#Dark Age Cinema

[goryhorroor]

horror sub-genres/techniques: anime horror

[dark-longings]

Pola Negri. The Way of Lost Souls, 1929.

[burningvelvet]

imagine the picture of dorian gray (1891) but dorian is jude law in wilde (1997) and lord henry is hugh grant in maurice (1987)

[sharon-tate]

Lauren Bacall in a publicity photo for Dark Passage (1947)

[videoreligion]

Dark Universe (1993)

[annoyingthemesong]

SUBLIME CINEMA #657 - THE SUBSTANCE

A tour de force from Coralie Fargeat, a director previously unknown to me. Well, what a treat. This is an audacious, awesome movie.

Demi Moore has never been better, and I can't actually imagine anybody more ideal for this completely demented role. She is perfect, and daring.

[lecineaste]

The 400 Blows by François Truffaut

[namedvesta]

𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒

Charlotte Le Bon, Falcon Lake (𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟥)

[loudgaybug]

if any dark crystal fans follow me, or just fans of good fantasy, please sign this petition... .. i cant stand a story with this much lore and interesting characters not being finished. Netflix is my biggest op. if you haven't seen it go watch age of resistance, you won't regret it

[cherrycruise]

[nellarw95]

Happy Birthday Michelle 🥳🎂🎈🎁🎉

Michelle Marie Pfeiffer

April 29,1958

Buon Compleanno 🥳🎂🎈🎁🎉

29 Aprile 1958

[naneki-maid]

rainy afternoons are made for Jim Henson and Don Bluth movies and The Pagemaster (1994). specifically.

[arrayed-in-purple]

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 (𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟒)

𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐛𝐲

(OC)

[ademater]

Det Sjunde Inseglet

Ingmar Bergman - 1957

[vintagehollywood1]

Humphrey Bogart in Dark victory 1939

[agentnico]

The Substance (2024) review

Right, so that was one of the most disgusting films I’ve ever seen. Like I’ll never eat shrimp again, just saying.

Plot: Elisabeth Sparkle, renowned for an aerobics show, faces a devastating blow on her 50th birthday as her boss fires her. Amid her distress, a laboratory offers her a substance which promises to transform her into an enhanced version of herself.

It’s fair to say that 2024 hasn’t been a particularly memorable year for films thus far. In fact outside of Dune I haven’t been truly amazed by any of the releases, and as such have been diving deeper into discovering older movies, mainly through boutique labels like The Criterion Collection, BFI and Indicator. Which don't get me wrong has been wonderful, but I’ve missed seeing decent films at the cinema. However we’re now in the fall movie season which is when all the indie fare that has finished their film festival circuit run now get released to us the regular audience, as well as films that are fighting for a chance to contend at the upcoming award ceremonies. So fingers crossed these last few months redeem 2024, and if The Substance is anything to go by then I thinks movies may truly be back!

The Substance is the type of movie that is made to shock and unsettle an audience. There’s a lot of disturbing imagery, with blood and gore and body horror, very reminiscent of horror films of David Cronenberg like The Fly and Naked Lunch. The final 30 minutes especially are so fun to watch with a crowd of people in a packed theatre, as it’s a kind of visceral and grotesque experience that is at the same time disgusting, horrible yet funny. Let’s not even sugarcoat it - the final 30 minutes are so f-ed up and it was a thrill to experience that with an audience, hearing the gasps and squirms from fellow moviegoers. Definitely up there as one of my favourite cinema trips.

Demi Moore is fantastic here, giving a truly brave performance that carries a lot of commentary in itself. She ends up doing a lot of the emotional work through her eyes, especially to the end of the film, and I must say I can’t recall seeing a performance from her as powerful and memorable as this. She really throws herself into the extremism of this movie, however it is one of the quieter scenes where she really delivers, where her character is getting ready to go on a date but can’t leave the house because of how ashamed she is of her ageing body. It is in this moment where I felt an earnestness that really struck a chord, and a welcome one, as overall this is a pretty campy horror comedy. I say comedy as this movie is really funny, even in the more horrific parts, as the film is aware of its ridiculous premise and satirises the idea of beauty and fame. Oh, and the presence of an over the top Dennis Quaid only added to the parody nature of it all, even though I have read that Quaid’s role was originally meant for Ray Liotta before his unfortunate passing, which makes me wonder of what could have been. Margaret Qualley rounds up the cast as “perfect version” of Moore’s character, and she did fine, though her role was primarily to be eye candy, so I’m reality could have been played by anyone.

We need to also discuss the sound design - it’s impeccable! You hear every crunch, breath and slimy move, so much so that I’m certain this movie would be the biggest turn on for fans of ASMR. The soundtrack too is full of heart-pumping beats, and overall it felt like the director wanted you to FEEL every part of the movie as if you were partaking in the substance yourself.

The Substance is a wonderful and absurd time at the movies, and as long as you’re not too squeamish you’ll have a grand time. Just make sure not to eat anything beforehand, especially not shrimp. Like genuinely I’ve now witnessed some of the most obnoxious chewing ever! Thanks Dennis Quaid!

Overall score: 8/10