Big horror fan, huh BKC?
What drives you to horror? What flavors of it are your favorites? What are your dislikes of the genre?
I like visceral atmospherics pushed to their limits. Horror has the capacity to do this incredibly well, and can take many forms. (I also like when non-horror films take cues from horror!) I don't know if I have a preferred category I seek out - I like the reality-twisting psychological descent of Perfect Blue/The Cremator, but also adore the sheer terror of the finale of The Terminator, and nothing beats the outrageously creative, goofy fun of Evil Dead 2.
Plus, "horror" can be a relative term, anyway - some people would call Under the Skin a horror movie, and I wouldn't quite disagree, but I don't really think of it that way, and it doesn't draw me (only) for that reason. Something like Suspiria barely feels like a horror movie to me, either; I get that that view is more out there, and while it certainly applies, the soft nature of the film just feels like it eludes fully being categorized as such.
The only thing I really dislike almost automatically on premise alone is torture porn, Martyrs being something I particularly disliked (very much felt like a cheap, flimsy pretense to mask/excuse indulging in some truly cruel sadism for the hell of it), and I have no interest in watching anything of its ilk besides maybe the first Saw.
trc, I already wanted to watch Soy Cuba, but now I'm definitely bumping it up, thanks for posting.
Thanks for posting this, it finally ended a decade of procrastinating and got me to watch the Edgar Wright comedies, which I've always wanted to see. I watched Shaun of the Dead on Halloween, which seemed fitting, and just watched Hot Fuzz last night.
I am genuinely curious as to why you ranked Hot Fuzz so high and Shaun of the Dead so (relatively) low. Immediately after Hot Fuzz, I thought Shaun of the Dead was better. I think Hot Fuzz had a weaker start and end, but more likeable characters, while Shaun of the Dead has a much more interesting premise. But after thinking on it today, I'm honestly not so sure which I'd say I liked better. So it's surprising to see such a discrepancy between the two movies.
I mean, either way, both were hands down the best comedies I've seen, and just in general really fun movies. I didn't realize it was a trilogy, though. Does anyone know why the third movie isnt ever really talked about? Is it ass?
That's interesting, because Shaun actually feels stronger to me character-wise. However, I personally prefer Hot Fuzz for many reasons - the overall setup feels richer (the detail in the fascist-hag setup and payoff alone is utterly astonishing) and I generally love how it manages to push itself so far in (the execution of) absolutely every aspect, going over-the-top without being overtly showy. I suppose I'd say it feels more confident/fully realized. Finally, the extended shootout (and eventual chase) in the last 45 minutes puts pretty much everything else in the category to shame...and it's hilarious, to boot. In addition to the aforementioned fascist-hag gag, there's also the woman firing two guns while on a bicycle, Simon Pegg going "IDEA," nothing like a bit of girl-on-girl, oh my God I could go on forever so I'll stop there.
Again, this is mostly semantics - I still absolutely adore Shaun. #40 is still
really high for me - there are still roughly 20 films that pained me to leave off, as I hold them in similar regard to #s 22-40 (and a
lot more that aren't too far off behind them). Additionally, it's not as enormous a discrepancy - it could've easily fallen into the 30s or even 20s for me. Hot Fuzz just holds a slightly more dear place in my heart.
Btw, I fully agree with Eagle4 - I think The World's End is not just underrated (which it definitely is), but excellent in its own right, and I would even call it outstanding in certain respects; it has the greatest emotional depth of the trilogy and some absolutely killer action sequences, in addition to the usual joy Edgar Wright and friends provide (fences, Cornettos, incredible setup/payoff). The Pegg/Frost switch is terrific as well. It's actually one of the aforementioned 20ish films that it pained me to leave off my list!
Speaking of Eddie W, I saw Last Night in Soho a few days, and loved it - I cannot wait to go back to the theater to see it again. I also agree with Eagle4 that Titane was quite excellent, and definitely recommend those reading this to find a theater near you that's playing it! (Raw is also great. I actually checked it out because Wright said he really liked it, too...)