#Audrey Watches Oz

[c-schroed]

A local cinema just had a lil musical retrospective, so finally...

If I had a nickel for every movie that features a young florist in an abusive relationship with a man who works in a medical profession...

I'd have two nickels.

[bylerposting]

so I finally got around to watching LSOH (the 1986 film dir. Frank Oz) for the first time today and like... is that you, audrey II?

[wedontdeservethestars]

Don’t even know how this concept came to mind or WHY it works so well in my mind but

IASIP x Little Shop of Horrors??

Seymour: Charlie

Audrey: the Waitress

Mushnik: Frank

Orin: Mac

Audrey II: Dennis & Dee (yes both of them)

In my mind it’s a fun little dream episode, Charlie falls asleep watching the movie or something and naturally inserts himself and the Waitress as the love interests

Story is majorly the same, but the vibes are much more…Sunny

For instance, the Waitress definitely dreams of leaving Skid Row but absolutely not with Charlie. She really only comes around to him when he starts making money.

Frank is. Actually Frank is pretty much the same lmao. So is Charlie

Mac as Orin because leather dusters, hating women, generally seeing himself as a badass, also in one of the cut songs of the og musical it’s mentioned that Orin knows karate LMAO

Dee and Dennis as Audrey II because they both frequently manipulate Charlie to their own advantage. Also Dennis wants women’s bodies, Dee wants men’s bodies, therefore they both as a collective entity just want bodies. Also also cool body horror imagery and/or just alien imagery of both of them as the same plant. Also also also it’d be funny

Mushnik & Son would just be such a fun song with Frank and Charlie like cmon now (also very similar to how the show portrays Frank as a surrogate father for Charlie at times)

Similar to how some productions do it (at least for the finale) the faces/consciousnesses of people the plant has eaten end up becoming part of the plant.. which means by Act II the plant is LITERALLY just the whole gang out to get Charlie. Blah blah blah, internalized imagery of how he often blames the gang for not being able to get with the Waitress instead of himself

Also, Dee and Dennis already having a rough time being forced together all the time because they share/are the same being, made ten times funnier when both Frank and Mac are also forced to share as well. All of them want different things and they cannot agree

Naturally Charlie is woken up by his dream at the end of the episode as he’s being eaten by the plant/gang, and wakes up in a state of shock and confusion. Wizard of Oz moment where the whole gang has gathered in his apartment for one reason or another, Dennis and Mac are arguing about the total eclipse that just happened and how it’s even possible if (insert one of Mac’s religious fallacies here), Charlie starts to explain his dream but is quickly written off as an entirely separate scheme that they need him for starts. Charlie ignores them for a bit as he still wakes up from his vivid dream and looks out the window. He looks across the street, and sees a vendor below selling plants. Most of them look dead or dying, but the vendor holds a single, green, healthy one that looks strikingly familiar. He winks at Charlie, who goes to tell the gang, but they’re already out the door and snipping at him to hurry up and come with them, and when he looks back…there’s nothing across the street at all😨

Executive producer Dick Wolf

[ninthprime]

i don’t ever post about snowpiercer on here despite the fact that i’ve watched it since season one started- not sure why i didn’t share my thoughts frankly. i was definitely adjacent to the circles that dismissed season one for seeming like a murder mystery show at first, and i thought it was alright, but season two was actually the one that really impressed me and made me an actual fan of the show (which seems to not be the opinion of most people in the fandom, interestingly). part of it is that i have almost never watched it live for the most part- it’s the last of the shows that my dad and i would watch together when i lived at home, so i don’t usually remember to start it until he does. and maybe i still thought it was cringe? but look, i’m firmly of the belief that everyone needs a show that’s basically a 7/10 but that you feel an attachment to nonetheless.

uh, all that said, i’m up to 4x06 now (and pretty thoroughly spoiled on the rest of the season) so here’s some season four thoughts

first of all i cant believe no one has made a "i miss my wife tails" edit of till talking to ben. literally all that was playing in my head whenever she brought up audrey

to get the big thing out of the way: i’m slightly less peeved about new eden allowing layton and co to take the train than most people, but to me the frustrating part is actually that i think the problems with that storyline are fairly easy to fix, to the point that i wonder if a scene was deleted. by the end of 4x06 we know for a fact that millius’ group is planning to ambush new eden (the bombs oz found), but i think it’s pretty obvious that new eden is under some sort of threat from the moment liana gets kidnapped and zarah dies. this is less of a 100% solution and more a papering over, but i think all you really need is someone else giving another speech after layton’s not-speech in 4x03 about how everyone’s loved ones on snowpiercer are being worked to death, and now the people responsible appear to have killed a new eden resident and kidnapped a child- meaning they’ve found the town already and likely have plans for everyone there. if you give that speech, you don’t have to frame this storyline as “new eden lets layton risk everything for his kid”; you can instead do “new eden knows they’re at potentially immediate risk, so they’re sending a scouting mission with hopes of helping their loved ones and saving themselves.” you’d still be able to do the “layton is making selfish choices for his kid” story, because i think everyone in his main circle would pick up that it’s what he’s doing, and they’d have to work around that and bounce off of it. you could still poke a lot of holes in this but i think that would reduce a lot of the frustration with the premise of this season.

more scattered thoughts:

zarah’s death is not something i like but it’s entirely not a surprise. that said, if they had to do it, i think having josie there is exactly the right move. that part worked real well for me.

ben’s death is also pretty well executed for me! seeing him literally hype himself up to die and then seeing till at the last moment was rough! i feel like if i ever rewatch (and i’m definitely thinking about it) i need to pay more attention to ben. he has a rough edge to him that i think is easy to forget about (ie. being a big part of mel’s choice to steal the train) and seeing his arc as a whole strikes me as a worthwhile exercise.

for all that’s shaky about season 4 it’s giving me a lot of my favorite snowpiercer thing, which is “the appealing cast/characters of this show bouncing around in fun new ways.” ben and till’s friendship was great, i loved the till and ruth talking in the bath scene, and i think the javi-sykes-oz trio is the most chaotic “throw a bunch of supporting characters into a storyline and see what happens” bit that we’ve ever had. oz leaving a severed hand on javi’s desk and then that turning into javi trying to show sykes he trusts her by showing her said severed hand gave me the biggest “this is the weird shit that i watch this show for!!” reaction i’ve had so far.

i think everyone is underrating the javi/sykes stuff this season actually, beyond just “this is cute.” i’m biased because i love them both (javi is tied with alex as my favorite character in this show and sykes has always been underutilized, so i’m extremely happy to see her more), but i found both their conversations about their relationship in 4x04 to be really interesting- javi interpreting her as overprotective of him, sykes having a lot of hangups about everyone trusting her, etc. it turns out that when you bond with someone over being abused by the same person you both still have trauma about that thing. and this is exactly the type of hets i like, so i’m biting into it like a juicy apple.

speaking of alex i have been lowkey disappointed that she hasn’t done much yet but it has been interesting seeing her have to hold back about her worries for new eden and now mourning ben because she’s juggling her seemingly endless list of dads. will be very interested to see her with her mom again.

gotta give a shout out to my two favorite fits in this season so far: 1. audrey’s little work headband outfit in 4x02, of course she is killing it even on the killer work train, and 2. sykes’ pink overalls agsec outfit which is soooo cute on her. also till’s new haircut this season unironically works for me lol

the purest joy of this show is whenever a minor character who has inexplicably survived for four seasons pops up and gets to do things. every time i see dr pelton, tristan, z-wreck, or lights i’m hooting and hollering.

hey “jackson cage” came up on shuffle while i wrote this post and that’s a snowpiercer song if there ever was one. does anyone here make amvs. i’m giving that to you all for free. make it any ship you want, i can think of like three that fit

anyway what if i posted about this show now that the entire thing is done. that’d be fucking funny

[ginger-grimm]

SOME MORE DESCENDANTS PLOT BUNNIES

Zenna Hebe Olympos

daughter of Zeus and Hera, sister of Hercules

fled Mount Olympus to experience adventures on Earth and to see her brother and his wife more

has the power to activate the fountain of youth located in a cave in the north of Auradon, but won't use it because she knows how dangerous it can be

is considered to be childish but really just has a young spirit

is often spotted with colorful nails and dancing around campus

is actually of a lot higher standing than even Ben but doesn't let that get to her head

goes by Hebe

loves to spend her days in the grass field

Uma ship

Beau Dwarf

Bashful's son

is very similar to his father, definitely the most quiet of the cousins, even more than Happy's depressed son

loves to spend time in the mines; he enjoys the darkness and quiet down there

too much noise and flurry of motion makes him nervous

is usually the first person you can come to for advice out of his cousins

is shy but that doesn't mean he won't snap back if you're mean to him

Harry Hook ship (?)

Maite Madrigal

Dolores and Mariano's daughter

bit of a gamer

also obsessed with musicals of any kind, really

is constantly swiping sweets to eat and is showing no signs of being stopped

can manipulate people's minds and control them, doesn't really like to do it though unless absolutely necessary because it makes her feel icky

loves to spend time with aunt Luisa and watch her lift heavy stuff; it's always fascinated, she's kind of like a real-life video game character in Maite's mind

is pretty much ostrichsized at Auradon because people fear her powers

very much always in defiance of the dress code

owns giant collection of DVDs

OC ship

Prospero "Perry" Rose

Aurora and Phillip's son, Audrey's older brother

very polar opposite of Audrey

headphones are permanently attached to him

a lot more chill about royal matters, would happily give Audrey the throne

though Audrey can be annoying, he is pissed at Ben (and moreso Mal) for playing with her heart

does not particularly like his grandmother (he thinks she's to blame for Audrey's shitty behavior)

likes to house little creatures in his room (much to Faye's chagrin); his most recent roommate was a racoon

has a million flavored chapsticks on him at all times so if you lose yours, he will share

unhealthy obsession with maccaroni

always leaves notes of encouragement for Audrey, tends to slip them under her door

OC ship

Tagging Descendants moots as per use: @rose-of-oz, @dancingsunflowers-ocs, and also @luucypevensie for helping me with developments!

[dancingsunflowers-ocs]

🌸 + my beloved Claudia? <3

Thank you so much @rose-of-oz!!! 💕 Tagging the Glee moots @luucypevensie , @ginger-grimm, @ginevrastilinski-ocs and @manyfandomocs!!! 💕

Whether they prefer coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: Claudia loves to have a hot chocolate with marshmallows, especially on snowy winter afternoons.

What their zodiac sign is and whether they fit the traits associated with it: Claudia is a Cancer. She is sensitive, empathetic, emotional, romantic, and kind. At the same time, she is artistic and eccentric too.

What emotion is the hardest for them to deal with: The hardest emotion for Claudia is sadness. When faced with someone else who is sad, she tends to internalize, and she doesn’t exactly know how to handle it.

How physically affectionate they are: It depends on the situation. Claudia can be physically affectionate. Other times it's reserved mostly for those that she really cares about, mainly her mother, her best friends, Mercedes, and Francesca, and her boyfriend, Finn.

A movie they could watch every day for the rest of their live: Claudia really loves any film starring Audrey Hepburn, as they give her fond memories of watching them with her grandma, as a child, but the one she would watch every day for the rest of her life would be Roman Holiday.

Are they neurodivergent in any way (autism, ADHD, mental illness, etc.)? If so, what do they have?: Claudia has a mild anxiety disorder, and undiagnosed autism.

If they want any kids, and how many they’d want if they do: Claudia wouldn't mind a kid or two, but she isn't exactly sure what lies ahead for the future. She just knows that she would like to finish college first, before marrying Finn, and starting a family with him.

How they lost their first tooth: Claudia was five years old when she lost her first tooth whilst eating an apple.

What their walk-on song would be: Big Big World by Emilia.

If they prefer company or time alone when they’re upset: Claudia prefers to be alone when she’s upset. She uses those times to write down her emotions through her songwriting. There is a small list of people whose company she would prefer during those moments. It’s mostly just her mother and Finn.

[bi-dykes]

Tell me, what did you love about Descendants before the writing went to pot?

The older I get, the more I see I don’t think I ever really liked it in the first place, I just liked its potential- 🫣

I was always an ever after high girlie. Always. But a crush when I was in highschool was like obsessed with Mal. She dyed her hair purple and I dyed my hair pink, and she used to braid my hair in a fancy fish braid to look like Mal from cotillion. I think I got into descendants so me and her had something to talk about 😅 But one day I was at Walmart flipping through a Wicked World graphic novel and just fell in love with Audrey immediately. I’m a Briar and Cupid girlie, so Audrey kinda reminded me of bits and pieces of them, so bubbly and sassy and pink. I remember thinking Audrey was so cute and getting the Junior Novelization of the first movie from my public library. Sooo yeah I got into descendants to get the girl, but I stayed bc of Princess Audrey Rose, Queen of Mean <3

And let me tell you: on paper? Just from actions alone? Audrey is so endearing, she’s a little bratty and she sounded awkward when she first met, but you could clearly see how much she cared about Ben, how scared she and her family were by Maleficent, and how much she wanted to be the perfect daughter for her family’s name. Jane actually came across as the nasty one ngl.

but, reading the book aside, I started looking at some descendants fandom stuff and was like wow you all really hate Audrey?? So I watched the movie and yeah they would play intimidating background music when she was around and use this camera angle that kinda panned up to her and the VK’s standing below so they literally just framed her as a villain cinematically? And I think that’s the neat thing about reading a Junior novelization first; you really see a character in an objective light and not how the story is framing them to be.

more descendants stuff AND highschool crush stuff down here if you want to read it lol it’s kinda long tho-

I got over my crush quickly bc she had this habit of being mean to me when she was depressed and when she was feeling better she would randomly start being nice to me again? I also once told her how I felt and in the moment she was very kind and even gave me a hug and said she felt honoured but it just wasn’t how she felt bc she only saw me as a friend, valid. And then one day she switched it up and started making fun of me and said that I got rejected? Not valid! “The worst she can say is no” yeah no. Now get this: one day I went out with one of my friends (who later became my highschool gf), and that girl suddenly asked me out after, saying she changed her mind? Big no from me that time. my life was more of a toxic yuri adventure than Descendants ever was LMAO.

But I did truly love Audrey. Eah > descendants forever (partially bc eah has 2 canon lesbians and 2 canon bisexuals whereas descendants just has pan mal all by herself) but Audrey was a fave of mine for a bit. I learnt Queen of Mean on the piano and I used to sing and play it in my living room and my Dad would nod his head and tap his foot to it :)

I think I was for descendants for its potential more than the content itself. I love Disney villains so so much, and started collecting descendants stuff to put with my villains collection (a Maleficent doll, an Evil Queen doll, a Cruella doll, an Ursula doll, a ‘Disney villain evil scent candle’ that just smells like berries, and a Disney villain classic guide). But then I found out that ever after high was going to get a season 6 about the Wizard of Oz AND a crossover with monster high but it got cancelled bc descendants plagiarized it and then became more popular??? I was fuming. And then Rise of Red came out and just- it went from being “oh tehe children of villains” to “okay so wonderland is closed off and also all of the fairy tale characters went to high school together 😃” I was like HUH??? I mean yeah they had copied ever after high but it was never that obvious and blatant til now. Also: why make more movies after Cameron died? We should honour his memory. The third movie literally concluded everything. So now I have a bunch of descendants books I bought in highschool I put with my Disney villain stuff, and I just hate descendants now so wtf am I supposed to do with it? I have a Facebook marketplace account but it’s not taking off :(

to this day I still adore the fanart, and actually had bought some Mal and Audrey comissions a couple years ago that I treasure! The characters in descendants are so pretty, I love the bright colours. I got my comissions of Mal dressed up as Elsa bc I had to see it, and Audrey dressed up as her father Prince Phillip, sword and shield and all! I’m so happy with those commissions! So many ppl in the fandom are so creative and made these designs look even better. I’ll always love fanart whether I like the franchise itself or not lol.

I’m going to see Wicked in the theatre at a friend’s birthday party coming up and I feel like it’ll be my new descendants; a fun, villainous, musical story. I can see myself making moodboards and buying merch and that’ll fill that Rotten To The Core Fairytale Villains hole in my heart LMAO. Also: Glinda is gonna be my new Audrey I can see it already.

so here is your answer about what I loved before the writing got even worse: the potential. I can’t really say I did like any of the writing- Like at all :0 But I LOVE fairytale villains, so that was a cool franchise idea, and I can appreciate the attempt with the found family trope between the core four. And also Audrey (my baby <3), Evie, and Uma are icons :3 The first two movies are okay but the third movie is awful 💀 and I have never seen royal wedding or rise of red and we’re keeping it that way lmao

here’s a cookie for you if you read all of that 🍪

[raving-raven-writing]

If you could only watch one episode of Snowpiercer ever again, which one would you choose? ❄️🚂

That is a really difficult question to answer...I haven't watched the show in awhile so I can't remember all the content episode by episode, but there are moments throughout the show that I would watch over and over again. So, I guess this list of moments answers your question indirectly. -Like Melanie and the rats and her hallucinations of Layton -LJ and Oz scenes, but also LJ's "final" scene--still can't help but laugh over it ngl -The scene where Layton is with LJ, more or less confronting her about the murders and she starts playing the record "Goodbye to the Summer" -That "showdown" if you want to call it that, between Layton and Pike -Ruth and her rat, and her just being the leader of the resistance on the train while everyone is freezing -Javi--in general, all of his scenes because I love his character. Even the dog attack scene, although it is hard to watch -Roche trying to take out Wilford and then later seeing Roche in a padded room (Idk why, I got a thing about padded rooms) -The first meeting/connection of the trains---it is so weird but also tense with anticipation -Miss Audrey's singing performances and her outfits; she's not a favorite character of mine, but I enjoyed seeing that -Bess Till--initially, I didn't like it her, but the character arc from season 1 through 3 is pretty good, I like the direction it goes. -I am sure there is more I could list, but if I MUST pick an episode, maybe season 2, episode 1. At the moment anyhow. That could possibly change--I'll need to refresh my memory on it. But the end of that episode.

[sweetbillwriting]

This Is Bad, Billy -

Part 1 - Like In The Movies

Description: 1961. Joanie is a dreamer. She dreams of Hollywood, fashion and handsome men. Her favorite is the actor Billy Skarsgård. When she works as a volunteer at the hospital she meets him in an unexpected way and comes closer to him than she thought was possible.

Characters: AU Bill Skarsgård, here called Billy. He's inspired by real life Bill but also the character Clark Olofsson in the Netflix series Clark.

Setting: This story is set in the 60s L.A and a smaller town close to L.A.

Warnings: 18+, historical preferences, mental health problems, mental illness, abuse, drugs, religious themes, sexual themes.

The darkness of the movie theater was like a second home to me and I only left when I was forced to. It started with me and my father going to the cinema when my mom traveled away to help my older sister through her pregnancy. My dad and I didn't have so much to talk about so sitting in silence in a movie theater was perfect. We started out watching classics like The Wizard of Oz and Snow White but with time we started to watch the newest dramas and even some adventure movies. When My mom's travels to my sister became less and less my father's interest in the movies decreased but I was stuck. I couldn't just stop because I lived as much in the movies as I did in real life. When my father chose to do more important things than be with me I continued to go to the theater. My mother wasn't happy that I went by myself but after I graduated from high school I had time to go to the early showings and choose the darkness instead of the light of day. After I had celebrated my eighteenth birthday I could start watching all the movies I had just dreamt about and it was then I found him, Billy. Billy never played the good guy, he wasn't that dreamy perfect date Audrey Hepburn chose to kiss, Billy played the bad guy. In horror movies he played the murderer and in thrillers he was the rich guy you shouldn't trust. My fascination for him maybe sounded odd but right in that moment Billy was one of the more interesting actors and many girls dreamt about kissing his full lips. He was still so young, in his mid 20s, but already with a mysticism and poise as a man. But there was little information about him, probably because of his Swedish background and I wasn't even really sure how old he was and the tabloids seem to have the same problem. Billy was a mystery but became an even bigger mystery for me after I saw him on the psychiatric ward. Maybe it should have scared me seeing him there and having the cops all over him. He must have done something really bad for the police to treat him like that. Maybe he was a murderer just like the characters he played? 

When I got home in the early morning after my shift at the hospital I took out the shoebox under my bed and looked through all the articles about celebrities I've saved. Even if Billy was my absolute favorite there weren't many with him. He wasn't the biggest name in cinema but it also seemed like he didn't want to share much about himself and on several questions he would answer "no comment". I had always seen that as proof of his star qualities but had now realized Billy probably just had things he wanted to stay in the shadows. 

I wondered if I would see him again and when I slipped into bed with my curler in my bang and long sleeved nightgown I fantasized about meeting him again and how it all was a misunderstanding I could solve and as a thank you he would kiss me deeply like he kissed girls in the movies. I blushed to myself when I thought about his hand under my blouse but dragged a hand over my chest to feel how it might feel to let a boy that close. 

My mother could never learn to let me sleep in after a night shift and woke me up at nine a clock, after just three hours of sleep. 

"You can't sleep away the whole day. Do you want scramble eggs for breakfast?" She asked after she had dragged me out of bed and then she began to make my bed. I whined loudly and thought about my weird dream about Billy Skarsgård. That he was a patient in the psychiatric ward. I stood tiredly in the middle of the floor while my mother laid out a dress for me on the bed as if I were a kid. She had chosen the yellow one I hated because it was much longer than my other dresses and I didn't even show collarbones wearing it. It was a dress for a high school girl, not a grown woman like me. 

While putting on the dress and doing my hair in a high ponytail I thought back to the dream and realized it actually wasn't a dream. The odd experience had actually happened. Earlier it had felt like a pain to go back to the hospital with all the jealous girls and grumpy doctor's but now I looked forward to it and started to plan how I would be able to go back to the psychiatric ward. Maybe I was just as insane as the patients there but I just thought about Billy's smile towards me and his broad back clad in black leather. 

This could be an adventure of a lifetime. Just like in the movies. 

×××

The reception room at the psychiatric ward looked the same as the night before, just as empty and silent but this time there was a younger woman sitting at the desk. Also she read, but a novel this time. It looked like something cheap and romantic, a book my mother would never let me read. 

"Excuse me, is Mrs. Larsen here tonight?" 

The woman looked up at me with an embarrassed face and I couldn't stop wondering what she actually just had been reading. 

"Yes, if you sit down I can get her for you?" 

I smiled and waved a little with the striped apron I had on. 

"I work here so I can look by myself?" 

"Okay. I mean, yes. I think she is in her office, it's past the staff room." The woman said while she stood up from the desk and locked up the door to the ward's long corridor.  

I smiled a little and tried to look more confident than I was when I walked into the corridor. In my head I repeated the same two words over and over to feel more sure about myself: 

Doctor's daughter. Doctor's daughter. Doctor's daughter. 

Nothing bad would happen to me because I was the doctor's daughter. 

×××

Last time I was in the corridor for the mentally ill all the doors to the patients were closed but tonight one door was open. I was forced to go by it to go to the staff room but instead of getting nervous or scared I felt excited. It must be Billy's room. My thought wasn't logical but right then and there, there was only one patient at the psychiatric ward for me. I looked in through the door while walking by and saw two male caretakers talking loudly and irritated to someone. 

"No, time to sleep!" Said one of the caretakers and pushed down a person onto the steel framed bed. I thought back to the night before and became even more sure that it was Billy. It must be him that the caretaker got that irritated with. I stood and looked in through the door as if it were some sort of performance I was watching and just hoped to see Billy's face but when the caretaker moved away I saw it was an older woman. Tears streamed down her wrinkled skin while she muttered something to herself. She tried to push the caretakers away but they just continued to push her down in bed. 

"Who are you?" Said one of the caretakers when he found me staring at them in the doorway. 

"Excuse me, I work here. Just going to the staff room," I said with flushed cheeks and showed off my striped apron like it was my golden ticket. The caretaker just nodded and then took a hold of the old lady's wrist in a vise grip. She yelped in pain and I swallowed hard by seeing her pained expression. Why did they handle her so roughly? 

I had a bad feeling when I walked away from the lady's room but tried to think about why I was there. Billy. I walked into the staff room that was much more welcoming than the rest of the ward. There were floral curtains on the windows, crochet table cloths and colorful paintings. I put on my hat and fixed my apron before knocking Mrs. Larsen's office door. I begged silently to myself that this would go well. 

Mrs.Larsen opened with a wrapped sandwich in her hand and covered her full mouth with a hand. 

"Oh, Ms. Woods. Can I help you with something?" 

I gave her a puzzled look and looked around confused. All an act like I'd planned. 

"You said yesterday that I should come tonight too?" 

Mrs. Larsen swallowed dryly and brushed away some crumbs on her top lip. 

"Did I? I'm sorry, I don't remember that. I guess I must have been tired." 

I looked at her with big eyes and played with my fingers in front of me and my sweet way seemed to charm her. 

"Oh well, we can probably find you something to do tonight too," she said with a smile and moved away from the door so I could walk into her little cramped office. 

××× 

Annike let me put the breakfast together with two nurses with kitchen duties. In the other wards the patients could write down what they wanted and then it was served in their rooms, this was not the way here. The food was prepared lovelessly and was put up in big serving dishes. I didn't even see them put butter on the bread. As soon as the clock turned five it was time for us to serve the food. I felt ashamed looking at the tired food presented as a buffet in the dining room and I guess the oldest of the nurses, Connie, saw what I was thinking and gave me a look. 

"Many of them don't even know what they are eating. I don't think they can even taste things," she said while I looked down at the floor. It sounded just like an excuse, of course they could sense taste. 

"Time to wake them up! Go and help the caretakers!" Said Connie with a strict voice and almost pushed me away. I hadn't believed I would come so close to the patients and got a bit nervous. In the corridor I could see one caretaker walk around and lock up the doors while the others went inside to help the patient up from the bed, or I guessed that was what they did. Just to do my part I opened a door and could see a girl my own age sitting in the bed. She was heavily pregnant and rubbed her eyes from sleep. 

"Breakfast?" I said and she gave me a confused look but then she nodded with a smile. 

"Thank you for…" She didn't say anything more because a caretaker looked into the room and she started to put on a green ragged cardigan. l smiled a little and then took the next door and opened. In the middle of the floor stood a man who looked around confused. 

"Hey?" I said carefully. The man didn't seem to hear me so I took a step into the room. 

"Hello?" The man looked at me with tired eyes but then started to laugh. Just when it started to feel scary a male caretaker dragged me out of the room. 

"You shouldn't be here! If you want to help you can wake up the patients in the beginning of the hallway!” He screamed at me while he closed the door in front of the male patient's face. I stood quietly in shock but then felt a mix of panic and relief when I heard the male patient hit and scream against the other side of the door.

"Go! "Now!" Said the caretaker angrily and with my heart in my throat I ran to the first door in the corridor and opened it quickly with adrenaline in my body. 

"Girl, girly!" Said a man in the room. "I'm naked!" He said at the same time I had realized the fact he had just given me. A long manly body laid stretched from head to toe in the bed and I panicked and turned around so fast I hit the wall. Behind me the man chuckled a little. 

"Sorry… Are you okay, honey?" He asked when I covered my jaw after I had hit in the wall. I didn't say anything because I was a bit annoyed in the middle of my embarrassment. He was laying naked in a psychiatric ward but laughed at me because I had walked into a wall. He was insane for real. 

"Yes, I'm fine." I said with a trembling voice and rubbed my jaw as I thought I could wipe away the pain. 

"Is it breakfast?" He said in an almost happy tone and I wondered if I needed to be afraid of him too. 

"Yes," I said embarrassed without turning around. I hadn't forgotten that there was a naked man behind me. I didn't want my first experience seeing a penis being together with a patient in the looney bin. 

"Oh I'm so hungry… Ehh… Will you release me?"

I furrowed my brows and looked down at my white pumps. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, they said to you to wake me up for breakfast?" 

"Yes?" 

"Then you must release the handcuffs." 

I looked up from my shoes, up at the wall. There was something in me that wanted to turn around and look at what he meant but all I could see in my head was my own imagination of what manhood looked like. My sister had said that they are really different at daytime and nighttime and I couldn't understand at all what she meant with that. 

"Hand… Handcuffs?'' I said carefully. At that moment it suddenly hit me that I recognized the voice of the man. Was it actually Billy Skarsgård who was lying naked behind me, cuffed to the steel frame of the bed? 

"Handcuffs," he just said and moved his hands so I could hear the metal of the handcuff slam against the bed frame. 

"Bill… Bill, Billy?" I stuttered. I couldn't stop my impulses and now the craving was bigger of knowing if it was Billy behind me than the need to be a good girl. 

He laughed silently. 

"Yes. I'm Billy… What's your name, honey?" 

My heart beated in my chest loudly and I forgot every important thing when I understood who I was talking to so with a hammering heart and eagerness I turned around even if he was naked. 

"Oh my god!" I first said excitedly then I saw his naked body. The broad chest, the long, hairy legs but also his sex lying soft against his thigh surrounded with dark pubic hair. 

"Oh my god!" I said again and turned around again horrified. There was so much naked skin. The only human I had seen that naked was myself. I heard Billy laugh again. 

"Do you have the keys?" 

I ran out of the room. I didn't have any keys but I was also terrified of seeing a naked man like that. Billy Skarsgård naked. I felt some sort of anxiousness by seeing it but it got even worse when I realized I wanted to see it again. Especially his manhood. 

I stood in a blushing mess and stared into the wall opposite of the door to Billy's room and I could hear a male caretaker walk into him. 

"Have you traumatized the girl for life now?” He said with a natural tone. 

"With my naked body? I think my body is extremely normal," said Billy. The caretaker sighed deeply. 

"Right.. So the question is what you do with all those girls… How you're able to destroy them…" said the caretaker lowly but with a hint of annoyance. 

"I don't know. Can you take off the handcuffs now?" Billy said beggingly and his tone made me turn and look in through the doorway. I could just see his naked legs and feet. Everything passed the middle of his thigh, was covered by the caretaker's body while he stood in front of him. The caretaker laughed unamused and shook his head. 

"If I could I would let you rot in this bed. Someone should do an exorcism on you instead of just drugging you…" 

I swallowed hard and tightened my fist in front of me so hard my nails wounded me. Was Billy a rapist? Did he have a sexual deviation? Nymphomania? Or was he actually in contact with the devil? 

I had never believed in the devil but standing there, hearing a grown sane man talk about an exorcism I didn't know what to believe. 

"Can you just release me now? I'm really hungry." 

I looked at the caretaker's back while he unlocked the handcuffs and then I moved to the side of the door, afraid that I would be seen eavesdropping or seeing Billy naked again. 

"Dress and change sheets before breakfast, bedwetter," Said the caretaker before he left the room. 

Luckily for me he didn't seem to notice me next to the doors opening and when he had left l looked into Billy's room again. He had put on the ward issued gray sweats and stood with his hands over his face. His shoulders bobbed as if he cried. 

"Bill… Billy? Are you okay?" He exhaled deeply and wiped his eyes before looking at me. His eyes were red with tears and I felt a mix of sadness and nervousness seeing him like that. There must be something wrong, a mistake. Billy was a happy, talented, smart man. He wasn't a maniac. 

"Yeah.. Yeah…" he said and smiled through the tears. "What's your name?" 

I smiled a little, forgetting where we were and just saw handsome Billy in front of me. He was so tall but had an ugly wound over one of his brows and down his cheekbone.

"Joan, but everyone calls me Joanie." 

"That's really pretty…" he smiled and started carefully taking away the sheets from the bed. 

"Do you need help?" I asked as I walked into the room. 

"Ehh…" Now he looked embarrassed and even got pink in the cheeks. He was so cute. "I laid in handcuffs here the whole day so I… I needed to urinate.." 

I smiled calmingly towards him. 

"I've cleaned worse things doing this job," I said and started to help him remove the sheets. He smiled big towards me and dragged a hand through his greasy hair. 

"Thank you," he said and looked me deep in the eyes. I blushed and shrugged. 

"I mean, Joanie?"

 I looked up at him again, deep in those big green eyes. 

"Thank you for treating me as a human."

××× 

When Billy went to the canteen to eat breakfast I stood frozen in the hallway with his dirty sheets. He had smiled beautifully at me and dragged a hand through his hair in that sexy way he did in the movies. It affected me so hard that I was stuck standing in the hallway with a stupid smile on my lips while I imagined myself riding in a muscle car with him through floral fields. 

"Joanie? Are you still here? I thought your shift ended an hour ago," said Annike and looked at me worriedly. 

"Oh, yeah…" I said with a dreamy tone. 

"Has something happened?" She laid her hand on my shoulder and looked at the sheets in my hands. 

"I'm just tired," I smiled a little. 

She nodded and released my shoulder. 

"I hope you tell me otherwise… Dr. Woods…" She started the sentence but then looked at me with a careful smile. 

"Just tell me then but if you want to you can come back here. When is your next shift?" I smiled big and imagined Billy's beautiful eyes in front of me. 

"Next week on Tuesday. 10 am to 7 pm." 

Annike nodded with a smile. 

"I will talk with Dr. Fredricks. It's really nice to have you here," she said and once again laid a hand on my shoulder. 

"Thank you, Mrs. Larsen." I smiled sincerely because it was actually nice working at the psychiatric ward. No stupid Doctors, no jealous girls and instead of boring patients with a broken leg or fever there was actually a Hollywood star here. A Hollywood star who smiled at me brightly and I had even got to see him naked. 

××× 

My mother stood in the kitchen when I got home. It was silly really, how she could get up at 5 am just to prepare what we would eat for dinner twelve hours later. That was my mother's picture of the perfect wife, the dream for a woman to be, the dream for a man to have. If she knew I dreamt about Los Angeles, short skirts and now, also, an actor's penis she would have been horrified. She even thought the image of me as a working woman was horrible, me becoming an actress was almost as bad as prostitution. 

"I'm going to bed…" I said without saying hello and walked with tired steps towards the stairs. My mom looked up at me and shook her head.

"I'll wake you up in a couple of hours, you must help me bake bread today." 

I closed my eyes and walked up the stairs just by memory. 

"The Dawson's are coming to dinner tomorrow," she continued and I whined loudly. My mom wanted me to meet their son, Jacob. She had shown me pictures of him and tried to impress me with the university courses he had taken. I asked as a joke what kinda car he had but that made my mother irritated for real. I was hopeless in her eyes and she wondered how I could become that way when my sister was such a good housewife. I wonder the same thing sometimes. Maybe it was my lack of friends or it was the movies I've watched but something in me believed there was something more than becoming a housewife like my mother. I was far too special to just have such a boring life. 

I laid down in bed when I had put on my nightgown and thought about Billy again. I wanted to give him something. A gift. And maybe a pink letter with splashes of my perfume. I giggled and rubbed my cheek against the pillow in embarrassment when I thought about giving him my flower. A picture of his steel bed in the ward flew by in my mind and I shook my head to myself. We would do it somewhere else. Maybe on that floral field after we had cruised through it with his shiny car. 

××× 

Do young, cool men really wear bowties 1961? 

Jacob Dawson did. A green plaid one that clashed with his blue striped suit. He looked like a little old man but my mom looked at him like he was the most charming boy.

For once I had done my hair in another style than a ponytail and it laid down over my chest with perfect bent tips. I felt pretty in my newest dress, a lime green dress with a shirt collar. It actually ended over my knee and I felt daring and like I had some spice. Jacob looked at me with big eyes while our parents spoke. I was far out of his league and just felt uncomfortable when he smiled at me. 

"What… What do you like to do? When you don't work at the hospital?" He asked carefully and wiped the sauce in the corner of his mouth on his jacket sleeve. Charming. 

I wanted to tell him the truth; Movies, Hollywood, music and fashion. But my mother hated all of those things and she sat and looked at me intensely.

"Oh, I read… I bake? And I take long walks." 

My mother looked pleased and everything except the baking was true. And the walks were often just a way for me to escape and pretend I wore high end fashion and flirted with millionaires. 

Jacob smiled at me and nodded. I didn't ask him back because I wasn't that interested but as most men he didn't seem to need a reason to talk about himself. 

He talked about books he had read, lectures he'd been to and also the course he had taken to become a good husband. He was such a snoozefest that if my dress hadn't been sitting so tight I would have fallen asleep. 

As a doctor's family we didn't have the luxury to ignore the phone while eating. My dad's job was way too important so when the phone rang my mother, as the perfect little housewife she was, walked to the phone to answer. The odds that it was to her was small but she wouldn't let my father do any unnecessary movement when he was home and now he also was in a deep conversation with Mr. Dawson about useless secretaries and stupid elevator staff. When my mom came into the dining room again she waited for my dad to look at her before talking. 

"It's Dr. Fredricks on the phone but…" she turned to me and I looked at them confused. "He wants to talk to Joanie." 

My dad looked at me then at my mom. 

"Well let her then?" He just said and then turned to Mr. Dawson again. I looked at my mother to get her approval too. She gave me a worried look but showed with her hand it was okay for me to leave the table and take the call. I didn't know if it was what I wanted. Mr. Fredricks was bad news and it didn't feel like he could say anything positive. On nervous legs I walked to the kitchen where the phone stood on a side table. 

"Yes, Dr. Fredricks?" I said politely and felt the nerves in my hand. 

"Hello… Lovely Joanie," said a smooth manly voice. Not at all as Dr. Fredricks. 

"Hello?" I said confused and looked around in the kitchen for an answer. The man laughed sweetly on the phone and exhaled deeply. 

"It's me, Billy… Skarsgard." 

"Billy??" I was surprised before I realized I probably should pretend like I was speaking with Dr. Fredricks.

"Yeah. I have some friends here that have helped me with some things… Do you want to take a ride? Now? Tell your parents that you have work and meet me at the parking lot on the north side of the hospital."

×

[popculturebuffet]

Little Retrospective of Horrors: The Original Corman Film (Comission for Emma Fici)

Happy halloween all you happy people! For those new here i'm jake and I review various media and for this halloween we have a special event as I take a look at all three major versions of Little Shop of Horrors.

This retrospective came about as a result of my love of the 1986 Frank Oz Film adapting the musical. It's one of my favorite films and was a favorite of mine long before I properly got into horror a few years ago. And while originally it was JUST going to be the mean green mother from outer space itself, the project slowly grew much like Audrey II/Junior itself into what it always should have been: A full look at the three pillars of this franchise and how it evolved , grew and eventually took Manhattan. And Peoria. And Demoines, and clevland, and where you live.

So first up is the original film by King of The Low Budget Film, Emperor of On Time, and mentor to countless film legends Roger Corman. Corman is someone who i've slowly become fasicnated by and plan to watch more of his work.

Originally I just saw Mr. Corman as a low budget schlockmeister who made whatever would make him money with a neat title and misleading poster. And he's simply not just that.. he's the KING of the low budget schlockmeisters, the master of his craft. Corman was famous for making his films on time, often under budget, and fast as possible in an industry where that's INCREDIBLY hard to do and still make an enjoyable product.

Granted part of the under budget part was his cheapness: The man would reuse props, sets, whatever he could to save a buck. His films were made not just on a budget of a paper clip and a piece of string but often reusing bits of the same paper clip and string. The man would stretch every dollar like they were reed richards. It's a mix of admirable and sketchy as hell: On the one hand the fact the man could still make decent effects or lovingly clunky ones with such a low budget is admirable.. on the other he underpaid his actors if he could which is not a good look in the slightest, especially with the SAG AFTRA strike going on at the time of this review.

That being said while Corman was a cheap bastard sure, he wasn't a total bastard, working hard with his actors and crew and helping mentor the younger set on his sets so they'd learn the craft well. It's telling that legends like Ron Howard, Martin Scorcese, Francis Ford Copolla, Joe Dante, Jonathan Demme and James Cameron were not only all mentored by the guy but have nothing but great things to say about him. Dante in particular really loved the man and made a point to use his staple actor Dick Miller in his own films. His impact on the industry cannot be overstated and he's STILL working as a producer to this day. The guy has his faults, again he REALLY should've paid his actors fair wages... but I can't deny he fostered a whole generation of talent or had a genuine love for his cast, as well as a love of women: While he'd gladly make fanservicy films, as the decades went on he made a point of putting women in the lead and was more prone than most producers to giving women a turn at the camera in the 70's and 80's.

It's also hard, even with his cheapness, to not admire how he bucked the hollywood system: at the time the studio system nightmare was falling apart, with courts forcing studios to sell their theaters. As a result Corman could offer his films decently cheap to distributors, and make a quick buck.

Little Shop was one of these films

See Corman had just finished making Bucket of Blood, another low budget horror comedy, and thus shopped around ideas to reuse the sets. After having to nix one starring a cannibal chef due to the hayes code, aka the 1950's and 60's equilvent of

So writer Charles P Griffith came up with a workaround that was goofy enough but still bloodtastic: a man eating plant. Thus the sets were converted and Little Shop of Horrors was born.

Famously the film was mostly shot in two days. They also did some night shots outside of the famous two days, but it's still bonkers and impressive they shot most of a film in only two days, with three days rehearsal.

The film did.. fine. Corman managed to staple it onto another feature after struggling with distribution and used neat tactics like doing short runs on college campuses, the perfect home for low budget wonderfully cheesy horror frankly. So he got his money back as always. But the film REALLY took off once it started running on tv, an easy film to run on creature features and eventually part of the public domain. It's why you can find the film on youtube and most streaming services and find plenty of grumpy amazon reviews mad they got "lied to" about what film they were buying because they didn't bother to check what film they were buying. As a result the film became a cult classic... and eventually a musical. But that's a story for next time, for now let's look at the original and see how it stands on it's own vines after all this time.

Watching this film was something long overdue for me: I had heard about it as a tween, researching it on wikipedia but I never really sought it out despite my deep love of the 86 film. It's weird too as it's not like it was hard to find: walmart and various other stores tended to have cheap copies of it pop up since the film somehow fell into the public domain. I simply just either didn't care or had other things to spend my money on. It just never occured to me. It may of simply been that for most of my life I wasn't a horror fan so I just never thought to seek it out. Samesies for the musical, though at least with a stage show I simply didn't think to look on youtube or the corners of the net for a good recording.

It wasn't till watching the Dead Meat Podcast episode on it that I finally decided to just buckle down and actually watch the film. And i'm glad I did as it's neat to see the same premise, an average dork working at a flower shop in 1960 (Or 61 for the musicals), works with a cranky father figure and his crush at a struggling flower shop. The shop turns around when his latest strange and intresting plant he's worked on brings in customers.. but also has a catch: the plant wants blood and he dosen't have more than enough.

The big difference is tone. The musical is purposfully cheestastic, from the wardrobe to both villians, Orin and Audrey II, being large hams beyond any earthly measure, and the comedy is a nice mix of goofy comedy like the "Dentist!" number with black comedy based on the situation, my faviorite bit of which being Tooey's glee when Seymour angrily suggests "What do you want me to do slit both my wrists?" A nice bit that's funny, disturbing, and tells our hero just what kind of monster her's created. What grounds it is the characters: Seymour is a down on his luck nerd working a dead end job who either tragically turns from decent person to self serving monster and only backpedals too late, or a decent person slowly doing worse and worse things due to circumstance who either only NEARLY learns his lesson too late, or once again is far too late to avoid the tragedy to come depending on the cut. Audrey has a unique and goofy high pitched voice.. but her abuse and self loathing is taken dead seriously. And the deaths themselves likewise are all tragic. Even the abusive shitstain that is Orin dies pathetically choking on his own gas begging for help as he slowly realizes the only person who CAN help him won't.

In sharp contrast the original Corman film.. is goofy as all hell and intentinally too. What's a tragedy on broadway and in the 80's movie.. is a farce here. The characters are slightly broader, the premise stupid and the murders played for pure black comedy.

As a result Semyour is less one of horror's biggest woobies or a tragic cautionary tale, and more a dumb goofus whose on the cusp of being fired from his failing job. Mushnik's treatment of Seymour in the 80's film is sad, his only parent left constantly abusing him for simply being a bit clumsy at worst despite working damn hard and genuinely respecting the man.

Here the genuine respect remains.. but you can undrestand why Gravis hates semyour here: instead of taking his failures out on someone who didn't deserve it, he's enraged by someone constantly fucking up at their job and making his attempts to save his shop from closing down HARDER simply by existing. The best example of this is the very incident that gets seymour fired: he has to cut some flowers for the local dentist, Dr. Phobeus Farb, whose just as much of a sadistic asshole as his musical counterpart, minus any connection to Audrey. Seymour cuts them.. but rather than just hold the two flowers together and cut the diffrence to make them match, he keeps noticing their mismatched and then cutting it lower till he eventually has just the buds and a pink slip.

Seymour hits just the right amount of comedic stupidity: he's utterly incompitent to the point his clumisiness later KILLS people , a lot, and his brain power

Isn't the most impressive. You get WHY Gravis hates him, but you can also see why Audrey has a thing for him: he's got a charming innocence to him. I also love his outfit

He ONLY keeps his job thanks to the best character in the film: Burson Fouch. Burson is absent from the other adaptations, loosely adapted into christopher guest's weird as hell customer guy. And it's a bit of a shame as Burson is a lot of fun. He's played by Dick Miller, Corman and Joe Dante Regular and loveable character actor I honestly didn't even realize was the guy in gremlins till watching the Kill Count on Bucket of Blood, done in honor of Miller's passing.

Fouch is what you'd EXPECT to be a one off joke character with a simple gimmick that I find utterly hilarous: he casually eats flowers. And not edible ones, which I found out while researching this are a thing it turns out, no just casual gardenias. The way he just casually brings it up, Mushnik looking utterly baffled before deciding "eh why not" (His exact words" and the coup de grace, the guy just pulling out a salt shaker and eating them in the background is great.

Fouch however ends up being a major engine of the plot, and shows up in most shop scenes, the part clearly made for him after Miller turned down Seymour. WHen Seymour tries to bring up his "Strange and intresting plant" to keep his job, it's Fouch who convinces Mushnik the stupid plan will actually work. And it's done organically too: Fouch is a Flower Foodie, and thus has traveled the world and seen this work. We even get another fantastic gag out of it

Fouch: I Knew one guy had a whole wall covered in ivy Mushnik: And it made him rich? Fouch (Casually): No he itched himself to death in an insane asylum.

Fouch is the reason Seymour brings Audrey Junior here. And yes that's as weird to type as it is to read. It's here we get the biggest thing the musical changed basic setup wise: Seymours Mom, a hypochondriac whose there... whose there for.. she's there because.. she's...

The bits with her just aren't funny. I think the intention at the tim ewas "Get it she's kinda nuts, that's funny right" but nowadays she comes off as having Munchahusen's syndrome and of either needing help or for Seymour to get away from her, as she constantly feeds both of them food that's allegedly healthy, to the point Seymour is UTTERLY BAFFLED when he has a pb and j with audrey late in the film and it's just.. to eat. It comes off way more messed up than they intended. Her roll in the film is to not want audrey to marry seymour so he leaves, and to faint at the climax. That's about it. Her actress does do her best, she's just not a well written character and is one of the down spots in this comedy.

At any rate Seymour brings in Audrey Junior.. which is still weird to type but is a nice gag. I can see why they changed it in the play as it works for the tone here.. but not so much for the name of their main villian there. Here Junior isn't an alien bent on conquest, but a crossbreed of a venus flytrap and a bullwort Seymour got and raised.. and as you'd expect finds out late at night needs blood. The blood helps Junior grow.. but as always Seymour's a tad tapped out.

It's here where things mostly pivot: Aside from some narration from a cop whose barely in the film for a half assed dragnet spoof, so far the film and the musicals line up decently enough: the shop is dying, seymour brings in twooey/junior to fix it, he feeds it with his fingers before realizing that just wont' do forever.

The diffrence is in HOW they get fed. In the film and musical Seymour seeks out his first target, is either talked into the second or gladly does it to save his own ass, and the third is a tragedy. Here.. the death's are just straight up wacky shenanigans. Every one of them barring the last is just some goofy accident that happened because Seymour was just out living his life. I'm still not entirely sure he wasn't clumsily accidental murdering people his whole life and this just happened to be the first time he noticed. This first death isn't even remotely his fault: he's simply throwing stones at a bottle some guy left on a rail, not aware the guy is around and simply asleep or something, and accidently pegs him and gets him run over with a train when the weirdo stands up. Granted he takes the flying leap to feed the body to his plant, but unlike the musical versions, he's not at all culpable. it was just a wacky accident. In fact unlike the musical version while Audrey is Sapient.. they aren't manipulating seymour. He tries not to feed it and only keeps doing so because he keeps wandering into crime scenes that look very bad for him. Their really just an animal for most of the runtime. Towards the end of the film they gain hypnotisim powers

And make Seymour go get them food, and they won't shut up during a date.. but in the former case it's clear Corman just needed another ten minutes on the runtime and in the latter Seymour himself ruined it by not you know.. not letting audrey could know the plant could talk. And given it only gives a few one liners before it's hypno antics at most, he has NO risk in telling her.

It's really just an animal that wants to be fed. Even the Hypnosis Bullshit is just a way for it to eat. The worst it does is snark to Mushnik "he looks fat enough" when asking to be fed. It's a take I like too, that the threat our heroes face, is their own incompetence (Seymour) and greed (Mushink). It also adds to the comedy, that this whole thing really woudln't keep happening if these two weren't stupidly keeping the murder plant around for their own selfish benefits.

That also brings us to another big diffrence: Mushnik himself. He's not only one of the funniest parts of the film, with his frantic outbursts and comical overeactions being comedy gold, paticuarlly when he declares Seymour son.. then disowns him when it looks like Audrey Junior's going to die.. he's also the deutragonist. In the musical he's largely blind to what Seymour's up to and learning it gets him killed either due to Seymour's greed or his own depending on the version. Here he finds out quickly, being witness to Seymour feeding audrey the railcar guy.. which also gives us the most chilling shot of the film and the one really creepy moment: Seymour giving the man's bloody foot to audrey.

What's neat is that Mushnik DOSEN'T kill audrey.. but also dosen't want people to die. Granted he dosen't know Seymour isn't doing the murder parts intentionally, but he veiledly asks semyour if audrey junior is all grown up, and asks again if Junior is full after another murder, before deciding to watch the plant himself. While he makes the very dumb mistake of keeping Junior around, I do like how active Gravis is: he TRIES to stop these murders best he can, and instead of just stupid logic, it's his own greed that keeps Junior alive, which is a character flaw rather than a flaw. I WILL say that having a very jewish character's main flaw be greed is

But it's a 1960's kind of yeesh, though many critics at the time did not care for that. However Mushnik is still a guy who tries his damndest to stop all the killing and tries to save Seymour by going along with the cops at the end to try and get them to you know, not kill him or something. He's an intresting character who lights up the screen every time shows up.

Getting back to the murders the next is The Deeennnnttttiiiiiisttttttt. Unlike the musicals where Seymour is going SPECIFICALLY to unalive the guy for being the worst, here he actually has a tooth ache. And in this case the murder's self defense, as Dr. Farb , much like his sucessor Orin, gets off on the pain he inflicts and plans to pull as many of Seymour's teeth as he can and saves the last one for laughs. He's a diffrent SORT of sadist from Orin in how he does it. Orin gets high as balls, thrills and revels in it. He knows he's an asshole and he'll gladly sing about it at length.

Farb on the other hand dosen't seem to get he's a bit off and shoudln't be practicing dentstiry, asking Seymour "Whose the dentist here you or me. Naughty boy Seymour practicing dentistry without a licensee." He's a loveable ham, and his exit suits that, with Seymour defending himself with a dental thing leading to a DENTAL SWORDFIGHT. I.. I love this job so much sometimes. Seymour accidently stabs him but like.. the guy might of killed him with pure neglegence.

This also leads to the appearance of the films most notable actor, Mr Jack Nicholson in his first roll. And despite being his first roll my god does the man nail it. Not enough to justify this 80's era box art

Where he's both drawn to look like his later self more and is holding a plant not at all like audrey and somehow billed over Dick Miller. But he's still one of the film's highlights easily. He plays a smiling masochist with this lon chaney style voice, Wilbur Force. WIlbur is delightfully off, badly wanting his apointment and happily reading pain magazine. Seymour is forced to pull it, and his teeth and it's VERY obvious that much like his later successor played by comedy legend and unprofessional asshole bill murray, he's INTO this. Nichelson REALLY nails the roll and while I get why this part isn't in the stage show, as Orin's death is even grislier there, i'm REALLY happy Oz put a version of this character into his movie.

The next victim is a burglar. While Seymour and Audrey have dinner at his place, Mushinik plans not to feed the plant.. but given the guy plans to rob him, the place was barely alive before Junior, and the guy you know, casually robs the place, it's not hard to blame him. It's an easy slip up to make.

The final victim.. is easily the weakest part of the film. As I said it's VERY clear the film ran short as they mention early Junior only needs to have three meals, like a flytrap. He ends up needing a fourth because the running time got padded out. So we get the goofy hynotism stuff which is just not goofy enough to really work and dosen't fit. The bhit after is also just.. eh. A sex worker, Lenora Clyde keeps following Seymour because he dosne't notice her. I don't think Roger Corman knows how sex work, hypnotisim, or dentistry works, but Seymour ends up killing her and feeding her to the plant.

The climax is decent: a fancy lady is having a sunset celebration to give seymour an award, with all the main cast minus dick miller present. That includes two giggling teenagers who convinced their school comittee to use Mushik's to buy the flowers for their float.

The reveal of Audrey's buds' opening up.. is mildly chiling, the faces of all of the victims on them in this weird uncanny valley type translation. It's a nice reveal. It's undrecut however as we get a nearly 5 minute chase with the police that acomplishes nothing> Seymour escapes and we get the real climax of him climbing into Junior to kill it.. and as his successor would learn, that not quite worknig, becoming a bud himself that wails out a "I didn't mean it" before dying. Granted his chopping could've killed it or Audrey Junior just died, but it's still a nice, weird, tragic ending.

Overall The Little Shop of Horrors is a pretty solid horror comedy. The third act isn't very good... but the first two are fun, most of the jokes land and those that don't are fun on just how goofy they are. The cast gets what their in and has fun with it accordingly and while it's super cheap the audrey junior puppet mostly works. Granted it's really jus ta shell filled with whatever craft suplies Corman could get, but the actual pupetry bits, while rare, are really impressive for his budget, and the cotton all inside gives Audrey 2 this unerving feeling when it' smouth is open, like this otherworldly jungle has opened up in this store. It's a fun film and I highly recommend watching it this spooky season. Thanks for reading and i'll have the next part in the next two weeks as Little Shop of Horrors goes off broadway!

[elviriel]

So I rewatched BTVS and watched Angel the Series recently, and I want to talk about my feelings, so I'm making posts for each. First up, BTVS, with my feelings and opinionsTM sorted by season, because for this particular show, the season seems to dictate the enjoyment tbh.

warnings: i am not a fan of sp*ffy or later seasons spike, and sexual assault is briefly mentioned re: season 6

Funnily enough, the more I dislike a season, the longer the paragraph seems to get. ah, the joys of being a hater at heart xD Season 1. I will admit, when i started my rewatch, I didn't know it would be a rewatch. Usually, I watch up to season 3 and stop, but this time, idk i thought i'd try the rest of the show to see if my feelings had changed, and finally watch season 7, which i had not seen. all this to say I did what I usually do which is: start at season 2 xD However, I have watched season 1 several times in the past, and I'm very fond of it. It's cheesy, and the image quality isn't as nice as it is later on, but I have so much love for certain episodes such as Angel and Prophecy Girl. Season 1 has good stuff, y'all! Season 2. I've said it before, but the Angelus arc is one of my favorite things to happen in the history of television, so season 2 is a favorite of mine. I just love it. The Angelus arc, from the Bangel love to the gutpunch of Innocence, to Jenny's death in Passion to the climax in Becoming... Still cannot hear Full of Grace by Sarah McLachlan without picturing Buffy on a bus and crying tbh.

And the Angelus arc isn't the only thing to love about season 2 either! I get giddy as a schoolgirl when Spike shows up - he's such a fun villain in season 2, from his antics with Drusilla to his bitterness re: Angelus to his team-up with Buffy in the finale. I also enjoy many other things, such as Willow x Oz (Oz is adorable, and his little crush on Willow was very satisfying for me when I was younger, given how much wee audrey identified with the local nerd gal) and Cordelia x Xander is by far the most tolerable Xander pairing, not that there are many choices xD There are so many episodes in this season I love, I can't even begin to list them, but the two part finale is definitely a highlight. Gosh, Buffy running in slow-mo in that little blue coat? Life-changing. Also, shout-out to Buffy punching Giles then hugging him while crying in Passion. Gosh, that episode. Episode of all time.

Season 3. The main draw in season 2 for me, as I said, is the Angelus stuff, and while nothing in season 3 reaches that level of emotional investment for me, it's got SO MUCH TO LOVE that I can never pick a favorite between those two seasons. Season 3 has Angel's return, Faith - whom I love, love, love, love, esp. on rewatch. It has the Giles x Buffy relationship in Helpless, fun episodes such as Band Candy, The Mayor being a delight, Mr. Trick (rip) - and, of course, the heartstring tugger that is The Prom - the class protector award ;_; - and the Buffy x Angel break-up. I even kinda like the Willow x Xander hook-up, because hey, it leads to Cordelia leaving Xander, and the Willow x Oz reunion is very sweet. They melt my heart. It might be the best season of BTVS, 'objectively' (if there is such a thing) speaking. It progresses nicely, and I think the only episode I straight-up dislike is the Xander one, which I'm comfortable skipping. Season 3, my beloved.

I also love how the season ends, with the very literal blowing up of the school - ending high school with a bang xD. Usually, my rewatch ends here and very satisfyingly so - I think BTVS worked really well as a metaphor for high school, and like several shows of the same type, it can't quite get back to that linear clarity once it transitions to college. Which leads me to.... Season 4. I don't hate season 4, but it's also very lackluster for me. The highlights are Willow's storylines (Oz's departure, magic, Tara, Oz's return, etc - it really got me this time around) and Chipped Spike, which is a great iteration of Spike IMO. What a fun addition to the group (for now.) But the rest... meh. I miss the high school sets, for one - and the Initiative may be a vaguely intriguing concept on paper, but it did nothing for me, narratively OR aesthetically. All those white walls and military uniforms.... meh. Adam himself is SUCH an eyesore that does nothing for me, and then you have Riley, which. Eh...? XD That's not a hot take by any means. And I think in terms of Buffy's love life, Riley was a logical step - nothing was going to match Bangel in terms of intensity - but that doesn't mean I, you know. enjoy it. Riley is cute enough at first, but he is quite pushy with her even early on - which I didn't remember tbh. To me, Riley's worst season 4 crime was being boring, and I was surprised to find that actually? he kind of sucks the moment he and Buffy become romantically intertwined. (Hush is a great episode tho. I'll give it that.) Season 4 also has Xander x Anya, which, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I had this impression that I didn't like Anya, but the rewatch made me realize that actually, it's Xanya I don't like, and Anya has the misfortune of being stuck with Xander for most of her scenes. The way he's so Neutral about her drives me insane - it's just an unpleasant ship IMO. Season 5. This is where the trouble truly begins So, the thing about season 5 is that I think it's a good season. I think it's far more compelling than season 4: it's got great stuff! Dawn is a fun addition, Joyce's illness is a devastating detour to reality in a world of magical threats, and I love the "Death is your gift" theme with Buffy, I really do. I also enjoy Glory a lot xD I think she's fun. I also really love Buffy telling the Council to go fuck themselves, that was very satisfying

Oh, also, Riley leaves. Bye Riley! (though oh boy, does Xander's little speech to Buffy about Riley angers me. shut up xander! nobody asked you!)

But season 5 also has the beginning of Romantic Spuffy, which I hate for reasons I can only partly unpack tbh xD it's visceral to a point that is beyond logic The thing about Spuffy is that I can't untangle it from my feelings about Spike, a character I loved until that point. And look, there were already flaws in Spike's inclusion in the main cast. Season 4 works fine, but given the damage he's shown he can do despite the chip, it stretches disbelief that he didn't get himself staked already xD and sure, him being in love with Buffy is a narratively sound way to get him 'on the good side' without losing his edge. I also think JM is great, and as I understand, he was great to work with, and I understand why they'd want to keep him around. But man..... do I hate Spuffy. notp of all time, and i'm not exaggerating. And you know, up until I watched ATS, I thought maybe my anti Spuffiness was because I'm such a die-hard Bangel - but I ended up liking Angel x Cordelia just fine, so while shipping preference does play a role for sure, maybe spuffy just. sucks. I do enjoy some of their dynamic though. The episode where Spike walks Buffy through his slayer kills is oddly enough one of my favorites, and Spuffy is tolerable enough to me when Buffy is horrified/disgusted by it - but even then, the narrative framing of it BOTHERS ME. There's too much 'look how cute, look how funny!' framing around Spike's stalkerish ways, and it all comes to a head for me in the Buffybot episode, which I wish I could set on fire. It's not that I think any of this is ooc for Spike btw - but the Buffybot is all kinds of gross, so the fact that the episode ends with the real Buffy 'rewarding' Spike with a kiss for how he behaved under torture is just- it's so irksome. One of my main issues with Spuffy is that IMO, the writers tried to have their cake and eat it too. Many quotes indicate that the writers never intended the audience to really Ship It, and while I do believe that's true to an extent, there's also moments like these that frame Spike as sympathetic, and his love for Buffy as something endearing, and like, idk. I don't expect my media to be prescriptive in any way (given my personal taste in ships, that would be quite the opinion xD) but, ugh. Spuffy irks me. I also think Spike/Spuffy is highly Parasitic re: the show, and I would resent it less if it didn't take up so much narrative space. From season 5 on, there is no escape from Spuffy, and the dislike I have for it borders on show-ruining I do love how season 5 ends, though, I really do. I find it very moving, and I still cry like I'm watching it for the first time Season 6. For a season that was reviled in my memory, I enjoyed it quite a bit on rewatch. Buffy's coming back from the dead arc is good. I like the darkness of it, the depth of it - especially as an adult who's been through the Mental Health ringer - tho I do think the resolution of the arc in the finale is a little lacking. But in general, I really love it.

I also love Dark Willow, and I would love it even more without the addiction parallels, which I don't believe were necessary, and kind of muddled the whole arc. They had a perfect set-up with Willow's tendency to magic away problems. They didn't need the whole 'magic = drug' aspect. It makes the storyline worse, which is a shame, because I LOVE this version of Willow. The hubris of necromancy! The lack of self-awareness or willful deceit! It's good stuff, what can I say

I also enjoy the 'Xander leaves Anya at the altar' thing, if only because it means the end of Xanya for a bit xD and it's the first time I actually believed Xander didn't just settle for Anya. His regret over that decision was actually pretty well done, so, props for that. (Tho ofc, the show had to ruin it by making Anya 'in the wrong' by sleeping with Spike, which she had every fucking right to do, and shut up Xander.) Season 6 also has Spuffy. Now, when I saw season 6 for the first time, I was younger, and very uncomfortable with sexual content. So back then, the Spuffy sex, believe it or not, felt like Highly Explicit Porn to me xD which is funny to look back on today. I'll say on rewatch, season 6 Spuffy is probably the version of Shippy Spuffy I enjoy the most...? One problem in season 5 is that Spuffy was driven by Spike's feelings. Buffy was just along for the ride, and I feel like the narrative dragged her into caring for Spike because his obsession with her led him to do things for her and her family. But in season 6, Spuffy is a manifestation of Buffy's trauma, and I enjoy that, narratively speaking. I do still get that feeling of 'the writers tried to have their cake and eat it too' re: the shippability of Spuffy, but I do believe season 6 Spuffy was written with purpose. Seeing Red is very unpopular, for reasons I get, and it does drastically 'alter' the Spuffy dynamic for me, but it's not like... ooc for Spike, and likely a more honest outcome to that kind of relationship than usually portrayed in media (I say as someone who, in general, is a dark relationship enjoyer btw.)

Lastly: the trio annoys the fuck out of me for many reasons, but Warren was a chilling villain. Hateful, but well-suited to the role he played in the season. man, i wanted that guy dead so bad

Season 7. My least favorite season, which I know isn't a hot take either. I found it sometimes boring, and mostly hard to get into. I think the main reason is that season 7 made me lose sight of Buffy. Through all of BTVS, Buffy is an amazing protagonist IMO - I love her, tend to be firmly on her side in most situations, and her thought process/feelings have always been easy to track. I feel Buffy. On rewatch, she's definitely my favorite character on the show, period. But season 7 Buffy, I just don't feel her. I do like some things relating to her here - her role as a counselor at the school, and the leader role she has to take with the Potentials, but otherwise, Buffy in season 7 leaves me cold, and I truly wish that wasn't the case. Granted, season 7 is the only season I've seen only once, so maybe I missed something, but I found the evolution from season 6 to 7 hard to track - season 6 ends with Buffy wanting to live again, and season 7 has a Buffy that's very detached again, and narratively, it's a little awkward IMO. I also do not buy, for a second, the whole "Spike is the only one who has my back" thing, but that's my anti Spike bias, which is at its peak in season 7, but we'll get to that xD Willow in season 7 does nothing for me either - I wish her relationship with magic hadn't been solved so easily. Xander is, err, also there - I do remember enjoying the Dawn episode where she thinks she's a Potential and turns out to be. The Potentials are... fine? I know Kennedy is fandom-reviled, but I think she's fine tbh. Oh, I Barely talked about Giles, but Giles from season 6 onward... I do not Like This Man very much, and I miss Librarian Giles sm xD Season 7 also has Andrew - and god, GOD I hate Andrew. I can tell I'm supposed to be charmed by his whole thing, but I just hate his whole archetype, I hate his presence, I cannot stand him, and he's around too much, and just, make him go away. And then there is Spike, which, ah. I understand that mythos-wise, if we can't 'blame' Angel for Angelus's deeds, Souled Spike cannot be held fully accountable for the actions of No Soul Spike, so the events of Seeing Red aren't his 'fault' (using the term loosely.) But whatever the fault, he still did this to Buffy - Buffy, who has to defend him to her friends, who has to help him through his shit, and i just, nope! I won't lie, season 7 Spike is the version of Spike I hate the most. The episode where Robin (whom I really like, btw! My guy!) confronts him about the death of his mother filled me with a rage I didn't think possible. What do you MEAN you're not sorry you killed his mom? You say that to his face? And I'm supposed to take Spike's side and not want Robin to flay him alive, Willow-style? And now Buffy is telling Robin to bury his resentment or she'll let Spike kill him?

DUDE. This is where I need to breathe and remind myself this isn't real xD Season 7 has Faith's return, which I like a lot, but otherwise..... eh. Season 7 is not a season I'd ever watch again tbh. It just doesn't do it for me. The final shot is nice, though.

OVERALL. BTVS evokes in me emotions that no show could hope to match. Season 2 & 3 are immaculate to me, but the highs from those seasons mean that the lows of other seasons make for a steeply inconsistent experience. I don't think the show is ever that bad, though some episodes are definitely questionable, an inevitability when you run for 7 seasons, but in terms of my personal enjoyment? I feel pretty confident in my usual decision to watch season 2 & 3 alone. Though I'm sad to miss the good stuff from latter seasons, it's not worth the Stuff I hate, which there is plenty of

if you read all this, um, thank you? at the risk of sounding like a youtuber, lmk your BTVS thoughts in the replies or reblogs (though, if you're going to tell me you love spuffy and that i'm wrong, maybe keep that to yourself xD)

[bargarraninc]

teddy bear waltz; visit 16, dec 3rd, 2023

THE INFAMOUS BIRTHDAY DOUBLE; Turning 20 at the McKittrick. PART II: THE EVENING

QUICK NOTES: - Long recap, we know the drill. Yes, I continue to spew analytical nonsense about Malcolm in this one too — love that silly detective. - The 1-1s discussed in this post are Malcolm and the Taxidermist. Spoiler portions are clearly marked by red headings!

TL;DR: Holy shit Tim Creavin.

Thanks to a momentous birthday gift of a spoiler from Mr. Tim Creavin himself, I stand in line for the evening show, with my Ovest arancini in hand, visibly trembling with adrenaline, excitement and a little bit of the cold despite having just spent three hours running around the hotel. A shoutout must be made to the lovely folks in line with me who I tried to convince (for the better part of 30 minutes) to dedicate themselves to a loop with Malcolm. It brought me immense joy watching their familiar silhouettes rushing behind Malcolm later on in the show.

Entry is quick and we make it into bar alongside the Oz’s, greeted by the lovely Katie and Audrey. I have brought a friend with me to this show, so we get water and loiter in the correct spot to be on the first elevator up. We talk about our small game plan — ballroom, up with Malcolm (where I was hoping she would get the 1-1) and then through the floors for a quick walkthrough before we split. Aces are called and we all shuffle in.

Spoiler in mind, I am already giggling as I put the mask on — excited for what I was (rightly) sure would be an incredibly entertaining show. The elevator door opens as Karen finishes her spiel and it is Mr. Tim Creavin as good ol’ James Bargarran. Tim’s Taxi is a drawler. He lazily gestures us in and leans against the lift-wall during his usual spiel, in which he points at me and my friend holding hands and asks for us to ‘detach’. The body language, the characterisation is so different from his sweet (if nervy) Malcolm countenance that I am immediately floored. From moment one, I know this is going to be a very Taxi-heavy visit to the Hotel.

We are all let out onto 3rd with a sardonic wave and I guide my guest to move down to ballroom through the Macbeth’s apartment for those stairwells are emptier. Not realising just how quickly we’d been let in, we almost rush past Nate Carter’s Macbeth doing the graveyard solo. Thankfully, I catch movement out of the side of my eye, so me and her stand there entirely alone watching Nate gracefully twirl, entangled in a fight seemingly with himself. It is gorgeous and I am reminded that Nate is truly a star — what a beautiful Macbeth. We descend with Macbeth to the ballroom and I take up my usual post by Malcolm’s trench on instinct.

As all the dancing kicks off, I am made giddy by the night’s cast — Will is on as Malcolm and the coven is Mio! Sexy, Michaela! Bald (a personal favourite) and Aaron! Boy. My friend latches onto the Banquo and Sexy duo as her favourites but I am centred in on Will’s Malcolm and his little shimmying dance with Aaron, both of them not letting the other take lead in the dance, raring up against rather competitively.

This happy, beautiful scene comes to an end and Will, as always, absolutely books it out of ballroom, first stumbling up from crypt and then seemingly running. We break after him, only a crowd of 4-5, my friend lagging behind already as I try my best to keep pace with Will and his ridiculously long legs. Despite the pain of being reminded of how short I am, Will’s scramble up from ballroom is my favourite out of all the Malcolms. It is so violently physical, the groaning and the sounds of Will hitting the wall on his way up, making the whole thing seem so much more urgent. We run into the back room, Will has his antidote and Agnes enters.

Taylor Ann Massa is on as Agnes and she is a treat — so fluid and quick, flitting away from Malcolm with ease. With Taylor on, Agnes feels a little bit more in control of this situation, her movements more calculatingly flirtatious. Will picks her up a little as they kiss and the lighting makes the whole scene look dreamy — my friend adores it, she returns to watch it in the next loop as well. Agnes rushes away, this show not taking anyone with her, and Will (along with the now amassed crowd) runs back to the backroom, egg in hand. I position my friend in front of me, hoping her still catching breath would indicate her loyalty to Will enough to get her the 1-1. This does not work and for the second time on the 3rd of December, I am dragged by a Malcolm into the room of ash and eggs.

MALCOLM 1-1 STARTS HERE

WILL WILL WILL — I am such a huge fan. I have said this many a time before but Will’s Malcolm is a scary, scary bitch and I eat up every second of it like a starved woman at her last supper. Every moment of this 1-1 feels tonally different to the exact same one I had earlier in the day — drenched in pure, hostile suspicion rather than the more naïve seeming near-curiosity of Tim. Will’s walk to the curtain is a proper hold, keeping me in line, instead of a gentle side-hug of sorts and when we are in the room, there is no softness in the querying look Malcolm implores you with. The egg pick is rapid but the breaking is slower, perfectly synced to the soundscape in a way where the tension of knowing what is going to happen but not when makes your heart quicken. Will searches through the ash, less desperate and more sure — as if he knows I know something that he doesn’t.

I am pinned to the wall tightly, eyes widening on instinct. Will does the dialogue — again, things are different and I am beyond thrilled to see these two conflicting versions of this beloved character so close together. I adore Will’s vocal choice in this scene — the gruffness, the difficult tone. For some reason, I am reminded of a Good Cop-Bad Cop shtick except Tim is Anxious Cop and Will is Angry Cop. I refuse to break eye contact, enthralled by Will’s ability to communicate sheerly through body language. There is no stumbling or clawing (as if tortured and asking for help) like with Tim, Will’s choking up of the feather is frenzied and vicious. Shit is pure daunting. The lights go off, there is a tight grasp around my shoulders (rather than a damning hug) as the last lines are delivered and then I’ve lost Will, who moves at insane speeds and is gone before I squeeze my eyes open.

MALCOLM 1-1 ENDS HERE

I make it down to Duncan discovery right as Malcolm discovers the feather and despite all of my times seeing this scene, the goosebumps return as if on cue. There is something about the gravity of this scene with an older Malcolm — this beautifully soul-crushing world weariness attached to it. It is not the heartbroken crumbling of a young son but the disparaged understanding of an older one — well-aware of his father’s mortality from the start, but beyond angry at the manner of death. I watch Will! Malcolm, Elias! Macduff and Omri! Banquo bring Andrew P’s Duncan down to the crypt, enjoying the sheer height at which Andrew P was hoisted due to how tall the Boys™ are. The suspicious look at Banquo in the crypt is beyond perfect — a clear sign of Malcolm’s growing distrust in everyone around him. I loved the glance first falling to Macduff and only slowly following the line to Banquo and the choice from Will to be the first to remove his hand — something I have never seen the younger Malcolms do.

I follow Malcolm up to Hammertime but am distracted by the reappearance of my friend. We don’t make it in to watch Hammertime as a consequence but I position us by Malcolm’s office window on High Street just as Natebeth comes screeching down the hall from Rep Bar. She clutches onto my hand, Macbeth and Macduff come running down the street and without much issue, we make it into the room. Again, I am blown away by Will’s physicality as Malcolm — every movement is sharp and gruff, in character and scary. The sound of both Malcolm and Macduff’s feet hitting the ground and them moving around the room is chillingly good — Will and Elias are perfectly synchronised. There is a moment where Malcolm stands facing this small audience and me and Will make eye contact. It is fleeting but it feels like I have been vetted and approved as innocent, as a potential co-conspirator and I am exhilarated. We dutifully follow the Boys into the office to watch them conspire the moving of the trees and then they are gone. My friend holds me in the office and tells me about watching Fulton inspect Sexy in the mortuary while I was away and as she tells me more, we walk quietly to Paisley’s.

Armed with candy (no gumdrops </3), we hang out with Bret’s Fulton — a sweet cowardly Fulton if I have ever seen one. He rushes off to pick for the 1-1, which neither of us get, and I move both me and my friend into Agnes’ apartment (which was relatively empty, expected when she is asleep) so we can see him creepily emerge. He emerges, we continue following (chowing down on sour balls) and watch him tidy up, endeared. As loop two begins (indicated to me by Malcolm moving down High Street in his fun little trench), she stays with Bret and I abandon ship to go check if Tim’s Taxi has made an appearance. He has not so again, by habit, I wander over to Malcolm’s office where Will is busy typing away on the typewriter. He has a crowd now so I don’t bother trying to squeeze in, opting to watch from the doorway. The razor scene starts (which is decidedly not my favourite) so I slip away again, going into the Taxidermist’s to say hello to our favourite stuffed animal friends.

My friend notices me on my way back and joins me so I spend a few quite minutes showing her the different strange taxidermy and the office in the back, all of which are some of my favourite set details. She is less interested in petting the moose than I am so a few pets later, we look around the apothecary (which she loves). I am distracted again by the need to pet the moose and as I do so, a stomping blur cuts past me — who else could it be other than our local nutjob, Mr. Bargarran. The noise is frightening and draws out my friend, we follow out into the office to see Tim rampaging towards Fulton, angry as all hell and my god… scary ??

Bret’s Fulton sees him coming and steps back, fear palpable and as Tim! Taxi literally kicks the door open to the shop, he disappears speedily. This Taxi is insane and I am literally paralysed into a constant gasp by the sheer manic, freakish energy of this performance. As he watches Taxi rush off, Taxi groans/ growls in frustration and rushes into High Street, body posed like a predator ready to pounce and to rip the other into shreds. Fulton appears, there is a small fight where Bret scurries away from Tim as fast as possible, disappearing with a White Mask into the funeral parlour. At this point, I am holding onto my friend’s arm in a tight grasp, gagged by this display, and I proceed to only be more stunned as Tim begins to genuinely punch the windows and doors of the parlour. I can’t help but break out into disbelieving, quiet laughter as he punches the right window hard enough that the entire panel comes clean off. I don’t think Tim could believe it either — he stepped right back, glanced at it, at the genuinely terrified crowd (in which I was trying so hard to keep it together) and then scoffed. It was beyond glorious.

I had spent the whole first hour of this show thinking about Tim C’s Malcolm, deliciously different as it is to Will’s, and about how much I loved his characterisation. Previous to this show, I had seen and for the most part, looped Tim on as Malcolm 10 times. As I told him mid-him spoiling the Taxi surprise, I had never had the luck of seeing him on as anything else so in my mind, I had formulated his Taxi to be very similar to Vik’s in energy — mildly threatening (for obviously taxidermy) but mostly goofy fun. THIS was not what I was expecting at all and the confidence with which Tim carried the character of this feverishly riotous nutjob blew me allllll the way away. The aggression in the body language — the slight hunch in his walk, the constant clenching of his fingers, the crazy eyes — was otherworldly. My commitment to two-looping this Taxi only grew every second I saw of this performance, my entire being incensed by the need to watch this wacko do all the strange shit I knew was coming. I was not disappointed at all. AT ALL.

From my own rampant chicken-scrawl notes from the day of, here are a list of highlights from Mr. Creavin’s Taxidermist in the first full loop he was out.

The bone-themed art piece he made by sticking all the dead leaves and flowers from the tray into a skeleton to create a Taxidermist’s bouquet.

The little square made out of all his tools that he kept watching me try to fix and continuing to mess its symmetry up on purpose.

When he grabbed the sharpest looking bone he could find and kept circling it around his skin, before holding it like a dagger and moving towards the door of the shop, pointing it at Fulton threateningly (long enough my friend thought we were about to witness a with-bone murder)

His insistence on straightening the little dinosaur and then running past it and wacking it.

PUNCHING THE VIRGIN MARY STATUE????

Stomping around exclusively — this man did not walk anywhere.

When Bret Fulton was in his 1-1, Tim swivelled around into the Fulton Tailor Shop, slammed all of the little crosses off the wall, threw drawers everywhere, played concerningly too long with the scissors and put the only red string in Fulton's box in his mouth. When Bret came back to fix the coat, he rifled through the box and Tim drooled the spool of thread (needle and all) out onto the table. BRET'S FACE...

Fondling the hammer while sitting in the office before taking it off the wall, holding it for some time and then putting it back.

Kicking the cemetery dirt instead of digging through it, leading to it being all over the audience (who were all fucking petrified of him).

Pulling out many many things from the inside-shop moose’s nose — including the blood will have blood note.

The smug little look he shot people when he very smoothly pulled his first 1-1 pull into the room, smoothly enough that even they seemed shocked.

While Tim C Taxi was in the 1-1, I slipped down to 2, wanting to check on our dear pal Porter and to see who was on. I had spent the majority of my show in the stairwells with Malcolm and then on 4 with Taxi and didn’t want to be left unawares for writing the cast list after. I amble down and who do I see? VIK. Most shows, this discovery would end any other plans but I had committed myself to the nutjob upstairs so I let myself stay for only long enough to watch the phonebooth dance. Aaron and Vik make for an amazing BW-Porter pair and Vik came across as much bolder, leaning in actively, with Aaron’s relatively kinder Boy than with Noah’s mean one (the only other combination I have seen). The 1-1 pull took place by Lost Luggage and while Vik looked at me, they (excitingly!!!!) took the loveliest older guest (who I had been talking to in line outside) in instead.

Taking this as my sign for a natural transition back upstairs, I returned to Four to watch Tim (as mentioned in the bullet points) cleaning his tools and pissing me off by messing up their symmetry. During the cleaning sequence, he had about 2-3 people in the shop including me but as Lady Macduff made her entrance, this number quickly grew to 15-20. Only a few who arrived with her left as she did, waiting around to see Tim C do something interesting. Having moved away for Lady Duff’s scene, I stood at the corner of the shop counter, arms resting on top and Tim moved outwards, gesturing for me to remove my arms. I follow instructions and as he rests the door down, letting it go with a thud, he takes my hand. There is a short pause, I nod as we lock eyes and then again with a quiet, smug smirk, we disappear into the Boy shower room.

TAXIDERMIST 1-1 STARTS HERE

The second we are in this room, the threatening vibe of this Taxi is more potent. I had only ever had this 1-1 once before with Vik, who again (in my mind) is an incredibly non-threatening Taxi. Tim’s Taxi was quieter, it felt like I was someone who was being inspected, scientifically broken down into benefits and weaknesses. For a minute, I feel strangely foreign in this situation, slightly overwhelmed by the intensity of this dim room. Tim takes my mask off, and in what I believe is a habit of his, ducks his head slightly to see my face before its entirely off. The familiarity of this (especially just from that morning) is centring and I break into a nervous smile — this is a theatrical performance, there is no need to be afraid.

He nods and I feel the air relax a little — now that I am less tense, I am able to enjoy the scene a whole lot more. Taxi moves my arms up and down, inspecting still but I don’t feel stiff and it is easy for me to follow the dramatic flow. He, very gently, leads me into the dark cubicle and sits me down, telling me to stay still as he leaves to wash his hands. The sound of water rushing starts and like in my previous instance in this room, I peek through the gap to see what Taxi is up to. While Vik had been by the sink, possibly actually washing their hands, Tim was just standing around which made me unconsciously chuckle. Tim moves back into the cubicle seamlessly in the dark and as the light comes on, I jump a little.

The injection comes out and for a second, I am convinced by the way that he looks at the needle and by his prior, well-established fascination with sharp things, that he is going to prick himself on it or inject it or something insane. Instead, he brings it down, squirting the dark green onto my beloved beloved gumdrops. Both are covered entirely in the green, eliminating choice, so I grab the one nearer to me, give a cursory nod at Taxi and begin to chew. The green stains are all over my hands and as I look up expecting Taxi to eat the other, he simply pushes the tray away and smiles wickedly. I gasp and suddenly we are standing up, the cubicle door is pushed open and we are facing the moose inside. Dialogue is delivered that I cannot fully recall but in a rough, manic manner that makes my body shudder. I am commanded — “Come with me” — and I take Tim’s hands, pulled out of the shower-room and through into the rave. The pull is powerful but I am relatively used to being dragged by Tim C as Malcolm so I find my footing quickly.

TAXIDERMIST 1-1 ENDS HERE

At the rave, Tim! Taxi quite literally shoves unwilling guests out of the way, pushing us mostly to the front. The crowd is incredibly pushy but thanks to Tim’s death grip on my shoulder, I survive to watch the raise up of Sexy by the rest of the coven. I feel the grip lighten as the scream starts and I follow Taxi straight out — I have seen the rave in the morning twice and Hour Six in the hotel no longer have the capacity for it. PLUS, he is making his way down to my favourite Taxi scene: the Teddy Bear. There is absolutely no one around as we go down the stairs to 3rd and I witness my friend loitering around in Macduff’s office on pure chance as me and Taxi skate by to the children’s bedroom. I grab her and rush over, watching Tim’s green-stained hands deftly stitch the bone into the poor bear.

Taxi finishes up and stomps over (as is key) to the front of the apartment fixing his own tie as well as the bear’s bow in the mirror. There is a quiet moment where me and my friend stand behind him, all visible in the mirror and he looks up, makes eye contact and then fixes his hair. Once he’s satisfied, Taxi picks up the bear perfectly on cue to the soundscape beginning to play a sweet waltz number and WALTZES THE LITTLE BEAR. Adorable, even if the bear has a bone in it and he is a psycho. We watch relatively endeared and leave with Tim after he places the bear upside down on the sofa.

As we get up to fourth, there is a waiting crowd of curious folk in the shop but Taxi slips straight into the office instead, opting not to clean up his messy bouquet and instead…. take a nap. Legs up on the desk, dead squirrel over his eyes like a mask, there are about twenty of us who stand around watching the man doze before he is up again. The dead squirrel, quite unfortunately for Elspeth-the-fox-lovers like me, goes over the her snout and Taxi stumbles over to the much beloved moose. We all watch, genuinely petrified and personally concerned for Tim’s lack of germ awareness, as he smooches for quite some time the Moose. A white mask turns around and leaves — it lasts long enough for that. Again, Tim C Taxi has left me completely gagged.

He turns around as the makeout… finally ends and we lock eyes. The hand goes out and I am being walked down for the second show in a row. I struggle down the stairs with my skirt because the people behind us seem to not understand personal space, which leads to Tim turning around to level glares and to grip my hand tighter so I don’t faceplant down the stairs. We get to the hanging and much like at the rave, Tim flings people out of the way until we are right up front. The normal removing unwitting White Masks from the Banquo spot process takes place and then Tim’s Taxi is right behind me, again death gripping my shoulder as Natebeth is hung.

The walkout is quick and relatively giggly. We slip away from the crowd very very quickly and as we climb up the crypt stairs, I look up at Tim, still struggling with this damn skirt, and we both stifle a laugh. We go up the stairs with him slowing down for my struggles and as we reach the Manderley, he finally laughs gleefully. I am pinned to a wall and my mask comes off before I am chuckling. We hug and I am given a little souvenir — the Blood will have Blood note. I tell Tim his Taxi is a complete nutjob and my now favourite take on the character before he slips off saying Happy Birthday.

The performance in bar by Karen was wonderful and I spent some time chuckling away with other fans from the server and with my friend (who had her own expectedly wondrous time following Vik! Porter after slipping away from Tim post-first-1-1), ending what is surely one of the best birthdays I have ever had. What a ride!

[wroteonedad]

Pearl (2022)

I go onto my Letterboxd and I type in my silly little review about the horny grandma in X (2022), within minutes of posting the review I have one of my friends messaging me, insisting that I watch Pearl straight away. I couldn't bare to put myself through a movie double bill, but if I watch X again, I know I'll have to watch the two movies back to back.

Pearl is perhaps a movie that didn't really need to happen, but I am so glad it did. After watching this film, I think I understand why Pearl was the way she was in X (2022). The way in which the film is laid out is brilliant. X being chronologically the sequel to Pearl is about a 70s porno. The way in which the film is edited and shot very much suggests mid 70s. Pearl does exactly the same thing. As it's the first story in the trilogy, the film opens and closes exactly how an Audrey Hepburn movie would. The music, many of the credits at the beginning, the overbearing smile at the end; it all resembles that show girl aesthetic that women were dying to have during the War.

The storyline is also weirdly wonderful. Pearl is left with her German family working at their farm, waiting for the return of her husband Howard who is fighting in the war and dealing with life changes from both the war and the Spanish Influenza; the area is in lockdown and Pearl is left wearing a face mask every time she goes into town to run her errands. Her strict mother, the lockdown and her need to break free, to become her own woman gets the better of her and she starts to end up going a bit crazy. Her mother essentially becomes cruel towards Pearl, not allowing her to speak to people in town in fear of someone coming after them for their German heritage. Her father has had a stroke and is left needing 24 hour care.

Lusting for men, doing anything out of her power to ensure she's the star at the dance and ultimately killing the people who were looking out for her the most out of spite and jealousy, this movie makes for a remarkable modern horror. I am so for these forms of non conventional horror movies because there is nothing more boring than when you spend the whole film waiting for the jumpscare to happen and nobody to have any character development through the whole picture.

Pearl wants to be seen by everyone all the time. She wants to be the ladies in the dance films, and when everything becomes too overwhelming for her, she turns to the animals at the farm. Sometimes it's dancing on top of hay and performing with a pitchfork, other times its to impale them, to feed them to her best friend, an alligator which seemingly seems to reside pretty much at the end of the farm land. The story of Pearl follows how she went from lockdown insane to becoming a serial killer.

The way in which Pearl failed to achieve any of her dreams makes sense why the way she is the way she is in X (2022). Everything she does, everybody she kills seems to foreshadow exactly the way in which the story will pan out over 50 years later.

The colouring and setting of this film is very different to X. The outdoor shots of the farm and towards the town are bright, rich in colour. Like something out of a book, something like what you saw in the original Wizard of Oz movie. Inside on the other hand is dark and dingy, possibly reflecting how Pearl felt trapped, as if it was her parents who were holding her back from everything that she wanted to accomplish. Despite the grittiness of the movie and the relationships she both begins and ends, the actual death scenes themselves very much resemble something out of a dark comedy. I think it is perfect, I think that Mia Goth is the perfect person to be playing a character like Pearl and for that I cannot wait to see how the third movie will pan out in the X universe.

Pearl is currently not available on any streaming services. Legal ones anyway.

[stephank]

I think Frank Oz's take is compelling, but as someone who has watched the original ending of the film multiple times, I think the answer is much simpler.

The original ending spends 15 minutes after Seymour dies watching a very impressive practical effects sequence where Audrey 2 destroys cities. Nothing else happens, it's just mindless, lightly comedic carnage for minutes on end. The stage play spends about 3 minutes on a final song and ends.

Genuinely, if they had just been less self-indulgent and just ended the movie, it likely wouldn't have been as big a deal. The audience had lost the characters they were emotionally connected to, anything after that is testing their patience.

I had a very interesting discussion about theater and film the other day. My parents and I were talking about Little Shop of Horrors and, specifically, about the ending of the musical versus the ending of the (1986) movie. In the musical, the story ends with the main characters getting eaten by the plant and everybody dying. The movie was originally going to end the same way, but audience reactions were so negative that they were forced to shoot a happy ending where the plant is destroyed and the main characters survive. Frank Oz, who directed the movie, later said something I think is very interesting:

I learned a lesson: in a stage play, you kill the leads and they come out for a bow — in a movie, they don’t come out for a bow, they’re dead. They’re gone and so the audience lost the people they loved, as opposed to the theater audience where they knew the two people who played Audrey and Seymour were still alive. They loved those people, and they hated us for it.

That’s a real gem of a thought in and of itself, a really interesting consequence of the fact that theater is alive in a way that film isn’t. A stage play always ends with a tangible reminder that it’s all just fiction, just a performance, and this serves to gently return the audience to the real world. Movies don’t have that, which really changes the way you’re affected by the story’s conclusion. Neat!

But here’s what’s really cool: I asked my dad (who is a dramaturge) what he had to say about it, and he pointed out that there is actually an equivalent technique in film: the blooper reel. When a movie plays bloopers while the credits are rolling, it’s accomplishing the exact same thing: it reminds you that the characters are actually just played by actors, who are alive and well and probably having a lot of fun, even if the fictional characters suffered. How cool is that!?

Now I’m really fascinated by the possibility of using bloopers to lessen the impact of a tragic ending in a tragicomedy…

[cinnampaws]

ㅤ𔓕ㅤget to know me .ᐟ

hello, my name is vita! i was born in brazil (march, '06) and i'm currently 18 yearz old (almost 19!!). i've been regressing since i was nine, but i only knew what my regressions meant at 13.

i have a mommy named ray who has been taking care of me for almost five years now, and we're currently in a romantic relationship. we are both noncom.

꒰ my regressions ꒱

my little ages vary from 1 year old to 5 years old, most commonly 2-4 and i rarely regress to a newborn stage - 10 months old, but it may happen sometimes.

my regressions are mostly peaceful, i like to make cute posts for my insta profile, i like drawing and coloring while watching kiddie shows like bluey, my little pony and she-ra pop.

my tantrums/impure regressions are only shown to my mama, so you won't see me behaving badly online.

꒰ my content ꒱

the majority of my posts will be GirlRe centered, since that's how i experience age regression. i don't tw my content unless i feel like it's extremely necessary.

i'll post concepts, dynamics and maybe some tips for tinies/carers.

꒰ special interests ꒱

+ stan list.

★ broadway: wicked, hamilton, the sound of music, les mis, into the woods, funny girl, anastasia, mamma mia, ride the cyclone, spring awakening, etc.

★ the land of oz: movies, cartoons, books, tv shows, musicals.

★ kiddie shows & movies: bluey, my little pony, she-ra pop, dora the explorer, madeline, jakers, charlie and lola, backyardigans, sam and cat, victorious, tangled the series, strawberry shortcake, disney princesses, disney fairies, toy story, wild kratts, scooby doo, sesame street, rugrats, that's so raven, mickey mouse clubhouse.

★ big age shows & movies: the wizard of oz (1939), funny girl, thelma & louise, the sound of music, the truman show, the shining, ttcsm, gilmore girls, glee, pretty little liars, shameless, once upon a time, friends, tbbt.

★ rubik's cubes: 3×3 (*21s record), 2×2 (*12s record).

★ cinema: +150 movies per year, @cubeskiddo on boxd.

★ music: evanescence, paramore, the cranberries, the beatles, ariana grande, sabrina carpenter, melanie martinez, black box recorder, frank sinatra, al bowlly, måneskin.

★ celebrities: ariana grande, barbra streisand, shelley duvall, sissy spacek, idina menzel, phillipa soo, hayley williams, amy lee, julianne moore, audrey hepburn, marilyn monroe, jlaw, julie andrews, jack nicholson, amanda seyfried, kirsten dunst.

𔘓⠀disclaimer: it doesn't necessarily mean that i (even try to) know everything about these people. i just admire their work and will probably watch/listen to everything they've done.

𐙚⠀⠀⠀click here for more info!!

[abigail55]

The Evolution of movie: A Journey Through Time and Technology

Movies, the epitome of modern entertainment, have evolved significantly since their inception in the late 19th century. From the silent black-and-white era to today's cutting-edge CGI spectacles, cinema has undergone a remarkable transformation, shaping and reflecting the cultural zeitgeist of each era. This article delves into the rich history and technological advancements that have propelled the art of filmmaking into the digital age.

The Birth of Cinema:

The roots of cinema can be traced back to the invention of motion picture cameras in the late 19th century. Pioneers like the Lumière brothers and Thomas Edison laid the groundwork for what would become one of the most influential art forms of the 20th century. The first films were short, silent snippets capturing everyday life or staged scenes, often devoid of narrative structure.

The Silent Film Era:

The early 20th century saw the rise of silent films, characterized by dramatic gestures, exaggerated expressions, and intertitles to convey dialogue and plot points. Icons like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton became synonymous with this era, delivering timeless performances that transcended language barriers. Silent cinema reached its zenith with masterpieces like "The Birth of a Nation" and "Metropolis," showcasing the potential of visual storytelling.

The Golden Age of Hollywood:

The introduction of synchronized sound in the late 1920s revolutionized cinema, giving birth to the "talkies" and ushering in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Studios like MGM, Warner Bros., and Paramount churned out classics like "Gone with the Wind," "Casablanca," and "Citizen Kane," cementing their place in cinematic history. Stars like Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn became household names, enchanting audiences with their charisma and talent.....watch more.

The Advent of Technicolor and Cinemascope:

The 1930s also saw the advent of Technicolor, a revolutionary color film process that brought movies to life in vibrant hues. Epics like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind" showcased the possibilities of color cinematography, captivating audiences with their visual splendor. The 1950s introduced widescreen formats like Cinemascope, offering audiences a more immersive viewing experience and paving the way for epic productions like "Ben-Hur" and "Lawrence of Arabia."

The New Hollywood Era:

The 1960s and 1970s marked a period of upheaval and innovation in Hollywood, as a new generation of filmmakers challenged the status quo. Directors like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Steven Spielberg pushed boundaries with bold storytelling and groundbreaking techniques. Films like "The Godfather," "Taxi Driver," and "Jaws" captivated audiences and critics alike, earning accolades and reshaping the cinematic landscape.

The Blockbuster Era:

The 1980s witnessed the rise of the blockbuster, fueled by high-concept premises, dazzling special effects, and marketing blitzes. Franchises like "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," and "Back to the Future" dominated the box office, spawning sequels, spin-offs, and merchandising empires. Advances in computer-generated imagery (CGI) allowed filmmakers to create fantastical worlds and creatures previously unimaginable, revolutionizing the visual language of cinema.

The Digital Revolution:

The turn of the millennium brought about a seismic shift in filmmaking with the widespread adoption of digital technology. Digital cameras, editing software, and visual effects tools democratized the medium, empowering independent filmmakers and enabling experimentation. Directors like Christopher Nolan and David Fincher embraced digital filmmaking, pushing the boundaries of storytelling with immersive narratives and stunning visuals.

The Rise of Streaming Services:

The proliferation of streaming services in the 21st century has transformed the way audiences consume content, challenging the traditional theatrical model. Platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ offer a vast library of films and original programming, catering to diverse tastes and preferences. The rise of streaming has democratized access to cinema, allowing filmmakers from around the world to reach global audiences with their work.

The Future of Cinema:

As we look to the future, one thing is certain: cinema will continue to evolve and adapt to changing technologies and audience preferences. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) promise to revolutionize the viewing experience, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms may also play a role in content creation, personalized recommendations, and immersive storytelling.

Conclusion:

From its humble beginnings as a novelty attraction to its current status as a global cultural phenomenon, cinema has come a long way in the span of a century. With each technological advancement and artistic innovation, filmmakers have pushed the boundaries of storytelling, transporting audiences to new worlds and challenging their perceptions of reality. As we embark on the next chapter of cinematic history, one thing is certain: the magic of movies will continue to captivate and inspire audiences for generations to come.