Antebellum

This is currently streaming on Hulu.

Janelle Monàe stars in this movie, and does a really excellent job. Slavery is a difficult subject to deal with effectively, and I think it’s handled well in terms of the horrific nature of it. There’s no candy coating.

It’s hard to get too much into what it’s about without giving it away. It’s hard to watch some of it, and even more terrible that the things portrayed (there is violence and abuse, both physical and sexual) happened on a regular basis—it’s not as if there were isolated incidents of slaves being mistreated.

The film is timely, well-acted, and well-written. I think, unfortunately, that a lot of people who need to see it probably won’t. I recommend it, but do be aware that there is a lot of violence against Black people—part of the theme is that not a lot has changed.

I’m reading a book, Darkly, about Black history and the role of slavery and Black oppression in the American Gothic novel, by Leila Taylor, I recommend that as well.

La Révolution

This is a French series with an alternative take on the French Revolution. I am not sure if there is more than one season, but the first season is available on Netflix. The season ends in a spot that leaves the way open for another season, so if there is one, I really hope Netflix gets it.

Also, as an aside, the music (by Saycet) is really good.

There are two perspectives; one is a young noblewoman and her family, and the second is a brilliant doctor working in a prison. They are connected by the rebels who are trying to overthrow the aristocracy.

I don’t want to give too much away, but while it doesn’t happen in this season, the invention of the guillotine is hinted at, with a much different reason for use than in the actual revolution.

How is this horror, you might ask. There is a disease overtaking the aristocracy with some very interesting and dangerous effects.

I highly recommend this series. The visuals, the music, the costuming, not to mention the acting, are all very good. It’s well worth checking out.

The Devil Below

Or, to put it more accurately, Devil, get thee behind me. This movie takes all the superficial tropes of a “science” team with the tough leader of the expedition and does absolutely nothing with them. There is no character development (a couple of “this is why I am the way I am” reveals—nothing unexpected), a ludicrous plot that is completely predictable, and hey, the black guy doesn’t die first, he dies second (only he doesn’t actually die then, he dies later…yeah, it’s a little weird). Just know that everybody dies except the expedition leader, and you’ve got it.

I will say, though, that this is the first movie I have seen an alien creature as a gondolier, but that’s not worth watching the movie over.

This is one of those, “I watched this so you don’t have to” movies.

The Amusement Park

This is streaming on Shudder right now. It’s a 1973 George Romero public service announcement, commissioned by the Lutheran Service Society who expected a film on aging and how to help the elderly. The may not have liked what they got, but Romero definitely delivered a movie about the discrimination, extortion, loneliness, and isolation the elderly face. The Lutherans weren’t pleased with the result, and the film would have been lost to obscurity save for the efforts of Indie Film associations, who remastered the film from the original 16mm.

An older gentleman in a white suit decides to leave a sterile white room to see what is outside, despite being warned by a man who is disheveled, bearing bandages, and with bleeding cuts on his face, that there’s nothing out there.

It takes place in an amusement park, where everything is geared toward the young. In a horrifying collection of events, Romero goes through all the different ways the elderly are taken advantage of, dismissed, ignored, warehoused, and targeted. It’s hard to explain without giving anything away, but suffice it to say that it’s a grim picture of how the elderly try to exist in a society that no longer feels they are important

The most horrifying thing about this is that is was made in 1973, and it’s still appallingly on target in 2021. It’s definitely worth watching. The Lutherans may not have gotten what they wanted, but it was what they needed, despite the fact they didn’t know it at the time.

<a href=”URL”> https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-amusement-park-2020 </a>

Betaal

I am normally not a huge zombie fan, but this series is unique and packs a punch. The special effects for the eyes are just creepy.

There are several things at play here that work really well—the zombies are of old British soldiers, from when Britain was colonizing India. The second is the Baaz Squad, a group of elite military personnel who are deployed to get rid of indigenous groups who are opposed to builders and contractors (the third group) who are solely interested in the monetary value of destroying old sites to make way for new construction. The contractors claim these people are terrorists, thus the need for the military intervention.

The contractors have been warned that something lives in the tunnel that they want to open, something that shouldn’t be woken up.

There are levels of corruption that are as horrifying as the zombies, and there are similarities that could be drawn between the zombies lust for human flesh and the contrators’ lust for money. The possession by the spirit of General Lyndedoch of the current military is eerie and adds a nice level of how the military hasn’t changed in all that time, whether the forces are British or Indian. They are both oppressors.

It’s one of those, “who are really the most monstrous” kind of shows—the zombies or the military, or the contractors. It covers a hundred years of the horrors of colonialism, to the atrocities committed by the military, to the undying greed of the men who want progress at any cost to line their own pockets.

It covers a fairly short period of time—the time leading up to the military deployment of the Baaz Squad through the night and into the next morning.

The ending is a great twist, so I’m not going to say anything about it. There are some really outstanding female characters, tough, no-nonsense, capable women.

It’s zombies, so it’s fairly gory, but that’s usually what you get with zombies. These are extra gnarly because they’re a hundred years old and show it.

I recommend it—it’s a really interested layered horror story with good character development of the main characters and strong female characters.

Well…

I just spent the last episode of The Irregulars as a regular waterspout, so I guess it was worth sticking through to the end.

The Irregulars are Highly Irregular

I didn’t know what this show was about when I first started to watch it, I just watched the previews and didn’t read the description. I thought it looked cool.

It _does_ look cool. In fact, it looks amazing. The cinematography and sets are incredible. They do a very good job portraying how the city would have looked in Victorian London (from what I know of Victorian London).

The cast is diverse and they’re all actually pretty decent actors. Their situation and they’re characters are a bit at odds.

The problem is that you really, really, really have to suspend your disbelief if you’re going to go for the premise. I can see Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans frothing at the mouth in rage at this adaptation. Okay, rage is a strong word. They would not be amused?

The Irregulars are too well groomed (oh, yes, there’s the well placed grime on their faces), to well read—I doubt very much that one of them, in reality, would be able to read, much less all of them. Leo sticks out like a sore thumb, even with abovementioned grime. His blue coat is always spotless. The fact that he knows everything could be attributed to his being, as he himself says, well-read. I imagine he would probably have led as pretty sequestered life considering his health condition.

So I think to enjoy the show you just have to let all that go. Stick the show into a completely alternative universe where Victorian London looks like Victorian London but is just a little too clean.

The stories so far (I’m into the fourth one) are entertaining enough. You still have to suspend your disbelief, though. They live in what looks cool, but if you really start to think about it, are they living in the sewers? It must reek to high heaven, not to mention the health risks. Unless it’s the Thames, which, well, pretty much the same thing.

There are positive aspects of the show. The group has created their own little family and band together whereas if they were on their own, especially Jessica, they would be much worse off. It sort of reminds me a little of Shadowhunters, except with better sets and atmosphere. I think it would appeal to the same people who watched Shadowhunters.

I don’t think I can really rate it—I think you’re either going to like it or not like it. I think it ranks with shows like Forever Knight and other shows of that era of Canadian TV which are charming in their campiness. The Irregulars takes itself more seriously, and that doesn’t come off as well.

There are a lot of things to look at, and what does Bea’s necklace really look like? It looks cool. But be prepared for a Dr. Watson unlike any other. He’s quite…the personality.

The Deliciousness of It

I’m sure I’m not the only one that sees the incredible, unbelievable irony of Trumpsters saying that they, “want to be educated, not indoctrinated.” Hm. The don’t seem to have had any problem with indoctrination before. Even though the person before President Biden got the vaccine himself in January (so I’ve heard) he won’t tell his still-delusional followers to get it themselves. He could tell them what a bigly, magnificent needle it was, and how he had the very best doctors giving it to him—so it’s okay if they get it too. Unless he really just wants them to die off. I’m sure that’s a possibility. Because “I don’t care, do U?”

Seriously

Just added: What can I do about this problem, you might ask. Check this out: ihollaback.org is offering FREE online training for bystanders.

The level of racism in this country against minorities is despicable. The police are no help, if they say an obviously racially motivated shooting was because the shooter was “just having a bad day.” Gee, when I have a bad day I don’t go and shoot at people. Weird, isn’t it? There is something so fundamentally wrong with the core of this country that I don’t know what to do about it.

The first thing, though, that everyone can do, is if you see hate, don’t just let it go. If there’s someone in the supermarket shouting at a women with racial slurs because she is Asian—do something about it, don’t just stand there and hope someone else comes along and does it, because, honestly

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE

&

BLACK LIVES MATTER

ASIAN LIVES MATTER

LATINO LIVES MATTER

Everyone has the right to live without fear simply because of the color of their skin, their race, or the language they are speaking. People with disabilities, both physical and invisible, have the right to live without fear. All of these people, everyone, should be free to go about their daily business without fear of reprisal or attack.

Until law enforcement starts to take this seriously, all over the country, these hate crimes are going to continue because people are getting away with this behavior. There needs to be a purge of racist officers from every single police force. There needs to be a hard crackdown on any racist behavior, whether through actions or words.

It is an absolute disgrace that racists and bigots are tolerated. Don’t be a part of the problem.

Don’t Go in the F**king Attic

I watched this f**king movie so you don’t have to.

If you like Nazi experimentation, gore, and concentration camp tropes then this is the film for you. For the rest of us—no, just no.

I don’t understand why people make movies like this. Just my personal opinion.

On the plus side, there were survivors of the carnage. Mutilated, but survivors.

***Okay. I have had some time to think about this movie. I still don’t like the gore aspects of it—I don’t mind gore when there’s a purpose to it, but gore for gore’s sake (splashing onto the camera lens, eyeball extraction, etc.) I’m just not into.

The acting isn’t terrible, considering this was a lower budget film (I don’t know why I keep finding these). The beginning credits were a bit dizzying, but the architecture of the house they were in was pretty stunning.

The premise is sort of a Bluebeard’s Castle kind of thing—don’t go in the attic or the basement. The thing about that was that they found enough creepy stuff (a can of human teeth in the nursery counts as pretty damn creepy), and the books in the library were enough that they should have called it and left. Just the size of the place and the fact there was really no way they were going to get it done in time should have been enough.

All three needed the money, but if I had been working on a moving crew and saw the amount of stuff that needed to be moved out by the morning, I would have just said no. Not in the 1980’s sense. There was just too much stuff, and I would never, ever want someone to pack my books the way Carlos was. Granted, it was his first day, and no one really told him anything other than, “Don’t use the big box for books, they’re heavy,” which as I’m getting older is a serious issue— they are freakin heavy and I’m a book pack rat. So it was sort of painful to see books being tossed willy nilly into a box.

They just weren’t very organized, and spent a lot of time goofing off, jamming to tunes, and just being generally otherwise occupied. So no, they didn’t pass as a professional moving team.

I’m more of a psychological horror person that a gore/experimentation by a should-have-been-dead-for-decades Nazi doctor.

It’s not the worst movie I’ve ever seen, just not one of my favorites.

My rating: 😱😱