31 Nights of Halloween

[LumRanmaYasha]

Watched it. Loved it. Masterful shots, eerie and atmospheric music score, and brilliant tension all the way through. Had me glued to the screen pretty much every second of it. Though, somehow found the Thing's transformations more funny than disturbing/scary. When it was first revealed I actually laughed out loud. I must be more desensitized than I thought I was (maybe it's only "realistic" body horror that makes me uncomfortable). Either way, I loved the film's exploration of what people can be capable of when they stop trusting each other and become fueled by paranoia, and the ending was just perfect. I certainly will try and check out more of John Carpenter's films once I get more time to (or if some of them will be coming up later in this thread).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Two of them will be coming up later (in fact Halloween is the honorary closing film for the month).

Personally I loved the effects of the transformations, which I didn't find scary, but didn't quite laugh at either. To me it's just great practical effects. They look really good, just completely over the top in what's depicted, but to me that makes the design of the alien feel all the more unique and creative, since it has no definitive shape, and can morph into whatever is most beneficial for it, like when it sprouted spider legs and antennae out of a fake copy of Norris's face.

But, at any rate, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I consider it to be the best Sci-Fi/Horrir film, or at least tied with Alien,many it's tied with tomorrow's film, The Shining, as my favorite pure horror film ever. That said, The Shining is a Kubrick film, so it's less about practical scares and more about serious "WTF was Kubrick smoking when he came up with this shit?" imagery.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I did love the special effects and thought the look of the Thing was cool (spider-Thing was also my favorite of it's transformations). Just somehow it's first appearance made me laugh. I'm really not sure why. 

I watched The Shining a few years ago and I remember enjoying it quite a good deal. Since it's been a long while since the last time I saw it I'll try and watch it again tomorrow, and perhaps I'll have an even better appreciation for it this time.

[Rynnec]

As far as other John Carpenter movies go, I can definitely recommend Assault on Precinct 13 and Escape From New York, they fall more into the action/suspense category, but both movies still have Caprenter's trademark bleak atmosphere and subtly disturbing tone. Both of them also showcase Carpenter's talent as a composer.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Also, I'm not sure if you've watched any of The Evil Dead movies, but since watching 3 films in one day will be too talk of an order for most people, I recommend watching Evil Dead 2 if you only have time for one. The first 20 minutes both recaps and completely retcons the first film, anyways, and while Army of Darkness is my favorite of the trilogy, it's not really a horror movie, and I only included it because it's impossible for me to talk about Evil Dead without bringing it up, anyways.

The first film is meant to be a straight-up horror movie, but came off as unintentionally funny in many parts (to be fair, it also still has some really well-placed jump scares). Sam Raimi obviously had a good sense of humor about it all, though, and made the sequel intentionally funny, though that one, to its credit, also has some decent jump scares. Army of a Darkness does feature the deadites, but by that point it was pretty much pure comedy for the most part.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Escape from New York is awesome, but it's been years since I last saw it, so I need to re-watch it at some point. I actually haven't gotten around to AOP13, yet, so I'll definitely need to get on that once this month ends and I have time to watch other movies again.

[talonmalon333]

I think The Evil Dead is still excellent, but I will admit that 2 is the one that perfectly embodies the entire trilogy, featuring both horror and comedy which are both associated with this franchise.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I think that the first film is great, but just that the second represents the series the best. The first movie is still a classic, in my book. That said, these movies certainly aren't for everyone.

[Spark Of Spirit]

As far as other John Carpenter movies go, I can definitely recommend Assault on Precinct 13 and Escape From New York, they fall more into the action/suspense category, but both movies still have Caprenter's trademark bleak atmosphere and subtly disturbing tone. Both of them also showcase Carpenter's talent as a composer.

AND BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. An awesome tribute to kung fu flicks, hilarious, and bizarre. You really should see it.

There's also Starman which isn't bad. John Carpenter has a lot of really good stuff.

[Rynnec]

How could I have forgotten Big Trouble? Great film.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

NIGHT 4:



Review: http://youtu.be/7E6s9tDuR20

It's time to go crazy with "All work and no play makes 'Jack Nicholson' a dull boy" in this Stanley Kubrick horror masterpiece, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. If the made-for-TV movie is any indication, Kubrick quite frankly does King better than King himself does.

So, let's just get this out of the way right now:

Spoiler

No, I still don't know what the fuck I'm looking at whenever I watch this scene, but it still gets me every time.

[close]

Anyways, feel free to discuss this bizarre but classic horror flick.

[Avaitor]

This is one that I'e actually seen again fairly recently, which I just HAD to after seeing Room 237 (I do recommend it, btw). This is definitely a case where the film is better than the book.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

This is one that I'e actually seen again fairly recently, which I just HAD to after seeing Room 237 (I do recommend it, btw). This is definitely a case where the film is better than the movie.

You might want to clarify that one for us, although I'm sure that I know what you meant to say.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, my bad.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I haven't read the book, but I wouldn't be surprised that the film is better, given that the few movies based off of Stephen King books that I like seem to be ones that he despises since they don't accurately follow his books in the first place. In that regard, though, aside from The Shining, I have found The Children of the Corn and Carrie to be great horror films. Also, as far as TV mini-series go, It is a guilty pleasure for me, mainly because while the content of the film sucks, it did manage to scare the hell out of me when I first watched it at the age of 7, and I always did like the actual concept of the story, even if it wasn't written well, so that's more a case of nostalgia than actual genuine quality. Though, I would argue that Tim Curry as Pennywise is still incredibly entertaining, more for being hilarious in his failure to be scary than in terms of actually being scary.

At any rate, since I have already re-watched The Shining rather recently, I think that I'll try and re-watch one of the other King movies that I mentioned liking instead, tonight, only because it's been so much longer since I've last seen either of them.