Last Seen Contemporary Movie

[FryeDwight]

THE WHALE (2022). Brendan Frasier is very good (and deserving of his Oscar win) as a morbidly obese English professor in declining health hoping to reconnect with his estranged daughter before it's too late. Although, the teen is SO snotty, ones wonders why He would want to bother.
While Frasier gives a good performance, TW reminded very much of LEAVING LAS VEGAS where We get to see someone destroy themselves via their addiction and not really fun to see. **1/2

[TaeKwonZombie]

Friday The 13th (2009) the remake, yeah, its got that late 2000s vibe with some cheesyness, and annoying actors, but some of the visuals of Jason were pretty awesome, i wouldnt give it much more than a 5 out of 10, 6 at best....


also saw Us (2019), which i enjoyed, creepy lil movie, with alot of deeper meanings.

[TaeKwonZombie]

Originally Posted by Sculpt

Agreed. I was mildly entertained with People Under the Stairs. Definitely a weird one.

Speaking of Funhouse... what did you think of Tobe Hooper's The Funhouse?

i enjoy both of those movies, the funhouse is one of my favorite tobe movies, and people was just like you said fucking weird...gotta give both of those a rewatch...

[Tommy Jarvis]

V/H/S/2 2013 ★★★★

Still holds up on a rewatch, even with the alien abduction segment losing a bit of steam.

The Usual Suspects 1995 ★★★★½

Still holds up as an amazing and very entertaining crime drama, even though the impression of the first watching can probably never be met. Largely due to the performances by Benicio Del Toro and Gabriel Byrne. Also a good idea to bring in classy actors like Pete Posthletwaite.

And yes, Kevin Spacey. Say what you will, but if you watch this without all the baggage you would go in with today, you would be blown away as well.

That does not mean that I'm oblivious. In fact, the irony about Kevin Spacey and his current situation is that the things that makes his best performances stand out (manipulation, calm menace,...) are the things that will make a possible comeback more difficult.

The Taking of Deborah Logan 2014 ★★★★½

A pretty impressive and scary movie. There's a lot to like about this one.

Like the idea of going in with the faux documentary style, because it gets you closer to the main characters. You get to live with them and their trials (Laura), their frustrations (Deb and Harris) and fears (the one camera guy who wants to make a run for it).

Or the notion that the makers found a way to visualise the horrors of suffering from Alzheimer's and its symptoms and consequences. For this and the next generation, this will probably be scariest disease to die from, making the explanation about its working less expositional and more fascinating. And best illustrated at the end. Before we even get the chance to have a “happy ending”, the disease is already there, ready to mercilessly pounce.

And of course the fact that this is all wrapped up into an entertaining horror flick, with good special effects and solid scares. Again, the possessing devil as a metaphor for the day to day fears of people related to a Alzheimer's patient. How will they be? Will they recognize me? Will they know my name? How does it feel when they don't?

Good stuff. Well recommended.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Deathgasm 2015 ★★★

Depending on where you stand, this little horror comedy can be either the raunchy comedy version of Evil Dead or the horror version of (a comedy like) Superbad. I know it's tempting to make the Shaun of the dead comparison, but Shaun is way too subtle with its callbacks and foreshadowing. This one is just a lot more staightforward. (Jerry: Not that there's anything wrong with that. George: No, of course not.)

A group of outcast nerds form a death metal group (with an obligatory quick dubstep joke) and the accidentally summon a devil. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

The movie does not reinvent the wheel. The shot of the adult shocked at the sight of the teenager's tastes or the winning over the bully's girlfriend subplot is something we have seen a million times, so nothing shocking there.

But it's not always about what you do, but also about how you do it. And this movie does it well. The pace is good, the jokes work and it's overall a fun flick with a happy end. The shot of Brodie in corpse paint and Medina having an icecream is just adorable, and everyone who has ever rocked out to one of their favorite tunes will recognize themselves in the scene where Medina discovers heavy metal.

Nice little discovery for horror comedy fans.

Better Watch Out 2016 ★★

In all honesty, I did not think all that much of it. The concept was okay. You know, the babysitting brat from hell. Go... to... bed! That's what you said. Go to bread.

So yeah, the idea was good and the kid portraying Luke did a good job. But it was not like it was very gripping or got a laugh from me. A good concept turned into a run of the mill.

I myself am not on reddit and I am not (really) familiar with the culture behind incels. I'm sure that they are annoying and such, that's not the point. But, like in other instances, it also sees a lot of people worked up and raging in either which direction over a movie that, at the end of the day, is pretty much just meh.

The best thing to do is to go in blind. Now the script was not all that captivating, the twists were not too shocking and, apart from Levi Miller, the acting was not bad, but not memorable either. At least we get an okay pay-off.

Two stars. For fans of holiday horror.

Gerald’s Game 2017 ★★★★½

For a horror fan, this is the stuff that makes a Netflix subscription worth its money.

From a simple set-up – sex game goes awry – we venture into a minimalistic horror thriller that manages to keep you invested for the duration of the movie.

As with other of these limited setting horrors (Frozen comes to mind), they make maximum use of the objects available. But most of the credit goes to the actors. Bruce Greenwood and especially Carla Gugino make Gerald and Jessie into complex and layered characters. While I have not yet read the book, some of the monologue passages really reflect King's style of writing, making the whole thing look like a faithfull adaptation.

In that aspect, it was a stroke of genius to tie in the hallucinations and the dream sequences. They help you understand so much better how Jessie's mind works and where she comes from. Especially the moments surrounding the eclipse are very unsettling. Compliments for the young actress for portraying the shock and starting trauma she conveyed there and then.

It uses its gore very effectively, making you squirm at every gory moment, especially the climax when she gets out of the cuffs. Keeping you on the edge of your seat while she is behind the wheel. And even then, her happy ending is not fully certain. For some, the ending scene might feel a bit tacked on, but it mostly shows the progress she made and how she is ready to move on as a person.

Great film and certainly one of the better King-adaptations.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Overlord 2018 ★½

To be honest, I don't see why this gets good reviews.

I've seen this type of war horror before, just with lower budgets and more B-movie appeal. Cruel nazis, brave soldiers, a doctor Mengele-ish figure,... It has it all.

Maybe I was not in the right place for this one, but it did not do anything for me.

The Lighthouse 2019 ★★★

A24 delivers a solid mood piece about the horrors of isolation with William Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as two maintenance men taking care of the lighthouse.

This is one of the movies that could have driven the final nail in the Twilight-coffin. Proving it only managed to reduce two solid actors to moon eyes. Kristen Stewart overcame that with solid or even great performances in The Runaways, Spencer, On the road,... This is the first I've seen of Robert Pattinson and it did not convince me all that much. He just does the generic insolent youngen and not even all that convincingly.

This becomes even more obvious because he's up against a powerhouse performance by William Dafoe. Dafoe had every last detail of his character down, right up until the old timey accent and the magnificent beard. While Pattinson's mustache, on the other hand, looked silly and glued on at the start.

Nonetheless, it was an entertaining piece of mood cinema. The isolation and the ensuing hallucinations are well shot and add to Pattinson's character slowly losing his mind. I also like the choice to film this in black and white, only further enhancing said atmosphere.

This also lends itself for a rewatch. Then you can pick up on details that you might elude on a first watch.

For fans of psychological horror.

Possessor 2020 ★★★★★

Good lord, I love the Cronenbergs.

The opening shot immediately has you hooked. Like any good Cronenberg-flick, it drags you into a surreal universe full of emotionally detached characters that you somehow end up getting attached to.

In this case, we follow a sort of hired killer who takes on the body of somebody else to do her job. Both men and women. Which should also be a clue for her “victim” wife. Anyway.

Sure enough, she gets stuck in this body and things get more and more sour with her fear and despair becoming ever more suffocating. Creating a great feel of unheimlichkeit with one or two shots that had me thinking “put that in one of Davids eighties movies and the people who are now bitching about how 'there are no more great horrors' would all call it brilliant and genious and so and so”.

I loved Jennifer Jason Leigh in her role as Girder. She did the manipulative part of her character really well and the dynamic between her and Tasya was very well done. Also, can we get Cara Delevigne to star in a Cronenberg-film? She'd be great for it.

5 stars. Highly recommended.

[Tommy Jarvis]

I’ll Be Watching 2023 ★★★

Of course, this one is not reinventing the wheel. If anything, it's a more subtle (and less funny) version of the treehouse of horror bit with Pierce Brosnan.

A woman best described as discount Allison Williams is left alone in an Alexa-like house where the house controls pretty much everything. Conveniently for the screenwriter, she has mental issues, so when she starts seeing and hearing all sorts of weird things, it's not that hard for the people around her to rationalise things, which of course only adds to her despair.

The acting is okay from the lead and her husband (1/3 Ben Wishaw, 1/3 young Jeff Goldblum and 1/3 Moss from the IT crowd). The story is kind of predictable, especially the fate of the cat. But the pacing is okay and overall, it is a well executed and an okay movie.

Good for one of those what-should-I-watch-on-Tubi kind of nights.

Malignant 2021 ★★★★ Watched 28 Oct 2023

James Wan delivers another solid offering, cementing his status as one of the finest genre directors of his generation. And certainly one of the most successfull.

We follow a monster escaping from a … hospital? Mental institution? My best guess: the same kind of place where Mulder and Scully would send the fluke worm guy. And at the same time a woman living in Seattle. Obligatory shot of the Space needle? You bet.

She's stuck in an abusive relationship, though that does not last long. Though what she's on to is not much better, since she and the monster are closer than you might think at first and though, it's clear how early on, I'm not going to spoil it just yet. More fun to you find out.

We get some pretty intense chase sequences, the gore looks pretty well (not sure wether it's practical or CGI, probably a mix) and the cast does a good job. All's well that ends well.

Four stars. One of the better recent releases. Makes your Netflix subscription worth its money.

Scream 2022 ★★½

The last offering with Neve Campbell is a mixed bag.

Are there things to complain about? Sure.

The metaness is so out the wazoo it becomes annoying, even for me. There's hardly any scene that can go without an on the nose wink wink moment. The characters went from streetwise to smartalicky. It felt like a rehash of the original. And then people complain about Friday-sequels being cookie cutter. Not to mention the far fetched tie in with Skeet Ulrich.

And of course, the killers had to be toxic fans. Of course. Am I the only one who thinks these toxic fans are only a minority and that most fans are genuinely nice people? That “elevated horror” and rollercoaster rides can coexist the same way burger joints and fancy restaurants do?

Also, I am pretty sure there are people out there now who complain about movies with subtitles (I do nothing but read, I don't get to watch the movie) and yet, at the same time, are totally cool with watching a scene where about half of the dialogue is in text messages.

That does not mean it was all bad. The kills have good ideas behind them. The reveal of the killers comes suitably out of nowhere. The main characters are believable as a group of friends. And we get some touching moments between the Sidney, Gail and Dewey. And of course the dedication to its creator at the end.

For fans of the franchise who want to see everything.

[Tommy Jarvis]

The Conference 2023 ★★★

The Conference is a nice little Swedish slasher about government workers on an outing that's somewhere between the opening of a mall in smalltown and team building.

Most of the characters - with the exception of maybe Lina - seem to come straight from a sitcom like - I don't know - The Office(?), Arrested Development(?),... From that, we get a corruption subplot whose only goal seems to be setting up two characters as even more annoying. And you know what? As long as the pay-off is them (and us) getting two gruesome kills, I am okay with that. After all, we watch slashers for the kills, so any excuse for a good kill is a good one.

The identity of the killer is no big mistery, but that does not deter the fun in any way. I kind of enjoyed spending time with these characters and their respective quirks, like Torbjorn's obsession with food. Or the subplot about the nice guy - think Jim from The Office with a Dwight-like physique. No to spoil anything, but he meets his demise in a whoopsie Daisy-moment that's either sad or funny, depending on where you stand. I thought it was a bit of both.

I liked the killer's look with his NFL/MLB-mascotte like mask. And the kills look good. Suitingly brutal and gory. And, judging from the hammock kill, these people have their share of Fridays. Also, how the machete pierces both the body and the beercan... *chefs kiss*

For fans of slashers or Euro horror. Also... if you like this one, please check out a Norwegian flick called Cold Prey.

The Boy and the Heron 2023 ★★½

Visually stunning, but confusing as hell.

Don’t Look Away 2017 ★★★

A decent short about the world's deadliest staring contest.

More focus on the scares and that's actually well done.

[TaeKwonZombie]

resaw Saw 2

also The Gallows from 2015....annoying teenagers ruined this movie for me and sense of any horror that is there...wanna be paranormal activities...meh....

[TaeKwonZombie]

Voodoo Apocalypse, feel like the cast and crew focused on having fun more than making a good movie, i liked some of it, than other parts seemed to drag on with too much weird dialogue.


also saw Boogeyman, that dvd with the cover of the arm coming out of the door has been in my sight for a while now finally bought it for 1 dollar at a pawn shop, so i gave it a try, and well i enjoyed the idea, and the cgi of the boogeyman and the different moments where it appears, but the characters/actors were very boring and could have used some work, so it was an alright experience all in all. i give it a 4 out of 10 simply for the moments when we see the boogeyman and its attacks/jump scares...