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Horror Films

ramonmercado said:
Fantasy Island: Not at all as bad as some of the reviews suggest. Bit like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. It's a far darker take on FI though, once your fantasy is set in motion it has to play out to it's end - only The Island knows what that end is. Wanting revenge on a school bully seems like a good idea until you realise an actual person is being tortured, shades of Saw and Hostel start to appear. Another fantasy involves enlisting in the army but the bullets turn out to be real. Things turn really whacky as the fantasies begin to coalesce. You get Zombies, evil doppelgangers, time travel and even water snakes. Perhaps one or two twists too many in the plot but Director/Co-Writer Jeff Wadlow delivers a watchable film and it has been a hit in spite of naysayers and COVID-19, made for €7 million, as of 12 March it has grossed €45.6 million. 6/10.
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I saw this one and once things started coalescing, I lost track of how each were supposed to be connected.
 
Matriarch (2018): A pregnant woman, Rachel (Charlie Blackwood) and her partner Matt (Scott Vickers) are involved in a car crash on the way to a maternity,hospital. They make their way to a nearby farm where they are given shelter by a strange family, the mother and father being fundamentalist Christians, the sons are distinctly odd, the daughter is mute and reclusive. Rachel realises something is wrong when she recognises the daughter Faith (Briony Monroe) is really a member of a missing family. The couple end up as prisoners. An English version of those murderous hillbilly films, at least this lot aren't cannibals. But people are buried alive, manacled in chains, shot and clubbed. Convincing performance by Blackwood as the prisoner who fights back. Julie Hannan is sweet/mad/crazy as the Matriarch of the farm family with Alan Cuthbert as her homicidal husband. An interesting twist at the end. Making the best of a very low budget Writer/Director/Star Scott Vickers delivers a watchable horror feature. 6/10. On Horror Channel.
 
May sound a bit dated, I recently watched All of Hammers 1st 3 Dracula's that feature Mr. Christopher Lee. Really no other actor so personavies vampires so wonderfully horrific as the 3 Dracula movies of which "The Horror of Dracula" reigns supreme (IMAO). Also they hired some of the most well endowed and beautiful woman to ever hit the big screen i.e.: Veronica Carlson, Barbara Shelley, etc. This gave us kids to reason to get excited when we saw these at the old Lancaster theater.
 
ramonmercado said:
Fantasy Island: Not at all as bad as some of the reviews suggest. Bit like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. It's a far darker take on FI though, once your fantasy is set in motion it has to play out to it's end - only The Island knows what that end is. Wanting revenge on a school bully seems like a good idea until you realise an actual person is being tortured, shades of Saw and Hostel start to appear. Another fantasy involves enlisting in the army but the bullets turn out to be real. Things turn really whacky as the fantasies begin to coalesce. You get Zombies, evil doppelgangers, time travel and even water snakes. Perhaps one or two twists too many in the plot but Director/Co-Writer Jeff Wadlow delivers a watchable film and it has been a hit in spite of naysayers and COVID-19, made for €7 million, as of 12 March it has grossed €45.6 million. 6/10.
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It's stars the lovely Lucy Hale and that's good enough for me. Plot be damned.
 
Jim said:
May sound a bit dated, I recently watched All of Hammers 1st 3 Dracula's that feature Mr. Christopher Lee. Really no other actor so personavies vampires so wonderfully horrific as the 3 Dracula movies of which "The Horror of Dracula" reigns supreme (IMAO). Also they hired some of the most well endowed and beautiful woman to ever hit the big screen i.e.: Veronica Carlson, Barbara Shelley, etc. This gave us kids to reason to get excited when we saw these at the old Lancaster theater.
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I always liked how Christopher Lee could switch from urbane gentleman to feral monstrosity in a blink of an eye.
 
Swifty said:
I don't think I've seen Over The Edge. I remember a journalist coining the phrase 'contemporary noir' in around '89 to describe the instead dark turn teen films had started to take, Heathers, Pump Up The Volume, River's Edge, Cruel Intentions etc .. I'll keep an eye out for Over The Edge.
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A more contemporary Contemporary Noir film

Thoroughbreds (2017): Two teen femme fatales, Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Amanda ( Olivia Cooke) scheme to kill Lily's stepfather. He wants to send her to a reform style boarding school. Amanda has her own problems, she made a mess of euthanising her crippled horse and faces animal cruelty charges. Things turn dark after they try to blackmail a creepy drug dealer (Anton Yelchin) into committing the murder. A Contemporary Noir film which explores the experiences of two upper-class schoolgirls both of whom have sociopathic traits. The stepfather (Paul Sparks) is a control freak who will elicit little sympathy from viewers. Cooke and Taylor-Joy are ruthlessly convincing in their roles. Written and Directed by Corey Finley who delivers a satisfying crime drama with elements of dark humour. An impressive directorial debut. 8/10. On Netflix.
 
ramonmercado said:
A more contemporary Contemporary Noir film

Thoroughbreds (2017): Two teen femme fatales, Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Amanda ( Olivia Cooke) scheme to kill Lily's stepfather. He wants to send her to a reform style boarding school. Amanda has her own problems, she made a mess of euthanising her crippled horse and faces animal cruelty charges. Things turn dark after they try to blackmail a creepy drug dealer (Anton Yelchin) into committing the murder. A Contemporary Noir film which explores the experiences of two upper-class schoolgirls both of whom have sociopathic traits. The stepfather (Paul Sparks) is a control freak who will elicit little sympathy from viewers. Cooke and Taylor-Joy are ruthlessly convincing in their roles. Written and Directed by Corey Finley who delivers a satisfying crime drama with elements of dark humour. An impressive directorial debut. 8/10. On Netflix.
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I thought I recognized the name Anton Yelchin. He was the actor who died in 2016 after he'd had been pinned by his car. Sad. I did like his Chekov in Star Trek, and had seen him in another couple of movies.
 
Habit: Gritty urban horror set in Manchester. Michael meets Lee when she's fighting with a security guard at a Job Centre. She brings him into a strange circle based at her uncles massage club, Soon Michael witnesses a violent killing and is party to the cult like group's cannibalism. Pretty gruesome and dark, people being butchered and having chunks bitten out of them. Things get complicated when the cult crosses a gangster but we see that more than one club is preying on it's customers. Not a film for the squeamish and unlikely to be a hit with the Manchester Tourism Board. Written and directed by Simon Halligan. 7/10
 
brownmane said:
I thought I recognized the name Anton Yelchin. He was the actor who died in 2016 after he'd had been pinned by his car. Sad. I did like his Chekov in Star Trek, and had seen him in another couple of movies.
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Anton Yelchin was an excellent actor, and he's particularly good in Thoroughbreds (which isn't a horror film). Yes, he starts out creepy, but by the end he's really sad and pathetic and you feel so sorry for him. Terrific turnaround in a few scenes. He will be missed.
 
skinny said:
Finally saw Midsommar. I found it rather beautiful. The whole journey was very logical, almost felt like I knew what was going to happen, like I was one with the Swedes (no turnip jokes, lads). American college folk were shown up as weird, callous and ignorant in that ancient context. A great success to subvert the order of normality so calmly. Aster's bloody good at his work. The washed out lighting was difficult to bear at times, but no points off for that given the title and the seasonal geographical setting. 5/5
I'm going to see it again next week. Haven't done a rapid rewatch at t'cinema for many years. Will drag a friend along. To be sure I'm there.
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Way behind most of you, but finally got to watch Midsommar tonight on Prime.
Looked absolutely stunning in 4K and some visionary scenes will stay with me for a long time.
Perhaps a tad overlong though and it clearly is very much a Wicker Man tribute film (but the songs aren't as good),
Definitely worth a watch and probably a 8/10 in my book.
 
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation: Bit of a mess plotwise but plenty of splatter and disturbing scenes. Teens get involved in a car crash and seek help from the wrong people. You get to see Leatherface, armed with a chainsaw, chase Rene Zellweger. Vilmer (Matthew McConaughey) breaks necks with his bare hands, runs people down with his truck. There's an intriguing subplot about a secret society organising assassinations and inspiring terror but sadly it goes nowhere. The film was shelved for a few years and only re-released when Zellweger and McConaughey became stars. Written and Directed by Kim Henkel. 4/10.
 
TCM TNG is totally ridiculous, summed up by the fact Matthew McConaughey has a robot leg in it. Not a robot arm, as would at least be kind of traditional, but a robot leg!
 
The Platform: Spanish horror film which is really a parable about society itself. Prisoners are held in in a multi-floor facility, two per floor, no inmate knows how many floors there are but from empirical knowledge it's at least 200. Food is sent down from above but is all gone by the time it reaches the lower floors. Some prisoners make attempts to promote solidarity but those in the floors above despise those in the floors below them. Scenes of savage violence, cannibalism and insanity abound. Not a film you will forget in a hurry. Directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia who creates a claustrophobic threatening atmosphere throughout but perhaps the overall style is too allegorical to be a great horror film given the subject matter it uses. 7/10. On Netflix.
 
Mark Of The Devil: Mexican Horror. A boy apparently dies during an exorcism, his blood drips onto a Necronomicon under his bed. The exorcist priest dumps the corpse in a ravine. 30 years later the Necronomicon is delivered to a philology professor, she brings it home but her teen daughters mess with it. One Camila is possessed. She becomes violent, speaks in ancient tongues with a male voice, coughs up blood. We encounter a more successful exorcist, Karl whose priest friend. Tomás is a drug addict. Karl has strange powers beyond just the ability to cast out demons. Karl and Tom battle with Satanic forces to try and save Camila. A gorier and more violent than most exorcism/possession film. As well as levitation, speaking in tongues and vomiting it involves cannibalism, extreme violence and crucifixion. In flashbacks we get the backstory of what transpired after the original failed exorcism. Lots of horrific scenes but few jump scares. Director/Editor Diego Cohen (Romina) delivers an average demonic drama. 6/10. On Netflix.
 
Sounds a bit too scary for me.... I am a wimp when it comes to horror films.He he. Prefer spooky ones.
 
DVD basement-scavengers will be perhaps over-familiar with some of the early Corman productions, which dropped into Public Domain Hell and turn up in atrocious prints.

The Terror, from 1963 was one of Jack Nicholson's early pictures and one of Boris Karloff's later ones. Karloff was unwell during its making but Corman & co-director Francis Ford Coppola had him performing his own stunts in a water-tank. The film has an odd, fairy-tale atmosphere but it was hard to enjoy in the battered old prints.

A much better one has surfaced on Youtube, restoring the vivid colour photography.:)

Those who prefer the British horror genre may gravitate more to The House That Dripped Blood, 1971. It has Lee and Cushing and Ingrid Pitt.

I think I lied about my age to see it in the cinema on first release! :omr:
 
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Funnily enough (i.e. not funny) it wasn't The Terror's water tank that did for Boris, it was filming in freezing conditions in Curse of the Crimson Altar that did his health in.
 
Mercy Black: Inspired by the real life Slender Man case and while it's no classic it's certainly better than the Slender Man film. Schoolgirl Marina (Daniella Pineda) stabs a classmate in an attempt to summon up the ghost Mercy Black. Fifteen years later Marina is released from a psychiatric hospital and goes to live with her sister and young nephew, Bryce. Marina discovers that the legend of Mercy Black went viral over the years and many other children harmed friends/siblings. Strange things start to happen and Bryce starts to become obsessed with Mercy Black. Marina begins to wonder if the ghost actually exists. Dark forests, gloomy old houses, some frightening scene and gore. The tension builds up as you are kept guessing as to what is really going on. We also get flashbacks to the original stabbing. A few good twists and turns with surprise reveals. Good performances from Pineda and Miles Emmons as Bryce. Writer/Director Owen Egerton (Bloodfest) gives us a watchable urban legend horror film. 6/10. On Netflix.
 
ramonmercado said:
The Platform: Spanish horror film which is really a parable about society itself. Prisoners are held in in a multi-floor facility, two per floor, no inmate knows how many floors there are but from empirical knowledge it's at least 200. Food is sent down from above but is all gone by the time it reaches the lower floors. Some prisoners make attempts to promote solidarity but those in the floors above despise those in the floors below them. Scenes of savage violence, cannibalism and insanity abound. Not a film you will forget in a hurry. Directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia who creates a claustrophobic threatening atmosphere throughout but perhaps the overall style is too allegorical to be a great horror film given the subject matter it uses. 7/10. On Netflix.
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Yep, watched it other night . One freaky film that is, I guessed it would of already been reviewed on here though , that's ok. I love the suggestions in this thread . Fortean forum may save my sanity during this isolation.

I was thinking that if prisons were like that here in UK , we would have very little crime. Not a situation I'd want to be in. I've read a few reviews online which say it's an allegory on political systems / disparity between rich and poor/ class systems ect, which makes sense.

I'd rate it as must watch , unless your very squeamish, I'm which case give it a miss. I was more disgusted by the woman pooing on that poor guy who wanted to escape more than the cannablism though. ... Metaphor of the elites pooping on all those below in a sense ? Not one to watch with the popcorn n snacks that's for sure. I also read that the Platform is like a vertical "Snowpeircer". Watched that one the next night. Another good dystopian watch. Similar themes ect.
 
FunkyTT said:
Yep, watched it other night . One freaky film that is, I guessed it would of already been reviewed on here though , that's ok. I love the suggestions in this thread . Fortean forum may save my sanity during this isolation.

I was thinking that if prisons were like that here in UK , we would have very little crime. Not a situation I'd want to be in. I've read a few reviews online which say it's an allegory on political systems / disparity between rich and poor/ class systems ect, which makes sense.

I'd rate it as must watch , unless your very squeamish, I'm which case give it a miss. I was more disgusted by the woman pooing on that poor guy who wanted to escape more than the cannablism though. ... Metaphor of the elites pooping on all those below in a sense ? Not one to watch with the popcorn n snacks that's for sure. I also read that the Platform is like a vertical "Snowpeircer". Watched that one the next night. Another good dystopian watch. Similar themes ect.
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And I've just watched another savage prison film.

Avengement: Not horror as such but certainly horrific. Cain (Scott Adkins) feels that he has been betrayed/abandoned by his crime boss brother after he is imprisoned. On compassionate release he beats up his guards and escapes. He holds his brothers gang at'gunpoint in a pub and the back story unfolds. A truly savage tale, non-stop fights and attacks in prison leave Cain scarred mentally and physically but he's a MMA and survives but continuously has his sentence extended. The prison violence is the least of the horrors in this film though as hands are chopped off with an axe and a foot shot off etc. Not for the squeamish or faint of heart. A crime/revenge story with some intriguing twists written and Directed by Jesse V. Johnson. 7/10. On Netflix.
 
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Great Trailers from Hell podcast with Jesse V. Johnson last week. He says the Russians and Asians love his Scott Adkins action flicks, but when they hear Adkins' real voice they complain he's putting on a terrible fake English accent!
 
Saw The Hunt, for the first 20 minutes it's as crass as you feared (not The Most Dangerous Game/The Hunger Games AGAIN!), but then something strange happens as a new character becomes the focus, someone who is not a mad conservative or an outraged liberal, and it actually gets really intriguing. Not the film it was advertised as. Trying to avoid spoilers, it's best if you don't know too much going in. From the creators of the recent Watchmen series, if that gives a hint of what's in store.
 
47 Metres Down: Uncaged: Sort of a sequel with the same director and sharks (different ones though). Four teen girls sneak of from an outing and go diving in an isolated lagoon to view the ruins of a submerged Mayan city. But pillars and statues tumble then the sharks arrive, blind ones who have evolved in a water filled cave system. Their exit cut off the girls try to avoid the sharks and find another egress. Sharks are impressive enough without being massive, plenty of gore as other divers are also around, not nice being trapped in a tight corner by a shark. Even worse being bitten/eaten by one though. A few jump scares but the pacing is a bit uneven though the tension does build. Writer/Director Johannes Roberts delivers a watchable horror/thriller to get your teeth into. 6/10. On Netflix.
 
The Neighbour: Hillbilly/Cracker Noir morphs into Horror as small time crook Josh Stewart's girlfriend disappears. Suspecting his odd neighbour he breaks in but finds more than he bargained for in the basement. A savage family of kidnappers, a crooked cop, shoot outs between gangs. A life and death struggle to escape. Writer/Director Marcus Dunstan (The Collector) delivers many chills and thrills. 7/10.
 
Dark Light: A mother, Annie (Jessica Madsen), fighting to save her daughter, Emily, from monsters. She accidentally shoots her estranged husband, Emily disappears. Most of the film is told in flashbacks from that incident. The sheriff doesn't believe the monsters exist, she has already found Emily wandering on a road and Emily also ended up on the roof on another occasion. Lights in a cornfield, scratching and screeching in an old farmhouse, doors opening and locking. An old lift used to great effect.as is the basement. There's also a conspiracy theorist who believes that a secret humanoid race exists. Great monocular monsters attacking and sucking the the life-force from victims. Writer/Director Padraig Reynolds delivers an enjoyable monster movie. 6/10. On Netflix.
 
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