A scary thing happened on the way to the Movie Forums - Horrorcrammers

I was pretty lukewarm on Reanimator as a kid, but loved Dolls. Now that has pretty much reversed.

I think just the existence of the Puppetmaster movies somewhat spoiled it.

But it's Stuart Gordon. You just watch it.

I managed to find a horror film which none of you have logged on Letterboxd. Hooray! Overall, the story is fairly boilerplate and the style got annoying at times (Griselda's introduction was easily the weakest part), but its best moments really stood out. It's simultaneously mythical and historical, yet personal at the same time, while simultaneously home to a rich visual palette and a great soundtrack which suited its tone really well. The underground cave scenes near the end were nothing short of breathtaking, in particular. Contrary to the werewolf media I've seen so far, this one sticks out by acting as a transfiguration for the mythos into a more spiritual state rooted in a rural setting.

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Ha, went to add it to my watchlist and found out I already own it. Nice. It's on a box set I haven't watched yet. Looking forward to it.

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I guess my issue is that I have, historically, felt that Doll-Horror was the lowest form of Horror.
This was not some intellectual decision on my part but my reaction to how silly all Doll-Horror immediately seemed to me. The leap that is required for humans to actually ever be harmed by these dolls is just enormous and was always too big a gulf for me.
It's like, take my oft-stated feelings of not feeling like a regular human killer makes a Horror movie and that those movies are immediately declassified to "Thriller" for me because who's to say I don't have great odds against just some other dude who happens to be crazy. And then magnify that times however many accounts for the fact that now it's just a f*cking doll.

I also have always found killer doll movies too ridiculous to enjoy, but when a friend threw Dolls on at a movie night I found myself actually vibing with it. Yeah the killer dolls are still pretty hokey but I found the characters and charm of the movie really made it worth watching. It's not even close to a favorite horror for me but it was miles better than any other doll horror I'd seen.

First, the movie knows that it's kind of silly.

Second, the actual horror of the movie (trying to stay vague), for me, is not specifically doll-related.

I watched a 2013 movie called There Are Monsters, on youtube. It's about a group of folks going around and seeing people being weird and turning their backs on them and such. I'd love to say more, but it's easy to fall into spoilers. If anyone else could watch it, that'd be great. The budget is not there, but it absolutely makes up for it in every other area. Great moments peppered all over.

So following on the Dolls conversation, what is your favorite "gentle" horror?

Obviously define "gentle" on your own terms. It doesn't have to mean something that you could show a kid, for example.

Defining "gentle" as something that is not meanspirited or too much of a downer, my go-to would be something like Twice Told Tales with Vincent Price, which is so gentle it makes his Poe films seem like torture porn in comparison.
Or Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters, where the monsters are actually good guys, doling out punishment to the baddies.
70s TV is also a good source. When I'm in the mood for such things I'll often watch specific episodes of Night Gallery, like Big Surprise or Brenda.

I liked that one quite a bit. Nobody here talks about it though, so I'm happy I'm not the only fan.

That's pretty much my definition.

The Substance. Was gonna save this for October but all the awards buzz had me feeling left out. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this shouldn’t be watched it should be studied. Absolute madness.

I mean, obviously this brings in a lot of Horror Comedies like Once Bitten... actually now that I think about it, I might just have to call that one (and Love At First Bite, and Teen Wolf) straight Comedies that are merely draped over Horror lore.
Hmmm...
I will contemplate this.

Found one I think qualifies that you might like, Tak.

Not THAT Blake Edwards?


*checks*


Wow - it is TOTALLY that Blake Edwards.

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Yeah, many of my comfort horrors aren't comedies. It's more like Predator or Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, stuff I've seen so many times that even the more upsetting/gruesome parts are so familiar that they're borderline soothing.

Seen it and liked it! Can't find my review, though.

Tubi has that movie, the theme sounds pretty rad.

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Pretty decent/solid flick, I think the other French Extremity movies I've seen are better, though.

The Menu was a good, very funny, bleak satire comedy movie. I was the only one in the theater to laugh at it, I figured out midway through what kind of movie I was seeing.