The Horror Thread

[KevinMcallister]

Any of you watched the From Dusk Til Dawn TV series?

I'm three episodes in and it's decent. First season so far has been an expansion on the original film. For example the first episode basically turned the first 10 minutes of the film into a 45 minutes episode. I like what they've done with it, plus they've added a few new characters.

yeah 1st season is great 2nd season is a huge let down

Santanico Pandemonium however although nobody will play or look as good as Salma Hayek in the movie

 

[Craig]

The Gallows (2015)
Passable found footage let down by a poor ending. 6/10

Extraterrestrial (2014)
A group of friends are terrorised by nasty greys on a weekend at a cabin in the woods. 6/10

The Rendlesham UFO Incident (2014)
More alien found footage only this time not as entertaining. 4/10

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)
Surprisingly enjoyable horror comedy. A rarity among the heaps of zombie horror comedies saturating the genre at the moment. 7/10

The Frankenstein Theory (2013)
More found footage as a group venture into the Arctic circle in search of Frankenstein's monster and naturally it doesn't end well. 6/10

Dark Was the Night (2014)
Really liked this one. Loggers are killed by a mystery creature and cloved hoof prints are found around a remote small town. Decent creature feature on a budget. 7/10

In the Deep (2016)
Two friends go on a budget shark viewing excursion while on holiday in Mexico. Old rusty shark cage, massive sharks and inexperienced divers make for an unpleasant experience. Awful ending. 5/10

Exists (2014)
Yet another found footage cabin in the woods type dealio. This time it's bigfoot. 6/10

 

[Gilly?]

Thought Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse was absolutely hilarious. Up there with Shaun of the Dead in terms of brilliance.

 

[Craig]

Yeah it was certainly one of the more enjoyable efforts.

Have you seen Me & My Mates vs The Zombie Apocalypse? IIRC it was you who posted a few Jim Jefferies videos on the old site?

I'm quite fond of Jefferies and Alex Williamson as comedians but that film was absolutely woeful.

 

[Cas]

I'm going to be watching The Green Room and House on Pine Lane/Road/Street/Cul De Sac or whatever it's called.

 

[Cas]

Dylatov Pass Incident
Decent enough. Actualy incident is far more interesting though.

 

[Craig]

I was looking at that one, agreed the story behind it is much more interesting though.

Been reading up on some recent urban myths and the Russian sleep experiment would make a good film I reckon.

EDIT: I see they have.. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3856410/

 

[Smudge]

The Haunting (1963): Four people go to a said haunted house for an experiment. On the stay one of them gets really disturbed, maybe just her mind, maybe not. It’s hard to find movies with such a psychological charge done that simply and still being so catchy for all the almost 2 hours. Surely an excellent psychological horror with no need of much extra elements. Once you get the small details (very wisely elaborated by the way) it’s still more striking. Read about a remake of 1999 and thinking about to give a try, though this has not good reviews as the 1963’s but with my childhood crush Mrs. Zeta Jones I can watch practically anything.

I saw the remake in the pics when it came out. Its not fantastic, but its not dreadful either. I love Lilli Taylor, but it's certainly not her finest hour.

Not sure what to think of this IT remake. Yeah the original scared the shit out of me when I was a kid, but its really not brilliant. Couple of good performances by some big names (and yet another iconic Tim Curry role) I read the book years later, and its brilliant. Okay Im not one of these people who cries when the films dont complete match a book word for word, but there is so much in the book that is so brilliant, and its basically discarded to turn it into a story about a scary clown, when its so much more than that. Ill go watching it anyway of course, I just hope it leans slightly closer to the book than the miniseries.

Ive been bingeing on season 5 of American Horror Story before the new one starts next Friday. Its better than the last season definitely I think, though nowhere near as good as the first 3 yet. Freak Show had its moments, but overall felt like they couldnt settle on one main storyline so had about 4 or 5 going on all over the place.

 

[Cas]

Green Room
Horror featuring Patrick Stewart. Didn't like it. 4/10.

 

[Smudge]

3 episodes of AHS left. Lady Gaga is a mental biatch.

 

[Leewilson]

Went to watch Don't Breathe yesterday. Very enjoyable watch. More a thriller than a horror I'd say but there are some genuinely unsettling moments and I think it's paced perfectly over the 90 minutes.

8.5 for me

 

[Craig]

The Shallows (2016)
The director was obviously aware of the lack of substance to this story so concentrated on Blake Lively's assets quite a bit more than necessary in order to drag out the paper thin story to almost 90 minutes. Not that I'm moaning of course, I mean it's hard to believe she shares the same genes as Rusty Griswold isn't it?. I've seen much worse animal attack films but how can they justify a $20million budget for this kind of thing? 5/10.

The Conjuring 2 (2016)
I enjoyed this one. Got a lot of time for James Wan's films even if they are largely pandering to a mass audience, I mean I am part of that audience I suppose. Thought it was more entertaining than the first. They don't half drag it out though, at almost two and a half hours it takes a bit more effort than a run of the mill haunted house film ought to I reckon. Still 7/10 easily.

 

[Smudge]

Finished AHS Hotel. Enjoyed it in the end. Slow start but got better and better and a good solid finale.

Season 6 kicks off tonight on FX at 10

 

[JustinQPR]

Off to see Blair Witch tonight. It's been a long time since I watched a horror in a packed cinema (The Babadook I think) so should be decent regardless of the film quality.

 

[Craig]

Off to see Blair Witch tonight. It's been a long time since I watched a horror in a packed cinema (The Babadook I think) so should be decent regardless of the film quality.

Considering going to see that next week. Quite liked the original. Let us know what you think of it.

 

[Cas]

The first episode of The Exorcist TV show is is out. Gonna watch it tonight.

 

[Cas]

Rosewood Lane
Shite 3/10

 

[Smudge]

Rosewood Lane
Shite 3/10

Just watched this myself having not seen your review. I agree completely, made 90 minutes feel like a lifetime

 

[Craig]

The Dyatlov Pass Incident AKA Devil's Pass (2013)
Five college students from the University of Oregon (go Ducks!!) including Bury bombshell Gemma Atkinson and Emmerdale's Robert Sugden follow in the footsteps of Igor Dyatlov and his party's ill fated expedition to Kholat Syakhl in the Northern Ural mountains. I like it. Had an eerie feel to it that worked well and thought they did a good job with their conspiracy theory as to what happened on the original expedition. Awful CGI monsters towards the end almost ruined it, but overall a solid found footage horror. 7/10

 

[Cas]

Backtrack
Crap horror with Adrien Brody. Ghosts or sommat.

 

[Craig]

Lights Out (2016)
I loved the short film this is based on so was quite excited to see this. For the most part it doesn't disappoint but ultimately they've tried to flesh out an idea that isn't best suited to a feature length film. Beyond the creepy fear of the dark premise at its core there isn't much else going for it. The backstory behind the ghoul is well trodden ground, and has been done much more effectively than this on many occasions in the past. 6/10

 

[Smudge]

Im desperately searching everywhere for some kind of Halloween special at all the local cinemas. Anything! Whether it be an all nighter or marathon, or just a reshowing of a classic. So far all I can really find within about 20 miles of where I live is the Exorcist (which would be perfect if I hadnt watched it on Halloween about 2 years ago, so Id rather see something different), the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall are showing Psycho with a live orchestra, which sounds good, but pricey. Or the Liverpool Small Cinema is showing a Japanese horror double bill, Ringu and Hausu. Dirt cheap and something a bit different.

This is all made all the more problematic by now not speaking to my usual horror film companion, so I am also struggling to find someone to go with. Boo adulthood.

 

[Gilly?]

Anyone started The Exorcist series yet? Heard positive things but I'm reluctant to give it a go...

 

[Craig]

Don't Breathe (2016)
Trio of delinquents decide to rob the home of a blind Gulf War veteran who is the only resident left in a dilapidated neighbourhood of Detroit as they learn he may have $300k cash in the house. Turns out he isn't an easy a target as they expected.

Started off well and boasts a good cast but half-way through it kind of loses its way and takes a step in the wrong direction imo. A massive box office success with largely positive reviews but I thought it was a bit of a let down and could have been pulled off much better. 6/10.

 

[Cas]

Anyone tried shudder.com ? Horror streaming site which seems to have a decent selection. Seven day trial so may give it a go.

 

[Leewilson]

Can't decide if this is going to be excellent or awful.

 

[Smudge]

Drag Me to Hell was on 5 Star on my night shift last night. Seen it before, but still enjoy it. One of very few modern horrors Ive really enjoyed. Doesnt take itself seriously, has some good scares in it, and some truly horrific moments. The end is just gloriously done as well!

I do wonder how desperate the main actress was to make it big though. Either that or she's an absolute glutton for punishment, the number of times something vomits in her mouth...

 

[Smudge]

For the record, Channel 5 and their other channels have a few horrors on this weekend. Cabin in the Woods and the Descent are on tonight, Wrong Turn and Creep tomorrow, and Scream 4 and a documentary about the Slenderman killings on Monday.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Just watched Carrie (1976). Cracking film and some great performances from Spacek and Laurie. The soundtrack is also great. Not sure it's really a horror but it's the closest category in which it fits.

The only bad thing about it is the final scene.

 

[Smudge]

Piper Laurie scared the fuck out of me in everything I ever saw her in for years after the first time I saw that! Classic film, one of my favourites and still pretty scary a lot of it.

The 70s were great. Probably the best decade ever for horrors.