Hitchcock, Carpenter & Craven
in Movies ·
Arthur Moore97 said:I posted about Cannibalistic a few days ago—this thread definitely deserves just as much attention as that one did. To be honest, I only really discovered the world of Italian horror a few years back. Before then, I had no clue they ever possessed such a massive, influential footprint in the genre. Since I generally consider horror to be the lowest tier of filmmaking, I won't pretend to be an enthusiast—but I can certainly give them a passing grade. Alfred Hitchcock is arguably the most significant and influential figure in the genre—I’d go so far as to say he's the greatest. He touched every subgenre imaginable and essentially paved the way for everyone else. Now, Wes Craven is the most "mainstream" of the bunch. My issue with his work is that almost all of his films start out incredibly strong, only to slowly lose steam and sink into mediocrity—if not total failure. Take Suspiria, for example. It has perhaps the best opening in horror history, yet by the end, you realize it's actually just a mediocre flick. His best work, in my opinion, is Deep Red; the pacing holds up much better there. His early stuff is decent too, but after Suspiria, he never really hit his stride again—even if a few films looked promising at first glance. I haven't seen any Fulci yet. I've heard he's the worst of the lot. I'm thinking about diving into his filmography next—is he even worth the time?
Both Don't Torture a Duckling and The New York Ripper are absolute essentials. 🍿
Shiver of the Vampires and The House by the Cemetery were both solid enough—equally good, really. The Wax Mask and The Psychic weren't quite up to par, though they’re watchable if you have the time. I still have A Cat in the Brain on my watchlist. 👍