October fun: 31 days of Horror, Blood, Guts and Gore! (and zombies, too....) - Page 37

It's kinda funny because not only do they not communicate and rules or restrictions on content but I have people asking me when it will be ready and what I'm doing this year... I've been putting a lot into it so hopefully it turns out.

I think tonight will be Texas Chainsaw... I'm ready for something brutal tonight.

Nice to see you are still checking in, Airboss. Good luck with the move. I know for me, packing everything up and moving to a new home was absoutely the worst thing in the world. On the bright side though, moving in was always kind of fun. Deciding where to put things and buying new stuff, etc.

You do realize that we'll be expecting nothing short of 213 flicks for next year though, right? If anyone can do it, I'm sure it would be you.

Agreed, moving is terrible and great. On another note, I thought I was doing good with my 34.

At first, I was understanding your point. You only like "original" movies, and tend to disregard sequels because they are "less creative" or to be more accurate on my phrasing, "it's harder to add anything creative". Then I started to read more carefully, and then you stated you also like Friday the 13th Part 2. I can't really reply on The Exorcist III because I have not seen it, but like me try to break this down conceptually for you on the Friday the 13ths.

Friday the 13ths all share the same formula (atleast 1-4, and arguably 5 at times). Here are the main constants (defined as something that doesn't change) of the formula for Friday the 13ths 1-4. These are unarguably apparent in the original, and all of the "main" sequels. Main sequels being defined as 2-4 primarily:

A) Have an external environment that people are less secure in. This is why they all take place in the forest or more exactly, Camp Crystal Lake. This is what Wes Craven was talking about in your previous post. Wes Craven used the "dream environment" for Freddy Krueger. The producers of Friday the 13th (Sean Cunningham) used the campground setting for theirs. John Carpenter had balls, and used your own neighborhood for his.

B) Bring stupid teenagers to the environment and set them up just enough so that their exploits can be executed. The common trait between every one of these teenagers in the Friday the 13th movies is that they are innately "young/helpless/stupid" and hedonistic (which means, they seek pleasure which is sex in this case, and to avoid pain). If you don't see a character that resembles these traits, then they are likely the main characters and will last longer.

C) Have a killer who murders people off one by one, and make the effect gruesome and stand out. Reason for this is that adds more suspense (something that you and I both enjoy) because you can't really kill everyone at the same time and have it be that suspenseful. Also, seeing the antagonist perform a gruesome effect allows for a "payoff" for the audience. Suspense (chase) + Payoff (death) is a common equation for every slasher movie. Many new movies (even some of Zombies, especially his version of Halloween) fail to add the suspense proportionally with the payoff, which is something that I can explain more in depth later when asked.

D) Have a lead character (typically someone who is "smarter" than the rest so that they can survive) come out on top at the very end, and overcome the killer. This is usually a female, but rarely can also be a male (as shown in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, which didn't work out so well).

E) Have a soundtrack that exploits the mood and the feel of the movie.

F) Have a REASON for the kills, so that they are no completely random and meaningless. The reason in Friday the 13th, is called sex, something that you may be aware of, and is something used to EXPLOIT the teenagers so that they have a reason to die. SEX is the main exploitation of Friday the 13th--Fact. People die because they have sex, period. Why is it sex? Because the previous campground counselors were having sex when Jason drowned as a child, and this was his mother's reasoning.

G) Have a surprise ending of some sort, something that lets the audience know that "it isn't over, yet".

Now, we have the constants listed. Let's take a look at the original and "primary sequels":

Friday the 13th Part 1: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.

Friday the 13th Part 2: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Variable C has been altered to resemble that Jason is now the killer, or more appropriately, "hillbilly" Jason.

Friday the 13th Part 3: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Variable C has been altered to resemble that Jason has now taken his appropriate form.

Friday the 13th Part 4: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Variable C has been altered to resemble that Jason has really died, and Tommy Jarvis now must take on the role of Jason.

With this, we can understand that these movies are basically the same damn thing, especially being that they use the same (or vast majority) of the crew who shot the first film. To repeat, they all contain the same soundtrack rendition, the same stupid exploited characters (vast majority of them are exploited for sex), the same setting, the same gruesome kills, the same "fair" acting (which is why acting is not important in these types of movies), and the same empty "plot". The only thing that varies is the killer's form throughout the primary sequels. As mentioned, the first Friday the 13th is a mystery film, because we don't get to see the killer until the later part of the movie (even though the same exact constants happen). Additionally, every sequel after you see the killer right from the get-go...

It's one thing to have an opinion, but it's another thing to entirely blast a movie's intentions (in this case, Friday the 13th Part 3) because you simply don't get it. You claim the actors are "terrible" (which is the intention, and the standard set by even the first one). You claim the dialog is terrible (which is the intention, and the standard set by even the first one). You claim there isn't any creativity (which is a standard set by even the first one).

Know now, that Friday the 13ths are not "great" movies, simply because they are not all that creative in the first place, and they rely entirely on substance (tits, deaths, blood). Yes, this also includes Friday the 13th Part 1. This shouldn't be new information to you. Personally, I couldn't rate them above a 6.5/10 at best, and Friday the 13th Part 3 is no better than 6/10 IMO. However, claiming that it's a ".75/5" which equates to a "1.5/10" is quite idiotic (no offense). On a personal level, Friday the 13th Part 3 is not as good as Friday the 13th Part 2, 4. However, there are many instances where I think it's better than the first one, mainly including the proponent of PACING.

Now, with all this in mind, if I were to do the same analysis as what I did above to A Nightmare on Elm Street, you would see much more variation in the sequels, with many sequels completely delineating from the standard formula and thus, creating crappy ass sequels (2, 5, and 6). As I've explained to you before, Friday the 13th as a franchise has more solid sequels than ANOES because they kept the formula unchanged. ANOES tried to change things (some being helpful, while other changes being hurtful). One MAJOR thing, is that the first A Nightmare on Elm Street didn't really exploit the characters. What this means, is that when the teenagers died, there wasn't any direct reason or intention (other that their parents may have been involved with killing Freddy Krueger in the first place so he choses to terrorize the kids). However, how they died was completely random. With the sequels of ANOES, comes the exploitation, and that is where it really gets fun. Every single damn character in ANOES 3/4 gets exploited and killed accordingly, and it's comical, hilarious, and down right cynical and menacing how they die. While you say "loss of creativity", I say it's a gain in creativity. The simple fact that killing someone because of a reason is more entertaining that killing someone at random. This statement no only includes the intention, but also stresses the method of killing used by the antagonist.

Apollo- since you are trying to paint everything black and white, I stress you to actually watch Friday the 13th Part 5. The characters and dialogue are fantastically comical and downright entertaining, if not on the stupid side and makes for a great movie with alcohol. However, in one way, it's also a mystery movie just like the Friday the 13th Part 1, because you simply don't find out who the killer is until the very end. This is a clear blend of everything, and is something that you may want to take a look at.

Airboss - You've been missed this year, hope the move is as painless as possible. I know you will at least make time to see The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest next weekend

Fenders reminds me of Randy from "Scream."

Randy: There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: The body count is always bigger. Number two: The death scenes are always much more elaborate - more blood, more gore... "Carnage candy." And number three: Never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead.

Randy: There's always some stupid ******** reason to kill your girlfriend. That's the beauty of it all! Simplicity! Besides, if it gets too complicated, you lose your target audience.

Randy: The police are always off track with this ****! If they'd watch Prom Night, they'd save time! There's a formula to it. A very simple formula!

Writer Kevin Williamson and horror film icon Wes Craven spelled it out for all of us. They just used the comic relief to explain it all in the "Scream" films.

Fenders is spot-on. Good read, man.

Bad news on the review front fellas. Fenders' slasher movie analyses have actually caused me to hate F13th Pt. III more than I did previously. Therefore my rating has been changed from .75 to .50 to reflect this.

Ok, now I'm done. Seriously this time. But I just may check out F13th V as you suggested Fenders. Just not tonight though. On deck for tonight is Deadgirl followed by the new episodes of Its Always Sunny in Philadephia and The League.

Awww, educating should have a positive effect Apollo, and not a negative effect!!! We all know that if you got a bunch of friends together and a few six packs or a bottle of wine (like you should with every Friday movie), then we are fairly sure you would have a blast with it, and change your rating from a blasphemy .75 to a 2.5-3 where it belongs

Friday the 13th Part 5 would be a gamble for you. I recommended it to spite you somewhat because it shares some things in common from Part 3 (some overly stupid characters for the purpose of being exploited as explained), but also the aspect of Part 1 (mystery of the killer). Imagine every character being like the prankster in Part 3, and being killed for being stupid as well, it's just you don't know who the killer is until the end. One amazing aspect of Part 5, is that the body count is 22!!!

You should probably watch Part 4 first, as that's considered a fan favorite (I like it more than Part 3 and I think it matches Part 2, and I think most fans would say the same). I'd even go as far to say that Part 4 is arguably the best entry in the series because it's re-watchable as hell among other reasons. Then in the future, it gives you a precursor when you finally watch Part 5 (so you know who this "Tommy Jarvis" dude is). FYI, Part 4 has Corey Feldman, pacing is amazing, and it has plenty of suspense and likable-hearted characters. You'd probably see Part 4 as being the ultimate blend of Friday the 13th, so I wouldn't play that one off. The fluctuation of ratings at IMDB.com resemble exactly what I'm saying as well.

Parts 6, 7, and the rest should be watched with warning that the constants are remarkably different from the prior sequels, but it doesn't make them non-watchable though as they are entertaining in a mild way.

I felt like I extracted all my knowledge of Friday the 13th. Have fun with the information guys, and let it help you when deciding on which Friday movies to watch! I'm surprised that no one else is talking about Friday the 13th other than me. Maybe I'm just saying all the right things

Moviefone's Best Foreign Monster Movies Ever

http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/10/21...onster-movies/

35. Devil's Den, 2006. B grade but takes some interesting pokes at the genre. Some funny bits throughout. 2/5

I enjoy the "They Live" T-shirt, but it should have some more clues from the movie!

A horror themed video...

As much as I loathe rap and hip hop I have to give it up to Will Smith

23. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - Rating 4/5. I'm in the minority that thinks this was well done. I'd like to have seen some of the graphic scenes from the New Beginning in this one but how ca you go wrong with "Gunny" and Biel with those jeans painted on, and a chainsaw massacre... what's not to love?

24. Halloween (2007) - Rating 4/5 - Another case where I really enjoyed this remake, the added past was nice and the extra violence helped make Michael scary again IMO. Solid effort.


1. Return of the Living Dead 1985 - Rating 3/5.
2. Man Bites Dog - Rating 3/5
3. An American Werewolf in London - Rating 5/5
4. Hostel - Rating 4/5
5. Amityville Horror (2005) - Rating 3/5
6. In The Company of Wolves - Rating 4/5
7. Se7en - Rating 5/5.
8. Splice - Rating 1/5
9. Nightmare on Elm St. (2010) - Rating 2/5
10. The Midnight Meat Train - Rating 4/5.
11. The Exorcist (1973) - Rating 5/5
12. Dark Water (2002) - Rating 1/5
13. Frozen - Rating 4/5
14. The Horde - Rating 2/5
15. Suspiria - Rating 4/5
16. Inferno - Rating 2/5
17. Creepshow - Rating 4/5
18. Lake Mungo - Rating 2/5
19. Rawhead Rex - Rating 3/5
20. Triangle - Rating 5/5
21. Sweeney Todd - Rating 5/5
22. Sick Nurses - Rating 1/5
23. Night of the Creeps - Rating 3/5
24. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - Rating 4/5
24. Halloween (2007) - Rating 4/5

General Kenobi, your last post has me bitting my teeth but I will resist!

John Carpenter's Christine 7.0/10

Such a solid amazing movie from John Carpenter. Story is based on a Stephen King novel, and it's one of the few really good Steven King movies. You can really connect with all of the characters, including Christine. Carpenter successfully made a car with a soul. I'm in awe of this movie, even though it's not on my Carpenter top 5 (shows how good John Carpenter really is). This film is an instant classic within the horror genre, and somewhat close to a masterpiece of it's kind, no kidding.

General Kenobi, I thought that Chainsaw was good too.

It picks up at the end of the first one, so very close. Same Mythology, same type vamps, etc. It is worth a watch but I would give it a 6/10 vs the first one. Don't want to spoil it , so let me know what you think of it.

Thanks ApolloCreed. I'm really missing the fun this year, I may have to do my own Horrorfest once I get settled. Don't know about 213 but perhaps I can squeeze in 113 again.

Yea, moving sucks big time but you're right, once the move is complete the fun part begins. Although I will be challenged setting up my theater. A major problem with my new house is the low ceilings downstairs where I plan to build my theater. I will be forced to use my 120" screen vice my 133" screen.

At any rate back to the topic of this thread - There have been many good movies listed, can't wait to begin viewing some of them.

Enjoy guys!

"Amityville"... that gives me a great idea wizzack, once settled I think I'll watch a few horror movies involving moving into houses that are more than they seem to be. Any other suggestions on that theme?


General K, I've seen all three movies in the Millennium Trilogy but a re-watch is definitely overdue.

Airboss,

100 Feet is about moving into a house, Burnt Offerings too.

I couldn't agree more Kenobi. The TCM remake (and New Beginning) were well done indeed. And Halloween......well we know how I feel about that one. Loved the added background on how Michael came into his own.

OH YES, THERE WILL BE BLOOD.

Saw-2 was my movie this morning. Many people dont like it, many people dont like most or all of the sequels, i am not one of those people. I love the Saw movies. John, Amanda, the traps, the game, the rules, i love it.

This movie, which is disliked by so many, i really enjoyed. Had a bunch of good traps, especially the pit of needles, the razors that you put your arms into, the crematorium, etc.

I enjoyed John being on screen so much, i really like his character. It also showed how you have to really play by the rules and also how you have to closely listen to what you are told.

Its gonna be too hard for me to try to rate this whole series in a manner where i get all the movies in order of best to worse, i am just gonna watch each movie and rate it right after i finish, and not worry about what ratings i have given the other Saw movies. I rate this an 8.5.

My list so far, with ratings on a 1-10 scale:
1 - Grotesque - 9.25
2 - MOH Haeckels Tale - 4.5
3 - MOH Jenifer - 7
4 - MOH Pick Me Up - 5
5 - Murder-Set-Pieces - 7.5
6 - MOH Dance Of The Dead - 3.5
7 - MOH The Screwfly Solution - 4.5
8 - MOH Right To Die - 7.25
9 - Underworld - 9.25
10- The Last House On The Left - 9.25
11- Street Trash - 3
12- MOH Family - 7
13- Hannibal - 9.25
14- Fear Dot Com - 8
15- Pulse - 8
16- Deadgirl - 9
17- The Hitcher - 8
18- Return To House On Haunted Hill - 5
19- Saw - 9.5
20- Saw-2 - 8.5

Haunting in Connecticut wasn't bad... on a lighter note The Burbs could give you some good prank ideas for your new neighbors "What's in the cellar Klopek!?"