It was definitely unsettling, I just never analyzed it in the context of genre in general. At the time I recall thinking of it in terms of a Buñuel-like surrealism, and was more intrigued with the creativity than concerned with categorization. However, lately I’ve come to consider this kind of surrealist nightmare as optimal horror so I’m sure it won’t be difficult to recontextualize in those terms.
The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
- therewillbeblus
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
- Slaphappy
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 5:08 am
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
A Dark Song is the best attempt of this decade to make a captivating and unsettling occult horror movie. It’s geniunely naturalistic approach sets it apart from more postmodern supernatural competition like Hereditary and It Follows.
- brundlefly
- Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 12:55 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I liked this as well, up to a point. Solid two-hander. (My notes went: Purity and pain, invocations and evocations. Tantalizing information management, uneven energy management. You'll wish it were great when it's over, but it may be the only good Irish horror film I've ever seen. And it takes place in Wales.)
...Which leads me to ask if there are any great Irish horror films? Seems there should be, no? I did a run through a few contemporary ones a little while back, including The Hallow , mentioned upthread (When the locals warn you the faerie folk are coming for your infant, listen to them. Occasionally functional.); the sorta-romantic sorta-ghost story The Eclipse with Ciarán Hinds, which is one of those where any supernatural elements are more believable than the characters; the modern Hammer Wake Wood, a druidic Pet Sematary with Tim Spall and Littlefinger, which was so scared of being not scary that gutted itself of any effect. An embarrassingly small sample size, but I keep feeling like (a) the place should be a deep mine of fantastic, creepy material and (b) I've missed some obvious Celtic classic. (Or did The Wicker Man successfully steal all the wind from those sails?)
- Slaphappy
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 5:08 am
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
Yeah, I agree, that it didn’t quite reach it’s potential. Then again, the movie took risks towards the end it had very slim chance of pulling off as well as it did the more psychological stuff of first two acts, but it even if it failed the outcome was likely more interesting than it would have been with more vague and ambivalent ending.brundlefly wrote: ↑Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:15 amI liked this as well, up to a point. Solid two-hander. (My notes went: Purity and pain, invocations and evocations. Tantalizing information management, uneven energy management. You'll wish it were great when it's over, but it may be the only good Irish horror film I've ever seen. And it takes place in Wales.)
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
It Comes at Night (Shults)
It's genuinely mysterious to me what all the hubbub for this fairly generic genre piece is. I suppose it is pretty with a number of nice camera moves, but in the history of apocalypse movies this doesn't really do anything to stand out. The Road does the family stuff better, Romero dealt with the metaphors of the situations and commentary on our mutual distrust in a more thought out way, and Straw Dogs fought with paternalistic violence more effectively just to name some obvious examples.
The Conjuring (Wan)
This is a complete reversal of the above finding an engaging way to present the familiar hits. The basic bones of this have been done a million times in the last few years including by its own director, James Wan. What makes this worthwhile despite the intense familiarity is the fun you can tell was had making this. This is Amityville with a sense of humour and some actual tension. That's not much, but enough to make me smile.
The Final Girls (Strauss-Schulson)
This was a pleasant surprise. A warm hearted use of the slasher genre to deliver jokes that are actually funny. It has a bit too much of a sketch comedy Onion sensibility going for it, but is weirdly enjoyable all the same. I kind of want to rate it higher than it deserves just because it is so charming. Also it has Alia Shawkat in it which always makes things better.
The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (Cattet & Forzani)
This is a bit of a step down from Amer as the plot's got a bit lost. The idea of using horror techniques to tell a non-horror story is quite interesting, but rather than just leaning into the aesthetic they've taken from the actual stories of giallo leaving something unsatisfying in its incoherence. This is mostly thanks to no indication of intent. You have to guess at why this was made which is probably never a good thing to feel the need for. The beauty and constant invention mean that this never becomes boring, but the lack of a clear theme or story to really place everything together makes it less then. I guess that's my repeatable theme from the movie. Now, if one was to look at this as an omnibus film with each death intended to offer something new, that makes the film more admirable though no higher in quality. That's because, and perhaps that's the joke of the title, like most omnibus films some episodes are better than other and the cloth tying things together just isn't compelling. Sure you may have the Svankmajer episode which is one of the most amazing things I've seen recently, but you also have episodes that devolve into how many times can I show a man's throat being slit?
Happy Death Day (Landon)
Now here's the big winner of the last few weeks. I just really needed this. A film that far exceeded its already high reputation thanks to a great sense of humour and a high level of engaging characterization. Admittedly that should be expected with Scott Lobdell who was one of the better superhero comic writers of the '90s. The opening day is a really great example of what I mean. The film could easily have just made Tree a total B with the setup being she learns to be a good person. Instead we get the seeds of potential right here. She is mean, but the logic of her actions, whether through social pressures or frustrations with others, is so clearly plotted that it seems like she could have become a good person had she lead a regular life and didn't need this Groundhog Day. In a lot of other ways that get into spoiler territory the film emphasizes that Tree did not need, or really even deserve, this with it just being an act of cruelty being played on her. That lack of moral is the other great sign of this being a great movie.
It's genuinely mysterious to me what all the hubbub for this fairly generic genre piece is. I suppose it is pretty with a number of nice camera moves, but in the history of apocalypse movies this doesn't really do anything to stand out. The Road does the family stuff better, Romero dealt with the metaphors of the situations and commentary on our mutual distrust in a more thought out way, and Straw Dogs fought with paternalistic violence more effectively just to name some obvious examples.
The Conjuring (Wan)
This is a complete reversal of the above finding an engaging way to present the familiar hits. The basic bones of this have been done a million times in the last few years including by its own director, James Wan. What makes this worthwhile despite the intense familiarity is the fun you can tell was had making this. This is Amityville with a sense of humour and some actual tension. That's not much, but enough to make me smile.
The Final Girls (Strauss-Schulson)
This was a pleasant surprise. A warm hearted use of the slasher genre to deliver jokes that are actually funny. It has a bit too much of a sketch comedy Onion sensibility going for it, but is weirdly enjoyable all the same. I kind of want to rate it higher than it deserves just because it is so charming. Also it has Alia Shawkat in it which always makes things better.
The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (Cattet & Forzani)
This is a bit of a step down from Amer as the plot's got a bit lost. The idea of using horror techniques to tell a non-horror story is quite interesting, but rather than just leaning into the aesthetic they've taken from the actual stories of giallo leaving something unsatisfying in its incoherence. This is mostly thanks to no indication of intent. You have to guess at why this was made which is probably never a good thing to feel the need for. The beauty and constant invention mean that this never becomes boring, but the lack of a clear theme or story to really place everything together makes it less then. I guess that's my repeatable theme from the movie. Now, if one was to look at this as an omnibus film with each death intended to offer something new, that makes the film more admirable though no higher in quality. That's because, and perhaps that's the joke of the title, like most omnibus films some episodes are better than other and the cloth tying things together just isn't compelling. Sure you may have the Svankmajer episode which is one of the most amazing things I've seen recently, but you also have episodes that devolve into how many times can I show a man's throat being slit?
Happy Death Day (Landon)
Now here's the big winner of the last few weeks. I just really needed this. A film that far exceeded its already high reputation thanks to a great sense of humour and a high level of engaging characterization. Admittedly that should be expected with Scott Lobdell who was one of the better superhero comic writers of the '90s. The opening day is a really great example of what I mean. The film could easily have just made Tree a total B with the setup being she learns to be a good person. Instead we get the seeds of potential right here. She is mean, but the logic of her actions, whether through social pressures or frustrations with others, is so clearly plotted that it seems like she could have become a good person had she lead a regular life and didn't need this Groundhog Day. In a lot of other ways that get into spoiler territory the film emphasizes that Tree did not need, or really even deserve, this with it just being an act of cruelty being played on her. That lack of moral is the other great sign of this being a great movie.
- therewillbeblus
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
It may not make my list, but I thought this stood out not because it excels in tackling any family dynamic dissection or providing an intricate commentary on mutual distrust like your examples, but because it strips down all complexities to the question of under what circumstances will we abandon our humanity. What specific degree of threats to safety allow cognitive dissonance to occur, and most importantly, do we compartmentalize and think clinically, or do we struggle through these actions emotionally and philosophically. The notion that there’s an unknown threat out there that never materializes quickly reveals itself to be the idea of threat itself- and this alone- that is the monster to contest with, and allows for us to only focus on the human condition, moral vs safety. The film’s brutality lies with sustained spacious encounters that challenge the characters’, and viewers’, moral lines. Each time slack is given by one character to another we either understand or judge, which tells us more about ourselves while also humanizing the characters. Hobbes somehow meets Locke here, with people inherently good, retaining their morals while also pulled toward survival and creating hierarchies to support these actions that are far more fragile than they seem because of the Locke conscience. Seeing strong moral people torn apart between belief and survival, their identities dangling by a string, is pretty horrific; and I think this film takes its time and attention to solely focus on this one area more than others that have touched on it, which increases its power and unsettling nature in ‘feeling,’ regardless of if the comparative films put more ‘thought’ into the ideas.knives wrote: ↑Sat Nov 23, 2019 8:57 pmIt Comes at Night (Shults)
It's genuinely mysterious to me what all the hubbub for this fairly generic genre piece is. I suppose it is pretty with a number of nice camera moves, but in the history of apocalypse movies this doesn't really do anything to stand out. The Road does the family stuff better, Romero dealt with the metaphors of the situations and commentary on our mutual distrust in a more thought out way, and Straw Dogs fought with paternalistic violence more effectively just to name some obvious examples.
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I think the stripped down nature is exactly what fails the movie. The characters are largely non-entities therefore we are only left with their actions. Watching terrible people being terrible isn't enlightening in the way Shults so clearly wants us to be underlining his points with fun aspect ratio trickery. There's no humanity to abandon especially in light of the first act we receive. Also, given the motivation for the climax it seems more that Shults wants us to be thinking about how love of family blinds us to the truth, but again that depends on us viewing the characters as ever having been rational.
- therewillbeblus
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I think we disagree on whether people even have the capacity to be wholly terrible or good, which is where the movie succeeds in painting a realistic moral relativism and how that might actually play out post-apocalypse. I saw the film as full of humanity, still striving to find a place in a world that’s largely abandoned it in a literal sense. Rationality contests with morality and they are seen as wildly different by Shults’ presentation, so I don’t think they are rational but they strive to be, weighed down by their own philosophical and emotional humane parts, which I don’t think he’s making a claim against. The finale didn’t give me that impression at all, just the opposite in further underscoring that there is no truth, no right or wrong, only complicated decisions between rational safety and moral beliefs. That it seeps into the family, the focal point of these self-constructed rules of behavior based on ideology, finally infects both the rational and moral in the same house without any chance at rationalization. The decisions now become impossible to contend with on either plane without sacrificing the other. They must either become Hobbesian or Lockean, and at this breaking point where the ambiguity of what is right or wrong is too much for the characters- or the film- to handle, it’s a just place to cut to black, for the light of humanity has finally gone out whatever way you slice it.
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I think it is more a disagreement on whether these characters count as people. I found the characterization of the film severely lacking. Being realistic isn't ipso facto a good thing for me, because as I originally said other films have done that better. What does this film offer that Night of the Living Dead doesn't do better?
SpoilerShow
The film makes it pretty explicit that the son is the one with the disease and that the father merely will not accept that making the final murders have no good reason present. I'm not sure where you can get moral relativism from given that from any sort of moral perspective what he did is wrong even if he rationalized it through cognitive dissonance.
- therewillbeblus
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
The characterization of the film is lacking but that doesn't reduce their status as people. They may serve as mirrors for the audience, or canvases of behavior without time for investment via development, as that wouldn't necessarily serve the purpose of the film, even if it's how many of us want to be told stories. Night of the Living Dead is the better film, but my point is that this film sits in the moral testing that's only a fraction of that film's genius, but for the entire running time and in an uncomfortably objective manner.
SpoilerShow
The son has the disease, but the film doesn't make it clear that the father does not accept this, or rather that he will continue to fail to accept it. They sit at the table not knowing what to do, as their actions twisted around rationalization have come to a boiling point where they either must kill the person they love the most or die themselves. You are right that either way this makes the final murders especially disturbing, and this is even more reason for the father to initially refuse acceptance as he now has to contend with his cognitive dissonance being all for naught, even if at the time there was reason behind his actions ('good' reason is to be debated). None of this has been 'moral' but it puts to the test what one will do to survive with the information given, and in the scenes before they could only make that choice based on the information on hand, making the finale more tragic. The reason this becomes Hobbesian is that morals as we see them become irrelevant and flexible in accordance with survival. I think we agree that the information at the end nullifies all previous actions as possibly containing moral value considering the situation that has come, draining any meaning in the choices and forcing the characters to sit with that truth (part of what I believe they are doing in the final image, along with considering what to do given this hopelessness), but part of what works about the rest of the film is that in each instance the drive to survive was strong enough to calculate each variable as is, in the moment without possibly seeing the future. Even if your reading is true and the father refuses to accept his son's disease, that doesn't discredit the humanity within him but only strengthens it and reveals him to be a fallible, broken person with all the psychological 'weaknesses' from a rational perspective, and 'strengths' from an emotional or moral one, that people possess.
The film is interesting in ways many others who broach the subject aren't in that it can be viewed through different lenses, one weighing merit through each separate action towards a hopeful goal of safety for family, but as the sum of its parts in hindsight with new information that merit is void sans hope. I guess I just don't think that makes the decisions earlier in the film having less humanity in them, as they didn't have a crystal ball to determine the future, but does place all the collective decisions on a picture together and evokes a discomfort for those of us who perhaps felt that humanity during the rest of the film and identified with the characters through their choices. I suppose if you didn't engage with them on that level, I wouldn't expect the end, or the film, to hold any power.
The film is interesting in ways many others who broach the subject aren't in that it can be viewed through different lenses, one weighing merit through each separate action towards a hopeful goal of safety for family, but as the sum of its parts in hindsight with new information that merit is void sans hope. I guess I just don't think that makes the decisions earlier in the film having less humanity in them, as they didn't have a crystal ball to determine the future, but does place all the collective decisions on a picture together and evokes a discomfort for those of us who perhaps felt that humanity during the rest of the film and identified with the characters through their choices. I suppose if you didn't engage with them on that level, I wouldn't expect the end, or the film, to hold any power.
- Finch
- Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
- Location: Edinburgh, UK
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I watched Triangle because I'd seen (though skimmed over the spoilers) domino's and zedz's posts, and I enjoyed this as well. In addition to what zedz said
SpoilerShow
shouldn't Greg at least have recognised Sally as the distressed caller, especially when they were once an item? Or are we going to explain this away by saying the signal was a bit shit?
- Rayon Vert
- Green is the Rayest Color
- Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:52 pm
- Location: Canada
- Contact:
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
Gotten kind of quiet here. Some revisits...
The Ring (Verbinski 2002). This was genuinely pretty scary and creepy the first time around and it still comes across as a more than decent film. The mystery/detecting element is a strong component of what makes it work as a story and film beyond the scares, and then there’s that powerful trick ending that colin referenced earlier. But it’s also quite a beautiful-looking film, with some arresting images, which gives it a strong atmosphere. I didn’t feel at all the same about the original when I saw it.
The Curse of Frankenstein (Fisher 1957). I didn’t remember this first one very well. Definitely not a masterpiece of film-making but what’s enjoyable with Hammer most of the time is the mixture of B-movie exploitation (here the grotesque view of a dead dog in water or formaldehyde?, those vats of garish, pinkish blood, Victor Frankenstein making out with the maid out of nowhere), and the execution with lavishness, style and talent. The art direction and atmosphere are quite delightful. Beyond that it’s interesting that the angle here is that the emphasis in terms of the horror isn’t so much the creature as it is the psychopathic aspect of the protagonist who will stop at nothing to fulfill his “life’s work”.
House of Usher (Corman 1960). Definitely my favorite of the Poe series, for reasons similar to the above. The art direction (red candles everywhere, the striking paintings) and the mise-en-scène create this cinematic atmosphere that’s just tremendous eye candy and huge fun. Price’s nuanced performance here is really one of his best in the genre, and the score is striking as well.
Wolf Creek (McLean 2005). This rewatch changed my views about the film. It’s definitely a well-made film in many aspects. What’s most effective is the ultra-realistic direction and acting, with almost nothing pointing to a horror film in that first half, establishing characters and relationships that are sympathetic and relatable and not really allowing the viewer to know what’s in store for them apart from those titles at the beginning regarding cases of disappeared people in Australia. Those frequent shots of beautiful if uncanny and alien-feeling landscapes add a level of mystery and quasi-mysticism. But then when the horror starts extremely suddenly I find it’s just too intense – for one thing too much of a sudden sharp contrast that it feels like a bad trick is being pulled on the viewer, and then just too much torture and in the end too grim and near the nihilistic in the further plot development to make it “enjoyable”. It’s unfortunate because those elements, and others like the creation of that really original and potent Mick character, cancel all those other aspects that really make the film rise above the standard fare.
The Devil’s Rejects (Zombie 2005). 70s southern rock turned into a horror flick. I’m kind of reassured I’m not turning too soft by not having been turned off of this one. I think the slight cartoonishness mixed in with the grittiness, along with the dark humor and the meta-filmic aspects (and maybe the fact that we’re more in the POV of the exuberant killers than the victims), makes the over-the-top violence palatable, if that’s the right word. Overall this is still a strong movie if you can withstand the sadism: smart, well-written, stylishly-directed, sometimes funny, and well-acted. Also a great use of the music and it feels like a twisted musical at times.
Repulsion (Polanski 1965). I remembered Carol’s solitude in the apartment and streets but not as well the interactions with other characters that keep occurring even when she’s retreated in her dwelling. These keep the film interesting beyond her psychotic solitude and the compelling visuals and direction. Still at the center is this convincing rendering of an experience of inhabiting a world that has become untrustworthy and assaultive in its very essence, into the very materiality of things even, with just enough clues to provide an understanding of how this came about.
Peeping Tom (Powell 1960). Pleasurable in terms of its themes, with the meditation on cinema being really obvious right from the start, and especially in terms of the form and use of color in particular (although I still can’t pierce the mystery of all those orange-headed characters!). In terms of suspense and gripping narrative, it’s a bit lacking though, with perhaps the self-reflexivity and stylization having too strong of an effect.
The Ring (Verbinski 2002). This was genuinely pretty scary and creepy the first time around and it still comes across as a more than decent film. The mystery/detecting element is a strong component of what makes it work as a story and film beyond the scares, and then there’s that powerful trick ending that colin referenced earlier. But it’s also quite a beautiful-looking film, with some arresting images, which gives it a strong atmosphere. I didn’t feel at all the same about the original when I saw it.
The Curse of Frankenstein (Fisher 1957). I didn’t remember this first one very well. Definitely not a masterpiece of film-making but what’s enjoyable with Hammer most of the time is the mixture of B-movie exploitation (here the grotesque view of a dead dog in water or formaldehyde?, those vats of garish, pinkish blood, Victor Frankenstein making out with the maid out of nowhere), and the execution with lavishness, style and talent. The art direction and atmosphere are quite delightful. Beyond that it’s interesting that the angle here is that the emphasis in terms of the horror isn’t so much the creature as it is the psychopathic aspect of the protagonist who will stop at nothing to fulfill his “life’s work”.
House of Usher (Corman 1960). Definitely my favorite of the Poe series, for reasons similar to the above. The art direction (red candles everywhere, the striking paintings) and the mise-en-scène create this cinematic atmosphere that’s just tremendous eye candy and huge fun. Price’s nuanced performance here is really one of his best in the genre, and the score is striking as well.
Wolf Creek (McLean 2005). This rewatch changed my views about the film. It’s definitely a well-made film in many aspects. What’s most effective is the ultra-realistic direction and acting, with almost nothing pointing to a horror film in that first half, establishing characters and relationships that are sympathetic and relatable and not really allowing the viewer to know what’s in store for them apart from those titles at the beginning regarding cases of disappeared people in Australia. Those frequent shots of beautiful if uncanny and alien-feeling landscapes add a level of mystery and quasi-mysticism. But then when the horror starts extremely suddenly I find it’s just too intense – for one thing too much of a sudden sharp contrast that it feels like a bad trick is being pulled on the viewer, and then just too much torture and in the end too grim and near the nihilistic in the further plot development to make it “enjoyable”. It’s unfortunate because those elements, and others like the creation of that really original and potent Mick character, cancel all those other aspects that really make the film rise above the standard fare.
The Devil’s Rejects (Zombie 2005). 70s southern rock turned into a horror flick. I’m kind of reassured I’m not turning too soft by not having been turned off of this one. I think the slight cartoonishness mixed in with the grittiness, along with the dark humor and the meta-filmic aspects (and maybe the fact that we’re more in the POV of the exuberant killers than the victims), makes the over-the-top violence palatable, if that’s the right word. Overall this is still a strong movie if you can withstand the sadism: smart, well-written, stylishly-directed, sometimes funny, and well-acted. Also a great use of the music and it feels like a twisted musical at times.
Repulsion (Polanski 1965). I remembered Carol’s solitude in the apartment and streets but not as well the interactions with other characters that keep occurring even when she’s retreated in her dwelling. These keep the film interesting beyond her psychotic solitude and the compelling visuals and direction. Still at the center is this convincing rendering of an experience of inhabiting a world that has become untrustworthy and assaultive in its very essence, into the very materiality of things even, with just enough clues to provide an understanding of how this came about.
Peeping Tom (Powell 1960). Pleasurable in terms of its themes, with the meditation on cinema being really obvious right from the start, and especially in terms of the form and use of color in particular (although I still can’t pierce the mystery of all those orange-headed characters!). In terms of suspense and gripping narrative, it’s a bit lacking though, with perhaps the self-reflexivity and stylization having too strong of an effect.
- Mr Sausage
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:02 pm
- Location: Canada
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
The Oblong Box (Gordon Hessler, 1969)
Tough to say why this one doesn’t work. I suppose it’s a lack of focus. It’s more like three movies than one: a monster in the attic film at first, a Burke-and-Hare thriller in the middle, and a slasher at the end, switching main characters as it goes along. Attempts some criticism of imperialism and the slave trade, but still can’t help treating Africans as exotic witch doctors and practitioners of primitive rites.
Anthropophagous (Joe D’Amato, 1980)
I’d guess I last saw this on a pan & scan VHS when I was 18/19. Fifteen-ish years and a couple format improvements later, and the movie is still no more than tedious. I can’t think of any plane it works on. Even as a gore film (ie. the only reason anyone's bothered to remember it) there’s almost none of it until the last ten minutes. Seems like it was made mostly as an excuse for the cast and crew to vacation in the Greek isles.
Absurd (Joe D’Amato, 1981)
More of the same. Luigi Montefiori, aka George Eastman, once again writes, produces, and stars as the Greek monster in a gore flick by Joe D’Amato. There’s even a scene where Eastman holds his own guts in his hands. Oddly, it’s also a Halloween rip off. As bad as it is, tho’, the thing’s still marginally better than Anthropophagous. The pace is quicker and it’s less sparing with the gore scenes, even if none of them match the lunacy of its predecessor’s two big set-pieces.
The Iron Rose (Jean Rollin, 1973)
Two young people have a kind of metaphysical journey among the dead. The leads act much younger than they are, and I suspect the film would’ve worked better had they been children. Perhaps Rollin’s interest in the sexual aspect had him write them as older. But the general atmosphere of the movie seems quite childlike. It has a child’s fear and wonder at cemeteries, that suspicion that they’re incomprehensible, endless places to become trapped in, especially at night. This analogizes well to a child’s growing awareness of mortality and adulthood, even of burgeoning sexual awareness. I suppose I’m imagining a more sombre Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, which is to say the film as we have it shows more potential than it manages to realize.
Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey, 1962)
Not hard to guess the final twist. On the dreamy, atmospheric side of horror. Its low-budget, independent origin is apparent in much of the acting and technical aspects, but the barrage of creepy, nightmarish images proves effective.
Tough to say why this one doesn’t work. I suppose it’s a lack of focus. It’s more like three movies than one: a monster in the attic film at first, a Burke-and-Hare thriller in the middle, and a slasher at the end, switching main characters as it goes along. Attempts some criticism of imperialism and the slave trade, but still can’t help treating Africans as exotic witch doctors and practitioners of primitive rites.
Anthropophagous (Joe D’Amato, 1980)
I’d guess I last saw this on a pan & scan VHS when I was 18/19. Fifteen-ish years and a couple format improvements later, and the movie is still no more than tedious. I can’t think of any plane it works on. Even as a gore film (ie. the only reason anyone's bothered to remember it) there’s almost none of it until the last ten minutes. Seems like it was made mostly as an excuse for the cast and crew to vacation in the Greek isles.
Absurd (Joe D’Amato, 1981)
More of the same. Luigi Montefiori, aka George Eastman, once again writes, produces, and stars as the Greek monster in a gore flick by Joe D’Amato. There’s even a scene where Eastman holds his own guts in his hands. Oddly, it’s also a Halloween rip off. As bad as it is, tho’, the thing’s still marginally better than Anthropophagous. The pace is quicker and it’s less sparing with the gore scenes, even if none of them match the lunacy of its predecessor’s two big set-pieces.
The Iron Rose (Jean Rollin, 1973)
Two young people have a kind of metaphysical journey among the dead. The leads act much younger than they are, and I suspect the film would’ve worked better had they been children. Perhaps Rollin’s interest in the sexual aspect had him write them as older. But the general atmosphere of the movie seems quite childlike. It has a child’s fear and wonder at cemeteries, that suspicion that they’re incomprehensible, endless places to become trapped in, especially at night. This analogizes well to a child’s growing awareness of mortality and adulthood, even of burgeoning sexual awareness. I suppose I’m imagining a more sombre Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, which is to say the film as we have it shows more potential than it manages to realize.
Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey, 1962)
Not hard to guess the final twist. On the dreamy, atmospheric side of horror. Its low-budget, independent origin is apparent in much of the acting and technical aspects, but the barrage of creepy, nightmarish images proves effective.
- therewillbeblus
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I posted my thoughts in a different thread but does anyone else consider Under the Sun of Satan to be a horror film? I began viewing it through the lens of faith and was gobsmacked by its psychologically assaulting position applied to an existential black hole, even leaving the possibility of nihilism ambiguous enough to deprive us of any stable perspective whatsoever!
It’ll probably make its way into the top tier of my list unless a second viewing changes the effect drastically, but I’m curious if others are or would even label it within this genre.
It’ll probably make its way into the top tier of my list unless a second viewing changes the effect drastically, but I’m curious if others are or would even label it within this genre.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I mean, it's a good movie, but not a horror movie for me, or at least any more or less than Bedazzled is by virtue of the Devil showing up, which is the only reason I'd give it a second thought about if it belonged
I was surprised you didn't post to the dedicated thread for the film here-- those MOC threads, like the Criterion threads, are in dire need of more actual discussion of the films themselves
I was surprised you didn't post to the dedicated thread for the film here-- those MOC threads, like the Criterion threads, are in dire need of more actual discussion of the films themselves
- colinr0380
- Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
- Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
Mr Sausage, if you want more children and graveyards I would highly recommend the wonderful 1964 short film Emma (added as a supplement on the BFI disc of The Party's Over), which provides some of the same innocent lyricism of being left to wander around among the tombstones and mausoleums!
It has been a while since I last saw Absurd but I remember really liking it whilst as the same time being astonished by the enormously drawn out nature of all of the gory death scenes (especially the oven one, which brings a whole new meaning to the term 'slow cooking'!). I also like the novel 'blinded by spirograph set' climax and that amazing final shot has always stuck with me:
It has been a while since I last saw Absurd but I remember really liking it whilst as the same time being astonished by the enormously drawn out nature of all of the gory death scenes (especially the oven one, which brings a whole new meaning to the term 'slow cooking'!). I also like the novel 'blinded by spirograph set' climax and that amazing final shot has always stuck with me:
SpoilerShow
as the young boy of the house (finally!) drags his parents home from their American football-and-pasta party and they open the door on the previously confined to bed by illness teen daughter now standing there holding the severed head of the killer, having had to deal with the situation all by herself!
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
In the long history of annoying kids in Italian horror movies, this idiot in Absurd takes the cake-- the girl risks everything to get him out of the house and the dumbass just circles the fucking perimeter!
- therewillbeblus
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
See I thought the part with the Devil only emphasized the already horrific plain the film was operating on, and was probably the scene with the smallest effects of horror for me, at least as far as the psychological distress which is what I’d say is the key ingredient here for qualificationdomino harvey wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:29 amI mean, it's a good movie, but not a horror movie for me, or at least any more or less than Bedazzled is by virtue of the Devil showing up, which is the only reason I'd give it a second thought about if it belonged
I had no idea it was in the MoC! (I watched the Cohen disc)Fixeddomino harvey wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:29 amI was surprised you didn't post to the dedicated thread for the film here-- those MOC threads, like the Criterion threads, are in dire need of more actual discussion of the films themselves
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I think every Pialat Cohen has released except Loulou was an MOC release first
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
MoC put out all but about four features at least on DVD.
- bottled spider
- Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 2:59 am
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
Triangle (Christopher Smith, 2009)
A treasured, quicksilver nightmare from early childhood ran like this:So it spoke to me when Melissa George This should happen in movies more often. Another high point was the exquisite I'm awed by the beautiful mind that brought forth these delectable horrors. Full marks.
Nosferatu (Murnau)
Fall of the House of Usher (Epstein)
Vampyr (Dreyer)
Is this a safe space where I can come out of the closet as a philistine who can't stay awake for the duration of any of these arthouse classics? Shameful full disclosure: I tried more than once.
Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht (Herzog, 1979) And yet I love this barely discussed also-ran waif of the previous round: the imagery and atmosphere, the indelible soundtrack, the quirky humour. Excellent screaming while looking good in a nightie from Adjani.
The Body Snatcher (Bob Wise). Not as frightening as the Sound of Music with its uncanny paisley curtain lederhosen, but nevertheless worth watching for Karloff. I could vote for it.
A treasured, quicksilver nightmare from early childhood ran like this:
SpoilerShow
Looking down from my bedroom window, I see my mother walking up the path to the front door. But I know my mother is in the kitchen.
THE END.
THE END.
SpoilerShow
axes her own clone in front of her little boy.
SpoilerShow
pile of dead Marys.
Nosferatu (Murnau)
Fall of the House of Usher (Epstein)
Vampyr (Dreyer)
Is this a safe space where I can come out of the closet as a philistine who can't stay awake for the duration of any of these arthouse classics? Shameful full disclosure: I tried more than once.
Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht (Herzog, 1979) And yet I love this barely discussed also-ran waif of the previous round: the imagery and atmosphere, the indelible soundtrack, the quirky humour. Excellent screaming while looking good in a nightie from Adjani.
The Body Snatcher (Bob Wise). Not as frightening as the Sound of Music with its uncanny paisley curtain lederhosen, but nevertheless worth watching for Karloff. I could vote for it.
- therewillbeblus
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I'm a big fan of this one, and might vote for it if there's room. Bruno Ganz is better and more complicated a character than the material seems to require, which elevates it into compellingly murky territory, and Klaus Kinski was tailor-made to play his part.bottled spider wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2019 4:23 pmNosferatu - Phantom der Nacht (Herzog, 1979) And yet I love this barely discussed also-ran waif of the previous round: the imagery and atmosphere, the indelible soundtrack, the quirky humour. Excellent screaming while looking good in a nightie from Adjani.
SpoilerShow
Also, that pile is one of the best hair-raising visuals in horror movie history
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
Hey guys, wasn't one of you supposed to tell bottled spider the truth about his mother?bottled spider wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2019 4:23 pmTriangle (Christopher Smith, 2009)
A treasured, quicksilver nightmare from early childhood ran like this:SpoilerShowLooking down from my bedroom window, I see my mother walking up the path to the front door. But I know my mother is in the kitchen.
THE END.
- Mr Sausage
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:02 pm
- Location: Canada
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
Count me among those who prefer the Herzog (and think it among the top three Dracula adaptations ever made). I admire and appreciate the Murnau film and used to watch it regularly as a kid (when it was 60 minutes long sped up, on a VHS with a weird soundtrack), but outside of the set pieces and Shreck's performance, it drags for me, and the performances are a bit tough to watch.therewillbeblus wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2019 5:21 pmI'm a big fan of this one, and might vote for it if there's room. Bruno Ganz is better and more complicated a character than the material seems to require, which elevates it into compellingly murky territory, and Klaus Kinski was tailor-made to play his part.bottled spider wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2019 4:23 pmNosferatu - Phantom der Nacht (Herzog, 1979) And yet I love this barely discussed also-ran waif of the previous round: the imagery and atmosphere, the indelible soundtrack, the quirky humour. Excellent screaming while looking good in a nightie from Adjani.
SpoilerShowAlso, that pile is one of the best hair-raising visuals in horror movie history
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: The Horror List Discussion and Suggestions (Genre Project)
I finally got around to Wicked, Wicked (Richard L Bare 1973), infamously presented (almost) entirely in split screen, and as you might expect from a film written and directed by the auteur of the Joe McDoakes shorts, this isn't exactly a powerhouse of horror. You'd think a comedic director would know how to heighten visual interest and exploit his gimmick (We can see the hotel killer stalk his victims AND the victims being stalked -- "Great" if you want that, but we don't even get that most of the time), but we get barely any ideas and the split screens often end up functioning either like shot-reverse shots in a single frame or as a way to represent cut-aways without cutting away-- not exactly a new film language here. You could imagine a director with real vision and creativity utilizing the possibilities of this gimmick, but Bare isn't it. Poor Arthur O'Connell and Madeleine Sherwood are a long way from their Hollywood heydays here. Far more memorable than anything seen on screen are the two songs warbled out by the lounge singing love interest, as they are without a doubt two of the worst songs ever written and her voice is, uh, not one upon which a career could have been built. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get the damn things out of my head ("Wicked wicked, that's the ticket..." - please kill me now, hotel murderer)