Darkness (2002)

dvd collection j-z

Jabberwocky dir. Terry Gilliam Jackass the Movie dir. Jeff Tremaine Jackass Number Two dir. Jeff Tremaine Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door dir. Gregory M. Wilson Jenifer dir. Dario Argento Jennifer’s Body dir. Karyn Kusama Joe Dirt dir. Dennie Gordon Joshua dir. Travis Betz Ju-On dir. Takashi Shimizu Ju-On 2 dir. Takashi Shimizu Kids dir. Larry Clark The Killer dir. John Woo Labyrinth dir. Jim Henson Lady Vengeance dir. Park Chan-Wook La La Land dir. Damien Chazelle Lake Mungo dir. Joel Anderson The Last House on the Left dir. Wes Craven Let the Right One In dir. Tomas Alfredson Lost Highway dir. David Lynch Lovely Molly dir. Eduardo Sanchez Machine Girl dir. Noboru Iguchi Magnolia dir. Paul Thomas Anderson Man With a Movie Camera dir. Dziga Vertov Martyrs dir. Pascal Laugier Melancholia dir. Lars Von Trier Metropolis dir. Rintaro Mirrormask dir. Dave McKean Mister Lonely dir. Harmony Korine Muppets From Space dir. Tim Hill The Muppets Take Manhattan dir. Frank Oz Moonrise Kingdom dir. Wes Anderson Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind dir. Hayao Miyazaki The Neon Demon dir. Nicolas Winding Refn Oddsac dir. Danny Perez Oedipus Rex dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini One Hour Photo dir. Mark Romanek Otis dir. Tony Krantz Pan's Labyrinth dir. Guillermo del Toro Paprika dir. Satoshi Kon Pi dir. Darren Aranofsky The Place Beyond the Pines dir. Derek Cianfrance Pulse dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa Ran dir. Akira Kurosawa Rec dir. Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza Rec 2 dir. Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza Rec 3 dir. Paco Plaza Rushmore dir. Wes Anderson Saw dir. James Wan Shin Godzilla dir. Hideaki Anno Silk dir. Chao-Pin Su Slashers dir. Maurice Devereaux Sophie’s Choice dir. Alan J. Pakula Spirited Away dir. Hayao Miyazaki Spun dir. Jonas Akerlund The Straight Movie dir. David Lynch Suicide Club dir. Sion Sono Sunset Boulevard dir. Billy Wilder Suspiria dir. Dario Argento Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance dir. Park Chan-Wook Synecdoche, New York dir. Charlie Kaufman A Tale of Two Sisters dir. Kim Jee-Woon The Texas Chain Saw Massacre dir. Tobe Hooper Threads dir. Mick Jackson Time Bandits dir. Terry Gilliam Timecrimes dir. Nacho Vigalondo Tokyo Gore Police dir. Yoshihiro Nishimura Tourist Trap dir. David Schmoeller The Tree of Life dir. Terrence Malick Umbilical World dir. David Firth Unborn but Forgotten dir. Im Chang-Jae Un Chien Andalou dir. Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali The Untold Story dir. Herman Yau Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend dir. Hideki Takayama Versus dir. Ryuhei Kitamura Videodrome dir. David Cronenberg The VVitch dir. Robert Eggers Wassup Rockers dir. Larry Clark Where the Dead Go to Die dir. Jimmy Screamerclauz Whiplash dir. Damien Chazelle The White Ribbon dir. Michael Haneke The Wind Rises dir. Hayao Miyazaki Wolf Children dir. Mamoru Hosoda The Work of Director Chris Cunningham The Wrestler dir. Darren Aranofsky Y Tu Mama Tambien dir. Alfonso Cuaron A Zed and Two Noughts dir. Peter Greenway

Ok, I have done books, now for films/tv!

I have to say, I don’t think this was a very good year for me with film and TV. Especially film. It ended up being kind of hard to come up with a list, but here goes:

1. Come and See (1985) dir. Elem Klimov - I did not initially think this was going to make the list and I originally gave it 4 stars but I’ve found I simply cannot stop thinking about this film. It’s currently sitting at #1 on Letterboxd top 250 of all time and for good reason. I love the motif of photography. It’s brutal and heartbreaking and so stressful but yeah. Can’t stop thinking about it.

2. Harakiri (1962) dir. Masaki Kobayashi - So good, probably my current favorite samurai film.

3. The Northman (2022) dir. Robert Eggers - VIBES. I saw this 2.5 times in theaters (the .5 is because uh teenagers threw trash on our heads. So that was an experience. We had to leave halfway through but we got a bunch of free tickets out of it from the very nice manager of the theater so thank you for that.)

4. [REC] (2007) dir. Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza - Um, why have I waited this long to watch this movie? Watched it because I was writing a ‘found footage’ inspired fic and looking for inspiration and it was so good!!

5. Top Gun: Maverick (2022) dir. Joseph Kosinski - Look. Look. Here me out: plane go fast. Plane go fast and the climax was essentially beat-for-beat Star Wars: A New Hope. Don’t @ me with any discussion of propaganda, I know, okay, I know, but this movie was so entertaining and as an aviation enthusiast I had so much fun and I think this is probably the most successful unnecessary sequel I’ve ever watched. Like did anyone ask for this? No. Did it totally work? Heck yeah.

Honorable Mention: Everything Everywhere All at Once (emotional, chaotic), Raw (#OrganicCannibalism), The Cremator (um pretty fucked but really, really good), NOPE (whenever I think about the ‘eating’ scene I get a bit of anxiety, 10/10)

TV:

1. What We Do In The Shadows (Fx, 2019- ) - VAMPIRE PHASE. ACTIVATE. What else is there to say? Style icons, decor inspiration. Never did I think the American TV show version of one of my favorite films would end up actually so good. It’s funny and heartfelt at all the right moments. I’ve been rewatching it because it’s one of the few things I actually had saved to my computer (so the only thing I could watch in our 2 week internet-less hellscape) and it remains so delightful.

2. Westworld specifically season 1 (HBO) - I haven’t quite finished watching this one, and APPARENTLY now might never (except you know, flying the pirate flag), and though I disagree with popular opinion on season 2 (I liked it), I see where season 3 is really taking a downturn…but season 1 remains some of the best television storytelling and you can’t take that away. It was utterly brilliant as a standalone, truly some of the top tier television.

3. Tabula Rasa (Een/Netflix, 2017) - Speaking of twists, this had a bunch of really fun twists, the first of which I saw coming. That one lulled me into a false sense of confidence and the other two took me completely by surprise. Also had really fun fall/spooky vibes.

4. Chestnut Man (Netflix, 2021) - Also had really fun fall/spooky vibes, and good characters. Only docked points because one of the main characters gets his glasses knocked off in a fight during the climax and then not only manages to accurately fire a gun (?) but then voluntarily drives a car in the epilogue. Without glasses!!! Were they just for the #aesthetic or something? Anyway, I have not been able to stop thinking about this.

5. Yakamoz S-245 (Netflix, 2022- ) - God I love the ‘Sun’s Fucked Up’ Cinematic Universe. It’s just so fun.

Honorable Mentions: House of the Dragon (???? HOW DID I END UP BACK HERE?), Brand New Cherry Flavor (watched because people on tiktok were talking about that one sex scene and I wanted to see what the fuss was about and ended up really enjoying the series as a whole), Cracow Monsters (I have mixed feelings about the direction the series took and feel like it should have been paced better, but the vibes were pretty great), Girls (I rewatched Girls this year don’t @ me, still such a guilty pleasure)

And now. The #Salt:

:readmore:

Films:

1. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2022, dir. Sam Raimi) - Yeah. I hated it. I already dug into why, you can go back and find a bunch of salty explanation posts and I probably shouldn’t drag this back up but it has to be said. This was definitely my most disappointing film of 2022. Haven’t watched a MCU movie since.

2. Ghosts of War (2020, dir Eric Bress) - This was such a bad bait-and-switch. I was promised a genre meld of war film + ghosts I got a sci-fi, pretty racist mess. Terrible. Don’t watch it.

3. Aftermath (2021, dir Peter Winther) - Another terrible ghost-but-not film. Just let ghosts be ghosts people!

4. Titane (2021, dir. Julia Ducournau) - So disappointing considering Raw made it onto my honorable mentions above! This just felt like it was trying to be two different movies at the same time and spiralled off. I actually liked one of the movies - the machine-obsessed murderer part - but when we spiralled off into the faking being a missing person/pregnancy/weird fire station stuff it completely lost me.

5. The After movies - EXCEPT the second one. Except the second one?’ You ask. Yes. Because the second one is perfect. The second one is exactly what it is like reading those 100 chapter romance fanfics on wattpad. (Though, lol, no I’ve never actually read anything on wattpad. But it’s been the same on ffn, ao3…just the After series was produced by wattpad.) Anyway, the others were terrible, but the second one was probably the most ‘successful’ fanfic movie adaptation I’ve ever seen. It is perfect. But no also so awful. XD

Dishonorable Mentions: Cats (we watched Cats but honestly I don’t remember any of it because I fully blacked out)

The list is a incomplete and a little more complicated for TV because I honestly just stop watching most shows if they don’t hold my attention, so really they’re most just unmemorable.

1. The Sandman (Netflix, 2022- ) - Unpopular opinion, but oof I could not get through this and it started putting me in an actual bad mood whenever I watched it.

2. Moon Knight (Disney+, 2022- ) - This was sort of the canary in the coal mine. Presaged my breakup with the MCU. Just couldn’t hold my attention. Showed a lot of the cracks that I’d been trying to ignore re: Marvel’s pacing and plot issues in their TV series.

3. Andor (Disney+, 2022- ) - Extreme unpopular opinion. This one isn’t very fair, because I do want to give it another shot. I stopped around episode 4 and apparently it gets better from here, but the episodes I watched were not good. I hate to say this but I feel like a lot of the praise is based solely on the cinematography and dialogue writing, both of which are admittedly very good, but the plot is all over the place. Making the first episode so flashback heavy was a huge mistake. Plot threads are introduced and then dropped. Scenes are just dropped in with no connection to what else was going on. I’ll give it another shot, but just having artful cinematography and a few impassioned speeches does not make for great television.

4. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+, 2022) - I feel like people might be surprised to find this on the list because I was posting positively about it as it was coming out. And it’s true, I had fun watching it. But the longer it’s gone on just…the more obvious the cracks have become. First off, it was clearly written as a film and then stretched out into a television show. Which should not be how TV writing works. You can’t just take a long movie and put episode breaks in it. I also over time grew more and more put off but how they copy-and-pasted Fallen Order and then…didn’t mention it at all. It felt…weird. It was just a really weird decision. But like I said, I did really enjoy watching it and I think it’s better than the alternative. Because I keep seeing those early drafts go around and I’m like oh god that would have been so much worse. I think at the time too I was just really relieved that it didn’t go in the direction that I feared and so I initially reacted more favorably. I’m glad they stuck to more of the prequel film canon/vibes, and didn’t pull in too much of TCW stuff. (I know that’s an unpopular opinion, but I really don’t like TCW and I’m always glad for prequel era stuff that is independent of that. Hot take of the post.)

I really mostly feel a bit meh about most of the things I’ve watched this year. Hopefully next year is a much better viewing year!

Religion’s Rocky Relationship with Horror Film: The Conjuring & [REC].

The horror genre has had ties with religion, going back to its roots in Gothic literature. The vampires in Dracula were warded off by religious icons and holy water and possession is often the work of the devil. Religion is often the saving force; the priest exorcises the devil and crucifixes repel the advances of the blood sucking vampires. However, what happens when religion can’t save the day?  

In an increasingly secular society, horror films have changed their representations of religion, either becoming suspicious of it, or scrambling to portray religion as the saviour in horrific situations. Two contemporary horror film franchises, one American, one Spanish show both sides of this. James Wan’s The Conjuring and Balaguero & Plaza’s [REC]. Although these films are wholly different in style and subject matter, this contrast enlightening when looking at how horror can interact with religion.

[REC] is a found footage film, shot by a journalist documenting a night in the life of a Barcelona fire station. They are called out to an apartment block, which is very quickly put under quarantine upon their arrival. Over the course of the film we discover that a deadly infection is spreading around the apartment block, seemingly originating in one of the residents’ dog. From this, the audience assumes rabies, which is a common explanation for zombie movies, and in this case, the horrific and animalistic nature of these ‘zombies’ does not dispute this. On the surface, [REC] appears to be a zombie apocalypse film and it pretty much is, until the end segment of the film.

As the film reaches its climax the filmmakers enter the penthouse to find a room filled with religious iconography alongside newspaper clippings reporting a girl possessed. This immediately switches this film from your typical zombie apocalypse film, alluding to something more sinister. On watching this part for the first time, I just thought that they were trying to give a religious explanation for the infection, it was just a misinterpretation, however on viewing [REC]2 it explicitly connects the infection with demonic possession.

I don’t know about anyone else, but for some reason the film became 100% creepier as soon as they entered the penthouse and saw what looked like a conspiracy theorists obsession, paired with the log of a Vatican agent on old tapes playing in the background. This mystery is completely unexpected and turns the whole film on its head.

But why bring religion into what, on the surface appears to be a mere zombie outbreak movie? The answer can be found in Spain’s political past. Spain was under the control of dictator Francisco Franco from 1936 to 1975. Franco took power after the Nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil war, his rule emphasised conservative values, including putting a great deal of importance on Catholicism, which was the national religion during his rule. Films during his reign were heavily censored, sex, politics and religion were all no-go areas in films made in Spain during this period. After his death in 1975, there was a great change in Spain, with the country becoming more liberal (Scarlett, 113). However, Elizabeth Scarlett in Religion and Spanish Film states that although Spain somewhat abandoned Catholicism, “the motifs of Catholicism were never abandoned” and states that Catholicism is ingrained in the works of Spanish directors (171).

Therefore, [REC]’s religious imagery does not simply contain this to evoke an ominous feeling in the viewer, it is because of the lingering national Catholicism of Spain. However, in this case Catholicism is not presented as the saviour, in fact, it is the very cause of what occurs in the apartment block.

The source of the infection is the girl in the newspaper cuttings who is apparently possessed by demons, the agent kidnaps her and attempts to find a cure for the apparent biological demonic possession, however, this only makes the enzyme mutate and become highly infectious. Andy Willis suggests that for Spain with its religious history, “such references would potentially have great significance for certain members of the audience who might be willing to believe in a potential Vatican inspired conspiracy rather than excepting a supernatural rationale for the virus” (58). Does this belief, therefore lie in the potential distrust that people may feel for religion, as they had been repressed by it for years?

There is only a hint of the religious involvement in the first film, we are presented with mere speculation, however, the sequel builds upon the conspiracy providing more information about the Vatican involvement in the infection, shedding light on the seemingly demonic origins.

We hear the infected people speak in a demonic voice, repelled by items of religious significance, which immediately takes the film into the realm of the demonic and consequently heavily religious. Something that can have a voice and act in such an animalistic manner is wholly disturbing, and although the mystery is being revealed, the eeriness is still there.

Although The Conjuring may seem quite far removed in tone and style to [REC], the theme of demonic possession is at the centre of both narratives. On its release in 2013, The Conjuring was a huge hit, grossing $319.5 million worldwide, $137.4 million of that from the US. What is it about this film makes it so endearing to audiences?

I have always loved a good supernatural horror film, and this is an excellently made one. Yes, it is scary, but for me a well thought out narrative is always what I look for in a horror film.  I was also rather drawn to the characters of Ed and Lorraine, played wonderfully by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Although the characters of Ed and Lorraine are based on real people I still view the film as a work of fiction, because I don’t believe in mediums, or ghosts for that matter, as much as I would like to.

For others the story may seem completely plausible, if you believe in ghosts, God and the devil. The film is so heavily saturated with religious imagery and the script, written by the Hayes brothers (who are very Christian) are not afraid to admit that The Conjuring is a film heavily influenced by Christian values, if not a light piece of Christian propaganda. In an interview Chad Hayes stated that “we want people after experiencing our movie to question, where are they? Where am I in my own faith? Where am I in my belief? The Lord has authority overall, and so here we are”.

Being party to this information has changed the way I view the film. I must admit I am rather put out by the fact I was drawn into a film filled with this kind of preaching. There is one point where Ed looks worryingly at the father of the haunted family after he says none of the kids are baptised, essentially implying they have set themselves up for possession because they are not part of the church; providing a strange narrative based on the notion that the US is losing its faith.

The basic premise of The Conjuring films is that religion can save the day. I did notice this a lot more on watching the second one, but on re-watching the first one it is so stark. The almost saint-like depiction of Lorraine is perhaps the most apparent, more so in the second film in which she is the almost spiritual guider to the young girl who is being possessed by the demon, she acts as a kind of motherly saviour and martyr, who has suffered greatly due to her God-given gift.

The US is lead by religion, it is seen in every element of their culture, from the puritans to the present day. Politics is saturated by religion and is used to justify so many things for example, the continued control over women’s bodies. Now, with the ever-changing world religion is slowly being rejected by many, mainly the youth of the country, the emphasis on religion is going down. The Conjuring appears to be a comment on this, whilst also desperately attempting to re-ignite the countries faith. But did it work? The success of the film does make me wonder, but were the film goers flocking to the cinema due to the religious nature of the film, or just for the scares?

With two films centered around demonic possession there are interesting notes to make about their countries relation to religion. One that has rejected Catholicism and is therefore suspicious and not afraid to critique it, and the other desperately clinging to religion, attempting to scare the audiences into thinking that God can save you from demons. With all that in mind, religion does evoke such a sense of fear in horror viewers, whether they are faithful or not. I for one, would love to see more mainstream horror films in the vein of [REC], openly critiquing religion, rather than so many narratives where religion is the saviour, when in fact, it causes most of the world’s problems right now.

By Siobhan Eardley. 

Works Referenced: 

Goodwyn, Hannah. “Screenwriters Chad and Carey Hayes on The Conjuring and God”. CBN.com. 

The Conjuring. Dir James Wan (2013).

The Conjuring 2. Dir James Wan (2016).

[REC]. Dir. Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza (2007).

[REC]2. Dir. Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza (2009).

Scarlett, Elizabeth. Religion and Spanish Film. Michigan. UP of Michigan Press: 2014, JSTOR. Web. 

Wills, Andy. Transnational Film Remakes. Edinburgh. Edinburgh UP: 2017. JSTOR. Web. 

50 Best Horror Films of the 2000s

1. Martyrs [2008] dir. Pascal Laugier 2. The Descent [2005] dir. Neil Marshall 3. Mulholland Drive [2001] dir. David Lynch 4. Audition [2000] dir. Takashi Miike 5. Inland Empire [2006] dir. David Lynch 6. Battle Royale [2000] dir. Kinji Fukasaku 7. American Psycho [2000] dir. Mary Harron 8. Antichrist [2009] dir. Lars Von Trier 9. REC [2007] Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza 10. The Others [2001] dir. Alejandro Amenabar 11. The Loved Ones [2009] Sean Byrne 12. Ju-on: The Grudge [2002] dir. Takashi Shimizu 13. Let the Right One In [2008] dir. Tomas Alfredson 14. Gozu [2003] dir. Takashi Miike 15. Lake Mungo [2008] dir. Joel Anderson 16. Kairo [2001] dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa 17. May [2002] dir. Lucky McKee 18. Inside [2007] dir. Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury 19. Shaun of the Dead [2004] dir. Edgar Wright 20. A Tale of Two Sisters [2003] dir. Kim Jee-woon 21. Noroi: The Curse [2005] dir. Takashi Shimizu 22. Session 9 [2001] dir. Brad Anderson 23. REC 2 [2009] dir. Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza 24. Drag Me to Hell [2009] dir. Sam Raimi 25. The Strangers [2008] dir. Bryan Bertino 26. The Host [2006] dir. Bong Joon-ho 27. The Orphanage [2007] dir. Juan Antonio Bayona 28. The House of the Devil [2009] dir. Ti West 29. Shadow of the Vampire [2000] dir. E. Elias Merhige 30. Marebito [2004] dir. Takashi Shimizu 31. Frailty [2001] dir. Bill Paxton 32. Pontypool [2008] dir. Bruce MacDonald 33. Frontiere(s) [2007] dir. Xavier Gens 34. Ginger Snaps [2000] dir. John Fawcett 35. Pan’s Labyrinth [2006] dir. Guillermo Del Toro 36. Calvaire [2004] Fabrice Du Welz 37. 28 Days Later [2002] dir. Danny Boyle 38. Trick R’ Treat [2007] dir. Michael Doherty 39. The Devil’s Backbone [2001] dir. Guillermo Del Toro 40. The Devil’s Rejects [2005] Rob Zombie 41. Dawn of the Dead [2004] dir. Zack Snyder 42. Wolf Creek [2005] dir. Greg McLean 43. Grindhouse [2007] dir. Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez 44. ils [2006] dir. David Moreau, Xavier Palud 45. The Ring [2002] dir. Gore Verbinski 46. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon [2006] dir. Scott Glosserman 47. Paranormal Activity [2007] dir. Oren Peli 48. Uzumaki [2000] dir. Higuchinsky 49. Land of the Dead [2005] dir. George A. Romero 50. 1408 [2007] dir. Mikael Hafstrom

[Rec] (2007) Dir.: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza Una reportera se encuentra haciendo un reportaje sobre bomberos hasta que son llamados a una operacion. Alli seran encerrados, junto a loa habitantes del lugar, por una plaga que zombifica a algunos vecinos. Una de terror que revitalizo en su monento el genero de terror de la camara en mano, intensa como ella sola y con la duracion justa y necesaria. Una pequeña joyita, la unica buena de una saga que solo ha sabido de peliculas malas. 8.8/10 #rec #spain #movies

Mientras duermes (2011)

[Rec] (2007)

[Rec]² (2009)

[Rec]⁴: Apocalipsis (2014)