Nicely written as always. I'll happily buy the Game Boy from Technology Nun; those things are expensive now.
I wonder if you've encountered Sam Kriss's article "The Repulsive Crust" on this platform before. He raises excellent points regarding the increasingly more vacuous and painfully reductive narratives so often encapsulated in "big brain" films of the modern age. (Shots are fired at A24, although he did enjoy Hereditary. Glad you did, too, by the way; it's one of the best horror works in recent years.)
Thanks for the kind words! We'll put in a good word re: the gameboy with the nun.
Weren't aware of that piece or Sam Kriss as a person prior to your link, so thanks much for sharing!
There's some compelling stuff regarding facile so-called elevated or big brain media - but have to admit we were distracted by a couple insane readings stitched across the piece (Hereditary as a reworking of Rosemary's Baby???, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as greatest English narrative????, Beau is Afraid as riff on Kafka's "The Judgment"?!).
Definitely vibe with the 30,000 foot view of the situation, but the close-up stuff seems (with all due respect to everyone and anyone) legit unhinged and very wrong. Thanks so much for sharing fr fr - it was fun to read and good food for thought.
He does tend to form bizarre parallels at times. I don't really see the Rosemary's Baby angle, myself. Kriss has made a point of embracing his contrarian style as a way of life, which has its shortcomings in critical evaluation, but it's the confidence with which he tears into the world around him that I admire.
I'm glad you enjoyed the article! Let me know if Tech Nun ever gets back to you.
Forever sympathetic to a contrarian! Thanks, again, for the link. It inadvertently made us want to watch the Green Knight movie. We'll see how that turns out. :)
Thanks for the blog, insightful and interesting as usual. thanks also for vividly bringing back the memory of when I saw the Exorcist. I remember where i was and with whom some 40 years ago. I hope i sleep well tonight and i will not be going in the basement without my flashlight!
Mainly for reasons you stated, I avoid current horror movies. But back in the day, Rosemary’s Baby scared the shit out of me. And it was only outdone to this day by The Exorcist.
There's still some good horror! X and Pearl are amazing. Also: It Follows, The Skin I Live In, The House of the Devil, Get Out, Barbarian, Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Conjuring, Titane, both of the Creep movies, The VVitch, and a good number of '90s horror flicks are great or at least interesting. There may not be another Rosemary or Exorcist, but there's a good amount of nightmare-worthy material if that's something you want in your life. Stay scared!
"They show you not just that something (anything) is frightening, but show you that understanding that something does little to assuage the fear it inspires in you. They each, in their own way, remind us that our feelings or emotions aren’t neutralized by knowledge. They aren’t, in many cases, even affected by it. They revel in the fact that you (whoever you are) are mostly a sensate body guided by feeling rather than an abstracted mind powered by reason."
God I love a sensate body, and I love being reminded that I'm (in) it.
Nicely written as always. I'll happily buy the Game Boy from Technology Nun; those things are expensive now.
I wonder if you've encountered Sam Kriss's article "The Repulsive Crust" on this platform before. He raises excellent points regarding the increasingly more vacuous and painfully reductive narratives so often encapsulated in "big brain" films of the modern age. (Shots are fired at A24, although he did enjoy Hereditary. Glad you did, too, by the way; it's one of the best horror works in recent years.)
A link, just in case:
https://samkriss.substack.com/p/the-repulsive-crust
Thanks for the kind words! We'll put in a good word re: the gameboy with the nun.
Weren't aware of that piece or Sam Kriss as a person prior to your link, so thanks much for sharing!
There's some compelling stuff regarding facile so-called elevated or big brain media - but have to admit we were distracted by a couple insane readings stitched across the piece (Hereditary as a reworking of Rosemary's Baby???, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as greatest English narrative????, Beau is Afraid as riff on Kafka's "The Judgment"?!).
Definitely vibe with the 30,000 foot view of the situation, but the close-up stuff seems (with all due respect to everyone and anyone) legit unhinged and very wrong. Thanks so much for sharing fr fr - it was fun to read and good food for thought.
He does tend to form bizarre parallels at times. I don't really see the Rosemary's Baby angle, myself. Kriss has made a point of embracing his contrarian style as a way of life, which has its shortcomings in critical evaluation, but it's the confidence with which he tears into the world around him that I admire.
I'm glad you enjoyed the article! Let me know if Tech Nun ever gets back to you.
Forever sympathetic to a contrarian! Thanks, again, for the link. It inadvertently made us want to watch the Green Knight movie. We'll see how that turns out. :)
Thanks for the blog, insightful and interesting as usual. thanks also for vividly bringing back the memory of when I saw the Exorcist. I remember where i was and with whom some 40 years ago. I hope i sleep well tonight and i will not be going in the basement without my flashlight!
Mainly for reasons you stated, I avoid current horror movies. But back in the day, Rosemary’s Baby scared the shit out of me. And it was only outdone to this day by The Exorcist.
There's still some good horror! X and Pearl are amazing. Also: It Follows, The Skin I Live In, The House of the Devil, Get Out, Barbarian, Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Conjuring, Titane, both of the Creep movies, The VVitch, and a good number of '90s horror flicks are great or at least interesting. There may not be another Rosemary or Exorcist, but there's a good amount of nightmare-worthy material if that's something you want in your life. Stay scared!
Thx.
"They show you not just that something (anything) is frightening, but show you that understanding that something does little to assuage the fear it inspires in you. They each, in their own way, remind us that our feelings or emotions aren’t neutralized by knowledge. They aren’t, in many cases, even affected by it. They revel in the fact that you (whoever you are) are mostly a sensate body guided by feeling rather than an abstracted mind powered by reason."
God I love a sensate body, and I love being reminded that I'm (in) it.