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victoriadallonfan · 6 months ago

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Lets Talk: The Predator Franchise

About two months ago, I put my thoughts into my feelings on the Alien Franchise, and why I felt that they've been faltering so much.

It felt only fitting that I do the same for the Predator franchise, but I ran into a very curious thing... there's only one bad Predator movie.

A shocking statement, I know, but I'm not counting the AVP movie series (that's it's own separate thing). The Predator (film) is easily the only bad film in the entire series, but I'll get to that later.

First things first: lets talk about Predator (1987).

It's an all time classic, a great deconstruction of the 80's action film, with insanely quotable dialogue and memorable characters - not just the Predator itself, but all the human characters are easily recognizable.

Unlike the Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), Predator is not predominantly a horror film, nor is it emphasizing a tough topic such as sexual assault. It does HAVE horror aspects (the first time they find the skinned corpses is intensely unnerving, especially when they realize that this group of marines apparently lost all self-control and fired in all directions), and it does touch a bit on how the US government is using its own soldiers as cannon fodder to destabilize third-world countries.

But it's not really built to scare the viewer so much as to present a simple idea: what if these action heroes met a bigger, stronger, more advanced version of themselves? And the result is a near total party wipe.

Watching the original film, you realize that the Predator is depicted as incredibly unfair. The majority of its kills are it sniping someone from afar, rushing them when they aren't even looking (while cloaked), and doing a combination of the above. It would have killed Arnold while his back was turned, if the net trap hadn't been set in place.

Hell, it even kills a wounded soldier that Arnold is carrying, after Billy's "last stand" (that lasted mere moments at best, implying the Predator didn't give him the time of day).

(Also, speaking of Billy... he's psychic? Apparently?)

But yeah, the Predator depicted is not the honor clad warrior that some fans may stan (and some writers believe) but more like the equivalent of Counter-Strike hacker. The fact that it takes Arnold untold amounts of traps, ingenuity, and willpower for the Predator to finally face him man to man, no tech, no weapons is meant to be a testament to how impressive Arnold is.

Likewise, the Predator decides to blow himself the fuck up while cackling manically like a supervillain as he tries to finally kill Dutch, also opens him to showing that as alien as it is, it's remarkably human. A spite filled asshole of a human, but humanish nonetheless (amplified by him copying human speech on prior occasions).

It's a really great film about how alien life, if more advanced than our own, might see us as lesser people or outright livestock to hunt (keep a pin in that).

Predator 2 (1990) is often divided amongst fans.

Some hate the fact that it takes place in the "modern day" LA, instead of sticking to the blazing heat of the jungle (as the lore of the first movie implies that the Predator or a Predator visits at the hottest time of the season to create the local bogeyman figure), but this film does a fine job justifying the LA heatwave and honestly... the idea of keeping the Predator to one type of biome is pretty limiting. So I don't mind that.

As one can tell already, I don't think this movie is bad. As good as the first? No, it rehashes a bit too much for that. But it's still a fun and good movie.

And, notably, scarier.

But for context, Predator 2 is set in the far future of... uh, 1997 LA, where there has been open warfare between the LAPD and the Jamaican and Colombian Cartels. Like, not drug busts or stings, but actual warfare with armies of gangs and shit.

The late 80's and early 90's loved to depict LA as a dystopian hellscape where "law and order" was the only defense from total anarchy (as anyone who has ever lived in LA can tell you, racial tensions, especially between the public and police have not been good to say the least).

This entire setup is like a D.A.R.E nightmare or wet dream depending on who's asking.

(Also the Jamaican drug leader, King Willy, might also be psychic? This is the last time it's brought up, but man, I sort of wish we could see future plot lines where people are randomly psychic in these films.)

Anyways, the situation is certainly perfect for this Predator (named City Hunter to differentiate between Jungle Hunter), who takes to the city with a gusto. The difference in how the Predator is portrayed is fascinating, because the bare bones remain the same: he hunts people who are deemed as sport with alien technology.

Fitting with the ultra-violent theme of this film however, this Predator feels like a legitimately horror movie monster. Unlike the Jungle Hunter, City Hunter doesn't prefer to attack from afar, but rather ripping and tearing in close quarters combat, and when he does use ranged weaponry, it's stuff like spears, bladed discs, and nets that shred people into bloody messes.

And he's 110% a bigger asshole that Jungle Hunter: when the City Hunter decides to focus on our lead man, Danny Glover, he doesn't just hunt the man but psychologically torture him. He murders his partner - who is probably the least threatening human in the entire series - just so he can taunt Glover with his necklace at his own grave. He then copies the innocent words of a child just so he can use it as a creepy catchphrase when he decides to hunt Glover's other partners.

The iconic subway massacre perfectly exemplifies both aspects of the City Hunter. He interrupts a massive stand-off between armed civilians, gang members, and the police, just wading in and killing everyone indiscriminately as people frantically scream and claw over each other trying to escape.

(Speaking of, this film does have a LOT of fun having the Predator on modern sets. The above subway scene, City Hunter investigating a meat locker, and him performing emergency surgery in an apartment bathroom are all really cool).

Also, for being so divisive, this film creates a lot of Predator lore: the Predator won't kill (unarmed) children, he won't kill pregnant women, and he WILL kill the elderly if they are packing heat.

And this includes the trophy wall (with xenomorph skull - actually funny because we never see a Predator collect a xenomorph skull in the AVP films) and that the Predator tribe will honor and respect those who defeat their kind with a reward.

It does include that the government is aware of the Predator existence and tries to capture them, but this won't be a major plot line again until The Predator (2018) though it gets some tongue in cheek reference in Predators (2010).

Anyways solid film, lots of cheesey scenes and very tropey stuff that hasn't aged well (or aged in a way that makes it amusing). It's also that last movie that actually tries to be true horror, in my opinion. The rest of the films stick to Action with Gore, but Predator 2 is truly the last film where you feel like this was written to be a horror film.

Also, this film will be the last to really play into the world as being an overly dramatic action movie earth. It's all realism from here.

And then the film franchise will go quiet until 2004 and 2008 for the AVP films (that I won't cover here).

Finally, we get to Predators (2010), and obvious title call back to Aliens (1986) and I have to say, a pretty good trio of ideas: The human targets are actually kidnapped and dropped on a safari planet, there are multiple Predators with their own unique designs and gimmicks, and there is a internal war between the Bad Bloods (aka the Predators who break the "honor code") and the 'normal' Predator clans.

(It should be noted that Bad Bloods have been a thing for years in comics and books, but not really in the mainstream until this film introduced it to movie audiences)

I have to say, despite having a fondness for the film and loving the new ideas, this film is not as enjoyable as Predator or Predator 2. It unfortunately suffers from what I call 2010ism, where there's a lot of CGI blood/gore, a lot of lighting/shadows aren't natural in a horror sense, and the dialogue isn't memorable because it wanted to ditch the action movie dialogue.

The last part isn't necessarily too bad, and it even works with how Adrian Brody is portrayed as a cynical asshole who is purposely meant to be the opposite of Arnold in every way. But the most memorable dialogue is definitely from Walter Goggins (including his highly disturbing "bitch raping time" speech).

Also, it really wastes Topher Grace, Laurence Fishbourne, and Danny Trejo, along with the whole idea of a gang of multinational killers/soldiers/enforcers forced to work together. Not nearly enough time is given to them to bond as a team and have a moment where they show off how cool they are like Predator and Predator 2 did.

Coupled with the safari world being just... a jungle, it feels like a lot of good ideas with "safe" execution.

I don't mean to rag on the film, it's still very fun, and a lot of that is due to the Bad Bloods.

The idea of a particular group of Predators being so evil that they are even warring with their (smaller) counterparts is a great idea, imo, and these Bad Bloods are memorable for their gimmicks.

You had one who used drones as "falcons" to scan and scout out large tracks of terrain, another who employed alien "hounds" to harass humans like a fox hunt, and the leader who had a rapid-fire plasma caster that was overpowered as hell. They also employed other tech like alien bear traps, net traps, and voice decoys.

This movie definitely had the most advanced Predator tech seen on film at the time, making the Jungle Hunter and City Hunter look low tech by comparison, and I think also served to try and force the idea of the Bad Bloods being really "unfair" compared to others.

And of course, we get our first Predator vs Predator fight, which was suitably graphic and badass. Also, I liked that one Predator died by a human pulling a suicide vest attack. Idk, I thought it was pretty ironic considering that's what predators do when they are about to lose, and thought it was neat.

Ultimately, there isn't much else to say about Predators (2010), even though the film ends on a cliffhanger with more people (and aliens) being dropped on the planet. I enjoyed it, it had a lot of cool ideas, cool tech, and cool lore... but if the prior films could be compared to novels, this one felt more like a guidebook.

And now... eight years pass and we get The Predator (2018)

Where do I begin with this movie.

I guess I start with the obvious: it's bad. It's a genuinely awful movie with few redeeming qualities. I'd say it's on the tier of Alien: Resurrection, except this movie is actually offensive because of autism ableism (turns out that autism is actually the next step of human evolution and makes you naturally predisposed to using Predator technology).

And don't get me started on the sex offender controversy.

Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. It's just that this movie... jesus christ, I rewatched it for this post, and it feels like a fever dream.

The Predator (2018) ultimately, is a film that looked at everything that came before it and said, "What if we did it all on a grander scale? And make it bad?" The plot is that a Predator is being hunted by an even larger, more powerful Predator, because it plans on harvesting humanity. You see, in this movie, some Predators use the genes of animals they hunt to improve themselves. The Super Predator as he is called, is a massive 10 foot tall monster that has turned his body into a super weapon, with technology built directly into his biology.

The Good Predator arrives on Earth to warn humanity and deliver a "Predator Killer" suit of Iron Man armor that will help humanity defend the Earth from the oncoming invasion force. The Super Predator wants humanity harvested because... autism makes them super geniuses.... and he declares that a 12 year old boy with autism to be the greatest Predator he's ever met... just because he has autism...

Look, I don't know how the fuck I'm supposed to describe the plot of this movie. It's just bad. It's stupid. At one point they turn a Predator hound good by giving it a bullet lobotomy.

It feels like this movie hates everyone. It hates the Predators, literally killing off the Good Predator not even halfway through the film. It hates the cast, because all of them are forgettable except for Olivia Munn and Super Predator, and it kills the mystique of the Predators because it has Super Predator monologue like an actual supervillain.

The dialogue is genuinely awful, the actors have no chemistry, and the comedy (oh yes, this film acts like a comedy on several occasions) is the definition of cringe. I would call it "ChatGPT writes Predator" but honestly, ChatGPT could do it better.

Let it be known that my words do not do how awful this movie is justice. You can only understand how bad it is by watching it, but it's absolutely NOT worth the time.

Is there anything good about this movie? Besides the Holiday Special on home release?

The effects are pretty good. We see a lot of high tech Predator stuff and that's always cool. I think this had the highest budget of any of the films and it shows.

There's an action set-piece where Good Predator escapes from a government facility and uses an M4-Assault Rifle which is badass. One of the best action scenes in the movie and a neat tie-back to the government investigating them.

The Super Predator is a cool concept and I actually enjoyed him for a large part of the film. I liked that he could just pick up a human like a toy and gut him like a fish before tossing him aside. I love the idea of a Predator that isn't a hunter, but rather a soldier sent in to fuck shit up, showing off the different tech. Really gives the impression that their society has different roles and tech for Predators beyond hunting.

I wish they gave him a helmet and didn't let him monologue like a supervillain.

And that's it. That's the good stuff. Nothing else matters. It says a lot that I don't think Super Predator or the autism plot has been accepted into lore in comics or books.

It's even been argued that this film was deemed non-canon because of how abysmal the reception was.

Suffice to say, after this awful film, fans were pretty low spirit. Which made it all the more surprising when Prey (2022) was released 4 years later.

There was a lot of drama about this film: the franchise is dead, why is the film so woke for including woman and minorities, how can any human expect to beat a Predator with a bow?

This drama is stupid and should rightfully be mocked.

Prey (2022) was a breath of fresh air for the franchise and I'd argue the best film in terms of quality.

It quite literally goes back to the roots of the series and does something that really elevated the film: it made the Predator symbolise something!

This film takes place in the 18th century on the Great Plains, following Naru the Commanche healer who dreams of being a hunter. Meanwhile, a young Predator - known as the Feral Predator for his aggression - is dropped on the planet for his first ever hunt.

Obviously, you can see the parallels between the two as Naru learns to use tricks and tools to handle her weaknesses, while Feral uses brute-force and high tech equipment to slaughter the animals and humans of the planet. The Bear hunt scene, where Naru is forced to flee from a bear and helplessly watch Feral kill the creature with it's bare hands (haha), thus condemning her in his eyes as not a threat is perfect character foil.

Also, he's such a piece of shit, cheating the moment he feels like his prey has the better of him. But in a good way that makes sense for his character.

But on the grander scale, the Predator represents colonialism. A secondary antagonist of the film are the French fur trappers, who have been skinning wild buffalo and depriving the commanche of their food source, openly compared to the Predator skinning animals/humans for trophies instead of resources.

It's actually a lesson Naru has to learn from her brother and mother, that to become a true hunter is about doing so to support a community, not just for ego and idolization.

Its no accident that the Fur Trapper leader dies when Naru sabotages his gun and Feral dies when Naru does the same to his gun as well, with both of them trapped and crippled without any means of escaping their demise.

This film finally moves to make the Predators feel like evil villains who are supremely selfish, much like the first 2 films emphasized (and the third film did to a lesser extent).

But talk of how amazing Naru is as a protagonist and how great the Feral predator is as an antagonist, the film is just good. The cinematography is gorgeous, the actors are great, the Predator effects and costume are terrifying, and lore wise, it does a lot to show that the Predator society is not stagnant.

They evolve over the years and it shows.

And my god are the action scenes incredible. The Predator vs Fur Trapper fight is probably one of the most iconic scenes in the entire franchise now, and for good reason.

Or Naru's knife fight massacre

All in all, this film really shows that the Predator films can be more that action films and... whatever the fuck The Predator (2018) was trying to be.

These films can be used to explore the history of humanity and symbolize concepts that deal with oppression, bigotry, and dehumanization.

The title of Prey - the focus on making the protagonists human - versus the Predator title is incredibly fitting.

While a sequel is left up in the air, we do have confirmation that a new standalone film - titled merely Badlands - is set to come out soon.

I can only hope they learned the right lessons from Prey and we can leave the horrid past of The Predator (2018) behind us for good.

#Predator #Predator franchise #avp #aliens vs predator #yaujta #Predator 2 #Predators #predators 2010 #The Predator #The Predator 2018 #Prey #predator prey #Prey 2022 #film #film analysis #movie #movie analysis #predator seris

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alientee · 11 months ago

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hi! just read your ‘To Live’ Mauga x Reader and absolutely loved it, and kinda had a request sort of along the same lines as that one (that is only if you’re taking requests ofc)

So like, say Mauga’s away on Talon work and what-not, but while he’s away Reader’s home/general area gets attacked (maybe a null sector ship crashes or smth?) and like Reader does get injured and kinda bleeds a slightly worrying amount but nothing a health pack and some rest won’t fix really, so they manage to go get medical help. So Mauga obviously finds out, rushes back from his mission, and seeing the worrying amount of blood staining the ruins of the reader’s home has him all worried the worst happened. So he spends practically a full day digging around the ruins of the house, panic just slowly building as he searches, and by sunrise he just has nearly given up; sitting in the rubble somewhere between pure despair and unbridled rage towards himself, when he hears reader call his name, and surprise, reader is alive and well, standing right outside the ruins of the house, albeit with a few bandages. Then bam! Fluff.

Didn’t realize this was gonna be this long but thanks for reading this pitch anyways 👍

Another Mauga x reader

This is so cute so of course I had to write it ! Thank you for asking for this I’ll answer a request if I have time and or if it’s in my comfort zone and I wrote this the day you sent it I was that excited I hope you enjoy! (SIDE NOTE I HAVE SO MUCH SMUT COMING FOR MAUGA YALL) gender neutral reader x Mauga

You sat on the couch, watching a horror movie, waiting for Mauga to get home. You learned not to worry too much about him going on missions with Talon; that man lives for the thrill.

You go to the kitchen to get some snacks. Sometimes you did get lonely when he left for a mission, but the chaotic life wasn’t for you. And just as you got your food alarms, start blaring from the outside.

You quickly set everything down and go to your window. You look out into the sky. You couldn’t help the anxiety that filled you. “it’s null sector."

Explosions rang outside while you ran up the stairs, hoping nothing hit your house. You should’ve known you wouldn’t be so lucky. As the explosions get louder, your house starts to shake. That’s when it all came crumbling down, and so did you.

“OUCH FUCK!”

You could feel your muscles ache and a sting in your ankle; you knew the feeling all too well; your eyesight was distorted, and you felt dizzy. But you couldn’t dwell on that, you had fell from the now broken stairs and sprained your ankle. And as more of your home crumbles so does your way out. Everything seemed to be blocked off except your broken window.

The small space would be difficult to go through, but you didn’t have a choice. You push yourself through the window. That’s when you feel searing, hot pain shoot through you. You begin to scream. “FUCKING FUDGE NUTS”

You didn’t realize there was some glass still around the edges of the window, but you couldn’t stop now. With one hard push, you fall out of the window, gripping your side in pain. And just as you got out of the house, it completely came down. There’s a large glass shard in your side. You slowly pull it out, screaming in anguish. You look at the rest of the village, realizing that they are fighting back and null sector is retreating. You let out a sigh of relief. It was kind of annoying that your house had to fall, but at least now you were safe and you didn’t have to worry about it.

"Now let’s see if I can limp to the medical center.”

Mauga had a good day. He used Chacha and Gunny, caused some chaos, and he got paid. What more could he ask for? He was cleaning his guns when Sombra came up to him.

"It looks like null sector strikes again. The boss might have us go pick up some of their tech for data. Try not to cause too much of a mess if we do."Mauga looks at her, amused by the statement. "Come on, Somb you know me, what’s the fun in that?”

Sombra rolled her eyes. “I’m serious, Mauga, plus you wouldn’t want to cause trouble on your own stomping grounds, would you?"

“What are you talking about!?”

Sombra looked at him guilty. "Yeah, I probably should’ve started with Somoa getting attacked.”

Before she could say anything else, he was out of the room, guns in hand.

Mauga made it back to Somoa as quickly as he could. The whole island wasn’t damaged, but there was enough damage to know the clean-up would take a long time. Mauga rushes to your home, hoping you were okay. You had to be okay. When he got to your home, he dropped his guns to the ground.

Where was your home? Nothing but rubble lay in the distance. He walked towards the house; he didn't even realize he ended up running by the time he got to the wreckage.

“Y/N!!!!” He screamed your name. Mauga knew that when he didn’t get an answer, he had to move.

“They’re ok; they gotta be ok." Mauga nodded to himself. He knew you were a fighter, and you were smart. There’s no way you’d just lay down and die. He dug through the rubble of the house. He went through every single part of it he could move. And what he couldn’t pick up, he tried to dig under with his bare hands.

Hours and hours he spent moving rubble bricks and broken glass. His hands were covered in cuts and slightly rubbed raw from all the material he was trying to drag. The hours of the night ended up being until dawn.

“I’m such a fucking idiot,” Mauga couldn’t help but feel like shit. All the times you asked him to take a day off to spend time with him. All the times you told him you were lonely. All the time you worried for him. Every hug he got lasted more than a minute because he was gone so long. He always told you that no matter what, he’d protect you because he’s strong enough to win every time. He couldn’t always be there to save you, so you had to be strong too.

“A fucking joke,” he said, picking up a large piece of what was the door and flinging it.

“PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT” Mauga feels so much rage and so much sadness that he’s started throwing things everywhere. Not even caring, he threw his own guns. “I can’t protect shit! I couldn’t back up a fucking thing I said to them. I’m such a fucking joke! I couldn't even stay for em………they’re gone…… I couldn’t even fucking …….they can’t be…. they fucking can’t be gone.”

Mauga falls to his knees, not caring that his body has given out, that his hands are slightly bleeding, or that he flung his guns to God knows where. “The fuck am I going to do?” He puts his head in his hands. The stress is getting to him, and he can’t get it together.

“Mauga ! Your back!"

Mauga looks up, and he can’t believe what he’s seeing. There you are, covered in bandages, limping towards him. He slowly stands up, but he runs towards you like he’s going to tackle you. And he kind of does; he holds you in his arms tightly, bringing your face to his chest. He didn’t realize he was squeezing your wound.

"Ow! Mauga, I’m injured!”

He quickly lets you go but catches you before you completely drop to the floor.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He rubs your arms, putting his forehead against yours. “I…. I thought you were gone, baby…. I thought I lost you." His voice was raspy from screaming so much earlier, louder than he’s ever screamed, and that’s saying something for someone as loud as him. You wrapped your arms around him, snuggling into his chest, and you listened to his two heartbeats that sounded out of control.

“I’m ok; I’m here; it’s fine.” You try consoling him.

“When everything fell down, I got out but got glass stuck in my side, and I sprained my ankle. But I was strong, just like you said I had to be, haha." He smiled and picked you up, princess-style, leaning in to kiss your forehead.

“I’m so proud of you, baby,” he leans in, giving you a soft, passionate kiss, tangling his hand in your hair, and bringing you in as close as he can. He leans back from the kiss, rubbing your cheek with his knuckles and staring into your eyes, looking at you like he’d lose you if he looked away.

“Let’s get you somewhere safe, ok? Get you cleaned up and fed,” he pecks your lips. You nod at him, leaning your head into his neck and slightly tracing his tattoos. You were happy to be in his arms again. Mauga ended up bringing you back to his place, which was surprisingly untouched.

He takes off your clothes and carries you to the tub. He’s about to move to help you bathe, but you stop him. "Mauga, what happened to your hands, honey?" He looks down, his hands covered in cuts and dried blood. "I just got carried away. I’m fine.”

You gave him a look. "No, you're going to go get your hands looked at.”

He looked at you angrily, giving you a snarl. “I’m not leaving you!”

You lean back, not expecting him to get so angry. “Mauga I’m ok now; you’re here on the island with me. I’m not afraid, and you shouldn’t be either. If they come back, I know I’m the safest I could ever be because you're near."

Mauga sighs. He should’ve expected that. Even though he blames himself, he knows you don’t. And all he wants to do right now is make you happy. So he went to get his hands looked at. He won’t tell you he ran to the infirmary and ran all the way back, though.

When he made it back, Mauga caught you trying to cook. He quickly made his way over, scooping you up and dumping you on the couch. He propped your sprained ankle up and kissed your cheek. "Nope, I got it.” The rest of the day, Mauga took care of you. Getting salt water for your ankle and fixing all your meals. Helping you fix your hair.

He was so sweet, even though you knew he still felt guilty. You end the day cuddling in bed. You were in Maugas lap while he played in your hair, his other hand intertwined with yours. You lay against his chest, listening to his two heartbeats. He couldn’t help but smirk at the concentrated look on your face.

“What’s on your mind, beautiful?"

You look at Mauga, wanting to show him you are serious. “I don’t want you to feel bad about what happened. You couldn’t have known this would happen.”

"It doesn't matter; it’s my job to take care of you. You're mine, and I told you I’d always win for you and that I’d never let you get hurt.”

“You also told me to be strong because you always won’t be there, and you were right, and I pushed through because of it!”

He does not want to admit it, but he can’t help but give in, even if you were right and they were his own words. It stings to hear them in the moment. He wants to protect you from everything; he wants to be your rock and your hero. Even though he knows it’s impossible to be that every time.

Mauga hums in agreement, and he slightly leans his body onto you. It’s comforting to have his heavy weight pressing on you. His large, strong hands are on your body, making you feel so safe and protected. His gentle kisses and affection show you how much he means it; he’ll make sure you're taken care of no matter what. Being wrapped in his large arms puts comfort in your heart.

Mauga kisses your nose. “How about I take a break from missions? We can spend some time together on another island, just you and me, sugar.”

You smile, kissing him back softly. “Alright, just you and me.”

#mauga #overwatch #overwatch 2 #overwatch mauga #mauga x reader #ow mauga #mauga overwatch #overwatch x reader #maugaloa malosi

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gothicknightz · 2 years ago

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bloodline | ethan landry

notes: THIS IS A PREQUAL TO FAMILY TIES, IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT, HERE IS PART TWO AND ONE. SPOILERS PRESENT FOR SCREAM 6 UNDER THE CUT

The two of them were laying on the couch, doing reruns of classic horror movies, with the current movie playing Beetlejuice.

"I don't get why they just move," Ethan muttered, wrapping an arm around her, "I mean, if some pervert with ugly green hair showed up in my house, I'd be the fuck out of there."

She started to laugh, "It's not that simple, Ethan." Sitting up, (y/n)'s eyes lined up with her boyfriend's, before going on about the reason why Beetlejuice was in their house, to begin with. "Besides," She smiled, "I think that green hair is sexy."

Ethan nearly choked on his own spit, before attempting to clear his throat as he sat up. "No way," His eyes widened in awe, "Please tell me you don't mean that because I am not dying my hair green."

"Aw," She pouted, before breaking into a fit of giggles, "Why not? It'll make your curls stand out."

"Hell. No."

"What are you two lovebirds arguing about now?" A voice had asked, coming over to the living room to talk to the pair, sitting down on a chair across from them.

"Richie," (y/n) paused, "Please tell your brother he'd look good with green hair."

Richie chuckled, "He would," He paused, "But that's not the point." Richie reached into his pocket and pulled out a magazine cut-out of a dark blue formal suit, "Would you really want Ethan to show up at his own wedding with neon green hair?"

(y/n) sat and thought for a moment before groaning, knowing that Richie had a fair point.

"I hate how you're right."

"You're the one marrying him, (y/n)."

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

6 MONTHS LATER

Her head rested on his chest, the two of them laying in his bed together after a long night of proving their love to each other.

"I love you, Ethan." She muttered in response to his similar statement.

Not long after, Ethan's phone started ringing, and he groaned, wrapping an arm around (y/n) as he leaned over to his nightstand to pick it up and answer it.

"Hello?" He muttered, not knowing who called him, as he just picked it up without checking.

"Ethan?"

"Dad?" He pushed himself upwards, with (y/n) sitting beside him. "What's up? I got you on speaker, (y/n)'s with."

"Good. She should hear this." Ethan's dad voice sounded on edge, as if he was about to break down into tears.

"Dad. You're worrying us, what's going on?" Ethan glanced at (y/n) with a worried look on his face, her reaction returning the favor.

"It's Richie and Amber." He paused, taking a breath in, "They're dead."

Both Ethan and (y/n)'s eyes widened, as they heard the deaths of both of their siblings; of course, they knew that they would carry out the Ghostface killings and make it into a requel, but they didn't know they would end up dead.

(y/n) and Ethan both tightened their grip on each other, the news hitting them hard, "What?"

"It was that vixen, Samantha Carpenter. She killed Richie, and her sister, Tara, killed Amber."

(y/n) shifted in where she sat beside Ethan, "Does Quinn know?"

"I called her already, she knows." Ethan's dad sighed, "It was brutal, both of their deaths. You guys are going to have to call off the wedding for now."

But it wasn't the wedding that both (y/n) and Ethan cared about now, they just lost their siblings to a pair of sisters, and right now, they were going to grieve.

"Okay," Ethan muttered, the grip on his phone tightening, "Thanks for letting us know."

Soon after Ethan hung up, (y/n) let out all of the sobs she was keeping inside out, the tears running down her face rapidly as her breaths were shaky and inconsistent.

"Ethan," She cried, burying her head into his chest, "She's gone. She's really gone."

"I know..." He sighed, running his hand through her hair as he held her close, the thoughts of him losing his brother, one he idolized, consuming his thoughts, even the dark corners.

As (y/n) continued to cry into Ethan's chest, he stared blankly at his closet door while tears formed in his eyes, a dark glare overlapping them.

He wanted them back.

He wanted his brother back.

And he was going to find a plan.

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

3 MONTHS LATER

(y/n) had found herself sitting in Richie's room, which had been untouched since the day he left to go to Woodsboro with Sam, scrolling through the text messages she had sent to her sister.

She also had found herself looking through pictures of her and Amber; the times when they had horror movie marathons, the pictures they had taken in their old house before moving, and the dark red dress she had tried on in a test run for bridesmaid dresses.

(y/n) had kept a picture of her sister's senior picture in her wallet, knowing that she would've gone somewhere had she not been killed by Tara and her sister, Sam.

She didn't even realize that she was crying until the tears started falling onto the wallet, a hand flying to her mouth instantly as she tried to keep herself quiet, not wanting Quinn or Ethan to walk in on her pity party.

"Ooooh, who's Ethan?" Amber teased as she grabbed her sister's phone out of her hand, asking the most random of questions.

"Amber." She had warned, attempting to snatch her phone back as she chased her sister around the house.

"So, have you two had sex yet?"

"Amber!" Her sister yelled as she grabbed the phone back, with Amber laughing in the background.

"Sorry about my sister, Ethan. She likes to invade my love life sometimes." (y/n) sighed, smiling as she sat atop a kitchen counter.

"She sounds interesting." Ethan chuckled over the phone before his brother walked into his room and threw a shirt at him.

"Hey, loverboy, stop obsessing over your girlfriend for five minutes and help me with my movie."

Ethan groaned and got up, "Okay, okay. I'll be there in like five minutes."

"Was that Richie?"

"Yeah. I have to go, gotta help him with his movie. I love you."

(y/n) didn't have time to respond before Amber snatched her phone again and made obnoxious kissing noises before hanging up.

"Amber Freeman!"

She was so caught in her own thoughts, that (y/n) didn't realize Ethan walked into the room and noticed her shaking and crying while clutching a picture of her sister in her wallet.

A frown was evident on his face as he knew the exact same pain she was going through, and he hated seeing her sad. While the loss dug deep into the skin, he needed to be strong for her and his brother. He wouldn't have wanted him to spend hours crying over his death. He would've wanted them to carry out the wedding without him.

"Ethan," She choked on her own tears as she looked up at him, with a sad and shocked look on her face, attempting to wipe the tears away, despite them continuing to fall.

"I can't take this anymore." She shook her head, still trying to wipe the tears away as Ethan sat beside her and held her close, "I can't take it anymore."

"It's going to be alright." He tried to comfort her before she cut him off, in a sad, desperate rage.

"No! I can't take it anymore! I can't stand the fact that Sam and Tara get to live as good girls while Richie and Amber are painted as villains!" She took a deep breath in before continuing her rant, "That they get to live normal lives while we're grieving!"

"That doesn't sound fair, doesn't it?" Another voice had spoken, causing the two of them to look up and see Ethan's dad.

"I want Sam and Tara dead." (y/n) muttered bitterly in between tears, wiping them away as she talked.

"I think I have a plan."

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rowanraven08 · 8 months ago

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Unsolicited tma rant no one asked for:

I’ve been thinking a bit about exactly what makes me like the Magnus archives so much, cause I’m not really into horror anthology. Yeah, it’s a good aspect of the genre, but it’s never really caught my interest that much. And I consider myself a fan of horror, but I don’t actually like that many horror movies that much. I like it as a genre, and watching video essays about it, about how different horror affects us, that sort of thing. Horror doesn’t even make me scared usually. I’ll flinch at jump scares of course, but it’s pretty rare that I’m watching a horror movie and be genuinely afraid of the murderer or demon or whatever’s on screen.

Tma even took me a while to get into. I started it maybe in October or November? And it took me until January to get even a dozen episodes in. It was good, but I was really just waiting until it got to the good bits that made everyone love it so much. I knew there was some sort of meta plot, and had a cannon gay ship, that was all I knew when I started, and the reason I kept on with it. I hate to say it, but if I didn’t know even that, I don’t think I would have listened to more than a couple episodes, because short self contained stories isn’t what I’m interested in. Especially when there’s a magic Latin book and a coffin with knocking (I thought it would be a vampire or something) or some weird thing luring people into alleys to kill them. I took those early episodes to be generic devil worship sort of horror, that the weird details were added in just to add to the spook. That’s something that tends to bother me with horror movies, when there’s all this dark magic just for the sake of dark magic, and ends with this big question or realization that can’t be solved. And I do understand ending movies with something the audience can’t understand, because the mystery and strangeness can add to the horror. But I really dislike this, I’m all cool with hard or impossible to understand endings, don’t get me wrong, but when there’s no way to theorize, no dots to start connecting, I find that really frustrating. A good example (I can’t find what movie it is, so if someone know lmk) is a movie with the classic family moves into large old house, creepy basement, with satanic sort of imagery. I did actually like most of it, the stairs to the basement were normal, until there was a ball knocked down them when the light was off, and you could hear it keep going far longer than the actual staircase was. That these stairs kept going for who knows how long when the light is off. What I didn’t like was the end, where we got to see what was at the bottom of these endless stairs, and there’s long lines of people in this void, just standing there. But there was no explanation for this, no way to start theorizing as to what this could be, why it happens.

This is what I thought TMA was gonna be. Each episode never really ended with an explanation, or a way to theorize (early on) and I thought it would stay that way. I remember in January I was finally listening to more on a plane ride, and got to ep22, Martin’s statement about Jane Prentiss. It wasn’t even this specific episode that got me interested, not fully. I did like the worms, description of Jane prentiss, all that but it was when I kinda realized there was something to theorize about, that there was actually something going on behind the scenes. And it kept me listening. It was a bit frustrating how slow the season seemed to go, because I wanted to know what the worms were about, and I admit I rushed through a few episodes, again, thinking they were just filler short stories to break apart the real meat of it. The episode I think that really sealed the deal was strange music, specifically the bit between Sasha and Jon, I wasn’t too interested in creepy clown dolls, but that silly little debate over how to pronounce calliope was honestly charming. Like “oh, these characters aren’t gonna be overdramatized horror movies characters, at least not too much.” Once I got to the season 1 finale I was obsessed and basically finished the rest in two or three weeks (I listened to the last 120 episode in a single week).

And good lord Jonny I am SO SORRY I DOUBTED YOU. Because none of it was creepy books or creepy dolls or weird coffins for the hell of it, you weren’t actually left with no idea of what the ending meant. You just had to listen to Jon as he because paranoid and pulled out the red string, pulling all the pieces together for you until we finally got the big picture. I never once expected the fears, or avatars, or that Robert smirk was anything but a weird architecture, that Jonah Magnus was anything but a stuffy old man who founded the institute. And that’s why I think I love TMA so much, is there really is a big satisfying pay out as a listener, I didn’t even put the dots together myself and it’s still gratifying. The slow realization that these episodes aren’t just horror for the sake of horror, they have a reason, an explanation, and it still manages to keep a level of mystery and unknowability that makes you just always want to know more. Re-listening has been genuinely so fun, because especially with later episodes I’m able to connect those dots, and see the full picture as it unravels. The thing in the dark alley wasn’t targeting smokers to be spooky, it was a monster collecting victims to use in a ritual, and that addiction is part of the web.

So yeah, that was probably really redundant, but I just really love that slow reveal, all the little bits you can connect, and theories you can make. Jonathan Sims forgive me for ever doubting your writing, I see now you’re a genius, please give me your brain, I need it for my own creativity. Thanks for coming to my ted talk

#the magnus archives #tma #jonathan sims #rambles #rant #rant post #tma rambles

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maineventbts · 2 years ago

Text

DON’T SCREAM

genre: horror, thriller, smut, angst

pairing: taehyung x reader (featuring jk, hobi, joon, jin, yoongi)

word count: 10.4k

warnings: mentions of murder & death, violent attacks, unprotected sex, vulgar language, knives & guns. lmk if I’m missing anything else!

summary: you just branded your boyfriend as the murderer, after your gruesome attack. you think you’re finally safe in your friend’s home, but you receive a call from the killer while he’s in jail. the town continues to be in fear, awaiting the next killing. the police set a citywide curfew, which is ignored by many. like any good horror movie, a party is thrown during all of the chaos. thinking you have a night of fun ahead, you find yourself fighting for your life, and get the surprise of a lifetime.

a/n: i wrote this very quickly, please ignore any mistakes. this has turned into a series, but this is the last part that will be almost exactly like the movie. please leave any thoughts/comments/questions in my inbox (anons are on)!

"I got it wrong," your words come out hoarse, feeling like you were just kicked in the chest. Nayeon's mother left the room in silence, too stunned to speak on what just happened. The voice on the other side of the phone made your ankle wound throb. Tears dripping down your face, burning like acid eating at your skin. Not even a full three hours have passed since your attempted murder, and you're receiving a threatening phone call. What makes matters worse is that you've already labeled your boyfriend as the boogeyman, the killer is still on the loose, and targeting you. Taehyung was behind bars, and you believed that you were safe. This couldn’t be happening, there was no way that this was your life. You have no idea who was behind the mask or the chilling call. You were just at the police station, getting your ankle patched up and having your statement taken by Seokjin. All eyes were on you while you pointed the figure towards Taehyung. You knew he’d never forgive you, especially after he tried to get you to believe him.

Tensions were high; a murderer was running loose, you told the police your boyfriend tried to kill you, and the anniversary of your father's murder was just around the corner. Even though you were in a house full of people, you felt alone. No one in the room could see or understand what you were going through. Nayeon pulls you in for a hug, her hands wrapping around your quivering frame. You couldn't stand to be here anymore, you were ready to hop on the next flight and join your mother. You just wanted to get away from the carnage that is your new life. "I just want to sleep," you mutter, shuffling towards the extra bed in your friend's room. You cry silently, tucking yourself in the sheets. Late to the party, Nayeon's brother bursts into the room. With a pistol in his hands ready to shoot someone, he asks, "What happened," his question goes unanswered as you turn over, and his sister rolls her eyes. "You're late, Jin," she said, crossing her arms over her chest, annoyed with her brother's late arrival. For a police officer, he wasn't the best when it came to emergencies. It was his job to keep an eye on you and he was failing miserably. You could hardly comprehend what just happened, and since you surely weren't ready to tell the story, you let Nayeon speak for you.

As you walk onto campus the next morning, you're surrounded by reporters who were awaiting your arrival. They didn't care about your well-being, they were just ready to use you for another top story. The flash from the camera blinds you and brings back the worst kinds of memories. All you could think about were the invasive journalists from your dad's trial. The theories and the articles were the worst part of it all. You wouldn't be surprised if one of the top reporters were among the sea of bastards with a microphone and a camera. With Nayeon by your side, you believed that you would be okay and could make it through the turmoil. "Just ignore them," she says quietly, ushering you through the crowd. This was the last place you wanted to be. After the night you had and the fact that no one could get ahold of your mom, you were beyond petrified.

You sit at your usual lunch table, digging through your bag, as you talk with your friends. Bandaged ankle propped up, slightly in pain after all the walking you’ve done. The first thing you did was ask about Taehyung. He’d been released, but you haven’t spoken with him since. You expected that he’d be pissed, wanting nothing to do with you. "What do you mean, how does he feel? You told the cops that he tried to kill you. The kid's spirit is crushed," Hoseok chuckles, his comment receiving a smack on the chest from Nayeon. You already felt bad, but he was just making matters worse, "what else was I supposed to think?!" The last thing you wanted to do was rehash last night's events, but you couldn't just stand there and let him railroad you. There was a valid reason for you to think Taehyung was guilty, you didn’t just pull him out of thin air. "He knew I was alone and just happened to pop up as soon as the killer was gone," you said, aggressively zipping your bag closed, clearly annoyed. Jungkook forced his way into the conversation, saying, "I'm with, ___ on this one. He's always seemed like a killer to me, he’s got the charisma of killers from those true crime shows! He has 'murderer' written all over his face. This entire situation straight out of a horror movie."

As the group’s film nerd, Jungkook knew all about movies and the different patterns they have. He believed that he was the most qualified person for solving this, surpassing actual officers working the case. Ignoring Jungkook's commentary, Hoseok came to Taehyung's defense, once again, saying, "The message log came back clean, anyways, it's not like this is the first time he's snuck into your house. He probably just wanted to see you," Hoseok continues to speak for his friend, he’d fully believed that he was innocent, "he's here today, maybe you can apologize." His suggestion makes you scoff, standing up abruptly, "Why the hell should I apologize, I'm the victim here! He just got put in a cell for an hour; I was nearly fileted." You couldn't believe you had to defend yourself to your friends, especially after what happened to you. They should be more understanding; sadly, they've done nothing but make you feel bad. "By the way, I'm fine," you throw your bag over your shoulder, turning on your heel, "since none of you even cared to ask." It was hard to believe that everyone has something to say about the situation, but no one cares enough to ask about your well-being. You limped away from the trio, refusing to spare them another glance. After you walked away, the group remained silent, reflecting on their choice of words.

You received various looks from your peers, some looked at you with pity, while others looked like you had brought the killer onto campus. All of the eyes on you made you queasy, you wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. You're rushing through the hallway until you collide with another person. You try to regain your balance as you get ready to apologize. Before the words can leave your mouth, you realize you've come face-to-face with your boyfriend. He holds his hand out for you, trying to stop you from falling, before quickly pulling away. The look of fear in your eyes has him confused, "you still think I did it, don't you?" His question made you look away, head tilted downward as you stared at the floor. The look of concern on his face, paired with the softness in his voice, was a dangerous combination. You felt extremely guilty, expecting him to react angrily.

Maybe you were still scared, "no, Tae," you mustered up the courage to answer him. "You were there at such an odd time. Maybe it was a coincidence, but it just looked bad. I know it wasn't you, but that's all I could think in the moment," you finally looked up at him, sad eyes staring into his angry ones. "I knew you were scared so I just wanted to come and see you. I figured you'd want company, but the door was open, which was weird. So I rushed upstairs to see if you were okay," Taehyung grabs a hold of your hand, his expression softening as he realizes how sorrowful you look. "It's not just this though," he deeply sighs before continuing, "since everything with your dad, you've just been different." You snatch your hand away from his, glaring up at him, "what do you mean different?" You were appalled that he would even say such a thing, after all that you went through.

"You've been acting weird for months. Sometimes you barely want to be around me," he explains, and you stare at him in shock. "I know what it's like to lose a parent. When my dad left-" you couldn't believe the words you were hearing, especially to hear them coming from your boyfriend. "Really? Your dad left your mom, my dad was murdered. You can't even compare the two," your hand grips the strap of your backpack, as you prepare to flee this conversation as well. "I'm sorry that my life is too much for you. Not all of us are lucky to live in some perfect world," you push past him, your shoulder connecting with his. Taehyung calls out for you, shouting an apology as he watches you walk away. You refuse to turn back to him, keeping your head high while you storm away.

Ignoring the stares from your peers, you hurry into the bathroom. You lock yourself in a stall, leaning your back against the door. First last night, and now this? You just couldn't catch a break; it's like the universe was punishing you for some horrific crime. What could you have done to deserve a life like this? What you really wanted right now was your mother. She knew exactly how to console you and calm you down, but she still hasn’t responded to anyone yet. Seokjin promised he’d keep looking for her but you were beyond worried. You just needed to clear your mind, to breath. A few deep breaths and the sound of nothing seemed to do the trick. As you prepare to leave the restroom, you stop as you hear the voices of some girls.

"She's such an attention whore."

"Taehyung is too hot to be dealing with this. The bitch is insane."

"She probably lied about getting attacked, just to throw the cops off her trail."

"After what happened with her dad, she just snapped, and now she's dragging everyone else down with her."

The girls erupt in laughter, as they continue to exchange jokes about your current state. Every word felt like someone had taken a hammer to your chest. They didn’t know the truth, they just knew what they saw on TV and read online. The same goes for everyone else, they only know what people choose to report, not the full story.

As soon as the bathroom was cleared out, you exited the stall and approached the mirrors. You stared at your reflection with a blank face, too stunned to move. Eyes puffy and droopy, jaw clenched, and a frown. The girl in the mirror was a wreck, practically dead inside. A loud band pulls you from your thoughts, causing you to turn around. No one else was in the room, but you did see several people making a mockery out of the incident, masks and all. After what you just experienced, you weren't in the mood to stick around and find out what that was. Without any hesitation, you hurry out of the bathroom and walk to your next class.

_______________________________________________

"Students, for the rest of the week, classes are dismissed. Please acknowledge the citywide curfew and stay safe," an announcement goes through the intercom, receiving shouts and cheers from students all around. You and Nayeon are walking off campus, heading to her car, before you're stopped by Hoseok. "You guys coming to my party tonight," he asks, pulling Nayeon against his chest. You ignore their antics and keep walking, confused as to how they can party during a killing spree, with a curfew. "Come on, it'll be fun," Nayeon grabs your hand, giving you an overexaggerated pout, “Please, for me?” You figured she wanted to spend some time with her boyfriend, but just didn’t want to leave you on your own again.

You stared at them in disbelief, shocked that they’d even think you’d be up for a celebration, but the pair wouldn't budge. Part of you wants to stay in the safety of Nayeon's home, while the other part wants to be surrounded by a large crowd of possible witnesses. "Fine, I'll go," you give in, deciding that you deserve a bit of fun in your life. Hoseok gives the girl a final kiss before you snatch her away, ignoring his shouts directed toward you two. He does a celebratory dance before walking in the other direction, to get things ready for the evening.

_______________________________________________

"Nice to see you, ___" Jungkook grins at you and Nayeon, he was surprised to see you two in his place of work. "We're looking for some movies for tonight. What do you got," you take a look around the aisle you're in before Jungkook stops you, "don't worry about that, I got the movies covered. I'm thinking horror movie marathon!" You weren't surprised by his choices, knowing how much he adored movies, especially horror films. "Alright, well, we're going to the store to get some snacks and food. Don't pick out any of that weird shit, I'm not watching Human Centipede with you again," Nayeon drags you out of the store, as you say your goodbyes to your friend. Jungkook stares at you in awe as you walk away, "just one chance," he mutters before turning back to his stack of DVDs.

"You left just in time," Jungkook scoffs as Hoseok approaches him, "and you brought Michael Myers with you, great." He looks over in the direction of Taehyung, who is too busy talking with a group of girls to notice his comment. "Will you give it up? It wasn’t him, the cops let him go," Hoseok rolled his eyes, tired of having to defend his friend. No matter how many times he tried to explain it away, Jungkook wasn't buying it. "This is the kinda shit that comes straight out of the movies. You don't think I know what the fuck is going on," Hoseok watches the boy get riled up, about to go on a full-blown rant. He stands back and watches it all go down. "Anyone that's seen a horror movie knows what's happening. That boy has killer written all over him! For Christ's sake, he's even standing in the middle of the horror section," Jungkook sets down the DVD in his hand, "I don't give a damn how clean his phone records were. They could show me it themselves, and I still wouldn't believe it." He was frustrated, no one seemed to listen to his theories or the facts he was pointing out.

A man approaches Jungkook, a movie in his hand, "if you came over here to ask me what actor is in it, look on the back! It's right there," he says, shooing the customer away, ready to get back to his conversation. "The cops only let him go because they're stupid. It happens in every movie! The cops are either too late to the scene or they ignore the obvious signs about who the killer is." Hoseok brings another question to the table, continuing to egg him on, "if he's the killer, what's his motive? Hm?" Hoseok wouldn’t back down, he knew exactly how to get Jungkook going, and continued to push his buttons. Picking up a new stack of DVDs, Jungkook places it on the shelf, saying, "there's always some reason for everything. No matter how stupid it is. That's what makes these movies so great, they aren't overcomplicated. Everything is right in front of your face," Hoseok stares at the boy, wondering how much longer he could go before he starts to lose his mind.

"His motive? Maybe _____ has started to lose interest in him," Hoseok bursts into laughter, "so? You think that means she'll be interested in you next?" Jungkook shrugged his shoulders at his question, "I think so, we get along great. Last time I checked, she wasn't running from me. Only your friend over there," he points in Taehyung's direction. When he realizes just how serious Jungkook is, Hoseok can't control his laughter. Pointing at him and giggling like a kid on the playground. Unfazed by his disrespect, Jungkook continues stocking the shelves. "You know who I think it is? Her mom," Hoseok randomly throws a new suspect on the table, "no one's heard from her since she left." Jungkook shook his head, his luscious curls bouncing as his head turned. "Nah, she's probably dead. Have you seen her mother? There's no way she could kill two different people, and attack ____," Jungkook didn't believe Hoseok, to him, it made no sense for your mother to be the killer.

"Her body will be found next. Insides ripped out! Teeth bashed in! Rotting in a closet somewhere," Jungkook's vulgar language didn't surprise his friend, he tended to be very overly passionate about these kinds of things. "Someone's just waiting for the right time to bring her body to the surface." Hoseok looked around the room, waiting for others to notice just how loud Jungkook was getting. "If they watched a simple horror movie, they'd know there is a formula to this shit! A specific formula that they forget every time," at this point, he's practically shouting in the middle of the store, arms flapping around as he speaks.

"Don't you get it! Everyone's a suspect," the room instantly got quiet as everyone stared at Jungkook. Hearing only some of the things he had to say, they thought he was a madman. He didn't care about the looks, he shrugged his shoulders once again. "The moms a distraction, it's Taehyung," as he turns to walk away, Taehyung pops up behind him, making him stop in his tracks. A firm hand grips his shoulder as Taehyung glares into his eyes, "are you sure you're not the killer? Huh?? Maybe your sickass saw too many movies and decided to make your own," Jungkook's eyes widened in horror, as he was accosted by his primary suspect.

Jungkook jumps again, as Hoseok comes up behind him, "you have a point there, in a typical movie, I'd be the main suspect." Playing with his hair, Hoseok continues to invade his personal space, practically breathing on his neck, "what would be your motive?" Jungkook answered quickly, looking between the two men, "it's a new age in cinema, motives come accidentally, naturally." The pair found him amusing as they continued to poke and prod at him. They giggle amongst themselves before walking away from Jungkook. Leaning over to a customer near him, Jungkook speaks quietly, "you're telling me that dude's not a killer?" Before they can answer, Jungkook snatches the DVD from their hands, shooting them a disappointed look, "Is that the Texas Chainsaw with Trey Songz? You've gotta be kidding me, go pick another one out," he sets the DVD on his tray before sending the customer back to the horror section.

_______________________________________________

"Hey Hobi," you greet the party's host as you enter his home. "Is Tae here," you ask quietly, avoiding eye contact, "No, he said he wasn't feeling it tonight." Part of you was disappointed, you didn’t want to see him, but you felt like he was avoiding you. You take a look around at the large crowd, feeling a sense of comfort. If anyone was coming to get you, there'd be several people around to witness it. As you walked further into the house, people began to notice you. Shouting your name and giving you pats on the shoulder. It felt better than the way you were previously treated, but it still felt odd. "Hey guys," you give a tight-lipped smile as you make your way to the living room. Already on his way to the television, you watch Jungkook put a movie on. No one dared to disagree with the movie he picked out, wanting to avoid any kind of battle with the man.

"What's up pretty lady," the sound of Yoongi's voice made you turn around, you look over to see your group of friends waiting for you to join them. He hands you a red solo cup as the group makes room for you to get comfortable. You sit next to Nayeon and Jungkook, the two being your closest friends. "Are you feeling better," Namjoon reaches over, resting a hand on your shoulder. "Yeah, thanks for asking," you say, shooting him a smile, surprised that someone finally asked how you were feeling. You weren’t surprised it was Namjoon, he tended to be the more caring one of the group. Since your father’s untimely death, he’s made sure to always ask how you are. "Everybody shut up! We're about to watch one of the greatest films ever made, Nightmare on Elm Street," the room lets out some cheers as they settle in their seats.

Hoseok joins the group, plopping down next to Nayeon and asking, "can you get me another drink," the request makes her roll her eyes, but she does it anyways. She gets up from her seat and heads down to the basement. "Can you get me another drink," she mutters under her breath, mocking her boyfriend as she takes several drinks from the fridge. As she heads back to the door, the garage door opens up, stopping her in her tracks. With her hand on the doorknob, she looks to see who's there before trying to get into the house. "What the fuck," she groans, twisting the knob on the locked door. Instead of waiting around, she decides to go through the garage, to get back in the house. Walking towards the open entrance, she jumps. In front of her is someone in the same cloak and mask that attacked you.

"Jungkook? You've gotta be kidding me, take that off before ____ sees you," Nayeon shakes her head as she tries to walk past someone she thinks is a friend. A clothed hand wraps around her forearm, holding her in place. "You freak, let me go," she groans, trying to pull her arm away. "Fuck!" she shouts as she feels a sharp tip glide against her arm. Trembling in fear, Nayeon thrashes in her spot, trying not to freak out at the sight of her blood dripping on the floor. She thought it was just a prank gone too far, but they weren't stopping. "Let me go," her voice shakes as she finally pushes them away.

She bolts out of the garage, running from the assailant, just to be snatched back by her hair. Glass shatters on the floor as the drinks fall from her hands. Her back collides with the concrete, knocking the air out of her lungs. Coming to the conclusion that this was actually the killer, she’s aware that her end is coming. She tries crying out for help, words coming out as gasps, while tears run down her face. "Help me," she starts to shout before her mouth is covered. Letting out a series of muffled pleas for help, as she stares into the mask. She was beyond petrified, nearly about to give up. The phantom hovers over her, one hand over her mouth and the other hand wielding a knife. Her eyes widen as she notices the blade, thrashing on the floor, trying to save herself. Smacks to their face and fists to their chest, the killer refuses to let that stop their mission. Her attempts are unsuccessful, as the knife is plunged into her chest. Her hands come up to grip the mask, pulling it off of their face. Eyes fluttering as she’s losing consciousness, she looks in the face of the attacker. Her blood spilling onto the floor, as her world goes dark.

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"Nayeon, let's go," you shout throughout the house. Jin was on his way to pick the both of you up, being your bodyguard and your ride. You already broke the curfew, but now it was time for everyone to head home. People leaving in their cars, going to lock themselves in their house. You'd been looking for Nayeon for the last five minutes, with no clue where she was. Little did you know, she was lying on the garage floor and you'd be next. You stand with Hoseok at the front door, as you wait for your friend to show up. "Hey, ___," a familiar voice sounds in your ears, causing you to turn around. Standing in the doorway is Taehyung, looking as sorry as ever. You can still hardly hold eye contact with him, giving him a small nod. "Hey, why don’t I go look for Nayeon and you two can talk," Hoseok suggests, pointing towards the stairs. You quickly nod your head, realizing that you can't ignore him forever. "Yeah, let's talk for a bit," you say, extending your hand, waiting for him to grab it. Taehyung jumps at the opportunity to be close to you again, intertwining your fingers. He leads you upstairs to the closest bedroom. After you enter, he closes the door behind you, wanting some privacy.

"Tae… I'm sorry," you sit on the bed, looking up at the man in front of you. Taehyung sits down beside you, resting a hand on your thigh. "I've been going through a lot, and I haven't been fair to you," you say, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I've been dragging you into my fucked-up world and expecting you to be okay with it." You stare down at your hands in your lap, trying to hide the fact that you're crying. You had expected him to handle all of the baggage you came with, not concerned about how that might’ve effected him. Taehyung radiated comfort; in this moment, you felt like you could trust him. Taehyung places his hand on your cheek, lifting your head up. "Baby, you can't blame yourself. You've had a lot to deal with this past year, and the least I could've done is be understanding," he says, wiping a tear from your cheek, giving you a small smile.

"My pretty girl… don't cry. You have nothing to be sorry for, I'm the one who's sorry," you finally look into his eyes, lips curving upwards. "Let me show you how sorry I am," you know what he's insinuating, and you're quick to nod your head. After the week you've had, you needed this. Not waiting another moment, you smash your lips against his. His hand comes up to cup your cheek, as you part your lips. His tongue slivers through, making its way into your mouth. Your hands come up to his shoulders, pushing her flannel off of him. You pull away, pulling your shirt over your head as Taehyung's eyes fall to your chest. He's quick to pull his shirt off and ask, "are you sure you want this?" Your hands come down to his pants, fiddling with the belt, "I want this, now," you speak softly, as you continue to get his pants off. You wanted nothing more than to be with him in the most intimate way possible. Taehyung was always your safe space, and you needed every bit of him to feel better.

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The living room is still full of people, most of them being your friends. They've moved on to their next horror movie; Halloween. "It's obvious she was gonna die, she broke the main rule," Jungkook speaks to the group as he leans against the couch. The room as a whole was confused, assuming he was just speaking nonsense, as usual. "What rules," someone asks, clearly unaware that Jungkook has a habit of rambling on about movies. "You don't know the rules," he jumps up from his seat, looking at the people in disbelief. He lets out a big sigh and sets his beverage down. "There's a certain set of rules that everyone must follow if they want to survive a horror movie," Jungkook says, pausing the television as he begins to lecture the crowd. Little did they know, he’d give them some knowledge that would guarantee they’ll make it out alive.

"Rule one, don't have sex," that rule made the group groan out a variety of complaints, people throwing chips and solo cups at him. "Rule two, no drinking! Rule three, no going off by yourself," Jungkook spoke passionately as he listed off the rest of the rules. "And finally! Do not say 'I’ll be fine’ you won’t be fine! You will die next," Hoseok laughed at his friend, standing up from the couch. "I'm gonna go get some food, do you want some," Jungkook quickly nodded his head, “by yourself,” he questioned, not knowing what idiotic comment would come next. "Yeah, I’ll be fine," Hoseok tried to contain his laughter as he exited the room, the rest of the people giggling behind him. "That's the kinda shit that's gonna end with a knife in your back," Jungkook shrugged his shoulders, knowing that he tried his best to give them survival tips.

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"Fuck, I'm so sorry," your words come out as a moan, your voice quivering. Taehyung fucking you from behind as you grip the sheets beneath you. Each thrust was more exhilarating than the last, making your legs wobble. His cock slid in and out of your sopping hole, leaving you a whiny mess. Your legs practically shaking from the intense pleasure. Taehyung's hands grip your hips, bringing you to meet his thrusts. "It's alright, pretty girl," one of his hands comes up to caress your head. What started as a soft touch turned into him pulling your hair, "best apology ever," he groans loudly.

Things started off soft and slow, but got heated quickly. You both were eager to please the other, willing to do anything to make things better. "Taking me so fucking well," he picks up the pace without a warning. The sounds of your moans mixed with your hips smacking against each other was unholy. You can't even respond to his praises, too high in the clouds to even form a sentence. All you can do is let out airy moans, while you clench down on his cock. His cock was stuffed inside you, making you whimper and whine for more. Your thighs are soaking wet at this point, dripping down onto the bedding. You didn't care about the night before or what he said to you today, all you needed was for him to give you what you wanted.

As he continues to thrust into you, an overwhelming feeling begins to approach. You're sucking him in harder than before, not wanting to let this moment end. "Come on baby, cum all over my cock," Taehyung encourages you, as he feels you reaching your end, "you can do it, pretty girl." Those final words did it for you, you shut your eyes as you let the euphoric feeling take over you. "Fuck, squeezing me so well," Taehyung grunted as you continued to clench down on his throbbing cock. Your whines were music to his ears, aiding him in reaching his own high. He lets out of a string of curses, as his thrusts begin to falter. He spills his seed in you, coating your walls, before pulling out. His cum drips out of your pussy, spilling onto the sheets in a little puddle. You both take deep breaths, before saying anything else. Turning over, you lean forward, giving him a light kiss on the cheek. After you two cleaned yourselves up, you began to put your clothes back on.

"Did anyone come to see you, when you were in jail," you ask, pulling your shirt down. Taehyung sighed, confused as to why you were even bringing it up again, "My mom visited me." Your eyebrow shoots up in confusion, his mother was already at the station before he arrived, it was far from a visit. "That's not a visit, she was there to speak with officers," you proceed to fix your appearance as you ask your questions. Taehyung sits on the floor, lacing his boots, and trying to contain his frustration with you. "Then no, I didn't have a visitor," he gets quiet for a second, refusing to even look your way, "why are you asking about that? I thought we already settled this shit."

You shrug your shoulders, before turning to look at him, "I was just curious. It'd be funny if you had someone come and see you, so you could tell them to call me. It’d be a smart way to throw me off and make yourself look innocent," You knew your admission would make things worse, but you didn't care, it was a harmless statement. Taehyung jumped to his feet, finally looking into your eyes, "you still think it was me, don't you? We just had a whole conversation, the call logs were clean!" As he shouts at you, your eyes wander past him. The door was slowly being pushed open, "what is it gonna take for you to realize that I'm not the killer? Huh?" You ignored him shouting at you, too focused on what was going on behind him. Your eyes focus on a black cloak, trailing on the floor.

"What the-," you mutter before seeing the rest of the costume. Once again, you've come face to face with the phantom. Taehyung continues to yell at you, unaware of what was lurking behind him, "are you even listening to me?" Your mouth falls agape as you look on in pure horror. The masked killer carefully approaches you both, "Tae, look out," you finally shout, but your alert is too late. You watch as a knife is plunged into his back, causing him to hunch forward in pain, grunting loudly. Turning around to see his assailant, the knife is rammed in his chest. You let out a gut-wrenching scream as your boyfriend falls into a pool of his own blood. Sadly, you were standing close enough for his blood to have gotten all over your face. You try to let out a cry for help, but no words can come out. With a quick swipe of the knife, the phantom jumps over the bed, in an attempt to get you next.

You hop over the bed, barely escaping the swipe of the knife. As they try to leap towards you, they land on the wooden floor, buying you a bit more time. Sprinting through the halls, you take a look around at the wide variety of doors. Knowing you can’t stop running, you choose the one farthest away from where you were. The killer was at your heels, matching your pace. With your heart beating out of your chest, you snatch the door open, quickly closing it behind you. Once you noticed there was no lock, you pushed the nearby dresser in front of it as a barricade. You were in a bedroom, looking around for some kind of exit. Loud bangs come from the other side of the door. It was only a matter of time before they would break through. You come across a window on the left side of the room. Rushing towards it, you lift the latch to unlock it. You try to move as fast as possible, lifting the window up and crawling through. Just as you’ve made it to the other side, the door busts open. The assailant was instantly heading your way, you let out a gut-wrenching scream, praying someone around could hear you.

The floor under your feet was slippery. The roof boards were unsteady, and you could no longer use the window seal to hold yourself up. Carefully taking steps to the right, you lean down, using your hands to balance yourself. Looking beside you, the phantom is making its way out of the window. They’re moving faster than you were, not worried about falling down. You stand up straight, arms stretched out, as you try not to fall down. Taking large steps towards you with the knife in their hand, the killer dives towards you. "Somebody hel-" your voice cracks as a sharp pain in your abdomen stops you from finishing your cry for help. You’d been stabbed through the side, the knife was quickly pulled from your wound. The blood is pooling out, dripping down the side of your shirt. You feel yourself falling over, losing your balance, as you’re about to fall to your demise. Their hands wrap around your frame, you try to fight them off, kicking and throwing your arms around. They continue their attempts to stab you, swinging the knife in your direction. Throwing your hand up to protect yourself, the knife jabs straight through your hand,leaving you screeching in pain. You bring your wounded hand against your chest, trying to stop the bleeding.

You were either going to die up here or fall to your death, you couldn’t decide which was worse. Your attempts at fighting back were useless; you were barely able to dodge the knife coming towards your face. Ducking down, you throw your hands forward, pushing them back. As they stumble and try to regain their balance, you try to stand up. Before you can even move, you get kicked in the chest with a heavy boot. The force being too powerful, you slip off the roof, falling backwards as you shout at the top of your lungs. Your back connects with the roof of a car in the driveway. Groaning out in pain, you can barely believe that you’re alive. Slowly opening your eyes, you look up, only to see an empty rooftop. You hope they think you died on your way down; you weren’t sure how much more of this you could take. This was your second time being attacked, and this one ended with you being kicked off a roof, you were scared to think what was next.

Mustering up the strength, you roll off the side of the car. As your feet connect with the ground, you find yourself being drawn to the floor. You can hardly stand up, your back in excruciating pain from your previous fall. Using the side of the car as leverage, you pull yourself up and prepare to run. Before you can turn away from the house, a dark red puddle on the floor catches your attention. It's the body that's accompanying it that brings you to tears. Your best friend was stabbed and left bleeding out on the floor. You want to stay there with her, see if there's anything you can do for her, but you can't help her if you're dead. You limp away from the scene, moving as quickly as you can. As you make your escape, you continue to scream and plead for someone to come to your rescue.

Trying to shake the disturbing image you just saw out of your head. You make your way to the front of the house, thankful to see a friendly face. "Jin, we have to go," you shout, happy that there's someone with a gun to save you. To your surprise, he drops to his knees, falling onto the floor. Your eyes pan to the tear in his clothes, blood staining his uniform. You rush over to the porch, taking the gun out of his holster. You’d gone so long without a weapon, now you had the chance to fight back. Loud arguing catches your attention, and you turn around, pointing the gun at the two men approaching you.

Jungkook limping comes out of nowhere, fear evident on his face. He pushes Hoseok back before raising his hands, "he's lost his fucking mind! I found Nayeon by the garage, we need to get the fuck out of here." Jungkook tries to rush towards you voice quivering, before Hoseok pushes him to the floor as he holds his hands out toward you, "you gotta give me that gun! He killed my best friend, my Nayeon," the faux tears and the blood on his clothes aren't doing him any justice. The men continued to point at the other, screaming about all sorts of things. Hoseok begged for you to give him the gun, promising he could protect the both of you. At this moment, you can't truly trust either of them. One of them was guilty, and you weren't sticking around to find out which one. You run into the house and close the door, ignoring the screams from outside. They continue to beat on the door, pleading for you to let them in.

You hear your name being called from the top of the stairs. Your heart usually swells when you see him, but this sight wasn't something you enjoyed. Drenched in his blood, Taehyung stumbles down the stairs. You rush towards him, helping him hold himself up. He lets out small gasps, like he’s trying to catch his breath. Without thinking, you hand him the gun, knowing you'll be safer with him around. "We have to get out of here," you tell him, your voice hoarse and tears welling in your eyes. He shushed you, letting you know that you were safe now. "We gotta get the fuck out of here, now! Hoseok's lost it, he's gone mad," Jungkook pushes his way through the front door, immediately locking it behind him. Frantically pacing, he looks quite happy to see you two are still alive.

"Madness, is a lot like gravity, all it takes is a little push," Taehyung says, raising the gun, aiming it at Jungkook. You grip his arm, confused at his actions, only for him to fire a bullet through him. Falling through the table behind him, Jungkook hits the floor and now you're left alone. You scream in shock, staring at your friend lying on the floor. You want to rush over and hold him, you couldn’t lose another friend today. "Been waiting to do that all day. The little fucker figured it out too fast," Taehyung giggles, rubbing the barrel of the gun over his temple. You're confused, you watched him get slashed up in the bedroom, just to find out that he was behind it all. You willingly gave him a loaded gun, and now you’re about to lose your life.

Bolting towards the kitchen, looking for an escape, you come in contact with Hoseok. Falling into his chest, hands shaking as you pull on his shirt, "Hobi, we have to go now!" You start pushing him, trying to get him to run with you. He doesn’t move from his spot, just standing in front of you with a grin. Reaching into his pocket, Hoseok pulls out a black device. "Surprise, surprise," he speaks into the voice modifier, and you pull back in shock. The sound of his voice made your ears bleed, taking you back to the predicament from yesterday. You should've known it was them, all Hoseok did was defend Taehyung when he was guilty. The whole ordeal was confusing, nothing was making any sense. He was just supporting his accomplice, making sure neither of them got caught. You push past Hoseok, sending him into the wall.

When you think you've got away, here comes Taehyung, coming around the other side of the kitchen. Gun pointed in your face, as he backs you up against the kitchen sink. The way they stared at you made your skin crawl, you’d never been this uncomfortable in your life. "Where you going," Hoseok asks, as he approaches you, blocking off the area so you can't run away. "It's all a part of the movie, baby," Taehyung starts, keeping the gun in your face, "and you're the star, just like your father." You look down at the floor, too afraid to look either of them in the face. "Now, we're gonna ask you a few questions, alright? Get it wrong, you die," Hoseok jumps in to finish, "get it right, you still die." Taehyung puts the barrel to your head, shooting you a chilling smile, "There are only two survivors here, and I'm sorry, baby, but you didn't make the cut," the fake sadness in his voice was taunting.

You look up, glaring at the pair, "you both are psychotic! Fuck you," you shout, only for Taehyung to return the energy, "no, no, you already did that. Remember?" You feel sick to your stomach, remembering his hands all over your body, all of the sweet words he said to you. It was all a hoax and you fell for it. You felt disgusting, like you needed to scrub off this layer of your skin to feel better. Gripping the edge of the counter behind you, eyes moving back and forth between the two, "you're never gonna get away with this." You wanted to believe the words you were saying, but you weren’t sure. Clearly they’d planned this whole thing out by detail, they just might prevail. Taehyung bursts out in tears, laughing in your face, "oh, but we already did! Your father was an easy kill, and it was even easier to blame the whore he was sleeping with.” You feel your heart shatter like you're reliving the death of your father, all over again. You let out a small whine in disbelief. For months he’d been deceiving you, just for it to come out that he killed your dad. You needed to know what drove him to that decision and why he chose to string you along.

"Why'd you kill him," your words come out quietly as your head hangs low, you couldn’t bare to look at either of them. Absolutely repulsed at the fact that you had been friends with them for so long. They were the ones to console you when your father was killed, little did you know that they were the culprits. "Why? I think she wants a motive, Hobi," Taehyung turns to look at his friend, as they share a smile. They were excited to let you in on all of the gruesome details. "I don't really care for motives. You see, as our dear friend Jungkook told me, there's always a reason for everything. Motives come naturally and accidentally," he says, raising his voice toward the end of his statement. He looked at you like you were just a prop, a disposable piece in his movie. His aura was once warm and loving, now he just had the face of a psychopath. Eyes wide, a sinister smile, and a thirst for your blood.

"Did they ever find out why Jigsaw liked to kidnap people and put them in traps? Or why Leatherface liked to cut people up with a chainsaw," you raised your eyebrow in confusion. It was the wrong moment to argue, but you didn't care. You were dying tonight, so why not try and bruise his ego before you go, "we found out about both of them. For someone so obsessed with movies, you seem to know nothing about them." Your rebuttal has Taehyung scowling, his expression turning sour, as he looks appalled by your response. You're expecting him to at least hit you, even make another joke about killing your father, but instead, he takes another route. "You wanna know why your father's lying in a coffin? My mother was in love with your father, they’d been having an affair for months. Drove my dad away," you groan, knowing the chick from TV wasn't wrong, her theory was spot on. Your dad might’ve made a bad decision but he didn’t deserve to lose his life.

In the back, Hoseok is jumping around like he just took a hit of something, "your father was a man whore! Walking around town like he was some macho man. Somebody had to bring him back down to earth," every word felt like a kick in the teeth, "my father left me, you know what kind of damage abandonment has on a person? It made you slip up and sleep with a killer." You felt like you were about to pass out, wound still bleeding as you felt your brain shutting down. For months, you ignored the stories and theories about your father, only for it to all be proven correct. "Now let me tell you how this is gonna go," Taehyung speaks as he picks up the signature knife, handing the gun over to Hoseok.

"Your mother went crazy, her husband was murdered and she was traumatized. She went on a killing spree, getting everyone except me and Hoseok," knife touching your chest, tip poking into your skin. Chiming in, Hoseok keeps the gun pointed at you from afar, "she thought we were dead but no! We get to stick around and plan out the sequel!" If you heard the word 'movie' one more time, you were going to get the gun and finish yourself off. “I mean, people need to hear about this shit. Imagine the kind of movie deals we’re gonna get,” Hoseok was beyond animated, imagining how their lives will change once this is over. An idea pops into Taehyung's mind, a smirk coming onto his face, "why don't you go get my baby's surprise." He orders Hoseok to retrieve whatever sick secret they kept in the house, while he keeps his eyes on you.

"Oh, you're gonna love this one," Hoseok cackles as he backs out of the room. Silence fills the air as you're left with Taehyung. You look around the room, too disgusted to spare him another glance. He stares down at you, grinning like he’s won something special. You should've known there was something wrong with him, nobody is that perfect. You hear Hoseok coming back into the room, your eyes moving over to the entrance. A look of fright is painted on your face as you look at the body thrown to the floor. "Mom!" you whimper, trying to reach for her. She's tied up with tape over her mouth, looking like they roughed her up before her capture. "Stay back," Taehyung points the tip of the knife at your chin, making sure you can’t get to her. He liked watching you tremble, in a powerless position.

"Enough of this shit, let's get on with it!" Hoseok shouts, still jumping around. She makes eye contact with you, eyes widening in pure fear. She's innocent in all of this, and now she's about to be blamed for everything. It was your dad that fucked up, and now she would suffer the consequences. You felt like there was nothing you could do to save her or yourself. You couldn't believe the scene in front of you: your boyfriend pointing a knife at you, your friend pointing a gun in your face, and your mother on the floor. Lost for words, you decided to prepare yourself for whatever would come next. "Hold still," Taehyung turns to Hoseok, raising the knife into the air. To your surprise, he's plunging it into Hoseok's abdomen, "FUCK," he wails out, as he’s stabbed near his chest. You couldn’t believe your eyes, they were truly committed to their plan, willing to be sliced for five minutes of fame.

Blood drips to the floor as he screams in pain, "Your turn," one hand gripping the island, and the other reaching out for the knife. The look on his face was horrifying, like he was excited to return the favor to his accomplice. Taehyung hesitantly hands over the weapon and grabs ahold of your T-shirt. "Not too deep," he directs as he braces himself. Knife penetrating his lower abdomen as he shrieks in pain. Taehyung smacks a glass cup off of the counter, letting it shatter on the kitchen floor. The knife piercing his skin hurt like hell, neither of them prepared well for this part of the act. You watch as the two continue to take turns, tearing into one another, screams of agony coming from them both. The counter covered in blood, dripping onto the kitchen floor. "You sick fucks, this isn't just some movie," you shout from the corner of the room, slowly backing away from the two men. Clothes covered in their own blood, holes from the knife slashing their attire. "But it is, sweetie! This is act three, and I'm sorry but your role has been cut short," Taehyung giggles in your face, a pained look remaining, after being cut into by his friend. You stand there in shock, unsure how you got yourself caught in the middle of a movie. The men continue to slice and dice each other, you watched closely, jaw hanging and eyes wide.

On the other side of the room, Hoseok is leaning against the island, his hand over his largest wound, trying to stop the blood from spilling. "Give me the gun," Taehyung gives Hoseok an order, his hand waiting for the weapon as he glares at you. You felt like you were on fire, his gaze burning through your skin. Your mother was next to go, choosing to save you for last. "Uhhh," Hoseok mutters, nervousness evident in his voice, "I don’t know where it is, man," He looks around the room in shock. Taehyung clenched his jaw, groaning, the last thing he needed was a missing weapon with their fingerprints all over it, "don't just stand there! Find it," he barks at him, his voice startled you, making you jump. Hoseok searches the room, looking under every surface. "I have a better idea for your movie," everyone stops at the sound of a new voice, confused as to what's happening.

A surprise cast member, coming to rescue you from the third act. You finally look up, eyes landing on your friend with a gun in his hand, "Namjoon comes across you two idiots and saves the day." He speaks confidently, walking further into the room. He never left the house after the party, he chose to stay back and watch movies, hiding once he heard screaming. You have never been this excited to see him. A bit of hope runs through your body, you feel like you might finally stand a chance in this situation. "I think I like this ending much better," you mutter in the background, earning a chuckle from your friend. Namjoon aims the gun at Taehyung, pulling the trigger, "what's the matter," Taehyung walks towards him, making him back out of the room quickly. He opens the door, but before he can escape, Taehyung makes a swift move. With a brutal punch to the face, Namjoon is knocked down, his body piling next to Seokjin's.

Taehyung approaches the bodies, picking up the gun he dropped. "These things work so much better when you turn the safety off. Say goodnight," he snickers, turning off the safety and aiming the gun at his head. "Umm, Tae! We have an even bigger problem," Hoseok shouts from the kitchen, looking frazzled. Too entertained with the battle in front of him, he forgot to keep his eyes on the other victims. As Taehyung rushes back into the kitchen, frantically looking around. He wondered, how the hell did you managed to get out so quietly.

Leaving Namjoon alone, Taehyung rushes back to the kitchen, as angry as ever. "Where the fuck is she," he screams at the man, pushing him around. You and your mother were nowhere to be found. As soon as their attention was off of you two, you quickly fled the scene. Hoseok takes a seat, an exhausted look on his face, "find her! Get u-" before Taehyung can finish, the landline begins to ring. They get silent as Taehyung reaches for the phone, "you should really think twice before turning your back," he says, recognizing your voice with the modifier. Getting visibly upset, he shouts into the phone, "bitch! We're gonna finish you off like we did your fucking father," cackling on the other side of the phone, and you give him the best response, "awe baby, you gotta find me first." Now that you’re on the other side of things, you return his taunting energy. Toying with him as he did you.

He sets the phone down next to Hoseok, before smacking him on the back of the head. "Get the fuck up, Hoseok," Taehyung grunted, as his friend is resting on the countertop. Hardly able to construct a sentence, he groans, "you cut me too deep man," he looks like he's about to pass out at any moment. Enraged by Hoseok's inability to help find you, he rushes off by himself, running throughout the first floor. It’s apparent that he’s run out of tricks. The police were on their way and you were nowhere to be found. His movie ending was crumbling right before his eyes and he couldn’t handle it. "Hello," Hoseok picks up the phone, his blood dripping all over the Dialpad. "What are you gonna do, Hobi? The police are on the way, Tae already has a motive, what about you," he tries to find the strength to respond, as he feels like he's about to slip away. "He pressured me into this, I'm easy to manipulate," Taehyung is still in the back, tearing up the couches, and kicking over household items. "You didn't really call the cops, did you," cackling at his question, you're quick to respond, "of course I did." Clearly, that wasn't the answer he wanted, a wail coming from the back of his throat, "this house is a mess, I am so dead!" He was absolutely insane, sobbing about getting in trouble for a messy house, when he just committed several murders.

Taehyung stalks through the halls, moving as quietly as he can. Gun gripped in his right hand, as he kicks open every other door. At this point, he was running out of options. The police were on their way and they knew what he did. He might be going to jail but he needed you to die first. He’s eager to find you and finish you off himself. You’ve already ruined their plan, there was no way he was going to let you escape. Little does he know, you aren’t too far from where he was. Out of nowhere, a closet door busts open, and here you come, leaping out at him. Raising your weapon, you impale his chest with the same knife he tried to use on you. "Bitch," he groans out in pain, his body starting to drop to the floor. Looking down at him, you think everything is finally over, putting the knife in your back pocket. You begin to walk towards Jungkook on the floor, wanting to see if he was okay, until you're tackled sideways. Hoseok came out of nowhere, seeming to have regained some of his energy. Your back comes in contact with the wood floor, a shooting pain passes through your body. You’ve been fighting all night, but you don’t plan on giving up anytime soon.

Hoseok hovers over you, wrapping his hands around your neck, "die already!" He presses down, ignoring your hands clawing at his forearms. You raise your knee, hitting him in his groin. Hoseok falls back in pain, moaning on the floor. You hop to your feet, trying to catch your breath. You scan the room for the nearest exit. The stairs being your first choice, you sprint up the steps. You slip into an empty bedroom, closing the door behind yourself. Hiding from him was practically pointless, this was his house, you were at a disadvantage. “Don’t run baby,” Hoseok shouts, busting into the room. He charges towards you, hands instantly wrapping around your throat. “The movie isn’t finished, you’re ruining everything,” he screams every word in your face, bits of his spit hitting your face. He starts tightening the grip on your neck, making you thrash. Your hands come up to his face, trying your hardest to push him away. Hoseok backs you in a corner, your body colliding with the wall. You feel your life slipping away, running out of air in your lungs. You reach into your back pocket, raising the knife up. Jamming the end of the blade into his forehead, making him grunt, you could feel his hands loosen the grip on your neck. Pressing your foot against the wall, you push yourself forward, causing him to stumble back.

He lets you go before he drops to the floor, hands coming up to console the sore spot on his face. You lie in the corner, caressing your neck like it would help make the pain go away. You gather all of the strength you have to pick yourself up and hobble out of the room. You were on the verge of dropping to the floor, having to use the walls in the hallway to hold yourself up. Just when you thought you had gotten a substantial amount of space between you two, he catches up quickly. Right behind you as you approach the stairs, “why won’t you die!” You try to ignore the screams behind you, as a pair of hands pulls you back. You drop to the floor, making sure to keep ahold of the knife in your hands. Grabbing your shirt, Hoseok snatches you up. As your feet hit the floor, you raise the knife up, plummeting it in his chest. Letting go of you, Hoseok drops to his knees hands coming up to grab the railing. You decide to give him the same ending that he tried to give you. You pick your foot up, pressing it against his chest. You watch as he tumbles down the stairs, before hitting the wood floor at the end. A slight smile crawling onto your face, this being the best thing to happen to you all day.

You quietly walk down the stairs, just in case there’s another unwanted surprise waiting for you. Limping into the living room, you find yourself looking for another way to escape. "Jungkook," you notice your friend hobble into the room. You rush towards him, examining his chest, saying, "I thought you were dead." He looks relieved to see you, throwing his arm over your shoulder, saying, "I definitely should be, I’ve never been so happy to not get any action." You choose to ignore whatever he's rambling about, your brain is too clouded to comprehend anything. "This is one of the worst movies ever," a voice groans from behind you two. Namjoon is rubbing his head as he walks over to you guys. He gawks around the room, shocked to see the state of the house. Pictures and statues knocked over, glass coating the floor. You stand around, looking at the bodies on the floor, knowing your life has been changed forever.

"Wait, I've seen movies like this, it ain't over. Evil always comes back, you need to shoot it in the head," Jungkook's commentary concerned you. Nudging his body with your foot, you wait for him to pop up. His body remains still and stiff. “I guess this movie has an alternate ending,” you mutter, before limping over to the closet to untie your mother. “Are you okay,” you ask, already knowing the answer as you pull the duct tape from her mouth. All she could do was grunt, she was in horrible shape, bruises all over her face from her attack. Jungkook and Namjoon come over to help you, untying her wrists and ankles.

“It’s Billy,” a quite voice speaks from the front door. You all whip your heads around in unison, scared as to what might lurking behind them. You feel a lump caught in your throat, words unable to leave your mouth. “Holy shit, you should be dead,” Jungkook stops his movements as he observes the person in front of him. You feel like your paralyzed, too confused to make a move. Something pulls you back into reality, you jump up to your feet and run across the room. Colliding with your best friend, wrapping your arms around her. You pull away, examining her wounds. She leans into your chest, on the verge of collapsing, “I’m fine, so is Jin,” she points over to her brother on the floor, regaining his consciousness.

Once the police arrive with EMTs beside them, you truly believed it was all over. Evil was defeated and none of your friends lost their lives in the process. You’re in the back of ambulance, sitting on the edge, as you wounds are being tended to and you’re hooked up to machines. Looking over, your friends have the same thing going on, faces looking exhausted yet thankful that they made it out alive. For the first time in a long time, you felt like you could breath. “We got two more in here! They’re still breathing,” your heart beats rapidly, making the machines go haywire. Tears run down your bloodstained cheeks as you watch paramedics go rescue the same two men that tried to kill you. Your mind was hazy, you didn’t know what to say or what to think. All you could do was let out an agonizing scream.

#bts #bts fic #bts x reader #bts smut #kim taehyung #bts horror #scream au #fic: don’t scream #taehyung fics #taehyung x reader #bts au #bts oneshot #taehyung smut

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strayflowersstarsandlove · 1 year ago

Text

Horror nights (hanjisung)

PART 2

Something in him must have clicked so strongly in seeing you so emotionally invested cause he starts to press little fluttery kisses on your cheek every now and then, this probably being his way to reassure you and comfort you the best he can. And it's making you loosing it all over again.

You two were no strangers to cheek kisses, he loved giving and receiving kisses so this was usual for the both of you but lately it had been impacting you so differently you tried to keep your giving share to the the bare minimum and right this moment you were just so grateful the room was dark cause you knew you were as red as a tomato and you were definitely sweating a little too from all the internal commotion you were experiencing.

You feel his lips attaching to your skin once more, his breath ventilating your face, and your heartbeat, that had only just recently slowed down, now wildly picking up pace again. "Your skin is warm", he hums, so softly you barely catch his words, he's leaning in at another angle as you turn your head in a split second and he kisses your cheek again, so close to the corner of your mouth your brain goes blank.

And then his lips are on yours. You shiver. You physically tremble as you feel his hand reaching up to your face and cupping your cheek, his mouth parting just as you do the same. It's so so quick but intense your head starts spinning a little. Next thing you know you're both staring at each other with wide eyes and ear to ear smiles, the movie completely forgotten, everyone around you completely vanished from your pheriphery.

Han chuckles, his chest heaving as his pretty pretty eyes look into yours so intently, "I- I can't believe you just let me do that?!", he half whispers, "was I not supposed to?", you reply in gleeful disbelief, "are you serious right now? Do you know how fucking long I've wanted to do that for?", you blink in utter shock, a goofy smile etching on your lips just long enough for him to kiss it off your face again, smiling himself into the kiss, "shit",he giggles, and you try to shush him by flattening your hand right on his mouth, repressing your own giggles, trying to keep yourself together from the happiness that's just about to make you burst out of your skin, "date me? Please date me", he asks, though his question comes out as more of a statement to which you can only enthusiastically nod.

"SHE SAID YES" Han suddenly shouts, making everyone around you turn to you with either annoyed or shocked expressions on their faces, Jeongin and Chan looking startled as they jolt awake, "SHE SAID YES TO GOING ON A DATE WITH ME. PROBABLY MULTIPLE DATES. TO BEING MY FUTURE GIRLFRIEND IF GOODNESS ALLOWS", he shouts once again, leaping from the couch and standing in the middle of the room, dancing and bowing to everyone cheering and shouting, "yeeeeeah", "FINALLY" - "took you guys long enough!", "YOU GO HAN-AH, "oh thank fuck you'll finally get a room from now on".

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newtthetranswriter · 1 year ago

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ooh ooh i got one—how about talking yuji into dressing up and planning to go to a party but we end up trick or treating instead LMAOOOO

A/n: HAPPY HALLOWEEN, sorry It’s a bit late and may seem rushed but I finished it and think it turned out cute. A little context I tried to make it as though the reader probably started at Jujutsu tech part way through high school, also they are adults in this. I hope you like it and Thank you for the request. Remember to Hydrate or Diedrate, and requests are still open.

Halloween with Yuji

Word count: 973

Paring: Yuji Itadori x Gn!reader

Summary: Movie night turned Party turned trick or treating with Yuji.

Warnings: none really, maybe feeling left out at a party, mentions of Megumi threatening Yuji.

It’s the best day of the year, Halloween. I had originally planned to just stay home and watch movies with my boyfriend, Yuji Itadori, but a friend from before I became a sorcerer invited me to a Halloween party they were throwing. I decided that since I haven’t been out in a while I might as well, so the next step was convincing Yuji that a party would be more fun than watching horror movies all night.

“Hey Yuji, I have a question for you.” I said entering the living room, watching him set up the couch for a night of movies.

He paused before turning to look at me. “What’s up, babe?” Yuji asked, I could tell he was curious.

Joining him by the couch I put on my best puppy dog eyes, knowing it would be the only way to convince him. “A friend from high school invited me to a Halloween party and I was thinking it would be a good way to get out and forget about curses and stuff for a bit. What do you say? We can even dress up for it.” I suggested hoping he would agree.

Rolling his eyes he sighed and plopped on the couch. “I thought we were gonna have a movie night just the two of us. Plus we don’t even have costumes, what would we wear?” He made a good point. We had been planning to stay in for weeks so we hadn’t got any costumes. I thought for a moment before I had an idea. I immediately sprinted to our shared bedroom.

After rummaging through the closet where we kept spare sheets I finally found two white top sheets. Grabbing the sheets I went to the kitchen grabbing some scissors quickly cutting two holes in the sheets. I threw one over myself grabbing my sunglasses from the counter, walking back to the living room. “Bam we can be cheesy ghosts together.” I said, throwing the other sheet over Yuji's face.

“Ok, fine we can go, but if it gets boring we are coming home and watching Friday the 13th.” He said standing up, fixing the sheet so it sat properly and grabbing his own sunglasses. With a small cheer from me we headed out to the party.

We had arrived at the party about an hour ago, and I have to say it was boring. Don’t get me wrong, the music was nice and there were a lot of things happening, but we knew no one there. Sure my old friend was there but it had been so long since we last spoke it felt forced and it was impossible to join in conversation with other people. It was like people formed their little clicks and didn’t let new people join.

Letting out a sigh I stood up from my seat grabbing Yuji’s hand. “Let’s just go home, there’s nothing to do here.” I said, pushing my way through the crowd.

As we walked home I could feel Yuji watching me as I fiddled with the sheet in my hands, having taken it off to get some fresh air for a minute. When I turned to ask him what was wrong, he grabbed the sheet from my hand and threw it back over my head. Before I could ask why he started pulling me somewhere.

“We can’t let these awesome costumes go to waste. So we are gonna go trick or treating.” He said pulling me towards what I’m assuming was a neighborhood.

I stumbled as I processed his statement. “But we’re adults, it’d be weird for us to trick or treat.” I said, trying to convince him to go home. “You wanted to watch horror movies, we can just do that.”

He stopped and turned to me. “True, I did want to watch horror movies, but you seemed so excited to go out. Even if the original plan was to watch movies, it changed once. Why can’t it change again? Also who said it’s weird to trick or treat as adults, there’s no age limit to fun and if someone has a problem with it they can fight me.” Even with the sheet and sunglasses I could tell he had a large smile on his face as he said this. “Plus after we decided to go to the party I was planning on bugging Fushiguro on the way home anyways.”

That’s when I noticed the area we were in. I could spot Fushiguro’s apartment building not far from us. I rolled my eyes but agreed anyway.

We ended up dragging a grumpy sleep deprived Fushiguro out of his apartment and managed to convince him to go trick or treating with us. It was honestly a blast. Yuji and I received many compliments from older couples about how sweet it was that we were still enjoying our younger years and not letting go of the small things. By the time we made it back to Fushiguro’s place we were exhausted.

Ignoring the protests of our friend we sat on his couch and relaxed wishing him a good night. Sensing we weren’t going to leave anytime soon he grumbled before going to his room. I threw the pillow case I had snagged from his closet that was full of candy on the coffee table. “Thank you for this Yuji, even if it involved possibly signing our death certificates, I really appreciate this. I love you.” I said curling into his side.

“I love you too, Y/n. And don’t worry, we both know that as much as Fushiguro complains he had fun too.” He said with a laugh that turned into a yawn as he placed a kiss on my forehead. With that we both fell asleep after a night that definitely did not go as planned but was still fun.

#jujustsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk x reader #x reader #yuji itadori x reader #yuji x reader #jjk yuji #yuji itadori #jjk yuji x reader #happy halloweeeeeeen #halloween fic

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greater-than-the-sword · 2 months ago

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Hey could I ask, what's your issue with The Shack? I've never liked it but that's just because I don't like crime/horror stories. Thus the premise - the event that caused Mack to go on his journey in the first place - didn't resonate with me and I couldn't follow his reasoning process. I thought the message of realizing that you're a sinner (the justice cave scene), receiving forgiveness for yourself as well as to move towards forgiving those who hurt you the most were quite powerful though. Also I have close to no issues with 'Papa' being a woman because femininity has to originate somewhere within God's character. It's not weakness or an insult, it's neutral. God can stand it and I dare say, will even choose to embody it as long as he is not limited to this form of appearance. It was an illustration. People usually know the difference. There's zero complaining about the fact that Aslan was a lion in Narnia, is there. If anything, The Shack caused actor Chris Pratt to become a believer, which is something to celebrate, no? My take is, each to their own. I didn't like it, but it seems to have helped a lot of people in their faith to receive God as a more loving father. I don't like The Chosen either, as it is equally as reductive to Jesus' person, making him "historic" and "fun", still the show seems to impact a lot of people positively. So. Thoughts?

There's a few different arguments here and i want to address them separately.

1) "The Shack" caused Chris Pratt to become a believer therefore it is good.

Now, I believe that God can use bad things for good. Just because God used something for good doesn't mean that all its attributes and statements have been endorsed by God.

2) Femininity is from God therefore we can portray God as a woman

First of all, I want to point out I have an issue with visual depiction of God the Father in the first place. Depictions of Christ get a pass because he is a man; God the Father was not incarnated in this way and no one can see Him. It feela sort of sacreligious to me in the first place to depict him at all.

I want to point out that feminine allegories of God don't offend me, for the very reasons you gave, but this character is not an allegory but a literal depiction of God. Which also puts a lot of words in God's mouth and I mean theological statements. Statements which are also unbiblical. For example, this is not a movie where forgiveness is found in the cross of Christ but rather a universalist movie with no clear reason for forgiveness and you dont really have to believe etc. cuz God is just "too nice" to send anyone to hell or whatever. Not the Christian religion.

3) This is just like the depiction of Aslan in Narnia

All I can say is come on.

4) This is just like The Chosen

No not at all and come on your critiques of Jesus being "historical" and "fun" are bizarre. Are you telling me Jesus didn't live at a time in history? Doesnt every pastor ever try to delve into the historical context of Jesus in every sermon? Wasn't Jesus a human man who doesn't have to be super somber at every moment in his life? Did he not "come eating and drinking"? Come on

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haveyouseenthishorrormovie · 10 months ago

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I don't entirely disagree, but I think that what you say about it being impossible to be apolitical would extend to the original poll itself. Ignoring the political climate doesn't make it apolitical. I do agree in that case not posting them at all would be political in a different way. If I might suggest? Perhaps you could simply add a small statement. "Free Palestine" at the bottom of the post, to make it clear. Or add a tag to clarify it is Israeli made, on occupied Palestinian land. Or add a watermelon emoji if you want it to be as innocuous as possible and hopefully not invite people to bring up the politics of it. My kneejerk reaction was discomfort due to the lack of any acknowledgement of a conflict that is impossible to escape. Any mention of Israel is inherently going to bring politics into it, so for people's reassurance and comfort knowing you're not purposefully ignoring said conflict for the sake of your polls (which I think people could uncharitably interpret that as), maybe adding something small to acknowledge it without making it a big show would be a good gesture. Thank you for responding thoughtfully to my prior ask.

Another long reply.

hello there.

unfortunately after reading the other ask I found myself slightly disappointed by the fact that you didn't fully read mod sus' response. Even if you did, one of the main points was "we do not wish to bring genocide into this" this is not a blog about politics. we do not wish to force our opinions, or anything upon anyone else. who I stand for should not affect other's opinions when it's on a blog that is about horror movies and if you have seen them or not. as mod sus suggested, you could simply block the tag "israel" if you do not wish to see movies that have been made by them, this is why the tagging system is in place. bringing politics onto this blog will increase attention from both sides of the matter, whether it be positive or negative, will ultimately block the audience's view of what this blog is actually for, having fun and joy around what the world could only know as, horror movies.

thank you for reading, have a wonderful day.

mod chris

mod L would like to add: the reason we don't add "free Palestine" to posts about movies by Israeli filmmakers is the same reason we don't add "free Ukraine" to posts about Russian films, or "free Tibet" to posts about Chinese films. Individual creatives do not bear responsibility for the actions of their government, and we will not imply otherwise by applying a standard to their films that we do not apply elsewhere.

Mod Sus: This is to not say we ignore or support the on-going conflicts or wars between the countries or groups of people. We merely want to keep this blog free from reminders of these events going on. We hope that can be seen as reasonable to not add the suggested messages or additions into our polls.

We're here just to talk about movies. If you do wish to talk about the problematic or heavy topics related to these movies, whatever they are, you are free to do so in the reblogs. It is part of good media and art critisism to acknowledge its darker aspects too, but you can enjoy (or not enjoy) the art while acknowledging them.

#ask #not a poll

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excusethequality · 7 months ago

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My 2024 in Film: February

Another month of movies.

Like usual I'll hide it behind the line so as not to bombard the timelines of the uninterested.

But there were a lot of good movies watched in February.

* = Rewatches

February

14.

Evil Demon Golf Ball from Hell!!!

(1997)

—Short Comedy Thriller

Directed by: Rian Johnson

After a robbery takes a bad turn a criminal finds himself cursed with a golf ball that won't stop following him.

Here I was thinking that I was an old school Rian Johnson fan, because I've loved Brick since back in the day, but turns out he was making short films even before that.

I'm not gonna say it's amazing tell-all-your-friends cinema or anything. But I will say that if you're in the middle segment of the venn diagram of people that both enjoy Rian Johnson and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, I'd recommend you check it out. It definitely has the vibes of a Jojo episode, because that golfball has got to be an autonomous stand like Notorious B.I.G.

15.

La Nuit du 12

[English title: "The Night of the 12th"]

(2022)

—Mystery

Directed by: Dominik Moll

A French homicide detective, plagued by the mystery behind the brutal murder of a young woman, is forced to confront the harsh truths of the world and the reality of what modern law enforcement really is.

There's some things to like about this one, but it can't ever escape the fact that—at its heart—it is not a story about the dangers of living as a woman under the patriarchy. It is a story about how difficult the brutal murder of this woman was for this poor male cop.

And how can you make a statement about the systems of a world where women have to fear this sort of thing from within a story about a woman getting fridged to give the male protagonist some pathos?

16.

Bound

(1996)

—Crime Thriller

Directed by: Lana Wachowski & Lilly Wachowski

While fixing up an apartment a handywoman falls for the woman next door only to discover that their criminal connections could prove to be their salvation or their downfall.

My roommates and I have roommate movie nights wherein every month we select a new theme and everyone has to pick their own movie fitting the theme without telling anyone else what it is until it's their night. Then throughout the month we'll watch them all.

And before each showing the picker will show a couple trailers of the things they were thinking about picking but that didn't make the final cut.

I had always avoided this movie because anytime I hear something described as an erotic thriller my ace ass is running the other way. But we wound up watching the trailer for it during a roommate movie night and I was intrigued.

(extra intrigued because I didn't know Jennifer Tilly was in it and I hadn't seen her in anything in some time.)

So I figured I'd give it a try. And much to my surprise I really enjoyed it. I think I might actually prefer the Wachowski's style in this than I do their later stuff? Not only is it super queer, but it's also just a really engaging thriller. Definitely worth sitting through the couple of erotic scenes for.

17.

Corner Office

(2022)

—Comedy Mystery

Directed by: Joachim Back Based on: "Rummet" by Jonas Karlsson

A businessman starts a new job only to discover a mysterious office that grants him exceptional clarity. The only problem is that he's the only one who can see it and the rest of the office is a little uncomfortable with how he keeps going into the hallway to stare at the wall during his breaks.

I'm not really sure what the message of this movie was supposed to be? It's too uncomfortable to be funny, and it's too odd to be thrilling. I'm open to the idea that I just completely missed the point, but the whole thing felt like having some Boomer talk at you for 102 minutes.

18.*

Ready or Not

(2019)

—Horror

Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett

On her wedding night a bride is asked to partake in a family tradition of her new in-laws: to play a game. However, the stakes of this game are far higher than she was expecting.

Right off the bat I'm gonna warn you against watching the trailer for this one. It shows way too much and spoils some surprises. I think it's a great one to go into knowing only the broadstrokes. But if you really want one, this one with Indonesian subtitles is cut much better than the standard US one.

Anways, I love this movie!

Samara Weaving is phenomenal as the lead. It's shot super well. And its satire of the rich is excellent.

I don't care what anyone thinks, it's a 5/5 to me. I have a blast every time I watch it and I have seen it quite a few times.

19.

The Lost City

(2022)

—Comedy Adventure

Directed by: Aaron Nee and Adam Nee

An eccentric billionaire kidnaps a romance novelist in order to find a lost treasure. Now it's up to the cover model of her books to rescue her.

I don't know how to put this, but this is a great example of where the writing of big studio Hollywood is these days, and why it drives me crazy. This is essentially (but not technically) a remake of Romancing the Stone (1984) and when you compare them you can really see how screenwriting has changed.

And I wouldn't even say Romancing the Stone is top tier writing or anything. But from the standards of its era it was a solid entry. It might not be the flashiest thing, but it has a strong foundations and it is first-and-foremost telling a story. And that's why it's memorable.

But The Lost City feels like a 2 hour long SNL skit. It's inherently NOT about the story. The story is secondary. It's about the jokes. The story is just there to be a set piece to tell some jokes. Because of this the scenes don't progress in a way to tell the story, they progress to get from one skit to another.

The result is that there is no foundation for me hang my attention on. It's all just empty calories. Yet the film will still try to have big story and character beats, but they didn't do any of the groundwork and so it's all hollow for me.

The viewers wanted silliness and adventure and big names and bigger action, right? Well, here it is! Isn't it great!? Here's a plate of sugar and salt and oil, these are the things you wanted, right? What you put them in is secondary, right? Why bother making a dish when we can just give you what you want.

I don't know. I was excited about this one, because Channing Tatum, Sandra Bullock, and Daniel Radcliffe usually always make me laugh. So them being in something together seemed like a recipe for something I'd like. But it very much was not.

And so many big movies feel like this these days; as if movies are being written by a group consensus instead of by a storyteller.

20.

Cameraperson

(2016)

—Documentary Memoir

Directed by: Kirsten Johnson

Documentary filmmaker and cinematographer Kirsten Johnson creates a memoir of her life and career through the unused footage of the documentaries she's worked on.

I had never seen this one before, but this was my pick for a roommate movie night. The theme was: "Oh!...So that's a thing."

I figured that the easy road would be to pick a documentary that highlighted some unusual group or idea, but I wanted to push the boundaries of the theme. I wanted to find something that wasn't about something unusual, but was itself something unusual.

And that's how I wound up at Kirsten Johnson.

I had first heard of her during a fantastic episode of Switchblade Sisters where she was the guest and she put forth a truly fascinating documentary-filmmaker view of Jackass: The Movie (2002). In the episode she also talks about her film Dick Johnson is Dead (2020), and I was thinking that maybe that would work.

But in looking at her other work I saw this and the idea behind it sounded so interesting that I had to go with it.

It's April as I write this post and this is currently sitting as my favorite thing I've watched this year.

I just love it. It is such a uniquely compelling film. If you were to make a standard documentary about documentary filmmaking I don't think it could come close to reaching this kind of impact. It would seem too sterile. But by using the parts of the documentaries that you don't see it is able to paint this fascinating picture of both her life and her profession, while making you feel like you're along for the ride.

I've thought about this movie so much since I've watched it. Definitely check it out if you get the chance.

21.

Marry Me

(2022)

—Rom-Com

Directed by: Kat Coiro Based on: Marry Me by Bobby Crosby

A pop-star in the middle of a crisis decides to accept the offer of a fan at her concert who is holding a sign saying "Marry Me."

I am part of the small percentage of people that have read the webcomic this was based on, so I was shocked when I saw it had been adapted.

As a connoisseur of Rom-Coms I found this is to be a little below average. But I can't really dislike it, because J.Lo is giving it her all.

Owen Wilson is phoning it in HARD, but J.Lo is going for it.

I wouldn't tell you to go out of your way to see it, but if you're low on options and you see it somewhere, you could do a hell of a lot worse than a movie with J.Lo proving she's still as good as she ever was.

P.S. "On My Way (Marry Me)" is a banger.

22.

Knock at the Cabin

(2023)

—Mystery Thriller

Directed by: M. Knight Shyamalan Based on: The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

A strange group descends on a small family vacationing in a rural cabin and presents them with a choice: decide which member of the family should die and then kill them, or else the entire world will be destroyed.

I distinctly remember early in M. Knight's career where that man could do no wrong. I also distinctly remember years later where a trailer said "From the mind of M. Knight Shyamalan" and everybody laughed.

After he created the absolute heaping white-washed trashfire that is The Last Airbender (2010) I has just wrote him off. But it's been a decade! Maybe he has managed to get back to his roots? And the library had his new stuff so I figured why not see what the man has been up to, without giving him any money.

Anyways, I hate this.

I hate this a lot.

I also hate that Dave Bautista is giving a really great performance, because it'll be the hidden silver lining to an otherwise terrible movie.

From what I read the book this is based on takes the story in a very different direction, so no shade on the book. But I am just lost at knowing what this movie is trying to say? Because I can't help but be wildly uncomfortable with a movie written by a straight man about how a gay couple should kill each other in order to save the world?

Like...what the actual fuck is this? Why would you make this?

23.

Old

(2021)

—Sci-Fi Mystery

Directed by: M. Knight Shyamalan Based on: Château de sable by Pierre Oscar Lévy & Frederik Peeters

A group of families find themselves trapped on a strange beach where they seem to be aging at a highly accelerated rate.

I haven't done the proper research, but I have a working theory that if Gael García Bernal is in a big Hollywood movie: it won't be good. But if Gael García Bernal is in a Spanish-language movie: it will be fantastic.

Which is to not to insult him in any way, but is to say that Hollywood has no idea how to use this man's talents.

Anyways, M.Knight is back at it! Once again getting great actors to be in bad movies. This is just plot hole after plot hole after plot hole. And since this was based on a French graphic novel I actually did read it afterword, so now I can confidently say that he has once again both entirely missed the point of the source material and also gave it a ridiculous ending.

I can't say it's utterly forgettable, but I kind of wish it was.

24.*

Best in Show

(2000)

—Comedy Mocumentary

Directed by: Christopher Guest

Cameras document 5 contestants on their way to the biggest dog show of year.

I'm not positive, but I think this is the first mockumentary I ever saw? My best friend's family loves mockumentaries so I wound up watching a bunch while over at his house and it rubbed off on me. So I have a lot of nostalgia for this one.

It's just such a fun movie. Quotes from this movie live rent free in my head. And the cast! The cast is so good. This is one of those movies that I'll always be down to watch.

25.

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History

(1988)

—Documentary

Directed by: Mark Lewis

A wild look at Australia's history with its most notorious eco-terrorist: the cane toad.

This is one of the movies I was thinking of for the previous roommate movie night, but didn't go with. I obviously still had to watch it by myself later, because I mean...how can you not want to see this?

This friggin' movie is wild. Not only is the story it's telling wild, but it shoots from the perspective of the toads? They had songs written for the movie about toads? It's just something you have to see to understand.

I also thought I knew the story of the cane toads ravaging Australia, but I definitely didn't know the whole story. It's only 47 minutes long. You can find the whole thing on Youtube if you can't find it elsewhere. If you don't watch it for the unique style of Documentary, you gotta watch it to hear the story about these toads. That's the kind of crazy history that you just can't make up.

26.

Nimona

(2023)

—Animated Sci-Fi Fantasy Found-Family Adventure

Directed by: Nick Bruno & Troy Quane Based on: Nimona by ND Stevenson

A young shapeshifter teams up with a criminal ex-knight to overthrow the status quo.

What's this? Another movie this month based on a webcomic I read back in the day? What are the odds?

I've always been a fan of the Nimona comic. In fact I was even one of the many fans reading it here and Tumblr back in the day!

When I was working at a bookstore the Nimona graphic novel was a real popular seller and while the store's owner never gave me credit, I am taking full credit for it. Because it wasn't even on her radar until I pre-ordered my copy and told her how great it was, so she ordered an extra copy for the store. Then I wrote a shelf talker for it and we kept selling it and boom! It became a store staple.

[Sorry, I' hope y'all don't mind 'm just in a chatty mood. So you're are just gonna have to keep putting up with all this stories behind the things I'm watching!]

Netflix has a love for dicking me over time and time again, so I was resigned to probably not being able to see this one, because I refuse to give them any money. But they actually decided to do something cool for once and they put the full movie on Youtube for free in the time leading up to the Oscars.

Overall I really liked it! But I've gotta say that I like it as an addition to the graphic novel and not as a replacement for it. Because in the context of the source material it's delightful, but if you only watched this I feel like you'd be missing out on a lot. Ballister and Ambrosius' relationship in particular is WAY more interesting in the comic.

Also, I'm also not sure why the art director of the movie decided to give Ballister permanent puppy-dog eyes? But that's neither here nor there.

27.*

Evil Dead II

(1987)

—Horror Comedy

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Both a sequel and a remake of the first movie. Ash is back at the cabin and so are the deadites! But this time...it's zanier!

I have discovered that among Horror fans I have some hot takes regarding the Evil Dead films. The first of them is that Evil Dead (2013) is an amazing movie and a fantastic adaptation, and all y'all are just haters.

But the second of them is that The Evil Dead (1981) is the far superior film to Evil Dead II.

The Evil Dead is creepy and wild and delightfully independent and creative. Army of Darkness (1992) is a campy and hilarious adventure through a nightmare world. And floating adrift somewhere in the middle, with no real goal is Evil Dead II.

I know many people who love it, and I wish them the best. But personally every time I've watched this I've just been thinking that this is all time I could've spent watching one of the other ones.

[Except for Evil Dead Rise (2023) which is by far the worst of them all. I'm not sure if that's another hot take or not, but it's true.]

28.*

Leprechaun

(1993)

—Horror Comedy

Directed by: Mark Jones

While sprucing up an old house a spoiled girl and a family of painters runs afoul of an evil leprechaun when one of them eats some of his gold.

I thought I hadn't actually seen all of this when I sat down to watch it, but then the character Ozzie showed up and it all came flooding back to me.

But don't be like me. Don't watch Leprechaun by yourself. Leprechaun is a dish that should be enjoyed with the company of friends. Also some alcohol.

Because it's not a good movie, but it can definitely be a fun movie.

29.

Leprechaun 2

(1994)

—Horror Comedy

Directed by: Rodman Flender

The leprechaun is back! This time he's determined to transform a girl into his leprechaun bride.

Okay, now THIS one I'm pretty sure I had never seen before.

It's also not good. And not even bad in the fun way the original one was, it's just not good. Although Warwick Davis being a menace is never not fun.

But the girl is the most interesting character and she is sidelined for most of it. Thus we're stuck following her dumbass boyfriend and his alcoholic boss around. And they are just the dullest characters to follow around.

30.

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar

(2021)

—Comedy Adventure

Directed by: Josh Greenbaum

Two mid-western best friends decide to spice up their life and take a vacation to Florida.

I have a friend that adores this movie. It looked a little weird, so I wasn't sure about it, but I decided to trust her judgement and my love of Kristen Wiig and give it a try.

And she was right, because this movie is so much fun. It's probably not the sort of humor that everyone will love, but it's definitely the sort of humor that cracks me up.

31.*

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar

(2021)

see #30

After I finished it, I immediately watched it again with commentary, okay?

Don't judge me!

32.

Oppenheimer

(2023)

—Bio-Pic Drama

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

The story of Robert Oppenheimer's history of developing the atomic bomb.

One of my roommates told me at nearly midnight that he was about to put this on and asked if I wanted to watch. It is 3 hours long, but I'm always up late anyways, so I figured why not.

I don't really have many thoughts on this. I typically love Cillian Murphy, but I kind of don't like his Oppenheimer accent in this?

Also people kept talking about Robert Downey Jr.'s performance and I don't know why, because Josh Hartnett was the real standout for me. Somewhere along the line he got really good at acting.

33.

Shall We Dance

(1937)

—Musical Rom-Com

Directed by: Mark Sandrich

A famous ballet dancer starts a rumor that he's married to a performer he has a crush on. This is rather unfortunate for her as the rumor is making it difficult for her to marry her actual finance.

I had never heard of this before, but I stumbled across it while trying to see if the library had a copy of Shall We ダンス? (1996). It turns out they did not, but they did have this.

I didn't like it.

The plot is really creepy when you think about it. Most of the musical numbers aren't very good. And I just was rather bored for most of it. And the moviegoers of the time didn't love it either, so it's not just me!

The main thing it has going for it is that Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire are so friggin' talented that it is always fun to watch them perform. And old movies are always a trip. They have a scene with barely any cuts where Rogers and Astaire do a tap dance number on roller skates. If that's not talent then I don't know what is.

34.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

(1985)

—Post-Apocalyptic Action Adventure

Directed by: George Miller & George Ogilvie

In a post-apocalyptic Australia a lone wanderer becomes embroiled in a power struggle between the sibling rulers of a city.

In a reverse of Leprechaun, I was convinced I had seen this before. I was so sure of it. But when the film truly goes BEYOND the thunderdome? None of that rang a bell AT ALL.

I'm going to assume I had only watched parts of it some time in the past, but never the whole thing. Because the whole second half was a wild surprise for me.

Definitely an interesting watch if you're a fan of the Borderlands games.

35.*

Scream 4

(2011)

— Meta Horror

Directed by: Wes Craven

Ten years after the events of the last movie and Sydney Prescott has finally managed to piece her life back together. But when she returns to her hometown as part of her book tour she soon finds that another familiar face has also returned to Woodsboro.

Unlike with the Evil Dead series, I have no idea how my Scream takes are seen within the Horror fandom. But I love Scream 4. I would go so far as to say that it is my second favorite of the entire franchise, with the first one being the only one that tops it.

I know the third movie gets a lot of hate, so if you dropped off the series at some point and never made it to 4, I humbly suggest you give it a watch. Heck, I'm not positive, but I think you could firmly enjoy this one if the only other one you had seen was the first.

I had never seen anything past 4, so I figured I'd give it a rewatch before finally getting around to watching 5 and 6.

36.

Scream

(2022)

— Meta Horror

Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett

Ghostface strikes again! And this time Sydney isn't even in town! Maybe people shouldn't live in Woodsboro?

[Right off the bat I should mention that although it is the fifth movie, they decided to make the bold choice to name it "Scream." Does this mean that 2 of the movies in the franchise now have the same name? Yes. Yes it does. Is that kind of confusing? Yes. It certainly is!]

Ohhhhh boy. On one hand I'm glad I rewatched 4 to remind me of where the series last left off. But on the other hand I wish I hadn't because it set my bar really high.

I've heard people screaming praises for this one, so I figured I'd finally get around to checking it out. Especially because these directors also did Ready or Not which—as we have previously established—I love.

HOWEVER, I did not love this.

I don't care what any other fans think, this is going dead last in my Scream rankings. I'd gladly watch 3 before I'd watch this again. The whole thing is like a terrible Scream fan fiction story.

I am so glad I got this from the library, because if I had paid to see this in the theater I would have been even more annoyed.

——————

February Stats

——————

Movies watched this month: 23

Rewatches: 26% ( 6/23 )

My favorite new movie of the month: Cameraperson

Least favorite: Knock at the Cabin

——————

Previous Month's Posts:

JAN

#xcusethequality

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