Big disappointment!

[_pi_]

I really hate it when, after years or months of hearing that some "classic" movie is great and brilliant, you finally see the film (or in my case buy it for a fortune) and discover that the film was actually crap.

Today I spent like 45$ on Fulci's Zombi 2 from Media Blasters. A great package with some cool special features, sure. But the film is awful. AWFUL. I mean, I'm ok with the laughable dialoge and atrocious performances - I like stuff like that, and more often than not it totally fits into these old italian horror films - but in the film ... NOTHING HAPPENS! Nothing at all. This film is almost unbearably boring.

I was expecting more. I mean, I did the same thing with The Beyond - bought it without having seen it because everybody was raving about it - and loved it. It had style and was cheesy fun. Zombi has style, ok, but apart from a few scenes, is completely lame. And that shark-sequence. My god. Stunningly awful.

Other big disappointments:

Cannibal Holocaust: Hate that film. Despise it. I think it's repulsive and disgusting in all the worst ways imaginable. And keep in mind I think Last House on the Left has beautiful and poetic moments.

Prince of Darkness: Bought this one because I love Carpenter and this was supposedly one of his most "underrated" works. Now, while I haven't totally given up on PoD and will grant it a 2nd chance, I truly didn't find anything worthwhile on my first viewing. I can promise you I will never ever watch Cannibal Holocaust again.

Dellamorte Dellamore: Yes, I thought this was really disappointing. It was beautiful, but personally I don't think it's appropriate mixing cinematic beauty with dumb, stupid humor. And I felt it went on for too long without actually going anywhere. Personally I feel Soavi just doesn't have what it takes to be a good filmmaker. He's too unbalanced. Traded it after first viewing and haven't regretted it since.

I've also bought terrible films when I should have known better, like Wes Craven's Shocker, which was garbage, but I'd like to know which films you've bought and were then dissapointed with!

[dwatts]

Well, I love Zombie. "Prince if Darkness" though, and "Dellamorte Dellamore" I agree with. But then, I've always felt a half step out of touch with most fans on this board. It's just an opinion though, and we all like different things.

For sure, marginal films get a lot more attention these days. Even complete trash can find ten fans on a message board, and this can seem to imply it's a much loved classic. It doesn't.

I guess you just have to listen to people you trust, whomever that is.

a friend of mine feels that Argento is horribly over rated and a bad film maker...but he spent 20 years of hearing Argento fans talk about his films and they (of course) just weren't what he heard they were...

trust no one...judge every film by yourself and trust no one's opinion

[Demon]

I've never seen Dellamorte Dellamore but I disagree with ya on the others, we just watched the Shriek Show version of Zombi 2 last night.....thats an all time classic in my book.

I've been disappointed on more than one occasion also because of hearing praise for a movie for so long and then finally seeing and wondering if it was all a joke. I first read about Argento and every horror book said his movies were great and classic, many people said Susperia was a masterpiece. I finally saw Trauma and liked it quite a bit and then when I finally got to see Suspiria it was like I was punched in the head. Utter crap. I went on to rent several of his other films to give him a chance and everything else was utter crap. I agree Zombie is a terrible movie but the old AB release is cheap enough to get to just flip through once in awhile, at least for the gore scenes. There isn't much more to that movie, although I think it's amazing compared to Dawn of the Dead which is another movie I totally despise. There are movies that are good and movies that are bad. It depends on the individual and on their tastes. Some people will recognize that a movie is terrible but still like it for some other reason. I can look at just the eye splinter scene and the throat rip and give Zombie the tongue in cheek thumbs up, but in Suspiria I can't find a single thing good about it. Some people say the colors or the cinematography is what makes it good but if I just wanted to look at something pretty I'd buy a great looking painting and hang it in my room.

Don't get rid of it right away, unless you need the money. No movie has grown on me like ZOMBIE has, so I'd suggest waiting a while and trying it again.

[Mok]

I totally know what you mean, but didn't you like the ending showdown with the Zombies? For me, the hardest parts of Zombi 2 to watch are the lame-ass dialogue scenes before they get to the island. It doesn't help that the film was dubbed with shitty 70's style "I'm a handsom salesman" voice-overs. Fulci is so terribly overrated, but there are sparatic moments throughout his films that have interesting ideas or special effects. I have no shame in that I skipped the SE's and bought some of his stuff at the lowest price available.

[Mok]

Originally Posted by Skull Hunter

I've been disappointed on more than one occasion also because of hearing praise for a movie for so long and then finally seeing and wondering if it was all a joke. I first read about Argento and every horror book said his movies were great and classic, many people said Susperia was a masterpiece. I finally saw Trauma and liked it quite a bit and then when I finally got to see Suspiria it was like I was punched in the head. Utter crap. I went on to rent several of his other films to give him a chance and everything else was utter crap. I agree Zombie is a terrible movie but the old AB release is cheap enough to get to just flip through once in awhile, at least for the gore scenes. There isn't much more to that movie, although I think it's amazing compared to Dawn of the Dead which is another movie I totally despise. There are movies that are good and movies that are bad. It depends on the individual and on their tastes. Some people will recognize that a movie is terrible but still like it for some other reason. I can look at just the eye splinter scene and the throat rip and give Zombie the tongue in cheek thumbs up, but in Suspiria I can't find a single thing good about it. Some people say the colors or the cinematography is what makes it good but if I just wanted to look at something pretty I'd buy a great looking painting and hang it in my room.

[Paff]

For the record, I didn't much care for Zombie either, and sold my copy immediately. Yet it kind of grew on me, and I've since re-purchased. I too hate zombie vs. shark (I can't believe so many people love that scene), but it's worth it for the final scene alone.

Dellamorte Dellamore is ok, but not a great flick in my book.
Bay of Blood (Twitch of the Death Nerve) was immediately E-bayed after I watched it.

[walkingdude]

Originally Posted by _pi_

I really hate it when, after years or months of hearing that some "classic" movie is great and brilliant, you finally see the film (or in my case buy it for a fortune) and discover that the film was actually crap.

Today I spent like 45$ on Fulci's Zombi 2 from Media Blasters. A great package with some cool special features, sure. But the film is awful. AWFUL. I mean, I'm ok with the laughable dialoge and atrocious performances - I like stuff like that, and more often than not it totally fits into these old italian horror films - but in the film ... NOTHING HAPPENS! Nothing at all. This film is almost unbearably boring.

I was expecting more. I mean, I did the same thing with The Beyond - bought it without having seen it because everybody was raving about it - and loved it. It had style and was cheesy fun. Zombi has style, ok, but apart from a few scenes, is completely lame. And that shark-sequence. My god. Stunningly awful.

Other big disappointments:

Cannibal Holocaust: Hate that film. Despise it. I think it's repulsive and disgusting in all the worst ways imaginable. And keep in mind I think Last House on the Left has beautiful and poetic moments.

Prince of Darkness: Bought this one because I love Carpenter and this was supposedly one of his most "underrated" works. Now, while I haven't totally given up on PoD and will grant it a 2nd chance, I truly didn't find anything worthwhile on my first viewing. I can promise you I will never ever watch Cannibal Holocaust again.

Dellamorte Dellamore: Yes, I thought this was really disappointing. It was beautiful, but personally I don't think it's appropriate mixing cinematic beauty with dumb, stupid humor. And I felt it went on for too long without actually going anywhere. Personally I feel Soavi just doesn't have what it takes to be a good filmmaker. He's too unbalanced. Traded it after first viewing and haven't regretted it since.

I've also bought terrible films when I should have known better, like Wes Craven's Shocker, which was garbage, but I'd like to know which films you've bought and were then dissapointed with!

Zombie isn't my favorite Fulci movie but it does have it's moments.Have you seen City of the Living Dead(Gates of Hell)?That is my personal favorite with House By The Cemetery close behind.
Prince of Darkness is crap!

[BloodMan]

Stacy is the worst thing ever made... stay away from it.
I love Zombi... first time I saw that was a vhs dub back in like 1996. The nice widescreen dvd stuff just gave it more life. (that shark scene is pretty dull tho)
Dellamorte Dellamore started off really good. I like the film overall but the last chunk just fades and fades and then the final 2 or 3 minutes kicks so much ass.

[dwatts]

Okay, I ave to speak up for the Shark scene. Personally, i think it's a lot of fun. It was unique at the time, and frankly, to my knowledge no-one tried to do it again. I guess I just like the idea that Zombis are dead, and that other than the pressure of the water, they could in fact infect the world by simply walking to where the meat is. It's a great touch, to me, for that very reason. The zombies are not trapped on the island at all, they simply can walk to the edge and wander ito the ocean, going from island to island.

The attack itself, given the age of the film and the budget, is quite fun. And as a jump out scare, who'd have thought a zombie would jump out under water? I don't know, I dig it. Maybe it was just an excuse to get the chick topless. Don't know, don't care, I dig it.

I intend on buying Stacy once I see it as a decent price. I've heard nothing but bad things, but feel compelled.

[Silent Noize]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Don't get rid of it right away, unless you need the money. No movie has grown on me like ZOMBIE has, so I'd suggest waiting a while and trying it again.

Agreed. When i first saw this film i though it was a piece of boring crap. But after a few more viewing's it grew on me. Now it's one of my favorite horror films.

Oh, and for the record, the special features on that DVD arent as hot as everyone says.

[Criswell]

PRINCE OF DARKNESS: Agreed......Perhaps the most pointless film I have ever seen. Just terrible.

ZOMBIE: To appreciate Zombie you have to put it into an historical context. It was the first of the Italian Zombie films and to me the best. But it is an ITALIAN film and all that goes with it (dubbing etc) must be taken into account.

DELLAMORE..........Again a terrible and pointless effort.

CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST however is perhaps the ONE SINGLE FILM that shocked me even after all the hype. People who got suckered in by Blair Witch must have been terrible embarrassed when they found out about this film.......

[Damage]

"I'm a handsome salesman"???

That was beautiful, man!