Horror Movie HoF
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I went over my choice a few pages back and why I ended up with Rosemary's Baby...
This is the first ever HoF I am participating in, and I know very little about how things are done or whatever. So since I wasn't sure how it all went down and what kind of direction people would go in, I went for something a bit more direct. But now I see people mainly use it to get people to discover their favorites, and not necessarily pick a movie they think can compete if the likes of RB or Halloween would be picked. And honestly, at one point I debated whether or not I should pick something popular or something underrated. But something told me that people would probably pick the likes of Halloween and such but I guess not...
I almost picked Oculus, but I guess that must be for another time.
This is the first ever HoF I am participating in, and I know very little about how things are done or whatever. So since I wasn't sure how it all went down and what kind of direction people would go in, I went for something a bit more direct. But now I see people mainly use it to get people to discover their favorites, and not necessarily pick a movie they think can compete if the likes of RB or Halloween would be picked. And honestly, at one point I debated whether or not I should pick something popular or something underrated. But something told me that people would probably pick the likes of Halloween and such but I guess not...
I almost picked Oculus, but I guess that must be for another time.
Like HK said we all have personal favorites that we love but those movies might not really qualify for a hall of fame. You picked an excellent movie for what the HoF is.
People find great new movies in HoFs, but the goal is always to get great movies inducted, whether they be obscure or classics. You can throw in personal favorites, but unless they are quality movies they never fare well.
Rosemary's Baby belongs in a horror HoF. As does Halloween. Next time.
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That's actually been on my watchlist for a while. I didn't realise it was a remake
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The Night Stalker
I can't say much about the film that hasn't already been said. Like many others, I was quite surprised by this. I agree with Meditation that it does feel like a cross between a horror vampire flick and a noir film, that is probably what makes it appealing to me as I enjoy the cross genre films a lot of the times. I like the setting of Las Vegas obviously, and it was cool to see what the strip looked like back in the 70s. The vampire character was a chilling one, instead of a cheesy one. The acting was well done as was the storyline. The ending of the film was really was executed too. Nice recommendation, hello101!
I can't say much about the film that hasn't already been said. Like many others, I was quite surprised by this. I agree with Meditation that it does feel like a cross between a horror vampire flick and a noir film, that is probably what makes it appealing to me as I enjoy the cross genre films a lot of the times. I like the setting of Las Vegas obviously, and it was cool to see what the strip looked like back in the 70s. The vampire character was a chilling one, instead of a cheesy one. The acting was well done as was the storyline. The ending of the film was really was executed too. Nice recommendation, hello101!
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I didn't go with any of them purposely because I'd consider it cheating. 
So, it wouldn't be cheating if RB was up against Halloween, ANOES, TCM etc now would it?
So it's simply because I didn't knew about all this. But yeah, I see what's happening now and next time I'll probably pick something more underrated/underseen.
But to hell with Rosemay's Baby now (no pun intended). Let's see how all the others line up!
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I've got 4 left to see now. Looking forward to The Haunting and Suspiria. Audition I'll hold for second last as I haven't heard from Zotis much. I'll hold Night Watch for last, as I haven't heard much from Mistique in here either.
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I see your point, but you know we didn't know the noms beforehand.
So, it wouldn't be cheating if RB was up against Halloween, ANOES, TCM etc now would it?
So it's simply because I didn't knew about all this. But yeah, I see what's happening now and next time I'll probably pick something more underrated/underseen.
But to hell with Rosemay's Baby now (no pun intended). Let's see how all the others line up!
So, it wouldn't be cheating if RB was up against Halloween, ANOES, TCM etc now would it?
So it's simply because I didn't knew about all this. But yeah, I see what's happening now and next time I'll probably pick something more underrated/underseen.
But to hell with Rosemay's Baby now (no pun intended). Let's see how all the others line up!
I know I'm saying this over and over again, but I feel it's really important that people don't feel discouraged to nominate classics or that somehow there is more value in nominating something more obscure. Nominate movies that you feel are worthy of being a Hall of Fame inductee.
On the other hand, I certainly don't want to discourage lesser known films either. I've watched some fantastic movies that I hadn't even heard of until they were nominated and I've nominated a couple of lesser known films myself.
I just don't want people to lose sight of what this is which is a group of members voting on movies so that we have a list of fantastic films nominated and voted for by movie forum members. It's not a movie watching club to watch a bunch of movies that people haven't heard of.
My point is that when people nominate a movie I want them thinking about why the movie is so good it should be nominated and not about other things.
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Regarding MM's nomination of Rosemary's Baby: I'm in the camp who ordinarily would prefer to see something new. However, I felt this was an exception. With the upcoming 60's list, the timing was perfect as I wanted to see it again anyway.
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Suspiria
I prefer Mario Bava to Dario Argento as far as french horror filmmakers go, this was a pleasant surprise though. Like others have said, the pluses are definitely in the visuals and soundtrack, almost overshadowing the actual narrative. The vibrancy of the colors give the entire thing are cartoonish feel. I didn't find it scary but very pleasing to the eye and I applaud the director for the distinct styling in Suspiria. So, visuals and soundtrack are the strong points. I enjoyed it.
I prefer Mario Bava to Dario Argento as far as french horror filmmakers go, this was a pleasant surprise though. Like others have said, the pluses are definitely in the visuals and soundtrack, almost overshadowing the actual narrative. The vibrancy of the colors give the entire thing are cartoonish feel. I didn't find it scary but very pleasing to the eye and I applaud the director for the distinct styling in Suspiria. So, visuals and soundtrack are the strong points. I enjoyed it.
Audition
If I didn't know better, it would've took me like half the movie to realize this was a horror. That's not a bad thing, but if someone were to blindly watch this, they may shut it off out of boredom. I wasn't personally bored, but of course I knew there was something more to it to come. So it starts out as a drama, and then it gets mysterious, and then it gets creepy, and then it gets weird. This is known as a pretty disturbing movie, and it is disturbing, but just a little bit I think. It's very well made with very good acting. I definitely enjoyed it, but I thought it got a little weird and messy with flashbacks and things like that. I'm glad I watched it, and I wanted to anyway. It's a good movie; I give it a strong
If I didn't know better, it would've took me like half the movie to realize this was a horror. That's not a bad thing, but if someone were to blindly watch this, they may shut it off out of boredom. I wasn't personally bored, but of course I knew there was something more to it to come. So it starts out as a drama, and then it gets mysterious, and then it gets creepy, and then it gets weird. This is known as a pretty disturbing movie, and it is disturbing, but just a little bit I think. It's very well made with very good acting. I definitely enjoyed it, but I thought it got a little weird and messy with flashbacks and things like that. I'm glad I watched it, and I wanted to anyway. It's a good movie; I give it a strong
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I thought it was OK, if a little boring, until it got stupid at the end. Once she opened the bag, I remember barely anything else. 
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I thought it was OK, if a little boring, until it got stupid at the end. Once she opened the bag, I remember barely anything else.
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I don't know what channel it would be for you guys or if you even get it, but there is a Vincent Price marathon January 31st on a channel called This. It's channel 4 out of Jacksonville, Florida.
I love Vincent Price and plan on watching. If you haven't seen much of him I'm sure they will be playing his more famous horror movies.
I love Vincent Price and plan on watching. If you haven't seen much of him I'm sure they will be playing his more famous horror movies.
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The Ring
When thinking about it, the whole premise of this movie is pretty ridiculous. Fortunately, the movie plays it straight, and well enough so that I don't think about it. *Having someone like Naomi Watts in the lead is a huge plus for a horror movie. Not only is she great to look at, but she's a terrific actress as well. The Ring is just really well done. It creates a tense atmosphere and remains creepy throughout. I think it's one of the best pure horrors of the last 20 years.
When thinking about it, the whole premise of this movie is pretty ridiculous. Fortunately, the movie plays it straight, and well enough so that I don't think about it. *Having someone like Naomi Watts in the lead is a huge plus for a horror movie. Not only is she great to look at, but she's a terrific actress as well. The Ring is just really well done. It creates a tense atmosphere and remains creepy throughout. I think it's one of the best pure horrors of the last 20 years.
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You're Next
I've mentioned before about my undying love for all things home invasion, so i was fairly confident I would like this. From Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) to Martyrs (2008) I've always had a soft spot for this sub genre. Mostly, You're Next does get it right. I found the film kept you guessing with who exactly the attackers were and why they were doing it. The gore and shock effects were well executed, which kept the tone quite serious (something which would prove important later on). The build up in tension was there too, with a few scare scenes and twists. The other thing i liked were the masks, for me these really added to the atmosphere. I loved the masks in The Strangers and although the animal masks didn't work quite as well, they still contributed to the fear factor. A few things that bothered me; some of the acting was indeed awful which at times proved quite hard to watch, also some of the scripting was poor which led to some scenes being over the top unrealistic. Finally, some of the deliberately funny parts really did not come across that funny.
Overall, as a horror it was a satisfying effort and was really good fun to watch. In my opinion You're Next is underseen and underrated.
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Looks like I'd rather jump into this again, it's been a while...
Tonight will probably be Audition or Dr. Phibes.
Tonight will probably be Audition or Dr. Phibes.
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The Ring
This was a rewatch, although it was probably 10 years since I last watched it. I thought it actually holds up quite well to the original Japanese version, which I enjoyed. Cricket mentioned before and I totally agree, Naomi Watts was really good in this, again, good to look at and she puts in a great shift. Fair dues go to other members of the cast too, no complaints on any of the performances. It is well directed and contains a rather ominous tone throughout. What dis bother me about the movie was the need to show/explain so much on the plot.When it was explained at the end I think it made it much more confusing. For me, Ringu worked so well due to it's mysteriousness and ambiguity. Did we need to see so much of the tape? (which I thought was badly porttayed too)
Overall, I don't think it's scary or particularly frighening in any way but it's well made and a decent effort at remaking an immensely popular Japanese horror.
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Audition
I am a fan of Takashi Miike and have enjoyed his films so far. Watching Audition, the first thing that struck me was the pacing of the film and how different it was to Miike's other work. Yes, it does build up to a disturbing climax but the films that i have seen from this director have all been fairly chaotic in pace throughout. I loved how it almost changes genre several times during the film, with tones of romance, comedy and of course, horror. A film like this is always going to divide opinion, with some finding it too violent, others will lament its slow, sometimes plodding unravelling, whilst the rest presumably will love it, like me.
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Horror Hall of Fame
audition
— 1999 —
Here is another one of those movies I have had laying on my watchlist for a long time, but since it is already filled up with hundreds of movies, I never got around to it. I actually even remember why I put it on there in the first place… I searched for great horror movies and somehow this kept popping up. Obviously I had heard of the director before, and it holds decent ratings with both critics and audiences alike. Now, after finally watching it I must say it was nothing of what I expected. It took many turns in multiple directions and you could never quite predict it, and I liked that aspect of it.
The first hour or so is nothing like a horror film. It doesn’t even hint at it, really, and when it gets a little creepy it mostly feel like a mystery thriller. As others have said it has a varied mix-up of genres going from comedy to drama and from thriller to horror… very interesting build-up indeed. It is defiantly a slower film but I was never bored with it, and I loved how the characters were fleshed out more in this one (some more than others if you know what I mean lol). But seriously though, I was more invested in the characters than your average horror flick, and it was actually a fun time to go from all the different aspects of it and finally ending up in this big nightmarish world at the end.
That brings me to the biggest change-up in the film, which is the “main attraction” so to speak: the actual horror. Miike has really gone for something far out when it comes to constructing the last act of the film. It is a bit confusing, but it leaves you with questions that you want to answer yourself, and there are plenty of different viewpoints to it. Also, the whole build-up with the protagonist loosing his wife and finally beginning to date again, and all the reflections and concern that you consider in the process, really makes for an interesting character-study. It is not as symbolic or tightly scripted as I wanted it to be, but it does the job well. You feel what is going on below the surface and you are pretty interested in all of what is happening.
I had heard the words “gross” and “macabre” often mentioned by fans of the movie and those who hated it as well. But I must say it wasn’t that bad at all. I fell upon some random critic describing the well-handled violence in the film as done by “a director who knows just when to cut” so that it stays pretty disturbing and slightly gross, but never downright sickening. And that is very true in my opinion… Overall in relation to the entire film, I wished it had an even tighter story, and that we dived further into the mind of the main characters, as well as all the backstory and general aspect of violence (and the thereto image of violence of which it creates)… but interesting and a fairly good time. I liked it more than I thought I would and less than I hoped I would.
audition
— 1999 —
Here is another one of those movies I have had laying on my watchlist for a long time, but since it is already filled up with hundreds of movies, I never got around to it. I actually even remember why I put it on there in the first place… I searched for great horror movies and somehow this kept popping up. Obviously I had heard of the director before, and it holds decent ratings with both critics and audiences alike. Now, after finally watching it I must say it was nothing of what I expected. It took many turns in multiple directions and you could never quite predict it, and I liked that aspect of it.
The first hour or so is nothing like a horror film. It doesn’t even hint at it, really, and when it gets a little creepy it mostly feel like a mystery thriller. As others have said it has a varied mix-up of genres going from comedy to drama and from thriller to horror… very interesting build-up indeed. It is defiantly a slower film but I was never bored with it, and I loved how the characters were fleshed out more in this one (some more than others if you know what I mean lol). But seriously though, I was more invested in the characters than your average horror flick, and it was actually a fun time to go from all the different aspects of it and finally ending up in this big nightmarish world at the end.
That brings me to the biggest change-up in the film, which is the “main attraction” so to speak: the actual horror. Miike has really gone for something far out when it comes to constructing the last act of the film. It is a bit confusing, but it leaves you with questions that you want to answer yourself, and there are plenty of different viewpoints to it. Also, the whole build-up with the protagonist loosing his wife and finally beginning to date again, and all the reflections and concern that you consider in the process, really makes for an interesting character-study. It is not as symbolic or tightly scripted as I wanted it to be, but it does the job well. You feel what is going on below the surface and you are pretty interested in all of what is happening.
I had heard the words “gross” and “macabre” often mentioned by fans of the movie and those who hated it as well. But I must say it wasn’t that bad at all. I fell upon some random critic describing the well-handled violence in the film as done by “a director who knows just when to cut” so that it stays pretty disturbing and slightly gross, but never downright sickening. And that is very true in my opinion… Overall in relation to the entire film, I wished it had an even tighter story, and that we dived further into the mind of the main characters, as well as all the backstory and general aspect of violence (and the thereto image of violence of which it creates)… but interesting and a fairly good time. I liked it more than I thought I would and less than I hoped I would.
Last edited by MovieMeditation; 07-05-15 at 11:29 AM.
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