ok lets all shit our pants to something new: post 2005 horror film thread

I concede it's a pretty fickle standard. Obviously people being stupid shouldn't invalidate horror films, because otherwise I would dismiss some of the best horror films ever made. I suppose somewhere in my calculations I consider style/originality/effects/general effectiveness/wit/surprise/shock/scares/mood, etc.. The "Evil Dead" remake was an example of a film that failed on all of these levels save perhaps effects, which is why I guess stuff that doesn't usually bother me really bothered me. Also, the characters were really, really stupid, which reduced it to the level of an exercise for me, both as a film and as a filmgoing experience. Especially coming just a year after "Cabin in the Woods," "Evil Dead" was like watching a children's balloon animal fart out all its air and flutter aimlessly across the screen.

xpost

i think part of the problem was that the remake brought character to the fore in a way the original never did, spending all that time building up the protagonist's tragic backstory, the strained relationships, etc. it attempted to be roughly "realistic" in the manner of most contemporary commercial horror films (and failed, imo), while the characters in the '81 version are distanced and framed by weird naive-but-knowing stylization of that era. the latter approach is much more forgiving, since the audience is never really asked to believe in what they're seeing.

That could be it. If you're going to fill your film with real people rather than punching bags, they have to act like real people.

I have Sinister to watch this weekend, yay

It's so good

it was yr raveups that convinced me :)

I started Sinister with the lights out...1/3 of the way through I got up and turned the lights back on. Jeeeeezus it made me jump like 90 times!
I really enjoyed it, except towards the end. *spoilerish* the kids took me right out of the movie, so the ending ended up feeling kinda dumb. But the rest of it was fun! And JAMES RANSONE Sergeant Ziggy at yr service <3

Has anyone caught anything good on Netflix streaming recently, other than Grave Encounters, Lovely Molly, JDATE, etc?

I've just installed a chrome plugin that gives me access to the whole US catalogue, which is pretty huge but looks mostly terrible. I'm sure there are some hidden gems though.

About to watch "we are what we are" will report back.

Not streaming on Netflix, but should be on fear.net if you have on demand cable or whatever

Sadly mediocre at best

Thanks. Might give it a miss then.

to expand, it just seems really painfully aimless? and man, for those of you that don't like big leaps of anti-logic, the lead up to the climax is crazy crazy stupid and totally beyond belief.

watched the maniac remake last night. repellent and rather dull. not recommended, but gorehounds will appreciate the effects work.

then i watched sinister. almost the opposite: disturbing, but not inclined to wallow, and a hell of a lot of fun. loses some steam when it goes ott in the 2nd half, but i loved the build-up. clever play on the "found footage" genre, too.

Watched Dead Europe tonight. It's about an Australian/Greek photographer guy taking his father's ashes back to Europe and he starts seeing dead people and starts realising the folk nonsense his family talked about curses wasn't strictly bollocks. It is flawed but worth your time.

Man, I'm kind of struggling with "Mama" right now. Seems good, but all the ancillaries are bothering me: Chastain's wig/character, the horrible acting of the psychologist, Jaime Lannister ...

Hmm: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/maniac/

yeah, mentioned it a couple posts back. did not enjoy.

Sorry, missed it. Had to rebookmark a bunch of threads when they were getting out of control.

Saw Mama on a flight and I have a question for horror buffs. The feel of the movie is very similar to dozens of others, including the US remake of The Ring, right down to certain motifs: autumnal setting, sleuthing in spooky libraries/archives, aerial shots of cars driving through woods/mountains, solemn orchestral score, Oscar-nommed actress slumming it, clear if misplaced sense of its own classiness. I feel like I've seen so many so-so horror movies in the past decade that look like this and I wondered what the first was. Does it pre-date The Ring?

Mama was OK but I couldn't even begin to buy Jessica Chastain as a tattooed goth bass-player.

It sounds like you're referring to this hyper-styled, filtered look, which casts everything in perpetual blue shadow. It's a good question. There is a lot of "The Ring" in this movie, and a million other movies, too. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of movie in this movie, which is what lets "Mama" down. Just nothing happening when everyone already seems to know what's happening, for no good reason.

I seem to recall a precursor to the look being Neil Jordan's "In Dreams."

Really wanted to love Black Rock, but with a movie this stripped-down, the execution needs to be pretty much perfect, and key aspects were a little lacking.

intrigued by a field in england, new movie from the guy who did kill list, which got "eh" to "amazing!" responses itt. trailer makes it look like it might scratch the same itch sauna did for me....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRRvzjkzu2U

totally dig the 70s paperback style of the movie poster too

http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/a-field-in-england-poster-1.jpeg

ooh that looks good but i think i would instinctively like it based on the title and poster alone :-/

That dude needs to slow down.

some weird ass remakes coming out too, of 70s aussie sleeper patrick and hated-by-jjjusten mexican cannibal flick we are what we are (the latter by the guy who did stake land).

tho I do believe remakes should be made of small imperfect movies instead of fucking up what was fine to begin with. wish somebody would remake the 70s telekinesis pic the medusa touch. great premise poorly executed.

yeah AFIE looks like total la lechera catnip

xps

AFIE looks amazing pls give me puritan pron!

Saw Mama on a flight and I have a question for horror buffs. The feel of the movie is very similar to dozens of others, including the US remake of The Ring, right down to certain motifs: autumnal setting, sleuthing in spooky libraries/archives, aerial shots of cars driving through woods/mountains, solemn orchestral score, Oscar-nommed actress slumming it, clear if misplaced sense of its own classiness. I feel like I've seen so many so-so horror movies in the past decade that look like this and I wondered what the first was. Does it pre-date The Ring?

Mama was OK but I couldn't even begin to buy Jessica Chastain as a tattooed goth bass-player.

― Deafening silence (DL), Friday, May 24, 2013 8:13 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I feel like Shyamalan kind of midwifed this style.

I think i have a problem taking Reece Shearsmith seriously

Wheatley's Sightseers was dreadful for me, after that he really he needs to make amends. Despite the good reviews it got it was absolute rinse.

couldn't disagree more, DSP. but then i treated Sightseers as a theoretical prequel to my favorite movie of 2011 (Simon Arthur's Silver Tongues), and it just made me love both that much more.

Not seen Silver Tongues, it looks decent. I expected a kind of Mike Leigh's Nuts In May crossed with a Hammer House of Horror vibe from Sightseers and it has no atmosphere, no tension and the writing is dreadful. Whilst watching it I started to think I might have overrated Kill List.

Leigh/NIM, yes. But I don't know what could have led you to expect a HHOH vibe. it's such a thoroughly modern film. Wright's production credit is more key than anyone is willing to acknowledge. I'd also argue that Sightseers is not a horror movie, no matter how high the body count. Just a very black, very British comedy.

I will be looking forward to AFIE so long as there is 0 comedy involved. I didn't detect any in the trailer, but maybe my detector is off?

I suppose it was the HHOH element of the 2nd half of Kill List that endeared me to it and I expected more of the sameish. "it's such a thoroughly modern film." Maybe that is what I hate about it, it reminds of that Danny Boyle type of film making, that seems calculating and competent but always weighs the same. Or maybe you could sub DB for British.

netflix streaming has been a goddamn death zone for horror adds for weeks

a death zone sounds like it would be a great source for horror movies. or did you mean more "stagnant, useless"?

a health clinic of horror adds

Alright fuck it, watching hatchet 2

Hahaha that was glorious stupid fantastic self-aware fun! I know I am normally mr. serious moody creepfest much of the time on this thread but that was every right kind of ridiculous.

Plz note: this is custom built for gorehound return of the living dead 2 types, if that is not your scene don't bother. Funniest moment is a Venetian closet nod gag that is an all time winner.

Ok on the more sober side of the day, I might have oversold that a little. First 5-10 minutes are a little worrisome, the middle is mostly gore free but full of some clever nods and awesome cameos, and the last 30 are non stop ridiculous bloodbath fun.

Going to find out if V/H/S/2 is any good tonight, didn't mind the first one and some reviewers have been raving about it.

never bothered with the first, but gotta say, the raid guy doing a short has me interested

It is a piss poor horror anthology but the Welsh bloke who made raid really delivers, the rest are shit. His short about a deranged doomsday cult is totally in the wrong company.

i pretty much HATED the first V/H/S, so it's going to be tough to get me to go back to the well on that one.

should be getting "some guy who kills people" on disc tonight via netflix, will report back

If you hated V/H/S give it a wide berth, because overall 2 is even worse. But I would recommend fastforwarding to the Gareth Evans contribution, which is in a different class to the other 3/4 of the movie.

Evans/Tjahjanto segment of V/H/S 2 almost did me in. More the un-steady cam than the intensity. Though that, too.

when the idea is good i can bring a lot of good will to the table (to make it work for me) and on that level VSH got it: an underground vhs tape exchange network that focus on "paranormal" snuff videos. dude, that creeps me out.