Horror Films

The Saloon
981

Days 13 and 14 involved another low budget recent British effort and some early 80s Egyptology mumbo jumbo.

[b]The Disappeared (Kevorkian 2008)

The Awakening (Newell 1980)[/b]

Never heard of the disappeared before but picked it up for 2 quid at Fopp so gave it a try and it was a pleasant surprise. A bit Sixth Sense-ish in a quite obvious way and not a bloody gore fest if that’s what you’re after but a nice little story and I quite enjoyed it. The Awakening was a bit of a mess really. Seemed to jump all over the place. Passed the time but won’t rush back to this one. Prefer Hammer’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb as an adaptation of this Bram Stoker story. Apart from anything else that’s got Valerie Leon in it.

982

31 DAYS of HALLOWEEN - DAY 15

"I just want to apologize to Mike’s mom, Josh’s mom, and my mom. And I’m sorry to everyone. I was very naive… I am so, so sorry for everything that has happened. Because, in spite of what Mike says now, it is[i] my fault. Because it was my project, and I insisted; I insisted on everything. I insisted that we weren’t lost. I insisted that we keep going. I insisted that we walk south. Everything had to be my way. And this is where we’ve ended up; and it’s all because of me that we’re here now - hungry, cold, and hunted. I love you mom, dad. I am so sorry…

What is that?

I’m scared to close my eyes, I’m scared to open them…

We’re gonna die out here…"[/i]

Today, it’s The Blair Witch Project (Myrick/Sanchez, 1999). The found-footage granddaddy! Of course it wasn’t the first, but the unprecedented financial success of TBWP brought that style right to the forefront of horror moviemaking, particularly first-time horror moviemaking. Made innovative use of the internet, supplemental documentaries and books to add credence to the story. I loved it.

The Family Frightener today is the creature-feature/western mash-up The Burrowers (Petty, 2008).

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983

[quote=“last.caress, post:982, topic:405”]The Blair Witch Project[/quote]Shit.

984

I think your autocorrect’s playing up, Yod. You typed “Fantastic” and it’s come out as “Shit”, somehow. :slight_smile:

But no, you’re right: It IS fantastic.

985

Yeah it is. I’m not sure if its an actual poster or something designed recently by a fan. Says its a “Beyond Horror Design” so I assume its not actual promotional material.

I always look through available posters on the net for the best ones to save- there aren’t many for The Iron Rose and mostly they are not good, which is surprising since most of these Rollin films have interesting posters.

Here’s the large full sized image in case you’d like to save it:

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This is the other poster I liked:

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http://imgur.com/W28ZdiX

[quote=“El Topo, post:979, topic:405”]Be careful with the recommendations he did a lot of porn films back in the seventies and 80’s, so if any recommendations had a funny French title, beware :slight_smile:

In fact Rollin did the porn stuff to invest the money he made in those films in his mainstream material, or horror films in the case, (at least it was what he said) in common the films had many time the same actresses (Lahaie and others) and tech crew. It’s somehow strange that such a quality director as Rollin never had the chance to make a decent film in productions terms in a such a prolific market as the French one was and still is, but back in the seventies horror films were not a must for French cinema, they never had a Hammer.
My favorite works for him Les raisins de la mort (Grapes of death) and Fascination, The Iron Rose is a nice film to.[/quote]

All of the films I’ve watched so far have featured a good share of skin and sexy scenes. Except for maybe Zombie Lake which opens on a girl stripping naked and then I don’t recall any sex scenes… These films would definitely be filed under “erotic”

Fascination was quite good but without the black robed girl carrying scythe, the film would have been only half as good.

Grapes of Death is one on my list to view in the coming days, along with The Rape Of The Vampire (1968), The Nude Vampire (1970), The Shiver of the Vampires (1971), Two Orphan Vampies (1997) - wow, I didn’t realize that last one was so recent. Have several more from Rollin queued up, but they aren’t horror titles.

If possible, I recommend watching the Redemption blu rays for these films, they look marvelous

986

Thanks, Aute (or was it No One?) for the full sized image.

I thought except for the porn stuff, Rollin made only or nearly only horror movies.

And all of his movies I have seen so far do contain a strong highly erotic atmosphere. That is somehow unique. And there is also always a surrealist approach ot the horror stuff, which is not that typical for the genre.

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[quote=“Stanton, post:986, topic:405”]Thanks, Aute (or was it No One?) for the full sized image.

I thought except for the porn stuff, Rollin made only or nearly only horror movies.

And all of his movies I have seen so far do contain a strong highly erotic atmosphere. That is somehow unique. And there is also always a surrealist approach ot the horror stuff, which is not that typical for the genre.[/quote]

;D

Yes the atmosphere he generates in his films is very unique, both in the erotic and surreal horror aspects. I’ve never seen anything quite like these films, although they occupy the same space as many others which make use of the same basic elements. These films are very different and for that I am liking them very much.

I haven’t watched these other films yet, but looks like he’s done a couple of crime type flics:

Sidewalks of Bangkok

Killing Car:

Both of these seem to involve a lady that decides to go on a killing spree or something.

Other titles I plan on watching also: Schoolgirl Hitchhikers, The Escapees, Lost in New York

And lastly, here is a Fangoria article I stumbled upon about Jean Rollin. Someone has scanned the article in hi-res:




988

I’m pushing the boundaries of horror again with my last viewing:

BloodRayne 2: Deliverance (2007) - Uwe Boll

(no poster for this one because they are all shit)

I attempted to watch the first BloodRayne about a week ago, had to stop it twice because its just terrible. I don’t really like cheap fantasy stuff at all, part 1 is just totally boring with this stuff. Never finished the movie and was dreading trying to watch the sequels, but finally decided to give part 2 a shot since its a western.

To my great surprise, this is maybe the closest modern movie I’ve seen to a classic low-tier, cheap and mean spaghetti western. Complete with handheld camera, it reminds me of watching a Joe D’Amato spaghet at many scenes. Even the look of the characters and acting is pretty similar, but its filmed in hi-def digital video so its not immediately recognizable. There’s lots of gunplay, and some pretty dark violence at times.

There’s also vampire shit.

My biggest gripe with this film, one so bad it almost ruins the entire ending, is the music played here is a complete ripoff of the score from OUATITW - even the harmonica being ripped off. And the music just repeats endlessly the entire end, so it becomes very annoying.

That aside, I think Bloodrayne 2 should be viewed by anyone into the low-class spaghetti stuff, and see what you think. It sure beats the hell out of Gallowwalkers mentioned some posts back.

I think there may be two different versions, if you decide to watch be sure to go with the uncut version.

This makes me want to watch Werewolf: The Beast Among Us sometime again this year, which scherp recommended in previous years

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[quote=“last.caress, post:984, topic:405”]I think your autocorrect’s playing up, Yod. You typed “Fantastic” and it’s come out as “Shit”, somehow. :slight_smile:

But no, you’re right: It IS fantastic.[/quote]Yes you’re right, autocorrect is playing up, it should say “Dog Shit” ;D

Proper boring, and as soon as it looked like it might start to look alright a minute or two later it finishes, it was all about the marketing, and yes, I fell for it.

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Hell, Always thought that Les trottoirs de Bangkok was a porn flick.

I actually enjoyed The Blair Witch project, good marketing is also a part of the equation.

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You’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel there autophex lol.

(PS We’ve known each other on this board for years but today is the first time that I realized that you are “autephex” and not “autophex” lol)

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31 DAYS of HALLOWEEN - DAY 16

(sings)
#If your mansion house needs haunting just call, Rentaghost,
We’ve got spooks, and ghouls, and freaks and fools, at Rentaghost,
Hear the Phantom of the Opera, sing a haunting melody,
Remember what you see is not a mystery but … Rentaghost!#

Yes! It’s Rentaghost day! No wait, not Rentaghost, the other one… Paranormal Activity! That’s it. It’s Paranormal Activity day. Ah, same difference. Anyway, I’m not watching all five of them, I’m just going with my favourite from the bunch so far: Paranormal Activity 3 (Joost/Schulman, 2011). You know: The prequel one, with the camera-strapped-to-an-oscillating-fan. Seems to have more replay value about it than the others, which suffer badly from diminishing returns.

The Family Frightener today is surprise smash spook-em-up The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 1999). I see Bruce Willis! All the time!

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It sure does sound like it from the title… :stuck_out_tongue:

[quote=“Col. Douglas Mortimer, post:991, topic:405”]You’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel there autophex lol.

(PS We’ve known each other on this board for years but today is the first time that I realized that you are “autephex” and not “autophex” lol)[/quote]

Haha, yeah it really seems like it. But I actually had a good time watching BloodRayne 2… if it wasn’t for some ridiculousness which is of course present, could have been much greater than it was. But as is, its an enjoyable spag-like western.

lol, always noticed you spelled it with an ‘o’ and I would think to myself, geez what a jerk… :smiley: kidding of course

994

Days 15 and 16 involved Candyman (Rose 1992) and The Resident (Jokinen 2011)

Candyman was another which had been sitting around my house unwatched for ages. Picked it up based on the Clive Barker / Hellraiser connection and the fact that Virginia Madsen was in it but never really expected much from it. Turned out to be ok but probably not a keeper despite Ms Madsen. The Resident I watched just because I’d watched both of the other recent Hammer reboot films so thought I’d complete the set. I’d read and heard nothing but bad reviews about this one but actually thought it was much better than expected. More of a psycho thriller than a horror but I’m ok with that. Pretty creepy premise and some scenes handled well enough. A bog standard genre flick which delivered enough without offering anything extraordinary. Maybe my standards in these sorts of films is too low but I thought it was fine.

995

Have always loved Candyman, one of my favorite horror movies

I’ve had Clive Barker’s Book of Blood sitting around waiting to be watched for a while now, probably get to that soon

996

Well Hallowen is not a tradition in Portugal, as in the most of the Latin countries, (or it wasn’t, before the all marketing stuff). So maybe a new and more extensive challenge can be made:

31 Days of Christmas

A monthly marathon with Xmas films ;D

Any ideas?

997

Dementia 13

Coppola’s first movie, produced by Roger Corman. Mixed-bag, first part shows a lot of flair and promises a lot that in the end is not delivered. It seems that Francis had at least 3 different films in mind that he tried to squeeze in 75 minutes. Luana Anders absolutely rules the screen in this one, and once her character is gone in a Psycho-style switch of the leads (only one of the ideas lifted from that movie) movie wanders off in confusion and arrested development. Luana and few good scenes make it worthwhile.

998

[quote=“El Topo, post:996, topic:405”]So maybe a new and more extensive challenge can be made:

31 Days of Christmas

A monthly marathon with Xmas films ;D

Any ideas?[/quote]

Sounds terrifyingly brutal

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[quote=“El Topo, post:996, topic:405”]Well Hallowen is not a tradition in Portugal, as in the most of the Latin countries, (or it wasn’t, before the all marketing stuff). So maybe a new and more extensive challenge can be made:

31 Days of Christmas

A monthly marathon with Xmas films ;D

Any ideas?[/quote]

Maybe we can do a monthly marathon of Xmas horror films?
Black Xmas
Gremlins
Silent Night, Bloody Night
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Jack Frost…

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[quote=“Phil H, post:994, topic:405”]Days 15 and 16 involved Candyman (Rose 1992) and The Resident (Jokinen 2011)

Candyman was another which had been sitting around my house unwatched for ages. Picked it up based on the Clive Barker / Hellraiser connection and the fact that Virginia Madsen was in it but never really expected much from it. Turned out to be ok but probably not a keeper despite Ms Madsen. The Resident I watched just because I’d watched both of the other recent Hammer reboot films so thought I’d complete the set. I’d read and heard nothing but bad reviews about this one but actually thought it was much better than expected. More of a psycho thriller than a horror but I’m ok with that. Pretty creepy premise and some scenes handled well enough. A bog standard genre flick which delivered enough without offering anything extraordinary. Maybe my standards in these sorts of films is too low but I thought it was fine.[/quote]I wouldn’t mind checking out The Resident, never really appreciated what a good actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan is till I watched Magic City.