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2019 HORROR MOVIE THREAD


Dolfan in NYC

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So, I REALLY liked Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I was expecting some mild PG scares stuff but the tensions of the Vietnam War and Nixon's reelection as well as ruminations on righteous anger becoming toxic to even the good people you tried to protect, all paired with some of the creepiest monsters and scares I've seen in a while, all added up to a horror movie that's sticking with me well after the credits. Big recommendation.

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1 hour ago, The Unholy Dragon said:

So, I REALLY liked Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I was expecting some mild PG scares stuff but the tensions of the Vietnam War and Nixon's reelection as well as ruminations on righteous anger becoming toxic to even the good people you tried to protect, all paired with some of the creepiest monsters and scares I've seen in a while, all added up to a horror movie that's sticking with me well after the credits. Big recommendation.

Good to hear as I am taking my kid to see it on Saturday.

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https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2018/03/20/making-alien-behind-the-scenes/

I've talked about Cinefantastique before here, and after a single search go figure, here is the 1979 Alien articles, sans photos, in one batch. And of course the writers can't help themselves from being complete and total dicks. 

Quote

On the surface of things, Ridley Scott’s second feature as a director seems to be exactly the sort of science fiction film that’s stigmatized the genre for decades. One can already hear the collective, pained outcry of progressive purists everywhere, their feverish allegation that Scott “has set the genre back thirty years,” etc., etc. Exhibit A? Alien has a monster in it (one hell of a monster in it, too); and in order to tell the story it tells and depict what it depicts. Alien violates and/or completely ignores many a known scientific reality. But if Alien must be counted a throwback, consider this: in being so it returns us to certain of the genre’s most basic, elemental qualities. In this respect, the screenplay consciously tips its hand, opening as it does with a poetic, yet precise W. H. Auden epigram; “Science-fiction plucks from within us our deepest fears and hopes, then shows them to us in rough disguise: the monster and the rocket.”
But Alien is out of balance, as long on forward momentum and shock as it is short on logic, depth of characterization or at times even clarity. Paradoxically, the film’s strength, the Alien itself, is also its greatest weakness. The thing is too monstrous, too deadly, too awful. No amount of originality of plot, richness of character or faithful adherence to scientific fact can balance out its presence in the same movie. Whence comes the decision of filmmakers to concentrate their energies where they would do most good, on the simple power of the screenplay’s conflict. Alien’s triumph? We, the audience, are made to feel that we are next. 

So if you ever thought asshole nerds was a new thing, think again

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So we JUST cleared the whole Phantasm series over the last few weeks. Joe Bob Briggs did a whole marathon on Shudder, except it's just 1,3,4 and 5.

I had only seen 1-2 before hand. 

After the marathon I think Phantasm series is one of my favorite. The quality does sink in terms of production values. But for some reason I never gave as shit. It just feels like everyone is having so much fun and they truly care about what they're creating, that it elevates the acting or the crummy effects.

There's also something incredible about watching them all relatively close together. The passage of time and watching these actors age with the movies had a weirdly profound effect on me. When we finished Ravager I felt like the actors and filmmakers shared a large chunk of their life with me, and I felt thankful for it.

Nightmare On Elm St. is still the greatest, but it never really made me feel like THAT.

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The beauty of the Phantasm franchise is that it really does feel like a saga.  F13 goes through it's phases with a live killer and then an undead killer and then a undead cyborg killer and Freddy's weakness changes from Elm Street film to Elm Street film, but Phantasm has always been about the Pearson brothers, Mike & Jody, and Reggie against the Tall Man.  Events may change but the struggle remains the same.

It's as close to an epic like Beowulf or The Odyssey as you can get in hororrdom.  The quality may vary from movie to movie, but you can see the love that everyone involved has for the overall production.   You can't always say that people's hearts are in the right place when it comes to these sorts of deals.

Phantasm hands down is one of my favorite horror franchises.  There are some installations of Halloween, F13 and Elm Street that I either adore or despise, but I cherish every installation of Phantasm.  I always pull for Mike and Reggie even though I secretly hope that things will go on because I am fascinated by the mythology behind the enigmatic Tall Man.

It still bothers me that the ending or RaVager wasn't as cathartic as it should've been now that Angus has passed away.  It's obvious from the end of RaVager that the story is not over quite yet, but I am not sure if I will be able to accept the teased sixth installation if he isn't playing the Tall Man.

Edited by J.T.
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On ‎8‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 10:23 PM, The Unholy Dragon said:

So, I REALLY liked Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I was expecting some mild PG scares stuff but the tensions of the Vietnam War and Nixon's reelection as well as ruminations on righteous anger becoming toxic to even the good people you tried to protect, all paired with some of the creepiest monsters and scares I've seen in a while, all added up to a horror movie that's sticking with me well after the credits. Big recommendation.

Yeah, I took my kid to see it this past afternoon and we both thought it was pretty good.  Mild scares and the kids playing the protagonists had really good chemistry together.   

it was also interesting that they set the supernatural tension of the stories in the middle of the real life tension of the late 60's.

14 hours ago, The Unholy Dragon said:

Nope, but the animation they use plus Lana Del Rey's cover of Season of the Witch is pretty good.

The version in the end credits was a much smoother version than the one I heard earlier this year.

Edited by J.T.
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I prefer Phantasm 2 even though it veers more into action/horror than being straight up surreal horror in the vein of the original. It's similar to how Evil Dead 2 was firmly grounded in horror/comedy territory. The Tall Man still has plenty of ominous lines though. "You think that when you die, you go to heaven. You come to us."  Coscarelli has stated how the studio forced LeGros as the new Mike on him and he really hated having to shoehorn a love interest into the movie. The studio also told him no dream sequences or ambiguity. It still seems like there were plenty of ambiguous or confusing things that made it into the movie though. But hey, that's Phantasm. 

Spoiler

Of course, you find out in the first 15 minutes of Phantasm 3 how little use Coscarelli had for the character of Liz.

 

Edited by FluffSnackwell
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I actually didn't see a lot of the comedy until rewatching it recently. As a kid I just took it chapter and verse and didn't see a lot of the intentional goofiness of Reggie, the weapons, etc. Still, it's more deadpan than Evil Dead 2 or Texas Chainsaw 2 as far as "funnier sequels" go. 

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On the documentary for the Phantasm 2 Scream Factory Blu-Ray, the actress (that played Reg's "carpenter's dream" love interest Chemy) mocks her character getting all hot and bothered over an old, bald guy that was twice her age.  

Spoiler

It ultimately turned out that Reg was thinking with his wrong head.

 

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I feel that someone penned this script during the big cheesy sea monster movie boom of the late 90's (Deep Star Six, Deep Rising, Leviathan) and just stuck it in a vault for twenty years so that it would seem fresh when it was finally turned into a feature film.

I will probably go see this since I like pure monster movies and because Kristen Stewart looks kinda cute with glasses and short blonde hair. 

The release date would normally give me pause but fucking blockbusters are coming out in February of all months, so there really isn't such a thing as the dump month cycle anymore.

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2 hours ago, J.T. said:

I feel that someone penned this script during the big cheesy sea monster movie boom of the late 90's (Deep Star Six, Deep Rising, Leviathan) and just stuck it in a vault for twenty years so that it would seem fresh when it was finally turned into a feature film.

I would agree with this more if we didn't have things like 47 Meters Down, The Meg, Crawl and if we go a little further back Below hadn't come out

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1 hour ago, RIPPA said:

I would agree with this more if we didn't have things like 47 Meters Down, The Meg, Crawl and if we go a little further back Below hadn't come out

Sharks and crocs are actual animals not sea monsters and the megalodon existed at some point in time during the earth's long existence, but I agree that all of the movies you mentioned are pretty much monster movies since none of the animals in those films behaved in the same manner as they would in reality.

See Also: Jaws

Underwater feels like a throwback to the 1990's It Came From The Depths rally that started with Deep Star Six.

Not that I have a problem with it because I love all of those dumb sea monster movies.

Edited by J.T.
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28 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

Antlers

Directed by Scott Cooper. Guillermo del Toro is a Producer so they are slapping his name all over it.

Starring Keri Russell

Trailer popped up on my phone alerts while I was out at lunch.

This is based on Nick Antosca's short story, The Quiet Boy.  If the author's name sounds familiar, it should since he was the Executive Producer / Lead Writer for Syfy's Channel Zero and he will also be the showrunner for Syfy's upcoming Child's Play / Chucky limited series.

You can read the story online at: https://www.guernicamag.com/the-quiet-boy/

Or you can avoid it like the plague if you want to watch the movie with no inclination about what's going to happen.

Edited by J.T.
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