The Descent's horror is almost self-contradictory because it's so scary and intense before they even add the monsters, so much so that the monsters actually deflate/decrease the scares.
Which ending did you see?
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 6 October 2014 17:39 (nine years ago) link
I personally think the monsters are kinda unneccessary, for the exact reason you mention. I would've prefered the movie if it were simply about a doomed spelunking expedition.
― Certified Genious (Old Lunch), Monday, 6 October 2014 17:40 (nine years ago) link
some kind of like super terrifying picnic at hanging rock scenario would have been more amazing.
― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Monday, 6 October 2014 17:42 (nine years ago) link
I think it's probably more the emphasis on action than the monsters that does it.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 6 October 2014 17:44 (nine years ago) link
didn't know there was more than one... the ending I saw she crawls out of the ground, runs away, steals a truck, parks by the side of the road > jumpscare w vision of her dead friend and then she's back underground w the vision of her dead daughter again. Would've been fine without the extra dead daughter bit, which implies she did not actually get out.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 6 October 2014 17:46 (nine years ago) link
I would've prefered the movie if it were simply about a doomed spelunking expedition.
yeah the most terrifying stuff seems like it's all before the monsters reveal
obviously could've still had a pit of bones (nothing gets out of here alive!) and previous expedition signs and all that, monsters turn it more into an action gore-fest
― Οὖτις, Monday, 6 October 2014 17:47 (nine years ago) link
Borderlands kinda reminds me of it. That had a great ending.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 6 October 2014 17:52 (nine years ago) link
finally sucked it up and watched "the poughkeepsie tapes" on youtube, and wow. its got some flaws, but definitely rises to the top of the found footage pile.
― Ass Tchotchke! (jjjusten), Monday, 6 October 2014 19:28 (nine years ago) link
I've been to Poughkeepsie. I should watch that.
I'm starting the thnig's 31 horror films in 31 days twitter challenge today (we were on vacation so I got a late start) with Maniac, which I see everybody here hated (and I suspect the number of women I need to see scalped is pretty low, too), so maybe I will abandon it and watch Apartment 143 instead.
― carl agatha, Monday, 6 October 2014 19:37 (nine years ago) link
No, Maniac is pretty good. If I recall, the women scalpees were really likable, which was good to see, but also, you know, bad.
― The Thnig, Monday, 6 October 2014 19:41 (nine years ago) link
That sounds like my kind of challenge. My GF's out of town this weekend so I might binge pretty hardcore to make up the difference (I've shamefully only watched, like, two horror movies since the beginning of October).
― Certified Genious (Old Lunch), Monday, 6 October 2014 19:41 (nine years ago) link
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, October 6, 2014 6:39 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Certified Genious (Old Lunch), Monday, October 6, 2014 6:40 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Monday, October 6, 2014 6:42 PM (2 hours ago)
Yeah, this stuff. I was ambivalent about it even from the beginning, as the characters didn't gel with me (which is a massive shame as primarily-female cast = fuck yeah), but was hoping that the intensity/claustrophobia would make me care about them more, and then in come some rubbish monsters and it goes actiony and boring.
― emil.y, Monday, 6 October 2014 19:47 (nine years ago) link
yeah the monsters sucked but i liked the cast and the first half was pretty scarythe girl with the beautiful eyebrows from the magdalene sisters was in it! (i just looked her up and her name is nora-jane noone)
― cross over the mushroom circle (La Lechera), Monday, 6 October 2014 21:08 (nine years ago) link
the characters didn't gel with me
ha yes I also thought there was something off about it - my initial question was "wait, how do all these ladies know each other?", their relationships to one another seemed kind of tossed and ambiguously set up, as if the screenwriter was thinking "well, we need at least six kills in this, better have six characters um here goes"
― Οὖτις, Monday, 6 October 2014 21:11 (nine years ago) link
Not sure why a back story would be necessary.
Always thought she looked just like that Green Day frontman. Don't mean that as an insult or a compliment.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 6 October 2014 21:13 (nine years ago) link
ha she does kind of look like him, only prettier!
― cross over the mushroom circle (La Lechera), Monday, 6 October 2014 21:14 (nine years ago) link
I really love Magdalene Sisters. It made me realise that miserable realistic British films could be good.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 6 October 2014 21:16 (nine years ago) link
well they bothered with the backstory for the first three (and the death of child/husband) and then quickly introduced three other randoms with little more than a sentence - which I wouldn't really have a problem with except that pretty much all the characters apart from the two leads ended up pretty indistinguishable
― Οὖτις, Monday, 6 October 2014 21:18 (nine years ago) link
like nothing they did or said throughout the rest of the movie developed any character whatsoever
jjj, thanks for the tip on Poughkeepsie Tapes. I watched it this evening. Riveting and pretty fucking upsetting.
― a drug by the name of WORLD WITHOUT END (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 7 October 2014 01:54 (nine years ago) link
is "you're welcome" an appropriate response to that?
on the other side of the good coin, my continuing trip through after dark horrorfest got me to Perkins' 14, which is just (and remember, it's me saying this, I'll give a lot of illogic leeway to peeps getting chased by killers and such) totally incomprehensibly brain dead. avoid. avoid forever.
― Ass Tchotchke! (jjjusten), Tuesday, 7 October 2014 15:43 (nine years ago) link
The moment way toward the end of Poughkeepsie where the one victim dies with the plastic wrap over their face was really really horrifying
― a drug by the name of WORLD WITHOUT END (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 7 October 2014 17:13 (nine years ago) link
Not a significant spoiler, in this movie abt a serial killer ppl are killed serially
― a drug by the name of WORLD WITHOUT END (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 7 October 2014 17:14 (nine years ago) link
I almost checked out of the Poughkeepsie Tapes nine minutes in with his first victim, but I didn't, which is maybe too bad.
It was a good movie, but I didn't like watching it very much.
― carl agatha, Tuesday, 7 October 2014 19:33 (nine years ago) link
i should have probably thrown in my typical "oh by the way this is super unpleasant to watch" caveat there
― Ass Tchotchke! (jjjusten), Tuesday, 7 October 2014 19:59 (nine years ago) link
It's okay! I should be able to figure it out from context clues, really.
― carl agatha, Tuesday, 7 October 2014 20:19 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, there isn't generally a lot of wiggle room on the pleasantness scale with regard to pseudo snuff films, in my experience.
― Certified Genious (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 7 October 2014 20:28 (nine years ago) link
I just saw The Descent on Sunday & loved it!
― example (crüt), Tuesday, 7 October 2014 21:33 (nine years ago) link
Anyone saw the sequel? I normally wouldn't care but it retained a lot of the cast and crew of the original. Kinda curious how they managed a direct sequel.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Wednesday, 8 October 2014 00:26 (nine years ago) link
Supposed to be terrible.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 8 October 2014 00:44 (nine years ago) link
Bryan Bertino, writer/director of The Strangers, finally has a new movie that apparently just hit VOD. It's a found-footage movie called Mockingbird and I guess it's been in the can for a while? Bunch of bad signs there but I remain curious.
― Simon H., Thursday, 9 October 2014 01:54 (nine years ago) link
Descent sequel is absolutely terrible
― Ass Tchotchke! (jjjusten), Thursday, 9 October 2014 02:49 (nine years ago) link
Anyone seen It Follows? We saw it tonight in Leicester Square and loved it. Intelligent with plenty of nods to suburban US teen horror from the 80s, dude obv loves his Carpenter (good synths ha) although it also feels fresh and original. And it's scary! Liked it a lot.
― kraudive, Sunday, 12 October 2014 00:44 (nine years ago) link
It Follows and The Babadook seem to be the low budget triumphs of this year, I really like the look of both of them.
― xelab, Sunday, 12 October 2014 22:18 (nine years ago) link
Cant find a trailer for It Follows.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 13 October 2014 13:19 (nine years ago) link
I'm not sure there is one yet! Too soon.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 13 October 2014 13:24 (nine years ago) link
There's loads of youtube talk on it from insiders and outsiders.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 13 October 2014 13:27 (nine years ago) link
Here's the Over Your Dead Body trailer I mentioned upthread.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPUObt-zPrM
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 13 October 2014 13:36 (nine years ago) link
Hey! We watched "Borgman" (on the advice of this thread, I think) and LOVED it. There's a movie you just can't get a handle on. Tone is perfect throughout.
― The Thnig, Monday, 13 October 2014 14:12 (nine years ago) link
Has anyone else watched "Exte: Hair Extensions"? J-horror about hair extensions that behave in the manner of The Thing or The Blob. It sounds ridiculous, and is a bit, but really some fantastic stuff in there, and some very creative effects. Highly recommended.
― The Thnig, Thursday, 16 October 2014 13:59 (nine years ago) link
It's not bad. Some funny stuff in it, mad ending. Not Sono's best but fun.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Thursday, 16 October 2014 14:30 (nine years ago) link
The Conjuring was about as good as those kinds of movies get. Looked great, some really nice shots/setups, good with the jump-scares, decent acting. All that being said, I find Catholic movies deeply silly, the conception of evil is so nonsensical and unexamined.
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 16 October 2014 17:46 (nine years ago) link
It was the cheesy tv movie sentimentality the bothered me more than anything.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Thursday, 16 October 2014 17:56 (nine years ago) link
eh that doesn't bother me. It's the requirement that you buy into Catholic mysticism/liturgy for it to have any kind of resonance that makes me roll my eyes at it (tbh I have a similar problem with the grandaddy of all these kinds of movies, the Exorcist). The references to the Salem Witch Trials, to things Satanists believe, to needing a Priest to yell latin to make bad things go away, it's all so deeply silly to my non-Christian sensibility.
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 16 October 2014 18:06 (nine years ago) link
I never know what you're supposed to do if you're Jewish and you face some threat based in Catholic doctrine. Are you just hosed?
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 16 October 2014 18:15 (nine years ago) link
Hey, you don't know the devil, the devil doesn't know you, it's all good brah
― Nhex, Thursday, 16 October 2014 18:17 (nine years ago) link
Well this stuff bleeds into so many horror films that aren't particularly Christian, especially vampire film tropes. It still persists to a surprising degree. Even in that celebrity comedy This Is The End (can't recall if that's the right name) I was kind of surprised that it was a clearly Christian version of afterlife/apocalypse.
In some contexts I'm fine with treating religion in horror stories as just a fantasy mythology. I think Borderlands did a very good job of portraying sympathetic Catholics who were also sceptics.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Thursday, 16 October 2014 18:19 (nine years ago) link
Pretty sure THE POSSESSION was a Jewish exorcism movie. Plenty enough demons to go around.
― The Thnig, Thursday, 16 October 2014 18:20 (nine years ago) link
If The Possession is anything to go by, if you're Jewish, you get possessed by your own evil spirits. Maybe the Catholic demons and Jewish evil spirits have an information sharing setup, like how if you file a complaint for Title VII employment discrimination with your state human rights agency, they send it over to the EEOC for processing.
XPOST
― carl agatha, Thursday, 16 October 2014 18:21 (nine years ago) link