Horror Movie a Day: October 2011

[SJP]

Cool.  Met him a few times at the local Comicon.  Very nice guy...you wouldn't suspect he's spent most of his career smashing skulls and throwing machetes into people's stomachs.

Did watch Slither for the first time in awhile today.  For everyone upset about The Thing and its reliance on CGI and you haven't seen this, watch it.  There's CGI, but only when absolutely necessary...90% of the effects are practical, and it shows.  I'm normally not very weak stomached, but a couple of shots really are pretty squirm inducing.

Though I do have to paraphrase Beetlejuice here..."And it keeps getting funnier, every...single...time I...see it!"  Everyone in that movie is on the ball, and they keep it hysterical even at the movie's grossest.

[D.B. Barnes]

I Saw the Devil. Man, those Koreans really know how to put a revenge thriller together. Here, a very skilled secret agent tracks down the very capable serial killer that killed his fiance, and starts to brutally mess with his life. Very dark, gritty, and well-executed, this is a damn fine movie for those who are fans of the revenge genre. Sure, it runs about twenty minutes longer than it should (though watching it again, I didn't feel it drag as much as I did the first time), and the standard "You can't become a monster to hunt a monster" message these movies have is pounded in (in fact that exact line is spoken out loud at one point), but it all still works really well. Helps that the main guy is so damn slick and cool to watch sometimes; he's just such a capable badass, questionable decision-making thought processes aside.


I Saw the Devil:
Favorite Moment: It's actually a moment that made my Best Deaths list for the LOC, so I won't say it just yet in case it comes up there. Another moment I love is when the main dude tracks his prey down to another serial killers house (there's a lot of those psychos in this movie. The one killer just keeps running into them for some reason), and begins to hunt them just as they hunt him. Seeing him be so damn calm, collected, agile, and effective as he skitters around the house and delivers some hard punches and kicks... so damn brutal and cool.
Death Count: 6

I Saw the Devil is a fantastic movie. Aside from Martyrs, it's the most intense and interesting revenge movie I've ever seen. I agree that the message is a bit pounded in, but the wild ride somehow makes me just wholeheartedly embrace the message as opposed to thinking it was too much. And yes, it's probably too long (Oh hai, Korean movie.)

#16 - Dead Snow

I don't know, maybe it's because I had super-high hopes for this given much of what I've heard, but I was pretty disappointed with this one. I mean, I love over-the-top horror like the Evil Dead movies, but if that was the goal, I don't think it delivered. It was too slow and not near weird enough to even come close to that level. For me, it was pretty much a "is it over yet?" movie, and it just doesn't work as a straight-up horror movie or a slapstick horror.

Anyway, I'm watching a horror flick with an iRiff tomorrow.

[JimJ]

Movie #17: Paranormal Activity 2

I still can't decide which Paranormal Activity movie is the best.  I do like them both, which probably makes me the minority here.  I think the first one does a better job of building tension and atmosphere, whereas the second relies more on jump scares.  On the other hand, the characters in the second are so much more likable.  The dad is kind of a dick at times but, being a skeptic myself, I'd probably react the same way if my family started freaking out about a supposed haunting.  The worst part about this movie is any time Micah makes a cameo.  He even gets his signature "extra curricular" line in    Thankfully, the best character of PA 1, Katie's cleavage, shows up numerous times too.  3.5/5

[Relaxing Dragon]

#16 - Dead Snow

I don't know, maybe it's because I had super-high hopes for this given much of what I've heard, but I was pretty disappointed with this one. I mean, I love over-the-top horror like the Evil Dead movies, but if that was the goal, I don't think it delivered. It was too slow and not near weird enough to even come close to that level. For me, it was pretty much a "is it over yet?" movie, and it just doesn't work as a straight-up horror movie or a slapstick horror.

Anyway, I'm watching a horror flick with an iRiff tomorrow.

That movie was a big letdown for me too. Way too derivative (there's a fine line between homage and ripoff) and with characters that drove me nuts with how irritating they were. Gore was decent, but that's about it. And it even wasted the concept of Nazi Zombies! I mean, they were just zombies that dressed as Nazis, that's all. It got a little clever with the hammer/sickle kills, but that was all. More of that would have been much better.

Land of the Dead. By far the best of Romero's post-original Living Dead trilogy movies (I didn't hate Diary and found Survival to be not bad, but ultimately they are nothing special, despite who made them), and probably the one time the man was given a real budget to do things with. The main set of characters is good, particularly lovable sidekick Charlie, and Dennis Hopper is great as the elitist, racist villain. Romero's doing his social themes thing here in full force, and while it (naturally) gets heavy-handed at times (especially in regards to money. Much like in Survival, folks seem way too preoccupied with it at times when it's the first thing to really lose all meaning), he still works well with the whole class warfare thing. Plus, the learning zombies turn out well, and nicely balances the more light stuff with some real darkness. For every somewhat narmy scream by the main zombie or otherwise comical moment of zombies being fascinated by their ability to actually pick things up, there's a much more chilling moment, like when they finally cross the water and start popping out one by one. Good zombie movie overall, though somewhat sad that it seems to be Uncle George's last real hurrah (that's worth anything) into the genre he basically created.

Best Bit: Lots of good things, especially the truck Dead Reckoning. That is one super-cool zombie-killing machine, and it's nice to see one in these movies that's actually as competent as it's initially made out to be. But my favorite part still has to be the bit I mentioned above, when the zombies start to cross the moat. It's a great example of their learning abilities starting to really shine, and the shot of all their heads coming above the water line is absolutely chilling. Just one after the other in the misty water, until it pulls back and the monstrous size of the horde really takes hold. Another good moment is near the end, when the zombies corner the folks by the electric fence. They're initially distracted by the fireworks and you get that hope spot, but then the movie gets dark (almost unnaturally dark, considering the rest of the film and the fact that these are the class of people that Romero seems to like) when the zombies start, one by one (in another great shot), looking back down at their prey.
Death Count: 13 (sticking to characters and notable, direct, non-resurrection onscreen deaths here. And two cases of someone getting bitten, coming back as a zombie, and then getting killed).

[shodan]

been lax on posting but not on watching
day 10: midnight meat train : 15 kills
day 11: Alien 7 kills
day 12: Army of Darkness 37 kills (checked on movie body count.com)
day 13: evil dead I 3 kills
day 14: Shaun of the dead 27 kills  (checked on movie body count.com)
day 15: Sweeney Todd 12 kills
day 16: cabin fever 7 kills
day 17: the Thing
achievements:
it hurts to be dead
i never drink...wine
shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent
this is ahbsolutely fahcinating
here's johnny
ill teach you to throw away my comic book
he watched the tape
this is where he hotcurls her to death
sayonara Rick san
My family has always been in meat
nobody trusts anybody anymore
with fava beans and a nice chianti
death has come to your little town sheriff
you're not worth the flesh you're printed on
garbage day

[JimJ]

Movie #18 Paranormal Activity with RiffTrax

Kind of already talked about this one in my last entry.  Didn't really plan to watch both movies back to back, but I wanted to watch a Riffed horror today and this is one of my favorite riffs so I went with it.

Movie: 3.5/5
Riff: 4.5/5

[SJP]

Somehow I always end up watching Day of the Dead '85 around Halloween, but not Dawn '78.  I rectified it this year, and made up for it by watching the Extended Cut (and a little bit of the European one to confirm the 'body count', which I've heard has all of the violence but none of the character development).  I miss some of the Goblin soundtrack on that one, but the extra little bits more than make up for it.  It does make me realize how little OF the Goblin soundtrack ended up in the final cut, though, as most of my favorite music is still in the extended(I love that happy tune that plays when they're moving the trucks and clearing the mall out, plus the Monty Python and the Holy Grail intro music when they're preparing to fight the looters).

Still a great movie today.  Very long, but the concept is executed so well, and even at its darkest it's still fun to watch.

[gojikranz]

masters of horror haeckels tale. 

i love this series sure wish it coulda kept going as even at its worst it was fairly entertaining.  this one is sort of middle of the road in the first season.  i like it but it seems not too much really happens in it im not sure why but i just felt bored at times. 

[D.B. Barnes]

#17 Nightmare on Elm Street Part III (with Ronin Fox Trax iRiff)

I actually like Part III more than I and II. I think it pulls together better as a story. It's more focused, and claustrophobic, and a masterpiece compared to the next couple of pieces o' crap they squeezed out. It's got a goofy vibe to it as well, which I think really works.

The riff is one of my favorites from Ronin Fox Trax. Good writing and great performances make this a very solid riff. Along with Ronin, this riff features the voice talent of one Anais.whatever, returning to the mike after another great performance in Masters of the Universe. The riff is consistently funny and has several laugh-out-loud moments. Highly recommended.

MOVIE GRADE: B

IRIFF GRADE: A-

[SJP]

Suck (2009)

Canada seems to be the new haven of the independent horror comedy.  Between this, Ginger Snaps (a dark comedy, but still a comedy for the most part) and the pocket-change budget Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Canada seems a lot more willing to take risks on goofy stuff like this than most other countries.  I don't know of many other countries that would come up with the idea of a vampire comedy/horror/rock musical.

Joey's life is in the crapper.  His band is failing, his manager (Dave Foley) is a weasel, and both his current girlfriend and ex-girlfriend Jennifer hate him, even though Jennifer plays bass in the band.  But then, she runs into vampire Queeny (singer Dimitri Coats, who looks like Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter, only crazier), and suddenly, her new, pale look is winning over crowds and the band rockets into stardom.  But fame is fleeting, and as bodies pile up and the whole band wants to get into the whole vampire lifestyle, Joey begins having second thoughts about what he's done to achieve success.  Plus, vampire hunter Eddie Van Helsing (Malcolm McDowell) isn't helping things...or is he?

If you ever saw Trick or Treat (not the recent anthology movie, the one from the '80s with cameos by Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne), you'll probably get an idea of this movie's schtick.  It's laid back Canadian slacker humor, delivered almost Michael Cera style, with some timid gore and tons of cameos by a bunch of old rockers.  Some of them are simply amusing (Alex Lifeson as an American border guard, Moby as a douchebag lead singer), but Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and Henry Rollins have slightly larger roles, the funniest being Rollins as a sarcastic DJ.

Not really very frightening, but the gore that's there is mostly practical and works for what it's trying to accomplish.  The end sort of peters out, but everyone in the cast helps it along until that point.

But Malcolm McDowell does have the best in a lot of pretty good lines:
Joey: "What's happening to us?"
Malcolm: "You're all turning back into failed rock musicians.  It will hurt a bit."

[JimJ]

Movie #19: The Thing (1982)

Somehow I've managed never to see this one.  Really liked it, some great gore and a really cool monster.  It's depressing to hear how much the new one relies on CGI after seeing the excellent practical effects in this one.  4/5

Tomorrow I'll be hitting up the 10:00 PM screening of Paranormal Activity 3.  Since this is yet another prequel, this time about when the girls from the first two movies were kids, I'm thinking this one should be 100% Micah free, which should make it the best in the franchise.

[gbeenie]

Land of the Dead. By far the best of Romero's post-original Living Dead trilogy movies (I didn't hate Diary and found Survival to be not bad, but ultimately they are nothing special, despite who made them), and probably the one time the man was given a real budget to do things with. The main set of characters is good, particularly lovable sidekick Charlie, and Dennis Hopper is great as the elitist, racist villain. Romero's doing his social themes thing here in full force, and while it (naturally) gets heavy-handed at times (especially in regards to money. Much like in Survival, folks seem way too preoccupied with it at times when it's the first thing to really lose all meaning), he still works well with the whole class warfare thing. Plus, the learning zombies turn out well, and nicely balances the more light stuff with some real darkness. For every somewhat narmy scream by the main zombie or otherwise comical moment of zombies being fascinated by their ability to actually pick things up, there's a much more chilling moment, like when they finally cross the water and start popping out one by one. Good zombie movie overall, though somewhat sad that it seems to be Uncle George's last real hurrah (that's worth anything) into the genre he basically created.

Best Bit: Lots of good things, especially the truck Dead Reckoning. That is one super-cool zombie-killing machine, and it's nice to see one in these movies that's actually as competent as it's initially made out to be. But my favorite part still has to be the bit I mentioned above, when the zombies start to cross the moat. It's a great example of their learning abilities starting to really shine, and the shot of all their heads coming above the water line is absolutely chilling. Just one after the other in the misty water, until it pulls back and the monstrous size of the horde really takes hold. Another good moment is near the end, when the zombies corner the folks by the electric fence. They're initially distracted by the fireworks and you get that hope spot, but then the movie gets dark (almost unnaturally dark, considering the rest of the film and the fact that these are the class of people that Romero seems to like) when the zombies start, one by one (in another great shot), looking back down at their prey.
Death Count: 13 (sticking to characters and notable, direct, non-resurrection onscreen deaths here. And two cases of someone getting bitten, coming back as a zombie, and then getting killed).

I don't want to get into the rant I wrote about this a few years back, but suffice it to say that my biggest problem with Land of The Dead is that it's the greatest zombie movie of 1987.

[Compound]

I don't want to get into the rant I wrote about this a few years back, but suffice it to say that my biggest problem with Land of The Dead is that it's the greatest zombie movie of 1987.

Actually, that would probably be Evil Dead II.

[SJP]

#20: Already 20?  Month's going by quick...
Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Wow.  Another classic I went into only knowing the famous scene of his unmasking, and I really enjoyed it.  For a 90 minute movie from the silent era, it is really well paced.  What I especially liked is that this may be the only version in existence where the Phantom is not a disfigured loner who longs for a kindred soul (even though he gets slightly murderous)...they make no bones that he's an escapee from a criminally insane asylum, and he's clearly somebody who needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.  Plus, I love that his lair actually has supervillain-esque pit traps...you know, because when you dwell beneath the streets of Paris on your own, chances are you need a room built to boil intruders to death. Lon Chaney is fantastic, and his makeup still holds up.

I did see the 1929 re-release with the Bal Masque restored to color with the two-strip red/green process.  While not quite as neat and clean as full color, considering people had to work with in the 1920s it never fails to impress me.

[Relaxing Dragon]

I don't want to get into the rant I wrote about this a few years back, but suffice it to say that my biggest problem with Land of The Dead is that it's the greatest zombie movie of 1987.

Missing the context, that hardly seems like a negative to me. Good is good whenever it comes out

Event Horizon. Ah, Event Horizon. One of those films of mine that'll always be a favorite and that I'll always be happy to defend. Sure, the dialogue gets pretty cheesy at times (hey, it may be Paul W.S. Anderson's best movie, but it's still a Paul W.S. Anderson movie), and I am a little sad that it got to cut up by the studio (although the minimalist flashes do leave more to the imagination, which is always appreciated), but what's left is still some good, gothic-style deep-space horror. Sam Neil gives a deligtfully creepy (and generally quotable) performance, and Laurence Fishbourne is reliable as always. Plus, I will never, ever get tired of Sean Pertwee. Good creeps, good gore (in quick flashes), pretty good effects, and some interesting ideas lead to one of the two good space/horror movies out there (it's a badly underused genre. Seriously, I can count all the ones out there on one hand, ignoring all the slasher franchises that sent their IPs into space).

The Woman. A rather dickish father finds a feral woman in the woods, captures her, brings her back to his cellar, and enlists the help of the rest of his family to "civilize" her. I was able to catch this movie at a theater of all places (gotta love Bloody Disgusting for getting these little movies out to places like AMC), and it's ended up sticking to me more than any other movie I've seen this year (except maybe Bellflower). It's not a very violent horror movie (save for the extremely gory final five minutes), preferring to concentrate more on being a bit of a character study. Like the dad who found the Woman. "Dickish" is way too light for this guy; he's one of those guys who's buried in layers of misogyny, and always has to be the one who wears the pants of the family. He rules with a passive-aggressive fist (unless one of the ladies steps out of line, in which case it turns very iron), is essentially grooming is little psychopath (no exageration) of a son to be just like him, and barely masks it all behind a nice-guy attitude and suburban-neighbor smile. The women of the family are too meek to do anything to stop him, and the Woman in the cellar is just trying to survive. It's a very twisted scenario, all leading to a very raw, hard-hititng finale. Ultimately I'm going to call this an excellent film, albeit one that's probably the most disturbing and generally fucked-up movie I've seen since Martyrs; I don't think I'll go out of my way to watch it again for some time.

Event Horizon:
Best Bit: Anything with Sam Niel's character is OK in my book. So many good quotes, so much good brooding, and a fair amount of body mutilation. It would be easy to pick one of the later scenes with him, but my favorite is actually more towards the middle, when he's only just starting to lose it. A strange force has followed characters to the bridge, where it is banging loudly (and denting) the door, generally freaking everyone out. Except Sam, who sits calmly in a chair and says quietly "Open the door". It's a good, creepy moment, greatly helped by the well times quick zooms and his blank expression. Whoda thunk it that the guy who made the universal mistake that was Alien vs. Predator had all this in him?
Death Count: 5 (counting Captain Miller and Dr. Weir here)

The Woman:
Best Bit: Dunno if I'd count it as best, but the finale of this counts for me. I'm actually going to keep it a secret even here, since it's one of those movies that I think folks should go out and see (if only to support good indie horror), but it was a moment that is both immensely satisfying and deeply unnerving. In fact, I can't really think of another movie where a moment that I've waited so long for came in even better than I could've imagined, and i was still somewhat mortified as to how it played out. Good stuff.
Death Count: 4