Seen and not seen's, recommendations and queries on top films in general.

[ConcreteMascara]

Friday night was a double feature, Dracula 2000 and What We Do In The Shadows.

Dracula 2000 [dir. Patrick Lussier, 2000] - I've watched the commercial for this movie at least 15 times with my friend, each time confirming it would indeed be a laugh riot. It was somehow better and worse than we expected and a hell of a lot more boring. Despite our own endless stream of commentary it couldn't alleviate the sluggish feeling of everything. the last 20 minutes or so were just a painful slog. If this movie had a ton of tits and/or gore I could've easily been into it. But instead you get Gerard Butler trying to bang his ugly half-sister/half-daughter, which would've been hot if she was hot or there was any chemistry between them. However, there two things worth noting: first, this movie captures the powerful plasticity of the year 2000 in fashion, music, cars, and special effects. ugh. second, there are a lot of actors from different nerd fandoms making an appearance which is kinda cool. oh and Christopher Plummer shoots up Dracula leech blood.

What We Do In The Shadows [dir. Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, 2014] - So I watched the TV show before this and Matt Berry is probably my favorite comedic actor so I didn't really expect to like this more than the TV show and I didn't. BUT it was still fine and fun and a nice pallet cleanser after Dracula 2000.

Then yesterday I watched a bunch of stuff while dubbing tapes and cutting and folding jcards.

Mechanical Violator Hakaider [dir. Keita Amemiya, 1995] - I've been waiting to watch this until the right mood struck, but I was a little more hesitant after watching both Zeiram films as I liked them but wasn't as in love as I'd hoped. Well Hakaider is exactly what I hoped it be, a sumptuous visual affair with nearly non-stop violence and A+ aesthetics. While half the dialogue is just exposition, there's still so little its not an issue and 90% of the world building is done visually. It reminds me of Dark Souls style storytelling. It's definitely supremely corny in some ways but then all the white armor gestapo dudes carry P90s and get blown up constantly so it goes down easy for me.

Godzilla vs Biollante [dir. Kazuki Ōmori, 1989] - I've been wanting to watch this one for a minute. My first Heisei era Godzilla film, so I can't compare it to anything but the Showa era or Shin Godzilla. Damn did I enjoy it though! I can typically get behind "genetic modification gone awry" plots so that worked well and Biollante was even cooler than I hoped. Bonus points for Mitsubishi Starion and the badass Saudi Arabian assassin who drove it. My only complaint, one that's applicable to most Godzilla movies, is people just nonchalantly watch him destroy and fight instead of having mental breakdowns. He's a good of doom and destruction and the army and scientists watch him like he's a dog taking a shit on their lawn. And I'd think Biollante and him have a through down would be the most terrifying experience of anyone's life, but nope, everyone is nonplussed. But yeah, otherwise way better than I was expecting and it serves as the forceful shove I needed to starting watching the other Heisei era films.

I finished out the weekend by watching the first half of the The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor OVA from 89-92 on Youtube. Image quality was of course shit from old mediocre transfers but sure beats spending 100+ to buy the DVDs or VHS. The English dub is all that's available on Youtube and is also notoriously bad but it's also from before the time of quality dubs so it is what it is. Noteworthy is voice actors Steve Blum's first voice acting roll as Agito Makishima. Despite a bad dub and poor image quality watching the Guyver was incredibly fun. It's super violent, high school kids get murdered regularly, arms are ripped off, eyes are gouged out, people liquefy. The soundtrack is perfect anime OST stuff. And eventually there's even a naughty tentacle scene. It really bums me out that all the ultra-violent anime of my youth is mostly languishing on OOP VHS and DVDs without hope of reissue due to convoluted licensing problems and therefore selling for insane prices on Ebay. I get sick of shitty Youtube rips and torrent files.

[host body]

Could you give a rec list of some more obscure ultra violent anime from that era? I loved Ninja Scroll, Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Angels Egg and Wicked City when I saw em and was sorely disappointed with everything else I could get my hands on. I've had better luck with manga although I don't still like most of what's universally acclaimed.

[ConcreteMascara]

Sure, here's a couple off-hand suggestions. One-off OVAs or short OVA series were big back then so these things are mostly short meaning plot development and common sense are cast aside for maximum carnage and tits. Most of these titles were released by Manga Corps or Urban Vision at some point.

Most stuff by Oichi Ohata is hyper-violent but dumb as hell. Not really obscure per se, but definitely demanding collector prices at time:
Genocyber 1994 - 5 part series of extreme violence and non-sensical plot. My favorite Ohata.
MD Geist 1986
MD Geist II: Death Force 1996 - legendary box art, dumb plot, great violence
Cybernetics Guardian 1989

Bio Hunter 1995 - sleazy mutant monster OVA

Twilight of the Dark Master 1997 - a goth-y take on sleazy mutant monster OVAs. if you like the aesthetics of Vampire Hunter D then you'll dig this

Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend 1989 - Hideki Takayama - I've never seen it but a famous violent anime meets hentai film. there are many censored cuts available but the old VHS ones weren't censored fyi

Now two well-known shows I'd recommend are the Fist of the North Star [84-87] and Berserk [1997]. Berserk is legendary these days and while I like the FotNS show, I think the movie from 1986 is a better starting place because the show had a ton of episodes.

There are many many other good shows and films to recommend like Devilman, Violent Jack, Angel Cop or any other film by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, but that ought to get you started :)

[host body]

Thanks man, I've been a big scifi & horror (as well as animation & comic book) buff all my life but haven't really delved into anime apart from the few movies I mentioned. Been meaning to for ages, but I haven't really been abled to figure out where to start or what I'm exactly looking for. I don't like cute little girls as protagonists, I don't like the pervy humour nor do I like cute animals as sidekicks and most anime just can't seem to keep those tropes out no matter how promising their premise was.

[ConcreteMascara]

Thanks man, I've been a big scifi & horror (as well as animation & comic book) buff all my life but haven't really delved into anime apart from the few movies I mentioned. Been meaning to for ages, but I haven't really been abled to figure out where to start or what I'm exactly looking for. I don't like cute little girls as protagonists, I don't like the pervy humour nor do I like cute animals as sidekicks and most anime just can't seem to keep those tropes out no matter how promising their premise was.

You're in luck, none of the above have any of those tropes.

[cr]

Sauna or (according to Wikipedia) Filth or Evil Rising - Finnish movie by Antti-Jussi Annila

Bought the DVD back then and remember liking it a lot, but haven't watched it again since then. Found it in one of my boxes yesterday and rewatched it - really good one, highly recommended!

Small trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvG8H2zzSvE&t=2s
Other trailers can be found online easily for sure. Or even the hole movie.

[ConcreteMascara]

roundup from the last week:

Halloween [dir. Rob Zombie, 2007] - So my friend and I are watching all of the Halloween movies and we finally got to what I dreaded, the Rob Zombie films. I'll say first, this movie did not send me into fits of spastic rage like it apparently does for some reviewers. It wasn't very good but I've watch way worse too so I wasn't upset or anything. The first 40 minutes or so which attempt to give Michael Meyers back story and motivation[??] are mostly worthless for my taste. The family murder scene is okay but it's just mostly tedious. The post hospital escape killing spree is better, but only because of the quality skinny girl tits on display. Especially fun that the little girl from Halloween IV and V is in this one as a new character who gets stabbed and stomped in the nude. I also like the Michael was finally a behemoth dude. But for all the gore and tits it was ultimately a waste of time. And they even had Brad Dourif in the movie and managed to waste him too! The worst part, now I have to watch Zombie's Halloween II.

then this past weekend would have been my annual "Sleazy Slasher Saturday" party but because of COVID it was just me and my fiance. We watched:

Just Before Dawn [dir. Jeff Lieberman, 1981] - traded Keith for his older copy of this one and man was I blown away the first time I watched it. It's just a pleasure to see so much of the Oregon wilderness. It's relatively slow paced and low on kills, but the gore is solid when it shows up. I actually like the group of campers and wish things went better for them. The leading lady is a super cutie and gets hotter as it goes along. Finally the ending is just so damn good. Perfect for a double bill with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I wish I could grab this on Bluray for a regular price but apparently the Code Red release is now only in the hands of vultures.

Scream [dir. Wes Craven, 1996] - My first time watching Scream, although I've seen Scary Movie so many times apparently watching the original was almost pointless. It's crazy how fully Scream became part of the 90s and 00s zeitgeist. I just kept laughing at smiling while watching it, thinking of all the things it influenced and was mocked by. it's kinda nuts. It's honestly a fun slasher and a weird time capsule of the 90s. And goddamn if Courtney Cox wasn't a hot as hell outside of Friends.

Maniac [dir. William Lustig, 1980] - a masterpiece of bad feelings and sweaty Italian rage. I think I've watched Maniac close to 15 times since I first saw it in college and my estimation of it only ever goes up. My fiance fucking hated it and we ended our movie night early as a result :P

Dressed to Kill [dir. Brian De Palma, 1980] - first watch. I heard this was an American take on giallo and that's certainly a fair assessment on many levels. Many of the tropes are present but the budget is bigger. this is fucking baroque, rococo even. it took me a little bit get in tune with the movie but by the end I was really feeling it. Fun to see the rich and classy side of 1980 NYC compared to Maniac's vision of urban squalor the night before. I'll definitely be checking out other '80s De Palma sooner than later.

The Mutilator [dir. Buddy Cooper, 1984] - this one was painful to sit through with its only redeeming quality being extreme gore of mediocre craftsmanship. It'll be a long while before I rewatch this but the gigantic fishing hook through the vagina was an unexpected delight.

[absurdexposition]

Scream [dir. Wes Craven, 1996] - My first time watching Scream, although I've seen Scary Movie so many times apparently watching the original was almost pointless. It's crazy how fully Scream became part of the 90s and 00s zeitgeist. I just kept laughing at smiling while watching it, thinking of all the things it influenced and was mocked by. it's kinda nuts. It's honestly a fun slasher and a weird time capsule of the 90s. And goddamn if Courtney Cox wasn't a hot as hell outside of Friends.

My first favourite movie as a kid. Watched it countless times on VHS in the late 90s and knew the whole thing line for line. I've only watched it a couple times since then, but most recently was the uncut laserdisc and I had a blast. Was able to catch more of the cinematic references too.

'80s De Palma

I'm due for a rewatch of Blow Out, but Body Double is amazing.

[CannibalRitual]

The Mutilator [dir. Buddy Cooper, 1984] - this one was painful to sit through with its only redeeming quality being extreme gore of mediocre craftsmanship. It'll be a long while before I rewatch this but the gigantic fishing hook through the vagina was an unexpected delight.

Back then I had ordered it on VHS off some list just because of the title. Nothing wrong with this one, I love it!!