8-Bit Life: Horror Movies Podcast

Hey everyone, I was invited back to a podcast recently to talk about horror movies since I'm an avid horror fan. You can check out the discussion here:

 

8-bit life Halloween Podcast

 

This actually went online just before the latest Freeman's Mind, so I held off a few days announcing it so it wouldn't be buried immediately. This podcast isn't really an interview, but is more talking about one horror movie after another, there ended up being a lot of title dropping in the thread. If you're not into scary movies, you may not get much out of this podcast, but if you are, it's an extra bonus.

 

At the end of the podcast I ask the audience if they have any recommendations for any scary movies they've seen, specifically the truly terrifying stuff. That offer extends here also, although odds are anything you recommend I've already seen. It's questionable how much time I'll have to watch any this year, but I'm happy to add to my "to watch" list if people have recommendations for some really scary stuff.

 

LINK TO FORUM COMMENTS

My top 3 scary movies are actually in my top 10 movies of all time:

1. Poltergeist

2. The Shining (Jack Nicholson)

3. The Exorcist

 

Beyond those 3, some scary ones that I've had the pleasure of watching include The Messengers, The Others and The Cabin in the Woods.

 

And, while I'd classify them as horror, they weren't really that scary would be Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness, with AoD actually also having a spot in my top 10 movies of all time. Also: American Werewolf in London was great!

 

EDIT: Funny story. I first saw Poltergeist in the movie theater. The movie came out in 1982 and I was born in 1977 (damned kids, get off mah lawn!). I was five years old when I saw it. Afterwards, for obvious reasons, I could not go into toy stores for almost a year because they had stuffed animals and they'd always have a stuffed clowns. You could not DRAG me into a toy store. Finally, I had to swallow my fear of the toy stores and finally realized that these fabric and cotton-filled things couldn't hurt me.

While I`m not a fan of horror movies, and wouldn`t even watch one voluntarily (suspense, thriller -> just fine), there`s one movie that SOMEWHAT fits into this category, it`s horror and it`s strange.

 

I can`t quite recommend it, because what I like about this film is the side category this movie falls into (or is it main?) which is "cliche exploiting", "satire", which other people may not like, and I don`t know how popular the movie is.

 

After that short foreword, I give you:

 

The Worst Horror Movie Ever Made (2005).

 

Be sure to find 2005 version.

 

HUGE(this adjective might be redundant, considering the size of the letters) DISCLAIMER:

Do not watch if you`re looking for suspense horror, and not for horror that has explicit content -> blood, axes and so on (even satirically).

So, it`s not for an easily upset tummy.

Daniel: I've seen all of those, but thanks for the suggestions!

 

McFirson: I actually haven't seen that one, I can definitely check it out. Regarding satire, "Behind The Mask" falls in that vein.

The French "Martyrs".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029234/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

There's a 1992 Belgian movie with a very similar premise (a camera crew follows around a serial killer to watch him do his thing), though with different themes, tone, and humor, called "Man Bites Dog". It's up in the air on whether that one actually qualifies as horror. The whole thing is on Youtube if you're interested. It might come off as pretentious or exploitative, but I thought it was funny and unsettling. That's not a response to your "recommend something really scary" prompt, by the way- I'm just noting the similarities.

 

Have you ever seen "The Devil's Rejects"?

Yeah I've seen Martyrs, Man Bites Dog, and The Devil's Rejects. Martyrs is more the "torture horror" which isn't really my favorite type, though the ending helps make up for it. Man Bites Dog is an intense movie since it tries to be extremely realistic to the point where it's very disturbing. I remember my favorite scene being when they run into the other film crew. The Devil's Rejects is good, but I honestly liked House of 1000 Corpses a little better, although even that was a mixed bag. In general I thought the comic moments of House of 1000 Corpses were terrific, with the horror elements just feeling random more than anything else. My favorite parts by far were anything involving Captain Spaulding. I absolutely love the opening scene to 1000 Corpses, it's too bad it didn't maintain the level the whole way through.

I found weird than 3 people talking about horror movies and its evolutions, left outside Ed Wood. Those aren't scary, but they were made with that intention.

I've seen "The Mist", the movie based upon the book by Stephen King which supposedly influenced the creation of Half-Life... but I couldn't get into it. The characters seemed to be pretty stupid, IMHO, not acting how real life people would act in such a situation. Maybe the book was better, I don't know.

Well come on, I'm assuming you've seen Candyman.

Despite being on my list for years, I only watched it this week. It may not be incredibly terrifying, but it does what most horror movies should be better at doing.

The Mist is more of a novella than full novel. The movie is remarkably faithful to it, although the novella closes with

I preferred the movie's end; I think it shows respect for the viewer when characters aren't saved from hard choices by ambiguity or deus ex machina.

 

Poltergeist...I watched that three times when I was like eight and I liked it, but I didn't think of it as a particularly 'scary' movie, except for the

Honestly I didn't find it any more unsettling than a comedy like Ghostbusters. Both had one memorably scary scene and end with the evil going away till the sequel.

Well, I know of some really good BOOKS in the horror genre. A lot (if not all) of Lovecraft's work is amazing, Stephen King is also a recommended author, and let's not forget about House of Leaves, which is less scary, and more, "creepy". Personally, I'd love a house that

Alien, REC, Marebito, Haute Tension, Martyrs, Inside, The Uninvited Guest, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Others, Session 9, The Orphanage, Texas Chainsaw Massacre

 

Read House Of Leaves if you want to go crazy.

Ross i saw the interview and you guys didn't mention sinister.So check it out. the plot it's quite simple but the creepy build up is very good.

Anyone see Alien?

I found weird than 3 people talking about horror movies and its evolutions, left outside Ed Wood. Those aren't scary, but they were made with that intention.

Yeah it was weird, the other guy on the podcast was sort of talking like horror began in the 80s, they didn't really discuss the earlier horror, I was just going with the direction he wanted to take the podcast. For me personally, I feel like horror didn't start to get actually scary by modern standards until the late 50s or early 60s. Psycho was definitely a landmark film in that regard.

 

Ross i saw the interview and you guys didn't mention sinister.So check it out. the plot it's quite simple but the creepy build up is very good.

I might have missed that one actually, I can look into it.

 

Alien, REC, Marebito, Haute Tension, Martyrs, Inside, The Uninvited Guest, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Others, Session 9, The Orphanage, Texas Chainsaw Massacre

 

Read House Of Leaves if you want to go crazy.

I've seen all the ones mentioned except the Asian ones, I've never really gotten into the Japanese or Korean horrors that much. It might just be a different presentation style, I don't know. My favorite of those mentioned would be Session 9 and REC.

 

And yes, I've seen The Mist and Candyman.

I dont know much about horror really and sort of dont understand why people like to scare themselves (maybe someone can explain the concept to me). I do remember my friend got me to watch this really damn weird "experimental horror" called Begotten though which was just this guy disemboweling himself. It wasnt scary really, just nauseating.

This classic one scared me when in childhood

Don't Look Now (1973)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUWB-Kw4FiM

I dont know much about horror really and sort of dont understand why people like to scare themselves (maybe someone can explain the concept to me). I do remember my friend got me to watch this really damn weird "experimental horror" called Begotten though which was just this guy disemboweling himself. It wasnt scary really, just nauseating.

Yeah I'm not a huge fan of gross out horror like that, I prefer scary situations by far. As for why, I think in my mind it's kind of the same sense you get of exploration of the unknown, except that in horror, you know that what you're "exploring" via a game or movie is more hardcore and there's something with some teeth out there, heightening the experience.

 

This classic one scared me when in childhood Don't Look Now (1973)

Yeah I've seen that one. I remember it being rather dull overall, but the ending is very good. This is one of those movies that falls under the category of "this really only needs to be 30-45 minutes, but we're going to drag it out to a full-length movie instead" for me.

I found weird than 3 people talking about horror movies and its evolutions, left outside Ed Wood. Those aren't scary, but they were made with that intention.

Yeah it was weird, the other guy on the podcast was sort of talking like horror began in the 80s, they didn't really discuss the earlier horror, I was just going with the direction he wanted to take the podcast. For me personally, I feel like horror didn't start to get actually scary by modern standards until the late 50s or early 60s. Psycho was definitely a landmark film in that regard.

 

Agreed. Horror before that time is now considered campy, being Ed Wood one of the main examples. I still have to see F.W. Murnaus's Nosferatu. And regarding Dracula, I remember being genuinely scared with the intro of Coppola's adaptation of Dracula, when Gary Oldman thow his sword into the cross and it starts to bleed. Probably due to the visual style of the preceding sequence, with rotoscoped silhouettes, and the mix of religious and heretic elements, plus the historical factor that Vlad actually existed and he wasn't a very nice guy.

 

In high school I liked reading Edgar Allan Poe's stories. In my "To Watch" list, there's a huge spot called Roger Corman-Vincent Price-Poe. I read that those films were historical significant, mostly because they were produced outside large studios. Not sure about their quality, production values or scare capability. But I rather watch them over Sharknado. Have you seen any of those?