Horror Films

[Coal]

The Silencing: A guy in a ghillie suit hunts young women in the woods, using an atlatl.(spear thrower). Bodies are found, an alcoholic ex-hunter now running a nature preserve gets mixed up in a troublesome situation with a Sheriff who is looking out for her trouble magnet brother. The hunter's daughter disappeared 5 years ago and he has a lead at last. Red herrings abound with overlapping jurisdictions between the Sheriff and the Indian Tribal police. Some savage and disturbing scenes of violence, even the ghillie suit is made to appear threatening, evoking primeval; terror. The killer hunts through the woods and himself becomes the hunted in some of the best shots. Directed by Robin Pront from a screenplay by Micah Ranum. On Netflix. 7.5/10.

Yep, I'd agree, I thought it was rather good considering it's lowish budget. Not seen the atatl in use in a film before...

 

[SimonBurchell]

I've just watched The Pyramid on Star (Disney+).

Umm. Well I made it to the end. It was kind of entertaining in a silly kind of way. Prometheus-level scientific reasoning, and the impalement scene was quite well done (that's high praise from me, I'm not too keen on gore, I prefer atmosphere). The geometry made no sense at all, the acting was all over the place, but at least it wasn't zombies.

 

[MrRING]

I think this one will be cool!

A couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef (Ralph Fiennes) has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises. Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Ralph Fiennes, John Leguizamo, Judith Light, Hong Chau

 

[Junopsis]

But this isn't interesting, it's taking children's characters beloved for almost a century and pissing all over them for cheap thrills. There has already been a recent film that took a look at the dark side of Winnie the Pooh that treated the characters with respect. It wasn't so great, but it was sincere. This is farting in A.A. Milne's face to bring in the edgelord audience, and that's never a good look.

Could it be someone's attempt at being cool, that is failing miserably? Sure. Is it out and I've seen it, so I can say that that's the case? Nah.
It sounds a little shallow, maybe. I don't think I could condemn the sincerity of the artists for it, at any rate. It doesn't need to be good or successful at being anything worthwhile for the general human creativity to be still neat (and the social framework still permitting that to happen to make me smile). Doing something that isn't at all like the source material doesn't take anything away from the source material, it just creates a thing that is super odd.
I do think something like Willy's Wonderland ends up being a much more apt blood-and-horror shenanigans movie-- it's going off a FNAF vibe so it being ridiculous is not only on vibe (this also not a pejorative) and it enjoys itself with a weirdly great panache.

 

[GNC]

Willy's Wonderland had Nic Cage doing silent acting. This WtP shite has a bunch of nobodies. Advantage: WW.

 

[ramonmercado]

You guys have probably discussed this already, but 'The Amityville Horror' is one that I watch whenever it comes on tv.
Always gets me that 6 family members were shot in that house by one of the sons, who claimed he heard voices ordering him to do it.
I know there are those who don't believe it, but we live not too far from the house, and one of these days I want to see it for myself, just to stand there and see if anything comes to me!

I just watched:

The Amityville Theate: Not a great film, not even a good film but not as bad as most critics suggest. It has a certain something, the way Amerindian demons are introduced along with a centuries old local conspiracy. Gives it a touch of Stephen King even some Folk Horror tropes. In better directorial and screenwriter hands along with a decent budget and some actors who could act it might have had potential. Written and directed by John R. Walker, and co-written by Steve Hardy. On Netflix. 4/10 (for the ideas).

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

I just watched:

The Amityville Theate: Not a great film, not even a good film but not as bad as most critics suggest. It has a certain something, the way Amerindian demons are introduced along with a centuries old local conspiracy. Gives it a touch of Stephen King even some Folk Horror tropes. In better directorial and screenwriter hands along with a decent budget and some actors who could act it might have had potential. Written and directed by John R. Walker, and co-written by Steve Hardy. On Netflix. 4/10 (for the ideas).

I know there are those who tend not to believe the American Indian aspect of the Amityville Horror House, but living in this area I can tell you it is something of concern.
I have lived on or right near our local river most of my life, surrounded by Indian town names, and had many experiences which I have written about here.
I don't think it is just coincidence in the Amityville case that allegedly it is an Indian area, and on water.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I know there are those who tend not to believe the American Indian aspect of the Amityville Horror House, but living in this area I can tell you it is something of concern.
I have lived on or right near our local river most of my life, surrounded by Indian town names, and had many experiences which I have written about here.
I don't think it is just coincidence in the Amityville case that allegedly it is an Indian area, and on water.

That 'old Indian burial ground' thing is quite a repeated trope in horror films.
There may be some basis for that.

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

That 'old Indian burial ground' thing is quite a repeated trope in horror films.
There may be some basis for that.

Well it was some years back that I lived in that house, and a medium came to check it out.
According to her, our immediate area was very 'cursed', and the odd thing is that so many tragedies happened there, which I found out from the older locals.
The bridge also had an Indian name, a highly Indian area at one time.
Lived there for 10 years, and I wouldn't move back there ever. We don't think about it now, but who knows where some old 'burial grounds' might be.

 

[GNC]

I was listening to something on the radio about the Indian burial ground trope, and the Native American scholar discussing it pointed out the whole of North America is an Indian burial ground.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Well it was some years back that I lived in that house, and a medium came to check it out.
According to her, our immediate area was very 'cursed', and the odd thing is that so many tragedies happened there, which I found out from the older locals.
The bridge also had an Indian name, a highly Indian area at one time.
Lived there for 10 years, and I wouldn't move back there ever. We don't think about it now, but who knows where some old 'burial grounds' might be.

Ah but do Indians get freaked out at the thought that they might be living on an old Caucasian burial ground (à la Wellington Paranormal)?

 

[brownmane]

Ah but do Indians get freaked out at the thought that they might be living on an old Caucasian burial ground (à la Wellington Paranormal)?

Wellington Paranormal is hilarious

 

[skinny]

Ah but do Indians get freaked out at the thought that they might be living on an old Caucasian burial ground (à la Wellington Paranormal)?

I get the sarcasm. It suits our culture to grin in the face of death, but it does NOT do the same in theirs. So a little respect.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Just watched Last Night in Soho (2021)

Brilliant cast, including Thomasin McKenzie, Rita Tushington, Terence Stamp, Matt Smith and the legendary Diana Rigg in her final movie, star in this superb British psychological horror.

Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise, puts on a convincing Cornish accent as an innocent young fashion designer student lured to London, where the present starts to merge nightmarishly with a murderous 1960s past.

Well acted, a couple of very clever twists and an absolutely magnificent 1960s soundtrack.

Don't miss it on Sky UHD Cinema from today.

9/10.

 

[ramonmercado]

All My Friends Hate Me: Dark Comedy/Horror, Pete ( Tom Stourton) is invited by some of his old university friend to a party in the country to celebrate his 31st birthday. He hasn't seen most of them for years and things start to go weird before even gets to the stately manor where two his old friends live. Lost, he's chased by a strange man through a field. When he does arrive they're all at the pub and bring a weird random guy back with them. Thus begins a weekend of gaslighting and strange behaviour. but Pete also has some secrets which are revealed. The horror is mostly psychological but there is also a touch of Folk Horror to the proceedings, the Manor House is surrounded by eerie woods, the locals all look like the sort who would sacrifice you and Pete is chased down a hill, this time by an ax wielding weirdo. An enjoyable romp which is disturbing at times. Directed by Andrew Gaynord and written by Tom Palmer and Tom Stourton. 7.5/10.

In cinemas

 

[Swifty]

I'm not going to lie .. I'm 100% pimping/advertising this bloke's work. He works at Sheperton Film Studios in a F/X capacity and in his spare time, he's probably the most dedicated fan of The Evil Dead series I've ever met .. he even payed me to mail him some of my stuff just to record it and he makes ultimate additions you can't get unless you get to know him. He gifted me his last ultimate edition blu ray of The Evil Dead with an off the scale wheel barrow full of extras that even companies like Anchor Bay can't compete with .. the quality of his projects is astonishing ..

https://www.facebook.com/RobsNostalgiaProjects/

 

[ramonmercado]

The Black Phone: Not your usual Evil Clown (he describes himself as a part-time magician), the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) is scary, black top hat, half-face clown make up and a devil mask, rives a black van, uses a bunch of black balloons as a prop in his abduction of boys. Filmed in faded tones to give it the feel of it's 1978 setting we see flyers for missing children as well as supposed home movies and stock film from the era. The film also shows some savage bullying, Finney (Mason Thames) is targeted by school bullies but is defended by Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora) who beats up older bullies. When Robin is abducted the bullies target Finney again and also batter his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) who comes to his aid. Finney is then snatched but a black phone in his basement prison mysteriously rings, he is contact with the ghosts of the lost boys. Gwen also has a psychic streak, she dreams about the abductions, sees details of them. This attracts the attention of police and annoys her alcoholic father.

Hawke exudes raw evil in his portrayal of the Grabber, he sets traps to give himself an excuse to beat the boys, the lack of jump scares is more than compensated for by his very existence as a captor. There are quite a few scary scenes as the ghosts appear like zombies or just with blood dripping from cut throats. Finney's time in the cellar seems to be one log period of terror even if it;s interspersed by his attempts to escape. Not a folm you will forget in a hurry. Great performances from Hawke and the young actors. Directed and Co-Written by Scott Derrickson (Sinister) from a short story by Joe Hill. 9/10.

In cinemas

 

[brownmane]

The Black Phone: Not your usual Evil Clown (he describes himself as a part-time magician), the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) is scary, black top hat, half-face clown make up and a devil mask, rives a black van, uses a bunch of black balloons as a prop in his abduction of boys. Filmed in faded tones to give it the feel of it's 1978 setting we see flyers for missing children as well as supposed home movies and stock film from the era. The film also shows some savage bullying, Finney (Mason Thames) is targeted by school bullies but is defended by Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora) who beats up older bullies. When Robin is abducted the bullies target Finney again and also batter his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) who comes to his aid. Finney is then snatched but a black phone in his basement prison mysteriously rings, he is contact with the ghosts of the lost boys. Gwen also has a psychic streak, she dreams about the abductions, sees details of them. This attracts the attention of police and annoys her alcoholic father.

Hawke exudes raw evil in his portrayal of the Grabber, he sets traps to give himself an excuse to beat the boys, the lack of jump scares is more than compensated for by his very existence as a captor. There are quite a few scary scenes as the ghosts appear like zombies or just with blood dripping from cut throats. Finney's time in the cellar seems to be one log period of terror even if it;s interspersed by his attempts to escape. Not a folm you will forget in a hurry. Great performances from Hawke and the young actors. Directed and Co-Written by Scott Derrickson (Sinister) from a short story by Joe Hill. 9/10.

In cinemas

This is currently playing at my local theatreGuess I'll have to see it.

 

[FunkyTT]

Where did you see this one?

I saw the film - Dashcam - on the usual free online places of your so inclined. Really enjoyed that . The online comments rolling up the left hand side of the screen are very funny and ring true for the usual types of comments found on online media these days. Crazy film .


Currently watching " Mad God" . 15mins in and I don't know if I will stick with it as it's animation/puppets/clay figures/a mix of all. Certainly very creative though. But the lack of dialogue and proper characters ect has my interest waning. Thos e of you who like animation may like it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_God

Found in the free places we can't mention but it was a Shudder production it says.

 

[FunkyTT]

Mad God available on Shudder from June 16th. Here's the new trailer:

Trippy!

Ah that's the one I've just been (half) watching! I did a search on here first to see if it's already been mentioned... But found nothing. Came across this post when I went back a few pages as I need some good horror rec's and it's a while since I've checked this thread.

it's certainly trippy alright! I may have to give it a proper watch another time. I came off after 30mins as I fancied some dialogue and plot. It is a mad film though and you can see the work that's gone on to it 30 years in the making according to Wikipedia!

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

I know 'Rosemary's Baby' is an old film from 1968, but it was a hit horror movie -
And it seemed to have some horrifying connections - apparently much of it was filmed at the Dakota in NYC, where John Lennon was murdered.
And it may have had a source in truth - the Devil Baby of Hull House in Chicago:

https://starcasm.net/is-rosemarys-baby-based-on-a-true-story/

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

'Rosemary's Baby' supposedly the most cursed movie ever:

The Most Cursed Hit Movie Ever Made​

Rosemary’s Baby was a hit novel that became an iconic film, only to bring woe to nearly everyone who made it.

A hit novel turned iconic film, Rosemary’s Baby was a massive success that, according to half a century of pop-culture lore, is also cursed. Did Levin’s tale of lapsed-Christian Rosemary, who unknowingly carries and births the devil in return for her actor husband’s stage success, really jinx all those who got near it?

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/06/the-most-cursed-hit-movie-ever-made-rosemarys-baby

 

[Zeke Newbold]

Robert Reborn (GB 2019, directed by Andrew Jones). (Look in the cut price section of video stores for this little gem).

This is one of the last in a series of haunted-killer doll B-Movies conceived by Andrew Jones, starting with Robert from 2015. which was allegedly inspired by a `true story`

It is tempting to frame them as a British answer to the Chucky franchise - with one crucial difference (which we'll come onto). Despite being Cottage industry type flicks they do seem to be motivated by some genuine love for this subgenre - and this makes all the difference.

I have had a soft spot for the haunted doll subgenre ever since seeing The Boy from 2016 (albeit this one is somewhat untypical of this genre as a whole). Another facet that gives this film extra interest is its setting in the Soviet Union of 1951.

In this deadpan black comedy, the KGB have got wind of the fact that there is a mysterious German man - Mr Meyerhold - living in the Soviet Union in a village who has a reputation of being able to produce animate dolls which have lethal tendencies. Naturally, they want to investigate this as it has the potential to create a new type of weapon. To this end they dispatch a female operative to check the guy out - but she is eventually dealt with by the dolls, lead by Robert..

More carnage follows, but the KGB manage to arrest Meyerhold and get him on a plane to Moscow. Big mistake - more killer doll action ensues at 30, 000 feet and the plane gets rerouted to London....

The dolls look impressively ghastly (but not at all like anything that would function as a real `doll`). Robert is a smirking sailor boy with two different colour eyes. He is joined by Cyclops - a woman with one eye in the centre of her head and Kalazhnikov - a boy with two functioning machine guns as arms.

Unlike Chucky, none of them talk (or make any kind of vocal sound) which works well in terms of realism (it may seem silly to talk of `realism` in the context of a demon- doll yarn, but Horror often works best when the more implausible aspects of the main premise are shorn off).

M.r Meyerhold - the aged magician and creator of the dolls makes for a superb pantomime villain, with his cackling and his mellifluous German accent, and you are able to overlook his obvious `old man` make up.

There is a game attempt to get the Soviet Fifties period details right. The location shots do look as if they have been taken in Russia - but the Moscow skyline features some anachronistic modern buildings. It would be easy cavil at other bloopers too. The comedy out-of-a0- box Russian accents really grate after a while. Also the habit the KGB people have of referring to Stalin as `the Tsar` seems to be in error to me. (I know that he would later be referred to as `the Red Tsar` - but to address him as such in his lifetime would have been seen as ideologically incorrect).

Interestingly, there are no heroes in this film: everyone in it is a baddie. In a way, It resembles one of Angela Carter's dark fairy tales, and is quite original really. There is very little gore but also no real scares - but it is pervaded by an effective lugubrious atmosphere like some sort of fever dream. I'd like to see some others in the series.

 

[TangletwigsDeux]

Really enjoyed Men, although not really a horror till the last 20 minutes then it is...
Folk/Freudian symbols all over the place, and would have loved to see a pic of the lead characters father.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Watched The 100 Candles Game on Prime last night.

4 friends gather for an evening of spooky entertainment, whereby each one has to tell a horror story, blow out a candle, go alone into a side room and look into an alarming mirror.
Good plot excuse for a classic horror anthology movie. Each of the horror stories are pretty decent, with the obligatory make-you-jump moments and the occasional clever twist. The overarching story of the friends, the game and whatever they are seeking though, is never really developed and the abrupt ending left us both asking "is that it then?".
Maybe a 6/10, if I'm feeling generous, as I do like a helping of old-school horror anthology.

 

[ramonmercado]

Robert Reborn (GB 2019, directed by Andrew Jones). (Look in the cut price section of video stores for this little gem).

This is one of the last in a series of haunted-killer doll B-Movies conceived by Andrew Jones, starting with Robert from 2015. which was allegedly inspired by a `true story`

It is tempting to frame them as a British answer to the Chucky franchise - with one crucial difference (which we'll come onto). Despite being Cottage industry type flicks they do seem to be motivated by some genuine love for this subgenre - and this makes all the difference.

I have had a soft spot for the haunted doll subgenre ever since seeing The Boy from 2016 (albeit this one is somewhat untypical of this genre as a whole). Another facet that gives this film extra interest is its setting in the Soviet Union of 1951.

In this deadpan black comedy, the KGB have got wind of the fact that there is a mysterious German man - Mr Meyerhold - living in the Soviet Union in a village who has a reputation of being able to produce animate dolls which have lethal tendencies. Naturally, they want to investigate this as it has the potential to create a new type of weapon. To this end they dispatch a female operative to check the guy out - but she is eventually dealt with by the dolls, lead by Robert..

More carnage follows, but the KGB manage to arrest Meyerhold and get him on a plane to Moscow. Big mistake - more killer doll action ensues at 30, 000 feet and the plane gets rerouted to London....

The dolls look impressively ghastly (but not at all like anything that would function as a real `doll`). Robert is a smirking sailor boy with two different colour eyes. He is joined by Cyclops - a woman with one eye in the centre of her head and Kalazhnikov - a boy with two functioning machine guns as arms.

Unlike Chucky, none of them talk (or make any kind of vocal sound) which works well in terms of realism (it may seem silly to talk of `realism` in the context of a demon- doll yarn, but Horror often works best when the more implausible aspects of the main premise are shorn off).

M.r Meyerhold - the aged magician and creator of the dolls makes for a superb pantomime villain, with his cackling and his mellifluous German accent, and you are able to overlook his obvious `old man` make up.

There is a game attempt to get the Soviet Fifties period details right. The location shots do look as if they have been taken in Russia - but the Moscow skyline features some anachronistic modern buildings. It would be easy cavil at other bloopers too. The comedy out-of-a0- box Russian accents really grate after a while. Also the habit the KGB people have of referring to Stalin as `the Tsar` seems to be in error to me. (I know that he would later be referred to as `the Red Tsar` - but to address him as such in his lifetime would have been seen as ideologically incorrect).

Interestingly, there are no heroes in this film: everyone in it is a baddie. In a way, It resembles one of Angela Carter's dark fairy tales, and is quite original really. There is very little gore but also no real scares - but it is pervaded by an effective lugubrious atmosphere like some sort of fever dream. I'd like to see some others in the series.

I didn't think much of it!

Robert Reborn: KGB officer Stoichkov kidnaps a toymaker, who owns a mystical book, to find a way to heal Stalin. However, things take a turn when the toymaker's dolls set out to rescue him. This is part of a killer doll franchise and is so bad it's good. terrible special effects, unconvincing dolls. Anachronisms abound, though set in 1951 a modern jet is used but when the toymaker defects to Britain the jet is intercepted by World War Two RAF planes, London has a present day skyline.Acting is terrible. Surely this is deliberate? Written and Directed by Andrew Jones. On Netflix. I'm giving it 4/10 for laughs.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Last night's dose of late night horror was the 2014 movie "Last Shift" on Prime.

A rookie female cop is tasked with staying at a decommissioned police station overnight and to wait for a haz-chem team to collect some dangerous substances in the morning.
Trouble is that the old police outpost has had a very troubled past and some of its erstwhile residents, both dead cops and criminals are still very much active.
It employs quite a few horror clichés, but is extremely atmospheric and unsettling throughout.
A clever twist momentarily left me feeling disorientated.
A solid 8/10.

 

[TangletwigsDeux]

Last night's dose of late night horror was the 2014 movie "Last Shift" on Prime.

A rookie female cop is tasked with staying at a decommissioned police station overnight and to wait for a haz-chem team to collect some dangerous substances in the morning.
Trouble is that the old police outpost has had a very troubled past and some of its erstwhile residents, both dead cops and criminals are still very much active.
It employs quite a few horror clichés, but is extremely atmospheric and unsettling throughout.
A clever twist momentarily left me feeling disorientated.
A solid 8/10.

View attachment 56746

Is this the one with the cowled guys turning up outside? I remember seeing one set in a police station where that happened but for the life of me the title has vanished into the fog.

 

[gordonrutter]

Is this the one with the cowled guys turning up outside? I remember seeing one set in a police station where that happened but for the life of me the title has vanished into the fog.

That sounds like The Void

https://lovecraft.fandom.com/wiki/The_Void_(2016_film)

 

[TangletwigsDeux]

That sounds like The Void

https://lovecraft.fandom.com/wiki/The_Void_(2016_film)

View attachment 56751

Yes! Thanks GR mind void filled. Ahh hospital not police station - theres a scottish island one in a police station though with crows. Dammit.