my personal concerns with Platform on Netflix have less to do with the sociological intentions or hazy (if nicely executed) sci-fi concepts and more to do with the execution. As a whole, it's too heavy on the gore and torture porn if it's not meant to be titillating and too obscure and sprawling if you're looking for a taste of the ol' ultra-violence. A bit too much chocolate in the peanut butter and vice versa for my taste but still well worth a watch.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Sunday, 3 May 2020 00:43 (three years ago) link
funny that you mention Platform (as yet unseen by me), since it beat out Blood Quantum for the TIFF Midnight Madness award
I ended up just about loving BQ, which came the closest to generating the feel of an actual Romero zombie flick of anything I've seen in a very long time, while also very much doing its own things. a few incredible effects, too
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Sunday, 3 May 2020 00:55 (three years ago) link
oh yeah i totally fucking loved the lodge. it beats no resemblance to hereditary
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 10 May 2020 00:38 (three years ago) link
bears*
for one thing it was very scary
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 10 May 2020 00:49 (three years ago) link
lmao I did not find one frame of it even properly unsettling beyond some of the kids' praying, but kids praying is an easy shortcut to creepytown for me
imo they are aesthetically super similar and both heavily feature (and exploit, I think in both cases tbh) mental illness as the potential vehicle of untold violences
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Sunday, 10 May 2020 03:53 (three years ago) link
yeah i don't think they're aesthetically similar, hereditary doesn't have a found footage scene from hell! or a dream sequence as powerful and lonely as the dream sequence in the lodge. and they tell different stories about ptsd differently. hereditary is way more about family-inherited unbroken cycle trauma with a satanic cult edge. the lodge is... well, it's hard to talk about the lodge without spoiling it, but it's not about family or demon shit! i would say they both have miniatures as framing devices, and in one the miniatures are an artistic discipline and in the other they're just creepy ass dollhouses
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 10 May 2020 04:01 (three years ago) link
some of the kids' praying, but kids praying is an easy shortcut to creepytown for me
this isn't even what's scary
the scenes of her wandering/sleepwalking(?) through the cabin's shadows not even sure what reality is real, the recurring scene of her approaching that opaque door... THAT'S scary
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 10 May 2020 04:10 (three years ago) link
harrumph
The Wild Goose Lake earns a mention on this thread for most gruesome deployment of an umbrella
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Sunday, 10 May 2020 04:27 (three years ago) link
I'm not a fan of the style/tone of this type of video essay but this is pretty fascinating all the same. Hadn't heard of The Evil Within before.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXHRdfLnktU
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 11 May 2020 20:01 (three years ago) link
Anyone mention or see "Z" yet? Seems like "The Babadook" redux, at least on paper, but reviews I've seen have been consistent in citing its apparently legit shocks/scares.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 18 May 2020 20:57 (three years ago) link
In the meantime, I started Blood Quantum, and ... I dunno, so far (25 minutes, maybe) I think it's not great. Digital cameras at least help a lot of low budget movies look good, but the acting and writing are pretty crappy; there's no app or filter that can help that. Inspired setting, though. I suppose I'll go back and finish it this afternoon.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 17:00 (three years ago) link
keep at it, it goes places imo
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 17:09 (three years ago) link
then again I had no problem with the writing/acting so
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 17:12 (three years ago) link
OK, it was rich with metaphor, clever echoes of history and dramatic irony (linked to that history), but it also relied way too much on genre cliches (the zombie hunter with the samurai sword! the pregnant girl!) and dumb action sequences that tried for badassery (yeah, pop in that 8-track before you wheel your car into battle, maaan) but (imo) fell way short. A couple of good gore gags, but also a few too many moments that went for shock or comedy but also fell short of both. Oh, and it was never scary, to such an extent that I just assumed it wasn't going for scary. It was going for dramatic, but said writing/acting didn't sell that well enough for me.
I bet it would have made a great book, or series, or even (yes) comic. Like I said, the setting/material/story is full of ideas begging to be better fleshed out.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 20:43 (three years ago) link
I never find anything scary so those first few points were more than enough for me. I agree the setting would easily support expansion.
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 21:18 (three years ago) link
"the deeper you dig" sounds interesting: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-deeper-you-dig-movie-review-2020
― na (NA), Thursday, 4 June 2020 16:54 (three years ago) link
oooh neat, Phantasm comparison....
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Thursday, 4 June 2020 17:09 (three years ago) link
I don't remember which of you recommended "Hagazussa," but thanks, it was very good, if very grim. RIYL: The Witch, Ari Aster, erotic goat milking, eating babies, The Sound of Music, black metal album covers ...
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 20:42 (three years ago) link
I know I recommended it and obvs I like all of those things lol
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 20:53 (three years ago) link
i definitely rec'd it last summer or fall, i believe.
also hi, been thinking about this thread recently, so popped in to see what's up.
turns out, not a whole lot!
but, I do want to say that I feel like Rhymes for Young Ghouls, Barnaby's film before Blood Quantum, is actually a better flick, even if it isn't as strictly bound to the horror genre. i'm also looking at the both from someone who teaches and reads a lot of Indigenous lit and Native Studies stuff, though, so Rhymes might just be more complex and rich for interpretation along those lines.
― blue light or electric light (the table is the table), Wednesday, 17 June 2020 17:29 (three years ago) link
Has anyone watched Blood Machines?
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 20 June 2020 18:48 (three years ago) link
Arrow's releases of old films are still fine but I think their new films have been getting worse, all these weak looking horror comedies.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 6 July 2020 20:27 (three years ago) link
You know what movie hits different in 2020, and also while high? Pontypool
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Saturday, 11 July 2020 17:05 (three years ago) link
I love that movie. His new movie sounds like a mess.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 11 July 2020 17:20 (three years ago) link
Huh, this is where I learn that Pontypool isn't on any streaming service right now, and can only be rented, apparently exclusively, on Apple TV. To the torrentmobile!
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 11 July 2020 17:22 (three years ago) link
kind of intrigued by Dreamland cause it unites a lot of the Pontypool people but yeah his recent output is pretty bad. the Hard Core Logo sequel looked like a particularly bad idea. maybe it's for the best if we never get Pontypool Changes Everything
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Saturday, 11 July 2020 18:23 (three years ago) link
Weirdos looked kinda promising tho
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Saturday, 11 July 2020 18:27 (three years ago) link
Couldn't find the trailer for a while.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyRkoL45JGk
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 27 July 2020 20:42 (three years ago) link
it rules
― the quar on drugs (Simon H.), Monday, 27 July 2020 20:45 (three years ago) link
Looks kinda eXistenZ-y...
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 27 July 2020 20:45 (three years ago) link
definitely shares some DNA (as you'd guess) but several orders nastier
― the quar on drugs (Simon H.), Monday, 27 July 2020 20:54 (three years ago) link
I still haven't seen Antiviral, but it's on Hulu so maybe I'll get around to it soon.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 27 July 2020 21:06 (three years ago) link
Watched Color out of Space (2020) last weekend. Really liked it for the most part. Having never read any Lovecraft, was relying on the husband to point out references but also constantly picking up on stuff like the entity changing its environment to the one it came from (one of many Lovecraft things Grant Morrison stole for The Invisibles), so that was good on both counts. You obviously do not need to be a philistine like me to enjoy this film, but it’s not going to matter very much if you are.Anyway, the body horror in this is fairly gruesome, the kitchen scene really spooked me although it’s relatively mundane - it’s the disconnect as much as the, well, literal disconnection that follows as much as anything. The colour itself infests the landscape til it dominates and smothers. The score is excellent. All very good stuff.I didn’t really feel they did enough with all the references to Gardner’s father, like either go all the way there or just cut it, I don’t think the film would have suffered without it tbh. The mayor plot seemed unnecessary for the amount of time that was spent on it.Obviously the best/worst scene was the attic post transformation and the preceding ones were bad enough.Pretty solid stuff, Nic Cage is fine for the most part (but does The Thing a few points which is always hilarious lol). Joely Richardson also very good.
― let them microwave their rice (gyac), Monday, 27 July 2020 21:07 (three years ago) link
Antiviral is...ok. It feels like a student film by comparison to the new one xp
― the quar on drugs (Simon H.), Monday, 27 July 2020 21:07 (three years ago) link
Color Out Of Space has a fantastic Colin Stetson soundtrack as well. Some of the people slagging this excellent movie off only did it because Cage was in it and has become synonymous with garbage!
― calzino, Monday, 27 July 2020 21:13 (three years ago) link
Idk why anyone would say that after Mandy tbh
― let them microwave their rice (gyac), Monday, 27 July 2020 21:16 (three years ago) link
an ex-film student on my twitter linked some people slagging it off and was saying wtf is wrong with these people! but that was the impression I got.
― calzino, Monday, 27 July 2020 21:23 (three years ago) link
I don't think Cage made anything in this movie better, but there are parts of it he definitely made worse, imo.
I asked a while ago if anyone had seen or knew anything about "Z." Any news?
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 27 July 2020 21:30 (three years ago) link
not conventional horror but would recommend Bertrand Bonello's Zombi Child. it's not as memorable as Nocturama but is still worth watching and has stuck with me. It has themes of human zombie slavery and witchcraft in 60's Haiti in flashback form and a posh girls school in modern Paris where a descendent of the victim is.
― calzino, Monday, 27 July 2020 21:34 (three years ago) link
an ex-film student
― let them microwave their rice (gyac), Monday, 27 July 2020 21:38 (three years ago) link
oh no he's good not bad and was defending Color Out Of Space!
― calzino, Monday, 27 July 2020 21:46 (three years ago) link
Several new things recently out on streaming and undiscussed on thread:Impetigore You Should Have LeftAmuletRelicWretchedThe Other LambGretel & Hansel
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 28 July 2020 17:47 (three years ago) link
Well looks like I have some work to do
― jjjusten, Tuesday, 28 July 2020 18:28 (three years ago) link
trailers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RfEwT2LI2Mhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw0-cV_J9q4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV_lUlOc4mQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sHbiv7J1xghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkyHLudSrCEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gjvyfjeJKMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZblQLhKcZQ
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 28 July 2020 18:34 (three years ago) link
we watched Relicit was solidly pretty good; idk how long it will stay with me. i found the generational female aging horror a little on the nose. Kind of tired of seeing movies that exploit trichotillomania to express the apparently universally-recognized horror of a bald/balding woman. zzzzzz
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Tuesday, 28 July 2020 21:45 (three years ago) link
I'm not going to complain that horror films are in a particularly bad rut because there's been some great ones in the last decade and for overall quality they might be better than ever, I hardly ever see trailers for anything that looks like total shit.
But something about the look and feel of a lot of them is bothering me. Is it color correction? Is it something else about the cinematography? Anyone know anything about the technical stuff able to say? There's some kind of flatness/blandness.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 1 August 2020 21:48 (three years ago) link
If anything I think a lot of newer horror films look almost distractingly sharp thanks to the digital cameras/drones so often enlisted for low budget horror. All these flying overhead shots of forests and whatnot, and gliding fake steadicam stuff, it's almost distractingly ... slick, for lack of a better word. Perhaps a lot of filters and other digital correction going in during post to synthetically class up something they didn't have the budget/equipment/crew/lighting to do during the shoot, too? I dunno.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 1 August 2020 22:09 (three years ago) link
FUUUUUUUUUUCK @ "Impetigore".
that shit was bonkers and intense. exactly what i was looking for. classic supernatural curse film.
― XVI Pedicabo eam (Neanderthal), Monday, 3 August 2020 05:36 (three years ago) link
"Impetigore" was pretty good! I mean, there were a few choices I didn't like, like the way the flashback/information dump happened, or the tag at the end, but the other 90% was ace. I was worried it was going to be all look at me, I am XTREME! But it was more folk tale-like than I expected. In fact, for much of it I was tempted to say RIYL "Midsommar" (despite my misgivings with that one).
What's with the title though? "Impetigore" seems a much better name for the awesome but XTREME Indonesian segment of "VHS 2."
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 18 August 2020 01:42 (three years ago) link