@Sable "If I'm honest I feel it's been on a downward spiral since End Game."
Yeah totally agree. Marvel/Disney are out of ideas and would rather spend their time shoehorning political issues into their shows. It should have ended at Endgame, I think the wheels were coming off before then to be honest but Endgame would have capped it off nicely.
I actually found The Batman to be all over in terms of pacing and story. It tried to do too much and I actually felt the Riddler was under utilised. Pattinson was a better Batman than Bruce Wayne as well but there is room for growth going forward I think. We'll see.
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials. – Seneca
Massive step up over the original film in every way. The practical effects look amazing for such a low-budget film. The violence is... well, it didn't bother me, but it is absolutely one of the most hyperviolent things I've ever seen. But it's so over-the-top that it becomes weirdly fun instead of painful to watch. This is, like, Japanese guro exploitation cinema levels of gore. Not surprised it's unrated, as they'd have to cut half the film in order for it to get an R rating!
The film is 2.5 hours long, which you'd think would be a problem for a slasher, but the strong characters and great pacing keep it from feeling like a slog.
There's a distinct Nightmare on Elm Street-esque 80s horror vibe here between the suburban setting, the clearly supernatural villain, the creative and over-the-top deaths, the large amount of dark humor, and the synth-heavy score.
The acting is all pretty solid in this film, but, of course, David Howard Thornton again steals the spotlight with his increasingly iconic performance as Art the Clown. Creepy and hilarious in turns.
One of the best slashers I've seen in a LONG time. Glad I had the opportunity to watch it in a theater.
@nessisonett Slashers are my favorite horror subgenre when done right. A Nightmare on Elm Street was my first ever movie. I also adored Halloween growing up, along with other classics of the genre. But it has been so long, and the majority of horror films that release now are tame ghost movies that you forget as soon as you leave the theater.
There's a clear enthusiasm from the filmmakers for this project, and it shines through in the film itself. The after-credits interview and behind-the-stage stuff cement that everyone involved seemed to have a blast making it.
But, uh, you do have to be a bit of a sicko to really be able to appreciate a film like this.
@RogerRoger The audience behind us was mostly chatty teenagers, likely lured in by reports of people vomiting and fainting. They felt the need to burst into applause every time someone attacked the clown, which got a bit old as the film wore on.
Watched The Djinn this past weekend along with Dreamscape and Poltergeist 1-3.
Tonight Im watching The Black Cauldron and The Vigil and if Im still up later tonight im watching Tom Savini's Night of the Living Dead remake with the commentary track on
@RogerRoger I've seen it happen a few times when the antagonist of a horror film gets his just desserts. Not usually multiple times in the same movie, though!
I do have some experience with the phenomenon, though. There's an anime adaptation of the horror video game Corpse Party, and it's also super gory. A local convention a friend and I used to go to before covid would air a midnight showing of it every year and, almost without exception, someone would always run out during the grossest part. It became a rather enjoyable game scanning the crowd to see who the runner would be.
Currently Playing: Resident Evil Village: Gold Edition
Movies I watched a couple weeks ago. Just got a PS5 in so my movie intake will probably slow down a bit from now on.
Lupin III: Mystery of Mamo (Blu-Ray)
Very first film in the Lupin III franchise, which sees the the thief's gang mixed up in the machinations of a seemingly immortal wealthy eccentric (the titular Mamo) who aims to burn down & restart civilization with a hand selected group of "superior" individuals.
It's definitely rough around the edges, especially narratively, but I still had a lot of fun with it. It's not as lusciously animated as it's followup (Castle of Cagliostro), however it does do a lot of interesting things with a lot of surreal imagery that really only works in animation, and I think the cast has a bit more personality than they did in the more famous follow up.
I've recently heard that Cagliostro is the best Lupin film for those who don't like Lupin, while Mamo is the best amongst the fan base, but as someone who has only recently watched them both, I enjoy what each of them brings to the table.
Trailer:
Slumber Party Massacre II (Tubi)
Follow up to "the Slumber Party Massacre" that sees the Courtney, the younger sister of that film's MC (Valerie) trying to survive her own, well, slumber party massacre.
I'll give it props for being a much more disturbing film than the first (at least in the buildup to the climax, whether or not there is really a threat or if she's just paranoid) with some really greusome imagery. Plus, the killer's guitar drill is a pretty cool prop.
However I think there's a simplicity to the first film that just works in a way this one doesn't. The very supernatural nature of the threat is completely at odds with the world the first movie seemed to take place in, & there's not even a token reason as to why (he's not the vengeful spirit of the first film's killer, & it's not indicated that her friend's new house is haunted, he just exists, and seems fixated on Courtney for no specific reason). Heck, even the cheesecake on display before stuff goes down is vastly inferior to what the first film offered.
There is a potential twist at the end that makes a lot of this make more sense, although also a lot more pointless.
Trailer:
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
Just watched that Red Notice on netflix. Not bad actually despite the poor reviews I heard it had. I enjoyed it, reminded me a bit of National Treasure
So I haven't watched any movies from the Halloween, Friday the 13th and Saw franchises but I recently discovered that Netflix has the 2007 remake of the first Halloween, the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th and the first Saw movie. For those who have seen these movies, would you say that it's fine to watch Halloween (2007) and Friday the 13th (2009) as my first movie in each respective series? And is Saw worth watching?
@stvevan Well that's the thing, I haven't seen the originals available anywhere. I've been wanting to watch these movies for a long time and I just can't find a streaming service that has them.
@LtSarge It sounds like the decision has already been made for you due to the availability of the original films, but for me most of the time the original will be the better film. But if you have no way of watching them on any of the streaming services, what are you gonna do? I say watch the remakes/reboots, and then get round to the originals when you can, as it can be fun comparing them.
I watched Saw again quite recently on 4K blu ray, and I thought it still held up really well. The sequels get steadily worse though.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@LtSarge
Yes for the Halloween reboot. I watched it for the first time earlier this month and it was fine. I don't think it will be considered anywhere close to the film classic that the original is. But it was an interesting take and I thought quite an enjoyable watch... Don't bother with the sequel to it though, that was terrible!
I was thinking about re-watching the original Saw film myself. It's definitely worth a go if you haven't seen it.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
@JohnnyShoulder Well I mean, the other option would be to not watch these movies and wait for the originals to be potentially added to a streaming service in the future. But if it's not that big of a deal then I'll watch the remakes/reboots.
Ah that's good to know. I think I'll watch Saw as well then!
@sorteddan Nice, I'll watch Halloween then! It sounded fine to be because it's a remake of the original but with added story. I'll avoid the sequel to the remake, thanks!
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