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

I want to see it so bad now!

(Loved the hell out of Black Christmas)

The Singing Ringing Tree - I mostly heard about this film as something that scared children and was supposed to be particularly strange, so I was disappointed. It feels overlong for such a short film but it does have a bit of charm, just doesn't stand that high as a fairy tale film.

The Female Vampire - This is even more directly pornographic than a lot of similar vampire films and it helps that it's Lina Romay. It could have used a tighter edit (but the alternate "horror" version of the film is much shorter, I only watched parts of that, it has bloody biting that isn't in the main version), perhaps more could have been made of the setting and some of the sex music spoils an otherwise nice elegiac tone. Similar to Rollin's Iron Rose, a lot of the otherworldly stuff is conveyed through the dialogue. I think I like this most of the small handful of Franco films I know.

I saw Succubus a while ago and it was by far my least favorite, with all that lazy lounge party stuff I hate from this era. Sort of reminds me of Spring Breakers (I don't expect anyone to come with me on this), I could almost hear James Franco whispering "spring break...spring break..."

A film Old Lunch mentioned above that I'm very excited about coming on UK bluray: White Reindeer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECyp3fJBI20

joe bob briggs did a phantasm marathon for his holiday special on shudder and it is a delightful way to watch those movies, whether for the first or thousandth time

they’re also all masterpieces except for the last one

even/especially iii, the genre-confusion middle chapter

White Reindeer being released in the UK is the first time I've seriously considered getting a region-free player. I doubt it'll get a US release.

been thinking about going region free for a while. there's of stuff that never comes out here from Hong Kong and Arrow Video releases in the UK

xp shiiit maybe i'll actually sub to Shudder for that

Sometimes Criterion goes for films in the Eureka Masters Of Cinema series.

I've had a multiregion dvd player since 2007 because it was an absolute necessity for a UK horror fan in the dvd era, because our selection was utter shit. But the bluray era has been very good to the UK.

I still don't have a multiregion bluray player, I've been scared by stories of software updates overwriting the region capabilities. Since there are only 3 regions now, it isn't totally outrageous to own 3 bluray players.

starting to seem more and more like the exorcist iii is my favorite movie

no movie looks or moves quite like it, except of course the ninth configuration

god I need to watch the ninth configuration again

My mom took me to see Exorcist III on my 13th birthday, so it's a sentimental favorite on top of being very good.

Fun story that reifies the thread title: when I went to see Exorcist III in the theatre, someone actually shit their pants in the big jump-scare scene.

i am an inveterate Exorcist II booster yet... I have never seen III

i love exorcist ii too of course but iii is a legit great movie (like i don't have to prepare anyone for how much of a weird messy misfire it is like ii), just very strange. it's very funny in its quieter moments which can be disarming bc the loud moments are so frightening. it's also a great sequel in that the overwhelming sadness of the first one is carried into it and deepened

also like just an all-time great scenery chewing performance from brad dourif, he's terrifying

really beautiful soulful george c. scott and ed flanders performances too

wait BRAD DOURIF

why have i not seen this yet!!!

it's on shudder!!!!

pre-chucky dourif roles are like truffles to me

Two solid untelegraphed jump scares is roughly two more than most horror movies can boast.

and i've seen it at least four or fives times now and those jump scares get me every time

Parents finally getting a new disc release in UK

UK bluray in May
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUpKfm7Mp-0

Guess I posted that in wrong thread.

Anyone seen The Unholy? Saw it in shops recently, have a strong feeling it will be crap, but still somehow attracted by the look of it. After years I still really haven't come to terms with the fact that there isn't that many good horror films of this era with rubber monsters.

I know it's hardly a horror film but Mummy Returns (2001) is on tv right now and some of the most godawful shite, I'm almost impressed at how crap it is.

American Horror Project Volume 2 coming from Arrow this summer, featuring Dream No Evil, Dark August, and The Child. Probably no one but me and RAG will be excited about it, but still. Volume 1 was a pleasant surprise. Glad I finally bought a copy of Nightmare USA so I can read about these movies I've never heard of before I buy these movies I've never heard of.

I've been cutting back on films big time but I think I might go for this one, Malatesta was so good (only came out as a single release years later). Unless I see trailers that kill my enthusiasm, it is very expensive.

Body Snatchers (1993) - The extent to which this is forgotten is a bit odd considering Abel Ferrara directed it, with Stuart Gordon and Larry Cohen being among the writers. Perhaps it's been a bit overrated by some because its been so buried, I found it so-so most of the time.
But it's very nicely shot and the cloning scenes are pretty good. The main highlight might be Meg Tilly (one of the main reasons I bought this), who does a great alien and she has amazing hair that would be the envy of baroque composers centuries ago. I might even recommend it for these few things but don't expect too much.

The White Reindeer - Vampire witch in Lapland among the reindeer herders. Certainly unique and worth seeing but I'm not sure it's a classic. Would have liked a wider aspect ratio for the snowy landscapes.
In the extras Amy Simmons talks about a couple of early Scandinavian witch films I hadn't heard of (sorry, I didn't catch the titles) and argues that Antichrist is a very good feminist film.

Next Of Kin - A while ago I said this might be a giallo but maybe I just thought any sufficiently stylish slasher film is a giallo. I think it's fair to call it a slasher film, but an uncommonly good and brilliantly visualized one set in a country home for old people.
The ending features a mistake that made some of the crew cry in despair but they were praised for it because it was a great mistake that turned out better than the original plan probably would have.
In the extras director Tony Williams talks about the mistakes of the Australian film industry and thinks this could have been a much better film if they were allowed the time. He wasn't able to continue directing films and cinematographer Gary Hansen died shortly after. What could have been if both had longer film careers. I would like to have seen Jacki Kerin in more (but she has been on Australian television a fair amount). John Jarratt stars in the Wolf Creek series and had a part in Picnic At Hanging Rock.
I got the new region B bluray but I think the Australian bluray is multiregion. I hope you guys buy it.

One of the witch movies in question was almost certainly Noita palaa elämään/The Witch/The Witch Returns to Life. The lead actress is mesmerizingly weird.

Could be.

Forgot to mention, Klaus Schulze does the Next Of Kin soundtrack.

the church: bonkers gialli on prime with a score alternately by goblin, keith emerson, and philip glass. shares more than a few qualities with prince of darkness but with no qualms about becoming a series of delightful and creative yet incoherently-stitched together setpieces; none of the subspaces in the church make any fucking sense and i like it that way. features one of the greatest deaths i’ve ever seen in horror (train sequence)

I don't remember I train sequence. Not sure if I still own it.

i described it poorly, it’s the scene where one of the subspaces of the church turns out to be a subway tunnel

i caught spookies on the roku channel b-movie tv and discovered it got the oral history treatment on the dissolve! https://thedissolve.com/features/oral-history/788-the-strange-saga-of-spookies/

baffling, incoherent, awesome movie, almost every shot is an excuse for a gross practical effect. as that piece reveals, its production was incredibly cursed (cw infant death)

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild Untold Story Of Ozploitation - Early on I noticed the similarity to the extremely fun Electric Boogaloo: The Wild Untold Story Of Cannon Films and it is indeed the same director Mark Hartley (and I'm looking forward to his Machete Maidens Unleashed, about English language films made in Philippines).
I saw this on amazon prime and now I want the disc version for the extended interviews (I was led to this by Next Of Kin, which featured interviews from Not Quite Hollywood).
My one frustration with this was how it seemed like the Australian critics were just featured as snobs; perhaps the film can be forgiven for this because one of the two (was there more?) critics seems to play this up.

Sex comedies, action (particularly car films) and horror. I cant say it made me want to see many of the films (I've already seen several of the good ones like Age Of Consent, Wake In Fright, Picnic At Hanging Rock, Mad Max and Next Of Kin) but after many times ignoring peoples recommendations for Razorback (I generally don't get the appeal of animal attack films, they seem dumb), I want to see it now.
Interested in The Getting Of Wisdom, but it wasn't one of the films being pushed exactly, would have liked to see much more about the films critics actually liked.

Especially enjoyed Barry Humphries parts and the stories of how unpleasant Jimmy Wang Yu was to work with (I heard he was a massive crank but didn't know he was so abusive).

I saw Machete Maidens on a Quantas flight 7(?) years ago and loved it, so sought out Not Quite Hollywood which, while also great, didn't quite fit as well into my wheelhouse - but unlike you they did make me want to watch things I hadn't.

My brother recommended Not Quite Hollywood forever ago. I really need to see that, as I love the Cannon doc to bits.

Not Quite Hollywood was great.

Aldo- Well it did make me want to see Razorback and The Getting Of Wisdom. I've also never got around to Walkabout yet but that's another that the doc wasn't focused on.
Made me want to find out who Lesley Ann Warren is (turns out I remember her as the mother in Secretary).

I've always found Brian Trenchard Smith a likable presence on Trailers From Hell youtube channel so I would consider Dead End Drive-In and BMX Bandits. Night Of The Demons 2? Would be nice to see him get a bigger budget because he mostly seems to do action films.

It is difficult to muster much enthusiasm for the sexploitation films because there's usually only 10 minutes worth watching and there's so much competition. The first Fantasm was released on UK disc in 2010 and STILL heavily censored!

Next of Kin looks right up my alley.

Was really surprised to find "Wake in Fright" on Shudder, tbh, and re-watched it for the first time in many years since my Ozploitation phase during university. Great film, has aged quite well.

I'm watching Exorcist III *for the first time* and am thoroughly enjoying myself.

MY FAVORITE MOVIE

Finished the documentary about Island Of Doctor Moreau. I think that even if Richard Stanley had been kept on, there's a good chance Brando and Kilmer would have destroyed it anyway. It's a good warning about casting egomaniacs who might not get behind a film.

It doesn't really let you know quite how much Stanley has done afterwards, even if most of it is short films and scripts. I never finished Hardware because towards the last third it seemed really drawn out. I should see the directors cut of Dust Devil before Color Out Of Space comes out possibly the end of this year (Nicolas Cage too). Hope Stanley gets things back on track but I wonder if he has all the potential fans credit him with.

He's also got a segment in Theatre Bizarre which I've wary about because reviews were quite negative and Clark Ashton Smith was somehow uncredited.

I love the bit where he reveals he managed to get on screen in the end.

If you haven't seen The Otherworld, I highly recommend it (even if it does make clear he's more of a space case than you already thought).

Thanks. Someone else told me his other mystic doc White Darkness was their favorite. I wouldn't have guessed they'd be the stronger ones.

Kind of regret getting rid of my Hardware dvd because it had a bunch of short films I should have given a chance.

I could listen to his voice for quite a while.

Fields Of Nephilim really were a perfect fit for him.

read through a bunch of this thread recently, and was transported to moment from middle school when Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 was on cable at a sleepover. as i remember it, it was a piece of shit. am i remembering properly?

also all the early talk of In the Mouth of Madness. love that movie, for the same reason that a lot of others love it— the long driving sequences, the dread that hangs over everything, even the sort of jokey parts.

didn't catch it above, but has anybody watched Deadbeat at Dawn, the Jim Van Bebber film that's on Shudder? i was obsessed with The Manson Family and My Sweet Satan when i was in college, as well as the preview for the never-made CHUNK BLOWER, but man, Deadbeat at Dawn is some really despicable shit. i liked it, particularly as a portrayal of rust belt desperation and depravity, but christ.

y'all next of kin totally blew my mind. i watched it twice in a row