The Horror Thread II: The Return

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  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,807
    horror-fuel-web-logo-2.png
    Maryam D’Abo Returns To Horror In ‘The Baby In The Basket
    https://horrorfuel.com/2023/06/21/maryam-dabo-returns-to-horror-in-the-baby-in-the-basket/


    THE BABY IN THE BASKET - Official Teaser Trailer (2023) (1:35)
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Ow cool!
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    I'm getting some old school Hammer vibes. :-?
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    I'll have to check that out, looks like it could be a treat! I'm digging these B&W religious horror films of late. I saw one fairly recently from 2021 called The Righteous - it's the definition of a slow burn but its payoff and performances made it more than worth a viewing.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Cool! Thanks, @DaltonCraig007. :-D I'm still a big fan of the series, despite TC3 and TCOLL letting me down.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    I was very optimistic with Insidious: The Red Door, thinking it could be the best return to the series since the first or second one, but it's not a great directorial debut for Patrick Wilson and had virtually no good scares or tension to offer me. It's clear to me, after many unnecessary sequels, that the original is the only one that has some impact and truly outstanding atmosphere. They should let the series die but that opening box office and its ability to beat the new Indy tells me that won't be the case.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
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  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    I'm curious to see where DGG will shepherd this series.
  • Posts: 12,473
    Can’t wait for the original to come to 4K. As I’ve begun my 4K collection, unsurprisingly, many of my favorite horror films have gotten prioritized.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    I hope it rocks but DGG has let me down in the horror arena these past few years so I'll keep any expectations I might have in check.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited July 2023 Posts: 24,183
    Can't be any worse than The Heretic, can it? 😉
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    I will say it's sweet that we're getting another Saw and The Exorcist within two or so weeks of one another. I'm not horribly optimistic but I hope they're enjoyable in some form or another at least.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Saw X does hold some promise for me after the last two let me down. It looks like we're going back to the era of the first few films. That, at least, gives me hope.

    I never want another Spiral, that's for sure. Let me rephrase, I never want Chris Rock doing his Chris Rock thing in what is supposed to be a Saw movie, even with Saw alumnus Darren Lynn Bousman at the helm.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,217
    I'm not expecting much. I loved Halloween 2018 but I found both sequels interesting but lacking.

    The Exorcist has never seemed suitable for a sequel. I don't think this will be different.

    I hope to be wrong!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Saw X does hold some promise for me after the last two let me down. It looks like we're going back to the era of the first few films. That, at least, gives me hope.

    I never want another Spiral, that's for sure. Let me rephrase, I never want Chris Rock doing his Chris Rock thing in what is supposed to be a Saw movie, even with Saw alumnus Darren Lynn Bousman at the helm.

    I was mentioning elsewhere earlier today that Spiral is absolutely one of the worst films I've seen in the last few years. If it's nothing like that, I should be set for a good time.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,217

    Very bland looking.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    It looks like every other exorcism film from the last 15 years. I didn't like what DGG did with the recent Halloween trilogy so it's no surprise this one looks terribly generic too.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    Take out the title, and it could pass for a generic rip-off. I think it'll be a hard pass from me. At least for the time being.

    On the recent Halloween trilogy, I haven't seen ENDS, but I had it spoiled, and it sounds so dumb, I refuse to believe someone got paid to write such staggering garbage. KILLS does have the best depiction of The Shape. Right from that first scene, he wasn't here to play around. I just wish the film around him wasn't so shit. I thought all of the "Evil dies tonight" sayings, were a meme, I couldn't help but laugh as every 2 mins, someone said it.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    edited July 2023 Posts: 8,217
    I loved Halloween 2018 and did not hate either of the sequels (but that doesn't equate to an endorsement; there's a lot of interesting things in there, some of which is interesting for the wrong reasons).

    It's very strange to me, though, that Green managed to get himself The Exorcist gig out of it. From the way the new film looks, it seems like he was aiming for that 70s feeling with it - right down to how it was shot. Unfortunately, it looks like they've gone too far with the minimalism and stripped it of any visual intrigue. It all looks very flat. Lots of deep focus and muted colours.

    What it confirms to me is that when it comes to horror, Green is at his best when he's simply aping his predecessors in tone and style. When it comes to expanding on that foundation (i.e. actually putting his own stamp), he comes up short despite the concepts being interesting.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited July 2023 Posts: 7,021
    I really need to catch up on my Exorcist.

    -Exorcist II: The Heretic
    -The Exorcist III (that alternate cut they released a few years ago)
    -Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist

    That's it.

    Oh, alright, why the hell not:

    -Exorcist: The Beginning

    But it shall be a lot of fun, I'm sure.

    ---

    The original Exorcist had a bit of a documentary feel to it. Low-key, casual moments interrupted by crazy, disturbing stuff. I can't tell if this upcoming film is going for the same feel. The trailer is not, but that doesn't mean the film itself won't.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited July 2023 Posts: 3,152
    Like MajorD said: take 'The Exorcist' out of the title and what is there to distinguish it from a dozen others? I dunno, maybe having Chris MacNeil in it will elevate it a bit above the generic - didn't Ellen Burstyn refuse to be in previous sequels? Maybe that means there's a bit more to this one. But probably not...

    EDIT: No, apparently not. Turns out she refused two offers until the studio agreed to fund an acting scholarship. So, she's not doing it because of the quality of the script...
  • Posts: 1,631
    Take out the title, and it could pass for a generic rip-off. I think it'll be a hard pass from me. At least for the time being.

    It does look very generic. I don't see anything there, other than the presence of Ellen Burstyn, that makes this film look any different from, say, The Rite or The Last Exorcism films. The original is, obviously, one of the best horror films of all time and they then proved later with The Exorcist III that interesting things could be done with the franchise, but, from what we've seen here, this doesn't look to be one of those cases. There's also the fact that test screenings for this film have not gone well.
    On the recent Halloween trilogy, I haven't seen ENDS, but I had it spoiled, and it sounds so dumb, I refuse to believe someone got paid to write such staggering garbage. KILLS does have the best depiction of The Shape. Right from that first scene, he wasn't here to play around. I just wish the film around him wasn't so shit. I thought all of the "Evil dies tonight" sayings, were a meme, I couldn't help but laugh as every 2 mins, someone said it.

    If you haven't seen Halloween Ends, let me offer you my congratulations. I wish I could unring that bell, so to speak. It made little to no sense to turn Michael Myers, perhaps the best of the horror boogeymen into, essentially,
    an elderly, homeless sidekick to an annoying 20-something who is about as intimidating as a wet dish rag
    . This was especially jarring coming off of how Halloween Kills ends with Michael Myers being at perhaps his most dangerous in the entire history of the franchise.

    It was also just silly to make the heavily anticipated showdown between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode into essentially
    an afterthought. The way it literally goes down in the film is the kid goes to Laurie's house to kill her and Michael tags along, waiting outside to see how things go down. If the camera showed us what was happening outside, it's not a stretch to think that Myers was just sitting on a bench outside and, after figuring out that the kid didn't make it, groaning like an old man while getting up and saying "Well, I'm here, I might as well" before going into the house for the "epic final showdown", which was about as underwhelming as it possibly could have been

    And now the guy responsible for that is helming the sequels for what most would agree is one of the most effective horror films of all time. I'm sure nothing could possibly go wrong here.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    @dalton - That matches with what I had spoiled, that and clips of the film I have since seen.
    One thing I don't get, and no doubt this has been brought up many times in regard ENDS, is if Michael's strength comes from the fear that the town had for him, then how does that explain him being at full strength in his first scene out of the hospital in Halloween 2018? The town wasn't even aware of him being at large, until KILLS.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
  • Posts: 12,473
    Cool, I will be there. I’ve seen all the others, so I can’t give up now. I think the premise is pretty neat for what it’s worth. Not expecting anything special, but who knows? If nothing else we’ll always have 1 and 2!
  • Posts: 1,631
    @dalton - That matches with what I had spoiled, that and clips of the film I have since seen.
    One thing I don't get, and no doubt this has been brought up many times in regard ENDS, is if Michael's strength comes from the fear that the town had for him, then how does that explain him being at full strength in his first scene out of the hospital in Halloween 2018? The town wasn't even aware of him being at large, until KILLS.

    It's entirely because they didn't have a plan going in. And what little plan they had, they changed it at some point during the making of Halloween Kills. The original plan, as I had understood it, was for Halloween Ends to take place on the same night as Halloween and Halloween Kills, but at some point during the pandemic, they switched gears and decided they had some kind of point they wanted to make with the film and that a time jump was necessary.

    As much as I like Kills (it's not a brilliant film by any stretch, but it's Michael Myers at his best in quite a while), they should have ended it with Halloween 2018. The ending to that film would have brilliantly finished off the franchise.

    But, even still, there were ways to make the storyline of Halloween Ends work if they had really put together a solid script. There are ways to explore what they wanted to explore without
    making Michael Myers into a side character in his own franchise
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited August 2023 Posts: 24,183
    I just rewatched Event Horizon (1997) by Paul W. S. Anderson. It was one of the first horror films I ever saw in theatres, and it became an instant favorite of mine. What always astonishes me is how little love it gets. To be frank, I find the film very effective in its scares. Perhaps I was simply young enough at the time to roll with it and not see any flaws, and I've been in blind love ever since. Perhaps it's a generational thing. Perhaps it's the simple fact that what is scary and what isn't is a perfectly subjective consideration and Event Horizon landed on the good side here, but not in many other living rooms. I'm a fan for sure. And the score is amazing. (And it's almost the best Hellraiser-in-space film we never got.)
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I just rewatched Event Horizon (1997) by Paul W. S. Anderson. It was one of the first horror films I ever saw in theatres, and it became an instant favorite of mine. What always astonishes me is how little love it gets. To be frank, I find the film very effective in its scares. Perhaps I was simply young enough at the time to roll with it and not see any flaws, and I've been in blind love ever since. Perhaps it's a generational thing. Perhaps it's the simple fact that what is scary and what isn't is a perfectly subjective consideration and Event Horizon landed on the good side here, but not in many other living rooms. I'm a fan for sure. And the score is amazing. (And it's almost the best Hellraiser-in-space film we never got.)

    It's criminally underrated, though I only first saw it maybe 10 or so years back. Damn good stuff. I'll forever wish for that proper Extended Cut that will never, ever happen.
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