Anything and everything horror. The best silver screen classics, the sickest 70's camp, the goriest 80's cheese, the scenes that made you piss yourself and scarred you for life as a child, even the countless shitty remakes that keep piling up. If you love this unfortunetly dying franchise as much as I do, feel free to pay homage to it here.
I saw a movie recently that was described as a "send up of slasher flick" but actually turned out to be decently written and acted, even though the killer is obvious almost from the start. It was called Killer Movie. And maybe I thought it was good because it turned out to NOT be just another in those line of Scary/Superhero/Date Movies. Plus, Kaley Cuoco is hot.
DRAG ME TO HELL Sam Raimi (of Evil Dead fame) gave this franchise the shot in the arm it needed this year. A delirious, non-stop assault on all the senses that forsakes his former attraction to extreme gore for shocks, and he delivers them in grandiose fashion, barely ever taking a breath. This is one of my favourite movies of the year. My only two complaints: Spoiler You never get to actually SEE the monster, and the ultra-nihlistic and unhappy ending is a tired horror cliche.
May as well review an old classic; Suspiria- The first 15 minutes of this film constitute the greatest opening to any horror film ever made. It starts out as dark, atmospheric horror, perfectly synchronized with the movie's haunting soundtrack. Then, just as one is getting used to that, it transitions into a wonderfully colorful, graphically bloody and vicious killing. Then, as the murder is completed, there is still a neat surprise at the very end. In other words, it blends together every single element of a horror film; the atmosphere, the violence, and the twist. While I rarely get scared at anything I see in the horror genre, this was a genuinely terrifying introduction. To be honest, the rest of Suspiria doesn't QUITE live up to its marvelous first scene. It's an excellent, well-paced horror film with beautiful cinemaphotography, violent and shocking deaths, and a satisfying conclusion, but never quite has anything as epic. In addition to the soundtrack, the movie is also renowned for its amazing use of color. Usually, horror films are dark and muddy, with everything in a shadow or partially obscured. "Suspiria", on the other hand, has a garish, crazy brightness, and a wide array of color throughout each scene. The dominant one is of course red, and it's so crisp and shiny, it's enjoyable just to look at. While it was made in 1973, "Suspiria" holds up very well to the present day, and is probably Dario Argento's finest film.
I second this motion a thousand times over. This movie in my opinion blows away ANY horror film, a movie that builds dread and terror like none other, with the most terrifying music score in motion picture history (by progressive band Goblin and Argento). Granted, the plot is admittedly lame, you have to see this flick 5 times just to drink in the artistry of it alone, and as a bonus it includes the most savage murder scene in the history of mainstream cinema. If you love horror, you quite simply are not allowed to die until you see this movie. OTHER ARGENTO CLASSICS: 1) Deep Red. If you want blood, you got it. 2) Opera. Camera work on the edge of insanity, with the most bizarre backdrop for a climax you can imagine. 3) Inferno. Sequel to Suspiria with style to burn, and some truly memorable murders.
Can anyone recommend any good zombie movies? I have seen all the George A. Romero films and they are the only ones I have ever enjoyed. All the other i have seen are very poorly written and incredibly cheesy (automaton transfusion for example, gory but completely stupid)
1) Slither, a gem of a sci-fi zombie film about a meteor that lands in Lower Asscrackylvania and discharges a slimy, flesh-eating alien that turns most tof the town into hive-minded Zombies. Canadian nutjob James Gunn wrote and directed this brilliantly casted phastasmagoria of every horror orifice imaginable. It's as funny as The Hangover, as potent as Evil Dead II, as horrifying as The Devil's Rejects and grosser than most mainstream films. It's one of those movies you can see again and again without boring yourself. A MUST SEE. 2) Zach Snyder's Dawn of The Dead Remake is confident, fast-paced and tense as fuck. It has great characters and no conscience (just don't watch the end credits. It ruins it). 3) Zombieland. Haven't seen it, but heard nothing but great things. 4) Dead Alive a.k.a Braindead- The goriest, most violent movie I have ever seen in my entire life. Not without a coal-black sense of humour, this movie is the absolute pinnacle of it's own kind with graphic audacity that you cannot imagine, and the brutality just increases every scene until it's fucked-up-beyond-belief finale. Just wait until you see the infamous lawnmower scene, you'll never forget it.. Directed by Peter Jackson! The crew of this film had to wear golf shoes because of the litres and litres of stage blood used in this movie. Seriously, it makes the openeing rave scene of Blade look like Disneyland. 5) Cemetary Man- "Bizarre" doesn't begin to describe this artsy, chilling horror film about a cemtary caretaker that regularly dispatches the living dead at work. It's gross, sexy, funny, and has the most fascinating and enigmatic ending EVER.
Can't argue with any of those. They're all excellent. I usually like zombie films with a dark sense of humor, which 2, 3, 4, and 5 above have in spades. The only ones that I can think to add are 1. Tokyo Zombie- While it's not horror, this insane Japanese film is about two friends that fight the undead...with the power of jiu-jitsu. 2. Dead Snow- Hysterical German film about vacationing students in an epic battle against Nazi Zombies. Granted, the latter were first used in the 70s, but they're especially funny here.
In addition to Slither, Dead Snow, and Dead Alive: Colin is a super low budget ($70) British zombie flick told from the perspective of a zombie. Fido - zombies as pets in 1950's USA REC is a Spanish film that was remade as Quarantine. The Evil Dead series is fantastic. Bubba Ho-tep - Bruce Campbell as a geriatric Elvis vs ancient Egyptian mummy. 28 Days Later Planet Terror Shaun of the Dead
This movie is absolute madness. It gets under my skin so horribly. NOT a movie you watch again and again. That scene with the phone is insanely scary, and this movie is creepy as fuck:
The Thing: If you consider yourself a horror fan and haven't seen this movie, then shoot yourself. Kurt Russell plays Macready, a helicopter pilot at the U.S. station in the Antarctic. A dog happens upon their camp being trailed and shot at by Norwegians. From there all hell breaks loose. Also stars Keith David and everyone's favorite diabeetus spokesman, Wilford Brimley. Chopping Mall a.k.a. Killbots: Probably the most hilarious movie masquerading as horror ever. Basically robots are after-hours security at a mall, due to a lightning strike they turn homicidal, striking fear into a group of people who are partying after hours in a furniture store. The closest thing to a star is the blond haired dork from Head of the Class.
I saw Poltergeist in the theater on my 10th birthday and ruined my brand new white mini skirt when I spilled coke all over it. After that movie I was unable to look at these things the same: -trees next to bedroom windows* -life-size dolls* -clown dolls -walk-in closets -static on the tv -freshly dug swimming pools -pink gelatin -short old women that sound like little girls *these two effed me up the most
Coincidentally Poltergeist II completely ruined me on tequila, anyone who has seen it should have no problem remembering why.
The Thing is one of my favourite horror films ever-great story and effects, and just a complete paranoia-fest from start to finish. I just found what is supposedly the script for a planned sequel: <a class="postlink" href="http://thethingfromanotherworld.webs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://thethingfromanotherworld.webs.com/</a> (Well, that link takes you to the plot synopsis which pretty much tells you everything you need to know-if you really want to wade through the script the link is at the top of the page). I have no idea how genuine it is, but if you love the film then it's definately worth a read. There are some good ideas in there, as well as some fucking stupid ones, but reading it left me feeling more optimistic than pessimistic for a sequel. It would be nice if they could actually get John Carpenter involved, and maybe get the special effects team from 'Slither' to handle things, as I felt they did a really good job (the effects in that film actually reminded me quite heavily of the effects in 'The Thing'). It would suck if it was yet another unconvincing CGI shit-fest.
It's based on the John W. Campbell story Who Goes There?, a frightening story to say the least, and the 1982 version is surprisingly faithful to it. The 1982 Version is one of John Carpenter's masterpieces, and the real star is make-up/special effects man Rob Bottin (ED209 in Robocop, Total Recall, The Howling, need I say more). He created the most retardedly twisted looking monsters I can think of. The final "Blair Creature" made me barricade myself in my room scared shitless because my dad thought it would be funny to let me watch this film when I was six and mom wasn't home. This one rivals Carpenter's Halloween as his best (see also: In The Mouth Of Madness).
Dead snow is Norwegian not German. At least the version I saw was in Norwegian and it didn't seem dubbed. I know they've been said but I can't stress 28 days/28 weeks later enough. Those are some of my favourite zombie movies. I personally feel that they approach zombies in the most realistic manner (as realistic as zombies can be).
I have nothing against you personally sir, but this is the intarwebs and it is written that should one person disagree with another then they must verbalise their distaste, with the end aim being the creation of a pointless flame war. Ok-28 Days/Weeks later aren't zombie movies. They're 'infected' movies. Night/Dawn/Day/Land/Diary of the Dead, Zombieland etc-all the nasties are the re-animated dead. In the '28' films, they're living humans in the grip of a virus, and can be killed just as a normal human could. There are similarities, such as attacking humans and not each other and being able to infect others via bite, but the important difference is that zombies are the living dead, the infected are very much alive.* *I'm basing this on the fact that Romero's definition of a zombie has become the standard in movies. Sure, you could argue that true zombies fall under the 'Haitian Voodoo' category, but those fuckers are boring as.
Two for the campy Zombie category. Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror. Early 80's Italian flick, worth watching just for the tit biting scene and 35 year old man playing a 10 year old. Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. Directed by Bob Clark, I always get a kick out of watching this one. You can check out the whole thing on YouTube, but here's the trailer.
Snuff The tagline reads "A film that could only be made in South America, where life is CHEAP!" While I won't argue about life being cheap, this movie SUUUUUUCKED. Where should I start? The sound/dialog editing that in no way synched up with the action on screen? The final murder scene where the woman being mutilated was obviously "bleeding" ketchup? The moronic storyline? There a few shots of sub-par, tan lined boobs that would impress a 12 year old, but nothing else even remotely redeeming. Unless you are feeling masochistic, don't waste your time on this.
Speaking of zombies, Resident Evil is not as bad as Rottentomatoes would have you believe. It has lots of gore and ass-kicking, nasty undead Dobermans, and some slick laser trap carnage. Not to mention: