Post by GRWelsh on Aug 22, 2015 12:16:57 GMT -5
I just watched this and I enjoyed it. I had no idea what it was about, and that was probably for the best. I recommend it. It is both original and yet also has an old school horror feel to it. Some of the direction, like the lighting and the framing of the shots -- reminded me of Kubrick. The soundtrack is very retro: late 70's or early 80's synth. The whole thing has the feel of that time period, and certainly John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN. There were times when I was wondering what time period it was set it, because of all the old cars, houses and even TV sets -- but a girl with a hand-held computer or e-reader seemed to place it in the present. It was set in modern day Detroit, which is like a horror movie all on its own. The cast was great and they seemed like kids I actually could have known in high school, rather than horror movie archetypes. For the most part, the performances were subdued, which made them feel like real people.
SPOILERS Below...
I like that the monster was something teenagers would invent while sitting around a campfire or talking after school. The idea of an inscrutable supernatural entity that cares about your sex life, and is somehow passed along to whoever you have sex with just seems like such a "kids in high school" idea. I also like that no explanation is given. Things are scarier without explanations. There seem to be 'rules' for the monster, both physical and metaphysical, but it isn't clear at the end whether everything is resolved, or not. If you want to be cynical, you could say the whole thing is just an allegory for teen fears and anxieties about sex, STDs, etc. But that could also be said about the movies from the era that this one is paying homage to.
I think I could sum this up as: imagine an adult asks some kids to come up with something really scary. The kids come up with the monster idea. The adult has the resources and technical savvy to make a quality movie, and makes it happen. He treats the subject matter completely seriously, and doesn't try to be too clever or to add unnecessary plot twists (things I'm completely sick of in movies) -- he just makes a straightforward, old-school horror movie based on "what if" this monster existed and was stalking people.
SPOILERS Below...
I like that the monster was something teenagers would invent while sitting around a campfire or talking after school. The idea of an inscrutable supernatural entity that cares about your sex life, and is somehow passed along to whoever you have sex with just seems like such a "kids in high school" idea. I also like that no explanation is given. Things are scarier without explanations. There seem to be 'rules' for the monster, both physical and metaphysical, but it isn't clear at the end whether everything is resolved, or not. If you want to be cynical, you could say the whole thing is just an allegory for teen fears and anxieties about sex, STDs, etc. But that could also be said about the movies from the era that this one is paying homage to.
I think I could sum this up as: imagine an adult asks some kids to come up with something really scary. The kids come up with the monster idea. The adult has the resources and technical savvy to make a quality movie, and makes it happen. He treats the subject matter completely seriously, and doesn't try to be too clever or to add unnecessary plot twists (things I'm completely sick of in movies) -- he just makes a straightforward, old-school horror movie based on "what if" this monster existed and was stalking people.