Introducing new perspectives on film
Similar to David,
You seem to have this way,
Of capturing my heart,
And wooing my mind.
For your words
And your imagery,
Saturated my soul
Like sum-sum and kimchi,
And the Seoul sun.
If it weren’t for Soo-yeon,
And those dreams by the pond,
I’d be off the deep end too —
Waiting, pretending, and praying for more
From you.
Hiding from my deep, dark past,
Until I can breathe some sanity again, at last.
(A Tale of Two Sisters)
I don’t give a fuck how bad this may be…. But you will forever have my heart! For the nostalgic mementos, and mediocre dialogue, are enough to pull me in, yet every time. Though Jen wasn’t as convincing as the puffery had hoped, and Freddie’s heroic moments seemed more like falls from grace,
Anne and Ryan really carried it home. With aggression, with wife-beaters, with a crazed woman in the woods — I take this to my grave! I TAKE THIS TO MY GRAVE, THAT I NEED YOU LIKE HELEN NEEDS THAT GOD DAMN TIARA FROM THE BAY!!! And who gives a fuck what Mr. Blue has to say?! I can always welcome your toxicity with open arms and devotion. For your desperation and comic relief, is what I’ll always be, “waitinggggg forrrrrrrrrr”.
(I Know/I Still Know What You Did Last Summer)
Steady down this dirt road,
And then I see you.
And you see me too.
Bannon-attired,
And fully perspired,
Eyes stuck to your truck like glue.
And then this chase begins,
A feat which you will ultimately win.
You pulled me in, I could only give in,
To a malicious deviance?
An incomprehensible sin?…Or an evil within?
(Jeepers Creepers)
If you ever find yourself thinking it seems difficult to keep up with what is “in” right now in the thriller/horror genre, it’s actually pretty simple; just follow political/social trends. If you’re wondering what’s going to be next to come in American thriller/horror films, leave it to politics to give you your answer. Because inevitably, our common themes in this genre of film, often attack the political/social agendas of that current time. To give us a clearer scope of this argument, I like to look back on several decades of horror, specifically all the way back to nearly 50 years ago. Since the 1970’s I argue that the thriller/horror genre has undergone five phases of horror eras. All of which I have coined specific names:
The 1970’s was all about mass hysteria in the wake of serial murders. The nightly news couldn’t make it for 10 minutes without mentioning Bundy, Manson, Gacy or any other notorious necrophiliac. Similarly, horror hits from this time through the mid 80’s mirrored such propaganda. Americans lived in fear of leaving the house, and being the next target of the local deranged mass-murderer, on a quest for innocent victims for their next murder spree.
Then, as we transitioned through the 1980’s with the Reagan Administration, and even through the millennium with the Clinton Administration, we started to see an angst towards preserving the conservative adolescent behavior in our political/social dialogue. Government funding began to back pro-abstinence campaigns in high-school curriculum, and more of a focus shifted towards anti and/or safe-sex marketing strategies, as the HIV/AIDS epidemic emerged. Consequently, with this rise of sexually-transmitted diseases, paranoia surrounding sex and drug abuse in America rose, and so did much of the media/political agendas, which were filled with contraceptive and anti-tobacco/drug ads, all of which targeted teenagers. Thus, our horror hits of these times were filled with adolescent distress and teen slashers.
Then, as the millenium hits and we progressed through the mid 2000’s with the new Bush Administration and the brink of a war, the socio-political agenda intensified regarding keeping our homeland safe and refurbishing the traditional “white-picket” American home. Without wasting any time, the Bush Administration began implementing the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) just soon after George W. Bush took office. Tensions between the U.S. and middle-east enhanced post-9/11, and American people seemed less concerned with the epidemics of the 90’s, and more interested in protecting the nation. Subsequently, the thriller/horror films at this time consistently preyed upon the family dream home, and a deterioration of the nuclear family.
Postmodernism is a term that in its most literal sense, derives from skepticism of conformity across many different mediums. Thus, as we moved from the mid-late 2000’s through the mid 2010’s decade, we began to make drastic advancements in technology with major monopolies like Apple, Amazon, and Google becoming key players in our scientific breakthroughs. While moguls such as Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos withheld immense intellectual power, and our everyday lives seemed to be more and more centralized around their products, our skepticism towards such things also grew. As a result, a whirling social doubt of our government with incidents like the Wikileaks Scandal, rising unemployment rates, and a recession, the thriller/horror blockbusters at this time represented this exploitation of technology and government conspiracies. With unique camera angles switching to more of the “live footage” POV’s and zombie-culture films for example, it was this rising anti-technology/anti-government motif that created a provocative environment for dystopian movies in this genre.
This all brings us to our current state, which we’ve been in since the mid 2010’s decade – This socio-political clusterfuck as a result of the utmost political/media doubt and uncertainty that causes us to be more and more polarized as a society. Amidst the Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, and an uproar of what seem to be dated social issues – race, police brutality, and gender equality, all begin to resurface, the uncertainty of human ethics seems to keep growing. Ironically, our thriller/horror films recently have been more subjective* (see previous post) and ambiguous as the catalyst of a lot of our fear in our everyday lives in unknown, so similarly our films reflect this.
With all of this being said, there are obvious examples that counter this argument, and so, this is not to say that if a film doesn’t attack socio-political norms of that time then it won’t succeed. However, I do believe that it makes it that much more challenging for a film outside of it’s typical “era” to succeed. So what does it mean for the future of the thriller/horror genre? Well, with the way we are heading socially and politically, my predictions are that this subjectivism will continue to be explored with films exuding innuendos of propagandic fear via media streams, paparazzi-fear, more social media horror, and even more mass-shooter films. What do you think is in our future for this beloved genre? Do you find my categories sufficient? If so, of the five listed, what’s your favorite thriller/horror era?
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve last posted on here…I’m sorry to keep you guys waiting by the edge of your seats (LOL). I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about some of my favorite thriller and horror films over the past year – A Quiet Place (2018), It Comes At Night (2017), Super Dark Times (2017), and while they are all such different films, I found a lot of my thoughts and analyses about them to be quite redundant.
I was left wondering, what is it that separates these films from each other? What makes them so special? I think how we categorize fear for one is very important here. If we want to categorize anything in the genres of thriller/horror it should be categorized by the type of fear that particular film embellishes. So, I have taken it upon myself to create a scale of fear, “The O-S Scale”, to help one analyze thriller/horror films more adequately (Get your notepads out gang!).
To me, there are two extremities when it comes to fear in film – Objective Fear and Subjective Fear. If we think about the literal term ‘Objective’ this comes from meaning actuality or supportive reasoning such as statistical facts or science that explains why something would be categorized as objective. While ‘Subjective’ comes from meaning interpretation, or personal declarations such as feelings or emotions, that explain why something would be categorized as subjective. Thus, Objective Fear refers to actuality, or overt fear, while Subjective Fear refers to interpretation, or ambiguous fear.
For example, your most objectively scary movies are going to be your slasher or torture films, to name a couple – movies in which you’re directly faced with the catalyst of the fear. In these films you might often wonder, “What caused this evil rage? – A wrong-doing? A mental-health issue? What does this perpetrator want from the victims?”
While your subjectively scary movies are often more of your or dystopian films or films that lack a distinctive Mise en Scene – movies in which the root of the fear is harder to define, and often described as “IT”, because the evil is something we have yet to put into words, category, or meaningful thought. In these films, you might often find yourself thinking, “What is IT? Is IT all of our problems manifested into something we can’t explain, something we can’t see, something we can only feel? Is the evil that we combat self-induced?”
To put things in perspective, if we were to label the most objectively scary movies on my “O-S Scale” as a 10 and the most subjectively scary movies as a 1 (not to say that a 10 correlates to horror and a 1 correlates to a lack of horror), we could consider a movie like Halloween (1978) as a 10 and a movie like It Comes At Night (2017) as a 1.
Further, during your objectively scary movies, our fear is usually instilled like a rollercoaster – build-up’s to a climax followed by a come-down from that scene, followed by a relapse, over and over again until the movie concludes. Yet, during the subjectively scary movies, there aren’t usually these sporadic moments of climax throughout the film. Of course there are climatic moments for sure, however, there’s more so this lingering of constant unease or fear during the whole movie. As if the tension we feel comes from knowing we’re not going to get that big hurrah of a scare when we anticipate it, because we don’t even know exactly what the fuck we are afraid of yet (see homemade graphs below).
Let’s break this down in more of a literal context – Usually your objectively scary movies are conducive to dark hallways passed through by a shaky protagonist with a light waiting to turn sharply to only see a ghost staring back at them. Our subjectively scary movies might be envisioned as a petrified protagonist alone in the woods searching for the root of strange noises, sightings, etc. Make sense?
Now, in my humble opinion, I think we are currently in a subjectively dominated era of horror. Not to demean or disenchant the great objectively scary movies that have recently been made, but I do feel as if our current climate of horror leans more on the subjective side. One thing that we can all agree on, is that there are great masterpieces of both objective and subjective film of all sorts, despite if you have a certain preference in category or not. Likewise, we can also agree that neither category of film is more scarier than the other.
What I hope you take away from all of this, is a new lens to analyze the thriller/horror genre of film. I hope to bring more critical thought to the physical reactions that are a natural byproduct of our deepest cognitive emotions. To enlighten my readers on the subject matter of fear itself – an inevitable, natural, and complicated source from our inner subconscious, that is often the reason for why we can or cannot explain our complexity of wonder.
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What are some of your favorite thriller/horror films? How would you rank them on the O-S Scale? How do you feel about these categories, do you agree or disagree with this spectrum? Below are some horror films that I have ranked on the O-S Scale, let me know what you think!
Halloween (1978) – 10
It Follows (2014) – 1
As Above, So Below (2014) – 6
It Comes At Night (2017) – 1
A Quiet Place (2018) – 7
The Invitation (2015) – 5
Honeymoon (2014) – 4
Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015) – 3
The Witch (2015) – 4
Super Dark Times (2017) – 1
Jeepers Creepers (2001) -10
Hereditary (2018) – 4
The Others (2001) – 2
What better way is there to enjoy a weekend night than by watching a good scary movie (Okay besides margaritas…)? Anyone who knows me well, knows that my absolute favorite genre of film is horror. As weird as it may be, horror movies for me are often my feel-good movies, my go-to’s, the end all be all of Kim’s movie radar. I can’t get enough of horror movies, and could easily watch one every day.
What I am often asked is the obvious question, “What are some of your favorite horror movies?” Although I intend throughout my blogging journey to revisit the topic of horror movies and their sub-genres quite often, I do think I owe it to my readers to at least for now, share my list of favorite horror movies. While my list may not consist of necessarily critically the best horror movies of all time, I do recommend each of these if you’re looking for a solid watch.
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20. The Descent (2005)
Starting things at number twenty goes to The Descent. If being lost in a cave doesn’t give you enough anxiety, then this movie also brings you even more anxiety with not knowing which character will be picked off next. I think The Descent makes viewers a bit more anxious than scared, however I can also appreciate the all female cast.
19. The Conjuring (2013)
A critical success and box-office hit, The Conjuring is one of the best recent adaptations of a real-life horror story. I advise to watch this one with a buddy…or five.
18. Insidious (2010)
For me, Insidious makes my top twenty list because of its ability to balance a decent story line, as well as a few heart-pounding moments. No overindulgence or flat performances here, just a steady climax of intrigue and fear.
17. The Witch (2015)
Unique, spellbinding, and clever, The Witch’s impressive power to maintain the audience’s attention and anxiousness up until the unraveling end is definitely appreciated.
16. The Others (2001)
Often forgotten about, the astounding mystery in this film always keeps me coming back for more, and the chilling revelation in the plot makes this sweet number sixteen on my list, and my favorite Nicole Kidman performance.
15. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
Even though this one was snubbed a bit as being just another exorcism movie, this was a movie that I remember watching in elementary school and being scared shitless. To this day, waking up at 3am still gives me a sense of unease. Thank you Laura Linney.
14. You’re Next (2011)
For me, this is definitely one of those scary movies that everyoneeeee forgets about. Surprisingly, I appreciate not just the mystery behind the obvious question in this film, “Who is killing who?”, but also the change-up in weaponry and costume. It’s a nice diversion from the expected.
13. Hush (2016)
Netflix should truly be commended for Hush’s success and rightfully so, considering it really put a movie that most otherwise wouldn’t have heard much about, on the map. The alternating POV’s the audience gets between the protagonist and the killer is a nail-biting experience for the viewers of this movie. Plus, there’s a cameo by “Hot Uncle Cooper” (for all of my One Tree Hill fans out there).
12. Cry Wolf (2005)
Despite poor ratings, the plot twist in the movie is pretty entertaining and keeps you interested. Also Jon Bon Jovi is in this movie (Yes, the Jon Bon Jovi), so that’s enough to pull you in.
11. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) *Not the terrible 2010 remake*
My list would be nothing without one of the great original slasher movies. The beauty behind this Wes Craven hit is that it is still pretty freaky despite it’s near 35 year old release date. Wes Craven beautifully takes something as silly as a deformed man in a fedora and makes it your worst nightmare…literally.
10. The Visit (2015)
What better way to kick off the halfway mark than with an M. Night Shyamalan film?! Nothing short of his previous work, Shyamalan delivers with The Visit just as he does in his other movies, throwing the audience completely off. Most of the scenes will probably make you laugh, but the jaw-dropping truth is what makes this a horror success.
9. Hostel (2005)
Nevertheless, Eli Roth directs a movie and it is undoubtedly fucked up. However, Hostel plays on this taboo dichotomy of a chauvinistic schmuck, and a somewhat endearing and hopeful American hero, that keeps you watching, despite the blood and gore.
8. The Uninvited (2009)
If you’re looking for a critically successful movie, this might not be the one for you, but The Uninvited does give you a clever plot line if you’re into the whole The Hand That Rocks The Cradle type thing.
7. Saw (2004)
Although the Saw saga has gone wayyyyyy too far now, the original film in the series was pretty epic. I remember at the end of the movie gasping, “No fucking way”. Unlike the redundant sequels, Saw provided us an innovative and very ethical, approach to horror and a creepy ending that most of us did not see coming.
6. The Amityville Horror (2005)
Okay, horror remakes are usually a flop, and this one might have been just that, but for some reason I have always shamelessly enjoyed this flick. Maybe it’s the angst behind the, “Based on a true story” effect, or maybe it’s simply because Ryan Reynolds is shirtless for half of the movie. Regardless, you can count me in for this cheesy do-over.
5. Honeymoon (2014)
Despite its low-budget, Honeymoon does a great job at presenting the audience with a unique spectrum of horror that is quite different from typical depictions of scary movies. Honeymoon’s atypical mystery, in addition to the surprisingly effective performances from the actors, makes this not only a clever scary movie, but a very re-watchable film as well.
4. Jeepers Creepers (2001)
A cult classic, Jeepers Creepers is one of my favorites because for me, not only does this movie make you never want to go on a road trip, but it also really made monster’s scary again. I think there was a time when scaly figures with claws and fangs became a little lame, and I think this movie reinforced that old-school villain. This movie also brought us Justin Long guys, let’s not forget.
3. I Know/I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1997/1998)
I know…. (no pun intended), these movies are fucking awful, but I think most can agree, there’s still something we love about them (Although I will touch on this topic in a later blog)! There’s something about the desperation of Freddy Prinze Jr., the patheticness of Jennifer Love Hewitt, and the 90’s college-life, that pulls me in. I’ll blatantly admit that these two movies are definitely guilty pleasures for me.
2. It Follows (2014)
For those of you that haven’t tuned into my first blog post, I really fucking love this movie. In fact, I think it is a fantastic addition to the horror genre, presenting audiences with challenging perspectives, and penetrating uncharted feelings of fear. As like many critics, this one really took my breath away, and is what I would consider the best contemporary piece in the horror genre yet.
1. Halloween (1978)
I appreciate this movie for many reasons. For one, it created the forefront for slasher films. Further, John Carpenter did an exceptional job at intensifying the audience’s fear, not just visually, but audibly as well. Michael Myers is creepy, the music is chilling, and the simplicity was absolutely ground-breaking for this time, making this one of the greatest horror movies of all time, and my absolute favorite. The inhumanity behind the god-awful remakes of this classic are quite humiliating, and I truly do think filmmakers should be barred from creating any further remakes of the film.
Are any of these movies on your top scary movie list as well? Comment and let me know.
A story we know all too well – a new scary movie permeates our media ads and the dramatic trailer leaves you thinking, “Oh yes, I can’t wait to see that in theatres.” Weeks go by and finally it’s opening night. You pre-order tickets to see the movie at your favorite theatre and reserve those nice $20 recliner seats, right in the middle of the theatre so that you’re in perfect view of the big screen. ICEE’s and popcorn are expensive, but you get the largest size so you don’t have to leave during the movie for a refill. Damn near $40 later just for your tab, but screw it who cares? This is your night to see that scary movie you’ve been waiting for so you’re splurging tonight.
You take your seat inside to see the somewhat compelling previews, but the whole time you’re tirelessly counting down the minutes until the movie you’ve been waiting so long to see begins. The start of the movie is promising, introducing you to intriguing characters that withhold a troubled future. However, somewhere throughout the movie the plot fails to thicken, the actors performances fall flat, or a what initially seemed intriguing plot, turns into an over-complicated, far-fetched conundrum, and before you know it you’re exiting the theater thinking, “That was a waste of my time and money.” It all seems so familiar right? It feels damn near impossible to find a great horror/thriller film with substance and appeal to spend your money on.
Now, my Utopian mind would argue that any film despite its rating is worth seeing as it only expands your awareness and humbles your perspectives. Yet, even I too am left in similar circumstances thinking to myself, “What the hell did I just watch?” This brings me to the topic of this new age of horror/thriller films that we are in, and what this genre says about the future of the horror/thriller film category.
It seems that whether it’s a demonic entity that haunts your hopeful “dream house”, the psychopath masked serial killer on a rampage for young damsels, or a supernatural being that craves human life, we’ve seen these antagonists time and time again, and the captivating genre of horror is seemingly over-killed with docility too often. Although there are still strong recent adaptations of such that have been made, across the board the horror/thriller genres seem to be falling flat to many. With this being said, I must certainly address this current era of ambiguity in horror/thriller films in which Hollywood has been recently tapping in to.
We could list decade by decade of thematic elements in the horror film category dating all the way back to the early 1900’s. Yet, what is happening now in horror is this intoxicating intrigue with the unknown (aka the protagonist(s) lacking complete control over what can kill them).
Arguably one of the best adaptations of this idea can be seen in the critically acclaimed movie, It Follows (2014), which left audiences everywhere twiddling their thumbs in anticipation for the next horror/thriller film to titillate their ambiguous fantasies.
For those of you that haven’t seen the film ***BEWARE FOR SPOILER ALERTS*** yet I’m also slightly judging you because it’s a pivotal film for the horror genre andddd it’s also available via Netflix, so as Jennifer Love Hewitt would yell, “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???!!!”
Anyways, the movie is all based around the main character Jay, who one night has sex with a guy named Hugh with a dull personality and an obvious sketchiness about him. After their unexciting sexcapade in the backseat of Hugh’s car, he suffocates her with chloroform (?) and Jay wakes up in her lace undergarments, strapped to a wheelchair in an abandoned warehouse, with Hugh behind her apologetically trying to mutter out an explanation.
Hugh tells her that because they had sex he gave her something. He doesn’t indicate what the something is, just that Jay is going to start to be followed by random people. Only she can see the people, sometimes they may be in the form of complete strangers, and sometimes in the form of people she may know. All Jay has to do is not let these people get too close to her when she sees them, and eventually will need to sleep with someone else and pass this thing on to the next person.
Throughout the movie Jay, her sister, and three of her local friends set out to outrun the followers until they realize that it doesn’t matter how far they run, they have to take on the followers for themselves. After a dramatic electrocuting/shooting/drowning of the followers in a Detroit public pool, we are left to believe that Jay and her posse have finally conquered the evil entity. However the film closes with Jay walking and we get a sense that she is not alone, as if she is being followed again. Jay then turns around, as if she is acknowledging that she is not alone, smirks, and keeps walking. When the ending credits come on we the audience are left wondering, is Jay accepting her death?
When it comes to the inspiration behind the film, director of the movie, David Robert Mitchell claims,
“The basic idea came from a recurring nightmare that I had when I was a kid in which I was followed by a monster that looked like different people. And only I could see it. And it was very slow and it was always walking toward me. In the dream I could get away from it easily or sort of easily. I could come into a room, climb out of a window, run down an alley or go into the street. It wasn’t about it being able to overtake me, it was the feeling of dread and anxiety knowing that something is always coming for you” (Eidelstein, 2015)
Everything that is frightening about this film stems from the ambiguity of what will kill you. From the unknown time period of the movie, the origin of how the following began, to the overall question of if Jay is surrendering to death at the end, makes you feel a sense of unease.
So what does all of this mean? Well for one, it definitely says that our perspectives regarding what is scary is not as innate as we once thought. This transition suggests that absolute uncertainty might in fact be the greatest fear of all. Whether it’s what we don’t know or what we can’t understand, overt figures in horror/thriller movies seem to be taking a backseat to the path of ambiguity.
Sources: http://www.indiewire.com/2015/03/it-follows-director-david-robert-mitchell-on-sex-in-horror-films-and-the-current-state-of-the-genre-64494/
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