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

Yeah, sounds like the same film.

Also, there's a farting dog.

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Captain's Log
My Collection

Two other people have actually seen Deadly Intruder? I thought that film barely even existed.


I saw it when I was maybe 15 and remember it distinctly as something that made me feel very uncomfortable and bored, both in ways I didn't like. Why? I have no idea, but I've never had any interest in revisiting it either.

I can agree with the last bit and why it's better than BtBR.

Nic Cage fandom is the only cult I'd ever join.

Ugh.
That's a shame, it's easily one of my top-10 Lovecraft stories, on any given day it could even be No.1.

Yeah, it feels like a PG del Toror fantasy episode. Lacks horror if you ask me,

Bummer.

I have not seen Mandy.
I'm not totally sure why. Some of it is because of what Captain Terror said about Nick Cage.
Some of it is because I really haven't been in the mood for ultra-grim in a long time.
And a little bit of it is because of Beyond The Black Rainbow.
BtBR was supposed to be my ultimate cinematic porn. I mean, the trailer was, for me, the trailer for the best movie ever made. Absolutely reaching into Wooley's brain and making the ultimate cinematic version of what was found there.
So I put off seeing it for like 5 years, as one does.
Because a movie with a trailer that good going virtually unseen and unreported (7 or 8 years ago I could hardly find anyone, even on the internet, who had seen it) is not a good sign. If it had delivered on all that promise, word would have gotten out. It didn't.
So I kept it as this impossibly good movie I might never see.
And, of course, when I finally caved and watched it, it was disappointing. Which is different from "I was disappointed". This had nothing to do with my expectations beyond me expecting it to be a good movie all the way to the end. But for all Cosmatos' obvious talent and all the beautiful imagery and sound and the wonderful, enigmatic premise of his film, he could not deliver a third act that could support the weight of it. Or that was actually very rewarding at all. Really, it began its narrative stumble in the second act but didn't recover in the third and ended up just being a letdown on its own terms. The story just wasn't as good as the idea of the story.
So, it's a film I would give at least a 9/10 for visuals and sound and probably something like an 8 for the setup. But I don't think I can go higher than 5 (and really it feels like it should be 4) for the payoff. Not that it doesn't have a payoff, it absolutely does, it's just not a good one.
So, that took some of the shine off Cosmatos' apple as well as the Nick Cagery and the ultra-grim.
So I never saw Mandy.

So Mandy is great. Full stop.

I won't lie and say it isn't grim. It is. I actually have never been able to rewatch the first 35 minutes or so because it's a bit too much for me.

I will say that what does happened is handled with a really deft hand of allowing horror and empathy to sit side by side. The way that it shows (or doesn't show) certain elements of violence is really masterful. It's mostly terrifying because of the way that it keeps everyone's humanity (or disregard for the humanity of others) right there on the surface.

But after the inciting incident, the movie enters this really interesting zone and I found it to be can't-look-away stuff.

I'm not a fan of the all-out acting, but I think that in this film it is a PERFECT fit for what's happening. Because his character is sitting on this razor's edge of madness. It makes me think of that whole thing about never knowing or judging how someone will react to trauma. They might laugh or cry or faint or rage. And so it's all of those things roiling inside this person who is only being held together by his myopic need for revenge. I've rewatched the last hour or so of Mandy probably at least half a dozen times and I love it more each time.

Don't make it the last thing you watch before you go to bed. But definitely check it out at some point.

Did any of these have William Shatner? I feel like I watched a made for TV snake movie with Shatner on Rifftrax or Svengoolie.


Mandy is in my top five great greatest movies, what an epic.

And simply because I feel it needs emphasis:

Everything she says here is true and Mandy is substantially better than Beyond the Black Rainbow, besting it in virtually any regard including chainsaw fighting.

Kingdom of the Spiders stars Shatner

Where would Sssss fall in this lineup?

I want to make it clear that I enjoyed Mandy. I was only pointing out that, like you said about the trailer, Black Rainbow is the one that seemed to be made with me in mind. I would agree with the others that Mandy was more successful at what it was trying to be. I think it would fit in nicely with your September lineup.

I also suspect that you would enjoy The Viewing.

Squirm is better than all of those other spider/snake movies combined.

Squirm was great. Love the understated humor and subtleties in acting/directing.

I wrote a private eye novel in the comedy genre where my character rents some DVDs, among which are:

Carpet Fibers(1998)⸺a thriller about police forensics, starring Nicolas Cage as a rug salesman who goes progressively insane as he slowly loses his hair and becomes a serial killer of men who have luxuriantly full heads of hair; co-starringJim Belushi, William H. Macy, Isabella Rosellini, James Spader, and Dave Foley (as the hapless bellhop who is murdered with a vacuum cleaner).

Cage Match(2005)⸺and speaking of Nick Cage, this one stars Nick Cage hunting Nick Cage down; co-starring Nick Cage, Nick Cage, and Nick Cage (playing someone who isn’t Nick Cage).

I just finished up Cabinet of Curiosities. The only ones I really liked were The Autopsy and The Viewing. But despite the rest of the stories not shaping up to be much the main characters in most of them were genuinely interesting, part of it thanks to the fun casts. The Viewing having the best cast of them all. It’s been forever since I’ve seen Charlene Yi in something so I was happy she popped up. There’s also some terrific practical effects sprinkled throughout. And I liked during his intros GDT says who the director is. That was nice.

"Save the girl or go antiquing... hmm... antiques, here I come!"

I've been meaning to watch Mandy in September for like 5 years.

I actually do like Squirm.