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.

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.

Servant

I only watched the first season of this because that was as much as I could watch. Some people think M. Night Shyamalan walks on water. I am not one of those people. I adored Signs and The Sixth Sense —they were such good movies in so many ways. I haven’t been able to get into anything else that he’s done. So yes, I am already a little biased here, and it’s not because I am trying to give Apple TV bad ratings (one of the commenters said people were giving it bad ratings just to spite Apple TV). (If that were the case, wouldn’t people be giving Amazon Prime movies/series bad reviews?).

First of all, just to put this out there:

Yes, horror covers a lot of different psychological issues. But this is one that needs to be treated with care if it’s going to be done. A poster just like this one hangs on the wall of the bathroom at my women’s physician’s office, to try to raise awareness of the seriousness of the issue.

This ranks up there with making the murderer crazy, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, all of the hurtful tropes that are sometimes assigned the villain role in horror movies.

It’s a creepy idea, using a reborn doll—but, as Natalie says, the long term damage of going along with something like that? I can’t even imagine. Having the doll come to life, another interesting idea. But getting the whole cult thing mixed up in it…we currently have a whole group of people in this country that could reasonably be referred to as a cult. I feel like Servant was trying to make statements, but just couldn’t get them out right.

The acting is good—none of the characters are likable. Sean and Dorothy are both incredibly selfish in their own ways. Julian is just straight out messed up. What’s his story? Did his behaviors develop after he found Dorothy and Jericho, or was he a major screw up before that (and hats off to Rupert Grint—he plays a sleazy guy incredibly well). Lauren Ambrose is good.

I know there’s a lot of irony and it’s supposed to be « clever, » but honestly—the dad having the gall to make the speech after the baptism about how mistakes are made in parenting? Hard eyeroll. And the whole Amber Alert—yes, it was to make people jumpy about Jericho. I wouldn’t have given it a lot of thought (though I did think about it when it was the little girl’s doll who fell down the steps) except for the father’s speech and his nod to what happened as parents making a mistake and how parents are always one step from having a bad thing happen. Maybe it’s just me, but that seems a little racist to have the child of the « bad parenting » to be black. I suppose it was equal to his daughter’s « bad parenting » in accidentally leaving the baby in the car?

There are plenty of horror movies about repentance and mistakes that have been made. Jeesh, the whole Nightmare on Elm Street franchise was because of Freddy Kruger mistakenly being killed for crimes he didn’t commit. I Know What You Did Last Summer is another one, and I’m sure there are more that I’m not thinking of right now. The thing about those is that the parents who killed Freddy Kruger knew what they were doing. The people who do whatever it is that they have done that they are now sowing the results of generally know right from wrong.

This isn’t a case of right or wrong. Well, maybe in the fact that they covered up Jericho’s death with a doll. People with PDD do need care and treatment. There is a difference between a point being made subtly and being hit over the head with it, and here, it’s a pretty big mallet.

I watched the whole first season. After looking at other people’s reviews and many saying that they thought it just started meandering after the first few episodes, I figured that I couldn’t deal with another season. That’s my issue, and I don’t have fault with people who like the series. Just that maybe sometimes things could be done in a way that is actually beneficial. I know this seems hypocritical from someone who loves horror, but I tend to skew more toward the supernatural, the uncanny, and psychological issues.

Servant « is » about a psychological issue, but I don’t feel it’s handled very well. The whole thing just left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Yes, that is a pun.

My rating:

😱

The Music of Horror Films/Series

One thing that has really impressed me is the quality of some of the horror series, especially, musical scores. I love soundtracks anyway, but some of the best ones lately seem to come from horror series.

I’m planning on talking about these series along the line, but thought I’d just write a post to point out the music that I thought was really well done.

I would like in particular to point out The Newton Brothers, who did the soundtracks for both The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. Along with the opening credits, they are truly stunning. The music does what it’s supposed to do (what is music supposed to do in a series/film? That’s a broad question)—it sets an atmospheric tone that isn’t overwhelming, but has a strong main theme that is used throughout the series.

Another really good soundtrack is the one for La Revolution. If you’re into modernization of classical music, there’s a couple of choice pieces for you here. The music is also used really well here, not overwhelming but accentuating.

Black Spot (Zone Blanche) has a really different kind of soundtrack, and a very catchy theme—with a banjo. Don’t think of Deliverance. Of course, now that I’ve said that, you probably are. It’s a very sparse soundtrack compared to the orchestral tones of the previously mentioned soundtracks, but it’s really effective and works great for the atmosphere of the series.

The Chalet has a haunting theme based on a children’s song. Since my French is only so-so, I couldn’t find out if it’s a real children’s song or one written for the series.

I know that there are more, but these are the ones that really stand out in my memory, and if you like soundtracks, they’re definitely worth checking out. (As are all these series).

Thanks for reading! If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to add them—I am always looking for new music!

It’s been a while

I have been watching a lot of horror. I think it’s my way of dealing with everything that is going on. Incidentally, I read that people who are watching/have watched horror have a higher resilience for what’s going on with the pandemic. I was watching a movie today and it suddenly occurred to me (while I was watching a horror movie) that I could blog about what I’m watching. I don’t know why it took me so long to think about that. I have been watching some really good stuff over the past year, and don’t have anyone to talk about it with, because I’m the only one in my family who likes horror.

Today I watched « The Block Island Sound. » It’s a more indie-type film (ranked #7 on Netflix today). The acting was decent, the story was pretty good, and the production values were good—it seemed like an indie film, but that’s okay. One thing I particularly appreciated about it was the fact that you could actually see what was going on. I have been doing most of my watching of things on my tablet or computer, and it seems like I’m always cranking the brightness all the way up and still have a hard time seeing what’s going on sometimes.

Is that darkness indicative of the times we’re going through? Or is it just something endemic to horror as a whole?

<p value=”<amp-fit-text layout=”fixed-height” min-font-size=”6″ max-font-size=”72″ height=”80″>I’ve been reading horror (along with other things) but I do have a way to keep and record of that on Goodreads. I couldn’t think of a way to keep track of the horror I’ve watched, other than adding it to my list on IMdB. I’ve been reading horror (along with other things) but I do have a way to keep and record of that on Goodreads. I couldn’t think of a way to keep track of the horror I’ve watched, other than adding it to my list on IMdB.

I don’t like recapping/summarizing things that I’ve read or watched. I tend to go for more of my reactions to seeing/reading it, so there will inevitably be spoilers. This is a way for me to process what I’ve watched. You can read what the movie is about in the description of the movie.

I don’t have a TV. I know, pretty weird, right? So some things that might have more impact if they were on a larger screen are lost on me. I guess it’s a little more personal watching things on my tablet or computer. I should also mention that I’m in the middle of adjustments for cataract surgery, so I may not always see things clearly. LOL That had been an interesting experience.

So, « The Block Island Sound. » I wasn’t sure if it was a real place, but it was confirmed by my partner that it was, and he remembers it because he got a tick there. I would like for him to watch the movie to see how it measures up to his remembrances of the place, just for curiousity’s sake.

Oh, a quick note. I am one of those people who, as soon as there is an animal in danger, stops and searches, « Does the cat die in… ». I found an app for that, called, Does The Dog Die, or DDD. I think it’s available on both the Apple and Android systems. If you are a person who likes Trigger Warnings, it’s actually a good little app, because not only does it cover whether or not the dog dies, it has a bunch of other categories as well, and you can personalize it to the things you want to be warned about when you look up a movie. So far, it’s had most of the movies I’ve looked up. I am not, by the way, associated with this app at all, I just found it and like using it to confirm my suspicions as to what _is_ going to happen to that hapless little puppy? Inquiring minds want to know.

I diverge often into other topics because I interrupt my own train of thought and digress constantly. Just a warning (although not a trigger warning, unless meandering is something that just really ticks you off).

I liked that there were just a few characters—also sort of a sign of an indie movie. I have been saying it’s an indie movie and I don’t even know for sure. That makes me somewhat of an unreliable narrator. Wow, okay. Just verified that it is a low-budget movie on IMdB, and boy, does it get a lot of hate! Poor movie.

Okay, maybe I am just more of a softie and forgiving when it comes to horror. It’s its own genre, and to me, shouldn’t be judged against other films in other genres. There are a lot of campy horror movies out there, and I give them a pass when I maybe wouldn’t necessarily give a non-horror movie a chance. This movie doesn’t get a lot of love. A 5.2/10 on IMdB. I would give it at least a 6.5. It has a very single-minded plot without a ton of other things going on. Yes, there’s the story of Paul and Audry and their unspoken feelings. The best backstory is the conspiracy minded friend of Harry’s, Gerry, who is really out there. I have known people a little like him, which is why I sort of had a soft spot for him.

Overall, there were a lot of things sort of strung together, the dead fish on the beach, the dead birds on the beach, the dead fish on the boat… Lots and lots of dead fish. Stinky. There is an empty dog collar on a lead on the boat at the beginning when Tom, Harry’s dad, starts to experience the weird things like blackouts and hearing the growly noise.

The growly noise should have it’s own paragraph. It’s a good growly noise, not particularly scary, just really creepy. I think the creepiest part is when Tom is « back from the dead » and saying the words…it’s hard to explain. Tom is moving up the food chain in his growly noise desires. Let’s just say that Gerry is onto something when he indirectly mentions aliens.

It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Harry starts experiencing the same things as his father was, but he realizes something is wrong with him. Being aware of the problem doesn’t solve it, though. There’s another sister, Jen, who shows up for the funeral, dumps her self-righteousness on Harry, and then thankfully leaves. I’m not entirely sure how necessary that was, really, other than the fact that Audry puts up with a lot more from Harry than Jen does.

It wasn’t particularly scary, and I wouldn’t put it high on the list if you have other things that you want to watch, but it has the advantage of being a movie instead of a series, so it’s not a huge time commitment, either. I didn’t think it was as terrible as a lot of people were saying on IMdB. I definitely wanted to finish it, because you don’t really find out until the end/ish what’s going on. I really loved the reprisal of Audry’s little speech about science and it’s purpose replayed at the end. It is corny and funny at the same time. I think it’s supposed to be scary. I didn’t think it was scary, but I liked the juxtaposition of what she was talking about applied to a completely different (or is it?) scenario.

I mostly watch movies/series on Netflix or Shudder. I am refusing to support Amazon as much as I can, so I don’t have a subscription to Prime. That’s just my personal inclination, not a judgement on what anyone else does. I read Kindle books, so there’s my bit of hypocrisy.

I would like to catch up on some of the other things I have watched over the past year or so that have left an impression on me.

The poster is for the movie and is the property of the film company. It was taken from WIKI.

My rating: 😱😱😱😱