Atrocious | Fernando Barreda Luna | 2010 | ES | 75 min | Horror | Mystery | Thriller
So many found footage films, so many bad ones. This one kinda straddles a middle ground, never quite achieving the awfulness of the worst of the genre, but certainly a far cry from the skill, and intelligence of the best. Spanish made, it comes out probably hoping to ride on the success of [rec]. The use of found footage and "cheaper" digital tools quite obviously eclipsed by the former film, which really shows how strong a filmmaker Paco Plaza really is. He understands how to create tension and to keep a compelling pace. This film has a strong location, a strange outdoor labyrinth, but far too much of it is shaky cam moving with little purpose through the space. The film lacks punch, and even though it has a "twist", it just lacks momentum and a particularly strong character to empathise with. Overall, it's just a little dull, pretty damn mediocre.
I remember I enjoyed Atrocious when I saw it a couple of years ago but I barely remind much of it besides the labyrinth scene.
And speaking of atrocious...
Day 11
Before the start of this re-watch, I had recollections from every Halloween movie except this one. It was strange as I had watched every movie in the franchise more than once (even the Rob Zombie ones) so why couldn't I remember this one?
A few minutes into the movie, I realized what happened. My mind had blocked any memories of Revenge Of Michael Myers so I wouldn't have to relieve that traumatic experience in my mind.
Caution from here on out there will be spoilers unmarked because I really need to slash this movie apart and to be fair, no one should watch this.
Halloween 5 : The Revenge Of Michael Myers is a massive piss of shit. It's truly an atrocious movie that almost destroys every character in the movie, only Jamie comes out of this as a decent character. Once again Danielle Harris does solid work for a kid and cements Jamie's place as one of the most important characters of the franchise.
The movie starts poorly changing a bit the ending of 4. After Myers is shot and falls down a well, the police throws dynamite into to well (because it seems that Haddonfield police carries dynamite just in case there's an evil entity around or maybe it is for fishing) and then we came to the first big mistake this movie makes.
We get to see Michael escaping by crawling through a tunnel. Besides both hospital escapes, we never see Michael escaping danger. His body just vanishes and it was part of his creepiness. By showing Myers slowing crawling through a tunnel trying to escape the blast alive, you weaken the character. There you have the incarnation of evil, an unstoppable killing machine, crawling to safety and showing his vulnerability.
But things get worse. As soon as he gets out of the tunnel, Michael falls down into the river and desperately tries to swim into shore. You almost feel sorry for the poor fool splashing around in the water, once again not something you want to someone who's always been described as pure evil.
Myers finally ends up reaching the hut of an old hermit who lives with a parrot and after the man helps him up, Michael grabs his throat and... falls into the ground because Halloween has passed, his chariot has turned back into a pumpkin and the once powerful and creepy killer has turned back into a poor comatose man.
Flash-forward a year and we see that Jamie has been committed to child's clinic and she has become mute due to the trauma of facing Michael and stabbing her stepmother.
On the Halloween's Eve, Myers wakes up from his coma and is apparently been taken care of by the old hermit for a year. Who the hell takes care of an unknown man who tried to kill you before falling into a coma for 1 whole year (ok, minus 1 day).
Michael immediately kills the old man and we discover that Jamie seems to have a telepathic link with his uncle as she reacts to his awakening and to him killing the man by having some kind of attack. Loomis (that for some reason seems to hang around the child's clinic) sees her attack and concludes out of nothing that she indeed has a telepathic link with Michael.
Rachel shows up with Tina and Max, the dog, to see Jamie. Rachel goes home, takes a shower while Myers stalks her around the house. Jamie sensed that Michael was going to do something to the dog and Loomis called Rachel to go check on the dog. I have to make one observation, Loomis is a fucking asshole in this turd. He spends most of the time yelling at Jamie, throwing things to the floor and asking Jamie why is she protecting her uncle. Yeah, Loomis, that's exactly what a traumatized little girl needs.
Back to Rachel, she goes check on the dog with only a towel wrap around her (they tease her nudity so many times during this scene) and shockingly the dog is missing. Loomis tells her to leave the house and so she does. The police is called and two very dumb officers search the house and find nothing. The movie wants you to know they are dumb so much that it even plays a stupid song that seems straight out of some wacky comedy. This is so out of tone and doesn't fit with the movie at all And what about the dog? Well, he had just run away and comes back running with a rabbit or a mouse on his mouth. Everyone laughs and all is well...
...except for Rachel goes back to the house, Michael observes her undressing and dressing for a couple of minutes (when did he became such a pervert?) and then stabs her.
We are now stuck with Tina and her horrible friends for most of the movie. There's nothing redeeming about this people, they are just assholes.
Tina, acting like a glorified idiot, goes inside the house to search Rachel but doesn't find and so she lays on the bed on the same room where Rachel had been stabbed minutes ago. I only mention this because the room is absolutely clean without a single drop of blood on the wall or on the floor. Myers's cleaning skills are equal to his killing skills.
Tina and her friend Sam meet up with Tina's boyfriend to go and see Sam's boyfriend who works at a store where Tina's boyfriend is going to grab some beer for a party. Tina's boyfriend, who's name is Mike and is the king dicks, goes to the back of the store to load up the beers and is killed by Michael who then steals his car.
For some bizarre reason, Michael puts on a different mask and goes pick up Tina so they would go to a party. This scene bothers me so much. Michael Myers always killed people without much thought and his main target is Jamie so why is he running around, pretending to be other people when he knows where she is for a while (he looks at her in a earlier scene).
Tina tries to kiss Michael, thinking he is Mike, but he won't take off the mask. Upset, she makes him stop the car so she can buy cigarettes and while she is out of the car, Myers puts on his original mask.
Jamie once again the threat of her uncle and informs Loomis and the police of where Tina is. As she walks to the car, Tina is stopped the police while Michael Myers drives away in the car. Tina is brought to the child's clinic, Jamie revealed to see her finally talks and says her name but Tina leaves soon after because getting wasted at a lame party is more important and her boyfriend might be there.
On the party, Tina meets Sam and her boyfriend and they decide to do a prank on the two dumb cops from earlier that followed Tina to make sure she is safe (good use of police resources following a teenage to a party because she won't stay on a safe place). Both girls appear outside the party being chased by Michael Myers but just as the two officers are about to shoot him, he takes off the mask and it's really Sam's boyfriend pulling a prank with the two girls.
Pretending to be a serial killer who killed tons of people just a year before, what a hilarious gag.
Sam and asshole boyfriend go into a barn and have sex but are killed midway by Michael Myers. As we know, there's nothing that Michael Myers hates more than people having sex. They made a poor job at making the viewer care about this characters as I was quite glad to see every teenager get murdered, except Rachel.
Jamie and Billy, another kid from the child clinic that likes Jamie, have run away to find Tina as Jamie felt she was in trouble. They find Tina just as she is running out of the barn after finding the bodies. Michael chases Tina, Jamie and Billy trough a field while driving the worlds slowest car. Even at such a slow speed, Myers manages to crash the car in a tree. It seems he might be dead for alive but of course he comes out of the car ready to kill Jamie who is injured.
In the only good thing she did all movie, Tina stops Michael from killing Jamie and is stabbed in the chest while Jamie and Billy are saved by Loomis and the cops.
Jamie agrees to play the bait and Loomis takes her to Michael Myers's house. While there, Jamie has another vision which makes most of the cops leave the house to chase Michael but Michael was actually near the house. Loomis tries to talk to Michael, saying he can stop the rage he feels inside (Wait, we went from "evil, pure evil" of the past movies to "we can stop the rage in your heart"? This makes no sense) and for a while it seems like Michael is sympathetic but as Loomis is trying to get the knife away from him, Michael attacks him and then moves upstairs after Jamie.
Jamie runs away for long while but ends up on the attic where she find the bodies of the dog Max, Rachel and Mike.
She tries to appeal to her uncle's humanity, who takes his mask off for her, and a tear runs down his face...Michael Myers, the ultimate evil, the monstrous killing machine, crying...what the fuck is this shit?
Jamie tries to wipe the tear from Michael's face but that seems to make my Michael realize that his Michael "fucking badass evil killer" Myers and tries. Loomis appears and lures Myers to a trap and hits him tranquilizing darts and when he runs out of those, he picks up a wooden plank and starts beating the shit out of Michael, ends up having a stroke and falling on top of him.
Michael is locked up at the police station, awaiting to be transferred by the Federal guard when something happens. A mysterious dark figure, whose comboy boots have been appearing on a couple of scenes, enters the stations and proceeds to shoot down every police officer. Jamie walks through the bodies only to find Michael's cell empty and cries in horror, setting up the next movie.
This film is a fucking travesty that shits on Myers and Loomis characters, making them something completely different from what they are. Loomis is highly unlikable in this, not seeming to care much about the kids while Myers's behavior is so strange and not like him.
TLDR: Movie is dogshit and is not worthy of having the Halloween name.
And speaking of atrocious...
Day 11
Before the start of this re-watch, I had recollections from every Halloween movie except this one. It was strange as I had watched every movie in the franchise more than once (even the Rob Zombie ones) so why couldn't I remember this one?
A few minutes into the movie, I realized what happened. My mind had blocked any memories of Revenge Of Michael Myers so I wouldn't have to relieve that traumatic experience in my mind.
Caution from here on out there will be spoilers unmarked because I really need to slash this movie apart and to be fair, no one should watch this.
Halloween 5 : The Revenge Of Michael Myers is a massive piss of shit. It's truly an atrocious movie that almost destroys every character in the movie, only Jamie comes out of this as a decent character. Once again Danielle Harris does solid work for a kid and cements Jamie's place as one of the most important characters of the franchise.
The movie starts poorly changing a bit the ending of 4. After Myers is shot and falls down a well, the police throws dynamite into to well (because it seems that Haddonfield police carries dynamite just in case there's an evil entity around or maybe it is for fishing) and then we came to the first big mistake this movie makes.
We get to see Michael escaping by crawling through a tunnel. Besides both hospital escapes, we never see Michael escaping danger. His body just vanishes and it was part of his creepiness. By showing Myers slowing crawling through a tunnel trying to escape the blast alive, you weaken the character. There you have the incarnation of evil, an unstoppable killing machine, crawling to safety and showing his vulnerability.
But things get worse. As soon as he gets out of the tunnel, Michael falls down into the river and desperately tries to swim into shore. You almost feel sorry for the poor fool splashing around in the water, once again not something you want to someone who's always been described as pure evil.
Myers finally ends up reaching the hut of an old hermit who lives with a parrot and after the man helps him up, Michael grabs his throat and... falls into the ground because Halloween has passed, his chariot has turned back into a pumpkin and the once powerful and creepy killer has turned back into a poor comatose man.
Flash-forward a year and we see that Jamie has been committed to child's clinic and she has become mute due to the trauma of facing Michael and stabbing her stepmother.
On the Halloween's Eve, Myers wakes up from his coma and is apparently been taken care of by the old hermit for a year. Who the hell takes care of an unknown man who tried to kill you before falling into a coma for 1 whole year (ok, minus 1 day).
Michael immediately kills the old man and we discover that Jamie seems to have a telepathic link with his uncle as she reacts to his awakening and to him killing the man by having some kind of attack. Loomis (that for some reason seems to hang around the child's clinic) sees her attack and concludes out of nothing that she indeed has a telepathic link with Michael.
Rachel shows up with Tina and Max, the dog, to see Jamie. Rachel goes home, takes a shower while Myers stalks her around the house. Jamie sensed that Michael was going to do something to the dog and Loomis called Rachel to go check on the dog. I have to make one observation, Loomis is a fucking asshole in this turd. He spends most of the time yelling at Jamie, throwing things to the floor and asking Jamie why is she protecting her uncle. Yeah, Loomis, that's exactly what a traumatized little girl needs.
Back to Rachel, she goes check on the dog with only a towel wrap around her (they tease her nudity so many times during this scene) and shockingly the dog is missing. Loomis tells her to leave the house and so she does. The police is called and two very dumb officers search the house and find nothing. The movie wants you to know they are dumb so much that it even plays a stupid song that seems straight out of some wacky comedy. This is so out of tone and doesn't fit with the movie at all And what about the dog? Well, he had just run away and comes back running with a rabbit or a mouse on his mouth. Everyone laughs and all is well...
...except for Rachel goes back to the house, Michael observes her undressing and dressing for a couple of minutes (when did he became such a pervert?) and then stabs her.
We are now stuck with Tina and her horrible friends for most of the movie. There's nothing redeeming about this people, they are just assholes.
Tina, acting like a glorified idiot, goes inside the house to search Rachel but doesn't find and so she lays on the bed on the same room where Rachel had been stabbed minutes ago. I only mention this because the room is absolutely clean without a single drop of blood on the wall or on the floor. Myers's cleaning skills are equal to his killing skills.
Tina and her friend Sam meet up with Tina's boyfriend to go and see Sam's boyfriend who works at a store where Tina's boyfriend is going to grab some beer for a party. Tina's boyfriend, who's name is Mike and is the king dicks, goes to the back of the store to load up the beers and is killed by Michael who then steals his car.
For some bizarre reason, Michael puts on a different mask and goes pick up Tina so they would go to a party. This scene bothers me so much. Michael Myers always killed people without much thought and his main target is Jamie so why is he running around, pretending to be other people when he knows where she is for a while (he looks at her in a earlier scene).
Tina tries to kiss Michael, thinking he is Mike, but he won't take off the mask. Upset, she makes him stop the car so she can buy cigarettes and while she is out of the car, Myers puts on his original mask.
Jamie once again the threat of her uncle and informs Loomis and the police of where Tina is. As she walks to the car, Tina is stopped the police while Michael Myers drives away in the car. Tina is brought to the child's clinic, Jamie revealed to see her finally talks and says her name but Tina leaves soon after because getting wasted at a lame party is more important and her boyfriend might be there.
On the party, Tina meets Sam and her boyfriend and they decide to do a prank on the two dumb cops from earlier that followed Tina to make sure she is safe (good use of police resources following a teenage to a party because she won't stay on a safe place). Both girls appear outside the party being chased by Michael Myers but just as the two officers are about to shoot him, he takes off the mask and it's really Sam's boyfriend pulling a prank with the two girls.
Pretending to be a serial killer who killed tons of people just a year before, what a hilarious gag.
Sam and asshole boyfriend go into a barn and have sex but are killed midway by Michael Myers. As we know, there's nothing that Michael Myers hates more than people having sex. They made a poor job at making the viewer care about this characters as I was quite glad to see every teenager get murdered, except Rachel.
Jamie and Billy, another kid from the child clinic that likes Jamie, have run away to find Tina as Jamie felt she was in trouble. They find Tina just as she is running out of the barn after finding the bodies. Michael chases Tina, Jamie and Billy trough a field while driving the worlds slowest car. Even at such a slow speed, Myers manages to crash the car in a tree. It seems he might be dead for alive but of course he comes out of the car ready to kill Jamie who is injured.
In the only good thing she did all movie, Tina stops Michael from killing Jamie and is stabbed in the chest while Jamie and Billy are saved by Loomis and the cops.
Jamie agrees to play the bait and Loomis takes her to Michael Myers's house. While there, Jamie has another vision which makes most of the cops leave the house to chase Michael but Michael was actually near the house. Loomis tries to talk to Michael, saying he can stop the rage he feels inside (Wait, we went from "evil, pure evil" of the past movies to "we can stop the rage in your heart"? This makes no sense) and for a while it seems like Michael is sympathetic but as Loomis is trying to get the knife away from him, Michael attacks him and then moves upstairs after Jamie.
Jamie runs away for long while but ends up on the attic where she find the bodies of the dog Max, Rachel and Mike.
She tries to appeal to her uncle's humanity, who takes his mask off for her, and a tear runs down his face...Michael Myers, the ultimate evil, the monstrous killing machine, crying...what the fuck is this shit?
Jamie tries to wipe the tear from Michael's face but that seems to make my Michael realize that his Michael "fucking badass evil killer" Myers and tries. Loomis appears and lures Myers to a trap and hits him tranquilizing darts and when he runs out of those, he picks up a wooden plank and starts beating the shit out of Michael, ends up having a stroke and falling on top of him.
Michael is locked up at the police station, awaiting to be transferred by the Federal guard when something happens. A mysterious dark figure, whose comboy boots have been appearing on a couple of scenes, enters the stations and proceeds to shoot down every police officer. Jamie walks through the bodies only to find Michael's cell empty and cries in horror, setting up the next movie.
This film is a fucking travesty that shits on Myers and Loomis characters, making them something completely different from what they are. Loomis is highly unlikable in this, not seeming to care much about the kids while Myers's behavior is so strange and not like him.
TLDR: Movie is dogshit and is not worthy of having the Halloween name.
The Hills Have Eyes | Wes Craven | 1977 | US | 89 min | Horror | Thriller
The nighttime raid is an expertly executed 30 minutes of filmmaking. Nothing in the film can quite compare to it. There's a true sense of danger there, unpredictability, that the film simply can't sustain. As Craven ratchets up the tension, there's a sense of true unavoidable tragedy. The way events spiral out of control and leave earth-shattering consequences is masterfully handled. Craven treats death with true depth - notice the sensitivity displayed when the bodies in the trailer are found (it's the quietest moment in the movie). The rest of the film is dead air comparatively, particularly when the dogs start shoving people off high cliffs.
Number 9: The Living Skeleton
So, I went into this semi-blind. All that I knew was that there was a creepy woman holding a candle and that these guys/gals were in it:
Imagine my surprise when the movie starts off as violent as it did. A bunch of innocent people are gunned down mercilessly on a ship, by a bunch of pirates. That sets the stage for what I thought to be a simple ghost story. Clearly, I was mistaken, because by the end of the film, I witnessed a movie that had elements from damn near every genre imaginable, as well as a third act that felt like the greatest hits of 1950's and 60's horror.
It's endearing. It's filled to the brim with personality and style. It also has a final 20-30 minutes that really doesn't work in the slightest, and it suffers from some comical acting. The story goes every-fucking-where and plot twists are pulled out of thin air. With that said, it still manages to have some genuine moments of drama (and...well melodrama) between it's characters and some creepy, wtf-inducing segments.
Back to the style though. The movie is fucking gorgeous. Everything from the use of light and shadow (underwater and on land), to the scene blocking is A1. It's a bit of a visual treat.
If you couldn't tell, I like it. Like I said, it has it's fair share of complications. It's got character, a whole hell of a lot of charm, and good pacing.
Also, it has a scene that has the scare that The Blair Witch is famous for...and it's every bit as effective.
Watched Invasion of the Body Snatchers again. The 1978 version mind you.
Still amazing how real some of the effects look after all this time. Made with care and craftmanship.
To bad I only have a DVD of it as the quality was pretty grainy in some cases, might need to look up the BR.
Still amazing how real some of the effects look after all this time. Made with care and craftmanship.
To bad I only have a DVD of it as the quality was pretty grainy in some cases, might need to look up the BR.
Day 12 & 13
After I finished watching Halloween 6 on the 11th, I found out the famed Producer's Cut had actually been released two years ago so I had to finally watch it and compare the two versions. Halloween 6 isn't a great movie, the Halloween fanbase is very mixed about it due to the controversial justification to Michael Myers origin that movie gives but the Producer's cut had a bit of cult following that claimed it was a far better version than the theatrical cut but the only way to watch it was some workprint versions with poor quality that weren't easy to find. They actually restored the footage to hi-def for the Blu Ray boxset so I finally got a chance to watch something have been reading about for years.
I always kind of liked H6 since I was a kid, it was definitely a better movie than the horrible part 5 but it is still a sub-par sequel that at least portrays Loomis way better and even Michael is a bit of a better character on this one.
Speaking of Loomis, this was Donald Pleasence's final movie as he died shortly after filming ended. As it might be noticeable, I love Loomis.
He was a man tormented for not being able to "cure" Michael as a kid and he devoted his life to trying to stop Michael from hurting anybody else.
I always felt Loomis was almost as important as Myers and Donald Pleasence was an incredible actor to watch.
The production was a bit of a mess, Miramax wanted more gore, the director wanted less of Loomis, the screenwriter wanted more connections with the rest of the movies. They had a screening test that went badly and so they decided to reshoot a big part of the movie.
The diferences between the cuts are huge. The theatrical cut is more fast paced, filled with quick cuts and flashes of gory scenes, the soundtrack is filled with guitar riffs and less exposition.
The Producer's cut is slower, more in line with the older movies, the soundtrack uses mostly variations from the classic theme and Loomis is more present.
The plot changes a bit between cuts. A major character is killed much later on one, we find out that the father of the baby is actually Michael Myers who raped his 15 year old niece, the final 15 minutes are almost completely different with the Producer's Cut having a ridiculous end, which is a shame as I really liked seeing a young Paul Rudd playing a grown up Tommy from the fist movie beating the shit out of a drugged out Myers.
The major plot point that makes this movie so hated by some is the explanation for the mysterious Man In Black from the 4th movie and Michael's tattoo. The writing team from that movie wasn't around for this one so the explanation they came up for this was a cult of druids.
It's a strange choice that I don't think is very suited for the mythology of Michael Myers but I can live with it. The weird thing is that the theatrical cut sort of tries to change that near the end which makes no sense at all.
There isn't a definitive version of Halloween 6, both cuts have their positives but they also have huge flaws. I enjoyed Halloween 6 but I recognized that it's not a good movie, falling somewhere between the top 4 (H1, H2, H4 and H20) and the awful H5 and H Resurrection.
After I finished watching Halloween 6 on the 11th, I found out the famed Producer's Cut had actually been released two years ago so I had to finally watch it and compare the two versions. Halloween 6 isn't a great movie, the Halloween fanbase is very mixed about it due to the controversial justification to Michael Myers origin that movie gives but the Producer's cut had a bit of cult following that claimed it was a far better version than the theatrical cut but the only way to watch it was some workprint versions with poor quality that weren't easy to find. They actually restored the footage to hi-def for the Blu Ray boxset so I finally got a chance to watch something have been reading about for years.
I always kind of liked H6 since I was a kid, it was definitely a better movie than the horrible part 5 but it is still a sub-par sequel that at least portrays Loomis way better and even Michael is a bit of a better character on this one.
Speaking of Loomis, this was Donald Pleasence's final movie as he died shortly after filming ended. As it might be noticeable, I love Loomis.
He was a man tormented for not being able to "cure" Michael as a kid and he devoted his life to trying to stop Michael from hurting anybody else.
I always felt Loomis was almost as important as Myers and Donald Pleasence was an incredible actor to watch.
The production was a bit of a mess, Miramax wanted more gore, the director wanted less of Loomis, the screenwriter wanted more connections with the rest of the movies. They had a screening test that went badly and so they decided to reshoot a big part of the movie.
The diferences between the cuts are huge. The theatrical cut is more fast paced, filled with quick cuts and flashes of gory scenes, the soundtrack is filled with guitar riffs and less exposition.
The Producer's cut is slower, more in line with the older movies, the soundtrack uses mostly variations from the classic theme and Loomis is more present.
The plot changes a bit between cuts. A major character is killed much later on one, we find out that the father of the baby is actually Michael Myers who raped his 15 year old niece, the final 15 minutes are almost completely different with the Producer's Cut having a ridiculous end, which is a shame as I really liked seeing a young Paul Rudd playing a grown up Tommy from the fist movie beating the shit out of a drugged out Myers.
The major plot point that makes this movie so hated by some is the explanation for the mysterious Man In Black from the 4th movie and Michael's tattoo. The writing team from that movie wasn't around for this one so the explanation they came up for this was a cult of druids.
It's a strange choice that I don't think is very suited for the mythology of Michael Myers but I can live with it. The weird thing is that the theatrical cut sort of tries to change that near the end which makes no sense at all.
There isn't a definitive version of Halloween 6, both cuts have their positives but they also have huge flaws. I enjoyed Halloween 6 but I recognized that it's not a good movie, falling somewhere between the top 4 (H1, H2, H4 and H20) and the awful H5 and H Resurrection.
By Kikarian Go To PostMartins, I'm expecting a horror weekend mix after thisMaybe...
Day 14
H20 is one of my favorite Halloween sequels, it's up there with 2 for me. Short and sweet, there's no complicated plot. Michael is alive, he's going after Laurie and that's mostly it. H20 skips over the increasingly complicated plot of 4 to 6 and continues the story as straight sequel to Halloween 2. The only thing they keep from the other movies is the part that Laurie "dying" on a car crash but in here she actually faked her death and there's no mention of Jamie at all.
Jamie Lee Curtis is back as Laurie Strode and she is now living by another name in California as the headmistress of a private boarding school with her 17 year old son John, played by a young Josh Hartnett. Now well known actors Michelle Williams and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are also on it (Levitt's role is very short though).
It is just a very entertaining movie, the confrontation between Laurie and Michael is one of the best of the series. It's one of those movies I don't mind watching once in a while. The only thing I don't like has to do with Resurrection making the ending of this movie retroactively bad but apparently this was filmed with that stupid decision in mind (and you can see glimpses of that). It's a shame because if you don't know what happens at the start of Ressurection, the ending of H20 is very good.
A small little detail that is just lovely, Laurie's secretary when talking to Laurie at some point says "If I can provide some motherly advice...". Well, that role was played by Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis's mother and more known as Marion Crane in Psycho. The Hitchcook movie has been cited as one of the main inspirations for the original Halloween and Janet Leigh is driving a car exactly like the one Marion drove in Psycho in H20.
H20 is one of my favorite Halloween sequels, it's up there with 2 for me. Short and sweet, there's no complicated plot. Michael is alive, he's going after Laurie and that's mostly it. H20 skips over the increasingly complicated plot of 4 to 6 and continues the story as straight sequel to Halloween 2. The only thing they keep from the other movies is the part that Laurie "dying" on a car crash but in here she actually faked her death and there's no mention of Jamie at all.
Jamie Lee Curtis is back as Laurie Strode and she is now living by another name in California as the headmistress of a private boarding school with her 17 year old son John, played by a young Josh Hartnett. Now well known actors Michelle Williams and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are also on it (Levitt's role is very short though).
It is just a very entertaining movie, the confrontation between Laurie and Michael is one of the best of the series. It's one of those movies I don't mind watching once in a while. The only thing I don't like has to do with Resurrection making the ending of this movie retroactively bad but apparently this was filmed with that stupid decision in mind (and you can see glimpses of that). It's a shame because if you don't know what happens at the start of Ressurection, the ending of H20 is very good.
A small little detail that is just lovely, Laurie's secretary when talking to Laurie at some point says "If I can provide some motherly advice...". Well, that role was played by Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis's mother and more known as Marion Crane in Psycho. The Hitchcook movie has been cited as one of the main inspirations for the original Halloween and Janet Leigh is driving a car exactly like the one Marion drove in Psycho in H20.
Day 15
This is shit of the highest order. Pure stupidity on screen and not the entertaining kind. After a sort of ok opening scene between Myers and Laurie, the whole thing goes down the toilet and it never comes back up. Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks set up a internet reality show about 6 people staying at Michael Myers on Halloween's night, Katee Sackhoff and Sean Patrick Thomas (What is he up to this days? He was everywhere in the late 90's/early 00's). Of course things go to hell and Myers kills almost of all them.
It tries to make a comment about the new age of internet, reality shows and how people react to them but it makes hard to think this movie has anything remotely smart to say when you have a scene where Busta Rhymes kung fu fighting Myers and making "uuooohh" sounds. Fuck Busta Rhymes, fuck this movie.
This is shit of the highest order. Pure stupidity on screen and not the entertaining kind. After a sort of ok opening scene between Myers and Laurie, the whole thing goes down the toilet and it never comes back up. Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks set up a internet reality show about 6 people staying at Michael Myers on Halloween's night, Katee Sackhoff and Sean Patrick Thomas (What is he up to this days? He was everywhere in the late 90's/early 00's). Of course things go to hell and Myers kills almost of all them.
It tries to make a comment about the new age of internet, reality shows and how people react to them but it makes hard to think this movie has anything remotely smart to say when you have a scene where Busta Rhymes kung fu fighting Myers and making "uuooohh" sounds. Fuck Busta Rhymes, fuck this movie.
Criterion set me up with the vague ass summary. Really wasn't ready to watch something with the premise this movie had. lol. Glad I did, but that opening scene...yeesh.
Number 10: Kuroneko
I'm going to stray away from going into to much detail (though the story is rather straight forward), but the plot is as follows: A mother and her daughter are alone eating a meal, when a gang of samurai stroll through, steal all of their food, rape, and kill them. They come back as angry spirits and seek vengeance on every samurai that exists. After the initial incident in the opening, what follows is a dream-like fairy tale of revenge coupled with interpersonal conflict, commentary on class, actual female agency, loads of drama, some eroticism and gorgeous cinematography. It's dope af and you should all watch it.
If rape being in a film is a deterrent, the film doesn't wallow in misogyny.
Number 10: Kuroneko
I'm going to stray away from going into to much detail (though the story is rather straight forward), but the plot is as follows: A mother and her daughter are alone eating a meal, when a gang of samurai stroll through, steal all of their food, rape, and kill them. They come back as angry spirits and seek vengeance on every samurai that exists. After the initial incident in the opening, what follows is a dream-like fairy tale of revenge coupled with interpersonal conflict, commentary on class, actual female agency, loads of drama, some eroticism and gorgeous cinematography. It's dope af and you should all watch it.
If rape being in a film is a deterrent, the film doesn't wallow in misogyny.
That sounds very interesting.
Day 16
I like Rob Zombie's re-imaging of Halloween, Michael Myers is a legendary movie monster and I have no problem to see other people doing their idea of Myers, it's better than messing up the original storyline. Zombie has a very particular visual style that I quite enjoy and that I think fits his idea of Michael Myers.
One of the thing people are more upset about this re-imaging is the fact that Zombie gave a reason for Michael Myers becoming the monster he is.
In this version, Myers is clearly a kid with socipathic tendencies, torturing and killing little animals and his troubled home and school life push him to the edge and turn him into a full on killer. The first hour is quite interesting, going into Myers's personal life and exploring Michael and Loomis (played by the great Malcom Mcdonald) when Michael is put on psychiatric hold.
Second half is more of a remake of the original movie, with the plot being almost exactly the same. Of course Zombie´s Myers is much more brutal and bloody, he is also the most physically imposing Myers we ever had on screen.
The movie requires a bit of suspension of disbelief as everyone here seems to have as a bad aim as the stormtroopers from Star Wars but, overall, I think Zombie made a very solid movie and with it his own personality instead of being just a full on remake.
Day 16
I like Rob Zombie's re-imaging of Halloween, Michael Myers is a legendary movie monster and I have no problem to see other people doing their idea of Myers, it's better than messing up the original storyline. Zombie has a very particular visual style that I quite enjoy and that I think fits his idea of Michael Myers.
One of the thing people are more upset about this re-imaging is the fact that Zombie gave a reason for Michael Myers becoming the monster he is.
In this version, Myers is clearly a kid with socipathic tendencies, torturing and killing little animals and his troubled home and school life push him to the edge and turn him into a full on killer. The first hour is quite interesting, going into Myers's personal life and exploring Michael and Loomis (played by the great Malcom Mcdonald) when Michael is put on psychiatric hold.
Second half is more of a remake of the original movie, with the plot being almost exactly the same. Of course Zombie´s Myers is much more brutal and bloody, he is also the most physically imposing Myers we ever had on screen.
The movie requires a bit of suspension of disbelief as everyone here seems to have as a bad aim as the stormtroopers from Star Wars but, overall, I think Zombie made a very solid movie and with it his own personality instead of being just a full on remake.
From Dusk Till Dawn | Robert Rodriguez | 1996 | US | 108 min | Action | Crime | Fantasy | Horror
Though not totally cohesive, this film is a lot of fun. Tarantino and Rodriguez are a great match, and the film is consistently entertaining even when it is hopping between different tones and rhythms. The characters have a lot of personality and there are a lot of great set-pieces. I liked the dynamic between Clooney and Tarantino (who I usually ABHOR as an actor), and Juliette Lewis was also unusually palatable. Highlights of the film are without question the opening sequence, which is like a really great self-contained short film, a nice mixture of Tarantino, Rodriguez and Coens... and of course, the famous Salma Hayek strip tease. It is everything I could have ever hoped for and more. It was one of the sexiest scenes ever, without question, even with Tarantino sucking some serious foot.
Day 17
Halloween II is a bit of a bizarre sequel, mostly because of Michael's vision of her mother and the white horse. I have to say, I quite enjoyed it. It's probably the movie where we get a closer look at Michael's motivation and what drives him.
Zombie does a fake out at start tricking the viewer into thinking that it will be a remake of the original sequel on the hospital but that turns out to be Laurie having a nightmare.
Speaking about Laurie and nightmares, she is a mess. She is severely traumatized by the events of the first movie and has been struggling to keep her life normal. Zombie tried to focus on the relationship between Laurie and Michael and the idea that they both share severe mental issues.
We get to see some fits of rage from her, implying that she shares the same murderous rage as Michael .
I get why people get angry about H2 as it destroys some of the characters like Loomis and Laurie in comparison with the original, I had the same problems with a couple of other sequels in the series so I can understand, but I approached the Zombie movies as a re-imaging and not a full on remake. Rob Zombie, for better or for worse, took the characters and molded them to his vision. We already had Halloween 1 and 2, there's no reason for a complete remake.
Talking about Loomis, he was a bit of an asshole in the first one but he turned into a full on asshole in this one and I liked seeing Malcom Mcdonald portraying him again. Loomis wrote a book about the events of the first movie and has made a fortune. While he tries to justify that what he went through makes him deserving of gaining something from it but it's clear that the fact he is destroying lives with the book bothers him.
For clarification, I saw the Director's Cut which Zombie claims that it's closer to his vision.
I enjoyed H2 much more this time around than I did when it came out, probably because I didn't compare to the originals and just enjoyed it for what it is.
1056 minutes, around 170 kills later and I am done with the Halloween franchise. I still hope we will see Michael Myers again, maybe in 2018 for the 40th anniversary of the original.
Halloween II is a bit of a bizarre sequel, mostly because of Michael's vision of her mother and the white horse. I have to say, I quite enjoyed it. It's probably the movie where we get a closer look at Michael's motivation and what drives him.
Zombie does a fake out at start tricking the viewer into thinking that it will be a remake of the original sequel on the hospital but that turns out to be Laurie having a nightmare.
Speaking about Laurie and nightmares, she is a mess. She is severely traumatized by the events of the first movie and has been struggling to keep her life normal. Zombie tried to focus on the relationship between Laurie and Michael and the idea that they both share severe mental issues.
We get to see some fits of rage from her, implying that she shares the same murderous rage as Michael .
I get why people get angry about H2 as it destroys some of the characters like Loomis and Laurie in comparison with the original, I had the same problems with a couple of other sequels in the series so I can understand, but I approached the Zombie movies as a re-imaging and not a full on remake. Rob Zombie, for better or for worse, took the characters and molded them to his vision. We already had Halloween 1 and 2, there's no reason for a complete remake.
Talking about Loomis, he was a bit of an asshole in the first one but he turned into a full on asshole in this one and I liked seeing Malcom Mcdonald portraying him again. Loomis wrote a book about the events of the first movie and has made a fortune. While he tries to justify that what he went through makes him deserving of gaining something from it but it's clear that the fact he is destroying lives with the book bothers him.
For clarification, I saw the Director's Cut which Zombie claims that it's closer to his vision.
I enjoyed H2 much more this time around than I did when it came out, probably because I didn't compare to the originals and just enjoyed it for what it is.
1056 minutes, around 170 kills later and I am done with the Halloween franchise. I still hope we will see Michael Myers again, maybe in 2018 for the 40th anniversary of the original.
Day 18
After 11 american slasher movies, I decided to finally watch this French-Italian classic horror movie to get away from Halloween but they actually ended up having a connection.
Poorly received when it came out, Les Yeux Sans Visage has gained quite a reputation in recent times, going as far as being selected by a list of several authors, directors, actors and critics who have worked within the horror genre as the 38th best horror movie of all time.
I love old black and white movies and Georges Franju shoot this in almost poetic fashion mixed with the horror of the situation. Maurice Jarre's haunting score also helps create an eerie atmosphere.
I won't touch on the plot as it is best to discover it as the movie goes along. This is a wonderful movie that has been influential to a lot of famous directors. In one of the most recent cases, Pedro Almodóvar claimed Franju's masterpiece was a major influence for him will doing The Skin I Live In and it's clear to anyone who has watch both movies.
Another well known movie that was influenced by Eyes Without A Face was John Carpenter's Halloween. The director had little money to create a mask for Michael Myers and instructed the crew to do a pale mask with human features, almost featureless. He claims he got the idea from Eyes Without A Face and it's iconic mask.
Its influence reaches beyond movie and inspired Billy Idol to write the song of the same name, that's why "Les Yeux Sans Visage" is on the verse.
It's a great movie and well worth a watch.
After 11 american slasher movies, I decided to finally watch this French-Italian classic horror movie to get away from Halloween but they actually ended up having a connection.
Poorly received when it came out, Les Yeux Sans Visage has gained quite a reputation in recent times, going as far as being selected by a list of several authors, directors, actors and critics who have worked within the horror genre as the 38th best horror movie of all time.
I love old black and white movies and Georges Franju shoot this in almost poetic fashion mixed with the horror of the situation. Maurice Jarre's haunting score also helps create an eerie atmosphere.
I won't touch on the plot as it is best to discover it as the movie goes along. This is a wonderful movie that has been influential to a lot of famous directors. In one of the most recent cases, Pedro Almodóvar claimed Franju's masterpiece was a major influence for him will doing The Skin I Live In and it's clear to anyone who has watch both movies.
Another well known movie that was influenced by Eyes Without A Face was John Carpenter's Halloween. The director had little money to create a mask for Michael Myers and instructed the crew to do a pale mask with human features, almost featureless. He claims he got the idea from Eyes Without A Face and it's iconic mask.
Its influence reaches beyond movie and inspired Billy Idol to write the song of the same name, that's why "Les Yeux Sans Visage" is on the verse.
It's a great movie and well worth a watch.
Not doing a marathon but I watched Don't Breathe and it was fairly decent. Keeps changing the game to keep it interesting enough. The pipette scene was a little gag worthy.
Day 19
Ken Russell's The Devils is a difficult movie to watch, not only because it's been plagued by a long term censorship that has prevented to reach home media in the quality it deserves and uncut but also for it's content.
A movie portraying a real case that happened in 17th century France about a witch hunt that ended up having grave consequences. It's a depraved movie full of sex, death and the fear of demonic possession.
It's also a gorgeous movie that shines even through the poor video quality I was subjected to watch it. It's not for nothing that big name directors like Guillermo del Toro have been fighting for a proper release and uncut as Russell's vision more than deserves, needs, a high definition version.
The sets are incredible, the use of colors is outstanding, the way the whole movie was shot was just amazing.
As good as it is controversial, The Devils is a movie that deserves to be watched by anyone who loves movie and has the stomach to endure some of the tougher scenes (how does a group of crazed nuns raping a statue of Christsounds to you?)
Ken Russell's The Devils is a difficult movie to watch, not only because it's been plagued by a long term censorship that has prevented to reach home media in the quality it deserves and uncut but also for it's content.
A movie portraying a real case that happened in 17th century France about a witch hunt that ended up having grave consequences. It's a depraved movie full of sex, death and the fear of demonic possession.
It's also a gorgeous movie that shines even through the poor video quality I was subjected to watch it. It's not for nothing that big name directors like Guillermo del Toro have been fighting for a proper release and uncut as Russell's vision more than deserves, needs, a high definition version.
The sets are incredible, the use of colors is outstanding, the way the whole movie was shot was just amazing.
As good as it is controversial, The Devils is a movie that deserves to be watched by anyone who loves movie and has the stomach to endure some of the tougher scenes (how does a group of crazed nuns raping a statue of Christsounds to you?)
I love Les Yeux Sans Visage. I should rewatch it soon.
Number 11: Onibaba
Two women (mother and daughter-in-law) make a living by ambushing and killing samurai, and then trading their gear for food. Their existence and relationship is put to the test when the friend of the daughter-in-law's husband returns from war...alone. Things are strained even further when the mother comes into possession of a cursed mask.
This predates Kuroneko and shares some of it's thematic elements: sexuality and women, views on samurai, a small peak at the treatment of women, etc... While they ultimately feel like companion pieces, this film's lens is focused more on the sexual nature of people, and how not only men, but women and religion(fuck around and go to hell) use it to repress sexual expression of others (mainly young women).
While Kuroneko doesn't hide the fact that it's a horror film, this one is more of a drama until the last act, when the mother-in-law stumbles upon the mask. That being said, both the mother-in-law and the friend that returns (mainly the guy) does creepy shit throughout the film. There are plenty of shots where he's lurking about (looking like Myers) and scheming on his deceased friend's wife. He's “persistent” in a way that would get one pepper sprayed.
Onibaba lacks the fantasy elements and theatrical feel as Kuroneko, but the camera work is just as strong. It's every bit as gorgeous and shot with the same amount of style.
It's a good movie. I prefer Kuroneko to it, but only because of superficial reasons: the photography.
Number 12: Diabolique
The set-up for this movie is pure fuckery. The wife and mistress of a school's headmaster come together to kill him, because not only is he a misogynistic piece of shit, and overall not a good person, but he's also abusive (verbally and physically) to his wife. They carry out the deed and dump his body in the dirty pool at the school (lol), only to find that it's not there when the pool is drained.
Right off the bat, this is great. It's got good pacing, tension, an engaging story with moments where you're holding your breath, because it looks like the duo is about to get caught. It has cool characters and you genuinely feel for the wife's plight. That said...Christ....it took me some time to warm up to the main character (Christina(the wife)). I get that she's an actual human being, that is conflicted with her actions. I get that she's not about that life and still friends with a savage, but damn. She falls out every five seconds, due to her “heart condition” and says things that makes no sense: “I'm gonna snitch on us, but you'll be great, and 12 won't bother you, because I'm telling, even though I'm gonna use your name.” There are several moments where I'm left aghast at her perception of closing walls, and the logic she uses to navigate out of her predicament. By the end of the movie, she is good money and I did come-around on her.
Don't go in expecting this to be an in your face horror film. It's more of a crime-drama/thriller, until the last act, where it hits “real” tonal shift. Even the camera work switches things up a bit.
Number 11: Onibaba
Two women (mother and daughter-in-law) make a living by ambushing and killing samurai, and then trading their gear for food. Their existence and relationship is put to the test when the friend of the daughter-in-law's husband returns from war...alone. Things are strained even further when the mother comes into possession of a cursed mask.
This predates Kuroneko and shares some of it's thematic elements: sexuality and women, views on samurai, a small peak at the treatment of women, etc... While they ultimately feel like companion pieces, this film's lens is focused more on the sexual nature of people, and how not only men, but women and religion(fuck around and go to hell) use it to repress sexual expression of others (mainly young women).
While Kuroneko doesn't hide the fact that it's a horror film, this one is more of a drama until the last act, when the mother-in-law stumbles upon the mask. That being said, both the mother-in-law and the friend that returns (mainly the guy) does creepy shit throughout the film. There are plenty of shots where he's lurking about (looking like Myers) and scheming on his deceased friend's wife. He's “persistent” in a way that would get one pepper sprayed.
Onibaba lacks the fantasy elements and theatrical feel as Kuroneko, but the camera work is just as strong. It's every bit as gorgeous and shot with the same amount of style.
It's a good movie. I prefer Kuroneko to it, but only because of superficial reasons: the photography.
Number 12: Diabolique
The set-up for this movie is pure fuckery. The wife and mistress of a school's headmaster come together to kill him, because not only is he a misogynistic piece of shit, and overall not a good person, but he's also abusive (verbally and physically) to his wife. They carry out the deed and dump his body in the dirty pool at the school (lol), only to find that it's not there when the pool is drained.
Right off the bat, this is great. It's got good pacing, tension, an engaging story with moments where you're holding your breath, because it looks like the duo is about to get caught. It has cool characters and you genuinely feel for the wife's plight. That said...Christ....it took me some time to warm up to the main character (Christina(the wife)). I get that she's an actual human being, that is conflicted with her actions. I get that she's not about that life and still friends with a savage, but damn. She falls out every five seconds, due to her “heart condition” and says things that makes no sense: “I'm gonna snitch on us, but you'll be great, and 12 won't bother you, because I'm telling, even though I'm gonna use your name.” There are several moments where I'm left aghast at her perception of closing walls, and the logic she uses to navigate out of her predicament. By the end of the movie, she is good money and I did come-around on her.
Don't go in expecting this to be an in your face horror film. It's more of a crime-drama/thriller, until the last act, where it hits “real” tonal shift. Even the camera work switches things up a bit.
Always heard great things about Diabolique, have to check it out sometime.
For the first time on this run, I missed a day. Had to stay all in Uni and then had an house party in my house so there wasn't any time left to watch a movie. I did watch 2 movies yesterday to make up for it.
Day 21
Cell had a difficult road to the screen. When the book came out in 2006, Dimension Films grabbed the movie rights and started the project with Eli Roth attached to direct. Roth was very excited by the book, a story about a cell phone signal who turns everyone who was talking on a cellphone into zombie like enraged things, it could definitely work on screen.
Things didn't worked out and, in 2009, Roth left due to creative differences. On the same year, Stephen King announced he wrote a new screenplay with a different ending. 4 years later, they shoot the movie with John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson and for nearly 2 years, there was no sign of the movie anywhere. In December of 2015, Cusack claimed he didn't know anything about the movie as both he and Stephen King were left out of any new developments. Finally in April of 2016, a release date was announced and the movie would see the light of day on July 8...
Well, they shouldn't have bothered putting it out. Cell is one of the worst movies I ever saw in my life. The book wasn't great but at least it kept me entertained but watching this felt like punishment. John Cusack and Sam Jackson don't make much of an effort here and to be fair, it's hard to do when the screenplay is this bad. The movie starts in a completely different place from the book and that change if for the worse. In the book, Cusack's character is in Central Park when the event happens and the change from a peaceful sunny afternoon into a vision from hell makes quite an impact. In the movie, Cusack is in the airport and as airports are already a bit hellish, the event isn't as meaningful.
Another terrible change is in the section where the phoners (that's the people who were turned into zombie like creatures) are on the football field on the ground with music coming out of their mouths. In the book, that music is described as soft rock, pop and some light jazz. In the movie, this is the music that can be heard :
Nop, I am not shitting on you. This movie has a scene where hundreds of phoners have that song playing out through their mouths, supposedly for hours. If that isn't a vision from hell, I don't know what is.
Now, this shitfest continues for a while with some changes from the book like the hooded man not speaking and some other shit but there's nothing too remarkable...
Until we reach the ending.
Now, King said that he changed the ending due to negative feedback from fans about the original ending of the book. This new one is much much worse. Cusack finds his son, who has been transformed into a phoner, in the middle of millions of phoners who are walking in circles around a huge cell tower. In the book, there was a rumor about a signal that would turn phoners back to normal. Cusack dials the number, puts the phone on his son's ear and...the book ends.
In the movie there's no signal to turn them back to normal and when Cusack finds his son, he blows up a truck full of explosives killing the hooded man, millions of phoners and destroying the huge cell tower...
Or maybe not as after the bomb explodes we see a sequence of Cusack and his boy heading to Canada but apparently it was all a dream and Cusack is now a phoner and we get this fantastic scene :
Cell is an awful, awful movie.
Day 22
Don't Breathe is very good. From Fede Alvarez, the man behind the Evil Dead remake (which is getting a new unrated cut next week), Don't Breathe plays with the exceptions of the viewer as nothing is as it seems. I just had a great time watching it, it's such a well constructed movie.
The chase in the dark was great, THAT SCENE was gross as hell, the whole thing kept in the edge of my seat and while I was very tired, I just couldn't keep my eyes off the screen.
Watch it as soon as you can.
For the first time on this run, I missed a day. Had to stay all in Uni and then had an house party in my house so there wasn't any time left to watch a movie. I did watch 2 movies yesterday to make up for it.
Day 21
Cell had a difficult road to the screen. When the book came out in 2006, Dimension Films grabbed the movie rights and started the project with Eli Roth attached to direct. Roth was very excited by the book, a story about a cell phone signal who turns everyone who was talking on a cellphone into zombie like enraged things, it could definitely work on screen.
Things didn't worked out and, in 2009, Roth left due to creative differences. On the same year, Stephen King announced he wrote a new screenplay with a different ending. 4 years later, they shoot the movie with John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson and for nearly 2 years, there was no sign of the movie anywhere. In December of 2015, Cusack claimed he didn't know anything about the movie as both he and Stephen King were left out of any new developments. Finally in April of 2016, a release date was announced and the movie would see the light of day on July 8...
Well, they shouldn't have bothered putting it out. Cell is one of the worst movies I ever saw in my life. The book wasn't great but at least it kept me entertained but watching this felt like punishment. John Cusack and Sam Jackson don't make much of an effort here and to be fair, it's hard to do when the screenplay is this bad. The movie starts in a completely different place from the book and that change if for the worse. In the book, Cusack's character is in Central Park when the event happens and the change from a peaceful sunny afternoon into a vision from hell makes quite an impact. In the movie, Cusack is in the airport and as airports are already a bit hellish, the event isn't as meaningful.
Another terrible change is in the section where the phoners (that's the people who were turned into zombie like creatures) are on the football field on the ground with music coming out of their mouths. In the book, that music is described as soft rock, pop and some light jazz. In the movie, this is the music that can be heard :
Nop, I am not shitting on you. This movie has a scene where hundreds of phoners have that song playing out through their mouths, supposedly for hours. If that isn't a vision from hell, I don't know what is.
Now, this shitfest continues for a while with some changes from the book like the hooded man not speaking and some other shit but there's nothing too remarkable...
Until we reach the ending.
Now, King said that he changed the ending due to negative feedback from fans about the original ending of the book. This new one is much much worse. Cusack finds his son, who has been transformed into a phoner, in the middle of millions of phoners who are walking in circles around a huge cell tower. In the book, there was a rumor about a signal that would turn phoners back to normal. Cusack dials the number, puts the phone on his son's ear and...the book ends.
In the movie there's no signal to turn them back to normal and when Cusack finds his son, he blows up a truck full of explosives killing the hooded man, millions of phoners and destroying the huge cell tower...
Or maybe not as after the bomb explodes we see a sequence of Cusack and his boy heading to Canada but apparently it was all a dream and Cusack is now a phoner and we get this fantastic scene :
Cell is an awful, awful movie.
Day 22
Don't Breathe is very good. From Fede Alvarez, the man behind the Evil Dead remake (which is getting a new unrated cut next week), Don't Breathe plays with the exceptions of the viewer as nothing is as it seems. I just had a great time watching it, it's such a well constructed movie.
The chase in the dark was great, THAT SCENE was gross as hell, the whole thing kept in the edge of my seat and while I was very tired, I just couldn't keep my eyes off the screen.
Watch it as soon as you can.
Man, I didn't get to see any movies this weekend but I did marathon American Horror Story. Just ended season 2 last night.
Damn this show is pretty great, never watched it before.
Might put on The thing remake tonight.
Heard it's pretty good.
Damn this show is pretty great, never watched it before.
Might put on The thing remake tonight.
Heard it's pretty good.
Day 23
Train To Busan is definitely a ride worth taking. Thrilling, emotional, scary, this Korean zombie movie hits all the right notes. A divorced workaholic father takes his daughter to see her mother in Busan for her birthday. What they don't realize is that a zombie outbreak is hitting the streets and soon they will be trapped on a train...
The director Yeon Sang-ho uses the close quarters of the train to maximum effect and creates some great action scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It also helps that he choose a wonderful cast to portrait well written characters and you will care what happens to this people, especially on the dramatic climax.
The young Kim Su-an and Ma Dong-seok are the standouts, playing the daughter of the main character and a man travelling with his pregnant wive.
Train To Busan takes is own approach to zombies, making them move fast and being utterly vicious creatures that won't stop chasing any living creature on their sight. We also get to see a wave like approach to the hordes of zombies, similar to what we saw in World War Z but used much more effectively here.
I can't recommend this movie enough to anyone who likes zombie movies, Train To Busan brings some fresh meat to this rotting corpse of a genre and delivers a well executed and exciting film.
Day 24
What happens when parents leave their kids with a babysitter who they barely know so they can have a night to themselves? This movie answers this with Emelie, the babysitter from hell. It all starts very innocently but slowly advances into some incredible creepy and very uncomfortable sequences. I did enjoy how the movie kept showing the parents having a great time on their anniversary dinner while their worst nightmare was unraveling at their home.
The movie isn't anything special, the ending in particular felt a bit weak, but it has some nice ideas and it is perfectly watchable.
Day 25
I don´t what it is but I find Korean horror movies very appealing. The Silenced was a nice surprise. I wouldn't say it is a great movie but I found the plot to be intriguing, although I wished they had revealed a bit more, and the relationship between the two main characters was endearing.
The story revolves about the arrival of a new student to a school for young sick girls but soon we discover that something wrong is happening to the students. It went into a direction that wasn't exactly what expected or hoped for but I still had a good time watching this.
Thank God I only have 6 movies left, the fatigue is starting to set in...
Train To Busan is definitely a ride worth taking. Thrilling, emotional, scary, this Korean zombie movie hits all the right notes. A divorced workaholic father takes his daughter to see her mother in Busan for her birthday. What they don't realize is that a zombie outbreak is hitting the streets and soon they will be trapped on a train...
The director Yeon Sang-ho uses the close quarters of the train to maximum effect and creates some great action scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It also helps that he choose a wonderful cast to portrait well written characters and you will care what happens to this people, especially on the dramatic climax.
The young Kim Su-an and Ma Dong-seok are the standouts, playing the daughter of the main character and a man travelling with his pregnant wive.
Train To Busan takes is own approach to zombies, making them move fast and being utterly vicious creatures that won't stop chasing any living creature on their sight. We also get to see a wave like approach to the hordes of zombies, similar to what we saw in World War Z but used much more effectively here.
I can't recommend this movie enough to anyone who likes zombie movies, Train To Busan brings some fresh meat to this rotting corpse of a genre and delivers a well executed and exciting film.
Day 24
What happens when parents leave their kids with a babysitter who they barely know so they can have a night to themselves? This movie answers this with Emelie, the babysitter from hell. It all starts very innocently but slowly advances into some incredible creepy and very uncomfortable sequences. I did enjoy how the movie kept showing the parents having a great time on their anniversary dinner while their worst nightmare was unraveling at their home.
The movie isn't anything special, the ending in particular felt a bit weak, but it has some nice ideas and it is perfectly watchable.
Day 25
I don´t what it is but I find Korean horror movies very appealing. The Silenced was a nice surprise. I wouldn't say it is a great movie but I found the plot to be intriguing, although I wished they had revealed a bit more, and the relationship between the two main characters was endearing.
The story revolves about the arrival of a new student to a school for young sick girls but soon we discover that something wrong is happening to the students. It went into a direction that wasn't exactly what expected or hoped for but I still had a good time watching this.
Thank God I only have 6 movies left, the fatigue is starting to set in...
The Mothman Prophecies
One of the most creepy films I've seen in my life. I felt the anxiety and fear at all times during the film. Then while watching it I realized it was based on something that actually happened. Some spooky folklore, good acting and great cinematography too.
#2spooky4me
Number 13: Emelie
I feel the same way LFMartins86 does, with the small exception being that I hated the kids. Children in movies aren't ever a problem for me, but I kept thinking about how... well, they didn't think, or just had shit parents. The older brother was damn near psychotic and his younger brother was annoying af. I was half rooting for the babysitter to just do what she needed to do and make her great escape. Fuck those kids. lmao.
Sidebar, seeing small kids handle firearms always leaves me shook.
Number 14: The Uninvited (2009)
A daughter is forced to go to a mental institution, after she has a breakdown due to an accident that caused her mother to die in a fire. She returns home to find a strange woman courting her father and trying to play mother to her sister. I was pleasantly surprised. It kind of relies on it's twist, so I won't explain much at all. The twist never got in the way of the storytelling and they used some tricks to keep everything feeling organic. It's actually really dope that they payed enough attention to detail with the actors, so they didn't outright give it away. I like what they did with the supernatural elements and how everything tied together in the end. It works. I enjoyed it.
(one of my favorite moments in the film)
Number 15: Lights Out
This might be one of my favorites to come out this year. It's creepy af and gets straight to the point. The small cast and limited locales keep it feeling intimate. The gimmick isn't worn out to quickly and makes sense, due to the underlying thread about family and mental illness. The characters are all likeable. The ghost was actually mean-spirited and not just the, "I'm gonna drink all of your juice and leave a drop behind, just to piss you off" variety. It's paced briskly. Sure as fuck worth the watch.
Glad I caught this shit sober, cause...lol.
Spoilers for the end...
I wasn't expecting it to go the way it went. My heart dropped when she pulled the trigger. :( Then when the lights flickered right before credits, and you know the ghost didn't die because all three of them have a mix of ptsd and depression. :( I just hope that little man can get some sleep, and superman gets the starting position he's been applying for :(
The Uninvited is the weaker remake of one of my favorite movies of all time, the Korean A Tale Of Two Sisters. Every interesting detail The Uninvited has in its favor, A Tale Of Two Sisters did it better. If you haven't watched yet, do it. It's a great movie that only gets better with re-views as you start connecting every small detail. I think I saw that movie around 6 times and it's due to another re-watch.
Day 26
Also known as Communion or Holy Terror, this underrated American 70's slasher feels very much like a giallo. The visual style, the use of the colors, the plot, it is all very similar to the formula used by the Italian horror sub-genre.
This low budget horror movie marks the movie debut of Brooke Shields, playing the 9 year old Karen Spages who gets murdered seconds before her first communion, a bit after the 5 minute mark. The story has some interesting twists and turns, you won't care much about the characters as they aren't particularly likable so you won't be sad to see them they but they are some wonderfully bizarre characters like the crazy screamer Aunt and the incredibly fat pedophile landlord Mr. Alfonso.
Definitely worth a watch for anyone who enjoys low budget slashers and giallo movies.
Day 26
Also known as Communion or Holy Terror, this underrated American 70's slasher feels very much like a giallo. The visual style, the use of the colors, the plot, it is all very similar to the formula used by the Italian horror sub-genre.
This low budget horror movie marks the movie debut of Brooke Shields, playing the 9 year old Karen Spages who gets murdered seconds before her first communion, a bit after the 5 minute mark. The story has some interesting twists and turns, you won't care much about the characters as they aren't particularly likable so you won't be sad to see them they but they are some wonderfully bizarre characters like the crazy screamer Aunt and the incredibly fat pedophile landlord Mr. Alfonso.
Definitely worth a watch for anyone who enjoys low budget slashers and giallo movies.
Number 16: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
If you're thinking about watching this, then you already know what time it is. Lol. It was cool seeing characters that I recognize from the actual stories, interacting in this...particular setting. Liz had plenty of bars (and hands) for the living and blades for the undead. Cersei...Lena Headey remains gawd at being a Queen in everything (). Darcy was a cunt and him getting humbled the entire run-time was great. The women all had shit to do and Liz and her sister's father was great. The plot with the zombies was reminiscent of Romero's later work with zombies (them being smart and all that jazz). I had fun...
that said....
I can excuse the final fight between Darcy and the zombie homie (regular dude fighting for 12 hours is straight Lol considering events in the film), but the ending...fuck that ending. All of the world building and foreshadowing reaches it peak and the movie teases the war they've been whispering about the entire fucking movie...after the first set of credits. Of course, there is absolutely no word or idea of a sequel ever catching a green-light.
I'm really starting to hate when films do this. :(
Day 27
One of the reasons I love this horror marathon is that I force myself to try and discover horror movies from the past that I may have missed and The Dark Half was one of those movies. I had no idea until recently that George Romero had done a movie adaption of a Stephen King novel back in 1993. The Dark Half is a story of a serious writer named Thad Beaumont who writes a franchise of best selling trash suspense-thrillers books under the name of George Stark. After someone threatens to release this information to the public if he doesn't pay, Thad decides to reveal it himself.
Strange things start happening soon after and a series of murders seemingly based on his books start occurring.
Timothy Hutton is quite good as the main character and I really liked the plot (haven't read King's book so I don't know how closely it follows the book), it is just a shamed that they didn't explore some of the details like "the operation" at the start and the sparrows (which apparently are agents of Satan sent to Earth to capture evil souls that don't belong there, which the movie fails to explain).
I think it is well worth a watch, even if some of the twists have been used in the similar movies.
Day 28
The Resurrected probably is still the best Lovecraft movie adaption. Based on the novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and directed by Dan O'Bannon, the man who wrote the original Alien, there are a lot of reasons to watch this.
From the Lovecraftian themes and creatures to the wonderful practical effects, The Resurrected is a blast to watch.
A private detective is hired by a woman to investigate the strange behavior of her husband, a successful chemical engineer who has become obsessed by the occult practices of his ancestor Joseph Curwen. What the private detective didn't expect was that the investigation would take them to some bizarre and dark places.
I can't praise the special effects enough. The creature design is great and I love the whole art design. As a fan of old practical effects, this movie hit just the right spots for me. Puppetry and good practical effects are so much better than CGI.
Anyone who likes Lovecraft should definitely check this out.
One of the reasons I love this horror marathon is that I force myself to try and discover horror movies from the past that I may have missed and The Dark Half was one of those movies. I had no idea until recently that George Romero had done a movie adaption of a Stephen King novel back in 1993. The Dark Half is a story of a serious writer named Thad Beaumont who writes a franchise of best selling trash suspense-thrillers books under the name of George Stark. After someone threatens to release this information to the public if he doesn't pay, Thad decides to reveal it himself.
Strange things start happening soon after and a series of murders seemingly based on his books start occurring.
Timothy Hutton is quite good as the main character and I really liked the plot (haven't read King's book so I don't know how closely it follows the book), it is just a shamed that they didn't explore some of the details like "the operation" at the start and the sparrows (which apparently are agents of Satan sent to Earth to capture evil souls that don't belong there, which the movie fails to explain).
I think it is well worth a watch, even if some of the twists have been used in the similar movies.
Day 28
The Resurrected probably is still the best Lovecraft movie adaption. Based on the novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and directed by Dan O'Bannon, the man who wrote the original Alien, there are a lot of reasons to watch this.
From the Lovecraftian themes and creatures to the wonderful practical effects, The Resurrected is a blast to watch.
A private detective is hired by a woman to investigate the strange behavior of her husband, a successful chemical engineer who has become obsessed by the occult practices of his ancestor Joseph Curwen. What the private detective didn't expect was that the investigation would take them to some bizarre and dark places.
I can't praise the special effects enough. The creature design is great and I love the whole art design. As a fan of old practical effects, this movie hit just the right spots for me. Puppetry and good practical effects are so much better than CGI.
Anyone who likes Lovecraft should definitely check this out.
Event Horizon today.
I forgot how awesome this movie is.
Great effects, awesome soundtrack and these actors man.
To drunk to do it proper but I really love this film.
I forgot how awesome this movie is.
Great effects, awesome soundtrack and these actors man.
To drunk to do it proper but I really love this film.
I am also a enormous fan of Event Horizon. I truly believe it is one of the most underrated horror movies of all time. It has an incredible cast , a very interesting plot and it all fits together.
By LFMartins86 Go To PostI am also a enormous fan of Event Horizon. I truly believe it is one of the most underrated horror movies of all time. It has an incredible cast , a very interesting plot and it all fits together.
Indeed :)
Have you watched the extended cut by any chance? It's only 10+ minutes more I think but it really adds some more exposition to the madness that befell the original crew.
And tonight guys, Alien marathon !
By Lupercal Go To PostIndeed :)I think so. Wished the director's cut that was discovered a couple of years ago would find the light of day.
Have you watched the extended cut by any chance? It's only 10+ minutes more I think but it really adds some more exposition to the madness that befell the original crew.
And tonight guys, Alien marathon !
Some pics from it.
Day 29
From Necrostorm, the people who did my most hated movie of last year's marathon, Adam Chaplin is like a very gorey live action manga.
In Heaven Valley (really creative name), a mob boss rules everything and when a woman fails to pay him a debt, he sets her on fire.
Adam Chaplin manages to find his wive still alive but completely burned. Filled with anger by what has happened to her, Adam summons a demon to help him punish the people responsible for this. And so begins 90 minutes of Adam punching people and walls to pieces.
Necrostorm's "creative genius" must have failed biology because in their world everyone has 100s of liters of blood in their body.
The whole plot is just an excuse to present the most bloody and gruesome scenes possible. Heads cut off, limbs coming off of bodies, oceans of blood, there's no limit to the over the top ridiculous violence of this movie.
At some point, the "hero" penetrates a guy with a large metal pipe through the ass and coming out on the guy's shoulder. He then walks a bit with the guy impaled on the metal pipe as if it was a flag.
This is stupid and not the good stupid like Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, only watch this if you have an huge hard on for gore scenes.
Day 30
Kal Penn isn't a name I would usually associate with horror movies and after watching this, he should stay clear from the genre or at least learn to choose better scripts. TGITP is one of those movies that tries to justify its violence as a social commentary but fails miserable.
A girl in a small town keeps discovering photos of what looks like gruesome murders but the Sheriff Walter Skinner and the rest of the police aren't convinced they are real, even though people are missing from nearby towns.
Back in LA, an asshole photographer Kumar sees this on the news and as the town's only famous person, he thinks that those photos are a tribute to him and decides to take his crew to his old town to do a photo shoot.
Things happen, people get murdered and the movie ends. This has one of the worst endings of all time. I don't mind when movies try to be different and when the bad guys win but there's no climax in the movie. The whole thing keeps going on through the body count until it ends.
No real explanation, no real motive, things just happen because fuck it.
Avoid.
And then there was 1 left...
Day 31
I almost didn't watch this because of the terrible reviews but I'm glad I did. Mike Flanagan has been busy, this is his 3rd horror movie released in 2016 (Hush and Ouija 2 were the other ones).
A couple adopts a young boy after their own son died in an accident. There's something special about this little boy, something that starts out magical but could turn soon into deadly.
Flanagan's script packs quite an emotional weight that translates well to the screen thanks to some great performances, especially from Thomas Jane and the adorable little Jacob Tremblay (the kid from Room).
It's a very interesting look at how people react to death and loss, mainly kids. While there are some scary parts, this is a bit more of a fantasy drama than a full on horror movie and I think why some of the few reviews available were bad.
I think I'll probably end up buying this on Blu-Ray as Flanagan deserves the support after the hellish ride he has been on trying to get audiences to see his independently produced Before I Wake.
As of today, Relativity Media hasn't given a solid release date for Before I Wake after delaying it 4 times already. The movie was shown for the first time back in 2014, Tremblay actually shot this before doing Room, the movie opened up in numerous countries since April but the only thing Relativity will commit to say right now as it is coming out in the USA sometime in 2017...
I really liked Before I Wake and I would recommend that you watch it as a supernatural drama / fable and not so much as a horror movie.
And with that, I am done with the marathon.
Day 1 - The Wailling *
Day 2 - Southbound
Day 3 - Lights Out *
Day 4 - Phantasm : Ravager
Day 5 - As Above So Below
Day 6 - Abattoir
Day 7 - Halloween *
Day 8 - Halloween 2 *
Day 9 - Halloween 3 : Season Of The Witch
Day 10 - Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Day 11 - Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Day 12 - Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
Day 13 - Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers - Producer's Cut
Day 14 - Halloween H20: 20 Years Later *
Day 15 - Halloween Resurrection
Day 16 - Rob Zombie's Halloween
Day 17 - Rob Zombie's Halloween II
Day 18 - Les Yeux Sans Visage *
Day 19 - The Devils
Day 20 - The Shallows
Day 21 - Cell
Day 22 - Don't Breathe *
Day 23 - Train To Busan *
Day 24 - Emelie
Day 25 - The Silenced
Day 26 - Alice, Sweet Alice
Day 27 - The Dark Half
Day 28 - The Resurrected *
Day 29 - Adam Chaplin
Day 30 - The Girl In The Photographs
Day 31 - Before I Wake *
* - recommended
And with that, my 3rd consecutive October Horror Marathon is done.
I almost didn't watch this because of the terrible reviews but I'm glad I did. Mike Flanagan has been busy, this is his 3rd horror movie released in 2016 (Hush and Ouija 2 were the other ones).
A couple adopts a young boy after their own son died in an accident. There's something special about this little boy, something that starts out magical but could turn soon into deadly.
Flanagan's script packs quite an emotional weight that translates well to the screen thanks to some great performances, especially from Thomas Jane and the adorable little Jacob Tremblay (the kid from Room).
It's a very interesting look at how people react to death and loss, mainly kids. While there are some scary parts, this is a bit more of a fantasy drama than a full on horror movie and I think why some of the few reviews available were bad.
I think I'll probably end up buying this on Blu-Ray as Flanagan deserves the support after the hellish ride he has been on trying to get audiences to see his independently produced Before I Wake.
As of today, Relativity Media hasn't given a solid release date for Before I Wake after delaying it 4 times already. The movie was shown for the first time back in 2014, Tremblay actually shot this before doing Room, the movie opened up in numerous countries since April but the only thing Relativity will commit to say right now as it is coming out in the USA sometime in 2017...
I really liked Before I Wake and I would recommend that you watch it as a supernatural drama / fable and not so much as a horror movie.
And with that, I am done with the marathon.
Day 1 - The Wailling *
Day 2 - Southbound
Day 3 - Lights Out *
Day 4 - Phantasm : Ravager
Day 5 - As Above So Below
Day 6 - Abattoir
Day 7 - Halloween *
Day 8 - Halloween 2 *
Day 9 - Halloween 3 : Season Of The Witch
Day 10 - Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Day 11 - Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Day 12 - Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
Day 13 - Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers - Producer's Cut
Day 14 - Halloween H20: 20 Years Later *
Day 15 - Halloween Resurrection
Day 16 - Rob Zombie's Halloween
Day 17 - Rob Zombie's Halloween II
Day 18 - Les Yeux Sans Visage *
Day 19 - The Devils
Day 20 - The Shallows
Day 21 - Cell
Day 22 - Don't Breathe *
Day 23 - Train To Busan *
Day 24 - Emelie
Day 25 - The Silenced
Day 26 - Alice, Sweet Alice
Day 27 - The Dark Half
Day 28 - The Resurrected *
Day 29 - Adam Chaplin
Day 30 - The Girl In The Photographs
Day 31 - Before I Wake *
* - recommended
And with that, my 3rd consecutive October Horror Marathon is done.
Didn't get to 30 (Life and Overwatch), but 17 isn't bad.
Number 17: Under The Shadow
The easiest comparison to make would be that this is a middle eastern take on The Babadook...and that's fair. On the surface, the territory feels eerily similar. It follows the same gradual mental breakdown of a woman dealing with a "problematic" child, a father whom is out of the picture, her inability to pursue the goals she has laid out for herself, and even perform the simplest of routines. Life has detoured her and her happiness is slowly fading. Then there is the supernatural aspect surrounding the child. It has similar story beats.
Where the two differ and what allows Under The Shadow to step away from The Babadook, is the subject matter and the setting. Here, you have a mother living in a 1980's war torn Tehran, that's under constant threat of missile strikes, as well as the rules set in place that women have to follow, due to the country's religion. The scariest aspects of this film aren't from the jump scares, but some of the situations she finds herself in, when something sudden happens that causes her to bend or break a law of the land. So, while this does feel kind of fairy tale-esque, when the supernatural aspect comes into play (mainly due to the Djinn's design), it has some extreme moments of tensions caused by her life experiences and the powers that be.
The only real issue I have is that the child does some "horror movie shit", instead of fitting naturally in the setting 100 percent of the time. Certain cliche actions had me scratching my head with how inorganic they felt, even if they lead to some tenser moments. Of course, the argument could be made that she was just being a child.
It's a good film and a great horror movie. If you fancy slower paced atmospherically heavy films, do yourself a favor.
Number 17: Under The Shadow
The easiest comparison to make would be that this is a middle eastern take on The Babadook...and that's fair. On the surface, the territory feels eerily similar. It follows the same gradual mental breakdown of a woman dealing with a "problematic" child, a father whom is out of the picture, her inability to pursue the goals she has laid out for herself, and even perform the simplest of routines. Life has detoured her and her happiness is slowly fading. Then there is the supernatural aspect surrounding the child. It has similar story beats.
Where the two differ and what allows Under The Shadow to step away from The Babadook, is the subject matter and the setting. Here, you have a mother living in a 1980's war torn Tehran, that's under constant threat of missile strikes, as well as the rules set in place that women have to follow, due to the country's religion. The scariest aspects of this film aren't from the jump scares, but some of the situations she finds herself in, when something sudden happens that causes her to bend or break a law of the land. So, while this does feel kind of fairy tale-esque, when the supernatural aspect comes into play (mainly due to the Djinn's design), it has some extreme moments of tensions caused by her life experiences and the powers that be.
The only real issue I have is that the child does some "horror movie shit", instead of fitting naturally in the setting 100 percent of the time. Certain cliche actions had me scratching my head with how inorganic they felt, even if they lead to some tenser moments. Of course, the argument could be made that she was just being a child.
It's a good film and a great horror movie. If you fancy slower paced atmospherically heavy films, do yourself a favor.