Horror Movie Talk

In this the first annual Golden Talks, the hosts review the year 2024 in horror movies, discussing their best and worst films, as well as aggregate scores from their reviews. The conversation is filled with humor and banter as they reflect on their experiences with various horror films, highlighting both the enjoyable and the dreadful aspects of the genre. They also delve into the rankings of new releases and share their thoughts on the impact of these films on the horror landscape. In this conversation, the hosts delve into their thoughts on various horror films, including a critique of the Beetlejuice sequel, a ranking of their top five new releases, and a discussion on the quality of recent horror movies. They explore unique themes in horror, engage in a light-hearted debate about mattress sizes, and reflect on their aggregate scores for movies reviewed throughout the year. The conversation culminates in a discussion about the best and worst patron picks, revealing the challenges of audience selections in film. In this episode, the hosts reflect on their movie selections, discuss score discrepancies, and analyze their aggregate scores for the year. They delve into download statistics to gauge audience engagement and conclude with a light-hearted discussion about host dynamics and awards, including who might be the 'worst host'.

Synopsis Tell me, does evil come from within us, or beyond? This film follows Ellen (played by Lily-Rose Depp), and her husband, Thomas (played by Nicholas Hoult) as Thomas takes a new job that requires him to go to a strange land to broker a real estate deal with the mysterious Count Orlok. While Ellen begs him not to go, he does anyways, and she starts having nightmares and fits of madness while he’s away. Thomas quickly realizes he’s in for a lot more than a house sale once he arrives at the Count’s castle, and Ellen, Thomas, and a gang of professors and doctors have to work together to defeat the darkness. Review Excellent is not a good enough word to describe this movie. It is exceptional, phenomenal, show-stopping, incredible, stupendous. This is truly a spectacle to see in the theater. The costuming is gorgeous and intricate. Every single actor brought their A-game. The atmosphere and set dressing completely immerse you into the world of 1838 Germany and the mysteries of the vampire. The physical acting from Lily-Rose Depp was completely unexpected yet welcomed and hopefully revered by all, you truly are watching a master work her craft. Nicholas Hoult was incredibly convincing as Thomas and incredibly hot, per usual. Willem Dafoe and Ralph Ineson occasionally add a solid comic relief while also driving the plot forward. Also, it is so entertaining and the pacing is perfect so the 132 minute run time passes you by like a soft summer breeze.  I don't even know how to review this film to accurately describe how awe-struck I was while watching it. I wanted to stand up in the theater like I was watching the Superbowl. This was my Superbowl. My one complaint is that I wish they hadn’t told us who played Count Orlok because Bill Skarsgård is completely unrecognizable as the illustrious vampire. This is Count Orlok like we’ve never seen, as in the original it was a silent film so it was impossible to hear his voice, and in the Herzog version he is portrayed as more of a melancholy creature battling with isolation and immortality. In this film, he is terrifying, he is demanding, he is alluring and intoxicating, he is sexy and fearsome and seemingly rules the world. The viewer falls under his spell just like his on screen victims. This movie is a masterpiece; it is true gothic horror, it is incredibly sexy, it is gripping, it is haunting, I want to go see it again right now. Also, I want to emphasize that while I wrote this, I kept getting frustrated by the fact that no positive adjective will be 100% accurate at describing how incredible this film is. Score 10/10

Synopsis Caveat is about a man named Isaac who suffers from amnesia after a tragic accident. Isaac is hired by a man who claims to be his good friend before the accident Moe Barrett, to go to a secluded house and watch after his niece Olga who suffers from schizophrenia. Upon arriving at the dilapidated house Isaac is told the frightening catch of his new job. Since Olga is terrified of someone attacking her in her sleep, Isaac must wear a chain that keeps him anchored to certain portions of the house. Not a good deal if you ask me, but after some convincing Isaac accepts the job. Olga's mother is also missing, and her father is recently dead. Wacky hijinks ensue.  Review of Caveat Caveat definitely has its issues. I think my biggest problem with this movie is just the look of it. Most shudder-exclusive movies that I've seen tend to lean very heavily into the spooky house syndrome, and this movie is no exception. The house in this movie is almost comically decrepit. My other issue with this movie is that I have a difficult time believing that anyone would accept this job of being chained to a house for multiple days at a time. I mean talk about a fire hazard. But with that being said, I think this movie is very creepy and does a great job at building suspense. Its visuals can border on nightmare fuel and the screaming foxes in the background sent chills down my spine. There's enough to this movie to keep me entertained the whole way through.  Score 6/10

This week we review Stuart Gordon’s 1985 schlock classic: Re-animator. Does it go too far for modern audiences? Listen to find out. Synopsis Loosely based off of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “Herbert West - Reanimator” this film stars Jeffery Combs as Herbert West, a weird genius science student that just arrived at the Miskatonic University. He immediately clashes with his professor in asserting superior knowledge over theories surrounding brain death, and makes him an enemy. Also in his class is Dan Cain, who rents a room to Herbert. Dan is dating the dean’s daughter and is mainly in this movie to be choked. As Herbert West experiments with a new serum, he discovers he has unlocked the secret to reanimating the dead. After confirming it’s efficacy with small animals, he seeks to experiment on dead humans. Review of Re-Animator Re-animator pure B-movie schlock done right. It pulls no punches with intense gore, nudity, and dark humor. It’s the spiritual sci-fi counterpart to Evil Dead, which came out four years earlier. Dennis Paoli, the writer, came from the world of experimental theater in Chicago, and he brought a solid foundation with a surprisingly tight script.  Both him and the director Stuart Gordon wanted to create an homage to Frankenstein, and succeeded with Re-Animator. It really does recapture some of the straight faced humor of the original 1930s Frankenstein, but turns up everything to 11. The special effects are sometimes laughably bad, but still endearing. Particularly the reanimated psycho cat is like something off of a cheap SNL sketch, but still ends up being very entertaining. They didn’t even try to get a rating, since it would most likely get an X. Somehow they still toe the line for decency, editing some shots just right before they get too exploitative to ruin the fun. Mainly that’s what this movie is: A lot of fun. This film should be studied for how to pull off low-budget campy horror. Score 10/10