Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:
The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration
Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.
The Birds is so good, and has aged quite well. One quality that I didn't really expect going in was the use of crowded scenes and dialogue. It's been a couple of years since I've seen it, so the specifics are fuzzy, but I remember being really impressed with how the movie portrayed multiple crowded scenes without losing the important lines in the shuffle.
I really like Young Frankenstein and it made my long list, but it's been even longer since I've seen this one, so maybe if I gave it a fresh viewing it would work its way up my list.
Neither made my list, but both are fun movies. I actually have a copy of The Birds that we didn't get around to watching in October. We'll probably watch it soon.
So, I think I watched Young Frakenstein once upon a time, and I didn't really like it that much? I'm not the biggest Mel Brooks fan anyway, so it's not terribly surprising. But I'm also not entirely sure the movie in my memory is actually Young Frakenstein or something else, lol, memories suck.
I have seen most of this movie on (basic) cable but have not seen the whole thing all at once in one sitting. I liked what I have seen of it. It was on my very long list of candidates but it didn't make the final cut.
Trick r Treat wasn't ever going to be on my list but it is one of the most consistently good horror anthologies and that says a lot. Its rare to get that.
As I've grown older, I feel I respect Brooks more than I find him funny but Young Frankenstein is among the strongest of his films easily. Puttin' on the Ritz is brilliant and "I was going to make espresso" is one of the great little cappers to a scene.
I think The Birds is the only unqualified horror film in Alfred Hitchcock's filmography. There is another elephant in the room that I feel is debated and I suspect it will be discussed later so don't bother bringing it up. But the Birds is a great, weird little movie that also just kind of... ends. Its written by Daphne du Maurier who wrote a wonderful supernatural thriller that was also turned into a great movie that I hope is on the list (I think I might have left it on mine because despite the shocking ending, I see it as more of a slow burn thriller than an out and out horror film).
No. 36 Hellraiser (1987)
Points: 78 | Lists: Zef (#21); Dr. Nerd (#1); Shakewell (#11) “We have such sights to show you!”
Hellraiser is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, and produced by Christopher Figg, based on Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart. The film involves a puzzle-box which summons the "Cenobites", a murderous group from another dimension who cannot differentiate between pain and pleasure.
Drac’s Notes: Hellraiser kicks off a long line of films starring the race of bondage demons who torture people for fun (but only when they ask for it). It’s a fascinating movie that asks an uncomfortable question: who is the real monster? Is it the cenobites? Or is it the “normal” people who summon them? I recommend this film, but only if you’re okay with some pretty grody on-screen gore effects. This one does not hold back.
Oh, this gives me a good idea. All I need is an extra-dimensional puzzle box…
The Invitation (2015)
Points: 84 | Lists: Vaeran (#16); Adrenaline (#9); JBear (#2) “Each one of us is on a journey and we feel it's important to be on this journey with the people you love.”
The Invitation is a 2015 American horror film directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. The film stars Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, and Emayatzy Corinealdi. Responding to an invitation from his ex-wife, a man brings his girlfriend to a dinner party. There, he relives the trauma of their child's death and becomes suspicious that his ex-wife has ulterior motives for inviting him.
Drac’s Notes: Well here’s a film I have to admit I know absolutely nothing about. So far, every movie on this list I’d at least heard of, but this one is totally new to me. I watched the trailer; it seems good! So if you voted for this one, let’s hear why! Although Jbear says maybe you shouldn’t:
“Johnny suggested that I go into this one blind, so I didn't even know what genre it was going to be, and it was all the better for it.”
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Points: 84 | Lists: Johnny Unusual (#9); Dr. Nerd (#17); Shakewell (#1) “My family's always been in meat.”
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper and written and co-produced by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen. The film follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead.
Drac’s Notes: I love this movie. There’s a reason it’s a classic that kicked off a long line of sequels and imitators. The plotline of “teens encounter depraved hillbillies” is so primal now that’s reached the point of being parodied (See the underrated Tucker & Dale vs. Evil). The brilliance of this film lies in what it chooses not to show: many who viewed it claim it’s far gorier and violent than it actually its. The camera almost always cuts away just before you see something you really don’t want to see, but you’re left with an awful impression. It’s a harrowing nightmare of a film that I recommend for anyone with an interest in the genre.
Honestly a chainsaw is the least frightening weapon. You have to sit there and yank the chain for ages to even get it started. The only thing it has going for it is it's loud. Just cover your ears! Sheesh!
I read The Hellbound Heart after watching Hellraiser and it was interesting to learn that the heroine who was his daughter in the film is just his friend in the book. Otherwise it's a very faithful adaptation, but it's interesting that even sometimes an author will tweak their own story when adapting it to another medium.
I would also recommend that anyone interested should watch The Invitation without reading much about it. It has one of my favorite final shots of any movie.
Twasn't me. There are definitely movies and shows where we've had that convo but I think you brought it up based on some Discord friends recommendation. I was equally unaware what I was in for.
I wanted to vote for Texas Chainsaw, but it has been too long since I've seen, so a vote didn't feel "right" to me. I enjoyed The Invitation when I watched it, but it didn't really stick with me, I guess. Hellraiser is a fun franchise, but I don't like any of them enough to make the cut in my 25 choices. Cenobites rule, though.
I first saw Hellraiser two Halloweens ago, and unfortunately, it didn't quite land for me. Some of the effects shots were magnificently horrific, so that was cool. But I guess the Cenobites didn't quite live up to my expectations.
I had been told that the Cenobites are unique as movie monsters go because, as mentioned earlier in this thread, they only go after people who literally ask for it, and they can be reasoned/bargained with. And they seem to be going in that direction in the film, but then they just kinda say "nope" and terrorize the innocent protag. Which isn't out of line for a horror villain to maliciously renege on their word, but I had been under the impression that these guys were different. They seemed to swerve into a very generic movie monster route as the film went on. Maybe I missed something.
Clive Barker has officially gotten back the American rights to the horror film series 'Hellraiser', based on his own short story, that he wrote and directed back in 1987.
Going back to yesterday, The Birds is a wonderfully atmospheric film, and it is easily my favorite Hitchcock movie. That scene with where the birds start congregating while the children are singing is such a great slow-burn of tonal dissonance.
Young Frankenstein may be the greatest American comedy film ever made. As others have said, it's also a wonderful sendup of old monster movies and you can tell Brooks spent many quarters as a kid going to see those flicks.
Anyway, I've seen all the theatrical releases but there are so many more than you think. Loved Clive Barker as a teen. Have memories of version of the Books of Blood with cool pulpy covers at used bookstores; my copies just have classy staid gargoyles or something.
No... To my memory, its extra-dimensional BDSM body horror monsters who basically get summoned and go after pretty much anyone. To them, the extremes sensations of pain and pleasure are more or less interchangeable, though really they just opt for pain and go on to pretty much deliver it to anyone they can inflict it upon. They make a deal with the heroine for some reason that eludes me but they are pretty soon to welch on it when its convenient.
Here's what I originally wrote of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
This was a movie I avoided for a long time since I just thought it would be too... groady to enjoy. I guess it is (though not in the bloody sense its a surprisingly PG 13 movie with an R rated energy) but it is one of the most intense movies still. There's a chainsaw chase that seems to last forever but manages never to lose its sense of urgency or horror. There's also a bizarrely comedic streak, such as the villains trying to help grandpa club his last victim to death and Leatherface having a freak-out after his third young person just wandered into his house to die. He's not excited to have more victims, he's like "HOW DO THEY KEEP GETTING IN HERE?!" Its a movie that impressed me in a way I didn't expect and find it very rewatchable. Like many of the movies on the list, it inspired a lot of rip-offs that fail to get what made the original so good. Not many films end with a heroine getting away but reminding us "oh, she is NEVER going to get over this."
No. 36 Hellraiser (1987)
Points: 78 | Lists: Zef (#21); Dr. Nerd (#1); Shakewell (#11) “We have such sights to show you!”
Drac’s Notes: Hellraiser kicks off a long line of films starring the race of bondage demons who torture people for fun (but only when they ask for it). It’s a fascinating movie that asks an uncomfortable question: who is the real monster? Is it the cenobites? Or is it the “normal” people who summon them? I recommend this film, but only if you’re okay with some pretty grody on-screen gore effects. This one does not hold back.
No. 35 TIE
The Invitation (2015)
Points: 84 | Lists: Vaeran (#16); Adrenaline (#9); JBear (#2) “Each one of us is on a journey and we feel it's important to be on this journey with the people you love.”
Drac’s Notes: Well here’s a film I have to admit I know absolutely nothing about. So far, every movie on this list I’d at least heard of, but this one is totally new to me. I watched the trailer; it seems good! So if you voted for this one, let’s hear why! Although Jbear says maybe you shouldn’t:
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Points: 84 | Lists: Johnny Unusual (#9); Dr. Nerd (#17); Shakewell (#1) “My family's always been in meat.”
Drac’s Notes: I love this movie. There’s a reason it’s a classic that kicked off a long line of sequels and imitators. The plotline of “teens encounter depraved hillbillies” is so primal now that’s reached the point of being parodied (See the underrated Tucker & Dale vs. Evil). The brilliance of this film lies in what it chooses not to show: many who viewed it claim it’s far gorier and violent than it actually its. The camera almost always cuts away just before you see something you really don’t want to see, but you’re left with an awful impression. It’s a harrowing nightmare of a film that I recommend for anyone with an interest in the genre.
The Invitation didn't make my list, but Karyn Kusama is very good at making movies and this one might be her best (though I still haven't seen Destroyer).
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre barely edged out... something else that's coming on this list, I'm sure, as my #1, but it remains one of the very few films to have a chilling effect on me every time I see it. Add to that the performances by a bunch of amateur actors, particularly Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface, who has since become just another boogeyman slasher, but in the original film is clearly nervous and afraid, and only attacks people who come near/into his home. The scene after he kills the first girl where he's slapping himself and looking out the window never stops being effective.
Speaking of movies whose sequels practically ruin the original retroactively, Hellraiser is an amazing film, with one pretty good sequel, and a whole boatload of bad ones (though for a laugh, Hellraiser 8 is about a Hellraiser MMO and features Henry Cavill in a very early role). Still, that first one, wow. The monsters, Cenobites of the Order of the Gash, are called forth by a puzzle box and, yeah, tear you apart because you probably wanted it. As Pinhead himself says in the film when asked who they are "Explorers in the further reaches of experience. Demons to some, angels to others." And that, I think, is what ruins the sequels. Even the second one a little (but the visuals in that movie, especially in the labyrinth, are too good to be denied), but the later ones much more: in the original film (and novella), they're basically a force of nature. You call them, they do what they do. The sequels make them malevolent, which I guess you could argue is scarier, but I honestly don't think so. There are a million movies with demons and evil killers and monsters out there. The Cenobites work (at least for me), because they come when called, and they do what they do, whether you knew that's what they'd do or not (see the spoilered comment below for a bit more on that).
Anyways, all three of these rule and I recommend them to anyone, with the possible exception of Hellraiser, which I would not recommend to people who are sensitive to gore.
I first saw Hellraiser two Halloweens ago, and unfortunately, it didn't quite land for me. Some of the effects shots were magnificently horrific, so that was cool. But I guess the Cenobites didn't quite live up to my expectations.
I had been told that the Cenobites are unique as movie monsters go because, as mentioned earlier in this thread, they only go after people who literally ask for it, and they can be reasoned/bargained with. And they seem to be going in that direction in the film, but then they just kinda say "nope" and terrorize the innocent protag. Which isn't out of line for a horror villain to maliciously renege on their word, but I had been under the impression that these guys were different. They seemed to swerve into a very generic movie monster route as the film went on. Maybe I missed something.
"The box. You opened it, we came." That's the reason they go after her. They never promise not to just because she brings them Frank, she still opened the box. Pinhead says "maybe."
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre barely edged out... something else that's coming on this list, I'm sure, as my #1, but it remains one of the very few films to have a chilling effect on me every time I see it. Add to that the performances by a bunch of amateur actors, particularly Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface, who has since become just another boogeyman slasher, but in the original film is clearly nervous and afraid, and only attacks people who come near/into his home. The scene after he kills the first girl where he's slapping himself and looking out the window never stops being effective.
Same. I am curious if you see it the same way I do. I see the scene as having genuine pathos and it being sort of upsetting to see this guy have a panic attack, moreso than pretty much any other reaction. But I also feel like there is unexpected comedy in the scene for us to have this turn, since finally seeing it from the killer's side and from his end he's dealing with an unlikely, worrying problem: randos just keep wandering into his house and he has to deal with it and by victim three, he's had a rough day.
Of course, the first appearance of Leatherface is so effecting, not because of his fearsome mask but the incredible sound and foley work.
Again, no gore but the nasty sound sells it. Only a little bloody but filmed and edited in a very upsetting way.
The Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film Frankenstein. As with the first film, Bride of Frankenstein was directed by James Whale and stars Boris Karloff as the Monster. The sequel features Elsa Lanchester in the dual role of Mary Shelley and the titular character at the end of the film. Colin Clive reprises his role as Henry Frankenstein, and Ernest Thesiger plays the role of Doctor Septimus Pretorius. In the film, a chastened Henry Frankenstein abandons his plans to create life, only to be tempted and finally coerced by his old mentor Dr. Pretorius, along with threats from the Monster, into constructing a mate for the Monster.
Drac’s Notes: Uniquely among all of the original Universal horror films, Bride of Frankenstein is often considered superior to its predecessor. It is probably the single best film in the whole stable, featuring everything that makes those films stand the test of the time: gothic atmosphere, cobweb-filled castles, mad scientists chewing scenery, memorable monster makeup, and queer subtext. Plenty of queer subtext. I haven’t seen this film in too long, despite owning a copy of it. Gotta rewatch it.
Pretorius was a genius. Yes, he knew that one monster is never enough. So we shall have more!
No. 33 House (1977)
Points: 88 | Lists: Kishi (#2); Teg (#3); Johnny Unusual (#18) “Bananas! Bananas! Bananas! Bananas! Bananas! Bananas! Bananas! Bananas! Bananas! Bananas!”
House (Japanese: ハウス, Hepburn: Hausu) is a 1977 Japanese comedy horror film directed and produced by Nobuhiko Obayashi. The film stars mostly amateur actors with only Kimiko Ikegami and Yōko Minamida having any notable previous acting experience. The film is about a schoolgirl traveling with her six classmates to her ailing aunt's country home, where they come face to face with supernatural events as the girls are, one by one, devoured by the home.
Drac’s Notes: There’s no way to put into words just how bizarre this film is. On the surface, the premise isn’t too hard to describe: some young women go to a house that isn’t what it seems. That’s the plot of any number of hackneyed horror stories, but House takes it far beyond the premise to dreamlike heights that you need to see to believe. I have the Criterion release of this movie -- it’s that unique. If you have any interest in surrealism or the bizarre, you have to check this movie out.
Also, in case you were wondering, this movie has nothing to do with the straightforward American horror film from the 80s of the same name.
I may...have bitten off more than I can chew...my brain feels funny…
I've mentioned this before but the scene in Bride where Pretorius just has himself a nice outing inside a crypt, downing wine and cigars while cackling at a skeleton is one of the most incredible and perfect moments in cinema.
As for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, I rambled about it a little recently when a friend watched it, some of it contrasted with another film that's surely coming up later in the list:
it's a very hard watch
it's so anti-hokey that you can't even turn it into a riff thing to give yourself some reprieve
i think that's one of its better points in that it does not care to fashion its violence in the prepared steps of narrative propulsion
you're just taken aback when it happens, and how it happens, or for how long
some scenes seem to go on forever, in like cinematic terms of what should be paced "reasonably"
and it's disconcerting
it's just kind of difficult to approach in the sense that parts of it are very clearly based on a real person's crimes
stuff that's american folklore, but also it wasn't that long ago. it's still in living memory
and it definitely wasn't long ago when the movie was made--fuckin' gein was still alive
the ending is really strong
sally gets away, but nothing about her state upon escaping suggests she really did, not truly
and leatherface does an inexplicable twirl or an almost dance and it might be frustration or joy or whatever else
nothing's really given to the viewer, even at the end
like i love halloween, and i think it has atmosphere for days, and it's frightening in its own way. but it's also comfortable in its sense of extremely white '70s american suburbia if that is a thing that can comfort you on some level because you know what it is. pleasence plays dr. loomis as the most dramatic man alive, he's got a prepared speech ready for every interaction. there's a levity to the thing that allows you to be spooked by it, but in this thrilling way because it's not overbearing. i don't think chain saw has like any of those elements, even when it's deliberately trying to be sort of sideways funny. the terror is just played too raw, the atmosphere of the setting too suffocating, no one ever stops screaming, there's no big confrontation for anyone, just run, run, run, and then it ends. it's so draining to even think about, and i don't watch it often
and it tends to linger on violence against women specifically a lot in ways that i'm not sure if there's a positive or worthwhile reading to be made for it, making it even harder to watch
This is going to vary wildly from person to person. I think some people will find it terrifying and others will find it hilarious. It tends to fully dissociate from reality at times and people react different to scenes like this. There are some kind of disturbing scenes of violence, but they're often undercut by the bizarre stuff happening at the same time, so you're not sure if what you're seeing is even real. YMMV.
Short answer no... for a grown-up. Imagine a movie that's that's something scary from a kids movie for the length of the film. Like a certain kind of nightmare that's silly in hindsight but affected you at the time. It follows kid dream logic and I imagine without the grown up filter and you accept everything, weird effects and all, thanks that case, yes.
