Agreed with everything you said.

The scene in Basket Case was a Taxi Driver reference though wasn't it? I think the guy says the EXACT SAME LINES that the gun salesman says in Taxi Driver.. "need any uppers, downers, qualudes, black beauties..." etc etc etc. I figured it was cuz this was his first trip to New York so Henenlotter was trying to say that everyone in New York acts like the gun dealer from TAXI DRIVER?

Man I love the atmosphere in Basket Case... it would only be one-upped by Brain Damage, I think. New york in the 80's... sexy.

I didn't know about the Taxi Driver connection but it makes a lot of sense. The sleazy bar scenes also seem quite similar to those in Mean Streets. What I also like about stuff like Basket Case, Nightmares, Maniac, etc, is the way they seemed really close to porn - without the sex. There are scenes in Basket Case that seem more like the dialogue build up you'd find in a Jaimie Gillis film (who crossed the boundary from the other direction, with films like Water Power). And Cronenberg employing Marilyn Chambers for Rabid speaks volumes. That whole horror/porn thing didn't disappear; some of the Troma stuff gets there but in a more cartoon-like way and there's a lot of stuff now that's tied in with the whole goth/fetish thing, but I'll always have a soft spot for the sleazier Times Square atmosphere that marked films like Basket Case.

badass/10

My second time watching it, and I still think atsonicpark put it best when he said that it's as if Godard made a giallo flick. The use of foreground in this feature is stunning. I must say that I fond the plot of the film to be a little on the weak side, with the pretty ladies and chickens being the highlights in that respect. Killer soundtrack too.

oh yeah it's definitely a weak plotted film, but the INSANE colors and editing and so on definitelym akes it worthwhile. it's just insane. i dunno if it's even as insane as the opening of ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, though.

still, one of my favorite giallos ever.. though my favorite is 1973's torso.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

All this talk of giallos made me finally get around to watching this




Giallo. 5/10

A bit disappointing, both as an Argento film and a giallo. All the themes are there but it seems pretty flat. And Brody's double-role as the killer is absurd.

It was apparently written as a homage to Bava and Argento and the script was pushed around Hollywood, but with no takers. Eventually Argento himself landed the job of effectively directing a homage to himself. That could've been really interesting but Argento has since said that he wasn't at all happy with the final cut and having very little control over the film from the beginning.

yeah didn't like giallo at all. cool cover though.

the cover is awful, especially considering the success of Gomorra (the book) here in italy...

There's already a film of the Gomorrah book but it's not Argento's Giallo, which wasn't based on a book at all.

I know, but this has nothing to do with what I meant.

this is the cover of gomorra (the book), italian edition (dunno outside italy)





warhol and stuff.
It's been all over the place the last few years, making another "cover" with knives is plain lazy (for the italian market)...perhaps I'm being too "obscure" here..

Ah, gotcha. And in that case I agree

< HahahahahaHAahaHA

To me, Bride of Frank almost seemed as if it was made by PFFR. I kept on getting flashbacks to Final Flesh, and Giuseppe's flicks. Then there was the blowjob scene, not too dissimilar from the one in Pink Flamingos. A wonderfully entertaining, extremely vulgar, yet ultimately kind-hearted flick. I really enjoyed the kills too.

District 9

8/10

I loved the pseudo-documentary feel of the opening. The aliens managed to look realistic and fake at the same time, though, and I would've preferred a less bittersweet ending. Overall, it was an enjoyable film with a believable (for the most part) premise, almost like aliens meets Apartheid. Best part was when he got into the alien mech. Loved it when the general got his.

A Christmas Story

9/10

I've wanted to see this one for a while, based on its "holiday classic" status. I think it deserves it. We've all been there; what (Christmas-celebrating) kid didn't have that one toy they wanted so bad and as adults, treasured the memory of when they finally got it? The subplot with the lamp was well-executed and didn't get in the way too much.

Pan's Labrynith

8/10

I usually don't like watching movies with subtitles because it makes them hard to follow, but I had no trouble with this one. I enjoyed how well the film balanced wonderous fantasy with bleak reality. A lot of people have said the Pale Man sequence is really scary, but I didn't think it was too bad.

Falling Down

7/10

Joel Schumacher probably deserves more credit than he's gotten after ruining Batman movies until Christopher Nolan came along, but still...here, he takes an idea that could be anything from hilarious to terrifying and turns it into an arthouse movie for dummies. All the plot points and the visual connotations associated with them are completely obvious. Like Phonebooth, another Schumacher-led good idea turned meh, the depressing (yet inevitable) conclusion brings it down.

Mother of Tears. 3/10

Oh dear, Dario.

9/10

Absolutely terrifying.





More fun than most will admit.

Very fun. I'm surprised to see that its rating is so low on IMDB. One of the better B-movies that I've seen.




Well, at least it was better than A Vampire in Brooklyn.

The Dentist - is terrifying
Velentine - is better than ppl say. Some excellent kills. Denise Richards.
Dr. Alien - never saw it. Looks awesome.
Def By Temptation - good. You don't like Vampire In Bk? As far as comdy-horror, it's decent.

A lot of low budget movies are rated low on imdb, mostly because close-minded normal fucktards think that because a movie has a low budget that it's somehow devoid of worth. Oh no, the only thing these sort of people like are big hollywood pictures that have no substance to them at all, a fixture of cliched dialogue and cliched music gives the impression to the misinformed that what they're watching is 'epic' even if it is set in standards in movies that have been done to death. It is somehow like music, certain chord structures TELL the listener that the piece is meant to be 'sad', instead of bringing a sad aura from the atmosphere, tone and passion in the piece played. It's almost like people who have no perception in these things are TOLD what emotion the song is trying to convey and it's exactly the same in cinema. Most people tend to look at low budget movies and try and derive comedy out of them even if that's not the movie's main purpose. You know Surf Nazis Must Die? On that board there's tons of 'is this so bad that it's good?' questions. Why? Because it's low budgeted and has a stupid promo poster? No, it's just a good movie, people see the premise and the shoddy production cost and think that somehow what they're getting is of inferior quality. Oh, never mind the great dialogue, the great pace, the insane ending, the overall surreality and originality of the movie... all that matters if that it doesn't look like a multi-million dollar feature so it's automatically crap. Ugh.

great choice

Meh. This was alright. There are just so many better werewolf films out there, including the infinitely wittier, and superior Ginger Snaps. Gah, I think Ginger Snaps may be my favorite werewolf movie of all time. Oh well, at least Christina Ricci was looking as good as usual.

@ NR - Nah, I found Vampire in Brooklyn to be a pretty dull film. Which sucks, 'cause I was really expecting a rollercoaster ride with that one. You should really seek out Dr. ALIEN! It was a lot different than I was expecting, it almost seemed like if Hennenlotter directed Better Off Dead with John Cusack... or something. Definitely worth a watch.

@Derek - It really is a shame since most independent films with severely low budgets really represent what the filmmaking craft is all about. Not only are these films crafted by dreamers who suffer the remarkably difficult task of trying to get their 80+ minute visions onto the screen, but low budget films also tend to be more reluctant to bend to the wills of their financial investors. He who has the gold, makes the rules. Less gold, less rules. That is, unless you're a Scorsese, Tarantino, Spielberg, Apatow, or somebody...

Great choice! Welcome to the board!

The original VHS version (unedited at all) of 'STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE'

fucking awesome.

Fuck lucas for changing them....

Ginger Snaps is AMAZING
Ginger Snaps 2 is ok
Ginger Snaps 3 is kind of meh

I actually fucking love Cursed. I always have. I don't know. I love werewolfs though anyway. ANd I love Craven. And Ricci. I just think it's really fun.

Vampire In Brooklyn is more like "oh yeah, that was better than I expected" kind of thing. Shrug

I'll see Dr Alien at some point.

can't go wrong with a Yuzna/Gordon.

Oh yes...haha ! I had a girl leave early because she was disturbed when I chose this for a birthday slumber party....9 years old ?

Man Who Stole The Sun - 10/10

...Did he ?

Yes, the first Ginger Snaps is obviously the best of the bunch. That film is a modern horror masterpiece, if I've ever seen one. I thought the second film was pretty wild, and a fair attempt at a sequel to such a well-made gem - I dug it for what it was. The third was enjoyable to me, although it was basicaly just a period piece, re-hash of the original. It did have a few unique twists thrown in, like that deformed kid, and was generally worth watching just to see the Fitzgerald sisters back in action again.

Hot damn, Katharine Isabelle...



As a fan of Craven and Ricci, I liked Cursed too; but it just wasn't as on-the-ball as Ginger Snaps or An American Werewolf in London, didn't have the demented bleakness and animated lycanthrope sex scene of The Howling, nor the undeniable classic status of 1941's The Wolf Man. I mean, there are definitely worse werewolf films out there, but for a flick written by Kevin Williamson, and directed by Wes Craven... it just fell a bit flat in my eyes.

You should definitely check out Dr. ALIEN! whenever you get the chance, but I'm still waiting on you to listen to EsHaM's Closed Casket. You should get to that first.

I guess a part of me is like Craven/Williams/Ricci? It wins! haha.

anyway:

Ginger Snaps IS a masterpiece. ANd you know that immediately. Opening credits bro! It's like "WOAH I'm in for a treat!" And yeah Katherine Isobel rules. I wish she was in way more horror movies. But that movie is just perfect. I mean the visuals, the writing, the chemistry of the sisters, Katherine getting "hot(ter?)", the girls' "curse" double-entendre etc. It's just perfect.

the 2nd is good, but c'mon man Emily Perkins w/o Katherine just isn't right. That chemisty is missing. It's not perfect. (I still LIKE it)

the 3rd I was thrilled to see Katherine return, but I don't know. I don't like the period-piece angle. It felt clunky to me. BUT Katherine's in it. So it's good. haha.

I'm trying to think of her other horror roles...

Freddy v Jason - is where I think I first was like "hey! who's that?" Plus it has her boobdouble in it. haha.

Carrie 2 she's in right? Or the Rage or wahtever it was calleD? I don't remember.

other horror?

she SHOULD have just done horror & been a screamQueen cuz Ginger is an iconic character in my brain.

I agree. The lack of chemistry did damper the 2nd film.

Anywho, just checked Katherine's IMDB, since I didn't recall her being in Carrie 2. It seems she was actually in a 2002 made-for-TV adaptation of the novel. Ha!

According to this list here, her first horror role was on the Goosebumps TV show in '96, then in '98 she did an X-Files episode. In 2000 she did a film called Spooky House, Ginger Snaps, some show called The Fearing Mind, and then Nickelodeon's Snow Day, haha! Then she did that horror movie, Bones w/ Snoop Dogg, and an episode of Night Visions in 2001 An episode of the Outer Limits in '02, as well as doing the amazing Al Pacino/Robin Williams thriller, Insomnia. Freddy Vs. Jason in '03, the Ginger Snaps sequels in '04... and then a bunch of tv work I don't feel like listing off (a few horror), a DTV sequel to 30 Days of Night, and a Charlie Manson biopic that should coming out this year.

If Katherine Isabelle isn't a scream queen - then I don't know who is. It's a shame that her IMDB page doesn't even have a picture of her uploaded. This girl really has what it takes to be a big star.

yes!

she's one of my favorite neo Scream Queens. BTW that Manson pic has Linnea Quigley in it too.

I think she's so overlooked when ppl bring up horror girls.

For me she's up there. She rules.