Member Drunken Monk Posted October 4, 2023 Member Share Posted October 4, 2023 October movie # 2 Ghost Nursing (1982) - What a surprise! A fantastic slice of Hong Kong horror. Starts off slow but once it gets going, it takes off at lightning speed. Supernatural goings on, body horror possession… It’s all here. The final act is absolutely incredible. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted October 4, 2023 Member Share Posted October 4, 2023 Exorcist 3, excellent movie all around and possibly the best film to carry the Exorcist name. Not as creepy or disturbing as the original film, but the story and acting is top notch. They Live, awesome post apocalyptic science fiction flick from John Carpenter, complete with hokey but lovable practical effects/costumes. There is an unexpected great fight scene - better than most American films, and Roddy Piper proved to be a better movie actor than most pro wrestlers who tried to cross over. The plot is fun and possibly thought provoking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted October 4, 2023 Member Share Posted October 4, 2023 Collected my old Tomie capsule reviews into a post for my site and published here: https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-tomie-series-in-capsule-form.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted October 4, 2023 Member Share Posted October 4, 2023 Castle Freak (1995) The opening shows an old lady beating a man who is locked up in the castle - you later find out it’s her son, and the relationship and story between them and the family who inherits the castle is interesting. The family who inherits the castle is having trouble dealing with the loss of their youngest son in a car accident caused by the Dad’s drunk driving, their teenage daughter was also blinded in the accident. They’re hoping this will be a fresh start. Once they move into the castle, the daughter starts hearing things at night, and they eventually meet their long lost relative as bodies start to drop and things get crazy. Went into this one expecting a fun bad movie… but it was actually good. There’s one scene that was a bit much for me - but really it had a good story that mixed in some family drama with the monster horror stuff. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted October 5, 2023 Member Share Posted October 5, 2023 The Eye (Hong Kong/Singapore, 2002: Danny & Oxide Pang) - We fans of HK cinema often joke about the Anglican names of HK celebrities often being names that are obsolete here in the West--Mavis? Bosco? But, where the heck did "Oxide" Pang get his name? Anyway, this film seemed to be a minor hit in the pan-Asia market, at least enough to merit two sequels and a wedding between lead actress Angelica Lee and Oxide Pang. You know you're working with something good or memorable when Hollywood opts to remake it. The movie begins with a young blind lady named Mun (Angelica Lee) musing to herself whether or not the world is a beautiful place. She's about to undergo a cornea transplant, so she's going to find out about it for herself. The surgery is a success and, after a few days of recovery, she is taken to a room in the hospital to remove the bandages in front of her sister (Candy Lo) and grandmother (Ko Yin Ping). She sees three blurry images in front of her: her sister, grandma and...well, someone. Gradually, her vision is restored, although she has an interesting experience with a shadow figure coming to visit the old lady in the next bed over. Once out of the hospital, she begins to start her life anew. She begins to learn calligraphy. She undergoes therapy with a certain Dr. Wah (Lawrence Cho), a psychologist who wishes to ease her back into the world of the vision unimpaired. She continues playing the violin for a special blind orchestra, although she learns that they have a bit of prejudice toward the recipients of new corneas. On the other hand, she also starts having some peculiar experiences: she meets a boy on her floor who has lost his report card; she has nightmares set at another hospital; sometimes her bedroom temporarily changes into one unfamiliar; and finally she sees a shadowy figure hovering over the body of a kid hit by a car...whom had just spoken to her a few minutes before. Thus, the question arises: just who donated the corneas to Mun? The Eye is Hong Kong's answer to The Sixth Sense by way of films like Blink (1994) and The Hands of Orlac. The first half is mainly horror, as Mun's new gift in life comes with a terrifying side effect. Although the ghosts she sees are not physically dangerous, they are common enough to scare the bejesus out of the poor young lady at regular intervals. By the final act, she has come to terms with her new powers and seeks to find the truth behind the person whose corneas she inherited, at which point the film becomes more of a tragic supernatural melodrama. The Eye is well-acted and there is an awful sense of inevitability to the climax, which brings Mun's story full circle. In some ways, The Eye is sort of a retelling of the Greek myth of Cassandra. Following this film's success, several low-budget films about eye transplants gone wrong were made in the States before it was remade with Jessica Alba. See films like Deadly Visions and Jill for similar premises. The movie is creepy at times, but not extremely scary, and lacks a good 11th hour twist to make it memorable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Super Ninja Posted October 5, 2023 Member Share Posted October 5, 2023 21 hours ago, paimeifist said: Castle Freak (1995) The opening shows an old lady beating a man who is locked up in the castle - you later find out it’s her son, and the relationship and story between them and the family who inherits the castle is interesting. The family who inherits the castle is having trouble dealing with the loss of their youngest son in a car accident caused by the Dad’s drunk driving, their teenage daughter was also blinded in the accident. They’re hoping this will be a fresh start. Once they move into the castle, the daughter starts hearing things at night, and they eventually meet their long lost relative as bodies start to drop and things get crazy. Went into this one expecting a fun bad movie… but it was actually good. There’s one scene that was a bit much for me - but really it had a good story that mixed in some family drama with the monster horror stuff. Always thought this was Stuart Gordon's most underrated movie. It deserves to be talked about more often. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Super Ninja Posted October 5, 2023 Member Share Posted October 5, 2023 Sick (2022) - John Hyams has a new movie. And I can't say it's not good, but I also can't say I liked it much. Home invasion meets covid slasher in this well made but ultimately underwhelming horror. Though not heavy on the kills, those jolly moments of violence are the best thing about the movie. Killer motivations? I'm not even gonna comment that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted October 6, 2023 Member Share Posted October 6, 2023 The Eye 2 (Hong Kong/Singapore/Thailand, 2004: Danny & Oxide Pang) - I think when it comes to a premise like this, talk of a sequel immediately invites the fear that any follow-up will simply be a remake of the original. And while this film obviously shares the same basic structure as the first one, it thankfully is it's own little creature. In some ways, I think the film is better than the first one, stumbling only at the climax. The Eye 2 is very much The Sixth Sense, but through a purely Buddhist lens--although a Hindu lens would probably present one with a similar output. We open in Bangkok with a young lady, Joey Cheng (the luscious Shu Qi), going on a buying spree. As things progress, it becomes clear that Joey is in the middle of a messy break-up that has left her more than a little unstable. So unstable, in fact, that her plan for the evening is to max out all her credit cards and then overdose on barbitrates in her hotel room. She does go through with her plan, although she does end up surviving, thanks to the hotel employees who entered her room for a wake-up call. While she was in her near-death throes, she noticed that there were a lot of people showing up in her hotel room, although she doesn't recognize the significance of it. Following her recovery, she does witness a Buddhist ritual cleansing of her previous room: a maid informs her that when the act of suicide invites the presence of ghosts to the hotel. Back in Hong Kong, Joey starts having seeing people that other people cannot. Moreover, she witnesses phenomena like random objects falling over. At the same time, she discovers that she is pregnant with the child of her ex-boyfriend, who has been avoiding her. As she wrestles as to whether or not she wants to keep the baby, a chance encounter with a rapist results in her going all "Rats in the Walls" on the "poor" scumbag and nearly eating his face off. Someone, or something, really, really wants her to have that baby. Although the first film was a serviceable, well-acted variation on The Sixth Sense, it sort of felt like two separate movies. In that case, the real plot didn't start until the second half or so. The Eye 2 feels a lot more focused, even if a lot of the ghostly encounters are the random consequences of being able to see spirits. The focus is Shu Qi's Joey Cheng learning to deal with both her powers and an unwanted pregnancy, with the stakes being raised as Joey realizes that both are connected. The Eye 2 tackles heavy topics like suicide, infidelity, and guilt, and at its very core, it is a strongly Pro-Choice film. Even if I don't agree with the sociological implications of this film's religious beliefs, I credit for doing a good job in developing the ideas onscreen. The Eye 2 is also more visceral and frequently scarier than the first film, with several scenes that made my heart skip a beat. The finale is quite bloody, although not in a way you might imagine (without me giving spoilers). The problem is that once it is revealed what the stakes are, the climax isn't particularly scary, and it's executed in a repetitive manner. The final two scenes are practically maudlin, with a brief "spooky" final image to justify the ominous music playing over the final credits. But given the spiritual explanations for what's going on in the film, there's nothing creepy about that final image if you think about it for two seconds. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nectarsis Posted October 6, 2023 Member Share Posted October 6, 2023 Halloween marathon continues #2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted October 6, 2023 Member Share Posted October 6, 2023 Return of the Living Dead 1 Classic flick. A bit of humor mixed in without going too over the top. I could do without the nudity, but thats really my only gripe with this one. I thought I had seen this movie many times, but it turns out I had only watched the first 10 minutes or so - but many times in the past. Lol! Of all the zombie flicks I’ve seen, these movies seem more like how regular people would respond to this stuff happening, and that’s part of where the humor comes from. The ending is very dark and sad, but that makes it good. Great costume design, great balance of dark and humor. Return of the Living Dead 2 A good sequel, but not as enjoyable as the first film to me. It does a good job of carrying on the story and being consistent with how things worked in the first movie. (The cause of the zombies is the same, the people who get infected by the gas respond similarly, and it’s neat how the “fresher” zombies seem to maintain their human capabilities a bit more.) It also feels a lot like more of the same because of this though. This movie generally has a bit of a lighter tone and more comedic feel. At one point there’s a joke about James Karen and Thom Matthew’s playing similar characters in both movies. Ed’s (Jame Karen) whining got legitimately annoying to me, and I was happy when his character was gone. The happier ending is nice in a way, but doesn’t pack the punch that the ending of the first film did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted October 7, 2023 Member Share Posted October 7, 2023 The Eye 10 (Hong Kong/Singapore/Thailand, 2005: Danny and Oxide Pang) - So yeah, there is no The Eye 3...or 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9. The Pang Brothers close out their Eye trilogy with The Eye 10. The title refers to a Thai book about black magic that references ten different ways one may see a ghost, with haunted corneas and suicide-while-pregnant being two of those. This film explores the other eight ways, which is definitely interesting. On one hand, the Pang brothers are not repeating themselves. Unfortunately, while the first two films were serious horror films, this one goes full Hong Kong Movie in its execution. The movie opens with a Buddhist exorcism in Thailand of a woman possessed by spirits, which involves her body levitating and then licking(!) the monks with a giant CGI tongue. Cue the opening credits, set to upbeat music with graphics that make one think of an early 90s TV series about teens (or twenty-somethings) having fun over the summer. Four friends--April (Isabella Leong), May (Kate Yeung), Teddy (Wilson Chen) and Kofei (Kris Gu)--are spending their vacation in Thailand, where they've made friends with a local, Chongkwai (Ray MacDonald). One evening, the group decides to tell each other ghost stories, at which point Chongkwai whips out a book he recently bought about how to see ghosts. Being the idiots they are, they decide to try out several of the rituals, like "Spirit in a Cup" (the Thai version of Ouija) and "Invitation to Dinner." Both ceremonies do allow them to see ghosts, although May is "left out." Determined to see a ghost for herself, she convinces Chongkwai to do another ritual, which is basically "hide-and-seek in a forest at night while carrying a black cat." On one hand, May doesn't get to see any ghost. On the other, Kofei goes missing. April, his girlfriend, goes into hysterics and, convinced he might be dead, performs yet another ritual in which she annoints her eyes with the soil from a cemetery, which almost gets her killed. At this point, May and Teddy go back to Hong Kong...but their experience with the supernatural is not over yet. When I said that The Eye 10 is pure HONG KONG, I think fans of the Jade Screen know what I'm getting at: jarring tonal inconsistencies, inappropriate music that suggests comedy or action where things should be scary, ghost possessions played for laughs, and just an overall sense of weirdness to the whole endeavor. In one scene, a character is chased down the hallway by a sentient basketball. In another, a pair of B-Boys have a dance off with one of the characters, who has just been possessed. The finale has our characters raiding the spirit world and fighting off malignant ghosts with their breath, which they project toward their foes as if they were hadouken from Street Fighter II. While things don't get to Wong Jing levels of looniness, the film is impossible to take seriously. In addition to the schlocky tone that's at odds with the serious approach of the previous two movies, The Eye 10 just looks tacky overall. The CGI is woeful. The photography looks late 90s UPN series, complemented by the crappy special effects. The ghosts are meant to look scary, with their white make up and black highlights, but lack the atmosphere to make them truly scary. Even the opening credits deflates much of the tension that was suggested in the opening scene. It's strange to consider that this film was made by the same people who made the other two movies, which boasted genuine scares, great photography and strong performances. This has none of that and gives credence to the belief that the third part of a trilogy (or series) is always the worst. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted October 7, 2023 Member Share Posted October 7, 2023 Watched two new horror flicks this week: Aberrance (released on Friday) - Mongolia's 1st horror film is a psychological film about a couple who move into a cabin in the woods and the husband shows a side that proves to be both domineering and overprotective when it comes to his wife. Their new neighbors watches and wants to do something about it but fears something else isn't right. Major twists in the second half and some great visuals from director/cinematographer Baatar Batsukh. We see a first POV from the three main characters. Murdercise (now on Tubi): Paying homage to the 1986 B-movie classic Aerobicide and 1989's Death Spa, this film meshes aerobics and horror. A aerobics-obsessed newcomer is invited to join in a sleazy exercise video and is constantly bullied by her co-stars, who have certain assets and only care about stardom. She teams up with a mobster's daughter and begins killing the co-stars one by one. Definitely as farfetched and over the top as it sounds..some great OTT kills including a chainsaw kill that would make Leatherface proud! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nectarsis Posted October 8, 2023 Member Share Posted October 8, 2023 more Halloween horror fun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted October 8, 2023 Member Share Posted October 8, 2023 Movie # 3 Saw VI (2009) - One of the better films in the franchise. Mostly because it’s nicely violent, has great traps and focused on killing members of American’s fucked up medical insurance industry. Once again, it gets needlessly convoluted towards the end but not offensively so. It’s not too shabby. 6/10 Movie # 4 The Boogeyman (2023) - If you’ve seen Lights Out, Mama, Darkness Falls, you’ve seen this. And probably done better. It’s derivative, dull and answers none of the questions it asks. Avoid this one. 3/10 Movie # 5 Haunted Mansion (2023) - My wife really enjoyed this one but I thought it was awful. Considering it’s aimed at kids, it’s surprisingly boring. Interminably long too. The special effects are great but it Rosario Dawson (who I love) can’t save your film, you’ve got something shitty on your hands. 3/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted October 8, 2023 Member Share Posted October 8, 2023 (edited) Evil Dead 2013 I thought this was pretty good, but I went in with very low expectations. Lots of nods to the classic movies, and it felt like an Evil Dead movie still even with a bigger budget, no comedy, and no Bruce Campbell. The gorey grotesque moments weren’t too much, but enough to be unsettling (these things are often too much for me, its part of why I generally don’t like modern horror movies). The plot around trying to help a drug addict get clean and her being the first person to see the crazy stuff was a good set up. I’ll probably watch the more recent one sometime this spooky season. Re-Animator First time seeing this, probably one of my favorite horror flicks now. Excellent stuff all around. Like Castle Freak from the same director, a better than expected plot for what on the surface seems like schlock - (and what is in many ways). You actually don’t know who the villain is til halfway through the movie, and the character development is solid. Even the protagonists do some questionable stuff by the end of it. The sex gag in this one made more sense within the story and felt less cheap and pointless. The Gate Enjoyable PG-13 Demonic flick with some cool effects and a good ending. Edited October 8, 2023 by paimeifist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Rando1975 Posted October 8, 2023 Member Share Posted October 8, 2023 On 10/6/2023 at 4:34 AM, nectarsis said: Halloween marathon continues #2 I enjoyed the first few, but some of the later ones were truly awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Rando1975 Posted October 8, 2023 Member Share Posted October 8, 2023 I always try to watch all the "Saw" films each October. I watched "Saw X" a few days ago. I liked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nectarsis Posted October 9, 2023 Member Share Posted October 9, 2023 the series continues... double feature time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nectarsis Posted October 9, 2023 Member Share Posted October 9, 2023 first time watching the new trilogy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted October 9, 2023 Member Share Posted October 9, 2023 Movie # 5 Totally Killer (2023) - A horror comedy that's neither horrific nor funny. It's a very middle-of-the-road film that ends up feeling drab and mundane because it takes no risks. Lame kills, lame jokes and despite having a time travel gimmick, a pretty lame plot. My wife liked it at least. 3/10 Movie # 6 V/H/S/85 (2023) - YES! The V/H/S series is back on track! This one's a real fun outing and I'm happy to report that there's only one weak segment (although that segment is utter dog shit so it's frustrating). I had a great time with the rest of the anthology. Lashings of gore and really interesting stories. I highly recommend this one. 8/10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nectarsis Posted October 10, 2023 Member Share Posted October 10, 2023 on to part 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nectarsis Posted October 10, 2023 Member Share Posted October 10, 2023 next up 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member PandaPawPaw Posted October 10, 2023 Member Share Posted October 10, 2023 Abby (1974) - "A marriage counselor becomes possessed by a demon of sexuality when her father-in-law, an archaeologist and an exorcist, accidentally frees it while in Africa." Thanks to @sifu iron perm for bringing this film to my attention and it sucked! Really lame Exorcist rip-off that is unintentionally funny in places. Til Death Do Us Part (2023) - "After bailing on her wedding, a former bride-to-be must fight off her ex-groom and seven angry killer groomsmen in order to survive the night." It was listed as horror when it's more like action/martial arts. OK film. Psycho (1960) - "A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother." I've seen it quite a few times now and I always enjoy it. I do think it could of done with a little trimming though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted October 10, 2023 Member Share Posted October 10, 2023 Movie # 7 Scanners (1981) - Over the years, Cronenberg has grown on me. I just didn't think I got him back when I was a teen. Or even in my early twenties, if I'm honest. Scanners is another solid revisit for me. This time around I have much more patience for it and found it be a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Nicely paced too. Not Cronenberg's best but a really good film. 7.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted October 10, 2023 Member Share Posted October 10, 2023 Movie # 8 The Nun (2023) - I was convinced I'd like this one since I'm one of the few people on planet Earth that really likes the first one. Alas, this was mediocre through and through. Some mildly decent scares here but the film felt sluggish and the plot a little lackluster. I'll say this though, it does have a strong final act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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