- Horror Movie - Horror Homeroom

Posted on April 18, 2016

Patriarchy and Monstrosity in 10 Cloverfield Lane

Guest Post

Guest Author: Cayla McNally

When I saw 10 Cloverfield Lane (Dan Trachtenberg, 2016) I was stunned, to say the least. Having seen Cloverfield in all its shaky-cam glory in 2008, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this iteration, and I certainly didn’t expect the film to be as feminist as it is.

It tells the story of Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who jilts her fiancé, gets into a car accident, and wakes up chained to a wall. She is being held there by Howard (John Goodman) who claims to have brought her to his underground bunker in order to save her life. He also claims that a large-scale attack occurred shortly after her accident, thus making leaving the bunker impossible. His story is corroborated by Emmett (John Gallagher, Jr.), who helped build the bunker and witnessed the attack. However, Michelle is rightfully skeptical, and as the narrative unwinds, the truth proves to be more sinister than originally imagined.

At its heart, 10 Cloverfield Lane is ultimately a story of private and public disaster, of oppression on a micro and macro level, and of the banality of monstrosity. Patriarchy, the practice of disenfranchising and infantilizing women, often with the goal of silencing and protecting them, is – without revealing everything- the true monster of the film. Read more

Posted on April 12, 2016

The Ring Short Cut: “Ever Since That Girl’s Been Gone, Things Have Been Better”

Gwen

One of my favorite things about Gore Verbinski’s version of The Ring (2002) is the bold statements about children expressed within the film. First Dr. Grasnick (Jane Alexander) articulates an understated fact about parenting and later Samara (Daveigh Chase) challenges our worldview of children. Dr. Grasnick expresses relief on behalf of the town that Samara disappeared never to be found. Discussion about Samara reveals the difficulty of parenting, the fissures that surface in a relationship with the arrival of a child, and the fear of what version of your child will be unleashed unto society.

Posted on April 8, 2016

Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation

Dawn Keetley

I saw Karyn Kusama’s latest film, The Invitation, last November at the Ithaca International Fantastic Film Festival, and it was easily the best film I saw there (and there were some good films!) It’s also head-and-shoulders above Kusama’s earlier foray into horror, Jennifer’s Body (2009).

Michael Gingold of Fangoria introduced The Invitation, saying he thought it was one of the best horror films of the last couple of years. I agree (though I still think the standout horror film of 2014 is David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows).

You can find the trailer here. It conveys the thoroughly unnerving nature of the film:

Gingold also said that the less you know about The Invitation going into it, the better—and I wholeheartedly agree with that too. I (purposefully) hadn’t read any reviews of the film ahead of time, and so I got to experience the disconcerting and disorienting events just as the protagonist does. It’s very difficult to write anything about the film without giving too much away and thus spoiling it, so I guess the two principal things I want to convey here are: (a) see the film; and (b) don’t read any reviews of it before you do—except this one, of course: I promise I won’t slip in any spoilers. Read more

Posted on April 7, 2016

In Defense of The Walking Dead Season 6 Finale

Dawn Keetley

I’ve read some of the outrage about the season 6 finale of The Walking Dead—and I have to confess that I don’t feel it. I haven’t loved every episode of the series, but I loved the season finale.

I was prepared to hate it. I heard the rumors about the impending death of a major character (who didn’t?), as well as spoilers suggesting that the episode was going to end in a cliffhanger. Someone would die, and everyone was furiously wondering who it would be.

I was ready to feel angry, to feel manipulated. But instead, I watched the episode in an increasing state of captivation—and dread. And during the last thirty minutes or so, with the entrance of Negan, I was not only captivated but I felt physically sick, dread pushing on my stomach, my chest.

Now, that’s not to say that I don’t, upon calmer reflection, have some problems with the episode. It was a little contrived, to say the least, that all the major characters, one after the other, departed Alexandria in the last couple of episodes. And the little speeches before Eugene (Josh McDermitt) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) got on the bus in the finale teetered on the squirm-inducing.

Posted on April 6, 2016

Review: Paralysis (2015)

Dawn Keetley

Paralysis is the new short film written/directed by R. Shanea Williams and produced by Anthony J. Davis.

Williams’s last film, Contamination, which I discuss here, is available on Vimeo, along with the trailer for Paralysis:

Paralysis continues the thematic preoccupation of Williams’s earlier film in that it focuses on a woman with a psychological disorder, in this case sleep paralysis (as opposed to the OCD experienced by the protagonist of Contamination).