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Haiku888
Reviews
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
A modern fairy tale
This movie views best as a parable or fairy tale rather than straight - two nice boys head abroad with their minds on sex, in a fairly innocent way - the one most open about his desires is soon slaughtered by the wolf and comes back as a caution, the other finds romance & sex only to realize that he's marked with an wild, animal nature outside of his control which is deadly, to others and to woman he's drawn to. In that sense it feels like a product of its times, I'm not sure viewers today will get it in the same way of the tension between protecting others and fulfilling our animal natures (which seems now to be retro - ). But, it's an enjoyable film even if watched just for the story. The special effects are superb, the humor keeps it light. This movie may be triggering to people with depression or suicidal ideation, and is also very graphic in showing violence/corpses - I wouldn't advise it at all for kids or those who are sensitive to violence and violent images.
The Help (2011)
Just a bad feeling watching this film
The main characters in this film are stereotypes, which is OK - bu this film had pretensions to delve deep into inter-race relations in the Deep south - the characters are extremely simplistic. The Black characters really are barely above the mammy/maid stereotype - but add to that that the white girls are just mean, the one poor white girl is clueless, then you have the Great White Savior Figure Skeeter - this movie was so depressing to me,, so dirty in it's fundamental assumptions, - it's just a mean, crabby movie. I wish I never saw it, it's like some nasty film on your mind. I will try to forget this as soon as I can .
Demon (2015)
Disturbing psychological thriller that demands viewers connect the dots
A serious and disturbing movie, all the more so as the director took his life shortly after its release. Billed as a take on the legend of the dybbuk, it is more an indictment of keeping secrets in Postwar Poland. The movie focuses on Peter, an outsider we assume has Polish background but has grown up in England. He comes to the rural Polish town his fiancee Zaneta is from to marry her and settle down. The film has two tracks: an ostensibly happy, folklore-ish Polish wedding with beautiful rustic setting & costuming, traditional music, and the ties of friends and family; and the story of the land and house Zaneta's grandfather has willed her, which we find out rather quickly has dark secrets. Keeping those secrets hidden is the main motivator of action: whether by not telling anyone what we have found, physically covering it up with an earth mover, silencing those who speak out, playing the music loudly, or pouring more and more vodka. Peter and Zaneta are the only ones who can't hide the secrets: Peter because they increasingly throughout the night manifest in his body, and Zaneta because she has been kept innocent. This is a deeply atmospheric film with lots of metaphoric imagery. The film hints at but doesn't detail what the secrets are - if you don't know something of the history of rural Poles & Jews in Poland during the WWII era it may be difficult to understand what is going on. We never find out the specific crime or who was at fault: whatever happened or who did matter less than the ongoing cover up, which all but one guest is complicit in: of the literal skeleton & family history, and then of its manifestation in the bridegroom. It also doesn't provides a neatly packaged ending - it seems the issue of dealing with the past has been solved by disappearing its manifestation, Peter, and that Zaneta has decisively rejected nostalgia & the romantic ties of the land. It's a very stark ending and an indictment of those who would celebrate the cute aspects of folk culture without addressing its darker aspects.