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Haggopian and Other Stories
Haggopian and Other Stories
Brian Lumley | 2011 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Two-dozen short stories connected (in varying degrees) to Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, highlighting Lumley's personal take on this particular milieu - he's an enthusiastic pasticheur, but much better at replicating Lovecraft's style than his substance. (He also has a go at being Robert E Howard in a couple of these stories.)

A really mixed bag, all told: there are a handful of very good stories, like the one the book is named for, and a few others contain promising imagery or moments (an oil rig drills down into something it shouldn't; Lovecraft scholars should be able to guess what), but many others become repetitive and slightly tedious. If nothing else the stories here illustrate that, bereft of the philosophy underpinning Lovecraft's own work, the Mythos trappings just become a selection of campy props and costumes that aren't particularly scary.
  
Dead Alive (1993)
Dead Alive (1993)
1993 | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Have you seen the lawnmower scene? Gruesome!
Before Peter Jackson became the mega-awesome A-list director he is today, he made several small films in New Zealand including this one.

When a poisonous rat monkey gets brought to the mainland, its lethal bite causes mayhem in a young man's life. He know has to deal with the growing weirdness at his house while he pursues the girl of his dreams.

Saying this movie is over the top is one of the largest understatements of all time. If you combine Evil Dead, Dawn of the Dead and The Toxic Avenger you still wouldn't come close to the campy goodness of this film.

The gore is definitely extreme, but very cheeky and comical. The demon baby is also especially hilarious.

If you ask me nicely, you can come to my house and watch this with me!

  
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) Dec 15, 2019

Great film, one of my all time favorites.

Man of Steel (2013)
Man of Steel (2013)
2013 | Action, Sci-Fi
"KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!"

Oh, wait, wrong version of that character!

This is Zack Snyders reboot of the Superman story; basically an origin story for The Man of Steel and setting out is stall pretty early with the absolutely bonkers scene where Russell Crowe's Jor-El rides a dragon as the planet Krypton (a very different take on said planet than in the Christopher Reeve films) begins to die.

It also ends with the massive destruction in Metropolis - to be fair, a consequence of which is shown in the following DC film Batman Vs Superman - and with a shocking scene where this version of Superman commits an action it is almost impossible to imagine his Silver Age counterpoint to do.

Michael Shannon's Zod comes across as less campy than Terence Stamps, while - in this version, at least - the reason Lois Lane is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist *is* actually shown.
  
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Steve Fearon (84 KP) rated Ruin Me (2017) in Movies

Sep 9, 2018 (Updated Sep 9, 2018)  
Ruin Me (2017)
Ruin Me (2017)
2017 | Horror
6
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Campy, cheesy fun (1 more)
Good pacing
Predictable (1 more)
Some iffy acting
Low budget meta horror
Contains spoilers, click to show
Shudder exclusive 'ruin me' runs a similar line to 'Fear Inc' or 'Hellhouse LLC', with a meta horror experience blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

The cast is a mix of early 2000s tropes, the goth couple, the chubby film nerd, the silent loner etc on a slasher themed survival weekend where events take a turn for the bloody.

They twist and turn a few times, toying with the viewer using an unreliable narrator, our protagonist Alex, whom you aren't ever really sure is in the real world.

Not much will surprise you, but it is a fun trope laden film with no real pretence of being anything other than it is...a low budget meta slasher.

Not a bad 90 mins though, and it's watchable enough so long as you don't mind the sometimes clunky humour and meta elements getting front and centre.
  
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Andy Bell recommended The B-52's by The B-52's in Music (curated)

 
The B-52's by The B-52's
The B-52's by The B-52's
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Obviously we gravitate to those we love, and I suppose the B52's did all the groundwork for the campy disco rock a la Scissor Sisters that followed decades later. They are true originals and may have been the soundtrack to a John Water's movie. I lost count of the amount of times I danced to ‘Rock Lobster’ and tried to learn the who's who list of names on 52 Girls. The brilliant thing about being a pop musician is that you get to meet all of your teen idols. We toured with The B52's and I stayed in Woodstook at Kate Pierson's Lazy Meadow's Silver-line Caravan site, where I consequently felt the drums of an Indian pow wow coming up through the water of the river through my feet (which I often hear on the intro to ‘A Little Respect’ but it isn’t actually part of the music… spooky!"

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