Rich's October Horror Fest

[goodguy]

Title: Stay

I would never have thought of this as horror, but I'm looking forward to your comments on it. IMHO, it's a real gem, but sadly largely overlooked. If it weren't for Naomi Watts, I wouldn't have discovered it either; Marc Foster's other work certainly doesn't prepare you for it.

[Rich]

Title: Stay

I would never have thought of this as horror, but I'm looking forward to your comments on it. IMHO, it's a real gem, but sadly largely overlooked. If it weren't for Naomi Watts, I wouldn't have discovered it either; Marc Foster's other work certainly doesn't prepare you for it.

Wow is that one strange experience watching that!!! Didn't know whether to give it a 1 or a 5 for review mark??    I've sat here for nearly 20 minutes trying to fathom out exactly what we were being told/shown, it is so clever it is on the verge of pretentious. I reckon Jon would love getting his head round this one.

Spoiler (hover to show)

Personally my take on this was the whole film, after the initial car crash, up to the final scenes, was what flashed through Henrys mind as he lay dying on the bridge, suffering from survivors guilt, and testament to this were all the films characters were onlookers on the bridge. Sam somehow picked up on these thoughts at the end, and the life he could spend with Lila, hence why he asked her to go for a coffee. Why he wore short trousers I didn't grasp???
What were your conclusions at the end??

[Rich]

Title: Day Of The Dead (blu ray)

Movie Count:34  
TV Ep. Count:17  

Runtime:86
Certificate:18
Year:2008
Genres:Horror

Plot:WARNING! The population of a small town in Colorado seems to have been infected by a virus with unknown origin. The flu like symptoms usually consist of lethargy, cold sweats, nausea, discomfort, intense headaches and a slight discolouring to their complexion. Unfortunately this is usually followed by a sudden urge to savagely rip the limbs from any living creature that might stand in their way whilst chewing on their bones, sucking out their brains and chewing on their flesh. En elite, cold bloodied and tenacious military force has been sent in to clean up the mess. But where as some residents are more than willing to spend the rest of their short lives in quarantine a small group of survivors escape and head towards an uncertain demise unaware of the eyeball chomping, gut splurting nightmare that awaits them.
Directed by Steve Miner (Friday The 13th Part 2, House, Soul Man, Warlock), written by Jefffrey Reddick (Final Destination) and starring the irresistible Mena Suvari (American Pie, American Beauty), this re-imagining of George Romero's horror classic is a minefield of extreme gore and violence that takes the zombie genre to a new level of savagery.

My Review:
Despite the negative criticism heard for this, I really thought it was a fun blast with some nice modern effects and tongue in cheek humour. Sure there is absolutely no chance this storyline will win any awards, and the actors are not from the top table, but what it offers is a pacy, whacky trip from start to finish and an understanding that zombie films should be humourous.
I think the enjoyment was heightened by the blu-ray viewing, as the picture quality was superb, and especially the audio being powerful and fitting to the subject matter must have kept my neighbours awake as I pumped it round the speakers.
I must admit that I enjoyed this more than the original. Sure the original can be respected and lauded in what followed it, but for pure enjoyment and something to leave a smile on your face this modern re-imaging is more appealing.

My Rating
Out of a Possible 5

[goodguy]

Title: Stay

Wow is that one strange experience watching that!!! Didn't know whether to give it a 1 or a 5 for review mark??    I've sat here for nearly 20 minutes trying to fathom out exactly what we were being told/shown, it is so clever it is on the verge of pretentious. I reckon Jon would love getting his head round this one.

Spoiler (hover to show)

Personally my take on this was the whole film, after the initial car crash, up to the final scenes, was what flashed through Henrys mind as he lay dying on the bridge, suffering from survivors guilt, and testament to this were all the films characters were onlookers on the bridge. Sam somehow picked up on these thoughts at the end, and the life he could spend with Lila, hence why he asked her to go for a coffee. Why he wore short trousers I didn't grasp???
What were your conclusions at the end??

Spoiler (hover to show)

That's pretty much the resolution to the puzzle. To me, that's not the important thing though, even if Foster took great effort to have a logical reason behind all of his choices. I remember him explaining the trousers thing by Sam being crouched down at Henry's side (on the  bridge), and therefore his throusers appearing shorter.

IMHO, the movie works even if you don't decode all of the clues (and I most certainly didn't). It is a snapshot of a dying mind, fighting for survival (if you announce your suicide, you usually do it so that someone can rescue you), but losing its grasp even on the hallucinated reality. It's been a while since I've seen the movie, so I don't remember if Sam picked up on Henry's thoughts somehow. Could be that him asking Lila to go for a coffee is simply the begin of a completely different story than the one Henry imagined.

[Rich]

Title: Stay

Wow is that one strange experience watching that!!! Didn't know whether to give it a 1 or a 5 for review mark??    I've sat here for nearly 20 minutes trying to fathom out exactly what we were being told/shown, it is so clever it is on the verge of pretentious. I reckon Jon would love getting his head round this one.

Spoiler (hover to show)

Personally my take on this was the whole film, after the initial car crash, up to the final scenes, was what flashed through Henrys mind as he lay dying on the bridge, suffering from survivors guilt, and testament to this were all the films characters were onlookers on the bridge. Sam somehow picked up on these thoughts at the end, and the life he could spend with Lila, hence why he asked her to go for a coffee. Why he wore short trousers I didn't grasp???
What were your conclusions at the end??

Spoiler (hover to show)

That's pretty much the resolution to the puzzle. To me, that's not the important thing though, even if Foster took great effort to have a logical reason behind all of his choices. I remember him explaining the trousers thing by Sam being crouched down at Henry's side (on the  bridge), and therefore his throusers appearing shorter.

IMHO, the movie works even if you don't decode all of the clues (and I most certainly didn't). It is a snapshot of a dying mind, fighting for survival (if you announce your suicide, you usually do it so that someone can rescue you), but losing its grasp even on the hallucinated reality. It's been a while since I've seen the movie, so I don't remember if Sam picked up on Henry's thoughts somehow. Could be that him asking Lila to go for a coffee is simply the begin of a completely different story than the one Henry imagined.

Spoiler (hover to show)

Aaah the trousers make sense now, it's bugged me all night 
Good film though, I may even have to bump up my rating as the more I understand it the better it is

[Rich]

Title: The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season

Movie Count:34  
TV Ep. Count:18  

Certificate:NR
Year:1990
Genres:Animation, Comedy, Television

Plot:Welcome to Season Two of The Simpsons on DVD -- twenty-two jam-packed episodes of malicious cartoon frivolity that helped make 1990 and 1991 such entertaining and annoying years.
Episodes:
Treehouse Of Horror
In the backyard treehouse on Halloween, Bart and Lisa try to frighten each other by telling three scary stories.
Bad Dream House
The family moves into a new house and eerie things begin to happen.
Hungry Are The Damned
The Simpsons are abducted by aliens, Kang and Kodos, who seem to have plans on eating the family.
The Raven
Lisa reads the classic Edgar Allan Poe poem.
My Review:
No need to overly review a Simpsons episode, needless to say this was the first of now many Halloween treehose of horror specials, a split of 3 'scary' stories with the final one coming across the most clever and enjoyable, being in rhyme in honour of EA Poe. Looks a little dated watching a Simpsons from 20 years ago, but the original context of the episode actually being told from a treehouse was good.

My Rating
Out of a Possible 5

[Achim]

I must admit that I enjoyed this more than the original. Sure the original can be respected and lauded in what followed it, but for pure enjoyment and something to leave a smile on your face this modern re-imaging is more appealing.

While I doubt it will surpass the original in my book your review sure made me consider the purchase of this.

[Rich]

I must admit that I enjoyed this more than the original. Sure the original can be respected and lauded in what followed it, but for pure enjoyment and something to leave a smile on your face this modern re-imaging is more appealing.

While I doubt it will surpass the original in my book your review sure made me consider the purchase of this.

I think importantly to consider was my enjoyment of the re-imaging movie was heightened by watching it on blu-ray (£3.48 dld), and it had more impact both visually and significantly aurally because of this

[Jon]

Like Achim, I feel I need to give this a chance, but it simply isn't possible to better the original. It's one my favourite gore-fest movie and features more than one scene that still makes my jaw drop.

[Rich]

Title: Slither

Movie Count:35 
TV Ep. Count:18 

Runtime:92
Certificate:15
Year:2006
Genres:Horror, Comedy

Plot:One humdrum evening, Grant hits the local bar where he bumps into an old friend, Brenda. Abandoning their drinks for a moonlit stroll, the pair discovers the remains of what appears to be a meteor and a trail of glistening, noxious ooze leading to a pulsating, unidentifiable mass. Suddenly, the glob comes to life and overtakes Grant, penetrating his body with a pustule-covered tentacle. As alien parasite has found and infected its unlucky human host and unwilling transporter who now must continue to infect others in order to survive.

My Review:
Despite some pretty impressive special effects, this B movie could best be described as a blob with brains.
Little in the way of storyline, the characters are faceless and the lack of tension, humour or horror make this a nondescript movie. The only thing hardcore in this movie is the pointless excess of swearing - there is no significant gore, no major slashing, in fact nothing at all except dumbing down in a poor attempt to rip-off films like The Thing.
Why did the worms make people walk bow-legged? Was the make-up artist drunk?
One to miss.

My Rating
Out of a Possible 5

[Rich]

Title: House of Wax

Movie Count:36  
TV Ep. Count:18  

Runtime:108
Certificate:15
Year:2005
Genres:Horror

Plot:Thrills and chills ooze all over you in House of Wax, from Dark Castle Entertainment and legendary horror producers Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis (Gothika, House on Haunted Hill).
When their car breaks down on a road trip, six college friends are sidetracked into an eerie backwoods town. Curiosity gets the better of them when they are intrigured by its macabre House of Wax. They soon find out that the town is not what it seems and they must find their way out before they fall victim to its ghoulishly inventive killers.

My Review:
Above average remake, very watchable despite having Paris Hilton in the cast, although it was difficult to tell her apart from the wax dummies.
Some nice original scenes, such as the cinema, add gloss to a reasonable plot, albeit cheesy, but you find yourself enjoying it nonetheless.
Despite the stuttering start, once the action begins it is pacy and gory with reasonable tension, and with bodies dropping at regular intervals your attention is kept focussed.
Not great acting, but 'Trudy' is a pretty scary monster, and the set-pieces make this a surprisingly entertaining flick.  

My Rating
Out of a Possible 5

[Jon]

Despite some pretty impressive special effects, this B movie could best be described as a blob with brains.
Little in the way of storyline, the characters are faceless and the lack of tension, humour or horror make this a nondescript movie. The only thing hardcore in this movie is the pointless excess of swearing - there is no significant gore, no major slashing, in fact nothing at all except dumbing down in a poor attempt to rip-off films like The Thing.
Why did the worms make people walk bow-legged? Was the make-up artist drunk?
One to miss.

Oh dear! This is one of my favourite modern b-movies. Tremors is still the king, but this is a delight. Nathan Fillion is hilarious, chewing dialogue with some killer lines. It knows it's cheesy and plays up to it and at no point whatsoever attempts to rip-off The Thing.

There. Balance restored. 

[Dragonfire]

Despite some pretty impressive special effects, this B movie could best be described as a blob with brains.
Little in the way of storyline, the characters are faceless and the lack of tension, humour or horror make this a nondescript movie. The only thing hardcore in this movie is the pointless excess of swearing - there is no significant gore, no major slashing, in fact nothing at all except dumbing down in a poor attempt to rip-off films like The Thing.
Why did the worms make people walk bow-legged? Was the make-up artist drunk?
One to miss.

Oh dear! This is one of my favourite modern b-movies. Tremors is still the king, but this is a delight. Nathan Fillion is hilarious, chewing dialogue with some killer lines. It knows it's cheesy and plays up to it and at no point whatsoever attempts to rip-off The Thing.

There. Balance restored. 

I agree with Jon...of course I may not be that...objective where Fillion is concerned.

[Rich]

I am happy with your thoughts on Slither, as long as you both know you are wrong   

[Rich]

Title: I Spit on Your Grave

Movie Count:37  
TV Ep. Count:18  

Runtime:101
Certificate:NR
Year:1978
Genres:Horror

Plot:This highly anticipated DVD release tells the tale of Jennifer Hills, a magazine writer from New York City who retires to a secluded cabin in the woods to write her first novel.  There she is brutally assaulted, raped and left for dead by four "country boys."  BUT JENNIFER IS ALIVE.  Emotionally destroyed, she no longer writes her novel; instead she finds herself choreographing a horrific revenge scheme to inflict punishment on her four assailants in methods such as the screen has never seen before!
Originally titled "DAY OF THE WOMAN," "I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE" has gained a reputation over the years as an extremely graphic and violent film, as well as the most controversial film to hit the world!  Now you decide for yourself: Is it really "Just another exploitation film to be dismissed" as some film critics assert, or is it, as other critics proclaim, "Truly a masterpiece of cinema."

[b]My Review:
Ugly film, intentionally, dealing with an unpleasant subject matter full-on and no-holds barred.
Considering the story is about a young woman who is brutally raped and sodomised by a pack of 'men', I am pleased to say I was not entertained, nor did I enjoy the movie. However it is a film you have to respect, it portrays the story somewhat from a womans perspective, the horror and humiliation of such an event, and the no-doubt thirst of a victim to exact revenge and kill the rapists in the most barbaric fashion.
It does let itself down by some glorifying and exploitation, but overall the direction and production, bearing in mind this was the 70's, is handled with a sledgehammer, and that heavy-handedness suits the film perfectly.
It is a film that any movie-buff should probably put themselves through, but it cannot ever be classed a pleasant experience due to it's controversial storyline and it's graphic portrayal, and a film I will never return to.

My Rating
Out of a Possible 5
I cannot 'rate' a movie like this.