#241  
Old 12-16-2008, 08:30 AM
roshiq's Avatar
roshiq roshiq is offline
Pirate of Bengal

 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Dhaka
Posts: 8,691
Talking ***Contains Spoilers***

HALLOWEEN



Offers historical curiosity only to today’s horror fans, nothing more...

Among all the hypes there are two popular quotes that always tied with the highly overrated John Carpenter’s 1978 Horror slasher Halloween:
One of the best Slasher/Horror film ever made and The most successful Independent Horror film of all time

I like to agree with the 2nd one only, why?

Let’s start with the plot…Beginning on Halloween night 1968, a 6-year-old kid Michael commits the brutal murder of his 18 year old sister. Michael is committed to a mental institution and 15 years later escapes and returns to his hometown to murder again….
It may sound like somewhat funny, a derivative slasher movie fare when in fact it’s more accurate to say that everything of it since is basically a cheap imitator of Italian Gialli films. I have read in somewhere that it filmed on a tiny budget — less than $500,000 — so much so that the cast had to provide their own clothes. It’s completely lacking in special effects, uses makeshift sets and was filmed on a relatively rushed schedule. Despite all of that, I have to say it’s a good time passing slasher flick but nothing more than that.

First of all, the question is why the hell on earth a 6-year-old kid killed her sister? There was no explanation about that. I hate to compared it with the grand daddy of Slasher films… Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) but I’m going to do that now cause some of the ardent horror fans like to put Halloween before Psycho on their all time favorites list. Anyways the point is Norman Bates had a clear-cut background for his acts of crime but our beloved slasher master Mr. Michael Myers was nothing but a methodical, silent killing machine with no motivation, no root causes. While you may have theorized that he kills teens as some sort of vengeance (but what’s the story behind that?) or Michael Myers is nothing less than a force of nature, an enigma…blah! blah! blah! But to me that’s a brief response that cheapens the truth.

Carpenter didn't deliver much truck with finding a motivation or even a character for his killer - Michael Myers just puts on a mask (Hey! where he got the mask?!) and kills people, end of story. Micheal's doctor, Loomis occasionally mumbled a few well-chosen words about his "evil eyes". In the end, Michael is elevated beyond a mere serial killer when, despite having a gun emptied into him, being stabbed in the eye and falling from a balcony, he simply gets up and vanishes into the night. How comes he doesn't die? So was he some sort of devil in the flesh? Through the whole movie it seemed that he may be a maniac but bloody human being also. A mere boy killed his sister 15 years ago. Then what? His stay on a psychiatric hospital made him immortal? Definitely sounds quite silliness. Moreover, after fifteen years in a mental hospital, how can Myers drive a car so nicely? He's been institutionalized since he was a child. Did the institution also offered special driving classes for the patients so that when they goes back to normal life then they can drive properly?!

In most of the Slasher films we see that the killer always hold an advantage in terms of strength…but here in a particular scene how the knife (logically must have turned into a sword to be able to) hold a grown man stabbed, hanging from the wall?
The movie wasn’t so much about the murders (indeed, there was very little gore!), it's about the waiting in between: 'who will Michael Myers kill next? And when?' that, made "Halloween" an interesting would-be thrill-ride only.

A positive for the film is its unforgettable haunting background music, lingering camera shots and dark lighting, which able to create a frightening atmosphere. A second positive would be the character of Michael's doctor, played by Donald Pleasence was the best part, and his describing of the murderer is quite thrilling.



The three most influential teen slasher movies had one rising star. A Nightmare on Elm Street had Johnny Depp, Friday the 13th had Kevin Bacon, and Halloween had Jamie Lee Curtis. While the former two were just side characters, undeveloped and there for massacre, Curtis was given the lead role (her first movie role, too) of Laurie Strode and, surprisingly enough, she performs quite well, that even labeled her as the Scream Queen!

Technically, however, Halloween was good, considering its small budget. Its cinematography was almost too good for the movie itself. The importance of the movie in displaying certain exciting movements which later moviemakers used without using them up the way Carpenter did with this one. This as a result, produced a seemingly endless supply of terrible, empty, gory films throughout the Eighties. Though the premise of this movie was quite original and it breaks lots of new ground, but still- today in compare to any great horror film it's not that much scary. It has a quite dull supporting cast you don't really care about, so when they get killed you just don't care. Fans of modern horror may find it too slow and annoying at times. The movie is now a historical curiosity only. Nothing more.

Rating: 5/10
__________________
@Letterboxd
Reply With Quote
  #242  
Old 12-17-2008, 03:09 AM
bloodrayne's Avatar
bloodrayne bloodrayne is offline
Umbra Asylum

 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: I'm like smoke...I get in
Posts: 18,931
Send a message via Yahoo to bloodrayne
Given the fact that most critics review a movie as soon as they see it, and they usually see it before the general public, I'm writing this review in November 1984...I hope that's not against the rules for this test...Anyway, here goes:


I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from Wes Craven, the guy who created such drivel as The Last House On The Left, Swamp Thing, and The Hills Have Eyes...But it seems that he was actually ATTEMPTING to fail with this newest creation.

His 'stars' in this film consist of a virtuallly unknown B movie actor, who has appeared in films that almost no one has seen, such as Eaten Alive, Dead and Buried and Galaxy Of Terror...as well as a few tiny bit parts in some random television shows...I mean seriously, who has heard of Robert Englund?...And where did they dig up this Johnny Depp and Heather Langenkamp?...Maybe these people were 'friends of a friend' types, and someone owed someone a favor...Are these people even actors?

Okay, lets move past the fact that this movie has no real actors, and onto the storyline...Or should I say "stolen plot"?...A guy who kills people in their dreams, umm, excuse me, but didn't we just see this in DREAMSCAPE, and wasn't it bad enough the first time?

And to top it all off, the ending wasn't even an ENDING.

So, what was the motivation behind this movie?...Was this an attempt to jump onto the current 'teen slasher' bandwagon?...Prom Night, Sleepaway Camp and Friday The Thirteenth were bad enough, why would someone want to perpetuate this type of nonsense?...Oh well, I suppose this is what can be expected from a hack like Wes Craven.

If someone wants to make a GOOD film with a bunch of teenagers in it, that really captures the attention (and the box office receipts) of that target group, they should take a few pointers from some GOOD movies like Fast Times At Ridgemont High and Sixteen Candles

I can't even give this movie a 1/10...It has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever, not even a popular actor or an original plot...This was just bad all the way around
__________________
...
If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance...Baffle 'em with bullshit

My Karma ran over my Dogma

God WAS my co-pilot...But, we crashed in the mountains and...I had to eat him

I'm suffocating in what's become of me...
The rancid remains of what I used to be
Reply With Quote
  #243  
Old 12-17-2008, 08:00 PM
bwind22's Avatar
bwind22 bwind22 is offline
No charge for awesomeness
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. Paul
Posts: 11,210
The Night of the Living Dead. If you watch this film, you'll become one of them.... Bored to death! What a slow paced, poorly acted, scored and written pile of crap this was! I'm tempted to track this George Romero fella down and demand a refund on the past 90 minutes of my life!

This film was so atrocious that I don't even know where to begin... Each and every one of these characters was so unlikable that I was crossing my fingers and hoping for them to become zombie chow. , Ben (Duane Jones. If you said "Who?" don't feel bad, so did I.), the "hero" actually kills a human in cold blood. Barbra is played by Judith O'Dey. (I hear she's making a comeback.... Talk about Night of the Living Dead!) She spends the majority of the film whining about her brother or screaming hysterically. Annoying and idiotic , we're stuck viewing hateable characters that make nothing but foolish decisions leading to their inevitable demise. One female character is even dumb enough to run foolishly from a secured house out in to the middle of a zombie vs. human brawl that happens to be taking place next to a gas pump and seek refuge in the truck. (How does she think that'll turn out well?)

Truthfully, I was rooting for the zombies in this one, which wasn't easy because due to their pitiful makeup jobs, it was difficult to tell them from the humans. Black and white may have been used to enhance the scariness factor, but my belief is that it was used to conceal the lousy special FX that seem to abound in this pile of rubbish.

The score is uninspired and cliche right from the start, which is probably why the entire Music Department chose to go uncredited. (Or maybe the film budget just couldn't afford 5 more credits.)

The story... What story? The plot is very thinly explained but evidently an asteroid has landed on Earth and the dead have risen from their grave to feast on humans. Barbra makes her way to an 'abandoned' farmhouse that actually already has 5 inhabitants hiding out in the basement. Then our hero, Ben, shows up out of nowhere to make 7 residents in a house that was supposedly abandoned to begin with. Then the humans must fend off the approaching zombie menace until the military arrives to "save" the day. Not much story there if you ask me. I got the sense that this was a film made by a bunch of college buddies that were clowning around with a camera than I did the sense that this was a major motion picture, but then I realize that, given a whole weekend, a the average joe clowning around with a camera could probably churn out something far more enjoyable than this.

I can only bring myself to recommend this to people that are allergic to NyQuil because the only thing this yawner is good for is putting the people to sleep.

Do yourself a favor, stay away from this like it's carrying some kind of flesh eating zombie boredom virus that you don't want to catch!

I give it an F-

Which stands for F-CK THIS MOVIE!
Reply With Quote
  #244  
Old 12-17-2008, 09:08 PM
bwind22's Avatar
bwind22 bwind22 is offline
No charge for awesomeness
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. Paul
Posts: 11,210
;)

Glad to see only 3 Ogres completed the mission. That ought to bump me up the leaderboard a little. :D
Reply With Quote
  #245  
Old 12-18-2008, 09:32 AM
_____V_____'s Avatar
_____V_____ _____V_____ is offline
For Vendetta
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 31,677
THE FOURTH TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09


I am here to address the Ogres.

For your Second Test, the common theme chosen is - SHARP CRITICS.

All of you are strong critics, and particular haters of horror flicks. You cannot wait to bash a horror movie when you see one, even when it might be one of the best in the genre. For this particular Test, you have to point out the flaws of the movies you choose, and put forth reasons why you might hate the chosen one.

In other words, you have to give a very critical and bashing review of the movie of your choice.

Ready? Here we go...

Choose from - Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Halloween, Psycho, The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. (All movies mentioned are the originals)

Two contestants may pick the same movie, but their scathing reviews should not be too similar with each other, or both of them stand to lose points.


Quote:
Originally Posted by roshiq View Post
HALLOWEEN



Offers historical curiosity only to today’s horror fans, nothing more...

Among all the hypes there are two popular quotes that always tied with the highly overrated John Carpenter’s 1978 Horror slasher Halloween:
One of the best Slasher/Horror film ever made and The most successful Independent Horror film of all time

I like to agree with the 2nd one only, why?

Let’s start with the plot…Beginning on Halloween night 1968, a 6-year-old kid Michael commits the brutal murder of his 18 year old sister. Michael is committed to a mental institution and 15 years later escapes and returns to his hometown to murder again….
It may sound like somewhat funny, a derivative slasher movie fare when in fact it’s more accurate to say that everything of it since is basically a cheap imitator of Italian Gialli films. I have read in somewhere that it filmed on a tiny budget — less than $500,000 — so much so that the cast had to provide their own clothes. It’s completely lacking in special effects, uses makeshift sets and was filmed on a relatively rushed schedule. Despite all of that, I have to say it’s a good time passing slasher flick but nothing more than that.

First of all, the question is why the hell on earth a 6-year-old kid killed her sister? There was no explanation about that. I hate to compared it with the grand daddy of Slasher films… Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) but I’m going to do that now cause some of the ardent horror fans like to put Halloween before Psycho on their all time favorites list. Anyways the point is Norman Bates had a clear-cut background for his acts of crime but our beloved slasher master Mr. Michael Myers was nothing but a methodical, silent killing machine with no motivation, no root causes. While you may have theorized that he kills teens as some sort of vengeance (but what’s the story behind that?) or Michael Myers is nothing less than a force of nature, an enigma…blah! blah! blah! But to me that’s a brief response that cheapens the truth.

Carpenter didn't deliver much truck with finding a motivation or even a character for his killer - Michael Myers just puts on a mask (Hey! where he got the mask?!) and kills people, end of story. Micheal's doctor, Loomis occasionally mumbled a few well-chosen words about his "evil eyes". In the end, Michael is elevated beyond a mere serial killer when, despite having a gun emptied into him, being stabbed in the eye and falling from a balcony, he simply gets up and vanishes into the night. How comes he doesn't die? So was he some sort of devil in the flesh? Through the whole movie it seemed that he may be a maniac but bloody human being also. A mere boy killed his sister 15 years ago. Then what? His stay on a psychiatric hospital made him immortal? Definitely sounds quite silliness. Moreover, after fifteen years in a mental hospital, how can Myers drive a car so nicely? He's been institutionalized since he was a child. Did the institution also offered special driving classes for the patients so that when they goes back to normal life then they can drive properly?!

In most of the Slasher films we see that the killer always hold an advantage in terms of strength…but here in a particular scene how the knife (logically must have turned into a sword to be able to) hold a grown man stabbed, hanging from the wall?
The movie wasn’t so much about the murders (indeed, there was very little gore!), it's about the waiting in between: 'who will Michael Myers kill next? And when?' that, made "Halloween" an interesting would-be thrill-ride only.

A positive for the film is its unforgettable haunting background music, lingering camera shots and dark lighting, which able to create a frightening atmosphere. A second positive would be the character of Michael's doctor, played by Donald Pleasence was the best part, and his describing of the murderer is quite thrilling.



The three most influential teen slasher movies had one rising star. A Nightmare on Elm Street had Johnny Depp, Friday the 13th had Kevin Bacon, and Halloween had Jamie Lee Curtis. While the former two were just side characters, undeveloped and there for massacre, Curtis was given the lead role (her first movie role, too) of Laurie Strode and, surprisingly enough, she performs quite well, that even labeled her as the Scream Queen!

Technically, however, Halloween was good, considering its small budget. Its cinematography was almost too good for the movie itself. The importance of the movie in displaying certain exciting movements which later moviemakers used without using them up the way Carpenter did with this one. This as a result, produced a seemingly endless supply of terrible, empty, gory films throughout the Eighties. Though the premise of this movie was quite original and it breaks lots of new ground, but still- today in compare to any great horror film it's not that much scary. It has a quite dull supporting cast you don't really care about, so when they get killed you just don't care. Fans of modern horror may find it too slow and annoying at times. The movie is now a historical curiosity only. Nothing more.

Rating: 5/10

Quote:
Originally Posted by bloodrayne View Post
Given the fact that most critics review a movie as soon as they see it, and they usually see it before the general public, I'm writing this review in November 1984...I hope that's not against the rules for this test...Anyway, here goes:


I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from Wes Craven, the guy who created such drivel as The Last House On The Left, Swamp Thing, and The Hills Have Eyes...But it seems that he was actually ATTEMPTING to fail with this newest creation.

His 'stars' in this film consist of a virtuallly unknown B movie actor, who has appeared in films that almost no one has seen, such as Eaten Alive, Dead and Buried and Galaxy Of Terror...as well as a few tiny bit parts in some random television shows...I mean seriously, who has heard of Robert Englund?...And where did they dig up this Johnny Depp and Heather Langenkamp?...Maybe these people were 'friends of a friend' types, and someone owed someone a favor...Are these people even actors?

Okay, lets move past the fact that this movie has no real actors, and onto the storyline...Or should I say "stolen plot"?...A guy who kills people in their dreams, umm, excuse me, but didn't we just see this in DREAMSCAPE, and wasn't it bad enough the first time?

And to top it all off, the ending wasn't even an ENDING.

So, what was the motivation behind this movie?...Was this an attempt to jump onto the current 'teen slasher' bandwagon?...Prom Night, Sleepaway Camp and Friday The Thirteenth were bad enough, why would someone want to perpetuate this type of nonsense?...Oh well, I suppose this is what can be expected from a hack like Wes Craven.

If someone wants to make a GOOD film with a bunch of teenagers in it, that really captures the attention (and the box office receipts) of that target group, they should take a few pointers from some GOOD movies like Fast Times At Ridgemont High and Sixteen Candles

I can't even give this movie a 1/10...It has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever, not even a popular actor or an original plot...This was just bad all the way around

(Contd.)
__________________
"If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Reply With Quote
  #246  
Old 12-18-2008, 09:34 AM
_____V_____'s Avatar
_____V_____ _____V_____ is offline
For Vendetta
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 31,677
Quote:
Originally Posted by bwind22 View Post
The Night of the Living Dead. If you watch this film, you'll become one of them.... Bored to death! What a slow paced, poorly acted, scored and written pile of crap this was! I'm tempted to track this George Romero fella down and demand a refund on the past 90 minutes of my life!

This film was so atrocious that I don't even know where to begin... Each and every one of these characters was so unlikable that I was crossing my fingers and hoping for them to become zombie chow. , Ben (Duane Jones. If you said "Who?" don't feel bad, so did I.), the "hero" actually kills a human in cold blood. Barbra is played by Judith O'Dey. (I hear she's making a comeback.... Talk about Night of the Living Dead!) She spends the majority of the film whining about her brother or screaming hysterically. Annoying and idiotic , we're stuck viewing hateable characters that make nothing but foolish decisions leading to their inevitable demise. One female character is even dumb enough to run foolishly from a secured house out in to the middle of a zombie vs. human brawl that happens to be taking place next to a gas pump and seek refuge in the truck. (How does she think that'll turn out well?)

Truthfully, I was rooting for the zombies in this one, which wasn't easy because due to their pitiful makeup jobs, it was difficult to tell them from the humans. Black and white may have been used to enhance the scariness factor, but my belief is that it was used to conceal the lousy special FX that seem to abound in this pile of rubbish.

The score is uninspired and cliche right from the start, which is probably why the entire Music Department chose to go uncredited. (Or maybe the film budget just couldn't afford 5 more credits.)

The story... What story? The plot is very thinly explained but evidently an asteroid has landed on Earth and the dead have risen from their grave to feast on humans. Barbra makes her way to an 'abandoned' farmhouse that actually already has 5 inhabitants hiding out in the basement. Then our hero, Ben, shows up out of nowhere to make 7 residents in a house that was supposedly abandoned to begin with. Then the humans must fend off the approaching zombie menace until the military arrives to "save" the day. Not much story there if you ask me. I got the sense that this was a film made by a bunch of college buddies that were clowning around with a camera than I did the sense that this was a major motion picture, but then I realize that, given a whole weekend, a the average joe clowning around with a camera could probably churn out something far more enjoyable than this.

I can only bring myself to recommend this to people that are allergic to NyQuil because the only thing this yawner is good for is putting the people to sleep.

Do yourself a favor, stay away from this like it's carrying some kind of flesh eating zombie boredom virus that you don't want to catch!

I give it an F-

Which stands for F-CK THIS MOVIE!

3 entries by the Ogres have been submitted.

I request all Judges to evaluate them and send me their grades. And also, please post your criticisms, if you have any.

The Second Test for the Goblins will be up once I receive all the grades from the Judges.
__________________
"If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Reply With Quote
  #247  
Old 12-18-2008, 10:02 AM
Doc Faustus's Avatar
Doc Faustus Doc Faustus is offline
Mephistophiliac

 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,999
Send a message via AIM to Doc Faustus
Roshiq: Looks the most like the work of a real film critic. Good job on that count. I think you held back on the criticism though. Nice work, but not quite in the spirit of the challenge.
Bloodrayne: You've dusted yourself off and put in an admirable showing. Creative and very like something that doucheface Leonard Maltin might say about Nightmare in 1984. The movie is fraught with weaknesses and you go for the juggular. Spot on.
Bwind: You've shown the most improvement. You've turned canon into cannon fodder, which is what this was all about. Between the three players, you've chosen the most sacred cow. My critique might be this is more alt culture fanzine rage than horror hating critic rage. Still, humorous and conscious of the film's vulnerabilities. You've redeemed yourself in my eyes at least and your score will show it.
__________________
Horror and Bizarro novelist and editor
Reply With Quote
  #248  
Old 12-18-2008, 12:10 PM
bwind22's Avatar
bwind22 bwind22 is offline
No charge for awesomeness
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. Paul
Posts: 11,210
Quote:
Bwind: You've shown the most improvement. You've turned canon into cannon fodder, which is what this was all about. Between the three players, you've chosen the most sacred cow. My critique might be this is more alt culture fanzine rage than horror hating critic rage. Still, humorous and conscious of the film's vulnerabilities. You've redeemed yourself in my eyes at least and your score will show it.
So that is what a positive critique feels like to receive. Thanks!


Just curious. Will we just get the scores from this round? Or will we see cumulative scores for both rounds?
Reply With Quote
  #249  
Old 12-18-2008, 02:45 PM
ferretchucker's Avatar
ferretchucker ferretchucker is offline
Ziggy Played Guitar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Just to the left of nowhe
Posts: 10,578
Send a message via MSN to ferretchucker Send a message via Skype™ to ferretchucker
Though I'm not a judge, I think Bwind had the best answer. It did come across that he truly hated the film and he grounded it well. If I had got that test I probably would have just used the words "crap" and "hate" a lot.
__________________


The Ferrets like it...
Reply With Quote
  #250  
Old 12-18-2008, 06:30 PM
Doc Faustus's Avatar
Doc Faustus Doc Faustus is offline
Mephistophiliac

 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,999
Send a message via AIM to Doc Faustus
If I had read Roshiq's review in a paper, I might have gone to see Halloween anyway. If I had read Rayne's I probably wouldn't have seen Nightmare on Elm Street. If I had read Bwind's, I definitely wouldn't have seen Night of the Living Dead.
__________________
Horror and Bizarro novelist and editor
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:50 AM.