#marrowbone film | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mossrotts · 2 years

Text

thoughts on some recent horrors i've watched (some with friends and some alone), each one will have the title bolded if you want to skip to any you're interested in/want opinions on. Includes The Deep House, Marrowbone, Spell, Candyman, They/Them, and X:

The Deep House (2021): Overall, lackluster in a lot of areas, particularly the writing. I don't feel like every plot has to be or have something never seen before to be interesting, but something about The Deep House's plot was so bland and reused. Acting and cinematography itself, though not phenomenal, were forgettable. Characters, eh. All pretty milquetoast, with the exception of the setting. The setting was something I don't think I've seen before (to the point that I had to look up how it was filmed) and had a lot of innate potential of horror and I admire the attempt to blend survival tension with supernatural horror!

You have your usual self focused male partner who can't put down a camera for some reason and his more sensitive female partner, who is the main character. He likes urban exploring and even though he doesn't believe in the supernatural, likes that the creepy ups his viewership. He's heard of a super secluded ghost town in France that was flooded and is now at the bottom of a lake which he's going to explore, despite the fact that our MC doesn't seem as comfortable or experienced with scuba diving. They get there, find out that the lake is now a tourist spot and everything below is basically rubble, but of course a creepy guide says oh i know of a place that's super secluded and with a perfectly preserved house at another part of the lake. so the guide takes them there and the rest and majority of the movie then takes place underwater, inside a house where everything is lit by eerie lighting and floats as though each object were a ghost in itself.

Even though the plot's meh from that point, it's neat to know that a lot of the movie was filmed in a studio in Belgium that specializes in underwater scenes (it's been a bit since i read about this now, but i think i saw that it's the largest water set in the world?) and that they couldn't just leave the house underwater or it'd be ruined so they'd have to painstakingly lower rooms of the house underwater then remove it. There was also a lot of technical issues with the equipment to the point that one of the directors noted that it felt like learning how to film for the first time again. Also, to achieve some of the greenish tinge to the water they'd do things like mix mashed brussel sprouts up in it. I just liked that tidbit.

Would I recommend watching it? I don't know. I watched this one alone and would love to talk about it with someone, especially to see if they have same or differing opinions about the plot. But I really do think it was bland there. Visually though? Very interesting. Loved the setting a lot and would love to see something more done with it. I think I could only recommend it on that; that the setting is unique and it's fascinating to watch and try to figure out how they set it up.

Marrowbone (2017): I really liked this one, but also it has a lot of things that I personally enjoy that have nothing to do with like, technical skill or conception or anything like that. It's also a movie pretty short on scary moments (though the few moments it has them it builds the tension beautifully!) which I feel like some horror fans might not enjoy, but i feel like that fits the very gothic theme of it. It brings to mind American gothics like Nathaniel Hawthorne's work or We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, or similarities to more modern gothics like The Orphanage (2007) (which I just found out this moment, apparently the screenwriter for the Orphanage wrote and directed Marrowbone, so that makes sense!). And idk, there's a different vibe to me of these examples than like, other types of horror, cause it feels like they showcase that Tragedy and Sorrow can be a type of horror just as much as the more physical things that scare us. And maybe...the ghost haunting the house was just us and our expectations that we drag behind us like a corpse.

Anyway, it's about a family that runs away from what is a presumably an awful and abusive father and begin living in the mother's now rundown childhood home. Unfortunately, she gets sick and she dies she asks the eldest child to keep him and his siblings together and to stay hidden until he comes of age so that way they're not separated (or, though not stated, forced to confront their father). Easier said than done, of course, as after their mother's death they become accosted by a lawyer, haunted by a ghost, haunted by something their abusive father did (and perhaps something they did to get away from him), and isolated from their family's one friend as they try to stay secret.

I feel like I'm a little tired of 'twists' in movies done in a way where the movie is trying so hard to keep it a secret from the audience, and this has some of those, but this focuses a lot on empathy (between the family and their friend in the movie, but between us and the family externally) and other themes and such that it doesn't feel like all their eggs were put in the basket of 'oooh there's a twist!', so it doesn't bug me as much.

And overall, it's just a sad sad film. like, beautiful! and i really liked the ending! and oh my god there was actual sympathy towards a marginalized group that is usually demonized in horror films!!!! but oh god it's sad as a heads up.

Would I recommend it? I would! But even if it's one of my favs and I'm looking forward to watching it again, I don't think think it'll be everyone's favorite. Still a great watch though. Wonderful pacing, fantastic acting, visually appealing (if you're into those 'core' aesthetic things, it's like a cottagecore horror, it's fun), and definitely worth at least one viewing. Also, if you are one of the people who have enjoyed one of the medias I brought up before (i.e. We Have Always Lived in the Castle [i haven't watched the movie yet, so I'm comparing this to the short story] or the Orphanage) you'll probably like this one.

Spell (2020): Interesting movie! This one I feel was very similar to Stephen King's Misery in that it focuses on someone trapped by someone else and the extents someone might go to to keep someone captive. (Though I remember disliking the protag of Misery and I liked Spell's protag quite a bit.) Also I found out after thinking of this comparison that there's a prop in Spell that's a direct reference to Misery. That's fun. There were some things that I really enjoyed (some gore scenes that made me actively gasp, there's an asshole father that even if the protag notes taught him some things is not forgiven) and some things I didn't (other characters feel like they had a strong fleshed out start, but then were later pushed aside and made into 2D cutouts in favor of being what's at stake rather than characters that could make their own decisions. they got very damsel-in-distressed.) Would I recommend it? Yeah, I think! Might have a few cliches and might not be the most deep plot, but it's got great tension throughout and makes for a great popcorn movie. Also has a wide cast of color which is refreshing to see.

-- Candyman (2021): So I have not seen the original Candyman (or sequels before this one). Those I was watching with haven't seen those. I'm familiar with a good portion of Clive Barker's writing, but that's about it. This was kind of a 'movie roulette' and we just ended up playing it, but oh my god? It was a visually beautiful movie that felt like a love letter to Barker and presumably the old Candyman and has directly made me want to check out the older films. Really cool use of visual effects, great pacing and acting, and again just a visual delight. Also, I felt like did a great balance of like... not entirely blaming the slasher for being a slasher (especially if part of a minority group) but still having the slasher be scary. I've been playing a lot of Dead by Daylight and it's something I feel like they try to do in their killer backstories and just... fall short on it pretty often (as well as other horror movies, original Carrie comes to mind where she's both victim and killer but it feels like the balance isn't kept between the two), so it's nice to see how well it was done here.

Movie focuses a lot on the main character, an artist, who starts investigating the Candyman for an art installation but gets pulled in too deep. There were so many poignant themes inter-playing with each other, but I especially liked the ideas of viewpoints (particularly that of a consumer, and how the consumer's viewpoint can change with things outside the thing they're consuming [like finding a piece of art more valuable if they think the artist was suffering outside of it])/if and how tragedy or sensational violence affects that. Would I recommend it? Yes! Absolutely! Particularly if you have an appreciation for slasher films or have enjoyed Jordan Peele's writing elsewhere, but I think there's something for any horror fan. Probably the highest general recommendation I have on here (though that would possibly change if I knew a person's specific interests in horror/what they're looking for). So much going on, but still a tight film with that.

-- They/Them: Hoo boy. We looked up reviews of this film after watching out of curiosity and it was bizarre what straight people thought or expected out of it. I don't know if there was a trailer somewhere that made it seem like this would be more 'comedic', but it seemed like a lot of people thought these gay kids were not funny enough. Which is a bizarre review to constantly see on a horror film. But anyway, follows a few main characters as they are sent to a Christian conversion camp (a legal thing still in many states here✌️) but particularly Jordan, a nonbinary young adult (also a nice thing about this movie: a lot of the 'kids' are college age and it doesn't focus on like sexy or particularly horrific scenes or anything on the younger characters who are there but in the background!) who is immediately faced with the decision to go to the girls' cabin or the boys'. The main counselor tells them to go to the boys' and if it doesn't feel right they'll try something new from there (though this shows the counselor's assumptions that they're ftm and his attempts to misgender them later). The movie then goes on through horrific tactics of conversion (to the point that I was often reminded of Midsommar due to those tactics often being shared with cults) of love bombing, isolation, confusion, control, etc. (There's also possibly the most terrifying scene I've seen in awhile which mimics movies like Friday the 13th and Psycho but in a direct contrast of those, it's of the horror of being outed without your permission.) And it's kind of a wild mix of the horrors bigotry and conversion practices that are real... and the sudden appearance of a not realistic slasher killer who seems to be picking off the counselors. But is that coincidence? Are the kids next? Is the killer one of them? Is it an avenging angel?? I do have some complaints; one is something I mentioned with Marrowbone. I don't particularly like when a movie goes too far to keep a twist secret from its audience. There's a couple of 'red herring' moments that feel like they don't make sense when the killer is revealed. Like it's not implausible, it's just like... why would that person say that? And even though I liked the pacing, writing, and acting for the most part, visually there was nothing particularly of note. Not bad! Just... also not memorable. And lastly, even though we have a cast of characters who are mostly queer, there's some things in representation that I would have liked differently. All the characters are extremely thin/muscular and the one fat character is a background character; complex cause I appreciate younger characters weren't in sexual scenes as mentioned before... but also she doesn't even have a line. Not a single one. Also there's a character who has some things that might be coded as neurodivergent and it's... not in a good way. Would I recommend it? Even despite my complaints, yes! It's the first time I've seen a non-indie film with not only a nonbinary character, but they are the lead. And a really cool character in general! And even though the outing scene I mentioned is horrific, it was amazing to have the trope of someone hiding something (often being queer in some way) being absolutely flipped. There's ways it could be improved, but I hope that supporting this movie gives more movies like it an opportunity to do so in the future. --

X: Another... interesting film? I think I liked it? The plot is that a group of folks go to make a pornographic film in the late 70s in Texas. Due to the taboo nature of this, they rent out a boarding house from an older couple isolated out in the country. (The old couple being in a main house the group going to a guest house nearby on the property)There's tension in the group as sexuality is discussed and explored while they film and try to keep it secret from the old couple (the man seeing firearm happy and his wife senile), but also with the strangeness building until a bloodbath happens. Lots of really unique shots that are both retro and new and even if i'm still trying to figure out if I LIKED it, it was still very interesting to see! It was also a very self-prophesying film in which one of them would explain the porno they were filming in the movie and it would also refer to the horror we were watching. And oh my god, so much foreshadowing. I think there was foreshadowing for each character that died and in really fun not-over-the-top ways. Things I didn't like: There was some racism that felt unnecessary from one dude we already knew was bad and racist towards the only black character of the main group. And I feel like there's a trend that isn't a new thing whatsoever, but it seems like it's happened more often lately where people are like 'oh, it's not cool to have the horror be someone with a mental illness? that's fine. we'll use old people. old people are creepy and scary.' and it's like!! that's still not ok, especially when it feels so prevalent. i feel like this movie isn't as bad as others in that there was more examination of like, the changing of time and 'i was you and you will be me' rather than just young vs. old, but it still wasn't great.

Would I recommend it? A hard.... maybe. I think it depends on how into horror you are. Really interesting to watch and examine if you're very into it. It has a lot of gorey gore if that's something you like in horror! Very unique shots and scenes that are interesting to contemplate and compare to other horrors. I think overall it's a pretty clever movie! But if you aren't looking for those things I don't know if you'd find it enjoyable. (Also, the history of X rated films is pretty interesting! From the trivia section for X on imdb: "The title of the films refers to the X rating used by the MPAA from 1968 to 1990, which indicated that a film was only suitable for an audience aged 16 or older. The idea behind the rating was that, unlike the other certificates, X would not be trademarked, and would allow filmmakers to release their film in theaters without needing to submit it to the MPAA for an age certificate. Notable films that were originally released with an X rating include A Clockwork Orange (1971), Fritz the Cat (1972), Last Tango in Paris (1972), Midnight Cowboy (1969), and Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971). In the '70s, the porn industry would end up exploiting the X rating's lack of a trademark by releasing pornos in theaters with that same rating. Eventually, X became more associated with porn, and more and more theaters started refusing to show films with an X rating, forcing non-pornographic films to be censored to receive an R rating. In 1990, the MPAA discontinued the X rating and replaced it with NC-17. Unlike X, NC-17 was trademarked and could not be self-applied, but it still meant that most theaters would not show films with the rating, resulting in censorship, once again.")

#long post #horror films #the deep house #spell #spell (2020)#marrowbone #Candybone #They/Them #they/them movie #x #x movie #also they/them (said they slash them outloud) is such a fun title

46 notes · View notes