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Post by clemfandango on Oct 22, 2024 12:54:51 GMT
Alien Romulus - 7/10
Does so many things right then shits the bed in the final act.
I’ve no idea why the final alien looks the way it does, black goo does not in my mind equate to what transpires.
Also did the standard aliens grow to full adult that quick in the original movies? Seemed to take a couple of minutes?
It’s very well made though and certainly better than covenant, Prometheus and alien 4.
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Post by Reviewer on Oct 22, 2024 13:48:12 GMT
According to the Alien wiki, it takes a couple of hours.
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Post by simple on Oct 22, 2024 13:55:11 GMT
Someone a few pages back said the Black Goo was just an excuse to play Dead Space which feels about right.
It feels like every part of the alien lifecycle was sped up in Romulus. Or they edited out a lot of scenes of the crew sat about doing nothing.
Implantation and gestation felt more like the best part of a day, if not even plausibly overnight in Alien. In this it almost felt like we were seeing it in real time.
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Post by Reviewer on Oct 22, 2024 14:02:41 GMT
They didn’t even sleep in the original film after the alien came back to the ship. The time has always been short.
It went from the little one to the big one that got Harry Dean Stanton in almost no time.
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Post by simple on Oct 22, 2024 14:06:57 GMT
Thats true, it does feel like Kane is unconscious for a lot longer than the time between chestburster birth and Brett’s death.
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Post by clemfandango on Oct 23, 2024 9:56:44 GMT
Salems Lot (the new one) - 7.5/10
Really enjoyed this one, it's not going to become a classic or anything but it's well made and a good old fashioned horror movie with some decent scares. It's also nice to have nasty no nonsense vampires again.
Not sure its as good as the Tobe hooper version, but its close and recommended.
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Post by dfunked on Oct 23, 2024 11:27:46 GMT
I got as far as father Callaghan getting introduced and just gave up on it. Felt like more of a 5/10 from what I watched.
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Post by Dougs on Oct 23, 2024 12:12:48 GMT
Sometimes you just need to be in the right frame of mind for some films. Definitely hated some films at first then liked them on rewatch etc.
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Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Oct 23, 2024 12:30:18 GMT
Not sure its as good as the Tobe hooper version, but its close and recommended. The difference is that, with it being a mini-series, the extra hour gives it room to breath and explore the 'theres something wrong with the town' vibe and even then it moves along at a pace compared to the book. This is just a scary movie, for better or worse (worse). Weirdly, the IT movies have the same problem even though they probably have a longer running time to the mini-series. The show just gets the vibe right. Tbf, its a common thing in King adaptations. If the director doesnt realise the town is usually the main character, its normally a shitter. |
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Post by clemfandango on Oct 23, 2024 16:21:53 GMT
Not sure its as good as the Tobe hooper version, but its close and recommended. The difference is that, with it being a mini-series, the extra hour gives it room to breath and explore the 'theres something wrong with the town' vibe and even then it moves along at a pace compared to the book. This is just a scary movie, for better or worse (worse). Weirdly, the IT movies have the same problem even though they probably have a longer running time to the mini-series. The show just gets the vibe right. Tbf, its a common thing in King adaptations. If the director doesnt realise the town is usually the main character, its normally a shitter. Yeah good point, I just think it was just refreshing to watch a good old fashioned horror movie, it felt different to all the usual stuff coming out. I've not read the book or seen the Tobe hooper version for at least 25 years so that probably helped too. Dougs also has a good point, I was definitely in the right frame of mind to watch it and my eldest daughter really enjoyed it as the only vampire stuff she has watched is the usual YA sexy vampire crap. |
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Post by paulyboy81 on Oct 23, 2024 20:43:18 GMT
I need to go back and watch the Tobe Hopper mini-series, the full version that is, not the butchered 2 hour theatrical cut.
The image of the guy in the rocking chair with glowing eyes used to live rent free in my head as a nipper.
Said as much a few pages back but the new version is passable, but definitely feels like an entire middle act has been cut from the film.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Oct 23, 2024 20:44:02 GMT
Terrifier 2 - 7/10 maybe?!
Well then... blimey. That escalated. Despite the gore, the first one was mildly quaint with it's ropey acting and clearly limited budget. Number 2 dials it up to 11 and then some. The acting is better. There's a fantasy story going on in the background. The effects are pretty amazing. The writer-director has got a (questionable?) imagination for sure. It's better than the first one, even if it's too slow in the middle.
Tonally it's very odd. It feels like a B-movie homage, which can lend a comforting sense of familiarity to them, but this doesn't care for nostalgia. Instead, it's just relentless brutality. I felt pretty uncomfortable watching bits of it. A guy getting his member hacked off isn't even the most grim scene. I don't think it's even third or fourth. Mashed potato, yeesh...
The franchise feels a bit like horror cinema resetting itself again. They are about as straightforward as slasher films can be. The Saw films feel inventive compared to this. It reminds me of when Scream became a thing, except all of the meta self-reference has be dispensed with and we're back to the beginning, Halloween/Nightmare on Elm Street street territory, with a genuinely sinister boogieman hunting people down. Except, we now have 4K, amazing special effects on a budget and a world where real ultraviolence is a few clicks away on social media, which must surely influence the stakes required of a horror film. Christ, there's even kids getting lashed with a homemade flail made out of surgical scissors in this.
It made me think about how Texas Chainsaw Massacre was banned originally and is now regarded as a horror masterpiece. This isn't that, but I was struck watching this thinking about my own limits of what's acceptable. Much more so in fact compared to something like Funny Games which is deliberately introspective. Unsettling, and yet I am compelled to watch the third...
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Post by Dougs on Oct 23, 2024 21:01:04 GMT
Coincidentally just got back from an hour in the pub and my wife and eldest are watching IT. Tbh it just brings back my annoyance at the book. Threw the fucking thing across the room at the end.
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Post by britesparc on Oct 23, 2024 21:35:09 GMT
Hocus Pocus (1993) ***
I find these sorts of films very nostalgic - the cinematography, the mix of practical effects and rudimentary CGI, the overall tone - because I watched them when I was a kid. And this film remains pretty good, surprisingly dark in content (it begins with a child being murdered!) if still very light in overall tone. It's slight, I guess, and I can imagine the central performances grating to some; it also feels light on threat or, really, incident. But it's a fine adventure and a good macabre film to show to little kids.
(Disney+)
Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) ***
Avoids being a remake of its predecessor, leaning more than you might expect into the passage of time since the first one. Whilst there's not much in it, I think on balance this is the superior film; the central teen heroes are stronger in terms of character and performance, the Sanderson sisters feel more of a threat, and there's a much greater emotional spine to the film. Again, if you told me the witches' schtick was aggravating, I'd believe you; I find it mostly fun but YMMV.
(Disney+)
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Post by clemfandango on Oct 24, 2024 7:32:42 GMT
Screamers - 8/10
A sci fi action movie from the early 90s starring peter weller based on the the Philip K Dick novel second variety, what’s not to like?
Well the low budget look and plodding pace may put some people off, but stick with it and this is a bit of a hidden gem. The story is great and has elements of terminator, blade runner and other better movies but it all works. Weller is great and it’s very well made, I’m surprised it wasn’t a bigger hit or at least taken on cult status. Recommended 👍
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Oct 24, 2024 7:50:16 GMT
TomoIt makes me wonder a little why I can stomach the kills in Terrifier 2 (particularly that one in the bedroom), while something like the ending of the original Speak No Evil disgusts me to my core. Both of them kind of make me wonder "what the fuck is wrong with the person who made this". But there's a level of extremity and fun to the Terrifiers that lets me enjoy them to an extent. It's so fucked up that I can't take it seriously.
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Post by monkman5000 on Oct 24, 2024 9:23:26 GMT
Christ, there's even kids getting lashed with a homemade flail made out of surgical scissors in this. Not a horror fan personally. Can anyone explain what you get out of watching something like this? Assuming it looks real, isn't it just incredibly upsetting?
Basically, what the fuck is wrong with you people? |
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Post by clemfandango on Oct 24, 2024 9:33:36 GMT
I love a horror movie but I'm going nowhere near the Terrifier movies
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Post by Vandelay on Oct 24, 2024 9:38:08 GMT
Horror traditionally is a safe place to explore personal or societal fears. It is a release of tension to experience it, when you also know that you are actually safe in crowded theatre or tucked up at home. It is the same as a rollercoaster that lets you have thrills in a controlled environment. Also, despite horror being seen as boundary pushing, it is normally actually quite conservative and the social threat is generally defeated in the end or, if it isn't, it will be presented as an unhappy ending that the "normal", often middle class, victim suffers.
For the more extreme violent and gore cinema, they often tap into slapstick comedy. See The Evil Dead films or a lot of traditional slasher films, where the enjoyment often comes from the ickyness. The effects don't have to be realistic and normally aren't particularly, but they are more enjoyable when they go over the top and silly with it. Plus, there is an appreciation of the craft that goes into making a disgusting wound or creature.
I don't know about Terrifer and where it falls into the fun or nasty range, but so-called torture porn is often looked down upon by horror fans as they are unpleasant and often want to mix titillation in with their kills. Saw and its copycats from the 00s are particular culprits for that.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Oct 24, 2024 9:38:19 GMT
Yeah I'm a massive horror film fan but shit like Terrifier I just don't get. I don't get my kicks from senseless gore, never have. There's no way I'm watching them. They look like shite designed to shock for the sake of it.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Oct 24, 2024 9:38:42 GMT
Assuming 'kids' means actual young kids, not college students, I also wonder how they filmed it while protecting the child actors.
There does seem to be a bit of a trend recently for horror movies to feature younger actors.
"Ok kid, just stand over here and imagine you're being sliced in half..."
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Post by monkman5000 on Oct 24, 2024 9:40:45 GMT
Sure, I'm probably referring more to torture porn than 'proper' horror to be fair - I say I'm not a horror fan but Alien is one of my all-time favourites. Torture porn is still a bizarrely popular genre though. I really don't get why anyone would want to watch that kind of thing.
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Post by rhaegyr on Oct 24, 2024 9:42:23 GMT
Yeah I'm a massive horror film fan but shit like Terrifier I just don't get. I don't get my kicks from senseless gore, never have. There's no way I'm watching them. They look like shite designed to shock for the sake of it. Nail on the head. Watched the first one and thought it was utter toss. Plot, acting, cinematography etc. are all beyond naff. I'm baffled as to why it has such a following. |
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Post by monkman5000 on Oct 24, 2024 9:42:38 GMT
Assuming 'kids' means actual young kids, not college students, I also wonder how they filmed it while protecting the child actors. There does seem to be a bit of a trend recently for horror movies to feature younger actors. "Ok kid, just stand over here and imagine you're being sliced in half..." Talking of kids, after the recent discussion about Speak No Evil I looked up a synopsis of the original (in text only!) out of morbid curiosity. Just..... what the fuck. Seriously. |
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Post by Vandelay on Oct 24, 2024 9:47:04 GMT
I expect most of it is because teenagers. The films are marketed as being extreme and like a dare, so they all go along and egg each other on.
Without seeing it, Terrifier does look like it falls more towards the silly slapstick end, what with the clown character and the very, very over the top sounding gore. It doesn't look to have that grungy, nasty vibe that torture porn from a couple of decades had.
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Post by zisssou on Oct 24, 2024 10:03:01 GMT
Yeah I'm a massive horror film fan but shit like Terrifier I just don't get. I don't get my kicks from senseless gore, never have. There's no way I'm watching them. They look like shite designed to shock for the sake of it. I think it just came across as overly misogynistic. I watched it a year ago so someone can counter this, but I recall one of the guys who died it was gruesome, but the females almost felt like overly sexual and prolonged. |
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mrpon
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Post by mrpon on Oct 24, 2024 10:10:23 GMT
Yep just watched it recently, one of the females was... spread eagled upside down naked and you can imagine what happened with the saw he was brandishing ...grim. |
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dmukgr
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Post by dmukgr on Oct 24, 2024 10:11:38 GMT
I watched the new Aliens film last night and was surprised at how young the cast looked. Really stood out to me at the start.
God, I’m old. Since when did the police start recruiting kids etc.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Oct 24, 2024 10:14:21 GMT
Yeah I'm a massive horror film fan but shit like Terrifier I just don't get. I don't get my kicks from senseless gore, never have. There's no way I'm watching them. They look like shite designed to shock for the sake of it. Nail on the head. Watched the first one and thought it was utter toss. Plot, acting, cinematography etc. are all beyond naff. I'm baffled as to why it has such a following. I mean, in terms of that stuff is it really that much worse than, say, one of the Friday the 13th movies? You don't watch those for the intricate plots or cinematography or acting. You watch because you want to see a bunch of dumb horny teens get murdered in inventive ways. Which isn't to say that people *should* want to watch that kind of thing. But I don't think the appeal of Terrifier is that much different, it's just more extreme because it takes more of that to shock people these days. |
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Binky
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Post by Binky on Oct 24, 2024 10:14:23 GMT
It doesn't look to have that grungy, nasty vibe that torture porn from a couple of decades had. Terrifier/2 are the nastiest movies I've ever seen. I only agreed to watch the sequel because my wife really liked the Art character design (the weirdo!) |
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