I just watched "Europa Report", and I quite enjoyed it. It's no super original, but I thought it was pretty tense and interesting.
It's also available on Netflix streaming if you have it, so you can watch it for free.
Movie recommendation
Movie recommendation
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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RightClickSaveAs
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Re: Movie recommendation
I loved this movie. It's got what seems like some hard science in it (I don't know enough to criticize the technical details, but they all felt authentic), and scientists acting like scientists as opposed to bickering, two-dimensional characters.
I love sci-fi/space horror films, and this one goes up on my top 10 list.
I love sci-fi/space horror films, and this one goes up on my top 10 list.
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Grabthehoopka
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Re: Movie recommendation
I saw an indie horror movie called "The Pact" recently, and I was pleasantly surprised!
It was really tense and creepy, and made by people who understand subtlety. It was made last year, and is now available on Netflix instant watch (in the US at least, I don't know if it's available in the UK). If you plan on seeing it,I recommend going into it without watching the trailer beforehand. It is a rather slow-paced, tense movie, and in an effort to appeal to the lowest common denominator, they liberally throw several parts from later on in the movie to make the trailer more ACTION-PACKED. Ugh. I recommend it if you're looking for a horror movie that's less about slashers and demons and more about slow, creeping, nonspecific doom. Plus, Casper Van Dien is in it! You wouldn't deny Casper Van Dien his residuals, would you? He probably lives under a bridge somewhere! Put food on his table!
EDIT-
Just watched Europa Report. Overall, it was pretty good! I was a little surprised that it was a "found footage" horror movie, and the production design was a little hokey, they could have done a much better job trying to make it more "realistic" and immersive, otherwise there really isn't a point in doing the whole found footage thing. But, I liked how they answered the feared "but who found the footage?" question and turned it into a central plot point. I liked how secretive it was with its central conflict, and the special effects were really good, especially considering that this looked like a relatively low-budget movie. I liked how it was told anachronically, and jumped backwards and forwards in the timeline of events, and I liked the "hard" sci-fi elements, and, for the most part, they avoided using inappropriate static and interference on the digital video feeds, and used more realistic glitching and artifacting effects, outside of a couple of parts. All in all, it would seem that there is a lot to like.
And then Michael Nyqvist shows up and I'm like "Eeeeey, dragon tattoo!" and then Sharlto Copley shows up and I'm like "HOLY SHIT SHARLTO COPLEY IS IN SOMETHING!"
It was really tense and creepy, and made by people who understand subtlety. It was made last year, and is now available on Netflix instant watch (in the US at least, I don't know if it's available in the UK). If you plan on seeing it,I recommend going into it without watching the trailer beforehand. It is a rather slow-paced, tense movie, and in an effort to appeal to the lowest common denominator, they liberally throw several parts from later on in the movie to make the trailer more ACTION-PACKED. Ugh. I recommend it if you're looking for a horror movie that's less about slashers and demons and more about slow, creeping, nonspecific doom. Plus, Casper Van Dien is in it! You wouldn't deny Casper Van Dien his residuals, would you? He probably lives under a bridge somewhere! Put food on his table!
EDIT-
Just watched Europa Report. Overall, it was pretty good! I was a little surprised that it was a "found footage" horror movie, and the production design was a little hokey, they could have done a much better job trying to make it more "realistic" and immersive, otherwise there really isn't a point in doing the whole found footage thing. But, I liked how they answered the feared "but who found the footage?" question and turned it into a central plot point. I liked how secretive it was with its central conflict, and the special effects were really good, especially considering that this looked like a relatively low-budget movie. I liked how it was told anachronically, and jumped backwards and forwards in the timeline of events, and I liked the "hard" sci-fi elements, and, for the most part, they avoided using inappropriate static and interference on the digital video feeds, and used more realistic glitching and artifacting effects, outside of a couple of parts. All in all, it would seem that there is a lot to like.
And then Michael Nyqvist shows up and I'm like "Eeeeey, dragon tattoo!" and then Sharlto Copley shows up and I'm like "HOLY SHIT SHARLTO COPLEY IS IN SOMETHING!"
Last edited by Grabthehoopka on Tue Nov 19, 2013 12:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Movie recommendation
Casper Van Dien was amazing in Starship Troopers. 
I added it to my list. I'll check it out one of these days.
I added it to my list. I'll check it out one of these days.-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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Grabthehoopka
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Re: Movie recommendation
Just saw a movie called The Bay (available now on netflixes everywhere!), and I thought it was pretty good. It caught my eye a little while ago because I saw it was directed by Barry Levinson, of Rain Man, Wag the Dog, Sphere, Toys, and Sleepers fame, and went in not knowing much of what to expect.
It's a "found footage" horror movie, as is becoming popular these days, but what sets it apart from other such movies is that the visuals in this movie are amazing. The footage and its various sources really look authentic and real, and the production values are deceptively high. Movies like this tend to stick to isolated locations and small casts of characters to compensate for a low budget, but there are several scenes in large, outdoor locations with tons of extras in broad daylight, and it really helps sell the story. They use CGI special effects a few times, but they always use it cleverly and it never looks fake enough to take you out of the experience, and most of the special effects are physical and practical. On the flip side, they commit two of my biggest pet peeves for found footage movies: they edited it, and they added music. It's presented as a sort of guerilla-filmmaking documentary meant to blow the lid off of something horrible that happened that the government covered up, so they kind of have an excuse, but in all seriousness, if something like this really happened, even if you were biased as all hell and trying to prove a point, editing it together in the scariest way possible and adding suspenseful, horrific music (let alone hiring someone to compose original scary music for you) would seem more than a little disrespectful to the people who died, and it takes me right out of it. However, the gorgeously ugly and realistic visuals really help smooth things over and almost completely make up for it.
As for the content itself, it's an incredibly gruesome body horror affair, which kind of caught me off-guard. The visuals are, in my opinion, the only reason to really watch this movie, but it's a good reason. If you don't mind some (realistic) gore and messiness, I recommend it.
It's a "found footage" horror movie, as is becoming popular these days, but what sets it apart from other such movies is that the visuals in this movie are amazing. The footage and its various sources really look authentic and real, and the production values are deceptively high. Movies like this tend to stick to isolated locations and small casts of characters to compensate for a low budget, but there are several scenes in large, outdoor locations with tons of extras in broad daylight, and it really helps sell the story. They use CGI special effects a few times, but they always use it cleverly and it never looks fake enough to take you out of the experience, and most of the special effects are physical and practical. On the flip side, they commit two of my biggest pet peeves for found footage movies: they edited it, and they added music. It's presented as a sort of guerilla-filmmaking documentary meant to blow the lid off of something horrible that happened that the government covered up, so they kind of have an excuse, but in all seriousness, if something like this really happened, even if you were biased as all hell and trying to prove a point, editing it together in the scariest way possible and adding suspenseful, horrific music (let alone hiring someone to compose original scary music for you) would seem more than a little disrespectful to the people who died, and it takes me right out of it. However, the gorgeously ugly and realistic visuals really help smooth things over and almost completely make up for it.
As for the content itself, it's an incredibly gruesome body horror affair, which kind of caught me off-guard. The visuals are, in my opinion, the only reason to really watch this movie, but it's a good reason. If you don't mind some (realistic) gore and messiness, I recommend it.
Last edited by Grabthehoopka on Tue Dec 03, 2013 5:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Movie recommendation
Sounds cool. I added it to my queue! 
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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Grabthehoopka
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Re: Movie recommendation
Alright, trying not to gum this thread up too much, but I've been on a serial netflix spree, and I can't help myself, so I'll keep it short.
Kill List. Holy crap. One of the best horror movies I've seen in a decade or so and one of the most unique horror movies I've ever seen. It's hard to briefly summarize the plot, and I don't want to spoil anything, so the best I can come up with is if The Wicker Man and From Dusk Til Dawn had a baby, and then that baby had a baby with The Shining, that baby movie would be Kill List. For what it's worth, I recommend it.
Kill List. Holy crap. One of the best horror movies I've seen in a decade or so and one of the most unique horror movies I've ever seen. It's hard to briefly summarize the plot, and I don't want to spoil anything, so the best I can come up with is if The Wicker Man and From Dusk Til Dawn had a baby, and then that baby had a baby with The Shining, that baby movie would be Kill List. For what it's worth, I recommend it.
Re: Movie recommendation
Cool! I'll add that too.
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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Re: Movie recommendation
Kill List is great. Well great in the sense that it gets under your skin and just creates this feeling that something is wrong from the start. It's one of my favorite horror movies of the last few years.
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Grabthehoopka
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Re: Movie recommendation
It reminds me more of The Shining than any movie I've seen since then. It moves so slowly and the buildup is so ominous. When it was over, I was shocked to find out how short the running time was compared to what it felt like. My hands left sweat stains from where they were gripping my pant legs!RightClickSaveAs wrote:Kill List is great. Well great in the sense that it gets under your skin and just creates this feeling that something is wrong from the start. It's one of my favorite horror movies of the last few years.