Lurker > Snake5555555555

Perhaps I am underrating 6 a bit but 4 gets a ton of praise!

The only films in the series that potentially hold more interest are probably 2 or 4 (which is by and large considered the best entry in the entire series). But to be honest, that doesn't mean they are anywhere nearly as significant as the first. And genuinely, outside of some kills, these movies are god damn boring as hell! I am not a Friday fan!

Outlier
Fortybelowsummer - 53
Jcgamer107 - 38
Seginustemple - 31
Inviso - 28
Karo - 23
Bitto - 22
Johnbobb - 15
Mythiot - 14
Rockus - 14
Evilordexdeath - 12
Plasmabeam - 10
Lightning - 10
Snake - 7

Forty takes a gigantic lead while the rest of the counselors were off having FILTHY sex

Whoops sorry, added it!

And I know the twist ending is supposed to be iconic, but the last twenty minutes of the film introduce a character that we have not met before, who shows up, announces her tragic backstory to justify becoming a murderer, and then she chases Alice through a series of repetitive and clunky attacks that are nowhere near as violent or effective as the seven other camp personnel shes killed up to that point. Its just weirdits like the movie completely changes its tone and plot style once there are no more disposable characters to kill off, and it leads to a bizarre ending that still manages to take WAY too long once the Pamela Voorhees reveal takes place. Even the jump scare ending feels cheap, since its all a dream (which maybe Im watching a different cut of the film, and the true ending is her getting grabbed, but either way, it feels like a completely unnecessary addition to a movie that hadnt really had anything supernatural up to that point.)

Snake - Its really hard to discuss and talk about this film in a modern context. It just feels so - banal. It doesnt help that it feels like Friday the 13th has been made and remade again & again in the decades since its release. What feels cliche now is only in retrospect, a fact thats a little hard to fault the actual film for. And yet, with this banality, comes a strange nostalgic magic to the film. Theres a strength in its simplicity, not flashy, but focused on brutal kills & traumatic events all perpetrated by this mother in a nice sweater. Before the franchise devolves into a sloppy supernatural-tinged goofy mess, theres a real gravitas here thats absent in pretty much all future films with maybe the second being another exception. While that has its own appeal, it loses the sense of vulnerability and real-world horror that the initial 1980 installment captures so well. So while I dont think Friday the 13th is a particularly strong film on its own, I do enjoy it in the context of the franchise and as the confident stepping stone the slasher genre took and smashed ruthlessly into the ground.

Bitto - Rating: D

It's a fine slasher with teenage victims. My problem is that I just really don't like these types of movies. The setting is nice. The characters are about par for the course for a movie of this kind. The kills are generally interesting. Jason's mom is a good killer; though, her fight scenes are a little comical when they show her stumbling to fight Alice as opposed to being from her POV. None of it really resonates with me. In a gauntlet, I always feel like there's one movie that just blends in with the rest and this one felt like the one for me this time.

I'm very glad we did not go with Cannibal Holocaust being on this list, because I could barely handle a real snake being killed.

Evilordexdeath - The story goes that after the success of Halloween, whoever made this film wanted to rush out a knock-off as fast as possible for profit. idk if that's actually true at all but my American friend who loves sitting through shitty horror films keeps telling it to me.

While the first person shots from the killer's perspective are used to mask the plot twist that ***HUGE spoilers*** it's actually his mom killing everyone in this film, it still marks the world's introduction to the abstinence-themed superhero, Jason Voorhees. Do you think the contrast of sexuality and violence in this film is just used to titillate viewers with these two visceral concepts, or is Jason's tendency to murder kids who sleep together a reflection of the prudism embedded in the American psyche since the days of the Puritan frontiersman?

It's tempting to ask questions like this to try and spice up the task of writing about this profoundly mediocre film. This is like the platonic ideal of mediocrity: the acting and cinematography are super cheesy, the characters are neither lovable enough that I wanted them to survive and felt tension as Jason...'s mom was creeping up on them, nor really hateable enough that I wanted them to die. The scares are always undermined by the over the top strings and the most creative kill is someone getting stabbed in the neck from underneath a mattress - almost all the others are just a "default" stab in the chest or throat-cut. Even the plot twist completely lacks impact because the killer was in like one scene before that (At least I *think* they were one of the people in the pub near the start but I honestly can't say for sure) and the final confrontation between them and the last survivor girl drags on way too long and is honestly really lame until the funny head chop that ends it off. It's one of those movies that isn't really bad, but you almost wish it were because that might at least be interesting.

Plasmabeam - Somehow I managed to spend 34 years on this planet without watching the original Friday the 13th. Honestly I wish I had kept that streak going. This movie is dogshit until Mrs. Vorhees arrives, and even then she barely rescues it from landing at #30 on my list.

Rockus - Its still kind of odd that the first film in this franchise is (largely) without the unstoppable monster that its known for. The twist that the killer was Jasons mother all along is still a pretty good idea however and one of the better aspects of the movie. While its still mostly pretty competent, and not quite as bad looking as Sleepaway Camp, it isnt anything special either. A serviceable by the numbers slasher that hasnt even found its iconic monster villain yet. But then again Im not really crazy about this franchise on the whole anyway.

Lightning - But then hes still there.

In 1978 John Carpenters masterful Halloween brought the slasher genre into the public consciousness with quite possibly one of the best horror movies ever made. The end result was of course a host of imitators attempting to cash in and just two years later Friday the 13th was released. This was not a film with a strong vision behind it, in fact they came up with the title first, advertised the film in the trade press and then hastily made the film around it. The result of this was a bland, uninspiring film that took all of the wrong lessons from its predecessor.

This is a film that has none of the style or excitement of Halloween, there are a few nicely done sequences of the killers perspective and one big scare at the very end but otherwise it is not much to write home about on a technical level. The idea of the killer is the most interesting thing about this film and makes the way the franchise went afterwards thanks to that final scare kind of disappointing. Even then however, the film undercuts its own mystery by setting up a whodunnit where its impossible to figure out who. The great Tom Savini is on makeup here but its a far cry from his best work. On the subject of effects it also should be penalised for the completely unnecessary killing of a snake, which the handler supposedly did not know about and was very distressed by. Also, the film fails to use its setting to its advantage other than the killers motives, the cast featuring a young Kevin Bacon could be anybody and the kills, even the famous Kevin Bacon death, are largely just boring deaths by sharp object.

The film is not awful, some of the long shots are really effective, the cinematography giving a voyeuristic feel like you are the stalker. It mostly just feels quite mediocre and uninteresting, which is all the worse for the fact that this is supposedly comfortably the best in this longrunning franchise. Overall this film was not actively distasteful, just thoroughly uninteresting.

27. Friday the 13th (1980 / 296 points)
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham / Written by: Victor Miller
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/7/7687fa28.jpg
Why Its Significant - Friday the 13th took the blueprint laid out by Halloween, upped the body count, and reveled in the anxieties of a generation raised on warnings about premarital sex and drug use. The film established the now-cliched formula of picking off characters indulging in these vices, and, while Halloween dabbled in the killer's perspective, Friday the 13th pioneered its use. Innovative shots placed the audience directly in the eyes of the killer, blurring the line between viewer and villain and intensifying the moments leading up to the kills, as well as providing HUGE pay-off on the twist (one that can surprisingly still catch many a modern first-time viewer off-guard if all you know is Jason!) It was a smash success as an indie film, made for a mere $550,000 but going on to gross nearly $60 million. In fact, it was the first independent film to be acquired by a major motion picture studio and there wasnt any doubt that the film would be a success or had untapped potential - in fact, it was embroiled in a huge bidding war between three studios! The film's expected financial success of course launched a juggernaut franchise, spawning nine sequels, a crossover film with Freddy Krueger, remake, TV series, comics, games, music, countless merchandise and references the media world over. And thats ALL without even properly & fully introducing the franchise's iconic villain Jason. Friday the 13th is undoubtedly one of the most influential horror films ever released.

The Rankers
Fortybelowsummer - 7
Seginustemple - 15
Karo - 16
Jcgamer107 - 19
Johnbobb - 22
Inviso - 23
Snake - 25
Bitto - 27
Evilordexdeath - 28
Mythiot - 28
Plasmabeam - 28
Rockus - 28
Lightning - 30

Fortybelowsummer - This was the first horror movie I saw as a kid so its immensely important to me. I dont think its an exaggeration to say that it was a life altering event that, along with discovering Stephen King, made me a horror fan. That being said, its not exactly a great movie. A number of the sequels are better, mainly because, yknow Jason is actually the killer in them. The dialogue and acting are quite bad and theres no real plot as it segues from one kill to the next. But does that really matter with a movie like this? Not really, and if youre down with some boobs and blood (courtesy of the GOAT Tom Savini) then youre in for a good time. Spawning 11 other movies, a tv series, games, and mountains of merchandise, its certainly the standard bearer for the slasher genre and an all-time classic.

Seginustemple - I can't believe it took me this long to finally see this, and what a pleasant surprise that Jason isn't the killer in this one nor is the hockey mask thing even in the movie. It completely caught me off-guard that it's Mrs. Voorhees in a reverse-Psycho scenario. I have seen Scream, but forgot about that famous bit of trivia from the opening scene. They even provide a plausible motive for killing all these people specifically while they're getting it on - it's about the neglect of their counselerly duties! Besides that it was just good to have a basic, straightfoward slasher in the mix. Nothing fancy, plain and to the point.

Karo - A mysterious killer massacres summer camp counselors in this slasher classic. It is pretty by the numbers for these kinds of movies, a bunch of hot people take their clothes off and arbitrarily wander off alone until they get stabbed.

I do like how they only show the killer from a first person perspective until the very end, rather than sensationalizing their appearance. It makes it seem like this monster could be any person, instead of some cartoonish freak. Anyway, it is the actions of a killer that make them scary, not any stupid mask they wear.

Still, it is full of incredible stupidity like this idiot girl who knocks out the killer THREE times and then just keeps wandering away so they can wake up and continue chasing her. Please just impale yourself on something already before you can further pollute the human genome.

It is a serviceable movie that gets the job done, though not really one that is deserving of its pop culture status or having like a dozen fucking sequels, it is simply 'okay'.

Jcgamer107 - 4/10

Johnbobb - If nothing else, Friday the 13th is just proof of how good Harry Manfredini was at making an absolutely terrifying horror score. I've never really understood why he didn't end up becoming a recognizable name like so many of the other horror composers of the 80s did. I think Friday the 13th succeeds in basically everything is sets out to do; it's unsettling and thrilling and mysterious in a way that, had it not ended up being one of the biggest horror franchises of all time, would now be viewed as a cult favorite.

Inviso - I feel like I must have seen this before, yet I cannot remember having seen a good chunk of it before this watchthrough. Maybe its just a film so ubiquitous (or Ive seen other Friday the 13th films), so I only thought Id seen this before. But ultimately, this isnt exactly a film I enjoyed watching; its VERY boring. The characters all feel interchangeable, with the singular personality trait of slightly flirtatious, and the end result is a LOT of establishing shots of nature, and the woods, and the lake, while the cast are performing mundane tasks like swimming or hitchhiking or playing Monopoly. Its just very slow, and the problem is that this almost feels like a documentary rather than a movie.

What I mean by that is that the story isnt told in a way that makes for an exciting film. The events are shown as if this is a very realistic instance of a serial killer attacking a summer camp. You open on some camp counselors getting murdered while having sex, then the next scene is a girl hitchhiking, where shes told about how the camp is cursed. Cut to a different group of kids driving to the camp, where they meet the guy in charge, who winds up leaving soon thereafter. Cut back to the hitchhiker girl, where she gets murdered first, and it just feels completely out-of-place, because she never meets or interacts with anyone else in the cast, and shes only ever referenced as being a good cookso shes JUST there to up the kill count.

Thats what I mean though, when I talk about documentary style. It feels like the movie is telling events as they happened, chronologically, regardless of whether they benefit the film as a whole. Theres a point where a girl goes off alone to use the bathroom, and shell eventually get stalked and killed with an axe to the face, but rather than maintain that single scene to really amp up the tension, the movie keeps cutting back to a superfluous Monopoly game. Its just really weird,

what the film chooses to emphasize. Hell, AFTER everyone is dead except for Alice, she finds her first body and freaks out, and we then get a scene of all the precautions shes taking to barricade the building shes in. Tying a rope to he doorknob, locking windows, closing blinds, shoving things in front of the door. This is all leading to a single moment where another body gets launched through a windowand then the killer justlets that happen. For some reason, the killer chooses to psychologically torture Alice and Alice alone.

Love So

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy6vBxqlapw&pp=ygUMbG92ZSBzbyBzb2Z0

rockus posted...

Killer Klowns is a lot of fun. I don't know if I'd even call it a B movie. That tends to refer to budget and this had a few millions put in it, even in the 80s. It's just an intentional campy comedy.

A lot of fun though. A bunch of great gags in it. The balloon dog, the shadow puppets, the tiny door gag. That was a huge surprise. It's mainly low for me because a of this list is really good.

I agree, I think it's certainly inspired by b-movies but isn't actually one itself.

Outlier
Fortybelowsummer - 33
Jcgamer107 - 30
Inviso - 24
Bitto - 22
Seginustemple - 19
Mythiot - 13
Rockus - 13
Karo - 12
Evilordexdeath - 11
Johnbobb - 10
Plasmabeam - 9
Lightning - 7
Snake - 5

New ringleader under the big-top!

Critters was beforehand but yes they did all the effects and made the creatures for all the films in that series.

The problem for me is I LIKE a lot of the films on this list from Killer Klowns up and my top 10 is loaded with all-time favorites, so a film like Killer Klowns just being a good fun time isn't really enough for me to rank it any higher.

Needless to say, Inviso's analysis was spot on

Karo - A group of space aliens that coincidentally look exactly like circus clowns invade a small town in their big top tent spaceship and kill people with pies and popcorn and oh come the fuck on.

The acting is so terrible it might have been on purpose, but I suspect it is more that nobody involved with this really gave a shit (except for the sculptor of the masks, he seems like he is having a lot of fun).

The klowns themselves seem to lack a lot of purpose and are woefully inconstant, hey guys lets capture this one person for no reason when we're killing literally everyone else just because she's the female lead! Lets spend more time trolling people than actually harvesting the warm bodies you traveled all the way to this planet to acquire.

While amusing at the start it doesn't last, as the movie's one joke gets run into the ground past the point of physical pain. It is a film that is krappy, korny and kompletly lacking of any real komedy and this three ring circus can't end quick enough.

Snake - Despite my low ranking here, I actually think this film is absurdly fun, more so than it has any right being. I used to write this film off as dumb and terrible long before actually sitting down to watch it, and I was so glad to be proven wrong. Well, its still dumb, but a film filled with this much creativity and devotion to its premise cannot be terrible! I love all the ridiculous clown weapons, the shallow but relatable and likable protagonists, and its cheesy slap-stick jokes. John Vernon chewing the scenery especially is one of the films biggest delights. While it may not be mistaken for a deep artistic piece, who says it has to be?

Bitto - Rating: D-

Well...I don't know what I expected from a movie called "Killer Klowns from Outer Space." That's definitely what the movie was about. There's an interesting angle to take it where the bizarre world and nature of clowns are literally alien that they touch on a little bit. I love the design of the circus tent/spaceship. But it feels like these clowns are so....mundane in how they do things. I want weird things coming from aliens! Things that would feel unnatural! But these are just...clowns doing clown things, but also they're murderous.

If Mooney was just completely removed from this movie, this would probably jump up 5 ranks. Holy shit, what an awful character. Even his death is underwhelming and oddly tries to paint him in a heroic light? Even though he almost certainly killed two people by locking up the clown with them? I don't really love the ice cream brothers either.

Evilordexdeath - It's a B movie, you're supposed to laugh at how stupid it is. There are evil aliens who look like clowns killing everyone. Sure. They shoot popcorn and cotton candy at people and track them with a balloon dog. Alright. The first victim is a redneck who calls his dog Pooh Bear which reminded me of a review of A.A. Milne's book by one Paul Bryant I read on Goodreads the other day:

Winnie-the-Pooh, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Win-knee-the-Pooh: the tip of
the lip taking a trip of three steps down the palate to return at four to kiss : Pooh. He was Pooh,
plain Pooh, in the morning, standing eighteen inches in one sock. He was that scruffy old bear
at school. He was Mr Winnie Pooh on the dotted line. But in my arms he was always Bear.

That was the most amusement I got out of the movie. If it had ended with a three-way sex scene between the girl, her cop ex, and her new bf, I wouldve rated it at least 10 places higher.

Plasmabeam - Absolutely not for me. There are some cool camera techniques at play, but the story is too goofy and the humor is too flat.

28. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988 / 303 points)
Directed by: Stephen Chiodo / Written by: Charles & Stephen Chiodo
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/3/37d7dce1.jpg
Why Its Significant - I mean - the title says it all. You get what you pay for. Killer Klowns takes its ridiculous B-movie roots and title to creative extremes in a film full of impressive practical effects and ridiculous horror that leaves you alternating between laughing your ass off and contemplating just how disturbing some of this actually is. Its a neat trick that I think revolutionized comedy-horror, stepping up the genre proving you dont have to sacrifice one for the other, I think even lauded films like Shaun of the Dead or Tucker & Dale vs. Evil taking cues from it. Plus - despite only having one film to its name, its a franchise loaded with collectibles, Halloween Horror Nights attractions, and even an upcoming video game due out this year, and talks of a sequel or more have persisted for decades at this point.

The Rankers
Inviso - 11
Fortybelowsummer - 15
Seginustemple - 18
Johnbobb - 20
Rockus - 22
Lightning - 24
Mythiot - 25
Jcgamer107 - 27
Karo - 27
Snake - 27
Bitto - 28
Evilordexdeath - 29
Plasmabeam - 30

Inviso - I honestly debated ranking this higher, but I just couldnt justify it to myself. The title says it all; there is no other movie on this list that delivers harder what it says its going to deliver. From the first minute the Klowns show up, thats all they are. The movie has a throwaway line about Maybe they showed up in ancient times, and we based OUR clowns off of them! You didnt need thattheyre alien clowns, you dont need to explain the deep lore behind them. Trust me, you had me sold the moment a clown popped out of its circus tent spaceship with a comically-sized net to capture a bloodhound. Everything after that was just running up the score.

Seriously though, everything you would expect from a killer klown, you got. They capture people by cocooning them in cotton candy; they shoot guns that fire popcorn (which is just the klowns in their larval state); theres a puppet show that ends with a laser gun; theres a comically-small bicycle which leads into comical fisticuffs (complete with Whatre you gonna do, knock my BLOCK off? before doing just that); fake door-to-door deliveries; sneezing powder and squirting shaving cream; shadow puppets becoming real and eating people; a squirt flower and subsequent murder to create a human ventriloquist dummy; and of course a bunch of clowns in a tiny car who pull out pies and buried a hapless guard in an avalanche of cream. Anything you can imagine is there in this movie, and they left no stone unturned.

Is the plot high cinema? Fuck no; the acting is terriblebut for what this movie is, its brilliant nonsense. The weird funhouse vibe of the klown ship, ending with a weird giant mecha klown battle just caps off an utterly insane movie. I dont know who came up with this concept, but that person did a surprisingly good job, all things considered. And kudos for making the klown costumes look JUST clowny enough to seem recognizable, with a perfect amount of deformity to really sell that theyre from out-of-this-world.

Fortybelowsummer - A lot of these movies, even the ones that are on the campier side, actually have some deeper meaning to be found. This aint one of them. Its clowns that arrive on earth fromsomewhere, set up shop in a big top/lair and then abduct and kill humans in all kinds of silly clowncentric ways. There are people-melting pies, cotton candy ray guns, and killer shadow puppets. The sets, costumes and props are all awesome and the whole thing is a lot of wacky fun. Its also legitimately disturbing at times and while Im not personally coulrophobic, it could be downright terrifying for someone who is. Theres a reason you see loads of Klowns stuff in Spirit stores at Halloween time. Its a cult classic that went mainstream because its just highly entertaining. Im fine with it being a one and done classic, but I definitely would be down with a sequel or remake of Killer Klowns.

Seginustemple - A childhood favorite, they say there's a fine line between horror and comedy and nothing embodies that quite like clowns. Make them an alien race, give them a rockin' theme song, you got a movie goin'. It's a delight just to see how many little gags and bits it can squeeze out of the alien clown logic, with the bonus that the clownimatronic creations are perfectly garish and grotesque. I love how Debbie decides to take a leisurely shower for half the movie after witnessing the monsters murdering people, she's really not too concerned with it. And the screwball ice cream bros make me laugh way more than they should. It's all super dumb but when the electric guitar kicks in and those clowns start mobbing slow I'm way into it. "What are ya gonna do with those pies, boys?"

Johnbobb - You know, this movie is so goddamn dumb, and everyone in it is so goddamn dumb, but I have to give it credit where it's due. It put a LOT of work into the set design, costume design, lore. It's legitimately one of the most creative movies on this list, and what blows my mind is that they used all that creativity to make whatever the fuck this is.

Rockus - Id never seen this before and expected it to be straight schlock but boy was I wrong. First big surprise was that this looks like a real movie, rather than some no budget trash with a goofy premise. But in addition to that, what was really surprising is how much mileage it gets out of its concept. Normally some intentionally campy horror movie like this I wouldnt expect more than one joke beat to death over 90 minutes but Killer Klowns would continue to come up with fun new gags. From the balloon animal attack dog to the multiple tiny door gag near the end of the movie it was constantly throwing fresh shtick at the screen. Didnt really get a lot out of the ice cream truck duo but the rest of the movie is a lot of fun. A great big monster finale tops things off. Never expected it to be this enjoyable.

Lightning - Whatre ya gonna do with those pies, boys?

Killer Klowns From Outer Space is a loving homage of 1950s B-movies right down to having a catchy theme tune like the one from The Blob. It is also one of the silliest horror movies I have ever seen. In fact it is so deliberately silly I will probably struggle to give it any kind of critical analysis but Ill try anyway.

This is a film where there are aliens that look like clowns for some reason, and capture and kill people using a variety of circus tricks and acts. Why do they look like clowns? No idea, maybe we get the ide of clowns from them. It seems that what they want to do is capture humans, turn them into candy floss and drink them through silly straws. I hope youre keeping up! Now, obviously this is all very light, it is quite similar in tone and level of content to Gremlins but Id say it has something of a meaner edge to it while that film was ultimately pretty wholesome. There are some great gags here as well as some fun low level gore. Sometimes the two are even combined, such as when the police officer just gets pelted with pies and then dissolves. In terms of sheer camp value, this one is pretty up there.

Overall I had a fun time with this but it doesnt really excel at either the comedy side or the horror side. Its just a fun, light horror comedy that would be good for a Halloween watch party but probably wont change your life.

3/5

Jcgamer107 - 2/10

Statue of Liberty
Mount Rushmore
Liberty Bell
Washington Monument

Top ten! Woooooo!

And fucking damn Creeping Death rules

I figured there was no harm in including it in the side-bracket but I still don't like it!

Solaire
Phelps

Hint - Next up is the movie with NO top 10 rankings!

Outlier
Jcgamer107 - 29
Bitto - 22
Fortybelowsummer - 20
Karo - 11
Evilordexdeath - 10
Mythiot - 10
Seginustemple - 9
Plasmabeam - 7
Inviso - 7
Rockus - 7
Snake - 4
Lightning - 3
Johnbobb - 2

jc takes a huge lead catching Bitto sleeping while everyone shuffles around in minor ways.

Evillordexdeath - Is this supposed to be some kind of so bad it's good B-movie cult classic? The acting is next-level awful and there are a few points that are so cheesy and dumb it's a little funny, but not that funny, definitely not funny enough to justify sitting through an hour and 20 minutes of this shit. This is a fairly by the numbers slasher very ineptly executed although some of the kills are slightly more interesting than certain other slasher movies set in a summer camp one could mention. While in older slashers the notion that the victims kind of deserve to be killed is subtext and they're really just annoying, this film makes it very clear that the victims are all targeted as a form of revenge for either bullying or in one case sexual predation. This doesn't make it remotely more interesting. I just thought I'd make that observation about the themes. The one thing I did like was that although most people at the camp are over-the-top assholes there are certain characters who are shown to really care, and the most enjoyable scenes for me were the ones where specific people were nice enough to ultra-shy main character Angela to earn her trust and get her to talk to them.

Lightning - Eat shit and die, Ricky! / Eat shit and live, Bill.

What an absolutely bonkers film this is. Overall this is a super campy, exciting film with some great dialogue, absurd performances and memorable kills that seems like the kind of film that Friday the 13th should have been. Until of course it takes an unfortunate turn at the very end.

The film starts with an odd, almost stereotypical depiction of a tragic accident then goes into a bizarre scene with one of the most absurd performances I have ever seen from the aunt. It is absolutely wild that she is acting this way and delivering lines like that, and as we see at the end, this is absolutely intentional. Then we get to see a definitely super safe summer camp populated largely by paedophiles, then we start to see some of the very nasty kids and adults meet even nastier ends. The kills here are great, and truly use the camp setting to its full advantage rather than just people getting stabbed. This film also isnt afraid to get nasty, even killing its child characters. The film for almost its entire runtime is an entertaining, simply bizarre slasher film.

Unfortunately, for me this is spoiled by its ending which I found to be transphobic, using the trans serial killer trope as well as the transphobic conspiracy theory of forcing kids to be trans, as well as homophobic with the linking of exposure to a same sex relationships with being psychologically disturbed. Now, this movie does have many more charitable readings from queer viewers and I will not force my interpretation on anyone else, that is the beauty of art, it is inherently subjective. Apparently the sequels may mollify it a bit also. However, for me this just left a bad taste in my mouth and took me out of the movie, which is a shame because it was a lot of fun until then. If it doesnt bother you that is okay, but it bothered me. Great last shot however.

Bitto - Rating: F

This could have been a C- movie. It's entertaining, even if all the characters are pretty flat and the villains are comically evil, or at least, as evil as you could get in a mundane teenager story. The pacing is good. The dialogue kinda reminds me of 2019 IT where all these pre-teens and teens are aggressively acting like they're adults in a way that clearly shows their immaturity. But then the ending happens and that all goes out the window. OK, so the killer is the sheltered girl, which seems obvious. But what's not obvious is that she's actually her brother, raised to be a girl!!! And that makes her....um? Psychopathic? Even outside of a modern 2024 lens, this is just bad. She's like...hissing and scowling at the end like an animal. She kills the character that clearly cared a lot about her. She kills literal children, just because they threw sand at her. She seems sane for most of the movie. And what the hell was that scene where both the brother and sister saw their dad with a man and then the brother molests the sister? It's just so problematic and the fact that it ends on that is just so annoying. The fit campground leader said it best. He literally sees a kid be decapitated and his only reaction is "my god...she's a boy!!!" as if that's the thing to focus on here.

Plasmabeam - Went into this movie blind and wasnt sure whether it was deliberately bad or not. The twist with the quiet girl was the only thing I really enjoyed here.

Snake - With a better writer, Sleepaway Camp couldve been an all-timer, a psychological slasher perhaps up there with the likes of Psycho. Okay, maybe thats a bit far, but seriously, theres potential here - potential thats completely squandered by shallow cardboard-cutout characters, lacking any real development, complete with everything you expect from a B-movie level script - namely wooden line deliveries and melodramatic outbursts substituting for real acting. Lets be real here - this film is only worth discussing even remotely because of its ending. The portrayal of gender identity is insensitive at best, and transphobic at worst. Its the kind of thing I watched when I was a little younger and thought it was the most shocking, interesting thing ever but as I get older and become more knowledgeable about this subject, it leaves a hollow feeling of exploitation rather than genuine surprise. With a more nuanced approach and a script that treated its characters with respect, Sleepaway Camp could have explored themes of trauma, repressed sexuality, and societal expectations in a truly unsettling way. Instead, it resorts to cheap shock tactics and insensitive portrayals, missing the opportunity to be a thought-provoking horror classic.

Johnbobb - https://i.imgur.com/djVBcLH.gif
This place has everything. Sexual violence against children, terrible prosthetic bodies, weird transphobia... a protagonist who's more traumatized by her dad being a gay man than she is by him being violently killed in front of her.
Look there's a lot of stuff that doesn't age well from the 80s but I have my limits. Fuck you.

Rockus - I assume this is largely infamous because of the shocking reveal at the end, which I ultimately just thought was pretty trashy. You might be able to have fun with it in an ironic way, if it isnt supposed to be campy, with a lot of the lines and tropes but its surprisingly pretty tame up until the last twenty minutes. I thought the only memorable kill was the one with the curling iron but otherwise its a basic rinse and repeat low budget slasher with a memorable ending, and even at that it would be more enjoyable if it just looked a little better. But its shot like an old TV sitcom. It looks terrible. Big disappointment. Out of this whole lineup, which is largely really good, I only dislike maybe one or two of these films and this is one of them.

29. Sleepaway Camp (1983 / 314 points)
Directed / Written by: Robert Hiltzik
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/7/768c86bb.jpg
Why Its Significant - Sleepaway Camp's infamous ending is undeniably a watershed moment for the horror genre. This twist, whether you consider it problematic in its portrayal of gender identity or a transgressive game-changer, undoubtedly left audiences speechless either way. While this is the biggest part of the film's enduring legacy, the awkward dialogue, strange pacing, and often nonsensical scenes makes it stand-out just as much, capping off one of the most gonzo slashers of the 80s that ends up being far removed from the Jasons & Freddys of the decade. Sleepaway Camp received four sequels, a spoof movie, short-film spin-off, and potentially has one or several other sequels / spin-offs in development.

Jcgamer107- 10
Fortybelowsummer - 14
Karo - 19
Seginustemple - 21
Inviso - 22
Evilordexdeath - 27
Lightning - 27
Mythiot - 27
Bitto - 29
Plasmabeam - 29
Snake - 29
Johnbobb - 30
Rockus - 30

Jcgamer107 - 7/10

Fortybelowsummer - Stop me if youve heard this one: kids go to camp in the 80s and start getting picked off one by one by a deranged killer. Yes, its been accused of being too derivative, but its pretty obvious that Sleepaway Camp has far more going for it than just being a rip-off of Friday the 13th. It is its own entity and actually better in many ways. The practical effects are outstanding, from the guys skin blistering up, to the mouth snake, to the neck arrow. The characters are fleshed out and generally more than just fodder for the killers blade (or bees). Most importantly its a real commentary on bullying and forced gender identity. I dont see it as transphobic, but it has provoked conversation. Yes a lot of the production aspects are pretty poor quality, but I think it stands out from other shallow slashers. Finally, the ending is absolutely legendary and one of the most shocking and terrifying moments in all of horror. When I first saw this I didnt expect much, but its become a personal favorite, and I dont hesitate to recommend it to horror fans that may have missed it.

Karo - So there's a bunch of deaths at a summer camp which for some reason hasnt been shut down despite the owner being a psychopath, the cook being a child molester, and many egregious safety violations in almost every aspect of camp life.

I then endured an hour and a half of these brats just so I could find out that the person that was quite obviously the killer was in fact, indeed the killer. Oh, and the girl has a penis! (also expected)

I really hate how the reveal is framed and how the movie wants me to feel horrified or disgusted at the revelation like its attack of the killer crossdressers or something, and the tiresome anyone who is different is a monster that is to be feared tripe. I suppose you could make the argument that it decently portrays the harm done when a child is forced into a gender they don't identify with, though I guarantee that was absolutely not the fucking intent of the producers of this.

There is probably more to unpack on this issue, but this movie is neither good or remarkable enough to be worth any more of my time. It is certainly something, and I didn't like it.

Seginustemple - Wow, I've never seen a movie pull off a last-second hail mary like that. 99% of the runtime is so-bad-it's-good territory, then the last 1% is jaw-droppingly great. Totally creeped me out and had me re-evaluating a lot of what came earlier. I still think the one guy should have been able to escape the beehive kill, that was too funny. He had so much time to get away!

Inviso - First things first, I all but guarantee at least two write-ups on this list will be critical about how problematic the plot isand its FUCKING problematic. Not only does the movie disparage gay people (by showing a completely normal and loving gay relationship with the implication that its psychologically damaging), but it very much disparages trans people by randomly having Angela turn out to be Peter the whole time, just making her emotionally damaged and traumatized due to her lunatic of an aunt. And this revelation comes as Angela, who has been viewed as a girl the entire movie, has stripped down and is covered in the blood of a boy she tricked into loving her, with her dick out. This movie is fucking problematic.

That aside, as a genderfluid queer person myself, I understand that this is a product of its time, and that aspect of the movie doesnt completely tank it in my eyes. If anything, my biggest problem with the movie is how it does not feel like the producers or the writers had enough content to fill a feature-length movie. There are SO many scenes of mundane camp activities, and while a bunch of them are set-up for kills or reasons as to why kills happen, you still have a bunch of socials and parties and capture the flag games, and camping trips, and it eats up SO much time over the course of the movie. Plus, there are so many repetitive scenes of Judy being a bitch to Angela, Meg egging her on, and then someone breaks up the confrontation. Or Paul flirting awkwardly with Angela while shes socially awkward herself. Or just general repeated shots of Angela interacting with someoneby which I mean the camera gives a close-up of her dead-eyed stare.

That being said, the framework of the plot really works. Now granted, going into the movie, I knew the twist ending. But the movie does a good job of really painting all of Angelas victims as assholes (well, aside from the little kids, who are just little shits, more than anything else). Hell, her first victims introductory scene is him creeping on little girls while his co-workers laugh about it. So, this winds up being one of those movies where its fun to watch assholes get whats coming to them. Plus, there was a point after the third kill (fifth if you count the opening sequence) where I started to get annoyed that the camp was still holding activities after two deaths and one attempted murderbut thats the point where the movie really speeds up. Eight of Angelas eleven murders are in that last sequence, and I appreciate the ramping up in that regard, because it really helps with suspending disbelief.

Final shoutout though: so many characters in this movie are irredeemable, largely to justify them getting killed. But I just want to shoutout Ronnie and Susie as the only camp counselors who seem like genuinely good and helpful people throughout the entire film. Theyre the only people who seem to care about the kids well-beings enough to want to actively prevent Angela from getting bullied, and having those good characters are helps to at least ground the film and keep it from feeling TOO over-the-top in terms of having a camp completely populated by shitheads.

Definitely voting Resident Evil

Corrosion of Conformity

Outlier
Bitto - 22
Jcgamer107 - 10
Evilordexdeath - 8
Mythiot - 8
Plasmabeam - 7
Rockus - 6
Fortybelowsummer - 5
Snake - 4
Johnbobb - 1
Karo - 1
Lightning - 1
Seginustemple - 1
Inviso - 0

Bitto takes an early commanding lead leaving the rest still buried deep down in the basket.

Lightning - Whats in the basket?

This is a wild piece of cheesy yet grimy exploitation cinema with a premise over the top enough to make it often referenced and intensely memorable. The film also seems to have quite a lot on its mind with regards to the way we view and treat people with disabilities, physical differences and other variations despite this being undercut by its also using these for horror.

This film has some surprisingly effective aesthetic choices given its micro budget. IT really captures the sleazy New York atmosphere of the time, making it feel gritty and dangerous rather than glossy, which gives it that genuine 80s feeling. Some of the gore is great. The puppet of Belial is also really impressive, though unfortunately the animated version does not look nearly as good. I also liked quite a lot of the twists and turns in the story, especially the flashback towards the end.

Unfortunately the films core message is undercut by using its subject as a monster, despite also trying to make him sympathetic and not deserving of hate. The ending sequence is also weak, contrived, and exploitative. Overall this is a fun distraction but doesnt quite manage to become a genuine camp hit.

2/5

Seginustemple - One of the more blatlantly ridiculous concepts on the list, unfortunately the movie feels asstunted as the titular character. Amateur actors, a thin plot padded with generous filler, and not much flavor on that filler. Granted, on a true shoestring budget of only $35,000 (most of which can be seen in the protagonists' wad of cash) it is by far the cheapest movie we watched, and bound to feel outclassed in production quality - even the likes of Tetsuo and Henry have 6 figures behind them. For its scale it's practically a slam dunk. I think what manages to be entertaining about it is that the brother's deformity hardly renders him handicapped, if anything he seems to possess super strength and abilities for being just a head with forearms. How is he breathing, and where does the food go? Doesn't matter. I kept thinking 'biblically accurate pokemon', like Grimer with a Bib Fortuna skin. The tragedy/pathos of his origin just adds another layer of absurdity, the operation didn't appear to leave either one of them any worse off, so why vengeance? They're untethered and thriving! From now on I'll just assume any wicker basket with a padlock on it is bad news.

Inviso - It has been a while watching these lists since a movie has made me feel physically ill while watching it, but here we are. Every single thing about this movie is disgusting. The setting looks grimy and gross, the actors look hideous across the board, and the monster is barely even a monster, but rather a bulging, bulbous tumor with teeth. I knew I was gonna be grossed out just from the initial image of Belial appearing when I loaded up the moviebut godDAMN there is nothing good to say about this film. There are terrible fucking extras and minor characters living in the hotel who are meant to be comedic I think? Theyre all awful, and we get like four of five scenes of a monster attack, screaming, and suddenly the entire building has to run down to check out whats happening. Theyre all awful filler scenes, and they just bloat the runtime of an already mercifully short movie.

Hell, the sound is terrible too; there is CONSTANT fucking screaming, but theyre not pleasant movie screams that you hear and you GET that the actor is frightened. No, these are raw, visceral shrieks and wretched agonyESPECIALLY the monster, who can only communicate via vomitous screams. Oh yeah, and multiple instances of attempted rape/molestation by the tumor monster against female characters in this filmwhich of course leads to more screaming. Lovely. I fucking hate this movieits one of the most unpleasant watches Ive had in years of doing these lists.

30. Basket Case (1982 / 316 points)
Directed / Screenplay by: Frank Henenlotter
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/07b79b07.jpg

Why Its Significant - While not a mainstream horror film and made on a shoestring budget, Basket Case embodies the spirit of exploitation cinema and golden age body horror. Basket Case throws a wrench into traditional horror monsters - unlike other easily-digestible Hollywood horror villains, Belial's raw, exposed form pushes boundaries and forces the audience to confront the uncomfortable. The separation of conjoined twins is a brutal violation, and the film delves into the psychological and physical consequences, creating a sense of unease about bodily autonomy, and forcing viewers to confront the sanctity of the body, the ethics of medical intervention, and the right to bodily self-determination. Duane's unwavering loyalty to Belial, despite his monstrous form, speaks to the power of familial bonds and the struggle for acceptance in a world that deems them freaks. Future films like Society, which features grotesque body transformations as a metaphor for societal corruption, and Teeth, where the female protagonist's monstrous anatomy becomes a weapon against patriarchal oppression, or Malignant, where the hidden twin fuels a desire for revenge, owe a debt to the way Basket Case initially pushed boundaries in body taboos and societal norms. Basket Case had two sequels and was selected for preservation by the Museum of Modern Art in 2017.

The Rankings
Bitto - 8
Jcgamer107 - 20
Evilordexdeath - 22
Mythiot - 22
Plasmabeam - 23
Rockus - 24
Fortybelowsummer - 25
Snake - 26
Johnbobb - 29
Karo - 29
Lightning - 29
Seginustemple - 29
Inviso - 30

Bitto - I generally de-emphasize acting performances, which is great for this movie, because wow, this is easily the worst acting in the gauntlet. That's impressive! I will instead focus on the overall plot and the characters, both of which I really like. I'm glad the revenge plot ends about halfway through the movie and the rest is about Belial wanting more of which he cannot have and how it creates a rift between Belial and Duane. I like Duane's exasperation with Belial at the end and how it leads to both of their death at the end. I like the overall budget feeling of the movie. It makes it feel personal. The hotel in particular feels like a genuinely solid location by the end. The one time the acting does get in the way is selling the relationship between Duane and the receptionist. I just feel 0 chemistry there and the whole relationship moves really, really fast.

Jcgamer107 - 4/10

Evilordexdeath - So this was one of maybe four movies on the list I had seen before we started. I heard about a scene near the end where the protagonist runs around town naked and was curious to see that in its intended context. This is a very dumb reason to sit through a whole movie, and maybe the experience of watching the whole thing waiting for one honestly very mundane scene right at the end increased my feelings of antipathy toward it, but while I don't hate this film I just kind of don't care about any aspect of it. The story is insubstantial and kind of dumb, the characters are dull, the acting is stilted and awkward, the monster looks really stupid, and it's not even so bad it's funny. It's a good example of a movie so mid that seeing a blurry, distant image of a cock is the most memorable part.

Plasmabeam - Was about to write Basket Case off as trash until we got the backstory on the monster. That might be enough to save this one from my bottom 5.

Rockus - Ultimately won me over to be honest. The performances arent very good and the production is admittedly pretty shoddy, but it takes such a big swing and has a whole lot of personality that its difficult to really dislike it. I might even warm up to it on repeated viewings. It has a kind of charm to it, even with how grimy and seamy it is at times, and how nasty it makes living in New York City look. Pretty fun despite its complete lack of craft, or perhaps even because of it? I dont know. Its difficult to express just why I enjoyed this but its difficult to really hate it.

Fortybelowsummer - This movie is so stupid, but its quite hilarious and by the end actually kind ofmoving? The premise is wacky: guy carries around his deformed surgically removed twin and they take revenge on those who have wronged them, in exceedingly bloody fashion. The brothers name is Belial (dick move naming him that, dad, but youll get yours) and he is one pissed off fleshy basketball of a guy. Its an absolute treat watching him maim someone or trash a hotel room in fantastically shitty stop-motion. Turns out all Belial really wants is to grab some titty and maybe a little more (oh god that thrusting), and I guess thats what the movie is really about: the dark side of sexual repression. Whether or not its also a statement about abortion I dont know, but it was definitely an entertaining watch, despite probably the worst acting in any of our films.

Snake - Basket Case is one of those films thats more proof of concept than anything else. A close look reveals a film brimming with raw potential often hampered by its narrative limitations. Belial, to me, is a grotesquely fascinating creation, a testament to the creativity that can blossom under financial constraints. The practical effects ooze a grimy authenticity that melds perfectly with the grimy NYC setting on display here, along with its rogues gallery of weirdos all portrayed by uneven unprofessional actors, who, with very little in the way of alternative credits to their names, still add a layer of bizarre charm to the film. Yet, the narrative struggles to maintain momentum beyond the initial shock value. The revenge plot feels simplistic, and character development is minimal. In addition, the sexual assault against Sharon at the end of the film feels like a case of the director simply knowing no other way to end their film. Horrifying, sure, but the lack of deeper exploration of it leaves the act feeling cheap and exploitative.

Johnbobb - The only good thing I can think to say about this is that it inspired a much, much better movie almost 40 years later.

Karo - So a pair of conjoined twins are separated against their will, and they are out for revenge against all the doctors who performed the surgery. One of these twins is this normal looking person, while the other is a grotesque monster portrayed by a fake-ass puppet.

This is not how conjoined twins work, they are simply identical twins who did not separate fully. This means they should look basically the same, not have one of them be fucking Krang or whatever.

Anyway, he carries his dismembered brother around in a wicker basket like some sort of pet that he drops burgers in to feed and my god this is just so fucking stupid.

The duo somehow get away with multiple murders despite just walking in during broad daylight with many witnesses (one of whom he later dates) carrying a large and memorable basket.

The movie is an unremarkable adventure lacking in both medical ethics and medical accuracy, featuring lots of unconvincing creature effects, incompetent acting and an exploitative circus sideshow attitude towards a real condition that real people have.

An utter and irredeemable garbage basket.

The first film only had 1 top ten ranking, and the rest were all 20 and lower.

But I'll let the topic build up first too

So the first ranking is pretty much ready to post but I am actually waiting on @Mythiot write-ups yet

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Welcome rankers and non-rankers alike to "Board 8 Watches and Ranks 80s Horror". Over the past few months, the rankers here watched or rewatched 30 juggernauts of the 80s horror scene ranging from cult classics to mainstream smashes known and referenced the world over. It was the decade that brought us slashers, iconic monsters, and some of the most famous & chilling practical effects ever put to screen. And now, they will be definitively ranked - which films were the scream of the crop, or, when it came to the 80s, was dead better?

The rankers:
Bitto
Evilordexdeath
Fortybelowsummer
Inviso
Jcgamer107
Johnbobb
Karo
Lightning
Mythiot
Plasmabeam
Rockus
Seginustemple
Snake

The films
The Changeling (1980)
Friday the 13th (1980)
The Shining (1980)
Possession (1981)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Creepshow (1982)
Basket Case (1982)
Poltergeist (1982)
The Thing (1982)
Videodrome (1983)
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Christine (1983)
The Dead Zone (1983)
Gremlins (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Phenomena (1985)
Re-Animator (1985)
Fright Night (1985)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
The Fly (1986)
Evil Dead II (1987)
Predator (1987)
The Lost Boys (1987)
Hellraiser (1987)
Prince of Darkness (1987)
Childs Play (1988)
Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Pet Sematary (1989)
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

Points will be in the next post

My mom could beat Resident Evil in a matter of hours XD Easiest 1 mil ever

Final Fantasy VI
Super Mario World
Super Metroid
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Last 30

Up for the last hour and a half!

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Good day to be a Faceball 2000 voter:
https://twitter.com/stopskeletons/status/1777075990771925428

The Last

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwfJsKfCnaM

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Tomb Raider and RE1 both were hugely instrumental in having the PS1 succeed.

The reason I think RE1 > RE2, despite the latter being the better game and arguably more famous, is not only did it coin the name for an entire genre, but RE1 was HUGELY instrumental in carrying early sales of the PS1 and indeed even CD-based games as a whole.

Resident Evil
Tomb Raider
Crash Bandicoot
Metal Gear Solid

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