The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Very stylish and fun, though barely horror by contemporary standards. More colorful than many giallo films and the elaborate kills look like something out of a James Bond movie.
Alice, Sweet Alice
This is okay if you're looking for a slightly above average, slightly sleazy slasher flick. I do like the raincoat/mask costume. The 600lb child molester in this might be the most physically repulsive character I've seen in a movie.
The Beyond
It's a dumb zombie movie with some over-the-top gore. It's enjoyable on that level, though the pace is rather plodding in between the gore and I don't think its supposed "dreamlike surrealism" is all that convincing compared to the best works from Argento, Bava, Martino, et al from this period. The tarantula scene is perversely entertaining in the same way some of the movies featured on the Dead Meat channel are. I'm perplexed by the rabid fans of this movie who try to intellectualize it and make it sound deeper than it is. I liked A Lizard in a Woman's Skin more, but not enough to consider Fulci among the masters.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
I thought this was a little weak and dull, but then I seem to be among the few who saw the plot twist coming from a mile away due to certain choices made at the beginning and dearth of plausible suspects. But I also don't think it's all that fun or stylish compared to Suspiria, Inferno, Tenebre, or Opera.
Cannibal Holocaust
Trash.
Cemetery Man
This grew on me quite a bit and it's a minor gem. I think it balances comedy and horror and surrealism better than any of the Evil Dead movies.
The Cremator
Very good, but maybe a little overrated. The expressionist style and eerie soundtrack are great, but I found the other aspects of the film, including the main character, less compelling. It's still worth seeing. I like Juraj Herz's other films more, but they're closer to gothic fairy tales than horror and quite different from this one.
Diabeł
The Zulawski film? I didn't like this one or On the Silver Globe nearly as much as I liked Possession (the decaying relationship storyline and the notorious squid creature make it more cohesive and memorable than the other Zulawski films I've seen), but if you loved his style - the washed out blue, frenetic camera movement, and hyper histrionic acting - then it's worth a look.
Don't Torture a Duckling
One of Fulci's better efforts.
The Fog
Solid, not amazing nor one of Carpenter's best, but solid.
Gothic
I've seen around five or six Ken Russell films and this is the only one I didn't like much. The premise is great but it doesn't deliver on the craziness aside from one scene involving nipples. Surprisingly dull.
The Grapes of Death
This was Jean Rollin's attempt at making a Lucio Fulci film, which means it's as dumb and gorey as much of Fulci's work. Rollin is best known for his horny vampire movies in the vein of Jess Franco, but his best work - Fascination and The Iron Rose - are unique gothic art house films. If you love gothic atmosphere and vibes and can handle the rhythms of very slow art house films, they're worth a look.
The Haunting
This was...okay, nothing more. I think you have to be a boomer like Scorsese or Spielberg to find this scary (though you can see how it was a big influence of Poltergeist).
I Walked With a Zombie
Great. Tied with Night of the Demon as Tourneur's best, though I agree with Jonathan Rosenbaum that these movies are noirs with supernatural elements rather than horror films. However, I do think the seance scene in Night of the Demon is better than the one in Hereditary.
In the Mouth of Madness
It's alright. It's the most Lynchian of Carpenter's works (and one of the best scenes involves that old lady from Twin Peaks whose name I'm too lazy to look up...NOT Piper Laurie) but nowhere near as good as Lynch's best. I still like it more than Prince of Darkness though.
The Innocents
I had the same feelings about this as I had about The Haunting.
Near Dark
Ignore Billdude and Norville's bad opinions, this one is great, though it's NOT a horror film. It's a revisionist Western with vampires. Even the most famous scene - the barroom scene - is shot like characters sizing each other up in a Western rather than like a horror movie. I was impressed by how romantic this movie feels even though the romance occurs between the two least interesting characters. I can even forgive the silly blood transfusion stuff. Jonathan Rosenbaum described it as "erotic" and I agree with him, though I liked the Tangerine Dream soundtrack more than he did.
Onibaba
Great, duh, as is Kuroneko.
Peeping Tom
Alright, but a little dull and tame by contemporary standards.
Phantasm
Eh, this is another American imitation of Italian horror/giallo that left me underwhelmed (same goes for Messiah of Evil, Leonora, etc). I'll grant that the ending makes this one a little less dumb than The Beyond.
Phenomena
I was astounded by how boring this was until the final 15 minutes, which are nowhere near good enough to redeem the previous nine hours or whatever the runtime on this thing was. Even the monkey that everyone mentions as an example of how bonkers this movie is doesn't do anything interesting until the final 15 minutes. Opera is more genuinely bonkers and stylish and the last good Argento movie.
Rapture
Great, already mentioned above.
Sisters
It's alright. FWIW, I think Dressed to Kill and Body Double are the only good movies which can be described as "American giallo." All other American attempts at giallo are lame.
Who Can Kill a Child?
I recall this being pretty good, but it's been a while.
Zombi 2
If you liked The Beyond, you'll probably find this enjoyable on some level. But again, it's a dumb zombie movie. It features a scene where a zombie fights a shark.
Responses