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Horror Films

GNC said:
Just to say that Thom Yorke whine is not the theme tune to any Suspiria I know. THIS is the theme to Suspiria:
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I cannot listen to that. Even the memory of it scares me.
 
Horror fiction but it'll fit here.

I've only read 20 of them.

The 100 Best Horror Books of All Time

Horror books have been part of the literary world for years, but it seems like horror — in all its mediums — has been on the upswing in recent times. Maybe people are realizing just how satisfying it is to settle into a scary story, feel the rush of adrenaline, and then close the book, turn off the movie, or walk away from that haunted house at the end. To help you on your own hair-raising journey, we’ve put together a list of the one hundred best horror books of all time. What was our criteria? The staffers here at Unbound Worlds loved these books, and we think they deserve a place on the list — that’s pretty much it. You would think with one hundred picks, we would hit all your favorites, but it turns out that there are A LOT of good horror stories out there. So, we hope you find some of faves here, but that you also discover some new-to-you books to add to your list. Now get reading!

Note: This list is organized alphabetically.

https://www.unboundworlds.com/2018/09/the-100-best-horror-books-of-all-time/

 
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Mandy: He's a lumberjack and he's ok! Well, the lumberjack is Red (Nicholas Cage) so he's unlikely to be ok or merely crossdress. He lives in a wonderful house set in in a forest, it's huge lit-up windows make it look like a carved pumpkin as he approaches it at night. His wife Mandy (Andrea Riseborough) is waiting, sketching images which seem to be influenced by William Blake. Colour is very important to this film, shot in hues of red, black, burnt umber, dark green and many shades of grey. Director Panos Cosmatos has developed the perfect partnership with cinematographer Benjamin Loeb. People move and are chased through misty temperate rain forests, Mandy's first encounter with the cult is literally shot in infra-red as are many of the fight scenes. Where participants actions and vision is affected by narcotics, there is a blurred quality to the the film.

The cult leader Jeremiah (Linus Roache) decides that he must have Mandy and spurns his acolyte Mother Marlene (Olwen Fouéré) and tasks Brother Swan (Ned Dennehy) with abducting Mandy. Swan summons three bikers who look like Cenobites. At times it is difficult to discern whether strange happening or actions are due to drugs or supernatural activity. Indeed the bikers are allowed to have a human sacrifice as payment for their assistance in overpowering Red and Mandy. Mandy is drugged, including being stung with a black wasp wielded by Marlene, but just laughs at Jeremiah when he demands her subservience. An enraged Jeremiah strikes out savagely.

A wounded Red sets out in pursuit of the cult (first he has to free himself from his barbed wire bonds and gag), armed with a tactical crossbow and a Klingonesque battle axe which he forges himself. Savage fights ensues resulting in beheadings, stabbings, burnings and deaths by arrow. There is even a chainsaw duel. Cage eats up the scenery, grinning as the blood of a slain enemy hits him in the mouth and lighting a cigarette from a burning head.

The cult are nominally Christian but Satanic tropes and motifs permeate the film and their actions. The bikers look as if they were quite literally summoned from Hell. A Devilishly Dark work with strains of anarchic comedy. Not a film for the faint-hearted. 8/10.
 
I saw Mandy too yesterday, along with a couple of films at The London Film Festival:

In Fabric, new one from Peter Strickland (Berbarian Sound Studio), set in the 70's around a Department Store run by a coven of smiling "witches" who sell "possessed" cloths that turn peoples lives to shit and destroy their washing machines. It's one strange film.

Lords of Chaos details the 90's Norwegian Black Metal scene with the church burnings, etc. Shot in English by a Swedish director, it's very funny yet very brutal and graphic. At least one woman was having some sort of seizure during a self-mutilation scene, and there were reports of faintings and vomiting. Out next year via Arrow!
 
ramonmercado said:
Horror fiction but it'll fit here.

I've only read 20 of them.

The 100 Best Horror Books of All Time

Horror books have been part of the literary world for years, but it seems like horror — in all its mediums — has been on the upswing in recent times. Maybe people are realizing just how satisfying it is to settle into a scary story, feel the rush of adrenaline, and then close the book, turn off the movie, or walk away from that haunted house at the end. To help you on your own hair-raising journey, we’ve put together a list of the one hundred best horror books of all time. What was our criteria? The staffers here at Unbound Worlds loved these books, and we think they deserve a place on the list — that’s pretty much it. You would think with one hundred picks, we would hit all your favorites, but it turns out that there are A LOT of good horror stories out there. So, we hope you find some of faves here, but that you also discover some new-to-you books to add to your list. Now get reading!

Note: This list is organized alphabetically.

https://www.unboundworlds.com/2018/09/the-100-best-horror-books-of-all-time/
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Bit surprised my personal favorite book "Salem's Lot" didn't make it. Not a real avid Stephen King fan, but he made a few compelling stories. This one being the best IMO.
 
ramonmercado said:
Horror fiction but it'll fit here.

I've only read 20 of them.

The 100 Best Horror Books of All Time

Horror books have been part of the literary world for years, but it seems like horror — in all its mediums — has been on the upswing in recent times. Maybe people are realizing just how satisfying it is to settle into a scary story, feel the rush of adrenaline, and then close the book, turn off the movie, or walk away from that haunted house at the end. To help you on your own hair-raising journey, we’ve put together a list of the one hundred best horror books of all time. What was our criteria? The staffers here at Unbound Worlds loved these books, and we think they deserve a place on the list — that’s pretty much it. You would think with one hundred picks, we would hit all your favorites, but it turns out that there are A LOT of good horror stories out there. So, we hope you find some of faves here, but that you also discover some new-to-you books to add to your list. Now get reading!

Note: This list is organized alphabetically.

https://www.unboundworlds.com/2018/09/the-100-best-horror-books-of-all-time/
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THANK YOU for posting this!
 
Jim said:
"Annihilation" solid horror -scifi movie with an interesting plot and a few creepy creatures. Good special effects but not over done, nor is the gore.
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Agreed. It was good, wasn't it. I even liked Natalie P in certain scenes, even though she was fairly wooden as always.
 
Looking back ten pages I can't find a review of The Dark. Perhaps it's on the Fortean Films thread.

Watched it last night and was somewhat disappointed after I saw it had a 100% rating on Rotten Tom. There's not a lot to recommend it for. The premise was a bit childish, but the performances by the teen leads were adequate. Such a thin plot. Needed slightly more exposition, IMO. Will try again sometime. Maybe.
2/5
 
skinny said:
Looking back ten pages I can't find a review of The Dark. Perhaps it's on the Fortean Films thread.

Watched it last night and was somewhat disappointed after I saw it had a 100% rating on Rotten Tom. There's not a lot to recommend it for. The premise was a bit childish, but the performances by the teen leads were adequate. Such a thin plot. Needed slightly more exposition, IMO. Will try again sometime. Maybe.
2/5
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I'm seeing it on Sunday, will give my opinion.

Saw the new Halloween last night, 8/10, will do a review. 11 of us went.
 
Halloween: A life lived less ordinary, this has certainly been the case for Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). For forty years she has trained to fight Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle) lest he escapes and not just him, she sees the world as a dark threatening place, turning her home into a fortress. This has cost her custody of her daughter Karen at age twelve, taken into care due to her mother's paranoia. Similar to the situation faced by John Connors when raised by his mother Sarah in Terminator 2. Karen (Judy Greer) now has her own teenage daughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak). A reconciliation dinner between the generations fails when Lauri's fears of Myers come to the fore again.

Two brash, interfering journalists come to interview Myers (who hasn't spoken for forty years) at Gore Sanatorium, but even revealing his original mask doesn't make him break his silence. That night, Myers and other criminally insane patients are being moved to another psychiatric hospital but the bus crashes. Myers is loose once again and now he has three generations of the Strodes to hunt down. mayhem ensues as he wanders through Haddorfield. Wearing his mask, he is provided with camouflage by trick or treaters and those going to fancy dress parties.

Some shocking scenes as people are stabbed through their throats, hung on walls with knives, beheaded and impaled in railings. The search for Myers is on and the Strodes family retreat to Lauri's fortress home but can anything stop this monster? Some great scenes throughout the film but there are two stand out shots. First when the journalists go to meet Myers, the (most dangerous) patients are in a yard that is set out like a chess board, they resemble pieces, chained to weights while they enjoy the sun. Secondly the scene of the crashed bus, patients wander around the road and come looming like Zombies in the mist.

A good rather than a great direct sequel to the original is delivered by director David Gordon Green but it deserves 8/10.
 
Lifechanger: A tale of a shapeshifter who takes on the identities and bodies of those whom he preys on, leaving behind the husks of their old bodies. one of his victims was a farmer and thus he has a handy place to dispose of the dessicated corpses. We see him assume many identities, a woman who has been reported missing has to kill her concerned husband and then take on the identity of a detective who arrives. He then preys on a dentist who in turn carries on the spree.

Things are not as they used be for this ageing body changer, now the bodies decay quicker so he has to find new victims more often. Using cocaine speeds up the process if he has to change fast, antibiotics slows down the decomposition. He has also fallen in love with a woman and visits her in many different guises at the same singles bar.

Pretty gruesome at times with stabbings by various instruments including a corkscrew, dismembering of bodies, burning of a house in an attempt to cover up evidence when a quick escape is necessary. A compelling new take on the Shape--shifter/Psychic Vampire genre is written, produced and directed by Justin McConnell. 8/10.
 
Went to see 'The Necromancer' this evening. Quite a slow burn, that builds up to a few creepy moments - but a disappointing final third when the big baddie is revealed. Shame, as it was beautifully filmed and had a really interesting idea behind it.

No jump scares but unsettling at times, with some gory bits, let down by its reveal.
 
skinny said:
Looking back ten pages I can't find a review of The Dark. Perhaps it's on the Fortean Films thread.

Watched it last night and was somewhat disappointed after I saw it had a 100% rating on Rotten Tom. There's not a lot to recommend it for. The premise was a bit childish, but the performances by the teen leads were adequate. Such a thin plot. Needed slightly more exposition, IMO. Will try again sometime. Maybe.
2/5
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Was just at the 11 pm screening at Horrorthon. Have to admit I liked it a lot. I would say the performances by the teens was pretty good. It really was Dark. Review to follow.
 
The Dark: The banality of evil: a store owner in rural America tries to scare an outsider customer with tales of people torn apart in the Devil's Den when the TV news announces that the shopper, Josef (Karl Markovics) is a dangerous criminal. Josef flees to the Devil's Den and finds a seemingly abandoned house in the forest. But an axe comes through a wall and he is pursued into the forest by the undead Mina (Nadia Alexander). Josef is an abductor who has left the teen Alex (Toby Nichols) in his car. Blinded by Josef, Alex has developed Stockholm Syndrome and is devoted to his captor. Mina decides to let Alex live and flees with him into the forest when he doesn't want to be found by the police.

While Mina appears to be a Zombie, her face shows damage rather than decomposition, she can speak and move normally but is feral and capable of great violence and savagery. A tenderness develops between the teenagers and Mina acts to protect Alex. Through flashbacks we see Mina's past life and how she became what she is. Once again the banality of evil is illustrated through the actions of humans.

A dark film, shot mostly in the night and twilight by cinematographer Klemens Hufnagi, indoors scenes are also captured through a dark, filter but the forest is particularly threatening. Mina slays with a hatchet from above, a knife, bites peoples throats out, yet it is easy to make a connection with her due to her history. Impressive performances from the young stars. Kudos to the make-up, effects and prosthetic department headed by Marissa Clemens, Graham Chivers and Zane Knisely. Justin P. Lange as director and writer has delivered an imposing revenant drama in his feature film debut. 8/10
 
Await Further Instructions: Horror/Dark Comedy/Satire. The Christmas from Hell as the milgram family gather, the son who hasn't been in touch for years arrives with his girlfriend, his sister is an opinionated chav with the IQ and charm of Jade Goody. The mother is a bit crazy having to deal with her husband, a minor manager, really one of life's Lance-Corporals. The grandad boasts of his thirty years in the Military Police, he resembles Father Jack, has a strong racist streak and likes stirring up disharmony.

They wake up to find that the doors and windows are blocked by impenetrable shutters. Increasingly bizarre instructions are received through the tv set emergency channel. The father imposes an authoritarian regime and the house descends into chaos and violence. Tensions builds but the ending is a bit of a disappointment. 7/10.
 
ramonmercado said:
The Dark: The banality of evil: a store owner in rural America tries to scare an outsider customer with tales of people torn apart in the Devil's Den when the TV news announces that the shopper, Josef (Karl Markovics) is a dangerous criminal. Josef flees to the Devil's Den and finds a seemingly abandoned house in the forest. But an axe comes through a wall and he is pursued into the forest by the undead Mina (Nadia Alexander). Josef is an abductor who has left the teen Alex (Toby Nichols) in his car. Blinded by Josef, Alex has developed Stockholm Syndrome and is devoted to his captor. Mina decides to let Alex live and flees with him into the forest when he doesn't want to be found by the police.

While Mina appears to be a Zombie, her face shows damage rather than decomposition, she can speak and move normally but is feral and capable of great violence and savagery. A tenderness develops between the teenagers and Mina acts to protect Alex. Through flashbacks we see Mina's past life and how she became what she is. Once again the banality of evil is illustrated through the actions of humans.

A dark film, shot mostly in the night and twilight by cinematographer Klemens Hufnagi, indoors scenes are also captured through a dark, filter but the forest is particularly threatening. Mina slays with a hatchet from above, a knife, bites peoples throats out, yet it is easy to make a connection with her due to her history. Impressive performances from the young stars. Kudos to the make-up, effects and prosthetic department headed by Marissa Clemens, Graham Chivers and Zane Knisely. Justin P. Lange as director and writer has delivered an imposing revenant drama in his feature film debut. 8/10
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Good review. This has talked me into a second viewing.
What did you think of the Dorian Gray reveal? I was underwhelmed, but am willing to try again. It did have its moments.
 
skinny said:
Good review. This has talked me into a second viewing.
What did you think of the Dorian Gray reveal? I was underwhelmed, but am willing to try again. It did have its moments.
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Liked the DG touch, hope there is a sequel.
 
The making of HALLOWEEN 3 -Season Of The Witch

 
Just saw "The Witch In The Window". Lucky to get one star IMO. A father and son move into a fixer upper to flip it and become aware of an unwanted apparition (the dead previous owner). Very slow moving (mind you I actually like a film that builds up the mystery until the beastie's out of the bag). However this one never really picks up except for a few jumbled-up scenes.

 
I watched "The Borderlands" yesterday evening. It starts off a bit 'found-footage' ho-hum, but it draws you in. Scared the pants off me (figuratively) and the ending was quite terrifying.
 
Saw Leviathan last night. An underwater mining crew encounters a strange mutating creature after entering a mystery wreak in 15,000 FOW. Not a bad buildup, however a bit disappointed w the special effects.
 
Last night, just before sleep, I noticed that both Cell and Splice were on TV (different channels, silly!). Not having seen either of them before - though I'd read the original book of Cell some years ago - I tried to watch the two at the same time, by flicking between channels 15 and 70 whenever one went to a commercial break.

I think I got the gist of both of them, but then again, as I missed a good 60% of each (I was channel-hopping onto other stuff as well!), it's possible that I entirely missed the point of both of them!

FWIW, I thought that Splice was the better of the two - an interesting premise, which I might've liked to have seen developed in different ways, but enough almost-science and a few jump-scares made it pretty enjoyable. The effects were suitably creepy, and for once, Adrien Brody's standard facial expression (what would you call it? Puzzlement mixed with concern?) matched the subject matter very well.

Cell seemed not to know how to wrap the story up in a satisfactory manner. I recall, too, that the book didn't really have a conclusive ending, but it did provide at least some hope of a positive future for the characters. The film is a lot more bleak, and lacks a lot of the exposition from the book which at least gave the reader some clues as to how the events of the story came about. The fate of several characters remained untold, and overall, it was a bit of a mess.
 
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The Ghoul (2017): A very British Horror Film bringing to mind both Kill List and A Dark Ritual among other recent works. Chris (Tom Meeten), an ex-cop is recruited by a detective Jim (Dan Skinner) and profiler Kathleen (Alice Lowe) to help investigate the murder of two psychotherapists. The main suspect is Coulson (Rufus Jones), their landlord; Chris now moves to London and goes undercover to trail him. Finding that Coulson has himself gone into psychotherapy after the incident, Chris feigns depression and is referred to Coulson's psychotherapist, Dr Fisher (Niamh Cusack).

The narrative then takes a strange twist as Chris tells Fisher that he is unemployed but often daydreams that he is assisting the police as an undercover operative. Indeed he meets with both Kathleen and Jim (a couple) who are his friends from university but they are respectively a teacher and a drinks sales rep. Dr Fisher falls ill and both Coulson and Chris (who in the meantime have become acquaintances) have a new therapist: Dr Morland (Geoffrey McGivern). It is difficult to tell which sequence of events experienced by Chris is the real one as he seems to fall further into existetnial despair. Was he ever even a policeman? He has also carried a torch for Kathleen since their college days.

A dark film which mixes elements of Chaos Magick in with time loops and psychological terror. Director and writer Gareth Tunley has added to the Canon of New British Horror with this drama which delivers a few twists and surprises. 8/10.
 
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