Horror Dispatch #6
Another month, another batch of movies. Some very good, some very bad. But you know, it is what it is~
I wanted to like this one so much! The set up is great: grieving mother alone in big farmhouse with her teen son and young daughter discover mysterious woman in yard who seems to get closer and closer. Just an eerie set up, clearly touching on grief. But the direction this one goes in, guys. First of all, it is just incredibly depressing. You knew it was going to be somewhat sad from the trailer but woof. And then the last third of the movie takes a turn which, while not super surprising, did make me go “…are we really doing this?” I wasn’t a fan. If you don’t mind being spoiled, I recommend this Vulture article on it which articulates exactly how I felt. Interestingly filmed, cool idea, bad execution.
This, meanwhile, was great. I actually did a double feature with Woman in the Yard and this and what a palate cleanser! Because it’s A24, I feel like I was either going to love it or feel very meh about it (my usual states) but the cast (Paul Rudd! Jenny Ortega! Richard E Grant! Tea Leoni! Will Poulter!) and the writing is so sharp. Paul Rudd and Jenny Ortega are an estranged father daughter who have come together to go to a rich pharmaceutical family’s retreat in the middle of nowhere Canada so Paul Rudd can get an important promotion. They hit a unicorn with their car along the way. I’d say this is about 90% black comedy, 10% horror but it is so fun. Will Poulter steals the show (imo) as the fail son of the family who is still beloved by his parents. It’s just silly, fun, eat the rich nonsense and I already want to see it again.
Sometimes you see that a child (okay, Finn Wolfhard is an adult technically I guess but come on, he’s a child) has written and directed a movie and you go “…okay, yeah, I’ll see that.” Hell of a Summer is definitely incredibly influenced by the myriad of summer camp slashers that came before it but what makes it feel different is that it is interested in the campers (well, counselors) themselves. The movie takes place over the first day of counselor orientation and where the movie shines is in these very unique, very funny kids. Watching them react to each other (the scene where a kid yells at another that she’s privileged cause she doesn’t have a peanut allergy killed me) is easily the highlight. Unfortunately, slasher movies require splitting up and it loses its spark, even getting boring at times, once the killing starts. You can tell part of it was oversight (the killer’s reasoning is clearly an afterthought) and part was thinking things would pull together when they just didn’t. I still enjoyed the movie, I just honestly think it would have been better as a typical camp movie, minus the horror (Blasphemy, I know.)
The minute I saw this trailer, I knew it was going to be good, dumb fun. A woman goes on date and keeps getting airdropped threatening memes (I KNOW) and eventually is blackmailed into attempting to kill her date. It’s so dumb, it’s so silly. It toes the line between serious and goofy (I adored their waiter, a man on his first shift and a lover of improv) and every time it upped the ante, I was here for it. Our heroine has a young son at home who is played by an Irish Instagram child I’ve been following for years which was hilarious to me. (It was also clearly filmed in Dublin despite being set in Chicago (the restaurant is the Dublin convention center) which leads to an amazing moment where one of them has a hockey puck that reads ‘Chicago Hockey Team.’) I also went with two of my pals, Jack and Ben, and Ben’s loud, cackling laugh ringing through the theater when anything silly happened was delightful. This movie is fun and silly, a good B movie time.
Who doesn’t want a little period Norwegian body horror? Set in the 1700s(ish), this is a Cinderella retelling from the point of view of the older stepsister. I will always root for an awkward teenage girl and watching Elvira pine after the prince (he published a book of poetry she rereads over and over), attempt to be friends with her new stepsister (even if she’s a bit jealous of all the attention she gets), and try to be comfortable with her teenage body (that her mother is constantly taking her to “improve” via painful old fashioned plastic surgery) made me care about her so much, despite everything going on around her. I even sighed ‘fucking Cinderella’ at one point. I really enjoyed this movie but I do have to admit that the body horror is rough. I’m usually okay with it but there were several scenes I couldn’t watch. I think it’s because everything is something people actually used to do for “beauty” and that just makes it rougher.
Y’all, Sinners is great. Set over one night in 30s Mississsippi, two twins set up a blues joint that draws vampires to it. It’s a simple set up but there’s so much going on. The setting feels real, each character vibrant and knowable. The first hour pretty much just spends time with the characters so that you’re invested when things start going bad later on. But before they go bad? Well, it’s a hell of a night. I adored this movie and already have plans to go see it again with a friend. I’m especially looking forward to seeing the first hour without a man loudly snoring in the row behind me (he started during the previews and finally had to be escorted out by a manager.) If you only check out one of the movies from this roundup, this is the one.
This newsletter is coming in a day later than normal but at least that means I can include some good news: I got a job!
I’m going to be a bookseller at a small used/antiquarian bookstore and I am very excited to get back into bookselling. Working at Community Bookstore was easily one of my favorite jobs of all time and even though the pay isn’t amazing, the vibe seems lovely. Plus the rare books are amazing. When I was interviewing, they showed me two second folio Ben Jonsons they had behind the counter. Can you imagine? I am very excited about this new opportunity.
I am, however, not going to be making as much money with this new position sooooo remember that you can subscribe to this newsletter for $5/month or $35/year and not only do you get that feel good feeling of helping me out, you also get to pick a book for me to read and devote a whole bonus newsletter to. Good, bad, or otherwise. Give me things to read!
Until next time, folks, stay scary~
Congratulations!! You'll have to tell us about all the cool stuff they have!