Horror

[diggler]

Kill List was one of the more memorable films I've seen lately. Right from the get go you know you're watching something unhinged. It really went for a more underhanded version of horror, as the film isn't terribly scary, just extremely unsettling. I love how unpredictable the tone is, you really have no idea what will happen next, and the film manages to subvert that expectation by going a much more traditional route than you'd expect from the type of film leading up to it.

[Reel]

Saw The Innkeepers, dug it

Did you recognize Luke from

[polkablues]

Ha, yeah, I had to look him up halfway through the movie, but once I did I had to kick myself for not recognizing him right away.

[SiliasRuby]

Audrey Rose
A 70's horror that is melodramatic and over the top ridiculous. Anthony Hopkins is the youngest I've ever seen him in a semi religious film about past lives. It has one of the most un-nerving openings of a horror film I've seen in years.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Perhaps one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen in my life. I've gotten horrible nightmares the past couple of nights. I still have the images in my head. They are stuck there. I'm trying not to think about it or I'll get the shivers.

[Reel]

Triangle is now available on Netflix Instant, so there are no more excuses!  Everyone watch the shit out of it, then get back to me.

Dude, I rented a movie called 'The Triangle' after I remembered you recommending this. Some bullshit TV movie with Eric Stoltz, shit was like 4 hours long and I stayed with it the whole time " Ok... Polka said this was supposed to be good. " Maaaan, Fuck you! Fuck me!

[polkablues]

April Fools?

[Reel]

yeah. that one will hold me over til next year

[Reel]

HAPPY OCTOBER PUBRICK!!!



starting the month off right:

[polkablues]

I watched V/H/S a couple weeks ago.  Like any anthology film, it suffers from wild inconsistency, but the good parts are pretty good, and the bad parts are usually over before you have a chance to get too bored.  Enjoyment of each segment seemed to be inversely proportionate to how hard it had to struggle to justify the found footage conceit.  Overall, I give it 6 Betamaxes (out of 10)

[RegularKarate]

Fantastic Fest just wrapped up and while the majority of the movies I saw were not horror, some were. Here are the ones I saw (oddly enough, a lot of horror-related documentaries):

American Scream: This comes from the director of "Best Worst Movie" which I loved. This time, the Chiller Network actually came to him and asked him to make a run-of-the-mill "Top Ten Haunted Houses In America" type show and this is what he went with instead. It's a documentary about Home-Haunters. People who turn their backyards into haunted houses that kids from the neighborhood and their families can walk through on Halloween night while trick-or-treating. It focuses specifically on three haunters from the same neighborhood whose effort ranges from insanely detailed and meticulously crafted to lazily thrown together. Of course, it's the characters that make this. I won't go into too much detail and I don't know when this is supposed to actually air, but fuck, it is definitely in the top three movies I saw at Fantastic Fest (that includes Looper).

Come Out and Play: A remake of "Who Could Kill a Child" that relies mostly on violence and jump-scares and for a movie that relies mostly on violence and jump-scares, it doesn't have much violence or many jump-scares.

The Exorcist in the 21st Century: This is the kind of movie that I don't know I would have even heard about if not for Fantastic Fest. It's a Norwegian documentary about Vatican-approved exorcisms. It's pretty rare that this kind of permission would be given to have this stuff filmed, especially by a couple of pagans. I'm pretty fascinated by psychological explanations for why people are convinced that they experienced something paranormal. Exorcisms especially interest me and this digs into that. It's a little slow paced and maybe doesn't get as deep into the actual psychological explanations, but it's a pretty impressive look at the phenomenon. There are a LOT of people who think they are possessed and while it's clear that these people are essentially nuts, it's really interesting trying to figure out why they have such a specific mental illness... fun fact: something like 95% of the people who claim to be possessed are women or children.

My Amityville Horror: Amityville Horror was originally claimed to be a true story then it was revealed by some involved that it was just a hoax. One of the children of the family that was terrorized by spooks and demons has come out and decided he wants his side of the story heard. The odd thing is that he is roughly 100% convinced that the house was haunted. My interest in this doc comes from the same place as my interest in "The Exorcist in the 21st Century". I really want to know what makes this guy believe that he saw what he thinks he saw (which I really do believe he thinks he witnessed). This movie is a little one sided and I feel like it tries a little too hard to make you believe that something supernatural was going on. We hear WAY more from Ghostbusters than Hoaxbusters. Still, I enjoyed trying to figure it all out... what makes this guy (who is kind of a douchebag) think he really saw the shit he says he saw?

Paranormal Activity 4 Work-In-Progress Print: There was definitely some unfinished FX and Soundwork here, but I get the feeling that I saw what will essentially be released in theaters. I don't love the PA movies, but at the same time, I kind of do. I'm fine with a movie like the first two where it's essentially just a series of scares that escalate and get a little more creative each time. Where I think this movie (like the third) fails is when too much plot is introduced. I don't need a complicated explanation for why what is happening is happening. Just scare me and move on. Still, it worked where it worked.

Room 237: Yes, it's really pushing it to list this here, but it's a documentary about the greatest horror movie ever made so I'm putting here. I think this thing stinks. It's a YouTube video that somehow got released as a real documentary. It's all done with clips from movies (both Kubrick and non-Kubrick) to go along with whats being said in a really playful, silly way that gets on your nerves the entire time (especially since most of the clips are pulled from the internet and are very low-res). I've read all these theories before so it's not very interesting to hear again. If they had focused on these people who have these theories, there might have been something, instead, it's just junk.

And now October begins.

[MacGuffin]

American Scream:

I don't know when this is supposed to actually air, but fuck, it is definitely in the top three movies I saw at Fantastic Fest (that includes Looper).

October 28. Been showing commercials for it for months.

[RegularKarate]

October 28. Been showing commercials for it for months.

I can always count on Mac to have information that I don't and to have watched an actual television broadcast.

[polkablues]

I thought I had mentioned this movie in one of my earlier posts in this thread, but I guess not, so here I go. 


Grave Encounters: available on Netflix Instant
I expected very little of this film, and it ended up delivering quite a bit.  It starts off as a somewhat goofy parody of "Ghost Hunter"-type shows, which I would have been perfectly happy with (fuck those shows and everyone in them), but it has a really satisfying buildup to where it ultimately becomes one of the more genuinely disturbing movies I've seen in a long time.  Jump scares and gore are at a minimum; the movie's really about the horror of being trapped in a world that no longer plays by any recognizable rules.  It's a horror movie where the main villain is the hopelessness of the situation.  It's definitely a low-budget affair, and the acting is a mixed bag, but I walked away from it deeply affected.
B+


I'd also like to share the trailer for Sinister, starring Ethan Hawke, which is set to come out next week, currently stands at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and looks right up my alley.

[Reel]

Polka, for all the shit you've put me through, I still gotta love ya for the horror dedication 


I've been wanting to watch 'Grave Encounters' for awhile, and have kind of been on a hunt for good found footage movies, some suggestions would be cool ( NOT from polka, though. hehe j/k )


Speaking of found footage, 'Sinister' looks fucking insane! My most anticipated movie after 'The Master' was 'Argo', but now it's 'Sinister' ( they open on the same day )


but I'm gonna kick myself for saying this after seeing these two movies, aren't I?

[RegularKarate]

Also watched Kill List, which will be on my Xixax Awards ballot for the year.

I didn't mention this in my list of Fantastic Fest movies because I don't know that I would consider it "Horror", but I saw this director's newest movie "Sightseers" and fucking loved it. It's like an indie comedy version of Natural Born Killers. It's definitely in my top three that I saw at the festival.

TRIANGLE SPOILER! (according to Polka)
Polka, I also saw Triangle the other day. Have you seen Timecrimes?