Let's Talk About Horror!

[Serpentine]

Aw yiss



Just because it's my jam.

This thread's probably mostly about movies, but I am absolutely happy to talk about TV shows, short films, books, short story anthologies, comics, webcomics, music videos, creepypasta, YouTube videos, gifs, and heck even IRL if you can stay within the forum rules.

To kick us off, let's start general and see where we go: subgenres. What do you like, what don't you like, and why, and what are some good things everyone should see?
My favourite is unfortunately also one of the hardest to find anything really good in, monster movies. There we've got things like "extra-scary RL animals" - Jaws, obviously, and Anaconda and Eight Legged Freaks. And there's various alien movies, but they could probably have their own category? Not sure, but possibly some of the best quality movies fall into that category, anyway - Alien, obviously, and The Thing and more recently Life. Occasionally there's one about a traditional monster, like dragons or bigfoot or Krampus - in one notable case, even Jörmungand. And then there's a lot of original beasts, which is quite nice now I think of it - Cloverfield, The Host, Jeepers Creepers, The Mist (well, the original creation of the author of the book it's based on, anyway).
I feel like there's a long-running fixation on a few specific monsters, though, to the extent that, say, vampires and zombies and werewolves get their own groupings. That bums me out, because there are so many monsters in the world, some of them truly terrifying, and I wish some creators would try to expand their horizons a little. Hell, even if they just looked outside of Europe for their vampires that'd be nice - have you seen the Malaysian version? That stuff's nuts.
I never used to be keen on zombies, possibly because they used to be all about the gore, and I'm not keen on gore. There's been a few interesting takes on it recently, though. I think Pontypool, for example, is one of the best movies I've seen. I'm a fan of Warm Bodies, though I suppose it's a bit arguable whether that's really horror (the book's prequel definitely is). And Train to Busan, despite being maybe a more "traditional" sort of zombie movie, was really very good, and I have to recommend it (it's on both the US and Australian Netflix, I believe). There's some good TV shows for them, too - Walking Dead, obviously, and Z Nation for a lighter version of Walking Dead (but still seriously messed up in places), and iZombie. But still, it's getting a little silly, the sheer volume of them.

I also like a good haunting, but I'm a bit eh about poltergeists and demons, and I'm finding that, although I still enjoy most of them, ghosts are tending to be a bit samey.

Something I especially like, but is a bit rare, is what I'd call "metahorrors". Not horror-comedies, but movies that depend upon your assumed prior knowledge of horror tropes and staples for their full affect - both the horror and, usually, comedy. So all the ones like that I can really think of are Scream, Cabin in the Woods, Tucker and Dale Verses the Evil (DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILERS), and maaaaybe an Israeli movie called Rabies. And I feel like I'm missing one... But if anyone can think of anything else along these lines, please let me know, because I love 'em.
But more generally, I usually like horror movies where it turns out that the Thing That Is Happening is actually Other Thing Gasp, like a haunting actually being a time travel problem, or a demon-ghost-thing actually being a metaphor for grief or whatever was going on in that one.

So that'll probably do to start it off.
One last specific question, though, on the off chance anyone can help: what's some of the best horror movies on Australian Netflix, Stan, or SBS On Demand? I feel like I've watched all the good ones (and a few truly terrible ones), but I've also been pleasantly (or unpleasantly...) surprised by some, so maybe there's some gold I've missed.

[Eldan]

THere's a movie with Jörmungand? Can I ask what movie that would be?

Edit. And there's tons even in European vampires that never shows up. The vampire legends are incredibly diverse. Where's the invisible vampires that can only be seen by their half-vampire children? Where's my comedy about vampire watermelons?

Edit edit: I like my horror movies slow and atmospheric. My favourite horror movie of the last however many years was Occulus, despite it having more gore and jump scares towards the end than I usually like. I like monster movies too, I just never really find them all that horrifying. I mostly just watch them for "Huh. Cool creature, that."

[Traab]

When it comes to zombies I think the biggest issue I have is how they can only "work" as a horror movie under very specific circumstances or else the movie fails the fridge logic test. For starters, there cant be a patient zero type scenario because it makes no logical sense for that to get out of control beyond a very short term scenario. As an example use the legendary night of the living dead as proof. The movie is scary, its threatening, its deadly. But it only lasts a single night and focuses on a single surrounded farm full of people with few weapons. The next day is all about the world wide clean up. There were deaths, but not enough to collapse civilization or anything. The only thing that works for a long term threat is "Suddenly... ZOMBIES!!!!" Where there is a vast swarm of zombies attacking everywhere at once with no warning even though there is no way there could be enough dead bodies in condition to reanimate to create said threat. Take the anime high school of the dead. Its got so much fanservice the tv set produces its own breeze but at least its zombie outbreak makes "sense". Zombies just show up, everywhere, world wide. In a vast swarm. They are attacking everyone from school kids to senators so there is tons of chaos, the entire world is a hot spot for zombies so there are no real defined targets for military intervention, and most of them are dealing with there being suddenly a vast swarm of impossible undead right in their faces. They dont even bother pretending to explain how it happened, its just, Suddenly.... ZOMBIES!!!! So you can focus on the story of trying to survive in a highly populated city thats now 98% zombies with really sensitive hearing.

Wow that was a long rant on zombie films. Ah well. As for horror itself, I dunno. It isnt a genre I have ever spent much time watching, and most of what I watch is less horror and more jump scare slasher flicks of varying levels of gore. Suspense as the scary music ramps up, then the jump, and thats all the "horror" you feel. Im not even sure I know what a real horror film would be.

[DigoDragon]

Jump-scares are a pet peeve of mine. I hate them because they feel to me less about being scary and more just jolting me for that moment alone. They seem to still be popular with horror movies, so I really don't watch many of those films these days. My aversion is related to the fact I prefer subtle horror elements that tickles your mind and invests a good amount of time building up your imagination against you. The original Halloween movie had a few scenes I remember being really good for that. Rather than a monster jumping out at you all the time, it almost seemed like Michael Myers would "fade in" to the scenes he was in.

And they're you're really scared because you now wonder how long was he standing in the background and you just didn't notice?!

[JoshL]

Oh, hey, I think this thread is for me!

I watch a ton of horror, next to fantasy it is my favorite thing. I tend to prefer supernatural horror over slashers, though it's hard to argue against some of the classic giallo. I LOVE Argento. I still love the classic Romero zombie films, but getting a bit sick of zombies. When the movies aren't about the zombies they're still good, but when it's about the monster and/or an excuse for action films machine-gunning guilt-free hordes, well, that's not my cup of tea. And I'm a sucker for 80s horror, both good and bad, but that's largely because it is when I grew up. Cabin In The Woods is one of my favorite movies (of any genre) in the past 10 years, so right with you there! Have you seen Shadow of the Vampire? That might be up your alley (it's about the filming of the original Nosferatu, taking the premise that Schreck wasn't actually an actor)

Not sure what you've got streaming in Australia, but here's a few of my favorites that if you haven't seen and can, you should:

Suspira - Argento, I'd also recommend Phenomena. The opening murder scene is astounding, and one of my favorite horror scores ever (done by Goblin, one of the things that got me into film music as a kid).

Haunter - By the director of Cube, which is also fun. Probably my favorite modern ghost story, but I love ghost stories (Legend of Hell House is another favorite, though not sure that's aged all that well. Still has moments).

In The Mouth of Madness - my favorite Carpenter (even more than The Thing or Prince of Darkness). One of the most Lovecraftian films I've ever seen, might hit some of your meta-buttons as well, though not played for comedy the way the others are.

Hellraiser - I'm an obsessive Barker fan, and really hope he puts out a new Abarat book soon. The first is a low budget classic, but some of the sequels are pretty good, if they get the concept right (again, it's not about the cenobites, it's about obsession). 2, 5 and 7 are all worth watching. Oh, and if you haven't watched Barker's Nightbreed and Lord of Illusions, they're both wonderful.

The Wicker Man - not the Nicholas Cage film, of course, but the one where Christopher Lee sings. Christopher Lee singing gives any film a five point bonus. This is an absolute classic and required reading for any horror fan.

Vampire's Kiss - speaking of Nic Cage, here's a weird movie about a man who might be turning into a vampire. Cage at his craziest. It's insane. Not really a good movie, but entirely entertaining, if Cage freaking out makes you laugh.

And coming soon, the trailer for the new version of IT looks great. I love Tim Curry, but other than him, the old version hasn't aged well at all. Dark Tower too, though that's more fantasy than it is horror. In the world of indie horror, a friend of mine has a film coming out soon called Bonejangles, which is getting some good press. I'm proud of him, and hope the release goes well!

Oh, and seconding Oculus. Really enjoyed that one!

[Eldan]

Vampire's Kiss - speaking of Nic Cage, here's a weird movie about a man who might be turning into a vampire. Cage at his craziest. It's insane. Not really a good movie, but entirely entertaining, if Cage freaking out makes you laugh.

Oh, that one's great. I mean, it's trash. Absolute trash. Much of it is terrible. But Cage is so hilarious in it.

[dps]

When it comes to zombies <snip>

You might prefer the pre-Romero take on zombies. Before Night of the Living Dead, zombies weren't thought of as undead monsters--instead they were people who were made into mind-controlled slaves by evil Voodoo priests. In some cases, those slave were re-animated dead bodies, but usually they were living people.

[Kyberwulf]

Ah.. zombies. I think are a misunderstood genre. Of all the horror out there.. i think they are the worse. Sure the popularization deminished the real horror of them. Of all the genre's, they suck the worse because they don't give you superpowers... you just die. Usually a slow painful death. It horror because puts into perspective a lot of our fears. Once bit.. you are dead. It's assured mortality. Once someone else gets but. It tests your humanity. I know some people will callously say they will just merk whose bit.
If it's someone you love, how would you just put a bullet in there head? To me it's like saying someone has cancer, do you just put a bullet in there head?

Zombies are a weird genre too, because it's both a stand in for whatever you want the zombies to represent, yet it's usually goes as far to say, the monsters in zombie movies usually aren't the zombies. It's humans.

That is why zombie movies end up in apoclypses. Not from the zombies themselves... Usually it's population that breaks down. Society. Although, with the current acceptance of the zombies.. that seems less likely now.

Although that is the same with almost any genre of monsters now.

Vampires? Werewolves? Aliens.. Of they popped out noe.. I think we wouldn't be as afraid of them as in the past.

[Mystic Muse]

I just watched "Get Out" and really loved it. I plan on watching 'Cabin In the Woods" tonight when I get a chance.

"The Babadook" was also weirdly good.

[Fri]

I can't stand horror movies, but I like horror novels/short stories. Bogleech website got a really excellent yearly halloween horror short story festival. I think I also really enjoy stephen king's and clive barker's short stories more than their novels. I have two things from stephen king that really stuck in my head. Crouch End from Nightmare and Dreamscapes short story collection is one of the best if not the best lovecraft story I've ever read. And The Man Who Loves Flower is the kind short story that I always want to write. Really, read his short stories collection if you find your novels too long or dry, they're really good.

[90,000]

Slashers for me.

The cheesier the better.

Nothing after 1989, either.

That's when it got all "meta" and lost its appeal.

[LaZodiac]

I just watched "Get Out" and really loved it. I plan on watching 'Cabin In the Woods" tonight when I get a chance.

"The Babadook" was also weirdly good.

Get Out was brilliant, and I'd genuinely consider the pinnacle of psychological horror.

[90,000]

Get Out was brilliant, and I'd genuinely consider the pinnacle of psychological horror.

Inland Empire ain't gonna lose that title for me any time soon.

[Eldan]

Get Out was brilliant, and I'd genuinely consider the pinnacle of psychological horror.

Really? I found it ridiculously over the top most of the time. The cinema was laughing the entire time.

[Agrippa]

Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon. Exactly what the fairy tale does is this: it accustoms him for a series of clear pictures to the idea that these limitless terrors had a limit, that these shapeless enemies have enemies in the knights of God, that there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness, and stronger than strong fear.

Now I would say that this is an overly idealized take on what fairy tales are, considering how gruesome and horrifying many of the earlier tellings of them were. But if you think about it, fairy tales are old timey horror stories. When reading or watching horror stories I do so with a certain hope. A hope that the evil-doer of the tale is ultimately vanquished, slain or otherwise defeated by those he victimized or in their names. Even a moral defeat will do for me. Now what does that say about me?

[Juggling Goth]

My wife and I have massively different tastes in horror, which makes watching stuff together really difficult. She doesn't like really scary and I don't like really gross. She thought the scene with

Spoiler

Show

the ear and the food

in Brain Dead (Dead Alive) was the height of horror-comedy. I nearly threw up my optic nerves. OTOH, if I'm playing Silent Hill I have to shout a warning and pause it before she comes into the room. Trying to think of stuff we've actually watched together... the Evil Dead trilogy, Ravenous, and that's about it.

I can't stand monologuing villains who are actually just awful people. I think I made it about fifteen minutes into Saw before my "no, you're not terribly interesting, you just suck and that's it" reaction kicked in.

Rather than a monster jumping out at you all the time, it almost seemed like Michael Myers would "fade in" to the scenes he was in.

And they're you're really scared because you now wonder how long was he standing in the background and you just didn't notice?!

Aaaaah this is why a lot of creepypasta (especially Slender Man and some of the SCP pictures) works for me.

[Misereor]

Now I would say that this is an overly idealized take on what fairy tales are, considering how gruesome and horrifying many of the earlier tellings of them were. But if you think about it, fairy tales are old timey horror stories. When reading or watching horror stories I do so with a certain hope. A hope that the evil-doer of the tale is ultimately vanquished, slain or otherwise defeated by those he victimized or in their names. Even a moral defeat will do for me. Now what does that say about me?

I remember one children's tale that is about a worker being cheated out of his wages and beaten by his employer.
The worker's younger brother applies for the job and proceeds to murder the employers children, skin and gut them, and dry their remains over the chimney.
Then when the employer comes home and is horrified to discover their remains, the worker kills him and takes all his gold.

But of course the employer was a troll, so it was ok.

[Serpentine]

THere's a movie with Jörmungand? Can I ask what movie that would be?

It's called Ragnarok. Starts with people speaking ancient Norse or something like! ...although I think the rest is in Icelandic so unless you can speak either of those you probably won't really notice.

Edit edit: I like my horror movies slow and atmospheric. My favourite horror movie of the last however many years was Occulus, despite it having more gore and jump scares towards the end than I usually like.

Have you heard of I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House? It's positively bloated with "slow and atmospheric" (and not a whole lot else, to be honest). I found it almost more like a spooky poem in the form of a film than a horror story. I can't decide whether or not I actually liked it or just got bored... But it is a very pretty ghost story.
Have you seen The Babadook, too?

I like monster movies too, I just never really find them all that horrifying. I mostly just watch them for "Huh. Cool creature, that."

Yeah, I'm usually barracking for the beast.

Im not even sure I know what a real horror film would be.

Maybe you should try checking out The Sacrament. It's roughly based on Jonestown Massacre, and reading up on that really compounded the horror for me. It's a real slow building of dread, and probably one of the most "real" horror movies I've seen.

The original Halloween movie had a few scenes I remember being really good for that. Rather than a monster jumping out at you all the time, it almost seemed like Michael Myers would "fade in" to the scenes he was in.

And they're you're really scared because you now wonder how long was he standing in the background and you just didn't notice?!

Ooo, that's a good one, you're right. Not sure how many there are like that.
A similar technique, I quite like the sort where there's something going on in the background, subliminal shots, subtle stuff you've really got to look out for. Unfortunately, though, they seem to turn up in otherwise meh movies, or are way overused. Paranormal Activity comes to mind.

I watch a ton of horror, next to fantasy it is my favorite thing. I tend to prefer supernatural horror over slashers

Same. I think I might have missed the era of classic slashers, though - I only saw the original Halloween recently (and probably didn't pay as much attention as I should've).

Have you seen Shadow of the Vampire? That might be up your alley (it's about the filming of the original Nosferatu, taking the premise that Schreck wasn't actually an actor)

I haven't seen that one, but definitely sounds along the right lines!

Suspira - Argento, I'd also recommend Phenomena. The opening murder scene is astounding, and one of my favorite horror scores ever (done by Goblin, one of the things that got me into film music as a kid).

I watched this with my ex, who thought it was one of the scariest movies EVAR, and I felt really bad that I couldn't really get into it. You're right, the opening is great, but I didn't find it scary at all. Which is a pity, because I did like the bold colours and surreal aesthetic.

Haunter - By the director of Cube, which is also fun. Probably my favorite modern ghost story, but I love ghost stories (Legend of Hell House is another favorite, though not sure that's aged all that well. Still has moments).

Ah yes, I did like that one.
What did you think of Crimson Peak, if you saw it? To me, it felt like the gothic romances that were all the rage in Jane Austen's time (as I've experienced them via Northanger Abbey) with ghosts.

In The Mouth of Madness - my favorite Carpenter (even more than The Thing or Prince of Darkness). One of the most Lovecraftian films I've ever seen, might hit some of your meta-buttons as well, though not played for comedy the way the others are.

That keeps on getting brought up, and I've read the story, but I still haven't gotten around to watching it. I definitely gotta.
Any other Lovecraft/ian movies?

Hellraiser - I'm an obsessive Barker fan, and really hope he puts out a new Abarat book soon. The first is a low budget classic, but some of the sequels are pretty good, if they get the concept right (again, it's not about the cenobites, it's about obsession). 2, 5 and 7 are all worth watching. Oh, and if you haven't watched Barker's Nightbreed and Lord of Illusions, they're both wonderful.

I've only recently seen the first one. I definitely ought to get on with the rest.
It's like I've missed a whole era of horror from the... I guess late 80s to mid 90s...

The Wicker Man - not the Nicholas Cage film, of course, but the one where Christopher Lee sings. Christopher Lee singing gives any film a five point bonus. This is an absolute classic and required reading for any horror fan.

I have not!

Vampire's Kiss - speaking of Nic Cage, here's a weird movie about a man who might be turning into a vampire. Cage at his craziest. It's insane. Not really a good movie, but entirely entertaining, if Cage freaking out makes you laugh.

Heh, sounds rad.

And coming soon, the trailer for the new version of IT looks great. I love Tim Curry, but other than him, the old version hasn't aged well at all. Dark Tower too, though that's more fantasy than it is horror.

So keen on those!

In the world of indie horror, a friend of mine has a film coming out soon called Bonejangles, which is getting some good press. I'm proud of him, and hope the release goes well!

Neato! Any idea where it could be watched?

Oh, and seconding Oculus. Really enjoyed that one!

Ah yes, I saw that. It's a good one.

I can't stand horror movies, but I like horror novels/short stories. Bogleech website got a really excellent yearly halloween horror short story festival. I think I also really enjoy stephen king's and clive barker's short stories more than their novels. I have two things from stephen king that really stuck in my head. Crouch End from Nightmare and Dreamscapes short story collection is one of the best if not the best lovecraft story I've ever read. And The Man Who Loves Flower is the kind short story that I always want to write. Really, read his short stories collection if you find your novels too long or dry, they're really good.

Very big fan of horror short stories, and particularly King. Looking on my shelves right now, I have... Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Skeleton Crew, and... okay, that's all. I thought I had more. How embarrassing. There's a short TV series of adaptations of stories from Nightmares and Dreamscapes which is quite good.
Have you heard of King's Dollar Babies? Basically, anyone is allowed to turn one of his short stories into a film, on the condition that you send him $1 and a copy of the film. He reportedly watches every one, and apparently the overwhelming majority are then put on a shelf and never touched again. Still a cool idea, though.

Now I would say that this is an overly idealized take on what fairy tales are, considering how gruesome and horrifying many of the earlier tellings of them were. But if you think about it, fairy tales are old timey horror stories. When reading or watching horror stories I do so with a certain hope. A hope that the evil-doer of the tale is ultimately vanquished, slain or otherwise defeated by those he victimized or in their names. Even a moral defeat will do for me. Now what does that say about me?

Does that mean you're not keen on the more nihilistic ones with unhappy or even apocalyptic endings?
Very interesting point, though.

My wife and I have massively different tastes in horror, which makes watching stuff together really difficult. She doesn't like really scary and I don't like really gross. She thought the scene with

Spoiler

Show

the ear and the food

in Brain Dead (Dead Alive) was the height of horror-comedy. I nearly threw up my optic nerves. OTOH, if I'm playing Silent Hill I have to shout a warning and pause it before she comes into the room. Trying to think of stuff we've actually watched together... the Evil Dead trilogy, Ravenous, and that's about it.

Hmm... How about monster movies? They tend to be less really scary

I can't stand monologuing villains who are actually just awful people. I think I made it about fifteen minutes into Saw before my "no, you're not terribly interesting, you just suck and that's it" reaction kicked in.

I quite like the idea of Saw, the contraptions and that, but I don't like torture porn so...

Aaaaah this is why a lot of creepypasta (especially Slender Man and some of the SCP pictures) works for me.

Love creepypasta so much. I wonder whether anyone's put any together into a proper book yet...

[Juggling Goth]

A similar technique, I quite like the sort where there's something going on in the background, subliminal shots, subtle stuff you've really got to look out for. Unfortunately, though, they seem to turn up in otherwise meh movies, or are way overused. Paranormal Activity comes to mind.

The first Paranormal Activity scared me so much (in a good way). Even when there was actually nothing going on, I spent the whole film in a state of abject terror because I was convinced there might be something that I just hadn't spotted yet and was gonna make me jump five feet when I did. Seriously diminishing returns though.

Also my idiot corn snake decided to noisily rearrange her tank at four in the morning the night after I watched it. Wake up hyperventilating to thumping noises convinced it's the demon and no, it's just it's breeding season and your stupid pet is looking for hunky boy snakes under her furniture.

[Wookieetank]

Hellraiser - I'm an obsessive Barker fan, and really hope he puts out a new Abarat book soon. The first is a low budget classic, but some of the sequels are pretty good, if they get the concept right (again, it's not about the cenobites, it's about obsession). 2, 5 and 7 are all worth watching. Oh, and if you haven't watched Barker's Nightbreed and Lord of Illusions, they're both wonderful.

If you haven't seen it yet, The Midnight Meat Train is a newer movie based on one of Clive Barker's short stories. Very gorey, but very suspenseful and mysterious.

At the Devil's Door and Ava's Possession are two very interesting takes on the demonic possession genre. Devil's Door is a slower paced suspense movie. And Ava's Possession is more of a quirky who done it.

American Horror Story is decent for a horror TV show, but is made of grimdark coated grimdark (with a side of black and dark gray morality). Best taken in small doses, I've only finished seasons 1&2 and started S3. Each season deals with a differently style/type of Horror, S1-Haunted House, S2-Haunted Asylum, S3-Witches and so on.

[JoshL]

I agree that Suspiria actually scary, but then, I don't really think horror movies are scary. The last time I found one really scary was Poltergeist when I was a kid. Maybe I'm desensitized. I still love them, and love the aesthetics and imagination. Oh, speaking of aesthetics, Mama. If you like organic decay/mold, it is a BEAUTIFUL movie. Otherwise passable, nothing to write home about, but such a pretty film.

I did love Crimson Peak, definitely old school gothic. Anything del Toro touches I love (Pan's Labyrinth and Devil's Backbone most of all)! As far as Lovecraft adaptations, most of them are pretty bad. Re-Animator is a classic, but pretty schlocky. Same with Dagon and pretty much anything else Stuart Gordon (I love them, but they're not great). The film "The Call of Cthulhu" done in the style of a 1920s silent (but released in 2005) gets the vibe pretty close, but not really a direct adaptation. And for certain values of wonderful, there is this....

Speaking of Lovecraftian/Weird fiction, and tangenting into horror lit, I can't recommend Thomas Ligotti enough. Penguin Classics just put out a repress of his first two collections ("Songs of a Dead Dreamer" and "Grimscribe"). Fantastic stuff. There's a story in there called Vastarien that I am absolutely obsessed with. King and Barker both have some great short stories. I have a few friends who have done King's dollar babies. It's a great opportunity for film students, particularly those looking to learn how to adapt written works. Most of them get put on the shelf because, well, most short films don't really go anywhere.

Midnight Meat Train is fantastic (and is heavy on the gore). There was some talk a few years ago of doing Barker's "Jacqueline Ess" which is my favorite story in Books of Blood! Haven't heard anything in a few years though, so I don't know what the state of it is.

I do like American Horror Story a lot, and I think you'll find, Wookieetank, that the grimdark tapers off...which isn't to say that it isn't still soaked in it, but the seasons start getting kind of uplifting endings. I haven't watched the most recent one, but Hotel had one of the best soundtracks of any tv show in recent memory!

Oh, back on meta-horror where characters' genre savvy is inherent to the plot: Shaun of the Dead. Of course. I can't believe I didn't think of that first.

[Agrippa]

Well Serpentine, I just don't care for nihilism and hopelessness period. At least not if it's meant to be serious. Even then, the characters I identify with and cheer on are never the grotesquely and irredeemably evil. I prefer the genuinely good and heroic ones, some times with a dash of charming roguery, ruthless yet principled anti-heroes and occasionally bad people with standards and other redeeming features.

I support Police Sergeant Neil Howie over Lord Summerisle, the Duc de Richelieu over Mocata, Jacob, Kate and Daniel Fuller over Santanico Pandemonium, Agent Starling over Buffalo Bill, Verger Mason and Hannibal Lecter, Sidney Prescott and friends over any Ghostface, Police Chief Marge Gunderson over Gaear Grimsrud, Carl Showalter and Jerry Lundegaard, Police Chief Molly Solverson and Gus Grimly over Lester Nygaard and Lorne Malvo and ex-Police Chief/DHS Agent Gloria Burgle over V.M. Varga and his minions. Even if the hero dies, as in the cases of Sergeant Howie, Reverend Jacob Fuller and his son Daniel, they still fought back and have won a moral victory if nothing else. They have looked evil in the face and fought against it to the bitter end, in the hope that even if they don't defeat it now, that somehow their actions have contributed to overturning that evil in the future. But that's just me.

[An Enemy Spy]

I hate the stupid cliche you see a lot in horror movies where the good guys manage to kill the murderer/monster in the climax of the movie only for the very last shot to go "Surprise, the murderer/monster is still alive and it kills one of the heroes!" Great, so what was even the point of the movie if there is apparently no way to beat the villain?

Also, the cliche that's rampant in indie horror games where you spend the whole game going through a creepy building avoiding the monster only for the game to end on a jump-scare where the monster kills you.

[Blackhawk748]

I hate the stupid cliche you see a lot in horror movies where the good guys manage to kill the murderer/monster in the climax of the movie only for the very last shot to go "Surprise, the murderer/monster is still alive and it kills one of the heroes!" Great, so what was even the point of the movie if there is apparently no way to beat the villain?

Also, the cliche that's rampant in indie horror games where you spend the whole game going through a creepy building avoiding the monster only for the game to end on a jump-scare where the monster kills you.

I agree. This may have been fun the first few times, but now we expect it. The only reason i forgive it in Friday the 13 is because, typically, Jason doesn't rez until the next movie. Speaking of...

I love Slasher Movies. I mean, theres nothing else to say. They are the pinnacle of unintentional dark comedy and some are actually freaking creepy. Also the re-works don't actually suck (at least for Friday the 13 and Nightmare on Elm Street)

Speaking of re-works. The newest Evil Dead was great. It managed to get the original creep factor of the first movie and looked so much better while doing it. Sadly no Bruce Cambell.

[Aka-chan]

I'm not a huge fan of horror movies, but I love written horror stories. I really enjoy a lot of Stephen King's older work, as well as some of the stories written by his son Joe Hill.

One of my other favorite horror works is the short story collection Northwest Passages by Barbara Roden.

[Serpentine]

If you haven't seen it yet, The Midnight Meat Train is a newer movie based on one of Clive Barker's short stories. Very gorey, but very suspenseful and mysterious.

I've seen that come up quite a lot, lately. I'd like to check it out, but alas, it's not on Netflix here yet

At the Devil's Door and Ava's Possession are two very interesting takes on the demonic possession genre. Devil's Door is a slower paced suspense movie. And Ava's Possession is more of a quirky who done it.

I did like Ava's Possession. Looking at the aftermath of demonic possession, where it's treated like an addiction or an STD or something, really interesting angle.

American Horror Story is decent for a horror TV show, but is made of grimdark coated grimdark (with a side of black and dark gray morality). Best taken in small doses, I've only finished seasons 1&2 and started S3. Each season deals with a differently style/type of Horror, S1-Haunted House, S2-Haunted Asylum, S3-Witches and so on.

Yeah, I've watched some of it, but sporadically.
I think I watched season 1 start to finish as soon as it came out and liked it a lot.
Season 2, I tried to watch the first couple of episodes, but it made me so angry, I found it unpleasant.
Season 3 I think I only saw the first episode, but for some reason it didn't really grab me. Maybe it's just that I'm eh about witches. I should probably give it another shot.
Season 4, I watched all the way through not long ago, loved it. The people playing the "freaks" were fascinating, too - like Rose Siggins aka Legless Suzi was an amazing person, for example (and sadly, as I just discovered, died not long after the series ).
Season 5, I really want to watch, but that awful rape scene in the first(?) episode really, really put me off. I feel like the show uses rape as a "horror" element too much, and that one was particularly horrible. I should probably give that season another go, because it looks like there's a lot to like about it, but I think I'll skip that bit.
Season 6 I'm SO KEEN to watch, but DAMMIT AUSTRALIAN NETFLIX, IT ONLY GOES UP TO SEASON 5.

As far as Lovecraft adaptations, most of them are pretty bad. Re-Animator is a classic, but pretty schlocky. Same with Dagon and pretty much anything else Stuart Gordon (I love them, but they're not great). The film "The Call of Cthulhu" done in the style of a 1920s silent (but released in 2005) gets the vibe pretty close, but not really a direct adaptation. And for certain values of wonderful, there is this....

Pity, but maybe understandable. Even just with the source material, you've got a lot of abstract atmosphere, thick purple prose, and a sometimes uncomfortable amount of racism (even by the day's standards) to wade through to carve out something that works on film.

Speaking of Lovecraftian/Weird fiction, and tangenting into horror lit, I can't recommend Thomas Ligotti enough. Penguin Classics just put out a repress of his first two collections ("Songs of a Dead Dreamer" and "Grimscribe"). Fantastic stuff. There's a story in there called Vastarien that I am absolutely obsessed with.

Never heard of him, I'll have to check it out!

I have a few friends who have done King's dollar babies. It's a great opportunity for film students, particularly those looking to learn how to adapt written works. Most of them get put on the shelf because, well, most short films don't really go anywhere.

It was my understanding that most of them go on the shelf because they're awful and he never wants to touch them again...

Oh, back on meta-horror where characters' genre savvy is inherent to the plot: Shaun of the Dead. Of course. I can't believe I didn't think of that first.

Hm... I'm unsure whether that counts as a metahorror or just an affectionate parody (so, for example, I wouldn't count the Scary Movie franchise as what I'm going for). Maybe... It's a great movie either way.

There was an Australian movie called Red Billabong that came out not long ago. Apparently a friend of a friend was involved in it. Unfortunately it seems it was plagued by distribution problems, so it wasn't in many cinemas and not for long, so I missed it completely Real bummed out by that. I was really looking forward to it. An Australian monster movie! There's a few of those, but not many, and generally pretty terrible and/or bizarre.

Oh, speaking of! I have to recommend Australian zombie movie, Undead. There's so much it has to offer:
- Australian zombie movie.
- Absurd horror-comedy.
- It was filmed with a minuscule budget, which meant that most of the shots were done in just one or two takes because they couldn't afford the extra film.
- Apparently in the original script there was little or no swearing. If you see the movie, you'll see why that's funny.
- A truly bizarre twist about 2/3 through.

The Tunnel is another pretty cool Australian horror movie. Another small budget, this time crowd-funded and they only got about 1/4 of what they were aiming for. That plus the fact they filmed on-location, in the abandoned tunnels under Sydney, makes for a really interesting, claustrophobic movie. It definitely suffers from that whole "never getting a good look at the beastie" issue, though (probably in large part thanks to the pauper's budget).

And speaking of that, The Host! The Korean monster movie, not the lesser-known Stephanie Meyer adaptation. I love that the director had was so annoyed by that "only getting glimpses of the monster until the last 5 minutes" thing that he very specifically went out of his way to make sure that you see the entire beast, nose to tail, within the first 15 minutes.

[Wookieetank]

I'm not a huge fan of horror movies, but I love written horror stories. I really enjoy a lot of Stephen King's older work, as well as some of the stories written by his son Joe Hill.

I keep forgetting those two are related. Just finished Heart Shaped Box a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic. Really enjoyed Horns too, actually liked the movie more than the book, but then Daniel Radcliff really sold Ig for me.

For Stephen King I haven't read anything of his I didn't like, but for recommendations: Salem's Lot, The Shining (and its sequel Doctor Sleep), Cell, Revival, Under the Dome (bit of a doorstopper fyi), and 11/22/63.

Brian Lumley is fun for a more modern take on Lovecraft and his Titus Crow series very much feels like a Doctor Who/Lovecraft crossover.

I'm sure there's more rattling around in my brain, but its hard to keep track of it all with the sheer volume of horror I've read/watched over the years XD

[Serpentine]

Just watched Blair Witch. Wasn't quite as scary as I hoped/feared, but it had a few quite good and even shocking moments. And much easier to watch than the original... There was a particular element I was surprised they didn't do much with, though:

Spoiler

Show

The drone. I was expecting much more creepy-cool stuff to come from that. It was sort of the one thing that was really different to the original, so I thought they were intending to do something big with it. Or at least, like, have it go up in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep. Instead,
just "Oh, can't see anything. Boom, crash." Lame.

Also while I'm at it, what was up with that parasite in the leg or whatever? o.O

As long as I've got spoilers, I really liked that moment with the breaking of the wooden figure. That was very cool and unexpected.

[Mikemical]

Has anyone mentioned the [•REC] films yet? Not the Quarantine US remakes, but the original Spanish ones. Those were pretty good, scarier than most zombie movies I've seen before, probably because of how small the spaces were.

[Serpentine]

Has anyone mentioned the [•REC] films yet? Not the Quarantine US remakes, but the original Spanish ones. Those were pretty good, scarier than most zombie movies I've seen before, probably because of how small the spaces were.

I loved the first one, and I think I probably didn't pay the second one the attention it deserved. The third one was okay, I guess, but the way it ditched the first person found footage gimmick annoyed the crap out of me. That's why it's called REC dagnabbit! And the fourth one was... eh. Not bad, you know, just fairly standard fare.

Anyone seen Circle? Really interesting sci-fi horror. For a movie that's basically just a whole bunch of people standing in a room talking to each other, it's pretty gripping. Really relies on the quality of the actors to carry it.