had, but that LWL list of the video nasties is fucking rubbish, nobody consider it or refer to it in future, nice one, its fucking shocking, the more I think about it the more my sensibilities are affected

[Head Gardener]

jeez this was heavy - Possum



good though

[garbed_attic]

Saw it in the cinema and felt sorry for Matthew Holness having to repeatedly inform the audience that it really wasn't going to be anything like Darkplace.

Then he refused to take my lovingly laminated home produced book of horror stories. Sad!

[Rev+]

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

Yeah, if we're talking about the actual impact of the Video Nasties panic, prosecution isn't the only thing to consider.  There were 72 films that corner shops with a shelf of videos to rent would get in shit for.

That article is bloody awful, mind.

[Goldentony]

some of the utter dogshit on show above Manchester Morgue for a kick off

[phantom_power]

The Killer Nun - dull as fuck but with a great soundtrack. I am not sure why it was on the Video Nasty list as there is very little gore and a bit of very unsexy sex and nudity, but no sexual violence or anything. Maybe it is just the religious theme. Either way, not a lot happens to a groovy soundtrack. One particular acoustic guitar freakout during a couple of scenes is excellent and I shall be tracking it down

[TrenterPercenter]

Just rewatching Cronenberg's Scanners still holds up really well for a film made 40 years ago.  Mad (and scary) to think this film was made as long ago today as the eve of WW2 was to it when it was released.

[Brundle-Fly]

Just rewatching Cronenberg's Scanners still holds up really well for a film made 40 years ago.  Mad (and scary) to think this film was made as long ago today as the eve of WW2 was to it when it was released.

...and it had a slew of great mad movie poster art too.

[Dave The Triffids]

Watched Ben Wheatley's new one, In The Earth the other night.  Like all his output it seems to have polarized viewers into like and outright hate.
For what it's worth, I enjoyed it.  It's got a bit of an Ari Aster vibe to it

Spoiler alert

although I think the folklore aspect should have been explored more fully.

[close]

Some gory moments

Spoiler alert

including a horrendous bit of eye trauma

[close]

and Reece Shearsmith was fantastic, as always.  It's got its faults but I think of it as a solid companion piece to A Field In England.  Great soundtrack as well. 

[chveik]

Watched Ben Wheatley's new one, In The Earth the other night.

is it "available"?

[Bad Ambassador]

is it "available"?

It's streaming in the US.

[zomgmouse]

is it "available"?

"Yes"

[Noodle Lizard]

Watched Ben Wheatley's new one, In The Earth the other night.  Like all his output it seems to have polarized viewers into like and outright hate.
For what it's worth, I enjoyed it.  It's got a bit of an Ari Aster vibe to it

Spoiler alert

although I think the folklore aspect should have been explored more fully.

[close]

Some gory moments

Spoiler alert

including a horrendous bit of eye trauma

[close]

and Reece Shearsmith was fantastic, as always.  It's got its faults but I think of it as a solid companion piece to A Field In England.  Great soundtrack as well.

I'm surprised it doesn't have its own thread here (that I can find, anyway).

I saw it last night and liked about half of it - as in it flitted constantly between being quite good/effective and quite bad/shite. Overall, I'm not sure the former was enough to sustain the latter. On the plus side, Reece Shearsmith was predictably splendid, it often looked and sounded nice and the concept itself was really interesting - at least potentially. Sadly, they didn't really expand upon the promising ideas once they'd been introduced, opting instead for "EXTENDED TRIPPY BITS", and the fact that the protagonists were so incredibly dull and poorly-acted (at least in the case of Joel Fry) made it very difficult to care once shit went bonkers.

On that note, I couldn't believe it when I realised Wheatley had decided to go down that path again for the ending. It's long been argued that he doesn't know how to end his films, but to repeat the exact same cop-out from a previous film more or less wholesale is almost unforgivable. I was always skeptical he was quite as brilliant as some were saying in the wake of Kill List thru A Field In England, and I think he's really showing his limitations now.

Granted, the turnaround from writing to completion seems to have been very short, so it makes sense that it feels rushed, uneven and unfinished. But I don't know if that's an excuse is it? Nobody was forcing him to rush it.

[zomgmouse]

I'm surprised it doesn't have its own thread here (that I can find, anyway).

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,86599.0.html

[SteveDave]

It's long been argued that he doesn't know how to end his films

[Custard]

Watched Calibre again. I don't think it even qualifies as a horror really, but it's certainly horrific so I guess it counts

If you like bleak, unsettling, darrrrrk British drama, then get it watched on the Netflix. One of the tensest films I've ever seen

[BlodwynPig]

I'm surprised it doesn't have its own thread here (that I can find, anyway).

I saw it last night and liked about half of it - as in it flitted constantly between being quite good/effective and quite bad/shite. Overall, I'm not sure the former was enough to sustain the latter. On the plus side, Reece Shearsmith was predictably splendid, it often looked and sounded nice and the concept itself was really interesting - at least potentially. Sadly, they didn't really expand upon the promising ideas once they'd been introduced, opting instead for "EXTENDED TRIPPY BITS", and the fact that the protagonists were so incredibly dull and poorly-acted (at least in the case of Joel Fry) made it very difficult to care once shit went bonkers.

On that note, I couldn't believe it when I realised Wheatley had decided to go down that path again for the ending. It's long been argued that he doesn't know how to end his films, but to repeat the exact same cop-out from a previous film more or less wholesale is almost unforgivable. I was always skeptical he was quite as brilliant as some were saying in the wake of Kill List thru A Field In England, and I think he's really showing his limitations now.

Granted, the turnaround from writing to completion seems to have been very short, so it makes sense that it feels rushed, uneven and unfinished. But I don't know if that's an excuse is it? Nobody was forcing him to rush it.

Pretty sure i made one that was ignored


Edit, thanks zmouse

[Noodle Lizard]

Yeah, sorry. One of those elusive ones that wasn't showing up on Google and I even had a look through the last few pages.

I'd love to chat more about it, I'm curious to know what more Wheatley-sympathetic folk thought of it.