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Author Topic: Building the Horror/Thriller 1000  (Read 63082 times)

1SO

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #220 on: April 27, 2017, 12:51:23 AM »

The Resurrected (1991)
aka. Shatterbrain
* *
Despite signs of intelligence in the script this neo-noir horror mystery fails to match its ambition, with under-developed characters and uninteresting performances. What ends up being most memorable isn’t the attempt to be a classy story, but the extremely gross body horror moments that rival The Thing in terms of gore, but lack the invention and style of Carpenter’s film.


Trauma (1993)
aka. Aura’s Enigma
* *
Dario Argento is frustrating on a good day and this is not a good day. Serial killer mystery is repetitious with the murders, the plot is shoddy and it’s a really pervy decision for the director to have his underage daughter Asia doing nudity and a sex scene. Occasional Hitchcock homages and some good guest casting (Brad Dourif) but the best thing Argento ever did was use bold, lurid colors and that was just a phase.


Body Melt (1993)
* ½
Australian body horror that’s like Street Trash filtered through the cra-zy Oz mentality. Street Trash is  one of the worst films of this Marathon. This isn’t much better, but I prefer crazy, gross Aussies to disgusting, scumbag Americans.


Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)
* * * - Okay
Quote
Starts off badly on a military base that looks like it's been made from sci-fi film leftovers, but it keeps improving throughout its running time and ends surprisingly strongly, largely thanks to a good script that explores concepts of grief and attachment.

That sums it up nicely.

After Society, Bride of Re-Animator and this I guess I’m a fan of director Brian Yuzna. Being a former Producer, his storytelling is very efficient, sometimes too much so, with stock characters and situations that could be fleshed out. The zombies here are very creative and Yuzna has the Makeup Effects crew to pull it off. The film also boasts a strong performance by Melinda Clarke as a teenager who turns into a zombie over the course of the film. Her reactions to the growing hunger and pain give the genre a fresh insider perspective. The Haunted Maze style finale makes this a fun Shocktober selection.


Nightwatch (1994)
* *
I’ve always heard this was the superior version of the film the director remade in English three years later, but watching this was like re-watching the remake, almost shot-for-shot, and with all of the same problems. The male characters are unlikable in how they treat their girlfriends and the surprises are telegraphed well ahead of time.   

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #221 on: April 27, 2017, 06:38:53 AM »
The Resurrected (1991)
aka. Shatterbrain
* *
Despite signs of intelligence in the script this neo-noir horror mystery fails to match its ambition, with under-developed characters and uninteresting performances. What ends up being most memorable isn’t the attempt to be a classy story, but the extremely gross body horror moments that rival The Thing in terms of gore, but lack the invention and style of Carpenter’s film.
We showed this last year at the Lovecraft themed horror film festival we had last year. It does deserve a lot better than what we get. Good Lovecraft movies are hard to find.

1SO

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #222 on: May 01, 2017, 01:26:04 AM »

Brainscan (1994)
* ½
Some of the best horror films come from filmmakers who are clear fans of the genre. This is thrown together by Producers who think they know the formula for taking money from young adult men. Modern teenagers as described by fathers and a character named Trickster who badly wants to be the new Freddy. Instead he’s a Top 5 Poochie.


Out of the Dark (1995)
* ½
Fast-paced nonsense from Hong Kong that throws everything at the wall. Largely a mixture of Poltergiest, Ghostbusters and Leon, but not nearly as entertaining as this sounds. More exhausting than anything.


Castle Freak (1995)
* * ½
The cheesy poster gave me low expectations, though honestly most of this Marathon is built on low expectations. The director is Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) and he reunites that film’s stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton to play a normal husband and wife who inherit a castle and the feral human living in the basement. A simple premise given an equally cut-and-dry execution. Disappointing to see Combs play a normal dad, but he does a good job of it so… range.


The Dentist (1996)
* ½
Strike One for Brian Yuzna. I came for the uncomfortable dentistry, but was let down hardest by the dumbed-down portrayal of men and women. It would be misogynist if Corbin Bernsen’s dentist were the least bit sympathetic. Making matters worse is Bernsen’s TV Soap Opera performance, but you can also blame the material which demands he go from paranoid husband to psychopath in a matter of hours.


Ebola Syndrome (1996)
* *
Extreme horror tempered by 90s Hong Kong exuberance. Anthony Wong (Hard Boiled, Infernal Affairs) plays one of the most depraved characters I’ve ever seen in a film, a murderer and rapist who spreads Ebola around the city as fast as he can because he just don’t care. The character could only be more detestable if they’d cast someone like Abel Ferrara. Oddly, Wong makes this scum more watchable than he should be. Film is horribly paced and too in love with its icky extremeness.

smirnoff

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #223 on: May 02, 2017, 12:19:31 AM »
Castle Freak sounds freaky! Relatively strong review too. :~)

1SO

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #224 on: May 08, 2017, 03:06:10 PM »

Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996)
*
My first Leprechaun film and one of the most unintentionally funny films of this Marathon. I know because all intentional moments of humor are terrible. Crazy characters, terrible sets and no money for even basic space effects.


Wishmaster (1997)
* *
Obvious attempt at creating a new Horror icon has a clever idea in the mythology of wish-granting genies being evil and always making the worst of your wish. Beyond that the script is terrible and many of the wish twists are great leaps of logic. On the plus side, Tammy Lauren is a very likable female lead, the evil Djinn has a cool growly voice and the practical makeup effects are superior, probably because the director is Robert Kurtzman of KNB Effects. 


Jack Frost (1997)
*
To its credit, the filmmakers seem to know that a killer snowman is a terrible idea to take seriously. Performances are deadpan and despite the killing, this is much more comedy than horror. Still, this isn’t worth any more of your time than a YouTube short. To sustain feature length, there needs to be genuine wit and clever ideas. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is the superior version of this type of film.


Rasen (1998)
* ½
Forgotten sequel to Ringu, from the same source material and produced at the same time as its more famous predecessor. (If you didn’t know that, this would have you wondering how many haunted VHS tape films Japan has made.) Where Ringu was a supernatural mystery, Rasen is a drama that tries to explain the mystery using science and logic. Like if George Lucas made a film about the discovery of midichlorians, which gives you an idea how dull this is. Not surprisingly, the filmmakers ditched this and released a more direct sequel, Ringu 2, the following year.


Nang-Nak (1999)
aka. Return From the Dead
* * ½
Supernatural Thai drama. I found it difficult to get involved because of the vast cultural differences, much like the few African films I’ve seen. Closer in spirit to Uncle Boonmee but without the surrealism and with a much more simple plot.

smirnoff

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #225 on: May 08, 2017, 11:54:03 PM »
I want to watch Leprechaun 4 just to find out why a Leprechaun would be in space at all!

1SO

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #226 on: May 09, 2017, 12:11:14 AM »
I read the Wikipedia summary, which is so absurd I wonder how it reads to someone who hasn't seen the film.

Quote
On a remote planet, the Leprechaun attempts to court a princess named Zarina, in a nefarious plot to become king of her home planet. The two agree to marry, with each partner planning to kill the other after the wedding night in order to enjoy the marriage benefits (a peerage for the Leprechaun, the Leprechaun's gold and jewels for the princess) undisturbed.

A platoon of space marines arrive on the planet and kill the Leprechaun for interfering with mining operations. Gloating over the victory, one of the marines, Kowalski, urinates on the Leprechaun's body. Unbeknownst to Kowalski, the Leprechaun's spirit travels up his urine stream and into his penis, where his presence manifests as gonorrhea. The marines return to their ship with the injured Zarina, whom they plan to return to her homeworld in order to establish positive diplomatic relations. The ship's commander, the cyborg Dr. Mittenhand, explains his plans to use Zarina's regenerative DNA to recreate his own body, which was mutilated in a failed experiment. Elsewhere on the ship, the Leprechaun violently emerges from Kowalski's penis after he is aroused during a sexual act. The marines hunt the Leprechaun, who outsmarts them and kills most of the crew in gruesome and absurd ways.

oldkid

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #227 on: May 09, 2017, 02:41:00 AM »
It reads like, "How the hell did this film get made?"
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

smirnoff

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #228 on: May 09, 2017, 11:12:00 PM »
It sounds hilarious!

The choice of names, Zarina and Kowalski, really puts it over the top.

1SO

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Re: Horror: The Final Chapter
« Reply #229 on: May 10, 2017, 12:07:10 AM »
It sounds hilarious!
Staying at this level, Shannon Elizabeth's death scene in Jack Frost is the same type of funny but more worth your time.