Saturday, October 29, 2016

Weekend Open Thread

We're down to the last few days of #ScaryMovieMonth.

It's the home stretch everyone. Hopefully you get the chance to watch some movies this weekend. Anything you're saving for the final days? What will you be watching on Halloween? Probably Halloween. And Trick 'r Treat. And maybe Satan's Little Helper?

69 comments:

  1. The most terrifying prospect of Halloween is that we'll get either a franchise episode OR a marathon episode and won't be spoiled with both. Say it ain't so.

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  2. SMM goes out with whimper for this guy. We're hosting friends who "aren't into movies" especially not the "violent stuff." Plan is to sneak some movies either after bedtime or before sunrise. A very fun and successful month everyone. I'll be checking for the final 7 word reviews.

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    1. You could always try to pull a fast one on them! I tried to get my kids to watch The Gate early this evening (school night) but they insisted on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...huh...Depp really likes saying that stuff is "weird"...enough, we get it...we get it already.

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  3. After day 28, the total count is at 2727 reviews (again, double posts and non-review comments subtracted). Come on people, we gotta push it past 3000!

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    1. Nice work counting it up, I'm gonna push it this final weekend for sure

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    2. I feel we needed more Xtro, I'm still waiting for Patrick and Riske!

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    3. Dude, you gotta stop Shelly Levine'ing me on Xtro :-)

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    4. Sorry :(

      It's expected from me, just a bit of fun

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    5. Sorry :(

      It's expected from me, just a bit of fun

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    6. Good call on Shelly levene, sounds about right

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    7. ROMA
      Guess what the Machine did?

      MOSS
      Fuck the Machine.

      Haha, I love Moss in this scene where he loses his mind.

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    8. After day 29, we're at 2867. Another day like that, and we'll be at 3000 with a day left.

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  4. Haven't been to a movie theater all month, but tonight I'm seeing a triple feature of Don't Breathe, Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 on the big screen. And on Monday, they're showing a 70's movie called Blood on Satan's Claw, which I know nothing about, but I'm there.

    Besides those, a couple more movies at home (including Tales of Halloween, which just came in the mail) to push me past 50 movies for the month.

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    1. Blood on Satan's Claw is an awesome movie. Kids and witchcraft in the middle ages. I would put it in the same vein as The VVitch, or Eyes of Fire.

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  5. I was planning on writing a Ransom: 20 Years Later column this weekend to run next month (which would have been fun for all of us) but I can't find the movie digitally anywhere. What a shitshow. Another example that Ron Howard is a complete mess right now cinematically.

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    1. Gimme back my North American streaming licenses!!!

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    2. You know, I know a lot of people hate Random. But it did give us the Swede Mason remix of "Gimme back my son". For that, I am forever grateful.

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  6. Howard's losing with the cinematic right now.

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  7. Always watching Trick 'r Treat on Halloween and starting last year, Hellions, which is one of my favorite Halloween movies ever. Already revisited The Midnight Hour (1985) and that's an almost perfect, made for TV Halloween film. I think those three might be my favorite Halloween themed Horror films.

    About to carve the pumpkins with my wife and roast some pumpkin seeds while revisiting Halloween III. Doesn't get much better than that!

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    1. Fuck, I forgot about Hellions! I should totally throw that in on Monday! Got 9 more movies to go to reach my goal of 100 horror movies for the month, and my 'traditional' slot is going to WNUF. I also wanted to revisit Trick 'r Treat (because I hated it the first time I saw it and want to see if I still feel the same way,) and also The Midnight Hour because I loved it but have only seen it once. Also planning on doing a rewatch of Alucarda because I just got the dvd. I'll play the rest by ear.

      BTW, when are Patrick and Chaybee going to form their movie reviewing supergroup, Brahmley?

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    2. Haha! I'll get Patrick on vocals!

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    3. I was thinking a live podcast tour a la Comedy Bang Bang, with you co-hosting while playing the keys, Reggie Watts style. :)

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    5. Hellions, eh? I was looking for an alternative to Trick 'r Treat, so might give this a shot. Either that or Boo! A Madea Halloween.

      Do you need to have seen Hellion first?

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    6. Yes. Tyler Perry gives full on spoilers for Hellions. Seriously though, Trick 'r Treat and Hellions are only similar in length. Where TrT is a lot of fun, Hellions is more straight up. But it's masterful directed by a master.

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    7. *masterfully* Sorry, hate writing on a phone.

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  8. I don't think I have ever immersed myself in Horror as I have this month. I still have a couple of movies I want to watch, but I feel almost like a different person. I love Horror. My top 5 would look almost completely different than it did four weeks ago. May, Psycho II, Lifeforce, Deep Red, Bubba Ho-Tep, Dawn of the Dead Masque of the Red Death were all so great surprises.

    Also the reviews have been epic, and I have a another huge list of things to seek out and watch. Again a big thank you to Patrick and F This Movie and everyone else for making this month so much fun, and a little life changing.

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    1. Thanks, I'm just happy to be here.

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    2. Lindsay you are top shelf. Your reviews have been a bunch of fun!

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  9. Most of the new-to-me movies I've watched this month have been clunkers, sadly. But there have been a few bright spots.

    I really liked Southbound. It's what I hoped a Silent Hill movie could be: Less about CGI monsters and more about a mysterious town where folks' own psychological foibles haunt them in a big way. Great stuff.

    I also thought 2005's Cry Wolf was a pleasant surprise. Consider this a partial recommend, though, because a lot of folks won't like how it's light on scares and heavy on "just hanging out" dialogue. I personally found myself on board with all the character stuff, though.

    As for my Halloween night plans, I've only seen American Werewolf in London once before, and it was ages ago. Other than the famous transformation scene, I barely remember anything about it. I figure it's about time to revisit it.

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    1. Sturgeon's Law: 90% of anything is crap. Why should horror movies be any different? And yep, most of the new-to-me horror flicks I saw this past month were God-awful. :-P

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  10. Well, I'm doing my part to get us over 3,000 reviews. Taking the weekend and Monday off (no small feat for a guy with three jobs) and watching a five movie all-night marathon at Brooklyn's Nitehawk Cinema tonight (four of 'em new to me and in 35mm to boot!). And based on the schedule I've made I can already announce that my final review for SMMC 2016 will be from a theatrical screening of new-to-me Lucio Fulci's "Cat in the Brain."

    But seriously, even if we don't make it over 3,000 reviews (which we will, because that's just how the F This Movie posse rolls), who cares? It's the journey getting there that counts, not the destination... or some cliche bullshit like it I heard from some TV afternoon special or something. :-)

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  11. Watched The Wailing (2016). Very good! Just finished, and still trying to process it. It's a movie that would be open to many interpretations, and the folks on IMDB probably had a blast telling everyone "This is what really happened".

    Also, I learned that this is the same director of The Chaser, which is another awesome movie, but more of a mystery/thriller, rather than mystery/horror (if we insist on putting everything into little boxes).

    I've got a handful of movies I have yet to to post 7 word reviews, so I'll have to post them all in the last day (although I watched them over the last couple weeks). I would have liked to have watched more movies this month, but was freaking busy. I'll just have to carry over into November. I don't think anyone here has a problem with that.

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  12. It's been so long since I watched this much horror in one month. This has been by far the most I've ever watched and posted during a scary movie month. I even got a little burnt out in the middle of the week, but I'm back and ready to finish strong. I know my average for the month is around 2.5 movies per day, I want to get it up to 3, haha.

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  13. A lot of the movies that I've watched this month have been on good ole DVD because I've simply refused to upgrade many movies in my collection. I still have a healthy number of Blu Rays though, at least 100 are upgrades on DVDs I already owned. I was one of the lucky few that got screwed by the HD-DVD vs. Blu Ray format wars, getting stuck with over 100 or so HD-DVDs. Anyways, I watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original) on an old DVD and it was very grainy and it felt sort of authentic to me. It felt close to watching it on film and I loved the feel of it. This was earlier in the month and I was convinced that certain movies just shouldn't be remastered in HD because you lose the grittiness of it...Then I watched the 4K remaster of Texas Chainsaw Massacre on Amazon Prime Instant...I was wrong, I enjoyed it much more. Nothing was lost by touching up the picture and the sound was incredible. I love the blu ray format, but now we have 4K Blu Rays coming into the picture. I for one won't be upgrading for at least another 5 years. I think Blu Ray or 1080p HD is the perfect level for many films, pre-digital films especially. Maybe I'm wrong though, that 4K remaster of TCM was great. What does everyone think of this sort of stuff? As a consumer, I feel like I'm being milked every time a new format is announced. I don't need to buy another format of Goodfellas, or is it inevitable? Haha, I mean I've already owned it on VHS, DVD, HDDVD, and 2 Blu Rays (special booklet case edition)

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    1. I hear what you're saying. I'm in the process of upgrading my DVDs to Blu-ray as well. I think the 1080p and remastered sound of Blu-ray is perfect. For now, I'll leave 4k to the theaters.

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    2. I don't upgrade anything from DVD unless I find it for 2.99 in the bin at Walmart, etc. There are too many movies I don't have, that I'd rather spend the money on. Also have a rather modest TV, so the difference is minimal (noticeable, sure, but it doesn't take away from the experience).

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    3. What's your sound system like? I upgrade just as much for the sound as I do for the image.

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    4. Good point, I had thought about that after I posted.

      I have a simple 2 channel that's at least 15 years old, so not a deciding factor in my case. For me, the slight improvement in sound/picture just isn't worth it in terms of cost. But depending on someone's setup, it could make a huge difference. (I also live in an apartment, so late night movies are with the sound low or on my cheap headphones).

      Everyone has their own priorities with how they spend their money. I have a friend that throws his money at buying expensive vinyls of music he already has digitally. (Him: It sounds better Me: But can you listen in the car?).

      There are several very special movies to me where I've upgraded, but the majority, which I don't re-watch very frequently (if at all), I'll keep the DVD and spend the money on something new. (or save it, and eventually get a sweet sound and tv setup!)

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  15. Well, another great SMM is almost in the books - I'm not going to hit 31 but I'm on pace to reach my goal of more than last year. If I regret anything it's that I didn't watch any 2015/16 horror but that probably helped me avoid duds of which I didn't watch any.

    My most unsettling horror experience of the month was reading "American Psycho" - holy god that is a disturbing read. And it really catches you off guard because it can be very funny one moment and then transition right into a horribly descriptive scene of torture and murder. But, I mean, it's definitely "good" so I'd recommend it. I would not recommend watching the movie right after finishing the book though - it's a fragmented novel already and the movie just ends up feeling like a collection of "best of" scenes. And Bale's performance is rarely as interesting as the character in the book (though he does nail the scenes with Dafoe) - I don't know, it was a movie I used to think was pretty great but after getting blown away by the book, it felt a little lackluster.

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    1. I actually didn't enjoy the book very much, and to me, the book and the movie are very different. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that the movie was made by a women. I think that was a perfect decision that added a whole other level to the movie that the book seems to be lacking.

      Perhaps I should give it another read because I've seen the movie dozens of times. But like you said, it's not a very enjoyable book to sit through so I don't know.

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    2. You never look at eye balls and was it a gerbal the same way again after that book. I love hearing people's reaction to that book. I remember it as a book that really got to me. Though I agree the book and movie are two different beasts, with different mostly different goals. I always thought the movie was a little more stream line than the book, which was much more episodic. But I need to watch the movie again.

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    3. It was a rat (that crawled up out of his toilet and then was forced to crawl in...somewhere else) and, no, you don't.

      And I agree that the book and movie are two very different things (I think the fact it was made by women is an important part of that) that are both good in their own right - it's probably a mistake to watch ANY movie right after reading the book as the comparison is just too fresh and a movie is almost inevitably going to feel hollowed out in comparison.

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  16. FTM finally got me to dip my toe in the original universal monster movies (Dracula, Frankenstein, Mummy, Invisible, BOF and The Wolf Man). I resisted thinking they would be very dated, boring and silly (the usual reasons). Some of that is actually true but overall it was really interesting to see the DNA of monster movies, not to mention at around an hour they're very digestible. I was actually shocked by some elements which I was not expecting (Franks meeting the little girl or the sheer batshit insanity of the invisible man). Thanks FTM for shoving me down the road. I'll continue to knock these off my list and next year Hammer!

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    1. I love Universal monsters, especially precode. For me they were constantly testing boundaries. Other precode horror is on my list for next year - oh and having been loving your reviews as well. Really fun and smart!

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    2. Ha! Thanks, anything smart was unintentional. Now thanks to you I know what precode means. I was the most impressed by the female character in The Mummy. She made reference to making "love" with a man she just met. I interpret that as someone who is independent, intelligent and confident in their decision making process . Something I thought was off limits in the 30's films (granted I know nothing of this period). While this should be a constant in todays day and age I was just expecting a female to be subjugated to someone a male would marry. It made me happy to think my grandmother might be someone of such caliber.

      Also funny to think this level of violence caused such an uproar. It seems like nothing given todays perspective, but then again (in the US) if anyone is naked in a movie the sky is falling. The more we change the more we stay the same.

      Happy Scary Movie Month!

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    3. One of the things I love about a lot of the Universal horror stuff of that era is that most of them are pretty quick watches making them ideal for when you want to watch something but don't have a lot of time.

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  17. No joke, Scream Factory or the like will be putting "Hellions" out in 20 years and will be a "cult classic". Fuck that. Don't sleep on it now. It's heavy, but it's amazing. The cinematography alone is some of the best of the decade. Chloe Rose should get a "Great Horror Performances" write up. To me, it's just brilliant, beautifully executed by a damn smart director and disliked for reasons I can't understand.

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    1. I had a good time watching it but it didn't scream out all time halloween classic, for me. Really glad it made such an impact on you. Worth mentioning that it's streaming on Netflix (US) so really no particular barrier to entry. On your recommendation I got Fear, Inc. lined up for later in the day. So thanks...maybe :)

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    2. Glad to hear, Cullen! I actually had a lot of fun with Fear, Inc. Some hate it. I can't call it with recommendations for Horror films these days. The Witch is one of the best, most classy Horror films ever and friends ask if they should watch that or The Conjuring 2 and I always say The Conjuring 2 because it's easily accessible, though The Witch blows that movie away. Fear Inc. isn't anything special. it as just a surprise to me that I enjoyed it.

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    3. I haven't forgotten about "North Shore" btw.

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    4. it *was* just a surprise to me...

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    5. HAHA! Yeah North Shore is some serious pure cinema. If pure means Miller Light. As Patrick says "everyone is a snowflake rainbow" (pretty sure that's verbatim). Seriously though horror recommendation are literally impossible. I had a bunch of people watch The Thing last week and they were all almost unimpressed! Perhaps the lessons is I need cooler friends.

      I haven't actually watched The VVitch even though I could do it for free right now. I've just heard to much discussion and it will undoubtedly impair my viewing. I'm making a conscious effort to give it a year or 2 to completely forget what everyone has been saying. The litmus test is when Black Phillip means nothing to me (perhaps a pipe dream).

      Halloween night movies: Yup Trick R Treat is just the best. I'm also a sucker for Burton's Sleepy Hallow. Might watch those tonight in protest to the universe for allowing Halloween to be on a Monday and let AMC decide my fate Halloween night :-P.

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    6. No doubt. Not liking The Thing is criminal, although I'm more and more realizing that it doesn't really matter. Taste is so subjective. I'm just trying to be less negative. I do think I've become a better movie watcher in the last couple years as that has been my goal.

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    7. Of course you say something amazingly cool. This is just about enjoyment right?? On a non SMM related topic did you hear the good news that a sequel (maybe completion of the trilogy) to London Has Fallen is happening? We live in exciting times!

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    8. Angel Has Fallen?! OF COURSE! Are you kidding me?! I lost my mind when I heard that! :)

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    9. Watch the Witch now, btw. It will be in your top ten, or not. :)

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    10. Given a recommendation from the master of horror I'll make it happen tonight or tomorrow.

      Fuck me?
      Fuck you!
      BASH!

      Always makes me laugh :)

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    11. Useless side note. Watching The Return of the Living Dead this month I made an actor connection to North Shore. 7 degree's of North Shore? Turtle=Chuck. Braddah Braddah

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  18. Just ordered the Scream Factory Collector's Edition of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, looks amazing. I was planning on showing it to my dad, sister, and family (they love horror movies, hoping this one isn't too out there for them, lol) Halloween night, but it won't get here til Tuesday, so it's gonna have to wait. Scary Movie Month? Scary Movie Year! haha. I think I'm gonna get them to watch Dawn of the Dead (original). I thought my dad had seen it, but I think he saw the remake... I only get to choose one. Everyone chooses their own movie to bring to the marathon. They've never seen Nightmare 3 and that might be a good test for Texas Chainsaw 2, tough decision this year.

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    1. Dude your family is awesome! Maybe break them in "easily" with the Hooper. "The Funhouse" is a Bromley must see. Just be cool with old lady gypsy hand jobs. Happy Halloween :)

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    2. I would show 'The Funhouse' but I don't own it yet, is it streaming anywhere?

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    3. You can buy and/or rent it on iTunes or Amazon.

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    4. I ended up going with 'Dawn of the Dead', it played last and it absolutely killed! It was by far the highlight of the night. We all laughed and loved it. I of course had to explain to them what Romero was going for and I think that helped them understand what they were watching.

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    5. Can't go wrong with Dawn...either one. The other movies are also super fun. The Strangers always gets me. I hope Tamara finds her friend :)

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  19. Got back from my vacation a couple days ago and have been largely in recovery mode. I tried to get as much out of SMM as I could when I had the time though, and I'm pretty satisfied with how much I was able to watch. I've also got a large backlog on content to go through on this site now so that should help me drag that SMM feeling out for another week or two. Guess now it's time to start looking forward to F This Movie Fest in a few months.

    Thanks Patrick and the rest (both the other contributers to the site as well as the rest of the community). As much as I already loved watching movies you guys add a lot of extra enjoyment on top of it (looking forward to some good Top 10 lists at the end of the year).

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