What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[nosferatu42]

Well i'm gonna be the odd one out and say TOD didn't really float my boat, but I love Cat in the brain which recycles a load of gore scenes, so go figure...

[Graveyard]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

Well i'm gonna be the odd one out and say TOD didn't really float my boat, but I love Cat in the brain which recycles a load of gore scenes, so go figure...

I'm on the same boat, only watched once, but at the time I thought was boringgggg

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989)

Eighties variation on The Phantom of the Opera about a wronged young man thought burned to death when unscrupulous land developers burned his house down so they could build a super duper new shopping mall on the site. However he's not dead and sporting a metallic face mask wreaks havoc on the newly opened mall and it's owners whilst protecting his former girlfriend at the same time.

I'm not entirely convinced this is actually a slasher film, most of it is Mallrats before Kevin Smith even filmed it but it is a lot of fun. It's also so eighties it hurts, to the point of co-starring glamorous soap opera icon Morgan Fairchild.

Kari Whitman is good value as the likable heroine but on the whole it's a shopping spree of tension free genre cliches even if it is enjoyable enough to watch. All that's really missing is a falling chandelier scene.

[gag]

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs

Watched Terrifier 2 last night. Have to say, I definitely preferred the first one. This was over long and I really didn't need to know so much about the characters.

And it must just be my sick mind, but people actually threw up watching this? I had heard a lot of people mention the scene in the bedroom, but it didn't bother me in the slightest

Strange how we all have different taste and levels of what we can accept in boundaries, some ppl aren’t arsed about a Serbian film while other are disgusted at it, it’s like amount of ppl who struggled with original martyrs but I found it got dull boring and repetitive.

As for Terrifier 2 haven’t seen first one so chances are me seeing 2nd are slim, prob in yrs to come, and same anpplies for Avatar.

[trebor8273]

Originally Posted by gag

Strange how we all have different taste and levels of what we can accept in boundaries, some ppl aren’t arsed about a Serbian film while other are disgusted at it, it’s like amount of ppl who struggled with original martyrs but I found it got dull boring and repetitive.

As for Terrifier 2 haven’t seen first one so chances are me seeing 2nd are slim, prob in yrs to come, and same anpplies for Avatar.

i would give terrifier films a try, but just forget about Avatar

[Nuno_Miranda]

I've always been a pre-1970s Sci-fi/Mystery/Horror fan, but for some reason I avoided the Italian giallos. Maybe it was the Italian dubbings, but I'm perfectly OK with them for peplums. But lately I've started getitng interested in giallos, so I decided to give them a try. But where to start? The BFI website has a rather short but informative article which suggested I start with Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

What a ride! The setup is fantastic, with the glass doors of the gallery. My wife was passing by and caught that scene and just stood there watching it mesmerized, standing up halfway to somewhere, and ended up surrendering to watch the whole thing, so we began again

The Morricone music is great, very jazzy, but dissonant where necessary, and the Storaro photography is fantastic, especially considering he was just starting his carreer.

And a great time was had by all.

Now I'm undecided about what to watch next: Bava's The Girl Who Knew Too Much or Blood and Black Lace?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nuno_Miranda

Now I'm undecided about what to watch next: Bava's The Girl Who Knew Too Much or Blood and Black Lace?

Both. In that order. The Girl Who Knew too Much is as much a Hitchcockian mystery as it Giallo but still good whilst Blood and Black Lace probably set the benchmark for all to come.

[Justin101]

I agree, a proto-giallo which is a lot of fun, and then a super colourful film about models being killed one-by-one in inventive ways which really did cement the blueprint for what was to come.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Eye of the Cat (1969)

An enjoyable San Francisco set horror thriller which is almost let down by laughable dialogue and it's several plot holes.

The story is sort of familiar grand dame Eleanor Parker lives by herself in an old house along with hundreds of cats and is seemingly on the brink of death. So much so that her nephew Michael Sarrazin and accomplice the gorgeous Gayle Hunnicut decide she needs to change her will to give them all the proceeds, however they hadn't taken the house full of cats into their gold digging plans.

One problem with this is the cats themselves. Is anyone really scared of cats? People can not like cats but to be actually scared of them? I know people who are scared of dogs. Dogs can kill you and do so every so often but cats? They just scratch you annoyingly.

As far as cat based horror goes 1961's The Shadow of the Cat is a superior film but this is fun, daft but fun in a sort of naff Hitchcock style.

The film, courtesy of the Powerhouse Blu-ray, looks gorgeous, especially the pinks and yellows adorning the walls of the gaudy mansion, however the views of Frisco made me want to pick Vertigo up on Blu-ray rather than watching this again.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I have to say that I don't feel motivated to watch this at all, I probably will at some point, but I'm not going out of my way to spend 3 hrs in a cinema! The original film, while not perfect either, was a good stand-alone story so when Cameron announced he's planning more films but only when the technology catches up to his vision, I did groan a bit.

I thought the first Avatar was a clear case of style over substance, a film with a derivative plot and clichéd dialogue, though one with astonishing visuals and cinematography.

I saw it at the cinema and have seen it a few times at home since then; none of the latter viewings have come close to capturing the immersive experience that some of the sequences, particularly the flying ones, had in 3D at the cinema.

Although the second film looks very much like the first (a sensory feast, an intellectual desert), the only I'll see it will be at the cinema. That's really the only way to fully appreciate the world-building and escapism that the huge screen, all-encompassing sound, dark environment, and (mostly) distraction-free screening that can only be experienced at a good cinema.