2019 - A Theme for Every Month

Rewatched Wolf Creek this afternoon which is a horror/thriller that may play a little too loosely with the truth (by marketing itself as being based on true events) and be a little rough around the edges but the latter doesn't hurt it much and it does slowly build to a quite nicely paced second half with reasonably effective atmosphere and a few nicely visceral moments. As a whole I'd rate it +.

Lycanthropic action/horror offering that unfortunately really doesn't have much of any particular worth to offer.

This so obviously wants to be cool and stylish but never comes close to achieving either, in fact with more of a televisual demeanour than a cinematic one it feels akin to an extended episode of the tv series Buffy The Vampire Slayer that got nixed because it just wasn't up to snuff.

In fact it's difficult to find much to be positive about - the story lacks originality but perhaps could have been serviceable in better hands, the first major shootout begins well enough, the climax takes place in a decent enough location and even manages a little atmosphere in the early stages whilst some of the cast are pleasing to the eye. But sadly that's about it.

Generally it's an affair that is quite poorly acted (though it should be mentioned that the hackneyed script certainly can't have helped in that regard) and terribly episodic in terms of flow. With a werewolf movie one always hopes either the visual effects or the amount of gore will at least be a redeeming feature but sadly in this one the former are lame and the latter is almost non existent. Even the action scenes are no saving grace, they take place without any real tension and aren't particularly well orchestrated.

Imo one has to lay the majority of the blame at the feet of the director though, not only is the movie visually unappealing at times it never really gives the audience an opportunity to care about the characters or what may or may not transpire.

Skinwalkers is pretty much a soulless experience that I'd recommend avoiding and I'm honestly not sure I'm not being overly generous in granting it a

Please don't make fun of me but i never could finish any of Alfred Hitchcock films

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My mama always said, Life was like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.’—Tom Hanks as in Forrest Gump
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Gave The Invisible Man from 1933 a rewatch this afternoon, quite rightly regarded as one of the classics of the sci-horror genre and still holds up pretty well even nearly 90 years after release. Claude Rains manages to inhabit the central character well enough despite not always having a physical presence on-screen but it's the effects that are really the star of the show and although some of them they may pale in comparison to what can be achieved in this day and age they haven't dated badly at all and must have been quite remarkable for the time.

It does have a few weaknesses, the light-hearted touches don't sit that well for me while the exposition between the Doctors Cranley and Kemp isn't great and Una O'Connor overacts to the point of annoyance, but it's very nicely paced and remains an engrossing watch that I think deserves a strong +

Mix of Gothic romance and fantasy horror that is visually appealing but sadly falls a little short in the long run.

The greatest strength of this movie is its aesthetic, visually it looks great with some nice use of colour and in terms of the period (Victorian) it looks and feels fairly authentic while the central setting, once reached, is delightful and very fit for purpose. The acting is generally decent enough and though the tale may have little originality it's still one that is worthy of telling.

Sadly though for me the whole just feels rather flat - the romance is serviceable but a little underwhelming and in terms of horror it is for the most part lacking in atmosphere, tension/suspense, frights or surprises. Whilst the spectral visions are certainly generally nicely rendered they are too few and far between to deliver much impact on proceedings.

Where the film really stutters though is in the final minutes, credibility is tossed out the window as proceedings devolve into a final conflict that's rather rushed, in parts poorly delivered and compared to the effort put into that which has preceded it feels rather slipshod.

Crimson Peak is a movie from a director for whom I have a lot of time that I ended up wanting to like more than I actually did and so sadly can only give it a +

Late medieval 'nunsploitation' drama with aspects of horror in a feminist/libertarian text that's played up to the full.

Proceedings may be somewhat spartan in terms of horror content and there's nothing particularly shocking (does however include a genuine castration and one brief scene of anal penetration is amusingly presented) but the whole is liberally sprinkled with nudity and the narrative is generally well enough paced to retain interest whilst the final act does increase the intensity up to a brief but imo rather satisfying climax.

Technically it's a rather mediocre affair and the acting is certainly nothing to write home about but on the whole both are commensurate with what one would expect from this type of fare.

Flavia The Heretic is a little underwhelming for those looking for more visceral viewing (though it certainly does have its moments), isn't particularly salacious (despite showing a fair amount of flesh) and does sound its message a little too loudly and often (which can make it a little frustrating at times) so I can therefore sadly only really give it a +

Zombie horror that forms the second of Fulci's 'Gates Of Hell' trilogy and certainly contains some worthwhile moments even if as a whole it is a rather mixed affair.

The opening prologue sets the tale well enough and is kept relatively brief but aside from a little modestly decent effects work is rather lacklustre and displays the usual Fulci weaknesses in both acting and script. That those weaknesses remain throughout should come as no surprise to anyone conversant with the others in the trilogy but sadly this time the entire narrative is also handled far too sloppily, turning what for the most part is actually a relatively straightforward story into something that feels a bit messy.

It's certainly not without redeeming features though, the Louisiana locations are decent and help build a little atmosphere at times whilst the trademark practical special effects and associated gore are dotted throughout, naturally increasing in intensity in the final third. Sure many of those effects now look somewhat dated and unrealistic but that's quite standard for Italian horror of the period and imo in a way it's actually a part of the charm.

The Beyond is definitely a little disappointing as it clearly could have been so much better with tighter handling but for me it's still a fun enough ride at times to be worthy of a +

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!

It's quite revolting in places though. I think that added to my love for it.

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Fulci definitely had opthalmic issues and I would certainly advise Gbg against watching it
Thanks for popping in again, aside from my posting in it this thread is a bit like a graveyard this month - though I guess that's actually quite appropriate

I love him for the eye torture shots (among other things, but that's definitely a highlight). His movies ooze a lot. Rewatched Zombi 2 again recently. Zombie vs shark was awesome. And of course there was the obligatory eye gouge.

I'd comment more if I wasn't afraid of ruining the thread.

Yeah, eye torture makes for great horror imo as it invokes a natural squeamish reaction from many/most. Love Zombi 2

Comment as much or as little as you wish, it's just nice occasionally not to be talking solely to myself

Sorry for contributing to your loneliness instead of the theme of the month. I'd planned on screening and screaming with you, but time just gets away from me. I'll definitely make a point to contribute something soon.

As for what you've been watching so far, I haven't seen The Taking of Deborah Logan, Rings, Skinwalkers or Flavia the Heretic. For the latter, you had me with amusing anal penetrations, but when I went to add the movie to my watchlist, I saw that it was already on there. No recollection of how it got there, but apparently someone else has recommended it to me in the past. Would also like to watch Deborah Logan at some point, which I've heard decent things about. Never bothered with Skinwalkers since it looked like sh*t. Might one day watch Rings, but it's been forever since I've seen the first two.

I personally found Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse rather dire. There's been way too many zom-coms over the years, and that particular movie didn't bring anything new or clever to the table. Wolf Creek is very much my type of horror. I'm with you on Crimson Peak. I've already given my thoughts recently on The Neon Demon, The Invisible Man and The Beyond in the Horror Countdown. I'm glad you mentioned Una O'Connor's grating performance. She's my only real criticism toward The Invisible Man. Like you, I wish that the narrative in The Beyond wasn't so sloppy, but I've come to expect that from Fulci, and the film has enough going for it in other areas to compensate for those weaknesses.

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Never any need to apologise Cap, life is what happens to all of us whilst making other plans. Appreciate your checking in occasionally whether or not you find time to join in or comment

There's nothing overly remarkable about Deborah Logan imo but it's a decent enough watch for it's type and certainly worth giving an airing ... which is definitely not something I would ever say about either Skinwalkers or Rings. I think you'd almost certainly get some enjoyment out of Flavia, there's enough flesh on display and viscerally it has it's moments even if personally I do wish it were a little stronger in that regard.

Yeah, Scouts Guide offers nothing new or clever but the humour did raise a few smiles here and there for me and with many modern comedies not generally being to my taste I guess I'm predisposed to a touch of generosity to anything that can do that. I'm actually surprised James Whale didn't get Una O'Connor to tone her reactions down in The Invisible Man as they really, really jar and he was normally much better at balancing those sorts of things. Narrative was definitely rarely Fulci's focus in his horror movies, which for me probably impacts most in The Beyond, but as you say the aspects he revels in he does so lovingly and effectively that even obvious weaknesses in some of the practical effects don't really impact on enjoyment for me.

COOL...say, have you seen Terrifier yet? Sorry if I missed if you did, and if not, gimme a headsup when. I COULD GO AGAIN.

Not had an opportunity yet no, have a self-imposed moratorium on buying dvds at the moment so even though it's cheap enough right now it'll have to wait. Mebbes Film 4 might oblige?

If you find it in a bin, and it might end up there as it's a pretty niche kinda horror thing so it might not have mass appeal, get it. It's just so delightfully vicious, I love it more and more with each rewatch.

Yeah, cos I'm the sort of person that walks the street looking through bins innit

Gave Boo a rewatch this afternoon, it contains the odd reasonable practical effect and does manage to build one or two small pocket of atmosphere but the tale lacks originality and is generally quite poorly written, those decent effects are far outweighed by the use of poor cgi, the tone is too inconsistent and proceedings somehow manage to feel both quite cluttered and terribly drawn out at the same time .

Horror with an air of mystery that's fairly satisfying in terms of gruesome content but sadly imo does suffer from the action being somewhat stylised in places.

Being a Clive Barker adaptation it should come as no surprise to anybody that there's a dark, sinister tone to proceedings - and in that respect the use of a washed out colour palette works quite well, especially for those parts set in/on the subway. It should also come as no surprise that the tale involves a degree of visceral content, which in places is quite delightfully not for the squeamish.

Sadly though Kitamura can't seem to resist the urge to go down the stylistic route in places and does so with mixed results. For instance, at one point the camera performs a full external 360° circle of the train compartment which makes for a reasonably nice effect and one particular scene set in Mahogany's apartment is very nicely shot but on the downside the use of slow-motion in the midst of action scenes makes them feel cartoonish and seriously detracts from their potency imo.

The use of extremely limited dialogue for Vinnie Jones' Mahogany enables that character to be defined primarily by his physicality which makes the most use of his natural air of menace. Whilst the mystery element revolves more around 'why' than 'who' there are still a couple of nice pockets of tension built up and even though the plot may not offer that much by way of originality and does have one moment that initially confuses (but becomes clear in due course) it's a generally serviceable affair.

The Midnight Meat Train would be a more satisfying entry into the horror genre were it not for some of the directorial choices, which for me sadly knock its rating down by a full popcorn to just a +

Survival thriller/horror that's best watched with the brain parked in neutral but once the action gets going is a fun enough ride.

The initial set-up is somewhat lame, there is a little use of inserts which are more irritating than interesting and dotted throughout proceedings are a number of implausibilities that ought to make any working brain question what is being presented (hence why it's best to switch the noggin off at the start). The main premise however is a decent enough one, the camerawork pretty solid and the setting is certainly both a suitable and quite beautiful one.

Blake Lively has to carry the movie pretty much on her own and does a decent enough job (Steven Seagull is a little one-dimensional in his role but tbh that's hardly anything new), aided by some reasonable suspense generated in places by Collet-Serra. In terms of pace the opening does feel a little drawn out to me and the initial encounter with the surfers is rather dull but once the brown stuff begins to hit the fan events are quite nicely spaced, even if by nature at times they are a little repetitive.

The Shallows is certainly no Jaws but has some pretty scenery and is an entertaining enough way to pass an hour and a half (as long as one is able to just go with the flow), I'll give it a