General Horror Films & TV Discussion Thread

[Gary]

Here's every horror movie I watched in October. Some quick thoughts

-"The Howling" is one of the best horror movies with jokes, in particular because it never goes overboard with them. Also has my favorite Dick Miller cameo. "Howling II" is awful, but it's also become something of a guilty pleasure for me. At the very least, it's never boring.

-"May" holds up amazingly well, and it's a shame Lucky McKee didn't become a bigger director.

-"Inside" is my favorite horror film from the French New Extremity movement. Easily the scariest one for me, not to mention the one where the violence hurts the most (also, I find "Martyrs" to be overrated)

-"Hellboy: The Crooked Man"...is a movie. I had a feeling it wouldn't be very good, but for a while I was actually enjoying it outside of how cheap it looks. Then the third act comes in and it ruined the thing for me. At least it's better than the 2019 one.

-Finally got to watch "Sleepwalkers" (thanks PlutoTV!) and I wouldn't call it "good", but my God it is insane. Stephen King writing a gory, weird version of "Cat People" in a small Maine town, with gore and deranged acting. A really fun time.

-"Mr. Crocket" (it's on Hulu) isn't great, but I still found it to be an enjoyable take on "Candyman" and other films about Urban Legends. Elvis Nolasco is great as the titular villain.

-"The Stuff" is still my favorite Larry Cohen horror movie, and is the best of the "melting bodies" movies. A really fun bit of Satire too.

-"Garfield's Halloween Adventure"-years later, at the age of 41, I still don't know how Binkie the Clown has a job.

-Outside of some homophobic humor, "The Convent" still holds up. The highlight of it is Coolio and Bill Mosely as cops who steal peoples weed.

-Did you know the Shaw Bros produced a sleazy slasher/giallo with a disgusting scene of necrophilia? It's called "Corpse Mania", and outside of that scene I kinda love it. If you enjoy those genres, you'll probably get a kick out of it.

-"Dream Demon" is a really underrated 80s horror film from Britain, and from a period where a lot of British horror wasn't all that good. Think a mix of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Hellraiser" with moments of Lynchian weirdness and a pinch of Argento dream logic.

-"Dead Alive" remains my favorite horror comedy, and Peter Jackson needs to get to rereleasing his first three movies.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

-Outside of some homophobic humor, "The Convent" still holds up. The highlight of it is Coolio and Bill Mosely as cops who steal peoples weed.

Adrienne Barbeau as a bad ass MILF killing demonic nuns was one of my first real tastes of indie horror.

 

[Brocklock]

I had a crush on the sarcastic goth girl in that movie and was pissed when she was offed. That's about all I remember besides Barbeau.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

-"May" holds up amazingly well, and it's a shame Lucky McKee didn't become a bigger director.

Looking at his IMDB and it's full of very mid-scoring movies. I feel like he struck gold in getting Angela Bettis for May because I don't know if the movie is half as good without her performance as the lead. His two other good movies were based off Jack Ketchum books IIRC.

 

[Gary]

Adrienne Barbeau as a bad ass MILF killing demonic nuns was one of my first real tastes of indie horror.

There's something about the quirky dark humor you'd find in early 00s horror (see also: "Cabin Fever", "Ginger Snaps" and "May") that always makes me laugh.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

There's something about the quirky dark humor you'd find in early 00s horror (see also: "Cabin Fever", "Ginger Snaps" and "May") that always makes me laugh.

It's that Gen X sarcasm. We've had some decent resurgence of the good and sardonic humor, but it's all gone away from horror and into streaming comedies.

 

[Brocklock]

I got a free trial of Mubi to watch The Substance again, and I noticed they had the entire series of Lars Von Trier's The Kingdom. I also noticed that Lars made a long belated third season in 2022. 25 years after the previous season which was the same timeline of Twin Peaks air dates. That is the show LVT was inspired by.

I loved the first two seasons. It is up there with some of the best work of Lars' career. Definitely top 5 for me and maybe top 3. The characters are fascinating all around. It's not as cartoonish as Twin Peaks, but it is just as bizarre. It's also funnier. Stig Helmer was hilarious. What a huge piece of shit, and it was captivating to watch him constantly worm his way out of insane situations. The other standout character were Mrs. Drusse, the psychic that has a connection to the spirits. Other characters I loved were Drusse's bumbling son Buldar, The Dishwashers, Hook, Judith, and Little Brother (I've never seen Udo Kier like this). It is the most pure horror project that Lars has made. I was unsettled throughout.

Lars was planning a third season around 99/00, but the actors that played Stig and Drusse both died. Then, a lot of other prominent actors died between 1997 and 2022 including Buldar, both dishwashers, Einar, Bondo, and more. He finally made the third season in 2022 and mostly used a new cast.

I'm 3 and a half episodes into Season 3 and it's a disappointment sadly. The new characters just aren't as interesting as the 90's characters. Lars had a daunting task in making a third season and I admire him for accomplishing it. He does his best and takes some chances. The meta aspect is intriguing so far, and I wonder where it is going. The replacement characters for Stig, Drusse, and Buldar are the standouts. Willem Dafoe and Alexander Skarsgaard are good in their small roles, but none of the other new characters are working for me.

The first two seasons is the closest I've seen a tv show get to the atmosphere and vibe of Twin Peaks, but so far, the third season doesn't touch Twin Peaks: The Return.

 

[Brocklock]

The final episode was great and saved season 3. It really gave me Twin Peaks: The Return vibes. Whereas the first two seasons had constant weirdness throughout every episode, Season 3 was much slower, but the finale was fast paced and had a lot of big moments. If this is the last film or tv series Lars Von Trier ever directs because of his Parkinson's, then he went out on a good note.

 

[Fall of Epic]

Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk to Reteam With Producer Jason Reitman for ‘Idle Hands’ Remake at Sony (EXCLUSIVE)

The "Stranger Things" star will write a reimagining of the 1999 horror film that reunites him with 'Saturday Night' director Jason Reitman.

variety.com

No one asked for this but I'm here for it. Please have the Offspring appear again.

 

[Brocklock]

I like Devon Sawa so much more than Finn Wolfhard, so I'm gonna pass. I'd rather have a sequel with Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, and Vivica A Fox than a remake.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I like Devon Sawa so much more than Finn Wolfhard, so I'm gonna pass. I'd rather have a sequel with Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, and Vivica A Fox than a remake.

I haven't seen it in a long time but I remember the movie really relying on the acting of the main leads (especially Sawa) and it had an inherent late 90s/early 00s vibe that I don't know if it will be captured in today's era. Watch a trailer come out and it be much more muted color wise, "realistic" in setting/tone/vibe, try to up the horror aspect instead of leaning into the comedy of the concept, etc.

 

[Brocklock]

I watched it last year for Halloween and I enjoyed it for the most part. Devon Sawa's awesome physical comedy was the highlight, but I really liked Seth Green and Elden Henson as the stoner friends. Sawa has a likeable everyman quality that Finn Wolfhard does not have imo.

On the other hand, Jessica Alba's character is one of the worst written female characters in the last 30 years. She's just male gaze meat, and a lot of her decisions made no sense. Great cameo from The Offspring though.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I watched it last year for Halloween and I enjoyed it for the most part. Devon Sawa's awesome physical comedy was the highlight, but I really liked Seth Green and Elden Henson as the stoner friends. Sawa has a likeable everyman quality that Finn Wolfhard does not have imo.

Aye. Sawa should have been a bigger deal than he was, and he was the best part of the Chucky series in his assorted roles. The man "gets it," essentially, but never feels like he's winking at the audience.

On the other hand, Jessica Alba's character is one of the worst written female characters in the last 30 years. She's just male gaze meat, and a lot of her decisions made no sense.

That was basically her entire career.

 

[Valeyard]

Ironically a lot of Alba supporters I've known are male gays.

 

[Brocklock]

Aye. Sawa should have been a bigger deal than he was, and he was the best part of the Chucky series in his assorted roles. The man "gets it," essentially, but never feels like he's winking at the audience.

That was basically her entire career.

True but it's so egregious in this. Her character doesn't act like a person at all.

 

[Gary]

another new "Wolf Man" trailer

 

[Fall of Epic]

Rewathed Idle Hands last night. I don't think I've seen it in over a decade or so. It was still a pretty damn good horror comedy with tons of charm. It is pretty drenched in the late 90s though with its soundtrack and art direction. What happened with Elden Henson? I feel like he disappeared from the Butterfly Effect up until he popped up on the Daredevil TV series before dropping off again.

 

[Youth N Asia]

I decided I was going to watch the 5 Silent Night, Deadly Night movies before Christmas. I’d only seen the first one before.

The original is still a trash classic for me. By no means a good movie, but there’s enough there to enjoy. The scene with grandpa is pretty well done. Misremembered the Santa along the road bit. Thought there was some of the R word there. I’d forgotten how dragging the orphanage stuff is. Probably haven’t seen it in 25 years. The whole “Warm Side of the Door” song, and montage that goes with it is pretty great for how out of place it is. Might never need to see it again maybe just a YouTube clip here, and there.

Part 2. Holy shit. I’d heard how bad this was. Still wasn’t ready. The first 40 minutes is just a retelling of the first movie. The producers basically wanted the director to recut the first movie, and try to make a sequel out of that. The director came back saying it just couldn’t be done, and they ended up making half a movie to go with it. Completely forgettable outside of “garbage day!” And it’s not like that’s remembered for good reasons. The lead in the movie is unforgivably bad.

Part 3. Somehow even worse than part 2. There’s just nothing at all to say. Scenes feel pointlessly dragged out to bump it to a movie running time. Forgot most of it the moment it ended. Which was about an hour ago.

Still two more of these goddamn things to go.

 

[Brocklock]

The last two are pretty weird and insane at least.

 

[Gary]

The last two are pretty weird and insane at least.

The third has a rep for being so bad it's hilarious aka "Silent Night 2", but I find it more tedious. The fourth and fifth ones are interesting in that they drop the slasher angle altogether, and I have a soft spot for the fifth one.