Horror Homeroom

Posted on January 30, 2016

Keepin’ it in the Family: Death in Pet Sematary (1989)

Gwen

We take for granted how much we learn from our families. Through family, we learn about life, love, strength, absence, guilt, and death. Sociologists frequently categorize the family as a primary socialization group which builds the foundation for future navigation of the world around us. It is widely accepted that within our formative years, from birth to school age, as well as in our later life, we learn from observing this primary social group.[i] Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory suggests that we learn consequence and reward by seeing the results of actions manifest in the lives of those around us. Considering the family as a core teaching mechanism of behavior and cognition helps me understand the film Pet Sematary (1989) in a new way.

In this Short Cut, I want to briefly examine death with a special emphasis on one video clip in Stephen King’s timeless film, Pet Sematary. (WARNING: there are spoilers) The Creed family consists of Louis (Midkiff), Rachel (Crosby), Gage (Hughes), Ellie (Berdahl twins), and Church (played by 7 blue British shorthairs). The first death in the family is that of Churchill the cat. Louis tries to shelter his daughter, Ellie, from the loss by resurrecting him via the pet sematary. One after another, Louis holds on to rotting replicas of the family to dangerous ends, as Gage and Rachel are buried in the same sour ground as Church. Louis Creed’s inability to let go puts the family in escalating danger.

Posted on January 27, 2016

Goodnight Mommy: Who are we?

Dawn Keetley

Goodnight Mommy is a 2014 Austrian film directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz and released in the US in 2015. This film blew me away: it is so agonizingly disturbing, so beautiful, and so thought-provoking. I haven’t reviewed it because it would be almost impossible to do so adequately without dropping some major plot spoilers. And I think everyone should watch the film and experience its surprises. Part of the pleasure of watching the film is how unsettling it is, how unsure you become of what’s real and what’s not.

So, in this Short Cut, I just want to point out one of the many fascinating issues Goodnight Mommy raises, and, happily, I can do so without giving anything important away.

Posted on January 25, 2016

The Boy (2016) Review

Dawn Keetley

Summary: The Boy brilliantly weaves together two very different sub-genres to show how crucial loss and grief are to the horror tradition.

Directed by William Brent Bell (of The Devil Inside [2012]) and written by Stacey Menear, The Boy follows Greta Evans (Lauren Cohan—known to most of us as Maggie from AMC’s The Walking Dead) as she travels to England from the US to take a nanny position at an isolated house in the country. She finds herself in a strange position, to say the least, when she is introduced to her new charge. Brahms is a doll. After his parents (the Heelshires) leave for their first “holiday” in years (which turns out to be not quite a holiday), Greta is left alone with Brahms—told she must adhere strictly to a list of rules. She must assist Brahms through a daily schedule of eating, school work, music, bedtime reading and kisses goodnight; she must never cover his face, never take him out of the house, and never leave him alone. Needless to say, as soon as the Heelshires leave, Greta chucks Brahms on a chair, throws a blanket over him, drinks a bottle of wine, reads a magazine, and falls asleep. Before long, she’s planning a date. After all, she’s not crazy and Brahms is only a doll . . . right?

Posted on January 22, 2016

Short Cuts: Ex Machina and Dracula?

Dawn Keetley

Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2015) has obvious gothic roots. The eccentric Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), who creates artificially intelligent female “robots” in his isolated compound is a clear descendent of both Frankenstein and Doctor Moreau. A less obvious forebear for the film, though, is Dracula (both Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel and Tod Browning’s 1931 film).

The frame above is centered on programmer Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), who has been whisked by helicopter to Nathan’s compound after supposedly winning a competition. In actuality, he’s there to perform the Turing test on Nathan’s latest creation.

The opening of the film is replete with references to Dracula. As the helicopter pilot drops Caleb seemingly in the middle of nowhere, Caleb protests, “You’re leaving me here?” The pilot replies, “This is as close as I’m allowed to get to the building”—which evokes Renfield’s unceremonious abandonment at the Borgo Pass in Browning’s film, as the driver refuses to get any closer to Count Dracula’s castle.

Posted on January 20, 2016

The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) Review

Gwen

2014 | R | 90min | Director: Adam Robitel | Writers: Adam Robitel & Gavin Heffernan | USA

Grade: A+

Synopsis: While working on a PhD dissertation regarding Alzheimer’s, a student and her camera crew document the long term effects of the disease on one woman. During the course of filming, the family and the crew come to discover that the degenerative disease is not the only thing wearing away Deborah Logan’s body.

Review: A smart and tense film that will keep even the seasoned horror fan on the edge of her seat!

The Nuts & Bolts: I cannot help but begin this review by stating that this was by far one of the best horror films I have seen in recent history. The Taking of Deborah Logan maintained a high level of suspense without relying on the usual tropes. The acting was stellar, especially from Jill Larson (Deborah), and Anne Ramsay (Sarah). The writing and directing was innovative and well executed. Overall The Taking of Deborah Logan will appeal to fans of a damn good story as well as fans, more specifically, of the sub-genres of found footage, ritualistic horror, possession, serial killers, as well as suspense. One might ask, how does this film incorporate such schizophrenic themes? To that, I answer…”very effectively.”