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...

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. 

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. 

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.

Bloody Birthday, The Blob (1988), Mark Of The Devil, Hands Of The Ripper, Animal Kingdom

Jan 25, 2011

Blood Birthday (1981)

What can you say about kids that are born during an eclipse? Apparently they are born missing something... but that wouldn't be the urge to KILL!!! I do love me some killer kid movies, and this doesn't disappoint. Not a swear word to be found, but boobies EVERYWHERE! These early 80's flicks really do (real) boobs and blood well. Can you believe we kids used to play in the junkyards of the world? Empty fridges for everyone! 

Jan 25, 2011

The Blob (1988)

Chris wanted to watch this one, he has really fond memories of it. I did see it in the theatres when it came out, but didn't remember much of it. LOVED IT! Kind of less campy than the older but seriously grosser. It was cool to see Shawnee Smith of Saw doing a little more mainstream less crack whore role. Her hair was amazingly huge. The blob effects were stellar, they looked a little like Tetsuo from Akiras' explodey hand thingy. Nice and fleshy... euw.

Jan 26, 2011

Mark Of The Devil (1969)

I did not need a vomit bag contrary to the poster. BUT, if people think Hostel and Saw were the advent of the torture porn industry WRONG. This is all torture all the time. Really disturbing witch hunting torture device torture. I have now written torture so many times it becomes meaningless and strange looking. I sort of liked this, but the dubbing was pretty terrible, and the story was weak sauce. But it was pretty interesting to watch. And it had a very young Udo Kier with a full head of hair!

Jan 27, 2011

Hands Of The Ripper (1971)

Oh Jack the Ripper! See what you have done? Well that connection is pretty weak. I guess seeing (allegedly) JtR kill your Mum turns you MAD I SAY. This was kind of awfully hilarious. Not one of Hammers finest efforts, but a nice Thursday afternoon movie. Chris and I both laughed at it, but I should caveat, I am trying out some new meds, so can't be responsible for anything I review in the next little while. I miss Christopher Lee.

Jan 28, 2011

The Uninvited (2009)

Just you shut up all you PG-13 haters. Remember we have to hook the young'uns to keep the genre alive! Not all kids like hard R films. Yet. Ok, having leapt off the soapbox, I really really liked this movie. In fact this is the second time I watched it, The story was tight, the scenery was gorgeous, the girls realistic in their stupid teenager ways. And yes, I know, it's a re-make of a Korean movie Tale of Two Sisters, but I still haven't seen that so this was all new to me. I can truly say I did not see the twist coming and it delighted me! So there.

SUPER AWESOME BONUS MOVIE!!!

Jan 28, 2011

Animal Kingdom (2009)

Chris listens to the /film podcast regularly. He tends to run behind do he doesn't get spoiled. He came home yesterday with this little gem and wow. Seriously wow. This film out of Australia is one of the best movies I've seen. Like Black Swan, it totally engulfed me and I had no idea which way the story would go. The acting was absolutely top notch. The story was in turns heartbreaking and frustrating, sometimes painful to watch but simply outstanding. The story of a boy who is suddenly adrift in his world who is tossed into another he has no footing in. Brilliant. Go watch it.

Fubar 2, Pontypool, The Uninvited (1944), Daybreakers

Jan 23, 2011

Fubar 2 (2010)

Yeah. I know. But it has a ghost in it. And is even better than the first one if that was even possible. It shows off West Edmonton Mall (my teenage hangout), Ft McMurray, and rig piggin'. It is a horror movie of a sort. If you grew up in a small town, or just knew someone who did, it's the horror of what could happen to you if you let it all go. Just Give'r.

Jan 24, 2011

Pontypool (2008)

To make up for my transgressions, I watched 3 movies today. 3!! Pontypool is an amazing Canadian piece of film making. Stephen McHattie is elevated to Ian McShane levels of voice amazing-ness in this. In fact I think he supersedes him. The dulcet tones of Mazzy in the morning could wake me up any day. The premise of this is nothing short of fantastic in the true sense. language becomes the carrier of a raging zombie type infection. It's one of the best takes on the genre I have seen. I love this movie with my whole heart. Everyone should watch it. Do it for the Can-con.

The Uninvited (1944)

A rather lovely haunted house story. It's set in England but no one really has British accents, just that weird affected way of speaking people had back in ye olden days. I'm not sure if this was actually ever scary, but it is really sumptuous and there is a terrier named Bobby in it. So there. Everyone lived happily ever after. 

Daybreakers (2009)

We saw this in the theatre and this is the first time we re-watched it. It holds up as one of the prettiest movies that made me think of Bioshock (video game). There are lots of nice cold blues and popping reds, mixed with a warm palette representing the human world. It's really stylised with terrific effects. Good funny performance from Willem Dafoe too. Damn he is skinny! A fun re-watch.

The Burning, Ghosthouse, Let Me In.

Jan 21, 2011

The Burning (aka Cropsey) (1981)

What can I say about a movie that features a young George Costanza apparently playing himself? Well lots I guess. I love these 80's summer camp slashers. They are gross and funny. Tom Savini did the effects so the gross is a given. I'm always pleasantly surprised by the amount of sheer fuckery that goes on in these movies. Buying illicit porno mags, sex, really young kids smoking, adults not having a clue. Ah the 80's! This was also a really early Weinstein bros outing. If you have a chance I'd say watch this, it's pretty awesome. 

Jan 22, 2011

Ghosthouse (1988)

Clearly an Italian co-production, this is one of those movies that barely makes sense. But it's not really a bad thing, in fact it can be pretty entertaining. There is the obligatory set up which is weird and features an exploding light bulb. Yeah, I said it, exploding light bulb. Someone must have liked that effect (and it is pretty cool) cause they use it again in the basement with jars! Cut to the present day and meet our hero. A ham radio operator. Yeah. It's just gets better and batshittier crazy. Some good gags, some yelling at the TV, its all in good fun. And it has a creepy clown doll and wacky carnival music. Oh go on, you know you wanna watch this, you totally do.

Jan 22, 2011

Let Me In (2010)

I was apprehensive about watching this. I really was. The original is just such a gem I was worried that the remake would try to polish a turd and sell it as a diamond. But I was actually really pleased with it. Chloe Grace Moretz has a real future. She is quite wonderful to watch. Anyways, back to the movie.. The pacing was definitely faster than the original, and they did add some *scary* effects to Abby when she changes. I think a lot of the subtlety of the original is lost here, and the sense of stillness and isolation isn't as amped. I for sure know having seen the original added layers to my experience, I'd hope that anyone who watched one, would watch the other to get the full story. It is missing some crucial elements that add dimension to the story but in essence doesn't change it. I don't want to go on and on about this, just watch them both ok? The fundamental difference in the two movies can be explained by the way they utilise Morse code. The Swedes tap with one finger, the Americans knock with a fist.