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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 5, 2018 6:06:11 GMT -5
They’re all fun in their own way but my personal favourites are what I’d call “devil movies”; films meant to be taken seriously (not whimsical, not campy or barely so) and in which someone is caught by Old Nick like a fly in a web. Films like... Rosemary’s Baby The Omen Alice, or the last escapade Angel Heart The Ninth Gate (yes, I liked the ninth gate... don’t judge me!) The Exorcist The Heretic (yes, yes, I also liked The Heretic! Leave me alone!) I agree: think that horror movies based on Christian mythology have a special resonance for those of us brought up in that religion, whether you're now a believer or not, and whether you or your parents were were regular church-goers or not. Just the fact that the Bible, God, Satan, heaven and hell, all that stuff was treated seriously, was assumed to be real, by the surrounding culture makes it real to you in some sense or or at some unconscious level - as I say, whether or not you personally believe in it.
Exactly! That material will resonate in most of us for cultural reasons, irrespective of our beliefs! Which is why I think Jim Shooter’s (and Marvel comics in general) dissociation of all its Judaeo-Christian supernatural characters from their roots was nonsensical: it deprived them of their core essence and of a large part of their interest. We could really feel the horror felt by a Daimon Hellatrom who realizes he’s the son of Satan; but the son of some otherdimensional godling? Eh... who cares. He’s demoted from the status of a Damian Thorne to that of Ulik the troll. |
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Post by brutalis on Oct 5, 2018 8:44:53 GMT -5
While I can enjoy the Religious/Psychological horror movies in small doses they are almost "too real" for my liking to really get in to them. It is the more fantasy aspect with the creatures of the night or the ridiculous body count and highly creative kills and the inherent stupidity of characters/victims which entertains me. I can put on a Universal or Hammer or Halloween or Friday 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street movie anytime and let the pleasure ensue. Whereas I really have to be in the mood for an Omen or Rosemary's Baby style movies.
Special shout out for those 1950's crossover science fiction/horror monster movies and the Giant Monster movies/television shows of Japan. Yes I consider King Kong, Godzilla, Ultraman, Them's giant ants, The Thing, War of the Worlds, Forbidden Planet, Day the Earth Stood Still, the Deadly Mantis and such as all inclusive of the horror movie world. They provide chills, terror and scares just as well as any pure horror movie does.
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Post by Warmonger on Oct 5, 2018 11:17:16 GMT -5
Just slightly off topic, but if you’re looking for a decent new horror movie, check out ‘The Void’ on Netflix.
The wife and I watched it the other day and holy hell was I impressed.
It’s not some sort of masterpiece or anything but what a breath of fresh air seeing a new age horror flick go with 100% practical effects for the monsters and gore. Guys like Rob Bottin, Stan Winston and Tom Savini would be proud.
A couple of the monsters look like they could’ve come straight out of Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 5, 2018 11:25:37 GMT -5
I understand the efficiency of calling it the "Universal Horror" films, but it's truly a genre that is wider than one company. Some of the Fox films from this era are just as high quality, and while the Poverty Row offerings of the period were of a much lower quality, some were just as fun, regardless. Two of the films I watch the most from this time period are White Zombie and The Invisible Ghost. Both were from Poverty Row.
I checked House of Hammer, but truly it's just the Dracula films that I return to again and again. I've tried the Frankenstein and Quartermass films, and just didn't enjoy them enough to want to return to them regularly. I realize I'm in the minority on that one.
What about the 1940s Val Lewton films? I watch those all the darn time.
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Post by dbutler69 on Oct 5, 2018 12:18:18 GMT -5
I have to go with Universal Monsters, without a doubt. If I counted Godzilla under Japanese horror films then it would be a very tough call. I also really enjoyed the Francis Ford Coppola "Bram Stoker's Dracula". In general, vampires are my favorite of the monsters.
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Post by Duragizer on Oct 5, 2018 18:16:35 GMT -5
Just slightly off topic, but if you’re looking for a decent new horror movie, check out ‘The Void’ on Netflix. The wife and I watched it the other day and holy hell was I impressed. It’s not some sort of masterpiece or anything but what a breath of fresh air seeing a new age horror flick go with 100% practical effects for the monsters and gore. Guys like Rob Bottin, Stan Winston and Tom Savini would be proud. A couple of the monsters look like they could’ve come straight out of Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’. Watched it a couple months ago. While I couldn't quite grasp the film's cosmology, I enjoyed it immensely. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 5, 2018 18:40:09 GMT -5
I’d love a Lovecraftian horror category, but there aren’t a lot of examples. Out of memory I’d count...
The Maze (a great memory, that; I watched it with my late dad on a late night show called Shock Theater)
The Call of C’thulhu (made by amateurs, and all the better for it)
The Whisperer in the Dark (ditto)
Dagon (which was actually inspired by the Dunwich Horror)
The Haunted Castle
Endless
I don’t count the Herbert West flicks, although they were entertaining in their own madcap way.
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Post by Warmonger on Oct 5, 2018 19:28:37 GMT -5
Just slightly off topic, but if you’re looking for a decent new horror movie, check out ‘The Void’ on Netflix. The wife and I watched it the other day and holy hell was I impressed. It’s not some sort of masterpiece or anything but what a breath of fresh air seeing a new age horror flick go with 100% practical effects for the monsters and gore. Guys like Rob Bottin, Stan Winston and Tom Savini would be proud. A couple of the monsters look like they could’ve come straight out of Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’. Watched it a couple months ago. While I couldn't quite grasp the film's cosmology, I enjoyed it immensely. Yeah, I didn’t really get it all either. But the creature effects were fantastic and it moved along at a really brisk pace. Reminded me a lot of 80’s horror movies like From Beyond, Prince of Darkness, Hellraiser, etc. |
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Post by berkley on Oct 5, 2018 21:14:16 GMT -5
I agree: think that horror movies based on Christian mythology have a special resonance for those of us brought up in that religion, whether you're now a believer or not, and whether you or your parents were were regular church-goers or not. Just the fact that the Bible, God, Satan, heaven and hell, all that stuff was treated seriously, was assumed to be real, by the surrounding culture makes it real to you in some sense or or at some unconscious level - as I say, whether or not you personally believe in it.
Exactly! That material will resonate in most of us for cultural reasons, irrespective of our beliefs! Which is why I think Jim Shooter’s (and Marvel comics in general) dissociation of all its Judaeo-Christian supernatural characters from their roots was nonsensical: it deprived them of their core essence and of a large part of their interest. We could really feel the horror felt by a Daimon Hellatrom who realizes he’s the son of Satan; but the son of some otherdimensional godling? Eh... who cares. He’s demoted from the status of a Damian Thorne to that of Ulik the troll.
Yes, and conversely, I think we lose something, when reading , say, Homer's Iliad, or mythology in general, if we don't continually remind ourselves that these weren't just amusing fantasies to their intended audiences, they were real in the same way the Christian myths are real to us, as difficult as that is for us to understand.
And if this is true for readers, it's all the more true of the modern creators - film-makers, writers, etc - who make use of these mythologies: they lose something important if they don't try to keep that in mind during the creative process. Not that they necessarily need to throw in a lot of stuff about worshippers and sacriifices, etc, just that the underlying attitude that this is all deadly serious should make itself felt to the viewer/reader.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 5, 2018 21:35:28 GMT -5
I don’t count the Herbert West flicks, although they were entertaining in their own madcap way. There's more than one?? |
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Post by Duragizer on Oct 5, 2018 21:56:16 GMT -5
I don’t count the Herbert West flicks, although they were entertaining in their own madcap way. There's more than one?? Three in total. |
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Post by berkley on Oct 5, 2018 23:21:03 GMT -5
I've seen From Beyond and Re-Animator - what's the third one? |
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Post by berkley on Oct 5, 2018 23:22:32 GMT -5
I’d love a Lovecraftian horror category, but there aren’t a lot of examples. Out of memory I’d count... The Maze (a great memory, that; I watched it with my late dad on a late night show called Shock Theater) The Call of C’thulhu (made by amateurs, and all the better for it) The Whisperer in the Dark (ditto) Dagon (which was actually inspired by the Dunwich Horror) The Haunted Castle Endless I don’t count the Herbert West flicks, although they were entertaining in their own madcap way. I did enjoy Stuart Gordon's Herbert West flims but haven't seen any of those others. I'll have to search them out. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 6, 2018 7:33:00 GMT -5
The animated Lovecraft adaptations are also often pretty neat, although not “horror movies” in the traditional sense. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 6, 2018 8:29:11 GMT -5
There was an earlier (1970) version of The Dunwich Horror that I saw in the theater when I was 12. It starred Dean Stockwell and Sandra Dee. I remember thinking at the time it was pretty scary but I suspect it would be unbearably cheesy by today's standards.
Cei-U!
I summon the 48-year-old memory!
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