Movies: Horror Movie Discussion

[Big Phil]

I could not stand Cabin in the Woods. I had no idea it was a spoof. I was very disappointed. I hate those types of movies because Hollywood always treats the Horror genre like a stray cat. They could care less about them. They are never nominated for anything despite some of them having great acting performances. Horror is my favourite genre and a movie like Cabin in the Woods almost made it feel like they were mocking you for being that simpleton who actually enjoys a good horror flick. Sorry, didn't like it.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil? That was actually pretty funny. It wasn't meant to be a horror story. It wasn't really a spoof as much as it was a couple of clumsy guys in a horror movie unintentionally scaring people.

 

[Big Phil]

The best part of a horror movie is making a movie that does not require a lot of blood. This is why I quite often pick these three as my favourites:

Psycho
Black Christmas
Halloween

Between those three movies, there are as many murders combined as one of the later Friday the 13th movies. But what Hitchcock could do with a movie like Psycho is create suspense. The best horror movies of all-time create suspense and you are more scared at the anticipation than you are at what actually happens. That's a mark of a classic horror movie. Now, I know Fatal Attraction isn't the traditional horror film but it's close enough. To me, the scariest scene in the movie is the bunny boiler scene. No, not when she lifts the pot. I mean when she enters the home. They have been gone all day, she comes into the house, notices something amiss in the kitchen and walks in and sees the big pot boiling over. Then it cuts back to her. There is no music but just suspense. Now, imagine, you know you didn't leave anything on the stove, your family has been out all day and there is something boiling on the stove. SOMEONE had to have put that there, and it is all over her face.

Stuff like that I love. The shower scene in Psycho. You see through the shower curtain the killer opening the door, walking to the shower and standing there for a minute. Just waiting. That's creepy. Or when Arbogast gets killed in Psycho, to me I find that murder scarier than the shower scene. Hitchcock knew how to build up tension and the less you saw, the scarier it was.

Halloween was a low, low budget film done in 21 days but John Carpenter knew how to use a great musical score. That made the movie in my mind.

Black Christmas is another one. Barely any blood at all. The "eye" scene through the crack of the doorway straightens my spine. Great, great and underrated movie.

 

[Big Phil]

The best horror series:

Halloween - I think these ones were good for a while. The first and second one are both great. Part 3 was not with Michael Myers and was awful. Part 4 Myers was back and it was good. Part 5 & 6? So-so. But H2O was pretty good again with Jamie Lee Curtis. And then they should have stuck a fork in them. The problem with H2O is that it ignored some of the sequels. But it ended well, it captured a bit of the mood from the original and it should have ended that way. I don't recognize any Halloween movie after this one (especially not Rob Zombie's horrific version).

Friday the 13th - The first one was a classic. A very good movie and people forget it was a brilliant "whodunit". We all know the answer now, but not in 1980. No one knew who the killer was going to be. And in Part 2 it was still in doubt as well. After that, it got a little silly. They should have ended with Part 4. They just kept going though and they shouldn't have. The first couple ones were filled with suspense, it felt isolated and it didn't get silly.

Nightmare On Elm Street - The first one was excellent. After that, I have a low tolerance for the rest of them. You can only do so much with Freddy.

Saw - First was was excellent and so was the 2nd one. After that it was a mixed bag. But Part 7 did tie up some loose ends. I'm not big on gore, but I liked the writing on here and for me that was the biggest sell.

Paranormal Activity - It is an acquired taste, but I am always at the edge of my seat by the end of the film. Part 3 was the best in my mind. But they've got to start tying up some loose ends eventually. Will Part 5 do this?

Scream - The first two were epic. The 3rd one was pretty good still and if they kept it going it wouldn't have lost some momentum. Part 4 was in 2011, that was too far from Part 3 though. And I don't hear about a Part 5 yet.

Jaws - You can't beat the first one, it can never be duplicated. Spielberg knew how to create suspense and half the movie was over before you even saw the shark. It scared people. It had an impact on our culture. That's rare. Part 2 was still very good and Part 3 was alright but in a different setting. They should have left in there because Part 4 had one of the worst plots in movie history.


Here are also some often forgotten gems I didn't mention in the other thread, but just single movies.

Prom Night (1980) - A brilliant popcorn flick with a great "whodunit" story.

Terror Train (1980) - Jamie Lee Curtis again, the scream queens keeps going. Good movie to watch. Nice twist.


Hopefully I'll get a chance to see Annabelle tonight. The Conjuring was a brilliant flick.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

The best horror series:

Halloween - I think these ones were good for a while. The first and second one are both great. Part 3 was not with Michael Myers and was awful. Part 4 Myers was back and it was good. Part 5 & 6? So-so. But H2O was pretty good again with Jamie Lee Curtis. And then they should have stuck a fork in them. The problem with H2O is that it ignored some of the sequels. But it ended well, it captured a bit of the mood from the original and it should have ended that way. I don't recognize any Halloween movie after this one (especially not Rob Zombie's horrific version).

Friday the 13th - The first one was a classic. A very good movie and people forget it was a brilliant "whodunit". We all know the answer now, but not in 1980. No one knew who the killer was going to be. And in Part 2 it was still in doubt as well. After that, it got a little silly. They should have ended with Part 4. They just kept going though and they shouldn't have. The first couple ones were filled with suspense, it felt isolated and it didn't get silly.

Nightmare On Elm Street - The first one was excellent. After that, I have a low tolerance for the rest of them. You can only do so much with Freddy.

Saw - First was was excellent and so was the 2nd one. After that it was a mixed bag. But Part 7 did tie up some loose ends. I'm not big on gore, but I liked the writing on here and for me that was the biggest sell.

Paranormal Activity - It is an acquired taste, but I am always at the edge of my seat by the end of the film. Part 3 was the best in my mind. But they've got to start tying up some loose ends eventually. Will Part 5 do this?

Scream - The first two were epic. The 3rd one was pretty good still and if they kept it going it wouldn't have lost some momentum. Part 4 was in 2011, that was too far from Part 3 though. And I don't hear about a Part 5 yet.

Jaws - You can't beat the first one, it can never be duplicated. Spielberg knew how to create suspense and half the movie was over before you even saw the shark. It scared people. It had an impact on our culture. That's rare. Part 2 was still very good and Part 3 was alright but in a different setting. They should have left in there because Part 4 had one of the worst plots in movie history.


Here are also some often forgotten gems I didn't mention in the other thread, but just single movies.

Prom Night (1980) - A brilliant popcorn flick with a great "whodunit" story.

Terror Train (1980) - Jamie Lee Curtis again, the scream queens keeps going. Good movie to watch. Nice twist.


Hopefully I'll get a chance to see Annabelle tonight. The Conjuring was a brilliant flick.

Friday the 13th parts 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 were good.. Rest are low quality with 7-8 being meh and rest being bad

Halloween after part 4 dropped in quality with 5 and Resurrection both horrible

Nightmare on Elm Street parts 1 , 3 and 4 are great and fun. Part II is awful and everything after part 4 is not very good

Didn't care for Saw or Paranormal activity films

Scream 1 and 2 = Very good and fun but after that 3 and 4 are horrible

Jaws 1 is classic. 2 is ok sequel but #3 starts to get absurd and #4 is laughable

I would say lets not forget Romero's dead series as well

Night of the Living Dead = Classic
Dawn of the Dead = Classic
Day of the Dead = Classic
Land of the Dead = Average
Diary of the Dead = Meh ,, Not terrible but not good
Survival of the Dead = ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, So many

 

[Big Phil]

By the way, Annabelle was pretty good. It wasn't even close to The Conjuring, but that's a pretty lofty standard. The Conjuring is about as close to a modern day Exorcist as possible.

 

[izzy]

I need to rewatch Diary of the Dead. I really liked it when I saw it a few years ago, maybe I was just tired or something...

 

[Beef Invictus]

I treat Halloween 1 and 2 as one movie. That's a sequel that enhances the first movie.


I will watch Halloween 3, but it's a horrible movie and I regard it with a deep amount of scorn throughout the viewing.

 

[Big Phil]

I treat Halloween 1 and 2 as one movie. That's a sequel that enhances the first movie.


I will watch Halloween 3, but it's a horrible movie and I regard it with a deep amount of scorn throughout the viewing.

Halloween was made in 1978. It was low budget, filmed in California in 21 days. Jamie Lee Curtis was basically known only as Tony Curtis and Vivien Leigh's daughter. John Carpenter created it and there are some subtle ties to Psycho. The funny thing is, the scenes are all filmed in Hollywood and the movie is supposed to take place in Illinois. It's supposed to be October 31st but the movie was made in May. There are a couple shots where you see palm trees in the distance, hehe.

So the point is, Carpenter had no idea the success it would be. He probably didn't think we'd be talking about it on a message board 35 years later. Halloween is a great movie and it actually ended on a great note. That was supposed to be it. Carpenter did not want to make a sequel but the success of the movie twisted his arm. So he did. So while all the things in Halloween 2 tie in rather well to the original, it was never meant to be that way. Michael Myers was just supposed to be some guy who stalked Laurie Strode because...............well, that's it. Only in #2 did they invent a motive for him. So it is technically one movie, but.........not really in the same breath.

 

[izzy]

I treat Halloween 1 and 2 as one movie. That's a sequel that enhances the first movie.


I will watch Halloween 3, but it's a horrible movie and I regard it with a deep amount of scorn throughout the viewing.

What about the one with Paul Rudd

Lirl.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Part 6 was enjoyable before that idiotic druid/cult nonsense (Nonsense that started of course at end of part 5)

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Is "Night Of The Demons" supposed to be a horror film or a mix of horror and comedy???

I watched it for the first time the other night and aside from the gore and the decent looking demons, I thought it was laughably pathetic.

 

[sandman441]

Is "Night Of The Demons" supposed to be a horror film or a mix of horror and comedy???

I watched it for the first time the other night and aside from the gore and the decent looking demons, I thought it was laughably pathetic.

Wasn't a huge fan of the original or remake.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Wasn't a huge fan of the original or remake.

Oh god I can only imagine how ****ing terrible the remake (like 95% of horror remakes) must be.

 

[TheThrill81*]

What about the one with Paul Rudd

Lirl.

He was credited as Paul Stephen Rudd. Get it right.

 

[Beef Invictus]

I can even live with Halloween VI.


Halloween III is just a disaster in every way, including a protagonist who is a less likable version of Zap Rowsdower.

 

[F L Y E R S]

Anyone see Rob Zombies ' Lords of Salem'. I watched it and wish I hadn't. Honestly, one of the worst films I've seen. Not sure why I even watched it. His movies overall are terrible. Halloween remakes included. The fact that he's coming out with a Broad Street Bullies movie makes me cringe.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Is "Night Of The Demons" supposed to be a horror film or a mix of horror and comedy???

I watched it for the first time the other night and aside from the gore and the decent looking demons, I thought it was laughably pathetic.

Its a run of mill late 80's horror film. At that point they were just making all sorts of movies of that caliber

It has enough gore/demons to have fans but it will never be regarded as classic

I have it on VHS and found it enjoyable enough as a horror fan. The remake sucks and Edward Furlong makes all the actors in original look like Al Pacino

 

[Beef Invictus]

Anyone see Rob Zombies ' Lords of Salem'. I watched it and wish I hadn't. Honestly, one of the worst films I've seen. Not sure why I even watched it. His movies overall are terrible. Halloween remakes included. The fact that he's coming out with a Broad Street Bullies movie makes me cringe.

I like his House of Corpses movies, and I'm OK with the Halloween remake...at least during the month of October as a mindless diversion.

But the idea of Rob Zombie making a hockey movie is just horrible to consider.

 

[member 151739]

I have it on VHS and found it enjoyable enough as a horror fan. The remake sucks and Edward Furlong makes all the actors in original look like Al Pacino

There was a time when Edward Furlong was a fantastic young actor.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

There was a time when Edward Furlong was a fantastic young actor.

American History X was the only time I actually though what he did was acting and showed some range

Outside of that ,, Never thought he had any acting ability and at this point he just shows up in horrible movies for whatever money he can get. Even then though he generally is worst actor

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

I like his House of Corpses movies, and I'm OK with the Halloween remake...at least during the month of October as a mindless diversion.

But the idea of Rob Zombie making a hockey movie is just horrible to consider.

House of a 1,000 corpses = Ok ,, Not great or terrible but a solid 1st time effort
The Devils Rejects = Very enjoyable and well made
Halloween = Ok ,, Was hoping for something better and generally was disappointed

Everything since has been awful and I really hate that he keeps casting his wife as she is pretty terrible actress

The entire Halloween 2 storyline with her was awful and cringeworthy

 

[Porn*]

I LOVED house of 1000 Corpses... by far my favorite of his movies.

Lord's of Salem was a big flop imo. A few cool shots and effects with the camera, stripped down style... but the story in general was lacking.

 

[izzy]

I could not stand Cabin in the Woods. I had no idea it was a spoof. I was very disappointed. I hate those types of movies because Hollywood always treats the Horror genre like a stray cat. They could care less about them. They are never nominated for anything despite some of them having great acting performances. Horror is my favourite genre and a movie like Cabin in the Woods almost made it feel like they were mocking you for being that simpleton who actually enjoys a good horror flick. Sorry, didn't like it.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil? That was actually pretty funny. It wasn't meant to be a horror story. It wasn't really a spoof as much as it was a couple of clumsy guys in a horror movie unintentionally scaring people.

Well, that would explain why you didn't like it...

Also, yeah, Devils Rejects was a great movie.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

Surprised 2 of the highest grossing horror movies of the last 2 decades haven't been mentioned yet.

The Others with pre-plastic surgery Nicole Kidman - suppose this one could also be classified as a thriller as well. Quite the twist at the end!

The Ring - American version with Naomi Watts. She does a great job conveying the urgency of her situation as it slowly dawns on her that she only has 7 days to save her and her son's life.

Another one that isn't mentioned here is Pandorum although I guess that could be classified as horror sci-fi. I have mixed feelings on this one as I found the first 20 minutes brought great tension and many questions. How did these people get on this ship? What is their purpose for being there? What are those creatures and how did they get on the ship? Unfortunately it unravels quickly with rather uninteresting and undeveloped characters and uninspiring and frankly boring climax between the protagonist and antogonist. Still, I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it for those first twenty minutes alone.

Best modern day Dracula is Francis Ford Coppola's version from 1992 - I would recommend that over any other modern versions including the 2000 version and the 1970s version with Frank Langella which felt like an incomplete story.

Shoutout to 1408 and the Descent - two more recent horror movies that standout for me, especially the latter. Empowered female characters with a back story in a horror movie? Imagine that! Too bad the writers ruined it with the Descent 2 and it's nonsensical twist ending.

Anyone see The Host - the Korean monster movie from 2006? Saw that on Netflix a few years back and thought it was good, but not great.

Also, let's not forget the first found footage movie that started the rage which continues to this day - The Blair Witch Project.

 

[member 51464]

I thought The Others and 1408 were both huge, steaming piles of ****. You actually liked them? I honestly cannot see any redeeming qualities.