noiseredux October horror film spooktacular 2012

[BurningDoom]

That red, muscular looking armor at the beginning of the movie is mostly what I remember from seeing that movie as a little kid. I remember thinking it looked really cool. Does still look cool? Or was that just my flawed little kid mentality?

I always thought of that armor as creepy, myself. No doubt though, that it is a very striking image. Along with that, the other two images that stand out clearest in my mind are Oldman's hairdo near the begining of the film and then him walking around in that gray suite.



Admittedly, that last one isn't necessarily memorable, in fact it's down right plain, but for some reason it sticks out for me.

The suit does look cool.

[Luke]

What a beautiful mess.

Did you just rip off my CLOUD ATLAS review?

I'm pretty sure that's a standard expression...

Hey, as long as you don't type "hot mess" I'm fine with it.

[noiseredux]

Paranormal Activity 3


I didn't like the first movie, but the second was better. The third is better than the second. One thing that's nice is usually when a series like this gets popular, each installment starts throwing in too much CGI and concentrating on the wrong things. Here it seems that the producers used their budget on the right things -- namely better casting and better script to elicit scares in more subtle ways. I didn't love the ending, as it was a little "uh... ok, so wait, what happened then?" but as a whole it was definitely an enjoyable, fun, and at moments startling film.

4/5

[Luke]

Paranormal Activity 3

There will be at least 7 PA installments.

I like that an average looking, almost ho-hum actress is becoming the face of horror but I am worried Hollywood can't wait to rush the franchise into the ground.

[AppleQueso]

Paranormal Activity 3

There will be at least 7 PA installments.

I like that an average looking, almost ho-hum actress is becoming the face of horror but I am worried Hollywood can't wait to rush the franchise into the ground.

I'm still scratching my head as to how Saw became a 7 movie franchise.

First one was pretty standalone.

[noiseredux]

the first Saw was really good. And I think the fourth could be my favorite. The rest seem so meh to me.

[Luke]

the first Saw was really good. And I think the fourth could be my favorite. The rest seem so meh to me.

SAW was fresh when it came out and then tanked (haven't seen 4).

We'll definitely see at the very least six PA movies unless something drastic changes, and a tv series maybe in the works. Eh, it's a cash cow so might as well milk it.

[KillerJuan77]

the first Saw was really good. And I think the fourth could be my favorite. The rest seem so meh to me.

At least you didn't pay to see Saw 3D. It's one of the worst horror films of the last decade and it horror (Only one trap made me cringe), a good use of 3D and Jigsaw (He's in it for like a minute). Worst of all is that the cast is pretty decent.

For me this are the Saw movies that are worth watching: Saw, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw VI

[Michi]

Nothing on my list, but here's what I've watched in the last couple of days.

Friday the 13th


As far as I'm concerned, this Psycho, Halloween, or the original (it kills me to have to say that) Nightmare on Elm Street are necessary viewing material for the holiday. If you don't watch at least one of those before Halloween, than you, in fact, suck and need to get more into the spirit of the season. They're classics and practically required viewing, damn it.

Oh, and Betsy Palmer rules. Go, Mrs. Voorhees, go.



Cujo


This may be the one King adaptation that truly scares the hell out of me, because it presents a premise that could conceivably happen. Demon possessed cars? Meh. Evil, stalker clowns with the face of Tim Curry? Not really a big concern of mine. But, giant rabid dog capable of ripping me to shreds? Yes, that is scary. Especially when it's in the guise of such a large dog. It just wouldn't be as terrifying if Cujo were a chihuahua. Then he wouldn't be able to do this:


It's all fun and games until he tries to get to you by eatting your damned car.

The one thing that bugs me about this movie is the kid. I know he's probably terrified, hell I would be too, but damn it child, shut the hell up. Your incessant screeching is not going to make the demon dog calm down. It will, however, make him try to eat your windshield.

If there is one lesson to be learned from this movie (and it's also in several other horror movies) it's take better care of your stuff. The poor kid wouldn't be in that predicament if mommy and daddy had taken the car to a professional earlier, instead of waiting til the thing was on it's last legs. And what happened when they did that, boys and girls? It broke down right in front of Cujo's own little personal house of hell, that's what. So take better care of your sh*&, or risk an encounter with Cujo.



Pulse


Well this movie gets a resounding "meh." Even Kristen Bell couldn't save this cliched, emotionless mess. I have not had the pleasure of watching Kairo, but I can see why people didn't really like the re-make. It does have a couple of nice visuals...


"Is that the dead I hear in the next stall?"
Yeesssssssssssss

...but it's not anything that hasn't been seen or done before. I shall now try to track down the original.



Pumpkinhead


Ah, one of my favorite B-horror movies. Lance Henriksen is as always, excellent, but the rest of the cast, especially the teens are pretty bland.

Of course, the real reason to watch this is to see the awesome effects of Stan Winston. The design of the Pumpkinhead monster is exquisite and the film's atmosphere only adds to the creepy feel surrounding the slender demon. No CGI here. It's all practical effects.

And while I will admit that the creature's appearance is a little reminiscent of the Alien model (paint him black and I'm convinced people would have to look closer to tell the difference), it's Pumpkinhead's intelligence and relentless unforgiving nature that sets them apart. The Alien's, for the most part, just gather people as hosts for their evil little offspring. Pumpkinhead is just sinister. He's not just getting revenge for someone, he's enjoying the hell out of getting revenge for someone. You can just tell he enjoys hurting people and scaring the hell out of others. That closet scene is a prime example:


Please refrain from all "In the Closet" jokes, please.

He literally tricked the boy (and the audience) into thinking the closet was a good hiding place (When is it ever?). Then he looks like he's all pleased with himself at not just having found him, but tricking him as well. It's appropriately demonic and twisted.



Frankinweenie (2012)


Went and saw this at the theatre this last Saturday. Having had my mom rent me the original quite a few times when I was younger, I was a little hesitant. But I must say that this is actually pretty cute. Actually, I'll go so far as to say it's down right adorable. I was quite pleased.

The plot is essentially the same as the original 30-minute short film. It's just got an extra 97 minutes added to it to make it feature length. Scenes are lengthened and characters are fleshed out. It's all very well done. It also takes it a bit longer for Sparky to meet his untimely end in this version, which I approve of. It gives you more time to become attached, and then ultimately upset, when the inevitable happens.

Really, the biggest change is the added Science Fair plot, which introduces us to more characters at the beginning of the film than were in the original, and ends up turning the movie into more of an homage of monster movies in general, rather than just a more modern take on the Frankenstein story. Some of it gets a little out of hand towards the end, but nothing that happens crosses the line of "This doesn't fit into a Tim Burton film." You see where everything is going, but I do wish they'd gone in a bit of a different direction with that particular sub-plot.

Still, it's a fun little movie, and if you liked the original short, or have kids that you know won't be freaked out by the premiss, than you might want to look into it.



Frankinweenie (1984)


Once I got home from watching the re-make, I came home and popped in the original (so no smart remarks from the peanut gallery). For some reason I always thought this was a lot longer than 30 minutes. I guess I just had a really short attention span as a child. However, it would explain why I was constantly re-winding and re-watching the tape.

It's still a really cute short-film. Plus, it's got Shelley Duvall and who doesn't love Shelley Duvall?

One thing I don't like about both versions is how the parents reaction is "He brought his beloved dog back from the dead. I can't believe he did that! I suppose we can't punish him for it, though..." The hell, parents? I know you're probably in a bit of shock and all, but your first thought is to ground him? It should be, holy crap our kid just did something awesome! Not, ohmygodwhatwereyouthinking?

And why would one think it was a good idea to re-introduce the neighbors to your Frankendog the night after he just freaked everyone out? Wouldn't it make more sense to wait a couple of days for the hubbub to die down? I would think so.

Other than that, this is still a childhood favorite.



That's all for now. Not sure what I'll watch tonight. Still undecided about that.

[KillerJuan77]

Megan Is Missing



Ok, this haves to be the most disturbing film I've seen in a while. Just... ugh. It's as exploitative as it is chilling.

And it's also a problem that the first half of the movie is extremely annoying thanks to the girl's awful acting and extremely depressing use of a teenage party (Which as one reviewer said "It makes Larry Clarke look restrained") which is kind of compensated thanks to the clever use of the found footage technique and it's also a problem that the film goes against every social interaction in the internet (Not everyone is a serial killer ). Overall, as disturbing as it was... it also pissed me off so much that I can't really give this film a rating.