Horror Movie a Day: October 2011

[Johnny Unusual]

A brief rant-

YOU CGI'D GLASS BREAKING? REALLY? WHAT THE HELL, MOVIE? THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT PRACTICAL EFFECT SINCE THE DAWN OF MOVIE MAKING AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO IT IN YOUR FILM?

GGAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

And for Pete's sake, is that a paper mache head? Really? Good grief. Ed Wood had a better grasp on F/X. Strike that. James Ngyuen has a better grasp of F/X.

Why are you so mad at the opening credits of Unbreakable?  It's not supposed to look realistic.  It's credits.

(Seriously, I have no idea what you are talking about).

[JimJ]

Movie #25: Poltergeist (with RiffTrax)

I always thought this movie was tad overrated, but it's still pretty good.  The riffing from Janet and Cole is pretty great too.

Movie-3.5/5
Riff-4/5

[D.B. Barnes]

Fungicide

A  2002 film about killer mushrooms. I'm pretty sure I spent more money on groceries this week than the budget of this film.

Jesus Compound, where did you even find that? Wait, don't even tell me. You took one for the team on this one.


#24 - The Hole

I had no idea what to expect from this movie, so I was pleasantly surprised. It gets a bit frayed towards the end, but the main character's cold, sociopathic craziness is so interesting, it kinda carries things. This is one of those movies that really gets your blood boiling in terms of your capacity to hate a character. It has some cool twists and keeps you guessing. I thought Thora Birch was quite good in this. Overall, a pretty clever and entertaining movie.

MOVIE GRADE: B+


#25 - Session 9

I've heard really good things about this movie so my expectations were pretty high going in. Perhaps that why I came away a bit disappointed. This movie definitely has a lot going for it. There's a good cast, fantastic location, good cinematography, and some super-creepy moments. I guess it just kinda fell short for me in terms of story. The pacing, while seemingly appropriate to the overall tone, seemed a bit slow. Somehow I think they could've gotten a lot more out of this.

MOVIE GRADE: B-

[shodan]

Fungicide

A  2002 film about killer mushrooms. I'm pretty sure I spent more money on groceries this week than the budget of this film.

Jesus Compound, where did you even find that? Wait, don't even tell me. You took one for the team on this one.


#24 - The Hole

I had no idea what to expect from this movie, so I was pleasantly surprised. It gets a bit frayed towards the end, but the main character's cold, sociopathic craziness is so interesting, it kinda carries things. This is one of those movies that really gets your blood boiling in terms of your capacity to hate a character. It has some cool twists and keeps you guessing. I thought Thora Birch was quite good in this. Overall, a pretty clever and entertaining movie.

MOVIE GRADE: B+


#25 - Session 9

I've heard really good things about this movie so my expectations were pretty high going in. Perhaps that why I came away a bit disappointed. This movie definitely has a lot going for it. There's a good cast, fantastic location, good cinematography, and some super-creepy moments. I guess it just kinda fell short for me in terms of story. The pacing, while seemingly appropriate to the overall tone, seemed a bit slow. Somehow I think they could've gotten a lot more out of this.

MOVIE GRADE: B-

B MOVIES! where would rifftrax be today without 'em.

[JimJ]

Movie #26: The Wolf Man (1941)

Eh, this movie didn't really do much for me. Not terrible, but not very good either. 2.5/5

[SJP]

26: Eden Lake (2008)
This is a tough one to watch.  Not because it's boring, or torture porn, but because it's a movie that really angries up the blood and then...well, see the spoiler below if you want to know.  Basically, a nice, normal couple go out to Eden Lake for a relaxing vacation, which takes a bad turn when a bunch of young hoodlums start screwing with them just because they can.  This snowballs quickly, until the couple are finding themselves hunted by the little monsters, mostly because the leader of the group is an out and out psycho.

I say it's tough to watch, because it's been quite some time since I saw a movie portray the villains so hideously that you start hoping each and every one of them not only gets what they deserve.  However...
It does sort of suck, since the real bastard of the whole group never gets what's coming to him, and there's no happy ending.  I can't say it was surprising, but at the same time the movie REALLY builds up to you wanting to see Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender just go completely nuts and take a chainsaw to the whole lot of them.  Not to say the movie should've had a happy ending; it is sort of a letdown to go with the "Sorry, folks!  Guess our heroes doesn't make it out of this and the villain walks away smiling!" ending which is less terrifying than it is just disappointing.  I mean, for Pete's sake, they kill a kid they bully regularly by sitting his head on fire as a spur of the moment decision...if you're going to set them up as pure scum, at least let the heroes get a little more revenge before you go in with the twist ending.

Effectively acted and well done, but not one I'd consider multiple viewings of.

[D.B. Barnes]

26: Eden Lake (2008)
This is a tough one to watch.  Not because it's boring, or torture porn, but because it's a movie that really angries up the blood and then...well, see the spoiler below if you want to know.  Basically, a nice, normal couple go out to Eden Lake for a relaxing vacation, which takes a bad turn when a bunch of young hoodlums start screwing with them just because they can.  This snowballs quickly, until the couple are finding themselves hunted by the little monsters, mostly because the leader of the group is an out and out psycho.

I say it's tough to watch, because it's been quite some time since I saw a movie portray the villains so hideously that you start hoping each and every one of them not only gets what they deserve.  However...
It does sort of suck, since the real bastard of the whole group never gets what's coming to him, and there's no happy ending.  I can't say it was surprising, but at the same time the movie REALLY builds up to you wanting to see Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender just go completely nuts and take a chainsaw to the whole lot of them.  Not to say the movie should've had a happy ending; it is sort of a letdown to go with the "Sorry, folks!  Guess our heroes doesn't make it out of this and the villain walks away smiling!" ending which is less terrifying than it is just disappointing.  I mean, for Pete's sake, they kill a kid they bully regularly by sitting his head on fire as a spur of the moment decision...if you're going to set them up as pure scum, at least let the heroes get a little more revenge before you go in with the twist ending.

Effectively acted and well done, but not one I'd consider multiple viewings of.

I was fucking FUMING after watching this movie. 

[dignan]

Catching up yet again...


Day 21:  Tremors
Day 22:  Poltergeist
Day 23: The Thing (2011)
Day 24: The Thing (1982)
Day 25: Arachnophobia
Day 26: Return of the Living Dead

I really enjoyed The Thing prequel.  It had moments of genuine tension, and by and large the CG effects worked for me, with the exception of a brief moment towards the end of the film.  As a fan of The Thing (1982) (it's my favorite horror movie), yes, this prequel lacks a bit since I have prior knowledge of the earlier movie, however, it was a step above most horror movies I've watched this month.  Plus, I loved how they managed to work in all the references to the Norweigian camp as Mac and Copper find it in the 1982 film.

[Compound]

Ghostwatch (1992)

In 1992, the BBC aired a "Ghost Hunters" type special on Halloween that centered around the events in a supposedly haunted house in a suburb of London. Things get a bit eventful.

I'm not going to say much here as it's one of those "if you know more about it, it damages the viewing.experience." But still,  I knew about this one going into it. I knew what happened. I know how the show ended. And yet somehow the show's over and over the last 90 minutes  I've managed to turn on every light in my room. Frigging jerks. Quite impressive though, even if pretty unavailable in the states. (But google has a copy.)

BTW: English folks? Even in 1992, the phrase "glory hole" had a quite different meaning here in the US.

[Relaxing Dragon]

I really enjoyed The Thing prequel.  It had moments of genuine tension, and by and large the CG effects worked for me, with the exception of a brief moment towards the end of the film.  As a fan of The Thing (1982) (it's my favorite horror movie), yes, this prequel lacks a bit since I have prior knowledge of the earlier movie, however, it was a step above most horror movies I've watched this month.  Plus, I loved how they managed to work in all the references to the Norweigian camp as Mac and Copper find it in the 1982 film.

Well, everything except the rather memorable video of the Norwegians exposing the spaceship via blowing up the ice above it

...alright, I'll stop now. I need to stop picking on that film, it angries up the blood.

Dawn of the Dead (1978). Really, what's there to say about this one? The remake's all well and good (though I may not get to it again in this thing), but this is it. The end all, be all, Gold Standard of Zombie movies. It's got everything a movie like this should have: likable characters who are well set up and act rationally and stupidly according to the situation/their personalities, plenty of symbolism and a satirical message that's hammered in just enough without getting annoying (something the Romero of Diary of the Dead couldn't manage), lots of zombies, lots of survival, and lots of wonderful gore, all wrapped in a suitably epic (yes, I can use the word here. Just this once) package. I watched the Extended Cut here, and while I can see that the regular edition is indeed a tighter film, I'm of the persuasion that more-is-better, so I'm happy with this one (but then, I got the Ultimate Edition of this film on DVD, so I'm good with it all. Incidentally that's probably the best DVD set I own on any format, and I own many).

Mother's Day. Well, this one turned out to be more than I expected. Going in I was thinking it was another one of those holiday-themed knockoff slashers from the early 80s, but instead it's like some sort of weird companion to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and I Spit on Your Grave. Fairly grim at times despite its campy nature (I wonder how the modern remake handled things...), it takes great lengths to show the crazy dynamics between this psycho mother and her two loving sons. Also unusually it goes through a lot of trouble to get us to care about the three girls who are the victims, and while it doesn't take much for them too seem overly annoying/peppy (and how one of them has mommy issues that are forgotten for most of the movie and then randomly introduced at the end), you still do really root for them by the end. Also has one of the most we're-not-foreshadowing-or-telegraphing-this-we-swear freeze-frame endings I've ever seen.

In the Mouth of Madness. I love this movie, it gets my vote for Carpenter's last great movie (horror or otherwise). A great Sam Neill delivers a wonderfully cynical performance of a man who just can't get through a cigarette. Oh, and also stumbles onto a Lovecraftian horror-town that really exists all in the mind of a bizarre, somewhat otherworldly author who is a combination of Stephen King and Neil Gaimen. It's a very freaky film at times, and I love how meta and out there it goes by the end (I expect nothing less from a movie that has a title like that, to be frank). A somewhat underloved movie from what I've read, and one that deserves as much attention as it can get. Good score, too

Red State. Better than folks had led me to believe. I mean sure, it's not really good, but it's certainly watchable and entertaining enough. It just doesn't quite know what it wants to be. It goes from a religious-tinged psychological-horror to an action siege movie (with some sort of social commentary against the government in there, although somewhat weakly shown), and ends Burn After Reading style (which doesn't really work, although one of the final lines in that scene really helps matters). Yes, the main kids are as annoying as can be, and sort of drop out of the movie midway through, but for every bad thing there is still a good. Michael Parks is phenomenal as the crazed preacher, and John Goodman does good work as the exasperated ATF agent. People have been saying this is Smith's best shot film (in a backhanded sort of way, I admit), and that's true; it looks pretty good at times, all things considered. Overall it just had the problem of mixing its messages and ending up with a muddled, somewhat limp and meandering story. Luckily, though, one that is still perfectly watchable on one-and-done Netflix Instant.

Dawn of the Dead:
Favorite Bit: Can I say the whole movie? No? Well then I suppose the scenes where our survivors first encounter and begin to take the mall. A good display off survivalism and smart thinking, ultimately undermined by Roger being a douchebag. Of course, I could also say the end biker sequence as well, since it's a great combination of the satire of the movie coming to head (especially Steven's passionate defense of "what's theirs") and some delightfully gory bits (chief being with the sombrero dude who picked the worst conceivable moment to get his blood pressure checked). Look, it's the '78 DotD, it's all good here.
Death Count: 12 (going with notable human onscreen deaths here)

Mother's Day:
Favorite Bit: The weirdly charming scenes of the mother preparing the boys through their various exercises. No, not the rape exercises, the daytime stuff. Really does a good job of showing how much this family works, despite itself.
Death Count: 6

In the Mouth of Madness:
Favorite Bit: Actually a tough choice for me, but I've got to go with the climactic scene where Neill's character finally meets up with Sutter Cane. The various teleportings around the church, Cane's big speech before he rips his face off the movie (literally), the staring into the abyss, and the fleeing from the tantalizingly viewed abominations. It's a great sequence in a great movie.
Death Count: 3

Red State:
Favorite Bit: I really gotta hand it to Michael Parks, his Cooper is one deranged figure in that bizarrely charismatic sort of way. He's the good sort of villain, the kind you love to hate and can't wait to get some sort of comeuppance. So, my favorite bit was probably his opening monologue, as he paces the stage and explains just what's wrong with the world. It's packed so full of bullshit you can almost smell it, but the dude freaking sells it. Also (different part here), the very final line of the movie made me laugh out loud. Pitch-perfect delivery and timing, it was.
Death Count: 16

[Compound]

Having just watched "Prom Night", I may be in the lead for "Watch the most Leslie Nielsen horror films" contest.

[TeamRAD]

There isn't any sight of Phantasm 1/2 or [REC] 1/2 in this thread?

Thread.Fail.

This cannot even save it:

Spoiler

That's so awesome, Torso!

[Compound]

Meh. I prefer Quarantine's ending to [REC]'s and I saw Rec 2 a few months ago and didn't feel like watching it again.

[SJP]

There isn't any sight of Phantasm 1/2 or [REC] 1/2 in this thread?

Nobody said YOU couldn't watch Phantasm.     I was thinking of watching Bubba Ho-Tep sometime soon, which is kind of like being at the same bus stop as Phantasm.

Oh, and anyone who is going to watch/already watched the Riffing live show today, those do count, so go ahead and 'em to your totals.

[Compound]

Whew. I need one more film to finish out the "decades" achieve, so I'm just about to finish that bit off.