Saturday, October 24, 2015

Weekend Open Thread

One more week to go.

#ScaryMovieMonth is winding down, and as usual it has gone by much faster than I would like. Time to really ramp up those 7-word reviews. What's still in your to-be-watched pile? What's been good and/or terrible this week?

You don't have to talk about scary movies here if you don't want to. Talk about anything.

60 comments:

  1. Just finished a week without any movie/TV & only 3g internet. It was very productive, but now I've got the need, the need for Horror movies!!

    might try to wrestle trough the Halloweens starting with 4. I think some of them I've never seen before. Might throw in a hammer classic, a universal monster and some over the top Italian craziness to balance out.

    If i don't post anything next week, I might have OD'ed on the Halloweens.
    with the pure evil and everything... it's not light stuff you know...

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    1. Friends don't let friends watch Halloween: Resurrection.

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    2. Ooh dear. Its on my list. I cant skip it!

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  2. I've been thinking. Every SMM FThisMovie delivers a commentary track for a cult horror movie. There are two other year-round major events in FTM's calendar year: The Twitter Film Festival in February and Junesploitation. So, couldn't Patrick & Co. also work on delivering a commentary track on those months to go with the excitement of these annual FTM events? The February commentary would be for a runner-up or barely-lost-being-included sixth film that didn't make Patrick's final five, and for a change it would be a commentary about a good and entertaining movie instead of a cheesy and/or horror-themed one. For Junesploitation, naturally, the sky's the limit as to what Patrick could choose to gather the FTM all-stars to talk about.

    Just thinking outloud about potential ways to nudge Patrick into making me and JB the happiest F-heads in the world with a commentary track for "Exorcist II: The Heretic" (which fits a dozen Junesploitation categories on its own), or to blow my mind with a killer commentary for Giulio Paradisi's 1979 batshit epic "The Visitor."

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    1. Ive had Pazzzoozo will lead us to Pachoocku on my mind ever since JB talked about it. Another vote from me. That Boorman film need to be watched and talked about

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    2. I'm going to have to take issue with the suggestion for a commentary for Exorcist II: The Heretic - I don't think it falls into the category of a bad but "interesting mess" that can make good comic fodder (I would also argue they don't do commentaries for BAD movies). The movie isn't even that much of a mess - it's just fucking boring. I often start looking for jokes to crack when I'm stuck in a bad movie and there's not much to make fun of that I could find - I'm afraid it would make for a lot of dead air in a commentary track.

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    3. But that dead air would give JB plenty of time to talk about his Catholic upbringing, about how the original "Exorcist" made him feel, about the franchise's tortured history, etc. Then, when the shit hits the fan in the movie proper (which is about every five minutes or so), they crack a little about the idiocy on display and then go back to general "Exorcist" discussion. That's the characteristic about most FTM podcasts about a particular movie: they're springboards toward discussions of other movies (i.e. "Batman" leads into a discussion of the franchise, "Swingers" leads into a discussion of Jon Favreau's career, etc.). I can't think of a better "Exorcist" movie to talk about the whole "Exorcist" phenomenon than the one in which literally nothing happens for 95 minutes, then it goes off-the-rails for the last 20.

      I mean, who wouldn't want to hear JB (who I assume would take lead in an "Exorcist II" discussion) pontificate esoterically for 90 out of 120 minutes of commentary time? Lapsed Catholics of the world unite! :-)

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    4. Pazuzu will lead us to Kukumo. Pazuzu will lead us to Kukumo. Pazuzu... Kukumo... Pazuzu... Kukumo... Let's call the whole thing off!

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    5. What you talkin' about, Willis? It's fun, weee! :-)

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  3. It's been a while since I've done one of these (mostly because I keep striking out with garbage like "The Chill Factor" and "Eternal Evil"), but...

    DING! DING! DING! WE HAVE A WINNAH! WINNAH!!!

    The same way "The Burning" marks the genesis of Miramax/The Weinsteins and (to a lesser degree) 1982's "Alone in the Dark" is the pre-Freddy Krueger face of New Line Cinema (i.e. Bob Shaye's baby), 1982's SUPERSTITION, aka THE WITCH is the genesis of what would end up becoming Carolco Pictures. Andrew Vajna and Mario Kassar, the men who went on to form Carolco in the mid-80's, produced this supernatural slasher that starts with a bang and doesn't pause until about 45 minutes in. There's either an imaginative/gory kill every five minutes (whether the story can sustain it or not) or a 'killer POV cam' stalking, and some of these deaths are awesome for '82. It's essentially a Canuxploitation haunted house flick (even though it was shot in California), only it isn't the house that's doing the disembowelment, beheading and all sorts of bloody mayhem. The no-name cast and flat TV photography (it looks like a pilot not picked to series, or a low-budget "The Keep" wannabe) are off-putting, but it lets the body count creep high (double digits!) and means nobody in the cast is safe.

    The middle act drags because the filmmakers (including four writers) feel the need to explain who/what is behind the supernatural shenanigans. This is the stuff Fulci and Italian filmmakers happily disregard, but for "Superstition" means refueling the train for 20+ minutes to set up the batshit final act. When a "Castlevania"-like Holy Cross weapon comes out of nowhere I nearly lost my shit. The ending doesn't match the go-for-broke first act, but overall "Superstition" is one of my most pleasant October finds. It's to my SMM experience what "The Boogey Man" was for Junesplotation, and we know how Patrick felt about that one (hint: his favorite "Boogey Man" scene gets a similar equivalent in "Superstition"). It's on YouTube and on Anchor Bay DVD, but this one's begging for a deluxe Scream Factory or Vinegar Syndrome treatment. Highly recommended for your down-the-stretch SMM needs. :-)

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    1. Superstition is a classic. One of my favorites!

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    2. I also kind like this. The opening woth the window is great if I remember correctly the circular saw was pretty epic

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    3. You mean exploding head in the microwave wasn't enough of a tease to keep you watching for an other two minutes? ;-)

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    4. Yeah. I like the whole opening. The house. The car. The microwave. The window. And that Saw just keeps spinning

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  4. Best of the week: Housebound
    Worst of the week: Decoys 2: Alien Seduction (just happened to catch it on tv)
    Biggest positive surprise of the week: Unfriended (also The Visit)

    I bought a few movies specifically for Scary Movie Month and was really looking forward to watching them, but decided to start with random Netflix crap so I wouldn't burn through all the good stuff early on. Now I'm worried I won't have the time for all the one I was looking forward to. I should really get on them, but will probably just end up watching Piranha 3D or something.

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  5. One of my main goals for SMM was to watch a bunch of shot-on-video/direct to video films. To me, this sub-genre is really overlooked. These are the lowest of the low, forgotten films that were made with no budget and, most of the time, awful scripts. At the same time, these were made with a lot of heart and creativity especially when coming up with gore effects. The "actors" can't act but damn do they commit to the material as best they can. Many of these were one time directors who didn't go on to do anything else. I think their films deserve to be seen and talked about just as much as successful directors' films are. After all, now greats Romero, Raimi, Jackson and Craven all started this way in varying degrees.

    There is such a time capsule within these where shooting on VHS was all they had access to. They gathered their friends or posted ad's for local actors, used their own locations (usually parents houses) and probably had a lot of fun just seeing what was going to happen. I'm not saying this doesn't happen now, it absolutely does. The thing is it's just so much easier to make a movie these days. The big difference is HD and editing. HD is on every phone and editing software is abundant so even if you know a little bit, a no budget film can still at least look great and be edited over and over in digital form. Most of the SOV films were done with in-camera effects or low quality video editing equipment and everything was figured out practically. "How do we chop that hand off?" "I don't know - got any Play-Doh and pasta sauce?" VHS was spliced or taped-to-other VHS back and forth or outdated editing equipment was used. They generally don't look good and the sound is often all over the place, but this overall aesthetic is part of the charm, in my opinion.

    I think after immersing myself in these I have found a new appreciation of respect as opposed to simply viewing them for "nostalgic fun". Sure they can be goofy and awful but some of them really, really try, many times ultimately failing, but I personally think they are great. This has now become one of my favorite sub-genres and I'm excited to continue checking these out!

    Sorry for the lengthy post.

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    1. What titles have been some of the highlights?

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    2. For this month I've really liked Zombie Bloodbath, The Last Slumber Party, Sledgehammer, Shreck, It Came, Night of Terror and the more recent HallweeNight (2009) (not shot on VHS but similar vibe). I would say if anyone were to get into these to check out a Todd Sheets film (Zombie Bloodbath) or try something like The Burning Moon or Boarding House.

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  6. I didn't get to see anything scary this week because I moved around my other responsibilities so that I could have Wednesday free to watch all three Back to the Future movies. Even though Parts two and three aren't that great, I still don't regret my decision. The day only comes once ever and I had a blast while it was here.

    This week I hope to wrap up SMM with a 50/50 mix of new stuff and old favorites.

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  7. I'm really enjoying Shout Factory TV on my Roku. They have quite a bit of free streaming horror, and it's almost all stuff from the '60s, '70s, and '80s, which is what I enjoy more than anything. Tons of kaiju and low-budget stuff that I've never seen. Later tonight, I'll probably jump on a couple of their VHS selections.

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    1. I like it a lot too. I'm watching Night of the Demons that way tonight. Do you put up with the ads or spring for the extra buck or so to watch the movies without them?

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    2. I put up with the ads. As annoying as they are, I'd rather save my shekels for adding the movies I actually like to my collection. What about you?

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  8. Here's a bonkers treat (or trick?) for yas - after finally making it through the horrifically dull Exorcist II: The Heretic, I checked out the original trailer included on the disc - one of the weirdest mainstream movie trailers I've ever seen - they basically cut together the 90 seconds of the movie that aren't face-meltingly boring all to the tune of "Scream in Your Ear" by WTF?! Enjoy on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFspymGVZLY

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    1. That trailer is both horrific and awesome at the same time. You can't beat Ennio Morricone when he scores the movie to sound as batshit as it looks. :-) I'm telling you, if it wasn't named "Exorcist II" this would be one of those memorable cult 70's movies ever, like "Zardoz" or "The Devil's Rain." It's the fact that it follows "The Exorcist" that's the biggest WTF imaginable, ever, in horror movie history. FThisMovie commentary track, stat!

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    2. I see your cheesy "Exorcist II" trailer and raise you with Morricone's 'Regan' theme. See? They cancel each other out, which means "Exorcist II" is in theory an average-to-movie with some redeeming value... right? ;-)

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    3. I didn't even notice Morricone scored this movie - I mean that's one of the things that so strange about this movie - the talent involved is insane for the results to be so damn lame. Someday maybe I'll watch it again - I'll try it in the morning after a solid 10 hours of sleep and a couple cups of coffee - but it's really the movie I've most actively disliked in a long time. You might be right about the association with the original The Exorcist (which I just saw for the first time about a month ago - it's pretty great) bringing it down and it practically could be a standalone movie - the connections to the franchise are pretty loose other than the character names.

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    4. I'm confused..Exorcist II is great. Is this not universally known?!

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    5. I just could not get into it - either that or it possessed me with the world's sleepiest demon. Pazuzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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    6. Eye of the beholder Chaybee. Nobody really likes "Exorcist II," but some (like me) find it an utterly fascinating mess that can't be dismissed outright as "bad." Some, like Sol, can't pronounce the demon's name (who's never mentioned in the original "Exorcist," which makes 'Pazuzu' the mitochondrions of the series) without rolling their eyes. That's why an F This Movie commentary would be a great way to get people who couldn't get into "Exorcist II" on its own to get on board and watch an entertaining train wreck with Parick, JB, Adam and Mike talking all over Pazuzu... Pazuzu... Pazuzu... zuzuzuzuzuzuzu... ZUZUZUZUZUZUZZU... ahh, kill it with fire!

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  9. Im Slacking!

    House renovation is taking up too much time, by now I was hoping to of finished all the Chucky movies and all the Chainsaw movies too. Im so far behind my plan. Tonight im am starting with all the Halloween movies. I am really looking forward to this Scream Factory boxset. If I get through them this week quick enough I am going to see as many Chainsaw movies as possible

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  10. Just wanted to thank you for your Demon Knight episode. I saw Bordello of Blood growing up, which means I probably wouldn't have ever given DK a chance. I watched it last night because of your episode and had a shit eating grin the entire time.

    P.S. Put Billy Zane in more movies

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  11. Just got done seeing PA5. I didn't hate it but the subtitle should be Jump Scare the Movie. It's saved by a mostly interesting story and a third act that really went for it. Besides the annoying amount of jump scares, the other major fault is the dumb ass decisions these people make. Little kid is writing crazy hieroglyphics on her bedroom wall? Fuck it, just leave it there. Find a camera and it's spirits? Hey, fun, let's keep using it!

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    1. You're five "PA" movies ahead of me. ;-)

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    2. It's not a good franchise. You're not missing anything except Katie Featherston and, now, Olivia Taylor Dudley's boobs.

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    3. Let's not dismiss that so casually.

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    4. I'd like to see PA5, I've mostly liked the franchise and this is the rare type of movie where I actually enjoy 3D, but since Regal and Cinemark refuse to book it the closest theater it's playing at is almost an hour away and I just don't have 4 hours to devote to it. I'm kinda bummed because sometimes dopey jump-scares are just what the Dr. (Giggles, probably) ordered.

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    5. Yeah, we had to go to a theater a little further away because of that. I didn't watch it in 3D because I won't watch post-conversion but I could see the scenes where stuff will be flying in your face.

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    6. Sometimes when movies are heavily built on their jump scares, it just reminds me of the feeling you had playing slaps in middle school with a kid that was way better than you. You're just kind of sitting there waiting to get your hands slapped, and there's really no fun in it.

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    7. Especially when you know the beats. I can smell a jump scare coming from a mile away most of the time.

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  12. The more I think about Bone Tomahawk the more I love it. It's easily 30-40 minutes too long but man, it really has an old school atmospheric suspenseful build to it.

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  13. Special 7 word review of Back to the Future (1985)

    Does Strickland think anyone isn't a slacker?

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  14. It's been a really insanely busy October for me, so my SMM watching is way down from last year. I've paid late fees on basically every movie I've rented this month, and some of them still never got watched before I had to take them back. It's been cray.

    But anyhow I just wanted to talk about three movies I saw for the first time that, if nothing else, made the entire month worth it. And yes, I'm still a horror noob. First was Joe Dante's The Howling. This was probably the first movie I saw all month that really got me excited. I actually prefer it to American Werewolf in London, just because the ending is a little more satisfying for me.

    Second was the original 1960 Little Shop of Horrors (sorry to steal yours Adam), which I knew nothing about beforehand and was totally not what I was expecting. I went in expecting some kind of Vincent Price House of Wax kind of thing, but I ended up getting some of the best comedy I've seen in awhile. Also, the cover on the DVD was just a giant picture of Jack Nicholson's face, and all it said was "Jack Nicholson" at the top and the title of the movie, so I expected him to star. Turns out he just has a bit part as a masochist. Ah marketing.

    The last was James Gunn's Slither from 2005. Holy shit did I love this movie. I remember seeing the cover sitting at the video store since I was like 16, and I feel like the cover art doesn't convey the tone of the film at all. I'd avoided it all these years because it looked like an uncomfortable, probably low-quality gross-out movie. It is a gross-out movie, but it's also hilarious, fun, and even emotionally effective at times. I'm basically hanging on James Gunn's coattails now, and I'm about to seek out everything he's involved in that I haven't seen.

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    1. You don't have much work to do, Andy. He's directed Guardians...and Super and written Dawn of the Dead remake, Scooby Doo 1 and 2. There you go!

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    2. Yeah, I'm just debating whether I'm really going to devote time to watching Scooby Doo and its sequel haha. Saw the DotD remake a couple days ago so I'll at least seek out Super when SMM is over.

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    3. Super is fantastic! Definitely watch it.

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  15. My picks for week four of #ScaryMovieMonth:

    Best new-to-me movie: Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987) (I totally agree with everyone who’s saying this one is an undiscovered gem. It’s not just an ‘80s horror movie, it’s EVERY ‘80s horror movie.)
    Worst new-to-me movie: Truth or Die (2012)

    Best movie I’d seen before: It Follows (2015)
    Worst movie I’d seen before: Cutting Class (1989)

    New horror icon: Granny Good from House on Bare Mountain (1962)

    The so-bad-it’s-good award: Popcorn (1991)

    Most over-the-top performance: Keith Gordon in Christine (1983)

    Best final girl: Marian Marsh in Svengali (1931)

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  16. Another solid week of horror. I watched some stuff from the '60s. That's probably the decade I'm least familiar with, because I've always though of it as that waiting period between the great '40s and the fascinating '70s. Nope. The '60s is awesome. The highlights were The Pit and the Pendulum, which is great for obvious reasons, and Spider Baby. Spider Baby is so bizarre I can't believe it's a real movie. But I so glad it is. Lon Chaney says 'Soon the moon will rise..." HOW AWESOME IS THAT. My oter favorite line is,
    "So you're really a fan of the Wolfman?"
    "Oh yes. That's how I think every man should be. Like a wild animal."
    WHAT??? That's incredible.

    I also watched Hellraiser II. I think I feel about Hellraiser II the way Doug feels about Hellraiser. It makes me very uncomfortable, it freaks me out, and it's a bit too much for me. It really feels like going through a haunted house, because you're constantly assaulted by horrifying imagery. I respect it for being effective. But I did not enjoy it. I watched Bed of Roses after it because I needed Bed of Roses to feel better.

    By the way, I watched Honeymoon and Honeymoon is terrific. Great acting and profoundly disturbing. I dig it.

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    1. You need to save Bed of Roses for Stalker Movie Month.

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    2. Or "I can't be in a relationship because I don't have parents so everyone must therefore hate me" movie month.

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  17. Oh boy. I just noticed Patrick said he now loves Suspiria. YES. I always thought that seemed like something he would like and it puzzled me that he didn't. That movie is the tops.

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  18. You guys really fucked over JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS this weekend by staying home and watching only scary movies. Mission accomplished.

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    1. I'm so excited that movie is out so I don't have to watch the preview for it before other movies anymore. That is cause for celebration.

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    2. Better hurry up if you want to catch "Jem" in theaters. It bombed as hard as "Green Inferno," which means it'll soon be banished to infrequent showings. My sister was so stoked that "Jen" was coming to the big screen, and now she's sad. :-(

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  19. I also forgot to mention how fucking stoked I am for Ash vs. Evil Dead on Saturday. I'm planning on closing out SMM with an Evil Dead marathon in preparation.

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    1. It was my most fun franchise I watched all month :)

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    2. Evil Dead is the only franchise I can think of where I like them best ranked in order of appearance. Yes, I think With a Vengeance is better than Die Harder.

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  20. I just listened to the Fthismovie Friday the 13th podcast and you got me thinking maybe i was too hard on the series (as watched this SMM). I'll have to try it again with my hockey mask on in the near future...sigh. Kind of late to the show but great SMM podcast.

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