Scary Movies

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 4:19 pm

I just saw Dead Alive again at the local brew 'n' view. That movie sure does kick ass. In honor of the season, who has got some scawy movie recs?

Heather. Redmon. · Post by **Heather. Redmon.** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 4:48 pm

My favorite line from Dead Alive is "I kick ass for the lord!"

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 5:42 pm

Heather. Redmon. wrote:My favorite line from Dead Alive is "I kick ass for the lord!"

Yes, that line practically inspired a standing ovation!

I also decided that I want to see a Halloween costume where someone dons a sweater vest, covers himself in copious quantities of fake blood, and wears a fisher price lawn mower around his neck. The bubble mower would work nicely, I think.

Lord of Oats · Post by **Lord of Oats** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 5:58 pm

I don't like scary movies. They scare me, which I'm not really into, for whatever reason. Anyone else not enjoy fear and gore?

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 6:52 pm

Lord of Oats wrote:I don't like scary movies. They scare me, which I'm not really into, for whatever reason. Anyone else not enjoy fear and gore?

Uh, perhaps you could hijack some other thread, thanks!

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 7:03 pm

Oh, crap... I just realized that this thread pretty much already exists HERE, So, LOO, I suppose you can hijack away.

I should also point out that in the above referenced thread, both Heather and I came down on the side of PSYCHOLOGICAL rather than GORE based scary movies -- So you certainly aren't alone in your dislike of teh gore.

Now I'm off to reread that thread!

--Em

Lord of Oats · Post by **Lord of Oats** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 7:42 pm

Er...sorry. No hijack was intended. I figured the scary movie thread might be the place to discuss why you do or don't like scary movies, on the whole. I never really phrase things the right way, though. Meh. I'm really not trying to ruin anyone's party. I suppose I do come off as a bit self-absorbed.

I want to make philosophical comments about my thoughts on forum-usage, but it's not coming out right. My mood just swung in the wrong direction. Yuck.

In any case, gore freaks me out and makes me nauseous, but the psychological stuff isn't really my cup of tea either. It might actually be worse, on several counts. Eh. Funny that you two discussed the same movie over on that thread.

If I may prod a bit further in the direction I was going in, (I think this thread has room for specific titles and general discussion), how do so many get so much enjoyment out of something so seemingly negative? What about scary movies appeals to you and what do you take from it? Where does the fun come in? I acknowledge that scary movies or music are a worthwhile artistic pursuit, and I can appreciate them as works of art, but it's such an unpleasant experience, it's hard to even do that. When given the choice, it's hard for me to reach for something that invokes fear, when I've got access to plenty of material that brings with it positive emotions of whatever sort.

Tonamel · Post by **Tonamel** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 7:47 pm

It's a cognitive dissonance between being scared while knowing you're perfectly safe. Adrenaline rushes through the system, but since it doesn't have anywhere to go, it gets dumped into enhancing various emotions.

It's pretty much the same reason people like rollercoasters.

That said, I hate "torture porn" movies, but like a good scary movie.

Lord of Oats · Post by **Lord of Oats** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 7:59 pm

Oh, well, no dissonance here.

I've never been able to completely convince myself that I'm safe, and there's no one else to assure me of that. So I see a scary movie, and I'm scared out of my mind at even a vague sensory reminder of any major aspect of that film, for at least a month or so afterwards. And then it pops back up every once in a while.

bz£ · Post by **bz£** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 8:30 pm

You should probably give "The Ring" a pass, I think.

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 10:16 pm

I liked "Fallen" a lot. Awesome soundtrack, good psychological horror.
-bill

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 10:33 pm

Tonamel wrote:That said, I hate "torture porn" movies, but like a good scary movie.

Yes, me too! It seems like there's a lot of that TP around lately too.

(Checks RottenTomatoes: Wow! Hoblit directed Fallen??)

Yeah, I like the mindfuck movie. I thought that first 1/2 hour of Mulholland Drive was perfectly scary. I like a little surrealism mixed in with my scary. It makes things more effectively nightmarish. Actually, the first half hour of Lost Highway is fantastic too -- although I like Lost Highway less overall as a movie.

Jan Švankmajer is one of my favorite surreal and scary directors... but he's definitely way too out there to be considered "horror," I suppose.

WeaselSlayer · Post by **WeaselSlayer** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:15 am

The Hitcher, the original, is incredible. Also, I hate Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the second one with Dennis Hopper is awesome. If I were to be pressed, though, my favorite horror movies are Videodrome and The Devil's Rejects.

No Horse Town · Post by **No Horse Town** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:36 pm

I loved both the Rob Zombie movies, but Devil's Rejects was the better one for sure. Maybe I'm crude, but I totally dig gore. Only when it's done well, tho.

Still, David Lynch is tops. I highly recommend Inland Empire, his latest film... but only to people who already like all his other wacky shit. It's by far the most convoluted and trippy.. and hard to watch.. but I swear there's something there if you're willing to look for it. I'm not sure if it's proper "horror" or not, but it certainly scared me a few times.. something that gore just doesn't do.

Shit, I just checked and it's totally on sale on DVD! I'm gonna buy that sucka!

Billy's Little Trip · Post by **Billy's Little Trip** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:01 pm

I have to put Devil's Rejects on my top list too, along with Natural Born Killers. But the craziest shit I've seen in a long time is a movie called The Audition.

Reist · Post by **Reist** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:23 pm

'IT' left me paranoid of bathrooms for a while. However, the ending is terrible, and left me unsatisfied.

'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (the fairly new one - not a sequel though) wasn't really great - gore for the sake of gore is lame.

'The Ring' was kind of scary, but more of a suspense movie with scary parts than a horror movie.

'The Grudge' wasn't scary at all.

'Children of the Corn' was pretty messed up, but the special effects don't hold up at all these days.

'Plan 9 From Outer Space' was pretty weak, but good in a badly-made sort of way. I think it was meant to be horror.

Those are the only ones I can think of now, but I'll probably come up with some later.

jute gyte · Post by **jute gyte** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:23 am

As I'm sure I said in that other thread, the only director who can actually scare me is David Lynch. His movies keep getting more and more effectively disturbing, too. There are some parts in Inland Empire that are extremely difficult to watch, and its hard to say why. I'm currently reading Lynch on Lynch, and it seems like it would be hard for him to say why as well.

That said, I love horror movies. Here's a list of some wonderful ones (not going to name the living dead trilogy, TCM, etc because you should already know). Some of these might cross over into other unpleasant realms, I guess.

Suspiria
City of the Living Dead (a.k.a. Gates of Hell)
Wizard of Gore (original)
Combat Shock
Funny Games (original) (one of my favorite movies ever)
Gozu (by Takashi Miike, who directed Audition, who someone mentioned above. That's a pretty good movie, but he's done much better work. This is an example of his best stuff.)
High Plains Drifter (if it counts)
In the Realm of the Senses
Last House on the Left
Last House on Dead-End Street
Ravenous
They Live
Zombie

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:23 am

Alright! I'm going to be "adding to my queue" at lunch! Seems I've got a good list here...Thanks all!

...And keep 'em comin'!

WeaselSlayer · Post by **WeaselSlayer** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:31 am

Ravenous is incredible. The script is absolutely genius, how it switches effortlessly between hilarious and horrific. Perfect cast, score, and direction as well. Robert Carlyle's monologue about how he arrives at the fort is one of the greatest scenes in movie history, horror or otherwise.

Project-D · Post by **Project-D** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 1:42 pm

The gore stuff, doesn't phase me a bit, In fact I find it tedious. The psychological stuff, is what gets me. The original Omen movie still creeps me out, and I found "28 Days Later" disturbing because I know it would take less than 28 days for everybody to go all Lord of the Flies.