The Son of 'What scary movie have you watched recently?'

The old thread was at three hundred plus. Thought I'd start a new one.

I haven't watched any scary movies lately, though I'm thinking about renting Mortuary in spite of Tobe Hooper's track record and Sara's warning!

I'm not sure if it counts as horror or not, but I have the movie version of Ira Levin's The Boys From Brazil at home right now.

Stephan King's IT. Scariest and creepiest thing i've seen.

I saw Inception yesterday, not scary but still cool. I'm looking forward to watching Shutter Island to today, I'm another big fan of the book. I saw The boys from Brazil when it first came out and thought it was pretty good, I didn't find it held up too well. Same thing for Hellraiser, it scared the piss out of me the first time I watched it, but now all I can see is the really bad hair and make up. Ok and the really bad dialog. Ok and the really bad monsters. I think it deserves a remake.

Just re-watched The Others. Love that movie. Obviously scarier the first time you watch it though!

Also thought Paranormal Activity was scary because I purposely went into it telling myself that I had to believe it was real. I convinced myself to suspend my disbelief and succeeded in really getting scared, which was fun. That girl sleep-standing over his side of the bed for like 4 hours was SO freaky. I kept picturing that in my head that night every time I closed my eyes!!

Just finished watching Undead or Alive - both hilarious and with some genuine jump-in-your-seat moments. Plus, one of the best endings for a zombie movie ever.

#2 - I have the DVD of It. Since I've just finished the book, I want to rewatch it. But my wife is slooooooooowly reading her way through the book. If I wait until she is done I should be watching it while waiting for Santa.

#3 - The Boys From Brazil when it first came out and thought it was pretty good, I didn't find it held up too well.

I was worried about that. I've noticed that '70's horror holds up very well, but '70's thrillers sometimes don't (except for Brian DePalma's movies). Marathon Man and even The French Connection are missing something for me, but Carrie, Jaws, Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist are as good as ever.

I'm still looking forward to The Boys From Brazil, fingers crossed. I forgot about inlaws' birthday plans, so we had to put it off until tomorrow.

#6- The Exorcist and Carrie are also ones that get to me. -.-

#1 - I borrowed Mortuary from a friend several months ago. I was plesantly impressed. It isn't Earth-shattering mind you, but for what it was, I enjoyed it.

#3 - I saw Inception this weekend. I really enjoyed it too. I do have to say, right now at least (after only watching both once), I think I enjoyed the Shutter Island movie more.

The last horror movies I've seen are:

The Unborn - Meh. I didn't hate this, but I didn't particularly enjoy it either. There were a handful of fun scenes, but in the end there was just too many unanswered questions for me to say I liked it.

The Gravedancers - An After Dark Horrorfest film. This certainly had potential, but towards the end of the movie, there was a super cheesey CGI scene that completely ruined the movie. It started to veer into comical horror and just didn't deliver in terms of plot. There were some creepy ghosties in this film though (bug-eyed smiling ones).

Eden Lake - I did NOT like this! I can see how some horror film fans would, but I just can't deal with torture films anymore. It reminded me of While She was Out meets The Strangers. Other folks say it has the same feel as Funny Games and/or The Last House on the Left but I haven't seen either of these so I cannot attest.

A movie called Daybreakers, vampire theme. Disappointed. I prefer horror classics like Psycho or Rosemary's baby

Daybreakers was mostly stinky.

Hey, The Boys From Brazil was pretty good. Not really a horror movie I guess, but very good.

Watched The Crazies this weekend, even though there was a split vote at work on who dis/liked it. I liked it. I never saw the original, but it kind of reminded me of The X-Files, so that was fun. Lots of action too, which I wasn't expecting.

#1: Well, I still gave Mortuary a "Worth Watching" vote on ListsofBests, just because I didn't hate it or anything. I'd still say go for it, if you're interested; just don't expect it to be Tobe Hooper's best stuff.

#4: It's too been too long since I've seen The Others, but I remember loving the twist at the end, even if I didn't think the rest of it was all that scary. Glad you liked Paranormal Activity too. I wonder how the sequel's going to compare....

#8: Yeah, the CGI for The Gravedancers wasn't all that great, but I still kinda liked the movie. It's one I'd still buy if it was on sale for a couple bucks. Hmm, I haven't seen Eden Lake yet, so that one's going on my TBW pile. I've watched Funny Games (both versions, though I liked the US one a tad better), The Last House on the Left (the remake: loved it), and The Strangers (I'm still kinda meh about this one), so I may like Eden Lake if it's anything like those. Thanks for the rec! Oh, and I'll have to add While She Was Out, because I haven't seen that one either.

#9: (groans) That's what I keep hearing, and that's why I keep checking it out and returning it without watching it. I'm still going to give it a try though.

#10: I've never heard of The Boys From Brazil. Will have to do some homework first to determine if I want to watch it or not, since it's not really horror as you said. Thanks though!

Re: 8

I really liked The Gravedancers right up until that climax that you're talking about. Suddenly it just got stupid, which is a shame, because up until then, it's a good horror flick!

Okay, did anyone ever watch the TV series of the Swamp Thing?

I loved the old Len Wein/Bernie Wrightson comics and the later Alan Moore ones. But the Wes Craven movie was awful and the sequel looked so bad I wouldn't watch it even as a joke.

But I saw a number of good reviews for the TV show and was able to buy season one for six bucks. Did I just make a huge mistake?

#13: I never watched it, but $6 isn't a mistake, imo. If you don't like it, you can always resale it or something and not feel like you totally got ripped off. Good luck! Let us know how it pans out.

Last night I watched Legion, ugh.

#11 Sara - there's going to be a sequel to Paranormal Activity?? Yay! Loved that film. #4 Lila absolutely agree with you about that 4 hour shakey-starey thing...creepy!

#15: Aww, man. I keep checking that one out, but never watching it. I may still watch it though....

#16: Yep, as far as I know the sequel's still a go, coming out October 22 of this year (IMDb's page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1536044/ ).

Watched M tonight. Peter Lorre's serial killer is still creepy and disturbing, almost 80 years later.

I've been meaning to re-watch M for the longest.

Jon J Muth did a Beautiful graphic novel adaptation years ago (I touchstined it if you're interested).

Thanks for the heads up about the graphic novel, I may have to track that one down.

This thread prompted me to watch M again. Netflix had it available to watch instantly. What an incredible movie. the 'trial' at the end had me riveted and creepy as Peter Lorre was, he still had me feeling sympathy for him.

If you're interested in the graphic novel, here are some images from it:

I just watched the silent movie adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu and it was fantastic! If you have Netflix it is available streaming (or on DVD) and is well worth the forty five minutes it took to watch.

Looks like the folks that did it are working on a 'talkie' follow up: The Whisperer in Darkness

>11 saraslibrary:. I had no idea there's going to be a sequel to Paranormal Activity! That should be good. I wonder how they're going to make it feel real though. It sort of works because you believe they were documenting this one occurrence. I guess we'll see!

#21: Wow, gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the pic, jseger. :) Now I think I will have to hunt down the graphic novel and even watch the movie.

#23: Yep, I know, I can't wait. :)

Sara, whether you track down the graphic novel or not, you owe it to yourself to see M. It was made in 1931 and was Fritz Lang's first sound movie, but he was years and years ahead of his contemporaries.

I was thinking about it yesterday, comparing it to the Bela Lugosi Dracula which was made at the same time. Compared to M, Dracula is so stiff and stagy.

Oh yeah, I watched a surprisingly good movie I'd never heard of last night: Altered. It wsa directed by Eduardo Sanchez who was half of the Blair Witch Project team, but that doesn't hold much water with me, since I think that movie was a fluke.

Altered was very enjoyable. Five high school buddies are abducted by aliens from a farm in Florida, but only four of them survive. Fifteen years later, the friends (whose lives have been altered ever since) return to the farm to face their enemy and seek revenge.

Don't worry. None of that is a spoiler. In fact, that all happens before the movie starts. Really it's the old horror formula of a group of people locked into an isolated location for a single night. Gory and fun.

I read Robert Bloch's Psycho recently and liked it. So I rented Psycho II.

While I do question the need for a Psycho sequel, at least the one that was done was pretty good.

I was worried out wouldn't have aged well in the almost thirty years since it was released, but it held up pretty well.

#27 - I have heard surprisingly good things of the Psycho sequel. I've been meaning to watch it for some time now.

I recently watched Scarecrows (1988). I was surprised how much I liked it (very eerie music and setting). It reminded me a little of Dead Birds for some reason. :::possible spoilers:: I would definitely have enjoyed the film more if the Scarecrows were explained more. I don't get why they were there and why there were doing what they were doing. I guess one could infer from some of the clues in the movie, but I feel like I am giving the film too much credit by going that route. :::/end spoilers::: Any recommendations of other decent, dare say "good" scarecrow-themed horror flicks?

While not scary, I recently saw The Prestige for the first time. I enjoyed it and am going to order a copy for my personal DVD collection (It definitely warrants multiple viewings). I didn't like the film at first and found it hard to get into. The beginning is a little difficult to get through. Perhaps I will appreciate it more on a second viewing, but I still feel it is a bit longer than it needs to be.

>28 CurrLee33::

'Scarecrows'? Are we thinking of the same film - plane of robbers crashes near an old abandoned farm? Brilliant, an old low-budget favourite of mine :)

Another was 'The Video Dead' but I've never met anyone else who's seen it...

#29 - Yup, the one with the plane and the stolen cash, that's it! I just saw it for the first time last night. I was rather impressed. But like I said, I just wish an explanation had been addressed. I am big into storylines and it kind of lessens the film if I try and make up theories on my own.

#'s 28 and 29 - I thought Scarecrows had gone out of print. It's now #1 on my Netflix queue. Hopefully I'll have it in time for the weekend!

It is the one about the plane crash.

I tried looking up The Video Dead in Netflix, but the closest match it had was Videodrome:(

If you are looking for other 'good' scarecrow scary movies, I remember enjoying Dark Night of the Scarecrow. But then again, I haven't seen it for 20+ years and it is sadly out of print.

Oh yeah, and Psycho II is worth the rent. It's not even close to Hitchcock and the beginning is a little slow. But they respected the original and the sequel isn't the cheesy slasher pic it could easily have become. And they did manage to come up with a heck of an ending!

Over the past couple of days:

The Woman in Black - a British TV movie, apparently made in 1989 although it has a very 70's feel to it. Very good, with a heavy atmosphere throughout.

Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet - New movie, but an 80's throwback. A lot of good jump-scares, a couple too-stupid-to-live scenes (possibly intential as part of the throwback) (A character's car tires have been deflated and he forgot his keys, so he goes back into the house where the SERIAL-KILLING GHOST OF A SERIAL KILLER IS KILLING PEOPLE to get them. Whoops, spoilers. And it's not like they're in the middle of the woods with no other way to get out. It's the suburbs. Run.). Downside: a very rushed ending.

Nightmare on Elm Street (the new one) - Guess I'm on a kick of movies that feel like they were made at another time. Kind of weird: half the time they're practically sticking to a shot-by-shot remake of the original, the other half they go in a completely different direction. Compared to the original, the supporting cast acts better but the leads are worse (and I didn't mind the new Freddy's acting as much as a lot of people seem to; although the make-up is awful), some scenes work better (the conclusion) and some worse (the jail kill), and they do a much better job of establishing the back story.

I really didn't like that *SPOILERS*

they made a sympathy-play for Freddy, even if it's a false one, especially in light of Jason and Michael Myers getting more vicious in the reboots.

>30 CurrLee33::
Personally I LOVED the lack of explanation, thought it added to the creepiness, although I think that's just a happy accident and not intentional. It's very atmospheric if I remember correctly, with a good jump scene or two.

>31 jseger9000::
'The Video Dead' is so bad it's bad, it is so low-budget and pretty ridiculous but I loved it for that as a teen. Googled it and found it on YouTube!

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXFhab0Ideg&feature=related
(check out the David Bowie look-a-like)

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3uAKHTLnm4

Aw! Netflix doesn't have The Woman in Black (though it recommended Diary of a Man Black Woman!). Too bad. It sounds like my kind of movie.

I forgot all about the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. I think most Wes Craven movies would work better as remakes. I think Wes has some terrific ideas, but aside from Scream and The People Under the Stairs I've never liked any of his movies.

I haven't seen the Nightmare on Elm Street remake, but the remakes of The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes blew the crummy orginals out of the water.

Unlike say, the godawful remake of John Carpenter's The Fog. Or the remake of Halloween that was good, but not really a remake.

#28 I loved The Prestige, it's almost mandatory to watch it twice, even more if you want to understand half of what Christian Bale, Michael Caine says - worth owning for sure.

Count me in on the Prestige love, can Christopher Nolan put a foot wrong? A great film but sadly I read the book afterwards which is one of the reasons I liked the book less; somehow the book is altogether much less magical and much more sprawling.

On an unrelated note has anyone seen Splice yet? Was wondering if I should make a trip to the cinema.

I have't seen Splice but it sure looked promising!

Double feature last night of I Walked With a Zombie and The Body Snatcher. I enjoyed The Body Snatcher a lot, Boris Karloff was great in it.

How was I Walked With a Zombie? I've heard such good things about it, but have never seen it.

I've watched the first three episodes of the Swamp Thing T.V. series and it is pretty terrible. But I'll keep watching since I have the first 22 episodes. I heard the series is slow to find its feet. Here's hoping...

I grew up on the Elm Street movies, but looking back on them, the backstory gets progressively more ridiculous as it goes on. If they're going to do sequels for the remakes, they'll hopefully drop most of it.

>39 jseger9000: I Walked With a Zombie was also very good. Not straight horror, but more of a slow burn supernatural thriller. I remember seeing still images from this film in the monster movie books I read growing up. It was nice to see the film, and see the images in context. If you're fan of the movies from this era, I think that you will enjoy it.

Resident Evil 2

I agree that I Walked with a Zombie is very very good. A must-see if you're into old (and genuinely good) horror movies.

Oh yeah! Watched Scarecrows last night. It was pretty good. A great story idea, nicely handled atmosphere and good music. But there was some core thing that was missing.

I agree with Scarylibrary. There should have been some sort of explanation of the scarecrows. You could kinda sorta guess what happened, I guess. But that wasn't the same thing. Some movies can get away with not explaining their supernatural aspect, but it wasn't working here.

Still, for an eighties horror movie I'd never heard of, it was a lot better than I was expecting. And whoever designed all the scarecrows did a hell of a good job.

(Can I just say the 'Final Girl' was sooo irritating I was rooting for her demise?)

I absolutely love Dark Night of the Scarecrow. I'm sorry to hear that it's out of print. It has shown up on television, though, during the pre-Halloween horror extravaganza, sometime in the last couple of years. I think maybe TCM or AMC has it. It's a cheesy film, but it's great fun, and the body count has a sort of "Final Destination" creativity that I love in a horror film.

I have not seen Scarecrows, but I have to say that now I want to.

Watched The Children today...gruesome! A family of kids see off the adults at a New Year get together with some very jumpy moments (for this chicken watcher anyway ;o)

Saw The Objective recently, cool low budget atmospheric sci-fi horror set in Afghanistan. It's quite slow paced, some things don't quite make sense, nor do some of the characters don't make it out of army stereotype and nothing is explained at all but on the whole I enjoyed it. Nice use of low budget special effects, errie landscapes and some low key narration.

Director was part of the Blair Witch duo which lowered my expectations because I loathed that film (maybe this worked in my favour!)

'Dead Snow' - great fun, lots of gore, good solid zombie entertainment :)

'Signs' - I'm sure I've heard it being described as scary, so I assumed it was a horror! More of a family film with aliens, but it was very good.

#48: Too weird, Mama. I just got done watching Dead Snow yesterday. I'm not really big into zombie movies, but I liked the Norwegian Nazi twist to it, and I loved the ending.

#48: I think there are parts of "Signs" that are "shocking"--meaning they make you jump or make your skin crawl a little, but I can't really call it horror. This is a weird theory, but I think Shyamalan (sp?) is sort of a Hitchcock man, and "Signs" is his version of "The Birds." It's a swarm movie that's really all about isolation bitterness and the family dynamic. I think we're about to see his version of "Rear Window." Have you seen the trailer for "Devil" yet?

I feel bad for M. Night. Aside from The Happening (and that first movie he did with Rosie O'Donnell as a nun), I've liked all his movies.

His trademark twist endings got him into trouble on The Village because people sat through the movie trying to predict the twist. Because the audience was able to figure it out, they figured the movie was worthless, regardless of how well done and entertaining it actually was.

Lady in the Water was a very good movie that just seemed to attract no attention.

The Happening was just a mess and that Avatar: The Last Airbender movie might be a success but has to be a step down for a guy who was thought of as an auteur.

What always ruins M. Nights movies for me are the trailers. I'm always led to believe the movie is something it's not, they look scary or creepy and I go in with that mind set. Usually there is a very small scare factor that was already given away in the trailers. Over all I like his movies once I accept them for what they are and not what they're billed as.

Oh yeah! Watched The Wolfman last night and I LOVED it! It was conciously a throwback to the old Universal monster movies. It was nice to see a scary movie set in the 1880's that didn't have to act post-modern about it (ala The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Van Helsing, though I did like those).

Joe Johnston (Jumanji, The Rocketeer and Hidalgo) is such an under-rated director. I wonder why he doesn't do more?

@48/49 I thought Dead Snow was a lot of fun, something so right about the idea of Nazi zombies ;)

53 I think I am going to download The Wolfman tonight somehow I am just in the right mood.

Sine the last time I posted, I have seen these following horror flicks:

John Carpenter's The Fog (1980) - Believe it or not, I had never seen this before (and it seems I really wasn't missing much). I didn't really care for any of the characters but I thought the fog was eerie and the ghosties were creepy. I always appreciate villians more if I can't exactly see them and that was the case here. I'd give it a solid 6/10.

Open House (2010) - This was straight-to-video and written/directed by Anna Paquin's brother. Several of the cast members are from HBO's True Blood, most prominently this one stars Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin. I didn't care for this movie as it fit into the torture-horror subgenre that I just don't find necessary or entertaining (much like Eden Lake and The Strangers). I can see how some who like that type of film might enjoy this, but it just wasn't for me. I give this a 5/10.

House of the Devil (2009) - I loved the atmosphere of this film! I wish there were more recent movies what throwback to another decade. The 80s film was really the best part of this movie. To me, I felt the ending was rushed. I give this a 7/10.

After.Life (2009) - Starring Christine Ricci and Justin Long, I thought this was entertaining. I didn't love it and there were questions unanswered, but the movie held my attention. I think multiple viewings of this might be necessary to fully understand the plot, but I really didn't care about the film enough to sit through a repeat viewing anytime soon. I give this a 6/10.

Sorority Row (2009) - This was a typical high-energy, teeney bopper/college student slasher flick. It reminded me of Scream, Urban Legend, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and the other serial killer movies of the 90s. Ultimately, the movie was kind of "meh." I will say it is a lot better than so many other of these types of movies, but overall it was predictable (to me) and the girls were almost unbearably b$tchy to watch. 5/10

#55: Hmm, now that you mention it, I don't think I've seen The Fog either. Thanks for reminding me! (adds to her TBW pile)

Oh, and Open House definitely sounds like something I'd watch. Love Anna Paquin and the whole True Blood cast. (another to the pile)

Yeah, the ending was kind of rushed in House of the Devil, but I liked it too. I'm a child of the 80's, so I loved the little retro touches to it.

(adding After.Life too)

Sorority Row I have next to my DVD player, but I keep putting it off for some reason. Maybe because it seems to fit all those 90's slashers, like you said (even though I loved those movies at the time).

This one is more of a thriller than horror, but I watched Highwaymen yesterday. No surprise, it reminded me of The Hitcher (same director), so of course I liked it, though I'd recommend The Hitcher first. I also liked that the hero in the movie wasn't 100% good (he doesn't do a complete 180 like the main character in The Hitcher, but he still has his own agenda going regardless of who's in the way). But I wasn't sure if the last lines in the movie were supposed to be a joke or not (not a spoiler): "Who are you supposed to be?" "Will Macklin. State traffic investigator." Either way, I laughed; it was so out of place.

#55 - How could you not like (the original) The Fog or The Strangers? Those are two classics!

Anyway, if you liked House of the Devil, you might wanna check out another Ti West movie, The Roost (though other reviewers don't agree with me looks like).

#57: Oops, I feel bad. I said I was going to watch The Roost, but I haven't. Eventually, eventually! I swear. :)

though other reviewers don't agree with me looks like

If you mean on Amazon, don't worry about it. I think some people like to give reviewers a hard time, because 1) they're dicks, 2) they want their review at the top, or 3) both.

#57 - Well, The Strangers I was okay with until the end. I just totally hate to watch people tortured. Some movies I don't mind so much that have that same feel (like Hostel) because they manage to be over-the-top gory in a humorous way. The Strangers just didn't sit well with me, too realistic (which is why a lot of people probably like it).

The Fog - I thought Carpenter was just lazy. The characters were thrown together (Jamie Lee Curtis' character and the truck driver got too close too quickly, like he would really care so much about her) and the DJ and her son were kind of lame to me. I also throught it was too convenient with the priest finding the journal at the right time. It was altogether just too predictable for me, even for 1980.

It's funny. When I think about The Strangers it's never the end that comes to mind for me. I remember the weird girl on the porch and the out-of-focus creepy guy in the background when Liv what's-her-name is on the phone.

The Strangers is not a torture-porn movie to me, because those aren't the moments that were emphasized. Unlike Hostel or Saw for instance, where that is the point of the movie.

With The Fog, I do agree with instalove being ridiculous (but that happens in so many movies that I've learned to live with it) and it probably would have been better if the priest knew what was going on all along. But I liked the DJ and her kid and think that the pacing and atmosphere are excellent.

In general, John Carpenter's movies hold up a whole lot better than most '80's horror (to me).

#58 - If you mean on Amazon, don't worry about it. I think some people like to give reviewers a hard time, because 1) they're dicks, 2) they want their review at the top, or 3) both.

I also think they vote a review not helpful if it does not agree with their point of view.

I can love a book or movie and still admit that a negative review is well done and informative (like Scarylibrary's opinions of The Strangers and The Fog). But it feels like lots of Amazon users just don't want to hear it.

My review of the popular Battle Royale on Amazon is getting beaten up because it is negative even though (in my humble opinion) it is one of my better reviews.

I think Tim showed much wisdom only allowing a thumbs up.

#61: I think Tim showed much wisdom only allowing a thumbs up.

Same here. You're right about people clicking the not helpful button just because they don't agree with the reviewer's pov. I like the way LT's is set up.

A couple from the past week:

Farm House - terrible, and the "swerve" ending is obvious from about 2 minutes into the movie. That said, the ending's well done. If you have any interest in it, just watch the first five minutes and the last five minutes, unless you like mediocre torture porn with the guy from Wings.

Born - Pretty good. The "demon goes to a psychiatrist" angle is unique and drives interest, and the rest of the movie is a decent slasher.

Bad Biology - what is this i don't even

Watched the remake of When a Stranger Calls. Only occasionally builds any sort of suspense, then immediately shows you that it was the cat, or icemaker or whatever. Lame.

#64: Watched it a year or so ago, but can't for the life of me remember what it was about, other than the odd front cover. I might need to watch that one again...eventually.

#64 - All I remember is casting Lance Henriksen as the caller was a great idea and the house was nice. Guess that doesn't say much for the movie.

We watched The Haunting in Connecticut which is pretty good if you can get over the whole 'based on a true story' bit. As a horror movie it is worth watching.

As an account of anything true, it makes The Amityville Horror seem legitimate. The book was written by Ray Garton and published as In a Dark Place. I read an interview where he discussed writing the book. Here's what he said:

"Carmen Snedeker was an unemployed wife and mother who was running an illegal interstate lottery business, about which she asked me numerous times to tell no one. I never met the son, who was said to be ill, although I was allowed to talk to him on the phone once, supervised by Carmen. When the boy began to talk about drugs and told me that he didn’t hear and see strange things in the house once he began taking medication, Carmen ended the conversation. As I gathered all the necessary information for the book, I found that the accounts of the individual Snedekers didn’t quite mesh. They just couldn’t keep their stories straight. I went to Ed Warren with this problem. "Oh, they’re crazy," he said. "Everybody who comes to us is crazy. Otherwise why would they come to us? You’ve got some of the story – just use what works and make the rest up. And make it scary. You write scary books, right? That’s why we hired you. So just make it up and make it scary." I didn’t like that one bit. But by then, I’d signed the contract and there was no going back. I did as Ed instructed – I used what I could, made up the rest, and tried to make it as scary as I could. The book was called In A Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting."

Here's the interview if interested: http://www.horrorbound.com/readarticle.php?article_id=61

(Sorry for the long post. My own interest carried me away.)

#66: No prob, jseger. I must be a total cynic, because I never believe movies when they say "based on a true story." However, I really enjoyed The Haunting in Connecticut, enough to even buy a copy.

Oh yeah, if it says "Based on a true story", forget it brother. Especially if it has anything to do with a haunting or a possession. If any 'paranormal event' were that dramatic, it would be all over T.V. well before there was a movie.

What's funny is that things that are admittedly phony (Paranormal Activity, The Fourth Kind, The Blair Witch Project) are usually more believable than things that claim they are based on a true story.

Besides, as much as I love horror, I don't believe there is any paranormal or supernatural out there. What can I say? I'm an atheist that loves to read about demons, haunted houses and zombies.

Before I sound too full of myself, let me confess that I love watching shows about UFOs. I don't much believe in those either (people are just misunderstanding natural phenomena), but I'd love for someone to find proof.

Oh yeah! Netflix should be sending me Fright Night today. Boy I hope it's aged well.

#55: I have to see this "Sorority Row." I love the early 80's/late 90's slasher flicks. And the more obnoxious the victims are, the better. LOL.

#66: I really liked "A Haunting in Connecticut." (Although I didn't realize I was supposed to believe it was ACTUALLY based on a true story. I guess all horror films are SORT OF "based on true stories." I mean, technically, "Psycho" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" are both based on the same true story. I guess I see that sort of thing through a very jaundiced eye.)

Fright Night has held up VERY well, except for the music (and the fashions!) in the club scene. So many old horror movies are only worth watching for their nostalgia value, but Fright Night is still as entertaining as it ever was. Well worth renting and seeing again before the remake is out (next year).

#70 - Oh yeah, I know never to believe that a horror movie is based on a true story. But I always wind up searching the internet to find out how true the purported story is. It was neat the way The Amityville Horror collapsed so completely by visiting just one debunking site. I still like the movie though.

The only time I was ever really surprised was with The Mothman Prophecies. Yeah, the book is likely hokum (though I still kinda want to read it) and the storyline and characters in the film are fiction, but all of the reports of weird events in Point Pleasant before the bridge collapse shown in the movie actually did happen (I'm sticking with misunderstood natural phenomena, but I still love hearing these stories).

#68: Totally agree with what you said there, jseger. I don't believe in "the paranormal", but I love reading about/watching it. :)

#69: Fright Night--oh man, that movie freaked me out as a kid, for some strange reason. I still have my old VHS tape of it, including the sequel (which I can't remember is any good or not).

#70: Yeah, the only thing I faintly believed in The Haunting in Connecticut is that they bought a house. That's it. Everything else is pure b.s. for me. Entertaining b.s., of course. :)

#71: There's a remake of Fright Night?? Uh . . . I'm on the fence about that. There have actually been some good remakes lately, so we'll see how this one turns out. . . .

Yeah, I'm cautiously optimistic about a Fright Night remake.

The director is the guy that did Lars and the Real Girl, a movie I liked though I wasn't crazy about it. But at least I'm hoping that it means that the remake won't be one of those action/horror movies where the preview has lots of slow motion and grinding guitar music.

Charlie (the kid) will be played by Chekov from the latest Star Trek. I don't have any opinion there. I haven't seen the latest Star Trek movie. Won't he be a little old though?

The vampire will be Colin Farrell. I'm hoping the use of a big name (though not someone so big they overwhelm the movie like Will Smith) means the movie will actually have some respect from the studio.

Oy! But they have a Doctor Who playing Peter Vincent! That does not bode well...

You kind of had me going "yay"/"boo" there. Liked Lars and the Real Girl; skipped Star Trek, so I'm not sure if he'll be too old; and, ugh, Colin Farrell...I feel the same about him as you do about that Dr Who guy. But we'll see.... (fingers crossed)

Well I loved Star Trek and the Chekov was a very young baby faced man, that would be the right age for Charlie - but he'll have to tone down the accent. A remake of Fright night.... could be interesting.

I forget the title, but there's an 80's horror parody that opens with "This movie is based on a true story. Last year, two dozen horror films were released in the United States. They all made money."

#76: Uh, this is going to be one of those "d'oh!" moments, I can feel it. I know I've seen it, but I can't for the life of me remember the title. Anyone?

Is that "Student Bodies"? I think that's the one with the on-screen "body count" ticker. LOL

Just watched "The Echo," and it was really very good. Especially considering I never heard of it, and it showed up on Chiller without much fanfare. It was very effective.

#76 - Man, that is so familiar! I checked the IMDb page for all the ones I could think of: Saturday the 14th, National Lampoon's Class Reunion, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Student Bodies... no luck (though it could still be any of those. IMDb doesn't know everything).

Actually, I thought it was more recent than the 80's, but my memory--not so good, so I trusted the original post. I actually think it's not from the 80's at all. I think it's from "Scary Movie" or maybe even "Scary Movie 2."

It's Student Bodies. Thanks for the title.

Saw Piranha 3D tonight. Truthfully I was pretty bored through most of it. May play better when it's on DVD.

That's too bad about Piranha 3D. I wanted to see it.

Oh well. Devil and The Last Exorcism both look promising.

I think the next movie I'll go to a theater to see is Machete. That looks flippin' great! I'm so glad Robert Rodriguez made his gag trailer into a movie.

#83 - Really? I had the complete opposite experience! I saw Piranha 3D last night and I really enjoyed it. It was completely over the top but it needed to be (tons of blood and gore, lots of folks doing "naughty" things, cheesey lines). The movie didn't take itself too seriously, so I think if others go into the movie understanding this, they should be entertained. And I don't think the movie would be as good if not in 3D on the big screen.

Yeah, it's possible my experience was the exception and not the rule. I wouldn't discourage anybody from seeing it, I think I just wasn't into last night.

Fairly weak stretch for me of late.

Incubus (1966) tries to be an artsy emotional tale of a man seduced by a succubus but fails. There's a kernel of a good idea here but that's it. Don't know what I was expecting from a film starring William Shatner with all dialog in Esperanto.

Between Two Worlds (1944) has a group of strangers appear to die only to wake up on a nearly empty ship traveling somewhere unspecified. It's well acted and shot, but the early tension of what will the characters do when they learn of their fate disappears and it turns in to a hokey morality tale. The best of this bunch, however.

My Name is Bruce (2007) is part horror film / part parody of Bruce Campbell horror films. The meta aspect is ok but this is really only for Campbell fans (of which I'm one). If your not this is probably not for you.

All of those movies sound vaguely promising.

I've been curious about Incubus in part just because: what was that?

Do you think if the movie were remade in English it would be a good one or was Esperanto the least of its problems?

Between Two Worlds sounds pretty good. Maybe I'll give it a shot.

My Name is Bruce I've been on the cusp of renting forever. I am a Bruce Campbell fan and so is my wife. But if it is done badly, I could see it being one of those movies where the comedy falls flat and the whole thing is just uncomfortable to sit through.

Sorry to butt in, here, but...

>87 lucien:, Haha, Incubus! I tried to watch that a few months ago and gave up after half an hour or so. It was so disappointing! I think my expectations might have been to high, because it sounds so great: William Shatner? With a succubus?? In Esperanto??!? How could you not want to watch that? It reminded me of The Seventh Seal a little, but less interesting.

#89: William Shatner? With a succubus?? In Esperanto??!? How could you not want to watch that?

Er, I think those are reasons enough not to watch it. ;) I've seen it several times at work, but just can't bring myself to watch it. But oddly enough, I'm watching another movie called Incubus, this one with Tara Reid in it.

>88 jseger9000:
All of those movies sound vaguely promising.
They do, don't they? I think part of my dislike stems from disappointment. This is probably particularly true for Between Two Worlds, which just wasn't the movie I expected.

I'd like to say there's help for Incubus but I doubt it. The Esperanto seems like some random attempt to be artistic or edgy or just different but the movie has a lot of other problems. (Perhaps using a language that the actors speak might help their performances though). As I said there is a good idea here, especially in the other sucubbi's warning that attempting to corrupt the wrong (by which she means particularly good/moral) person can be a danger to the corrupter as well, but the story is very simple. It might work as a very short film or short story or even a graphic novel.

Yeah, I held off on My Name is Bruce for a while as well. I don't think it falls so flat as to be uncomfortable but it isn't always successful. To be honest, I multi-tasked my way through it browsing the internet, flipping through magazines.

>89 SJaneDoe:
It reminded me of The Seventh Seal a little, but less interesting.
I felt the same way and I think it was intentional. I also thought the were trying to get a little bit of a Fellini feel too. They were really ambitious and it just didn't come together. I don't want to pile on someone for aiming beyond their reach but there is something to be said for an honest appraisal of one's own skills and being happy with a competently made film. Not everything has to be a ground-breaking critical darling.

We just watched Legion. Not very good. Too cheesy for me and it hit all the horror movie highlights: A jerky main character that refuses to follow the instructions of the character that is obviously there to save them. Not one, but two black characters who sacrifice themselves to save white characters who don't really deserve it. And the angels have British accents.

And what was the message anyway? From what I understood, the message is: God is a prick.

#92: And what was the message anyway? From what I understood, the message is: God is a prick.

LOL! That's what I gathered just from the trailer. One of my coworkers who saw it didn't like it either, but I still want to give it a try.

It's not a total waste of time, but it comes close.

After you watch it, tell me if you agree with this: They could have cut the entire first twenty-five minutes, starting with the loss of the T.V. signal and had a somewhat better movie.

Ouch. You're probably right, but I'm stubborn, so if I want to watch something, I will . . . eventually. :) I'll let you know if it stunk.

I just watched Battle Royale.

I read the book a while back. It wasn't a good experience.

The movie is fairly faithful to the book (except for the main baddie's character). It wasn't great. Three stars out of five. But it's better than the book anyway, which is pretty rare.

I recently had a go at a couple of classics; Hammer´s The Witches from 1966 and Casting the Runes from 1979. The Hammer film was decent enough despite it´s age, with a nice creeping sense of everything not being what it should and people hushing up when asked about the village church and all that. Until it´s time to show the witches sabbath that is, because that is downright awful. It looks more like the inside of the looney bin of your choice than a crowd of devil worshiping would be murderers. Casting the Runes though was much more of a dissapointment. The setting was changed to what in 1979 would have been modern times, and that I can go along with. I mean, for the actual story it doesn´t matter if they travel by train or plane, but the rest of it... The cover claims this to be "a masterful reworking", with an awful sundtrack, actors who look and act as if they rather would be doing something Shakespearian than this, and to top it all the "runes" are actually greek. Now look here; the runes are what this is really about, and the producer didn´t even bother to find out what runes are... Nuff said. Maybe I should stick to reading in the future.

#97 - Now look here; the runes are what this is really about, and the producer didn´t even bother to find out what runes are... Nuff said. Maybe I should stick to reading in the future.

Hahaha! Your post gave me such a laugh!

I could just see the director (or production designer) looking for some runes and saying "Well, I can't read that! Let's use it. What the hell, it's all Greek to me!"

I quite enjoyed the film Battle Royale , 2nd one sucked though.

Just watched the recent The Wolfman and really enjoyed it, a good old fashioned monster movie. Nice even pace, some great sets and a great werwolf transformation scene.. oh an amusing Hollywood version of London. How can any one resist. Anyway thanks for the recommendation jseger9000 I wouldn't of picked it up without it!

Right just need to make time to see Piranha 3D at the cinema... I seem to off missed the Human Centipede .. anyone seen it?

Just watched the horror-comedy Zombieland. I loved the first half but the second half wasn't as good. Protagonists got to carry the idiot ball and some cliches pleasantly missing from the first half surfaced. Overall a fun ride though. Worth a watch.

I got annoyed with Zombieland when the girls got on that tower ride. I know it's a comedy and all, but acting stupid is acting stupid.

Agreed. The whole trip to the amusement park had the two previously clever characters acting really dumb. Didn't ruin the movie for me but definitely took me out of the fun story for a bit.

I liked Zombieland regardless of the whole amusement park thing. I'd still recommend it.

Oh yeah, I'd recommend Zombieland. It's just that I wish it were better. It was a bunch of good ideas made into a so-so movie.

I believe Zombieland 2 is in the works.

Rule 1. Cardio...

LOL! I Love the rules!

#104: Really, a sequel? Same people and everything?

Yeah, the sequel is in the works. Looks like the whole cast and crew are returning for the sequel (in 3D).

'Zombieland 2' Promises to Have Blood Flying in Your Face

Oh, nice! Nothing says "Don't Watch This!" like a whole new cast in a sequel. Now I don't have to worry about that. Thanks for the link, btw.

106 I loved the rules as well.. the best thing about the film. well except Bill Murray.

108/109 I suspect I will watch the sequel.. I can't help myself with zombies :) I am eagerly awaiting Le Horde at the moment (looks like Assault on Precinct 13 with the undead).

Watched Burning Bright at weekend due to the bizarre setup of attractive young girl stuck in a house during a storm with a hungry tiger. Oddly it kinda of works, some great suspenseful set pieces and nice ruses to keep things going. Of course suspension of disbelief is needed too, especially the Hollywood version of 'kid with autism'.

#110: I'm not much of a zombie fanatic, but I love horror comedies, so that's why Zombieland worked for me. And thanks for recommending Burning Bright. Sounds interesting enough to look for.

I watched Psychos in Love last night. Decent horror comedy from the 80s, with more subtle comedy than laugh-out-loud stuff.

I just watched The People Under the Stairs, one of Wes Craven's two (or three) 'good' movies. (Mostly I think he's terrible.)

Watching it again, it reminded me of Richard Laymon's stuff. It was goofy and stupid, but fun.

>113 jseger9000:. That is a really fun movie. I was very pleasantly surprised by it - not being a huge Craven fan either. Nice to see someone else enjoying it. I don't hear it mentioned often.

The People Under the Stairs is worth watching just to see Everett McGill running around in full bondage gear shouting "Damn them to hell, Momma!"

I watched The New Daughter, not horrible not wonderful either - it felt like M. Night, kinda slow but the ending was good.

The reviews are pretty iffy on it, but I added The New Daughter to my queue anyway.

I watched a very strange movie on Netflix instant last night called Feed (unrelated to the Mira Grant book).

A very bizarro movie that some wise reviewer described as a mix of 8MM and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or more accurately an unrated episode of CSI.

It wasn't excessively violent or scary, but due to the subject matter it was very disturbing. A troubled cop (is there any other kind in the movies) is investigating the fetish of 'feeders' and 'gainers' (not sure what the word is for this one, but it is a real thing). Very oogey feeling and pretty depressing.

The movie is full of gaping plot holes, but was done with so much style I rated it four stars anyway.

#115: Ok, ok, you convinced me--I'm watching The People Under the Stairs. Sounds funny!

#117: Feed sounds familiar. I'm adding it to the TBW pile. Thanks!

Oh, I'm curious to talk to you about Feed after you watch it!

No luck in finding a copy of Feed to watch yet, but I finished watching Outpost tonight. If you're into the whole slew of Nazi zombie movies that're out there, then I'd recommend this one. It's more serious than the last one I watched (Dead Snow), but an overall solid horror movie.

120 I have to admit I preferred the light hearted Dead Snow to Outpost. Maybe I just can't take Nazi zombies seriously.

Saw "La Horde" over the weekend. I would only really recommend to zombie fans although it had the fast disease ridden 28 day later kind not proper zombies. :) I did really enjoy it: it's got some great set pieces plus the group dynamics of cops/robbers/insane war criminal was very good. Some of it drove me mad though, some of the fight scenes were speed up or plain stupid. Plus always failing to shoot them in the head was just irritating.

#'s 120-121 - How did I never hear of Outpost? I went to Netflix and saw that it was described as a 'gruesome shocker'. It immediately became #1 in my queue!

Has anyone seen the old Lou Diamond Phillips move The First Power? Netflix has it on instant and it sounds promising. But then it's also Lou Diamond Phillips...

#121: I agree. Separate them--just Nazis or zombies--and they're scary in themselves; but combine them, and you're right: it's hard to take them seriously. I'm still not sure which one I preferred: Dead Snow or Outpost. Dead Snow definitely had the laughs, but Outpost had some better effects, imo. Either one's a pretty good choice.

Ooh, La Horde sounds good. Funny you should mention 28 Days Later, because that's the movie I rewatched right after Outpost. I just love it! It never fails to totally freak me out.

#122: Hmm . . . a 'gruesome shocker'? I don't remember there being anything exceptionally shocking about Outpost. Some of the death scenes are painfully slow, so yeah, that covers the 'gruesome' bit; but I'm still trying to remember anything shocking . . . . (scratches head) Anywho, I hope you like it! It vaguely reminded me of Dog Soldiers, if you saw that one (hint: werewolves), with all the military UK types in the middle of a wooded area. That one I'd recommend as well.

LOL @ But then it's also Lou Diamond Phillips.... No, I haven't seen The First Power, so I can't help you there. Let us know if it's worth watching, though. You never can tell, even with certain actors.

123 its not as good as 28 days Later and I say that as not a huge fan of the film (well I disliked the 2nd half). 2nd the rec for Dog Soldiers, that movie is a lot of fun.

#122 Jseger, I saw The First Power and for Lou Diamond it wasn't bad it had some good bits, loved the bad guy, thought his face was a mask, (sorry bad guy dude but your face did look like a mask). If it's an instant play then it's worth it, but to pay for it...*shrugs*

Well, I watched The First Power last night. At first it was fun, two star trash. But I don't know. It dragged on too long or something. Towards the end I flipped on the laptop. To me it wasn't really a horror movie. It was more a bad buddy-cop movie (the psycho and the psychic!) with supernatural elements. And lots of the story didn't make sense. Why did the pentegram medallion ward off the bad guy? And where did the magical crucifix dagger come from all of a sudden?

Also watched the It mini-series today. It was pretty good. Sort of the Cliffs Notes version of the book.

#120, 121 - Thank you for the recommendation of Outpost! I thought it was great. I don't think it is fair to compare it to Dead Snow. I don't even think it was exactly a zombie movie (more of a ghost story to me). But it was very well paced and atmospheric. We had to watch it with the subtitles on though. That was a stew of accents, wasn't it?

Just watched Popcorn on Netflix instant. Film students plan a horror marathon, a killer sneaks in with the crowd. Really it is only a two star movie, but was good schlocky fun. I gave it an extra star just because it was such a goof. The beginning is just bad, but stay with it until the marathon starts and... well, it doesn't get any better. But it is fun.

And it stars that weird guy (Tom Villard) from the AWFUL '80's series 'We Got It Made'. I read a funny article somewhere about what a terrible show that was.

#127: Glad you liked it. And, yeah, Outpost almost felt more like a ghost story than a zombie one.

We had to watch it with the subtitles on though. That was a stew of accents, wasn't it?

Ha! You did? I usually watch everything with subtitles anyway, but you're right: it might be a necessary to turn them on with Outpost.

I was unimpressed by The Uninvited. I'm having some trouble explaining why without giving out sizeable spoilers. In short - just a poorly told story. I'm curious about the Korean original (A Tale of Two Sisters) though.

Since my last post, I've seen:

Dead Snow (2008) - Pure fun! I didn't realise it was foreign until the subtitles started popping up, but I didn't have any trouble reading along and getting to actually watch the film (towards the end there was far less dialogue and more action). I wished there had been some sort of explanation about the Nazi-zombies (like why now?) but it didn't detract too much for the movie. 7.5/10 for a horror flick

The Roost (2004) - I have mixed feelings about this one. I think I liked it, but I didn't really love it. I liked the film style and the characters, but I didn't care for the "villians." 6.5/10

Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) - This was really intriguging but I wouldn't classify it as horror by any means (maybe perhaps at the time, but for today's genre standards it would probably be dubbed a "drama" or "psychological thriller"). I was a little bored during some parts, but overall I enjoyed this. 7/10

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - I didn't totally hate this movie. It was very manufactured, with expected dialogue, characters, and scenarios. The gore was pretty decent and there are a few memorable scenes. I actually liked this Freddy better. Physically, I think he looked more realistic. He had the same cheesey lines but overall, they didn't irk me as much. I liked that this film gave more of an explanation of Freddy's life than the original. I really didn't care for the main characters, though. For what it was, I think it was a decent movie (certainly better than most of the sequels). 6/10

To rent next: Altered, Frozen, Splice, The Burrowers, The Human Centipede, and Dark Night of the Scarecrow (now on DVD!).

To see in theaters next: My Soul to Take, Case 39, and Devil.

Has anyone watched any of the 2010 Fangoria FrightFest DVDs? I keep eyeballing them at Blockbuster but I just don't know.

Finally got around to watching Burning Bright, and really enjoyed it. People who are being put off by the premise (which I was) shouldn't. It's very well acted and they do an excellent job building tension. The only thing I didn't like was the scene where she figures out that the stepfather did it deliberately, because duh.

The Chair is a good, very suspenseful haunted house/posession film, and the lead did an excellent job with her character.

e: The only Frightfest film I've seen is Pig Hunt, and it was enjoyable.

#131 I just watched Dark Night of the Scarecrow, I remember it years ago from TV. It didn't have the same appeal for me it seems to have for others.

#'s 131, 133 - Oh! You are talking about Dark Night of the Scarecrow!

I thought you were both talking about Scarecrows that we discussed a while back. I didn't know they released Dark Night! To the top of the Netflix B queue it goes!

#134 yeah I watched that too, it was so bad I turned it off, then decided to give it a second chance, still didn't get any better.

#130: Sorry you didn't like The Uninvited, lucien. I really enjoyed it, so much that I even own a copy now. I'm at least with you on wanting to see the original Korean version! Let us know what you think of it, whenever you get around to watching it.

#131: I didn't realise it was foreign until the subtitles started popping up

Same here! I think because 1) a couple of characters actually spoke a few lines in English, and 2) my German school lessons were actually good for something (yes, I know it's Norwegian, but a lot of the words sound alike).

I wished there had been some sort of explanation about the Nazi-zombies (like why now?)

I had the same question, like why Nazis? Zombies I could see, but Nazi zombies? Still, it was too silly of a movie to really matter. :)

As for Fangoria's Fright Fest: nope, have not watched it yet. Sorry.

We just watched Event Horizon. It was my third time watching it. I love the story idea. But the actual presentation is just... lacking. (I've rented it three times because I can never remember the movie afterward.)

I watched 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, and now know why it went straight to DVD. It was bad, and not in a good way.

#138 - That's too bad. I was looking forward to seeing Dark Days, though I had a feeling that it was no masterpiece.

Watched Poltergeist last night. It holds up very well. Too bad about those sequels.

"Now clear your minds. It knows what scares you. It has from the very beginning. Don't give it any help, it knows too much already."

#139 - I love Poltergeist! It especially creeps me out because my name is Carolann (spelled different from the little girl in the movie but it is pronounced the same). Whenever I introduce myself to new people, I get the occasional, "Don't go into the light..." reference, which I actually appreciate. =o)

I watched The Burrowers this weekend. It was "meh." I liked that it was set in the old west. To me, the movie could be boiled down to a mix of Tremors and The Descent, but the "villians" are guided by vampire rules (stakes through the heart and die in the sunlight). I'd give it a 6/10.

137 I keep wishing someone would remake Event Horizon it could be such a wonderful creepy, hellish film but no instead I am now stuck with a movie that seems to get worse everytime I watch it (no I don't know why I rewatch it..)

Saw Buried at the cinema last week and I can't recommend it highly enough. Amazing, inventive, tightly plotted film that quite frankly was hard to watch in places.

Well, Netflix suddenly decided that the top two movies in my queue Dark Night of the Scarecrow and The Night Stalker had waits, so I received The Dead Pit instead. It looked pretty bad, but had some positive word of mouth. I can't quite figure out why. It was awful friends. Awful. The direction and the gore were good, everything else was a mess. The acting was non-existent. The writing was terrible.

About thirty minutes in I flipped open the computer, which is never a good sign. About fifty minutes in I gave up and turned it off.

I decided to watch Mario Bava's Black Sabbath on Netflix instant instead. (I saw the American edited and dubbed version which is supposed to be different than the Italian original). It was a trio of short horror stories. The first story ('The Drop of Water') was EXCELLENT. Creepy and atmospheric and beautifully shot. The other two stories ('The Telephone' and 'The Wurdalak') weren't bad, but they were nowhere near as good as the first story.

I'm interested in checking out more Mario Bava.

Watched Storm Warning last night (which I thought someone here suggested?). Anyway, it was surprisingly good.

Australian couple goes fishing. Rows upstream until they are stuck in a bog. Storm comes in. Couple meets with some savage Australian hillbillies.

Much better than I was expecting and the farm was a masterpiece of set design.

I rented and watched Frozen last night. It was written/directed by Adam Green (writer/director of Hatchet and Hatchet 2). I really enjoyed this film. It was truly terrifying and definitely evoked thoughts of "what would I do if in this situation?" It is one of those movies that you'll think about later, especially if you're ever on a skiing trip. 7.5/10

I watched a couple of Hammer Studio films that the TCM network has been running.

The Brides of Dracula (1960) An OK entry in the Hammer Dracula series. It has a strong opening, pretty good pacing, and a few moments for Van Helsing (still played by Peter Cushing) to get to get to be an action hero.

The Reptile (1966) A couple inherits a house from the relative who recently died under those ever popular "mysterious circumstances". I liked this one. It's no masterpiece but it has some charm. It felt a bit rushed, but had a good story and cast of characters along with some tense moments.

Both films had an interesting mix of villains, from the sympathetic, to the unlikeable but still relatable, to the unrepentant monster.

#144 - Okay, Frozen just shot to the top of one of my queues. That movie sounds great!

#45 - I looked into The Reptile, but it looks a little iffy.

I saw the same director did The Plague of the Zombies and Night Caller From Outer Space. Have you seen either of those? They sound promising.

>146 jseger9000: I haven't seen either of those, but have heard consistently good things about The Plague of the Zombies.

As for The Reptile, I have a soft spot for horror films of that era and earlier but definitely can see how this one wouldn't work for a modern audience.

#143: That might have been me. Who knows. But I have seen Storm Warning before and really liked it.

#144: Thank for the recs! Not only for Frozen, but for the Hatchet movies, which I have somehow missed.

#148 - I'm betting it was you. Anyway, Storm Warning = thumbs up.

Watched Dark Night of the Scarecrow last night. It was well done, but the pacing was off. I gave it three stars anyway, but tighter pace would have improved it.

Paranormal Activity 2: It's a good indication of how little the director cares about the plot when they skip forward in the middle of dialog to get to the next jump-scare (of which there are two good ones). And while I criticized the first one for speeding up the clock to get to the scary bits, this one consists of a solid hour of nothing happening. Also, the ending makes no sense unless you remember the immememorable first one and know which ending to the first one was canon and realize that the first movie takes place between the first 99% of the second one and the last 1%. In short, HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATED it.

I saw it coming. When I saw the preview for the sequel, I told myself I would wait until the DVD release and not get caught up in the hype like I did with the first.

#150: That's too bad about Paranormal Activity 2. I'll eventually watch it; just not any time soon. Thanks for the heads-up.

I've seen reviews online from folks who have seen Paranormal Activity 2 and most have agreed that it is better than the first. I didn't care for the first, so after reading several reviews, I thought I'd like the second. Now after reading your review, I think I will wait until it comes to DVD.

I'm going to watch The Other tonight. I've heard good things!

Watched Frozen last night. That was pretty good! Very icky.

Was that the one where three people are stuck in the ski lift. It was pretty good, but I don't know that jump...desperate or not...

#155 - That was the one.

I don't know. You HAVE to do something. The jump seems pretty like the first step. Climbing on the razor sharp cable was pretty disastrous. I think if he would have landed better, everything would have been different.

Well, it's Halloween. Any scary movie lined up?

The TV version of The Walking Dead will be premiering on AMC tonight. I got a lot more excited about it when I saw that it was being headed by Frank Darabont.

Recently I saw Survival of the Dead. I didn't like it as much as Diary of the Dead which I thought was great. Survival was good though. I did not at all like the zombie riding a horse. Seemed too implausible a thing for Romero to have his zombies doing.

Last night we watched the Friday the 13th remake (which I think we talked about on here already). Not great, but considering their source material, not bad either.

We also watched the first three episodes of Dead Set. Fast zombies or no, that was a great show.

last night I watched Waxwork. Anyone remember that one? With the kid from Gremlins? It was mostly terrible and I can't in good conscience recommend it. But the end was a hoot.

The disc came with Waxwork and Waxwork II. The sequel was done by all the same people who did the original. I'll try the second one before I send it back.

I loved Waxwork as a kid. I'd recommend the first one for fun, but the second one I'd say skip--unless, of course, the two come together. ;) Let us know what you think, jseger.

Okay, Waxwork II almost literally had no story.

I think what's wrong with both of those movies is that Anthony Hickox (the writer and director of both movies) had some idea of what he wanted to do, but was terrible at writing his ideas into a quality story.

Both movies are fun for their references to other (better) horror movies (part 2 is better than the first one with it's parodies of Alien and The Haunting complete with Bruce Campbell and Marina Sirtis), but are terrible, badly written movies.

Both are fun, but I couldn't recommend them.

#160: Waxwork II almost literally had no story.

I'll agree with you there. I still have my copy of Waxwork II, only because I loved the first one so much, I was kind of hoping a second viewing would change my mind. I have yet to work up the interest to watch it a second time, though. :/

I think why I liked the first one so much was because of the two museum scenes involving the werewolf in one and the vampire in another. The whole vampire meal grossed me out to the point I couldn't even eat sliced-up strawberries in juice for awhile. When you're a kid, I guess even the worst horror movie can be perfect. (shrugs) :)

I'm working my way through Wicked Lake right now. It's kind of a low-budget lesbian witch flick with more nudity than gore at this point, but I'll admit it: I'm halfway enjoying it. Parts of it are beyond believability (really? 2--maybe 3--groups of sadistic weirdos are stalking these women for, um, "whatever"? please), but if you don't take the movie too seriously--the cast and crew obviously didn't--it's fun. So far. (I'm covering my arse, just in case it takes a nose-dive after I write this.) And yeah, I guess the fact that Al Jourgensen from Ministry cameos and does the music for it was another reason I bought the movie. Silly me.

If you could enjoy Waxwork for just the two scenes, then Waxwork II is worth watching for its take on The Haunting (with Bruce Campbell! Woo!) and Alien. Once they go back to medieval times you can pretty much stop the movie. Also, you can fast forward until you get to those parts. The movie is awful. Really.

Watched the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street and liked it. (I didn't care for the original much) Okay, all the 'high school kids' looked like they were in their mid-twenties, but still.

I've noticed that all the remakes of Wes Craven movies (Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, The Hills Have Eyes 2 and A Nightmare on Elm Street) are better than the original. I think Wes Craven is a good ideas man, but a bad scriptwriter and a so-so director.

#162: Hmm. Maybe I should fast-forward through Waxwork II, because I don't even remember those parts. :D

I've noticed that all the remakes of Wes Craven movies...are better than the original.

I agree. I have A Nightmare on Elm Street in my TBW pile, but I never saw the original, so I can't compare that one.

Has anyone seen Shelter with Jonathan Rhys Meyers. More to the point, did anyone understand it?? All explanations welcome!

anyone watching the AMC series "The walking dead"? I just finished the first episode, seems follows the GN pretty well from what I can remember.

>165 beeg:

I've caught both aired episodes of The Walking Dead. I liked the first episode much better than the second. I don't care for most of the new characters that we meet trapped inside the ATL department store.

I want to like this show so much but unless next week blows my mind, I don't think I will follow it regularly. I do like the makeup effects. And it is set and shot in Atlanta (right nearby me). Besides that, I think I am going to be bored with this in the longrun.

Plus, I really HATE the cop's partner. He's completely scummy and sexist.

#164: Have not, unorna. Sorry. :( But it definitely looks interesting!

#165: Uh, another nope here.

>165 beeg:,166
I'm unsure on it myself. There have been some very good moments, but the characters aren't that well drawn and overall the writing is mediocre. The first season is only 6 episodes so I'm pretty sure I'll watch them all.

I agree on the cop's partner. Not only does he come off like a jerk - he's not even an interesting jerk. The early bit where he rants about women was a real WTF moment. I get it - he's an ass, I'm not supposed to like him, I'm probably supposed to root for him to get eaten - it's still heavy handed, too long, and poorly written. I wonder if given the revelation of episode two if there's any subtlety in the scene that I missed but I have little desire to rewatch to find out.

I've DVR'd the first two episodes, but haven't watched them yet. (Have to catch up on Luther and the new Sherlock Holmes movies first.)

(I loved the new Sherlock Homes movie)

#170 - To clarify: I'm not talking about that Robert Downey, Jr. one (which looked too much like Victorian Iron Man to me).

I have the BBC movie series called Sherlock which imagines Homes and Watson in 21st century London.

To me, Robert Downey, Jr. is a good actor who has stopped acting. In Iron Man and since, he seems like he's happy to play himself in his movies. Or maybe movies have become so shallow there aren't good parts for him to play?

Am I wrong about the Guy Ritchie movie? Should I give it a chance?

>168 lucien:

Lucien, I can't agree with you more about the cop's partner! You put it into words perfectly! I seriously could almost not sit through the second scene of episode one where the partner was bashing women for leaving the lights on. Okay, I get it, he's a douchey character but I agree the subtlety is completely lacking.

#170 & 171: Well, I'm a sucker for Guy Ritchie movies, period; so I'm with beeg on that one. But if Robert Downey Jr gets on your nerves, then yeah, I'd say skip it.

I have a feeling it's one I'll rent from Netflix one day. Then I'll leave it sitting in front of the TV for a week and a half, finally watch it and be pleasantly surprised.

But if you watch (the excellent) Zodiac, Iron Man, Iron Man 2 or Sherlock Holmes or Due Date(from what I've seen in the previews), is Robert Downey's acting in any way different?

It wouldn't be so bad, but he's a talented guy. Rent (the also excellent) Short Cuts or Chaplin to see what I mean.

#174: Downey didn't repeat himself quite so much in "The Soloist", and it was a quieter role. The recent "Fur" was also unusual. Of course, "Chaplin" was extraordinary. "The Singing Detective" was, imho, a wonderfully bizarre movie, and Downey was amazing in it, as he has been in many previous roles.

He does seem to be cruising now, enjoying his success, and I'm hoping that such a talented actor will eventually go back to taking some risks.

Terribly off topic, but I'm a big Downey fan.

#174: Ha! For a sec, I thought you were going to say "leave it sitting in front of the TV for a week and a half" and forget about it; but no, that's what I do. ;)

Hmm, I've only seen Zodiac (own it too) & Sherlock Holmes out of the half dozen or so movies you listed Downey's in, so I'm not really a Downey guru. He hasn't been in a lot of movies I want to see.

#175: He does seem to be cruising now, enjoying his success -- Good for him. I'd be doing the same thing (the "enjoying his success" bit, not the acting part). Btw, didn't he have a major drug problem he supposedly kicked? (Or am I getting him mixed up with 99% of Hollywood?) Either way, I'm impressed by that alone (if it's true).

#176: Yeah, he had a MEGA drug problem for decades, and still did good work, was never a pain in the a** on set. And then there was prison for a time. He cleaned up, made good, and I also don't begrudge him his success, or his enjoyment thereof. As a fan, I just hope to see more range in the future (though I thought both Iron Man and Holmes were plenty of fun).

Oh good, my memory hasn't completely gone to crap. And yeah, the Sherlock Holmes remake gets a thumbs up from me too. *ahem* jseger, go watch it. ;)

It's in the queue, but not number one.

We got Splice in the mail last night. Haven't yet watched it.

I watched Splice last week, it was...interesting.

Splice is in my dusty TBW pile. Yeah, I think "interesting" is what I heard too.

Yee... 'interesting' is almost as bad as hearing a movie described as 'cute'

'Cute' means don't watch it. It means the person telling you about it didn't like it, but feels bad beating up on it.

I finally got around to watching Dead Snow, which was quite enjoyable.

Also watched Altitude, which was not. A decent set-up and hook, but the bulk of the movie consists of "oh my god what's happening" over and over again for 90 minutes.

FYI, Elvira's back. Check whatever the worst network in your area is.

#183 - FYI, Elvira's back. Check whatever the worst network in your area is.

hahahahahahaha!

#'s 180-181 - I watched Splice last night. In many ways it is smarter and more adult than most horror films (until the end anyway, where it just kind of turns dumb). It reminded me (in a good way) of the more grown up horror movies they did in the '70's before the teen slasher movies took over.

The biggest problem I had with the movie is all the characters are pretty amoral, si I didn't much give a rat's ass about them.

A smaller problem, but one that nagged at me for the first half hour is that the main couple was just too perfectly 'counter culture' and hip. Every detail from their clothes to their car to the knick knacks on their shelves screamed this is a set designers interpretation of an anti-corporate scientist couple.

I know it's a stupid thing to pay attention to, but there it is.

re: grown up horror movies in the '70s. I sawa bokk on 1970s horror movies and thought --yeah a bunch of cheese, but I picked it up and flipped through and quickly realized ther was a lot f good intelligent horror movies in the 70s thta you don't see much of anymore.

Yeah, for a while there horror was moving into the mainstream with Carrie, The Exorcist, The Brood and The Changeling.

But then Black Christmas (a very good, not well known movie) and Halloween came along and established the teen slasher genre.

There were still plenty of mainstream, quality horror films for a while (An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, The Shining, Dressed to Kill and lots more), but the endless Friday the 13ths and Nightmares on elm Street wound up drowning them out.

I'm sorry, you seem to have used "The Howling" and "quality" in the same sentence. I'm confused.

*snorts*

So picky, goydaeh. :)

Sorry. I was using The Howling as an example of mainstream, not quality. (Though I do like The Howling I must say.) I suppose I should have mentioned Don't Look Now and The Andromeda Strain...

At least I didn't mention The Omen!

Speaking of questionable quality, I'm about to watch the old Oliver Stone movie The Hand. Anyone remember that?

Nope, can't say I've seen The Hand, but I'll have to google it sometime. Sounds kinda familiar.

#190 I remember that movie vaguely I have the book The Lizard's Tail it's based on. I don't remember the movie being wonderful. I remember the movie The Beast with five fingers when I was a kid and even then I couldn't figure out how a hand couldn't be taken down, I mean seriously LOL! I like Clive Barkers story The Body Politic there's a great story about hands gone bad.

What's funny is that I just ordered the book The Beast With Five Fingers which was what made me think about renting The Hand in the first place.

The thing is it is better than I was expecting, aside from the cheesy hand. The problem with the movie is that it lacks suspense. It's kinda dull.

Oliver Stone had a bit part though as a bum with... a short life span. Fun.

Watched Joshua tonight: half-hearted thumbs-up. I don't have kids, and after watching this, I'm so glad I don't. Your typical evil child movie.

Watched the wonderfully tacky The Deadly Bees from 1966 last night. Complete with a performance from 60´s mod heroes The Birds and all. Not really what you´d call a classic, but well worth it. A pop singer with a nervous breakdown, a mad scientist and a lot of bees. Say no more.

Speaking of "not exactly a classic", I watched Flesh for Frankenstein (aka Andy Warhol's Frankenstein though I can't see that he had anything to do with it).

It was awful, my friends. Awful. It was somewhat enjoyable for its camp value, but it's still too long for that. I watched until the middle and gave up on it.

The fun parts were the shocking for the time use of nudity and primitive gore. Also, Udo Kier as Baron Frankenstein shouts all his lines. His sidekick Otto spends the entire movie popping out his eyes looking surprised. The Baron's sister/wife (they didn't seem to be clear which she was) reminded me heavily of Shelly Long and the kids were clones of Wednesday and Pugsly Addams. My favorite part was that the entire cast spoke with a stew of European accents, then along comes Andy Warhol's boy-toy Joe Dallesandro sounding like he just climbed out of a New York cab.

If you have a group of drunken friends or see the movie listed as a midnight show at a theater, it could be fun. But to actually sit and watch it, I just couldn't.

LOL jseger, it's pretty bad, huh, wanna know what's worse? Blood for Dracula hehe a dying vampire that can only drink "blood from a wirgin" Best line "The blood of these whores is killing me" ok, maybe its better than Flesh.

I dunno. Flesh for Frankenstein had a line: "To know death, Otto, you have to fuck life... in the gall bladder!" (that's right after the Baron has sex with his female zombie corpse).

Did I mention that when he was looking for a head for his male zombie, the most important feature was the perfect Serbian nasum (nose)? He was going to use his reanimated corpses to create a master race of Serbians.

I'm having more fun describing the movie than I did watching it.

"His perfect nose! His perfect nose!"

To make up for Flesh for Frankenstein last night I watched a legitimately good movie: Eyes Without a Face. Take a moment to remember the Billy Idol song...

Anyway, the movie was pretty good. A doctor who's daughter was severely disfigured in a car crash abducts girls in an attempt to transplant their face to his daughter.

The movie is really too slow for its' own good, but was interesting, and Christiane's (the daughter) featureless mask is creepy.

Oh yeah, it's been a few days, but watched an off-the-wall slasher movie called Cornered! A serial killer is murdering people in all-night convenience stores. The owner of one of these stores has invited some friends to an all-night poker party at his apartment above the store. You can guess where it goes from there.

Very low budget. The biggest name is Steve Guttenberg(!) and where has he been anyway?

The movie is really only so-so. But I liked a lot of stuff about it. It wasn't your typical cast of teenagers. In fact they were all adults and I liked each of the quirky characters.

The movie wasn't as scary as it should have been. I wouldn't highly recommend it, but it wasn't a waste of my time either.

I'd give Cornered a try. I had to google it, though, because I couldn't remember who Steve Guttenberg was (oh, duh! The Police Academy movies). I loved the crazy credits to it on IMDb: "No animals were injured in the making of this movie. The cockroaches, Joey and Freddy, were adopted by producer Alan Noel Vega and are living a life of luxury!" :D

I finished a couple horror/thriller flicks this past week: 1) Madhouse ("A young psychiatric intern unearths secrets about the mental health facility in which he works."), and 2) Pulse (aka Octane) ("While on a late night road trip home, a woman must save her rebellious teenage daughter who runs off with a bizarre group of blood-letting psychos."). Both were pretty good. Pulse was definitely the weirder of the two, but if you're into David Lynch films, then you might like that one.

I watched Predators last night, I'm a fan of the movies and Robert Rodriguez. I was under the impression this was a remake but it's it's just another take on the Franchise. It was pretty good, a bunch of killers are gathered up and dumped on the hunting grounds.

Worth watching again.

On Predators, I don't know why, but that clip they keep recycling in the preview where the guy freezes and a million laser pointers are aimed at him just put me off of the movie.

I do like the story idea. It is simple enough that it holds a lot of promise. Maybe I'll give it a try...

Hmm, (luckily?) I haven't seen the preview, jseger.

Predators is in my TBW pile right now, beeg. Hopefully I'll get to it soon. :)

I watched Idle Hands a few days ago. I loved it--just your typical 90's horror comedy involving a possessed killer hand.

#205 - Oh yeah. I didn't expect much from Idle Hands and wound up being really impressed.
I don't remember too much in the way of details, but I do remember them showing that dying didn't change much for that group of losers. They still sat around eating chips and playing video games.

...And getting high. Yeah, it's definitely a slacker's movie. :) There's not much to the story (boy's hand starts killing people--Mom, Dad, best friends, etc--and it's up to him and his friends--and a couple other odd-placed hand-hunters or whatever you want to call them--to stop the hand and save the girl from damnation), so I can understand not remembering too much of it. It's pretty darn funny at least, and I liked the soundtrack.

Watched Hunger (the Fangoria Frightfest one) and The Last Exorcism last night.

Hunger was quite good, which you should probably interpret as very good, since it falls into two of my least favorite categories (movies with little plot and movies with human antagonists). A very good acting job by the principals, and a high creep factor.

The Last Exorcism was a great movie until the ending and much better than I expected, but I really wish they had stopped it at the false ending, because the last ten minutes seem like Roth realized that he had made a horror movie without killing anyone and decided to make up for it.

#208: I haven't seen Hunger (this one, right?), but it's one I'd definitely love to see. I'm not sure if I'm super eager to see The Last Exorcism, but I'd still give it a go if I find a copy. Thanks for the awesome recs! :)

@209

That's the one. I didn't realize that there were so many movies titled Hunger until I was flipping through Horrorhound and saw an ad for another Hunger, which caused some momentary confusion as I tried to figure out which one I had wanted to watch in the first place.

Watched a couple of episodes of Tales From the Darkside (including a really good one directed by Tom Savini called 'Inside the Closet') and an old British movie called Raw Meat. I wanted to like that one. It had a lot going for it. Promising story (mutant cannibals live in an abandoned tube station), surprisingly high production values/make-up and gore and a fun performance by Donald Pleasence. Unfortunately, it was also very dull. The director had a lot going for him, but wasn't very good at building suspense. Not really worth renting :(

#210: I know what you mean. Movie titles aren't getting very original anymore, especially horror ones.

#211: Too bad about Raw Meat. You're right: it did sound promising.

I watched Splinter a couple days ago. As far as monster/creature movies go, it was pretty darn good. I didn't completely understand what the creature was, but the movie still got under my skin (pun not intended ;).

#212 - I didn't completely understand what the creature was, but the movie still got under my skin (pun not intended ;).

I would swear you wrote that sentence just to use the pun.

Was the creature perhaps a rat that found four mutated turtles and taught them king-fu?

I've added Splinter at number one to my Netflix queue. By the way, looking at the cover, is it just me or does the guy look kinda like Michael Douglas? (Could just be the tiny little image on my screen, I admit.)

Now if I could just get around to finally watching Timecrimes, Splinter would be on the way.

#213: I would swear you wrote that sentence just to use the pun. -- Ha! No, actually, I didn't do it on purpose, but maybe part of brain was aware of it.

Yeah, I thought I recognized the guy on the cover as someone else (he has that familiar look about him), but Michael Douglas is a good guess.

Timecrimes? I'm assuming it's the Spanish one, because the other one I found is in production.

Yeah, it's the Spansih one and I have heard nothing but good things about it. But I've had it at home now for like two weeks or so. I think it's because as good as I expect it to be (and that cover sure is creepy too) I have a mental block against time travel stories. There's no logic to it. I loved Back to the Future and (surprisingly) The Butterfly Effect (which Timecrimes sounds similar to).

Who doesn't like Back to the Future? :) I haven't watched The Butterfly Effect, but eventually want to. Isn't there a sequel or two? I can't remember if I heard they were good or not. (adds those to her TBW pile as well)

Never judge a first movie by the quality of the sequels (Back to the Future being a case in point).

In general, I avoid sequels unless the director of the first comes back. That is a better sign than most that there is some quality there (or that the director was being self indulgent. Again, Back to the Future).

But if you see a sequel where nobody from the original returns (the Butterfly Effect sequels), forget it brother.

#217: That's what I was kind of worried about with the Butterfly Effect--the change of cast. But I'm a glutton for punishment. I even went out and bought S. Darko, even though I know it's nothing like Donnie Darko.

Honestly, I liked the second Back to the Future movie a little better than the first. I don't remember exactly why (maybe the whole future set-up), but that's always been my favorite of the three.

A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (three part BBC show) offers a good overview of the Universal, RKO, and Hammer eras and was quite enjoyable until Gatiss dismissed every horror movie made after Halloween and ticked me off. He does start the series by stating that it's a personal history, but ignoring the past thirty years is a bit excessive.

Following that, watched the British "classics" Blood on Satan's Claw and Wicker Man. The first is quite good at being creepy, albeit not terribly scary, and has no ending. I'm beginning to think this is some sort of British thing. Or perhaps being low-budget, they ran out of film.

Wicker Man is very good and does not have Nicholas Cage in it, which is always a plus. The plot is compelling, and while it seems to develop slowly, at lot of it turns out to be necessary once you get to the ending. There are a lot of musical numbers (I just watched a couple horror movies from the 50s too; why did anyone ever think this was a good idea?) and nudity-for-the-sake-of-runtime, but overall it's enjoyable.

@219 I think running out of money is a British thing. :) I must check out History of Horror, because bearing in mind it's faults sounds interesting. hmm I also must rewatch his UK TV Series The League Of Gentleman (which I recommend), very dark and odd but often funny. Maybe it's because I am a Brit but I do love our comedy horror (Shaun of the Dead, Dog Soldiers, Doghouse etc..)

Just watched Splice and enjoyed it even though I was expecting (and in need of!) a typical monster movie.

I was impressed with Mark Gatiss' new Sherlock series. I'd like to see what he has to say about horror movies.

I started to watch a Japanese giant-monster movie yesterday: War of the Gargantuas. It started well, with a giant octopus attacking a cargo ship.

But then my better half woke up and I couldn't in good conscience make her sit through an hour and a half of guys in rubber suits knocking over buildings.

Maybe later this week...

#219: Ha! Loved your little movie reviews. I have the remake of Wicker Man (yes, the one with your beloved Nicolas Cage in it ;), but I haven't watched it yet, or the original. ::adds to her To Do pile::

#220: I love your guys' humor, whether it's horror or not. Unfortunately, a lot of my coworkers don't like or understand it (::shrugs::) which just means all the more movies for me to check out! :)

That's kind of too bad about Splice not being a monster flick, but I'll still give it a try. It's due back at the library pretty soon anyway.

#221: Uh, I'm kind of siding with your wife on that one. Monsters are ok, but when you can tell it's just "guys in rubber suits knocking over buildings", then I'd have to pass. ;)

How can you see a picture like this:



and not wanna watch that movie?

LOL! No, sorry. I'd be snickering so much, I might as well just watch a comedy. But I would love to watch a behind-the-scenes to those old movies. Looks like a blast to make all those minature buildings.

Ah you can't beat an old Godzilla movie ;-)

#225 - Yeah, snickering is half the fun of watching one of those flicks.

Even though that Godzilla movie sounds oh so tempting (not! ;), I went with a different comedy of sorts: Club Dread. It's a pretty mediocre horror spoof with a few laughs and some nasty death scenes. It's not one I'd say you just had to watch, but if you like horror comedies, then I'd put it on a To-Be-Watched list (well, maybe down in the nether regions of that list). A horror spoof/mockumentary I thought turned out much better was Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. I'm sure there are a ton of other good horror comedies (anyone?), but that was one of the firsts that popped into my head.

I quite liked Club Dread , although I think being drunk helped :) Behind the Mask looks good, going to have to track it down. Hmm it makes me want to watch Man Bites Dog again as well.

Oh dear I quite like silly horror movies I could probably go on for a while! My favourite is a toss up between An American Werewolf in London and Peter Jackson's Braindead (oh and Bad Taste !). hmm there's always Scream ..

Psychos in Love (1987) is a decent horror comedy that skewers the 80's slasher genre. And there's always Student Bodies.

How can we be discussing horror comedies and not have a mention of The Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn? Who's laughing now? That one and DeadAlive (aka Braindead) are two of the best horror comedies.

Oh! And Return of the Living Dead! And Creepshow (though that's a bit more subtle than the others I mentioned).

Behind the Mask is pretty good. Like Scream it's a horror movie that plays with the conventions of the slasher movie, but I think Behind the Mask is more insightful and funnier for it. I love the bit where he talks about all the cardio he has to do. At the end, it sort of becomes a standard horror movie, but I guess I can't blame the producers for that. Worth the rental, for sure.

and Night of the creeps, or Ed and his dead mother.

I never have seen Ed and His Dead Mother and it's been so long since I've seen Night of the Creeps that I might as well say I've never seen it. Time for a trip to Netflix.

I finally watched Timecrimes last night. It was very Triangle or Butterfly Effect-y, but it wasn't a swipe from either. It was pretty good actually. For a while I wasn't sure what I thought of it, because some of the actions were just unbelievable. But if you stick with it, it makes more sense.

Well, I watched War of the Gargantuas. It was pretty stupid, even by Japanese giant monster standards.

The human characters are always the worst part in these movies, but in this one, it was like everyone had frontal lobotomies. They knew there was a creature that they called a Gargantua (sort of an eighty foot tall Bigfoot), but it never occured to anyone that there might be more than one? How do they reproduce? Immacualte conception?

Also, Toho didn't seem to have the hang of creating furry monsters (see their awful King Kong costume for another example). These guys looked like two dogs with mange.

Not a movie so much as a TV drama - anyone else see the BBC modern day adaptation of Whistle and I'll Come on BBC2 on Christmas Eve? I can't comment on similiarities with the original story as I've not read it yet, but I thought the drama was pretty creepy.... I REALLY didn't like the wiggly fingers under the door !

oo I missed it, wonder if its on catch up TV.

Just watched Predators. It was ok, kept me entertained but I just want to go back and watch the original now.

I just watched Splinter which was recommended in #212., It was very good (though I admit that I have a soft spot for horror movies that feature a small group of people in an isolated location).

Thanks for all the horror comedy recommendations, you guys! :) I'm ashamed to say I never watched any of the Evil Dead movies as a kid (just bits and pieces) . . . or Student Bodies . . . or An American Werewolf in London, etc etc. The Scream trilogy, at least, I've seen, liked, and own.

#231: LOL @ I love the bit where he talks about all the cardio he has to do.

Me too! There're some great lines in that one. It's hard not to like the killer.

#237: I can't recall the original Predators, so it'll be interesting watching that one. I have it in my TBW pile (it's been there a loooong time).

#238: Glad you liked Splinter. I never know what to expect from unknown movies I buy at random, but that one (thankfully!) didn't disappoint.

I kind of went on a horror binge at the first of this year and watched Perfect Creature (a cross between Underworld and Children of Men, like the cover says; recommended), The Tripper (mentioned somewhere on this thread, and definitely worth watching; great cast), and Boy Eats Girl (high school zombie flick; recommended).

Last night I watched Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now which is some kind of classic and beautifully filmed, but brother the movie was slooooow.

A couple in Venice meet two British sisters. One is blind and clairvoyant and she tells the couple that the spirit of their daughter (who died at the beginning of the film) is following them and is warning the couple to leave Venice.

It's a neat story with a bizarre but satisfying ending. I'd like to read Daphne Du Maurier's original. But the movie... I would describe the pacing as glacial. I felt like the movie could have been pared down to an hour (from a two hour run time) and been much stronger.

#240 Funny JS - I love that film - a real 70s classic. That ending! Stuck with me forever and even now little people in red coats creep my husband out :o) I've not read the book - be interested to know what you think if you do.

wow, all this time I thought Don't look Now was a Peter Straub story, heh.

#241 - What did you think of the pacing though?

It felt to me like the entire storyline with the police went nowhere. I wasn't even sure why he went to the police in the first place.

But I loved the atmosphere of Venice at night in the fog. And the little red-cloaked figure was eerie. And the ending, yeah. Thinking about it afterwards, it was pretty ridiculous, but as you watch it it was creepy as all get out. Now if something could be done with the hour and forty-five minutes it took to get you there...

#242 - I bet you were thinking of If You Could See Me Now.

#243 JS yeah I agree about the length. I think it's one of those 70s arty things - could definitely do with some lopping in areas. I watched this when I was young (I was a strange horror-obsessed-child even back then, like most of us I suspect) and haven't seen it for a while - suspect I would find it very drawn out now

Finished Fido today. Thanks for recommending this one, you guys. :) Very charming, in a pet zombie sort of way.

I´d really like to see that finnish santa movie, where father christmas turns out to be a bloodthirsty vampire/zombie sort of creature. I think it was called rare exports and was released a couple of months ago. Has anyone seen it?

LOL! No, I haven't seen it, petine, but I'd definitely watch it.

I was just thinking you could team it up with Silent Night, Deadly Night and either version of Black Christmas...

My favorite Xmas movie is Brazil, but it doesn't quite qualify as horror in the genre sense.

Well. Rare exports has finally finished downloading. Tonight I´m going to force the missus to watch it. Full report later.

Ok. Time to report. Rare exports was so rare my wife point blank refused to watch it. Apart from that it was a very interesting and inventive story about father Christmas as you´ve never seen him before. It turns out that Santa Claus is really a huge devil-like creature with horns and an appetite for children, and his little helpers are nothing more than a pack of, well, vicious and hungry naked old men. That´s how much I gathered from looking at it. I would say I had been watching it, but that would not be, strictly speaking, true since the translation was somewhat weird. I seriously doubt whether the person responsible for that speaks either English nor Finnish. An example: in the film you see these two men standing in the snow with loaded rifles, scanning the horizon for any sign of the hideous Santa. Excerpt from the dialogue: "Imagine the Caribou?" "Yes, but przsyvliksny will not keep children lots of time." "Hair dryer?" "No."
I couldn´t help seeing it through to the end, but it left me with the feeling that I somehow missed out on something.

@251 oh that's a shame I was looking forward to that one. Might track it down for a laugh. Guess I will have to stick to Black Christmas (the original) and Bad Santa for my yearly festive film watching.

I saw Piranha at the weekend and seriously wish I hadn't. I guess you need to like watching a lot of naked women more than you like plot and maybe get very very drunk as well.

HA! That translation sounds so funny! I guess I'll wait for an official English release. It sounds sort of like something Peter Jackson or Robert Zemeckis should bring to the States.

I have the Piranha remake in my queue. I'll still try it...

I watched a German haunted house movie (strangely, made in English) called 7 Day to Live starring Amanda Plummer and Sean Pertwee. Unfortunately the best thing about the movie was the title (and the exterior of the house). It wasn't in any way scary or suspenseful. In about the middle I nodded off for ten minutes, then realized I didn't care and shut it off.

To make up for that lousy experience, I watched Altered again (which I mentioned back in #26). Now that's an unexpectedly good scary movie (though I confess I have a soft spot for scary movies dealing with an isolated group of people).

I have Case 39 at home now. I don't even remember adding it to my queue. It sounds like one of those Bad Seed kinda stories. We'll see...

LOL @ 251. That translation was priceless. :) I may still give that one a go. Maybe.

#252: Good to know, clfisha. I'll bump that one down a bit on my TBW list. If I need to see a naked chick, I can just look in the mirror. ;)

#253: Too bad about 7 Day to Live. I love foreign horror; it's usually real bizarre.

I bought Altered awhile ago, but I still haven't watched it. Oops.

Case 39 is in my TBW pile, too, along with Machete and a whole bunch of other "scaries".

I'm watching Dolan's Cadillac right now (based on Stephen King's same-named short story in Nightmares and Dreamscapes, which is one of my favorites in that book). The cast is great, and I'm liking it so far (don't want to say I love it, 'cause I know I'll jinx myself if I do). It just makes me want to re-read the story even more (maybe later, after the movie).

#253+254
The funny thing is that I tracked Rare Exports down on Google just the other day and found it actually had been released in America about a month ago. Supposedly with another translator, although the present one did make me laugh more than just once, God bless his/her soul.

Did anybody here ever watch the TV series American Gothic? I just bought the complete series off of Half.com for $5.00!

I did learn that when I get it, I shouldn't watch it in the order presented on the DVDs.

#256: Yep, I used to watch that show awhile ago. Good to know it's going for so cheap!

#256 Me too! A while ago now but I remember enjoying it - a bit twin-peaks-ish although not entirely that weird

I loved that series, but was pissed off they never finished it up. I hate that. I'll be on the look out for it as well. Side note, the little kid in that series is all growed up and played in Legion.

I used to love it when I watched it on TV and it was so irritating when that they never finished it.

We watched Case 39 with Renee Zellwegger last night. Not bad, but not particularly good either. It was another take on the Bad Seed/Orphan theme.

I liked the twist actually, but the movie as a whole was just so-so. Worth a rent I guess, but not too memorable.

>261 jseger9000:

I recently watched Case 39 too and was really disappointed. I guess I didn't exactly know what I was getting into (I try to NOT read the backs of DVDs). I think I added it to my queue months ago after hearing its release was delayed (in my head, that meant it was extra-good or something, lol). I just don't particularly care for the whole "evil child" theme. I thought the movie begun well, but I ended up not particularly caring for any of the characters.

Of the many horror movies I've seen since last posting, I'd have to recommend Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. It was completely unique to anything I've seen. It got silly at the end, but I am excited at the rumor of a sequel.

#262 - I'd have to recommend Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon... It got silly at the end...

Yeah, once it stopped being a 'documentary' it wasn't so fun any more. But I totally understand why they did it. I'd recommend Behind the Mask as well.

Last night I watched George Romero's version of The Dark Half. I was a little nervous about it since I hadn't seen it in years, but it was pretty good. At times very different from the book, but mostly pretty faithful.

I recently watched 'Severance' and 'Raw Meat' and really liked them. 'Raw Meat' is an early 70s Brit movie staring Donald Pleasence as a cockney police detective investigating the disappearance of riders from the London subway. I think it's his best role, and it must have been shockingly gruesome for when it was released. It's still got a big 'ew' factor.

What is it about Japanese horror movies? I mean, an hour after watching one and you're still trying to scrub your brain clean.

oo I haven't even heard of Raw Meat (also known as Dead line), Sounds great ;) Talking about tube horror tales anyone seen Creep? Its not perfect but I enjoyed it, nicely atmospheric although I think the end is a bit of a let down.

#265: Glad you liked Severance. I haven't watched Raw Meat (never heard of it either).

Which Japanese flick were you meaning? I've seen a few Asian movies that have really stayed with me for years, so I know what you mean about the "scrub your brain clean" feeling (Tell Me Something is one).

#266: I bought Creep awhile ago (as part of a 4-pack), but I still haven't watched it yet. I'll try to give that one a go soon. One tube/underground movie that popped into my head when you mentioned "not perfect" and "the end is a bit of a let down" was Midnight Meat Train. I liked it, but the ending was so wtf-ish, that it kind of turned me off for a bit. It's still one I'd recommend.

I mentioned Raw Meat in #211. I agree with #265, but for me it was too slow moving.

I watched The Langoliers over the weekend. Not great and the GCI looked hokey. I think the main problem was a shortage of $$$. But I was surprised how closely it stuck to King's novella.

Haven't watched either yet, but we have Buried and The Last Exorcism at home.

I watched Gothika last night, it's been a couple of years since I've watched it and still think its pretty good.

#267- I watched most of Imprint before I had to turn it off. I think the director wanted to show hell on earth, as depicted in Buddhist tangkas. I'm sorry I even started watching it; torture porn just skeeves me out. Years ago, and with a friend's fair warning, I watched Audition. It was a Netflix disk and I was so horrified by it that I didn't want it in the house and put it in the car to wait for the time to take out the the outgoing mail.

I like some Japanese horror (Ring, that movie about having 7 days to live) but some of it's just deplorable.

#268: Oop, sorry, jseger. I have a short attention span here. :)

#270: Hmm, haven't watched Imprint, but I bought Audition several weeks ago and set it aside because I heard it was terribly slow (except for the last little bit). Thanks, I should really watch it asap.

I just watched the Piranha remake. After #252 I'm almost afraid to admit it, but I liked it.

The thing is, it is a terrible movie. But it is so ridiculously gory and fun. The Romero Dead movies have nothing on the remake when it comes to gore. And who doesn't like watching irritating college students get chomped on?

Total crap, but it is worth a rental.

And have you noticed that Alexandre Aja has made a career out of remakes? The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors and Haute Tension (which is just a swipe of Intensity).

>>272 jseger9000:

Don't be ashamed about Piranha! I would like to boast that I saw this in 3D the theaters and the gore was amazing. It truly is so over the top that you have to admire it.

I have The Last Exorcism awaiting viewing at my house. I watched about 15-20 minutes of it last week at bed time before forgetting that I'd taken a Benadryl. Needless to say, I don't remember much except for thinking, "Is that Professor Lasky?" (Saved by the Bell fans will know what I am talking about).

I also have Argento's Phenomena awaiting shipment from Blockbuster. And I'm looking forward to renting Hatchet II next week too.

I would also like to add that I saw Fido for the first time this weekend and was really impressed. I didn't know much about it before viewing, but I really enjoyed it. The acting was good and the colors were beautiful. It was a great social commentary of the 50's with some added nuances of slavery too. It isn't in-your-face horror, but zombie pets decomposing and living in society definitely puts it in the genre of horror-comedy.

Oh yeah, Fido was great.

I've been watching Tales From the Darkside season one. There were four episodes in a row: Inside the Closet, Word Processor of the Gods (from a Stephen King story), A Case of the Stubborns (from a Robert Bloch story) and Djinn, no Chaser (from a Harlan Ellison story) that were terrific.

I'd like to see a horror(-esque) anthology series where all the episodes are adapted from writers of that level.

Went to see The Rite this weekend. A couple good jump scares and Hopkins brought it (I haven't been impressed with a couple of his recent movies). Thought it was shot nice and creepy without any gore. Of course, thematically, it's not too unusual: conquer personal demons and a question of faith in order to achieve a goal. In this case, the goal was conquering a "real" demon.

Anybody else see it?

I am leaving work momentarily (feeling pretty under the weather). Before I make it home, I am going to pick up Hatchet II and Deadgirl.

I watched An American Haunting yesterday. It was better than I thought but also not what I thought. It was very misleading and for me, predictable. I'm not sure how well the film jived with the "true" story (largely referenced in the Monahan book The Bell Witch: An American Haunting), but **spolier alert** I don't really get how a girl could be "haunted" by her innocence. **end spoiler** I did like the period setting but then disliked the first and last 3-5 minutes of present-day. It was really unnecessary as throughout the movie, I kept wonderig when they'd switch back to the modern story (which they never did until the last 5 mins).

P.S. I have changed my username from "scarylibrary" to this. Hopefully this will cut down on the "saraslibrary" confusion. =o)

Hello Scary... err.. CurrLee!

I watched a documentary called Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film with interviews with John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Rob Zombie and a bunch of lesser-knowns. It's really just about American slasher films, but it was entertaining.

Inspired by that I also watched an old slasher movie called The Prowler. Really, it was below par, but Tom Savini's special effects were awesome.

I watched the 2009(?) version of The Hole and quite enjoyed it. Maybe that was helped by not having high expectations but it was a good family horror borrowing from the classics but doing it well.

>278 jseger9000:

That's an odd coincidence, I read a book called Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986 a few years ago. I think the documentary you saw must be largely based off that as it too pretty much amhasized American horror. I want to say I might have caught some of that documentary too. It's sad when I watch/read so much non-fiction about horror that they start to run together.

#280 - I checked into it and they are related (which gave me a nice opportunity to add a related movie to the book). Adam Rockoff is listed on both.

I notice that the book specifies 1978-1986 in the title, but in the documentary they go back to Psycho (1960) and Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast and a bunch of other terrible gore movies) and The Last House on the Left (1972). They also go forward in time to cover Scream and Saw. But the focus is on the glut of slashers from 78-86 and the Italians only get a passing mention.

Worth watching. It's available to watch streaming if you have Netflix.

Last night I watched the '80's remake of The Blob which is surprisingly good. The biggest stumbling block it has is Kevin Dillon's hair. What were they thinking? Really, Kevin Dillon is sort of a lump here (but he was good in Platoon). Lots of the other townspeople also look sorta goofy, but it was the '80's.

The special effects hold up pretty well and it was written by Frank Darabont, so it turned out better than it had a right to. It would be nice to see a remastered version where they cleaned up the blue screen shots. (DVD is so sharp that lots of old blue screen shots look pretty hokey now.)

#276: Nope, have not seen that one yet. I'll try it once it's on DVD though. Thanks! :)

#277: Aw, you didn't have to do that, but yeah, there's no mistaking our names now. ;)

A quick thanks to jseger for recommending Altered awhile ago. It took me ages to watch it after buying it, but I was really impressed. I'm not big into aliens, but in this case, it actually freaked me out. The only thing I thought I'd mention was all the profanity. That doesn't bother me, but I don't recall very many lines without them in there. Regardless, another thumbs up from me.

A couple others I've watched lately:

* Heartstopper -- Not one I'd really recommend (the story's pretty flimsy about a serial killer coming back to life to find a new body/vessel to inhabit; some lines that were meant to be scary came off a bit silly to me, etc), but I bought it for Robert Englund, so it wasn't a total waste.

* Deadline was pretty good (a writer discovers something sinister about the couple who lived in the house before her), though I have to admit, I didn't understand some of it near the end. Maybe a rewatching is in order.

#282: I almost rented Deadline this weekend, but decided to look up some reviews first. Glad you mentioned it.

#282 - Glad you liked Altered. That one was good enough that I watched it twice.

My wife was so mad at the alien, she wanted them to just kill it and damn the consequences. That's why she's not the president.

I watched an old, old David Cronenberg movie this weekend (his first in fact), Shivers.

A scientist has released a virus in a luxury apartment building that is on its own island. The virus causes infectees to become sexual maniacs.

It's funny, because we are told it's a virus, but it's actually more of a worm-monster. That probably looked better on film.

The movie was funded in part by the Canadian government, so it looks pretty good. He had the use of a cutting edge, luxury building. It's groovy to see what was considered elegant in the '70's. It caused a minor scandal as well since it was so gory, yucky and depraved (really it's pretty tame, but I guess when the gov is footing the bill it had better be Masterpiece Theater stuff). Of course, it's David Cronenberg, so it was also smarter than most horror movies.

Sadly, it's also pretty slow. That is what would really keep me from recommending it.

Not sure if Let Me In was covered in one of the previous movie threads, but I rented it this weekend. Enjoyed this take on the vampire theme and its application as a metaphor for the terror of being bullied. Very moody, dark shooting. And I couldn't believe how good of an acting job those kids did. But it's not the kind of horror movie that made me jump or put me on the edge of the seat.

However, I did find the couple times they completely used CGI to create the vampire's attack to be just plain bad. Won't they ever learn that a computer-animated monster rarely works (and I'm being generous because I've never seen it work well).

#285 - Did you watch the original or the American remake?

I watched The Human Centipede. I don't know what you guys are gonna think of me, but I genuinely liked it. You never hear anything about the movie that doesn't feature the term 'ass to mouth', so I really expected something along the lines of MST3K. It really was much better than that... but the centipede really was goofy.

#286 - The American remake, though I'd like to see the original (which I didn't find in the foreign films section at the local store, but hopefully it was rented out). Though the book might be a good bet, too.

Never heard of The Human Centipede, but then a lot of the movies mentioned here aren't found locally. Someday I'll have to get Netflix!

While I haven't seen the American remake, I really enjoyed Let the Right One In. I typically don't like to read subtitles, however this one didn't bother me. The story was beautiful albeit gory.

Regarding The Human Centipede, I watched that a few months ago. I wasn't too impressed, but it wasn't as gross as I thought it would be. I was happy at the fact that the nudity was done tastefully. There was a real chance at some serious in-you-face nakedness. The doctor was seriously creepy though. I also hear there is a sequel (or possible prequel) on the way.

I've been busy with lots of scary movies! I rented Argento's Phenomena (wasn't too impressed, 6.5/10), My Soul to Take (had real promise and started off well, but I didn't like the second half, 6/10), Pontypool (very unique zombie film, definitely recommend a watch but I didn't love it, 7.5/10), and Buried (impressed with the Reynolds' acting but I felt like it was missing something, 7/10).

This week I plan on watching Eyes Without a Face and Paranormal Activity 2.

#288 - Wow, you have been busy. I considered Buried but worried that the confined space would limit the story and be more gimmick than a real plot.

I've never heard of Pontypool so I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

#288 - For some reason, Netflix just isn't getting Pontypool (or at least they hadn't last I checked) and I do want to see it. I think a friend bought it. I'll have to see if I can borrow it.

I'm curious to see what you think about Eyes Without a Face. It had a lot of positives, but be prepared for a very slow moving movie. And good luck getting Billy Idol's song out of your head.

Hmm... he has another song whose title was taken from an old horror movie. Flesh For Fantasy. I remember that one being pretty good. I ought to try and tack it down again.

I watched a couple of MST3K episodes. Laserblast which used to be on local TV (KTLA) all the time when I was a kid. Surprise! It was terrible (but I do remember liking the movie when I was younger. I think I just thought the weapon was neat). The movie was awful, but the MST3K episode was very good. A good one to try if you've never seen the show.

I also saw an MST3K contender for the worst Canadian horror movie of all time: The Final Sacrifice. That movie was so bad even MST3K had a hard time rescuing it.

#284: Yeah, I could definitely see your wife's point re: the alien. :)

#285: Let Me In is in my TBW pile, but I've seen/own the original version (Let The Right One In) and would really recommend watching that one too. Too bad about the CGI on Let Me In. I'll have to keep that in mind when I get around to watching it.

#288: I'm impressed with all the movies you got through. :) I haven't seen any of them (with the exception of LTROI, of course), so I'll look for those later one. Thanks!

#291: And good luck getting Billy Idol's song out of your head. -- Ha! It's already stuck in mine, and I haven't even seen the darn movie.

I've only watched a couple of horror flicks this past week:

* The Wolfman (the remake). I never saw the original, so I don't know how it compares; but I'd have to agree with one of my coworker's opinions about it being too CGI heavy. But overall, I really enjoyed it. Loved the cast, too. Thumbs up from me.

* The Raven (the Ulli Lommel one). Thumbs way down. There's no plot, so the whole thing made no sense whatsoever. But it was bizarre enough to keep me watching it to the end to see if things were explained a little better--**spoiler** they aren't). A low budget and mediocre cast didn't help either, though the lead actress (Jillian Swanson) reminded me a little of Anna Paquin (maybe that's one reason to watch it, if you're really desperate to find a plus to this movie). But really, I'd skip it. I'm taking this one back to the store for an exchange.

#282 - I'll have to give Altered a shot!

I don't get to watch many horror movies these days. The last that genuinely freaked me out was The Ruins. (That being said, moments in Skyline were horrifying to me! I told my S.O. after watching it, "That movie was an ongoing answer to the question, 'How could this possibly get worse?'")

#293: I hope you like Altered, deb. I went ahead and bought it used without renting it first, and I wasn't disappointed. It's really fast-paced at the beginning, so it's hard not to watch it all the way through.

The Rune: hmm, I don't think I ever saw that one, but I saw a similar-titled one: The Ruins (might that be the one you saw too?). I liked it, but for some reason, now that I look back on it, attacking vines sounds kind of silly ("When Plants Go Bad!"). I should probably watch it again. I'm sure I won't be laughing then. ;)

I haven't seen Skyline either, so I'll have to add that one to my Want To Watch list. I don't watch a lot of alien invasion movies unless they're more on the funnier side (like Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Mars Attacks, etc--though I really liked District 9, The Faculty {total guilty pleasure}, Alien series, and a handful of others) so I'll give Skyline a try. Thanks for the rec! :)

ETA: Oops, forgot to mention a movie I just watched: Living Doll. Everything about it screamed "really bad movie!" (the cover, the unheard of cast/distributor, the fact it's over 20 years old {though I have a soft spot for 80's horror}, etc); but I'm happy to admit it wasn't half-bad. It's almost kind of sweet in a sick romantic way (guy falls in love with girl--even after she dies). Thumbs up from me if you can find a copy.

#294

Sara I LOVED The Ruins. Those plants were bad indeed!

I saw Case 39 yesterday... ho hum. Couldn't take Renee Zellwegger seriously fighting a demon child & kept thinking of Bridget Jones: weight: 110, case: 39, demon children: 1

Just settling down for an afternoon with The Crazies

#294 - Oh, shoot! I was indeed referring to The Ruins. Thanks for seeing what I meant to say instead of what I actually said. ;) I'll see if I can find Living Doll!

#295 - Like you, I couldn't buy Case 39. The only thing that worked for this Oregon native is that it was set in Oregon, but that only goes so far! I think I enjoyed your assessment more than the movie itself.

I did, however, really enjoy The Crazies. Like The Ruins, its protagonists are largely rational actors. I consequently had a very hard time not being stuck in the moment with them.

>294 saraslibrary:

The Faculty is the ultimate guilty pleasure! It's bad movie making done right. I have to watch a few minutes whenever I come across it on TV.

I'm the odd man out on The Ruins. After a certain scene, the silliness of the plants just pulled me out of the tense story and I couldn't get back in to it. Anyone read the book?

#295 & 296: The Crazies--certainly worth watching. I haven't watched Case 39 yet, because I keep hearing how bad it is. That's never stopped me before though.

#297: I have not read the book, because I figure why bother when I've already seen the movie. And you're right about not being able to get back into The Ruins once you think it's silly. I remember laughing a couple times in it, so it wasn't scary at all; but considering the crap I usually watch, it was pretty darn good.

I thought the book was better, but that's usually the case and I'm also a big fan of The Crazies - the Deputy is the best.

the Deputy is the best

Agreed! And he pulls off a pretty good American accent (he's British, I think).

Just watched Circle of Eight. What?? Not a clue! My thoughts? Arty-farty-tries-to-be-clever pile of pants. But that's just me.

Maybe I need to watch the Crazies remake again. I remember thinking it was okay, but that's about it. I'd give it a second shot though.

Watched Misery this weekend. I usually think of James Caan as a tough guy actor, but he did a really good job as a romance writer. But man, Cathy Bates stole the movie. She nailed the Annie Wilkes role, nailed it! She deserved the Oscar she won.

#301 - I just went to Netflix to check out Circle of Eight. It predicts that I would rate it at 2.1 stars. It started as a MySpace online series. And I really don't like that they called the building the Dante. It seems too obvious. That looks like three strikes against it.

It sounds a little like the old '70's horror book and movie The Sentinel (both of which I like) and it is available to watch instantly. Maybe I'll try it.

My prediction: At the end it turns out she was dead all along.

#303 Haha JS- psychically gifted or eternally cynical?

I found The Crazies very ho hum as it drifted into background noise to my other activities. (I get very restless very quickly if I'm not hooked from the off). It's ages since I've seen a really good horror that I enjoyed :-/

>>302 jseger9000: js9000- I read somewhere that Bette Midler was considered for the part of Annie in Misery. As much as I liked Cathy Bates and what she did with the role, Midler would have knocked it out of the park. Last night I watched After Midnight, a pretty good 80s horror flick about a strange college prof who teaches a psych course on fear. Really three spooky tales framed by the premise, it's worth a look and the second story really did give me the willies.

#305 - ...imagines the screaming, angry Bette from Ruthless People threatening to give Paul a chainsaw enema...
I dunno. Bette Midler is a very good actress, better than most of the movies she's been in. But she doesn't seem right for Annie at all. I couldn't see a redheaded Annie.

Acting aside, Kathy Bates also looks like Annie.

I read on Wikipedia that there was an Indian remake of Misery in 2003. I'd be curious to see that.

And After Midnight sounds good. I love horror anthology movies. I think I'll see if Netflix has it.

I haven't been writing about it, but I've been wroking my way through Tales From the Darkside season one and Boris Karloff's Thriller.

Tales From the Darkside did a lot more 'silly' episodes than I remember.

Thriller... I've watched ten episodes and only one has been really good. But I read that the series took a while to find its legs, so I'll keep going.

I've been reviewing the episodes as I watch them over at TV.com if anyone is interested (though I didn't write reviews for the first six or seven TFtD episodes).

I just noticed a few of you talked about Deadline. I've eyed this at Blockbuster for several months now and got lucky when I saw it was playing on TV (Encore I think, but definitely a channel I have to pay a little extra for). It didn't get great reviews but I really liked it (so much that I found a cheap copy on Amazon and ordered it!). 8/10

I saw a few of you talking about Altered too. Unfortunately, I did not like this one much at all. I fast-forwarded through a lot of it. I didn't like the characters. For the most part, I find alien films a bit cheesey too. 5.5/10

Coincidentally, I saw Circle of Eight not too long ago either. I thought this had great promise but fell really short. The characters got too close too fast and the Mountain Dew references/sponsorship was redic. I'm giving it a fair rating because it did provoke some thinking (reminded be a bit of Triangle). The movie was originally aired in segments on Myspace. Maybe watching it in small pieces and online would have been more enjoyable? 5/10 P.S. I saw The Sentinel earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Definitely not comparable to Circle of Eight by a longshot.

I again breezed through a lot of horror flicks this weekend:

Unrest - An Afterdark Horrorfest film that started off with promise but had a lot of factual errors and plot holes that I found it to be too silly. For one, medical students are not referred to as "Dr.'s" 6/10

Dogtooth - Not so much "horror" as it is horrifying. I didn't like this movie yet I still felt it was a "good" movie (does that make sense?). Kind of like how I feel A Clockwork Orange is a good movie but I don't like watching it. Dogtooth made me feel really uneasy. I don't feel the sex scenes needed to be so explicit either, especially given the situation. This one also evokes a lot of thought. Possible spoiler...it was sort of like The Blue Lagoon meets Flowers in the Attic....end spoiler. I don't even know how to rate this one.

Paranormal Activity 2 - I was really impressed by this. I liked it more than the first. It is interesting because it isn't exactly a "prequel" or a "sequel." It actually takes place during the timeperiod of first film. I hear there will be a third which makes me curious where the writers will go with the story. 8/10

Lake Mungo - Another Afterdark Horrorfest movie. I was truly engaged and quite liked it (am planning on purchasing it through Amazon). This was another documentary-style movie that relied almost completely on the build up of tension and eerie photostills/grainy video footage. A teen girl drowns and the family (and town) she lives in encounters odd happening afterwards. I thought the movie was really unique. Apparently they are remaking it. Why? I don't know (except that the original was Australian and the U.S. feels the need to remake any decent foreign horror film). 8.5/10

#301: I've never heard of Circle of Eight, let alone watched it, so I doubt I get around to it anytime soon. I'll just stick a big "maybe" on it. :)

#302: I never saw the original Crazies, but I liked this remake. The sheriff really stood out for me, maybe because of what he goes through. Who knows.

Out of all the Stephen King movies Kathy Bates has been in, Misery's still my favorite of hers. She's perfect for it!

#303: I still haven't read The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz (the old man cover just makes me snicker and put it aside for "later"), but never mind about that. Let us know if your Circle of Eight prediction is accurate, so I don't have to watch it. :)

#304: Poor, becks. In that case, just rewatch some of your favorites. It helps me, at least, when I see a bunch of stinkers.

#305: Hmm, I don't even know what to think about Bette Midler as Annie Wilkes. My tiny mind can't comprehend that.

After Midnight looks familiar, but I can't be certain I've seen it. It's definitely something I'd want to watch, though. Thanks!

#306: I read on Wikipedia that there was an Indian remake of Misery in 2003. I'd be curious to see that.

Ugh, a Bollywood-style version of Misery? I'll definitely skip that one (I just can't stomach most Indian movies).

#307: Glad you liked Deadline. I didn't quite get it, but it was still enjoyable.

For the most part, I find alien films a bit cheesey too. -- I agree with you there. And no, the characters weren't very sympathetic. Even the girl in the movie (who is, at one point, bound and gagged by her bf and his friends) seems ok with it all.

Woah, just looked at Dogtooth on IMDb (any combination of "The Blue Lagoon meets Flowers in the Attic" catches my eye), and it looks waaay bizarre. I'll have to give that one a try. Thanks! :)

Unrest & Lake Mungo I keep bringing home, but never watching. I love the After Dark/Horrorfest movies, so I really should get on those.

Paranormal Activity 2 is in my cubby at work (I think), so I'll get to it asap. I like that it's not quite a prequel or sequel. Can't wait for the third either.

Right now, I'm watching Next Door (aka Naboer). Another one of those what-the-hell-it's-on-sale buys; plus the quote on the front really got my attention: "An homage to Roman Polanski with nods to David Lynch." So far, I haven't a clue where the plot's going. It's very odd stuff, including a scene where two characters have sex while punching each other in the face. Call it a hunch, but I don't think there'll be any happy endings here. ;)

I went to Netflix and they do have After Midnight available to watch instantly. I was just deciding to watch it when Netflix decided I might also enjoy The Keep!

The movie that Michael Mann has kept from DVD. Netflix only has it available as an instant. How could I pass that up?

Like every Michael Mann movie, The Keep is gorgeous. Beautifully filmed. The sets are lavish and the stars are no slouches: Scott Glenn, Jürgen Prochnow, Gabriel Byrne and Ian McKellen. The start of the movie is strong and will pull you in.

Unfortunately, it has the same problems that (to me) the book has. Namely, the character of Glaeken (Scott Glenn here). As soon as he is introduced, the story takes a downhill slide. It doesn't help that for some reason, Scott Glenn is stiff as a board.

Also, the Tangerine Dream score is sometimes beautiful, but often feels wildly out of place.

Still, if you have Netflix I would recommend seeing the film, if nothing else because of its rarity. Also, it is a big budget horror film with nary a teenager in sight.

I just added The Keep as well, it's been years since I've watched it. I still like the series by F. Paul Wilson. I also watched Altered since it was mentioned in the thread. Not terrible, I've seen worse for sure. It seemed like it took up where Fire in the Sky left off without saying it took up where Fire in the Sky left off. And a big thumbs down for Bette Midler as Annie Wikles, Kathy Bates also did a great job playing Dolores Claiborne.

#311 - I hadn't thought of that, but a double feature of Fire in the Sky and Altered would be fun.

I meant to mention Dolores Claiborne when I was talking about Misery. That is an excellent movie. It's a shame so few people have seen it.

Bette not right for Misery? inconceivable! And I am unanimous in that. I think she'd have brought a darker edge to the role and would have been AWESOME. I think Bates did a great job with the movie serial scene and Midler wouldn't have done better, but other than that, I can see Midler switching but Bates...oh hell, she did a great job and I'm sure she liked the role. Still. Bette.

the hannibal lecter and pysco series, also oringinal black and white monster movies are good. Don't forget any Stephen King movies, he's like the king of horror

Yeah, he is sorta like the King of horror.

Hey, we need a new thread.

Agreed. jseger, you want to do the honors?

ETA: Never mind. :) Here's the link for anyone else: http://www.librarything.com/topic/110647 .

I finally resubscribed to Netflix, following which I added a bunch of movies from this thread! Which one shall I watch tonight? Regardless, I'm looking forward to it. Bwahaha!

I've never used Netflix, but I'm glad you found some good ones to add to your list. Let us know what you thought of 'em. :)