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

I hear ya, I really do like the first half of the movie a lot... it's just that I like the second half even more.
Between the Theater Scene (which has become one of my favorite scenes in all of Horror Movies), the scene in the doorway with the young woman ("It's starting...", "I'm very sorry."), the two cops, and of course ... I just feel like the second half packs too many big punches to not be the reason to watch this film. I mean, I gotta say, I'm really glad that all that great unsettling stuff you talk about actually ends up going somewhere because, when I first saw it, I was worried it wasn't.

Regardless, it makes me very happy that you enjoyed it. I don't know if you'll have the same experience but, for me, it's a movie that got better on repeated viewings.

Messiah of Evil (1974) -

I decided to check this one out due to a few glowing recommendations over the past couple days. I was quite impressed, but I prefer the first half by a hair. Blurring the lines between which off-kilter behavior was simply the result of people being creepy and which was actually life-threatening got under my skin since there was a clear escalation to it. For instance, a gas station attendant randomly fires a gun into the distance, a creepy old man tells a disturbing story about his birth, and then a driver randomly bites the head off a rat. The characters we're introduced to should raise red flags, yet the ambiguity to their motivations and how they seem harmless makes it hard to figure out who to trust and who to fear. This caused the first notable character death to come as a surprise since, given the scene prior, I was ready to trust everyone at that point. That sequence is the climax to the film though. The mechanics of the Messiah become pretty clear after that, so I don't think the film was able to maintain this tension going forward. Fortunately, the second half still packs a strong punch by calling attention to the unpredictable nature of how the townsfolk operate and adding enough variation to their scenes to keep itself unique, with the obvious standout being the theater scene. Just thinking about all the monster/zombie/cannibal films I've seen over the years, I was impressed with how the film took elements from all three, yet something wholly original emerged out the other end. Again, I still prefer the first half since the strangeness of its tension-building is truly unparalleled, but the second half has somewhat improved for me upon reflection. Overall, I'd definitely describe this as a forgotten classic and would recommend it to all horror fans.

Mouse, not rat. Review invalidated.


I'm, I will say my own experience with this movie was that my opinion of it started strong and it's just grown over the years as I realize whenever I go, "yeah, I'd like to get a suspenseful mystery full of uncanny horror like Messiah of Evil," it's hard to come up with other movies exactly in its quadrant in space.


I never mentally partitioned it into halves though. Mostly the escalating movie and the abrupt ending... which even that ending doesn't feel completely out of place given the precedent of such things from my recollection of various Lovecraft short stories and even Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher ends quickly and from a narrator's experience.


Tonally the movie seems to exist as some weird mixture (or maybe perfect mixture) of Carnival of Souls, Gates of Hell, and some type of folk horror mystery, like The Wicker Man (but without the music, obviously). Tudyk and Katz* have spoken about how the European art house films of the time influenced them, such as Antonioni, which probably helps explain some of it.


*: of American Graffiti scriptwriting fame and Howard the Duck directing infamy.

Such a bummer. After Penny Dreadful, I've come around to something of an appreciation for Hartnett, especially in a more camp context. And from the trailers I was hoping this would be dumb fun, but the more I hear about it, the more it sounds like it's just dumb. Sad face.

He's definitely camp, and lots of folks call his performance the highlight. If you're into him particularly, you might find the movie worth it because he's in it an absolute ton.

Such a bummer. After Penny Dreadful, I've come around to something of an appreciation for Hartnett, especially in a more camp context. And from the trailers I was hoping this would be dumb fun, but the more I hear about it, the more it sounds like it's just dumb. Sad face.

Watched The Happening again and, again, I absolutely cannot comprehend the negative reception this movie gets. It's moody, unique, interesting and has such an interesting premise! I get that the dialogue is stiff and Marky Mark is hamming it up a tad bit, but I don't see anyone giving Italian horrors the same reception. This might be the third time I've seen it and it has to be one of my favorite horror movies.

Watched The Happening again and, again, I absolutely cannot comprehend the negative reception this movie gets. It's moody, unique, interesting and has such an interesting premise! I get that the dialogue is stiff and Marky Mark is hamming it up a tad bit, but I don't see anyone giving Italian horrors the same reception. This might be the third time I've seen it and it has to be one of my favorite horror movies.

I'm finally looking at the All the Haunts volume 2 collection and noticed Juraj Herz's Beauty and Beast (1978) is in there. It is still fundamentally Beauty and the Beast, but I was a big fan of that one and had to find it by ordering something internationally before.


I think the second collection might actually look more interesting than the first(?)


@CaptainTerror, you got it already right? Have you had a chance to dive into any new watches?

That might have been one of the most disturbing posts you've made, Takoma..

Madam Web is so incompetently made that it almost becomes fascinating. Every time the villain is on display and they ADR every single line, never showing his mouth for a completed line, is maddening in the way Hollywood blockbusters rarely are. Unlike most superhero failures, where there’s technical and acting talent wasted in service of a competent script, there’s nothing wasted as it all just swirls the drain.

Don't sell Tahir Rahim short. He's been making mostly smart choices until now...perhaps you've heard of A Prophet or The Mauritanian? I think in a thankless role, he managed to keep his dignity and professionalism afloat amid a sinking ship.

As for Sydney Sweeney, even though she looked a few years past homeroom, she has shown talent elsewhere in Euphoria and in Immaculate. Speaking of which, it was playing Julia Cornwall that allowed Anyone But You to exist.

And I'd argue that Adam Scott has shown some comic chops over the years.

So talent did get wasted in Madame Web.

We're All Going to the World's Fair is similarly opaque with it's core themes, though in this case it's because most of the context for the main character Casey's thoughts come from watching her video uploads after trying to begin the viral horror "game" of the title. It feels a bit disjointed and I'm not entirely sure that it's cuts to the other primary character, JLB, help much but it's still a fascinating watch and for me was worth that time investment even if I'm not sure how much I really enjoyed the result. It is best to know that It is very artsy and only tangentially horror related so one can manage some expectations on that front.