Horror Films I've Watched While Social Distancing

[impala_chick]

Horror films are basically the only media that can hold my attention right now. I generally don't seek out gory films, and as a general rule I like spooky thrillers and ghost stories best, but I've been catching up on some classics and trying to go through that Prime Horror movie recommendation list. Horror films are just the right vibe for me lately.

Friday the 13th (1980): Very slow, but I can see why it's a cult classic. Some great jump scares, and a super creepy backstory. I didn't like how the film made teenage sex seem like the real villain, though. I tried starting Friday the 13th Part II, but I was way too bored with the beginning. 1/5 stars.

Friday the 13th (2009): Way better than the original. At least they did away with the crazy mom bit. Still plenty of stupid "sexy" scenes, but the scares were pretty scary. The kills were over the top but that's the whole point, I suppose. I just really liked Jared in it, to be honest. Earnest brother with a leather jacket and a hero complex - I'm all in. I'm bummed they didn't make a part 2, but apparently there were franchise rights issues. 2.5/5 stars.

Rosemary's Baby (1968): WTF is this? I don't know if I'll finish it. Nearly every scene makes me cringe and they haven't even gotten to the horror yet. Maybe it's just too 1960s for me.

Child's Play (1988): What a delightful surprise! I really loved the mom and the son in this. The cop was pretty funny even though he flagrantly disregarded all police protocol, and the plot moved along nicely. There were some genuinely creepy parts and I liked the ending. Maybe I'll have to check out the other films in the franchise. 4/5 stars.

Climax: I will literally never watch this film again. Way too artsy and weird. It seemed like it was supposed to be a big critique on LSD, with some death thrown in at the end. 0 stars.

Anna and the Apocalypse (2017): I love a good zombie movie, and this definitely fits the bill! Plus it takes place during Christmas, and I love "christmas" movies that subvert the genre. And the musical numbers are very fun, too. Nothing super surprising, but I did have a great time watching it and I liked the ending. I still listen to some of the songs! 4/5 stars.

The Crazies (2010): My favorite so far! The plot was so tight and tense. There was never a dull moment, but the jump scares weren't overdone. The gore seemed to be on the more realistic side, too. I was a little annoyed with how the female characters were played, but one of them really rises to the occasion by the end. I won't spoil anything, but this film has layers of creepy. Potential trigger warning since it's about a deadly virus. This film really nails the apocalyptic journey/hellscape that I like most, even though the origin story of the virus is sort of stupid. 4/5 stars.

Comments

[singedsun]

I've purposefully skipped Rosemary's Baby because I've seen parts of it and I know I won't like it, and also it was directed by Roman Polanski. Not that my one view is every going to impact anything, but I'm doing my part. It's been so long since I've seen the original Child's Play and Friday the 13th movies that I've considered a rewatched, but I basically moved all the rewatch stuff (anything I actually wanted to rewatch anyway) to the bottom of my list a little reward. I still don't know if I'll do Child's Play. I remember enjoying them somewhat when I was a kid, but I don't do so well with puppet type characters so I'll have to evaluate later when I get to that point.

[impala_chick]

Oh, I feel silly but I didn't even realize it was a Polanski film :/ But the beginning was terrible so I'm not that surprised.

Chucky definitely moves a lot like a puppet. It's a weird contrast to something like the Muppets or Lambchop, because I grew up loving those shows.

[momecat]

I feel you on struggling to find anything that holds your attention (I can't get into new stuff, particularly if it's too cheery). Even though I'm allergic to Horror films I recently got into "the Magnus Archives", which is a weekly horror fiction anthology. It's really got me hooked. Maybe something that can hold your attention? If you enjoy listening to podcasts that is!

[impala_chick]

Oh, that show has come up on my recommendations list on Spotify. It sounds like something I might like!

[momecat]

Awesome! Let me know what you think if you do end up listening to it!

[vivarocksteady]

If you can find a movie called Pontypool I highly recommend it! I'm not a big horror fan but Pontypool is excellent, especially for being very low budget. It's about a zombie-like virus that's spread through speech-- so it's quite literally a meme more than a virus. It's kind of a "closed room" psychological thriller, you don't actually see much gore or zombie action. It's great!

[impala_chick]

Thanks for the recommendation! A thriller about a virus? Sounds perfect for the mood I've been in.

[soundandvision]

Are you watching them on Shutter? I really like Japanese horror films

[impala_chick]

What's Shutter? The only film I know of is The Ring, but I've only seen the American version.

[soundandvision]

Shudder (https://www.shudder.com/) is a site like Netflix but they have all horror stuff. The goths I watch on youtube often have them as a sponsor so that's how I found out about it

The Japanese film is way better and they do amazing zombie flicks.

[impala_chick]

Oo, cool! Thanks for the link.

[vivarocksteady]

I'm curious if you have seen or are planning on watching the Exorcist or its TV sequel series.

I may or may not have written an Exorcist-inspired Mindhunter fic where Holden gets possessed and it ends in sex... :x

[impala_chick]

Yes, I definitely need to watch the Exorcist. I didn't even know there was a TV sequel series! Which is silly because I love demon movies/TV. That fic sounds SUPER awesome and I definitely want to read it :)

[vivarocksteady]

The series is on Netflix. I'm pretty sure you can just jump in without watching the movie, even though it's a direct sequel to the movie. The movie is just SO SLOW MOVING. I'm sure it was VERY good in its contemporary times but, idk, I watched it last summer and it didn't make much of an impact on me. The series is great, though!

Here is the fic if it's okay for me to pimp it, lol: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21248639/chapters/50593133

[impala_chick]

Oo yay! I always take self recs :) I can't wait to dive in once I watch a bit of the series.