An American nanny is shocked that her new English family’s boy is actually a life-sized doll. After she violates a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive.
TheBoy might have a ridiculous premise, but if you’re anything like me and hate dolls, you’ll find this gloriously creepy, and it’s a really well done, if not silly, horror.
Scare Factor: 4 Creep Factor: 10
2. The Open House (2018)
A teenager and his mother find themselves besieged by threatening forces when they move into a temporary house which is actually for sale and has open Sundays.
This was actually much better than I was expecting. There’s definitely something creepy about having strangers in your house, especially when you suspect that they may not have actually left…
Scare Factor: 6 Creep Factor: 5
3. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
A father and son, both coroners, are pulled into a complex mystery while attempting to identify the body of a young woman, who was apparently harbouring dark secrets.
If you haven’t seen the original, then watch that instead, but it’s sadly not on Netflix. This remake isn’t half bad though and gives you a good taster of one of the most classic stories of revenge ever told on screen.
Scare factor: 8 Creep Factor: 4
5. The Awakening (2011)
In 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the ‘missing’ begin to show themselves.
It’s been a while since I saw this but I remember it being much better than I was expecting. Some genuine scares and many potential jump scares.
Scare Factor: 7 Creep Factor: 7
While we’re talking about Netflix, has anyone watched The Haunting on Hill House yet? Thoughts? I watched the first episode and didn’t enjoy it at all. Do I need to give it a chance?
I don’t usually feel the urge to write movie reviews, even though I go to the cinema about once week. After seeing this film, however, I really felt like I had to write down my thoughts because I couldn’t figure out what my thoughts were! It was one strange film.
Did I enjoy it? Not sure. Did I understand it? Probably not!
I went into this film not knowing anything about it other than seeing the trailer, and at the time of writing this, I had not read anything about it either…so were my theories correct? Read on…
Summary: A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. [Certificate 18, 2 hr 1 min running time]
When I was working in pubs and first started getting manager shifts I started having these awful stress-dreams where people simply refused to leave at the end of the night (turns out this is a common thing in the trade). I’d go around the pub telling each group of customers that drinking time was up and they had to leave, but no one would move. I’d lock one door but more people would come through a side door and I couldn’t stop them. They would be crowding around the bar shouting for drinks and start trashing the place. AND NEVER LEAVE.
That’s exactly what watching this film was like. It was exhausting, claustrophobic, and stressful (especially for someone like me who finds people tiring at the best of times – not least when they show up uninvited and then won’t leave).
Being an Aronofsky film (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream), I knew mother! would be a bit doo-lally, but woah. I didn’t expect that amount of craziness. On the surface it seems like a confused, badly-written film, but surely there’s more to it!?
At first glance it’s a home invasion story where these bizarre, audacious people keep turning up at the house Jennifer Lawrence’s character (yep none of the characters have proper names, just to add to the pretension of it all) has built from scratch. And when they finally outstay their welcome, they refuse to leave. This gives way to the marital breakdown part of the story where the young wife (still Lawrence) will always love the older husband (Javier Bardem’s ‘Him’) more than he loves her, no matter how hard she tries. And then there’s the real horror element which is a sort of creepy living house vibe, where stains grow by themselves and walls have heartbeats. Weird.
As the film surpassed the half-way mark, it got pretty disturbingly bizarre and increasingly fantastical. It’s one of those films that you hope has a point that you’re not quite grasping, because without a point, it seems pretty terrible.
But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. I couldn’t look away, even though I wanted to. A lot.
As I said at the beginning, I’ve not read any of the reviews of interviews, so I only have my own thoughts to go on, and for what it’s worth, I came up with the following theories:
1. Aronofsky is trying to represent the hormonal, emotional and physical turmoil of pregnancy. Was the whole thing a metaphor for JL’s pregnancy-induced paranoia of never being good enough?
2. Or, it is a representation of the ego of mankind. Those who feed off the goodness of others, whom take everything and give nothing. I think I like this theory the most.
(On a side note, it could also be a dig at celebrity culture – those who crave constant attention and out-pourings of love and admiration?)
3. It is a political/ecological lesson about overpopulation, inhumanity, and environmental destruction.
It’s possible the writer/director was trying to say all of these things and that’s why it was so mad. No doubt everyone who sees it will have their own theories as well, so I think the film was a success on that level. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt the need to actively find the meaning behind a film or story. And the more I think about what it could all mean, the less ridiculous the film seems. Taken at face value though, it is just that – ridiculous.
***Update: I have since read some reviews and interviews about what the hell was going on here and it turns out my theories weren’t quite what Aronofsky had in mind. But I don’t think I was that far off! This Telegraph article explains all (and has ALL THE SPOILERS FYI)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish(click the link to visit them) who pick a different topic each week.
This week the topic is… All about the movies.
There was quite a few suggestions for the movie theme this week and one of them was 90s movies. I was an 80s baby and a 90s t(w)een so naturally 90s movies are full of childhood nostalgia for me.
So without further ado, here are my top ten 90s movies (that everyone should watch)! In no particular order…
The Craft
Clueless
Scream
Home Alone
An Interview with a Vampire
Speed
Pretty Woman
10 Things I Hate about You
Edward Scissorhands
Terminator 2
Bonus Round:Not quite the 90s…
These were staples of my childhood, and I still love to watch them now! Let’s face it, 80s films were also pretty awesome. I’ll have to do a separate post for them at the some point.
It doesn’t have to be Halloween for me to watch horror films – I love them all year round. But there is something about this time of year which makes them more ..tempting. Here is a list of films now available on Netflix, should you wish to have you own Halloween movie night this weekend. Links go to the trailers. All info from IMDB.
It’s Ed and Sarah’s first night at their new home – an isolated farmhouse on the Scottish borders. This should be a new beginning away from their stressful London lives. And at first it is; come sunset they fall in love all over again on a wander in the woods. But as darkness falls, Sarah suspects they’re not alone, Ed goes to investigate and quickly, the evening becomes a nightmare. It suddenly dawns on them; they do not belong here. And they certainly aren’t welcome either….[15]
Watch it if you like…Home Invasion movies such as Funny Games, The Strangers and You’re Next.
HOLIDAYS is an anthology feature film that puts a uniquely dark and original spin on some of the most iconic and beloved holidays of all time by challenging our folklore, traditions and assumptions. [18]
Watch it if you like … anthology films such as The ABC’s of Death, Quicksilver Highway and The Vault of Horror
After the traumatic loss of her mother, a teenaged girl tries to uncover the dark secrets behind her new home, in spite of her father’s disbelief. [18]
Watch it if you like… films with very unhinged killers such as Black Christmas, and Psycho.
Desperate to help her ailing brother, a young woman unknowingly agrees to compete in a deadly game of “Would You Rather,” hosted by a sadistic aristocrat.[15]
Watch if you like… films with deranged puppet masters such as Saw, Nine Dead, and 13 Sins
A single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, battles with her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her. [15]
Watch it if you like… slow burners such as The Woman in Black, Starry Eyes and The Innkeepers
Aliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.
Watch it if you like… so bad it’s good films such as Snarknado, Critters, The Gremlins
I am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House (2016)
This Nextflix Original only became available tonight. It may deserve its place on this list or it may not. There’s only one way to find out. Premise: A young nurse takes care of elderly author who lives in a haunted house.
A photographer’s obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer, Mahogany, the subway murderer who stalks late night commuters, ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways imaginable. [18]
Watch it if you like…total gore-fests such as The Green Inferno, The Collector and Hatchet.
Criminals hijack a plane and force the pilot and his daughter to fly them to Mexico. However, an unexpected landing finds them in a cemetery inhabited by killer scarecrows. [18]
Watch it if you like… terrible 80’s horror such as Bad Taste, Brain Dead and The Leprechaun
A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.
Lipsyy Lost & Found 