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

I probably should have seen Frankenhooker by now.

In this house . . . . yes.

There is no shocked-face emoji that is appropriate for this statement.

Tak, I promise I'll watch it before Lust for Frankenstein.

Funny enough, it's often said that Frankenhooker is an OK movie. I kinda have to check it out later if that's the case.

Not only is Frankenhooker great, it might be the best Henenlotter movie of all. And I'd consider both Brain Damage and Basket Case as being as essential as any low budget horror film gets.

I owe Basket Case a rewatch. On paper I should have loved it, but I found the movie weirdly stagnant. Same with the sequel.


It's also been a while since I watched Brain Damage, but I remember liking that a lot more.

The Basket Case sequel sucks.


I can't imagine anyone who likes Brain Damage not eventually also falling under the charms of Basket Case. It's probably a little rougher around the edges, but it lives in that same universe that can magically pull off camp, comedy, satire and horror equally well

Frankenhooker was my first Henenlotter. I think my expectations were too high, especially with that title. It was still enjoyable though. I grooved with Brain Damage more. I didn't groove so much with Basket Case. Haven't seen the sequels.

Watched 3 movies last night.

Started off with Castle Freak (1995) - I appreciated the family dynamic and making the characters more than just cardboard cutouts but beyond that it just didn't really work. The number of times the freak jumped off screen as someone entered the room but despite just exiting the frame and not the room he was in no one sees him was baffling, in addition what could or couldn't be heard echoing the castle changed at the whim of the director. Definitely not top tier Stuart Gordon here.

I am Mother - Sci-fi genre film with leanings into horror about a robot raising a kid after humanity falls, things get complicated when another human from outside the bunker they live in arrives. This one is tough, Rose Byrne (voice of the robot Mother) and Clara Rugaard as the "daughter" are both really good though Hilary Swanks outsider character just didn't really work for me. Also the film really feels like it's building to something big to say but I'll be damned if I can figure out what.

Finally the big winner of the night was The Invisible Man (2020) - I have minor quibbles with how some characters reacted to certain things but damn if this wasn't a masterclass in tension and dread. Open empty spaces so rarely feel as threatening as they do here. A lot of credit also has to go to Elisabeth Moss who really nails the paranoia and fear her character is experiencing.

You're doing the Lord's work.

Um. Dude.

Agreed.

I've seen zero Henenlotter films.

Everybody yell at Captain Terror!


*slips away*

See Frankenhooker.

For me Brain Damage is in its own category, just because of how sympathetic I find Brian and the way that the other characters (the neighbors, his girlfriend, his brother) are balanced in the narrative.

Frankenhooker is a strong second, through. I'm not sure any other film balances exploitation elements with overtly feminist themes with such ease.

Crosses Rock AND Captain Terror off of Christmas card list.

I think it's really strong.

Strangely, neither have I. Which is odd, because I’ve long been aware of Basket Case.

Frankenhooker is on VuduFree and Tubi and Peacock.

No excuses!

EDIT: And Brain Damage is also on Tubi!

NO EXCUSES!

Basket Case is on Kanopy. Renewing my library card was totally worth it

Hung out with this guy again today and we bonded over Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century and Mighty Peking Man. Good times.

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