Thursday, February 24, 2011

Frailty, Cloverfield, The Signal, The Thing (1982), In The Mouth Of Madness, Day Of The Triffids (2010), Dead Snow (2007), Cropsey

Feb 16, 2011
Frailty (2001)

How can you go wrong with demons and righteous killings? Well you can't. Directed by Bill Paxton, this is a fabulous little gem. Full of tension and religious crazy, it's a really wonderful movie.


Feb 18, 2011
Cloverfield (2008)

It's funny, both Chris and I hate the shaky cam with the flaming passion of a thousand fiery suns, yet this movie is a win for both of us. Chris in particular LOVES it. I do love an unhappy ending and this fits the bill to a T. It surprises me that Chris likes this as much as he does, he is far more of a lovely optimist than I am. We're all just enigmas aren't we?


Feb 19, 2011
The Signal (2007)

We watched this for the first time in Vegas when we stayed at the Paris. The TV there sucked, it was a small tube TV but we always watch at least one movie there and I really wanted to see this so.... It was transfixing. I love a 3 view film and was completely wowed by this. Great performances, and an amazing idea made into a fantastic movie. Small budget doesn't mean small film. I love this movie. LOVE.


Feb 20, 2011
The Thing (1982)

Not a woman in sight. Except the chess computer who gets trashed in the first 10 minutes. You'd think as a woman this would be an issue for me, but HELLS NO. We watched this with commentary as it is like the 20th time I've watched it, and JC doesn't disappoint. He and Kurt Russell have a grand time dissecting and discussing this classic. Amazing.


Feb 21, 2011
In The Mouth Of Madness (1992)

I had no idea Mr Carpenter considered The Thing, ITMOM and Prince Of Darkness to be a trilogy. His Apocalypse trilogy to be precise. The end of the world is a great subject. This Cthulhu-esque Lovecraftian end of days tale is so fucking fun to watch. Sam Neill is hilarious and super fun to watch. I'm on a roll with good stuff right now...

Feb 21/22, 2011
Day Of The Triffids (2009)

And the roll ends here. Argh. This was laughable, campy and sin of sins, boring. We stuck it out for 4 hours, and I am not a better for it. I may have lost a few IQ points but Chris and I did piss ourselves laughing a few times so it wasn't a total loss. It only mostly was. :(


Feb 23, 2011
Dead Snow (2007)

One of my pals came over to knit and she has a small obsession with getting me to watch horror movies with her, so I picked this one. We laughed, she covered her eyes, we cheered, she covered her eyes, we groaned, she covered her eyes. It was a great success. Great fun and nice knits in it to boot. NAZI ZOMBIES.


Feb 24, 2011
Cropsey (2009)

This aforementioned friend finally convinced me to sign up for the free month of Netflix. My first pass through, I found this documentary that I have been WEEING to see for ages! So hurrah for that! I may have built this up a little so was a titch underwhelmed. The story was pretty interesting, but it wasn't that compelling for me. Maybe if I was from Staten Island, but it left me a little bit bored. Oh well, the glory of Netflix is there is always more...

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Psych 9, Black Water, Nightmare, Planet Terror, From Beyond, Countess Dracula, Dead and Buried

Feb 9, 2011
Psych 9 (2007)
My notebook says CONFUSING. And apparently forgettable. Cause that is what I have to reply on since I can barely remember watching this. Not a ringing endorsement eh? 

Feb 10, 2011
Black Water (2007)

I used to think I wasn't a creature feature gal, but these killa croc movies (like Rogue) are changing my mind. This was another Aussie gem. I can't imagine living in a country where everything wants to kill you, but it sure makes for a good movie setting! Loved it. 

Feb 11, 2011
Nightmare (1958)

There wasn't much of a Nightmare to be found here, but there was a good "gaslighting" thing going on. Great visuals, and such charming nightgowns! I enjoy these oldies, the B&W is amazing. Lovely and even a little twisted at the end. Fun.

Feb 12, 2011
Planet Terror (2007)

This is one of Chris' favourite movies EVER. He is an absolute freak for it. We watched this with commentary by Robert Rodriguez, which was AWESOME. He gives lots of insights about movie making and had nothing but interesting stuff to say. This is gloriously gross, funny and all things nasty. A modern classic. 

Feb 13, 2011
From Beyond (1986)

I've seen this many many times, and it holds up so damn well. Based on Lovecraft, with a young Jeffrey Coombs and Stuart Gordon directing that is movie GOLD! 

Feb 14, 2011
Countess Dracula (1971)

This was a very loose re-telling of the Elizabeth Bathory legend, with little no to no gore or violence. There were lots of boobs, but ultimately this was one of the more boring Hammer offerings I've ever seen. Can not recommend. :/

Feb 15, 2011
Dead & Buried (1981)

Holy mind fuck Batman! This is truly twisted and weird in the best way possible. Gross, and surprisingly creepy, this is an awesome movie. The only beef I had? The opening music was goofy. Not funny goofy, just goofy. WATCH IT. 


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Night Of The Creeps, The Forsaken, Predators, Constantine, After Midnight, Lemora A Child's Tale of the Supernatural

Feb 4, 2011
Night Of The Creeps (1986)

How did I miss this in high school? I was probably cheer leading or studying. HA! I was probably drunk and shaving my head in public parks. Anyways, this is a great little flick. Zombie preppies (which I really would have loved back in the day) a dude with an unexplained crippling disease and the most vanilla, boring bland hero I have ever seen. He is truly my only gripe with NotC. She (the heroine) totally should have got with the dude with the crutches. He was hilarious! I love most movies with zombie animals and this was no exception. Zombie terrier FTW! Most awesome and fun.


Feb 5, 2011
The Forsaken (2001)

I had to make room on my DVR. That's my excuse. The excuse for this shitty movie. Who made it may have a better one but I doubt it. This was so trying to be After Dark or the Lost Boys or something.. but it is a FAIL. Lifeless and boring. I should be choosier about what I DVR I think.

Feb 6, 2011
Predators (2010)

Dear Adrian Brody, if you have worked out like a crazy person to get a phenomenal physique, please don't wait until the last 15 minutes of the movie to show me this. Talk to your fellow actor Mr Ryan Reynolds. Thank you. I enjoyed this movie. It was slick, but gross and fun and it has Danny Trejo. I love him. The action was tight, it was beautifully shot, all good stuff. A pleasant afternoon watch. 

Feb 6, 2011
Constantine (2005)

I love this movie. I love love love it. Keanu is good, Rachel is good, Peter Stormare is TERRIFYING and even Shia Le Beouf isn't that annoying. I have watched this too many times to be objective about it. It really is just that entertaining to me. I love it, The end. This was also the first movie we watched on our new 60 inch LCD. It just came today. I am in TV heaven.

Feb 7, 2011
After Midnight (1989)

Wow. This is bloodless weirdness at its worst. Seriously, the acting was awful, and the premise? Even for a jaded junkie like me it was a mish mash of crap. The teacher guy was literally eye rolling crazy. Which was kinda funny. But wore pretty thin pretty quick. It tried far too hard to be a bunch of movies and failed at all of them. I don't think even the most fanatical horror movie person should watch this, no one should. 

Feb 8, 2011
Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (1973)

And then there is Lemora. One of the weirdest most bat shit crazy movies I have seen in a really long time. Seriously, this was bonkers nutso. A 13 year old girl whose father is a gangster gets adopted by a church. She gets a note saying her father, who has escaped custody is dying and wants to see her. So she runs away. Then the crazy world takes over. I don't wanna write out a synopsis for you, other people already have. Let's just suffice to say if you like wacked out strange 70's flicks, SEE THIS IMMEDIATELY. I'm torn between highly recommending this to everyone, and never speaking of it again. I think I love it. Also SPOILER: unhappy endings are my favourite kind. 


Friday, February 4, 2011

Ichi The Killer, Spider Baby, The Curse Of Frankenstein, Apparitions, Rabid, Paranormal Activity 2, The Horror Of Dracula

Jan 29, 2011
Ichi The Killer (2001)

I totally forgot how fucked up Miikes' movies are. It's been ages since we watched this and OMG. The audacity it must have taken to make this in the first place.. I can't even imagine. It's rapey badness and violent and plain old batshit crazy. I mean truly truly insane. It was tougher to watch than I remember but has glorious payoffs. It's funny, disgusting, upsetting and GROSS. Hats off Mr Miike, you ARE gonzo cinema. I will be revisiting more of this soon. 

Jan 30, 2011
Spider Baby (1964)

I love this movie with my whole black heart. It's silly, funny, and even truly creepy. Jake (my 18 year old son) came in when we were watching this. He sat down and totally enjoyed it with us. Well really why not? Gorgeous girls in nighties running around, Captain Spaulding as a young bald semi-moron and the threat of the spider game. Who wouldn't love it. The commentary is totally worth listening to and the special features on the DVD are great. Go get this gem. It's wonderful. 

Jan 31, 2011
The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)

I have such a terrific crush on Christopher Lee it isn't even funny. This re-telling of the Shelley story isn't really unique in any way but it is enjoyable as hell to watch. I find Peter Cushing to be a cold fish in most stuff, but he is actually lecherously fabulous in this. Truly a single minded jerk. Lovely as usual Hammer sets (which I am starting to recognise!) and costumes. 

Jan 31, Feb 1 & 2, 2011
Apparitions (2008)

I watched this BBC offering over 3 days (it was 6 hours!) interspersed with other stuff. It was a classic exorcist tale, with the very charismatic Martin Shaw as Father Jacob. A priest who investigates miracles. He gets caught up in a demonic kerfuffle, and hilarity ensues. Well maybe not hilarious for everyone, but it was pretty good TV. It did feel a little overtly preachy at times, but there was enough creepy shit going on to keep me interested for most of the 6 hours. 

Feb 1, 2011
Rabid (1976)

I love that David Croenenberg is unapologetically Canadian. Setting this in Montreal? Awesome. His movies are classic tales of body horror. I love him, I love them, I love Marilyn Chambers, I love it all. 

Feb 2, 2011
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

We really enjoyed this first one of these flicks. I especially love watching my husband get really really wound up and freaked out. This sequel amps up the scares and gets into the mythos of the story a little bit more. It gets into the action pretty quickly and was really really fun to watch. And so was Chris. 

Feb 3, 2011
The Horror Of Dracula (1958)

More Hammer horror. Mr Lee wearing the most awful contacts ever in this film. I read he couldn't see at all when he wore them, and kept missing marks. It is a rather mixed up version of Bram Stoker's novel, but that doesn't detract from the fun.Yay Hammer!

Phew, that was huge. I really have to try to blog more frequently.