ok lets all shit our pants to something old: pre-2006 horror film thread

lol you'd HATE the new Shin Godzilla, which is basically a government satire

I've seen some Godzilla comics where he goes to other planets and wild islands full of monsters, which seems way cooler. Never been big on King Kong films either but I'm sure there's some giant monster films I'd like out there.

I always wonder what Shinya Tsukamoto would do. His company is called Kaiju Theatre but he does relatively low budget films exclusively.

Huh, never realized that Roger Ebert gave "The Hitcher" zero stars. Same year as his (in)famous "Blue Velvet" pan, maybe he was in a bit of moral panic?

heh probably. Ebert's a good critic overall but he's had a lot of misfires in his many decades

Ebert is bizarre, I can't figure him out. It's been said that when Night Of The Living Dead came out he used all the language of moral panic people utilized in the 50s for horror comics. But he loved Last House On The Left and Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer.

I really don't understand his take on I Spit On Your Grave. I've never seen the whole film but I don't know how it could be taken as a rape fantasy. Maybe the fact that rape fetishists might still enjoy it was bad enough for him? Just like some will relish the violence in Funny Games, regardless of what Haneke intended.

It seemed more often than not that Ebert reported his gut-level reactions to horror rather than engaging with it in a meaningful way.

That Ebert NOTLD review was about the questionability of screening that particular movie for audiences primarily made up of children, not about the movie itself.

Every child needs to see NOTLD, imo.

10 out of 10 Barbaras know they're coming to get them

There's a guy on youtube with a bunch of kaiju and stop motion monster trailer reels. One of them is nearly 5 hours! Been watching a bunch of clips and I like the wilderness fights better. Also when it has characters like Ultraman and Kamen Rider.

Someone referred to the 90s American Godzilla as the Jay Leno Godzilla. The designer said the big chin was inspired by Shere Khan from Jungle Book.

RAG, have you seen WOLF GUY?

No, the trailer didn't look that monstery so I didn't bother. Is it good? I still haven't seen the Street Fighter series.

WOLF GUY is amazing IMO, but I love trash
I mean it's utterly ridiculous, thrown together seemingly by some coked-up dudes who didn't even want to make it, so it's a sexploitation/crime/horror/American '70s scifi TV mishmash. Sonny Chiba is great as always.
Also, he never actually appears as a wolf, because they apparently didn't know how to do it / didn't care about the monster make-up. this thing is a riot. We do get a few pounces between his standard rough-housing.

Should I see the Street Fighter films first?

I haven't actually seen those movies, but there's no real connection. I've seen some other Chibas like KIBA THE BODYGUARD

Plus Chiba did like dozens of movies we'll never have access to

Anyone interested in the history of martial arts movies should see the Street Fighter films ... they are cheap, bad, and gruesome in true 70s exploitation style, but there are some good performances and fights and it's interesting to see Japanese culture and fantasy karate in place of Chinese culture and fantasy kung fu.

I'm taking the Friday the 13th plunge, having bought the recently released set of the first 8 films. The first two are honestly not as bad as I remembered them being. The 3-D on the third is kinda garbage (pausing in the middle to post this and to stave off the headache of extended 3-D glasses usage). Like, the red in the film doesn't even match the red shade of the lens, so everything looks shitty and double exposed.

Also watched Paranormal Activity for the first time last night, alone and in the dark, hoping that I'd created an ambience for maximum effectiveness but nope. It was fine but not in the least bit scary (although I appreciated the attempt). I have the first three on DVD so here's hoping at least one of them is able to induce a minimal wigout.

I'm not expecting much but I bought these Tobe Hooper films: Invaders From Mars, Night Terrors (some guy in the first Video Nasties documentary said it was seriously underrated) and I'm Dangerous Tonight (with Madchen Amick, didn't know she was in it until I checked amazon for Hooper films).

Newest Hooper film I've seen was The Mangler. I can see why people think it's just plain bad but I thought it had some strangeness going for it. I was a bit too tired to follow the story.

Watched Tobe Hooper's Billy Idol "Dancing With Myself" video. Is this the one Billy accused John Landis of ripping off for Jackson's "Thriller"? There really isn't much similarity.

I'M DANGEROUS TONIGHT

Based on a Cornell Woolrich story, directed by Tobe Hooper, starring Madchen Amick with Anthony Perkins. Concerning a piece of clothing that corrupts not just those who wear it but people who even touch it. It's okay, kind of like a teen slasher film with an ancient Aztec curse thrown in. Recommended for Amick fans more than anyone else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URXcNOTWq0M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBXb-8YoR0E

INVADERS FROM MARS (1986)

The monsters are pretty good but this is just sloppy, some of the dialogue is very bad. Weak but still watchable.

NIGHT TERRORS

De Sade's evil descendant in Cairo. Flashbacks to De Sade in prison and some soft porn in the present. Robert Englund and William Finley.
It's kind of an interesting mix but it just never gets quite good enough, but I think it had potential for more.
I wish Finley was in more films but I should see those other De Palma films.

Wanted to get Arrow's release of Black Sabbath so I can get rid of my Anchor Bay box sets of Bava. But it's out of print somehow and I'm not willing to pay much over £15. I was just outbid on ebay minutes ago. Does arrow not keep printing their films? Maybe I should spring on their releases more quickly?
Not sure if I'll bother with Baron Blood.

I remember people noting the early Bava soundtracks but I don't recall them catching my ear much, a few of them have 2 different soundtracks for original version and AIP version. Any of you recommend a particular one?

Black Sabbath seems to be available on Amazon for $10, but that might be an older DVD release. Checked my copy and it's from... Image Entertainment?

Needs to be remastered bluray because otherwise I might as well hold onto my Anchor Bay box sets, which were probably the first region 1 films I ever bought. Bava was mostly a total blind spot for UK home releases until Arrow fixed that.

The les Baxter ones are great unique horror scoring but the cd releases vary enormously in sound quality - for some of them the only elements that were locatable were the music + sfx stems

If you have a region-free player, Kino has put out both versions of Black Sabbath (original Italian and AIP) on Blu-ray in the US. Although I don't understand why they (like the two versions of Black Sunday) are sold separately.

The Arrow versions of Black Sabbath and Black Sunday have both versions of the films in one set (each) - their product generally have better extras than Kino discs too.

Both films still seem to be in stock on the Arrow website.

Sabbath doesn't show up when I search their shop. It's not urgent though, I can probably wait until it's next release in 15 years because I don't rewatch films much.

It would be a shame if it took that long, maybe the title of the film helped it sell out fast?

http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/black-sabbath/

Shop link says "product not found"

Oh well. I think HMV have got an Arrow 5 for £30 quid sale on at the moment, they might have it.

Was in shops today and I saw The Shining, which I misread as The Shindig.

Do all disc versions of Salem's Lot include the extended film?

THE BRIDE FROM HELL

Shaw Brothers. This is full of interesting mythology and places importance on poems and nuances of language, so it doesn't help that the subtitles on the 88 Films version seem very off the mark. I may have found it difficult to follow even with accurate subtitles though.

It falls into the gothic category even more than Hex did. There's some really dodgy special effects with the enlarging man and I'm not sure if the Abbott & Costello reactions are supposed to be funny.
I liked the mythology, magic and the foggy grassy graveyard. Wish there was much more of the mountain scenery that was seen at the start.

omg i want to see that

i just saw return of the living dead, such a romp!

I'm always surprised how miserable it is for a goofy comedy, they're constantly in pain.

so much pain

I watched/rewatched (I'm mostly sure I've seen them both but it's been ages and ages) Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte over the weekend and I'm sure I'm telling no tales out of school when I say they're both great movies. And I think this Bette Davis lady might be one to keep an eye on. Out of this world performances, I expect great things from her.

OMG

first of all

whatever happened to baby jane is one of my most horrific favorite movies. just astounding. second i need to see hush hush.

THIRD i just watched "A STOLEN LIFE" in which Ms. Davis plays herself AND her evil twin sister!!!!!!!!!!!! HIGHly recommend

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? is the only Davis horror film I've seen. I think there's supposed to be maybe 4 or 5 of them, including a Hammer film.

i can't with that woman.

Ah, A Stolen Life! I watched these with my mom (I think they're pretty much her favorite horror movies) and she was recommending that one, as well, but couldn't remember the name. I will have to check it out.

Is that called A Stolen Life? I thought it was called Dead Ringer.

no that's another one!