Underrated Horror Movies

[Adrift]

While I like the score, I don't find the scene without it to be lifeless at all. The pacing compliments the acting making the absurd believable and therefore frightening.

That scene, in particular, is one of the better ones in the film. There are a lot of scenes that I could have picked out that were a lot more stilted, and frankly, almost humorous in their delivery. If you've seen the film, a couple that I'm thinking of include the scene right before this one where Dracula prepares Renfield's bed for him. It's long and drawn out. Very wordy with Dracula explaining his trip. And it's just kind of funny to see this villainous monster doing something as pedestrian as turning down the bed sheets. There's a couple other scenes later in the film where Renfield (and then Dracula) interrupt a discussion between Johnathan Harker, Van Helsing, and Dr. Seward, and it's just, again, one of the more drawn out scenes where not a whole lot goes on. Lots of unintentional humor as Lugosi does his best dramatic entrances or menacing stares.

I chose that scene because I love the dialogue in it. It's the scene where Dracula says that he never drinks...wine, where the camera stops to stare into his gaze, where the camera swings around Renfield after he's drunken the wine, then the beautiful entrance of Dracula's brides, Dracula waving them away, and then in for the kill. It's a very graceful scene in an otherwise clunky film, and if you see it in context without the score, it's really robbed of its power and punch. Splitting it off from it's overall context as I've done really highlights the scene, even without the score.

[rogue06]

That scene, in particular, is one of the better ones in the film. There are a lot of scenes that I could have picked out that were a lot more stilted, and frankly, almost humorous in their delivery. If you've seen the film, a couple that I'm thinking of include the scene right before this one where Dracula prepares Renfield's bed for him. It's long and drawn out. Very wordy with Dracula explaining his trip. And it's just kind of funny to see this villainous monster doing something as pedestrian as turning down the bed sheets. There's a couple other scenes later in the film where Renfield (and then Dracula) interrupt a discussion between Johnathan Harker, Van Helsing, and Dr. Seward, and it's just, again, one of the more drawn out scenes where not a whole lot goes on. Lots of unintentional humor as Lugosi does his best dramatic entrances or menacing stares.

I chose that scene because I love the dialogue in it. It's the scene where Dracula says that he never drinks...wine, where the camera stops to stare into his gaze, where the camera swings around Renfield after he's drunken the wine, then the beautiful entrance of Dracula's brides, Dracula waving them away, and then in for the kill. It's a very graceful scene in an otherwise clunky film, and if you see it in context without the score, it's really robbed of its power and punch. Splitting it off from it's overall context as I've done really highlights the scene, even without the score.

This all goes back to how our perceptions of horror movies have changed over time. As I previously noted, today people watch it and respond with a sneer and a smirk but when it was released in 1931 newspapers reported that at its premier some of the women in the audience fainted and had to be carried out of the theater. The studio made sure that this was well publicized being astute enough to realize that it would help to sell tickets.

[Adrift]

This all goes back to how our perceptions of horror movies have changed over time. As I previously noted, today people watch it and respond with a sneer and a smirk but when it was released in 1931 newspapers reported that at its premier some of the women in the audience fainted and had to be carried out of the theater. The studio made sure that this was well publicized being astute enough to realize that it would help to sell tickets.

It helped that it had already been a play in production (also staring Lugosi), so it already had some momentum going for it. Also, tales of people fainting in theaters, though not unlikely, I'm certain was hyped up to get butts in seats. I agree with you that audiences were far more sensitive to what was on screen back then than we are today, and also absolutely agree we've become desensitized to film today (which is sort of ironic when you think of how brutal life must have been 80-90 years ago, and how public executions were still a thing in America).

But again, when you compare it to a film like Vampyr that came out around the same time, there's definitely a marked difference in quality and, I don't want to say realism, but in how it's strangeness produces dread in the viewer. Check out some of the surreal visual imagery in Vampyr (1932). I think a lot of these scenes could work in a modern film with a bit of tweaking:

[rogue06]

Just finished watching "Afflicted," a much better than average found footage film from 2013. Two friends decide to travel the world after one is diagnosed with a potentially fatal neurological disorder. They go to Europe and things are going great until one night the one with the disorder picks up a girl at a bar in Paris and goes up to his room with her. Later his friends find him alone in the room, unconscious, bleeding and the girl is gone. Soon after he slowly starts to transform into something dark. Personally, I think it was fairly obvious what he was becoming and you could see where it was progressing and anticipate what was coming but the writing is still good for all that as is the acting.

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[Adrift]

Sounds a lot like one of the scenes from VHS1. Gotta check this one out!

[rogue06]

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[Adrift]

Hail to the king, baby.

[rogue06]

I watched The Pyramid from 2014 earlier today. It is about a father and daughter archaeology team that discovered a three-sided pyramid completely buried in the desert during the Arab Spring uprising. Forced by the government to leave because of the danger they decide to take a quick peek along with their engineer (the daughter's boy friend), a documentary filmmaker and her cameraman. Of course, that's where things go horribly wrong.

I recorded it on my DVR awhile back but after seeing it was universally panned on Rotten Tomatoes I was hesitant to watch it. Perhaps because I had such low expectations I found that I enjoyed it. I mean it wasn't great but it wasn't bad either.

The biggest complaints with it that I read were its writing, acting and poor lighting. IMHO, the former, while somewhat predictable was about par as was the acting. As for the lighting, only a couple times was it difficult to see what was happening and you have to remember it is set in a buried pyramid so it is going to be dark.

The parts I liked were that it kind of reminded me of a D&D adventure but with ordinary people. It had traps and things that looked like they could have been traps as well as somewhat interesting, or at least not what you automatically expect for an Egyptian pyramid, monsters.

What I didn't like was that it couldn't decide whether it would be a regular film or a found footage version and kept switching between the two. And for goodness sake when a trap gets sprung don't just stand there looking at it. Finally, the main monster was CGI and not very well done.

The rest of it was pretty typical, not bad but not great.

I should note that monster was not in the movie

[Adrift]

Sounds interesting Rogue. I like horror films that take you out of the traditional house, hospital, jail thing. One of my favorite aspects of The Ruins was the setting.

I recently watched The Veil on Netflix. Not throwing up a poster for it or anything, because its pretty mediocre, but it does star Jessica Alba and Thomas Jane. Alba's star seems to have fallen if she's doing so-so stuff like this, but Jane continues to surprise me. He's in the current SyFy show Expanse playing a noir detective, and between that show, and this film, the guy is showing me some acting chops I had no idea he had. In this film he plays Jim Jones (well not exactly Jim Jones, but basically Jim Jones), but he does it while imitating Val Kilmer in The Doors, and he just kills it. If there's any reason to watch this film its because of him.

[rogue06]

Sounds interesting Rogue. I like horror films that take you out of the traditional house, hospital, jail thing. One of my favorite aspects of The Ruins was the setting.

I recently watched The Veil on Netflix. Not throwing up a poster for it or anything, because its pretty mediocre, but it does star Jessica Alba and Thomas Jane. Alba's star seems to have fallen if she's doing so-so stuff like this, but Jane continues to surprise me. He's in the current SyFy show Expanse playing a noir detective, and between that show, and this film, the guy is showing me some acting chops I had no idea he had. In this film he plays Jim Jones (well not exactly Jim Jones, but basically Jim Jones), but he does it while imitating Val Kilmer in The Doors, and he just kills it. If there's any reason to watch this film its because of him.

In all honesty I never watched Jessica Alba in a movie because I thought she was a great actress.

[Adrift]

In all honesty I never watched Jessica Alba in a movie because I thought she was a great actress.

I honestly don't really have much of an opinion on her one way or the other. She's pretty and all that, but there are a thousand and one actresses that are Hollywood beautiful. Anyways, I'm more attracted to the slightly atypical types (Christina Ricci, Rose McGowan, Katee Sackhoff, Gina Davis, Sean Young...). I really only ever associate her with the girl who was in Dark Angel, and only because my brother thought she looked hot in it. The only other thing I ever remember her being in is Sin City. I guess she's also in the first two Fantastic Fours, and Machetes, but those are pretty forgettable.

[Zymologist]

I saw a trailer for The Pyramid and thought it looked cool, but hadn't seen it (and I'd noticed that opinions of it weren't very good). I might check it out.

[Teallaura]

Sounds interesting Rogue. I like horror films that take you out of the traditional house, hospital, jail thing. One of my favorite aspects of The Ruins was the setting.

I recently watched The Veil on Netflix. Not throwing up a poster for it or anything, because its pretty mediocre, but it does star Jessica Alba and Thomas Jane. Alba's star seems to have fallen if she's doing so-so stuff like this, but Jane continues to surprise me. He's in the current SyFy show Expanse playing a noir detective, and between that show, and this film, the guy is showing me some acting chops I had no idea he had. In this film he plays Jim Jones (well not exactly Jim Jones, but basically Jim Jones), but he does it while imitating Val Kilmer in The Doors, and he just kills it. If there's any reason to watch this film its because of him.

Y'all got me thinking about a plot with comments like this that I plan to work on... if ever time permits.

[Carrikature]

I honestly don't really have much of an opinion on her one way or the other. She's pretty and all that, but there are a thousand and one actresses that are Hollywood beautiful. Anyways, I'm more attracted to the slightly atypical types (Christina Ricci, Rose McGowan, Katee Sackhoff, Gina Davis, Sean Young...). I really only ever associate her with the girl who was in Dark Angel, and only because my brother thought she looked hot in it. The only other thing I ever remember her being in is Sin City. I guess she's also in the first two Fantastic Fours, and Machetes, but those are pretty forgettable.

It's extremely rare for me to find an actress attractive. I get why everyone else thinks they are, but meh. 'Slightly' atypical is just starting in the right direction imo.

[Adrift]

It's extremely rare for me to find an actress attractive. I get why everyone else thinks they are, but meh. 'Slightly' atypical is just starting in the right direction imo.

Yeah, even the examples I named are relatively average pretty in my opinion. I'm not fond of Hollywood cardboard cutouts. Actresses, especially, all seem to blur together after awhile. You get less of that in foreign films and TV shows where the actors tend to look like everyday people. The cast in a show like Misfits, for example, are just so normal everyday person looking that they actually stand out on the screen.