#zodiac 2007

[boydswan]

ZODIAC (2007) dir. David Fincher

[finchers-ipad]

THESE ARE MY FAVOURITE SHOTS BY JEFF CRONENWETH IN FINCHER’S FILMS, HIS CINEMATOGRAPHY IS SO GORGEOUS I WANT TO EAT IT

[closetofcuriosities]

Zodiac - 2007 - Dir. David Fincher

[divinvio]

Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith from David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007). This is for an art trade I recently did with a very lovely person! Honestly, I have never seen this movie but might check it out now! Love what they gave me in return and had a lot of fun drawing him.

[xgoddessoffandomsx]

Anyone else think Robert is autistic coded? I know Jake is playing an actual person but: Liking puzzles, being a bit anti social, fidgeting, doing something that confuses others, sticking to a schedule? You can't take Autistic Robert away from me

[soupy-sez]

ZODIAC (2007) dir. David Fincher

[vintagewarhol]

[iguana-braces]

GOOSE WAS IN ZODIAC??????

[guillotineman]

A Film Directed by David Fincher

[captaincolossal]

For someone who doesn't drink that much (anymore), I certainly have gotten into making liqueurs. So many liqueurs! I made a whole bunch of fruit ones last fall, mostly because I was too busy to make and can jelly (and also I have so much jam and jelly, I do not need to make more) and why not booze, it's easy. But milk! You can do the same thing with milk! And now I'm making milk booze, because I got too much fucking milk from the food bank a couple weeks ago, they just put three gallons of milk in my car! They usually ask if it's more than one, Jesus.

Anyway, I've seen this one before, but not since like 2008 and also Z movies are hard, I always (for the second time) think the alphabet thing is a good idea, because I like the structure, but then some are just. Very difficult. But here we are!

Zodiac (2007)

Oh lord, I can only find the director's cut, which is almost 3 hours long, fuck. It's fine.

[vole-mon-amour]

&

&

&

Absolutely iconic.

[finchers-ipad]

follow up poll!! (just because they are fun lmao)!

[closetofcuriosities]

Zodiac - 2007 - Dir. David Fincher

[maroonghoul]

Terror Time 2022: Days 26 thru 29

Home stretch! Here we go:

Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948): One of the original Horror Comedies. I’m not sure if this is a Halloween staple for many people these days, due to it’s age. Not sure how much appeal this has for people who aren’t already fans of these incarnations of the three main movie monsters. A pseudo-parody film like this being the swan song of them should be embarrassing and sad. But while the humor is relatively solid for it’s day due Lou Costello’s over-top fearful reactions, it does this while not cheapening the monster by following the golden rule for all horror comedies after this; You can make it as funny as you like, but the horror itself is taken as a serious threat. 

That being said, the portrayals weren’t too perfect, if I’m being nitpicky. Larry Talbot’s inner turmoil is constantly jabbed, which even if you don’t believe he’s a werewolf, given how he carries himself in each scene, would you feel comfortable making jabs at his expense like Wilbur does? (Kinda worse in hindsight given the actor’s history of drinking)

Outside of the climatic chase, the Creature doesn’t do much other then rest and walk around at Dracula’s will. I know it’s the more marketable name, but it’s clear that Dracula is the mastermind and the more intelligent and powerful adversary. I’m not sure why he even chases them at the end, except that’s what he does at the end of every movie. Does electricity overload his brain and make him hostile to all around him? I’ll admit, the only Universal Frankenstein movies I’ve seen are the first three and this one, so I might be missing something. 

Another minor thing: the running gag that multiple women pursue Wilbur over Chick (though for ulterior purposes), is treated as weird by Chick...is that a bit fatphobic?

At this point in history, none of this is a deal breaker. It’s still a classic for the reasons I mentioned at the beginning. And whether comedic or not, scary or not, I’ll be happy having more and more films or specials with all the classic monsters in it. There’s always something magical about having them all there, as long as there is respect.

The Vigil (2019): A poltergeist story, though refreshingly, one based in Jewish horror rather then a Christian one. I don’t know how rather the Mazzik seen in this film is faithful to the lore, though given how it’s depicted in the film is menacingly enough. (You don’t see it’s face, it speaks through people the main character knows, etc.). 

In a way, I can see this as a compelling double feature with His House (2020), a film about a different culture but I feel tackles some of the same themes (generational trauma, the double-edged sword of assimilation, bigotry, ghosts symbolizing past sins, etc.).

And the last shot; I think it’s a sequel hook, more ambiguous then the jump scare variety I’ve seen, and the type I always want to see more of. I don’t know why the quiet ending is more unsettling for a horror film, but I like seeing a return of it.

Barbarian (2022): *SPOILERS*

The must-see horror movie of the year, or at least the past few months. I feel, though while it looks like a lot of horrors made over the past decade, reminded me in a few ways of the classics, both in old monster movies and Psycho, of all things. (might have to do with the bait-and-switch first act and the sudden death of the biggest name actor). 

We never get an answer to the Airbnb mix-up, though given our current climate, it might have been due to mundane incompetency after all. We DO get a lot of information on how all this was set up due to flash backs and suggestion (I appreciate that the fates of Frank’s victims were all kept offscreen, however horrific the implications were.). Given how it jumps back in forth like that, you could almost argue it’s the Pulp Fiction of horror movies.

AJ is a case of a more realistic and normal human villain/rapist, which in turn makes him and his thought process through all of this more scary and tragic (though not tragic enough to say he didn’t deserve what was coming to him). He’s just so ignorant and entitled to all he’s done, and what condemns him at the end isn’t that he’s done these things, but that he’ll continue to do them, even to a woman who’s done nothing but try and save him. After all, redemption and forgiveness are a nonstarter if he rather talk about it then do it.

I just find the thematic contrast between him and the Mother so fascinating. He’s constantly asking for sympathy despite ultimately unworthy due to rather taking short cuts rather then actually earn it. She, on the other hand, while looking and asking like a literal monster, it’s clear in her final moments how much sympathy we had for her after all. I mean, she’s the result of decades worth of inbreeding caused by a serial killer, not allowed to learn anything other then to be a mother. She’s practically had all kinds of misogyny thrown on her and cranked to 100. But, like with Frankenstein, because she violently lashes out, society gives her none, if it even acknowledges her existence. And like that and all other classic movie monsters, her end is not one of triumph but tragedy, having saved the woman from our male lead, arguably twice. I’ve seen horror movies flipped this script before, but with this, I feel we’re at the point where it can be done and we know why, without anyone hanging a lampshade.  All of that said and made believable with the looks instead of speeches, more then AJ’s jabbering ever could.

But that’s always been Horror’s real strength: It’s to the the point and knows when to put it’s money where it’s mouth is.

Zodiac (2007): I want to tread lightly here, given this was based on real events involving real people who died and who’s lives were ruined. But hey, better this then the new Dahmer show. At least with this, the actual person who’s killed actual people isn’t portrayed as worthy of any humanization or sympathy I don’t think this type of man should have. 

In fact, in here, the Zodiac might as well not be a character at all. He’s more of a wraith or a force of nature. Which would run the danger of making him seem “cooler” if it weren’t for the fact that it’s clear, if the film is completely accurate, it’s more lack of cohesion between all of the police departments then him actually being smarter then any of them. 

That’s sorta what makes Robert Graysmith’s journey in the last act of the film more noble, even if it’s clear he’s a very flawed human being; distracted and naïve to the point of putting himself in danger. He’s trying to make sure all the facts are together in one place finally. Though given the more we’re still learning about the Zodiac case, his final conclusion might not be the correct one. 

I ultimately see this movie as a story about three horrors one after another; first a homicidal madman (One who’s murder scenes actually stop relatively early in the movie), second is outdated system structures, and final is self-destructive obsession. In the end, the most any of us can do is find an answer that’s not complete, but one you can live with. Even Graysmith admits he can’t “catch” the Zodiac, but he wants to just look him in the face. Which, even if it turns out he didn’t, he believed it at the time, so it was a natural place for the story to end, at least before the bookend with Michael Mageau.

BTW: I did not plan to watch the movie about the real life serial killer that inspired Matt Reeves and Paul Dano’s version of the Riddler in the same year as that movie, but here we are. And I liked to believe that they were both equally pathetic human beings.

I got one last post and only three movies. If I don’t have it done before the end of tomorrow, I hope to finish my thoughts before the end of the week.

Thank you!

[xgoddessoffandomsx]

POV you're a Jake Gyllenhaal movie

[soupy-sez]

Zodiac (2007) [X]