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Quick Takes: August 2022
Recommendations on what I’ve watched: J-horror edition, because I was in the mood to binge some strange Japanese horror.
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Noriko’s Dinner Table
Much has been said about Sion Sono’s masterful film Suicide Club and its biting social commentary on Japanese society. Less, however, has been said of its quiet follow-up film, Noriko’s Dinner Table. This is a shame – while it lacks the violent and shocking nature of the first film, its social critique may be perhaps…
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Men
Men is a film that wears its metaphors on its sleeve, but that doesn’t mean it is without nuance. There are levels in the types of harm done by those Harper encounters. First of all, the entire nightmare begins with an unsolicited dick pic.
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Loft
When I finished watching this movie, I was pretty sure I didn’t like it. But over the next couple of days, I found myself unable to stop thinking about it. Even if it was something as small as a fleeting “what the hell was up with that weird movie?” it didn’t simply pass through without…
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Kairo
Do you want to meet a ghost? Or rather, do you like your horror with a side of existential crisis? Is garden variety nihilism just too cheerful for your tastes? If the answer to any of these questions was yes, then Japanese horror has gifted you with a dark, unsettling gem that just may be…
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Sadako vs. Kayako
Sadako Vs Kayako is as much of a mess as you’d expect it to be, and you’ll love it all the more for that.
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Fatal Frame
“Have you heard of a curse that affects only girls?”
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The Witch
This is a story that is deeply rooted in its cultural context, and the history of its setting. Of course, people associate old New England with tales of witches, witch hunts, and the deep paranoia of the time, and this story draws quite a lot from the lore of the time period. Beyond that, however,…
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Suicide Club
On a quiet spring day, a large group of school girls approach the edge of the platform in a train station. These girls, 54 of them to be exact, then grasp hands before throwing themselves in front of the oncoming train. This is how we are introduced to the world Suicide Club presents, and make…
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Excision
Stories about outsiders and loners are popular, often because there’s something deep down that we can relate to in the characters represented. In horror, it often plays into our fears of rejection and social ostracization. In some cases, we also are allowed to feel their anger vicariously through them, and even cheer them on as…