Undeadcow

Started watching ABCs of Death 2.5 because I didn't think I had; then realized I watched it last year but am already committed.
It is interesting how ABCs of Death episodes, as hit and miss as they are, are so short and really do a lot to establish mood and story in a short time. Often these are so far out or gory as a result of needing to hook people in near immediately. I think there's a lot of potential for super short film anthologies beyond what ABCs of Death has done.

Trevor

Yeah, I do that a lot too. Both forgetting that I’ve seen something, and not being able to stop once I’ve started.

I don’t keep a database or spreadsheet of my collection, but I do try to rate every film I watch in IMDb. I’m not close to 100% diligent in doing so, but getting better.

jholmes

Ghost Stories (2018) is so good! I second that recommendation.

Trevor

According to a comment ShoutFactory made on a recent Facebook post, their annual Shocktober sale will start this coming Monday (the 7th) at 10am. They also say it will be ‘a little different this year’. Hopefully they mean ‘good’ by that.

WillieMLF

Well, they haven't been including chalky candies or anything like that, so I assume it will be that + tepid pricing = 'different'. Score!

brainee

Is 2.5 any good? I liked the first two. True, they vary wildly in quality and tone but that's part of the appeal. But the combination of 2.5 being essentially a demo reel for inexperienced filmmakers and all being the letter "M" didn't make it sound appealing.

I watched The Endless for the summer Sci-Fi challenge and really liked it. Though I can see how people going in expecting a straight-up horror/sci-fi story may come away confused and disappointed. I really enjoyed Spring and Resolution as well.

Darkgod

Think I skipped day 3.. but heres Day 4s video.

https://youtu.be/PiwY8bt1O54

Trevor

Undeadcow

I also really enjoyed Phobia 2; it's got nicely ambiguous characters and an intelligent script. Comparing it to over movies this month Phobia 2 has a morality 'come-up-ance' that is unfortunately missing in many horror films. Sobering twists in a series of stories where the characters are often ambiguous, both good and bad enough to be sympathetic. I can think of more than a few films that are missing some of the 'heart' in heart wrenching that we see with Phobia 2. Some great concepts with more depth at play. I especially liked the first segment and the trucker one (well also the film crew one, and the salvage one – which is nearly all).
If you enjoyed the previous 2 ABCs of Death then I definitely think 2.5 is worth seeing - there's some crap segments in it but also ones that are zany and far out enough to be worth a view. My favorite segments are M is for Magnetic Tape, M is for Mailbox, and M is for Mom - which are handled in much more creative ways then the titles alone let on. None of the segments seem low budget or amateur and if anything it’s more the content that’s hit and miss; it makes one wonder how these can look so polished and indie films can sometimes look so indie. As far as a general recommendation of ABCs of Death while I like them I find they can be draining because so many ‘push the envelope’ in refreshingly gorey or intentionally over the top ways it takes a bit to come back from (just not a fan of the poop humor in some).

davidh777

In other challenges, I want to post to keep the discussion going. In this one, I feel anything is just going to get buried anyway.

Finally got around to seeing the Tom Cruise mummy movie. The goofy tone that wanted to play like an Indiana Jones movie, or the Brendan Fraser mummy series, didn't work for me.

mallratcal

Just watched The Endless, and thought it was really good.

Cardsfan111

I only went back a page or so, so perhaps it's been mentioned. VUDU has some decent titles on sale for $4.99 this weekend.

https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/uipage/-/72/-/1#{"minVisible":0}

Chad

I think I'll be using a wild card for Die Screaming Marianne. Everything from the trailer, the title, the cover/poster art, and the simple fact it's from Pete Walker are all just plain deceptive advertising. It's not his finest moment either.

Chad

Just realized today is the 99th birthday of Donald Pleasence, so looks like we'll have a centennial theme for our crystal next year.

Trevor

It’s listed as horror at allmovie fwiw.

Chad

Works for me, thanks.

wackyblacky

Just a heads up The Virgin Of Nuremberg (1963) is a torture device which is just another name for the Iron Maiden. A good gothic film anyways with the great Christopher Lee playing a German.

DaveyJoe

I feel like Annabelle is very underrated. I watched it last night and I thought it was a solid production, scary, the acting was good(especially Alfre Woodard), a fun retro setting and some inspiration from Rosemary's Baby. It may not be top-tier Conjuverse, but it's a lot better than its reputation. I'll try to watch Annabelle: Creation some point later this month.

Trevor

I liked Annabelle, and overall, the Conjuverse is compelling and well-done. The Nun was a huge step down, but I’m hoping it was a one-time clunker and they get back to form.

DaveyJoe

I skipped The Nun because of the negative reviews, but my enjoyment of Annabelle has me reconsidering that. I don't know what to believe.

By the way I watched The Great Alligator the other night and it was a pretty entertaining flick but the fake alligator was... so... bad. At no point did it look convincing, the fake model or whatever they used didn't even move. It looked like someone was just pushing a plastic alligator toy through a bathtub. And I don't recall seeing any footage of a real alligator at any point in the movie either. So that was disappointing.

DaveyJoe

Does the Copy & Paste version of the Themes Night match with the official version? The copy & paste version says Oct 25th as IMDB highest rated night, but I think it's supposed to be Video Nasties?

GoldenWheels

Man I am watching Two Thousand Maniacs for the first time right now and this movie....well I should have known better.

I try to give Hershel Gordon Lewis a pass, I have several of his direct mail/copywriting books. He's pretty respected in the mail order world, by those who remember him. The movies though....dear god.

Undeadcow

Is it important to watch the 'Conjurverse' films in some order or can they mostly be seen independently? I originally assumed Conjuring 1 before Conjuring 2 but got lost at Annabelle 0 and The Nun. I think I've only seen Conjuring 1 and Annabelle 1 (maybe have seen more).

...Did someone here just make up the term 'Conjurverse' is that a real thing?
Whatever you do, do not attempt to watch the Robert Englund helmed Two Thousand Maniacs remake, that is a never level of torture.

jacob_b

Spring was REALLY good. Very impressed with Justin and Aaron's work. I'm going to have to give The Endless a viewing.

What did you think of Hell Fest?

Part 2 was MUCH better and what I wanted in that film. My thing about Annabelle and why I disliked part 1 so much is I was wanting an origin story and wanted to know more about the doll's history and everything which part 1 did nothing for me. Had they switched part 1 and 2 around, it would probably look much better.

Undeadcow

Tales from the Hood 2 is better than the sparse marketing, generic cover art, or duration since original lets on but it is preachy and too 'on the nose' with politics today getting weaker as it progresses with the finale collapsing into juvenile humor and near literal current event references. The first two thirds are refreshing thowbacks to when horror anthologies where more about light humor horror than intese weirdness; there's some occassionally uncomfortable social commentary but that's to be expected and a strength of the series.