Movie Nights: Week in review 3.8-3.14
To celebrate the second week of Women’s History Month we decided to watch some great female directed horror films!
Carrie
Carrie is a remake of the Brian DePalma's original 1976 film with the same title. The story is essentially the same, young abused girl held to impossible standards by her unstable religious zealot mother. Bullied at school and pushed too far she uses her budding telekinetic powers to wreck havok on the people that have hurt her. This movie has a decent soundtrack and is fine to watch if you’re looking for something spooky on the lighter side but we don’t really like it for anything else. With big shoes to fill this remake doesn’t hit the mark for us. We love Chloe Grace Moretz she is a great actress but we didn’t feel this was the best role for her, she is so conventionally gorgeous and cute it is hard to picture her being picked on or ignored, its just not believable. The other characters feel shallow and lack substance, they pretty much are just there to interact with Carrie. The movie seems rushed and seems to lack the creep factor that the original had. Worth a watch its entertaining and spooky at the least but don’t have the highest expectations.
© 2012 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. and Screen Gems, Inc. All rights reserved. **ALL IMAGES ARE PROPERTY OF SONY PICTURES
Slumber Party Massacre
Slumber Party Massacre is a gory 80’s slasher classic! Directed by Amy Holden Jones is is probably be the best slasher ever directed by a woman (There are sadly not a lot to choose from) It’s pretty close to a horror comedy and was actually originally written as a parody on teen slashers by Rita Mae Brown. Hilarious throughout both intentionally and unintentionally this movie is sure to split your sides. The premise is incredibly simple. Insane murderer escapes mental hospital and comes to slash on scantily clad teens. You get to see some skin throughout with boob shots from the start! Naked young women getting chased and killed in true 80’s fashion. The killer is so comically crazy his wild facial expressions when chasing them with the drill are super memorable. The kills are awesome and fun. This one is a MUST SEE 80’s slasher.
Photo by Photo: Merrick Morton - © TM and © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox and Regency Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.
American Psycho
American Psycho is one of the best horror movies out there it is probably our favorite women directed horror. A true classic with a stellar cast, Christian Bale, Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe really make this a winner. Christian Bale gives the performance of a lifetime as Patrick Bateman a truly terrifying as a young killer who goes down a spiral. Directed by Mary Harron this masterpiece says a lot about upper class society, fitting in, the male ego, and is very humorous throughout. We love the violent kills and seeing just how crazy he is, watching Batemans mind unravel is so satisfying. It has some really interesting points of view and you really feel for the female victims in the film. This movie highlights how terrible men can be but also how terrible society is and how it shapes you. This movie is shot really beautifully with a great soundtrack too! A must see!
Photo © Copyright 2000 - Universal Studios - All rights reserved.
Black Rock
Black Rock directed by Katie Aselton is a great example of a real life horror story, survival style! It is high paced, genuienly scary and very real feeling. The script feels relatable and like they are real friends. Three old friends (Lake Bell, Katie Aselton and Kate Bosworth) go on a camping trip to a small island, just begging to be hunted down and killed. Alone on the beach they run into 3 men, one of which they knew from childhood. One things lead to another and somebody ends up dead. The girls are hunted down from there and it is brutal! Fantastic tension building throughout and the fighting scenes are great. It’s awesome to see a movie about relatable and real feeling badass women. Worth a watch and its great if you’re in a woodsy mood.
Photo Credit © 2013 - LD Entertainment
Sint Maud
This was a first time watch for us! Saint Maud Directed by Rose Glass, is essentially about a masochist who lacks impulse control, it’s mental illness masked in religion and its pretty wild to watch. , A young woman who does in home nursing Maud (Morfydd Clark) becomes obsessed with saving the soul of a dying patient. Her obsession escalates throughout the movie to dangerous places and she exhibits very possessive and unstable behavior. It was cool to see an LGBTQ & Disabled person love scene that representation was unexpected and appreciated. There are a lot of interesting shots in this film and the way they portray anxiety is so palpable. The tension in this movie builds in a great way and it sticks with you after the movie ends. We LOVED the score too, this was a fun psychological horror movie, most definitely worth watching!
Photo by IMDB
Greener Grass
Greener Grass is one of our all time favorites. Not Horror exactly but horror ISH! There is a murderer at large so there is that. Written and directed by two of our favorite people Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe this absolutely hilarious and smart film is possibly our favorite female directed film ever! A mystery, thriller, comedy this bizarre ride is sure to leave an impression on you! Full of twists and turns this one will is a must watch!
Photo Credit IMDB
