The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

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Rev
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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby Rev » May 25th, 2015, 9:25 pm

I saw Unfriended over the weekend with a friend. I was surprised at how well done the film was. The movie is pretty much a mocumentary but done over a computer screen instead of a camera. The movie didn't screw around and pretty much was non-stop action after the first 10-15 minutes and was a lot of fun. I like how the movie slowly revealed how cruel the teenagers in the film were and how they all contributed to the death of girl, Laura Barns. At first, all the characters seem innocent enough, but as the ghost of Laura Barns (or whoever it was) torments them they slowly admit all the horrible things they had done... Score one for the evil entity. If you like these kind of movies this one is definitely worth watching.

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scotland
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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby scotland » June 11th, 2015, 9:11 am

Christopher Lee passed away in his 90s. To modern audiences he was Saruman or Dooku, but to Horror fans he is Dracula for Hammer or Lord Summerisle and Fu Manchu for other companies. Supposedly he was to be Dr No, but it did not pan out, although he would get to be a Bond villain eventually.

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JustLikeHeaven
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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby JustLikeHeaven » June 11th, 2015, 10:10 am

Sad news about Lee. The man was an absolute legend. He lived to be 93 and was still acting. It always impressed me that he continued acting even as he climbed in age. I sometimes think the key to tricking Death is to keep living like you're a younger, more driven man/woman. Sadly, Death catches us all in the end.

As a fan of Hammer Horror films he'll always be Dracula, but in recent years he has cemented himself as Saruman as well. Great talent that lived a long and great life. He will be missed.

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scotland
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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby scotland » July 3rd, 2015, 6:04 pm

Just looking at a short blog by Stephen King on "Why We Crave Horror Movies" listing reasons like just cause its fun, to show we are not afraid, for kids to show they are not their parents, for parents to feel like kids again, and to re-establish our feelings we are essentially normal' by viewing something very not normal.

King spends most of the article on horror movies as a relief valve for emotions that society is uncomfortable with and aren't found on Hallmark cards (what King calls 'anti-civilization emotions).

Why do you love horror movies?

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velcrozombie
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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby velcrozombie » July 3rd, 2015, 11:09 pm

scotland wrote:Just looking at a short blog by Stephen King on "Why We Crave Horror Movies" listing reasons like just cause its fun, to show we are not afraid, for kids to show they are not their parents, for parents to feel like kids again, and to re-establish our feelings we are essentially normal' by viewing something very not normal.

King spends most of the article on horror movies as a relief valve for emotions that society is uncomfortable with and aren't found on Hallmark cards (what King calls 'anti-civilization emotions).

Why do you love horror movies?


Here are some reasons I like horror movies:

- They offer a forum for self-examination of the darker parts of your personality, especially when the horror is human. You get to ask yourself "Am I capable of doing something like that?" or "How far away am I from becoming that?" or even "How have I mistreated others (or considered mistreating others) in ways, that while nowhere near this level, are still beyond what I would like to admit to?". If there are forces working to defeat the evil, I can ask myself questions on the opposite side.

- There's something to be said for the horror auteur, someone who has worked and reworked themes that are unique to them. If and when David Cronenberg eventually comes back to horror, I want to see what he does with his trademark body horror (and if he doesn't, I'll continue to watch his other films to trace the threads of it). I want David Lynch to peel back another layer of his surreal, confounding narratives. I want Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson (please come home!) to delight me with camera tricks, creative gore and over-the-top comedy. I like when directors branch out, do it's nice to see them come back to what they made with in the first place.

- I've brought this up when talking about heavy metal before: it's nice to see "disreputable art" succeed creatively to the point where the mainstream can no longer ignore it. It's cool to see films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Curse of the Demon and Night of the Living Dead acknowledged as classics and valued as important pieces of our film history in the same way that Paranoid, Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood are in contemporary music.

-It's fun to watch an horror movie that comes from a different time or culture (or from a writer/director with a well-known backstory) and try to find how these elements influence the subtext. Sometimes there's a lot of possibilities (how many different themes can you dig up from the zombies in the original Night of the Living Dead?), and sometimes it's more obvious (Tobe Hooper's vegetarianism informed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's "meat = meat & meat = murder" message, and the shunned underground society of special creatures in Nightbreed was at least partially inspired by Clive Barker's homosexuality).

- Sometimes I want to take a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes I want to be brute-forced into feeling something, anything at all. Sometimes I just want to see an envelope pushed. Sometimes I genuinely want to be disgusted or disturbed...in the safety of my living room or theater, of course.

- If a horror film is good at generating suspense or tension, has a well-constructed scare scene or manages to surprise me, I can look back over the film and admire the handiwork of the writer/director/technical staff. I want to analyze how they were able to wring such emotions from me, especially in comparison to horror movies that have tried similar tactics and failed.

- I like to see how movies from other genres manage to sneak in elements of horror as well, especially in the case of a writer or director who has done horror in the past. No one would call Raiders of the Lost Ark a horror movie, but Spielberg (who previously directed Jaws and Duel) made a rollicking, old-fashioned globetrotting adventure story with two scenes (the snakes scene and the opening of the Ark) that insured that there wouldn't be a dry seat in the house. The opposite (a director who has carved out a distinct identity trying horror for the first time) is also interesting (Kubrick directing The Shining, Barry Levinson directing The Bay, Kevin Smith directing Red State and Tusk, etc.).
L

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 4th, 2015, 9:22 am

I'm a big horror movie fan myself. My wife didn't used to like them, but now she's convert. She wants to watch horror movies all the time. Guess she likes the thrill. But I try to limit them to the Fall months.

There are a few classics I own on DVD and watch over and over:
Night of the Living Dead
Return of the Living Dead
Halloween
Friday the 13th
Pumpkinhead (underrated)
Blair Witch Project
Scream

Here are a few REALLY SCARY movies that I couldn't bare to watch twice:
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original 1974 version)
The Ring
The Grudge
Pet Seminary
The Exorcist

I remember after watching The Ring I returned it to the video store immediately! Couldn't have it in the house.

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Rev
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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby Rev » July 4th, 2015, 10:53 am

I love so many different aspects of horror movies. They are by far my favorite genre for films.

-I think one of the main reasons I love horror films is because of all the different sub-genres. You have horror comedies, traditional horror, Japanese horror, psychological horror, mocumentaries, and more and more...
-I also love how horror movies make me feel. To me, a good horror film makes you think, question your surroundings, and want to read more about it after it is over. I remember the first time I watched Blair Witch Project I just stared at the tv for about 10 minutes after the film was done. I really felt like I was watching lost footage and that these events actually happened.
-Watching movies with lots of gore and over the top killing is also a lot of fun for me. Movies like The Collector are basically kill fests and can be a lot of fun after a stressful day at work.

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scotland
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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby scotland » July 4th, 2015, 11:53 am

velcrozombie wrote:- I've brought this up when talking about heavy metal before: it's nice to see "disreputable art" succeed creatively to the point where the mainstream can no longer ignore it. It's cool to see films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Curse of the Demon and Night of the Living Dead acknowledged as classics and valued as important pieces of our film history in the same way that Paranoid, Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood are in contemporary music.


Neat comparison. I would have a different list of horror classics, like Psycho and Exorcist, but thats not the point. My taste in music is pedestrian and stuck in the past....but that same music was not pedestrian at first. One decade a song sings that the roof is on fire let the bleep bleep burn, and the next decade its used to sell home owners insurance. Same song, same artist, but now its no longer threatening.

I think that is what happens to disreputable art that is too strong to ignore or suppress or forget or Pat Boone, its re interpreted as benign and harmless. Even Night of the Living Dead now is not scary or shocking, just exciting and influential and quaint and politically correct.

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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby Tina » July 5th, 2015, 10:30 am

Last night we watched Oculus, very disturbing.
My top favs...
1. Exorcist
2. Nosferatu-the black and white one-spooky !
3. Salems Lot
4. Shining
5. Pet Semetary
6. Children of the Corn
7. Nightmare on Elm Street-saw the first one in a movie theater-added to experience-we were middle schoolers screaming our heads off.
8. Poltergeist-this one still gives me the creeps.
9. Halloween-first two were great and than I just thought season of the witch was silly.
10. Friday the 13th-the first one.
11. Paranormal activity
12. Anything with Lon Chaney.

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Re: The Horror Movie Lovers Thread

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 5th, 2015, 12:11 pm

Did anyone mention the Evil Dead movies? Loved Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2, but Army of Darkness was kind of cheesy. The skeleton warriors at the end were clearly actors in costume. Maybe they couldn't afford the computer graphics, but I would have settled for claymation.


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