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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Feb 1, 2013 17:20:44 GMT -5
Ok even though I lost I was granted the priveledge of decing this months theme.
1 point for any slasher film 2 points for any horror movie with Tom Savini's special effects 3 points for any non-horror St. Valentine's Day movie 4 points for any St. Valentine's Day horror movie 5 points for any horror movie that has a reputation as particuarly disturbing or gruesome
Remember honor system at work here. Competition ends February 28th at midnight Pacific Time.
This time I'm in it to win it LOB!
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Feb 4, 2013 2:17:26 GMT -5
First I watched Tony Maylam's 1981 slasher film The Burning which has special effects by Tom Savini and the film debut of Jason Alexander, which was kind of werid considering he had a full head of hair. It's about a killer that gets burned at a summer camp and decided to take revenge at another summer camp. The acting in this movie ranged from bad to good, I liked the cinematograhpy especially in the woods, it was unintentionally funny, the gore particuarly out of throats was good, and I liked the soundtrack. It also had this awesome scene on a raft. What made it so awesome was the rapidity of it, the dude just pops out of nowhere and kills these 7 kids like it was nothing. I also thought they did a good job at the beginning showing all the trauma the killer went through with the burning by using an internal monologue. This was no masterpiece, but just a fun slasher.
Second I watched a 1996 slasher that revitalized that particular subgenre, Wes Craven's Scream, for the first time. I thought the soundtrack in this movie was great all around, from the traditional horror music to the rock soundtrack. The acting was good and they did a really good job of making the heroine in that magnificent first sequence really likeable and man was I rooting for her. Too bad the main heroine wasn't more likeable. It did a good job balancing comedy , while keeping it serious and I thought the gore was really good. I didn't like the fights too much, except for the knifings which looked particuarly brutal and the end where an open wound was gouged. One of the weird things was that it felt like I was watching a parody because I'd seen the first three Scary Movies, but it was the original which shows the influence and impact of the movie. I thouroughly enjoyed this movie.
Finally I watched the film debut of E. Elias Merhige (best know for Shadow of the Vampire) Begotten a 1990 experimental horror film that dabbles in lots of body horror and has elements of a splatter horror film as well. I'll start off with the positive: the gore was great, some of the cinematograhpy was great,, the soundtrack which is mainly amibent noise and sounds of nature was also really effective, and whatever the hell the characters were looked creepy. The bad was that there's no real narrative so the movie just kind of goes, if that makes sense. It's not really boring ,but at the same time it's not the most entertaining ,but I think alot of the ideas or designs could be reused in a better movie. You know you're in for something weird when the movies starts with god disembowling himself. I found out about it looking for experimental horror movies and the movie was considered so extreme that 2.3 decades later it is still banned in Singapore.
JAS-8 points
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Feb 9, 2013 1:06:04 GMT -5
First I watched George Mihalka's 1981 Canadian slasher My Bloody Valentine. Really liked this movie, not saying it was a masterpiece ,but I still really liked it. The outdoor cinematograhpy and interior cinematograhpy in the mines was great, giving contrasting feelings of freeness and space, but then giving a feeling of claustrophobia and being trapped. Liked the country soundtrack and thought the ending theme folk song was great. The gore was good and the acting was ok, but the film managed to have my attention the full time. The killer looked awesome, there's something about those type of breathing masks that just looks creepy. The ending was of a whole other quality though I mean man it was great, the combination of the dark shot and just the villian's insane look on his face with his incredible evil laugh and ranting/mumbling while he run's deeper into the mines with only one arm was really creepy and effective.
Then I watched Jim Wynorski's 1986 slasher Chopping Mall which is about a whole bunch of killer security robots in a mall going after the people having a party in there after hours. This isn't a good movie by any means ,but it is an entertaining one. The acting, cineamtograhpy, and most of the special effects are bad (the electrocutions and lazers). However, the actual gore was quite good and the movie managed to move quickly which is alot better than those really bad horror movies that just seem to drag on. Not much to add about this movie, just a bad albeit fun slasher.
JAS-13 points
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Post by loverofbeers on Feb 14, 2013 23:55:52 GMT -5
First, sorry that I was MIA. Been working on a much overdue hardcore spring cleaning.
Second, I have watched four horror movies this month, but since I didn't re-read the stipulations before mostly avoiding the interwebs for the past two weeks, three of those movies don't even count. Oh, well. Two are recommends and one was pretty good.
Points-wise, I watched Friday the 13th the Final Chapter which features Tom Savini effects. I like this movie and as a kid this was my introduction to Jason Voorhees whom I learned to fear. I was more scared of this movie than TTCSM. Nowadays that makes no sense, but I guess TTCSM never scared me, it just fascinated me, but Jason would sooner or later hunt me down at night inside of my house. I knew it in my young grey matter. So for that, a Cheers! to Jason and Mr. Savini. Somehow I never became a Jason fan until the last decade or so. It really is a fun franchise with a minimal of duds.
I watched Juan de los Muertos, a Cuban zombie movie. I might be Hispanic, but Cuban Spanish is undecipherable to me. They talk so very fast and to me, in a very odd manner. Kinda like those Gypsies in Snatch are to our English.... That said, the cultural divide of sixty miles is so immense and somehow I "get" Japanese, Korean, British, Mexican, Canadian, Italian, Australian, and other foreign films much better than I "got" this, my first Cuban movie. The Cuban outlook is different.... Not hating, just the movie was an odd watching experience to me. I liked this movie, but I don't know if I really can recommend it. No points.
I also watched Otis, a great black comedy horror film about a kidnapper/serial killer and molester of teenaged girls, but that doesn't fit the slasher profile. There is a difference. A slasher HUNTS down teens usually away from home instead of abducting only one teen from her front yard early in the morning with the sun shining. A whole different type of "monster" and villain. That said, Kevin Pollack steals his every scene as an FBI agent, the whole family of the abducted girl deliver great and highly entertaining and funny performances, and Otis as played by Daniel Stern, is perfect. Watch this movie folks, it is gory, funny, disturbing, and dare I say perfectly put together from start to end? No points.
Now the surprise film out of the bunch. Elvira's Haunted Hills was a fun, loving, and classy satire/tribute of the Edgar Allen Poe genre of horror especially the old Roger Corman and British Hammer set pieces, and is specifically a tribute to the great Vincent Price, the credits immediately begin with dedicating this movie in memory to Mr. Price. The acting was superb, all of it. The cinematography, set designs, special effects, soundtrack, matte paintings, comedic timing, and old-timey gimmicks were spot-on. I have so much respect for Cassandra Peterson now, she ain't just the best aging seasoned lady in Hollywood (up there with Raquel Welsh and Jane Fonda), and I am not into older women, but Shit!, Elvira somehow stays sexy year after year, decade after decade. Lost my thought, not only is Casandra Peterson a pretty face, but she is a dedicated fan of the genre and a very smart and talented woman. A Cheers! to the Mistress of the Dark. No points.
Time to start catching up to JAS, or at least time to earn a more respectable score for the month. Two points is an awful start with half the month gone already....
LOB-2
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Post by loverofbeers on Feb 18, 2013 19:55:47 GMT -5
First I watched a favorite slasher film, Tobe Hooper's The Toolbox Murders (2004). The producers were very hands on in the making of this film. They bought the rights to the name and plot of the lame seventies movie. After watching it, they decided it sucked so they started completely from scratch and made a wholly original new movie that only shares the name with the original, but plot-wise, it is worlds different and that is a good thing. They trashed the first script and brought in Tobe Hooper as a hired gun director as well as bringing in a team of two writers to work with Tobe. This was the first of three collaborations of the team of Hooper and these two writers (too lazy to look up their names). I have watched this movie at least a half a dozen times but this time the lighting got to me, too many overly dark and underlit shots. Also, I love Angela Bettis (May and Sick Girl) and I love her performance here except in a few scenes, but Hell, she is a very talented scream queen, one of my faves and a local Austinite. The slasher here is "Coffin Baby" for a lack of a better name. This film occurs within the walls of an apartment complex in Los Angeles or Hollywood and that is one of the creepiest parts of this movie. The killer lives there and has since the building went up decades before. Oh yeah, there is a benevolent ghost in this movie and it would be properly categorized as a supernatural slasher flick. I recommend, again.
Second I watched Deranged (1974) a re-telling of the story of Ed Gein but with the names of the real life victims and killer changed. Gein is "Ezra Cobb", a sick motherfucker. This movie reminded me of both the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (even has a macabre dinner scene and skin wearing and the transvestite element) and Psycho with "Ez" talking for his preserved mother, the cross dressing, and all that jazz. When I first saw this movie I couldn't figure it out. It felt like it was a seventies movie but the gore and effects (Tom Savini) were so modern looking and just plain awesome. Tom Savini is a master. I recommend this flick and it was probably my fourth viewing of it.
LOB-5
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Post by loverofbeers on Feb 18, 2013 20:18:39 GMT -5
Just found out that the long awaited (by me) sequel to The Toolbox Murders is coming out later this year. Might be good.
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Feb 18, 2013 21:37:32 GMT -5
Yeah I loved Deranged, it's odd ,but my two favorite Savini special effects movies are in the 70's: Deranged and Martin they just look so brutally realistic and that was like 4 decades ago.
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Post by loverofbeers on Feb 19, 2013 1:06:11 GMT -5
Just watched Friday the 13th. A Tom Savini classic.
This movie along with it's sequel launched modern horror as much if not more than John Carpenter's Halloween, which I prefer. Friday the 13th has some good actors (Betsy Palmers and a handful of others) and bad actors (mostly the teen victims). I think this was the film debut of Kevin Bacon. It's funny how what JAS said about The Burning is reminiscent of this flick. I like this movie but I don't love it, but I do give the franchise it's due, and it took me years to get to that point. The Voorhees grow on you with time.
That said, I do think the last couple scenes after the devastation of the night before are classic and beautifully shot (the lake scene). Young Jason is creepy goodness and a hallmark of the art of Savini. Alice, the survivor girl, is so pretty at the end, not so much in the rest of the film. I bring this up because for the first time I noticed how androginous (sp) both Pamela Voorhees and Alice were. Oh yeah, Alice, the survivor girl who shoulda died, is a total idiot throughout the end scenes. You find a bloody ax in a bed and you better not think someone is pulling a prank, especially if all your friends are suddenly missing way out in the woods during a thunderstorm. You run, run, run and you don't stop running to take a look behind you. Just saying. Horror 101.
LOB-7
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Feb 19, 2013 2:56:43 GMT -5
Warning: Possible Spoilers for any movie discussed below-
Finally after years of avoiding it and years of Neal reccomending it, I watched Tom Six's controversial 2010 Dutch horror film The Human Centipede [First Sequence]. This is a great movie, which is reflected in the acting, gore, other special effects, and cinematograhpy. In particular Dieter Laser and Akihiro Kitamura do a great job as a crazed, self ritheous mad doctor and an angry desperate victim. I also thought the cinematograhpy, whether inside or outside was particuarly good and the opening and ending shots really reminded me of 70's horrror movies. Also the rottweiler centipede is such a simple effect , yet it's just creepy. As with Neal I reccomend this movie. I wasn't so much scared that the movie would disgust or disturb me I just thought the movie sounded dumb and avoided it for that reason ,but man was I wrong.
Second I watched 1982 slasher Madman, which I decided to watch for 2 reasons: first I watched a highlight of it years ago on Youtube and found it hilarious (because of all the horror cliches, i.e. he's missing you stay here I'll go look for him, oh no he's missing, now I'll go look for him you stay here) and second because of it's awesome cover/poster. It's about a camp for talented children and their counselor's who after telling a story about a killer farmer who escaped death start dissapearing one by one. I'll start with the good: the above average cinematograhpy (which was consitently good, except for the standard really badly lit outdoor night scenes so typical of 80's slashers), the so bad it's good dialogue which was unitentionally funny, and the sort of ecletic soundtrack that was awesome, the hot tub scene was hilarious. As for the bad well: the acting is bad, the gore isn't very good, the horrible logic that I mentioned above, the appearance of the Madman (which looks like a combination between a roided up hillbilly and a white haired gorilla), and also the actual violence which is pretty fake looking. That being said I dug the ending where the final girl and the killer take each other out. Also I loved the opening and ending sequences which were similar to the poster. Not a good movie ,but man is it a fun one.
Third I finally took you up on your reccomendation and watched the slasher-mockumentary-comedy from 2007 Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon which is a great horror comedy. I loved the soundtrack, the cinematograhpy was great, I loved especially Nathan Baesel great performance as Leslie Vernon, the acting was great in this comedic sort of way, I also loved how it referenced known and lesser known slashers. The twists were hilarious and I loved the idea of how these slasher killers are extemely well prepared so as to appear supernatural, and finally I liked how the gore wasn't super realistic ,but instead reminiscent of the style of gore from alot of 80's slashers. Can't wait for the sequel.
Finally I watched another 1982 slasher that ended up as a video nasty The Dorm That Dripped Blood (also known as Pranks), which is about a group of college students that are spending the weekend during Christmastime cleaning out an old condmned dormitory, but soon find themselves threatened by some unseen killer. The acting in this movie was alright, except for the character Bobby Lee and the killer when he kills Bobby Lee, the gore was mostly good, except for the beginning kill which showed a really fake looking hand getting cut, the soundtrack was a good mix of traditional horror music and random rock songs playing in the background. It had the aformentioned dumb let's split up logic and some really bad fights ,but the scene where Bobby Lee gets shot was extemely well done; the acting, sound, and gore all matched up superbly. I also was surprised by the dark ending and liked the concept of the movie, so I think it'd be cool to do as a better quality remake.
JAS-21 points
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Post by loverofbeers on Feb 21, 2013 23:30:52 GMT -5
Watched A Serbian Film. Baby Cheese Sauce! That movie was not what I consider a fun watch but it is a very well made movie. I read the plot in full after it just came out and the shit hit the fan and I decided I would never watch it. But Jake did, and I figured I would give it a shot. Still free on Youtube, but I can't recommend a movie that fucked me in the psyche. Heavy shit man. I do appreciate the analogy I believe the director is trying to make about how his people became monsters in war but ultimately spiritually raped their own fellow Serbians while raping Muslims and committing ethnic cleansing. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_in_the_Bosnian_WarSo, I turned to the funnest and smartest of the Friday the 13th series and the only one I really recommend from the whole mess, Friday the 13th Part 6, Jason Lives. My second full viewing of it and it is just great. The humor is funny, the cast are good, and the whole production is right on, and you get Zombie Jason! Plus many tributes to Universal's Frankenstein in this film, from Jason being resurrected by lightning on a stormy night to Karloff's General Store to Teenage Frankenstein blairing on a motor home's stereo minutes before a great crash scene. I repeat, a great car crash scene. This is the warm-feely of the franchise, Jason survives, but so do the good guys. I needed this movie as a anti-toxin (EDIT) for the mind-fuck from the Balkans. LOB-13
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Post by loverofbeers on Feb 24, 2013 9:38:35 GMT -5
I watched two movies, both five pointers.
First I watched Tobe Hooper's The Funhouse (1981) a tribute to Universal Monsters, Psycho, and Halloween. It made the "Non-prosecuted" list of the Video Nasties. I have fun watching this movie, my second time, and it almost is a slasher a film, almost. There is a survival girl.
Then I watched Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Psycho (1960), which terrified my mom of taking showers for a couple of weeks after she first saw it. I first watched it at the foot of my parents' bed when I was eight. This movie can be argued was the first slasher movie. It definitely was the proto-slasher. It was controversial for the chocolate syrup, the flush of a toilet, a bed shared by two adults, and of course the shower scene which was paid tribute in many horror flicks since, including The Funhouse.
LOB-23
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Post by loverofbeers on Feb 28, 2013 0:01:23 GMT -5
I watched Hatchet (2007) twice. I watched it with and without the commentary, and that wasn't the first time I've sat through it twice. This movie makes me smile again and again. First of all, Jason, and Candyman, and Freddy Oh My! Yep, this movie has appearances by Kane (God) Hodder, Tony Todd, and Robert Englund. This story was imagined by eight year old Adam Green, and I'll tell you THAT is what the American Dream is about to me. Having a dream and decades later realizing it has become reality. I am such a huge Adam Green fan because of this movie and I recommend this movie to all horror fans. If you watch the dvd, check out all the extras. It really is a feel-good story of making a movie with passion, humor, and love. Some would call this a horror comedy. I would argue that it is old school brutal and gory horror with 45 minutes of humor. The gore, make-up, blood (soooo much bood!), acting, day-for-night shots, sets, acting, the lighting, and immense talent on both sides of the camera and in the editing and Second Unit produced scenes, well, this is what horror looks like when you end up with a modern classic.
A Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA LeChaim! to Adam Green, a good mensch.
LOB-24
Edit: A Cheers! to Kane Hodder and Dee Snyder, too. Adam is lucky to have friends like these two.
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Post by loverofbeers on Feb 28, 2013 0:15:06 GMT -5
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Feb 28, 2013 17:13:54 GMT -5
Spoilers for any Movie Discussed Below:
First I watched Buddy Cooper's 1985 slasher The Mutilator, which I watched for two reasons. First reason is because I remember listening to Cooper's interview here on WYH and really feeling for the guy, I never really realized how political the MPAA was until I started hearing from all the small horror directors here on WYH and the second reason was the awesome special edition poster which reminded me of TCM. As far as the movie itself it isn't really good ,but it was fun and the time went by fast. The acting is godawful, but I liked the Fallbreak rock theme song. The cinematography wasn't the best ,but it picked up on the road trip scenes and something I found funny was how the way those scenes were shot combined looked incredibly similar to 80's and early 90's sitcoms such as Fullhouse and Step by Step which I found to be funny. The gore however is great, it looks both incredibly brutal and magnificent. It's about a kid who accidentally kills his mom while cleaning his dad's guns as a present on his birthday and how his father seeks to take revenge on him when he's older. Like I said earlier the acting wasn't good ,but I thought the killer's fantasy's of killing his son were actually sort of creepy.
Then I watched Tony Six's 2011 Dutch horror film and sequel to The Human Centipede, The Human Centipede [Full Sequence]. This wasn't as good as the first movie ,but it was still really good. I particularly liked Laurence Harvey's performance and the gore in this movie which was just great. I also thought they did a great job with the cinematography and really took advantage of the black and white , especially in regards to the gore. The movie was funny ,but I thought the ending was actually pretty creepy, showing how you have no idea what's going on in someone's head.
Third I watched Joe D'Amato's 1980 Italian slasher Antropophagus which is about a crazed cannibalistic killer on a small Greek island who begins targeting a group of Italian tourists one by one. I decided to watch this movie based solely on the fact that I liked and was intrigued by it's poster and didn't find out until later that it was a prosecuted video nasty. For the first time that I can remember I watched an Italian movie that didn't have godawful dubbing, but sadly the acting was still godawful and the killer looked really cheesy. However, what I did like about this movie was it's outdoor cinematography, gore, and it's European electronic/jazzy soundtrack. There's one particular scene involving gore that goes from hokey to just plain brutal involving the ripping out of a human fetus and lifting it into the air by the killers mouth(which is what I'm guessing got it prosecuted as a Video Nasty). Again not really a good film ,but a fun one with some good, sometimes great gore.
Finally I watched Scott Spiegel's 1989 slasher Intruder which I again decided to watch because I liked the poster and to my surprise discovered that it featured Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, and Bruce Cambell. The acting and fight scenes in this movie are hilariously bad. However, the gore, indoor cinematography, comedy, and soundtrack that was all over the place helped make it a fun enjoyable experience. I was also surprised by how dark the ending was for such a fun, cheesy slasher. The gore is really good and sometimes just great.
JAS-33 points
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Post by loverofbeers on Mar 1, 2013 0:04:18 GMT -5
Just watched Day of the Dead EDIT (1985).
Simply, this is a celebration of Savini. This is my favorite Savini effects movie and my second favorite Zombie movie after the classic Romero Night of the Living Dead. Also, Bub is my favorite Zombie ever (followed by Fido). My only problem with the movie is the Mexican character. The actor was the shits.
I never noticed how much of a comic book feel this film had especially the Zombie scenes at the end. I recommend. Oh yeah, I love the alligator hanging out on the steps of the bank building somewhere in a swampy un-dead town in South Florida. One last thing, effects-wise, my favorite Zombie visually in film history is "Doctor Tongue" the first Zombie shown in this movie. Looks perfect and disgusting. A+, a Cheers! to Mr. Savini.
Will Jake win? Clock is ticking...
LOB-26
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