Speaking of which, I'm doing a weekly double feature programming guide for Bloody Disgusting for October. All based on remakes
Essential The Official Coli Horror Film Thread: Discussion, Recommendations And Murder.
- Thread starter Dominic Brehetto
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Speaking of which, I'm doing a weekly double feature programming guide for Bloody Disgusting for October. All based on remakes
Vampires vs The Bronx
A group of young friends from the Bronx fight to save their neighborhood from a band of vampires.
A group of young friends from the Bronx fight to save their neighborhood from a band of vampires.
storyteller
Superstar
A vampire flick that takes place in the Bronx and the trailer alludes to a gentrification allegory? This one's made for me to be biased about.
The title is familiar as hell but I definitely never saw it. I have to add this to my list though, it looks good.
Nah. It any good?
It didn’t bomb - just bc you had no appreciation for it
Dracula Untold really under-performed in the US (made $51 million) but did really well internationally ($160 million). This movie's performance and the bad reaction to Tom Cruise's Mummy movie are what led Universal to scrap it's connected movie universe plans.
I personally didn't like Dracula Untold...it used too much janky CGI and turning Dracula into an action hero didn't work for me.
I did think Luke Evans was alright in the role though.
The gentrifying white vampires is the thing that has me most interested in checking this out.
storyteller
Superstar
When I was younger, we had a VHS in my house for this horror movie. I used to throw it on and have to turn it off after 10 or 15 minutes. It must have taken me 4 or 5 sit downs to get through it the first time. Last night, I realized it was on Amazon Prime and thought I'd check if a movie that terrified me at like 10 years old, still held up...Clive Barker's sleeper Lord of Illusions.
Lord of Illusions opens with a raid on a cult. A magician (Nicks) with real powers is confronted by some of his former acolytes (led by Swann) and killed with a seal placed over his face (this ten minute intro was enough to make me stop watching my first couple of tries). From there the movie flashes forward to a detective that is tracking down a series of murders. It looks like the cult's leftover members are killing the group that took out Nicks.
So the main plot follows a detective who has to find out who the killers are and what they're really after while trying to find and save Swann and his crew. It's a mystery with grizzly murders and an added layer in that most of the principle characters are magicians who have mastered trickery. The violence is visceral and we get brought into the "behind the scenes" world of stage magicians while the detective learns about real and fake magic.
So what works? The world feels realized; a lot of characters barely get introduced to us but have enough characterization that they feel fully fleshed out. The murders are pretty ghastly throughout the movie, Clive Barker's torture porn before torture porn blew up. The magic has some really dope stand out moments where powers cause pretty wild visuals too.
What doesn't work? Well, this is 1995 effects and it shows with a majority of the "magic" we witness. That might have looked impressive when I was younger, but a decent chunk of it looks so phony that I can't believe 10 year old me punked out. While a lot of characters have some depth, the actual plot is pretty straight forward. There are a couple of small twists but nothing too shocking. It's kinda just a tale of "detective tracks lead, baddies beat him to a spot, he chases the baddies, rinse and repeat." The elements of magic and horror are what help it rise above that simple formula.
Overall...this is one that I'm kinda surprised survived the torture porn run without getting a remake. It's a great premise that would get a big boost from upgraded effects and modern gritty sentiments. Nicks, Swann and Butterfield are all really memorable characters and the exploration of magicians has worked in other genres. It's a good movie that could be a lot scarier had the effects held up.
Lord of Illusions opens with a raid on a cult. A magician (Nicks) with real powers is confronted by some of his former acolytes (led by Swann) and killed with a seal placed over his face (this ten minute intro was enough to make me stop watching my first couple of tries). From there the movie flashes forward to a detective that is tracking down a series of murders. It looks like the cult's leftover members are killing the group that took out Nicks.
So the main plot follows a detective who has to find out who the killers are and what they're really after while trying to find and save Swann and his crew. It's a mystery with grizzly murders and an added layer in that most of the principle characters are magicians who have mastered trickery. The violence is visceral and we get brought into the "behind the scenes" world of stage magicians while the detective learns about real and fake magic.
So what works? The world feels realized; a lot of characters barely get introduced to us but have enough characterization that they feel fully fleshed out. The murders are pretty ghastly throughout the movie, Clive Barker's torture porn before torture porn blew up. The magic has some really dope stand out moments where powers cause pretty wild visuals too.
What doesn't work? Well, this is 1995 effects and it shows with a majority of the "magic" we witness. That might have looked impressive when I was younger, but a decent chunk of it looks so phony that I can't believe 10 year old me punked out. While a lot of characters have some depth, the actual plot is pretty straight forward. There are a couple of small twists but nothing too shocking. It's kinda just a tale of "detective tracks lead, baddies beat him to a spot, he chases the baddies, rinse and repeat." The elements of magic and horror are what help it rise above that simple formula.
Overall...this is one that I'm kinda surprised survived the torture porn run without getting a remake. It's a great premise that would get a big boost from upgraded effects and modern gritty sentiments. Nicks, Swann and Butterfield are all really memorable characters and the exploration of magicians has worked in other genres. It's a good movie that could be a lot scarier had the effects held up.
Never saw it
Brandeezy
Superstar
This a sequel to "He Never Died" ?
Edit:
Nvm, it's a sequel/remake by the same director
I've been thinking about 90s horror for my Halloween Month watch list and I haven't seen this one yet.
Be really tough to gentrify the BRONX.
Even for vampires.
