Horror Dispatch #2
A Pretty Good Crop, This Time!
Y’all liked that first Horror Dispatch, huh? That might have been my most viewed newsletter in literal years. Okay, I get it! On to the main event!
Let me start this right off by saying no, Caddo Lake isn’t a horror movie. I’m including it because I thought it was a horror movie when I turned it on and just … kept waiting for something scary to happen. About forty five minutes in, I finally realized it wasn’t a horror flick, it was a family drama slash science fiction (!!) film but I was already all in. Set in a small town in the south, you follow a teen girl struggling in her newly mixed family and a young man trying to find his place in the world. They seem disconnected but as the movie progresses, you start to realize that this is a puzzle, strings interweaving in new ways with every passing minute. I really enjoyed this film and recommend going in as blind as possible.
As someone who reads/listens to a lot of true crime, of course I already knew this story but I was curious how it would translate to film. The answer: pretty well. Anna Kendrick charms as our lead, a woman trying to become an actress who books a gig as a contestant on The Dating Game. Meanwhile, we keep getting glimpses of the woman who find themselves spending time with Rodney Alcala, a charming but predatory photographer. I was impressed with how the film handled the women’s stories, giving them dignity despite how we knew their stories may end. I don’t know if I feel a great need to see this film again but I did enjoy it while I watched it.
This movie is silly as all get out. Set in the 60s? 70s?, the worst cop dad in the world steals a NECKLACE OUT OF EVIDENCE to gift to his wife to make up for how much of a fuck up he is. Shock of all shocks, the necklace is cursed. Strange things start happening in the house, at least one if not both daughters are possessed, and the person who got them into this mess is the least interested in it. I very much enjoyed yelling at the screen while watching this movie and while I am making very light of it, it was a pretty fun movie. And with a twist I was legitimately not expecting at the end! If you’re looking for a fun, dumb horror flick, you could do worse.
I enjoyed the original Smile but I wasn’t really sure what the point of a sequel would be. Still, the idea of a trauma/mental health curse following a pop star did sound fun and Glitch and I needed a movie to go to so here we were. And it was much better than it had a right to be! It had broken girl friendships, it had surgeries in abandoned pizza places, it had that guy from House who came in at the same time as Olivia Wilde and was a little interesting but they never did anything with him. Our pop star is 100% giving ‘what if Florence Pugh was Lady Gaga’ and I was here for it. And it had a wild final scene. Honestly? I recommend it.
Glitch Notes
this movie could have so much worse but as long as the Smile 2 Dayplayers still dramatically moved around an apartment this would be a must-watch for me
absolutely baffling preroll clip of naomi scott thanking the audience for their support and for their love of the franchise (Molly Note: THIS WAS SO WEIRD. OUR LOVE OF THE FRANCHISE???)
second best arena-pop thriller this year
Sometimes you just have to watch a movie about Emma Roberts with post partum in a haunted farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. This was one of those movies where you are constantly frustrated with the well meaning but terrible people surrounding the protagonist, her husband in particular, so there was a lot of yelling at the television. However, the baby in this film was adorable and I kept being distracted by how cute that baby was so, while this was probably not what the film was going for, I was very entertained. It also has a delightfully creepy Michael Shannon and an ending that I was dissatisfied about when I watched it then I realized something a good twenty minutes later and now I think it’s pretty good. So … if you’re feeling like a cute baby, some frustration, and then a last minute realization, this is for you?
I LOVE TRAP. I saw Trap in theaters with Glitch when it came out and we spent the entire time cackling. I think I may have actually clapped at one point. And then, for my birthday, I made my parents watch Trap with me since it’s on Max now. And they loved Trap. Everyone loves Trap. It dares to ask the question “what if a serial killer was also the greatest girl dad?” Josh Hartnett is killing it, Lady Raven is my queen, y’all have to watch Trap. It’s the best.
Glitch Notes
josh hartnett as a killer who looks like he's being ratatoulle'd into emoting is an absolute delight
I'm furious there's no official lady raven merch available
you could edit the first act into a pretty fun teen comedy focused on the fallout of riley and her friends
This movie is horrific in the way The Invitation is horrific: you’ve been in a situation like this where you were just so uncomfortable but you couldn’t quite leave without being rude and is the danger in your head or are you just anxious? And then it spirals towards its terrible conclusion. I went to see this because the minute I saw an ad for Evil Hugh Grant traps some Mormon girls, I knew I had to see it. And I enjoyed it. It went some places I wasn’t expecting, it made me laugh unexpectedly, and it made me honestly root for an adorable young Mormon girl in a pink cardigan (I may have realized halfway through the film that I was also wearing a pink cardigan).
Glitch Notes
no movie I've seen has ever so surgically recreated the dread and stress of having an overconfident man corner you to tell you his opinions
wild fast food takes
seeing sophie thatcher makes me want more yellowjackets
That’s it for the horror movies this month but heaven knows I’ll have already watched at least one more before you read this newsletter. Apologies for the slight lateness of this dispatch: it was my father (the progenitor of my horror film love)’s 70th birthday on Sunday and we did not have a party (because he didn’t want one), we just had the entirety of his side of the family show up to my parents’ tiny three bedroom house they’ve lived in since I was a year old. It was a surprise, he got a little choked up, it was worth the effort.
For his birthday, I’m taking him away this weekend for a father/daughter Seattle trip which I already know we will spend mostly watching horror flicks in the hotel so don’t worry, there’s plenty coming for some December scares.
Until then, keep an eye on your inbox for some book recs in two weeks and I’ll see you on the other side~
