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Last Seen European Horror?
As all the other forums have one of these as a sticky I thought I would do one for European Horror. The last I saw was the british film The Wicker Tree (2011) directed by Robin Hardy who directed the original Wicker Man (1973). This is second part of a trilogy so it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. This one however is best approached with low expectations don't expect it to be as spectacular as the first film and you might enjoy it. A lot of people won't though.
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Saw Kill List (2011) which I had extremely low expectations of due to some very scathing reviews of it that I had come across. It is a British film-a character study of a hitman and the lengths he would go to provide for his family. It's a film of substance that doesn't try to manipulate the viewer instead allowing the points to be made by the director to the viewer coming to their own conclusions with a tangible gritty realism that avoids all the trappings of conceited pretentiousness. The Cabin In The Woods did this too. The film does surprisingly move into horror territory in the last 20mins making this a definite horror film on many levels (you'll see what I mean if you see it). There is some brutal violence (iriitatingly overwarned about by film four after EVERY fucking ad break-it's sad that controversial films like this need to have these just in case people complain FFS) but the blood-spilled is quite sporadic so don't come into this expecting a gorefest. However there is enough here to keep the viewer hooked. A truly indispensable film :)
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I saw The Devils Business last night -like kill list its a Brit flick which I found incredibly enjoyable -well worth a watch if youre a fan of old school horror such as hammer house of horror .Its a short film ,well executed and acted .The ending nearly had me doing little girly claps of glee !
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Black Magic Rites/The Reincarnation Of Isabel (1973). Pure eurotrash sexploitation film that is just too easy to take the piss out of it. It probably helped that I was very stoned while watching this as I found the incoherence of it all very comical same with the lame wooden acting. One irritating character miraculously survives and I think they let her survive out of pure spite (though she does get raped err kind of anyway). Though it's certainly violent, gory and typically weird as you expect from Italian horror. Not really one I'd recommend though |
Los Ojos De Julia/Julia's Eyes (2010) Spanish thriller produced by Guillermo De Toro that is very argento-esque and a blast to watch. Lots of clever scenes and camera trickery. The kind of film that I wish I'd seen at the cinema to see it in its full glory. Genuinely thrilling, edge of your seat stuff-recommended :)
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The Blood Spattered Bride (1972) Italian horror based on Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla". Was better than I expected, it's quite subtle though. But there is a great unease to it and I'm sure it would have seemed a bit controversial back then though it doesn't now. Still I wouldn't call it outstanding but since I had such low expectations I felt it was worth watching :)
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The Burning Moon (1992) German horror that I hadn't heard of before I saw it in the most "gorific thread". This really is a remarkable film. Proof that you can do absolutely anything on a practically non-existent budget. Starts off slowly to warm you up but gradually gets darker, more atmospheric, mysterious, more violent, unsettling, gorier and disturbing as it progresses. The effort put into this is astonishing and you can tell that it was made by proper horror fans purely for other horror fans. Nothing is watered down, or aimed at a particular market nor will it ever be liked/understood by a mainstream audience. Take a ride on this journey to pure HELL and enjoy :)
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Zombie 2 by Lucio Fulci. It was a really good Italian horror film. It had some interesting death sequences (a zombie put a splinter through the eye of a woman). There was one scene in which a zombie and a tiger shark fought (The zombie bit the shark). The film was definitely a B-movie, but a high-quality one.
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Death Walks On High Heels (1971)-Erotic and fascinating giallo set in France and the UK. Directed by Luciano Ercoli who produced other gialli Death Walks At Midnight and Forbidden Photos Of A Lady Above Suspicion. This is even better than them. I especially loved the fishmonger in the english village (wonder if he was selling red herrings? lol) and the gossips in the pub. Nicely woven little mystery thriller-not much violence but when it does happen is even more effective than you expect. Fans of the Italian genre won't want to miss this :)
Can't compete with the dvd but not bad quality here:- |
berberian sound system - quite good if a bit trippy at the end.
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I watched Martyrs for a second time last night. It's been nagging me to get in my top 25 all time, but I can't in good conscience have a movie I've only seen once in there. I also needed to make sure it was still enjoyable already knowing the left turns it had in store. It was. I think I gave it an 8/10 the first time around, and a 9/10 the second. (It also helped that the second time was subtitled, while the first was crummy English dubbed.)
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Shaun of the Dead (2004). It was a British film. I would rate it as a eight out of ten. I did not consider it laugh out loud funny, but it was still a pretty good spin on the zombie genre. The acting was pretty good (you cared about all the characters, even the least likable). One strange thing is that, for me, even though you could feel for the characters, it was not really that emotional when they died. Quite strange. Overall, the film was really good.
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I watched Mario Bava's Lisa and the Devil last night. Very enjoyable movie. I can admire a film that throws out conventional narratives and just follows dream logic. It was like someone combined Last Year at Marienbad with an EC comics story. A very mellow and surreal movie, perfect for late night. Nice music, and Elke Sommer is beautiful. The setting and cinematography is were easy on the eyes as well. Despite Bava, this isn't a hard horror film, so don't go looking for shocking stuff in this one, although there was one brutal death. It was more of a dark, dreamlike wondering in an old European mansion.
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Sleeeeep Tight
I really liked Sleep Tight, a Spanish film. I don't quite know that it's "horror" but more of a psychological thriller. It's about a man who is dead set on making EVERYONE completely miserable. It's pretty intense with a super fucked ending. It left me thinking about it for days after watching. I enjoyed Kill List too! The House on the Edge of the Park is a favorite of mine. It's soooooo sexy!
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The House With Laughing Windows (1976) Directed by Pupi Avati who also directed the excellent Zeder/Revenge Of The Dead. Italian giallo-ish almost horror with plenty of atmosphere good sense of foreboding dread created with it's setting and excellent climax. Recommended
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Currently writing an essay on Hammer so I've been rewatching a fair few of them. Ahh, Peter Cushing, in another life we will be together...
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The Monk/Le Moine. French mystery adapted from Matthew Lewis's gothic and controversial novel. It was very well produced but nowhere near as haunting as the novel. I kind of wished I'd seen this movie before reading the book my expectations wouldn't have been so high. I also felt the horror element at the end was rushed and could have been much better. Overall ok and a bit safe but could have been better.
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Kill List
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Was really impressed with one of the more brutal scenes that had me leaning back in my seat squinting. |
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Zombi Holocaust (1980) Italian horror that throws both cannibals and zombies at you. Bonus point for there being no animal cruelty. Was quite good some nice gore and nice setting that is very reminiscent of Zombie/Zombi 2/Zombie flesh eaters but not as good. However it is quite fun once it gets going (there's a fair bit of build up). Worth watching.
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TORSO (1973)-Almost unwatchable giallo that is helped by copious nudity and a decent turn by Suzi Kendall...just barely. *1/2
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La Horde/The Horde-This was an ok if a little generic zombie movie. It had a good mix of cops and gangsters but it really lacked anything special. A bit run of the mill but ok.
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EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1959)-Really creepy French film that has an outstanding gross out scene. My copy has a way too peppy score, but at least the horrid Billy Idol song wasn't used. ****
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SYMPTOMS 1974
British horror thriller starring Angela Pleasence, daughter of Donald. A young woman invites a friend to stay at her family home/country estate and things take an unsettling turn for the worse. I could have watched this film with absolutely no sound it was that sumptuous. I loved it. |
TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972). Very enjoyable British anthology from Amicus studios that works far better than the lame TV series. Not crazy about the second story, but the rest are great and feel so sorry for Peter Cushing's character in "Poetic Justice" and how GLAD I was to see that asshole get a well deserved end!
Favorite is "All Through The House" with a very hot Joan Collins (I like older women, what can I say::stick out tongue::) doing a one woman act for most of it. **** |
Island Of The Fishmen (1979) an ok Italian horror with a good mix of ideas
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ZOMBIE (1980-??). While pretty absurd in spots, this is a lot better than most Fulci films with a pretty exciting climax, a great shark/zombie battle underwater and one of the best grossouts I've ever seen. Showed that scene to several people and the reactions were always good for a laugh...I'm a sadistic SOB...what can I say?::stick out tongue:: ***1/2
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"The Iron Rose" 0/10
Horrific. The acting, the dialogue, the characters, the story. Everything. French artsy crap at its worst. A story about a couple getting locked inside a cemetary by accident. I kept waiting for SOMETHING to happen in this "horror" movie (Horror my ass!!) and finally after a long time waiting my patience paid off. The movie ended. How the director could make this garbage last for one and a half hour is beyond my comprehension. |
HAUTE TENSION (2003). Really didn't like this when I saw it a few years back, but got in Brother sent Xmas box, so gave it another spin. Actually better than I remembered with some very subtle twists, but still find it needlessly violent in parts. ***
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Anatomy-a solid little German horror that I found quite enjoyable. Glad I watched it. Nothing amazing but pretty safe ground having a pop at unethical medical procedures. Worth a look.
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The Orphanage
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