The Guyver (1991)

The Guyver (1991) was awesome! Highly recommended if, like me, you enjoy tokusatsu -- ridiculously over-the-top, campy sci-fi with great makeup/prosthetics, props, and practical effects. It was very silly, but I loved it. It reminded me of the stuff I watched as a kid -- Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Xena Warrior Princess, etc. -- with a gnarly, Cronenbergian flavor. I wouldn't call it horror, but it didn't feel too out of place in the lineup. A more aggressive editor could have taken out like 15 minutes of superfluous monster fights, but then it wouldn't be what it is! 

Also enjoyed the deliciously OTT dialogue like:

"I killed you once! I can kill you again!"

"You can't kill me! I've been rejected by death!"

Jacob's Ladder (1990)

Jacob's Ladder (1990) was a tense psychological thriller, though I'd term it a drama rather than a horror film. I don't watch war movies so this was out of my normal comfort zone. It was a smart, sad, movie, though I wish the limited horror elements had figured more prominently... those parts were my favorites.

The Boneyard (1991)

The Boneyard (1991) was quite awful. 🤣 It starts off incredibly slow and takes forever to pick up, and the dialogue (filled with gratuitous confessional-style oversharing) is ridiculous. Notttt quality cinema. Despite all that, the sfx makeup was awesome. Well, in some scenes it was crap, but the zombie children were really freaky and awesome looking!! In many horror movies, the creatures sort of lurk in the shadows, so you are always more afraid of your imagination than of whatever's on the screen. Not so here, the undead kiddos hold up to scrutiny in full view. (Perhaps unsurprising, considering James Cummins started his career in special effects and only later dabbled in directing.) This movie maybe gets some points for pure absurdity, but this is surely one to drunkenly heckle with your mates.

Vampires (1998)

Nicole and I watched Vampires (1998). We had reasonably high hopes bc John Carpenter, but this vampire western was hot garbage. Misogynistic thug vampire-hunters James Woods and Daniel "Budget" Baldwin hunt "The Master" with lots of inane tough talk and gratuitous violence. (I've now filled my lifetime quota for hearing "you fucking bitch." 🙄) Also, there is a strange homophobic/repressed homoerotic thing going on with Woods' character... no idea what that's about. The vampires themselves were also pretty uninspiring, brain-dead cannon fodder. All the effects were super OTT too. There were a couple cool scenes, but honestly this one was kind of a slog. ~~ If you wanna watch dusty tough guys kicking vampire butt, watch From Dusk til Dawn (1996) instead. ~~ Thanks for hanging in there with me, Nicole!

Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)

Dellamorte Dellamore (lit. "of the death of love," English title Cemetery Man) was amazing!! Creative plot, very funny dark humor, smart dialogue, great practical effects, and plenty of sex appeal (starring hotties Rupert Everett and Anna Falchi) -- the whole package. 

Also, I was struck while watching this film by the similarities to my boy Dario Argento... come to find out, Michele Soavi was his protégé! Definitely worth a watch.

eXistenZ (1999)

Mark and I watched eXistenZ (1999) tonight, and it was awesome! A mindfuck, as one would expect from Cronenberg. Highly recommended for all cyberpunk fans... or anyone interested in the precursor to Inception (2010). 

The Quiet Family (1998)

Kim Jee-woon's directorial debut, The Quiet Family (1998), was awesome! Sarah and I recently watched his film A Tale of Two Sisters (2006), and I liked this much more. What can I say, I'm a sucker for dark comedy! It has a great cast, starring heartthrob Song Kang-ho (of Snowpiercer and Parasite), before he became famous, Na Moon-hee (of My Lovely Sam-Soon), and Choi Min-sik (of Oldboy, etc.), among others. Almost like a National Lampoon film, except if the hijinks always ended in dead bodies. 🤣

Frankenhooker (1990)

Frankenhooker (1990) was a crack up. Is there something deeply disturbing about chopping up sex workers to rebuild your decapitated fiancée? Sure. But is it even really love, if you don't even TRY to use mad science to revive your cadaverous sweetheart?? 😤 I was a little bit dreading the misogyny with this one, but it ended up okay... Recommended. Oh and I loved the protagonist's Jersey accent. 🤣

Out of the Dark / Wui Wan Yeh (1995)

Out of the Dark / Wui Wan Yeh (1995) -- very silly. 😝 Stephen Chow, so we had high hopes,  but this ended up being VERY goofy, and long.

Cube (1997)

Cube (1997) was aggressively terrible. I want my $3.99 back. 😂

Candyman (1992)

In Candyman (1992), a lynched Black man turned hook-handed-murderer is pursued by a very pushy and problematic white grad student. Does this uncomfortable film say something meaningful about the horrors of racism? Or does it just exploit those same racist stereotypes, by using a Black man and grimy shots of the "ghetto" (their word) to inspire fear? If it were a less mediocre film, I'd spend more time musing on this...

Body Bags (1993)

Tonight Mark and I watched Body Bags (1993), which was amazing!! Cool creepy stories, great effects, classic Carpenter soundtrack (and direction), and chock full of cameos, a veritable "who's who" of horror. (More appreciated by Mark than me, I'm not very good with recognizing celebrities or knowing actors, idk, that part of my brain is missing, I guess -- tho I did love seeing my boy David Noughton, from my all-time fav American Werewolf in London!) I really loved all 3 stories, tho content warning, the third had upsetting sexual violence. I do think the transplanted-body-part trope is a cool one, Heart of a Dog vibes. 👍👍

Audition (1999)

Audition (1999) was awesome, altho parts were nearly impossible to watch. I'm not a fan of torture porn, but this had depth... like a much darker and more brutal Fatal Attraction. Thanks for braving it with me, Nicole!

Seven (1995)

Mark and I finally watched Seven (1995) last night. I love Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, so I expected to like this movie, but it fell flat for me. It was reminiscent in some ways of Silence of the Lambs (1991), which I love, but felt shallow by comparison. I've never been a fan of noir and I couldn't relate to the characters (I found Paltrow vapid, Pitt puerile, and the villain inscrutable), so while I liked the premise and ending, in the end, would not recommend.

Blade (1998)

LOVED the party scene at the beginning of this movie... 

Scream (1996)

 The original teen slasher. This movie terrified me when I first saw it, and it still does. I can never look at a glass sliding door the same way again.

Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Silence of the Lambs is so brilliant. And plucky Starling, d'awww, so fierce and inspiring!!

Misery (1990)

 Misery is so creepy... If I were a celebrity, I'd be so afraid if anyone told me they're my "number 1 fan"...

Interview with the Vampire (1994)

 So incredible!!! Love this movie.

Tales from the Darkside (1990)

Tales from the Darkside (1990): delightful collection of 3 tales in a ghoulish, Hansel and Gretel-esque frame. Love the SFX and young Christian Slater.