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Post by Non Banjoble Tokens on Jan 3, 2024 3:58:31 GMT -5
I think we can all relate to Mia Goth's character in Pearl at least a little. Who among us hasn't had sex with a scarecrow in a corn field after a lonely night of heavy drinking.
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Jan 9, 2024 15:38:04 GMT -5
What have been some other folk’s first horror movies of the year? I’m about to watch I Sell the Dead (2008). It’s dark comedy, but IMDB lists it as horror too so that’s good enough for me
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Post by DSR on Jan 9, 2024 16:25:22 GMT -5
What have been some other folk’s first horror movies of the year? I’m about to watch I Sell the Dead (2008). It’s dark comedy, but IMDB lists it as horror too so that’s good enough for me Last night I watched OCTAMAN (1971), a low-budget monster movie about an octopus/man hybrid creature. The film is a plodding, overly talkative affair that shows its monster from every conceivable angle early on, so there's no real suspense. It's noteworthy for being a very early Rick Baker effects job. I watched this with Rifftrax commentary, which helps. I don't recall watching any horror movies between that and New Years Day, but I did watch a couple of things on New Years Eve. I guess I'll discuss them now. THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE (1970) is a giallo and the directorial debut of Dario Argento (he also wrote it). An American writer living in Rome witnesses the attempted murder of a beautiful woman through the glass doors of an art gallery, and then becomes roped into the investigation. Argento's best work is still to come, but even in his debut we see his interest in art and architecture, captivating camera angles, and an unsettling score (this one courtesy of Ennio Morricone). Well worth checking out! BONE TOMAHAWK (2015) is the directorial debut of S. Craig Zahler (THE BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99), a western starring Kurt Russell as a small-town sheriff. When the town doctor's assistant is abducted, the Sheriff gathers the assistant's husband (Patrick Wilson, THE CONJURING), the deputy (Richard Jenkins, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS) and a local man (Matthew Fox, SMOKIN' ACES) to get her back. The abductors are a clan of cannibalistic troglodytes, who communicate using only a hellish howl created by putting a certain bone in their throats. The troglodytes and their brutally gory method of killing and eating people pushes this film, in some people's minds, into being a horror film. I don't really agree, but I think the film is well-made with solid acting performances and convincing special effects. I liked it a lot!
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Jan 9, 2024 23:33:15 GMT -5
I Sell the Dead (2008) ended up being total horror with zombies and everything. I like to go into movies as cold as I can and this one ended up being a lot of fun. Great mix of horror and comedy. I’m always looking for more horror comedy recommendations if anyone has some.
Later on I watched The Conjuring (2013). I’d be at least tempted to start the sequel tonight, but James Wan made the damn thing 2 hours 14 minutes.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,430
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Jan 9, 2024 23:44:14 GMT -5
I Sell the Dead (2008) ended up being total horror with zombies and everything. I like to go into movies as cold as I can and this one ended up being a lot of fun. Great mix of horror and comedy. I’m always looking for more horror comedy recommendations if anyone has some. Later on I watched The Conjuring (2013). I’d be at least tempted to start the sequel tonight, but James Wan made the damn thing 2 hours 14 minutes. Figure I will finally see The Conjuring soon. Found the Blu ray for cheap recently. Not sure why but I can let DVDs stack up unwatched and not be that bothered with the stack getting big. But blu rays,I feel like I have to watch them fast.
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Jan 9, 2024 23:52:26 GMT -5
I Sell the Dead (2008) ended up being total horror with zombies and everything. I like to go into movies as cold as I can and this one ended up being a lot of fun. Great mix of horror and comedy. I’m always looking for more horror comedy recommendations if anyone has some. Later on I watched The Conjuring (2013). I’d be at least tempted to start the sequel tonight, but James Wan made the damn thing 2 hours 14 minutes. Figure I will finally see The Conjuring soon. Found the Blu ray for cheap recently. Not sure why but I can let DVDs stack up unwatched and not be that bothered with the stack getting big. But blu rays,I feel like I have to watch them fast. Yeah, I’ve somehow mostly stayed clear of the entire Conjuring Universe. I watched The Nun shortly after it came out, but didn’t know going in it was part of the series. I got the six movie set on DVD for under $10 though and figured I’ll try to watch them all. I will probably have to watch some things in between as I’m sure I’ll be worn out after The Conjuring 2. 2 hours 14 minutes seems extravagant for a modern horror sequel.
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Post by DSR on Jan 10, 2024 2:03:20 GMT -5
I've watched almost every flick in "The Conjuring Universe" (still need to see THE NUN 2). THE CONJURING 2 is my favorite. It works well as a spooky supernatural horror and as a schmaltzy, wholesome Christmas movie.
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Jan 10, 2024 10:24:11 GMT -5
For fans of DIY horror, a while back I mentioned buying some Curtis Everitt movies as part of a DVD lot. Last night I stumbled upon Saint Studios Films, his company’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@doroctor?si=N2Jt_0io9vgKhKPpAs expected everything has a real DIY feel. I haven’t been able to watch any of his “features” yet, but there’s actually a few up for free on his YouTube channel. The only reason I put features in air quotes is because many aren’t really feature length, running under an hour long. My guess is he and his company fund this through being true grinders. In that channel it shows they do wedding videos as well as a slew of other videography projects. IMDB listings for multiple movies have 0 ratings as in no one even bothered to rate them, but even these films must create some revenue. The DVDs I bought were distributed by Shami Media Group, which is an NYC label that has distributed some really professional looking stuff. Plus, there’s whatever the company can make off these films streaming outside of YouTube. If Roger Corman knew he’d be proud. Puzzling, the company hasn’t uploaded any of their full horror features on YouTube and they’ve made at least 27 horror projects. You’d think they would since horror film fans are among the most passionate of all film fans. And with distributors like Breaking Glass, Wild Eye Releasing, etc we’re not really the most discerning bunch. I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets rectified soon. Here is his most watched video currently with about 42K views. It’s a horror trailer:
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Post by Jumpin' Jesse Walsh on Jan 10, 2024 20:36:16 GMT -5
Kicked off the new year by watching one of last year's most polarizing movies.
Skinamarink (2022)
Plot: A pair of siblings wake up one day to find their father missing and various objects and doors in their house disappearing.
I’ve heard everything about Skinamarink ranging from “OMG I love it!” to “WTF is this garbage?!?” I kinda sit somewhere in the middle. I absolutely respect the creative vision on display, and there are moments where it works for me, but it’s also in turns boring and not really a movie I can reccommend to someone. It’s just one of those flicks you have to experience for yourself, y’know?
Rest assured, when the film hits, it’s one of the most clever and atmospheric horror films I’ve seen in a hot minute. Nothing makes sense and little in the story is explained. It’s probably one of the few movies out there that can get away with the “It was all a dream!” type of excuse. Since the goal here, I think, is to make us feel like we’re watching a child’s nightmare, I actually found it tapping into some of my childhood fears. The fear of abandonment is an obvious one, but its extensive use of pitch black hallways and darkened corners really brought me back to my youth. Writer and director Kyle Edward Ball shows us nothing but grainy black and challenges us to imagine the horror. It’s almost like he’s holding up a blank canvas and making us paint the scares. I felt like I could see someone or something moving in the darkness, like when I was a kid trying to sleep with the lights off. It’s fun to play pretend.
I just wish it were able to capture that magic more often than it does. The biggest issue for me is the runtime. 100 minutes is way too long and I’d like to believe even the film’s most ardent defenders would concede not many people have that kind of patience. I’ve waxed on about the terror of dark hallways, but you can only see so many shots of them that they lose their allure. I actually found myself fast forwarding a bit and didn’t seem to miss anything (though, to be fair, the plot is purposefully threadbare). Kudos to people who are able to completely immerse themselves in the experience for the full duration, but I personally could lose myself only in short spurts. Also, this is a minor gripe, but what was the point of setting the film in 1995? What does this add to the movie? How does it shape our understanding of it? I feel like we’re in an era where movies want to cash in on ‘90s and ‘00s nostalgia without doing any of the work.
So, would I ever rewatch Skinamarink? Probably, yeah, but it’s definitely not a film I could revisit often. It requires you to be in a particular headspace, and be there for nearly two hours. At least it’s a nice a reminder that there’s still plenty of thrill in making out shapes in the dark.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,430
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Jan 11, 2024 19:43:55 GMT -5
The length was a major issue with Skinamarink.
Like if it had been a 20 to 30 minute short film it would be really good. But at the length it is now is just way to long.
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mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,385
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Post by mystermystery on Jan 13, 2024 16:58:28 GMT -5
I Sell the Dead (2008) ended up being total horror with zombies and everything. I like to go into movies as cold as I can and this one ended up being a lot of fun. Great mix of horror and comedy. I’m always looking for more horror comedy recommendations if anyone has some. Later on I watched The Conjuring (2013). I’d be at least tempted to start the sequel tonight, but James Wan made the damn thing 2 hours 14 minutes. I SELL THE DEAD was such a ride of constant unexpected escalation to me. I don't know how many of these you've already seen, but here are a few suggestions for Horror Comedies: In terms of Horror Comedies, DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS just debuted on Shudder starring Jonah Ray Rodrigues and Alex Winter (under a ton of make-up) that is incredibly bizarre but pretty good once it gets going. The practical effects are a sight. And if you haven't seen it yet, DEADSTREAM is essentially a Found Footage EVIL DEAD 2. DEADTECTIVES is a group of ghost hunters who "know" it's not real and end up in a real haunted house. Common set-up, but I really enjoyed the storyline with the atheist of the group having to deal with the realization of what actual ghosts means. DEEP MURDER is a satire that essentially runs on the idea of "What if there was a serial killer in a porno?" where the characters have to fight their base instincts to avoid being the next victim. COOTIES follows Elijah Wood as a substitute teacher who draws a job on the worst day possible, when infected chicken nuggets cause all the children to become zombie-ish in nature. Leigh Whannel (writer of Saw, director of The Invisible Man) plays the zoned out art teacher and I outright loved his performance in it. HELL BABY has a couple move into a haunted house and thus their spawn is destined to be a bit more demonic than usual. A lot of sketch comedy people in it, with an exceptionally good cameo by Kumail Nanjiani. SURBURBAN GOTHIC is about a guy who moves back home after college and (after the family doctor doesn't call in his meds) starts to see ghosts and teams up with the bartender he has a crush on (because she's Kat Dennings, y'all) to try and put a vengeful spirit to rest. Ray Wise is so good as his dad. VICIOUS FUN is about a dude who wakes up at what he thinks is an AA meeting, but it's actually a SKA meeting where serial killers share their stories and now he has to figure out how to...you know...not get murdered by someone. YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER is a movie based on a Twitter thread, so your mileage may vary, but is essentially a dude calling his friend and getting her to confirm his suspicions that he may be the one killing everyone at camp. ONYX THE FORTUITOUS AND THE TALISMAN OF SOULS is a movie based on a YouTube character (Kickstarter funded) that is essentially a satanic Willy Wonka set-up (Five "fans" are given the opportunity to meet a occult icon but there may be something more to their invitation) that allows Onyx to bumble around in, what I personally describe as, an Ernest P Worrell fashion. I had no clue it was based on a YouTube character but still enjoyed the film. Jeffrey Combs as Bartok the Great did help, though.
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Jan 13, 2024 18:30:02 GMT -5
I Sell the Dead (2008) ended up being total horror with zombies and everything. I like to go into movies as cold as I can and this one ended up being a lot of fun. Great mix of horror and comedy. I’m always looking for more horror comedy recommendations if anyone has some. Later on I watched The Conjuring (2013). I’d be at least tempted to start the sequel tonight, but James Wan made the damn thing 2 hours 14 minutes. I SELL THE DEAD was such a ride of constant unexpected escalation to me. I don't know how many of these you've already seen, but here are a few suggestions for Horror Comedies: In terms of Horror Comedies, DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS just debuted on Shudder starring Jonah Ray Rodrigues and Alex Winter (under a ton of make-up) that is incredibly bizarre but pretty good once it gets going. The practical effects are a sight. And if you haven't seen it yet, DEADSTREAM is essentially a Found Footage EVIL DEAD 2. DEADTECTIVES is a group of ghost hunters who "know" it's not real and end up in a real haunted house. Common set-up, but I really enjoyed the storyline with the atheist of the group having to deal with the realization of what actual ghosts means. DEEP MURDER is a satire that essentially runs on the idea of "What if there was a serial killer in a porno?" where the characters have to fight their base instincts to avoid being the next victim. COOTIES follows Elijah Wood as a substitute teacher who draws a job on the worst day possible, when infected chicken nuggets cause all the children to become zombie-ish in nature. Leigh Whannel (writer of Saw, director of The Invisible Man) plays the zoned out art teacher and I outright loved his performance in it. HELL BABY has a couple move into a haunted house and thus their spawn is destined to be a bit more demonic than usual. A lot of sketch comedy people in it, with an exceptionally good cameo by Kumail Nanjiani. SURBURBAN GOTHIC is about a guy who moves back home after college and (after the family doctor doesn't call in his meds) starts to see ghosts and teams up with the bartender he has a crush on (because she's Kat Dennings, y'all) to try and put a vengeful spirit to rest. Ray Wise is so good as his dad. VICIOUS FUN is about a dude who wakes up at what he thinks is an AA meeting, but it's actually a SKA meeting where serial killers share their stories and now he has to figure out how to...you know...not get murdered by someone. YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER is a movie based on a Twitter thread, so your mileage may vary, but is essentially a dude calling his friend and getting her to confirm his suspicions that he may be the one killing everyone at camp. ONYX THE FORTUITOUS AND THE TALISMAN OF SOULS is a movie based on a YouTube character (Kickstarter funded) that is essentially a satanic Willy Wonka set-up (Five "fans" are given the opportunity to meet a occult icon but there may be something more to their invitation) that allows Onyx to bumble around in, what I personally describe as, an Ernest P Worrell fashion. I had no clue it was based on a YouTube character but still enjoyed the film. Jeffrey Combs as Bartok the Great did help, though. Thank you for the all the recommendations! I actually haven’t seen any of these, but own Deadtectives since it’s been on my unwatched pile for a little bit. I’ll have to change that and track some of these down Its great to find a nice horror comedy. Sometimes they try to be too silly or the humor just doesn’t land. Some under the radar ones I’ve enjoyed that might not be full horror comedies, but have comedic elements are Long Pigs (2007) and How to Be a Serial Killer (2008).
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Post by DSR on Jan 13, 2024 19:55:20 GMT -5
I gave YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER a pretty high recommendation when I reviewed it a few years back. I did not know when I watched it that it was based on a Twitter thread, though. I just liked Fran Kranz and Alyson Hannigan.
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mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,385
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Post by mystermystery on Jan 14, 2024 20:47:05 GMT -5
I gave YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER a pretty high recommendation when I reviewed it a few years back. I did not know when I watched it that it was based on a Twitter thread, though. I just liked Fran Kranz and Alyson Hannigan. It was between Chuck Wendig (The Star Wars Aftermath trilogy of novels) and Sam Sykes (Who writes sci-fi but is best known as the son of the author of the Outlander series). I was going to link it, however Wendig has locked his Twitter account (assuming because of the Internet Archive stuff) so its unreadable to most people. It's kind of neat where fun ideas can come from sometimes. And I agree that Kranz and Hannigan are really good in it.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,430
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Jan 15, 2024 19:20:46 GMT -5
I Sell the Dead (2008) ended up being total horror with zombies and everything. I like to go into movies as cold as I can and this one ended up being a lot of fun. Great mix of horror and comedy. I’m always looking for more horror comedy recommendations if anyone has some. Later on I watched The Conjuring (2013). I’d be at least tempted to start the sequel tonight, but James Wan made the damn thing 2 hours 14 minutes. I SELL THE DEAD was such a ride of constant unexpected escalation to me. I don't know how many of these you've already seen, but here are a few suggestions for Horror Comedies: In terms of Horror Comedies, DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS just debuted on Shudder starring Jonah Ray Rodrigues and Alex Winter (under a ton of make-up) that is incredibly bizarre but pretty good once it gets going. The practical effects are a sight. And if you haven't seen it yet, DEADSTREAM is essentially a Found Footage EVIL DEAD 2. DEADTECTIVES is a group of ghost hunters who "know" it's not real and end up in a real haunted house. Common set-up, but I really enjoyed the storyline with the atheist of the group having to deal with the realization of what actual ghosts means. DEEP MURDER is a satire that essentially runs on the idea of "What if there was a serial killer in a porno?" where the characters have to fight their base instincts to avoid being the next victim. COOTIES follows Elijah Wood as a substitute teacher who draws a job on the worst day possible, when infected chicken nuggets cause all the children to become zombie-ish in nature. Leigh Whannel (writer of Saw, director of The Invisible Man) plays the zoned out art teacher and I outright loved his performance in it. HELL BABY has a couple move into a haunted house and thus their spawn is destined to be a bit more demonic than usual. A lot of sketch comedy people in it, with an exceptionally good cameo by Kumail Nanjiani. SURBURBAN GOTHIC is about a guy who moves back home after college and (after the family doctor doesn't call in his meds) starts to see ghosts and teams up with the bartender he has a crush on (because she's Kat Dennings, y'all) to try and put a vengeful spirit to rest. Ray Wise is so good as his dad. VICIOUS FUN is about a dude who wakes up at what he thinks is an AA meeting, but it's actually a SKA meeting where serial killers share their stories and now he has to figure out how to...you know...not get murdered by someone. YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER is a movie based on a Twitter thread, so your mileage may vary, but is essentially a dude calling his friend and getting her to confirm his suspicions that he may be the one killing everyone at camp. ONYX THE FORTUITOUS AND THE TALISMAN OF SOULS is a movie based on a YouTube character (Kickstarter funded) that is essentially a satanic Willy Wonka set-up (Five "fans" are given the opportunity to meet a occult icon but there may be something more to their invitation) that allows Onyx to bumble around in, what I personally describe as, an Ernest P Worrell fashion. I had no clue it was based on a YouTube character but still enjoyed the film. Jeffrey Combs as Bartok the Great did help, though. Cooties was great. Not sure how we ended up with a copy of the screener and threw it on one long weekend. Hell Baby was fun but nothing I would buy.
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Post by ace on Jan 15, 2024 23:52:26 GMT -5
The length was a major issue with Skinamarink. Like if it had been a 20 to 30 minute short film it would be really good. But at the length it is now is just way too long. I don’t want to open the Skinamarink can of worms again…but I disagree. Not because it made for a good watch. It’s a terrible movie to watch. I watched it alone in an old run down theater with seats from the 80s that was creepy as shit in its own right…and it was still a terrible movie while watching it despite having the best possible viewing experience. But Skinamarink isn’t a movie meant to be an enjoyable watch. What it wants to do, and succeeds completely at, is living as a memory of having watched it. It’s like waking up from a nightmare and remembering every minute of it. Not just moments or fragments or barely recalling what the nightmare was about. The length makes it into a memory of a nightmare where you remember so much more. As a movie it’s a total shit watch. As an experiment to create a horror nightmare memory…it’s perfect.
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Post by DSR on Jan 16, 2024 2:21:58 GMT -5
I have some random horror-related thoughts I wanted to share.
Tisa Farrow passed away on January 10th. She's probably best known for her appearance in Lucio Fulci's ZOMBI 2, though she also appears in ANTHROPOPHAGUS and the made-for-tv horror THE INITIATION OF SARAH, among other titles. RIP to her.
January 1st saw the death of David J. Skal, a horror historian who wrote several books and produced the documentaries that appeared on Universal's classic horror boxsets in the late 90s/early 2000s. David also appears in those documentaries and provides great insights into the history of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, etc. etc. I've never gone as in-depth into the history of those old films (or the stage productions or other adaptations of the characters), but I've always admired Mr. Skal and his ilk for doing so. He will be missed.
The past couple of nights, I've watched the Universal horrors THE WOLF MAN (1941) and FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1942). I feel like I addressed the second of these films decently enough when I went through the FRANKENSTEIN Legacy Collection boxset months ago. Since I'm now going through the WOLF MAN Legacy Collection, I don't really want to give these films a full rehashing.
I will say it is interesting to see Bela Lugosi portray the initial werewolf that bites Lon Chaney Jr's Lawrence Talbot in the first film, and then play Frankenstein's Monster in the second. The first feels sorta like a passing the torch from 30s horror star Bela to 40s horror star Lon. The second feels like they're on equal footing, though Lon playing a character who changes from human to monster and thus being allowed to emote more (and talk) means he gets more of the screen time.
The next film in this set will be HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, which doesn't feature Lugosi, but has Boris Karloff as a mad scientist. I've seen Lugosi and Karloff share the screen before, I've seen Lugosi and Chaney Jr share the screen, and soon enough I'll see Chaney Jr and Karloff together. I really wish there could've been even just one film that featured all three. Would've been so cool. Ah well.
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Jan 17, 2024 14:50:00 GMT -5
I had Creepshow playing on and off in the background the past few days. Then I found this in my Google machine and figured I’d share:
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,430
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Jan 17, 2024 17:21:30 GMT -5
Yes that cover is much much better than the two movies.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,430
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Jan 18, 2024 13:55:46 GMT -5
DSR saw this and rememebereed you 50 States project. Had never heard of the MS film. Tracking it down now.
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