rsmurphy wrote: Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:47 am Ever since watching Willow Creek a few weeks back I've been a bit obsessed with tracking down quality Bigfoot spookfests to no avail. Exists was awful with terrible characters who I wanted to see dispensed of in the worst ways. Abominable (2006) was fair, I guess, but only because of the kills, practical effects, and gore, none of which behooves me to rewatch. I need tension, atmosphere, and great acting. Need to see genuine fear expressed by the actors, and not flat, generic acting. Boring! Any recommendations? I fear Willow Creek might be an outlier.

Speaking of creeks I finally got around to watching Wolf Creek. Boring! Attractive cast tho. What a dumb ending.

Looking forward to the upcoming Talk to Me to revive my faith in Aussie horror after the aforementioned Wolf Creek.

BrendanK wrote:Not Bigfoot, but maybe a little close (are Wendigos close to Bigfoots?) have you seen Antlers?

rsmurphy wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 9:21 am

BrendanK wrote:Not Bigfoot, but maybe a little close (are Wendigos close to Bigfoots?) have you seen Antlers?

I've seen Antlers but can't remember a lick of it. I recall not exactly hating it, maybe it's due for a rewatch.

I love cryptid folklore but that love hasn't carried over to the cinema where my main concern are spooks and sundry things that go bump in the night.Willow Creek was my gateway drug. Recently I saw a creature feature from Bryan Bertino titled The Monster and that was pretty good. Dude certainly knows how to create an ominous atmosphere and impregnate it with dread and suspense. B+

Owen wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 9:44 amDid you try The Ritual? Real cool creature design I thought.

rsmurphy wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2023 8:36 am

I'd hazard a guess that the "anti-woke" crowd won't be too thrilled with this modern re-telling of Shelley's Frankenstein, but let 'em be mad. Vicaria F. is a gifted student who has been surrounded by death her entire life. She lives in a housing project where both her mom and brother were lost to street violence. Her dad, while supportive and caring, is dealing with addiction due to their shared tragedies and surroundings. She believes death is a disease which has a cure: cue to resurrecting her dead brother and, to quote another horror movie about bringing things back from the dead, "sometimes, dead is better."

I really enjoyed this. Laya DeLeon Hayes gives a powerful performance as "Vicaria F." Her dad, Chad L. Coleman, also brings gravitas to his role as a father trapped in the system, while Denzel Whitaker shows impeccable range as the neighborhood drug dealer. All characters were wonderfully written, and each has an amazing arc.

The violence is brutal with excellent practical effects - almost lost my lunch on one sequence - and there are also some cheeky nods to the OG Frankenstein. I felt some of the horror aspects were a little too conventional, but there are a couple of decent scares. Loved how the director recontextualized Frankenstein. Cops and the education system are shown to be just as monstrous, and Vicaria's surroundings though filled with death and loss it's a brightly-lit, clean housing project and not some dingy wasteland.

Deep movie. Gory. Sometimes funny. Always heavy. The trailer gives too much away for my taste but if you need to see what you're getting into I wouldn't fault you. Excellent first effort from director Bomani J. Story.