# Horror Movie Reviews



## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

This is for horror movie reviews, especially horror from the past few years, but feel free to go all the way back to the _The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari _if you wish.

*Ils (Them) - *Part of the French New Wave horror trend, this one is a lot less violent than _L'Interieur _or _Martyrs _but I think it still has a similar visual style and feel. I think it was decent, and it had kind of a surprising wtf ending, but I wasn't as impressed as Netflix suggested I would be. Average, watchable, probably better than a lot of the crap out there, but not fantastic. I was more impressed with the two films I listed earlier; not because of the violence, but because of the overall plot and action and characters.

*The House of the Devil - *I really love this movie a lot. It has the feel of a Roman Polanski film, or maybe a hint of _The Omen. _It's intentionally filmed in the technology and style of films from the late 70's and early 80's, and is set in the early 80's. Not a slasher flick, but one of those devil worshiper movies, which I've always found far creepier for their atmosphere and suspense versus excessive gore (though this does have some strategically placed violence, of course). It may be a little too slow for some people but I enjoyed the atmosphere so much that I thought it was perfect. I won't say it's my favorite film, but I would rate it above _Ils. _


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Watched two surprisingly fantastic horror films last night.

*The Shrine - *I was ambivalent about even watching this, as I am not a big fan of _Hostel _or the "Eastern-European-people-are-evil" recent American sub-genre of horror (although I admit _The Orphan _was pretty cool) ...but I gave it a shot and I'm glad I did. It starts slow, but stick with it: it's lulling you placidly into a generic American middle-class sense of normality. Seriously, I was debating shutting it off, then they got to Poland. The second half of the film is a complete fucking 180 from the first half. You suspect you might be watching a cross between _Hostel _and _Deliverance _for a few minutes, but then things get kind of supernatural and spooky. All of a sudden you're out in a deep fog in the middle of the woods with some rural presumably-devil-worshiping Slavs. But get this: the movie is almost 50% in _untranslated _Polish. Color me shocked, but that indicated to me that only good things were to come, this wasn't your run of the mill American xenophobic film, this was actually something of quality. I was impressed. Really. The end. Wait for it.

*The Caller - *Set in present day with a vaguely late 70's feel, you suddenly understand why when Mary's prank caller seems to be calling from ...the past. Sounds cheesy, but it had me on the edge of my seat. It's like _Skeleton Key _meets _The Butterfly Effect _meets Sylvia Plath's _The Bell Jar. _Extremely psychological, mysterious, and atmospheric. Just watch it. I think the less you know, the better


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## Shahada (Apr 26, 2010)

Just wanted to say I also really liked House of the Devil, it was a perfect 80's horror homage. It captured the feel of those movies perfectly without having to resort to parody or constantly winking at the audience with 80's nostalgia. Great atmosphere and build up, genuinely creepy. Unfortunately I tried to watch the writer/director's follow up, The Innkeepers, and it was really awful  I honestly couldn't stand more than fifteen minutes or so. Hopefully he has more than one great movie in him!


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

*Yoga* - So what dumbass decided that Westernizing the title of the Korean film that literally translates _Yoga Institute _into _Yoga: The Movie _was a good marketing move? I actually started laughing when I saw the title, but had to give it a look since I take yoga myself, I had to see what ghastly cheezy poof had been made when someone decided that yoga was a great theme for Asian horror.

Surprisingly, it's very creepy. The actresses in the film are obviously advanced yoginis (or their stunt doubles are), as there are multiple scenes of yoga being practiced on a fairly advanced level. The film centers around Kundalini yoga, though, and not *real* Kundalini yoga: basically an evil school from hell takes advantage of shallow, vain women and tries to sell them the idea that "the Kundalini" is an object that can be obtained by winning an intensive, hand-picked training program, upon which they will receive eternal youth and beauty.

In a manner of _Seven _or other religiously themed films, the undoing of each character is what would be considered in Christianity their own darkness or sin: vanity, gluttony, etc. but I think in context of yogic philosophy, it was simply about attachment and being in their own way.

It made sense up until the end, however there's something pretty disturbing about it, just the sounds and visuals, though the plot doesn't quite wrap up sensibly. Maybe it's not supposed to.


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## INTJellectual (Oct 22, 2011)

I'm a fan of Horror Films, but I got immuned to its scariness.

I like every Horror Film. These are the types of movies I watch whenever I go to the cinema.

The last films I watched were The Ring (latest one), and The Healing (local movie).

I'm gonna watch Amorosa (local movie) next week.


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## Boolean11 (Jun 11, 2012)

INTJellectual said:


> I'm a fan of Horror Films, but I got immuned to its scariness.
> 
> I like every Horror Film. These are the types of movies I watch whenever I go to the cinema.
> 
> ...


Your immunity is probably due to Ni comparing the symbols you learnt with the unoriginal narrative mechanism most directors use today.


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## timeless (Mar 20, 2010)

I really liked Paranormal Activity 3, if only for the scenes with the camera that pans left to right in the kitchen.


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## INTJellectual (Oct 22, 2011)

I don't get shocked by the tactics of most horror movies but this movie, gave me goosebumps, especially at the insidious evil ghosts of different eras that want a human body for them to possess. It arouses fear in me especially at how they put make-up to ghosts...


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## INTJellectual (Oct 22, 2011)

Boolean11 said:


> Your immunity is probably due to Ni comparing the symbols you learnt with the unoriginal narrative mechanism most directors use today.


Probably. Very predictable. I get scared however at an original movie that I have never seen such a style before.


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## INTJellectual (Oct 22, 2011)

This horror movie is creatively and originally written. Nicole Kidman and her family thought there were ghosts in their house. What she and her kids don't know is that, they are the ghosts, and the ghosts they thought were ghosts were the living ones who are living in the same house. It didn't scare me though. And very slow-paced.


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## INTJellectual (Oct 22, 2011)

timeless said:


> I really liked Paranormal Activity 3, if only for the scenes with the camera that pans left to right in the kitchen.


I was entertained by Paranormal Activity movie (the bed scene movie, and the stairs/kitchen movie). But I didn't get scared and it was slow-paced.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

*Family Friendly Horror Award*

*Frankenweenie - 

*This isn't technically a horror film, but it deserves a round honorable mention for paying homage to so many horror monster classics, and not just the ones you'd expect. Does anyone else recognize Weird Girl and Mr. Whiskers as the Log Lady from _Twin Peaks _? The _Gremlins _reference made me absolutely shriek with laughter. I am not a huge Tim Burton fanatic, but I love this film, and not just because I saw it in 3D (yes, I am one of those 3D people - I saw _My Bloody Valentine _and _Alice in Wonderland _in 3D too, but alas,_Hotel Transylvania _is such a lame fucking kids movie not even 3D can save it).

I'd buy this on DVD and watch it without the 3D effects, because I'm that appreciative to Burton's humorous and touching nod to some 20th century horror films. DON'T EVER ASK ME TO REVIEW A TIM BURTON FILM EVER AGAIN. :laughing:


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## Proteus (Mar 5, 2010)

[Rec] 3 Genesis
This was significantly lighter in tone than the first two movies and (thankfully) had less of the 'found footage' gimmick which I really can't stand in horror movies these days. There was a good amount of corniness but plenty of a solid zombie movie to keep it entertaining. There were several good, tense scenes and this series' take on the zombie infection was something new. Overall it's not as good as the first two but still worth a look. 

Cabin in the Woods-
I watched this expecting it to dissolve into every other cliched college student slasher film, but it honestly didn't. Sure the standard character stereotypes are there, but the bigger plot behind it (don't want to speak in too much detail to avoid spoilers) actually did a good job compensating for and explaining away all of that. Even though the idea behind it was a bit on the cheesy side it all actually worked, imo, and all the parts that weren't meant to be serious were very entertaining. I'd put this in the same category as the Evil Dead series or Dead Snow in that it was more of a black horror-comedy which did a good job at poking fun of a lot of the typical horror tropes. 



fourtines said:


> *The House of the Devil - *I really love this movie a lot. It has the feel of a Roman Polanski film, or maybe a hint of _The Omen. _It's intentionally filmed in the technology and style of films from the late 70's and early 80's, and is set in the early 80's. Not a slasher flick, but one of those devil worshiper movies, which I've always found far creepier for their atmosphere and suspense versus excessive gore (though this does have some strategically placed violence, of course). It may be a little too slow for some people but I enjoyed the atmosphere so much that I thought it was perfect. I won't say it's my favorite film, but I would rate it above _Ils. _


I thought everything about this movie was great up until the final act. They did such a terrific job of capturing the 80s mise en scene throughout building up to pretty much nothing. The payoff just seemed tacked on and almost done as a joke, especially compared to the atmosphere of the rest of the film. Personally I thought The Innkeepers was a lot better.


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## Janujedi (Oct 12, 2012)

I LOVED "INSIDIOUS"!!
But nothing could scare the shit out of me like the 'GRUDGE' series.!!!


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

Janujedi said:


> I LOVED "INSIDIOUS"!!
> But nothing could scare the shit out of me like the 'GRUDGE' series.!!!


I'm actually a big fan of the US remakes of Asian flicks, I think they were well-done. I've been trying to go back and watch the original ones (have only seen bits and pieces so far) -- the problem is mostly I feel like they've got a few startling images, but the story and production values aren't as strong to pull everything together to accentuate the fear. For some reason, ghosts that are distorted in shape and/or don't move in a human like manner (like the Grudge ghost crawling around like a lizard) just really creep me out. 

Insidious had a few good scares, usually with a flash of the unexpected in the dark and on occasion where I did not expect them to be. I saw Sinister last night, and it also had a few good scares... the problem was more the story wasn't as strong and I could tell where the scares were going to happen. 

I think my sensibilities are very much the strong 5w4 type -- grotesque, shifting shadows, distorted imagery (I really liked the production design on se7en, for example; or the Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth), where it's not even really sure what is real vs imagined, and where the familiar is twisted and bent out of shape. The original Alien (with Giger's workas a basis) was really big to me too.

The original Paranormal Activity was great. It built slow but had a wonderful payoff... and there were just scenes of immense creepiness (such as the time periods between 1:30am and 3:10am) even if nothing was truly happening, which then spilled into those bursts of activity where it's clearly obvious that one is not in control... don't want to spoiler the movie, but... that would utterly freak me out. Someone mentioned the kitchen scene in PA3, if it's the one I'm thinking of I think it's pretty classic and unexpected.

The House of the Devil and The Shrine are both on my viewing list -- i think they are both on Netflix right now.

The Others had some great acting and again is one of those "slow buildups". I thought the twist was good, in how it was handled.

I'm a big fan of The Descent as well. David Julyan created perfect ambiance with his soundtrack; and the movie also deals with hurt/grief (loss of family, betrayal by friend), as well as the sense of loss in seeing your friends all die one by one and knowing you are likely next. Futility? Inevitability? These things contribute to horror for me.

Also, I've noticed the physical things that don't create permanent maiming of the body aren't as nasty for me as those that do. For example, I can handle viewing normal gunshots, stabbings, bludgeonings, and whatever else without a lot of problem. But when people are being dismembered while still alive (texas chainsaw) or having their eyes ruined (Hostel) or torn apart by animals or other crazy stuff that, even if they live, they will be missing body parts and whatever else.... that really really gets to me -- it's not just the horror of the moment but immediate awareness of the impact of that damage for the rest of one's existence (emotionally, practically, visually, etc.) that bothers me.

I just watched V/H/S last weekend, and the only clip that is really sticking with me is the first one (I think it's called Amateur Night). It's not the gore that is resonating, it's the pathos and the performance of the lead that is sticking with me -- in this case, the "monster" doesn't actually seem to be as much of a monster as what the results of her actions attest to, she actually seems like a lonely and lost creature who is trapped as what she is as much as others might be threatened by her. Yet what she is is pretty nasty. I can't quite get my mind around it or the contradictory feelings; to me, that also contributes to good horror, where you feel things that don't go together and yet you can't really resolve them. I saw Cabin Fever a few weeks back (where a group of teens in a remote area contract a virulent disease similar in some ways to Ebola), and it was the same thing -- feeling disgust and fear toward those who have the disease, yet at the same time these are your friends so what do you do? Contradictions.

@_Shahada_: I just watched The Innkeepers this past week and was disappointed. I felt like the director knew how to shoot a movie, and the leads were comfortable enough with each other, but the story and production quality just wasn't there. When it was all over, I just felt like, "Is that it?" It felt like some high-school student's project.


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## Janujedi (Oct 12, 2012)

Well PA 1 was very scary.! And it was new to us. and PA 2 was also a VERY GOOD one. I kinda liked it more than PA 1. But I think PA 3 was a bit of a downer. :dry:
And ONE MISSED CALL was also a favorite of mine.

Watch THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE. 
That's some good scary stuff you have there. :shocked:


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

I just watched The House of the Devil (Ti West). It was actually pretty decent -- I loved the fact it was filmed in 2008 but the setting (and the credits / opening fonts / music, and the hair styles, etc) were all done around the 1980 time period. I remember having a cassette walkman just like Sam had.

The house was very beautiful and authentic-feeling (although there might have been a few time-period anomalies, such as the light fixtures and where they were positioned, etc.)

The movie also did not feel underpopulated, had a few settings besides the house (which helps), and the conversations felt fairly natural. I had never seen the lead before, but she did an excellent job. It was also good to see Tom Noonan again (he's kind of a guest actor in the same way Brad Dourif is, and both played killers in different episodes of the X-Files). 

I thought it a MUCH better movie than West's later flick, "The Innkeepers." I wasn't really ever bored in HotD. I also thought paying the license for "One Thing Leads to Another" was great -- it's a perfect dance song, and the hook also comments appropriately on the unfolding plot.


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## Shahada (Apr 26, 2010)

Anyone here seen V/H/S yet? I watched that about a month ago and found it to be a really great horror anthology. I love anthologies and there's really not enough of them anymore, and the ones that are made aren't that good (I really didn't like that Trick or Treat movie that came out a couple years ago), but I thought V/H/S was great. The only real downside I would say is that its yet another "found footage" horror movie, and its getting to the point where conventionally shot horror films are outliers in the genre. That being said, aside from a few segments stretching plausibility as you ask "why were they filming all of this crap," it works, and takes full advantage of the "VHS" theme by integrating the disorienting camera work into the various stories, and some of them even use VHS tracking artifacts to pretty neat storytelling purposes. You'll probably forget about the camera stuff though because the stories are all very well done, with a few being so unbearably creepy to the point I barely wanted to keep watching at times. I found it online but think it has a limited theatrical run, if you're into horror and it's playing around you its definitely worth seeing in a theater. And with all the Ti West talk its worth mentioning he did one of the segments, though I'm not sure which one.


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

Shahada said:


> Anyone here seen V/H/S yet? I watched that about a month ago and found it to be a really great horror anthology. I love anthologies and there's really not enough of them anymore, and the ones that are made aren't that good (I really didn't like that Trick or Treat movie that came out a couple years ago), but I thought V/H/S was great. The only real downside I would say is that its yet another "found footage" horror movie, and its getting to the point where conventionally shot horror films are outliers in the genre. That being said, aside from a few segments stretching plausibility as you ask "why were they filming all of this crap," it works, and takes full advantage of the "VHS" theme by integrating the disorienting camera work into the various stories, and some of them even use VHS tracking artifacts to pretty neat storytelling purposes. You'll probably forget about the camera stuff though because the stories are all very well done, with a few being so unbearably creepy to the point I barely wanted to keep watching at times. I found it online but think it has a limited theatrical run, if you're into horror and it's playing around you its definitely worth seeing in a theater. And with all the Ti West talk its worth mentioning he did one of the segments, though I'm not sure which one.


Yeah. I saw V/H/S the weekend it came out (I saw it at home on my PS3 via Sony store). 

I actually was underwhelmed by the movie.  It all got to be same-old to me, the longer it lasted, and I was kind of glad when it was over. 

The Ti West segment was weird but marginally interesting -- someone told me he did the sequence with guy and girl on their honeymoon to Sante Fe (or wherever), and they're afraid someone is breaking into their hotel room...

The third segment (with the weirdo in the woods + the distortion on the image) was kind of interesting but just your standard hack and slash. 

The fourth segment, with the girl skyping her med school bf, was actually kind of creepy -- "things in the dark" always rattle me, and that had a nice little delicious twist at the end. 

The spooky house with weird stuff in the attic segment was kind of unsettling but very very predictable and I actually had the ending figured out before they even reached the house.

The segment I really enjoyed and that lingers with me is the _first _one -- not the arc segment (with the delinquents breaking into the house looking for the tape, wow those guys were losers!) but the one with the three guys who go out to pick up girls, one wearing the glasses with the built-in camera. The actress in this segment was superb; she caught my eye as soon as she appears, and she delivers in spades. I am still unsettled by her performance. The writing also was nuanced in the sense the character wasn't one-dimensional; there was a pathos there that makes the segment even heart-wrenching, as my feelings towards the character are heading in opposite extremes. It was just really beautifully done. So I think it was worth my watching the whole movie just to see that one piece.


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

I think I am going to be going through many of the NetFlix Halloween month offerings. 

I watched Intruders last night, with Clive Owens. Kind of disappointing, although I want to be fair to this movie and say that although it was billed like a horror movie, it actually was constructed more like a thriller (if you get my drift). So it wasn't trying for outright scares, it was more focused on plot and action and resolving the posed problem.

I actually got bored in the middle. The notion of the two intertwining storylines was intriguing but didn't really capture me the way I'd hoped, mainly because I felt like I wasn't being allowed to figure anything out, I was forced into a very passive viewer role. And since my mind wandered, I might have missed a few clues as well. I read later than some people figured out the main movie twist pretty early in the movie, and there's a kind of overt hint there if you're paying attention (I see now).

The movie actually had decent mood. The main problem was just that the writing was rather a mess. Afterwards I had an idea what happened but still wasn't sure (since the delivery was a bit garbled) and I had to go online and look around for reviews/explanations. Mainly, the writer/director just couldn't tell a clear story; it's okay to have mysteries, but confusion is a different matter.

I'll give another nod to the music which was good -- especially the closing credits. But this is one of those movies I wouldn't really recommend, unless you're just bored and curious.

-----

Note: I'm looking forward to watching Session 9 this season. I haven't seen it for a year or two, and it's one of my favorites; the abandoned mental institution setting with unpredictable electricity/lighting is always a great setting to be freaked out in, and then you've got the entire psycho-drama with the lead character and the mystery of piecing together why he's so "off"/disturbed and unraveling... and then, finally, the therapy tapes, which are just spectacular. I still get chills remembering Simon.... which I'm pretty sure was a homage to the short story, "Thus I refute Beelzy," which is a story I read when I was about ten and still is one of my favorite short stories ever.


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

Just watched ABC's of Death on NetFlix.

Mixed feelings. Quite a range of clips and talent involved.

The Ti West clip was a huge disappointment. (M)

At least two of the clips seem to be a form of Asian torture porn.

A few of the clips were genuinely amusing (K, T, and Q -- and A and B also had a kind of wry twist to them).

I'd say the "best" quality one was D, in terms of how it was shot and told a narrative without words. 

I'm not quite sure what to say about F -- you need to watch it to understand. Again, it seems like weird Asian fetish crap, but also seemed to be quite aware of it and played it up so big, it was like watching a Sam Raimi picture that manages to work while treating itself lightly.

English audiences will need to watch with subtitles on; the majority of the clips are in a foreign language.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

I watched *Evil Dead (2013)
*
Congratulations to these guys on making a re-make (is that too many makes?) that actually scared me. It scared me in that subconscious, childish, gory way that I think horror films are supposed to ...as opposed to leaving me psychologically disturbed in a realistic way, which I really hate. I do not enjoy being psychologically disturbed in a realistic way, but I love feeling the creeps and visceral horror!

On an intellectual level it did bore me, because there's no rhyme or reason to the story, I mean it makes sense that a junkie would get possessed first, but it doesn't really explain why everyone who is trying to help her does, if they are sober and have good intentions, and aren't dabbling in the occult. Especially since the R.N. was first and not the nerd guy who said the special magic words. 

But that's what adds to the whole childish subconscious/visceral scare...the "demon" is transferred by things like vomit and black ...um... snakes(?) crawling into your vagina and/or anus...like a disease.

Would watch again, and not mad at anybody for ruining my childhood...of course that may be because I wasn't an especially big fan of the original back in the day, I just never got into it, I saw it as a "boy movie" (don't try to explain that logic, there is none).


* *




I remember watching this documentary last year called *Nightmares in Red White and Blue: The Evolution of American Horror *...and in it, it talks about how horror trends reflect the major social concerns of the time...this would surely be about HIV/AIDS...a junkie gets it first...then a medical professional....and it's spread to others, whether they "deserve" it or not, like a plague.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Stoker is a brilliant film that almost isn't horror.



* *




This is a beautiful atmospheric psychological horror film based on the idea that psychopathy is hereditary and that any attempt to redirect the disorder in to something constructive will fail. 




A real breathtaking work of art. One of those literary types of scripts Nicole Kidman loves.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

I actually watched an independent horror film last night called _*I Didn't Come Here To Die.*

_I hardly ever watch truly independent horror because so much of it is absolutely terrible and is basically a special effects circle jerk amongst horror nerds, many of the "films" just being really cheesy horror comedy, entirely meant to be tongue-in-cheek and show off costumes, make-up or splatter.

However, this one claimed to be one of the best independent debuts since Sam Raimi's _Evil Dead .._so I thought I'd give it a shot, just to see.

I have to say the filming technique was not bad for such a low budget horror flick, and it kept my interest for the entire film, I actually was able to watch it til the end, and there were even a couple of unexpected laughs.

Of course it was extremely amateur, but that almost made the idiot characters in the film seem more believably real!!! 

I didn't like the complete lack of explanation for why any of it was happening, but as I say, it at least kept me tuned in, which is saying a lot for this particular caliber of horror flick.


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## Fern (Sep 2, 2012)

Regina said:


> This horror movie is creatively and originally written. Nicole Kidman and her family thought there were ghosts in their house. What she and her kids don't know is that, they are the ghosts, and the ghosts they thought were ghosts were the living ones who are living in the same house. It didn't scare me though. And very slow-paced.


The Others is a good movie. It was loosely based upon Henry James' The Turn of The Screw, which was turned into the 1961 film The Innocents with Deborah Kerr.

Even the movie posters are quite similar (her frightened face looking off to the left, the warm light, you get it)--










It is featured in both Marin Scorsese's _*and *_@Fern's top 10 scariest films list, if you were wondering.


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## INTJellectual (Oct 22, 2011)

I'm so excited to watch Insidious 2 this year! I'll definitely watch it and buy tickets.

I can't forget the song Tiptoe Through the Tulips made creepy by the movie. It's supposed to be a happy song, but that song give me chills, and my hair raises everytime I hear that song.


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## INTJellectual (Oct 22, 2011)

I'm so excited to watch Insidious 2 this year! I'll definitely watch it and buy tickets.

I can't forget the song Tiptoe Through the Tulips made creepy by the movie. It's supposed to be a happy song, but that song give me chills, and my hair raises everytime I hear that song.


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## INTJellectual (Oct 22, 2011)

Fern said:


> The Others is a good movie. It was loosely based upon Henry James' The Turn of The Screw, which was turned into the 1961 film The Innocents with Deborah Kerr.
> 
> Even the movie posters are quite similar (her frightened face looking off to the left, the warm light, you get it)--
> 
> ...


Haven't seen and heard of that one yet. The girl's stare looks very creepy and demonic.

I'll try to download that movie if that is available in some site.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Two extremes:

One of the best horror films I have seen in a while is ,* Sinister* .....omgz I was completely creeped out. Excellent build up and suspense and real scares. Impressive enough for a full five stars.

The newer * Nightmare on Elm Street * could not be worse. Horrible boring cardboard cut out pile of shit. I could barely pay attention. I am admitting a resistance to a remake of the Wes Craven original but this was especially bad. Superbad. I avoided this flick for a couple years only to be proven right when I gave it a chance. Case of a studio clearly trying to cash in on a franchise.


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

fourtines said:


> Two extremes:
> 
> One of the best horror films I have seen in a while is ,* Sinister* .....omgz I was completely creeped out. Excellent build up and suspense and real scares. Impressive enough for a full five stars.
> 
> The newer * Nightmare on Elm Street * could not be worse. Horrible boring cardboard cut out pile of shit. I could barely pay attention. I am admitting a resistance to a remake of the Wes Craven original but this was especially bad. Superbad. I avoided this flick for a couple years only to be proven right when I gave it a chance. Case of a studio clearly trying to cash in on a franchise.


I generally agree with you on both of these. While I thought Insidious was better overall, Sinister is at least a candidate for a decent recent horror flick. The use of found footage was excellent, and there were some definite "spook" moments and unsettling creep. I just felt the characters could have been stronger.

The new NoES was bad. One problem (similar to Evil Dead, but far worse) is that the original at least had fun with the premise even if some of the plot seemed thin. Here, they dumbed down Freddy into a dull-witted, kind of surly imploding thug. The movie was too serious, without the dramatic chops to pull it off; and otherwise plodded along. In that sense, the sharp-tongued/witted Freddy of the original series shines in comparison, regardless of any missteps.


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

@_fourtines_: About your spoiler regarding horror...

Ironically, I think both horror AND humor reflect cultural concerns -- they're kind of flip sides of the same coin, as the humor tends to on a horrific hue and become dark. The horror confronts it directly, the humor confronts it indirectly. (For example, the Holocaust jokes after WWII; the elephant jokes during the race issues of the 50-60's; the dead baby jokes in the 70's and early 80's once abortion was legalized; etc.) The social bogeyman basically play in our horror and humor.

it's interesting to wonder why the zombie motif is so popular today.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Jennywocky said:


> @_fourtines_: About your spoiler regarding horror...
> 
> Ironically, I think both horror AND humor reflect cultural concerns -- they're kind of flip sides of the same coin, as the humor tends to on a horrific hue and become dark. The horror confronts it directly, the humor confronts it indirectly. (For example, the Holocaust jokes after WWII; the elephant jokes during the race issues of the 50-60's; the dead baby jokes in the 70's and early 80's once abortion was legalized; etc.) The social bogeyman basically play in our horror and humor.
> 
> it's interesting to wonder why the zombie motif is so popular today.


I wonder if it's overpopulation. Seeing other people as soulless masses.

Another would be more complex...like the glut of information possibilities in the world now causing educated and informed people to see themselves as superior to the brain dead masses "cloning and feeding while I don't even own a tv" to quote a 90s pop song. This would still be indirectly related to overpopulation.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

I should probably add that is only one interpretation. It could be people believing that advertising is bad by brainwashing people into mindless consumers.

Another is fear of religious people. Or fear of psychotropic meds.

Overall it appears to point to fear and dehumanizing of the masses.

I should probably also add that zombie flicks don't appeal to me and never have.


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## countrygirl90 (Oct 11, 2012)

Has anybody seen paranomal activity and its sequels and has been able to sleep fitfully at night without feeling fear or getting nightmares.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

countrygirl90 said:


> Has anybody seen paranomal activity and its sequels and has been able to sleep fitfully at night without feeling fear or getting nightmares.


The only movies that disturbed me that much were Poltergeist and that is probably because it was rated PG and so my grandfather let me watch it with him on tv when I was eight and I already had some weird innate fear of dolls and ventriloquist dummies so the clown scared the fuck out of me for at least two years.

The other was The Exorcist which I saw in my teens.

Other movies have truly frightened me but nothing kept me that afraid to sleep.

People should not let little kids watch horror movies but I think you should see them by 12 or so in the hopes you wouldn't be kept awake by some amateur garbage like Paranormal Activity.

That movie is actually boring to me. I rate it fairly low.

Different people are frightened by different things though.


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## countrygirl90 (Oct 11, 2012)

fourtines said:


> The only movies that disturbed me that much were Poltergeist and that is probably because it was rated PG and so my grandfather let me watch it with him on tv when I was eight and I already had some weird innate fear of dolls and ventriloquist dummies so the clown scared the fuck out of me for at least two years.
> 
> The other was The Exorcist which I saw in my teens.
> 
> ...


To be honest I find most of the Hollywood horror movies quite frightening because not only they show everything very explicitly with special effects and all ,but the way movies are presented to look almost like a real life incidents I won't watch most of them at night and also not alone :tongue:. I get paranoid sometimes after watching a particular gruesome horror movie which makes it hard for me to sleep alone at nights but after few days that paranoia or fear vanishes too .
I remember the first time I had watched evil dead when I was 11 and god I was so afraid after that I won't even let my mother to switch off the light at night while sleeping and on top of that my elder brother used to freak me out by telling me in a creepy voice that ghosts would come to me at night and take me away ,lol. 
I'm usually very tempted to watch such movies but I select mild ones that I can watch alone ,the stronger ones I usually watch with my brothers or friends and after that to dull the effect of movie on me I would watch some music video or some other comedy or romance movie :laughing:.


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## Bricolage (Jul 29, 2012)

A lot of horror movies overdo the gore. The suspense and gothic twist ending of a movie like The Orphanage is moving in the right direction for me. I don't go for cheap thrills like people jumping out of shadows. Sprawling landscapes like 28 Weeks Later...also nice. These are more psychological thrillers, though. Maybe horror's cliched now. :bored:


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

countrygirl90 said:


> To be honest I find most of the Hollywood horror movies quite frightening because not only they show everything very explicitly with special effects and all ,but the way movies are presented to look almost like a real life incidents I won't watch most of them at night and also not alone :tongue:. I get paranoid sometimes after watching a particular gruesome horror movie which makes it hard for me to sleep alone at nights but after few days that paranoia or fear vanishes too .
> I remember the first time I had watched evil dead when I was 11 and god I was so afraid after that I won't even let my mother to switch off the light at night while sleeping and on top of that my elder brother used to freak me out by telling me in a creepy voice that ghosts would come to me at night and take me away ,lol.
> I'm usually very tempted to watch such movies but I select mild ones that I can watch alone ,the stronger ones I usually watch with my brothers or friends and after that to dull the effect of movie on me I would watch some music video or some other comedy or romance movie :laughing:.


You saw the original Evil Dead at 11 and Paranormal Activity keep you up at night?

I am baffled. I found the lame advertising absurd and the actual film forgettable.

I know a lot about movies and acting and horror though so if something doesn't sufficiently captivate my interest then I am quite bored.

I am usually more frightened by the world news.

Something has to be real to me. Like for example Sinister scared me beca in the beginning it seemed like home invasion serial killing which scares the fuck out of me. The Zodiac movie scared me far more than most recent horror films.

I am scared of things I believe could really happen realistically.

Everyone is different. Horror is like comedy quite subjective.

Though I will say the original Evil Dead had very ugly scary make up especially for the one possessed woman the eyes are very disturbing in that film and its made to look like it happens to real people.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

unctuousbutler said:


> A lot of horror movies overdo the gore. The suspense and gothic twist ending of a movie like The Orphanage is moving in the right direction for me. I don't go for cheap thrills like people jumping out of shadows. Sprawling landscapes like 28 Weeks Later...also nice. These are more psychological thrillers, though. Maybe horror's cliched now. :bored:


The Orphanage is fantastic. I am more meh about 28 Days Later but the only zombie movie that impressed me in the slightest was 1969 Night of the Living Dead...I don't have the zombie fear whatever it represents to other people it strikes me wrong like as in boredom. Like christ this is dumb. Zombie movies might as well be kid's movies to me usually. What ever the underlying psychological profile I don't have it.

I actually am fine with gore and cheap thrills and you are talking to a person who also watches historical dramas and European art film and indie cinema.

I just hate this manufactured lame commercial bland horror that some studios are cranking out. It's like...horror sitcoms. Disney horror. Wal Mart and McDonald's horror. It's the movie version of Milli Vanilli.


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## countrygirl90 (Oct 11, 2012)

Don,t feel baffled @fourtines as I said I was 11 at that time and I didn't watched complete movie, I was in our nieghbour's home where all adults were watching the movie so I also got curious about the movie but then my mom came to get me and I only saw the half of it.But it was long ago and honestly I have forgotten what was there in the movie except for the name.


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)

here's a list of some of the greatest horror movies of all time
reanimator
dead alive
phantasm
attack of the killer tomatoes
the thing
devils rejects
they live
attack of the 50 ft tall @FluffyTheAnarchist
Freddy's dead the final nightmare
Jason goes to hell


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## SpinniBell (Aug 9, 2014)

vinniebob said:


> here's a list of some of the greatest horror movies of all time
> reanimator
> dead alive
> phantasm
> ...


For some strange reason, "attack of the killer tomatoes" doesn't sound to be all that scary to me.


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)

SpinniBell said:


> For some strange reason, "attack of the killer tomatoes" doesn't sound to be all that scary to me.


it's a spoof of the horror genre, more of a comedy but still a classic must see, it was made to be cheesy


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## SpinniBell (Aug 9, 2014)

vinniebob said:


> it's a spoof of the horror genre, more of a comedy but still a classic must see, it was made to be cheesy


Interesting. Then I think I'll check it out :wink: thank you!


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## Morpheus83 (Oct 17, 2008)

fourtines said:


> Slasher films fulfill a series of archetypes of real human fears, like the mortality that follows sexual maturity, for example. There are some good modern horror films, one of the best meta sort of statements I have seen in recent horror is about the dismal state of the horror genre the oppressive usage of lighting and wondering who the real evil is in " I am a Ghost". It's not the best horror movie I have seen, but I have to give it props for the clear statement it makes.
> 
> Horror should convey some primal human fear or spirituality when it doesn't it's just senseless gore, unless it's also funny or stylish with good special effects.
> 
> ...


I suspect some people overlook the cultural and ideological dimensions of 'fear', a social construct that's also informed by contemporary anxieties. Some 'serious' horror films (and novels) assume that piling on the tropes e.g. masked slashers, black cats, etc... makes something 'scary' in itself just because there are 'recognisable' archetypes. What some people don't realise is that a lot of these 'obvious' archetypes and symbols are increasingly being appropriated by popular culture in 'kitschy' ways (like how I can think of different Halloween stores that have 'cute' black cat motifs and 'witches' that look like Old Mother Hubbard), which creates the impression of 'horror' being 'safe', 'fun' and even something that's all about 'commercialisation'. On top of that, the 'traditional' sublimated aspects of sexuality in something like the slasher subgenre tend to be overshadowed by ideological debunkings, excesses and reflections embodied in modern films, novels and cultural criticisms--it's not that unusual for people nowadays to consciously associate a slasher killer's sharp knife with a penis.

I think what's also missing nowadays in some horror films is the lack of self--and maybe cultural--awareness and creativity when it comes to 'revising' archetypes. Postmodern horror done well may not provide the 'jump' scares, but at least these films are more likely to make you think about the ideological implications of 'traditional' archetypes while paving the way for excursions into the 'taboo' that modern horror is afraid to address. It's simply not enough just to acknowledge that cliches and tropes exist--I suspect something like Scream has become popular enough for modern viewers to know what 'familiar' ground is.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Morpheus83 said:


> I suspect some people overlook the cultural and ideological dimensions of 'fear', a social construct that's also informed by contemporary anxieties. Some 'serious' horror films (and novels) assume that piling on the tropes e.g. masked slashers, black cats, etc... makes something 'scary' in itself just because there are 'recognisable' archetypes. What some people don't realise is that a lot of these 'obvious' archetypes and symbols are increasingly being appropriated by popular culture in 'kitschy' ways (like how I can think of different Halloween stores that have 'cute' black cat motifs and 'witches' that look like Old Mother Hubbard), which creates the impression of 'horror' being 'safe', 'fun' and even something that's all about 'commercialisation'. On top of that, the 'traditional' sublimated aspects of sexuality in something like the slasher subgenre tend to be overshadowed by ideological debunkings, excesses and reflections embodied in modern films, novels and cultural criticisms--it's not that unusual for people nowadays to consciously associate a slasher killer's sharp knife with a penis.
> 
> I think what's also missing nowadays in some horror films is the lack of cultural awareness and creativity when it comes to 'revising' archetypes. Postmodern horror done well may not provide the 'jump' scares, but at least these films are more likely to make you think about the ideological implications of 'traditional' archetypes while paving the way for excursions into the 'taboo' that modern horror is afraid to address. It's simply not enough just to acknowledge that cliches and tropes exist--I suspect something like Scream has become popular enough for modern viewers to know what 'familiar' ground is.


Honestly I think it's good that things like black cats and witches are becoming "cute" though because it helps in all truthfulness to combat animal abuse (people used to kill black cats, they literally thought they were evil, every once and while someone still does) and the idea has come out now that most witches were simply women who chose to live independently, whether lesbian or celibate or even *gasp* a promiscuous or simply sexually active woman who preferred not to marry, who often practiced things like herbal medicine and lived close to animals and nature ....a pagan, more or less. 

Still, there are good witch movies out there imo, like Rob Zombies recent Lords of Salem, and films about honest-to-god (no pun intended) Satanism will always scare the crap out of me. House of the Devil and The Conjuring are two of the best horror films I have seen in years in terms of actually being scary/creepy/chilling...Sinister was genuinely scary too, but more for serial killer reasons.

EDIT: By the way, I didn't like the overly-self-aware contribution by Lars Von Trier that was Antichrist. I thought it was pretentious because it made far too much of the symbolism and spelled things out too much, though the penis stuff was genuinely horrible, and I think Von Trier tapped into some primitive male fears (sexually insatiable emotionally unstable woman, being castrated, witches or women overtaking him at the end) so men may have actually been more afraid of it than me, I thought it was Nietzschean twaddle and prefer the more subtle symbolism or exploration of archetypes that Se dom Rob Zombie does (I think Von Trier may be an Ni dom??)


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## Morpheus83 (Oct 17, 2008)

fourtines said:


> Honestly I think it's good that things like black cats and witches are becoming "cute" though because it helps in all truthfulness to combat animal abuse (people used to kill black cats, they literally thought they were evil, every once and while someone still does) and the idea has come out now that most witches were simply women who chose to live independently, whether lesbian or celibate or even *gasp* a promiscuous or simply sexually active woman who preferred not to marry, who often practiced things like herbal medicine and lived close to animals and nature ....a pagan, more or less.
> 
> Still, there are good witch movies out there imo, like Rob Zombies recent Lords of Salem, and films about honest-to-god (no pun intended) Satanism will always scare the crap out of me. House of the Devil and The Conjuring are two of the best horror films I have seen in years in terms of actually being scary/creepy/chilling...Sinister was genuinely scary too, but more for serial killer reasons.
> 
> EDIT: By the way, I didn't like the overly-self-aware contribution by Lars Von Trier that was Antichrist. I thought it was pretentious because it made far too much of the symbolism and spelled things out too much, though the penis stuff was genuinely horrible, and I think Von Trier tapped into some primitive male fears (sexually insatiable emotionally unstable woman, being castrated, witches or women overtaking him at the end) so men may have actually been more afraid of it than me, I thought it was Nietzschean twaddle and prefer the more subtle symbolism or exploration of archetypes that Se dom Rob Zombie does (I think Von Trier may be an Ni dom??)


I agree. I don't have any problems with some culturally appropriated archetypes becoming 'cute' or 'safe' (like black cats and witches), but I'm annoyed with writers who prescribe narrow representations of archetypes--like how only black cats are 'scary' and 'meaningful' simply because they're black cats--without acknowledging the cultural, historical and ideological dimensions. It takes guts, creativity, analytical flair and cultural awareness to revise archetypes in modern horror films (as well as horror fiction). I think concepts such as sexual anxiety and identity, the monomyth, etc... are inextricably linked to historically and culturally relative concerns. If a horror film wants to be 'modern', it has to do more than trowel on tired tropes and archetypes. 

I really need to check out some of the more modern (and better) witch movies. I've yet to check out any of the films that have been mentioned, but they look very interesting. I tend to be annoyed by symbols that have to be constantly 'explained' in a film, as though filmmakers and writers are too afraid of somebody in the audience not 'getting it'. For some reason, I also have the urge to check out Rob Zombie's House of a 1000 Corpses :tongue:


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## Shahada (Apr 26, 2010)

fourtines said:


> I think there should be more films about.malls. There was Chopping Mall in the 80s and Day of the Dead, but malls are truly horrible places, I have thought so since my late teens and early twenties, even when I get sucked into a new one I start to realize what loud, ugly, cheap, post industrial over stimulating nightmares they are, and I feel sorry for the people who work there, down to the way they are forced to harass you to buy or sign up for something, and the people who get addicted to being there, not entirely unlike cokeheads hanging out together for twelve hours in a living room with every artificial lamp on.


I've always thought malls were cool settings too for these sorts of reasons and more, they're so alienating and surreal, but I feel like its kinda a missed opportunity since malls aren't as culturally relevant nowadays as they were in the 80's and 90's. Not that you couldn't do it in a modern context, I just don't know if it would have the same power. This post got me thinking a 80's/90's throwback thing a la House of the Devil set in a mall would be really cool though. Seems like Dawn of the Dead is the only film in the genre that's really taken full advantage of the setting, unless you count that episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark where the kid gets stuck in the pinball machine.



Morpheus83 said:


> I think what's also missing nowadays in some horror films is the lack of cultural awareness and creativity when it comes to 'revising' archetypes. Postmodern horror done well may not provide the 'jump' scares, but at least these films are more likely to make you think about the ideological implications of 'traditional' archetypes while paving the way for excursions into the 'taboo' that modern horror is afraid to address. It's simply not enough just to acknowledge that cliches and tropes exist--I suspect something like Scream has become popular enough for modern viewers to know what 'familiar' ground is.


I think that's very true, there's some cool horror fiction out there I think but in film the genre seems kind of stagnant, most of the more noteworthy things to come out in the past several years have been reboots and remakes or things that consciously try to recall past archetypes that are no longer as relevant as they were, Rob Zombie movies being a prominent example of the latter. Those things aren't always bad, I thought The Conjuring was an awesome haunted house movie despite being pretty content to be "just another haunted house movie," but you are sort of just telling the same stories over and over, and stories that aren't as relevant to a modern audience. 

To be totally fair though the other main trend in contemporary horror cinema seems to be the "found footage" film, and whatever you may think of that mini-genre (personally I think some are good, some not so good) I think something like Paranormal Activity does engage in active revisions of archetype not just through the obvious difference of medium and perspective, but also the presentation of the "hauntings" in these films is often quite different from past haunted house tropes. They're often presented as incredibly powerful, borderline omniscient malevolent alien entities, and the way these entities are often tied to specific people rather than discreet places or locations seems to indicate a greater focus on private, personal hauntings that take the shape of the haunted individual's own soul rather than existing as discreet, distinct things from "another plane of existence" or whatever. Given the great multitudes of cultural narratives available to people in the world today its hard to present a credible haunting except through this kind of ambiguity, where you leave just enough space in the narrative for the viewer to fill in the blanks. I feel like there's a lot of this stuff in horror fiction nowadays, or at least what I read, and horror fiction has just recently sort of gotten a big crossover hit with HBO's True Detective and the show runner name dropping Thomas Ligotti and Laird Barron in interviews, so maybe we'll see more cool stuff like that in the future.

To be honest I am just rambling and I will probably read this post tomorrow and think its stupid but I like horror talk.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Shahada said:


> I've always thought malls were cool settings too for these sorts of reasons and more, they're so alienating and surreal, but I feel like its kinda a missed opportunity since malls aren't as culturally relevant nowadays as they were in the 80's and 90's. Not that you couldn't do it in a modern context, I just don't know if it would have the same power. This post got me thinking a 80's/90's throwback thing a la House of the Devil set in a mall would be really cool though. Seems like Dawn of the Dead is the only film in the genre that's really taken full advantage of the setting, unless you count that episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark where the kid gets stuck in the pinball machine.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Malls are totally culturally relevant, whatchoo talkin bout Willis, they just aren't new anymore. If anything they're even more MONSTROUS than ever...the famous Galleria (of Frank Zappa/Moon Unit Zappa's "Valley Girl" early 80s fame) is a rinky-dink spacious lovely walk through the "riche white" part of the San Fernando Valley compared to the newly improved, jam-packed ten gazillion eateries of the former Fox Hills (now Westfield) mall in West L.A. ...and it's not even the biggest mall in existence. There are malls inside of airports, now. Didn't you realize those were malls, or has mall lifestyle become too normalized for you to even see it? There has to be a way to approach it. And no zombies, por favor. 

I'm not sure why you don't think Rob Zombie films aren't relevant to a modern audience. He wasn't even really wealthy until he became a horror director. He actually intends to stop horror now, after the success of House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects (which have a huge fan base) he was able to cobble together Lords of Salem for his own artistic expression and fellow die-hard fans which he didn't create to feed the crowd, he was in a position where he was simply rich and famous enough to do exactly what he wanted. I also liked Rob Zombie's Halloween better than many of the remakes out there (didn't like NoES though I loved the originals as a child/teen) because he approached Mike Myers psychologically as a human being, plus I just like his audio-visual style. Millions of Rob Zombie fans would beg to differ with you...and The Conjuring was considered by many many people to be a frightening film. Just because you don't like things doesn't mean they are no longer "culturally relevant" ...in fact an Se inferior would probably be the last person in the world I would be asking about what was culturally relevant, though I am sure they would be an expert on what current expressions in culture MEAN or INDICATE about society, et al. 

P.S. I hate found footage films. I think with a few exceptions they are incredibly lame. I think you are speaking less about what is "culturally relevant" and more about "what is scary to you."


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Morpheus83 said:


> I agree. I don't have any problems with some culturally appropriated archetypes becoming 'cute' or 'safe' (like black cats and witches), but I'm annoyed with writers who prescribe narrow representations of archetypes--like how only black cats are 'scary' and 'meaningful' simply because they're black cats--without acknowledging the cultural, historical and ideological dimensions. It takes guts, creativity, analytical flair and cultural awareness to revise archetypes in modern horror films (as well as horror fiction). I think concepts such as sexual anxiety and identity, the monomyth, etc... are inextricably linked to historically and culturally relative concerns. If a horror film wants to be 'modern', it has to do more than trowel on tired tropes and archetypes.
> 
> I really need to check out some of the more modern (and better) witch movies. I've yet to check out any of the films that have been mentioned, but they look very interesting. I tend to be annoyed by symbols that have to be constantly 'explained' in a film, as though filmmakers and writers are too afraid of somebody in the audience not 'getting it'. For some reason, I also have the urge to check out Rob Zombie's House of a 1000 Corpses :tongue:



Speaking to you and @_Shahada_ both, of course one of the most "culturally relevant" horror movies I can think of in recent years is probably The Purge. The Purge is more like a mix of horror/near-futuristic action or something, but it's about as timely as "politically" scary as anything I can think of.

Different things scare different people. I know people who eat up Insidious, and I found those movies watchable but only so-so, and I found Sinister so terrifying I actually had trouble falling asleep that night, it was like the Zodiac meets Freddy Krueger or something...and I know people who couldn't even finish watching it because it scared them so much, and people who were as "ho hum" about it as I was about Insidious.

I noticed too that Von Triers Antichrist (which I really didn't like, though I liked other films he has done such as Melancholia) had a really love/hate reception sort of like Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem. People had really strong reactions to both of those films, either praising excessively or dismissing Antichrist as pretentious, and with Lords of Salem people either found it really awesome or it put them to sleep, one of the main complaints I saw from non-fans was boredom. 

And despite otherwise liking Guillermo del Toro, I thought the woodsy Mama was a yawner, but I loved the spooky atmospheric backwoods We Are What We Are (2013), almost like a chilling throwback to classic Southern Gothic or something. 

I've seen quite a few films lately too that I would give an "okay" rating to, as well, like Haunt (2013) which was a nice personal touch ghost story (maybe the kind that @_Shahada_ is referring to, though is not a found footage film). Texas Chainsaw 3D was ok in my book, but only "ok" because basically what they did was approach Leatherface as a human being with a back story like Rob Zombie did with Mike Myers, even going as far as to clean up and use some original Chainsaw footage (I really enjoyed that, Tobe Hooper was actually involved in the project and Marilyn Burns actually recently passed away around the same time as Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall) ....but yeah they didn't do as good of a job as Zombie did, imo, they wandered off way too much into cheap, fast, dirty horror cliche land, like a copycat flick for either bored teens or adult fans of the Chainsaw franchise.


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## Shahada (Apr 26, 2010)

fourtines said:


> Malls are totally culturally relevant, whatchoo talkin bout Willis, they just aren't new anymore. If anything they're even more MONSTROUS than ever...the famous Galleria (of Frank Zappa/Moon Unit Zappa's "Valley Girl" early 80s fame) is a rinky-dink spacious lovely walk through the "riche white" part of the San Fernando Valley compared to the newly improved, jam-packed ten gazillion eateries of the former Fox Hills (now Westfield) mall in West L.A. ...and it's not even the biggest mall in existence. There are malls inside of airports, now. Didn't you realize those were malls, or has mall lifestyle become too normalized for you to even see it? There has to be a way to approach it. And no zombies, por favor.


You're not wrong, I just think they were more a part of life in America in the 80's and 90's than they are today. It used to be every shit sack little town in the US had a mall and now lots of those are rotting shells because they've been replaced by park right up front strip mall things. It's not like you can't do that stuff today or that malls have disappeared, I didn't mean to imply that, I live by one of the biggest (the biggest, depending on how you measure it) in the country and it's always packed full of people, it just doesn't quite have the same "oomph" I feel like. Like if you made Videodrome today (putting aside the anachronistic technology for a second) it would still be amazing, but I'm not sure it would have the blow you out of your chair quality it did at the time. You have a point about the degree to which it is normalized now though and maybe I'm just overreaching because I don't think about it as much. Really its going to depend on how the setting is handled more than the setting itself. Actually that observation about all those old abandoned malls might be a cool modern idea in and of itself.



fourtines said:


> I'm not sure why you don't think Rob Zombie films aren't relevant to a modern audience. He wasn't even really wealthy until he became a horror director. He actually intends to stop horror now, after the success of House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects (which have a huge fan base) he was able to cobble together Lords of Salem for his own artistic expression and fellow die-hard fans which he didn't create to feed the crowd, he was in a position where he was simply rich and famous enough to do exactly what he wanted. I also liked Rob Zombie's Halloween better than many of the remakes out there (didn't like NoES though I loved the originals as a child/teen) because he approached Mike Myers psychologically as a human being, plus I just like his audio-visual style. Millions of Rob Zombie fans would beg to differ with you...and The Conjuring was considered by many many people to be a frightening film. Just because you don't like things doesn't mean they are no longer "culturally relevant" ...in fact an Se inferior would probably be the last person in the world I would be asking about what was culturally relevant, though I am sure they would be an expert on what current expressions in culture MEAN or INDICATE about society, et al.
> 
> P.S. I hate found footage films. I think with a few exceptions they are incredibly lame. I think you are speaking less about what is "culturally relevant" and more about "what is scary to you."


You misunderstood me, I loved the Conjuring, it was one of the best horror films I've seen in years, and I like some Rob Zombie films too (I think House sucks, but I liked Devils Rejects and even the Halloween remakes). Neither of them are reinventing the wheel in terms of archetypes though, that's all I meant. That's not a criticism either, just an observation, they're not really trying to do that and are good at what they are trying to do. As for "found footage" stuff yeah most of it is shit, because it's one of the big trends now, but some of them are pretty good. It's just like any other style, it can be done well and it can be done poorly. I think found footage is definitely relevant though as evidenced by its popularity, despite whether or not its any good. 



fourtines said:


> Different things scare different people. I know people who eat up Insidious, and I found those movies watchable but only so-so, and I found Sinister so terrifying I actually had trouble falling asleep that night, it was like the Zodiac meets Freddy Krueger or something...and I know people who couldn't even finish watching it because it scared them so much, and people who were as "ho hum" about it as I was about Insidious.


I was kind of the opposite of that on those two movies (I don't really "eat up" Insidious but I thought it was alright, I can't even remember Sinister to be honest), but you referring to both Insidious movies actually just reminded me of how I tried to watch the sequel a couple months ago and good Lord that was bad, I had to turn it off. So that's my review of Insidious 2 for the horror movie review thread.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Shahada said:


> You're not wrong, I just think they were more a part of life in America in the 80's and 90's than they are today. It used to be every shit sack little town in the US had a mall and now lots of those are rotting shells because they've been replaced by park right up front strip mall things. It's not like you can't do that stuff today or that malls have disappeared, I didn't mean to imply that, I live by one of the biggest (the biggest, depending on how you measure it) in the country and it's always packed full of people, it just doesn't quite have the same "oomph" I feel like. Like if you made Videodrome today (putting aside the anachronistic technology for a second) it would still be amazing, but I'm not sure it would have the blow you out of your chair quality it did at the time. You have a point about the degree to which it is normalized now though and maybe I'm just overreaching because I don't think about it as much. Really its going to depend on how the setting is handled more than the setting itself. Actually that observation about all those old abandoned malls might be a cool modern idea in and of itself.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah I prefer House of 1000 Corpses and my ex LOVED Devil's Rejects, I think House has more atmosphere and layers and genuine scares, Devil's Rejects to me is much horror-of-real-life, bad people go on the lam and you're supposed to root for them, it was incredibly culturally relevant for its time, imo, Rob Zombie really had his nose in the whole "serial killer as celebrity" trend for that bit. My ex also imagined I would love Antichrist, but he was dead wrong...he just assumed because I was a literature major I would dig all the spelled out symbolism and obvious archetypes, but I honestly wanted to punch Lars Von Trier after watching it, as a horror fan I felt like he was trying to spoon feed me the obvious, like he assumed most horror fans are too dumb to understand what they're watching, and his fans who don't usually like horror would need "high brow" guidance to understand the "whys" of the gore...and that's why I love Rob Zombie. Rob Zombie doesn't insult my intelligence, and I am quite certain he positively enrages a certain kind of person because he never really bothers to explain to them why he assumes you know why...I don't think an Se dom director is going to seek out to reinvent horror archetypes. Maybe an Ne dom horror director would do that, which is why I wonder about the person who directed I Am A Ghost...overall to me as a horror fan I really didn't find it that great, it was too repetitive and non-visceral for me, but he really really touched on something I hadn't seen before, and it was totally culturally relevant imo (light used oppressively instead of darkness, principally, both in terms of unnecessary electric consumption and a culture that forces "happiness" or "light" metaphorically). 

Back to the mall thing, the reason why I think it is so sinister is precisely because people don't "notice" it anymore...that's what would make the movie scary, it would have to have an underlying social message, sort of like The Purge does...I do like the idea of abandoned shopping malls, but those tend to be used in zombie films galore. I am not a big zombie film person either. I am very picky about zombie films and found footage...both of those have a few good ones but aren't my cup of tea. Zombie films are very culturally relevant though. That shit doesn't always matter to me though, especially when it's being said over and over again in different ways (world's overpopulated, stupid people breeding, mindless consumerism, lots of people congratulating themselves on thinking they are smarter than the masses so who is the real monster in that scenario, you name it)....what matters to me is atmosphere and archetypes that speak to ME personally, and different things speak to different people. That's why some people can watch zombie films until doom's day and I can be endlessly entertained by some subgenres.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

*Haunter
*
Good story and I liked the main character, but it wasn't especially scary, just kind of a young adult novel-esque kind of ghost story, but those are nice sometimes, because they aren't too disturbing and can have atmosphere.

There's a HUGE HUGE STYLISTIC FLAW in this film though: Lisa is supposed to be from 1985, and her parents and house look 1985, and even the bands she likes seem 80s...but she looks like she's from ~ 1989-1993. It's really, really annoying. WHY ON EARTH would you make a film that was supposed to be set at least half in 1985 and make the main character look absolutely positively circa 1990??? WHAT THE HELL? 

I'm surprised more people haven't complained about this on the Netflix review area, everyone seems to think this movie is so cool, but apparently none of them were alive in the 80s? Which makes me wonder who even wrote and directed this film?


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Saw *As Above, So Below*...I usually hate hand helds, found footage, et al....this had a promising story line though, and some atmosphere. Overall though I found the filming techniques made me sea sick and the ending was too abrupt.

Going to check out that new Spanish horror flick in 3-D tonight, can't wait for Annabelle next month.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

*Mas ***** que la Noche (2014)*

The original 1975 version of this is certainly only the sort of thing a cult following could love (im honestly curious why my ex never showed it to me, it's classic Mexican horror in a style of Italian giallo) but the updated version is visually fresh, especially in 3D which provides more of a sense of atmospheric dread rather than gore or a lot of jumpy scares. If I had seen this when I was twelve or thirteen I would have wet my pants, it's a traditional haunted mansion/bitter old maid and/or widow tale imposed upon a group of vibrant young women. It taps more I think into feminine fears and archetypes. The token white girl looked Argentine, but it's clearly set among the Mexican upper class with a dash of Edgar Allan Poe's "Black Cat." I liked it so much I saw it twice (once in 2D, once in 3D) and I definitely recommend the enhanced 3D version, especially for people who may need subtitles. Not scary, but gothic, spooky, atmospheric, Im surprised it wasn't released closer to la dia de los muertes. There was some especially good acting in my opinion from most of the female characters.

Take heart, the animal violence is obviously not real.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

*Annabelle*

I find these Ed and Lorraine Warren films more genuinely disturbing than frightening, though I didn't even see the Conjuring in theater it still made me jump. Annabelle I saw this opening weekend, and the horror sequence in the first fifteen to twenty minutes actually made me _cry_. It's good, though it is a bit reminiscent in a very mild way to Rosemarys Baby (seriously, the wife's name was Mia) it has it's own original plot.


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## onebelo (Apr 10, 2012)

recently watched *Proxy* (2013) and thought it was terrific. r_eally _unpredictable events that kept me guessing and some of the characters were beautifully fucked up_. _handled itself with a finesse that is not common with this type of horror/psychological thriller (?) genre, 

8/10


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

Watched Darknet, new on Netflix -- it's a series done in the style of V/H/S but it actually pretty impressive for what looks like a VERY limited budget and just six episodes of about 25 minutes apiece.

Each episode is basically a bunch of short clips strung together (with some found footage elements); what makes them intriguing is that they're all connected (often a person in one will show up in a later clip of the same episode), and often the last one ties in with the first one... and it's not necessarily presented sequentially. So each clip can shed some light on some other clip in the same episode.

Also, sometimes the expected happens, and sometimes something you didn't expect to happen is what happens... so you never know quite where it's going. And despite there being no recognizable actors, they're all pretty solid and capable for what amounts to very short roles. 

There's also an overall arc across the six episodes, and episode 6 ties together the season to some degree, and ends with a cliffhanger.

My skin actually crawled for some of these. Pretty solid effort.


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## Hollow Man (Aug 12, 2011)

The Evil Dead (1981)

Really liked seeing this again. Some cool shoot patterns visually that worked well. Loved the atmosphere of the falling leaves, seclusion, wind, and the woods. An earnest attempt at a horror movie on a limited budget. The acting wasn't too bad, and I liked Ash as the lead...he was likable. Small romantic scenes occur early in the movie. It seems like Ash and his girlfriend care about each other in a sincere way in contrast to the other male actor and his girlfriend. Liked the found tape describing the demons that was played and the interplay of the actors reaction to the tape. Interesting too how the loner artist female actress is the first victim, and her first encounter was surreal and effect wise was interesting to watch. When she was victimized too was haunting and weird in a good way...plants, etc and what was chasing her exactly? Hmmmm....So much blood and gore after this....messed up situations and reactions....burying of bodies. I want to watch this again soon. The ladies were kind of bland character wise, well, maybe, the artist had that going and Ash's girlfriend seemed a bit more sympathetic. All pretty girls though for sure. Also, loved the ending then with the comedic rag-time like joyous piano song instantly during the credits....I laughed.


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## Judson Joist (Oct 25, 2013)

_Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor._ Originally, it was intended to be a sequel to _The Deadly Spawn_ (one of my faves). Scientists in an isolated laboratory are studying weird mutant creatures and one scientist gets bitten by a mutant with an asymmetrical face. He mutates into a cacoon or chrysalis sort of thing kind of like in _The Fly 2._ Eventually, an alien monster erupts out of him (and sort of "is" him) and goes on a rampage of demented do0m, devouring and/or eviscerating all in its path.

Good times.
roud:


Slogo said:


> The Evil Dead


Call me contrarian, but I like goofy romantic Ash better than hard cynical Ash.


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