Hey All,

Don't know if I'm the last dope here not to kow what A Scanner Darkly, but I finall decided to get an education and if anyone else wants one best you follow these links. I didn't even know it was yet another Philip K. Dick book made into a movie, which have included some classics like Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and Paycheck. I remember being awed by the fact that Dick wrote the short story that inspired Minority Report in 1956!

Official website: http://wip.warnerbros.com/ascannerdarkly/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/substanced

Both are definitely worth the visit.

The DVD is due out in the US December 19th, with a bit of luck I'll still be able to pick it up this year ... else I'll get my copy in January when I'm back in the US.

Talking SILENT HILL.

Does anybody on this forum have a PC version of the original game that they could lend me?
I'm writing a review of the film and would love to have a look at the game.

Would prefer if it is the first one but if not than any of them will do, just want to have a look at the atmosphere and feel of the game.

Horror today has degenrated into gore. The only thing I find left to do is find old horror movies if I feel like enjoying a good horror movie.

I would like to know if anyone knows of any good horror movies now or old that haven't been discovered because they don't have mainstream appeal.

Top 3 horror movies I'd recommend watching and I don't mean crappy FX:
Angel Heart (starring Micky Rourke and Robert De Niro)
John Carpenter's Mouth Of Madness (Starring Sam Neill)
Event Horizon (Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne)

I've not had a chance to see Children of Men yet either, but i have heard that it is brilliant, so do check it out.

As for Handmaid's Tale, I read it about 5 years ago and it absolutely chilled my blood as the story unfolded and more of the reasons behind Gilead were made clear.
It is very scary how close we are to turning that Sci-Fi book into a history book.

It looks like A Scanner Darkly has gone straight to video, because Video Spot in Craighall had copies in their New Releases section. I really enjoyed it, it's very low-key and overtly paranoid like classic Philip K Dick. Keanu's not bad in it, neither is Winona Ryder, but Rory Cochrane and Rob Downey Jr definitely steal it for me. Certainly a million times better than I, Robot and definitely worth a look.

Just to add my 2c to the 'dumbed-down horror' discussion:
I think you'll find that - as the cost of making a movie increases - that production companies are less and less likely to take a risk on anything. So they need to produce a movie they know will bring in returns, basically cutting out anything contentious, new or risky. Which leaves us with the same ol' formulaic retread that has worked for them before (hence things like Friday 13th going up to sequel 8). So, just as it is with music, big companies are pushing through dumb movies that they're pretty sure won't bomb simply because dumb movies that don't bomb have been their staple for so long. It's a depressing prospect, and it's certainly not providing an environment where we'll see another Texas Chainsaw or Salo or Straw Dogs anytime soon. So where does that leave the horror genre? Stuck in pretty much the same rut since 1981, when a no-budget slasher called Friday 13th made $40m in one week and everyone realised horror was bankable. Then, to quote Chas. Balun, "atmosphere, suspense, sympathetic characters, seasoned writing skills and restraint in screen violence were out; the new scenario was to include: explicit and graphic violence and bloodletting, body counts, lots of promiscuous teenage party animals, one dimensional writing, an almost pathological dislike of women, and a very pronounced condescending attitude towards the intelligence of the audience."

Are there any contemporary Hollywood horror movies that don't adhere to these rules? Ever since David Cronenberg went insane and starting making the most boring movies ever conceived, I don't think there are. It remains to be seen whether the new blood like Eli Roth can bring new vigour to a very ill genre — Hostel has to be one of my favourite recent flicks. In the meantime, I'm exploring a much more Cronenbergian idea of horror in Asian cinema and the films of Takashi Miike, Fruit Chan and Park Chan Wook.

DrunkenBastardMan wrote on Nov 28^th, 2006, 9:41am:


It sure does, saw it (the cover only as it was out) at my local video store on my last day in SA prior to departing on a work assignment to Germany, where I'm at now. Looks good, now I just have to wait to get back to SA to see it. Though someone on the forum must by now have seen it ... how about a review that doesn't spoil it for those who don't know what it is about ... realise that may only be me.  

hey refering back to the orignal post. i have recently found one hell of a scary ass game the condemed by monolith at times this game really does make your skin crawl. so i suggest you give it a try