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

Started by GEWALTMONOPOL, December 29, 2009, 06:31:05 PM

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P-K

"Matka Joanna od aniolów" or Mother Joan Of The Angels

thematically related to The Devils and Black Narcissus, this was way more bleak, desolate setting, top notch acting. a new fav.




GEWALTMONOPOL

I have The Devils here but haven't seen it yet. Black Narcissus is excellent. As is The Red Shoes by the same director.
Först när du blottar strupen ska du få nåd, ditt as...

TS

Quote from: GEWALTMONOPOL on October 09, 2014, 02:33:44 PM
Quote from: TS on October 03, 2014, 03:25:46 PM
Possession

The crazy eyes of Isabelle Adjani are the craziest thing in an already batshit movie.

Have you seen Zulawskis later film, On A Silver Planet? Totally different from Possession. It's truly epic!

She was great. Didn't see the subway scene coming.
Regarding Zulawski, I assume you are talking about "On the Silver Globe"?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Silver_Globe_%28film%29

From the things I've read it should be right up my alley. Can never have enough crucifixions! It's on its way down from the ether, Gonna see it tonight. Thanks for the tip!

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears also looks pretty fresh. This place is a gold mine for movie recommendations!
Kropper uten Mellomrom

GEWALTMONOPOL

Sorry yes, On the Silver Globe. I have it on a DVD box with 2-3 other Zulawski films. Haven't watched the others and it was a while since I saw OtSG.
Först när du blottar strupen ska du få nåd, ditt as...

bitewerksMTB

I watched a d/l of the Belgian film, THE TREATMENT, the other night. It's based on a UK crime novel by the same name & it's pretty damn good. Not overly graphic but no details from the child sex murders are spared. Some of the ending is a little cliched but other than that, it's worth checking out.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/treatment-de-behandeling-montreal-review-729139


online prowler

Norte, the end of histroy



Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRRAaWFQR0o


Regarding The Strange Color of Your Bodys Tears. This is master class film making with a keen eye to the giallo film history. A must watch.

bitewerksMTB

I'm currently watching a marathon of The Simpson's Treehouse of Horrors episodes while d/l'ing "Cathy's Curse". The last two days, I've grabbed "The Ebola Syndrome", "Ticks", "Night of the Scarecrow", "Silent Night, Bloody Night", "Cabin of the Dead", & "Of Unknown Origin". Taking advantage of Halloween freeleeching.

Just finished watching "Ticks" which I have wanted to see again for awhile. Pretty good, campy mutant insect horror from the early '90s. I'm a big fan of such films so nothing to complain about.

ConcreteMascara

Quote from: bitewerksMTB on October 26, 2014, 09:11:34 PM
"The Ebola Syndrome"

total classic. the lead puts on one of the sleaziest performances I've ever seen. watched this movie way back when and it's great to see it's got some relevance now

[death|trigger|impulse]

http://soundcloud.com/user-658220512

P A N I C

Ha, yes, The Ebola Syndrome is brilliant and Anthony Wong is amazing in it. Incredible how such a mainstream HK celebrity actor could deliver such sleaze. He was wonderfully sleazy in The Untold Story, too!

Been watching some (mostly recent) horror (occasionally 'horror') recently ranging from absolutely excellent to absolute horsecrap:

THE TAKING OF DEBORAH LOGAN (8/10) Holy fuck what a joyride! Starts out with a documentary crew documenting an old woman's descent into Alzheimer madness, but the longer they are in the house the stranger and scarier things get. A serial killer's ghost is introduced into the plot and the movie goes into hardcore overdrive mode with some excellent creepy scenes, some nicely gory moments and some outrageous but very satisfying twists and turns to the plot. Really enjoyed the fucking shit out of this and highly recommend it!

THE SACRAMENT (8/10) Though never explcitly mentioned, pretty much the Jonestown Massacre revamped, set in the modern day on some exotic island, where a Vice documentary crew is allowed to visit to document a seemingly peaceful religious group that one of the main character's sister is a part of. Of course, cultist shit goes down! Ti West is a fucking genius. Like the other two movies mentioned below, they're slow burners, but only in the best of ways. Creepy setting, great casting, very exciting overall.

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (8/10) Ti West's tribute to creepy 70s satanist cult movies. Exquisitely done; takes its time to build up the tension, and when it cuts loose it cuts loose for fucking real. Atmosphere is spot on. Plotwise there's nothing you haven't seen, as you can pretty much predict the outcome from the get-go - especially if you've read a synopsis - but damn if it isn't executed finely!

THE INNKEEPERS (8/10) Probably my favourite among the three Ti West movies I watched. Old timey hotel with its very own ghost legend is days away from closing for good, and its two remaining employees try to find out what truth there is to the ghost story. Stylish as hell and occasionally creepy as fuck. Again, a slow burner, and again only in the best of ways. The final twenty or so minutes have some truly creepy moments.

V/H/S 2 (7/10) Sequel beats the original in every which way; the enveloping story is nicely creepy again (comparably so), but the quality of the individual segments is significantly better I feel. In fact, Safe Haven is by far the best thing I've seen in horror for a while (9/10 for this segment!). The rest is nice, too, even if the first one about the eye is a bit predictable and the final one is a bit too chaotic for its own good. Overall awesome though.

THE DEN (7/10) Fresh take on the found footage genre in which a sociology student investigates behavior on anonymous chat sites by hanging out on The Den (the movie's version of Chat Roulette, pretty much) 24/7 and documenting everything via screen capture. When she witnesses a murder on one of her chats she becomes the subject of a violent stalker herself. Nice and occasionally nicely creepy with a reveal that is slightly too outrageous for its own good, I felt.

TROLLHUNTER (7/10) Mostly comedic take on the found footage genre where a documentary crew follows around a trollhunter (duh!). The slightly funny angle is fitting, though the movie as a whole is slightly too long for its own good. Still, nicely done overall, with some admirably good-looking effects, an interesting take on troll mythology and some riveting scenes.

THE WARD (6/10) John Carpenter, seriously? Don't get me wrong, it's nice enough, but it's also very generic. Girl gets admitted to a mental hospital that appears to be haunted. Finds out what the deal is. Predictable shit ensues. The whole twist has been done before, and better to, and disappointingly undercuts the whole supernatural element of the movie. Bah. Still an enjoyable movie overall.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (6/10) So this one got a lot of praise, but I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. It's alright, but too arthouse for its own good. Premise is interesting, but I felt like I was watching a (slow) kid's movie for most of the movie's duration. Plus I don't really dig vampire movies to begin with. Decent but far from spectacular.

V/H/S (6/10): Not as good as the second one, but it's still quite good. The framework story has a nice share of creepy moments, and the individual segments range from decent to good, with Ti West's and David Bruckner's segments standing out, the first for sheer creepiness, the second for over-the-top goodness. Hadn't expected much, actually, so this was a pleasant surprise.

GRAVE ENCOUNTERS (6/10) So with all the hype and from what bits from the movie I had seen my expectations were pretty low, but turns out this is actually really fucking nice. The set-up is done well, and contrary to the impression I got from the trailer and such it was in fact NOT a non-stop barrage of silly-looking ghosts with stretched faces and black eyes (seriously, who finds this creepy that I keep seeing this in movies?) but rather a well-constructed ghost film with very few disappointing jump scares. That's not to say it's without flaws, of course (who hired some of these actors? and who thought it was a good idea to include the arms-through-the-walls scene?), but overall this is a much better movie than the hype makes it out to be.

THE POSSESSION (6/10) Little girl buys an old wooden box at a garage sale which contains a dibbuk; dibbuk takes possession of her, shit goes down. Pretty standard possession movie, but when executed in this fashion I won't complain. Worth a viewing.

THE AWAKENING (6/10) Ghost hunter bent on disproving the existence of ghosts is invited to a haunted boarding school, shit goes down. Nice period piece, good visuals, appropriately moody setting, but the needlessly complicated plot developments seem out of place. As such, the second half disappoints a bit, and the reveal is just tacky.

SAW VI (5/10
SAW V (5/10)
SAW IV (5/10) These motherfuckers are pretty much interchangeable. Since it is apparently impossible not to keep involving Jigsaw all the fucking time the plot's becoming more and more convoluted with each instalment. But who cares, right? What lacks in plot can be compensated for by good death traps and suitably grimy production design. Unfortunately, all are not really up to par there, imo. The death traps are alright but nothing too spectacular, and the soundstage look of the whole movie irks me beyond belief. I can't stand that soap opera police station. Still, decent movies overall, and worth getting through just for the more generous amounts of gore in SAW 3D.

The Human Centipede: First Sequence (5/10) I can't fathom how the idea exists that this is so far beyond shocking. Whatever perversity occurs is mostly communicated through suggestion, and gore and shocks are few and far between. That's not to say it's bad. I enjoyed it, even if it was needlessly drawn-out and painfully amateuristic. Pretty much on par with dozens of other cheap shock horror movies out there, but somehow it's managed to gain quite the reputation for itself. Nice job, Tom Six. Stirring controversy like a true businessman.

[REC]2 (5/10) Pretty decent sequel; the ending is truly chilling, and the twist is cool. Plus, the first half hour of the movie is fairly alright, though I don't particularly care for the SWAT angle, especially not if they are this unrealistically incompetent. Middle part featuring the young 'uns is unnecessary and boring, and is pretty much only included to bring another camera into the story. Meh.

GRAVE ENCOUNTERS 2 (4/10) The plot doesn't even make sense - what idiot would lock himself in the mental institution from the first movie if he believed the movie was real? In principle, the premise is alright: in the GE2 universe, GE is (also) a supposedly fictional movie that the protagonist believes to be real, so he sets out to discover the truth. By wilfully seeking out a fate worse than death. Dumb. So, it turns out, GE is actually a reality in the GE2 universe and this simple fact - and the ridiculous developments in the movie as it progresses - actually hurts the first movie's mythology. Fucking shame.

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE II: FULL SEQUENCE (4/10) As promised, indeed gorier than the first one, but since it's in black & white that kind of diminishes the effect again. Compared to the first one it's even more unrealistic, which of course is justified by the stupid and disappointing twist ending. There's some enjoyable gore and shocks, but otherwise this is such a mess (poor script, poor actors, not a single likeable character) that it's not really worth it.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: TOKYO NIGHT (4/10) So I guess this counts as a remake of the original? It's familiar material regardless, even if takes some liberties, and you can see the ending coming about 20 seconds in. This is mostly just silly and not even remotely scary. Ending is fucking ridiculous.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4: UNRATED (4/10) Door opens of its own accord. Kid walks downstairs in middle of night and talks to himself. Knife disappears. Seriously, this series has strayed so far from scary it's not even funny anymore. I don't get why the found-footage angle is still a necessity, either; so many moments where it's not even justified. Why not go regular? Plot is stupid, ending kind of fun but also completely unsuitable to the relative 'understatedness' of the rest of the movie.

THE ABCS OF DEATH (4/10) Anthology featuring 26 shorts, of which only about half really classify as horror. The rest is comedy, artsy shit, sci-fi, you fucking name it. There's some absolutely brilliant shorts in this, such as those by Spasojevic and Tjahjanto, but you'll have to wade through a lot of crap to see them, and I'm not sure if it's really worth it (by which I mean: just watch the good shorts on their own and leave the rest be, instead of watching everything). Overall just unimpressive.

100 GHOST STREET: THE RETURN OF RICHARD SPECK (3/10) Same plot as all the other found-footage movies nowadays - people exploring a mental institution at night. Shit ensues. This movie is from The Asylum, who are known for their crappy movies, but where some are still enjoyable this is sheer crap. A horrible mess with ridiculously stupid CGI (why is it necessary at all?), dumbest characters ever, tons of factual inaccuracies, and more. Plus it's needlessly offensive imo; can't you just make up a serial killer and write him a history that actually suits the plot? The whole thing doesn't even make sense. Seriously awful.

GREYSTONE PARK (3/10) Kind of an artsy take on the popular found-footage style, if that makes sense, from Oliver Stone's kid (Oliver makes an appearance at the beginning, too). The plot is all kinds of familiar ground: bunch of people explore a mental institution at night but then DUN DUN DUN shit goes down. Guess they didn't see GRAVE ENCOUNTERS! For the largest part of the movie there is truly nothing to see though, as it's pretty much exclusively the characters screaming "OH MY FUCKING GOD DID YOU SEE THAT" and then running, and of course you never actually see anything because the screen is entirely black for like half the movie and the other half it's bouncing around like crazy. Stupid ghosts near the end. A shame, as it seemed to have potential; a lot of times you think you see silhouettes in the shadows or behind doors, which is creepy, but it's too subtle to really work and these silhouettes the characters never seem to see. And then cue the aforementioned stupid and utterly unsubtle ghosts. Sucks.

THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT 2: GHOSTS OF GEORGIA (2/10) What a fucking turd. Supernatural drama posing as a horror movie. There's ghosts in about every single scene which totally ruins the effect. Stupid characters, stupid plot, stupid everything. Fuck I hated this movie.

V/H/S 2's grade obviously is based on the combined merits of all shorts and the enveloping story, but I'd like to add that a: it's better than the first one and that b: the Safe Haven segment is one of the most brilliant and brutal things I've seen a while, and I would certainly grant it 9/10. Total over-the-top madness. Fucking brilliant! Timo Tjahjanto is one to look out for. His segment in The ABCs of Death ('Libido') was fucking crazy, too. Oh, and Ti West is a genius, I must say, even though his particular segment in The ABCs of Death was a turd (pun kinda intended?). His movies are all fucking great though.

Now watching Banshee Chapter which seems pretty alright so far.

And haha, Ticks, man, I should see that again, very funny flick if I remember. Very strange to see Alfonso Ribeiro in a 'bad guy' role there.

TV-wise I recently finished The Wire, which is truly, admirably one of the best things ever made, and I have just started True Detective, which seems very promising. Was also watching The Walking Dead S4, but it's not too interesting.

Andrew McIntosh

Just watched "Grave Encounters" and it wasn't bad at all. A lot more entertaining than I expected it to be. Like taking "Blair Witch" and turning it into a more classic, gothic kind of horror movie. Enjoyable.
Shikata ga nai.

P A N I C

Quote from: Andrew McIntosh on November 01, 2014, 12:08:45 PM
Just watched "Grave Encounters" and it wasn't bad at all. A lot more entertaining than I expected it to be. Like taking "Blair Witch" and turning it into a more classic, gothic kind of horror movie. Enjoyable.
Yeah, I agree it was actually quite alright - contrary to my expectations, too. Second one is a turd though.

Watched lately:

HOSTEL (8/10): totally satisfying. Plot is excellent and provides just the right amount of tension, combined with a great, creepy setting and some nice gore. Enjoyed the fuck out of this.

HAUNTER (7/10): pleasant little supernatural horror drama with an interesting premise, nice visuals (apart from some cheap CGI) and a good plot that took just a little too long to really unfold.

SAW 3D (6/10): gorier than most of the previous few movies, and that's it's saving grace. The plot is pretty much irrelevant and ridiculous at this point, though the great reveal/twist at the end is fun. Hate the soundstage look of this series though; generally unappealing outside of the death traps.

HOSTEL: PART III (6/10): very decent sequel that unfortunately is a bit cheap on the gore side. I also didn't really dig this Elite Hunting Club angle either; I much prefer the grimy and macabre setting of part 1. Still though, the plot is pretty clever and overall a satisfying movie.

BANSHEE CHAPTER (5/10): nice premise, very flawed execution. Manages to draw you in nicely, but it's disappointment upon disappointment after that. Basement scene is creepy as fuck by the way!

Started but did not finish SATAN'S LITTLE HELPER, which had a great concept but horribly flawed execution.

bitewerksMTB

Yesterday, I watched:

THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN- campy & drawn out but has some great scenes esp the severed head flowing down the waterfall & fat nurse running in slo-mo down a looooong hallway then crashing through a glass door. And, of course, the Incredible Melting Man.

OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN- Peter Weller is obsessed with a rat that overruns his home. He takes care of the problem the way any rational, logical thinking Man would.

THE RAID 2- I remember very little from the original. This sequel is way too long but seems to be much more bloody than the first? Pretty much an cinematic overdose for martial arts for me.

BLUE RUIN- interesting revenge film that has some minor weaknesses for some of the acting in the climax along with some minor details that just seemed questionable.

THE RITA HN

Still usually just watching classical ballet and stockings / tights erotica, but I just ordered these that look interesting.

"VICE AND VIRTUE (1962)-IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Been waiting for a long time to see this one subtitled! Director: Roger Vadim, Writers: Marquis de Sade (novel), Claude Choublier (adaptation)Stars: Annie Girardot, Catherine Deneuve, Robert Hossein. During the last year of the 2d world war, german officers keep young and pretty girls as prisoners in a French castle for their only sexual pleasure while the others are fighting. The movie is a parable about human passions as the 120 days in Sodoma from Alphonse Donatien de Sade. Anybody who has seen Pasolini's 'Salo' will realise that Pasolini owed a debt to Vadim as the similarities in certain sections of the film are perfectly obvious. The key scene in relation to 'Salo' is when the 'victims' enter the chateau and once they are in the chateau suffer the same sort of torments as in Pasolini's film. The basic difference between the two films is that despite the horrific subject matter Vadim retains a sense of romanticism which Pasolini rejected. It is a great pity this film is not more widely available on video as it is beautifully shot in scope with a delirious score that mixes Gotterdammerung with 'Les Parapluies de Cherbourg'! The acting, especially from Annie Girardot is exemplary. You can see why this actress gave a such a terrific performance recently in 'La Pianiste'. It was however one of Deneuve's first roles and like all her early films she was not at her best, but clearly decorative."

"THE PERVERT (1975)-IN GREEK WITH ENGLISH SUBS. This downbeat Greek exploitation thriller directed and co-written by Chrissostomos Liambos concerns a psychotic killer (Kostas Gouzgounis) who was traumatized into impotence and madness by a sadistic female S.S. officer in his youth. Now he lives in a cave, where he lures women into depravity and death. The script owes more than a little to the Italian gialli then flooding the European marketplace, and makes a brisk wallow in the cinematic gutter, resulting in pretty Aleka Yeorgiou being used as bait to trap the killer into revealing himself. Regardless of its pacing problems, sleaze fans should find enough to recommend it, although general audiences will be offended. Kostas Politidis co-stars with Kostas Stefanakis and Anda Vartholomeou. Although the movie offers an almost endless stream of nudity, violence and general sleaziness, it gets rather timid when it comes to the actual murders which are hardly there. Most of the characters are centered around a bar running a prostitution ring, like the tough boss, his sleazy thugs, Vetta, the boss' girlfriend who also provides him with some fresh meat, Ersi, who insists she's not a hooker, and even an aspiring young student of medicine. Among the regulars is an industrialist, Mister Ivanov (Kostas Gousgounis - hard to buy in such a role) who frequently demands new girls in his mansion. When some girls start vanishing, tough-as-nails Police Lieutenant Aronis is on the case."

P A N I C

Today:

AMERICAN MARY (6/10): great first half, totally thought I was enjoying a modern classic, but the second half is a huge let-down. The plot goes down the crapper, and the movie settles into a directionless, plotless and pretty much boring mode for about an hour until it suddenly rounds things up with a stupid finale. Such a shame. First half totally makes it worth watching though.

THE FOURTH KIND (6/10): decent alien abduction movie. Nothing special, but definitely enjoyable. Setting is great and some of the psych sessions are very nicely done. The pretension that this movie is somehow based on true facts (mixing in 'actual footage' repeatedly throughout) only hurts the movie though; would have been stronger as 'just' a movie.

EVIDENCE (6/10): same director as THE FOURTH KIND above. Nice combination of slasher and found-footage, embedded within a larger detective story framework. It's nice and fresh for the most part (if you can stand found-footage films, that is) though it teeters on the edge of believability far too many times (and occasionally - ridiculous ending - goes fully over). Still, very enjoyable.