General Horror Films & TV Discussion Thread

[NoCalMike]

I was late to the Shudder game, but if anyone in here still isn't aboard. Pull the trigger. $4.99 a month and their library is constantly growing, original content is starting to build, and they have curators in charge that have a real love for the genre and they get all sorts of fun movies on there to stream.

 

[RedJed]

Went and saw the first screening of Strangers 2 last night. Holy shit, this was WAY better than the original I thought (and the original was already really fucking good) with much improved character development and general story. Also, there is a bit of a different atmospheric vibe in this one, taking place in a desolate creepy as fuck trailer-campsite deep in the woods. Absolutely really worth checking out, it homages oldschool 80s slasher horror to a tee and damn near perfectly at that. LOVED the score/soundtrack on that note. Much more visceral and intense than the original as well. GO SEE THIS!

 

[Brocklock]

That gets me a little more excited, because I feel the original is one of the more overrated horror movies of the last twenty years or so. I just found Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman's storyline and relationship so boring and the characters felt so flat that I didn't care about what happened to them at all. Which gave me no tension as the movie progressed. So, I like that the character development is improved.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I tried watching Lights Out, and was gripped by the first act. It hooked me hard. The scene construction and the way shadows were utilized to perfection should be textbook for all horror.

Then the second act just fucking ruins it. Theresa Palmer has the charisma of wheat bread and the "revelation" of what's going on was just so lazily done it offended me. Contrast this with a lot of the indie fare I've been digging into lately, even mediocrity like Drifter, and it's made all the worse.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

Anyone get around to watching Veronica, on Netflix yet? It's gotten a polarizing reaction with some calling it the scariest thing they've ever seen, and others saying its fucking stupid. Similar to the same reaction, It Follows, has gotten over time.

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

It’s pretty good but I didn’t find it too scary. Same dude who directed Rec.

 

[Robert]

I watched the WNUF Halloween Special on Amazon Prime recently, it's pretty enjoyable. Also ordered the Last House on the Left special edition from Arrow, only watched it once (On AMC I believe).

 

[RedJed]

Saw a pretty good psychological horror called Unsane on Friday. I went in 95 percent blind on this one, only seeing a single teaser about some chick stuck in a psych ward and chaos ensuing. I was pretty impressed with this one....it did well in making you wonder who was the crazy one, and if this woman was in fact nuts or if she was being set up (or maybe both?). I love films that are guessing games of sorts. I'd say its worth a look in the theater as it goes from one nuts situation to the next....quality stuff here. I was pretty impressed with Claire Foy's performance here. Ironically a pretty insane movie...

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Given our horror knowledge, can we do an adequate tracing of horror movie history? Just a very rough guide below.

One other aspect may be to actually trace the history with an actual grouping of movies (good or bad) instead.

1950s: Alien Invasion Films, early Universal Monsters
1960s: Heyday of Universal Monsters
Early 1970s: Vampire Movies, Zombie Boom following Night of the Living Dead
Late 1970s: Jaws/Jaws II leading to 'Killer Animal' movie spinoffs, Italian Giallo Horror Boom
Early 1980s: The Franchise Serial Killer is Born (Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Pumpkinhead)
Late 1980s/Early 90s: Gremlins leading to 'Killer Small Creatures' ala Critters, Leprechaun
Late 1990s: Rebirth of the Franchise Serial Killer (Scream, Saw on the horizon)
Early 2000s: Boom of the 'Torture Porn' (Saw, Hostel, amongst others), Rise of the Possession Movies (Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Last Exorcism, etc.), Rise of the Japanese Migration (The Ring, The Grudge, etc.)
Late 2000s: Rise of the 'Religious' (Not Always) Ghost Movies (Insidious, Paranormal Activity, etc.)
Early/Mid 2010s: Rebirth of the Experimental Psychological Horror (Babadook, The Witch, Get Out, etc.)

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Do you mean just outlining the overall trends or actively seeking out why those trends took hold? Either way, it sounds like a main site article more than a post, and I'm down.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Do you mean just outlining the overall trends or actively seeking out why those trends took hold? Either way, it sounds like a main site article more than a post, and I'm down.

Originally more the former but the latter sounds intriguing.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I don't think you can do the former without discussing the latter, so there's the article synopsis right there.

-Silent era to 40s:
Old folklore and adaptations of novels/plays, horror filmmaking learning how to walk

50s:
Sci-fi monster movies brought on by the atomic bomb and growing Red Scare

60s:
Serial killers make their impact early on (Hitchcock), and of the decade is when things get grimy via NOTLD

70s:
The age of grindhouse begins, horror up's the gore and tension as it matures and finds its true voice

80s:
Reaganomics leads to branding/marketing being everything, the dying days of grindhouse leads to splatterpunk and mass-produced slashers

90s:
Welcome to the meta, self-referential and pop culture savvy slashers take hold after horror proves direct-to-video can be financially sustainable

00s:
Torture porn (undoubtedly popularized after questions of US-approved torture programs post-9/11), biggest zombie explosion yet (due to the rise of the neocon right)

10s:
Socially conscious parables and metaphors abound, from race (Get Out) to classism (the Purge series) to mental health (Babadook)

 

[Brocklock]

1930's would be the Classic Universal Monster era (Frankenstein, Wolf Man, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Bride Of Frankenstein).

Most of the 1940's could be classified as the crossover era where they try to jam as many monsters in a single movie as they can (Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, House Of Dracula, Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man). The 40's could also be called the Val Lewton era as he produced some cutting edge horror films throughout the decade like Cat People, I Walked With a Zombie, The Body Snatcher, Isle Of The Dead, and The Leopard Man.

60's would be the Hammer Horror era. The Universal monsters started dying out by that time. You could also call it the start of more mature and boundary pushing horror films with Psycho, Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion, The Innocents, and Night Of the Living Dead.

 

[Gary]

Coming 7/24 from Scream Factory.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

That's such a great movie!

 

[BlackFlagg]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/trickortreatstudios/officially-licensed-childs-play-2-chucky-doll

So, who's got an extra $500 and wants to buy me one? <-<

 

[BlackFlagg]

Coming 7/24 from Scream Factory.

Doing this as well

 

[Gary]

Not to be outdone, Lionsgate (via the Vestron Video sub label) will be releasing two on July 24th-one in particular is absolutely essential (and could be seen as the universe delivering another necassary blow to Jingus). They are:

H.P. Lovecraft’s iconic tale comes to life when the Vestron Video Collector’s Series releases the modern retelling of the horror classic Dagon on limited edition Blu-ray™ on July 24 from Lionsgate. Directed by horror mastermind Stuart Gordon (Dolls, Re-Animator) and starring Ezra Godden, evil rises and a legend unleashes the rage of Hell after a yacht crashes on the Spanish coast and the survivors are forced to face their nightmares. Packed with all-new, never-before-seen special features, including interviews with Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna, as well as a conceptual art gallery from artist Richard Raaphorst, and featuring custom illustrated art, the restored and remastered Dagon limited edition Blu-ray will be available for the suggested retail price of $39.97.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

Residents of a fishing village tempted by greed evolve into freakish half-human creatures and must sacrifice outsiders to an ancient, monstrous god of the sea.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
* Audio Commentary with Director Stuart Gordon and Screenwriter Denis Paoli
* Audio Commentary with Director Stuart Gordon and Star Ezra Godden
* NEW – “Gods & Monsters” – A discussion with Director Stuart Gordon, Interviewed by Filmmaker Mick Garris
* NEW – “Shadows over Imboca” – An Interview with Producer Brian Yuzna
* NEW – “Fish Stories” – An Interview with S.T. Joshi, author of I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H.P. Lovecraft
* Vintage EPK
* Archival Interviews with Stuart Gordon, Ezra Godden, and other Cast & Crew
* Theatrical Trailer
* NEW – Conceptual Art Gallery from Artist Richard Raaphorst
* Storyboard Gallery
* Still Gallery

* Audio Commentary with Director Brian Yuzna
* NEW – Isolated Score Selections & Audio Interview with Composer Xavier Capellas
* NEW – “Beyond & Back” – An Interview with Director Brian Yuzna
* NEW – “Death Row Sideshow” – An Interview with Actor Jeffrey Combs
* NEW – “Six Shots By Midnight” – An Interview with S. T. Joshi, author of I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H.P. Lovecraft
* NEW – Production Art Gallery by Illustrator Richard Raaphorst
* Still Gallery
* Vintage EPK Featurette
* “Dr. Reanimator – Move Your Dead Bones” Music Video
* Theatrical Trailer

In the third and final Re-Animator film…

“After causing the Miskatonic University Massacre, Dr. Herbert West has been serving a prison sentence for the past 14 years. When Howard, a new young doctor, comes to work as the prison MD and requests Dr. West’s assistance, Dr. West discovers that Howard has something he left behind 14 years ago…”

 

[Gary]

Meanwhile, Arrow will release Abel Ferrara's "The Addiction" on June 26th

The mid-nineties were a fertile period for the vampire movie. Big-name stars such as Tom Cruise and Eddie Murphy flocked to genre, as did high-calibre filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, veterans Wes Craven and John Landis, independents Michael Almereyda and Jeffrey Arsenault, and up-and-comers Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro. Amid the fangs and crucifixes, Abel Ferrara reunited with his King of New York star Christopher Walken for The Addiction, a distinctly personal take on creatures of the night.

Philosophy student Kathleen (Lili Taylor, The Conjuring) is dragged into an alleyway on her way home from class by Casanova (Annabella Sciorra, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) and bitten on the neck. She quickly falls ill but realises this isn’t any ordinary disease when she develops an aversion to daylight and a thirst for human blood…

Having made a big-budget foray into science fiction two years earlier with Body Snatchers, Ferrara’s approach to the vampire movie is in a lower key. Shot on the streets of New York, like so many of his major works – including The Driller Killer, Ms. 45 and Bad Lieutenant - and beautifully filmed in black and white, The Addiction sees the filmmaker on his own terms and at his very best: raw, shocking, intense, intelligent, masterful.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

* New restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Abel Ferrara and director of photography Ken Kelsch
* High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
* Restored 5.1 audio
* Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
* Audio commentary by Abel Ferrara, moderated by critic and biographer Brad Stevens
* Talking with the Vampires (2018) A new documentary about the film made by Ferrara especially for this release, featuring actors Christopher Walken and Lili* * Taylor, composer Joe Delia, Ken Kelsch, and Ferrara himself
* New interview with Abel Ferrara
* New interview with Brad Stevens
* Abel Ferrara Edits The Addiction, an archival piece from the time of production
* Original trailer
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
* FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by critic Michael Ewins

Finally, Severin Films will be releasing "Emmanuel and the Last Cannibals" on May 8th

In 1977, infamous filth auteur Joe D’Amato (BEYOND THE DARKNESS,ANTRHOPOPHAGUS) combined the insane extremes of eroticism and cannibalism for the most groin-grinding, gut-munching, gore-spewing Euro Sleaze saga of them all: When journalist Emanuelle (the ever-luscious Laura Gemser of BLACK EMANUELLE fame) discovers evidence of an extinct cannibal tribe in aManhattan mental hospital, her investigation will take her to the Amazon junglefor an orgy of carnage that SexGoreMutants calls “…feral, demented and nasty. And in exploitation terms, that’s entertainment!”

Gabriele Tinti (EMANUELLE INAMERICA), Monica Zanchi (SISTER EMANUELLE) and Donald O’Brien(DOCTOR BUTCHER, M.D.) co-star in “the flesh &amp; fear masterpiece from thelate great splatter genius” (DVD Beaver) released to ‘80s grindhouses as TRAP THEM AND KILL THEM and now scanned in 2k from original vault elements.

Special features are:

* The World Of Nico Fidenco: An Interview With Composer Nico Fidenco

* A Nun Among The Cannibals: An Interview With Actress Annamaria Clementi

* Dr. O’Brien MD: An Interview With Actor Donald O’Brien

* From Switzerland To Mato Grosso: An Interview With Actress Monika Zanchi

* I Am Your Black Queen: Laura Gemser Archive Audio Interview

 

[vivisectvi]

DAGON! <3

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Oh man, the Emmanuelle series. My, the memories of 1am Cinemax in my early teens...

 

[Brocklock]

I watched The Addiction pretty recently. I could see it being too artsy and pretentious for some, but I thought it was great. Lili Taylor is terrific in it.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

A Quiet Place has apparently been killing it with an average 8.3/10 from critics at Rotten Tomatoes. Will try to see it sometime next week if I can but I dig Emily Blunt a lot so I'm looking forward to this one.

EDIT: Seeing the 11:40 AM showing on Sunday. Tickets were $6.49

 

[vivisectvi]

btw, Gary, I took your advice and watched The Blackcoat's Daughter the same night you recommended it to me. I really enjoyed it! Probably one of the best demonic possession movies I've seen in a while, actually.

 

[Brocklock]

A Quiet Place has apparently been killing it with an average 8.3/10 from critics at Rotten Tomatoes. Will try to see it sometime next week if I can but I dig Emily Blunt a lot so I'm looking forward to this one.

EDIT: Seeing the 11:40 AM showing on Sunday. Tickets were $6.49

I'm really excited for it. I've never seen Emily Blunt give a bad performance. I just finished re-watching The Office, so it's going to be weird seeing John Krasinski buff and bearded.

 

[Gary]

"A Quiet Place" definitely deserves the praise it's getting. I especially love how

Spoiler

they don't spoil too much about how the Apocalypse happened. We get to know enough via things like Newspaper clipping, but it thankfully doesn't fall into the trap of falling into exposition.

Also, the wildest thing about it to me is that Michael Bay is the producer. Up until the creatures show up*, it feels a lot like the kind of horror movie guys like A24 puts out. Once they do-it's still much more subtle then the kind of thing you associate Bay with.

*Since you get a quick glimpse of one of them in one of the commercials, I don't consider this a spoiler.

btw, Gary, I took your advice and watched The Blackcoat's Daughter the same night you recommended it to me. I really enjoyed it! Probably one of the best demonic possession movies I've seen in a while, actually.

The thing that really stuck out to me about the movie is the profound sense of sorrow it has. Not many horror movies (unless you count "It Comes at Night" as one) these days use that kind of emotion. It also stuck out for me since I was going through a bit of a rough spot emotionally at the time I saw it.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Also just got back from seeing A Quiet Place and a very solid 8/10. Sound design is a must given the plot so I'd actually recommend seeing this at home, lights out, and quiet around you.

Emily Blunt & John Krasinski were really good as the parents. Apparently Millicent Simmonds (the daughter) is legitimately deaf and added to helping provide just what it would be like realistically for the shooting and the cast around her.

There were a lot of tense scenes although

Spoiler

Blunt's character being in labor and stepping on the nail was the high point. That nail scene is what I think of when I think of tense, gory (you don't even see much but her pulling her foot off is unbearable b/c you know the context), memorable scenes in comparison to the gore effects from The Collector btw.

The creatures were pretty well designed given the usage of CGI. One of the few instances where I don't know how they'd have pulled it off the same with real puppetry and such. I feel like a lot of the deaths were cut for the PG-13 but given the plot's reliance on sound, it actually helped add to the tension e.g. the random old guy scene in the forest while the camera sticks with the Dad/Son.

Ending kind of felt Signs-ish for me given that I do wear hearing-aids (in the ear now but over the ear growing up, so very familiar with the feedback stuff) so I was a little surprised that

Spoiler

such a high frequency wasn't stumbled upon prior

but the movie was so good that it didn't really hurt it much for me overall.

 

[NoCalMike]

A Quiet Place is probably my favorite horror film of the year so far. It's the movie the masses wanted It Comes At Night to be (which for me is no knock against ICAN because I really enjoyed that one too). I also enjoyed Unsane for what it was.

Maybe Truth or Dare will surprise me this Friday and make it 3 theatrical releases in a row that I enjoy.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Maybe Truth or Dare will surprise me this Friday and make it 3 theatrical releases in a row that I enjoy.

I'm waiting for the reviews of Truth or Dare before I go see it. I think it could be either bad or somewhat surprisingly fun ala Happy Death Day though I'm a little optimistic because Blumhouse is attached.

 

[NoCalMike]

Maybe Truth or Dare will surprise me this Friday and make it 3 theatrical releases in a row that I enjoy.

I'm waiting for the reviews of Truth or Dare before I go see it. I think it could be either bad or somewhat surprisingly fun ala Happy Death Day though I'm a little optimistic because Blumhouse is attached.

As I am pushing old man status I have sort of come to peace that certain horror movies released in the theater are not designed for my demographic. I went into Happy Death
Day with that expectation and ended up enjoying it for what it was. That is my hope for Truth or Dare.