Horror Movies

[Roland Deschain]

Who else here is a fan of horror in films? I know PoN is, as attested to by the crushed part of her arm, but anyone else? I've loved horror since watching the wonderful treats given to us by Hammer Horror, that bastion of British film-making in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Then there were the greats from the 80s, such as Poltergeist, Halloween (technically 70s, I know), Hellraiser, and their ilk. The 90s brought us a new breed of horror eventually, with the noughties (00s?) changing the type we were seeing yet again, with Saw and a whole breed of what is lovingly titled "Torture Porn".

I also love Italian horror, such as from Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, et al, and the wonderful films coming out of Japan and South Korea, such as Whispering Corridors, Ringu, The Curse/Grudge (Ju-on - the series has 6 films now!), and A Tale of Two Sisters.

There is so much to talk on, that it's difficult to put it all here, but i'd love to know your favourite horror films (or directors/actors, if you wish).

[pieces o nine]

gore gratia gorey  [gore for gore's sake]:  not so much.

psychological horror:  yes, please!


On the other hand, old school Hammer type films are far enough removed from realistic effects that I'm not distressed by them.  The 'Saw' genre is the type I cannot and will not watch -- it's 'plausible' and therefore distressing.

Borrowing one of Bob's spare metaphorical comparison hands here --[preferably not detached in some untoward incident!]-- the further I get from mainstream Christian beliefs the more I really enjoy scareh films with rationally non-plausible plots. Most iterations of Dracula, classic Frankenstein (and Young Frankenstein!), Wolfman & Mummy films; 'Dark City' type stories; and assorted selections like the treasured possession below...

[Aggie]

I agree with Pieces... I have never been a big fan of gore, and the "torture porn" films are something I just do not need to see.  I do seem to enjoy violence based on my favourite films, but it has to have some artistic merit to catch my admiration (for example, A Clockwork Orange or the hammer-fight scene in Old Boy, which is beautifully choreographed.

Actually, my knee-jerk reaction was to say that I don't like horror, but that's not precisely true; however, I watch very few movies to start with and don't tend to seek out horror movies.  I don't ever feel scared by them, and realistic gore just sickens and disturbs me without any sort of a pleasurable thrill.  A psychological thriller or a well-crafted suspense movie, those I like.

Since we're talking Korean cinema... Tale of Two Sisters was very good, as I recall.  For a monster movie, I also liked The Host. One wouldn't call it a horror, precisely, but Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is one of the most psychologically brutal movies I think I've ever watched (I saw it several years ago, and would like to watch it again but haven't worked myself up to it yet). Needless to say, I'm a Park Chan-woo fan.  Haven't got around to watching Thirst yet, although the premise intrigued me (priest accidentally becomes a vampire).

[Swatopluk]

It took me a veeery long time to warm to horror and vampires were off-limits for decades after some traumatic childhood experiences (i.e.getting treated with (to?) horror audio plays at elementary school level resulting in nightmares. I still find audio-only often to be far more powerful than visuals).
It took me at least a decade (after first hearing about it) to dare watch Nosferatu (Murnau, not Herzog). Then I started a slow program of desensitation that today allows me to stomach and even enjoy a lot in that genre. But I still avoid the pure slaughterhouse stuff and found some Asian psychological horror still too much. Interestingly the audio component was often the deciding factor.
I collect Hammer movies, not limited to horror. They produced any type of film except 'message' movies (after getting burned there once) and are unfairly treated as mere Dracula/Frankenstein serialists.
I have a faible for the more obscure films, e.g. the Pakistani remake of Hammer's Dracula or El Vampiro, the intermediate between the Universal Dcaula (Lugosi) and the later Hammer Dracula (Lee).
I also took a liking to Mario Bava, at least the more gothic stuff, but the availaibilty is limited. I will not go with some of the dreadful German dubs or US recuts.

[Roland Deschain]

Ah, nice to see people appreciating the horror scene, especially Hammer, which I grew up with (on TV, as i'm not that old, lol). I also have a lot of love for psychological horror, and horror-ish stuff, but i'm not averse to some pure gore for the sake of gore. It's never bothered me, but it appears to do so to some here. On the psychological aspect, Korea and Japan do some wonderful stuff in this line. I know Oldboy isn't strictly horror, but as an exercise in seriously screwing with the audience's head, this one tops the bill, with the punchline reaching out of the screen at you.

Some other good Asian films are Cello, Muoi: Legend of a Portrait, Oneechanbara, The Quiet Family, and Whispering Corridors. Oneechanbara is a little bit of a hack and slash, zombie-killing, bikini-wearing, katana-wielding, nice looking young lady affair, but the rest are what you'd expect from decent Asian horror cinema.

I watched a couple of films tonight. The first was Skjult (Hidden), a Norwegian film about a guy who goes home after 19 years away, and finds himself facing the demons he had left behind. I found it enjoyable, and for a lower budget film, very well made. The second was Amando de Ossorio's Tombs of the Blind Dead, the first in a series of four zombie films made by this Italian director. It's certainly a visceral affair in places, especially closer to the end, and typical of its genre. Still, it was great to watch, and I look forward to the next three films sitting here ready to go. Zombie films are my speciality. I do own a fair number of them.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

I guess I'm with you lot, in that torture films are just not interesting (I have never seen any of the Saw films, for example).

But I do love the apocalyptic films, such as End of Days, where the mythological devil is battling an equally (to me) mythological god for the fate of humanity.   One of the more interesting ones I saw several years ago (alas the title escapes me) was where the classical god (christian) was re-cast into the role of a monster who wished to invade our realm.  And Jesus was actually an escapee from that dimension, and came to warn us away from it/the deamon-god.   The move revolves around a group of anthropologists (and other experts in the ancient stuffs) who have found a very old cache of ancient writings.  And a container of green goo (why is it always green?).    The characters are one by one overcome by this malevolent power-- it starts with one being taken by the goo (earlier, she was bruised in an accident-- and the bruise takes on a very prophetic shape in her skin-- she's the "chosen").   In the last, one of the -- well I won't spoil it, but it involves a mirror and a sacrifice.... and a twisted ending (don't they all?)

In think I like these movies more now, as an unbeliever than I did when I still believed in supernatural stuff-- but I do not know why.  Perhaps they are more titillating to me now?   

In other Horror styles?  I suppose my all-time favorite remains Halloween, if you go by the number of times I've deliberately seen it.  It's well done:  just the right mix of music.  Enough gore to be gory, but not gross.   Tension.  And a genuine, real heroine-- who is scared sh**less, but fights back anyway.   To me-- exemplifying the real character of women everywhere.   How on earth would primitive humans ever have survived, if most women were useless in a crisis (as depicted by Hollywood)?   Hogwash, says I.   I say most women are heroic if given even 1/10 a chance to be so-- as in Halloween.

"Was that the boogeyman?"

"Yes.  I think I killed him."

Damn straight!

[Aggie]

I know Oldboy isn't strictly horror, but as an exercise in seriously screwing with the audience's head, this one tops the bill, with the punchline reaching out of the screen at you.

I trust that you've seen the other two in Park's Vengeance Trilogy? Oldboy is still my favourite (probably in my top 5 for movies overall, actually), but if you haven't seen them, Sympathy for Mr. / Lady Vengeance are well worth the watch. Save Lady Vengeance for last, as the director does a good job of playing around with roles and cameos - you'll see a lot of familiar faces, and there's some nods to the previous films.

[Bluenose]

Not sure whether it's going to be a horror movey or what, but Mrs Blue and I visited one of the outside sets for the upcoming movie I Frankenstein on our way home from my parents house last Tuesday night.  There was a spooky graveyard, lots of mist machines and so on - all very atmospheric.  I don;t know whether I'll bother to go and see the movie, but it was fun watching the production crew and actors and so on doing their thing for a while.

[Roland Deschain]

I trust that you've seen the other two in Park's Vengeance Trilogy? Oldboy is still my favourite (probably in my top 5 for movies overall, actually), but if you haven't seen them, Sympathy for Mr. / Lady Vengeance are well worth the watch. Save Lady Vengeance for last, as the director does a good job of playing around with roles and cameos - you'll see a lot of familiar faces, and there's some nods to the previous films.

To my shame, I haven't seen them yet, but it just so happens that i'm acquiring them today or tomorrow, so should be set on watching all three in sequence. I have long awaited this moment ever since I found out that there were other films related to Oldboy. I've gained quite a passion for Asian cinema in the past few years, and have increased my collection somewhat.

Bob, I believe you are referring to Prince of Darkness, one of John Carpenter's great films. It's been a long time since I saw that. It is a very good film. Also stars Donald Pleasance and Alice Cooper. If you want a good film that isn't an end of the world affair, but is related to Christianity, i'd recommend Stigmata with Gabriel Byrne and Patricia Arquette. I really love the message it portrays, and I think those recovering Catholics here would like it too.

Halloween was, and still is, one of my favourite films. It was at that time that a few heroines started appearing, such as Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver. They were so different to what had gone before, and different from a lot of what followed in the 80s, but they were game changers, and showed that having a strong female lead was not only a good idea, but that it also gained money at the box office.

That sounds cool, Bluenose. Where is that?

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

In the voice of Lucy VanPelt (late of Peanuts):

THAT'S IT!

Accompanied by Charlie Brown doing a back-flip in surprise.



Thanks.

)))))))))))))))))))))

Interestingly enough, IMDB got the storyline and synopsis completely wrong!    They had an anti-god in opposition to a supposed god... not true-- there was but one god, and it was completely evil -- and Jesus had came to warn the world to stay away from this deity... there was no opposing deity in the mythos of the movie.   That was made abundantly clear, as the team was reading the obviously original bible stories.

I also like the end of days tale, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the one where he's fighting to protect a woman who had been picked to become the bride of the antichrist.  I thought it was pretty well done too. 

[Aggie]

To my shame, I haven't seen them yet, but it just so happens that i'm acquiring them today or tomorrow, so should be set on watching all three in sequence. I have long awaited this moment ever since I found out that there were other films related to Oldboy.

My advice is to keep a stiff drink handy when watching Mr. Vengeance. It's not as light and fluffy as Oldboy or Lady Vengeance. 

[Swatopluk]

Wikipedia also has a lengthy entry on the Prince of insufficient lighting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Darkness_%28film%29

[Roland Deschain]

Interestingly enough, IMDB got the storyline and synopsis completely wrong!    They had an anti-god in opposition to a supposed god... not true-- there was but one god, and it was completely evil -- and Jesus had came to warn the world to stay away from this deity... there was no opposing deity in the mythos of the movie.   That was made abundantly clear, as the team was reading the obviously original bible stories.

Wikipedia backs up IMDB, and I have just watched the film. I must say that i'd forgotten much of it myself, so it was nice to refresh the story in my head. You were right, Bob.

SPOILER ALERT!

Although the film itself only speculates on god (or "God", if you prefer), what it does say is that aeons ago, the father of Satan walked the earth, and buried his son in a cannister in the Middle East (as it would become). The father, who was a god, was then somehow banished to the darkside. Later on, Christ, a humanoid extra-terrestrial, came to earth to warn us about Satan. The only mention of the father of Satan as an anti-god is when the old Chinese professor (Victor Wong) and the priest (Donald Pleasance) are talking and speculating on the whole thing. It may even have been suggested by the professor only to comfort the priest. At no point is the book said to mention any god other than Satan's dad, and nothing that the Chinese theology student types when she's translating even hints at it. IMDB and Wikipedia appear to call Satan's dad the anti-god as if it were confirmed within the story, also calling Satan "the devil incarnate", which also isn't mentioned in the film. As I said, the film may hint and speculate, but it never confirms anything other than Satan and his dad.

The being in the cannister was locked in, but the cannister eroded over time (the corrosion on the lid was "carbon-dated" to 7 million years old, lol), and now is when the being in the cannister is finally getting the chance to escape. It has a nicely open ending.

/SPOILER ALERT

Another analysis is HERE. Well worth the read.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

That lengthy analysis was really good, Ronald-- thanks.

As you say, well worth reading.

[pieces o nine]

I'll add an endorsement for Stigamata.
But then Gabriel Byrne plays equally well as man of the cloth or just The Man (or Satan!), in my book...   

I chose the dvd with an alternate ending; I like both. I also liked the somewhat biblical concept of The Lord choosing the person voted Least Likely to be Picked for God's SpokesModel to spokesmodel.

[Roland Deschain]

I liked the alternate ending for Stigmata. It seemed to be more poetic, considering what had gone before, but it was apparently "too depressing" for US audiences. Meh.

[Bluenose]

That sounds cool, Bluenose. Where is that?

It was in a reserve in Park Orchards about 25 km east of the centre of Melbourne.  The area was a pine plantation (radiata pine) before it was developed and the trees added just the right spooky atmosphere I guess.  Interestingly (or perhaps not) the layout for Park Orchards was done by Walter Burley-Griffin who designed the layout for Canberra our national capital.  You can see the origin of Canberra's endless circular roads in its design.  

[nefyuBB]

Horror movies !

Let me at em!

I haven't had a jump since Evil Dead , OK , I had to see it again with lights off and alone and stoned a wee bit and psyche myself into it and stuff .

I'm going to read this thread now and see if you have anything for me.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

nefyu!!
--
Dunno if this classifies as Horror (probably not) and more into Suspense with some horror here and there, but the movie is one I really like and if you don't mind reading subtitles (unless you understand Spanish with Castillian accent) is recommended all around: Tesis by Alejandro Amenabar.

[Bruder Cuzzen]

Oh goody ! Last real jump was the tiger in Apocalypse Now