Heyo lovely people! So, when I first started drafting this, which included an intro since replaced with this one, I was pre-procedure for dealing with my health issues (you can read more about that here!). But now, I’m in the clear, both figuratively and literally. My head is clear for the first time since August/September of last year, and good golly gosh does it feel good. While I know this is a temporary measure, a six-month measure to help me (ideally), that’s six months to be again.

It doesn’t mean I’m health-problem-free, not by an aeon, but I’m looking forward to this one gaping thing not being there.

Meanwhile, I wanted to celebrate a recent movie binge I enjoyed earlier this month, and why not do just that with some flash reviews? Of course, before we touch upon the titles I have listed below…

What I’m Reading: The Books of Earthsea (Ursula K. Le Guin — Gollancz)

What I’m Watching: The Stand (CBS)

What I’m Playing: Again, my beloved Bingo Bash.

I don’t think I could possibly accurate summarise my love for psychological horror and thrillers. I love dark, mad, brutal stories that aren’t afraid to gift us unhappy endings. That being said, it can be all-too-easy to screw up this genre of film; a lot of that stems from the idea that just showing darkness and ooh, mind-bendiness! will a good film make. A genuinely good dark film is hard, seeing as the film needs to assert the right balance of tone, whispers of hope, and gentle incline of dread. My favourite still remains Requiem for a Dream — based on the 1978 novel of the same name I mentioned in my favourite reads of 2020 — which I semi-regularly rewatch. Currently, I only have two films I have zero intentions of returning to, the first being American Psycho for its cat scene (I draw a hard line when animals become involved), the second being one of the films mentioned in this collection.

And before you ask, no, it’s not Spider-Man: Far From Home. Though, that would be quite the twist!

As well, you’ll see that the last two are not psychological horrors or thrillers, but given they were involved in my binge session, and given the former four films are heavy, I gathered, why not end the blog post on a slightly lighter note?

A note in advance: these films, especially the first four, are considerably violent, dark, and gruelling in nature. I highly recommend all of them, and I’ll leave more specific descriptors under each individual film review, but I don’t want anyone going in blind to them. That would be unjust.

And with that…

Midsommar

Ari Aster, 2019 (A24)

I’ve never seen Hereditary. It’s on my to-watch list, but I found myself purchasing a copy of this film instead. Is it because of my Fennoscandian, Scandinavian heritage that I opted for Midsommar first? Perhaps. Regardless of my decision, this was a film.

That’s going to be a common description: me, exhaling coarsely, scrunching up my mouth and thinking, “That was… a film.” When all other words fail.

Besides the rating on my copy, it mentioned violence and gore. I shrugged and carried on, but I did not expect Ari Aster to take it quite to the level he did. Let me leave no words minced, this is a graphically violent, gory film. Not to the point of excess, the moments in question few and far between, nor is it ever placed before our wide eyes for the sake of shocking us. Its violence is a statement, the glistening edge of the blade that is Midsommar. Though the final scene is still clear in my memory, it is perhaps the chaos which immediately precedes it that will outlast all else. I came out the other end not really knowing what to say or think, and I’ll definitely be going back in down the track.

The story is well-crafted, the acting is fantastic — with special shout-outs to Florence Pugh for her work as main character Dani, capturing the spirit of her tormented and engaging character effortlessly. I drifted through this story almost as if I’d taken what the characters did throughout, gaping at that iconic last shot and its subsequent credits.

Worth the watch, but probably not with parents. 3.75/5.

The Lighthouse

Robert Eggers, 2019 (A24)

So, um, this film…

Probably my favourite of the ones mentioned in this post. Also the last film I watched inside my filmic binge. I didn’t know much beyond it being a story of two men slowly going mad together, and I would recommend you go into The Lighthouse with just as much knowledge. I will say that this film is meticulously, masterfully crafted; its two actors are phenomenal, the music is fantastical… The way it’s shot captures everything, leaving it one of the most sensorily-intensive movies I’ve encountered.

This is filled with moments seared into my eyelids, including a scene where Willem Dafoe stares down at Robert Pattinson’s character for two minutes, eyes wide, never blinking once. Goodness, even just thinking of this film leaves me wanting to squirm.

I will say this, as I wish I’d known it going in; there is one scene featuring violence against a seagull. I had to look away when that moment came about.

This is the film in question I won’t return to; not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t need to. It has spoken, and I have listened. 4.5/5.

Rosemary’s Baby

Roman Polanski, 1968 (Paramount)

Let’s get this out of the way right now. The director, Roman Polanski deserves to have spent the last few decades in prison. I watched this upon separating him from the movie. Any praise I have goes to this film as a whole.

Still, I’m uncertain if I’ll watch this film again down the line. There are moments where I was staring and wondering, “What the flamboodle-oodle have I gotten myself into?” My face mimicked what it’d look like if I swatted a spider and it turned out the spider was carrying babies, me and my *cough cough* minor arachnophobia. I remember messaging my sister partway into the film, having taken a break for dinner, and I kickstarted the chat with, “I’m continuing Rosemary’s Baby and what the fuck am I watching”. Other gems of my commentary include, “My brain’s already too ducked up by this fucking film” and my personal favourite, “SHE IS EATING RAW ANIMAL ORGANS I CANNOT FUCKING EVEN”, followed immediately by my sister sending a gif of horror and me clarifying, “That’s not even the most disturbing thing shown so far”. The craziest part is that’s 100% true. This film isn’t a violent one, per se, nor is it especially graphic — we don’t see her baby once, though Mia Farrow’s (who plays Rosemary, considerably well, I’ll add) reaction says enough — but messed up? I’ll go the rest of my life without another satanic sex scene, please.

(I will add that that sex scene in question is undoubtedly the single-most violent scene in the movie. I don’t want to think about where exactly that came from.)

To sum up Rosemary’s Baby, which is in many respects a product of its time — will NO ONE listen to the woman about her concerns concerning HER baby — I will conclude my final piece of commentary I sent my dollop of a sister’s way.

“Gods, this film makes me fuckin rage, mate”. 3/5.

The Nightingale

Jennifer Kent, 2018 (Transmission Films)

Midsommar was a violent film. The Lighthouse was a violent film. Rosemary’s Baby had one of the more violent scenes in a film. The Nightingale?

You’ve probably heard of Jennifer Kent’s more famous film, The Babadook. I haven’t seen that film, though I’d heard extraordinary things about this one. And so I watched it.

Ooh boy. I will say now that I loved this movie and its unrelenting tale of life in 1800s’ Australia. The Nightingale is a damning song, a haunting depiction of Australia in a time where the self-imposed elite sneered at, objectified, discriminated, and brutalised anyone they considered inferior. Kent does not pull punches, and I respect her for it. The Nightingale is perhaps the single-most violent film I’ve ever watched; though the physical, in-your-face violence is somewhat sparse, the nature of it provides a constant, intensive undercurrent for all else. It is a meditation not just on violence, but revenge, as well as the state of the country from which I and millions of other people descend.

I will add here that there are multiple sequences that include sexual assault, considerably grotesque murders, racial discrimination, and, in one of the more haunting scenes presented in the film, the devastation upon main character Clare’s family. Hard to watch from credits to credits? Undoubtedly. An important film we should all be watching, given it stands a sharp portrayal of Australia’s recent bloody history? Without question.

This one will be going down in my all-time favourites. 4/5.

Beautiful Boy

Felix van Groeningen, 2018 (Plan B Entertainment)

And so we take a different route in film. Beautiful Boy, I’ll confess I stumbled toward because it features Timothée Chalamet, of whom I’m quite the fan. I read the back of the DVD, and I was genuinely intrigued. Though my heart is first and foremost devoted to the psychological, I love several genres in film. It’s my favourite method of categorizing my films. I must say, I’m so glad that I learned about this movie, because it’s beautiful.

I watched this as something of an outsider; I’ve never known anyone who’s suffered from drug abuse. That being said, the insight of both the father, David and the son, Nic as Nic slowly spirals into a harsh and unrelenting world. Its handling of both sides is flooded with empathy and a straightness which leaves no punches pulled. Indeed, Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carell both shine in their roles, feeling like human beings instead of characters. It wasn’t until the credits that I realised this was all based on two books, written by the real David and Nic respectively about their unique experiences.

Well-shot, well-acted, the score is beautiful, but it is the familial bond between father and son that carries Beautiful Boy. 3.75/5.

Spider-Man: Far from Home

Jon Watts, 2019 (Marvel Studios)

Okay, so this is a little different from the different titles. Not too much, given it’s perhaps tonally one of the darkest instalments in the MCU, but as a fan of the Marvel movies, I used this binge as an opportunity to finally sit down and witness this latest MCU number.

I love me some grief, some trauma… basically, I love whump. For those of you currently unaware, the subject that takes up most of my reposting on Tumblr (you can find me right over here!) basically refers to the act of putting a character through some degree of suffering — be it physical or mental. I have no doubt that has a great deal to do with why I loved Spider-Man: Far From Home so much. Watching Peter Parker, played better than either of the other two actors by Tom Holland (I will die on that hill, lovely people) overcome the pain instilled from events in Avengers: Endgame (also an amazing movie) was so good. It was dramatic, heart-wrenching, but also equally funny and thrilling. It balanced the MCU’s now-cemented sense of humour with the darker moments with ease — a great, if not considerably more challenging way to keep the tone from straying too far one way.

This film helps mark the end of an era, in many respects, but it also promises a bright future for the films. Though we’re still awaiting Black Widow, the baton has most certainly been passed. If there was anything I found best about this film beyond all the whump, it would have to be the movie acknowledging major events actually having consequences.

Who woulda thunk it! Real repercussions! 4/5.

But that is all from me today. As I said, though some of these films are watch-only-once events, I recommend all of them. Admittedly, if you had to forgo any of them, I’d probably suggest Rosemary’s Baby, but as an amateur filmic bufferoonski, I am glad I watched it. Do mosey on by next week, when I begin my next series of reviews: starting with A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first book in the— well, A Court of Thorns and Roses series. I think we’ll stick with calling it ACOTAR instead. Stay safe, lovely people!

— Charis.