Wow what the fuck has happened to my thread

I saw the VHS version, I assume that would be the uncut version. I am very familiar with that type of opinion and have always strongly disagreed with it. I am not saying I would force a child to watch it, but if they just so happen to be in the room, so be it. That is their choice as they can always leave. I am familiar with what has been said, but that is the real world. And, graphic violence affects everyone.

My parents never liked horror, so I saw it myself. I do not remember the exact circumstances of my introduction. I know it was not due to my parents loving the genre because they never did. I understand why parents do it, but it always annoyed me. People put way too much emphasis on it. And, I am sorry no one is going to become more violent because of horror. Sure, those increases can be shown in the lab over the short-term, but violence is based in many things. That only plays a minor role. And, I believe that I remember some studies showing that if you emphasize the fictionalness of the media, it drastically reduced the supposed effect.

I believe some reasonable limits should be set. I mean a young child should not watch something like Cannibal Holocaust. Overall, though I think it is okay to watch horror even graphic horror.

Yeah, it certainly changed fast.

It was hijacked! ::EEK!::

See, I don't think junior will decide to become a cannibal because his favorite thing to watch is Cannibal Holocaust. We keep the house well-stocked with bacon.

So which one did you enjoy the most?

Trollhunters
Tremors
or Beast from 20K Fathoms

I enjoy them all in different ways. Trollhunter i think is probably the best of the three and is the only one on my Top 20 list. Tremors is a personal favorite horror movie of mine that i've loved as a child and Beast is a great relaxing, fun black and white 50's movie to watch which i love watching.

Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7a440c28.jpg

There are a lot of great monster movies from the 50's and there are a lot of good giant monster movies but this has to be one of the best ones. The story is really good. It's simple but i think that's what makes it better. For giant monster movies, you don't really need a huge complex story. Not that i don't like complicated plot's but i find it unnecessary for a giant monster movie. The new Godzilla movie for example had a ridiculous plot that definitely took away from the film. It's a slow burn sure but i enjoy a monster movie with a steady build up with a satisfying pay off which this one definitely had. The characters are all likable, the writing and acting are good and the monster is really cool looking and interesting. Probably one of the best giant monsters in film history. Anyone interested in these types of movies should check this out.

9/10


Now onto next week. The next theme is......













Dolls are scary. Ventriloquist dummies, puppets, stuffed animals, even marionettes. They're scary. Apparently i'm not the only one who thinks so because there are a good amount of these movies out there. Two of these movies i was sure about from the beginning but the last took awhile and i actually swapped another out and put this one in. For the last movie it took a bit of deciding just which one i wanted to watch but i finally came to the conclusion and here are the films i will be watching:

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psaa452a07.jpg http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps30dfb21e.jpg http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psef613fc9.jpg

Great choices actually, have to admit that Dead Silence really scares me. I look forward to watching all of them (all of which I own). I will still try to watch Tremors and post my thoughts on it this week. I love it and have seen it many times, of course.

nice....Magic is a great film. First time I saw Anthony Hopkins and thought....man..this dude is good. Its a slow burn but well worth it. Plus the bonus
of an
Ann Margret boob shot. [ sorry...had to go there]

LOL!!

Leave it to Serbian Film to really bring a thread down.

Another great selection, Travis! I really liked the idea that you've picked a more specified sub-genre of Horror for Halloween marathon. And love this trio too.

Nice choices! I'll have to see if I can find them streaming. Will have to revisit all of them as it's been too long for me to post my thoughts on them.

Dead Silence freaks me out too.

Its ok Newb. We all expect it from you ::wink::

Yeah Serbian Film ruins everything

With some of my choices that was my goal. I have some typical choices for themes but I didn't want to go the traditional route with all of them

I hope you can find them.

BTW, I couldn't find Beast from 20,000 Fathoms streaming anywhere, so I didn't get to see it.

Love this, Villain!

I wish I had seen Chucky when I was much younger because seeing it a few years ago just didn't have that much of an impact on me... As for Dead Silence, I remember being disappointed BUT considering how much love it gets around here, I'd love to give it another try (maybe I just wasn't in the mood) - As for Magic; funny timing; the hubby was just talking about it and said it's really good! I'm going to see if I can track it down.

Cool theme week!!

Is anyone going to see Annabelle? The commercials actually creep me out a bit!

Yeah, as I was big into slashers as a child, I was able to see it then. I always loved it, most of the sequels aren't bad. I love Bride of Chucky, it was hilarious. I am surprised you did not enjoy Dead Silence, personally I was highly impressed. A solid film by Wan, the use of "dead silence" was brilliantly done. The atmosphere was perfect as well. As you said though, you may just not have been in the mood that sometimes does occur. Yes, you definitely need to see Magic. AMC used to have it on every year for their annual FearFest, but they have not done that in a while.

Yes, actually I am. I plan to see it on the 11th of October with my nephew, niece, sister's friend, and possibly my best friend.

I saw the trailer before As Above, So Below, and I think I died a bit because of all the jump scares. Honestly, I'm gonna wait until the DVD comes out, though. I'm not dying to see it. What made the Conjuring so good was that it had no jump scares. That's why I'm sort of not too excited.

Chucky terrified me as a kid. Kinda made me freaked out by dolls in general. I definitely want to see Annabelle

Have seen all of these (they're great), but will watch Child's Play just to ogle Chris Sarandon. ::love::.. ::embarrassment::

I've only seen Child's Play out of the three. It's pretty good... not my favorite, but it's definitely creepy in that sort of what-if kinda way.

I wish we lived closer for an Annabelle viewing because I don't think that Mark would want to see it.

BTW - Dead Silence is streaming on Netflix... Tuning in now!

So do i. Let me know what you think of Dead Silence. I'll be finishing Child's Play tonight

Yeah, I've decided to skip Child's Play just because I wasn't a fan BUT I look forward to reading what you and other folks write.

Sorry for jumping the gun on Dead Silence; I got excited that Netflix had a movie I could watch with you!

Short review: I liked it a LOT more this time around! I can wait to write more until you get to it. :danger:

No problem Chrono. I've seen it before so feel free to post your thoughts

So, as I was watching this time around, I thought about what bugged me about it the first time:

• Donnie Walberg - Not just him but how his character was written; I just thought he was unbelievable and unprofessional
• The procedural - There's a procedural/mystery element to the movie and for some reason I didn't like the that wraparound
• Overwrought direction - There's nothing subtle about the movie and I found it over-done...
• The story - I don't think that I was much of a fan of supernatural movies at the time (I think I was more into home invasion films)

THIS time around...

• Well, I might have been *ahem* excited to see Jason (True Blood), so that was distracting but oddly enough, but in a good kind of way
• The death scenes were fantastic - Creepy, gory
• Lots of jump scares, but I think they worked, and DAMN are the dummies creepy
• I bought more into the story this time around - I don't think it clicked with me that part of what this movie is doing is creating a new folklore around the dolls - I didn't buy into it the first time around but I liked it a lot this time around

All in all, I think it's a legitimately atmospheric, creepy film that creates its own legend... You need to be able to accept it in order to enjoy the movie but maybe people are less cynical than I was circa 2007. ::wink::

So its been awhile since I've watched it so I can't accurately comment on your thoughts as well as I can after I watch it. But I will be thinking about what you said when I watch it and I'll make sure to bring them back up. One thing I can remember is I didn't like Donnie Wahlberg either.

Child's Play
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psaa452a07.jpg

Nothing terrified me more as a child than Chucky. Watching it now it's kinda silly but there are still some parts that freak me out. I love the effects they use for Chucky. He still looks like a doll while also making him look real when he comes alive. One thing i noticed this time around was the score. I've never noticed how good and effective it is. Another thing that makes this one so memorable is Brad Dourif's portrayal of Chucky. It wouldn't be the same without him in the role. This is one of my favorite horror movies despite it's cheesiness.

9/10

Just started watching Child's Play.

Child's Play
 

8/10

This isn't the first time I've seen this movie. I remember watching it about a year ago with a friend of mine. The killer doll concept was definitely original for the time and a very disturbing concept. That really isn't what scared me, though. The shots from Chucky's point of view provided extra scares, and the film never stopped being intense and scary. The special effects were quite amazing, and they still hold up 26 years later. I also enjoyed the little bit of humor the movie had.

And to The Villain, I didn't really find it too cheesy.

Well said. Magic is of my favs. I also impressed with Hopkins when I saw Magic again, as adult. He became a good ventriloquist act for the film. Pretty impressive. The 'make Fat's shutup for 5 mins' is great scene.

Ha! Great choice, Villain! I've never seen Child's Play, nor Dead Silence, but will be seeing Dead this week. I've put off Chucky, but I'll see it as a fan of animation.

The only thing I found cheesy was Chuckys one liners

Definitely check them both out

Oh, then I get where you're coming from.

I'm not a huge fan of Child's Play as a franchise, but the first movie is nicely done. Dourif's performance is quality (as it always is, dude is a legend) and Tom Holland does a great job creating a really solid atmosphere

I can't believe you have never seen Child's Play, it is an absolute classic. While it is not the greatest of the slashers, it is definitely one of the high quality ones. There are some excellent performances, in particular by Brad Dourif. He really is a talented actor, it is too bad that he never really got the career to match the caliber of his acting. The score is really effective and while the score in the credits was not employed during the film, I really loved that part of the score in particular. It is absolutely beautiful. Overall, the entire score definitely adds an extra layer to the film. The atmosphere is pretty dark too. Even during the daytime scenes, there is a certain darkness to them. On the surface, the plot is kind of ridiculous, but, for some reason, it works quite well. There are elements of drama, but they do not overshadow the horror. This film never really scared me, but I have always enjoyed it. Villain mentioned the effects and I have to agree, they were very solid for a film from the 1980s. They really helped to add to the film. What is especially interesting is that for most of the film we do not even see Chucky do any of the killing. That really does not occur until later in the film. He is essentially off screen. I would give the film a 9/10 as there was some cheesiness (this did not detract too much from the film though). The sequels never manage to match the quality of this film though. They don't even get close. I love Bride of Chucky, but for very different reasons than this film. As a horror, Bride of Chucky is not the best, but it works well as a comedy. There really is not a whole lot of humor in the first film. Sure, there are some one-liners, but overall, it is relatively devoid of the humor that so often characterized the later films.

By the way, I managed to watch the film last night.

I saw Dead Silence last night. Wow... that's a quality made film. I found quite scary at parts. The cinematography, sets, lighting, sound, and constructed shots of scary scenes, were really well done. It peaked high on my scary meter.

The story, plot and characters, were not nearly on par with everything else I mentioned. I'm not citing the actors, they didn't have much to work with. The story/plot/characters were shallow.

Too bad the producers didn't use some of this large budget to hire a good writer to expand on the story concept adding depth to plot & character; cause with this directorial team, this could have been a huge film hit.

Dead Silence
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps30dfb21e.jpg

So this is the second or third time i've seen this but it's still very creepy. The dolls are used very well. They're not shoved down your throat or are shown running all over the place. For a movie where it's the focal point like Child's Play it would be needed but the dolls are secondary to the ghost story that is prominent here which is very interesting. Both of the themes could have done ok on their own but combining them made for a very creative and spooky movie. I loved the folklore feel they gave the movie with the dolls and the womans backstory and the curse she started. I also liked that their were rules for the movie being that the ghost could only get you when you screamed. It was talked about more then it was utilized but it was still good.

The one downside to the movie is Donnie Wahlberg. The whole movie he just seems bored like he really didn't want to be there and it shows in his acting. Given the right role, Donnie can be a very good actor but he just whispers and shrugs his way through this movie. Also his character made no sense, one minute he's telling Ryan Kwanten's character that the dolls has nothing to do with his wife's murder but then he tells him that he was stealing evidence and trying to hide it when he buried the thing. But if it was evidence why didn't the police take it? They don't just let people walk away with vital evidence. Also there was no reason for him to dig up the doll graves except to move the story along.

Aside from Wahlberg this is a very effective interesting ghost story.

8/10

DEAD SILENCE -- SPOLIERS......
DEAD SILENCE -- SPOLIERS......
Well, I'm not an expert in law, but Ryan's bedroom (entire apartment, I would guess) is a crime scene. Ryan can't go by himself, break the police tape, and take things from the crime scene. This would be Obstruction of Justice, which one can be arrested for. Conviction is another matter. Since it's his home, at some point police take all their pictures and evidence, and then he can live there.

Ryan can't steal from himself, and Obstruction of Justice (OOJ) is continually unfolding. As a case evolves, something can become relevant, and thus becomes OOJ. Of course police detectives would be following Ryan, and trying to get him to say something that would help solve the case. And police are allowed to lie to cause that to happen.

So I didn't find it too strange for Donnie to say the doll had nothing to do with the case, to get Ryan to utter something important. And then to also tell Ryan he's arresting him for "stealing evidence", and then not arrest him -- whatever shakes acorns off the tree.

But then again, the film doesn't really bother to explain these things because it's pretty shallow.

Yeah but for it to be evidence wouldn't it have to be taken down to the police station and locked away as evidence? If it's just left at the scene of the crime i don't see how he can say that he was stealing evidence.

Right, that's what I'm saying in a roundabout way. Police take items (interviews & pictures) they guess might be evidence. Items are taken to the police evidence lockup. But what is "evidence" is continually evolving in a case. Items taken may never be used by either prosecutors or defenders. And new items from a "former" crime scene may be taken later if the investigator comes to believe it might be evidence.

If you take something you own from a 'former' crime scene and bury it, investigators are going to get it and pick it apart. It's not 'stealing'. They could arrest someone for doing that, but they'd have to prove it's relevant evidence, or prove that you were trying to confuse or waste their time, that is obstruct the process, to convict you of OOJ.

So items left at a former crime scene are not 'evidence', but they can become evidence later.

Well either away it came across in the movie like he was just an asshole cop who was looking for ways to put him away for his wife's murder despite having no proof. Whether or not it was a mistake of the filmmakers, it doesn't change that his character was written badly and acted badly. Really low point of the movie which is disappointing considering the rest of the cast was pretty good.