I just watched the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I have to say, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'll give it 6 out of 10. There were some legitimately creepy parts, like pretty much everything that has to do with yokels (why is that, by the way?) and some good gore, like when the dude is hanging by the meathook and leatherface has salted his amputated leg. Eesh.

I've got two that I can recommend that I enjoyed lately.

30 Days of Night I'm a big fan of the comic book and was really looking forward to seeing the movie. I got it from Netflix last week and gave it a whirl in the DVD player. I have to say that David Slade (Hard Candy) did a great job at capturing the essence of the book and the art direction was perfect. Oh and the ending was absolutely great.

Count Dracula is the second one. Directed by exploitation master Jesus Franco and staring the second best Count ever Christopher Lee. Most people that recognize Franco's name only see him as a eurotrash director, but this film is one where he's actually making mainstream cinema and it's very good. In fact if you're a fan of Coppola's Dracula you may find yourself wondering if Francis stole some ideas from Franco. This is Franco quite easily recreating the beauty and gothic horror of Hammer studios. Suprisingly good and well acted. Of course the pacing will be way off for anyone who doesn't enjoy classic films, but I highly recommend this one.

These are the two latest that fit into the horror category and I enjoyed, I'm currently watching 42nd Street Forever Vol. 3: Exploitation Explosion.

I loved 30 Days of Night. I think the overhead shot of the carnage that doesn't really focus on any one thing is probably one of the most beautiful, and disturbing, horror scenes I've seen in a long while. Not much in horror actually "scares" me, but I was appropriately creeped out.

The sheer choreography of it reminded me of those two phenomenal scenes in Children of Men where the action is at its peak, yet the camera never stops rolling.

That shot in 30 Days was directly out of the comic book and is one of the best shots I have ever seen committed to film. I was completely taken aback by that shot. UNBELIEVABLE.

And Children of Men. I've seen a lot of films, and I have never been as devastated in a theatre as I was that day, except for Shindler's List. My wife and I went to see it and she was 8 months pregnant. The entire theatre was in tears and my wife wept through the final reel of that film. Children of Men is one of my most treasured films of the last ten years. In all honesty I have tears in my eyes thinking about the experience again and thinking about my 13th month old soon sitting at home right now spending time with his mom.

The last horror I saw was any of the Celebrity focused, waste of time shows... "Entertainment Tonight, Celebrity 411, TV Guide which we are forced to watch when tryinng to just view what is on TV. They are cold, fake vain, uncaring hosts and hostesses who have nothing to say in their lame attempt to be humorous. They almost smiled when reporting about Patrick Swayze's horrible diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Makes me shiver.
Needless to say they are no longer part of my viewing.

I guess as long as it terrifies you, it gets the job done ;)

I think probably the most I've been creeped out by a movie, and please don't laugh at this, has been Open Water. I know, it's kind of lame. But there was something about that one scene at night when the sharks were nipping that just scared the bejeezus out of me--and I don't even have a shark thing. The fact that I was by myself in a dark screening room may have had something to do with it. So if you're going to Netflix that one, may I suggest watching it on an extremely dark and lonely night for full effect. I rewatched it with my brother in the afternoon, it was kinda lame then...

Don't feel bad about Open Water, I took my wife and my mother-in-law to see. Neither have ever forgiven me for that one!

Microwaved: What's the most scared you've ever been seeing a movie?

McGillicuddy: That's a pretty easy one actually. I have a few that have toremented me throughout the years.

1. Night of the Living Dead - to this day this film still haunts me and I still have trouble watching the scene when the little girl trowels her parents.

2. An American Werewolf in London - mainly because of the Nazi werelwolves. It gave me nightmares for years at an all too early age.

3. John Carpentar's The Thing - when the doctor was doing compressions on that guy and his chest opened up, I never wanted to perform CPR.

4. The Unnameable - If you've seen this you maybe asking yourself what? It's not the best Lovecraft film ever made but for some reason this film stuck with me.

5. The Descent - white knuckled terror for me through must of the run time on this colsterphobic thriller. The first two reels of this film are worth the price of admission alone.

That's just my top 5 today. While the top three never change the other two can vary, but that's what I've been feeling lately.

How about you or other Monstertalk members? What are your top five scariest films of all time?

Hmm, top five scariest?

1. The Exorcist: If any one movie scared me from start to finish, it was probably that. Tonally it was nailed perfectly and there are some legitimately disturbing scenes which I have always imagined must have had a serious effect on the young actress. It always amazes me how they can use child actors in such horrifying ways...

2. Pet Semetary: Actually, most of the film was pretty hilarious -- Jud Crandall's deep, drawn out "Sometiiimmes, Dead is Bettah!" for instance. But the achilles tendon slicing was pretty spine-tingling, and I'm pretty sure I had nightmares about "Zelda." Good God was she scary.

3. Open Water: I mentioned this earlier on the thread, but there was something about the scene at night when the sharks were nipping that scared the bejeezus out of me. It could have been the knowledge of how the movie was filmed -- that they dropped actors in shark-infested waters and dumped buckets of bloody tuna into the water to work the sharks into a frenzy. So when the "actors" scream that something bumped into them, it's because something really did.

4. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Those movies that creepify southern inbred poverty really get to me for some reason. You can include Deliverance to this one as well, which was equally as disturbing, though not quite as gory as Texas, which is why the former gets the title spot on the list.

5. Blair Witch: I hate to say it, but the last scene when they run into the shack and you see the guy standing in the corner legitimately scared me. I know, it's so lame to have bought into the whole marketing enterprise that went into it, but what can I say, I'm weak.

@Microwaved: You and I have had this discussion before, but I just don't get what everybody saw in The Descent. I thought it was so silly, and the ending just sealed the deal. I feel like I need to watch it again because I must have missed something--what is it??

The Descent, for me, it was the closterphobia of the caves. I have a terrible time with closed in spaces, and through the first two reels of this film I was screaming at them to get the hell out of there. Now I agree the ending was shakey at best, but this film just worked for me on all levels. So perhaps this is a personal thing. My wife wasn't so impressed with it, but me, completely floored by it and in love with it from the first time I saw it.

By the way your list is awesome. I agree with everything you said. When I was reading your list I got shivers up my spine once again thinking about the scenes you're describing. And Blair Witch, for all those people who think it sucked, geez. That ending was again one of the most brutal endings I have ever seen on film. It was crushing when the camera came around and there he was standing in the corner facing the wall. Holy Crap, I've got goosebumps thinking about it again. Just as terrifying as Cannibal Holocaust, which is a film I would put in the cannon of The Blair Witch Project, Blair Witch is a direct decendent of Cannibal Holocaust and the whole "found footage" film that is put together after the facts.

Microwaved, that's the second time you've recommended Cannibal Holocaust. I suppose at this point I have no choice but to give it a whirl. I'm glad you don't look down upon my shameful scares--definitely makes me feel better about some of the horror I like.

The reason, I think it's a very important film for our times. I know that the film was made as a one up-manship for Man of Deep River and then Jungle Holocaust, thus it's a little more depraved but not as much so as Cannibal Ferox, which really has no redeeming qualities at all except for pure shock value, but Cannibal Holocaust has a very important message at it's core.

On the new special edition disc that came out you can choose to watch it in two different ways. The original cut and the animal cruelty free cut. I've watched both and the director's cut is definitely hard to get through, but the message that comes out is so poignant for our times.

Our recent commenter Nancy I believe made a point about our vapid television and "celebrity culture" and our obsession with reality TV, well this film speaks volumes about those same issues. About doing what it takes to get the shot, and edit it to see who the bad guy is, but it's done with a very pointed stick at filmmakers creating the drama that may not be there originaly. And how far can you push someone to do what you want them to do, until the become the thing you want them to be. In this case, a primitive cannibalistic tribe, which is not what the "documentarians" originaly found.

Important themes and a poignant message for our times done over 30 years ago.

I Am Legend was the last "horror" movie I saw. It was OK. Will Smith did a fine job but I had some problems with the CGI and the monsters. I had other problems too, but perhaps those had more to do with the fact that I'm a nerd and less with the fact that the movie did have some good tension, my mother-in-law even screamed in one scene which I thought hit their target audience, the not jaded horror fan.

6 out of 10.

Microwaved,

A few questions about I Am Legend.

1. Had you read the book beforehand?

2. Have you seen the alternate ending?

My problem with the film relates directly to the first question. I thought the first two thirds were fantastic, though I agree the monsters were a bit George Lucas. The last third of the movie, however, COMPLETELY departed from the book and left me a bit peeved, especially since the first two-thirds set up the movie to follow the book perfectly.

Had I not read the book, I might have forgiven the ending. But as a Horror/Sci-Fi nerd, I could not. That said, the alternate ending does a bit (not a lot) better at staying faithful to the book, though still relies on a Hollywood feel-good ending which ultimately ruins it. Why don't they trust that we, as an audience, can cope with a bummer ending?!

What were your nerd complaints?

I watched The Mist last night. I thought it was OK. Certainly wasn't as good as everyone has told me, but it was still entertaining. And the monsters were not what I was expecting at all.

I have to day, the marketing for The Mist failed me completely. I simply had no interest to see the film, and I instantly filed it under my "Wait for a lonely/hung over day when it's on HBO" list.

Is it worth more than that?

Did anyone see The Ruins yet? I'm planning on going tomorrow night, but the buzz has been so conflicted, so I'm curious what you guys thought....

What were your nerd complaints? CGI, CGI, CGI I just couldn't get past the fact that it was all CGI so there was no real terror level for me in the film.

I watched Sweeny Todd last night and Clayton I know you had problems with all the blood I found it to be not nearly as bloody as I had expected. In fact I found it to be a little more brutal physically than I had anticipated, especially with the dispatching of the Sascha Baron Cohen character and the trap door when the bodies hit the ground. OUCH!

I really want to see The Ruins, but I think I'm going to read the book first and wait for the DVD. My sister-in-law had it sitting on her shelf so I borrowed it. Right after I finish Star Wars: The Bacta Wars I'm getting after it.

Good to see you again, Microwaved!

My complaint with Sweeney wasn't in the amount of blood -- just the color of it. It looked like melted crayon wax, alas I couldn't really fall into the illusion.

Loved, loved, loved The Ruins novel. Books don't usually freak me out, but this one definitely had my jaw dropped the entire time. I'm looking forward to the movie -- it's starting to sound to me that for the people who like horror, the movie satisfied. I think you will most certainly benefit from reading the book first -- that I KNOW is great. If the movie fails, it might ruin, no pun intended, that experience for you.

I agree about the CGI vampires in I am Legend.

I get what you're getting at with the color of the blood, I think Burton did it to get away with it. I remember talk of Tim probably having to cut a lot of the violence out of it and him refusing so that might have been the compromise.

And was it just me or did you also think that Depp got a little too much praise for the role. He really only had one emotion the entire run time of the film. It was definitely Helena Bonham Carter that carried the movie for me.

Cloverfield 6 out of 10 stars.

I finally got a chance to see this last night, and well I was underwhelmed. I dug some of it and some other things had me wishing Rob and Hud or whatever his name was would just hurray up and get eaten. Also if Abrams thinks that this is anywhere near as powerful or poignant as Gojira he is sorely mistaken. It was a fun one hour and twenty-four minutes but it was not a great monster movie in the fine tradition.

On a positive note, the monster was pretty cool and the city destroying stuff was pretty awesome.

I would agree with you, Microwaved, that Cloverfiled is not a great monster movie in the fine tradition, but wasn't that the point of the film? To break the mold and approach the traditional monster movie from a new angle?

I'm not saying the film was executed perfectly, but it's pretty ballsy to create a movie where almost nothing is explained, to tell a story from the point of view of the screaming Japanese masses, as it were. In fact, I found the most disappointing part of the film to be when the camera stopped moving long enough for the monster to give us a candid snapshot -- the whole point was that we were only supposed to get glimpses! The whole point was that we're never supposed to hear the background conversations of the President ordering a nuclear attack or a general consulting with a scientist.

It was just sheer chaos, and I think that's what makes it unique.

The last horror movie I watched was Halloween the Curse of Micheal Myers. Pretty good movie but not enough on the story of his origin. But a okay plot I wish that was more of the ocultist and how they controlled him. And how Jamie had a baby and who's the "babies daddy". I love how they beat the supreme snot out of Micheal Myers in the end. Nothing like a good fashioned lead pipe to make things even. lol

Oh another good movie I watched was Ju-on 2 or the Japanese version of the Gruge2. Good plots and scary enough to keep your lunch down. Unlike the newer horror in the U.S. that is more snuff then true horror.

Clayton, that was one of the redeeming qualities of Cloverfield was that it was from the perspective of the people and not the monster. It was trying to put the face of the people in the terror, and I liked that about the film, but I had a huge problem with the characters, their motivations and the story. Perhaps I'm too old now to identify with those 20 somethings? Perhaps I'm too midwestern to understand the New York mindset? I don't know, it's just that Rob, Hud and the crew didn't make me care for them in the least. I thought they were all superficial and self absorbed thus I had no empathy for them and wanted to see them all get eaten. So while parts of Cloverfield where really good, the part they were trying to get me to care about failed completely. It's kind of like I said on the Netflix Community Forums: The film geek in me had problems with the execution and the 10 year old boy in my had problems with the fact I never got a clear shot of the monster. On that note I watched two stellar horror movies this weekend.

The Orphanage - pretty standard right up until about the last 40 minutes and then it was on the most beautiful and scary films I've seen in a long while. Beautifully shot and beautifully acted this one is a winner from beginning to end. It was produced by Guillermo Del Toro and feel like a direct extenstion to his The Devil's Backbone (which is also highly recommend). This film had me scared and in tears by the end of it. 10 out of 10.

Inside - I watched this little French thriller on Saturday. Wow, very very gory, very depressing and very not much for the week stomach out there. A nice little horror film that shouldn't be watched by any pregnant woman on the face of the Earth. It was very tough to get through. 7 out of 10.

I am of two minds about the Japanese remakes, like Ju-on. On the one hand, I've seen the Japanese versions and maybe it's the subtitles, but they're not scary at all. In fact, I think they're kind of lame. People say the Americanized versions of The Ring and The Grudge, however, are in fact really creepy -- I can't really say that I've seen them, as I like to let the concepts rest on the laurels of their originals.

So perhaps the Americanized versions work for American audiences, in which case I can't say I have a problem with studios continually turning to Japan for the next horror success. On the other hand, get your own ideas, and stop stealing corny Japanese plots!

Halloween 2

I watched this horror films recently.

The Mist - not a bad monster movie, but I'm having troubles with the ending, especially being a father myself.

Mystics in Bali - wow, this is a piece of work. It makes no sense, the dubbing is terrible, and the effects are sub-par, but you can't stop laughing through the whole thing! It's great.

Frontier(s) - pretty generic evil psycho movie from France. There seems to be this heaping praise thrown on four French horror films starting with Haute Tension and continuing with Them (Ils), Frontier(s), and Inside. So far Inside was really the only one that got my goat. Frontier(s) is pretty standard and really feels like you're watching the Hills Have Eyes meets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with a little bit of Nazisploitation thrown in there. Not bad, but just not great either.

Well, the last one I saw in theatres was Rob Zombie's Halloween. It sucked bad!! It was god awful!! I almost demanded my money back, what a waste. I mean I knew that it wouldn't be good to begin with but that version sucked beyond belief. It totally killed the beauty of Michael Myers lol It completely took away from his character. Rob has no REAL concept of horror films all of his movies are the same. Blood, Blood, rape, involve his ex wife, degradation of women, poverty, etc. They all feature the same thing damnit. He is always so focused on the scene and not the storyline and in this case the storyline involves a legendary killer that has terrorized people for decades, he killed it. Its all about the scene with him the gore-ier/ more disgusting the better, the movie had absolutely no substance. nothinng! and they got 'Jamie' Myer's neice from 4 & 5 to play someone else in it. Which totally sucked! Because I liked it before. the movie doesnt even explain anything. I most definately could have made a better film. Ughhr.. he should stick to music.. period.Ok..well that was my rant.

I've actually yet to hear anything good about that film. I think both it and Hannibal Rising attempted and failed at the same thing: to reinvent a beloved character and make it fresh and scary for a new generation. I think it's possible to do this, but you need to have a deep understanding and love of the films that came before it. You can't just say, "yeah yeah yeah Michael Myers I get it."

That's why I'm so afraid (and excited) for the Star Trek reboot -- sorry by the way for switching genres momentarily. JJ Abrams has admitted he's no fan. So how can you remake something if you don't appreciate the spirit in which the original was made?

Back to horror, I haven't seen any Rob Zombie films, and that's because I don't particularly like his style of music. In my opinion, if he can't do well in his oeuvre, he doesn't deserve recognition outside of it.