Movie Diary 2018 by pahaK

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Macabre (2009) N

A newly wed couple, groom's sister and couple of their friends help a young woman to get to her home after an alleged robbery. There the woman's family led by her mother wants to offer them a meal in gratitude.


In general I'm not a fan of New French Extremism and while Macabre is in fact Indonesian it's very much like a member of that movement. I suppose it's even slightly worse than the French ones on average as practically everything is done a notch worse (script, direction, acting and effects). If this stuff is the new wave of horror I'd rather be an old school guy.

One of the major issues I had was the script; I'm not sure if anyone made a single smart choice in the whole movie (why didn't Ladya kill the fatty after her initial escape, why was that police dude yelling "freeze" to someone who just killed one of his men, etc.). Also why did Dara's family (and she especially) move and talk like they were terminators?

I don't mind violence in movies (quite the contrary, I'd say) but still I'm not thrilled by films like this that have nothing else. The gore would have been well done enough if there only had been a decent story, now it was just boring splatter. Not my type of horror. If you like New French Extremism it may suit you better.




The Ring (2002) R

A remake of the Japanese horror. Again a female journalist investigates a videotape that kills its viewer after seven days. The basics are the same but lots of details have been changed (for the worse).


I just don't understand why some of these remakes are done (for money, yes, but I mean why can't Americans just watch the foreign originals). With 30 times larger budget we have some exactly replicated scenes, lots of unneeded horror cliches and severely mangled main plot. I don't think The Ring manages to improve anything from the original but many things are way worse.

There are some positive things in the film too: acting is quite good, Samara is kinda decent character (is anyone surprised?) and the famous television scene looks fine (but for some reason it's not as creepy as the original). And there's no psychic ex-husband but now he's just an annoying manchild (so that our main character can nag to him about never growing up, I'm sure). I don't like the mudded color palette used. Soundtrack is semi-OK but little soulless.

It's not exactly bad but quite close. Only recommended if you've seen the original and want to see another take on the subject (that reminds me that I still need to watch The Ring Virus one day).




Baskin (2015) N

A group of five police responds to an assistance request in a place with bad reputation. What they find is pretty far from ordinary police work.


On concept level the plot (or the way it tells its story) of Baskin belongs to a sub-genre of horror I don't particularly like. There's too much The Twilight Zone in there and too blatant attempts for twists that aren't nearly as original as the makers would hope. It's definitely one of the better films of its kind though and I was pleasantly surprised.

First half of the film tries to build the characters and it occasionally works. It doesn't paint too kind picture of its characters but there's a reason for that, I guess. Second half is a mix of Hellraiser and Apocalypse Now with quite grotesque imagery and very interesting main villain.

By far the most amazing thing in Baskin is its technical quality. With only $350k budget it looks really damn good. I liked the cinematography, I liked the constant darkness, the gore was good and man playing The Father was just perfect match for the role. I only wish the script would have been better (or preferably in completely different style) but as it is it's probably the pinnacle of its kind.




I liked Baskin too. My thoughts pretty much mirror yours; weak story and characters for the most part, but it looked cool and that little guy needs to be in more movies.

I think you need to have been there at the time for Ghostwatch. I was and definitely got taken in for at least the first half of the show - The BBC had a lot of complaints during and after the broadcast and the show has become quite infamous.

We were a lot more nieve in the early 90s.
I saw Ghostwatch for the first time a few years ago and liked it a lot. Obviously I knew it was mock, but it was still effective to me. I remember the ending being way too ridiculous though.



Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004) R

Continues the story shortly after the first film's ending. Brigitte is shooting monkshood to slow her impending change. After collapsing on the street she wakes up in rehab clinic. Without monkshood her change is becoming faster and there's another werewolf on her tail. With a help from a young girl she tries to escape the clinic.


Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed doesn't try to copy its predecessor but tells us new and very different story. Obviously the metamorphosis is still a major theme but we're quite far from the original's mystification of female puberty. This time the main themes are addiction, human vs animal and, I suppose, abuse in various forms.

With Ginger dead (and being reduced to mere hallucination) Brigitte is now accompanied by a young girl who's called Ghost by everyone. The chemistry of the duo is great and as good actress as Emily Perkins is young Tatiana Maslany steals the show. I really liked how the film is written in a way that at some point you just notice that Ghost has become the real lead. Supporting cast is also good.

Budget restraints are handled well and the result looks mostly great (some of the close-ups of the werewolf are kinda weak). It's not a scary film by any means but scary doesn't equal good anyways, not even in horror. I kinda wish there'd been a third film continuing the story because the ending left me wanting for more (there's a third film but, as far as I can remember, it has nothing to do with this storyline).




Appears we feel similarly toward Guillermo del Toro. Minus Pacific Rim, which is awful, I've liked his films to varying degrees, but I've yet to love any of them. I guess The Shape of Water comes closest, but there's always a slight disconnect for me, even though I admire most aspects of his filmmaking. The Devil's Backbone is a good movie, but I remember thinking that it tried to balance too many subplots at once, and that the ghostly little boy was possibly the least interesting aspect.

Been meaning to watch A Tale of Two Sisters for awhile. The director's I Saw the Devil is one of my favorite films, and I also greatly enjoyed The Good, the Bad, the Weird, so I'm hopeful that I'll like it. I agree with your assessment of The Libertine. It started strong but tapered off toward the end. Grave Encounters had potential thanks to its creepy setting, but I thought the movie itself was poor.

Jigoku is quite the curiosity. I didn't care for most of the movie until it transitioned to hell, then the macabre visuals won me over. Love The Descent. The sequel is worthless but watchable if you have zero expectations. Sorry to see that you found Day for Night such a chore. I haven't seen it myself, but I've been fairly impressed with the few Truffaut films I have seen. Started watching Baskin late one night but fell asleep about 20 minutes into it. I didn't care much for what I saw, but I hadn't gotten to the good stuff. The screenshots from it continue to intrigue me.

At the time, The Ring was one of the creepiest films I'd seen. The visual of the little girl crawling out of the TV, along with the surreal images from the cursed video tape, were straight nightmare fuel. (Little girls with long dark hair in their face still creep me out, to be honest.) Naomi Watts also gave a much better performance than you typically find in horror films. Been a long time since I watched it, but I'm confident that I'd still like it. Never seen the Japanese original, or any of the other J-horrors you've been watching lately. Happy to see praise for Ginger Snaps 2 since I think it's unjustly overshadowed by its predecessor. As I said in the current Horror HOF, I actually prefer it to the first film. The decision to make a third film and set it in the 19th's century was idiotic.
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The Tunnel (2011) N

When the government scraps its plans to build an underground water recycling plant in the old abandoned train tunnels below Sydney, a journalist and her crew goes down to investigate.


The Tunnel is yet another found footage horror (though technically it's not found footage) and follows closely the cliches of its kind. I don't seem to be a fan of this style so take my opinions with a huge grain of salt (i.e. if you generally like found footage horror this may be a film for you - I watched it because my brother said it was good).

The format of the film is even more flawed than found footage in general: The interviews breaking the actual footage spoils the survivors even before the crew enters the tunnels. This decision to present the film as a mockumentary kills all the potential suspense from the start. There are two big logical flaws in the film as well; the inclusion of security camera footage and the metro guard going into the tunnels.

The only redeeming thing in this cinematic waste is the acting which is surprisingly solid for a film like this. Other than that it should only be watched by found footage aficionados.




At the time, The Ring was one of the creepiest films I'd seen. The visual of the little girl crawling out of the TV, along with the surreal images from the cursed video tape, were straight nightmare fuel. (Little girls with long dark hair in their face still creep me out, to be honest.) Naomi Watts also gave a much better performance than you typically find in horror films. Been a long time since I watched it, but I'm confident that I'd still like it.
I'm pretty sure my distaste for The Ring is mainly due to liking the original so much. At the same time the Japanese version is creepier and sadder than the remake. Some of the stuff is just too polished (like the video tape which in the original is really poor quality and distorted but in the remake it's perfect image quality and looks like something that was done in a film school rather than by an angry ghost).

Samara coming out of the TV is the best scene in the remake and the only one that I possibly prefer over the original (the original is still kinda creepier but Samara has some twisted cute factor on her side). The other great scene is at the end when Samara's hospital tape is played again but this time the pauses in her speech are emphasized differently changing the meaning of her words completely.

Never seen the Japanese original, or any of the other J-horrors you've been watching lately.
I really recommend watching them. They're some of the best horror films made in this century.

Happy to see praise for Ginger Snaps 2 since I think it's unjustly overshadowed by its predecessor. As I said in the current Horror HOF, I actually prefer it to the first film. The decision to make a third film and set it in the 19th's century was idiotic.
I need to rewatch the third one soon but unless it's a lot worse than I remember Ginger Snaps is a good candidate for the best trilogy of horror films. I agree that setting it in the 19th century was a stupid decision (especially when the second film had a perfect ending to continue the story) but I think they just wanted Ginger back in Ginger Snaps. The quality difference between first and second is rather small but I slightly prefer the first myself.



Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004) R

In 1815 Ginger and Brigitte seek shelter from a trading post. Welcome isn't warm for them but being under siege by a horde of werewolves can do that to anyone.


I honestly remembered this being better but it's not even close to previous two films. Ginger Snaps Back isn't separated only temporally from them but it's lore and themes are vastly different as well. First two films had this modern feel as they stripped the mystique from the werewolf myth and concentrated on more mundane aspects of the transformation and its effects. This final act on the other hand is filled with prophecies, curses and old superstitions.

In some ways Ginger Snaps Back is a remake of the first film set in different time. Unfortunately it has lost the characters and smart script which made the previous films so good. Ginger and especially Brigitte feel hollow and the supporting cast is filled cliches. The film also drags quite a bit and is at times rather boring.

Positive things that keep it barely above bad include rather nice looking werewolves, some nice cinematography and good individual scenes every now and then (the last 15 minutes or so has quite a bit of good in it). I think it's safe to say that it was a wrong decision to make a 19th century "spin-off" instead of continuing the story from the first two parts. Only recommended for the fans of werewolves or Ginger Snaps franchise.




Death Line (1972) N

A civil servant working in the ministry of defense goes missing in the Tube. An inspector links the case with several other disapperances at Russell Square Station and finds out some grim history of the Underground.


In some ways the plot doesn't make much sense but it's still moderately entertaining film. And if you accept its somewhat silly concept the script isn't otherwise too bad. Even the monster (the cannibal who should be named Midor for obvious reasons) has a motive and isn't just an evil fiend.

Characters are OK and acting is fine except Inspector Calhoun, played by Donald Pleasence, who's just great. Make-up and effects are quite decent as well, especially all the decaying corpses in the abandoned station. Opening credits music is also really groovy and the Underground is always a nice set for a film.

Death Line does drag a little and the police investigation isn't given enough time (I would have preferred more screen time for that instead of the young couple's adventures). It's not a good film per se but at least it's much better than the previous metro horror I watched, The Tunnel.




The Dark (2018) N

A man is running away from the authorities and ends up in the Devil's Den, a forested region the locals believe to be haunted. The police are looking for a boy he's kidnapped. Then the monster comes and she feels sympathy for the abused boy.


"She's the monster and she's gonna rip you to pieces!"

It's pretty obvious where the comparisons to Let the Right One In come from. The Dark isn't just a copy though but delves deeper into the traumas of its teenaged leads putting less emphasis on the romance and being an outcast. It's very dark film where even the redemption (kind of) at the end tastes sour.

The Dark sympathizes with its abused and broken kids but at the same time it doesn't shy away from the monster that Mina has become. Majority of her victims don't deserve what they get so in that sense it's somewhat like a traditional ghost story (but without actual ghosts and way more brutal).

Acting is quite good and there are no major technical issues. Soundtrack is little lame, there's no over the top gore and some of the violence happens off screen but it's still little nasty at times (and its themes may be uncomfortable to some) and the script is pretty solid. As a rule I don't like the type of ending it has but it's one of the least irritating of its kind.

Overall a positive surprise and this far the best movie made in 2018 for me.




Terrified (2017) N

Strange things are happening in a suburb of Buenos Aires. In one house a man is haunted by an apparition that keeps him awake at night, in another a man witnesses his wife's weird death and in third a young boy returns from the grave days after his funeral. Local police commissary asks assistance from a man who investigates supernatural phenomena.


Terrified is a mix of J-horror (especially Ju-on) and western dimensional horrors like From Beyond or Event Horizon. Lots of its imagery comes from Japanese films and like them it doesn't rely on jump scares but prefers slow impending doom. The little explanation it offers is more like the western films I mentioned and there's some imagery that nods to that direction as well.

There's plenty of creepy scenes and the atmosphere in general is well maintained. Its scares often lack some originality but there are couple of scenes that truly stand out (especially the shower scene). Overall the horror part of the film is good. Story and characters are left little shallow and while it's not a massive flaw in a film like this I'd personally prefer more depth. Acting and soundtrack are really good.

Well above average horror that proves it's worth the effort to skim through all sorts of top lists that Google manages to find; this was listed on one top horrors of 2018 list (I suppose it was released this year in US).




May the Devil Take You (2018) N

A former business man who's lost most of his wealth becomes sick. His family (second wife, her children including one of his and a daughter from his first marriage) uncover the dark secrets behind his earlier success.


May the Devil Takes You feels a lot like Sam Raimi tribute. There's lots of Evil Dead in it with a pinch of Drag Me to Hell. Director Timo Tjahjanto is not Raimi though and unlike Evil Dead his film is a bloated behemoth that should have been edited heavily. He never manages to make his weirder shots to work either.

When compared to other movies by Tjahjanto that I've seen (The Night Comes for Us and Macabre) May the Devil Take You is surprisingly tame with its violence. Some effects work fine but the possessed are like pale imitations of Evil Dead. Lead actress is fine but others don't feel too good.

I feel that Tjahjanto is more at home when directing action and wish he'd continue with that genre. May the Devil Take You is only little above bad.




A quick summary of my cinematic year 2018. Assuming I counted right I've watched 245 movies since joining the site in mid april. That's little less than one per day on average.

To me it seems that my reputation of hating practically everything is considerably exaggarated. Out of those 245 movies I considered 68 bad (and 18 of those were watched because of various Hall of Fames), 119 average and 58 good. That looks nice enough spread to me.

Not surprisingly horror looks like my favorite genre as more than half of the good films were horror (almost half of the bad ones are horrors too). I'd like to watch more fantasy and scifi but there seems to be so few of them compared to horror.



The Meg was an awesome movie indeed. Jonas Taylor did an awesome job.
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Reading through this thread gave me cancer.

At least I don’t think I’ve come closer to understanding the way you watch and rate movies.

I guess if I had to find a positive thing to say, it would be to quote Spaulding a few pages back: that I’d probably rather see many lower ratings than those people who just toss around the big 5’s all the time. But still, I’m very confused reading this thread.



Reading through this thread gave me cancer.

At least I don’t think I’ve come closer to understanding the way you watch and rate movies.

I guess if I had to find a positive thing to say, it would be to quote Spaulding a few pages back: that I’d probably rather see many lower ratings than those people who just toss around the big 5’s all the time. But still, I’m very confused reading this thread.
Why is it so confusing? There's more detailed numbers on 2019 thread but it's basically 25-50-25 percentage spread for bad-OK-good. I don't understand why everyone always says I give terribly low ratings
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Why is it so confusing? There's more detailed numbers on 2019 thread but it's basically 25-50-25 percentage spread for bad-OK-good. I don't understand why everyone always says I give terribly low ratings
It’s not just your ratings, it’s also your view on the movies. And I mean this in no bad way - I’m merely trying to understand your thoughts.

But when I read about a movie I would consider really good or at least something that should get a moslty positive review at least in some areas, you give it an insanely low rating with thoughts that just don’t make sense to me and seem to brush the movie off way too easily.

I was just about to write even more here, but I’d rather have more concrete stuff to say, so I might return some time later to go more in-depth so you understand me and it doesn’t feel like I’m just bringing you down without any reason.



Have you seen Late Phases? I thought it dropped the ball a little bit but the performances were so good, as well as the atmosphere I couldn't help but like it twice.
It's on my watchlist so I'll probably check it some day.

And to @MovieMeditation I'm more than happy to discuss about how I review films (both in general or in regards to a specific film). I may not be able to answer every question you have because it's often hard to pinpoint what makes me enjoy something but I'll try.