Yes it was weird when I watched that one in 2.35 as never knew any Hammer horror films were filmed in that ratio.
Another part Hammer film (as co produced by The Shaw Brothers aswell) in 2.35 is another vampire one…The Legend of The Seven Golden Vampires.
I saw the new remake of Carrie, starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore.
possible spoiler alert, if you haven’t seen it.
As remakes go, it’s a good one, IMO. However, unlike some reviews I’ve read, I do not feel that the remake surpasses the original 1976 version. The only way it surpasses it is in violence and how far the bullying is taken. The original will always remain more memorable due to its classic status, and Carrie’s more internalized emotions. In the original, when Carrie’s full fury is finally released, Sissy Spacek’s eyes and limited, zombie-like mannerisms say a thousand words. In this case, less is definitely more.
The original also inserted some bits of humor and irony, which seemed lacking in the remake. Sissy Spacek literally became Carrie; she owned the character. Piper Laurie was both disturbing yet entertaining as the insane mother. And of course, Nancy Allen as Carrie’s arch-nemesis could never be topped. And another big aspect the original had that the remake doesn’t…a great original soundtrack. It seems that nowadays, the era of the great, unique movie soundtrack is over.
I do feel that this 2013 version does a great job of bringing the story into the modern era. It has a much clearer anti-bullying message, obviously due to the current bullying epidemic, particularly cyber-bullying.
Last couple of nights, I watched The Conjuring and The Last Exorcism Part II. Liked them both. My further ramblings on The Conjuring HERE[url]http://letterboxd.com/lastcaress1972/film/the-conjuring/[/url]. I haven’t written further on The Last Exorcism Part II - I may not bother, tbh - but I thought it was a lot better than its many rather dire reviews had suggested. Maybe I’m just easily pleased. ;D
[url]http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/43/fa0u.jpg/[/url] CHILD’S PLAY (1988, Tom Holland)
The first part of what would become one of the most notorious franchises in the history of horror after a UK tabloid had claimed that the attack on Jamie Bulger, in 1993, by two ten year old boys was inspired by the third entry, Child’s Play 3. For this reason the 4th and 5th installment of the series were turned into tongue-in-cheek affairs about would-be funny, sex-crazed mad dolls. Chucky became Cheeky (and in one case Lucky). Recently a 6th movie was made and it’s said to be closer to the original. I thought it was a good idea to re-watch the original first. After all Child’s Play had been received very well by critics in 1988.
The story is simple but effective: a serial killer is shot by the police but in his dying moments he transfers his soul (through a voodoo ritual) into a so-called Good Guy Doll, the latest craze and the gift all boys want for their birthday. Ditto 6 year old Andy. Soon strange things start to happen, including murder, but no-one believes Andy when he says the doll did it.
It’s the economy stupid, not the doll.
Yes, it may all be quite predictable (the knowing kid, the stupid adults, the lightning & thunder accompanying the Voodoo rituals, etc.) but it’s done with so much sense of style and Tom Holland’s timing is so good that it easily becomes a perfect Halloween build-up movie. The film has a definitive 80s vibe (mediocre acting, awful costumes, stupid comic relief) but the doll is fantastic.
Hey, I’m Chucky, do you wanna plaaaaaaay ?
The original Child’s Play is great and was surprisingly good the first time I returned to it in recent years. The next couple of sequels had nothing on it (though admittedly I haven’t watched them in a very long time), but in the last week I’ve been wanting to rewatch Bride of Chucky. Saw that one only once at the cinema and thought it was pretty funny… that was some time ago though and may not hold up. Have not seen any after Bride.
I haven’t seen 2 and 3, but I watch either 4 or 5 (it was starring Jenniffer Tilly) and it wasn’t too bad, as far as I remember, but no match for the original. I’ve planned to watch the new entry.
I just read a little bit about the new one and it sounds promising, although the fan reviews I’ve briefly glanced at seem mostly negative with many saying its the worst yet. To me, this means its probably great and maybe the best
Bride is pretty good, Seed on the other hand is pretty shit.
The one I saw was Bride, I just checked. Pretty good yes. I skipped Seed because the reviews were uniformely negative.
Bride of Chucky was directed by Ronny Yu, who also did the Freddy vs Jason film. He was picked as director specifically because of his film, The Bride with White Hair. I hated Freddy vs Jason when it came out, actually walked out on it when seeing at cinema with friends because everyone hated it. Then I went back with a date because we were both suckers for shitty horror films and I wanted to finish it… still didn’t like it.
I’ve just got a copy and plan on giving it another go, maybe I can have some fun with it after my taste has reshaped quite a bit. Probably will wait to watch until I get a copy of Bride of Chucky also, and have a Ronny Yu double feature.
In the past several days I’ve viewed:
Never Sleep Again - a very long (4 hours) and exhaustive documentary on the Nightmare On Elm St. series. Normally I don’t have the patience for such a long “extra features” style documentary, but this was actually really well made and very interesting. Of course, I was a big Freddy fan as a kid and so have a particular attachment to the series, even if its not that great.
Nightmare on Elm Street - The original, a true classic in 80s American horror. So many cool, darkly surreal scenes in this. I’ve seen this film so many times that I can barely get into the mood to watch it again, but can always appreciate the imagery. Still, I’m not a huge fan of Wes Craven and his weaknesses seem to be taking shape in this film. With just some slight tweaks, the film could have been a much darker, more seriously creepy affair, but even in the original it still smells of cheese and lazy writing.
Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge - A sequel the fans love to hate, but I’ve always liked this one a lot. Its got some of the best scenes of the whole series, including the opening and the part with Freddy clawing his way out of the lead’s body. I’d argue that the Freddy in this one is maybe the darkest Freddy character portrayal, even compared to the original. And the whole homosexual subtext just adds something different than usual for these films. Its still not great, but a much better sequel than its given credit for imo.
Friday the 13th IV The Final Chapter (1984) - I’ve never been a huge fan of this franchise. I don’t really even like the original film, although will recognize its a much better film and not really in the same category as the sequels which followed. Its just not my cup of tea, and I find it really a bore. Decided to check out a few of these films which are highly regarded by fans and started with this one. Wasn’t impressed… I can see why its liked, but its played way too straight for me and there’s just not much style to the film. There are some good laughs, many coming from Crispin Glover and its interesting to watch Glover in this kind of early role. Corey Feldman also plays an early childhood role, and his part in the ending is the one exception I’ll give this film for creativity marks. The ending is one of the strangest I’ve seen from this kind of mainstream slasher, and I wasn’t expecting it from such a boring, straightly played slasher.
Jason Lives (Friday The 13th VI - 1986) - The second Jason film I picked out for this viewing, and had much more fun with this one. The intro scene in the graveyard was very well executed and really grabbed me at the start. The following James Bond styled title screen was also pretty cool and so this film had a starting advantage for me. Lots of tongue-in-cheek happening all throughout the film which is decently funny, and the horror elements are also handled & shot with skill. This entry has all the style which the previous was lacking. There’s still several of these films I either haven’t seen or can’t remember at all, but this will likely be my go to if I am in a future mood for a Jason film.
Demons 2 - Lamberto Bava/Argento - After all this American 80s schlock, just gotta throw in some Italian horror to re-balance myself. Had not seen this sequel yet and while it isn’t up to par in comparison to the original, its still pretty enjoyable and has its own charm. Some really nice scenes in this film, my favorite probably being the demon coming out of the TV set, even if it is somewhat a ripoff of Videodrome.
Remember all the fuss the first Child’s Play film caused in the U.K with all the do gooders on a mission to save us from the evil 
.
Really hoping I can manage to afford these before they sell out. Each is limited to 3000 with no plans for a non-limited release of either film, available only via direct order from Synapse. Pretty freaking pricey though, at $45 each (shipped). I’m sure they’ll retain the value, no doubt.
Demons:
. Unlike previous releases, we have the original Italian Language Stereo mix, the “International” stereo alternate dub mix and the original U.S. mono soundtrack!
. Audio Commentary Track with Cast & Crew Featuring Recollections from Director Lamberto Bava, Make-up Effects Artist Sergio Stivaletti, Musician Claudio Simonetti and actress Geretta Geretta.
. Removable English Subtitles for both the U.S. Language Dub Version, as well as the Original Italian Version.
. Collectible Reproduction of the Original Metropol Theatre Ticket seen in the Film.
. The transfer is from a new HD scan of the original 35mm negative, in 1080p/23.98fps 1.66:1 aspect ratio [not the same muted colors and weak black levels as previous released versions].
. All audio tracks will be encoded in DTS-HD MA.
. Featurettes (from Calum Waddell’s HIGH RISING PRODUCTIONS Company) include:
-PROFONDO JONES – THE CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE – Interview with Alan Jones
-CARNAGE AT THE CINEMA – LAMBERTO BAVA AND HIS SPLATTER MASTERPIECE – 30 Minute Interview with Director Lamberto Bava
-MONSTROUS MEMORIES WITH LUIGI COZZI – 30 Minute Interview
-SPLATTER STUNT ROCK – Interview with Stunt Man Ottaviano Dell’Acqua
-DARIO AND HIS DEMONS – PRODUCING MONSTER MAYHEM – All-New Exclusive Interview with Producer Dario Argento.
Demons 2:
.Contains the Original Italian Language Mix and the Original English Soundtrack.
.Removable English Subtitles for both the English and Italian Versions.
.The transfer is from a new HD scan of the original 35mm negative, in 1080p/23.98fps 1.66:1 aspect ratio [not the same muted colors and weak black levels as previous released versions].
.All audio tracks will be encoded in DTS-HD MA.
.Featurettes (from Calum Waddell’s HIGH RISING PRODUCTIONS Company) include:
-SCREAMING FOR A SEQUEL - THE DELIRIOUS LEGACY OF DEMONS 2 - Interview with Lamberto Bava
-THE DEMONS GENERATION - ROY BAVA DISCUSSES A LEGACY IN LACERATIONS - Assistant Director Roy Bava Speaks About His Experiences on DEMONS and DEMONS 2
-A SOUNDTRACK FOR SPLATTER - Composer Simon Boswell Discusses His Genre Music Making Career.
-DEMONIC INFLUENCES - FEDERICO ZAMPAGLIONE SPEAKS - Interview Segment
The overseas release is also pretty cool. Can’t decide which cover art I like better
Insane price. I have the Dutch DVD’s that look pretty good and cost me €4 each.
Fuck getting them Arrow releases, shit label.
I just sold my Anchor Bay copy of Demons, along with a big batch of DVDs that have been upgraded to blu ray. Won’t be able to replace them right away but copied them off first, and no reason to hold on to them now that better versions exist. If a blu ray gets a proper, new transfer then its worth the upgrade for me… many of them do look great in comparison, and since I watch on a large TV or projector, I definitely prefer the higher resolution of blu ray.
The UK blu rays for Demons are a lot cheaper, so I may just get those instead. But when I buy stuff like this any more, I tend to treat it as investments and try to buy stuff that holds value and can be resold if needed, rather than discs not worth anything and don’t look good on the shelf even.
Right now I’m buying some foreign blurays to fund my blu ray purchase-dreams… having them shipped over is half the price as buying from sellers here, and then can be sold for 2x These titles will probably be worth 3x or more here once they go OOP.
Fuck getting them Arrow releases, shit label.
I’ve seen some talk of bad releases they’ve done, but I’ve also seen some of the recent releases are suppose to be pretty good like Frankenhooker. Know anything about Demons 1/2?
I first saw Demons sometime in the '80s and thought it was pretty cool (and menacing). Then a few years ago, I bought the DVD, but for some reason, watching it again gave me a very weird, uncomfortable feeling. Can’t really explain it, but it was very odd. I wonder if anyone else has ever had any similar experiences when watching a movie?
The first Child’s Play and Nightmare on Elm Street movies are great classics. But IMO, the sequels pretty much sucked. I feel that some, probably most, movies are better off without sequels, and those are two perfect examples (Robocop is another).
This cover used to freak me out when I was a kid at the video shop, I couldn’t even go near the horror section
But now I actually love the sequel, captures the mood of the first film perfectly
[url]http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/30/wwma.jpg/[/url] CURSE OF CHUCKY (2013, Don Mancini)
The reboot of the Chucky franchise. The movie (written & directed by Don Mancini, who created the series and has written all installments to date) goes back to the very origins of the doll, the curse & the voice, so it’s not a bad idea to watch the original movie first. Jennifer Tilly (who starred in the two tongue-in-chuckies, Bride of Chucky & Seed of Chucky, in which the horror had become quirky and raunchy) makes a cameo appearance. In other words: this is not a movie for those who are completely unfamiliar with the doll.
The franchise has also become a family affair too: Brad Dourif, the voice of the doll on all occasions, has a small starring role (like in the original movie) and his daughter Fiona now is the leading lady, and Chucky’s main opponent. She’s a paraplegic who lives alone with her alcohic mother. In the opening scene the doll is delivered at the family mansion, apparently by accident. Of course this is the beginning of a long ride through hell.
As promised, Curse of Chucky brings back the straightforward horror elements of the original, but unlike the rather suggestive Child’s Play, this is a slasher movie, relying more on gross effects than suspense or thrills. It’s well-acted (and Maitland McConnell, who plays the nanny, is eye candy), but the plot is needlessly contrived and instead of scary, the doll is getting a bit dull.
6-
I have the Arrow Demons 1 & 2 steelbook, for £10 its a no brainer. I find it perfectly fine, even good. No way id upgrade if id have to pay out for those Synapse releases. Considering anyway that the films are not so great to start with, the cheap Arrow steelbook is a good and cheap way to get them in HD. I DIDNT NOTICE ANY PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER.
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