RE: Number 5's Surreal Creepy Film Collection
May 19, 2021 at 9:55 am
(This post was last modified: May 19, 2021 at 9:56 am by zwanzig.)
Updating this with a couple of isolation "demonic entities" entries. I like demonic possession in films and battles with sanity against the Devil but in a particular type. I like it best when God or religion is barely present/not at all or absolutely ineffectual. It makes me think of Lovecraftian horror even more; as if, in the story of the movie, there is no idea of God to appeal to or the people within the film are starkly aware of the paperthin protection of religion. Then, in that context, the Devil isn't really himself. He's not a fallen angel who's only purpose is to play adversary to the Christian God. The demonic forces seem more primal, more earthy, more ancient. Like Old Ones slithering tentacles into our world.
The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
I really liked this one. There was a religious vibe throughout the film, and right from the start, it seemed like the mother had rituals in place that she was using to keep this thing at bay. But by the end, it feels less like the forces of good were succeeding at ANY point and instead, as if this thing had a timeline it was following on it's own schedule. Like it was orchestrating certain things to happen for it's own pleasure and designs, rather than a gate that it was slowly trying to unlock. It had free reign of the house, the people in and around the property, and their minds, no matter what they said or did. It was unsettling and chilling in different parts and as I empathized with the son and daughter more and more, the feeling of dread increased.
The Wind (2019)
This was in the same vein as The Dark and the Wicked, except for 80% of the movie, this lady is all by herself in the middle of nowhere. Again, the religious presence is like this flimsy paper getting tossed around without meaning much or doing anything to help. The demonic entities of the frontier rule this prairied place of death and it feels like this soil has always belonged to them. And she will either bow beneath them or be consumed by them.
The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
Quote:On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon a darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family. (imdb)
I really liked this one. There was a religious vibe throughout the film, and right from the start, it seemed like the mother had rituals in place that she was using to keep this thing at bay. But by the end, it feels less like the forces of good were succeeding at ANY point and instead, as if this thing had a timeline it was following on it's own schedule. Like it was orchestrating certain things to happen for it's own pleasure and designs, rather than a gate that it was slowly trying to unlock. It had free reign of the house, the people in and around the property, and their minds, no matter what they said or did. It was unsettling and chilling in different parts and as I empathized with the son and daughter more and more, the feeling of dread increased.
The Wind (2019)
Quote:A plains-woman faces the harshness and isolation of the untamed land in the Western frontier of the late 1800s. (imdb)
This was in the same vein as The Dark and the Wicked, except for 80% of the movie, this lady is all by herself in the middle of nowhere. Again, the religious presence is like this flimsy paper getting tossed around without meaning much or doing anything to help. The demonic entities of the frontier rule this prairied place of death and it feels like this soil has always belonged to them. And she will either bow beneath them or be consumed by them.
