Horror Show

[DJA]

Rick Baker used to post here as Abberlime.

Spends a lot of time in Sydney.

Rick Baker - Wikipedia

[Svensson]

Horror movies in the 90s and 00s used to be a very frustrating genre. I freely admit that I am fan some really good horror movies but you had to trawl through so many bad ones to come across that ONE good one. Still, I considered it worth spending all that money at Blockbuster in those days....

The slasher movie only really appeals to the 18-20 clientele. I was a fan of being horrified back then but little did I know that it was the acting that horrified me rather than the story

Fast forward to my thirties (and beyond) and I still like the thrill of a horror movie but I appreciate the strange and different stuff. But it also helps that there have been some rather good ones in the last 20 years or so such as

28 days later
The Ring (both the original and American remake are excellent)
The Grudge (again, both are really really good)
The woman in black
Paranormal activity (only the first one)
Most of The Conjuring movies are quite good

The new It movies are just phenomenal. I'm actually glad those were made because I was so disappointed in the first ones as they just didn't do the book any justice.

Yes, some of the old ones are also good but I watch them for different reasons these days. With movies like The Exorcist or Nosferatu (happy birthday, btw) you can really appreciate the craft of the film makers as they had no special effects (to speak of) to spice up the viewing experience.

cheers.

[DJA]

Young frankenstein Putting On The Ritz - YouTube

[Abby Normal]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Recordings_Act_1984

The original 'video nasty' list was a list of films released as home videos that were causing some degree of moral outrage in the early 80's. From the introduction of the video recordings act all films were screened by the BBFC and either edited for release or banned outright. These films were available through an underground network of enthusiasts but were largely unseen until the early 2000's when the BBFC pretty much green lighted the lot. A few films are still banned in the UK but it's nothing you'd actually want to watch, just low budget Italian Nazi soft porn mostly. Some classics did get banned though.

Interestingly, prior to the BBFC repealing it's regulations, 'Salo, 120 Days of Sodom' was released uncut on the grounds of 'artistic merit'. If you're not familiar with Salo, don't Google it. Really, don't.

thanks Al!

[DJA]

Salo is on ok.ru

[Al Bundy's Eyes]

whats "video nasty status" ? lol

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Recordings_Act_1984

The original 'video nasty' list was a list of films released as home videos that were causing some degree of moral outrage in the early 80's. From the introduction of the video recordings act all films were screened by the BBFC and either edited for release or banned outright. These films were available through an underground network of enthusiasts but were largely unseen until the early 2000's when the BBFC pretty much green lighted the lot. A few films are still banned in the UK but it's nothing you'd actually want to watch, just low budget Italian Nazi soft porn mostly. Some classics did get banned though.

Interestingly, prior to the BBFC repealing it's regulations, 'Salo, 120 Days of Sodom' was released uncut on the grounds of 'artistic merit'. If you're not familiar with Salo, don't Google it. Really, don't.

[Ms Diddles]

I generally prefer kinda slow-drip psychological thrillers to full on slasher movies.

I agree with Abby that the original Nightmare on Elm Street is a classic of the genre though.

Watching that and scaring yourself silly as a child was pretty much a rite of passage.

I remember quite liking the first of the (seemingly infinite number of) Saw movies too.

In recent times I quite liked The Ari Aster ones (Hereditary and Midsommar) although for some strange reason I found Midsommar profoundly disturbing (the bit in the middle, rather than the big denouement at the end).

I needed a really stiff drink after that one.

I loved Parasite too (but I'm not sure that really constitutes horror per se).

[Abby Normal]

I remember liking slasher movies more when i was young; They seemed scary and edgy then. I am more interested in slashers as a phenomenon these days, many achieved video nasty status.

whats "video nasty status" ? lol

[Scorpio]

I remember liking slasher movies more when i was young; They seemed scary and edgy then. I am more interested in slashers as a phenomenon these days, many achieved video nasty status.

[Abby Normal]

What is the greatest slasher movie ? This beloved horror genre inspired by Psycho, developed in the seventies and eighties by such titles as Black Christmas, Halloween, Friday the 13th , and A nightmare on Elm street. The slasher faded in the nineties but managed a satisfying swan song with Scream.

HiScorpio
Im not really into slasher movies (or zombie movies for that matter), but I think a nightmare on elm street is pretty good. I dont consider Psycho a slasher or else I would have listed that. I know this is sacriligeous to many but I think Halloween is one of the most overated movies of all time-I just find it boring. plus they latched onto the Halloween angle at the last minute, it was origianlly going to be called the Babysitter murders, and have nothing to do with Halloween...and I think it shows. the soundtrack/theme song saves it from being total garbage to me.
so if pressed i would say the best IMHO would be Nightmare on Elm street... the fantasy element saves it, for me anyway.

Im more into the period piece thrillers like:
The Raven
From Hell
Gothic
Crimson Peak
The Illusionist
Bram Stokers Dracula

as you see I prefer a little more plot (and depth) lol, and I think these are all mini masterpieces to some regard.

[DJA]

The Incredible Shrinking Man - Wikipedia

Trilogy of Terror - Wikipedia

[Scorpio]

What is the greatest slasher movie ? This beloved horror genre inspired by Psycho, developed in the seventies and eighties by such titles as Black Christmas, Halloween, Friday the 13th , and A nightmare on Elm street. The slasher faded in the nineties but managed a satisfying swan song with Scream.

[Scorpio]

Does anybody watch the Paranormal witness TV show ? Ive become a bit of a fan.

[kensei]

I'm a devout fan of the horror genre, in almost every aspect except some of the more basic shlock slasher/killer stuff, and I am not fond of anything Rob Zombie has done, ever.


- Relentless zombies. Scare me to bits. I have actually looked out the window at night to check for zombies, after watching the Walking Dead.

I wrote earlier in this thread about Rob Zombie's "Halloween" remake and how his version of Michael Meyers making his first kill on a school bully that made fun of his mother for being a stripper- ambushing the kid after school and beating him to death with a tree branch as he cried and begged for his life- was one of the most disturbing scenes I'd ever seen in spite of my years of being desensitized by these types of movies and it really made me cringe. I know what you're talking about in not liking it, but I think one has to admit that kind of visceral reaction is exactly what a filmmaker is going for.

And similar to your Walking Dead comment, as a young teen I remember cautiously walking around my house with a weapon in my hand and checking in every closet and under every bed for lurking werewolves after I first saw "The Howling."

[Ausgirl]

I don't think of it as actual misogyny, I think it is just that women are considered the weaker sex and so in fiction they often fall into the role of "damsel in distress." Plus there are so many real world examples in history to draw on like Jack the Ripper. But although women do often end up as victims in horror movies, you have to admit that they often get to turn the tables and triumph in the end as well. How many "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" films had Jason and Freddy defeated in the end by women? Most of them.

Also the Hellraiser series.

My first introduction to horror was a collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairytales , when I was just a wee thing, frightened the wits out of me. Especially "The Red Shoes", that one stuck with me for years.

I'm a devout fan of the horror genre, in almost every aspect except some of the more basic shlock slasher/killer stuff, and I am not fond of anything Rob Zombie has done, ever.

Perhaps because I have been immersed in horror - comic books, TV, film, literature - since knee high to a grasshopper, I don't often get genuinely frightened by any of it, though I still adore it all. Notable exceptions to this are:

- Relentless zombies. Scare me to bits. I have actually looked out the window at night to check for zombies, after watching the Walking Dead.

- Creepy ghost kids a la Blair Witch - those little handprints! Eeeep!

- People doing creepy things in their sleep, a la those Paranormal Activity films, folks standing by the bed swaying - just does me in, every time.

- Possessed people bending backwards and scuttling about like crabs. Thanks, William Peter Blatty.

- Films which seriously mess with my head. Not garden variety mind-benders, I love those. Not sure I can even explain the exact quality that frightens me in a film of this sort but David Lynch freaks me out at times, he really does.

As to the question of "value" of horror - too lazy to type much on it presently, but it obviously has enormous value or it wouldn't be so pervasive.