FinalGwen
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Particularly fond of muffins.
Posts: 16,417
|
Post by FinalGwen on Nov 24, 2022 3:37:25 GMT -5
So now watched the whole mainline Childs Play/Chucky films, and now going into the TV series. Thought I'd leave my rankings/comments for each film.
Childs Play - 8/10 Iconic and gets the setting and tone so well, but things are still a bit clunky both in terms of Chucky's technology but also the pacing towards the end with Chucky's gradual demise. Nevertheless, really enjoyable kick off to the franchise with a great cast.
Childs Play 2 - 9/10 Does what worked with the first, builds on it, and just feels bigger and better. The sense of isolation for Andy is so well done, the camerawork really helping emphasise how out of place he feels in the new house, and his relationship with Kyle is really well built. The climax was a lot more fun than the first film, and I'd say it's where the series truly found its feet.
Childs Play 3 - 4/10 A bit more action packed but without as much personality, the military pastiche didn't do much for me, though setting worked ok in terms of keeping up that powerless feel of childhood even with an aged up Andy. The sudden change of location to a battle in a funfair for the end just kinda came out of nowhere, and doesn't gel with everything else. It's ok but nothing great.
Bride Of Chucky - 9/10 The point where the series changes, much more comedic and self aware, but with enough personality and horror not to feel like an all out farce. Also Jennifer Tilly's presence just makes the series so much better as a whole, she's amazing, and Chucky gets a whole new dimension with someone to bounce off. Adore it, definitive for the series.
Seed Of Chucky - 6/10 Now this one does feel more like a farce. I feel like I might have given this one slightly too high a rating but tbh I did enjoy it quite a bit, there's a very camp sense to the comedy that fits in well, and it's really just a vehicle for Jennifer Tilly to show how good she is both as Tiffany and the exaggerated parody of herself. Also I kinda enjoyed the trans themes of Glen/Glenda. But it's definitely a step down from Bride and a bit too far on the comical side.
Curse Of Chucky - 8/10 Back to the classic horror feel and works way better, tying it down to a single location and the distrust between characters working well, and giving Chucky more of a personal motivation with some added backstory. Only issue with it is they didn't really play on the threat to the child of the story much in the film itself (although the lore gives her a pretty bleak fate).
Cult Of Chucky - 5/10 I wanted to like this one, and it does some things really well. The central idea of multiple Chuckys is intriguing, I like grown-up tormented Andy, deaths are more creative than Curse, and Fiona Dourif puts in a blinder of a performance. But I feel like it wasted a lot of potential for the setting and premise, and the crossover of the two protagonists arcs, with them ultimately not even meeting. And it's not like I go to horror movies for accurate takes on mental health but the whole thing about the character with DID being revealed to just want attention is frankly kinda gross.
Overall, the series is really solid and even the ones I liked less have some cool ideas, there's no real lows like a Freddy's Dead or Jason Goes To Hell, just like, not reaching the heights that some achieve.
|
|
ace
Unicron
Posts: 2,838
Member is Online
|
Post by ace on Nov 24, 2022 12:23:05 GMT -5
Tv show is good too. Well…i haven’t started season 2 yet…but season 1 was good fun.
|
|
|
Post by ppl591 on Nov 24, 2022 16:30:41 GMT -5
So now watched the whole mainline Childs Play/Chucky films, and now going into the TV series. Thought I'd leave my rankings/comments for each film. Childs Play - 8/10 Iconic and gets the setting and tone so well, but things are still a bit clunky both in terms of Chucky's technology but also the pacing towards the end with Chucky's gradual demise. Nevertheless, really enjoyable kick off to the franchise with a great cast. Childs Play 2 - 9/10 Does what worked with the first, builds on it, and just feels bigger and better. The sense of isolation for Andy is so well done, the camerawork really helping emphasise how out of place he feels in the new house, and his relationship with Kyle is really well built. The climax was a lot more fun than the first film, and I'd say it's where the series truly found its feet. Childs Play 3 - 4/10 A bit more action packed but without as much personality, the military pastiche didn't do much for me, though setting worked ok in terms of keeping up that powerless feel of childhood even with an aged up Andy. The sudden change of location to a battle in a funfair for the end just kinda came out of nowhere, and doesn't gel with everything else. It's ok but nothing great. Bride Of Chucky - 9/10 The point where the series changes, much more comedic and self aware, but with enough personality and horror not to feel like an all out farce. Also Jennifer Tilly's presence just makes the series so much better as a whole, she's amazing, and Chucky gets a whole new dimension with someone to bounce off. Adore it, definitive for the series. Seed Of Chucky - 6/10 Now this one does feel more like a farce. I feel like I might have given this one slightly too high a rating but tbh I did enjoy it quite a bit, there's a very camp sense to the comedy that fits in well, and it's really just a vehicle for Jennifer Tilly to show how good she is both as Tiffany and the exaggerated parody of herself. Also I kinda enjoyed the trans themes of Glen/Glenda. But it's definitely a step down from Bride and a bit too far on the comical side. Curse Of Chucky - 8/10 Back to the classic horror feel and works way better, tying it down to a single location and the distrust between characters working well, and giving Chucky more of a personal motivation with some added backstory. Only issue with it is they didn't really play on the threat to the child of the story much in the film itself (although the lore gives her a pretty bleak fate). Cult Of Chucky - 5/10 I wanted to like this one, and it does some things really well. The central idea of multiple Chuckys is intriguing, I like grown-up tormented Andy, deaths are more creative than Curse, and Fiona Dourif puts in a blinder of a performance. But I feel like it wasted a lot of potential for the setting and premise, and the crossover of the two protagonists arcs, with them ultimately not even meeting. And it's not like I go to horror movies for accurate takes on mental health but the whole thing about the character with DID being revealed to just want attention is frankly kinda gross. Overall, the series is really solid and even the ones I liked less have some cool ideas, there's no real lows like a Freddy's Dead or Jason Goes To Hell, just like, not reaching the heights that some achieve. I keep seeing lower fan ratings for part 3. That's a favorite of mine. Guess I'll do my rankings 2 Bride Original 3 Curse Cult Seed
|
|
The Ichi
Patti Mayonnaise
AGGRESSIVE Executive Janitor of the Third Floor Manager's Bathroom
Posts: 37,274
|
Post by The Ichi on Nov 24, 2022 16:45:49 GMT -5
So finally saw Terrifier 2. Despite not needing to be as long as it was, an improvement over the first in every way. And I'd like to think I'm jaded when it comes to gore now, but one kill in particular did churn the stomach a bit.
|
|
Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,344
|
Post by Ultimo Gallos on Nov 24, 2022 22:28:12 GMT -5
Glad to see Terrifier 2 is better than the first.....
Heard the hype for the first for a bit now just never bothered watching it. But stuck in bed sick put it on and well.
Love the practical FX. Everything else well everything is either average or below average.
But went into this expecting Laid to Rest and instead got Chromeskull Laid to Rest II.
|
|
ace
Unicron
Posts: 2,838
Member is Online
|
Post by ace on Nov 26, 2022 2:24:44 GMT -5
|
|
mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,361
|
Post by mystermystery on Nov 29, 2022 0:46:45 GMT -5
Got to see UNDERWATER after owning the DVD for well over a year. Yep, it's on Hulu now, so I watched it. (That's okay. Physical Media back-up is the way).
Enjoyed the tension they milked out of the "bottom of the ocean" drama while also throwing in some "surprise" horrors to deal with during the story. TJ Miller wasn't nearly as annoying as I thought he'd be.
In all, it gave me some good LEVIATHAN vibes.
|
|
|
Post by DSR on Dec 2, 2022 2:34:15 GMT -5
Last night I watched a movie. Tonight I watched a different movie. Both have alliterative titles.
HORROR HOTEL (1960), also known as CITY OF THE DEAD, was the first horror film produced by Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg, who a few years later would co-found Amicus Films!
Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson, ISLE OF LOST WOMEN) is a college student fascinated with witchcraft. At the encouragement of her history professor Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee...do I even need to list another credit here?), Nan travels to the town of Whitewood, Massachusetts, to conduct research for her term paper. In 1692, the residents of Whitewood burned a witch, Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel, THE FLESH IS WEAK), at the stake.
Nan won't know this, but the audience will find it alarming when the innkeeper in the present day that checks Nan in at Whitewood will be one Mrs. Newless (also played by Patricia Jessel)! Soon enough it will become readily apparent that witchcraft is alive and well in Whitewood, and the local coven is in need of a sacrifice...perhaps Ms. Barlow will do?
HORROR HOTEL is built on old-school spooky ambience, with a dense blanket of fog along the ground in the entire town of Whitewood, and a cemetery featuring prominently in the plot. There's also a blind old preacher in a disused church, the last bastion of Christianity in this literally God-forsaken town. This is the kind of mood I adore! Acting is solid throughout, musical score is foreboding, the climax is *chef's kiss*. Really neat little picture.
BAD BEN (2016) was written, directed, produced by AND stars Nigel Bach. It is the first in a series of so far NINE movies. Bach plays Tom, a middle-aged man who recently spent his entire life savings on a house in a sheriff's sale. Tom decides to whip out his cellphone and document his attempt to spruce up the house and resell it. Oh, by the way, this is a found footage movie.
Tom looks around the house and sees that it is fully furnished. Whoever lived there before left all of their belongings. He also finds that the electricity has been turned off. After a quick phone call to the electric company, Tom decides to run some errands, hoping the power will be turned back on when he returns. Tom comes home to find that there is power, but also it looks like someone broke into the house! Furniture and plants have been overturned!
Nothing appears to be taken, but Tom decides the next day to have the previous owners' security cameras turned on so he can see if anything like this happens again. That night, while he's sleeping, Tom hears a noise, returns to the living room and sees the furniture has been moved again! The company that monitors the security cameras tells Tom that the furniture appears to move by itself! And the next day, while Tom is looking around in the woods behind the house, he finds a tiny grave! A makeshift wooden cross, tiny stones around the area, a larger rock with the name "BEN" carved into it, and an old music box! Tom might not believe in the supernatural, but all signs seem to indicate that what's messing with Tom is a force from beyond the grave!
I suppose I can't really knock Nigel Bach here. He made this movie for $300 and has made over $110,000 from people streaming it. And again, there's eight sequels to this thing. BUUUUUUT, I really do not see the appeal. Tom is the only real character that shows up in the movie. He's on the phone periodically, but we only ever hear his side of the conversation. And there's an ominous presence that lurks about the house from time to time. But yeah, Tom is the whole show here. Tubi lists this movie as a horror comedy, I laughed once. And reading up on it, Nigel was trying to make a legit horror movie. It wasn't until a few entries in that he leaned toward deliberately making them funny.
When I watch a low-to-no budget horror film, I'm looking for ingenuity. Like, if I were in Tom's shoes and experiencing these things, it would creep me out. But I'm a dude watching a movie, I need more than just a chair moving or a baby onesie with fake blood on it. There's one scene that shows some actual ambition, but the rest of it is just a dude in his house. Show me a monster! Even if it's made out of styrofoam or something.
|
|
|
Post by Non Banjoble Tokens on Dec 2, 2022 2:57:41 GMT -5
So the other night I was in that half asleep half awake state thinking about that M3GAN movie and I randomly thought up an idea to make a horror movie about a guy who buys a sexy love robot that turns evil and kills a bunch of people. He could have a robot cat that talks to him and expresses concern over his love bots increasingly worrisome behavior. The name of the movie I came up with is T1FFANY, see the 1 there. Brilliant.
|
|
|
Post by Non Banjoble Tokens on Dec 2, 2022 3:00:27 GMT -5
Got to see UNDERWATER after owning the DVD for well over a year. Yep, it's on Hulu now, so I watched it. (That's okay. Physical Media back-up is the way). Enjoyed the tension they milked out of the "bottom of the ocean" drama while also throwing in some "surprise" horrors to deal with during the story. TJ Miller wasn't nearly as annoying as I thought he'd be. In all, it gave me some good LEVIATHAN vibes. Watched this film this year for my Halloween movie binge a couple months ago and really quite liked it. I'm not even that big of a Kristen STewart fan, but I think she did really well in this movie. Also glad the stuffed bunny made it out okay.
|
|
|
Post by DSR on Dec 2, 2022 4:01:55 GMT -5
So the other night I was in that half asleep half awake state thinking about that M3GAN movie and I randomly thought up an idea to make a horror movie about a guy who buys a sexy love robot that turns evil and kills a bunch of people. He could have a robot cat that talks to him and expresses concern over his love bots increasingly worrisome behavior. The name of the movie I came up with is T1FFANY, see the 1 there. Brilliant. I'd watch that.
|
|
ace
Unicron
Posts: 2,838
Member is Online
|
Post by ace on Dec 3, 2022 15:12:38 GMT -5
|
|
pinja
Unicron
Posts: 2,996
|
Post by pinja on Dec 4, 2022 8:52:01 GMT -5
"Necronomicon" (1993) by a bunch of people, but mainly Brian Yuzna. I was compelled to see the critical response of this according to Wikipedia. "Well received", it says. What? Did the tides turn on this by now? Is it clowned on a lot? Are some of the great actors included pitied for their involvement? Are Tom Savini and his supergroup of effect artists pitied that their work has gone to waste? Because the practical effects are really, really good. Slimy, bulgy, tingly. But the writing is an abomination. "Necronomicon" is an anthology movie with a frame story and three embedded narratives. All of them are bad. The frame story follows H. P. Lovecraft (Jeffrey Combs) "borrowing" the Necronomicon to come up with new stories. Somehow one of those stories play in '90s Philadelphia. Sure. Two of the stories within the story have the same tired setup. They tell a tale of the supernatural in a flashback to then tie it back into the stories' present. The third story does not rely on a flashback, but it is also very bad at transporting its material. Negatively trippy. What an unusual waste of time. Prior to that I rewatched the '90s "Addams Family" movies. Those hold up perfectly. The first one has probably the best comedic use of fake blood I can remember. I laughed out loud! Also I remembered how my father, my sister and I constantly made faces like Christopher Lloyd's Uncle Fester. To the degree I have a triptych of photographies that independently show us doing the same dumb Fester grin. Thanks for that, morbid movie magic.
|
|
ace
Unicron
Posts: 2,838
Member is Online
|
Post by ace on Dec 4, 2022 17:36:16 GMT -5
Y’all ever see The Sadness? I really liked The Sadness. It was crazy
|
|
mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,361
|
Post by mystermystery on Dec 5, 2022 22:23:52 GMT -5
Tubi currently has a metric ton of Puppet Master on it (and a lot of Full Moon stuff), so I watched the most recent one PUPPET MASTER: DOKTOR DEATH as they seemingly aim to do stories splitting up the puppets before another get-together (just a guess based on Blade also getting a single film).
I watched it mainly to see how it would use The Bunny. No, really. Allie from AEW has an incredibly brief role that watching the film to witness is incredibly poor decision making. She's a one scene character, as is her husband Blade (Both are credited under their real names). She's a big Puppet Master fan and has openly talked about trying to be in horror movies so I assume this was more of a door opening thing.
It's a decent, short horror film (Not even an hour with credits) but that seems to be the style Full Moon has been developing lately.
|
|
|
Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Dec 6, 2022 0:07:19 GMT -5
I watched Grizzly II: Revenge today. I’m not surprised the title of it at one point was Grizzly II: The Concert. Way, way too much concert footage.
The most impressive thing about the movie was that it finally got released 37 years after production. Some of the footage looks amazing and it’s good to see a little more Deborah Foreman. We also get a little George Clooney, Laura Dern, and Charlie Sheen. VERY little. Despite getting top billing in typical exploitation film fashion all thee only appear for a few minutes.
It’s worth a watch for the oddity of a film going unfinished for so long. But it’s pretty bad.
|
|
|
Post by DSR on Dec 6, 2022 4:13:38 GMT -5
I re-watched GREMLINS (1984) for the first time in ages today. Rather than delve into a full review, I figure I'll just post some random thoughts:
As a kid I watched GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH like a million times on TV, and I think I also had the coloring book. The mogwais/gremlins in that flick all had distinctive looks and personalities, which was fun. Here there's Gizmo, the friendly one, and Stripe, the leader of the bad ones. The rest don't really have distinctive looks until they find clothing (there's the infamous "Flasher" gremlin, and one dressed like Jennifer Beals from Flashdance, etc.).
I expected this flick to be 90 minutes, but it's actually 2 hours. They really take their time with Billy's Dad getting Gizmo, establishing the rules (don't get him wet, don't feed them after midnight), breaking those rules, and showing the effects of those rule-breaks. Also really getting into the picturesque middle-American town and the Christmas season and all of that.
There's a bunch of references to producer Steven Spielberg's other films all over the place. A billboard for a local radio DJ in the style of INDIANA JONES, an E.T. plushy shows up, the local movie theaters marquee, etc.
Judge Reinhold shows up early on as Billy's superior at his bank job and treats him like shit. Then completely disappears from the movie.
Phoebe Cates really is the cutest goddamn girl ever. *heart eyes*
The gremlins leave their cocoons and attack a high school science teacher and Billy's mom. These (and the climactic battle between Billy and Stripe) are the only times the film actually feels like a horror movie. The rest of the time the gremlins are really just mischievous little shitheads. And they are f***ing hilarious about it!
Shout out to Howie Mandel for voicing Gizmo. I don't think the character would be as lovable as he is without Howie's self-admitted only VO voice (which was also used for Bobby on the cartoon series Bobby's World).
I had a lot of fun with this movie. Now, I need to grab a copy of GREMLINS 2!
|
|
pinja
Unicron
Posts: 2,996
|
Post by pinja on Dec 6, 2022 15:26:16 GMT -5
"The Hole in the Ground" (2019) by Lee Cronin
2/3 arthouse, 1/3 conventional genre cinema, "The Hole in the Ground" left me disappointed. Not because it is a bad movie, but because it is not a great movie. It should have been. The first 15 minutes went by and I was ready for the most miserable misery porn experience. A traumatized mother alone with her boy. They go to the forest, the boy runs out of sight. Suddenly she hears him uttering a stifled scream. She finds a gigantic sinkhole in the forest. The boy reappears behind her. Or does he?
The mother notices sudden changes in her son's behavior. She gets increasingly volatile. While it is clearly implied that something happened to the boy in the forest, the movie seemingly fancies a second explanation. Maybe the mother suffers from the Capgras syndrome, which must be the most awful shit for everyone involved. Sadly the movie totally shifts in the third act. No psychological horror left, all supernatural and/or mythological shenanigans.
Not a single tear was shed on my part and I was ready to cry. Like a lot. I still recommend "The Hole in the Ground". It has some excellent atmosphere and it shows there is a great movie somewhere in Lee Cronin.
|
|
Nr1Humanoid
Hank Scorpio
Is the #3 humanoid at best.
Posts: 5,474
|
Post by Nr1Humanoid on Dec 7, 2022 14:55:24 GMT -5
Well, smack me on a Tuesday. This lady leaves you happy to dive instantly into her other novels. Fast-paced, with no dull moments as everything that happens is there to accelerate the story forward. It never leaves you feeling like it should have been a novella that was padded out so it could become a book, which far too much horror is guilty of. Nor is Fowler afraid of crossing boundaries as some serious shit happens to kids in this one, at the hands of women and mothers, no less, making the acts even more evil. It is my understanding this author is particularly adept at creating some sanity-bursting femmes for her novels, which is hardly a surprise after deep diving into this one. If you want some thrills, some chills, and have some hours to kill; dinner is served.
|
|
|
Post by Non Banjoble Tokens on Dec 9, 2022 4:38:46 GMT -5
There are plenty of Christmas horror movies, but hardly any Hanukah horror movies. So here's a bare bones idea for one. People are getting murdered on the days leading up to Hanukah by a guy wearing an evil octopus mask. See, eight days of Hanukah, and an octopus has eight legs. He plans to kill eight people overall. Um, maybe the lead detective has to work with an old Rabbi to find the killer instead of the old "cop working with a priest" trope. Well, its certainly not Black Christmas tier, but its a start.
|
|