Halloween Horror Binge

I WATCHED 100 HORROR FILMS IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER..so i know the binge....
I think the best new ones i watched this year were
in a violent nature
The substance
alien romulus
when evil lurks
There were only a couple stinkers, didnt really dig skinamarink (not new this year)

Skinamarink would've made an okay 15ish minute short, but it wasn't enough premise to carry a full movie

I loved it and I think it's length is very effective at evoking the extended nightmare feeling.

Are you aware that there is a short film version by the same guy called Heck?

I forgot until you mentioned it. I think that's the way it should've stayed. Lights Out is another terrific short that didn't translate so well to a feature length film.

Yes, something that would of worked in a shorter format on youtube. totally agree.

It's funny because that is exactly how I felt about Smile and yet I ended up loving pretty much every minute of Skinamarink.

I was wondering if anyone here has watched the last few VHS movies from the franchise. Are they worth the time? I've seen the first 4 and there're 3 more. The first two had really good segments, not so much the last two flicks.

V/H/S 99 was kind of meh. It had its moments, but you won't miss much if you skip it.


I thought 85 was the best of the entire series. Very strong connecting segments, and I really like how they incorporated music into it. This one's definitely worth seeing.


I was disappointed by Beyond. Like 99 it had some moments, but it was extremely hit or miss. The best segment was the first one, with the cops.

The best segment from '99 was the last one, with the cult performing the ceremony.

This was my takeaway as well. In fact, I cannot imagine this being anywhere near as effective as a short film. The time is so important to how it feels and evolves.
I think I said at the time that I though it was slightly too long but I meant by like four or five minutes not eighty-five. And all of those four or five were really just the end of the movie. Up until then I felt that every moment was both earned and necessary.

Right. My main memory of my reaction to waking up from nightmares as a child was the fact that while I knew I'd only been asleep 7 or 8 hours, they felt like they'd been going on forever. I think Skinamarink captures (in a good, effective way), that feeling that for these children it will never end. And all the usual rhythms of childhood life (meals, sunrise/sunset, parents arriving home/leaving, etc) have been removed.

The greatest horror film imo is Day of Wrath (1943). It is a romance as well, but whilst listed on imbd and wiki as "drama", I would definitely include it in horror. And it is a masterpiece, and one of my top 10 greatest films.
Le Bonheur another good one.
Meshes of the Afternoon.
Does Kuroneko count?
Maybe Robert Bresson? L'Argent, Au Hasard Balthazar?

Do any of these have like a werewolf or a witch or something in them?

Meshes of the Afternoon includes a woman with complex thoughts and feelings. In many parts of the world that would make her a Witch.

Day of Wrath has at least one witch (and is a stone cold brilliant film, in my top 5 all time).
Kuroneko has 2 witches/ghosts.
Meshes of the Afternoon has a mysterious human-like figure with glass for a face.
Le Bonheur and the Bresson films, no. Although Bonheur is definitely horror imo, even if you don't realise it until right at the end.

Complex thoughts and feelings is one way of putting it (for this lady) lol!!!!!!

Meshes of the Afternoon and Kuroneko are the closest to traditional horror, of those listed, in my opinion.


I could see an argument for Day of Wrath, although it seems closer to straight drama to me.


Le Bonheur and L'Argent would be really stretching the definition of horror to include all shocking violence, making movies like Goodfellas and The Untouchables horror movies as well.

Goodfellas though doesn't have the ratcheting of tension that, well certainly L'Argent has.
To me it creates the same feeling of unpleasantness that a modern horror does.

To DoW is classic horror in terms of its subject matter and much of the tension aspect (in a different way to a thriller). It has the romance angle as well, but I guess so does Don't Look Now. Just for me personally it has more the feel of a horror than it does what I would call a drama.

Interesting to exchange thoughts though.

Oh, as for Le Bonheur, honestly, that final scene is straight horror.

LOL.

Meshes of the Afternoon is weird, but for me it doesn't scream horror. (Though you know how I feel about genre arguments).

Le Bonheur is like . . . social horror? I'm not sure how to explain it without getting into wild spoiler territory.

Day of Wrath does have a witchhunt as a setting, but it's more of a drama and the witchhunt is how the different power dynamics are explored.

Kuroneko is definitely a movie I think of as horror. For you it would be a September watch. And I love the horror component. Definitely check it out if you haven't seen it. It's also totally gorgeous and the effects are *chef's kiss*.