The Everyday Hell Of It All - The Rolling Horror Thread 2021

Watched last night Spiral (From The Book Of Saw)

Had…middling hopes for this as let’s face it, this series has been fairly rubbish since the second instalment. However, the involvement of Chris Rock in the story scripting was at least interesting enough to get me watching. This has most of the hallmarks of a classic Saw film, although this time they have at least acknowledged that Jigsaw is definitely dead and the killer is a copycat. Chris Rock brings some charisma to the film, something that has been sorely lacking in most of the sequels. Plus his character actually has a back story, something only really afforded to Jigsaw himself previously. Samuel L Jackson does his thing playing the role of a shouty man well enough. This is actually a quite nicely put together film, with Darren Lynn Bousman (in his fourth stint in the Saw directing chair) shooting the whole thing in nice blue and red tones and Charlie Clouser again providing a suitably tension inducing score - feels like it’s trying to position itself as Se7en adjacent. That said, after a promising start this becomes more of the same, only with some fairly tired traps and a ridiculously easy to guess bad guy reveal. Overall, this is probably the best Saw film aside from the genuinely groundbreaking original but unfortunately that is not saying much. 5/10

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I did (tentatively) like the first film but the franchise is risible. Among other things the attempts to paint Jigsaw as having some kind of moral code would be laughable if so many people didn’t buy it.

The next film they’re doing is a Marvel movie! (Moon Knight)

Spring is still my favourite of theirs, think of it as Before Sunrise with tentacles and you won’t go wrong. I liked Synchronic, but I didn’t love it, and I was sad about the dog

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Was gonna say - remember seeing the noughties one as a teen and don’t recall the consensus being that favourable (I did actually like it at the time though)!

I momentarily forgot it existed (I’ve also never seen it)

I had no idea they’re doing Moon Knight, that’s very cool.

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Just got a shudder for 99p a month for 3 months deal so lined up Sator, Relic, Psycho Goreman and Caveat that are new since I last subscribed. Anything else new worth watching?

Possum is on there and well worth a watch. I enjoyed Vivarium a lot too, and The Beach House

Watched Caveat last night. Thought it was brilliant. It did what a lot of films of those ilk doesn’t and actually had a story that came together rather than leaving it ambiguous. The whole marketing around the rabbit is weird though, it barely features

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Seen all those and enjoyed, looking at my watch history it’s only 6 weeks since I last had shudder, haha.

Ah fair does! Be interested to see what you think of Sator, I loved it

Finished Guy N Smith’s Locusts last night - cracking stuff. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book of his that I haven’t enjoyed. Admittedly the way the locusts end up being dealt with is a little anticlimactic, but who cares. A baby gets killed by locusts in this book FFS. You just don’t get that anywhere else. Found this guy on YouTube who pretty much sums up my feeling about him:

Just finished Caveat (2020) on Shudder, I believe it may have been already mentioned but adding my thoughts too.

That was, well, I think I need some time to allow it to settle. Very dark, eeire and unsettling from start to finish. Definitely left me feeling uncomfortable, and that sense of dread too. Although the plot was very different to, I got very similar vibes from it as I.did from Possum.

Well worth a watch for sure. I think this is going to be one of those films that stays with me for a few days…and that’s a rarity so, its done something right.

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Watched Saint Maud without any real expectations last night and it built up nicely (not exactly the right word I know!), plus some of the imagery was pretty creepy (stretchy face I’m pointing at you). Last image obviously sticks with you too! Feel like a lot of horror films that use effects in this way often diminish their impact through it, but I didn’t take that away at all from this one. Surprisingly good.

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Watched the latest Conjuring last night. No point in complaining about how bad it was really, it was exactly what I expected but I had already forgotten how it ended this morning and had to look it up on Wikipedia.

Watching The Beyond on Blu Ray. I’ve never seen it before. 9 minutes in and it has freaked me already, the eyes!

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Such an amazing film. Maybe the first Italian horror I ever saw? (It was a cut VIPCO VHS). This started my love of Fulci and Italian horror in general and to be honest, I’m not sure I’ve seen much that measures up to this. Let us know more when you’ve finished. :slight_smile:

Now you will face the sea of darkness and all that lies therein

I loved it. Never seen a Fulci before I think. Really not what I was expecting. Arty throughout yet really dark imagery. The plot lost me a bit, I watched it in Italian subtitled. Powerful and otherworldly. Some great cinematography, felt like where Argento is Opera, this is Punk, some shaky cameras, etc but always classy.

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So glad you liked it. I like the Argento/Fulci comparison. I’d find it hard to to argue that Fulci’s a better filmmaker than Argento, but I’ve always preferred Fulci. Everything just clicks for me in The Beyond and I don’t think he’s ever had a better pairing than David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl. And the soundtrack! So much to love!

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Argento oozes Hitchcock style and verve. Fulci, well The Beyond has some incredible imagery. It’s not as well handled as Argento, but I liked the style. No punches held, really dark imagery. Tamed a little by time but really enjoyed it even though I lost the plot a bit.

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