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Post by Rebel on Dec 15, 2012 15:07:45 GMT -5
I have now too officially LOL I found a copy to watch
Interesting movie. It's not as horrid as I thought but to me it still doesn't trump the original. The is pretty good actually and better than you'd think for a movie that wasn't released theatrically. Malcolmn McDowell is an ass in this as apparently that is how is suppose to act now, just be an ass.
The killer Santa had a similar motive to the original thought the /reason/ for it just /because/ is not as clear at all like the original and I was left scratching my head by the time the movie was over.
How does it rank in this series of movies? Not as good as the original. MUCH better than 2 and 3. I haven't decided with the 4th and 5th sequel which are enjoyable /non related/ to the original movies that I encourage people to check out. But just thank goodness it was better than the second and third movie. That was a good thing. So I recommend it for a watch. I think you will enjoy watching it at least.
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Post by d3M0n on Dec 15, 2012 23:24:35 GMT -5
I would definitely rather watch the remake than the original again. I gave a really in depth explanation of why in our next show, that goes out on the 20th. We did a Silent Night vs Remake segment. I basically say in one part that if youre crazy into 80's slasher than I can see why Id recommend the original over the remake. Other than that I'd go for the remake. The original is just too cheesy for me and really falls apart once Billy gets a job at the toy store to the end. Especially the ending... this remake has a way better ending. Way better characters and kills too. If you like nostalgia go for the original... for everything else I mentioned go for the remake. We talk about all that and a lot more in the next show. STay tuned.
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Post by Rebel on Dec 18, 2012 1:02:45 GMT -5
I wouldn't say the original is "cheesy" far from it a slasher with a rape scene in it? Kids scarred for life? I don't really call that cheesy. I've seen some real cheesy slashers but I don't consider that one it. In terms of plot, they seem to be different. Could go either way. I still feel the original has a better overall story. The remake seemed to just splice the "what the crap is wrong with this guy" part at the very end instead of somehow woving it in to the story.
Agree to disagree : P
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Post by Drayton Sawyer on Dec 19, 2012 0:17:12 GMT -5
Last night I watched the original the first 2 sequels and then the remake. Now I remember why I hadn't seen the original in so long. ;D There are a lot of great films that started great franchises in the 80's. This was neither a great film or franchise. It had an interesting premise. But for the most part the over acting took away from the possible enjoying of the story. The sad thing is this one had the best acting of the 3 I watched. ;D I wont say there weren't good parts. The scene at the beginning where they leave Billy with his Grandpa and he comes out of his catatonia to warn Billy that Santa Claus wasn't such a jolly old fellow was pretty cool. It kind of served as the crazy man with dire warnings scene. The scenes with Mother Superior were pretty good too. Showing that Billy had an unloving upbringing with an authority figure that obviously doesn't understand child psychology. But the rest of the film, especially scenes with Billy as an adult were just horrible. Whoever it was they chose for his part was a terrible actor. Hell almost everyone in the film was terrible. I know in slasher films you aren't generally expecting Oscar nominate-able acting. But you expect the first film in the franchise to have a cast that have at the least 80 percent that are passable in their parts. Like I said earlier sadly this was the best acting in the percentage of the franchise I've watched. Part 2 is especially bad. The guy playing Ricky must have taken acting classes for porn. Because that's about the level of acting he had. His eyebrows looked like they were going to fly off his face. The maniacal laughing towards the end when he had a gun sounded so fake I laughed at how bad it was. 3 had better acting than 2, but the story was so stupid I decided not to even bother watching the rest of the franchise The remake was great. In fact the only thing the original did better was the catatonic old man coming out of it to give a warning. They did the scene well in the remake. But I think the look and the longer dialogue in the scene made it better in the original. First of all the acting was leagues better all across the board. It was so much better that I actually cared about the people involved. The look of the killer was better and actually menacing. The few kills they copied were done better and more realistically. And the new kills were imaginative and made me flinch. Last of all the writing was better. Between that and the casting/acting I cared if the protagonists lived or not. I was truly upset that Aubry's Dad was killed. They were also able to make me go from rooting the killer on to hating him by the end of the film. The people he was killing at the beginning deserved to be killed. But at the end he was killing or trying to kill people I had grown to care about. I also liked that for the majority of the film you have no clue why this guy is killing everyone. I do like knowing the motivation eventually. But I love it when we get a little mystery throughout a horror film. The way they did it in this was perfect in that regard. We didn't learn the why's of the killing until after the antagonist was "dead". I really don't know why it wasn't theatrically released. It's one of the absolute best direct to dvd horror movies I've seen. In my mind it isn't even a competition. This is one of the very few times a remake/re-imagining has surpassed the original. I hope it does well enough in sales to get a sequel.
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Post by Rebel on Dec 19, 2012 19:08:16 GMT -5
You should have kept going, 4 and 5 are miles ahead of 2 and 3. Number 5 is my second favorite of the original 5. Has Mickey Rooney in it. Four is about witchcraft (strange gore galore here) and five is about killer toys. After how bad 2 and 3 were, change was way overdue!
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Post by d3M0n on Dec 19, 2012 20:05:39 GMT -5
Kyle you articulated all my thoughts perfectly! Wow! I wish I read your post the day we recorded! I already said a lot of what you said but man you added some amazing zingers....
The remake is FAR better than the cheese drenched original. That was an absolute joke... the remake is what I am looking for these days! Best direct to bluray I have ever seen I believe. Unless I just cant recall others.
As for thinking the in depth explanation of his madness helps this movie along... it's not like it is properly weaved into the kills. We dont exactly see Billy killing and think in the back of ours minds "wow... he is doing all this just because of what happened to him when he was 7 years old... this is fascinating." It doesnt up the level of this movie in any way shape or form at the end of the day. It certainly doesnt put it above the remake just because an explanation was given after the killer was "dead".
I have no idea how anyone can think the original is better. They must really be some nostalgic motherf***ers! lol
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Post by Drayton Sawyer on Dec 19, 2012 21:47:37 GMT -5
Thanks. I kind of felt inspired when writing my thoughts. More so than usual. Maybe it was due to the little marathon I'd just had. Or it was due to how much I enjoyed the remake. Whatever the case thanks for the compliments. As much of a fan of 80's horror as I am I can admit when I think a film or series of films from that era are poorly made. Lord knows a lot of bad horror came out during that time. The 80's had the best new and original horror by far IMHO. But due to all that good horror a shit ton of bad horror was made to try and cash in. The bad stuff was mostly very low budget, poorly acted garbage. Stuff that if they were releasing it these days wouldn't have the slightest chance of even a limited theatrical release. The original film isn't quite as bad as the "trash" I was speaking of. But it wasn't much above it either. Like I said in the earlier post the film had a good concept, but it was poorly executed and produced. The remake took the core concept and due to better writing/acting/filming etc. did it right. Of course this is all IMHO. Obviously there are others in horror fandom who feel differently. But I think a lot of that is likely due to the nostalgia Demon mentioned. Different strokes and all that ya know? I may try the other sequels eventually. Especially if they really are better. But I need to rinse my mind of the rest before I tackle them. LOL
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Post by Stinger on Dec 24, 2012 1:09:12 GMT -5
I thought this was a good movie with some great kills. I didn't really care for the female lead. Whenever people died I could care less because I didn't find anyone likable. Pretty good ending. For those who haven't seen it I'd wait for the price to go down. I honestly don't think it was worth $15. Don't get mad guys its just my opinion and I respect yours. I'm off to watch the original to compare the two.
Remake had some great kills but I'll be a nostalgic motherf**ker original is far superior! ;D
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Post by Drayton Sawyer on Dec 24, 2012 3:51:57 GMT -5
It's all good. There are a lot of nostalgic motherf**kers in horror fandom. ;D
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Post by d3M0n on Dec 24, 2012 10:00:00 GMT -5
#a2gjzl#
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Post by Stinger on Dec 24, 2012 13:01:27 GMT -5
The more I think about this remake I'm actually becoming pissed off. I was getting excited about the praise and thought this was going to be an awesome direct to DVD horror movie. By the end I was just scratching my head in disbelief and thinking WTF. I'm really let down and disappointed with it. They didn't even do the god dam sled scene in this which was classic in the original. The original was done in the 80's so I think it should be cut a little slack. The lady that played Mother Superior was a bitch but she played the part well. The guy that played the older Billy wasn't the best actor but I did feel bad for him and was actually sad when he died. The kids that played younger Billy were great. Hell, every damn thing about the original is better han the remake. I think you guys will change your opinion of the remake down the line when you've watched it a few times. It did have some great kills but other than that it was utter crap. I will give it a two out of five.
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Post by d3M0n on Dec 24, 2012 14:03:50 GMT -5
The original is just so cheesy and completely falls apart after spending 40 mins establishing the killer. By the time he kills in the toy store the movie turns for the worse. You care nothing about the victims. The scene with the topless girl and her b/f are one of the most odd scenes Ive ever scene. The remake did such a better job with that. A headless guy going down a hill on a sled while sitting up is pure 80s cheese. The ending falls completely flat. Sister Margerate is the only kill I even gave a damn about AND HE DOESNT KILL HER! What kind of ending is that?
The remake is nothing compared to a high quality remake like TCM 2006 but for what it is it's very good. I dont watch movies over and over like I did when I was in my early 20's. So i probably wont realize it's not that great. If you like the original then youre a big fan of 80's slasher. Otherwise it really doesnt hold up in 2012. The beginning is well done and establishes Billy beautifully, but that's it. If you wanna hear a more in depth review of both movies and why I thought what i did I posted the new show in CLADs podcast section. You can skip to the 12 minute mark where it starts.
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Post by Drayton Sawyer on Dec 24, 2012 21:34:43 GMT -5
I was a little hard on the original. But only a little. If the entire film had kept the tone, style and acting of the film up until Billy is an adult I'd probably like it. But once it does switch to him as an adult you get a cheesy song while everyone overacts showing how great they think Billy is doing at his new job. It goes downhill from there. The actor that plays Billy as an adult was HORRIBLE. He started out mediocre and just got worse as the film goes on. Especially once he sees his coworker and the attempted rape. Am I supposed to be scared that he says punish and attacks? The kills are almost all uninspired and even at the point the film was made cliched. The only good kill was the nude girl getting the antlers shoved through her. Before that kill the acting she and her boyfriend did was low quality porn level bad. I saw the beheading on the sleigh coming a mile away. If you like this movie then that's great! I didn't and don't see that changing with repeat views. As for repeat viewings making me dislike the new one? I've already watched it more than once. I liked it more each time. So I don't see my opinion changing for the worst. You act like you were personally attacked for preferring the original. It's not bad to be nostalgic about bad movies. I have plenty of films that are considered bad that I'm highly nostalgic over and will always love them. I'm sorry you didn't like the new film. Obviously we have different tastes.
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Post by Stinger on Dec 24, 2012 22:25:40 GMT -5
I think it was a stupid comment that you made saying I'm acting like I'm being personally attacked for preferring the original. That is absolutely ridiculous! I think its a great thing when people have different tastes and it doesn't matter to me who likes the original more or who thinks the remake is better. I'm trying to contribute to a thread someone started by stating my opinion that's all.
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Post by Drayton Sawyer on Dec 25, 2012 0:10:44 GMT -5
I just watched Silent Night again. It really is more enjoyable with each viewing. There isn't a bad actor in the bunch. If you haven't watched this movie yet, then you're really missing a great Christmas horror film. There have been a bunch of Christmas horror films made. Few are even passably good. This is a great one. It has great characters who you end up caring about. Which is rare in a slasher film these days. I love that the story doesn't explain what the killer's motivations are until the very end. It gives the film a more mysterious feel and it becomes a game of whodunit while they are trying to catch the killer. The kills are both gruesome and creative. They did a good job of building up the tension with each kill. I highly recommend the film. If price is an issue I just found it a Walmart for 10 bucks. You may be able to get it cheaper online. I don't know though because I don't/can't order things online. An easy 4 out of five from me.
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Post by Stinger on Dec 25, 2012 0:48:47 GMT -5
I wish this movie had snow in it. I love horror movies with snow.
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Post by d3M0n on Dec 25, 2012 10:53:12 GMT -5
Yea I agree with your review again Kyle. And like you I too maybe went too far in bashing the first, in order to show how much better the remake is. Honestly the original is not bad. It's very well done to a point. The acting is as described however but like you said we love lots of movies with bad acting. Such as Sleepaway Camp.... so in the end, whatever you end up digging more is all good and you should stick with it. If you love both then even better!
Sorry if my gushing about the remake mislead anyone who didnt like it. It's just what I really thought after watching it. Like I said watching TCM 2003 really kinda put it in perspective for me though. However from what we have been getting in the last 10 years, Id still say Silent Night is a solid film.
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Post by Stinger on Dec 25, 2012 12:58:56 GMT -5
I've been reading comments on other boards besides this and there has been love, hate, and in between for this movie. Its an interesting read and good topic for discussion regardless of what anyone thinks.
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Post by SleepawayCamp661 on Dec 25, 2012 22:55:55 GMT -5
I picked up a copy of this film a couple days ago. I thought the kills were creative, acting was top notch and it was just overall a well directed film. Now in terms of which I think is better I'll have to go with the original but I guess I'm just one of those nostalgic motherf***ers lol. Also anyone else enjoy Jamie Kings performance? I have noticed she has been acting in quite a few genre titles, remakes mainly though the one shes been in I have enjoyed quite abit My Bloody Valentine 3D, Mother's Day and Silent Night.
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Post by d3M0n on Dec 26, 2012 9:22:07 GMT -5
I guess I'm just one of those nostalgic motherf***ers lol. #2ld7qy8# Oh boy... I shoulda thought more about that one instead of trying to be funny with Kyle. I guess it's an insult everyone can pin to themselves if they like the original more. Not implying SC661 didn't get the satire but I can see how this may go for those who found it as a disparaging label. Lets see who else I piss off before this topic gets buried in new releases. #zipper#
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