Recent viewings

[indianasmith]

I liked INSIDIOUS but SINISTER was a much better film.

Last night I watched a movie called BENEATH, starring Jeff Fahey.  A retiring coal miner's daughter accompanies her dad on his last day in the pit before going off to New York for her new job.  But the mechanical miner strikes an ancient, buried shaft, and there is a cave in.  Six miners and the girl are trapped underground, waiting for rescue in a special oxygen chamber - but something is in the mine with them.  Or is the steadily worsening air driving them all insane?  Creepy, claustrophobic, and fun.

Tonight I watched DELIVER US FROM EVIL.  This movie is right at the edge of my comfort zone.  I do believe demons are real, and this story of demonic possession and exorcism was very creepy and terrifying in places, and it is supposedly based on a true story.  Highly recommended if you have the stomach for such things.

[Josso]

Last night I watched a movie called BENEATH, starring Jeff Fahey.  A retiring coal miner's daughter accompanies her dad on his last day in the pit before going off to New York for her new job.  But the mechanical miner strikes an ancient, buried shaft, and there is a cave in.  Six miners and the girl are trapped underground, waiting for rescue in a special oxygen chamber - but something is in the mine with them.  Or is the steadily worsening air driving them all insane?  Creepy, claustrophobic, and fun.

I saw that, I had quite high expectations at the start but it seemed like the incoherence came on too soon and wasn't played right. I dunno, just had something off about the whole film it was quite horrifying though I liked that. If you want to watch a non-psycho trapped in a mine thing Beaconsfield is quite cool. With beneath it was a bit like... it didn't know what kind of film to be, I think it was quite successful as a straight horror film but I was thinking they intended something more along the lines of psychological horror.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story" (2007)

Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story - Trailer

Entertaining documentary about the life and career of William Castle, the legendary B-Movie producer/director behind such gimmicky 50s and 60s favorites as "House on Haunted Hill," "The Tingler," and "Homicidal."
Features lots of fun clips from his films as well as insight and commentary from fellow directors, friends and fans including John Waters, Roger Corman, Leonard Maltin and Joe Dante.

[lester1/2jr]

The William Castle movies I've seen have all been really underwhelming. He's Ed Wood with better promotional abilities

[FatFreddysCat]

^^ I've enjoyed some of Castle's stuff. The original "House on Haunted Hill" and  "The Tingler" (both w/Vincent Price) were charmingly silly but I didn't think much of his "13 Ghosts." I bet his movies were a lot of fun to see in a theater back in the day though.

This afternoon the weather was crappy so I watched...
"Metallica: Through the Never" (2013)

Metallica Through The Never 3D Official Trailer #2 (2013) - Metallica Movie HD

A strange mix of concert film and conceptual video ala Zeppelin's "Song Remains the Same." While Metallica storms through a typically fiery greatest-hits set, a member of their road crew is sent into the mean streets of the big city - where he has a series of increasingly bizarre adventures. Metallica's performance is cool, but the "fantasy" segments involving the roadie eventually become intrusive and somewhat silly. This would probably have been received better if it were just a straight concert film without the "narrative" segments.

...but it was worth sitting thru all the nonsense just to hear the band jam on the classic instrumental "Orion" in an empty arena over the end credits.

[JaseSF]

Recently viewed the following over Halloween. For my thoughts on them, visit the October Horror Movie Massacre Thread (http://www.badmovies.org/forum/index.php/topic,141572.270.html)

Here I'll just give a list and my ratings:

Carnival of Souls (1962) - **** stars

Dementia 13 (1963) - ***¹/₂ stars

The Innocents (1961) - ****¹/₂ stars

Trilogy of Terror (1975) - ***¹/₂ stars

Black Sabbath (1963) - **** stars

The Woman in Black (1989) - **** stars

Halloween (1978) - ****¹/₂ stars

Calling Dr. Death (1943) - ***¹/₄ stars

[lester1/2jr]

Harvest of Fear - You gotta be kidding me with this stuff. Maybe the most rote, stupid horror movie ever. People staying in a cabin continue to stay there even after people who are staying there are murdered in a shed outside the house. One guy gets killed in the hallway and the subject is just dropped he's still there rotting away I guess. The most entertaining aspect is figuring out why everyone involved isn't making it in the movie business. The lead actor looks like a linebacker and smirks every second. The lead actress has an irritating secretary's voice ("think yooo!") The tough guy cop seems to struggle to overcome a gay ish sort of lisp. There are several pretty girls who may be on their way to something better I doubt it though.

There's one topless woman in the beginning and that's it. They ran out of boob money after the first 5 minutes congrats guys 2/5

[Dennis]

Here are 2 that I watched last week:
"All is Lost" stars Robert Redford as a man sailing alone, his boat collides with a drifting cargo container, the movie details his struggle to survive. Dialogue is almost non-existent and Redford is the only character.
"Chef" stars Jon Favreau as a chef who has a melt down after a bad review by a critic, quits his job, goes to Miami, buys a used food truck and starts selling sandwiches.

I got these 2 from Netflix, mainly for my wife's sake, (she really doesn't share my taste in films) and found them both to be pretty enjoyable.

[claws]

Harvest of Fear is a guilty pleasure of mine. Disliked it on my first viewing, laughed my ass off on my second viewing several years later.

Airport (1970) (Blu-ray)

Movie follows several characters who work at or are about to board a flight at a snowbound airport. Some important airport-dude is facing divorce because he is too dedicated to his work. Some pilot is having an affair with a British stewardess who happens to be pregnant (they discuss the possibility of abortion). Then there's a unstable passenger carrying a bomb on a flight to Rome, and for comic relief there's a spunky stowaway grandma.
The classy airport setting comes with a lush late 1960s lounge ambiance including split screen footage while it predates 1970s disaster movies. Pretty neat time capsule. 4/5

[lester1/2jr]

Claws - When I first heard the old guy narrator voice over I was like "oh no...". The redhead college student was like 35. The whole thing was ridiculous.

[claws]

^^ it is, but for me it was in a good way. It was one of those rare occasions where it took me two viewings to fully appreciate the cheese. Doesn't happen very often when watching a bad movie.

[Jack]

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) - watched the colorized Blu ray version (hope I didn't dilute the creator's artistic intentions). Ah what can you say, hilarious sets, terrible acting, supremely stupid plot. Stupid, stupid humans!!! 3/5.

Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962) - there aren't any star creatures, just a couple of smokin' hot babes and a couple of Barney Fife idiots trying to foil their plans for world domination. Most of the comedy bits (and there are a lot of them) are just eye-rollingly bad, I'd suggest keeping the remote in your hand with your thumb poised over the FF button. Still, two smokin' hot babes: 2/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Vampyre Nation" (2013)

Vampyre Nation - Trailer

SyFy nonsense set in a world where humans and vampires live side by side in an uneasy truce. When a virus begins mutating vamps into something that threatens both species, a human cop puts together a team from both sides to battle them. A cheap looking flick shot in Eastern Europe that rips off "Underworld," "Daybreakers," "Blade" and a host of other bloodsucker flicks. Avoid!

[Trevor]

Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead: banned in Zimbabwe and in South Africa so I never saw it when it was first released. Hugely entertaining and I liked it.  

[FatFreddysCat]

"Dinosaur Island" (1994)

Dinosaur Island- Trailer	Small | Large

In this typically brain-free softcore action comedy co-directed by Z-movie legends Jim Wynorski and Fred Olen Ray, a group of Army plane crash survivors find themselves stranded on an uncharted tropical island...which happens to be populated by a lost tribe of hot, large breasted, half naked warrior cave women. Oh, and there are some (EXTREMELY cheaply animated) dinosaurs too.
Don't expect a great story or mind boggling special effects. Just turn your brain off and enjoy the eye candy!