Pan's Labyrinth (Spain/Mexico: Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)
MB - This is one of my all-time favorite films and is not only Del Toro's masterpiece, but truly one of the great films of the 21st Century. It is a powerful statement on the power of stories, it is one of the most visually imaginative films I have seen, it explores how the unconscious reflects/interacts with the conscious (and vice versa), it is a powerful anti-fascist statement, and it treats with respect the autonomy and voice of a young girl making her way in a dangerous time.
"An Academy Award–winning dark fable set five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Pan’s Labyrinth encapsulates the rich visual style and genre-defying craft of Guillermo del Toro. Eleven-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero, in a mature and tender performance) comes face to face with the horrors of fascism when she and her pregnant mother are uprooted to the countryside, where her new stepfather (Sergi López), a sadistic captain in General Francisco Franco’s army, hunts down Republican guerrillas refusing to give up the fight. The violent reality in which Ofelia lives merges seamlessly with her fantastical interior world when she meets a faun in a decaying labyrinth and is set on a strange, mythic journey that is at once terrifying and beautiful. In his revisiting of this bloody period in Spanish history, del Toro creates a vivid depiction of the monstrosities of war infiltrating a child’s imagination and threatening the innocence of youth." - Criterion page for the DVD release
Here are the resources for after you watch the film:
Archive of Resources for Pan's Labyrinth
Kill List (UK: Ben Wheatley, 2011)
MB - a slow burn hit man thriller, combining multiple genres (suspense, horror, drama), that literally combusts by the end. It divided audiences and critics, some celebrating it as a great entry into the folk horror canon, others feeling it failed. I was blown away by it, and of our contemporary entries this one hews closest to the traditional folk horrors of our classic films.
"For those that didn’t catch his micro-budgeted debut Down Terrace (2009) on its limited release, Ben Wheatley seemed to come out of nowhere. The British filmmaker has built his reputation on subverting genre expectations, but nothing that followed this second feature can touch the brilliant control of its handbrake turns. It begins in the kitchen sink territory of Down Terrace – albeit with a markedly vicious edge – before settling into into its (unsettling) hitman double act. Even as violence erupts abruptly in this middle passage, there’s a sense of a deeper, barely suppressed darkness at play. Wheatley keeps us unmoored throughout, but in the nightmarish intensity of Kill List’s final act, he pulls the floor out from underneath us entirely." – Matthew Thrift
Resource for after you watch the film: Caitlyn Downs in Ghouls Magazine breaks down Kill List
The Invitation (USA: Karyn Kusama, 2015)
MB - Karyn Kusama gained fame as the director of the wild, cult classic Jennifer's Body (2009). This film is a psychological horror that brings the themes of the folk horror film to the metropolitan Los Angeles and intertwines it with the new age mysticism that was popular there. It is a tight, tense, psychological horror film, that really affected me when I first screened it for the Bluegrass Film Society and on repeat viewings.
"Six years after directing the feminist cult classic Jennifer’s Body (2009), Karyn Kusama re-established herself in the genre space with a chamber piece horror of paranoia. Still reeling from the shared loss of their young son, Will (Logan Marshall-Green) arrives at a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife Eden (Tammy Blanchard), who also welcomes a mismatched and eerie set of dinner guests. Set in a slick, austere house in the Hollywood hills, the film pulsates with anxiety throughout before detonating in an explosive finale." – Anna Bogutskaya
Resource for after you watch the film: Reilly, Phoebe. "From Babadook to Raw: The Rise of the Modern Female Horror Filmmaker." Rolling Stone (October 27, 2016)
I have a chapter from the book Post-Horror on The Invitation, Get Out, and Midsommar - if you would like a copy of the chapter sent to you, let me know.
Get Out (USA: Jordan Peele, 2017)
MB - This is the debut film from Jordan Peele who was primarily known for his hilarious comedy series with Keegan-Michael Key: Key and Peele (seriously - check it out if you haven't seen it. It could be a palette cleanser in between your films). Who knew that this talented comedian had such a strong interest and talent in making horror films (all three will be options this semester). Get out combines the social/political thriller, horror, and comedy to make a film that literally revolutionized contemporary horror. The film is also a commentary/critique of an earlier Oscar winning prestige drama Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and a homage to the horror classic Stepford Wives (1975). For me this is one of the most important contemporary horror films and I can't wait to see what Peele will do next.
"Writer-director Jordan Peele announced himself as a gifted horror filmmaker straight out of the gate with his first feature, a hilarious satire of white liberalism in contemporary America that sits comfortably as a modern genre classic. The simple set up of young Black man Chris Washington (played memorably by Daniel Kaluuya) visiting his white girlfriend’s family is exquisitely handled to reveal deep-rooted racism. With Twilight Zone vibes, Peele crafts an ambience of paranoia and discomfort as Chris sinks deeper into a place where he feels like he is losing his mind, when in fact it is everyone around him who wants to steal it. A cutting social commentary on appropriation and ownership." – Katherine McLaughlin
Resources for after you watch the film: Archive of resources for Get Out
I have a chapter from the book Post-Horror on The Invitation, Get Out, and Midsommar - if you would like a copy of the chapter sent to you, let me know.
Midsommar (USA: Ari Aster, 2019)
MB - I did not see Midsommar until the dark days of COVID isolation. Feeling alone (my family is on the West Coast and I was very worried about my parents during COVID isolation), needing something to distract me, I got this film to watch. I was transfixed throughout. It also strangely made me feel much better after watching it. A major interest in the film was all of the bright colors and constant sunshine (it takes place in Sweden during the constant sunlight season). This is very unusual for this type of film and results in a completely different effect. It also provoked my eternal interest in different cultures and how they organize/perceive reality differently (rituals, rules, taboos, beliefs, etc...). Being alone at the time I was also very interested in the relational psychodynamics of the two main characters and the all too human desire to find one's family when your blood relations are no longer there for you (brilliantly portrayed). This was a star-making turn for Florence Pugh as the protagonist, her previous film Lady Macbeth was very impressive for critics (not as widely seen), but this is the one that brought her mainstream notice. I would recommend reading nothing about this film before watching it. One could not convincingly talk about this film without making Midsommar a central part of the discussion.
Official film description: "Young couple Dani and Christian travel with friends to experience a rare midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. But what begins as a carefree holiday takes a sinister turn when the villagers force their guests to partake in their deadly rituals."
Archive of resources for after you have watched the film
I have a chapter from the book Post-Horror on The Invitation, Get Out, and Midsommar - if you would like a copy of the chapter sent to you, let me know.
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