JoeinAR 1,949 Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 Ever since last summer there has been the ongoing onslaught of Horror Films. Easily the most difficult genre of films to make quality films. Only Sci-Fi comes close in its failure to make good quality films, (especially those using the word STAR of late).First there is the blockbuster called the Ring.I've read and had people tell me it was the most frightening film they had ever seen. To those who say that, let me say, you guys are frigging idiots.What a piece of crap. Though if Blair Witch scared you maybe the Ring will too. Next is a little film called Ghost Shit, I mean Ghost Ship. Not quite on the same feces level as the Ring, but close because of a really lame ending.Its sad how a film can be ruined by a really bad ending, but its to be expected when a weak film can be salvaged by a great ending. Ghost Ship does have a terrific beginning. Easily one of the bloodiest in recent memory. Too bad its all down hill from there.Then there is one called Final Destination 2, sequel to a rather good and effective horror/thriller film from several years back. Now this one I didn't expect as much, and was pleasantly surprised. It is actually a better film than two films in another thread in the Gen. Dis. Actually its a much better film than either Star Trek V and AOTC. Not that it has production values at the same level as AOTC, nor as low as those in STV. It doesn't have characters that you really care that much about, but neither did those 2.What Final Destination 2 brings to the table is death, and lots of it. The cleverness of the killings in this film are remarkably good. It was quite graphic as well. I don't think I will drive down the highway quite the same as before, certainly not when a log truck is around. So one out of three is not great success for this genre, but its probably better than its average.Joe, looking forward to the next Halloween film/next Friday the 13/Nightmare on Elm Street. NOT REALLY.but if they want to make another Final Destination, count me in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 The orioginal Japanese version of the ring is supposed to be far superiour to the US remake.Might have to check the DVD, it's only like 5 Euro's.Stefancos- who's no big follower of the horror genre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted April 13, 2003 Author Share Posted April 13, 2003 The orioginal Japanese version of the ring is supposed to be far superiour to the US remake. No, its not, its even worse, along with typically low production values common in Japanese films. Other than language both are very close Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 What Lies Beneath is one of the best recent horror/thriller films. Nice score too.Ray Barnsbury-who thinks the Scream and I Know What You Did . . . movies are unintentionally hilarious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted April 13, 2003 Author Share Posted April 13, 2003 Scream was intentionally funny, and quite good, the other is just what you said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 Now granted, I've never seen it, but I've heard about Signs, and as an engineer and one who over-analyzes stuff to no end, I can say it sounds as stupid as they come.But this is coming from someone who, granted more than ten years ago, was scared to watch the final ghost scene of Raiders and what's under the hat on the ground in Tremors; now I just watch them and laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 Joe, I can't wait until you give us your opinion on House of 1000 Corpses.Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishCal24 0 Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 Joe, 2003's true horror films have yet to be released. I'm talking about the two upcoming spring-break "reality" films. The grotesque monster that is reality TV on the silver screen? Now that's a nightmare come true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melange 446 Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 I still think The Fog is my favourite Horror film Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 @Darth Wojo: A. Signs is not a horror film. B. It's one of the best movies of 2002. C. Ha, Haw! you're an engineer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 @Darth Wojo: A. Signs is not a horror film.Correct! It's a horrible film.B. It's one of the best movies of 2002.See "A".Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 Really Neil, I loved Signs, especially the moral and religious meanings.Good stuff to me. Certainly not a CE3K, but I would never expect todays filmmakers to even be capable of creating a film of that power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 I was very dissapointed with Signs. It has so many plot holes, and is so poorly constructed.Highlight for spoilers:Aliens susceptible to water cannot move around in the fog.Why does the daughter always leave water around the house? So that they can fight the aliens? Is that the only reason this plot point is made? Very sloppy.The house is secure, yet we forgot about this one opening, that fortunately the aliens can find. It was well done in Aliens (love that drop ceiling scene) but after that nobody has pulled it off.Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 I enjoyed Signs, and was seriously freaked by it. Or at least it was very suspenseful and intense for me . . . in a good way. SPOILERS: (highlight)Neil, you're right about the fog, and why in the first place would they come to a planet that's three-quarters water?!?! About the daughter leaving water all over the house, I think it was that she acted so neurotic about every glass she had that she left them full wherever she was and went to get a new one, thus starting the cycle all over again. Or something like that. But I love the theme of everything happening for a reason, so any potential plot holes like that didn't really bother me.Ray Barnsbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 how do you guys do this highlight technique Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 I just figured it out today. Change the font color to white . . . I don't think you can do it in QuickReply.Ray Barnsbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricard 2,245 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 I've read and had people tell me it was the most frightening film they had ever seen. To those who say that, let me say, you guys are frigging idiots. No, they just have a different opinion. Please, no more insults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 You can do it in quick reply if you type ""color=white" in brackets, then your text followed by "/color" also in brackets."Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelot 508 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 I don't know. I liked signs a lot. For once someone didn't rely on special effects and it worked for most of it. The only thing I didn't like was the over analyzing moral stuff. Not that I mind stuff like that but it should have been full out suspense without that stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 @Darth Wojo: A. Signs is not a horror film. B. It's one of the best movies of 2002. C. Ha, Haw! you're an engineer!Ok, I had a really good post here that basically tore this guy apart, but then I saw Ricard pleading for no more insults, so I thought better of it and removed most of it.A. Any move that makes large amounts of people scared is called a horror film. That's how it's defined. Sorry, man, but I know how to use a dictionary.B. You must've spent your 2002 in a tin can and only seen one movie, Signs.C. Why are you laughing at an engineer? Look around. Chances are that an engineer built or designed everything you see. The computer you used to type your blatantly ignorant message. The synthetic fabrics you're wearing. The materials used to build your house. The electricity that lets you do things well into the night and colder months that people couldn't do a century ago. The medicines that keep you alive. The car you use to get around in. And get this: engineers are smart. Really smart. And we make a lot of money. Just because you didn't do good in math doesn't give you the right to insult people who can go "x equals negative b plus or minus the square root of b squared minus four a c all over two a" or "udv = uv - vdu" in their sleep.The following ain't a spoiler; the movie's on dvd already; if you haven't seen it yet, it's by choice, not by accident. But I'll make it nice and white so people who haven't seen it yet but somehow still want to won't get all pissy.Ok, so let me get this straight. In Signs, you've got aliens that die when they come into contact with liquid water? What the heck do you think makes up a good portion of the Earth's atmosphere? You're telling me that one of the best movies of 2002 would have you believe that the most important ingredient for life as we know it to exist is deadly to another form of life? Wow. I can understand that water is sometimes an acid, and that water melted the Wicked Witch of the West, but that's childhood fantasy from a century ago, and it's a classic; Signs ain't, and if anything, it's a sign that Mel Gibson can't find good roles anymore. This is the 21st century, when we're supposed to be a little more sophisticated than that. Give me a break.But the point remains, someone wants a showdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melange 446 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 The synthetic fabrics you're wearing.He may wear Bear Skins. The materials used to build your house. He may live in an Igloo. The electricity that lets you do things well into the night and colder months...He might use a log fire. The medicines that keep you alive.He might use Indian Ayurvedic natural medicine or Reiki. The car you use to get around inHe may cycle to work. Melange - Only joking with ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 I've read and had people tell me it was the most frightening film they had ever seen. To those who say that, let me say, you guys are frigging idiots.No, they just have a different opinion. Please, no more insults. Actually it wasn't anyone on this board, and I still stand by my assessment of them.But of course you are correct they have a different opinion, and I will try not to insult anyone on this board, except Morn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrScratch 294 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 The orioginal Japanese version of the ring is supposed to be far superiour to the US remake.Its superior, but not far superior. The score is amazingly effective, and probably the scariest thing about the film. Also a plus, the child in the Japanese Ring doesn't have any psychic powers. The creepy kid in the American version was an obvious rip-off of Sixth Sense. What is it with creepy kids in movies these days? Every horror movie has to have a creepy kid with abnormal powers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DU Lou 1 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 what did you guys think of John Carpenter and "The Prince of Darkness" or "The Thing" remake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 Joe, I was a big horror film fan during my late teens, but there are just so few good horror films around that I found it an interest difficult to sustain. You are right: good horror films are very hard to make. But I would also add that it seems as though what defines 'good' in regards to a horror film is even more subjective that with any other type of film. The point is that different people have different fears, are scared by different things and thus find different horror films of varying degrees of effectiveness and credibility. And this is aside from the different levels of style, technique and skill involved in the making of these films and the depiction of the fears contained within (which is also a subjective issue). Can I also just point out, without coming off as patronising, how disappointing, upsetting and down-right boring it is to have threads constantly hijacked by messy arguments and antagonisms regarding differences of opinion? I respect and love that everyone is entitled to and has their own opinions and I enjoy their expression, but can't we agree to disagree sometimes or instead bother to inquire why it is that other people hold a contrary view to oneself? (Don't worry I'm not expecting any breakthroughs on this front . It's only a problem that has plagued human civilisation since its inception).Now back to horror films . What kind of horror movies do you like Joe? I've seen both versions of The Ring and didn't particularly fancy either, although they both did have their moments, which is often all you can hope for in most horror films. I recently saw Dreamcatcher and I have to saw that I absolutely loved it! As someone who is fairly well-read in regards to Stephen King (though I have not read this particular novel) I though this was pure, cinematic Stephen King, a film that managed to successfully pull off even the most ludicrous and hard to stomach eccentricities of King's writing style and narrative technique. And there were some down-right tense moments as well. I am however well aware that many people such as film critics and my closest friends absolutely hated this film. But I don't have a problem with that... CYPHER - who is not even going to bother logging in until I figure out all this cookie bull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted April 15, 2003 Author Share Posted April 15, 2003 What kind of horror movies do you like Joe?besides the obvious answer, good ones, I like all kinds.I was impressed to a degree with Jeepers Creepers. Joy Ride was excellent, as was the aforementioned Final Destination 2. My favorite is Carrie, and Dressed to Kill. Add Jaws, The Hills have Eyes, Night of the Hunter, It, The Shining(TV miniseries, not the crappy Kubrick film), Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of the Lambs, Return of the Living Dead, Evil Dead series, and so many more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Good point, Cypher.I apologize for being immature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CYPHER 1 Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Hey, immaturity is everyone's perogative from time to time isn't it? @ Joe: I've seen most of those films you just cited. I didn't like Jeepers Creepers very much, although the first 15 minutes were promising. Ditto Joy Ride (named Roadkill when finally released here): I liked all the initial creepiness with the CB radio, but felt it plunged over into the excessively ludicrous towards the end (though I remained thoroughly engrossed). My favourite horror films are The Silence of the Lambs, Psycho (1960), Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist and the big daddy of them all The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which scared the censored out of me!CYPHER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Yup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 I love Psycho. Great film, great actors, great score.Ray Barnsbury-who thinks the 1999 remake was embarrassing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted April 16, 2003 Author Share Posted April 16, 2003 great scoreparts of it are great, the rest is rather blah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 parts of it are great, the rest is rather blah.And what parts are...."blah"?Justin -Wondering if Joe has the RSNO recording of the score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 How many releases of the whole score are available?Ray Barnsbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 How many releases of the whole score are available?One, the RSNO recording. It even has unused music.I think the Elfman recording for the 1998 re-make is a more faithful performance. to the original 1960 recording, only with far superior sound. The album only runs about 30 minutes though. Maybe you should have both. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morn 8 Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 The Ring, a fairly good film... it wasn't scary.... but it was rather entertaining, I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. I liked the investigation of the student film the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 Any comments about Zimmer's score? (Havn't seen the movie, probably won't and havn't heard anything about the score) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 Thanks Neil, I will probably check out both recordings. I've also been wanting a Hitchcock compilation; there are many available.Ray Barnsbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CYPHER 1 Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Dear Guest: Zimmer's score was the best thing about The Ring! Sure it has shades of Goblin's score for Suspiria but that's what makes it so effective. The end credits are astounding. Great stuff. CYPHER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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