What film did you watch last night?

Hereditary. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7784604/

Seen it a couple of times before, such a good and intense film. Disturbing and cleverly written.

When I look at Toni Collettes facial expressions, which were captured so well, I see a mixture of horror, sex appeal (which surprised me a little at times), and strangely - even humour.
 
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arc@css said:
Hereditary. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7784604/

Seen it a couple of times before, such a good and intense film. Disturbing and cleverly written.

When I look at Toni Collettes facial expressions, which were captured so well, I see a mixture of horror, sex appeal (which surprised me a little at times), and strangely - even humour.
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I went in to the cinema knowing nothing and came out thinking it was a masterpiece. Came straight back and gave it a 10/10 on here. Unfortunately as soon as you read that, then the hype will impact your perception of it and horror is basically completely destroyed by hype. I’m also 99% sure that the film emits a very low frequency the whole time to make you feel uneasy (just like they do in Irreversible).

I can’t think of any film that seems to have so many jarring plot turns and so much doubling down on “it surely can’t get any worse..... :eek:”

Death in the family -> ghost? -> reveal of sustained family issues -> reveal of mental issues -> ghost communicating with girl? -> GIRL KILLED -> torturous grief -> family trauma -> communicating with the dead -> seance -> cult?! -> oh god oh god oh god -> saw saw saw saw -> HAIL PAIGMON!!

Bemusingly, there were only three people in the cinema when I watched it. When it finished, I was just say their in awe.... only for one person to walk by and say to me that it was the world film she had ever seen.
 
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arc@css said:
@Nitefly Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Almost too many moments to list about how the plot develops. :cool:

No pun intended, but a cut above the rest. :)
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I think the climax ‘decapitation scene’ has got to be one of the most disturbing and shocking moments of any film - visually, the audio.... *creak* *creak* *creak* Toni’s hateful face staring with those eyes. Oh god it’s horrible!! Nightmare fuel!!

It’s also really clever on a rewatch that you hear the piano smash and then see the piano broken minutes before it happens... very cool to pick up things like that a second time.

Oh, and just to add to the hype, I have followed James Rolfe (the guy that does the Angry Video Game Nerd) for well over a decade. We both watch horror films all the time and I follow his horror reviews (all the monster madness stuff - he’s like a film expert) and after I saw it, he did a long time later... and well after I had my own views he declared it the most frightening film he’d ever seen, saying that nothing since a child had given him nightmares... surely the stamp of a true classic!! :cool:

The only other film that has frightened me as an adult is The Grudge (with Sarah Michelle Gellar of all people) - there is something deeply unpleasant about that film as well... and bizarrely James Rolfe also said it scared the crap out of him! Clearly the same things frighten us.

Then people come out and say things like Alien is the scariest film ever made and I’m like whaaaat.
 
Cheers, I'll check him out. Another channel for film reviews that I think is very good is Oliver Harper.

I believe I've started watching the Grudge before but for some reason, I didn't see all of it (might have been too late or something). I'll give it another go. :)
 
arc@css said:
Cheers, I'll check him out. Another channel for film reviews that I think is very good is Oliver Harper.

I believe I've started watching the Grudge before but for some reason, I didn't see all of it (might have been too late or something). I'll give it another go. :)
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Well... it some ways it’s very dated. It’s not on the same level as Hereditary or anything like that and is hilariously shallow in comparison, with its super short run time. But, it nevertheless has an unusual, disorientating delivery of events and provides an unsettling vibe. The creepy imagery is just relentless... with one ultra successful “definitely safe” / “NOT SAFE” moment...

The ghost appearing in the reflection of the bus window.

Forgive its failings and it’s great.

There is also the Japanese original by the same director. It feels more like a companion piece. The Hollywood version feels like the best parts of the original fleshed out. The original feels more like an anthology, which is interesting because the slightly confusing structure of the Hollywood version is clearly the result of the way the original way made. The original also hints to a slightly different set of circumstances. Ultimately though, I think you’re better off sticking with the Hollywood version for the most effective, neatest and frightening ‘haunted house’ romp.
 
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Nitefly said:
Well... it some ways it’s very dated. It’s not on the same level as Hereditary or anything like that and is hilariously shallow in comparison, with its super short run time. But, it nevertheless has an unusual, disorientating delivery of events and provides an unsettling vibe. The creepy imagery is just relentless... with one ultra successful “definitely safe” / “NOT SAFE” moment...
The ghost appearing in the reflection of the bus window.
Forgive its failings and it’s great.
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I'll give it another whirl; right now I'm watching The Silence. Pretty good so far.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silence_(2019_film)
 
Nitefly said:
Ah I’ve heard mixed things about that - let me know how it goes.

I edited my earlier post to say more about the Grudge but TLDR version is - stick with the Hollywood version :)
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Cheers, will do. As for The Silence, I've just finished it and can recommend it. Sure, it won't make the impact that something like Hereditary does, not even close, but for one-off viewing, it was worth it.

I don't tend to give film scores, however, if I was to give this a number I'd say something in the ball-park of a 6-7/10.

Now, for The Grudge. :D
 
arc@css said:
Cheers, will do. As for The Silence, I've just finished it and can recommend it. Sure, it won't make the impact that something like Hereditary does, not even close, but for one-off viewing, it was worth it.

I don't tend to give film scores, however, if I was to give this a number I'd say something in the ball-park of a 6-7/10.

Now, for The Grudge. :D
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Wow were you on an all night film bender or something :eek: :p

Will try and check out the silence at the weeekend.
 
The Hunt (2020)

Starts out with vibes of The Hunger Games.

Just a strange film, violent in a few places early on, fails to deliver.

Passed some time. 5/10 is generous.
 
SixTwoSix said:
The simplicity of the ending is to it's strength in my opinion, it avoids Hollywood gung-ho guns blazing culminations and opts for a more soft ending which fits to the story and Kates journey.

You've also had a bit of mystery around the Sicario himself diminished by watching the sequel first (albeit accidentally) I feel. If you have a bit of time to kill...watch/read a few articles online about how Kate is actually the villain of the piece. :)

The cinematography is stunning...the scene where they descend into the mine is like something straight out of a chilling horror movie. The use of sound, especially when they cross over the border and return on the bridge unnerves me and makes me feel sick with anticipation, despite watching multiple times, again to the movies strength.

It does feature the holy trinity of director, cinematographer and composer...Denis Villeneuve, Roger Deakins and Jóhann Jóhannsson...shame we'll never see a collaboration like that again.

I really do like Sicario, I think it's a modern masterpiece, to me it's near perfect and it sits in my top 10 movies of all time, the sequel would just about scrape into a top 100 perhaps. The sequel while a decent stand alone movie doesn't add or improve anything on the first movie.

Have you watched the other movies in Taylor Sheridans Frontier trilogy...Hell Or High Water and Wind River?
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Any certain pieces you recommend about Kate being the villain?
 
neviditelny said:
Any certain pieces you recommend about Kate being the villain?
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You know what, since I posted that I went back to watch the Kate as a villain video again and it's not as clear I remembered, more just a different view. The villain aspect more comes down to her reluctance to change perspective or adapt to the change in the way the 'war on drugs' needs to be fought.

This is the original video and most articles are based on it.

 
arc@css said:
@Nitefly Have you seen 'It Follows'? I highly recommend that if you haven't.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3235888/

Also, Prisoners is another good movie.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392214/
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SixTwoSix said:
Can heartily recommend this too, one of the best horrors of the last decade.
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I haven’t seen It Follows but I’ll have to check it out - my partner has seen it but I’ve twisted her arm to view it later today :)

Likewise, I haven’t seen Prisoner, thanks for the recommendations!

@arc@css I just watched The Silence. It’s very similar to other ‘be quiet / don’t look’ films like Bird Box and A Quiet Place, so much so that having seen those first there’s nothing particularly fresh about it to me. I also thought the set up of ‘unlimited monsters in a cave’ felt a little beyond belief. This time, unlike A Quiet Place, the monsters felt consistently threatening and their abilities weren’t toned down to suit the plot.

Still, it was nevertheless quite watchable so I thought it was unfortunate that it came to an end quite so soon before it explored more ideas. Actually, most of the film we were commenting on the ultra-calm, handsome dad - surprised he didn’t take on the monsters with his fists and subtly chiselled looks :D

If you like these sorts of films and fancy a monster-less version of the ‘be quiet’ concept, check out ‘Don’t Breathe’. I thought that was surprisingly tense for the concept. It was also my favourite of the aforementioned films by quite some way, although I wonder whether that’s because I saw it first.
 
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