Reply to Topic
I rewatched The VVitch tonight for the first time since seeing it in the theater. My original reaction was very mixed, I remember thinking it was well made but always felt at an arms length from it making it hard to get really invested in the plight of the family. Well second times the charm, armed with a better understanding of what the film was going for as more of a dark fable, some additional knowledge looked up about some of the symbolism I was wholly invested this time. Watching the loneliness and madness, or is that the devil and witchcraft, tear the family apart was a blast in that tragic everything is falling apart sort of way.
A scary thing happened on the way to the Movie Forums - Horrorcrammers
I rewatched The VVitch tonight for the first time since seeing it in the theater. My original reaction was very mixed, I remember thinking it was well made but always felt at an arms length from it making it hard to get really invested in the plight of the family. Well second times the charm, armed with a better understanding of what the film was going for as more of a dark fable, some additional knowledge looked up about some of the symbolism I was wholly invested this time. Watching the loneliness and madness, or is that the devil and witchcraft, tear the family apart was a blast in that tragic everything is falling apart sort of way.
I started Masters of Horror. I don't know how often I'll watch these or how many I'll get through but I did the first two tonight:
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road. After crashing her car on a lonely road a woman runs afoul of a backwoods killer. Thankfully the survival tips the human red flag she married may be the difference between life and death. This one is a lot to unpack. Don Coscarelli of Phantasm fame directs and Angus Scrimm stars. The villain and overall visual aesthetic has a real Buffy the Vampire Slayer feel to it. I'm not sure what the message here is, that the abusive and violent husband was right all along because he taught her to survive? Overall pretty bad in a fun way. But then, just when you think the show is over BAM!
.
Dreams in the Witch House. A grad student moves into a rat-infested boarding house and becomes the target of a witch from another dimension. Based on a Lovecraft story. A few good gore effects (Greg Nicotero worked on both episodes) and unintentionally goofy moments aside, this episode was mostly boring and pointless.
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road. After crashing her car on a lonely road a woman runs afoul of a backwoods killer. Thankfully the survival tips the human red flag she married may be the difference between life and death. This one is a lot to unpack. Don Coscarelli of Phantasm fame directs and Angus Scrimm stars. The villain and overall visual aesthetic has a real Buffy the Vampire Slayer feel to it. I'm not sure what the message here is, that the abusive and violent husband was right all along because he taught her to survive? Overall pretty bad in a fun way. But then, just when you think the show is over BAM!
Dreams in the Witch House. A grad student moves into a rat-infested boarding house and becomes the target of a witch from another dimension. Based on a Lovecraft story. A few good gore effects (Greg Nicotero worked on both episodes) and unintentionally goofy moments aside, this episode was mostly boring and pointless.
I started Masters of Horror. I don't know how often I'll watch these or how many I'll get through but I did the first two tonight:
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road. After crashing her car on a lonely road a woman runs afoul of a backwoods killer.The villain and overall visual aesthetic has a real Buffy the Vampire Slayer feel to it. I'm not sure what the message here is, that the abusive and violent husband was right all along because he taught her to survive?
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road. After crashing her car on a lonely road a woman runs afoul of a backwoods killer.The villain and overall visual aesthetic has a real Buffy the Vampire Slayer feel to it. I'm not sure what the message here is, that the abusive and violent husband was right all along because he taught her to survive?
What I liked about it, and what I think the message or main idea is, is that
WARNING: spoilers below
you don't usually get a protagonist who has previously survived something so serious, and in this case, this woman has JUST survived an attack by a monster. Like, she has already been through it. She's not a novice, and the men who try to terrorize her and take advantage of her end up actually helping her. Her husband's "training" helps her survive the killer, and the killer's past crimes allow her to cover up the killing of the husband.
I also think that there's something to the episode's framing in terms of the fact that it's more likely that a woman will be assaulted/harmed by a man she knows than by a stranger. Her experience with the killer lasted only a few hours, while her ordeal with her husband was many, many times longer.
I also think that there's something to the episode's framing in terms of the fact that it's more likely that a woman will be assaulted/harmed by a man she knows than by a stranger. Her experience with the killer lasted only a few hours, while her ordeal with her husband was many, many times longer.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
I started Masters of Horror.
Well, she wouldn't have been on the road at all if it weren't for the husband in the first place.
What I liked about it, and what I think the message or main idea is, is that
What I liked about it, and what I think the message or main idea is, is that
WARNING: spoilers below
you don't usually get a protagonist who has previously survived something so serious, and in this case, this woman has JUST survived an attack by a monster. Like, she has already been through it. She's not a novice, and the men who try to terrorize her and take advantage of her end up actually helping her. Her husband's "training" helps her survive the killer, and the killer's past crimes allow her to cover up the killing of the husband.
I also think that there's something to the episode's framing in terms of the fact that it's more likely that a woman will be assaulted/harmed by a man she knows than by a stranger. Her experience with the killer lasted only a few hours, while her ordeal with her husband was many, many times longer.
I also think that there's something to the episode's framing in terms of the fact that it's more likely that a woman will be assaulted/harmed by a man she knows than by a stranger. Her experience with the killer lasted only a few hours, while her ordeal with her husband was many, many times longer.
BLAIR WITCH - (2016)
I nearly forgot I watched this last night - I put it on as something to drift asleep to, something I occasionally do thanks to modern technology doing all the switching off of various devices without need for my input. I didn't fall asleep though - it kept me watching. Much of the mixed thanks for that go to Blair Witch's continuous barrage of jump scares - and there must be some kind of record set in that department. Blair Witch doesn't build up tension and provide a fright via cat or ghost all the time - it often simply blasts you with a very loud transition, and does that every minute or two. The faint crackle the film crew hears in the original Blair Witch Project is now the boom and crash of falling trees, and equally loud are the oversized moments when tents are pulled into the air or bodies bent in two. It goes for broke with frights, and is a pretty thunderously deafening sequel. Amongst the ear-piercing tumult is a very basic story about the brother of Heather from the original film, believing his sister is still out there, trapped inside the ghostly, never-found house in the Burkittsville woods when he sees her for a split-second in a YouTube video. This brother, James (James Allen McCune), locates the couple who found and uploaded this video - and they along with a documentary crew head out to try and find evidence of the house and solve the mystery. The film barely passes the threshold of being okay - but after Book of Shadows maybe that's some kind of triumph in itself. Obviously, everything that made the original so good is pretty much ignored here, and this sequel relies heavily on the spook factor of the first Blair Witch film to provide a lot of this film's atmosphere. The screenplay is pretty much drivel, but there are a few decent scares and frightening moments (especially if you're claustrophobic.) I need to pick quieter films to drift to sleep to.
Jump Scare Meter : 9/10
Discomfort : 2/10
Art : 2/10
Weird : 6/10
Fun : 4/10
Interesting : 4/10
Enjoyable : 3/10
Exciting : 3/10
Overall : 4/10
__________________
Remember - everything has an ending except hope, and sausages - they have two.
We miss you Takoma
We miss you Takoma
Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Two more MoH:
Dance of the Dead. A teen girl falls in with some bikers and gets sucked into a night of drugs and danger. Tobe Hooper directs; Robert Englund gets the "and" credit. If the synopsis didn't mention that this took place is a post-nuclear wasteland I'm not sure I would have understood what was going on because nothing about the setting conveys that. Most of the exterior scenes are extreme closeups of actors to hide the lack of set design. Jak without the C is supposed to be the bad boy love interest but putting the moves on a 16 year old makes it tough for me to like him. And despite Robert Englund playing a larger-than-life character he passes up the opportunity to really ham it up, instead turning in a pretty average performance. But still, there's some interesting ideas, a nice escalation to a climax and twist that sort of works. I kind of feel bad for this one because it's almost good. If they had the budget to more fully realize their vision and reigned in the editing this could have been something.
Jenifer. A detective saves a disfigured woman from being murdered and finds himself growing attached. Steven Weber writes and stars; Dario Argento directs. I loved it. Jenifer without the second N is genuinely hard to look at. You're horrified by her actions but also kind of feel bad for her. It's scary when it's supposed to be but also has a ton of humor to it too. It's also the best-looking episode so far.
Dance of the Dead. A teen girl falls in with some bikers and gets sucked into a night of drugs and danger. Tobe Hooper directs; Robert Englund gets the "and" credit. If the synopsis didn't mention that this took place is a post-nuclear wasteland I'm not sure I would have understood what was going on because nothing about the setting conveys that. Most of the exterior scenes are extreme closeups of actors to hide the lack of set design. Jak without the C is supposed to be the bad boy love interest but putting the moves on a 16 year old makes it tough for me to like him. And despite Robert Englund playing a larger-than-life character he passes up the opportunity to really ham it up, instead turning in a pretty average performance. But still, there's some interesting ideas, a nice escalation to a climax and twist that sort of works. I kind of feel bad for this one because it's almost good. If they had the budget to more fully realize their vision and reigned in the editing this could have been something.
Jenifer. A detective saves a disfigured woman from being murdered and finds himself growing attached. Steven Weber writes and stars; Dario Argento directs. I loved it. Jenifer without the second N is genuinely hard to look at. You're horrified by her actions but also kind of feel bad for her. It's scary when it's supposed to be but also has a ton of humor to it too. It's also the best-looking episode so far.
I rewatched The VVitch tonight for the first time since seeing it in the theater. My original reaction was very mixed, I remember thinking it was well made but always felt at an arms length from it making it hard to get really invested in the plight of the family. Well second times the charm, armed with a better understanding of what the film was going for as more of a dark fable, some additional knowledge looked up about some of the symbolism I was wholly invested this time. Watching the loneliness and madness, or is that the devil and witchcraft, tear the family apart was a blast in that tragic everything is falling apart sort of way.
I loved how those poor folks are living at the fringe of anything slightly resembling civilization, surrounded by ambiguously hostile Native Americans. A - I would NEVER live there and B - If I did, I would start hearing spooks in the rustling leaves and imagine that every native wanted to do away with me, true or not. Fear does awful things to the mind and this movie really did that.
X
User Lists
Tonight’s MoH:
Chocolate. A recently divorced man experiences isolated sensory hallucinations. I liked the idea about what’s going on but it’s all presented so flat. There’s a few different ways they could have done the story to give it more impact but as it is it’s so dull.
Homecoming. Dead soldiers turn into zombies. Joe Dante brings the cheese and some very broad political satire. It’s got a few chuckles but overstays it’s welcome pretty quick.
Chocolate. A recently divorced man experiences isolated sensory hallucinations. I liked the idea about what’s going on but it’s all presented so flat. There’s a few different ways they could have done the story to give it more impact but as it is it’s so dull.
Homecoming. Dead soldiers turn into zombies. Joe Dante brings the cheese and some very broad political satire. It’s got a few chuckles but overstays it’s welcome pretty quick.
Tonight’s MoH:
Chocolate. A recently divorced man experiences isolated sensory hallucinations. I liked the idea about what’s going on but it’s all presented so flat. There’s a few different ways they could have done the story to give it more impact but as it is it’s so dull.
Homecoming. Dead soldiers turn into zombies. Joe Dante brings the cheese and some very broad political satire. It’s got a few chuckles but overstays it’s welcome pretty quick.
Chocolate. A recently divorced man experiences isolated sensory hallucinations. I liked the idea about what’s going on but it’s all presented so flat. There’s a few different ways they could have done the story to give it more impact but as it is it’s so dull.
Homecoming. Dead soldiers turn into zombies. Joe Dante brings the cheese and some very broad political satire. It’s got a few chuckles but overstays it’s welcome pretty quick.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
How do you guys feel about the fast motion parts in 1976 Carrie? I know they're very short and there's only a few, but I thought they were super goofy and distracting. Super good movie overall though.
How do you guys feel about the fast motion parts in 1976 Carrie? I know they're very short and there's only a few, but I thought they were super goofy and distracting. Super good movie overall though.
I'm so familiar with this movie, that it almost amazes me I've never really considered if those are terrible moments in it. And it's definitely debatable that they are terrible, even if I've just adapted around them all these years.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
MoH:
Deer Woman. A detective assigned to animal attack cases investigates a series of grisly murders. John Landis directed this and it canonically takes place in the same universe as An American Werewolf in London. I liked this one, it's pretty fun. It felt like an X-Files. Some of the banter falls flat but the humor lands for the most part. This is not my first encounter with Deer Woman. The excellent show Reservation Dogs has a minor subplot running throughout the entire series about her. But in that mythology she kills bad men as punishment for their sins while on MoH she seems to be murdering horny men more indiscriminately. Being just an ignorant white guy I don't know much about this myth outside of these media, but I'm assuming it's real folklore amongst indigenous people.
John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns. A theater owner and his disheveled, ill-fitting suit are hired to track down an extremely rare and dangerous print. Guess who directed this one. By far the most moody and atmospheric episode so far with a truly sickening ending, the meditation on the power of film works for the most part too if a little on the nose at points. The weak link here is the usually capable Norman Reedus, who is turning in a truly terrible performance.
Deer Woman. A detective assigned to animal attack cases investigates a series of grisly murders. John Landis directed this and it canonically takes place in the same universe as An American Werewolf in London. I liked this one, it's pretty fun. It felt like an X-Files. Some of the banter falls flat but the humor lands for the most part. This is not my first encounter with Deer Woman. The excellent show Reservation Dogs has a minor subplot running throughout the entire series about her. But in that mythology she kills bad men as punishment for their sins while on MoH she seems to be murdering horny men more indiscriminately. Being just an ignorant white guy I don't know much about this myth outside of these media, but I'm assuming it's real folklore amongst indigenous people.
John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns. A theater owner and his disheveled, ill-fitting suit are hired to track down an extremely rare and dangerous print. Guess who directed this one. By far the most moody and atmospheric episode so far with a truly sickening ending, the meditation on the power of film works for the most part too if a little on the nose at points. The weak link here is the usually capable Norman Reedus, who is turning in a truly terrible performance.
I'm tempted to take a break from catching up on 2023 releases to jump into Christmas horror. Are any of the Krampus movies worth watching? I remember one in the Hall of Infamy called Krampus: The Christmas Devil that is apparently pretty terrible.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
I'm tempted to take a break from catching up on 2023 releases to jump into Christmas horror. Are any of the Krampus movies worth watching? I remember one in the Hall of Infamy called Krampus: The Christmas Devil that is apparently pretty terrible.
The mainstream 2015 one is... tolerable if you've got a major Krampus itch to scratch. It has some ingredients of something that could have been good, but ultimately lacked meat on the bone or bite or something in terms of the script. But it'll vaguely resemble a good dark comedy (or just a comedy), because of the acting talent involved.
Also practical effects.
There are some movies that appear on Shudder's TV channels around the holidays where a Krampus shows up. I only encounter those in bits on pieces on the TV channels and would have to cross check the titles to see which ones have a Krampus. Um, they seem best consumed as background watches, in bits and pieces, on Shudder's TV channels (unless someone here steps up and makes the case for one of them, I guess).
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
I'm so familiar with this movie, that it almost amazes me I've never really considered if those are terrible moments in it. And it's definitely debatable that they are terrible, even if I've just adapted around them all these years.
I haven't watched Carrie that many times. I totally can't recall any "fast motion" parts of Carrie. What are some of these scenes?
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
I haven't watched Carrie that many times. I totally can't recall any "fast motion" parts of Carrie. What are some of these scenes?
The one that is coming to mind is when all the kids are getting ready for prom, trying on their dresses and tuxs. It speeds up a couple of times I believe, to the point that they are all speaking in Chipmunk voices.
I've always found it to be a lighthearted moment and a bit of goofy 70s fun, but it doesn't really seem to serve any actual purpose and is tonally very strange
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
As for Carrie, I'm more interested in the consensus about the use of split-screen: enhancement or distraction that calls too much attention to itself? I tend towards the latter, especially
Still, a masterpiece that would be in my top 5 De Palmas.
Last edited by Torgo; 12-12-23 at 12:04 PM.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Cobweb -
This is decent haunted house horror for how it reminds you that it's pretty scary when you can't trust anyone. Peter, an only child, cannot do this for the ones he should trust the most: mom and dad (Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr). The effects on him are apparent from the start: not only has he supposedly forgotten how to smile, but he is also even too afraid to go outside for recess. What's more, his parents won’t let him go trick or treating due to an incident that occurred in his neighborhood. One night, Peter hears mysterious tapping and whispers that may be coming from inside his house.
If you prefer to watch horror with the lights off, this is the movie for you. Most of the movie occurs at Peter's house at night, and from the aforementioned sounds to wondering what's behind the appliances that have stood there seemingly before the family moved in, it succeeds at capturing childhood fears of the dark. That Peter is alone in this fight makes them even scarier thanks to parents who gaslight him about them and later punish him for seeking help. Caplan, who I also like in Castle Rock, plays another mom I'm glad I didn't have while Starr succeeds at making his son seem like nothing but a burden unto him. Luckily, Peter gains an ally in new substitute teacher Ms. Devine (Coleman). I like how the near immediate improvements to Peter's mood and confidence prove that a little attention goes a long way. So, what's going on in the house, anyway? I don't want to say too much, but I will say that whatever or whoever is doing it knows how lonely Peter is.
Even though the movie deserves credit for how it uses a familiar setup to explore relatively unique fears, it's too familiar overall to be more than just pretty good. If you guessed that there is a bully, for instance, you would be right. The familiarity is really apparent in the finale, and speaking of, the source of the knocking and whispers really should have kept it at that. It still proves that being a lonely kid with nobody to turn to is so scary that adding something that makes strange noises at night to the equation is barely necessary. Oh, and did I mention how much darkness is in this movie? In other words, make sure your TV, projector or tablet displays black and shades of grey well.
This is decent haunted house horror for how it reminds you that it's pretty scary when you can't trust anyone. Peter, an only child, cannot do this for the ones he should trust the most: mom and dad (Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr). The effects on him are apparent from the start: not only has he supposedly forgotten how to smile, but he is also even too afraid to go outside for recess. What's more, his parents won’t let him go trick or treating due to an incident that occurred in his neighborhood. One night, Peter hears mysterious tapping and whispers that may be coming from inside his house.
If you prefer to watch horror with the lights off, this is the movie for you. Most of the movie occurs at Peter's house at night, and from the aforementioned sounds to wondering what's behind the appliances that have stood there seemingly before the family moved in, it succeeds at capturing childhood fears of the dark. That Peter is alone in this fight makes them even scarier thanks to parents who gaslight him about them and later punish him for seeking help. Caplan, who I also like in Castle Rock, plays another mom I'm glad I didn't have while Starr succeeds at making his son seem like nothing but a burden unto him. Luckily, Peter gains an ally in new substitute teacher Ms. Devine (Coleman). I like how the near immediate improvements to Peter's mood and confidence prove that a little attention goes a long way. So, what's going on in the house, anyway? I don't want to say too much, but I will say that whatever or whoever is doing it knows how lonely Peter is.
Even though the movie deserves credit for how it uses a familiar setup to explore relatively unique fears, it's too familiar overall to be more than just pretty good. If you guessed that there is a bully, for instance, you would be right. The familiarity is really apparent in the finale, and speaking of, the source of the knocking and whispers really should have kept it at that. It still proves that being a lonely kid with nobody to turn to is so scary that adding something that makes strange noises at night to the equation is barely necessary. Oh, and did I mention how much darkness is in this movie? In other words, make sure your TV, projector or tablet displays black and shades of grey well.
X
Favorite Movies
X