u/PriestofJudas

Horror objects always have a bit of curiosity for me. On the one hand when something is so obviously cursed or evil, you know where you stand with it. On the other though, there’s those objects that, though they may cause death, destruction and chaos, it’s not actually the fault of the object itself, at least inherently. So I’m curious, what are some great horror props, objects, books etc that, though they can cause evil things to happen, are not themselves evil?

Having just seen it, the object that has prompted this post is the One Wish Willow from Obsession. Whilst we see the absolutely catastrophic consequences of Bears ill thought out and selfish wish, the implication and at a certain point outright confirmation that it’s not actually the Willow technically at fault but the wish itself means that it’s not actually an evil object.

A British found footage movie detailing the piece of evidence for a family annihilation (a video camera), Exhibit A is a very well done piece of film, succeeding in making me feel genuinely uncomfortable watching it. Seeing the slow descent of Andy from start to finish as well as his daughter Judith literally begging him to get help is such an unpleasant experience that you can’t help but feel this impending sense of dread throughout. It is 100% a movie you know exactly how it will end from the jump but, framing it primarily from Judith’s perspective it’s incredibly agonising knowing what is coming.

Then the perspective changes.

As soon as Andy gets ahold of the camera, what was previously uncomfortable becomes downright evil. Seeing him just lurking around the house, revealing his families secrets and then forcing them out into the open (in particular outing Judith as a lesbian with a crush on her neighbour) is absolutely brutal to watch, especially because of Judith even saying she still doesn’t even understand the feelings she’s having, it’s absolutely heartbreaking.

Then you have the ending. It is the definition of unpleasant to watch Andy’s final indignity against his family, even if there is the most remote hope of at least Judith surviving, but you’re ultimately left feeling cold and empty watching it all take place.

If you haven’t seen it yet, absolutely track it down for a watch, it is very well worth it if you want to feel absolutely horrible

It wasn’t until days later I found out my upstairs neighbour got drunk and decided to piss off the balcony

Hint one: inspired by true events

Hint 2: interpret the lyrics literally

Hint 3: Chicago

Now to explain, I’m not broadly talking about Steven Seagals movies. With the exception of the five actual good ones he was the lead in (and executive decision which he did not star in), I’m more looking at the man himself as an actor. Whilst the human being Steven Seagal can best be described as a bloated try hard who took himself way to seriously to be even remotely likeable (not to mention his well documented Asshole status and horrendous criminal accusations), the action persona he cultivated as the take no shit badass who bended limbs as easy as breathing really got old fast (not least of which because it seemed to be all he was capable of playing). However, at least in his early career there was something at the very least intriguing about him, even if by and large he was never the best thing in any of his movies, even the big five. Couple that with his near invulnerability in all his movies (again excluding executive decision), his schtick got very old very fast.

So I’m curious, apart from the so badly ridiculous you have to laugh at him, what was actually Seagal the actors appeal?

So I just got out of seeing Lee Cronins The Mummy. Whilst parallels to Evil Dead are definitely there (in particular Cronins own film in the franchise), I think it largely stands well on its own. Performances across the board are incredibly strong, especially from the child actors, and a lot of the really intense body horror is fittingly disgusting to watch at times. Cannot emphasise enough, this is a very gross film at times but it works incredibly well.

One of Cronins best aspects as a horror director is his building of atmosphere and tension, especially since, as with Evil dead rise, a happy ending or even immunity to incredibly fucked up things happening is not a guarantee, and that’s on full display. There’s one scene I won’t dare spoil that suffice to say really kinda pushed what I was expecting to happen to one character. Not even mentioning that these characters aren’t stupid, pretty much right from the get go everyone knows something is very wrong with the situation and it’s only getting worse

Is it perfect? No, it is a bit too long and the pacing is a bit jarring, but overall it’s probably one of the strongest horror movies I’ve seen in a while and can’t wait to see what horrible things Lee Cronin does to his next cast of characters.