Turns out I missed writing every week. Welcome to Spooktober! I’ve built a line-up of scary movies for every Friday (and some Saturdays) to watch with my friends. Here was last week’s.
Nosferatu (1922): Despite all the furor I’ve heard about the film and how excited I was to watch scary vampires, I wasn’t as fully moved by it as I thought it would be. This is potentially because we ran into an error that made the subtitles linger for a long period of time, leading to a hilarious, instead of horrifying, dramatic peak.
I found myself questioning the antisemitic roots of the character design a bit too often to get pulled into the narrative, so it’s definitely a movie I’d watch again to get past my initial defenses. (My conclusion: not intentional but also…not very avoidable.) While I have a lot of respect for Goth Wife, I never felt particularly attached to anyone. I was impressed by the speed at which the story unfolded and the fluidity of the editing. Maybe silent dramas just aren’t my thing but I find that the way they linger on faces for three extra beats make me bored. Here, there always seemed to be an understandable action and when that was done it moved on. In some ways the audience is supposed to revel in the emotions of the character but at some point when the camera stays on too long the emotion stops registering and I’m like, “what are we here for?” I can’t tell if this was because of difficulty editing (which, understandable) or because it’s supposed to be conveying an emotion I’m just not reading. Either way, I was impressed how all the horror movies across the board seemed to clip along at an engaging rate. Kind of like switching from The Woman in White to The Sign of Four. There’s just something I appreciate about economical storytelling.
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920): The slow sink into madness again. This was my second viewing, but my first time with a score that at least tried to mirror the time period. My first attempt was accompanied by a college electronica kid who just booped and beeped endlessly. It was an interesting experiment but also five times louder than it needed to be and gave me a headache halfway through. Much more pleasant experience this time! The cumulative effect of the weird, twisted world of Caligari is unparalleled.
It feels like a much newer movie than Nosferatu, even though it’s a few years older. I think because where Nosferatu feels like a Victorian novel (a very faithful adaptation!), Caligari takes on fairy tale and cartoon qualities. I couldn’t stop looking at how the stripes on the Doctor’s gloves matched the stripes in his hairline. It’s like someone had sketched him. Kind of like a weird comic strip brought to life? The entire world is done in coal and pencil and I just love the aspect of it being a representation of someone’s memory. And the forced perspectives!!!
Also Cesare is hot.
And then, of course, TCM was airing an entire day of Pre-Code horror films, so I had to hop on that train this weekend.
The Most Dangerous Game (1932): This film, barely an hour long, was amazing. While I know it’s used as a reference for many I think the actual movie is underseen and underrated. It has everything you want out of an adventure film, with Joel McCrea as a heartless hunter, Fay Wray as a woman who knows what’s happening before anyone else does, Leslie Banks as the Russian gentleman murderer. Yes, you know going in exactly what’s about to happen, but I found the actual theme of the film to be much deeper and psychologically exciting than what I expected. Plus, everyone fully throws themselves into their roles. The cinematography is excellent, all deep shadows and creaky stairways until we’re thrown out into the dense island jungle and foggy canyons. It’s literally only an hour, do yourselves a favor and watch it.
White Zombie (1932): Along with this gem! I have found that across the board early cinema horror film scores SLAP. White Zombie is no exception, with a smart mix of chanting, humming, orchestra and sometimes, dead silence. The groan of the sugar mill while the zombies mindlessly work is truly chilling. I’ve never considered the use of zombies as a question of agency, but this film pulls it to the forefront. Bela Lugosi captures local natives, his former enemies, and the lead female herself, all falling under his thrall and forced to his will. It’s also another slow sink into the gothic as we start with a fairly modern age sensibility and then move to Lugosi’s castle where the bride is wearing queenly and Victorian gowns with her long hair curled. It’s heavy on style and atmosphere and never fails to excite.
Next Week: Muppets! Jared Padalecki! 3D remakes!
Halloween Song of the Week: Perhaps the best monsterfucker song that is criminally underplayed.
Jan 2017: Y’all! I made it to January! Aren’t you proud of me? Right now I’m between Jonathan Creek and Sherlock specials and have been for a few weeks. A lot of my time has been spent on The Sentinel, which is not part of any viewing project, except perhaps that one in my heart. Jonathan Creek? Can be good but it’s a lot! Sherlock? Does not hold up well! Exactly what I expected! More news as it develops.
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