pinja
Unicron
Posts: 3,015
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Post by pinja on Aug 19, 2022 10:20:58 GMT -5
How much are you looking to spend for Demons and Demons 2? If you just want decent DVD/Blu-ray versions rather than the big deluxe versions, MVD usually sells the Synapse versions for about $10 a piece whenever they do a Synapse sale. Grindhouse Video has about the same price when they do a Synapse sale too, but I like MVD better Yeah, that's reasonable. They're really worth it. I got my Austrian copy of both movies for 25 €, good video and sound quality. Only odd (really, really odd) thing with Demons 2: The last almost 10 minutes were dubbed afterwards by two dudes in what I suspects were their bedrooms. Both can't voice act and one dude playing a pregnant woman giving birth kind of killed the mood. It was likely a similar situation to one of the European cuts of Dawn of the Dead, where there's a sequence that they just forgot to dub. Only with Demons 2, they thought they had a better idea ...
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pinja
Unicron
Posts: 3,015
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Post by pinja on Aug 19, 2022 10:24:19 GMT -5
I actually watched Demons 2 last weekend! Definitely not as good as the first, but does still have the strong Argento-produced visual style. I was kinda mind-blown the soundtrack credits The Smiths. Apparently Argento overtook most of the work with Demons, but let Bava do all the direction with Demons 2. From the little I gathered the surrounding the production of Demons 2, it's remarkable how well it emerged from the mess.
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Post by Jumpin' Jesse Walsh on Aug 20, 2022 14:17:58 GMT -5
The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
Plot: On the night of the annual Purge, an ex-cop tries to lead a group of strangers to safety while seeking retribution for the murder of his son.
I haven’t paid much attention to The Purge franchise until recently, but I’ve always been quite aware of its popularity. It’s found its way into our cultural lexicon, I think. In any given instance where our society even vaguely resembles a dystopian hellscape (and it feels like there’s been a lot of them in the past 2 years or so) you’re bound to get one person who’ll say something to the effect of “Wow, this is just like The Purge.” That’s quite an accomplishment for a silly B-movie franchise, made even more remarkable that it began rather humbly.
Even if spawned several sequels and a short-lived television series, the first Purge movie feels like such a slight effort. The action is confined to a single house, leaving a whole world’s worth of story practically begging to be explored. What’s this bullshit about the New Founding Fathers? How did American society get to the point of legalizing all crime for one day? The follow-up The Purge: Anarchy doesn’t fully answer these questions, but it finally gives us a wider glimpse into this world and the results are mildly successful. Yes, it doesn’t really reinvent the wheel, but it’s undeniably an improvement over its predecessor.
It’s clear by even the second entry that the franchise’s social commentary isn’t all that deep as it would like us to think. You could read millions of think pieces on the Internet covering the same ideas. But if its messaging is superficial at best, the filmmakers don’t seem to care because the Purge concept is just an excuse to ramp up the action sequences anyway. If the first Purge was strictly horror/thriller fare, Anarchy brings the series into action adventure territory. Sure, there’s still a hefty dose of dudes in scary masks, but there’s also a bunch of bang bang and boom boom meant to be keep the audience clinging to their bucket of popcorn. They’ve even cast Frank Grillo as the gritty, hunky lead, a role usually reserved for the Jason Stathams of the world.
Like its predecessor, the plot is kept simple—our survivors try to make it from point A to point B without getting killed, except this time there’s a big freakin’ city for these people to scurry about. We finally get a look at how the nation at large prepares for the upcoming Purge, from Reddit bros grabbing their guns to families gathering like it’s some sort of f**ked-up Christmas. Our group of survivors each get their own little story that’s not super deep, but gives us just enough to invest in their journey, and that’s a smidge better than Ethan Hawke’s family of blandos in the first movie. You actually kinda want to see the people turn out okay and survive the night (spoiler: not all of them do). Grillo is pretty decent in the lead role, by the way. It’s no wonder his character has become a kinda sorta fan favorite in the series.
I haven’t delved deeper into this franchise to know how it holds up compared to subsequent entries, but Anarchy definitely sets the template for future sequels. This is perfectly acceptable B-movie fare, overall. I still don’t exactly know what all this New Founding Fathers stuff is about, but watching this Purge movie isn’t a bad way to spend one day out of the year.
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Aug 21, 2022 9:32:17 GMT -5
Anyone enjoy any anime horror movies? If I ever get free time again I’d really like to check some out
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Post by Jumpin' Jesse Walsh on Aug 21, 2022 12:37:08 GMT -5
Going to a midnight screening next weekend to see Friday the 13th on 35 MM. So pumped!
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mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,391
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Post by mystermystery on Aug 21, 2022 18:25:35 GMT -5
Orphan: First Kill is good fun, y'all.
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Post by DSR on Aug 21, 2022 19:27:02 GMT -5
Anyone enjoy any anime horror movies? If I ever get free time again I’d really like to check some out I haven't watched any NEW anime in at least a decade, but I recall enjoying VAMPIRE HUNTER D, PERFECT BLUE (which is a bit more psychological thriller than horror but it's kinda close), and WICKED CITY.
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Aug 21, 2022 19:53:51 GMT -5
Anyone enjoy any anime horror movies? If I ever get free time again I’d really like to check some out I haven't watched any NEW anime in at least a decade, but I recall enjoying VAMPIRE HUNTER D, PERFECT BLUE (which is a bit more psychological thriller than horror but it's kinda close), and WICKED CITY. I’ve definitely watched Vampire Hunter D before. Not sure about the other two. I got a bunch of anime Blu-days/DVDs for a good deal that I’m re-selling so it’s kind of renewed my interest in the art. But not much horror. A hearty amount of Sci-Fi though.
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pinja
Unicron
Posts: 3,015
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Post by pinja on Aug 23, 2022 0:54:20 GMT -5
First time having watched Exorcist III, it feels like the Princess Bride of horror movies in that I can't figure out it's tone. It is intentionally humorous at times, very chatty in an artificial way and not scary at all. Direction is wonky and Brad Dourif performing teary eyed is too much. But I can't say having regrets. Is that the typical Exorcist III experience?
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Post by DSR on Aug 23, 2022 1:12:23 GMT -5
First time having watched Exorcist III, it feels like the Princess Bride of horror movies in that I can't figure out it's tone. It is intentionally humorous at times, very chatty in an artificial way and not scary at all. Direction is wonky and Brad Dourif performing teary eyed is too much. But I can't say having regrets. Is that the typical Exorcist III experience? I haven't watched the film in a good many years, so I went and searched my thoughts on the film on this here forum. The film was funnier than I expected, but I came away liking it a good deal. I gave it a 4 out of 5, as I was doing number ratings on my reviews at the time. I'm probably gonna give the film a rewatch in October.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,492
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Aug 23, 2022 2:09:50 GMT -5
Exorcist III is the only film in that franchise I like.
Oddly I love the novel the first film is based on and hate the film.
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Aug 23, 2022 7:26:24 GMT -5
Exorcist III is the only film in that franchise I like. Oddly I love the novel the first film is based on and hate the film. A weird thing about Exorcist III is it was a favorite of some serial killers. Jeffrey Dahmer is the big one. But there was also Danny Rolling, the Gainesville Ripper who even claimed to have an alternate personality named Gemini. I think there were more, but I can’t remember who. I knew Dennis Nilsen had some connection to the franchise but his murders took place long before Exorcist III came out. A quick Google search shows that Nilsen instead desecrated corpses while listening to the theme from the original Exorcist.
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pinja
Unicron
Posts: 3,015
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Post by pinja on Aug 24, 2022 1:29:30 GMT -5
First time having watched Exorcist III, it feels like the Princess Bride of horror movies in that I can't figure out it's tone. It is intentionally humorous at times, very chatty in an artificial way and not scary at all. Direction is wonky and Brad Dourif performing teary eyed is too much. But I can't say having regrets. Is that the typical Exorcist III experience? I haven't watched the film in a good many years, so I went and searched my thoughts on the film on this here forum. The film was funnier than I expected, but I came away liking it a good deal. I gave it a 4 out of 5, as I was doing number ratings on my reviews at the time. I'm probably gonna give the film a rewatch in October. Good choice when you feel fatigued/bleak after a string of more serious movies. Although it's not too long ago that a cut got released that's more like Blatty had envisioned it. Maybe that makes it a very different watch.
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pinja
Unicron
Posts: 3,015
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Post by pinja on Aug 24, 2022 1:31:17 GMT -5
Exorcist III is the only film in that franchise I like. Oddly I love the novel the first film is based on and hate the film. I haven't rewatched Exorcist II for a good twenty years now, but even that I liked more than the original. Have you read Legion and if, how does it compare to Exorcist III?
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pinja
Unicron
Posts: 3,015
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Post by pinja on Aug 24, 2022 1:33:45 GMT -5
Exorcist III is the only film in that franchise I like. Oddly I love the novel the first film is based on and hate the film. A weird thing about Exorcist III is it was a favorite of some serial killers. Jeffrey Dahmer is the big one. But there was also Danny Rolling, the Gainesville Ripper who even claimed to have an alternate personality named Gemini. I think there were more, but I can’t remember who. I knew Dennis Nilsen had some connection to the franchise but his murders took place long before Exorcist III came out. A quick Google search shows that Nilsen instead desecrated corpses while listening to the theme from the original Exorcist. That's quite the ... achievement? Even the Zodiac Killer felt the need to reference Exorcist III in a letter to the newspapers. But why Exorcist? I get that it was a landmark in horror, but even (or especially?) as a kid, I couldn't see what's the big deal about it.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,492
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Aug 25, 2022 1:16:27 GMT -5
Exorcist III is the only film in that franchise I like. Oddly I love the novel the first film is based on and hate the film. I haven't rewatched Exorcist II for a good twenty years now, but even that I liked more than the original. Have you read Legion and if, how does it compare to Exorcist III? I need to read Legion.
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pinja
Unicron
Posts: 3,015
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Post by pinja on Aug 26, 2022 14:53:54 GMT -5
I finished "Wohin am Abend?" ("Where to go in the evening?"), a collection of short stories by Thomas Owen. Recommended for being alien and for it's literary qualities. Owen was a Belgian author of mostly weird fiction, but not of the pulp magazine variety.
His stories feel European, few of them go for the effect, the twist ending. Most of them build up their atmosphere from within the main characters. The absurdity can be humorous at times, but there's most often a sense of melancholy. The characters are well aware that something is wrong before something actually is wrong from a reader's perspective. They're overwhelmed and willing to follow at the same time, making Owen more an epigone of Kafka than of Lovecraft.
Not all of his stories are of equal quality, some are lazy, one almost comically American, one more of a sketch than a fleshed out text. But overall, there's much to admire here. The longest story of about 50 pages has Owen effortlessly construct a dystopian alternative world, it's pecularities elegantly described in a stakkato of observations by the main character. There's also a Carnival of Souls like story, one of the best I've read and it's both funny and uncanny. The good far outweighs the bad (with the worst being a clear bias against femininity).
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,492
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Aug 26, 2022 18:32:21 GMT -5
Orphan: First Kill is good fun, y'all. Wwatched it yesterday and damn it was fun. Over the top and a blast to watch.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,492
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Aug 26, 2022 23:48:16 GMT -5
Saw Peacock has one of my fave obscure slashers,Curtains. So started it up. WTF this is a bad looking VHS rip. I know there is a nice cleaned up remaster of the original print. But I guess Peacock didn't want to pay for it.
Noticed that the movie selection on Peacock is bad. Goto Comedys and it is 100 crappy Xmas movies.
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Post by Non Banjoble Tokens on Aug 27, 2022 1:51:09 GMT -5
I watched the less than stellar HP Lovecraft adaptation of "The Unnamable" last year at Halloween time. For some reason I just recently had a dream about the movie. In the movie adaptation, the creature is some evil horned and hoofed goat devil monster. In my dream I saw the creature as a blob-like mass of tentacles and skulls that was surrounded by some sort of force field. Once I was able to remove the force field, I used a flame thrower to set the blob monster on fire and burn down the house it was in. Probably not anything important or that interesting, but it would be neat to see a remake of The Unnamable with a better creature maybe closer to the source material. HP Lovecraft??? >>>
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