Essential The Official Coli Horror Film Thread: Discussion, Recommendations And Murder.

[T.H.E.GOD]

More Found Footage quick thoughts from my marathon, the second is one of my top-two that I watched this week:

- The Black Water Vampire has some Blair Witch to it, but with a lot more happening on camera.


It starts by laying out past crimes and the urban legend, but more in-depth than Blair Witch did. Then they go into the woods, and weirdness ensues that takes obvious inspiration from Blair Witch. They even fight about the map. But this movie gives a lot more visual action, and while I didn't like the initial "designs," they grew on me as I saw what the team pulled off with their visual effects.

Feels like a clear homage, but with enough changes to the formula to feel fresh. Not bad!

- The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan also starts by using the Blair Witch formula, but shifts things a lot. I really liked this one.



It starts a little corny, but that gives it the "this was an amateur reporter" vibe. Leah interviews people about an urban legend/famous crime that took place, and as she hears more, she gets increasingly reckless about finding the truth. What made me appreciate this was that there are multiple "blink and you'll miss it" moments where something in the background hints that things are gonna go bad.

If Blackwoods Vampire gave us a more exciting version of the Blair Witch when they're in the woods. This found footage skips the woods and gives you a more active version of the famous ending in the cabin.

- The last joint I watched is Strange Harvest, which just came out on VOD and was directed by the same guy who wrote and directed Grave Encounters. The word of mouth was so strong for this that I copped it blind on Amazon Prime to support. I wasn't disappointed, but I want to dedicate a full post to it when I can sit down and really punch in thoughts. Suffice to say, if you can get your hands on it...give it a shot. It's a full mockumentary, and I'd liken it to The Poughkeepsie Tapes if that movie was less campy, had a more fully realized killer, and threw in hints of a more supernatural explanation without ruining immersion.

much props so far on these recommendations. Horror in the desert all 3 and lost footage of Leah had me entertained so far. Strange harvest and that vampire one is next, others I tried a couple pages back but couldn’t do it for me. Appreciate it though.

 

[T.H.E.GOD]

Revisited this. Still like it

gonna add this to the list..

 

[darealvelle]

Just saw HIM. Movie reminded me of some FX Ryan Murphy bullshyt minus the gay.

 

[storyteller]

much props so far on these recommendations. Horror in the desert all 3 and lost footage of Leah had me entertained so far. Strange harvest and that vampire one is next, others I tried a couple pages back but couldn’t do it for me. Appreciate it though.

As an aside, I think Savagelands has some similarity to Horror in the High Desert. But not as good.

Strange Harvest was dope imo, the vampire joint is okay but starts pretty slow and the effects don't start to hit until later on.

 

[storyteller]

Did an auteur dive on a few movies directed by Richard Bates Jr. I'd never seen his work and he's carved out a decent batch of horror/horror-adjacent movies. So I checked out his best two rated movies and his latest to get a sense of his work.

Excision - This one's the gem of his collection

A disturbed, delusional high-school student with aspirations of a career in medicine goes to extremes to earn the approval of her controlling mother.

Spoiler

This is the best of the bunch, by a comfortable margin imo. It's a mix of fairly comedic interactions with this awkward girl and then pretty gnarly dream sequences that provide horror. The lead's awkward confidence made me a laugh a lot, and her relationship with her sick sister made me feel for the entire family. Plus, there are enough dream sequences and foreboding signs that there's a floating tension to the tone of everything.

It all gives way to one hell of a conclusion that finally merges nightmares and reality. My complaints are that it felt a little too predictable, and some of the shifts from jokes to drama had a tonal whiplash. But this was good and made me want to see more from Bates.

Trash Fire - A decent film that feels like it missed some opportunities to be really tense.

When Owen is forced to confront the past he's been running from his whole adult life, he and his girlfriend, Isabel, become entangled in a horrifying web of lies, deceit and murder.

Spoiler

This one starts as a dark comedy, but gets darker and more like horror as it goes. Adrien Grenier is the lead, and his selfishness creates the comedy and the drama early on. But around a half-hour in, he describes his past and sets up a fairly tension-filled series of events for the rest of the film. The movie is a "
meeting your in-laws goes wrong" type, but with the most messed up history possible. That lends to some uncomfortable moments and another closing act that escalates things to full horror.

But I think the comedy hit better than the scares this time. This one's not as good as Excision, but had some good moments and isn't bad.

King Knight - A pure comedy, to my disappointment.

Thorn and Willow appear to have it all as the revered high priest and priestess of a coven of new age witches. But a secret from Thorn's past throws their lives into turmoil and sends them on a trippy, hilarious journey.

Spoiler

Didn't like this one. That's not to say it's terrible or anything, but there's no horror in this witch movie. It's a straight up comedy, featuring some familiar faces like Andy Milonakis. Basically, the head of a coven gets caught lying about being an outcast when he was a popular kid back in HS, and his coven is mad. So, he goes on a sort of vision quest to try and find himself.

The opening bits made me laugh, but it was mostly corny to me. Without tension building into a big cathartic conclusion, this felt a lot flatter. So, I wouldn't recommend it without you watching the trailer and seeing if the humor lands for you.

Bates is an interesting director and writer. His tone is all dark humor, which lends itself nicely to each film. But he also has a knack for visual horror, and I wish he'd explore it more by fully diving into the horror rather than grounding everything with jokes. That said, he seemed to move more towards the jokes as I got progressively further from his start. So, I feel like his approach moved away from the tone I preferred.

His visual flare means that I'll keep an eye out for his work, and I have my fingers crossed that he'll try for a fully "scary" movie. Excision is legitimately striking whenever it leans into its dark side, and the ending is gonna stick with me. It's just frustrating that was his first work and afterward, I feel a dropoff.

 

[Duke Dixon]

Excision - This one's the gem of his collection

Spoiler

This is the best of the bunch, by a comfortable margin imo. It's a mix of fairly comedic interactions with this awkward girl and then pretty gnarly dream sequences that provide horror. The lead's awkward confidence made me a laugh a lot, and her relationship with her sick sister made me feel for the entire family. Plus, there are enough dream sequences and foreboding signs that there's a floating tension to the tone of everything.

It all gives way to one hell of a conclusion that finally merges nightmares and reality. My complaints are that it felt a little too predictable, and some of the shifts from jokes to drama had a tonal whiplash. But this was good and made me want to see more from Bates.

I watched Excision about a year or two ago and I really liked it. The movie is kinda like May with the dream sequences like parts of American Mary. AnnaLynne McCord does a great job playing the main character. I've only ever seen her as the hot girl in movies or shows that she's been in and this proves that she's a good actress. Even if she had greasy hair and acne they made it believable that guys would still sleep with her they all just said, "Aight just don't tell nobody". I watched a couple episodes of Raising Keenan and was like its Excision. Traci Lords was also great as her mother.



Last week I dove into a couple Larry Cohen movies. I've seen The Stuff before and really enjoyed everything about it. Like you said you get to understand the writer/director's themes when you get to watch a few of their movies.

Q The Winged Serpent

Michael Moriarty's character was great in The Stuff so I was excited to watch this. His character in this is a scumbag, but he still does a great job. I was hoping to watch an american Kaiju film but the movie mostly focuses on Michael Moriarty's conman character. Overall it was so so. It was interesting to see Shaft and Kung Fu working side by side as two detectives.

God Told Me To

This might the best movie of his that I've seen. The story is pretty nuts and I was there for the whole ride. I recommend it if you're like me and like to watch movies where cops investigate the unexplainable.

I also watched Strange Harvest last night

I feel like there were a few things that held this back from being an all timer for me. The movie was still good and the story had me hooked. The movie didn't have as much polish as Lake Mungo to make me forget that I was watching a fictional documentary. The male detective wasn't the best actor and he took me out of the movie a couple of times. While the story was great there was some lines in it that made me go like,"She was a dope bytch!". Still better than it had any right to be for a 20 man crew and a low budget. The practical effects were great and made me go a few times. I don't think true crime doc would show all that stuff, but it was so great that'd be doing a disservice blurring it out.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

We're about halfway there, including the Friday pick 'ems. Got a nice assortment building too.

1. Beezel (Tubi/Prime)
2. Terrifier 2 (Amazon Prime)
3. *Free Choice*
4. Deadstream (Tubi, AMC+/Shudder)
5. Messiah of Evil (Tubi, Plex, Pluto)
6. The Stepfather (1987) ((Tubi, Xumo, Plex, Philo)
7. Starry Eyes (2014) (Tubi)
8. Salem's Lot (1979)
9.
10. *Free Choice*
11.
12.
13. Dead Sushi (2012) (plex, tubi)
14. Carnival of Souls (1962) (HBO Max, Tubi, Plex)
15.
16.
17. *Free Choice*
18.
19.
20.
21. Ichi the Killer (Tubi, Philo, Youtube with sub)
22.
23.
24. *Free Choice*
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31. John Carpenter's Halloween

Keep the suggestions coming.

You can pick the date but I will add a couple more for you. 'The Omen' (1976) which is on Philo (and a bunch of other services if you have a VPN just let me know)

Also.. 'Prom Night' (1980). (Prime/Hulu/Shudder/Peacock)

 

[EzekelRAGE]

We're about halfway there, including the Friday pick 'ems. Got a nice assortment building too.

1. Beezel (Tubi/Prime)
2. Terrifier 2 (Amazon Prime)
3. *Free Choice*
4. Deadstream (Tubi, AMC+/Shudder)
5. Messiah of Evil (Tubi, Plex, Pluto)
6. The Stepfather (1987) ((Tubi, Xumo, Plex, Philo)
7. Starry Eyes (2014) (Tubi)
8. Salem's Lot (1979)
9.
10. *Free Choice*
11.
12.
13. Dead Sushi (2012) (plex, tubi)
14. Carnival of Souls (1962) (HBO Max, Tubi, Plex)
15.
16.
17. *Free Choice*
18.
19.
20.
21. Ichi the Killer (Tubi, Philo, Youtube with sub)
22.
23.
24. *Free Choice*
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31. John Carpenter's Halloween

Keep the suggestions coming.

Pumpkinhead 1(underrated horror movie imo) Puppet Master 3 Toulon's Revenge (acts as a prequel, so you dont have to watch 1 and 2)

You can choose the dates, both are on Tubi currently or you can go to the usual streaming sites(pirating) to catch them

Spoiler: Streaming sites I use when shyt isnt on tubi/netflix/prime

Watch TV Online Streaming | Watch Free Movies Online

Best website to watch Movies online free no sign up. Watch free movies and TV shows online in HD on any device.

dopebox.to

Home – SeeFlix

ww4.seeflix.to

 

[storyteller]

I watched Excision about a year or two ago and I really liked it. The movie is kinda like May with the dream sequences like parts of American Mary. AnnaLynne McCord does a great job playing the main character. I've only ever seen her as the hot girl in movies or shows that she's been in and this proves that she's a good actress. Even if she had greasy hair and acne they made it believable that guys would still sleep with her they all just said, "Aight just don't tell nobody". I watched a couple episodes of Raising Keenan and was like its Excision. Traci Lords was also great as her mother.

Yeah, it definitely felt right at home in that May territory of a girl who's quirks are both understandable and way beyond red flags

God Told Me To

This might the best movie of his that I've seen. The story is pretty nuts and I was there for the whole ride. I recommend it if you're like me and like to watch movies where cops investigate the unexplainable.

I'm throwing this on my personal watchlist for sure. Never seen it.

I also watched Strange Harvest last night

I feel like there were a few things that held this back from being an all timer for me. The movie was still good and the story had me hooked. The movie didn't have as much polish as Lake Mungo to make me forget that I was watching a fictional documentary. The male detective wasn't the best actor and he took me out of the movie a couple of times. While the story was great there was some lines in it that made me go like,"She was a dope bytch!". Still better than it had any right to be for a 20 man crew and a low budget. The practical effects were great and made me go a few times. I don't think true crime doc would show all that stuff, but it was so great that'd be doing a disservice blurring it out.

Yeah fam! I was genuinely impressed with what they pulled off with a crazy small team and budget. I really liked it, despite the campy bits disrupting immersion at points.

 

[storyteller]

You can pick the date but I will add a couple more for you. 'The Omen' (1976) which is on Philo (and a bunch of other services if you have a VPN just let me know)

Also.. 'Prom Night' (1980). (Prime/Hulu/Shudder/Peacock)

Two absolute classics! I haven't watched Prom Night in forever, but I've always appreciated it as the perfect Jamie Lee Curtis Scream Queen double-feature along with Halloween. The Omen is a fun choice, especially because I've watched the First Omen as much as any movie from 2024 besides Late Night with the Devil.

Pumpkinhead 1(underrated horror movie imo) Puppet Master 3 Toulon's Revenge (acts as a prequel, so you dont have to watch 1 and 2)

You can choose the dates, both are on Tubi currently or you can go to the usual streaming sites to catch them

Spoiler: Streaming sites I use when shyt isnt on tubi/netflix/prime

Watch TV Online Streaming | Watch Free Movies Online

Best website to watch Movies online free no sign up. Watch free movies and TV shows online in HD on any device.

dopebox.to

Home – SeeFlix

ww4.seeflix.to

I'm a Puppet Master stan, and I rate Toulon's Revenge as the best of the bunch. The Pumpkinhead series is one I've been meaning to revisit.

I also added in 12 Hour Shift, which is similar to Starry Eyes. I remember genuinely liking it, but it's been so long that I don't recall much of the movie. We still have 11 slots open, please keep your suggestions coming! I think we've already got a really dope mix of genres, decades, and styles.

1. Beezel (Tubi/Prime)
2. Terrifier 2 (Amazon Prime)
3. *Free Choice*
4. Deadstream (Tubi, AMC+/Shudder)
5. Messiah of Evil (Tubi, Plex, Pluto)
6. The Stepfather (1987) ((Tubi, Xumo, Plex, Philo)
7. Starry Eyes (2014) (Tubi)
8. Salem's Lot (1979)
9. Puppet Master 3: Toulon's Revenge (1991) (Tubi, Prime, Pluto TV)
10. *Free Choice*
11. The Omen (1976) (Philo)
12. Pumpkinhead (1988) (Tubi, Prime, Philo)
13. Dead Sushi (2012) (plex, tubi)
14. Carnival of Souls (1962) (HBO Max, Tubi, Plex)
15. Prom Night (1980) (Prime/Hulu/Shudder/Peacock)
16. 12 Hour Shift (2020) (Tubi, Philo, Prime)
17. *Free Choice*
18.
19.
20.
21. Ichi the Killer (Tubi, Philo, Youtube with sub)
22.
23.
24. *Free Choice*
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31. John Carpenter's Halloween

 

[abominable1]

O what on the alternate universe Rob Zombie flick is this

 

[Jaguar93]

 

[storyteller]

I dare say that I'm the biggest VHS fan in this thread. I'm HYPE for this one, and it lands on a Friday which is a free choice day for the 31 days of horror marathon list this year.

 

[EzekelRAGE]

I dare say that I'm the biggest VHS fan in this thread. I'm HYPE for this one, and it lands on a Friday which is a free choice day for the 31 days of horror marathon list this year.

I couldve used your help the other night
I wanted to dive back into the series and was trying to decide where to start to "catchup". Is startin at 94 ok or should I skip it ? Think I saw some reddit posts saying that's like the worst one in the series.

 

[storyteller]

I couldve used your help the other night
I wanted to dive back into the series and was trying to decide where to start to "catchup". Is startin at 94 ok or should I skip it ? Think I saw some reddit posts saying that's like the worst one in the series.

They probably meant 99. To me, VHS 1 and 2 are the best. VHS 94 and 85 are the best after that, and I could even see arguments for them up there with the best two. VHS Beyond comes next, still good, but I don't think it's got as much juice as the others.

Then you get to the weak links. That's VHS 3 (aka Viral) and VHS 99....99 is probably the worst, but it's hard for me to say because I haven't revisited 99 or Viral in a long time. I watch the other five like comfort films...Any time I throw one on, I wind up marathon'ing two or three.

Suffice to say, you shouldn't skip 94, but DEFINITELY can do without 99.