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

Reposted from the Hall of Infamy:

Robot Monster (1953, Phil Tucker) ‐

Not my idea for "worst film ever" territory as I'd put it firmly in the B‐movie pile, but I did find it more joyless than I remembered. While Ro‐Man is the clear standout, the human characters are utterly bland by comparison. Even with my expectations lowered, they had little to no personality, were stuck in Ro‐Man's shadow, and frequently got in the way of what I liked about the film. The wedding sequence, for instance, felt particularly forced and came out of nowhere. Not sure why that was included. Ro‐Man (as well as the stop motion/disaster photography in the opening and ending) is where this film shines though. Yes, he's more cute than scary, but those are the film's B‐movie charms. Watching his actor struggle to move around in the suit while traversing the cliffs is amusing to watch, especially with the idea that he has to chase the human characters down. Fortunately for him, everyone either stands still instead of running away or trips and falls after a few steps. While his schtick began to overstay its welcome, particularly with the walking shots, Ro‐Man's arc in the final act saved the day since the film finally capitalized on the potential of his cuteness. They could've done more with it had they stretched the ending out further, but it still made for a pleasing slice of humanity which the rest of the film lacked. Also, while the twist ending doesn't fix the absurd plot points/character decisions, it at least mitigates my criticisms to a degree by providing a justification for them. Overall, while I liked this a bit less throughout this rewatch, I still wouldn't call it bad. You just need to approach it with the right expectations.

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A really cool short film set in the Alienverse, anyone?:

I rewatched Fear (1996). It’s A LOT sleazier than I remembered. A movie that delights in sexualizing high schoolers while simultaneously slut-shaming them. I mean Alyssa Milano’s character was in some DEEP shit but we’re not supposed to care because she dresses slightly more provocatively than Reese Witherspoon and lost her virginity first. And the overbearing overprotective dad is the one who was right all along? The whole thing was gross and made me feel gross.

Pearl (2022) - Psychological Horror- Am about to watch this.

How do you access the popcorn boxes.

Hey Des; did you watch that Alien short film I posted just above yet?

Gotta say slashers/gore fests are not my idea of a scary or creepy film. Prefer the aberrant, eerie or mystery, suspense flick to get my scares. A good psychological thriller/horror that makes you think will do it for me every time. Such as Ghost Story (1981), Haunted (1995),Woman in Black (1989).

[rating] 2.5 /rating] you type it out like this and then you put it all together leaving no spaces.

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Moviefan1988's Favorite Movies
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Welcome to the Dance: My Favorite 20 High School Movies
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Not yet I’ll mention when I do.

Here's a thread about how they work.

The First Omen -

If the phrase "prequel" makes you react with indifference at best and wince at worst, this one is bound to change your mind about them. As for myself, I tend to avoid prequels because too many of them answer questions that either do not need to be answered or that are better left to the audience's imagination. This one, however, bucks the trend with an answer that makes the franchise more interesting rather than less. I won't say any more other than it brilliantly touches upon a relevant issue that sadly may never not be relevant: how low institutions will dive to keep their hands on the wheel.

This movie earns its horror label, but I found it just as satisfying as a mystery. As someone who could spend hours researching ancient institutions like the Catholic church if I had the time, I sort of lived vicariously through the very good Nell Tiger Free's novitiate, Margaret, as she investigates what's rotten in the state of her orphanage. Whether the vileness she encounters during her search from all those spiders to a very unusual birth is actually happening or in her head is ambiguous in the best way. That her search also calls back to the franchise's trademarks along the way - my favorite being proof that "accidents happen" - makes it all the more fun, especially since it's done in a way that is more organic to the story than pandering. There's also the quality and legitimacy that veterans like Bill Nighy, Charles Dance and Ralph Ineson add to the production, especially for how good each one is at making you wonder if they are friend or foe to Margaret.

Will this entry be remembered as fondly as the 1976 original? I doubt it, but like they did with 2022's Hellraiser, 20th Century Studios still deserve credit for successfully breathing life into another classic horror franchise. What's more, it has the added bonus in giving us another director to follow in first-timer Arkasha Stevenson. Oh, and speaking of institutions, the reason why this is rated NC-17 - which you may have already deduced - proves that the religious ones are not the only ones that can be creaky.

New Horror movies I've seen starting from July 25 - July 31

(First time watches)

Hell Night (1981) - Slasher -

Student Bodies (1981) - Horror/Comedy Slasher -

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) - Slasher -

Blood Rage (1987) - Slasher -

Punch (2023) - Slasher -

Lowlifes (2024) - Horror Thriller -

I definitely have a soft-spot for Hell Night even though it is THE movie I use to demonstrate Wooley's Rules To Survive A Slasher.

Blood Rage, I have no idea, really, why I kinda liked it, but I kinda did. Mostly the mom if I remember.

Student Bodies was pretty far down the list, if I remember, but I did feel it had some little spark somewhere.

The Lodge, 2019 (D+)

A woman who survived her dad's cult and her fiancé's kids are stuck in a cabin during winter. Strange things start happening.

So at first I thought this was an interesting movie, good atmosphere and all, but then things started taking a direction that made me think this whole thing is pointless and has nothing to offer beyond misery. Looking up the directors' previous movie confirmed that this was indeed a pointless exercise in misery with nothing to say. What a waste.

One Missed Call 2 (C+)

A bit long and overly focused on the explanation, rather than the actual scariness of the thing. The phone calls that let you hear how you die barely happen here actually. The whole thing is much closer to how Samara works than the previous movie.

Demons, 1985 (B+)

As indulgent and silly as I remembered. The demons are great, the effects are appropriately disgusting and everyone is stupid, but this is all very entertaining and very Italian. Just the way I like it.

Demons 2, 1986 (C)

Has some good elements from the previous one, but lacks energy and a clear reason to exist. It's not quite Godzilla 2 levels of pointless, but it doesn't bring anything new either.

I'd rate it a fair chunk higher than you because of what it does well, especially in the first half. But I agree that it totally squanders a great premise and ends up being very frustrating.

Abigail. This was great! I’m surprised how funny it was. Looks terrific too. Wonderful makeup and gore effects. Kevin Durand who played a lovable vampire hunter on The Strain gets to be more jokey here, and the actress playing the titular character is very talented. A worthy entry in the “criminals stumble into a a horror movie” sub-genre.

So for those of you who are also into the literary side of things, I'm currently listening to a horror-comedy called I Was a Teenage Slasher and I'm quite enjoying it. While it does have some repetition and leans hard on the old "we learn the rules from horror movies", there's an undeniable charm to it, I really like the main characters, and its approach to how someone becomes a slasher (which I won't reveal because spoilers) is interesting and fun.

Recommended!

I imagine it's commonly found in these lists for the same reason Plan 9 is; because stuff happens. Wanna see actual bottom of the barrel 50's sci-fi? Beast of Yucca flats has you covered. Under 1 hour, feels like four, with all the pretentious messaging to be found in every cheap B-movie of the time. It also didn't register to me as horrible. Not good, but not the worst at all.

I rated it so low precisely because it had such strong elements. I hate movies that waste potential more than just mediocre ones.


What did you think of Goodnight Mommy? The original, that is.

For a while it was a strong film, and I think that's better than something that is garbage beginning to end.

I really disliked it. It doesn't help that I saw it in the theater. My sister, who was seeing it with me, bailed in the last act and apparently went out and there was a party happening at the theater, so while I was slogging through the last 25 minutes, she was drinking champagne and eating strawberries with some of our family friends who happened to be there.

But those circumstances aside, I just didn't care for it. All of the use of glass and reflection felt too on the nose. I don't mind the concept, but .

I did like a few moments where they showed how paranoia can shade your interpretation of events, like what happens with the cat. I'm also not a fan of torture, and so really didn't enjoy the ending.

Finally got around to watching some Christopher Smith films I'd been meaning to check out last night.

Triangle was just phenomenal. I was very much enthralled by the way it kept adding new layers to what was going on leading it's lead further down the spiral. Seriously I just got more and more engrossed in the film as it went on and even when I thought I had things figured out it dropped new info that changed things up enough to throw me for a loop.


Severance being a horror comedy was a nice switch up in mood but I found it a bit more hit and miss in execution. I wish it had either just been meaner and nastier or way more over the top and sillier as it kind of tried to do a bit of both and therefore felt a bit messy tonally to me.