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Horror Films

"Devils Gate" well worth the watch. Set in an isolated farmhouse. It starts as a missing persons case (mother and son). The likely suspect is the seemingly crazed father but things turn out not to be so simple. Good suspense, horror - thiller. Got a bit of the Gothic touch. I recommend seeing it.
 
James_H said:
Just watched 'A Quiet Place'. Great premise and some really tense scenes, I did feel they could have made a better movie from it though. The monster had definite shades of 'Stranger Things'.
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I was SO disappointed with this. Urgh. On the other hand though, I got a free trial of Amazon Prime so started watching The Living and the Dead again. (And Paddington 2  :loveu: )
 
Under The Tree: Icelandic dark comedy. A quarrel between two neighbouring families escalates. Car tires are slashed. A cat and a dog go missing. Insulting garden homes are left as a "present". The way this film moves from the mundane to the macabre in just 89 minutes is a virtual assault on your senses. There is a subplot about the son of one couple breaking up with his partner and even this is bizarre, especially a "house meeting" in their apartment building. Be warned: this is not for the faint hearted. 8/10.
 
Bed of the Dead: Horror film involving time disconuity. Four people trapped on a bed, they get killed one by one by a dark spirit as they try to get off (off the bed that is). The bed was made from the wood of a cursed tree, a sinning monk was hung from it and stabbed to death by his Brethren.

A cop gets in contact via mobile phone with one of those on the bed, but realises that he is several hours in her future. He then becomes entangled in the time loop. Bed disembowels, eats, chops up and makes people see visions. Not bad. 6/10. On The Horror Channel.
 
I tell you what wants to cash in on Stranger Things... The Strangers: Prey at Night. Virtually non-stop 80s oldies on the soundtrack. Apart from that, links are tenuous. A lot of people seem to hate it, but for a straightforward slasher I thought it was fine. Watch for the swimming pool - paradoxically lovely photography!
 
ramonmercado said:
Bed of the Dead: Horror film involving time disconuity. Four people trapped on a bed, they get killed one by one by a dark spirit as they try to get off (off the bed that is). The bed was made from the wood of a cursed tree, a sinning monk was hung from it and stabbed to death by his Brethren.

A cop gets in contact via mobile phone with one of those on the bed, but realises that he is several hours in her future. He then becomes entangled in the time loop. Bed disembowels, eats, chops up and makes people see visions. Not bad. 6/10. On The Horror Channel.
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I revised this review after discussing it with a friend on FB.

Bed of the Dead: Horror film involving time discontinuity and a carnivorous possessed bed in a Sex Club. Four people trapped on a bed, they get killed one by one by a dark spirit as they try to get off (off the bed that is though they had planned a foursome). The bed was made from the wood of a cursed tree, a sinning monk was hung from it and stabbed to death by his Brethren.

A cop gets in contact via mobile phone with one of those on the bed, but realises that he is several hours in her future. He then becomes entangled in the time loop. Bed disembowels, eats, chops up and makes people see visions. Each of them has a reason to feel guilt, the bed uses this against them. Not bad. 6/10. On The Horror Channel.
 
Watched Hereditary two nights ago. Awesome film. Loved it. Everything I want a horror film to be.

Quiet Place - couldn't finish it. I fell asleep.
 
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark looks like it's going to be a decent horror anthology film ..

Who's this Alice Cooper looking mofo?

ascarystoriesdarkcastinfo_large.jpg


http://www.aintitcool.com/node/80755
 
Caught up with Ghost Stories, hauntology for the 21st century. Bit too reliant on jump scares, and resembled a Conjuring movie, only good, in many places, but the acting was tip-top and I am sympathetic to a film that obviously loves the classic anthology horror Dead of Night. Anyone seen the play? How similar is it to the film?
 
Slender Man: The screenplay was a bit thin, actually appalling. The story behind it all was ok, Slender Man appearances linked to the disappearance of thousands of children, how this affected four girls in a small town in Massachusetts, strange events, but this was not translated to the screen effectively.

The four young actors, Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Jazz Sinclair and Annalise Basso provide good performances but are hampered by the clunky script. The "scary scenes "mostly don't work also due to bad editing, a girl being pulled through a window by tree branches should at least scare a little but here it falls flat. A new take on Slender Man is required. I'll give it 4/10 due to the acting.
 
ramonmercado said:
Slender Man: The screenplay was a bit thin, actually appalling. The story behind it all was ok, Slender Man appearances linked to the disappearance of thousands of children, how this affected four girls in a small town in Massachusetts, strange events, but this was not translated to the screen effectively.

The four young actors, Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Jazz Sinclair and Annalise Basso provide good performances but are hampered by the clunky script. The "scary scenes "mostly don't work also due to bad editing, a girl being pulled through a window by tree branches should at least scare a little but here it falls flat. A new take on Slender Man is required. I'll give it 4/10 due to the acting.
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It's a shame it's a bit crap, I was watching a review of it which echo's your opinion. I was quite impressed that they decided not to screen it in cinemas within a certain radius of where the real teenage stabbings took place.
 
Swifty said:
It's a shame it's a bit crap, I was watching a review of it which echo's your opinion. I was quite impressed that they decided not to screen it in cinemas within a certain radius of where the real teenage stabbings took place.
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12 of us from the Dublin Horror Society saw it last night, only one person gave it 7/10, the rest of were 2, 3, 4/10
 
ramonmercado said:
12 of us from the Dublin Horror Society saw it last night, only one person gave it 7/10, the rest of were 2, 3, 4/10
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The next horror I'm looking forward to is the new Halloween, I haven't got a problem with any of the previous sequels, I'll just enjoy pretending that none of them happened as this film is asking us to do. I'm also wondering if it's going to play like a remake of sorts of H20, I think it's being released before October 31st as well so we might be able to watch it streaming on the night in the UK with any luck.

 
Swifty said:
The next horror I'm looking forward to is the new Halloween, I haven't got a problem with any of the previous sequels, I'll just enjoy pretending that none of them happened as this film is asking us to do. I'm also wondering if it's going to play like a remake of sorts of H20, I think it's being released before October 31st as well so we might be able to watch it streaming on the night in the UK with any luck.

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Looking forward to it!

Saw FRNKNSTN tonight a play, a retelling of the Frankenstein story, a really good one man show. Had 3 pints afterwards so I'm a bit woozy now.
 
ramonmercado said:
Looking forward to it!

Saw FRNKNSTN tonight a play, a retelling of the Frankenstein story, a really good one man show. Had 3 pints afterwards so I'm a bit woozy now.
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A few pints - cocktails can prove very helpful at times.
 
The Nun: 1952. "There's a time for prayer and a time for action. This is a time for action." So says Fr Burke (Demián Bicher), Exorcist and Vatican investigator of Miracles and other strange phenomena. This Indiana Jones of the Curia is joined on a trip to Romania by Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), a Novice Nun. They are to investigate the apparent suicide of a nun at an isolated Convent. We of course know that the Nun killed herself to escape possession by a Demonic Entity which had aLready slain another Nun. Arriving at a village they meet Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) who discovered the Nun's body hanging from a window. He escorts them to the Convent where Fr Burke meets with a veiled figure who introduces herself as the Abbess.

There are many Nuns in this film, Zombiesque Nuns jumping on their victims from above, Nuns dragging nooses through graveyards, jumping out of Cloister doors, strangling and biting people. We even have a choreographed group of Sisters marching in to a Chapel to pray against the return of the Evil One. Fr Burke has has his personal demons as well as those resident in the Abbey. We see a flashback to 1942 when an exorcism ge performed resulted in the death of a young boy whose ghost now torments him. Sister irene in the past had visions which now seem to be relevant to events in the Convent.

The attitude of the villagers towards the Convent is like that of Transylvanian villagers towards Castle Dracula. Apparently it was once the abode of an evil Count who practiced Necromancy and tried to bring Demons through from Hell to walk the Earth. There is a line of humour running through the film which results in some scenes having a tongue in cheek aspect. Indeed Frenchie seems to be present to provide comic relief. Some good frights and jump scenes but this is no Classic and the narrative is confusing as to how the story fits into The Conjuring series. A coda to the film is a bit heavy handed in it's attempt to provide that link. Still, some solid Horror. 7/10.
 
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Excellent article on British horror's forgotten man, Mike Raven, and his magnum opus Disciple of Death:
http://gavcrimson.blogspot.com/2018/09/disciple-of-death-1972.html

Raven was a blues DJ who decided he wanted to be a horror movie star. You may recall Crucible of Terror, which was a regular on UK late night TV for decades - he was in that. But Disciple of Death was his pet project. I've seen it, and found it incredibly boring, but reading the above makes me want to give it another go. Raven (not his real name) was a very strange chap.
 
Cold Skin: A lighthouse mystery with Lovecraftian Sea People. A friendly Irish chap named Friend (David Oakes) arrives on a remote South Atlantic island to replace the existing meteorologist but is met by the drunken lighthouse caretaker, Gruner (Ray Stevenson), who tells him that his predecessor had died of typhus. Friend finds his cabin in a state of disarray and a journal belonging to the previous meteorologist refers to strange creatures coming from the sea. Friend's house comes under attack that night but he manages to fight off the beasts.

Coming to a modus vivendi with Gruner, he moves into the lighthouse. He learns that the sea people regularly attack the tower but Gruner had turned so misanthropic he turned down the opportunity to leave the island on the ship which transported Friend. Gruner keeps a docile sea woman, Aneris (Aura Garrido), as a slave/pet. Gruner and Friend fight savage battles with the sea people, slaying large numbers of them.

The sea people are humanoid and appear mammalian but have gills and webbed feet and hands. Their hands have fearsome talons and their teeth are more fanglike, they see the humans as invaders on their homeland. Gruner and Friend both have their reasons for leaving civilisation behind and are convincingly portrayed by Stevenson and Oakes, while she cannot speak Aneris communicates her feelings, while subservient to Gruner, she snarls at him when he shoves Friend. She has both animal and human aspects, well depicted by Garrido.

Director Xavier Gens delivers an effective horror film with cinematographer providing bleak daytime scenes counterposed with nighttime attacks by the sea people in flickering light and shadow. The Sea People were designed by Arturo Balseiro with prosthetics by Sebastian Lochmann and Raquel Manuero. 8/10. On Netflix.
 
Finally saw Hereditary. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, I classed myself in the sceptical camp, but while it didn't scare me, I found it really affecting because it was so sad. Those poor people, absolutely hopeless in their despair, blaming each other and themselves and it wasn't even their fault in the end. After watching it I thought, well, I'm really down, and realised it wasn't for the usual reasons (!) it was because I felt so sorry for the family in Hereditary. Not a brilliant horror movie, but a very powerful drama (with, you know, Rosemary's Baby bits).
 
Apostle: A truly savage Horror Film which only falls down on it's excessive running time. Thomas (Dan Stevens) goes to an isolated island to track down his sister who has been abducted by a strange religious cult, they worship She, the Goddess of the Island. The religion was founded by three men who claim to be escaped felons, imprisoned for treason. The leader (and Prophet) of the Cult is Malcolm (Michael Sheen), he preaches a gospel of sharing and equality, the island is presented as a refuge for the down trodden. It soon becomes obvious that Malcolm has a group of enforcers who see that his orders are carried out and who seek out dissent and blasphemy.

Thomas saves Malcolm from an assassins dagger and gains his trust. Wounded in the attack, thomas is nursed by Malcolm's daughter Andrea (Lucy Boynton) who is independent minded. As Malcolm and his deputy Quinn (Mark Lewis Jones) discover the conveyor of the ransom is on the island and seek him out. Getting crazier and crazier, going from mere repressive Theocrats to mad Prophets.

Apostle is reminiscent of The Wicker Man at times with the need to appease a Deity to secure the harvest and also has Lovecraftian influences involving the worship of a Sea Goddess; it even made me think of the recent Cold Skin. Torture, murder and ritual execution abound and this is not a film for the squeamish. The tension builds but at times Thomas (an ex-priest) goes into asides regarding his lack of belief. But he does become a one-man army determined to rescue his sister and vanquish the Cult leaders and their thugs.

A good Horror Film rather than a great one is delivered by director and screenwriter Garth Evans. Apostle might well benefit from a cut of perhaps 20 minutes in the 130 minutes running time. 7.5/10. On Netflix.
 
GNC said:
Finally saw Hereditary. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, I classed myself in the sceptical camp, but while it didn't scare me, I found it really affecting because it was so sad. Those poor people, absolutely hopeless in their despair, blaming each other and themselves and it wasn't even their fault in the end. After watching it I thought, well, I'm really down, and realised it wasn't for the usual reasons (!) it was because I felt so sorry for the family in Hereditary. Not a brilliant horror movie, but a very powerful drama (with, you know, Rosemary's Baby bits).
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I enjoyed the scares in my first viewing. I'm gonna go watch it a second time now. Expecting my next response to be more like the above. A very good movie for a range of reasons. Watch it again.
 
The Exorcist Audience Reactions ..


I used to work with a woman who went to see The Exorcist at a cinema in Birmingham (UK) when it was released .. the film was shocking enough for her but when she left the cinema, the pub over the road had also just been blown up by the IRA!.
 
Watched Apostle. I'm getting tired of promising filmmakers releasing something through Netflix that turns out to be the worst thing they've ever done. Really struggled to get through it, it was sooo boring. How long was it, five hours? Seemed like it. To think he did this instead of The Raid 3! Criminal.
 
GNC said:
Watched Apostle. I'm getting tired of promising filmmakers releasing something through Netflix that turns out to be the worst thing they've ever done. Really struggled to get through it, it was sooo boring. How long was it, five hours? Seemed like it. To think he did this instead of The Raid 3! Criminal.
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Wasn't impressed with this Wicker Man redo either.

Will give Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil a go next on Netflix:

 
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