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Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
53,634
236,697
The High Seas
I'm not going to mass post reviews of every single movie I've watched up to this point, but I will put my full list below my most recent reviews. If anyone has any questions about any of the movies on my list, or would like to see a particular review, let me know and I will post it here.

17. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (FTV)*

An enigmatic young man insinuates his way into a prominent surgeon's family in increasingly disturbing ways. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos who directed 2016's outrageous The Lobster, you know this isn't going to be a straightforward thriller, but it tricks you into thinking it's going to be one for about the first hour or so. There's a very unsettling, almost antiseptic way the lines are delivered in deadpan manner, making the people sound very shallow small-talky, but the performances are so good we know there's something terrible lurking beneath the polite facade. As the primary antagonist, Barry Keoghan gives an incredible understated performance that had me thinking of Edward Norton's stunning debut in Primal Fear.

Things unravel a bit in the 3rd act as the plot becomes increasingly unrealistic and the responses of the characters become less and less credible. I don't want to spoil much here, but I'd have much preferred if things had been a little more realistic--I'm a fan of the supernatural, but the reasons for what's happening in this movie very much clashed with the reality that had been set up to that point. Still, this is one of those movies that gets under your skin, and despite the thriller marketing tag, it's every bit a horror movie.

3 out of 5 stars.

Bob's October 2018 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. mother! 4/5 (FTV)
2. Marrowbone 4/5 (FTV)
3. Flora 2/5 (FTV)
4. Blood Fest 4/5 (FTV)
5. Chamber of Horrors 3/5 (FTV)
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) 5/5
7. Poltergeist (1982) 5/5
8. Hatchet 3/5 (FTV)
9. The Devil and Father Amorth 3/5 (FTV)
10. Terrifier 3/5 (FTV)
11. Murder Party 3/5 (FTV)
12. Dig Two Graves 4/5 (FTV)
13. I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House 2/5 (FTV)
14. Images 3/5 (FTV)
15. Invisible Ghost 2/5(FTV)
16. The Lure 4/5 (FTV)
17. The Killing of a Sacred Deer 3/5 (FTV)


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No comment on mother!?
 

fushingfeef

Finally Uber!
Aug 14, 2009
10,194
21,965
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
No comment on mother!?
Oh, I'm sorry, for some reason I thought I'd posted my original review I wrote...I guess I hadn't! It was the first movie I watched during the month of October. Here it is:

1. mother! (FTV)*
A seemingly housebound woman stresses over dark shadows and sounds, unwelcome guests, her poet husband's sudden fame, and a pregnancy. mother! is a film that many will find difficult to watch, it's claustrophobic, confusing and ultimately violent, and its narrative isn't meant to be taken at literal face value. Being a Darren Aronofsky film (Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, Pi, The Fountain), we know this is going to be a film about something, and indeed there is a method to its madness. I'm not saying there's only one possible interpretation, but by the time you get to the end, if you're not thinking in terms of biblical allegory, you haven't been paying attention.

But is the movie any good? I found it to be watchable and intriguing, not necessarily "fun" but like a puzzle, as it was able to stay a step ahead of me and shift gears before things got too familiar. The last 40 minutes are intense and easily the highlight of the film, a real descent into the hellishness of humanity. However, the allegorical aspect of the film kept me at arm's-length from the characters for much of the duration: it was hard to get completely involved with people who never felt real, because at their core they were representations of something else. Still, I found this weird (some would say infuriating) film to be a notable achievement in today's blockbuster Hollywood environment. If this film had been made in 1964 by Godard, we'd all still be talking about it.

Is this a horror film? It's more of a film that uses horror conventions to tell its underlying story, than it is a film whose purpose is to scare. Parts of this film are very horrific, and a few creepy moments as well, but don't expect standard slasher or haunted house fare. Still, the film is able to maintain a level of tension and discomfort that many horror films never achieve. If you liked Polansky's Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion, you'll enjoy this as a horror film.

4 out of 5 stars.

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Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
53,634
236,697
The High Seas
Oh, I'm sorry, for some reason I thought I'd posted my original review I wrote...I guess I hadn't! It was the first movie I watched during the month of October. Here it is:

1. mother! (FTV)*
A seemingly housebound woman stresses over dark shadows and sounds, unwelcome guests, her poet husband's sudden fame, and a pregnancy. mother! is a film that many will find difficult to watch, it's claustrophobic, confusing and ultimately violent, and its narrative isn't meant to be taken at literal face value. Being a Darren Aronofsky film (Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, Pi, The Fountain), we know this is going to be a film about something, and indeed there is a method to its madness. I'm not saying there's only one possible interpretation, but by the time you get to the end, if you're not thinking in terms of biblical allegory, you haven't been paying attention.

But is the movie any good? I found it to be watchable and intriguing, not necessarily "fun" but like a puzzle, as it was able to stay a step ahead of me and shift gears before things got too familiar. The last 40 minutes are intense and easily the highlight of the film, a real descent into the hellishness of humanity. However, the allegorical aspect of the film kept me at arm's-length from the characters for much of the duration: it was hard to get completely involved with people who never felt real, because at their core they were representations of something else. Still, I found this weird (some would say infuriating) film to be a notable achievement in today's blockbuster Hollywood environment. If this film had been made in 1964 by Godard, we'd all still be talking about it.

Is this a horror film? It's more of a film that uses horror conventions to tell its underlying story, than it is a film whose purpose is to scare. Parts of this film are very horrific, and a few creepy moments as well, but don't expect standard slasher or haunted house fare. Still, the film is able to maintain a level of tension and discomfort that many horror films never achieve. If you liked Polansky's Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion, you'll enjoy this as a horror film.

4 out of 5 stars.

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Good review. THanks!
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
1. American Werewolf in London

Still good to see again (I had it saved in my PVR thingy)

2. Lake Placid with Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda - about a giant crocodile

3. Repulsion (1965) with Catherine Deneuve - more like a psychological drama but has some horror moments in it.

4. Joy Ride - a trucker terrorizes three young people after being the victim of a practical joke.

5. The Hills Have Eyes - A suburban American family is being stalked by a group of psychotic people who live in the desert, far away from civilization. (Not the original from 1977).

6. Crazies on AMC (part of the Fear Fest) - remake of the 1973 film by George A. Romero

7. The Exorcist (the original one) - I remember seeing this at the theatre in a small town we lived in when I was still in high school. Read the book first so didn't jump a lot when the frightening scenes occurred.

8. Apt Pupil, based on the book by Stephen King (another one in my PVR) - my son's friend was shocked at the scene with the cat.

9. The Brave One with Jodie Foster - while not technically a horror film it has quite a bit of violence - this is a pretty good movie.

10. Natural Born Killers with Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis - wow - that was a very strange movie (not what I was expecting).

11. The Psycho She Met Online - this was like the Harlequin Romance version of a scary movie with perfect looking people etc. It was also filmed in Canada (probably for the tax breaks).

12. Good Neighbors - this one I liked - set in Quebec in the Notre Dame de Grace region about a murderer of young women. Sort of a whodunnit but with a good cast and good plot. Very quirky yet it kept you on your toes, wondering how it would end.

13. Secret Window - Johnny Depp was eating an awful lot of Doritos plus I was surprised at how young Mario Bello looked. Pretty good film - a bit of gore near the end but mostly psychological.

Wow - it's the 23rd and I've only seen 13! Yikes - better start watching more than one or two a day now!

:biggrin2::icon_eek:
 

fushingfeef

Finally Uber!
Aug 14, 2009
10,194
21,965
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
23. Ghost Stories (FTV)

British horror anthology where a paranormal debunker investigates 3 supposedly unexplainable cases. I love horror anthologies and British ones in particular, but this one is only so-so, despite the abundance of good reviews I've read, I felt this could have been better. There's an over-reliance on jump scares (even the title screen itself is a jump scare). None of the installments are true stories in themselves, they are just set pieces, paper-thin on plot. For once, the wraparound story is the best one here, which forces you to reconsider the whole film. But, it does seem all rather contrived and tacked on, like the writers knew they had to redeem the whole movie somehow to give it more purpose. Disappointing, because the film looks great and the cast is top notch.

2 out of 5 stars.

Bob's October 2018 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. mother! 4/5 (FTV)
2. Marrowbone 4/5 (FTV)
3. Flora 2/5 (FTV)
4. Blood Fest 4/5 (FTV)
5. Chamber of Horrors 3/5 (FTV)
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) 5/5
7. Poltergeist (1982) 5/5
8. Hatchet 3/5 (FTV)
9. The Devil and Father Amorth 3/5 (FTV)
10. Terrifier 3/5 (FTV)
11. Murder Party 3/5 (FTV)
12. Dig Two Graves 4/5 (FTV)
13. I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House 2/5 (FTV)
14. Images 3/5 (FTV)
15. Invisible Ghost 2/5(FTV)
16. The Lure 4/5 (FTV)
17. The Killing of a Sacred Deer 3/5 (FTV)
18. The Nightmare 3/5 (FTV)
19. A*P*E (3D) 3/5(FTV)
20. Dracula (1931) 5/5
21. The Sixth Sense 4/5
22. Constantine: City of Demons 3/5 (FTV)
23. Ghost Stories 2/5 (FTV)


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Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
53,634
236,697
The High Seas
23. Ghost Stories (FTV)

British horror anthology where a paranormal debunker investigates 3 supposedly unexplainable cases. I love horror anthologies and British ones in particular, but this one is only so-so, despite the abundance of good reviews I've read, I felt this could have been better. There's an over-reliance on jump scares (even the title screen itself is a jump scare). None of the installments are true stories in themselves, they are just set pieces, paper-thin on plot. For once, the wraparound story is the best one here, which forces you to reconsider the whole film. But, it does seem all rather contrived and tacked on, like the writers knew they had to redeem the whole movie somehow to give it more purpose. Disappointing, because the film looks great and the cast is top notch.

2 out of 5 stars.

Bob's October 2018 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. mother! 4/5 (FTV)
2. Marrowbone 4/5 (FTV)
3. Flora 2/5 (FTV)
4. Blood Fest 4/5 (FTV)
5. Chamber of Horrors 3/5 (FTV)
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) 5/5
7. Poltergeist (1982) 5/5
8. Hatchet 3/5 (FTV)
9. The Devil and Father Amorth 3/5 (FTV)
10. Terrifier 3/5 (FTV)
11. Murder Party 3/5 (FTV)
12. Dig Two Graves 4/5 (FTV)
13. I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House 2/5 (FTV)
14. Images 3/5 (FTV)
15. Invisible Ghost 2/5(FTV)
16. The Lure 4/5 (FTV)
17. The Killing of a Sacred Deer 3/5 (FTV)
18. The Nightmare 3/5 (FTV)
19. A*P*E (3D) 3/5(FTV)
20. Dracula (1931) 5/5
21. The Sixth Sense 4/5
22. Constantine: City of Demons 3/5 (FTV)
23. Ghost Stories 2/5 (FTV)


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This is such a bummer to know! I also love British anthologies, especially from Amicus and Hammer. Such classics! Always on my Halloween watch list and I was hoping this one would be worth adding to that bunch. Sounds like that's a big NO.
 

Baby Blue

Resident Wise Ass
Aug 16, 2017
874
6,937
Seattle, WA
Here's where I'm at so far (some of this was already shared on the playground):
1. The Lodgers - I feel like this plot had potential but the film just didn't deliver. I wasn't remotely frightened at any point but I thought there were some really beautiful shots and would say it is worth watching just from that perspective.

2. Delirium - This definitely had some story issues and might have been a wee bit predictable (and dad's make-up was definitely more funny than scary) but I still enjoyed trying to figure out what was real and what wasn't.

3. The Final Girls - I was holed up at an airport motel in Buffalo and was desperate to meet my quota so I watched this since it was the only “horror” movie on TV. Wow, this was so much worse than I thought was possible. I have no idea why anyone would have even made this movie. It's technically a horror parody, I guess, but it's not remotely funny OR scary so it fails epically on all counts. I hope you never have to see this one.

4. The Nun (2004) - Having already seen the latest movie of this title (from the Conjuring franchise) back in September before the 31 in 31 challenge started, I decided it would be appropriate to sub this one in for the official event. Much like the recent movie of the same name (and, let’s face it, most of the movies I’ll watch this month), this film has an interesting premise and terrible execution. The twist at the end doesn’t really make any sense at all. You can tell they really thought they were making something special here but failed to deliver on the actual mind-****ery.

5. All I See is You - It’s really a stretch to include this one since it definitely isn’t horror but I was on vacation and this was available on the plane. It’s technically a thriller but you’d be hard-pressed to find a single thrill in this movie. It was slow and boring. Every time I thought, “Oh boy, it’s about to get good!” it totally let me down. So many missed opportunities in the writing and directing.

6. The Cloverfield Paradox - Again, not truly a horror movie but this one is close enough to count without guilt, I’d say, since there’s so much crossover in this franchise. This was not great but it had a few fun/ creepy moments and I’ll basically watch anything Chris O’Dowd is in.

7. Stir of Echos - I had seen this one before but couldn’t remember it well enough to be certain when I was reading the synopsis so I decided to give it a go. I was quickly reminded that I loved this movie when it came out a million years ago and it actually holds up pretty well but damn if I didn’t want punch Kevin Bacon’s character right in the face for being such an awful husband through the entire ****ing thing.

8. Jacob’s Ladder - This is a classic that I had somehow never seen (I guess I always thought I had seen it and skipped over it) and now I know where the writers of Star Trek: TNG got the ideas for several of my favorite episodes. I love a good puzzle movie and this definitely is one.

9. Breaking In - This is basically a retelling of that Bruce Willis Hostage move from the 90s except it’s a mother rescuing her kids from the bad guys this time. I love a movie where a woman gets to kick some ass and make smart choices. I do wish that she got to be bad ass just for the sake of being bad ass rather than having to be in mama bear mode (women aren’t only strong when they’re protecting their kids, dontcha know) but this was pretty well done. It was pretty light on the gore though.

10. Halloween (1978) - Mr. Blue and I decided to rewatch all of the movies in this franchise and then go see the new one. I forgot how absolutely terrible this is. Just...nothing about it is believable and the acting is SO BAD (sorry, Jamie Lee). I'm not sure at this point that we're actually going to make it through all of them. We'll see.

11. Halloween II - The acting is still pretty bad but I felt like this one notched the fear factor up a bit so it was more enjoyable for me than the first.

12. Halloween III: Season of the Witch - This is the one that I remember most vividly from my childhood and it has nothing at all to do with Michael Myers. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but it affected me more than the others. Probably because it was far less slasher film (that’s never really been my thing). At any rate, it’s still pretty awful but I prefer this storyline to the Michael Myers story.

13. Halloween 4 (that’s right, they stopped using roman numerals here because we’re too dumb to know what IV means): The Return of Michael Myers - Well, Michael is back. Damn it. I have no idea how he survived that fire. I don’t blame Jamie Lee for getting out of dodge but that means Michael has to go after her daughter instead. Wait, she had a kid? Who is dad? Why did they leave her with foster parents; especially when she has terrible night terrors about “the boogeyman”, Michael Myers, who she’s never seen but somehow knows everything about and has a vivid image of?! I don’t understand what’s going on here! Mostly, I just wish Michael would hurry up and kill this kid because I’m sick of listening to her scream.

14. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers - Jesus. Why can’t we kill this guy. This movie starts with them conveniently rewriting the ending to the previous movie so that Michael gets away safely after being shot in the chest 2 dozen or so times. All he needed was about a year’s worth of sleep and then he’s all set to get back to the killing game. The kid is now mute (kind of) and living in a children’s clinic. They are now referring to her foster parents as step parents because apparently the writers had no idea that those meant totally different things. No mention at all of Jamie Lee Curtis so I guess she really must be the very worst kind of mother that she wouldn’t even show up after her kid was almost murdered. Or at least move her to a facility out of town. Anyway, this is definitely the worst movie so far. The kid has some sort of psychic bond with Michael and spends the whole movie having some sort of weird seizure and predicting when someone was in trouble. Not in time to save anyone of course, but I guess she tried and that’s all you can ask.

15. Rear Window - I DEFINITELY needed a break from the Halloween movies and Alfred Hitchcock always delivers solid entertainment. I‘m sure you’ve all seen this one. A guy is in a cast and spends his time stuck in a wheelchair to spy on his neighbors and then something terrible happens (or did it?). Grace Kelly and Jimmie Stewart have to unravel the mystery with the help of a terrible detective and a crotchety nurse. If you haven’t seen it, you should definitely take the time to watch it tonight.

16. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers - This one has Paul Rudd and that’s about all I can say for it. Though I do wonder how Jamie learned to drive after being held in captivity since she was like 6 or whatever. Also, is this baby supposed to be Michael’s?

17. Halloween H20 - This one hits the reset switch on all of the Jamie Lloyd stuff, which is probably a good thing because none of that ever made any sense to me. This was much more enjoyable than the others but still filled with all of the usual horror movie clichés (power is out/ lights don’t work, car won’t start, folks running up the stairs instead of out the door, etc.) but I have yet to see a slasher film that isn’t.

18. Halloween: Resurrection - Hold on, hold on. This one DOESN’T retcon H20 entirely but just eliminates the fact that people have lived in the house since the original murders happened? What, why? I mean, just freaking retcon all of it. What was the point of that? Overall, this one should probably be listed in the comedy category but the biggest disappointment is that we didn’t get to see Tyra Banks die in the movie (though I have since seen the cut scene on Youtube and understand why it was cut). And I know I’ve basically talked **** about all of these movies but I really have enjoyed them anyway. With the exception of some seriously problematic storylines and massive continuity issues, they’re still tons of fun to watch.

19. Halloween (2007) - This was my first time seeing this one and I think this is now my favorite of the Halloween movies just because of the soundtrack. It’s a total remake/reimagining of the original by Rob Zombie. Michael’s mom is a stripper who is married to a gross, abusive waste of space and they are just the perfect image of poor, white trash. There is WAY too much gratuitous nudity of “teen” girls for my taste but the storytelling is solid and I found it much scarier than its predecessor.

20. The House of the Witch - Some teens behave stupidly and get stuck in a house. People die.

21. The Babadook - I needed a guaranteed good one and was with a friend who needed cheering up so this rewatch was warranted. Strangely, I found it scarier on this rewatch than I did during my first viewing but maybe that’s because I was watching it at 3 am this time and I was drunk. J

22. Malevolence - This was ok. Worth a viewing, I think. I liked the whole con artists until they weren’t thing and it had the whole creepy kid thing going on which is always fun. There’s a twist that was a bit predictable and could have been more dramatic but still made for a more interesting story than just the standard haunted house fare.

23. The Open House - God, this was so bad. And the ending. Ugh. Stop wasting my time, people. Don’t watch this.
 

fushingfeef

Finally Uber!
Aug 14, 2009
10,194
21,965
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
This is such a bummer to know! I also love British anthologies, especially from Amicus and Hammer. Such classics! Always on my Halloween watch list and I was hoping this one would be worth adding to that bunch. Sounds like that's a big NO.
Well it is just my opinion, and based on the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, I'm in the minority. A lot of critics really seem to like this one.
 

fljoe0

Cantre Member
Apr 5, 2008
15,859
71,642
62
120 miles S of the Pancake/Waffle line
21. Intruders (2016)

Intruders get more than they bargain for when they break into a house where a woman with agoraphobia lives. 6/10

22. Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (1986) Michael Rooker

A disturbing and chilling tale loosely based on a real serial killer. Michael Rooker is scary as hell with his cold and unemotional performance. 8/10

23. Motel Hell (1980)

A horror/comedy with a brother and sister that run a motel and sell smoked meat. The smoked meat is a very special recipe. The movie includes a chainsaw fight. 6/10

24. Cargo (2017)

My only zombie flick so far. A man has 48 hours to try and find a safe place for his daughter this zombie filled world. 7/10
 

Mr Nobody

Well-Known Member
Jul 9, 2008
3,306
9,050
Walsall, England
1) Ravenous (new - Netflix) - French-Canadian zombie film. Pretty decent, darkly comic in places. French (that isn't quite ;)) with English subs. 6.5/10
2) Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (new - Sky/Now TV) - the conclusion to the series of films based rather loosely on the series of games. 5/10
3) Fear The Walking Dead S3 eps 8 & 9 (new - APV)
4) The Thing (2011) (new - APV) - Decent if unnecessary prequel, though watched back to back with the 80s classic it works surprisingly well. 7/10
5) The Thing (1982)
6) Nightmares and Dreamscapes, eps The Road Virus Heads North & The Fifth Quarter
7) Fear The Walking Dead S3 eps 10 & 11 (new - APV)
8) The Limehouse Golem (new - Netflix) - Billed as a horror mystery, though IMO it had very little horror in it (some gore, but that's it). The mystery itself was OK, though, with some good performances from a pretty strong cast. 7/10
9) The Purge (new - APV) - uh-uh. 5.5/10
10) Fear The Walking Dead S3 eps 12 & 13 (new - APV)
11) Priest (new - Netflix) - Vampire capers with Paul Bettany, Karl Urban and Maggie Q. Nothing amazing, but watchable enough I suppose. 6/10
12) The Walking Dead S9 eps 1 & 2 (new - Fox/Now TV) - Something of a return to form, but probably too late to make a difference.
13) Get Out (new - Sky/Now TV) - Not entirely what I was expecting. Some great performances overcame my feeling that, in the same position, I'd have had my running shoes on long before the main events. Sometimes funny, often scary (in a thriller rather than horror sense) and always thought-provoking, I like it a lot. 9/10
14) Stephen King's Sleepwalkers - Not my first time, but hadn't seen it in ages.
15) Monsters - Again, not my first time. Features a wall that a certain president would appreciate. Not that it actually works, mind.
16) The Autopsy of Jane Doe (new - Netflix) - What it says. It's a proper creeper, too, though the autopsy scenes might be a bit too on-the-nose for some (definitely not something you want to watch while eating). 8/10

17) Fear The Walking Dead S3 ep 14 (new - APV) & The Walking Dead S9, ep 3 (new - Fox/Now TV)
18) The Haunting of Hill House eps 1 & 2 (new - Netflix) - An interesting and well-executed take on/addition to the original story. I don't typically like re-imagined stories, mainly because it seems disrespectful to the original author/producer, but that's not the case here; it's actually very respectful and creepy in its own right. 9/10 so far.
19) Apostle (new - Netflix) - So-so British effort combining elements of The Wicker Man (woman goes missing, man dispatched to island location, etc) and a dollop of magical/mystical woo-woo. Most of the actual horror is of the gore/body horror type rather than actual chills, but in modern horror it seems like a choice between that or fake jump scares (the silent and empty screen followed by sudden flash of crap CGI and eardrum-shredding shriek method). 5/10
 

Mr Nobody

Well-Known Member
Jul 9, 2008
3,306
9,050
Walsall, England
And on the subject of British horror, it's interesting to me how Americans/folks elsewhere express a preference or strong liking for it, because to me, as a Brit, it seems like there's not enough room in this country to do decent horror anymore. Which, thinking about it, may explain why so much of our horror is done as a kind of period drama (a lot of the Hammer stuff went back at least 20-30 years from when it was made; more recently we have The Woman In Black. Even Apostle, mentioned above, was temporally located in the late-19th/early 20th century).
By contrast, (North) America especially still seems to be a place where anything is possible, mostly because of the sheer scale of the place. But then I suppose Britain offers an olde worlde sense of atmosphere, a sort of 'Don't be going out of the village after dark' (or indeed "Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors./Beware the moon, lads.") kind of thing - especially in autumn and winter (e.g. there's a crow in a denuded tree. The tree stands on top of a grass bank and stands stark against a leaden sky. It's coming dusk, and the chill wind is gusting. You try to snuggle deeper into your coat. 'Caw, caw,' says the crow. It isn't looking at you, yet nor is it looking away. It knows you're there, on the other side of the dry stone wall with a strip of barbed wire running across it. 'Caw, caw,' the crow says again, and it might only be imagination but you could swear that the bird is mocking you...
That's the kind of thing we have, but it's pretty much all we have. I'll even go so far as to say that might be true of northern Europe, perhaps especially the Germanic parts e.g. Britain, Germany, Scandinavia...
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
1. American Werewolf in London

Still good to see again (I had it saved in my PVR thingy)

2. Lake Placid with Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda - about a giant crocodile

3. Repulsion (1965) with Catherine Deneuve - more like a psychological drama but has some horror moments in it.

4. Joy Ride - a trucker terrorizes three young people after being the victim of a practical joke.

5. The Hills Have Eyes - A suburban American family is being stalked by a group of psychotic people who live in the desert, far away from civilization. (Not the original from 1977).

6. Crazies on AMC (part of the Fear Fest) - remake of the 1973 film by George A. Romero

7. The Exorcist (the original one) - I remember seeing this at the theatre in a small town we lived in when I was still in high school. Read the book first so didn't jump a lot when the frightening scenes occurred.

8. Apt Pupil, based on the book by Stephen King (another one in my PVR) - my son's friend was shocked at the scene with the cat.

9. The Brave One with Jodie Foster - while not technically a horror film it has quite a bit of violence - this is a pretty good movie.

10. Natural Born Killers with Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis - wow - that was a very strange movie (not what I was expecting).

11. The Psycho She Met Online - this was like the Harlequin Romance version of a scary movie with perfect looking people etc. It was also filmed in Canada (probably for the tax breaks).

12. Good Neighbors - this one I liked - set in Quebec in the Notre Dame de Grace region about a murderer of young women. Sort of a whodunnit but with a good cast and good plot. Very quirky yet it kept you on your toes, wondering how it would end.

13. Secret Window - Johnny Depp was eating an awful lot of Doritos plus I was surprised at how young Mario Bello looked. Pretty good film - a bit of gore near the end but mostly psychological.

14. White Zombie from 1932 with Bela Lugosi (on Turner Classic Movie channel).

15. The Mark of the Vampire with Bela Lugosi (again) - this was pretty good with a surprise ending. (1935)

Mark-of-the-Vampire_main.jpg
 

Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
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The High Seas
And on the subject of British horror, it's interesting to me how Americans/folks elsewhere express a preference or strong liking for it, because to me, as a Brit, it seems like there's not enough room in this country to do decent horror anymore. Which, thinking about it, may explain why so much of our horror is done as a kind of period drama (a lot of the Hammer stuff went back at least 20-30 years from when it was made; more recently we have The Woman In Black. Even Apostle, mentioned above, was temporally located in the late-19th/early 20th century).
By contrast, (North) America especially still seems to be a place where anything is possible, mostly because of the sheer scale of the place. But then I suppose Britain offers an olde worlde sense of atmosphere, a sort of 'Don't be going out of the village after dark' (or indeed "Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors./Beware the moon, lads.") kind of thing - especially in autumn and winter (e.g. there's a crow in a denuded tree. The tree stands on top of a grass bank and stands stark against a leaden sky. It's coming dusk, and the chill wind is gusting. You try to snuggle deeper into your coat. 'Caw, caw,' says the crow. It isn't looking at you, yet nor is it looking away. It knows you're there, on the other side of the dry stone wall with a strip of barbed wire running across it. 'Caw, caw,' the crow says again, and it might only be imagination but you could swear that the bird is mocking you...
That's the kind of thing we have, but it's pretty much all we have. I'll even go so far as to say that might be true of northern Europe, perhaps especially the Germanic parts e.g. Britain, Germany, Scandinavia...

I kindly disagree. Your British anthologies are about story. Yes, the productions could be quite cheesy (which in my opinion just adds a whole other layer to give my love to), because the budgets were just nothing. But surprisingly, they got some big name actors and talented people in front of the camera and behind.

The stories are fun. They are good. Who can't love that priceless ending in one segment of Dr. Terror's House of Horrors where the doctor stands outside the house and states:

This town isn't big enough for two doctors, let alone two vampires.
.

Which now leads me to my next Halloween Movie watch.
 
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