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  #44181  
Old 17th November 2017, 06:50 PM
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I still stand by my 2015 verdict.
I hated the 1977 version when I saw it from that year in the cinema and love the 2 remakes.
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  #44182  
Old 17th November 2017, 08:23 PM
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Followed ANOES (2010) with another remake of a Wes Craven film- Last House on the Left (2009).
I really like it, it’s definitely more violent than Craven’s original, but not as grim tbh. Still worth a watch and along with the Hills Have Eyes (2006), a decent remake of a Wes Craven film.
I hated it. This is what I wrote when I reviewed the (then newly released) Blu-ray Disc:

"In this climate where just about every horror film of the last century is up for a remake, one I wasn’t expecting was Wes Craven’s notorious shocker The Last House on the Left. Craven’s debut feature is a gruelling watch and still unavailable in its uncut form in the UK.

The remake was Craven’s idea and he and Sean Cunningham (who worked with him on the original) produced Dennis Iliadis’ film.

The plot is fairly simple and follows the basic template of a rape-revenge movie: the girl is raped, beaten and left for dead. The perpetrators unwittingly seek refuge from a storm with her parents, who gradually figure out who their guests are and what they have done. Filled with hatred, they wreak bloody revenge on the gang.

This isn’t a shot for shot remake of the original and there are some changes to the plot – one actually makes more sense, as the parents in this version don’t know that their daughter is missing when they invite the bedraggled strangers into their home. There are substantial changes to Krug’s gang, with his girlfriend no longer a Manson-esque force of nature, his brother a fairly dull character and his son a sympathetic loner, rather than a strung-out heroin addict.

The daughter, Mari, is a resilient girl, who remains composed through her ordeal and has the wherewithal and inner strength to get away and survive, making her way back to her parents. This is a major problem as the original used the ‘eye for an eye’ maxim to help you empathise with Mari’s parents, but here the brutality is gratuitous and not contextualised. Craven claimed that his film drew on Vietnam for the violence and it’s possible that Iliadis is responding to more recent conflicts.

This is a very polished film, well scored and shot, but one that fails to engage due to the poor characterisation and hateful ending."

I did write more about the disc and a summary of my thoughts, but that's probably not of interest.
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  #44183  
Old 17th November 2017, 08:28 PM
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EC824CBB-477B-40AC-9B31-88EF1AD5E92A-10366-000006347D3119C6.jpeg

I hadn’t planned on watching it, but when I put ANOES back on the shelf I spotted it and realised I’ve had the blu ray for 3 years and hadn’t watched it (I’d previously rented the film and watched it on TV)
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  #44184  
Old 17th November 2017, 08:39 PM
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I do remember laughing out loud when a microwave was operated when the door was open!
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Old 17th November 2017, 08:43 PM
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I do remember laughing out loud when a microwave was operated when the door was open!
So that's what happens? I've always wondered.
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  #44186  
Old 17th November 2017, 08:47 PM
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I do remember laughing out loud when a microwave was operated when the door was open!

It only worked with the door open because it was faulty, which was mentioned earlier in the film. But yeah, that is a ridiculous scene
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  #44187  
Old 17th November 2017, 09:23 PM
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So that's what happens? I've always wondered.
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It only worked with the door open because it was faulty, which was mentioned earlier in the film. But yeah, that is a ridiculous scene
It's utterly preposterous and, like I said, had the opposite effect to what I imagine the director intended, inducing laughs rather than a sense of horror and disgust.

For me, the biggest failing was Mari living, therefore massively diminishing the justification for her parents exacting vicious revenge.
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  #44188  
Old 17th November 2017, 09:34 PM
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Bloody Wednesday (1987)
We open in grisly fashion at the aftermath of a massacre.
With its rather flat photography, it seems like the slow cousin of Henry at points as we trawl through the recess of yet another maniac's tortured thought process. But there is something here. Whether it's just the sets but I will be rewatching this sharpish.
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  #44189  
Old 17th November 2017, 10:53 PM
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I saw HAPPY DEATH DAY at the cinema today and thoroughly enjoyed it. Things take a little while to get going, but this pays dividends later on as the character development and locations are more defined than if it was rushed. I was surprised that I didn't guess the ending as I'm normally very good at figuring out a film's denouement before it is announced, and even more surprised that In Da Club, seemingly the protagonist's ringtone, does not feature at all!

It's not as much of a horror film as I expected, with more humour, but the scenes that call for tension and violence are suitably suspenseful and have a Scream-type slasher and sometimes even classical giallo aesthetic. I was pleased they acknowledged the obvious influences and Groundhog Day is mentioned in dialogue and imagine it will be something I buy in about a year when it is what I consider to be appropriately priced.
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  #44190  
Old 18th November 2017, 06:56 PM
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The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill (2013)

A well made but ultimately lacking found footage investigation into mysterious goings on at the ruined Church of St Mary The Virgin in Bedfordshire.

The whole thing is given creedence as real locals are interviewed about real goings on at the church over the years. From body snatching to Occult rituals. Rather than the fictitious events of say The Blair Witch Project these things actually happened at St Mary's Church.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mar...urch,_Clophill

The ruined church is a fabulous location for a film such as this and based on what historical events occurred, is a place i'd quite like to visit.

Although the interviews are interesting there's not an awful lot of shaky cam horror until the final five minutes when, admittedly, it is decidedly creepy (no spoilers and don't look on Google Images either) It's a pity as the footage is well filmed, you see what's going on rather than staring at the ground or the contents of someone's nose.

For those who enjoy found footage / documentary films then i'd certainly recommend this. To everyone else, probably not.

The film was released by Second Sight and the dvd is loaded with extras.
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