More like dark-humor thriller. There was a lot of intrigue and plot building that makes it more sophisticated than most movies. But for Whedon fans it's just Tuesday.
Question, I've only seen the trailers, but am I the only one thinking the movie is reusing sets from Tucker and Dale vs Evil? The cabin and gas station seem eerily similar.
[spoiler]Everyone is scared of clowns, there just had to be one. As for the unicorn, many forget it's supposed to be a dangerous creature that could only be tamed by a virgin which fits perfectly with the Five Setup.[/spoiler] Still, I wonder what [spoiler]item in the basement would have summoned the rogue lumberjack chainsaw robot.[/spoiler]
I noticed one discrepancy, unless I missed something, [spoiler]I thought they established that the virgin wasn't a virgin in at least two scenes. In the beginning they talk about her and the college professor, I don't think the blonde had anything to do with him. She even said "I knew what I was getting into" after the blonde referred to him as "professor fucks a student". And then when she was fooling around with what's his face, she said, "I never ... well I don't mean I've never" or something to that effect. I was basically waiting for her to actually come out and say "I'm not a virgin" during the whole thing.[/spoiler]
It was all about the symbolism. Like [spoiler]the slut not actually being a slut, they just made her dumber with the hair dye and the pheremones, or the jock being an academic in sociology before he under their influence started acting like a typical dumb jock. Dana only had to appear as a virgin in order to satisfy the Ancient Ones, and perhaps they influenced her to keep quiet about it as Signourney Weaver already knew she wasn't a virgin.[/spoiler] What made me curious, [spoiler]they seemed to have a lot of projects going on at the same time, and didn't seem upset when those began to fail, which I presume were because the designated victims fought back and survived. Were they killing dozens or hundreds people every week just to make sure?[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Based on passing references in the office pool, it seems to be an annual thing. The rest of the massive bureaucratic infrastructure is probably just upkeep. That would still entail high dozens/low hundreds of potential sacrifice victims every year, with one site needing to be successful. Adequate redundancy for the end of the world when you see how rigged it gets. [/spoiler]
I came across this excellent review with solid analysis after the first third of their work. There was one part of it that I'm curious if others who studied history could comment on. Is it really credible to say various societies indulged in [spoiler]witchunts and ritualized sacrifices[/spoiler] to cope with various emotions as a group. Are horror movies really an extension of those attitudes?
[spoiler]She's "technically" a virgin. She's about to explain that she's not a true virgin to the Director who cuts her off and says that they have to make due these days.[/spoiler]
If the IMDB message boards are any indicator, a lot of people just didn't seem to get this movie, and were actually expecting a straight slasher horror flick
When I saw the movie, a couple people left early and when the movie got out, there were a whole bunch of people who were either pissed or saying the movie was retarded
I thought it was brilliant. Also those [spoiler]scarecrows that get the security guy? Pretty sure they were from Doctor Who. [/spoiler]
[Spoiler]They're actually lifted from an old horror movie but a costume that cheap looking is definitely right up Dr Who's alley [/spoiler] I loved the movie though. Fantastic dark comedy and commentary on horror movies.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/gallery/s3_08-09gallery/800/52.jpg Well this is the Who version, what movie were these ones from?
Thanatos, how come so many are having that reaction and not seeing this movie for what it is? IMDB has the full list on it's trivia. [spoiler] Alien Beast - Generic reference to alien creatures. (ex. Alien). [Bet on by Bio-Med] Angry Molesting Tree - Specific reference to The Evil Dead [Bet on by Wranglers] The Bride (Possibly Summoned by Wedding Dress) - Possible reference to The Bloody Bride of 13 Curves Road. [Bet on by Digital Analysis] Clown - Generic reference to killer clowns (ex. It). [Bet on by Electric] Deadites - Specific reference to The Evil Dead franchise. [Bet on by Story Dept] Demon - Generic demonic reference (ex. Night of the Demons). Dismemberment Goblins - Seen on the betting board and listed on credits. Doll Faces (Possibly summoned by matching doll face masks in basement)- Specific reference to The Strangers. Dragonbat - Unique creation (similar to Graveyard Shift). (Source: Script) Escaped Prisoners - ??? Evil Surgeons - Generic reference to evil medical staff (ex. House on Haunted Hill) Fat Zombie - Seemingly specific reference to Boomers from Left 4 Dead. Giant - Generic fantasy reference (ex. Trolljegeren). Giant Cobra - Generic reference to Giant Monster/Eco-Terror films (ex. King Cobra). [Bet on by Internal Logistics] Giant Spider - Generic reference to Giant Monster/Eco-Terror films (ex. Eight Legged Freaks). Hell Lord aka Fornicus, Lord of Bondage and Pain (Summoned by Puzzle Orb) - Specific reference to Cenobites from Hellraiser. [Bet on by Sitterson] Japanese Floaty Girl (Kiko) - Generic reference to Japanese Yurei films (ex. The Grudge & The Ring.) Kevin - Seen on betting board. (Possible reference to Sin City or Friday the 13th). Kraken - Generic fantasy reference (ex. 20000 Leagues Under the Sea). Merman (Summoned by Conch) - Generic fantasy reference (ex. Creature from the Black Lagoon). [Bet on by Hadley">Hardware Mummy - Generic reference to mummies (ex. The Mummy). [Bet on by Psychologists] Mutants - Generic reference to mutants (ex. Wrong Turn). [Bet on by Demolition] Patience Buckner - Specific reference to Alessa from Silent Hill. Reptilicus - Seen on betting board. Direct reference to Reptilicus. Sasquatch / Wendigo / Yeti - Seen on betting board. (ex. Abominable). Scarecrow Folk - Specific reference to Scarecrows. [Bet on by Data Archives] Sexy Witches - Seen on betting board (ex. The Craft). [Bet on by Archives] Snowman - Seen on betting board (ex. Jack Frost). [Bet on by Communications] Sugar Plum Fairy aka Ballerina Dentata (Summoned by Music Box) - Unique creation (source: Drew Goddard). Twin Girls aka Grady's Daughters- Specific reference to The Shining. Unicorn - Generic fantasy reference. Vampires - Seen on betting board (ex. Vampires). [Bet on by Distribution] Werewolf - Generic werewolf genre reference (ex. The Wolf Man). [Bet on by Finance] Witches - Generic witch genre reference (ex. Darkness Falls). [Bet on by Operations] Wraiths - Generic ghost genre reference (ex. 13 Ghosts). Zombie Redneck Torture Family aka the Buckners (Summoned by Diary) - Mash-Up of Zombie, Torture, & Killer Family films. [Bet on by Maintainence & Ronald the Intern] Zombies - Generic Zombie genre reference (ex. Night of the Living Dead). [/spoiler] And for those who missed it, this is what [spoiler]the intern had written on his note: Trapped in a closet Dragonbat has my scent Send help! [/spoiler]
The thing of it is, I'm not sure there's actually a message there other than, "we recognize horror movie tropes." Any comment beyond that seemed a bit vague.
Just got back from seeing this - was refreshingly genre-busting. I don't usually like horror, but after hearing people here recommend it, I went and saw it. Fortunately it diluted the horror with a nice mix of sci-fi and humor. I'm trying to think of various things it reminds me of. Doctor Who, in the sense of its genre-busting variety. Also, it does seem a bit like Stephen King stuff, in a way. Maybe a bit of Ghostbusters in there, a bit of Scary Movie, etc. Or even the Twilight Zone. And of course, back in the 80s, there was Spielberg's "Amazing Stories", with episodes like "Remote Control Man": [yt]ivL2p13mLck[/yt] There was also a weird made-for-TV movie starring Robert Urich and Susan Lucci, called "Invitation to Hell" [yt]LNfvLtfjfhY[/yt]
Everything You Wanted to Know About Horror But Were Afraid to Ask You may also remember a famous scene from Woody Allen's "Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask", because the similarities are obvious: [yt]lFgo9J_MRng[/yt]
none of the characters were actually like the 5 they were representing. [spoiler]the whore was premed and in a committed and healthy realtionship the jock was a nice sociology grad student the fool was pretty wise and the virgin was sleeping with her married professor And the scolor was a decent guy and a jock the agency was pulling a reality tv with the sacrifices with there drugs and such to give the slumbering evil ones "the audience" the show they expected to see . the cast even comes out at times and mentions that there firends are acting diffrent[/spoiler] as for the point ..this was a pretty big dig on what horror movies have become. they even throw some love at j pop horror movies. I also found the end very refreshing though I suspect that many people will not get it
I really enjoyed it, both the core standard horror story and the bigger story around it. I found it interesting how they hit the standard Horror Story styles for each region, though I do have to wonder, [spoiler]what the rituals for the other failed locations were like. From the two we saw the most detail of, and the comments at the end, they would probably be very culturally influenced. So Buenos Ares was probably a combination of a kidnapping + an Incan style sacrifice; the western Europe location I'd guess would be your classic torture porn in a Hostel style, but I'm not sure if that's what they'd be.[/spoiler]
