Saturday, October 3, 2015

Weekend Open Thread

Is your #ScaryMovieMonth off to a good head start?

I can't believe how many movies everyone has watched already. The seven word reviews are clever and hilarious and it's great to see so many new names in addition to so many familiar ones. Choosing which ones to read on the podcast is going to be impossible.

Here's your chance to talk about what you've been watching or comment on what you've seen other people watching! Or talk about anything else you feel like talking about.

#SCARYMOVIEMONTH

112 comments:

  1. best comment I read so far:

    Mikko Viinikka
    Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

    Tom Atkins' moustache is my spirit animal

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  2. Didn't want to watch all my most anticipated films right off the bat and then be stuck with crap for the rest of the month, so I decided to start with two franchises, Resident Evil and Saw. Watched the first three Resident Evil films, and unexpectedly now I really want to see the other two. Will have to find them somewhere. After two Saw films I'm not at all sure I have the will to watch the whole series so I'll take it one film at a time.

    Last year's Honeymoon wasn't all I wanted it to be but it did get nice and creepy towards the end. The so-called "documentary" The Nightmare was a disappointment. And of course Halloween III with the gang's commentary was just the best.

    Also, thanks to whoever it was who commented on the site ages ago and recommended the cast commentaries on the Resident Evil films. Drunken Milla Jovovich on the commentary for RE2 was a delight.

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    1. I'd never say Resident Evil films are great, but I do find them really watchable in a "it's on TNT and it's a slow Saturday afternoon" kinda way haha.

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  3. Just some quick thoughts on this little undiscovered gem that's a personal favorite of mine, John Carpenter's The Thing. You guys have probably heard of it, right? All jokes aside, I watched The Thing yesterday for the first time in like 8 years, and it's even better than I remember. It's got to be one of my favorite horror movies now.

    The problem is that I'm not sure why. Usually in my favorite horror movies I can point to all these things I love, but with The Thing I think it's mostly just the overall tone. I'm not sure if it was just a great combination of director and subject matter, but the plot just seems to flow so naturally and consistently. The only character behavior that seemed unbelievable was when they went down that icy hole to investigate, but (SPOILERS for a famous 1982 movie) they just ended up discovering a spaceship and nothing bad happened.

    Or maybe it's just how awesome that dog's performance was at the beginning...chilling. Anyone else have thoughts on what exactly makes this movie so great?

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    1. For me, its Kurt Russell and maybe the best practical creature effects I've ever seen.

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    2. Watched it for the first time last night. I was quite tired when watching it and was a bit annoyed that I couldn't concentrate fully, but I ended up having this really weird viewing experience where I was just really feeling the tone of the movie the whole way. That flow that you mentioned is absolutely one of the best things about it. It's hard to articulate what that actually is though... maybe it's like it feels as if every scene is building on the one before in a kind of consistent fashion and so the movie just becomes scarier and scarier and it's kind of imperceptible. I need to think about it more. Also, Kurt Russell is the best. The practical effects are awesome.

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    3. I think Carrie may be one of my favorite movies after seeing it last night. I still need a bit of time to digest it obviously. But I thought it was really clever, made me socially anxious to a point I've never felt before (social horror, it could start a subgenre) and then goes into full on horror territory, almost as a metaphor for what a normal girl would feel at 'that' particular moment in the movie. And technically, it just an impressive film. De Palma directs it with so much style, and always to the benefit of the movie. He makes a waltz scene ridiculously intense, which is fitting for a horror I suppose. And Sissy Spacek gives an unreal performance too, with a complex, interesting character. I don't think I've ever smiled so much in a horror, but honestly that just makes the eventual fall greater.

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    4. This wasn't meant to post as a reply... sorry ahaha

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    5. That's a really strong double feature! Pretty bleak though, haha. I saw Carrie for the first time last year during Scary Movie Month and it's one of my favorites as well. I watched about 30 movies last year, and I'm still a horror noob, but I maintain that Carrie is the most emotionally upsetting horror movie I've seen. I think the brilliance of the story as well as Spacek's performance is that you can never really get on board with Carrie. You understand her pain, but she takes it way further than we're comfortable with. It exhibits the awfulness of what a tortured person will do when they're driven to revenge, kinda like a supervillain.

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  4. Its off to an epic start. So many funny clever reviews. It is definitely working better in individual days too, Its easier to catch up,
    Personally I'm doing a franchise thing. Ive just started friday the 13th movies. After that im doing the Halloween movies. And trying to squeeze as many in as possible. All the Texas chainsaw films, Exorcist, Wishmaster, Freddy, Alien, Hills have eyes, Chucky, only one im to scared to do is Hellraiser, last year I over burnt it, "Yer Burnt" and watched well over a hundred because I wanted us to kill it! This year I know were gonna kill it so im watching less at a more leisurely pace and keeping it fun
    I cant even choose a best comment, so many really clever and funny reviews. You guys and gals rock

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  5. My favorite comment so far is Riskes Olyphant in the room joke about Scream 2. I laughed so hard. I'm planning on burning my way through a lot of Vincent Price movies that I've never seen. I'm also going to try switching off every other movie with watching new stuff and watching my favorites. We will see how that goes. Deathgasm and From Beyond have been the new highlights for me so far and Theatre of Blood was a lot of fun too. I also wanted to mention that I really like the new scary movie month format of doing a new comment thread every day. It makes it a lot easier that I don't have to scroll through millions of reviews to get to the new ones and I've been enjoying reading everyone's clever 7 word reviews. Have a great October everyone.

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    1. Riske also did my favourite from last year

      Death ship
      A piece of Ship, Don't Sea it!

      Clever basturd ;)

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    2. I watched From Beyond for the first time a couple of months ago. It blew my mind and I absolutely LOVED it. Even more than Re-Animator I think. It is so bizarre it really unsettled me. Great cast and great movie. I may watch it again this month.

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    3. It really is an awesome movie. I think Jeff Combs is a really underrated actor.

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    4. He did the voice of the mold in Motivational Growth and killed it even with just being a voice!

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  6. I don't envy Patrick and the crew for having to choose from the entries this year, there are so many clever & hilarious ones already that it could take up the whole show and we're only 3 days into the month.

    I have very little time for movies this month but still trying my best to fit one in every day and write a short review. DEATHGASM was my first new-to-me movie of the month and I loved every gore-soaked second of it so #ScaryMovieMonth is off to a great start here!

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  7. Thoughts and observations on Monster Mania, MD - my first Horror Convention experience.

    Tom Atkins is as cool as you'd thought he would be. After chatting with him for a bit and getting his autograph, I ran into him in the lobby hours later and he remembered my name and stopped to talk again. Class act.

    Jordan Ladd is really, really tiny and way too thin.

    Zach Gallagher hasn't aged a bit.

    Dee Wallace looks fantastic.

    Matthew Lillard is really tall and was being super interactive with his fans. It was nice to see.

    Vendors who are still selling VHS rips on DVD for 10 to 20 dollars are in denial that almost everything is easily accessible nowadays. So many titles I saw have been or are about to be reissued on Blu Ray. Time to start thinking outside of the VHS box, guys. It's over.

    Speaking of being in denial, the Weekend At Bernies guy was selling his autograph for $40.00.

    Alan Howarth (composer) was selling the scores that Death Waltz has issued on Vinyl for $50.00 autographed. At first I thought that was expensive, but Death Waltz releases are limited so maybe not. I didn't bite though.

    I bought a few independent releases from filmmakers. They all look awful but you never know and I love supporting aspiring talent. I couldn't resist buying this one guys film cause he was dressed up as a pirate on stilts! Made no sense in correlation to the product he was selling. It was pretty funny.

    We had an absolute blast. I was talking to a few people who go to these regularly and they said this one is the least crowded and most low key. I definitely dug that.

    Shout out to Riske for his Convention Primer article from earlier this year. It really did help me plan for the show. Thanks, man!

    Now - time to start watching some films!!!

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    1. Cheers Chaybee. Im glad it went well, Love Tom atkins, a proper star, I love Weekend at Bernies too but $40! not that much....

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    2. Ummm...Zach Gallagher? Sorry folks, meant Galligan.

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    3. Don't worry, I'm sure he's used to it. :D

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    4. I just watched Waxwork with him and he might be the dullest lead I've ever seen in a movie. Good in Gremlins though.

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    5. ...and Nothing Lasts Forever (1984) which I got to talk to him about very briefly.

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    6. Travis, make sure to check out "Waxwork II: Lost in Time." Galligan is still a weak leading man (that's what he's known for except for "Nothing Lasts Forever," where he actually leads), but the movie is made for SMM fans. Tons of love for classic and contemporary horror, plus 'The Chin' raising the bar in a small but memorably "Haunting" role. ;-)

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    7. It makes the whole film worth while, they got there moneys worth out of that cameo scene, its fantastic

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    8. I just saw Chaybee just watched Microwave Massacre, I thought it was just me who watched Shit like that, good call ;)

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    9. Dennis, buubie, when it comes to watching Horror shit, I'm your white knight.

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  8. Call for help: my wife wants to see some scary movies with me, but she hates serial killers, gore, slashers, ... all the fun stuff.

    Yesterday we watched 'the woman in black' and she liked it.
    the orphanage, conjuring,... that's her fix.

    Anyone got some tips?

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    1. Session 9 is a criminally overlooked atmospheric Horror film.

      If your wife dug Woman in Black - The Awakening with Rebecca Hall is an overlooked atmospheric film from a couple of years ago that is a period piece as well. I liked it.

      The Pact is also really good and does not fall into the criteria that she doesn't like.

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    2. The first Paranormal activity worked on me. Turn off all the lights and turn it up

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    3. If she's the patient kind watch "The Blair Witch Project." It's a super slow burn, but the payoff at the end if you get into it it's huge. I hadn't seen it since '99, and it quietly blew me away. Also, sounds like "The Others" and "Pan's Labyrynth" (as well as Del Toro's upcoming "Crimson Peak") might be right up her alley. I'd also try "The Host," a creature feature from South Korea that's more about the family dynamics and character development than the scares (which are still awesome). It's the 21st century "Jaws" as far as I'm concerned. Good luck getting your wife in the habit. ;-)

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    4. What lies beneath is good for setting a tone without all the gore too

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    5. Thanks everyone for the tips, seen most of them, except for the pact, will give it a try if I can track it down in the shops.

      My wife also asked for a rectification: it's not true she doesn't like serial killer movies, she likes Silence of the Lambs, Seven etc.. just not the stupid silly movies I sometimes watch. :-)

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  9. My first time participating in Scary Movie Month!

    I've technically watched five movies so far but have only reviewed 4. I went to a Movie Night gathering at a friend's house. I may have had a drink or six and passed out in the bathroom during A Nightmare on Elm Street 2.

    No regrets!

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    1. No Scary Movie Month is complete without passing out in a bathroom at least once.

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    2. I don't know what else was on the line up, but that was probably the one to pass out during.

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    3. That's a good movie to pass out during.

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    4. The other movie was It Follows.

      I run on very little sleep, so passing out in unconventional settings when supplied with alcohol is basically my gift to the world.

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    5. What an odd double feature! But I respect it.

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    6. It was a bit odd. We do this monthly and typically there is more of a theme. Last month we watched Dawn of the Dead (2004) and 28 Weeks Later. Before we watched the movies I have a presentation - complete with PowerPoint! - breaking down the debate of quick zombies vs. slow zombies. I came out in favor of quick zombies but noted the REAL threat was zombie babies/children.

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    7. Holy cow you have cool friends!

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  10. Here are a few personal favorite seven word reviews so far (made easier to find by Patrick splitting the reviews into separate days):

    Steve K.October 1, 2015 at 9:05 AM
    Psycho (1960)
    Norman wants to know: Where's MY Espy?

    Alex DodsonOctober 1, 2015 at 9:53 AM
    Dead Silence (2007)
    Expected bad CGI dummy, got wooden performances

    Worst LieutenantOctober 1, 2015 at 12:22 PM
    The Hills Have Eyes II (1984)
    Even the masters of horror have mortgages.

    Nichole GOctober 1, 2015 at 6:29 PM
    Dr. Giggles (1992)
    Doesn't accept most insurance but has heart.

    Death By DVDOctober 1, 2015 at 7:50 PM
    Beast in Heat, The (1977)
    Ah, so that's a Pubes McCrotch Waffle.

    Ricardo CamachoOctober 1, 2015 at 8:18 PM
    A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
    This will revolutionize the phone sex industry!

    Brent PetersenOctober 1, 2015 at 9:17 PM
    Coraline (2009)
    Difficult to masturbate to...but not impossible

    Adam RiskeOctober 2, 2015 at 10:40 AM
    Scream 2 (1997)
    Ghostface is the Olyphant in the room! [Gunther is right! :-P]

    Albert MullerOctober 2, 2015 at 3:17 PM
    Cujo (1983)
    Sit, Cujo, sit -- good dog OH SHIT [My favorite so far]

    Mac McEntireOctober 2, 2015 at 3:45 PM
    Ed Wood's Orgy of the Dead (1965)
    Behold, the unrelenting terror of interpretive dance!

    Worst LieutenantOctober 2, 2015 at 6:21 PM
    Carrie (1976)
    Ya know, Carrie's mom was kinda right.

    SkunktkpOctober 2, 2015 at 7:08 PM
    Apollo 18 (2011)
    Stanley Kubrick should've faked this moon landing.

    Death By DVDOctober 2, 2015 at 8:47 PM
    Devil Hunter (1980)
    Franco's script notes: "Rack focus to bush."

    TravisLOctober 2, 2015 at 10:56 PM
    Theatre Of Blood (1973)
    Douchey critics pay the ultimate bloody Price

    Patrick BromleyOctober 3, 2015 at 12:39 AM
    The Evil Clergyman (1987)
    Combs and Crampton are horror's Hanks/Ryan.

    Nichole GOctober 3, 2015 at 9:34 AM
    Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004)
    Tatiana Maslany actually plays ALL the werewolves.

    Oliver SchäferOctober 3, 2015 at 4:16 AM
    The thing (2012)
    Substituting Rob Bottin through CGI? Damn idiots.

    Pubes CrotchwaffleOctober 3, 2015 at 10:52 AM
    The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)
    Surprisingly sleazy sixties schlock. Stripper scene startles.

    Jeff NicholsonOctober 3, 2015 at 1:55 PM
    It's Alive (1974)
    Suddenly, GOP thinks Planned Parenthood is great

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  11. Since I steamed through a load of movies till now, I'm done for this weekend. Especially after I've seen the Twilight-Franchise. The first I knew from an earlier watching and it didn't climbed in my appreciation - the rest were also not good. :/

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    1. The movies hit that strange space between painful and boring, but without them we wouldn't have your fantastic review poem, which is my favourite of everything posted thus far. :)

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    2. I caught the first "Twilight" right before Netflix Instant took it off. It's OK (Catherine Hardwicke does the best she can with what she's been given), and skinny Taylor Lautner is actually tolerable. And vampire baseball should have been longer because it's the only time "Twilight" is actually, you know, fun. But yeah, no desire after seeing it to watch the sequels.

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    3. @EliTheButcherBoy: Thank you very much. =)

      @J.M. Vargas: Well, I also laughed at the baseball scene, but it was much more an uncomfortable laugh, not one out of amusement.

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  12. Probably going to top over 3000 year if not more. Of course all of our brains will be a blood pudding by then I'm sure. Random question to spark discussion, what does everyone think of the upcoming Ash vs Evil Dead?

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    1. I'm way excited for it, the trailers look promising. Looks like they got the tone right but we will see.

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    2. im just excited to see bruce campbell act like a jerk, white eyed deadites, and the promise of some classic sam raimi splatstick.

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    3. What's everyone's favorite Evil Dead movie? Is it weird that I gravitate toward Army of Darkness these days? I think most people say Evil Dead 2 is the best but I dunno.

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    4. probably the remake lol. there's no way. the first one mainly because it still feels dangerous a little bit. super stripped down. and the special effects are really adorable.

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    5. Other than dreading the inevitable use of stuntmen (Campbell's just too old for this "Evil Dead" shit) I'm pumped. More classic flavor "Evil Dead," less reboot/remake cash-in inferior product... please!

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    6. I liked the remake, I thought it was fun. Doesn't compare to the original of course but it's cool in its own way.

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    7. Im probably the most excited about this, the teasers look exactly how I wanted them to look. Bruce lost weight and looks great in the role, I dident want a fat Ash ;) the jokes look great, some nice new lines to enjoy, I wanted new writing, Groovy and Gimme some sugar baby needed updating, im already saying the new lines ive heard "Lets Tango Bitch" "Let the Boomstick do the Talking" "Yo Granny! Let's Go" I cant wait

      Ps " You know they were Jewish, Right?"

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    8. Re JM
      If you've seen Bruce's twitter there is a full cast shot after wrapping, the "Fake Shemp" for Bruce looks so much like Bruce its uncanny. Best stunt Double ive seen ;)

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    9. Re Death by Dvd

      Your on a mission. 8 movies yesterday, thats some epic viewing, you must have insomnia, 5 or 6 and im done. Im guessing lots of caffine ? ;)

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    10. It's impossible for Death by DVD to be watching all of these in a day. The movies he just posted equate to roughly 14 hours. Could be wrong, and if so, he is defying the properties of time, which is groundbreaking.

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    11. i admit it. i started a couple of days early so i had some stacked, but i'm pretty caught up to being current with time. been averaging 8 to 10 a day. the only groundbreaking thing is being unemployed. It really hasn't been that bad with time. A ton of these are 70 to 80min, so you can get 4 or 5 done in just over 6 hours. the tough part has been tracking a lot of these down. youtube has been a godsend,

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    12. If F This Movie was the police, Chaybee would be Internal Affairs.

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    13. I do have a Gere-esque physique with a little Garcia six-o'clock shadow. Honestly though, yeah, it reads like a dick post. Sorry about that Death by DVD. I honestly thought with your name that it was some website trolling trying to gain interest or something. No hard feelings and more power to you.

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    14. That is a lot of fuckin movies, though. I was trying to watch 100 movies this October. Death by DVD is trying to watch all of them.

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  13. I'm starting this scary movie month by watching the entire Amityville Horror series. I'm currently watching the 4th, and I have 5 to go. This is going to be a long day..

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    1. Oooh it gets rough by the time you get to Dollhouse, I have 6 friday the 13ths to go myself ;)

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  14. I'm watching the Scream Factory releases of Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood today. I strongly encourage you to watch the making of and video promo on the Bordello of Blood Blu-Ray. So funny. Everyone seemed to really hate being on that movie.

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    1. I laugh just thinking about Billy Zane in thst Movie

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  15. Watching Burn, Witch, Burn right now on Amazon Prime. Great b&w photography and all around solid production. I'm starting to think that British horror might be one of the '60's most consistent genres.

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  16. The F This Movie! commentary was awesome this year. Ya'll really outdid yourselves with the sex puns, which I appreciate. And I've never noticed how addicted Tom Atkins is to phones in that movie! And sex.

    As far as what I've seen:

    I was surprised by how good Wolf Creek 2 was. Seriously, everyone should check it out. It's on Netflix. I wasn't really a big fan of the first one, you can tell it had a lower budget. It was mostly standard modern shaky cam horror. But the sequel was very well done. It has great cinematography, a compelling protagonist that actually makes you invested in whether he lives or dies, pretty fantastic practical effects (multiple cars and an eighteen wheeler are blown up), and a chilling end that doesn't involve the death of the main character. I highly recommend it.

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  17. Is there any horror porn we can 7 word review? I'm asking for a friend...

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    1. Yea human centipede 1 and 2 if you're into shit porn

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    2. Driller is one of my all-time favorites.

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    3. It's called Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Tom Atkins is the Dirk Diggler to Stacey Nelkin's Amber Waves.

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    4. I never saw it but based on the synopsis I read, "A serbian film" may be right...

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  18. First time participating and my 7-word review for Day 2 just up and disappeared! Disheartening but I will keep soldiering on.

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  19. My personal picks for week one of #ScaryMovieMonth:

    Best new-to-me movie: Housebound (2014)
    Best movie I’d seen before: The Wolf Man (1941)

    Worst new-to-me movie: The Girl Next Door (2007)
    Worst movie I’d seen before: Tales From the Crypt Presents Bordello of Blood (2002)

    New horror icon: Skateboarding ballerina with pumpkin mask from Halloween III (1982)

    The so-bad-it’s-good award: Scream Dream (1989)

    Most over-the-top performance: Criswell in Orgy of the Dead (1965)

    Best final girl: Tie between the wife from I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958) and Clint Howard from Evilspeak (1981).

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    1. I just rewatched The Wolf Man last night. My gosh that film is incredible.

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  20. About Halloween III...it sucks. The commentary on the other hand was great as always.

    My suggestion of this movie (and the original My Bloody Valentine) was originally that it's as cheesy as the other films done for SMM but there was a chance of a commentary becoming too much of a "love fest". Thanks to JB we were spared that.

    Besides pointing out the obvious piece of paper on the helmet of the fireman sitting on the left having coffee after the car explosion (every time he moves his head it flips back and forth) there's a few things to say about this movie.

    (which I'm putting here because I doubt anyone would go back to that page to read it, if they read it at all)

    1) Ellie's father - He's obviously learned Cochran's plan and escaped to tell about it. Knowing what we know after watching the movie, how did this older man learn all of this stuff and still escape without having to destroy Cochran and the factory? Stealing a piece of Stonehedge and moving it undetected to the other side of the planet seems more do-able than that.

    2) The guys chasing Ellie's father - Patrick would like to have had gore in the fight between Ellie's father and his attacker. Well, since that guy is a robot obviously any sort of damage to him would give that "major plot twist" away in the first scene. Later, one robot will follow Elle's father to the hospital to kill him and then go "kamakasi" in the car he arrived in. A car that - if the police were doing their job - they could trace? Or maybe they stole it. But then, why not use the father's station wagon to go to the hospital? It leaves the police with a dead-end and gets it off Silver Shamrock's premises. But even though that makes sense they need it there for the third act.

    3) Stonehedge - It is a structure in England. England and Ireland have never been on the best of terms. No Druids were traveling from Ireland to England to perform their ceremonies at foreign sites. Why would they build it there? How could they do it without being noticed? Why would the British let it stand? But even if there were some explanation for the site being connected to Samhain...they supposedly stole a stone to get enough dust from it to rub on transistors to make masks deadly? Why do I get the feeling that someone originally thought that since transistors are silicone which are made of sand that that's what some sacrificial rock would have to do with all of this but.... (continued)

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  21. 4) Santa Mira - Humans do live there. Do robots keep pets? Obviously, some humans work at Silver Shamrock in the offices and shipping. They're dependent on the company to the point that they are under Cochran's thumb but they're not afraid to have outsiders come and stay. There's a 6 pm curfew announced by Jamie Lee Curtis. Except conveniently that liquor store is allowed to stay open and the town drunk can roam around freely (at least until he talks to an outsider). The motel office is bugged (so to speak). But the rooms must be as well because how else would they have known about the misfire to come take Marge away? But since it's only a couple days, why bother taking Marge away and risk having someone notice (other than it's needed for the plot)? And btw...will the people in Santa Mira be watching with their masks on? No children, though. Because there's never any children in these little towns in horror movies...unless there's corn.

    5) Silver Shamrock - Buy our mask, put it on and watch TV and there will be "a giveaway". According to this movie that's all you have to tell people. No idea of what you'll get (outside of maybe a headache). What the odds are. And you watch at 9 pm...no mention of the five different time zones in the US. And is this only the US? If so, does Cochran think the rest of the world will just go, "Look at that. Some Irish fecker wiped out everyone in the States. Oh, well..." Samhain wasn't about offering sacrifices anyway. It was connected to the harvest and animals were slaughtered but to put the meat up for the coming winter as anyone would. Cochran says he's been planning this "sacrifice" that has to happen now because the planets are aligned. And then what? What does he get? World power? Supreme knowledge? His hemorrhoids go away?

    6) Elle - Forget the whole "We'll get a room to make plans but then just boff non-stop instead" thing - nothing explains that. She's not a robot until Challis rescues "her". But, Challis sees the robots taking the real Elle into the factory and she isn't resisting at all? When Challis rescues what he thinks is Elle, she goes along with whatever he does. She basically stands by and does nothing while he destroys everything in the factory. However, a few miles up the road she suddenly goes into action to kill Challis. Cochran was able to program the robot who killed Elle's father to do the murder/suicide but then couldn't get her to protect him and his factory?

    7) The commercial - Cochran has his computer center all set up and manned and they're preparing for the big "giveaway". When Challis destroys everything with the logos, first Cochran looks devastated and then applauded his enemy for beating him. Everything is set up as though the killer signal will have to come from that factory. Only after the escape, turns out that the broadcast is going on without Silver Shamrock. So what were all of those people doing? Where is the broadcast coming from now? Challis is only talking to one person to get the two channels to drop it. And how did Challis find out who to contact so fast? And since when does one hysterical person calling on the phone have the power to cancel a nationwide ad campaign?

    The hell of this all is...the cast did their damnest. Nigel Kneale wrote a screenplay based on Debra HIll's idea of witchcraft in the age of television wherein Cochran was actually a 2000 demon in disguise which was probably wonderful...but DeLaurentis didn't think it was gory enough and we'll probably never see it.

    Meanwhile, the "Prom Night" movies - as lame as the first one is - managed to turn their movies into a kind of horror anthology series that Carpenter was trying for.

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    1. "Stop it!" - Dr. Challis

      Halloween III has always been great, even before it just recently became recognized as great.

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    2. The acting is great. Period.

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    3. Hey Kathy, We're just gonna disagree. I loved it when I saw it as a kid. I love the aesthetics, I love the score, I love how "off" it is and I love that it exists within the Halloween franchise.

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    4. Halloween III is very much for a specific audience. I am very much that audience but you aren't and that's ok!

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    5. ^^^ But Kathy suggested it as a commentary and Patrick listened. So there must some residual love from Kathy toward "Halloween III," even though she just subjected the movie to the kind of scrutiny most regular movies couldn't survive (especially a low-budget 2nd sequel to "Halloween" w/o M.Myers).

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    6. Also, the tagline for Halloween III is, "The night no one comes home." But, in the movie, everyone does go home to watch the brain-melting commercial.

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    7. I like how polarising Halloween 3 is. Its my next franchise to watch and I will be honest and say after part 1 its the one im most looking forward to revisiting, I lived in a horror bubble for years and dident even know it was hated? I always loved it right from the beginning

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    8. On YouTube there is a video/opinion piece called "How Rob Zombie Destroyed the Halloween Franchise". The maker shows how Zombie sacrificed the franchise to gain acceptance into mainstream Hollywood. It raises some good points and one is what Zombie either did a 180 on his insistence that remakes of good moves was blasphemy Or he always thought that Halloween was a bad movie. He's quoted that the original Halloween got lots of things wrong.
      Among the things Zombie mentions is Michael knowing how to drive, his getting the mask from the hardware store in the "middle of the day" and the work overalls that Michael gets off the guy on the way to Haddonfield are "too clean".
      THAT is nitpicking. Whatever you think of Zombie's points (google "Kid drives car" btw), these are things that in every movie that can be missed while they're trying to get stuff on film. But a movie like Halloween gets all the important things so right you let them go.
      Mistakes can also be relative. J.B. wrote his opinion of Friday the 13th. Most I agree with but some I don't. Did Pamela Voorhees really have to be under the bunk the kids use when they first come in? They're busy banging while there's a raging thunderstorm outside. If a crazy woman slid across the floor on her back to get under their bed would they have noticed? Possibly not. Does that make Friday the 13th a good movie? Not really. Like nearly every 80's slasher movie it's an "Idiot Plot". The plot only works if everyone in it is an idiot.
      However, Halloween III started with a script from Nigel Kneale. Kneale is a brilliant writer. They threw that away. If they're going to do that they had better bring it and this movie doesn't even get close.
      The script they wanted to film takes the two biggest questions - Why is he doing this and how did they get that piece of Stonehenge to California - and gives us "Do I need a reason?" and "You wouldn't believe how we did it" respectively. If you don't have a "how" and a "why" to your story how do you have a movie?
      I've got nothing against enjoying bad movies. But, I have a problem when people start claiming that they're actually great when they're not.
      I don't know if it's a cause or a symptom but IMHO it's the "Just turn your brain off" movement that gets us stuff like Transformers, Prometheus, Man of Steel and Fantastic Four.
      I like to discourage that.

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    9. Halloween 3 is an easy movie to pick on. It has a lot of mistakes and doesn't make a whole lot of sense but the fact that it's able to transcend that and still be fun and entertaining is what makes it so special. Comparing it to the souless Transformers isnt fair in my opinion. Tom Atkins commited performance alone puts it above those movies. Even if it doesn't quite come together at least people were putting forth an effort and the fact that it was shit on so much when it came out and is now beloved by a lot of people makes it kind of a little miracle movie. It tried to take an established franchise and do something completely different with it which is ballsy and so it will always have a special place in my heart just for that.

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  22. ATTENTION "RIDDICK" FANS: 1989's After Midnight, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime (not to be confused with a 2014 film of the same name streaming on Netflix Instant), is a curio worth checking out. One of the guys over at Killer POV really build this up during the show's 'Horror Anthologies' episode (#60), and what they said holds up: the wrap-around segment is a lot more interesting than the mini-stories being told.

    What's more fascinating than the anthology itself is that it's the only directorial feature by screenwriters Jim and Ken Wheat, who went on to create Vince Diesel's Riddick character in "Pitch Black" and then on to various sequels. Again, not a recommendation as much as a suggestion if you have 90 minutes to kill and want to watch an 80's anthology whose oddness compensates for its other imperfections.

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  23. Here's a random thought, but I request Patrick and Doug's show for the month be on Hellraiser. So I can hear Patrick talk about why its great and Doug can talk about being uncomfortable. Sounds interesting to me! Now I want to watch Hellraiser again.

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    1. Hellraiser would be a solid show. I'd also like to throw the Final Destination series into the hat. That series speaks to me in a cellular level as someone not only incredibly accident prone but as someone being stalked by Death constantly.

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    2. I think it'd be cool to do a top 5 horror performances or top 5 individual favorite horror movies show

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    3. Patrick did top 5 horror films with JB.

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    4. Everyone else's top 5 horror. Doug, Adam, Mike, Heath.

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    5. Here's my 5 favorites: Carnival of Souls, The House of the Devil, Demon Knight, The Fly (1986), The Thing (1982) Close runner up is The Shining

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    6. Oh cool thanks Adam. Great choices.

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  25. Just finished A Christmas Horror Story, what a treat! I feel like thus will be a highlight of my scary movie month. It's essentially an anthology movie that has all of its stories happening at once (kind of like Trick R Treat). I really enjoyed three of the four stories which is a lot more than I can say about most other horror anthologies.

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    1. I liked it as well. I thought it was kind of boring but it looked and felt perfect. The wrap around story saved it for me.

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  26. I'm having a fantastic time. My favorite review so far has been the Dr. Caligari one about the right angle not being invented yet. He he he

    My favorite movie has been Carnival of Souls. Loved it so much. The score has stuck with me in the most unsettling way since I watched it. Also, I'm wondering if extroverts have the same experience as introverts watching that film, because as the latter, I feel like that was totally tapping into the kind of dread I have in unwanted social situations. Pretty much cue the organ music whenever someone like John Linden speaks to me. I feel you and your dead soul, Mary Henry.

    I hope everyone else is having spooky barrels of fun!

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    1. So glad you dug Carnival of Souls. It's my favorite horror movie partly for some of the reasons you mention in your comment.

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    2. Probably have to buy it now, as I can't stop thinking about it.

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    3. ^^^ Buy the Criterion "COS" if you can afford it. Plenty of extras, including the industrial films the filmmakers were working on while doing the movie on their free time using the company equipment.

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    4. Special features sound verrrry intriguing. I'll check it out.

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  27. What everybody's favorite Friday the 13th? I just watched Jason Lives and I just think it is the cat's meow...

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  28. Im up to part 6 so far, as for enjoyable I really liked part 5. I loved the Rednecks and the sense of humour, its a fun time, Part 1 I will always love due to nostalgia but as far as fun goes part 5 is winning so far but I am looking forward to 9 and 10 and I picked up the unrated longer version of part 9 which I may of never seen before

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    1. I'm actually a huge part 8 fan. It's the one most people hate but I find it hysterical.

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    2. Thats great news. Im watching part 8 tonight. I will come back and comment later

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    3. Last night watching part 7 I almost made a Smm lumberyard joke because Jason every 5 mins for no reason he has a new weapon. Including that long extended cicular saw thing. He must own a shop to have so many weapons at hand. But instead I went for the Weekend at bernies reference, Terry Kiser rocks

      Even without the Moustache!

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    4. Yep, it took a long while to get to NY but when hes there and in Time square it is kinda epic, I love when he takes the mask off at the guys with the beatbox, Kane does have a good presence, the chest breathing works, good fun

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