StephenKingman's thread of HORROR!

[Bighuey]

Ive seen the Unholy Three, but I wasnt that impressed with it. Didnt the talkie remake have Charles Bickford? Another one Browning did that was weird and super cool was the silent The Unknown with Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney. Thats the one where Chaney has his arms surgically removed to impress a woman. Another good one of Browning's was damn! I cant remember the name but it had Lionel Barrymore who played a mad scientist who would shrink people to doll size and have them kill these guys who did him wrong. It had a really cool ending. There was a remake of it in the 40's with Albert Dekker but it was stupid.

[Tralala]

Ive seen the Unholy Three, but I wasnt that impressed with it. Didnt the talkie remake have Charles Bickford? Another one Browning did that was weird and super cool was the silent The Unknown with Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney. Thats the one where Chaney has his arms surgically removed to impress a woman. Another good one of Browning's was damn! I cant remember the name but it had Lionel Barrymore who played a mad scientist who would shrink people to doll size and have them kill these guys who did him wrong. It had a really cool ending. There was a remake of it in the 40's with Albert Dekker but it was stupid.

I dunno about Charles Bickford...or who that is, actually.
Really? You didn't like it? I've liked everything Tod Browning's directed...though, now that I think about it, I've only seen three or four....something like that. Haven't seen The Unknown, but now I've gotta! I could understand a man having his vocal cords removed for a woman, but his ARMS??
The Devil Doll, you mean? I haven't seen the original, but I was unfortunate enough to have seen the remake. Bleh.

[Bighuey]

Bickford was a character actor popular in the 30's and 40's. He was in 12 O Clock High and Command Decision. Devil Doll, that was it. Good show, one of Browning's best. There was one that Browning made, it was one of his last films, I forget the name, it had Bela Lugosi and I think, not too sure, Lionel Atwill or Lionel Barrymore, one of the Lionels or maybe both. It was a vampire movie and was pretty good but it ended stupid.

[StephenKingman]

Well no sign yet of either of my 2 books Hell House or Woman in Black arriving even though they were ordered last weekend so ill see the movie tomorrow and then read the book as soon as i can.

[TimeKeeperApprentice]

Harry Potter is in The Woman in Black!(Daniel Radcliffe). I would love to read the book, I like a good scare. Maybe, after you see the movie, can you tell me what you think of it? My parents would never let me see a movie like that. Unless we buy it on Blue Ray(and on Sale xD). They wouldn't let me watch a horror movie because when I was a 'bit' younger I would always be scared of ghosts, goblins, and Voldemort xD. I was always an HP fan even when I was young ^ ^.

[StephenKingman]

So i just saw the movie of The Woman in Black and i thought it was fantastic. It was dripping with atmosphere and had the same decor and ambience as classic Hammer horror movies, only updated for this generation which is a tough thing to do but they pulled it off here. This movie was quite hyped up for the last few months, something which usually signals a poor movie and also, Daniel Ratcliffe was under pressure to throw off his Harry Potter stererotype, which he manages with some skill here despite his young age.

The basic plot of the movie is Ratcliffe is a struggling London lawyer in early 1900s who has one last job to prove himself: sort out all the paperwork of a recently deceased woman who lived in a huge mansion called Eel Marsh House in order to compile a legally binding will. He finds the locals odd and unhelpful and when he first visits the house he hears odd noises and sees glimpses of a 'woman in black' but puts it down to his imagination. Only when he has to return and stay the night as the house is surrounded by marsh and high tides cut it off from the villiage does the real fun start. He digs into the history of the Drablow family and finds out the infamous woman is the sister of the occupant who stole her child and when the child died in an accident in the marsh, the sister resolves to never forgive or forget and her veangeful spirit pushes the local children to kill themselves as she is trapped in an eternal circle of hatred and revenge.

The movie does tick a lot of cliches like big old abandoned house, unhelpful locals, a protagonist that investigates every single odd noise instead of running plus a twist ending, and the movie does have a few cheap scares, but when added up it really is more than the sum of its parts and its atmosphere, all dripping 19th century dolls, wind-up teddies, broken graves, shadows dancing across the wall, candle-lit corridors etc, is all a thoroughly effective nod to classic British horror movies of yore. Indeed the movie has a few very decent genuine scares and for me personally, the most frightening moment was in broad daylight when Ratcliffe heads outside of the mansion to investigate a noise he heard from the garden and when he wanders back in he looks at an upstairs window to see the ghost looking right back at him, all snarling expression and demonic eyes, very unsettling..

For an enormous horror book and movie fan such as myself, I was very happy with it and would recommend it to any horror fan. Also, Im now looking forward to reading the book when it arrives next week. I understand the movie pads out the story a bit but thats inevitable with such a big name in the lead role and it will be interesting to see how it reads. As for the movie, I rate it a very respectable 8 out of 10.

[RuqeeD]

Great review Mike. From what you've said it's kept very true to the book which is good to know. I'm very interested to see how Radcliffe plays in this as well. I can't wait to watch it now!

[StephenKingman]

Great review Mike. From what you've said it's kept very true to the book which is good to know. I'm very interested to see how Radcliffe plays in this as well. I can't wait to watch it now!

Thanks, RuqeeD, its a great movie which delivers scares to rival the modern slasher films despite it being set in 1900s and Radcliffe plays the role well. I am not a Harry Potter fan so i couldnt say whether i found it hard to take him serious because of that, I just took him for what he was, a very good actor. And all the wind-up dolls and creepy nursery music only added to the atmosphere!

Have you read the book then? I should have it next week and ill be reading it as soon as my current one is done, it sounds like such a great premise and also, its great to read horror that you never would have heard of before.

[RuqeeD]

Thanks, RuqeeD, its a great movie which delivers scares to rival the modern slasher films despite it being set in 1900s and Radcliffe plays the role well. I am not a Harry Potter fan so i couldnt say whether i found it hard to take him serious because of that, I just took him for what he was, a very good actor. And all the wind-up dolls and creepy nursery music only added to the atmosphere!

Have you read the book then? I should have it next week and ill be reading it as soon as my current one is done, it sounds like such a great premise and also, its great to read horror that you never would have heard of before.

Yeah I read it a while back but I really enjoyed it. It doesn't necessarily scare you out of your wits, it's more subtle which sometimes is more effective. But I just loved the way it was written, she's a real pro in writing a classical ghost story that still appeals today.

[TimeKeeperApprentice]

Whoa. I seriously want to watch the movie and read the book now.

Ratcliffe

*Cough RADCLIFFE *Cough

[StephenKingman]

Whoa. I seriously want to watch the movie and read the book now.

Ratcliffe

*Cough RADCLIFFE *Cough

Oops sorry!

Yes, if you get the chance to read the book and see the movie, go for it.

@RuqueeD, thanks for reply, the book is next on my list.

I also picked up a new book today called "Before I Go To Sleep" by SJ Watson about a woman who loses her memories every day and the one person who fills her in on her life cant be trusted....

Looks very good and has got rave reviews so one to watch out for people, Its on my Horror TBR List after Hell House, so i will keep you peeled.

[RuqeeD]

^ I reserved that at the library just the other day and am looking forward to reading it. I commented on another thread that it sounds similar to the movie Memento (which I loved) so I'll see how it goes.

[StephenKingman]

Yeah, it caught me eye straight away and has 3 pages of recommendations in it so ill take the risk, its sounds a very decent psychological horror.

[Gannon]

Thanks for the heads up SKM, I am going to order it now.

[Tralala]

Great review Mike. From what you've said it's kept very true to the book which is good to know. I'm very interested to see how Radcliffe plays in this as well. I can't wait to watch it now!

Thanks, RuqeeD, its a great movie which delivers scares to rival the modern slasher films despite it being set in 1900s and Radcliffe plays the role well. I am not a Harry Potter fan so i couldnt say whether i found it hard to take him serious because of that, I just took him for what he was, a very good actor. And all the wind-up dolls and creepy nursery music only added to the atmosphere!

Have you read the book then? I should have it next week and ill be reading it as soon as my current one is done, it sounds like such a great premise and also, its great to read horror that you never would have heard of before.

My daughter and her boyfriend saw it, and she told me the entire plot (once she gets going, it's tough to get her to wind down--wonder where she gets that from ), so I'll probably just wait until it's on DVD. The Rooster's been cock-a-doodle-doo-ing about wanting to go to a movie, though, so maybe I'll see it soon. But! Tiger Clutch and Sons of Atom and Knuckel Drager and Big Fat A** and Motorz are all playing in the next two weeks, plus I've gotta make at least one trip down to IL, and up to Mauston, and gotta try to sched. another shoot....*gasp*...maybe I'll just sleep for a few days.

-- Thu Feb 16, 2012 2:23 am --

Bickford was a character actor popular in the 30's and 40's. He was in 12 O Clock High and Command Decision. Devil Doll, that was it. Good show, one of Browning's best. There was one that Browning made, it was one of his last films, I forget the name, it had Bela Lugosi and I think, not too sure, Lionel Atwill or Lionel Barrymore, one of the Lionels or maybe both. It was a vampire movie and was pretty good but it ended stupid.

Not Dracula?