Search the Community

This one should be in the conversation in the future for any lists made about horror, or spiritually significant horror. It is definitely about the mystery in one’s faith. Maybe a problem (?) with the film would be that it can’t wrap up the mystery — or, if it does, it certainly tends to sway toward the struggle of that mystery rather than any celebration of it. On Facebook, I wrote: A24 is really a special company. It is getting to a point where its horror roster is so good that it deserves its own category. Like, subcategories in horror are: New French Extremity, 70s slashers & original final girls, Giallo, etc. — and now there’s A24. So after waiting two years, I just saw Saint Maud. And you can place it right at the top of the list with the best A24 films — titles like The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Hereditary, Midsommar, Climax, and the VVitch. Yes, it was worth the wait. Yes, it is a stronger, albeit shorter film. (I wish it were a tad longer.) Its religious themes remind me of Breaking the Waves, Take Shelter and Lourdes, and these are some of my all-time favorites. (And they’re not even horror.)

I saw this full-length stop motion animation last week, and it won’t leave my mind. I will probably track down the DVD when I can and watch it again, and I have a feeling it will be one of those films I watch quite a few times. As I understand it, much like Saint Maud, which I was talking about here a few days ago, the film for whatever reason sat for years without distribution. Maybe the big whigs at the top have grown tired of fighting for these artier films. Hard to say. “Artier” is the word to say, though. And while this thing screams “foreign art house production!” it also blew my mind as one of the most unique films I have seen in a long, long time. And the fact that it took years to make The Wolf House already reminds me of productions like Eraserhead, where the length of time in the artistic community building a product is almost as important as whatever end result you get. Still, this thing is a trip. Check out this quip from the reviewer of Ebert’s page. (This is hilarious)- “Such a ruthlessly claustrophobic horror show will surely be the worst possible programming for many viewers currently in quarantine, yet there is a certain breed of genre-loving cinephile that will not only embrace this picture wholeheartedly, but view it multiple times, preferably under the influence of cannabis. You know who you are, and I have no doubt the wolf does too.” I’m not going to try to describe the look of this film. Here. Check it out when you can.

In this clever production, New Orleans is the exhilarating setting for three short horror tales. And I do mean short, each is about 15 minutes--which means this anthology series can be a quick break from coronavirus news. The first story, Grace, is shot mostly in black and white, creating a classic Twilight Zone appeal. A motherless little girl is verbally abused by a Jesus-spouting aunt. With paper and crayons, helped by a ballerina music box, the child takes her revenge—an abrupt change to murky color shows the hellish prison in which the nasty woman finds herself. In Pillowshop, a man with insomnia finally gets a full night’s sleep thanks to an herbal pillow made by an old elfin-like man who seems to have escaped from Harry Potter. Alas, the dreams the man has turn into nightmares that also disturb his wife. Scary shades of The Shining here. This story is adults only, an odd choice, frankly, which limits the audience for the series. In Give Man, a musician craving money, makes a pact with the devil. Unfortunately, regardless of the soul music the newly rich man finds everywhere, he arrogantly dismisses the warning, “The sins of the father must be paid by the son.” He also disregards what the characters in the previous two scenes learned--never trust a man driving a cab with big red dice hanging on the rearview mirror. Except for the adults-only second story, my only other complaint about Soul City is that the stories are too short—they promise horror but deliver only angst .Cinema horror needs time for characters to face their demons and go through the scary steps they must take to either overcome those demons or be vanquished. I’d love to see these filmmakers make a full-length horror film. The series is directed by Coodie and Chike, a team who earned its stripes in edgy, adventurous music videos. Stories are written or co-written by Renso Amiriz. Technical crafts, especially cinematography and music, are excellent. Industry professionals looking for relatively undiscovered black talent will find a treasure trove in these stories because all actors, young and old, male and female, are worthy of roles in big-budget feature films.. Soul City premiers on April 30, 2020, and is available to stream on Topic, the new streaming service from First Look Media that presents entertainment from around the world. SeeTopic.com.

From the mind of half of Key and Peele--kind of a cross between The Twilight Zone, Key and Peele, and The Stepford Wives: IMDB link. As various sites are pointing out, the turn to horror isn't exactly unexpected [NSFW]:

Obligatory note about having made an effort to find a better place to put this. Following Wes Craven's death last Wednesday, I decided to review A Nightmare on Elm Street for my weekly Crux column. It was more interesting to write about than I expected. (On a side note, I did find it amusing to be reviewing a bloody horror film — a genre for which I have no affinity — one week after finishing my first year at Crux with a more personal piece on limiting one's exposure to movie violence! But it's a noteworthy film, and Craven died when he died, and the news cycle is what it is, so…

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-great-horror-films-21st-century The only two of these that I've seen are Session 9 and The Descent, but both of these are legit greats in my book, so I'm curious about the rest. Are there any fans of any of the rest of these here at A&F? Here's the list for the click-averse: Session 9 (2001) May (2002) The Descent (2005) Bug (2006) Inside (2007) Amer (2009) The House of the Devil (2009) The Loved Ones (2009) We Are What We Are (2010) Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

I can't see any posts on the forum for Peter Strickland - either for this film or his debut, Katalin Varga. Has no-one seen his work? Apparently he made his first film with a bequest from his uncle - an interesting story which is detailed here: http://www.guardian....-film-interview Berberian Sound Studio is the story of a foley artist from England (played by Toby Jones) who is hired to work on an Italian giallo film, and is deeply traumatised by the experience. A rather effective conceit in the film is that the audience never sees the horror film he's working on, and can only go by his reactions and also the sound effects he creates. Vegetables have never been so gruesome! Anyway, here's a rave review from the Guardian: http://www.guardian....d-studio-review and one from the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph...dio-review.html And here's a trailer: Anyone interested?