The other day, I watched The Dead (Ford brothers, 2010). Yet another zombie apocalypse movie, but tbf it was a pretty good one. Nothing Earth-shatteringly original in its execution, and star Rob Freeman had little in the way of star appeal, but the decision by British writer/directors Howard and Jonathan Ford to set their zombie apocalypse on the continent of Africa felt very different, and gave all the familiar old tropes a fresh edge (I think I read somewhere that the majority of the pic was filmed in Burkina Faso, although âWest Coast of Africaâ is all we get for an âin-filmâ location). The old Car-Wonât-Start-And-The-Big-Bad-Is-Right-On-My-Ass scene for instance raises its head here but it feels more believable and tense when it involves a clapped out rustbucket pick-up on the edge of the Sahara. Dialogue is in short supply and this gives the movie a slow feel but thatâs a bit of an illusion; The Dead moves at a fair pace and, although the zombies donât - theyâre the old-school shambling kind - they appear to come from bloody nowhere, all the time (in fact, they appear from just outside of the edges of the frame a bit too conveniently if Iâm nitpicking). Itâs a fairly humourless affair but I donât mind that at all in a horror.
Poltergeist (2015)-Gil Kenam with Sam Rockwell.
Eh, iâm not generally a big fan of remakes, but for what it is and even with all itâs flaws, itâs not half as bad as i thought it would be. Not scary by any means if you donât count the usual scare tactics, but it will entertain you and there was some cool stuff/ideas and the special effects for the portal was nice. As for the acting- well, it was kind of so, so for most parts and i didnât not enjoy Sam Rockwell, he plays an unsympathetic lead who comes across as cold and snide in this. The run time for this for some reason is crazy short though, it did feel kinda rushed IMO. Anyways, if you got some time to kill, itâs worth a watch me thinks. :
Is it the first of October? Already? Well then, I guess itâs time once again forâŚ
Same rules as last year: A horror film a day every day through October up to All Hallowâs Eve. Each film needs to have a bit of a supernatural bent (so movies like Saw are out) and, with the exception of Halloween (Carpenter, 1978) and Trick 'r Treat (Dougherty, 2007), I wonât be using any films from last year.
31 DAYS of HALLOWEEN - DAY 1
So, Iâm kicking off tonight with The Ruins (Smith, 2008), in which some holidaymakers in Mexico find some especially aggressive plantlife atop the ruins of a Mayan temple. Itâs never going to set the world on fire, this one, but itâs a bit of an undiscovered gem, I think. A good way to start off, anyway.
Subtle, low-key brilliance today in the form of Bill Paxtonâs directorial debut, Frailty (2001), in which a religious fanatic (played by Paxton himself) claims to be doing the Lordâs work in murdering people, since the Lord has âshownâ him that these people are in fact demons. In carrying out his âworkâ, he enlists the help of his two young sons, but only one of them thinks dadâs gone crackers.
[quote=âlast.caress, post:1164, topic:405â]31 Days of Halloween - Day 2
Subtle, low-key brilliance today in the form of Bill Paxtonâs directorial debut, Frailty (2001), in which a religious fanatic (played by Paxton himself) claims to be doing the Lordâs work in murdering people, since the Lord has âshownâ him that these people are in fact demons. In carrying out his âworkâ, he enlists the help of his two young sons, but only one of them thinks dadâs gone crackers.[/quote]
Never seen it, might be worth looking for. Paxton and McConaughey - odd casting in relation to such a movie
Yes, itâs October, Iâll try to keep up. Started with Turistas (2006).
It sucked. Some nice Brazilian beaches, lots of jungle, underused Olivia Wilde and Mellisa George are the only things worth the mention. One of Hostel clones, this time set in Brazil, but much tamer in gore department (or maybe I havenât seen unrated version) and with absolutely no suspense or charm.
[quote=âtitoli, post:1166, topic:405â]Yes, itâs October, Iâll try to keep up. Started with Turistas (2006).
It sucked. Some nice Brazilian beaches, lots of jungle, underused Olivia Wilde and Mellisa George are the only things worth the mention. One of Hostel clones, this time set in Brazil, but much tamer in gore department (or maybe I havenât seen unrated version) and with absolutely no suspense or charm.[/quote]
Main problem with this movie is that large parts are so dark (literally) and look so disorganized that you hardly have any idea whoâs who or whatâs going on. Especially the under water scenes are hopeless in this aspect (or whas it just my copy?)
No, youâre right, it looked like that on screen too. I was wondering couple of times when have we lost some character or is he/she maybe still in this sceneâŚ
Yesterdayâs movie was Christine (Carpenter, 1983), a second-tier entry from John Carpenter adapting a second-tier novel by author Stephen King. I havenât seen it in ages and the years havenât been kind to it but it retains a distinct Carpenter voice and⌠well, who wouldnât want that car?
31 DAYS of HALLOWEEN - DAY 4
Today Iâll be watching a super-slow-burner from slow-burn specialist Ti West: The Innkeepers (2011), in which the last two employees at a closing down hotel pass the time documenting the hotelâs many purported hauntings, until they start seeing the ghosts for themselves.
Iâm doing this too, but Iâm only watching films I havenât seen before. So far:
Hellraiser (1987)
Good film, creepy mood, great effects. Looses it plot around halfway and turns kind of surreal. The line âWeâll tear your soul apartâ gave me chills.
Event Horizon (1997)
Decent sci-fi horror, it does the psychological thriller aspect very well and the cast elevates it beyond the limits of the script. Seemed a bit obsessed with showing of its âliquid in zero Gâ effects though.
Also, I see Christopher Nolan has been borrowing scenes again.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Great sequel that expands on the ideas of the original. âYour suffering will be legendary even in Hell.â
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
âŚaaaaand they pissed all over the first two films and turned him into a mouthy Freddy Kruger character with a small army of pun spewing mini Freddies. âThatâs a wrapâ, no, this is crap.
Best werewolf movie ever? Well, An American Werewolf in London (Landis, 1981) takes some beating but, for me, that film is narrowly edged out by my pick for today: Dog Soldiers (Marshall, 2002), a movie which finds Sean Pertwee in his finest form since I.D. (Davis, 1995).
Bit of Lovecraft-tinted grisliness today with an underrated gem: The Borderlands (Goldner, 2013), starring former Absolutely and The National Lottery stalwart Gordon Kennedy as one of a trio of Vatican investigators sent to look into the strange goings-on at a remote west-country church.
[quote=âlast.caress, post:1172, topic:405â]31 DAYS of HALLOWEEN - DAY 6
Bit of Lovecraft-tinted grisliness today with an underrated gem: The Borderlands (Goldner, 2013), starring former Absolutely and The National Lottery stalwart Gordon Kennedy as one of a trio of Vatican investigators sent to look into the strange goings-on at a remote west-country church.
The tesseract imagery is just for the sake of the poster, itâs entirely unconnected to the plot itself. Itâs still well worth a look, though. My dribblings on the movie HEREhttp://letterboxd.com/lastcaress1972/film/the-borderlands/.
Today Iâm going with the much-maligned [REC] 3: Genesis (Plaza, 2012), a movie which strays from its franchiseâs grim, first-person nature, injects a dollop of humour into the proceedings and manages to be a real funride in its own right. It doesnât feel like a [REC] movie at all but thatâs about its worst crime; if you havenât seen it and you like a bit of zombie/infected mayhem then you could do a lot worse.
Today, Iâm going with some proper bitey-necky action in the shape of Stake Land (Mickle, 2010), from the director who also brought us the cannibal family melodrama remake We Are What We Are (2013). Itâs a bit exhaustingly serious throughout but itâs still approximately a thousand times better than any recent vampire fare I can think of with the exception of 30 Days of Night (Slade, 2007). And Let the Right One In (Alfredson, 2008)and its US remake Let Me In (Reeves, 2010). Oh, and Thirst (Park, 2009). And obviously A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Amirpour, 2014). But apart from that lot, itâs right up there. Fang-you very much!
Today, itâs Exit Humanity (Geddes, 2011), a slightly overambitious Canadian-made zombie flick set in Tennessee just after the American Civil War. A little too heavily narrated in parts (by Brian âHannibal Lecktorâ Cox no less) but an interesting genre mashup nonetheless.
[size=12pt]RE-ANIMATOR[/size] (1985, Stuart Gordon)
October is the horror month, so I decided to plunge a little into the genre by digging up a few old favorites and classics I hadnât watched so far. This one belongs to the latter category: for some reason or another, this Lovecraft adaptation never caught my attention until last night.
Both the story and the adaptation are clearly intended as a parody on the Frankenstein myth. Jeffrey Combs plays the classic Lovecraft character Herbert West, a brilliant but reckless (and ruthless) medical student who has developed a serum to bring the dead back to life. Main problem: the re-animated corpses show some animalistic behavior and unexpected desires, even when their heads are cut off: itâs all a state mind, located between our ears, you know.
Clever, funny, raunchy and (extremely) gross this horror comedy never fails to entertain, although it goes a bit too far over the top in the final twenty minutes, notably in this infamous scene with the oversexed severed head. Both the story and the adaptation led to sequels, and itâs easy to see why. Probably not for all tastes, but if youâre attuned to it, itâs great fun.
Well never cared much for Halloween, but by now its multinational thing that my kids celebrate, so I better join the bandwagon, and will be watching some horror stuff.
I decided to start with a Western and Zombie film at the same time, and beginning by the end it was a good decision.
Exit Humanity takes place during the final days of the American civil war. A southern soldier returns home just to find out his wife has become a zombie and his son is missing so he starts a quest for his lost son before itâs too late, for unknown reasons thereâs a Zombie plague spreading the country. Later in the film thereâs a chance of cure because our hero finds a girl immune to the zombie bites, but soon that chance is spoiled by a crazed general that abducts the girl, leaving the main hero with a new quest. The zombies are not the main point of the story, itâs a more character driven film than most in this subgenre. The story is more similar to a film like The Road.
Itâs a not a truly good or excellent film, a bit slow even if itâs not intended to be a fast paced gore show (the location seems to be same all the time), sometimes just runâs out of plot, I think the the lack of budget didnât help I think.
The visuals and cinematography are fantastic in this film, most of which is shot in the exterior I read that the director choose to film during early morning. Also liked the animation elements, actually they use it because of budget restrictions, and Brian Cox narration.
Yes not perfect but nevertheless itâs an interesting movie with some good ideas much better than the trivial Zombie stuff, and I never felt bored anyway.
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