The Quarantine Movie Marathon - Part 1

 [Editor's note: Hi all! I know it's been a hot minute since my last post *cough* four months *cough*, but what with moving house, finishing my degree and adjusting to a post-corona dystopia, it's been very hectic for me, as I'm sure it has been for all of you. I just wanted to say thank you for your patience and I hope to post more content soon!]

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

Humble beginnings

Unless you've been living underground (which at this point sounds more favourable), then you'll be fully aware that the world is currently in shambles. 2020 has undoubtedly been the worst year for everybody but that's not what we're going to talk about today, don't worry. 

See, when I was in lockdown, I was living alone in a tiny flat, surrounded by my one true love: my film collection. I found myself realising 'hey, this could be a great opportunity to watch all the films I never got round to watching after I bought them!'...which then diverged into 'hey, why don't I just watch all of them?' A crazy notion, really, when you consider I have nearly 400 films. But it's lockdown, there's nowhere to go and nobody to talk to, so is it really that far of a stretch to save me from boredom?

So, I did. I sat down and, in alphabetical order, I watched every single film I own. In 125 days. Basically, I was still continuing the list after lockdown had ended. And, knowing I hadn't produced content during lockdown, I wrote down my thoughts on every single film in a concise, one sentence summary: today, I'm going to share those thoughts with you, dear reader. Obviously I can't put all of them here, otherwise you'd be reading a novel, so I'm only sharing those that are considered horror films (if you'd like to see other genres, let me know). So if you ever wanted a quick-fire idea of any of these films, then this is the list to go to!

Battle Royale (2000)

0 to C

• 28 Days Later (2002) - The score of this film is phenomenal and we have to stan a WOC being one of the main protagonists and a survivor in a horror film. [8/10]
• 28 Weeks Later (2007) - 28 Days is confined horror, whereas 28 Weeks is mass hysteria and it works so well: also the opening scene is one of the most iconic, chaotic openers I've ever seen in a horror film. [8/10]
• Abel Ferrara's The Driller Killer (1979) - Typical 70s, b-movie smut that has some redeemable qualities in the third act: laughable dialogue, though. [5/10]
• A Bucket of Blood (1959) - Hilariously deluded with a fun concept: I'd love to see a remake of this. [8/10]
• Akira (1988) -  The animation, the characters, the attention to detail with the worldbuilding...*chef's kiss*. [8/10]
• All Cheerleaders Die (2013) - Cringe in places but entirely self-aware and fun: also any horror film with erotic, blood-thirsty women is my cup of tea. [7/10]
• Already Dead (2007) - Terrible dialogue, predictable plot with an almost redeeming ending. [6/10]
• American Mary (2012) -  A strong, unique horror that you can tell is directed and written by women because all of the female characters are likeable and feel real. [8/10]
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - The blood geyser scene: that's it. [9/10]
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) - I know this is considered to be the outlier of the Elm Street franchise but I think it really ups the ante in terms of creativity and the manifestation of fear; a horror that every baby-gay should see. [8/10]
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) - Arguably the coolest Freddy Krueger monsters of all seven films with a bangin' soundtrack. [8/10]
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) - I like that they gave Freddy more agency in this film and made him more camp: there's no such thing as too much camp. [7/10]
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) - The worst of the seven films: it tries too hard, which is disappointing to see. [5/10]
• Apollo 18 (2011) - Not as awful as I remember when I reviewed it last but I'm still giving it a low score. [5/10]
• A Quiet Place (2018) - Masterful use of sound; I definitely cried at Jim getting fucking GOT. [8/10]
• Battle Royale (2000) - The Japanese have certainly mastered the combination of absurd and horrifying with really fleshed-out characters. Hunger Games could never, bitch. [9/10]
• Bear (2010) -  The best scenes are where people are getting fucking mauled, just so you don't have to hear the atrocious dialogue anymore. [3/10]
• Bite (2015) - The storylines are entirely too predictable but the body horror is fun to watch and I will give credit where credit is due: the sfx are impressive. [7/10]
• Black Death (2010) - Nice plot twists but a really fucking bleak ending; Sean Bean dies again. [7/10]
• Black Swan (2010) -  Natalie's performance is so damn good and she deserved her Oscar for it; Aronofksy is one of my all-time faves, so I'm a bit biased here in saying it's a magnificent example of cinema. [9/10]
• Black Xmas (2006) - 'Meh' ending, more entertaining drunk with friends, I imagine. [6/10]
• Braindead (1992) - A guilty pleasure film because it's so fucking gross and funny, plus I challenge you to find a horror that's as inventive with its gore as Braindead is. [9/10]
• Candyman (1992) - The soft lighting, screams and orchestral soundtrack, accompanied with a dramatic soliloquy makes for a very out-of-body experience but in a good way;  a staple of horror cinema, though I hope the remake fixes the mistakes of the original. [8/10]
• Carnival of Souls (1962) - Creepy imagery and a good ending, though I found the soundtrack to be obnoxious at times. [7/10]
• Case 39 (2009) - Your average Hollywood cash-grab: something to stick on whilst you're hoovering. [4/10]
• Cassadaga (2011) - Creative serial killer but problematic plot-line: LGBTQ+ individuals should avoid this at all costs. [4/10]
• Cell (2016) - Stupid fucking movie that I hate with a passion; Y'ALL DID STEPHEN KING DIRTY. [2/10]
• Chernobyl Diaries (2012) - This could've been a good film, had it been written and executed better. [5/10]
• Creature from the Black Lake (1976) - The storyline and characters are pretty uninteresting and the reveal of the creature is less terrifying humanoid and more discount Bigfoot. [4/10]
• Creep (2014) - I fucking adore this movies because it's one of the first that unsettled me upon first viewing, which is a hard thing to do; Mark Duplass is a great actor. [8/10]
• Creepshow (1982) - The lovechild of King and Romero, segments reminiscent of Argento's cinematography and cameos from both King and Savini? If you haven't watched Creepshow, you aren't a real horror fan. Simple. [8/10]
• Cronos (1993) - I love Del Toro and everything he does: his films are gothic and disturbing and yet you can feel how lovingly they were written and made. [7/10]

Next week: D to F

- K

Recommendations: Body Horror

[Reader disclaimer: there will be spoilers discussed. This piece also contains material of an extremely graphic nature].

The Thing (1982)

Horror, in its purest form, is a genre founded on its ability to disgust, shock and terrify its audience. It has many different sub-genres, one of which is 'body horror', a sub-genre centered around human (and sometimes foreign/alien) anatomy: what makes body horror so fascinating to others is the way in which it distorts the familiar and makes us uneasy in the way that it essentially unravels what we inherently know about ourselves.

For example, most people cannot stand to watch open-heart surgery or eye laser treatment, because these are vulnerable parts of the human body that undoubtedly cause people a lot of pain when tampered with. So, in body horror, this is elevated to an extremist level, beyond our comprehension of pain and deformity.

It crosses over into other genres as well, mainly science fiction, but also adventure, thrillers, even under the category of animation in some countries. But at its core, body horror is exactly that: horror of the body.

That being said, there are people (me included) who relish in watching body horror. For me personally, I do enjoy watching it: maybe I am desensitised due to years of watching horror movies, or maybe I'm just innately a sadist, but for whatever reason, it's one of my favourite sub-genres. This list is for those who would like to give it a go or simply for those that want new ones to watch.

Hellraiser (1987)

Let's start with something easy. Hellraiser (1987) is a horror film from the late 80s, back when body horror was becoming the height of popularity. It is a staple amongst fans and is culturally recognised as a film with one of the most iconic villains in history (Pinhead). However, if you haven't actually seen Hellraiser, then you may not know that Pinhead is more of a secondary antagonist than the movie's main villain. The main villain, pictured above wearing someone else's skin (I know, pretty grim), is a character named Frank Cotton.

Hellraiser is a film I will always recommend to people who want to watch horror films, whether they're interested in body horror or not, because the foundations of the narrative are based around the culture of sadism and lust, a sort of glamorous and gory representation of greedy human nature. Their victims usually end up disfigured or torn to shreds and that is horror at its finest: sinister, bloody and intriguing. 

The Fly (1986)

The Fly (1986), a remake of Kurt Neumann's 1958 film, is a masterpiece brought to you by none other than the godfather of body horror himself, David Cronenberg. It is a film centred around the  scientist Seth Brundle, who has worked out how to teleport himself from one of his pods to another. A marvellous invention, really, until he teleports with another organic lifeform inside...a fly. 

You can imagine how that goes. The computer can't distinguish the two lifeforms and so blends the DNA together, creating the anti-hero known as Brundlefly. Pictured above is Brundle (played by the wonderful Jeff Goldblum) mid-transformation, as showing Brundlefly would more or less spoil the surprise for any of you who haven't had the pleasure of seeing the film yet.

The Fly is one of many examples of a hybrid genre (sci-fi horror) that depicts body horror in a way that becomes the antithesis of the character, through either mutation, evolution, devolution or otherwise, using plausible science as means to explain their transformations. I would highly recommend it and any of Cronenberg's other films, such as Rabid (1977), Scanners (1981), Videodrome (1983) or Naked Lunch (1991).

Akira (1988)

An unusual addition to the list, mainly due to its format rather than its content, is Akira (1988). This film is popular amongst fans of both body horror and anime due to its graphic depiction of genetic mutation through animation.

The antagonist, Tetsuo (voiced by Nozomu Sasaki), resides in a post-apocalyptic version of Japan, and is drastically altered by the military into a grotesque psychopath. Akira's success, it would seem, is mainly down to its world building: the characters' traumas and evolvement both physically and mentally can be attributed to the fantastical neo-Tokyo setting in which they must learn to adapt to or fight against.

Akira certainly conveys what other body horrors tend to forget, which is the mentality of the victim. Tetsuo is a brash and reckless character for sure, but his mutation is met with anguish, confusion and sadness, something that the audience can empathise with (despite his murderous rampage later on in the plot). Another film similar to Akira would be Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), which follows a similar vein of Japanese body horror that blends man and machine but also conveys the character's struggles, humanising them despite their mutations.

Splice (2009)

There are many sci-fi horrors I could add to this list, so I'll stop here with this Canadian-French body horror, one that isn't as well-known as the previous two. 

Splice (2009) follows two geneticists (played by Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody) that are working on splicing the DNA of animals and humans to create a hybrid that can be of medical use. This results in the creation of Dren (pictured above), a humanoid creature with a stinger and retractable wings. But it never goes well for people who "play God" in the movies, now does it? 

Mayhem ensues, though I'll leave the ending out of it for anyone who wishes to give this forgotten gem a go. It makes this list for its excellent use of body horror, in a way that doesn't necessarily show a lot of gore, but definitely shows what could be another step in human evolution (or, at least, evolution gone wrong). 

Black Swan (2010)

Brought to you by a director known for the unsettling and frankly disturbing film Requiem for a Dream (2000), which in its own right incorporates elements of body horror as well, comes Black Swan (2010). A psychological horror directed by Darren Aronofsky, this film truly encapsulates body horror in a contemporary and artistic way.

The plot is centred around ballerina Nina Sayers (played by Natalie Portman) in her strive for perfection, though as she works harder and harder, her place in reality and her grasp of her own sanity begins to fall apart. This film is executed masterfully through the use of Clint Mansell's soundtrack, costume design and special effects and remains one of my favourite examples of body horror. 

Nina's descent into madness is truly a frightening yet thrilling watch, focusing more on an aspect of body horror that orbits around metamorphosis rather than just a general transformation: her character transcends the our reality, just not in the way that it probably should. The Fly, as previously mentioned, would also fit into this category.

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

A format that I would absolutely love to see more of is body horror within unconventional genres, such as musicals. That's essentially what Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) is: a gothic, science fiction, body horror musical.

Repo! is whimsical yet disturbing in its depiction of a futuristic biotech company profiting off people's need for new organs. It harmonises gore and theatricality quite successfully but it never loses the main essence of body horror, showing the downfall of disfigured main characters like Pavi Largo (played by Kevin Ogilvie, pictured above) and Amber Sweet (played by Paris Hilton). 

Although the plot revolves more around the exploitive nature of capitalism, betrayal amongst family and the element of greed, body horror marries well with choice aspects of this film and does so in both a gratuitous yet artful way. Another musical I would recommend is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), though that doesn't really fall into the sub-genre of body horror as much as just gothic horror. 

Ichi the Killer (2001)

Those of you who are fans of Japanese horror may or may not have heard of this one, but Ichi the Killer (2001) is a cult classic within the crime horror genre, mainly popularised for its insanely graphic depiction of sadistic torture and quasi-guro elements. 

The plot follows yakuza member Kakihara (played by Tadanobu Asano), a sadomasochist searching for his missing boss. Along the way, he comes across a young man named Ichi (played by Nao Ohmori) who is, essentially, the perfect killing machine: he is perverse, psychotic and able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara both admires and craves.

This kind of body horror doesn't convey a character's struggles like Akira or The Fly, but presents a character's desires to engage with it. It is almost a romanticism of ultra-violence, popular in other Japanese forms of entertainment such as anime, literature and art. It's certainly a bizarre and downright disturbing film but it uses body horror effectively, and not without reason. One might mistake Ichi the Killer for using unnecessary gratuitous violence, but I would argue that it supports the needs and emotions of the main characters, no matter how grotesque you find them. 

Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and Hostel (2005)

For my last entries on this list, I have grouped together the cult classics Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and Hostel (2005): you might be wondering why, considering both films are completely different in terms of plot and both set in different eras.

However, this is one thing that I wanted to draw attention to when it comes to body horror: it can exist within other sub-genres of horror but that does not make them synonymous. 

Cannibal Holocaust and Hostel are both incredibly gory films, depicting the removal of organs and tampering of human anatomy, however they are both considered part of the 'torture porn' sub-genre of horror as opposed to 'body horror'. Torture porn was popularised in the early 2000s by Eli Roth (director of Hostel) in an ambitious and consequently successful movement to create horror films that showed a correlation between gore and sexualised horror. Roth has stated in many interviews that he was inspired by horror films of the 80s such as Cannibal Holocaust, which he made a homage to called The Green Inferno (2013), a nod to the fictional film featured in Cannibal Holocaust of the same name.

Though featuring elements of body horror, these films are not technically classified as such. I would still recommend them to anyone who would want to branch out into torture porn, though.

Honourable mentions

There are many body horror films, but alas, I can't talk about every single one of them in a singular blog post. I'll list a few more below for anyone who is interested in checking them out, though fair warning, body horror really isn't for horror fans who are squeamish and more prone to watching the psychological or paranormal. Body horror is meant to be gross, and these films certainly are. 

• Re-Animator (1985)
• Thinner (1996)
• Cabin Fever (2002)
• In My Skin (2002)
• Slither (2006)
• Martyrs (2008)
• Grotesque (2009)
• The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence (2011)
• American Mary (2012)
• Antiviral (2012)
• Tusk (2014)
• Bite (2015)
• Raw (2016)

- K