Nicole and I watched Climax (2018), a French film about a group of young dancers whose celebration turns nightmarish. The choreography was beautiful and there were some very vivid scenes, but the pacing needed work. Very much a "the horror within all of us" kind of film, but no immediate parallels that I can think of, so I appreciated the novelty. I also liked the horror callbacks in the VHS tapes framing the dancer interviews, which open the film.
An evening with friends gets freaky when a comet crosses overhead, in 2013's Coherence, watched with Jesse tonight. I would term this a sci-fi thriller, rather than a horror film. Interesting, though not earth shattering. The characters also made a bunch of rash/ill-advised decisions, which always bugs me.* 😅 Noticing how many dinner-party-gone-wrong films there are, cf It's a Disaster (2012) and The Invitation (2019). Oh also, I've been watching Buffy on Monday nights with Megan, and it was super weird seeing grown-up Xander (Nicholas Brendan) in this film! 🤣
* Sometimes people say "that's just horror," but I think that's actually a hallmark of bad storytelling. People should not have to act irrationally or stupidly to advance the plot. In the best horror, the plot advances inexorably, like in a classical tragedy, due to what I think of as "the winnowing of possibilities." Every safe option becomes closed to you through the machinations of fate, and you are forced to make dangerous decisions, you don't just stumble into them through your own incompetence.
Mark and I watched the 2011 remake of Fright Night, starring Colin Farrell as the vampire next door. I love the 1985 original (it's on my top 100 list!), so I was both excited and skeptical about watching the remake. This one was really a mixed bag. The pacing, action, dialogue, and atmosphere were great. But the CGI was frightful (not in a good way), and the portrayal of women was just maddening. As a human woman, I'm used to women being given the short end of the stick in cinema, and objectification of women is a real issue in horror as a genre, so I'm honestly pretty inured to it -- but this was just pathetic. Truly hard to watch 2 hours of damsels and bimbos. 🤮 Someone oughta remake the remake haha.
Enjoyed The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), Dario Argento's directorial debut, which I had never seen before. Gorgeous gallery scenes with fascinating sculptures, wish I knew who'd made them.
A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) was very silly, but it did have a few awesome scenes. They really let the fog machine guy go hogwild with this one. 😂 Lovely, flowing costuming for knockout Joey Wong.
Terra and I watched Jennifer's Body (2009), which was great!! I admit I did not have super high expectations for this film (never was a huge Megan Fox fan), but we both really enjoyed it. Great thrills and chills, funny dialogue, compelling female friendship angle, realistic-ish high school feel, and CGI that didn't suck. Plus, my boy Chris Pratt, just before his Parks and Rec fame. Definite The Craft (1996) vibes, which is a win in my book.
If you like this, then watch: The Craft (1996)
My pandemic movie grades:
Outbreak (1995) -- A. The original and the best. Everything you'd want from a pandemic movie -- corrupt government, vigilante scientists, a helicopter chase, and a monkey named Betsy. / 6.6 IMDb / 60% Rotten Tomatoes
It Comes at Night (2017) -- B+. A visually intense and claustrophobic look at paranoia and isolation during a plague. I have some objections to the storytelling but don't want to give spoilers, hmu if you've watched and wanna discuss. / 6.2 IMDb / 88% Rotten Tomatoes
World War Z (2013) -- B. It has Brad Pitt. / 7.0 IMDb / 66% Rotten Tomatoes
Contagion (2011) -- B-. An all-star cast and an interesting plot, with lots of sciencey content for those who are so inclined. Definitely scratches the pandemic "itch," but the meandering storytelling strangles the suspense. A more aggressive editor could have made this movie a lot tauter and more thrilling. Would be interested to watch a fan re-cut. / 6.7 IMDb / 85% Rotten Tomatoes
Flu (2013) -- C. Cliched Korean disaster melodrama. Exciting in the moment but not too memorable. / 6.7 IMDb / 36% Rotten Tomatoes
