How you (anyone) can watch these is beyond me. Do you enjoy the experience of watching them? I watched the Hostel movies and that was the absolute limit of what I can handle.
1 Like
The Terrifier movies are not good movies. But the artistry of the gore is excellent and improves with each film. And Art the Clown is a camp treasure.
The gore doesn’t phase us because of the context. It’s so absurd and camp it’s not gross or bothersome. I’d be much more bothered by realistic injuries in a film with a much more serious tone. It’s all about context. Something like Red Rooms, which doesn’t have any on-screen gore is hundreds of times more conceptually disturbing. That movie was hard to watch.
Another example: Human Centipede and Human Centipede 3 are absurdist films full of camp humour and we find them hilarious. Human Centipede 2 has a completely different tone and is actually rather disturbing.
I don’t really enjoy Hostel. It’s not a great film. Hostel II is much smarter and, in my opinion, actually enjoyable.
The thing is we watch a ton of horror. Horror factors into a lot of my partner’s teaching and writing so we consume a lot of it. Few things really bother us, but we are always on the lookout for things that really elicit a visceral form of affect. Or, better yet, is conceptually upsetting. Things that bother me are rarely gory because gore is usually absurd. I’m much more bothered by a film like Cure or The Grudge than gore.
2 Likes
Today we saw Sonic 3 with our friend ! It was a good time
Sonic was in it, and Shadow was in it–it was a loose adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2. They said “Live and Learn” would be in it, but it was really just snippets of it. The credits teased who will be in the next one
I thought there was supposed to be a Streets of Rage movie at some point. Though, I’d rather see a Final Fight movie–especially Poison ! I need to look into the comic they’re making, actually
2 Likes
live and learn is the star of the film. i think it plays 5 times! orchestral, acoustic guitar cover, and that finale has it playing every second super sonic and insano shadow are stopping the extinction of man. i actually liked this one. the previous two i enjoyed in a “this is the best i could hope for” sort of way. this one was fun. they hammed it up which is perfect for the “anthropomorphized animals consider the nature of revenge” film. there were still groaners in the jokes, and they perhaps learned the wrong lesson from the Mario movie and packed the film with copious references, but it was funny and fun. am i excited for the fourth film? uhhh sure!
1 Like
and they perhaps learned the wrong lesson from the Mario movie and packed the film with copious references,
Interesting you say that, as many fans, myself included, wished the other films had more references. I didn’t find any of them to be done in a poor way, but then I’d say the same about the Marvel films and I know people disagree.
I really enjoyed Sonic 3, which probably comes as no surprise to anyone reading this. While I have enjoyed each of the films, they aren’t without their faults (nor is this one) but they do exactly what I feel Sonic films should; be a bloody good time! I’m not sure if I enjoyed this one more than Sonic 2, but i certainly enjoyed it just as much as the previous film.
2 Likes
Terrifier (the first one) is one of the very few films I’ve turned off/walked out of in my lifetime. I can count the number on one hand. While I wouldn’t call them good (well, from 3 on), I’ve watched all the Saw films and spin-offs, Hostel, many 80’s horror films and other quite violent movies. To me, Terrifier wasn’t clever or camp or anything, it was just pure gross and unnecessary. If the makers could have got away with making a snuff film I reckon they would have.
1 Like
The first movie isn’t clever by any means. It’s a complete mess of a film made by someone who hasn’t quite perfected the craft. Each sequel is more competent of a film and it’s really the second where camp is a significant factor. But each sequel also tries to over explain and justify Art the Clown when Art is best left depicted as pure chaos. So while each movie is arguably better and more competently put together, they are made worse through excessive narrativization. They are at their best when they are just gory camp spectacle, at their worst when trying to explain Art’s motivations.
To be clear I think they are all pretty mediocre. However the second and third have some world class gore in them and it’s clear that talented people are working on that gore. And Art can be a very fun villain when he’s just being chaotic and camp. But that’s contained within films that are just not great.
There’s a big difference between ridiculous, over the top horror gore and snuff. But the two have long been conflated. Most often it by censorship boards, Christian groups, and the like, especially in the US where various groups have tried to link the two in order to classify depictions of gore as obscenity and thus ban it. But gore persists because it speaks to people. It gives people a visceral thrill to confront things that overpower the senses and exceed rationality. It often reflects periods of time when there are significant social anxieties caused by turbulence social or political turmoil. They are popular at times where people’s general social anxieties need an outlet and resource, and gory horror often functions as a means of cathartic release for that stress.
People who make gory films aren’t people who are about to go around murdering people to make films. They are artists and technicians who have a craft they love. And like other SFX artists they want to showcase their talent through movies like this.
While many of my favourite visceral horror often also contain smart thematic or subtextual social commentary, some people enjoy gory films for the pure spectacle and thrill of gore. They want to feel the thrill of having their boundaries pushed. They want to feel the rush of adrenaline that comes with being frightened or grossed out. And gory horror movies give them a safe space to do that in that giant a real threat. It’s like a rollercoaster, a well contained safe experience that just pushes you enough to make you momentarily imagine you unsafe so that you get a thrill. Gory horror is that kind of thrill for some people. And some people seek it out to feel something other than the regular fears and anxieties that might come with the contemporary moment.
Sort of interesting how the movie Sonic 1 really only had Sonic and Dr. Robotnik–the only “characters” from the game Sonic 1. Then the movie Sonic 2 introduces Tails and Knuckles, so it’s kind of like Sonic 2, 3, and and Knuckles. And 1 [because of the underwater Labyrinth Zone]. I can appreciate this; I think I liked 2 better because of Tails and Knuckles. So it’s sort of the gang forming
Looks like they’re going to have to go back for the events of CD and Adventure 1, which should’ve already happened !
And for the Mario movie, I wondered if it wasn’t too many games they were adapting at once. They’ve got the origin story, but with the New Super Mario Bros. assets. Then there’s Donkey Kong and Mario Kart, which maybe could’ve been their own movies. I think you didn’t really see much of Mario fighting the Koopa Troop [hand-to-hand] until the end
I think I’d’ve replaced the training thing with real-world experience vs. easy enemies [Goombas, Piranha Plants, et. al] but NSCOSM : ]
1 Like
i really don’t think these classic games have movie length plots. they often dont have enough going on to fill an animated short. the plot of the original super mario bros is like 5 sentences in a manual and a 10 second cutscene repeated 7 times. if you’re going make those games into hour and a half stories, you gotta add to their stories, and mixing in other elements from other games in that same series is a pretty easy way to win points with the folks who are willing to support any mention of your brand.
he does have the real world training when he experiences a 2d side scroller level in queens.
1 Like
Eh, I think you’re thinking too much in terms of adapting the old games. Obviously there’s barely any story in them. This is more a matter of focus for the stories the movies would need to tell. You can have an original adventure story about Mario and Luigi and perhaps Toad going to the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach from Bowser, and just have a fun 80-minute romp doing that. Have a B plot of the princess giving Bowser a difficult time, since that’s a fun dynamic. And done. Movie #2 could be focused on the Donkey Kong Country stuff. Perhaps the king, Cranky Kong, is tricked by Bowser to go to war with the Mushroom Kingdom. Then the Princess and Toads can have a big “defend the castle” thing going on while Mario and Luigi go on a quest with Donkey Kong in the jungle for some macguffin. Movie #3 could then be a Mario Kart-themed adventure. Why not a heist story a la Ocean’s 11 or what have you? Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong have to work with the likes of Wario and Waluigi to steal back all the gold coins Bowser stole from the Mushroom Kingdom (in hopes of tanking their economy, lol). None of these stories would be direct adaptations of specific games, but don’t overdo it with the number of IP they’re pulling from.
1 Like
i guess i dont think of mario and mario kart and donkey kong as independent IP. i would agree with you that there can be too much shit in a movie, but i dont think the finished product has pacing issues (it has other issues- script issues!). im just saying they need to expand the narrative somehow. i just dont care if they expand it with mario kart or donkey kong. heck, i like that they did donkey kong. he feels integral to mario’s origin so it is nice seeing him get some of the spot light in mario’s first animated film.
i like the new mario movie, but i do think they were aware of how wildly referential it was and made that choice intentionally.
1 Like
I’d like to see a Super Mario Bros. 3 sequel, with the Koopalings introduced and taking over the worlds. Of course, this is sort of just speculating how I would’ve done it
I remember having a dream–shortly before seeing the movie–that the movie would feature Bowser’s wife texting him that she laid 7 eggs [the Koopalings, presumably] and that their eggs looked like Fruity Pebbles
Speaking of dreams, I wonder how Super Mario Bros. 2 [USA, obviously] would be handled in this scenario
2 Likes