So first off, the mass kangaroo murder scene - let's go ahead and get that elephant out of the room. Yes, it's a very real massacre and a cruel one. It's very hard and for some people impossible to watch. But it was done documenting actual poachers who would really do this stuff and they edited it all together so that it looked like the actors were doing it. The cruelty was unjustifiable, but I think the filming of it was justifiable as this film was made in 1971 and by the mid 70s Australia cracked down on this poaching problem. So maybe this awareness method worked. Whatever the case, if you can't stomach that, don't watch it. If you take it in the context that it was bringing awareness to this problem it is still hard to get through, but you can at least maybe get through it without putting that blame on yourself.

I just want to point out something this movie did that I don't off hand remember any movie doing quite this way. I'm marking spoilers at this point, so if you want to see it go show your family before eating dinner. And, yes, my take on this is a long read.

So Deliverance is probably one of the closest films I can think of that is very similar to Wake In Fright. I always felt like Lord of the Flies - the book and movies - was far too unrealistic and afraid to offend. Normally in a situation like this - our protagonist gets trapped in a hellish place and they either eventually escape or they die.

I'll briefly relate this to a true story. I was at a Waffle House late one night and at the bar next to this elderly Vietnam war vet. Friendly guy, but clearly broken as many vets were. For whatever reason he's talking about the war but not exactly giving much detail, and he begins talking about some of the crueler things, and I respond with "Oh, yeah, I've read about some of that and what happened with My Lai. Some of the things done to women and children." He responds "Oh, we were all doing that." I just respond, "Wow, that's rough, man." Because what he meant is that what happened in the My Lai Massacre wasn't just something those guys did, but the SA of women and minors and burning them alive and so on was something that one group of guys got in trouble for but was common behavior for US military in Vietnam.

That's where Wake In Fright reminds me of a very nonfictional horror of mass psychopathy, when a large group of people enter a state of mind where they completely shut off the empathy function in their brains in order to survive. At that point any and all violent action can become justified like a hivemind. If one person does an inhumane act, suddenly the next person must copy or top that behavior, and so on just so they will not be ostracized and made an example of. This is a madness that almost 100% of the population can slip into since this state of mind is adaptation. Maybe you've heard a true crime story about a home invasion or something where it was a brutal slaughter. This isn't just because these people doing the home invasion are sadists or psychopaths by nature. This happens because once that line of madness is crossed that dopamine kicks in and sometimes the only way to escape is oddly enough to become more extreme. Before there were cameras and laws perhaps some groups of frogs went buckwild realizing they'd seek out another group of frogs by fitting in with the buckwild frogs until they went to sleep. I don't know.

One of the worst cases of this was the Sylvia Likens murder which was one female adult ruling over a bunch of kids, perhaps a dozen or more, who slowly tortured the girl to death and had no clue as to why they did it. The movie about that isn't good since not even 5% of what happened to her can be shown.

That brings me back to John from Waking In Fright. After he wakes up and he's somewhat recovered from being blackout drunk he's returned to his senses and figures he's going to make his escape. But it's very clear he's not just literally trapped forever but also mentally trapped with shame and guilt and PTSD. So he then has to take the other way out of the story by turning the gun on himself, but he screws that up. That's when the part happens where he accepts both his actions as well as the actions of his group of madmen. He recognizes they have possibly walked some similar, completely unfair path into madness that he has walked, and he also accepts that his future will always carry this psychopath he let out of the bottle in himself no matter how decent he may choose to live. He knows his only true bond going forward may be with the men who shared in his madness.

That is terrifying. Any movie that can accomplish losing your mind - it's hard to do and it's terrifying. But this one was the reluctant acceptance of losing your mind. I'm sure you can say other movies do that, but I do think it can be hard to pull off without going through that journey of feeling like you're doing it with the main character.

Giant Monsters & Kaiju are often featured in homage artwork to Horror/B-Movie media, I mean, Jason Voorhees, The Thing From Another World, King Kong, Godzilla, Gill-man, Frankenstein’s Creation, Dracula, & The Mummy are all monsters.

But people don’t really call Giant Monster movies Horror, as they seem to be a thing on their own entirely…

That’s not to say Giant Monster Horror movies don’t exist though, I absolutely would call Gojira/Godzilla ‘54, Cloverfield, Trollhunter, & The Host; Giant Monster HORROR movies, cause they adopt more aspects that inspire pure terror.

But the follow ups to Godzilla where he is fighting other monsters tend to feel more like Action movies, as opposed to the Disaster/Horror feel of the original movies.

& I would say King Kong has some inherently frightening moments, particularly the Bug Pit scene in the remake, but hot take, the remake is NOT better than the original, seriously check out the original if you haven’t.

But King Kong overall feels more like an Adventure story, where there is moments of Horror interspersed with exciting thrills, monster vs. monster action, speculative whimsy, & some tragedy.

But in terms of the Godzilla movie that has the strongest or best examples of Horror, what would be your pick?

Obviously the original is a great choice, with Godzilla being a figure of darkness & disaster against the helpless people below him.

But Shin Godzilla (my first Godzilla film) I’d argue has some strong elements of Body Horror. It has such a viscerally painful & disturbing portrayal of Godzilla mutating from a confused probably-frenzied first form mindlessly collapsing families in apartments, into bigger badder forms, with there being a rather Cosmic Horror concept that was cut implying this Godzilla could have mutated into God if let off to do so.

But I’ve also heard some people argue The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Destroyah, and Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla have some strong elements of Horror compared to the other movies.

What do you think though?

Does anybody know why Chowder answered the phone with “homocide” when DJ called him? Me and my sister were rewatching it and we just now realized he said that.

Is it bad that I thought that this was actually a good horror movie but it never should have been a part of this franchise? I was told a while ago to just watch the first two Halloween movies and forget the rest existed and that's what I did since I saw the first one. (I saw the first one countless times and it never gets old for me)

The first Halloween by Carpenter is one of my favorite movies (not even just horror) of all time and I have nothing but respect and care for the fanbase of this franchise......but seriously? That wasn't even bad.

Towards the end when the credits rolled I said to myself "If this was called literally anything else BUT Halloween 3, it would have been hated on far less and it would have been a great standalone film."

Did anybody else think the same way? What did you guys think of this? I thought this had some damn creepy ass scenes and I can see myself watching it again for sure.

I can’t tell you enough as a black person how much I hear a lot of Black people say that if Black people were in a horror movie, the movie would be five minutes long and insinuating that a lot of white people make a lot of stupid dumb decisions.

And for me as a black person, I just don’t believe that and I think it’s just untrue because there are some Black people in horror movies that do make dumb decisions also.

I’m thinking of the movies that are horror themed but mixed with enough action or camp appeal that you may get some good jump scares or gore but you are having too good a time to really feel uneasy after.

The Lost Boys
The Blob
American Werwolf In London

What’ve you got?

I'll keep this pretty short and simple: avoid like the plague. 80 minutes of drudgery, featuring nothing and nobody. Zero scares and a story that goes absolutely nowhere.

*You can also use non-human Sesame Street or Fraggle Rock characters

Also, you are allowed to have human characters in the portrayal (just specify if they are being portrayed by a person, and if you want, who specifically), but try to make sure the Muppets are the majority of the characters. Additionally, try to have it one to one (you don't need to do it exactly, but keep it reasonable)

Finally, for a series:

1. If it's something like Friday the 13th or Goosebumps, where most of the characters of one part do not return in the next, specify which part of the series.

2. If it's something like Buffy or Scooby-Doo, where there is a sizable reoccurring/main cast, then you can either do only the main characters or specify a(n) episode/book/ect.

Anyone have any info on this?
Could it be the real deal?
My research indicates “Michael Hadley” was associated with “the Laurel Geoup” who appear to have held the film rights to the movie.
Father says he picked it up at a garage sale “20-25 years ago”
Any info would be greatly appreciated, including whether this should be better posted elsewhere.

Thank you

1. Obsession:

For the most part, it was an original storyline. Cinematography as well as the acting is very memorable along with unique jump scares. Female lead was a plus.

1. Resident Evil:

Went in blind and wow was I delighted when I left. The pace starts at the opening credits and doesn’t stop til the end. It kept me locked in the whole time! Contains the best jump scare of the 2020’s (house scene ifykyk)

1. Saccharine:

My now, 4th favorite movie of all time. Long lasting jump scares that I fear on the daily and think about a little too much haha. Should’ve gotten the same spotlight as Hokum as it was way better than that trash.

Special mention: Back Rooms!

Backroom warriors I understand your standing as the lore and story of the backrooms was executed well and I’m excited to see the next part of it. Though it does fall flat in meeting the top three of other amazing productions this year had and has to offer. I will give it its flowers though it’s an amazing work of cinema!

Came across this on Screambox recently and gave it a watch. A little surprised to not find any reddit threads on it yet. The film was beautifully shot, but… I have absolutely no idea what actually happened in it beyond what the synopsis basically states: things get weird with two paranormal investigators during their thirteenth case.

If anyone has watched it, I’d be quite interested in reactions and thoughts on plot. Very arthouse horror — certainly not for everyone, and I think it would have been stronger with a clearer plot, but the young leads were compelling and the general feeling of the film made it worth watching (for me at least).

Hello fellow freaks!

I wanted to start a discussion on Joe Begos and his work. I have been wanting to watch his films for a while now but I have been having quite the hard time finding them either on streaming services or physical media and I was wondering if someone could help me out with that. I have seen lots of interviews and articles with him and he seems like a super cool “old school” filmmaker.

I know Vinegar Syndrome’s Partner Label recently released his lasted effort Jimmy and Stiggs but everything before that seems hard to find maybe it’s because I’m in Canada but I’m not sure.

Why is it so hard to get other people like your parents or your friends or family to watch horror movies with you because they don’t like horror movies and it seems like a lot of people don’t like horror movies in general as I’ve experienced it many times with a lot of people.

Have you guys experienced that before wanting to watch horror movies with other people only to have them not wanna watch them.

To keep it short, I am about to pay to stream #1 highest ranked rotten tomato horror OTY, Never After Dark, that outranked a lot of my favorite movies of this year. A lot of people on here say not to trust rotten tomatoes but what is the background behind them? How do they compare to normal people like us reviewing/ranking horror movies? WHO are they 🍅?

Also, what motivates you to watch a movie on your own accord rather than going based off of reviews you find online? I’m having a hard time picking movies of my own choosing because I’m so worried about wasting my time when online reviews give me the instant yes or no to watch or not.

Okay I know I’m late to this but I’ve just watched the original Speak No Evil and want to know what other people think?
Not sure if it will be controversial but I enjoyed the remake more than this one. The characters felt more real in the remake and honestly more likeable.
I do prefer the ending of the original, I loved the ‘because you let us’ line and it not having a happy ending, however it wasn’t very emotional for me as I just found the characters so stupid and annoying that I couldn’t feel sorry for them.
What does everyone else think?

I'm planning to watch all the Evil Dead movies for Halloween Eve. I'm looking for thoughts on which version of Army of Darkness to watch - I have the Shout Factory Blu-ray which has the Theatrical Version, the Director's Cut, the International Version, and the Television Version. All thoughts and reasoning are appreciated!

I came across an article reporting this year's annual Science of Scare study, where scientists use physiological measurements (heart rate elevation and heart rate variance) to rate the scariness of horror movies. Obviously you can't rely on objective measures like elevated heartrate to make a completely accurate ranking of what movies are scariest, but taken as one piece of data among others like the Dreaddit opinion poll posted yesterday, I think this is interesting information. At any rate, the winner, for the fourth year in a row, was Sinister (2012)!
Here’s the list of the 20 scariest horror movies according to the study:

1. Sinister 
2. Host 
3. Skinamarink 
4. Insidious 
5. The Conjuring 
6. Hereditary 
7. Smile 
8. The Exorcism of Emily Rose 
9. Talk To Me 
10. Hell House LLC 
11. The Conjuring 2 
12. It Follows 
13. The Dark and the Wicked 
14. The Descent 
15. Paranormal Activity 
16. The Babadook 
17. A Quiet Place 2 
18. The Autopsy of Jane Doe 
19. Insidious 2 
20. Oddity

Moments / scenes where you're watching and thinking "Holy shit. This is amazing, I need to show this to somebody right now. This is why I love horror so much." Personally for me, the ending of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre has always been a scene that really encapsulated what I loved about the terror, dread, and catharsis of the genre.

This list of video game horror icons I tried to base this off them being iconic and personal preference

Honorable Mentions:

Shodan from System Shock (she almost made it) Alma wade from Fear,The Scissorman from Clock Tower, The witch from Left 4 dead (1 per franchise),Necromorphs from Dead Space, Amanda the adventurer, Garten of Banban and Bendy

1. Chris Walker from Outlast

2. Huggy Wuggy from Poppy Playtime

3. The Wendigo from Until Dawn

4. The Trapper from Dead By Daylight

5. Monika from Doki Doki Literature Club (think about it)

6. The Big Daddy from BioShock

7. The Tank from Left 4 Dead

8. Pyramidhead from Silent Hill

9. Nemesis from Resident Evil

10. Freddy Fazbear from Five nights at Freddy's

Notes: there were people I couldn't put in cause they weren't from video games cause that's what we tried to keep it so people like Slenderman, Slendrina, The SCP-1471, and The bacteria from Backrooms I didn't put in me and my friends agreed that these are Folklore which is also the reason why Sonic.exe isn't in there I also tried to keep it to only horror games so no King Boo or the Flood or the metroids

I'm watching a playthrough of Countdown Vampires on the original PlayStation, and in it there are areas of the casino resort the game takes place in that are named after final girls from classic horror movies. Clarice, Nancy, Sydney, and Alice are obviously Silence of the Lambs, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, and Friday the 13th. But there's also a wing named 'Susie' that I can't reckon what it could be a reference to. Any ideas from the horror aficionados?

I saw a list that ign posted and it inspired me to make this list so here you go tell me what you think of it

Honorable mentions (Dracula, Kayako, Pumpkinhead, Damien Thorn, Carrie, Art the Clown, Nosferatu, Norman Bates, The Thing, Jeepers Creepers, Xenomorph and Frankenstein's Monster)

1. Candyman

2. Pennywise

3. Pinhead

4. Sadako

5. Leatherface

6. Chucky

7. Ghostface

8. Freddy Krueger

9. Michael Myers

10. Jason Voorhees

Don't go in expecting levitation, spinning heads, or jump scares. Requiem is a quiet, heavy drama about a young woman's suffering and a family that loves her but can't understand what she's going through. Whether it's something supernatural or an illness is never the point.

It's often described as horror, and it does lean that way in tone, but the horror is human: faith standing in for medicine, stigma around mental illness, and the pressure of wanting your own life while carrying guilt from home. Many families will recognize pieces of it, and that's what makes it so disturbing. It feels raw, slow, and painfully real. Sandra Hüller's performance is extraordinary.

I've seen this movie for a while now on Hulu these last few months and with Halloween fast approaching, I thought this was as good a time as any to finally give this a watch. And honestly... I'm pleasantly surprised with it.

Now I've not seen reviews of this at all over the months since its initial release in theaters, and I've not played much of the original Silent Hill 2 game yet myself. Heck I got a copy of the remake in my library for the last couple years now and just haven't gotten around to booting it up on my PS5. But from all that I've gotten the grasp of over the years of knowing about it, I ended up finding this to be a lot more faithful than I expected it to be.

Now the casting of James may not be exactly like what would be expected with the game, but for what its worth the casting overall made this even more engaging than it would've ever been. The parts where he was going through Silent Hill in its more corrupted state was some of the best stuff in the film in itself with how trippy and adrenaline pumping they ended up being, and all without having to rely on some cheap jumpscares to make them look like such.

Pair all that with how much it retains the game's themes of grief, loss, regret amongst others, and the fact that they utilized some of the more memorable songs from the games themselves, and you have yourself quite an overlooked and potentially underrated video game movie adaptation in recent memory.

As it is here, I'd gladly watch this again over having to watch that over ANY of those live action Resident Evil films, and that includes the more recent one from a month ago.