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

I have always had a place in my heart for Demon Knight. I recall getting dragged to it kicking and screaming when it hit theaters, only to discover halfway through that I was really enjoying it. The demons are pretty well put together and frightening looking, and the casting is excellent. I think I watched this last year for the challenge, but I would have to go back and check, as it might have been the year before.

Anyway, my wife hadn't seen it, and it inspired her to dig into some of the old Tales From the Crypt episodes, as she hadn't seen many of those back when they aired, either.

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Sometimes it might be enough for a movie to just want to be evil. Or at least telegraph to its audience how important such a distinction is to it. Like a Goth who thinks standing out in the rain looking morbid is an effective way to spend one's time, sometimes it is all about commitment. Even if the result just smears your make-up and, after further reflection, was kinda dumb.

But even if no one is ever truly frightened of a Damp Goth, you still stand a chance of remembering them. Such is the case with Here Comes the Devil. While not necessarily good movie, it possesses lots of promise of not being soon forgotten once watched.

Unless you turn it off. Which you’d be forgiven for.

There is lots to complain about here. It’s true that Here Comes the Devil frequently comes off as a rush job that isn't quite as ready as it should be for the Visitor it invokes in its title. While it may have done its job posturing its level of Satan cred to get his attention, it hardly ever provides any room in the framing of its camera to have him actually make a proper appearance. Images are flat and undynamic. Actors often need to find their own place inside the frame. Unless the director is expecting the Prince of Darkness to awkwardly stand against a wall between some moping char sitters, this is a film will only be Satanic in its manners. The Devil clearly deserves a better DOP than this.

But there will also end up being a lingering affect after all of this terrible looking dumbness leaves the screen. And as reserved as I am trying to be, I think this is an accomplishment. Even if the movie itself, with its violent murder and levitations and possessions and inappropriate sex, is at most an imposter for evil. Laziness by everyone involved shouldn’t be a disqualfier for delivering His Message.

Aren’t idle hands the Devil’s playthings, after all?

And whose hands could be more Idle in the case of the creators of Here Comes the Devil. Director, scriptwriter, director of photography. Let their idleness speak volumes!

Have you not seen the new Invisible Man?

I have a slightly different take, which is just to create an "out of the frying pan, into the fire" moment. And maybe a bit of irony that the alien monsters aren't as scary as a guy who thinks you owe him for kidnapping you.

There was a whole subgroup on the IMDb forums who thought that the "lesson" of the movie was that he was right, she was secretly the villain, and that she should have showed a lot more "gratitude" about being rescued.

Now, the ending is a bit undercut because we the viewer know (by virtue of it being part of the series) that the aliens are real. But from a character point of view, who in their right mind would ever buy the line that there are aliens outside, so hey, that's why I need you to stay here with me in my bunker?

I didn't care a ton about 10 Cloverfield Lane, because I prefer movies that have their plots more intertwined, where here it definitely feels like a story that was shoved into the Cloverfield universe but that did not benefit at all from the aliens or from giving the audience certainty at the end.

The Thing from Another World - This should still be considered the grandfather of creature features. Maybe alien invader films too. However you want to classify it there's an intelligent script that has stood the test of time plus some consummate ensemble acting. Throw in some overlapping dialogue that brings to mind Robert Altman and a level-headed and resilient band of protagonists and you wind up with a sci-fi classic. 90/100

No, can't say that I have. I've been lucky in that nobody's really spoiled it for me yet. Hope that luck continues until I finally get around to seeing it.

It and Upgrade are the only two things I've seen from Whannell, and I thought they were both really solid.

Yeah, I think this is a real hidden gem. I happened to see it in the theater and was really surprised how not bad it was and even good in places and certainly fun. But the more I watch it, the more I think it's a bizarre little joy-ride that I'm willing to take any time.

This is also how I saw it. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. I agree the ending is undercut for the knowing audience but the fact that it wasn't for her makes it work for me.

Gross to hear about the middle paragraph. Ick.

I wonder how better it would have been received without Tales From the Crypt in the title or the beginning and ending segments with the Cryptkeeper. I've never watched the show, but it seems like it covered the movie in a layer of cheese that probably hurt its reputation more than it helped it.

You should see it before somebody does, it's quite good.

I mean, it's totally corny but it's just a short intro and coda, and if you can just get with the corn, I've come to think of it as kinda fun. I don't think it hurts the movie and I think it probably gave the movie a little more publicity but you're right, it may have been a turnoff for some.

It was kind of fascinating how these two or three guys (it was mainly a small handful of people really pushing this point of view) read the film.

For example, in order to further exonerate Goodman's character they had this whole theory about how

Yeah, sounds pretty Incelish. Yuck.

Always a fun little diversion, this William Castle/Vincent Price affair may be the classiest thing they ever did together. And, while it may only have a few good scares in it, I think it's sinister enough in a number of places to be worth an hour and fifteen minutes of anyone's time.
An eccentric millionaire (in a time when that was a ****load of money)invites five people to spend the night in "the only truly haunted house in America", where several people were murdered and their ghosts still walk... so the story goes. If they can stay until dawn he'll give them each $10,000 (about $90,000 today). He chooses each one carefully for the likelihood they'll accept his invitation. Initially his wife's idea, since they hate each other, he has taken over the planning and now the five strangers meet in a haunted house as night falls.
From here, they'll be falling chandeliers, possible witches, possible ghosts, suicide, a vat of acid, walking skeletons and who knows what else as the seven people, including Price and his wife, try to survive the night.
This is really one of my favorite Price performances as it's much more subtle and realistic yet no less Pricey and he uses his presence to great effect, always being the one in control... except when he's not. While the movie isn't all that scary there are certainly good moments and of course one of the most famous jump-scares in movie history.
Another fun entry for the month this will continue to be a frequent October viewing for me.

I watched Monster Party starring Starlight from The Boys. Teen thieves try to rob a mansion full of ex-serial killers. In this movie serial killers is synonymous with douchebags. They were all so douchey. This wasn’t a very good movie anyway.

My rating for the film was one popcorn less, but it's probably due to the different style of giving ratings (I'm extremely stingy by nature even though I'll actively try to change that a bit - the latest reminder of my issue has been the making of my top-25 movie list for the countdown and realizing that less than half of my current list has received full 5 stars). I mostly agree with that you wrote though.

For reasons unknown, I had very high expectations for this and it sat on my watchlist for years until I finally managed to see it. It ended up being a disappointment, but it has its clumsy charm. It's positively unpleasant to watch at times and that one murder is truly brutal. I think it's worth seeing even while it isn't especially good.

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Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed - The titles for Hammer movies are all pretty much straightforward and this is no exception. The Baron is portrayed as being even more cold blooded and ruthless than in the previous four Hammer installments. It's still one of the more accomplished sequels though with a solid cast, most notably Freddie Jones. His character is featured prominently in the last half hour or so and he really delivers, giving the film an elegiac, almost noble closure. 90/100

for watching this, one of my favorite fun-old-mystery-horrors and my favorite Vincent Price performance too. Maybe I'll watch this on Halloween

I'm in the same boat as Apex. Should try my best to see it soon.

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