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How about some horror with a dash of dark humor?
FROM DUSK TIL DAWN
GINGER SNAPS
CURDLED
MAY

and I'd strongly recommend 2 silent-era classics starring Lon Chaney:
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.
The scariest part of From Dusk to Dawn to me were the early scenes when Quentin Tarantino was such a maniacal killer. When the vampires finally showed up, they were almost comedy relief compared to the earlier casual mayhem of Tarantino and Clooney.

Another harrowing modern day horror movie without any "pretend" monsters is Reservoir Dogs! Saw that film once and although I appreciate the artistry and acting of a fine ensemble, I simply can't sit through it a second time. I think it has something to do with covering the police beat too long as a news reporter. Having seen so many real bodies and so much real blood, a lot of us former police reporters simply can't stomach movies like Dogs or Jaws.



Awesome bunch of suggestions guys!

I'm watching The Haunting (1963) and it is good stuff...
Creeping me out.



That sounds like a good idea. I haven't seen any of the Dead movies so I think it is about time.

And thanks for the mention of An American Werewolf in London. I almost forgot that one. Shameful of me. And I have seen about 10 minutes of ...Werewolf in Paris on T.V. That was enough for me. It was utter crap.

I LOOOOVE Them! I've seen it about 10 times I think, the first when I was like 10.



I have never managed to sit through Nosferatu but Silver Bullet and The Lost Boys are both great movies... although the finale to Silver Bullet was a bit of a letdown to me.

...Wait Until Dark is a fantastic film and I love that somebody mentioned it...

You guys have already given me a good list and I look forward to seeing some of these films I haven't yet.
Is the Wait Until Dark y'all are talking about the suspense drama from the 1970's (?) with Audrey Hepburn as the blind woman against a really cool but creepy killer played against type by Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna as a dishonest ex-cop? That's a very good and suspenseful movie, but maybe there's a later monster flick with the same title.



Is the Wait Until Dark y'all are talking about the suspense drama from the 1970's (?) with Audrey Hepburn as the blind woman against a really cool but creepy killer played against type by Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna as a dishonest ex-cop? That's a very good and suspenseful movie, but maybe there's a later monster flick with the same title.
That is exactly the movie we are talking about. Love it.
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That is exactly the movie we are talking about. Love it.
Great film! I expected Arkin to be arrested for grand larceny after the way he stole that picture from a couple of veterans like Hepburn and Crenna. Jack Weston, one of the great character actors of all time, also contributed a lot to that film.



Ok here is a little update. I have now watched the following movies this month:

The Scream Trilogy
The Descent
Dog Soldiers
The Howling
The Haunting
I Know What You Did Last Summer
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Hatchet

Mini reviews:

The Haunting was really good. I like how it built the tension and horror through character development and atmosphere rather than cheap scares and gore.

I watched I Know What You Did Last Summer because it was written by the same guy who wrote Scream and I wanted to compare the two. I must say that I vastly prefer Scream. I was bored for the run time of IKWYDLS. I think that is for a couple of reasons. First off, I didn't connect with or care about any of the characters. None of them were sympathetic. As soon as they decided to dump the body I disconnected from them and thought "Man I can't wait for them to start dying." In a horror movie, the heroes should be innocents, not guilty of murder themselves.

I liked the sequel better actually, but it still wasn't that great.

I am going to write up an actual review of Hatchet because with its limited release I figure not that many people have seen it.

On the docket for the rest of this week are:

House on Haunted Hill
Black Sunday
Suspiria
(if I can find it in the local video store)
Friday the 13th pt 1
Psycho


Of course these plans are subject to change at any moment.



Ok here is a little update. I have now watched the following movies this month:

The Scream Trilogy
The Descent
Dog Soldiers
The Howling
The Haunting
I Know What You Did Last Summer
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Hatchet

Mini reviews:

The Haunting was really good. I like how it built the tension and horror through character development and atmosphere rather than cheap scares and gore.

I watched I Know What You Did Last Summer because it was written by the same guy who wrote Scream and I wanted to compare the two. I must say that I vastly prefer Scream. I was bored for the run time of IKWYDLS. I think that is for a couple of reasons. First off, I didn't connect with or care about any of the characters. None of them were sympathetic. As soon as they decided to dump the body I disconnected from them and thought "Man I can't wait for them to start dying." In a horror movie, the heroes should be innocents, not guilty of murder themselves.

I liked the sequel better actually, but it still wasn't that great.

I am going to write up an actual review of Hatchet because with its limited release I figure not that many people have seen it.

On the docket for the rest of this week are:

House on Haunted Hill
Black Sunday
Suspiria (if I can find it in the local video store)
Friday the 13th pt 1
Psycho

Of course these plans are subject to change at any moment.
On TV the other night, I caught the final moments of a great suspense film from the 1960s that I haven't seen in years--Fail-Safe, based on a best-selling book from that period. It's about an international screw up that puts the US and Russia on a collision course for nuclear war. But where as Dr. Strangelove milked that premise for laughs, Fail-Safe is as serious as a mushroom cloud. The scene where the US bomber pilot proceeds on course with his deadly cargo despite the Pentagon putting his pleading wife through to him via radio when the fail-safe recall system misfunctions is harrowing, to say the least. So is US President Henry Fonda's last ditch decision on a horrible sacrifice in hopes of adverting unlimited war between the two giant powers. Larry Hagman's movie career got a big boost from his role as Fonda's interpreter in phone calls to the Russian premier. The scene that got to me the most was played out in a conversation on that phone where the US ambassador in Moscow is directed by the president to take his phone out on the embassy balcony. If an atomic bomb is dropped on that city, the listeners will know immediately because the ambassador's phone line will suddenly emit a continuous loud whine.

Another great suspense film from that period based on another best seller on the same subject is On the Beach with Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astair (in a role that I think won him the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor), and Tony Perkins. In this film, the atomic war has already been fought and finished, with everything north of the equator now dead. Even worse, prevailing winds and currents are picking up the deadly radiation and carrying it mile by mile into the southern hemisphere where all life is slowly being extinguished. One of the last outposts of civilization is Australia, and this is where a US nuclear submarine captained by Peck makes its way. The sub's original assignment was to wait out the first 2-3 exchange of nuclear weapons and then surface some weeks later to wipe out whatever was left of Russia. Only by that time both Russia and the US had been destroyed. The story is what happens to these people as they wait out the final days of earth as we know it. Although not as good as the book, the film is well worth seeing and will grip you emotionally.

By the way, although made in the 1960s, the film was set in the distant future--1980, as I recall. In both of these films, it's people, not monsters, who scare the bejeebers out of you.



Look for a couple other Dario Argento movies as well like "Deep Red", and possible if you can find "Opera" (not to be mistaken with his "Phantom of the Opera"



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
My fave Argento is most definitely Deep Red, or whatever your copy calls it. That's the best. Suspiria is considered a classic, and as a collection of film and music, it surely is, but as a WEIRD horror film, it can't even touch the utter idiocy of Inferno! Argento obviously learned a hell of a lot from his mentor, Mario Bava. There's something about the early Italian horror (giallo) maestros which just seems to let them go with their personal flow. Most of this post-stuff sucks, except for Dellamorte Dellamore.
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Two of my favorites are The Innocents (I can watch Mile's poem recital 500 times, I think, without getting bored) and The Haunting. Since they've been mentioned allow me to suggest another offbeat favorite from 1971:

Let's Scare Jessica to Death


Zohra Lampert's performance in this one is something I've never been able to forget. It's an often overlooked film but to my mind it's one of the creepiest ever made. Since you like the old B&W's I think you have the right mindset to appreciate a film like this.

Also, why not watch/rewatch

The Changeling


This is another one that will consistently send chills up and down your spine, particularly if you watch it at night and by yourself.



Okay fine, one more:

Exorcist III Legion


This one has always been one of my favorites. I think it's one of the most suspenseful and brilliant horror movies ever made. The dialog, particulary that which is spoken by Brad Dourif, is outstanding and compelling. The scares are unconventional and strike to the core. When watching, you really have to pay attention to sounds in the background as well as what's going on in the picture. There are several scenes that are absolutely thick with suspense that lean heavily on small and intricate background sounds.

Don't miss this one. The ending is a bit over the top but all the way up to it, it's a masterpiece.



Wow, there are so many good ones that you've been recommended that i'm not even sure if it's worth contributing. Yoda's suggestion of The Frighteners is a brilliant suggestion because it is quite underrated and overlooked.

I'll try and give you some films that are a little more raw, serious and onbeat

Switchblade Romance (2003)



A brilliant horror film from France. This came on film four once and I watched it out of boredom. Most foreign movies that depict horror tend to be highly overrated for my taste, but this one completely took me by surprised. I

t's got a decent pace, allowing you to care about the characters before the really horrible stuff happens. I think it's a must see if you want something really brutal and scary. Oh, one thing I should note. If you are American then this film is called High Tension instead of Switchblade Romance.




Another realistically scary and serious horror is Greg McLean's Wolf Creek (2005). No, it's got nothing to do with wolves, but it is damn worth watching. Like the aforementioned film, it pulls no punches but you have to be patient with the film because it really sets up it's characters to the point where by the 2nd half of the film, you might feel that it's completely developed into another genre. Oh, and the main antagonist is a rival to early Freddy Krugar, but one you can imagine meeting any day of the week..

That's my two pennies.

Also, check out



My fave Argento is most definitely Deep Red, or whatever your copy calls it. That's the best. Suspiria is considered a classic, and as a collection of film and music, it surely is, but as a WEIRD horror film, it can't even touch the utter idiocy of Inferno! Argento obviously learned a hell of a lot from his mentor, Mario Bava. There's something about the early Italian horror (giallo) maestros which just seems to let them go with their personal flow. Most of this post-stuff sucks, except for Dellamorte Dellamore.

I was lucky enough to check out his new flick "Mother of Tears: The Third Mother" during this midnight screening at the Toronto Film Fest. It was really different from what I've seen him do. The acting got a bit sappy at some parts and has a couple kill scenes that definitely rank up with Suspiria. This one is definitely one of his best.
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The Reaping 7/10
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Flight of the Living Dead 6/10
The Invisible 6/10
Return to House on Haunted Hill 1/10
Planet Terror 8/10
A Mighty Heart 7/10



The first Resident Evil is pretty good, even if you didn't care much for the game. Gotta love Mila Jovovich! The Corpse Bride, just because it's Halloween-y and The Blair Witch Project. I still think that was a creepy flick.



Chappie doesn't like the real world
Let's Scare Jessica to Death


Zohra Lampert's performance in this one is something I've never been able to forget. It's an often overlooked film but to my mind it's one of the creepiest ever made. Since you like the old B&W's I think you have the right mindset to appreciate a film like this.
I forgot about this one. You're right about it being really creepy. I am glad you mentioned it as I was trying to think of movies in this same vein to watch myself.



Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright
OK, I'm very surprised that there hasn't been any mention of:

The Exorcist (personally I like the recent release with the added footage, including the insane spider walk scene on the stairs).


The Omen (The original one, I saw the remake and I dunno, just didn't seem as good... OK tho)


The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Stigmata (heck, any of those with a religious overtone that's really a horror flick are always creepy, especially when people start talking in demonic voices or speaking in tongues.

An interesting side note about The Exorcism of Emily Rose; apparently the actress that played her was VERY flexible, so she said she could do some of the craziest scenes of her body contorting while being possessed, for real, and she did...
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