#granted a lot of the comedy in that movie was visual and/or built up through dialogue

[arecomicsevengood]

Two (non-consecutive) pages of Batman tripping, drawn by Norm Breyfogle and colored by Adrienne Roy from a script by Peter Milligan. Breyfogle’s Batman work is primarily associated with Alan Grant, and Milligan’s Batman run, while lesser-known, was mostly drawn by Jim Aparo, although the Dark Knight, Dark City arc that’s been reprinted the most was drawn by Kieron Dwyer. I’ve been thinking of Peter Milligan a lot recently, mostly how he’s a far superior writer to Neil Gaiman, whose Sandman was coming out at the same time as Milligan’s Shade The Changing Man and received considerably more acclaim. While Gaiman’s non-Sandman comics work doesn’t amount to much, Milligan’s run of creator-owned comics at Vertigo is unbeatable: Rogan Gosh with Brendan McCarthy, The Extremist with Ted McKeever, Enigma, Face, and Girl with Duncan Fegredo, and The Eaters with Dean Ormstom are all killers. One could argue a comic book writer only has value if his collaborations with a cartoonist are better than what the cartoonist working alone would conjure up: I think The Extremist is probably the best Ted McKeever comic, I don’t think Mike Allred did a better Madman run than the initial year of X-Force issues Milligan wrote, and Hewligan’s Haircut is more readable than Jamie Hewlett’s Tank Girl work with Alan Martin.

It’s often been said that the main theme running through Milligan’s oeuvre is identity. An odd side effect, or tangent to that theme, is he’s both a strong collaborator with artists with unique sensibilities, and his own authorial identity is often subsumed in the context of corporate superhero comics. While Grant Morrison’s bibliography is built around large tentpole franchises he was able to excel in the scripting of, Milligan’s superhero work is far more anonymous, and basically not worth talking about. That said, there is a charming insouciance to his Batman work, written in the early nineties. He’s going hard in a horror direction and playing some stuff borderline-transgressive to amuse himself along the way. I gotta assume “in this issue, Batman’s gonna trip balls” plays into that, but consequently, Breyfogle delivers the goods visually. There’s an interview somewhere where Norm speaks fondly of these issues, and says that unlike Jim Aparo, he actually had experience with acid.

I haven’t read anything Milligan’s written in the past decade. The latest I’ve gone is Human Target, drawn by Javier Pulido and Cliff Chiang, two artists whose work I enjoy generally. While I don’t necessarily emotionally connect to anything in that work, or find its commentary particularly insightful, a reread reveals how effective the writing is in terms of structure, both on the level of story and in how each page works as a scene moving briskly through its paces. It’s smart in the ways genre comics are frequently lazy. Nothing is a high-concept pitch for a movie hoping for a future screenwriter to make something more satisfying from it, the plots are worked out with full character arcs.

Milligan’s interest in poetry seems genuine, and he also seems way more interested in comedy than someone like Gaiman is. Like Paul Verhoeven, I think Milligan’s best work generally plays out in a way that should be considered as dark comedy. With Gaiman, I hit a wall in my appreciation because I have no interest in the fantasy genre that sets the standards he should be judged by, but I love a dark comedy. Both comedy and poetry are forms whose consideration of brevity plays out well on the comics page, where it’s important to get out of the way of the artist as much as possible, while still communicating ideas. If the ideas in Milligan’s comics aren’t always as profound as what you’ll find in an Alan Moore script, he still made some of the most enjoyable collaborative comics you’ll ever read.

[watching-pictures-move]

Put On Your Raincoats | Little Girls Blue (Lease, 1978)

This movie and its sequel are built on the schoolgirl fetish, which is not my thing, but what I think makes them stand out is the way they grant agency to and align our perspective with the objects of fetishization. Take the opening scene, a fantasy sequence that starts with a woman swimming through the sky, and then a pan down the shaft of a penis, and then a schoolgirl slowly approaching, and then the ensuing blowjob. We don’t just get the blowjob in closeup, but we keep cutting to the schoolgirl’s eyes and her quivering lips as she observes from afar. This scene probably works on the straight ahead level of schoolgirl fantasy, but it takes the perspective of the schoolgirl, evoking not just her fantasizing, but her curiosity. The fact that we don’t even see the male performer in full likewise serves double purposes. There’s the fact that most straight male viewers likely don’t want to pay too much attention to the dudes in a given scene, but again, the way the scene is framed suggests that the schoolgirl’s curiosity isn’t even about a specific figure so much as the sexual experience itself.

With the boarding school setting of this film and the summer camp setting of the sequel, they play in part as hardcore female-centric responses to the horndog comedies that were popular at the time like Animal House and Porky’s. Which is to say, that they’re upfront about dealing in adolescent fantasy and traveling in politically incorrect waters, which makes it easier to appreciate the empathy and tenderness they bring to depicting these scenarios. It helps that the heroines are played by Casey Winters, Samantha Morgan and Elaine Wells in some very likable performances. And it also helps that the sex scenes are imaginatively realized, visually stylized with black or white backgrounds and bright primary colours (a blue bouncing ball figures heavily in one fantasy sequence), with dreamy electronic music (like if Vangelis scored a porno) that only cuts out when we gear up for the climax. Even when the movie arguably missteps (one of the fantasies is framed from the perspective of the gym teacher instead of the student he desires played by Lori Blue), the movie finds a way to twist it around to reassert the agency of its heroines (even if none of this would pass muster in real life, and the twist echoes a notorious plot point in Revenge of the Nerds).

The sequel retains a lot of the qualities of the original, but is perhaps even more aggressive about dissolving the barriers between fantasy and reality, with the latter inconveniently intruding upon scenes of the former. I missed Winters and Morgan, but Well and Blue return, the latter having a sweet relationship with a counselor she’s helping learn English, and also sporting bangs to boot. This time around the girls also sport blue berets, which make them look either like girl scouts or UN Peacekeepers. We also get Kevin James looking like he escaped from the set of Revenge of the Nerds, just to hammer the connection home.

A few additional notes:

Wells persuades her teacher to not let her fail her class. He does this by crossing out her F and writing an A. Were he bolder or more creative, he could have simply turned the F into an A.

The gym teacher asks Blue to stay back after class and has her do some written homework. This threw me off, until I saw the square root symbol (which grows extra large as the movie segues into a fantasy sequence), at which point I realized that the guy probably taught multiple subjects. Woody Allen’s aphorism about the teaching profession does not hold in at least this one case.

Aside from the imitation Vangelis, there’s one bit of scoring that sounds like an electronic version of “Anything Goes”, which plays alongside a montage of a bunch of students alternately marching and sucking cock in unison (the latter is accompanied by black backgrounds and mirrors to create the illusion of greater numbers). I do think this is one area where the sequel comes up short, as the scoring is a bit more conventional. I did appreciate the one sex scene where oldies played on the radio diegetically. Both movies are astute about the importance of sound in shaping the intimate atmosphere of these scenes.

[comicbookuniversity]

Lessons for the MonsterVerse

by Bunnypwn Gold

I have always been a big fan of Godzilla. I’ve been watching the movies since I was a kid. Now that they’re making new movies again, there’s a lot to be excited about and look forward to. Recently, I re-watched the newest one from the American MonsterVerse, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, as well as the last film from the Millennium era, Godzilla: Final Wars. Both films are big, ambitious, and include some major flaws, one of which they have in common, or at least they have flaws with overlap. While the MonsterVerse, so far, is great and is on track to continue that trend, Final Wars suffered greatest from this shared flaw, and so I am here to set out what the MonsterVerse needs to do to avoid self-destruction: take itself seriously.

Briefly, I want to provide a review and synopsis of King of the Monsters. So spoilers, it’s really good. Five years after Godzilla made landfall in San Francisco and fought against the parasitic MUTOs, Monarch is struggling to figure out what it wants to do with the Titans, as the monsters are now known, while the government and military are pressuring Monarch to kill them all. At the same time, one of their own scientists, Emma Russell, betrays them to assist ecoterrorist Alan Jonah in awakening the Titans with a bioacoustics device called the ORCA so that the Titans can spur regrowth in the environment and undo anthropogenic climate change. They revive Ghidorah in Antarctica, who then awakens all the other Titans still sleeping around the world at once, thus precipitating a conflict with Monarch and Godzilla for the crown. The film sets out to cover a lot of narrative ground while introducing several important elements to the series, and all the while it held together some solid character work for its main cast. Based on the new, expansive mythos that this film lays out—with the many new Titans and the abandoned Hollow Earth society discovered in vast underground caverns which used to live in harmony with the Titans—it looks like things will only get more exciting, and the future of the MonsterVerse is set out effectively and in grand style.

Godzilla: Final Wars is also about a large amount of monsters fighting for control of the Earth, feature monsters trapped in Antarctic ice, and ends with Godzilla fighting Ghidorah, but that’s where the similarities end. Final Wars was released in 2004 as the commemorative 50th anniversary film for the franchise. In it, the Earth has been defended from monsters for decades by the Earth Defense Force, who managed to trap Godzilla in ice in Antarctica years prior. All the other monsters around the world attack at once in the present, and the EDF was unable to keep up until the Xiliens arrived from space, removing the monsters and promising to make a peaceful alliance with humanity. In reality, the Xiliens were invading the Earth in order to herd humans like cattle because they need to eat human mitochondria to survive, and they were secretly controlling the monsters. So the heroes free Godzilla so he can help them fight the aliens and their army of brainwashed monsters. The plot also involved mutant humans and a fake rogue planet that was also somehow an actual asteroid that Godzilla later blows up. It’s a mess of a movie. That aside, it’s clear the film is trying to borrow elements from the three previous eras of Godzilla movies. It took an edgier look from the majority of the Millennium movies (from 1999-2004). The use of serious, formidable super vehicles is like the various super planes from the Heisei era films (1984-1995). However, the element borrowed from the Showa era films (1954-1975) is where it falters: campiness. The difference in this film compared to the Showa films being that they purposefully made Final Wars campy, despite the opportunity they had and despite the tone of the Showa era movies.

The original film, Gojira, is a very serious and tonally heavy film depicting the horrors of the modern era, with rapid industrialization in post-war Japan, the advent of the Cold War arms race, and the reason for that arms race, nuclear weapons, with the one man capable of killing Godzilla horrified by the devastation such an ability would grant. This movie and its first sequel were the only Godzilla films made in black and white, which impacts the way they look and how their special effects come across. After a several year hiatus, Godzilla returned to the screen to fight King Kong, this time in color. Seeing those monster suits and the limited special effects capabilities in 1960 of a B-list sci-fi flick in color really emphasizes how phony it all looked at the time. Throughout the Showa era, Godzilla shifted from an entirely villainous character to an erstwhile hero, and though the movies never stopped being presented as dramatic, they were made with an acknowledgement of how they look despite the drama and seriousness the creators otherwise wanted them to have.

Over time, of course, special effects improved. Starting with the Heisei era of films, Toho was able to produce much better suits and visual effects, and so they resumed making their movies with the kind of drama and seriousness that they had wanted all along. The Millennium era began in response to the 1998 American Godzilla, which depicted the titular monster with CGI, in contrast to the Toho tradition of using suits. The Millennium era was the last hurrah to suitmation effects, and these films, overall, looked great, probably the best that a giant monster movie can look with people in suits. Accordingly, they also hold up the more dramatic tone of the Heisei era while allowing each creative team the freedom to make the standalone Godzilla movie they wanted to make. The exception to this is Final Wars, which, as previously said, was not serious at all. Despite the successes of making serious, dramatic monster movies since 1984 and the ambitions of the Showa era’s large and imaginative canon, Final Wars decided to celebrate five decades of filmmaking by using cheesy comedy, camera work that screams “we had to edit heavily to make our actors look like action stars,” and what may very well be the least convincing acting of the entire series. The only person on set who seemed to understand any of this is alien commander X, who looked like he was being goofy on purpose, instead of on accident like the rest of the cast. Final Wars had the same opportunity as the rest of the Millennium era had to present a serious, dramatic battle for the fate of the Earth, and wasted it with aliens that seem completely unqualified to invade another planet and cramming most of their monsters into throwaway fights with Godzilla that lasted on average less than a minute.

This purposeful camp and goofiness of Final Wars is presumably meant to provide a lightness and humor to the film. This is where it overlaps with King of the Monsters, which ventured into the modern era of ironic, self-aware humor to provide levity. Borrowing from the MCU, King of the Monsters cracks wise during dramatic moments relatively often, in an attempt to lighten them up. Unfortunately, the jokes they go with are the weakest material in the film, and they do more to undermine the dramatic tension than enhance the film or provide levity. It’s like the scene in Thor: Ragnarok when Korg says they can rebuild Asgard, and then it blows up more, so never mind; or Hawkeye explaining how ridiculous his fighting robots with a bow and arrow is to Scarlet Witch in Age of Ultron. Maybe those are funny jokes, but they do more to undermine the dramatic tension than they add in humor, and both have the capacity to turn parts of the audience off by poking holes in the premise. It’s rather insecure and shows a lack of confidence in the work to stand on its own merits despite critics or easy jokes from the peanut gallery. This brand of humor gave us moments in King of the Monsters like Sam Coleman mishearing Ilene Chen saying “Ghidorah” as “gonorrhea.” It’s really not that funny, it wasn’t a moment that needed lightening up, and there’s no reason he would have misheard her since he was standing within ten feet. It ultimately undermines a moment in the film for an Asian woman to demonstrate her expertise by locating vital information about the threat at hand. But yes, Sam, I guess monsters sometimes have slightly silly-sounding names, like Ghidorah, which is based on the Japanese pronunciation of hydra, a very popular and well-respected mythical dragon.

The 2014 Godzilla film that started the MonsterVerse was enjoyable, but didn’t quite live up to its potential. That’s part of the reason I delayed seeing Kong: Skull Island far longer than I should have. When I did see it, I was amazed. I expected it to be good, and I heard great things about it, but it was far better than anything I could have imagined it to be. It was a truly great movie. After seeing it, my hopes and expectations for the MonsterVerse skyrocketed. I don’t think these expectations have been let down yet, and I expect them to be satisfied moving forward. However, the one thing I wanted most going into King of the Monsters was for them to lean into the tone and style of Skull Island more. In certain respects, I think they did, and the ambitious mythos being built here is far more substantial than anything in the Godzilla franchise so far, which usually has stuck to “monsters keep showing up and fighting.” The dramatically absurd tone, though, was what they lost by using the ridiculousness of what’s happening to make quick, weak, sometimes self-aware jokes instead of to highlight the intensity of the drama experienced by the characters. In Skull Island, when the squad had to fly their planes through a permanent thunderstorm, Sam Jackson’s character started quoting a speech about how the righteous men will win by not backing down and so inherit the Earth. The speech makes the whole thing feel even more ridiculous than a permanent thunderstorm already is, and in doing so amps up the drama and tension. This ultimately makes the arrival of a giant gorilla, which the audience is expecting to see, much more impressive and intense. That’s what I wanted for King of the Monsters. Yes, there are ridiculous aspects to giant monster movies, but the characters are living it, not watching it and thinking, “This crazy.”

Having this more serious tone is also important in really hitting the audience with the larger thematic power of the film. In Skull Island, the way Sam Jackson didn’t want to back down from killing Kong, even after seeing that it’s pointless and even detrimental to the troop, is reminiscent of the way America is currently stuck in multiple seemingly never-ending wars. At least part of the reason people don’t want to leave Iraq and Afghanistan is because they don’t want to create another Vietnam, the war that this film centers around on purpose. Having that tension of a dedicated army colonel who was just forced to “abandon” his war amplifies the drama of the other characters wanting to understand the problems of the natives and come to a real solution to their problems, and it all works because of how it resonates in the current political climate. The Godzilla side of the MonsterVerse so far is focusing on climate change, which, while abstract for far too many, is also a very real and pressing concern for a lot of people, paralyzing at times. Seeing the dramatic steps needed to fix the problem almost makes Alan and Emma’s plan in King of the Monsters feel heroic. The film is filled with images of crumbling, flooded American cities, and Ghidorah, an alien creating imbalance in nature a la humanity thinking itself separate from nature, is literally a living hurricane. There’s a lot of strong, serious, intense potential to make such a movie really meaningful. If they had taken themselves more seriously, it would have had this level of impact. It really is sad that they squandered this potential on silly jokes and a story arc for their generic, useless white man hero, Mark Russell. Like I said at the beginning, it’s still a good movie, but I can so clearly see how much better it could have been, too.

To me, dramatic movies making fun of themselves in important scenes always comes across as insecure, like filmmakers can’t simply make their movie first, they also have to preempt the internet to protect their egos. As the MonsterVerse moves forward, my biggest piece of advice is to do what Skull Island did and take itself seriously. We live in a time when a lot of previously niche franchises and genres are getting more spotlight due to the demands of studios wanting more high-action, effects heavy movies to sell huge on the international market. As these genres, once mired in cultural neglect and seen as silly and childish, come into the limelight, they both prove they always were to be taken seriously and poke fun at themselves to prove they know they shouldn’t be. I get the appeal of ironic, self-aware humor and wanting to be silly at dramatic high points, because it can be very fun and, when used properly, be incredibly funny; look to Thor: Ragnarok for an overall great example. But besides issues of improper use, this kind of humor is arguably at saturation at this point. It’s being misused and overused to the detriment of otherwise good movies in an attempt to compete with Marvel, who remains the poster child on this. So MonsterVerse, let Marvel, Disney, and all those imitators try to outdo each other by proving they can make more fun of themselves before Honest Trailers get to them. Just have fun making movies about giant monsters with the kind of drama and seriousness only modern special effect can give them, and use the ridiculousness of it all to amp up that drama instead of undermine it. Get over people calling you a nerd and just do your thing. As they say, being cool is all about confidence. 

[bestenglishschool-blog]

Improve your English and spook yourself this Halloween

Are you in the mood to watch something spooky this Halloween? Grab some pillows and pop the popcorn! Halloween is the perfect time to sit on the sofa with friends (or alone if you’re brave) to watch a horror movie or two. Why not use this opportunity to practice your English listening skills as well?

There are tons of good and bad horror movies out there on Netflix, Hulu, or your other favorite streaming service. With so many options to choose from, you might not know where to start. So here’s a list of important horror movies from the past five decades to get you started. Keep in mind that these movies are adult-oriented. That means you should make sure the kids are asleep before you start watching. Happy viewing!

Horror Movies to Watch

1970s

The Exorcist (1973)

This supernatural horror film by William Friedkin— which is based on William Peter Blatty’s novel that is in turn loosely based on true events—has often been called the greatest horror movie ever made. It deserves the praise.

The film centers on a priest who is called to examine a young girl’s disturbing behavior. Her mother can’t find any medical or scientific explanation, and the priest concludes that the young girl, named Reagan, is showing signs of demonic possession. The priest requests the Catholic Church to send an expert priest to perform an exorcism (a religious ritual to remove an evil spirit from a person’s body). The devilish ordeal unfolds over the rest of the film.

The film famously uses complex visual and audio special effects as well as a chilling soundtrack to achieve moments of terror and disbelief. It has many memorable scenes, and the acting is excellent. If you only watch one film from this list, I recommend this one.

Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter directed and scored (wrote the music for) this genre-defining slasher film, which has led to many sequels and remakes. This includes the highly-praised 2018 direct sequel with the original lead actress, Jamie Lee Curtis, reprising (performing again) her role.

The film tells a story of an escaped mental institution patient named Michael Meyers who stalks and kills teenage babysitters in a small town one Halloween night. One by one, the babysitters fall until the last girl remains and fights back with everything she has.

Although it wasn’t the first in the slasher horror genre, Halloween is a hugely influential movie, paving the way and creating a blueprint for other slasher horror films like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. Carrie (1976)

Carrie would the first of many film adaptations of novelist Stephen King’s bestselling work. In fact, Carrie was King’s first published novel.

Brian De Palma directed this story of supernatural suspense and horror about a seventeen-year-old girl who is bullied in high school. One day, she discovers that she has telekinetic powers (the ability to move objects with her mind). She uses this power to take revenge on the cruel classmates who humiliated her. The prom night scene is one of the most famous moments in the history of horror movies.

Also consider:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) The Wicker Man (1973) The Omen (1976)

1980s

Creepshow (1982)

The best thing about Creepshow is that you don’t have to watch the whole film to enjoy it. The film comprises (consists of) five short dark comedy horror stories written by Stephen King and directed by George Romero. Creepshow isn’t a particularly good film by acting or film-making standards. It has the feeling of a comic book. Still, horror movie lovers will find a lot to enjoy here. It’s not too silly to be called a comedy, and it’s not too serious to be truly scary.

The Evil Dead (1981)

The Evil Dead follows five college students who stay the night in a cabin in a remote part of a forest. In the cabin, they listen to an audio tape which summons demons which possess their bodies. This film has a lot of gory (showing lots of violence or blood) special effects and make-up, which may be disturbing for some viewers.

Despite the very low budget used to make it, The Evil Dead lives on as a critical and fan favorite in the genre. The tight story drives viewers through a terrifying plot that gets more gruesome and tense with each passing scene.

The director, Sam Raimi, and lead actor, Bruce Campbell, went on to create two direct sequels, The Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. Campbell plays the main role in both. Both sequels take a more comic approach than the first film. Developing a close relationship through their partnership, Campbell appears as a cameo character in all of Raimi’s films. Look for him in the Sam Raimi Spiderman trilogy films.

The Thing (1982)

John Carpenter made this science fiction horror film about a group of American researchers in Antarctica. They encounter “the thing”, an alien parasite which can take the shape of and imitate any person or creature which it absorbs. The researchers must fight against the parasite creature and their own sense of paranoia (false belief that other people are trying to harm you). The story becomes grimmer as the researchers lose trust in each other and realize that any of them could be an imitation. Kurt Russel plays one of the main characters here.

Although the film was released to negative reviews, it has grown in popularity over the years and is now considered a horror classic. It has been praised for its very impressive special effects and slow but steadily increasing suspense.

The alien is a terrible creature, but the main fear is not knowing which character is still human.

Also consider:

The Evil Dead II (1987) An American Werewolf in London (1981) Poltergeist (1982) The Fly (1986) Friday the 13th (1980) The Shining (1980) Prince of Darkness (1987) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

1990s

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Francis Ford Coppola directed this international renowned Gothic horror film which won Academy Awards for costume design, makeup, and sound editing. The story, of course, is a classic, based on the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker that built up the lore (traditional knowledge and beliefs) and mystery of Dracula, Van Helsing, and the vampire fantasy genre. Gary Oldman’s performance of Vlad Dracula might be the most impressive part of this film, but don’t ignore the excellent costumes, make-up effects, and background sets. Don’t miss out on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It does a great job of telling this classic story in a unique way.

Francis Ford Coppola is a central figure in cinema, known especially for The Godfather series and Apocalypse Now.

Event Horizon (1997)

This science fiction horror film directed by Paul W.S. Anderson occurs in distant space. A group of astronauts go on a rescue mission near the planet Neptune when they suddenly find the Event Horizon, a spaceship that has long been missing. They board (get into or onto) the Event Horizon and discover that the entire crew is gone. They also find out that the ship’s engine is designed to open passages to another dimension. As they continue to look for the missing crew members, they realize that there is an evil presence on the ship.

Sam Neill is widely known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. But he actually played a major role in Event Horizon and several other horror films—including another on this list, In the Mouth of Madness.

Scream (1996)

Scream is a slasher film directed by Wes Craven. The film stars a group of 90s TV and film celebrities (including Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and others) who play high school students. A knife-wielding murderer wearing a ghost mask terrorizes the group, killing them off one by one. The film combines slasher horror with comedy and mystery elements. It also satirizes (makes fun of) clichés (common situations or characters) within the horror genre. The movie was very popular when it was released, and a series of sequels and films with similar stories were released thereafter.

Also, consider:

In the Mouth of Madness (1994) Army of Darkness (1993) The Blair Witch Project (1999) The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Candyman (1992) Tremors (1990)

2000s

Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

Trick ‘r Treat is an anthology (collection of art) film like Creepshow. It offers four different Halloween stories, but there is one character that appears across each of them. Every time one of the characters breaks a “rule” of Halloween, the character Sam shows up to show teach them a horrifying lesson. One reason you’ll love Trick ‘r Treat is that all the stories take place on Halloween, and the stories play on people’s expectations of Halloween customs and horror movie plots. It couldn’t be more a more perfect film to watch this season. All the stories are well-crafted, balancing a line of fun entertainment and scary thrills.

The Descent (2005)

The Descent is a British horror film about six adventure-seeking women who go spelunking (cave exploring) in a cave system. Inside the cave, they encounter a long-hidden group of bloodthirsty creatures who start to hunt them down.

The cave setting increases the tension since you know the characters have very few places to hide. Also, the moody soundtrack does a great job of building and holding suspense. This film also explores the characters’ flawed relationships and problems, adding a sense of personal development to this tale of monster horror.

The Mist (2007)

Frank Darabont directed this Stephen King science fiction horror adaptation. It follows a group of people who barricade themselves in a supermarket after a thick fog covers their entire small town. When anyone goes out into the fog, they are swept up or gruesomely attacked by monstrous insect-like creatures.

Although the monsters are huge threat to the characters, the film also explores the extreme tension between people as they struggle to survive the unnatural mist that drives them to the brink (edge) of sanity. The climax of the film is really remarkable.

Also consider:

Drag Me to Hell (2009) 28 Days Later (2002) Slither (2006) Let the Right One In (2008)

2010s

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

The less I say about The Cabin in the Woods, the better. It follows a group of college students who visit a cabin in the woods, and you’ll just have to see the film to find out anything else. This is the kind of horror film where the surprise is the most rewarding part of the movie. I’ll just say this, the more horror movies you’ve seen in your life, the more you’ll appreciate The Cabin in the Woods.

Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) wrote the screenplay for the film in just three days. The film has great special effects and make-up.

The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring is an expertly crafted supernatural horror film from director James Wan. It follows Ed and Lorraine Warren, a husband and wife team of paranormal (very strange events that can’t be explained by science) investigators, whose real-life reports have inspired many other horror films, like Annabelle and The Amityville Horror. In this film, the couple tries to help a family which recently moved into a severely haunted house in Rhode Island.

The chills (sudden feelings of fear) in The Conjuring are outstanding. The film does an amazing job of getting you to sympathize with the family and investigators’ plight (very bad situation) as they deal with the disturbing events taking place in the house.

The Conjuring is the first film in The Conjuring Universe, which includes direct sequels, the Annabelle series, and the newly released The Nun. Get Out (2017) Get Out is a landmark (very important achievement) of American horror films. The film is the directorial debut (first produced film) of Jordan Peele, a well-known comedian from his retired Comedy Central show, Key and Peele. It tells the story of an African-American man, played by Daniel Kaluuya, who goes to visit the family of his white girlfriend for the first time. While he stays at their home, he uncovers a horrifying secret.

Not only does the film tell an exceptional story of tension and terror, it spaces out the dread with moments of brilliant humor. Looking closely at the film, viewers will see how Jordon Peele addresses racism through the lens of (with the perspective of) a unique horror story while paying homage (respect based on previous work) to classics of the genre.

Also consider:

It Follows (2014) The VVitch (2015) It (2017) The Babadook (2014)

Some people might read this and think, why should I watch horror movies at all? I don’t like to be scared. Well, there’s not a perfect answer for that question. Your brain produces a mix of chemicals that makes you feel scared when you think something bad is going to happen. It’s the same as when you ride a roller coaster or do something else that takes you outside of your comfort zone.

If you enjoy suspense or the feeling of surprise that keeps you on the edge of your seat, then you can’t go wrong with any movie from this list for a great Halloween thrill. Just about all of them have received critical praise or have gone on to become fan favorites.

Moreover, watching movies can be a great way to improve your English! For one thing, you’ll get to hear English that isn’t coming from a textbook. The English spoken in movies is very natural, which means that it’s what you would hear from native English speakers. Second, when you watch a movie, you’ll develop a sense of the context around the dialogue. This means that you have chances to learn or guess vocabulary based on the situation. Finally, by hearing natural English in movies you can hear and see the way words are expressed. You can pay attention to body language, pronunciation, and reactions to understand what the characters really mean.

LASC faculty and staff always want to help students learn English in interesting ways. Teachers here would recommend you keep your dictionary by your side, turn on the English subtitles, and don’t worry about catching every word. Even rewind and repeat scenes if you’re using English movies to study. Watching movies, scary or not scary, can be a fun way to improve your English. You can also follow this blog for more great tips on learning English and living in southern California.

Talk to an LASC representative to learn how we can help you on your learning journey.

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