Horror films

[zomgmouse]

Lads, The Beta Test is a banger.

didn't realise it was a horror! how would you rate it compared to Cummings' other films?

[Junglist]

didn't realise it was a horror! how would you rate it compared to Cummings' other films?

Site I'm on had a horror tag so put it here. It's only horror in the sense there's some gore really.

I haven't really seen any others so I'll be going on a binge. Adored this, he smashes it in the lead role.

[Dusty Substance]

The little girl who lives down the lane

Watched it last night. Even though it's a title I've long been aware of,  I had no idea what to expect going in. Really good, classic, three act, self contained little film. I knew Jodie Foster was in it but didn't know any of the other cast so was pleased to see the always ace Martin Sheen popping up - And, fucking hell, what a creep.

Liked it a lot. Love how on Shudder, in amongst all the cheap looking shitty 2010s horrors there are these weird 1970s psychological dramas made by auteurs of the era. Like last year when I discovered Robert Altman's Images on the platform.

[zomgmouse]

Site I'm on had a horror tag so put it here. It's only horror in the sense there's some gore really.

I haven't really seen any others so I'll be going on a binge. Adored this, he smashes it in the lead role.

ah ok gotcha! would be interested to hear your thoughts. i found the majority of his stuff to be a bit underwhelming but there was something there for sure. i'll still watch this i think

[Junglist]

ah ok gotcha! would be interested to hear your thoughts. i found the majority of his stuff to be a bit underwhelming but there was something there for sure. i'll still watch this i think

It's very clearly a study of one man's slip into insanity whilst having a lot to say about the talent/film agency world, especially post-Weinstein, and 'woke' (hate that word) culture.

Without Cummings' lead performance it probably wouldn't work as well but it feels like a showcase for what he can do and holy fuck it's rare I'm this into a performance. He carries the whole thing. Its really something.

I've read since that he's very much marmite for a lot of people but this was fantastic. Made me a fan.

I suppose it can be interpreted as a horror due to the subject mate, insanity is an horrific situation, and there is a sense of unease throughout. Weird disorientation in places. Odd, out of place shots and scenes.

[Dusty Substance]

Violation

Flipping heck - That was a tough watch.

[zomgmouse]

It's very clearly a study of one man's slip into insanity whilst having a lot to say about the talent/film agency world, especially post-Weinstein, and 'woke' (hate that word) culture.

Without Cummings' lead performance it probably wouldn't work as well but it feels like a showcase for what he can do and holy fuck it's rare I'm this into a performance. He carries the whole thing. Its really something.

I've read since that he's very much marmite for a lot of people but this was fantastic. Made me a fan.

I suppose it can be interpreted as a horror due to the subject mate, insanity is an horrific situation, and there is a sense of unease throughout. Weird disorientation in places. Odd, out of place shots and scenes.

Interesting! I'll definitely be watching it but yeah I guess have been let down a bit by some of the hype around the other films/shorts Cummings has done.

Violation

Flipping heck - That was a tough watch.

Really liked it! One of my top 20 or so from 2020.

[zomgmouse]

ok so The Beta Test was actually pretty good! I liked the manic energy and I think Cummings has reached peak sociopath with this performance

[Moribunderast]

Lads, The Beta Test is a banger.

SO glad I read this post tonight! Was having an evening where I couldn't commit to an activity and your post inspired me to watch this film and I enjoyed it immensely. I adore Jim Cummings. Thunder Road is one of my favourite films of the past decade. While I wouldn't consider Beta Test a horror, it is indeed a banger. Just a great and intriguing little mystery/thriller with a rich vein of black humour running through. Cummings is one of my favourite actors/writers/directors going around at the moment. His work does feature a bit of repetition in terms of characters he plays or little acting tics but the tone of his films resonates with me so strongly that it's yet to bother me. Wolf Of Snow Hollow, which is closer to a horror film, was quite good but Thunder Road and Beta Test are both excellent.

[Dusty Substance]

Piercing (2018) - A man has a lust for murder so he books a hotel room and a sex-worker to satisfy his hunger. Loved the set up, great use of Goblin on the soundtrack and gorgeous set design but the journey is better than the destination and it's all rather disappointing in the second half. From the same writer of

Spoiler alert

Audition, and the second half of the movie is very much like Audition

[close]

.

[ImmaculateClump]

Have you seen the directors other film, "The Eyes of My Mother"? That was really good!
Beautiful, gentle, morbid and harrowing all at the same time.

Piercing is very different. Very cartoony and mischievously playful. I thought the girl in it was really good!

I watched "The Devil Rides Out" recently and that was good fun!

[zomgmouse]

Yeah definitely strongly prefer The Eyes of My Mother to Piercing but still found stuff to enjoy in Piercing (though the book was better). Nicolas Pesce also did 2020's Grudge starring Andrea Riseborough and it was a decent addition to the series.

[Dusty Substance]

Thanks Clump and Mouse, I hadn't heard of The Eyes of My Mother but have just added it on my to watch list!

Glad to hear you liked The Devil Rides Out. It's one of my favourites from the Hammer catalogue.

[Deliciousbass]

Lads, The Beta Test is a banger.

Watched this last night and absolutely loved it. Will sit on it a bit more but think it could be my favourite film this year. Haven't laughed that much in a while and was pretty awe-struck that something so idiosyncratic could be pulled off with such panache.

Thanks for flagging it up! I don't think I would have heard of it otherwise.

[gotmilk]

Watched this last night and absolutely loved it. Will sit on it a bit more but think it could be my favourite film this year. Haven't laughed that much in a while and was pretty awe-struck that something so idiosyncratic could be pulled off with such panache.

Thanks for flagging it up! I don't think I would have heard of it otherwise.

I tried to watch this last night, but the version I downloaded didn't have subtitles for the first scene. Is that the only subtitled part of the film, and if so could somebody give me the gist of the scene? If not I will wait until I can find it by legal means.

[Greg Torso]

Have you seen the directors other film, "The Eyes of My Mother"? That was really good!
Beautiful, gentle, morbid and harrowing all at the same time.

Second this recommendation. One of my favourite of the last whenever years. Truly upsetting in all the best ways.

[Deliciousbass]

I tried to watch this last night, but the version I downloaded didn't have subtitles for the first scene. Is that the only subtitled part of the film, and if so could somebody give me the gist of the scene? If not I will wait until I can find it by legal means.

There's one more subtitled part, but you can more or less work out what's going on.

In that first scene the gist is that she's breaking up with him having received a mysterious invitation to meet an 'admirer'. She tells him that she's unhappy with their relationship but doesn't want to hurt him financially in the divorce.

If you're in the UK it's available to rent/buy on Amazon.

[Glebe]

Watched The Curse of La Llorna on Netflix yesterday. Bland Conjuring Universe histrionic Hollywood shite. I was trying to remember what else I'd seen Linda Cardellini in, checking Wiki it turns out she played Velma in the Scooby-Doo movies (neither of which I've watched actually) and Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton's wife Laura in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Endgame, and is returning to the role in the Hawkeye series (which has just started today, I think!).

[AsparagusTrevor]

Watched The Curse of La Llorna on Netflix yesterday. Bland Conjuring Universe histrionic Hollywood shite. I was trying to remember what else I'd seen Linda Cardellini in, checking Wiki it turns out she played Velma in the Scooby-Doo movies (neither of which I've watched actually) and Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton's wife Laura in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Endgame, and is returning to the role in the Hawkeye series (which has just started today, I think!).

She was in CaB favourite Freaks & Geeks, which I'd recommend if you haven't seen it, although I can imagine some parts not aging well.

[Glebe]

She was in CaB favourite Freaks & Geeks, which I'd recommend if you haven't seen it, although I can imagine some parts not aging well.

That's another thing I've never seen. Too many shows/movies!

[zomgmouse]

I tried to watch this last night, but the version I downloaded didn't have subtitles for the first scene. Is that the only subtitled part of the film, and if so could somebody give me the gist of the scene? If not I will wait until I can find it by legal means.

Check opensubtitles, there's files there that have just the non-English dialogue translations.

[gotmilk]

There's one more subtitled part, but you can more or less work out what's going on.

In that first scene the gist is that she's breaking up with him having received a mysterious invitation to meet an 'admirer'. She tells him that she's unhappy with their relationship but doesn't want to hurt him financially in the divorce.

If you're in the UK it's available to rent/buy on Amazon.

Thanks, watched the film now. Really enjoyed it.

[gotmilk]

Check opensubtitles, there's files there that have just the non-English dialogue translations.

Cheers, will give it a go next time.

[paddy72]

Violation

I didn't think this was very good. Felt like there was a decent film in there somewhere, but this wasn't it.

Nowhere near as provocative/edgy as it thought it was. And too many longueurs, several scenes would have benefited from a trim.

Very heavy-handed with the visual metaphors, too.

5/10

[ImmaculateClump]

Oh, I don't remember it being provocative and edgy.
I've gone back and found the page where Brundle-Fly recommended it to jog my memory - https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=75940.780

There's some discussion there if you're interested.
I can't remember heavy-handed visual metaphors, but I sometimes miss things like that. Can you give an example?

[Twonty Gostelow]

I'm still not sure about The Beta Test, so maybe I need to watch it again in a few weeks. I know it's supposed to be rarefied satire, and I enjoyed that aspect of the film, but I'm not sure if we're supposed to believe that a lot of what we see -

Spoiler alert

like him possibly mishearing his colleague's remark about his wife sitting on his face

[close]

- didn't actually happen?
I loved Thunder Road, but was slightly disappointed with The Wolf of Snow Hollow, because the tone seemed a little off for the subject matter, almost misogynistically, and it crossed my mind that in The Beta Test

Spoiler alert

the nastiest murder was of the woman,

[close]

and the role of his fiancée was two-dimensional (and I couldn't convince myself that she would have still been with him).

Cummings is still mostly compelling in it. He said, iirc, that he wanted his character in Snow Hollow to be especially unlikeable, but the studio compromised him into playing it more buffoonishly. I guess this latest role is him getting his wish.

[Twonty Gostelow]

I've gone though their list, here's some you didn't mention you'd seen that I enjoyed to varying degrees:

Anna and the Apocalypse - festive comedy horror musical

Anything for Jackson - Satanic rituals and kidnapping

Body - basically a modern Shallow Grave
Dave Made a Maze - Very surreal, comedic
Dead and Buried - 80s classic
Fried Barry - weird, visually interesting
It Stains the Sand Red - unique zombie film
Mayhem - fun video game style carnage
Mom and Dad - dark conedy
Prevenge - dark comedy, pretty original concept

Watched Anything for Jackson last Christmas, and I still don't think I've watched a better horror film since then.

[phantom_power]

I'm still not sure about The Beta Test, so maybe I need to watch it again in a few weeks. I know it's supposed to be rarefied satire, and I enjoyed that aspect of the film, but I'm not sure if we're supposed to believe that a lot of what we see -

Spoiler alert

like him possibly mishearing his colleague's remark about his wife sitting on his face

[close]

- didn't actually happen?
I loved Thunder Road, but was slightly disappointed with The Wolf of Snow Hollow, because the tone seemed a little off for the subject matter, almost misogynistically, and it crossed my mind that in The Beta Test

Spoiler alert

the nastiest murder was of the woman,

[close]

and the role of his fiancée was two-dimensional (and I couldn't convince myself that she would have still been with him).

Cummings is still mostly compelling in it. He said, iirc, that he wanted his character in Snow Hollow to be especially unlikeable, but the studio compromised him into playing it more buffoonishly. I guess this latest role is him getting his wish.

The whole thing seem to be predicated on people murdering their other halves when they find out about infidelity as well, which seems extreme

[Twonty Gostelow]

The whole thing seem to be predicated on people murdering their other halves when they find out about infidelity as well, which seems extreme

I initially thought that was going to be explained by some SF device, it seemed so unreal. But then the literally anonymous hotel meetings didn't ring true either, which is why I thought I must be missing something. If someone loves the film for being just a mesmeric trip, fair enough I suppose.

[phantom_power]

It is all very heightened so I just assumed it was all part of that

I did read that some of the dialogue is verbatim from testimonies from PAs, assistants and other low-food-chain people in Hollywood, possibly from the Weinstein investigations, which gives it an extra dimension