General Spoopmas Film Discussion

[Issun]

Johnny's thread is his, so this is where we talk about the wacky, weird and mostly scary films we're watching during the spookiest of months. What have you watched and enjoyed? So far I've watched No One Will Save You, a film with no dialogue with the gay one from Booksmart being hunted by aliens, and I did a double feature of 1996 films with Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich. The Craft was an okay flick about witches but rewatching Scream for the first time in over 25 years was an amazing experience. It's still such a good movie, possibly the greatest Wes Craven has ever made. Probably going to watch The VVitch tonight. I have an idea what to expect, having watched The Northman.

 

[Falselogic]

Earlier this week I watched Blade for the first time. It was a fine action film. What struck me most about it though was how amateurish it all looked? Not just the early CGI or the fight scenes, but a lot of things. From the staging and costumes to the editing. I kept thinking I'd seen better scenes and scripts in a CW tv show...

 

[Issun]

I'll just say that, in spite of Robert Eggers's more pretentious tendencies, The VVVVVVitch is one of the most visually impressive films I've ever seen.

 

[Pombar]

This month I am trying to plug a few of my more embarrassing classic horror movie gaps, so watched The Texas Chain Saw Massacre the other night. Found it simple and effective, not too cornball or camp as films with this formula that I have seen so often end up.

 

[Octopus Prime]

I’m trying to watch a Horror Movie I Haven’t Seen Before every day, and so far I’ve only missed one day and also not had a great hit rate;

Candyman (2021) wasn’t bad, but it didn’t hold a candle to the original
Final Deatination was pretty fun, definitely the best thing I’ve seen so far
Leviathan is Alien But Wet, and had some nice visuals but it was a slow burn and really wasn’t anywhere close to Aliens level, let alone other Alien But Wet movies that came out since
Behind the Mask was an absolute hoot of a slasher that felt inspired by, and inspiring to, both Scream and Cabin in the Woods… then it became a C- Slasher at the end, which was a disappointment.
Frankensteins Monsters Monster Frankenstein isn’t really a horror movie and defies simple classification, but it’s fun to watch Dave Harbour go bonkers
No One Will Save You is a movie where I think everyone else was taking more out of it than I was; felt like the aliens were a bit too goofy to take seriously for the menace they were supposed to be projecting.

 

[Voncaster]

I was on vacation and the hotel had free STARZ movie channels. I know I live a blessed life.

In any case, I decided to watch the Midnight Meat Train. The film had aggressively cliche cinematography. Night scenes were color timed blue and day scenes were color timed yellow. Almost every shot had short focal depth; the foreground would be in focus and the background was blurry. It also had extensive CGI blood, which did not hold up.

Despite the visual blandness, the film itself is okay. A photographer trying to get into NYC art galleries is encouraged by a curator to shoot more dangerous shots to give his work more bite. The photographer finds the last NYC trains have a habit of making people disappear. He investigates and stumbles onto dark goings ons.

There is a part of the movie where the photographer's investigation takes him to a meat packing plant. He takes his camera in the plant and is taking pictures. It struck me as funny. If a random person showed up to your job and started taking pictures you wouldn't at least ask what he was doing?

The story is from Clive Barker. Of the three Barker movies I've seen (Candyman, Hellraiser, and this) its the weakest. Still even a weak Barker film has a better story than most horror films. The movie was okay. Maybe the best thing on STARZ movie channels?

Rating (out of 5): 1/2

I'm also kind of making my way through Archive 81 on Netflix. I'm on chapter 2 of 6 or 8. I don't know if its me or the time I watch it (late at night before bed), but Archive 81 creeps me out. If you are looking for something that is unsettling, I can recommend it.

 

[Voncaster]

I watched Phenomena for the first time.

I love Dario Argento and I love Jennifer Connelly, but this film did not work as well for me as other Argento films. I liked the film, but didn't love it. I found Phenomena to be less propulsive than most Argento movies. It was boring in places. This is also Connelly's first staring role. I think she takes big jumps in acting in subsequent films.

A few random thoughts on the film:

There are shots of wind blowing pine trees that reminded me of similar shots in Twin Peaks. Stylistically and tonally, Argento and Lynch remind me a lot of each other. I do think Lynch is more humorous, but there could be cultural differences from Argento that I miss.

This film is supposed to inspire the game clocktower. Things from both the film and the game: The main character is Jennifer, there is a girls school, a pair of scissors is used as a weapon and there is a creepy small child or small man.

I really liked the Goblin score when it was used. Goblin always goes to 11 regardless of what is going on screen and I love them for that.

For those who have seen the film, what am I supposed to make of the son? He is deformed and the killer? Or the mom is the killer because her deformed son demands to eat meat? If the later, why not just go to the grocery store and by him some meat instead of killing people. The son also has the maggots that the film goes out of the way to indicate a rotting human. Are the maggots there because he is eating rotting flesh, or is he rotting flesh?

Rating (out of 5): 1/2

 

[Pombar]

I’m trying to watch a Horror Movie I Haven’t Seen Before every day, and so far I’ve only missed one day

Props, one every day is mighty impressive.

I haven't gotten around yet to another one, but this Saturday I have an online movie marathon with a group I formed during peak Covid for this purpose, gonna do four horror or horror-adjacent movies and maybe a short film afterwards. So might take this week off from horror in anticipation.

I did watch True Detective season 3 over the weekend, but that was (to my mild disappointment) less horror-adjacent than season 1.

 

[Paul le Fou]

I saw Carnival of Souls at the local indie theater and...nope, didn't like it. It just kinda dragged on despite being only 80 minutes, nothing very scary happened; more importantly, nothing very interesting happened. There was a creepy pushy guy who got way too much screentime, the main character's actions didn't make much sense even with the things happening to her, the resolution didn't really fit with any logic internal or external.

 

[Purple]

I watched Phenomena for the first time.

I love Dario Argento and I love Jennifer Connelly, but this film did not work as well for me as other Argento films. I liked the film, but didn't love it. I found Phenomena to be less propulsive than most Argento movies. It was boring in places. This is also Connelly's first staring role. I think she takes big jumps in acting in subsequent films.

There's a very intentional dreamlike nature to the whole thing which... yeah, slows the pacing down a bit. Still a contender for my favorite Argento film, personally... between this and uh... one whose name I should really remember.

This film is supposed to inspire the game clocktower. Things from both the film and the game: The main character is Jennifer, there is a girls school, a pair of scissors is used as a weapon and there is a creepy small child or small man.

The original Super Famicom game, specifically. What the U.S. got as "Clock Tower" on the PSX was a sequel, and it's quite a bit more direct than that. The main character's design and several specific scenes are just lifted directly. Plus one kill from Suspiria, because why not?

I really liked the Goblin score when it was used. Goblin always goes to 11 regardless of what is going on screen and I love them for that.

I'm told there's an alternate cut that was for a time the only way to watch it in the U.S. under the title Creepers, where the main difference is the various metal band tracks mixed in here and there are stripped out and replaced with more Goblin songs.

For those who have seen the film, what am I supposed to make of the son? He is deformed and the killer? Or the mom is the killer because her deformed son demands to eat meat? If the later, why not just go to the grocery store and by him some meat instead of killing people. The son also has the maggots that the film goes out of the way to indicate a rotting human. Are the maggots there because he is eating rotting flesh, or is he rotting flesh?

Rating (out of 5): 1/2

The whole last act gets real fast and loose, but I BELIEVE what's firmly established is mom had a monster baby 15 years ago because an evil murderer raped her, but she loves her monster baby and hides him from the world. Also she has a messed up dungeon basement with a corpse composting pool, where she chains up the detective who's on to her about, you know, all that. She also killed Donald Pleasence for the same basic reason. Past that there's a little ambiguity over whether her son is going out murdering people because, well, it's his nature as a monster baby, or she's going out murdering people to bring corpses back for her monster baby's enjoyment, and I guess there's an outside chance of an unrelated murderer doing a lot of this killing and she's just collecting corpses after but that seems needlessly complicated. Donald Pleasence suggests necrophilia is involved in all this, which... at least seems more likely than monster baby eating people because like, there's clearly plenty of meat on them bones when they get tossed into the compost pit and the whole lynchpin of the mystery is they are, in some way, being handled quite a lot by the killer well after corpse flies have laid their eggs in them. And really typing this all out I'm kinda glad the movie largely glosses over the exact details.

Also I'm kinda shocked that in no point of that did you even mention the big hook that the protagonist commands the loyalty and/or horniness of insects or the prominent roles of Donald Pleasence and his helper monkey.

 

[Voncaster]

Thanks for the lengthy reply Purple!

I think I watched the Creepers cut, maybe not, I don't know. The Blu ray box says disc 1 is 116 minutes. It was disc 1 from the two disc Synapse Films release. A lot of Goblin in the film, but also some Iron Maiden and Motorhead.

Definitely Jennifer controlling insects and Donald Pleasence having a monkey are key traits of the movie and feel very Argento. I think the son and the finale so occupied my mind at the end of the film, that those two became what I wanted to talk about. But yes a big omission on my part.

Its possible my appreciation for Phenomena will grow with time. Upon first seeing Suspiria and the remake, I think I liked the remake more. Which now feels blasphemous to me. Argento's Suspiria is now in my top 10 horror movies. It may even be on my top 10 movies.

I would rank the Argento films I've seen as follows:
Suspiria
Inferno
Deep Red
Tenebrae
Trauma*
Phenomena

*Trauma gets big points from me, because it was shot in Minnesota and I can recognize like 90% of the shooting locations. For whatever reason, I missed that one as kid and discovered it as an adult.

From the films I've seen it feels like Inferno and Phenomena are closest to one another. Dream like atmospheres, underwater sequences and fire. I definitely prefer Inferno over Phenomena. But like I said, Phenomena is a first time watch for me, maybe it will grow on me in time.

 

[Issun]

Totally Killer is a time travel horror comedy and it's every bit as off-the-wall as that description suggests. It's a little short on the slash, but it does manage to capture the zeitgeists of both gens x and z, and that's no small feat.

 

[jpfriction]

On my list for the next movie night. I like a good horror comedy. I think I’ll try to watch that, Final Girls and a happy death day or two this spoopmas season.

 

[Issun]

Hereditary is probably the best horror film of the last 10 years, and that's with the ending being kind of lame because everything leading up to it is an experience. Aster shoots scenes in ways I've never seen before, with a diligent eye for color. Toni Colette and Alex Wolff nail their performances, and every scene oozes atmosphere. The supernatural aspects flavor the story rather than supercede it (until the ending, which keeps Hereditary from perfection). I want to see Midsommar and Beau is Afraid even more now.

That scene after the daughter dies and Peter is laying in his room and you hear his mother waking up and getting ready for the day and then finding her daughter's body is one of the most emotionally grueling scenes in film history.

 

[Issun]

Drag Me To Hell is a pretty good time overall. Definitely has Raimi's hallmark as a horror director of being a bit creepy while also embracing the sillier aspects of the genre whole-hog. The ending was incredibly easy to see coming after the paper shuffle moment, and the entire premise of the film centering around really unfortunate ethnic stereotypes makes this not as comfortable a watch in 2023.

This film was also a bittersweet viewing knowing that it was the last major role for the most promising acting talent of the 2000s before she quit the business. It is always a transcendent experience watching Alison Lohman ply her craft, even in an intentionally cheesy horror film, and while I understand why she made her choices, she'll always be a favorite of mine and I am sad we never got to see her grow and evolve even further as an actor.

 

[Voncaster]

Candyman (1992)
We dare you to say his name five times.

For me, Candyman is the best horror movie of the 90s. The acting, score, cinematography and direction are all top notch. Virginia Madsen and Tony Todd are amazing in their staring roles. The Philip Glass score is haunting. The film has great looking natural and surreal scenes. The first hour of the movie feels like drama or thriller. Then the horror kicks in and lighting gets more severe and surreal. The director is skillfully putting all the elements together. Though I have not read it, I'm sure the underlying Clive Barker story gives the film a solid foundation.

I love the way the film combines the modern urban legend of Candyman with the historic basis of Candyman. The film stakes feel simultaneously small (Candyman kills people in the projects) and large (Candyman is mythical idea that cannot be killed as long as people believe).

For this viewing I was also impressed with the foreshadowing.
Initially Helen speaks with Bernadette about Candyman by her bathroom mirror. Later in the movie, Candyman breaks through the same mirror to terrorize Helen.
In almost every scene professor Trevor flirts with undergrad Stacy. When Helen is put in confinement, Trevor quickly moves on Stacy. The scene where Helen confronts Stacy at the end of the movie is exquisite.

Candyman has always been a treat for me. Sweets to the Sweet.

Rating (out of 5):

I watched the Director's cut tonight. I will have to watch the theatrical cut at some point.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I watched a few Halloween things in the last few days.

Goke, the Body Snatcher from Hell is a sci-fi/horror movie loosely based on a tokusatsu TV series the year before. A group of different people from different walks of life, including a terrorist and an assassin, end up in a plane crash and are trapped on an island with an alien who possesses the assassin. The formula is like that of Train to Busan (except most of the people in train have redeeming qualities and this is more like everyone who isn't the two leads get worse), particularly there is one piece of shit dude who sells everybody out every minute of the movie in a desperate attempt to save his own ass. I liked this a lot more than War of the Insects. It is going for it and I like it's bleak ending even better.

The Pope's Exorcist is a movie that claims the Inquisition is the fault of ONE friar getting possessed and making it happen. This is stupid and offensive and hilarious. I wish I liked it more but there's definitely stuff I like about this dumbass movie. I love that the movie tries to imply it was ONE possession that made the inquisition happened, like NO ONE ELSE involved had agency or a shred of morality. Russell Crowe goes full Chef Boy-Ar-Dee with his accent. Wait, does Chef Boy-Ar-Dee have an accent? Well, it's the beefaroni equivalent at any rate.

Also, I do tend to fall asleep through movies now but I know I didn't miss this: the family is saved but it's tacitly implied they do NOT have enough love and faith to save themselves. This feels like it could be "sadly, people aren't Catholic enough now and there's no hope" but instead it feels more like "it's in Russell Crowe's contract to save the day."

I needed something short because I was watching anime first episodes so I watched The Boulet Brothers Halfway to Halloween TV Special. Bleh. I'm not familiar with the drag world or the Boulet Brothers but this comedy variety special feels like it wants to be a throwback to campy TV specials but completely lacks any real comedy chops despite some real talent in the guest stars (and... Kevin Smith. So weird to see him thin now. Glad he's taking care of himself). It's just not funny, not a very good parody and the only good bits were the musical sections, particularly Twin Temple. But if you want to watch comedians dress up as Universal monsters and do a completely basic-ass parody of Seinfeld, then you are covered.

 

[Pombar]

this Saturday I have an online movie marathon with a group I formed during peak Covid for this purpose, gonna do four horror or horror-adjacent movies and maybe a short film afterwards. So might take this week off from horror in anticipation.

The evening went well, though for my money the selection of films wasn't so hot.

Started with the Taiwanese folk-ish horror Incantation, which wasn't hugely new or different among Southeast Asian horror but worked well enough. Had one amusing gimmicky moment but it was well done enough that it didn't detract.

Then we did recent movie Cobweb which really felt the weight of its derivativeness a lot more than Incantation. A bit of Coraline, a lot of recent 'elevated' horror, not much really to give it much of its own identity.

Next up was Scare Package which was a lot more conscious of its own attempt to be funny than it was successfully so. I thought the idea was fine and the different story setups were amusing but every single part of it outstayed its welcome and could have done with snappier pacing - a lot of the time they didn't have much that was funny beyond each individual premise, and so should've wrapped it up quicker.

The fourth film was maybe less horror than merely gory and horror-adjacent, Repo: The Genetic Opera. Probably worked better for gothy or emo teens in the 00s, but it was ok. Really my main complaint was that the majority of it felt sung through rather than having songs, even when it was trying its best to have songs. They all sounded very samey and with similar deliveries, and as such only a line or two were really memorable. A shame, with a better soundtrack it could've rocked.

Then finally I managed to be the only one to stay awake to watch the old BBC short film Whistle and I'll Come to You. The short story was scarier, and the vast majority of its already short run time was kind of just time killing and anticipation of even the start of anything horror-ey. The two main scenes of scary stuff were ok, but really for me the sound design during these were the best, very unnerving even as the visuals were vague and bordering on silly.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Been watching American Horror Stories (plural, the anthology one) and… qualities a bit haphazard but generally pretty good. It’s no Tales from the Crypt, but what is?

 

[Issun]

10 Cloverfield Lane is an absolutely perfect film in almost every aspect. Even the awkward tie-ins at the end to the overall franchise don't drag it down. It was also weirdly prescient in its year.

 

[Issun]

Mad God is a visually arresting film. Filters the stories and atmosphere of 2010s video games like Limbo, Inside, Doom, God of War, Dark Souls and Bloodborne through the aesthetic of 1990s Tool and Nine Inch Nails videos, and gives a liberal sprinkling of ancient mythology and 2001 era Kubrick. Blends stop motion with live actors seamlessly, features some of the greatest sound editing ever, and also channels the best of Jim Henson into its animation.

Ultimately, the meaning of this film is up to the viewer, though given the release decade and visuals, critiques of late-stage capitalism and out-of-control technology are not out of the question.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

What is happening in Phantasm? I watched it today, and cannot wrap my head around anything other than the Cerebral Bore from Turok 2 and “Boy!”.

 

[YangusKhan]

What's happening is one of the greatest horror movies ever made, that's what.

 

[jpfriction]

Love story about a tall man and his crazy magic spiky orb.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I love Phantasm. I feel like there are a lot of great horror movies to watch around Halloween but I feel like it's also on the short list of perfect FOR Halloween.

Of course, my recipe for great Halloween watch is (keep in mind, this isn't a be-all, end-all and lots of great Halloween movies only check off maybe one of these boxes)
1) Lots of different stuff (more monster or ideas is good)
2) A sense of fun (or if very dark, reminds us of the frivolity of spookems but takes us to a darker place, like the original Halloween)
3) Lots of stuff at night
4) Autumnal-ness
5) Not too long so you can slide in a double-bill.

The first Phantasm checks all of these boxes.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Phantasm works better the less sense you try to make of its story and the more you treat it like a really weird ass dream the director managed to capture on film. The sequels explain things but in a way that doesnt quite lose that same vibe.

I maintain that “When you die you don’t go to heaven, you come to me” is a hell of a good line to use when you’re a monster-man killing a priest.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

Yes, but why did the finger turn into a bug?

 

[Johnny Unusual]

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I guess that also explains the fortune teller lady and the teleporting box.

 

[YangusKhan]

That's just a Dune reference imo