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fibula-rasa · 3 months

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Favorite New-to-Me Films

January ’24

READ on BELOW the JUMP!

(listed in order of collage above, L to R)

Eleven P.M. (1928)

[letterboxd | imdb | kanopy]

Synopsis: Sundaisy, a violinist, tries to fulfill a friend’s dying request to ensure his son is raised away from the criminal element of the city. Unfortunately, Sundaisy is duped by a phony priest, and the boy grows into a low-level crime boss. After a series of misfortunes spurred on by the boy over the course of decades, Sundaisy’s family is nearly ruined. However, Sundaisy’s will for vengeance leads to supernatural consequences. All this is couched in a frame story of a man trying to meet an 11 p.m. deadline.

This is easily my favorite first-time viewing of the month. The synopsis above admittedly does not capture the mystical/transcendental attitude that Eleven P.M. reflects. This is the only film Detroit-based Richard Maurice ever directed, but it displays sophisticated ideas about film storytelling, using an array of devices in inventive ways. It’s always a treat to be reminded of how creative and exciting independent filmmaking can be in America. If you want to check this one out, I advise you to keep an open mind and not approach it with an overly literal, nitpicky mindset. Let Richard Maurice take you on this ride and I don’t think you’ll regret it!

I watched this on the Pioneers of African-American Cinema box set, which I can’t recommend highly enough. The films are outstandingly curated and contextualized and the set showcases an often-overlooked but indispensable part of American cultural history. A lot of the films are also available on streaming through kanopy, which you may be able to access with your library card if you live in the US.

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Lea on Rollerskates / Lea sui pattini (1912)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Lea isn’t allowed by her parents to go rollerskating with a friend, so she decides to skate in her own bedroom. She proceeds to wreak havoc in the home before an accidental self-defenestration sets her free to wreak havoc at the roller rink instead.

A jam-packed, stunt-heavy bit of nonsense led by Lea Giunchi. I’ve watched quite a few of her films now and I’ve learned this is pretty standard for her. I love each and every pratfall.

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Two Girls are in Love with Foolshead / Le due innamorate di Cretinetti (1911)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Cretinetti is dating two girls at the same time. The girls decide to duel, but Cretinetti is the one who loses… repeatedly.

I’ve finally gotten around to watching more Andre Deed films and this one was a highlight for January. I don’t know who the skinny woman is, but she and Valentina Frascaroli are great together.

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X (2022)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: A crew of filmmakers leave Houston, TX for the country in order to film a farm-themed porn. The producer of course did not disclose the nature of their stay to the elderly property owners. Said owners have ulterior motives in renting their cabin and respond violently to the group.

Appreciative of all of Ti West’s work, and X has so much going on and so much to say that I originally typed out two full pages (single spaced) on it before I knew it. I won’t be sharing those two pages because I think there are a few points on the approach to gore in recent horror movies that I need to mull over more. For now though, I’ll just say, I didn’t enjoy X at all, but I deeply appreciate what Ti West is putting out there. I probably won’t watch it again and I’m going to be sure my stomach is prepared for whenever I get around to Pearl (2022).

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The Hayseed (1919)

[letterboxd | imdb | Silent Comedy Watch Party]

Synopsis: Fatty wants to marry Molly, but so does the sheriff. Buster tries to keep the general store in working order while the sheriff plots against Fatty.

Luke the dog is one of my top 5 movie dogs of all time. I’ve never made an official list, but I know in my heart that Luke is at the top. Also, I adore how many modern professional wrestling moves you end up seeing in Fatty/Buster collaborations! In this instance, note the dance sequence with the lady who gets swung around wildly.

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The Ghost Ship (1943)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Tom Merriam, a young officer, reports for his first commission on a long haul trip on the Altair. The captain has a bit of a strange vibe, but the newbie likes him, at first. As crewmen perish under the captain’s leadership, and the captain’s lectures take on a more sinister tone, Tom knows he needs to act to save the remaining crew and the ship.

Checked this out as I was on a Val Lewton kick not knowing much about it beforehand. I did not expect it to be a movie about fascism done in microcosm. So, if you were looking for a movie about ghosts or a Flying Dutchman, this ain’t it. Its off-beat structure amped up the tension, though the denouement was a little too pat. Cinematography was fantastic, as you might expect from Nicholas Musuraca. I hope Sir Lancelot got two checks for how much his singing contributes to the movie. Richard Dix is such a skilled actor in everything I’ve seen him in, but he is pitch-perfectly terrifying in this movie.

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Miss Pinkerton (1932)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: A nurse who’s bored with hospital work gets assigned to an old woman who’s ailing after a big shock: finding the dead body of her nephew. The detective on the case asks the nurse to gather reconnaissance for him at the house and she gets all the excitement she can stomach as a result.

Miss Pinkerton is a pre-code gem I somehow have never seen before, despite my devotion to Joan Blondell. The plot and characters are interesting, the cinematography (done by Barney McGill) and staging of the film is very dynamic and Joan Blondell brings so much to Miss Pinkerton with her signature effervescent sass. It’s also just over an hour long, so it would make a great watch for one of those evenings where you’re indecisive but want to find something compelling but compact.

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Phil-for-Short (1919)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Damophilia “Phil” Illington is a free-spirited tomboy brought up by a Greek-professor father and his right-hand man, Pat. Her lack of lady-like decorum raises the ire of two town elders, who are also the local killjoys. When her father passes away, one of the elders abuses his position of power to force her into a conservatorship. Phil disguises herself as a boy and hightails it with Pat. While on the lam, Phil makes the acquaintance of a young woman-hating Greek professor. Through a set of misadventures, Phil and the Professor end up married, but it takes quite a bit of work after the marriage for them to find happiness with one another.

Great characters and performances and I enjoyed marriage not being treated as the resolution or an end point to the story. It’s also very endearing to see such a pervasively queer story about a man and a woman getting together.

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The Mystic (1925)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: A con artist enlists the help of Hungarian travelling carnival performers to enact a phony medium scheme against the hoi polloi of New York City.

Tod Browning is a sure-bet filmmaker for me and The Mystic was no exception. Highlights for me were: the execution of the seance sequences, Erte’s gorgeous costumes for Aileen Pringle, and an ending that I hoped would happen but assumed wouldn’t!

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There Ain’t No Santa Claus (1926)

[letterboxd | imdb | Silent Comedy Watch Party]

Synopsis: When Christmas rolls around, Charley doesn’t have enough money to both pay the rent and buy his wife a present. He uses his $80 to buy her a watch, instead of the rent, and his nasty landlord/next-door-neighbor steals the watch. Christmas Day turns into a free for all, when both Charley and his landlord dress as Santa and plan to enter via their respective chimneys for their respective children.

Well-paced, great comeuppance, and very well-executed gags. Additionally, Charley Chase looks absolutely outrageous in his Santa wig and he knew it!

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This one didn’t make it into the collage, but it’s still on the list:

Little Moritz Runs Away With Rosalie / Little Moritz enlève Rosalie (1911)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Little Moritz loves Rosalie and wishes to marry her, but her father objects. So, of course Rosalie and Mortiz run away together in his funky little flivver, but dad and the family dog give chase.

Most of this short is the chase sequence and it’s very well executed. Sarah Duhamel is so cute and so is her family dog. The location shooting is nicely done (was this shot in Nice?) This charming poster captures the vibe of the short perfectly:

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In January we were hit with a nasty winter storm and, while we were relatively lucky in my neighborhood, we were without internet for a third of the month. So, we ended up relying on our home video collection, which accounts for five of the films above and me re-watching two seasons of Soap and Fritz Lang’s Niebelungenlied (1924).

Despite the holdup, I continued my “Lost, but Not Forgotten” series with The Dancer of the Nile (1923) and started a limited spin-off series, “How’d They Do That?” about special effects and stunts in the silent era.

I also made themed gif & still sets for: Miss Pinkerton, Dementia (1955), and A Christmas Carol (1971).

Here’s to a less eventful February! And, as always, if you’re interested in any of these films, but have specific content warning needs, feel free to ask me.

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thelastfinalgirl · 1 year

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Dude Bro Party Massacre. Directed by Tomm Jacobsen, Michael Rousselet, and Jon Salmon (2015)

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k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9 · 3 months

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The Return of the Living Dead (1985) written and directed by Dan O'Bannon

#The Return of the Living Dead (1985)#The Return of the Living Dead #1985 #80s #80's #American comedy horror film

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mrdelorian · 6 months

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Sex in Horror Media and is it needed? The whys, why nots, and some examples

So, the talk. Sex in horror. Why it’s needed or not needed, is it necessary, and what are the kinds? Let’s talk about it and let me explain.

Now the easiest way to start this out is by talking about the kinds of sex in horror media. The first is the laziest and most obvious. Eye candy, to those who enjoy that sort of thing and don’t find it very discomforting, to a very poorly made or boring movie…or it could be even placed in a good movie, but is overall pointless and serves no purpose. The second kind of purposeful sex. It serves a purpose to tell or support the story. An example of the first could be Friday the 13th 2009. The first sex scene in the movie is kind of to show…. I’m not sure actually. Just to be there or to pad time. And the second, near the end, could be to…show the boyfriend is shitty…which if you couldn’t tell that by the first 10 or so minutes of the film then…I guess this serves a purpose for you, but overall, it’s pretty unnecessary.

Now to move onto the second, which is purposeful sex scenes in horror media. Examples of this are David Cronenberg’s Scanners from 1976. The disease in that movie makes people sexually crazed, which, through sexual intercourse, pass the disease from one another. It was also made during the sexual revolution and to comment on people’s fear of sex and intercourse with people you weren’t married to, which was a crazy concept during those times. Now with that…it serves many purposes. To show how a disease transfers and comments on the times it was in, through creative means, and also satirizing the concept of sex without marriage, and using sex without marriage as the disease, since you’d have to be so crazed and diseased to do that out of wedlock. All of it serves a purpose to the story, metaphors, interpretation, etc.

Now I could go on and on for hours about examples, but I feel it’s also important to touch on the fact that, yes…sex in horror media is a staple of the genre. It’s iconic in the genre. So much so that it’s famously mentioned in Wes Craven’s 1996 classic Scream as a trope. So, in the end….is it pointless…sometimes yes, but can it serve a purpose? Yes. Should it be removed? I personally don’t know. I’d say no because it’s a staple of the genre, and can create interesting stories IF used right, and for purpose/metaphors, but then again…I don’t know.

Also, I’ll throw out some more examples of necessary sex in horror. Anything vampire-related. Sex in vampire movies have always had many reasons for being necessary. All the way from homosexuality and lesbian representation, especially back in the day when it was “taboo”, to certain interesting interpretations of the subgenre of vampire horror like why women love vampires, which was famously theorized in Ed Wood, as mentioned by Eli Roth’s history of horror podcast, because vampires aren’t disgusted by the menstrual cycle, unlike a human/mortal man, who may feel disgusted. Another example is John Landis’s An American Werewolf in London from 1981 which showcases David becoming more animalistic and more like a werewolf.

Also, another purpose I nearly forgot to talk about is another purpose for sex in horror media…cool kills!? Yep. Friday the 13th has many, Shivers, and so many more.

Again, I could go on for hours, but I’ll end it now. What are your thoughts? Do you feel sex should stay in horror? If so, why? If not, why? What are some good examples of sex being used well in a horror movie or series? And bad examples. And yeah, what are your thoughts?

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artificialcaracal · 2 years

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Finally watched that American Psycho movie everyone keeps talking about

and I don’t see what all the hubbub is about with this Patrick Bateman guy. He’s a complete fuckin loser this dude, an absolute nobody. Everyone keeps talking about “Aw fuck this dude is a psychopath and nobody can even tell because society is so shallow and vapid” like shut the fuck up nobody cares about your armchair psychology 101 diagnosis of the least interesting man on the planet. Congrats, you picked up the DSM-5 and can read we’re all so impressed good for you. The reason nobody knows that Patrick Bateman is a psychotic serial killer is because nobody is interested in Bateman in the goddamn slightest. Any idea that Bateman is interesting, significant, or in any way notable comes only from his own internal narration. The guy is a generic Wall Street failson with delusions of grandeur, that’s it, that’s the character, that’s the American Psycho. People will really watch a movie where the protagonist is a fragile man who’s routinely mocked, looked down upon, and called a spineless twit and come away thinking “Wow he’s so cool, he’s an edgelord that nobody likes, what a guy.”. The horror of American Psycho isn’t about the socially stunted serial killer dude that no one respects. It’s the existential dread that comes from crying out kicking and screaming into a world that just doesn’t care. It’s the absolute lack of consequence and catharsis that arises when after confessing to all of his various murders in the midst of a mental breakdown, Bateman’s lawyer thinks that it’s a joke, because Patrick Bateman as he sees it, is a guy who has and will never do anything worthy of mention, let alone kill 20 to 40 people. The horrific climax of the film is Bateman sitting down at a table, and finally realizing that absolutely nothing he has done means anything to anyone. That he’s completely incapable of changing his own circumstances. That nothing about how he lives has affected the world at large in any significant way. Do you think Bateman is cool? Do you think he’s clever or suave? Do you think he’s some sort of social chameleon, whatever the hell that means? Well you’re wrong. Bateman is none of these things. Bateman literal tells a drunk coworker, Paul Allen, to his face that he dissects women and is a fucked up dude. The man is a literal manchild crying out for attention, for someone to give a shit about what he does, and it goes completely unacknowledged as Allen can only think of to ask about his tan, because Allen cares a lot about tanning, so much so that he has a tanning bed at home. As a matter of fact, the only reason he and Allen are talking is because Allen mistook Bateman for another person because they both wear the same type of suit and go to the same barber. There is nothing that distinguishes Bateman from any other guy in his office, so much so that not even his own lawyer recognizes him. Bateman is so petty, unremarkable, shallow, and pathetic that he kills Allen in a jealous rage because he had a better looking business card and could get a reservation at a restaurant that Bateman couldn’t. His murder of Allen is little more than a violent temper tantrum with “It’s Hip to Be Square” playing in the background. Bateman doesn’t register that Allen’s prestige might come from doing something people deem important (getting the opportunity to work on the ever elusive Fischer account), and instead spends the film pissing and shitting himself over the fact that Allen can get seats at a restaurant he can’t, Allen has a nicer business card than he does, Allen has a more expensive looking apartment. Allen has nicer things than Bateman and that just doesn’t gel with his worldview that he’s an important special boy that people should care about simply because he exists. Do you think that Bateman is cool? Do you think he’s some sort cutthroat businessman who clawed his way to the top through being cunning, savvy, and not caring about who gets in his way? Is that the impression you get of him as he walks into his office listening to the 80′s hit “Walking on Sunshine”? Because Bateman isn’t the product of his own abilities. He’s the Vice President of a company his father owns. He’s a wealthy guy born into wealth like most other wealthy guys, completely insulated from failure thanks to the power of corporate nepotism. Bateman never had to try to accomplish anything, so what if he graduated from Harvard Business school? That’s not a measure of personal merit for him, he has a rich dad who could easily use his vast resources to get him into an ivy league through any number of ways, donations, legacy, straight up paying someone to get good enough test scores for him to get in, and considering that we never, and I mean never, hear about Bateman working on anything, leads me to believe he legitimately does no work ever. The most we learn about Bateman is his needlessly convoluted morning routine, how many crunches he can do, and whenever he prompts someone to ask him about what he does, and they actually humor him, all he can think to mention is how he kills people. The only two topics he gives a shit about are geeking out about serial killers and droning on about the music he likes. There is no more to his personality than that, and he has nothing of value to say. Everyone will wax lyrical about how the world of American Psycho is shallow, but Bateman is just as, if not more. You can’t possibly think that Bateman is a deep guy can you? That he’s got some intriguing and engaging view on the world, and isn’t simply a thoroughly detached bozo who cares more about displays of power and dominance than actually engaging with people and the world around him, can you? Bateman likes the arbitrary social hierarchy that exists, and he wants to be on top of it so bad. He wants the prestige, the admiration, for other people to submit to his will, but not even the restaurant Dorsia’s will take him seriously, laughing him off the moment he tries to make a reservation, and that upsets him, because he’s Patrick Bateman! He’s a cool Wall Street guy! He has lots of money! He’s the vice president of Perkins & Perkins! Turns out, none of his other rich pals give a damn, nor do they find him particularly impressive. In the world of rich socialites, he’s at the absolute bottom. Bateman is simply a dude who’s obsessed with the attainment and wielding of status. Violently cutting down anyone he perceives to be above him, and callously stomping on those below. Yeah he killed a homeless man in an alley. Was that shocking to you? Did it make you think “Wow Bateman is a fucked up guy for doing that. He must be a real psycho™ to be brutalizing the poor. He’s nothing like the other wealthy characters in the film. Surely, Bateman must be intrinsically different from them in some way!”? Yeah sure uh huh, Patrick Bateman is the only rich guy who has ever shown disdain towards the poor and the homeless. Patrick Bateman is a real outlier of a person for abusing his vast economic power to routinely cause harm to working class people for his own selfish gain. Patrick Bateman is the American Psycho and thank god every other obscenely rich person is normal and not at all like him. Bateman is shown to routinely maim and kill sex workers just to get off, and film makes it pretty clear that there are no consequences for him doing this. Not even when he openly shoots a woman on the street. The only murder of his that gets investigated is the death of Allen, another rich guy. Surely this not-at-all subtle imagery has zero subtext relating to the real world in any capacity. By the way, Bateman’s alibi that lets him get away with Allen’s murder? A bunch of guys not realizing that he wasn’t actually at a restaurant with them on the night Allen died. I think there’s something to be said about mocking people who idolize Bateman. Not that they’re in reality nothing like he is, but that chances are, they are just like him. An aimless edgelord who’s only qualm with the status quo is that he isn’t at the tippity-top of it, and that they, just like him, lack the self-awareness to realize how absurdly idiotic and empty a sentiment like that is. The sort of person who would come away from watching Bateman’s deluded view of himself come crashing down around as he wishes nothing but pain and suffering on the people around him as state of mind to aspire to. That somehow his perpetually unfulfilled state is really cool and interesting actually and not at all a product of his wanton inability to grow, engage in introspection, or achieve any level of depth and intimacy. I’d say I hate the guy, but what is there to hate? He’s a nothing man living a nothing life where he achieves nothing and gets nothing from the experience. Watching American Psycho took me on a dizzyingly meandering ride before ending on pure unadulterated emptiness as it explores just what it means to have absolutely nothing going on behind the eyes. It’s a good movie I refuse to talk to anyone else about because anyone who wants to talk about American Psycho above literally any other film isn’t a person worth talking to. This movie taught me hatred and caused me to dissociate after I went to bed. It is excellently executed total depravity and I have no idea what movie everybody else was watching because it’s not that fucking deep. It’s a movie about a rich guy who has nothing better do with his life killing people, and just how insanely boring that guy would be.

#american psycho #patrick bateman #movies #horror #sigma male #honestly if patrick bateman is a sigma male why the fuck would anyone want to be one #it's real good satire though on god #watching patrick bateman lose his shit over his business card being the worst is so fucking funny #this entire film is a comedy actually #horror movies #they made sequel to this film and it literally starts with patrick bateman getting killed lmao #he's such a great character #go white boy go

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