The Count Chocula Thread

[countchocula]

As some of you know, I'm one of the original "regulars" around here. Over the past 2 years, I've had an on/off relationship with the horror forums. I've changed a lot, my interests have changed a lot, and the Internet has changed a lot. This is no longer THE place to go for horror fun. Every community has its heyday. Sad, but true. I haven't posted here in several months for several different reasons. A) I've been suicidal. That tends to make movies (and in turn, movie-related discussions) seem trivial. B) After five years of steady posting, I grew weary of recycling the same topics over and over again. C) I'm interested in obscure stuff that no one talks about. There's no sense in writing a lengthy review that might garner one reply. D) MySpace has become my virtual hangout.

So I'm here to implore those of you who enjoy discussing weird, wonky b-movies. I can't muster up the energy to write about Jason Voorhees again. I just can't do it. Thus, I'm turning this into my little chunk of Arrow in the Head. I will come here to talk about the movies that I watch, as I'm just now getting back into the genre. I hope that some of you will engage me. This is the only thread I'll be posting in, so if you want to chat, then by all means, drop in to say hello. I just need a place to wax geeky about the ridiculous bullshit that I shove into my VCR (yes, it's usually my VCR). You're welcome to make recommendations and to talk about whatever comes to mind.

To inaugurate the proceedings, I'll mention that I watched Without Warning last night. It hasn't been released on VHS in America. It might be the most obscure film I've ever watched. A friend burned it for me, and while the audio was sketchy, it was still an exciting experience. It stars Martin Landau and Jack Palance. This is the film that heavily influenced Predator. It concerns an alien hunter that crashes into Earth's surface. The actor in the creature suit is none other than 7-foot-tall Kevin Peter Hall of Predator fame.

Intriguing, eh? I thought so, too. As it turns out, Without Warning is a numbing disappointment. Dear God, it's boring. We don't see the alien until after the 90-minute mark! Fucking pussy piss. The acting is solid, but it really doesn't matter. I really wanted to like this flick. Goddamn it.

Oh, how has everyone been?

[ERIN_LoJ]

Good to see you at least posting. Come on, did my trip down memory lane through ,y MySpace comment trigger this reunion? And hopefully we'll be able to lure you to outside threads some of the time.

Looking forward to seeing what you write here. And ah, yeah, never heard of Without Warning.

[PapaJupe2k]

Well I've never seen "Without Warning", but it sounds interesting. As long as this is the place for miscelleaneous, stream of consciousness horror talk, I'll give it a go.

This past weekend we had our annual Band Festival Parade and festivities. This reminded me of an obscure "carnival" slasher flick. This is entitled "House of Death". I believe it may have been released under an alternate title also. It is kind of a cliched '80s slasher flick.. but fun. I picked up a vhs copy at a pawn shop... and it was worth every penny of the $.99 I paid for it.

I dont know, it just reminded me our recent weekend tribute to Meredith Wilson, and how it could have gone horribly horribly awry.

A good place to wax nostalgic. Wow Erin, funny seeing you here.

[APzombie]

Glad to see you still around Count.

I've been wanting to see Without Warning since i heard of the stars in it. Thanks for the review, i'd still like to see it!

Speaking of "Warning", i just checked out Night Warnings, a great film about a kid and his overly protective and sexually repressed aunt. Check it out!

[teenkiller]

Make way for another old schooler... Nice to see you back count though I'm sorry to hear you've been suicidal. That would indeed make discussing horror films rather trivial but I hope you don't go doing anything crazy.

Discussion of any kind around these parts is pretty sparse and I'm sorry the boards had to become so barren. Hopefully things will change back again one day.

Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[jagged halo]

I'm sure they will.

[countchocula]

Thanks, guys. I'm digging the replies. That's pretty much what I had in mind. The last movie I watched was the super-duper-obscure...Cloverfield! I hated the trailers and I hate the gimmicky nature of the whole thing, but I must admit that it's a solid flick. Extremely entertaining, well-acted, and well-executed. The special effects are amazing.

I'll probably watch The Sender tonight. Anyone familiar with it?

[teenkiller]

I felt the same about Cloverfield. I was tired of all the fucking hype by the time I saw it in theatres and didn't like the camera movements but it turned out to be alright. Haven't heard of The Sender though. I picked up New York Ripper, Frontiere(s), and Hellraiser: Inferno to complete the series. I should be watching those soon. Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[Cronos]

Haven't seen Without Warning or The Sender, had never even heard of The Sender until now. I'll always watch obscure crap though (as some of you have likely noticed ) so those have gone on my list.

[Kikabi]

I think I'll pass on Without Warning, based on your review, Chocula but The Sender looks interesting - I like Zelijko Ivanek. I think he's an underrated actor and it'll be interesting to see him younger and with hair! I just hope it's not depressing considering the subject matter.

I've been watching a lot of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes, which is like watching bad, obscure movies without the pain (well, almost without the pain!) Not all of them are horror movies, but they're getting me acquainted with the works of Bert I. Gordon, Francis Coleman and Roger Corman - whether I want to or not.

Update: I just checked NetFlix and found out that the DVD for The Sender is going to be released on Tuesday.

[PapaJupe2k]

I thought of another good horror film starring Martin Landau and Jack Palance. I saw "Alone in the dark" just recently on the independent film channel. Hadn't seen it in years, but it was fun to watch again. For anyone who hasn't seen it, it also stars Donald Pleasence.

Fun little popcorn flick to watch on a rainy day.

[JJFlamingo]

Originally Posted by PapaJupe2k

I thought of another good horror film starring Martin Landau and Jack Palance. I saw "Alone in the dark" just recently on the independent film channel. Hadn't seen it in years, but it was fun to watch again. For anyone who hasn't seen it, it also stars Donald Pleasence.

Fun little popcorn flick to watch on a rainy day.

An Undisputed, Underrated Horror Masterpiece with one of the top 5 coolest endings ever...

[Kikabi]

I didn't recognize the title until I looked it up, but, yeah, I really liked Alone in the Dark. Martin Landau's great, and he's pretty creepy in this one.

[countchocula]

I've seen half of Alone in the Dark. I really need to see the other half.

I noticed that Psycho was on TCM last night (and hosted by Rose McGowan???), so I watched it. No, not for the first time. Goddamn, that's a classic. I'd like opinions on the following motion pictures...

Galaxy of Terror
Vertigo
Evil Spawn (not to be confused with The Deadly Spawn)
Mom
Mommy
The Incredible Melting Man

[Elgyn]

This thread SUCKS.

[countchocula]

Your mom SUCKS.

[Kikabi]

The only ones I've seen are Vertigo and The Incredible Melting Man.

Vertigo is another classic, but not in the vein of Psycho. It's a thriller, not a horror movie. I love it, though, but maybe I'm a little biased because I love James Stewart.

The Incredible Melting Man is fun in a schlocky kind of way. Not that it's a good movie, considering the gaps in logic and plot holes. Check it out, then find the MST3K version on YouTube for an extra dose of fun.

[teenkiller]

Haven't watched it in a while but I thought Galaxy of Terror was pretty damn cool. Nice to see a pre FREDDY ROBERT ENGLUND and Sid Haig as well. As a matter of fact a certain scene concerning Haig is probably my favorite in the film. It's been called an Alien ripoff but I didn't really see it. I need to watch it again though.

Vertigo was an interesting concept and for the most part I was kept interested but it drags. A lot. Moreso toward the end. Without getting into too much detail I found the ending pretty lame and hard to buy into but otherwise it's a fine film. I've enjoyed both Vertigo and Rear Window so it's all good.

Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[Cronos]

I hated Vertigo, absolutely hated it, really shitty film. I'm in a very small minority though.
Melting Man is a lot of fun though. Haven't seen any of the others.

[countchocula]

Thanks for the feedback. Speaking of Hitchcocktails, I found both versions of Strangers On a Train at a grocery store today (I've found quite a few cool movies at grocery stores, believe it or not). Which version should I watch first?

I checked out The Sender. Mediocre stuff, but I've seen worse. The cast is watertight, but the flimsy narrative fails at being the psychological chiller that it aims to be.

[countchocula]

I watched the original Strangers. Great flick. I'll be curious to see how the British version ebbs and flows.

I watched Rambo (a.k.a. Violence: The Movie) last night. Holy shit! It's gorier than Romero's Dawn of the Dead. The plot is embarrassingly thin, which does hold the film back, but I had fun nonetheless. It's practically a modern day splatter epic.

[ERIN_LoJ]

Originally Posted by PapaJupe2k

I thought of another good horror film starring Martin Landau and Jack Palance. I saw "Alone in the dark" just recently on the independent film channel. Hadn't seen it in years, but it was fun to watch again. For anyone who hasn't seen it, it also stars Donald Pleasence.

Fun little popcorn flick to watch on a rainy day.

Yes, Alone in the dark rocks. You can't get a more interesting ensemble of villains than that.

I haven't seen Cloverfield yet, have heard terrible things but it's still in the queue.

To me Vertigo kicked ass, but I'm a huge Hitchcock fan in general. I of course loved Psycho but it wasn't my favorite from him.

[Elgyn]

Of course "Rambo"`s plot was thin. It`s friggin` RAMBO! What else would you expect? I loved the movie because it`s a return to old-school- kick-ass action flicks, *BUT* it`s not a polished, generic Hollywood action flick. It`s very brutal and true to how horrible wars in third-world countries can be.

[countchocula]

Shut up.

I'm watching The Orphanage tonight.

[TheJadedGamer]

Originally Posted by countchocula

Shut up.

I'm watching The Orphanage tonight.

I tried three times to make it through that movie, but for some reason other things kept popping up and I never got to watch it all the way through.

[SplatterMaster5]

Originally Posted by Elgyn

Of course "Rambo"`s plot was thin. It`s friggin` RAMBO! What else would you expect? I loved the movie because it`s a return to old-school- kick-ass action flicks, *BUT* it`s not a polished, generic Hollywood action flick. It`s very brutal and true to how horrible wars in third-world countries can be.

Wierd how it's ok for certain movies to not have plots, yet I read reviews about some shit I like and all I hear is "No Plot! It Sucks!!!" I wish everyone was open minded about movies, haha. "Wakes up from dream"

Rambo kicked ass and I agree about the gore level countchocula, fucking messy flick. Don't be suicidal man, I remember when I used to go on these forums under the name psycho path and I always remembered you to be a good guy. BTW, have you seen Creature? It's an obscure Alien ripoff with some cool scenes, a few boring parts but enough atmosphere to make it worthwhile. An obscure movie I wanna see is Up From The Depths, looks like cheesy Jaws-ripoff fun.

[countchocula]

I almost bought Up From the Depths, until I realized that I didn't want to. It looked too much like Devil Fish.

So you're psychopath, huh? Don't worry. If I kill myself, none of you guys would ever find out. See, every black cloud has a silver lining!

[Elgyn]

Originally Posted by SplatterMaster5

BTW, have you seen Creature? It's an obscure Alien ripoff with some cool scenes, a few boring parts but enough atmosphere to make it worthwhile.

I got that from Netflix and could barely make it through. The creature is alright but you barely get to see it!

[KillerKlown]

Good to see you back around 'choc.

I always remember the debate we had way back when regarding the animal cruelty in Cannibal Holocaust... Yeah, these boards ain't what they used to be.

[SplatterMaster5]

Originally Posted by KillerKlown

Good to see you back around 'choc.

I always remember the debate we had way back when regarding the animal cruelty in Cannibal Holocaust... Yeah, these boards ain't what they used to be.

I AGREE, these boards aint what they used to be, and that saddens me deeply.

[countchocula]

Originally Posted by KillerKlown

Good to see you back around 'choc.

I always remember the debate we had way back when regarding the animal cruelty in Cannibal Holocaust...

Ironic you would bring that up. Guess which film I watched just the other night? Yep, Cannibal Holocaust. It's an incredibly moronic mess, animal cruelty aside. I can't believe that it's regarded as a classic by some horror hounds. The "profound" social commentary is about as subtle as a mallet to the skull.

The Orphanage, people. Seriously. This is one of the most amazing films that I've seen in the past ten years. It even surpasses the nuanced The Devil's Backbone.

[PackBacker]

Where's my review of "Bog"????

[Dark_Star]

Hello Count.

I've been into horror films all my life, but just over the past couple of years have dug into the sub-mainstream stuff. The obscure, unconventional and often whacked out shit that not very many people watch. I've gotten my hands on a few flicks from the likes of Frank Hennenlotter, John Waters (not horror yah) and a few others.

I myself am wondering whether or not you could put together a list for me of "MUST SEE" obscure or fucked up flicks. Perhaps even a few that aren't must see, but should be seen just for the sake of being able to say I saw it.

I've not heard of much of the films you've brought up, let alone seen any of them, but hell, something to watch besides all the hollywood shit (whether or not it's good) will be something great.

[The Claw]

Hey I liked Without Warning. I didn't even know it was not released on VHS in america. Crazy stuff.


also yeah, i've been feeling the same as you, kinda bored of talking about the same old same old and have been watching more obscure crap that most people never bother to talk about.

[Elgyn]

THE CLAW!!!!!!
You`re still alive!!

[spacemonkey]

Hey Count, I still hang out in these boards, not so much in the horror section anymore (cause I think I sucked the life out of it already) but I still come around every now and then.

Without Warning, I recently read an article about it on Horror Hound magazine or was it Rue Morgue, that made me want to watch it. Thats the one with the dude that played the Predator, playing the blue skinned big headed alien. He throws some star fish or something at people....and I read it influenced Predator so yeah, i was really interested in checking it out. Was it any good?

[MisterTwister]

What a stupid fucking thread. I spit upon it!

Good old CC, how's things been?

See any new rare ones lately? Love reading your reviews on AC.

[ERIN_LoJ]

Originally Posted by PapaJupe2k

A good place to wax nostalgic. Wow Erin, funny seeing you here.

Yeah, its' great to see some of the oldies gathered

[countchocula]

Okay, I'm back. It's been a rough week/year/decade. I've seen several films lately, but I'll mention the ones that I remember, as they are most likely the ones that are worth a shit. The Naomi Watts-produced Funny Games scarred my psyche. Interesting, but not particularly enjoyable. Edmund...um, scarred my psyche. Holy shit. After watching those two endurance tests (on top of Cannibal Holocaust), I'm ready for something a little less caustic. So I popped in Tales of Terror last night. It's a Corman/Price/AIP production. Those are the best kind of productions. It's not the most memorable Poe adaptation that Corman cobbled up in the 60's, but it gets the job done. Imagine if Creepshow had been directed way back when, pulpy animation and all.

Vincent Price is God.

[countchocula]

Spacemonkey, good to see you around! See my post halfway through this thread to read my initial impressions of Without Warning. Suffice to say, I was initially unimpressed.