A scary thing happened on the way to the Movie Forums - Horrorcrammers

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Oh, and one more for Tak (I used the auto-translate subtitles on this and didn't feel like I missed much):





What’s Deadly Spawn on? Sounds like something I’d enjoy.
I watched it on Youtube (I posted a link on the last page, video quality is pretty good). Don't think it's on any services.



I watched it on Youtube (I posted a link on the last page, video quality is pretty good). Don't think it's on any services.
Yeah, I just watched it on YouTube and it was fine.





The Manor, 2021

Judith (Barbara Hershey) is a former dancer who suffers a stroke and subsequently makes the decision to go to live in a retirement home, to the relief of her daughter (Katie Keane) and the trepidation of her grandson, Josh (Nicholas Alexander). But very shortly after settling in, Judith is unnerved by the strict rules and the rough treatment of many of the seemingly senile residents. Oh, and there's also the tiny problem of the mysterious dark figure that appears at night looming over her bed.

I watched this film at the behest of our dear MKS, who has a recently written script that has some overlaps with this film. (Um, YOU'RE WELCOME for yet another case of a WOMAN being FORCED into doing EMOTIONAL LABOR for the men around her, like GAWD!).

Anyway, this is one of those films that just kind of frustrates you because it has some interesting and effective moments that just get bogged down by other elements and sequences that are so predictable and by-the-numbers.

The highlight is easily Hershey's performance as Judith, portraying a woman who basically shuffles herself off to the sidelines, not realizing until it's too late that she has signed away her agency and freedom, and that a single whisper of the word "dementia" unlocks the power for others to confine her, restrain her physically, and medicate her against her will. The more she is restricted, the more agitated Judith becomes. And when you throw in a supernatural element, you get these hopeless sequences where Judith has to try and explain something to her family that she knows will make her sound crazy.

I also thought that some of the "night visitation" scenes were effective and scary.

The downside to this one is twofold. The first is that everything is far too predictable right off the bat. I was 95% sure about the plot turns about 20 minutes into the film, and the nursing home employees were evil in a cartoonish way from the word go. Like, not 10 minutes into the film Gary the nurse (Devin Kawaoka) is body-slamming an octogenarian into a bed.

But I also really struggled with some of the writing, especially the character of Josh. It's like the actor got one note ("When people feel conflicted, they sometimes stammer! See how that works for you!"). And I already wrote to MKS about this, but it makes so little sense how Judith ends up in this situation. She apparently just never visited the home? Or read the contract she signed?! She is somehow unaware that she's not allowed to have a phone or to leave the building unaccompanied. There's also, I don't know, almost an issue of ageism? Josh asks her why she's in the home and she's like "I'm very old. I'm almost 70!!!". Excuse me, but I know several people in their 70s who are still working full time, physically active, mentally with it, and just living their lives. Also, for a stroke survivor AND someone with Parkinson's disease, Judith is . . . fine. She's fine. There is nothing in the writing or performance that indicates that she is physically or mentally frail.

I will give the film grudging points for the unexpected ending, but the last act is also kind of annoyingly drawn out.




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I watched this film at the behest of our dear MKS, who has a recently written script that has some overlaps with this film. (Um, YOU'RE WELCOME for yet another case of a WOMAN being FORCED into doing EMOTIONAL LABOR for the men around her, like GAWD!).
What would you rather me do? Therapy? You saw how that turned out for Tony Soprano.

WARNING: spoilers below
I'm gonna watch it this week



What would you rather me do? Therapy? You saw how that turned out for Tony Soprano.

WARNING: spoilers below
I'm gonna watch it this week
You'll be fine.

I mean take a xanax before viewing.

Okay, take 2 xanax.

And a drink. A nice, strong drink.



I forget, have you seen The Entity?


It has some sexual assault (via supernatural forces), but Barbara Hershey puts in a pretty tremendous performance. Scorsese is a fan, IIRC.


I'll give that a recommendation, with the caveat about the content.



You'll be fine.

I mean take a xanax before viewing.

Okay, take 2 xanax.

And a drink. A nice, strong drink.
So 3 Xanax and 2 drinks. Comin' right up!



I forget, have you seen The Entity?


It has some sexual assault (via supernatural forces), but Barbara Hershey puts in a pretty tremendous performance. Scorsese is a fan, IIRC.


I'll give that a recommendation, with the caveat about the content.
I've stayed away from it partly because of the content, and partly because of some gross things guys have said about it over the years (as in, this is now associated in my brain with people both laughing about and raving over the nudity in rape scenes). But maybe I'll give it a shot if I can find it on YouTube (it doesn't seem to be streaming elsewhere).

Like, to be clear, I don't think that people who like it are creeps. I just have a negative association with it because for several years the main things I read about it were written by people who are creeps.

So 3 Xanax and 2 drinks. Comin' right up!
It's the kind of free-wheeling medical advice that makes me the best of friends to have. You're welcome! In fact, I find that mixing powerful anti-anxiety meds with alcohol is the best way to handle any feelings of discomfort.



It's the kind of free-wheeling medical advice that makes me the best of friends to have. You're welcome! In fact, I find that mixing powerful anti-anxiety meds with alcohol is the best way to handle any feelings of discomfort.
I know it's great advice because the time I accidentally mixed them, I didn't even remember ANY feelings.



I've stayed away from it partly because of the content, and partly because of some gross things guys have said about it over the years (as in, this is now associated in my brain with people both laughing about and raving over the nudity in rape scenes). But maybe I'll give it a shot if I can find it on YouTube (it doesn't seem to be streaming elsewhere).

Like, to be clear, I don't think that people who like it are creeps. I just have a negative association with it because for several years the main things I read about it were written by people who are creeps.



It's the kind of free-wheeling medical advice that makes me the best of friends to have. You're welcome! In fact, I find that mixing powerful anti-anxiety meds with alcohol is the best way to handle any feelings of discomfort.
What’s wrong with The Entity’s content again?

Your last sentence sounds like good suicide advice, but what do I know. I took 4 migraine painkillers today, which is twice as much as is allowed, but no alcohol, so am still alive.



I've stayed away from it partly because of the content, and partly because of some gross things guys have said about it over the years (as in, this is now associated in my brain with people both laughing about and raving over the nudity in rape scenes). But maybe I'll give it a shot if I can find it on YouTube (it doesn't seem to be streaming elsewhere).

Like, to be clear, I don't think that people who like it are creeps. I just have a negative association with it because for several years the main things I read about it were written by people who are creeps.



It's the kind of free-wheeling medical advice that makes me the best of friends to have. You're welcome! In fact, I find that mixing powerful anti-anxiety meds with alcohol is the best way to handle any feelings of discomfort.

I'm a creep for reasons unrelated to this movie, so no offense taken.


But yeah, despite my degenerate viewing habits, I don't remember the sexual assault scenes in the movie being particularly salacious or campy.


Doesn't look to be on streaming at the moment, but there is a Shout Factory release, so wouldn't be surprised if it pops up on Tubi eventually.



What’s wrong with The Entity’s content again?
I don't think there's anything wrong with it, per se. The premise is a woman being repeatedly sexually assaulted by an unseen entity in her home. I haven't seen it, so I can't speak to how it's handled.

Your last sentence sounds like good suicide advice, but what do I know. I took 4 migraine painkillers today, which is twice as much as is allowed, but no alcohol, so am still alive.
Yeah, just in case I need to be clear, PLEASE DO NOT MIX PRESCRIPTION DRUGS WITH ALCOHOL, PEOPLE.

I'm a creep for reasons unrelated to this movie, so no offense taken.

But yeah, despite my degenerate viewing habits, I don't remember the sexual assault scenes in the movie being particularly salacious or campy.
Yeah, I know very little about the film. I have nothing against it (or people who like it). Just some very negative adjacent associations.



Yeah, just in case I need to be clear, PLEASE DO NOT MIX PRESCRIPTION DRUGS WITH ALCOHOL, PEOPLE.

*Puts away blender*

So... I just shoot em one after the other?



*Puts away blender*

So... I just shoot em one after the other?
Eat them all and let God sort them out.





Sweetheart, 2019

Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) washes up on a deserted island after the boat she is on sinks in a storm. But while she is lucky to have survived, the sinking, she soon becomes curious about mutilated fish that wash up on the beach, as well as signs that others were living on the same island but did not survive. Soon Jenn comes to realize there's something in the water.

I enjoyed this film, whose approach to some typical horror tropes was refreshing.

I can tell you the exact moment that this movie won me over, and that's a sequence where Jenn collects several fish and shellfish that have washed up on the shore after a storm. Using a sharp rock, she first totally botches an attempt to clean and butcher a fish. Despairing, she then pulls out a clam or oyster and tries, in vain, the crack it open by smashing it against a rock. To me, it just so encapsulated that feeling when you're in over your head, trying things you sort of half-remember, and failing spectacularly.

I also liked the way that the film really owned its monster. It plays a bit coy with the creature at first. And I loved a shot where it is suddenly illuminated in profile from behind by a flare Jenn fires. But then the movie just has it on screen a lot and I wasn't mad about it.

Finally, there's a sequence in the last act where two other characters from the same sinking manage to make it to the island. One of them is her boyfriend Lucas (Emory Cohen) and the other is a friend named Mia (Hannah Lawrence). I was really taken by the dialogue in this part of the film. It is how people who know each other would actually speak to one another: referencing people and events we are not familiar with, but in a way that we get enough information to have the gist of their relationships. We learn, in part by her own admission, that Jenn is not trusted by her friends. And we don't get enough background to know if that's because she is in the habit of lying, or if she just has an unhealthy relationship with her friends. The dynamics in this last act are allowed to be messy and morally ambiguous. It's clear that something happened in the raft between Mia, Lucas, and a third friend. But what? There are several possibilities, but no final resolution.

I didn't have too many complaints with this one. I thought that Clemons was a really engaging protagonist. There is some typical horror stuff, things like the creature being a hyper-efficient predator . . . unless it is attacking Jenn and feels the need to just sort of carry her around, thus giving her a chance to fight back or escape. There's a bit of inconsistency with the creature's speed and strength. I also thought that the final showdown borrowed a bit liberally from the climax of Predators. While I praised the film for not indulging in an exposition dump, in the end I did wish that I'd known a bit more about Jenn, how she ended up on that boat with several people she didn't know, and what had happened between her and Lucas to cause so much friction.

Ultimately, a solid creature/survival flick elevated by interesting choices in the writing.