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

[NerveGas]

Hereditary

I feel like most people who love this movie have never watched horror movies before.

I could see that. Or maybe that we had well over a decade of nothing but nu-metal torture horror Saw type stuff flooding theatres, so any movie that shows the slightest thing resembling artistic vision gets lauded as a masterpiece.

[host body]

Hereditary and Midsommar and also the new Suspiria are to horror movies what Amy Winehouse was to soul music. They tick all the boxes I guess but in the end they're just empty pastiches of better movies from the past. When was the last time you saw a horror movie that felt new? Like, something that feels of this time as opposed to just as the old movies, but modern? I can't even remember, maybe Irreversible or which ever of those early 2000's french films I saw first.

I'm reading this pretty interesting book called Ghosts Of My Life and the first chapter pretty accurately dismantles modern cultures obsession with the past, retro and vintage. Daily life has sped up but culture has slowed down, and most of todays culture is less about the now and more about the past, or conjuring up a skewed version of the past with pastiche works of commercial art. The youth, unlike 30-40 years ago are not the engine for cultural change anymore, as they're victims of the hypercapitalist  entertainment industry that is obsessed with quick profits as opposed to artistic value.

[NerveGas]

Hereditary and Midsommar and also the new Suspiria are to horror movies what Amy Winehouse was to soul music. They tick all the boxes I guess but in the end they're just empty pastiches of better movies from the past. When was the last time you saw a horror movie that felt new? Like, something that feels of this time as opposed to just as the old movies, but modern? I can't even remember, maybe Irreversible or which ever of those early 2000's french films I saw first.

I'm reading this pretty interesting book called Ghosts Of My Life and the first chapter pretty accurately dismantles modern cultures obsession with the past, retro and vintage. Daily life has sped up but culture has slowed down, and most of todays culture is less about the now and more about the past, or conjuring up a skewed version of the past with pastiche works of commercial art. The youth, unlike 30-40 years ago are not the engine for cultural change anymore, as they're victims of the hypercapitalist  entertainment industry that is obsessed with quick profits as opposed to artistic value.

Perhaps for another topic, but Mark Fisher, the author of that book, has some lectures on YouTube. I can't lie and say I have read much of his stuff, but I have one of his books on my shelf currently. You summarized it pretty well. Seems like the development of new artistic culture has slowed greatly. His most obvious examples being movies and pop music. I think he also talks a lot about rave culture as well. I'll leave it at that, so I don't run the risk of derailing the topic or speaking too much about a writer who's work I'm not too familiar with. Good point, though.

[MateriaPrima]

Hereditary

I feel like most people who love this movie have never watched horror movies before.

I could see that. Or maybe that we had well over a decade of nothing but nu-metal torture horror Saw type stuff flooding theatres, so any movie that shows the slightest thing resembling artistic vision gets lauded as a masterpiece.

Interesting takes, there may be something to this. I feel that about films overall, as in a lot of people aren't experienced enough to recognize a good film, especially these days. I always feel that way when people drone on and on about Quentin Tarantino, or something that's trying too hard to be clever and unique or whatever but in the end is just basic. To be clear I didn't think Hereditary was actually an excellent film as far as overall films, just fairly good for what I normally associate with horror, especially these days. It might very well be due to horror not being my focus with films. But also my critical bar drops depending on what I'm watching and why I'm watching it. You're talking to someone who as far as serious films enjoys Hour of the Wolf, but then at the same time loved Texas Chainsaw Massacre, completely incomparable films and watched them for completely different reasons. Sounds like Hereditary with its genre mixing didn't meet your reasons for watching it, that these elements couldn't go as far as you were hoping.

Suspiria was amazing. I am eager to watch the re-imagined version but don't currently have a blue ray player. Sounds and looks amazing for completely different reasons from the original.

[ConcreteMascara]

Tuesday
Slither [dir. James Gunn, 2006] - not a perfect movie, but a lot of fun. this must have felt like a real shock to the usual horror movie schlock in 2006 because it's got a nice balance of quippy writing, gore, and body humor & horror. in 2021 it's just an easy movie to watch, like a cheeseburger for the brain. I always like to see Michael Rooker and he's fucking great in this. Elizabeth Banks is a delight as well. Some of the effects in this are pretty shit, but there's enough practical effects and violent chaos to keep me entertained the whole time.

Friday
There Will Be Blood [dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007] - probably hadn't watched this in 10 years or so. it's still a perfect movie. and that score!

Saturday
The House by the Cemetery [dir. Lucio Fulci, 1981] - not my favorite Fulci, but a good background movie for painting baseboards.

Child's Play 2 [dir. John Lafia, 1990] - I enjoyed this just as much as the first one. Sure it had some slight tinges of sequelitis, but there were some parts that surpassed the original. In general I like seeing poor Andy being tormented over and over by Chucky. The whole angle of "no one believes the kid" and then are later punished for it is just so great and identifiable. I can so clearly remember being a kid and not being believed just because I was a kid and how frustrating that was. It's like an adolescent version of the frustrations in Catch-22 or Kafka's short stories.

The Blob [dir. Chuck Russell, 1988] - I don't know why I didn't like this the first time I watched it but this movie fucking rules from start to finish. Nothing beats characters being fleshed out with effective writing only to be slaughtered in the most horrible of ways. And they even show a pre-teen get absolutely obliterated by the Blob. Kill more kids in your horror movies! The quick Jack Nance cameo is the cherry on top of this bowl of jello based dessert.

Sunday
Mississippi Burning [dir. , 1988] - Good actors and good performances, but the second half of this movie really trips all over itself and gets caught up in the white-savior narrative that ruins everything. Regardless, I've decided to watch every movie with Brad Dourif and this isn't even close to the bottom of the barrel. Also, special mention to the soundtrack which sounds like it was done for a fucking Terminator movie. Wayyy out of place here.

[aububs]

I've decided to watch every movie with Brad Dourif

cool. he's been in a lot of great movies

his role in the exorcist 3 is excellent. the scene in his cell with george c scott...oof

recently watched the eyes of laura mars which i liked a lot. features some real solid dourif

spontaneous combustion is great fun too

[aububs]

Hereditary

I feel like most people who love this movie have never watched horror movies before.

yawn

[ConcreteMascara]

Last Monday
Edge of the Axe [dir. José Ramón Larraz, 1988] - Haven't seen much in the way of Spanish cinema, exploitation or otherwise. This was an interesting attempt at making an American slasher with a European touch. The performances are odd, different than Italian or American for sure. I assume its a mix of bad acting, bizarre dialogue and nonsensical story. It feels closest to something like Juan Piquer Simón's Pieces, but not as balls out crazy. The main chick was a cutie but the protagonist was off-putting in everyway. Still I felt engaged most of the time and there were some descent murder sequences. I've definitely watched worse. Recommended if you want something off the beaten slasher path.

Friday
As far as dumb popcorn movies go, Godzilla related stuff is what I turn to for mindless entertainment...
Kong: Skull Island [dir. Jordan Vogt-Roberts, 2017] - Watched this one for the first time in preparation for Godzilla vs King Kong and I was very pleasantly surprised. I have to admit this is easily the most well rounded movie of the whole Legendary kaiju franchise they've got going on right now. John C. Reilly elevates this movie by being consistently funny and relatable when everyone else is somewhat mirthless. I thought Brie Larson was especially pointless as a photographer who almost never takes pictures. And Tom Hiddleston's character could've been played by anyone given the way he was written. But Kong was great, the skull-crawlers were sick and so were the rest of the big critters. I was feeling very hyped for Godzilla vs King Kong.

Godzilla vs King Kong - [dir. Adam Wingard, 2021] - Saw this at a drive-in. There were sound issues and my view was meh, but I enjoyed the hell out of this in spite of those issues. As a Godzilla fan my enjoyment criteria is skewed when watching Godzilla films to the point of uselessness. The human plot stuff to move the story along is kept to a minimum which was nice. That Kiwi kid from Deadpool 2 and Hunt for the Wilderpeople was in it, but underutilized or maybe not needed at all, but still nice to see him. The overall plot was a tad less silly than a Showa era plot. But the real question is where the kaiju fights done well? Hell fucking yeah they were. Even on a drive-in screen I think I can say they looked better than King of the Monsters. The first fight between Kong and Godzilla was especially awesome. But there's all sorts of CGI kaiju splendor throughout the whole movie with a proper culminating fight at the end. Is this masterpiece cinema? Absolutely not. Is it big monsters make smash smoll people die. Yes, yes it is. Bonus points for destroying Hong Kong which I don't think I've seen wrecked since Pacific Rim.

Four movies into Legendary's monsterverse and I'd argue that Kong: Skull Island is technically the best movie of the bunch. Godzilla (2014) is definitely the weakest. But my favorite has to be Godzilla: King of the Monsters because it's just so balls out and Ghidorah just wrecks shit the whole time.

Saturday
Nemesis [dir. Albert Pyun, 1992] - the came on my radar a few months back. Watched a lo-quality trailer and it looked like a dumb but wild ride. I think Arrow just released a new transfer of it because the copy I watched on Amazon looked great! The movie is like Commando meets cyberpunk, but I was surprised but how deep the cyberpunk aesthetic and details went. Anyway, the main character is some kind of French Jean-Claude Van Damme rip off with no acting ability and low charisma. But he knows how to run, kick, jump through windows and jump off cliffs like a pro. This thing is non-stop action, non-stop explosions, non-stop silliness [albeit it's all played straight as an arrow]. It was nice to see something so earnest, even if the execution was undercut by budget and acting. Reminded me a of a poor-man's John Woo film or an even more action packed version of Keita Amemiya film.  All of the future cyberpunk guns are just prop guns with black cylinders and squares added to em, but fuck if they don't just constantly blow up walls, buildings, cars, robots, etc. This may be dumb but it's very entertaining, and with a different flavor from your Hollywood action film. Worth a watch.

Inseminoid [dir. Norman J. Warren, 1981] - for a movie about inseminating astronauts the insemination count is quite low. It's gross though, I'll give the movie that. This felt like something out of the 70s not the 80s, but it wasn't nearly as cheap and shitty as I thought it might be. Frankly I quite enjoyed the "woman gone mad with alien seed" plot. None of the violence gets really excessive and there's not enough sex related shit to get sleazy, it's just a single location cabin fever flick. It was fine for what it was.

Sunday
The Terminator [dir. James Cameron, 1984] - a perfect movie. every viewing re-affirms its perfection. it was especially noticeable after the amount of schlock I'd watched in the past week.

[ConcreteMascara]

Last Monday:

Hatchet [dir. Adam Green, 2006] - my first viewing and I have very mixed feelings. My friend really enjoys this series but it felt a little to lowest common denominator for me. The gore is fun and partially outrageous, but the extremely low budget feel in the post 2000 era is not something that works well for me. Had this be done '80s style I could probably fuck with it a lot easier. It was fun to see a couple of horror film legends [Robert Englund, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder], but the rest of the cast mostly make me want to kill myself. Although it gets points for gratuitous nudity. The kind of movie that begs for a few beers before watching, but sadly that's not an option for me.

Yesterday:
Hakaider [dir. Keita Amemiya, 1995] - Picked up the newly released bluray on Mediablasters. Fuck I didn't even realize they were still going. I have to assume it's not a new transfer because it doesn't look too hot. It looks way better than the trash torrent file I watched last time but yeah, still mediocre. Which is a shame because this movie is all about the pretty visuals. It's basically the sole reason for it's existence. It plays like a live action 90s anime in the best way possible from it's obtuse story telling to the art direction and the focus largely on action. Hakaider is very handsome and extremely stoic just like an anime anti-hero should be. Admittedly the whole thing is silly but i think it's saved from dropping into laughable territory by the earnestness which underlines it (for lack of a better term), and of course it's great design. The final battle section is super great too.

Basket Case [dir. Frank Henenlotter, 1982] - I put off watching this for years because I had a certain idea about what it would be like. That was dumb of me. While part of that idea was accurate, aka the silliness of Belial, the wonderful and constant focus on scuzzy early '80s New York is the real star of the show. The characters and the scenery are just a joy. I wanted to see a whole movie based on the guy who owns the hotel, he seemed like a lot of fun. While there isn't anything "scary" here, there's certainly a lot to like. Running time flew by too.

[ConcreteMascara]

Last night:
Body Melt [dir. Philip Brophy, 1993] - I was browsing the Vinegar Syndrome catalogue a week or two ago and so this one there and was very intrigued. Just my luck it turned up free on Amazon Prime so my buddy and I gave it a watch. I was thinking it might be similar to Street Trash but not nearly as cuckoo-bananas as that movie. It was kind of a thriller, kind of a hills have eyes hixploitation, kind of a Shivers sexy/body horror thing, with a sort of punk energy running through it, almost a Tsukamoto or Sogo Ishii kind of feeling. It was all over the fucking place but in a way that actually made it work. more like a series of vignettes tied together by the evil doings of Vimuville and neighborhood which is being experimented on. I think the fast pace of the movie was to its benefit which combined with the increasingly levels of insanity by the end got into waking nightmare zone. yet the whole thing is plaid straight, the cops most of all, so for all the melting and projectile fluids, it feels kinda realistic. It's hard to pin down but it really worked for me. Worth mentioning is the score which is a cornucopia of mostly electronic styles that mostly works but stayed interesting. Also, unsurprisingly, the transfer is fucking gorgeous. I'm gonna have to buy the bluray for this one.

Trick 'r Treat [dir. Michael Dougherty, 2007] - this is one of those good post-2000s horror movies you read about, but there's no caveat with why it's good, it's just solid all the way through. This was my first viewing, six months out of season no less, but I enjoyed it all the same. This was a series of vignettes but they were artfully tied together, all focused on the happenings of a town in Ohio that REALLY likes Halloween. Like fuck, I wish I lived there, mostly. Spooks are more of a focus than gore, but the gore is there when it needs to be. There's some humor in the first major vignette too that works well enough. There even some quality titties, but sadly not from Anna Paquin, though she'd be getting newd very soon after for True Blood. What I'm trying to say is I liked it way more than I thought I would and I think its a great Halloween season movie. Something to watch alongside Halloween 3.

[ConcreteMascara]

Last night:
Mortal Kombat [dir. Simon McQuoid, 2021] - Well here we are. One of my favorite games and favorite movies as a kid comes back as an R rated action movie. The results are mixed... Obviously this isn't gonna be a piece of high art but it had the potential to be a really fun action film and that fizzles about halfway through. First thing to mention, in a strange casting choice Raiden is played by Tadanobu Asano, who looks like shit and bored as fuck. Definitely making me miss Christopher Lambert... Second thing, while it verges on too much, the guy who plays Kano holds up a lot of the movie with his in-character humor/sarcasm. I don't think I knew any of the actors from the film except the guy who plays Scorpion and and Asano, who I didn't even recognize until I read his name in the credits. That's fine, because I care more about well choreographed fight scenes than acting and the first half of the movie delivered pretty solidly! But then there's a bit of a lull and our main character loses faith and yadayadayada... That loss of momentum is felt for the rest of the film and it's especially weird because the last act turns into this extremely rushed thing makes almost no sense. And all for a final showdown that is pretty cool, but totally a teaser type ending. I think it's fairly bold the people making this movie assume they're going to make a sequel, because clearly that's their assumption based on this movies non-ending. Also the main characters eventual armor/costume looks like shit, which was extra disappointing because the make up and design for almost everyone else was really solid. There's also some very dodgy CGI here and there but generally the movie didn't look nearly as cheap as the original. All in all, it was fun, there was some good fight choreography and a surprising amount of gore, but all the best parts are in the first 1hr-1hr15min. I'd say vision & tonal inconsistency stole a mediocre movie from the jaws of a really fun one. But it definitely could have been worse.

[ConcreteMascara]

Yesterday:
Touch of Death [dir. Lucio Fulci, 1988] - billed as one of Fulci's horror-comedies or black comedy, this movie was frustrating. The basic plot, semi-wealthy widower seduces and kills other widows to steal their money so  he can feed his gambling addiction, is a solid premise. The first 15 minutes or so are promising with a bit of cannibalism, chainsaw dismemberment and swanky Italian interiors. It's already clear the comedy elements aren't gonna work but its okay, I'm on board. But then the gore becomes quickly non-existent, the editing is a mess even for an Italian film and by the end I think I'm supposed to believe in a sentient shadow?! If this movie was trimmed to 35-45 minutes with a focus on the gore/horror it could be pretty fun but at full length it felt padded and aimless. Or if the direction had focused on his disastrous gambling I would've liked that, as I liked all the parts about gambling. I did chuckle here and there at the dead body comedy as it became really absurd, but there's really not much to laugh at.

After Death aka Zombie 4 [dir. Claudio Fragasso, 1988] - this one has been sitting on the shelf for 2.5 years because after Zombie 3 I was scared at just how bad this might be. And Claudio Fragasso directed it, so I shuddered to imagine what sights lay in store... But I have to say it actually wasn't that terrible! I mean it's a bad, ridiculous film, but it does one thing right which is to keep the story and action moving. The pros - Jeff Stryker and Candace Daly are nice to look at and doing their dang best, it's kinda adorable; the absurdly dressed mercenary squad; the decent gore effects scattered throughout; and the funky score which is better than the movie! And the zombies in this movie can do it all! From running to jumping, to laying traps to talking to shooting M16s, you'll never guess what these zombies will do next !!! [commercial announcer voice] The cons - exceptional bad script and dubbing; the complete lack of story; the lack of even remotely developed characters. But yeah, this was still a lot more fun than I expected.

[ConcreteMascara]

Last night was one of the most unexpectedly awesome nights of horror films I've had in ages. I think the Exorcist III: Legion was probably the best, new to me, horror film I watched in the last 6 months. Well last night I got not one but two movies that were fucking great, damn near that level if they didn't just make it. My friend and I originally intended to watch Fulci's Demonia for the first time but getting a quality, commercial free stream was nigh impossible. I don't even expect that one to be great, I just want to see it... On a whim I suggested Michele Soavi's StageFright aka Aquarius aka Deliria. I read a little about it a while ago and it seemed like something I should have watched long before. Now a quick back story... this friend and I, we worship Lamberto Bava's A Blade In The Dark, especially the insane English dub. SPOILER ALERT, in that film Michele Soavi plays a cross-dressing killer named Linda. We love Linda. We've referred to Soavi in every film we've ever seen him in since as Linda. If he shows up we scream at the TV, "that's Linda!". Similarly, the protagonist of ABitD is named Bruno, played by Andrea Occhipinti. When Occhipinti shows up in anything, he gets the same treatment. Shit, even when we hear the guy who did his dub we say "That's Bruno's voice!". It's fun.

Okay, so the point is our heads were blown last night when we somehow just finally realized that Soavi aka Linda was not only assistant director on a ton of Italian flicks we like, but director of some of the last, great Italian horror films. Somehow I just never connected who he was, despite seeing his name all over the credits of good movies and recommendations for Aquarius and The Church and of course, Cemetery Man.

This revelation only hit between or viewing of StageFright and The Church, so I guess we're pretty fucking dense!

StageFright: Aquarius [dir. Michele Soavi, 1987] - I'd argue this is much more of a slasher than a giallo, but genres were getting pretty muddied by '87. Either way this movie looks fucking great on every level. Stylish lighting and camera work, either pretty or interesting looking actors, wonderful use of darkness and rain, and quality gore. Very nice! It seemed they got a dollar out of every penny of the budget. It's largely a one-location type of horror film, but since the location is a giant theater with multiple sets it avoids visual repetition. The score by Simon Boswell is fucking awesome! I need to give it a few independent listens but I think it might be up there with some of Carpenter's stuff. Special mention to the really effective visual of a killer masked with a giant snow owl head that somehow avoids looking goofy and for the absolutely gorgeous Jo Ann Smith whose sole film credit seems to be her character her, Sybil. She dies much too soon but damn is she so nice too look at. Also it's worth mentioning the script is actually pretty good for what it is; the characters aren't just formless sketches for killing; and even the dub was solid. I just can't believe Alejandro González Iñárritu ripped this movie off to make his birdman almost 30 years later.  I kid I kid, but as far as movies about overworked thespians and bird people go, this is easily the more fun of the two. I really can't say enough good things about this. I'm gonna pick up a physical copy of this ASAP.

So running on the hype left by StageFright my friend and I felt we had to try Soavi's 1989 film, The Church. Well lightning strikes twice sometimes. Narratively this is a weaker film, but on almost every other level it's better. The visuals are top tier gothic horror meets grisly gore, with maybe the exception of some of the creature effects; the kills are more inventive; the setting is even grander; etc etc. Also, the movie starts off with Templars putting heretics to the blade. Heads go flying, children are killed, skulls crushed, mass graves are dug and filed. That's all in the first 10 minutes. The overall atmosphere feels like a cross between The Beyond, Tomb of the Blind Dead and something altogether more nightmarish, maybe Inferno? I can almost always get down with movies that constantly switch between hallucination, nightmare, and reality and this one did it with ruthless efficiency. I'd easily give this one another whole hearted recommendation.

I don't know if I could pick a favorite between these two, but I'd probably lean towards StageFright given its high-tension, tightly coiled execution. But why chose when you can watch both!

[ConcreteMascara]

Last night:
The Stendhal Syndrome [dir. Dario Argento 1996] - The first post-Opera film by Argento I've watched... and I have mixed feelings. Generally I liked it but like every psychological crime thriller after 1991 I think it's easy to argue it owes a debt [or stands in the shadow of] Silence of the Lambs. That's not to say this film is rip-off of that one, and perhaps I'm giving SofL too much influence, but when the movie's about Asia Argento's "anti-rape-squad" character being attacked by the serial rapist/killer she's hunting and her personality starts to unravel... well I don't think it's a comparison coming out of nowhere. I won't get into the rest of the plot, but it kept me interested for the two hour runtime. Worth noting, the muddy colour palette which is so much more noticeably drab compared to Argento's prior films. I think it works for the more "serious" approach and subject, but it's a little disappointing. The score by Morricone is anything but! The main theme that runs for the first 7 minutes of the film is goddamn great and he uses voices in his score to great effect. Definitely one deserving of a reissue. I also enjoyed almost all of the hallucinatory sequences, and if it weren't for them I might have lost interest in the film. The two big gripes are the mostly bad English dub which really mars a more "serious" movie like this and the inclusion of CGI. Apparently it was the first Italian film to have and boy does it sure look like it. There are a few shots were its used briefly and sparingly and it's fine but there are others where most or all of the shot highlight it and it's expectedly fucking awful.
I would say this film is certainly worth a watch, but that it has more in common with Silence of the Lambs, Perfect Blue or Angeldust than Inferno or Deep Red. It was nice to see something that felt like a new direction from Argento and it is a pretty solid psychological thriller, despite what some people might think are odd or bad pacing choices. Make sure if you do watch it you can crank up the volume to hear the score in all it's glory.

[absurdexposition]

Last night:
The Stendhal Syndrome [dir. Dario Argento 1996] - The first post-Opera film by Argento I've watched... and I have mixed feelings. Generally I liked it but like every psychological crime thriller after 1991 I think it's easy to argue it owes a debt [or stands in the shadow of] Silence of the Lambs. That's not to say this film is rip-off of that one, and perhaps I'm giving SofL too much influence, but when the movie's about Asia Argento's "anti-rape-squad" character being attacked by the serial rapist/killer she's hunting and her personality starts to unravel... well I don't think it's a comparison coming out of nowhere. I won't get into the rest of the plot, but it kept me interested for the two hour runtime. Worth noting, the muddy colour palette which is so much more noticeably drab compared to Argento's prior films. I think it works for the more "serious" approach and subject, but it's a little disappointing. The score by Morricone is anything but! The main theme that runs for the first 7 minutes of the film is goddamn great and he uses voices in his score to great effect. Definitely one deserving of a reissue. I also enjoyed almost all of the hallucinatory sequences, and if it weren't for them I might have lost interest in the film. The two big gripes are the mostly bad English dub which really mars a more "serious" movie like this and the inclusion of CGI. Apparently it was the first Italian film to have and boy does it sure look like it. There are a few shots were its used briefly and sparingly and it's fine but there are others where most or all of the shot highlight it and it's expectedly fucking awful.
I would say this film is certainly worth a watch, but that it has more in common with Silence of the Lambs, Perfect Blue or Angeldust than Inferno or Deep Red. It was nice to see something that felt like a new direction from Argento and it is a pretty solid psychological thriller, despite what some people might think are odd or bad pacing choices. Make sure if you do watch it you can crank up the volume to hear the score in all it's glory.

It's probably the best of the post-Opera ones worth watching. I hated Trauma but am due for a re-watch of Stendhal... and Sleepless.