Hello, there! Welcome to a new issue of NewsletterName. We are glad to have you with us while we explore the treatment of horror in recent films.
We’ll talk about three interesting movies from the past decade that made their mark. Our selection have two big things in common: Few characters and one main location. These are awkward stories with psychological persecutions that’ll get suck in your head for days. Pay attention!
1922 (Zak Hilditch, 2017)
We can’t speak about horror without mentioning a story by Stephen King, the Master of Horror. In 1922, Wilf (Thomas Jane) and Henry (Neal McDonough) plot to kill Arlette, Wilf’s wife and Henry’s mother. Once the crime is committed, they dump her body in a well next to their house, in the middle of a big farm. What seemed like the perfect crime became sort of a nightmare when the remorse of their terrible doing started manifesting has supernatural events.
The story itself it’s intense and it has a dense atmosphere that makes you feel watched every step of the way. Luckily for us, horror lovers, Zak Hilditch’s direction, Thomas Jane’s performance and Ben Richardson’s cinematography combined to deliver a chilling adaptation. Some things to underline from this film:
- Lights and, most importantly, shadows on climatic moments are designed to intensify the sensation that anything is going to jump out from the darkness at any instant.
- Thomas Jane gave us an integral performance with great transformations that leave us with no doubt about his story.
- As it’s usual in King’s stories, the important events aren’t only in the “real world”. The things that drive the narrative forward happen inside the main characters.
On this deformed version of The Tale-Telling Heart, you will enjoy a story about a supernatural persecution within the limits of a house. Available on Netflix.
Ich seh, Ich seh (Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, 2014)
This Austrian horror film is soon to become a European classic of the contemporary horror. Written and directed at “four hands” by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, it is one of our favourites for the delicate manner in which it introduces violence into a spotless environment.
Tells the story of a couple of twins, Luka and Elias, that live with their fabulous mother in their astounding house. At the return of their mother, who was in a clinic getting a plastic procedure, the kids started to suspect that the person that came back it’s not their real mother and that she has been supplanted by an obscure entity.
This is a dark tale that gets to the psyche thanks to its great musical composition. Also, we have to appreciate the narrative made by the contrast of the pristine and clean house with the “mess” the boys represent. On top of that, the macabre touch of the mother’s face covered in bandages is an unforgettable detail. Especially when combined with the “chase” of her sons that she undertakes throughout the labyrinth that is her house.
A vigorous psychological horror film for those with no fear of themselves.
The autopsy of Jane Doe (André Øvredal, 2016)
Oddly, when release, this film was overlooked by the public, even though it had good distribution, amazing casting to pose for the posters and a compelling story. Maybe it was bad timing, maybe it was a little ahead of its time. Whatever it was, this great script and cool performances deserved better.
The autopsy of Jane Doe is a film by the Norwegian director André Øvredal. This is the tale of a coroner (Brian Cox) and his son (Emile Hirsch), and how the autopsy of an unidentified young woman turns into a night of horrors inside their own house.
A very interesting story that starts as any other kind-of-slash film, but quickly turns into classic horror with a centuries old story. A delightful transformation that we see both on the narrative and on the cinematography.
We hope you enjoy these films and shrink a little with the creepy stories, as we did. After all, what’s a film night without some oppressive and tense scenes?
See you next time!
