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

[Atrophist]

Greasy Strangler is an embarrassing and idiotic film, but in a .... good way? I don't like it, but still I'm glad I've seen it? I dunno. The delightfully awful music is the icing on the cake.

The same director's next film, An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, is much less memorable imo. Although it's possible I misunderstood it or went with the wrong expectations. But it seems to be going for the same fussy, precious, pretentious style as Wes Anderson, which I personally don't care for at all.

I've checked out a few episodes of the Chucky television show. If you're a bigger fan of the movies, I'm sure there is a lot of fun to be had, as they've brought back many of the original actors. The plotlines keep changing and crashing and collapsing into each other. At some point there's apparently multiple Chuckys going around, and there's also an attempt at a backstory for the serial killer possessing the doll. The animation/puppeteering is astonishingly bad at times, which seems surprising. Brad Dourif is great as always and he does what he can to carry this mess forward.

[ConcreteMascara]

11/13 - The Player - [dir. Robert Altman, 1992] - I was struck by a deep desire to watch this movie for reasons I can't explain. I've never been the biggest Altman fan but Tim Robbins is generally great and this seemed interesting enough. While I definitely enjoyed this movie, a lot of the fun was just spotting young versions of celebrities, which it's absolutely full of. I feel like my fucking parents now saying "look at Jeff Goldblum, oh he's so young" etc etc. But the story itself is a lot of fun and as is the dialogue and it's Tim Robbin's evolving performance that kept me hooked. It's a cynical movie but not miserably so. Definitely worth a watch. I think I might enjoy it more on a second viewing.

11/15 - Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone & Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance - [dir. Hideaki Anno, 2007, 2009] - Even though I really enjoyed the original Evangelion series I just haven't had a burning desire to watch the movie remake of it. About 15 minutes into watching the first one I realized that was a bit of a mistake. The pacing is tighter, the story is told more clearly and exposition dumps are a little less insane. But at the same time the existential and adolescent misery seems to have been dropped, which is a bit disappointing since its part of what makes the original series so good. To make up for that, the animation is absolutely fucking gorgeous. Holy shit does this movie look good. I'm excited for the last two films and am curious how all of the films together will stand up against the original series and original movies.

11/23 – Suspiria – [dir. Dario Argento, 1977] – finally got a new all region 4K blu-ray player so I could watch my 4K copy of Suspiria I bought 9 months ago. Well goddamn if that wasn't worth the money, this movie looks fucking amazing with its new hi-res transfer. And sounds wayyy better too. The film itself remains a stone cold classic and mandatory viewing.

11/25 – Hellraiser: Inferno – [dir. Scott Derrickson, 2000] – so I found out after rewatching this that the director went on to direct the Dr. Strange film for the MCU which was kind of shocking. I guess some people really do get to work up the ladder. As for this entry in the Hellraiser series, it's easily my favorite after the first two. Now it's debated whether this was a neo-noir spec script that was retrofitted into the Hellraiser universe, which is plausible, but frankly I don't think it matters. I like that it feels like a combination of psycho-sexual serial killer film from the '90s combined with a Max Payne [the game]. I like all of the what's real, what's not bullshit. Hell I even like the dollar store Tim Robbins we have as the lead. The movie takes itself seriously, even though it's totally ridiculous and that really sells it for me. It aint perfect but there's a lot here to enjoy for my taste, something I can't say for about half of the Hellraiser films.

11/28 – Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion – [dir. Shusuke Kaneko, 1996] – definitely the best Gamera film I've ever seen and a top tier Kaiju film in general. The design of Legion, specifically the big one, is fucking rad. And the little guys, they look like the Bugs from Starship Troopers. Also an entire city is destroyed, so that's great. The miniature work is insane too. The human plot isn't painful either. And this movie keeps a brisk brace, something you want  desperately in a kaiju film. Highly recommended to fans of the genre. Also the Arrow transfer looks fantastic.

[ConcreteMascara]

Eaten Alive! - [dir. Umberto Lenzi, 1980] - picked this up in Severin's sale earlier this year. I don't exactly regret it but it's definitely not a film I'll be running back to watch. On one hand the dialogue and editing make this one laugh out loud throughout, which is honestly necessary since Lenzi wanted to film reptiles getting butchered as much as any other part of the movie, which is naturally miserable watching. This kind of shit is always the worst part of cannibal films because its just so wasteful and pointless, but in service of a shit movie like this it adds insult to injury. The Jim Jones plot framing device is pretty fun and Janet Ågren is fucking hot. She also takes a damn beating between all the slaps and the one haymaker our protagonist delivers to shut her up. Hilarious and absurd. Again, there is a fair amount of entertainment here but its sandwiched between too much reptile butchery and general stupidity. Transfer looked good though!

[no_baizuo_allowed]

Let's see... movies I watched fairly recently that come to mind:

San Babila Ore 20 (I think someone mentioned this one somewhere in this thread. Thanks to whoever mentioned it!)

This was one of the best things I've sat down and watched during this whole damned year. A sincere thank you for clueing me on to this!

[ConcreteMascara]

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance & Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo - dir. Hideaki Anno, 2009, 2012 - So I get to finish the second movie last week and go right into the third, and I can say of these 3 films the second is my favorite, at least on first viewing. For the last hour I just kept thinking, "how can there be two more movies after this". Well so far they haven't. There's a lot to like about the 3rd movie, especially the visuals which take thing to an even higher level, somehow. BUT damn did it feel like the 3rd movie was just a stop-gap between the 2nd and 4th. At least on a narrative level it is not satisfying as a single story. That's okay since Anno actually did the 4th movie and now we've supposedly got the whole story available, but if this movie were judged individually that'd be it's stumbling block. But then who is really gonna stumble into the 3rd movie in a franchise that's been running for 25 years? Final note, as much as I am enjoying all of these movies, they definitely feel more like traditional anime than the original series, which becomes increasingly alienating to the viewer as it progresses. Once I finish the movies I'll have to return to the show for a re-watch to see how my memory stacks up to reality.

Black Christmas - dir. Bob Clark, 1974 - last night was my annual viewing of Black Christmas. my estimation of this film only increases every year and it's effectiveness as an unpleasant horror movie does not diminish despite many many viewings. I also find myself re-appraising the characters and actions each time. Last year I was down on Jess, this year, I had more sympathy than ever. To me this definitely falls in the "perfect movie" category now. As far as scenes of winter horror go, only The Shining surpasses it.

[absurdexposition]

Black Christmas - dir. Bob Clark, 1974 - last night was my annual viewing of Black Christmas. my estimation of this film only increases every year and it's effectiveness as an unpleasant horror movie does not diminish despite many many viewings. I also find myself re-appraising the characters and actions each time. Last year I was down on Jess, this year, I had more sympathy than ever. To me this definitely falls in the "perfect movie" category now.

I feel the same way about this one. Rewatched last week and liked it more than ever. Pretty much perfect.

[ConcreteMascara]

Black Christmas - dir. Glen Morgan, 2006 - my buddy/podcast co-host and I decided we'd do a discussion on all 3 Black Christmas movies; the original, this 2006 remake, and 2019's Blumhouse remake. Obviously this a terrible use of our time and 2 of the 3 movies would be shit, but c'est la vie. So Sunday I watched the perfect original and last night we watched this terrible piece of fucking trash. Now hypothetically I could enjoy a "modern", trashy remake of this film from a boobs and gore perspective, titillation over substance lens, but this movie made so many basic missteps I couldn't even get that kind of fun out of it. First off, it's one of the ugliest movies I've seen in years. Holy shit it looks like christmas lights covered in vomit, legitimately. Second, the script was so fucking inane and stupid that the last 30 minutes we're physically painful. Third, "Billy" is shown throughout the whole movie and he looks ridiculous. Like a knockoff of "The Yellow Bastard" from Sin City, without any of the character. The sorority house may have been filled with cuties but they we're written in such a way you're begging for them to die. Also you only see one of them naked and the movies doesn't really even want to show you that. Kill me. The only good thing about the movie is the ridiculous amount of gore but it's in service of such a profoundly dumb and visually ugly film it fails to make an impact.

Censor - dir. Prano Bailey-Bond, 2021 - so put this on after Black Christmas as a palette cleanser with mixed results. I'll avoid spoilers but I will say my buddy HATED it by the end and I was left feeling lukewarm. The last 5-10 minutes I found especially trying, but I enjoyed it overall, especially from a visual perspective. However, when elements of the b-movie horror shlock found its way into the film, which otherwise felt more like indie arthouse horror, I found it to be very jarring in a bad way. It reminded me a lot of Beyond the Black Rainbow, with it's slow build and frustrating ending, although that one I like more, even if it tests the audience patience quite a bit. Maybe I'll enjoy this one more on a re-watch, but I can think of a lot of movies about a woman unraveling that I'd rather watch before this. But hey, I'm glad this director is out here trying something that looks and feels different than most new horror.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Black Christmas - dir. Bob Clark, 1974 - last night was my annual viewing of Black Christmas. my estimation of this film only increases every year and it's effectiveness as an unpleasant horror movie does not diminish despite many many viewings. I also find myself re-appraising the characters and actions each time. Last year I was down on Jess, this year, I had more sympathy than ever. To me this definitely falls in the "perfect movie" category now.

I feel the same way about this one. Rewatched last week and liked it more than ever. Pretty much perfect.

This was a great recommendation, thanks! Nice casting with John Saxon, Margot Kidder, Art Hindle, and Keir Dullea. The phone calls are so disturbing. I hardly ever post, but I pop in this thread quite a bit. Thanks to everyone that spends time writing reviews.

The movie tag line is great, "If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl... It's on too tight".

[ConcreteMascara]

Black Christmas - dir. Bob Clark, 1974 - last night was my annual viewing of Black Christmas. my estimation of this film only increases every year and it's effectiveness as an unpleasant horror movie does not diminish despite many many viewings. I also find myself re-appraising the characters and actions each time. Last year I was down on Jess, this year, I had more sympathy than ever. To me this definitely falls in the "perfect movie" category now.

I feel the same way about this one. Rewatched last week and liked it more than ever. Pretty much perfect.

This was a great recommendation, thanks! Nice casting with John Saxon, Margot Kidder, Art Hindle, and Keir Dullea. The phone calls are so disturbing. I hardly ever post, but I pop in this thread quite a bit. Thanks to everyone that spends time writing reviews.

The movie tag line is great, "If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl... It's on too tight".

Glad you enjoyed it! My December isn't complete until I've watched it.

Here are reviews of the films I've watched in the last few weeks.

Black Christmas - [dir. Sophia Takal, 2019] - A modern update of Black Christmas, sort of. Not as terrible as the 2006 remake but with it's PG-13 rating, tonal shifts and absurd final act it's terrible in its own special way. I've sat through more painful dreck than this but still, best to avoid. Only watched it so my friend and I could discuss all three Black Christmas films on our podcast. It doesn't do a single thing better than the original and it's female forward narrative is much more overstated but much less effective.

The Brain - [dir. Ed Hunt, 1988] - my wife and I have a wonderful tradition of watching xmas themed horror movies with another couple every xmas night after all of the social obligations are complete. This year we started with The Brain. Ostensibly the events occur around xmas but it never figures into the plot. Still, this one was a fair amount of fun. The monster is silly but still very cool, the badguy doctor from The Re-animator plays the villain here to to great success. The gore and body horror aren't overwhelming but still good. Small town paranoia and powerful organizations trying to take down kids is fun too. And you do get to see a lot of innocent high schoolers die. I felt the pacing sagged a little in places but this definitely one I'll be picking up for future watches. Also, the slightest tinge of Cronenberg vibes at time, and that never hurts.

Samurai Cop - [dir. Amir Shervan, 1991] - our second xmas movie, although this one has admittedly nothing to do with xmas, other than it being a gift I received that day. As a fan of RLM it was great to finally watch a movie that I've seen clips from and discussed so many times. It's really truly terrible and baffling in all the best ways. It's constantly entertaining and it's got Robert Z'Dar who I'd watch in just about anything. It's violent, it's crude, it's got some great stunts and some terrible ones, and it has some of the most baffling dialogue and performances you've ever seen. watching the Matthew Kareda's interview with RLM really shed some light on so much of the insanity so if you watch this I recommend watching that after.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome [dir. George Miller, George Ogilvie, 1985] - I've put off watching this movie my whole life because I've always heard it's a big disappointment. Despite knowing that I was still disappointed! Visually the world of Mad Max is as interesting if not more so than ever. But the plot, especially the way it goes from fairly serious grim post apocalypse tale to Spielbergian children's tale..... what the fuck. Also only one Thunderdome fight? Are you fucking kidding me? At least its a good one but with a pg-13 rating they have to pull punches there too. I will say I liked Tina Turner's character, I really liked Master of Master-Blaster fame and Dr. Dealgood should have his own fucking spinoff film. But that second half is almost completely unengaging despite amazing set design, costumes and set pieces. Those kids are repugnant , not endearing especially with the dumbass style of speaking they have. While it was cool to see this movie and spot all of the ways its influenced post-apocalyptic video games, movies, manga, etc., it's a case where the things it influenced are better than the original.

Maniac Cop 2 [dir. William Lustig, 1990] - this movie fucking rules. Robert Z'Dar is an undead terminator. Robert Davi is a mean mugging hard boiled cop. Claudia Christian gets handcuffed to a steering wheel while stuck outside the car. 10 minutes of stunt hijinks ensues. so many people get lit on fire at the end for so long you're brain is screaming how. two men burst through a 6 story wall, on fire, and crash through a bus. hot strippers strip. shots of dirty old new york. it's the fucking best! After this viewing I can say I definitely prefer like Maniac Cop 2 over the original. The original might have more atmosphere but this plays like a James Cameron action film meets John Woo meets... well William Lustig. It's just so ridiculous over the top in all the best ways .

Mad Max: Fury Road [dir. George Miller, 2015] - an absolute masterpiece and the best action movie in 10 if not 20 years. it's basically like doing a 2hour long sniff of coke. perfect.

Squid Games [2021] - I watched this entire show with my wife in one sitting on New Year's Day. I enjoyed it up until the episode with the bridge of glass squares. then it really started to fall apart for me, abandoning side plots with no payoff, getting really silly with some of the performances and characters abandoning the logic they had before. the ending felt especially Korean too, all big unnecessary twist. I'd same I'm glad I saw it once but I don't need to ever watch it again.

The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh [Sergio Martino, 1971] - I've been meaning to watch this since I got into giallo 10+ years ago but somehow it just never happened. of Martino films with Fenech I think I like this the best, but as far as Martino films go, Torso is still my absolute favorite. the violence and gore, eh not so impressive. the constant stream of quality ass and titties? Very, very nice! And this is a fun one. Not exactly a romp considering it's a psychosexual thriller about a depraved sex maniac and a women with a curious fetish, but being Italian and having everything dialed up to 11, yeah it is still kind of a romp. Wonderful interiors in this one too. It's a modern and classy picture. Good ending too.

[cantle]

RE the children in ...Thunderdome- they way they speak and the pilot's name is an intentional nod towards Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker....

[ConcreteMascara]

RE the children in ...Thunderdome- they way they speak and the pilot's name is an intentional nod towards Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker....

Thanks for the info, I had no idea! Those kids still make me want to put my fingers in my ears though..

[cantle]

Agreed- it is annoying as fuck

[ConcreteMascara]

The Cat o' Nine Tails - [dir. Dario Argento, 1971] - Lacking the taught pacing of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and the extravagance of later Argento, this one is an odd duck. Haven't watched it in several years but it was about how I remembered. Enjoyable but not something I'm going to be re-watching on the regular. That being said, it's a very charming whodunnit that had me guessing during both viewings. It also has a great and unexpected car chase. It's just a wee bit too long for my taste. Final thought, Catherine Spaak is very attractive and well dressed and I'm sad to say I don't think I've ever seen anything else she's in.

In The Mouth of Madness - [dir. John Carpenter, 1996] - Despite a few weaker parts and a frustrating audio mix, this has become one of my most re-watched Carpenter films. As a big Lovecraft fan it's very satisfying and as a Sam Neill fan it's even better. Even though it's imperfect it stands head and shoulders in ambition and audacity compared to a lot of the dreck I choose to watch.

[absurdexposition]

The Cat o' Nine Tails - [dir. Dario Argento, 1971] - Lacking the taught pacing of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and the extravagance of later Argento, this one is an odd duck. Haven't watched it in several years but it was about how I remembered. Enjoyable but not something I'm going to be re-watching on the regular. That being said, it's a very charming whodunnit that had me guessing during both viewings. It also has a great and unexpected car chase. It's just a wee bit too long for my taste. Final thought, Catherine Spaak is very attractive and well dressed and I'm sad to say I don't think I've ever seen anything else she's in.

The only other thing I've seen her in is Weekend at Dunkirk. I have a couple other random ones in the eventual queue, but Story of a Cloistered Nun seems like it would be up your alley.

In The Mouth of Madness - [dir. John Carpenter, 1996]

Love it. The last great one.

[ConcreteMascara]

Ballad in Blood - [dir. Ruggero Deodato, 2016] - Deodato's first full length for the theaters in 23 years and boy can you tell. This is basically terrible in every way except the high quantity of quality tit and some good practical gore. Inspired by the Amanda Knox case, which was the main reason I watched this, this "inspiration" only shows up in the most basic way. It's sort of a whodunnit but except there's no mystery and you don't care. It's sort of a showcase of decadence, but it's mostly just ineptitude. It's definitely a highlight real of some of the most absurd over and underacting I've seen since Dracula 3000. Ahhh it's just so dumb and frustrating and baffling. It only sort of transended into it's so bad it's good territory for me. If Edward Williams didn't shout every fucking line of dialogue the film would have greatly benefited. In total, I do not recommend this and I don't need to own a Bluray of it, yet I do. However, if you want to see a trashy, go-nowhere, sorta kinda murder mystery that combines all of the tabloid conjecture about Amanda Knox with painful performances this is your movie.

White Zombie - [dir. Victor Halperin, 1932] - I've been interested in watching this since I got into White Zombie as a kid and heard they based their name off of the first zombie movie ever. At 67 minutes, this movie is the perfect length. It's enjoyable in a way that these really old "horror" films are. Some quality atmosphere, some good matte paintings, some hammy performances, or in this case a lot and not particularly demanding on it's audience. of course there's no real gore or nudity or any thing else, but the main dame is cute enough and Bela Lugosi is always fun so I enjoyed it as a cinema snack. the VCI bluray I have doesn't look too hot but it was free so...

Half Baked - [dir. Tamra Davis, 1998] - I fucking loved this movie as a kid and it still puts a smile on my face. One of the only stoner comedies I can still enjoy. It's silly as hell but it's fun and good natured. Plus there are some really great lines peppered throughout, like Bob Saget's "I used to suck dick for coke! Did you ever suck dick for marijuana?"  RIP.

The Beast Must Die - [dir. Paul Annett, 1974] - it's hard to give this a quick review without regurgitating what others have said, so fuck it. "Ten Little Indians" meets "The Most Dangerous Game", with a blaxploitation styled lead character. The uneven pacing is probably the movies biggest stumbling block, but overall it was a fun premise lead by Calvin Lockhart's hammy performance as a big game hunter and businessman so rich he can get a bunch of strangers to his chateau, force them to stay for days, while spying on them and hunting the werewolf amidst them. And I did really enjoy all of the old school surveillance equipment for the time it was in the movie. Of the "horror" movies I watched over the weekend this was definitely my favorite.