Horror Hall of Fame II

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The Amityville Horror (1979) - Stuart Rosenberg

- Believe it or not it was my first watch of this movie even if I heard the legend of Amityville a thousand times before. It's a pretty straight forward haunted house movie in the same veins as The Shining . The transformation of James Brolin (George Lutz) in this movie is terrifying and he give a pretty good performance in general. The look and the score of the movie is sweet as hell and the location of it is also a plus. I've never been bored while watching it (that's a good sign) and the ending is great in my opinion. Very good nom.
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I'm going to the library in the next 2,3 days. Then I'll rent all the films available there!
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Pulse has always been a mixed bag for me. This is greatly inspired by the works of David Lynch and much like Lynch's work this is a bit of a chore to slug through. On the flip side parts of this film I really like the film has this constant quiet sense of foreboding and even though I never connected with any of the characters I was able to move past that at points and just enjoy the visuals.



While I wasn't crazy about some of the selections for this hall the mixed bag that was this film will score higher than I think I normally would.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
I got Amityville and Deep Red beside my dvd player ready for this week.

Hope to squeeze in Pulse too.
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Suspect's Reviews



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
The Amityville Horror




There are 20 films based on the Amityville Horror, I've only seen this one and the remake.

I agree with what most people are saying, which is that Brolin’s descent into madness is terrific. He looks physically drained with each passing scene and you believe he can be a real danger to his family. Second, Kidder is gorgeous here and does the role well enough, but isn't utilized to her full potential. I feel like the film could have played her vulnerability a bit more within the house.

The classic child makes friends with a ghost never gets old. It's something that a parent would at first shrug off as a imaginary friend than realize the terror once the madness happens.

I didn't care for the evil reaching beyond the house. Specifically whenever the priest tried to interact with the family and the evil would stop him. I felt like it should have been more concentrated within the house. Since they never meet up, it ends up being a distraction.

A solid horror film that might feel a bit dated, but it still works.



The Descent (2005)
CiCi's Choice

Six women meet up for an extreme outdoor adventure deep into the woods of the Appalachian Mountains. The opening scenes, with the mountain-driving shots, portray a strong "The Shining" vibe- only this time on the East coast's mountain range. After a night drinking at the cabin, their girl's retreat takes a more reckless turn as they go caving into an unknown underground realm. Most of the fierce gals didn't come combat ready, and their excruciating and claustrophobic outing turns dreadful as they get picked off by some freaky flesh-eating creatures underneath the surface. An effective and stable quality horror viewing that yet I tend to doubt I'll re-visit. Inspired me to crank out a few pushups while enjoying my evening brews in case some underground flesh-eating freaks burst in while watching. Keep in mind my thumb ratings aren't equivalent to popcorn boxes.



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the samoan lawyer's Avatar
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Every copy of Macabre I find is without subtitles.

Anyone wanna help a brother out?

Sorry TUS, I rented the DVD, hope you get sorted, or learn Indonesian really quickly.
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The Descent


This was my third time watching this. The second was with my wife because I thought she'd enjoy it and she loved it.

I find it interesting how a personal tragedy is added to the story of the film. I think it could be looked at as completely unneeded but I think it has great value, and for me that mostly means adding a somber and upsetting element. Clever filmmaking.

Love how the movie looks, not crappy and not too shiny and clear, just perfect. Six women and no men works beautifully and it's not very common.

It's scary, tense, and gory and even the interplay between the women adds a disturbing dynamic. I think it's got it all and it's one of the best horrors of the last twenty years. I watched the UK ending for the first time, not sure which I prefer as I think they both work well. This is probably the winner.



Hour Of The Wolf (1968)
The Samoan Lawyer's Choice

Story unfolds on a Scandinavian island with the woman Alma played by Liv Ullman, who is married to Johan, played by Max Von Sydow (Three Days Of The Condor, Wild Strawberries, The Exorcist, The Seventh Seal, Flight Of The Eagle). Alma's talking to us while sitting at a table outside a cottage next to some eggs in a basket, and she is pregnant, depressed, and young. Johan on the other hand is a painter, and he struck me as rather cold and unfeeling. This movie reminds me of my short-lived criterion collection phase I went through in 2010, when I looked through shelves of them at a barnes & noble near where I lived. The Seventh Seal is the other Ingmar Bergman movie I'd seen before Hour Of The Wolf, and this one leaves a comparable impression. The writing came across strong and there's also some unique and arresting visuals at the house in the hills. Watching this kind of film is a definite change-up from what I'd usually choose to watch although this feels like a valuable and interesting movie in-spite of being a different one for me. When the two visit a castle on the island to make company with some strange aristocrats who reside in the area, Johan begins to lose his sanity as he's reminded of past romantic demons overtaken by hallucinations, and Alma begins to sense herself getting pushed away. Proceed to The Temple Of Wisdom in the island castle for some trippy cultured Swedish artistic psychological horror cred selected by The Samoan Lawyer.




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Sent notifications to @Pussy Galore and @CiCi. At this time I'd suggest leaving eXistenZ last film to watch as its nominator feels the least likely to finish the HoF.

Otherwise we have about two weeks left and the situation is this:

pahaK - 9/9 VOTED
Siddon - 9/9 VOTED
the samoan lawyer - 9/9 VOTED

@cricket - 8/9
@Derek Vinyard - 6/9
@Nostromo87 - 4/9
@TheUsualSuspect - 4/9

@CiCi - 4/9
@Pussy Galore - 2/9
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28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Macabre




Had characters made smarter choices in this film, I think I would have rated it a bit higher. One bit in particular is when the sister escapes from imminent death, but fails to kill the fat man. Why are you injuring him and not finishing the job? Look at the situation you are in, you just witnessed him use a chainsaw on your friend. I did get a good laugh when the head fell out of the garbage bag though. Or how about standing there watching your friend yell at you to run away just before he has his neck snapped...and you stand there. Or when you have a weapon and you throw it at the guy instead of holding onto it.

Macabre is an exercise is bloody violence. The story is obviously of little concern, the filmmakers instead choose to try and get as much grotesque imagery on the screen as possible. The low-fi approach helps certain scenes, such as the table slaughter, but it hinders some others stripping away the suspense.

For the most part, I liked it. It's not something I'll ever watch again and will probably forget about after this HoF is done, but it works for what it's going for.