Topic: Jimmy's - 2012 Ooctober Horror Marathon

[addicted2dvd]

 

[Piffi]

Ok, Sir! I trust you on that then. So if i get any trouble sleeping
after watching that movie i'll hold you responsible

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: The Amityville Horror (1979)

Genre: Horror
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Rating: R
Length: 1h59
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English, French and Spanish
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish

Stars:
James Brolin
Margot Kidder
Rod Steiger
Don Stroud
Murray Hamilton

Plot:
For George and Kathy Lutz, the colonial home on the river's edge seemed ideal: quaint, spacious and amazingly affordable. Of course, six brutal murders had taken place there just a year before, but houses don't have memories...or do they? Soon the Lutz dream house becomes a hellish nightmare, as walls begin to drip blood and satanic forces threaten to destroy them. Now the Lutzes must try to escape or forfeit their lives - and their souls!

My Thoughts:

To be honest I've never seen what is the big deal with this film... As an hanted house film it's boring (common nothing happen), it's full of cliché, the acting is way over the top, the music score is a rejected one for the Exorcist, the story isn't well built at all (there are no-suspense and no development) and on top of all this is based on a hoax. The Lutz just create that story because they were unable to pay the house who was too costly from them. The Father came one time at the house and nothing out of the ordinary happened. The only persons who were hunted because of that house were the real owners of it who were harass for years by clueless people (and not just a little bit) believing the hoax.
    


Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Amityville II: The Possession (1982)

Genre: Horror
Director: Damiano Damiani
Rating: R
Length: 1h44
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish

Stars:
James Olson
Burt Young
Rutanya Alda
Jack Magner
Andrew Prine

Plot:
Although the Montellis are not exactly the "perfect family," at least they've found the perfect home. And even though a liquid that looks like blood gushes from the kitchen faucet and every window has been nailed shut, it still qualifies as their dream house - until all hell breaks loose! A local priest tries to rid the house of unclean spirits, but what he doesn't yet suspect is that teenage son Sonny Montelli has been possessed, body and soul, by a murderous demon bent on total destruction.

My Thoughts:

Like the first one the sequel takes a lot of liberty with the truth, in fact except for the fact that Ronald DeFeo Jr killed his entire familly the rest is fabulation. It's true that DeFeo used the "demon made me do it" defense, but not in his initial trial (in this one his defense was that his familly was planning to kill him, so it was self-defense), in fact the Amityville hoax was created for this (for DeFeo to use that defense and for the Lutzs to rebuilt their finance). In fact the real reason isn't that supernatural... he had accumulated a lot of debts because of his drug used and did it for the insurances. Anyway I'm supposed to talk about the film

If we forget what I wrote before that film isn't a bad one, in fact it's the only one I really like amongst those Amityville movies. Sure the acting is exagerated (Burt Young is sure a slime bag right from the start), but for me it works. I also think the italian vision bring a lot to it, by exemple in the camera works who isn't static and boring like it was the case in the first one. There are also a certain level of weirdness surrounding the familly, except for the two little ones eveybody is strange in this film : the father is a control freak, the mother is a religious freak and for the older children you know it if you have seen the film (and not just when the possesion start, notice how they act together in the beginning ).

No problem to recommand this one, but I must decrease the rating by one because of the second parts who switch the movie in the rip-off territory.
     


Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

Genre: Horror
Director: Bradley Parker
Rating: 13+
Length: 1h26
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English, French and Spanish
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish

Stars:
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal
Dimitri Diatchenko
Olivia Dudley   
Devin Kelley
Jesse McCartney

Plot:
Chernobyl, 1968:
As the worst nuclear disaster in history unfolds, residents are driven from their homes in the nearby city of Pripyat without enough time to grab even their most precious personal belongings. Over 25 years later, six young vacationers and their "extreme tourism" guide visit Pripyat to explore the ruins of a city now desolate and seemingly abandoned. But when they're forced to stay the night, they soon discover that they may not be alone in this eerie shocker by coproducer/cowriter Oren Peli, creator of Paranormal Activity

My Thoughts:

Pretty much what I expected, even if I was expecting more originallity. I mean a group of american douchebags on vacation in Europe taking a wrong decision wich bring them in big trouble with a supernatural menace isn't really a new concept. But for what it is the film do a convenable job (even if the douchebagery was fast at annoying me... in five minutes all those idiots get on my nerves) and don't use a lot of CGI. It was more suspence fear than a "boo! I'm an ugly monster" fear and most of the action happen in the dark (not just a little as often we see nothing but just hear noises). It doesn't have an happy ending wich is always a plus in my book.

My big problem with it is the short running time (1h20 if we don't count the generic) and the way the kids act (kind of like the ones I hate so much in Wolf Creek). The film had a lot of potential (believe me the mood is scary), but it feels rushed too much (probably due to the weak script).

BTW the rating is the one in my province, so don't worry it isn't an US PG-13. It's an R rated film in the US, but our rating board isn't really strict compare to the MPAA.
     


Rating :

[Piffi]

Stars:
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal  <-- her right there a good Norwegian actress.
If you liked her in the movie, i recommand a Norwegian horrorfilm series named "Cold Pray"
Or "Fritt Vilt" in Norwegian.. She's the lead actor in the those

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Terror Train (1980)

Genre: Horror
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Rating: R
Length: 1h37
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Ben Johnson
Jamie Lee Curtis
Hart Bochner   
David Copperfield
Derek McKinnon

Plot:
It’s New Year s Eve, and a group of college coeds have planned a masquerade bash aboard a chartered train. What they didn’t plan on was that a knife-wielding psycho would crash the party and begin slaughtering the guests one by one! Who is this brutal costumed killer? Could it be the mysterious magician (David Copperfield) with a talent for swordplay . . . a former frat pledge with an axe to grind . . . or any number of other guests, both invited and uninvited?

My Thoughts:

Not bad not good, just your average early eighties horror movie on a train. Don't take that as a negative since the film is better than 95% of what is named horror now, but there is nothing new here for an "old guy" like me

My big problem with the film is the fact we know who is the killer right from the beginning. They show why he became a killer in a prologue, for me that would have been a better idea to use this later as a flashback scene. But what do I know? I ain't a film director or producer
     


Rating :

[Jimmy]

There a huge omission in the extras materials for this release, at least for me it is...

They haven't tried to get in touch with Derek McKinnon wich is due to the usual laziness of the extras producer. He isn't hard to find at all as he always live at Montreal, he is always in the showbussiness and his adress is well known...

Anyway as I am not as lazy than M.F. is I've found an interview with him done a couple of years ago.

A Very Candid Conversation with Derek MacKinnon 

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Genre: Horror
Director: John Landis
Rating: R
Length: 1h38
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish

Stars:
David Naughton
Griffin Dunne
Jenny Agutter   
John Woodvine
Don McKillop

Plot:
t's a rainy night on the Welsh moors. Two American students on a walking tour of Europe trudge on to the next town, when suddenly the air is pierced by an unearthly howl. . . . Three weeks later, one is dead, the other is in the hospital and the nightmare begins for "An American Werewolf In London". David Naughton, Griffin Dunne and Jenny Agutter star in this contemporary story of the macabre which takes you from the Welsh moors to Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and the grounds of Windsor Castle.

My Thoughts:

I can't believe the last time I watch this films was more than four years ago... It's the problem when we have so many movies

Since I never wrote a second review for a movie this is the one I wrote back in 2008.
     


Rating :

[Achim]

The first title that jump trough my mind was the special edition of Ginger Snaps but you can get it only via marketplace so it won't help you to complete your order...

This one is cheap to get and contrary to the US set the films are in their original screen ratio. But none of those films are that great but if you are a completist.

This one is a Best Buy exclusive in the US but you can get it here from amazon... but it's costly so I'm not sure it's a good suggestion

This one is a canadian exclusive...

Of course there are a ton of French Canadian films that you won't find anywhere else

Québec-Montréal, Horloge Biologique,

But the problem is the fact that I don't know for most of them if english subtitles are included (the one I've listed are english friendly).

Thanks for the suggestions Jimmy! I own H2O already and have no intention to see Resurrecion again anytime soon, and if so my DVD will be more than enough.

For Nightmare on Elm Street I upgraded the first one to Blu and for most others my DVD set is good enough, too. Maybe Part III could deserve an upgrade...

Cannibal Girls was instantly wish listed

Wasn't Aurore reviewed here before...? I stopped wish listing it when I read a review about just how sad it is...

What are the other two about? The description for Québec-Montréal was in French only and Horloge Biologique is a comedy?

[Achim]

Plot:
It’s New Year s Eve, and a group of college coeds have planned a masquerade bash aboard a chartered train. What they didn’t plan on was that a knife-wielding psycho would crash the party and begin slaughtering the guests one by one! Who is this brutal costumed killer? Could it be the mysterious magician (David Copperfield) with a talent for swordplay . . . a former frat pledge with an axe to grind . . . or any number of other guests, both invited and uninvited?

My Thoughts:

Not bad not good, just your average early eighties horror movie on a train. Don't take that as a negative since the film is better than 95% of what is named horror now, but there is nothing new here for an "old guy" like me

My big problem with the film is the fact we know who is the killer right from the beginning. They show why he became a killer in a prologue, for me that would have been a better idea to use this later as a flashback scene. But what do I know? I ain't a film director or producer

So on the cover they pretend it's a mystery but then the movie gives it away in the first minutes? 

You say there is nothing new here, but would it have been so in 1980...? Roger Spottiswoode went on to be quite a respected director...

[Jimmy]

Wasn't Aurore reviewed here before...?

Yes it was by Sebastien. I tought I wrote one too, but it doesn't seem like I did.

What are the other two about? The description for Québec-Montréal was in French only and Horloge Biologique is a comedy?

Québec-Montreal is a comedy about different people driving between the two cities, but not a Ha! Ha! comedy as none of the trips turned as they were supposed too. So there are some sad and dramatic moment in this (but not in the senses of a car accident or things like that). In fact it's the genre of film we do I love : funny but not dumb funny.

Horloge Biologiques is about the fear of the men in their thirties to grow up and become familly man. It's the same kind of comedy than Québec-Montréal, in fact it's from the same director with more or less the same group of Québec City actors. This is one I love too.

You say there is nothing new here, but would it have been so in 1980...?

I was probably too hard on the film on this. In fact I tought of writing a new review after posting it, but I'm not a fan of rewriting "history" so I choose to let it as it... The film had some positive when you think about it : The cinemotagraphy is incredible (the DP is the regular DP of Stanley Kubrick) and the killer, even if we know who he is, play many masqued characters so we aren't really sure who he is on the train and when  we find him he became someone else.

Yeah I was too severe with that one, funny because I usually take account of when a movie is made.

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: The Funhouse (1981)

Genre: Horror
Director: Tobe Hooper
Rating: R
Length: 1h35
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Elizabeth Berridge
Cooper Huckabee
Largo Woodruff   
Miles Chapin
Kevin Conway

Plot:
On her first date with Buzz (Cooper Huckabee, True Blood), Amy (Elizabeth Berridge, Amadeus) disobeys her father and goes to the carnival with Richie (Miles Chapin, Hair) and Liz (Largo Woodruff), but their first date may end up as their last. After witnessing a murder, the four terrified teens are trapped in the maze of the funhouse and stalked by a real monster, a horribly deformed killer who lurks among the freakish exhibits waiting to butcher them one by one.

My Thoughts:

Of course this one didn't had the same effect on me than when I watched it the first time at 12 years old. I mean at that ages passing the night hidden in a funhouse sounded like the greatest idea ever untill the shit hit the fan (a kid can't see what is wrong with that idea and why it isn't a bright move... it's so great to be an innocent kid ). That doesn't meant it isn't a good watch 30 years later, but now we can realize that it was a bad idea and a disaster in the waiting. I love the amusement park vibes and the realist way the carnies are presented. The acting is ok (but that little boy is sure creepy in the way he stalks his older sister). To be honest the teenager group got what they deserve and I felt sad more than anything else for the supposed bad guy. This one of the last good film of Tobe Hooper.
     


Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Dead & Buried (1981)

Genre: Horror
Director: Gary Sherman
Rating: R
Length: 1h34
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
James Farentino
Melody Anderson
Jack Albertson   
Dennis Redfield
Nancy Locke

Plot:
Something very strange is happening in the quiet coastal village of Potter Bluff where tourists and transients are warmly welcomed, then brutally murdered. But even more shocking ai when these slain strangers suddenly reappears as normal, friendly citizens around town. Now the local sheriff (James Farentino of THE FINAL COUNTDOWN) and an eccentric mortician (Oscar winner Jack Albertson in his final feature film performance) must uncover the horrific secret of a community where some terrifying traditions are alive and well ...

My Thoughts:

Yes indeed strange things happen at Potter Bluff... This movie is more clever than your usual horror movies and keep you glued to the screen thinking as you try to resolve the mystery. This is certainly due to the excellent script written by Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon, a script who isn't an "in your face" one but a script who walk you slowly in the story. Really I can't wrote a lot without giving the end who is a shoking one, but I'm sure anyone could appreciate this one...
     


Rating :

[Jimmy]

BTW the last three movies I've watched is the triple features on the program the first time I've gone to a "movie theatre" almost 30 years ago.

I was so glad when my mother gave me the OK to go watch them and the 1$ for the ticket (that sound low but it was a lot of money when I was a kid). Great night, but God I was scare