***Edit because apparently I don't know the date...... Oops. December 3 apparently only happens once a year, not twice....***
I've been trying out horror lately, so for day3 4 let's talk It (2017, Bill Skarsgârd).
Full disclosure: this was my first real horror movie. I saw Crimson Peak (2015, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain) 2 years ago but that wasn't really horror. I saw Get Out (2017, Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford), but that was more dark comedy than scary. I talked myself into seeing It because a) I heard really good things, b) I saw The Dark Tower (2017, Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor) and rumor has it they're working on a whole Steven King cinematic universe and I want to be up to date, and c) my go to theater had a sensory friendly screening so I got to see it with the lights on.
So there I was, first real horror movie ever. And you know what? I was ok. I kind of liked it. I didn't walk out scared. I haven't had nightmares. I wasn't even particularly scared while watching the movie. The jump scares got me of course, but beyond the jolt of brief adrenaline, I didn't experience real fear.
It did make me think about fear though, which to me is why this was a really great film.
If you are completely unfamiliar with It, I'm guessing it's due to a conscious choice to avoid it since it's not exactly a new movie, but I will sum up:
In a small town in Maine, people, especially children, disappear at an alarming rate. A plucky group of misfit pre teens find themselves hunted by a shapeshifting creepy thing to whom they begin to refer as "it." Each of the kids has something hard or frightening happening in their home lives, missing siblings, parents with munchhausens, abusive parents, etc.
It is basically a creepy clown boggart with a little dementor thrown in for good measure. It feeds on fear. Luckily, when the kids start focusing on what is real and what is it they can focus on beating the thing.
It's a cool question though. What is fear? Obviously when you're in a position to be afraid it is how you know that you want to get away. Of course we all have fears, but when those fears aren't present, what is the emotion? The more you think about it, the less it exists. And suddenly *poof* the shapeshifting killer clown from outerspace (I think? That's what I'm getting from google. That isn't covered in this movie but I guess people know that from the original movie and the book) doesn't have power over you.
Besides that, the kids have very real things to be frightened of in their lives. The clown is just copycatting those things and basically why bother.
Beyond an exploration into the deep philosophical concept of fear, this is also a pretty blatant coming of age story. We see one of the most blatant "ok this is a period" moments of all time when the girl is covered by a literal wave of blood. Blood comes shooting out of the drain and drenches her entire bathroom. You couldn't have less subtle imagery if you clobbered the audience over the head with it.
So there you have it. I saw a horror movie and convinced myself fear doesn't exist.
***obligatory special shout out to Bill Skarsgârd for being really attractive and making the whole creepy killer clown thing weird AF 'cause omg he's prettyyyy***
I've been trying out horror lately, so for day
Full disclosure: this was my first real horror movie. I saw Crimson Peak (2015, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain) 2 years ago but that wasn't really horror. I saw Get Out (2017, Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford), but that was more dark comedy than scary. I talked myself into seeing It because a) I heard really good things, b) I saw The Dark Tower (2017, Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor) and rumor has it they're working on a whole Steven King cinematic universe and I want to be up to date, and c) my go to theater had a sensory friendly screening so I got to see it with the lights on.
So there I was, first real horror movie ever. And you know what? I was ok. I kind of liked it. I didn't walk out scared. I haven't had nightmares. I wasn't even particularly scared while watching the movie. The jump scares got me of course, but beyond the jolt of brief adrenaline, I didn't experience real fear.
It did make me think about fear though, which to me is why this was a really great film.
If you are completely unfamiliar with It, I'm guessing it's due to a conscious choice to avoid it since it's not exactly a new movie, but I will sum up:
In a small town in Maine, people, especially children, disappear at an alarming rate. A plucky group of misfit pre teens find themselves hunted by a shapeshifting creepy thing to whom they begin to refer as "it." Each of the kids has something hard or frightening happening in their home lives, missing siblings, parents with munchhausens, abusive parents, etc.
It is basically a creepy clown boggart with a little dementor thrown in for good measure. It feeds on fear. Luckily, when the kids start focusing on what is real and what is it they can focus on beating the thing.
It's a cool question though. What is fear? Obviously when you're in a position to be afraid it is how you know that you want to get away. Of course we all have fears, but when those fears aren't present, what is the emotion? The more you think about it, the less it exists. And suddenly *poof* the shapeshifting killer clown from outerspace (I think? That's what I'm getting from google. That isn't covered in this movie but I guess people know that from the original movie and the book) doesn't have power over you.
Besides that, the kids have very real things to be frightened of in their lives. The clown is just copycatting those things and basically why bother.
Beyond an exploration into the deep philosophical concept of fear, this is also a pretty blatant coming of age story. We see one of the most blatant "ok this is a period" moments of all time when the girl is covered by a literal wave of blood. Blood comes shooting out of the drain and drenches her entire bathroom. You couldn't have less subtle imagery if you clobbered the audience over the head with it.
So there you have it. I saw a horror movie and convinced myself fear doesn't exist.
***obligatory special shout out to Bill Skarsgârd for being really attractive and making the whole creepy killer clown thing weird AF 'cause omg he's prettyyyy***