American writer Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) comes to Rome to promote his latest murder-mystery novel, only to find that a maniac's using his book as inspiration to go on a bloody killing spree. This feels like Argento's Greatest Hits Collection circa '82: black gloved killer, catchy electronic music (by 3/4 of the original Goblin), Daria Nicolodi and John Saxon in the cast (naturally!) and stylistic touches galore (a razor shattering a light bulb, a stalker camera going up and down floors and into/out of windows, etc.). With a double-digit body count and a copious amount of crimson spilled by sharp objects "Tenebre" could have reached greater 'giallo' slasher heights, except it's saddled with (a) one of the worst English dubs ever recorded and (b) plot twists that can be seen coming a mile away. At least "Tenebre" gives new meaning to the term 'paint the town red.' ;-)
The poor dubbing is par for the course with Italian cinema. Sound isn't recorded during principal photography at all. It's ALL looped during post. It's particularly difficult for American and English actors on Italian sets because usually they're acting opposite Italian and Spanish actors who only speak their native tongue. In those cases the American amd English actors have to learn their lines and the other actors' translated lines so they can interact properly during a scene.
I'm saying is worse than even the already-expected bad dubbing we've come to expect from these foreign (particularly Italian) films. Whenever John Saxon speaks in his own voice and talks with a dubbed ADR'ed extra or supporting character it's worse than amateur hour. Listen to the daughter of the building superintendent, the one chased by the dog. She's the worst!
Okay, I popped in my copy of Tenebre and took a look. I did notice a change in the dubbing between the press interview once Peter got off the plane in Rome and the next scene, when Franciosa and Saxon are talking outside, like it was a different looping session, using different equipment. There's also a harsh jumpcut between takes when Saxon is talking to the detectives in the hotel corridor. The lighting was different between the two takes. I found that was the most jarring to me, more jarring than what you were saying about the doberman chase, even. But I didn't really find it severely off-putting. Is it the worst ever? I'm sure there's worse. I guess I come from the Scorsese school of continuity.
I'm sure there is low-budget stuff that has worse dubbing ("Manos," "Burial Ground," etc.) but I'm comparing "Tenebre" to other 70's and 80's giallos/horror movies ("Don't Torture a Duckling," "Suspiria," etc.). Considering by '82 Argento was a proven commodity in the horror movie market and his movies had access to the best that Italian movie production could offer (which is still woefully below US standards) the English dubbing of "Tenebre" is below-standards bad. At least I got huge unintentional laughs when the Doberman-chased girl says 'Go fuck yourself!' with a silly accent. :-D
I'm going to guess, considering "the state of the art" of the Italian film business, that the quality of the equipment Argento had to work with -- and I use the word quality loosely -- never rose or fell from the substandard equipment he was using here.
And yes, I agree -- the 'Go fuck yourself' delivery is BRILLIANT. Love it.
Likable slasher flick that seemed hard to fully engage with. I really liked the setting and the killer so I'll blame the unmemorable score. Side note: how cool is it that most movies on Netflix pretty much look like blu rays? It's a great time to be alive.
Ah, Olivia Hussey, my dream girl from my high school English days. I thought Black Christmas was just a par for the course slasher film, albeit a good one, before finding out it's one of the first of the genre. I liked it quite a bit. A bit of a slow burn, but never boring, the movie has an interesting group of characters and a genuinely creepy killer. Bonus points for not needing to resort to gratuitous nudity, especially since it's all about a group of sorority girls.
Patrick was right, the director is the star of this movie. There are a couple of shots that felt like dutch tilts on speed. I really liked the idea behind the movie, bringing together real life murders and the original 1976 slasher movie and the remake into the same universe, but the shadowing of the past wasn't used enough, just a reminder of where you are in both the 76 and 14 movies. Maybe because of these things I found it a little slow. But it is insanely pretty.
...which of course wasn´t the final chapter but to me is still the best one after the first. Corey Feldman shaving his head and hacking Jason into bits and pieces. Great sequel and as far as I know, here in Germany still only available in a heavily cut version.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
I’ve gone from a position of ironic enjoyment to genuine enjoyment with this movie. It’s almost as if they took Wedekind’s Spring Awakening and threw Freddy Krueger amongst it all with a generous dose of 80's cheese.
The Driller Killer (1979 Abel Ferrara) This one bored me to tears, it seemed like the movie felt like it was critiquing culture and had a lot of interesting things to say, but it was so skin deep, repetitive and had only a couple of kills that had little impact. First big miss for me so far.
I found out later that "Bloodeaters", the movie I watched for Zombies!, was a video nasty. That shit was boring as all hell. I have no idea why it was banned.
To Dennis, he sees an infomercial for portable power on tv that he uses, so they at least explain that. I was just hoping the movie would be crazier and didn't try so painfully to be "important". My guess is that it was banned as much for the lesbian shower scene as it was for the violence, a lot of the violence was obscured and only a couple of times was bloody, the shower scene though, I can imagine was quite confronting for the time.
Tobe Hooper brings style to spare in this horror flick that takes place (surprise!) in a carnival funhouse. You can always tell when someone is a genuine horror fan, and Hooper quotes both Halloween and Psycho in the opening sequence alone. Hooper also knows the difference between cheap scares and genuine horror, and serves up ample supplies of both. Special props to Kevin Conway, who gives a performance that is both moving and frightening.
This was one of the two films that I watched on Screamfactory day. I also really enjoyed the opening scene and it reminded me of the scene in Vacation when Chevy Chase pulls a Psycho with a banana.
Silent Night (2012, dir. Steven Miller) (First Time Viewing): Brings nothing new to the table. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better in much better movies. Full Disclosure: I’m not a big slasher fan. You can skip this one. I’ve already forgotten it.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014) I appreciate the effort to do something other than a standard remake. Not only does this film acknowledge the original, and the events that were the inspiration, it uses them as a central plot points.
While the original was shot very plainly, the 2014 film is all about style with Crazy camera angles and long sweeping shots. The editing also shines with intercut clips of the "past" and the original film.
Overall, the movie is enjoyable, the style is definitely the selling point.
Totally agree, Kyle. This film is all style and I loved it! I hated the end but whatever. I also liked the meta aspect. The director is one of Ryan Murphy's go to's and he did a bunch of American Horror Story episodes.
1st viewing. Some guys just can't win and poor Norman is one of those guys. I loved the slow burn and building tension. It my simple mind was kept guessing until the end. Crazy? Not crazy? Both? Crazy fun! Am I right!? Cold medicine is a hell of a thing! Junesploitation!!!
Fairly bland and at least a half hour too long, this was a disappointment. The performances are a bit better than your average early-80's slasher fare, but there's nothing that really stands out which is a bummer, especially considering the awesome poster art that had me fearing ever seeing this when I was a kid perusing the shelves at VideoVision (RIP). Sol can attest to this.
It's almost worth watching just for the sheer batshittery of the "twist" ending, which not only makes no goddamn sense on its own, it makes several other points in the movie make no goddamn sense retroactively.
Between the batshit ending and Glenn Ford giving an earnest performance (as if he didn't know what movie he's in) I'd say this is worth seeing. It's like an American/Canadian studio's attempt to interpret an Italian 'giallo' as a horror flick for US audiences, which yields a odd duckling that's neither.
Theres a killer on the loose at the university. What shall we do? Send an ex-pro tennis player-turned-police admin to go undercover? Sure To team her up with a college student, aka suspect, who becomes privvy to all the case details? Sure Figure out who the killer is out of the blue by simply saying youve become aware of what we saw in the prologue to the movie? Sure In other words, this movie is Tiiight!
Everything to do with Tennis in this movie is Amazing! And the last 2 minutes make NO SENSE!
Lots of great stuff here. I was going to write something about Scream (1996), whose brilliance is not its ironic and knowing take on slasher films, but that it is a legitimately scary slasher film in its own right.
But then I started thinking about Wes Craven's previous film: Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). I don't recall it being much of a hit at the time, but with the benefit of hindsight you can really see him working through some of the themes that came together with Scream. The basic premise is that the cast of Nightmare on Elm Street (playing themselves) is being haunted by the REAL Freddy Kreuger years later. It's a really fascinating approach to the genre and the series, and it actually made Freddy scary again after he'd basically become a joke in his last few films.
A group of horny teens decide to spend the night in a furniture store after it closes, which they call “the adventure of a lifetime.” A psycho ex-con is in the store as well, and he picks them off one by one. This is very much a pure ‘80s slasher. It follows the slasher movie formula to the letter, and the clothes, hair and slang are immersed in the year 1988. The ending goes into Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 territory, which is either horribly offensive or hilariously camp (or both). Still, there are corny jokes, lotsa sex, and a few creative kills. Recommended for those who love this stuff.
Accompanying short film: ANNABELLE’S TEA PARTY (2009). Take the candy-colored comedic absurdities of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, and then add horrifically violent murder and gore. Must be seen to be believed.
Now this... this is a good time. I'm a sucker for movies that take place on Halloween night. So much nostalgia. So needless to say I loved the atmosphere of this film. It was such a blast! It was fun, and funny, but the killer was actually creepier than most slasher villains. The acting was actually not bad at all and the characters likable! Except the kid. The kid was a psycho. Be better parents.
Let me just take a moment to say, #junesploitation is awesome. I've let myself take a chance on more movies, that I probably wouldn't have otherwise than ever before and it's been fantastic.
This movie was a happy surprise when I first watched it a couple months back. There's a stretch in the middle where it goes off the rails for a little bit, but it rights itself with enough time to end on a really cool note.
So I guess this is supposed to be some kind of a meta joke about horror tropes that I'm not well versed enough in the horror genre to get, right? Because on the surface this movie was just plain not good.
What a difference a few years makes revisiting an old movie. This particular one I put rather down on my list of Kreuger movies but after rewatching it today I realize it’s a pretty smart take on the material. The gist of the plot is that Freddy is haunting Heather Langenkamp in the real world since she was the one who defeated him back in the original. There’s a lot of meta stuff in the film and while it gets a little wobbly near the finale when it turns into a standard Freddy flick (Also points for cutting back significantly on Freddy saying “Bitch” all the time). If you haven’t checked this one out since your Horror youth I highly recommending giving it another spin.
I saw this one with a friend in the theater in '94. I had a beeper on me (it was the 90s, have pity), it was on vibrate, and it went off precisely at the moment Freddy lunged out of the closet. I think I jumped six feet in the air. After it was over, my friend and I snuck into Pulp Fiction, but we walked in when Vincent and Jules were just starting to talk over breakfast in the diner. Dammit.
HALLOWEEN 4 (1988) This viewing is to honor our esteemed commander-in-chief Patrick Fucking Bromley (so named because if he can refer to Johnny Fucking Utah that way, I can certainly refer to HIM that way), as this entry in the series is his most favorite.
Luckily for me, I happen to love it too, so sitting here on an overcast day watching an asskicking slasher movie makes me a winner all the way around.
Yeah, I watched it because of Patrick awhile back and I really don't get how a slasher film fan could hate it. What's wrong with it? And people should at least give it credit for having a completely bonkers ending.
I'll be disappointing a lot of people with this opinion, but I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween 4. There's plenty I do like about it, and it's the only sequel after Halloween II and before the Rob Zombie films that was even halfway decent. Danielle Harris and Ellie Cornell are superb, and that ending was incredible. Donald Pleasance is great, as always. And Kathleen Kinmont is very easy on the eyes. Two things bother me: 1. Michael's stature isn't right. I'm used to Nick Castle and Dick Warlock playing the Shape.George P. Wilbur is a great stuntman. It's just that, as the Shape, his shoulders, his stance, aren't like that of either Dick Warlock or Nick Castle, and it takes me out of the movie. 2. The mask. From Halloween 4 to Halloween Resurrection, they've never been able to duplicate the mask properly so that it coalesces with the mask in Halloween or Halloween II. Halloween H20 was the worst offender of all the sequels in that regard. Steve Miner could never settle on the mask at all, and because of that, the Shape is wearing a different mask in nearly every scene he's in. In one shot, the mask is even digital!
The mask is really the only problem I have with H20. Not the kids (which are no worse than any others) or even LL Cool J. Just the mask. And maybe that they used a different voice for Loomis for some stupid reason. Other than that I love it and think it's the most suspenseful movie in the series since the original.
Bay of Blood: I found myself slightly bored but at the same time like I was waiting for something to click. I'm glad I watched it though mainly due to the boisterous gore.
Going to Pieces - The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film: I found this one lacking. Almost like a documentary on a DVD special feature. When doing some research into the video nasties I found some great documentaries about that. I know there are some recommendations on the site that sound grest so I will try find those. This one didn't go into enough depth or dynamics. Just people saying it was an awesome time for movies.
I kind of love Going to Pieces, but I love it as sort of a splattery "Greatest Hits" reel. Also, the book it's based on by Adam Rockoff is pretty great (at least for me) if you're looking for a more in-depth look at slashers.
Did we just unknowingly watch the same random crazy film simultaneously?
Im watching Bloodbath 1971 Mario Bava aka A Bay of Blood aka Twitch of the Death Nerve It has lots of different titles, it starts with the murder of the lady in the wheelchair and has the fantastic line " Love isn't Love without some cuddling afterwards"
It's the English thing Dennis. We're all telepathically connected remember? Oopps don't want the nice Americans discovering it... look over ther it's a new royal baby!
I really liked Going to Pieces. It really went light on the content from the book, which is surprising. It's a pretty slim book, despite being packed with info.
So many Slashers in my collection but yet I choose Bloodbath, a 45 year old slasher thinking I was pulling a deep cut no-one else was seeing, that's really cool, if anyone else owns it on original VHS I will bow and kiss your feet
Back to basics. A looong time since I've seen this but it still works. Freddy's scary and the effects still mostly hold up. Now I got a hankerin' to watch all the sequels (haven't seen most of them).
I gave CHILD'S PLAY 2, or known as CHUCKY 2 in Germany, a revisit, because this movie scared the hell out of me as a kid!!
Now, more than 20 years later, well... it's not that thrilling and scary anymore like it was back then!! I even cannot understand why this movie was banned in Germany for more than 20 years!!! (1992 - 2013)
However, good movie, nice to watch, but CHILD'S PLAY 2 isn't a scary slasher movie after all!
The Child's play films especially part 3 were wrongly thought to be connected to a real life crime in Britain, people always try to find a reason for things, remember when they told us Rock and roll was also the Devils Music! Sometimes they are just looking for a scapegoat to pass on the blame to anything but society Quote "The film became notorious in the United Kingdom when it was suggested it might have inspired the real-life murder of British child James Bulger, a suggestion rejected by officers investigating the case] as well as the murder of Suzanne Capper." Maybe that's why it also got Banned in Germany?
A decent slasher, with potential. I really enjoyed the villain of the movie, but none of the kids were likable. Which is fine, as I looked forward to them being offed one-by-one.
There are a few moments of tension, and the villain is pretty awesome. The CGI is crap, but other than that, I feel like if this had done well, the '00s might have had it's own Freddy or Jason.
Detention (2011) A time travelling bear, a football player with fly blood who wears a TV on his hand, a killer named Cinderhella, the most aggressive Canadian alien invasion you've ever seen--this film has pretty much EVERYTHING. The filmmakers are clearly enamoured by '90s era Gregg Araki, and the movie is a fucking disaster, but the cast is clearly having fun, it's confidently directed even if it makes no sense whatsoever, and the soundtrack is killer.
I loved this insane movie when I discovered it a couple months back. It's awesome that it's gradually finding more and more fans. Now where are the Hatchet and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon fans?
The director went on to direct Taylor Swift in the Bad Blood video clip, too - speaking of killer soundtracks...
All seriousness though, I really feel Detention works for a specific generation of people (i.e. 90's kids) - it's a bit too nudge-wink for a lot of people. I love the movie, but when I recommend it to people they look at me weirdly - almost as if I said I unironically enjoy Taylor Swift...
I had planned something a little more adventurous, but time and circumstance got the better of me. Anyway, my first rewatch of Junespolitation '15 and I still love it. I'm not a horror guy but I've seen Scream a bunch of times and I make no apologies. I know it is passe now but I think I will continue watching it for years to come. I guess I hit it at the right time.
Oh pish Scream is great, no shame! (I am only 6 years older than Scream) Scott I remembered your review of Cockney's vs Zombies and wanted to ask if you're a Brit too?
I would say the 90s aspect definitely dates it. However, it has not lost its power to provoke, not one iota. The killer reveal/twist/motive is still incredibly effecting. It's the boldest Wes Craven has been since the original Elm Street. The new slasher movie wave that sprung up due to the success of Scream, I call that CW Horror: cast tv stars and if possible, whatever pop star you can manage, and the kids will come in droves. And don't skimp on the hip soundtrack. The Weinsteins ran with that concept the most. They were experts on it.
Caught this little Australian slasher effort on Netflix and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe 'pleasant' isn't the right word because there's nothing pleasant about this movie. Dark, fast paced and strangely funny in parts. Far from great but still worth a watch. If Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Carrie went for a holiday in Australia and knocked each other up, this might be what their deformed, slightly inferior baby would look like. #Junesploitation4EVA
Nice one. I have a massive soft spot for this movie. Beyond it being an enjoyable flick, I really like that while it could have been filled with two dimensional characters like all the other horror movies of its kind, but instead every character is primarily defined by who and how they love. It gives it an extra layer of goodness. love it.
Another film that I use to walk by at the video store and never rented for some reason. A killer in a small town wearing a white, paper mache looking mask is killing women, a dog, a pig (and some fish, unintentionally) with an axe. Everyone is a suspect. The thing I liked about this film is that it's not trying to be anything else than a straight up slasher and it does it well for the most part. It feels and looks 8 years older than it is and the director builds suspense during the first half and delivers on gore with some okay to good death scenes. Unfortunately the 2nd half gets really boring. The main girl has 3 posters in her room: "Max Headroom" (my 2nd Max Headroom sighting this Junesploitation!) "The Color of Money" and "Platoon". Random.
Don't Go in the Woods Alone (1981, dir. James Bryan)
I don't even know what to say about this one. Crude barely begins to describe it. A bunch of campers are slaughtered by a mountain man. There's a lot of blood and almost non-stop murder. Every line of dialogue is looped after the fact. This is such a crazy movie; I'm not ready to say I like it, but it's such a specific product of its period and could't have been made before or after. There is a lot of charm to that.
Opera (1987): I hate eye trauma so no to that. But aside from that I really enjoyed this one! I liked the twist on the phantom and thought there was a creative spark to all the gore.
Blood Night: Well that was a waste of time. And the noise at the beginning of the film scared my hamster Agatha. Booo! I had to give her a cuddle and then she was fine playing. I however watched the whole thing and was a bit less fine with that arrangement.
A person in a motorcycle helmet and camo seeks revenge on a construction crew that raped a woman, not before preceding each kill by a terrible one-liner. At one point the killer says, "now you've really pissed me off" when he kills a person peeing. Someone in the movie actually says "remember when you could sit outside and not have to worry about the mosquitoes or the killers?" I've seen a lot of terrible movies in my day, but this has to be one of the best worst movies I've ever seen.
Okay, hear me out on this... for the first hour and a half, this is a slasher movie made with the idea that the slasher is the hero. You're given the reason the killer wants vengeance, right out of the gate. You're given some pretty unlikable victims, granted they aren't teenagers, but keep going with me.He does pick them off one by one, killing one and then retreating for a while before killing the next.
The killer is invincible, relentless, supernatural in nature, wears a kind of mask, and disposes of the victims in individual, and inventive ways. Instead of being the person who fights him, because he's the hero, the Final Girl is instead one of the only moral compasses in the film. There is also one good cop who can do nothing to stop the carnage.
This all falls apart in the final act though. Depending on your mood, either the fight at the night club or the situation at the church transitions the movie form an inverted slasher flick into a cheap 90s action movie.
Until then though, it follow most the tropes pretty well.
Sleepaway Camp (1983) (First time watching) Holy shit that's fucked up. Never saw this one before and now I understand why. Totally overthought the entire movie trying to predict the ending and boy was I wrong. (wink) I'm glad I stayed away from spoilers for this one.
Yeah, I'm surprised some malicious prick didn't smack you in the face about this movie, Patrick. Now that the pecker is out of the woods (tee-hee), feel free to watch "Sleepaway Camp" again with the F This Movie commentary track. Fun times back when P. Bromley and his posse were new at this. :-)
DEATH PROOF (2007) Quentin's tribute to slasher movies where the killer's weapon of choice is not a machete or butcher knife, but his customized car of doom.
(the Kurt Russell Rule is in full effect with this one, as is the Zoe Bell Truism)
Ridiculous. A little boy is berated by his drunk dad at a Halloween party for not being good at bobbing for apples: "Are you trying to make me look bad in front of all these people?!" Twelve years later he's a forty year old man who traps some teens on his sprawling estate, and stalks them in different costumes. He stabs one guy while dressed as a soldier, and says "Happy Halloween, gook!!" Another guy gets torn apart by Golden Retrievers! We hear a cop telling the end of a joke: "So the hooker says, that was a gorilla? No wonder he was throwing banana peels!" What's the rest of the joke?!? Trailer.
A musical/slasher flick mash-up. Pretty entertaining. I have a soft spot in my heart for the movie "Camp," about theater summer camp, and this basically took that camp, made it douchier, and added some murder. Definitely worth a watch.
Resolved any lingering doubts I had regarding the question, "How much do you want to see a pregnant woman go into labor while being strangled to death?"
The answer, unsurprisingly: "Not even a little bit."
Though perhaps not technically a slasher, it's the movie other slashers watched for inspiration - Jason totally ripped off one kill in particular.
This was my first Bava and I dunno, there were some things I liked about it, but for the most part I was underwhelmed. Maybe I'll pull a Patrick and grind my way through more Italian horror until I finally start enjoying them, though I'm not sure this is a subgenre worth working for...
I always try to think about perspective with these movies, I know we did not get it till 83 on Video in the UK but just imagine seeing this in 71! I totally picked on the the double trouble Stabbing from Friday the 13th too, its kinda brilliant These old Bava type movies can be tough sometimes but it does have some scenes that make it worthwhile, I understand you feel you have to work for it, but just to see that double murder and the opening scene was pretty intense, Killing someone in a wheelchair well before the famous wheelchair death we all have seen since then made it worth a rewatch You could always get a gumsheild like Quentin in From Dusk till Dawn to help with the teeth grinding ;)
Thanks, Dennis - yeah, I can definitely appreciate how something must have seemed in its time, and there are a lot of things to like about Bay of Blood even now - just something about it didn't buzz me this time around. I'll keep an open mind though! Bava's an interesting filmmaker though - his style really calls a lot of attention to the directing and cinematography especially.
You know the setup: secluded house, big party, sex, drugs, and rock and roll until people start dying and everybody wants to know who the murderer is. This one's actually more of a proto-slasher though, since we only rarely see the actual murders themselves. The scenes of the men trying to buy a professor's Super MacGuffin Formula are a little draggy, but I actually ended up liking this one quite a lot. Bava is an incredibly stylish director from his camera moves to his soundtrack choices, and here he seems to be creating the cinematic space for future directors like Quentin Tarantino to be as joyfully exuberant about their perverted violence. Recommended with the caveat that if you don't like Italian horror this one's probably not going to be the exception.
Better late than never right? Group of scientists experiment on cats and slowly get picked off by a killer with a cat's paw for a hand. Really wasn't much special about this movie.
Trying to catch up ASAP... I liked the opening, then when it got to the main story, it took a while for it to pick up for me. I really liked from the party scene on though. It seemed like an excuse to squeeze in as many horror movie references (in the dialogue) as possible, which I thought was hit and miss. I didn't think it was scary at all, but I liked the reveal.
Prom Night (1980)
ReplyDeleteThis is the weirdest Naked Gun movie I have ever seen.
So true.
DeleteIt is impossible to watch Leslie Nielsen and not be wondering when the next gag is coming.
Dario Argento's TENEBRE (1982, 101 min.) on DVD.
ReplyDeleteAmerican writer Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) comes to Rome to promote his latest murder-mystery novel, only to find that a maniac's using his book as inspiration to go on a bloody killing spree. This feels like Argento's Greatest Hits Collection circa '82: black gloved killer, catchy electronic music (by 3/4 of the original Goblin), Daria Nicolodi and John Saxon in the cast (naturally!) and stylistic touches galore (a razor shattering a light bulb, a stalker camera going up and down floors and into/out of windows, etc.). With a double-digit body count and a copious amount of crimson spilled by sharp objects "Tenebre" could have reached greater 'giallo' slasher heights, except it's saddled with (a) one of the worst English dubs ever recorded and (b) plot twists that can be seen coming a mile away. At least "Tenebre" gives new meaning to the term 'paint the town red.' ;-)
The poor dubbing is par for the course with Italian cinema. Sound isn't recorded during principal photography at all. It's ALL looped during post. It's particularly difficult for American and English actors on Italian sets because usually they're acting opposite Italian and Spanish actors who only speak their native tongue. In those cases the American amd English actors have to learn their lines and the other actors' translated lines so they can interact properly during a scene.
DeleteI'm saying is worse than even the already-expected bad dubbing we've come to expect from these foreign (particularly Italian) films. Whenever John Saxon speaks in his own voice and talks with a dubbed ADR'ed extra or supporting character it's worse than amateur hour. Listen to the daughter of the building superintendent, the one chased by the dog. She's the worst!
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DeleteWay to go J.M, that was a great one :)
Delete^^^ Wow, positive reinforcement from Gabby. I think I'll keep it. :-)
DeleteOkay, I popped in my copy of Tenebre and took a look. I did notice a change in the dubbing between the press interview once Peter got off the plane in Rome and the next scene, when Franciosa and Saxon are talking outside, like it was a different looping session, using different equipment. There's also a harsh jumpcut between takes when Saxon is talking to the detectives in the hotel corridor. The lighting was different between the two takes. I found that was the most jarring to me, more jarring than what you were saying about the doberman chase, even. But I didn't really find it severely off-putting. Is it the worst ever? I'm sure there's worse. I guess I come from the Scorsese school of continuity.
DeleteI'm sure there is low-budget stuff that has worse dubbing ("Manos," "Burial Ground," etc.) but I'm comparing "Tenebre" to other 70's and 80's giallos/horror movies ("Don't Torture a Duckling," "Suspiria," etc.). Considering by '82 Argento was a proven commodity in the horror movie market and his movies had access to the best that Italian movie production could offer (which is still woefully below US standards) the English dubbing of "Tenebre" is below-standards bad. At least I got huge unintentional laughs when the Doberman-chased girl says 'Go fuck yourself!' with a silly accent. :-D
DeleteI'm going to guess, considering "the state of the art" of the Italian film business, that the quality of the equipment Argento had to work with -- and I use the word quality loosely -- never rose or fell from the substandard equipment he was using here.
DeleteAnd yes, I agree -- the 'Go fuck yourself' delivery is BRILLIANT. Love it.
My Bloody Valentine 1980
ReplyDeleteLikable slasher flick that seemed hard to fully engage with. I really liked the setting and the killer so I'll blame the unmemorable score.
Side note: how cool is it that most movies on Netflix pretty much look like blu rays? It's a great time to be alive.
Black Christmas (1974)
ReplyDeleteAh, Olivia Hussey, my dream girl from my high school English days. I thought Black Christmas was just a par for the course slasher film, albeit a good one, before finding out it's one of the first of the genre. I liked it quite a bit. A bit of a slow burn, but never boring, the movie has an interesting group of characters and a genuinely creepy killer. Bonus points for not needing to resort to gratuitous nudity, especially since it's all about a group of sorority girls.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)
ReplyDeletePatrick was right, the director is the star of this movie. There are a couple of shots that felt like dutch tilts on speed. I really liked the idea behind the movie, bringing together real life murders and the original 1976 slasher movie and the remake into the same universe, but the shadowing of the past wasn't used enough, just a reminder of where you are in both the 76 and 14 movies. Maybe because of these things I found it a little slow. But it is insanely pretty.
I recently watched and enjoyed much of this movie. The ending didn't quite do it for me though.
DeleteTo be fair I was a little hard on it. It was a good movie, maybe I wanted more from it. Funnily enough I didn't mind the ending, it kinda made sense.
DeleteFriday the 13th - The final chapter (1984)
ReplyDelete...which of course wasn´t the final chapter but to me is still the best one after the first. Corey Feldman shaving his head and hacking Jason into bits and pieces. Great sequel and as far as I know, here in Germany still only available in a heavily cut version.
and CRISPIN GLOVER! :D
DeleteAnd TED WHITE -- best of the Jasons!
DeleteA Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
ReplyDeleteI’ve gone from a position of ironic enjoyment to genuine enjoyment with this movie. It’s almost as if they took Wedekind’s Spring Awakening and threw Freddy Krueger amongst it all with a generous dose of 80's cheese.
I agree. I think I like it better than the original.
DeleteThe Driller Killer (1979 Abel Ferrara) This one bored me to tears, it seemed like the movie felt like it was critiquing culture and had a lot of interesting things to say, but it was so skin deep, repetitive and had only a couple of kills that had little impact. First big miss for me so far.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how he had a corded drill but kept going round Drilling! He must of only killed if plug sockets were available ;)
DeleteIsn't this a video nasty? Strange that a banned movie is boring. haha
DeleteI found out later that "Bloodeaters", the movie I watched for Zombies!, was a video nasty. That shit was boring as all hell. I have no idea why it was banned.
DeleteI think it was just a different time. Some of that stuff wouldn't phase people today,
DeleteI hear you Daniel, and I totally agree for some of them, but trust me, this one is beyond explanation.
DeleteObviously things like Cannibal Holocoust are still horrible. I've never seen it.... but I hear things. And that's enough for that one.
DeleteTo Dennis, he sees an infomercial for portable power on tv that he uses, so they at least explain that. I was just hoping the movie would be crazier and didn't try so painfully to be "important". My guess is that it was banned as much for the lesbian shower scene as it was for the violence, a lot of the violence was obscured and only a couple of times was bloody, the shower scene though, I can imagine was quite confronting for the time.
DeleteThe Funhouse (1981) – First Viewing
ReplyDeleteTobe Hooper brings style to spare in this horror flick that takes place (surprise!) in a carnival funhouse. You can always tell when someone is a genuine horror fan, and Hooper quotes both Halloween and Psycho in the opening sequence alone. Hooper also knows the difference between cheap scares and genuine horror, and serves up ample supplies of both. Special props to Kevin Conway, who gives a performance that is both moving and frightening.
I loved the opening sequence! It was a little homage to horror, then Hopper does his own thing.
DeleteThis was one of the two films that I watched on Screamfactory day. I also really enjoyed the opening scene and it reminded me of the scene in Vacation when Chevy Chase pulls a Psycho with a banana.
DeleteSilent Night (2012, dir. Steven Miller) (First Time Viewing): Brings nothing new to the table. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better in much better movies. Full Disclosure: I’m not a big slasher fan. You can skip this one. I’ve already forgotten it.
ReplyDeleteThe Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the effort to do something other than a standard remake. Not only does this film acknowledge the original, and the events that were the inspiration, it uses them as a central plot points.
While the original was shot very plainly, the 2014 film is all about style with Crazy camera angles and long sweeping shots. The editing also shines with intercut clips of the "past" and the original film.
Overall, the movie is enjoyable, the style is definitely the selling point.
Totally agree, Kyle. This film is all style and I loved it! I hated the end but whatever. I also liked the meta aspect. The director is one of Ryan Murphy's go to's and he did a bunch of American Horror Story episodes.
DeleteI read some positive critics about this movie so I'm looking forward to watch it soon!!
DeletePsycho II (1983)
ReplyDelete1st viewing. Some guys just can't win and poor Norman is one of those guys. I loved the slow burn and building tension. It my simple mind was kept guessing until the end. Crazy? Not crazy? Both? Crazy fun! Am I right!? Cold medicine is a hell of a thing! Junesploitation!!!
Happy Birthday to Me (1981)
ReplyDeleteFairly bland and at least a half hour too long, this was a disappointment. The performances are a bit better than your average early-80's slasher fare, but there's nothing that really stands out which is a bummer, especially considering the awesome poster art that had me fearing ever seeing this when I was a kid perusing the shelves at VideoVision (RIP). Sol can attest to this.
It's almost worth watching just for the sheer batshittery of the "twist" ending, which not only makes no goddamn sense on its own, it makes several other points in the movie make no goddamn sense retroactively.
Bummer. I had this one earmarked for 80s horror. Luckily I have a ton of other choices for that day.
DeleteI almost recommend it just for that wackadoodle ending. Almost.
DeleteAh, too bad it wasn't very good - unfortunately I would imagine fewer 80s horror movies live up to the promise of their covers than don't!
DeleteI saw this movie when it hit cable, when it first came out, and have been a fan ever since. I totally recommend it. Give it a shot.
DeleteBetween the batshit ending and Glenn Ford giving an earnest performance (as if he didn't know what movie he's in) I'd say this is worth seeing. It's like an American/Canadian studio's attempt to interpret an Italian 'giallo' as a horror flick for US audiences, which yields a odd duckling that's neither.
DeletePieces (1982)
ReplyDeleteTheres a killer on the loose at the university. What shall we do?
Send an ex-pro tennis player-turned-police admin to go undercover? Sure
To team her up with a college student, aka suspect, who becomes privvy to all the case details? Sure
Figure out who the killer is out of the blue by simply saying youve become aware of what we saw in the prologue to the movie? Sure
In other words, this movie is Tiiight!
Everything to do with Tennis in this movie is Amazing! And the last 2 minutes make NO SENSE!
Bastardsploitation!
Finding another movie like Pieces would make my month. Anyone, anyone....
DeleteLots of great stuff here. I was going to write something about Scream (1996), whose brilliance is not its ironic and knowing take on slasher films, but that it is a legitimately scary slasher film in its own right.
ReplyDeleteBut then I started thinking about Wes Craven's previous film: Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). I don't recall it being much of a hit at the time, but with the benefit of hindsight you can really see him working through some of the themes that came together with Scream. The basic premise is that the cast of Nightmare on Elm Street (playing themselves) is being haunted by the REAL Freddy Kreuger years later. It's a really fascinating approach to the genre and the series, and it actually made Freddy scary again after he'd basically become a joke in his last few films.
HIDE AND GO SHRIEK (1988)
ReplyDeleteA group of horny teens decide to spend the night in a furniture store after it closes, which they call “the adventure of a lifetime.” A psycho ex-con is in the store as well, and he picks them off one by one. This is very much a pure ‘80s slasher. It follows the slasher movie formula to the letter, and the clothes, hair and slang are immersed in the year 1988. The ending goes into Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 territory, which is either horribly offensive or hilariously camp (or both). Still, there are corny jokes, lotsa sex, and a few creative kills. Recommended for those who love this stuff.
Accompanying short film: ANNABELLE’S TEA PARTY (2009). Take the candy-colored comedic absurdities of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, and then add horrifically violent murder and gore. Must be seen to be believed.
Satan's Little Helper (2004)
ReplyDeleteNow this... this is a good time. I'm a sucker for movies that take place on Halloween night. So much nostalgia. So needless to say I loved the atmosphere of this film. It was such a blast! It was fun, and funny, but the killer was actually creepier than most slasher villains. The acting was actually not bad at all and the characters likable! Except the kid. The kid was a psycho. Be better parents.
Let me just take a moment to say, #junesploitation is awesome. I've let myself take a chance on more movies, that I probably wouldn't have otherwise than ever before and it's been fantastic.
I love your style Daniel!
DeleteWell thank you!
DeleteThis movie was a happy surprise when I first watched it a couple months back. There's a stretch in the middle where it goes off the rails for a little bit, but it rights itself with enough time to end on a really cool note.
DeleteSatan's Little Helper (2004) - First viewing
ReplyDeleteSo I guess this is supposed to be some kind of a meta joke about horror tropes that I'm not well versed enough in the horror genre to get, right? Because on the surface this movie was just plain not good.
Should've just rewatched Halloween.
Whoa. We just watched this right in a row. haha
DeleteGreat minds think alike. Or blindly trust Adam Riske. One or the other.
Deletehaha One or the other. I actually really enjoyed it.
DeleteI wouldn't blindly trust Adam Riske. Always keep one eye slightly open.
DeleteListen to your heart. Never blindly trust me.
DeleteWes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference a few years makes revisiting an old movie. This particular one I put rather down on my list of Kreuger movies but after rewatching it today I realize it’s a pretty smart take on the material. The gist of the plot is that Freddy is haunting Heather Langenkamp in the real world since she was the one who defeated him back in the original. There’s a lot of meta stuff in the film and while it gets a little wobbly near the finale when it turns into a standard Freddy flick (Also points for cutting back significantly on Freddy saying “Bitch” all the time). If you haven’t checked this one out since your Horror youth I highly recommending giving it another spin.
8 Word Review (In Preparation for SMM)
“I’d love to see Freddy vs Tyrannosaurus Rex"
I saw this one with a friend in the theater in '94. I had a beeper on me (it was the 90s, have pity), it was on vibrate, and it went off precisely at the moment Freddy lunged out of the closet. I think I jumped six feet in the air. After it was over, my friend and I snuck into Pulp Fiction, but we walked in when Vincent and Jules were just starting to talk over breakfast in the diner. Dammit.
DeleteThat story is so '90's. "And then, we got in the car and popped in a Blind Melon tape"
DeleteIt was probably NIN or somebody from Seattle, but yeah.
DeleteHALLOWEEN 4 (1988)
ReplyDeleteThis viewing is to honor our esteemed commander-in-chief Patrick Fucking Bromley (so named because if he can refer to Johnny Fucking Utah that way, I can certainly refer to HIM that way), as this entry in the series is his most favorite.
Luckily for me, I happen to love it too, so sitting here on an overcast day watching an asskicking slasher movie makes me a winner all the way around.
The movie is too. Check it out if you haven't.
Yeah, I watched it because of Patrick awhile back and I really don't get how a slasher film fan could hate it. What's wrong with it? And people should at least give it credit for having a completely bonkers ending.
DeleteI have no idea how a slasher fan could hate it. But then again I'm the guy who has no idea how a Halloween fan could hate H20 and plenty seem to.
DeleteI'll be disappointing a lot of people with this opinion, but I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween 4. There's plenty I do like about it, and it's the only sequel after Halloween II and before the Rob Zombie films that was even halfway decent. Danielle Harris and Ellie Cornell are superb, and that ending was incredible. Donald Pleasance is great, as always. And Kathleen Kinmont is very easy on the eyes. Two things bother me: 1. Michael's stature isn't right. I'm used to Nick Castle and Dick Warlock playing the Shape.George P. Wilbur is a great stuntman. It's just that, as the Shape, his shoulders, his stance, aren't like that of either Dick Warlock or Nick Castle, and it takes me out of the movie. 2. The mask. From Halloween 4 to Halloween Resurrection, they've never been able to duplicate the mask properly so that it coalesces with the mask in Halloween or Halloween II. Halloween H20 was the worst offender of all the sequels in that regard. Steve Miner could never settle on the mask at all, and because of that, the Shape is wearing a different mask in nearly every scene he's in. In one shot, the mask is even digital!
DeleteThe mask is really the only problem I have with H20. Not the kids (which are no worse than any others) or even LL Cool J. Just the mask. And maybe that they used a different voice for Loomis for some stupid reason.
DeleteOther than that I love it and think it's the most suspenseful movie in the series since the original.
For me, the most suspenseful after Halloween is Halloween II. Halloween H20 just rubs me the wrong way.
DeleteAnd that's totally cool.
DeleteBay of Blood: I found myself slightly bored but at the same time like I was waiting for something to click. I'm glad I watched it though mainly due to the boisterous gore.
ReplyDeleteGoing to Pieces - The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film: I found this one lacking. Almost like a documentary on a DVD special feature. When doing some research into the video nasties I found some great documentaries about that. I know there are some recommendations on the site that sound grest so I will try find those. This one didn't go into enough depth or dynamics. Just people saying it was an awesome time for movies.
I kind of love Going to Pieces, but I love it as sort of a splattery "Greatest Hits" reel. Also, the book it's based on by Adam Rockoff is pretty great (at least for me) if you're looking for a more in-depth look at slashers.
DeleteI did enjoy that element of it, thanks for the recommendation of the book :)
DeleteWoah, holy smokes....
DeleteDid we just unknowingly watch the same random crazy film simultaneously?
Im watching Bloodbath 1971 Mario Bava aka A Bay of Blood aka Twitch of the Death Nerve
It has lots of different titles, it starts with the murder of the lady in the wheelchair and has the fantastic line " Love isn't Love without some cuddling afterwards"
Is that the same movie you watched?
I've mentioned it before but "Twitch of the Death Nerve" is one of my favorite titles, ever! It's also my favorite Bava film.
DeleteIt's the English thing Dennis. We're all telepathically connected remember? Oopps don't want the nice Americans discovering it... look over ther it's a new royal baby!
DeleteI really liked Going to Pieces. It really went light on the content from the book, which is surprising. It's a pretty slim book, despite being packed with info.
DeleteTwitch of the Death Nerve: classic!
So many Slashers in my collection but yet I choose Bloodbath, a 45 year old slasher thinking I was pulling a deep cut no-one else was seeing, that's really cool, if anyone else owns it on original VHS I will bow and kiss your feet
DeleteVery cool! I saw it on Prime unfortunately no worshipping for me
DeleteWe already worship you Gabby, your Awsome, ;)
DeleteA Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
ReplyDeleteBack to basics. A looong time since I've seen this but it still works. Freddy's scary and the effects still mostly hold up. Now I got a hankerin' to watch all the sequels (haven't seen most of them).
One of my favourite movies!
DeleteCHILD'S PLAY 2 a.k.a. CHUCKY 2
ReplyDelete(1990, John Lafia)
I gave CHILD'S PLAY 2, or known as CHUCKY 2 in Germany, a revisit, because this movie scared the hell out of me as a kid!!
Now, more than 20 years later, well... it's not that thrilling and scary anymore like it was back then!! I even cannot understand why this movie was banned in Germany for more than 20 years!!! (1992 - 2013)
However, good movie, nice to watch, but CHILD'S PLAY 2 isn't a scary slasher movie after all!
I almost went Child's Play 2! I will try get round to it soon.
DeleteThe Child's play films especially part 3 were wrongly thought to be connected to a real life crime in Britain, people always try to find a reason for things, remember when they told us Rock and roll was also the Devils Music! Sometimes they are just looking for a scapegoat to pass on the blame to anything but society
DeleteQuote
"The film became notorious in the United Kingdom when it was suggested it might have inspired the real-life murder of British child James Bulger, a suggestion rejected by officers investigating the case] as well as the murder of Suzanne Capper."
Maybe that's why it also got Banned in Germany?
Venom (2005)
ReplyDeleteFirst viewing
A decent slasher, with potential. I really enjoyed the villain of the movie, but none of the kids were likable. Which is fine, as I looked forward to them being offed one-by-one.
There are a few moments of tension, and the villain is pretty awesome. The CGI is crap, but other than that, I feel like if this had done well, the '00s might have had it's own Freddy or Jason.
It's worth a watch.
Detention (2011)
ReplyDeleteA time travelling bear, a football player with fly blood who wears a TV on his hand, a killer named Cinderhella, the most aggressive Canadian alien invasion you've ever seen--this film has pretty much EVERYTHING. The filmmakers are clearly enamoured by '90s era Gregg Araki, and the movie is a fucking disaster, but the cast is clearly having fun, it's confidently directed even if it makes no sense whatsoever, and the soundtrack is killer.
I loved this insane movie when I discovered it a couple months back. It's awesome that it's gradually finding more and more fans.
DeleteNow where are the Hatchet and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon fans?
I was totally considering doing this one at some point today. It's nuts and I dig it.
DeleteIn fact, I still might rock it out, we'll see.
I just looked it up. Holy cow it has Josh Hutcherson. That is odd.
DeleteThe director went on to direct Taylor Swift in the Bad Blood video clip, too - speaking of killer soundtracks...
DeleteAll seriousness though, I really feel Detention works for a specific generation of people (i.e. 90's kids) - it's a bit too nudge-wink for a lot of people. I love the movie, but when I recommend it to people they look at me weirdly - almost as if I said I unironically enjoy Taylor Swift...
The director of Detention also directed that crazy Power Rangers short that went viral not so long ago.
DeleteScream (1996)
ReplyDeleteI had planned something a little more adventurous, but time and circumstance got the better of me. Anyway, my first rewatch of Junespolitation '15 and I still love it. I'm not a horror guy but I've seen Scream a bunch of times and I make no apologies. I know it is passe now but I think I will continue watching it for years to come. I guess I hit it at the right time.
Scarily, it will be 20 years old next year.
No worries about what's "passé" just love what you love. Also, Scream is the BEST.
DeleteScream is passe now???
DeleteOh pish Scream is great, no shame! (I am only 6 years older than Scream) Scott I remembered your review of Cockney's vs Zombies and wanted to ask if you're a Brit too?
DeleteI would say the 90s aspect definitely dates it. However, it has not lost its power to provoke, not one iota. The killer reveal/twist/motive is still incredibly effecting. It's the boldest Wes Craven has been since the original Elm Street. The new slasher movie wave that sprung up due to the success of Scream, I call that CW Horror: cast tv stars and if possible, whatever pop star you can manage, and the kids will come in droves. And don't skimp on the hip soundtrack. The Weinsteins ran with that concept the most. They were experts on it.
DeleteOK, so perhaps not as passe as I thought...
DeleteGabby - yes, I'm Scottish.
RIP Mary Ellen Trainor. I loved her.
ReplyDeleteLikewise. She's gone too soon. RIP Mary Ellen Trainor.
DeleteSo bummed to hear about this. One of my favorite familiar faces, I always smiled when she'd pop up in a movie.
DeleteThe Loved Ones (2009)
ReplyDeleteCaught this little Australian slasher effort on Netflix and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe 'pleasant' isn't the right word because there's nothing pleasant about this movie. Dark, fast paced and strangely funny in parts. Far from great but still worth a watch. If Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Carrie went for a holiday in Australia and knocked each other up, this might be what their deformed, slightly inferior baby would look like.
#Junesploitation4EVA
Yes, this one was a nice surprise. A little bit crazy and deranged, like a lot of horror movies coming from down under.
DeleteNice one. I have a massive soft spot for this movie. Beyond it being an enjoyable flick, I really like that while it could have been filled with two dimensional characters like all the other horror movies of its kind, but instead every character is primarily defined by who and how they love. It gives it an extra layer of goodness. love it.
DeleteEdge of the Axe (1988) Dir. Jose Ramon Larraz
ReplyDeleteAnother film that I use to walk by at the video store and never rented for some reason. A killer in a small town wearing a white, paper mache looking mask is killing women, a dog, a pig (and some fish, unintentionally) with an axe. Everyone is a suspect. The thing I liked about this film is that it's not trying to be anything else than a straight up slasher and it does it well for the most part. It feels and looks 8 years older than it is and the director builds suspense during the first half and delivers on gore with some okay to good death scenes. Unfortunately the 2nd half gets really boring. The main girl has 3 posters in her room: "Max Headroom" (my 2nd Max Headroom sighting this Junesploitation!) "The Color of Money" and "Platoon". Random.
I'm a big fan of Jose Ramon Larrez' movie Vampyres. It's my favorite lesbian vampire movie of all times.
DeleteI've heard good things about it but I'm not really a fan of the genre as it's get really repetitive.
DeleteDon't Go in the Woods Alone (1981, dir. James Bryan)
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what to say about this one. Crude barely begins to describe it. A bunch of campers are slaughtered by a mountain man. There's a lot of blood and almost non-stop murder. Every line of dialogue is looped after the fact. This is such a crazy movie; I'm not ready to say I like it, but it's such a specific product of its period and could't have been made before or after. There is a lot of charm to that.
Sold. I'm really glad to read this cause I have been holding out due to the only reviews I've read being from Amazon users, which are mostly useless.
DeleteThe Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray is pretty amazing, even when the movie...isn't?
DeleteOpera (1987): I hate eye trauma so no to that. But aside from that I really enjoyed this one! I liked the twist on the phantom and thought there was a creative spark to all the gore.
ReplyDeleteBlood Night: Well that was a waste of time. And the noise at the beginning of the film scared my hamster Agatha. Booo! I had to give her a cuddle and then she was fine playing. I however watched the whole thing and was a bit less fine with that arrangement.
That shot through the peephole is one of my favorite things Argento has ever done.
DeleteThe Nail Gun Massacre (1985)
ReplyDeleteA person in a motorcycle helmet and camo seeks revenge on a construction crew that raped a woman, not before preceding each kill by a terrible one-liner. At one point the killer says, "now you've really pissed me off" when he kills a person peeing. Someone in the movie actually says "remember when you could sit outside and not have to worry about the mosquitoes or the killers?" I've seen a lot of terrible movies in my day, but this has to be one of the best worst movies I've ever seen.
Truly, truly awful. Highly recommended.
Agreed.
DeleteThe Crow - 1994
ReplyDeleteOkay, hear me out on this... for the first hour and a half, this is a slasher movie made with the idea that the slasher is the hero. You're given the reason the killer wants vengeance, right out of the gate. You're given some pretty unlikable victims, granted they aren't teenagers, but keep going with me.He does pick them off one by one, killing one and then retreating for a while before killing the next.
The killer is invincible, relentless, supernatural in nature, wears a kind of mask, and disposes of the victims in individual, and inventive ways. Instead of being the person who fights him, because he's the hero, the Final Girl is instead one of the only moral compasses in the film. There is also one good cop who can do nothing to stop the carnage.
This all falls apart in the final act though. Depending on your mood, either the fight at the night club or the situation at the church transitions the movie form an inverted slasher flick into a cheap 90s action movie.
Until then though, it follow most the tropes pretty well.
Sleepaway Camp (1983) (First time watching)
ReplyDeleteHoly shit that's fucked up. Never saw this one before and now I understand why. Totally overthought the entire movie trying to predict the ending and boy was I wrong. (wink) I'm glad I stayed away from spoilers for this one.
Wow - congratulations on watching this unspoiled after all these years - hard to believe some dick didn't ruin the ending for you.
DeleteI see what you did there
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYeah, I'm surprised some malicious prick didn't smack you in the face about this movie, Patrick. Now that the pecker is out of the woods (tee-hee), feel free to watch "Sleepaway Camp" again with the F This Movie commentary track. Fun times back when P. Bromley and his posse were new at this. :-)
DeleteDEATH PROOF (2007)
ReplyDeleteQuentin's tribute to slasher movies where the killer's weapon of choice is not a machete or butcher knife, but his customized car of doom.
(the Kurt Russell Rule is in full effect with this one, as is the Zoe Bell Truism)
I've never seen the non-Grindhouse version of Death Proof. Does the additional content add to the film at all?
DeleteYou get to see the lap dance. Can't remember if there any other differences.
DeleteI think the Grindhouse cut of Death Proof works better. The additional material just slows the pacing down.
DeleteI haven't seen the Grindhouse cut but it does drag a bit in spots...even though I'm glad I saw the lapdance because Vanessa Ferlito is pretty hot.
DeleteHollow Gate (1988, dir. Ray Di Zazzo)
ReplyDeleteRidiculous. A little boy is berated by his drunk dad at a Halloween party for not being good at bobbing for apples: "Are you trying to make me look bad in front of all these people?!" Twelve years later he's a forty year old man who traps some teens on his sprawling estate, and stalks them in different costumes. He stabs one guy while dressed as a soldier, and says "Happy Halloween, gook!!" Another guy gets torn apart by Golden Retrievers! We hear a cop telling the end of a joke: "So the hooker says, that was a gorilla? No wonder he was throwing banana peels!" What's the rest of the joke?!? Trailer.
Sounds fantastic!
DeleteStage Fright (2014)
ReplyDeleteA musical/slasher flick mash-up. Pretty entertaining. I have a soft spot in my heart for the movie "Camp," about theater summer camp, and this basically took that camp, made it douchier, and added some murder. Definitely worth a watch.
Dream Home (2010, Ho-Cheung Pang)
ReplyDeleteResolved any lingering doubts I had regarding the question, "How much do you want to see a pregnant woman go into labor while being strangled to death?"
The answer, unsurprisingly: "Not even a little bit."
The Prowler (1981)
ReplyDeleteKind of wish I watched something else. It's boring and really not fun at all. I feel sort of sad and icky after watching it.
Its got Tom Savinis effects and hes not playing a DJ called Jeykll or Hyde, sounds like a winner to me ;)
ReplyDeleteA Bay of Blood (1971)
ReplyDeleteThough perhaps not technically a slasher, it's the movie other slashers watched for inspiration - Jason totally ripped off one kill in particular.
This was my first Bava and I dunno, there were some things I liked about it, but for the most part I was underwhelmed. Maybe I'll pull a Patrick and grind my way through more Italian horror until I finally start enjoying them, though I'm not sure this is a subgenre worth working for...
I always try to think about perspective with these movies, I know we did not get it till 83 on Video in the UK but just imagine seeing this in 71!
DeleteI totally picked on the the double trouble Stabbing from Friday the 13th too, its kinda brilliant
These old Bava type movies can be tough sometimes but it does have some scenes that make it worthwhile, I understand you feel you have to work for it, but just to see that double murder and the opening scene was pretty intense, Killing someone in a wheelchair well before the famous wheelchair death we all have seen since then made it worth a rewatch
You could always get a gumsheild like Quentin in From Dusk till Dawn to help with the teeth grinding ;)
Thanks, Dennis - yeah, I can definitely appreciate how something must have seemed in its time, and there are a lot of things to like about Bay of Blood even now - just something about it didn't buzz me this time around. I'll keep an open mind though! Bava's an interesting filmmaker though - his style really calls a lot of attention to the directing and cinematography especially.
DeleteFive Dolls for an August Moon (1970)
ReplyDeleteYou know the setup: secluded house, big party, sex, drugs, and rock and roll until people start dying and everybody wants to know who the murderer is. This one's actually more of a proto-slasher though, since we only rarely see the actual murders themselves. The scenes of the men trying to buy a professor's Super MacGuffin Formula are a little draggy, but I actually ended up liking this one quite a lot. Bava is an incredibly stylish director from his camera moves to his soundtrack choices, and here he seems to be creating the cinematic space for future directors like Quentin Tarantino to be as joyfully exuberant about their perverted violence. Recommended with the caveat that if you don't like Italian horror this one's probably not going to be the exception.
The Creeper (1948) (first time viewing)
ReplyDeleteBetter late than never right? Group of scientists experiment on cats and slowly get picked off by a killer with a cat's paw for a hand. Really wasn't much special about this movie.
Scream (1996)
ReplyDeleteTrying to catch up ASAP... I liked the opening, then when it got to the main story, it took a while for it to pick up for me. I really liked from the party scene on though. It seemed like an excuse to squeeze in as many horror movie references (in the dialogue) as possible, which I thought was hit and miss. I didn't think it was scary at all, but I liked the reveal.