What does everyone think of Paranormal Activity and its sequel? I loved the first film when i saw it forst at the cinema, but it lost it's appeal on DVD. Saw the sequel for the first time on DVD this week too; it was good, but not great. I think the whole "watching it at home but keeping the volume/bass down so as not to wake the kid" thing ruined it a bit
I used to be much more into blood and gore than I am now these days. There's plenty of violence and ugliness ready and available, so I really don't need to seek it out in some hollywood blockbuster (only to walk out of a movie theater and feel I've been cheated out of enough money for a decent dinner, but still left with an empty stomach). I'm still a fan of suspense and horror in the sense of the "ghost story" or fairy tale. I would much rather watch a movie that had violence as part of the progression of the story, as opposed to violence for violence's sake (Grindhouse, anyone?). As long as a story is compelling and the actors aren't dreadful, then I'll sit through pretty much any film at least once. Spectacle needs something else to hold my attention.
I have a high regard for the earlier films in the zombie genre: Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead (my favourite of the three); Return of the Living Dead was a well-done riff off Romero's original trilogy, with solid ideas of its own.
Some very creative films you all may enjoy would be the classic seven with Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Gwynneth Paltrow, among others. That film was an excellently-executed example of accessing the audience's imagination to create the more violent, blood-drenched parts.
I also saw a film with Willem DeFoe last year called Antichrist, which was an incredible thriller, and quite gory. There were things in that film that I had never seen before in my life, or in my imagination. Highly recommended, but at times difficult to watch.
I've not seen Saw, Hostel, or the re-make of I Spit On Your Grave. The original ISOYG was a genre-defining film, and worth watching at least once if you're into violent, bloody films. It was difficult for me to make it all the way through the beginning, however, as it was pretty much a 40-minute gang-rape scene. It was/is the benchmark film of the "revenge killer" sub-genre. I've watched it only once, myself.
Probably my favourite horror film (which I would rather classify as a fairy tale, and arguably a chief inspiration for Pan's Labyrinth) is Suspiria, made in the late 1970's. The first fifteen minutes of that film are truly unforgettable. Pretty much anything directed by Dario Argento will have equal amounts of spectacle and epic storytelling.
And I'm surprised no one mentioned Lucio Fulci yet...! Look him up on IMDB or something. His film Zombie is immortal. If you've ever wanted to see a drill press go through someone's skull, rent out City of the Living Dead (AKA The Gates of Hell here in the 'States).
In terms of blatant gore-fests, someone already mentioned the slapstick Brain Dead (or Dead Alive), but for a more serious and atmospheric side of things, go with The Necronomicon, which is a high-budget compilation of H.P. Lovecraft stories from the late 90's, I think.
I have a number of ghost story films I would recommend too, but those are perhaps best served in a different thread, as they lack the gore you folks are seeking.
Originally Posted by Marko What does everyone think of Paranormal Activity and its sequel? I loved the first film when i saw it forst at the cinema, but it lost it's appeal on DVD. Saw the sequel for the first time on DVD this week too; it was good, but not great. I think the whole "watching it at home but keeping the volume/bass down so as not to wake the kid" thing ruined it a bit
I saw the first one, and it was complete crap. Not only was it not scary (no matter where you see it or how late, dark, quiet, etc. it is), but the actors were horrid, and the characters they played were even worse. The characters were complete morons, borderline retarded, and gave the viewers NO reason to connect with them, on any level. It got to the point where i actually got tired of waiting for them to die. and then i don't think they even did? the girl "disappeared" and the guy only died in the alternate ending.
no interest whatsoever in seeing the second one. straight to video DVD crap probably anyways.
Originally Posted by Marko What does everyone think of Paranormal Activity and its sequel? I loved the first film when i saw it forst at the cinema, but it lost it's appeal on DVD. Saw the sequel for the first time on DVD this week too; it was good, but not great. I think the whole "watching it at home but keeping the volume/bass down so as not to wake the kid" thing ruined it a bit
I saw the first one, and it was complete crap. Not only was it not scary (no matter where you see it or how late, dark, quiet, etc. it is), but the actors were horrid, and the characters they played were even worse. The characters were complete morons, borderline retarded, and gave the viewers NO reason to connect with them, on any level. It got to the point where i actually got tired of waiting for them to die. and then i don't think they even did? the girl "disappeared" and the guy only died in the alternate ending.
no interest whatsoever in seeing the second one. straight to video DVD crap probably anyways.
Not a fan of horror movies - mostly because they tie themselves to a single genre and a single motive for existing ("hello, I'm going to scare you now"). It just isn't clever. But I can watch films with horror themes in them; Silence of the Lambs is great, I liked the Shining, Alfred Hitchcock's horror-esque ones are always worth a watch. But I hate the Saw series, Texas Chainsaw Massacre et al.
Deep Blue Sea was another excuse for gore. Although nowadays the CGI is terrible, and it had more of a substantial storyline than the Hostel series or the Final Destinations. Still, the death scenes were shown in detail, down to the convulsing torn of limbs of the victims floating through the water -_-
Originally Posted by -Adam- Deep Blue Sea was another excuse for gore. Although nowadays the CGI is terrible, and it had more of a substantial storyline than the Hostel series or the Final Destinations. Still, the death scenes were shown in detail, down to the convulsing torn of limbs of the victims floating through the water -_-
"Deep Blue Sea" wasn't gorey. It was pretty stupid though - giant sharks swimming in knee deep water, with just their dorsal fins showing...
Anyone ever see "Perdita Durango"? Seemed to combine very graphic violence, rape (of a man, by a woman), etc - with real slapstick comedy. Very strange...
Kind of like a Tarantino movie, only not shit.
Originally Posted by Sketchy "Deep Blue Sea" wasn't gorey. It was pretty stupid though - giant sharks swimming in knee deep water, with just their dorsal fins showing...
Anyone ever see "Perdita Durango"? Seemed to combine very graphic violence, rape (of a man, by a woman), etc - with real slapstick comedy. Very strange...
Kind of like a Tarantino movie, only not shit.
that looks actually pretty good. i even think the rape scene was in it. also the trailer got the theme from the dating game lol
indeed it looks like non shit Tarantino - i always found him to be massively over hyped and didn't get whats so great about him. as a matter of fact I hate death proof. i don't even think im not smart enough for it - it just happens to be shit and you can't give me "its supposed to be like this" as an excuse. I've watched a lot of exploitation films and I did enjoy them but Mr Tarantino just made a shit film - planet terror isn't even any better. hell its one of very very very few movies of over millions of movies I have seen in my life I just turned off because I found them to be that shit.
speaking of really fucked up and violent movies: Antichrist by Lars von Trier, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg filmed in my area.
speaking of really fucked up and violent movies: Antichrist by Lars von Trier, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg filmed in my area.
I totally agree with this...I left the theater astounded. I still want to see Stalker directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, which was apparently the chief inspiration for Antichrist.
Another thing that stuck in my head, without actually being gory - the slow stabbing scene from "Saving Private Ryan". I found that quite unpleasant...
Also, the bit from "Watership Down" when all the burrows are being filled in, and the rabbits all suffocate. That was fairly disturbing too - especially for a movie about cartoon bunnies.
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Love it!
