General Horror Films & TV Discussion Thread

[RedJed]

Good luck with Truth or Date, NoCal Mike.....I saw it yesterday and nearly walked out of the damn thing a few times. Total mess of a film.

I echo the praise for A Quiet Place....the tone of this was so unique and wonderful for a theater (that is, unless you are in a theater with loud people which would totally kill off the effectiveness of this) in that it forced everyone to take it in and immerse themselves in it. I was a nervous wreck a few times in it, and left the film feeling like I just got through a tension filled situation for sure. I loved the last few minutes as it was so sudden that things came together, but it worked. Once the credits rolled, I just went..."whoa...."

That's how you effectively do it!

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Just got back from A Quiet Place. It's a piece of shit that doesn't adhere to its own logic. John Krasinski keeps proving he has no talent beyond being the vaguely charming wise guy, but his suck has dragged Emily Blunt in. Complete waste of her talents. 4/10

Biggest gripes below.

Spoiler

-Pacing. Like other "arthouse" horror, it feels like a great 20 minute short stretched painfully to feature length.
-Ignoring its own logic. All over are newspaper clippings espousing the indestructible nature of the creatures, including an overt "guns don't work" line, and how does she kill It? A 12 gauge to the face. I'll buy that the creatures have virtually impenetrable skin, sure. It wouldn't be the first movie monster to have that. However...we literally have weapons capable of going through 50 feet of concrete. We have anti-tank bullets that can pierce through thick steel and titanium plating like they're paper. Are you fucking telling me that a point blank 12 gauge does the trick when armor piercing ammunition and bunker busters don't?
-Outright ignorance. Oh wow, you mean that thing with super sensitive hearing can be weakened and warded off by certain frequencies? You mean to fucking yell me that not one single government scientist knew a thing about sound to devise this kind of plan? None of them talked to a pest control specialist about those devices you can literally plug into your goddamn wall that repels rodents and certain insects using that very principle?
-Diversions. We know they hunt by sound and we know louder noises can distract them or even outright conceal your own voices. They set up a fireworks display with this in mind, but didn't think to have a string with tin cans on it. Didn't think to keep more noise-making things in case they get too close, like firecrackers or even throwing glass at a wall.

One of the outright dumbest movies I've seen in a long time, made all the worse by watching The Descent (a masterpiece in horror filmmaking) last night, which utilizes a similar concept for its monsters.

 

[treble]

I like it for the most part, but I agree with a lot of your gripes.

Even more basically,

Spoiler

how were they able to print and distribute newspapers without the creatures attacking them? Printing presses are pretty loud.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

This felt like Damon Lindelof ghost wrote it.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Biggest gripes below.

Spoiler

-Pacing. Like other "arthouse" horror, it feels like a great 20 minute short stretched painfully to feature length.
-Ignoring its own logic. All over are newspaper clippings espousing the indestructible nature of the creatures, including an overt "guns don't work" line, and how does she kill It? A 12 gauge to the face. I'll buy that the creatures have virtually impenetrable skin, sure. It wouldn't be the first movie monster to have that. However...we literally have weapons capable of going through 50 feet of concrete. We have anti-tank bullets that can pierce through thick steel and titanium plating like they're paper. Are you fucking telling me that a point blank 12 gauge does the trick when armor piercing ammunition and bunker busters don't?
-Outright ignorance. Oh wow, you mean that thing with super sensitive hearing can be weakened and warded off by certain frequencies? You mean to fucking yell me that not one single government scientist knew a thing about sound to devise this kind of plan? None of them talked to a pest control specialist about those devices you can literally plug into your goddamn wall that repels rodents and certain insects using that very principle?
-Diversions. We know they hunt by sound and we know louder noises can distract them or even outright conceal your own voices. They set up a fireworks display with this in mind, but didn't think to have a string with tin cans on it. Didn't think to keep more noise-making things in case they get too close, like firecrackers or even throwing glass at a wall.

I was fine with the pacing and actually thought it moved pretty well, although the ending felt a little rushed. Agreed with the gripes about the

Spoiler

shotgun killing it (I assume because it was a face shot? Most people instinctively aim to shoot at the body but that wouldn't explain cops/snipers/etc. who can shoot them in the head).

The hearing thing bothered me a ton, especially as you alluded to the fact that scientists know a lot about sound engineering and nobody even accidentally stumbled upon this? Agreed for the diversions but I can also buy it because these creatures seemed intelligent. A simple "Why don't we use the tin cans again?" "They didn't react to them the last couple times" exchange could've explained that and added some intelligence to the creatures by spotlighting them as not falling for the same sounds again if there's no prey around.

As for the fireworks, it seems more like it was a duration thing that made it a necessary diversion. Shattering a glass may work for 2 seconds but may not be long enough to physically run away or whatever.

Another thing that kind of confused me is if these creatures have basically wiped out this entire area, why are there only 3 of them? Seems like there should be at least 7-8 around or have a few a far ways off but

Spoiler

react when noise is made e.g. the shotgun blast at the end

.

 

[Gary]

Updated upcoming horror Blu-Ray releases

May 8th

-The House That Dripped Blood (Scream Factory)
-The Return of Swamp Thing (MVD Rewind)
-The Devil Incarnate (Mondo Macabro)
-Enter the Devil (Massacre Video)
-Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (Severin)

May 15th

-The "It's Alive" Trilogy ("It's Alive", "It Lives Again" and "It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive") (Scream Factory)
-Doctor Blood's Coffin (Scream Factory)

May 22nd

-The Bloodthirsty Trilogy ("Vampire Doll", "Lake of Dracula" and "Evil of Dracula") (Arrow)
-Of Unknown Origin (Scream Factory)
-Death Smiles on a Murder (Arrow)
-The Vampire and the Ballerinas (Scream Factory)

May 29th

-Annihilation (Paramount)
-Zombi 3 (Severin)
-Zombie 4: After Death (Severin)
-Shocking Dark (Severin) Wanna see the guys behind "Hell of the Living Dead" and "Women's Prison Massacre" rip off "The Terminator" and "Aliens" in the same movie?
-The Reincarnation of Peter Pround (Kino Studio Classics)
-Bloodsuckers From Outer Space (Vinegar Syndrome)

June 5th

-Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Best Buy SteelBook) (Dark Sky)
-The Strangers: Prey at Night (Universal Studios)
-Night of the Lepus (Scream Factory) because giant killer bunny rabbits
-As the Gods Will (FUNimation)
-The Midnight Man (Scream Factory/IFC Midnight)

June 12th

-Abominable (MVD Rewind) I have fond memories of this one. Underrated little Bigfoot movie.
-Ninja III: The Domination (Scream Factory) special edition of the greatest mix 80's ninja movie meets "Exorcist" rip off ever made
-Curse of the Cat People (Scream Factory)

June 19th

-Unsane (Universal)
-Alien Predators (Scream Factory)

June 26th

-The Addiction (Arrow)
-The Endless (Well Go USA)
-German Angst (Artsploitation)

 

[Gary]

Let's move on to July and August

July 3rd

-Cat O Nine Tails (non box set edition) (Arrow)
-Another Wolfcop (Image Entertainment)
-Call Girl of Cthulhu (Pop Cinema)
-Monster Shark (Code Red) because MST3K or something
-The Cured (Scream Factory/IFC Midnight)

July 10th

Godmonster of Indian Flats (American Film Genre Archive)

July 17th

-The Case of the Scorpion's Tale (Arrow) wonderful little Giallo from Sergio Martino. One of his best in fact.
-Doom Asylum (Arrow)

July 24th

-In the Mouth of Madness (Scream Factory)
-Dagon (Vestron Video/Lionsgate)
-Last House on the Left (Arrow)
-Someone's Watching Me (Scream Factory)
-Beyond Re-Animator (Vestron Video/Lionsgate)
-Love Me Deadly (Code Red)

July 31st

-Piranha II: The Spawning (Scream Factory)

August 7th

-Marrowbone (Magnolia Pictures)

August 14th

-Return of the Living Dead II (Scream Factory)
-Steelbook editions of "Army of Darkness", "The Howling" and "Lifeforce" (Scream Factory)
-Don't Look in the Basement/Don't Open the Door (Double Feature) (VCI)

August 21st

-The Tingler (Scream Factory)
-Strait-Jacket (Scream Factory)

August 28th

-Brainscan (Scream Factory)
-Bram Stoker's Shadowbuilder (MVD Rewind)

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Night of the Lepus is a film I usually try to catch on AMC or TCM around Halloween just because, as you said, killer rabbits.

 

[Gary]

Night of the Lepus is a film I usually try to catch on AMC or TCM around Halloween just because, as you said, killer rabbits.

I saw it first when I was 9 or 10. Even at that time the thing amused me. Watched "Tentacles" on the same day.

 

[Gary]

RoninFlix is expected to release a newly remastered special edition of Richard Stanley's underrated "Hardware" this June. Specs are

-DISC 1: Hardware, Audio Commentary with writer/director Richard Stanley, Deleted and Extended Scenes

-DISC 2: New Interview with writer/director Richard Stanley, Interview with Iggy Pop, No Flesh Shall Be Spared - The Making of Hardware, 3 Richard Stanley Shorts: Incidents in an Expanding Universe - Early Super 8 version of Hardware, The Sea of Perdition, and Rites of Passage, Richard Stanley on Hardware 2, Vintage Hardware Promo Videos featuring Iggy Pop and Lemmy, Theatrical Trailer (English & German)

They also just released a new edition of The House on Sorority Row

 

[Gary]

No release date, but "Candyman" director Bernard Rose has confirmed that a 4K remaster of the film has been done, and should receive a UK release from Arrow. I expect Sony or Scream Factory (who are now releasing some older Sony titles) to release it in the US, but Rose says there's a chance Arrow might also release it in the US.

 

[Brocklock]

https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2018/05/24/this-is-the-new-sht-tales-from-the-hood-2-is-coming

That could be a lot of fun. The first one held up pretty well when I watched it last year.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2018/05/24/this-is-the-new-sht-tales-from-the-hood-2-is-coming

That could be a lot of fun. The first one held up pretty well when I watched it last year.

Hell yeah! IMDB has a more detailed cast listing

Andy Cohen, Kendrick Cross, and Jay Huguley are the other notable names.

 

[Gary]

Quick updates on upcoming releases

-Scream Factory will be releasing the entire "[REC]" series in a Blu-Ray box set on Sept. 25th.

-Arrow Video will be releasing "What Have They Done to Your Daughters?" on August 14th.

-Kino Lorber will be releasing a special edition of "Deep Rising" on August 21st.

 

[RedJed]

Revenge: You want a horror that grabs ya by the balls and never lets go? This is one for you. I had heard a good buzz about this and it was warranted if you are a fan of the genre. Really excellent performances by both antagonists and protagonist and there was a certain amount of really brazen gore, but thats the only real negative I could say in that it was almost too much at times unnecessarily. Otherwise, this is well worth a look. For an almost two hour film, it goes very fast.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

...do you work for GenreVision? Their Upgrade episode included some praise for that and I generally trust their opinions.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Finally got around to watching Veronica on Netflix. 6/10

Directed by Paco Plaza and co-written with Fernando Navarro. Spanish horror film about a young girl who wants to communicate with her deceased Dad during an eclipse only she ends up bringing something else back instead and must protect herself/her family.

I liked it and there were some legitimately creepy scenes strewn throughout although it didn't quite feel as complete a film as it should have from a plot standpoint. I feel like some of the scenes will stand out above the whole itself, which is both unfortunate but also a credit to the creepiness of the scenes.

The movie also didn't really try anything new and a lot of it was pretty basic/standard demon possession-y fare right down to the blind nun espousing exposition to the lead protagonist. Definitely not anywhere close to a "scariest movie ever made" claim but it has a few legitimate horror scenes and is a solid enough watch overall.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

The Changeling Getting Blu-Ray Release by Severin Films (Limited Edition is getting a CD of Soundtrack included)

BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
Audio Commentary With Director Peter Medak and Producer Joel B. Michaels Moderated By Severin Films' David Gregory
The House On Cheesman Park: The Haunting True Story Of The Changeling
The Music Of The Changeling: Interview With Music Arranger Kenneth Wannberg
Building The House Of Horror: Interview With Art Director Reuben Freed
The Psychotronic Tourist: The Changeling
Master of Horror Mick Garris On The Changeling
Poster & Still Gallery
Trailer
TV Spot

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

Already have my copy pre-ordered. It's my second favorite haunted/ghost movie behind The Haunting. I'm just super excited to get a replica of the ball!

 

[Gary]

"The Strangers: Prey at Night" is a movie that I really liked...the third act of. That and it looks good and I'm a sucker for using neon lighting fog drenched landscapes. Unfortunately, some people in this do some of the dumbest shit imaginable, it cribs from the obvious choices ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and the music of John Carpenter-the score is just a rip off of the once for "The Fog") and the first and second act I found to be largely dull. It's not until

Spoiler

the kids start to fight back

that the thing finally becomes really enjoyable, and overall I can't say it's that bad (it's well directed and acted). I was just hoping for more.

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

https://youtu.be/rI054ow6KJk

 

[Brocklock]

YES! I've been waiting for a trailer since Sundance. It took me a couple viewings to appreciate it, but I really love the director's other movie Beyond The Black Rainbow. The soundtrack looks to be phenomenal as well. I can't wait to see this.

edit: Bill Duke is in this too!? It's like they grabbed everything I like out of my brain and made it into a movie. Nic Cage, Psychedelic colors, monsters, bs philosophy, a cool soundtrack, Bill Duke, a tiger, trippy visuals

 

[Gary]

One of my guiltiest pleasures. Coming Oct. 9th. They'll also be releasing "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation" and "The Exorcist II" (because someone had to I guess) in September, as well as 1985's "The Bride" and (I think I already mentioned it) a box set of the entire "[REC]" series. Here's the box art for two of those titles

Arrow only has one horror title out in September in Teruo Ishii's underrated "Horrors of Malformed Men" Here's the cover art and specs

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

-Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original negative
-High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
-Uncompressed mono 1.0 PCM audio
-Newly translated optional English subtitles
-Two audio commentaries by Japanese cinema experts Tom Mes and Mark Schilling
-Malformed Movies: a new video interview with Toei exploitation movie screenwriter Masahiro Kakefuda
-Malformed Memories: Filmmakers Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo the Iron Man) and Minoru Kawasaki (The Calamari Wrestler) on the career of director Teruo Ishii
-Ishii in Italia: Ishii and Mark Schilling visit the Far East Film Festival
-Image Gallery
-Theatrical trailer
-Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan Mumford

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet featuring new writing by Jasper Sharp, Tom Mes and Grady Hendrix

 

[Gary]

So, two big Scream Factory announcements

Drops Oct. 9th

Drops sometime this October.

Also, these two in limited edition Steelbook.

 

[BlackFlagg]

All over that Creepshow

 

[BlackFlagg]

 

[Gary]

I'm really hoping for special editions of other Hammer movies (specifically: "Horror of Dracula", "Horror of Frankenstein", "Plague of the Zombies", "The Devil Rides Out" and "Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell"). The "Critters" box set is a big one, and I had a feeling they'd be releasing "Candyman" when Arrow announced an UK exclusive edition for October.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I'm a sucker for Urban Legend but hell yeah to Single White Female, The Craft (which I already own), and Critters

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

Starman is Carpenter's most underappreciated movie. I love it so much. And Saturday the 14!!!!

 

[Gary]

Arrow's October Line Up is up. It includes

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by Arrow Films

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of both versions of the film: the 94-minute Italian and 90-minute English cuts

• Original lossless Italian and English mono soundtracks*

• English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack

• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack

• New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of All the Colours of Sergio Martino

• New video interview with co-writer/director Sergio Martino

• New video interview with actor Luc Merenda

• New video interview with co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi

• New video interview with filmmaker Federica Martino, daughter of Sergio Martino

• New video interview with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film

• 2017 Abertoir International Horror Festival Q&A with Sergio Martino

• Italian and English theatrical trailers

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Smith and Howard Hughes * The English audio track on the original, longer cut has some portions of English audio missing. English audio for these sections was either never recorded or has been lost. As such, these sequences are presented with Italian audio, subtitled in English.

• Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements by Arrow Films, supervised and approved by writer-director Jim VanBebber

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation

• Original uncompressed PCM mono audio

• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Brand new free-wheeling audio commentary with Jim VanBebber (’Goose’, The Ravens’ Gang Leader), actor Paul Harper (’Danny Carmodi’, The Spyders’ Gang Leader) and guest Cody Lee Hardin, moderated by filmmaker Victor Bonacore (Diary of a Deadbeat: The Story of Jim VanBebber)

• Jim VanBebber, Deadbeat Forever! – a brand new retrospective documentary on VanBebber and the Deadbeat legacy by Filmmaker Victor Bonacore, featuring first-time interviews, super-rare footage, VanBebber’s college films and much, much more!

• Archival 1986 behind-the-scenes documentary – Nate Pennington’s VHS documentary on a failed Deadbeat shoot

• Outtakes, newly transferred in HD

• Four newly-restored VanBebber short films – Into the Black (1983, 34 mins), My Sweet Satan (1993, 19 mins), Roadkill: The Last Days of John Martin (1994, 14 mins) and Gator Green (2013, 16 mins)

• Jim VanBebber Music Video Collection, featuring never-before-seen Director’s Cuts

• Chunkblower – promotional trailer for an unfinished Gary Blair Smith-produced gore-soaked feature film

• Extensive Image Gallery – Never-Before-Seen Stills!

• Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Scott Gabbey and Graham Rae

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation

• Original lossless mono soundtrack

• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Audio commentary by writer/director John Landis and makeup artist Rick Baker

• New video interview with author and critic Kim Newman

• Birth of a Schlock, a 2017 video interview with John Landis

• Archival video interview with cinematographer Bob Collins

• 1972, 1979 and 1982 US theatrical trailers

• US radio spots

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Joe Bob Briggs