So glad someone checked out Black Tapes - it’s been hard for me not to just binge on it, it’s that good. Really glad you’re enjoying it. 
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So, as discussed I watched Don’t Breathe last night. Thought it was decent enough for mainstream horror - home invasion thriller with the twist revealed quite comprehensively in the trailer, although not as much spoiled as I might have thought. Stephen Lang was particularly good as The Man - especially his Darth Vader style voice when he finally got into conversation. Nice nods to Cujo too. Nowhere near as good as broadly similarly themed Hush though. 6/10
Also watched - The Boy (2016). Having watched 10 minutes of The Boy (2015) before realising I’d got the wrong film, this settled into creepy English stately home territory quite quickly. Starring Laura Cohen (Maggie from The Walking Dead who is always pleasing to watch) and Rupert Evans continuing his horror career after The Canal, this has some good jump scares couple with a genuine sense of unease. The cinematography of the dark, poorly lit house setting is effective and claustrophobic. Keeps you guessing to the end just where it is going. 7/10
gave up watching Don’t Breathe about halfway through, absolutely nothing to recommend it imo… aside from anything else it’s not even loosely horror. have seen a similar concept done better with The Collector, which is a decent enough film.
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Watched last night, Channel Zero - Candle Cove finale…
Have REALLY enjoyed this six parter, even more so than the much compared Stranger Things. It is super creepy, off the wall unsettling and genuinely original - there are nods to Twin Peaks but it really is its own thing. Sound design, soundtrack and pacing were all spot on for me too. From reading reviews on IMDB it would appear that this isn’t for everyone, but for me this was probably the best TV series of the year. 10/10
Watched Ryan Gosling’s much-maligned Lost River last night. Definitely not a conventional horror film in any strict sense of the genre, this still has moments and scenes that owe a lot to horror. I came to this by way of a glowing recommendation in Rue Morgue and figured that there was no way it could be as bad as its reputation. And of course, it isn’t. In fact, there’s a lot to like here. The cinematography is amazing and the soundtrack is lush. Sure, Gosling wears his influences on his sleeves but the story is far from the incomprehensible mess it’s been portrayed as in some reviews and he personalizes the material enough to make it his own. You could put this on a triple-bill with It Follows and Only Lovers Left Alive for a really interesting horror-themed look at the way different directors have portrayed Detroit-centric urban decay in recent American film and probably have a pretty enjoyable evening. Recommended if you want something that draws upon certain aspects of the genre without necessarily being a horror film itself…
Watched last night - Dead Of Summer finale…
Had been looking around for something to fill the post Channel Zero void and this did the job nicely. 10 episode series set in 1989 focusing on a group of young adults at a summer camp by the lake, so something of a familiar set up. That said, it’s actually relatively gore free, no nudity and virtually no frowned upon drink and drug use, so if you’re after Camp Blood it’s going to feel a little light weight. It does however cover axe wielding maniacs, devil cults, exorcism, ghosts, creatures in the lake and just about anything else it can throw at the wall. In general, it is hokey as anything but good fun if you don’t take it too seriously. Killer 80s soundtrack and a good role for Candyman too. 7/10
Got round to watching the 2014 remake/sequel/re-quel/se-make of The Town that Dreaded Sundown last night. Had been wanting to see this for a while; I watched the original earlier this year and liked it well enough and I’d heard some good things about the new version. And… it’s OK. It’s all very stylishly shot and the meta aspect of having it refer back to the original film (going so far as to have the son of the original film’s director be a character in the new one) is an interesting plot device. But… ultimately, this is a horror whodunit and the final reveal left me quite disappointed. There are a couple of good jump scares and the central actress is likeable enough. But again, when the killer is finally unmasked the reveal was underwhelming. One of the things that made the original interesting is SPOILERS!!! the fact that the identity of the killer is never discovered, as was the case with the crimes upon which the film is based. Here though, that’s arguably not really an option – the events in the requel are entirely fictional and so we want our Scooby-Doo moment when the mask gets pulled off and we found out who’s underneath. It would have just been nice to have that character be someone that had been more fully fleshed out in the preceding 80-odd minutes. Oh and to not have the ending be so reminiscent of a 90s movie that got the whole meta-slasher ball rolling in the first place. Still, prior to the ending, it’s all fairly engaging with some really nice photography. In the end, I’d recommend checking this out if you’re a fan of the original, but if you haven’t seen that you could probably live a pretty happy life without ever seeing this. Its failings may well have a lot to do with who it was made by – apparently, a lot of the crew worked on American Horror Story and that totally makes sense, in that both ventures are often a case of style to burn, with little substance underneath…
Does anyone use Shudder? It’s basically a horror version of Netflix. Haven’t found much on there apart from The Canal which was excellent - suggest me stuff if I’m missing good’uns.
Just had a look, not much on there I haven’t seen that appeals. Some worth a watch:
Witching and Bitching, Tenebrae, The Battery, The Beyond. The Visitor and The Happiness of the Katakuris are batshit mental. I like them.
In addition to Shimmetry’s picks, which are all excellent, I would most recommend Absentia and Pontypool from that list, both of which I have banged on about lots on here.
From the other recent stuff, would also check out The Innkeepers, House Of The Devil and Lake Mungo, Willow Creek too if you like found footage stuff. And Shutter is excellent Asian horror if that’s your thing.
For 80s madness, Society and The Demons are great. Carnival Of Souls is a stone cold classic in the horror genre and much imitated. How Can Kill A Child is a good 70s period piece.
Oh, and Silent Night Deadly Night because of the time of year natch…
Anyone got any Christmas horror films on the horizon? I think I’m going to re-watch Christmas Evil soon. Got it this time last year and after a couple of viewings found myself really enjoying it. Also just got Scream Factory’s new Blu-Ray of Black Christmas, so I’m pretty psyched to get to that in the next few weeks.
Also, if you’re sick to death of Christmas music, you could do worse than check out Midnight Syndicate’s Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering: Christmas Overture - YouTube
[https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.Vaf75cf29571cd8610197262c30311d7b&pid=Api]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc2zq260G7w&list=PLloOnRlpJE4dyWaGg7_isce4C3JEWywBN
Christmas Overturehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc2zq260G7w&list=PLloOnRlpJE4dyWaGg7_isce4C3JEWywBN
Provided to YouTube by CDBaby Christmas Overture · Midnight Syndicate Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering ? 2015 Midnight Syndicate Released on: 2015-10-01 Auto …
I assume it counts, but I watched Krampus on Krampusnacht itself the other day. The film is actually set at Christmas however so I’m counting it.
Entertaining in a light hearted way - the initial set up is similar to National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and the actual peril section of the film is about as scary as Gremlins or Toy Soldiers. Nice creature design for Krampus himself. The ending just about manages to skirt the it-was-all-a-dream pitfall. Also, always nice to see Toni Collette in anything. 7/10
This to Toni Collette
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For the FAO of @SloameOcean have you seen this:
The Entire 'Phantasm' Saga Was Edited Together Into ONE Film! - Bloody Disgusting
Also for the FAO of @SloameOcean how are you getting on with The Black Tapes? I was renovating my cellar all of last week and listened to pretty much the entire two sessions over the course of four days which made being underground/out of daylight for 8 hours per day…atmospheric. One thing I want to know, and I’ll spoiler it for anyone who has never listened to any of the show…
Have YOU switched to stamps.com?
Howdy Pentago! Nope, that Phantasm link must have slipped past me. Will check it out when I get home from work.
As for the Black Tapes, you’re much further ahead than I am. I just listened to maybe the 9th episode of the first season (the one where the guy travels to Russia to get help from having heard the Unsound…) Am still really enjoying them, and I’m assuming you are too. I must admit, I’ve been listening to them when I get home from work on Wednesdays and have the house to myself for a bit and they’ve been freaking me out. Seriously. I’m a fucking wimp - and I love it!
Got an email from them recently saying they’re working on a 3rd season so let’s hope the quality stays high - it’s definitely been one of my favourite horror discoveries of 2016…
To cope with the comedown from ripping through Black Tapes so quickly, I’ve now moved on to their sister show Tanis. Also good…
What’s it about?
Without wanting to give too much away, it’s set in the same world as Black Tapes but more focused on hacking/internet conspiracy ideas.
Does Alex Regan do it?
It’s the mirror image of Black Tapes, so Nic Silver is the lead with Alex Regan as a supporting player.
I do love Alex Regan’s dulcet tones…