This blog assumes readers love movies and will probably have already seen those discussed, or are looking for a reason to watch them. Therefore, assume spoilers in all posts. In other words, don't whine if I "ruin" the ending. You've been warned. *laughs maniacally*
In preparation for The Matrix: Resurrections in December, I've been itching to rewatch the trilogy and The Animatrix. The theories about what it will be are already flying, so I've written down my viewing order master list for....research purposes. Sure. So, read on, if you're ready to fall down that rabbit hole...
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The Matrix: Resurrections trailer dropped this week, giving us our first glimpse back into the world we left behind almost two decades ago, and - oh! - what a glimpse. Can I just say that using Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" should have been too on the nose, and yet they completely pulled off this needle drop? They even updated the song a bit, and I...I need that track.
Of course, the internet lost its damn mind immediately, and theories abound as to what will happen in the new movie: will it be a sequel to the original trilogy? is it some kind of reboot (pun totally intended)? Perhaps its an alternate timeline. And the theories go on and on.
All this has got me wanting to rewatch The Matrix trilogy and The Animatrix in a big way, and I have just the viewing order.
Recently, I had the opportunity to show my brother the dystopian Thought Police action film Equilibrium. We have just a bit more time these days. In the current climate, where a great deal of fear surrounds the way we interact in society, a movie about Thought Police, dystopias caused by cataclysmic events, and a focus on emotions, especially how fear destroys us as a society, seems particularly relevant.
My brother and I watch movies and television series together. I have a list of must-see movies and television series I've wanted to show him, pieces of art that are my duty as his sister to pass on to the next generation (we have a significant age gap). He, in turn, has added to that list with some of his own favorites, things I might never have considered or known about otherwise. A fair exchange, in my opinion.
I realized partway through our viewing that it had been about a decade since I'd last watched this movie. This was not because it isn't good or worthy of repeat viewings. It is. No, it was more that this movie holds a special place in my heart as part of my list of consciousness-expanding movies, and, as such, I only really watch them when I'm in the right headspace, and the timing was right....
I've always sort of...shunned horror movies. Many of the plots carry the curse of formulaic contrivance. Rather than approaching things from a deeper psychological standpoint, too many focus on the two horror tropes I dislike most (Unnecessary Blood & Gore and the Jump Scare). On top of that, people are so stupid in these movies, that I find myself rooting for the monsters and serial killers. And what is up with the obsession with rape scenes? No, thank you. Worst of all, these movies still scare the bejesus out of me, no matter how crappy and unbelievable they are. And that means I suffer on multiple levels. [Je suis pas venue ici pour souffrir, ok?]
In fact, for the majority of my life, I could sum up my feelings about horror movies with this Eddie Murphy skit:
So I set out to do an alternative Halloween movie list, something for the non-horror movie fans like myself. But as I researched the movies I like, discuss, and would recommend at this time of year, I began to realize something: there are a lot of scary movies I do like. They may not be classified "horror," but they is most certainly an element of fear to them. More than that, I realized how connected to my fascination with darkness they are, and how my appreciation for them as an art form had grown since my younger years (you know, the ones where hiding under the covers with the tiny opening for air was still considered socially acceptable). The list kept getting larger, like some kind of blob monster. I had fallen down the ole rabbit hole, and this piece became one part sociological and historical treatise, one part incomplete "faves" list, one part anecdotal rambling...and one part referential metaphors.
...Which is pretty much how I talk, so... At any rate, I thought I'd warn you... like so many horror movies do right before everything goes terribly terribly wrong. Enjoy!
Fear: The Original Monster
Like for so many others, Halloween is my favorite holiday. That makes October my favorite month. Aside from All Hallows' Eve, October marks the true beginning of Autumn for the Northern Hemisphere. Leaves begin to turn in earnest. We go from the late summer heat of August & September to a crisp coolness and begin preparations for the long sleep of Winter. In short, the earth prepares for death.
For millennia, humans have celebrated the cycles of life on all sides of the planet. Autumn marks the final harvest and, while animals prepare for the long slumber of hibernation, plants enter their final stage of life. However, death is not the end. After the long sleep of winter, we have rebirth with the emergence of spring and a new breeding season. Early humans were aware of this and held rites to mark the various stages throughout the seasons. They celebrated and paid respects to the gods, ancestors, and plants and creatures that were a part of their very survival. Mostly, though, they told stories. These stories had everything: adventure, love, origins of the universe, heroes doing great deeds and making sacrifices, life and death....and fear.
