General Horror Films & TV Discussion Thread

[strummer]

The director of Monster Summer is David Henrie. He played the older brother on "Wizards of Waverly Place" He's also a hardcore Catholic right wing type if you were wondering how they got Mel Gibson.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Re-watched IT: Chapter 2 and there were a ton of great scenes & good horror moments and overall I really enjoyed it but it had pacing issues (which hurt given its near 3 Hour runtime). I think the adult actors held up although the constant use of the kid actors detracted from their performances because it only made me want to watch them more instead. The heavy reliance on CGI here also hurt the movie overall where the 1st movie didn't feel as CGI heavy outside of a few notable scenes. I think my thoughts here were pretty in-line with my initial thoughts and largely remained the same. I greatly enjoyed the 2 kid death scenes but both could have been excised without missing much.

I prefer the 1st movie because I think it's tighter but I think Part 2 had better individual scenes that kind of get swallowed up by the whole and its lengthy run time.

 

[Youth N Asia]

Loved part 1, just kinda liked part 2. One part I just hated is where everyone splits off from the group, and one by one they all have their moment where they deal with the entity, and have an individual scare. You know no one’s going to die in this part, so I feel like I’m kinda just waiting for it to be over. Too many main characters for this to be effective for me.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

In more examples of revisiting some classics, we did a double feature of everyone's favorite friend till the end!

Child's Play 2 (1990) has two things that work in its favor: the incredible practical FX on full display in the third act, and the introduction of fan-favorite character Kyle (played by NEW ENGLAND CHICK Christine Elise). There are certainly some fun moments throughout, particularly some great parts with the supporting cast (Gerrit Graham and Jenny Agutter as the foster parents, Beth Grant as Miss Kettlewell), but it overall just sorta exists. This was a lazy sequel released at the denouement of the slasher genre's popularity, and boy does it feel like it. 5.5/10

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After revisiting that one, I'm oddly shocked at how much better Child's Play 3 (1991) is. It doesn't have the same awesome finale that its predecessor has, sure, but the first two acts are better by nearly every margin. Justin Whalin is a better actor than Alex Vincent...which feels like cheating, because Justin was already on the cusp of adulthood and Alex was still a little boy, but it is what it is. The military school setting was unique, too, and allowed some very fun interplay of slasher tropes and "boot camp" tropes. Setting up the finale within the first act was a great touch, too.

But hot damn is Tiger (Jeremy Sylvers) annoying. He's easily the second best child cadet named Tiger in a 90s movie taking place at a military academy, even if the only other comparison I can think of is Major Payne but it's odd as hell that it happened twice in just a few years of each other. 6/10

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Sorted by date and scored.

1. Baskin (7/10)
2. Barbarian (5/10)
3. Alien (9.5/10)
4. Aliens (9/10)
5. Hocus Pocus 2 (5.5/10)
6. Under Paris (6.5/10)
7. Child's Play 2 (5.5/10)
8. Child's Play 3 (6/10)

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I mentioned it in chat but I watched As Above, So Below (6/10). Scarlett (Perdita Weeks) assembles a group including documentarian Benji (Edwin Hodge), friend George (Ben Feldman), and guide Papillon (Francois Civill) who brings with him Souxie (Marion Lambert) and Zed (Ali Marhyar). They are in search of the Philosopher's Stone with Scarlett managing to piece together several key elements to get them to the Catacombs in trying to find the stone. There's a lot of legitimate lore and such that I think makes the movie work from a believability factor and helps buy into the exploration (and ending of the movie) IMO.

It does a great job working within the confines of the French Catacombs (legitimately filmed there), using the area and claustrophobic feeling to create the tension and there's some great scare pieces including a legitimate jump scare for me with a "lost" character in La Taupe who is suddenly found by the group deep within the Catacombs. The film is at its best with the 1st half when it's exploration and quasi-Indiana Jones pursuits before it devolves into a "descent to Hell" whereupon all the characters start coming face to face with their past and weird figures start randomly appearing and causing harm to the main folks. Not a lot of this is really explained in-depth so you largely have to piece it together from the "exploration" side of the plot/story.

The 2nd half doesn't work as well largely due to how little is built up with each character's backstory (Papillon's "bit" literally feels out of nowhere when it happens) so it partly feels like padding/partly feels like it was shoe-horned in to add more of an actual horror element. This isn't close to a Descent rip-off despite what some may argue but it does have that 1st person/documentary vibe at times (which makes sense in the context of the movie).

Scarlett's character helps ground it but at times, especially as the movie starts to get into the 2nd half, both Scarlett and George have a bit of that super-genius solving ability that viewers will either ride with or find unbelievable. I leaned a bit more towards the latter myself.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Minor correction on Child's Play 3: his name is Tyler, not Tiger. He's still far more insufferable than the future adopted son of one Major Benson Payne.

We decided to wrap up our foray into the tongue-in-cheek slasher legacy of Charles Lee Ray with (arguably?) the best of the entire series, Bride of Chucky (1998). Right away, the direction of Ronny Yu breathes a new life into the series, and Don Mancini's renewed focus on the more absurd elements of his baby(doll) allows it to grow considerably.

If you haven't seen it, the quick rundown is that Tiffany (prime Jennifer Tilly), his former lover, has found the thrashed remains of the Chucky (Brad Dourif) doll and resurrected him once more, but soon finds himself as his victim. Chucky brings her soul into a doll as well, and the two embark on an interstate killing spree by hitching a ride with Jade (Katherine Heigl) and Jesse (Nick Stabile), star-crossed teen lovers themselves on the run from Jade's cruel uncle, Police Chief Warren Kincaid (John Ritter).

This was unleashed at just the right time for the inherently silly tone of the series (just kick the fucking thing back to the Cabbage Patch) to be fully realized. The addition of Jennifer Tilly breathes such new life into the series that Tiffany instantly became a fan favorite, cementing Tilly as a scream queen for the rest of her days. The "leads," ostensibly Heigl and Stabile, are given great motivation and characterization that, unfortunately, can't be realized due to their lack of chemistry and overall ability (at least, at the time for Heigl, to say nothing of her well-documented attitude on multiple sets).

While not as groundbreaking as the Crow, this also features some absolute bangers of the era. White Zombie's legendary "Thunderkiss '65," the rising Static-X dishes out "Bled For Days," Monster Magnet offers up "See You in Hell," Stabbing Westward gives us "So Wrong," Rob Zombie's "Living Dead Girl" makes its debut IIRC, and we even get killer stuff from classic bands, with Judas Priest offering one of the best Ripper-era tunes in "Blood Stained" and Bruce Dickinson's "Trumpets of Jericho." This stood out from a sea of post-Cobain "alt rock" soundtracks of the era, and marks its turf just before the mallcore craze of Linkin Park et al really take hold a couple years later.

All in all, this is easily the best of the series, and its tonal shift to embracing the comedy is why the franchise continues on. 7/10

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Sorted by date and scored.

1. Baskin (7/10)
2. Barbarian (5/10)
3. Alien (9.5/10)
4. Aliens (9/10)
5. Hocus Pocus 2 (5.5/10)
6. Under Paris (6.5/10)
7. Child's Play 2 (5.5/10)
8. Child's Play 3 (6/10)
9. Bride of Chucky (7/10)

 

[Brocklock]

I got Bride behind the first two. I loved it as a 10 year old, but the edgy humor doesn't hit as much now. It's still entertaining and Tilly/Douriff are fantastic. But, Kathrine Heigl and other guy as the leads were horrible. Still, the deaths are great and it's still a lot of fun. I prefer the horror atmosphere of the first and the last half hour of the second in the factory. I liked the tension in Child's Play 2 and I have a soft spot for some of the side actors like Gerrit Graham and Grace Zabriskie. I think Andy in the first two is a really likable protagonist, and Chucky has more of a menace to him.

 

[Valeyard]

Maybe I'm old or have seen in way too many times but the first one seems to grind to a halt in the last act. Last ten-fifteen minutes are great but man it loses me somewhere between the car and the burning.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I got Bride behind the first two. I loved it as a 10 year old, but the edgy humor doesn't hit as much now. It's still entertaining and Tilly/Douriff are fantastic. But, Kathrine Heigl and other guy as the leads were horrible. Still, the deaths are great and it's still a lot of fun. I prefer the horror atmosphere of the first and the last half hour of the second in the factory. I liked the tension in Child's Play 2 and I have a soft spot for some of the side actors like Gerrit Graham and Grace Zabriskie. I think Andy in the first two is a really likable protagonist, and Chucky has more of a menace to him.

I used to hold 2 above all, but this latest watch had me wondering how the series even continued on. The stuff in the factory is great, but almost everything before that is lazy as hell.

 

[Brocklock]

I used to hate 3 and find it boring, but now it's kind of fun. Just weird stuff like the pedo barber, Chucky giving that fat guy a heart attack, and the nerd sacrificing himself on the grenade make it stand out.

Based on last viewings I'd rank them

1, 2, Bride, Curse, 3, Cult, Seed

 

[Fall of Epic]

I agree that the last act of part 2 in the factory is probably the greatest out of the original trilogy.

I do dig Bride and the scene where the dude gets hit by the truck and explodes like a watermelon made me die laughing back in the day.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I'd currently go with these rankings...

Bride, 1, Cult, 3, Curse, 2, Seed

 

[Fall of Epic]

I'd need to rewatch Curse and Cult so I'd go with 1, Bride, 2, 3, Seed.

Seed is the absolute worst.

 

[AA484]

I'm biased because I remember 3 being on almost every weekend on USA, but I have a soft spot for it. My brother and I found it hilarious, and still do

 

[Valeyard]

3 was the first or second movie i watched when I first got In Demand.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Holy fuck. I'd heard that Terrifier 2 (2022) was bad, but I wasn't ready for just how infuriatingly bad it truly is. This is what happens when someone with the FX understanding of a low-tier haunted house sees a Rob Zombie movie and goes "I can do that." This is what happens when there are a handful of decent ideas but nobody wants to tell the director, clearly coming out of a k-hole and using herbal Adderall to help, that he needs to trim it down.

TWO. FUCKING. HOURS.

Sienna (Lauren LaVera) is the sole saving grace of this shitfest...or she would be if there was anything redeemable besides her.

Damien Leone, I hope you Google yourself and find this, you cunt. This was shit. You are shit. You are the worst kind of LA trash person, the one that finds 80s sleaze and thinks that you can do better. You are the visual equivalent of a bad Anal Cunt tribute act. You are so bereft of quality control that Rob Black had a nightmare you existed while filming a Kristi Myst enema bukkake gangbang. Fuck your whole life.

3/10, all for Lauren LaVera. That dogshit Winnie the Pooh slasher was better.

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Sorted by date and scored.

1. Baskin (7/10)
2. Barbarian (5/10)
3. Alien (9.5/10)
4. Aliens (9/10)
5. Hocus Pocus 2 (5.5/10)
6. Under Paris (6.5/10)
7. Child's Play 2 (5.5/10)
8. Child's Play 3 (6/10)
9. Bride of Chucky (7/10)
10. Terrifier 2 (3/10)

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

How is Barbarian 5/10

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

How is Barbarian 5/10

Because the second and third acts are hilariously stupid after such an incredible and tense first act.

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

Because the second and third acts are hilariously stupid after such an incredible and tense first act.

Didn’t the second act have Justin Long measuring the house?

 

[Valeyard]

Terrifier 2 is too long to ever be a good movie. There's a reason those movies don't go that long. I feel like dude is talented enough at effects to contribute to a good movie but not good enough at all to make one. Much like Rob Zombie, actually. He's the sort of person that makes the frustrated filmmaker in me furious because I could do that shit and at least it'd suck for acceptable reasons.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Terrifier 2 is too long to ever be a good movie. There's a reason those movies don't go that long. I feel like dude is talented enough at effects to contribute to a good movie but not good enough at all to make one. Much like Rob Zombie, actually. He's the sort of person that makes the frustrated filmmaker in me furious because I could do that shit and at least it'd suck for acceptable reasons.

Counterpoint: Rob Zombie has actually made a couple of good movies. The first two Firefly movies, House of 1000 Corpses and the Devil's Rejects are good, and I was actually impressed by Lords of Salem, which just needs a handful of scenes trimmed down by seconds. Even 3 From Hell is fun, and the third act of 31 is legitimately great.

But holy fucking dogshit do I loathe Damien Leone. It felt like he saw a few of those Adult Swim 4am infomercial specials and plopped Art the Clown into them and just kept playing them over and over for 2 hours after taking out anything resembling a decent joke.

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

I’m not saying the movies are good but Art the Clown is great. He’s probably the iconic slasher of this generation.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I'm not arguing that. I watched All Hallows Eve last year, the anthology that Leone did where Art made his first appearance, and I really enjoyed it.

But that's the secret of slasher villains, and movie monsters as a whole. They need to have their appearances kept to a minimum, because overexposure kills whatever makes them work. And Terrifier 2 is overexposure in the worst way.

 

[Youth N Asia]

Terrifier was a one, and done for me. The guy playing Art gives a fantastic performance. I thought the opening scene with Art was legit tense with him stalking the girls… then it just becomes edgelordfest 2016

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Terrifier was a one, and done for me. The guy playing Art gives a fantastic performance. I thought the opening scene with Art was legit tense with him stalking the girls… then it just becomes edgelordfest 2016

Literally watched Terrifier last night and good lord... it was an 85 minute movie that felt like an eternity. 3/10 (Mainly for the gore effects and Art)

I can't imagine what a 2+ hour movie version of that feels like. There was also no plot and no characters really with some truly awful writing for character interactions that served to just keep the movie going for the sake of the plot. I now have no interest in watching Terrifier 2 or 3.

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

Almost time

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

In some ways, maybe El Conde (2023) doesn't belong here. It's not really a horror film, more of a dark comedy featuring some horror elements as a backdrop, and it turns into a very wry political comedy about legacy.

Augusto Pinochet (Jaime Vadell), the brutal popularist dictator of Chile, did not die in 2006. In fact, he is a 250 year old vampire, using his coup of President Allende and the horrors committed during his purge of political enemies in the years after as a cover to feed and amass his own power. Now, though, he yearns for actual death, and has gathered his children to the small farm in the middle of nowhere to go over his estate as he prepares for oblivion. Unbeknownst to him, though, nun Carmen (Paula Luchsinger) has been sent by the Church to perform an exorcism on him, driving out the evil within the man.

I...I don't exactly know how to describe this, truly. It feels like the kind of project that, in lesser hands, would turn into a wacky farce instead of the grim slice of humor that it did. Director Pablo Larrain handles the balance wonderfully, leaving us with the kind of cheeky satire one would expect from a mid-90s indie movie where having knowledge of the topic is what drives the humor. There's a brilliant turn in the third act that finds the narrator, Stella Gonet, reveal her identity, and spoiling it would ruin whatever message lies within.

A must-see, if I'm being honest, though not the kind of fare you'd expect me to praise. 7/10

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Sorted by date and scored.

1. Baskin (7/10)
2. Barbarian (5/10)
3. Alien (9.5/10)
4. Aliens (9/10)
5. Hocus Pocus 2 (5.5/10)
6. Under Paris (6.5/10)
7. Child's Play 2 (5.5/10)
8. Child's Play 3 (6/10)
9. Bride of Chucky (7/10)
10. Terrifier 2 (3/10)
11. El Conde (7/10)

 

[Gary]

I'm likely going to be in the minority, but I enjoyed "Terrifier 3". I will now think of Chris Jericho's fate whenever he does a promo on Dynamite, and in spite of all the gore and cruelty, this is the highlight of the movie

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

In retrospect, there are four movies I watched during developmental stages of my life that greatly influenced my sense of humor, maybe without my conscious awareness. Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Slap Shot, and Addams Family Values (1993). The morbid humor on display is family-friendly but comes at such regular intervals that there's never a dull moment.

Gomez (Raul Julia, RIP) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston) welcome a new baby to the fold, with tensions higher than before as Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) focusing their usual macabre efforts on eliminating their new brother. To curb it, the parents hire a new nanny, Debbie (Joan Cusack), who we find out is a black widow killer with her focus set on Fester (Christopher Lloyd).

There's been a round of criticism of this movie where the only watchable parts involve Wednesday and Pugsley at Camp Chippewa, run by insane pep counselors Gary (Peter MacNicol) and Becky (Christine Baransky), but this latest viewing betrays that idea. Yes, the scenes at Camp Chippewa are the brightest highlights, especially the Thanksgiving play and its twist, but the interactions across the board are so perfectly twisted, so unmistakably Addams, that I fell in love with it all over again. I was back to being 8 years old and renting the tape and giggling uncontrollably throughout.

This movie is the epitome of fun for the sake of fun. 8/10

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Sorted by date and scored.

1. Baskin (7/10)
2. Barbarian (5/10)
3. Alien (9.5/10)
4. Aliens (9/10)
5. Hocus Pocus 2 (5.5/10)
6. Under Paris (6.5/10)
7. Child's Play 2 (5.5/10)
8. Child's Play 3 (6/10)
9. Bride of Chucky (7/10)
10. Terrifier 2 (3/10)
11. El Conde (7/10)
12. Addams Family Values (8/10)

 

[tekcop]

The plots of both Addams Family movies are complete nonsense, but the casting and characterization are both so good.