Board 8 > All-Purpose Horror Topic #3: It's Exactly What You Think It Is!

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Snake5555555555
04/01/17 1:05:02 AM
#435:


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#436
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Snake5555555555
04/04/17 12:35:48 AM
#437:


XX
Release: February 17, 2017 (wide release)
Directed by: Sofia Carrillo (Interludes), Jovanka Vuckovic (The Box), Annie Clark (The Birthday Party), Roxanne Benjamin (Don't Fall), Karyn Kusama (Her Only Living Son)
Starring: Natalie Brown, Melanie Lynskey, Breeda Wool, Christina Kirk
Length: 80 mins.
Type: Anthology

Last year, we were treated to the delightful horror anthology Southbound and the horribly uneven and borderline stupid Holidays. XX falls somewhere in between, but definitely falls closer to the Holidays side of things.

It's not for lack of trying. Boasting all-female directors as a huge selling point, XX doesn't lack for visual flair as its women definitely have an eye for the beautifully creepy. Where XX truly falters is its unoriginal storytelling. The film retreads already horribly worn out ground, delivering us yet another "hide the body" murder story and yet another "son of the devil" story and yet another "cursed land" story. There's nothing here that makes any of the shorts really stand out or make them special, except for maybe some solid performances throughout.

XX starts us out with "The Box", based on a short story by Jack Ketchum. It's interesting enough at first, as a family's life gets turned upside down when a boy named Danny looks into a mystery man's box on the train. Subsequently, Danny loses his appetite completely, worrying his parents. There's a great short dream sequence in "The Box" that will definitely make you go "what the hell?" but ultimately I found the ending a little disappointing and left too vague. Still a solid effort and the most original of the shorts in my opinion.

We continue with "The Birthday Party", a truly lacking half-baked story about a really frenetic mother who has to hide the body of her dead husband on the day of her daughter's 7th birthday party. It's nothing you haven't seen before, but Melanie Lynskey is pretty good in it and the ending actually got a solid laugh out of me.

"Don't Fall" is actually my favorite segment of the anthology. Roxanne Benjamin returns from having directed the "Signal" short in Southbound, and I really like this one because it's short, to the point, and has some excellent monster make-up that we get to see all in its horrifying glory! "Don't Fall" feels like some otherwise bloated monster flick boiled down to its essence: stupid, stereotypical young adults out where they shouldn't be fall victim to a curse. It would almost feel cynical if it wasn't played so straight. Just a really enjoyable straight-ahead monster romp that gets to your favorite part without all the fuss and muss.

Finally, "Her Only Living Son" finishes up the anthology. This one is kind of a slog despite a very strong performance by Christina Kirk, that reminded me a lot of Essie Davis' performance in The Babadook. Look, spoilers here, the antichrist trope is just boring to me now. It's just retread after retread of The Omen. It blows its hand way too early and you will have guessed what the short is about by then anyway. Positives for the short are a bittersweet ending and like aforementioned, Kirk's performance.
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Snake5555555555
04/04/17 12:35:53 AM
#438:


That's XX in a nutshell. Anthology fans should check it out; the directing and camerawork is enough to keep you entertained in my opinion, despite the unoriginal stories. These women directors are certainly talented, but they should challenge themselves more. It may not be the year's Southbound, but at least it's not the year's Holidays. These are four solid shorts (plus some creepy stop-motion interludes) and things are over pretty quickly. If anything XX placed a well-deserved spotlight on five really talented people working in the horror genre today and that's commendable.

Rating: 6.5/10
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The one who will lead us to paradise with blood-stained hands
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Snake5555555555
04/05/17 4:03:00 PM
#439:


up
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You're not as safe as far as I can tell, and I can tell
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#440
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Snake5555555555
04/08/17 1:55:37 AM
#441:


bumpo
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v_charon
04/08/17 8:02:15 PM
#442:


Very hyped for IT, looks amazing.

I was personally disappointed with Life, because it was too cookie cutter and predictable, something I abhor in horror films. Genny liked it though. Ultimately, I didn't find that many of the characters very relatable or likable I think, but the biggest issue I probably had was the standard buzzsaw the horror "villain" made here. Just eh, I mean it had a few good moments but I wouldn't see it more than just the once for sure.
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Truly smilin'
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Snake5555555555
04/08/17 8:42:34 PM
#443:


Life would've been cooler as the hidden Venom prequel it was supposed to be.
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#444
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Snake5555555555
04/12/17 3:24:40 AM
#445:


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#446
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#447
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Snake5555555555
04/17/17 5:03:57 PM
#448:


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#449
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#450
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Snake5555555555
04/22/17 5:10:14 PM
#451:


Saw Get Out today, so good!
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#452
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Snake5555555555
04/24/17 12:35:46 AM
#453:


If you thought 127 Hours needed more creepy hitchhiker pervert, Curve is for you.
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#454
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Snake5555555555
04/27/17 2:41:53 AM
#455:


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Snake5555555555
04/28/17 1:07:47 AM
#456:


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jcgamer107
04/29/17 4:54:39 AM
#457:


SerperiorThanU posted...
New page so no creepy pics!

61ZFz7a
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special shout outs to DpObliVion and JDTAY, who did well in the contest and normally play the piano when these scenes play
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Snake5555555555
04/30/17 5:43:40 PM
#458:


Watched In The House of Flies today, it was okay. Kinda felt like a demake of Saw in a way.
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Fighting the good fight across the Harlan County Line
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jcgamer107
05/02/17 6:08:38 AM
#459:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdxosL7QE14

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special shout outs to DpObliVion and JDTAY, who did well in the contest and normally play the piano when these scenes play
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Snake5555555555
05/03/17 8:20:50 PM
#460:


Play Outlast II
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Fighting the good fight across the Harlan County Line
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Snake5555555555
05/05/17 2:00:13 AM
#461:


Snake5555555555 posted...
Play Outlast II

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Fighting the good fight across the Harlan County Line
http://tinyurl.com/jqx883t - http://tinyurl.com/zqwzc9a - http://tinyurl.com/h7np86d
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#462
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Snake5555555555
05/07/17 10:31:51 PM
#463:


Little Nightmares is pretty cool.
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It's all been seen with exception for what could be
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Snake5555555555
05/08/17 12:34:17 PM
#464:


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#465
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#466
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Snake5555555555
05/13/17 12:41:22 AM
#467:


https://s1.webmshare.com/Zra1K.webm

The end tripped me out so hard.
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It's all been seen with exception for what could be
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Snake5555555555
05/13/17 12:52:33 AM
#468:


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jcgamer107
05/13/17 1:53:21 AM
#469:


Marble Hornets-y
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special shout outs to DpObliVion and JDTAY, who did well in the contest and normally play the piano when these scenes play
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Snake5555555555
05/13/17 1:54:12 AM
#470:


Yes, I think they're really cool and pretty damn scary. Wish he had more, they're from last year.
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It's all been seen with exception for what could be
http://tinyurl.com/jqx883t - http://tinyurl.com/zqwzc9a - http://tinyurl.com/h7np86d
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jcgamer107
05/13/17 1:55:52 AM
#471:


Yeah I was legit scared watching the end of the third one
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special shout outs to DpObliVion and JDTAY, who did well in the contest and normally play the piano when these scenes play
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Snake5555555555
05/13/17 2:00:02 AM
#472:


"Place muzzle upward to roof of mouth" threw me for a loop in the 2nd one.
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It's all been seen with exception for what could be
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Snake5555555555
05/14/17 4:19:34 PM
#473:


Saw Rings today, wasn't too bad actually.
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It's all been seen with exception for what could be
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#474
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Snake5555555555
05/17/17 1:53:27 PM
#475:


This is not a test
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Beware that his shadow doth not burden your dreams with horrible fears
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Snake5555555555
05/19/17 1:57:09 AM
#476:


Watch out behind you tonight
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Beware that his shadow doth not burden your dreams with horrible fears
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Snake5555555555
05/21/17 1:52:26 AM
#477:


Anyone see Alien: Covenant?
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Beware that his shadow doth not burden your dreams with horrible fears
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Snake5555555555
05/22/17 12:57:28 PM
#478:


up
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#479
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DeathChicken
05/24/17 2:30:00 AM
#480:


Alien: Covenant wasn't bad. Well, ending was kind of lame, but up until that point.
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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable
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jcgamer107
05/24/17 8:12:58 PM
#481:


I'll see it eventually, but I doubt I'll like it as much as Prometheus. A lot of people hated on that movie but it's my 2nd favorite in the series after the original Alien. I liked that it was heavy on the horror.
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special shout outs to DpObliVion and JDTAY, who did well in the contest and normally play the piano when these scenes play
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Snake5555555555
05/25/17 11:32:36 PM
#482:


I found Prometheus pretty dull overall.
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v_charon
05/26/17 10:52:44 PM
#483:


Genny and I have been playing Resident Evil 4. Once we finish we'll post our thoughts in here! In fact we plan to play a bunch of horror games so we might just post our final thoughts on the games in here after we're done.

Snake5555555555 posted...
Anyone see Alien: Covenant?


I'm sure we'll see Covenant in the not too distant future.
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Truly smilin'
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Snake5555555555
05/26/17 10:53:40 PM
#484:


Cool I like forward to your thoughts!

I might see Alien on Monday, either that or GotG 2
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