Once upon a time in a cult film class in Alfred University, they watched Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood and it was the final film the class would watch. It was one of the newest films the class had watched this semester and was nominated for ten academy awards and was able to win the Oscar for best supporting actor. The film received wide critical praise and was considered one of the best films of 2019.
This was the fourth time I have watched Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood and each time I watch the fim, I love it even more than the previous time. I just love that it is a love letter to Hollywood and that it is what makes it great to me. I have always loved any movie that comes out of Hollywood, whether that be a big blockbuster or a little indie film. This film reminds me how much I love Hollywood as a whole. I was sad at first when this or 1917 didn’t win best picture, but after seeing Parasite in theaters, I could understand why that beat all the other films. I was really happy that it at least won for best supporting actor and this is one of my favorite roles that I have seen Brad Pitt in.
I first saw this film with my mom and I knew about the Manson murders and thought that is what I was going to see with the end of the film, but I was thoroughly wrong and glad that I was wrong. When I first saw the film with my mom, she really loved the film and thought it was great. That is the same way I felt as well and we both loved the end film. In the theater I laughed so much during the murder spree. What made me laugh the most was when Rick Dalton brought out the flame thrower and just torched the one girl. I was glad that we did not see the murder of Sharon Tate and I had to explain to my mom how it was really suppose to happen at the end of the film.
I really enjoyed the reading this week “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: The Final Rodeo” by Priscilla Page and that is because I like her analysis of the film and I just really liked the article in general. There was one little paragraph that I really enjoyed from the reading and that was the paragraph where both Rick and Cliff play the hero and the villain and I never noticed that until I read this article. I also like the part that this is Tarantino’s most layered film and I would have to definitely agree with that. There is so much to this film that I am always finding new things in the film that I never knew about before. I also like that the characters are also layered as well and that just adds to the whole film. Some of my favorite movies are when there is a lot of detail put into the film and also that the characters are extremely complex as well. Both Rick and Cliff are complex characters because we know certain things about their lives, but we don’t know all the details, like if Cliff murdered his wife.
Now to talk about the semester as a whole. I really enjoyed this class and I finally got to watch some films that I have always wanted to watch. My issue with movies is I try to find the positive in any, sometimes that is very difficult with some films, and that is also the case for a few of the films this semester. I tried to like every screening and find the positive in them, but there are a few films that I did not like as much as the rest of the films.
I already knew my favorite film of the semester was going to be Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood and that is still the case. But there were a few films that came close to taking that title for me, one even more so than the rest of them. I liked the film The Warriors because it was basically one big chase and with the comic book transitions, it was like watching a comic book.
I liked the films Dazed and Confused and Detroit Rock City because it had songs in it that I loved and Dazed had a few iconic memes that I have been trying to figure out where the origin was.
But, there was one film that came close to beating Once for me and that film was Suspiria. I loved the new Suspiria when I watched it and was always trying to figure out a way to watch the original. I never could and when I saw the original was on the syllabus, I got very excited to watch it and I loved that film. That is one film I think should not be removed from the syllabus because it is an iconic horror film, and the style of the film is very unique as well.
Now for the films that I really didn’t like. There were really only two films that I didn’t like and that was Maniac and also Pink Flamingos. I didn’t like Maniac because there was no plot to follow and it was just a bad film to watch. I didn’t like Pink Flamingos because it just was weird to me. I liked some parts of it, but overall, I didn’t really much like it. I would keep these two films part of the syllabus because they definitely have a cult following and are two films that can prove that any film can gain a cult following.
Overall I really liked this class and I didn’t want it to end. Even though we went with the only format, I still enjoyed this class. I am glad that I took this class as part of my final semester at Alfred University. I only wish that I could have taken more film classes during my four years here. I will leave with one video that best sums up Quentin Tarantino in a funny way. Also I can’t wait for his tenth and final film, whatever that might be, and I do like the rumors as to what it might be.
Need a good laugh, enjoy.A meme that has emerged from the film.
Before the year 2008, the term MCU never stood for anything and would just be a series of letters randomly combined. But, after May 3, 2008, those three letters came to mean something even bigger. The MCU, or also called the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is one of the biggest franchises that has been created in Hollywood and this is no exaggeration. Since the first Iron Man in 2008, the MCU has made a total of 22.55 billion dollars at the global box office and that is 23 films in total that has earned that much money. Now, how did the MCU become so popular over the years? I believe that one reason that the MCU has gotten to this popularity is because the MCU has a cult following. There is plenty of evidence to support this and all of this evidence is obvious if you are looking for it.
The MCU has been around since 2008 with the film Iron Man and ever since the first film, it already had a cult following. This cult following that I am talking about is comic book fans. Everyone has read a comic book at some point in their life, but there is a group that has red about every comic book possible. These people know everything there is about comics and pull random knowledge out of their head about a comic book that is twenty years old. This brings me to my first way that the MCU has a cult following, and that is that these films give people nostalgic feelings from these comic books and also from a few other things as well. As stated in the reading “Outsider Nostalgia in Dazed and Confused and Detroit Rock City” by Carey L. Martin, nostalgia is used in films and can especially be found in cult films. A quote from the reading “A sociology of nostalgia…is concerned with tracking down the sources of nostalgic experience in group life… ” and most of these nostalgic experiences can come from people’s past with Marvel comics or it could even involve other factors of nostalgia.
This past with comics could involve panels that people remember reading when growing up or even iconic lines popping up in the MCU. These nostalgic panels could involve Thanos using the infinity gauntlet to snap away half of the universe from “The Infinity Gauntlet” comic book or even seeing Iron Man and Captain America battle each other just like from “The Civil War” comic book. When a comic book fan sees these panels come to life on film, they will usually remember these moments even more than other moments in the film, and this is because they bring nostalgic memories with them. I also mentioned iconic lines popping up in the film and there are plenty of lines comic book fans would love to hear in the MCU. But, there is one line that everybody who has ever been a fan of The Avengers has always wanted to show up in the MCU and that is Captain America’s line “Avengers assemble.” When this line came up finally in the MCU, it was a moment every fan was waiting for, but it also brought back those memories to people who read the comics and would remember that one line, because when you read it in the comics, you knew it was time to battle.
Some things are not from the MCU in this video, but a majority of it is.
Bringing nostalgic vibes through iconic lines and also through bringing iconic comic book panels isn’t the only nostalgic weapon the MCU has. It also has music. One of the MCU’s biggest franchises, The Guardians of the Galaxy, is based off a Marvel comic that had a cult following and these films have gone on to become some of Marvel’s most successful franchises. What makes the Guardians franchise have nostalgia vibes in it is that the film has a ton of music from the 80s and this music brings a lot of nostalgic vibes when it is played during the film, and this leads to the film gaining a large following because of how iconic the soundtrack becomes. Other films include some music from iconic music eras like the first two Iron Man films using ACDC and Thor: Ragnarok using Led Zeppelin, but none of them come close to the nostalgic vibes the Guardians films have. All of this stems from the fact that the music in the film brings people back to their childhoods, teen years, or even adult years. Which leads to people remembering the films more and also generating a cult following based off of nostalgia.
Jay & The Americans’ “Come a Little Bit Closer” in Guardians Vol.2
This allows me to move onto my next way that the MCU has a large cult following and that is the music that accompanies any film. Now, I know I already mentioned the soundtrack of a few of the Marvel films, but a film’s musical score can lead to people remembering the film and developing a following based on the score alone. In the reading, “Cult Cinema and Music” the author states in the conclusion “…that music is an important contributor to many a cult film’s appeal. This can work on a number of levels: the music used on the sound-track; the ways in which music (especially the music industry) can become the subject matter of the film; or through actual musical artists appearing within the films.” This shows that music can play an important part in a film’s cult status based upon the soundtrack of the film and also through what artists appear in the film. In the MCU, this is very much apparent and also helps to make the films gain cult followings.
An example of this in the MCU is all of the theme songs that appear during the film. When you hear certain music in film you know where you are going and what is going to be happening next. The theme songs for Wakanda, Guardians, and even the song for Doctor Strange has become iconic that when you hear the music play, you know you are either going to Wakanda, or getting ready for the Guardians to go into battle, or are going to see some strange stuff with Doctor Strange. But, there is one theme that has become so iconic that it alone can basically confirm that the MCU has a cult following. The theme that I am talking about is Alan Silvestri’s Avengers’ theme. When the audience hears the Avengers’ theme, the audience knows the real battle is about to begin and that the Avengers are ready to fight. The theme gets the audience pumped up and allows the audience to know that the battle is about to begin. The theme is so iconic that a person can easily hum it in their head and that people use it as ringtones, alarms, or anything that they can put music to. In fact, the Avengers’ score has become so iconic that Marvel is releasing a collector’s edition of the Infinity War and Endgame score for the diehard fans.
The Infinity Saga medley
Speaking of a collector’s edition, that is another reason that the MCU has a cult following, that there are collectors editions of props. Memorabilia is a major contributor in what fans of the MCU are attracted to. When a certain iconic prop appears in the film, the diehard Marvel fans do whatever they can to get that object in their collection. The reason why I mention this is because a lot of cult followings have an envy to get props or even get replicas from the cult film. This can be seen with the MCU and the props that everyone wants. Some examples of props that fans want is either one or both of the infinity gauntlets that appear in Infinity War and Endgame. Another prop that fans want to have is the arc reactor from any of the Marvel films or even the Iron Man mask that appears in the films. Some more props include the Eye of Agamotto, the orb the power stone is held in, Captain America’s shield, Mjnoir, stormbreaker, Star Lord’s mask, the Tesseract, a sling ring, and Ant-Man’s helmet.
A person’s MCU collection.A another person’s MCU collection.
All of these props and some more are on the lists of diehard MCU fans and even some fans have whole walls and bookcases dedicated to these props. There is also the fact that last year, Marvel Studios released the Infinity Saga as a box set that featured every MCU film and was produced in a very limited quantity. This box set also had the films in 4k and featured deleted scenes that have never been seen before. This box set was the ultimate collector’s item and if you had this, you were a diehard fan. This idea of collecting props, memorabilia, and even box sets is another reason as to why the MCU has a cult following.
Now my final major reason as to why the MCU has a cult following and that has to deal with something that we have talked about quite a bit this semester. That thing is the cinema of attractions. We talked about exploitation films and films with gimmick as being two types of the cinema of attractions. But I think that the MCU is a cinema of attraction on its own and there is plenty of proof. First of all, the term MCU stands for Marvel Cinematic Universe, which really means that each film is connected to one another and all lead up to one major event. There is nothing in the cinema that has 23 interconnected films that rely upon each to build a single narrative. This alone is a major example of the cinema of attraction because there is nothing like this and even if there is another studio doing this, no one is doing it at the scale that Marvel is doing it at.
The first 23 films of the MCU and also the next film in the MCU, which is Black Widow.
Another example in the MCU that proves it is a cinema of attractions is the audience reaction and engagement in each film. Whenever a new MCU film is released, the diehard fans go to see the film on opening night, the audience is a hundred percent engaged in the film. The audience claps, laughs, and even cry at the appropriate times during the movie. This kind of experience can’t be experienced in almost any other movie. The reasoning for this is that the audience feels connected to these characters that they have watched for a certain amount of films. Also, on opening night you have people wearing their graphic t-shirts, costumes, and also sweaters that relate to the film. This is just like some cult screenings that happen. I can say this though, the audience experience for Avengers: Endgame, I have never seen or experienced anything like that on opening night. For some scenes it was like being at a rock concert and the excitement for the film was through the roof.
The audience reaction to key scenes from Avengers: Endgame.
Another thing that is very unique to Marvel film’s for the audience that no one does for any other film is the after credit scenes.When a new MCU film comes out, there is usually a mid credit scene and an after credit scene. The true MCU fans always stay around until the very end of the film and one major proof of that is the film Avengers: Endgame. When the film was released, everyone said that there was no mid credit scene or an end credit scene. But, true Marvel fans stayed until the very end of the film and they were treated to a little surprise. Instead of the usual end credit scene, the fans that stayed until the end were treated to the sound of an anvil being hit six times.
The credits for Avengers: Endgame reaction and anvil sound.
Now some people wouldn’t know what this means, but the diehard fans know that this is Tony hitting the anvil in the cave he was in from the first Iron Man film and the six hits is supposed to be for each of the original six Avengers. This was meant for the diehard fans that stay until the end of each film and this idea of staying until the end of each MCU film is something that only the MCU has popularized in recent years. This could fall under the category of a gimmick, because the studio is making you watch all the people that worked hard on the film and it is a gimmick for the people. But I just think this falls under the cinema of attractions in general because there is no other studio that makes you stay until the end of the film to see what is coming next in the universe or even to see a funny gag that is from the end of the film. All of this is proof that the MCU has cult following because it follows the cinema of attractions because each film is basically an attraction for people to get together and just to have fun time at the theater. Also, Marvel advertises each Avengers film as a big spectacle that can’t be missed and has to be experienced in the theater.
With the uses of nostalgia, music and even the cinema of attractions being three major reasons as to why it has a cult following. But to really sum this up, I will use the cult film checklist to prove that the MCU has a cult following. It checks off marginality because it isn’t normal for there to be a cinematic universe of interconnected films. It checks off cult following, especially with individual films within the MCU and most of the fans are diehard fans that will see any film Marvel releases. It most definitely has a community based on the fact of how much money the whole MCU has made in total and also how much interaction there is on social media for MCU films. The MCU has tons of quotations like “I am Groot”, “I am Iron Man”, “Avengers Assemble”, “Language”, “Dormammu, I’ve come to Bargain”, and “I can do this all day”. And finally it passes iconography because there are plenty of icons in the films like the superheroes in the films and also it establishes certain fanbases for each of franchises in the MCU. In the end, it got a total of five out of eight on the checklist, but the proof that the MCU has a cult following is overwhelming.
So, I believe that the MCU has a cult following based on the evidence I presented, plus there is so much more evidence that proves that the MCU has a cult following. I could talk about how the MCU has many different genres and that there are always screenings of the MCU movies before a new film releases. But, if I were to wrap this up, tie it with a bow or whatever, I want to say that the MCU most definitely has a cult following.
This week’s screening of Matinee was great. I loved every minute of it and I especially love John Goodman’s description of going to the movies. The way he described it is exactly how I feel about any movie I see, whether that be a horror movie, action movie, drama, or any kind of movie. By watching a movie theater in a movie and reacting to the first showing of a movie, that makes me miss going to the first showing of a movie and having an active audience that is as invested in the movie as I am. I just want to go to a movie theater again and be a part of a crowd, but as of this moment, we don’t know when it will even be possible to go back to the movie theaters. Other than that, I really loved this movie and the humor that was in. I especially laughed out loud at the scene where everyone was panic buying and you had the one person taking all of the toilet paper. For this week’s readings I really connected to the reading “Collective Screams: William Castle and The Gimmick Film” by Murray Leeder and that is because while I was reading it, I thought of an old film that had little gimmick to it.
Now, when I was first reading the article, for a gimmick film I thought of films like Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Avatar, and also Spy Kids 4-D: All the Time in the World. But, there was one film that I thought of that no film that I can think of, has ever tried to replicate its’ unique gimmick. The film that I am talking about is the 1985 Clue.
I don’t know if people have heard of this film, because it is a cult film, but this film did something that no other film has tried to replicate since. This was the first ever film to be based off a board game and I have to say it is a pretty good one. This film was so unique when it was released in the 80s that it has probably one of my favorite gimmicks that hasn’t been done again since the film was released, not that I know of. What I am talking about is the film had three different endings that were released into theaters. Each ending is different and at the time, nobody knew what theater had what ending, so eventually theaters started to advertise which ending their theater had by saying that they either had ending A, B, or C. I would have loved to have been alive when this film was released so that I could experience this gimmick and try to see all three endings. When the film was released to physical media, the studio put all three endings with it. If you want to watch this film, it is available on Amazon Prime to watch, if you have a prime account. Also, I have never heard of another film since the release of Clue to have multiple endings in movie theaters. I would love for a studio to try and do this again.
The trailer for Clue
So, to finish this off, I am going to include a few videos of bonus features from Doctor Sleep that I did not want to include in my presentation because it included major spoilers for film, so don’t watch any of these videos if you want to go into the film without knowing the ending and what they did in the film. I also couldn’t include them because they are very long. Don’t watch these if you don’t want to be spoiled.
Don’t watch if you don’t want to be spoiled.
Seriously, don’t watch this if you don’t want to be spoiled.
I am not lying, don’t watch these if you don’t want to be spoiled.
This week’s screening of Sid and Nancy was very different from the other films this whole semester. I liked the film and I found it to be very interesting and I will remember this film because of how sad the whole film felt and it felt like we were watching two people slowly die. It also felt like watching a train crash in slow motion, you want to look away from the carnage, but it is so interesting that you can’t look away. This film is also one the saddest biopics I have ever watched and by watching this film, it reminded me of another biopic that came out last year.
But first I want to talk about one of the readings and the reading that I enjoyed the most was “Cult Cinema and Drugs.” The reason I connected to this article is because there have been plenty of films that I can think of that would be an interesting experience if the viewer took some drugs. One of the films that I am thinking of is Doctor Strange and that is because of all the elements in the mirror dimension in the film. I imagine if a person took LCD and watched that film, they would probably be tripping even more so than if they didn’t watch the film. Just that sequence alone and as well as the scene where Doctor Strange goes to the Dark Dimension to confront Dormammu. This is the first film that came to my mind about drugs because of these two sequences and the original comics were created to look like one giant acid trip, which the film conveyed perfectly. Another film that I think of when taking drugs is any Alice In Wonderland film, which can easily be explained because the films are naturally meant to look like one acid trip. I also was able to find this list of best ever movies to watch on Psychedelics/Hallucinogenic Drugs, which I found very funny with some of the choices on the list https://www.imdb.com/list/ls073996189/.
The mirror Dimension scene.
The Dark Dimension scene.
The biopic that I was talking about when I was watching Sid and Nancy is Rocketman. I know that the films are two tonally different films, and that is why I thought of Rocketman. Rocketman is my favorite biopic ever made right now, and Rocketman does have it’s sad moments, but it is not as sad and depressing as Sid and Nancy was. Rocketman also deals with when Elton John was addicted to cocaine, alcohol, and other drugs. The whole movie follows his journey from a young age to the moment after he leaves rehab. The film ends on a way more positive note than Sid and Nancy, but it also deals with the same ideas of drug abuse that Sid and Nancy also have. Rocketman also has a toxic relationship in it as well between Elton John and John Reid, and also toxic relationships between John and mom. The relationships aren’t as toxic as Sid and Nancy’s relationship, but they are still toxic. Another major difference between the two films is that Rocketman uses all of Elton John’s songs as a musical and Sid and Nancy doesn’t feature as much music as Rocketman does.
My favorite number in all of Rocketman, it is after John broke up with Reid and after John ingested a lot of drugs.
So, to sum this up I will say that Sid and Nancy was a very good film. It was a depressing film, but it was very good. Drugs can be in a lot of films and could also enhance the viewing experience of some films, depending upon what drugs you take. And finally, I think everyone should watch Rocketman if you want to watch a more uplifting biopic, that is basically a musical.
This week’s screening was of Detroit Rock City and I ended up really enjoying it. I kind of knew how the film was going to go and that it wasn’t going to be as easy to get the tickets to go to the concert. I loved every minute of the movie and I loved all of the jokes in the film. The whole film reminded me of the late nineties and early 2000 comedies that emerged that are really ridiculous, like Bubble Boy and Dude, Where’s My Car. Movies that when you’re watching them, you realize how ridiculous they actually are. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack of the film and listening to the soundtracks for the two films for the past two weeks remind me of two other films with very good soundtracks, that I would say is based off a comic book series that has a cult following.
This week, the reading that really stuck out to me was the reading “Cult Cinema and Music” and there are a few reasons why. One of these is that music is always my favorite thing to listen to in movies, and I will always remember the soundtrack to a film that I love. I could make a list right now of the soundtracks that I love listening to, but that list would probably be a few pages long. Another reason is that I love musical movies. I could watch a movie musical any day, as long as the music is good. I have the La La Land and The Greatest Showman soundtrack saved to my phone because I love the music in those movies. I could sing along to these movies if they appeared on TV or if someone played it randomly. What I am really trying to say is that if the music in a movie is good, then the audience is probably going to remember it and leave the movie either singing one of the songs in the movie or even humming along to one of the scores in the movie.
Now let me talk about the movies that in my opinion have a better soundtrack than Detroit Rock City and Dazed and Confused. The films that I am talking about are Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The soundtracks to these two films I fell in love with. I fell in love with them both so much that after I saw the first film on opening night, I immediately purchased the soundtrack and I also purchased the soundtrack of the second film weeks before the actual film came out. The soundtracks of these two films became iconic within the comic book fandom and everyone fell in love with the music. I also love the scores for both of the films, I could literally hum the theme of the Guardians right now. I love the music of both of these films and I believe they are the best soundtracks, and also the scores for both films are very good. Also, the director, James Gunn, picks out the music himself for the films.
The very first poster of the second film is like a rock band album cover.
There is something very funny about the Guardians, they were originally a cult comic book. Before the films came out nobody knew about them, except for a cult following of people that knew about their comics, and when Marvel announced the film, people wondered if this would be Marvel’s first failure. But, as we know history, it didn’t and ended up becoming one the biggest franchises. Just like how Detroit Rock City is based off a cult rock band, both Guardians films are based off a cult comic book.
The Guardians first appearance in the comics.
Now to finish this off, I want to say that there are many other film soundtracks that I love, but Guardians soundtrack for some reason has something special about it to me. Maybe it is because it is recognizable music or that the music is heavily associated with the film. I also want to mention that James Gunn has some of the best taste in music and that I can’t wait for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to come out so that I can have some more music to listen to. Also, I challenge everyone to a dance-off, even though I would lose horribly.
So this week’s screening was of Dazed and Confused, which I ended up liking because of how funny and interesting the film was. When I read the plot of the film on IMDB, it reminded me of another film that came out a few years ago and was also set on the last day of school and the beginning of summer. I will speak of that movie later on, but I want to mention how much I loved the soundtrack of this film. It was great, I don’t think it was the best soundtrack, but it is in my top ten list for favorite film soundtracks.
So I want to first talk about the reading that stuck out to me the most and that was “Cultivating the Cult Experience at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema” and that is because it is a movie theater that I have always wanted to go to. I have heard so many things about the Drafthouse and how it is different from cinemas. When I was traveling out west last summer, I drove past a few Drafthouses and wanted to stop and just watch a movie and say that I have been to a Alamo Drafthouse. But sadly I couldn’t because I had to make it to my destination by a certain date. I have looked for an Alamo Drafthouse near me, but the nearest one is 5 hours and 34 minutes away from me. I would love to even go to one of their events that they put on.
Now let me talk about the film that Dazed and Confused reminds me of. The film that I am talking about is the 2013 film Grown Ups 2. The major way that I see that the two films are similar is that both films take place on the last day of school and at the beginning of summer vacation. Both films take place within one day, while Grown Ups 2 doesn’t go into the next day. Both films feature party at the end of the film and also characters doing stupid stuff during the course of the film. Also both films have high schoolers becoming seniors and also features middle schoolers entering high school. I kind of knew how Dazed and Confused was going to end because of the way Grown Ups 2 ended, even though the endings aren’t similar, they both feature the characters ending up happy by the end of a crazy day. I also knew that Mike was going to get beaten up by the one guy because Grown Ups 2 features a fight and an almost fight as well. There are a few more similarities that I cannot think of at the top of my head right now between these two films, and that is because I haven’t watched Grown Ups 2 in a few years.
So to end this, I want to mention a few things that wouldn’t have made sense anywhere else. The actor that played Mike, Adam Goldberg, was in a few episodes of Friends where he was Chandler’s crazy roommate, Eddie, who moved in after Joey moved out. Next I want to mention how many great memes emerged out of this film just from Matthew McConaughey alone. Now finally, I was curious as to if Matthew McConaughey says “alright” in every one of his films and I found a great video that tallies it all up and I was surprised by the final total. I now think that it is in his contract that he has to say “alright” in every film that he is in.
I bet you can’t guess how many times Matthew McConaughey has said “Alright.”
There was once a week where the Cult Film class of Alfred University was told to watch the original version Suspiria that was released 1977 and this film had a lot of expressionism in it and was one of the last films to use technicolor and it made the film look beautiful. But in the year 2018, Amazon released a new, updated version of Suspieia, that was very different from the original in many different ways. However, these differences never would affect the overall quality of both films.
Now that I told my story, let me just say that I have wanted to watch the original Suspiria ever since I watched the new one in 2018, and I can say that I wasn’t disappointed in the film. I loved every minute of it and it was very different from the new one, which is a very good thing. I will say that I watched the original film at night, which is how I believe horror movies should be watched, and I believe that this made the film even better for me. I loved every minute of it and even though I knew who the witches were, it didn’t detract from the horror aspect of the movie, in fact it made it better because I didn’t know what the witches were going to do next. The article this week that stuck out to me was “Expressionist Use of Colour Palette and Set Design in Dario Argento’s Suspiria” by Giulio L. Giusti and I will explore the reasoning.
The Susie in both films
Both films have unique color styles and music that greatly impact the experience of both movies. The original Suspiria is inspired by German expressionism, which is what the article discussed, and this can be seen in the set design and the way that the film looks. The new Suspiria has no expressionism in it and it isn’t as colorful as the original, but this never impacted the film, in fact, it made the film even better and made the film different from the original. I rewatched the new one this week, late at night, and after watching the original, I can say that I am glad that the new one has no expressionism in it and that is because I don’t like it when a remake tries to be a carbon copy of the original. I love both of the films for many different reasons and one of these reasons is that one film has German expressionism for its style, while the other film seems more bleak and depressed, which helps the new one greatly.
Suspiria 1977Suspiria 2018
Now in order for me to continue, I have to spoil the new film through the blog and also through a video. Seriously, if you don’t want the new film to be spoiled, just skip past the video and you will be good. I have warned you.
The new film is very different in the way it handles the end of the film. The new film puts a twist on the common horror movie ending that you are expecting by making the main character the final monster, or in this case, the mother witch. This ending really makes this remake different from the original where in the original the main character destroys the whole dance academy and destroys the coven of witches. Now, I can continue talking about all of the differences between the two films for another 500 words, but I found a video that best sums up everything that I have to say about the two films. Now the video includes spoilers as well that I haven’t mentioned, watch at your own risk.
This video shows the differences between the two in way more detail.
Now in order to sum up this tale of two Suspirias I will say that the difference between the two films make them both great and unique as well. One thing that I have always remembered about the new film is the whole plot of the film and all of the disturbing deaths that happen in the film. The one thing that I will always remember about the orignal is the amazing music, it is one of the best soundtracks I have heard for a horror film, not as good as Doctor Sleep in my opinion, but it is good.
So this week was the first week of online courses and I found it to be weird. I enjoyed watching Valerie and Her Week of Wonders and I found it to be a very beautiful film. I can see why someone would classify this as a horror film because of the creepy nature of the film and also because of all the supernatural things that happen in this film. I really liked every bit of the film and thought that it was also very good. If a person likes weird films I would highly recommend that they should watch this film.
This week I tried to read as many of the articles as possible and also listen to the podcast. I was able to listen to the podcast and read two of the articles that was assigned and there was one that caught my attention. The article that caught my attention was the article “Valerie and Her Week of Wonders/ Grandmother, What Big Fangs You Have” by Jana Prikryl. The reason this article caught my attention was because of its mention of “Alice In Wonderland” and how the film seemed to resemble that story and I saw it during the course of the film. This thought came into my head actually after I read something on IMDB and then it came back into my head during the movie and then again when I was reading the article. I saw elements that reminded me of Alice and these elements include the evil priest, which reminds me a bit of the Queen of Hearts in Alice. Another element was Orlík and he reminded me of either Cheshire Cat or the Rabbit in Alice. This stuck with me during the course of the film and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I believe that this could be a much darker version of Alice compared to the regular Alice story that we have grown up with.
There was another thought that kept crossing my mind during this movie and that is how much it felt like another film that watched. That film that I am talking about is Midsommar and there are a few reasons as to why I think I am comparing the two films to one another. One main reason that I can think of comparing the two is that both films are very beautiful. One of these is that the way both films are shot is meant to make the films look beautiful and the shots in Midsommar are meant to make you appreciate the camera work that is done and all of the shots that are presented. That is sort of the same for Valerie in my opinion. Another thing that I compared about both films is that both films are meant to make you question what is going on and who you can trust. The only person that Valerie can really trust during the film is Orlík and she ends up pushing him away. That is the same for Midsommar and the main character of that film, she can really only trust her boyfriend up to a certain point in the film. The last thing that I compare about both films is that they seem to be both very unique horror films. Valerie is basically a combination of fairy tales and Alice in Wonderland type horror. Midsommar is a daytime horror film and what that means is that basically all of the creepy stuff happens during the day and the place that they are at during the film is constantly daytime.
Trailer for Midsommar
To conclude this, I am going to say that Valerie and Her Week of Wonder was a very good film that I won’t forget anytime soon. It reminded me of another two things that I have watched and there is one last thing I have to say, and that is you should watch Midsommar if you liked this film. Midsommar is a bit more disturbing than Valerie, but it is a very beautiful film in my opinion.
For this week’s screening we watched The Warriors and I really enjoyed this movie. I kinda figured I would enjoy the film based off the fact that other people liked it and that it has a huge cult following. I loved every minute of the film and I especially love how the film is treated like a comic book, which reminds me a bit of the film, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and the only reason is because the animation of that film is created to look like a comic book and the scene transitions of The Warriors was created to look like a comic book. I also enjoyed the readings, but there was one in particular that caught my attention the most and that was Fiske’s “The Cultural Economy of a Fandom” and it caught my attention for many different reasons.
The reason why I connected to Fiske’s piece the most is because I have seen many times the power of a fandom and how much a fandom can save or harm a franchise. I am also a part of many fandoms that range in various different sizes. To save a franchise part of a fandom, I have witnessed a few occasions where a fandom has saved a TV show from being canceled, and I am going to mention two that I was apart of. The two shows that I have witnessed being saved were Brooklyn 99 and Last Man Standing. Both of these shows were canceled by the stations that they were on, but because of how powerful fandoms are, the fans were able to get different stations to pick them up and now the shows are thriving on their new stations.
I have recently witnessed a fandom delay the release of a major movie. The story is that on Monday March 3rd, 2020 the founders of two of the most popular James Bond fan sites asked MGM and Universal to delay the release of the film due to the coronavirus. This ended up happening because on Wednesday the studios decided to change the release date of No Time To Die from its April release to a November release date. All of this because of the fans.
I have also witnessed fans bash on a movie of a particular franchise so much that it has basically divided the fan base in two. The movie that I am talking about is Star Wars: The Last Jedi and this film was able to divide the fan base basically in two. After the release of the film, many fans of Star Wars loved the film and even considered it the best in the franchise, while others called it the worst film in the franchise and that it destroyed Star Wars. The split in the fan base hit so much that the next film in the franchise, Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, basically further divided the fandom. The next film split the franchise basically into people who thought Skywalker saved the trilogy, people who thought it was the worst conclusion of the franchise, people who thought that it erased everything from the Last Jedi and basically made the franchise better, and there was also people who thought that the film was ridiculous and that it made no sense. There are so many different fandoms that have been created because of The Last Jedi and they are all so different from one another. But there is one thing that unites all of these fandoms of Star Wars, and that is that they all have some sort of love for Star Wars. There is one thing that I find unique about these fandoms and that The Child, AKA Baby Yoda was able to unite all of the Star Wars fandom and find something in the franchise to love again.
So, I would say that the power of a fandom is very strong and that it can harm or hurt a franchise, for No Time To Die, I can’t tell if changing the release date will ultimately benefit the film or if it will harm the film as a whole. All I know is that fandoms are very strong and that there will always be some sort of fandom for a movie, no matter how bad or good the film is.
This week we watched Blacula and I enjoyed the screening and thought that the film was very good overall. It isn’t one of my favorite horror movies, but it is a film that I could find enjoyment out of watching over and over again. The only vampire movies I have seen before this were the Twilight series, and the Blade series. I still despise the Twilight series and I like watching the Blade series every so often just because it is based off a comic book, but Blacula was different and I enjoyed every minute of it. I think the only aspect of the film that I didn’t like was the romantic portion of it, and I will explain that later.
But first, one of the readings that caught my attention this week was an article about marketing and the reasoning is that I have noticed many films that were poorly advertised, but gained some sort of following. But there is a film that is coming out in a few weeks that I think has some of the best marketing and is probably going to benefit off of this. The film that I am talking about is The Hunt, and this film has some of the most unique marketing that I have ever seen. The story behind this film is that it was going to be released into theaters on September 27, 2019, but the studio behind the film had to cancel its release because it was receiving a lot of controversy because of what the film depicts, and that is the wealthy elite kidnapping and hunting down lower class citizens. The studio also canceled the release because of two mass shootings that happened around that time and also received criticism from Trump and the studio said now wasn’t the time to release the film. But that all changed on February 11th, 2020 when the studio decided to release the film on March 13th, 2020. Since it is being released, the marketing has completely changed for the film. Before the film was being marketed as a horror movie and now it is being advertised as the most talked about film from last year that no one has seen yet. Now I find this interesting because the marketing for the film has completely changed because of the canceled release and it is probably going to benefit off of this release and gain a following. All of this because of marketing and publicity. Also, I do plan on trying to see this film when it does come out in a few weeks.
The first trailer for the original marketing campaignA poster from the original marketing campaign.
The trailer for the new marketing campaign.The poster for the new marketing campaign.
Now for why I didn’t like the romantic portion of Blacula. The reasoning is because I always find it weird to insert a romance into a horror or a monster movie. By including a romance in a movie, the film loses that scare factor to me and has the potential to be worse because of it. For me, romance and horror do not mix in movies, the romance is usually included to appease the general public in order to gain more money in the box office. I have despised the Twilight franchise because it has ruined the image of vampires and has made them not scary to the general public. I am hoping that Marvel Studios Blade, which is going to star Mahershal Alican bring back respect to vampires that have been lost because of films like Twilight and make vampires scary again.
Cult Movies 