31 Days of Halloween Movies (2018) - Horror Fans Unite!!!!!!

[FilmUncensored]

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988) -

Listened to the audio commentary with Fred Olen Ray and David Decoteau. This is such an awesome low budget movie, and it was great to hear about how the whole project was cast, filmed and now restored for the Blu-ray release.


* - first viewing

September
The House on Sorority Row (1983)* -
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) -
Ragini MMS 2 (2014) -
Wolfcop (2014)* -
Fender Bender (2016)* -
Mayhem (2017)* -
Happy Birthday to Me (1981)* -
Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988) (Fred Olen Ray and David Decoteau audio commentary) -

[hagios]

9/10

[filmbuffTX]

Cult of Chucky (2017)




I like all of the Child's Play films to varying degrees. Yes, even Seed of Chucky. Always entertaining even when silly.

September
Fade to Black*
Slaughter High*
Truth or Dare*
The Howling*
Cult of Chucky*

*first-time viewing

[cgpublic]

The temperatures dropped into the 50s this weekend in Gotham, and so it begins:

Date: 9/10; Frankenstein [1931]; Whale's Gods & Monsters; oft-imitated, never surpassed.
Date: 9/11; The Bride of Frankenstein [1935]; Gods, Monsters & Mate, indeed.
Date: 9/12; The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [1920]; A very unique dream state filled with dread awaits.
Date: 9/13; Vampyr [1932]; A silent memento mori whispering supernatural secrets.
Date: 9/14; Dracula [1931]; The definitive Dracula, Lugosi delivers an iconic turn in the titular role.
Date: 9/15; The Black Cat [1934]; The first film to pair Karloff & Lugosi, a betrayal leads to a game of death.
– –
Date: 9/17; Suspiria [1977]; Horror Argento Style
Date: 9/18; Day of Wrath [1943]; A slow burn of religion, morality and sexual repression, deftly wrapped in a cloak of witchcraft.
Date: 9/19; The Village of the Dammed [1960]; Beware the stare.
Date: 9/20; Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom [2018]; Bayona delivers a sequel that would have been right at home in Universal's Dark Universe.
Date: 9/21; The Valley of Gwangi [1969]; Cowboys & Monsters!
Date: 9/22; Gojira [1954]; The Great Gojira!
– –
Date: 9/24; Carnival of Souls [1962]; Scared In Salt Lake City.
Date: 9/25; Eyes Without A Face [1960]; An unsettling descent to a place unreal yet supremely realistic, populated by humans behaving unbelievably inhumanly, yet very believable.
Date: 9/26; Ugetsu [1953]; Ghosts & Samurai!
Date: 9/27; Isle of the Dead [1945]; V For Vorvolaka!
Date: 9/28; The Thing From Another World [1951]; The first sci-fi slash horror and still one of the greats.

[cgpublic]

"We're about to unfold the story of Frankenstein, a man of science who sought to create a man after his own image without reckoning upon God. It is one of the strangest tales ever told. It deals with the two great mysteries of creation: life and death. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even horrify you. So if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now is your chance to, uh... Well, we've warned you."

Frankenstein [1931; Re-Watch (2012 Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection Blu-ray; Remastered)]



Rating:

Analysis: Whale's Gods & Monsters, oft-imitated, never surpassed.

[CelluloidPal]

9/10:

Slice (2018) A fun 80s horror comedy throwback despite a few slow spots

[samlop10]

Previous:

Previous:

1. Predator 2

2. Deep Blue Sea

3. Razorback

4. Revenge

5. The Nun

6. Halloween 6: The Curse of Micheal Myers (Producer's Cut)



Current:

7. Slither



Great horror comedy that blends the two genres to almost pitch-perfection, with a nice tongue-in-cheek sci-fi element to boot. The concept is pretty cliché by now, but James Gunn injects a nice amount of energy into it that it feels fresh and very fun once again. It has gory and gross scenes to spare, and that just amplifies the fun, as long as you can stomach it. The characters are all very colorful and it's a joy to watch them interact, and you can definitely see how this element paved the way for Guardians of the Galaxy (which has probably the most vivid characters I've enjoyed watching on the big screen), albeit in a very different canvas. If I hadn't watched Night of the Creeps so recently, I would have doubled-featured it with this, both films compliment each other quite well.

PQ: 4 / 5
Details on the final format of the film are scarce, but by the year it came out, finishing films on a Digital Intermediate was already pretty common practice. Shout Factory does not specify what was the source for their transfer, but my guess is that it comes from a DI and the transfer was supplied to them by Universal. Having said that, while the film looks overall good, it does have a few shortcomings. For one, shadow detail is moderately crushed throughout. I have the Canadian disc and I had also noticed that when I first watched it, so it is very likely that contrast was boosted on the DI and that is simply accurately replicated here. That is speculation on my part but given how common this has been on transfers from films around that time, it is the most likely reason and not a fault of this transfer. Film grain is scarce and it does not look very filmic overall (also very likely reduced for the DI). It was obviously filtered but thankfully fine detail seems to have made it out in good shape. Otherwise, black levels are deep and inky and colors are particularly strong, with skin tones looking very neutral and accurate. Greenery is pretty common and that also comes through fairly well. The most striking color here is of course, red, with all the gooey and splatter-y stuff looking very vivid and a deep shade of red. It really stands out and it helps amplify the effects, practical or CGI. CGI is obvious but given the year and budget that is forgiven. While the crush of shadow detail is regrettable, that is very likely not a fault of the transfer, and most of the other elements are in really good shape, and while it is not demo material, it still looks very good and the vivid cinematography helps make the film a very fun and gory horror comedy.

AQ: 4.5 / 5
The 5.1 lossless track (upmixed with DTS Neural:X) holds up pretty well. The old-school style of the score really shines here, bleeding into the surrounds and providing a very immersive sound design. Discrete effects also impress, with the slithering and other gross effects taking full advantage of the soundstage with great directionality across the front as well as behind the viewer with the surrounds. The track is also fairly aggressive, with the music and different elements like shootings, tentacle hits, and an explosion sounding fairly loud while maintaining good clarity and with good support from the sub. The southern accent-infused dialogue of the characters comes through with great clarity and intelligibility. Overall, a great mix for a horror/sci-fi/comedy.

[samlop10]

Previous:

1. Predator 2

2. Deep Blue Sea

3. Razorback

4. Revenge

5. The Nun

6. Halloween 6: The Curse of Micheal Myers (Producer's Cut)

7. Slither



Current:

8. Raising Cain (Director's Cut)



Hitchcock ripoff? Smart twist on the concept? Brian DePalma takes the twist element from

[Show spoiler]Psycho

and twists it even further to the point that it is almost unrecognizable by the time the film ends. While there are various references to that film

[Show spoiler](even the word 'transvestite' is used while the psychiatrist is explaining Cain's mental condition)

, I do fall on the side that DePalma took and made it quite different, perhaps not so much his own since it is hard to not think of Hitchcock while watching it, but definitely to the point that even if you guess the twist halfway through, the film still packs more surprises that for unspoiled first time viewers it is almost impossible to guess where the films ends.

This Director's Cut does not have any new footage but rather it re-edits different sequences so that it flows better for the viewer. I have never seen the theatrical cut, but apparently that version was very confusing and hard to follow. Now, this version is also challenging to make sense of. Events are told out of order for the first half, but around the halfway point they all come together and then the film progresses in chronological order. Thus, one has to be very attentive while watching that first half. It takes a little patience but it does pay off once all the reveals come pouring down.

The film is also fairly suspenseful. DePalma has crafted a dreamy, almost surreal style for the film that is quite capably combined with a very steady dose of tension that just keeps mounting until the finale. I have yet to see such a classy style work so well for a thriller (except from Hitchcock), but here DePalma is a master at it. John Lithgow does a wonderful job at playing his character

[Show spoiler](s)

. The rest of the cast is fine but he is the one that shines here with such a complex job. The finale is somewhat short, but it is so beautifully complex on a technical and artistic level that I catch myself holding my breath, not only because of how suspenseful and cathartic it is after all the previous mounting tension, but also at the camera work and all the moving pieces and people from that sequence which all come together and deliver a crazy but still sensical ending. Overall, if you were able to follow the first two acts, the climax is very satisfying.

PQ: 4.5 / 5
Excellent transfer that very accurately represents the intended dreamy style of the film. It is soft and a bit hazy but that is all intentional, again, to amplify the almost-surreal element. The picture is thankfully very filmic, with a nice layer of grain throughout that is never obtrusive and it makes the picture look very organic. There's a bit of print damage like specks but they are pretty rare and do not ruin the presentation whatsoever. Fine detail is not abundant, but it does come through well enough as much as the shooting style allows for. Colors are very well rendered. A red sweater towards the end of the film definitely catches the eye, looking very deep and saturated without any bleeding. Highlight detail in darker areas of the image is very well kept, with good constant contrast throughout. Black levels are very good. There is a bit bright highlight clipping but that is very likely a limitation of the SDR transfer and not something that could have been avoided without compromising other areas of the picture.

AQ: 4 / 5
The outstanding element here is the score from Pino Donaggio. Him and DePalma worked together often and it is easy to see why here. The music is a very important element that really helps to set the atmosphere and build tension, and here it comes through with excellent results. Otherwise, the track is not aggressive. Other than a few punches and a gunshot, the sound design is reserved and not trying to call attention to itself. Dialogue is clear and intelligible throughout. Surrounds are not used much other than to expand the soundstage with the music and some atmospheric effects. Overall, a good track that is faithful to the source but which will not test the limits of anyone's sound setup.

[Monterey Jack]

^ Big fan of Raising Cain, one of De Palma's nuttier, more playful thrillers. The new edit for the SF Blu makes it even better.

[master_8ball]

Why are people doing reserved posts?

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by master_8ball

Why are people doing reserved posts?

They probably update their first post with a running list of films instead of making new posts each time.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

They probably update their first post with a running list of films instead of making new posts each time.

Which makes no sense, when you can just stick the list of films you've seen in a spoiler box (like I do).

[master_8ball]

Won't be anyone reading those updates in 50 days.

[chad_1138]

Starting this year with some films off Netflix and Amazon Prime before we dive into our collection. Here we go... (*denotes first time viewing)

09/01 - *Demon House
09/02 - *The Babysitter
09/03 - *The Ritual
09/04 - *Death Note
09/05 - *American Fable
09/07 - *The Nun
09/07 - *The Bye Bye Man
09/08 - *Before I Wake
09/10 - *Mercy (I was leaning toward about 3-4 skulls before the final act and "twist". Just left me with too much of WTF)

[jeddy3]

9/5 - Alien vs. Predator (2004)
9/7 - Annihilation (2018)
9/10 - Upgrade (2018)

[hamchuck1]

My official/unofficial start to the season started with The Endless last night. Was really surprised how much I liked it. Would pair well with The Sacrament or Triangle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reMw...ature=youtu.be

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Which makes no sense, when you can just stick the list of films you've seen in a spoiler box (like I do).

Originally Posted by master_8ball

Won't be anyone reading those updates in 50 days.

IKR?

[mpstjohn]

So far this month...

Marrowbone 1/2

[Show spoiler]An interesting hidden gem, if this film reminds me of anything its those old VC Andrews novels, one of those dark American fairy tales that makes you wonder as a child who is the audience for this story which is written. Creepy and indicative of an era long since past of films like Child of Glass and Watcher in the Woods, it feels like a mash-up of Flowers in the Attic and Mama and I was very okay with that.

Happy Death Day

[Show spoiler]A nice surprise from a studio that I didn't expect this kind of output from, though the genre of Time Loop is nothing new, not even to horror, or birthday related horror (see Haunt), the film takes an interesting premise and decided rather than just focusing on creative deaths focus on character development, it takes lessons from Groundhog Day that others in the genre did not and is surprisingly rewatchable for it

It (2017) 1/2

[Show spoiler]Of all the places that the remake succeeds over the original, its the cast of kids that really steal the show here. Though the film does exploit the very things that the medium of television couldn't with the miniseries and actually gives closure and impact to scenes that merely faded to commercial, its the cast and the way the makeup and effects allow Skarsgaard's Pennywise to appear more alien and omnipresent and with the help of the cinematography and score the town more under his control that really makes this stand out as an improvement over the original.

28 Weeks Later

[Show spoiler]I remember seeing this in theaters, promptly getting a framed poster and making this one of my first films to get on Blu-ray, since I have nary looked back on it, recalling just how brutal a film it was. Revisiting it after so many years I'm not moved from this assessment but am even more impressed just how well acted and fleshed out the characters are and why its so haunted me as a movie. An impressive sequel and perhaps even improvement over 28 Days Later

The Fly

[Show spoiler]Like John Carpenter's The Thing, Cronenberg's Fly remake is in a class all its own and so different from its predecessor one can almost not call it a remake at all. Taking the popcorn shock film of the 60s and making of it a much grimmer and more nuanced horror film that almost operates better as a drama, its both terrifying and heartbreaking to see the story unfold and yet so well done its as hard to avoid it as it is to watch. All the same, both Goldblum and Davis bring charm to this story and make you feel the need to follow these character no matter where the story takes them.

Frighteners

[Show spoiler]Had to show this to my wife, as a fan of Peter Jackson from his Tolkien films, it was a shock to her to find prior to his big budget epics he made a name in the horror genre. Though the CGI effects are rather dated, the cast, particularly Michael J. Fox, make this film feel like the horror cousin to Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future trilogy. Its fun and makes me wish all the more we had more films like this from Fox and Jackson.

Arachnophobia

[Show spoiler]To this day I'm still surprised my dad took me to see this, though revisiting it realize its little more than Jaws with Spiders, from the unbelieving authority figure to the animal expert and rangler to the show down scene between the one hero and antagonist. Overall very entertaining and I give it to them for making this in a time before CGI spiders with actual spiders and John Goodman is always a plus.

Darkman

[Show spoiler]After years of Spider-man movies, Oz the Great and Powerful and even his return to form, Drag Me to Hell, one can forget just how frenetic and unique Sam Raimi's style of filmmaking is, but revisiting Darkman is perhaps more about his style than any other film I can recall. Having been unable to acquire the film rights to either Batman or The Shadow, Raimi decided to create his own dark superhero of sort in Liam Nieson as the phantom of the opera-esque chameleon hero. If there is one flaw here its that the final villain isn't anything all that impressive and the last third of the film suffers for it when suddenly we are expected to believe he can outfight Liam Nieson who by now has super strength and can't experience pain. Thankfully the makers of the sequel picked up on this and decided to bring back the better antagonist in Durrant for the sequel.

C.H.U.D. 1/2

[Show spoiler]Surprisingly well made and exceptionally well cast, if I never wondered what the filmmakers behind Street Trash might've made had they'd gone with restraint, suspense and character building over gore I do now, or rather wonder how a sequel to The Relic might've looked had they pulled from the book's sequel Reliquary.

Exorcist III 1/2

[Show spoiler]Though I previously loved this film for all the ways it carries on the story of the original Exorcist, and George C. Scott is clearly acting his heart out in material he believes in there is a palpable drop in the quality of the film when the new footage shot to wedge in The Exorcist name into the title, rather than the original title of Legion (shared by the source novel). Its jarring to see the shift when it happens to know in its theatrical version we are robbed of more of Brad Douriff's performance is sad, even though Jason Miller is good in his own right. I look forward to seeing the director's cut when I can and though I know with the original footage its not wholly perfect I still feel like I'm watching a jigsaw puzzle of two films, one called Legion and another Exorcist III.

[assydingo]

9/11 Solstice (2008)

It's consistently not terrible, but at the same time, consistently not great either. About as middle of the road as it can possibly be. The kind of movie you might watch because you're familiar with the cast and the actresses are pretty but you don't really remember later on.

[samlop10]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

^ Big fan of Raising Cain, one of De Palma's nuttier, more playful thrillers. The new edit for the SF Blu makes it even better.

Nice! I think it might actually be my favorite DePalma film (gasp!). As much as I like and admire Carrie, Dressed to Kill, and Blowout (and I own all three), this one connects with me more for some reason.