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Fifty lesser-known horror flicks hailed by critics and genre fans as "absolute must-sees" are given the spotlight with fun, engaging commentary from journalists, directors, actors and critic... Read allFifty lesser-known horror flicks hailed by critics and genre fans as "absolute must-sees" are given the spotlight with fun, engaging commentary from journalists, directors, actors and critics in a countdown like no other.Fifty lesser-known horror flicks hailed by critics and genre fans as "absolute must-sees" are given the spotlight with fun, engaging commentary from journalists, directors, actors and critics in a countdown like no other.
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Heidi Honeycutt
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- (as Heidi Martinuzzi)
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Well, after what seems like a half-hour of a bunch of Millennials talking quick sound bites about a kaleidoscope of films, we actually get into the countdown. Then we get rapid-fire clips of the movies very generously intermingled with headshots of the Millenials making like, you know, totally Millennial comments about them.
Good idea, but poorly executed. Get some serious people who are experts in the genre to narrate the films. We don't need to see their faces every five seconds.
1) The title needs to be taken at face value. It's not a list of the 50 best horrors you've never heard of, or the 50 best horrors period. It's the 50 best horrors you haven't seen.
2) Clearly some people are going to have seen many or even most of these movies. In the Internet Age, it's pretty much impossible to find gems that nobody has seen. The title is a bit of puffery, but a reasonable viewer should accept that it's meant to convey a certain set of parameters, not )a literal description.
3) It's clearly aimed at people who aren't voracious horror fans. Voracious horror fans can certainly enjoy it for the discussion possibilities (rankings. what got left out, what were you pleasantly surprised to see, etc) but the basic aim of the show is to discuss horror that isn't Halloween/TCM/Saw/Poltergeist/etc. So they're offering alternatives to the ones most everyone can name even if they haven't seen any of them. This is a valid and useful service being offered.
Horror (or any genre, for that matter) fans have to remember that there's a big old world out there, and most of it doesn't share your drive to learn all you can about your genre. It's perfectly okay to reach out to the casual fans too, and teach them a little more about horror films.
2) Clearly some people are going to have seen many or even most of these movies. In the Internet Age, it's pretty much impossible to find gems that nobody has seen. The title is a bit of puffery, but a reasonable viewer should accept that it's meant to convey a certain set of parameters, not )a literal description.
3) It's clearly aimed at people who aren't voracious horror fans. Voracious horror fans can certainly enjoy it for the discussion possibilities (rankings. what got left out, what were you pleasantly surprised to see, etc) but the basic aim of the show is to discuss horror that isn't Halloween/TCM/Saw/Poltergeist/etc. So they're offering alternatives to the ones most everyone can name even if they haven't seen any of them. This is a valid and useful service being offered.
Horror (or any genre, for that matter) fans have to remember that there's a big old world out there, and most of it doesn't share your drive to learn all you can about your genre. It's perfectly okay to reach out to the casual fans too, and teach them a little more about horror films.
Honestly this entire list is a bunch of annoying actors pretending the bad horror movies they appeared in once are actually worth watching. They're not.
Most of the people talking about these are annoying, hard to like, conceited, or eye rolling at how bad they're trying to pat themselves on the back for creating, seeing, or being in a bunch of B-grade shock.
This feels like Tubi put it together to aid trick watchers into checking out some of their God awful content... I don't know IF Tubi even make it, but it's currently on Tubi and so are most of these horrible horrors.
It's slightly better than the "50 Worst Movies" documentary, but not by much. It gives little to no insight about the films either, just some nobodies nostalgia memories that any sane person couldn't give a rats behind about.
Most of the people talking about these are annoying, hard to like, conceited, or eye rolling at how bad they're trying to pat themselves on the back for creating, seeing, or being in a bunch of B-grade shock.
This feels like Tubi put it together to aid trick watchers into checking out some of their God awful content... I don't know IF Tubi even make it, but it's currently on Tubi and so are most of these horrible horrors.
It's slightly better than the "50 Worst Movies" documentary, but not by much. It gives little to no insight about the films either, just some nobodies nostalgia memories that any sane person couldn't give a rats behind about.
A list by people who know nothing for those who wish to stay ignorant. The title is so misleading. Half of these had large releases. And the narrator's? So boring as to be coma inducing. The only way a viewer hasn't seen at least half of these is if they were born in the last decade.
I'll get to the contents of the film's list in a second, but overall, I enjoyed this stroll down horror's memory lane. For me, I've seen the vast majority of these movies. And those I haven't, for one reason or another, I have no desire. The doc moves at a nice pace and the "experts", fans, and insiders are interesting enough. There's no much to complain about the way things are presented. If I had to pick one negative with the way things are presented it would be with some of P J Soles commentary. It's a bit groan-inducing in spots.
It's difficult to put together one of these lists and make everyone happy. What you call a hidden gem, I might have seen a dozen times. Or something you love, I might find retched. So, here are a few of my arguments and agreements with the list of 50 movies presented:
I'll end this with a list of 20 films I would add to the titular 50. It's a non-US heavy list, but I've tried to stay away from the better known movies from the likes of Bava, Argento, or Fulci. In no real order:
1. The House with Laughing Windows 2. Eyes Without a Face 3. The Island of Lost Souls 4. Mad Love 5. Le Boucher 6. Onibaba 7. The Curse of the Crying Woman 8. The Plague of the Zombies 9. Spoorloos 10. Alucarda 11. The Black Pit of Dr. M 12. Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter 13. Mill of the Stone Women 14. Shock Waves 15. The Queen of Spades 16. The Ninth Gate 17. Mark of the Devil 18. Race with the Devil 19. A Tale of Two Sisters 20. Scream of Fear
It's difficult to put together one of these lists and make everyone happy. What you call a hidden gem, I might have seen a dozen times. Or something you love, I might find retched. So, here are a few of my arguments and agreements with the list of 50 movies presented:
- I'll start with a few of the films I completely agree with. These are films that would easily appear on a similar list if I put one together: When a Stranger Calls, Motel Hell, April Fools Day, Lemora (shocked to see it here), Exorcist III (very underrated), Alice Sweet Alice, Repulsion, Audition (probably my top ranked movie on the entire list), The Descent, and Night of the Hunter (even though I'm not sure it's really horror).
- A few movies I would never put on this list: Valentine (hated it!), The Brides of Dracula (it's good, but there are better, equally obscure Hammer films I would include), Halloween III (who doesn't know about this movie), Tourist Trap (fun enough, but not as good as this doc would have you believe), and Food of the Gods (really?).
I'll end this with a list of 20 films I would add to the titular 50. It's a non-US heavy list, but I've tried to stay away from the better known movies from the likes of Bava, Argento, or Fulci. In no real order:
1. The House with Laughing Windows 2. Eyes Without a Face 3. The Island of Lost Souls 4. Mad Love 5. Le Boucher 6. Onibaba 7. The Curse of the Crying Woman 8. The Plague of the Zombies 9. Spoorloos 10. Alucarda 11. The Black Pit of Dr. M 12. Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter 13. Mill of the Stone Women 14. Shock Waves 15. The Queen of Spades 16. The Ninth Gate 17. Mark of the Devil 18. Race with the Devil 19. A Tale of Two Sisters 20. Scream of Fear
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