What was the last film you watched?

[Mel O'Drama]

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

Another one with fond memories of watching at the cinema.

It seems to get a lot of derision, even by the standards of other slashers. A little too much, I think. It's far from great, but an enjoyable enough ride.​

 

[Toni]

Believe it or not, yesterday I watched this:

​

It´s all of it on YouTube. I´d always known the existence of this dark lady, but after bumping into a couple of interviews of Ms. Peterson, I started getting curious... It´s a whole phenomenon, and an act of artistic "freedom". She Anjelica Huston ain´t, but I had a lot of fun with this mega-trashy movie! The ending must be seen to be believed! Happy Halloween!! (Dwayne from "Falcon Crest" is in this, by the way!)

 

[Willie Oleson]

Arty-farty soulless rubbish.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Prom Night (2008)

I previously watched this some years ago, but I couldn't remember a darned thing about it.

Watching it so close to the 1980 Prom Night, it's clear it's a completely different film to the original. The only thing they have in common are being slashers set on Prom Night. Which is far preferable to a straight remake.

While it wasn't earth-shattering, it looked good and had the typical Neal H. Moritz shadows and gloss thing going on. Most of the characters were one-dimensional, and it felt very teeny, but the lead was engaging enough. There's something I find most enjoyable about these PG-13 slashers. In aiming for a wider audience the tedious gore is eliminated and the focus ends up on suspense, which I find far more effective.

It also had an enjoyable quip from one of the girls about her date:

If he were any dumber I'd need to water him.

 

[James from London]

Arty-farty soulless rubbish.

That's going straight on my list then!

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Friday The 13th (1980)

Another one I haven't watched for some years. What struck me this time is the lack of immersion one feels when watching compared with the other slashers I've watched recently. There's no real suspense, little intensity and only low level feeling of unease. And the death set pieces lose their potency after the first watch so the viewer ends up watching them with detached half interest.

It is fun, though. The scenery - from the small New Jersey township to the young people in swimwear - is attractive. Harry Manfredini's music - with its iconic "ki ki ki ma ma ma" motif - creates a nice atmosphere, as does the storm raging outside while the counsellors are getting cosy inside. Betsy Palmer - when she finally appears - elevates the film by giving it meaning and a degree of truth. And the film's one big jump - even when I know it's coming - gets me every time.​

 

[Willie Oleson]

Those modernized trailers are so cool!

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Those modernized trailers are so cool!

Aren't they just?

What I like is that they still sell the same film. They just do it in a different way. So there's no lie in there, apart from the score (the blurb on YouTube tells me the music in the F13 trailer is from the 2019 adaption of Pet Semetary).

I'd be curious to know if any new viewers have found older films off the back of some of these trailers.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

April Fool's Day (2008)

I couldn't remember watching this one (even though I have) and thought it'd be worth another spin in case it's a hidden gem.

It is not. It's utter dross. And not even entertaining dross. I haven't seen the original version, but it has to be better than this.​

 

[Sarah]

The Exorcist

Curse of Chucky

His House https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-54749782

 

[bmasters9]

Bombshell (2019 Lionsgate film w/Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, et al.; about the sexual harassment scandal at FOX "News" that toppled Roger Ailes)

 

[Mel O'Drama]

A double-bill yesterday evening, both of which I'd seen before:


Friday The 13th Part 2 (1981)

Copycat (1995)

One of these films was slickly written, well acted, engaging and suspenseful.

The less said about the other, the better.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Bone Collector (1999)

This is another where it's been some years since I last watched it, so I've really dusted off the old DVDs recently. Sadly, I remembered the killer's identity, but the good news is that I'd forgotten almost everything else.

Oh, and while seeking out this video, I've just seen that there's a new TV series based on the same book. Unsurprisingly, the overall feeling from the trailer is of a film remake:

I may take a peek at some point.​

 

[Willie Oleson]

Is that John Ross?

One of these films was slickly written, well acted, engaging and suspenseful

I agree.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Is that John Ross?

It is indeed (well, one of them, anyway)...

 

[Toni]

Believe it or not (again!), I rewatched "Elvira" this time with my best friend, and this time in Spanish... and look what they did in the dubbing:

When the motel owner picks on her teenage daughter for wearing make-up...

• Elvira: I hate to interrupt this little episode of the Waltons.

In Spanish:

• Elvira: Odio interrumpir este capítulo de "Dinastía" (!!!!!)

So "The Waltons" would be the previous work of "Dynasty"´s author, instead of "Falcon Crest"´s...?

As usual, here is the blindness of the Spanish audiences (and professionals!) re. the American series. "The Golden Girls"´ translators were bent on introducing (non-existing) jokes about "Falcon Crest" in their show!!

"Dynasty" massacre, Elvira-style​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

When A Stranger Calls (1979)

The opening "Sitter" act is the iconic one, but I remain fascinated by the middle act that feels so 1979, and turns the film's potential "monster" into a pathetic creature, hunted down. The barfly sequence feels very Bottom Of The Bottle. And the intense-but-needy antagonist is like Richard Avery with murderous tendencies. Colleen Dewhurst is great as the rough-as-nails barfly.

Despite the less-than-stellar production values and the fact that it looks like a made for TV movie (the poor transfer on my old DVD copy perhaps makes this feel worse than it is), it's still very effective and once again gave me the creeps.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

When A Stranger Calls Back (1993)

It gets very weird, but it's very effective. The sense of isolation from being alone in the house with the phone out of order and a stranger knocking on the door ostensibly to use the phone is really well done here. It's given me the creeps and unnerved me more than any of the horrors I've watched through October, including the original.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Enjoyable, meaningless fluff, with Tom Cruise interacting with a series of terribly unattractive men. A clever Hollywood trick to keep Tom looking extra pretty, perhaps (though he does look almost plain when next to Alec Baldwin).​

 

[Willie Oleson]

As usual, here is the blindness of the Spanish audiences (and professionals!) re. the American series. "The Golden Girls"´ translators were bent on introducing (non-existing) jokes about "Falcon Crest" in their show!!

I can understand that they would give it more relevance.
Back in elementary school we were doing a stupid musical and one of the characters (played by me) had to say - in response to the dramatic developments - oh my god, it's almost like Peyton Place (I guess it was a very old script).
So, we kids were like "huh, huh?" and they changed it to Dynasty because that's what we knew, thus making it easier for me to play it convincingly.

Come to think it, maybe that's when my curiosity for Peyton Place was born.

Speaking of soaps, why do I get the feeling that someone's going to rewatch a fabulously signed boxset of a certain aussie soap very soon?