/horror/ general megathread - Let's talk about movies and shit.

[Internet War Criminal]

The sounds when she ate, like masticating a baby bird. Appalling.

My buddies keep recommending House ofUsher, but there’s three gay couples and a troon. Seems the troon dies horrifically, but I can’t bring myself to look at it,

All of the faggots are show as decadent horrible worthless people, and there's no troon in it.

Mike Flanagan is very hit-and-miss for me, enjoyed Midnight Mass and Doctor Sleep but hated The Midnight Club and found The Haunting of Hill House to be dull.

Give the first two episodes a chance, and seriously, wait for the end of the second episode. You should be hooked.

 

[Vampirella]

Did you like Boxing Helena? That’s where I first came across him. He was almost always very well cast.

That is one of those movies I keep meaning to getting around to seeing. I've heard such good things about it.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

The sounds when she ate, like masticating a baby bird. Appalling.

My buddies keep recommending House ofUsher, but there’s three gay couples and a troon. Seems the troon dies horrifically, but I can’t bring myself to look at it,

House of Usher feels like they're trying to squeeze or refernce every Edgar Allan Poe story in 8 episodes.

 

[Commander X]

Flanagan is very, very hit or miss for me, and more miss than hit. Yet his debut, Absentia (2011) is a film I've rewatched now and again, a strong little film, that oozes eeriness and dread from the streets of Glendale.

 

[TVB]

Flanagan is very, very hit or miss for me, and more miss than hit. Yet his debut, Absentia (2011) is a film I've rewatched now and again, a strong little film, that oozes eeriness and dread from the streets of Glendale.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wN1kyOUm8uk

I have mixed feelings about his body of work. Oculus is a creepy, decent movie, but I really love his debut film Absentia as well.

 

[frozen_runner]

I've been a total stick-in-the-mud this October and haven't followed through on my planned horror movie month.

That said, I ordered and received my copies of The Terror (season one... again, the only real season) and Exorcist 3. I immediately forced The Terror onto my friend and demanded he watch it, and I just rewatched the theatrical cut of Exorcist 3 in preparation for the director's cut.

Having taken some time in between viewings, I am struck by how damn good the theatrical cut is. True, it starts to fall apart in the last half/third (the Father Morning stuff just doesn't work, as effectively shot and acted as it is), but my God the script is good. Excellent dialogue and cinematography, and the cast is great. I could sperg about Brad Douriff for hours... he's a magnificent talent who has never truly gotten his due. The slight modulation and alteration of his voice in his starring scenes is so strange and effective. Great stuff.

And the ending. I don't know how in the fuck you explain Bill walking away from just shooting a patient to death (???), but it barely matters by that point because it works emotionally. As jumbled as the concepts get in the theatrical cut, Karras gaining control at the very end and calling out to his friend is so perfectly chilling and effective.

You kind of wish the movie was more Silence of the Lambs and less explicitly supernatural in places, because it would be even more effective, but it is the (real) sequel to The Exorcist after all. I caught the first ten minutes of the director's cut and was kind of baffled at some of the changes. We shall see...

I have mixed feelings about his body of work. Oculus is a creepy, decent movie, but I really love his debut film Absentia as well.

I adore Midnight Mass and Occulus, thought Doctor Sleep was pretty decent, was quickly bored by The Midnight Club, and I genuinely loathed The Haunting of Hill House despite the great cast. Not even going to touch his version of Turning of the Screw where everyone is unambiguously a fag/dyke. Yawn.

That said, I'm looking forward to The Fall of the House of Usher. When I can fucking pirate it, because fuck paying for Netflix.

 

[TVB]

I adore Midnight Mass and Occulus, thought Doctor Sleep was pretty decent, was quickly bored by The Midnight Club, and I genuinely loathed The Haunting of Hill House despite the great cast. Not even going to touch his version of Turning of the Screw where everyone is unambiguously a fag/dyke. Yawn.

That said, I'm looking forward to The Fall of the House of Usher. When I can fucking pirate it, because fuck paying for Netflix.

Midnight Mass was a great miniseries, but Doctor Sleep was mediocre as shit.

 

[frozen_runner]

Midnight Mass was a great movie, but Doctor Sleep was mediocre as shit.

Midnight Mass was a great miniseries, my good man.

Doctor Sleep could have been a total disaster. A sequel to the Kubrick film is a blasphemous concept, and yet the "sequel" has a much lighter touch on that front than I feared. The movie didn't offend me, and I liked the concepts, and the execution wasn't the nightmare it could have been.

That's what I meant by, "it was pretty decent." Obviously, it's an objectively inferior film to The Shining. I want to say it shouldn't exist at all, but I'm fine with the book existing, so...

 

[modern horrors]

I want to say it shouldn't exist at all, but I'm fine with the book existing, so...

They should've made it a standalone movie, not a sequel to Kubrick's film. Instead they made this memberberries embarrassment that shits all over the film that King hated so much. I bet King loved it. Flanagan is a hack.

 

[TVB]

Midnight Mass was a great miniseries, my good man.

My dumbass mind couldn't comprehend because I just woke up

Doctor Sleep could have been a total disaster. A sequel to the Kubrick film is a blasphemous concept, and yet the "sequel" has a much lighter touch on that front than I feared. The movie didn't offend me, and I liked the concepts, and the execution wasn't the nightmare it could have been.

That's what I meant by, "it was pretty decent." Obviously, it's an objectively inferior film to The Shining. I want to say it shouldn't exist at all, but I'm fine with the book existing, so...

Don't get me wrong, I do agree that it had a surprising good concept, especially advertised as a direct sequel to the Kubrick movie, and I will also agree that it isn't offensive. Plus the lighting and camera work shows that Flannigan really loves Kubrick, and for a good reason too. But I was really disappointed with how it was executed, especially by the midway through of the second act.

 

[Your Starter for 10]

Finally got around to watching All Hallows Eve (Art the Clown's origin) and AHE 2. And what a bizarre deal - although both very much worth watching. I guess because Leone had very little involvement in the sequel (no writing or directing), they were so different. They've both got quite a bit of fat in them that could be carved out, but that's to be expected in any low budget horror, but also both have a lot of good things going for them.

The wrap-around in part 1 is pretty good, as are 2 of the 3 'stories.' The kid actors were even pretty good in it. I guess because it's a decade old, before they made it a requirement that everyone in every horror movie become an unlikeable, smarmy, sarcastic shitbag. Anyway the effects are obviously low-budget, but it still plays out pretty well, and they actually pull a lot off that they shouldn't have been able to.

The sequel is actually somewhat fun since there's like 8 or 9 stories in it, and they're all really short. It's just set-up and payoff with very little boredom. Although many of the stories are pretty dumb, they're over before you know it, and usually have something either funny or gruesome.

Anyway, both are solid 3 out of 5, for different reasons. No titties, good gore, Art being Art for the first time, and both look much less low budget than they are. Punch well above their weight.

 

[AskeDead]

Dawn of the Dead (7 is still the best.

 

[MarvinTheParanoidAndroid]

I authored a thread for Halloween movies but didn't notice this thread already existed, so I'll just repost the OP here. Sorry to anyone whose time I wasted with said thread.

Since it's spooky season, I'm looking for recommendations for movies to watch. This thread ought to be a good place to recommend spooky content in general for everybody.

If anybody cares, I've already watched the original Frankenstein and it's mediocre compared to the book, I'm not watching the original Dracula since I've seen it and it sucks outside of Bela Lugosi's performance. If there's a really good Dracula movie, I've never seen it. I have no patience for shitty Grudge ripoffs either since that market is highly saturated with hot garbage, so blue tinted women who crawl on the ceiling and make death rattle groans at the camera is dead in the water. All demonic possession movies passed the Exorcist are basically all shit, with one exception being the ironically titled The Last Exorcist which has a "is it or is it not real" found footage twist. I tried the Paranormal Activity movies and they're all boring except for the third one, but that's only good for one sitting. Slasher movies are pretty trash and generally just serial killer / spree killer porn. SAW are all retarded, super contrived torture porn movies. Zombie movies have potential but always have stupid people for protagonists and a key feature of zombie movies is just being dysfunctional retards in general that all get each other or themselves killed.

I could go on, but it's really odd how trashy and terribly written most horror movies are, honestly. I can think of like three good Halloween movies off the top of my head, which are A Nightmare Before Christmas, the Poltergeist, and I guess that just makes two.

 

[The Nothingness]

It's kind of amusing that as Buffy the Vampire Slayer was airing its first season, Sarah Michelle Gellar's big roles were in two slashers, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2, where she just added to the body count (much like the early career of Owen Wilson).

 

[Calandrino]

I authored a thread for Halloween movies but didn't notice this thread already existed, so I'll just repost the OP here. Sorry to anyone whose time I wasted with said thread.

Since it's spooky season, I'm looking for recommendations for movies to watch. This thread ought to be a good place to recommend spooky content in general for everybody.

If anybody cares, I've already watched the original Frankenstein and it's mediocre compared to the book, I'm not watching the original Dracula since I've seen it and it sucks outside of Bela Lugosi's performance. If there's a really good Dracula movie, I've never seen it. I have no patience for shitty Grudge ripoffs either since that market is highly saturated with hot garbage, so blue tinted women who crawl on the ceiling and make death rattle groans at the camera is dead in the water. All demonic possession movies passed the Exorcist are basically all shit, with one exception being the ironically titled The Last Exorcist which has a "is it or is it not real" found footage twist. I tried the Paranormal Activity movies and they're all boring except for the third one, but that's only good for one sitting. Slasher movies are pretty trash and generally just serial killer / spree killer porn. SAW are all retarded, super contrived torture porn movies. Zombie movies have potential but always have stupid people for protagonists and a key feature of zombie movies is just being dysfunctional retards in general that all get each other or themselves killed.

I could go on, but it's really odd how trashy and terribly written most horror movies are, honestly. I can think of like three good Halloween movies off the top of my head, which are A Nightmare Before Christmas, the Poltergeist, and I guess that just makes two.

If you enjoyed "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Poltergeist," you might appreciate other films that blend fantasy, animation, and horror elements. Here are some movies that share thematic or stylistic similarities:

1. Corpse Bride (2005) - Another stop-motion animated film directed by Tim Burton, known for its dark and whimsical atmosphere.
2. Beetlejuice (198 - Directed by Tim Burton, this film combines comedy and horror as a recently deceased couple seeks the help of a bio-exorcist to remove the new living occupants from their home.
3. Coraline (2009) - A stop-motion animated film directed by Henry Selick, known for its dark fantasy and surreal atmosphere.
4. ParaNorman (2012) - An animated horror-comedy that follows a boy with the ability to communicate with the dead as he tries to save his town from a centuries-old curse.
5. Edward Scissorhands (1990) - Another collaboration between director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp, this film is a fairy-tale-like story with Gothic and fantasy elements.
6. The Addams Family (1991) - A comedy film based on the classic TV series, featuring the eccentric and spooky Addams family.
7. Monster House (2006) - An animated horror-comedy about a group of kids who suspect their neighbor's house is haunted.
8. Gremlins (1984) - A classic horror-comedy directed by Joe Dante, involving mischievous creatures wreaking havoc during Christmas.
9. The Corpse of Anna Fritz (2015) - A Spanish thriller with horror elements, centered around the unexpected events that unfold after the death of a famous actress.
10. The Others (2001) - A psychological horror film starring Nicole Kidman, known for its atmospheric tension and supernatural themes.
11. Dark Shadows (2012) - Directed by Tim Burton and based on the TV series, this film combines Gothic horror with comedy.
12. The Monster Squad (1987) - A horror-comedy that follows a group of kids as they try to stop classic monsters from taking over their town.
13. The House with a Clock in Its Walls (201 - A fantasy film directed by Eli Roth, blending magical elements with a spooky atmosphere.
14. Ghostbusters (1984) - A classic comedy that combines supernatural elements with humor as a group of scientists battles ghosts in New York City.
15. The Frighteners (1996) - Directed by Peter Jackson, this film mixes horror and comedy elements, following a man who can communicate with ghosts.

These films vary in tone and style but share some thematic elements with "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Poltergeist," combining fantasy, horror, and often a touch of dark humor.

 

[MarvinTheParanoidAndroid]

1. Corpse Bride (2005) - Another stop-motion animated film directed by Tim Burton, known for its dark and whimsical atmosphere.
2. Beetlejuice (198 - Directed by Tim Burton, this film combines comedy and horror as a recently deceased couple seeks the help of a bio-exorcist to remove the new living occupants from their home.
3. Coraline (2009) - A stop-motion animated film directed by Henry Selick, known for its dark fantasy and surreal atmosphere.
4. ParaNorman (2012) - An animated horror-comedy that follows a boy with the ability to communicate with the dead as he tries to save his town from a centuries-old curse.
5. Edward Scissorhands (1990) - Another collaboration between director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp, this film is a fairy-tale-like story with Gothic and fantasy elements.
6. The Addams Family (1991) - A comedy film based on the classic TV series, featuring the eccentric and spooky Addams family.
7. Monster House (2006) - An animated horror-comedy about a group of kids who suspect their neighbor's house is haunted.
8. Gremlins (1984) - A classic horror-comedy directed by Joe Dante, involving mischievous creatures wreaking havoc during Christmas.
9. The Corpse of Anna Fritz (2015) - A Spanish thriller with horror elements, centered around the unexpected events that unfold after the death of a famous actress.
10. The Others (2001) - A psychological horror film starring Nicole Kidman, known for its atmospheric tension and supernatural themes.
11. Dark Shadows (2012) - Directed by Tim Burton and based on the TV series, this film combines Gothic horror with comedy.
12. The Monster Squad (1987) - A horror-comedy that follows a group of kids as they try to stop classic monsters from taking over their town.
13. The House with a Clock in Its Walls (201 - A fantasy film directed by Eli Roth, blending magical elements with a spooky atmosphere.
14. Ghostbusters (1984) - A classic comedy that combines supernatural elements with humor as a group of scientists battles ghosts in New York City.
15. The Frighteners (1996) - Directed by Peter Jackson, this film mixes horror and comedy elements, following a man who can communicate with ghosts.

I totally forgot about Ghostbusters? That's a perfect Halloween movie.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

If you enjoyed "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Poltergeist," you might appreciate other films that blend fantasy, animation, and horror elements. Here are some movies that share thematic or stylistic similarities:

1. Corpse Bride (2005) - Another stop-motion animated film directed by Tim Burton, known for its dark and whimsical atmosphere.
2. Beetlejuice (198 - Directed by Tim Burton, this film combines comedy and horror as a recently deceased couple seeks the help of a bio-exorcist to remove the new living occupants from their home.
3. Coraline (2009) - A stop-motion animated film directed by Henry Selick, known for its dark fantasy and surreal atmosphere.
4. ParaNorman (2012) - An animated horror-comedy that follows a boy with the ability to communicate with the dead as he tries to save his town from a centuries-old curse.
5. Edward Scissorhands (1990) - Another collaboration between director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp, this film is a fairy-tale-like story with Gothic and fantasy elements.
6. The Addams Family (1991) - A comedy film based on the classic TV series, featuring the eccentric and spooky Addams family.
7. Monster House (2006) - An animated horror-comedy about a group of kids who suspect their neighbor's house is haunted.
8. Gremlins (1984) - A classic horror-comedy directed by Joe Dante, involving mischievous creatures wreaking havoc during Christmas.
9. The Corpse of Anna Fritz (2015) - A Spanish thriller with horror elements, centered around the unexpected events that unfold after the death of a famous actress.
10. The Others (2001) - A psychological horror film starring Nicole Kidman, known for its atmospheric tension and supernatural themes.
11. Dark Shadows (2012) - Directed by Tim Burton and based on the TV series, this film combines Gothic horror with comedy.
12. The Monster Squad (1987) - A horror-comedy that follows a group of kids as they try to stop classic monsters from taking over their town.
13. The House with a Clock in Its Walls (201 - A fantasy film directed by Eli Roth, blending magical elements with a spooky atmosphere.
14. Ghostbusters (1984) - A classic comedy that combines supernatural elements with humor as a group of scientists battles ghosts in New York City.
15. The Frighteners (1996) - Directed by Peter Jackson, this film mixes horror and comedy elements, following a man who can communicate with ghosts.

These films vary in tone and style but share some thematic elements with "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Poltergeist," combining fantasy, horror, and often a touch of dark humor.

Try checking this out if you can

 

[Internet War Criminal]

The fact is that Dr. Sleep is a great movie, and Flanagan did as best he could with the that he could. Honestly, it's shocking they even managed to film it, because if you read the book, most of it absolutely cannot be translated to the big screen (or any screen).

 

[frozen_runner]

Finished Legion, the director's cut of Exorcist 3. Again, I'm sure I won't be saying much that hasn't been said.

I will forgive Legion for being underwhelming because so much of what makes the theatrical cut work is in the sound design, and the DC footage has none of that completed. Shout Factory had to use what was available in the VHS dailies to cut it together. I assume that goes for camera angles, too, and nobody on earth would call superior the takes of Dourif that Legion uses. And Legion's flat ending, conceptually, is very fitting and even darker than the theatrical ending despite being much simpler. Kinderman has made the decision to toss the rest of his life away, and the rest of his time with his family, for the sake of his friend's soul and their protection. (There's no way he'll get away with shooting to death a random, restrained patient no matter how many people attest something hinky was going on with him. The evidence just wouldn't add up to innocence in court.) If you were to toss in some version of his infamous speech from the end of the theatrical cut before the DC finale (and that could be done pretty easily, script-wise... the attempted murder of his daughter is the first hard evidence he witnesses of the Gemini controlling people from his cell), you would have a heavy ending that fits the themes of the film. Just give us different camera angles!

But yeah, it's so strange how there's no perfect version of this film. The theatrical cut is filled with very positive changes for which we can thank studio notes (!). Jason Miller being in the cast is a no-brainer that vastly improves the quality and strength of the narrative. (I know they recast everyone else from the original film, but that was by necessity.) Whether or not he was suffering from wet brain at that point (as he was according to Dourif), Miller's part of the character is great. And distilling Brad Dourif's stellar performance down, with less numerous but more frenetic and powerful scenes (and with the much better takes used in that cut), was a good call.

And sure, the exorcism at the end is dumb, but it's dumb because you can tell it was the result of tossed-in (if well directed) and after-the-fact reshoots that aren't properly integrated into the rest of the script, not because it's a story element that doesn't make any sense. You have the Gemini Killer/Legion in the body of Karras... wouldn't we want to drive him/it out so we're left with a surviving Karras? At least an attempt in that direction would make sense before ventilating him, right? Even if Kinderman himself isn't in a position to suggest it. (Because he doesn't believe in the supernatural. Yet.) Or the church in a position to sanction it. (So a rogue priest trying and failing does make sense.)

Anyway, I have a hard time believing Legion is exactly the film Blatty would have delivered back when it was shot. He wasn't a prolific director, but he was a talented one. At best, it's got to be an approximation of what he wanted. Maybe someday AI algos will be advanced enough that we can assemble the perfect version of this movie. I hope so.

Random thoughts:

- Why the fuck is Kinderman's wife dubbed throughout both versions of the movie? It's a good dub, but why not just get an actress who doesn't need to be dubbed?

- What is the purpose of the old lady crawling on the ceiling in that one hospital scene? This script is too smart to have it be in both versions just to be "creepy...." isn't it? Did she commit the murder of the real nurse or something like that? Is it there to confirm, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there's supernatural shit going on? Hello? Bueller?

- Is it just me, or did the movie need one more good scene with Father Dyer? His death feels too abrupt in both versions, and his friendship with Kinderman could have used one more illustrated example to really sell the audience on his character. (Especially since they recast him and they're starting from square one in that sense.) The pacing of the film feels slightly off because of that.

- Similarly, would the movie benefit from a short scene of Kinderman, isolated and alone after Dyer's death, at his wit's end with the situation? We cut almost immediately to him talking with Lee Richardson's character. The movie generally does a good job of letting scenes breathe, but the pacing feels strange there.

 

[Iron Father]

Dawn of the Dead (7 is still the best.

Day for life.