Board 8 > 2025 Horror Topic - Happy Nosferatu Day

(+) Yeah! (+)

I figured I'd make this since I need you all to know Nosferatu was completely incredible. The directing and cinematography was absolutely inspired. Some of the best shots that brought out the complete dread and tension in this film.

It's Robert Eggers' best film I think, and it manages to bring out so much dread, and it feels so disorienting at times in the best ways. There are so many scenes that are going to stick with me.

And Nosferatu does not look like you'll expect, but it's an extremely strong look for him. Just an unsettling, cruel look that is done so well.

The acting, obviously, was phenomenal as well and everyone brought their best.

So yeah, go see Nosferatu. Awesome, awesome movie. Might be my favorite horror movie this year.

Yea Nosferatu was great. Especially loved Orlock and Ellen, their relationship is super well done and love how they make Orlock look.

Seeing Nosferatu tomorrow and I'm super hyped!

Probably not going to happen until Monday night, but it'll make it in this year for sure.

We instead watched an actual Christmas horror film again... this one was called A Very Flattened Christmas. Very college student films vibe for this one; but in a somewhat charming way. Over the top acting again and it's never taking itself very seriously, so I won't dock it much for that.

The general story is that something is targeting the employees of a roadkill cleaning service while dressed in what's supposed to be a reindeer mask but it looks more like a bison to us. The kills are decent, practical gore effects are always appreciated and they're at least somewhat well done given a shoestring budget of just a few thousand dollars. If you like these sorts of low budget B-movies there could be some joy here; but to be honest, that's never been my thing as a horror fan but eh, it's not as bad as films that weren't purposefully bad I've seen this year.

Watched.

Very impressive. The cast was phenomenal; everyone with a major role was so great and hitting all the beats. My goth heart loved the gloomy settings and eerie landscapes; the color gradient across the film offered up a very bleak and ominous tone. This was probably my favorite of Eggers's films so far; admittedly I have always been a critic and opponent of The VVitch since first seeing it. It's one of Genny's favorites but I could not really get on board with it for whatever reason; perhaps it deserves a rewatch someday I dunno.

Anyhow, yeah. The main criticism I've seen for this film is that it's slow and plodding and not much actually happens. I don't really agree with that; I can see how some might find this movie a bit slow-paced at times, but I think it's always done in a measured step to still keep you engaged while slowly drawing out the tension.

I've decided to end my 2024 horror film collection with Nosferatu, because there virtually no chance there's another S tier film hiding in the dark recesses of these straight-to-VOD releases. Going out with a strong movie just feels right to me.

S Tier:

1. Late Night With the Devil
2. Smile 2
3. Oddity
4. Nosferatu
5. The Substance
6. Stopmotion
7. Strange Darling
8. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

A Tier:

9. Lovely, Dark and Deep
10. Monolith
11. Heretic
12. Longlegs
13. You'll Never Find Me
14. Abigail
15. Alien: Romulus
16. Speak No Evil
17. Your Monster
18. Daddy's Head
19. Infested
20. A Quiet Place: Day One
21. T.I.M.
22. Exhuma
23. Lisa Frankenstein
24. The First Omen
25. Arcadian
26. The Coffee Table
27. Clickbait: Unfollowed
28. It's What's Inside
29. Cuckoo
30. Destroy All Neighbors
31. Slay
32. Immaculate
33. Humane
34. Dancing Village: The Curse Begins
35. Somewhere Quiet
36. Trap
37. Terrifier 3
38. Y2K
39. Never Let Go
40. My Bloody Galentine
41. Double Blind
42. Here For Blood
43. Blink Twice

B Tier:

44. Don't Move
45. Woman of the Hour
46. Founders Day
47. The Crow
48. Lowlifes
49. In A Violent Nature
50. Departing Seniors
51. Mr. Crocket
52. Baghead
53. Sting
54. MaXXXine
55. The Man in the White Van
56. Out of Darkness
57. I Saw the TV Glow
58. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
59. Monster Summer
60. Carved
61. The Devil's Bath
62. Azrael
63. House of Spoils
64. Lumberjack the Monster
65. The Glenarma Tapes
66. Hold Your Breath
67. Under Paris
68. Laced
69. Get Away
70. Bagman
71. #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead
72. V/H/S Beyond
73. Festival of the Living Dead
74. Tarot
75. The Exorcism
76. Bag of Lies
77. In Flames
78. Last Night at Terrace Lanes

C Tier:

79. Nightbitch
80. I.S.S
81. Invasive
82. The Front Room
83. The Watchers
84. Carnage For Christmas
85. Time Cut
86. Shaitaan
87. Hell Hole
88. Imaginary
89. Night Shift
90. Guess Who
91. Killer Body Count
92. Elevation
93. Rumours
94. The Stranger
95. The Deliverance
96. Cinderella's Revenge
97. A Cold Grave
98. The Ghost Writer
99. Stranger in the Woods
100. The Windigo
101. Cellphone
102. MadS
103. Starve Acre
104. The Demon Disorder
105. A Very Flattened Christmas
106. The Camp Host
107. Easter Bloody Easter
108. Alice in Terrorland
109. Curtains For Christmas
110. All You Need Is Death
111. The Woods Are Real
112. Sunrise

D Tier:

113. The Shade
114. The Beast Within
115. AFRAID
116. Night Swim
117. Werewolves
118. Black Cab
119. Midnight Peepshow
120. The Seeding
121. Spring Lakes
122. The Legend of Lake Hollow
123. The Strangers: Part One
124. Earworm
125. Gods of the Deep
126. Project Dorothy
127. Punch
128. Skeletons in the Closet

F Tier:

129. Arctic Hollow
130. Gacy: Serial Killer Next Door
131. They Turned Us Into Killers
132. History of Evil
133. Mister Sleep

This is my final list for the year. Compared to 2023 we managed to watch 17 more films; I wanted to reach 150 this year but maybe in 2025 I guess. I considered 8 of these movies to be S tier, up from 7 last year. There was also one less F tier film, at least from what I managed to get to. The stuff I put in B or above is something I'd at least recommend watching, a pretty sizeable increase from last year. But I'm typically not a tough critic and easier to please than most everyone else that comes in here I think.

Looking for to The Damned that's out this weekend. Might be the first film of 2025 we watch unless there's a release on streaming before Sunday.

https://x.com/ultrap0p/status/1874197881609216447?t=uZ2J6HM3MhfXY2QYRqakPQ&s=19

^ I now understand this reference! Didn't even know The Substance had a New Years theme but I finally watched it after seeing it on so many best of the year lists. Still kind of processing wtf I just saw but it was awesome.

First horror film of the year watched tonight in The Damned.

Not sure if anyone has seen the trailer for this, but it popped up a few times during some of the other horror films we watched in the last month or so and I was pretty interested in checking this one out.

Happy to report that it didn't disappoint. A nice strong start to the new year imo; this movie is bleak and depressing while also offering up some nice scares sprinkled in and good visuals. The general plot involves a crew of fishermen who neglect to assist a sinking vessel they see just off the coast, but also later decide to ransack the wreck for supplies. I won't spoil TOO much, but ultimately they begin to fear a mythological creature called a draugr, which is essentially a walking corpse shapeshifting figure. It's not a perfect film or an S ranking or anything, some of the characters can sort of blur together at times but it's nice and moody. There are some haunting shots and like I said, despite not really being centered around being a jumpscare film there are a few good moments.

We might be watching a film streaming on Prime that just released tomorrow night, we'll see. It's called The Monster Beneath Us; don't know much about it besides it being British (The Damned has UK and Irish production).

I watched The Damned this week too!

I was a little less impressed though. Beautiful cinematography and performances but I just got a little exhausted as it went on

I liked Nosferatu a lot, but I enjoyed the talking scenes the most for some reason.

The Monster Beneath Us is unfortunately not really worth a watch.

I wouldn't call it "bad", but "not great" for sure. The cinematography is once again really beautiful; the landscapes and setting are nice, and honestly the movie feels well-produced from a technical standpoint. Unfortunately, this is one of those "the longer the movie continues the worse it becomes" situations. Bad writing, especially near the end. So many unanswered questions, and not in a satisfying or thought-provoking manner either. It's not likely anyone else will watch this movie unless people are bored and looking for current content early in the year so I won't ramble on too much about the points of the plot I don't really get.

Saw Nosferatu on Christmas day with my dad, sister, and her fiance. I think I was the only one who liked it ha. I wasn't really into the look of Orlok (the original looks scarier imo), but the movie itself looked and sounded great. Freaky stuff. Also hornier than I expected lol.

Also saw Trap last weekend - actually kinda liked it! It was the right kind of ridiculous for me. Above average for an M Night movie.

I've now seen 10 2024 horror movies! So I can technically do a Top 10:

1) Late Night with the Devil (10/10)
2) The Substance (10/10)
3) Heretic (8/10)
4) Oddity (7/10)
5) Longlegs (7/10)
6) Trap (7/10)
7) Nosferatu (7/10)
8) I Saw the TV Glow (5/10)
9) Starve Acre (5/10)
10) maxXxine (5/10)

....But I'd still like to see Abigail, Speak No Evil, Stopmotion and In a Violent Nature, so I imagine some of the lower ones will get bumped

jcgamer107 posted...

hornier than I expected

Read Dracula my guy

I think I may actually go to the theater to watch the POOHNIVERSE Neverland movie. Since Blood & Honey 2 was surprisingly not bad and I have free time now I may as well.

I mean yeah but the original story + any other adaptations I've seen were not nearly on this level lol

The Substance is definitely the best movie I've ever seen that I have absolutely no desire to watch again ha ha

oh I guess I'm due for a final horror ranking of 2024

there's a handful I still want to see but this is basically my list

*horror-ish thrillers denoted in italics*

Top Tier
I Saw the TV Glow
Kill
Late Night with the Devil
Monkey Man
Nosferatu
The Substance

Excellent
Red Rooms
Cuckoo
The Shadow Strays
Lisa Frankenstein
It's What's Inside
Alien Romulus
Abigail

Great
In a Violent Nature
A Quiet Place: Day One
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Strange Darling
Speak No Evil

Good
Y2K
Woman of the Hour
Love Lies Bleeding
Stopmotion

Ok
Trap
Oddity
You'll Never Find Me
Heretic
Milk & Serial

Eh
Blink Twice
Longlegs
Maxxxine
Immaculate

Bad
Rumours
Founders Day
Tarot
AfrAId

Just watched a 6 episode Thai horror series called Don't Come Home.

I have mixed thoughts on it. I thought it was very unpredictable and had a lot of turns, especially by the middle of the series. But it doesn't entirely make sense, and I feel like some of the moments just don't land as strongly, and everything doesn't wrap up as well as it should.

Basically, it's about a mother on the run with her daughter from an abusive husband and goes to her old family home. When she gets there, some supernatural thing happens and her daughter goes missing.

It's a good show that never becomes great. You may like it more than I did though.

So we managed to snag a viewing of Neverland Nightmare before its short run ended. I never actually watched the second Pooh film despite promises it wasn't as bad as the first, but only because I missed the chance to see it in theaters and I wasn't paying money to see a sequel to a F tier film. It never became free to view on Amazon or anywhere else that I was subscribed to, so yeah, I ended up just saying whatever to it.

You know... this movie was surprisingly decent. They've definitely improved in terms of, well, everything. The script is decent, they developed their characters much better than the original Pooh (which was not at all of course). The actors here mostly do a pretty good job and the production values seem actually competent. I think the best things about this movie are the main characters, because I thought Wendy, Peter, Michael and Tinkerbell were all pretty enjoyable. I didn't really understand what they were doing with Tink here at first, but then I ended up coming around on the character. I wasn't expecting them to give Peter an actual motive, one which might not be as fleshed out as I would have wanted but keep in mind what movie this is so it being there at all was surprising to me.

I'm pretty bewildered that I've seen 3 horror films so far and this one already isn't the one on the bottom of the heap. I'm really not sure how the Bambi movie is going to be any good given they won't have the ability to tell a story with characters like they had here, but I have to hand it to them for making something that didn't just suck. It would have been easier to lean into how bad Pooh 1 was and just make horrible garbage, but Neverland Nightmare takes itself so seriously instead and leans the other way.

Did anyone else check this out?

I didn't end up being able to see it, but I'm glad to hear it was pretty decent! I think they're putting some real effort into these films and this dumb POOHNIVERSE, and I think they have a vision that may work for them.

I'll probably check this one out when it's on Peacock, but I believe in the POOHNIVERSE.

We saw Wolf Man last night. It was... fairly good. It's no Invisible Man or anything, and it's performing like it isn't also unfortunately. It was a far cheaper film to make than that one was though, probably due to the Blumhouse involvement on keeping things fairly cheap.

I'm conflicted on how I feel about it because on one hand, I feel they did a good job with the practical effects and how the creature(s) look. It's definitely a much more character driven piece than I was expecting it to be, I feel like they wanted to create a sense of dread and they drew it out for a good long time in terms of doing that. There's always a sense of unease and waiting for the inevitable to take place. On the other hand, I was sort of not expecting it to be as bleak as it is either. It's a pretty depressing film that at times I feel needed something a little more to break up the overwhelming feeling of hopeless sadness.

I don't know. I think a lot of people won't like this movie much, and with score that's sort of right down the middle for both critics and audiences alike I get that vibe of it being a very polarizing experience. I will say there are a few moments of questionable acting ability from a few of the cast, but overall they do alright. I wasn't quite expecting this to hit on Invisible Man levels anyway (though that movie itself was a big surprise to me with its quality).

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had these thoughts on Wolf Man after it's been getting slammed.

They did some really interesting things with this slow burn idea. Some ideas I didn't really think about in terms of a werewolf transforming. And Leigh Whannell's directing is superb. Some really perfectly shot scenes here.

I wanted to like this a lot more, but there's a little too much nothing going on, and there's only so much werewolf chasing around people that can happen before you decide that's a little too much.

I really feel like I was pretty tired of it when we had werewolf vs. werewolf fight. It's just a scene I watched and just didn't like.

The fact they didn't go full on werewolf with it is also an issue, I feel. I was waiting for a proper transformation but it just kind of ended with fella with scruff on his chin and morphed face.

It's a movie that has a lot of good ideas, exceptional directing, but just needed more work on the script, I feel.

A bummer, since I felt this would be better than it was. But I thought it was still very good.

And I just saw Presence too, by Stephen Soderbergh. I have no idea why they are saying in the previews that this is the scariest movie, because it's not. It has a few scenes that are scary, but for the most part it's just not.

But it's still a really, really good movie. A drama thriller. All from the perspective of a ghost. It's honestly really fascinating, and they have a ton of misdirects in it that leave you wondering exactly what is going to happen, what the ghost is doing here, and what is happening to the family.

The directing is just so well done and you really do feel like there's some kind of spirit watching at all times. The way it moves feels floaty, the way it interacts feels perfectly fine as well. They just make this work so well and I just loved being able to follow this film in this format.

The family all has a clear dynamic and you don't exactly connect with all of them, but their characters are done so well and you can really get into the drama of it all and the struggle this family has. The father, played by Chris Sullivan, is probably the stand out. He has perfect responses to everything going around him and you just feel for him.

It's a tight 90 minutes and doesn't drag. And you kind of have an idea of where it's going, but I was really surprised by the climax of the film still. I didn't expect it to go where it did. And the conclusion was sooooo well done. Honestly a perfect conclusion.

There's part of me that wishes they could do a proper horror movie in this format, because this was honestly so fascinating to watch. I don't need it to be any kind of cheesy gorefest, but just a simple haunting movie from the perspective of the ghost, watching people, and then acting when it feels necessary.

So I definitely recommend Presence, so long as you go in knowing you're not watching a horror movie.

So we just got back from Presence.

I would still call this a horror movie; I mean yes, it's not a typical horror film especially given the subject matter of a home haunting. That said, I think as a genre horror has a lot more breadth than people tend to give it. It's sort of the same way a lot of different films can fit into the same general genre because they're connected by certain themes, ideas and executions. I think this movie ticked a lot of the boxes to make it a horror film, but it is important to know you're watching more of a horror drama film than your standard Paranormal Activity movie.

I say we're starting 2025 off with a lot of character driven horror films, which I think is pretty cool! The main cast here has a lot of depth to them and seeing them through the eyes of the entity that roams about the house is pretty neat, since this is something that's completely confined to the home and cannot interact with them outside of it. I also liked Sullivan's character; it's honestly refreshing to see a male character like him in a film like this. I feel like the opposite dynamic is more often represented and it was nice to have such a likable person shown. A lot of the twists the movie offered I really didn't see coming like Ryan being a serial killer and the ghost being Tyler all along. There was only one really chilling part for me the final scene definitely sent shivers down my spine, very well done.

But yeah, I liked it. Nice solid film.

I would say it feels more like a gothic drama than a horror movie. I think it gets close, but the focus is very clearly on not doing any scares here and it's all about telling this drama. It has plenty of horror elements though, but the trailers all talking about how it's the scariest film they'll see this year are nuts and just setting this up for disappointment. Like it's a drama first and horror comes second, which is totally fine and I still really enjoyed it.

I'm glad we both had the same thoughts on it though. Completely agree with the rest, especially the spoilered bits.

Conclusion spoilers:

I also had some kind of physical reaction of it with the reveal of the son. Where the whole movie, the mother didn't believe this at all and didn't once get approached by the ghost because she's so obsessed with her son. And then she finally gets approached at the end and she's compelled to follow this feeling. And the presence has one last thing to do: give his mother closure. And that gut punch of the reveal, the mom shrieking and breaking down, and fully believing it all now. And then the presence simply leaves the house, fulfilled. Completely perfect.

It's extremely hard to get a conclusion that perfect, but with a tight 90 minutes it just completely nails it, and it's just not nearly as strong without all of the build up before it.

We watched one of Tony Todd's final projects before his unfortunate death late last year that was just released on streaming called Werewolf Game. It's as, one might imagine, a take on the popular deduction game and pits 12 people divided into 9 villagers and 3 werewolves against one another with the winning team getting to live and become wealthy whilst the losing team is killed.

It's... unfortunately, not very good. I feel like with an idea such as this you almost need a series rather than a film to devote to it. Most of the characters don't receive much development or screentime, some with any at all before their deaths. Outside of Todd, the only good actors here are limited to like two people. The rest of the cast is quite frankly most of the time just feeling like people poorly acting a badly written script; the two I mentioned are the only ones that actually seem to have melded into their characters fairly well. There's so much cringe too, like of course they shoehorn into a very, very badly written/acted romance between two of the characters that serves no purpose. And one of the three surviving characters is basically just a concept of a character that barely gets any use in the film.

I really hope Final Destination Bloodlines, which will probably be the last of Todd's films, doesn't suck too.

I'm about 15 minutes into Nosferatu, and I swear every shot looks like a painting. This is the definition of "hauntingly beautiful."

Catching a midnight screening of Companion in a couple of hours!

We watched Grafted on Shudder last night. It's fairly good; sort of The Substance-lite really. There's a similar concept here about using science to erase flaws and replace them with beauty, but I don't think the story is nearly as well told as it is in The Substance. But it has its merits; the effects look pretty well done and the protagonist likable (until she isn't at a point).

Companion is fantastic BTW, don't miss out

Big News alert: Matthew Lillard is returning for Scream 7

fortybelowsummer posted...

Big News alert: Matthew Lillard is returning for Scream 7

Scott Foley is also returning.

I guess he's coming back as a ghost vision type of role?

Really hard to get excited about it after how much goodwill they lost by firing Melissa Berrera though

Yeah I'd guess a Skeet Ulrich type of vision/flashback thing unless they want to get crazy with actual ghosts. Just hope they're not actually alive

I didn't care that much for Melissa's character but it does leave a bad taste in my mouth the way she was treated. I would have liked to see the completion of the sisters trilogy but now they probably get a passing mention at best.

Hey everyone, go out of your way to see Companion. It's so, so, so good. Just an outstanding thriller and extremely funny. Laughed out loud many times. Sophia Thatcher is great in it. Jack Quaid is outstanding. Go in blind. Don't read a thing about it. Just go watch the film for the best experience. I loved this one and it's going to stick with me.

I watched The Inheritance last night. It came out last year (I think) and it's on Hulu.

A really tight and fun movie about the 74 year old patriarch of the family claiming someone will try to murder him before his birthday, and he only trusts his children to keep him safe. It's got lots of twists and turns and I really enjoyed watching it! I recommend it.

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

Hey everyone, go out of your way to see Companion. It's so, so, so good. Just an outstanding thriller and extremely funny

Can confirm, saw it today and very glad I went in blind, top tier horror comedy

Eh, I really wouldn't call it a horror comedy though. Sure there are a handful of laugh out loud moments, but I feel like there aren't any more than say in like Scream, which I wouldn't call a horror comedy either. Regular horror thrillers can have a few laughs in them too.

We watched Shudder's second release of the year tonight, Dark Match. It's about a wrestling territory in the 80's and then inadvertently booking themselves into a deathmatch scenario basically. It stars Chris Jericho as your main villain. The actors here do a pretty great job overall, I found myself really liking a some of the protagonists. If you like wrestling at all, I feel like you'll probably skew this movie a little higher than the typical viewer (though Genny said she was also a fan of this film and she's not a fan of wrestling).

I think that Companion has a lot more slapstick and comedy than the Scream movies for sure. That said, I don't think it's quite a horror comedy, but it's got a ton of hilarious moments in it.

But regardless, definitely an outstanding film!

The theater i saw it in was laughing pretty consistently!

Companion was OK. Not on the level of M3GAN or Ex Machina. I laughed twice.

speaking of the murder robot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTAYuj8K7YE

i am tempering expectations hard though

Saw that the Final Destination: Bloodlines teaser trailer came out, and it's straight up just a death scene from the movie lol. Great way to bring people back in

I have such a complicated relationship with that series, I've seen all of them but hate them at the same time. So nostalgic for me now especially with how long it's been since the last one

https://www.ign.com/articles/unsettling-cult-classic-rpg-off-gets-surprise-steam-and-switch-release-in-2025

How am I just now learning about this

FFDragon posted...

speaking of the murder robot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTAYuj8K7YE

i am tempering expectations hard though

I think they're jumping the shark with this hard and I'll probably hate it but I think more normie audiences will enjoy it.

I dunno, a Terminator 2 plot with Megan seems so dumb and like they realized they could do whatever they want now and they went off the rails. Megan does not and should not be a hero.

Heart Eyes is out to a 90% on early RT scores; we're catching a midnight screening of it a few hours most likely.

v_charon posted...

Heart Eyes is out to a 90% on early RT scores; we're catching a midnight screening of it a few hours most likely.

Josh Ruben is great and I've been hyped for this one

Scare Me is one of my favorite horror comedies

Scare Me and Werewolves Within are awesome. I didn't know that Josh Ruben also did Heart Eyes, or else I would've been a lot more hype for it! I was able to convince the fiancee to watch it by mentioning those other two movies and the fact that it's on 90% RT score.

Glad Josh Ruben is killing it, especially with a big screen release.

does anyone know if Companion has jump scares?

Not really