Board 8 > Board 8 Watches and Ranks 80s Horror - The Rankings

(+) Yeah! (+)

I think my writeup got cut off there

Whoops sorry, added it!

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

Excellent
1) ?
2) ?
3) ?

Great
4) ?
5) ?

Good
6) ?
7) ?
8) ?

Didn't Like
9) ?
10) ?
11) ?

Watched as a teenager, had planned to rewatch before ranking them
Friday the 13th (1980)
?
?

First one to show up that I've seen. I remember watching this and being surprised/disappointed to not see Jason in it seeing as I was well aware of Jason at that time. I was planning to rewatch this one to see how I felt about it with knowing the twist ahead of time.

Snake5555555555 posted...

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

And I'm living at the bottom of a lake, forever tormented and alone.
I dunno, Friday the 13th gets a huge nostalgia boost for me because I watched it with my cousin late at night in the early 90s when we were around 10. I wasn't allowed to watch stuff like that but his mom didnt give a shit. Very influential even if it isn't the best movie.

JB, Exdeath, and Lightning all keep their clothes on and get paid.

VEGAS ODDSBOARD:
+650 Re-Animator (1985)
+650 Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
+850 Phenomena (1985)
+850 Creepshow (1982)
+1000 Fright Night (1985)
+1000 Prince of Darkness (1987)
+1000 Pet Sematary (1989)
+200 Any Other Movie (+2000 if guessed correctly)

Current Leaderboard:
1) Inviso $1750 (Killer Klowns From Outer Space 600, Sleepaway Camp 650, Basket Case 500)
1) Exdeath $1750 (Friday the 13th 500, Killer Klowns From Outer Space 600, Sleepaway Camp 650)
2) Lightning $1650 (Friday the 13th 500, Sleepaway Camp 650, Basket Case 500)
3) Johnbobb $1150 (Friday the 13th 500, Sleepaway Camp 650)
4) Seginus $650 (Sleepaway Camp 650)
4) Bitto $650 (Sleepaway Camp 650)
4) Karo $650 (Sleepaway Camp 650)
5) jcgamer $600 (Killer Klowns From Outer Space 600)

There really isn't that much to say about Friday the 13th. I wonder if one of the later films with Jason would have been a more interesting pick.

I suppose I'll stick with Tetsuo.

Okay, NOW Im guessing Tetsuo.

Bitto posted...

There really isn't that much to say about Friday the 13th. I wonder if one of the later films with Jason would have been a more interesting pick.

I suppose I'll stick with Tetsuo.

Ill be honest: no. They do get kind of weird eventually but those mostly arent in the 80s. The other one from that is kinda okay is the sixth, Jason Lives, which is kind of a precursor to Scream. Also must mention Jason Takes Manhattan for being one of the biggest wastes of a premise ever. Barely any of it takes place in Manhattan!

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!

I dont know if Id say 4 is considered the best, Id say more people would say 1 or 6. But its not a well received franchise at all!

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

Most of what I know about Friday the 13th is through the Netflix series "The Movies That Made Us", and James A. Janisse's kill counts for the movies where he admitted the fifth was his favorite of the first five even though he knows that's not a popular opinion.

Huh just realized no The Fog, guess there was a limit on how much Carpenter was going to be done.

Jason X is my personal fave. Also, Ive heard 2 and 4-6 are the good ones.

Snake5555555555 posted...

these movies are god damn boring as hell! I am not a Friday fan!

^^^one of the few scenes I found interesting in the series was where this dude eats a dead Jason's heart and gets possessed by him, then gets back to killin'. It was over the top & freaky enough to get my attention. Don't know which sequel it was.

and wow, I thought I was hating on it putting it 19th - I was above the median! I agree with what a lot of people said, that it's pretty bad and uninspired until the plot twist and end scare (which kinda rips off Carrie if we're honest)

+650 Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

I'll take Tetsuo as well

jcgamer107 posted...

^^^one of the few scenes I found interesting in the series was where this dude eats a dead Jason's heart and gets possessed by him, then gets back to killin'. It was over the top & freaky enough to get my attention. Don't know which sequel it was.

^ Jason Goes to Hell. That one is...not popular but does add that extra supernatural element.

Sticking with Tetsuo

fuck it I'm gonna go 2000 on gremlins

sticking with Tetsuo

Sticking with Tetsuo.

jcgamer107 posted...

which kinda rips off Carrie if we're honest

Tom Savini admitted this himself!

Poser disclosure - in 4th grade, I dressed up as Jason for Halloween and to this day I have never seen any of the movies that feature Jason. I just thought the glow-in-the-dark hockey mask looked cool.

I'll go with Re-Animator this time

I dressed up as Freddy once and I hadn't seen Nightmare on Elm Street until this project.

Hey! That was the one I was hoping would die! I saw 16 movies and this one was 16/16 by a huge margin. Here's my full write up if anyone wants to read it:

16) Friday the 13th D

This movie was fucking wild. I have only seen this one time back in high school, so I remembered the general plot and Kevin Bacon getting a spear through his throat. I also remember liking it, but I think that mightve just been because I was around cute girls at the time and was tricked into thinking it was enjoyable. I feel like that is the only way to watch this movie. With friends as you loudly laugh and talk through it with several bowls of popcorn and copious amounts of alcohol. Watching this alone, and sober, is fucking harrowing. This is a genre classic? Do I actually hate horror? Those were the sort of thoughts I was having while watching this, which is a bad sign.

There were two, maybe two and a half things I actually liked about this. The first was Crazy Steve or whatever his name was. That guy had better comic timing than most of the actual comedy movies we just watched. I laughed way too hard and him rambling about nonsense and then the gruff trucker guy going SHUT THE HELL UP CRAZY STEVE NOBODY LIKES YOU even though he was literally just repeating the same sort of stuff they were telling hitchhiker girl in the diner. Or him popping out of the pantry? How long was he standing in there? I get that was supposed to be a jump scare but I laughed out loud at the thought of him just sort of standing in there going jeez I hope someone opens the pantry door soon. That guy was an unintended comedic delight, A++ work Crazy Steve.

The second is the twist and the performance of Jasons mom. I feel like thats the one thing people actually remember about the movie. Its the only interesting thing about it, at least. You have all these creepy stalking shots throughout the movie and there is a sort of expectation as to what youre getting from a movie like this, so the killer being this old woman is actually kind of interesting. I think that little bit where you can tell shes just sort of insane and is talking to Jason while the last girl panics in the background, thats like the thirty seconds of the movie where I was like actually you know, maybe this isnt so bad. The actress for Jasons mom is pretty good too or maybe I only thought that because everyone else is terrible. Still, that was the highlight of the movie for me and is probably what helped spawn this into a successful horror movie franchise.

The twist of the killer being Jasons mom works and is probably the most (and only?) interesting thing about the movie, but they didnt really end the movie when they shouldve. The last quarter of the movie is borderline elder abuse. There are like eight different scenes here that couldve freeze framed and the dialogue from a Life Alert commercial couldve started playing and nothing wouldve felt out of place. The final girl beats the shit out of Jasons mom no fewer than four times. The actress who plays Jasons mom is in her mid 50s and they play it like shes a woman in her mid 50s which is interesting thematically but less so in practice. Seeing her stumble around into repeated ass whoopings at the hands of the person were supposed to be afraid for is a great way to drain any horror that was left down to zero. Jasons mom gets knocked out by a fucking frying pan which is less something that should happen to the main villain in a horror movie and more something that Bugs Bunny should do to Elmer Fudd. Imagine if at the end of the Babadook the mom hit it with a frying pan and the Babadook just fell over. The final girl chops off Jasons moms entire fucking head with a single swipe, which leads me to believe that head was hanging on by a thread in the first place. There are ways to make Jasons mom actually scary, but all of them involve getting trapped in an elevator with her seconds after someone asked her to give a detailed opinion on affirmative action.

A better movie ends right after the twist. The final girl screams, Jasons mom starts with the whole dont let them escape mommy dialogue and then she just slashes her and thats it. Grandma Vorhees trying to engage in hand to hand combat is something a competent editor shouldve edited out or at least been like hey we dont need four versions of this exact same scene. Theres actually a lot of that stuff in here and you get the sense the scriptwriter had like five pages of story and they had to go back and start padding pretty heavily. Like they filmed the entire movie and were like this is eighteen minutes long, what do we do now? I feel like the whole arc of the guy who owned the camp is insane. Hes gone for most of the movie, but then we get a two minute long scene of him at the diner engaging in the worlds most painful small talk with the waitress, then his car gets stuck, then he rides with a police officer for a little bit, and then he dies literally one second after getting back at the camp. His entire contribution to the story is going hey oh hi what are you doing out here AH NO IM BEGIN STABBED and thats it. Its borderline a comedy beat and feels like something that should be in a parody horror movie.

Thats another thing that doesnt work about this as a horror film the kills. Slashers seemed to be trying their hardest to outdo each other each other during this era except for this one that handicapped itself by not being able to show the actual person doing the attacking. The whole movie here is predicated on the twist, which means for the first two thirds almost all of the kills occur essentially offscreen. I was getting ready for the rewatch and specifically remembered the Kevin Bacon death but was like why cant I remember anything else that happens? and it turns out thats because most of the death scenes werent included. You have a couple of sloppy ones from the killers POV where it feels like the cameraman is about to drop the camera. But then there are a lot that are just straight up cut away before you get to the good bits. Im getting slasher blue balls here, and a couple of these dont even have the prerequisite weapon going up on an unsuspecting victim you get from other bad horror movies. It is just a guy going into a room going HELLO HELLO and then hey lets go show people playing Monopoly for a couple of minutes because filming a good death scene is hard and I dont want to do it.

Speaking of the Monopoly scene, something that really tickled me is they were too fucking lazy to film it in such a way so you couldnt see the dice they were rolling. A 12! I get to go again! one of the girls yells while you can clearly see a two on one of the dice on screen. I actually thought the camera work here was borderline competent at times, which is more than I can say for a lot of the movie. Like the way the camera filmed certain scenes so you would think something was coming that wasnt, or putting things from the killers POV and then giving you other scenes that look like theyre supposed to be from the killers POV but theyre not they do a decent job subverting expectations at times and I went back and forth between liking it and hating it. Theres some things here that are sort of clever but then a lot that feels kind of dumb so it is hard to ever feel to impressed for too long.

It doesnt help that the cast here is awful. I found myself wondering about halfway through the movie if you were allowed to have a film with only supporting roles. I didnt know anything about any of these characters and could barely remember their names. I get that a lot of these slasher films are just groups of meat bags here to serve as machete pin cushions, but at least give me enough to know who the hell these people are supposed to be. Like, ok theres Peppermint Patty, the girl with nipples, the least funny comic relief character in the history of film, Kevin Bacon for some reason, uh, another guy? And one more girl? I think? Not a single one of them can act. If you had told me this was all of these actors first film and also all of these actors last film, I wouldve said good, Im glad someone stopped them. I checked Wikipedia because I was curious, and the note on the casting process was Cunningham admits that he was not looking for "great actors," but anyone that was likable, and appeared to be a responsible camp counselor. Why? Why was that what he was looking for? Im worried he was actually trying to start an actual camp, and then pivoted to a movie when he found out it might be more profitable.

I think, ultimately, this is a film that is let down by its budget. You notice it most with the actors who were a group of people that were willing to act for sandwiches, but it is every where. The script, the filming, the fact they dont do special effects with the kills and keep doing uh ok well this person is dying trust us cutaways, the whole thing feels cheap. And poorly made. This is a poor mans version of Halloween, a terrible slasher movie in an era of great ones. How did this find that cult following a lot of others missed? Im not sure. This is a movie that is almost interesting because of its twist but not interesting for any other reason you can think of. I borderline hated this, which I definitely did not expect going into it. Remember everyone: dont go see horror movies with girls you have crushes on. It does dumb things to your brain.

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.

I do admit I also have kind of a similar relationship with the movie in where I thought I liked it up until this topic because or warm fuzzy memories from my high school days. My wife and I still watch bad horror movies every Halloween, and one of the first ones we saw together was this!

No sentimentality from me though this was awful to watch on my repeat viewing. But I at least get the desire to be like "this wasn't a great movie but eh it was important" because I had the same thought.

Espeon posted...

Jason X is my personal fave. Also, Ive heard 2 and 4-6 are the good ones.

Jason X is also one of my personal favs from the series, although I admit I haven't seen it in a long time now. But I laughed harder at that one than most comedies and it is at least partially in on the joke so I give it credit for that.

I can definitely see why Suprak did not finish the write-ups, damnnnnnn. Much appreciated regardless!

I am very glad we get Suprak writeups despite not getting a Suprak list.

Snake5555555555 posted...

I can definitely see why Suprak did not finish the write-ups, damnnnnnn. Much appreciated regardless!

That was literally my exact thought lol

Also Jason X is definitely one of my go-to so bad it's good movies

Next one is up in a bit, small hint - First film in a top 5 to be dropping

Ok which of you freaks likes Tetsuo

Okay I'm switching my pick to Tetsuo >_>

If its Possession Im going to scream.

jcgamer107 posted...

Ok which of you freaks likes Tetsuo

I liked it, but it's not in my top 5.

LightningStrikes posted...

If its Possession Im going to scream.

You'll fit right in with the cast of Possession.

LOL that was honestly my main complaint, that they start out hysterical and it just stays at a 10/10 emotionally

...OK I'll switch to Tetsuo

Creepshow drop yet?

Just to discuss Friday the 13th a little more...I didn't comment this during Sleepaway Camp, but it stands out that Friday the 13th had to switch the killer in future films to become iconic, because the first film really is boring as fuck. Comparing the general slasher film mystique of Friday the 13th to Sleepaway Camp...Sleepaway Camp is easily the better film...and it's NOT a great film (this is not including the holy fucking shit problematic parts). Sleepaway Camp is a more fun slasher, whereas Friday the 13th is almost trying too hard to hide any gore (with only Kevin Bacon really getting a kill moment on-screen.)

Oh yeah. When LS said that Sleepaway Camp is a better Friday the 13th with an ending that tanks it, I 100% agreed. Sleepaway Camp is way more fun in plot, cast, and kills.

rockus posted...

Why all the talk about Tetsuo?

Because some of these people have bad taste

26. Pet Sematary (1989 / 261 points)
Directed by: Mary Lambert / Screenplay by: Stephen King
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/62190cd6.jpg
Why Its Significant - Based on the classic Stephen King novel, the film preys on the primal fear of losing a loved one, particularly a child, and the desperation that can cloud judgment. Pet Sematary forces us to confront the monstrous potential that lurks within us all when driven by grief. Unlike slashers or supernatural entities, the true horror in Pet Sematary comes from the corruption of innocence when Gage becomes a monstrous shell of his former self. The film is also a prominent example of a female directed horror film, being directed by Mary Lambert (most well known otherwise for directing several Madonna music videos & modern day Netflix Christmas movies) and was a decent box office hit. Well-referenced, well-quoted (sometimes dead is better), and it received a sequel also directed by Lambert, remake in 2019, and prequel to the remake released in 2023.

The Rankers
Jcgamer107 - 5
Johnbobb - 11
Inviso - 15
Fortybelowsummer - 16
Snake - 17
Evilordexdeath - 19
Karo - 20
Plasmabeam - 21
Lightning - 25
Rockus - 25
Seginustemple - 27
Bitto - 30
Mythiot - 30

Jcgamer107 - 7/10

Johnbobb - The semi truck scene might honestly be the most unintentionally hilarious horror movie scene I can think of. I mean, the screams, the truck driving absurdly fast through a residential area, the man letting his baby play unattended 10 feet from the highway, the same man unable to sprint after a baby that can barely walk, the faceplant. It just has everything. That being said, I do legitimately like this movie a good bit. For how silly a lot of it is, it's also legitimately creepy and weird and campy and nothing if not memorable. Also Pet Sematary by the Ramones is a fuckin jam

Inviso - So yeah, the worst things to happen in this movie were all Juds fault right? I mean, sure, having your family live directly on a road where tanker trucks blaze past without any regard for speed limitsthats asking for trouble. But really, once the cat died, that shouldve been it. You saw how monstrous your dead dog turned out, and how the zombie guy led to the complete burning down of a housejust let Ellie learn that death is a natural thing, thats the end of it. But yeah, he brought Louis to the titular Pet Sematary and showed him its resurrection power, which meant when Gage got run over by a truck, what kind of father WOULDNT try to bring his young son back to life? And now everyone is dead.

Seriously though, this movie had an interesting concept, but I cant help but feel it was a little TOO close to Stephen Kings standard writing style (you know, random ghosts for no reason, random premonitions for no reason) to work perfectly. The subplot of a guy dying in the hospital under Louis watch, but he respects Louis from trying to help, so he wants to help toI dont GET it? But at the same time, I do appreciate the slow, creeping horror of resurrecting the cat, but its an evil cat, and then shit hits the fan with Gage getting hit by a truck (under freak circumstances), and Louis sends his family away so he can do what must be done in peace. I will say, the brief period of time when zombie Gage is running around murdering people with childlike gleeprobably the best part of the film. If we got more of that, or more of a slow burn on Gages resurrection, I think Id like this more. As it stands, its just a LITTLE too slow paced in getting to the good part.

Fortybelowsummer - I dont wanna be buried in a pet sematary (sorry johnbobb). Pet Sematary (1989) would be pretty solid if it were just the movie. It has enough skin crawling moments to make it serviceable. Unfortunately, the book exists, and I cant help but make the comparison even if I try not to. So, say I look past things like how Louis and Juds relationship is fleshed out, the silliness of Gage, and the botched ending (at least better than the 2019 one). Im still left with wooden acting (other than Fred Gwynne, cant hate on him), poor direction, and a plot that doesnt capture the nuance of the written story. It just doesnt feel as anxious and suspenseful as it should. Still, though, it does have that chilly autumnal vibe thats so appealing. Church and Zelda are classic creepy, and the Jud death is all-timer. I realize reading back through this that it comes off as conflicted (does he like it or not?) but I guess it captures my feelings about it. Not bottom of the barrel and there is enough here to like, but sometimes, book is better ayuh.

Snake - A mid-tier King adaptation - which means at the very least it has those cozy nostalgic vibes I love with a strong premise carrying it throughout. Its exploration of grief and the desperate lengths love can push us to is appropriately melancholy and given a lot of quiet room to breathe while the film builds dread throughout. Then Gage returns and things go haywire, leading to what I think is one of the most memorable climaxes in the King canon. I dont really have anything negative to say except for the fact that the film plays everything pretty straight-forward without any real shocks or twists I feel. Its just super focused on the grief aspect and thats great but I think it lacks a certain something special that makes it a favorite for me. Made for one of the best Ice Nine Kills tracks though.

Evilordexdeath - I think I have five writeups detailing my feelings toward Stephen King as a writer already, so instead of repeating myself yet again I'll say I liked this one more than expected. I feel like I'll even end up rating it higher than it deserves. This is the second-last movie on the list and the only film I watched to break up the last 28 was Pokmon Movie 05: Mizu no Miyako no Mamorigami Latias to Latios (which I rank as my honorary #16,) so I'm kind of going insane at this point. I'm so sick of dumb-ass, corny-ass T.V. movie-tier horror that the fact this one spends almost an hour building up and letting you get to know characters before it turns into that makes it almost refreshing. Fred Gwynne is great in this.

Karo - A family moves into a house astride a country road where the speed limit is way too high and these oil tanker trucks fly down the pavement at 70 MPH and despite this being a cause for grave concern for a number of reasons, everyone is just like 'by jiminy, that's one hell of a road!'.

Also nearby this house is a path leading to a creepy little graveyard for pets, which despite the movie's title, has almost nothing to do with the plot. You see, there's also an Indian burial ground that can resurrect dead things and the way everything is going to go is pretty damn predictable the minute the protagonist says 'have they ever done a person'. Then it just turns into a Chucky movie with an unconvincing murderous toddler and everyone dies.

The film is an utter mess throughout, nothing feels real or engaging, and everything seems off somehow in a way that I can't really quantify. I am used to child acting being stilted and fake, especially in a movie this old, but somehow the adults were even worse. Congratulations Anakin, you no longer have the worst 'NOOOOOOOO' in cinema.

It is just an unremarkable movie that doesnt bring anything new to the table and it needed to be buried a good ten feet under so it could never come to life again.

Plasmabeam - An unforgivable crime against the novel its based on. In the book there was a fantastic found-family subplot involving Louis and Jud (and Juds wife), but that all got cut so they couldrush the rest of the story? I cant believe Stephen King wrote this screenplay.

Lightning - Sometimes deads better.

This is kind of a strange one. This film is intensely memorable with some really strong quotes and moments like the line above. It is also ultimately very flawed and not that well made. The performances are mostly weak other than the actor playing Jud. The directing is mostly pretty unremarkable too. Stephen King does a good job with the screenplay adapting his own book but its not as textured as whats on the page. Yet there is something about this film that sticks in the mind.

The film attempts a few stylistic flourishes from time to time like intercutting the family photos, yet they usually fall flat. There are strange tonal shifts, like all of the frankly pretty strange humour with the ghost in the last act. The film also plays what would have been better done subtly very obviously, most notably the final scene. The film has a good sense of creeping dread but not much by the way of moment to moment scares. Also frankly that zombie cat looks terrible.

Yet despite that I couldnt look away. This film was actually quite gripping as the story of a family being destroyed by their inability to cope with grief and loss, both historic and recent, takes hold. In that sense this is a precursor to a lot of the horror films of the 2010s that were very focused on grief. At the end of the day it all comes down to story. The central story is so strong here it doesnt matter that the execution on a lot of it is not as well done as it could have been. You want to see what will happen and you are engaged by the themes, so the weaker technical aspects matter less.

This all speaks to the sheer strength of the source material. It is a shame that there hasnt really been an optimal adaptation of Pet Sematary. This film falls down on the technical aspects and the 2019 film is better technically but makes some very strange choices in the adaptation. It would be good to have a truly great live action telling of this story because it is very filmable, it just hasnt been done to its best potential yet. Still, for now this flawed film will do.

3/5

Rockus - Mostly works because of how good the premise is. The simple and clear themes carry it when the scene to scene writing and performances are kind of weak. Setting up an anxious talk about death with their kid after the cat dies is a great way to introduce thoughts on mortality and a refusal to accept it and an inability to even truly understand it. If only the craft of the production was better I would admire this film a lot more. Mostly pretty decent though.

Seginustemple - Worth it entirely for Fred Gwynn's rural Maine accent. All the hits are here: trouble up on that road, don't wanna go down that rhoad theah, and sometimes dead is bettah! I find the story unfocused, whether by adaptation or by King's hand. The side plot with Denise Crosby being haunted by her infirmed aunt never seems to fit, the 'helpful zombie' guy doesn't work for me at all, and it just feels like this stuff distracts from the main thrust of the burial ground/resurrection business. There's something to be said for the theme of grief and letting go, but I think there is another zombie cat movie on the list that already does that theme bettah. I do like that it maintains a palpable gloomy atmosphere and takes itself seriously throughout, even when it goes full slasher-toddler-zombie mode. Because it's pretty hard to take that seriously.

Bitto - Rating: F

I heard that King movies are often tough adaptations because King books are so wrapped up in getting into the mind of their characters and their inner thoughts and perspectives. All of those are pretty tough to translate into a much more visual realm. That's all I can think about with Pet Sematary. I feel like I would like this story so much more if I could just relate to the dad. But there's just nothing here. Even his immediate reaction to his son dying feels underwhelming and I just could not really grasp how desperate he feels at the end. I don't know what it is, he just feels really wooden. And as a result, this movie that's about genuine despair is just hard to relate to because the dad is just so...whatever. The other characters are alright, but they aren't enough to save it. I do like the evil son at the end. He does a good job of portraying evil while still having a bit of child-like innocence to him.

Oh shoot, off by one on my Pet Sematary pick!

I do think I overrated Friday the 13th at 15, now that the initial relief of the killer not being Jason has worn off. It really does compare unfavorably to Sleepaway Camp

Pet Semetary was a terrible disappointment. The screenwriter (guess who...should not be writing his own adaptations) thinks he's writing a serious horror story about the consequences of refusing to accept death as a natural part of life, while the director and cast seem to think they're making something campy like Re-Animator, and the result is a tragic mess. All of the pieces of a great horror story are here, but they're just jumbled up and let down.

This story would be a lot shorter if somebody would just put a goddamn speed limit sign on that road, or make better zoning laws.

WTF. Pet Sematary below Tetsuo (and a couple others) is a DISGRACE

Part of the reason it still sticks out for me is Zelda - absolutely scared the shit out of me as a kid. And there's also of course the classic trope of horror as a metaphor for grief.

but you know what - when it comes to arguments, sometimes dead is better

Sometimes dead is better is one of the best horror quotes of all time, top 5 at least

Booooooooooooo