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Post by David A. Riley on Jun 16, 2011 17:11:58 GMT
I've only ever seen the last 30 minutes or so of Ginger Snaps and I must admit it looked interesting. Must get a copy on DVD some time and give it a fair chance. I must admit I'm not particularly fussy about the films I like, and I do like The Werewolf of London (1930). But the more recent CGI fests just don't work for me. I want my horror films to at least have some token attempts at being frightening. Films like The Mummy, The Wolfman, Van Helsing, etc., are no more frightening than an overblown Scoobydoo. Not that I think they were ever meant to be frightening. I think the film makers had targeted a very young audience and hit it squarely between the eyes. In that they were successful. I even enjoyed American Werewolf in Paris.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Jun 16, 2011 17:15:50 GMT
I remember not long after Friday the 13th I was invited to our babysitters house for a meal. We ate and then her bloke moved into the living room and put a film on. Not a word was spoken, Me and the wife sat through a 'horror' film that began with some teenager being killed, ended with some teenager being killed and the middle part didn't vary from that theme. Must have been about 60 people killed in different ways by the end of the film which had no other plot, characterization or directorial contribution. Then we left in silence.
Can't for the life of me remember the name of the film - one person was killed by an axe and it was quite dark and the budget must have consisted of bus fares and tomato ketchup.
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Post by andydecker on Jun 16, 2011 19:00:04 GMT
I have to confess to liking The Mummy, though not the sequels or spin-offs. I quite like the comic-book approach. I also have a soft spot for The Mummy. Hated the sequel, though. Except Scorpion King, the best Conan movie of the last 20 years The Beast Must Die is a strange one. I never saw it before the DVD age. It was very much of its time, and Cushing is good as always. The Howling is my favorite Werewolf movie. Even forgive them the stupid ending. But this is like a Werewolf should look. Not like a hairy bloke but like a monster. The transformation scene where Eddie Quist changes and grows, loving every moment of it, astonishing and creepy. The werewolves are unapologetic evil, which I like a lot. No whining about a curse here. The only thing I remember about Howling 2 are the Czechoslovakia scenes and Sybil Duning ripping off her top. I know I saw some of the rest, but can´t remember a thing about them. Lol.
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Jun 16, 2011 22:58:06 GMT
Put me down as another American Werewolf in Paris fan. I also liked Van Helsing & The Mummy (still need to watch the Karloff version). I also managed to pick up Big Bad Wolf for £1, not watched it yet - also need to watch Outcast.
Seems we're getting a few werewolf films coming out now, I'm looking forwards to 'Strippers vs Werewolves' - with a title like that, how can you go wrong?
I won't touch 'Lesbian Vampire Killers' though, I can't stand those two tossers Corden & Horne.
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Post by Dr Strange on Jun 17, 2011 8:54:45 GMT
I thought Outcast was a total mess. Very frustrating, as the basic plot, cast and everything seemed right - but the writing/directing was so all over the place, I almost gave up before the end. I know some people liked it though - it's weird how some people seem to actually like the very things that have me threatening physical violence against my TV set. I won't touch 'Lesbian Vampire Killers' though, I can't stand those two tossers Corden & Horne. Ditto that.
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 17, 2011 11:06:09 GMT
I didn't much go for Ginger Snaps, hated American Werewolf In Paris, and I was underwhelmed by The Howling (the were-hamster was the worst thing, true). Big Bad Wolf wasn't great but it has its moments, and some very near the knuckle stuff indeed. I actually did quite like The Wolf Man (and Van Helsing, and The Mummy). I think the trouble with the likes of Van Helsing is, they aren't really supposed to be more scary than a big budget Scooby Doo; these are really created for a family audience as some fantasy eye candy. But studios do try to get maximum bums on seats and sell them in a misleading way. In fact I think that's the issue with The Wolf Man. It was oversold. The hype machine gets going and starts peddling the latest film is the 'greatest, scariest, most amazing thing you will ever see; it will shatter your sanity, cause you to spontaneously combust and and make your library books overdue...' Only it isn't, of course, so people are let down. The more so if they've been drawn into watching 'making of' promo features and the like, which I refuse to watch till after I've seen the film because I want to keep the illusion-shattering for afterwards. The same happens with comedy -'gutwrenchingly, knicker-wettingly funny' turns out to be 'mildly amusing'. For once it would be nice if the marketing division would try an approach on more restrained lines. 'Go see Mad Cheesegrater Killer 4 - it's quite good really...'
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Post by Dr Strange on Jun 17, 2011 11:21:16 GMT
Re-watched Ginger Snaps last night - it's still my favourite werewolf film. In general, I think you can get a pretty good idea of how scary/gory or whatever from the certification - that's what it's for after all. In my book, if it's a 12 then it ain't going to be "horror", no matter what the storyline is - though that worldview has been shaken recently by seeing loads of old Hammers in the shops with 12s on them!
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Jun 20, 2011 18:38:06 GMT
Until The End Of The World (1991)
I watched the Director's Cut last week & it's a great film. Make sure you have no interruptions for this one.
It's 1999, and an Indian nuclear satelite is on a possible collision course with earth. This is both important & unimportant, it's a backdrop - but there's a lot more going on here, though is does have an effect on the characters' outlook later on in the film.
The late Solveig Dommartin plays Claire, one of the key players here. Following a car accident with some bank robbers, whom she later makes friends with & keeps a share of the robbery money for, she becomes a bit of a drifter. Following one Trevor Mcphee/Sam Farber (William Hurt) wherever he goes (at one point she begins to think he may just a projection of hers), with the support (albeit semi-willing) of Sam Neill - possibly her boyfriend, their relationship is complicated & seems open.
Farber is a fugitive from the CIA, as he has an invention they are after, which is a product of his father's work.
The film is nicely divided into 3 parts, of just over 90 minutes each & the format breaks it up nicely. It's Good to see Max Von Sydow in a weighty role during the second half of the film, as a single-minded scientist completely focused on his work & watching the interplay between him and Hurt as his son.
The third part, where electric devices are knocked out by EMP & no-one is sure if it is due to the satellite or wether the rest of the world as they know it, still exists works very well, as people focus on other things & use it as a new start. Though there are a few cringe-worthy over-pretentious lines involved, but that's a minor complaint.
The obsession that results from Von Sydow's 'dream machine' is also a great part.
It's a shame that the German edition is the only version with the director's cut. The original multi-language audio is included, but there are only German subtitles, so I'm left stumped by the french scenes, but it doesn't have too much effect on overall enjoyment.
My review is a bit disjointed, I know, but this is really a film I can't do justice to, it needs to be seen.
Slayer - War At The Warfield (2003)
Dated 2003, but taken from a 2001 gig on the 'God Hates Us All' tour. Brutal as ever, a great performance from the band - though I could have done without the fan interviews (why do they always seem to pick the most deranged ones they could find?) & just ff'd to the gig.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jun 20, 2011 20:35:40 GMT
Guilty pleasures don't come a whole lot more guilty than Russ Meyer's Black Snake (aka Slaves). Preempting the likes of Mandingo and Roots, Russ buggered off to Barbados with a host of black extras and some white boils who'd all had the decency to appear in at least one British horror film (Anoushka Hempel, Percy Herbert, Anthony Sharp, David Warbeck and Dave Prowse) and churned out a delirious look at a British noblewoman (formerly Cockernee lady of the night) who refuses to acknowledge the abolition of slavery, continuing to whip her sugar cane cutting work force into a rebellious frenzy whilst bedding any honky who comes within the reach of her whip. Anoushka (with dubbed breasts) and Percy spend 80 or so minutes screaming at the rest of the cast in an appallingly non-PC manner whilst David Warbeck searches for his missing brother Dave Prowse and acts (no really) as the good guy to the put upon brothers. Lots of violence ensues. Embarrassingly entertaining. They're not allowed to make 'em like this any more. Much of the film almost comes across as serious but the occasional (surely deliberate) anachronism or joke - Ms Hempel unzipping her leather boots before a bath - in the 19th Century?!, or an English country mansion captioned 'Maxwell House, Surrey, England' catapult this into almost unclassifiable territory.
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Jun 23, 2011 1:28:52 GMT
From A Whisper To A Scream aka The Offspring (1986)
As with many later portmanteau films, this one is a bit uneven, with some nice ideas, but the execution lets it down a bit in places. The Stories revolve around the inhabitants of Oldfield & how they are infected by the place & become murderous - with the last one focusing on how the town was founded & featuring Cameron Mitchell giving one of his usual hammy performances.
Always good to see Vincent Price, just a shame he wasn't given much to do in the wraparound segment.
The Gray Man (2007)
After looking forward to this one for a while, I found it a bit dull to be honest. It tells the story of Albert Fish, but seems to focus more on his most famous crime, the killing of Grace Budd & rushes on to his capture & execution.
There are some fairly good performances, but The Gray Man doesn't really seem to stand out much from any other true crime film & you are left not feeling much the wiser, Fish is still a cypher. I think I'll be reading Harold Schecter's book on him soon.
Baby Love (1968)
Linda Hayden stars as 15 year old Luci, who after her Mother's suicide is taken in by her mother's former boyfriend.
It's clear from the start, she's not quite stable & manipulates the family & their friends, coming onto the men & playing with the emotions of the wife.
It's not bad, but fairly average of its time. Though given the subject matter, likely wouldn't be made today. (The original novel was published by Sphere, but no luck in finding a cover scan)
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 23, 2011 8:39:55 GMT
Plague of the Zombies (ah, Andre Morell, one of my favourite Hammer stars - and John Carson too, of course, and dear old Michael Ripper). And Attenborough's Tribal Eye series (actually not as far from the horror theme as you might think, especially when David appears in New Guinea traditional garb of bugger all but a bit of cloth to honour the ancestral spirits of a Melanesian tribe).
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Post by David A. Riley on Jun 23, 2011 9:15:25 GMT
Plague of the Zombies (ah, Andre Morell, one of my favourite Hammer stars - and John Carson too, of course, and dear old Michael Ripper). And Attenborough's Tribal Eye series (actually not as far from the horror theme as you might think, especially when David appears in New Guinea traditional garb of bugger all but a bit of cloth to honour the ancestral spirits of a Melanesian tribe). Andre Morell is one of my favourite Hammer stars too. Watched him recently in two very different Hammer roles, Camp on Blood Island and Cash on Demand. In the latter he plays a suave conman/thief who psychologically tortures bank manager/martinet Peter Cushing. A strange film, oddly reminiscent of A Christmas Carol.Morell is also my favourite Professor Quatermass, which role he played in the TV version of Quatermassand the Pit.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jun 23, 2011 13:30:10 GMT
[Andre Morell is one of my favourite Hammer stars too. Watched him recently in two very different Hammer roles, Camp on Blood Island and Cash on Demand. In the latter he plays a suave conman/thief who psychologically tortures bank manager/martinet Peter Cushing. A strange film, oddly reminiscent of A Christmas Carol.Had the pleasure of attending this double bill at the NFT a while back (plus a Cathy Gale episode of The Avengers featuring the avuncular but villainous Mr Morell.) Andre's son was there, and Babs Shelley introduced The Camp On Blood Island, an incredibly bizarre picture in this day and age, featuring Hammer regulars Michael Ripper and Marne Maitland as fiendish Japanese. AM really does excel in Cash On Demand as a villain, switching moods like lightning as Peter Cushing disintegrates.
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Post by David A. Riley on Jun 23, 2011 13:41:09 GMT
Oddly enough, I expected Camp on Blood Island to be much more horrific than it was. I have a copy of the original paperback which I have never read, but whose cover gives me this impression. Yes, funny to see Michael Ripper as a Japanese guard.
Some excellent acting in Cash on Demand, and not just by the principals. Morell and Cushing were brilliant as usual, but they were certainly not let down by the rest. A very tight, claustrophobic film, which I didn't think I would like at first, but did.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jun 23, 2011 14:12:48 GMT
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