Something old, something new part 2

For this installment of 'Something Old, Something New' I went with Suburban Gothic (2015) and The Bad Seed (1956).

Let's talk about it!!

Suburban Gothic (2015)

This film was wonderful. Directed by Richard Bates Jr. and starring a great cast including Matthew Gray Gubler and Kat Dennings. There's also a great array of guest stars including my idols Jen and Sylvia Soska, and the legendary John Waters.
The main character Raymond is forced to move back home after being unable to find a job with his new degree. His parents are hilariously awful. The father is aggressive, racist, and clueless. The mother lives in her own dream world where she's in love with the gardener.
We watch as Raymond rediscovers old characters from his school including Becca who he takes a shining with and some bullies that continue to try and bully him.

Raymond is unique - strange sense of style, quick dry wit, and a history of being able to see the paranormal until he was diagnosed with a blood pressure disorder and is forced to take pills. But now that he's back in town, the eccentric doctor won't prescribe him any refills.
While the gardener is working on the garden he discovers a wooden box with a body inside. This intrigues Raymond who is now starting to see spooky stuff happening around the house after being unable to see ghosts for years. He realizes he needs to find the now missing dead body and with the help of Becca fumbles through the whole process.

The movie is weird. It's as eccentric as its' characters. But I loved it! It was a quick watch and a fun ride with lots of laughs and enough weirdness to make me feel at home. My only complaint were the scares were completely lacking, it was more of a Beetlejuice than a Housebound. I would definitely recommend it but only to those with specific weirder tastes.

I can't wait to watch it again, mostly because this film is very close to my real life.

9/10

The Bad Seed (1956)

THIS MOVIE WAS FUCKING FANTASTIC. Seriously gobsmacked at the talent in this film. It centers around little psychopath Rhoda and her unknowing mother Christine.
I actually don't want to share too much about this movie because I went in cold turkey and was hooked from the first minute. I would recommend the same.
The acting by the little girl is astounding. I believe this actress was nominated for an Oscar for this role and well deserved because this girl was terrifying, played by Patty McCormack. The mother, played by Nancy Kelly, also does a fantastic job as her character slowly starts to unravel.
There is not a single moment of violence in this film, yet there is SO much. It's all just left to the imagination.
AND THAT ENDING
WHAT
THE
FUCK

Also there's a drunken mother character who cracks me the fuck up and if I could drink alcohol I would probably be a lot like her. Just wandering into people's houses uninvited, announcing"I'm drunk" and then trying to sleep on their couch.
It's also based on a book which I will now hunt down and read.

All in all it was an extremely well acted, enjoyable film. My only complaint is it ran quite long and did feel it in some parts.

9/10

So there we have it. Round two of 'Something Old, Something New'. I love doing this mini challenge because it's just so fascinating to watch how far we've come in the horror genre, but also how little progress we've made sometimes.

This weekend I plan on putting up my Halloween decorations!!!! The agreement was the 15th but I think the 12th is close enough. It's basically already the 15th at that point. I'm also working hard on my history of horror presentation for work (learning powerpoint whyyyyy???).

Today I also panicked because I realized October is really close and I haven't started on my October movie challenge yet. So now I'm digging through my itunes wishlist and the notes on my phone to compile 31 movies and making some sort of sense/theme to them.

Have a good rest of this short work week and stay spooky!!

something old, something new

I have felt like a giant bag of garbage all week so far and it's only Wednesday. But you know what cures that? Wrapping yourself up in a blanket burrito and watching horror movies. Cause yeah, you may feel like shit, maybe you're hella tired from feeling so sick, but at least you're not being chased by a chainsaw or developed some psycho STD that tracks you down to kill you.

Life's rough. But it could always be worse. So first up on my night of horror to make myself feel better is:

It Follows

Welp. Did not live up to the hype. Sorry guys. I did enjoy it and I will watch it again in time but I just found it more "indie" than "horror". I loved the concept but it felt a little silly in some of the confrontation scenes when only Jay can see "it" and the others are just watching things fly around wildly. And the ending felt a little too open ended and not in the good way. I liked the different forms that "it" took and found it quite creepy in some scenes. But I didn't love this movie. Like fall in love and aggressively recommend. It just felt like, oh okay, I see what you're doing and I get it but you haven't sold me. I did enjoy the dream like quality of the whole thing though.

What I did really enjoy was all the little Halloween references. The opening shot alone I had a moment where I was like did I put on Halloween instead? And the scene when Jay is in class and looks out the window to see "it" walking towards her. Loved that. I love when horror movies give little nods to the classics.

I would say the first half hour was right up my alley and then I lost heart. I do love when horror movies have rules like this one - sleep with someone else to pass it on, don't die or it comes after me, always find somewhere that has two exits etc but it just wasn't enough for me.

Watch the trailer here

Overall I'm going with 6/10 but am willing to do another rewatch in awhile with an open mind. If anything, all this movie made me wanna do was watch Halloween. So just go watch Halloween, you'll be better off.

gif credit

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

A classic. Show me one person who hasn't at least heard of this movie? This movie is such a stepping stone in our horror legacy and I could honestly talk about it for hours. And attempt to quite often. Such a rich piece of history with a back story of how it was made just as interesting as the movie itself. And since we now for sure have our prequel happening which I am holding no judgment until I start to find out more, it's only fitting to revisit where it all began - in 1973, in backwoods Texas, with one hell of a fucked up family, and a dinner scene that traumatized a generation.

While re-watching I completely forgot how annoying Franklin gets. Like, bud, you're a fifth wheel in a wheel chair, what did you think was going to happen? And I love how leatherface never skips a beat. Two random people show up in your house? On it. Where's my chainsaw?
I was also reminded why you should never pick up hitchhikers because they may just pull a knife out of their boot and cut you for no goddamn reason. And lastly I noticed - if I was single and left to my own devices I think my house would end up like the house in this movie - wind chimes made out of bones, chicken feathers, chainsaws etc and like, I'm not positive, but probably without the redneck crazy family.

If you haven't seen this film, you're in for a treat, and I beg you to drop everything and go watch it right now. Check out the original trailer here and get ready to spend the rest of your life panicking whenever you hear that sharp whine.

Always a solid 10/10

Also happy tenth anniversary The Devil's Rejects!!

(also I posted this on Thursday but wrote it on Wednesday so deal with it)
(AHAHAH totally forgot to post this. I'm the worst. Posting it on a Sunday cause that's how this is happening apparently)