Tocky on 13/9/2025 at 06:52
Kill Bill. Again. Because it was on a regular channel and I will see the chapel soon. This is possibly the most violent film ever filmed. I thought it cartoonish when I first saw it. It is. But I can appreciate it for that now. And now I am sad that Quinton has decided to quit. He kept alive the early seventies drive in movie genre. You had to be there. It affected Tarantino greatly. It did me as well. I was a pre teen watching horror and violence from the front seat while my sister and her beau made out in the back. Maybe they picked films like that to keep the chaperones distracted. Maybe it was the times. It was great either way. You can only live through times like that once. Quinton knows. And now even he is gone from the screen. Another thing dead before I am.
henke on 20/10/2025 at 18:20
Alien: Earth - well this was pretty fun, if un-even. The whole thing is kinda undercut by this being a prequel. Of course the horror of aliens coming to earth is the chance they'll take over the whole planet, but... uh, I kinda think we would've heard about that in the movies if it did happen? So... what are the stakes here??? ANYWAY, standout episodes are 2 (reconnecting with the brother), 5 (on the ship), and the penultimate episode which set things up for what turned out to be kinda a disappointing finale. The final ep didn't so much set up a second season so much as just leave it open. For an Alien show disappointingly few of the main cast died, and instead everyone's just sitting around at the end like "welp, let's see what happens in season 2 I guess???" Also, most episodes ends with a 90's rock/metal song. Tool. Metallica. Smashing Pumpkins. A fun touch!
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch - the new Netflix anime, set after the events of the games. Ol' Sam Fisher's retirement is interrupted by a young agent in need of help. The first half of the 8 episodes is good, down-to-earth spy shit. Watchable! Has some fun action scenes and introduces the characters and world of this show. The second half is when things ramp up and I felt like I got properly hooked. The finale is EXPLOSIVE and I felt like it really nicely set things up for a second season, until... it didn't? The final scene just kinda goes "nah, let's not do that". So now I don't know what the hell the already-confirmed season 2 will be about. Well... let's see what happens I guess??? Anyway, good show. Not great. Just good. Also, did this whole show really need to be animated? It's mostly just small scenes set in apartments, basements, empty stretches of highway. Doesn't feel like it would've been a whole lot more expensive to film it live-action.
Sulphur on 23/10/2025 at 12:42
I'd post about shows I'm watching if I had the energy in general. But okay, for this one... I did watch Alien: Earth, and my thoughts about it are summarised as so: a show that uses and subverts Peter Pan as limp commentary for a side-avenue of human evolution has very little to do with a franchise that front-ends a skulking rage penis as a symbol for physical violation.
Outside of the fact that the show's thematic conception is awkward as fuck, as some fucks are wont to be, it's technically pretty assured, the acting's good, and the standout episodes were cool.
I wasn't particularly interested in having the xenomorph as part of an alien menagerie, or devolve into what is basically a dangerous pet; but more than that, for me the litmus test was this: if you take the alien out of Alien: Earth, does the story change in any significant way? The answer is no. And the story would be far more interesting and less flaccid, ironically, if it spent less time spotlighting the tumescent terror only to defang it (quite literally) and then make it about as useful as a marzipan dildo, to borrow a phrase from Armando Iannucci. That's time that could have been better spent putting more depth into the rest of the story instead, especially Boy Genius, who just comes across as a walking dick in a show not short on that flavour.
Harvester on 27/10/2025 at 15:59
I've watched Lake Mungo. Back when it came out Lionsgate didn't know how to market it and it got lost for a larger audience, but it picked up a cult following among discerning horror enthusiasts. You can't stream it anywhere but I got so curious I shelled out for the Blu-ray disc. This movie is scary not in the sense of jump-scares or a lot of blood and gore and violence, but in a permeating feeling of dread, sadness and melancholy. Never have I seen a faux-documentary style executed so well, the cast of unknown actors is completely natural and never does anything seem fake or staged. The documentary scenes are shot with decent cameras and have a solid, basic indie movie quality. But the found footage stuff is shot with real phones and consumer cameras of that time and looks pretty grainy or crappy like it should and that adds to the authenticity. Most found footage movies are shot with good cameras and digitally uglified and you can tell, but this stuff looks completely believable. A seminal scene near the end is shot with an actual 2006 Nokia flip phone, at night even, so it looks like complete crap but somehow that makes it all the scarier. Story wise there are some pretty good twists in the movie that I didn't see coming.
Thematically I guess it's about how people want to connect with each another but ultimately you have to face everything alone, including dying, even if there are people around you at that time. The Blu-ray disc has interesting analyses by fellow cult filmmakers Benson and Moorhead (of The Endless) and Rob Savage (Host) and one of them says that this is not a pizza and beer horror movie and not even a very fun watch. I was left with some lingering sadness afterwards, I can shake that sort of stuff pretty easily but the movie did have an impact on me and I was impressed by its craft and content.
Thirith on 27/10/2025 at 16:17
@Harvester: All my favourite ghost stories are at least as sad as they are scary, and Lake Mungo is definitely sad, though it doesn't skimp on the dread. Its format also never feels gimmicky but very well suited to the story the film is telling. I very much second your recommendation, but also all your caveats on who may or may not enjoy that particular film.
@Sulphur: While I enjoyed Alien: Earth more than you did, I totally agree with you. It's good interesting starting points in terms of the characters and themes, but even if you accept that this is just a first season, it really doesn't go beyond saying, "Hey, these themes would be interesting to pursue, and we could do it with these characters." And in terms of how the series uses the original xenomorph, I kinda hope that they'll kill it off for good early in S2.
It's also a wasted chance that they don't do something similar with Boy Kavalier as what Hannibal did with Frederick Chilton. I see why they didn't just want to kill the kid, but they should have done horrible non-fatal things to him and promised to keep doing horrible non-fatal things until they finally kill him. We want and we need that kind of ongoing catharsis.
Sulphur on 30/10/2025 at 11:13
Quote Posted by Thirith
@Sulphur: While I enjoyed
Alien: Earth more than you did, I totally agree with you. It's good interesting starting points in terms of the characters and themes, but even if you accept that this is just a first season, it really doesn't go beyond saying, "Hey, these themes would be interesting to pursue, and we could do it with these characters." And in terms of how the series uses the original xenomorph, I kinda hope that they'll kill it off for good early in S2.
It's also a wasted chance that they don't do something similar with Boy Kavalier as what
Hannibal did with Frederick Chilton. I see why they didn't just want to kill the kid, but they should have done horrible non-fatal things to him and promised to keep doing horrible non-fatal things until they finally kill him. We want and we need that kind of ongoing catharsis.
I'm more down on it in the post than I actually am. It was a decent ride and a good time. I just see something leaner, meaner, and sharper hidden within the meandering plotlines that would have coalesced into an excellent story instead of something that doesn't really get there because it's a tad directionless. The show's worth watching if one keeps their expectations in check for it to be not much more than a fun, stylistic genre jaunt.
And oof, invoking Frederick Chilton, huh. I agree, Kavalier needed some comeuppance, but going Chilton on him would be... oof.
I agree.
Tocky on 31/10/2025 at 21:02
I find myself liking some of the low budget films being produced lately because they are very idea driven and writing is what makes a horror. As such I recommend the movie "Hostile Dimensions" on Prime. While it's true they missed the obvious title alliteration of "Dangerous Dimensions", I just don't think they gave a damn about the name. They never expected it would go far on the budget they had. But it's good nonetheless. The acting by actors who look like average people is believable. The sets are low budget but they somehow manage to pull the most from simple props. There is CGI but it is sparing and often startling in how it is used. I'm proud of them for using a handful of people to make a genuinely scary movie.
Part of the fear is in never quite knowing what is going to happen because anything could. The whole plot is distilled into the title. It is like the best of Creepy Pasta extended into a story which keeps ones interest because like the short ones it is so very odd. It just keeps on being odd and though some things are familiar tropes it carries them beyond where you think they will go. Odd is good in a horror. Odd is best even because it's like those nightmares where you wake up and are glad it's over. And maybe some things are even funny after when you think about it but... some things brushed by too close to things you have dreamed as well.
Tocky on 10/11/2025 at 04:01
PLURIBUS on Apple TV. Imagine some alien race sent instructions for a virus which made all of humanity aside from a few immune to it and it turned us into a hivemind. Body snatchers right? Only now imagine they were good. No violence or evil among them. It's just everyone you know added together without any of the bad stuff. Does that change your mind about being of one mind? It doesn't the main character and it wouldn't me but it does bring up a lot of ethical questions and interesting situations.
Also I'm really damned suspicious why an alien race would want us so nice and compliant. It's a really interesting and unique concept to explore and it's directed by the Breaking Bad Gilligan guy.
Harvester on 10/11/2025 at 08:20
I also like it, it was getting such rave reviews that I renewed my Apple TV (they dropped the +) subscription for it. I'm enjoying it so far and am eager to see where it goes.
