Creepy Film Roundup for Halloween 2014

It's that time of year when I have a special craving for ghostly films -- thought I'd share the results of my recent binge-watch in case you were looking for a spooky flick for your Halloween festivities!


The Quiet Ones (2013)
When I first heard about this film, I thought it was tailor-made for me. Paranormal investigators working at Oxford University in the early 70s? How could it fail to entertain? Well . . . first of all, the characters spent about 10 minutes at Oxford before secluding themselves in a bland old house in the country. And though Jared Harris (as the chief academic) is one of my favorite actors, I never really understood his character's goals or motivation. Furthermore, Sam Claflin (who was so engaging in Catching Fire) practically sleepwalks through this film. There were a few interesting moments, but overall I was deeply disappointed. I just wish they'd stuck closer to their purported source material: The Philip Experiment. (And BOO on the filmmakers for using fake photos in the closing credits to represent the real people who "inspired" this film.)


Mama (2013)
I'd read mixed reviews of this one, and now I understand why it might not work for some folks. This film takes risks--particularly with its representation of the paranormal presence--and the risks don't always pay off. But I prefer a film that tries something different and partly fails to one that follows a tired old formula. In particular, I appreciated how this script explored the poignancy, fierceness, and even horror of the maternal instinct. I actually cared about the characters, and this fostered the slow build of dread as they fell deeper into peril. There's more than a little hokeyness to be sure, and the male characters are pretty useless, but Jessica Chastain is fabulous, as are the girls who play her "adoptive" nieces. The ending made me cry.


Stoker (2013)
A grieving daughter meets her uncle for the first time at her father's funeral and is alternately intrigued and repelled by his behavior. This film leans more toward suspense than supernatural horror, but the characters are metaphorically haunted in interesting ways. I'm not certain the plot holds together, but I don't really care because this isn't a plot-driven movie. It's gorgeously filmed and, best of all, gloriously Gothic. (One of my favorite scenes involves Mia Wasikowska's character obsessing over a Victorian guide to funerals and mourning.) If you don't like dark and twisted, this is NOT the film for you.

(BTW, I am soooo looking forward to director Park Chan-wook's next project, an adaptation of Sarah Waters' Fingersmith set in early 20th century, Japanese-occupied Korea. Sounds like a winner to me!)


Lake Mungo (2008)
An Australian "mockumentary" about a family who might be haunted by their recently drowned daughter. This one won't make you jump out of your seat like The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity, and that's because it prioritizes emotional depth over shock value. Certainly there are creepy moments, but mostly I appreciated this spooky mystery for drawing me into the longing and vulnerability of its grieving characters.

If you have any suggestions for creepy/ghostly films, do please leave me a note in the comments!

Last year's Halloween recommendations (all in one post): The Changeling, El Orfanato (The Orphanage), Below, and Janghwa, Hongryeon (A Tale of Two Sisters)

2012 recommendations: The Pact and The Awakening. Also (each a separate post) Dead of Night, The Uninvited, The Innocents, and The Haunting.

And finally, I like this list of 40 Scariest Ghost Movies.

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

How do you take YOUR heroes?

FIRST -- Congrats to ERIN L, winner of last week's giveaway! Now, back to today's post . . .

A while back I posted about Bulletproof Kinks, and though I didn't list it at the time, I think one of my major kinks is the Jaded Hero. Lately, a certain TV show has made me wonder about the Jaded vs. Idealistic Hero, and what sort of person is drawn to each.

First of all, the Jaded Hero has Gothic origins (Gothic is another bullet-proof kink of mine!) in that it seems to trace back to the Byronic Hero. Characteristics of the Byronic Hero include:

-- Distaste for social institutions and norms
-- Exiled, outcast, or outlaw status
-- Arrogant
-- Cunning and able to adapt
-- Cynical
-- Self-destructive
-- Troubled past

(Learn more here)

I've been a fan of the Byronic Hero since college, but long before I ever followed Childe Harold on his pilgrimage, or pondered the Byronic appeal of Milton's Satan, or swooned over the seductive powers of an irascible land baron named Edward Rochester, I fell in love with a particular Jaded Hero named . . . Han Solo. He was world-weary, sarcastic, pessimistic, living outside the law, prone to act before thinking, and generally dark and dangerous. The sexiness of this was slightly lost on me back when I first saw Star Wars, but by the time Empire Strikes Back came to theaters, I realized that Han Solo had it going on. (Princess Leia eventually clued in, too!)

The opposite of Han Solo was young idealist Luke Skywalker -- earnest, thoughtful, and principled. Luke was a dreamer who was more concerned with saving the world than his own skin. And he didn't have a problem expressing his feelings. In fact, he seemed to have the problem of TOO MANY FEELINGS -- at least until Yoda's training finally kicked in.


I see this Idealistic vs. Jaded Hero dichotomy in films and TV all the time, and always, always I am drawn to the darker, flawed, emotionally constipated Jaded Hero. But then I have friends who most often seem to go for the Idealist. (Which makes us very compatible in our fangirling.) Where do you stand?

[This is where I wrack my brain for Idealistic/Jaded Heroes from TV and film]


Jack O'Neill (jaded) or Daniel Jackson (idealistic)? (Stargate SG-1)


Stefan (idealistic) or Damon (jaded)? (Vampire Diaries) (FYI: I've met ONE person who goes for Stefan!)


Steve Rogers (idealistic) or Tony Stark (jaded)? (Avengers) (Don't even get me started on Loki!)


Dean or Sam Winchester? (Supernatural, aka "Star Wars in Truck Stop America" and my latest FIXATION*) I don't even have to tell you who's the jaded one, right? The scruff and averted gaze speak volumes.

So, Jaded or Idealist? Can you explain why you go one way or the other? (I can't, really.) My theory is that most people are drawn to one or the other almost exclusively (this certainly seems true among my friends), but perhaps there are people who flip flop? If so, EXPLAIN! Also, it seems no matter what side you're on, there's always a moment (or episode/season) when the jaded hero has an outpouring of FEELINGS, or the idealistic hero goes dark. And those moments are very special, my friends.

I know I'm not saying anything new here. My main purpose is to collect data. Can you think of examples of books, movies, or TV shows that feature this hero (or heroine) dichotomy? Seems more prevalent in SciFi/Fantasy. I want to make a list!

*This is all Glenda's fault.

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

One reading resolution fulfilled

Without quite meaning to, I managed to strike off one of the reading resolutions I mentioned earlier -- reading a book written the year I was born.

I first read about Antonia Barber's The Ghosts at my agent's blog, where she mentioned it as an example of the sort of spooky middle-grade ghost story she would like to represent. I knew I had to track it down, since I would love to write that spooky middle-grade ghost story for her, but the book was long out of print. Fortunately, I was able to find a used hardcover that once belonged to the Herbert Symonds School in Montreal, Quebec. (I find this delightful.)

Turns out, as you might have guessed, that the book was published the year I was born! You can see the full jacket in all its creepy glory here (courtesy of Laird of Kiloran).

The story is about an impoverished family living in London (a widow and her three children) who are approached by a strange old man with the offer of a job as caretakers to an empty manor house in the country. The only problem? There are rumors of ghosts. Just my sort of thing, as you might have guessed! But . . . it's quite a complicated story. Very Gothic, yes, but with a helping of sci-fi to make things even more interesting. I won't say anymore, except that the story reminded me a bit of certain tales from Madeleine L'Engle.

I love passages like this, where Lucy's spirits are bolstered by the country landscape:

They walked on along the narrow path which led through a wood where brilliant leaves burst from tree-buds overhead and folded yellow daffodils opened in a bright carpet along the ground. It was very different from the grey littered pavements of Camden Town and, looking about her, Lucy felt her spirits rise in spite of everything. It is hard not to be hopeful in the woods in April. (73)

In addition to the mild spookiness and page-turning suspense, there's a very sweet and gentle theme of faith running through the story (which also reminded me of L'Engle, and C.S. Lewis, too), as evidenced by passages like this:

She closed her eyes and concentrated very hard but it didn't seem to do any good. Perhaps faith isn't like that, she thought. Perhaps it isn't something you force yourself to, a battle that you fight in your mind, but something that comes when you stop fighting, when you admit that you can't manage it alone. And then it just grows in you, like bluebells coming up out of dark decaying despair. (162)

If this sounds interesting to you, maybe you can find it at your library? Or you might peruse the used copies at Amazon. Apparently the book was adapted into a film entitled The Amazing Mr. Blunden, and in the UK the tie-in books were retitled accordingly.

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]