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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Possessor (2020) in Movies
Dec 4, 2020
From the mind of Brandon Cronenberg comes his second feature length, Possessor, and the best way I could sum it up is that it's a subtle assault on the senses. Although it occasionally throws unsettling imagery at the screen now and again, these moments are seldom and fleeting. The main assault comes from the constant sense of dread that is present from it's visually striking and bloody opening, straight through to it's pretty insane climax. I just felt on edge consistently, thanks to the minimal but forboding score, top notch editing on display, and some quite brilliant performances.
Andrea Riseborough is great, as she was in Mandy, and her presence in modern horror is a welcome one. Her character is the overarching glue that holds all the emotional strains of the plot together with a cold core.
Christopher Abbott is wonderful, as he essentially plays two seperate characters, and sells his descent into madness perfectly.
The supporting cast include the likes of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuppence Middleton, and Sean Bean, and it's honestly just a pretty solid cast all around.
The plot is intriguing in a dystopian sci-fi kind of way, and has enough horror elements to really get under the skin. The scene that the already recognisable poster image is taken from is one of the most recoil inducing and uncomfortable scenes I've seen in a while. This premise played out with a decent screenplay, accompanied by sudden bursts of extreme violence, give Possessor an identity of it's own, and make it a modern horror entry that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the big boys.
One of the films of the year for me!
Andrea Riseborough is great, as she was in Mandy, and her presence in modern horror is a welcome one. Her character is the overarching glue that holds all the emotional strains of the plot together with a cold core.
Christopher Abbott is wonderful, as he essentially plays two seperate characters, and sells his descent into madness perfectly.
The supporting cast include the likes of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuppence Middleton, and Sean Bean, and it's honestly just a pretty solid cast all around.
The plot is intriguing in a dystopian sci-fi kind of way, and has enough horror elements to really get under the skin. The scene that the already recognisable poster image is taken from is one of the most recoil inducing and uncomfortable scenes I've seen in a while. This premise played out with a decent screenplay, accompanied by sudden bursts of extreme violence, give Possessor an identity of it's own, and make it a modern horror entry that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the big boys.
One of the films of the year for me!
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Halloween (1978) in Movies
Oct 29, 2020 (Updated Oct 29, 2020)
I think this is so good that it actually sort of suffers because of it, if that makes any sense? Starts off phenomenally - exemplifies what the best of horror movies can be and quite honestly does continue most of the way through. The formal precision is just insane, Dean Cundey naturally makes sure this looks nothing short of remarkable and the music is some of the all-time best ever contributed to a horror movie. So simple yet so effective, so suspenseful all these decades later. It never really loses any sort of quality outside of waning some of its tightness near the middle, but despite the fact that it's objectively exemplary it still feels like it lacks something, that oomph that this by all means should have. A huge factor, I think, is that truthfully this overuses a lot of its tricks. I mean Michael Myers, mysterious and intimidating, often framed from below the neck or behind the head is a staggering image in horror history - him disappearing and suddenly reappearing outside of a window or doorway? Truly haunting the first couple times, even a time or two after that. But again, then again, then again? It starts to lose its luster fast and really flattens the eerie wavelength of not really knowing what's going on. Though I think even this movie's fans don't give enough credit to how it (quite obviously and vocally) portrays Laurie, Loomis, and Michael as being tied irreversibly by fate where each attempt at either one getting out is merely one of a never-ending amount of predetermined actions merely to mirror randomness.
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Batman the Killing Joke in Books
Jun 24, 2019
I went to London Super Comic Con on Friday and bought a few image books/graphic novels (I can't wait to read them!) and decided to start taking advantage of my boyfriend's extensive comic/graphic novel collection. As I've been intending to read The Killing Joke for ages now, I decided to start with that.
The edition I read included an introduction by Tim Sales, an afterword by Brian Bolland, and a final scene written and illustrated by Bolland.
This is one of the most famous and successful novels - and I can see why. The story is just fantastic - the Joker tries to prove that anyone can go insane after just one bad day, using Jim Gordon as his example. The colour palettes are so cleverly thought out, giving an eerie, creepy tone to most scenes, while the Joker's (possible) origin story is mostly black and white with just small details in red.
Batman is obviously included, but is not a massive character in this story. The focus is on the Gordons and the Joker.
I really loved this. The origin story for the Joker that's included can be taken as true or false - the Joker makes a comment about not actually remembering his past, and liking it to be "multiple choice". This gives the reader the choice of believing it or not. And the Joker's ways of putting Jim Gordon through hell are definitely in line with his character.
The Joker always fascinates me, and I would love to read all his stories. But whether you're a "fan" of his or not, this book is definitely worth the read. 5 stars; an fantastic novel.
The edition I read included an introduction by Tim Sales, an afterword by Brian Bolland, and a final scene written and illustrated by Bolland.
This is one of the most famous and successful novels - and I can see why. The story is just fantastic - the Joker tries to prove that anyone can go insane after just one bad day, using Jim Gordon as his example. The colour palettes are so cleverly thought out, giving an eerie, creepy tone to most scenes, while the Joker's (possible) origin story is mostly black and white with just small details in red.
Batman is obviously included, but is not a massive character in this story. The focus is on the Gordons and the Joker.
I really loved this. The origin story for the Joker that's included can be taken as true or false - the Joker makes a comment about not actually remembering his past, and liking it to be "multiple choice". This gives the reader the choice of believing it or not. And the Joker's ways of putting Jim Gordon through hell are definitely in line with his character.
The Joker always fascinates me, and I would love to read all his stories. But whether you're a "fan" of his or not, this book is definitely worth the read. 5 stars; an fantastic novel.
Isiah Zane Hodge (13 KP) rated Halloween (2018) in Movies
Jun 28, 2019
The best horror sequel ever?
How could anything truly top the great Halloween? Though the franchise has been riddled with cheese and just insane plot holes. This sequel of the original 1978 horror classic maybe one of the best horror sequels of all time let alone probably the best Halloween sequel ever? The film has a freaky atmosphere that seems to be directly copied from the original. Is that a bad thing? No not necessarily. The original sequels to the Halloween franchise have little to no atmosphere. Feels like more of the focus is promantly towards the "not so" mysterious Micheal Myers and less about setting the scene up for a good erie feeling. Which isn't to say that its easy to do. Much of a sequels scares come from the shocking and overrated "jump scare" aspect. Once you're shown the big bad on camera, it's hard to gain that same fear and mystery back. However in the 2019 film, it ramps it to 11. Maybe it's because we haven't seen Myers on the big screen for quite some time? There is something about seeing an older Myers that is so freaky to me. The cat and mouse plot twist is a wonderful change that makes this film a 9/10 for me. As a horror buff, I was so excited for this film so much that I didn't watch anything else for 2 months. I loved the film that much. Definitely a great watch.
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Merissa (12051 KP) rated The Murderess Must Die in Books
Sep 3, 2021 (Updated Jul 14, 2023)
THE MURDERESS MUST DIE is a fictional telling of a true crime. Most of the main characters are from newspaper articles of the time and pieced together to make a story.
Was Mattie Place insane? Or a madly jealous stepmother? Or was she someone who had just reached her limit? We will never know for sure, but the author brings her to life and raises questions. As the first woman to be killed by the electric chair, she has some notoriety but has never had a voice.
Told from multiple perspectives, I wasn't sure, to begin with just who was who, apart from Mattie, but as the story continued, the other players slotted into place and showed how a story can be changed by the omission of facts, or just by being told a certain way.
I found this story to be absolutely captivating and loved the last entry by Mr Knittle. The questions 'he' raised were good ones and it does make you wonder if it had been any different if those answers had been found.
I love true crime and I love stories based upon true crime. This one kept my attention and got me thinking, which is always a good thing in my book. A fascinating read that kept me turning the pages and one I definitely recommend.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 3, 2021
Was Mattie Place insane? Or a madly jealous stepmother? Or was she someone who had just reached her limit? We will never know for sure, but the author brings her to life and raises questions. As the first woman to be killed by the electric chair, she has some notoriety but has never had a voice.
Told from multiple perspectives, I wasn't sure, to begin with just who was who, apart from Mattie, but as the story continued, the other players slotted into place and showed how a story can be changed by the omission of facts, or just by being told a certain way.
I found this story to be absolutely captivating and loved the last entry by Mr Knittle. The questions 'he' raised were good ones and it does make you wonder if it had been any different if those answers had been found.
I love true crime and I love stories based upon true crime. This one kept my attention and got me thinking, which is always a good thing in my book. A fascinating read that kept me turning the pages and one I definitely recommend.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 3, 2021