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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

What are some really scary movies?

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05:40 / 06.03.03

How sadly fashionable it is to bash the American remake, even if it's good. While current standards of American television and his past history can do little to pretty up the idea of King remaking The Kingdom, at least the thing might lead to that series getting a decent DVD release in the States.

And yet, The Ring is pretty good. It certainly scared many of the people who saw it, which would seem to be the point.

How is it that no one ever speaks of the utter shit that are the other versions of Ringu - the Korean Ring Virus and the Japanese Rasen, not to mention all the crap TV shows? Asian cred? What percentage of the people here know Ringu only because you saw the remake or read about it, therefore gleaming details of the original?

Dreamworks even had the good sense to release the original on DVD day and date with their remake, so that people could see both. (Even though releasing them as a 2-disc set a la The Truth About Charlie and Charade would have been better...)

05:54 / 06.03.03

Nothing 'fashionable' about it, videodrome. I'm a fan of the original films (of which I only really count 1 and 2 as being worth seeing), and found that the remake didn't really do anything for me. Plain and simple. And yes, Ring 0 was terrible, and whilst I've yet to see Ring Virus, I don't really intend on doing so. As you'll see - having actually read my post - I thought that the American Ring remake was mediocre. Not terrible. Not brilliant. Mediocre. Sure, I had marks against it before going to see it, I don't think anybody who has seen an original can honestly view a remake objectively, but IMHO I really didn't think it was that good. M'kay?

06:17 / 06.03.03

Sadly, Tez, you read and replied to my post before the changes I made were moderated. I'm responding less to you and more to the general view of 'the remake'. Over time I find it more and more tiresome to be appalled by them; The Wicker Man being remade? So what? I've got my DVD copy of the original here, and it's not going anywhere. I didn't think Ringu was that great, nor was the remake. Both were servicable ghost stories.

Though you were paraphrasing, these words "once Hollywood gets hold of it the character and beautifully crafted concepts are as good as dead anyway" are still yours, and they seem to represent the dominant feeling on the topic, which in this case isn't warranted. Not that it matters either way.

The only reason I even care to comment on The Kingdom is that is just seems so pointless, given what American TV currently supports, whereas I'd kinda like to see a British take on it, or summat.

07:19 / 06.03.03

Hokay, firstly apologies for being snippy. I took your post as a personal attack and responded likewise. On the "Once Hollywood..." quote, I agree that on reflection it was a little harsh, but I have to stand by it in a lot of cases, especially with Japanese to US conversions (Magnificent Seven, anyone?). But, as you say, it doesn't really matter either way.

11:53 / 06.03.03

bah...was just thinking about Jacob's Ladder and how I missed mentioning it. Silent Hill...especially 3...takes many cues from it as far as I've seen. The images seem to enforce it (thinking of the descent into hell via Tim Robbins pushed along on the gurney by the hospital staff. Anyway...that film haunted me since I saw it in the theatre as a wee lad. My aunt thought it was about something else and took me with a friend.

I tend to enjoy horror films that disorient the viewer or better yet, leave blanks for you to fill in. That's sometimes why I don't respond to gore flicks as much. Trying to gross me out when generally I can care less about pumping out fake blood concoctions. By no means am I taking a shot at it though...Big fan of the Romero's zombie films, etc.

Old brown-eye is back

12:01 / 06.03.03

"The current standards of American television"

The Sopranos, Oz, 24, Six Feet Under, CSI, Shield, The West Wing, Sex in the City. You're right, it's all fucking dreadful.

"From what I've played so far, Silent Hill 3 is pretty cool...."

Well done, you've got hold of a press kit.

"How sadly fashionable it is to bash the American re-make...."

You're quite right, American re-makes don't really harm enjoyment of the original but if something sucks people should be allowed to say so. Lets be honest here, for every The Ring theres an Unfaithful, a City of Angels and a The Assassin.

You sir are indeed The Oracle, and I claim my five pounds.

12:43 / 06.03.03

I just watched the original Japanese 'Ring'. Scary? Not even slightly. The only really disturbing bit was when that polaroid was taken and came out horribly blurred.

SPOILER
FOR
'RING'

I liked the way the ghost girl moved, and I liked the chain letter aspect, but other than that I thought it was pretty mediocre and just not even in the same ballpark as all the scarifying to which it has laid claim.

END
OF
SPOILER

Another one: the first, say, 15 minutes of 'Long Time Dead' were incredibly effective and scary, I thought

13:36 / 06.03.03

Never mind that I think half the shows you quoted are dreadful, but since you live in London, Orgone (based on your info) all I'll say is that perhaps you get only what many consider to be the cream of the American television crop. And sicne networks are all cutting back dramatically on scripted shows in favor of reality shit (as reported in teh NYT in an article you now have to pay to access), it's not likely to get better.

And the Silent Hill thing...heh.

13:57 / 06.03.03

Saw the remake of Ring last night.

As expected, it's just an o.t.t. in yer face Hollywood version of the original, right?

Would have been pretty good if it was an original film - the creepy concepts still worked - but all the obvious horror movie shtick they stuck in just made the whole thing seem silly - all the "BOO!" moments and ridiculous "ooh, isn't this scary" imagery and unnecessary set-piece scenes (like the mad horse bit) - it was made in that whole "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to horror which completely fails to understand that 'less is more', and subsequently just pisses all over the more subtle, increasingly oppressive atmosphere that's so skillfully built up in the original.

I guess there's probably a different thread on this, right? Too late now.

Old brown-eye is back

13:57 / 06.03.03

They're going to turn The Kingdom into a reality TV show? Cool.

And the Silent Hill thing.....Do you work for a games mag, or are you just related to someone at Konami?

15:33 / 06.03.03

As expected, it's just an o.t.t. in yer face Hollywood version of the original, right?

Actually Rizla's own o.t.t. post has got me thinking. What are the differences between the horror genre in various parts of the world? Since it seems to be a fairly divisive subject, I’ll take The Ring as an example, of which I think the remake is a classic example of how a western horror is put together. It's very formulaic, the plot is straightforward, and the characters look and feel ‘directed’. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, but it does seem to be a standard for western horror, whereas I think a lot of far eastern horror films (The Ring, The Eye, etc.) are far more compelling precisely because they are much slower, far more subtle, and don't rely on our well worn scare tactics.

15:40 / 06.03.03

And further, are the elements which seem fresh to us - the slow pace, the mood and atmosphere - considered to be well-worn scare tactics in Asia?

16:06 / 06.03.03

I do sometimes wonder if I'm ruined for horror films that don't use the tricks and trends of the modern American horror. But I don't think so, really...'Paperhouse' wasn't like that at all, and that freaked me out big time. And most mainstream horrors don't scare me at all either. It's depressing, really.

22:29 / 06.03.03

I think most studio systems - be they European, US or Asian - probably produce more shit than gold. I'd guess that most of us only see a smaller repesentation of Asian films, and often only the better stff gets through. Though that may not be the case for you hard core film geeks. I generally like Japanese and Chinese films though. I'm not sure why, there's just something intangible, a kind of romanticism, about them. Even when there's ten ninja vampires climbing down the walls.

If you liked Ring, then watch Dark Water - I saw it at the London Frightfest last year. It's directed by Hideo Nakata and written by Kôji Suzuki who did the original Ring. I noticed some interesting themes cropping up between these films: the anxiety of separation/divorce, a haunting by a child, and how children cope with emotional trauma. I also liked Eye, though I found the ending to be predictable - which annoyed me. My Little Eye is also worth a look - I especially liked the downbeat ending. But, maybe that's just me!

What horror flicks should we be watching out for this year by the way? Anything good due out?

22:55 / 06.03.03

I have no idea what the movie is really about, but a close encounter with the website to Identity by Sony Pictures, which is delightfully disturbing, has me praying that this is a horror flick to remember.

12:38 / 07.03.03

but it does seem to be a standard for western horror, whereas I think a lot of far eastern horror films (The Ring, The Eye, etc.) are far more compelling precisely because they are much slower, far more subtle, and don't rely on our well worn scare tactics.

Funny you should say that, as I found The Eye a disappointing film for exactly the same reasons I think the Ring remake is disappointing -

Although technically speaking it was superb, and it did succeed in being quite scary, it's sole instrument for producing fear was excessive application of the same shock tactics as Hollwood horror - take away all the manipulative jump-out-of-your-seat filmmaking techniques and essentially all that's left is a pretty uninspired ghost story with little in the way of genuinely unsettling ideas.

It's not an East / West divide so much as a divide between what constitutes a good horror film.

The films that frighten me are the ones where things are implied rather than blasted into yr. face with flash filmmaking, where questions are left unanswered and disturbing imagery is used sparingly but effectively. The ones that scare you the most after you've left the cinema, when you start thinking about the concepts and implications..

I see the original Ring as a good example of that kind of more deeply scary film, whereas the remake goes straight for the immediate horror kick, but fails to really lodge itself in yr. brain or make you feel genuinely uneasy.

01:41 / 08.03.03

SESSION 9 was scary creepy - and more so for having David Carruso in it. It's about a bunch of guys working to refurbish an abandoned insane asylum. Weird shit starts to happen and a deadly mystery unfolds. Is it viral insanity, demonic possession, or something else? Good flick.

Strange Machine Vs The Virus with Shoes

01:47 / 08.03.03

Straw Dogs is frightening, this film has really put me off moving to the country. Someone tell me that these fears are unfounded and that country folk are more H.E. Bates than homicidal maniacs.

05:19 / 08.03.03

Frailty was good, not so much scary, but disturbing if you had any empathy towards the boy.

06:06 / 08.03.03

Not in Cornwall, Xs. Not in Cornwall...

22:21 / 09.03.03

Saw the film "The Fog" when I was a child...cant remember what it was about (Im guessing Fog) but I recall it being the scarriest thing I had ever seen. I must track it down at the vid shop to see if its as good as I remember it.

23:26 / 09.03.03

John Carpenter - either late 70's or early 80's movie.

A fog brings dead ghosts, who are seeking something that has been stolen.

If you know naught about it, it's really effective.

09:36 / 13.03.03

yeah!

at last john carpenter has been mentioned, for sheer pant shitting terror, i certinally do recommend the fog.
i classic ghost story, i mean that was the first film i remember when young that i had to cover my eyes.

also no-one else here remember 'the thing', i think the most creepiest moment in that whole film is the blood test scene

meant to say the creepiest bit out of the fog is when that wee boy is trapped in his room while red eyed zobie pirates are hacking down his door....ahem! that sounds more like comedy than scary but if u have seen it u will defiently knwo what i mean.

another frightning scene is in the exorsist 3. the scene when the headless statue holding a pair of plyers, walks behind the nurse as she is ddoing her rounds......oh! i'm getting goosebumps, rite more tea then!

cheers

ele

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