Woo,new vid!

awesome review, I liked it abit more than you did, though!

awesome review, I liked it abit more than you did, though!

BRILIANT!!! :D spoony is awesomest guy on internetz!!!

You’ve made me very interested in this movie. Here in Holland I haven’t seen any commercials for it yet though. Hope it comes to this country.

Good call on Kairo btw. One of my favorite movies.

Some tips for you btw:
-Noroi: Also about paranormal activity and a guy investigating a specific case. Also with docustyle filming.
-The Day The Earth Caught Fire: British ‘End of the world’ movie but more in the style that you described. It focusses on a reporter trying to find out what exactly is happening. Only minimal special efffects

You’ve made me very interested in this movie. Here in Holland I haven’t seen any commercials for it yet though. Hope it comes to this country.

Good call on Kairo btw. One of my favorite movies.

Some tips for you btw:
-Noroi: Also about paranormal activity and a guy investigating a specific case. Also with docustyle filming.
-The Day The Earth Caught Fire: British ‘End of the world’ movie but more in the style that you described. It focusses on a reporter trying to find out what exactly is happening. Only minimal special efffects

SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONY HAS RETURNED!!

Nice review Spoony. Totally agree with you when you talked about the scary movies and how them not being scary and such. Hope you get better as well.

Nice review Spoony. Totally agree with you when you talked about the scary movies and how them not being scary and such. Hope you get better as well.

Spoony, you genuinely read my mind. I’ve been saying the exact same thing about horror movies for years. Now I MUST go see Paranormal Activity simply because you gave it such a good endorsement.

That movie’s marketing department should hire you.

You are all true, Spoony. And it is all really true as I see it, speaking as a huge fan of the works of H. P. Lovecraft.

Fear is something that causes you to try and avoid that ‘thing’ that might actually be really there. And even supernatural stuff can become that kind of fearsome because no one can disprove something totally. I just don’t think there is any way of proving that something isn’t possible at all. And nope, explaining things with natural reasoning does not automaticly disprove the possibility of things like the elder gods, as Lovecraft usually wrote about it.

And this is in my opinion just what ‘Paranormal Activities’ is technically about. Things that might or might not be caused soley by natural influences.

Keeping the audience in ‘fever’, unknowing but hinted to all the time just barely and just enough to trigger the urge to go for that path.

Yes, I also got curious about that movie by NOW.

Thanks, Spoony. :)

You are all true, Spoony. And it is all really true as I see it, speaking as a huge fan of the works of H. P. Lovecraft.

Fear is something that causes you to try and avoid that ‘thing’ that might actually be really there. And even supernatural stuff can become that kind of fearsome because no one can disprove something totally. I just don’t think there is any way of proving that something isn’t possible at all. And nope, explaining things with natural reasoning does not automaticly disprove the possibility of things like the elder gods, as Lovecraft usually wrote about it.

And this is in my opinion just what ‘Paranormal Activities’ is technically about. Things that might or might not be caused soley by natural influences.

Keeping the audience in ‘fever’, unknowing but hinted to all the time just barely and just enough to trigger the urge to go for that path.

Yes, I also got curious about that movie by NOW.

Thanks, Spoony. :)

I always use you as the final say, or if I don’t know the movie, without you, I probably would never see it. =P
Thanks again, Spoony.

well it was a good review spoony but being a horror fan ranging from Nosferatu to Ringu. i believe the horror genre is much better done in asia now a days unlike the 30s-50s run of America and Europe. I would like to know what would you call The Devil’s Rejects because i enjoy this film alot but i also view it as horror because i was honestly scared by those crazy redneck inbreds. I also agree with Jaws and exorcist being true horror flicks, but id like to add clockwork orange to that list as well

well it was a good review spoony but being a horror fan ranging from Nosferatu to Ringu. i believe the horror genre is much better done in asia now a days unlike the 30s-50s run of America and Europe. I would like to know what would you call The Devil’s Rejects because i enjoy this film alot but i also view it as horror because i was honestly scared by those crazy redneck inbreds. I also agree with Jaws and exorcist being true horror flicks, but id like to add clockwork orange to that list as well

DRAGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Yeah, the movies in which the environment and mise en place does most of the work are the true scary movies. I thought a movie like Alien or Jaws, where you know something is there but you don’t actually see it, are a lot scarier than movies that try to disgust you. Those also tend to be the only ones that I actually like, I can’t stand the revulsion movies.

Yeah, the movies in which the environment and mise en place does most of the work are the true scary movies. I thought a movie like Alien or Jaws, where you know something is there but you don’t actually see it, are a lot scarier than movies that try to disgust you. Those also tend to be the only ones that I actually like, I can’t stand the revulsion movies.

You look a lot better Spoony, I’ve been wanting to watch this movie now, thanks for your feedback on it.

You are right about separating the slasher movies (gore) from the true horror movies.

To be, what makes a horror movie good is not the jump scare moments but the suspense.

My favorite horror movie is the Italian “Deep Red”. Have you watched it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Red

You are right about separating the slasher movies (gore) from the true horror movies.

To be, what makes a horror movie good is not the jump scare moments but the suspense.

My favorite horror movie is the Italian “Deep Red”. Have you watched it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Red

I mean “To me”…

awesome review spoony. i saw it as well and completely agree with you that less is more.

awesome review spoony. i saw it as well and completely agree with you that less is more.

That’s one thing I never understand, why is it that scary movies, especially slasher flicks, always have things be safe during the day? Why would a spirit care if it’s night?

Lol@ghosthunters and all similar shows. I can’t believe Spoony watched those :D

Lol@ghosthunters and all similar shows. I can’t believe Spoony watched those :D

Whaha, yes. The Pumpkinhead series is pretty bad. Even the first one is meh… Good review, Spoony. I enjoyed it a lot. Thx

The reason why I did not like Blair Witch Project was not because “nothing happened or nothing was seen”. It’s cool that you don’t see anything. I didn’t like it because it wasn’t scary in the least. The illusion just wasn’t there. I didn’t feel like I was watching real footage, I felt like I was watching a movie that was trying too hard to be cleaver. I mean, it wasn’t awful, but it certainly wasn’t good.

The reason why I did not like Blair Witch Project was not because “nothing happened or nothing was seen”. It’s cool that you don’t see anything. I didn’t like it because it wasn’t scary in the least. The illusion just wasn’t there. I didn’t feel like I was watching real footage, I felt like I was watching a movie that was trying too hard to be cleaver. I mean, it wasn’t awful, but it certainly wasn’t good.

Well technically, Spoony, horror is something that provokes fear and/or repugnation, so movies that DO make you feel revolted are legit, because you’re literally fearful of the next disgusting thing you’re going to witness – it actually is the same thing, it’s just pulled off in a different manner.

However, I agree, I’m more scared by fear of the unknown than fear of revoltion (I think the latter applies to the majority of the global populace – maybe that’s why a lot people got tired of Lost whereas I personally did not).
All in all, great review, I could listen to you for hours on end.

Ever seen Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142074/) I saw it on cable one night when I was about 16, I thought it was pretty scary and good enough, but I haven’t been able to get a copy to watch it again and make sure it wasn’t my teenage brain making it seem better than it was.

It uses the same “home video” style.

Ever seen Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142074/) I saw it on cable one night when I was about 16, I thought it was pretty scary and good enough, but I haven’t been able to get a copy to watch it again and make sure it wasn’t my teenage brain making it seem better than it was.

It uses the same “home video” style.

Great Review Spoony,

The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(original) were two movies that disturbed me quite well when first watching them. The Cinema is no doubt the best place to watch a scary movie. The Screen and Sound system does a great job at winding the audience up into one big scare that chain-reacts throughout the room.

Any scary movie that makes my hair stand on end is a good one, shame a very few do that nowadays.

I agree with you Spoony on the slasher movies, they are not horror movies. I openly root for Freddy because of his jokes and how he kids around (especially in the later movies).
I recently saw a Doctor Who episode called “The Empty Child” and THAT scared the bonkers out of me!! And it was just a kid in a gas mask! Being scared like that (even with a tv show nonetheless) hasn’t happened to me in years. I’ll check this movie out next weekend for sure.

I agree with you Spoony on the slasher movies, they are not horror movies. I openly root for Freddy because of his jokes and how he kids around (especially in the later movies).
I recently saw a Doctor Who episode called “The Empty Child” and THAT scared the bonkers out of me!! And it was just a kid in a gas mask! Being scared like that (even with a tv show nonetheless) hasn’t happened to me in years. I’ll check this movie out next weekend for sure.

Wow, this is one of the few times that I totally agree with you, 100%. Fear is, to me, when you fear the unknown, like what Lovecraft did when he wrote. When you are generally invested in characters that you can empathize with, and you’re scared of what’s going to happen to them, that’s horror.

In my mind, Alfred Hitchcock was a guy who really knew how to do the horror / suspense thing. He didn’t need to do gore in order to scare the crap out of you back in the good old days. Imagine if someone had the bright idea to ‘re-imagine’ the film The Birds now days, all you would have is peoples eyes being pecked out and blood every where. Any who great to see you back Mr. Spoony

I stated before on one of Phelous reviews, I think it was The Meat Train, that the horror genre this days it’s all about the body count. I’m not condoning it and don’t think it’s scary but that’s what it usually is. You see a group of people and you start counting them to see how many gory death scenes you’ll see and that’s because you hate the shit out of them. I don’t know if the point of the director is to show what happens if you are a douchebag like them, I think he just wants to show as many gory death scenes as possible. The most recent movie I saw were I really cared for the characters and didn’t want them to see die was the first Child’s Play and that movie I re-saw for the 3rd time because I didn’t remember it quite well and for me the Horror genre of the 2000s is dead. My all time favourite horror movie that really don’t prey on the shock element would be Alien, Poltergeist, Silence of the Lambs, Child’s Play, Event Horizon, Psycho, The Thing, Prince of Darkness, In The Mouth of Madness, Dawn of the Dead, From Dusk Till Dawn and of course The Blair Witch project. As you said The Blair Witch project really was a scary movie the first and the second time you saw it and I think one of the most interesting things about it I saw it 5 years ago on TV and I caught it at 3/4 as it was running and it still was effective, I still got most of the movie and got pretty freaked out about it. About the ending you would of wished to happen with the demonic apparitions I recommend you Altered States with William Hurt. That movie was pretty scary and at the end things really got out of control. Oh and I can’t believe Close Encounters of the Third Kind was not really that appreciated because it’s one of my favorite movies of Spielberg when he really was trying different things and not doin big block busters with big name actors. I hate disaster movies because it has a basic plot were they just present some people die and the family that the movie follows all the time will eventually survive or be saved by alien like in Knowing ( which was shit).

In my mind, Alfred Hitchcock was a guy who really knew how to do the horror / suspense thing. He didn’t need to do gore in order to scare the crap out of you back in the good old days. Imagine if someone had the bright idea to ‘re-imagine’ the film The Birds now days, all you would have is peoples eyes being pecked out and blood every where. Any who great to see you back Mr. Spoony

Oh it’s on now mother fucker! NOBODY rips on Romero! Nah i’m just screwing around, you are right about his newer movies not being scary but for me it’s just the fact that it’s zombies! I love them because it makes me think ”what would I do in a situation like that?” How would one survive, who would you tag along with? Stuff like that draws me to thoes movies. With Paranormal Activity, I am not as interested in it as I was when I first saw the ads for it, so I probably will wait for it to come out on DVD.

Oh it’s on now mother fucker! NOBODY rips on Romero! Nah i’m just screwing around, you are right about his newer movies not being scary but for me it’s just the fact that it’s zombies! I love them because it makes me think ”what would I do in a situation like that?” How would one survive, who would you tag along with? Stuff like that draws me to thoes movies. With Paranormal Activity, I am not as interested in it as I was when I first saw the ads for it, so I probably will wait for it to come out on DVD.

Damn Spoony, 45 minutes? Are you practicing for your TV show? Thats enough for 3 commercial breaks. Limit these reviews to 30 minutes please or at least ramble less.

Good to see you again! I hope your feeling better now.
This may sound weird but I have some experience regarding Paranormal activity. I had an encounter a few days ago. If you want to know something about that contact me. Ghost Hunters is just some random guys running around, they know absolutly NOTHING about ghosts or anything paranormal. They are just paranoid.

Good to see you again! I hope your feeling better now.
This may sound weird but I have some experience regarding Paranormal activity. I had an encounter a few days ago. If you want to know something about that contact me. Ghost Hunters is just some random guys running around, they know absolutly NOTHING about ghosts or anything paranormal. They are just paranoid.

This is actually the first I’ve heard of this movie! It sounds pretty cool.

I agree entirely with pretty much everything you said, Spoony. I’ve been saying it for years now. Except for that bit about Blair Witch being good. I’ve NEVER said that.

Spoony, i love it when you talk about this shit. You just seem to get it much more than any other critic out there. I was a bit skeptical about seeing Paranormal Activity, but I think you’ve persuaded me.

Spoony, i love it when you talk about this shit. You just seem to get it much more than any other critic out there. I was a bit skeptical about seeing Paranormal Activity, but I think you’ve persuaded me.

have you ever seen the movie, In the mouth of madness?

it stars Sam Neil and I thought it was decently scary

Great review Spoony!

I really liked your explanation on why you think most horror movies aren’t scary, very interesting to hear! And i’m going to check out Paranormal Activity when it hits the cinemas here in Sweden, because you made it sound like a really scary movie to watch, which is rare these days :).

Great review Spoony!

I really liked your explanation on why you think most horror movies aren’t scary, very interesting to hear! And i’m going to check out Paranormal Activity when it hits the cinemas here in Sweden, because you made it sound like a really scary movie to watch, which is rare these days :).

Good evening Spoony (and fellow Spooners).

I know I’m in the minority on this, but I actually like Ghost Hunters. If they found something all the time, or even most of it, people would say, “Don’t you find it suspicious that they just happen to find a ghost so many times?” So as a result, if they don’t find anything definitive most of the time, it augments the power of what they DO find.

As for your wonderful essay on horror fiction, I’d say it’s the difference between “horror-centered” fiction and “horror-dressed” fiction. Horror-centered fiction aims to scare you. Horror-dressed fiction has unpleasant, “horror” elements…vampires, demons, slashers, etc…on the surface (hence the “dressing”), but it’s ultimately not trying to scare you.

Exorcist = horror-centered fiction
Twilight = horror-dressed fiction

Yeah. Twilight. I went there.

Spoony, you just nailed it. The distinct between fear and horror, what frightens and what disgusts. I love you for saying that.

Spoony, you just nailed it. The distinct between fear and horror, what frightens and what disgusts. I love you for saying that.

good review, sounds like a fun movie to go see. But, you kinda lost me when it sounded like you bashed on ghost hunters, clearly you haven’t watched it in a long time. Its one of the few TV shows about paranormal research that is both watchable and respectable.

Great review Spoony. Glad you’re sounding better. Keep up the good work, always awesome to see a new review. I check just about everyday to see if there is some new material. Did you see Zombieland yet?

Great review Spoony. Glad you’re sounding better. Keep up the good work, always awesome to see a new review. I check just about everyday to see if there is some new material. Did you see Zombieland yet?

I agree with your viewpoints on horror, And i think i might actually go see this one, mainly because i enjoyed Cloverfield in the cinema. When i saw it on dvd, it kinda sucked, but it was a pretty cool experience in the cinema, because of peoples reactions.

Btw, i think The Eye got a good example of dreadful scenes. When i first saw it, i really sensed a feeling of terror in the end, where (spoiler) theres this huge explosion or something, where the main character is parked and watches from a distance. We don´t really see exactly what happened, but you see a lot of ghostly characters walking past the protagonist, the ghosts of the victims in the accident.

That i found really effectful, and it gave me a feeling that not many movies has been able to create

I can’t believe he didn’t mention the original Ring.

Also A tale of two Sisters is one of the best horror movies of all time.

I can’t believe he didn’t mention the original Ring.

Also A tale of two Sisters is one of the best horror movies of all time.

Sounds like a good movie, and thanks to my crappy memory modules I won’t remember any spoilers =P

As for alienating your viewers, you’ve completely ripped on one of my all time favorite tv series and I’m still here. And I still to this day cannot stand those little kid dolls that people stand in the corner. I force my old man to take his into his room when we come over.Speaking of which I found another series like Firefly called “Starhunter 2300″ it’s on netflix, have you heard of it?

Excellent review/rant. During your discussion of what does and doesn’t elicit fear in movies, I thought it would have been interesting to bring video horror games into the mix as well. I think horror games are much more effective at instilling fear than horror movies, but I often find myself comparing the two when I’m playing a game or watching a movie of that type. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter in a future vlog.

Excellent review/rant. During your discussion of what does and doesn’t elicit fear in movies, I thought it would have been interesting to bring video horror games into the mix as well. I think horror games are much more effective at instilling fear than horror movies, but I often find myself comparing the two when I’m playing a game or watching a movie of that type. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter in a future vlog.

I absolutely, totally, 100% agree on the differences between the so called horror movies and truly scary movies. I was actually about to write a long counter-argument to your review of Drag Me To Hell, which you praised as a horror movie. It was a good movie, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t really scary. It was an “icky” movie and not what I consider great horror.

You said that Sam Raimi understands horror films like no other director. Thats why I was a bit upset (if that is the right word) at your review. It felt like you were ignoring the actual human emotions of fear and horror, which seem to be almost extinct in the modern world, to the extent that we knowingly seek entertainment that invokes those old emotions. But after watching this review I can see that you do “get it”.

I also agree that most horror pictures are just pure crap. Maybe it’s because truly scary stuff is hard to make? Or maybe it’s not what the masses want, I don’t know. But from the top of my head I can only remember two movies from this decade that scared me: The Ring and The Others (in a way). There might be others, but nothing else comes to mind. I think that alone tells something.

I knew it was a demon from the start. This shit happens IRL all the time, only answer is a priest.

I knew it was a demon from the start. This shit happens IRL all the time, only answer is a priest.

I think I’d hate this movie because I absolutely hate “The Blaire Witch Project”.
I agree that horror movies have really sucked as of late, except for “Drag Me To Hell” which is awesome. I really don’t believe in ghosts at all so it probably wouldn’t keep me from making fun of it.

Wtf man, this is you sick? Start shooting some vids instead of whining in front of a camera.

Wtf man, this is you sick? Start shooting some vids instead of whining in front of a camera.

im happy you talked about the Remake of dawn of the dead and not the old one the old one was good and funny becuase the zombies where blue

You look a lot better than in your last video, I’m glad you’re feeling good enough to film a review, and I’m looking forward to watching it. Hope you are healthy again soon!

You look a lot better than in your last video, I’m glad you’re feeling good enough to film a review, and I’m looking forward to watching it. Hope you are healthy again soon!

The first time I watched Blair Witch, I was really confused by the ending. The guy was just standing in the corner and suddenly the camera gets knocked to the ground.

It was later, when I was trying to get to sleep, that I remembered something from earlier in the movie and I understood what the scene meant. I pressed my back against the wall and just watched the room, unable to sleep, for maybe ten minutes.

This was not a review, this was a darn good lecture. You nailed it for me and I’m even more pleased that you mentioned “Kairo” aka “Pulse” as a good example for a well done horror-movie. It’s one of my faves but I had bad experiences recommending it for all the reasons you brought up. Most people wanting a horror-movie are in fact just looking for cozy clichés. That’s okay, I myself like a lot of the common stuff too and sometimes they still manage to give you some of this familiar cozyness mixed with a few well done surprises. But most of the time it’s just this familiarity people enjoy like visiting a seedy pub. You love the atmosphere but no fear is involved. That’s not horror. Excitement is rare. “The Blair Witch Project” excited me, nothing better than some well created fear and suspense. Strangely I couldn’t get much out of it at the theatre but watching it years later at home alone at night it totally worked. Maybe a new term would be more adequate for many flicks we call horror-movies? And also there still is a huge difference between atmosphere just squeezed out of a can and something genuinely atmospheric. It’s like junk food and delicacies in the end. It’s possible to love both but you should still know what’s superior and to prefer when there is a choice. So crap can also be pretty okay as long as it has some fresh ideas to offer. ENTERTAINMENT! I hope this made any sense. Sorry for English. ;)

This was not a review, this was a darn good lecture. You nailed it for me and I’m even more pleased that you mentioned “Kairo” aka “Pulse” as a good example for a well done horror-movie. It’s one of my faves but I had bad experiences recommending it for all the reasons you brought up. Most people wanting a horror-movie are in fact just looking for cozy clichés. That’s okay, I myself like a lot of the common stuff too and sometimes they still manage to give you some of this familiar cozyness mixed with a few well done surprises. But most of the time it’s just this familiarity people enjoy like visiting a seedy pub. You love the atmosphere but no fear is involved. That’s not horror. Excitement is rare. “The Blair Witch Project” excited me, nothing better than some well created fear and suspense. Strangely I couldn’t get much out of it at the theatre but watching it years later at home alone at night it totally worked. Maybe a new term would be more adequate for many flicks we call horror-movies? And also there still is a huge difference between atmosphere just squeezed out of a can and something genuinely atmospheric. It’s like junk food and delicacies in the end. It’s possible to love both but you should still know what’s superior and to prefer when there is a choice. So crap can also be pretty okay as long as it has some fresh ideas to offer. ENTERTAINMENT! I hope this made any sense. Sorry for English. ;)

I thought scary films and horror films were the same thing.

Have you ever seen any other Romero films? Like Martin or The Crazies? I’d love to see if those are any good.

Fantastic ran/review. I totally agree that 99% of “horror” movies are completely missing the mark. Does this film have a lot of “boo” scares though? It bugs me when a movie can’t figure out any way to build tension other than with a bunch of sudden loud noises.

Fantastic ran/review. I totally agree that 99% of “horror” movies are completely missing the mark. Does this film have a lot of “boo” scares though? It bugs me when a movie can’t figure out any way to build tension other than with a bunch of sudden loud noises.

Also, I think this may be a bit more effective in the comfort of your own home than you claim because it takes place in a comfortable little home. You’ll watch in and in the dead of night, trying to get to sleep, you’ll start sweating and jumping at every little bump and creak you hear.

And damn if you didn’t just hit the head of the proverbial nail. The environment and audience participation are two keys factors that have been horribly cheapened with years. All we get now is that stupid overly used jump music with a cheap scare. I spent last night watching three horror movies, all different sorts, with my family of overly jumpy aunts and drunken uncles. Even movies as bad as the Friday the 13 Michael Bay remake ( And believe me, it is just as bad as it sounds, if not worst) became interesting with their audience participation.

I wish we would stop re-making Asian horror flicks and just fucking import them as is. Great video. Hope you feel better, and we all await patiently for the new videos.

And damn if you didn’t just hit the head of the proverbial nail. The environment and audience participation are two keys factors that have been horribly cheapened with years. All we get now is that stupid overly used jump music with a cheap scare. I spent last night watching three horror movies, all different sorts, with my family of overly jumpy aunts and drunken uncles. Even movies as bad as the Friday the 13 Michael Bay remake ( And believe me, it is just as bad as it sounds, if not worst) became interesting with their audience participation.

I wish we would stop re-making Asian horror flicks and just fucking import them as is. Great video. Hope you feel better, and we all await patiently for the new videos.

The problem with me when it comes to movies like the Blair Witch Project is if I’m watching something, and it is trying to create an intensity but in effect it accomplishes nothing, that doesn’t scare me, it aggravates me.

The only movie I ever got REALLY scared by was Jacob’s Ladder. It’s that intensity created by what is gradually seen more and more but is still unknown and fucked up but in the end makes sense that not only grabs me, it keeps me satisfied. The way it ended is the ONLY good example of a movie that can actually effectively end that way (best way I can say that without spoiling the ending).

Since I don’t believe in ghosts anyway, nothing of that sort will scare me. But then again, any of the conventional horror movies, and like you said, the most recent ones, have extraordinarily bad characters in which you actually cheer for Jason/Freddy/Michael to kill them. But I don’t watch those movies to be scared. They are pretty much dark comedies for me. The latest Friday the 13th had a few likable characters and I really did like that movie.

You do make a good point, that generally Horror movies aren’t scary,though I may not completely agree with you on what is, however.

I think it would be an excellent idea if you make videos where you just recommend movies. I’m watching this video just waiting for a stray recommendation; I’m going to watch Kairo, but I want more ideas.

I would love watching a video where you give a out a ton of horror movies you liked, and maybe videos from other genres.

I think it would be an excellent idea if you make videos where you just recommend movies. I’m watching this video just waiting for a stray recommendation; I’m going to watch Kairo, but I want more ideas.

I would love watching a video where you give a out a ton of horror movies you liked, and maybe videos from other genres.

You see, I kinda liked Land.
Now Diary on the other hand… that movie destroyed my faith in the entire genre.

You have an amazing way of taking the words right out of my mouth! if you were a woman id date you for a few years then end it violently

You have an amazing way of taking the words right out of my mouth! if you were a woman id date you for a few years then end it violently

Glad to see you appear to be feeling better, Spoony.

And you’ve nailed my opinions of horror movies. And as much as I love the guy, I agree, George Romero’s only good movies were the first three Dead films.

As for this movie… I might see it. I wasn’t very convinced by the trailer, but if you liked it, I might give it a shot.

I totally sign what you just said about the horror genre and fear in general. This reminds me of a famous Lovecraft quote.

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”

Hah, keep up the good work.

I totally sign what you just said about the horror genre and fear in general. This reminds me of a famous Lovecraft quote.

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”

Hah, keep up the good work.

Best bit of this review:

“I felt the guy was a lot like me, you know, like he said ‘let’s set a camera up in the bedroom, see if we can catch any action on the camera’” – I can just imagine the sort of context where you’d be using that phrase, am i right Spoony?

I hadn’t actually heard of this film bfore, but when you mentioned the trailer not showing any shots of he film, just the audience reacting, i realized i had seen the trailer for it, i just had no idea what it was about. So thanks for the review, i’ll be sure to ceck this one out.

I sincerely hope this movie gets shown locally where I am. I have never heard of it. and the official website says the only place its showing in Canada is some theater in Toronto. and i live in Nova Scotia. This movie sounds really interesting. and I hope I get to see it in a Theater setting.

Great after thoughts on the movie Spoony!

I completely agree about the whole fear in movie subject, and its kind of the same thing in alot of games also. Like example the Silent Hill serie offers alot of good psychological-terror, since compared to Resident Evil which was all shock effects, did Silent Hill play more on the atmosphere, music and not knowing what was going on. The unknowing.

Many times I try to see if I can find movies that can offer that, but its so hard because they simply ain’t popular among people, I guess if you made a movie which people actually were afraid of and feared it would only be a small % who would like and watch it, which is sad but thats how things are I guess.

Still looking for a real scary movie ;)

I’m looking forward to “The Fourth Kind”, even though I hate Milla Jovavovovovovovich. I think alien abduction stuff makes for some great, creepy storytelling– anyone who freaked out from seeing that alien peeking in on Walken in “Communion” knows what I’m talking about (“Dis gray, is un-fuckin’ believable!”). The “owl” image they’ve been using in the ad campaign suggests that the film makers know how to use the spooky imagery effectively.

But it probably will suck.

Nice review and take on the horror and suspense genres. Most horror today is torture movies that try and repulse the viewers. The worst I just saw that took it to another level is an arthouse-horror film by Lars Von Tier called Antichrist. It was so gruesome and fucked up to the point I was almost offended by what I was seeing. Anyway nice review, and look forward to what you have coming up.

Okay you convinced me to give it a try. It’s Thanksgiving here tomorrow, I’ll go run out after dinner to see it. I wasn’t going to, but now I will. I like your tastes in films. I did see Zombieland and that was awesome, but for the very reason why you panned most “horror films”. It was an over the top parody of them, and it worked amazingly well. But I will give this a shot now, it sounds interesting. In the very least, it sounds fresh. I have heard the Blair Witch comparisons, and I kind of liked that movie for being unique.

oh god, the freaking Ghost Hunters

having absolutely no fear of the paranormal, the fact that they get away with what they get away with is infuriating

not to mention the Discovery Channel’s endless paranormal programs

this is the 21st century, right

Just a suggestion on the allergy front, Spoony:
I suffer from seasonal allergies pretty much year-round, and what gets me through the day isn’t claritin or other non-drowsy allergy medication, it’s cold medication, which is made to address the symptoms that cause me the most problems, and then at night I blast the allergies directly with sweet sweet Benadryl.

While I agree with your position regarding fear, I completely disagree with your citation of the Blair Witch Project as being an effective example. It was -terrible- and didn’t work on any level. It was boring, the characters were unlikable and deserving horrible death, and it just wasn’t scary. I have no idea how you could possibly think that celluloid filth was anything other than a cinematic abortion. I suppose that means Paranormal Activity is not for me.

Your comment about not liking Dawn of the Dead because of the special effects (in particular the blood) is interesting as Tom Savini was very much of the same opinion. He begged Romero to be able to redo them, but Romero felt that the bright neon pink that showed up on the screen (for some reason the color filmed differently than what it was on set) fit with the more comic-booky feel of the movie.

With regards for disaster movies which do the subject well, I would suggest a 1984 movie called ‘Threads’. It depicts the buildup and aftermath of a full-scale atomic war in a town in the UK. It centers around two families, with a subplot involving the local government and the escalation to nuclear Armageddon happening in the background. The buildup is quite slow, with the families going about their daily activities which slowly become more interrupted as the threat of a nuclear exchange begins to rise. The actual atomic war only takes about fifteen minutes of film, but is suitably horrific, but the movie doesn’t end there. Instead, it cuts to thirteen years later and reveals the shattered remnants of civilization. What remains of the government is a thuggish collection of bullies who rule by force yet still make Brownshirts look like wizards of political elegance, education consists of a handful of severely damaged educational programs, life is incredibly cheap (the mother from the first part of the movie drops dead traveling from the state-mandated work and no one — not even her daughter — spares a backwards glance). Although some technology has been re-established (equivalent to about the late 19th century), the fact that the newer generation can’t even speak (due to the appalling level of education and harsh work requirements) means that once the older people die, even this small measure of civilization will simply slowly disintegrate. The final shot of the movie is extremely horrifying. Definitely look it up.

Another movie that actually draws on fear, in my opinion, is The Legend of Hell House. That film is sheer atmosphere, about a group of people including a scientist and a medium going into a haunted house and trying to prove if it’s haunted or not. It’s an old film from the 70s, but it is scary. Every room feels like it could contain unseen threats and poltergeists, and much of the time nothing happens. But even when the threat isn’t realised, you KNOW it’s there, and that’s what’s scary. You don’t even know what it is, but it exists.

Another movie that actually draws on fear, in my opinion, is The Legend of Hell House. That film is sheer atmosphere, about a group of people including a scientist and a medium going into a haunted house and trying to prove if it’s haunted or not. It’s an old film from the 70s, but it is scary. Every room feels like it could contain unseen threats and poltergeists, and much of the time nothing happens. But even when the threat isn’t realised, you KNOW it’s there, and that’s what’s scary. You don’t even know what it is, but it exists.

I’m gonna get flanked for this, but oh well.

Movies like the Blair Witch Project have always felt cheap to me. It always feels like they were too damn cheap to purchase a tripod or some editing software. I’m not saying a movie needs a two-hundred million dollar budget, but I just want a movie to feel “complete”.

Now The Blair Witch Project scared the living daylights out of me, and the story entertained me, I just couldn’t watch this movie. Glad I got to hear about it though, because I can’t watch it. Mainly because it just hits too close to home for me having been through the whole demon is in my home thing, but I will probably be reading a complete plot summary soon. Also, great job Mr. Spoony as you yourself never fail to entertain.

Wow the first 14 or so minutes of this review really spoke to me. I love “horror” films but i find that most of them are watchable once and then they just go stale. a lot of more recent films lack a real atmosphere and seem rushed at points mainly due to music, and by that i dont mean a loud bang on some percussion instrument during a musical number.
films like halloween and the exorcist create an atmosphere that forces you to feel what the characters are feeling and insight real fear. Blair witch is one of my all time favorite movies because its truly believable and watching it before i was old enough i did for a while. I really wanna see this movie now because I’m sick of cheap thrills and noise gags I really want to be scared and that just hasn’t happened to me for years.

Thanks spoony awesome review

At the risk of being horribly pedantic, I’m going to have to call out Spoony here.

What you are describing – the fear of the unknown, the tension of the unfamiliar, the fear of what something could be instead of the fear of something that is – is not horror. Horror is the reaction to imagery, events or other stimuli which result in revulsion or fear. Examples of horror would be finding a bloody corpse in your room, seeing a murderer at the foot of your bed, or opening a door to see a bloodstained man-eating tiger snarling at you.

What you’re describing, Spoony, is TERROR. If horror is reaction to imagery or events, then terror is anticipation. Smelling a bloody corpse somewhere in your house, seeing a shadow or hearing footsteps, hearing the tiger’s growl. As such, many of the films you describe which rely on horrific imagery are, in fact horror: seeing Michael Myers sit up in the background, the sudden jump-scenes of the victims, all are legitimate horror sequences. You bring up great examples of terror in Jaws, The Eye and The Blair Witch Project: where it’s what you don’t see that’s scary and chilling to the core, not necessarily the revelation of seeing the shark or the witch or whatever. Some films go most of their length with nothing actually happening, but the implication that something COULD happen is so tense and pervasive that you’re in constant preparation for a jump scare: and when there isn’t, it somehow makes it worse. Others I can think of are Suspiria, Eraserhead, just about every Hitchcock film etc.

However, that’s not to say I disagree with your assessment of horror films not being effectively scary, since the horrific imagery necessary to horror is often insufficient to truly incite fear. As you say, so often in horror films it isn’t about feeling true horror, i.e. fear/revulsion from stimuli, but catharsis in seeing annoying teenagers get horribly murdered. Good horror films invite no such emotions: they stay in your mind, clear and distinctive, to the point where you really wish you didn’t see it. It doesn’t even have to be gory or violent to be scary: one of the most powerful examples of horror I’ve ever seen in a film was in “Rear Window”, with the simple act of Raymond Burr turning his head, and looking RIGHT AT the camera. All the tension of what could happen was suddenly heightened, as you realised that the salesman knows that Jimmy Stewart was watching, and that he’s powerless and vulnerable in his wheelchair. THAT’S horror, for me: the reveal of Don’t Look Now, the revelation of When A Stranger Calls, the moment Sadako crawls from the TV. Doesn’t have to be bloody or gruesome: just the realisation that things got a lot worse.

So to sum up, horror and terror are different things, but both can be equally scary.

Anyway, I think Spoony and I seem to be scared by the same things. I found little fear in Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or any of the other “slashers” out there, but it’s little things like ghost stories that scare me. I confess that Blair Witch wasn’t that frightening to me, but it was scarier than many other supposed chillers. I probably won’t go to Paranormal Activity (I scare too easily when it comes to stuff like this) but I’m glad it exists, just because it shows the true emotion of fear is not lost in modern horror.

I take exception with your criticisms of disaster movies. First off, no one claims they’re horror movies, and second, I for one go for the fantasy/sci-fi element. The destruction is just icing on the cake.

I hate to say but I liked George Romero’s last two films, also I hated Blair Witch project. But I am glad you love Day Of The Dead as much as I do!

I also agree that “horror” movies are junk if your looking for them to be acualy scarry. Gore does not = scarry. But thats also because I dont think any movies are scary. No ammount of crappy acting and shaky cam is going to change my mind either. The closest time Ive been to being afraid in a thearter, was from Drag Me to Hell. But I have to respectfully disagree with you Spoony that this is a scarry movie, and more so a good movie. When a movie takes place in “the real world” its just to unbelievable when supernatural stuff is happening. And always, in movies, espesualy horror, the characters act like total morons. And in this movie, I dont see them as being any different, just like in blair witch. Not a brain among them. Now this all may stem from my dislike of the whole cam corder movie thing. I just find them unbelievable and lame. How is this movie any different then say, Cloverfield or Quarantine? My recomendation is gosee Zombieland, not this. And for scarry, rent Drag Me to Hell, (though I hate the ending of that movie. Spoony, how was the ending of that movie not a complete betrayal?) Oh and footsteps make me just want to shout out, “Wear some slippers.”

I also agree that “horror” movies are junk if your looking for them to be acualy scarry. Gore does not = scarry. But thats also because I dont think any movies are scary. No ammount of crappy acting and shaky cam is going to change my mind either. The closest time Ive been to being afraid in a thearter, was from Drag Me to Hell. But I have to respectfully disagree with you Spoony that this is a scarry movie, and more so a good movie. When a movie takes place in “the real world” its just to unbelievable when supernatural stuff is happening. And always, in movies, espesualy horror, the characters act like total morons. And in this movie, I dont see them as being any different, just like in blair witch. Not a brain among them. Now this all may stem from my dislike of the whole cam corder movie thing. I just find them unbelievable and lame. How is this movie any different then say, Cloverfield or Quarantine? My recomendation is gosee Zombieland, not this. And for scarry, rent Drag Me to Hell, (though I hate the ending of that movie. Spoony, how was the ending of that movie not a complete betrayal?) Oh and footsteps make me just want to shout out, “Wear some slippers.”

A few things Spoony, because I’m still very, VERY skeptical of this film:

Your mention about the audience being into what was going on onscreen; how come this doesn’t apply to the other movies you’ve seen (e.g. Transformers 2) but it does here?

The film diffuses the “Why don’t they leave the house” question, but brings up the “If this has been happening since she was 8, why is this just getting bad enough NOW and why hasn’t she done something about this sooner” question. It feels like the movie is happening several years too late in that regard.

Also:
When have Ouija boards EVER been a good idea?
You mention “creative” scares looking staged… like the guy flying in a straight line ass-first into the camera Steven Seagal style?

A few things Spoony, because I’m still very, VERY skeptical of this film:

Your mention about the audience being into what was going on onscreen; how come this doesn’t apply to the other movies you’ve seen (e.g. Transformers 2) but it does here?

The film diffuses the “Why don’t they leave the house” question, but brings up the “If this has been happening since she was 8, why is this just getting bad enough NOW and why hasn’t she done something about this sooner” question. It feels like the movie is happening several years too late in that regard.

Also:
When have Ouija boards EVER been a good idea?
You mention “creative” scares looking staged… like the guy flying in a straight line ass-first into the camera Steven Seagal style?

First, Nice to see you back.

I recommend that you go back and watch Ghost Hunters and the show after it at light with lights off. About 1/6 places they go to actually have something good now. and for the most part they don’t freak out anymore.

Nice review and for the most part totally agree. Horror movies are not scary. Spoony reaction= jock reaction + nerd reaction + cat curiosity (eg. lets poke the bee hive)

I must be the only one that can see past visual effects in movies like Indi. Day, Armageddon, and Pearl Harbor. Yeah i’m defending early Michael Bay, but it’s really jerry brockhemer.)

i totally get the idea of no death toll. (everybody’s a red shirt)

The movie is crap.
Sat through the movie bored.

Go easy on Pumpkinhead, Spoony. That was Stan Winston’s baby. Stan Winston was a great special effects wizard of our time, and he’s dead now. So, have respect for the dead.

To be honest, I wasn’t going to give this movie a view. Just seemed to me, to be the same old same old thing with the shaky cameras gene. However your comments about how it is like the Blair Witch Project, in terms of not knowing what is after them, I found rather interesting. I too I’m one of the few people (well just me actually) to like the Blair Witch because of that. The fact that you highly like this movie and suggest for theaters, has made me reconsider seeing it.

P.S. Good to see that you are doing better.

Spoony.

Very excited about the film. About time we had some fucking good horror movies coming out that is not a glorified snuff film. That being said Maybe a bit of editing would be useful. Your views are well put but man, over 40 minutes long. No matter how good you are it’s hard to keep interested. Kinda feel there were two issues one being the state of horror movies the other being the review. This really ain’t about you changing your format as just keeping things to brisk running time. Hell I watch the whole thing where most tv I turn off half way through.

“The Thing”

I’ve only watched the Blair Witch Project once and I did enjoy it but I havn’t had an itch to see it since. I don’t think you have to watch these types of movies in theaters to get the full experience out of them especially if you live at the intersection of BFE and Where the Hell is this like I do. I watched the movie alone at night and I can honestly say its the only horror movie thats ever had a “scare” effect on me. I’m not sure what it was about it that got to me but if Paranormal Activity has the same thing going on I’m definitely going to see it. I’m also glad to see that you look like your feeling better and like always, great job Spoony.

Holy crap, another person on the planet who actually prefers Day of the Dead over Dawn. Totally agreed’ Spoon, the makeup effects in Dawn really detracted from the film, while in Day, they really added something.

On the issue of truly scary movies, I too can name only a few that I’ve ever found genuinely effective. The Blair Witch Project was one. The Thing was another. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre a third. Maybe Perfect Blue. But, oddly enough, the movie which has provoked by far and away the greatest reaction of true fear from me was David Lynch’s Inland Empire – which isn’t really a “horror” movie at all. It inspires fear in an incredibly esoteric way. For the whole three hour running time, I found t inspiring a sensation of “oh God, oh God, something’s going to happen soon. I don’t know what it is, but it’s going to be horriffic.” And eventually, the horriffic thing does manifest itself. I damn near screamed out loud.

I watched the trailer to this. I kind of pooped my pants.

A little.

I want to see this…but…I also want to be able to sleep for a few months. So torn. I need scores of women to accompany me. =P

You mention “creative” scares looking staged… like the guy flying in a straight line ass-first into the camera Steven Seagal style?

Like I said, the ending is where many will consider this movie to come off the rails. Was this ending “earned” with everything that came before? I’m not sure. The filmmakers were always walking a tightrope to keep this movie from getting into Monty Python levels of silliness. I think the worst part of that ending was the somewhat self-aware final moments. It does indeed betray the trust established with the audience that what we’re watching is REALLY REAL, and you can’t have it that way if you’re also going to throw winks at us into the camera.

But does it spoil the movie completely? Nah. I still liked it a lot. Now, I’ve read some rumored alternate endings which probably would have worked much better, or at least would have been interesting to see and compare.

You know Spoony, i agree with your opinion probably at least 9 out of every ten times, but this one I;m gonna have to go agaisnt you on this. Not about paranormal activity the film specifically (I in fact never even heard of it til this review, watched the trailer, found it vaguely interesting, i may or may not see it)

and no, nothing to do with what you said about romero. hey, i love ol’ george as much as the next guy, but i will be the first to admit that like 85 percent of his filmography is poop on a stick. if anything, you got some more cred from me for liking day of the dead, my girl and I love that goddamn movie and we were beginning to suspect we were the only ones. though i would wonder who couldn’;t love “Bub”?

but the Blair witch? really? I mean REALLY? god that movie was the worst, overhyped, dissapointing, completely hollow substance free piece of garbage i have ever seen…well ok, not that bad, but it’s up there. and it has nothing to do with the “never see a monster” thing. there’s nothing to it. nothing happens of any value. we look up some shrill voiced cow’s nose for 90 minutes while “OHMYGOD” “WHATWASTHAT” and “FUCK” were repeated ad nausium. the scares were cheap and pointless, there was no narrative to speak of, and honestly i found the documentary where they pretended all this nonsense was real with a straight face to be more interesting than the movie itself. my friend patrick and I were very excited to see it, but walked out of the theatre looking at eachother like “…the hell? what a piece of shit” and we were surrounded by similarly crestfallen people.

but where i really gotta wonder where you’re coming from is this. you say you liked the blair witch, but you hated quarentine. now look, i’m not saying quarentine was Citizen Kane (it wasn’t) but it was a fun little diversion that accomplished what it set out to do. and it sure did a damn sight better job of it than romero’s own diary of the dead, which it was essentially the same deal as. I’m also aware quarentine is a remake of [REC] which is widely regarded as a superiosr film (it is, chiefly because you buy the realism more if for no other reason than not recognizing any of the actors) but i hate the shitty standby excuse of “it’s a remake, so it automatically inferior”. john carpenter’s “the thing” is a remake, and it’s not only better in EVERY CONCIEVABLE WAY than the first one, it’s one of my favorite movies of all time. there are a lot of remakes that are better than the original, like the Fly and others. they aren’t all “the day the earth stood still” or “war of the worlds” which are in fact, pointless inferior retreads and stains on the original’s good name

you tore quarentine apart for things like “evil shaky cam, couldn’t see anything” (even though you clearly described everything to hate, and it was the same thing i saw so…i guess you DID see it) the “shrieking panicky heroine” and the “cheap scare”, yet all these things are EXACTLY what’s wrong with the blair witch. i went to see a monster movie and quarantine gave me monsters and more than one good scare. blair witch failed on every level to satisfy and they can’t have achieved what they set out to do (besides make money) unless what they wanted to accomplish was detailedly document that porcine woman’s nose hairs…in which case, bravo, mission accomplished.

you railed a lot of movies for the shaky cam (ok, people, get the hell over it. I am sick of hearing “wah wah wah I can’t see ANYTHING” I have the worst eyes out of anyone i know and i see em fine. 28 days later is fikmed almost entirely in shaky cam, but since they don’t draw attention to it no one nopticed or complained. it’s a copout gripe, and people ignore it when they feel like so…again, get over it) and the shrieking heroine, but i actualy thought quarantine was a pretty realistic portrayal of someone freaking out in a situation like that. people who have not been in life threatening situations don’t seem to realize how much the average person freaks the hell out when they are. and when you have and are trying to be calm and maintain control, i guarentee you are dealing with someone freaking out just as bad as she did, if not worse. at least she was being menaced by screaming cannibal soccer hooligans and had a good excuse for a super freakout. that blair witch whore freaks out twice as bad at what…trees? the horror…OF CAMPING!!! BOOOO!!!!

I have to agree with Taranaich above. you discount the jump scare as a tired tool, but it isn’t. one of the greatest horror films of all time is virtually nothing but jump scares…alien. (someone else mentioned that, but i can’t remember who) yeah it has massive amounts of tension, but that tension is only developed because you’re waiting for the jump scare you KNOW is coming, cause you saw it happen already and you KNOW that alien is there and could pop out of an airvent and skewer you with its evil mouth penis at any time. sure, a jump scare alone without characters you care about and no rhyme, reason, or craft to it, is indeed useless (cough cough RESIDENT EVIL cough cough) but tension with no payoff, no terrifying hand, claw, or tentacle pulling that line taught in the first place, then the tension is as meaningless of pointless “boogah boogah” moments. movies like alien and jaws and 28 days later work so beautifully because they are tension and BOO working in perfect harmony. you can’t have one without the other, or it’s just sizzle and no steak.

now again, this is not in any way a comment on this paranormal activity film, as i have yet to see it. it’s more about you’re overarching view of horror. which for the most part i agree with. especially about the difference between a horror movie and a scary movie and how things like fri. the 13th and freddy and such were NEVER scary, in that you WANT the characters to get an ax in the face. I’ve often said jason vorhees is really athe hero, a superhero in fact. he never once kills anyone who does have it coming. sure he rates premarital sex and generally being a douche with murder, rape and theft, but he only kills sinners and idiots. plus he’s invincible, super storng, wears a mask, and is on an endless quest to avenge his mother…that’s a damn superhero, if you ask me. just watch part 8. shitty as it is, the first thing jason does upon hitting new york (admittly with only 15 mins to go in a movie called “jason takes manhatten”, but then no one would watch a movie called “jason takes…a boat ride”) is to break up a rape, hunt down a child abuser, and generally fight crime. jason is the hero of those films, i tell ya.

i just don’t see how you can feel one way about a film that does let’s call it horror trope A, then tear apart one for doing the same thing. blair witch and ghost hunters are the same thing. false tension, with no payoff. except ghost hunters is worse, cause from repeated experience you KNOW there will never be a payoff, especially since even when something MIGHT be happeneing, god forbid they ever turn the camera TOWARD THE SPOOKY THING but instead just film up the fat plumber who looks like an imperfect clone of micheal chicklis from the Shield’s nose while he goes “DID YOU HEAR THAT? WHAT WAS THAT?” and other blair witchery. at least the blair witch could only let you down once.

egh…man i can bitch when i want to. these comments always turn out much longer than i want to…i have no idea how to shut the hell up apparently. haha. but i had to stand up against the filthy marketing juggernaught that is the the “dumb bitch project” er…i mean “blair witch project”. don’t think i don;t think you know your stuff spoon, like i said, i agree nine out of ten times, i just don’t get how you can hate the shakey cam so much and love the film that made it a household name.

all in all though, as usual, love the videos and it’s great to see you feeling better and back in front of the camera tearing into bad movies. even if i disagree with this one, it’s good to have you back doing reviews :)

So to sum up, horror and terror are different things, but both can be equally scary.

Agreed, but what passes for horror is generally garbage.

True horror, by your definition, was in its purest form as Gothic Horror– the sort of stuff written by Poe or Shelley a long, long time ago. But there, although there are monsters without, I think often the reaction of horror comes from the realization that there are far worse monsters within. Horror can come from brutality, sickness, death, and murder, but where it shines is watching the fall of noble, good people as they try to fight evil and then, at the end, standing amidst the ruins realize, “my god, what have I done?”

For instance, probably the best horror movie I’ve ever seen was Fail Safe. Think about that for a while.

Fail Safe was AWESOME! Larry Hagmann and Henry Fonda at their best! Spoony is right, go see it kids! (I’m 40, I remember the Cold War). Then go see the Kubrick masterpiece Dr. Strangelove to see the same genre taken to levels of hysterical genius.

The first Pumpkinhead movie is one of my most favorite movies of all time. Pumpkinhead himself is badass! The rest…ugh! Great review as usual Spoony!

Very informative review.
CHUD put out an article over the weekend about PA containing some interesting bits, like the fact the Speilberg himself came up with its current ending. Worth checking out if you want an in-depth look at the marketing and history of it.
http://chud.com/articles/articles/21095/1/PARANORMAL-ACTIVITY039S-MARKETING-HAUNTED-BY-THE-GHOST-OF-WILLIAM-CASTLE/Page1.html

Well in the first Friday the 13th you can all least see that’s the ‘victims’ are the ones that cause Jason’s death, so it’s more of a revenge film, kinda like inglorious bastards only all the Nazis were punch clock villains, minus the Jew Hunter and Hitler of course (Really how the hell did you see them as super evil dog kickers? Half of them were just hanging at a bar celebrating the brith of a solder’s son, there is no way those people deserved to die, What the hell)

SPOONY! YOU’RE BACK!!!

And just to say… i do find some disaster movies scary, and I’m not talking about pisces of shit like Independence Day and Day After Tomarrow, I mean movies like The Poseidon Adventure (the original), just check it out. its done really well

I’m fairly sure that Ghost Hunters is completely fake. Some of the camera placement with actual cameramen is just too convenient it seems. At the very least, a lot of shots are stages like when they enter a tunnel or cramped spot, the investigator goes in first, and then the camera sees him from inside the tunnel coming in.

I’m fairly sure that Ghost Hunters is completely fake. Some of the camera placement with actual cameramen is just too convenient it seems. At the very least, a lot of shots are stages like when they enter a tunnel or cramped spot, the investigator goes in first, and then the camera sees him from inside the tunnel coming in.

although i do see your point on how a horror movie like friday the 13th,or nightmare on elm street could be “shit”. I feel as though you cant see the forest past the trees. Take for example friday the 13th its self. even if you watched that movie and werent at summer camp it can still have a scare effect. i know at night when i go take out the garbage and here a strange noise my first reaction is could that be jason or freddy.

Yeah, I remember that clip from the Ghost Hunters. That’s about the only thing close to a legit discovery on the show. And even then, they’d still have to release ALL footage and account for everyone’s whereabouts at that time to ensure that no monkey business was afoot. The incredible moving lamp event, with Grant sitting right next to it and just off camera, raised some questions. As to the thermal image on the refrigerator – standing in front of a reflective metal surface will leave a “thermal reflection” which will show up on infrared – no ghost required.

To me their EPV discoveries are nothing more than pareidolia. And you have to love Ghost Hunters International and Destination Truth when they go to some castle in Romania and try to communicate with a ghost in English.

You’re completely right about scary movies. Sounds of unknown origin, things seen out of the corner of your eye, so you don’t know what they are or if they’re really there at all – that’s scary. I remember an episode of In Search Of about the Amityville Horror which had one scene in which two red eyes slowly appeared in an attic window as seen from the ground outside – it still freaks me out thinking about it. That’s all it takes to be scary.

Have you ever seen The Haunting (1963 – not the moronic remake)? That involved many of the same elements which you discussed in the review and is pretty scary.

45 minute Vlog, best viewed when shrunk down, put in the corner, and sped up a third.

forgot to add: I would say the slashers, villains are almost always the best characters, you see a moive becuase of them, not the heroes the villains the lead, most of them will die by the end. Slasher’s are about entertanment not horror. Lots of stuff are like that

Does anyone watch the Dark Kight for Batman fuck no it’s the Joker so he blows up a hospital who care.
the game Prototype, who care if the Blacklight virus kills everyone in New York City? It’s about Alex eating people, killing USMC tring to stop the virus and thorwing a tank at people, and it’s fun, really fun. Slashers are kinda like that well the old ones anyway (the new My Bloody Valentine was pretty good too)

Now horror you’re talking about is rare because I think that hollywood thinks that not everyone shares those fears, because they’re stupid. Now a horror movie based on like a Lovecraft book done right would work so well, you never see the Old One (since you’ll be driven insane) so it’s just be about a couple of people stoping at some old town, now this town looks just like every other small fishing town near by, at a distance. As you come near it you just feel there is something wroung about it, you can’t pull you finger on it but you know there is something off, the people there just don’t move right like they have forgot about being humans are tried to relearn it, that there something in the air that pulls you off, something unkown something you will never know or ever want to. As you stay longer that something that put you off is coming closer you begien to see why the things around this town a couple of hours ago turned you off. And in the end a gaint fish monster form outer space shows up and drives you insane and you have to fight it will space magic that also drives you insane.

I have been thinking of this same horror rant all week.

Likable characters are the entire heart of a horror movie. The entire heart of building tension is likable characters.

Movies don’t scare people unless they buy into it. It is like going through a fun house, you give yourself permission to lower your guard and get scared. The movie has to draw you in.

I am just curious how it could be done with a zombie scenario.

“Agreed, but what passes for horror is generally garbage.”

I won’t dispute that. So many horror films leave a bad taste in my mouth for all the wrong reasons.

“True horror, by your definition, was in its purest form as Gothic Horror– the sort of stuff written by Poe or Shelley a long, long time ago. But there, although there are monsters without, I think often the reaction of horror comes from the realization that there are far worse monsters within. Horror can come from brutality, sickness, death, and murder, but where it shines is watching the fall of noble, good people as they try to fight evil and then, at the end, standing amidst the ruins realize, “my god, what have I done?””

That’s a good point. “Staring into the abyss” and all that.

“For instance, probably the best horror movie I’ve ever seen was Fail Safe. Think about that for a while.”

Oh yes. Apocalyptic fiction is textbook nightmare: Threads and When The Whistle Blows are in a similar vein to Fail-Safe, in that it’s the horror of humanity itself rather than some external force like a monster or ghost which is the source of revulsion and fear.

I think that the best kind of horror movie has a kind of “atmosphere”. It doesn’t really show anything but still scares you. Being a gamer, I’d have to say the Silent hill series pulls this off. The monsters just add to it. What I’m wondering is if anyone has seen the movie “Session 9″. I thought it was pretty good at this.

Mentioning how the horror genre tends to focus more on body count rather than characters you can invest interest or care into reminded me of the Stalin quote: ‘A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.’ To me that really seems to summarize the feeling that a lot of movies can/do project.

As for Zombieland, after seeing it last night I thought it was surprisingly good. It had that Evil Dead-y type entertainment along with really likable characters and was pretty damn fun to see.

the most resent episode of south park made fun of ghost hunters it was funny “Ghost huters the gayest show”

As usual, I enjoyed your ranting and agreed with most of it. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit.

(Hope you’re feeling better now. I know what it’s like to be sick for long periods of time.)

Zombieland is NOT a horror movie. It’s an action comedy, and it doesn’t try to be anything else.

I’m probably not going to see this movie, but I thought I’d give my two cents on horror movies.

Let me say that I really hate horror movies of today. You pretty much said why. I do sometimes like to watch some of the older ones (especially the Friday the 13th movies) but only really for their corniness. and for movies like Saw 2-5, I think they showcase the depravity of human nature. Not because the people in them do evil stuff to people, but because a series waaaaaaay past it’s prime has continued this long just to keep people in their violent movie fetish.

Steven Spielberg is my favorite director so I’m glad you brought him up briefly. I do like his earlier stuff much better, but I think that the only reason why War of the Worlds works is because of him. Sure Tom Cruise was still unbearable and Fanning was annoying, but the vissuals really gave you a sense of fear.

Finally, I’d just like to ask about your feelings about other directors. You only brought up Romero (who I am not a fan of). Who I really want to talk about is John Carpenter. My favorite horror film of all time is The Thing, because not only does it have good payoff with fantastic visuals, but it really plays off the fear that you don’t know who you can trust. Even They Live (while in no way scary) manages to be increadibly corny, but still manage to be funny and entertaining.

I realise you probaby wont read this let alone respond, but it makes me feel better if I let it out.

hey spoony,

had to leave a comment because i was suprised by your comments i figured you’d pan this movie. i agree with you seriously with your points.

i’ve lived for the first 8 years of my life in a very haunted house. when you’ve spent 8 years of your life being grabbed and pulled from your bed by things you couldn’t possibly begin to describe tends to scare the hell out of you…and that’s just the mild stuff that happened to me to give you an idea of how fucked up my childhood was.

the point is i don’t get scared at many of these movies but this one i may give a try, and fuck i agree with you i kinda hate ghost hunters because they never fucking catch anything except for in rare cases and even then it’s bearly something you can notice. it’s an insult to people like me who have had experiences somewhere between ammityville horror and poltiergiest.

thanks for an honest review and i will certianly go to the theaters to see this for myself. take care oh spoony one.

I hated the blair witch no questions asked one of the most terrible movies ever less scary then a sleeping kitten. And I saw it in the theater then I saw it again with my brother at home , I only watched it a second time to see the disappointment over his face and to this day me and my brother loath theses movies.

Paranormal Activity is just as bad I will never watch it.

Okay, great review Spoony. However you need to go and watch the original Dawn of the Dead again now it is probably his best film in my opinion and don’t get we wrong Day of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead are great to and i agree the make up is very shabby an not well done but i think its easy to get past and enjoy that thy are zombies.

To be honest I have not hard anything about this film maybe it is because I live in England and it won’t be coming to us for another month or so (just like Up came out the other day I have been waiting forever to see it). But I will definitely be going to see it if it is similar to the Blair Witch Project.

I really, really enjoyed the first Pumpkinhead movie. I didn’t even finish Blood Wings. The third was pretty awful because Pumpkinhead was CG, and not “real,” like in the first movie. You didn’t think he was actually there at all. Just terrible. The fourth, however, was interesting because it raised the idea of having multiple sources for Pumpkinhead’s power.

I also give bonus points to the actor who played Harley for showing up in all four movies. I really didn’t think he’d show up in the fourth one.

I was debating on whether I should see this movie, and now I’m absolutely sure that I will. Thanks Spoonster! Also, the American version of Pulse was “okay?” Really? To me, that is the second most retarded shitty movie I’ve ever seen. The first being Donnie Darko of course.

Thank you, Spoony.
I’ve been preaching the whole “horror-movies” aren’t really horror thing for a while and maybe after seeing this Vlog they might consider thinking about it.

Very interesting review, Spoony.

Though, I have to disagree with you somewhat on the whole 90% of horror is crap thing since, well, what constitutes as horror can be very subjective. IE: What is considered “scary” or whatnot will inevitably vary from person to person.

For example, someone who fears being killed while babysitting might find “Halloween” (or similar films) to be scary. On the other hand, someone who doesn’t have that sort of fear will not find such movies to be frightening at all.

However, that being said, it is true that most horror film directors don’t capture the essence of what makes such situations scary. After all, there is only so much scariness one can invoke using zombies, ghosts, creepy sounds, crazed killers in masks, blah, blah, blah. It’s very difficult to put “fear”, as it were, onto screen since what scares us isn’t necessarily “my house is haunted, ahhhhh!” or “some crazed guy is after me, ahhhh!” or “shark, ahhh!” but rather the “what if…” imagination scenarios that plague our minds regarding such fears. IE: “What if a shark attacks me” or “What if this” or “What if that” or “What if so-and-so doesn’t work” and so on and so forth.

And, well, most horror films do not play on the “What if” factor that is a huge part of our fears. Instead, most horror films (even the really good ones) only seem to play on one particular scenario regarding the most basic aspects of what scare us. If such were the case, I can bet that most horror films would be ridiculously long.

Of course, I don’t necessarily watch horror films (regardless of what one considers to be “horror” since the genre itself is so broad) to be scared. I watch them to have fun.

Also, not to go off-topic or anything…well, I guess I am….but, there’s something I’ve always wondered. Why is it that whenever people talk about the “Greatest Horror Films Of All Time” (whatever they may be to you, myself, or other people), nobody ever seems to mention the 1954 classic “Gojira” which is a horror film and, if you ask me, one of the best horror films ever made? I mean, the entire “Attack on Tokyo” sequence from the film, especially the aftermath (IE: The demolished buildings in flames, the overcrowded hospitals, and just the general feeling of hopelessness that eerily parallels what people went through after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki), is far FAR more effective than most of today’s horror films. Or, in a more subtle example, the “Oxygen Destroyer” from the film which, in my opinion, has got to be the most terrifying weapon ever created in the realm of fiction. I mean, it killed freakin’ Godzilla for crying out loud! By suffocating him, even, and reducing him to bone! Just the very thought that such a weapon (or something similar) could potentially be made in the real world just sends chills down my spine.

Eh, maybe I’m just still bitter that Bravo TV’s so called “100 scariest movie moments” included “THEM!” in their list but completely ignored “Gojira”.

I remember getting the effect that you speak of when I watched Tremors, scared of the ground for weeks, maybe months, it was a movie that made me scared to be on the ground. When something as solid and that you normally see as being safe and reliable is against you, you really get a sense of fear.

And I think I know what you mean with night of the living dead, I remember the most hollowing moment in that movie was when the woman is outside in the so called thick of the zombies, and one of them walks up to her and she just pushes it away with her gun and gives a hollow laugh because she had told them that they could just go out and make it because of how slow they are and you see that all those people died when they could have lived by doing what she said, but you feel the weight of the choice, you don’t just yell out that the people in the shack were morons even if you said it while they were IN the shack you sort of just sigh and and sag at the waste of life.

Blair witch project itself is a ripoff of many movies.

I personally hate these kind of movies (except cannibal holocaust). It’s getting so old really, looking through the shaking camera and listening some stupid screaming

Where is the guy on Spoonys t-shirt from? It reminds me of an old Bruce Lee game on the C64.

On the airplane crash in Pulse: I especially thought the scene was powerful because it was almost like in a dream I once had, where a plane would go really low over my head and then crash nearby. I guess I should call it a nightmare and not a dream, because you know how you usually don’t realize it’s one and it can evoke strong emotions. The plane crash scene in Pulse was very much like that, and if I remember correctly the perspective from which you see the crash also makes it much more like you’re actually witnessing it, contrary to what it would have felt like if they had showed it from an overhead view or something like that.
The sound and all that, it really gave the impression of thousands of tons of steel, crashing at high speed, a real force where you don’t want to be in the way at all costs. A lot of movies just make these things seem like toys.

I agree about shows like Ghost Hunters about how nothing ever happens an when it does they run. Like on Monster Quest they never see a Monster. But in this one episode they were at a cabin looking for Sasquatch. And something starts throwing rocks at the Cabin. What do they do? Hide like little bitches. I mean I understand the fear but jesus h christ this is your job. It’s the whole point of the show! Get the **** out there with a flashlight an camera! lol

Also Spoony’s doors in the background are identical to the one’s in my room that’s kind of weird.

I was frozen today!!!!

“Also Spoony’s doors in the background are identical to the one’s in my room that’s kind of weird.”

Maybe Spoony is you? Your alter ego, your Mr Hyde.. When you go to sleep, he wakes up.

Spoony, you pretty much sum up my entire argument about the current state of horror. The only problem is that I doubt Hollywood will listen at all.

Spielberg did have a good knack for scarying people. Poltergeist is one of my favs. John Carpeter used to have the power, but he lost it as he got older. I don’t know if there’s anyone these days that I can say does horror well. Eli Roth thinks he does, but he really doesn’t. Uwe Boll is horrifying for the wrong reasons. The few new horror movies that actually seem horrifying (for the right reasons) appear to come from unknowns and independent filmmakers. Don’t know what that says about Hollywood.

Current horror = Saw movies …
They suck.

To think of it – would you consider a well player war movie a horror movie? If actual fear from death or fight is portraied?

Did I just hear Spoony try to get deep? IDK but I liked it. Could have listened to it 4 way longer. :( this film isn’t playing in any of my theaters. >.> Maybe I’ll drive over to one of your theaters in Mesa (about 30 minute drive from Chandler).

Hey Spoony, heh, any way you can shoot a PM of the ending spoiler?

Heh I want to catch this movie so bad since I heard about it, but I can’t drive the 8 hour round trip to go see it. :(

I really enjoy your Vlogs. glad you’re feeling well, on a side note you saw the pumpkinhead sequels? poor soul.

On the matter of Ghost Hunters, I remember that episode. The main cast will never run when they see something, but in that case it was their tech guy (Brian I think) and a camera man. Brian was always kind of a dipshit and would leave the show soon after. Jason and Grant, the main investigators, actually chewed his ass and would never let him live that down. I actually kinda enjoyed the show when they didnt often find anything. In a way, it made it so that when they DID find something, it was earned and all the more thrilling. Nowadays they seem to find and see things wherever they go, although never really finding any real proof. My guess is some producer decided they needed to spice things up and told the crew to ham it up a bit, but who knows.

On the matter of horror movies I agree with Spoony 100%. The base desire alot of us have to see people killed in horrific ways seems to be what most horror movies thrive on, yet the acts offer more satisfaction than horror. As he said, you want to see these idiots killed off. Also an annoying trend seems to be relying on jump scares more than any actual heartfelt horror to move an audience. I cant express how much I hate movies that do this overmuch, especially when it gets so bad they fake jump scares. Every movie where the camera pans into some dark, ominous corner only to have the music blare and an artificially heightened scream break your eardrums as a stupid housecat jumps out and runs off makes me wanna flip the movie the bird. Not to mention theyre all usually stupidly predictable.

Aw man, don’t shave, you look awesome with a nine o’ clock.

Anyway, it’s nice to hear your reasoning behind what makes something good or bad and you’ve basically given me info about scary movies in general because I don’t really watch that many, so it’s nice to hear how a proper one should be made.

Hope your allergies disappear soon.

One of the few times an ‘apocalyptic’ event has actually affected me while i was watching it… was the park fence scene in Terminator 2. For Years we’ve had Kyle’s story and shell shocked behavior as our link to this event; and then we watch as it comes to pass…

No Fate…

more often then not, even now if I’m watching that movie.. I’ll leave the room for that part. You’re absolutely right about the distinctions between the films you mentioned Spoony.

it was funny how the poster in the back kept moving. i half expected it to suddenly fall off as if a ghost were messing with him

I remember watching The Blair witch project on VHS, and being incredibly bored by it, for the same reasons that Spoony gave in his Vlog.

But after it was over, I left the tape running while I put away some dishes, and while my back was turned I heard a burst of static from the TV, and there was a title card proclaiming ‘Newly discovered footage’ had been found. What made it unusual was that the title card was on the screen a little too long. I felt real dread at that moment because I wasn’t expecting it and if the remote had been closer, I would have stopped the tape at that point. I was really disappointed when the actual footage turned out to be an outtake from one of the tent scenes, but that title card was one of the scariest moments I’ve ever had watching a horror film. which is a little sad.

Hey, I really liked Dawn of the Dead even it did have somewhat silly makeup. Also, you didn’t like Creepshow, George Romero made that too.

Hmmm… I’d never even heard of this, but based on you and RT, and the fact that it had an $11,000 budget, I may have to check this out.

Awesome review! to bad this is not coming untill 29. january to Norway :(

If you’re talking about scary movies these days, you have to mention M. Night Shyamalan.
“The Sixth Sense” was (in my opinion) extremely scary and also “Signs” had some moments where I almost blacked out because of the tension (especially the knife/door-scene & the birthday video).

But I have to agree: most Slashers are about douchebags being killed by a “cool” killer for entertainment value…
Although I think the first 2 “Scream” movies had some very scary scenes (in the sense of tension). Mostly because the characters were relatable.

Just came back from it.

Loved this movie. Love that you loved it. Loved Blair Witch. Would love to hear you discuss the film in more spoilerific terms.I feel bad for people who don’t find this scary. They have no imagination or their egos won’t allow a film to creep into their subconscious.

3 incredible horror films in 1 year btw. Drag Me to Hell, Paranormal Activity and Antichrist!

Re. Being a movie slob and a list of genuinely scary movies:

I’m not sure I agree with you here. The number of genuinely scary (or, better, unsettling) films is probably limitless, largely because what scares a person is so subjective but also because playing on our fears and neuroses is a major part of any artform.

You mention broad, mainstream films like Jaws, Blair Witch etc but where does it end?
I remember a film based on an Ian McEwan book where Rhys Ifans play a stalker. Massively scary, if not in the thrills and spills way. Lars Von Trier movies? Un chien andalou? Lord of the flies?

The Sopranos is very scary. Not just in the sense that Tony is a well drawn villain but also how easily we sympathise with characters who (we are constantly reminded) are violent sociopaths.

Hell, even Battlestar galactica could be considered unsettling as they do a good job of showing the fragility of civilization and how the walls of a creaking battleship are all that separates it from the void.

I think that if you start making a list, you may never stop.

I was so upset watching the preview for the movie. It was one of those ‘ruin the entire movie for you’ previews, that any reasonably intelligent person could discern what was going to occur. For that reason I couldn’t enjoy the movie. I hate when they do that shit.

Also, I’ve never gotten into specifically ‘horror’ movies for the reasons Spoony listed. They never seem scary to me. I did think Blair Witch was scary, and I was able to suspend my disbelief enough to find The Ring frightening, but I’m almost always disappointed in ‘horror movies’. My favorite of all time was The Exorcist.

I’m trying to get back into horror movies again, can anyone recommend movies along the same lines as what Spoony was talking about here that I might find genuinely disturbing and interesting. I appear to have the same ‘horror’ tastes as Spoony does. I’m just curious what people who agree with Spoony think are great horror movies.

u look we spoony COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

Request!
I got no problem with these long video logs, in fact i really enjoy them. but i often expect them to be around 20 minutes or less, but theres no indication anywhere of how long they actually are. Therefore i think it would be nice if the length was mentioned under the video. It would be nice to know before one starts watching :)

There was also one episode on ghosthunters that was like …. one hour or so …. but it was in a old hospital and it showed a few stuff of ghostish things like timmy and the ball the stuff like that.

There was also one episode on ghosthunters that was like …. one hour or so …. but it was in a old hospital and it showed a few stuff of ghostish things like timmy and the ball the stuff like that.

Blair Witch for J … ten minutes nothing happening nothing happening random annoying screaming random annoying screaming J standing in the lobby playing arcade games while his gf watches the horrible show.

Kinda reminds me of what the Puppet Master movies did. At first they just tried being your typical slasher films but after that Full Moon was like “F#ck it” and completely shifted the series toward this more action-y approach. As if it acknowledges that it was not really all that scary and instead took a dive towards the more cartoonish aspect Spoony mentioned (First one to do that was Puppet Master 3, which is often seen by fans as the best film in the series.). Pumpkin Head is perhaps one of my favorite movies of all time, takes alot of cliches and just has a good time with it. despite the name, Pumpkin Head is a very misleading name for the monster in the film and could easily fool surprise you
Not gonna spoil it for you, but i think you guys should give the first movie a look.

My thoughts on your thoughts of horror, I pretty much agree with the whole human emotion thing. But i prefer movies like Evil Dead and Friday 13th, mostly because i want entertainment. I don’t care about being scared that much and would rather just have a fun time watching an over the top B movie.

46 minutes for a vlog/review? I preferred you being sick : /

You are sounding better health-wise, Spoony. Hope you progress even more in that area. Thanks for the thoughts on horror movies, made interesting viewing. Looking forward to the October reviews, keep up the great work but work most on getting back to full health. Good thoughts and prayers.

If you want to see Romero doing something actually akin to horror instead of thinly veiled social commentary, which is what all his zombies boil down to, I suggest you check out Martin. I would not say it is exactly scary, but Romero manages to make you so uncomfortable with the titular character that you are almost constantly on edge throughout the entire movie. I have sat through many a slasher yawning all the way, but Martin nearly made me leave the room within the first five minutes.

That said, I was on the fence before this on seeing Paranormal Activity, I had heard good things but as mentioned the ads looked staged and retarded, which turned me off. I’ll be seeing it this weekend thanks to this review.

The reason I love 28 Days Later is exactly the point you were making about horror only being affective if you actualy liking the characters.
It’s not actualy a scary film, the fear and general suspense in the film comes from watching it thinking “oh God what happens next”.
Love your vlogs =D

141
Rimfrost,

Click the timer on the left side of the video once it starts, and it switches to a backwards countdown. That way you know if you’re getting Bite-Sized Spoony or Epic Spoony.

Definately gonna check the movie out!
It isn’t coming out till January 2010 over here in Germany, so I’ll have to be patient.

Another great review, i don’t have much to comment i don’t know much about movies but i just like hearing your opinion, and your reviews makes me wanna watch that you watched, and i’m glad to see you are better

Awesome review, and an excellent rant, Spoony. I’ve been saying this sort of thing about “horror” movies for the longest time – there is no reliance on the imagination of the audience to fill in the gaps and envision something more personal to them. When the unknown becomes known, I feel it removes a great deal of the investment in the movie because the audience stops trying to work for it, and once the audience stops thinking about it, they stop investigating horrible alternatives in the backs of their minds.

I always thought Night of the Living Dead would work really well on stage, for most of the reasons you mentioned, it’s not a film about Zombies per se, it’s a film about characters in isolation and the ensuing power struggle and relationships therein. (Plus, since it’s one location, it lends itself to a box set environment without complicating matters.) As long as it was played straight, allowing the audience to rediscover the “Dead walk the Earth” conciet along with the characters, I think it’d be really effective.

Your rant also reminded me of an argument I had (and ultimately lost) with a Director in a play I was lighting about how “visible” a ghost character should be. He kept pressing for more light so as to see the ghost more clearly, and I kept trying to explain that the ghost should be kept as dimly lit as we could possibly get away with, because the more we see, the less we try and imagine. Sadly, once a Director has their mind set on something, you kind of have to shrug your shoulders and give it to them, but I still thought it was a missed opportunity. We could see the ghost, and it was not scary.

One last thing before I close this off, I also agree with your insistance that this film be seen in the theatre as opposed to the small screen. I think that one of the things we’ve REALLY lost out on with the advent of “home theatre” is the group experience of seeing a film with a large number of other people. The collective atmosphere of a group of people completely engaged and reacting to what they are seeing is electric and, as you said, totally magic.

Anyhow, stay scared, and good luck with Pumpkinhead, can’t wait to see what you end up with.

- Toko.

I’ve never posted on your comment section before (I avoid unmoderated forums and comment sites like the plague), but I wanted to let you know I AGREE WITH YOU 100%!! Most “horror” movies aren’t scary. At all. Ones I’ve found really freaky? Psycho, Revulsion, Perfect Blue, Jaws, I’m sure I can think of others if I dig in further. Movies I haven’t found scary? Just about every slasher or monster movie I’ve ever seen…and The Exorcist, which was awesome, but I was too intellectually interested in the subject matter to engage emotionally (blame it on being a Religious Studies major). I am definitely checking out The Eye now, though. I look forward to you ragging on the Pumpkin Head series.

I agree, if you want to believe and go on with the ride then you’re gonna love it if not then don’t see it….

how bout the strangers? i got pretty scared with that movie there are a couple of scenes that ruined the whole movie
and the horror is like nothing nothing nothing something but still i was pretty scared

and the shark is always there you feel the shark…

till next vid

hmm prevue adds now?

I wonder when will we see a “Jennifer’s Body” review…

I wonder when will we see a “Jennifer’s Body” review…

I totally agree with your views on the fact that most movies in horror genre are really not horror. It seems like horror has the most “sub-genres”. The slasher, torture porn (thanks btw for the new sub-class of movie), the paranormal, and the zombie flick (now really a type of movie on its own). True horror any more seems to come from Japan any more. No offense to American film makers, but the “horror” movies coming out of Hollywood lately have sucked (with a few exceptions) and many are ripped off from Japanese movies like The Ring (Ringu) and The Grudge (Ju-on). The problem with the Japanese movies is the way the story is told and the fact that to really get the movies one kind of needs to know a little of Japanese culture due to the fact that what is scary to them isn’t as scary to us.

Now your take on Romero’s movies I’ll agree with except for Day of the Dead, but you already have alot of people stating as such. Your take on Twilight of the Dead (I refuse to call it Land of the Dead) and Diary of the Dead are right and yet they are really not apart of the horror genre. They are good examples of the zombie flick but bad in the terms of horror. If any one refutes the fact that zombie movies are now its own genre look at the sheer number of them. Sure they can fit into horror, action, or comedy(or any combination there in). But come on, what makes a good zombie flick doesn’t make it a good horror flick any more.

After that block of text I just want to say keep doing what your doing Spoony.

Im wondering what his opinion on the original “The Evil Dead” is.

Oh Man Spoony Right On Ive Been Trying to Come up With The “What is True Horror?” Speech For Ages And You Do It On The Spot? Man Your Awesome and Im Taking My Girl To See this Tonight All Cause of You Thanks!

@ 136: Scream in my opinion was more of a spoof of where the Slasher genre had ended up, and it ironically ended up reviving the genre. Theres a lot of evidence this movie was a subtle jab at other Slasher flicks, like the scene were Randy is watching Halloween, while being watched on the time delay video cam, Randy is trying to warn Jamie about Michael Myers, “Look out behind you! Hes behind you Jamie.” While the camera guy in the van is warning Randy about Ghost Face. “He’s behind you kid, behind you!” There’s also quite a few scenes were characters almost break the fourth wall, by almost knowing they’re in a movie. Not to mention Jamie Kennedys “rules for surviving a horror film”.

As for the topic of PA, Blair Witch was unwatchable, however I do like the concept of a documentary type of horror, BW just didn’t do it for me. While Paranormal activity might be better, I smell cheese.

There are two main elements that I look for in every horror movie now-a-days. The element of the unknown, and the element of psychological fear (i.e In The Mouth of Madness). And that is why, I think, alot of people like to watch the television show Ghost Hunters because of that unknown. (Oh, and by the way, the Ghost Hunting team doesn’t run away anymore, at least not on camera.) However, the prison episode was still the scariest, in my opinion. EVP’s, on the other hand, are still somewhat scary because it plays on the unknown, and your right, most of the time they don’t “catch” anything on the show. Just take a look at the spin-off TV show Ghost Hunters International. I stopped watching GHI because absolutely nothing happens. At least with Ghost Hunters something does happen every once in awhile.

Anyways, movies like Hostel are not scary. Why pay to see torture when you can see it on the internet for free? And slashers? They’re a joke right along with the first-person, handy-cam, movies that only provides the element of motion sickness.

The mind can a person’s worst enemy. If a movie can suspend someone’s disbelief, remove them from they’re comfort zone, and make them turn on themselves mentally, which is what the element of the unknown is about, then the director and they’re crew have done a good job. Everything else is a waste of time and money.

I don’t understand how anyone can go into a movie like this and expect it to not be a waste of time. As for what you said on Ghost Hunters, atleast they don’t constantly scream bloody murder like those British idiots in that ‘Most Haunted’ show. That and GH is actually a little entertaining to watch, speclly when there are bats involved.

I’m glad that you’re recovering; you already look a lot better than your past Vlog. And I went to see the movie with my sister and a theater full of screamish (forgive me for coming off as racist) African Americans, and you’re right, the movie was definitely meant for audience participation and the movie theater. It really brought out the best part of how horror, rather it be psychological horror, slashers, gore, genuine horror, whatever, is SUPPOSE to be viewed. That being said I kind of liked this movie a lot more than Blair Witch, and I think it has to do with it being in a house (where you’re suppose to think you’re safe, but you’re not- even though the spirit could have attacked them anywhere) and the characters really were enjoyable. I saw a bit of you in Micah, too; I actually left the theater telling my sister about that and had to show her a few of your reviews to prove it.

Can’t wait to see the next review; hopefully by then you would have made a full recovery. Get better!

You should have mentioned the Shining as a perfect example of not knowing what the fuck is going on… You’re constantly swinging between paranormal influences and everyone just being out of their fckin mind. And sometimes there’s even tension created because you’re no sure what to think… Like the opening scene, it creates such a weird feel that its kinda scary. Or the chasing scene through the maze where you never get to see how close they are to each other, and this what turns it from a potentialyl slapstick-y scene into some really scary scene :D

Spoony was high as fuck

Great review! This movie really plays on primal fears which is what real horror should be all about. I was at the local Party City store yesterday and some father simply COULDN’T understand why his little boy was crying and couldn’t bare to look at one of those foam skeleton creatures that were hanging on the rack. He kept saying, “Look it’s fake it won’t hurt you” while pushing the screaming kid towards it….prick! Kids are kids and they get scared. That’s essentially what you have to harness with good horror. That fear that grips you and puts you into that place you can’t escape. As adults, we tend to grow out of that because the issues of life tend to take over our minds, and we aren’t open to those fears anymore. Why fear a vampire when your mother-in-law or her lawyer is WAY scarier?

However, those fears are always with us buried in our subconcious. Any movie that can tap into that is what true horror is all about.

hey spoony nice to see you are better!
you do rant a lot these days, i miss a good reviews from you, i miss dr. insano!

hoping to see a review soon! =)

I gotta say I agree with you on the subject of horror films. The simple fact is that many of them just aren’t scary; they may make you feel sick (as the torture porn genre certainly does for me), but they never scare you. The most a lot of horror films made these days can do is startle, which isn’t the same as being scared; I was startled the other day when a bird flew into my window and smacked against the glass, but that doesn’t make it the avian equivalent of Stanley Kubrick.

As to Paranormal Activity; well, I guess that’s still some way off from a UK release, since I’ve not seen or heard of it before now. Blair Witch didn’t do it for me though, simply because I found it unwatchable because of the shaky-cam. I’m open to the idea of a documentary-styled horror film though, so I may give this a chance.

I don’t think this movie is around here lol I’ve heard nothing about it at least and haven’t seen it there. Bah, kinda curious to see it.

I never got the “zomg ghosts” scare though, I think of it like this “ya ghosts are around, if they kill me, I become one too, and I’ll just fucking piss them off FOR ETERNITY” as I’m the kinda guy you don’t wanna piss off cause I’ll make life (after life) Hell lol.

45 minutes of Spoony goodness! Man, I’ve missed your videos. (Is that a little sad on my part?) You seem to be looking a lot healthier in this video. Can’t wait for the *sniff* Scary reviews.
If you havn’t already, i suggest you watch Zombieland, as it’s mostly hilarious and fun to watch. Then make a video review about it expressing your love/meh/hate for it. :D

Good rant, if a little extended, cheers! Nice little summary of the Horror genre in general.

Damn you Spoony… You’ve sold me on this. :)

On a side note, got back from Zombieland last night. It actually lives up to the hype. Go check it out. You’ll have fun.

I agree with everything you’ve said, yes, even the comment about Dawn of the Dead not being as good as both Night and Day. I was a big fan of the Blair Witch Project, Cannibal Holocaust, and the much lesser known, Last Broadcast all for the reasons you’ve mentioned. I’m not exactly sure what horror movies you’re referring to as shit, but I must agree with the slasher films (Friday the 13th in paticular) as not being effective, stuff like The Burning, and the Halloween sequels (not including Halloween 1978, which is one of the best) do nothing to actually scare correctly. The Shining works in a very different way from say, Blair Witch or Jaws because you’re frightened much more psychologically then you are when watching something like Paranormal Activity, it gets into your head for about 2 weeks. So, I think The Shining works in the group of really effective horror films too. Anyway, I definitely knew this movie was going to be huge, and I’m going to check it out. Maybe it might finally shake things up with the genre. It’s only been about 10 years since something really important.

“Cats clawin’ their faces off!”

I almost sprayed water on my computer, bad time to take a drink XD

reminds me of a film i saw in the mid 90′s bout a farm house under attack from aliens (greys). All filmed on camcorder the guy filming wet himself so he and his brother went upstairs to change clothing. the brother holds the camera and with out thinking pans round the room and theirs a fucking alien in the corner that you see for like a second! i fucking shit my pants and jumped so far i allmost hit the ceiling in my front room! never found what it was called and would love to own it. Dam sure M night slammalamdingdong saw it and ripped it off for signs.

Would you consider “Alien” to be a good horror/scary film?

spoony, youre the best. i realy like your reviews and the way you tell us about your own opinion. you always get the point and keep us entertained. in fact, you realy know how to get to the ordiance just bay the way you talk and the sound of youre voice. i think you coold talk about anything and it would turn out interristing. again, you make great stuff and we all love you for that.

As many have said, I agree with your take on horror.

I do want to add something to your points about the movie,thought. You actually explained yourself why the demon wanted to do what it did. It’s motivations were pure and simple, fuck shit up as much as you can. That is some sense of horror that is far more frightening, the force you are being harassed by doesn’t have a sob story to tell, it doesn’t have a freudian excuse, it is pure evil and it wants you dead. What makes it worse is that unlike something physical like a werewolf or a vampire, this thing doesn’t show it’s face and you don’t know if you can even harm it.

Also, the idea that the guy has no idea what he is dealing with it kinda cool. These days we are so used to demons,ghosts what have you that we don’t show much fear towards them anymore. The guy being giddy and wanting to film the thing is a good proof of it, he sees it as something exciting, not something to be vary of. So the demon being something far worse than anything he could have prepared for is great, because it brings out the ‘this shit is real’ factor. This demon plays dirty, can’t bargain with it, and you can’t hurt it. If he had lived in less advanced time, he would have not been so eager.

Nice review… fck I dont know when its coming to mexico but definently gonna go see it. The last “scary movie” I saw was drag me to hell and thought it was a preety good movie. keep up the reviews.. cheer.

To all the people saying J-Horror is the only good horror… You would be right… if it all weren’t the exact same story essentially, with the SAME exact style just with a different cover.

You know that reason of fear of the unknown or unseen is exactly why I liked 1408. I mean thats a really good example of that concept, at least i think it was.

last real scary movie I have seen was El Orphano.
Defin. go see that one!

I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned The Thing yet, but I thought Carpenter did a great job of creating tension. The lighting, the fact that it could be anyone, and the effective soundtrack all contributed to making one fucking scary movie. Not to mention the isolation/claustrophobia and bleakness of the setting. You also come to care for the characters (who doesn’t love a bearded Kurt Russell?). Sure some of the special effects are outdated, but I think they still work – better than cg would, in my opinion.

Odin The Small, I could be wrong but Im pretty sure you’re referring to Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County that was shown on UPN in 1998. I remember watching this with my best friend and being highly entertained.

It’s so good to hear from you again, Spoony! It looks like you’re getting through your sick time. I loved this review- it really showed your knowledge of horror and of movie formulas in general. I caon’t wait to see you next reviews!

Something like this would be even better with 3rd as long as the 3rd as not overdone.

Sorry mean’t to say 3d, doh!

I 100% agree am going to see this now! At first, i thought that it might suck. but you amde me change my mind to want to see it

GREAT review. I wasn’t going to see this movie, but now I might. btw, I LOVED the original Pulse, good shit.

Gees, it’s another one of those “they can’t do anything, there all going to die” moves isn’t it? Sorry but I’m really starting to get sick of that. If it’s pointless, why should I bother watching?

…so that’s what was up with that scene. I didn’t find the Blare Witch movie very scary. I remember I was really looking forward to seeing it from all the hype. In the end I thought it was ok. I never really got the ending, I walked out of the cinema wondering what it what I’d just seen. I didn’t loose any sleep over it.

I can definatly see where your coming from with the movies like “Day after Tomorrow” and “2012″. Maybe it’s because I’m not a film buff but I’m not sure how else you’d tell a story about a such a massive catastrophy. Maybe I’ll go check out this “Pulse” movie you mentioned. About the senseless killing, if it’s some kind of natural disaster like an earth quake or a meteor shower it’s not like they have any will or intent. When people die from a natural disaster it usually is senseless. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Although, about independance day, if you’d have asked me the first thing to spring to mind it would be that scene where Jeff Goldblume and Will Smith were in the alien ship.

You know, I think that last movie that actually frightened me was the ring. You probably think it’s silly but when she came out of the TV screen. I was so not expecting that. I thought it was a pretty good movie up until that point but when that happened, I sat up and took notice.

Well, I hope you get well soon man, I know I disagree a lot but I love your work. Wouldn’t keep watching if I didn’t. Anyway, stay healthy, stay safe. ^_^

Noah, you and I both share a somewhat similar ideology on what Horror really is.

The problem with Modern Day horror, in a nutshell, is no room for imagination.

I don’t need the movie to fill in the gaps, I know what my fears are, let me play on my fears, instead of having some gore fest that only makes me sick to my stomach.

Perhaps, someday, cinema will learn. Until then, I’ll stick to my classic horror movies.

Can’t agree more with the notion that the unseen, the unknown, is often the scariest thing.

Which is scarier in a film?

1) A hand reaches out from the darkness, wrapping around a woman’s mouth, muffling her screams, and pull her into another room. We hear her scream in utter terror and agony…and it suddenly becomes silent.

2) A hand reaches out from the darkness, wrapping around a woman’s mouth, muffling her screams, and pull her into another room. The camera follows as she struggles and she screams utter terror and agony as well watch her get repeatedly stabbed…or gutted…or strangled…or quickly dissolved in acid…whatever.

Not knowing is worse. If you’re afraid of rats, then you can imagine her being eaten alive by rats. Or that the killer is literally pulling the limbs from her body, one by one, starting with her fingers. Or both at the same time. But if you actually see what happens, it loses something.

Horror doesn’t happen anymore. A majority of “horror” or “scary” things revolves around the “startle” effect. And while it does suddenly get your blood pumping, it’s not long-lasting.

I never liked the Blair Witch project for the same reason I generally hate certain movies like that. And by “certain movies”, I mean blantant stupidity for the sake of moving the plot along.

Blair Witch? Throw away the map? Seriously? Stupid to the Nth degree. And that’s just the biggest offender in that film. Another film on that list is “Cast Away” for me. Stupidity for the sake of moving the plot along makes a bad movie.

If you like Blair Witch… That’s fine by me. I just can’t stand to watch it, because of the inherant stupidity within it. Yeah, the first time you see it, you are a little freaked out… But it doesn’t stand up to a second viewing. It’s that second viewing (or for me, halfway through my first) in which you notice the stupidity the characters have. You start going, “just kill them already, they deserve it for being so stupid”.

I saw previews for this movie, and it didn’t look that good. It looked downright dull.

i would like to see a video of your recomendations for good movies of this type

man this movie isn’t showing anywhere near where i live……

Lot examples of the “fear of the unknown” reminded me how video games can deliver this kind of horror effectively. I found that effective horror methods in video games is often subtle, hinted of a tragic event. Thus allowing the imagination of the audience run wild, can have the causation of loss and grief over that particular event and that emotion link with the main character “putting their shoes on” in video games makes the psychological horror much more effective.

Best examples I can draw on, is in Silent Hill 3, Heather walking down this long corridor, the first thing that player sees the is the still spinning wheel chair, then around the corner the player sees the trail of blood leading to the elevator and the numerous bullet holes on the wall. This scene alone in scared the shit out me. Actually silent hill itself was disturbing and “unknown” horror linked with grief and loss.

Another example, is Yume Nikki, a girl who falls to sleep and explore her schizophrenic nightmare. Often, her “dreams” are subtle links to the horrific events in her past life.

I agree that 99% of horror movies are crap, I just believe it’s a very hard medium to deliver that horror experience to the audience.

Another note, have you seen Canada’s 1996 movie called “The Cube”. It’s a low budget film, but it’s effective psychological horror.

Nice Vid, but is anyone having with trouble concentrating with that ad about Pamela Anderson? or is that just me…

p.s. “The Cube” is an awsom film. the 2nd & 3rd, weren’t as good, but they almost never are.

Spoony, I gotta say, I love your big long…reviews.

i know i might get flack for this but if your looking for scares watch when they cry even though it’s and anime it has intresting plot and very confusing and weird take on paranormal activity

Spoony, you should see Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 film “Don’t Look Now” if you haven’t already. It’s a truly horrific slow-burn type of movie that draws on the themes of loss, desperation and the unknown. The characters are developed in a way that makes you genuinely worried for their safety. At first presents itself as more of a thriller, but the “slasher” in this film is at least ten times scarier than any other I can think of.

Another good one is “Jacob’s Ladder”, although that one is only about 1/3 supernatural horror movie. The rest is split between being a Vietnam flashback movie and a government conspiracy movie. The horror segments were a big influence on the Silent Hill series, and although I love Silent Hill the imagery in the games seemed a whole lot less original after I saw this film.

there was a Jaws marathon on a Saturday on fox, and I was scared out of my mind as a kid every time Jaws came on “screen”. I only opened my eyes for Jaws four. and uh yeah that took away all the fear. Another movie that is very similar to Jaws, is Alligator, haven’t seen the sequel but the first one when they make the kid walk the plank at a birthday party into a pool and a alligator comes out and eats him! Yeah that one terrified my sister, it makes you afraid of a pool! In premise alone much more scary than Jaws were you expect sharks to be in the ocean, but you don’t expect a man eating alligator to be in your back yard pool (unless you live in Florida). Along with close encounters, I recommend Abyss, not technically horror either but still has its moments where your like what is going on?! And Photoshop was actually invented for it. Anyway i’m not really into blarewitch, the whole documentary thing isn’t scary to me. I did like cloverfield once the monster started attacking, but uh yeah it was because I didn’t know what the movie was about then I was pleasantly surprised to see a giant monster attacking a city. But man did I feel like puking, I mean they could’ve at least tried a steady cam at least in the first part in the apartment. I wanted to throw up during it. Did you get motion sickness during this?

I think a good example of a disaster movie actually capturing the horror of what happens is “The Day After”, no, not the “The Day After Tomorrow”. “The Day After” was, I believe, a made for TV movie in the early 1980′s. It was about the Cold War going hot and there is one particular scene that really brings home the hopelessness and horror of what is about to happen.

George A romero’s movies aren’t horror films, they’re more like action movies or zombie movies (some may argue that zombie movies are a genre on they’re own).

I know its been said a couple dozen times by now but I totally agree with your stance on modern horror movies which is exactly the reason I try to avoid them. I saw this movie on a bit of a whim when my cousin said she cried when she watched It. I didn’t really hear anything about it prior to the day before seeing it so the hype didn’t really factor into my experience (in fact I went in thinking it was going to be a lame Hollywood cookie cutter).

I also took notice to another sub set of people who won’t like this movie. The “tough guys” who will try to look cool because they didn’t get scared and tried not to be scared (like you said being able to suspend disbelief will really give you a much more enjoyable experience). So I think it was a good thing I saw this on my own, I jumped for the first time in a long time and felt my skin crawl at least tree times. It was defiantly a very effective movie with a real genuine feel. I was sucked in from the beginning to end.

I didn’t really enjoy the ending although the last scare more then makes up for it in my opinion. Again like you said it cheapens the experience. I’ve heard that the ending being shown is the Spielberg ending and not the original and I’ll be honest it came off very Hollywoody.

I was really hoping you would review this so It was worth the long wait to see a new vid.

I agree that most “horror” movies aren’t actually horror movies these days, and that it’s admirable for the occasional film to go for actual suspense and fear rather than jumpiness. I fully agree that staying away from a ton of violence or showing what the audience is supposed to be afraid of is a good way to go.

However, I feel having a fake “this is totally real guys!” format is actually counterproductive; since it’s obviously not real, it’s hard to be drawn in. A truly good filmmaker would make a film people know is scripted, develop characters the audience actually gives a shit about, and then use the previously mentioned elements.

Ghost Hunters is actually awesome. They, a lot of times, prove what ISN’T a ghost… what is completely natural. Other times, they scare themselves shitless, which is hilarious.

But every once in a while… there was one point where a VERY EXTREMELY CLEAR SENTENCE was whispered by someone not there. Moments later, you see this person’s jacket yank back with nothing holding it. It was… not natural. And there was one where they saw a really obvious… human shape… which was at a window REALLY FAR ABOVE THE GROUND. Always fun.

And god, none of this horror shit… the torture porn and all… NONE OF THAT TERRIFIES ME AT ALL. My revulsion and fear circuits are not crossed. I go into this friggin medical mode when I see that stuff. I can’t STAND it. I can’t get into it. I used to think I didn’t like horror and was hard to scare. Aaaand then I read Lovecraft. Gimme soul-searing terror, damnit! That’s the stuff! I would love for you to make a list. I would love to see good horror on film.

You know, I’m gonna say it now: Ever read House of Leaves? This reminds me of it. Except FAR LESS INSANELY CONVOLUTEDLY COMPLEX. It is terribly horrifying and fascinating at once, though.

Forgive me if this has already been brought up.

I’m curious if Spoony or anyone else makes a distinction between suspense and horror. I don’t mean in the sense used to define genres — like how some of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies could be defined as masterpieces of suspense but not necessarily horror. I mean how, as Spoony (I think accurately) points, that /good/ horror movies capitalize on the suspense/potential/unknown more (as well as a story with characters we care about). But is suspense — the wait, the uncertainty — the same as horror? That is, where there is no or little uncertainty, and that what’s presented before you is truly terrifying? Perhaps a horror movie defined as such isn’t really possible, or can only appear as the ‘money shots’ of otherwise suspense movies, but I think perhaps some of what I think are the scariest moments are when the two are simultaneously juxtapositioned, such as seeing the antagonist clearly but uncertain when they’ll make their move or what it’ll be, such as the end of Alien (and unrelated, time between the facehugger latching and the chestburster scene in Alien).

There also seems to be a strange correlation between low-budget “don’t see the horror” stories and their successes (which, while I certainly wouldn’t argue their effectiveness, I would say is just a “cheap” way to scare as the slasher jumping around a corner). Does this mean that successful suspense/horror can only be achieved by what isn’t seen? Or can there be some Holy Grail of Horror via capturing the essence of Cthulhu on screen?

Thoughts?

(Also, hope you feel better soon, Spoony. Don’t forget your other horror masterpieces ( ;) ) you’re reviewing such as The Ripper! That’s so scary it’s un-fucking-believable! :D)

After writing my previous comment, I realize that the alien isn’t clearly shown at the end of Alien, which sort of makes it a bad example, but at the same time, it’s definitely there — we’re not meant to wonder “where is it? where’s it going to scare from next?” sort of deal.

I’m sure there are better examples, but I’ll be honest and say that I haven’t seen all too many horror/suspense movies. My ideal “horror” movies tend to be more psychological, like The Cube… which I’m not sure actually counts.

Glad to see you’re looking better Spoony, enough at least to talk through a whole half hour, lol.

But anyway, way to go on basically explaining all the thoughts and feelings I had on horror, slasher, suspense, and guro movies that I could previously never organize into a concise, and orderly statement. I was thinking of seeing this one this weekend but nostalgia got the better of me and I had went to see the Toy Story 3D double feature instead. All and all, nice “chat” about the movie, I would use the term review but it seemed more like you had a somewhat one sided conversation with us about the movie, rather than just picking at the good and aspects about it.

On the fake documentary/”mocumentary” elements of “Paranormal Activity” all I can say is that it goes way back: they made fake newsreel clips of both the Boer War (1899-1902) and World War I (1914-18.) However the director who started this mini-genre was Luis Bunuel, with his mid-`30s short “Land Without Bread.” It’s supposed to be a documentary about this “recently discovered” people, the Hurdanos, who live in the mountains on the Spanish-Portugese border. They are barely scratching out a living in very primitive stone houses, and a lot of them are nearly starving to death. However, Bunuel leave a lot of clues that the documentary is a fake; a “dead” girl breathes, a mountain goat falls off a hill (if you look closely, the goat is kicked), and somehow this unknown village has Catholic priests from the outside. The movie still fools people today.

George Romero’s movies are more like zombie movies…

XD

Gebohq – I think ‘Horror’ generally carries some connote of the supernatural. Even if it’s a human ‘slasher’, there’s usually something otherwordly about them. However, I think Texas Chainsaw Massacre was probably as close as they could get to making ‘real’ people look like demons. So it’s not always supernatural. And frankly, I was more scared from seeing Se7en than the majority of horror filmes I simply see out of interest.

How about this instead – take an outlandish premise and make it just workable enough to be possible – and make that premise scary as all Hell (like cannibals living next door, or a possessed animal.) The degree to which a horror film is successful being the degree to which that premise is developed and respected – it’s not that you see the awful creature from under the sewer eating people, it’s that they are able to inform you that that’s what happens.

Anyway, the more I think about this, the more qualifications I have to make (like Spoorloos), so I’m just gonna stop. Any distinct lines would probably be related to the individual past a certain point.

ok spoony,
“diarrhea” of the dead..as i too call it.. is actualy a big budger.. RIP OFF of an AWESOME LOW budget U.K. movie, “The Zombie Diaries” which is more of a social comentary on the vileness of humans, than a horror movie..AS WAS Night of the living dead as George A ramerio himself has sad.. an di enjoy the the other “Dead” movies for the sher gore effect and, humor aspect to the crappyness.. i do enjoy the contstnat bulid of of suspense E.g. the japanese horror Gernre like.. Audtion, and the Orginal japanese “the eye” so many times the really good japanese movies get bent over and bummed up the arse, by beign “americanized” all for the sake of the dollar.. sorry for the spellign and thanks for the review will proly go see this in theaters.. like i did blair which and is the onyl way ive ever enjoyed it

I’m gonna give this a shot, but I really didn’t like Blair Witch that much. Spoony, there’s this movie called Noroi, The Curse. Give that a try. It’s got that same documentary style, but it manages to be a little scarier than the usual mockumentary style thing. Anyone who likes stuff like this or Last Broadcast or something, give this a shot.

Now I realize that I commented on this thread earlier a couple days back and i went on (and on…and uh…on) about how I dissagreed with you about the horror, jump scare thing and especially about the Blair witch, first person cam movies thing, but I have nowhere else to actually post this so I hope you end up noticing this:

I have to say spoon. Not only do i really love these videos you post, they’ve really helped me maintain my sanity over the last month or so. that may sound strange, but I have been going through a severe personal trial, a friend of mine is terribly ill, she’s been in a hospital for well over a month now, she is in terrible shape, and there’s not a lot anyone can do, which of course includes me. so i spend a grueling amount of time just sitting and waiting to hear something, always expecting the worst news possible, and it’s been excruciating. and especially at hours like now, when i can’t sleep, I have found that sitting here watching your hilarious videos really helps to pass the time and take my mind off this huge thing that has been weighing down on me. I have been going through almost all the videos (and older text stuff) that you have posted and I have been commenting an awful lot on your page for the last few weeks (probably sounding like an OCD douche more often than not) but i just want to give you positive feedback in exchange for all the good this -what some might call “trivial”- review site has done for me. i would have emailed this directly to you, but i can’t seem to find a way to send you a direct email on the site, so i have to post it as a comment, but i don’t mind everyone seeing that someone really appreciates the time you spend making these videos, though just to entertain, that they also can really help someone out and mean more than just a diversion sometimes. So thanks a load spoony, though you obviously wouldn’t know it, you’ve been a great help to me recently, and they say laughter is the best medicine and you sir, are a pharmacy full of the stuff :)

Hey Spoony! Definitely glad to see you’re feeling better. I’ve seen Ghosthunters a few times before. I can only remember two of them, and that’s only barely. One was (I believe) Jim Henson Studios. Not a whole lot goes on there. The other was about some murderer’s house. They have a light device that goes off a bit. They ask a question and tell the ghost to make it blink and it does and…yeah.
As for the Blair Witch Project, I honestly didn’t see it due to the negative hype surrounding the movie. I’ve always thought the ‘Horror’ genre to mainly be boring. I fell asleep during “Freddy’s Dead” at the movie theatre when I was a kid. Luckily I woke up for the 3D part, but still, the rest of the movie was not horror. Not even scary. It was mainly gore. That’s what most ‘horror’ movies are. The only reason I liked some of the older movies (as per our childhood,) was that the make-up and special effects, at the time, were pretty cool. “Hellraiser”s Pinhead was my favorite from the series. I don’t even remember much of what went on in those other than some of those twisted-looking characters. I haven’t really been to many theatres around here. Which of them would you prefer? We have the Harkins by the stadium, another theatre in Arrowhead, and then Metro. I’ve only been to the Harkins with a giftcard that was about to expire around the time “Next” came out (which is the one I seen. I had no idea what was out.) “Saw” is not really horror either. It does have that, “this shit could happen to you” type feel, but still not horror to me. Only plus they’ve had for me was the basic storyline. I’ve always liked movies that have everything all click together at the end. “Lucky # Slevin” was another of those. Definitely not horror, not even close…but still pretty fuckin’ good. I agree that the only way you’ll get a good movie experience for a movie of this sort is: in the dark, with a great speaker system, and with a few people that would be able to get into the movie as well.
Cheer for the killer?..yeah, definitely. Definitely nice when Jason offed some of those horrid 80′s fashion trends. To bring up “Saw” again, same damn thing. The audience is expected to have those guys die. They’re dicks. They’ve mistreated their family, friends, and others…lost their own humanity. It makes us feel that these bastards deserve what they’re going through, and if they don’t make it, great! More scientific learning of the human anatomy that way.
Footsteps and other noises in the night are scary? You bet your ass they are. I hope this doesn’t discredit me but, you ever go to a graveyard at night, by yourself? I’ve been to a couple (family members died, was waiting for the ride home, needed fresh air, and to get away from the stuffy assholes backtalking the person that just died.) Out of three times, there was only once that I felt like somebody was watching me. I didn’t hear any footsteps or anything, but it was still creepy. I had to go back inside. Well, back to the footstep thing…I was at home (at 91st & Northern, at the time) and was talking to my friend and I heard footsteps in the other room. Had two roommates, one was at work, thought the other was outside tanning or some such. No pets. Distinctly heard somebody walking with flipflops on. I went out there and…nobody was there…and this was during the day. I think it was about 2pm. I could not figure out what made that noise. More recently, I lived up by 67th and T-bird and, I fucking swear that house is haunted. It felt like the graveyard every night. Found out later it used to be an old-folk home. I’d hear footsteps in the night when nobody else was around. Some…thing kept knocking on my door. After some testing of trying to repeat the sound, it was the same as a wooden cane with a pad of rubber at the end hitting the lower part from the outside. I’ve tried to logically explain a lot of the other noises, but…there was nothing there to make the noises. The house was shifting? Not likely that happened in the same fashion of somebody walking five steps or so. My bedroom was the only place I was okay in…most of the time. I only lived there for a month. That was just…creepy. Logic is my friend, but that was just fucked up.
Yeah, 9-11 was quite messed up. I remember waking up that day (10-ish) and turned on the TV to watch…a building burning. I had no idea what was going on, mainly due to just having woke up and the journalists weren’t really filling me in quite yet. All the stations were covering it and a few minutes later, live feed, the second plane flew into the other building. I ran outside to see if I could see smoke (lived near Chicago, and thought I had seen buildings like that), but found out upon going back in that it was in New York. That was a big WFT moment.
Did you happen to like “Shaun of the Dead”? I think it’s one of those that you start to care for the characters that you were talking about, althought it does have quite a bit of humour in it. She’s drunk…he he he. I probably should look into watching “Day of the Dead”. For reasons already explained, I’ve generally shunned anything thrown into the ‘Horror’ genre. “1408″ was an interesting watch though. The only “Pumpkinhead” movie I’ve seen was…possibly the 2000 one. It felt like background noise to me when I watched it. I was seriously more interested in examining a cigarette burn hole in the couch than I was that movie.

@ Zack Dolan
I know how you feel, man. Just hope for the best. That kind of crap happened to my grandpa. His friends thought the next time they’d see him was going to be at his funeral. Even the doctors thought he was going to die. Perhaps they were hoping he would die because they majorly screwed up (gave blood thinners to somebody with internal bleeding…yeah, great idea.) Either way, I believed he was going to be okay. It wasn’t just a hope. I KNEW he’d be fine. I wish the best for you and your friend. :)

Hey Spoony! Definitely glad to see you’re feeling better. I’ve seen Ghosthunters a few times before. I can only remember two of them, and that’s only barely. One was (I believe) Jim Henson Studios. Not a whole lot goes on there. The other was about some murderer’s house. They have a light device that goes off a bit. They ask a question and tell the ghost to make it blink and it does and…yeah.
As for the Blair Witch Project, I honestly didn’t see it due to the negative hype surrounding the movie. I’ve always thought the ‘Horror’ genre to mainly be boring. I fell asleep during “Freddy’s Dead” at the movie theatre when I was a kid. Luckily I woke up for the 3D part, but still, the rest of the movie was not horror. Not even scary. It was mainly gore. That’s what most ‘horror’ movies are. The only reason I liked some of the older movies (as per our childhood,) was that the make-up and special effects, at the time, were pretty cool. “Hellraiser”s Pinhead was my favorite from the series. I don’t even remember much of what went on in those other than some of those twisted-looking characters. I haven’t really been to many theatres around here. Which of them would you prefer? We have the Harkins by the stadium, another theatre in Arrowhead, and then Metro. I’ve only been to the Harkins with a giftcard that was about to expire around the time “Next” came out (which is the one I seen. I had no idea what was out.) “Saw” is not really horror either. It does have that, “this shit could happen to you” type feel, but still not horror to me. Only plus they’ve had for me was the basic storyline. I’ve always liked movies that have everything all click together at the end. “Lucky # Slevin” was another of those. Definitely not horror, not even close…but still pretty fuckin’ good. I agree that the only way you’ll get a good movie experience for a movie of this sort is: in the dark, with a great speaker system, and with a few people that would be able to get into the movie as well.
Cheer for the killer?..yeah, definitely. Definitely nice when Jason offed some of those horrid 80′s fashion trends. To bring up “Saw” again, same damn thing. The audience is expected to have those guys die. They’re dicks. They’ve mistreated their family, friends, and others…lost their own humanity. It makes us feel that these bastards deserve what they’re going through, and if they don’t make it, great! More scientific learning of the human anatomy that way.
Footsteps and other noises in the night are scary? You bet your ass they are. I hope this doesn’t discredit me but, you ever go to a graveyard at night, by yourself? I’ve been to a couple (family members died, was waiting for the ride home, needed fresh air, and to get away from the stuffy assholes backtalking the person that just died.) Out of three times, there was only once that I felt like somebody was watching me. I didn’t hear any footsteps or anything, but it was still creepy. I had to go back inside. Well, back to the footstep thing…I was at home (at 91st & Northern, at the time) and was talking to my friend and I heard footsteps in the other room. Had two roommates, one was at work, thought the other was outside tanning or some such. No pets. Distinctly heard somebody walking with flipflops on. I went out there and…nobody was there…and this was during the day. I think it was about 2pm. I could not figure out what made that noise. More recently, I lived up by 67th and T-bird and, I fucking swear that house is haunted. It felt like the graveyard every night. Found out later it used to be an old-folk home. I’d hear footsteps in the night when nobody else was around. Some…thing kept knocking on my door. After some testing of trying to repeat the sound, it was the same as a wooden cane with a pad of rubber at the end hitting the lower part from the outside. I’ve tried to logically explain a lot of the other noises, but…there was nothing there to make the noises. The house was shifting? Not likely that happened in the same fashion of somebody walking five steps or so. My bedroom was the only place I was okay in…most of the time. I only lived there for a month. That was just…creepy. Logic is my friend, but that was just fucked up.
Yeah, 9-11 was quite messed up. I remember waking up that day (10-ish) and turned on the TV to watch…a building burning. I had no idea what was going on, mainly due to just having woke up and the journalists weren’t really filling me in quite yet. All the stations were covering it and a few minutes later, live feed, the second plane flew into the other building. I ran outside to see if I could see smoke (lived near Chicago, and thought I had seen buildings like that), but found out upon going back in that it was in New York. That was a big WFT moment.
Did you happen to like “Shaun of the Dead”? I think it’s one of those that you start to care for the characters that you were talking about, althought it does have quite a bit of humour in it. She’s drunk…he he he. I probably should look into watching “Day of the Dead”. For reasons already explained, I’ve generally shunned anything thrown into the ‘Horror’ genre. “1408″ was an interesting watch though. The only “Pumpkinhead” movie I’ve seen was…possibly the 2000 one. It felt like background noise to me when I watched it. I was seriously more interested in examining a cigarette burn hole in the couch than I was that movie.

@ Zack Dolan
I know how you feel, man. Just hope for the best. That kind of crap happened to my grandpa. His friends thought the next time they’d see him was going to be at his funeral. Even the doctors thought he was going to die. Perhaps they were hoping he would die because they majorly screwed up (gave blood thinners to somebody with internal bleeding…yeah, great idea.) Either way, I believed he was going to be okay. It wasn’t just a hope. I KNEW he’d be fine. I wish the best for you and your friend. :)

Best horror films ever; psyco and rear window

Glad to hear you feeling better, Spoony :)

What’s up with the background noise, Spoony?

Thought you were all about the quality of sound and video.

Ah, well. Doesn’t bother me much.

Yeah it sounded like he had a box fan on in the background but it only bothered me for a moment.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!! REGARDING THE END OF PA
Well, there are some alternate endings.
The one you see in theaters.
Then, there is one where the “demon” kills the dude and the girls best friend and then gets shot by the police.
Then, there is a ending where the “demon” kills himself after killing the dude.

The director says, he shot some more endings, but he wanted the “self killing” end to be the one released. The studio did not. So we got the weak ending.
But there is allways hope for a special edition DVD.

I really enjoyed you’re opinions here. Just one thing; when you were talking about Romero’s horror movies, you forgot to mention Creepshow, which is admitingly tounge in cheek style horror, but I still find it to be quite good. What do you think of it?

I’m glad you made the comparison to the guy and yourself, While watching this movie I was like this guy is just like Spoony

I do agree with a large part of what you said, but the genre is called “Horror”, not “Fear”, and while horror is often about fear and terror, it isn’t exclusively about that. Revulsion, repulsion, disgust and malaise, those are also related to the general feeling of horror.
The point being: gore, torture and incredibly fucked up things like what we see in Takashi Miike’s movies (for instance) are all horrific things that cause aversion and repugnance, and horror is also about that. It’s a larger concept than fear. Now, whether or not this kind of horror sucks is another question completely.

Spoony, first of, great review. Have you seen the danish horror movies called “Nattevagten”(The Nightwatch, the original, not the crappy american remake) and “Sidste time”(litt. translated that would be “last hour” or “last class”)? I remember them to be very scary and very good, it could be because I was not very old when I saw them, but non the less I think you should try to find a copy and watch them.
They are both rather old(midt 90´s) and low budget, which shows, but the acting in general is quit good and because they are low budget, they don´t get boged down in useless and non-scary specialeffects and in both movies you, or at least I did, feel the characters fear and you want them to survive and, as you said yourself, that really is what scary movies is all about.

@ Kyanite009

thanks alot for the kind words. it’s very appreciated. :)

I’m not sure what you actually THOUGHT of 1408, but with the exception of that guy with the meat hook randomly appearing, it kinda did that. The slow burn and leading up to just all hell breaking loose. It achieved that better in the original short story, but the movie wasn’t bad.

I have to agree with Spoony about the “franchise” horror movies turning the killers into guys you cheer for. Freddie, Jason, Michael Myers and even Jigsaw, the movies make it so you actually want to root for these psychopaths. It’s really messed up if you think about it.

Um…

I have never heard of this movie before.

So much for being able to assume your viewers have been tainted by the hype machine…

I now have to see this movie. I remember loving the Blair witch project in theaters. I also didn’t watch the whole review because I didn’t want to hear the spoilers even the minor ones. I did hear enough to get your argument about horror movies. For the longest time I felt dissatisfied with horrors but couldn’t quite put a finger on why. You put it perfectly. One has to care about the characters. If you can’t identify with the victum, you don’t see yourself in this movie. That connection brings you into the story and it really feels as if that killer is after you too.

its a gimmick movie that requires the audience to be involved and have belief completly suspended before coming, and involving themselves in such a type of movie.

I always thought Alien was a really good example of a good horror film. I found it to be really scary. Makes me wish I’d gone to see it when they re-released it into the theaters.

The boyfriend (Micha) is what held this movie back for me. I never identified with him, he’s clearly not interested in his girlfriend’s state of mind until he is threatened, and he continues to disobey his girlfriend’s wishes to just call a recommended demonologist even if it doesn’t yield a good result.

Just as you feel horror movies fail because you want themain characters to die, I just kept saying “asshole” at the boyfriend and hoping he’d get killed for being, almost literally, a retard.

The girlfriend was great.

Horror movies have pretty much ALWAYS have been bad. Sure they can be entertaining, but they just don’t generate the same fear or entertainment that movies like unto Blair Witch, Last Broadcast, The Poughkeepsie Tapes will.
I knew from the second I saw the trailer that it would be a niche movie that I would LOOOOVE. Because, if I had to list a favorite movie list, Blair Witch is in the top 5 simply because I have fond memories of it.
I’ll have fond memories of this movie as well simply because of how I found out about it, the reaction, and the opinion of Spoony. (Side note, Spoony, I love your taste in movies lol)

Long of the short of it is, weird movies like this one are going to be under scrutiny for being different. Like people, movies vary vastly and the ones that are different from the “good” or “cool” movies really take a beating.
*~t3h C.

Its good to know that there’s someone else who saw the Original Japanese version of Pulse. Indeed that is a great film, The airplane and Boathouse scenes were horrifying on the level of “This Can and Has happened”

I do agree that the American version was blinded by the “Red Tape” and “Internet” portions of the film and just added them to a totally different movie. At first I wasn’t even aware that there WAS an American version, I saw the Japanese version of one of those 200-400 range channels and was enthralled. I found out when I had forgotten the title and tried to look it up based on the Red Tape angle. Unfortunately No one I know has ever seen the Original Japanese version, and I cannot seem to talk any of them into watching it with me.

Ah Well, its nice to see someone with similar tastes to mine IS out there…

Nihil

I remember what Hitchcock and H.P. Lovecraft saying, not completely, however.

H.P. – “The most primal fear of mankind is fear of the unknown.”

Hitchcock – “Nothing is scarier than an unopened door.”

Not exactly correct, but generally the same idea of the original quote.

you know what my problem with The Blair Witch Porject was? I knew it was fake before seeing the movie. And at the end when the girl did nothing but scream for 15 minutes. And the lack of common sense when they were lost in the woods.

…In retrospect, I wish that when I saw the movie I didn’t know it was fake. I would have liked it better – I’m all for horror movies that eff with your mind, and don’t show you anything, rather than the gore fests nowadays.

I liked most everything you said and agreed with the majority on it.

I agreed completly that there is a clear cut difference between “horror” and “scary”, and how slasher films are a world of difference from movies that deliver real fright or worry. Even though I think these are best seen as two completly different styles of film, with not one any better than the other. Sometimes, people want to see movies that put you in the shoes of the evil side of human nature, and I think there’s a market for that, and it is good for what those films can do.

So I agreed with your speech about that… but what I do have to take issue with and say that I very much disagree with you, is near the end, when you say that essentially Romero’s movies tend to be ruined with his political statement. I very much disagree with that, and the assumption entirely that a director trying to tell or get through with a certain message is at all, a negative, or even undesirable thing for a film to have.

That is essentially what draws me to his zombie films, and the way he uses a situation to get a message. Honestly, heavy handed or not, it seems to me that you tend to have something against a film maker wanting to say something with his own film.

I don’t feel at all that Dawn was weakened at all with this, but strengthened with it. It’s what makes me feel like his movies mean something as opposed to being just the standard fare.

That is pretty much where I would say that I think my perception of filmmaking and director’s vision in general vastly differs from yours. In the microcosm of Romero’s films in just this one instance, for the sake of argument, I think this is elaborated by essentially you disliking both Dawn of The Dead (original) and Land Of The Dead for the same reason that I believe makes them incredible films, while I thought that the Romero films you prefer (“Night Of” and “Day Of”), I felt were much, much weaker, and far more generic non-thinking films.

It seems almost as if you tend to have a problem with a movie having any sort of a stand-point on a given topic or message. I don’t think it’s always so clear cut as to call it “heavy handed” for bothering to have a message whenever it happens.

I mean, these are films and films often times are going to be the director or writers wanting to tell their tale, and give their perception of the world. To essentially tell their own life story in a manner of speaking.

Honestly Spoony, not every film can be, or even should be a neutral “Switzerland” in the way of meaning, for every viewer to interpret their own way, as that would suck the very idea of variety and storytelling out of films in general if this was a rule to keep any political or social messages out of a film.

Sometimes I really tend to think you come across with your own inherent counter-productive theory that a film cannot have a point of view, or any kind of theme, or risk being “heavy handed” in your book. Which is frankly a bit egotistical of a thing to impose, lest you label such a thing as “bad”.

That, I disagree with, and I believe so would many, many others. I believe this is why films that you shun like Dawn Of The Dead (original) which are almost universally praised for it’s strenths as the better film.

But then again… you preferred the shlocky Dawn remake, with style ratcheted way up above substance, that essentially took a philosophical, strong, and well stated film and dumbed it down into a stupid, mindless, dumb action flick. I think, in essence that says more than I have, myself.

Maybe you seem to like or prefer mindless, dumb films that allow you to turn your brain off, but I prefer movies that can stimulate my perceptions by having a message or point. Something that I guess is written off as “heavyhanded” or “too thinky”, or “needless” when you come across it, I don’t know. I would still contend that when it comes to Romero films, that Dawn and Land Of were the superior films to weaker entries like Night and Day Of.

If it especially came down to Land Of The Dead and the Dawn Remake, Land would win every single time. It wasn’t a shit film at all. Especially not by comparsion to the mindless Dawn remake.

Not sure how you could say that, aside from admittedly the poor casting choices of Land. Leguizamo especially has rarely ever been in a decent film, or at least one he was responsible for helping, aside from maybe this one. But aside from a poor cast, I think the material in Land in it’s entirety outshone a single second of that simperingly stupid Dawn remake.

SpoonyOne,

Will you make some more video as you did for SWAT ?
Even though they were as you said “just you watching me play”, they were fun and you could actually sit back, watch and enjoy those very few jokes.

Pauly V. October 12, 2009 at 1:36 pm

To all the people saying J-Horror is the only good horror… You would be right… if it all weren’t the exact same story essentially, with the SAME exact style just with a different cover.
—————————————
This only counts for the J-Horror sub-genre of Yurei Horror, a horror movie in which everything is happening because of a yurei spirit, a vengeance spirit taking the form of a child, most often a little girl, with long black hair, a tradition evil japanese spirit. Perhaps if you paid attention outside of this, you would realize that with directors like Takashi Miike, J-Horror is in fact the best horror currently

I agree with everything you say Spoony, people today want to see everything but that is not scary. Everytime someone says that they should have shown the witch I say… how would it ave lived up to the fear?

Pretty interesting to see you talk about such things, Spoony.

I myself don´t even know if I find the classic “Horror”movie scary…Friday, Nightmare, these things? Not scary, more like funny, as you said. Kind of like a very gory cartoon.

BUT. Movies like Blairwitch or Ring (yes, the Remake) scare the living life out of me. I take those movies with me, they cling to me and crawl under my blankets at night for days, sometime even longer. I really HATE that but I watch them nonetheless anyway. Except for Ring. Never ever watched it again and I even panicly protest everytime someone wants to watch it. I am, for some reason really really afraid of that movie. And maybe I should try to explain why…don´t know if anyone wants to know but that´s the Internet for you.

I am afraid when it comes to my soul. Things like Monsters don´t scare me. Sure, they make me jump when they…well, jump at the camera with a loud sound effect but that´s no fear, that´s…whatever the english word for that is, can´t think of it right now, sorry.
When it comes to Spirits, Ghosts, Specters that are after your soul or, maybe even worse, your sanity, my ability to tell movie and reality apart just seems to vanish. Part of that is the alien nature of a spirit, since they are nothing physical you could smash with a hammer or something like that. Part is also that I have a…not so strict sense of what “reality” is. I CAN imagine that such things are somewhere around. Just because I´ve never percieved anything like that in my whole life doesn´t mean I can´t think they´re there. I mean, I´ve never been to China but I know it´s there ;)
This whole reaction also takes place when (as you rightfully mentioned) “the unseen” is at work. Put me in a dark room with a closed door. Open the door so that I notice it and then do NOTHING. I would freak out, I would be frozen in one corner staring at that friggin door. Things like that are just plain scary and it sort of scales with you ability to imagine horrible things because, as they say – It´s all in your head.

Just wanted to write a little something about how I see movies and fear, sorry for the wall of text.

And it´s always nice to see someone with about the same views on these things as myself :)

This review makes me think that Paranormal Activity is a bit like Marble Hornets. Videos uploaded to youtube, cut from tons of raw footage found by the friend of a guy who was making an amateur film. This to me plays on fear a lot more, especially for people who spend a lot of time online and if you’ve edited film i think it sticks a little more with you.

especially when you read around the subject and into the game behind the story, and in the end i got so into it, i actual began getting freaked out in the middle of the day, because it leads into this wonderful idea that only you can see this thing and it knows. leading me to sort of feel alienated inside my own head, which is an insane feeling brought across by this feature.

I find it really brilliant anyway, ignore my ramblings and check it out!

the videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmhfn3mgWUI

follow the story/play the game!
http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/index.php?f=248&sid=527ea923dab76e54e5169ff338ed80b6

didn’t listen to it in one take, just couldn’t

until now I never have noticed, but in this video at least the sound of the tape rolling was loud enough to kind of distract me and give me a headache.

just wanted to let you know, I really have no idea why that happened but it was exhausting to listen to the tape all the time.

Spoony, if your girl ever has issues with a demon, don’t mess around with filming it, just give Father Merrin a call. It’ll likely turn out better for the both of you.

I never liked Ghost Hunters but I do enjoy Ghost Adventures. They don’t find stuff all the time either but I at the very least find it entertaining that they try to provoke ghosts and want shit to happen.

On Friday October 30th the Ghost Adventures crew will be doing a 7 hour live show. There will be a lot of boring in there but it does give people a chance to see what it is like to be on a real ghost hunt for an entire night. They don’t go into disproving their finds but I think they tend to give people what they want. An entertaining show about ghost hunting.

You couldn’t have said it better Noah!

I agree with you that most horror movies don’t actually create an actual feeling of fear or apprehensiveness or nervousness. I liked The Diary of the Dead as a zombie movie but you’re right in that it certainly wasn’t scary at any points. I don’t think I was even startled when say that girl’s kid brother jumped on her back and was trying to bite her, and if I had been startling is still a pretty cheap scare on the scale.

I haven’t seen this movie but just reading about some of the simple things in it (stuff moving on their own) actually created an apprehensive feeling for me as I imagined it and how scary that would be to witness. I’d like to see but not sure if my local theater will be playing it.

By the way, I too thought the commercial was silly in how it didn’t actually show any of the movie. The explanation for showing the reactions of the audience makes more sense now that I have heard more about it, though, even if it comes off as hokey to the viewer who has no idea what the movie is like.

Oh, and the absolute worst thing horror movies can do is purport to be based on “true events”, because the viewer automatically takes on the challenge of laughing at its outlandishness, and purposefully attempts to remove themselves from the fiction. If you want to make a movie seem real you have to actually try to do it by making it like the Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity or any other scary movie like say, oh, I thought Red Dragon was sort of scary even if it was from an omniscient viewpoint. But you can’t just tack “based on true events” onto your cruddy horror film like Exorcism of Emily Rose or Haunting in Connecticut or The Strangers and expect me to 1. believe it and 2. even if I did believe it actually be scared just because it’s true (there are lots of murders on the news, just because it’s true doesn’t mean I’m going to think the Strangers is scary). Although actually I did look that up and the Strangers actually WASN’T based on a real murder at all, just the director hearing a report about pranksters ringing on door bells and extrapolating a horror story from it, which is even more of a lie than people claiming to experience paranormal activity.

But anyway, telling me something is “true” automatically makes me consider it false. Directors should just let their films stand on their own in the attempt to draw the viewer in.

wow, quite a variety of fan comments, theres the people who tend to think that their psuedo-logic totally disproves your rants and pokes holes in your point of view, even though, its a fucking point of view. i do think most film critics dont like people to have opinions because to them, if they think the movie sucks its a fact.

and than theres the people who really just want you to say the word poop again.
i dont have anything against those people, or you for that matter. you hit the nail on the head, the friday the thirteenth and all slasher movies, arent fucking scary at all. BUT! genres are film and musics worst enemy. i’de like to see someone classify the fountain or the matrix which seem to be the best movies of the last 10 years in my opinion.

your critisism is always apreciated by me and thousands of others which is more than most of these people can say.

ps. mel gibson is a really bad actor in just about everything, but “signs” was a legitimately scary movie.

Not released at Regal Cinemas in Medina,Ohio >=[]

A movie I think you might like is a Korean horror movie that came out a few years ago, “The Wig.” Dumb title, yeah, but it’s about a cancer survivor who is given a wig by her sister when she gets out of the hospital. The problem is, the wig is haunted by the ghost of the person the hair was taken from. It may seem cliche, but the story is told from the older sister’s point of view, as she watches her younger sister seeming to completely change. It feels more like a psychological thriller, but there’s this supernatural element that plays a big part because its a possession, that makes this movie scary. There’s even a massive twist near the end that makes you reevaluate one character’s seemingly dickish behavior.

All the talk about Ghost Hunters in the beginning got me remembering that show and all the fun I had laughing at their complete over reactions to stuff like “ELECTRICITY IN THAT CORNER NEAR THE LAMP!”. Good times….

Spoony is compltely right this movie is a real horror flick and it has been while since somebody made one this good. and another thing 2001 space oddysey is scarier than some slashers that was made so i tend to agree with spoony on that point.

Spoony is compltely right this movie is a real horror flick and it has been while since somebody made one this good. and another thing 2001 space oddysey is scarier than some slashers that was made so i tend to agree with spoony on that point.

Spoony you ever seen “The Mist”? That’s probably the scariest movie I’ve ever seen (never seen Blair Witch, I need to check that out sometime). I think it’s the type of movie you’d enjoy.

Spoony you ever seen “The Mist”? That’s probably the scariest movie I’ve ever seen (never seen Blair Witch, I need to check that out sometime). I think it’s the type of movie you’d enjoy.

Personally I think that while a movie can be scary and create tension with the unknown by not showing what is indeed stalking or lurking in the shadows, there needs to be some kind of pay off for it to be effective, even if said pay off is small. All the best movies known for their atmosphere and scares do indeed have those moments and this is why in my opinion most people find “The Blair Witch Project” such a failure. You never get the pay off in that movie. You never see anything, just a bunch of kids running away from what we’re told is a monster or a killer or these images being conjured up by the witch itself (I haven’t watched the movie in a long time). Some guy standing in the corner doesn’t even come close to making the pay off in that movie any good because you don’t even get the slightest insight to the motives other than second hand hearsay….which just isn’t scary. I’m not saying we have to be innundated with horrific imagery or even have said entities entire motivation revealed to make a movie scary….but there needs to be something…..cause I’m not scared of a guy standing in a corner because of what a supposed unseen entity told him to do it.

Personally I think that while a movie can be scary and create tension with the unknown by not showing what is indeed stalking or lurking in the shadows, there needs to be some kind of pay off for it to be effective, even if said pay off is small. All the best movies known for their atmosphere and scares do indeed have those moments and this is why in my opinion most people find “The Blair Witch Project” such a failure. You never get the pay off in that movie. You never see anything, just a bunch of kids running away from what we’re told is a monster or a killer or these images being conjured up by the witch itself (I haven’t watched the movie in a long time). Some guy standing in the corner doesn’t even come close to making the pay off in that movie any good because you don’t even get the slightest insight to the motives other than second hand hearsay….which just isn’t scary. I’m not saying we have to be innundated with horrific imagery or even have said entities entire motivation revealed to make a movie scary….but there needs to be something…..cause I’m not scared of a guy standing in a corner because of what a supposed unseen entity told him to do it.

Someone already mentioned The Last Broadcast. I wonder, what you think about it, Spoony.

Someone already mentioned The Last Broadcast. I wonder, what you think about it, Spoony.

The Haunting (1963) – Watch that movie, Spoony. You’re gonna love it.

(I know, my English sucks T-T)

The Haunting (1963) – Watch that movie, Spoony. You’re gonna love it.

(I know, my English sucks T-T)

Favourite Horror Films: The Wicker Man (original), The Omen (original), Psycho (original), The Exorcist (finally it hasn’t been re-made), The Changeling, Audition, Misery, Jaws

Although I LOVE The Evil Dead series, Re-Animator, An American Werewolf in London, Scream and the Hostel series, I can easily admit that those are NOT horror films. Those are more comedic or squishy than they are horrorific…in fact, I haven’t seen ANY horror movies in the last few years (with the possible exception of “The Strangers”) I can’t wait to see Paranormal Activity in hopes that SOMETHING will finally scare me.

Favourite Horror Films: The Wicker Man (original), The Omen (original), Psycho (original), The Exorcist (finally it hasn’t been re-made), The Changeling, Audition, Misery, Jaws

Although I LOVE The Evil Dead series, Re-Animator, An American Werewolf in London, Scream and the Hostel series, I can easily admit that those are NOT horror films. Those are more comedic or squishy than they are horrorific…in fact, I haven’t seen ANY horror movies in the last few years (with the possible exception of “The Strangers”) I can’t wait to see Paranormal Activity in hopes that SOMETHING will finally scare me.

I’m actually really impressed by your definition of what a ‘true’ horror movie is. You share the exact same views I do when it comes to slashers and torture porn films: You go to that movie to see people get killed and get grossed out, not to be scared.

I don’t think I’ll be able to enjoy the movie in a theater though. I think most movie-goers (especially in theaters) can’t get engrossed or suspend their disbelief because of all the people around them who ruin the experience. Every time I try to see a movie, scary or not, there’s always assholes explaining the plot to their brain-dead girlfriends, fuck heads playing MST3000 in the back row, and the stupid bastards who have to text and/or Twitter everything they’re seeing on the screen: “I am at teh moviez. Need to buy milk on way home.” It’s not worth the $10 price of admission to lose even more faith in humanity.

If you want a really eerie movie with a lot of haunting atmosphere, check out “The Changeling” starring George C. Scott (Patton). He plays a man who has just lost his wife and daughter in a car accident, and moves to a manor (in Seattle I think). The first eerie scene is when a ball bounces down the staircase, in which he dismisses the incident and tucks the ball away on his desk. He gets home the next night and again, the same ball rolls down the stairs. Things get increasingly eerie, and the séance he holds inside of the house is probably the most effectively terrifying scene I’ve ever seen in a movie because the tension builds and builds to climax. Coupled with some extremely eerie camerawork, “The Changeling” is one of my all-time favorite films.

I’m actually really impressed by your definition of what a ‘true’ horror movie is. You share the exact same views I do when it comes to slashers and torture porn films: You go to that movie to see people get killed and get grossed out, not to be scared.

I don’t think I’ll be able to enjoy the movie in a theater though. I think most movie-goers (especially in theaters) can’t get engrossed or suspend their disbelief because of all the people around them who ruin the experience. Every time I try to see a movie, scary or not, there’s always assholes explaining the plot to their brain-dead girlfriends, fuck heads playing MST3000 in the back row, and the stupid bastards who have to text and/or Twitter everything they’re seeing on the screen: “I am at teh moviez. Need to buy milk on way home.” It’s not worth the $10 price of admission to lose even more faith in humanity.

If you want a really eerie movie with a lot of haunting atmosphere, check out “The Changeling” starring George C. Scott (Patton). He plays a man who has just lost his wife and daughter in a car accident, and moves to a manor (in Seattle I think). The first eerie scene is when a ball bounces down the staircase, in which he dismisses the incident and tucks the ball away on his desk. He gets home the next night and again, the same ball rolls down the stairs. Things get increasingly eerie, and the séance he holds inside of the house is probably the most effectively terrifying scene I’ve ever seen in a movie because the tension builds and builds to climax. Coupled with some extremely eerie camerawork, “The Changeling” is one of my all-time favorite films.

Dude, i kinda liked Independence Day and i got to say you were wrong. Independence day isn’t a horror/disaster movie like you say, it’s a war/action movie. i mean when you watch a war movie, do you tend to get scared? Do you get scared when you watch Brave Heart?……Independence day is a war/action movie (i didn’t put /disaster cuz every war movie have at least one epic or disaster shot) that is supused to give you a feeling of proudness( sorry for my english, i’m not english) to be human, to be the underdog and still win the batlle and the war. anyway good reveiw, you’re the best

Dude, i kinda liked Independence Day and i got to say you were wrong. Independence day isn’t a horror/disaster movie like you say, it’s a war/action movie. i mean when you watch a war movie, do you tend to get scared? Do you get scared when you watch Brave Heart?……Independence day is a war/action movie (i didn’t put /disaster cuz every war movie have at least one epic or disaster shot) that is supused to give you a feeling of proudness( sorry for my english, i’m not english) to be human, to be the underdog and still win the batlle and the war. anyway good reveiw, you’re the best

I wonder if he likes Cannibal Holocaust.

I wonder if he likes Cannibal Holocaust.

i noticed you left off 2 of the greatest Horror movies of all time that play off of the fear of the unknown.
“Phantasm” and “the Ugly” are truly scary films, try watching either of them alone in a dimly lit enviroment… it’s not so pleasing.

i noticed you left off 2 of the greatest Horror movies of all time that play off of the fear of the unknown.
“Phantasm” and “the Ugly” are truly scary films, try watching either of them alone in a dimly lit enviroment… it’s not so pleasing.

Hype Machine (TM)? What Hype Machine (TM)? Musta been a pretty shitty one, because I’ve never even heard of this movie before this vid. Probably just as well.

Land of the Dead was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I’m glad you don’t like it.

Land of the Dead was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I’m glad you don’t like it.

My friend originally dragged me to see this movie and at first I was reluctant. I then found it amusing since half of the audience seemed to be made up of easily spooked women (I’m still cleaning the blood out of my ears). I also went to a very ghetto movie theatre, so there was one brother who couldn’t afford a babysitter and a couple of others telling him to “shut that fucking baby the fuck up.”

Overall, good film.

My friend originally dragged me to see this movie and at first I was reluctant. I then found it amusing since half of the audience seemed to be made up of easily spooked women (I’m still cleaning the blood out of my ears). I also went to a very ghetto movie theatre, so there was one brother who couldn’t afford a babysitter and a couple of others telling him to “shut that fucking baby the fuck up.”

Overall, good film.

Horror movies is going the wrong way.. just check out my post on the forum ^^ It’s the same with videogames aswell! Anyways, I like the Ghost Hunters series… just due to the fact that they are doing it the RIGHT way… the wrong way is ” OH MY GOD!!! I PROMICE YOU I SAW 3 CHILDREN PLAYING WITH TOMATOES SCREAMING I WILL KILL YOU ALL AT MIDNIGHT! EEEEEEEEEEEEH!!!!!!” and so on… and so on… Great vlog about this video, as I’m a big fan of paranormal activity and stuffs that are unknown in the world, I liked it. I thought the first thing you would say was: “Oh my god was this movie terrible or what?!?!”

Btw, if you want to see a good old SCARY movie, rent Session 9. NOT SECTION 9! Session 9… dont get confused :P Session 9 is about a bunch of guys who are in the “cleaning buissness” ( god damn my english is bad ). And they get a report on cleaning, THE greatest asylum ever built Danver State Insane Asylum, (Google it, there’s some great pictures) from aspest. And while they are there, strange things starts to happen, but in a GREAT and slow way. The ending is just perfect. PLEASE check it out Mr.Awesome! And if you already seen it, why dont you make a review about it? It’s great for halloween!

@251
I agree. One thing I hate more then anything is the words on a movie “Based on a True Story”. Supposedly it draws more sells, but to me the “based on…” part means some form of “The director(s) fucked with a true story (or idea) to come up with this piece of shit.” Most movies with it arent terrible, but the list is short of good ones that say that.
The Strangers was one of the worst slasher films ive ever seen with this title, and the director was an idiot. I saw the making of and he basicaly admitted it wasnt a true story it was just the idea of terror he wanted to build on but imo (only my opinoin) he failed miserably. If anything that movie was torturing me for buying it. I was shocked Liv Tyler was in it, must’ve done it for the paycheck, its beneath her abilities to be in that crappy of a movie. But again im just stating my opinoin.
Anyway, im more into horror movies with incredibly rediculous stories with crazy things happening so my tastes are weird anyway and some would say im messed up in the head (but yet… im not) but thats me, based on a true story is meaningless to me and actually makes me more afraid to watch unless i want to have a horrible time watching.

@251
I agree. One thing I hate more then anything is the words on a movie “Based on a True Story”. Supposedly it draws more sells, but to me the “based on…” part means some form of “The director(s) fucked with a true story (or idea) to come up with this piece of shit.” Most movies with it arent terrible, but the list is short of good ones that say that.
The Strangers was one of the worst slasher films ive ever seen with this title, and the director was an idiot. I saw the making of and he basicaly admitted it wasnt a true story it was just the idea of terror he wanted to build on but imo (only my opinoin) he failed miserably. If anything that movie was torturing me for buying it. I was shocked Liv Tyler was in it, must’ve done it for the paycheck, its beneath her abilities to be in that crappy of a movie. But again im just stating my opinoin.
Anyway, im more into horror movies with incredibly rediculous stories with crazy things happening so my tastes are weird anyway and some would say im messed up in the head (but yet… im not) but thats me, based on a true story is meaningless to me and actually makes me more afraid to watch unless i want to have a horrible time watching.

sorry i meant @257

HOLY SHIT SPOONY, THE POSTER BEHIND YOU IS MOVING BY ITSELF!

….oh, it’s just your fan blowing on it :X

HOLY SHIT SPOONY, THE POSTER BEHIND YOU IS MOVING BY ITSELF!

….oh, it’s just your fan blowing on it :X

sounds like it would be interesting to watch. One film that totally played on my fears was Arachnophobia and if anyone has that and watches the film they’ll see why. I kept looking around and reacting whenever I felt one of the hairs on my arm touch something I jumped afraid a spider was there.

sounds like it would be interesting to watch. One film that totally played on my fears was Arachnophobia and if anyone has that and watches the film they’ll see why. I kept looking around and reacting whenever I felt one of the hairs on my arm touch something I jumped afraid a spider was there.

last movie i felt truley afraid watching was Jacob’s ladder only because you dont know what the hell is going on or how the characters can overcome it that and it used psycholigical fear like red as background color when the crap happens which in itself causes fear. but that stuff has been so overused now that it doesnt really scare me as much as knowing something is there and never being able to see it.

last movie i felt truley afraid watching was Jacob’s ladder only because you dont know what the hell is going on or how the characters can overcome it that and it used psycholigical fear like red as background color when the crap happens which in itself causes fear. but that stuff has been so overused now that it doesnt really scare me as much as knowing something is there and never being able to see it.

Dude, nightmare on elm street gave me nightmares for years, the first one is a very legitimately scary movie that does play on the fear of vulnerability and being unable to escape from something.

Dude, nightmare on elm street gave me nightmares for years, the first one is a very legitimately scary movie that does play on the fear of vulnerability and being unable to escape from something.

Just saw Paranormal Activity. I’ve got to say that, while I wasn’t precisely scared, I was tense almost the whole time. I will weigh in on the ending, though. **SPOILERS** I found it distracting; it took away from the film (for me at least) by leaving me saying “wait, what?” I didn’t even know what happened until I saw him on the ground, I thought that someone rushed the camera with a pillow (it took me watching the scene frame-by-frame on YouTube to see him actually in the air). I didn’t mind the setup, but the execution broke my stride.

Overall, great movie. A bit heavy on the exposition at times, the first time the psychic showed up was annoying (although I love the second time), and you’re so right about the pacing being weird, but I still recommend it. I’d love to see a “making of” film, I’m curious as to how much was done practically and how much was CGI. Finally, I agree with you that I’d really really like to see a deleted scene or alternate ending where all Hell (literally) breaks loose.

Oh, and Ghost Hunters (and all shows like it) are fucking useless. That is all.

-Matrim

Just saw Paranormal Activity. I’ve got to say that, while I wasn’t precisely scared, I was tense almost the whole time. I will weigh in on the ending, though. **SPOILERS** I found it distracting; it took away from the film (for me at least) by leaving me saying “wait, what?” I didn’t even know what happened until I saw him on the ground, I thought that someone rushed the camera with a pillow (it took me watching the scene frame-by-frame on YouTube to see him actually in the air). I didn’t mind the setup, but the execution broke my stride.

Overall, great movie. A bit heavy on the exposition at times, the first time the psychic showed up was annoying (although I love the second time), and you’re so right about the pacing being weird, but I still recommend it. I’d love to see a “making of” film, I’m curious as to how much was done practically and how much was CGI. Finally, I agree with you that I’d really really like to see a deleted scene or alternate ending where all Hell (literally) breaks loose.

Oh, and Ghost Hunters (and all shows like it) are fucking useless. That is all.

-Matrim

I just saw it this morning and it was good. I felt lil freaked even after I left the theater. It had to be seen in theaters for the full affect. Thanks for the review.

I just saw it this morning and it was good. I felt lil freaked even after I left the theater. It had to be seen in theaters for the full affect. Thanks for the review.

agreed. tho i kinda liked rise of Keslie Vernon, not as a scary film but as a decent spoof of slashers (like what i understand scream was supposed to be)

agreed. tho i kinda liked rise of Keslie Vernon, not as a scary film but as a decent spoof of slashers (like what i understand scream was supposed to be)

Get the facts… http://www.IsParanormalActivityATrueStory.com

Get the facts… http://www.IsParanormalActivityATrueStory.com

Really great review of the movie, you actually inspired me to go see it myself after I was on the fence. Oddly, I’m beginning to like your long vlogs more than your reviews, they’re very simple and genuine.

Really great review of the movie, you actually inspired me to go see it myself after I was on the fence. Oddly, I’m beginning to like your long vlogs more than your reviews, they’re very simple and genuine.

I wonder if Spoony would consider ‘Drag Me To Hell’ a true horror movie? I know Sam Raimi used a lot of CGI to get his scares, but darn it, it felt pretty intense and certainly stuck with me for a couple of days afterward.

I wonder if Spoony would consider ‘Drag Me To Hell’ a true horror movie? I know Sam Raimi used a lot of CGI to get his scares, but darn it, it felt pretty intense and certainly stuck with me for a couple of days afterward.

After watching the film, I am having a debate on whether I would use the sound effect (the one before each event) in the movie. On one hand it does enhance some scenes where you would be just looking around, the picture scene in the attic for example. On the other hand, it forcasts the events so you are less likely to be startled or scary by something suddenly happening. There are examples of games that would be good examples of effect use of sound, even before the scary event occurs. Some of these include the F.E.A.R. games and Doom 3. In many parts of the games, you are completely in the dark(except for a small flashlight) and hear a noisy; however, you don’t where it is coming from or when it will occur. Other than that, this movie was a good movie to see in the theater, I saw it as a matinee. Is it the scariest movie of 2009?

(Spoilers)

To be fair, in the movie they do bring up another girl who had the same thing happen to her, with the haunting and everything. She called in an excorcist (or demonologist, whatever) and ended up dying, anyway. It brings a futility to the movie, which makes it a lot scarier. There’s nothing they could’ve done, is the impression you’re given. I could relate to the guy in what he was trying to do as well. He’s kind’ve excited and at the same time wants to try to do something.

(Spoilers)

To be fair, in the movie they do bring up another girl who had the same thing happen to her, with the haunting and everything. She called in an excorcist (or demonologist, whatever) and ended up dying, anyway. It brings a futility to the movie, which makes it a lot scarier. There’s nothing they could’ve done, is the impression you’re given. I could relate to the guy in what he was trying to do as well. He’s kind’ve excited and at the same time wants to try to do something.

“Paul is dead, miss him”? is that a reference to the backwards play of some beatles song?

“Paul is dead, miss him”? is that a reference to the backwards play of some beatles song?

Yeah I don’t think the girl getting possessed by the demon was scary or that she killed the guy but ehh that’s just me, I think this movie had a lot of “Boo” Moments that make you jump but nothing really scary.

Yeah I don’t think the girl getting possessed by the demon was scary or that she killed the guy but ehh that’s just me, I think this movie had a lot of “Boo” Moments that make you jump but nothing really scary.

@288 F.E.A.R. Scared the piss out of me… Right after the ladder where the girl shows up as you go down.. I stopped playing game freaked me out.

@288 F.E.A.R. Scared the piss out of me… Right after the ladder where the girl shows up as you go down.. I stopped playing game freaked me out.

awesome vid, really enjoyed the analysis

awesome vid, really enjoyed the analysis

Good video. Here’s the thing, horror movies have sort of meshed with action films and/or they use characters that one does not give two shiats about. Ex: Put jason statham in a horror film and no one will be really scared. But make the main character a real-life person that acts like a real human being and that will help raise the fear factor.

Kudos to you for recommending Kairo, which I fucking loved and is one of the most underappreciated horror films ever; I also recommend the other movies by its director, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, such as Cure and Seance. Also, another little-known but excellent film is Jacob’s Ladder; if you’ve played Silent Hill or seen the movie, everything they ever did was lifted practically wholesale from that movie, and it shows, so check that out.

Kudos to you for recommending Kairo, which I fucking loved and is one of the most underappreciated horror films ever; I also recommend the other movies by its director, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, such as Cure and Seance. Also, another little-known but excellent film is Jacob’s Ladder; if you’ve played Silent Hill or seen the movie, everything they ever did was lifted practically wholesale from that movie, and it shows, so check that out.

I think 2012 will be scary only because 2012 is coming and people have superstitions that something is going to happen.

I think 2012 will be scary only because 2012 is coming and people have superstitions that something is going to happen.

I have not read through the other 290+ comments but going off what you had said about the comparison of Horror movies to Scary movies it reminded me of something about the comparison of Horror Terror and Dread.

Horror is finding a dead body, you’re horrified by it’s presence.
Terror is someone running at you with a bloody knife, you’re terrified for your life.
And last Dread is returning home to find a window open that you know you had closed, or sitting on your couch and hearing someone upstairs when you’re the only one home. Dread is that unknown.

Kairo was also one of my favorite horror films just on that same basis that this is really going down and this isn’t something controlled it’s on a worldwide level. Glad to see that you felt the same and that you mentioned it.

I have not read through the other 290+ comments but going off what you had said about the comparison of Horror movies to Scary movies it reminded me of something about the comparison of Horror Terror and Dread.

Horror is finding a dead body, you’re horrified by it’s presence.
Terror is someone running at you with a bloody knife, you’re terrified for your life.
And last Dread is returning home to find a window open that you know you had closed, or sitting on your couch and hearing someone upstairs when you’re the only one home. Dread is that unknown.

Kairo was also one of my favorite horror films just on that same basis that this is really going down and this isn’t something controlled it’s on a worldwide level. Glad to see that you felt the same and that you mentioned it.

I don’t know if you’ve seen Joshua yet, but I think you’d like that brand of horror. Perhaps not, but maybe.

I just got back from the theater and I have to say that Paranormal Activity was amazing!

*Mild Spoilers*
just thought I’d warn ya.

I’ve heard little about this movie before I’ve seen your review on it and based on that I had to go see it. One thing I’ve never really liked about many horror movies I’ve seen is the shock horror, the pop out of nowhere and ooga-booga. What I liked about this movie is that it didn’t need that! The only thing you see about the monster/ghost/demon is the footprint in the powder(witch I thought looked so cool!). I was half thinking throughout the entire movie that the camera was going to turn around then boom, there he is or at least a reflection of him in a mirror or something.

Truly less is more for Paranormal Activity!

I just got back from the theater and I have to say that Paranormal Activity was amazing!

*Mild Spoilers*
just thought I’d warn ya.

I’ve heard little about this movie before I’ve seen your review on it and based on that I had to go see it. One thing I’ve never really liked about many horror movies I’ve seen is the shock horror, the pop out of nowhere and ooga-booga. What I liked about this movie is that it didn’t need that! The only thing you see about the monster/ghost/demon is the footprint in the powder(witch I thought looked so cool!). I was half thinking throughout the entire movie that the camera was going to turn around then boom, there he is or at least a reflection of him in a mirror or something.

Truly less is more for Paranormal Activity!

wonder what spoony thought of shaun of the dead?

wonder what spoony thought of shaun of the dead?

I have to disagree with the comment that the movie was filmed documentary style. It really wasn’t. It was just a couple trying to catch something happening in their house. But this is a minor point. Your vlog is very funny and your opinions are eloquently put. I agree that the sense of dread in The Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity makes them both terryfying. I saw Paranormal Activity at home and I promise you, it’s still scary. You’re alone, your ac makes noise. I’m still sleeping with the light on.

I have to disagree with the comment that the movie was filmed documentary style. It really wasn’t. It was just a couple trying to catch something happening in their house. But this is a minor point. Your vlog is very funny and your opinions are eloquently put. I agree that the sense of dread in The Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity makes them both terryfying. I saw Paranormal Activity at home and I promise you, it’s still scary. You’re alone, your ac makes noise. I’m still sleeping with the light on.

I really loved this movie as well, I saw it on my birthday for a good laugh becuase i thought it was gonna be really stupid but i was REALLY scared and into the movie. i have never seen a better horror movie than this, when you saw the girl at the end chills just went up everyones spines, and thats good acting throughout the whole movie, i loved it, even though it really scared me.

I really loved this movie as well, I saw it on my birthday for a good laugh becuase i thought it was gonna be really stupid but i was REALLY scared and into the movie. i have never seen a better horror movie than this, when you saw the girl at the end chills just went up everyones spines, and thats good acting throughout the whole movie, i loved it, even though it really scared me.

I agree with the most of this review. However I thought the parts where they argue are very effective and I’ll tell you why.

The demon feends on conflict and bad emotions, correct? Well, the power of the demon escalates with their negative emotions. So when he starts recording, its “weak” and it can’t do much, for instance: it opens a door. Not very impressive. When they continue recording and provoking (provoking in a very “shallow” manner I would say where he acts tough but really he’s scared) they get even more scared when they see how it grows in power, which feeds the demon. They turn on eachother and argues, negatve emotions which strengthens the demon. Everything negative and what might be seen as drawn out bickering is empowering the demon to the point where it has the power to “meet his goal” so to speak. I thougt it was pretty nice to see their emotions towards eachother get perverted since it was a sublte way to know that the demon is getting stronger, its getting closer to achieving its goal. For every negative emotion, every argument, every gasp it grows in strength.

To me it was very powerful to feel how the demon used their own emotions and goals against them to achieve its own. I figured it had little power at the begining and, like I said, it escalated with the fears and emotions of the characters.

I agree with the most of this review. However I thought the parts where they argue are very effective and I’ll tell you why.

The demon feends on conflict and bad emotions, correct? Well, the power of the demon escalates with their negative emotions. So when he starts recording, its “weak” and it can’t do much, for instance: it opens a door. Not very impressive. When they continue recording and provoking (provoking in a very “shallow” manner I would say where he acts tough but really he’s scared) they get even more scared when they see how it grows in power, which feeds the demon. They turn on eachother and argues, negatve emotions which strengthens the demon. Everything negative and what might be seen as drawn out bickering is empowering the demon to the point where it has the power to “meet his goal” so to speak. I thougt it was pretty nice to see their emotions towards eachother get perverted since it was a sublte way to know that the demon is getting stronger, its getting closer to achieving its goal. For every negative emotion, every argument, every gasp it grows in strength.

To me it was very powerful to feel how the demon used their own emotions and goals against them to achieve its own. I figured it had little power at the begining and, like I said, it escalated with the fears and emotions of the characters.

Also, I watch youtube clips at home. So I actually disagree when you say you should see it in theaters. Because it feels like a series of youtube clips to me, and to go to the cinema to see it is a little like taking this movie out of its element. I would watch it where I would percieve it to be more in context. To watch an action movie at home isn’t as effective when compared to watch in awesome widescreen with brutal surround sound. Imagine the hulk in theaters and compare it to the impact of watching at home. Unless you have a home cinema system, which I don’t, it isn’t as effective.

BUT paranormal activity doesn’t need a surround system, it doesn’t need a wide screen. I would actually recommend watching it like you watch a youtube clip.

Also, I watch youtube clips at home. So I actually disagree when you say you should see it in theaters. Because it feels like a series of youtube clips to me, and to go to the cinema to see it is a little like taking this movie out of its element. I would watch it where I would percieve it to be more in context. To watch an action movie at home isn’t as effective when compared to watch in awesome widescreen with brutal surround sound. Imagine the hulk in theaters and compare it to the impact of watching at home. Unless you have a home cinema system, which I don’t, it isn’t as effective.

BUT paranormal activity doesn’t need a surround system, it doesn’t need a wide screen. I would actually recommend watching it like you watch a youtube clip.

Saw this one tonight with my wife. Absolutely loved it. SECOND scariest movie of the year next to Drag Me To Hell.
Why? Same reason you mentioned- emotional investment in the characters, and the lack of an explanation as to what actually happened. The cloven footprints in the powder really sent it home for me- unholy cow !!

As per usual, you hit the nail on the head, my friend. Now I have to sleep on the couch, because I didn’t tell my wife how bad it was gonna be… sigh…

Saw this one tonight with my wife. Absolutely loved it. SECOND scariest movie of the year next to Drag Me To Hell.
Why? Same reason you mentioned- emotional investment in the characters, and the lack of an explanation as to what actually happened. The cloven footprints in the powder really sent it home for me- unholy cow !!

As per usual, you hit the nail on the head, my friend. Now I have to sleep on the couch, because I didn’t tell my wife how bad it was gonna be… sigh…

I don’t think the show is ghost hunters, since thats a kid show.

I don’t think the show is ghost hunters, since thats a kid show.

A Blair Witch style movie could probably be made to be very scary, but Blair Witch just wasn’t. I consider it really bad, and consider the sequel actually good.

Nothing scary happens in Blair Witch; and no, I do not mean the whole, “we didn’t see anything”, I mean, nothing scary happens.

Some people set up some stones around the tent. Big whoop. Apparently some dicks trying to mess with don’t even have the guts to show themselves and/or attack me while I’m asleep. And they start running away scared from the stones, and I don’t get it. Yeah, it maybe fucked up, but if they wanted to hurt you they would have done so already. If they had guns, they wouldn’t be scared to come out, since they don’t come out, they’re more scared of you, than you are of them. So nothing scary is going on here, and them getting scared if I were there, would just have me say, “Calm down, will ya.”

Going in circles with a compass; there’s a magnetic rock nearby powerful enough to become the dominant magnetic force instead of the North Pole. Big whoop.

And the so-called money shot: There’s a guy standing there. And? What?

So I got no idea whether I should watch this, I’m leaning towards no, but on the other hand it at least showed they showed and let you here something that is actually scary.

What got me most about this movie…was the sound. I don’t know about most people, but I’ve got sensitive ears (I think it comes with being a trained musician), and when that heavy, low, bass sound came on in the theater…I tensed up, got freaked out, and it totally made the experience for me. The overtone in the sound system, too, which my friend next to me didn’t pick up on, but which was as clear as day to me, totally made my ears buzz, and added to that sense of dread. So, in that way, I totally agree with you – this movie wouldn’t be 1/10th as frightening, if seen at home, on your laptop, with the lights on, while someone’s making cookies in the kitchen. The atmosphere just isn’t right. : ) Very good review.

P.S.: I don’t feel bad for Micah…at all. Common sense says if the thing wants to burn a Ouiji board to send you a “message”…you don’t wanna know what it has to say.

What got me most about this movie…was the sound. I don’t know about most people, but I’ve got sensitive ears (I think it comes with being a trained musician), and when that heavy, low, bass sound came on in the theater…I tensed up, got freaked out, and it totally made the experience for me. The overtone in the sound system, too, which my friend next to me didn’t pick up on, but which was as clear as day to me, totally made my ears buzz, and added to that sense of dread. So, in that way, I totally agree with you – this movie wouldn’t be 1/10th as frightening, if seen at home, on your laptop, with the lights on, while someone’s making cookies in the kitchen. The atmosphere just isn’t right. : ) Very good review.

P.S.: I don’t feel bad for Micah…at all. Common sense says if the thing wants to burn a Ouiji board to send you a “message”…you don’t wanna know what it has to say.

@Bumbo, what I thought of the demon, was that it was sorta “jealous”, “obsessed” with that poor girl, stalking it and doing weird shit. But when she finally had a guy, amongst many other provocations, it started to become angry.

SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!

For example, the ouija board showing that demon’s last victim’s name, hinting that it didnt like that they would bring any magicians or anything in there. And when the guy got more cocky and angry, the demon got more angry, and showed that in different ways, like scratching only the guys face in an image. And the last straw, which triggered the last night, was when the guy burnt that picture.

@Bumbo, what I thought of the demon, was that it was sorta “jealous”, “obsessed” with that poor girl, stalking it and doing weird shit. But when she finally had a guy, amongst many other provocations, it started to become angry.

SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!

For example, the ouija board showing that demon’s last victim’s name, hinting that it didnt like that they would bring any magicians or anything in there. And when the guy got more cocky and angry, the demon got more angry, and showed that in different ways, like scratching only the guys face in an image. And the last straw, which triggered the last night, was when the guy burnt that picture.

@MEITTI

Thats an interesting interpetation. Although I’d say the characters negative emotions has an impact on what the demon can actually do. It begins by moving doors. And had they not recorded that they would never know. Right? So then, by recording and by watchin they actually see it and get afraid. That fear “feeds” into the demons strength, which in turn enables it to do more complex things.

I don’t think it has it in for the boyfriend, I just think it wasn’t strong enough before the boyfriend started recording.

The one thing I disagree with is that the demon gets “angry”. I hate to sound like a “know it all” on something that is 100% personal interpetation. but I don’t think demons have emotions such as we do. And because of that it doesn’t get “provoked” it doesn’t get “angry” it simply uses that anger and fear that the characters feel to grow. Its nothing personal. But hey, we all have our different perspectives and its an interesting thought even if I happen to disagree. Maybe you’re right, maybe its vengeful and sees this as a personal matter, but that would be understandable and relatable. To me a demon is otherwordly and we would never understand its reasoning.

@MEITTI

Thats an interesting interpetation. Although I’d say the characters negative emotions has an impact on what the demon can actually do. It begins by moving doors. And had they not recorded that they would never know. Right? So then, by recording and by watchin they actually see it and get afraid. That fear “feeds” into the demons strength, which in turn enables it to do more complex things.

I don’t think it has it in for the boyfriend, I just think it wasn’t strong enough before the boyfriend started recording.

The one thing I disagree with is that the demon gets “angry”. I hate to sound like a “know it all” on something that is 100% personal interpetation. but I don’t think demons have emotions such as we do. And because of that it doesn’t get “provoked” it doesn’t get “angry” it simply uses that anger and fear that the characters feel to grow. Its nothing personal. But hey, we all have our different perspectives and its an interesting thought even if I happen to disagree. Maybe you’re right, maybe its vengeful and sees this as a personal matter, but that would be understandable and relatable. To me a demon is otherwordly and we would never understand its reasoning.

Watched pretty much all your stuff for about 2 years, your call that Pandorum was The Decent in space was absolutely brilliant. This however dissapoints me a lot more than anything Ive seen from any reviewer ever.

Thank you for all the entertainment over the last couple of years, but I am in shock that you like this movie, shocked that you thought it was scary and horrified that you would spend so much time talking about how good it was. Feels like one of my most trusted reviewers just told me that Star Wars Part 1 was the best movie in the series. No actually, this is worse :(

Theres currently only one person that could survive this and still have me watching his reviews, and thats you.

Watched pretty much all your stuff for about 2 years, your call that Pandorum was The Decent in space was absolutely brilliant. This however dissapoints me a lot more than anything Ive seen from any reviewer ever.

Thank you for all the entertainment over the last couple of years, but I am in shock that you like this movie, shocked that you thought it was scary and horrified that you would spend so much time talking about how good it was. Feels like one of my most trusted reviewers just told me that Star Wars Part 1 was the best movie in the series. No actually, this is worse :(

Theres currently only one person that could survive this and still have me watching his reviews, and thats you.

Aahh.

I love how you approach this, spoony my man.

I went and saw this in theatres with my friends, we’re all like 17, 18.
My best friend, who sat beside me, left the theatre bawling. She was saying how it didn’t blow your mind, it blew your freakin’ soul.

For someone who has never really watched ANY scary movies EVER, this was absolutely without a doubt horrifying. And The girl? The WHOLE movie I was sitting there going “…You know, I’ll probably look a lot like that in a few years. She even has my figure….. -shudder- …Yeah, get it OUT. What is he doing?”
So I identified with her to the point that I’m still disturbed by how much of myself I saw in her.
And the previously haunted girl, she looked a lot like the current one, all dark hair and strong features, though you only notice if you look real close.

The one thing that my friend, who had been crying, was emphasizing the most was at the very end, “The body of the woman was never found.”

No answers, urk. Apparently there’s a downloaded version with a different ending or something, something with guns or whatever. I’ll have to go dig it up perhaps, I’ve only heard whispers about it.

I love watching you talk, my man, I won’t lie. Impressively charismatic.

EVERYONE needs to see this movie, and I don’t care how.
It took a few weeks before I was able to appreciate it, since it took that long for me to stop hating it for how much it scared the SHIT out of me.
Ugh,

SO good.

Aahh.

I love how you approach this, spoony my man.

I went and saw this in theatres with my friends, we’re all like 17, 18.
My best friend, who sat beside me, left the theatre bawling. She was saying how it didn’t blow your mind, it blew your freakin’ soul.

For someone who has never really watched ANY scary movies EVER, this was absolutely without a doubt horrifying. And The girl? The WHOLE movie I was sitting there going “…You know, I’ll probably look a lot like that in a few years. She even has my figure….. -shudder- …Yeah, get it OUT. What is he doing?”
So I identified with her to the point that I’m still disturbed by how much of myself I saw in her.
And the previously haunted girl, she looked a lot like the current one, all dark hair and strong features, though you only notice if you look real close.

The one thing that my friend, who had been crying, was emphasizing the most was at the very end, “The body of the woman was never found.”

No answers, urk. Apparently there’s a downloaded version with a different ending or something, something with guns or whatever. I’ll have to go dig it up perhaps, I’ve only heard whispers about it.

I love watching you talk, my man, I won’t lie. Impressively charismatic.

EVERYONE needs to see this movie, and I don’t care how.
It took a few weeks before I was able to appreciate it, since it took that long for me to stop hating it for how much it scared the SHIT out of me.
Ugh,

SO good.

I feel like I’m missing something. I didn’t find it scary AT ALL.

I met my girlfriend at the cinema, and saw some of my friends. They told me they had just seen Paranormal Activity and I said that we were about to watch it. One of my friends seriously said “Don’t. Just don’t. Seriously man. Don’t watch it. DON’T. THERE’S NO SOLUTION AT THE ENDING” etc.

At this point I was shitting myself about watching it, literally shaking. Got to it, 45 minutes in and I’m not scared at all. People are jumping out of their seats in fear and I just didn’t find any of it scary. I really wanted to get scared and began thinking I wasn’t in the right mindset.

The only part that scared me was pretty much the end scene. Made me jump, but yeah, I left feeling a bit disappointed.

Maybe I just didn’t get it..

My girlfriend wasn’t scared either. The scariest thing for her was that one bit with the small spider, because she has a REALLY bad phobia of spiders. That’s pretty damn pitiful if you ask me.

I feel like I’m missing something. I didn’t find it scary AT ALL.

I met my girlfriend at the cinema, and saw some of my friends. They told me they had just seen Paranormal Activity and I said that we were about to watch it. One of my friends seriously said “Don’t. Just don’t. Seriously man. Don’t watch it. DON’T. THERE’S NO SOLUTION AT THE ENDING” etc.

At this point I was shitting myself about watching it, literally shaking. Got to it, 45 minutes in and I’m not scared at all. People are jumping out of their seats in fear and I just didn’t find any of it scary. I really wanted to get scared and began thinking I wasn’t in the right mindset.

The only part that scared me was pretty much the end scene. Made me jump, but yeah, I left feeling a bit disappointed.

Maybe I just didn’t get it..

My girlfriend wasn’t scared either. The scariest thing for her was that one bit with the small spider, because she has a REALLY bad phobia of spiders. That’s pretty damn pitiful if you ask me.

306 @Jaz

Yeah it actually is Ghost Hunters, the kids show ur thinking of is probably “Ghost Trackers”, a REALLY shitty show on nickelodeon… yeah kinda gayy how i even know this….
Gotta agree with Spoony on Ghost Hunters, about 99.999999999999% of the time they find NOTHING, but its that 0.00000000000001% that keeps people watching…..

Though i did hear somewhere that their “Findings” are staged, i don’t know about this….anyone know if their legit or not?

306 @Jaz

Yeah it actually is Ghost Hunters, the kids show ur thinking of is probably “Ghost Trackers”, a REALLY shitty show on nickelodeon… yeah kinda gayy how i even know this….
Gotta agree with Spoony on Ghost Hunters, about 99.999999999999% of the time they find NOTHING, but its that 0.00000000000001% that keeps people watching…..

Though i did hear somewhere that their “Findings” are staged, i don’t know about this….anyone know if their legit or not?

I watched this at home a little while ago with my gf, and it isn't more boring at home as it is in the theatre, if you put the volume up and make it absolutly dark=] the fummiest thing was after we were done she thought she heared something, she was about to piss her pants, and then it turned out to be my pet cat. hahaha

Just saw it tonight so sorry this comment is a few months late.
My movie crowd burst out laughing at

(SPOILERS)

the part where the demon dragged her out of bed.

(END SPOILERS)

I also found it hilarious. I, honestly, think that some people are just not scared by this kind of style. I know when I wasn't laughing I was bored shitless. I was not drawn in because the boyfriend and the girlfriend were unbelievably stupid, and the scares were all jump scares (never jumped either, mainly because it was all predictable BS).
And why would the guy keep on provoking the demon? I don't get why he keeps provoking it after the first few times. It's obviously not helping. Not that I was cheering for the demon, but I think the couple was fully aware after the first few days the camera, ouija board etc… was DEFINITELY not helping. They were asking for it. Basically, the movie was like a boy poking a beehive, a girl telling him not to poke the beehive or else she'd leave, even though she never left, and of course, they both get stung in the end…LEAVE AND STOP PROVOKING IT MORONS!

(SPOILERS)

I felt no sympathy for them when the demon kicked Micah's ass into the camera and possessed Katy's, dumb, dependent ass in the end.

(END SPOILERS)

I love your videos Spoony, but you shouldn't get on your high horse and criticize people for liking movies like Transformers (yes, even though it's a pretty mindless flick) because there are people who are into that. You liked this movie and some people will enjoy it and will genuinely be scared by it, and some people will just not like it and won't connect to the types of scares this movie has to offer. Not because they don't get it, but because it's just not to their tastes.

i am usually scared of every horror movies, like mouths of no sleep scared but when i saw this i was bored after 30 minute i started to find it funny. and the end (i saw one of the alternate endings only) was retarded she kills the guy and then herself? (sorry about the spoiler)

I think you saw a different movie.

I agree with pretty much everything you said (especially about horror movies today and the difference between revulsion and fear) except for one thing: being genuinely scared is not fun. At all.

It's fine if you can walk out of the theater, shake it off and go home. I can't do that. By the time I've cared enough about the plot and characters to become really, truly terrified, it does not go away. I've got an unusually overactive imagination and I just can't seem to shake this dread after I've watched a horror movie.

This all reminds me of this one time my whole family was out of town and I was alone at my parent's place. Big place. Mansion in the woods, old building, not too many other houses around. So, naturally, I rented a movie, got a pile of snacks (thank god I did) and settled down to watch a horror movie, The Ring. I know, not a very scary movie, but you'd be surprised how pants-shittingly terrified you can get when you're alone in a huge creaking mansion at night in the woodsy asscrack of rural Belgium. Once the movie was over I was so freaked out I didn't have the balls to get off the couch. I basically camped out on the couch with a blankie over my head surviving on snacks and coke for the better part of two days. I'm not even kidding, that's how terrified I was.

So, yeah, I'm a major pussy. I've been terrified a lot and it was never fun. And the weird thing is, I absolutely love old-school horror movies, but I can't watch them on my own, I haven't got a boyfriend anymore (and he didn't like movies anyway) and my friends don't like horror. I'd love to see Ringu and Kairo and Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist and a slew of other movies, but it's sooo not worth camping on the couch for.

Gotta say I loved The Blair Witch project, may favourite horror movie of all time, though it loses most of the effect after the first viewing. Though I've showed it to various friends and girlfriends and they just get bored. Maybe I'll have to check out Paranormal Activity .

My idea on the whole fear verses gore thing is that, over time, people have got use to having these things shoved straight down their throat and are not willing to think about what is going on. What I love about the Blair Witch is that you need to use your head and it's not the movie that scares you, but your own mind

Funny should mention Day of The Dead, cause I always thought you looked like the Evil dude (at least when your hair is right)

Evil Spoony: 'I WANNA KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU'RE DOING WITH MY TIME!'

The board and, especially, that audio recording ruined the movie for me.
I'm actually surprised that you let those 2 off the hook. I mean, come on! Those were pure Hollywood cheese!

My dear Spoony, good analysis, I concur.

You're thinking of “Paranormal Entity”. It was a “Paranormal Activity” rip-off essentially, but told a different story. “Paranormal Activity” deals with a girl and her boyfriend.

paranormal activity = worst movie i've seen

I think im gonna watch paranormal. But utill then the scariest movie i've seen is probably Dead Silence, That doll gave me nightmares xD

I can only agree with you on two points: most horror films are in fact pieces of cinematic shit, and that movies like Hostel are more gross than scary. Horror movies are rarely, if ever, actually fear-inducing unless you can switch off the part of your brain that can distinguish the difference between You and The Movie. In the main, a film cannot actually put you in any danger, and the fact that I am aware that I am watching a movie makes it hard for the film to do more than just startle me with loud noises, orchestral stings or things suddenly flying at the camera. Some movies can work tension very well, and can definitely creep me the hell out. I stand at the back of elevators ever since watching The Eye. Some Alfred Hitchcock films can work my nerves over pretty good, like Vertigo (although to be fair that’s not actually a horror film) or the original Psycho. I have a creepy film called Session 9 in my collection; it’s not scary, per se, but it is certainly eerie.

On the other hand, the “new” trend of gore-porn movies like Hostel or Saw aren’t scary either – they’re just gross, and in the case of Hostel, disturbingly boring. I fell asleep watching Hostel in theaters only to be startled awake by a stupid loud noise the director used instead of a genuinely creepy moment. Gore-porn flicks aren’t exactly new, but they’ve reached lavish new lows as of late that spatter the screen in gallons of viscera during excessively long, lovingly crafted torture scenes that make me queasy but not particularly frightened.

I just found both The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity mind-numbingly *boring.* (Actually, I found Blair Witch to be irritating on top of boring.) They had a few good moments in the latter; the footprints in the powder for instance. But the ending was just retarded and I hated both of the characters almost on sight. Claiming that not being able to get into the film makes you a “stick in the mud” isn’t fair – it’s not really a personality flaw that I find little difference between a fake documentary horror film and a Yet Another Slasher horror film – neither one is scary, both are boring, but at least I can make fun of slasher movies.

@ Spoony, haven’t you seen or heard of the original and alternative endings? I think you would like the original.

hey you did this video at my 20 years old day :P

hey you did this video at my 20 years old day :P

To be honest I found The Fourth Kind more scary and a better movie than Paranormal Activity. There was a number of things that I think were badly done in Paranormal Activity. Firstly, the Cloverfield style of shooting was an interesting yet poor choice. I found the movie to be extremely choppy, in that there was no transitions. Paranormal Activity felt like one really boring movie discretely mixed with one really scary movie. I did not like in between moments when the actors were going over what happened the night before and re-iterating the fear they were feeling. I was there I saw the scary things and how scared the actors were, no need to have half be about the scariness. Also, I found the plot to be quite unbelievable(for a movie about possession and haunting). For anyone who has watched the series Haunting, I think they would find that this movie did not make a lot of sense. Why was there a murder at the end of the movie? That makes no sense, the purpose of a demon is to torment the person. If a demon kills that person, then it cannot do anymore tormenting. Therefore, the ending was quite illogical. Also, when the psychic arrives and then leaves, it felt as though the writers were trying to cover up a huge plot hole. After he left there were a number of questions that remained. Why did he just leave? Why could he not help? What was tormenting her? What the hell was going on? None of these questions ever get answered. Overall Paranormal Activity was a good movie but not excellent, it had very scary moments that I am certain new movies will aspire too. However, there were major problems with the plot and shooting.

I saw this movie about two days and it scared the crap out of me. Like, I didn’t sleep that night (the joys of living in an old, creaky house). I just stayed up huddling on the couch trembling with fear and flinching at my roommate’s footsteps in the kitchen. In fact I seem to be in the minority in that I found Blair Witch much less scary.

And also, major props, Spoony. I just watched you talk for 45 minutes and did not once get bored. You are ridiculously entertaining.

I finally watched this today. Wanted to have a little scareathon to get in the mood for Halloween and The Walking Dead premier, so I decided to watch this and PN2.

I guess I’m not very bright :p

…shit, this movie scared the hell out of me. And I was just watching it on my second monitor, not on a nice big tv. But, I was home alone, and it was dark, which just added to the effect so much more. I also hate the fact that I have an attic door just like theirs in my closet.

I’ve got to say that the scares were really effective and well done. They could have probably streamlined the daytime stuff a bit, but it did a good job of providing a breather, and yet amping up the distress the characters felt. Unfortunately my version was missing a couple of scenes that were in the theater (like the upstairs picture), and it had the original ending to the movie (the one you describe is apparently the third ending).

Which begs the question, which ending did everyone like more?

The original ending with the police?
The knife ending that audiences apparently found too disturbing?
Or the ending Spoony described from the theaters?

I watched each ending in that order, and while I like them all for different reasons, I found that each ending was more scary/creepy than the last.

I agree with you fully on horror movies. :)
I’m not too keen on your review about Ju-On, because I enjoyed the general story and REALLY got into it at the point of I STILL can’t walk down a dark hallway. ^^;

You should do Paranormal Activity 2 when it comes out, Spoony. :P I LOVED it, it made my mum scream at one point, it filled in loose ends, and… yeah, it had more subconscious scares.
I hope you watch it. :)

I realise I am very late in the game here on this one, but I could not agree with you more on this review. Both Paranormal Activity movies rank in my favourite movies because they are the only two movies from this generation to legitimately scare me. No movie has been able to scare me since I became a teenage, and just the fact that these movies were able to accomplish what so many other “horror” movies couldn’t set them apart. I agree that it’s the aspect of what you can’t see and the unknown that is what get’s people scared (and I will admit that I believe in ghosts and the like so that makes everything more real). What I love is that the film makers took something that is talked about and reported all over the world, and showed everyone how truly horrifying it can be. I still get freaked watching these movies at home (with all the lights off late at night with no one around). All the little details actually led me to create my own image of the demon in my mind that could fit in with the sounds and shapes without actually seeing anything. This is getting long. Bottom line, I thought these movies were great and I love you for loving at least the first one. I hope you saw the second one too. It was worth it.

The demon wanted some sweet lovin’. That’s why it got pissed and smashed the picture of them together.

is there a john deer riding lawnmower operating outside? what the hell is that noise?!

such a shame Paranormal Activity 2 fricken blows!