Horror Hall of Fame II

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Hour of the Wolf


This was my second time watching this after first seeing it for the 60's countdown, and I feel much the same way. I'm definitely a fan of director Ingmar Bergman, and I may have seen more movies of his than any other director. I would certainly rank this in the top half of his filmography. It's psychological terror all the way, which is not normally my go to brand of horror. It can occasionally give a director license to play unfair, but fortunately I don't see that being the case in this instance. Bergman asks a lot from and gets a lot out of his actors, and Max Von Sydow and Liv Ullman are complete studs. This is an easy watch at just under 90 minutes, and there's a constant sense of unease. It's a very good movie, and being a little different from the rest a great nomination.



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I quite like the (original) ending as well. The US edit apparently just rolls the credits a scene earlier.

WARNING: "The Descent Ending" spoilers below
Instead of the fake-out ending that cuts back to Sarah having completely lost her mind in the cave, the film ends outside, though it does still include the apparition of her friend.


That's the one! Great ending and much more in tune with how the rest of the film plays out.
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Macabre (2009)


A mixed bag for me this one. Despite knowing that it took a while to heat up, it really did meander at a frustrating pace. The acting and script was quite poor, making the characters bumbling and constantly making the wrong decisions, especially the male characters.


But then the madness kicks in and total carnage ensues. Easily one of the most insane last 45 minutes or so that I've seen in a while, Macabre doesn't hold back at all, with bloodshed literally in every single shot! You can compare it quite easily to French New Wave horror, which I love and although I preferred the likes of Frontier(s) and Inside,this definitely deserves to be mentioned in the same breath, if not for mayhem alone.


Sit back and don't take this one too seriously and you'll have a blast, certainly for he last hour or so anyway.





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The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)


Watched this recently and didn't like it at all, so hoped that maybe another viewing might be different. Not with this one, in fact I probably disliked it even more so the second time around. I don't find many films scary which is likely why I enjoy more extreme films but here I didn't find anything remotely scary at all. I did quite like the concept of the whole autopsy thing but somehow it feels like they've missed a trick here. Some really bizarre acting which actually felt like laziness at times, all coming from established actors too. Zero atmosphere, zero tension and zero passion. Glad to get that one over with. Hope no hard feelings to the nominee, just wasn't for me.





28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
I watched this in October for my horror movie viewings. I'll simply re-post my review here since it was really recent. After reading the Lawyer's review, I thought I'd give a different take.


The Autopsy of Jane Doe




This is a genuine horror film ladies and gentlemen. Pure and simple. The film takes the genre back to basics and does a tremendous job of making me feel uneasy and tense. I had no idea what the film was about and was glued to the screen as the mysteries unfolded.

A dead woman is found at a gruesome murder scene. Her body is pristine and doesn't fit with the rest of the crime scene. The Sheriff brings the body to a local morgue where father and son coroners are finishing up another body. They are told they need to find answers about how she died tonight. When they begin their dissection, they discover oddities that simply don't match up. The questions about how, where, when and why she died don't add up either. The deeper into the examination they get, the more horrors they find.

Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch work really well off each other, bringing the father-son dynamic to the front of the story. This is a mystery, but the relationship between these two immediately connect with the viewer. These aren't some cookie cutter characters that we don't care about if they live or die. They actually feel fleshed out and with purpose. The script is smarter than that and it lets us in their lives.

The bare bones basics of the film is what makes it work. The use of sound is key here. We see that Cox ties bells to the feet of the dead. Back in the day they would do this incase someone wasn't dead. They'd hear the bell tingle at night and know that the person was still alive. He's old fashioned that way, so he does it as well. You better believe once they show this that it will come back to haunt them. Jingle here, tingle there. The use of sound is important in this film. The images work in their favour as well, being restrained when needed and graphic when the examination happens. This film has blood and guts, but it's never over the top. The more they peel away at the body, the more you want to find out about her.

There are a few cheap scares that I feel that the film is better than. So I was surprised to see it use some of those cheap gimmicks here and there, but overall, the atmosphere in this film is superb. Real dread and tension in some scenes. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a horror winner in my books and I urge people to give it a chance this October season. Add it to your watch list and watch it in the dark.
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Suspect's Reviews



Glad you like it Usual Suspects!!!

Sorry you didn’t like it Samoan Lawyer I feel the complete opposite of you on the movie



Pulse


This is definitely not a movie I'd pick out on my own or the type of horror I favor, but I thought it was decent. I don't get scared watching movies anymore, which is probably why I prefer disturbing and violent movies over the supernatural and psychological. Yet for awhile, I found this to be scary. Not in the I was scared way but more in the it felt scary way. That was very important for me since it's not the type of story that interests me. It kind of reminded me of what I expect from Ringu, which I plan on watching soon. It seemed to shift from horror to a bleak drama about hopelessness, and in fact it was quite obvious with the dialogue. I like dark dramatic themes like that but it's hard for me to feel anything when it's coming from an Asian film. I don't know why that is but I still appreciated it. I kind of feel like it's two separate interesting movies that don't reach their full potential because they're combined into one. There are definitely no thrills to be had but of course it's not that kind of movie. I like how it was filmed as the gritty look is more authentic and appealing to me. It was alright.



I'll be gone for Christmas. I'll be back home on 26th (or 27th) and won't be updating first two posts before that. I'll probably check the forums with my phone, maybe even write something but those updates are too difficult for my poor phone browsing skills.



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Ginger Snaps (2000)


Good film, good choice for the HOF and was glad to get a rewatch. I remember for years never being interested in watching this and being really surprised when I finally did. I had expected it to be just another teen horror film but this was a lot darker. Even on a rewatch it still holds up quite well. I will say, that besides the two main roles, there really isn't much else to offer in terms of characters but the sisters do so well that it doesn't become a huge issue. Enjoyed the ending too.


Sorry not much of a review but I'm busy drinking in work.





The Autopsy of Jane Doe


Spoilers I was happy to see this nominated as I was planning on watching it anyway. I like how it starts with a mystery; who is she and what happened to her, and then 95% of the rest of the movie is unraveling that mystery. I was waiting for some necrophilia action but the father and son and absolutely no sinister intent. I thought it was pretty obvious she was going to be alive in some form but didn't know exactly how. I think that combined with the mystery was good keeping my interest, which I never lost. I wouldn't say the movie was scary or tense, but I did feel that it was unnerving. It threatened to lose control at one point when things started to get crazy but then settled down nicely. The scenes with the cat and the girlfriend were properly upsetting. The performances by Hirsch and Cox were solid if unspectacular, and they were convincing as a father and son team. It's a very easy watch and I liked the ending. I liked the whole movie.



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GINGER SNAPS



It's been a while since I've seen this one so I'm glad I got an opportunity to revisit it.

What really struck me this time round was just how wildly creative and original it was. The genre is crammed with unoriginal, cliched narratives and flat characters that finding something even remotely different is so refreshing. The concept of using lycanthropy as a metaphor for puberty seems so obvious but it's executed and delivered pretty damn well which makes this film weirdly charming. Even nearly 20 years on it's still as engaging, and bar some of the visual effects, it hasn't dated that badly at all. Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins have great chemistry together (if I remember rightly they knew each other long before filming, they were even born in the same hospital and auditioned on the same day apparently) and this is vital because the film focuses on the sisters and their curious relationship with one another in great detail. Perhaps a bit too much in parts. I'm not sure though because everything was all the more poignant and emotive, I cared about the two of them, and even if I didn't always agree with them I could understand why they did what they did.
Only thing I didn't really like was the ending, not because of the route it went down, but because it was too drawn out for me. Nonetheless, the film is a wild ride and a brilliant choice.

Big props to Mimi Rogers who plays the mother. The humour is pulled off pretty well and a lot of it is due to the totally unaware mother.

Last time I reviewed this I gave it
which seems about right to me!



The Autopsy of Jane Doe


Spoilers I was happy to see this nominated as I was planning on watching it anyway. I like how it starts with a mystery; who is she and what happened to her, and then 95% of the rest of the movie is unraveling that mystery. I was waiting for some necrophilia action but the father and son and absolutely no sinister intent. I thought it was pretty obvious she was going to be alive in some form but didn't know exactly how. I think that combined with the mystery was good keeping my interest, which I never lost. I wouldn't say the movie was scary or tense, but I did feel that it was unnerving. It threatened to lose control at one point when things started to get crazy but then settled down nicely. The scenes with the cat and the girlfriend were properly upsetting. The performances by Hirsch and Cox were solid if unspectacular, and they were convincing as a father and son team. It's a very easy watch and I liked the ending. I liked the whole movie.
Really glad you like it Crick!!
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