Ship of Fools: Horribly Overlooked Horror

Thread: Horribly Overlooked Horror Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by fletcher christian (# 13919) on :

****WARNING - CONTAINS SPOILERS*****
Feels a little odd opening this in a place called heaven, but I guess some of us get our kicks in odd ways.
A few years ago a friend - knowing the kind of film I liked - suggested I try watching a little Spanish horror movie called REC (not the crap American remake - I was to be sure to avoid that one like the plague). It took a little bit of searching, but eventually I found it and one unsuspecting evening settled in front of the tv in the dark. Boy was that a bad idea.

Now I don't scare easily, and this little flick started like a dredge of other cheap ass horrors, first person point of view, wobbly camera, docu style - every cliche of a horror movie ever made in the last decade. It had it's moments mind you, but nothing outstanding. Overall I was sat there thinking, ok this is nearly over and I can't really see what I was supposed to be so scared by.

So there I was thinking 'yeah, there's only like ten minutes left of this stuff. Bit dull, but passed the time', and then, ' Holy s@4*, what the (*^% was that?!' Never in the last 20 years have I sat on the edge of my seat in fear and wanted to turn on every last light in the house and search every cupboard and closet just to make sure I was ok - but on that night, I managed to get sacred watching a horror movie; a rare thing indeed. I will warn you, lots of it doesn't make a lot of sense, there are holes you could drive a truck through, questions galore left unanswered, but that....'thing'... lumbering in the dark. I'd been duped - lulled into a false sense of security that this was another cheapo horror full of cliche's, but no, this was truly unsettling.

So....in light of another thread her, it got me thinking - are there any other horribly overlooked horrors out there? I like the genre, but it seems to have lost its way for a while, trading scares for gore, and gore doesn't scare me, it only repulses me. Any recommendations?

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Great call! That movie scared the crap out of me, and I'm pretty steeped in the horror genre. The sequel was surprisingly not sucky, too.

if you liked that one, and you can do subtitles,you might want to check out La Casa Muda (The Silent House) Similar look and feel of REC, more ghostly than Zombie, but there's the catch--other than an intro bit and an epilogue bit, the entire film--which involves a young woman and her father staying in a house overnight to meet a buyer in the morning-- is shot in one 78 minute take. Meditate on that.

I will have more recommendations for this one, but I gotta go to bed now, With the lights on, muahahahaha.

Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :

I rather like "Carnival of Souls" (1962) and the original version of "The Spiral Staircase" (1946).

Posted by Organ Builder (# 12478) on :

quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
I rather like "Carnival of Souls"...

Lots of organists and organ builders like it as well, for all the wrong reasons.

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

I liked Stir Of Echoes, an atmospheric ghost-movie set in a blue-collar Chicago neighbourhood. The spooky imagery succeeded in getting under my skin, and I liked that the script carried itself through to a coherent conclusion that wrapped everything up, rather than just tossing a bunch of freaky stuff at you and letting you guess what it's all supposed to mean(and yes, I'm looking at YOU David Lynch).

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
I rather like "Carnival of Souls" (1962)

Hell YES!

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

The director of Carnival Of Souls, Herk Harvey, was a leading auteur of industrial training and educational films for several decades.

Shake Hands With Danger

I believe Carnival was his only excursion into full-length narrative film.

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

I'll also put in a word for The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane, a midly macabre thriller from 1976, starring Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen. A mostly-forgotten entry into the "bad seed" genre, which manages to touch on issues of class and racism. I was able to watch it on You Tube about a year ago.

Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :

The Haunting, the original, not the Catherine Zeta Jones monstrosity. Practically gore-free, but amazing use of sound. Watch with the lights off for the full effect.

Watching these films in a cinema can be scarier than watching them at home. It's counter-intuitive but, even watching the film with a bunch of other people, it's very intimate. The screen is right there in front of you in the dark; you can't get up and make a cup of tea or read the paper; you can't chat over the soudtrack. Eek.

Suspect more films will come to mind after a little thought.

[ 13. April 2013, 00:19: Message edited by: ArachnidinElmet ]

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
I'll also put in a word for The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane, a midly macabre thriller from 1976, starring Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen. A mostly-forgotten entry into the "bad seed" genre, which manages to touch on issues of class and racism. I was able to watch it on You Tube about a year ago.

I thought that was a bit odd, though I rather liked it at the time, particularly with the full frontal of Jodie...

Posted by AngloCatholicGirl (# 16435) on :

I second Carnival of Souls, I found it quite frightening and disturbing.

I would also recommend 'Jacob's Ladder' about a Vietnam vet after he has returned to the US. No blood & guts, just very unsettling experiences slowly ratcheting up the tension. For another unsettling/disturbing film, I would recommend Fritz Lang's 'M' about a child killer.

Posted by comet (# 10353) on :

here's one that is technically horror, but I didn't find it scary. which is good. I'm not a fan of that genre.

"Nightbreed". little known monster flick. I ADORED this movie. Again, I didn't find it scary*, but it's written beautifully and a good look at society's fear of the "other". written and directed by Clive Barker, of Hellraiser fame.

the character of Peloquin is brilliant.

*still probably wouldn't show it to small children.

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

quote:
I would also recommend 'Jacob's Ladder' about a Vietnam vet after he has returned to the US.

I'll second that. But then, as could probably be surmised from my other posts here, I'm a sucker for atmospheric horror, and Jacob's Ladder certainly delivers on that score.

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:
The Haunting, the original, not the Catherine Zeta Jones monstrosity. Practically gore-free, but amazing use of sound. Watch with the lights off for the full effect.

The Haunting is a work of genius. Julie Harris's acting of the neurotic Nell is what I always remember from it - quite disturbing.

One which isn't quite overlooked, but which I think isn't celebrated as much as it should be, is the 1957 Night of the Demon (Curse of the Demon in the USA). It's based on M.R.James's short story Casting the Runes. Again, what really makes it is the portrayal of one of the central characters - Niall MacGinnis as the terribly English Julian Karswell, living with his elderly mother and throwing parties for local children, while at the same time practising black magic against anyone who opposes him.

Posted by Crazy Cat Lady (# 17616) on :

When it first came out 'Alien' wasn't like anything I had seen before - it did scare the poo out of me. And presumably the guy next to me, who was muttering 'I can't take any more of this'. I really didn't see the whole John Hurt thing coming at all. It ticks my boxes - claustrophobia, the dark and something in the darkness that you can't quite see, but is likely to eat you.

Gore movies don't do it for me - I used to work in A&E many years ago - blood and gore was an every day experience. So the 'Saw' films didn't do much, it just felt like a twisted torture fest. But 'The Descent' did have me chewing my nails off - darkness, claustrophobia and something nasty in the dark - see, it ticked my boxes.

Yes, I have at times run round the house turning lights on - and what is it about bathrooms in darkness? The bathroom is definately the scariest room in the house!

I like the beginning of '28 days later' with the iconic images of a deserted London - the rest I can leave. Whilst on the subject of Danny Boyle, I do like 'Sunshine' - I totally buy into the concept of the sun being flipping amazing, awe inspiring etc. But I also know it didn't get great reviews and I am not even sure if it is a horror or not - like the above the beginning of the film is great, but the second half is not so great, until you get to the end.

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

I'd like to say that as far as religious themed horror films goes, the best of the whole lot is Altered States. Much trippier than The Exorcist, The Omen, etc.

Admittedly, it could be argued that the main theme of the movie isn't religious, more to do with the animalistic nature of humanity(that well-loved standby of American naturalism). But the hallucination sequences are a great example of Ken Russell doing what he did best.

Posted by malik3000 (# 11437) on :

Forgive me if this is too Purgatorial a comment, but as for movies like the Saw series, I find them simply unpleasant. But I have friends/family members who really get into them, and I find myself wondering if torture-porn films don't actually appeal to the same part of the human psyche to which, in times past, Roman gladiator fights and wild-beast spectacles appealed?

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

quote:
But I have friends/family members who really get into them, and I find myself wondering if torture-porn films don't actually appeal to the same part of the human psyche to which, in times past, Roman gladiator fights and wild-beast spectacles appealed?

Quite probably. But I'd still say there's a qualitative moral difference between enjoying fake gore in a horror movie, and enjoying real gore in a gladiator fight. Same difference between laughing when someone falls down and bangs his head in a slapstick comedy, and laughing when the same thing happens right in front of you in real life.

And I say this as someone who really doesn't care for slasher movies at all. Saw the first Saw, wasn't inspired to watch the rest.

Posted by Bene Gesserit (# 14718) on :

There was one horror moment that did scare the bejaysus out of me - in the original Ring (The Japanese one, not the US remake), there is a moment when Sadako comes crawling out of a television screen and it is properly scary. Mr BG and I saw the film at the cinema and I think it was worth the admission fee for that moment alone!

Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Bene Gesserit:
There was one horror moment that did scare the bejaysus out of me - in the original Ring (The Japanese one, not the US remake), there is a moment when Sadako comes crawling out of a television screen and it is properly scary.

I saw this on tv, preceded by an introduction explaining how unique and unexpectedness the imagery was, illustrated with a clip of this scene. A very good film, but that took the edge off slightly.

Posted by AngloCatholicGirl (# 16435) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:

quote:
Originally posted by Bene Gesserit:
There was one horror moment that did scare the bejaysus out of me - in the original Ring (The Japanese one, not the US remake), there is a moment when Sadako comes crawling out of a television screen and it is properly scary.
I saw this on tv, preceded by an introduction explaining how unique and unexpectedness the imagery was, illustrated with a clip of this scene. A very good film, but that took the edge off slightly.

If you liked The Ring, try 'Audition' it is a Japanese horror that had my friend and I shrieking in unison, clutching each other. It is pretty gruesome though, I normally go for more atmospheric horror, but the audition is pretty visceral in parts. It isn't torture porn, however, leaving most of the horror to your imagination.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Fair warning-- "Audition" might leave you with psychological scars. "Disturbing" doesn't even cover it.

If pushing yourself to "Mommy,. make it stop" is your thing, I invite you to look up "Three... Extremes, which is an anthology of Asian masters of horror:Fruit Chan (Hong Kong),Park Chan-wook (South Korea), and of course, Takashi Miike (Japan). The bad thing about watching this film is you will lose all hope for the human race, which is the hallmark of a superior Asian Horror film-watching experience, right? The good thing is, if you are ever inclined to check out some torture porn crap like Hostel, your memory will cast up that experience and you will do something more productive, like look at cute kitten pics for two hours.

(Speaking of anthology-- I really have a weird affection for those Amicus anthology flicks. Am I the only one?)

Back to overlooked, though--Interesting one called dSession 9, an indie America film with a decent cast that revolves around the creepy encounters experienced by a Hazmat team clearing an abandoned mental hospital. The plot is not the world's most original, but the atmosphere is just painfully anticipatory and nerve-wracking. Gorgeously shot at a fantastic location, and superb turn by Peter Mullen.
And am gonna put a big thumbs up for Ginger Snaps(Canada). which has the look of a teen horror flick, but turns the whole genre on its head. Ginger is teen who has an unusually strong bond with her younger sister who finds herself bitten by a werewolf. This corresponds with her first menstrual period. The full moon, you know?

Actually the menarche bit signals the real theme of the movie-- which-is, how girls come into their sexuality. The changes in appearance( there is a moving scene in which Ginger is discovered by her sister, sobbing in the bathroom, trying to shave stiff wolf hair off her legs-- that whole idea of all those changes happening to a teen girl at once, and the desperate attempts to stay on top of them) the physical pain of change, virginity, loss of virginity, desire versus control.It manages to be tongue-in-cheek, thought-provoking, and really freaking scary all at once.

[ 14. April 2013, 01:25: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by fletcher christian (# 13919) on :

I second Audition. Apart from 'that scene*', it is seriously clever film making.

*'that scene' almost ruins an otherwise very cleverly crafted movie (in my own humble opinion). I won't spoil it, but the gore hounds will lap it up.

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

Kelly Alves wrote:

quote:
Back to overlooked, though--Interesting one called dSession 9, an indie America film with a decent cast that revolves around the creepy encounters experienced by a Hazmat team clearing an abandoned mental hospital. The plot is not the world's most original, but the atmosphere is just painfully anticipatory and nerve-wracking

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

That film, for me, kinda signposts the end of an era. Near the beginning, one of the workers says to another: "Back in the 90s, psychiatrists believed in something called repressed memory".

So within the period encompassing my young-adulthood, repressed-memory had gone from being something that was talked about as a proven fact, to something used as an example of "discredited folk belief" for purposes of horror-film plot development.

Though I seem to recall(it's been a long time since I've seen it) that the storyline eventually vindicates the belief in repressed memory.

The director of that film, Brad Anderson, went on to do The Machinist, another film dealing with questionable memory. Not exactly overlooked(in fact I think it got a lot of press), but highly recommended.

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
(Speaking of anthology-- I really have a weird affection for those Amicus anthology flicks. Am I the only one?)

Nope. I love 'em. In fact, I'm one of those annoying people who, if someone is enthusing about something they assume to be a "Hammer" movie, will put on my best offended voice and say, "It's an Amicus, actually."

Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:

And am gonna put a big thumbs up for Ginger Snaps(Canada). which has the look of a teen horror flick, but turns the whole genre on its head. Ginger is teen who has an unusually strong bond with her younger sister who finds herself bitten by a werewolf. This corresponds with her first menstrual period. The full moon, you know?

Actually the menarche bit signals the real theme of the movie-- which-is, how girls come into their sexuality. The changes in appearance( there is a moving scene in which Ginger is discovered by her sister, sobbing in the bathroom, trying to shave stiff wolf hair off her legs-- that whole idea of all those changes happening to a teen girl at once, and the desperate attempts to stay on top of them) the physical pain of change, virginity, loss of virginity, desire versus control.It manages to be tongue-in-cheek, thought-provoking, and really freaking scary all at once.

Oh yes, I saw this on the TV one evening - I heartily second Kelly's final sentence!

This is an interesting thread as I haven't come across most of these films, though I'm pretty sure I've seen Carnival of Souls many years ago. If it's the one I'm thinking of, then another hell, yes!

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Kelly Alves wrote:

quote:
Back to overlooked, though--Interesting one called dSession 9, an indie America film with a decent cast that revolves around the creepy encounters experienced by a Hazmat team clearing an abandoned mental hospital. The plot is not the world's most original, but the atmosphere is just painfully anticipatory and nerve-wracking
POSSIBLE SPOILERS

That film, for me, kinda signposts the end of an era. Near the beginning, one of the workers says to another: "Back in the 90s, psychiatrists believed in something called repressed memory".

So within the period encompassing my young-adulthood, repressed-memory had gone from being something that was talked about as a proven fact, to something used as an example of "discredited folk belief" for purposes of horror-film plot development.

Though I seem to recall(it's been a long time since I've seen it) that the storyline eventually vindicates the belief in repressed memory.

The director of that film, Brad Anderson, went on to do The Machinist, another film dealing with questionable memory. Not exactly overlooked(in fact I think it got a lot of press), but highly recommended.

(More spoilers) I thought the film vindicated the belief in possession [Big Grin]

[GORDON.] (My take is the director was trying to be responsible by bringing up false memory syndrome, but we were to understand something much weirder than "repressed memory" was going on.) I've never seen the Machinist, though-- now I want to, knowing it's from the same director. Interesting catch on the memory thing.

quote:
Originally posted by Adeodatus:

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
(Speaking of anthology-- I really have a weird affection for those Amicus anthology flicks. Am I the only one?)
Nope. I love 'em. In fact, I'm one of those annoying people who, if someone is enthusing about something they assume to be a "Hammer" movie, will put on my best offended voice and say, "It's an Amicus, actually."

I actually started to type "Hammer", then caught myself. I thought I remembered "Shepperfield Studios" and looked it all up. "Oh, yeah-- Amicus."

Every time I see that cheesy blood that looks like something you'd paint a stop sign with, a tear of nostalgia comes to my eye.

Kel// remember their version of "The Monkey's Paw"? Sigh. [Axe murder]

[ 14. April 2013, 16:04: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Kel// remember their version of "The Monkey's Paw"? Sigh.

In Tales from the Crypt? Oh yes! Some of those things were seriously horrible. Mostly just gore-fests, but some quite good.

One of Amicus's best offerings, I think, was The Skull, in which the exhumed skull of the Marquis de Sade drives its owners to madness and death. It was rather different from their usual style: more creeping tension than gore. It's more than thirty years since I saw it, but it left a real impression. I particularly remember camera shots taken as if from inside the skull, looking out through the eye sockets.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Adeodatus:
I particularly remember camera shots taken as if from inside the skull, looking out through the eye sockets.

(bounces up and down in chair). I can just picture it. All that gaudy technicolor and ominous, Marvel-comic- esque light and dark.

Tales of the Crypt is my favorite Amicus, though. I am pretty sure I have chosen to watch that for the dozenth time over some spectacular, multi-award winning piece of cinematic excellent. I gotta be me.

[ 14. April 2013, 18:00: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by Bernard Mahler (# 10852) on :

Does anyone recall a 1957 film 'The Creeping Unknown' based on and alternatively named 'The Quatermass Experiment'? The horror was suggested rather than blatant. I managed to track it down in DVD but some clown has edited out most of the cogent shots.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

I saw it a very, very long time ago.

I think I watched it because we had just read "Colossus" in school, and I confused Quartermass with Forbin.

[ 14. April 2013, 18:38: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Bernard Mahler:
Does anyone recall a 1957 film 'The Creeping Unknown' based on and alternatively named 'The Quatermass Experiment'? The horror was suggested rather than blatant. I managed to track it down in DVD but some clown has edited out most of the cogent shots.

It was based on Nigel Kneale's tv series, The Quatermass Experiment. There were three Quatermass stories on 1950s tv, of which it was the first. All three were turned into movies. The second, Quatermass II, had aliens taking over members of the government. The tv and movie versions both had some quite disturbing sequences, including one (I think only in the tv version) where a family picnicking on the beach near the aliens' secret base are shot by security guards. The third was probably the best known - Quatermass and the Pit, which was made into a movie by Hammer in the 60s. The premise was that an archaeological dig uncovers a crashed spaceship ... which isn't quite dead. Tv and movie versions were both excellent.

The tv versions of Quatermass II and Quatermass and the Pit still exist - and are excellent - but all but a couple of episodes of The Quatermass Experiment have been lost.

There was a fourth tv series, simply called Quatermass, in the late 70s. Kneale was very fond of the "society's going to hell in a handbasket" trope, which in the last Quatermass story was laid on with a trowel.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

I don't choose to ever watch gory thrillers, being of a nervous disposition. However, sometimes you find yourself watching something where you don't realise the effect it will have.

For example, I was fine with the 'Deerhunter' until that very last scene....

But the one that really sticks in my mind is one where I don't even remember the title. It was a silent movie and the tension crept up and up from quite imperceptible beginnings - and the horror was that it was so ordinary and could (almost) happen to anyone. The story was simple, a lone driver being followed by a huge truck (you never saw the driver) along increasingly dangerous roads, with the lorry driver trying repeatedly to push the little guy off the road.

It was a long time ago, perhaps if I watched it now the sense of menace wouldn't be so strong, but at the time - whew!

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Silent movie era or a movie with no dialogue? It sounds an awful lot like Duel.

Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :

[tangent]Re: Duel. The author Richard Matheson, who wrote Duel, has written so many good stories, subsequently turned into cracking horror films: Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (The Twilight Zone with the demon on the plane wing), althought I'm still waiting for a good version of I Am Legend. I don't think he gets the credit he deserves for his incredible CV. [/tangent]

I love Ginger Snaps, especially the Mimi Rodgers mother character who takes her daughter's lyncanthropy in her stride, but beware the sequels [Eek!]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Yeah, the sequels really sucked.

More indie weirdness-- Abel Ferrar's The Addiction A black and white vampire film starring the incomparable Lili Taylor, who plays a philosophy student who gets bitten, and struggles to philosophize what has happened to her. (Ariston, you reading this?) She eventually runs into Chris Walken, who calls her condition out as an addiction and shows her how to treat it as such. Fascinating ideas woven through a horrific tale of a young woman trying to cope with the idea of damnation.

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

Has anyone here seen Mark Gatiss' horror documentaries - the 3-part History of Horror, and Horror Europa - which were on BBC4 a couple of years ago? Lots of material in those for fans of overlooked horror, particularly in Horror Europa, which had some seriously weird stuff.

Gatiss is superb - really knows his subject, and approaches it with a sort of boyish glee. Interestingly, he stopped his History of Horror with the first Hallowe'en movie, because he said after that, gore got boring.

I don't think these are available on dvd yet, and I don't know if they were ever shown outside the UK, but if they turn up again anytime soon I'll let y'all know.

Posted by Crazy Cat Lady (# 17616) on :

I saw those documentaries - they were excellent. I like documentaries that take commonly assessed 'low art' and reveal it to be alot less rubbish than most people think

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

quote:
Gatiss is superb - really knows his subject, and approaches it with a sort of boyish glee. Interestingly, he stopped his History of Horror with the first Hallowe'en movie, because he said after that, gore got boring.

I'll second him on that. I'll also say that the whole "Ring" motif has gotten pretty boring, now that it's being copied by every hack director from Hong Kong to Hollywood.

That said, my favorite entry in the genre was A Tale Of Two Sisters, from South Korea. If you liked The Ring and its various satellites, and you're really wowed by Freudian motifs in horror films, you might wanna check this one out.

[ 15. April 2013, 13:12: Message edited by: Stetson ]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:

That said, my favorite entry in the genre was A Tale Of Two Sisters, from South Korea. If you liked The Ring and its various satellites, and you're really wowed by Freudian motifs in horror films, you might wanna check this one out.

Korean horror is superb. Check out the Wig(South Korea, also) sometime, too. Same thing-- it's deliberately tropy, but then it takes those tropes and just hones them razor sharp.

This is a good time to bring up Shadows in the Palace(South Korea, again)-- a costume drama set in feudal Korea, revolving around the declared suicide/ suspected murder of a concubine in the expansive, village-like women's quarters. Magnificent examination of the hierarchical issues at the time. It's more of a thriller, actually but there's a supernatural subplot that weaves in and out of the proceedings. Park Jin-Hee absolutely owns the screen in the lead role, as the royal physician to the concubines. You can't take your eyes off her.

[ 15. April 2013, 16:23: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :

I certainly agree about "Duel". What makes it frightening is the utter plausibility of the premise. To be truly frightening, a situation has to be something you can readily imagine happening in your own life.

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

Thanks for the recommendation, Kelly.

HCH wrote:

quote:
I certainly agree about "Duel". What makes it frightening is the utter plausibility of the premise. To be truly frightening, a situation has to be something you can readily imagine happening in your own life.

Not that it's of utmost importance, but, just for historical interest, has anyone mentioned that Duel was directed by Steven Spielberg?

Posted by Bene Gesserit (# 14718) on :

quote:
Originally posted by AngloCatholicGirl:

quote:
Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:

quote:
Originally posted by Bene Gesserit:
There was one horror moment that did scare the bejaysus out of me - in the original Ring (The Japanese one, not the US remake), there is a moment when Sadako comes crawling out of a television screen and it is properly scary.
I saw this on tv, preceded by an introduction explaining how unique and unexpectedness the imagery was, illustrated with a clip of this scene. A very good film, but that took the edge off slightly.
If you liked The Ring, try 'Audition' it is a Japanese horror that had my friend and I shrieking in unison, clutching each other. It is pretty gruesome though, I normally go for more atmospheric horror, but the audition is pretty visceral in parts. It isn't torture porn, however, leaving most of the horror to your imagination.

We saw Audition on the big screen at the local film club, paying our guest fees for the evening, and yes, it was a good one.

Mr BG is the film fan in the household, and although he especially likes the sheer originality of Asian cinema, he really rated Ginger Snaps. Most horrors just leave me stone cold. Modern ones, especially the gory ones, do anyway - but I am a major fan of the Quatermass films. I'd not heard of Session 9 so I'll have to see if himself has.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

Yes, thanks, it was 'Duel'. Shudder.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Not that it's of utmost importance, but, just for historical interest, has anyone mentioned that Duel was directed by Steven Spielberg?

One of his really early ones, yeah.

In his book,Danse Macabre, Stephen King analyzes "Duel" to great effect, and says pretty much what HCH said-- the fact that there really are batshit people out there driving trucks, and you could conceivably run into the craziest of them all someday,is the kind of simple premise that sets people on the edge of their seat.

Bene Gesserit and ArachnidinElmet, thank you for reassuring me that I am not the only human being on the face of the earth who has seen/ liked Ginger Snaps. I was feeling kind of lonely.

Oh and if you are really a horror fan, do pick up King's book, which kind of deconstructs why people are drawn to the horror genre. I actually think I like his nonfiction horror writing better than a lot of his fiction. Also, he gives props to a lot of lesser-known writers/ filmmakers in his analysis.

[ 15. April 2013, 21:49: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

Adeodatus:

quote:
One which isn't quite overlooked, but which I think isn't celebrated as much as it should be, is the 1957 Night of the Demon (Curse of the Demon in the USA). It's based on M.R.James's short story Casting the Runes.

Your second sentence explains why 'Night of the Demon' is not celebrated. To anyone familiar with 'Casting the Runes' it is a Complete Travesty. Having said that, if you can manage to forget about 'Casting the Runes' and think of the film as a completely different story it is quite a good horror film right up until the moment when the demon appears (it is painfully obvious that it's running on rails). The demon would have been much more frightening if they'd just suggested it, like they did earlier.

Are we allowed to mention TV series? Does 'Sapphire and Steel' count as horror? Now there was a series that showed what could be done with clever camera work, good scripts and brilliant actors.

[ 16. April 2013, 08:56: Message edited by: Jane R ]

Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:
[tangent]Re: Duel. The author Richard Matheson, who wrote Duel, has written so many good stories, subsequently turned into cracking horror films: Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (The Twilight Zone with the demon on the plane wing), althought I'm still waiting for a good version of I Am Legend. I don't think he gets the credit he deserves for his incredible CV. [/tangent]

I love Ginger Snaps, especially the Mimi Rodgers mother character who takes her daughter's lyncanthropy in her stride, but beware the sequels .

Yeah, Ginger Snaps Back is shite.

I would be another one voting for The Descent - saw it in the cinema when it first came out and all of us there - to a man and woman - yelped "Shit!" when the Crawler first appears in the video shot.

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

quote:
posted by Sir Kevin
... I rather liked it at the time, particularly with the full frontal of Jodie

Sir Kev - you may care to revise that - she was only 13 years old when that film was made. [Eek!]

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

Erm....

I actually liked the Nightmare on Elm Street series as did several of my older pupils.

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
I certainly agree about "Duel". What makes it frightening is the utter plausibility of the premise. To be truly frightening, a situation has to be something you can readily imagine happening in your own life.

We were actually run off the road by a privateer truck driver nearly ten years ago. I was unscathed and my wife was treated and released. Our hired red Mustang convertible was totalled. How the truck driver never saw us, we'll never know. He or she was never caught.

Posted by Noxious (# 17318) on :

I'd definitely concur with most of the suggestions so far, particularly the underrated Night (Curse) of the Demon. And I'd add that I was incredibly disappointed by The Shining on first viewing but kudos to Kubrick, I've come to appreciate it more and more with repeat viewings and even now I don't find it easy watching.

Other than those, I would submit "The Eye" (2002) which has some genuinely chilling moments, "Juon: The Grudge" parts 1 & 2 (the Japanese originals; the "Buffy The Atmosphere Slayer" remakes are awful) and more recently "V/H/S" which I thought was a fun and innovative spin on the 70s portmanteau style. Also noteworthy are "Absentia" and "Reeker" for comparatively low budget/high quality viewing.

And further back and more obscurely there's "The Medusa Touch", "The Asphyx", Spanish short "La Cabina", "The Survivor"... I could go on for hours...

Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :

It's hardly overlooked, but I watched the Boris Karloff 'The Mummy' today and it really holds up. It's an perfect example of 'show, don't tell'. The whole first act has the Mummy waking up from his tomb, surprising an archaeologist (well you would be, wouldn't you) and walking off with an ancient scroll, but there's barely any explanation, just short shots of opening eyes, shadowy hands and trailing bandages, all in complete silence. A genuinely tense film.

Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :

Yes! The Mummy is great, and benefits from the classiness that Boris Karloff brings to his roles. I have it on dvd, and it's well worth the price.

I'd also vote for Night of the Demon as others have, for the creepiness that Niall MacGinness brings to the role of Karswell. It's a pity that the demon is not as frightening as Karswell is.

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

My wives would probably nominate "Midnight Meat Train" a gruesome and bizarre horror flick about dumb American college students who go on a holiday in scary old Europe and find out that some of Europe ain't so quaint. I laugh whenever stupid Americans get offed in terrible ways... just because usually the characters are the typical "But how could you do this to ME?! I'm an American!" types. And, I'd say it was an unfair stereotype except I've known some people who were very into how great they are because they were born in the U.S.A. Off with their heads, I say! [Snigger]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

That flick is straaange.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Noxious:

Other than those, I would submit "The Eye" (2002) which has some genuinely chilling moments, "Juon: The Grudge" parts 1 & 2 (the Japanese originals; the "Buffy The Atmosphere Slayer" remakes are awful) and more recently "V/H/S" which I thought was a fun and innovative spin on the 70s portmanteau style.

Seconded on "The Eye" and the "Ju-on" series-- the Japanese series gets deeper and deeper into the darkness.

A new take on 70's portmanteau? Sounds intriguing.

(after reading IMDB synopsis of V/H/S:) WHOA! Definitely a Kelly flick.

[ 27. April 2013, 04:37: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pine Marten:
Yes! The Mummy is great, and benefits from the classiness that Boris Karloff brings to his roles. I have it on dvd, and it's well worth the price.

The little known film 'The Old Dark House' 1932, starring Karloff, scared the crap out of my dad many years ago when he and his brother managed to get into a cinema underaged.

The genre of horror films that creeped me out were 'Rosemary's Baby' and the like . Giving birth looks bad enough , but giving birth to little demons and devils ? Leave it out . [Eek!]

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

quote:
The genre of horror films that creeped me out were 'Rosemary's Baby' and the like . Giving birth looks bad enough , but giving birth to little demons and devils ? Leave it out .

It's interesting to compare that late 60s/70s wave of domestic-drama horror films.

Rosemary's Baby pretty clearly panders to expectant parents' anxiety about a pregnancy going wrong. Whereas The Exorcist(as I think I mentioned on another thread) is about the dread of helplessly watching disease consume a child's health. Plus, a bit of handwringing about divorce and the absence of a father figure.

The Shining I've always thought is meant to be appreciated from the viewpoint of the child. Nicholson did a good job of being a stand-in for everyone's idea of a father on the verge of exploding into rage.

My own dad was a pretty gentle guy, but even for me, this scene had some pretty strong resonance.

And it was a nice touch having television being the target of Jack's wrath, since that was something parents complained about a lot in those days.

[ 11. May 2013, 16:34: Message edited by: Stetson ]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Dead on about Danny. And that scene hinted at something that was much more apparent in the book--that the hotel didn't turn Jack into a monster, it fed the monster that was already there.

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