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durotoswrites · 3 years

Note

For the writing meme thingy: 🍄how do you get yourself in the mood to write? 🍑 do you/would you write smut? 📒 any fics planned?

🍄 How do you get yourself in the mood to write?

Getting in the mood to write and actually wanting to sit down and start writing are two very different things, but they're connected, so I'll explain both.

To set into “creative mode” it helps me to do these things:

Listen to music that makes me think of a character/situation in my story/stories. I've got playlists separated by character and pairing. Sometimes I also just work on curating those playlists for fun and get my brain going.

Bounce overall ideas off of my friends and husband/editor (but he's my best friend, too 💗)

Reread old chapters or recent ones and future snippets based on what I want to do.

Once I actually want to put words down, I get a little more strict with myself. I get distracted verrrry easily sometimes and I have to fight the urge to open a million more tabs when researching a small detail.

I move to instrumental music (I have playlists for different moods like “emotional”, “soft”, “sad”, etc. I usually listen to “soft” as a general soothing background sound, as I can get pretty dang emotional when I write, especially with the stuff I've been churning out lately.

So, yeah, I need tissues within reach if I get upset. (Wow, I'm not making this sound fun at all, lmao)

After sound has been established, I like to eat a snack (something with protein) because I can be under for hours, lol. Eat it and finish it. Otherwise, I get distracted.

I also like to have drinks available. I always have a bottle of water, but I also like having a hot cup of tea. I think it's the time of year for me to switch to cold barley tea.

I write while seated on a recliner with my feet up. I have my laptop on a lap desk and it's a pretty cozy setup.

I basically try to remove any excuse I have to get up once I start writing, because I am the worst procrastinator I know.

🍑Do you/would you write smut?

Heheh... heck yeah, I do. Waaaaay more than most people realize. Stuff I've actually posted? It's pretty limited. I posted a couple pieces (Let Me Love You and You're Like the Sunshine) a few years ago, but I've been practicing ever since. One of my planned stories literally has what I refer to as a “smut dump” in the draft where I've been experimenting with writing different moods. I like the intimate scenes to play a role in the overall plot or have it be a bonding experience.

Despite that, I do have a shameless Gray x Mary story I should just get out there that has zero plot, just two cuties in love. In my mind it's so naughty and kinky and I get flustered thinking about it (Mary is hot, okay?), but it's probably hella vanilla, lmao. I really am grateful that people have been really supportive about my writing smut despite what I usually write, and they've been so encouraging, too! I honestly feel like the smut I've posted is really stilted because I was so self-conscious about it. I don't feel like they are terrible for first attempts, but I have definitely grown more comfortable writing it.

Will The Shy Newcomer become explicit? I kinda really want it to, but I might separate the chapters for those who don't care for that content. Overall, I'd like to write more and post more, and I want to write more than just male x female smut as well. I have some of those in my planned pieces (more about them later).

📒 Any Fics Planned?

Firstly, I'm super tickled more than one person was interested in this. I copied the answer I wrote earlier.

Short answer: Yes. I also plan to bring more of my stories over from ffn to Ao3.

Long answer under the cut, heheh. I rambled quite a bit.

Ask me about my writing processes and stories!

I have so many WIPs that haven’t been touched in years that I’d like to finish, so new planned fics aren’t posted yet. Some of them have more adult themes than most of the stuff I’ve been writing, so I get flustered sharing them. I’ve been at a crossroads, as I feel that you can’t have growth without changing things up. On the other hand, I feel like a lot of my readers associate my works with a specific “wholesome” feel-good mood. It’s kinda nice to be known for something, although that might just be my ego talking, thinking that people recognize my work as a “type”.

Regardless, in the end, I feel growth is necessary.

I don’t want to leave a lot of unfinished WIPs waiting because they stress me out and I have too many of them already, so I’d like to have a bulk of my new stories with a good chunk written before I decide to post them.

Among those include:

A longfic featuring Pete’s farm in Forget-Me-Not Valley (A blend of HMDS with the FoMT plugin and AWL). It takes place in the same universe as The Shy Newcomer (Claire in Mineral Town) and there are a few overlapping moments, although Pete’s story starts first. Pete’s personality is verrry different from Claire’s, and his story was kind of supposed to be the yang to TSN’s yin. Pete’s best friends in his story are Ruby (not sure if I’m adding Tim yet), Nami, and Rock. Readers will be treated to a poorly-socialized pre-Mineral Town Cliff (if you think he was bad at the beginning of TSN, well… heh… he’s a wreck here).

Another planned unpublished story is a crossover of Harvest Moon and the movie “In This Corner of the World”, based on a manga of the same name by Fumiyo Kouno. It was written as a gift for a friend. I have the entire outline figured out and have slowly been filling it in. My friend asked for an AU where Claire and Cliff have an arranged marriage and live with his family in Akiyama, the hometown I had created for Cliff in The Shy Newcomer. I took the opportunity to expand the characters in his family. I have it written during the same time period and society as “In This Corner of the World”, but had decided to write a spreading disease as an allegory for war, but then COVID happened and some parts of it just got really hard to write. There are also a lot of sexually explicit content as Claire slowly grows and learns from her spouse that it’s okay to express what she wants despite sex being a taboo issue. If there’s enough interest in the story, I’ll post it, but I worry it’s a little too niche for there to be many people into it.

Pastor Carter and Doctor Trent are one of my favorite rare pair ships. I’ve had a partial draft for a story about them for a few years now, especially focusing on Trent growing up and acknowledging that he has an unhealthy addiction for things that he knows he can’t have. There are some more adult/sexual themes in this piece, too, including the main character lusting after a married woman (who also happens to be his patient) and some lemons. (Does anyone call it that anymore or is it just referred to as “smut” nowadays? Haha) I always feel so bad for neglecting the folks at the clinic in-game and wanted to write a piece that focused more on them, Trent specifically. It’s a multi-chap fic, but I don’t think I’m going to let it get as long as some of my other pieces.

I also really want to write a short romantic oneshot for every marriage candidate in Mineral Town, around 1,000 words each. So far, I have one for Cliff and one for Gray. I want to write Claire with everyone, because I think it would be fun to explore all the different personalities.

I have more installments planned for A Single Day, including a day in the life of the following characters, all with drafts in varying degrees of progress:

Anna

Doug

Nora (yes, I’m writing from the point of view of the cat living at the inn)

More to come – I think Lillia and Thomas would be especially interesting to explore

I do still have that Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask piece I’ve been pondering where Link befriends the soul of the deku scrub child while possessed by the mask. I don’t have much written about it, but I really love the world of Majora’s Mask. Such a fun game.

I also think about the lead carpenter’s son in Ocarina of Time and that weird side quest involving the blue chicken and the son being lost to the forest. Then that unique-looking kokiri girl explaining that all who get taken in the lost woods become stalfos. Like, did the guy die? Was he sick? Did he want to die? There’s just so much going on there that would be fun to explore.

I also have played OMORI recently and have like… A LOT of feelings about it. I don’t know what I’d write, but I’m still damn impressed at how well the characters are developed in such a short game.

Other games I’ve had vague ideas about writing for include the following:

The Flame in the Flood: I’m thinking a survivalist/action story fleshing out Scout’s backstory a bit more and her thoughts as she’s traveling. I feel like she’s a very lonely person, but isn’t given the chance to really dwell on it.

Night In the Woods: I’d love to write more about Mae’s dreams and what they mean to her. She doesn’t really talk to anyone about them openly, so it’s really hard to tell her feelings about them in some regards. We know that she’s distressed about them, but I’d like to dive a little deeper. Do the nightmares end after the games does? What about Bea’s new nightmares?

Hades (Supergiant Games): I think it would be fun to write more about the events that take place before the game starts, like Zagreus’s duties in the house of Hades, and expand on the strained relationship with his father.

#ask games #writing #jake-marshall

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mysticalhearth · 3 years

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Les Misérables

Les Misérables - 10th Anniversary: The Dream Cast In Concert - October, 1995 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (SD) CAST: Colm Wilkinson (Jean Valjean), Philip Quast (Javert), Ruthie Henshall (Fantine), Judy Kuhn (Cosette), Michael Ball (Marius), Lea Salonga (Éponine), Michael Maguire (Enjolras), Alun Armstrong (Thénardier), Jenny Galloway (Madame Thénardier), Adam Searles (Gavroche), Hannah Chick (Little Cosette), Paul F Monaghan (The Bishop), Anthony Crivello (Grantaire), David Bardsley (Combeferre), Matt Cammelle (Feuilly), Jérôme Pradon (Courfeyrac), Peter Polycarpou (Jean Prouvaire), Darryl Knock (Joly), Mike Sterling (Lesgles), Nick Holder (Brujon), Tony Timberlake (Babet), Stephen Matthews (Claquesous), Keith Burns (Montparnasse), Michael McCarthy (Factory Foreman), Jackie Marks (Factory Girl), Gareth Snook (Bamatabois), Andy Reiss (Pimp), Peter Polycarpou (Labourer), Glyn Kerslake (Constables), Beverly Klein (Old Woman), Christopher Howard (Loud Hailer), Halcro Johnston (Farmer), Adrian Beaumont, Alasdair Harvey, Alistair Robins, Allan Hardman, Annette Yeo, Cameron Stewart, Charles Shirvell, Christopher Coleman, Claire Machin, Claudia Bradley, Cliff Brayshaw, Craig Schulman, Danny Coll, David Alder, David Arneil, David Delve, David Malek, David Shannon, Egill Olaffson, Ellen Jackson, Fenton Gray, Gerard Leighton-Duffy, Glenn Carter, Grania Renihan, Gyula Vikidál, Hadrian Delacey, Helen Hobson, Henk Poort, Irene Warren, James Barron, James Head, Jan Ježek, Jeff Leyton, Jerzy Jeszke, Joanne Redman, Jody Crosier, John Barr, John Owen-Jones, Julia Howson, Julia Worsley, Krzysztof Stasierowicz, Kurt Ravn, Linda-Mae Brewer, Lynden Edwards, Mario Frangoulis, Mark Turnbull, Mark White, Martin George, Martin Scott Warden, Matthew Gould, Matthew White, Michael Burgess, Michael Cantwell, Myra Sands, Neil Couperthwaite, Nicholas Pound, Nicola Sloane, Norma Atallah, Paul Baker, Paula Simpson, Peter Ledbury, Phil Cavill, Philip Cox, Rebecca Storm, Rebecca Thornhill, Reinhard Brussmann, Richard Burman, Rob Guest, Robert Marien, Sara West, Sarah Hay, Steve Balsamo, Susie Fenwick, Takeshi Kaga, Tommy Körberg, Tricia Deighton, Øystein Wiik NOTES: Features key performers from the original Broadway and London casts like Colm Wilkinson, Phillip Quast and Lea Salonga. Includes the encore performance featuring 17 Valjeans from various productions. Les Misérables - 25th Anniversary Concert Live At The O2 - October 3, 2010 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Alfie Boe (Jean Valjean), Norm Lewis (Javert), Lea Salonga (Fantine), Katie Hall (Cosette), Nick Jonas (Marius), Samantha Barks (Éponine), Ramin Karimloo (Enjolras), Matt Lucas (Thénardier), Jenny Galloway (Madame Thénardier), Robert Madge (Gavroche), Mia Jenkins (Little Cosette), Earl Carpenter (The Bishop), Hadley Fraser (Grantaire), Jonathan Williams (Combeferre), Owain Williams (Feuilly), Killian Donnelly (Courfeyrac), Alistair Brammer (Jean Prouvaire), Jamie Muscato (Joly), Edward Baruwa (Lesgles), Phil Snowden (Brujon), Stephen Tate (Babet), Tony Timberlake (Claquesous), Keith Burns (Montparnasse), Jeff Nicholson (Factory Foreman), Grainne Renihan (Factory Girl), Valda Aviks (Crone), Cameron Blakely (Bamatabois), Peter Polycarpou (Pimp) Les Misérables - Asia Tour - June 2, 2016 (Highlights) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Simon Gleeson (Jean Valjean), Earl Carpenter (Javert), Patrice Tipoki (Fantine), Emily Langridge (Cosette), Paul Wilkins (Marius), Kerrie Anne Greenland (Éponine), Chris Durling (Enjolras), David McDonald (Thénardier), Jennifer Butt (Madame Thénardier), Austyn Myers (Gavroche), Rachel Schier (Little Cosette) NOTES: On My Own, Upon These Stones, Bring Him Home and two angles of the same One Day More Les Misérables - Dallas - August 2, 2014 (SJ Bernly's master) FORMAT: VOB (no smalls) (SD) CAST: Nehal Joshi (Jean Valjean), Edward Watts (Javert), Allison Blackwell (Fantine), Dorcas Leung (Cosette), Justin Keyes (Marius), Elizabeth Judd (Éponine), John Campione (Enjolras), Steven Michael Walters (Thénardier), Christia Mantzke (Madame Thénardier) NOTES: A great capture of Dallas Theatre Center’s inventively staged production of Les Miserables. The much-talked about production did not disappoint; the modernized visuals create many new layers to the show, and make you think about events and characters in a whole new way. Nehal, Allison, Justin, and Christia were probably my favorites, but the entire cast is so talented, it’s difficult to choose any as standouts. A very nice capture overall. There are a couple quick dropouts in act one, but no major blackouts. There is one head that can be seen occasionally, but it only blocks a small portion of the stage and only affects the action for about 20-30 seconds of the entire show. It’s filmed in 16:9, with a mix of wides, mediums, and close-ups. The sound is excellent as usual. Includes curtain call and playbill scans. Les Misérables - Duisburg - 1996 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (SD) CAST: Jerzy Jeszke (Jean Valjean), Hardy Rudolz (Javert), Cornelia Drese (Fantine), Deborah Dutcher (Cosette), Felix Martin (Marius), Sanni Luis (Éponine), Martin Berger (Enjolras), Tom Zahner (Thénardier), Anne Welte (Madame Thénardier), Willi Welp (The Bishop) Les Misérables - Dutch Revival - Spring, 2008 FORMAT: MP4 (SD) CAST: René van Kooten (Jean Valjean), Wim van den Driessche (Javert), Nurlaila Karim (Fantine), Suzan Seegers (Cosette), Jamai Loman (Marius), Céline Purcell (Éponine), Freek Bartels (Enjolras), Gerben Grimmius (u/s Thénardier), Marjolein Algera (Madame Thénardier) NOTES: Complete show, Amateur capture A, Double dvd Les Misérables - Fifth National Tour - October 5, 2018 (hitmewithyourbethshot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Nick Cartell (Jean Valjean), Josh Davis (Javert), Mary Kate Moore (Fantine), Jillian Butler (Cosette), Joshua Grosso (Marius), Paige Smallwood (Éponine), Matt Shingledecker (Enjolras), J Anthony Crane (Thénardier), Allison Guinn (Madame Thénardier), Sam Middleton (Gavroche), Cate Elefante (u/s Little Cosette), Matt Moisey (Grantaire), Monte J Howell (Combeferre), Tim Quartier (s/w Feuilly), Christopher Viljoen (Courfeyrac), Patrick Rooney (Jean Prouvaire), Gabriel Sidney Brown (Joly), Andrew Maughan (Lesgles), Felipe Barbosa Bombonato (Babet), John Ambrosino (Claquesous), Steve Czarnecki (Factory Foreman), Ashley Dawn Mortensen (Factory Girl), John Ambrosino (Bamatabois) Les Misérables - First Broadway Revival - November 11, 2006 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Victor Hawks (u/s Jean Valjean), Norm Lewis (Javert), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Fantine), Ali Ewoldt (Cosette), Adam Jacobs (Marius), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Éponine), Aaron Lazar (Enjolras), Gary Beach (Thénardier), Jenny Galloway (Madame Thénardier), Jacob Levine (Gavroche), Drew Sarich (Grantaire) NOTES: A nice capture here of Victor as Valjean. The capture is a little on the dark side, but still enjoyable. Les Misérables - First Broadway Revival - February 17, 2007 FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Alexander Gemignani (Jean Valjean), Norm Lewis (Javert), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Fantine), Ali Ewoldt (Cosette), Adam Jacobs (Marius), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Éponine), Drew Sarich (u/s Enjolras), Gary Beach (Thénardier), Jenny Galloway (Madame Thénardier), Jacob Levine (Gavroche) NOTES: A really nice video of the first broadway revival. Widescreen. Cleaned up nicely in remastering. And it has Sarich. Les Misérables - First Broadway Revival - May 12, 2007 (Matinee) (jstarz's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Alexander Gemignani (Jean Valjean), Drew Sarich (u/s Javert), Lea Salonga (Fantine), Ali Ewoldt (Cosette), Adam Jacobs (Marius), Mandy Bruno (Éponine), Max von Essen (Enjolras), Gary Beach (Thénardier), Ann Harada (Madame Thénardier), Stephen Trafton (u/s Grantaire) NOTES: Filmed in widescreen (though encoded in 4:3, so there are bars at the top and bottom of the screen), this is a nice capture of some of the new cast members. Drew and Ann give great performances in their roles. The second disc also includes the first 15 minutes of the February 24, 2007 Evening show, filmed from the rear right orchestra. Les Misérables - First Broadway Revival - June 1, 2007 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Alexander Gemignani (Jean Valjean), Ben Davis (Javert), Lea Salonga (Fantine), Ali Ewoldt (Cosette), Adam Jacobs (Marius), Marissa McGowan (Éponine), Max von Essen (Enjolras), Gary Beach (Thénardier), Ann Harada (Madame Thénardier) Les Misérables - First Broadway Revival - August 24, 2007 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Drew Sarich (Jean Valjean), Robert Hunt (Javert), Nikki Renée Daniels (u/s Fantine), Ali Ewoldt (Cosette), Adam Jacobs (Marius), Megan McGinnis (Éponine), Max von Essen (Enjolras), Chip Zien (Thénardier), Becca Ayers (u/s Madame Thénardier), Brian D'Addario (Gavroche) NOTES: Some nice closeups/mediums. A nice capture of the new cast. Capture can be dark at times, but mostly in the darker scenes. Includes a technical difficulty when the Barricades first come out, the show is stopped and includes the announcement.. A- Les Misérables - Fourth UK & Ireland Tour - January, 2019 (House-Cam's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Killian Donnelly (Jean Valjean), Nic Greenshields (Javert), Katie Hall (Fantine), Bronwen Hanson (Cosette), Harry Apps (Marius), Tegan Bannister (Éponine), Will Richardson (Enjolras), Martin Ball (Thénardier), Sophie-Louise Dann (Madame Thénardier) Les Misérables - Hollywood Bowl - August 9, 2008 FORMAT: WMV (HD) CAST: J Mark McVey (Jean Valjean), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Javert), Melora Hardin (Fantine), Michele Maika (Cosette), John Lloyd Young (Marius), Lea Michele (Éponine), Tom Lowe (Enjolras), Sage Ryan (Gavroche) NOTES: J. Mark McVey, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lea Michele, Melora Hardin, John Lloyd Young, Michele Maika, Michael McCormick, Tom Lowe, Ruth Williamson. Juni's master filmed in widescreen and can be a little shakey at times in tight zooms. Nice to see the audience version compared to the Proshot one. A- Les Misérables - Japan - 1997

FORMAT: video | TRADER'S NOTES: Looking for a replacement link CAST: Yuichiro Yamaguchi (Jean Valjean), Mayo Kawasaki (Javert), Hiromi Iwasaki (Fantine), Yu Hayami (Cosette), Kazukata Ishii (Marius), Minako Honda (Éponine), Kojiro Oka (Enjolras), Yukio Yamagata (Thénardier), Bibari Maeda (Madame Thénardier) NOTES: Yamaguchi’s first of fourteen year as Valjean. Les Misérables - Madrid - 1993 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Pedro Ruy Blas (Jean Valjean), Miguel del Arco (Javert), Gema Castaño (Fantine), Luisa Torres (Cosette), Carlos Marín (Marius), Margarita Marbán (Éponine), Enrique R del Portal (Enjolras), Francisco La Hoz (Thénardier), Connie Philip (Madame Thénardier) Les Misérables - Madrid Revival - July 14, 2011 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Gerónimo Rauch (Jean Valjean), David Ordinas (Javert), Virginia Carmona (Fantine), Talía del Val (Cosette), Guido Balzaretti (Marius), Lydia Fairén (Éponine), Daniel Diges (Enjolras), Enrique R del Portal (Thénardier) NOTES: Multi-Camera proshot Les Misérables - Netherlands - 1991/1992 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: VOB (no smalls) (SD) CAST: Henk Poort (Jean Valjean), Ernst Daniël Smid (Javert), Pia Douwes (Fantine), Marika Lansen (u/s Cosette), Danny de Munk (Marius), Vera Mann (Éponine), Uwe Kröger (u/s Enjolras), Filip Bolluyt (u/s Thénardier), Simone Kleinsma (Madame Thénardier), Maya Hakvoort, Peter de Smet NOTES: This video starts with the Les Mis flag and the last scene is a close-up. Les Misérables - Paris - 1991 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Robert Marien (Jean Valjean), Patrick Rocca (Javert), Marie Zamora (Cosette), Jérôme Pradon (Marius), Stéphanie Martin (Éponine), Julien Combey (Enjolras), Laurent Gendron (Thénardier), Marie-France Roussel (Madame Thénardier) NOTES: Act 1 + finale of act 2. This is 100% NOT Louise Pitre playing Fantine Les Misérables - Second Broadway Revival - March 1, 2014 (Preview) (Highlights) (where is your red schaaaf's master) FORMAT: MOV (HD) CAST: Ramin Karimloo (Jean Valjean), Will Swenson (Javert), Caissie Levy (Fantine), Samantha Hill (Cosette), Andy Mientus (Marius), Nikki M James (Éponine), Kyle Scatliffe (Enjolras), Cliff Saunders (Thénardier), Keala Settle (Madame Thénardier), Gaten Matarazzo (Gavroche) NOTES: First preview. It includes most of the show. Loud excited audience. Blind shot from stage right third row, with no zooms. Keala Settle sprained her ankle at some point between The Robbery and One Day More, resulting in her not being in One Day More and using a cane during Wedding Chorale/Beggars at the Feast. Les Misérables - Second Broadway Revival - March 8, 2014 (Preview) (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT: MP4 (SD) CAST: Ramin Karimloo (Jean Valjean), Will Swenson (Javert), Caissie Levy (Fantine), Samantha Hill (Cosette), Andy Mientus (Marius), Nikki M James (Éponine), Kyle Scatliffe (Enjolras), Cliff Saunders (Thénardier), Keala Settle (Madame Thénardier), Joshua Colley (Gavroche) NOTES: Audience was full of excitement! The last 20 seconds are missing from the very end due to battery issues Les Misérables - Second Broadway Revival - August 21, 2014 (SJ Bernly's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Nathaniel Hackmann (u/s Jean Valjean), Earl Carpenter (Javert), Caissie Levy (Fantine), Samantha Hill (Cosette), Andy Mientus (Marius), Nikki M James (Éponine), Kyle Scatliffe (Enjolras), Cliff Saunders (Thénardier), Keala Settle (Madame Thénardier), Joshua Colley (Gavroche), Mia Sinclair Jenness (Little Cosette), Angeli Negron (Young Éponine), Adam Monley (The Bishop) NOTES: A fantastic capture of this lavish production. It’s refreshing to see different faces in the lead roles, and both Nathaniel and Earl carry the show well. Nathaniel’s vocals are powerful and he has a great rapport with Caissie and Samantha. A lovely capture overall with no obstruction. Look Down is mostly blacked out and there are a couple quick dropouts during The Bishop scene and Lovely Ladies, but the show is otherwise fully intact. There is also some washout in high contrast wide shots. It’s filmed in 16:9, with a mix of wides, mediums, and close-ups. The sound is excellent. Includes curtain call and playbill scans. Les Misérables - Second Broadway Revival - July 1, 2015 FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Ramin Karimloo (Jean Valjean), John Rapson (u/s Javert), Erika Henningsen (Fantine), Melissa Mitchell (u/s Cosette), Chris McCarrell (Marius), Brennyn Lark (Éponine), Wallace Smith (Enjolras), Gavin Lee (Thénardier), Rachel Izen (Madame Thénardier), Sam Chuck (Gavroche), Joe Spieldenner (Grantaire), Weston Wells Olson (s/w Combeferre) NOTES: Act I begins at "The Runaway Cart" and nearly complete Act II. Some obstructions, but audio is quite good. Rapson's last Javert. Les Misérables - Spanish Tour - December 21, 2013 (House-Cam's master)

FORMAT: video CAST: Nicholas Martinelli (Jean Valjean), Ignasi Vidal (Javert), Elena Medina (Fantine), Talía del Val (Cosette), Guido Balzeratti (Marius), Lydia Fairén (Éponine), Manu Pilas (u/s Enjolras), Armando Pita (Thénardier), Eva Digo (Madame Thénardier), Samuel Gomez (Grantaire) Les Misérables - Tecklenburg - 2006 (1) (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (SD) CAST: Chris Murray (Jean Valjean), Marc Clear (Javert), Jana Werner (Fantine), Barbara Köhler (Éponine) NOTES: Different from the other video of this production; multicam proshot. Definitely a different performance too.

Les Misérables - Third UK (25th Anniversary) Tour - June 20, 2010 (thewho's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: John Owen-Jones (Jean Valjean), Earl Carpenter (Javert), Madalena Alberto (Fantine), Katie Hall (Cosette), Luke Kempner (u/s Marius), Rosalind James (Éponine), Jon Robyns (Enjolras), Ashley Artus (Thénardier), Lynne Wilmott (Madame Thénardier), Jordi Clark (Gavroche), David Lawrence (The Bishop), Adam Linstead (Grantaire), David Covey (Combeferre), Owain Williams (Feuilly), Christopher Jacobsen (Courfeyrac), Rhidian Marc (Joly), David Lawrence (Lesgles), Carl Mullaney (Claquesous), Carl Mullaney (Bamatabois) NOTES: Act 1 starts at At The End of the Day, Act 2 starts at Drink with me. okay quality though blurry and shaky throughout. Les Misérables - Third UK (25th Anniversary) Tour - September 17, 2010 (thewho's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Christopher Jacobsen (u/s Jean Valjean), Earl Carpenter (Javert), Madalena Alberto (Fantine), Katie Hall (Cosette), Gareth Gates (Marius), Rosalind James (Éponine), Jon Robyns (Enjolras), Ashley Artus (Thénardier), Lynne Wilmott (Madame Thénardier), David Lawrence (The Bishop), Adam Linstead (Grantaire), David Covey (Combeferre), Owain Williams (Feuilly), Peter Manchester (u/s Courfeyrac), Jamie Muscato (Jean Prouvaire), Rhidian Marc (Joly), David Lawrence (Lesgles), Luke Kempner (Montparnasse) NOTES: Barbican Center Theatre, London. First time in history two same productions of a major musical played in the same city. Les Misérables - West End - May 9, 1987 (House-Cam's master) FORMAT: MP4 (SD) CAST: Martin Smith (u/s Jean Valjean), Clive Carter (Javert), Kathleen Rowe McAllen (Fantine), Jacinta Mulcahy (Cosette), Maurice Clarke (u/s Marius), Jayne Draper (Éponine), Martin George (Enjolras), David Delve (Thénardier), Myra Sand (Madame Thénardier), Cameron Stewart (u/s Grantaire) NOTES: Commonly mistaken as December 28, 1988! Martin Smith was part of the West End cast for 6 months starting December 1986, and the non-circulated first-generation DVD labels the date as 1987/05/09. Les Misérables - West End - December 28, 1991 (House-Cam's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Stig Rossen (Jean Valjean), Paul Leonard (Javert), Jenna Russell (Fantine), Sarah Jane Hassell (Cosette), Daryll Winslow (Marius), Meredith Braun (Éponine), Mike Sterling (u/s Enjolras), David Hampshire (u/s The Bishop), Amanda Dainty (u/s Factory Girl) NOTES: Black and white. Audio is nice and clear. A more rare color version does exist. (Proof: https://youtu.be/KI_KHnLwk_k) Les Misérables - West End - May 6, 2006 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Tim Godwin (u/s Jean Valjean), Cornell John (Javert), Kerry Ellis (Fantine), Julia Möller (Cosette), Hayden Tee (Marius), AJ Callaghan (u/s Éponine), Nolan Dark (u/s Enjolras), Barry James (Thénardier), Tracie Bennett (Madame Thénardier) NOTES: Taper’s comments: Amanda and Nolan are better than the principles and Tim sounds uncannily like JOJ (Home Counties accent not-withstanding). He first understudied in 1999, when JOJ was the principal, which may explain the similarity. About half of the Chain Gang song missing and filming starts in earnest during Valjean on parole. Other parts missed because of ushers include several random one-second cover-ups, part of the wedding and about half of Finale. Heads in the way sometimes block the action on the lower right of the stage, but they are shot around well. Vantage point provides some interesting views such as of Fantine during Lovely Ladies. Wonderful performances from the entire cast but especially then soon-to-be-Elphaba Kerry Ellis. Les Misérables - West End - September 19, 2013 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Daniel Koek (Jean Valjean), James Gant (u/s Javert), Na-Young Jeon (Fantine), Samantha Dorsey (Cosette), Rob Houchen (Marius), Carrie Hope Fletcher (Éponine), Anton Zetterholm (Enjolras), Cameron Blakely (Thénardier), Wendy Ferguson (Madame Thénardier), Ilan Galkoff (Gavroche), Caoimhe Judd (Little Cosette) Les Misérables - West End - June 14, 2014 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Daniel Koek (Jean Valjean), Tam Mutu (Javert), Na-Young Jeon (Fantine), Samantha Dorsey (Cosette), Dougie Carter (Marius), Carrie Hope Fletcher (Éponine), Anton Zetterholm (Enjolras), Cameron Blakely (Thénardier), Wendy Ferguson (Madame Thénardier), Carl Mullaney (Grantaire) NOTES: Final performance of the 2013/14 cast Les Misérables - West End - July 9, 2015 (Highlights) (musicalmania123's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Peter Lockyer (Jean Valjean), Jeremy Secomb (Javert), Rachelle Ann Go (Fantine), Zoe Doano (Cosette), Rob Houchen (Marius), Carrie Hope Fletcher (Éponine), Bradley Jaden (Enjolras), Phil Daniels (Thénardier), Katy Secombe (Madame Thénardier) NOTES: Highlights only. Most of Act 1 and first 20 minutes of Act 2. Les Misérables - West End - May, 2011 FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Jonathan Williams (u/s Jean Valjean), Norm Lewis (Javert), Rebecca Seale (Fantine), AJ Callaghan (u/s Cosette), Gareth Gates (Marius), Samantha Barks (Éponine), Killian Donnelly (Enjolras), Martin Ball (Thénardier), Katy Secombe (Madame Thénardier) Les Misérables - West End - Spring, 2013 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Chris Holland (u/s Jean Valjean), Tam Mutu (Javert), AJ Callaghan (u/s Fantine), Samantha Dorsey (Cosette), Jamie Ward (Marius), Danielle Hope (Éponine), Christopher Jacobsen (Enjolras), Cameron Blakely (Thénardier), Vicky Entwistle (Madame Thénardier) NOTES: Please make sure your copy isn't September 19, 2013!

#lesmis

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richincolor · 4 years

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New Releases

Happy early book birthday to a whole slew of YA books out this week: The Magic Fish, This is All Your Fault, Charming as a Verb, and more!

Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe

Henri “Halti” Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone. He is a star debater and popular student at the prestigious FATE academy, the dutiful first-generation Haitian son, and the trusted dog walker for his wealthy New York City neighbors. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University.

There is only one person who seems immune to Henri’s charms: his “intense” classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy. When she uncovers Henri’s less-than-honest dog-walking scheme, she blackmails him into helping her change her image at school. Henri agrees, seeing a potential upside for himself.

Soon what started as a mutual hustle turns into something more surprising than either of them ever bargained for. . . .

This is a sharply funny and insightful novel about the countless hustles we have to keep from doing the hardest thing: being ourselves. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Come On In Edited by Adi Alsaid

This exceptional and powerful anthology explores the joys, heartbreaks and triumphs of immigration, with stories by bestselling and beloved YA authors who are themselves immigrants and the children of immigrants.

WELCOME

From some of the most exciting bestselling and up-and-coming YA authors writing today…journey from Ecuador to New York City and Argentina to Utah, from Australia to Harlem and India to New Jersey, from Fiji, America, Mexico and more… Come On In. With characters who face random traffic stops, TSA detention, customs anxiety, and the daunting and inspiring journey to new lands, who camp with their extended families, dance at weddings, keep diaries, teach ESL, give up their rooms for displaced family, decide their own answer to the question “where are you from?” and so much more, Come On In illuminates fifteen of the myriad facets of the immigrant experience.

Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

Gracie sees a chance of fitting in at her South Carolina private school, until a “white trash”-themed Halloween party has her steering clear of the rich kids. Samuel’s Tejano family has both stood up to oppression and been a source of it, but now he’s ready to own his true sexual identity. A Puerto Rican teen in Utah discovers that being a rodeo queen means embracing her heritage, not shedding it. . . .

For most of America’s history, rural people and culture have been casually mocked, stereotyped, and, in general, deeply misunderstood. Now an array of short stories, poetry, graphic short stories, and personal essays, along with anecdotes from the authors’ real lives, dives deep into the complexity and diversity of rural America and the people who call it home. Fifteen extraordinary authors – diverse in ethnic background, sexual orientation, geographic location, and socioeconomic status – explore the challenges, beauty, and nuances of growing up in rural America. From a mountain town in New Mexico to the gorges of New York to the arctic tundra of Alaska, you’ll find yourself visiting parts of this country you might not know existed – and meet characters whose lives might be surprisingly similar to your own. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel by Jason Reynolds illustrations by Danica Novgorodoff

Jason Reynolds’s Newbery Honor, Printz Honor, and Coretta Scott King Honor–winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novel Long Way Down is now a gripping, galvanizing graphic novel, with haunting artwork by Danica Novgorodoff.

This is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi

Rinn Olivera is finally going to tell her longtime crush AJ that she’s in love with him.

Daniella Korres writes poetry for her own account, but nobody knows it’s her.

Imogen Azar is just trying to make it through the day.

When Rinn, Daniella, and Imogen clock into work at Wild Nights Bookstore on the first day of summer, they’re expecting the hours to drift by the way they always do. Instead, they have to deal with the news that the bookstore is closing. Before the day is out, there’ll be shaved heads, a diva author, and a very large shipment of Air Jordans to contend with.

And it will take all three of them working together if they have any chance to save Wild Nights Bookstore. –– Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron

In the Jim Crow South, white supremacy reigns and tensions are high. But Evalene Deschamps has other things to worry about. She has two little sisters to look after, an overworked single mother, and a longtime crush who is finally making a move.

On top of all that, Evvie’s magic abilities are growing stronger by the day. Her family calls it jubilation—a gift passed down from generations of black women since the time of slavery. And as Evvie’s talents waken, something dark comes loose and threatens to resurface…

And when the demons of Evvie’s past finally shake free, she must embrace her mighty lineage, and summon the power that lies within her. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

Real life isn’t a fairytale.

But Tiến still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It’s hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tiến, he doesn’t even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he’s going through?

Is there a way to tell them he’s gay?

A beautifully illustrated story by Trung Le Nguyen that follows a young boy as he tries to navigate life through fairytales, an instant classic that shows us how we are all connected. The Magic Fish tackles tough subjects in a way that accessible with readers of all ages, and teaches us that no matter what—we can all have our own happy endings. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

#new releases #this is all your fault #the magic fish #charming as a verb #ya lit

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wattpad-aesthetic · 4 years

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all my layouts:

singers:

ariana grande: ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ;

lady gaga: ♡ ;

hailee steinfeld: ♡ ;

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leigh-anne pinnock : ♡ ;

camila cabello: ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ;

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miley cyrus: ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ;

ava max: ♡ ; ♡ ;

maggie lindemann: ♡ ; ♡ ;

olivia rodrigo: ♡ ; ♡ ;

blackpink (ot4): ♡ ;

jennie (blackpink): ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ;

rosé (blackpink): ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ;

rosé (blackpink): ♡ (twitter layout)

lisa (blackpink): ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ;

jisoo (blackpink): ♡ ;

jeon somi: ♡ ; ♡ ;

eunchae (le sserafim): ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ;

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madison beer: ♡ ;

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

actress/actor:

lindsey morgan: ♡ ;

cate blanchett: ♡ ; ♡ ;

anne hathaway: ♡ ;

mae whitman: ♡ ;

lana condor: ♡ ;

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sarah paulson: ♡ ;

jenna ortega: ♡ ;

rdj: ♡ ;

seo yeji: ♡ ; ♡ ;

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

icons:

marilyn monroe: ♡ ;

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

characters:

carly jones: ♡ ;

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emily (emily in paris): ♡ ;

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wanda maximoff: ♡ ; ♡ ; ♡ ;

supergirl: ♡ ;

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doctor dolittle: ♡ ;

rick grimes: ♡ ;

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luke + reggie (julie and the phantoms): ♡ ;

niragi (alice in bordeland): ♡ ;

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severus snape: ♡ ; ♡ ;

tom riddle: ♡ ;

narcissa malfoy: ♡ ;

luna lovegood: ♡ ; ♡ ;

choi nam-ra (all of us are dead): ♡ ;

rita castillo (why women kill): ♡ ;

alice (batwoman): ♡ ;

logan howlett: ♡ ; ♡ ;

coraline (animation movie): ♡ ;

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

video games characters:

ada wong: ♡ ;

lady dimitrescu: ♡ ;

bela dimitrescu: ♡ ; ♡ ;

#layouts #headers #icons #wattpad #wattpad pack

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tlbodine · 4 years

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A Brief History of the Slasher

Is there a more iconic face for the horror genre than the knife-wielding psychopath? Many would say no. Although the tried-and-true slasher formula is so played out as to be a cliche -- and fresh examples played straight are tough to come by in the modern age -- for many, slasher films are the heart and soul of horror movies.

How did that happen? What do they say about us on a cultural level? And where should you start when it comes to a formal study of the topic? Let’s delve deep and find out!

Murder and mayhem are evergreen topics of fascination for humans, and we’ve been telling stories about murderers since Cain killed Abel. But these stories didn’t become what we would formally call “slashers” until the 1970s.

So what is a slasher?

Slasher films are defined by a few shared characteristics:

A high body count (multiple victims)

Murders are shown on-screen and often from the POV of the killer

The murders happen one by one, incorporating pursuit, struggle, and finally death

The killer may have a supernatural influence, but it will have the physical appearance of a human (and may often simply be a human)

In almost every instance, the killer is portrayed as being insane or rendered deeply troubled by a past trauma which had triggered the murderous impulse. The killer is frequently dehumanized, and the victims are usually young.

Slashers often adhere to their own sort of moral logic, more closely resembling Medieval morality plays than perhaps any other modern genre of storytelling. By utilizing a cast of archetypes, various virtues and flaws can be represented among the victims.

These traits are what differentiate slashers from other murder-focused horror, thriller and mystery tales.

Consider, for example, the narrative structure of an Agatha Christie murder mystery like And Then There Were None. In this book, a group of strangers are brought under mysterious circumstances to a remote location, where they are systematically murdered as an act of vengeance. In concept, this seems like it should be a slasher -- but its execution is quite different. In the book, the murders are a backdrop; the characters (and reader) are confronted with bodies rather than scenes of overt violence.

The First Slasher

In 1974, two films came out that gave birth to the modern slasher.

The first, released in October, was Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The second, released in the USA in December of that year, was Bob Clark’s Black Christmas.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre tells the story of a group of friends who run afoul of a family of cannibals living in a rural farmhouse. Black Christmas is about the systemic murder of sorority girls during Christmas break. And both left an indelible mark on horror history.

It’s important to put some context on the world these films were created in:

The recent dissolution of the Hays production code meant that movies could be more graphically violent and morally depraved than ever before

The Vietnam war was raging, and for the first time in history, televised footage of the battle was piped into living rooms on the evening news

Multiple serial killers were active in the country, and their exploits also graced the daily newspapers and nightly news to sow terror

Richard Nixon’s presidency was marked by an as-then unprecedented level of corruption and scandal

Gender politics provided both sexual freedom and career ambitions to a generation of women, and the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade case legalizing abortions played a massive role in both gender relations and the way we would think about life and bodily autonomy.

The 1970s provided, in other words, a perfect storm of circumstances that collided to give birth to slashers, and neither Hooper nor Clark are shy about citing these as their inspiration. Texas Chainsaw was billed in theaters as a true story as an act of political defiance against newscasts that spread misinformation; Black Christmas is at its heart a film about abortion and a woman’s right to leave an abusive relationship. They were undeniably films of their time.

Texas Chainsaw inspired a wave of sensationalist "ripped from the headlines" murder movies loosely based on real killers, such as Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (1977), which was based on the Sawney Bean legend or Charles B. Pierce's The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), which was based on the Texarkana Phantom Killer.

And Black Christmas, of course, served as the thematic springboard for a little film called Halloween.

Halloween and the Final Girl

In 1978, a little-known small-time director named John Carpenter was hired to make a movie with the working title, The Babysitter Murders. It would be about -- you guessed it -- babysitters who got murdered. The idea was later adapted to take place on Halloween, likely for commercial reasons: People like watching scary movies in October, so setting a film on Halloween night would surely help with popularity.

John Carpenter certainly did not wholly plagiarize Black Christmas with his holiday-themed slasher, but the earlier film's influence is visible all the same -- from a shared lineage of "the call is coming from inside the house" babysitter folk legend, to the perspective work on establishing shots of the house and the ambiguously bleak ending.

But compared to Black Christmas, Halloween is horror with its edges filed down so it'll be easier to swallow. Both films have predominately female casts, but the sorority girls in Black Christmas have sexual agency and outspoken opinions that are nowhere to be found in Carpenter's work. In fact, Halloween so aggressively fails the Bechdel Test that it seems to do so on purpose -- there is not a single scene with two girls where they are not talking about a boy. And while Black Christmas deals with complex topics like abortion, domestic violence, and the unreliability of the police, Halloween simplifies its formula down to the utterly basic: Michael Myers kills because he is pure evil, and that is simply what evil does.

Despite its flaws -- or perhaps because of them -- Halloween became an immediate and enormous hit. It also introduced several clever storytelling techniques that were crucial to the advancement and development of the slasher genre:

The introduction of a Final Girl, the lone survivor who holds out against the onslaught of terror. (Carpenter denies that Laurie Strode’s virginal innocence has anything to do with her survival, but “final girl as virgin” would persist as a trope for a very long time)

A masked killer. Although we’d seen masked murders in many films before (I’ve talked in the past about the trope of the mask-wearing murderer, and the way it is both thematically and logistically useful in storytelling: https://tlbodine.tumblr.com/post/189658195609/the-masked-knife-wielding-psycho), the “look” of Michael Myers is so iconic that it inspired a need for future killers to have a similarly thoughtful design, decking them out almost like comic book superheroes.

Franchising opportunities. Although earlier movies had spawned sequels, Halloween exploded as a franchise thanks in large part to the iconic design and the simplistic good-vs-evil storytelling formula. Future slashers would latch onto this killer-centric franchise formula for over a decade.

Halloween became the most profitable independent film, holding the record for 16 years, which goes to show just how successful the formula truly was.

The Golden Age of Slashers

As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, the advent of VHS and Betamax formats created a market for low-budget straight-to-video films. Because slashers are so cheap to make (you don't need any famous actors, can film entirely in one location, and practical effects can be as simple as a few gallons of stage blood), they were ideal candidates for the job. On the big screen, horror was enjoying an unusually high level of popularity, a proven money-maker, simultaneously commercial and subversive in a decade of opulence and social conservativism.

So onto that stage walks Sean S. Cunningham's gory slasher, Friday the 13th, where a group of teenage camp counselors are brutally murdered, frequently wile having sex. The film spawned a widely successful franchise, which swiftly began borrowing elements of Halloween -- a silent and indestructible masked killer, a signature musical score -- to become a pop culture mainstay. The 1983 Robert Hiltzik film, Sleepaway Camp, cashes in on the "death to camp counselor" plot in the same way that Fred Walton's When a Stranger Calls touched on babysitter murders in 1979.

A whole slew of less-successful films would follow, most of them lost to the history books but still living in dollar-bin DVD collections. Some, like Prom Night and My Bloody Valentine, would earn a cult following. One noteworthy cult favorite is Slumber Party Massacre, directed and written by women (Amy Holden Jones and Rita Mae Brown, respectively), which turns some slasher tropes in their head.

A glut of films, most of them instantly forgettable, led to a decline in slasher popularity -- until Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984.

Cracking Wise and Slashing Teens

A Nightmare on Elm Street introduces Freddy Krueger, a different sort of horror villain than audiences had seen before. Krueger is a supernatural killer who stalks his victims in their dreams, bringing a fresh supernatural twist to the slasher genre. And, unlike Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, Freddy is anything but silent. Thanks in part to the charisma of lead actor Robert Englund, the character's darkly comedic personality became utterly riveting.

Plenty of dream-related horrors would follow, none of which would make much of a splash. But one film franchise did latch on to a similar formula: Child's Play, directed by Tom Holland in 1988, introduced another supernatural wisecracking killer in the form of Chucky, a murderous doll possessed by the soul of as serial killer.

These major film franchises -- Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Child’s Play -- would go on to spawn numerous sequels and become such a thoroughly pervasive part of pop culture that you can find their likeness everywhere. But despite the many imitators, there was little in the way of innovation in the genre until the mid 90s.

Do You Like Scary Movies?

Wes Craven toyed with the idea of self-referential horror in New Nightmare, a Freddy Krueger film that was itself a meta-analysis of Freddy Krueger films. But he would revisit the idea with far greater success in 1996 with Scream.

Created by horror lovers, for horror lovers, Scream is designed to be the most quintessential slasher film ever created. Relying on a hip, young cast to draw in a fresh audience, Scream works by combining nostalgia, meta-analysis, humor, and buckets of blood into a single film. The opening scene is a direct homage to When a Stranger Calls, and the masked killer is a deliberate call-back to earlier films.

Unsurprisingly, Scream was a huge hit that ushered in a brief but furious wave of slashers, like the star-studded I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Urban Legend (1998), and Scream itself had several sequels and even a TV series. But the 1990s were something of a dark era for the slasher film, seeing the release of some spectacularly lackluster franchise installments. One exception to that was the fan-favorite Freddy vs Jason, which pits the two killers against one another -- a delightful premise, but one that had strayed far from the slasher roots.

Modern Slasher Films

The 1990s slasher reboot was short-lived and mostly forgettable, and by the 2000s filmmakers had mostly turned away from the genre entirely, except for a slew of nostalgia cash-in reboots of every popular franchise.

The one exception was meta-analysis -- building on Scream, these films began to deconstruct the genre in a way that would combine horror, humor, and criticism.

The Final Girls (2015), directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, takes this sort of meta approach. The Cabin in the Woods (2012), directed by Drew Goddard but bearing the fingerprints of co-writer and producer Joss Whedon, takes it to even further excess, providing both a thorough deconstruction of horror gropes and an entirely new mythos to give it a fresh framework.

But the problem with deconstructions is that, once a few truly successful ones have been made, it becomes essentially impossible to create the original thing in earnest anymore. And so the slasher as a sub-genre has reached its bloody end.

Where Did All The Slashers Go?

With dozens of slashers spanning more than 40 years of film history, it’s pretty hard to create something new with the format. Which is not to say that people aren’t still making them -- they are -- but there is less room to innovate within the notoriously rigid and simplistic slasher formula.

Culturally, we’ve moved on a lot from the 1970s as well. For one, serial killers are no longer the threat they once were. Babysitters and camp counselors are rarely teenagers, either -- in fact, teens aren’t leaving the house as much in general. And a rise in information technology, communications and surveillance has made it harder to isolate victims and commit murders over a long period of time -- our mass murders tend to happen in shooting sprees instead these days. For another, that same information technology has made us extremely jaded and hard to impress with gore.

The 2000s delivered violence at levels utterly beyond anything in history. The rise of the so-called torture porn -- a genre that dispenses with the stalking and killing of multiple victims in favor of lingering on the painful mutilation of a small handful -- delivered gore unlike any seen in earlier slashers. Cable television series like The Walking Dead deliver graphic violence with unprecedented regularity -- you no longer need to pick up a “video nasty” to indulge in some gruesome gore.

And, well, unfortunately, the internet has made it easier than ever to see real violence, from terrorist beheading videos to medical gore to live-streamed murders.

Gore for gore’s sake is simply not as compelling in the 21st century, and that takes away much of the slasher’s appeal.

Slashers have had to morph and adapt to find a foothold for survival. In the 2000s, we saw their metamorphosis in real time: From torture porn to home invasion to a cornucopia of more innovative horrors dwelling on fears both large and small.

We’ve probably seen the last of masked knife-wielding, babysitter-killing psychos...but the horror genre is richer for it.

#horror movies #slahsers #slasher films #horror #horror analysis

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