Horrorfest 2022

[Chance]

I just rewatched The Shining and then the sequel Doctor Sleep.

Wife and I enjoyed this. That young actress is going to be raking in Oscars later in her career - the entire cast was great.

[Coyotesfan97]

A meteor impacts at a lighthouse and some sort of slowly expanding field emerges. 2 years pass as the .gov sends every sort of probe and sensor into the "Shimmer" without avail. Nothing or no one that goes in is heard from again. Now, the Shimmer has engulfed a National park and some small townships so Teams of SOF are sent in. Nobody returns.
A year later an Operator shows up at his home without explanation or memory of where he's been to his grieving wife. They are both taken into custody and she finds out about the Shimmer and its menace to the Earth.
As a Johns Hopkins biologist, she volunteers to accompany a non-military penetration of the Shimmer.

Much like Kubrick in The Shining, the director(Ex Machina) uses cinematography, score and unreliable narration to build an escalating sense of alien wrongness and creeping dread as the protagonists go deeper into the Shimmer. The bizarre landscape wrought by the Shimmer and the isolation that the memory effects cause to each person becomes more ominous every minute.

The best evocation of Lovecraftian "Cosmic Horror" I've seen on film.

Free on YouTube.

I watched it yesterday. I really liked it. Thanks for the recommendation!

[SCCY Marshal]

Hatching (2022)

Finnish: Pahanhautoja

Practical effects body horror film sort of thing with a murder parrot which seems to bitterly hate social media and influencers almost as much as I do. Finnish language but available with competent English subtitles in places such as Amazon streaming. Though the subtitling community would take offense to the subs being white rather than yellow while possibly picking minor nits with the font, as well.

[the Schwartz]

I just rewatched The Shining and then the sequel Doctor Sleep.
Wow.
Danny grows up as a tortured alcoholic drifter hiding from the things from the Overlook Hotel. He finally deals with all the ghosts and goes sober.
One day he Shines contact with a little girl who is unbelievably powerful. They become "pen pals" and years pass.
Then, as a teenager she psychically witnesses a horrifying murder by a pack of vampires who torture children and feed off their pain and fear. But by seeing them, they see her Shine and come after her. The only thing is, this little girl is harder than a coffin nail, isn't running and enlists Danny's help in hunting down and killing the vampires.
The film is quite horrific, with multiple child murders and one particularly gruesome-unusually so for a Hollywood movie. The stakes keep getting raised as the hunt turns cat and mouse and innocents pay the price.
The main cast is excellent-especially the teenager-but the supporting cast gives real depth to the story. The vampires are truly vile, nightmarish and clever. Unlike many horror films this one builds to a satisfyingly thunderous climax that is brutal, tragic and satisfying.
Recommended.

I'd read both books and seen the movie, ''The Shining''. Doctor Sleep was a great book and I'll have to locate the movie now that I know that it was made. Thanks.

[SCCY Marshal]

Lamb (2021)

Iceland continiues to be the strange cousin, even by greater Scandinavian standards. And I'd live on that farm in a heartbeat.

[revolvergeek]

If you haven't already, Peter Watts' re-imagining of The Thing is worth a read:

https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/

...

Somehow ended up reading an article about Angel Heart recently. Didn't know it was based on a book. Both the original book and sequel are on order (actually the sequel showed up yesterday but resisting reading out of order...).

Very nifty! Downloading it now and will listen to it on the drive home tonight. Thanks!

Cinemark down here had a 40th anniversary showing of The Thing, so some friends and I went and saw it in the theater. First time ever for me to see it on the big screen (I was too young to see it according to my parents when it came out). It held up very well. The Thing and Alien are two of my all time favorites.

[Wise_A]

Girlfriend has not seen The Thing. This must be rectified, to the point that I'm actually going to buy it on Prime.

We also saw Smile at the Drive-In last week. It was creepy, but not particularly good. The Drive-In was alright, though, and we'll definitely be going back. Except this time we're just gonna shell out the five bucks and bring our own food.

I'd read both books and seen the movie, ''The Shining''. Doctor Sleep was a great book and I'll have to locate the movie now that I know that it was made. Thanks.

Available on HBO Max, or likely your local library.

[awp_101]

I’m not much on horror films but I do like me some H.P. Lovecraft. I realized I hadn’t read any in quite a while but some digging around on Spotify turned this up. I’ve been listening since Thursday afternoon…. Here’s the YouTube version:

[SCCY Marshal]

Setting up for tonight's backyard double-feature.

Beef stew getting its start in a crockpot. Three bags of tortilla chips ready to meet two and a half jars of salsa plus a tub of sour cream.Two fresh growlers of local beer in the fridge next to two gallons of local-ish unpasteurized cider. Some fresh assorted spices and a navel orange to mix up my own mulling spice. Nine cigars set aside, one jar of Haunted Bookshop and another of Lane 1Q plus unused corncob pipes should anyone want to dabble.

A guest just dropped off a package of chicken drumsticks, box of burger patties, and burger buns. So looks like I need to wheel out a grill after doing up the screen, routing the power cord, and hauling out the media stand. And setting up a temporary second fire pit plus full water buckets. Liner in the painted trashcan, old ski resort beerhall benches unfolded, and lawnchairs checked.

[WobblyPossum]

Girlfriend and I watched the Hellraiser remake on Hulu last night. It wasn’t great. Not the worst horror movie I’ve ever seen, but far from one of the better ones. The premise was consistent with the original movies. The characters were pretty forgettable. The acting wasn’t amazing.