Horror films

[brandnewfan]

Dang, that reminds me; I still haven't seen Sleepwalkers or Golden Years. Can you believe that? I've seen every other SK adaptation. (Well, aside from small independent films and stuff.) Rose Red was not bad. Better than Storm of the Century, IMO, though that was okay, too.
Have you seen all of Kingdom Hospital?

Yea, I finished Kingdom Hospital last week or the week before and was pretty underwhelmed by it. It had it's good parts, and it was certainly better than Sleepwalkers, Rose Red & Storm of the Century (I haven't seen Golden Years), but it still wasn't all that great, I didn't think. Oh, and I haven't seen Chinga yet either....I guess that should count as an original teleplay from Mr. King too.

I don't really care for his other adaptations either, like his version of The Shining or The Stand or Maximum Overdrive or Silver Bullet, though I loved the books those are based off. I'll admit to liking his adaptation of Pet Semetary (it was really one of the first horror movies I'd ever seen as a little kid and it scared the crap out of me....I must've been maybe 9 or 10 years old at the time) but that's really about the only one and watching it now it is a bit cheesy. I sort of think he should just stick with keeping his stories on paper and let someone else adapt them for the screen (only, you know, someone good...).

[Roland of Gilead 33]

1stly "Kingdom Hosptial" i loved, "Rose Red" i also loved when i 1st saw it. it was a film i actually was scared by! i've seen soo many horror films throught the years & i RARELY get scared anymore. & this one i got scared. like that one scene where Emery gets lost in the house & he ends up alone. & the thought of getting caught in a house like that, where it still is building is just creepy.

anyways, most of the stuff "SK" has written for movies has been good in my book. "Storm Of the century" i think was a decent film, but i just thought it had a shitty ending. i never did get around to finish the book that was released from it. well screenplay i mean. i haven't seen all the movie adaptations of "SK" novels cause there's just so damn many now. & i haven't seen ANY of the $1 baby's or whatever the hell they are called.

i wish those would get released in some format at some point.

Silver Bullet, i just LOVE to death. one of my favorite films. "Chinga' isn't really that good, it's an idea that has been used literally thousands of times before. going back to the 70's & maybe even further than that. & i love 'Maxium Overdrive. best line? 'HEY HONEY THIS MACHINE JUST CALLED ME AN ASSHOLE! great line!

[mystima]

I liked Kingdom Hospital ...but the thing is, it was not his story originally...Hospital was an adaptation of a Danish series called The kingdom. I saw both and have to say that King's version is a lot better.(might have to do with reading the subtitles...lol)

[pathoftheturtle]

I don't know if I'd say it was better, but I'd definitely say that it was his. King's peculiar sensibility was all over that adaptation. It's a mixed bag, for sure; some of the serious elements were great, but didn't fit seamlessly into the overriding paperback-television sensibility he wanted to invoke. I kind of have to watch it twice, ignoring different things each time, in order to enjoy it all -- one mindset just won't do.

Silver Bullet and Maximum Overdrive I totally enjoy as 80s Americana; they're unpretentious family Halloween stuff, and I don't feel like they owe more to literary potential like Garris's The Stand or The Shining. (Although, surprisingly, I liked what they did together on Desperation.)

King's writing can be part comic book, but hardly ever purely vapid... in print, that is. I don't know why he thinks that Horror Movies have to be. A prime example being how he adapted Pet Semetary.

[Mattrick]

I'm still waiting on Insomnia, Bag of Bones and Cell adaptations. Eli Roth was supposed to bring Cell out years ago. Glad he didn't because Eli Roth is shit.

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

Watched The Blair Witch Project again last night, and saw the "documentary" that came with the dvd for the first time. I was one of those that totally believed it when it first came out. Watching the movie, believing that it was actual footage made that movie pretty terrifying. Watching it again from the perspective of knowing that it is fiction was not as good, but I still enjoyed it. I wish I had seen the "documentary" before watching it the first time, I would have believed it even more.

[pathoftheturtle]

I'm still waiting on Insomnia, Bag of Bones and Cell adaptations. Eli Roth was supposed to bring Cell out years ago. Glad he didn't because Eli Roth is shit.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212452/Bag of Bones (TV Series 2011) Not yet released

[Jean]

Watched The Blair Witch Project again last night, and saw the "documentary" that came with the dvd for the first time. I was one of those that totally believed it when it first came out. Watching the movie, believing that it was actual footage made that movie pretty terrifying. Watching it again from the perspective of knowing that it is fiction was not as good, but I still enjoyed it. I wish I had seen the "documentary" before watching it the first time, I would have believed it even more.

I watched it fully realizing that it was only a movie, and still I was impressed more than I would be willing to admit. It is permeated with this feeling of creepy, sickening despair that turns my stomach even now that I think of it

[Roland of Gilead 33]

oh i thought the film was fucking terrible. it was for the time a creative way to do a film though. i have looooooooooong since got rid of my dvd of it, in fact i traded it in. i had bought it before i saw it. i DO think that it's one of those films that works better if you see it in the theatre to be honest.

the film actually didn't scare me at all. just made me fucking dizzy as hell with the shabby camera work. but i also know that was the intention as well.
Charles Band who's one of my favorite film makers even though as a man he's not the greatest human being. but he's done a LOT of good films.

he did a film well produced it i believe called "The St. Francis Expeirment" i think & sorry for my bad spelling. & that came out in (2000) it was one of those many rip-off's that came out around the time i have yet to actually watch the whole thing cause that film is just soo BAD!

[Jean]

Heather - is it possible to watch The Devil's Rejects first? I can't find the first part in a watchable format

[Heather19]

No, I would definitely say to watch the other one first, because that one picks up after the first one. Let me see if I can find it somewhere for you

[Jean]

[Brice]

Yeah, you coud watch Devil's Rejects first, but realy the first is where you should start...even if it means waiting a bit to track it down. I absolutely loved these movies.

[KindredAutmn]

Does anybody knows some good H. P. Lovecraft movies ?

[ziesha]

saw series are having good horror movies !

[fernandito]

The only 'good' Saw film is the first one. The rest are little more than cash cows.

[Ricky]

The only 'good' Saw film is the first one. The rest are little more than cash cows.

[DoctorDodge]

The only 'good' Saw film is the first one. The rest are little more than cash cows.

Well, be honest, Ricky: no matter how awesome the death traps are in the Saw series, the only one with a good enough plot to justify the carnage was the first one. The rest are hardly "good films".

Not that i blame ya in the slightest of course for loving the films purely for the gore in them. Like me, i know the only decent Final Destination film is the first one (although 2 did have that awesome mega pileup at the start), and that the series has been getting weaker and more predictable with every installment (especially the last one, i mean some of those death scenes really sucked arse), but will that stop me from seeing Final Destination 5 in the summer, despite the fact that the last one was called The Final Destination? Will it fuck!

[Ricky]

I don't like them for them purely for the gore. The gore is an accessory, not a necessity. What most people don't see (or choose not to see) is that the films do have valid overarching stories and themes and while some are better than others, I find it incredibly hard to justify others' opinions of the series as "torture porn" or other words synonymous with it. This isn't directed at anyone in particular, just venting my frustrations.

[beam*seeker]

^^^^^^^^

Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Why the heck do ya think I sat thru the whole Hellraiser series? The plot became meaningless but the gore kept on comin'

[fernandito]

I can understand that, but the callous story arc in the Saw films are what prompted me to state that only the first film was actually deserving of being called a 'good' film. It worked perfectly as a stand alone film , still does. The rest of the films are just scrapping at the bottom of the creative barrel.

[Jean]

when I watched the first Saw, I thought, what a ponderous piece of mediocrity. After the second I felt Saw 1 had some merits. After Saw 2, I thought Saw 1 was definitely a good movie. Now if I ever happen to watch the next, I am afraid I will have to proclaim Saw 1 a real masterpiece.

[Jean]

Heather, did you see Devil Times Five? Really very nice, not exactly a masterpiece of moviemaking or storytelling, but the kid actors are splendid, and altogether it is definitely a must for everyone who appreciates the 70s horrors

[Mattrick]

I love the first saw. The second and third were alright entertainment movies but not very good. I watch Saw 4 in theatres (someone else paid or I wouldn't have) and it was so bad, stupid and actuall ruined the little enjoyment I got from saw 2/3 and I swore the series off. They should have just left it alone. If you're goin to make sequels to a good horror movie...don't pump out one a year. Actually try to have a good story with good characters. Even though the acting wasn't amazing in the first movie it had a good story with realized characters. The mystery of Jigsaw was far more intriguing than Jigsaw himself, as much as I love Tobin Bell.

[DoctorDodge]

Yeah, I doubt the ending to The Usual Suspects would be as fondly remembered if they made "Usual Suspects 2: Soze's Revenge!"