if you can’t see Hereditary but you still wanna know about Ari Aster’s fucked up style then you can still watch his short films online, like

Just an overall warning for all of these short films, they’re all fucked up, some more than others

Jennifer’s Body (2009) dir. Karyn Kasuma 

tag yourselves: the horror renaissance aesthetic edition

the vvitch: the darkness of a cluster of trees. a crackling campfire. the snap of a twig underfoot. the sound of children’s laughter. a sense of kinship with animals. isolation in the wilderness of life. fighting to free yourself from repression. cutting ties with toxic family members. feeling lost, alone, and afraid in the forest of your own emotions. the feeling that something – or someone – is watching you. 

it: the refreshing feeling of summer vacation. spending time with your best friends. the feeling that something important is missing from your life. waking from a nightmare in the middle of the night. the sick feeling of missing a step while walking up the stairs in the dark. thinking you see something moving just out of your line of sight. cotton candy. red balloons. a shiver running down your spine.

mother!: a sense of peaceful isolation, relief in solitude. the spike of anxiety upon being thrust into an unfamiliar situation. feeling protective over the things that are yours. a tumultuous turn in a relationship with someone you love. smoke billowing from a roaring fireplace. a thunderstorm raging outside an open window. the gutwrenching sound of a baby crying. your heartbeat pounding in your ears as your blood boils.

annihilation: embarking on a new adventure. the pursuit of knowledge and truth. the discovery of something you don’t quite understand, but want to. something strange and powerful running through your veins. sheer otherworldly beauty. the lump in your throat when you know you’ve done something wrong, and want to make up for it. the aurora borealis. a rainbow across the sky in the wake of a terrible storm.

halloween: a flickering jack-o-lantern on a front porch. distant sirens. being haunted by your past. a constant sense of vigilance. the sound of shattering glass. living like it’s the last night of your life. coming together to protect the people you love. a secret passageway. feeling the need to look over your shoulder as you walk home alone at night. blood staining your clothes.

hereditary: the creeping dread of walking through your house alone in the dark. dark family secrets, buried and then brought to light. strained family relationships. the feeling of something crawling on your skin. fear so suffocating that you struggle to breathe. an eerie light coming in through your bedroom window. losing your head. a heavy depression that threatens to destroy you.

suspiria: a curtain of long hair spread out across a pillow. the comforting touch of a hand against your cheek. a close circle of friends. music that carries you to the point where you just can’t help but dance. the thrill of having accomplished one of your goals. great power hiding behind innocence. straining to try and remember something you’ve forgotten. extending your hand in friendship and solidarity to others.

midsommar: a garden of brightly colored flowers bursting into life. a beautifully embroidered dress. dancing hand in hand. flowers braided into long hair. paint smeared across blank pages. billowing smoke. pristine white cliffs. the feeling of being left out of an inside joke. herbal tea. a close sense of community. letting go of painful memories and toxic relationships and moving forward in happiness.

us: feeling a disconnect with what you see when you look into a mirror. finding catharsis through dance. coping with trauma. hiding secrets from the people you love, fearing rejection. the haunting sight of an empty street. an ominous silhouette against the horizon. the lingering, unwanted connection to someone else. the rush of adrenaline as you run. rabbits. letting your past finally die.

Not to still be talking about Midsommar on main, but the first 20 minutes portrayed the most impactful transition from the ordinary world to inciting incident I have ever experienced in film.

— Florence Pugh

— Florence Pugh

Revisiting a podcast episode analyzing the trope of the “Final Girl” has made me come to a realization in regards to what I tend to affectionately refer to as the “horror renaissance”

We’re no longer living in the era of the final girl. We’re now in the era of what I think is the only natural progression of that trope, which is the grieving, vindicated woman.

womanhood as a metaphor in horror

the witch // midsommar // ready or not

Pam Grier in Jackie Brown (1997)

First & Last Shots Jackie Brown (1997) Dir. Quentin Tarantino

Favourite Leading Ladies Jackie Brown, Jackie Brown (1997) Dir. Quentin Tarantino

Jackie Brown (1997), dir. Quentin Tarantino

I know I’m not a Tumblr girl in which one gets thousands of notes on a single photo of herself with the perfectly placed bralette underneath a tank top to see her muscular arms with some type of headwear that looks stunning atop her hair. But, in this photo, I have the most genuine smile I’ve had in years. I’m sitting across from my best friend on the tea cups in DisneyLand after a full day of running here there and everywhere- but with no responsibility and to just be a kid again. So, I’m sharing this because happiness is sexy. Nose scrunches are cute as hell. And I am feeling better and better about myself with each passing day. 

If you read this far, thank you. I appreciate you. You are absolutely stunning and please smile today. you never know who might need your shining pearly whites to brighten their day. 

I was sad that I couldn’t find this as a gif already so 

Dita Von Teese photographed by Christine McConnell at her log cabin, 2018.