Week Five Witches

I watched Suspiria Directed by Dario Argento.

The film is really creepy and it’s not just the creepy that makes you jump. The movie really just builds a strong sense of unease and suspense throughout. There are several extremely grotesque murder scenes, in one instance a woman’s entire face is cut in half by a piece of glass, and the scene with the maggots on the ceilings was creepy on a visceral level. The colors are very saturated in this film and it feels almost like a live action version of a Disney movie. The compositions are similar to stylized illustrations, and sometimes the light sources make absolutely no sense. The blues and reds often overlap to create purple and everything is just super saturated inside the school. The colors and style have a strong fairytale quality and inspite of being so adult in content, overall the film has a lack of nudity or blatant sexuality. I feel that the palate and lighting create a nightmarish atmosphere for the witch’s drama to play out in.

I can see why Argento has been labeled the "Italian Hitchcock." The design of the film is on point; everything is meticulously designed down to the last detail. The film has an almost completely female cast and there are only a few male charters. In a 2009 interview Argento said of the male roles in the film: “One is blind, one can’t speak, and the other is gay. It’s the women who have all the power.”

I’m not familiar with any Of Argento’s other films but while researching him after watching Suspiria I came across several different blogs and articles accusing him of misogyny. There was a lively debate in the comments section of people defending or condemning his works. It definitely seems to be a horror genre trend to really draw out female deaths. However Suspiria has such a strong cast of female characters that I don’t think there is anything especially misogynistic about this particular film. Some of the death/horror scenes are drawn out and graphic but that would probably lead more to a debate about depictions of death in cinema then anything specifically to do with women. Most of the comments about Argento’s work being misogynistic related to other works in his filmography.

Week Four New Weird

I watched Snowpiercer.

While Snowpiercer does not fit completely into the “new weird” as we discussed in class, I definitely think it includes elements of the weird. With the film industry suffering from less interest and so many studios only making safe bet films, I really found this movie fresh. It definitely felt a little lower budget VFX wise, but honestly I think this actually worked to its advantage.

            I have recently been watching biopic films, so it was nice to jump into something more allegorical. I found the idea of the remnants of humanity being stuck together on a train to be a little far fetched at first, however that was just my initial mistake of looking at the story literally. The film does a great job of not being overly literal and in the end I really enjoyed it for that. While there is definitely a strong feeling of symbolism in the structure of the train carriages and the layers of brainwashing through out each section of the train, I think some of the ideas in the film are still left very open to interpretation.

            In certain places the symbolism does feel a little heavy handed, but I think Bong Joon-ho gets away with it because of the stylization of the characters, and the almost cartoonish quality to the action. In terms of art direction it has a comic book feel and the color and cinematography was really beautiful throughout.

I really like how this film asks complex questions but allows the viewer to come up with his or her own ideas. It definitely does not just force-feed you a generic concept statement. In terms of “weird” and genre, the film is broadly a science fiction piece, however I think the film blends together a mixture of the horrific, uncanny, and strange. It is definitely a wild ride psychologically, just when you think you understand where everything is heading the floor is pulled out from underneath you. Snowpiercer plays with many different genre conventions and never gives the viewer what they might come to expect from more standard formula Hollywood films.

Week Two Vampires

I watched Byzantium and started rereading Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Byzantium was a breath of fresh air from any recent vampire films I have seen.

The film was exceptionally well crafted, from the beautiful color pallets to the costume design, cinematography and casting. The performances felt really authentic and believable. I really liked how supporting characters reacted with disbelief to the vampire story when it was raveled to them. it made the whole world feel so much more real.

The use of gothic architecture throughout the film was also really visually impressive. In the first scene of the writing class with the teacher walking above the laying down students there was a constant use of architecture elements to point to and frame the characters.

My only disappointment was the unrealized potential of the story, I felt like it was a good story but I thought it might offer more in the end. I liked the nonlinear narratives all-weaving together to slowly deliver the plot but at the end of the film I did not feel entirely satisfied. There were some twists but It felt like a little bit of a missed opportunity.

Byzantium has really powerful female characters and because of their age and circumstances, have grown up in a completely patriarchal world. It is really interesting how the characters deal with sex and violence and men, in different ways in a more modern context. The contrast between Clara and Eleanor adds a lot of interest to the film. I want to root for Clara, her honesty is very endearing, but despite being hundreds of years old and extremely wary of the outside world, she seems naïve, or maybe she just cant hold back from the telling the truth and trusting people any longer? It’s the complexity and subtlety of the characters and performances that really make this film compelling to watch. Overall the story and characters had a much more tangible sense of authenticity then any vampire movie I have seen recently.