Horror

[Avaitor]

I wanted to do The Haunting, but The Innocents, which is similar in some ways, is a little lesser known and just got a Criterion release, so I went for that instead.

But one I just thought about was the Korean film, Time, which was a heck of a shock for me when I first saw it. Maybe next year!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The Others is what I consider to be a really underrated horror flick from a little over a decade ago. It may take a few of these Halloween lists before I had room to nominate it, but I definitely think that it holds up as a good contemporary horror film.

As far as recent films go, I really liked 2 of James Wan's films from this decade. One was the first Insidious, which to me had a really unique concept going for it, and while I don't consider it that scary, I do think that it had a surprisingly engaging story going for it, which is what kept me interested. The Conjuring, from last year, is the opposite case. She you think about it, the movie is as cliche as a set-up for a haunted house movie can be, but it's what Wan does with the set-up that I found to be so brilliant, and apparently many critics as well considering the surprisingly positive review that this movie got. What I liked is that the film was far more about creating an atmosphere that was scary as opposed to riddling the film with cheap jump scares, of which there are only a few, and they are all the more effective for the fact that they don't happen nearly often enough for you to actually get used to them or even see them coming (except for one, which even I felt was a bit too obvious). Combine this with the fact that the movie pays homage to so many classic horror films in general, and I personally consider it to be the best horror film that I've seen from the past 5-10 years.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The Fly (1986) is another great one, and also arguably one of the best remakes ever. With all due respect to the original, this one was far better written and directed, and as a special effects piece, it still holds up remarkably well today (it's as good as  John Carpenter's The Thing, which just goes to show you how truly amazing it really is).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Looking over the list, I'm going to need Talon to clarify which version of Ring he's nominating. The original Japanese version or the American remake. I'm pretty sure I know which version it is, but I just need to clarify that.

[talonmalon333]

The original.

Though the remake wasn't bad, and once we reach the day when we discuss that movie, I imagine the remake will find its way into the discussion anyway.

[Foggle]

IMO, the remake of The Ring is slightly inferior to the original, but it's actually still pretty good. Perhaps the only time Hollywood didn't completely fuck up an awesome Japanese horror film.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, I have good memories of the remake, but the original is ultimately superior.

[talonmalon333]

Slightly inferior? Ehh, it kind of talked down to the viewer and over explained things in a way that the original knew not to.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I wouldn't say it was as good as the original by any means, but it was still a fairly decent horror film in its own right. I found the original to be far creepier, though, whereas the remake kind of lost the scariness of it all, but still retained a fairly interesting story.

[Avaitor]

Slightly inferior? Ehh, it kind of talked down to the viewer and over explained things in a way that the original knew not to.

I mean, it's Hollywood.

[talonmalon333]

Slightly inferior? Ehh, it kind of talked down to the viewer and over explained things in a way that the original knew not to.

I mean, it's Hollywood.

My point is that it's significantly weaker than the original.

But I'll talk more about this movie and its remake on the 15th.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I just watched both the 1956 and 1978 versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which are both available on Netflix, in preparation for our Halloween discussion. I really enjoyed both versions, and each had its own strengths and weaknesses. I'll save more detailed discussion for later, during it's assigned Halloween date, though.

This movie also had a 1993 remake (which I plan to watch soon, as it's available on HBO GO), and had yet another version in 2007 with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. It's very telling how relevant the themes of this story are for it to get remade so many times.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The first two are pretty good, though I do prefer the original.

Unfortunately, I don't have either on Netflix. 

[talonmalon333]

The Others is what I consider to be a really underrated horror flick from a little over a decade ago. It may take a few of these Halloween lists before I had room to nominate it, but I definitely think that it holds up as a good contemporary horror film.

Glad you like that one. Nicole Kidman is great in it. The movie kind of reminds me of The Haunting, if you've seen that one. I know some have their problems with it but I liked it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Glad you like that one. Nicole Kidman is great in it. The movie kind of reminds me of The Haunting, if you've seen that one. I know some have their problems with it but I liked it.

Yeah, it was a really well done movie that I remember people liking at the time, but it seems largely forgotten about, now. I saw it on my dad's recommendation a few years after it had come out, and was pleasantly surprised. It's also one of those movies that has a clever twist ending that isn't up its own ass, as evidenced by the fact that it still holds up to re-watches even if you already know how it ends.