Thrill and Fear

Sick days are no fun when you're actually sick. Well, they're a little fun. This horrible cough has given me an extra powerful case of the Mondays that has lasted until hump day and left me lounging in my bathrobe most of this week. I battled my way through it with two gallons of OJ, three different OTC decongestants, and the guilty pleasure of the entire first season of a gritty teen drama. Those British teenage models that make up the cast of Skins can make a guy feel like his erstwhile high school and collegiate days were much lonelier than they truly were. I got plenty of vicarious living done, and of course nothing worthwhile to speak of was accomplished with my time (unless you choose to count my feeble attempt to not cough on everyone that came into the book store these last two days). So, here we are.

2/18 The House of the Devil (2009) DVD, 4/5 stars, RT: 87%

I frighten easily. I can't watch Jurassic Park today without a younger part of me feel the need to let out a high pitched cry whenever the velociraptors are present on screen (more embarrassingly, I continue to have to fight the tiny urge to crawl behind the couch whenever I see Ursula from The Little Mermaid). I know a lot of people fail to see the fun in getting scared, and when I'm being rational I'm usually well entrenched in that camp. I'm fascinated by the artistic design behind that indescribable creepy feeling you get with some movies, though. Forgive me the pretense here, there's really no other way I can begin to explain my infatuation with The House of the Devil. There's something I have to get out of the way here before I go further. Nearly everyone that discusses this movie mentions how deliberately dated it looks. I'm hardly an expert on 1980's low budget horror films (hell, I've never seen a Jason or Elm Street movie in my life) but if you showed me this movie without telling me it was made last year even I would have guessed it was from the decade of big hair. But wait, don't associate this movie with the cheesy quality you more than likely immediately conjure up when you think about the 1980's. House of the Devil has something to say about the fears most Americans had in the decade before the fall of Soviet Union, securing it in the tradition of Satanic horror films from the period. Although, yes, there's plenty of tight jeans and teased hair here as well. The tense atmosphere the director has created here for our lone, every-woman, college student doesn't need to be dated. I've honestly not seen it done much better than it's shown here (excluding Hitchcock, naturally). There's no early tease of something sinister or the seemingly requisite shots of naughty young adults being murdered, the tension is all a product of the slowly building arc of the plot. I found myself more than slightly interested in the plight of the protagonist as I was bluntly shown her dreams for a place of her own in the opening scenes (a dream which I share with her). This issue, and the associated money question, is what leads her into her desperate, demonic situation. It's believable that she's willing to house-sit for the eventual creepy old family because the actress and the rest of the film's creators have illustrated the desire of the character to be independent. The obvious theme of doing something risky now for valued safety in the future is done in a satisfying way. My one major knock against this film is the less understandable actions of the main character after she's been exposed to some big deal breakers soon thereafter. There wouldn't be a movie otherwise and it wouldn't be a horror film if I didn't cringe at the momentary stupidity of the heroine, so I'm mostly okay with it. This allows me to point out that the audience doesn't see the first absolutely shocking event of the film until nearly half way through the movie. The methodical pace of the film is the real joy here, the seemingly overdone story and characters are just the trappings. I know it's hard for most people to give completely unknown movies their time and energy, but I'm really glad I took the chance this time. There's really stellar work to be seen here, even if you're afraid of door-opening dinosaurs and obese, cartoon sea witches.

2/19 Jaws (1975) DVD, 4/5 stars, RT: 100%

I'd never seen Jaws until last week. Pop culture references flew by me while I stood there with a stupid grin on my face. No longer. Bigger boats and bad hats, Harry. I get it now. My life is much closer to being complete. Do I really need to say more? I've got to be the last person alive to see this. Here's the typical: It's cool that it takes so long to actually see the shark, the acting is pretty wonderful, and the story is totally lame.

There's a test coming up next month that's going to be the focus of most of my attention. I don't like the idea that I'm just making excuses to get out of work-- I would like nothing better than to spend more of my time watching movies. This blogger project has improved my writing enough that I have some confidence in my abilities for the exam. I'll be back afterwards, hopefully still in good spirits. There's still room for improvement when I have the time to indulge in this silly little hobby. Thanks to everyone that gave me advice and overly solicited praise. I love you.