What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Frankie Teardrop]

THE EYES OF MY MOTHER – Claustrophobic monochrome nightmare that plays with genre tropes before taking them somewhere else and smothering them, slowly... It's about a disturbed young woman who grows up on a farm and finds that, in the end, she only has her 'pets' for company. Although there are shades of genre mainstays spanning rural backwater horror through to 'torture porn', TEOMM takes a chilly, arthouse approach to its dissection of twisted development. Some of it could be described as a hard watch, but, like TCM, the brutality is largely 'emotional' rather than graphic / literal, and this is tempered with a relentless melancholy that sits at odds with the way this kind of thing is usually executed. The atmosphere of isolation and desperation is really strong, aided and abetted by the stark cinematography... long shots of figures struggling in the hills conjure an air of lingering dread. It's been compared with 'Audition' in some quarters, and that's the closest parallel I can draw without leaving the genre or coming up with something faintly ridiculous like “Bergman does Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer”. Highly recommended, and, although it'll probably fall victim to hype somewhere along the line, possibly the best thing I've seen in the last couple of years.

THE SAMURAI – Dark, dreamy number about a small town cop and his nemesis, an enigmatic sword wielding transvestite. 'Samurai' is really good, and I'm surprised at myself for not checking it out before now. Like the above, it stays within the horror genre to a degree, but the real meat is its drifty excursion into freeform nightmare impressionism. Atmospheric to the max, its vision of suburbs rent asunder by forces from the flip-side of consciousness is hugely evocative, and the central figure in his white dress made me think somehow of Franco / Rollinesque imagery. A bit of a lazy comparison, because 'The Samurai' is pretty unique and, yes, you should definitely see it.

THE HOUSE ON PINE STREET – Fed up with all those sub-multiplex DTV jump scare horrors with their indentikit DVD covers? Me too, but I tuned into THOPS on the basis that I was promised more than just a few sudden edits accompanied by loud noise cues. Was I short changed? No, THOPS is pretty excellent, and for once builds its haunted house schtick slowly from the ground up, layering atmosphere on atmosphere. This really works, and delivers a palpable sense of unease tipping into dread as we follow a resentfully pregnant city slicker dislocated and adrift in a suburban house full of bad vibes. To say that's it's quite long, you don't feel it, which is impressive in itself considering the tired format. But that's the key to THOPS – the familiarity of the material grounds the ominous feeling. There are only a couple of fumbles along the way, usually when it drops the subtlety and goes overt, once or twice in the form of ill advised CGI. Mostly really strong though, and very much recommended.

[MrBarlow]

Halloween 1978

15 years after killing his sister Michael Myers escapes the asylum returns to Haddonfield for more killing. On his trail is Doctor Loomis to put a stop to it.

This is the one that started off the horror slasher, John Carpenter worked with a low budget and created this masterpiece. Donald Pleasance portrayal as loomis who was treating Myers begins to act like him in order to catch him. Jamie Lee Curtis performance is great as the quiet shy babysitter who is in for a hell of a night of survival. The Boogeyman does exist in this film. 10+

[bleakshaun]

Rumpelstiltskin

An evil midget gets turned to a rock, years later he gets found by a widow in a shop and is awakened, now he wants the widows baby so that he can live.

I wanted to watch schlock and that's what I got. The premise is fine, the acting is stiff and honestly I would only watch it again if I was running drunk.

4/10

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[MrBarlow]

[QUOTE=bleakshaun;556164]Rumpelstiltskin

An evil midget gets turned to a rock, years later he gets found by a widow in a shop and is awakened, now he wants the widows baby so that he can live.

I wanted to watch schlock and that's what I got. The premise is fine, the acting is stiff and honestly I would only watch it again if I was running drunk.

4/10

Did you watch this right to the end? I tried to watch it but ended up switching it off halfway through the film

[bleakshaun]

[QUOTE=MrBarlow;556170]

Originally Posted by bleakshaun

Rumpelstiltskin

An evil midget gets turned to a rock, years later he gets found by a widow in a shop and is awakened, now he wants the widows baby so that he can live.

I wanted to watch schlock and that's what I got. The premise is fine, the acting is stiff and honestly I would only watch it again if I was running drunk.

4/10

Did you watch this right to the end? I tried to watch it but ended up switching it off halfway through the film

I did, regretfully

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[MrBarlow]

[QUOTE=bleakshaun;556172]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

I did, regretfully

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Jeez Bleak you must have been really bored, thats about 90 mins of your life lost

[bleakshaun]

[QUOTE=MrBarlow;556175]

Originally Posted by bleakshaun

Jeez Bleak you must have been really bored, thats about 90 mins of your life lost

Ach I was fine
This gif sums it up


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[MrBarlow]

Night of the demons 1988

Teen kids Angela and Suzanned ecides to hold a Halloween part at the old Hill House that was once a funeral parlour. During the party the hold a seance and unleash the demons inside the possessed house.

This movie has it all, booze, naked chicks violence and demons, and also some great one liners all thanks to the 80s.

Its not a big budget film but certainly entertains from the horror side and the special F/X from Steve Johnson who worked on alot of horror movies. If you havent seen this film, its well worth the watch.

[MrBarlow]

The Witches 1990

Small child Luke and is grandma travel to England after the death of his parents, his grandma tells him stories of witches and the signs to look out for. At the hotel where they are on holiday, a grand high witch plans to turn all the kids in England to mice.

Based on the novel byh Roald Dahl, the film was toned down from the source novel as it was intended to be a children's movie, but the is a hint of black comedy. Anjellica Houston gives us the best scary performance as the high witch. It does give meaning to kids "don't talk to strangers".

Rowan Atkinson does his at supporting cast as the snooty hotel manager and Mai Zetterling as the kind warm nurturing Grandma.

If you are looking for a classic, fun adventure for all ages, check this film out. 10+

[SilverSurfer]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Halloween 1978



This is the one that started off the horror slasher

Psycho?
Black Christmas?