Essential The Official Coli Horror Film Thread: Discussion, Recommendations And Murder.

storyteller

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Watched The Innkeepers. It’s just okay at best. :ld:
I keep telling myself that I have to give it another chance. It's the only Ti West movie I genuinely didn't like. But I watched it a long time ago, so I've been meaning to see if it's aged well. I love the rest of his work, even the western he made.
 

MenacingMonk

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I keep telling myself that I have to give it another chance. It's the only Ti West movie I genuinely didn't like. But I watched it a long time ago, so I've been meaning to see if it's aged well. I love the rest of his work, even the western he made.
It’s forgettable imo. I didn’t realize he did X until I imdb’d him.
 

MenacingMonk

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@storyteller , I didnt have a problem at the pacing since I knew it was slow going in. I thought the story was barebones, the characters were weak, the “scares” were less than an average ghost story. Plus the ending felt like it unnecessary.

A haunted hotel movie sounds like a layup for something decent, but not this one. I liked Winchester a lot more than this film.
 

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I have a soft spot for 'The Innkeepers' because while it's not Top 3 Ti West for me, I do like the atmosphere it had going for it. It feels like...a throwback? Thanks to my mother and eventually even my own curiosities down the line, I was raised on those ghost shows that would air on the Sci-Fi and Travel Channel, and that's kinda the vibe this film gives off. Those dimly lit, old town bed and breakfasts that are oddly comforting upon check-in until you read up on its chaotic history and realize you're most likely staying in a haunted inn. Several times throughout the film where I thought Grant and Jason from 'Ghost Hunters' would pop up and ask Sara Paxton's character what the hell was going on.

Claire reminding me of my own mother. One of the biggest ghost hunting enthusiasts. Always rewinding them ghost shows to ask if everyone else caught that orb or "did y'all SEE THE DOOR MOVE RIGHT THERE?" :ohhh:

There's also a scene that just genuinely spooked me. The grand reveal of Madeline's apparition in the bedroom, and the way it would trail Claire in the basement until her fate.

Similarly to 'The House of the Devil', it doesn't have a lot going for its story, but I enjoyed being able to sit back and take in the vibe. The one Ti West flick that I couldn't connect with is 'The Sacrament'. It's heavily inspired by the Jonestown Massacre and there are some cool moments, but overall it didn't do much for me. It doesn't feel like a throwback, there's no ghost or satanic panic element that sucks me in like usual here. The found footage spin made it come across as a fever dream of a FarCry mission, which is fun I guess, but I'm looking to be spooked. I still need to catch whatever western it was that Ti did as I'm sure he'll try venturing out of horror again ala Ari Aster.

Speaking of which...the cast of Ari's upcoming movie is looking promising. Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, and Joaquin Phoenix so far. I wanna see DiCaprio get in on something from Aster before he hangs it up.
 

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I keep telling myself that I have to give it another chance. It's the only Ti West movie I genuinely didn't like. But I watched it a long time ago, so I've been meaning to see if it's aged well. I love the rest of his work, even the western he made.
The best thing 'The Innkeepers' has going for it IMO is that as a ghost story, it's not constantly hitting you over the head with in-your-face jump scares like a James Wan supernatural. It's way more subtle, and subtle to the point where I can easily see it dismissed as a movie where nothing really happens. But its slow burn nature makes the moments (like the spoiler in my previous post) pop out more, especially when the film has you believe you're in this safety bubble leading up to then.
 

MenacingMonk

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I have a soft spot for 'The Innkeepers' because while it's not Top 3 Ti West for me, I do like the atmosphere it had going for it. It feels like...a throwback? Thanks to my mother and eventually even my own curiosities down the line, I was raised on those ghost shows that would air on the Sci-Fi and Travel Channel, and that's kinda the vibe this film gives off. Those dimly lit, old town bed and breakfasts that are oddly comforting upon check-in until you read up on its chaotic history and realize you're most likely staying in a haunted inn. Several times throughout the film where I thought Grant and Jason from 'Ghost Hunters' would pop up and ask Sara Paxton's character what the hell was going on.

Claire reminding me of my own mother. One of the biggest ghost hunting enthusiasts. Always rewinding them ghost shows to ask if everyone else caught that orb or "did y'all SEE THE DOOR MOVE RIGHT THERE?" :ohhh:

There's also a scene that just genuinely spooked me. The grand reveal of Madeline's apparition in the bedroom, and the way it would trail Claire in the basement until her fate.

Similarly to 'The House of the Devil', it doesn't have a lot going for its story, but I enjoyed being able to sit back and take in the vibe. The one Ti West flick that I couldn't connect with is 'The Sacrament'. It's heavily inspired by the Jonestown Massacre and there are some cool moments, but overall it didn't do much for me. It doesn't feel like a throwback, there's no ghost or satanic panic element that sucks me in like usual here. The found footage spin made it come across as a fever dream of a FarCry mission, which is fun I guess, but I'm looking to be spooked. I still need to catch whatever western it was that Ti did as I'm sure he'll try venturing out of horror again ala Ari Aster.

Speaking of which...the cast of Ari's upcoming movie is looking promising. Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, and Joaquin Phoenix so far. I wanna see DiCaprio get in on something from Aster before he hangs it up.
Yeah, Sacrament was another film I didn’t know he did. I picked up the dvd when I saw it at Dollar Tree. I ended up donating it since I thought it didn’t have replay value. And cult movies interest me.
 

storyteller

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The best thing 'The Innkeepers' has going for it IMO is that as a ghost story, it's not constantly hitting you over the head with in-your-face jump scares like a James Wan supernatural. It's way more subtle, and subtle to the point where I can easily see it dismissed as a movie where nothing really happens. But its slow burn nature makes the moments (like the spoiler in my previous post) pop out more, especially when the film has you believe you're in this safety bubble leading up to then.
I do recall finding the characters likable or, at a minimum, they made the interactions interesting. But I think the conversations overtook the atmosphere and made it too light for me. I remember the last 10-15 minutes being like a "I wish there were more of this."

I was also fresh off watching House of the Devil (my favorite) and was not acquainted with how drastically he changes his style from one movie to the next. So, the timing was bad for me to appreciate the subtleties. I know I liked The Sacrament more on a second watch.
 

Duke Dixon

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I watched Exorcist Believer because i watched 1-3 about a month ago:martin:

Spoilers below

They fukked up. The story was probably fine. The editing and direction was probably off.

I enjoyed the father and his relationship with his daughter. I also liked how they showed his daughter acting like a kid. They did that in the original Exorcist. The difference is in this movie they didn't show how the father felt like he was losing his little girl. Once she came back from being missing she basically went to 100 right away.

The two girls being missing was a good idea but I already knew they were going to be found. You already knew that before you saw the movie. This movie had a huge marketing budget and was pretty much unavoidable. They spent so much time with this plot point trying build tension but it ends up empty. Also the dad should have beat that bums ass for saying those things about his little girl.

They should have spent more time on the other girl's family. Beyond the one church scene They don't get much screen time and their actions at the end of the movie make you go:comeon:

The og characters return would be the laziest legacy character in one of these movies if that Netflix Texas Chainsaw didn't exist.

I also caught some of Hellraiser Bloodseeker on TV. It would probably be a lot better if it wasn't a Hellraiser movie. Funny thing is the cinematography and the twist at the end reminded me of Saw 4-7. During the big reveal and the flashbacks I heard Hello Zepp in my head and started laughing:mjlol:

I also watched Blade 1 & 2. The first movie is still great. The second one has some corny parts and bad cgi but Wesley, Wesley sonning Ron Pearlman, and the main villian was cool.
 

abominable1

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Yeah, Sacrament was another film I didn’t know he did. I picked up the dvd when I saw it at Dollar Tree. I ended up donating it since I thought it didn’t have replay value. And cult movies interest me.
Never knew Dollar Tree sold DVDs like that. Guess I know what I’m doing soon, lol. I’ve noticed though that the cult movies that tend to stick with me the most aren’t horror, but more-so psychological dramas. Something like a ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’.

What’s your favorite Ti West film btw?

I do recall finding the characters likable or, at a minimum, they made the interactions interesting. But I think the conversations overtook the atmosphere and made it too light for me. I remember the last 10-15 minutes being like a "I wish there were more of this."

I was also fresh off watching House of the Devil (my favorite) and was not acquainted with how drastically he changes his style from one movie to the next. So, the timing was bad for me to appreciate the subtleties. I know I liked The Sacrament more on a second watch.
Agreed there. It’s mumblecore horror. I found Claire to be grating at times, but I liked how real her relationship with the co-worker was. Feel like the times where movies portray a genuine, platonic relationships like that are rare these days. Usually it’s the guy or girl that is harboring some repressed romantic feelings for the other and either it’s dramatized as a conflict throughout the film or they end up together by the end. Rinse and repeat.
 

MenacingMonk

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Never knew Dollar Tree sold DVDs like that. Guess I know what I’m doing soon, lol. I’ve noticed though that the cult movies that tend to stick with me the most aren’t horror, but more-so psychological dramas. Something like a ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’.

What’s your favorite Ti West film btw?


Agreed there. It’s mumblecore horror. I found Claire to be grating at times, but I liked how real her relationship with the co-worker was. Feel like the times where movies portray a genuine, platonic relationships like that are rare these days. Usually it’s the guy or girl that is harboring some repressed romantic feelings for the other and either it’s dramatized as a conflict throughout the film or they end up together by the end. Rinse and repeat.
Don’t waste your time. Dollar Tree been out of the movie game since early last year. There’s only scraps left, BUT there’s a chance you might something that interests you. They were always getting cheap horror films. :pachaha:


DT kept me fed with so many movies over the years. I kinda miss the hunts. :mjcry:
 
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