Monday, October 19, 2009
More Scary Movies For October
Long-time readers might remember that October was the reason I joined Netflix a few years ago. I like *scary* movies, but not necessarily gory movies. I like the really creepy-scary-spooky films. The ones that creep you out instead of gross you out. While I have a place in my heart for Freddy Krueger (and yes, I will probably watch the remake, but probably not until it comes out on DVD), the 80's slasher flicks don't do much for me.
I've posted my list of creepiest Halloween movies in the past. Plus scary addenda. And a few one-offs. But I've missed a few, and wanted to share some suggestions (or warnings) for this October if you are looking for something scary over the next two weeks.
Carrie (2002)
This is a made-for-television remake of the original schlocky classic. The very, very end kinda sucks, but up until that point it's pretty dang good. Hmmm.... I felt the same way about The Mist, too...
In case you have never heard of the original movie or novel - it was Stephen King's first novel (well, the first published novel anyway). It's about a girl who is an absolute misfit, horribly picked on in high school, who... uh... also has powerful telekinetic powers. And then, one night, she snaps.
(Really awful trailer here)
Ju-On (The Grudge)
This is the original movie - not the American remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. We started watching it with English dubbing, but it was awful and drove us crazy three minutes in. So we switched it to Japanese with English subtitles.
This movie was awesome but a little confusing trying to track of who is who and the timeline. See, this movie is effectively a collection of short-stories. Each story is loosely connected with each other by intersecting relationships, but they all have to do with a house. A really horribly haunted house. With a curse. The curse is basically a viral infection --- it spreads. As more people die, the curse gains more power.
The only reservation I have is that the format does make it a little hard to follow. Maybe if I spoke Japanese it would have been easier. But with that (significant) caveat in place, I think this is one of my favorite scary movies of all time.
Note: My wife has seen the American remake, but I only half-watched it. She felt the original was MUCH better than the remake. Though both of us preferred the American remake of "The Ring" over the original Japanese film, "Ringu." Go figger.
(Trailer here)
Supernatural (TV Series)
My wife is obsessed with this TV series. I'm caught up to it through season 4, and I have to agree it's excellent. I'm just not as obsessed as she is. Plotwise - it's about two brothers who are "hunters" - hunting ghosts and demons - around the country. It's a road-trip show with supernatural horrors. The show has evolved with a literally apocalyptic story arc, including demons and scary Old Testament-style angels.
Suspiria
We actually saw this one some time ago. It was supposedly very shocking when it came out. Compared to werewolves, vampires, and especially zombies, witches don't get very many movies. But this is one of 'em. A lot of critics rate this one really highly, but I can't. But it had some pretty interesting ideas in it. (Lame 1970's trailer here)
What Lies Beneath
By comparison, this movie - featuring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford - got pretty weak reviews by critics, but I really enjoyed it. (Trailer here)
Omega Man / I Am Legend
The Omega Man is a 1970's movie starring Charleton Heston. I Am Legend came out just a couple years ago starring Will Smith. Both are based on the same story. I enjoyed I Am Legend more - it was definitely scarier. But if you want a movie about what happens AFTER the end of the world, both are enjoyable.
Labels: Movies
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 4:42 AM (Permalink)
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I would highly recommend The Descent. It does have a significant amount of gore, but it's also one of the most disturbing movies of the past decade. The only caveat I'd offer is this: Don't watch it if you're even slightly claustrophobic.
If you're comfortable with psycho-sexual films, George Romero's Martin is very good.
On the slightly campy-but-still-creepy side of things, Romero's Monkey Shines is very good.
On The Grudge: The American version of The Grudge turned me off to the entire franchise. I was the only one in the theatre, and was bored out of my mind.
If you're comfortable with psycho-sexual films, George Romero's Martin is very good.
On the slightly campy-but-still-creepy side of things, Romero's Monkey Shines is very good.
On The Grudge: The American version of The Grudge turned me off to the entire franchise. I was the only one in the theatre, and was bored out of my mind.
The mention Omega Man reminded me of an old Roguelike game I used to play which is undoubtedly based on the same theme: Alphaman.
aah suspiria, along with tennebrae, my two fave argento movies.
I cant watch the american remakes of ring/grudge like I cant watch dubbed anime.
the thing (which you mentioned) rocks, carpenter also makes one of my fav movies ever (big trouble in little china).
battle royale is cool, my wife is a teacher and refuses to watch it but she doesnt like horror movies.
not really fitting the scary movie vein, stephen kings The Stand is imo one of my fav screen adaptions of his junk.
mmm the hills have eyes, last house on the left, i spit on your grave, the original dawn of the dead for some claustraphobia bad wardrobe department..
ooh the original tatsuo the iron man...
I cant watch the american remakes of ring/grudge like I cant watch dubbed anime.
the thing (which you mentioned) rocks, carpenter also makes one of my fav movies ever (big trouble in little china).
battle royale is cool, my wife is a teacher and refuses to watch it but she doesnt like horror movies.
not really fitting the scary movie vein, stephen kings The Stand is imo one of my fav screen adaptions of his junk.
mmm the hills have eyes, last house on the left, i spit on your grave, the original dawn of the dead for some claustraphobia bad wardrobe department..
ooh the original tatsuo the iron man...
I love scary flicks too but not to many scare me so I'm going to have to second The Descent. It plays well on your fear of claustrophobia (and I'm not that claustrophobic) and the fear of what's lurking just beyond in the dark. Ridley Scott did this well too in his movie Alien.
I'm also not a huge fan of the overly gory (for the sake of being gory type of movie either.
I'm also not a huge fan of the overly gory (for the sake of being gory type of movie either.
Oh, yeah. The Stand was by far the best Stephen King adaptation EVER. It's not particularly scary, so I wouldn't put in a Halloween list - it's a good miniseries for any time!
The Descent is on our list, but it's a big list.
Alien is also a classic - one of the best! It was both outstanding science fiction and a great horror movie.
As far as dubbed anime - I normally prefer anime with subtitles, but there are some exceptions where I think the dubbed version was far better than the literal translation. Rune Soldier comes to mind.
I only half-watched the American version of The Grudge. My wife watched it, though, and thought the Japanese original was FAR superior. However, we both preferred the American remake "The Ring" more than "Ringu."
I've only seen one George Romero movie. I don't usually consider myself a zombie movie fan, but I did enjoy Slither, Shawn of the Dead, and 28 Days Later. I'm not sure whether I Am Legend counts.
The Descent is on our list, but it's a big list.
Alien is also a classic - one of the best! It was both outstanding science fiction and a great horror movie.
As far as dubbed anime - I normally prefer anime with subtitles, but there are some exceptions where I think the dubbed version was far better than the literal translation. Rune Soldier comes to mind.
I only half-watched the American version of The Grudge. My wife watched it, though, and thought the Japanese original was FAR superior. However, we both preferred the American remake "The Ring" more than "Ringu."
I've only seen one George Romero movie. I don't usually consider myself a zombie movie fan, but I did enjoy Slither, Shawn of the Dead, and 28 Days Later. I'm not sure whether I Am Legend counts.
@Coyote: I Am Legend shouldn't. It's supposed to have vampires. Also, I won't lie: I hated the Will Smith version. Both The Last Man on Earth and The Omega Man were based on Matheson's novella, but went with different titles to demonstrate significant deviations. Will Smith's movie kept the original title and in doing so, made it meaningless. There is nothing legendary about his character at the end of the movie.
A change of topic, lest I get too ranty about I Am Legend:
Neither Martin nor Monkey Shines involve zombies. Unfortunately, Romero's non-zombie movies tend to get lost in the shuffle. It's a real shame.
I'm with you on The Ring versus Ringu, but I'll disagree with you on The Stand. Nothing (in my book) tops Kubrick's The Shining.*
Looking back through your linked posts, I see a mention of Angel Heart. Did you manage to see it yet? It's a very good neo-noir/bayou/horror flick.
*Casts wall of recommendations* (going through Netflix ratings):
Dog Soldiers is a very darkly comic/horrific werewolf movie with a bit of uncomfortable gore.
Ginger Snaps is another werewolf movie, combined with a girl's coming-of-age story.
Near Dark is a classic 80s movie which, though containing them, never mentions the v-word.
Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness are the second and third parts of John Carpenter's apocalyptic trilogy (the first being The Thing). Note that they are a trilogy in the thematic sense, rather than one that shares characters.
Werner Herzog's Nosferatu is easily the best adaptation of Dracula. Aside from the brilliant portrayal of the Count by Klaus Kinski, the cinematography and music are absolutely exceptional.
Ravenous and Black Sheep are great and quite funny, though gory.
Event Horizon is seriously flawed, but still well worth it.
I'd recommend checking out the trailers for Fido, Outpost and Dead & Buried. They're all very good zombie movies, but may or may not cross the line as far as gore goes.
@Stu: I'd question your suggestion of I Spit on Your Grave. Not only does it contain graphic violence, the extensive rape scenes linger a bit too much, and make me more than a little uncomfortable.**
More perhaps to come, as the memory permits.
*Tangentially related to The Shining: There's a music project by the name of The Caretaker directly inspired by the haunted ballroom scene from The Shining. A free album can be had here: http://brainwashed.com/vvm/micro/caretaker/offal07.htm
**I won't watch Irreversible for the same reason. I would never go so far as to say someone doesn't have the right to make something, but I would recommend people go into something like that as forewarned as possible.
A change of topic, lest I get too ranty about I Am Legend:
Neither Martin nor Monkey Shines involve zombies. Unfortunately, Romero's non-zombie movies tend to get lost in the shuffle. It's a real shame.
I'm with you on The Ring versus Ringu, but I'll disagree with you on The Stand. Nothing (in my book) tops Kubrick's The Shining.*
Looking back through your linked posts, I see a mention of Angel Heart. Did you manage to see it yet? It's a very good neo-noir/bayou/horror flick.
*Casts wall of recommendations* (going through Netflix ratings):
Dog Soldiers is a very darkly comic/horrific werewolf movie with a bit of uncomfortable gore.
Ginger Snaps is another werewolf movie, combined with a girl's coming-of-age story.
Near Dark is a classic 80s movie which, though containing them, never mentions the v-word.
Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness are the second and third parts of John Carpenter's apocalyptic trilogy (the first being The Thing). Note that they are a trilogy in the thematic sense, rather than one that shares characters.
Werner Herzog's Nosferatu is easily the best adaptation of Dracula. Aside from the brilliant portrayal of the Count by Klaus Kinski, the cinematography and music are absolutely exceptional.
Ravenous and Black Sheep are great and quite funny, though gory.
Event Horizon is seriously flawed, but still well worth it.
I'd recommend checking out the trailers for Fido, Outpost and Dead & Buried. They're all very good zombie movies, but may or may not cross the line as far as gore goes.
@Stu: I'd question your suggestion of I Spit on Your Grave. Not only does it contain graphic violence, the extensive rape scenes linger a bit too much, and make me more than a little uncomfortable.**
More perhaps to come, as the memory permits.
*Tangentially related to The Shining: There's a music project by the name of The Caretaker directly inspired by the haunted ballroom scene from The Shining. A free album can be had here: http://brainwashed.com/vvm/micro/caretaker/offal07.htm
**I won't watch Irreversible for the same reason. I would never go so far as to say someone doesn't have the right to make something, but I would recommend people go into something like that as forewarned as possible.
I'll second the recommendation of The Descent. My favorite horror of the last few years.
There is gore, yes, but the primary source of fear comes from the smothering, oppressive feeling of being trapped in a cave, in the dark.
There is gore, yes, but the primary source of fear comes from the smothering, oppressive feeling of being trapped in a cave, in the dark.
Kubric's The Shining was of course a classic, in spite of (or maybe because of?) taking huge liberties with the source material. I blame it all on Nicholson making a REALLY, really good psycho.
But I still stand by The Stand. It's my favorite, hands down. Maybe it's just because they play Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" at the very beginning... it endeared itself to me instantly that way.
I have heard many people say the same thing about Event Horizon. I'm putting it on my list.
Near Dark should be on my list too - I think it is already, but I'll check.
THANKS!
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But I still stand by The Stand. It's my favorite, hands down. Maybe it's just because they play Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" at the very beginning... it endeared itself to me instantly that way.
I have heard many people say the same thing about Event Horizon. I'm putting it on my list.
Near Dark should be on my list too - I think it is already, but I'll check.
THANKS!
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