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Post by The Movie Mark on Jun 7, 2007 10:49:46 GMT -5
I know Ms. Cali is the complete opposite in this regard, but I want to be scared! I want to find movies that will creep me out. I want to be so disturbed after watching a horror/scary movie that even I, in all my biker boot studliness, will be looking over my shoulder as I head to my car.
Unfortunately, and surprisingly, there just aren't many films that can accomplish that.
What are some movies that you approached thinking you were going to be scared absolutely out of your wits but ended up walking away severely disappointed?
I'll mention two to start us off...
The Blair Witch Project - GREAT premise. Loved the idea that these kids ventured into the woods, filmed their investigation, went missing, and then their video footage was found.
And the Internet hype was beyond remarkable. I was so naive back then that I believed review after review claiming this was the scariest film of all time, people were having heart attacks at screenings because of how scary it was, people were crying and asking for their money back because they couldn't handle it, etc. etc.
Then I saw the movie and, well, it just plain sucked. The last five minutes were cool, and the movie had a handful of other decent moments, but for the most part, I didn't enjoy watching three unlikable characters whine and complain about a stupid map for 80+ minutes.
By the end I was so rooting for the witch.
Pet Sematary - If I had seen this as a kid then I no doubt would have been a little more fond of it. But a couple of years ago I got on a big kick of looking for really scary books to read. One suggestion I saw over and over was Stephen King's Pet Sematary.
So I headed on over to the library (because Johnny don't pay if Johnny don't have to) and checked this one out. And you know what? It's one creepy book! King weaves a scary little tale here, and he put some darn spooky images in my head.
I couldn't wait to see the movie and watch those spooky images come alive on screen. But then I rented it, and ... not so much. The little kid is kind of creepy, but most of the characters fall flat, and some of my favorite parts in the book weren't even in the film. What happened to the Wendigo??
The movie isn't all that bad, but if you've read and enjoyed the book then it's hard to walk away anything other than disappointed.
This is one horror film that I think really could do well to have a remake.
Next...
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Post by Laslo Hollyfeld on Jun 7, 2007 15:01:08 GMT -5
Oh, JB....once again, you have proven that you have your thumb on the pulse of the Movie Mark audience. OR, at least, your foot on the neck of those who are foolish enough to get in your way.
Needless to say, this thread right here is scratchin' me right where I itch. For I, too, have been the victim of so-called "horror" films which are no scarier than, say, being chased by the third season contestants of America's Next Top Model. For instance:
Maximum Overdrive. Emilio Estevez is consistently out acted by a Peterbilt with a plastic clown face. If there's a better metaphor for his career, I haven't heard it.
Speaking of other Stephen King attempts...
Christine. The car was cool, the soundtrack had enough old time rock and roll to appease Bob Segar, but come on...
The Langoliers. Remember when this was on tv years ago? People get sucked backwards in time about five minutes to watch the world get eated by badly CGI'd tootsie rolls with teeth. Yeah. When Balki from Perfect Strangers is your main psycho bad guy, there's a problem. What's the matter? Was Jaleel White unavailable?
Okay, I'll ease off Mister King, even though I could spend a while talking about the TV version of The Shining.
Now then...
The Haunting. Liam Neeson, Catharine Zeta Jones and Owen Wilson hang out in a haunted house that wouldn't scare Scooby Doo. Seriously, when the "main ghost" comes stumbling down the stairs in the big climax, I half expected someone to pull off his mask and reveal that it was really Old Man Carruthers who knew of the treasure in the basement, and wanted to scare everyone away.
And that's all just off the top of my head.
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Post by The Movie Mark on Jun 8, 2007 10:01:41 GMT -5
Ah, The Haunting - thanks for reminding me. Catherine Zeta-Jones was fresh off Entrapment and had light-sped her way to the top of my Hollywood crush list, so naturally, I was looking forward to this.
Plus, throw in some comic relief by Owen Wilson, the respectability of Liam Neeson agreeing to a role, and a little haunted house action, and how could you go wrong?
Welp, the proof is in the viewing. You can go VERY wrong. The last 10-15 minutes were ridiculously bad, but I did get a few laughs out of it.
The original is much better, even without CZJ's presence.
I thought of another one to throw into the mix...
Phantasm - Mr. Shade recommended this once when I asked if he had any suggestions for a good horror movie. He neglected to mention he hadn't seen the film since he was 10.
The entire movie consists of a stupid sphere flying around and killing people. I don't even know how it would have scared me when I was 10. I picked up the rental box and laughed in its face.
I've found that's the best way to dish out a little symbolic defiance. Try it sometime.
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Post by tangentgirl on Jun 9, 2007 1:19:07 GMT -5
Hmm.... I'll have to think on this one. I will tell you that Dark Waters was a serious disappointment. There are very few Stephen King movies that seem to satisfy me. * The ones that do aren't really "horror movies" (See Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, etc..) Although I wouldn't say it was a good film, by any stretch of the imagination... Children of the Corn did actually creep me out as a child. I used to get a bit twitchy in college driving home at 3 and 4am from my friends' house in the country. Back roads of nothing but corn fields. (It was college though... and I freely admit to often being a bit "paranoid" w/ a case of the munchies most of those drives home.  ) Okay... I'll think on this... I, too, actually like to feel scared in horror movies. (I prefer the suspenseful or thought-provoking scary to just blood and gore though). |
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Post by AustralianAnn on Jun 9, 2007 21:27:19 GMT -5
No, no, no, no, no. This is one of my favourite horror movies. It's so hokey, the acting is so bad, the villainous truck so impressionable, that I can watch this over and over. I own a VHS and a DVD copy. Pat Hingle is da bomb.
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Post by Laslo Hollyfeld on Jun 10, 2007 7:10:38 GMT -5
No, no, no, no, no. This is one of my favourite horror movies. It's so hokey, the acting is so bad, the villainous truck so impressionable, that I can watch this over and over. I own a VHS and a DVD copy. Pat Hingle is da bomb. Okay, fine. I agree with everything you said. However, if you're using words and phrases like "hokey," and "bad acting," does it still qualify as a horror? That's the whole point that JB was making initially--that there are some movies that fail miserably in their attempts to scare the audience. I submit that if you spend most of a movie laughing at bad acting, hokey dialogue, Emilio Estevez, and you don't find yourself feeling frightened in the slightest, then guess what? It ain't a horror movie. There's another term for a film like that--comedy. |
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Post by MsCali on Jun 10, 2007 11:39:47 GMT -5
Oh, Dark Water was horrid! I wasn't even that scared by it (so really, can it qualify as a horror movie? EVERYTHING scares me!), and story was just stupid. So stupid.
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Post by tangentgirl on Jun 11, 2007 13:48:20 GMT -5
Yeah, my friend and I saw that for my birthday and I wished we had seen Fantastic Four instead.... which is probably why I didn't think that movie was as bad as everyone else did--- because at least I didn't keep dozing off during it. They came out w/ a "director's cut/ unedited" version of Dark Water and I thought to myself --- why would anyone who saw the theatrical version submit him/herself to re-watching that atrocity? Who knows? Maybe that version is scarier. I'm not wasting valuable time to find out. TANGENT---> This is an off shoot of this thread, as it hasn't happened yet and who knows what it would actually be like.... but.... I heard a rumor that the proverbial "They" were thinking about remaking The Thing. Please don't!!! I think I'd be disappointed if they did. (Who knows for sure though.) Which reminds me.... (insert me zipping off to another thread! ) |
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Post by MsCali on Jun 13, 2007 14:44:19 GMT -5
I saw a rather unedited version of Dark Water (test audience, one of the first) and it was still awful. I never saw the final cut, so I have no idea what they left out.
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Post by nikkibluejeans on Jun 29, 2007 2:16:55 GMT -5
NOOOOO! Ok, I was one who saw it as a kid, and I read the book after I saw the movie. Perhaps that made all the difference...  I still like it, though.
It's cool that you read the book, JB! Cujo's a great book, too. And Night Shift (short stories). 
I was disappointed in Secret Window.
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Post by The Movie Mark on Jul 2, 2007 12:53:01 GMT -5
NOOOOO! Ok, I was one who saw it as a kid, and I read the book after I saw the movie. Perhaps that made all the difference... I still like it, though.
It's cool that you read the book, JB! Cujo's a great book, too. And Night Shift (short stories).
Thanks for the tip. I'll check these out. I'll start with Night Shift since it sounds like it's more my style. I concur with the opinions regarding Dark Water. If I were 15 then I'd likely say something like, "Dark Water? More like Dark Poop!" But I'm not 15, so I will not say that. I know Ms. Cali and Ms. Ang previously bashed it, but it came on Encore one night, and I'm always game to stare at Jennifer Connelly's beautiful face for a couple of hours, so I decided to check it out. A few months later and I don't remember a thing about it except it bored me and offered not a single memorable moment. Speaking of Stephen King adaptations, any thoughts on the TWO stabs at Salem's Lot? The original scared me when I was young, but I watched it again a couple of years ago and wasn't impressed. Don't even get me started on Return to Salem's Lot. I watched the Rob Lowe version when it originally aired on TBS or TNT or whatever it was, and I really don't remember anything about it. I think it was all right, but it obviously didn't leave a lasting impression. |
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Post by shaneo6930 on Oct 11, 2007 14:43:35 GMT -5
The Return. Sarah Michelle Gellar is number 3 on my crush list (After Jorja Fox and Jessica Alba) so I was anticipating this. Suckbomb! It's so boring.
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I still like it, though.
