[Lostie!]

Whether it's critically or in terms of box office / attention received, which movies do you think deserve more credit?

Return to Oz:
People always crap on this movie but I've always loved it. One of the criticisms I've seen leveled at it a lot is how dark and creepy it can be. That's one of the things I've always enjoyed so much about this one tbh. I think the fact that people view it as an inferior sequel to the MGM classic harms it, even though it's clearly not really a direct follow-up to that at all.

Urban Legend:
This movie is great for what it is, which is a fun slasher / mystery with plenty of atmosphere. Not every slasher movie needs to be the next Scream and I think it's a shame these comparisons always pop up. But on the subject, I preferred Urban Legend to Scream (yeah, I just said that). As a sucker for a whodunit story, these movies for me come down to the mystery element and I honestly preferred UL's to Scream's. It's by no means a cinematic masterpiece destined to become an icon of it's genre but so what? It probably also adds to my enjoyment that I have an interest in urban legends so it's fun seeing a movie that draws from a whole host of them.

The Strangers:
This is one movie that I'd honestly be wary of watching at home at night alone. The plot of this movie is the horror film scenario that bothers me the most, just the idea of intruders coming to your home to harm you is terrifying. That idea is very 'real' and that's why this film works so well for me. Also, the complete lack of a real motive other than "because you were home" is chilling. It's a story that I could realistically imagine hearing on Crimewatch, that's why it's so scary. The cinematography is brilliant too, like shots of the intruders quietly appearing in the background of scenes. It's full of stuff to make me paranoid. I also like how it's about a couple being terrorized rather than a large group of people being offed one by one, so it becomes more about tone and an escalating sense of dread rather than just 90 minutes of blood splattering the screen. Oh, and the masks are so bloody freaky, the one that looks like a burlap sack especially.

Paperhouse:
This one just seems really obscure. I probably wouldn't know it if a relative didn't own a VHS copy years ago that I ended up watching. It's not a horror exactly but it's creepier than a lot of actual horrors out there. Basically it's about a girl bedridden with illness who draws a picture of a house that ends up in her dreams, and everytime she adds to the drawing the additions become part of her dreams. What I love is that the dreams actually do have a dreamlike feel to them (but subtly, not in an OTT way) and when things get creepy it really does remind me of the feeling I get when I feel stuck in a nightmare.

Gentlemen Broncos:
I think the humour of this movie is something you really have to "get". I loved how quirky and odd it was, I've only seen it once a number of years ago but I remember finding it really funny and extremely enjoyable.