A scary thing happened on the way to the Movie Forums - Horrorcrammers

Finished Hunted. Excellent as ever. Very tuned into the fact that (mild spoilers) on this viewing.

Now I'm rewatching Caveat. The niece just casually walked into a room holding a crossbow, and I'm thinking I might need to up my rating by a half star.

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree, which is probably why I'm here so much. Who the hell else am I gonna talk to about Horror movies that are really good but just aren't accessible to most people? I mean, at work people will hear that I'm a Horror fan and they'll come talk to me about a bunch of mainstream Horrors from the last ten years or whatever. And then they can't understand how I can be "such a Horror fan" when I haven't even seen all of the Conjuring movies or the latest Blumhouse. Of course I don't bother to ask them how they can be "such Horror fans" if they've seen Viy.
For what it's worth, I was very happy that these same friends who disliked Viy so much did watch Messiah Of Evil and they both loved it. So there's hope for them yet.

Which Hunted are we talking about? I'm drawing a blank

How so?

I felt like the dramatic power of the movie is that it…


SPOILERS

… Depicts Owen not coming out as an embarrassment and tragedy. We WANT Owen to embrace his/her/their new identity. Not doing so is to live in melancholy forever.


SPOILERS OVER

I feel like a scared straight would be something more like Boys Don’t Cry, where a character is horrifically punished for embracing their authentic self.

lmao wait no not straight like that, i meant Scared Straight like the show. where they stick misbehaving kids in jail for a day like "this is what your life is gonna be like!"

Now


that's


what


I'm




talking




about!

Yeah VIY hit the spot, the really crazy stuff obviously waits till the end but it doles out plenty of crumbs throughout in my opinion. Like the scene where she awakens and menaces him in his circle of protection is just so intense. And then that ending, just so much going on with cool practical effects and strange creatures, this seriously might be heading towards being one of my favorite horror films.

I got that. I just meant that ISTTG operates more as “this is what life in the closet will be like if you never come out!”

Where as a “scared straight” scenario would strike me as something aiming to keep trans kids in the closet.

2020.

If I'm talking to someone, and they say they are a fan of 'horror movies' instead of just saying they're a fan of 'movies', I will quickly change the subject. Hopefully, before they can start talking about how the TV movie of the Shining is more faithful to the novel, or something else equally horrible.

what i meant was that like if you're trans, whether you know it or not, this movie wants you to take that next step and it is not asking. call it scared queer lol. i think i'm just trying to communicate just how, almost violent, that ending is. like it's obviously a hopeful message but it hits soooo hard it borders on traumatic.

like it was probably a month after release before i saw anyone even describe it as hopeful just everyone talking about how bleak and harrowing and painful it is lol.

Ah. I get ya. Agreed. That’s why i stand by it being a horror film, as its bonafides have been called into question from time to time.

Couple more rewatches.

The VVitch. The film every other A24 horror wishes it was. Saw this back in theaters and I remember reactions at the time were a bit mixed, but it’s since cemented itself as a pillar of excellence. It’s been almost ten years and still influencing movies today. Black Phillip MVP!

Underwater. A movie that dares us to face our greatest fear: being stuck at the bottom of the ocean with TJ Miller. Everything this year has been satanists and serial killers and prequels and nuns and prequels about nuns. I’ve been dying for more monster movies. This one wastes no time getting going and doesn’t let up. Give me more like these, I’ll watch all of them. There can never be too many Alien ripoffs.

It Came from Outer Space -

This alien invasion classic asks, "what if they not only visit us, but they also look like us? I mean, exactly like us?" While it successfully mines horror from extraterrestrial visitors, it really mines it from how we would react to them. Richard Carlson's astronomer, John, and Barbara Rush's fiancée Ellen, both of whom spotted the visitors’ crash landing, are just the voices of reason we need in the Night Vale-like Arizona town where they ended up. Do the locals have reasons to be suspicious once John finally proves to everyone that he's not just making things up? The way the aliens fit in by copying their appearances, but not their personalities is unnerving like it is in the best body snatching movies, and even though the movie is over 70 years old, what the aliens really look like remains the stuff of nightmares. All the same, the locals are a bit too eager to form an angry mob despite not knowing the aliens' actual intentions, which...I'll just say this movie was a big influence on Steven Spielberg. Other positives are the "alien cam" where we get to see things from their perspective and the moments when the locals confront their doppelgangers, especially since again, the special effects did not take me out of the moment despite the movie's age.

The Red Scare is not a bright spot in American history, but one of its few positives is that it inspired classics like this one, which in turn inspired other classics. Like the other great ones like it, it is bound to satisfy those who love '50s sci-fi and the justifiably huge "body replacement" horror subgenre equally. If that's not enough of a selling point for you, I've got two words for you: Ray Bradbury (he has a story credit). Just don't be surprised if you find yourself wondering who's actually human and who isn't the next time you go people watching.

Of course I love The VVitch.

As for Underwater, I was pleasantly surprised. That was the movie that made me realize that Stewart can carry a film. Pretty good for that sub-sub-genre.

New Horror movies I've seen starting from September 1st to October 31st

(First time watches)

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981) - Exploitation Horror -

The Funhouse (1981) - Slasher -

Silver Bullet (1985) - Werewolf -

Misery (1990) - Thriller -

Army of Darkness (1992) - Dark Comedy Fantasy -

Insidious (2010) - Supernatural -

The Wolf of Snow Hallow (2020) - Horror Comedy -

The Conference (2023) - Slasher -

Killer Book Club (2023) - Slasher -

#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead (2024) - Slasher -

Don't Move (2024) - Thriller -

House of Spoils (2024) - Supernatural -

MaXXXine (2024) - Slasher -

Time Cut (2024) - Slasher Time Travel -

I have reached over 100 first time horror movie watches, currently at 101. I sure had fun doing this and will continue, I can't wait to see what the rest of 2024 and 2025 got in store for horror.

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Yeah the VVitch took me a second watch for it to click but when it did I realized it was perfection.


Underwater was also a decent, it's derivative but it's solid.

Exhuma -

If you are a skeptic about shamanism and geomancy, this Korean horror could make you believe in both (that is, unless you have issues with side effects, and by that, I mean very unfortunate ones). In shaman Lee Hwa-rim (Go-eun) and veteran geomancer Kim Sang-deok's (Min-Sik) assignment to dispel a family curse, we get a chilling story about the consequences of not letting the past remain in the past and a valuable, soul-searching history lesson at the same time. The word I would use to describe the movie's approach to both of these practices is legitimate. The production used consultants and it shows, not only for the authenticity, but also for how enjoyable it is to watch the practitioners work their magic, particularly Hwa-rim's lively rituals. Moreover, the consequences of someone breaking their rules or something not going according to plan hit before the movie shows them. I am definitely not implying the movie does not deliver here. If it's not the possessions - a highlight being one where the head of a family recites a credo of the country's former Japanese oppressors - it's the ghouls, some of whom are only visible in mirrors and others, well...the less I reveal here, the better. I'll at least mention that instead of the brute force or dumb luck solutions to taking care of the bad guys found in the typical horror movie, shamanism and geomancy play parts here as well, and thankfully, that commitment to authenticity applies just as much. Like the best Korean movies I've seen, this one is also never not atmospheric or visually marvelous. I can't tell you how many times I've returned to the gravesite in my head when I need to recharge my Halloween and fall vibes. The performances are also uniformly strong, Oldboy's Min-Sik in particular, especially whenever this most complicated job makes him wrestle with his legacy.

Director Jae-hyun and company delivered a horror movie here that is intelligent, bound to get under your skin and that deserves to be called epic. If you're also not exactly an expert in shamanism or geomancy, you should not be concerned about feeling like an outsider while watching this. The movie familiarized me with both practices enough that I feel like I did not miss anything, and fortunately, it does not do this in dull or expository ways. This also applies to the Korean history the movie brings up, so unfamiliarity there should also not dissuade you. If you should be concerned – or is it delighted - about anything, it's the nightmares this may give you. Oh, and the possibility that you will always check your rearview mirror twice while driving.

I've decided for Halloween to do a triple feature of Night of the Living Dead, It Follows, and Messiah of Evil (if time), for the appropriate spooky vibes.

Just watched Noroi again for the big 31. It's been one of my favorites for a while, but I didin't like it quite as much as I used to. Maybe I wasn't in the right mindset watching it. That's probably the issue. It's a very convincing mockumentary though. All the footage put together from different shows and all, all the interviews with all the different folks. I'll watch it again, along with Cult, from the same director, soon.

Also I'm happy I can watch other movies beyond horror now that Halloween will be over.