Chad

MysterioMan007

I think I've found my contender for worst movie of the challenge, although we are only a week into it, so we'll see. But, this was awful in every aspect. It's the most "70's movie made in the 80's" I have ever seen. And not the good 70's horror movies like Halloween or Black Christmas. This was "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" bad. Actually, it was worse. I'm actually kind of offended this was made.

Undeadcow

Disconnected was a very odd movie. The end seemed entirely random, I'm tempted to rewatch to see if I missed anything but don't hate myself that much. I usually admire slow burn psychological films but Disconnected seemed to get too 'experimental' for me over baking themes and really indulging in prolonged segments of people answering or not ringing telephones. It seemed like they were trying to make a point about telephones, movies, and technology alienating people and putting them at risk if not outright killing them (which I think must be the case because otherwise the odd dance club music stuff makes no sense, other than in contrast to the alienation) - like something my grouchy old grandpa might have written or a less smart Videodrome.

The police officer interview was an interesting plot device.

Maybe if I had seen The Trouble With Harry then Disconnected would make more sense? ...or what that just set dressing?

Trevor

I liked it. For a low budget film the cinematography was decent, the soundtrack was good, the two main plots were blended fairly well throughout, and the lead actress was very good. The scenes involving the ‘demon in the phone’ were disorienting and effective.

DaveyJoe

I figured this flick would be divisive but damn.

wishbone

Horror Movie A Day: Disconnected (1983)

No applause but I do appreciate it's indie feel and the little moments. The reveal of Franklin in bed early on was truly .

jacob_b

WTF. We really need the people who pick the movies of the day to tell us why they torment the board sometimes. Half this movie made no sense. The random band(s). The ending. I want my time back....

Undeadcow

Is that what the phone stuff was? I couldn't tell if they were implying she was so damaged by death around her she became psychotic or if she was so alienated she was tormented by what communication was around her. It flirts with being surreal but never seems to stick with me.

Trevor

At least Disconnected was a thousand times better than Boar and House of 1000 Corpses. What two bozos picked that crap?

DaveyJoe

I like this movie a lot, but it's not something I would recommend to others. It requires a lot of patience, the first time I watched it, I hated the third act because the movie gets rid of the most interesting characters and you essentially have 25 minutes of Frances Raines drinking alone. However upon rewatches I've come to appreciate the slower pace of the third act, specifically the sequence of still photographs. I also didn't understand the phone thing on my first viewing. So I take it that the old man is some type of demon/spirit, or perhaps Death. At the beginning of the movie he's looking for Alicia's neighbor, she takes him in to her place to let him use the phone. After getting him some water he is gone. He somehow "enters" the phone and he's the cause of all the disturbing phone calls she's been getting. At the end of the movie she breaks the phone out of madness and he comes out of it to kill her. How does all that work? I have no idea, but I see him as some type of Grim Reaper character.

Other things I love about this movie: Frances Raines is really hot, the soundtrack is really cool, the detective character is amusing, the Franklin character is a very unique 'villain.' I like how he's a horrible murderer that's exceedingly polite and impossible to dislike. Anyone who enjoyed this film should check out Pyschos in Love, by the same director. It's a similar tone but even zanier and funny.

jacob_b

Yeah, you might be the only one that thinks that lol. At least both the movies you just mentioned has at least one redeemable quality (Bill). Can't say that about Disconnected lol.

You might have been the only one to connect those dots. I've read a few reviews (making sure I didn't miss something when watching) and nobody put it together like that. Interesting thought for sure.

numbercrunch

I like the film and the effort put in by the film makers to do something experimental in the slasher genre. I did pick up that the old man is the grim reaper.

7/10

rbrown498

I enjoyed this one ONLY because it was a wallow in '80s nostalgia for me. That video store brought back memories of the first few video stores that I ever visited, and the electronics in the main character's living room took me right back to 1984. I think that our first VCR looked just like the one that was on the bottom of her pile of equipment.

Undeadcow

What is the significant, if any, of the repeating dance segments?

DaveyJoe

Padding the film, I think. I'll have to think about it. I do think the film is more ambitious than a lot of viewers might believe on first viewing. The fact that Alicia has a twin sister that is a 180 of her own personality might speak to some sort of identity theme. When the sister goes to meet Franklin he think she is Alicia, perhaps a parallel to the fact that Alicia views Franklin as the nice guy she's always wanted(she breaks up with her boyfriend for cheating on her) but he is actually a murderer. So this could allude to how appearances can be deceiving. Perhaps the dance scenes serve as a contrast to how upside down her life will be by the third act.

One interesting thing is that in the dance scene at the beginning, Franklin can be scene at the bar impressing a girl(likely a future victim) with magic tricks..

wishbone

By virture of shooting in contemporary settings films like this make for nice time capsules of the past.