#go back to the original and root the films in horror

[sophieseals]

At this point I’m starting to wonder what alien fans actually want out of an alien film because NOTHING seems to make you happy

[superectojazzmage]

Just back from Alien Romulus and hoooo boy oh boy. Review/analysis.

Easily the best Alien movie since the first two, which isn't saying much, yeah, but it is legit a really cool and well-made movie, competing with Late Night With The Devil, Longlegs, and Cuckoo for title of my favorite horror movie this year.

In a lot of ways it's about harvesting the few good ideas from the post-2 movies that were squandered and doing them right, plus getting the series back to it's healthier roots, kinda the movie equivalent of someone doing physical therapy to get back in the saddle after an injury. This means it's not quite brand new ground like some may hope for and I've heard some people feel it gets a little derivative at points because of it. I can kinda agree and certainly understand that criticism, but I feel it does what it's aiming for really well and sets things up for future works to go in even crazier directions. Furthermore, it takes a lot of time to try and weld together the disparate post-2 movies in a way that brings the series back to a little coherency.

The atmosphere is really intense and cool, swinging between lovecraftian dread and build-up and high-energy chaos. The aesthetics and special effects are gorgeous, taking full advantage of the progress that technology has made since 2 plus really digging in to the used cassette future vibe of the older films. The characters are likable and actually intelligent (or at least understandable) in behavior like in the first two movies, so you care about what's happening to them instead of just waiting for them to get munched. The action and kills were really cool and creative, the cinematography in general was off-kilter in an awesome way - there's a definite attempt to make the movie feel claustrophobic and intimate. Fede Alvarez did a fantastic job in general, I'd love to see him do more with the series.

It REALLY cranks up the series' psychosexual, freudian, and sexual assault subtext, arguably to a point where it's just plain text. So if you're sensitive to stuff like that or if this is your first go at Alien, be warned for that.

More specific notes go under the header for spoilers. Highly recommend you go in as blind as you can.

Andy and Rain were wonderful leads, their dynamic was fantastic and Calie Spaeny and David Jonsson both turned in great performances. I direly hope they join the first two films' casts as "major" characters for the series going forward.

The effects to make Daniel Betts look like Ian Holms were quite possibly the one and only time the special effects failed. It looks very wonky, which is sad because Betts does a really good job copying Holms' mannerisms for Ash while still making Rook feel like a distinct character.

In addition to the usual themes of sexual unease, genetics, and parenthood, this movie adds in some really interesting themes of familial legacy, the rise of new generations, foundations, etc.. Andy and Rain are like Romulus and Remus of myth, orphaned and left to fend for themselves but growing into founders of a new age - both in-story with their carrying the XX121 substance and evidence of Weyland-Yutani's misdeeds to Yvaga and out-of-story with them being the protagonists of a new era for Alien. Likewise, the Offspring is the first example of an entirely new species, neither human nor alien but taking from the lineages of both through Kay and Big Chap, a Romulus-like founder of it's breed that will later bear fruit in Resurrection with the Ripley clone and Newborn.

I'm really not kidding when I say above that the psychosexual undercurrents are taken to the extreme here. This movie basically sees the ways the original film subtly pin-pricked at those themes, says "fuck that", and deliberately rubs it in your face in a way designed to make sure you can't ignore it. It wants you to be grossed out and to squirm in your chair and it knows exactly how to make it happen.

Alvarez noted in the lead-up to release that he took a lot of influence from Isolation and you can definitely see that in how he depicts the Xenomorphs and the general aura of the film. He further described it as a kind of halfway point between the first and second movies and you can also see that; it has the Lovecraft-style tension and horror of the first, balanced with the energy and action of the second, and it does a really good job finding a middle ground between Ridley Scott and James Cameron's styles while also doing it's own dance.

I mentioned way back at the start how the movie basically harvests the good ideas from 3, Resurrection, Prometheus, and Covenant and gives them the room they deserve while dumping the bad. It does that in both terms of themes/style and continuity/lore. Concepts that those movies bungled like xeno-human hybridism, the black goo, genetic engineering as a focus, and so on are done here more creatively and competently. Themes that those films tried and failed to tackle are handled with significantly more grace. It has the atmosphere and characterization of 3 but none of it's baggage and needlessly depressive tone. It has the body horror and weirdness of Resurrection without taking it to the zany, embarrassing areas that movie went. The effects and creativity of Prometheus and Covenant without any of their awful writing and clumsy messages. Alvarez takes on kind of an Al Ewing-esque "repairman" writing style here.

The Xenomorphs are absolutely deranged in behavior compared to most portrayals, attacking like either cruel sadists or raging chimps and rarely bothering to take hosts. I'm not sure if such a reading was intended, but I got the vibe that the idea is Xenos raised without a queen or hive grow to be basically sociopathic like how real world predatory animals grown without parental figures become feral and dysfunctional. Which would also explain a lot about how the Xeno in the original movie, Big Chap, acts there.

The Offspring's design is fucking wicked and I love it.

One of my few major criticisms is that Big Chap died off-screen instead of getting more to do. What was the point of having him be alive at the start if he wasn't gonna be used beyond a backstory point to set up the main story?

All in all, a very impressive effort and a great return to form for the series that I recommend highly.

[returnofthelightt]

Hasta & The Final Girl Trope In Horror Films: A (Mini) Analysis

Here on this post, I wanted to make a short analysis on how I think Hasta connects to the The Final Girl Trope.

☆ Please note that the Final Girl Trope actually has evolved. The trope characters are not what it used to be, I will be going back to the original origins of this trope.

☆ In addition to the Hasta Nakshatra, I found that many of the women playing have Mula, Revati and Mrigashira as well. My research today only focuses on Hasta but please note it is not limited to this Nakshatra only.

☆ Many of these references that are used are personal opinions and theories. If you do not agree or have a different opinion I would love to hear it! But please be respectful in doing so.

The Final Girl Trope

The Trope Itself

Before diving deeper into the hasta Nakshatra, let’s look at the ‘Final Girl’ trope description.

The final girl in movies is usually the last person standing or is the only woman that can make exit in the movie. They are usually described as being the virgin or sexually unavailable, refraining from sexual activities, as well as alcohol and drugs. Additionally, many of the Final girls portrayed had Brunette her instead of Blonde (blonde characters - specifically women, were perceived as highly promiscuous). If not all the time, most of the final girls are known to be more intelligent or at least carry smarter decision-making. They are the first ones to sense that something is ‘off.’ As mentioned before, Hasta’s sign of Virgo, is ruled by Mercury (Mercury exalts in Virgo). Mercury rules human intellect, as it is a combination of the sun (the soul) and the moon (mind). 

If we look at even the basics, the sign of Virgo is ‘The Virgin.’ Virgin women are often stereotypically described along the lines of being pure, innocent, chaste, and so forth.

Additionally, the women have an androgynous appearance - with their names and clothing sometimes being unisex. Claire Nakti in her Hasta Nakshatra video discussed how they manifest their traits through purity and by detaching from male influence. Claire also talks about how “Hasta women like to prove their worth without needing men, as well as female power separated from female appearance/sexuality” (this can be depicted in numerous ways such as their work, appearance and so forth). Hasta picks up all external influences, analyzes them, and discriminates based on their observations. Hasta picks out men and realizes only the divinity is deserving of her.

It’s hard to exactly state if The Final Girl trope exudes the real meaning of feminism, or at least women standing up for themselves against evil. However, I wonder if Hasta’s appearance in these films unconsciously aims to reject the typical views that some males hold of women (i.e. unintelligence), and how his perception of the Final Girl often ends up with the evil male lead having to disappear to avoid being killed or eventually is killed. Claire Nakti also mentioned how many Hasta women are involved in using books or poems to criticize male behaviour, male sexuality the struggles of women opening up, and the promotion of female independence regarding intellect. The Final Girl in the film must use her wit to decipher the situation and defeat the Killer through the use of her hands.

If we decipher Carol J Clover’s book on the Final Girl trope, she does mention how the victims in Slasher films are mostly viewed as women, whereas the evil characters are males. Often these Final Girls are initially stereotyped for the male gaze at the beginning of the film, but eventually, the viewer roots for the final girl to defeat the monster. The woman becomes ‘masculinized’ when she is forced to defeat the monster by utilizing a weapon.

Carol further emphasizes this action while discussing how the killing of the monster/killer can be related to ‘castrating’ the male, which in return eliminates the ‘threat’ to the uterine. The body part that represents Hasta’s is the palm of their hand. The Hasta Nakshatra is known for manifesting outcomes with their hands. In Komilla’s Sutton book, she describes how Hasta can be related to elephants, as they use their trunk as an extra hand to complete their task. I thought this was interesting considering the quote ‘to hold something/someone in the palm of your hand,’ pretty much means you the influence or control of something/someone. The symbolism of the hand of course can be also correlated to their Deity, Savitar - The Sun God. Savitar was known to be skillful with his hands.

In all, I do think Hasta has some correlation with the Final Girl Trope, whether it would be in films or tv shows. I do think there are many of factors (my own personal ones) and others that are discussed in Clover's book. It wasnt that long, but I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! Feedback would be greatly appreciated xx.

[all-souls-matinee]

BONUS Halloween in August/September Review: Alien: Romulus (2024)

[Eschewing my usual format of 1-2 sentence summary + 1-2 paragraphs of thoughts, this one will be a combination to include several spoilers. It also assumes some prior knowledge of the Alien franchise]

Going into Romulus I was leery of how video game-y the trailer felt and the choice of a director best known for 'subverted expectations' home invasion horror, but those were the two aspects of it I ended up really liking. The premise is that a group of 20-somethings are stuck in an intergalactic mining town where the amount of missions they must fly hours they must work to gain an emigration permit is raised by a few years each time they reach their goal. Our protagonist, Rain, is told by a friend that he and his crew have discovered the wreck of the Nostromo floating above them and plan to break in and steal its cryochambers; the last thing they need for their own ship to make an escape into deep space. The crew welcomes her, but admit that what they really need is her adoptive brother Andy, an ill-liked synthetic who can access the Nostromo's controls. So far so good, I love this premise! It's a little YA dystopia, we've got a ragtag group of mining orphans that look like TikTok influencers and don't have personalities, but that's okay- acceptable and even expected for an Alien movie. I'm also not here to clutch pearls over the sanctity of the original; everything that follows plot-wise is good stuff! Reminiscent of video games, yes, but that means lots of clever little item pickups and interactions, and the tension-building is excellent. An early example: while collecting cryofuel half the team is trapped in a room full of slowly thawing, unseen facehuggers. The other half must retrieve a master-key computer chip from Ash's body (left over from the original mission) to pass to Andy, who is then stuck in reboot mode and unable to help until a critical moment, and this all filmed brilliantly with great effects. There are several standout scenes like it; the movie feels connected to the rest of franchise while contributing new ideas- playing with gravity and temperature and electricity as both weapons and stumbling blocks. It looks good, I like individual plot beats (including the contentious climax), I love the multiple dead rat puppets that are here for some reason, but this is also the only movie I've considered walking out of.

No one barring David Jonsson (Andy) can act, and chemistry is nonexistent. We're told that the crew is composed of friends, siblings, cousins, and love interests, but never actually see it, and no matter how good the plot and pacing are on paper that really makes things drag in places. I like the aliens and love the androids in these movies, but at the end of the day I've always ended up rooting for the humans because of the empathy on display. Many of the Aliens are objectively worse than Romulus from a filmmaking perspective, but this is the first one where I wanted the bad guys to win.

The main villain of this movie isn't the aliens, it's Ash. I was spoiled on CGI Deepfaked* Ian Holm going in, so when they boarded the Nostromo and saw his body I rolled my eyes and braced myself for a scene where he comes to life like a haunted house prop and then they kill him or whatever, but no, he sticks around and drives the entire plot. It's awful; I don't even hate this one from a writing perspective it just feels insanely disrespectful (and is distractingly bad to look at.)

3. The Green Mile is one of my most hated movies of all time. I revisited it early this year when the podcast Just King Things discussed the book within the context of Stephen King's larger body of work, which stresses the character of John Coffey not as an aberration but a trope King keeps coming back to: a black or disabled person who is a holy innocent. Physical prowess and/or magic powers are coupled with the disposition of a character like Of Mice and Men's Lennie or Flowers for Algernon's Charlie to create someone who looks scary but is actually worthy of love because, hey guys, he's nice and sympathetic in a way that appeals to an imagined white American audience. Months after listening to that episode I accidentally walked into an even broader literary context, discovering the character of Jean in E.E. Cummings's The Enormous Room (a nearly 1:1 blueprint for Coffey), and Pip in Moby-Dick, a child traumatized to a point of babbling incoherence that allows him to act as a holy conduit, a prophet, and a comfort to his captain. These characters aren't meant to be racist but rather to teach about antiblack racism, which makes for interesting reading, but a terrible Alien movie.

Andy is the only black character in this film. Andy is referred to as Rain's brother at most twice, then revealed to be her servant (literally programmed by her father to do two things- protect her and make dad jokes.) Andy is cognitively and physically disabled from being rebooted so many times over the years, and faces extra abuse and discrimination because of this. I cannot begin to describe how it felt to have spent the year bumping into saintly black characters in media who are dehumanized in order to teach some vague platitude about humanity, only to run into it again here. It gets worse and more muddled when Andy is rebooted using Ash's chip, which makes him "normal," which makes him evil. Ash uses him to further the interests of Weyland rather than his sister/master Rain and it makes him start saying scary inhuman stuff like 'the solution to the trolley problem is to kill as few people as possible.' (Again, go bad guys.)

I know the movie doesn't see itself as racist. Andy is by far the most interesting character and has a lot of complexity to him; Rain's whole arc is learning that no one should have seen him as expendable or treated him as an inferior, and tells him his new prime directive is to live for himself (as well as her. Can't leave that on the table.) Alverez clearly had the best of intentions, but the movie can't get away from the fact that Andy being cognitively impaired and using his strength and powers to the benefit of some random white girl, choosing family over work but also the individual over the collective, was actually what made him human.

Okay rant over. I liked the part where they threw a flair and the facehuggers scurried after it like a pack of dogs because they hunt by body heat and movement instead of by smell and vision. Yay :-)

*Holm was deepfaked 'respectfully' with the consent of his family using a combination of animatronic and a new actor... and the company literally responsible for deepfakes (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/alien-romulus-ian-holm-rook-ash-ai-1235982350.) I cannot stress enough how bad this is to look at for almost 2 hours like i needed to talk about Andy but jesus christ.

[agentnico]

Speak No Evil (2024) review

Right, so I did not realise I needed James McAvoy singing ‘Eternal Flame’ in an unsettling voice whilst starring intently into my eyes in my life yet here we are. Mr Tumnus for the win!

Plot: A dream holiday turns into a living nightmare when an American couple and their daughter spend the weekend at a British family's idyllic country estate.

Based on a Danish horror film of the same name, which I have not watched to avoid a sense of bias, or the more truthful reason being that I simply couldn’t make the deserved effort, the Hollywood remake machine is back at it again with Speak No Evil, a psychological thriller courtesy of the folks from Blumhouse, a production company who’s model is to produce films on a small budget, and give directors creative freedom whilst still release films widely through the studio system. Essentially a studio that pioneers for artistic freedom, so always good to support these types of films. That being said, Blumhouse has lost a bit of its reliably unique flair with it being a while since they’ve had their last solid hit, but I’m always happy to give them a go.

In cometh Speak No Evil, a film which Universal marketed so hard I’ve seen the trailer for it maybe 352 times? Look, whatever sells the tickets I guess, but last time a trailer has been shoved in the audience’s faces so much was Argylle, and we all know how well that movie performed. NOT! Anyway, does Speak No Evil deliver the scares? Well… kind of. It’s borderline a comedy. For there is a lot of funny moments throughout (not sorely caused by McAvoy belting out Eternal Flame, but again - huge win!), but more so in how the movie challenges the ideologies of good manners. I myself got married a few days ago, and in my wedding speech I spoke about how us Eastern Europeans lack a sense of good manners, for we act how we feel, so hardly ever smile and can often come off as straight up rude. Well not myself personally, I feel like I am truly a delightful human being (and humble too!), but folks from culture. However marrying a British woman, Brits are always the high level of well mannered etiquette, and truly in the UK everyone always smiles, says “please” and “thank you”, even if on their mind they may secretly be calling you the C-bomb. So in Speak No Evil this aspect plays a huge part, with the main couple being too well mannered and polite to say anything, and as such allowing the other crazy couple to get away with some mad stuff. As such, this movie is more of a comedy of manners, with only the last 30 minutes embracing its true thriller roots, and even then, it’s not scary at all.

I’m not going to lie, I found this film to be very goofy. The humour of the cultural differences was amusing, but when the final act co es where it’s supposed fully take on the horror element, I never felt remotely concerned or worried about any of the characters. There was such a lack of tension due to the poor directing and a script that seemingly has a message but does not know how to bring it home. After watching the film, I read up about the original Danish version and it’s more messed up darker ending, and immediately realised what the issue with the new 2024 remake was - it’s been given the classic Hollywood ending. You know, the typical no matter how terrible the scenario gets, all characters will find a way out eventually no matter what. As such, Speak No Evil has no gravitas or sense of terror to it. It’s a thriller that had a fun concept which goes nowhere,

The one aspect of Speak No Evil that does work is James McAvoy. Following on from showcasing his psychopathic talents in Shyamalan’s Split and Glass, McAvoy fully embraces the crazy unhinged nature of his character, which results in a fully mad performance, but one that truly carries the film, and is consistently entertaining. From bloodshot red rolling eyes, to his impressive henchman physique, to ‘Eternal Flame’, McAvoy throws himself into this role and is endlessly watchable. In fact his acting almost makes this movie worth watching. Almost. But no, this is a typical throwaway Hollywood remake that is just so silly and uninspired.

Overall score: 4/10

[weirdstuffinthewoods]

The inevitable what if...?

Freddy vs Jason (2003)

Horror fans constantly seem divided on what constitutes "real" horror, or even "good" horror.

The issue with gatekeeping the genre is that you start to get bored with the offerings that fit the qualifications. Original IPs are best rewarded only if they're frightening enough to satisfy lovers of jump scares and dread alike. Franchises are begrudgingly watched for ever-lengthening amounts of time, and attempts at reboots are either met with rightful scorn (the moneygrabs) or badly received because fans are still clinging to the original too hard to make room for the new (think Candyman 2021). Between the two options, restricting what constitutes as worthy horror can leave you in a stale place.

All this to say- I watched Freddy v Jason tonight and it continues to be one of my Ol' Faithfuls. While not necessarily frightening, balls-to-the-wall movies like Freddy v Jason, Deathgasm, House on Haunted Hill (1999), or the Hong Kong fever dream that is Rigor Mortis offer something that truly frightening films sometimes can't- fun.

Sometimes intentionally and sometimes not, horror and comedy have always gone well together. You see it as far back as films like The Old Dark House (1932) and at Halloween haunts worldwide every year. A scare actor gets a scream out of you and you run off, laughing. The tension of a film builds and builds and is finally cut by comedic relief. Horror and comedy make the perfect group watches- the acting is usually mediocre, and someone's always going to have a questionable costume or hair and makeup choice (lookin' at you, knockoff Jason Mewes and frosted-tips cop). There's plenty to laugh at but also plenty to make you go

The film is directed by Ronny Yu, a director who also breathed life back into the Child's Play franchise with Bride of Chucky, another one of my favorites. In Fangoria 221, Yu notes that for Bride he was asked if he'd seen the original films. When he answered in the negative, he was told "No worries-you can catch up later or just forget it and start fresh." Using a similar philosophy here (as he was not familiar with either franchise before pairing the two in a match made in hell), Yu managed to keep the lore as consistent as it's ever been (not very) and also give us a horror milestone that manages to be really, really fun.

Still not convinced? Here's a short list of reasons:

The 2000s-era over saturation!

This movie focuses on BLUE as their color of choice- movies like Cabin Fever or House on Haunted Hill were very focused on RED. If you want to forget what colors the real world is, movies from this decade are for you!

The stupid one-liners!

(and casting easter eggs like Kelly Rowland here and Ginger Snaps icon in the lesser but still memorable role of "Gibb")

Joint-smokin' Freddy caterpillar (in super dated cgi, but who cares?)

The entire cornfield rave!

Who throws raves in a cornfield? Is that a thing in the midwest? Who cares? It's a great place to hide Jason's bulk and watch some obnoxious jocks get gutted.

It's like watching a wrestling match between two legends. Both Freddy and Jason have built their respective (if questionable quality) franchises that both began with iconic films that shaped the slasher genre. The pair are polar opposites in every way- Freddy a quick-witted, small, overly talkative set of brains with some knife fingers, and Jason a hulking, silent mass with both his strength and his machete on hand at all times.

The kills are still fun and the blend of practical and cgi effects don't feel totally cheap just yet, but the real payoff is the finale that pits the two legends head to head in an over-the-top, totally rock-n-roll finale. While you can and do root for both of them, the surprisingly sympathetic lens put on Jason adds a layer of connection you usually don't get with the silent behemoth, making it an impossible to call fight. I can hear the theaters full of screaming fans now.

I'm just saying- Horror, if no other genre, is a place for experimentation, especially with its long-running penchant for low budgets. Where else are you going to see crossover fights outside of fanfiction?

When given the choice, definitely champion an original idea (don't want to encourage those big budget studios too much), but if you're having a Halloween rager, why not throw on a bloody good time like this one?

[roskirambles]

Horror Movie of the day: Frankenstein (1931) The myth of Prometeus tells the story of hubris. One, where an act of defiance to the divine order costed a man eternal punishment, for the former god changed humanity forever by giving them a gift that arose both progress and destruction, sometimes thought as a cautionary tale against arrogance in the face of discovery. But apparently Henry Frankenstein didn't get the memo, because he's just doing that: playing with life and death by trying to create human life from dead organic matter. Indeed, the reanimated corpse in front of him is a lot of things, including an impossible break through in science.

But one thing the monster isn't.. is in his control.

Directed by James Whale, this incredibly loose take on Mary Shelley's masterpiece is arguably the most iconic out of the classic Universal Monster films. The reason? It's quite grandiose. Having equally powerful vistas but a bolder cinematography than it's predecessors helps, as well as the use of sound just being that much more refined.

The adaptation of the core narrative is quite captivating as well; in spite of some drastic changes, not only does it manage to keep the central themes of the boundaries of science going awry and self destructive obsession, but the relationship between the Doctor and the Creature is engaging by being viewed from a different, less cynical but still fundamentally tragic angle. All courtesy of the performances of Colin Clive as Henry, and Boris Karloff as the creature in what would be his apotheosis in the world of horror cinema. There's a reason that makeup by Jack Pierce is to this very day THE benchmark of how a movie monster looks.

To say it is the least faithful to the source material so far would be the understatement of the century(well over half the iconic things from this movie have no precedent in the novel), but on its own terms, it certainly blew what was already a solid horror film lineup so far out of the water.

When I said this was a loose adaptation, I feel the term "loose" is on itself. Granted, it's based on a 1927 theatre play by Peggy Webling over the actual novel, but that doesn't change the fact it has created a fairly misleading image of the entire story. The way the creature looks and moves, the electricity used to create it, Dr. Frankenstein having a hunchbacked assistant, the resolution of the conflict being a massive fire, all of these things have no root in the original novel, as the way things play out have fundamental enough differences to think of this as a different story with the same starting point. One that covers many of the same themes and ideas, mind you, but what used to be a fairly slow, moody tale of mysteryand a melancholic tone gets hit with a strong sense of spectacle leading to a fairly explosive finale.

And for once... I don't think that was a bad choice. The novel is one of those stories that are enjoyed the best in written form thanks to its epistolary format, and any worthy adaptation would have to inevitably make pragmatic shifts to adequate its contents to a different medium.

And of course, I'm almost legally obligated to talk about ·the fumble".

Remember Bela Lugosi? The guy who played Dracula in the movie that came out that very same year? (...yeah, movie production didn't take entire years on average back then, go figure)

Well, he was the original candidate to play the creature, but reportedly dropped the role when he found the monster in question would only growl or vocalize without talking was beneath his acting skills. This mistake would cost him his stardom, as Boris Karloff absolutely displaced him as Universal's go to scary guy with a performance (and makeup) that just completely stole the Hungarian's thunder, not helped by the fact Karloff wasn't restricted by his accent to play more conventional and varied roles.

The rivalry between the two seems to have been exaggerated into a legendary feud, but the reality doesn't seem to suggest there was true animosity between the two, even if Lugosi would have every reason and then some to resent Karloff for displacing him into eventual mainstream obscurity at the time.

[shootingxstardust]

Little Godzilla Minus One Review (Spoiler-Free)

I saw Godzilla Minus One with @shxxtteredfantasy on 12/1 when it hit theaters. I missed the fan exclusive event that was a couple days prior, but that's alright! I saw it. I give this movie a 10/10. It is one of the best Godzilla movies in years I loved the story, the design, the characters. It was one of the few Godzilla movies where I cared about all of the characters. Usually in Godzilla movies I only care about one or two, or even none of them. Usually I just want to get to the monster action, but this one was different.

Godzilla Minus One returned to the dread or even horror like elements from the first movie in 1954. The original 1954 movie was definitely an anti-nuclear war film, and had been made just 9 years after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. It was a chilling movie. it was depressing. It was even scary seeing Godzilla on screen. Safe to say, Minus One brought Godzilla back to his roots.

Whenever I saw Godzilla, I felt awe, I felt dread. I feared for what would happen to the characters. With the film being set right after the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings, it made the dread even worse.

This movie has some of the most fleshed out characters I've seen in a Godzilla movie. You really feel for each and every one of them, including the main protagonist. You really feel for their struggles, and want them to succeed. I cried during the movie several times, I will admit. I liked Shin Godzilla, but while this may be an unpopular opinion, I found his design to be a little too zombie like. The movie was great, but it wasn't perfect. This movie in my opinion was perfect. Now I will also admit, I do like some Godzilla movies with a little more cheese. Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) are still my favorites, but I cannot deny that this movie is a masterpiece, and actually good movie, that stands just as tall as Godzilla (1954) if not taller in my opinion. So yeah. 10/10 Go see it if it's at your local theater. It's awesome! By awesome, I do mean, you will be awed, if not completely chilled.

[xenovalence]

Alien: Romulus

R 2024 ‧ Horror/Sci-fi ‧ 1h 59m

Cue the lo-fi beats and the vintage VHS effects

We finally got another one, Boys. whats up back at it again with another film review. Let's dive into the spooky, squishy spacey nightmare that is Alien romcom I mean Alien: Romulus. Which by the way likely references the mythological figure Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome. Romulus, along with his twin brother Remus, is a symbol of origin, survival, and the violent birth of a new order. This connection may suggest themes of beginnings, foundation, and perhaps the brutal conditions under which new civilizations (or in this case, new forms of horror) arise. In the context of the Alien universe, the name "Romulus"

could metaphorically relate to the birth of something terrifying and foundational within the series' lore, possibly marking a return to the franchise's origins while introducing a new chapter or entity that carries a significant impact. It may also imply the creation or discovery of something that, like Romulus's Rome, is destined to grow into something powerful and enduring—albeit with a dark and violent genesis. These mythological and thematic parallels could be why the filmmakers chose the name "Romulus" for this installment​ and keeping up the tradition of Greek names. Like Prometheus.

Did they bring back the xenomorphs? yeah, they did it—they brought back them back along with

the face-huggers, and all the existential dread you could ever want, but... did they stick the landing? Let’s find out. First off, this movie is like if you took the OG Alien and Aliens, shoved 'em in a blender with some VHS tapes of Blade Runner and a sprinkling of your favorite 80s horror flicks. It takes the formula and runs with it. A horror film with Teens in space. It’s as if you gave people from the original alien and aliens films and gave them updated film equipmentment and said go crazy. Pays homage and fan service in a respectful way.

Fede Álvarez, the guy who brought us that Evil Dead remake, knows how to make you squirm in your seat, and here, he’s playing all the right notes���just maybe a little too close to the originals at times. Set between the events of the original Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), the film is praised for capturing the claustrophobic terror that defined the early films. A Classic troupe in horror is isolation, one of the most isolated places in existence, space, prefect. The plot centers on a group of young people who, in a desperate bid to escape their grim existence on a mining colony, board an abandoned spaceship, only to encounter the deadly xenomorphs.

The film's atmosphere is heavily influenced by the classic haunted-house-in-space formula that made the original so effective. The production design and practical effects are especially noteworthy, with a deliberate move away from heavy CGI in favor of tangible, lived-in environments that heighten the tension and realism. This return to practical effects is a major point of praise, as it creates a more immersive and terrifying experience for the audience.

We’re talking practical effects that look like they’ve crawled out of a Ridley Scott fever dream. There’s some seriously gnarly creature design here, and the space station where our unlucky crew of Gen Z miners end up feels more lived-in than my old room full of N64 games. There’s a real effort to make the environment feel gritty, grimy, and full of history—like people lived and died here long before our crew showed up and made bad decisions. And yeah, they make some real bad decisions.

Let’s talk characters. We’ve got Cailee Spaeny as Rain, who’s basically the 2024 answer to Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. She’s tough, but forgettable . She’s just trying to survive, and honestly, who wouldn’t be? But the real star here is David Jonsson as Andy, the synthetic. This dude’s playing mind games with everyone, including us. Half the time, I didn’t know whether to root for him or be freaked out. And honestly, that’s how you know he’s nailing it. There isn't specific information available that confirms whether the character Andy is explicitly portrayed as autistic. However, characters who are synthetics or androids in the Alien franchise often display traits that could be interpreted as being on the autism spectrum, such as difficulty with social interactions, a focus on logic and tasks, and a unique way of perceiving and processing the world around them. David Jonsson's portrayal of Andy is noted for its complexity, making the character intriguing and enigmatic, with audiences unsure whether to fear or sympathize with him​ . This ambiguity might lead to different interpretations, including one where Andy's behavior could be seen through the lens of neurodiversity, but without clear confirmation from the filmmakers, any conclusions would be speculative.

Another noteworthy observation is his portrayal has interesting layers when you consider his race. In science fiction, synthetics often represent "the other"—beings that are created, owned, and often exploited by humans, drawing parallels to historical and ongoing issues of slavery and racism. By casting a Black actor as Andy, the film may subtly invoke these themes, whether intentionally or not. The parallels between Andy's existence as a synthetic and the historical treatment of Black people as property or slaves add a deeper layer to his character. Synthetics in the Alien franchise often grapple with questions of autonomy, identity, and purpose, much like how marginalized groups have historically fought for recognition and rights. Moreover, Andy’s struggle with his programmed directives and the way he is perceived by others could reflect the societal prejudices faced by Black people, who are often judged and constrained by societal expectations and biases. This interpretation suggests that Andy's character might be seen as a commentary on the intersection of race, identity, and humanity's fear of "the other."However, these themes are likely more interpretive than explicit, as the film does not overtly address race. Still, the casting of David Jonsson as Andy adds a significant layer of complexity that invites viewers to explore these possible connections.

But okay, this movie’s not perfect. The audio mixing? Yikes. It’s like they recorded the first 30 minutes in a wind tunnel or something. I couldn’t make out half the exposition, which is kind of important when you’re dealing with a plot and also the accents are kind of hard to understand without subtitles, but hey I understand why our boy Ridley Scott, is British and since he is producing the film with his company Scott Free why not? Don’t even get me started on the CGI resurrection of Ian Holm’s character from the first Alien. They tried to go for that sweet fan service, but it just ends up looking like something from a creepy deepfake video.

That said, if you’re into that old-school, haunted-house-in-space vibe, Romulus delivers. It’s got the thrills, the chills, and enough gooey body horror to make you question your life choices. It’s like watching your favorite horror franchise come back to life, but this time with a bit more self-awareness. The plot might be thinner than my hairline, but sometimes you just want to see some aliens eat people, you know?

In the end, Alien: Romulus isn’t here to revolutionize the franchise—it’s more like a greatest hits album with a few new tracks. And honestly, I’m okay with that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go re-watch the original and remind myself why I never want to go to space. Catch you later, space cowboys.

Subjective 7.9/10

Objective 7.5/10

[teanderthalrex]

Alien Romulus Thoughts

After reading Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt, I ended up seeing Alien: Romulus with a whole new perspective.

My love of the Alien franchise has always come from my love of the claustrophobic idea of space horror and the examination of the human fear of the unknown. I still love that shit. It's the whole reason I went to see Alien: Romulus.

The movie is clearly influenced, maybe subconsciously, by 2001: A Space Odyssey. The silence in space, and the example of the true darkness of space with the probe in the first 15 minutes of the movie were some of my favorite scenes in the entire film.

That being sad, when the xenomorphs arrive, things get boring. Below is a discussion of the film and my thoughts.

As I said, the horror and tension brought about by the ship’s launch and the claustrophobia of the airlock and the inconsistency of the gravity were really broken for me the moment the movie gave us face-huggers in the water. We’ve seen this before. And everything that came after that point was textbook xenomorph.

The original Alien movie was such a successful horror film because the xenomorphs (and the face-huggers), at the time, were a never-before-seen jarring creature from a far-off world that attacked in an unpredictable and disturbingly pseudo-sexual manner. It was taboo and that taboo added to the horror.

Reading how Rumfitt used a similar tactic to increase the disturbing nature of the horror in Brainwyrms, by introducing the audience to something that they have never seen before through a taboo topic, combining our fear of the anomalous with our reaction to taboo topics such as kink (or just sex generally) to increase our experience of the horror, I realized the problem with xenomorphs and why the movie’s horror fell flat after their appearance.

To put it shortly, they're predictable.

We KNOW xenomorphs. Their modus operandi is common knowledge. We all know the egg sacs look like vaginas and the face-huggers are also face-fuckers. It's old hat.

So while I really enjoyed the earlier scenes in Alien: Romulus, where I think the movie went wrong was in not taking the xenomorph in a new direction.

And no. I don’t mean the introduction to the hinted at human/xenomorph hybrid.

Imagine the xenomorph they retrieved with the probe had been altered. Not in appearance, but in the way it attacks.

Make it so we no longer know what a xenomorph wants.

If we're expecting this thing to be a face-hugger and instead it attacks the back of your neck and bonds with your spine to make you a human puppet where all you have control over is anything from the neck up, well that's different. And it would be terrifying.

Obviously my suggestion lacks a pseudo-sexual component but that's not really my area of expertise. I'm sure a good enough writer's room could figure it out.

The truth is that the appeal of space horror lies heavily in the fear of the unknown and in making the audience uncomfortable, and in the modern era, xenomorphs (as they are now) DO NOT accomplish that.

If the goal was for Alien: Romulus to return to the horror roots of the original Alien, then using the same old monster was not the way to go.

To truly recapture the success of the original, the audience didn’t need xenomorphs. It needed an unnamed Alien.

[scary-movies-on-netflix]

IN THE EARTH (2021)

Sometime in the near future an English dude shows up at a forest preserve to perform some research.  There’s a pandemic going on.  The dude is Martin.  I haven’t seen him in any horror movies before, but he was in a delightful comedy called “Bank of Dave” (2023).  Anywho, a ranger, Alma, is tasked with taking him to the distant campsite of the scientist Martin is going to work with.  We last saw Alma in “Midsommar” (2019).  She was half of the couple where the dude just decided to leave without telling anyone, including his girlfriend. She says that doesn't make any sense, and the Swedes drive her away to join him, but they are both killed!

Alma and Martin proceed through the forest.  They come across an empty campsite, because apparently people escape the locked-down cities to go camping.  The second night, whilst sleeping, they are viciously attacked!  The next morning, as they recover, they see that most of their equipment has been stolen or destroyed, and their shoes have also been taken.  They trek painfully through the forest, and Martin cuts his foot.

They come across Zach, a dude living in the forest.  He takes them into his camp and cleans and stitches Martin’s foot.  Then he gives them a tasty tea, which is actually drugged!  While they are unconscious, Zach dresses them up in white tarp clothing and arranges them ritualistically so that he can photograph them with an old film camera.  When they come to, he rants crazily at them about a being in the forest, whom he worships through images. 

He drugs them again, but apparently with a smaller dose.  Zach looks over Martin’s foot and tells him it’s infected.  Martin asks to be taken to a hospital, but instead Zach chops off two toes (the little ones) with an axe!  Zach next carries Martin out of the room, and Alma takes the opportunity to grab a little knife that Zach has dropped.  She frees herself, squirts some film chemicals into Zach’s eyes, and then drops a film enlarger on him.  She frees Martin, but Zach then chases them with a bow.  Some stuff happens, and Martin ends up in some forest area filled with speakers and strobe lights, and a figure rushes out to retrieve him.  It’s the scientist they were originally looking for, Olivia!  Zach passes out, or something, and gives up the chase.  Alma arrives to join Martin.

The next day Olivia cleans up Martin’s wounds.  Her camp is built near a stone cairn, or dolmen, whatever.  Olivia found reference to the forest in the seminal book about witches and witchcraft, the Malleus Malificarum.  Now, using lights and speakers, she’s trying to speak to the forest, including the mycorrhiza (the fungal network that connects most of any given forest).  She was apparently working with Zach, but he went too far and became crazy!  Alma seems suspicious, especially in that Zach could probably come into Olivia’s camp at any time, and she wants to leave as soon as possible.  The following day the entire camp is surrounded by a mist of fungal spores!  Alma puts on a hazmat suit and tries to make it past the mist, but she starts hallucinating and freaks out!  Olivia and Martin drag her back to the camp, and Alma says, “It’s not what you think…it is not a human.”

As night approaches, it seems that the fungal mist is slowly approaching the camp.  They suddenly see Zach under the trees in the distance!  Olivia goes to speak to him.  She comes back, and apparently he’s explained that to escape the forest they need to perform some sort of “sacrament” involving the cairn so they can talk to it.  Olivia prepares some concoction of roots and mushrooms.  Alma is, naturlich, dubious.  She asks, “What do you think it wants to tell you?”  Olivia suggests that the forest wants to speak about how trees and humanity can peacefully coexist.  “You keep talking about this thing as if it’s human,” Alma says, “it’s not.”  She nonetheless goes along with the ritual.

Alma and Martin go to the cairn.  Martin drinks the concoction.  Alma goes to check on one of the strobe lights, but then she smacked in the face by Zach!  Zach goes to Martin, who he is going to sacrifice!  Alma goes back to the camp and sneaks into Olivia’s secret tent.  Inside, Olivia is surrounded by a bunch of Zach’s pictures, because she is also cuckoo for Coco Puffs!  (Did I mention earlier that she and Zach were married at one point?  And that she was also in a relationship with Martin?)  Olivia looks crazily at Alma and rushes at her with a knife, but Alma disarms Olivia and begins to beat the shit out of her.  Zach hears the fight over the speakers and heads into camp to help Olivia.  Alma bonks him on the head, and then he shoves her over.  He pulls out a knife to stab her.  She grabs a tent peg and stabs him in the eye!  Zach staggers about a bit and asks to be taken to a hospital, but instead Alma pushes the tent peg further into his brain and kills him. 

Meanwhile, Olivia has recovered and heads to the cairn to finish off Martin, for the ritual.  Alma runs after her and they fight over him.  Everyone then trips out, and we see past scenes from the movie and kaleidoscope-like images of the forest and nature.  Everyone comes to at daybreak.  Olivia falls to the ground and says, “Thank you.”  Martin is alive.  Alma stands over him and says, “Let me guide you out of the woods.”

This was good.  It reminded me of “Flora” (2017), another movie about a fungus-haunted forest.  We have elements of body horror, what with Martin having his toes chopped off and things being inserted into his body (by Zach).  There’s folk horror, as we start off with some ancient tales about the old forest, and Dr. Wendell drags out the Malleus Malificarum, so we might also have a witch movie. Finally, we have some good old-fashioned cosmic horror, but our eldritch beings are not outer gods, but actually fungi.  Olivia, in her snooty and condescending manner, informs Alma that they’ll have a nice conversation about how to live sustainably on the earth.  Alma reasonably responds that fungi aren’t humans.  How are you supposed to “talk” to a form of life that doesn’t think (like us, at least) and experiences the world in an entirely different way than we do?  In the end it doesn’t really matter, for the fungus is mostly a freaky deus ex machina, swooping in to save the humans from the horrors and cruelty they inflict on each other in the name of spirituality.

[annbourbon]

Well hello folks! It's that time of the year again! And here's my 2023 movie list, keep on mind I actually made the effort to watch movies I have never seen before, even though they're old... so even if you already watched them because they're classics, I didn't until now.

I actually need to get some books to read but for now binged all these days to watch 31 movies & series in a couple of days.

1. Mask Girl (K-Drama, series)✅⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay this series was amazing. I've been a fan of Orange Caramel even though they're now disbanded, so seeing Nana back on the scene was so cool. But that's not all, honestly:

* Insane plot, made me gasp a couple of times and I've been into K-Drama for a while now so...

* I was actually rooting for Kim Mo-mi the whole time, but also I couldn't find myself to hate the other characters because the actors are so good<3

* Did I mention Nana is there?

* It has so many layers and many points of view which makes it so interesting to watch

I'm not saying anything else because I highly recommend this one.

2. The Platform (movie) ✅⭐⭐

A bit boring at times but quite interesting too. I watched it because someone recommended it to me. I was so disappointed with the ending but at the same time I understood why it finished the way it did. I'm not going to watch it again though. Definitely hated it.

3. Scream (movie, 2023 ver.) ✅⭐⭐⭐⭐

Since I already watched the original one. This one was awesome. I loved the original cast coming back, and also, Jenna Ortega ���😚

4. Suspiria (remake)✅⭐⭐⭐

I got bored lol it is aesthetic but not a lot. I prefer the school on the original movie. Like, it's so pretty...

Actually I got, really bored at some parts. I wanted the whole ballet concept to be more... macabre and beautiful. They could have put anything else and the idea would have been the same.

I enjoyed the dance. But it's not classical ballet. I'm giving it an extra star because of the aesthetics. It's not creepy or scary. Just another film. Some parts are awesome but mostly... bland.

5. The Deep House ✅⭐⭐

I think, I was disappointed. It's one of those old school movies, you either love it or hate it. I ended up disliking it a lot because it felt kind of lazy. There was no message behind, there was no reason for me to actually care about them as characters, and BTW, the dude there, he was sooooo toxic. I ended up hating him the whole movie except for his last moments. I really don't recommend this one lol but here you have me, trying to find something different.

Well, sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

6. Doctor Sleep ✅⭐⭐⭐⭐

I need to be honest, he's still one of my first celebrity crushes. So I might be a bit biased. But I loved the movie. Before you say anything to me, I have watched The Shinning already.

7. Gothika ✅⭐⭐

I might as well be honest. I saw this movie when I was a kiddo. But I had a lot of nightmares about it. Still, now I got to watch it fully. And I realized that it's not as intense as I thought it was. I mean, yes. It has some scenes. But I'm a Hannibal Lecter and Criminal Minds fan now lol it's kind of difficult to get past that.

8. Dreamcatcher ✅⭐⭐⭐

It started pretty average and I was expecting nothing from it. But it got better. And really scary. I hated the bathroom scene but also loved the whole movie.

9. Only Mine ✅⭐⭐⭐

Scary but because it's based on a real story. The movie is pretty decent.

10. Train to Busan ✅⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Was so cool 💕 😢 more than scary it was inspiring me a lot. IDK how to explain it. But I'll be watching it again because *feelings*

I think it's becoming one of my favorite horror movies.

11. Annihilation ✅⭐⭐

Mmmmm I fell asleep. Had to watch it again. And it was not that interesting. I loved the colors though. If I have to say anything about it lol 💤😴

12. Psycho (1960) ✅⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I can't believe it took me so long to watch this one!!! I love this movie I swear. It's such a good one. It's not as scary as I thought it would be but I think that's a "me" problem lol since it seems like I'm so used to scary things nothing really scares me anymore.

However, the suspense was so in point and I can't even believe that I was holding my breath. Like, how? This movie is so old no? It should be boring and all that uh? Well it doesn't matter. Hitchcock definitely knew his way around. It caught my interest and hold me captive till the end of the movie. I didn't even start scrolling my phone or got bored!

Sure there are a couple of plots that can be "fixed" because we now have better phones and technology, but the whole movie it's timeless. It definitely holds. I loved it. A lot. That can't be said of several other movies and tv shows.

13. Constantine ✅⭐⭐⭐

Not really scary. But really cool. I was having a crush over Tilda Swinton the whole time lol sadly she doesn't get to have a lot of screentime but I repeated her scenes for a while before going to the next movie.

14. Beowulf ✅⭐⭐

By now I'm getting tired AF of bloodbaths. Like it's not even scary. It's disgusting and tiresome. I want to see something else. I really did not enjoy the movie. I'm starting to realize that binging on a certain genre can desensitize a person and it certainly feels like I'm way over it. I remember the movie but I can't remember anything that is worth of comment. Except, maybe... that Beowulf is an asshole, so is the king, and apparently the next king will do the same thing and everyone there deserved what happened to them except ofc the people in town and kids. I don't think I liked the story or movie at all. 💀

15. Disturbing Behavior ✅⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay so James Marsden and Katie Holmes are so cute together. And they're literally kids here. It was a bit awkward lol but I enjoyed the movie. It's kind of interesting and definitely talks about how society pressures you on behaving in a certain way. All that while making a scary movie. Which is why I might've ended up liking it a bit more than the others. Interesting how parents were so on board with this behavior too. Anyway, since I'm on a marathon I don't really have a lot of time to analyze it as much as I usually do. I probably won't be watching it again, but it's a good movie to analyze and enjoy for a while. For real.

16. The Exorcist (original) ✅⭐⭐⭐

Now we're getting serious lol or not...

Honest reaction

Before the movie>> I'm so scared of it 😭😿😱

During and after the movie>>> wow... It's so... meh 😑

I was a bit distracted during the whole movie. And it's not that scary. Just sad, long, boring and disappointing. Nothing else to comment.

My brother said that I needed to appreciate it a bit more since it's an old movie, but honestly... I prefer Psycho to the Exorcist. Like, I get it. Old movie. Different type of special effects and all that. But still, the whole thing, even the characters feels kinda flat? Nvm the spoilers. I received a similar amount of spoilers from both movies and I still enjoyed Psycho more. I did laughed a lot. But it's not supposed to be a comedy movie 😭🤣

17. 12 Monkeys ✅⭐⭐⭐

TT~TT okay? I really cried for a while. And I had to take some days off because of this one. I started watching other series, kdramas and stuff that made me laugh and forget about this one.

18. Ghost Ship ✅⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I remember seeing this one everywhere when I was a kid and my parents trying to make sure I didn't watch it. One of the reasons I finally got my hands on it and watch it lol

I really enjoyed it. I was so sad about the girl on the ship. And I usually do not like slashers but somehow I ended up loving this one. Definitely is going to be one of my favorite movies from now on.

19. The exorcism of Emily Rose ✅ ⭐⭐

Boring at the beginning but interesting after 30 minutes into the movie. Which in a way, it's not good lol but let it be. I was thinking to call the Winchesters all the time.

Mmmm I think these two are one of the reasons I stopped disliking horror movies.

The other one would be Fi from So Weird

Which TBH is the original reason I stopped disliking ghosts and monsters. I joined Fi team first before Supernatural. Supernatural was me being edgy and sarcastic all the way, especially on my worse days. But Fiona, she's the one I truly aspired to be. Now I think I'm a mix of both and it's okay. I still prefer Fi over the Winchesters because she gives everyone a chance to be. I mean, I love the brothers a lot... okay not the point of this lol sorry... Ummmm I think you can see I got distracted while watching the movie. 💀🤣

Interesting though, a mix of lawyer-ish fight with "medical terms" and all that in a demonic possession case. Different P.O.V. sure. It definitely makes more sense than the Exorcist where the story ends without anyone (no cops, no lawyers, no other authorities) involved despite several people dying.

"Touched by the hand of God" they said. And believe me when I said "ew" during that part 😭🤣 I wasn't even trying to be funny. Seriously though... there's only one thing I despise more than movie slashers. Religion, especially inside movies. And inside books too. I was so disappointed by Susan's problem when I found out what it was about. I also spent almost my entire childhood inside several Catholic and Christian schools. Most of the time being bullied by everyone there. Please lol I can't stand them (I do realize that not everyone is like that but it left a huge trauma on me so I can't stand those things.) The fun part is, I don't have anything against religions. Just against hypocrisy and lack of comprehension. Still, it's okay for a movie. One or two hours of it won't be bothering me so much. Didn't scare me. But made me uncomfortable. I wish I could hear more about Dr. Adani (?) P.O.V. though.... I believe I will have to watch Heroes (series) for a similar take on that.

20. The Barcelona Vamp ✅⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was... triggering. And not about vampires. But about CP and apparently a real case. Obviously Hollywood has its own take on this so I can't say anything about it until I do my research on the real deal. But the whole movie was interesting and also very, very triggering. Really scary. Some scenes were too uncomfortable to watch so I had to pause it several times. Why? These things are so so close to us and people, sometimes people we know, keep hiding these things from us. Maybe the Barcelona Vamp was innocent. Maybe it wasn't. The only thing that it is true is that nothing like this happens without another one getting involved too. Another one keeping silence. Someone refusing to act. That's how bad it is. Not the movie ofc.

I love the use of color and the use of black and white too. It's definitely a good film. The dialogues... they were too realistic. Sadly. I have known people that say things like that. That keep blaming it onto the victims no matter if they're 40 or 6 years old. Don't watch this movie if child abuse triggers you. While it is not graphic it definitely makes you uncomfortable. And it should. Another thing to say about this movie: the original language is in Spanish. And when I saw it on HBO the English subtitles were lacking. So were the subtitles in Spanish. So either you learn/practice your Spanish or you'll need to find CC and the mp4 file too. To make sure you get it otherwise you'll be missing half of the story.

21. Dracula (1979)✅ ⭐⭐⭐

Okay the whole time I was so into the aesthetics. But sometimes I found it funny. Mmmm but I decided to give it a go because it was an old movie. Honestly it wasn't that bad. A bit cringe but kinda okay. The aesthetics were really pleasing tho.

22. Army of the Dead ✅⭐⭐

I started watching it because... it looked fun. Zombieland type of fun.

The OST is awesome. I'm not taking this movie seriously. I don't know why... oh yeah okay... now I kind of understand why.

Okay it has a lot of tits and a lot of blood in the very beginning. If this is how's gonna be... or not. Oh... it gets better after the first minutes 😜 A bit of character development...

I like this idea of zombies being strong and somewhat more fast. Like Korean zombies.

I fell asleep. Again... *sighs* this is ridiculous. I'll have to rewatch just... I'm not sure...

I'll be back. Let me do a quick rewatch.

Zombie tiger Valentine was awesome. Smart zombies? Cool!!

I think I'm bored...

I mean, it's a cool movie. But I prefer Zombieland.

They're supposed to be great at shooting, so why do they spend so many bullets on killing one zombie if they already know to aim for the head?

I'm rooting for the king. He actually seems decent.

Ohh no they killed his baby 😭

They should pay for it.

Okay... okay, wait a second lol I'm getting an idea...

Why there are no movies with zombies as main characters where the humans are the bad ones?

I mean, we have all what it takes: Usually someone, a doctor, trying to play God, and making a human turn into zombie. The whole zombie apocalypse goes on because they kill the family of subject Zero and all that.

This movie deserves another star just cause the OST is really awesome. Seriously. I'm not going to give it one more though lol the whole thing was quite disappointing.

23. The Fall of the Usher House (Netflix series) ✅⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay I saw this whole series in what? Two days? The adaptation was incredibly well done. I'm aware that the story on the book is different but I quite enjoyed the show. Although it's quite graphic. So there's my trigger warning ⚠️ if anything lol honest question, do we need trigger warnings for horror movies?

Carla Gugino's still one of my unexplained crushes, she is still as beautiful as the day I saw her for the first time, does she have a fountain of eternal youth hidden somewhere? Anyway, it surprised me how good she's within the horror genre. To be honest I haven't followed her in years but now she captured my attention so I definitely will be paying attention from now on.💕

I actually screamed during Tammy's death. Her acting is truly on point. It made me feel everything that the rest of the Ushers couldn't. Considering how tired and how much I've disassociated these weeks to be able to watch horror movies every day, I think you can say she's the best of the best.

Ironically, she wasn't even my favorite character but Aunt Madeleine and Camille who I felt they were so alike. And in a way I kept admiring them. And also Lenore but for different reasons. Still I felt captivated by the whole series. Aunt Madeleine monologue is wow! But Tammy's death and the way it was presented to us, I truly felt like I was inside with her. Grieving and feeling all that. I couldn't stop watching despite how much I wanted to.

24. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein✅⭐⭐⭐

It made me jump several times 😭🤣 but I can't quite put my finger on why... maybe because it was raining while I was watching the movie. Maybe because the timing was so on point every time the lightening strikes inside the movie, the same thing happened here...

Anyway this is my first time watching Frankestein and the aesthetics are so good 😍💖 also.. Helena Bonham Carter is there!? And considering how good Kenneth Branagh was playing Gilderoy Lockhart I really found hilarious and on point sawing him play Victor Frankenstein too.

25. #Alive✅⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐

What a movie! I wonder if this is tied to Train to Busan and All of us are Dead. I mean, technically it's not. But the fandom can always take upon it and make it a thing. It has happened before lol right?? Please someone needs to make it a thing 😭 even if it's just a fanfic or something. I'll be so happy.

It keeps reminding me of coronavirus 😭

The guy is a good person but... why is he eating such a big ramen? He should be breaking it into small portions lol he really does not know anything about survival. Poor thing 😕 I shouldn't be laughing so much about it but... he's really stupid at times. If he survives it'll be a miracle lol

Oh... she's cute 🥺 kind and smart. She's going to die lol

They are so lucky to have each other. 🥺😭

Oof!

Okay... let's start counting how many times he actually screwed it off lol

Every time I think he's about to screw it off, he saves her lol and I like their dynamic so much 🥺😭 like, not really shipping them. Just, rooting for them and loving their friendship. That's a friendship right?

OMG she's so cool...

No way... see? This is why I enjoy Korean movies so much... their plot twists are insane...

🥺😭💕

26. Freaky✅⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

O.M.G. it's definitely one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Scary but original. And funny. I loved it. Great characters. Awesome development. Good acting. Made me laugh a lot and I was rooting for the heroine. But also... aw 🥺🤧 that ending... And the beginning! 😱💕

27. A nightmare on Elm Street ✅⭐⭐⭐

It's a great movie. Seriously. But I had to pause it several times because I felt sleepy... really sleepy. Which is so weird because I usually don't feel like that while watching a horror movie.

Anyway I found odd watching Johnny Depp as a kid 🤣 but I was rooting for Nancy's character all the way.

28. The Wizard of Oz ✅ ⭐⭐

Aw... cute singing...

Toto what!? 😱 Well...

I'm not sure I liked the movie lol it felt like.... why are they singing so merrily about the death of the witch!? I feel like they're so mean 😭💀

.... Did Glinda just decided to make Dorothy part of her beef against Elephie? (Ignoring the musical plot ofc) they're so mean lololol

Pretty sure lions and tigers are not part of the forest 😭🤣 okay maybe there are tigers on the rainforests. But pretty sure you won't find one... in middle of the forest. Nvm. I realize it's supposed to be a movie... sorry about that lol

Ohhh that last part when they are all together, facing their worse fears together. It's so cute.

I love the hourglass. It's red!! 😍 so pretty.... the movie is cringy lol but the songs are catchy. The red shoes are marvelous too 😍

And that's it. I don't like this movie lol but the songs are awesome.

29. Cirque du Freak ✅⭐⭐

Ken Watanabe!? Josh Hutcherson, John C. Reilly, Salma Hayek and William Dafoe!? How come I didn't watch this first!? 😭😱 looks so cool...

The intro is so long... but kind of interesting lol

I was eating... lucky me, I don't really get nauseous or sick of watching gross things. I used to watch Dr House or Hannibal when I was a kid while I was eating. That's how strong my stomach is lol

... Is it just me or Evra looks a bit like Ross Lynch here? I love Ross Lynch.... maybe that's why lol

Being honest it was below average. But I also liked it. So... the stars do not say how much, because then it'd be a 3 or 4 but the movie deserves only two.

30. Suspiria (original)✅⭐⭐⭐⭐

The aesthetics are so 😍💕

Did I mention I'm a Dario Argento fan? Okay, I'm a new fan lol like, I'm barely starting with his movies and all that, but still, he's the only one who has actually made me feel so excited and terrified at the same time. Like actually screaming and keep me horrified for several minutes. I loved Phenomena with Jennifer Connelly. Suspiria seems like a dream and a nightmare at the same time.

She looks like Lily Collins 😳

God... the aesthetics... that blue, and those walls... 😍💖

It's actually ballet! 😭😚

The music gives you an actual headache...

Are they trying to drown her!? That diet seems so... lol still... I wish there was a school like that. Minus the bloodbath ofc

lol I like how Susy prefers to sleep before spying on the teachers. I'd be pissed irl because there's nothing better than a mystery but... the movie's making me laugh a little with that. I think they're putting something on her food though.

Okay Susie's definitely taking pills to sleep, you do recognize the signs after a while... I'm surprised I didn't notice before... but Sara keeps shaking her so much it's impossible for her not to be awake unless she's on drugs 😭

Omg...

Okay... the ending was a bit disappointing. But also good? Still, that makes me like the remake a bit more. Ummm... I think I like both movies now. I'm keeping this on first place because the aesthetics and music. Some parts are dark but nothing big if you're into horror movies. Still... I think I want to watch it again because of the aesthetics. *sigh*

31. (No title. I'll be watching a movie with a friend 😚💕)

🦇✨ 🎃 ✨ 🎃 ✨ 🎃 ✨ 🎃 ✨ 🎃 ✨ 🦇

My take: I'm usually a person who likes horror movies. A lot. But... I'm so tired of them RN so I definitely took some horror movies out to make it a bit more light and that's why I ended up watching The Wizard of Oz and Cirque du Freak. And I still ended up hating them lol that's how tired I am. I'm about to puke already. Seriously. Someone please get me something else to watch lololol

I am now looking for the original books of Oz after watching Return to Oz and The Wizard of Oz (which tbh I never saw the original one until now, but several animated ones, and I always found them so creepy I could not even.)

I'm definitely not going to watch horror movies in a while. I'm so done with it. Also, this is why I was struggling so much and couldn't find another movie to make it 31 to the point I almost fall asleep with most of them. I can't feel a thing with most of them. And I love Suspiria. I'm not going to watch anything else after this movie. Not right now at least.

I did enjoy the movie with my friend. I think it's one of the best things. Just because I spent almost 2 hours with that person. That already makes everything 1000% better.

Things that I've learned:

* I hate slashers, unless they're really good or do not have so many gory details. Or it's a bit more "elegant" lol idk how to explain it, except for me liking more Hannibal than a random freak with a knife. You guys get it no?

* My favorite Halloween movies are with ghosts, but I prefer psychological thriller movies.

* I can endure religions on movies but I hate them with passion.

* Monsters are not my thing because they usually are so brainless and so are the people around them trying to kill or run away from them. Use your brain! (This is why I'm a Ravenclaw -.-)

* American zombies suck. They're slow and boring. Please do not mention to me War Z. Korean zombies are awesome and they're the only reason I started watching zombie movies 💀 I like them fast.

* I will root for the brainy and most sassiest person in the room. If this one is killed I will root for the killer.

* I don't think I'll be celebrating Halloween with horror movies next year lol but who knows right?

* The winner of this list would be: Psycho. And in second place I'd be picking Freaky cause I really enjoyed that movie.

* I'm growing less and less fond of Halloween the more time it passes (not the idea itself, death and undead will never scare me but the whole horror show puts me a bit.... off now. I'm starting to understand my own roots a bit more too like being fond of this time of the year because it ends but not because of the horror, ya know what I mean? I'm getting old I think. Or maybe I'm coming back to the person I used to be.)

* Most horror movies and series lack of character development or something that makes it attractive and lets the audience feel compelled to root for them. That's why many people started rooting for the monster. It lacks humanity. They're just bloodbaths. It's boring.

* It took me so many hours to think of my costumes, design something somewhat decent, pull all the pics and watch movies at the same time 😭 🤣 it was fun but I won't be doing this again.

* I love autumn 🍂🍁🍂

* Somehow I'm more in touch with my feelings right now.

* Some movies and series actually made me feel inspired to go back and write!

* I really, really love autumn 🍂 it's just this cozy, nostalgic feeling. I'm trying not to cry whenever I see the sunlight through the leaves. 🍁

[always-besides-the-darkest]

 “Y’Allternative” and the Southern Goth

Despite its playful portmanteau, “Y’allternative” describes a macabre take on iconic Southern imagery and themes. Think decrepit barns, deer skulls, black butterflies in fields of grain, bayou witches and churches veiled by Spanish moss. Essentially, Y’Allternative swaps the city goth for the country goth. The term has reemerged as a social media fashion trend in the same vein as cottagecore or warcore, leading some to embrace the Southern Gothic aesthetic as a whole.

The aesthetic is rooted in literature dating as far back as the early 1800s. Authors such as William Faulkner and Truman Capote rejected the romanticized “Lost Cause” American South in favor of grim narratives involving death, witchcraft, religious trauma and racism. In fact, a key subject of Southern Gothic literature is confronting the horrible realities of the pre- and post-Antebellum South.

Southern Gothic music– also known as gothic Americana, gothic country, dark country or “the Denver sound”– twists folk, bluegrass, rock and punk influences together to create a spooky yet rural vibe. The last moniker references the music’s origin in Denver, where the scene still savors its popularity. A Southern Gothic tune might rely heavily on the banjo, acoustic guitar or violin to cultivate that dreary backwoods feeling.

Television has an eye for Southern goths– particularly Southern vampires. The HBO series True Blood and the 2022 adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire place the bloodthirsty beings in Louisiana. Both explore supernatural themes and race in the South, with an additional queer lens taking form in the characters of Lafayette Reynolds and Lestat de Lioncourt.

With these subconscious influences, Southern Gothic fashion employs flowy silhouettes, gingham prints, wide-brim hats, boots and lace accents, as well as a color palette of wine reds, forest greens, muted grays and, of course, black. The result is an unmistakably gothic version of the beaut, belle or gent you would find in a Southern period drama. While some individuals choose to highlight feminine or masculine shapes in their styling, others blend them or adopt an androgynous shape. Further variation occurs when outfits borrow from punk, fairycore, romantic goth or any of the innumerable aesthetics viewable on Pinterest. 

For those of us that grew up with more urban gothic trends, Y’Allternative is a breath of rustic air. It’s pleasantly subversive, embracing the wilderness and its potential for fear. Southern Gothic music, literature, film and television all spin the once-comforting countryside into a landscape of horror. The fashion echoes the past, yet brings darkness to the forefront. 

You might be visiting family in Mississippi when late at night, you spot a pair of glowing eyes beyond your bedroom window. You go outside to investigate, the cicadas screeching and mosquitos grappling your skin. You hear the slow crunching of leaves - it’s too loud to be a coyote. You spin around and run back inside as fast as you can. One thing is for certain: The memory will plague your mind for as long as you live… the potential for screams in the South.

[mikadll]

it is 3am and i am once again feeling very vulnerable as an artist. longass read pulled from my twitter because i want to explain myself here as well

i'm genuinely doing what i can to stay strong and keep on cooking what i have in mind for The Undying Mr. Ludwig but i think it'll involve being less online on social media for the time being and focusing more on seeking out inspo from the story pegs i have for it

genuinely i wish i didn't feel this way but it be do. it's a human thing. it's part and parcel with being an artist. what's more important is that i take responsibility for how i express how i feel. if that makes sense

genuinely grateful that a tf2 fan film got me thinking more deeply about how far i can go when it comes to creating something that i want to put out in the world

i am willing to admit that when emesis blue first blew up i started having self doubt about whether the thing i've been planning for a while now can ever be creative and original. especially since my most popular work has been compared to x or y analog horror series

i am getting better and i no longer harbor any sort of negativity. i'm gonna go back to the roots of the inspiration i laid out for the project. square one type beat

i am genuinely sorry for getting upset whenever a horror idea semi-similar to mine blows up. i know that i don't have a monopoly over that and that should never happen, but please understand that having my work constantly compared to other popular media is exhausting to deal with

[renyen808]

2023 Movies You Need to Watch (Part One)

The year of 2023. What an interesting year it was for me personally. Honestly, I’m done with this year, so instead of thinking about the memories I’d rather forget, let’s go through the best movies of the year!

Scream 6 (Released March 10th)

(Credit: Wikipedia)

Starring: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding

Director(s): Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Scream 6 is the first movie on my list and first horror movie! With the fifth movie being an excellent addition to the franchise, this sixth installment takes us out of Woodsboro and into the city that never sleeps: New York. This movie clearly benefits from the change of scenery, adding suspense in ways that was unreachable for the franchise until this point, like the subway scene with Mindy (Jasmin Savoy-Brown) or the ladder scene with Anika (Devyn Nekoda). The story follows sisters Sam (Barrera) and Tara (Ortega) as they fight against another Ghostface. 

(Credit: Variety)

What made this one stand out to me more is the lack of legacy characters this time around. Courtney Cox returns as Gale Weathers, in a very small cameo, while Hayden Panettiere reprises her role as Kirby Reed from Scream 4 in a much more substantial role. Despite those additions, this is Barrera and Ortega’s movie, with their relationship becoming the main thing holding the movie together. The Ghostfaces (Yes, more than one) are kinda mediocre and predictable, but the motives aren’t, which makes up for it. All in all, an awesome suspenseful film that is a perfect end to a franchise, thanks to Barrera, Ortega, and the director leaving. 

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Released March 31st)

(Credit: Wikipedia)

Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis

Director(s): Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley

An underrated gem from this year is Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The trailers did this movie an injustice, as it was nothing like they made it out to be. Pine and Rodriguez play a perfect platonic pair of friends as they try to survive in this big fantasy world. The story follows Edgin (Pine) and Holga (Rodriguez) as they travel across the world to save Edgin’s daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) from Forge (Hugh Grant). Everyone plays their parts to perfection, and it makes you feel like you’re playing as these characters, and it shows that not everything will go as planned. 

(Credit: NY Post)

There are so many funny moments from the Fat Dragon to different ways Edgin gets out of sticky situations. It also helps that both Smith and Lillis play excellent side characters that add to the awkward dynamic that may feel familiar to D&D players. Along with that, there are fun cameos from different actors that I won’t spoil that made me and my friends laugh. I hate that this film didn’t get more love because it truly is a joy to watch it. All in all, this is an amazing movie that deserves more love, and you should give it a watch if you haven’t, you’ll enjoy it!!

Evil Dead Rise (Released April 21st)

(Credit: IMDb)

Starring: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols

Director: Lee Cronin

Another horror movie that came out this year, and on my birthday, was Evil Dead Rise! This was my first time watching an Evil Dead movie in the theater, and I really enjoyed it, thanks to other patrons in the theater. This movie was brutal, but not as brutal as the 2013 remake. A lot of people were mad about how goofy the movie was, but that’s actually my favorite part! It was like a return to the original Evil Dead, taking it back to its roots. I loved the change in scenery, from a cabin in the middle of the woods to an apartment building on the verge of falling apart. 

(Credit: Variety)

The cold open was literally the best part, shoving people into the deep end and showing what’s to come. The story follows sisters Beth (Sullivan) and Ellie (Sutherland) as Ellie becomes possessed and begins to attack her sister and three children in their apartment. It was so suspenseful and insanely dramatic, to the point where it was laughable in the best way possible. Although, I’ll admit, the ending kind of lost me a little, I was willing to look past it thanks to the performances of the actors on screen. Overall, I say if you’re a fan of the first three Evil Dead movies starring Bruce Campbell, I highly recommend it. If you’re a fan of only the 2013 remake, I suggest going in with a bit of a warning that it is not as intense as the previous remake. 

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 (Released May 5th)

(Credit: IMDb)

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan 

Director: James Gunn

The end of a beautiful trilogy. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 not only solidifies the fact that this is the best trilogy, but also Gunn’s reputation as the best director in the MCU. From the very beginning, Gunn perfectly captured the tone of the film, and didn’t let me go until the very end. The story revolves around Rocket (Bradley Cooper) suffering a deadly injury, where Peter (Pratt) and the other Guardians travel to save him. 

(Credit: Space.com)

Throughout this movie, I was so anxious that someone was going to die, but to my surprise, Gunn didn’t kill anyone off. I adore this film so much, and while Gunn has left, I will hold this story and the other two in my heart forever. If you would like to read more about the Guardians from me, please go to my previous post!

The Little Mermaid (Released May 26th)

(Credit: Wikipedia)

Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina

Director: Rob Marshall

Ah, the best Disney remake. Ariel has always been my favorite princess. I wasn’t born when the movie first came out, but coming from Hawai’i, I’m constantly surrounded by water, so how could I not have Ariel as my favorite princess? When I heard that they were remaking it for live action, I was excited. I was even more excited when they casted Bailey in the role. 

(Credit: Screencrush)

Although I am not African American myself, I am a POC, and it made me so happy to see representation. I can see the joy in other girls' faces when they see Bailey performing as Ariel, and it brings a tear to my eye. I never had anything like that growing up and seeing them makes me so happy. If you would like to read more about The Little Mermaid, please read my post below.

Spider Man: Across the Spider Verse (Released June 2nd)

(Credit: IMDb)

Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brain Tyler Henry, Lauren Vélez

Director(s): Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson

The sequel to the highly praised Spider Verse movie has finally been released this year, and it does not disappoint. First off, addressing something in the room, although it is a Part One to another movie, this is a full movie, and it does end on a cliffhanger, but it has an ending! This movie tries to pack so much into its runtime, that I’m surprised it even accomplished being a complete movie! It builds off of everything that happened in ‘Into the Spiderverse’, building off of characters like Gwen and Peter B. Parker, while also making us care about new characters, like Spider Punk and Spider-Man India. 

(Credit: Polygon)

This might be pretty contriversial, but I am not a fan of Spider-Man 2099, he’s too much of an asshole for me to care about him. The only saving grace is that he’s played by Oscar Isaac. Also, Jason Schwartzman as the villain was surprisingly amazing, and his origin story is hilarious. All in all, an excellent sequel that leaves me dying for more!

Elemental (Released June 16th)

(Credit: Disney Movies)

Starring: Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi

Director: Peter Sohn

Pixar is still releasing bangers, with Elemental being added to the list. First off, the trailers did this movie a HUGE disservice! It sold it as some whimsical world where elements live together in harmony, but it is a retelling of Sohn’s life story told through the eyes of Ember (Lewis). It is emotional, and it hits me in a certain way, thanks to being raised with Asian parents. 

(Credit: Los Angeles Times)

Ember and Wade (Athie) are both adorable in their own way, and I believe that people just saw this as a Zootopia rip off and decided not to go. It’s not!! They’re two different stories!! Please go ahead and watch it if you haven’t!! You will not be disappointed. With Pixar movies just being shoved into Disney+, Elemental deserves to be on the big screen. 

With that, I’m ending the first part here! Thank you for reading, be on the lookout for Part Two and my review of The Iron Claw, coming out next week!

[yibennianyaji]

In Defense of the Little Shop of Horrors Theatrical Cut

Few words are as dirty as the phrase “focus testing,” the process in which bewildered strangers representing various marketing demographics are ushered into the screening of an unreleased film and then battered with questions about their feelings. Alright, it’s a bit more involved than that, but it’s also a process well known for being used as a crutch by nervous studio executives (also known as The Man) to rein in artistic types who want to try out something that, God forbid, might fail. The fallacy of this system has been discussed in broader scope by more learned souls than I, so today let’s keep it simple. There is one case in which I remain in favor of the results of a focus group: the infamous edited ending of the 1986 film Little Shop of Horrors.

For those not in the know, a brief history: Little Shop of Horrors is, at its basest roots, the story of a poor young man, Seymour Krelborn, who finds a mysterious plant that brings him a great deal of wealth, accomplishment, and the love of the girl he was pining for; trouble being that the plant feeds on blood, and as it gets bigger and the stakes get higher, Seymour has to resort to feeding it bodies. The story was originally a 1960 film born from the production house of gimmickry master Roger Corman, with the plant serving as a pretty heavy handed drug metaphor and Seymour as the only victim. In 1982 the story was adapted into an Off-Broadway musical with a score furnished by future Disney Renaissance composer Alan Menken, becoming a Greek tragedy rather than a morality play (a stroke of genius that no doubt has a great deal to do with the play’s enduring quality). That musical then became the basis for the 1986 film starring Rick Moranis and directed by Frank “he did things besides Muppetry?” Oz.

Now, the play ends with Seymour, his paramour Audrey, and eventually the entire planet being consumed by the ravening alien plant dubbed “Audrey II.” Seymour’s undone by his fatal flaw, there’s a Greek chorus, and the show ends on a direct address to the audience called “Don’t Feed the Plants.” It’s a metaphor, y’see. The film was initially shot with that ending as well, until focus groups declared that they hated it, and Oz was forced to go back and shoot a happier ending with Seymour and Audrey surviving (as well as a small Audrey II peeking up out of the idyllic garden). People have hated that ending ever since. But while it’s definitely sappy, perhaps unduly so, it’s still a better fit for the finished film than the original ending.

The first issue is one of medium, which is almost unfair to hold against the film. “Don’t Feed the Plants” is directed toward an audience assumed to be in the same room, and is almost always staged correspondingly (plant props falling on the audience or a giant puppet looming over the seats). It takes advantage of the intimacy of theatre as a medium in order to impress that last message as a plea by the dead characters, and that in-person bond with the actors is a huge part of making something like that work.

Oz tries, to his credit, making the final shot of the director’s cut involving Audrey II seeming to rip through the screen. But it’s simply not the same, and once the characters we’ve spent 90 minutes with are dead there’s no urgency or horror in seeing unnamed civilians overwhelmed by vines. Nor does it help that he cuts up the rhythm of the finale to twice its original length in order to have long, looooooong shots of giant plants rampaging through the city. And because it alters the stage convention of Seymour et al returning as plant buds to sing the final number, it doesn’t so much surge into its ending as it limps the remaining six minutes until the credits finally roll. Even Seymour’s death lacks punch on screen. While his stage counterpart died making a final run at the plant with an axe, screen Seymour is picked up and swallowed up with agonizing, passive slowness.

“Passive” is the word du jour when it comes to film Seymour. Rick Moranis’ performance is wonderfully sweet and endearing, and perhaps it’s because of that there are a dozen little cuts and tweaks centered around absolving his character of culpability. Stage Seymour’s arc is one that takes small but active steps toward his own damnation, thus making it a tragic but fitting end when he sacrifices himself trying to end what he started. Film Seymour might go through the same basic motions, but as film goers we’re used to sympathizing with people who do bad things for sympathetic reasons. And the film almost goes out of its way to make the overall tone sympathetic: the film death of sadistic dentist Orin ends with Seymour saying that “it was for her,” and Orin’s first confused and then non-repentant reply hammers home that this is a man better off dead; likewise, by having Seymour successfully pull the gun, it cuts away the staged version of Orin pitifully begging Seymour (in song!) for help.

Mushnik’s death is also given a semi-karmic edge in the film. While stage Mushnik is no saint, the script plays genuinely on the fact that he’s troubled by the implication of Seymour being a murderer (“just so my conscience can rest easy” is his last line before Audrey II starts up “Suppertime”). Film Mushnik, meanwhile, not only saw Seymour chop up Orin (rather than only suspecting it) but is perfectly fine with letting that fact slide in the name of blackmailing Seymour for the plant. And Seymour’s active hand is once again removed, having him babble in shock until Mushnik trips into the plant on his own (stage Seymour manipulates Mushnik into crawling right into Audrey II’s mouth). In both cases Seymour’s biggest sin is passivity, allowing bad things to happen for his own advancement but not actively taking part in them. Even “Feed Me” is restrained: one would think that the film would take advantage (as it does with other numbers like “Somewhere That’s Green”) on at least a cutaway or two when Seymour is indulging in his more selfish desires for fame. Instead, we stay in the room (which probably has something to do with that fantastic puppet), and Audrey II looms so large as to make Seymour seem like the helpless prop.

Much of this is helped along, in the stage show, by the three chorus girls (Chiffon, Crystal, and Ronette) who comment on the action of the play. Most of their numbers are cut or shortened to help with the film’s pacing, meaning that numbers like “You Never Know,” about Seymour becoming famous after his radio interview (and positively loaded with the toxic masculinity and capitalist success language that push him to his doom throughout the play), gets replaced with the functional but less subtext-heavy “Some Fun Now;” the reprise of the opening cautionary tale prior to the end of act I is gone; and, most importantly, “The Meek Shall Inherit” omits Seymour’s monologue.

“The Meek Shall Inherit” is the montage number wherein Seymour is deluged by contracts, fame, and fortune. The meat of it can still be seen in the film, though you’ll notice that Seymour mostly sits, silent and bewildered, as he has for much of the film. The full song, by contrast, includes an interlude where Seymour argues with himself about signing the contracts, knowing that agreeing to it will mean killing more people to keep Audrey II alive. But, afraid that Audrey won’t love him without his success, he makes the decision to go through with the agreements – it’s his last chance to back out, and instead he signs his metaphorical death warrant. The fact that we see him work through and make that decision is crucial as a turning point. It’s what makes the line “you’re a monster, and so am I” work, and it means that without it Seymour works only as a piteous and not a tragic figure.

In fact, the one active move film Seymour makes in distinction from stage Seymour is to take a stand after the arguably accidental murders, not only not making that damning decision about the contracts but instead vocally refusing to give Audrey II more human meat. He becomes a hero struggling to claw his way out of the pit he blundered into rather than a Shakespearean victim, and the needs of the third act correspondingly become different.

In particular, the film-only number “Bad” (no doubt written, as is common for film musicals, to have a shot at the Oscar’s Best Original Song category) only really works in a scenario where Seymour makes it out alive. It’s a grand eleven o’clock piece of gloating for Audrey II and a brutal, semi-slapstick gauntlet for Seymour as he tries to take the plant down. The effect of placing that sequence before Seymour’s death not only has a cruel effect on the tone (he’s not just eaten but humiliated first, and doesn’t even get that last active choice with the axe), but also results in Audrey II having two victory moments back to back – rather than the confrontation being focused on Seymour’s failing and then leading into the idea of The Plant as a bigger, more metaphorical threat to be presented to the audience.

But “Bad” does work as a final test that Seymour needs to go through to atone for what he’s done, accidentally or not. It works as the moment when he decides to overcome his sin of passivity and become an active hero. That feels, corny or no, like the story the film specifically is writing for its Seymour – not a tragic downfall but a transition from innocence to experience (so yes, even that gotcha moment with the bud works, as it ties well into the idea that Seymour might have to face up to his old sins in future). It wound up telling a different story, one that arguably lacks the brutal emotional punch of the stage show but meshes better with the film’s high concentration of weird comedic bits (looking at you, Bill Murray!). The front half is so loaded with goofy guest stars and tongue in cheek humor, so dialed back in letting Seymour be an actively flawed character, that ironically it’s the tragic end that winds up feeling like a cheat.

And besides, Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene are too damn cute for me to want anything but the best for them.