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

(+) Yeah! (+)

I like how the quote is included on the poster

HOUSE WINS! Eat shit and live, people!

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)
+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)

jcgamer107 posted...

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

Read the book if you haven't already. It's absolutely amazing. Top 5 King book that happened to get made into a bottom 5 King movie.

Outlier
Fortybelowsummer - 63
Jcgamer107 - 49
Inviso - 39
Seginustemple - 32
Johnbobb - 30
Karo - 29
Bitto - 26
Evilordexdeath - 19
Mythiot - 18
Snake - 16
Rockus - 15
Plasmabeam - 15
Lightning - 11

Sometimes no huge changes are better

Excellent
1) ?
2) ?
3) ?

Great
4) ?
5) ?

Good
6) ?
7) ?
8) Pet Sematary (1989)

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

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

This one came close to the "didn't like" tier, but overall I'm glad I watched it. A lot of the decisions made were questionable, especially from the father. I guess it's hard for me to see from his perspective though seeing as I don't have children and never will. Also as a truck driver myself, I can't imagine driving that recklessly, especially through a residential area.

It was also nice to see where the "don't wanna go down that rhoad" parodies I've seen originated from.

Ok 2000 on gremlins again

I'm kind of suspicious now that Tetsuo will just keep lasting for a bit.

I'll throw a dart at Fright Night for next

I'll guess Creepshow

Oh hey, Pet Sematary. Good.

I'll switch to Creepshow.

I'll guess Prince of Darkness this time

I'll stick with tetsuo

Sticking with Tetsuo.

Next film has a #2 ranking by one ranker

Ok no way anyone has Fright Night at 2...
Pivoting back to Tetsuo I guess

then it's bound to be something divisive, I'll switch my guess to Possession.

Bitto posted...

Oh hey, Pet Sematary. Good.

I'll switch to Creepshow.

With that hint in mindTetsuo.

Creepshow drop yet?

Tetsuo and let it ride

Sticking with Tetsuo also.

Hmm well with that hint I feel like I should change my guess, Creepshow being someone's #2 seems a little unlikely

I guess I'll change to Possession

I'm going to switch my vote to Possession as well. While I could see Tetsuo being someone's number 2, I feel like Possession has more of that artsy flair to warrant a high placement, while also lacking a lot of the things that might make it appealing to most rankers.

Man I hope it's not my #2 but I could see that happening

Can I change my vote to My #2 for 2000 but not specify it because I also don't want to spoil my list if it doesn't come up

Next one coming up soon

25. Prince of Darkness (1987 / 257 points)
Directed / Written by: John Carpenter (writer credit as Martin Quatermass)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/ba77047e.jpg
Why Its Significant - The second installment in John Carpenters loosely themed "Apocalypse Trilogy" (also consisting of The Thing & In The Mouth of Madness), Prince of Darkness uses a unique blend of scientific inquiry, religious horror, body horror, & cosmic horror to create an oppressing sense of evil & unstoppable dread, showing us a force beyond human control, making us contemplate the fragility of our own existence. Like most of Carpenters work, though cult-like in its status, its influence and ingenious melding of genres can be seen reflected in various future horror works, from the technological cosmic horror of Event Horizon to the trippy and mind-melding world of Annihilation and even its soundtrack has contributed to many unique creations through sampling from future artists.

The Rankers
Karo - 2
Evilordexdeath - 10
Lightning - 15
Rockus - 17
Seginustemple - 19
Plasmabeam - 20
Fortybelowsummer - 21
Inviso - 24
Jcgamer107 - 25
Johnbobb - 25
Snake - 25
Bitto - 26
Mythiot - 29

Karo - It is discovered that the basement of an old church contains a glowy stasis pod with Satan inside and thus they decide to do the logical thing and poke around it with a university research team.

There's this very cool fusion of nerdy science and christian theology that isn't often seen in things, as well as a truly terrifying plotline that revolves around the concept of 'God isn't who we think'.

Though the scenario was great I think there was much untapped potential to go further than they did, particularly with all the talk of quantum physics there should have been some sort of quantum angle but whatever.

Still its a very good movie that is actually scary rather than just gross or silly, and so many of the people who make all this 'rawr monsters' crap without any depth behind it could learn a lot from this.

Evilordexdeath - I don't know... it's cool, very slow paced, John Carpenter's music adds a lot of atmosphere, there's this sense that the ineffable dark forces of the film's Satan figure are so unstoppable that what the heroes are doing is futile, the imagery with the mirrors is neat and I like the way the ending plays out. I just don't feel very strongly about the movie in the end. Maybe it's a little too slow, maybe it's how the characters aren't really interesting enough to make me feel invested in whether they live or die, maybe the world-threatening stakes make the individual deaths and everything feel less significant. I was reasonably into it but it just didn't leave a huge impression on me.

Lightning - You will not be saved by the holy ghost. You will not be saved by the god Plutonium. In fact, YOU WILL NOT BE SAVED!

This film is a take on satanic horror so refreshing I wound up really enjoying it despite some plainly apparent flaws. So the basic setup of this film is that satan is already manifested on earth in the form of goo in a giant sealed jar, and aims to possess people to turn one of them into an Antichrist who can release the Anti-God from an antimatter dimension to bring about the end of the world. Also, Jesus was an alien. It is put simply a lot to take in.

The film has some flaws and you could nitpick it all day. A lot of the lore is confusing, Im still not quite clear what was up with the homeless people (they dont seem to be possessed as they dont die at the end), some of the effects look tacky and the male lead Brian is pretty unlikeable. However, I found myself so wrapped up in this twisted mythology I didnt care that much. Of course it also helps that the film is genuinely disturbing, the signal that plays in peoples dreams is one of the creepiest images of any horror movie this decade, and the scene where the possessed translator is typing is nearly as creepy. This is actually possibly the scariest film on the list for me. It also has a great Donald Pleasance performance and of course a great score from director John Carpenter.

What really makes this film for me though is the ending, the whole last sequence is great. First you get the setup with the mirrors, the image of the arm reaching out, Catherine sacrificing herself and that heartbreaking image of her reaching back towards the mirror after its broken. This is then elevated by the final dream signal showing her emerging from the church, that great final scare, and the film cutting right before Brian touches the mirror. Its a real rollercoaster of emotion and terror. I truly wish we had more horror films that were not afraid to get weird like this one.

4/5

Rockus - Underappreciated John Carpenter. Remarkable in that the films biggest challenge is adding weight to a kind of abstract evil, a sinister force, that is largely just given a physical body through the drones of people it possesses and that it mostly accomplishes that task. Something I look forward to seeing again because a number of its nightmarish images are unforgettable and its best qualities will likely outweigh its faults the more times I watch it, and the more I think Ill grow to appreciate it.

Seginustemple - Admirably cerebral, although the attempts to square science and religion are frequently more silly than insightful or poignant (this close to guys in lab coats measuring holy water into beakers). It's just fun to watch Victor Wong and Donald Pleasance chew up the technobabble and theobabble respectively. Carpenter knows how to develop tension but most of the actual scares have little impact - unconvincing zombies, guy that turns into beetles, homeless Alice Cooper.The most effective bits are the dream transmissions from the future and the ending sequence leading to the final mirror shot.

Plasmabeam - I love John Carpenter, but this movie doesnt do it for me. Feels generic, especially when compared to the other Carpenter movies of its time.

Fortybelowsummer - Hail liquid Satan! Now this is how you do suspense, and of all the legendary directors I have watched for this project, this one solidifies John Carpenter as the best for me. Its not just his style of filming; the panoramic shots and odd angles, the slow burning minimalism, the reliance on tension but the willingness to use jump scares or gore. Its the scores he creates, in PoD especially where it flows like an undercurrent throughout the whole film and maximizes the unsettling tension. Other than maybe Phenomena (hail Donald Pleasence while were at it), no other movie has so much added to it by the music, all pulsing and synthy, ominous and ethereal. The problem is, and its a pretty big problem, is that it ends up being anti-climactic after all the superb buildup, and it doesnt feel significant enough. Like, theres the possibility of Satan himself being released from his slumber but it seems confined to this church and this group of people and the small army of homeless people around the area. It never feels like humanity itself is actually at stake. Upon reflection, you would think that the all-powerful devil would have a better plan than zombifying a small group of people that would probably get easily wiped out right away. Still though, I like the blend of science and theology and theres plenty to like even if it does disappoint in the end.

Inviso - I dont understand this movie. Its clearly trying to take elements of religious dogma and demons and tie them into a more modern, scientific arenafor some reason. Seriously, the supernatural shit the movie has going onmeans nothing in the context of anything scientific, expect for the idea that having a bunch of grad students show up to investigate this weird tube of glowing, green ectoplasm hidden under a church inLos Angeles? But yeahtheres a LOT of scientific technobabble going on, because it feels like the movie is TRYING to couch itself in a more serious tone, while never doing a decent job of explaining WHY. Like, you have this weird relationship with Donald Pleasance and Victor Wong where they both seem to be talking PAST each other almost, because one represents faith, and the other represents science, and theyre only there to serve as mouthpieces for those points of view.

But yeah, its a really slow movie, and its really boring when youre looking at a subject matter the average person isnt going to grasp. The music sets a spooky tone, and there is some atmospheric stuff (namely the liberal use of ants, worms and beetles) that helps to at least inspire a sense of dread, but overall, it takes SO LONG to get going and to actually DO anything. And that really sucks when youre got an overly-complicated and preachy plot. Once enough people have been possessed and killed, the movie gets a LITTLE better, but even then, theres so much padding of the runtime.

Theres a scene where the non-possessed people keep looking outside to see a bunch of vagrants blocking off the two ends of the alley. Despite this, our male lead (who has the personality of a block of wood, mind you) jumps out into the alley forsome reason. The vagrants predictably start slowly moving towards him (since theyre already established to the audience as killing anyone who leaves the church), and so he scrambles back inside. That scene didnt need to exist. Nor did we need an extended scene of Calder, having been possessed, breaking into Donald Pleasances room and standing in front of a mirrorat the same time as Walter is locked in a closet, spitting witty banter at a pair of possessed muteswho are themselves standing around a girl slowly converting into the devil, I think? The point is that shit hits the fan and a bunch of characters get isolated and locked into different roomsand then the movie just slowly keeps cycling through the same sequences of events that arent really changing from scene to scene.

Finally, the ending is nonsense. The movie has not done a good job of explain what exactly the devil (Im FAIRLY confident the green ectoplasm is meant to be the devil) is, nor what its plans are. So once it fully possesses Kelly, it sees a compact and tries to stick its fingers into the mirror, but its too small. So then it tries to go to the bigger mirror in Donald Pleasances room and stick a whole arm inside to try and pull something outandwhy? Also, why does Catherine (who is caught between the possessed Dr. Leahy, the sight of her pinned love interest that she has no chemistry with, and the sight of the demonic mirror attempt) suddenly understand that she needs to push the demon fully into the mirror? She does that, and Donald Pleasance breaks the mirror with a thrown fire axeand then thats it? That saves the dayfor some reason?

Thats being reductive, and in any other movie, I could see Push the bad guy into a portal and break the portal behind them as a legitimate ending. But this movie does not do a good job of explaining WHY theres a secondary portal after the devil has already been born anew into our world. So it feels random and almost a cop-out for how to defeat a bad guy thats too powerful to take out by conventional means. Also, lead character Brian, who had like, two scenes trying to hit on Catherine, is so dejected by her loss that he starts having nightmares and visions about her after she got left behind in the mirror realm. Its nonsense. Its absolute nonsense, and the concept of this movie (along with a few genuinely unsettling horror elements) are the only reason I dont rank it lower.

Jcgamer107 - 3/10

Johnbobb - This is a very interesting concept that is an absolute drag to get through. Like it's one of the more complex topics ideas on a list of a lot of fairly simple movies (titles like An American Werewolf in London and Killer Klowns from Outer Space tell you directly up front what you're getting), but it was presented like a lecture in between the brief moments of disconnected violence. Overall just didn't click with me nearly as much as I expected it would

Snake - I absolutely love John Carpenter, he might be my favorite director of all time, Ive seen nearly all his films multiple times, and Prince of Darkness is no exception, and theres a lot to like here. And I do mean A LOT. This film packs so much in its comparatively short run time, making a film that feels at once overly-bloated and at the same time half-baked. Firstly, the film masterfully blends scientific inquiry with religious horror, hitting constantly on the main driving question of the film - is the sentient liquid demonic or a scientific anomaly? And of course, its not a Carpenter film without oodles & oodles of thick atmospheric locations, paranoia and claustrophobia, that creates a sense of isolation within the viewer, coupled with the pulsating score that of course is pure sensory perfection. We come to the main problem with PoD though - uneven pacing. While the film excels at building dread, the middle section suffers from absolutely sluggish plodding. Long stretches of scientific exposition tests my patience like no other. I can never seem to remember any specific characters either outside of who plays them, which hardly counts. The focus on scientific exploration comes at the cost of character development, which when compared to something like The Thing where each character is uniquely personified making the tension that much higher, Prince of Darkness flounders and loses some of its terror when I just dont care what happens to these people. I will always appreciate this film for its ambition and its chilling moments - after all, at the end of the day, its still a Carpenter piece and no other horror films ever quite feel like his work no matter how messy or drunk on their own sauce they become.

Bitto - Rating: D

What a disappointing movie. I love the premise of this movie a lot. Having a bunch of scientifically-minded university students working with a priest inside a church to study and contain Satan is good. The idea that Satan is trying to find an "anti-God" to mirror matter and anti-matter is really good. Unfortunately, all the characters are kinda flat. Walter is especially bad. He feels really out-of-place here, like someone on the team felt like they needed some snark in the script but didn't know how to write it. But the others aren't much better. The main couple has a bit of promise in the beginning, but they get shuffled away as soon as they go into the church. It also feels like the tension kinda died 2/3rds into the movie while everyone waits for Satan to wake up...and then immediately job. The shared dream thing is really neat, but they don't really go anywhere with that either.

Aww

To me this was the big surprise of the list since I had low expectations but wound up really enjoying it.

I was thinking it could be Prince of Darkness. It looks like we all generally agreed that it was a great concept but could have been better.

Absolutely love the unintentional comedy of Satan's first act of being alive is looking at a compact mirror, thinking it's big enough to pull Anti-God out of, and failing miserably.

Aside from Killer Klowns (which was a VERY fun movie), I appreciate that we're largely culling the bottom of my list thus far. Prince of Darkness just had HORRIBLE pacing and characterization and plot...and all of that is kinda NECESSARY.

Oh wow

I have a message for you, and youre not going to like it! PRAY FOR DEATH!!!

I'm trying to remember. Did anyone survive except for Pleasance, Hong, Walter and Cardboard Protagonist?

Prince of Darkness this low? smh

Creepshow outlasting this is wild.

At least the longer Tetsuo lasts, the stronger I become

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM91uJVwkf0

O wow that one got done unbelievably dirty

Outlier
Fortybelowsummer - 67
Karo - 52
Jcgamer107 - 49
Inviso - 40
Seginustemple - 38
Evilordexdeath - 34
Johnbobb - 30
Bitto - 27
Rockus - 23
Mythiot - 22
Lightning - 21
Plasmabeam - 20
Snake - 16

Karo will not be saved from outlier

rockus posted...

Prince of Darkness this low? smh

Creepshow outlasting this is wild.

At least the longer Tetsuo lasts, the stronger I become

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM91uJVwkf0

In fairness Creepshow was much better received I thought.

Seginustemple posted...

I'll guess Prince of Darkness this time

Seginustemple posted...

then it's bound to be something divisive, I'll switch my guess to Possession.

And this, kids, is what enables Vegas to keep building more casinos.

VEGAS ODDSBOARD:
+650 Re-Animator (1985)
+650 Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
+850 Phenomena (1985)
+850 Creepshow (1982)
+1000 Possession (1981)
+1000 Fright Night (1985)
+1250 Gremlins (1984)

+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)

The House Won On:

• +1000 Pet Sematary (1989)
• +1000 Prince of Darkness (1987)

I'll go back to Creepshow

I'm working on a user compatibility sheet for this gauntlet. Snake, it looks like you have Friday the 13th and Prince of Darkness both at 25.

I'll guess Fright Night.

I'll hop on Creepshow

Suprak_the_Stud posted...

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.

Catching up on older posts, and so far this is my favorite Suprakism from this topic.

Bamboozled, I just couldn't see it getting a #2 ranking

this time I better stick with my first instinct, it's Fright Night.

Tetsuo will not be saved by the Holy Ghost. Tetsuo will not be saved by the god Plutonium. In fact, TETSUO WILL NOT BE SAVED!

Bitto posted...

I'm working on a user compatibility sheet for this gauntlet. Snake, it looks like you have Friday the 13th and Prince of Darkness both at 25.

I'll guess Fright Night.

Just a clerical error putting up the ranking PoD is my 24

And thanks for doing the compatibility sheet!

I'll try Fright Night

I'm gonna guess Creepshow, because that was the second movie I had in my head when I correctly predicted Klowns.

Do people not like Fright Night?

I think it's crazy that anyone is guessing Fright Night but I would've said the same for Prince of Darkness...

Curious to see how high Tetsuo can go. I wouldn't be surprised if it drops next but multiple people switched to it when the hint that the next film had a number 2 placement came out which is intriguing because one play with that information is to guess your own #2.

Next one within the hour, feel like giving out a hint - this one is definitely the most divisive film to drop yet, with the top 5 rankers of it having it 16 or higher.