What monster movie are you currently watching?

For the discussion of non-Toho monster media, tokusatsu franchises, and also for mixed discussion of Toho and non-Toho kaiju media.
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ShinGojira14
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

Post by ShinGojira14 »

As of right now, kicking back and watching Clash of the Titans (1981).

Added in 2 minutes :
And once that's done, I'll switch to Dragonslayer.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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ShinGojira14 wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 5:03 pm As of right now, kicking back and watching Clash of the Titans (1981).

Needless to say, Ray Harryhausen truly ended his career on a high note.

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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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I saw the 1942 Cat People. It's as much a tragic romance as it is a horror film, with Simone creating a very sympathetic and frightening character. She can be very vulnerable, but then cunning and determined when Alice is involved. The pool scene is a highlight of the movie, using sound and shadows to make suggestions. I've read that a few didn't care for showing Irena's cat form at the end, but I feel it was necessary for her character and the audience's expectations. It can be a sad movie, but it's also a good one.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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edgaguirus wrote: Wed Feb 16, 2022 2:46 pm I saw the 1942 Cat People. It's as much a tragic romance as it is a horror film, with Simone creating a very sympathetic and frightening character. She can be very vulnerable, but then cunning and determined when Alice is involved. The pool scene is a highlight of the movie, using sound and shadows to make suggestions. I've read that a few didn't care for showing Irena's cat form at the end, but I feel it was necessary for her character and the audience's expectations. It can be a sad movie, but it's also a good one.
Even the ending allows for the interpretation that she kidnapped the panther from the zoo and that was the cat that killed Dr. Judd.

Marvelous movie, and one of Lewton's best productions.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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The Monster from Green Hell (1957) - Stanley and Livingstone with two minutes of footage of giant stop motion wasps inserted. Padded and boring.

The Saga of the Viking Women and their Voyage into the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957)
- Kinda fun. A little bit of seafaring. A little bit of monsters. A little bit of two-fisted daring-do (with the wussiest male Vikings on record). A little of love triangle. Lots of hot blondes. All in a sixty-six minute package.

The Cosmic Monsters (1958) - Features three minutes of British soldiers fighting photographically-embiggened insects. Talky and boring.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) - One of the classic adventure-fantasy films. It just gets everything right.

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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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Sound of Horror has to be the most unique dinosaur film out there. I can't think of another where the dinosaur is invisible. This makes the movie more interesting and scarier than most prehistoric monster films, making the most of sound by building tension with shuffling feet and low growls that turn into a shrill roar. While most of the characters are one dimensional, a couple of them are able to create some depth. It also has some tense sequences that make this a chilling movie.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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edgaguirus wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 3:02 pm Sound of Horror has to be the most unique dinosaur film out there. I can't think of another where the dinosaur is invisible. This makes the movie more interesting and scarier than most prehistoric monster films, making the most of sound by building tension with shuffling feet and low growls that turn into a shrill roar. While most of the characters are one dimensional, a couple of them are able to create some depth. It also has some tense sequences that make this a chilling movie.
I did enjoy that movie, although it's not one I've ever felt particularly compelled to re-watch.

Oddly, I just mentioned it to my wife the other night. We were putting up my Kill, Baby, Kill lobby cards, which are from when that movie was released on a double-bill with Sound of Horror as "The S&Q Show" ("You'll Shiver and Quiver with Kill, Baby, Kill — and Shake and Quake with Sound of Horror!").
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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Watched Within the Rock (1996) last night. It's basically Alien by way of Armageddon, two years before the latter came out. It's not bad for a low-budget movie, although the monster is the low point of the movie...the picture of the creature on the VHS cover is the best look you'll get of it.

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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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I saw Horror of Dracula last night. It'd been a while since I've seen it, and I was glad to see it again. Lee is fine as the count, even though he has very little dialogue. His presence and the way he carries himself give his count a feeling of power and menace. I'd also let Valerie Gaunt bite me if she wanted to.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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The Conjuring (2013). Not perfect, but it's pretty good overall. It has a nice earnest sincerity to it, minus the stupid Annabelle spinoff hooks, and is just put together well, especially in terms of the camera work. I particularly love the moment where the girl looks under the bed, and the camera flips over with her when she sits back up, disorienting the audience during an already tense and disturbing scene. Atmosphere, effects, music, and so on do a good job of keeping everything spooky and engaging. Acting and dialogue are mostly pretty convincing, though clumsy at some points. Carolyn being pushed down the stairs into the cellar and having the door locked and lights blown out was too much too early in the film; I refuse to believe anyone would stay in that house a minute longer if they didn't already know there was no escape.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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H-Man wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 5:16 am Watched Within the Rock (1996) last night. It's basically Alien by way of Armageddon, two years before the latter came out. It's not bad for a low-budget movie, although the monster is the low point of the movie...the picture of the creature on the VHS cover is the best look you'll get of it.
Oooh, that's one I haven't watched in ages. May have to dig it out and give it a go myself. Always liked that one and felt it made a great double feature with Project Metalbeast.


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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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Just got done with A Quiet Place. Top tier. Very original and very well made across the board. Intense, emotional, keeps your attention the whole way through, and doesn't overstay its welcome. I loved a lot of the little world building touches, like playing Monopoly with soft pieces because the plastic clicks against the board. The silo scene was a great idea; I've never seen someone drowning in corn before. :lol:

If I have to complain, they went a little overboard trying to contrive worst case scenarios for Emily Blunt to end up in. I was starting to roll my eyes at a few points, there.
Last edited by JAGzilla on Fri Jul 22, 2022 3:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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JAGzilla wrote: Fri Jul 22, 2022 3:07 am Just got done with A Quiet Place. Top tier. Very original and very well made across the board. Intense, emotional, keeps your attention the whole way through, and doesn't overstay its welcome. I loved a lot of the little world building touches, like playing Monopoly with soft pieces because the plastic clicks against the board. The silo scene was a great idea; I've never seen someone drowning in corn before. :lol:

If I have to complain, they went a little overboard trying to contrive worst case scenarios for Emily Blunt to end up in. I was starting to roll my eyes at a few points, there.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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I just caught the OG King Kong on CHCH. I'm gonna be honest and say that while the scenes with Kong and on Skull Island are as good as I expected, I admit the scenes without him can drag, and the film's depiction of both POC and women are as dated as you'd expect from the time. The repeated fade out transitions to other scenes are also not to my liking.

it may just be my own bias to the 2005 film, though.

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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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1998's Deep Rising, one of my favorite 1990's monster movies. Such a gory good one.


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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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Mac Daddy MM wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 4:34 pm 1998's Deep Rising, one of my favorite 1990's monster movies. Such a gory good one.
I heard that was going to be a secret prequel to King Kong and the island the three ended up on was Skull Island, the creature coming to them being King Kong.

Imagine that. We could've gotten an R-rated King Kong film. :D
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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I saw Monster That Challenged the World. I hadn't seen it for a looooong time, but this is one of the better 1950s monster movies IMO. The monster is odd, but the design is creepy and they are made to feel threatening. A few of the characters are 2 dimensional, and the climax is an exciting one. Plus, there's the influence it probably had on a certain shark movie.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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It's maybe not a full on monster movie, but it has a giant turtle in it, so: The Bermuda Depths (1978). First viewing. I'm 20 minutes in, so far. The Warner Archives Blu-ray was money well spent; this thing is gorgeous by any movie's standards, let alone a TV movie from the '70s. Very clear and bright and colorful. Really does a good job of showing off the spectacular Caribbean scenery.

And I had no idea Carl Weathers was in this! That was a welcome surprise.

EDIT: And done. All right, very nice. Kind of a strange mishmash of Jaws, Moby Dick, and a tragic romance/ghost story, ft. effects by Tsuburaya. Haunting and atmospheric, with a little bit of B-movie ridiculousness. I like that it didn't explain much of anything, giving us theories and stories to chew on but ultimately leaving things vague and foggy. And then Connie Sellecca was worth the price of admission on her own. A solid, unique watch that I definitely recommend.
Last edited by JAGzilla on Thu Aug 04, 2022 2:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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I watched THEM last night. Like the Godzilla franchise, the first seems like the best of this sub-genre. Unlike some of these big bug movies, the threat to humanity is made very real, and the script and characters are well done. Dealing with the ants was no picnic for those people.
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Re: What monster movie are you currently watching?

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Working on Hammer's Dracula: Prince of Darkness right now. The lack of Peter Cushing is unfortunate, but I guess we can't have the same formula every time. The anti-superstition abbot makes a good replacement, though, and I love our bumbling cast of stupid tourists so far. I don't know if the movie was meant to be a comedy, but it's so over the top it's playing that way. I'm currently at the moment where they discover the pre-set dinner table, and Charles decides to go upstairs...

EDIT: And done. Yeah, it stayed comically over the top, and I could never really take it seriously, but it didn't need to be taken seriously. This one was just pure dumb fun. The sheer maniacal glee oozing from the resurrection scene and Helen's execution scene was an absolute joy to experience. "You kids came to the theater to be shocked, right?! Well, here ya go!"

Dracula went out like a complete punk, but it fit the movie. I frankly didn't want to see a protagonist as lame as Charles kill him in more traditional fashion, anyway. That wouldn't have been any more dignified.
Last edited by JAGzilla on Fri Sep 02, 2022 1:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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