The Horror Movie Thread

[RPS]

I on the other hand loved it. Michael Haneke did an amazing job of building up suspense and tension in the audience, only to than not give us the pay off we were hoping for. I think seeing it in the movie theatre helped big time.

I'm a big fan of cheesy and really bad horror movies. Hence why I try to watch a shit load of them, even if I know they'll be awful. Horror/thriller movies I've seen lately:

The Happening: awful, awful movie. Just completely ridiclous; the acting was cringeworthy, the "twist" was atrocious and it did an awful job of building any sort of suspense in the audience. Two thumbs way down.

Mirrors: ditto as above, only way worse. Who okayed this movie to get made? Totally inconsistent and garnered way more laughs than scares. Two thumbs down.

Nightmare On Elm Street 4: awful awful awful movie, but also a bit fun. So many inconsistencies and parts of the movie where its too impossible to believe. But, still it is fun. One thumb down.

Quarantine: I'm split on this one. On one hand, the use of the hand-held camera was questionable at times and hard to suspend the disbelief. When characters fall and drop the camera, only to pick it up? A bit hard to believe. As well, there was some groan-inducing moments, in particular

Spoiler: Click here to view

the part where the child becomes a zombie. The audience laughed in the theatre I went too.

. But, there was some great moments to the movie. The director was really good in dragging some scenes out and building up enough suspense and tension that it generally made me tense in the movie. Sometimes they didn't always deliver with a scare, but for the most part it was decent. One thumb up.

The Mist: I guess I disagree with the majority of the people on EWB in that I hated the ending. Everyone I watched it with thought it was really bad as well and that it ruined the movie. Furthermore, I know that it wasn't the biggest budget film, but would it kill to spring for a better special effects budget? There were some moments were the 'monsters' were poorly done. In spite of this, there were lots of things that worked. The religious aspect too it was great - lots of tension built up there and the scene where they go to sacrifice the child was amazingly done. One thumb up.

The Birds: watched this for a Film Class I'm in. Great film. There were some borderline questionable parts. (the famous scene where Melanie Daniels watches on in shock as the gas station explodes doesn't age very well). But other than that, the last half of the movie is great in establishing the Birds as a legitimate threat to the town.

[I Don't Mind]

I just read on wiki (sadly, it was a part that was cited, so it may have more truth to it) that they're going to remake Poltergeist.

Juliet Snowden and Stiles White (Boogeyman) were hired to write the script in August 2008.[10] Vadim Perelman will direct.[11]

From what I saw of Boogeyman, oy vey, I hope this project falls through before it gets too far. I'm currently watching the original on ABC Family because I've never seen it before, and no one will be able to recreate the magic that little girl had. Shame what happened to her because she was fucking gold.

[I Don't Mind]

I just read on wiki (sadly, it was a part that was cited, so it may have more truth to it) that they're going to remake Poltergeist.

Juliet Snowden and Stiles White (Boogeyman) were hired to write the script in August 2008.[10] Vadim Perelman will direct.[11]

From what I saw of Boogeyman, oy vey, I hope this project falls through before it gets too far. I'm currently watching the original on ABC Family because I've never seen it before, and no one will be able to recreate the magic that little girl had. Shame what happened to her because she was fucking gold.

And in response to PRP:

The Mist: I guess I disagree with the majority of the people on EWB in that I hated the ending. Everyone I watched it with thought it was really bad as well and that it ruined the movie. Furthermore, I know that it wasn't the biggest budget film, but would it kill to spring for a better special effects budget? There were some moments were the 'monsters' were poorly done. In spite of this, there were lots of things that worked. The religious aspect too it was great - lots of tension built up there and the scene where they go to sacrifice the child was amazingly done. One thumb up.

The Birds: watched this for a Film Class I'm in. Great film. There were some borderline questionable parts. (the famous scene where Melanie Daniels watches on in shock as the gas station explodes doesn't age very well). But other than that, the last half of the movie is great in establishing the Birds as a legitimate threat to the town.

I wasn't really a fan of the ending to The Mist either while watching it because it really felt lacking closure. I'm okay with unhappy endings in most movies but in horror movies, I'd prefer the predictable happy ending. The artistic side of me loved it though because I thought it was rather creative.

And my all-time favorite scene in any movie after watching The Birds is at the end when they all open the door to leave the house and the entire fucking town is now controlled by the birds. They. are. everywhere. and they're just chilling too. They're like the gangbangers on the sidewalk staring your ass down because, pff, the fuck you gonna do about it?

Edited October 27, 2008 by Inner D Monz

[HailtotheYo]

I know that it wasn't the biggest budget film, but would it kill to spring for a better special effects budget? There were some moments were the 'monsters' were poorly done. In spite of this, there were lots of things that worked.

I'd agree with that except for the fact that the monsters, etc where secondary to the point of the film. The actual story of the film wasn't the monsters at all, they were merely they catalyst for the ture story.

[Essa]

Plus, having read the short story, I get the feel that the monsters were supposed to look fucked up. They were supposed to look like they shouldn't even exist in our realm.

[zero]

Ugh, a Poltergeist remake? Seriously?

Unless you give it to someone who's going to have a unique vision for it, it's just going to be another example of your typical Hollywood cookie cutter bullshit. Especially if it's from the guy that did that pile of shit Boogeyman.

[Gabriel]

Ugh, a Poltergeist remake? Seriously?

Unless you give it to someone who's going to have a unique vision for it, it's just going to be another example of your typical Hollywood cookie cutter bullshit. Especially if it's from the guy that did that pile of shit Boogeyman.

Hey! Boogeyman was good.

Okay, so it really wasn't... but at least it had that cool guy from 7th Heaven in it. You know, the older brother...not the gay one.

I don't really have a problem with remakes. Night of the Demons, which is one of my favorite horror films, is being remade, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Shannon Elizabeth is a babe, but she's no Amelia Kincade... but still, I will look forward to it. Poltergeist though, I'm not a huge fan of...and still, I don't want it remade. I just don't see how they could possibly make it better than it was, and all I can see really, is them turning it into an MTV-ready film...which is never good.

[zero]

Boogeyman was beyond horrible. Honestly, I would say it's the worst horror movie of the last decade if The Happening didn't exist. No redeeming qualities in that movie whatsoever.

That said, I don't have a problem with remakes either as long as they're done right. I loved Rob Zombie's take on Halloween (although I'm pretty much alone in that), I'm excited about the reboot of Friday the 13th (mainly because the guys who wrote Freddy vs. Jason are in charge of the script), and I think there's mountains of potential in the Child's Play remake, but a Poltergeist remake from the writers of Boogeyman that are also going to bastardize THE BIRDS next year?! That just makes me furious.

Poltergeist was written by Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper, so you have a brilliant movie mind and a brilliant horror mind coming together. You can't just hand the remake of that off to some hacks, it's depressing. And anyone trying to remake Hitchcock is just begging to be eaten alive by critics and die-hard horror fans.

...Though I will forgive them if they cast Craig T. Nelson in the Poltergeist remake.

Edited October 27, 2008 by Zero

[RPS]

Plus, having read the short story, I get the feel that the monsters were supposed to look fucked up. They were supposed to look like they shouldn't even exist in our realm.

I have read the short story and I agree, but it came across more like "low-budget" than " monsters out of this world". Just my opinion though. And I get the point that the monsters were secondary to the plot, but having them look a bit low-budget does ultimately make it look a bit bush-league whether the monsters appeared for two seconds or the entire movie. With that said, outside that and the ending, I thought it was a pretty good horror flick. Especially Marcia Gay Harden... her role was fantastic and she played it to a tee.

And to Inner's quote about the Birds... that made the entire movie for me. That last shot, with the darkness and the thousands and thousands of birds surrounding the house. Such a tense scene.

Anyone seen Saw V yet? Opinions? I was a big fan of Saw I and II, but after that the movies went downhill with Saw IV being completely ridiclous.

[Gabriel]

I also enjoyed Rob Zombie's Halloween. I saw the screener, rented the DVD when it came out, and then bought it a couple weeks later when I had some money. I don't have money a lot anymore, so I'm pretty picky about what movies I buy these days.

I like what they're doing with Friday the 13th. Freddy Vs Jason was pretty good, and while it was pretty campy, everything that involved Jason was done in a straight-forward manner that made him look bad ass again. If they handle him that well to reboot the series, then I will be giddy as a schoolgirl.

The quality of Poltergeist and the magic surrounding the film cannot be re-done... especially not by guys who should be working on direct-to-DVD films.

[HailtotheYo]

Zombie's Halloween was fucking great.

He's done a fantastic job in the genre. He doesn't get anywhere near the credit he should.

[Essa]

I too loved Zombie's Halloween. I think people try and concentrate too much on saying one is better than the other instead of realizing that they are two completely different movies. Zombie took the original and put more substance, motive and reasoning behind it. The original was kind of light on plot, but heavy on the suspense. Zombie's was heavier on plot, but not nearly as suspenseful. All in all, I loved them both. I think the people that hated this movie are the same ones who say that every remake ever made was terrible.

Maybe a decade from now we'll get some sort of remake combining the awesome shit from both movies into one. I doubt it.

[Synjynpsychobitch]

I generally hate remakes as a whole, unless the original was shit. That said, being a fan of House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects, I had very high hopes for Zombie's Halloween. I even came off my "GRRR REMAKES" (Michael Bay anyone?) bandwagon to tout my hopes for this 'reimagining'. I really freaking liked the first half. It was great, the development of Michael's character really appealed to me. The cameo's kept me hunting and I was having a great time. Had he continued in this vein, I would have been all "RAWR ZOMBIE", but alas the last half was nearly a shot for shot remake. This ruined the movie for me. It made it feel like two completely different movies.

Edited October 27, 2008 by Synjynpsychobitch

[Toe]

The only negative I can think of about the remake of Friday The 13th is that Pamela Voorhees isn't going to be the killer. Maybe they are going to say she went on a murderous rampage after her son died or something (and that would make me happy).

Bwahaha. I just Wiki'd the remake, and discovered that Major Kira Nerys from ST: Deep Space 9 is going to be playing Pamela Voorhees.

Edited October 27, 2008 by Toe

[Essa]

Friday the 13th Remake Spoilers

Spoiler: Click here to view

Toe, it's not meant to be a direct sequel to the first Friday the 13th. My understanding of it is that it's more a remake of the series than it is the first movie. I've read that we'll see kiddy Jason, we've got a Pam Vorhees cameo, potato sack Jason, and then finally Hockey mask Jason. It's like the first three Friday's on hyperspeed.

[EndOfAnEra]

Saw V was decent I thought. It did a really good job of filling in gaps of the backstory (or putting the needed parts into the backstory). Saw VI should be interesting based off of what we didn't learn in Saw V.

[TheReaper316]

Ive been watching a ton lately just out of boredom and Halloween spirit.

Candyman is good. I dont think Id ever watched it all the way through until now. He should get a little more credit as a movie slasher

Friday the 13th 1 was terrible, terrible, terrible. Id never seen it. Part 2 is not much better.

Saw V was good. I think the traps take a backseat to the story. They really do tie up all loose ends from the first 4, but open a couple for VI. Ill never get tired of that series.

[I Don't Mind]

I saw Candyman when I was little and have effectively buried any memory of that movie out of fear, except for when someone else brings it up. Thank you for the nightmares!

[TheReaper316]

haha...sorry. Theres actually 2 sequels to it, too. I know Ive seen the third after reading the plot brief.

One thing I wanted to bring up was all the remakes they're doing of classic horror movies. What do you guys think about that? They remade Texas Chainsaw, made a prequel to their remake, Halloween, The Hills Have Eyes 1+2, Dawn of the Dead, now theyre remaking Friday the 13th for next year, Hell Raiser, Child's Play, Nightmare on Elm Street are all being remade as well and those are confirmed, not hearsay. I think its pretty stupid. Theyre not even casting Robert Englund as Freddie. Its one thing to remake Halloween with a slasher that wears a mask(and Zombie's version was really good, anyway) but when they start redoing the slashers with personality I dont like it.

Edited October 29, 2008 by TheReaper316