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

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I read this, and yet I was really not prepared for those final 20 minutes. It was like


I'm also delighted and perplexed by the fact that it was made by the same person who helped to write and direct Persepolis?!
Lol I’m glad someone else bore witness to the madness.




I watched Vicious Fun tonight. A journalist stumbles into a self-help meeting for serial killers. Everyone’s overacting and it’s not as funny as it thinks it is. The main guy especially is like an annoying Sean Astin. Still, I was delighted at how stupid and useless the cops are portrayed. The movie goes above and beyond in that department.



It’s substantially better than most other Halloween films and works best in tandem with 2018. The speechifying is as on-the-nose and prevalent as Rock says, but it’s done cynically in way that feels particularly scathing in the current political landscape.

It pulls heavily from Fritz Lang’s work, most notably M and Fury, emphasizing the frenzied damage a mob creates when groups of people get scared. It isn’t particularly interested in Michael’s impact on the individual but rather the collective (and highlights Michael’s disinterest in our perceived “protagonists”.)

Most fascinatingly, due to the ensemble construction, rather than 10 Little Indians, the film emphasizes the apparent tragedy of his chosen victims, almost all representing marginalized or vulnerable people (a gay couple, a black couple, an interracial couple, etc), via the horror of their loved ones bearing witness.

If 2018 was about how trauma can define generations, this film is about how trauma doesn’t care about you at all. It’s a fairly ruthless film that remains as nihilistic as it is tonally oddball, making Green and McBride’s sense of humor more transparently intentional and part of the fabric than a stupid choice.

Comparing it to Resurrection (Rock is hardly the first time I’ve seen it), let alone any other sequel after part 3, just shows the damage of expectations can have on a film as this is easily head and shoulders above them, in terms of craft, ambition, and execution.
I think it's less a matter of expectations and more that the movie opts for a narrative strategy that proves tiresome at feature length.*If it kept the speeches to the first act and shifted gears, I would have likely gone with it.*


And this would have left them room to reintroduce an old friend at the eleventh hour.*"Trick or treat, mother****er!"



I'm not particularly planning on watching Kills anytime soon, but I'm not surprised to see that the response to it in here is divided so far, since I've seen it dubbed as "The Last Jedi of the series" in multiple places online already (although we've known for sometime now that TLJ wasn't really as divisive as the online trolls made it out to be, so maybe we could call it the "Man Of Steel of Halloween movies" instead... please?).
Man of Steel is better than Halloween Kills. Both are better than The Last Jedi.



Bride of Re- Animator -


Doctors Cain and West are back in this okay to good sequel that has West passionately and Cain reluctantly assembling stolen body parts to create the perfect woman. Jeffrey Combs is as compellingly zany as you would expect and the charming Fabiana Udenio is a welcome addition as Francesca, a journalist who has a fling with Cain and whose investigative skills get her into trouble. My favorite performance, though, is David Gale's as West's archnemesis Dr. Hill in a role bound to appeal to Overkill fans. The sequel also maintains the series' dedication to quality special effects, gore and the kind of comedy that makes you wonder if you should laugh or say "eww." Other than that, the whole thing is a bit like a dish, not to mention a reheated one, that's missing its secret sauce. Despite having a slightly different plot, it doesn't really build upon or do anything new with its predecessor's concept. Also, Brian Yuzna's direction is not bad by any means, but it's relatively ordinary and less frightening as Stuart Gordon's. The things I like about the movie make it enjoyable enough for me to mildly recommend it, but I'd still place it in the middle or bottom tier of an October watch list. Oh, and not to spoil it too much, but if you're also an animal lover, proceed with caution.



Man of Steel is better than Halloween Kills. Both are better than The Last Jedi.
Well, you just had to go and redeem yourself entirely!



Well, you just had to go and redeem yourself entirely!
Now excuse me while I go back to watching Wat Chun Lee, whoopin' everybody's ass while he's smokin' a cigarette.



Man of Steel is better than Halloween Kills.
Definitely not making me want to see this movie.

Both are better than The Last Jedi.
Meh. As lame as Last Jedi was, I don't think it had anything as aggressively embarrassing as Costner's "sacrifice".



Definitely not making me want to see this movie.


Meh. As lame as Last Jedi was, I don't think it had anything as aggressively embarrassing as Costner's "sacrifice".
WARNING: spoilers below
I would consider Princess Leia coming back to life and floating like ****ing Superman about as embarrassing.


Also much less funny in execution.



I agree that it wasn't as funny, which doesn't automatically make it worse. It's safer than a belly laugh that arouses the hostility of the DC fanboys in my vicinity.



I don't know if anyone remembers an RT thread I did with a Top 20 Best Horror Sequels. I can't remeber all of them or the order, although I'm confident that Evil Dead II came out on top (because, duh).


Some of the choices were a little controversial, like Bride of Re-Animator, Phantasm II, Psycho II, Return of the Living Dead II and my choice to ignore pretty much all of the modern horror franchises (no Jason or Freddy).



I agree that it wasn't as funny, which doesn't automatically make it worse. It's safer than a belly laugh that arouses the hostility of the DC fanboys in my vicinity.
You cannot hold your inability to covertly giggle against the movie.


Regardless, it comes down to whether you prefer DC fanboys thinking you're an ******* during your viewing or TLJ fanboys implying you're a racist and misogynist online after your viewing. We do not have a lack of terrible defenders of either movie.



I don't know if anyone remembers an RT thread I did with a Top 20 Best Horror Sequels. I can't remeber all of them or the order, although I'm confident that Evil Dead II came out on top (because, duh).


Some of the choices were a little controversial, like Bride of Re-Animator, Phantasm II, Psycho II, Return of the Living Dead II and my choice to ignore pretty much all of the modern horror franchises (no Jason or Freddy).
I do not remember this.*


Can't speak for Return, but I think the others you cite are pretty well liked.



Regardless, it comes down to whether you prefer DC fanboys thinking you're an *******
They called me a "dick splash", Rock. I...I can't fathom their darkness.

We do not have a lack of terrible defenders of either movie.
This is true. Why can't I hate Last Jedi like a normal person, for making Kylo Ren an even sappier sob than Anakin. Who has the strength?



Can't speak for Return, but I think the others you cite are pretty well liked.
I know that Phantasm II has serious detractors. Maybe time has calmed them down some. Psycho II has earned a kinder reputation over time, but it was pretty widely ridiculed when it came out. And Return II is just late-night fodder, and good for what it is, but was obviously a disappointment after the first one.



Victim of The Night
I'm not particularly planning on watching Kills anytime soon, but I'm not surprised to see that the response to it in here is divided so far, since I've seen it dubbed as "The Last Jedi of the series" in multiple places online already (although we've known for sometime now that TLJ wasn't really as divisive as the online trolls made it out to be, so maybe we could call it the "Man Of Steel of Halloween movies" instead... please?).
The Last Jedi is an interesting thing because I get why it's such a problem and it is but Rise Of Skywalker is actually a far worse film and probably deserves the most derision of the trilogy. After seeing RoS in the theater, I doubt I'll ever watch a new Star Wars movie again, whereas LJ just made me hope RoS would be better.



Definitely not making me want to see this movie.
You won’t like it.

Crummy might though. He also might like Malignant.



Is it actually good though or are you being malignant by recommending it to us?
I’m recommending both films in good faith. Or at the very least, better faith than usual.



I’m recommending both films in good faith. Or at the very least, better faith than usual.
Just for the record, I was just goofing around by making a pun. I'll probably get to them eventually.



Just for the record, I was just goofing around by making a pun. I'll probably get to them eventually.
Oh I know. I just also know I can’t be trusted. Usually.