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Post by Craig Herbertson on Jul 16, 2011 16:29:14 GMT
Devour. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Wasn't an absolute classic but was well directed with a good story and quite a few shocking moments.
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Jul 19, 2011 23:24:33 GMT
The Prophecy (1995)
Had this one for ages, but hadn't watched it until now. Christopher Walken just steals the show here, with his pyscho Gabriel, who seems more like he should be in the mafia.
I liked the portrayal of the angels as sinister characters, who really don't have time for humans & are just furthering their own agenda, rather than the usual all light. Viggo Mortenson was also the right choice for Lucifer.
My only complaints are, I could have done without the trite final lines voiceover & the film could have done with being longer (about the 2 hour mark), but then the sequels are there for that. Gabriel did seem a little too easily defeated, even if it was Lucifer he was up against.
The sequels shall be watched soon (I've been warned to avoid the Walken-less 4 & 5).
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Jul 20, 2011 6:33:16 GMT
Legion directed by Scott Stewart last night. Thoroughly enjoyable but flawed. I'm easily pleased by hordes of zombies or quasi zombies assaulting the frail outposts of humanity. The weaknesses for me paralleled exactly those I encountered in my own humble novelette 'The Heavenmaker' which played with a similar theme. The problem I had when I did the first draft was how to portray hell and its angels. The answer I discovered was that its unportrayable in any convincing manner and best left to allusion and memory. So, for me as soon as the angels come on the film loses its ability to convince. Prior to that it was thoroughly excellent then along comes God's team in high quality batman suits and ...ah well.
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Jul 20, 2011 23:34:23 GMT
Alien Trespass (2009)
I understood what this one was trying to do, but it just fell flat for me. The 'It Came From Outer Space' & 'The Green Slime' homages are all very well, but it really feels like troma doing a 50s style sf (although the production standards are higher here) & I'd rather watch an actual 50s sf or monster film.
It wasn't terrible, I've seen far worse, but it was more like a background film - I'd find some bits of interest, then it would just go through the motions again.
Eric McCormack, reminds me slightly of Jeffrey Combs & I could see him making a good Herbert West - If ever a replacement is needed or new scenes of a younger west needed.
All credit to the makers for trying, but it didn't win me over.
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Post by doomovertheworld on Jul 24, 2011 17:09:54 GMT
Intruder (1989)
a group of supermarket workers get picked off one by one by an unknown killer in classic late 80s slasher. this late in the day innovation was in short supply in the slasher genre. there are no real surpries in this movie however, what it does have going for it are imagination, a pleasingly black sense of humour and buckets load of gore (particularly if you catch the uncut version of the movie) when it comes to the kills. if you are keeping a close eye on things the identity of the killer does not come as too much of a surprise. the last 20 odd minutes of the movie becomes a cat and mouse chase between the killer and the final girl.
the director Scott Spiegel demonstrates an awful lot of flair, not only in relation to the kills, but in relation to shooting from weird camera angles as well. it is this aspect which most clearly shows the influnce of Sam Rami, with whom he had worked with on the Evil Dead series of movies. the cast, mostly made up of unknowns, act reasonably well and are largely likeable.
it is well worth a look particularly if you are a fan of slasher movies and even if you are not
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Post by andydecker on Jul 25, 2011 11:26:40 GMT
Sherlock (2010)
It was on tv, and I was really surprised. I thought the whole idea ridiculous, frankly, but I loved every minute. It was a clever re-imagining, had snappy dialogue and if you knew the original story, it was a lot of fun to spot the connections. I was astounded how well they incoorperated current technology into the plot, and I can live with the few moments where they stretched credibility.
Looking forward to part 2 next week.
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Post by pulphack on Jul 25, 2011 15:36:15 GMT
Well, it does have Mark Gattiss involved, so it was always going to have a well thought out approach and a genuine love of the original behind it.
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Post by Dr Strange on Aug 3, 2011 9:14:56 GMT
The Devil's Rock (2011)
Bought this off the shelf in HMV, which isn't something I do often. It's old-fashioned, Wheatley-esque, Nazi black magicians raising demons in the Channel Islands during the war. Some fairly blatant steals (or references, if you prefer) from other films (Outpost, Hell Boy, Evil Dead, The Devil Rides Out - there's even a brief nod to Raiders of the Lost Ark) - but still very enjoyable overall.
There's a blurb on the cover that makes out that it is "Saw with swastikas", but that really isn't at all accurate - this isn't "torture porn", though it is quite gory (I guess the similarity to Saw is in the basic setting, with a very small cast on a small, claustrophobic set - but that blurb almost put me off buying it). It's also surprisingly dialogue-driven at times, but never really drags. Paul Finch is credited with co-writing the script along with the director, Paul Campion (who has previously worked on FX on quite a few big budget films, including Lord of the Rings).
OK, it's not very original - but if you like the slightly comic-bookish approach to horror films (e.g. Drag Me To Hell) then you should enjoy this. And as a first effort at directing a full-length feature, I think it bodes well for Campion's future films - according to his website he is working on a couple of other projects with Paul Finch (including one called Voodoo Dawn), and is also developing an adaptation of Brian Keene's Dark Hollow.
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Post by lemming13 on Aug 5, 2011 12:25:55 GMT
Not much time for reading now the dreaded school holidays are upon us again, but the younger spawn being a horror film fan we did watch Drag Me To Hell, finally. And to be honest I thought it very poor. Even Mini-me wasn't scared, not once, those she did have a few 'ew, gross' moments. And thought the talking goat and floating hornpipe were hilarious, they fitted in with the rest of the film like a party hat on a polar bear. Though actually a party hat does look good on a polar bear... Thirst, on the other hand, was very shocking and I was glad I didn't let her watch it. Especially with all the sex. Next up are Heartless and the blu ray of Ipcress File.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Aug 5, 2011 13:33:15 GMT
The Uninvited - an old wartime spooker with Ray Milland and his sister getting hold of an old (haunted) house in Hollywood's idea of Devon/Cornwall. Not scarey-dairy but made me jump at the end.
The Flesh & The Fiends - top notch b&w rendition of the Burke & Hare story with Peter Cushing excelling as Dr Knox. Next time round I can watch the 'Continental' version. Cor!
Motel Hell - I'd waited 30 odd years to see this, and it was inevitably a bit of a disappointment, but I think it may grow with subsequent viewings. I wish Ivan & The Terribles had been a real band.
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Post by Dr Strange on Aug 5, 2011 15:35:07 GMT
I also thought Drag Me To Hell was hilarious and not at all scary - but since it's supposed to be a comedy I didn't have a problem with that. The comedy-horror film seems to be a very difficult one to pull off in a way that satisfies everyone - they either complain that it's too funny to be scary, or vice-versa. I thought Drag Me To Hell was very, very funny, and almost (though not quite) as good as Evil Dead 2 - what I was most afraid of was that it was going to end up more like Evil Dead 3 (one of the biggest disappointments ever in my film-going life). Devil's Rock definitely isn't a comedy (and has an 18 cert.) but it has a vague EC-ish comic book style, or at least seemed that way to me. I've been having a look around the director's web pages ( www.paulcampion.com/) and you can watch a couple of short films by him there - Eel Girl (which is only 5 mins long and has some of the flavour of Devil's Rock, but be warned, it probably isn't really SFW) and Night of the Hell Hamsters (a very silly 15 minutes that is pretty much what it sounds like!). And you can also see a trailer for Devil's Rock there.
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Post by killercrab on Aug 5, 2011 19:21:10 GMT
Motel Hell - I'd waited 30 odd years to see this, and it was inevitably a bit of a disappointment, but I think it may grow with subsequent viewings. I wish Ivan & The Terribles had been a real band.
I'd like to see this again - pretty sure I saw it at the flicks when it came out. Reminds me of that Judge Dredd story where an old lady is growing heads ( brain blooms) in her garden!
KC
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Post by andydecker on Aug 6, 2011 9:01:02 GMT
I also thought Drag Me To Hell was hilarious and not at all scary - but since it's supposed to be a comedy I didn't have a problem with that. I thought Drag me to Hell was a fine example of all things that are wrong with todays big budget horror movies. A weak script which is compromised to death, not a new idea in sight, which is glossed over by special effects or - god help me - 3D. Devil´s Rock sounds interesting.
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Post by Dr Strange on Aug 6, 2011 11:57:22 GMT
Originality of plot has never been a big issue for me - I'll take style over substance any day when it comes to films. Really I just want to be entertained and (simple soul that I am) that's just as likely to happen with some well-worn, cliche-ridden, formula as it is with anything startling and new (assuming that it's even possible to still be startling and new in horror film-making, which I am starting to doubt).
Anyway, I am still recommending The Devil's Rock - even to people who hated Drag Me To Hell. Really the only thing they have much in common is that I liked them both - there ain't many laughs to be had in The Devil's Rock, and there is absolutely no CGI (but there is a fair amount of gore splashed about).
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Post by andydecker on Aug 11, 2011 9:30:26 GMT
The Devil's Rock (2011) There's a blurb on the cover that makes out that it is " Saw with swastikas", but that really isn't at all accurate - this isn't "torture porn" Such blurbs are mostly stupid, but this one really is hurtful in its idiocy. If you are a SAW fan, you willk be bored, if you hate all things SAW youl´ll miss a nice little horror movie. I ordered it on your recommendation, Doctor, and liked it. Sometimes the lack of money can be a good thing, so we got no CGI monsters or overwrought action scenes. Instead there are a few surprisingly good actors and a nice tale. The only thing I truly missed were subtitles. Frankly I didn´t understood the details of the ending because of the audio-quality. But this is always a problem for foreign viewers.
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