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Get Out

This was the second time that I watched this film and I think I enjoyed it more the second time, not because I understood it any better, but because I found small foreshadowing earlier on that I missed the first time. I want to discuss the fact that the Golden Globes nominated the film under the “Best Comedy or Musical Picture” for the upcoming show. Through research, I found out that it is actually the decision of Universal Pictures to nominate for a certain category, and that is the one they chose. I honestly could not understand less of why they made this move. Jordan Peele worked extremely close with Universal during the creation of the film and even said that he enjoyed the process most of the time and that executives understood his direction.  Did Universal just miss the point of the film? Like many others, I went into the movie knowing that it was a critique of race relations in America, and it still surprised me. The creation of the ‘Sunken Place’ is all too real and a great piece of literary work that has become its own term in this genre. Not only that, but the film’s construction of the relationships between the characters was a marvel; it took the most stereotypical conversations and brought them to life in a documentary-esque style. I think the only place where this film can be seen as a comedy is in these interactions between the white and black characters. The old white folk rambling on about their admiration for Tiger Woods and their appreciation of Chris’s physical build is not funny, but I can see how people would think it is. It is NOT funny because it demonstrates the real way that some people act with people of different races. That is the horror; the situations are too real and, like some our readings have said, represent the actual social make-up of society at the time of release. I also can see how Chris’s TSA friend is a comic-relief character as well, but let’s be honest, not enough to make this a comedy. There is much more I could say but I will stop here. 

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Challenge Post 17: Capitalist Monstrosity

It is a little bit hard to argue but I think that Nightmare on Elm Street could be viewed as a critique of the social and economic make-up of America in the 80′s. I remember reading somewhere (wish I could quote it but I cannot find it) about how someone viewed the true horror of the film to be the parents, and not Freddie Krueger. This is because the parents represent an age of formality and tradition, passing on the same horrors that they experienced in their younger years onto their children. I think that it can be seen that this film was showing of how some people felt during the Reagan era of America, a sense of uniformity that was rooted by fear. Because of the Cold War, the value of America had declined and the citizens in it, especially in suburban areas, had to try their best to act normally and instill their traditional values on their young to have a safe state of mind. I know that this is a stretch but I do think it can be viewed this way. I am sad that I have not seem more Capitalism-horror films and also that I cannot find the article about Nightmare on Elm Street, but oh well. If anyone finds an article that is simliar, please link it as a comment below! 

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Honeymoon

The interview with director Leigh Janiak focused a lot on the production of the film itself, but also discussed her creation of “memory loss” in the picture. She seemed to go over the way in which she attempted to depict the real aspects of dementia by showing how “you lose short term memory first and start forgetting the names of very specific objects that you interact with everyday and call them something else.” 

However, after I finished the movie, I almost did not even consider a commentary of memory loss as a  main theme of the film. I was too focused on the relationship violence that was occurring to see that she was just forgetting things. I enjoyed the film a lot, but I think the confusion of what exactly was taking Bea over led me down a path of not considering dementia. That it one way that I think her intentions fell a little bit flat. On the flip side, I loved her depiction of this horror that can arise in a relationship, especially a marriage. Her depiction of Paul’s change from nice guy to someone who is still able to use violence to his advantage and will, was extremely troubling for me. It was so horrific because it felt all too real and is something that happens everyday. 

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The Skin I Live In

Obviously there are extensive amounts of commentary and critique on the social structure of gender in this film, but the portrayal of science in the film is something that I thought was even more unique. As Xavier Reyes states in his article “Skin Deep,” there is a “contemporary fear” stemming from society’s struggle to keep up with science and its advances.” I believe that this is demonstrated greatly in The Skin I Live In because it gives us a real society with problems that can be posed in real life. For a society that relies and is formed around the idea of feeling comfortable, the genetic type of surgery that occurs in the film is truly horrific to its audience. 

This movie reminded me of American Mary as well, due to that films use of the body and surgery. The horror in both of these films is that the events that occur are realistic, and not weird, unnatural plots that you may have seen in classic horror stories. Science is advancing and is forcing society to advance with it; however, a lot of humanity is not ready or unwilling to make these changes.

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Challenge Post 18: Thriller versus Horror

My favorite ‘Serial Killer’ film is Se7en. In my opinion, this story contains some of the most clever depictions of calculated murder that I have ever seen/read. Some might argue that using the seven deadly sins to frame a psychopath serial killer is cheesy or expected, but the plot of this film develops in such a way that it does not become cheesy. Even if you know all of the sins and what they entail, which honestly most people may not, the film still creates a story of suspense and wonder. Another reason I love Se7en is also because of the acting, I think it is great. Freeman. Pitt. Spacey. Paltrow. How can you do better than that? Also, I do not think I need to explain just how fun and wild the ending is. If you have not seen Se7en, go watch it. 

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One of my favorite little hints that The Babadook offered towards its larger meaning in relationship to gender was that of Amelia’s bed. Throughout the entire film, there is importance placed on her bed. With many scenes occurring there and for it to be her only place of solitude for small while, it is extremely telling of the relationship between her and her son. In my opinion, the “Babadook” itself represents a sort of guilt and depression that stem from the death of Amelia’s husband. This sadness is obviously wrecking her mental state to a point where she cannot take it anymore, which is why the film places her son in her bed many times. Doing this literally forces the masculine figure out of the picture and replaces it with the son, a representation of her horror that came as a result of the son being born. I just found it clever that they physically replaced the traditional sleeping situation (man and wife) to this updated version (mom and son) to emphasize the devastation and gender reconstruction that the accident had on Amelia. 

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Almost speechless after watching House. I have not read the text that is tied to it yet, but I can already see where this movie could be seen as defining. As an international film, I never know what to expect, and I definitely was not expecting what I saw. However, I think that a lot of the art and conceptual physical images were groundbreaking at the time and truly inspired many movies like it. 

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I just saw the preview for this new movie, Suburbicon. I was intrigued because after our discussion of The Stepford Wives, I saw many similarities in the plot and themes that were shown (in the preview at least). For one thing, the focus on the suburbs and the eery nature that is brought by living there was at the forefront of the “horror” aspect. It can be inferred that the people living in this environment carry with them a set of uniform, almost robotic morals that molds their characterization. I can see parallels between Jullianne Moore’s character and someone like Charmaine. They both are created to be perfect woman, the flawless suburban wife. I mean, just look at the smile in the picture above! 

It is easy to see that this movie is paying homage to The Stepford Wives in a way and I am excited to see it and compare! 

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Stepford Wives

I really really enjoyed this film. The way that they so comedically play with the archetype of the housewife was genius to me. If anyone has seen the 2004 remake with Nicole Kidman, please let me know how that compares to this original! Didn’t you just also love how the biggest horror for the males was watching over the kids for a few minutes? Extremely hilarious while being insightful. 

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The scenes in Let the Right One In where the older man is draining his victims of their blood caught my eye because it is paralleled so well in American Psycho, which I know we are watching later. Patrick Bateman uses the same type of jacket to keep himself rid of the grime that comes with murdering Paul. It just goes to show that many things, like a having a clean, precise procedure of killing people can become a humorous constant in some horror films. 

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Ginger Snaps NYT Review

This is a small piece of the official New York Times review Ginger Snaps; it was written by Dave Kehr in 2001. I thought it was very interesting. 

“Mr. Fawcett spends a great deal of time laying out the sociological and psychological underpinnings of his tale, so that when the standard horror-movie action takes over in the second half, the bloodletting has some real thematic resonance. Because the characters are so well established -- Ms. Perkins is particularly good as the shy, resentful Brigitte -- the film, which opens today at Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street, Greenwich Village), can have fun with its own premises without turning into an empty camp exercise. The action culminates on Halloween, when we learn that the title is not a noun phrase but a complete sentence.”

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Just finished Ginger Snaps. Honestly, I did not like the ending. Obviously, the animation of Ginger in her final form was awful (I was not expecting a lot, but it was....bad). This is besides the point though; I feel like many questions were left unanswered, and not in a good way. If we assume that Ginger dies, do we also then assume that Beatrice dies because of their pact together? I would answer no to that. Beatrice is still living. But, she infected herself with the “poison,” which then means she will later turn into a werewolf? Maybe I missed something, but I am just a tad confused and let down. Also, I saw online that there were more of these movies made with the same characters. Does anyone know if they are prequels, or do both of them live somehow?

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Sorry Chelsea

I just saw that I wrote a similar post to you regarding Carrie, Chelsea. Know I was not copying your thoughts; plus, your thoughts were much more exquisite. Good job!

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My favorite part of Carrie was the mother’s death because it so cleverly (but obviously) forced her to die for her sins. In the same pose that Jesus died for others’ sins, Carrie killed her mom after learning of her sins, thus killing her partially for those acts committed. 

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Near Dark First Thoughts

Just finished Near Dark. I enjoyed it a ton; but did I miss the part where Caleb changed back into a human? Why did he not perish in the sunlight at the very end? From what I know from my knowledge of “Dracula” and Interview with a Vampire, once you are infected, there is no way out. Someone please explain and help my confused mind figure it out. 

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Challenge Post #9: How to Survive a Horror Film

Rule #1: Do not go to a forest...ever

The easiest way to ensure that you will be killed is to spend any time where there is an abundance of trees, water or cabins. Countless movies such as The Blair Witch Project, Friday the 13th, and The Strangers demonstrate that spending time in a forest will lead to someone taking your life. We get it, fishing is great, but is it worth it?

Rule #2: Do not hurt your leg

It seems that a lot of the final girls in some of the classics are always hurting their legs/ankles. Laurie hurts hers by falling down stairs in Halloween and Helen Shivers does the same dropping from a ledge in I Know What You Did Last Summer. Let’s all promise that we will start taking care of our bodies. For the ankles, it is quite easy. Simply stand on one foot for 30 seconds at a time on a balance ball (shown above) or while trying to dribble a basketball. It will strengthen the tissue around the joint and lead to a better chance of you living in a horror film and increasing your jump shot range!

Rule #3: Do not take a shower

Ladies and Gentlemen, I beg you, please do not shower. As captured in films such as It (1990), Psycho, and Nightmare on Elm Street 2, showering will only lead to your demise. Just do what I do and load up on dry shampoo and anti-perspirant spray. The notion that you NEED to shower to stay hygienic is just a myth made up by the shower head companies anyways.

Rule #4: Do not be in a wheelchair

Poor Franklin. If only he would have fixed his handicap by the time he got in the van in the first place...What poor preparation. Franklin in Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Tom McBride in Friday the 13th Part 2 both get violently killed because of their immobility, and maybe because the murderers were just prejudice against people who are in wheelchairs. Regardless, try to not be in a wheelchair if you can manage and you will not end up with a machete to the face, like Tom did.

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I hope that everyone saw, but if not here is some breaking news that came out this weekend. Jamie Lee tweeted this herself and I do not know about you guys but I am excited! Back to Haddonfield.