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

[online prowler]

also re-watched Fulci's The Beyond on Sunday which easily holds up as the best of his supernatural flicks. top notch atmosphere and incredible gore scenes. the insane part with the tarantulas is so dumb and so goddamn good.

Easily one of his best. A proper aching boil all the way. My fav from Fulci. Have it on vhs, but planning to buy it again on dvd.

[Rhan-Tegoth]

all that being said, one thing that really struck me was how brutal almost all of the actors looked. i assume the budget went to KY jelly instead of attractive actors, but it made the whole seducing Julia was doing harder to believe. you can dress up a pig... anyway glad to reappraise it and I look forward to watching the second.

Good point, especially the haircut of the stepmother looks horrible! But it somehow works for me, makes it more realistic and fits that dysfunctional family quite well. This was also in Fulci movies and many others from that time, unshaven faces, amalgam/nicotine teeth, sweat stains, family members that don't resemble each other at all etc., sometimes I wonder if such actors weren't even suitable for the porn business so they went for a horror casting.

By the way, I just thought about the similarity between Hellraiser and Fulci's "House by the Cemetary": Undead guy who rots in an old house and needs to kill the living, feasting on their blood and flesh to come back to life.

[Deadpriest]

Pieta, excitingly fucked up Korean film about a debt collector (who collects his debts by crippling his deters and collecting the insurance money) whose mother returns after a lifelong absence.
Really really loved this film by Kim Ki Duk.

[aububs]

liked this a lot

[online prowler]

liked this a lot

I caught a trailer of this one not long ago. Looks interesting. Did you see it in the cinema?

Oh yea, finally got around to see Wheatley's Free Fire. Fun and effective action humor romp, but nothing that will headline year's best. I recommend it nonetheless. 

[aububs]

yeah caught it in the cinema last night

[online prowler]

OK, thanx. I see it is supposed to be released on dvd and bluray later this fall. Considering to pick up a copy then.

[Deadpriest]

Breathless, Korean tough guy film, gave up after 20 minutes as the constant swearing was very jarring as it didn't translate very well.

[ConcreteMascara]

all that being said, one thing that really struck me was how brutal almost all of the actors looked. i assume the budget went to KY jelly instead of attractive actors, but it made the whole seducing Julia was doing harder to believe. you can dress up a pig... anyway glad to reappraise it and I look forward to watching the second.

Good point, especially the haircut of the stepmother looks horrible! But it somehow works for me, makes it more realistic and fits that dysfunctional family quite well. This was also in Fulci movies and many others from that time, unshaven faces, amalgam/nicotine teeth, sweat stains, family members that don't resemble each other at all etc., sometimes I wonder if such actors weren't even suitable for the porn business so they went for a horror casting.

By the way, I just thought about the similarity between Hellraiser and Fulci's "House by the Cemetary": Undead guy who rots in an old house and needs to kill the living, feasting on their blood and flesh to come back to life.

Re the similarity between Hellraiser and House by the Cemetery . I guess there are some baseline similarities. That being said I love Fulci but House by the Cemetery is one of my least favorites. 90% of the dialogue is just people calling out for someone else or asking "who's there?" which becomes extremely grating to me. the gore is great of course, and I love the actress who plays the babysitter, those eyebrows. mmm mm mm. but the rest is just painful.

Watched Hellbound: Hellraiser II last night and I can't help but agree with what I heard before watching which is it's superior to the first. the visions of hell, the continued goopiness, the continued incest vibes and the excellent scene where a mental patient is handed a straight razor. it's good shit. probably going to trudge through the next 8 films over the coming weeks out OCD need.

[bitewerksMTB]

I like House by the Cemetery quite a bit. Sometimes, I like it just a cunt hair more than City of the Living Dead. Same goes for Zombie and The Beyond.
It's really hard for me to pick a favorite. It's probably T.B. but it's only half a cunt hair. It all goes back to the vivid memory I have as a kid seeing the huge ad mat in the local paper with the zombie & eyeful of maggots. I remember big ad's for "Gates of Hell", too. I think I'm going to order the Arrow UK release of Zombie the next time the label has a sale. It's the best presentation (so far). Code Red reportedly has COTLD. Sure hope he does a bang-up job on it. "Regurgitated Guts!"

I just ordered Island of Death from an eBay dealer & received The Dorm that Dripped Blood a few days ago. I'm being eyeing Drive In Massacre as I've been in a cheap American slasher mood lately but it may have to wait as there will soon be a slew of releases around Halloween along with sales from various labels.

For more Fulci, Severin just released The Devil's Honey. Looks to be more of a sleazy sexual thriller. I still need to pick up Lizard in a Woman's Skin. I use to have the DVD but sold it off & remember very little about it. I'm sure Mondo Macabro's release is a huge improvement over Shriek Show's release but that may not improve the movie hence why I've put it off for so long.

[aububs]

the ending of The Dorm That Dripped Blood is so grim.

one of the grimmest.

Drive in Massacre is pretty poor if i recall correctly.

[absurdexposition]

Body Double (De Palma)

Far better than Dressed to Kill (the only other De Palma I've watched in recent memory). The beginning of the third act is impeccable and makes up for everything else that I initially felt ho-hum about. Those other parts didn't take too long to sink in afterwards, though. Solid piece of work. "High-toned smut" and "recursive Moebius Strip of exploitation", indeed.

Rewatched this again last night. I'm now of the opinion that it's totally great front to back.

[bitewerksMTB]

the ending of The Dorm That Dripped Blood is so grim.

one of the grimmest.

Drive in Massacre is pretty poor if i recall correctly.

"Grim" is what I read from someone on another forum. It was the reason the guy didn't like the film very much so I immediately went looking for a reasonably priced copy.

D.I.M. I figured was crap. I'm pretty sure I rented it on vhs & remember absolutely nothing about it so it couldn't have had much going for it. Severin occasionally has sales so, maybe, I can pick it up for half price (same with Killing of America).

I remember sneaking into the theater to see Body Double. It's a good one but I had to look it up as I was thinking of Blow Out starring John Travolta. I've seen B.D.  a couple of times over the last year or so on a cable station. Seems like the ending is kind of dumb? The scene with Frankie Goes to Hollywood is great!

[david lloyd jones]

looking forward to seeing newly bought 'fires on the plain' by shinya tsukamoto, of tetsuo and sneke of june etc set in a philipino island hell with stranded japanese soldiers ferociously hungry...

watched this am.
tsukamoto continues to be body focussed in this film as well as being japan literature/history aware.
was never aware of original book or prior film.
engaging, intense, thoughtful and thought provoking
the director remains powerful

[david lloyd jones]

upgrade of eighties slasher, 'visiting hours' with bunch of nobodies and william shatner getting bloody and slashy and sleazy with any luck
this is basic upgrade with no o-card cover, multi page booklet etc.
sometimes basic is enough.

plays like a tv movie on the whole.
michael ironside is a decent enough psycho, though pales compared to others-don't answer the phone, pmaniac' for ex.
not a crucial 'nasty'