Thursday, October 10, 2013

A Moveable Fest, Week 8: Kill List, Evil Dead 2, The Innkeepers

Tunnels: always a good idea.
Week 8: Tim's Choice

If September is universally known as the month of my birthday (shut up, it totally is), then October is the month of Halloween (and Tim's birthday). Also known as the month where Tim and I have an excuse to exclusively watch horror flicks. We like horror flicks - do you? We don't know many other people who do (though I think each of our favourite horror themes differ). I like horror movies as I find them completely involving (I'll often watch horror movies when I can't concentrate on anything else). I watched them at sleepovers with my friends as a teenager, I watch them on my own, but I especially love watching them as part of a full audience where you all gasp/laugh/scream/groan together - it's a huge joy. I like being pretend-scared while actually being safe, and I never have nightmares about them. I like best movies that involve traps, cults, serial killers or evil children. I'm not quite so drawn to supernatural/monster films. I like the ones that make me laugh as well as jump. I'm interested in the fact that the movies I think will be the most scary are usually the ones that are scary in my mind, but in reality are lame/boring (eg. Human Centipede - the scariest thing is the arse-to-mouth munty diagram). I also like the Saw movies, though I won't inflict them on Tim. Nor Human Centipede. Any sequence.

Kill List

Soldiers-turned-hitmen Jay and Gal take a job, but things go skewed when Jay overdoes things unnecessarily, and his victims weirdly start thanking him just before they die.This is the earlier film by the guy who made Sightseers (so crunchy violence expected), and it is equally excellent in terms of suburban white noise; conversations and visual tone that are by turns mundane and menacing; plus WHOA violent. I accidentally spoiled myself for this film while looking up the director, but really the 1+1=dead isn't really important. We understand what we see, but the weight of the implied further story hangs heavy and unknown at the end. Who will play the king?

Evil Dead 2

I've just remembered I used to refer to this film as "Devilled Egg 2". I can't for the life of me remember why, because I hadn't even seen it. Which is appropriate really - you don't need to ask what this film does, and if you do, read what it says on the box. It's funny, fast-paced scary, plus lots of body-clenching anticipation. Which body you choose to clench is up to you.

The Innkeepers

Curious whippersnappers Claire and Luke trade front-desk shifts at soon-to-be-closed Yankee Pedlar Inn, and there's probably a ghost. They're trying to get footage of her (ghost) before they're kicked off the site, but - you know ghosts, they're not always going to behave in the way you'd like. This movie is great, because for a long time you feel like you're watching Hotel Babylon without the sex and without the nostalgic presence of Dexter Fletcher (for Press Gang fans). Sorry, I've gone off track. The pace is fairly slow - it's charmingly scary, but still scary. Sometimes these sorts of films can be quite memorable, just because you can feel the everyday nature of events just before things get scary. The boring yellow lighting of your workplace, the crumpled sheets in your bed. You've got a crappy tedious job, you yawn, you turn around -

2 comments:

Tim said...

I don't know that our tastes are that divergent. I can't think of a horror movie we have disagreed on other than The Loved Ones, which is pretty good going considering how many we've watched together.

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed my selections. I like your reviews :)

Anna Ryan-Punch said...

Oh yes, I think you're right. I just meant that I think if we chose our favourites, the main themes would probably differ :)