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Comment by Nicholas Alfonso Diaz on May 1, 2012 at 4:32pm

10 years ago? That's rough. Sounds like it was fun though. 

Ha! Troma. My favorite of theirs is Cannibal: The Musical. The funniest horrible movie I've had the pleasure to witness. Did you ever see Tromeo and Juliet. I heard it is extremely bizarre and not too bad.

For the most part I agree with you on  blockbuster movies. It's rare to see one with an actual story. 

I agree with the logic side of the horror films. Just like sci/fi or fantasy. You're pretty much free to make your own rules. It reminds me of this novel by Jonathan Carroll. His first novel is "Land of Laughs". It's not a horror novel, but it's weird. I mean, he has a talking dog come out of nowhere and it's believable. It's written so well you fall into the story and believe a talking dog is real. 

I have not read 50 Year Sword, only because it costs like over two-hundred dollars. I'm a fan of Danielewski, but I don't know if I want to take a chance and spend that much. Sure it  received a lot of good reviews, but what if I don't like it. I guess I could re-sell it.

Only Revolutions is an amazing book again. You have to read five pages and then flip the book over and around and read the next five pages, and repeat. You get the point-of-views from the main characters at the same time. It's brilliant the way he wrote it. I feel he's one of the greatest authors alive, because he did and is doing things with story telling that no one is doing.

I did like Drag Me to Hell. I thought it was funny. It leaned more on the comedy side than horror, in my opinion. However, the scene when the shadow is creeping up the stairs was great! Loved the ending too! Sure most of the movie was predictable, but I liked that it wasn't a predictable happy ending. I knew it was going to happen, but it was great either way.

I can't really remember how old I was when I started watching horror. I believe I was six years old. I remember Night of the Living Dead being the first, and the rest that followed were the main mainstream: Exorcist, Evil Dead 1 & 2, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, Amityville Horror, Children of the Corn, Creepshow 1& 2, and all the B-movie typical 80's movies.

I was lucky. My mother and I were the only two that liked horror movies, mainly monster horror. She'd let me stay up on Friday nights to watch horror movies and the tv shows.

I've seen a ton of horror growing up, but I haven't accumulated any collection, but believe me, I've seen them.

Books on the other hand. Those fill my rooms.

Music. I used to listen to a lot of Slayer and all that, but I've calmed down a lot since then. I am a fan of The Misfits. They are one of my all time favorite bands. I'm still holding out for a reunion, but I know it will never happen. I can't think of any other horror music out there I like other than a few soundtracks from horror movies, or bands like Jack-off-Jill, Scarling, and Damnation. Good horror bands are rare. They seem like they're horror for the sake of being horror, like an act. The Misfits were doing something new. Danzig is still going at it. The new Misfits are horrible. Then there is AFI. I like their lyrics, but the lead singers voice annoys me.

Recommend some good music. I haven't listened to any black metal.

I'll check out Devil Doll, Morte Macabre, and Electric Wizard. 

Comment by Jon Helge Hesby on May 1, 2012 at 11:26am

And White zombie / ROb Zombie. How could I forget. :)

Comment by Jon Helge Hesby on May 1, 2012 at 11:24am

or maybe more horror-punk /-core, like The misfits etc.?

Comment by Jon Helge Hesby on May 1, 2012 at 11:22am

Yeah, the lack of midnight screenings is lamentable. There just isn't enough of an audience for the genre to make it profitable for the big cinemas. It's all about the big blockbusters.

It wasn't always like that though. 10 years ago or less, we had screenings of Halloween, Army of darkness and countless other films. There was even a film club that screened an uncut version of RE-ANIMATOR. I miss those days.

I love trash: John Waters (although not horror), Troma, low budget & independent flicks, you name it.

Horror films pretty much have their own internal logic and set of rules, and I'm not necessarily more partial to the films that follow traditional logic more faithfully (serial killer flicks ++). Surreal elements are very welcome. :)

No, I haven't gotten as far as 50 year sword yet. Unfortunately. But I've heard great things about them? You've read both I assume? would love some input / personal opinions here.

Yeah, UNFORTUNATELY I heard that there's another remake in the pipes. Even with Raimi on board, I doubt that it will live up to the original. sick of the   industry´s creative bankruptcy. I'll keep an open mind though.

Did you enjoy DRAG ME TO HELL? I found it rather predictable and underwhelming, but with a few good evil dead-ish bits.

I started to collect horror when I was around 14, and have been accumulating movies "en masse" since then. Quite a few 1000 titles now, on blu ray, dvd, HD dvd, laserdisc, vhs. Most of it horror from around the globe, but with a variety of other genres represented.

My first encounter with the horror genre was through the british tv channel Sky1 back in the mid 80s: They had midnight screenings of "Children of the corn", "Squirm", "Neon maniacs", "The unnamable" and many others. i used to sneak out of bed, past my parent's bedroom and watch them secretly. :D

I also have a decent collection of books, but not horror exclusively. Transgressive, macabre stuff, yes, but also classics of French, Russian and British literature.

Btw, you're into horror in music also? what kind of bands? Cannibal corpse, Necrophagia and the death metal kind? Or other horror-themed groups?

I love DEVIL DOLL, which is not a horror group per se, but their songs contain a lot of horror influences (60s British horror and more). Also, the Swedish band MORTE MACABRE have a few quite decent covers of horror soundtracks. Then there's ELECTRIC WIZARD, which I also quite like. They have some great horror movie samples. 

Comment by Nicholas Alfonso Diaz on April 29, 2012 at 6:50pm

The trashy low-budget films are sometimes better. For example: Planet Terror. It was made to be horrible. Explosions erupted for no reason. Rose McGowen had a machine gun leg. I mean how was she able to shoot? Made no sense, but the movie was still great.

I definitely do not have a huge collection, but I grew up watching horror. Now days I don't have the time. I'm usually trapped in a book. My bedroom is filled with books and now my living room is filled with books! 

I have a love for horror in general (movies, music, comics, art).

Aww, too bad there aren't any midnight showings. I wonder if you could get enough people to petition for midnight showings.

Here in Houston, I have a hard time finding theatres that will show foreign films or independent films. 

House of Leaves is an amazing book! I love that book. Did you read Only Revelutions? Or 50 Year Sword? I think that's the title. 

Did you hear they're remaking Poltergeist? Sam Raimi is supposed to produce it.

Comment by Jon Helge Hesby on April 29, 2012 at 12:52am

I usually keep my expectations extremely low, to be on the save side, so no worries there.

I'm actually extremely tolerant and forgiving when it comes to flaws in story line, characters and lack of budget, so even a dreadfully trashy non-budget flick will stand a good chance at ending up on my shelf permanently. Yeah, there aren't many horror films I end up NOT liking, to be honest, which is why I'm starting to seriously run out of space at my place. There are horror and cult dvds occupying every available space (even underneath the bed! :D).

There are NO midnight screenings in Norway. Also, the cinemas usually screen the latest blockbusters only. There is not a great deal of diversity, mainly because cinemas in Norway belong to one big commercial chain, so there's no room for smaller, independent productions. 

Well, aside from the obligatory "consumption" of Poe and Lovecraft (which do not necessarily qualify as novels) Stoker's "Dracula" and Shelley's "Frankenstein", I'm a major fan of Clive Barker ("Books of blood", "Cabal" etc. etc.) and Bret Easton Ellis' "American psycho" and "Lunar park".

Also,Danielewski "House of leaves" must be THE most harrowing exercise in psychological terror penned in the last 10 years. One of my favorites by far, but it's an extremely challenging novel, even on a typographical level. A hard read, that demands the utmost attention and even active participation of the reader.

I also read older horror, and surreal and macabre stuff, like Comte de Lautréamont's "Maldoror".

And Marquis de Sade, if you consider that horror on any level. :D

Also, Muriel Gray's THE TRICKSTER was surprisingly well-written and intimidating.

Thanks for that recommendation. I'll order it.

Comment by Nicholas Alfonso Diaz on April 28, 2012 at 10:33am

That's great! Don't think about the movie anymore. You're right and you're wrong about it. I say keep low expectations. Every movie I've seen with high expectations I have been let down. 

I know what you mean about the audience you're usually surrounded by in a theatre. It's one of the main reasons I go as early as possible, or catch a midnight viewing with a crowd that are genuine fans.

I don't have a favorite horror sub-genre. I love a good zombie flick, but those are rare. hmmm...I have to say a good zombie movie and a ghost film are my favorite. I want to say monster movies, but there aren't many of those. 

What about novels? Have you read any good horror novels? I recommend Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. It is an amazing horror novel.

Comment by Jon Helge Hesby on April 28, 2012 at 3:45am

Yes, unfortunately, not much has changed in your absence. It's basically just a few people keeping the groups / threads alive, and there's not much activity aside from that. Utterly disappointing.

Cabin in the woods is hitting norwegian theatres on the 11th of May, so I'll have a chance to see it then. I must admit that I'm not overly enthusiastic though. Judging by the trailer, this seems like your average modern-day backwoods slasher / Evil dead clone, populated by a bunch of obnoxious stereotypical characters. Sure, it deviates from the formula slightly, by throwing in new elements, but at the core it's still a teen slasher. Also, it has the typical postmodern horror vibe, with loads of hip, witty self-referential content. The kind of thing that would appeal to the popcorn-eating teenage crowd, who've gobbled up every single Saw sequel so far. :D Then again, I could be completely wrong. It might catch me by surprise and turn out to be intelligent and complex. I'm tired of brain dead horror, that is basically either a remake of far superior films or a concept done to death 20 years ago, so a surprise would be welcome.

I'm biased towards seeing this at the cinema I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing horror on the big screen (which is why I go to horror film festivals, where ever they may take place), but at a commercial cinema there are just too many risk factors, too many potentially annoying variables. I'm there to watch the film, not listen to a running commentary track from some teenager on the row in front of me, who feels an OCD-ish urge to explain everything that's happening on screen to his girlfriend. People are utterly disrespectful during screenings: They talk, they write on their mobile, they break out into laughter when there's no reason. It's very distracting unfortunately.

Any particular (sub)-genres of horror you enjoy more than others btw?  

Comment by Nicholas Alfonso Diaz on April 24, 2012 at 7:13pm

No kidding! I left Volentia for a year because not much was going on. Came back and it's the same. Figured I post around and see if anything happened.

Yeah, I think it is overhyped, but it was pretty good. I wasn't disappointed. I say see it in theatres, but that's just me. I'm probably among the few who still likes to see movies in theatres, especially horror.

Comment by Jon Helge Hesby on April 24, 2012 at 11:57am

wow! there's actually activity on the horror page again? It's been what, over a year since the last post?

I'm planning on watching Cabin in the woods as soon as it hits dvd or blu ray near me. However, I'm not very enthusiastic or hopeful, so I'm keeping my expectations low. It's being hyped as the next big thing in horror, a veritable milestone of modern horror cinema, something I rather doubt.

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