I love the Resident Evil movie franchise, they obviously didn’t stay loyal to the games in anyway but I enjoy them. I do hate they just suddenly drop characters between movies with little to no explanation

DAY 10


Midsommar

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As suggested by Emperor

Director: Ari Aster
Year: 2019
Cast: Florence Pugh, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ellora Torchia, Archie Madekwe and Will Poulter.
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Plot: Dani's psychological trauma affects her relationship with Christian, her lover. However, when they visit their friend's ancestral commune in an effort to mend things, it changes their lives forever.

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Copy/paste from my 2019 post:

Midsommar: could have been an amazing 90 min film...but its 147 runtime was not justifiable in anyway. They are now releasing the director’s cut into theatres which is 171 min from memory...as if it wasn’t long enough! Cool editing and concept, especially for a horror film that’s almost entire set in daylight.

At the end of the day the plot is still your typical horror movie, annoying characters make dumb decisions..dressed up for art critics to like. Hereditary was much better. Reminded of The Wicker Man with Nic Cage as there’s a fair amount of unintentional comedy.
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My opinion hasn’t changed too much and it still frustrates me that people misunderstand the ending even in a film I didn’t like it. Keep in mind the hype for this was fever pitch and went to the effort to find a special cinema that was playing this as sandylea and I were on holidays as it released.

Enjoyed “Beau is Afraid” a lot more and I think
“The strange thing about the johnsons” is still Aster’s best work that is fun for the whole family. Did great things for Florence Pugh’s career.

In my view a person's opinion of Midsommar depends on if the film is able to hook them in the first 30 minutes. People who are bored by the slow pace and unimpressed by the imagery find the entire experience boring and unworthy of their time.

I am the opposite. I was hooked by the immense visuals of the European summer camp, which in turn hooked me onto the characters and the story. Because I was immersed I found the events of the film chilling and terrifying, a feeling that lingered with me days if not weeks after the credits rolled. It's a film I'm actually afraid to watch again, which is funny because many people consider it an utter yawnfest.

Honestly I hated Midsommar, I understand what it was going for and maybe it would’ve been able to pull it off better without the insane runtime. Not to mention the amount of people who talked it up as a shocking masterpiece…
It’s not a masterpiece, and it wasn’t shocking.

So I’m still confused why so many people love it.
Just because a film is visually beautiful, doesn’t mean it’s good.

Oct 9, 2024 16:47:18 GMT Emperor said:

In my view a person's opinion of Midsommar depends on if the film is able to hook them in the first 30 minutes. People who are bored by the slow pace and unimpressed by the imagery find the entire experience boring and unworthy of their time.

I am the opposite. I was hooked by the immense visuals of the European summer camp, which in turn hooked me onto the characters and the story. Because I was immersed I found the events of the film chilling and terrifying, a feeling that lingered with me days if not weeks after the credits rolled. It's a film I'm actually afraid to watch again, which is funny because many people consider it an utter yawnfest.

I am the the former. It did nothing for me, which is fine - it has its place in horror.

My only issue is people who think the only “good” horror movies are the ones in the vein of Midsommar. Those people make me hate.

Nobody simply dislikes Midsommar, it's often some form of intense hatred, like what sandylea wrote. Not to single anyone out, I've seen those kinda comments made outside of PW and among personal friends. That kinda bothers me to be honest. I'm not sure what inspires it.

It progresses to hatred because of its fans. I’ve ranted about it in the past but the idea of elevated horror is nauseating and a way for movie snobs to pretend they are better than the rest for liking a horror movie.

“Oh I don’t like horror movies but Midsommae that’s ELEVATED Horror”

It’s fine, like a movie, champion it but don’t drag down a very popular genre to make yourself feel better.

Oct 9, 2024 23:10:45 GMT Emperor said:

Nobody simply dislikes Midsommar, it's often some form of intense hatred, like what sandylea wrote. Not to single anyone out, I've seen those kinda comments made outside of PW and among personal friends. That kinda bothers me to be honest. I'm not sure what inspires it.

Honestly, I think I use the word hate about Midsommar because the fans of it are insane. If you say you dislike it, you are the worse person ever with no movie taste. This applies to a few horror movies as well that are seen as ‘smart’ horror but I usually just find them disappointing compared to the hype, boring, or sometimes just stupid as it’s trying too hard to be something special

I understand. I wouldn't claim Midsommar is "above" horror somehow. My opinion is that it's an extremely good horror movie, top tier. But it is a horror movie. And I totally get people finding it boring. I feel the same about The Witch which has a similar vibe.

Oct 10, 2024 0:06:23 GMT UT said:

It progresses to hatred because of its fans. I’ve ranted about it in the past but the idea of elevated horror is nauseating and a way for movie snobs to pretend they are better than the rest for liking a horror movie.

“Oh I don’t like horror movies but Midsommar that’s ELEVATED Horror”

It’s fine, like a movie, champion it but don’t drag down a very popular genre to make yourself feel better.

I saw Joe Bob talking about one of his friends that was a horror director back in the day, got a write up after his death about how great a director he was in the New York Times.

He was upset because NYT never covered his films in the first place because they saw his stuff as low brow and not cinema.

I don’t think the creators of “elevated horror” like Aster and Peele even agree with the term so must be frustrating also as they are fans of the genre.

I'd never heard the term "elevated horror" before this discussion.

To be fair I imagine the way I typically describe Midsommar (I've probably used the word "masterpiece" on PW at some point) rubs people the wrong way, in the same way I am rubbed the wrong way by what its detractors say. But that's OK. We understand each other's perspectives.

Oct 10, 2024 12:50:29 GMT Emperor said:

I'd never heard the term "elevated horror" before this discussion.

To be fair I imagine the way I typically describe Midsommar (I've probably used the word "masterpiece" on PW at some point) rubs people the wrong way, in the same way I am rubbed the wrong way by what its detractors say. But that's OK. We understand each other's perspectives.

I don’t think your love of Midsommar has rubbed people the wrong way, just the way the press acted around it upon release. The “elevated horror” term got thrown around a lot for this and “Get Out”.

DAY ELEVEN


28 Days Later

As suggested by sandylea

Director: Danny Boyle
Year: 2002
Cast: Cillain Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns,Brendan Gleeson

Plot: Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the United Kingdom, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.

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I tell you what, this thread has definitely made the case for physical media. Glad sandylea owns a lot of these films as some are a pain to find.

I really like the way this is shot, it almost feels like a documentary or found footage without being either. Not the glitz of a Hollywood Zombie film this takes a much more grounded and realistic (as far as the concept goes). Good film.

Oct 10, 2024 12:50:29 GMT Emperor said:

I'd never heard the term "elevated horror" before this discussion.

To be fair I imagine the way I typically describe Midsommar (I've probably used the word "masterpiece" on PW at some point) rubs people the wrong way, in the same way I am rubbed the wrong way by what its detractors say. But that's OK. We understand each other's perspectives.

No calling it a masterpiece is fine and your opinion, I’ve said it about plenty of movies that I’m sure people don’t agree with. Calling it a masterpiece doesn’t attempt to degrade the rest of the genre in the process.

As for elevated horror, I’m surprised you haven’t heard it before. It’s a popular enough term where it was one of the themes Scream 5 used and poked fun at. Midsommar, Get Out (as System mentioned) and Hereditary are the first three that come to mind. Well a lot of A24 films now get this distinction.

I liked Get Out quite a bit fwiw, but Midsommar and Hereditary not so much.

Oct 10, 2024 13:37:55 GMT System said:

DAY ELEVEN


28 Days Later

As suggested by sandylea

Director: Danny Boyle
Year: 2002
Cast: Cillain Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns,Brendan Gleeson

Plot: Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the United Kingdom, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.

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I tell you what, this thread has definitely made the case for physical media. Glad sandylea owns a lot of these films as some are a pain to find.

I really like the way this is shot, it almost feels like a documentary or found footage without being either. Not the glitz of a Hollywood Zombie film this takes a much more grounded and realistic (as far as the concept goes). Good film.

Physical media FTW! Easily one of my favourite apocalypse movies. The sequel is so interesting as well. I can’t wait for the third film 🙂

DAY TWELVE


Evil Dead

As selected by UT



Director: Fede Alvarez
Year: 2013
Cast: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, and Elizabeth Blackmore.

Plot: Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.

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Before more cinemas popped up in this area, my housemate and I travelled all the way to Newtown (hipster central) to see this. There was a lot of hype surrounding it being “THE MOST TERRIFYING FILM EVER” so maybe that’s the reason but the response it got was odd. People just laughed through the whole thing as if it was a comedy in a packed cinema.

I really enjoyed it and I think it’s the best of the Evil Dead films, I really enjoyed Alien: Romulus too, Alvarez is great when it comes to horror.

I didn’t know much about Evil Dead but I was excited to watch this one due to Jane Levy, as I loved the TV show Suburgatory so wanted to check out more of her roles - I was quite surprised at how good it was, and even how scary it got towards the end. Seeing her as an ‘evil’ character especially was so different.
Great movie!

This was one of mine!

Full disclosure: I’m not a big fan of the original Evil Dead trilogy. They have their place and fans and I get it but I just didn’t like the quality of the first one or the tone of the second two.

This remake (reimagining?) however was fucking awesome. I love the twist on the genre where Mia’s addiction past actually plays to the idea that no one takes her seriously. I think the lead actress is great and most of the side characters aside from the girlfriend are nice additions.

The visuals are fun, the kills are pretty visceral and that ending is epic.

Definitely one I’d recommend to anyone even if the original Evil Dead’s aren’t your thing. One of my new favorite horror movies of that decade.


Don’t know if it’s coming but Evil Dead Rise well not quite as good for me - was still quite awesome. So make it a double feature.

Oct 10, 2024 0:06:23 GMT UT said:

It progresses to hatred because of its fans. I’ve ranted about it in the past but the idea of elevated horror is nauseating and a way for movie snobs to pretend they are better than the rest for liking a horror movie.

“Oh I don’t like horror movies but Midsommae that’s ELEVATED Horror”

It’s fine, like a movie, champion it but don’t drag down a very popular genre to make yourself feel better.

I personally loved Midsommar but I share this exact sentiment with fans of "The Witch". Too many times I've remarked about not liking it and I'm treated like some kind of horror philistine.

List needs more "Ernest Scared Stupid", but otherwise there's some classic entries in here.

"Trick r Treat" is a personal favorite. High quality camp, much better than I expected it to be on my first watch.

"Alien" gave me my first nightmare as a kid and started my love of cosmic horror.

"Halloween" is overrated imo. I'm just not a fan of either Myers or Jason. Gimme Freddy or Pinhead any day of the week.

"13 Ghosts" fucking rocks, flaws and all. A personal favorite, nothing guilty about my pleasure watching it, especially cause of Matthew f'n Lillard.

"May" could have possibly been better with improved production/budget/casting. It's certainly creepy, but also feels like it was written by an edgy teen at times. Not a fan.

The only cool scene of "Resident Evil" in the entire series for me is when dude lights up a joint and takes out both himself and an oncoming horde of zombies in a fallen tanker. They just aren't faithful to the games whatsoever.

Emperor summed up my own feelings on "Midsommar" quite well. It's a modern twist on "Wicker Man" and I loved it, but I'm not a hipster about it either. I get it's not for everyone, but I liked the atmosphere, tension, cinematography and I'm also a big sucker for anything with cults.

"28 Days Later" is among the tippity top of the zombie genre for me. The empty London scene is one of my favorite scenes of any movie, let alone horror. Excellent cinematography & tension all throughout. I'm not a traditionalist either so I loved the upgrade to those dead zeds across the pond.

"Dead Inside" and the "Evil Dead" remake are the only two I haven't watched.

28 Days Later was so cool for it's time but rewatching it felt like the movie took a nosedive once they got to the army base. Always did really love 28 Weeks Later one of my favorite zombie movies.

DAY THIRTEEN


Child’s Play

As suggested by CM Punk'd



Director: Tom Holland (not that Tom Holland)
Year: 1988
Cast: Catherine Hicks,Chris Sarandon, Brad Dourif

Plot:

A dying serial killer transfers his consciousness into a popular kids doll using voodoo. A struggling single mother gifts her six-year-old son the much sought-after doll for his birthday, and the doll slowly begins to show its true colors.

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A lot like the original Friday the 13th were it’s very different in tone to the other films, however this was enjoyable as a stand-alone film.

Part Two is my favorite but I do think the original Child’s Play is one of the more overlooked/underrated horror movies - especially of the 80s.

It’s easy to chalk it up as cheesy horror, especially with preconceived ideas of what Chucky became later in the series but that original in an incredibly small maintained film with an interesting premise and some ambiguity with who is the killer between the doll and Andy. Some great child acting by young Andy, some of the best voice work you’ll ever hear with Douriff and a well rounded cast. Excellently shot and directed too.

One of those movies I wish could take on as a standalone Child’s Play film with no knowledge of the pop culture and comedic figure Chucky became because I think it would be appreciated more.

I love the Child’s Play franchise, but nowhere near as much as my Mum. She thinks Chucky is the best and has all the talking figures/horror dolls. I plan on buying her Glen for her birthday. She’s going to be so excited for it.

The movies are great, I even love Bride and Seed of Chucky. I wasn’t much of a fan of Cult and Curse though, but they aren’t too bad compared to other horror movies out there, my mum of course loves them.

The Chucky series is also brilliant and connects to the others, I’m devastated it got cancelled.

Child’s Play would’ve worked as a one off rather than a franchise but it’s so good, and the humour/violence works well.

I know Seed is developing a bit of a cult following but I will never understand how. That is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen in my life and almost killed the franchise. It’s what caused it to go straight to VOD.

Though I do like Curse and think Fiona Douriff is great. Cult was an interesting concept but I think missed the landing.

DAY FOURTEEN


Kairo

As suggested by Emperor

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Year: 2001
Cast: Kumiko Asō, Haruhiko Kato, Koyuki, Kurume Arisaka

Plot: Two groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.

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One of my favourite films on this list, the Japanese horror scene was absolutely cooking around this time. Takashi Miike (director of Audition, Ichi the Killer) said this creeped him out and that’s saying something.

Kairo has been one of my favourite horror films for a long time, but strangely I never got on board with the other films he released around that time: Charisma and Cure. They deserve another chance.

DAY FIFTEEN

Pulse

As suggested by Lony


Director: Jim Sonzero
Year: 2006
Cast: Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian.

Plot: When their computer hacker friend accidentally channels a mysterious wireless signal, a group of co-eds rally to stop a terrifying evil from taking over the world.

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A remake of yesterday’s film it’s still a decent adaption, I know a lot of people hate on these English language remakes but even if only 10% of viewers check out the original it’s still a good thing.

Never seen Kairo, but love Pulse. I'll definitely have to check out Kairo though.

Oct 13, 2024 13:33:23 GMT System said:

DAY FOURTEEN


Kairo

As suggested by Emperor

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Year: 2001
Cast: Kumiko Asō, Haruhiko Kato, Koyuki, Kurume Arisaka

Plot: Two groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.

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One of my favourite films on this list, the Japanese horror scene was absolutely cooking around this time. Takashi Miike (director of Audition, Ichi the Killer) said this creeped him out and that’s saying something.

I really want to see this, I’ve only seen the American remake Pulse and honestly I wasn’t amazed by the story and even found the acting painful, and this comes from someone who adores Ian Somerhalder and Kristen Bell 😅