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Author Topic: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016  (Read 27937 times)

Junior

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #10 on: October 02, 2016, 07:43:11 PM »
Re-Animator is my jam. That gore you could have used less of is perfect as far as I'm concerned.
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1SO

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #11 on: October 03, 2016, 12:33:11 AM »
Verbals inspired me to watch They Live, and that got me inspired to see horror I'd been meaning to see.
Sure, give him the credit. I even name checked you in my review.

Your choices this month are all excellent gaps to fill, btw.

PA, I don't even remember what the characters know in Long Weekend, I just know I liked the film. Simple and solid. I especially like the idea of a relentless manatee.

PeacefulAnarchy

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #12 on: October 03, 2016, 01:42:21 AM »
PA, I don't even remember what the characters know in Long Weekend, I just know I liked the film. Simple and solid. I especially like the idea of a relentless manatee.
They know they cheated on each other and she had an abortion and now their marriage is on the rocks because of it The entire first half is just them sniping at each other with all this being vaguely alluded to for no real reason. The horror aspects are well done, I just didn't care about the characters at all.

Cobra (1986) 4/10
Did you think Dirty Harry was a liberal pussy who was too sympathetic? Were you also annoyed that the acting in that film was too good? Well, then Cobra should be right up your alley. Even ignoring the ridiculous, and overt, appeals to fascism, this is just a really badly made film with a few exciting action scenes to alleviate the tedium of Stallone's mumbling.

Race with the Devil (1975) 8/10
I think what really makes this work is the lead foursome come off as real people, sometimes tough and determined, sometimes scared and frustrated, and even if their actions and reactions are sometimes stupid it's an understandable type of stupid. Add in some effective creepiness and you get a film that is both great action and great horror too.

oldkid

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #13 on: October 03, 2016, 02:02:47 AM »
Verbals inspired me to watch They Live, and that got me inspired to see horror I'd been meaning to see.
Sure, give him the credit. I even name checked you in my review.

Your choices this month are all excellent gaps to fill, btw.

Well, 1SO, it was your review that put They Live on my radar.  Verbals just reminded me that I needed to watch it, that's all.  ( I need a good smirnoff gif of a near miss, or something.)

I took most of these choices from the list you mentioned, They Shoot Zombies, Don't They?
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verbALs

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #14 on: October 03, 2016, 03:22:57 AM »
Perhaps you could cast a deciding vote on the issue side of the movie. I think Carpenter uses social problems around homelessness but it's Carpenter; he uses it but he doesn't say anything useful about it. "They" cause it is as direct a cop out you could get. I'm not spoiling anything because there's nothing to spoil, it's Carpenter.  ;D I would say that one can recognise a theme but that can be a problem itself. Recognise an issue then go on to say what one thinks about that issue; has nothing to do with the film and nothing to do with whether the director has anything substantive to say. Since it's Carpenter it's nothing serious.

[there isn't one frame of this film that makes it a horror movie IMHO. Pure sci-fi, which is a strain in Carpenters work not a one off]
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1SO

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #15 on: October 03, 2016, 06:56:34 AM »
The film is a satire, a sci-fi "what if" based around a real social and economic problem. I always saw it as an attack on the increasing divide between the upper and lower class, where the middle class is vanishing. (Carpenter's proposed sequel They Exist was about middle class paranoia and what happens when you trust or not trust your neighbors and co-workers. I imagine it would be thematically similar to The Thing, but done like this film instead of body horror.)

It was only on the recent re-watch that I honed in on the social dynamic of people one step away from total poverty, on the edge witnessing what the government is doing to those not as well off. Carpenter casts a light on this, but serves the genre first, much like Romero equating zombies with mall culture.

1SO

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #16 on: October 03, 2016, 08:10:40 AM »
Cobra (1986) 4/10
Did you think Dirty Harry was a liberal pussy who was too sympathetic? Were you also annoyed that the acting in that film was too good? Well, then Cobra should be right up your alley. Even ignoring the ridiculous, and overt, appeals to fascism, this is just a really badly made film with a few exciting action scenes to alleviate the tedium of Stallone's mumbling.

Race with the Devil (1975) 8/10
I think what really makes this work is the lead foursome come off as real people, sometimes tough and determined, sometimes scared and frustrated, and even if their actions and reactions are sometimes stupid it's an understandable type of stupid. Add in some effective creepiness and you get a film that is both great action and great horror too.

I have a friend who loves every Stallone movie, every one of them, except for Cobra. Always struck me as funny that Cobra was the one he couldn't stand. It's a bad film through and through, but what I hate most is how over-simplified it is. Stripped to the point where a comic strip would find the plot and characters to be thin. I do laugh at Stallone's twist on Dirty Harry's famous line, "Go ahead, I don't shop here." He shows no understanding of Eastwood's persona, just wants a piece of it for himself.

Race With the Devil is a nice b-movie surprise.

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #17 on: October 03, 2016, 10:15:29 PM »
The Sandman (1992 short)

Pretty common claymation for the 70s/80s tell a gruesome scary story, but for a short it sure feels long.  (Sorry, 1SO)

2.5/5
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PeacefulAnarchy

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #18 on: October 03, 2016, 11:07:17 PM »
Halloween II (1981) 7/10
I haven't seen the original in a decade, but it was one of the first horror films that I actually liked so it hold it in some regard for cracking that wall. I don't recall all that much of it at this point, but this seems like a fair, if not quite as good sequel. Good mix of tension and scares and a bit of spectacle too. It's a bit repetitive and the narrative developments, what little there are, raise more questions than they answer, but it's a fun enough film.
 
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) 6/10
This feels like a short film stretched to feature length. If it were 40-50 minutes it would be a punchy little movie with a few fun twists, a neat little morality tale underpinning and genuine moments of horror. As is, it becomes lethargic and predictable and all the tension is drained away. It's still an ok movie, and it doesn't exactly drag, it just wears out its thin premise well before its over.

1SO

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #19 on: October 04, 2016, 05:40:14 AM »
The Sandman (1992 short)

Pretty common claymation for the 70s/80s tell a gruesome scary story, but for a short it sure feels long.  (Sorry, 1SO)

2.5/5

Huh? Well, it's hard to debate points on a short film. I guess the lighting and expressionist design kept me interested while building to that finale. Have you seen Tim Burton's Vincent? A similar type of short, though with more humor and a style that's more Burtonesque.

 

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