list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Psycho on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Psycho/27630/default.aspx Title: Psycho
Year: 1960
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Plot: In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock was already famous as the screen's master of suspense (and perhaps the best-known film director in the world) when he released Psycho and forever changed the shape and tone of the screen thriller. From its first scene, in which an unmarried couple balances pleasure and guilt in a lunchtime liaison in a cheap hotel (hardly a common moment in a major studio film in 1960), Psycho announced that it was taking the audience to places it had never been before, and on that score what followed would hardly disappoint. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (John Gavin). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits throughout this film. The first of a handful of sequels followed in 1983, while Gus Van Sant's controversial remake, starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche, appeared in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 122
Number of Lists: 130
Number of blog posts: 14
Number of discussion threads: 26
SpoutRating: 4
]]>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:16:00 GMTPsycho1960Alfred HitchcockIn 1960, <a href="/players/P____94487/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Alfred Hitchcock</a> was already famous as the screen's master of suspense (and perhaps the best-known film director in the world) when he released Psycho and forever changed the shape and tone of the screen thriller. From its first scene, in which an unmarried couple balances pleasure and guilt in a lunchtime liaison in a cheap hotel (hardly a common moment in a major studio film in 1960), Psycho announced that it was taking the audience to places it had never been before, and on that score what followed would hardly disappoint. Marion Crane (<a href="/players/P____41670/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Janet Leigh</a>) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (<a href="/players/P____26208/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Gavin</a>). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (<a href="/players/P___106120/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Anthony Perkins</a>) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits throughout this film. The first of a handful of sequels followed in 1983, while <a href="/players/P___115102/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Gus Van Sant</a>'s controversial remake, starring <a href="/players/P___225542/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Vince Vaughn</a> and <a href="/players/P____31463/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Anne Heche</a>, appeared in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide122Tag Target (>10)13014264http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t06128hmj0h.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Psycho/27630/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_May_4_Express_Yourself/625/42047/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 5/5/2009 7:01:50 PM
Body: [quote user="mercurial"] M is probably the film that stands out as one of the great Expressionist films made. It's such a creative, thrilling film; something which surprised me when I first saw it years ago as I hadn't seen too many films pre-1950 and those that I had I couldn't really get a feeling for. Hitchcock utilized Expressionist techniques in pretty much all of his films: Psycho and Vertigo being my favorite. Aside from Batman and Batman Returns, which I LOVE, Dark City is another recent film that tried to recapture the overall feeling of an authentic German Expressionist film. [/quote] Yes yes! M is probably in my top 5 all time favorite films. I had never really thought about Hitchcock as an expressionist but now that you mention it, the house on the top of the hill in Psycho is absolutely a great example... Scary huh?! Dark City is the one I was hoping someone would mention. This is another one of my favorite films and its kind of a throwback to Metropolis. I haven't gotten a chance to see the director's cut yet but I'm looking forward to it. I don't listen to a lot of audio commentaries but on the disc that I had, Roger Ebert provides a commentary that is incredible. He goes into the artwork of the set and costume a lot in relationship to German Expressionism and specifically its similarities to Metropolis. Also, Alex Proyas' earlier film The Crow was heavily steeped in this week's theme.
]]>Tue, 05 May 2009 23:01:50 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme5/5/2009 7:01:50 PM[quote user="mercurial"] M is probably the film that stands out as one of the great Expressionist films made. It's such a creative, thrilling film; something which surprised me when I first saw it years ago as I hadn't seen too many films pre-1950 and those that I had I couldn't really get a feeling for. Hitchcock utilized Expressionist techniques in pretty much all of his films: Psycho and Vertigo being my favorite. Aside from Batman and Batman Returns, which I LOVE, Dark City is another recent film that tried to recapture the overall feeling of an authentic German Expressionist film. [/quote] Yes yes! M is probably in my top 5 all time favorite films. I had never really thought about Hitchcock as an expressionist but now that you mention it, the house on the top of the hill in Psycho is absolutely a great example... Scary huh?! Dark City is the one I was hoping someone would mention. This is another one of my favorite films and its kind of a throwback to Metropolis. I haven't gotten a chance to see the director's cut yet but I'm looking forward to it. I don't listen to a lot of audio commentaries but on the disc that I had, Roger Ebert provides a commentary that is incredible. He goes into the artwork of the set and costume a lot in relationship to German Expressionism and specifically its similarities to Metropolis. Also, Alex Proyas' earlier film The Crow was heavily steeped in this week's theme. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_May_4_Express_Yourself/625/42043/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 5/5/2009 4:33:09 PM
Body: M is probably the film that stands out as one of the great Expressionist films made. It's such a creative, thrilling film; something which surprised me when I first saw it years ago as I hadn't seen too many films pre-1950 and those that I had I couldn't really get a feeling for. Some of the noir films that I have loved and which embrace a certain amount of Expressionistic ideas are The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, Gilda and Sunset Boulevard. Hitchcock utilized Expressionist techniques in pretty much all of his films: Psycho and Vertigo being my favorite. Aside from Batman and Batman Returns, which I LOVE, Dark City is another recent film that tried to recapture the overall feeling of an authentic German Expressionist film. Saving the best for last: Nosferatu. I just can't get enough of this movie and it gives me the willies every time I watch it. As I'm sure everyone who watches it describes it, it is hauntingly beautiful. Like M, the filmmaker combined such startling techniques with an interesting story and their power has not diminished in the decades since their initial release.
]]>Tue, 05 May 2009 20:33:09 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme5/5/2009 4:33:09 PMM is probably the film that stands out as one of the great Expressionist films made. It's such a creative, thrilling film; something which surprised me when I first saw it years ago as I hadn't seen too many films pre-1950 and those that I had I couldn't really get a feeling for. Some of the noir films that I have loved and which embrace a certain amount of Expressionistic ideas are The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, Gilda and Sunset Boulevard. Hitchcock utilized Expressionist techniques in pretty much all of his films: Psycho and Vertigo being my favorite. Aside from Batman and Batman Returns, which I LOVE, Dark City is another recent film that tried to recapture the overall feeling of an authentic German Expressionist film. Saving the best for last: Nosferatu. I just can't get enough of this movie and it gives me the willies every time I watch it. As I'm sure everyone who watches it describes it, it is hauntingly beautiful. Like M, the filmmaker combined such startling techniques with an interesting story and their power has not diminished in the decades since their initial release. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_March_23_Hotels_Motels_Inns_an/625/41232/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 3/24/2009 9:46:21 PM
Body: Sorry for the late entry y'all. I've been working out of town a lot lately and my hotel's internet wasn't working very well. Thus spawning a great......well, adequate idea for this week's theme. How about all those films that take place in or around a hotels, motels, inns, b&b's or lodges. Psycho scared the hell out of people when it came out. Barton Fink and Dirty Pretty Things are a couple of my faves that I think everyone should take a gander at. The hotel in Barton Fink is pretty much a character itself. There's actually quite a few right off the top of my head, but I'll check in with y'all later....... Enjoy your stay.
]]>Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:46:21 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme3/24/2009 9:46:21 PMSorry for the late entry y'all. I've been working out of town a lot lately and my hotel's internet wasn't working very well. Thus spawning a great......well, adequate idea for this week's theme. How about all those films that take place in or around a hotels, motels, inns, b&amp;b's or lodges. Psycho scared the hell out of people when it came out. Barton Fink and Dirty Pretty Things are a couple of my faves that I think everyone should take a gander at. The hotel in Barton Fink is pretty much a character itself. There's actually quite a few right off the top of my head, but I'll check in with y'all later....... Enjoy your stay. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/13/37277.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/13/2008 1:01:21 PM
Body: Movie spoilers have become a big deal in the internet age, though what was one time a hugely controversial topic concerning online film discussion has since become a surprisingly popular part of cinephilia on the web. Sites specifically focused on spoilers are easily found on the net, YouTube videos present montages of secret twists and of course there’s that movie spoiler t-shirt that’s surely a hit with geeky yet pretentious video store clerks. So, at first this new clip of two guys spoiling 100 movies endings in five minutes didn’t seem all that special. However, the duo’s delivery is terrific (both in the clothed and naked version), and considering the revelation that “Meg Ryan and (respective love interest) get together!” takes up eight slots in a row, the video is clearly more a joke on movie spoilers than it is about the mean-spirited divulging of secrets. Also, the guys point out a few good examples of why remakes of movies with twists are unnecessary. Duh. Even if you’re afraid that you haven’t seen all 100 movies being spoiled in the video, check it out. Never let a movie’s worth be dependent on the twist. A good movie should be able to be enjoyed time and time again despite your familiarity with it, such as the original Psycho and, as these guys point out, Total Recall (”because it has a chick with three boobs in it!”). [via Fark.com] Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:01:21 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/13/2008 1:01:21 PM Movie spoilers have become a big deal in the internet age, though what was one time a hugely controversial topic concerning online film discussion has since become a surprisingly popular part of cinephilia on the web. Sites specifically focused on spoilers are easily found on the net, YouTube videos present montages of secret twists and of course there’s that movie spoiler t-shirt that’s surely a hit with geeky yet pretentious video store clerks. So, at first this new clip of two guys spoiling 100 movies endings in five minutes didn’t seem all that special. However, the duo’s delivery is terrific (both in the clothed and naked version), and considering the revelation that “Meg Ryan and (respective love interest) get together!” takes up eight slots in a row, the video is clearly more a joke on movie spoilers than it is about the mean-spirited divulging of secrets. Also, the guys point out a few good examples of why remakes of movies with twists are unnecessary. Duh. Even if you’re afraid that you haven’t seen all 100 movies being spoiled in the video, check it out. Never let a movie’s worth be dependent on the twist. A good movie should be able to be enjoyed time and time again despite your familiarity with it, such as the original Psycho and, as these guys point out, Total Recall (”because it has a chick with three boobs in it!”). [via Fark.com] Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/10/31/36853.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 10/31/2008 5:00:30 PM
Body: It’s Halloween, a time when sales of candy and rentals of horror movies spike off the charts. Candy has been around since the time of the ancient Egyptians, but the horror film is barely 100 years old. The genre is enjoying a resurgence in popularity over the past several years: right now you’ve got Saw V in wide release, Let The Right One In in limited theaters, the vampy teen Twilight coming up in a few weeks and True Blood making waves on HBO. Studios can’t seem to go more than a few months without releasing some sort of a zombie flick, and vampires are coming back into their own. But what was the first real horror film? Before movies existed, people had to get their scares from books and the local newspaper, but now you can just switch on cable and tune into NBC’s Chiller channel for instant scares. Check out a brief history of the horror movie after the break, and look just how far we’ve come. Georges Méliès is best known for his short film A Trip To The Moon, with the iconic image of the Man in the Moon with spaceship embedded in his eye like a bullet. He was born in France in 1861 and eventually became a successful stage magician, although he found more fame (but no fortune) as a filmmaker in the then newfangled art of cinema after seeing a demonstration by the Lumiere brothers in 1895. For the next several years he created some of the first films to feature special effects, especially using the “stop-trick” of stopping the camera and substituing something into the frame before resuming filming. Just watch any episode of Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie to see this used ad infinitum. One of Méliès’ first films was Le Manoir du Diable, or The House of the Devil, which is considered to be the world’s first horror film. It’s two minutes long, extremely grainy, and not scary at all by today’s standards. It premiered on Christmas Eve in 1896, and was the first in a string of many short horror films, including Le Diable Noir, Le Monstre (check out the dancing skeletons!), and Le Chaudron Infernal. By the early 1900s, Germany was producing full-length feature horror films with Der Golem in 1913 (remade in 1920), as one of the first Frankenstein-esque films, Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari in 1919, which influenced the look and feel of the classic horror films of the 1930s, and Nosferatu in 1922, which was one of the first enduring vampire stories. These movies eventually made their way to Hollywood, and by the 1930s Universal was making many of the horror films which are considered the “Universal Classic Horror” movies. Films like Dracula, The Mummy, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame were just some of the films that terrified audiences and launch the careers of actors like Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff. These movies persisted through the 1950s, although by then the fear of the atomic bomb had given rise to movies about irradiated creatures terrorizing mankind, like Them! and Tarantula. The possibility of aliens invading the Earth and having their way with humans was also a common theme in horror films, from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to It Came From Outer Space. The late 1950s also featured often gorier films, a trend that continued heavily through the 1960s. Hammer Films seized on the new obsession with gore and churned out low budget bloodfests often starring Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee. This period was also when Vincent Price rose to popularity, having starred in the very popular House of Wax in 1953, he went on to star in a series of low budger horror flicks for Roger Corman, based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Although films that were based in gore continued to be made through the 1960s and 70s, they were considered camp and didn’t break into the top ten. In 1960 Alfred Hitchcock turned the tables to show that it was often unhinged people who were more terrifying than ever with Psycho. Gone were the supernatural creatures, the irradiated monsters, and so on. But by now horror had become splintered and fractured with many different subgenres and categories. The late 1960s through the 1970s saw popular horror movies like Rosemary’s Baby, Jaws, The Exorcist, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. By the 1980s, Jason, Freddy, and Michael were the top trio of movie monsters, who spawned multiple sequels that were all extremely formulaic and repetitive, and by the 1990s the fervor for horror movies had died down. Although in the early 2000s, horror movies became extremely popular again with supernatural movies like 1999’s The Blair Witch Project jumpstarting the craze that went on to movies like and The Grudge and The Ring, and “torture-porn” began filling seats with people begging to be grossed-out in movies like Saw and Hostel. We’ve come a long way since Georges Méliès flickering short films entertained audiences, and he could probably have never imagined the kind of horror movies people would be watch today. But he’d probably be fascinated by the special effects, and making inventive scary movies of his own. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:00:30 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com10/31/2008 5:00:30 PM It’s Halloween, a time when sales of candy and rentals of horror movies spike off the charts. Candy has been around since the time of the ancient Egyptians, but the horror film is barely 100 years old. The genre is enjoying a resurgence in popularity over the past several years: right now you’ve got Saw V in wide release, Let The Right One In in limited theaters, the vampy teen Twilight coming up in a few weeks and True Blood making waves on HBO. Studios can’t seem to go more than a few months without releasing some sort of a zombie flick, and vampires are coming back into their own. But what was the first real horror film? Before movies existed, people had to get their scares from books and the local newspaper, but now you can just switch on cable and tune into NBC’s Chiller channel for instant scares. Check out a brief history of the horror movie after the break, and look just how far we’ve come. Georges Méliès is best known for his short film A Trip To The Moon, with the iconic image of the Man in the Moon with spaceship embedded in his eye like a bullet. He was born in France in 1861 and eventually became a successful stage magician, although he found more fame (but no fortune) as a filmmaker in the then newfangled art of cinema after seeing a demonstration by the Lumiere brothers in 1895. For the next several years he created some of the first films to feature special effects, especially using the “stop-trick” of stopping the camera and substituing something into the frame before resuming filming. Just watch any episode of Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie to see this used ad infinitum. One of Méliès’ first films was Le Manoir du Diable, or The House of the Devil, which is considered to be the world’s first horror film. It’s two minutes long, extremely grainy, and not scary at all by today’s standards. It premiered on Christmas Eve in 1896, and was the first in a string of many short horror films, including Le Diable Noir, Le Monstre (check out the dancing skeletons!), and Le Chaudron Infernal. By the early 1900s, Germany was producing full-length feature horror films with Der Golem in 1913 (remade in 1920), as one of the first Frankenstein-esque films, Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari in 1919, which influenced the look and feel of the classic horror films of the 1930s, and Nosferatu in 1922, which was one of the first enduring vampire stories. These movies eventually made their way to Hollywood, and by the 1930s Universal was making many of the horror films which are considered the “Universal Classic Horror” movies. Films like Dracula, The Mummy, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame were just some of the films that terrified audiences and launch the careers of actors like Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff. These movies persisted through the 1950s, although by then the fear of the atomic bomb had given rise to movies about irradiated creatures terrorizing mankind, like Them! and Tarantula. The possibility of aliens invading the Earth and having their way with humans was also a common theme in horror films, from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to It Came From Outer Space. The late 1950s also featured often gorier films, a trend that continued heavily through the 1960s. Hammer Films seized on the new obsession with gore and churned out low budget bloodfests often starring Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee. This period was also when Vincent Price rose to popularity, having starred in the very popular House of Wax in 1953, he went on to star in a series of low budger horror flicks for Roger Corman, based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Although films that were based in gore continued to be made through the 1960s and 70s, they were considered camp and didn’t break into the top ten. In 1960 Alfred Hitchcock turned the tables to show that it was often unhinged people who were more terrifying than ever with Psycho. Gone were the supernatural creatures, the irradiated monsters, and so on. But by now horror had become splintered and fractured with many different subgenres and categories. The late 1960s through the 1970s saw popular horror movies like Rosemary’s Baby, Jaws, The Exorcist, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. By the 1980s, Jason, Freddy, and Michael were the top trio of movie monsters, who spawned multiple sequels that were all extremely formulaic and repetitive, and by the 1990s the fervor for horror movies had died down. Although in the early 2000s, horror movies became extremely popular again with supernatural movies like 1999’s The Blair Witch Project jumpstarting the craze that went on to movies like and The Grudge and The Ring, and “torture-porn” began filling seats with people begging to be grossed-out in movies like Saw and Hostel. We’ve come a long way since Georges Méliès flickering short films entertained audiences, and he could probably have never imagined the kind of horror movies people would be watch today. But he’d probably be fascinated by the special effects, and making inventive scary movies of his own. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_September_22_Breaking_the_Fou/625/35459/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 9/23/2008 5:49:19 PM
Body: Probably one of my favorite and least annoying uses of breaking the fourth wall is Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer were hilarious and the entire movie is Robert Downey Jr.'s characters talking to the audience and disrupting the film. In terms of comedies, there is of course Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Wayne's World, The Mask and I'm pretty sure all of the Austin Powers films too. Along the lines of A Clockwork Orange and that creepy omniscient look directly into the camera, there is the end of Psycho where I always felt like Norman Bates was looking right at me; the end of Magnolia where Melora Walters character is being confronted by John C. Reilly's character and finally looks straight into the camera and smiles; and the end of The Devil's Advocate when Al Pacino as the Devil says that line about pride being his favorite sin and winks at the camera.
]]>Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:49:19 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme9/23/2008 5:49:19 PMProbably one of my favorite and least annoying uses of breaking the fourth wall is Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer were hilarious and the entire movie is Robert Downey Jr.'s characters talking to the audience and disrupting the film. In terms of comedies, there is of course Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Wayne's World, The Mask and I'm pretty sure all of the Austin Powers films too. Along the lines of A Clockwork Orange and that creepy omniscient look directly into the camera, there is the end of Psycho where I always felt like Norman Bates was looking right at me; the end of Magnolia where Melora Walters character is being confronted by John C. Reilly's character and finally looks straight into the camera and smiles; and the end of The Devil's Advocate when Al Pacino as the Devil says that line about pride being his favorite sin and winks at the camera. http://www.spout.com/blogs/tenenbaums/archive/2008/9/6/34843.aspx Post By: Tenenbaums
Post To: Tenenbaums Blog
Post Date: 9/6/2008 4:09:50 PM
Body: I saw The Exorcist for the first time last night, and while I was ready to have the tuna salad scared out of me, I thought it was pretty low on the fright-o-meter. There are definitely several "whoa" scenes where you can't believe that what's onscreen is actually happening, but that doesn't make it scary. It would definitely be terrifying to be in the same room with a possessed Regan and the paranormal activity that occurs is pretty mesmerizing, but that doesn't make it scary either. What stood out to me was the intensity of the exorcism scene and how well Max von Sydow played his part throughout the sequence. It was some hardcore, ghostbustin' ass shit with a devilish twist, but I wasn't nearly as freaked out by it as I was with Rosemary's Baby, which I consider to be a much better film. When I think of "scary," I refer back to a pair of films that still give me the chills each time I watch them: Psycho and Halloween, most definitely not their respective remakes. There are still times when I get a little paranoid while taking a shower. I can't see and can barely hear what's going on outside of the curtain, so there exists an air of terror that something may be creeping up on me with a knife or other painful object. This sense is heightened when I'm alone in a house, and while I don't let the feeling overwhelm me, it's definitely something that pops up from time to time. I have Alfred Hitchcock to blame for that, and I'm rather thankful for it. Michael Myers is a strong reason to be afraid of the dark. You think you see something, then you look back and it's gone. He could be behind you at any time, and you have no way of knowing he's there because he doesn't make noise when he moves. Plus, he can't be killed. What???? And that musical score, probably the most terrifying since Psycho. Whenever I hear it, I look around to make sure I'm safe. Gah! There it is, playing in my head!!! John Carpenter, you are a genius! Well, you were when you made this film. These are scary moments. Not a girl with Satan inside her strapped to a bed. Maybe it could have been, but it wasn't. While I'll admit that I'm easily frightened, though I often crave these feelings in a controlled environment (movie theaters, roller coasters, etc.), I find it hard for a film to successfully move me to this emotion. I have no interest in all the Final Destinations (how can there be more than one "final"? I thought that meant it was the end...) and Hostels, so I won't make an effort to be scared by bags full of poo. Instead, give me the real spine-tinglers like Psycho and Halloween. I'll take them every time.
]]>Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:09:50 GMTTenenbaumsTenenbaums Blog9/6/2008 4:09:50 PMI saw The Exorcist for the first time last night, and while I was ready to have the tuna salad scared out of me, I thought it was pretty low on the fright-o-meter. There are definitely several "whoa" scenes where you can't believe that what's onscreen is actually happening, but that doesn't make it scary. It would definitely be terrifying to be in the same room with a possessed Regan and the paranormal activity that occurs is pretty mesmerizing, but that doesn't make it scary either. What stood out to me was the intensity of the exorcism scene and how well Max von Sydow played his part throughout the sequence. It was some hardcore, ghostbustin' ass shit with a devilish twist, but I wasn't nearly as freaked out by it as I was with Rosemary's Baby, which I consider to be a much better film. When I think of "scary," I refer back to a pair of films that still give me the chills each time I watch them: Psycho and Halloween, most definitely not their respective remakes. There are still times when I get a little paranoid while taking a shower. I can't see and can barely hear what's going on outside of the curtain, so there exists an air of terror that something may be creeping up on me with a knife or other painful object. This sense is heightened when I'm alone in a house, and while I don't let the feeling overwhelm me, it's definitely something that pops up from time to time. I have Alfred Hitchcock to blame for that, and I'm rather thankful for it. Michael Myers is a strong reason to be afraid of the dark. You think you see something, then you look back and it's gone. He could be behind you at any time, and you have no way of knowing he's there because he doesn't make noise when he moves. Plus, he can't be killed. What???? And that musical score, probably the most terrifying since Psycho. Whenever I hear it, I look around to make sure I'm safe. Gah! There it is, playing in my head!!! John Carpenter, you are a genius! Well, you were when you made this film. These are scary moments. Not a girl with Satan inside her strapped to a bed. Maybe it could have been, but it wasn't. While I'll admit that I'm easily frightened, though I often crave these feelings in a controlled environment (movie theaters, roller coasters, etc.), I find it hard for a film to successfully move me to this emotion. I have no interest in all the Final Destinations (how can there be more than one "final"? I thought that meant it was the end...) and Hostels, so I won't make an effort to be scared by bags full of poo. Instead, give me the real spine-tinglers like Psycho and Halloween. I'll take them every time. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_August_25_Monster_Madness/625/34503/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 8/28/2008 2:27:00 PM
Body: [quote user="unclefestering"] I don't know if you've seen it yet, but you may want to check out The Real World Fears Behind 8 Movie Monsters on Cracked. I was watching Psychoon TCM last night and Norman Bates is the creepiest monster of them all. Just the scene where he ia sitting in the office across from Marian Crane says it all. She is surrounded by the doves and sparrows in the well lighted side of the room, while he is perched on his chair in the shadows surrounded by the owls, hawks and other predatory birds. I think he is even more frightening than Hannibal Lecter. Especially since the later movies like Hannibal drained all the suspense from the character. [/quote] Not sure if you ever came upon this busy discussion thread before: Hannibal Lecter vs Norman Bates
]]>Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:27:00 GMTRisseladaWeekly Theme8/28/2008 2:27:00 PM[quote user="unclefestering"] I don't know if you've seen it yet, but you may want to check out The Real World Fears Behind 8 Movie Monsters on Cracked. I was watching Psychoon TCM last night and Norman Bates is the creepiest monster of them all. Just the scene where he ia sitting in the office across from Marian Crane says it all. She is surrounded by the doves and sparrows in the well lighted side of the room, while he is perched on his chair in the shadows surrounded by the owls, hawks and other predatory birds. I think he is even more frightening than Hannibal Lecter. Especially since the later movies like Hannibal drained all the suspense from the character. [/quote] Not sure if you ever came upon this busy discussion thread before: Hannibal Lecter vs Norman Bates http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_August_25_Monster_Madness/625/34451/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: unclefestering
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 8/27/2008 2:36:15 PM
Body: I don't know if you've seen it yet, but you may want to check out The Real World Fears Behind 8 Movie Monsters on Cracked. I was watching Psychoon TCM last night and Norman Bates is the creepiest monster of them all. Just the scene where he ia sitting in the office across from Marian Crane says it all. She is surrounded by the doves and sparrows in the well lighted side of the room, while he is perched on his chair in the shadows surrounded by the owls, hawks and other predatory birds. I think he is even more frightening than Hannibal Lecter. Especially since the later movies like Hannibal drained all the suspense from the character.
]]>Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:36:15 GMTunclefesteringWeekly Theme8/27/2008 2:36:15 PMI don't know if you've seen it yet, but you may want to check out The Real World Fears Behind 8 Movie Monsters on Cracked. I was watching Psychoon TCM last night and Norman Bates is the creepiest monster of them all. Just the scene where he ia sitting in the office across from Marian Crane says it all. She is surrounded by the doves and sparrows in the well lighted side of the room, while he is perched on his chair in the shadows surrounded by the owls, hawks and other predatory birds. I think he is even more frightening than Hannibal Lecter. Especially since the later movies like Hannibal drained all the suspense from the character. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/5/15/29237.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 5/15/2008 3:01:22 PM
Body: I hate twist endings, especially those in the films of M. Night Shyamalan. Maybe it’s because I was told the twist of The Sixth Sense prior to seeing it and haven’t been able to appreciate the filmmaker ever since. It’s not so much that I believe films shouldn’t have twist endings, it’s that I believe films that have twist endings should be enjoyable even when you know the secret (Psycho is still great after a thousand viewings, for example). The only one of Shyamalan’s movies to hold up even with the spoilers revealed is Unbreakable. So, I had no problem reading about the big secret of Shyamalan’s latest, The Happening. An early review of a rough cut of the thriller has shown up on Collider, and in addition to claiming the thing is “a terrible, terrible movie,” and that, “Mark Wahlberg might very well give the worst performance I’ve ever seen in anything,” the critic includes a complete plot synopsis, including the big revelation of what is causing people to suddenly kill themselves (surely you’ve seen the trailer). I won’t write out the spoiler here (but here’s a hint: the film has something in common with both The Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter), but you’re welcome to head over to Collider (or Vulture blog) to ruin it for yourself. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 15 May 2008 19:01:22 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com5/15/2008 3:01:22 PMI hate twist endings, especially those in the films of M. Night Shyamalan. Maybe it’s because I was told the twist of The Sixth Sense prior to seeing it and haven’t been able to appreciate the filmmaker ever since. It’s not so much that I believe films shouldn’t have twist endings, it’s that I believe films that have twist endings should be enjoyable even when you know the secret (Psycho is still great after a thousand viewings, for example). The only one of Shyamalan’s movies to hold up even with the spoilers revealed is Unbreakable. So, I had no problem reading about the big secret of Shyamalan’s latest, The Happening. An early review of a rough cut of the thriller has shown up on Collider, and in addition to claiming the thing is “a terrible, terrible movie,” and that, “Mark Wahlberg might very well give the worst performance I’ve ever seen in anything,” the critic includes a complete plot synopsis, including the big revelation of what is causing people to suddenly kill themselves (surely you’ve seen the trailer). I won’t write out the spoiler here (but here’s a hint: the film has something in common with both The Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter), but you’re welcome to head over to Collider (or Vulture blog) to ruin it for yourself. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Classic/MemberTagFilms.aspxClassic
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]]>Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:04:41 GMT524102623Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/thriller/MemberTagFilms.aspxthriller
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]]>Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:47:14 GMT696978Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/suspense/MemberTagFilms.aspxsuspense
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]]>Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:50:14 GMT444445Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/hotel/MemberTagFilms.aspxhotel
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