Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Ben Staad]

Mr. Harrigan's Phone. 4 out of 5 stars.

Solid film all the way around. This screamed SK to me and it was so very well done. The lead actor was fantastic. Donald Sutherland was cast perfectly and the rest of the supporting cast fit their roles very well. Atmospheric, thoughtful, and suspenseful.

[Sock Monkey]

I've been on a Halloween tear since October 1st, trying to watch some Horror or Horror adjacent stuff every night. I've already lost track of everything I've watched, but here's what I can recall:

I finished the last few episodes of WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. They somehow managed to make me laugh my ass off and tear up a few times, especially in the last episode. The Laszlo/Baby Colin Robinson relationship was hysterical and poignant. I'll really miss these characters until season five premieres.

SPEAK NO EVIL has been getting a ton of buzz, so I had high hopes. It IS very off-putting and disturbing, but....I must just have seen too many movies, because I saw the end coming a mile away. The characters also made one HUGE, dumb mistake that took me right out of the movie.

V/H/S: I finally got around to watching this, and it was SO FUCKING LONG. Waaaaay too long. I was underwhelmed. One good story, a few predictable ones, and at least one that seemed like it was shot by a kid for a budget of five bucks.

THE CURSED was marketed as a Werewolf movie, and it kinda/sorta was.....not quite, but close enough. Aside from the cheesy CGI on the creature, this was a very good film. Atmospheric, creepy, well-acted, great-looking. This would probably be my highest recommendation out of what I've watched so far this season.

THE CURSE OF ROBERT THE DOLL is a Travel Channel special about the famous cursed doll. Good for what it was. (I love this kind of stuff!) My wife was terrified.....

HELLRAISER premiered this past Friday on Hulu, and was....OK, I guess. Nice to see the franchise get a budget finally. There was a lot I liked (Good effects, decent acting), but, again....SOOOOO LONG. This could have lost, at LEAST, 30 minutes and not suffered a bit. I was not in love with the new Pinhead, but she did her best. The kind of movie you watch and then instantly forget.

X.....Aside from the short in V/H/S, this was mu first Ti West film. Very predictable, but at least it was different. A horny geriatric woman killing people is a first for me. This also seemed a little longer than it needed to be, but it moved along quickly enough, had some good acting and effects, and has me interested in seeing the prequel, PEARL.

I also watched a three-part documentary on Hulu called SASQUATCH, about a triple-homicide that fingered the titular beast as the killer. The first episode does a deep-dive into Bigfoot mythology, and the last two go to some VERY disturbing places. Overall, a very compelling mini-series that I highly recommend.

And I've been dipping in and out of the new Shudder 101 SCARIEST HORROR SCENES, which is totally misnamed, as its more a rundown of FILMS, not scenes. Again, my wife was scared/disgusted, and walked out, lol. I have no one to share the Halloween season with.....

I love WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. It took me a bit to warm up to the series as I think the movie is perfection, but I am really enjoying it now.

I also saw the new Hellraiser, but I'll put my thoughts for that in another post because I have MANY.

I'm trying to work X into my horror viewing this Halloween season, but I'll have to see if I can as I already have a lot lined up. For Ti West, I highly recommend THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, which is a great throwback horror movie. I also really enjoyed THE INNKEEPERS, but it is a slow watch and how much you enjoy the movie depends on how you feel about the main characters.

SASQUATCH was a good watch. I saw that when it first came out and remember enjoying, but like a lot of documentaries nowadays, I felt it ran a little long.

And, finally, my wife and I have been making our way through Shudder's 101 SCARIEST as well. I agree with your comment that it does tend to lose its focus on the "scene" and winds up just talking about the film. I also kinda feel their stretching with some of the additions--US was just not scary to me--but that's part of the fun of these shows: arguing their choices as you watch it. For some reason, my wife LOVES this show even though is not a big horror fan. If you haven't seen it, I think Bravo did a VERY similar show back around 2004 that I really liked. It had commentary from Eli Roth and John Landis, if I remember correctly.

[Martin]

If it comes to a service you're subscribed to, you could give it a go. Otherwise, I wouldn't waste your time or money. It only cost me 5 bucks because I go to the movies on cheap Tuesday.

I have a membership at AMC. I can go to as many as three movies a week with no additional expense. I am trying to see one movie a week but do not always make it. That is also why I have seen the trailer so many times. Basically, I can see it for free and have no desire to based on the trailer.

[Brian861]

I can't exactly say why the previews turn me off. The concept could be good, but the previews just strike me as dumb.

If it comes to a service you're subscribed to, you could give it a go. Otherwise, I wouldn't waste your time or money. It only cost me 5 bucks because I go to the movies on cheap Tuesday.

[Martin]

I think that it could have been really good but it was just too slow.

I can't exactly say why the previews turn me off. The concept could be good, but the previews just strike me as dumb.

[Brian861]

The previews of Smile have pretty much convinced me I do not need to see it.

I think that it could have been really good but it was just too slow.

[Martin]

I recently saw Smile and got bored with it quickly. I'll get around to watching the new Hellraiser at some point. Although I've never been a fan of the franchise. My wife loves them and has seen them multiple times.

The previews of Smile have pretty much convinced me I do not need to see it.

[Brian861]

I recently saw Smile and got bored with it quickly. I'll get around to watching the new Hellraiser at some point. Although I've never been a fan of the franchise. My wife loves them and has seen them multiple times.

[dannyboy121070]

I've been on a Halloween tear since October 1st, trying to watch some Horror or Horror adjacent stuff every night. I've already lost track of everything I've watched, but here's what I can recall:

I finished the last few episodes of WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. They somehow managed to make me laugh my ass off and tear up a few times, especially in the last episode. The Laszlo/Baby Colin Robinson relationship was hysterical and poignant. I'll really miss these characters until season five premieres.

SPEAK NO EVIL has been getting a ton of buzz, so I had high hopes. It IS very off-putting and disturbing, but....I must just have seen too many movies, because I saw the end coming a mile away. The characters also made one HUGE, dumb mistake that took me right out of the movie.

V/H/S: I finally got around to watching this, and it was SO FUCKING LONG. Waaaaay too long. I was underwhelmed. One good story, a few predictable ones, and at least one that seemed like it was shot by a kid for a budget of five bucks.

THE CURSED was marketed as a Werewolf movie, and it kinda/sorta was.....not quite, but close enough. Aside from the cheesy CGI on the creature, this was a very good film. Atmospheric, creepy, well-acted, great-looking. This would probably be my highest recommendation out of what I've watched so far this season.

THE CURSE OF ROBERT THE DOLL is a Travel Channel special about the famous cursed doll. Good for what it was. (I love this kind of stuff!) My wife was terrified.....

HELLRAISER premiered this past Friday on Hulu, and was....OK, I guess. Nice to see the franchise get a budget finally. There was a lot I liked (Good effects, decent acting), but, again....SOOOOO LONG. This could have lost, at LEAST, 30 minutes and not suffered a bit. I was not in love with the new Pinhead, but she did her best. The kind of movie you watch and then instantly forget.

X.....Aside from the short in V/H/S, this was mu first Ti West film. Very predictable, but at least it was different. A horny geriatric woman killing people is a first for me. This also seemed a little longer than it needed to be, but it moved along quickly enough, had some good acting and effects, and has me interested in seeing the prequel, PEARL.

I also watched a three-part documentary on Hulu called SASQUATCH, about a triple-homicide that fingered the titular beast as the killer. The first episode does a deep-dive into Bigfoot mythology, and the last two go to some VERY disturbing places. Overall, a very compelling mini-series that I highly recommend.

And I've been dipping in and out of the new Shudder 101 SCARIEST HORROR SCENES, which is totally misnamed, as its more a rundown of FILMS, not scenes. Again, my wife was scared/disgusted, and walked out, lol. I have no one to share the Halloween season with.....

[Sock Monkey]

Halloween Horror Movie #1:

FINAL DESTINATION: I kicked off my annual horror movie watching with an oldie but a goodie: the original FINAL DESTINATION. I haven't seen this movie in probably fifteen years, but I always had good memories about it. And after watching again last night, I can say that it still holds up, especially that scene on the airplane at the beginning of the film. The movie was never particularly scary--even when I saw it the first time--and the character development is pretty much nil, but it is a lot of fun and whips through it's brisk 97 minute runtime. A good way to kick off the Halloween season before I dig into heavier movies.

Grade: B

[Ben Staad]

dannyboy121070 I have never heard of this movie and it sounds like a psychedelics fueled fever dream. Thanks for mentioning it. I will be on the look out for this oddity.

[dannyboy121070]

Wow, I just saw THE weirdest movie.......SHANKS.

I first learned of this bizarre film when I saw it listed on TCM a few years back. It was on way too late for me, and I've had my eye out for it ever since. TCM ran it again last week, in the dead of night again, but this time they have it available on their Watch TCM app. It's available until 9/12, and I can't recommened it enough. If you're on this board, you'll really appreciate this film.

What's it about, you ask..? I spent the whole running time imagining how it could be described.

(Spoilers will follow, so if you're interested in this film, I guess don't read the rest of this post!)

SHANKS is a 1973 mime/Horror/fairy tale concoction starring Marcel Marceau (!!!), and directed by the legendary William Castle (!!!!!).

Marceau stars as Malcolm Shanks, a deaf-mute living somewhere in the midwest, with his harridan sister-in-law and her alcoholic second husband. (All three are french, and living in bumfuck America, for some reason.) Shanks is hired out of the blue as an assistant by a weird old recluse (Also played by Marceau), who is perfecting his method of re-animating dead bodies. (!!!!)

The old man dies, setting off a bizarre series of events resulting in Shanks' family being killed and re-animated as his slaves (!!!). There's also Shanks' creepy relationship with a little girl who is probably 13 or 14. "Mom,. can I go on a picnic with this 55 year old mime?" Sure, no problem!

The little blonde girl goes off with Shanks to the old man's castle, he dresses her up like a bride, and uses his corpse slaves to throw her a birthday party. Of course, the party is crashed by that old 70s B-movie bugaboo, the biker gang. The bikers beat up Malcolm, rape and kill the little girl (!!!!!), and the stage is set for the mime zombies vs bikers finale.

This is a jaw-droppingly weird film. TCM host Alicia Malone said that Marceau made Castle tone down the horrific aspects of the film, and make it more of a fairy tale. I'd hate to see how dark it was before the changes, since this fairy tale features CHILD RAPE AND MURDER!!!! You really have to see this to believe it.

I'd love to hear if anyone else has seen this film....

I can almost guarantee that you've never heard of this creepy little oddity, and this description does not even begin to touch how weird it is.

[Ben Staad]

3D gives me a migraine. So I pass on them as well. IMAX also bothers my head but I think that has something to do with the enhanced sound systems in IMAX theaters and not necessarily the screen. IDK but very loud and booming noises don't work well with me in the theater. Feel similar when watching or listening to an orchestra in person. Headache city.

Weird thing is firing my gun or setting off fireworks doesn't bother me.

I believe it was national cinema day across the country. Saw Jaws for the first time on the big screen in IMAX for 3 bucks as well. Never been a fan of 3D as it causes me motion sickness or something there of the like.

[Sock Monkey]

One of the things that I seriously dislike about this message board are the lack of threads...everything that anyone could possibly talk about are tied up in a handful of threads: Random Thoughts, and What are you reading/watching/listening to? Going forward, I'm going to try to start new threads for books that I'm reading, and movies that I've seen recently, to try to spur on a little more diverse conversation around here. I love the movie talk here, but once we start talking about PREY, for example, then the talk about NOPE dies out. I'd like to have more specific threads on the board that people can pop into and have discussions when they finally get around to seeing/reading specific films and books.

That said......My wife and son and I watched PREY last week, and we all loved it. I thought Amber Midthunder did a great job as the hero. Being adorably cute was also a plus. The animal CGI didn't bother me much, because I'm used to iffy animal CGI at this point. I guess the days of filming an actual bear or dog are gone. (I know the dog was real, I was thinking more about the recent CALL OF THE WILD remake, which I really enjoyed, but the fake dog drove me nuts.) PREY seems to be a huge hit for Hulu, so I'm hoping we get some more Predator adventures in different time periods. And it's still not too late for the Arnold/Danny Glover team-up that I've wanted to see for decades......

My wife and I watched THE BLACK PHONE on Peacock last night. We both enjoyed it, but I'm glad that I didn't see it in a theater. Nothing about it needed to be seen on a big-screen. That make me sad to say, since I used to go to the movies every weekend pre-Covid, but most of my trips to the theater post-Covid have been awful. People just don't know how to act in public anymore. Loud talking, phones, tablets, yelling at the screen......I tend to only go see the big spectacles now, early in the morning, before the assholes wake up, and leave smaller films for home viewing. Back to THE BLACK PHONE....I thought there was some great acting on display, especially the little girl, and Ethan Hawke always kills it, whatever he's in. The dialogue was pretty corny at times, especially the kids, who all spoke in that faux-hip Stephen King kids voice, such as the little sister cursing out the cops and calling them "fartknockers".....And as someone who grew up in that time period, in The Bronx: That was maybe THE most violent neighborhood in America! Kung-fu kids beating the teeth out of bullies, knife-fights at the convenience store, rocks bashing heads and faces, plus a serial killer in a black van, which I would think would make SOME nosy neighbor take notice, lol. Good film, great performances.

I'm also about halfway through Netflix's THE SANDMAN adaptation, but I should start a new thread about that.

I like your ideas of threads taking deeper dives into book or movie discussions. I'm wondering if maybe anyone on the forum would be interested in a group read and discussion?

I'm finding that I am very much in the minority in my disappointment in PREY. I don't think it was bad by any means, but I just didn't like the idea of modernized John Wick-type action.

Your thoughts about modern movie-goers is EXACTLY why I don't go to the theater. The fact that a segment of movie-goers feel like they can behave like a theater is their own living room and tend to act offended when their actions are addressed bothers me to no end. In my opinion, it is this factor, not the increase in theater ticket prices or the reduction in home theater components, that is causing the decline in cinema attendance.

I'm about halfway through THE SANDMAN as well and I've been liking it, but it hasn't been knocking my socks off. But, to be honest, the first arc of the comic which the first half of the season is adapting is probably the weakest in what I remember from the series. My wife feels very lost. I try to explain the best I can. I do like Jenna Coleman as the series Constantine, but I really, really want a very hard R-rated faithful adaptation of the HELLBLAZER.

[Brian861]

I believe it was national cinema day across the country. Saw Jaws for the first time on the big screen in IMAX for 3 bucks as well. Never been a fan of 3D as it causes me motion sickness or something there of the like.