Horror films

[iamcoop]

Immaculate

This gets an iamcoop certification of Good Fun.

This is a ridiculous film and I will remember very little about it tomorrow, but it ticked a lot of boxes for me when it comes to just having a good old time with a horror film at the cinema on a Saturday night.

There's absolutely no fucking around here, they attempt to cram in a scare (or an attempted scare) about every 30 seconds it seems, and if you throw enough shit at the wall some of it is bound to stick. The first 3 minutes before the intro credits are surprisingly brutal, and had me laughing to myself thinking "this is absolute shit but it's also kinda fucking sick".

After that it settles into a succession of so-so jump scares involving scary mask wearing torture nuns, combined with odd moment of genuine menace and tension.

The third act

Spoiler alert

involving the room full of foetuses in jars

[close]

is absolute dogshit, but the final five minutes fucking rocks, and when Sydney Sweeney's character

Spoiler alert

finally escapes, gives birth to the new saviour and then immediately smashes its head in with a massive rock

[close]

I couldn't help but smile and leave the cinema with a spring in my step.

A lot of the reviews mention how this seems to be a mediation on the bodily autonomy of women, only to shit the bed in that aspect, which I think is a little harsh. I don't think it commits itself to that idea enough for it to fail on that point. I think her being pregnant is just more of a plot device, rather than an attempt at a serious comment. There is of course, a time and a place for that and other films have said it a lot better so I didn't consider that to be a wasted opportunity.

By all accounts this is a pet project of Sweeney's and she's been trying to get it made for years. I actually think in the acting stakes she's a bit overshadowed by some of the supporting cast (she's a bit infuriatingly doe-eyed throughout) but for a first time horror thing I think it shows promise and I'd be more than happy for her to keep making stuff like this.

Overall I'd give this seven nuns getting their heads absolutely smashed in with a big fuck off candle stick out of ten.

[TrenterPercenter]

Are there any other films similar to this, I've seen that Kurt Russell one and a couple that are more action orientated but something about these films where someone seemingly completely disappears off the face of the earth (or people just deny ever having seen them) hits a nerve with me and freaks me right out, I always find these kind of films very compelling but haven't seen anything else with a tone like Spoorloos.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) is what you want, but also Tell No One (2006) - might be one to watch (not a horror but French action film and it's very good).  Also not about disappearances but I suspect you might enjoy it but Cache (2005) which is a variation on the theme.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/picnic_at_hanging_rock
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tell_no_one_2006
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cache_2005

[thelittlemango]

Ooh these all look great, thanks!

[madhair60]

I'm not sure I would personally put Cache in that wheelhouse but it is nonetheless an excellent watch.

[BlodwynPig]

Anyone seen this'll-be-shit-I-reckon nunsploitation horror IMMACULATE?

My family are away tonight and I'll almost certainly be bored enough to go and watch it. Can someone who's seen it please talk me out of it? Thanks

Not my thing but if you are at a loose end for any film, i would certainly be happy to tag along. Have not had any motivation to go to the cinema in years.

[iamcoop]

Not my thing but if you are at a loose end for any film, i would certainly be happy to tag along. Have not had any motivation to go to the cinema in years.

Cheers Blodders, I've already seen it, it good.

My lass hates horror films, I'll give you a shout, lets go see some.

[BlodwynPig]

Cheers Blodders, I've already seen it, it good.

My lass hates horror films, I'll give you a shout, lets go see some.

👍

[Jerzy Bondov]

I just watched Door (1988), which I thought was really good, but it has a long take scene near the end where it's filmed from above as a woman is chased around an apartment and I swear I've seen something really similar recently but can't remember at all what it was. I think it was another Asian film possibly? It's driving me crazy.

Starting to think I just saw a clip of it rather than seeing it in another film.

[Magnum Valentino]

I just watched Door (1988), which I thought was really good, but it has a long take scene near the end where it's filmed from above as a woman is chased around an apartment and I swear I've seen something really similar recently but can't remember at all what it was. I think it was another Asian film possibly? It's driving me crazy.

Starting to think I just saw a clip of it rather than seeing it in another film.

I think it's an action film with like firebomb grenade launchers? Maybe John Wick 4?

[Jerzy Bondov]

That is John Wick 4 (and it's great) but this is specifically a woman being chased around by a slasher. Honestly I was up for over an hour last night going through my Letterboxd trying to work out where I've seen this before.

[Minami Minegishi]

That is John Wick 4 (and it's great) but this is specifically a woman being chased around by a slasher. Honestly I was up for over an hour last night going through my Letterboxd trying to work out where I've seen this before.

Yeah, I recognise this as well. Could it be Haute Tension? That was the first film that jumped into my head.

[Junglist]

Is it this?

https://youtu.be/rmG0PlZZ4Vk?si=EmwuTsxs8UmoxW9l

[Jerzy Bondov]

Is it this?

https://youtu.be/rmG0PlZZ4Vk?si=EmwuTsxs8UmoxW9l

Ooh good one! But no. Not Haute Tension either because I haven't seen that. I've decided I must have just seen a clip of Door, out of context. Maybe that's how it ended up on my watchlist in the first place.

[holyzombiejesus]

Is Cobweb worth watching? Anything else decent/ relatively new that's on the streaming platforms?

[Mister Six]

Cobweb is good schlocky fun. Don't let yourself be spoiled, just go in and enjoy.

[SteveDave]

Is Cobweb worth watching? Anything else decent/ relatively new that's on the streaming platforms?

It's awful. Worse than "Barbarian"

[Mister Six]

Barbarian is good too.

[holyzombiejesus]

It's awful. Worse than "Barbarian"

Yes. Wish I'd seen this post before watching it. I don't know why I bother with horror any more.

[SteveDave]

Night Of The Demon

It felt like we shouldn't have seen the demon (at least not as soon as we did) to give the whole thing a bit of mystery- Is it real or is it the no tache beard man fucking with people's minds to stop them investigating him?

Did Kate Bush ever say why she sampled that bit of dialogue from this?

[phantom_power]

Night Of The Demon

It felt like we shouldn't have seen the demon (at least not as soon as we did) to give the whole thing a bit of mystery- Is it real or is it the no tache beard man fucking with people's minds to stop them investigating him?

Did Kate Bush ever say why she sampled that bit of dialogue from this?

I think the reveal of the demon was imposed by the producers. The director wanted it to remain in the imagination

[iamcoop]

Horror adjacent I suppose but I saw Mother's Instinct on a whim last night.

Given the first 30 minutes is based around the death of a child and the impact that has I guess I found it more 'horrifying' than most horror films, being a parent and all.

There's some pretty hammy acting and it falls to bits in the third act as most films these days seem to do, but it's got quite a dark ending which, despite being massively sign-posted, was pleasing in a "oh fair enough they've actually gone there" kind of way.

One of the leads looks a lot like the guy from I Think You Should Leave so that was fun.

I wasn't aware before I saw it, but this is a remake of a Belgium film which I suspect is a lot better than this.

It's decent enough if you're at a loose end but I'd probably just wait and watch this at home if you're desperate.

[iamcoop]

The First Omen

It's quite good this. Doesn't really work as a prequel though and I bet they're pissed Immaculate came out just before as they're quite similar thematically and visually.

Spoiler alert

The first three kills are what they'd call "homages" so you've got a bit of Don't Look Now at the start, then the "Damien it's all for you" kill which is almost EXACTLY the same as the original except she sets herself on fire before hanging herself, then someone gets hit by a car which has all scaffolding and glass in the back so it's a bit like the decapitation scene except it's exactly the ambulance bit in The Orphanage. Why can't people just do something new?

[close]

Ralph Ineson is always great when he pops up in stuff but he's doing a terrible Irish accent here which doesn't help anything.

I thought Nell Tiger Free was absolutely superb in this. Wonderful central performance.

It's overlong at two hours but somewhere inside those two hours is an absolute banger of a film trying to get out, there's just one too many cliches to make it really zing.

Overall I enjoyed it though, I'd be keen to see what other people make of it.

[mechanical blood goat]

Imaginary (2024). Total shit. Absolute bollocks waste of time. Little girl is haunted by an imaginary friend that used to be her stepmother's teddy bear. No scares, unless you brown your shreddies at the thought of a music box coming to life on its own, or a stuffed bear looking at you. Also parts of the film were so dark I couldn;t see anything which pissed me off.

[mechanical blood goat]

Monolith (2022). This was good though. Cool little thriller with the lead actress (Lily Sullivan) carrying the whole film, with all other actors only appearing as voices on phones. A conspiracy theory podcaster gets caught up in a mystery where people keep getting sent weird black bricks in the post. A nicely ambiguous ending that could be interpreted in different ways.

[greenman]

Night Of The Demon

It felt like we shouldn't have seen the demon (at least not as soon as we did) to give the whole thing a bit of mystery- Is it real or is it the no tache beard man fucking with people's minds to stop them investigating him?

Did Kate Bush ever say why she sampled that bit of dialogue from this?

I would say though that the Demon FX is surprisingly effective considering the era.

Plus Foggy.

[Noodle Lizard]

Imaginary (2024). Total shit. Absolute bollocks waste of time. Little girl is haunted by an imaginary friend that used to be her stepmother's teddy bear. No scares, unless you brown your shreddies at the thought of a music box coming to life on its own, or a stuffed bear looking at you. Also parts of the film were so dark I couldn;t see anything which pissed me off.

I saw this in the cinema a couple of weeks ago and have more or less completely forgotten it. I imagine it's almost a challenge to make a horror film so incredibly boring, but they managed it.

[Noodle Lizard]

Monolith (2022). This was good though. Cool little thriller with the lead actress (Lily Sullivan) carrying the whole film, with all other actors only appearing as voices on phones. A conspiracy theory podcaster gets caught up in a mystery where people keep getting sent weird black bricks in the post. A nicely ambiguous ending that could be interpreted in different ways.

I thought this was good until

Spoiler alert

it wasn't

[close]

and then

Spoiler alert

it really wasn't.

[close]

Worth a watch, but if you haven't seen the superficially similar Red Rooms then watch that instead as it's loads better.

[Mister Six]

Irritatingly, Red Rooms still doesn't have a US release date, despite being picked up by a(n admittedly very small) distributor. Really looking forward to watching that one, though.

Monolith (2022). This was good though. Cool little thriller with the lead actress (Lily Sullivan) carrying the whole film, with all other actors only appearing as voices on phones. A conspiracy theory podcaster gets caught up in a mystery where people keep getting sent weird black bricks in the post. A nicely ambiguous ending that could be interpreted in different ways.

I really enjoyed this one. Wasn't sure it quite stuck the ending, but I'm not really sure what would have been a better alternative. Very well shot, cracking lead actress. Recommended.

[SteveDave]

History Of The Occult

Someone in the "Late Night With The Devil" thread mentioned this film and I watched the first 30 seconds of the trailer before attempting to find it. I finally got to see this thanks to @Magnum Valentino last night.

It's centred around the final broadcast of a political current affairs programme and it's production team. It switches between the TV show and the team who are hiding in a house for fear of retribution from the corrupt Argentinian government. They've gotten information that a sinister cult have infiltrated the presidents office and have been given a psychotropic drug to take by the opposition to see what's really happening.

It works a lot better than "Late Night With The Devil" as it doesn't use the TV show concept for the whole thing and the background story is more original and weirder. The ending doesn't quite land (though there is a big rug pull in the last 2 minutes) but it's a lot creepier and almost dream-like in places.

4/5

[PlanktonSideburns]

Flippin love that film, even loved the ending, though I know what you mean