Halloween Horror Month 2016

[Blu MacReady]

09/10

Another double bill tonight



Great franchise, but the first is still the best



Watched the first one, for the umpteenth time, although only seen the others in this set once or twice. Might stick to these tomorrow and do the box.

[thewerepuppygrr]

thewerepuppygrr's 31 Days of Halloween Movies 2016

04. The Others (2001)
Directed by Alejandro Amenábar | Starring Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan


A woman who lives in a darkened old house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that her family home is haunted.

Viewed on: Netflix (UK)

Runtime: 1hr 44mins

1st Time Viewing?: No.

My thoughts:
I don’t really want to write too much about this one as it really is best to go into it knowing as little as possible, but I will say this is fast becoming a real classic for me. It’s an old-school ghost story and nails the gothic tone it is clearly gunning for. Nicole Kidman is fantastic as the ‘hauntee’ trying to keep her children safe from ghostly intruders. There are countless horror flicks set in houses where you roll your eyes whenever the occupant chooses to wander about with the lights off but here it is part of the story; the children are deathly allergic to bright light and so must be kept in the shadows at all times. The interplay of light and dark cinematography and the creeping dread it manufactures is nothing short of masterful. While repeat viewings do hinder some of the surprises, this is still one of the ultimate cinema ghost stories.

Earlier ratings in this challenge:
01. The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)
02. Silver Bullet (1985)
03. Blair Witch (2016)

Total 1st Time Views: 3
Total Revisits: 1
Total Viewing Time: 6hrs 10mins

[Trigger89]

Yesterday:


I'm gonna get roasted when I say this but here goes - Alien3 is the best in the franchise

[Ste7en]

3) Deathgasm.

My first clunker. Oh dear

I like horror. I like metal. I like gore. I should have loved this but it bored the tits off me. I actually went to sleep.

I can see why Zavvi still have stock of it.

[Blu MacReady]

Originally Posted by Trigger89

Yesterday:


I'm gonna get roasted when I say this but here goes - Alien3 is the best in the franchise

Well I really like 3, really like it. But for me they run in order. 1 best, 2 second best, 3 etc. They're all really close and like Dawn/Day of the Dead I can swap around which I prefer, cause they're all so good.

Good that someone else enjoys 3 and doesn't just dump on it.

[WilsonBros]

Originally Posted by Blu MacReady

04/10



You inspired me DavesimonH, but I'm keeping to the commissioned art

Mine is still in the shrink-wrap, so have the commissioned art by default. I won't open it, but refuse to sell it, either, in spite of the prices it's going for.

[Gizz]

Originally Posted by Trigger89

Yesterday:


I'm gonna get roasted when I say this but here goes - Alien3 is the best in the franchise

Well it's a great film I like all four films but I like the 2nd film the best.

[Persona]

Originally Posted by Trigger89

Yesterday:


I'm gonna get roasted when I say this but here goes - Alien3 is the best in the franchise

Do you also think it's Fincher's best film?

[Trigger89]

Originally Posted by Bucko

Do you also think it's Fincher's best film?

No, his best/favourite of mine is Zodiac.

[Blu MacReady]

Originally Posted by WilsonBros

Mine is still in the shrink-wrap, so have the commissioned art by default. I won't open it, but refuse to sell it, either, in spite of the prices it's going for.

Hope you have another to watch as well? I haven't with a lot of the original white box releases or SBs, but a few I have bothered to slit the wrap around the slot so I can slide the amaray in and out easily, so the wrap just covers and protects the box.

I've got 90% of my SBs in these hard clear plastic sleeves from eBay, would be nice if Arrow had something similar for their white box releases to protect.

[Ste7en]

4) Intruders (the Clive Owen one).

FFS! I'm angry. I just watched a 90 minute film that felt like three hours and I have no idea what it was about.

5) Uncle Sam. Ahh... that's better

[Blu MacReady]

10/10



Been a while since I picked this one of the shelf, just finished and much better then I remembered. Much much better then the tag line

[Blu MacReady]

11/10



Picked out Part 5 - A New Beginning. Really like the Tommy Jarvis sequels.

[Martoto]

I'm pushing forty (I've got my hip, knee AND shoulder up to it, that's how much I'm pushing it), but the eighties horror boom pretty much passed me by when I was the right age to devour it, or be exposed to and corrupted by it, as the press would have called it at the time. We didn't have a VCR in the house until about 1990. So horror, for me, was broadcasts of the sixties and seventies movies like The Omen, Rosemary's Baby and Halloween. I don't think either The Omen or Halloween can be bettered as horror films. It wasn't until I was about twenty that I got to see the Exorcist by which point the mystique of that film had been destroyed and the experience just wasn't the same as my first Halloween. I admire that film greatly though. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre too although that one definitely did hit me the way I expect it would have as a young teen.

By the time I had the opportunity to watch them I became rather sniffy about the endless franchises. Particularly the Halloween series of which I thought III was the only one that wasn't a waste of time. The first Friday 13th was a major disappointment. Just a very uninspired cash in on Halloween that, as Carpenter rightly put it, didn't bother to rise above its cheap inspiration, in spite of the effective make up work. I saw Part 3D on TV and could see that the franchise was no bettter (or much worse) than the flabby Michael Myers sequels. Part VI, Jason Lives on the other hand was lots of fun. It's a pity the series didn't arrive at that tone sooner.

In general I was put off most of that period of horror or less than motivated to seek it out.

As a result. I only watched A Nightmare On Elm Street for the first time this year, and loved it! A smart idea executed very strongly and with a very good cast. I still haven't brought myself to dip my toe into any of the sequels though.

For a guy who belatedly respects the first NOES and could happily live entirely without any of the Halloween sequels in spite of the original staying in my top five films for as long as I can remember, would I be wasting my time going for the full NOES set, or is there enough across the movies, or in at least one of the movies that is somewhat comparable with the quality of the first one?

I know that's a fairly circuitous request for a recommendation, but does it sound like my curiosity will be rewarded or will my attitude towards horror franchises be reinforced?

P.s. I only have the DVD of NOES with the Craven/Langenkamp/Saxon commentary and I love special features so a set with comprehensive extras a that are worth watching even if not all the movies are would be right up my street too.

[Margot Robbie Fan]

Originally Posted by Martoto

I'm pushing forty (I've got my hip, knee AND shoulder up to it, that's how much I'm pushing it), but the eighties horror boom pretty much passed me by when I was the right age to devour it, or be exposed to and corrupted by it, as the press would have called it at the time. We didn't have a VCR in the house until about 1990. So horror, for me, was broadcasts of the sixties and seventies movies like The Omen, Rosemary's Baby and Halloween. I don't think either The Omen or Halloween can be bettered as horror films. It wasn't until I was about twenty that I got to see the Exorcist by which point the mystique of that film had been destroyed and the experience just wasn't the same as my first Halloween. I admire that film greatly though. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre too although that one definitely did hit me the way I expect it would have as a young teen.

By the time I had the opportunity to watch them I became rather sniffy about the endless franchises. Particularly the Halloween series of which I thought III was the only one that wasn't a waste of time. The first Friday 13th was a major disappointment. Just a very uninspired cash in on Halloween that, as Carpenter rightly put it, didn't bother to rise above its cheap inspiration, in spite of the effective make up work. I saw Part 3D on TV and could see that the franchise was no bettter (or much worse) than the flabby Michael Myers sequels. Part VI, Jason Lives on the other hand was lots of fun. It's a pity the series didn't arrive at that tone sooner.

In general I was put off most of that period of horror or less than motivated to seek it out.

As a result. I only watched A Nightmare On Elm Street for the first time this year, and loved it! A smart idea executed very strongly and with a very good cast. I still haven't brought myself to dip my toe into any of the sequels though.

For a guy who belatedly respects the first NOES and could happily live entirely without any of the Halloween sequels in spite of the original staying in my top five films for as long as I can remember, would I be wasting my time going for the full NOES set, or is there enough across the movies, or in at least one of the movies that is somewhat comparable with the quality of the first one?

I know that's a fairly circuitous request for a recommendation, but does it sound like my curiosity will be rewarded or will my attitude towards horror franchises be reinforced?

P.s. I only have the DVD of NOES with the Craven/Langenkamp/Saxon commentary and I love special features so a set with comprehensive extras a that are worth watching even if not all the movies are would be right up my street too.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and Wes Craven's New Nightmare are worth a watch. Don't think you'll enjoy the others.

[Martoto]

Now that you mention it, I caught a chunk of New Nightmare on TV one time and thought it looked not bad. In fact, I think it made me reconsider actually watching the first one.

Three out of seven doesn't sound like a bad strike rate for these types of films.

[WilsonBros]

Originally Posted by Martoto

I only have the DVD of NOES with the Craven/Langenkamp/Saxon commentary and I love special features so a set with comprehensive extras a that are worth watching even if not all the movies are would be right up my street too.

You need the Elite LaserDisc for the full experience. Loads of wonderful stuff (soooo many deleted scenes) unreleased on either DVD or Blu.

elmcon.jpg

[Martoto]

Originally Posted by WilsonBros

You need the Elite LaserDisc for the full experience. Loads of wonderful stuff (soooo many deleted scenes) unreleased on either DVD or Blu.

I also need a laserdisc player and a pay rise.

[WilsonBros]

Originally Posted by Martoto

I also need a laserdisc player and a pay rise.

My machine is sitting in a box, almost begging to come out and play. The price that most discs are going for is depressing. That NOES disc cost me £90 just over 20 years ago, and it's painful when you factor inflation into it.

The players are becoming collector's items, as even the last ones made are a good 15 years old.

Anyway, the extras on NOES are great, and - as was the case with LD - they were focused towards movie aficionados than the casual viewers DVD aimed at, with their V(alue) A(dded) M(aterial). The section about test-screening it is excellent, giving you a chance to see read a few of the audience rating sheets from the previews.

[Ste7en]

I have that LD at home

I also loved the Elite Night of the Living Dead, where the film starts all wobbly then freezes and the Elite logo smashes through it and it starts over again, pristine. Also worth mentioning the red Evil Dead II LD they bough out. I still have that also.