r/MovieTVArticles

Read the full review: https://www.thehorrorlounge.com/post/here-s-are-three-reasons-why-obsession-is-such-an-unsettling-horror-movie-that-updates-a-classic-tal

I have to admit I was leery of Obsession after all of its positive reviews following film festivals. Yet, its buzz is warranted.

Obsession manages to update the classic story of "The Monkey's Paw" for the modern age. The film's lead, Bear (Michael Johnston), is a lonely, disconnected 20-something who can't express how he feels about his childhoods crush, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). After practicing a speech about how he feels, he ultimately bumbles the chance to share his feelings with her and relies on the "One Wish Willow." His wish? That she love him more than anyone on Earth.

Because this is a retelling of "The Monkey's Paw," the wish goes horribly wrong. Nikki becomes obsessed, to the point she threatens the life of their co-worker, Sarah (Megan Lawless), who may or may not have a crush on Bear. She also duct tapes the door so Bear can't leave for work the next morning, and she generally alarms everyone in their inner circle. Her behavior goes increasingly erratic and terrifying.

Navarrette is fantastic in this movie and elevates it. She cited Toni Collette's performance in Hereditary and Mia Goth's starring role in Pearl as key influences for her performance, and if you see the movie, you'll understand why. She's unhinged as Nikki, and in all the best ways for a horror film.

Further, Barker isn't afraid to go there. He really pushes boundaries with a few of the violent sequences, and it's a reason to see this movie with an audience in the theater. There are a few really unsettling and surprising sequences.

Overall, Obsession is one of the best horror movies of the year, bolstered by Navarrette's tremendous performance.

https://www.thehorrorlounge.com/post/jason-lives-at-40-director-tom-mcloughlin-and-star-thom-mathews-reflect-upon-the-friday-the-13th-se

I thought I'd share this interview for the Friday the 13th fans. McLoughlin has a script for the 13th Friday the 13th movie. With the rights situation, it probably won't get made anytime soon, but it sounds awesome.

The Devils is a 1971 Warner Bros. movie, directed, written and produced by Ken Russell. Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave star, with support from Dudley Sutton. It is an adaptation of The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley and John Whiting’s 1960 play, The Devils. The movie was mainly shot at Pinewood Studios, London. It received an X rating in the U.K. and U.S. Several countries banned the movie or extensively edited it prior to release. The Vatican condemned the picture. Among the contemporary, negative reviews, Roger Ebert gave it zero stars. It won best director at the Venice International Film Festival and from the National Board of Review. It made $11-million in rentals.

Set during the plague, Reed plays Urbain Grandier, a Catholic priest and romancer in Loudun, France. Grandier gets a woman pregnant and leaves her, starting his myriad of troubles. He is also the obsession of Redgrave’s Sister Jeanne, a mother-superior nun who catches one glimpse of Grandier from her convent and begins having sexually charged visions involving the priest. Meanwhile, a baron, played by Sutton, comes to Loudun and begins tearing down its fortifications on orders from King Louis XIII (played by Graham Armitage) and Cardinal Richeleau (played by Christopher Logue). When Reed’s character puts a stop to the destruction of Loudun’s fortifications, the baron makes it his duty to ruin Grandier.

The Devils is based on a true story. I had never heard of the Loudun possessions before. Based on my preliminary research, it seems that The Devils sticks mostly to the facts of the 1634 witchcraft trial. History is often a lot darker than we like to imagine.

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