Halloween/Horror Films to Watch - 2018 Edition

[Julius Seeker]

A sequel to last year's: http://www.tows.cc/forum/viewtopic.php? ... 7&p=170284
Although this year I am doing a different thing instead of weekend marathons, I'm going to try to fit in 20+ films between now and about mid-November. I'm looking for the scariest most suspenseful stuff and horror films that tell a good story.

I hope to fit in a few others too. I may swap out of a few of the re-watches for new ones.

New films I plan to watch this season (based on recommendations, so I can't vouch for their quality): Hereditary, Gerald's Game, A Quiet Place, Get Out, The Haunting (1963), the Shining (yes, a giant horror film fan and I have never seen this one before), Halloween (2018), Insidious: The Last Key.

Rewatches: Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead 78, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing, The Conjuring 1 & 2 (might skip part 1 because the last time I saw it was during the spring), Carrie (1976), Halloween (1978), Insidious 1-3.



I began tonight following Canadian Thanksgiving dinner with the 2014 Australian psychological horror film The Babadook.

It has a similar feeling to Insidious; unsurprising, given they're both Australian and both low budget (The Babadook was $2 million). The differences are the slimmer cast focusing on two characters.

It begins like Problem Child, except without the comedy element, and from the perspective of a depressed single mother way behind on sleep. Then it unwinds into a somewhat twisted and creepy experience. I won't spoil the conflict or anything, it's all good - but it's one you have to put your phone away for and pay attention to because there are key story bits that get mentioned almost in passing conversation - and not repeated if you're looking to unravel the mystery.





Anyway, recommendations welcome!

[Shrinweck]

I watched Hereditary today. It was one of the best horror movies I've seen in quite some time. It's still a horror movie (i.e. tropes) and requires a degree of suspension of disbelief but I definitely recommend it.

[Julius Seeker]

I'm looking forward to Hereditary. I know nothing about it at this point aside from its name and that it's supposedly the scariest film in years - and I like scary.

IMO The Babadook ranks about equal to the popular yet underrated "The Grudge" in terms of how scary it is... maybe lower, because I've seen the Grudge multiple times and I find The Babadook equal to the most recent time I've watched it; not as scary as when I first saw it in 2004.

[kali o.]

The only horrors I've really seen this year are:

1. The Nun (6/10...didn't work as a "creature" feature)

2. Train to Busan (I watched it without subtitles, so I made up the story as I watched...lol. 8/10)

I re-watched Conjuring 1 & 2 prior to The Nun. Those are still pretty good. I will probably watch Dawn of the Dead (2004) for Halloween. Zombie purists knock it, but it's probably the best Zombie flick in the last few decades.

I'll check out Hereditary. I'm pretty sure I have the latest Insidious to watch too.

[Shrinweck]

I recommend going into Hereditary completely blind/as blind as possible. Don't look it up at all. The basic information on the IMDB page is safe, though, if you wanted to look up the IMDB score/cast/incredibly simplified summary.

[Eric]

Think I'll watch the 3 Child's Play movies. I always had a soft spot for the detail that went into making that doll move and express itself(For its time)



Like Chucky looks so goddamn pissed in these scenes lol.

[Julius Seeker]

Child’s Play were some of my favourites growing up.

Dawn of the Dead 2004 is also the best film from Zack Snyder I have seen - though I still have yet to see Watchmen. I would say the criticism is mainly due to its namesake while being a very different kind of zombie film. If you haven’t seen Dawn of the Dead 78, I recommend it. There are some brief cameos from 78 in 2004.

Hereditary is tonight! Looking forward to it =)

[Julius Seeker]

On Hereditary,

In short, loved it! And yes, DO NOT look up/listen to any information about this film before viewing.

I found it to be one of the best films I’ve ever seen, regardless of genre.

Spoilers (and impressions):

Spoiler: show

Holy shit,

I was not ready for seeing a little girl's head get taken off. Perhaps the most disturbing thing I have ever seen in a film; I felt physically ill. Haha (that's a nervous laugh), when I watch it again, I'm going to consider skipping that scene. It wasn't the act of decapitation via blunt force, so much as who it was who suffered it.

The first thing that ran through my head was "I was sure she was going to be the main character" and the sound of the thud, over and over again, and the fact that this socially-awkward little girl just lost her life in a very brutal fashion. Looking at Peter's expression afterward, wondering if they're going to show it, and then when they do show it... (explained above).

That scene alone really set the mood for at least the next 45 minutes (in that's how long it took my stomach to fully settle).

The first 2/3rds of the film were more disturbing and unsettling than scary, but holy crap does it ever go full-on horror greatness for the last third.

The first part puts down a lot of hints as to what's going on seems somewhat randomly placed in the earlier half all comes together at the end. The terror surrounding all of the family members, knowing that they're all pretty much doomed once it becomes apparent this is not just some kind of psychological issue, but something truly supernatural.

My favourite part of the film overall was the last half when they were going around trying to escape - the skeptical father who doesn't realize how much danger he's in - Peter and the mother (Annie) are essentially screwed.

The film comes down quite a bit in the last 5 minutes or so and wraps up the mystery portion in a very satisfying way.

If I were to describe it: it's definitely got a bit of Psycho, The Conjuring, and American Beauty (I want to say the cultists were a bit Lord of Illusion, but that one was too cartoony); although, very different from each.

It’s a different sort of a film than The Conjuring 1 or 2, so I feel this comparison I’m about to do is not serve either well. The Conjuring films are more focused on the art of scaring the hell out of the viewer while keeping levels of anxiety and anticipation high - even after multiple viewings. Hereditary has a lot more to do with mystery and suffering; and the nature of what’s going on isn’t given away until later in the film... which makes it a great first time viewing, but I am unsure if repeated viewings will be as impactful (on the fear front), the mystery story and the psychological trauma on the characters will still be there. The Conjuring films and The Babadook left open questions, while Hereitary completely wraps it up; so when Hereitary is over, it’s over - while the others stay in your head a little longer with the (purposefully) unresolved bits.

That said, the Conjuring films didn’t make me think “I need some whisky” at any point like Hereitary did. Different sorts of films, I wouldn’t go without either.

[kali o.]

Watched Insidious the Last Key. Another mostly "meh" entry (5/10). I really don't like her as an actor and the acting in general was pretty shit from everyone involved. The plot was rather all over the place.

Will watch hereditary tonight - sounds like it'll be good.

Oh and PS - I've never seen the Shining either and plan to give that a go too.

[kali o.]

The. Fuck. Did. I. Just. Watch...

Edit: Hereditary spoilers

Spoiler: show

I mean...it was different. Maybe not so much scary as it was disturbing. That's putting it mildly. It was pretty fucked up in general...but that car scene was brutal.

It took way too long to get going though - thats my only complaint.

[Eric]

The. Fuck. Did. I. Just. Watch...

Is this your reaction to Hereditary?

I really need to watch that movie.

[kali o.]

The. Fuck. Did. I. Just. Watch...

Is this your reaction to Hereditary?

I really need to watch that movie.

Ya...I think youll understand when you watch it.

[Shrinweck]

I didn't want to oversell it although I do think it's an amazing movie. Don't expect jump scare-type horror.

[Shrinweck]

I watched the Netflix horror show The Haunting of Hill House and thought it was relatively enjoyable as background noise. Wait, no, that's kind of a bad way to put it. The first episode or three are lousy with jump scares. But other than that it was enjoyable background noise while gaming. I would call it a 6/10 show in general, but a decently strong 7/10 horror show.

Give it a chance if you're bored and have however many hours to kill while doing other shit.

[Julius Seeker]

Haha, I've been doing similar stuff over the past week, putting on B-films and slashers as background noise.
Netflix has a lot of great content for that. Last night I watched a werewolf film, I don't recall the name of it and can't seem to find it in a quick browse of netflix (I'm bad with the interface) - but it took place in the 19th century, was FILLED with hammy acting and excessive gore (exploding heads and such) - very much a Sam Raimy style comedy horror film; the only thing it was missing was Bruce Campbell. I'm probably going to give The Shining or The Witch a whirl tonight... but I'll give them my full attention.

[Julius Seeker]

A few films

Hush
A cat and mouse game between a psychopathic killer and a deaf woman. Genre-wise, I'd call it a thriller with slasher elements (though not cheesy like most slashers). At first, you wonder how this film is going to fill 90 minutes once you know the premise, but somewhere around the 20-25 minute mark, you realize that won't be a problem. Don't let the low budget of 1 million dollars fool you either, this film does everything it needs to do. Nice film, I think anyone will enjoy this.

The Witch (spelled VVitch on the title):
This one is a-formulaic. I haven't seen anything like it before. I can't even peg down what kind of genre it would be... Maybe Historical Arthouse Horror? It's filmed in Northern Ontario with a greyish sort of filter giving a very darkish environment all the way through. There is no protagonist, it's about a family and each has their own motivations and plots they go through: though, what I mean by "Arthouse" is this film doesn't follow a traditional on-the-nose plot structure. There are a lot of questions posed that are left unanswered. It's probably best to watch this with subtitles, as you can get most of what they're saying but there's a good 10-15% of the dialogue I struggled with given they spoke in a more authentic early 17th-century dialect (Not the upper-class 19th-century dialects they usually shoehorn into films of this era). This is a film I watched twice because it's A: short at 90 minutes, and B: Has small bits to go back and see once the full plot is revealed. It's not a particularly scary film, instead focusing on the unsettling aspect (though, not close to the level of Hereditary). The story isn't about the witch so much as it's about the family: the witch is a mcguffin. Overall, this is the sort of film that will appeal to people who enjoy unique films - if the "17th-century arthouse horror" label appeals to you then you'll probably like it quite a bit; but if you're usually into on-the-nose type plots, this one likely won't be for you. Considering it's not a typical plot film, "Don't look at the trailers first" definitely applies; this teaser from one of the first scenes of the film gives a good view of the atmosphere without spoiling any plot stuff.


Black Death
Sean Bean, historical setting, memorable plot (even if somewhat formulaic). It's entertaining, you can't really go wrong. It's more of a horror-themed mystery type film, although it's generally lacking in most of the elements you expect. Aside from the end, spoilers aren't a big deal with this one. Like The Witch, this uses a grey filter. The basic plot takes place surrounding a healthy village in the middle of plague ravaged Europe, and what sort of witchcraft they might be up to.
Trailer is safe as (IMO) it doesn't really spoil anything of significance.