Author Topic: Shocktober Group Marathon 2019  (Read 27263 times)

Beavermoose

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2019
« Reply #180 on: November 12, 2019, 10:31:43 PM »
My shocktober has slipped into November!

Ready or Not (2019) Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett
Slick looking satirical horror piece attempts to take on the rich and their ridiculous beliefs. I liked the aesthetic of the film and most of the characters, yet the humour seemed to reduce the impact of the subtext as the numerous deaths of the help are played for laughs. The mysticism and ending of the film also reduce the impact of the satire by giving more legitimate reasons for the rich people's abhorrent behaviours. I feel like the only way people talk about serious issues anymore is through satire which may indicate an inability of dealing with theses issues, as such this didn't quite work for me.

Mandy (2018) Panos Cosmatos
Cosmatos' slowburn story telling is not quite my cup of tea, nor is the entirely red tinted world he creates, although once the movie picks up in the second half and finally releases the Cage Rage, I was much more on board which the demonic biker fights and revenge plot.

The Purge (2013) James DeMonaco
Throughout the entire movie I felt like there could be much more to say about class issues using this premise, yet the movie doesn't really stretch far enough into that territory. (I've heard that the sequels actually do this better.) Pros: Rhys Wakefield is really great at playing the entitled white supremacist private school boy villain. Cons: So many dumb character decisions, even for a horror movie.

The Wailing (2016) Hong-jin Na
I liked how it managed to balance that South-Korean humour with some classic horror movie tropes and the build up this mystery of the illness works for the first hour and a half but for how long this movie is I feel like I wanted a bigger pay-off than what we got. The movie has like 3 different twists in the last hour as it keeps going back and forth thinking it's revealed something and then actually nothing and it just became frustrating that by the end I didn't really care what happened.

Hounds of Love (2016) Ben Young
More of a thriller than a horror film. I watched this with a bunch of Aussie friends and the fact that the main bad guy in the movie also played one of the idiot sons in the cult Australian film The Castle made this movie much funnier for us that it was intended to be despite how great the performances are. I think this film fits in well with Aussie crime films like Animal Kingdom and Snowtown but the premise is much simpler. It's a film about abuse, manipulation and about loneliness. Domestic abuse is an incredibly big problem in Australia and this movie is probably a pretty accurate portrayal of how controlling and violent men can be.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2019, 05:45:23 PM by Beavermoose »

1SO

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2019
« Reply #181 on: November 12, 2019, 11:42:52 PM »
Hounds of Love also reminded me of Snowtown and Bad Boy Bubby. Australian horror is some of the most challenging because some of them are fearless about plunging you into deeply uncomfortable characters that are grounded in reality despite how outside the norm their actions are.

There's a massive imbalance to how much Cosmatos is praised for his visual style but not admonished for his terrible dialogue.

Sandy

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2019
« Reply #182 on: November 13, 2019, 09:19:13 PM »
House


<-----  Safe for Sandy



(I didn't get to Little Monsters, but will keep it on my watchlist for next Shocktober.)

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2019
« Reply #183 on: November 13, 2019, 11:17:17 PM »
I might write up thoughts soon. Last couple of weeks I've kinda been in a rut.

Beavermoose

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2019
« Reply #184 on: December 03, 2019, 08:21:41 PM »
My last batch or reviews, delayed by a month, feature my favourite Shocktober movies.

Cheap Thrills (2013) E.L. Katz
Since the movie spends most of it's running time balancing between comedic setpieces and tense character moments, when the shocking moments actually happen they are actually incredibly shocking. This movie kept my attention the whole time all the way until the ending that left me thinking about it for days. It is probably one of my favourite movies from this year's Shocktober.

Inside (2007) Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury
Another of my favourite movies was Inside, which revels in it's excess all the way into darkly satirical territory. Turning the gore dial up to 100 in the first half and bringing even higher into the second. The single location helps generate an incredible amount of tension and claustrophobia even as other characters enter the space seemingly there to help, they are quickly consumed by dark madness of the killer and the space she has claimed. The final shot is perfectly terrifying in how almost comforting it is.

The Innkeepers (2011) Ti West
Having seen these two in Cheap Thrills, I had high expectations for The Innkeepers. Yet the movie spends a lot of time awkwardly and slowly building tension without giving us any payoff. By the end, the main teenage character has made so many dumb decisions that I had completely lost any investment in her well-being. It feels like the the filmmakers had the opportunity to shoot in a cool hotel location but didn't quite know what to do with it. Probably needed a little more of The Shining and a little less Goosebumps.

The Sacrament (2013) Ti West
I'd only learned about the Jonestown murders recently while watching a documentary show, so when I started watching this movie I immediately noticed the parallels between those real life events. Although I was getting sick of the found footage look, it actually works really well here bringing us into this, inspired from real life events, space. Gene Jones is also great at being awful and manipulative.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2019, 08:03:14 PM by Beavermoose »

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2019
« Reply #185 on: December 04, 2019, 02:01:29 AM »
I know I'm going to watch Cheap Thrills again because I remember it being quite good overall with little memory of the brief sequence where it goes into gross potty material.

You describe Inside accurately. It's amazing how bloody the film is without being disgustingly gory. It's like a constant fountain of redness. For me, the best shot in the film is the one inside the womb at the beginning that sets everything into motion.

Gene Jones is really strong, especially considering he's best known for one scene in No Country For Old Men. Kind of like Michael Parks opening From Dusk Till Dawn.

Beavermoose

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Re: Shocktober Group Marathon 2019
« Reply #186 on: December 04, 2019, 10:04:30 PM »
Gene Jones is really strong, especially considering he's best known for one scene in No Country For Old Men. Kind of like Michael Parks opening From Dusk Till Dawn.

His No Country role is also the complete opposite character from what he's playing here. 

 

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