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Author Topic: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017  (Read 42382 times)

1SO

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #220 on: October 30, 2017, 11:01:31 PM »

The Eyes of My Mother (2016)

A day of shocking and brutal acts of violence lead a young girl down the path of madness. Story spans several years and is given a placid treatment so that the horror feels mundane. I'm not a fan of pulseless horror which seems to be a recent trend, but it's the right touch to balance out what happens in the story. It's a far more brutal movie to recall, while being borderline dull to watch.
Rating: * * ½

- Slightly Scary



We Are Still Here (2015)

For the entire first half of this haunted house film, I thought I had selected another glacially-paced minimalist horror. Then, at almost literally the halfway point, this thing takes a From Dusk Till Dawn sized switch into shocks and scares and blood. Featuring cult icons Barbara Crampton (Re-animator), Lisa Marie (Ed Wood, Mars Attacks) and horror director Larry Fessenden (Wendigo, The Last Winter), who gets one of the best acting showcases of this month
Rating: * * ½

/ - Starts tame. Ends Wild.



The Mad Magician (1954)

Playing the title character, Vincent Price does not disappoint. Very reliable formula of illusions, disguises and revenge whipped up by director John Brahm (The Lodger, Hanover Square) and originally filmed in 3D. (The effects here look more fun than those in Price's more famous House of Wax.)
Rating: * * * - Okay

- Safe for Sandy



The Walking Dead (1936)

The plot sounds similar to The Man They Could Not Hang, with Boris Karloff once again returning from the dead to kill those who framed him for murder, but this is quite different. Directed by Michael Curtiz, the film also stars Edmund Gwenn (Santa in Miracle on 34th Street) as the brilliant scientist and the supporting cast are all faces familiar from any number of 1930s Warner Bros. gangster films. Even though it's better cast and better directed than TMTCNH, it's not nearly as much fun. Curtiz is a fine director, but he gives the film too much class when he should've played up the zombie vs. gangsters angle.
Rating: * * * - Okay

- Safe for Sandy



The Clairvoyant (1934)

There's a better film here just waiting to be remade. Claude Rains plays a fake mind reader whose powers become real whenever he's near a mysterious woman. I don't mind the spooky predictions, but for me the real story is Rains being caught between his wife and this other woman who literally completes and legitimizes him. I would love to see a version of this story where everyone learns of this connection early, putting the relationship dynamics right up front. Much as I love Rains, I'm starting to think he works better in supporting roles than as a leading man, where he often lets the story and other characters push him around.
Rating: * * ½

- Safe for Sandy

Pratters

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #221 on: October 31, 2017, 01:40:50 AM »
What's the gold standard of Indian horror movies?

(I'm also interested to know the gold standard of Indian hoodie movies, which is how my phone autocorrected that sentence originally.)

pixote

I don't have much knowledge on this topic sadly. Ramsay brothers did a lot of B grade films in the 60s/70s. As I mentioned, this genre has not developed much here. You can check out Bhoot from the 90s.

Hoodie films - Kuch Kuch Hota Hai where SRK , Kajol and co wear a lot of hoodies of the colourful nature.

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #222 on: October 31, 2017, 04:17:40 AM »
Cabin in the Woods

Maybe this is an homage to the genre and what not, but it is just a poor film. It is predictable to a large extent and while some might be relieved that they were scared far less as it is all a reality tv show, it makes it suck for precisely this reason (among others) - it isn't that scary any more. There are far too many shots of the room from where they control every thing.

I would have liked some mystery, some intrigue, some apprehension, as I usually do when I watch a horror movie. 1.5/5.


This is why I object to calling TCITW a horror movie. It is not. It is a comedy that is not meant to be scary - or if it is, that is a secondary preocupation. It is a hilarious satire of the genre.
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #223 on: October 31, 2017, 05:24:37 AM »
IGN is doing a 100 best horror movies of all time thing, and while I am not a fan of the website, lists are always fun.
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #224 on: October 31, 2017, 05:54:00 AM »
Let the Right One In
Thomas Alfredson (2008)


I continue to not get horror movies. Was anything in Let the Right One In supposed to be terrifying? Or does the internet list it as a horror movie only because it features vampires? If the former, well, there was simply nothing scary about it. No thrills, no anxiety, no feelings of dread. It could not have. The movie exists in a vacuum of sound despite the discussions and the ambient noise, colder than the pervasive snow of it. It is enfolded in this calmness, a still ambiance of congealed time, movement and sound and nothing feels urgent or significant. The violence feels unimportant, nothing matters much.

It is a movie about children that happens to have a vampire in it. There is also bullying, because apparently that is the law among horror movies. The film gives us characters but does not tell us why we should care about them or like them. We are told very little about anything and guessing is made pointless.

5/10
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Bondo

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #225 on: October 31, 2017, 06:23:52 AM »
I'm pretty sure you are a vampire because you have no soul.  :'(

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #226 on: October 31, 2017, 06:31:03 AM »
That would explain my pale complexion.

On the other hand, I do like Mediterranean cuisine quite a lot, and that is usually heavy on garlic.
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #227 on: October 31, 2017, 07:16:36 AM »
Is anyone going to watch Jigsaw? I don't know how many Saw movies I've missed but this last one seems to be receiving ghastly reviews.
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pixote

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #228 on: October 31, 2017, 11:35:37 AM »
Hoodie films - Kuch Kuch Hota Hai where SRK , Kajol and co wear a lot of hoodies of the colourful nature.

This answer made my day. :)

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oldkid

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #229 on: October 31, 2017, 12:27:52 PM »
Cabin in the Woods

Maybe this is an homage to the genre and what not, but it is just a poor film. It is predictable to a large extent and while some might be relieved that they were scared far less as it is all a reality tv show, it makes it suck for precisely this reason (among others) - it isn't that scary any more. There are far too many shots of the room from where they control every thing.

I would have liked some mystery, some intrigue, some apprehension, as I usually do when I watch a horror movie. 1.5/5.


This is why I object to calling TCITW a horror movie. It is not. It is a comedy that is not meant to be scary - or if it is, that is a secondary preocupation. It is a hilarious satire of the genre.

This is why I think Cabin in the Woods is one of the best movies ever.  Genre definition.
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