So, I’m watching “Under the Skin” which was recommended to me by a male friend. He told me that it really creeped him out as a man and wasn’t sure if it would have the same effect on me. The movie is about a woman who lures men to their deaths at night. I can only think it’s funny that this movie scares men because they have no idea what it’s like to be preyed upon like women do. It’s like yeah, women don’t get into strange men’s cars most of the time because we are afraid of being murdered and/or raped. You’ve never given a second thought to getting in a strange woman’s car until you saw this movie. That’s called privilege.
Hello hello,
I try to add trigger warnings to all of my posts but if you’ve noticed I’m missing one please do let me know! I like some pretty disturbing movies, but that doesn’t mean everyone has to be subjected to them!
The Witch- Robert Eggers
"Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"
I've never seen anything quite like "The Witch". Set in the the 1600s in New England, a puritan family is excommunicated for "prideful conceit" from their plantation and must start life anew by a large, and creepy, forest. When two of the children go missing in the woods, the family begins to turn against their eldest daughter, Thomasin. What happens next is cloaked in pure terror and mystery.
Robert Eggers used old diaries and texts about witches from this time in order to produce a film from the perspective of a puritan faced with such unnatural circumstances. The dialogue reflects that of the era and the characters all use "thee", "thy", and "thou". Even though the story and script are so unfamiliar to the modern day viewer, the film immerses its audience so deeply that the unfamiliar quickly becomes familiar; the unnatural, natural.
"The Witch" is one of those movies that will have you talking about it for days. I've formed many theories about what the true meaning of this story is, but, have not been able to actually pin down any definite answers. Is there actually a witch? Or is the audience partaking in the same hysteria that the family is going through? Is the film a metaphor for the "sin" of a young woman coming of age in puritanical times? Is this pious family paying for their hypocrisy? I have no idea! Robert Eggers has also mentioned in interviews that the family's crop has been tainted by ergot (a hallucinogenic fungus) so that plants another question in our minds- is this all one bad trip?
This is a fascinating, and deeply creepy, film that goes from zero to one hundred.
Do the Right Thing (1989) written & directed by Spike Lee
It Follows- David Robert Mitchell
"Your soul will leave your body and you will no longer be a person…the worst thing is that it is certain."
One of the best horror movies I've seen in a very long time. "It Follows" is executed flawlessly from beginning to end. What seems to start out as a simple morality tale takes you deeper into themes of mortality and the loss of innocence.
After a traumatizing sexual experience, beautiful Jay finds herself being relentlessly followed by some entity that can appear as any person living or dead. The thing doesn’t run, it doesn’t drive, it just walks and keeps walking towards her. Will she keep fleeing or accept her fate?
This movie is absolutely captivating and insidious. You are filled with a feeling of dread as Jay flees and hides from this thing that just won't stop coming. The cinematography is a work of genius, and, paired with the haunting soundtrack, the audience is sucked into the perilous atmosphere of the film. Every scene, every line of dialogue, is intentional. Watch carefully, it's more than just about teen angst and sexual transmission.
George Washington- David Gordon Green
"They used to get around, walkin' around, lookin' at stuff. They used to try to find clues to all the mysteries and mistakes God had made. My friend George said that he was gonna live to be 100 years old. He said - He said that he was going to be the president of the United States. I wanted to see him lead a parade and wave a flag on the Fourth of July. He just wanted greatness. The grown-ups in my town, they were never kids like me and my friends. They had worked in wars and build machines. It was hard for them to find their peace. Don't you know how that feels? I like to go to beautiful places where there's waterfalls and empty fields. Just places that are nice and calm and quiet."
A beautiful, poignant, and realistic film about a group of kids growing up in a depressed rural town in North Carolina. After a tragic mistake, the kids try to seek redemption.
A moving look at adolescence, "George Washington" is slow paced but incredibly powerful. The dialogue is eloquent, yet, realistic and we as the audience gain some wisdom from the narratives of the young protagonists. The adults in the film seem to be on the same level as the children. Like them, they are seeking redemption and purpose. You find yourself wondering whether it is the children who are have grown up too quickly into adolescence, or the adults who never have left it. We see the children develop as life's challenges move beyond boyfriend/girlfriend troubles to the loss of innocence.
The film provides a window into one of the many forgotten towns across America where dilapidated buildings, piles of trash, and neglected furniture are juxtaposed with the nature that surrounds them. The cinematography is superb.
"George Washington" is a work of cinematic art.
Burnt Money (Argentina)
"They called them The Twins. They were always together."
Based on the true story of a bank robbery in Buenos Aires in 1965, "Burnt Money" is a surprisingly touching film. The so called action-thriller focuses on the three bank robbers and their exploits before, during, and after the robbery. Known as the "Twins" due to their inseparability, El Nene (Leonardo Sbaraglia) and his troubled Spanish lover Angel (Eduardo Noriega) team up with womanizer Cuervo (Pablo Echarri) to pull off the infamous stunt. However, things go wrong not only in the heist, but also, in their relationships with each other.
Although the film is set up like a gangster movie, it is, in reality, a film about love. The acting is incredible. You can feel the torment of love and passion between the "Twins". Their relationship, although taboo at the time, is presented beautifully.
A must-see if you are a fan of Argentine film.
The Method (Spain)
"I learned long ago that you lose the battle on your own."
Seven people are selected as applicants in a final round of interviews for a big corporation while, outside, anti-globalization protests ring through the streets. However, this is no simple interview situation, and the applicants must compete against each other in a series of psychological trials under the name of the "Gronholm Method". And, when it turns out that one of them is actually an employee for the corporation, the game turns dirty.
This film is incredibly clever, suspenseful, and even funny at times. It was nominated for 5 Goyas.
Cube- Vincenzo Natali (Canada)
"No more talking. No more guessing. Don't even think about nothing that's not right in front of you. That's the real challenge. You've gotta save yourselves from yourselves."
"Cube" is a low-budget sci-fi mind-fuck. Filmed mostly with a handheld camera, the film presents a Kafkaesque scenario where seven strangers, all with very different personalities, wake up to find themselves trapped in deadly maze. They must each use their unique abilities to escape this cubic hell and avoid the lethal traps that lay around them.
In case you were wondering what "Kafkaesque" means, a "Kafkaesque" scenario is marked by senseless, disorientating, and menacing complexity. And, "Cube" definitely pulls this off. The audience feels trapped in this gigantic cubic complex. As the protagonists move from cube to cube and discover the secrets to getting out, you can't help but feel an impending sense of doom.
The film is also an incredibly interesting character study. Each character is named after a Prison, eg Quentin, Kazan, Holloway etc. Additionally, each character's personality matches the prison. The character of Quentin is an unorthodox and violent detective; this matches the brutality that the prison of San Quentin in known for. It's fascinating to watch how these personalities not only aid, but also at the same time, hinder each other in their progress. Because, the Cube, like many prison systems around the world, is a seemingly inescapable prison. The characters are victims of the system as well as a part of it.
Due to it's low budget and some bad acting (not unbearable), "Cube" at first seems like simple sci-fi film. It's only when you look deeper that you uncover all the genius and complexity that is worked into it. For this reason, it has a decent cult following.
This film will keep you entertained and your brain buzzing from beginning to end.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer- Tom Tykwer
"In the period of which we speak, there reigned in the cities a stench barely conceivable to us modern men and women. Naturally, the stench was foulest in Paris, for Paris was the largest city in Europe. And nowhere in Paris was that stench more profoundly repugnant than in the city's fish-market. It was here then, on the most putrid spot in the whole kingdom, that Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was born on the 17th of July, 1738. It was his mothers fifth birth, she delivered them all here under her fish-stand, and all had been stillbirths or semi-stillbirths. And by evening the whole mess had been shoveled away with the fish-guts into the river. It would be much the same today, but then... Jean-Baptiste chose differently."
An absolute masterpiece from "Run Lola Run" director, Tom Tykwer. A period film set in 18th century France, it is as dirty, grimy, and grotesque as you could imagine the 18th century would have been. This ain't no "Marie Antoinette". It centers on Jean Baptiste-Grenouille (Ben Whishaw), a young man growing up surrounded by death and decay whose incredibly astute sense of smell allows him to escape from his putrid world. After smelling the scent of a beautiful woman, Jean Baptiste-Grenouille decides that he must do whatever it takes to preserve this enchanting odor forever. And you guessed it, he starts murdering women and making perfume out of them. Dustin Hoffman appears as the old perfume-maker who mentors Jean Baptiste and Alan Rickman plays the protective father of an exquisitely beautiful young woman.
This movie captivated me from start to end. The cinematography is phenomenal. Tykwer is constantly playing with our olfactory senses and the audience can almost smell the odors that Baptiste-Grenouille is exposed to because they are depicted in such detail. Ben Whishaw, a fairly unknown actor at the time, is extraordinarily creepy as the murderer of this story. Just a magnificent piece of cinema.
Kinky Boots
"Burgundy. Please, God, tell me I have not inspired something burgundy. Red. Red. Red, Charlie boy. Red! Is the color of sex! Burgundy is the color of hot water bottles! Red is the color of sex and fear and danger and signs that say, Do. Not. Enter. All my favorite things in life"
Based on the true story about a Northamptom shoemaker, Charlie, who tries to save his father's business by replacing the classic brogues with fetish footwear for transvestites. In order to do this, he enlists the help of drag queen Lola- a flamboyant and spirited personality. Together, the two innovate a new sexy line of footwear that moves far beyond boring old tradition.
This movie is hilarious with lovable characters and, of course, "Kinky Boots". Chiwel Ejiofor does a brilliant job as the fabulous Lola and Joel Edgerton's mild-mannered Charlie is an exceptional counterweight. The two look ridiculous together but they make for an engaging duo. See this one for nonstop fun and some nice tender moments as well. I heard the broadway musical is a hit!
Together (Sweden)
"You could say that we are like porridge. First we're like small oat flakes - small, dry, fragile, alone. But then we're cooked with the other oat flakes and become soft. We join so that one flake can't be told apart from another. We're almost dissolved. Together we become a big porridge that's warm, tasty, and nutritious and yes, quite beautiful, too. So we are no longer small and isolated but we have become warm, soft, and joined together. Part of something bigger than ourselves. Sometimes life feels like an enormous porridge, don't you think? Sorry, I'm standing around dreaming."
A satirical comedy about a group of socialist hippie dippies living together in a Swedish commune during the 1970s. Goran, the leader of the house, has his sweet cooperative life shaken when his sister and her two kids come to stay. While the parents are busy trying to live out their socialist dreams, the kids are named after Vietnam war references and left to play games such as "torture the Pinochet victim".
A heartwarming, hilarious, and very human film about a group of hippies whose fight is becoming obsolete in the modern world. Get prepared for laughter and tears.
May- Lucky McKee
"Whatcha readin' about?"
"Amputation"
"Is that for work?"
"Nope, it's just for fun"
"May" is not a terrifying movie, but it's creepy as hell. It's about May (Angela Bettis), a weird loner only made weirder by her loneliness. Growing up isolated from her peers, her only friend is an antique doll with serial killer eyes that she never takes out of it's glass case. After meeting tall, dark, and handsome Adam (Jeremy Sisto), May's awkwardness transforms into full on disturbed behavior. Will she ever find the perfect friend who will accept her for her true, demented, self?
This movie is fucked up...so it's great. It starts off slowly and gets more and more grotesque. I loved the originality and the relatability of May's character is quite disturbing. It just goes to show that some outcasts are outcasts for a reason.
31 Days Of Criterion Collection Horror: Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Diabolique
"Before Psycho, Peeping Tom, and Repulsion, there was Diabolique. This thriller from Henri‑Georges Clouzot, which shocked audiences in Europe and the U.S., is the story of two women—the fragile wife and the willful mistress of the sadistic headmaster of a boys’ boarding school—who hatch a daring revenge plot. With its unprecedented narrative twists and terrifying images, Diabolique is a heart-grabbing benchmark in horror filmmaking, featuring outstanding performances by Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, and Paul Meurisse."
Check out our episode on Diabolique
XXY- Lucía Puenzo (Argentina)
"The turtle will live but never be free."
A controversial and stunning film about Alex, a teenage "intersex" person with both female and male genitalia. For 15 years, Alex has been living as a girl but she decides to stop taking her hormones. In order to avoid the prejudice in Argentina, Alex's family moves with him/her to Uruguay. Everything begins to unravel when family friends come to visit and Alex, as well as her family, is forced to confront society's expectations of his/her sexuality.
This film is incredibly blunt and a bit sad. But it explores an incredibly interesting theme; the discourse of gender. We see Alex as a human being and not as the gender he/she is defined by. It's agonizing to watch nonetheless- isn't puberty hard enough?
There are a lot of comparisons between Alex and the sea. Alex lives in a beach town, his/her father is a marine biologist etc. Because in the sea, there are all sorts of hermaphrodites and "intersex" beings that belong to nature. Alex's father has a fish tank full of clownfish which are known for starting out as male and transforming into female.
The title of the film is slightly misleading. It appears to be Klinefelter Syndrome which is when males are born with an extra X chromosome. Alex does not have Klinefelter Syndrome but is actually "intersex". The "Y" at the end of "XXY" is actually a fractured "X".
A beautiful and moving film.
TW: Attempted rape; prejudice