Handsome Guys (2024)

 Handsome Guys (2024) was such a cute movie. A delightful remake of the (ultimately forgettable) Tucker and Dale Versus Evil (2010), with a Korean and occult spin. The over the top CGI was enjoyable in context. No chills or thrills in this one, but lots of aws, mostly due to a cute pup, and a very adorable dynamic with big softie Park Sang-goo (Lee Hee-joon) and "kidnapped" student Kim Mi-na (Gong Seung-yeon). Would recommend.

The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)

Kicked off the annual horror countdown with this mindf&%$ from Takashi Miike. The film was inspired by the South Korean film The Quiet Family (1998), which is on my list of the top 100 films of all time (currently #44).... But this crazy comedy musical version (with stop motion animation) was not as good. 😆

Mad God (2021)

The first movie of this year's annual horror countdown is Phil Tippett's Mad God (2021), suggested to me by my friend Jason. I'm a huge sucker for practical effects and stop motion, so this was satisfying in that respect, but the very loose narrative structure and unrelenting ick factor made this feel very long. Would have made a better short film than full-length feature.

 

Bird Box (2018)

Finally got around to watching Bird Box (2018). This hit me right in the parent feels, so for me at least, this was more teary-anxiety-about-children-in-the-apocalypse than actual horror. It was pretty good though. I'm assuming everyone has already seen it, but sort of a Walking Dead meets A Quiet Place (2018). I did predict a major plot element from the beginning though, so that's no fun. And I will say, these folks neglected an obvious (though drastic) coping mechanism that I would have adopted.

House of a Thousand Corpses (2003)

As part of the 2022 Annual Horror Movie Countdown, I re-watched Rob Zombie's House of a Thousand Corpses (2003). I normally don't do rewatches because the whole point of this challenge is to experience new horror, but Mark had never seen it, and I only saw it once, when I was 18, so 15 years ago. At the time, I found it really powerful, shocking, and viscerally disturbing. It didn't have quite the same impact this time (for one thing, now that The Office has happened, it's hard to see Rainn Wilson without thinking of Dwight) -- but I still think it's an underrated movie. Yes, it's a little all-over-the-place, but this ghoulish family nails several horror archetypes, from yandere "Baby" to psycho Otis, and more. I still love it.

Men (2022)

Men (2022) was interesting. The cinematography was striking, and although I am basically anti-CGI, the (much-discussed) effects were surprisingly realistic. I dispute this being any kind of feminist film, however. Without giving too much away, a traumatized woman must survive a series of horrors -- but in my read of the (deliberately ambiguous) ending, it seems these may be merely the products of a mind worn out by abuse and misogyny. A tired trope. Criticisms aside, my favorite part of the movie was Rory Sinnear's performance as... damn near everybody. People keep talking about the Green Man motif, but the Sheela Na Gig is the real MVP.

Not near as good as Annihilation (2018).

Scream (2022)

Our second flick of this year's annual horror countdown was the new Scream (2022), which Mark and I watched with my bro Jesse. I generally find slashers boring, but I really love the original Scream (1996). The new iteration had some clever moments -- lots of meta humor, like moments you "know" will be jump scares, but then aren't -- but was a bust overall. For me, the original works because the pacing is perfect -- the stalking builds the suspense and makes the kills much more terrifying. In the new one, the willy-nilly killing destroys the sense of being uniquely preyed upon, being hunted, which triggers our primal terror.

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who also did the much better. Ready or Not (2019).