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A bored computer worker becomes fixated on a co-worker and follows her home. Emm:
2Sexy4Me!
Eli:
Reminds me of the intro to Blowout. What are the chances De Palma saw
this college short prior to making his movie?
Linh:
Weird!
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In the far reaches of space, a small crew, 20 years into their solitary mission, find things beginning to go hilariously wrong. Eli:
I fell asleep. Will try again later...but I think the story of how this
was made was possibly more entertaining than the actual flick
Linh:
don't know what happened. I passed out.
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A woman is being watched in her apartment by a stranger, who also calls and torments her. A cat-and-mouse game begins. Eli:
Excellent film, great camera work, pacing, and performances. Maybe a
little slow by today's standards
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Three short stories in the horror genre: the first about a serial killer, the second about a hair transplant gone wrong, and the third about a baseball player. Eli:
Did I just see Mark Hamill's balls?! Worth it for that and Carpenter's
own role as the Cryptkeeper-like host of the anthology.
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A small town's women give birth to unfriendly alien children posing as humans. Emm:
Not even Superman could control these kids.
Eli:
Great visuals, good soundtrack (also Carpenter), and Luke Skywalker as a
murderous priest. What's not to love?
Linh:
This movie materializes the nightmare of those who are scared of kids.
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For the staff of a women's clinic, the ultimate nightmare is waiting to explode. Trapped inside is a terrified pregnant 15-year-old. Outside is her crazed anti-abortion activist father. Season 2. Episode 5. Eli:
My first exposure to this series. I'm very much looking forward to the
rest! This was dark, twisted, topical, and surprisingly emotional towards the end. Great
performance by Ron Perlman, per usual.
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A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity. Eli:
Our first actually scary movie of the month! This one is dripping in
ambiance, and I loved the interplay of sci-fi and dark fantasy. Seems pretty underrated.
Linh:
A group of people got locked inside a building with something deadly
that takes them down one by one. The question is always who will survive? It's a
good scare.
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An institutionalized young woman becomes terrorized by a ghost. Eli:
So Amber Heard may be crazy, and now I'm wondering if she even exists. A
fantastic yarn by Carpenter, dripping in directorial expertise from the soundtrack to
the pacing to, of course, the camera work. Another underrated film -- I'm getting the
feeling people just like to hate on Carpenter. Maybe they compare everything to
Halloween and come away disappointed.
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In 2176, a Martian police unit is sent to pick up a highly dangerous criminal at a remote mining post. Upon arrival, the cops find that the post has become a charnel house. Eli:
I struggled with this one. It gets a bit better when you find out
Carpenter never meant for anyone to take this even slightly seriously. I think maybe a
few more laughs would have helped drive that fact home.
Linh:
It's not as bad as the reviews say. But the killings were too
over-the-top. The metal music and the blond hot girl as protagonist are the highlights
of the movie.
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Recovering from an ambush that killed his entire team, a vengeful vampire slayer must retrieve an ancient Catholic relic that, should it be acquired by vampires, will allow them to walk in sunlight. Eli:
Watched this one last year as well, but enjoyed it way more this time.
The vampire lore is especially rich, and reminds me a lot of the Buffy variation on the
theme.
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An insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational. Kimberly:
"In the Mouth of Madness" is a mind-bending horror film that had me on
the edge of my seat from start to finish. The combination of Lovecraftian themes and
John Carpenter's direction creates a truly unsettling and immersive experience. Sam
Neill's performance is outstanding, and the film's unique take on the genre is a breath
of fresh air. A must-see for any horror enthusiast!
Eli:
I adored the Lovecraftian horror here. Certainly on the more poetic end
of Carpenter's films, and Sam Neill's performance is ace!
Linh:
I don't know what is real anymore.
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With a torrid past that haunts him, a movie theatre owner is hired to search for the only existing print of a film so notorious that its single screening caused the viewers to become homicidally insane. Eli:
Tremendous horror here, that steadily and surely ramps up until a
bombastic, chilling finale that in and of itself manages to steadily ratchet up the
intensity until the bitter end. A great entry in the "how much can watching a film
change you" genre. Better than The Ring, even. As a fun bonus, the music is by
Carpenter's son, Cody. I think this is my new favorite work by Carpenter.
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An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters. Eli:
The most poetic of all that we've watched so far. I love the strong
emphasis on the spoken word as a storytelling mechanism supplemented with great, eerie
visuals. It's also fun seeing Jamie Lee Curtis playing such a radically different
character than her reserved, cautious breakout role in Halloween a few years earlier.
Linh:
I just love the radio voice of the woman before she screams.
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A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it. Eli:
Carpenter may not be proud of this one, but making a movie about a
killer car is hard! I think he did as good as job as anyone has, and the effects
supervised by Roy Arbogast definitely left Linh and I guessing...how did he do that?!
Linh:
I guess the flaming car is the precursor to Ghost Rider, except the Ghost Rider car was badass.
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A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims. Emm:
The scariest part of The Thing is the paranoia...who can say they
wouldn't have run away and died or killed all of their teammates!? It's scary as well
because you can't trust anyone. That scene with the blood test is soooo fucking tense, I
love it. Fucking love the practical effects. I'm a geek but maaaaan, CGI doesn't even
get close. That fucking spider head is just wow. Or the teeth belly. Oh and...Fucking
Kurt Russel and Keith David. Fucking legends.
Linh:
Two factors that create the tension: the team being split and the
lights going out. A story of killing monsters is more intriguing when combined with
saving humanity. Kudos to the visual effects. Who needs CGI?
Eli:
Hilarious reading some of the reviews that panned this for "too much
gore". Personally, it gets better every time I watch it. The Ennio Morricone soundtrack
and the stunning desolation captured by director of photography Dean Cundey entrench you
in a dark, cold world where you can't even trust yourself.
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Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again. Emm:
John Carpenter's films stand as a testament to the power of practical
effects and storytelling in horror cinema. Screw heavy reliance on CGI! Yay for
practical effects that make stories real. This approach not only showcases Carpenter's
ingenuity but also immerses the audience more deeply in his worlds. What truly sets his
movies apart is their emphasis on suspense over jump scares; Carpenter masterfully
builds tension and atmosphere. The creepy factor is there, the gore is there,and
yet … no torture porn and no shitty easy horror. « The thing »
remains my
personal favorite. I'll therefore end my review on a quote from that movie that might
also sum up the next couple of months … « I know you gentlemen have been
through a lot, but when you find the time, I'd rather not spend the rest of this winter
TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!!!! »
Linh:
The Shape's character building is top-notch. In the beginning we
experienced the trauma of a little boy through his eyes (whose viewing capacity was
limited by the mask). Since that day he always needed to wear a mask as though he refused
to see anything bigger than his own obsession. He doesn't have a face. It made me wonder
whether he was just an uncurable, mentally sick human being or a demon himself hiding in
a human shell. He led us from one spooky scene to another and the most horrifying one is
the gravestone placed over the girl's body in the bed following by the other two deaths.
That would have given anyone a heart attack with a bonus of PTSD! The death of Michael
Myers seemed a reasonable ending but his body disappeared into thin air which gave way to
another sequel as well as the audience's interminable doubt. It's very Halloweeny for the
Halloween Day.
Eli:
Really special moment for me as we wrap up a wonderful month of
exploration into the world of Carpenter! The repercussions of this flick are still
apparent today, and I was really keyed in (with this viewing) how many elements of the
film are so simple. The score is repetitive, featuring a very limited set of synth
voices. The story wouldn't cover a postcard. The script is simple, full of hints but
nothing particularly deep. On their own many of these would contribute to a lackluster,
run of the mill result. But somehow Carpenter and team manufacture one of the best
horror movies I've ever seen. Certainly greater than the sum of its parts. I look
forward to many more viewings, and I thank you, dear viewer, for joining us on this
journey.
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