Horror Movie HoF

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I was thinking what Jiraffe is thinking, and I've thought that since the nominees were announced. I think Possession is too love or hate to win.



Chappie doesn't like the real world
Someone was asking about the deadline. It was originally March 31st, but with the drop-outs, I see no reason this can't be done by March 21st so that the next special HoF can start.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Dear Suspect,

Thank you for nominating Home Alone with a Bad-Ass Heroine For Adults .

Sincerely,

jiraffe


That was a blast.
That should be on the dvd cover!!!
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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



I've finished all of the films - including the ones nominated by the dropouts. My thoughts on the ones I haven't already mentioned (including the dropout films):

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

I just didn't really get it unfortunately. Some parts were ok but overall I felt a bit meh. Sorry Swan

Alyce

I was a bit unsure how I felt once this ended - but I did care enough to read about it so that's a good thing. Overall I liked it but in some ways it felt like a bit of a missed opportunity - like perhaps it could have been great but didn't quite get there.

Cannibal

I found the low budget added to the realism of the movie and made it even more uncomfortable than it would have been with a bigger budget. There was nothing about this I "enjoyed" so that's definitely a plus however the really bad acting stopped me liking it as much as I could have.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II

In some ways it rises above being a standard 80s horror film as it's themes are very dark ... but then you notice the acting and the script

The Night Stalker

Was enjoyable enough but would have liked it to focus more on "horror" rather than it's "tv mystery" tone.

Nightwatch

Didn't really enjoy this. Just felt really cliched and whilst I like some of the cast in other things they weren't at their best here.

Suspiria

Keep in mind I rated this
when I first saw it. Well, re-watching it ... I actually quite enjoyed. The things I hated originally are still there but I had a lot more appreciation for it's visual style which was pretty impressive.

You're Next

This is actually one I had seen previously but forgot to mention it. I liked it - it's good fun.

Will send my list in soon.



Let the night air cool you off
The Night Stalker

Was enjoyable enough but would have liked it to focus more on "horror" rather than it's "tv mystery" tone.
I actually quite enjoyed the "tv mystery" tone, perhaps because it really separated The Night Stalker from the rest of the nominations in that regard.

Suspiria

Keep in mind I rated this
when I first saw it. Well, re-watching it ... I actually quite enjoyed. The things I hated originally are still there but I had a lot more appreciation for it's visual style which was pretty impressive.
That's good news.



The Abominable Dr. Phibes

I just didn't really get it unfortunately. Some parts were ok but overall I felt a bit meh. Sorry Swan
No worries man. I haven't watched it in a long time so I should probably give it another go before I submit my list. I appreciate you checking it out. The fact that some people enjoyed it is enough for me. I'm thinking I should have nominated something else, but at the same time I'm okay with having nominated this. I honestly didn't put much thought into my nomination, which I guess I should have. Just hope there is another Horror HoF so I can nominate something a bit more to everyone's liking.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
The nomination was fine. There's nothing you can do about people's feelings, unfortunately.
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Horror Hall of Fame
THE HAUNTING

— 1963 —


This was one of the nominations I was really looking forward to in this Hall of Fame. I have heard of this before quite a few times, and generally it just seemed like my type of horror. I like horror in almost all of its forms, but there is something about the drama-centered and smooth horrors, diving in and out of genre-typical elements without showing too much but undoubtedly making its presence known. This seemed like that type of horror film and it also kind of was. I must admit I expected more from it though, but overall it was a fine watch.

The film opened in this weird way that made it seem like the movie was, in some way, one long prologue. I have experienced this only once before, and that was with Citizen Kane. It is like when a movie opens with a decent beginning, but has this voiceover hovering over it like an introduction to story, which oddly enough ends up being present all the way throughout the film. In the beginning I thought it was just a way to introduce this creepy house and all of its unsettling stories and mysteries, but sadly it just kept going. I want to say I actually love voiceovers in film, but here it didn’t work for me. I guess it really didn’t bring much to the story and it wasn’t as interestingly written as it could have been. Also, the main character was pretty boring and quite annoying and I would have preferred the main focus to be on another character or just leave the voiceover out entirely.

Overall I quite enjoyed a few things in the film. I especially loved the elements of reality and mystery. Like when the professor constantly tried to figure out what was going on and it led up to some really interesting discussions on the phenomenon of haunted houses, and ghosts and spirits in general. I do think these discussions could have been held together by a tighter story with more control, although I do understand that the supernatural kind of just happens, and you aren’t really suppose to “control” it. But I’m also mostly referring to the fact that the story itself just couldn’t hold my attention and it didn’t build up as well as it could have, and didn’t utilize its characters, setting, atmosphere and ideas as well either.

The weirdest thing about this movie, to me, is that it is from 1963. It seriously feels like a film from the 40s or 50s at the latest. My first thought was that it might be intentional to try and capture a certain feel of old school classic horror, but as the movie progressed it kept on feeling too “dated” and low-budget for its own good. I mean, just think of Psycho three years earlier or Rosemary’s Baby five years later. Too hugely acclaimed classics, I know, but still it is only a simple comparison. Both of those films hold up extremely well today and don’t at all feel the same as this movie did. Maybe it just hasn’t aged that well I guess... But as I said, it was often a fun watch and I mostly enjoyed it, but I do think it could have been much better and overall it is just pretty forgettable to me.





Chappie doesn't like the real world
No worries man. I haven't watched it in a long time so I should probably give it another go before I submit my list. I appreciate you checking it out. The fact that some people enjoyed it is enough for me. I'm thinking I should have nominated something else, but at the same time I'm okay with having nominated this. I honestly didn't put much thought into my nomination, which I guess I should have. Just hope there is another Horror HoF so I can nominate something a bit more to everyone's liking.
Aw, Swan, it's a good nomination. I really like it and it's a classic. You can never tell what will go over well in a HoF at the start. Besides I think you start to go down a slippery slope if you start to try to nominate what people will like rather than what you think deserves to be inducted. Also, sometimes the scores tell a different story.

I say that because I start thinking like that for the 6th one. I kept vetoing stuff because I didn't think it was the right movie for the crowd that joined, but I don't like thinking like that and I don't want others to.

There will be a Halloween Horror HoF. I'm planning on keeping it supernatural horror only. Which will basically mean as long as something impossible happens in it and it's horror, it's eligible.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
MM, you gave it a respectable rating, mostly knocked it for what it wasn't, but you didn't give me one actor, one [real] character, the director, the screenwriter, a specific scene or any real feelings about the movie itself. I don't think you liked it but didn't have enough strong feelings one way or another, so you wrote several words but they never really added up to what you thought. Is that about right?



MM, you gave it a respectable rating, mostly knocked it for what it wasn't, but you didn't give me one actor, one [real] character, the director, the screenwriter, a specific scene or any real feelings about the movie itself. I don't think you liked it but didn't have enough strong feelings one way or another, so you wrote several words but they never really added up to what you thought. Is that about right?
Hmm, whatever you are trying to say here, I think I get it but you are kind of all over the place...

Anyways, I'm sorry if the review is not up to par with what I usually do. I'm tired as hell, I have had a very busy week, and I watched the film a few days ago and can't remember too many specifics about it. As I said it was a forgettable film. And although I didn't really dig into it I think my opinion on it is quite clear.



Let the night air cool you off
No worries man. I haven't watched it in a long time so I should probably give it another go before I submit my list. I appreciate you checking it out. The fact that some people enjoyed it is enough for me. I'm thinking I should have nominated something else, but at the same time I'm okay with having nominated this. I honestly didn't put much thought into my nomination, which I guess I should have. Just hope there is another Horror HoF so I can nominate something a bit more to everyone's liking.
Phibes is great and you will never find something that is to everyone's liking, so just keep nominating things you love and it will be okay. I'm not saying you shouldn't occasionally get whore-y with your nominations, but just trying to take the safe pick every time will get boring.



No worries man. I haven't watched it in a long time so I should probably give it another go before I submit my list. I appreciate you checking it out. The fact that some people enjoyed it is enough for me. I'm thinking I should have nominated something else, but at the same time I'm okay with having nominated this. I honestly didn't put much thought into my nomination, which I guess I should have. Just hope there is another Horror HoF so I can nominate something a bit more to everyone's liking.
As others have said, don't worry about it - nominating personal favourites makes these things interesting.

Also, keep in mind that I gave it a higher rating than I gave The Maltese Falcon, Night of the Hunter & The Good, The Bad & The Ugly so that's good



Rosemary's Baby

I've always thought of this as Polanski's masterpiece even though I don't rate it as highly as others, it's effectively creepy without the shock value. The complete opposite of The Exorcist.

Nosferatu The Vampyre

I liked the performance of whoever played Nosferatu, they were near-amazing but the parts where he wasn't present, dragged and that's what hurt the film overall. Still good either way, possibly great on a rewatch. My first Herzog.

The Ring

Surprisingly grim for a mainstream film, I enjoyed it very much (Namoi Watts secured the deal). The score was errie and added a lot to certain scenes. I found the characters are bit dead, maybe that's the point. I was scared of them, not for them.



But I’m also mostly referring to the fact that the story itself just couldn’t hold my attention and it didn’t build up as well as it could have, and didn’t utilize its characters, setting, atmosphere and ideas as well either.
The atmosphere is the pull for me in this film. If it didn't work for you, I can completely understand not loving The Haunting. Although I don't think you mentioned it, I'm going to guess that it's its use of camera angles, lens and sound that worked for you the best. Would that be right? For me, all that, especially the use of sound, is what really builds the atmosphere and that all feeds in to everything I love about The Haunting.

The weirdest thing about this movie, to me, is that it is from 1963. It seriously feels like a film from the 40s or 50s at the latest.
I only mention this because years ago I was trying to work out a what film a friend of mine was trying to describe. He couldn't remember what it was called but everything he said screamed The Haunting to me. He said it couldn't be because this film was from the 80's.
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The atmosphere is the pull for me in this film. If it didn't work for you, I can completely understand not loving The Haunting. Although I don't think you mentioned it, I'm going to guess that it's its use of camera angles, lens and sound that worked for you the best. Would that be right? For me, all that, especially the use of sound, is what really builds the atmosphere and that all feeds in to everything I love about The Haunting.
Honestly though I will have to give it a rewatch some time... I did kind of like it, but not every aspect of it.

But no, the atmosphere really did work for me. It was one of the best things, especially the sound and such. But again, I will have to rewatch to do it justice... I don't know if you read my post a few replies up, about me being tired as hell, in a busy week, and actually doing my review way too far from the time I watched it.



Let the night air cool you off
Nosferatu The Vampyre

I liked the performance of whoever played Nosferatu, they were near-amazing but the parts where he wasn't present, dragged and that's what hurt the film overall. Still good either way, possibly great on a rewatch. My first Herzog.
Oh boy, your first Herzog? You gotta watch Aguirre, the Wrath of God.



Watched Possession and dug it myself, but I realize it's a pretty weird movie that not everyone is going to like.