Have you started celebrating Halloween yet? I find that around this time of year, the end of September is when it gets rolling. Most of my friends have figured out their costumes and have bought at least one pumpkin spice product.
I love how during October, you can watch four movies in a row, and it’s not boo’d upon. AMC’s horror movie marathon is a staple for the weeks leading up to the 31st. However, I must say, the older I get, the less scary I find these ‘scary’ movies. Like, Friday the 13th seems almost like a comedy. Okay, that’s a little morbid, but I’m sure you know what I mean.
Jumpscares have become predictable and SFX from ten years ago is just outdated. Horror movie classics are becoming cheesy and funnier than scary. In the past few years, only two movies have genuinely scared me to the core.
For all the unspookable like me, I’m going to share the only two scary movies and why.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Firstly, I want to preface that everyone’s got different things that give them the creeps. Yours might be spiders, and your neighbours might be clowns, but personally, I find the more psychologically disturbing films the freakiest.
These films are mind-bending and confusing, and like “The Shining,” the plot is up for interpretation, so I will not be summarizing these films, as I will likely do a lousy job and only confuse you.
Us (2019)
Written and directed by Jordan Peele, also known for the horror film, Get Out.
When you think of Jordan Peele as a filmmaker (not as a comedian), you probably think of Get Out. However, I find Us to be far more disturbing and eerie.
What makes this film super disturbing is these doppelgangers (The Tethered) in the red jumpsuits, specifically Adelaine (Lupita Nyong’o) and her dog-like son, Jason (Evan Alex.) The jolting yet elegant movements are so unique to this film and so uniquely freaky! Not only do they move in this ballerina motion, but they also speak in the most unpleasant nightmare-inducing way. You quite literally have to hear and see it to believe it.
It’s your not-so-lucky day. You can hear and see it in this short clip of Lupita Nyong’o’s spectacular performance.
“@Lupita_Nyongo is a force of nature.” – @washingtonpost. #UsMovie pic.twitter.com/Cw5UkJYRJv
— Us (@UsMovie) December 22, 2019
The social commentary in this film makes it that much more real, hence that much more scary. The ‘Tethered’ are much deeper than scary horror movie villains. They represent the two sides of the coin, the duality of man. The Tethered share a soul with their “human” counterparts. The only thing that makes them different is their human experience. For Adelaine and her family to have Upper-Middle class lives where they could eat warm food and feel the sun on their cheeks, the Tethered had to eat raw rabbits and live in bunkers underground.
Peele told NPR that the film showcases “the duality of this country and our beliefs and our demons.”
Here’s an obvious parallel, for the uber-wealthy to exist in America, there will always be the other side of the coin. If you’re on the wrong side of the coin, you might react with the same distress and rage as the Tethered did.
This social issue has become a fact of life. For every win you receive, there will always be someone losing. The horror of this film lies in these disturbing ‘beings’ representing a disturbing theme in our society.
Midsommar (2019)
Written and directed by Ari Aster, also known for the horror film, Hereditary. Not to be confused with Midsommer, a 2003 psychological horror film directed by Carsten Myllerup.
Similar to Us, I hear a lot more buzz about Ari Aster’s film Hereditary, but I preferred Midsommar. Hereditary is very scary and follows a similar horror style, but the plot of Midsommar was more surreal, which I found more interesting.
Midsommar centers around this Pagan cult in the middle of nowhere Sweden. I’ve never seen a film that centers around Sweden, and I think it really worked in the horror genre. The long bright days with every character dressed head to toe in white contrast most horror movies’ cliche dark and eerie nights.
As I said earlier, the horror movie tropes are all overdone, so I appreciate the unconventionality of Midsommars cinematography.
MIDSOMMAR: Psychologically fragile tourists meet a full blast of Swedish folk horror, mounted by Ari Aster at the peak of his atmospheric powers. No director in horror is working at his level of choreography, the daring of his alienating moments. What a weird spell this is.
— Joshua Rothkopf (@joshrothkopf) June 19, 2019
Once they arrive at the Pagan cult, every character in the film is tripping. The cinematography is artfully done in a way that you feel like you’re on psychedelics. And like many people’s psychedelic experiences, one wrong turn and beauty can turn into a nightmare.
There’s just something unbelievably eerie about a brutally murdered corpse with beautiful colourful flowers growing out of it.
The scariest thing about Midsommar is the psychologically unsettling events. That all lead up to the final scenes, which are pretty much indescribable. Viewers have gone as far as to say the final scene was “traumatizing.”
The film is designed to be perceived differently by each viewer. Based on their personal biases and experience. The ‘protagonist’ Dani (Florence Pugh) becomes the scariest character of them all. In most horror films, the protagonist and antagonist are made very clear. There’s the killer and whoever they’re trying to kill, pretty simple. It could be a babysitter or a cursed family, either way, it follows a straightforward formula.
In Midsommar, each character is as dislikable as they are likable. The idea of a good guy and a bad guy doesn’t exist, making the film more real and immersing.
Midsommar left me in a speechless trance. It’s one of those films that’s so mind-bending it changes your life. Proceed with caution because this film is truly disturbing.